When Blogging and Real Life Collide

Today, as I was resting on a giant leather sofa at the Starbucks closest to my office on a mid-afternoon caffeine run, I looked over and there was a cute blond toddler in a red Bumbleride screaming his head off. I laughed--not because I was taunting the child or teasing his parent, but because I have so been there. And then his mother popped up and I smiled at her in that way that mothers who have survived toddlerhood will recognize as the secret-club handshake of mothers...and realized that she is the genius behind Big City Fuzz and Big City Suds. Cool. Now I want some lemongrass-scented soap and recycled wool mittens.

And the winner is...

My random number-generator was The Boy. At almost 7 years of age, he can count to 100 and beyond, so he was a good candidate for randomness. And so, the winner is:

RyanSarahN


Thanks to everyone who participated in my first Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway blog and commented on my post. Happy holidays and happy crafting! 

Bag Tutorial

A huge THANK YOU to all of you who have read my blog today. I'm always happy to capture an audience's attention, if only for a day (or five). A few of you asked for the link to the tutorial. Although I've found and loved and used many Sew, Mama, Sew tutorials, like this rice heat therapy bag and this pretty garland, I used this Craftster tutorial to make the bags (using this method of strap construction) in my Giveaway post. 

These are my latest projects. I'm so excited about the Oliver + S pajamas I'm making for The Boy, The Girl, and The Tot for Christmas morning. Liesl has some fun tricks for waistbands and hems that have made construction so much easier. These are the pair I've finished for The Tot, using a trains flannel print + red flannel trim:

And these are the pants I've done for The Girl, with a white snowflake dot on red background, with a funny red and white trim repurposed from an old baby blanket. I wasn't quite sure how the reds would look against each other, but I'm thrilled with the way it turned out.

Kicking Off the Season

My friend Becky once said that she feels like she's not a "real" mom unless she makes her children's Halloween costumes. I feel the same way about Christmas presents. If you are so inclined, you should check out the tutorials under Sew, Mama, Sew's Homemade Holidays label. (However, if you are on my giftee list, you should not check out the tutorials). And if you are a regular reader or here from Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day, I'll cut to the chase.

I love these bags, created from an online tutorial. They are a beautiful alternative to plastic grocery sacks and even store-brand poly sacks, and hold about 3 times as much as well. I keep a stack in my car and one folded up in my purse. I'm giving away a set of two coordinating cotton bags:

To be entered to win these, simply leave a comment here. Be sure to include your e-mail address so that I can contact you. I'll choose a winner randomly, and I'll ship to Canada and within the U.S.  I'll leave comments open for this contest until December 6th. 

Crafty Chicago

One holiday down, the big'un is less than a month away. Which means that this mama needs to finish up her Christmas projects. Last year, a friend introduced me to the Sew, Mama, Sew blog, and I've been an occasionally devoted reader ever since. In November, I'm a devoted reader of their aggregate Handmade Holidays. In fact, I'll be participating in their Giveaway Day next week.  I've been having fun with the Oliver + S Pajama pattern, making a pair of perfectly coordinated flannel PJs for each of my children. You know, with my copious free time these days...  

If you are short on free-time (or inspiration, or both), however, you can buy the handiwork of artisans and artists this weekend at the Bucktown Bazaar in Holstein Park. My friend Melissa, of Rapt in Maille, will be crammed somewhere in the fieldhouse, peddling her beautiful and funky chainmail pieces. 


And if you miss her this weekend (family in town, stuck in the 'burbs for the weekend, etc.), you can see her (and thousands of other fabulous artists) at the One of a Kind Art Show and Sale at the Merchandise Mart, starting on Thursday, December 3rd.

Note to Self: Dempster Hosed

On Thursday afternoons, The Girl participates in a 3-way kid swap with two of her friends. Today was our turn to host. Before we could open our home to a gaggle of 4-year-old girls, however, we had swimming lessons for The Girl and an errand to run.

It was very important to The Girl that Grandma Texas come to watch her swimming lesson at the Leaning Tower Y in Niles. She did, and The Boy, The Tot, Grandma Texas and I watched the lesson through the glass wall between the pool and the SRO entrance lounge. The Boy and The Tot declared that they were hungry, so I spent my last $1 in cash on a bag of Cheetos from the vending machine.

After class, I got The Girl dressed and to the car, and we headed north and east to Vogue Fabrics in Evanston. The Girl was starving after her lesson and complained loudly that she needed a snack all the way down Dempster, which was completely backed up due to traffic. My snack destination of choice was Breadsmith, near Dempster and McCormick, but The Girl could not wait, so we pulled into the Starbucks drive-thru in the converted Skokie train station and ordered up 3 apple fritters (the kids), a blueberry muffin (Grandma), and a tall nonfat vanilla latte (me). After that, the traffic on Dempster wasn't quite as irritating, although we were still running up against the time contraints of both Grandma Texas's friend coming to our house in the city and the start of the girlie playdate.

I needn't have worried about Grandma Texas's friend, who came from the south suburbs, got stuck in Taste of Chicago traffic, and made every wrong choice possible in the drive up. It took her 2.5 hours to make a drive that should take about an hour.

Fortunately, we found Vogue Fabrics with only a little help from the folks at Verizon Information, parked easily just across the street, and zipped in and out of the store. If you need oilcloth for any reason, they have some great patterns at this location. I picked out a cute black and white pattern that is more grown-up than the juvenile/retro patterns I was expecting to find (and found) based on oilcloth mats available at Land of Nod, etc. We made it back to the city with time to spare.

Crafty Flop

The GIPNA Fine Crafts Fair was a bit of a bust. I don't think it was just me. My neighbor has exhibited at the show since its inception and has usually done well; she made $22 after the table fee. I made $14. I'm not sure whether to be discouraged--people do not like my bags as much as they claim to, or chalk it up to any one of a number of explanations: the recession, the weather (temperate and sunny), or the location (hot, stuffy gym inside the Fieldhouse).

On the upside, I got to see lots of neighbors and friends, some that I saw last week, some that I hadn't seen in many months. I also bought some yummy-smelling soap from Big City Fuzz.

Independence Park Events

As with last weekend, there are about 8 million events this weekend that I'd like to attend. Unfortunately, I'm already fully booked, so some of them will have to go on without me. If I didn't have The Girl's birthday party tomorrow morning, I'd be interested in this:

The HCBA's popular Seminar Series offers exciting topics for owners of any Chicago home - whether you're a home repair expert or rehab rookie, these seminars make home repair projects simple and offer affordable home solutions.

Thinking Inside the Box:
Planting a Window Box for All Seasons

Saturday, May 2 · 10:00am - 12:00pm

Independence Park Bungalow, 3901 N. Hamlin Ave

To make a reservation please call (312) 642-9900 or email reservation@chicagobungalow.org

There is also the GIPNA Fine Crafts Fair on Sunday at the Independence Park Fieldhouse from 12:30 - 4:30. I'll be selling these bags for $12 each, or 2 for $20:

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

From Blogger Pictures

I will also have my initial and number tees, and bean bags:

From Blogger Pictures

Hope to see you there!

GIPNA Fine Craft Fair

Combining my nascent crafting and Chicago happenings, I'm participating in GIPNA's Fine Craft Fair (page 7). I'll be selling some handsewn items, primarily reusable shopping bags in funky patterns free from stores' own logos, as well as bean bags for babies and some initial shirt-and-skirt combos. My stuff is joining wares from some wonderful neighborhood artisans, whose works include stained glass, pottery, knitted hats, cocktail aprons, sketches, and block-printed baby tees. The Girl promises to help me make change. If you're free on May 3rd, I'd love to see you at the Independence Park fieldhouse.

From Chicago Mama

From Chicago Mama

From Chicago Mama

Mama-Girl Playdate

Yesterday, we had a family outing in the morning -- to Supercuts in Six Corners for haircuts for The Boy, The Girl and The Dad. The Tot played and I read Nylon. After that exciting morning, we headed up Cicero to Whole Foods - Sauganash to kill two birds with one stone: lunch at the grill and a 1/2 gallon of milk from the dairy case.

Once home again, I headed out again to Jo-Ann Fabrics to buy lining fabrics for my latest large-scale sewing projects: making pretty bags to sell at the GIPNA Fine Arts & Crafts Fair. The Tot took a nap and The Boy wanted to stay at home, so The Girl came with me and we made it a little Mama-The Girl playdate. She helpfully picked our fabrics with me, and then we braved the hail-like white substance that was then falling from the sky in advance of the April snow shower, and hurried over to Starbucks in the same strip mall for a snack. She got kids' hot cocoa with whipped cream and a blueberry muffin. She very nicely shared her hot cocoa with me and we talked about what we were going to do at her birthday party in a month, and what we should do in Seattle this week.

Then we went home. When we arrived at our car on the other side of the parking lot, it was parked to a VW Beetle. A pink VW Beetle. TG: "See Mama! I told you there were pink cars!" This pink VW Bettle had ears and a pug nose on its front and a curly tail on its back. The license plate read "JIMS PIG." She's still talking about it.

Update

I have been awful about updating this blog of late. The Tot and I have been having fun doing little stuff around the north side, and generally ignoring or skipping our classes. I have to get better about actually going to our Moms, Pops, & Tots interaction class at Independence Park, which is on hiatus this week between sessions. And I have not been great about going to Jam with Julie, which The Tot does enjoy, but is often in a time conflict with both the start of the school day and, an hour later, the start of the CFC day. I'm no longer involved with the co-op, thus eliminating daily runs to Midwest Bank and freeing up our schedule to enjoy our Wednesday morning class with Julie. But I have no great excuse for missing our IP class.

On tap this week? Lots of nonfat vanilla lattes at Starbucks. On Monday, we went to the Treasure Store. The Tot likes to run and hide under the racks, and doesn't respond when called, so I must keep him in the stroller or mei-tei in the store. On Monday, I was wearing him on my back in the Catbird Baby and a pregnant woman who was clearly shopping the baby bargains, asked me if I had ever seen slings in the TA and where could she find them. I don't recall noticing a sling in the TS, but told her that she could buy them used on The Baby Wearer. I always seem to find something at the TS -- on Monday, it was a new terrycloth bathrobe and NWT plain navy blue t-shirt for The Boy, and a cute Hawaiian print camp shirt and PsychoBaby Mack Daddy tee for The Tot. Afterwards, we stopped at Starbucks for--you guessed it--a nonfat vanilla latte.

On Thursday, we skipped the latte and went to Joann's ISO yellow fabric to make a t-shirt for The Boy. Another store that is a nightmare chase scene for Mama, Joann's displays tons of little things (spools of thread and ribbon, packages of elastic and so much else!) at a height of approximately 3' off the floor--just level with The Tot's line of vision. And I've noticed that fabric stores tend to employ women just below the age of retirement. Presumably, it's because they know a lot about fabric and sewing and can speak knowledgably to inquiring customers. This may be true, but they also tend to be crabby and have behavioral expectations of small children that are stuck in the 1960s, and they have no problem correcting my kid when they think he's doing something wrong -- like picking up a spool of plastic-wrapped serger thread and licking it. Which he should not do, but really?!?

Afterward, we walked down to Strack & Van Til, the signs in the windows of which read, somewhat incorrectly in my opinion, "thank you for shopping at your neighborhood market." There's a difference between a store that is in your neighborhood and one that is your neighborhood market. The parent company is based in Highland, Indiana. Still, there was a man giving a food tour to a group of school kids in the produce section, and one of the deli counter ladies gave The Tot a steak fry when I asked her if she had any plastic knives that I could use to cut open the avocado that The Tot was trying to gnaw his way through (they were sold "by the each") as he was hungry and crabby.

Amazingly enough, after two errands, we still had time to kill before we had to retrieve The Girl from preschool, so I headed over to Clybourn to do a quick cruise through Cost Plus World Market, a store in which I loved to browse when we lived in San Francisco, and which the non-IKEA furniture and decor in my house almost invariably comes from. Picked up a new glass canister to hold coffee beans and a fun new bath toy for The Tot. And then it was time to get The Girl from school.