Monday, February 27, 2006

Lot's of Excitement

The blog has been a little quiet due to a lot of things going on. Last week, I met the most wonderful group of baby/toddler designers. One of the designers is in the same factory that my sister and I use for Mister Judy. She saw our fabulous dresses and had to meet us. She organized a get together and this is who came:
Violet
Kung Fu Bambini
Andrea
Baby Wit
Jennifer
Dishy Duds
Dana
Baby Star
Kristen
Go, Goose, Go
Shannon
no website yet
An amazing group of women. We are hoping to do some group trunk shows and events... will keep you posted.

Then last Friday, my sister and I drove to Seattle for the Northwest Fabric and Notion show. We need to select our fabrics for Fall 2006. We had a wonderful but busy time. We stayed for one night at the fabulous Hotel Max (used to be the Vance). It was very hip, yet affordable. We met with most of the fabric vendors that we wanted to see and were able to make some initial decisions. It was nice just having a little time too... just the two of us.... haven't done that in several years. We also found this great cafe near Seattle Center called the Mecca Cafe. It's been in the same family since 1927. Total diner food, which equals comfort food. Great little spot!

Now that I'm back home, I need to get some seeds started for this spring. I'm really wanting some vine ripened tomatoes.... unfortunately it will be a little while yet.

Friday, February 17, 2006

UFO Report

Over the winter I've started many knitting/crochet projects without finishing them. Here's a sampling of my Unfinished Object situation....
the scarf using the vintage crochet pattern that I found...

My mom bought me this beautiful baby alpaca/silk yarn, but I do not have enough of one color to do an entire project. Since the yarn was a gift from a year ago, I don't think I'll be able to match the colors, so I'm going to do the scarf half and half. The second half will be in the warm mango-yellow yarn still in ball form.

This is the skirt that I was knitting this winter for Elsie....

... unfortunately I did it wrong and did not wind up with a tube skirt with a ruffle at the bottom. It is supposed to look like this skirt that Mo made for Miss M. I did not reduce enough stitches at the hem and wound up knitting the entire body double wide! This is a candidate for an unravelling. It's a fuzzy yarn, so it's going to be a pain, but I can't figure out how to finish it. Elsie has such a tiny waist, that by the time I draw it in to fit her, it will be so bulky that it may be uncomfortable to wear.

and my latest undertaking, the wrap sweater for Miss E

This is my first attempt at a garment. Hopefully I will finish it before she grows.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Happy Valentine's Day!

I have taken a break from the blog to take care of a sick girl for the past several days. However, she has made a full recovery and is ready for preschool this morning.
We made some frosted Valentine sugar cookies this weekend....

This is my mom's recipe which produces a far superior sugar cookie than the thin crispy kind you buy in the store. These puff up about 1/2" thick and are soft. They are as close to shortbread as you can get without actually making shortbread... they are really close though, they have 1-1/2 cups of butter plus 1/8 cup. Yummy!
Elsie had a great time frosting little piles of decoration in the middle of her cookies. We had to change frosting tips frequently, so I think I need to get some more bags. Toward the end, we spent more time changing tips than squirting frosting. I think we wound up with 4 dozen beautifully frosted cookies.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Dance Party

My wonderful spouse, Dave, will do anything for his little girl. Here he is wearing a flowery apron and performing "ballet" with Miss Elsie. The apron was required as a dancer needs something flowey and pretty....


.... and finishing with a lift....



.... how much do I love these two entertainers!

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Taking a breather...

My parent's left this morning after a wonderful six day visit. We worked on some projects (no we did not get the bathroom cabinet up, but it's really close) and had a great zoo outing yesterday. The polar bears at the Oregon Zoo here in Portland, put on the most spectacular show swimming and playing with their various toys. We probably watched them for a half and hour. Elsie did not want to leave them... they were her friends.
Today Elsie is spending the entire day at Pre-School. This was a special request by her. About two weeks ago, she discovered that the kids sleep on little blue cots for nap time. Elsie has been cot-obsessed ever since her grandparents bought her one to use at the farm. The fact that her pre-school had them too was almost too much for her little system. All we heard about for days were the cots at school. So today, she took a pillow and blanket and sleeping buddy to try out the cots. She will be there from 8:30am until 6pm, but I don't think I can make it that long and will probably pick her up at 5pm. I hope all goes well. Today was also pyjama day at Pre-school.... which I forgot about and dressed Elsie in a tiered skirt and embroidered cardigan. She looked at me with big sad eyes wondering why she wasn't wearing her pyjamas like EVERYBODY else at school. I had a severe Bad Mommy moment. So I ran back home, frantically found the pink poodle flannel pyjamas and little sheep slippers and drove back to Pre-School. Her teacher was going to help her change her clothes.
So for now, I'm trying to solve a last-minute factory issue for the Mister Judy product and then I'm going to take a break. The basement will have to wait until tomorrow.