Pillows and Paintings

I have re-claimed our pottery room as my temporary art/sewing studio, and have thus been able to paint for the first time in months.  It is very inspiring to actually have space to work!  I also finally put together a couple of pillows I have been meaning to make since the beginning of the year.

My younger brother Eli (age 6), quite the artist himself, was very excited about my new art room and asked if he could come down and paint with me.  How could I refuse?  This turned into quite a painting day, as John, Sylvie, and Esme all wanted to paint too!

Above is a still life I began last week.  I'm pleased so-far.  Ah, so good to be painting again! :)


Here are Eli and John's paintings:

An abstract by Eli (which, he informs me, is not yet complete)

Three trees by Eli (he loves to paint trees like this).  This was painted on top of one of my old canvases.

A flower garden with a river running through it, by John (age 4)

The Pillows!

I used this wonderful Alexander Henry fabric (which apparently is no longer available) called Del Hi Pom Pom Sun, and applied colorful vintage zippers for insertion.  The second pillow case sports vintage pom-pom trim as well. :)  I am in love.  I am also itching to sew more pillows...

(this is just an empty case--I need another pillow to go inside of it.)

Lastly, this is a pretty top I'm working on.  It's a copy of a top I own and really love.  So far, so good! Some of the lace used in the below picture was purchased by my grandfather in Japan during WWII. :D

That's all for now!

~Bess

The Boys

Um, Jerry, you have some hay on your face.

Such a beautiful goat!

Jerry is quite a runt. These two were born only one day apart, and the difference in size and stature is really amazing.

Dean and Jerry have found a devoted friend in Gracious the kitten. She likes to watch them eat hay and bat at their ears with her paws. The ear-batting doesn't seem to bother Jerry, who is a very laid-back sort of fellow, but it aggravates Dean quite a bit. When he has had enough of Gracious' taunting, he lets her have it with a little head-butt. It's hilarious to watch them interact with each other! I think I am going to paint this picture:

Jerry's coat is really coming in now! It is very different than Deans--not quite as much curl and crimp--but is is really soft and fluffy.

A Wonderful Week

Photo by my lovely sister, Skylar.

What a wonderful week I just had. Mom and Dad went away for their 26th wedding anniversary, and I stayed home all week to nanny for them. All week. At home. Sewing and cooking and playing with kids and cleaning house. You may think I'm crazy, but I was in heaven.

One thing I was able to do this week is begin/work on some sewing projects, namely these cute corduroy overalls for Cael.

I was going to use the included bunny transfers, but decided that they looked a little too...er...evil. Don't you agree? Might give the poor kid nightmares.

"Mwa-ha-ha!"

Other projects I have been working on include this hand-sewn blouse made with green cotton lawn and vintage lace:

And another of my favorite butcher aprons, this one specifically for use in goat care/grooming (hence the goat appliqué on the bib front):

I am not ready to go back to work yet. :p Which is good, I suppose, because I will not be going back to work for another week. I'm leaving heading north tomorrow with my friends, the Bread Beckers, to work a curriculum fair in VA. Fun! Thus I must off and pack, etc., while I can.

Have a fantastic day!

~Bess