Earth Hour

a worthwhile cause

Already in Canada there are two provinces which have succeeded in banning dangerous lawn and garden pesticides. Now you can help the David Suzuki Foundation in their campaign to ban them right across Canada! It seems only common sense to put the well-being and health of our children and families ahead of the silliness of a perfect little postage stamp front lawn, don't you think!? Check out the following video to find out how you can help. Time is running out, so let's not delay! We can do it!



You can also click here to send a message to your Premier and Provincial Minister of Environment and Conservation to let them know that you would like to see strong protections against the health risks of lawn and garden pesticides.

road trip

We were to take a road trip out east yesterday but were delayed by the weather. Today it is sunny and beautiful and we're all ready to go! Off to visit some family and friends, to see The Rooms and a couple of other art galleries, hit the sewing store to get a few supplies, and also to the Craft Council's shop to drop off a couple of tees and hats!

Also, a couple of gifts for some little people we know . . .

It will be a bit of a whirlwind visit, but lots of fun, too I am thinking! Off we go!

All through the night

This is a book given to my son for Christmas by my mother. It is a beautifully illustrated book of mostly folk / traditional songs, sung by Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary.

It seems my daughter is more captivated by it than my son, I think the music is a little too melancholy for him, he who already is full of so many thoughts when the lights go out. She on the other hand, is a bit of a firecracker, so it seems to really counter her energy. This is the music that lulls her to sleep every night, with me close by usually dozing off as well.

As we listened to it in the dark last night and I looked out at the night sky, I could not help but think about the 16 souls still lost out on the Atlantic Ocean as a result of a helicopter crash on its way to an oil platform off the eastern coast of our island. It is still winter here, and the sea can be very harsh. Newfoundland and Labrador has a population of about half a million people, spread out over a very large area, but everyone is touched by this incident. So sad.


This was one of the songs that played as we lay there.

All through the night (A Welsh Hymn)

Sleep, my child and peace attend thee,
All through the night
Guardian angels, God will send thee,
All through the night

Soft, the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and vale, in slumber sleeping,
I, my loving vigil keeping
All through the night.

While the moon, her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night

O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night.

Love to thee, my thoughts are turning
All through the night
All for thee, my heart is yearning,
All through the night.

Though sad fate our lives may sever
Parting will not last forever,
There's a hope that leaves me never,
All through the night.

Finished Dress

Here is a look at the final product - a fairly simple but oh-so-sweet sundress for little M. Still a little too wintry in these parts for traipsing around in a sundress, though. When the mountains of snow finally melt she could wear this in the spring with a long-sleeve shirt underneath.

And yes, she does thankfully approve of this little number. "My bright flowery dress!" she proclaimed when she saw it hanging in her closet this morning. I think Mama got it right this time!

Dressing Miss M.

A typical morning with Miss M.:

"Time to get dressed, M."

"Okay, how 'bout my teacup dress!" thinking getting "dressed" means of course putting on a dress.

"Oh, no M, that is actually a summer dress and is too small. How about these pants?"

"No pants, dress!" she says emphatically as she throws the pants down on the floor.

"Okay, well this dress is a little warmer, how about this one?"

"No, I want my teacup dress!"

And on it goes until we reach a compromise. This is what we settled on yesterday. Getting her to wear pants with her teacup dress was quite a feat in itself - thankfully the colourful stripes seemed to allow an exception to the "no pants" rule.



It turns out warm and practical are not high on M's list when it comes to picking out something to wear. Bold, colourful and fun seem to be much more the order of the day (and if pink or girly in any way, is sure to be a hit).

Needless to say, this number I made her a couple of months ago does not get into circulation very much, despite my best efforts.



Oh well, maybe I’ll make one for myself next winter - lol!

So with all of this in mind, and getting an early start on her Spring / Summer clothing, I turned to one of my favourite Harmony Art organic prints and came up with a really sweet flowery sundress for her.

I’ve got a couple of other dresses in mind for her, too which I will show you when they are done.

For now, here is a little sneak peak . . .

hummingbird

Another children's organic tshirt for my shop this weekend. I feel I have a little bit of a rhythm going now, which is nice. I know it's still a little early for shortsleeve tshirts, but by Spring the shop should be good and stocked!



This one was done with Harmony Art's Whispering Grass in black and white for the hummingbird, and magenta and apricot knits for the flower - which my son told me was actually a heart.

That's okay, I'm thinking flower, he sees a heart, it's all good. Some things don't need to be overstated.

Eco-Etsy Treasury

Thank you to Melissa of Craftgasm for including my "Calling Bird" organic baby in this lovely EcoEtsy Treasury. It is lovely to be seen and even more so in such good company!

ma belle fleur and Sweet Jane

New this week . . .

ma belle fleur (would be darling with this hat . . .)

Then add some whimsy for the little ones! Meet Sweet Jane . . .

who would be a smash with this . . .

Have an inspired week, everyone!

Eco Love

Thanks to Eco-Etsy, for including one of my Baby Tees in their selection of Eco Friendly Valentine's Day Gifts (and another in their treasury)!

You can check out the lovely selection of items here.

Sneak peak

A little peak at what I managed to accomplish this week! Life has been busy, I have been teaching full-time for the last 2 weeks and possibly will be for the next two. Not to mention the mounds and mounds of snow that are piling up outside that seem to slow everything down to a snail's pace. C'est la vie! Some warm, vibrant colours to warm you up!

I should be posting these in another day or two and you can get a full look at them then. Now off to enjoy a nice evening before the fire! Happy weekend, all!

Organic Knit Tops

This week's feature: Three new organic cotton knit tops that I designed and made for my daughter to keep the chill of winter away! Hooray!

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The first one I made was this classic long-sleeved top with a very subtly scooped neck which makes it easy to take off and put on but still allows for good coverage. Sewn with a beautiful soft striped blue / cream / grey organic cotton.

The second top I made was this turtleneck. Thanks to the stretchability of this rib knit, this turtleneck easily slips on and off, and if it didn't, my daughter would let me know! She loves the pink stripes on this one and I think the bold stripes make it a little more fun. Both of these styles would suit a boy or a girl.

The last top I designed is this tunic and is probably my favourite. I love the silhouette of this one and the muted tones as well, I could almost see me wearing it. For a little extra flare I made a shifted cowl neck and to me it just looks so classically chic - and on a little one, just darling. This tunic looks great over a pair of leggings.

I will be offering these in my shop. The fabrics in these tops are interchangeable and the tops themselves are made to order, so you can mix and match as you like!

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Next week if the stars align I will post about a new organic hat and onesie set. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week everyone!

~Laura

Tweet Tweet - New Baby Tee / Onesie

Yesterday I posted this new baby tee with the thought of sweet love in mind.



The design itself took many hours of playing with the subtlety of shape and colour and juxtaposition of various fabrics and this is what I happily settled on in the end. The calling bird and heart appliqués were cut from two fabrics by Harmony Art, a chili red heavy organic cotton flannel, and a sturdy interlock of paisley and flowers overtop called Ohio, which I absolutely adore.



I have a new onesie and hat set on the cooker that should be posted by next week - kind of a variation on an earlier set I made.

New Jammies

A couple of pics of M in her new Mama-made Christmas jammies - nice and cozy organic cotton flannel. She really needs warm pjs at night as she insists on being covered only with her favourite blankie, which is not warm enough for Mama's liking - but everything else she kicks off. Funny girl!

Etsy

Hey, this is pretty neat, I just made it to the front page of Etsy! My first time, I think (although there was one other time I had a huge amount of traffic to one of my tees but never did find out the source). I finally figured out how to "capture" one of these pages thanks to my brother who is a little more computer-savvy than me. So for posterity, here it is! (Baby-Grow Organic Hat in the top left corner.) Thanks to Shutter Kate for the selection. I think I'll go check out her other selections now! Happy Boxing Day, all! ~L.