Trip to my old stomping grounds

On Tuesday, I got back to my new home (Swampscott, Massachusetts) from a trip to my old homes of Oregon and Walla Walla, WA (where I went to college). I had a wonderful 4 days with friends and family: soaking in sunshine, hitting all the fabric stores I could, and enjoying some introspective 'alone' time (Matt and Caden stayed back in Mass. since it was such a short trip). First, I spent a night en route with my good college friend, Martha, and her family. Sofia and Conor seemed to like their new pillows and insisted on sleeping with them the first night they got them.

Then I swung by my Aunt & Uncle's in Pendleton for lunch, where I met up with my parents, and we all headed up to Walla Walla to meet Sally; our 3rd sibling, Jerry, met us there on Saturday. We did some summer clothes shopping at Macy's, ate great food, drank Jerry's home-brewed 'Yardwork Ale', screened Sally's senior film-making projects (including these commercials - one she stars in and one she directed), played frisbee in Pioneer Park, and attended Sal's Whitman College graduation on Sunday.

I picked up some yummy new fabrics from quilt shops in The Dalles, Pendleton, and Walla Walla (and mom brought somefrom the quilt shop in Sisters). Check it out: $40 of impulse-purchase fabrics (not pictured are lots of outdoor nylons that Mom brought me from the Rainshed in Corvallis and 'basics' from JoAnns - all filling 1/2 of my luggage)! I justify it by my Cascade Lemonade sewing and that I like to support small-town shops :)

Since I've been back, I sent a shipment of whale-theme Sack It bags off to the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center. They will be selling them there, with half of the proceeds a donation to the center and half to help cover a whale-watching trip for us and my parents up in Alaska this summer. It's a fun way to mix my professional (marine biology), hobby, and family interests.

To come...

Don't forget to leave a comment to be entered in my springtime giveaway drawing, held on June 1st! My limited 'Cream of the crop' Collection is tentatively scheduled to be released starting June 3. I promise I'll stop stalling and give details soon!

Spring flowers and 'who's reading?' giveaway

Although our first purple crocus bloomed on April 1, spring didn't seem to really arrive until the end of April/beginning of May. My studio is half (well, expanding to about 2/3 or 3/4!) of our sunroom, so I've had beautiful views out to our blooming tree, purple and (soon) red azaleas, tulips, and, at the edge of the yard, a bright pink bleeding heart. I am so ready for spring!

This past week, I've been busy stitching up gifts for various friends and family members to deliver while I'm in Oregon and Washington this coming weekend. My sister, Sally, is graduating from Whitman College in Walla Walla (also my alma mater), and it's supposed to be 90 degrees there this weekend! I'm hoping all this soaking up of sun and some extra rest (I'm travelling solo, only my 2nd trip away from Caden) will give me lots of extra energy to burn when I get back to Massachusetts on Monday. I have a week of sewing to do (Sack It bags for the Petersburg Marine Mammal Center, Pencil Pouches for Earmark to sell at the San Diego Farmer's Market with their pencils and stationary, and a couple custom projects) then I will be ready to unveil...

...my special limited collection...

...in celebration of my new logo design! I'm so excited - more soon!

Springtime 'who's reading' giveaway

I'd love to hear from those of you that regularly read or just happen upon my blog. Sooo, because I'm so curious, if you leave a comment between now and June 1, you will be entered to win a surprise care package, full of Cascade Lemonade goodies and finds. Please, when you comment, make sure that there's some way for me to track you down to get your mailing address. Looking forward to hearing from you :)

Like mother, like daughter

In honor of Mother's Day, I thought I'd share some pictures and stories about my mom, Joanne, who - as you'll see - has been one of my main sources of inspiration. I finished my latest mom-inspired project today: a late birthday present for my good friend's daughter, Sofia. It's a toss pillow with an applique from a picture of a mermaid that she drew us on a Christmas thank you note.

Here's a picture of both the applique and original drawing - I'm going to start offering custom appliques from your child's or your own artwork in the shop. And here's where the idea came from...

The school bag that Mom made from my drawing! She must have made when she was about my age, before I headed off for my first day of kindergartern. It's appliqued in ripstop nylon (she was making a lot of nylon windsocks then) and is even monogrammed on the other side, in what I think was my childhood writing. It has been so well used and loved!

The bag inspired my recent Marigolds Mini-break Bag. Although they are constructed a bit differently, the shape and materials are the same.

This quilt is the largest project mom worked on for me. It has 12 embroidered squares (some of the embroidery designs were from her grandma's collection, as I remember) and lots of vintage fabrics, some of which I have little pieces of in my collection (I had fun looking for them as I photographed this today).

A recent project was this cross-stitch for my wedding. Neither my mom nor I knew that we were both working on cross-stitch projects for the other! She opened mine - a mountain cabin scene in a Scandinavian style - at the rehearsal dinner, and she said all she could think was, wait, this is what I'm making for you! I love that so much of it is self-designed, like the waves and little marine animals on the bottom.


There are lots more that I don't have good pictures of, like a tailored, butter-soft black wool coat that got me through my first northeast winter, a few clothing items that she designed back in the 70's that I wore for college functions, and other masterpieces that I haven't been able to get my hands on (like her ceramic works, especially a village of ceramic houses, including mill and covered bridge - I'll try to remember to snap some pictures next time I'm in Corvallis).

Lessons

The Notes from my nest blog (which will hopefully be featuring Cascade Lemonade in the next couple of weeks) is having a Mother's Day bash (lots of great prizes and links!) around the question 'what did you learn after becoming a mother that you didn't know before?' Well, of course there are lots of answers to that question, but one of them is that I feel like I understand and respect my own mom, and all mothers - and fathers, for that matter - more now that I realize the responsibility, time, amazement, happiness, worry, sadness, and love that comes with becoming a parent. Thanks, Momma Jo!

Hither & Yonder Collection - Spring 2008

Although its been in the shop since May 1st, here's an introduction to the 7 new designs in my Spring 'Hither & Yonder' Collection:

Sally Forth Sundries Pouch: My absolute favorite design of all was the last that I made. Even though I prefer working with natural materials, I think the vinyl pockets make these look pretty snazzy. This first one is made from a retro denim that I got at the Legacy on my last California trip. It has serious attitude - there are such random, bright designs on it, like lightbulbs, toothbrushes, zippers, eyes, frogs, etc! It's designed to be big enough for even full-sized toiletries like shaving gel.
And another one made from a heavy-weight fuchsia nylon I bought at the Rainshed outdoor fabrics store in my hometown of Corvallis, Oregon.

The Marigolds Mini-Break bag has already been sent off to be used for lakeshore trips in Michigan. The handles are a retro 80's webbing that my mother-in-law shared with me. I think the colors are so 2008, too - fuchsia, turquoise, yellow. The 'Marigolds' are an imaginary travelling/singing duo that my cousin, Meg, and I always dreamed of starting (complete with a VW bus!).

The Prairie Ponderings Mat is water-resistant, padded, and insulated, designed to be used by people from age 0-120...as a changing pad, nap mat, minimalist backpacking sleeping pad, and sitting mat. It's named after my dad's 'Prairie Ponderings' updates of his experiences as a community economist on the MN and OR prairies.

These are the designs that I've had in my head for a year now and finally wanted to create - the Hither Picnic Pouch (insulated, reusable food pouch) and Yonder Picnic Case (a picnic placemat and tote in one; sized to fit on an airplane tray table). This set is made of a vintage fabric from my grandma's collection that still had tags attached!

Finally, a couple fun little things - the Misty Leah Transparent Mini Zipper Pouch (named after my sis-in-law)

and ZuZu Luggage Tag (a smaller version of my ZuZuum Tags) - isn't this Alexander Henry 'Lemon Blossom' fabric (I call 'Spring flowers') fresh and cheerful?

Stay tuned for updates about my next collection - coming sooner than you'd think!

Opening in Boston ... and deadlines

Last weekend, we went into Boston for the OAK grand opening. It was great to actually see the store in person and to see my items (Mylarkey Lunch Bags and Teensy Pocket Cases) displayed. I was surprised at how close it is to the swanky shops of Newbury Street - just a couple steps off on Gloucester Street. I hope to do some of my deliveries there in person so I can check out more of the shops and restaurants in that area. And Caden loved seeing the swan boats and playing in an excellent neighborhood playground nearby.

Today, I'm trying to meet 2 self-imposed deadlines: finishing a draft of my first thesis chapter (and manuscript, hopefully for publication) to send to my advisor (mid-day update: a few things to double-check and still need to write the abstract!) and posting my spring Hither & Yonder Collection in the Cascade Lemonade shop during breaks (update: about half of the items have been added, the rest are yet to come this evening). I look forward to celebrating with ice cream sundaes tonight. :)