I came home yesterday evening to find this on my doorstep:
I noticed that it had a cute ribbon and note written on a chunk of wood, so I knew it wasn't trash or junky spammy stuff. What I never expected was to open it and find this:
I nearly had a fabric scrap stroke! Big thanks to my gal (and across-the-street neighbor) Laura of
laura davis design lab for giving me these amazing scraps. I am particularly in love with the houndstooth and ticking. Laura is a furniture designer who makes the sweetest aprons and embroidered pillows. Another couple of massive shout outs are in order. First to my close friend Cheyne of
Cut Out and Collect, who is not only a daily force of friendship, but who continuously gives me her sweet fabric scraps. Cheyne is a designer and seamstress who makes high quality bags and purses out of super secret special fabric (wink wink). She also runs the
Coffee Haus in Arlington where I sell some Tefi goods, as well as
Downtown Roasters, a new Etsy shop selling delish roasted coffee beans.
Secondly, to my gal Margaret of
Three Yellow Starfish who - out of nowhere - handed me a huge bag of large fabric scraps. Most of the pieces are hardly scraps at all, but large cuts of fabric that I can definitely put to good use. Margaret is a mom and children's clothing designer who is sending my Ian some rocket robot pants
on the house! Margaret is seriously kind and giving. In return, I'm sending her a thank you surprise. So far, I've used these scraps for making
brooches and
necklaces. Future fabric plans include coffee cozies, banners and buntings. Stay tuned!
Each weekday evening at 5:30 I have the distinct honor of switching off my computer, pushing in my ergonomic desk chair, switching off the fluorescent office light and heading down the elevator to my car to meet Ian who always has a smile for me. After saying our good-byes to my mom, Ian and I head home. I love home. It's warm and smells like us. The floors are a little dirty and there are boxes of tiny baby clothes piling up in the front living room, waiting to be hauled away. The IKEA furniture is cheap and the vintage knick-knacks cute. Oliver keeps watch out the front window and barks at the squirrels, opposums and raccoons who live in our back yard. The porch light comes on at dusk and that's when Ian roams the halls, stuffing random items into my purse. We start dinner - something yummy and homemade for all - and tune into something on the TV. (Yes, we watch TV around our toddler, and without apologies.) Life is short and so are our evenings together. At 7 we eat; at 8 Ian gets a bath; at 8:30 I nurse him to sleep. By 10 I'm asleep snuggled next to him; Jason turns in a little later. I love home. 
Today I bought some incredibly adorable raku house beads (above) handcrafted by Mary of Jubilee. I found her in the latest issue of Stringing magazine where her house beads were featured. I cannot wait to get them and create something sweet and adorable for you. Check back soon to see what I made! (Also pictured: Chubby Little House #75 by Fishstikks)
