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. :)

OAK Boston

Cascade Lemonade is now available offline! At OAK ('One of A Kind') - a boutique in Boston that sells all handmade items. OAK is having a grand opening this Sunday, April 27, from 2-6 pm. It is located at 31 Gloucester Street (a block away from the shops and cafes of Newbury Street) - check out the OAK blog and OAK website for more information. We'll be there - probably on the early side so we don't throw Caden's afternoon nap schedule too off-whack. Also, if you look here on the OAK blog, you can see some of my items on the shelves - Mylarkey Lunch Bags on the top tier of one of the ladder shelves and Teensy Cases on the bureau. Hope to see anyone local then - just look for the 2-year old towhead!

Is this Mylarkey still on the shelf or has it been snapped up? I'll find out on Sunday!

Spring!

At the end of March, we headed out to California for 10 days of fieldwork and catching up with friends and family (who came down from Oregon). Once again, we were all sick, bringing Caden’s tally for the winter season up to 6 stomach bugs, 2 fevers (4th/5th/6th diseases? - these were how it started in October), 2 pink eye infections, pneumonia, 2 bouts of ear infections, and a chronic cold. When I threw my hands up at the doctor’s office this last week (she diagnosed Caden with more ear infections), she was completely unconcerned. Apparently, kids his age who go to daycare are expected to be sick 10 times a year. From checking blogs of our friends who have kids his age, it seems we are not alone. I still say, this is insane. Enough!!

Catching up on my thesis work, with Matt's help

Fortunately, we did enjoy a couple sunny and healthy days in CA (Easter being one of them), and we were excited to get news that a friend (a researcher at the lab there) is expecting a baby in September! I knew I’d packed my knitting needles and some baby yarn for a reason, so I made up these booties.

When we got back to Massachusetts last Tuesday, we found the first real sign of spring here in the northeast – a crocus blooming at the bottom of our front steps (look close!). We planted a few bulbs when we moved in last fall. We are looking forward to daffodils pretty soon.

I’m going to try to start adding more little posts, instead of saving up ideas for big ones (like I have been), then only finding the time for those once a month! For future posts, things on my mind are: healthy and green living: lunch containers (plastic? Metal?), natural and organic home and health products, where to get carbon credits, how to support renewable energy, and why are some calico fabrics now labeled as health hazards (CA prop 65)? If you’re wondering about some of the same things, stay tuned! I’ll sprinkle some of my thoughts and findings in future blog posts.

Happy spring, and here’s to the healthier season of the year!

BookMooch: the best thing since sliced bread

The website Bookmooch recently joined my personal list of favorite things, right in there with rhubarb, daphne, Jimmy Buffett, and my ultra-light backpacking stove. I discovered it a couple months ago. I had just finished reading ‘Secret Life of Bees’, which I enjoyed but didn’t feel the need to hang onto. Except for travel, reference, and science books, we pass most books on to friends and used bookstores. I said to myself ‘I wonder if there’s any sort of online book exchange’ and, voila, Google introduced me to BookMooch.

How BookMooch works
First, you open a BookMooch account. I feel very comfortable saying that BookMooch is totally legit, there will be no spamming. BookMooch works on a point system. The only money involved is the cost to ship your books to people who mooch from you. You decide whether you will ship internationally, or there’s an option to have potential moochers ‘check with you first’ if they’re not from your country. Second, you create an inventory (books you are willing to give away) and wishlist (books you would like to receive if/when they become available). You receive points by: listing books in your inventory (+0.1), sending a book within your country (+1), sending a book internationally (+3), and leaving feedback when you receive a book (+0.1). You use points to: mooch a book from someone in your country (-1) or from someone in a different country (-2) or to donate to charity (any amount). How does BookMooch itself subsist? It is linked to Amazon, so every time a purchase on Amazon involves access through a BookMooch link, BookMooch gets a kick-back.

My experience so far
I’ve sent out 3 books, to Illinois, the U.K., and (‘Secret Life of Bees’) to Trinidad & Tobago, and will send a fourth book to Japan on Monday! I’ve mooched 4 books: ‘Time Traveler’s Wife’ (an amazing book), ‘Inkheart’, ‘Cat’s Eye’, and ‘Dune’ (haven’t read it in ~15 years!). I’m still waiting on ‘The Blind Assassin’ and a travel guide to Oahu. I like that BookMooch sends me an email notification if a book on my wishlist becomes available, so I don’t have to check BookMooch regularly. It’s also possible to browse available books by subject, title, author, etc. Or you can browse a BookMooch members’ inventory and mooch multiple books at once to save on shipping. I’m completely sold! Now I wish I’d saved my books in the past so I could accumulate points. Because I never know when a copy of my great-grandmother’s biography (‘White Woman on the Congo’) might show up in Timbuktu! Check it out (see link on my blog), and mark me as a ‘friend’ so I can watch out for books on your wishlist, too.

Valentines and birthdays

This year's Valentines and birthday celebrations have been slowed down a bit by recurrent (daycare-acquired) illnesses chez nous, but hopefully we are all in recovery mode. Caden and I collaborated on making Valentines for his daycare class. He did the fingerpainting:


and I made some simple luggage or bag tags, then cut his paintings into little notes to slide in behind the vinyl window. They were a fun, colorful project and only took a couple evenings to put together.

The day before Valentines Day, I went into Boston for a graduate research presentation and reading discussion group on the Northeastern campus, then to see Jane Lubchenco give a seminar at Harvard. Despite the pouring rain, it was a really fun 'field trip', and I returned home to these 'tweats' (sensu Caden) that Caden and Dada had spent the evening preparing (note: the plate of brownies was initially full!).

The next day, Matt had to go to Boston for a faculty meeting, so I had time to finish his Valentine (a Swedish woven heart card like those below, with bracken fern and pinecone fabrics) and make some golden tassies tartlets with lemon curd and whipped cream. Alas, no pictures, but they were delicious!

That following weekend, I went to a baby shower for work friends expecting their second baby. I made this nylon-backed lawn blanket/play mat out of irregularly-shaped flannel Hawaiian prints I found at the Legacy last year. Once I added a coordinating navy border, I was happy with how it tied together! It was definitely my fastest quilting project yet, completed in just a weekend!

Finally, I'm excited about this pincushion Matt gave me for my birthday last week. It's from lamplightdesigns (on Etsy) and is extra big and weighted with lentils - I can't wait to use it!

Applique-que-que

I've enjoyed designing some applique projects over the last couple of weeks, many of them with a Valentines Day theme. I had fun letting the materials inspire me. As I was sifting through fabrics, I came across one with peachy pink waves that I picked up at the Legacy (my favorite all-donation craft store that supports a local senior center) last time I was in California. I'm sure I felt guilty about getting it because I didn't have a plan for it at the time. Well, once I saw it again, I started envisioning all the little appliques that could float along in that pink ocean - not hard for a marine biologist! I've only completed this one project with it so far - a Love Boat pouch that's up in the shop.



Last weekend, I tried making sewn greeting cards for the first time. I was immediately hooked! They are the quickest and most satisfying little project I've come up with in a long time. Four of these are still in the shop...but they will be on their way to my friends and family for Valentines Day soon...

I also tried out some fancy stitching around the edges, but it's tricky to make it look nice where the stitching joins at the end. Janae just featured this pink leopard card for her blog's Fabulous Finds Friday.

And here's the project that started my applique fest - a birthday bikini pouch for my sister, who's moving to Oahu this summer to work with Teach for America. It was inspired by the darling pouches made by Lori Marie of pretty lil things.

I came up with the pattern for the bikini top, and it took a few people a bit too long to understand what they were looking at, so I think I'll need to work on this if I ever make another one as a gift.
Back to working on a custom order lunch bag - with an appliqued monogram!