loving…

…lace and linen, natural fibers, soft and floaty fabrics

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more tiny boots, and a piglet too

Hello! I just wanted to stop in and share another baby gift. This one was made for my cousin’s new daughter.

I have been enjoying making small things for small people so much, it has my family wondering when the infusion baby line is coming!

This little piggy (whose pattern can be found here) is made with a very soft pink vintage wool. Her belly and inner ears are a cotton/linen blend and she is filled with kapok fiber. The boots are made with hemp, for the uppers and the sole, and a cute striped linen from what was once a skirt, for the toe. Lined with a soft hemp/organic cotton. These boots, like the last pair, were made using a pattern from i think sew.

I hope you have all had a beautiful day. I have been busy sewing up new things for you, and I am having so much fun.

See you soon, with some sneak peeks…

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It’s been a year!

Today marks one year since the opening of my etsy shop. It has been a successful year for me I feel, and I am looking forward to the year ahead. In my own celebration of the new year ahead, my shop will be closed for the next week or so. This will allow me time to explore some new ideas I have been wanting to bring to life. I will also use this time to consider how to re-create the format in which I have been making and selling. I have found that working in the way I currently am, allows for little to no time for new designs, the learning of new techniques, and artistic play. These are all a very important to me in maintaining a fun and inspired momentum.

In celebration of you, all my beautiful readers, customers and supporters; I will re-open with a fun give-away! Details to come.

And what does grapefruit have to do with this, you ask? Maybe nothing, other than that it was the first thing I did this morning on this noteworthy day : ) I will also add that this grapefruit was perfectly refreshing and awakening, just like I hope this coming week to be.

Have a beautiful evening!

I’ll be back soon with more on this little project you see below…

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gaining perspective

While heading to the wood pile today, I noticed a large plastic bottle on the ground, newly exposed since some ivy was removed a couple days ago.  I went over to pick it up, planning to put it in the recycle bin.  When I turned it over, I was gleefully surprised to discover a whole little world, buzzing (or, more appropriately, slithering) with life, on the underside. I carefully set it down and excitedly ran to get my camera!  When I returned, everyone was active, and moving all around.  The tiny snail, it’s shell measuring no more than 1 cm in diameter, was alert and exploring it’s newly lit world.  Tiny centipedes were scurrying about, some just born and semi-transparent.  At one point, the largest of them even scurried over and hid under the snail!  Two little sprouts stood like tall trees over this active little world.

I happily took my photos, watching things moving through the lens as I focused in on my tiny-shelled, new-found friend.  I can’t help but wonder if this is the baby of the snail I met up with back in January.

Seeing this complex, thriving, and tiny little world, living on the underside of an old plastic bottle, helped bring a fresh perspective as to how tiny my world really is. Wow, how tiny it is! All the little mis-haps and bumps on my road are just minuscule events.

Maintaining a clear perspective on what is meaningful and life-giving, inspiring and nurturing, is so very important, and so very refreshing.

What helps you gain that perspective?

p.s. I returned that bottle to the place where I found it. It can be recycled at another time. For now, it is the happy nest of a little world of tiny creatures.

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Wisdom

A meditation, drawn from the “Insight Cards,” created by my boyfriend Steven.

This card was chosen by Steven, with you, my readers, in mind.

I will also add, that there was a relativity in his choosing ~ The activity to help each of us shift into the right “place of intention,” to act with harmony within this journey through these times – whether it be today, this week or in our larger life challenge.

Wisdom

Wisdom is to the soul

what food is to the body.

If you act with wisdom

it will immediately present you

with a situation needing

you to act with wisdom again.

Following wisdom with wisdom

reveals your path.

Wisdom becomes accessible at the

moment the internal dialogue stops.

Wisdom is ever-present

and accessible right aback

of thought and reason.

Wisdom is not taught,

it is practiced.

Love is the message of Wisdom.

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tiny boots

Suddenly there are so many babies being born by people that I know, which means I will be making more things for tiny people over the next couple weeks. Here are some little boots I made today for a friend of mine who recently had a baby boy. They are lined with extra soft and cuddly hemp/organic cotton fleece. The outer is natural hemp, with a contrasting sage cotton corduroy for the toe. The sole is a heavy brown canvas. These are so small, it is easy to make a whole pair with scraps. The little wooden buttons might be my favorite detail.

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Nurtured Earth

image by NurturedEarth

Today I want to share with you a poem, written by Suzi, of Nurtured Earth. I found Nurtured Earth the other day, when I spotted her wooden buttons in a treasury we were both featured in. Suzi offers a beautiful selection of solid wood buttons (among other beautiful buttons), which she has rescued from the trash. In addition to her efforts to be gentle on the earth, Suzi is also an amazing writer of poetry, artist, freelance graphic designer, gardener, and expectant first-time mum. This poem really touched me and somehow brought a fuller depth and meaning to the purchase I made from Suzi’s shop.

Mother Earth

Our Mother Earth is wounded
At the mercy of mans greed
Raped of her resources
Consumed by careless need

The trail of mans destruction
Leaves nothing in its wake
Species lost forever
It’s no ‘ignorant mistake’

Direct mail through our doors
Allure promise to lower cost
Irony steeps this lavish waste
Hectares of forests lost

Our sea levels are rising
The threat is very near
Seasons bring diversities
Do these warnings seem unclear?!

The beauty of this life on earth
Now wears an ugly shroud
Lifestyles built on idleness
Beneath this carbon cloud

The sand of time is running low
The time to act is NOW
Responsibility lies with you
So ask not ‘When?’ but ‘How?’

Our Mother Earth needs healing
If life we’re to preserve
Small changes make big impacts
Recycle, care, conserve!

NurturedEarth © SN 2007 – 2009

I also invited Suzi to share a bit about herself, which you can read below.

“If I was asked to name one of my weaknesses, writing about myself would be in the top few! Its not something I find very easy to do. I guess I should start with the basics… My real name is Suzi, I’m 35, I live with my partner in Nottinghamshire, and we’re expecting our first baby in August.

I’ve always been an empathic and creative person or as in the words of my father ‘in a world of my own’… I love to draw and write poetry (my work can be seen/read on deviantART http://inspiredinstinct.deviantart.com/gallery/ ) but rarely find the time to do either. I also do a small amount of freelance graphic design along with my two Etsy stores.

I work as a design administrator for a small team of designers at a company that designs & manufactures clothing for a major high street department store. Its not my calling… but it helps pay the relentless torrent of bills.

It was here where I rescued the buttons… I have to say that my workplace is usually pretty good when it comes to recycling and reducing waste and donates a lot of unwanted fabrics to schools and colleges.

I don’t claim to be perfect with my own efforts when it comes to green living, but I do try and it does influence my decisions when making purchases. The dream of one day being self sufficient in an eco home seems a long way off… but nevertheless… achievable and encouraging when the changes seem too disruptive to an otherwise ‘easier’ more selfish lifestyle.

It is after all the small changes that make a difference… Mighty oaks from little acorns grow

Explore:

Suzi’s work on DeviantART

Suzi’s blog

Her buttons -  NurturedEarth

Her graphic design services – InspiredInstinct

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