Skirt twirl, pretty blanky and kitsch couch

Oh how exciting! Kimberlee has our Esty shop in the making! She is so technically gifted and I just don't know what to do without her. Keep checking us out in the next couple of days please, it's coming it's coming!!!
It doesn't always have to be Lieveke who we are obsessed with, so take a look at my new skirt while I do a twirl (totally un-self-obsessed bien sur).

This pretty blanky was a gift fron my good friend Tess.

It has already an established use in our family.
As a house warming invite.

As a couch cover. yes, this is our couch. The real art-deco-mc-coy so that means that the springs are antique and have desintegrated. The unaware visitor is always 'sucked' into it... But once you're eaten into it it's comfy cosy and we seldom hear complaints. Above the couch a work by Gabriel and two works by our friend painter Grant. Yeah the keen observer will note some kitsch in our decor. Guilty, guilty. Gabe and I are very serious about one thing in our house : it's gotta be fun!

Hey, Lieveke has lined up some teddy's in the couch. Sweet. Oh my, she slipped into it! Just when I'm trying to de-obsess from lievie pics. Oh well. Still sweet huh.

Oh and I'm making some new pinnies, in some new fabrics, take a peek :



Pinafores for newborns in the above pretties will be sold on our soon to come Etsy shop! yippie! Yip!
-L X

melting hearts club

This child has my heart melting lately. She is such a happy, generous person. Lieveke, Auntie Kimberlee LOVES YOU!

me and sweetums

click photo to enlarge (note the tiny helping hands)

Today Lies and I had a much needed catch up. I was able to see these gorgeous toddler bibs she has been making. Lies, you have such a eye for colour and pattern combinations. Your fun and funky things that are more than just eye candy, they are functional too! Seeing these today inspired me to this conclusion: WE ARE MOST DEFINITELY OPENING AN ETSY STORE VERY SOON!

(front and back view)

YAY! See, Lieveke is already celebrating this announcement! Thanks to everyone who has been supportive of our work and inquired about purchasing online because now we are going to do it! I am going to do some serious work on it this weekend so hopefully our etsy store will be going by next week. I want to put Lies' quilted toddler bibs in there first since they were the catalyst.
Just when I thought my morning couldn't get any better, BAM! unexpected blanket karma came at me out of nowhere. Look what I got for (only) TEN FLIPPIN DOLLARS at the aotea markets on my way home from Lies and Lieveke's house. And I had just been admiring a beautiful handmade blanket Lies' friend gave her (t'was found on the side of the road) and suddenly I have a similar one myself. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to the loving hands that made this, I know you are out there somewhere.

I think this is another sign of the twin link between Lies and I. This blanket is a once in a lifetime find, and we both received ours in the same week?!!?! That's more than coincidence. (Lies you must post a picture of your blanket so they can see what I am talking about)

click to enlarge if you want a better look at the intricate work

At the same market junk stall, I found this floral needle work in excellent condition. It immediately found a home in our kitchen. On the right: Installation with needle work, peaches, sea salt, and lemon.


Need more inspiration? I got it. Look at this little plant that started growing among the scummy litter in our courtyard. triumph over tragedy. (Litter courtesy of our upstairs neighbors, thanks guys. please send more empty beer cans and soggy cigarettes our way.)

well, das ist alles fur heute.
glückliches Wochenende
-kimberlee

Home!

We made it! Welcome in our new house. The next few posts I'll gradually show you around in our bohemian shabby chic sweety house. Here is a happy lounge corner (my favorite little cupboard with plants and trinkets - a painting that Gabriel made - Lieveke's toys underneath an old school-table).

Happy moving flowers. Love these colorful poppies.

Pre-move : my last crafty project before the move were these cord-and-patch pants for Lieveke. She was very willing to pose.

Post-move : my first craft whip-up in the new den, some bigger than big quilted toddler bibs. Gosh Lieveke now wants to eat (hmmm, that should be something like, paint, or smear or paste...) all by herself, that means EVERY surface needs to be covered with a bib!

We had a Craftwerk-market. It was very succesful for both K and me. My favorite sell was to a young dad, who first bought a pinny for his one year old daughter and then after 15 minutes came back to buy a kimono jacket for his little one. Her name is Stevie. Lucky girl. This little skirt that Lieveke is wearing wasn't sold, and I'm so glad cause she looks so cute in it. Note Lieveke's 'desk' (hey she needs a worksurface, just like the rest of us) and our new little garden in the back!

Aaaaaah. Home. Home. Lovely.
-L

welcom

FROM THIS.......


TO THIS!!!!!!!!

Mayana, our dear friend and upholding member of our knitting circle, gave birth this Wednesday to little girl, and she and her husband couldn't be happier! Frankly neither could I. I am so very proud of them, they all did so well.

Mayana had a home birth and I was able to be there for some of the experience. It was the first birth I have ever been part of, I don't have words for everything I learned from it. The pain that Mayana welcomed and endured as part of the process was so much deeper and longer than I imagined. Unlike the movies, there is no cutting to the end shot of baby happy in mothers arms, the whole thing takes such a long time. Mayana had such strength.

Of course there was craftwerk this week and many other busy happenings but none of that matters. Just look at the baby.

anyway, we are off for a weekend at the family batch so I will be internet free for a couple of days. see you later.

-kimberlee

weekend snippets

1) Shoe shopping: not exactly a vintage but I love 'em. I couldn't buy shoes second hand even if I wanted to. My size nine trotters just don't fit the dainty dimensions of yesteryear. sigh.

2)New rag dolls to add to the collection. I took the whole batch over to Lies' new apartment and let little Lieveke 'test' them for me. After she walked around giving them in exaggerated, pantomimed cuddles for ages, I knew they were a hit. Ta Lieve.

3) I spent some some studying this warped knife that melted in the dishwasher. I think its pretty fascinating. Though when Luke (dh) opened up the dishwasher, he inhaled a cloud of steamy plastic in its gaseous state and promptly had a coughing fit. That scared me a little.

This incident reminds me of a game my brother played when he was little called 'scientist'. It was pretty simple, he just gathered all the dangerous cleaning products, you know the ones with the skull and cross bones warnings on the labels, and mixed them together in the laundry room sink to see what would happen. Scary! And of course my mom didn't know and I can't remember if she ever caught him (but you know now, hi mom!).

4) Fancy a little travel? Luke and I are planning our next big trip but more on that later.

5) After taking the photo above I decided to pan the camera 45 degrees to my right so you could see who follows me around everywhere. BEHOLD: my greatest admirer. For the record, If I had panned the camera 45 degrees to the right or left for any of the other pictures I have EVER taken inside our apartment, I guarantee the results would be similar to this one.

Craftwerk is this Thursday and like always, it has crept up on us. Later I will do a little post that will perhaps entice people go but I am almost out of time now.

Before I go I wanted to say THANKS for all the comments and feedback from everyone lately. It means much to me :)

-kimberlee

flashback friday:sunday's best

We have many of these professional family portraits that were were arranged by our church and taken every few years for the church directory. Am I detecting a subtle nautical theme here? We are looking pretty coordinated in this photos, our outfits were surely masterminded by the lady in red.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions about my fabric smell problem. It looks as though baking soda is the key and I will try that soon. I have another question for you now. I have just joined flickr in order to officially participate in flashback Friday. I can't figure out how to put my photos up in the group account. I have joined the group... can anyone give me some hints? cheers.

For you leah... my cathedral quilt in progress (and I am telling you, progress is slow). I forgot how time consuming hand sewing is, and even though I am using the machine for joining the squares, it took me hours to sew around just 4 windows. It's okay though. In our fast paced, instant oatmeal society, being forced to slow down and do something the long way is exactly what we all need.

have a great weekend everyone :)
-kimberlee

cloud and rain

Overcast and rain today so I am hoping its just those spring showers and not another winter day. On Saturday a friend gave me a bunch of old Indonesian style dresses to use as fabric. Of course they had that musty smell since they had been living in a grandmother's closet for decades. But after a whirl through the washer they still smell. Any ideas on how to get rid of the smell? So far I have just kept them on the line and have welcomed the rain.
Been making these little guys as well hopefully to sell at the next craftwerk. Forgive the bad lighting, as my post title says the sun doesn't shine today.

Also I've been quilting though I am a bit shy to post photos yet. I've been making the cathedral quilt using Leah's tutorial. I pretty much followed her colour scheme as well because imitation is the best form of flattery. really.

Otherwise I have been busy this week working on our company website and portfolio. This is for my husband and I, not crafting stuff. Since I am done with studying, we decided to combine forces officially so he's got digital design covered and I'm all over illustration (represent!). Soon the website will be finished and you can go have a look. We have a new company name as well but I am keeping that like a secret until the site is finished. (I'm such a tease)

In domestic news, I recently found the BEST oatmeal cookie recipe and just had to share it with you all. Its from the College Hill Presbyterian Church's recipe book Cooking for Generations and was given to me by my auntie from Ohio. I made a few changes (butter in place of lard (shudder), a bit less sugar, and the standard metric conversions)

Friends, when it comes to baking, leave it to the Amish.

click to enlarge

*If you are like me and think more is more when it comes to cookies, try making these GIANT sized. I promise you will not be disappointed.

-kimberlee

flashback friday

well I didn't quite get to this posted on Friday but I figure its Friday in most other parts of the world still so phew, I just made it.
This weeks theme is 'music' (I just learned there are themes) That's me on the left end, back row and I am equal parts sturdy, sun burnt, and smiling for my first year ballet portrait. The back of the photo is carefully labeled (thanks mom) so I know that it was 1986 and I was 4 and a half when this photo was taken. And the dance was set to the song 'How Much is that Doggie in the Window.'

I did not stick with ballet for long, I only did one more year ('London Bridges Falling Down') before I announced to my mother that I didn't want to do anymore dance because I already had enough costumes. Turns out I was just in it for the fashion. It was more important for me to look like a ballerina than actually be one. ha!

hope everyone is having a great weekend. We have parties on top of parties to attend and one is Mayana's (from our knitting circle) baby party. whoot!

-kimberlee