my baby the entrepeneur

It seems like yesterday that she was born, “Bachata Rosa” sounding everywhere. As soon as I saw her face I fell in love with her. She was my doll to dress up and spoil; that’s what aunts do, isn’t it?

No longer a baby, M is now using her free time to start a little business (when not studying, partying and sleeping). After years of helping her with projects, dioramas, costumes... the time I’ve dreamed about came a few weeks ago, when I was asked to make a logo for her “cookie business” even though most of them end up being consumed before they’re even packaged.

Maybe in 10 years, when Mookies surpasses Oreo sales, I’ll receive a lifetime supply of free cookies!

building a family

The baby is coming, the baby is coming!! And even the dogs in the Colonial Zone seem to be eagerly waiting for Eva’s arrival.
She’s not coming today, and maybe not for the next few weeks, but there’s a good chance (and that’s an understatement) that by the end of this year a child will have me as a mother.

simple flower tutorial

Susan from Plush Parade asked me how I made the flowers for my niece’s bag. So this post is for her.

1. Start making the circle, you know the drill.
2. Make a knot at the end to secure it but don’t cut the thread.
3. Thread needle thru the center of the circle from back (the back being the side with the hole) to front, then thread again from back to front. (Repeat depending on how many petals you’ll need).
4. When you have all your petals, the needle will be in the front. Thread back though the center, this time from front to back. Make knot to secure it. Don’t cut the thread.
5. You’ll end up with something like this. Now choose what you’ll put in the middle.
6. Add bead or a few beads, French knots... Secure them and now you can cut the thread.

PD. This is not the cutest flower ever, but had to use contrasting colors for the pics to come out clear.

anything BUT a pack rat

Sharing an apartment with someone that saves everything (cute little stones, interesting leaves, junk mail that one day might come in handy, EVERYTHING) I feel a need to be the total opposite. Dealing with scraps is especially difficult for me as I don’t always have enough storage space, so I tend to use them regularly, sometimes even more than newly acquired fabric.

A few days ago I decided to play around with some tiny scraps that I knew worked well together, and made three wonky log cabin-ish type squares. Used Photoshop to create a few versions for a baby quilt, and I went with the easiest one I could come up with (hey I’m just learning as I go along). I think I have enough fabric to make nine more wonky squares. Hope it turns out better that the blue cheese quilt I made last year.

U is for Uganda / C is for Caribbean

They sit close together in my bedroom, almost touching each other. Forget lunchboxes or bentos, this woven wonder is what farm workers use in Uganda to carry their food. It was a gift given to us by a friend that spent months there volunteering for a non profit.

Each time I see it I’m reminded of the night it came to be ours, a perfect night of chipirones and wine, new friends that opened their home to me, stories and laughter. I see the farmer, saying goodbye to his family before going to work at the fields, carrying “little blue” with his simple meal inside. I see the wife, the same hands used to weave now kead the perfect balls that will feed them.

And then my thoughs go to the seashell bowl, with little pieces from our travels through the island, and specially from Miches and fishermen sailing the waters to feed their families. Although we are far, we are the same.

heirlooms and leftovers

As we always say, we only have two seasons here in the Caribbean: Summer and Hell; this time of year being Hell. Sunday was especially hot, causing a kind of heat induced stupor in us. Cooking in front of a stove was an impossible task, and so we went the pasta salad route for lunch.

To make up for our lack of domestic inspiration I decided to do the unthinkable: use one of my grandmother’s crystal bowls. Having heard during all my childhood not to touch them; using one for the first time almost made me feel guilty. Don’t worry abuela, I’ll take good care of them.

little boy, little shoes

A few months ago I saw this great tutorial and bookmarked it. I finally got around to making them and gave them to my little nephew as a gift the day he turned two months; but it was a little late, as it turns out they were too small for him. No biggy though, enlarged the pattern to 125% and they fit just fine.
The little french knot sheep inspired by incy.wincy.