Fantastical Friends and Sewing This Fall!!

We had a blast in our Fantastical Friends sewing class at the Pulitzer and Panetta Creative Studio in Huntington! I had meant to post this sooner, but with last minute summer trips and school starting, now is when it is going up!

The sewing classes have gone so well that we decided to keep them going in the fall! I will be teaching classes coming this Fall at the P&P Studio for children on Saturdays from 10am-11:30am AND an adult class on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30. Call the studio today to register! (631) 423-2007. Website will be updated with Fall soon....http://www.pulitzerandpanetta.com

Back to Fantastical Friends....

The idea behind this class is show the kids how to create whatever creature they can dream up! This could be a cute and cuddle friend or a fierce beast! Or a donut with sprinkles. More on that later.

So on the first day we learned some different types of hand-stitching and practiced on hoops, which help provide even tension making it much easier to sew.

Then we sketched our friends we would make. The children were very creative in their choices and made as we had friends ranging from Star Wars characters to rainbows to kitty cats and the cutest little piggy....

The students worked diligently to make their creatures and friends come to life. We learned other fun stitches and how to sew on buttons properly along the way to enhance our friends. 

And look at these AMAZING results!

Meet Ziggy the Piggy

Look at the amazing job on those French knots!

Penguin Pal

Who says donuts can't be a stuffed friend! More amazing french knots!

Ellie the Elephant

Some adorable kitties! 

And the Star Wars Contingency :)  A Rancor (above)

Watto (below) 

And Padme Amidala - note the belly shirt she is wearing to be accurate to the movie!

We had a wonderful week. We listened to some inspiring music as we worked and everyone got to learn about and from each other. 

Sewing is very empowering. Being able to bring something in your head to life is a very powerful thing for a child. 

A recent study showed the benefits of children sewing: Sewing’s multitude of choices—color selection, fabric options, design and proportion—help stimulate creative thinking skills. Completing a project fosters a sense of accomplishment. Hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills develop through the use of the hands, and exercises in following directions along with problem solving skills are all added benefits of sewing experiences for children.

The BEST part....

LOOK at those smiles! 

I will be teaching classes coming this Fall at the P&P Studio for children on Saturdays from 10am-11:30am AND an adult class on Tuesdays from 9:30-11:30. Call the studio today to register! (631) 423-2007

Sew On!

First Day!!

Ah, the first day.

It is so bittersweet for me.

We really have a good time together, these little monkeys and I, and as you can see, they are growing in leaps and bounds....

I tried to get a good shot of the two of them, but there was too much joking around, you know, giving each other bunny ears and all that. I decided I would take it. Blurry is good. Shows they are having fun together. Or it shows I am a bad photographer, but I know that already....moving on....

This one is completely self styled. Head to toe, that is my LMO. She makes me smile. 

There was no other choice for her, HAD to be her new Freckled Chicken Rainbow Dress! http://loopsbykeri.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-girl-loves-her-freckled-chicken.html

 Check out the amazing one of a kind creations of Holly Hester, the brainchild and designer or Freckled Chicken. http://www.etsy.com/shop/FreckledChicken  

If your daughter loves rainbows, Holly can make them one just like hers! Check out her new items for fall!! SWOON!!

Here they are arriving at school. I thought I could get away with meeting up with them for another year.

My MAP jokingly ran at me in "outrage" that I was there.

And then they went off to their classrooms. They may have pretended not to be thrilled to see me...

but they are both smiling in these pics.

hmmm.

Hope your first days went well!

School on!

Tons of Summer Fun- Courtesy of our Local Library

Hello Everyone!

The last few weeks of summer are always bittersweet for me. I have to say, I love having my kids at home. We have such fun together! They are inquisitive and spirited and are usually up for anything I suggest!

The last few weeks we have done quite a bit of fun things and most of them have been because of our local library! We spend a LOT of time at our library during the year, but in the summer we are there constantly!  They have incredible summer programs for kids. Just this year, MAP was able to join their Mock Newbury Book Club, which he loves! What avid reader wouldn't love getting their hands on galleys of books that haven't been published yet? A reader's dream come true!

We can request books our library doesn't have from other libraries, which is perfect for when we get really into a topic and need more books! The librarians are always so helpful in suggesting new books and authors. It's just a magical place. Thank goodness for Ben Franklin and his idea of the library!

A few years ago I learned of the libraries Museum Passes. The library buys passes to many local museums and places of interest and then you can reserve and borrow them! What a find! We have really used them this summer!

We went to see the newly reopened Vanderbilt Planetarium! We watched a few of their new shows, toured their amazing grounds and had a picnic with friends! What a day!

We traveled into NYC with 2 friends and 8 kids between us ages 1-11 and took three subways to get up to the Guggenheim in order to see the magical exhibit by light art virtuoso James Turrell (that is a quote from my son by the way...)

When you walked in, the rotunda was all encased to be a part of the installation. It was magical. You weren't supposed to take pictures, but after we left, we were informed that some of the younger set had taken pics unbeknownst to us with their ipods/phones. whoops. And thank goodness, because look how beautiful....You lie on the floor and look up and see this....and the colors change gradually....it is so peaceful.

Just beautiful.

I wish I had been able to take a picture of our children all lying on the padded ground gazing up together, some of them holding hands.... This was the only shot I was brazen enough to take.

After touring the museum, we took the kids to Central Park. The were all walking together, a little way in front of us. They turned to enter the park and they stopped and let out an audible "Wow!"

They found this amazing guy, making ginormous bubbles with two fishing rods tied together.

You never know what you are going to see in this amazing city! We HEART NY!

And what is a trip to NYC and Central Park without a good rock climb!

One day we went to the Walt Whitman birthplace, which I had never been to before! What a surprise to learn it was across from the Walt Whitman Mall and that where the mall stands now had been Whitman's family apple orchard!

We toured the house. It was incredible to see the details and furniture of the time. However, only one chair was original to the house, but it is still worth seeing for the items that have been collected are in the style of the period, with lots of knick-knacks that were useful in those times. The kids really enjoyed learning about the time and asked some really good questions!

I LOVE the blue! And the wide planks. Swoon!

Here we are in the gardens with our friend. She and my LMO consider themselves practically twins since they were born less than 24 hours apart. They are both sweet and spunky and a ball to be with, so maybe they are?  

MAP is having a moment with Walt. Leave it to my boy to ham a picture up. 

Our last trip was to the Long Island Children's Museum (LICM for short) We have been going there for AGES now, but they are always doing something new and exciting! 

This summer, they hosted a puppet festival and we were THRILLED to see that our favorite Puppeteer, Steve Petra was going to be there! And not only was he going to perform a puppet show, BUT he would also be having a puppet workshop!! WOW! We were SO in! We grabbed another friend and off we went. 

The show was hilarious and the workshop was fantastic! My son was chosen to go onstage and got to work with Steve, which was hysterical! The next day, when I checked Facebook, there was the post from the LICM! And look who was on it!

Thanks for the amazing shows and all the laughs Steve! Hope to see you again soon!

WHEW!

I would NOT have been able to do all this with the kids if not for the library passes. They truly made our summer!

Looking at this I can see we really did a lot of amazing things together this summer. And it makes them going back to school tomorrow a little easier. I really do love spending time with these two. They are just so eager to experience things and open to learning and just a heck of a lot of fun.

Now, I have to go tell them to stop reading and put their lights off, AGAIN! Tomorrow, the bus will be coming!

Learn on!

My Girl LOVES her Freckled Chicken Rainbow Dress!

Hello friends!

We just got a rainbow in the mail! Come see...

Little Miss O is sporting a Freckled Chicken original! Isn't it beautiful?

Freckled Chicken is the brainchild and incredible designs of Ms. Holly Hester.  Freckled Chicken's point of view is wholesome, comfortable and personal, which I think we need more of for little girl clothing, don't you?

Each one is special, with sweet embroideries, fun embellishments and that certain special something!

This dress is made from rainbow bandana fabric, which is perfect for my Little Miss who is smitten with all things ROY G BIV! Notice the sweet white pompom ball trim around the neckline! swoon!! And I need to take a picture of the glittery polkadot facing fabric hidden inside, adding structure to the neckline and a special thrill when my little one puts it over her head. Brilliant!

 And did I mention, it's PERFECT for twirling!

You can find Freckled Chicken on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/shop/FreckledChicken. If you happen to live in Texas, you can find her at the White Rock Local Market! You can also follow her on Facebook and Pinterest. I know I do! That's when I saw this dress and there you have it! Just look at some of her recent offerings! 

Holly is forever creating new designs, so be sure to bookmark it and check back. I am sure you will find the perfect skirt or dress or accessory or other gorgeous design that you HAVE to HAVE! I know we did! 

I have my eye on that cherry skirt! And her signature Freckled Chickster T-Shirt! So Cute!

And Ladies, she makes adult sizes too! Funky aprons and skirts in our size! Whee!! 

Twirl on!

Sew Cool Accessories!

Hello Friends!

The first sewing camp, Sew Cool Accessories, was held last week at Pulitzer & Panetta Creative Studio in Huntington. pulitzerandpanetta.com We had a fun time!

Our project was to make the incredibly cute Keep your Cool Smartphone case from the Straight Stitch Society, designed by the fabulous Liesl Gibson. You can see her amazingness at http://oliverands.com/

First order of business was to learn to thread a needle! Most of our campers had experience sewing, but we started by reviewing a few basic stitches. The running stitch, which is a basic sewing stitch of going up and down. We focused on trying to make the stitches even in length and evenly spaced on our hoops. Then we moved on to backstitch, which as it sounds, you move your needle forward from underneath (back of the fabric) and then when on the top (right side) of the fabric, you go backwards, putting your needle in the previous stitch ends, thereby connecting the stitches. You have a continuous row of stitches. This is a strong stitch, which is useful when strength is called for or for reenforcing corners or seams.

Then came the hard decision! To make an ice pop or the adorable ice cream sandwich. I was sure that ice pops would win, but in the end, most decided to make ice cream sandwiches. I couldn't decide, so I made both!

The project let the girls really express themselves with colors and stitches. They had a lot of fun with it!

The project offered so many learning opportunities. The phone holder is lined with a batting material, which none of the students had worked with before. It is also lined and has an adorable pocket inside, perfect for stashing some money and ID with your phone all in one place. The keychain is an added bonus!

The last step was setting in a snap, which required the use of a craft hammer, which was quite cathartic! We had so much fun with that, I forgot to take pictures!

This was a lot of sewing in a short time, but look at the amazing results! And those smiles! Now the phones can stay safe and the girls have total bragging rights that they made it themselves! 

And while I taught them the finer points of pattern reading and lining up notches, I got an education in current pop music. Which was perfect, so I knew which songs I should download onto my new iPhone.

  

Thanks girls!!

As a bonus, they took a look at some of my knits for Fall I am currently working and pronounced them cool. They will be at Rexer-Parkes come the end of Sept. This fall, we will have more than just knits for babies, but super warm and cozy hats and accessories for children and adults!!

I am also planning on attending the Greenport Maritime Festival and possibly the Huntington Fall Festival. An Etsy store is on the horizon...

Stay Tuned!!

This coming week, August 12th, I am teaching Fantastical Friends at the studio, where kids ages 6 and up can make their own stuffed friends. They can be cute or ferocious! Whatever they come up with! There is still room available if you know a child that might want to join us.

Here are some pics of a penguin being made. Our little camper has a sweet penguin already and wanted to make him a friend! So cute!

Sewing isn't just for girls. Jut this past week, I taught a friend of my son's how to make a stuffed friend and he decided to make a rancor, (you may know it as that big gigantic beast that chases after Luke Skywalker after Jabba the Hut drops him into the pit in the Star Wars series). It was the first time he tried his hand at sewing. Isn't is cool?! 

Create on!

When Your Farm Share Gives You Peaches....

This year I joined a Farm Share (also called a CSA- Community Sponsored Agriculture) where you pay before the season begins for a share in the harvest. I had always wanted to try one, but always missed the deadline, but luckily this year, my friend Kate was looking for someone to split a vegetable share. We were in! And we signed up for a fruit share too! Whee! Let the yumminess begin!  (we are doing Golden Earthworm for those of you local people that might want to get a piece of the action. All yummy organic produce straight from the farm while supporting Long Island Farmers at the same time!) ! 

Every week, you go and pick up a box of the week's harvest. Everyone gets the same thing. And sometimes you've never seen or eaten it before. It's like a vegetable lottery! What will it be this week! Which is great for the adventurous palates in my house. Plus, the amazing Golden Earthworm farmers have a great blog that lets you know what is coming, how to store it and some recipes to cook with the items! They are AMAZING

I had grand plans of photographing each week's box and documenting what we made. Um. Sorry friends. Maybe next year. BUT....I was totally impressed with what I pulled off last night, so here goes.

We had a peck of peaches, some of which were eaten, but we had 4 really good peaches left plus another four or five that were getting a little squishy but still good eats. I remembered a recipe I had seen in Martha's American Food Cookbook (I am afraid to put the pic on the book up here since it's copyright, but since I am writing a glowing review, maybe I'll risk it and if Martha doesn't like it, I'll take it down?) Seriously Martha- this is a great book! I have quite a few of your books, but I think this is my favorite one yet! So many amazing things to try AND lots of great basics too!

I found this at our local library (the best library ever if I say so and I do, so there - heehee!) I was amazed at the photography and all the yummy recipes that focused on local ingredients. I stopped when   I saw a recipe for spicy peach barbecue chicken with grilled peaches. 

Yeah, I wanted some of that! And I HAD the peaches! 

But the recipe called for peach jam, so I took my squishy peaches and made my own with some water, a little cane sugar and some brown sugar. MMMMM. Made the entire house smell fantastic (and to prompt my son to follow his nose to the kitchen and pronounce me the best mom ever. Thank you Martha!)

So I used my on the fly peach jam and mixed it all up and prepped everything for my master BBQ chef, my hubby. He did an amazing job slow cooking the chicken until it was perfect and those peaches. MMM! 

Now, I should have taken the time to artfully arrange everything, but let me tell you, I couldn't stop myself from eating this. I am surprised I took these shots. Seriously good food.

And since you can't waste a hot grill, S'mores were in order! Have you ever tried a S'more with some Chocolove dark chocolate with chili and dried cherry? If not, you REALLY should. Wild By Nature carries Chocolove. Just saying.

I will say the marinade could have used a little more salt and a little more sweet, but I think that was from me substituting the jam for my fresh stuff. Next time I know.

And BELIEVE ME, there WILL be a next time. Soon!

Come on farm share....bring me some peaches this week!

More soon! In the meantime, Grill on!

The Cutest Old Fashioned Knitted Baby Romper

Wow! Where did July go? I always think the summer will last forever but then I blink and it's almost August! Yikes!

We have been having lots of fun around here. Play dates, day trips with friends and lots of swimming! And of course, LOTS of knitting. Can't wait to show you what is in the works for fall! Stay tuned!!!

Since the weather here dropped in temp drastically today, I happily reached for a knit to wear around my neck. Have been making some REALLY cozy knits for fall. For today, I felt like blogging about a summer knit, a baby romper.

Knit in a cozy cotton with a hint of elastic fiber for added stretch. They are the perfect item for baby for summer. It is soft, washes beautifully and is cool! I first made these year ago - here is my Little Miss wearing hers. She wore it constantly and got compliments everywhere we went.

Here is a sweet blue and taupe one. It's at Rexer-Parkes right now if someone needs a gift! It is perfect for a 9month- 18 month baby since it's stretches beautifully!

And here is an ivory and navy one. There is a sweet pink and lavender one in store now too in case you are looking for a little girl in your life.

And here is the romper I just gave my niece for her soon to be delivered baby for next summer. His room is a pirate theme, so I took inspiration from there! Isn't is cute? Can't wait to see him sporting it next summer.

There is some yarn and knitting needles calling my name. I'll be back soon.

Knit On!