I've fallen in love with the short-sleeved rompers for my littlest man. In the heat of summer, I'd keep him in only a onesie to stay cool, but his cloth diaper hangs out of the legs openings. Not cute! I bought the romper on the left and figured I could ruboff the pattern to make… Continue reading Ruboff romper pattern
Al fresco dining is on my mind these days. Here in Northern California, the weather is phenomenal almost all the time, but the draw to go outside to eat is particularly strong now, with evenings warm and light enough to be out at dinnertime. And it's strange for me, coming from upstate NY, but there… Continue reading Tutorial: Round scalloped edged table cover
As far as highchairs go, the IKEA's Antilop rocks. Its compact, all plastic (yay for easy clean-up!), and slides perfectly right up to our table (without the tray) so baby feels like part of the action. We owned one for our first child and when I didn't think we'd have a second, we gave it… Continue reading Tutorial: Cushioned cover with pocket for Antilop Highchair
I'm starting an online patternmaking class today at Whipstitch and I. Couldn't. Be. More. Excited. Wahoo! To contrast that, I had to drop off my shy little boy at an unfamiliar summer camp this morning. I still have a lump in my stomach. Last night, I made him a pair of dinosaur shorts, mostly to… Continue reading Patternmaking class and dinosaur shorts
I'm still recovering from this week--the last week of the school year for my Kindergartener and my birthday. My big sewing goals (like, participating in the Week of the Summer Boy) had to be put aside so I could make gifts for my good friend's birthday and my son's teacher. Sew Mama Sew featured a… Continue reading Gifted zip pouches
The cardboard boxes that crayons, markers and colored pencils come in are virtually useless in the long run. We toss them as soon as they are opened. Instead, I've made zippered oilcloth bags for each type of implement. Well, my son decided he was going to remove all the markers from one to put in… Continue reading Taming the marker mayhem
This weekend, we went with our good friends and all four of our little boys to go strawberry picking at Coastways Ranch in Davenport, CA. It was a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed having their own containers to collect berries. It's so very hard to resist the bright red beacon of the perfect… Continue reading Strawberry season = jam
I make roast chicken a lot...about every week. The best roast chicken I've ever had was at Zuni Cafe in San Francisco. After the meal, I bought the cookbook to get my hand on that chicken recipe. I've made the chicken and it's great, but the recipe is picky, takes a long time (dry brining… Continue reading Roast chicken in cast-iron with pan gravy. Seriously good, and easy.
I make lots of clothes for other people--the kids, especially, but other family members too. After apparently feeling neglected, my husband finally expressed his dismay that I hadn't ever made anything for him to wear. Sure, I made him a quilt when we were dating, but it wasn't that great (we don't even own it… Continue reading Linen shorts for my honey
At dinner tonight, my sweet Kindergartener chose #99 (out of 146 comments) for the winner. Congratulations to Jo--she will receive the lovely apron! But...I couldn't NOT give away the diaper covers too, so the random number generator produced #20. Congrats NinjaEema--she will be getting two custom diaper covers! This was my first time participating in… Continue reading Congratulations to the Giveaway winners!
Bea & Lucille 