thimbly things

On my desk are more stenciled onesies, A Light in the Attic, freezer paper, freshly knit kitchen rags, and more scraps than I know what to do with.

Doing a quick search so I could provide you with a link to Silverstein’s book, I realized that it’s controversial.  Having grown up reading it over and over, it never occurred to me.  I think I always found the darker poems to be witty.  As much as a 5 year old can grasp wit, anyway.  Maybe it even helped me understand the concept of wit.

Regardless, I’m finding inspiration revisiting this classic from my childhood.  Here’s a poem from the book that captures the essence therein:

        Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.

I would have called this “On My Desk,” but it’s so embarrassingly late that I dare not.  However, on my desk this week is a pile of onesies and some handmade stencils (on top of all the stuff from last week).  My “desk,” which is actually the dining room table, is a veritable war zone right now.

The babies are also “on my desk,” so to speak, as I have begun to teach them more purposefully.   Check this out.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback on possible postcards/greeting cards.  It was really helpful to get a general idea of what people like, and now I’ll probably focus more attention on watercolors.  Out of curiosity, do you ladies buy thank-you cards frequently?  I probably buy a set of 12 or so twice a year on average.  (Though there are times when I need more and times when I could certainly thank more folks than I do.)

Another thing I want to tell you is (and I’m late getting to it) Evan and the fellas at Movie Zeal are having a Film Noir Month right now.  If you like these classic films, please check out the site to see if one of your favorites is being reviewed.  And if you live in Tulsa, you can check out almost every single film on the list from our amazing library.

This seems to have become an “On My Desk” blog.  I apologize.  There’s much more going on around here than me arranging stuff on flat surfaces.  But anyway.  On my desk today is a bowl full of various trims and scraps, small yarn balls, embroidery floss, and an unwieldy stack of fabric.  I can’t tell you yet what all this business is for, but I promise to keep you updated.  Lord willing, that is.

In today’s quest to procrastinate from the aforementioned secret project, I fiddled with Flickr’s Picnik tool.  Which I suppose is akin to Photoshop.

Yeah.  This is kinda addictive…  Especially when one has Hundreds of pictures of sweet babies.

Again, it’s a day late.  Sorry folks.  That’s what happens (to me, anyway) when I don’t think ahead.  So…

Flashcards.

That’s what I have on my desk this week.  (And, to my credit, this picture was taken yesterday.)

I would like to thank everyone for your thoughts on parenting a toddler and such.  I like the idea of getting Emily to help me with everyday tasks.  So far, she has helped make peanut butter sandwiches and wash peaches (didn’t end well), and I’m training her to retrieve simple items for me when my hands are full.  She’s been really sweet about that and loves getting praised for being a good helper.  I’m learning that I probably don’t praise her enough.  I spend too much energy correcting her when she needs to hear what she’s doing right.

We did make a 20 minute recording for Emily.  Now she begs, “Mommy-Daddy! Mommy-Daddy!”  And that’s when we’re right there in the room with her.  She just wants to listen to us singing to her and reading verses.   It makes us cringe every time (because we know how ridiculous we sound), but it gives us a few minutes to get things done and makes her happier even than Yo Gabba Gabba.

One more thing…

If you live in Tulsa, there’s an event tonight at Dwelling Spaces that you may be interested in.  My friend Zuri Louis is part of the design team behind Louis & Cluck–a line of T-shirts celebrating Tulsa.  Please come if you can!

(a day late) you’ll find the latest Living magazine, grapes, an Anthropologie catalog for inspiration, and a collaborative piece of crayon art.  I think I effectively taught Emily to layer colors.  It’s kinda pretty, don’t you think?

And on the floor this week are my favorite buttons.

Some are old, some new, some borrowed (or handed-down, rather), and some blue.

I really love the blue ones.  They were thrifted almost 2 years ago in the cute little antique-filled town of Dewey, OK.

And I’m also loving this golden-yellow and grey color scheme.

Speaking of color schemes, I found yet another addiction.  And this one has many practical purposes.  So go ahead.  Click.  You know you want to…

I missed this last week, but on my desk today are pattern pieces, elastic, woven fabric in navy and green, and some shirts than need to be spiffied-up.  I love this Built By Wendy pattern.  Over the weekend, I finally tried it out (a year after purchasing it), and the results were not too shabby.

I shortened the sleeves from what you see here because I looked very much like a yellow triangle.  Then I wore it out last night, and it got stinky from a bonfire–so no pictures.  But I really like it!  Now I want to make another one in a more flattering color and a thinner fabric.  Meanwhile, I plan to use the pattern pieces to add new yokes to old shirts.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Today, the desk is very colorful as I search for inspiration for another baby’s birthday.  Our friend Catcher is turning 1, and I have a few hours left to make something for him before his party.

On my desk: Paddington (for moral support), a Cutting Edge magazine (sadly no longer being published) with an inspirational owl stuffie in it, a stack of colorful fabrics that aren’t too girly, and a Vera Bradley makeup case containing crochet hooks and knitting notions.

Off to work I go!

I love seeing what Jhoanna has on her desk each week, and I know there are many other bloggers who do this too.  It must have come from kootoyoo, because that’s the link Jhoanna shares.  Anyway, I’m in.

On my desk today you’ll find:

• an apron that needs mending (I made this for a friend 1 1/2 years ago when I was just starting to sew.  I used fusible webbing to put on the pocket, and it has just started to fall off after several washings!  Now that’s a testament to fusible webbing if ever there was one.  What’s really funny is looking at just how awkward my sewing was.  It warms my heart to know that she really does wear the thing!)
• a quilt that needs mending (And I need advice on this one!  Please, if you know anything about fixing quilts, tell me!)
• a sheet that wants to be something
• the “home sweet home” embroidery I’ve been putting off
• cute teacup stickers

Also, I finally started painting the charging station I mentioned here.