summer

remember that amazing spring weather i was telling you about? well, it's going and summer is on its way. i'm not happy. i do not like summer and when it is here i complain about it. a lot. i try to stop myself but i just can't. i'm miserable when i'm sticky and hot. i think i have reverse seasonal affective disorder. do they make that? if they do, i've got it.

my summers in new york usually go like this: run air conditioner full blast, try try try to get the girls to love being inside. shows! forts! projects! books! treats! tumbling practice! games! dancing! anything! until i finally give in to their incessant requests ("let's catch the sunshine, mommy! come on! nice and warm!") and go to the park. while at the park i sweat more than any female should, squint, wish oh wish that i could tear all my clothes off and sit in a garbage can full of cool water like i did when i was a kid, try to stop the girls from burning their little thighs on the red-hot slides, come home with a headache, and dream of living in a world whose temperature never rises above 78 degrees. . . i'm dreading the summer days ahead.

of course, there are things that help. the red hook pool often saves the day. free, enormous, cool water, giant wading pool complete with sprinklers, ridiculously strict rules about what you can wear and take on deck thus making everything clean and the pool offensive-shirt-free. i love you, red hook pool. except when you are too full of people and won't let desperate me and my girls in. then i hate you. i also hate you when we have to get out because sombody has gone #2 in you. although, that really isn't your fault. but can't you come up with some rule?. . . oh wait, you already have, rule #2 (ha!) : "No urinating or defecating in the pools." clear and concise, well done.

and then there is the beach. sand to scoop and pile, cool breezes, waves to watch and occassionally jump into. i love you, jacob riis beach. except when it's so windy that sand is pelted into my eyeballs and gets stuck to my watermelon. then i hate you. i also hate you when the helicopters overhead fly so low that i feel like i need to duck to avoid decapitation and poor eve is huddled in terror under her towel with her arms over her eyes and head, just waiting for the torture to end.

but, happily, there is one saving grace of summer that i just can't hate, no matter how low the helicopters fly and regardless of the bowel movements of others. and that is a good summer dress. an entire outfit in one fell swoop? heaven. minimal contact with the skin? perfect. nice air flow and circulation that almost lets me forget i'm clothed? brilliant. summer dresses, i love you. and, conveniently enough, i just happen to like making you. for little girls there is nothing easier than whipping up a simple little summer dress. and for myself, even if i don't have a dress pattern that i love, but a shirt pattern that i do, i just lengthen the shirt and, voila! a dress fit for a middle-class, stay-at-home brooklyn mom.

here are a few that i've come up with in preparation for the hideous heat ahead:

vintage fabric from the humane society thriftstore in brookings, oregon. $0.50. i wish i had enough to make something for ruth and myself.

i actually made this last year for eve, but it fits ruth's little body perfectly now. the strapless is really darling but just about as practical for an 18-month-old as you'd think. however, i refuse to put straps on this one. for the 1 minute and 20 seconds she wears it before pulling it down around her waist, i am absolutely in love.

one of ms. wendy mullin's patterns again. that inset is a little tricky, but manageable. this is an example of a shirt pattern that i lengthened. i also did a little sleeve alteration- opted for making cap over the flutter in the pattern. i've been concerned it looks too much like a hospital gown, but this picture makes me sure that i really do like it.

this is from a vintage tunic pattern, with some adjustments like buttons and little cuffs, inspired by (fine, copied directly from) alysha's adjustments to the same pattern. who doesn't love a dress with pockets?

summer, i hope you're gentle and kind to me this year. but if you aren't, at least my girls and i will have some cute dresses to wear that just might stop me from complaining for the first 20 minutes i'm outside.

i love spring

the weather has been amazing. we're in heaven. here's a little view of how we've spent our time the last few days:

making little shorts and pants for the girls to run around in.

sitting around. lying around.

*i love chip's spindly legs here. i could blame it on camera distortion, but that's exactly what the man's legs look like. the shot of ruth and i sitting (one of her favorite past-times) is included only so you can see how cute her little feet are, not to showcase the fact that i didn't brush my hair once this past monday.

loving the fountains and museum.

checking out new flowers and visiting favorite playgrounds.

smiling and jumping. a lot.

a good week so far.

feliz cumpleanos jeanie

i love you jeanie. i love thinking about all the time you spent braiding my hair when we were younger so i could look pretty on the first day of school and valentine's day (heart shaped french braid, anyone? jeanie's your gal). i love that you made my wedding cake. i love your laugh, and how easily it comes. i love how kind and gentle you've always been. i love going to garage sales with you, or any kind of sales. i love how fun and easy it is to spend time with you. i wish i had more of that time.

although it has been 15 years since we lived in the same house, you've made your mark on my life. i make no-bake cookies, know a ridiculous amount of erasure songs, and think of you every time i buy smooth peanut butter. is there another child in the world who requested smooth jif peanut butter for christmas?

happy birthday jeanie, can't wait to laugh together again soon.

quick

tuesday night i taught the art of freezer paper transfers to a group of women at church. such a fun project. friends and family, if you don't know how to do this, we should talk. it is so so easy and a great option for gifts- particularly for the babes. in fact, if you are having a baby anytime soon, you now know what's most likely coming your way . . .

here are some examples i made for the ladies to see:

and here are two of them in action:

all you need is some freezer paper, an x-acto knife, a shape, a shirt/onesie, fabric paint, an iron and you are on your way. . .

i first did freezer paper transfers last year. for father's day i made a silhouette of the girls and painted ruth's on one t-shirt of chip's and eve's on another. i won't be shy, i think the idea is pure gold. you should do it. better than a tie, right? although if i could figure out how to make him a tie. . . or maybe it's time to enact my secret plans and make him the bright yellow sweatsuit?. . . could be the best father's day known to man . . .

*if any of you do plan to try this out freezer paper transfers, do a little research online or talk to me, there are a couple things you need to do to prevent total frustration.

UPDATE: see here for a solid tutorial with all necessary details included! 

memory

my brooklyn BFF, alysha, once told me i had an amazing memory. this was before the second child came and absorbed a large majority of what were my remaining brain cells (its very complicated and very scientific, i don't want to bore you with it). now my memory is just embarassing. i've always been slightly disnomic, but things have gotten so much worse. it's not only that i can't think of a word when i need it, i can't remember the answer to the question i just asked (and got an answer to) three minutes earlier. i can't even remember asking the question. why is this? are there some special exercises i can do? if possible, i'd like to avoid the shame that comes with acting senile at age 28.

in honor of my failing memory, i give you this, which i love, and which i can actually claim zero credit for finding. thank you, mim, for sending it my way.

also, in case i completely obliterate the memory of my birthday or mother's day 2007, here are the very fruitful fruits of the holidays:

if i were a songwriter i'd write a little diddy about saltwater sandals. i am the proud owner and wearer of four pair. nothing says warm weather and girly fun like a pair of saltwater sandals. i was filled with near-teary-eyed joy when i found they now make the yellow patent leather for adults.

three things to know about me:

1. i love shoes. always have (mom can back me up on this one).

2. i love yellow.

3. i love patent leather. couldn't be happier that the world is with me on this one for now.

very big thank you to papa and didi (mom and dad) for helping fund the purchase of these babies.

ebay. not as ideal as i'd hoped. but the full skirt is pretty cute. the girls shriek with delight when i twirl in it. of course, while they're shrieking i'm stopping, sitting down, holding my head and fighting off the nausea.

see #1 and #2 listed above.

very big thank you to gammy and gampy (bob and mary) for funding these purchases.

i love it. such an obnoxiously big ring but so cute. perfect with all the dresses i've got lined up for the summer. courtesy of chip.

mother's day goods:

1. delicious crepes (chip flipped one right in the pan without a spatula for the first time and now considers himself an expert. he has has been trying to instruct me on the proper technique ever since. never mind that i showed him how to do it and have been doing it myself for years. . .). eaten way too quickly to document.

2. flowers. tulips and lilacs. perfect.

3. a nap. with my favorite three-year-old.

4. a clean house that wasn't cleaned by me. mom, i finally understand why you always asked for that every birthday and mother's day. sorry i never gave it to you. i hope one of your better children did.

i'll save pictures of the apartment for another post.

thank you mom and dad, bob and mary, chip, and girls. i will never forget you.

p.s. i also send a heartfelt birthday thanks to alysha and mim for amping up my accessories arsenal. mim gave me great hair barretts and headband (way too lazy to try to do my hair for a picture). along with a delicious and child-free brunch, alysha gave me a great yellow ring that is in a "safe place" that i can't remember the location of. i'm serious.

time

of all the things i wish for (and i wish for a lot) i wish most of all that our little family had more time. time to just be together, time for the girls to hang out with dad and time for me just just sit back and enjoy.

my wish came true friday. chip miraculously walked in the door just after 6pm. after weeks of his earliest arrival home being after 10pm, and often after 1am, i mean it when i say it was a miracle.

so, we all headed outside to enjoy our urban home.



really great.

when i don't get time to lounge around brooklyn with chip and the girls, i'm usually spending my time pushing the double-wide stroller through it. but there are times when i'm just home with the girls and a sewing project.

here are a few of the completed projects from the last little bit (i love show and tell):

blue dress: many thanks to ms. wendy mullin and her built by wendy patterns.

easter skirt for eve (note the big yellow sash) and easter dress for ruthie (bright yellow buttons down the back- i really should get better pictures. . .): all me. nothing's easier than super simple gathered skirts and dresses for little girls!

yellow shirt worn at bobby's wedding and made on mary's dreamy bernina: more thanks to ms. mullin. same pattern as the blue dress

yellow/polka dot shirt: simplicity 4589 with a few adjustments. my wonky arms really finish the look. . .

blue dress: just so you could see it has pockets and a really cute shape. having trouble with the picture quality here. i'm close to unlocking the secrets of photoshop. close.

time to get eve to bed. chip is reading this and this to her right now. classics from our childhood. she's in heaven. so is chip. and really, so am i.

piles

my little apartment is overflowing with piles. piles of fabric that i keep collecting. piles of clothes that need to be folded. piles of toys to be put away. piles of coats to put in storage. piles of shoes to find a place for. piles of the nytimes that i haven't been able to read. piles of projects to start. piles of books. piles of lists that involve, in one way or another, the piles of things i need to do with my day, week, month and years. . . and there is no end. these piles are going to rule my life, for the rest of my life.

but, i signed up for it. i got married. i moved to new york. i had two children and then bought a 650square foot apartment to cram us and our lives into. i started making. and, i love it.

make no mistake, i hate the perpetual cleaning and organizing and trying to find space in our tiny spot. i hate dishes and ironing. but i love our little home in our sketchy neighborhood. i love the girls with their piles and the little hearts and bodies that create them. i love chip and the piles and piles of paper that have always trailed him. i love making and all the piles that build during the process. these piles are mine, my family's.

so, this blog is created (after a year of consideration) to show what i, katie, did (and do) with those piles and the little life they represent. i've got a lot to share.

welcome.