Dare to be adorable

I have a new PDF out. How to make fabric tassels. Since 2008, I have been part of Etsy and watched the trends. When I was new, the trends informed much of what I made and sold there. For the past few years, I have been too busy with deadlines to act on some of the impulses to go with that flow. Luckily, right now, time and space (and a room full of fabric) conspired to carve out this little project and write and photograph it. If you sell on Etsy, (or maybe Amazon soon,) you will find that June will always be huge for tassel themed graduation gifts. This year tassels are especially big and we see them featured everywhere. Get in on the tassel rush, make your own and use up some of those scraps you've been hoarding.  Tassel Tutorial at Etsy, or if you prefer Craftsy, Tassels PDF at Craftsy. I am using one of my handmade tassels on my keys, and it makes me think of my new motto all of the time "Dare to be adorable." I changed my logo to include the new motto.

I meant to bring that up when I announced the Babydoll pattern the other day. It's a saying that really motivates me to be creative. I think it reflects who I am. More on the Babydoll: I wanted to simplify sizing. I have been sewing forever, and I always hated that my sewing pattern size was 2 sizes larger than my ready to wear size. I think it's about time we get real and talk about the key measurement for the pattern and call it that. This top, is made for knit fabrics, the key measurement is your full bust measurement. The finished top will have a full bust measurement equal to the number on the pattern. Your knit provides the wearing and style ease.  The size 38 has a 38" bust, simple. The Babydoll starts at size 32 and goes to 48. Another pet peeve of mine is finding the right line to cut on a multi size pattern - I will say that is useful when you are in between sizes. With this PDF pattern, you will only need to print 6 sheets of paper to make your single sized pattern. For advanced sewists, there is also a quick "order of sewing" list that will print as part of the pattern itself. You will literally only need the 6 pages. Of course, there are fully illustrated instructions for those who need them.  The arms and neck finish with a facing or you can make it reversible. This is so much quicker than having arm and neck bands or bindings. I had a dozen testers make this pattern before the release and every one of them said they will be making more. It is fast to sew and fun to wear. Will you dare to be adorable in a babydoll this Summer?

At the end of a Summer day forever

I look up to this young woman. Her uniform is a dirty red bikini with a fanny pack full of first aid supplies. She stands on her platform and makes the last announcement of the day through a megaphone. I feel a big "whoo-hoo!" rise up out of me, as dirty red bikini gathers her things. Nine year old Atlantis and her little brother, Roman are visiting from the Eastcoast. I see my smile reflected back at me through her shining blue eyes. "What is it?" Atlantis asks, "What did she just say?"
"The lifeguards are gone," I say. "We can dive off the dock." Roman had been called out of the water earlier by the lifeguard. I watched in amusement as the stocky 2nd grader was made to read the rules. He looks up at me now like I had just handed him a pirate's treasure chest. "We can do whatever we want? Whoo-hoo!" We all run across the sand from the lifeguard stand to the water and swim to the floating dock. First, we rock the dock. Then, we dive. Some kids do flips. The dock is in the shade, so I dive off and head for the log. At 6 o'clock, something magical seems to happen to Lake Pend Oreille. The water, which had been so refreshing all day long, feels warmer. The beach gets quiet as parents leave with their little ones and old people go home to dinner. The lake gets calmer too, like all of those boats just ran out of gas at 6 o'clock.
I pull myself up on the floating log that is loosely anchored to pilings demarking the border between the swimming area and the boating area. I sit facing West, soaking up the sun that will not set until 8 o’clock. I watch the kids playing king of the dock. There is a lot of pushing and a lot of laughter and no injuries. Someones mom makes an alarmed sound from the beach, but no one can make out what she said. Horseplay reigns in that golden hour. I watch some Russian boys with big smiles balancing and knocking one another off the log next to mine. There are signs posted "no standing on logs." Therefore,that is all I can think about: standing tall and diving off this log. I make several unsuccessful attempts to stand on the slippery log before swimming back to the dock. It's Sunday after all, no need to try too hard at anything on a Sunday. Roman has a twinkle in his eye. "I am going to push you off," he says. "Oh, you wanna wrestle with me?" I ask. We lock arms and smile at one another. Rory catches my eye from the beach. "Caleb and Gabrielle, Dad is waving us in. We have to go now." I say. Gabrielle is disappointed, "Aw, mom!" A tall girl who had done the majority of successful shoving on the dock looks at Gabrielle and asks incredulously, "Is THAT your MOM?" "Yup, that's my mom!" Gabrielle gives me a squeeze. Roman manages to push me in as I prepare to dive. Splash! I come up to see Roman jumping up and down, cheering for himself. “You got me!” I said. And I meant it, he got me. They all did—dirty red bikini, Atlantis, Roman, the tall girl, the Russian boys –they got a piece of my heart where they will live at the end of a Summer day forever.
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