С днем рождения ...

Happy 4th Birthday Kolya! My little guy turned 4 today... here he is in one of the first pictures we ever saw of our son... So tiny...those same bright eyes and happy face. Because of delays in the adoption process we didn't even see these pictures until about 4 months after they were taken and we were able to travel to meet him a month after that. I always wonder what we were doing on that special day ... July 31st, 2004... the day our wonderful son was born. We are SO thankful for you! С днем рождения! (Happy Birthday!)

Applique Cami...

I was inspired by my commission to alter Z's skirt and couldn't stop cutting out circles... I love working with fabrics and combining my love of embroidery. This is a very simple, clean basic design that adds a really artistic element to your wardrobe. I love wearing camis and love layering my clothing... a cami is pretty much a staple in my wardrobe as they are perfect worn alone in warmer weather...peeking through a v neck top... or layered under a short cardi...

This one is a women's size medium and is up in the shop... more sizes to come...

Embroidered Buttons...

I can never seem to make enough of these to keep in the shop... acutally they don't even usually get to the shop. They are a lot of fun to make and I embroider each one by hand. I have done custom orders for these too including a really cool retro set on black wool for a customer's pea coat. The sets in the shop are on a natural linen... perfect for summer and would be great to add to a knitting project... update a plain jacket... attach to hair ties... or sew on as an adornment to just about anything... I'm partial to the red ones, but you already knew that...

Japanese Matryoshka...

I bought this cute Matryoshka fabric from Japan a while back. There are always a few fabrics that I just like to look at for a while before I can bring myself to cut into them. This was one. I absolutely love it... linen fabric with the rows of little Russian dolls... So, one of these zippered pouches will stay in my personal collection, but the rest will be in the Etsy shop or at upcoming shows. I only have a tiny piece of this, so snap one up if you love it... I also added a cute hand embroidered button as a zipper pull. Cute.

I've been working on all types of projects for two shows coming up in September. Make sure to mark your calendars for Twist... September 5th & 6th in Northampton and StART on the Street September 21st in Worcester...

Applique in Circles...

Zandra and I made a trade a while back... she decorated my embroidery basket with some really beautiful papers and I agreed to applique a skirt she owned that had a sad little stain on the front. Here it is... I used a variety of Amy Butler fabrics and coordinating embroidery thread. It makes me happy...hope she likes it! I'm really inspired to go into my closet now and rescue some old favorites to style a bit...

Is anyone else watching Project Runway? I have seen bits and pieces of the show before, but shamefully have never watched a season before. Now thanks to my DVR I have been watching this new season. I LOVE it! It really inspires me. Some of the personalities are a bit big for me, but I love watching each designers process... Oh, and how much do you want to just hang out at Mood with all of those bolts of fabric...yum... Now let me channel Suede for a moment... Karen June is inspired... Karen June loves to sew... Karen June can't wait until nap time to go up to the studio and create!

Domestic Goddess...

I had a number of inquiries about custom orders at ArtBeat this weekend. I'm always happy to take on a challenge and combine my design ideas with those of my customers. I finished this custom order retro style apron late yesterday. She wanted an apron featuring mostly black and white fabrics and was open to a little bit of color. I combined three of my favorite Michael Miller fabrics including this little bit of his "Domestic Goddess" print that I have been hanging onto. I keep all of my fabric in a large cabinet in my studio. It is folded and stacked and this way I can pull certain fabrics and create by color. This retro green print just jumped out at me and I love the combined effect. I also added a bit of the green for the bias trim on the pockets. How could you not feel like a domestic goddess in this...

ArtBeat 2008

Zandra (Zeal) & I shared at tent at ArtBeat 2008 in Somerville. It was the first outdoor show for each of us and our first time setting up our new tent on our own. (We did a little trial run earlier in the week with a little coaching from the husbands and a couple glasses of wine to reduce stress...

Anyway, we decided to caravan to the event with the little British woman in my GPS system guiding us. She did a FABULOUS job getting us there, but then the confusion set in...driving around on blocked roads...shouting out our windows to try to find out where we were supposed to be...ignoring other cars honking at us for trying to drive by road barriers...you know a regular day in Boston traffic.

Anyway, we finally found our way in and were able to drive straight up to our assigned spot. We unloaded everything and found two great spots in a nearby parking lot and headed back to set up. We decided to tackle the tent first... yeah, maybe we should have brought our husbands... or some wine... I was crouched down on the ground setting up part of it, when I looked up at Z and was like "Does our spot smell like urine?" Oh, yeah... add a little 92 degree heat and that will wake you up in the morning. So, we decided that we need to start a book of favorite craft show quotes... to which we later added something along the lines of "I'm too sticky to sit on a toilet." But, maybe we should just keep those to ourselves.

So, we got our tent up and set up and as we would later find out there was a major screw missing in the structure of our tent and something was a bit wonky about the way we set it up. Fast forward to the end of the day when Z and I are trying to catch our flying merchandise... a 20 literally flew out of our cash box and across the street and we took turns holding one of the poles of the tent to stabilize it. But... despite all of that, we had an AWESOME day. There was tons of foot traffic and we met some really awesome people... caught up with old friends... and made new ones...

Swell...

I finally was able to cut into my "Swell" fabric by Urban Chicks... I love how the whole line works together and I added this cute red and white polka dot fabric as an additional accent. I'm seriously crushing over this apron and tempted to keep it for myself, but alas it will be for sale on Saturday and I will have to wait to make one for myself...

People have asked me if it is hard to not keep most of what I make... especially on pieces I invest a lot of time in. For some reason it isn't. I guess some of it comes down to the quantity of things that I make. What on earth would I do with 50 purses? Okay...bad example, but you get the point... Once in a while though I make a piece that I just can't resist... I will have to say that if this apron doesn't sell on Saturday I may just be making pancakes in it on Sunday morning...

Dish...

Does this ever happen to you? I'm sitting here designing some hang tags for the show this weekend and I start typing the word dish... I'm futzing with fonts and moving around the layout and suddenly it crosses my mind that I might have spelled "dish" wrong. Now I'm not exactly how I think it should be spelled and in addition to this I have this sneaking suspicion that "dish" isn't even a word... as if some wires crossed in my brain and I have suddenly invented a new word and everyone is going to pass by the booth on Saturday trying to figure out what "Retro - Dibnerbobben - Towels" are... Anyway, sadly I could not control myself from Googling "dish" and I have been reassured that I have the right spelling and that the word does exist. Nice...

ArtBeat 08 - Somerville

Our little family has been out and about this summer and things are finally settling down for a bit. We are ready to be homebodies for a while and catch up with friends and our home routine. Kolya is spending the week going to camp! He is such a little man... making new friends and hanging out with is favorite buddy "Q". As I was driving him to camp this morning, I was explaining that he would know "Q", but there would also be new kids there for him to meet. I think he confused "meet" with "meeting" and was VERY excited to be going to work like his Papa...

Well, the Simply June studio is looking a bit like a factory right now. I have piles of fabrics cut out and ready to be sewn and am going to have to put the pedal to the metal on my sewing machine for the rest of the week to get ready for this Saturday's show. Zandra (Zeal) and I will be at ArtBeat in Somerville hanging out along Elm or Holland Street along with 100 other amazing craft vendors! We can't wait to catch up with old friends and meet some new ones. The day is going to be filled with amazing music, performances and food... so be sure to stop by if you are in the Boston area!

Swell...

I have had my eye on this new line called Swell for a while now. It is designed by Urban Chiks for Moda fabrics. The entire line is everything I daydream of and exactly what I would design for myself. I am so completely in love with its fresh retro feel...

The mini red polka dots are from another line, but I think it will mix well and I plan to use it for some handmade bias tape. I ordered the top bundle from The Calico Cottage Quilt Shop... owner Christine wrote a sweet note on my invoice and wrapped my bundle with some beautiful green satin ribbon and even added a fabric sample from another fabric in the Swell line! So sweet... Pop over to her site when you get a chance and pick up some beautiful fabrics!

So stay tuned for some new bags, ruffled aprons and some other surprises...

Lazy Days of Summer

We've just returned from two very lazy weeks at the beach (with a little visit back for the Craft Magazine release party...but more on that later). I've probably blogged about this before, but our family owns a beach cottage right on the beach along the south shore. It was built in 1940...designed by my Great Aunt Mary and built by her father. She had grown up in Kingston, MA and they owned a large amount of land including a cranberry bog (now sadly the site of a shopping mall). Her father had lumber milled from trees on their land to build the cottage. The design features an exposed roof allowing you to lay in bed at night searching for creatures and designs marked out in the grains of the wood. My all-time favorite is a pig wearing a striped bandanna and an eye patch who watches over me as I sleep.

So, a couple of weeks ago we packed up and headed for the cottage. The town conveniently now has a commuter rail that allows Jason to commute easily from the beach. It is a longer commute, but the change of scenery and pace makes it worthwhile. Each morning Kolya and I crawled out of bed half asleep and rode with Jason to the train station...giving me that extra bit of time to awaken. It was sort of comforting to have a routine even in a new setting. We would wind our way through the beautiful back roads. Each morning we would pass the same man out for his morning walk. He was an old Indian man dressed in a turban and traditional Indian Kurta Pyjama. His face was earnest and worn with age. There was something careful about his presence and each morning I wondered where his destination lay. I was so disappointed to find on one morning that he had gotten an early start and learned that when he reached the end of his 2 mile long road... he turns around. He turns around! I was convinced he was on a daily trek to an Ashram or to commune with nature at the local wildlife sanctuary. I even had visions of that beautiful scene from The Little Princess where the kind Indian neighbor transforms over night the attic room of an orphaned girl into the suite of an Indian princess. Surely, this man could not have just been taking a walk...

Well, we enjoyed many relaxing days in the sun, on the beach, in the water, taking walks, enjoying thunder storms and then beautiful rainbows, digging in the sand, sleeping to the constant lull of the waves, blowing bubbles into the wind and just enjoying life. But, we are also so happy to be home. There really is no place like home...

Zeal Embroidery Basket

I have a favorite woven basket that I carry my embroidery and other small handwork around in. It is the perfect size for a small project, needle, thread and scissors... The lid was way too boring however and I knew exactly who could solve that problem ... my friend Zandra of Zeal. I knew she would know the perfect papers and colors to make it mine and was so excited when I saw the finished project. I can't wait to carry it down to the beach next week...

Zandra and I will be sharing a booth at Artbeat in July, so make sure to stop by and visit us!

Girls Night Out Bag

I'm looking forward to a girls night out tonight with a bunch of the moms from Kolya's school. They are such a great eclectic group that have found a great balance between being moms and pursuing their own interests and dreams. So, I whipped up a little bag to go with my dress tonight. I wanted something fresh and summery and had this cute place mat among my fabric stash. I have really been trying to think outside the box when shopping and thrifting ... looking for items that are just begging to be re-purposed. I added some polka dotty fabric to the sides ... a bamboo handle hangs from hand-cut bias tape. I'm ready to step out tonight!

Nesting

Our neighbor rang us this afternoon to tell us about a bird's nest that had fallen into her yard. Thankfully it's feathery occupants had already moved out. Kolya and I padded over to her yard in our bare feet to inspect her find and she let us take it home! Kolya and I have plans of painting some rock "eggs" for out nest at the beach next week... In the meantime my new little embroidered bird sachet from Anthro might occupy it for a bit... (The place mat an birdie are a part of my birthday goodies from my dear friend Monica. Thank you M!)




















Another order of zippers arrived at my door today. I have bunches of zip pouches in the works for Artbeat in July and I can tell how quickly that date is going to sneak up on me. Make sure to mark July 19th in your calendars and come and pay us a visit. I will be sharing a booth with Zandra from Zeal and we both have some new goods to share! Sign up on the SimplyJune mailing list if you haven't already to make sure you receive a special postcard invite in the coming weeks...

Craft: Issue 07 Release Party - BOSTON

If you are local to the Boston area, check out this cool upcoming event hosted by Alison Gordon (The Sampler) and Simone Alpen (Greenward). Check out Craft Magazine's blog for updates and reviews of release parties in other cities. I'm planning to attend and am meeting up with Melissa from Yummy Goods. See you there!

Vinyl Wall Art

I've had my eye on this website for a while... check out Vinyl Wall Art when you get a chance. They offer an endless collection of clever decals for your walls. This is perfect if you rent or like to change up the look of your walls as often as I do! Now someone just needs to invent a paint that works like the paint bucket tool in Photoshop...

They are also offering a clever little giveaway on their blog right now, so spread the word!

Posie Locket

This idea has been floating around in my mind for quite a while and I finally sat down to create it this afternoon. I used a bullion stitch to create the posie. After endless struggling with cotton embroidery floss, I decided to try cotton pearle floss. It has enough of a sheen to slide the base thread through the wrapped portion. I attached my design to a vintage brass locket and added some modern findings. I think its the perfect summer accessory...don't you?





















Oh and if you haven't stumbled upon or heard about this new business... check out Spoonflower. They are a new service that allows you to print your own fabric designs! Oh the possibilities! I feel giddy just thinking about it. They are still in the beginning stages and appear to be at the "invitation only" stage right now, but you can register on their site to receive an invitation in the future. Check out their blog for some great previews of orders that have already been printed...
Brilliant idea!

Polka Dotty Zip Pouches

The school year is quickly coming to an end. Kolya has one more week of school, but his teacher is having a special moving up celebration on Friday. I'm such a sucker for little kids performing songs with hand motions. Anyway, I've been whipping up some goodies for his teachers including zipper pouch sets. (I promise there will be plenty at my next show for those of you who have been inquiring.)

The rain is coming down steady today...the perfect kind of day for embroidery and yo-yo making ... Alexi Murdoch in the background... dark cashmere incense burning... slipper sock mary janes covering my toes...

Polka Dotty Yo-Yo Flowers...All in a Row

I'm busy in the studio working on end-of-the-year teacher's gifts...goodies for my Etsy shop & even more goodies for an upcoming show - stay tuned for more on that!

I have been happily hand sewing fabric yo-yos with no particular project in mind. But, last night they were just begging to be flowers. This cute polka dotty garden dish cloth is in the Etsy shop!

June is definitely my month in more ways than one... Did I ever mention that my birthday falls on June 1st? It is also my middle name, but the two have nothing to do with each other. Now it is the name of my little cottage industry too and it seems to just suit me. Happy Tuesday!