McJagger and the Doody Sandwich

I've been tagged by Jen, the talented crocheter/seamstress of The fabled needle. Here are ten weird or little known things about me:

1. I got arrested the night before the S.A.T.s for throwing stuff off my parent's balcony. My friend and I hit a moving police car as it turned a corner. Woops!

2. I'm a major sugar addict. I can't go even one day without a few sweet things. Once I had to cut all yeast out of my diet for a week and I still put a spoonful of sugar in my coffee each morning. Diets are pretty much out of the question.

3. My first star obsession was with Adam Ant when I was in seventh grade. My best friend Maya and I spent all our allowance money on his albums, posters, and buttons for our jean jackets. We eventually got to see him play at Radio City. We even wrote him letters. My second and last star obsession was with Robert Smith.

4. Maya and I were also obsessed with gay men in seventh grade. We went to school in NYC's west village where gay men are abundant, and we thought they were the best thing ever. We hung out outside a gay bar (Uncle Charlie's) on Friday nights with a Polaroid camera and notebook, asking various men if they could help us with a school project by answering questions. We took their photos, and asked what their favorite bands were, where in the world they would want to live if they could live anywhere, and what their favorite foods were. None of them turned us down and I still have a baggy full of the Polaroids in a box in the closet. The pictures freak me out because I now realize that some of those men must be dead as the photos were taken right when AIDS was starting to infect people but no one realized what it was yet.

5. Later in high school I was the youngest (and first under 18) person to volunteer at Gay Men's Health Crisis. I wanted to do in-home visits with a client to help him (or her) with tasks he was too ill to perform. I went through an intensive training and then they discovered that I could not do the job due to insurance issues because I was too young. I ended up working instead at the recreation center, serving meals and playing mixed tapes on Friday nights. My pal Emily joined me and we enjoyed our junior year spending Friday nights eating and boogying with a group of really fun adults.

6. I have been to a psychic twice in my life (different psychics). Both times I went just for kicks not expecting much out of it. Both times I was told I would have two sons. The first time when I was in high school I was told I would end up either a teacher or a nurse. I've already been a teacher and am still considering switching to pediatric nursing. This same first psychic also told me that I would live a long life but die a violent death (thanks for nothing b'yotch!)

7. When I was a kid I thought Mick Jagger was an Irish person who was called by his last name, McJagger.

8. The only thing I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a writer. That and a mother. At least I got one out of two. And I'm not dead yet, so we'll see.

9. A few years ago my cousins and I cranked called my grandmother and whispered, "Do you want a doody sandwich?" She said she would love a doody sandwich. We never told her it was us.

10. When I was 27 I declared bankruptcy due to credit card debt. It never caused me any problems and I have zero debt to this day. Yippee!

OK, I now tag Kimmy, Jen Tiffany, Daryl, and Linda.

Well Hello Dolly

My paltry posting habits are due to the holiday season, I swear! I've been working away on ornaments for this ornament swap and this one (as if I don't have enough to do, but I couldn't turn down a good swap). I'll post pics a week after I send them out. Also, I am replenishing the Rose & Duke stock because I'll be selling again in a couple of weeks in the Guerro's lot on S. Congress. Please stop by and say hello if you are in town, there will be lots of handmade goodness for sale.

We enjoyed a peaceful thanksgiving at Jen and Kevin's with Jen's delightful family. You betcha that I brought some desserts. I made a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip squares (for some reason I forgot to photograph these). Everyone always goes berserk on these and they are quite easy to make. I also took a risk and went with Martha's recent recipe for pear cranberry pie with a lattice top. I used a plastic star from Harlan's shape sorter toy to cut the starts out of the crust. The pie was good but too heavy on the cranberries unfortunately.


At the last minute I decided to throw in a chocolate bourbon pecan pie, because every thanksgiving table needs a good one. I made this one from a combination of recipes and it came out more like a soft cookie on a pate brisee pastry, which may not be exactly what I was going for but still tastes a lot better than a fistful of baby corn or cuchifritos (deep fried pig ears).


I did not want to work on anything I had to do during the vacation, so instead I made a couple of doll dresses for the baby dolls at Harlan's Montessori school. When I picked him up last Tuesday a couple of the kids were playing with the dolls, and I noticed that their only outfits were totally falling apart (and were pretty crummy to begin with). It made me sad. Next I'm going to make them a couple of quilts for their wooden cradles. I can't believe I forgot to photograph the back sides of the dresses, but I did. They are totally open, with two covered buttons and red velvet ribbons on the other side to hook over the buttons. I used a combination of these two patterns. I would like to make them some sweaters so if anyone knows of any patterns for doll sweaters please let me know (knit or crochet).


P.S. I went to the City Wide Garage Sale last weekend and was basically just overwhelmed by the crowds. We only stayed a brief amount of time, but I did score three vintage aprons for $2 each. While I don't wear aprons and bought these to scrap the fabric for other projects, I feel badly cutting them up because they're just so darn cute. What can you do?

Half Violet Crumble

So it turns out my camera is fine but the lens is broken. Lucky for me my father's birthday gift to me just arrived today. It's a micro lens and it's taking me a little practice to get the hang of. Here is one shot I took with it of a couple of the price signs I had on my table at Stitch:


This is a shot I forgot to post last week. It's my failed attempt at making honeycomb with chocolate coating for the adult's goody bags at Harlan's birthday party.


I made the honeycomb three times, all according to Nigella's cooking show. She never mentioned a temperature for the confection to reach and thus I never ended up with a successful honeycomb. Lucky for me my friend Kim can steer me in the right direction in time for Christmas.

Christmas List

Apparently Urban Outfitters* has sent a spy into my subconscious to come up with a fabulous bunch of goodies:

salt and pepper shakers


Critter cookie jars:

Some fantastic cameras including The Diana:

A record player you can plug into your computer to turn your albums into CDs or MP3s:

*Disclaimer: I know it's wrong to support them because they rip off so many indie designers, but for crying out loud they're killing me with some of this stuff.

BUT, better than anything available at Urban Outfitters is the t-shirt from Houston artist Chingo Bling:

I think I need to get this "T-churt" as it called on the webstore. Not that half Irish Catholic half Ukrainian Jews are in danger of being deported, but still.

A Stitch in Time

I have been a horrible blogger lately because I have been working non-stop to prepare for Stitch Austin. The event was my first major vending experience, and it was a great way to get my feet wet. Stitch was a fashion show and guerilla craft fair that happened last Saturday down at the Austin Convention Center, and it showcased the talents of designers and crafters from all around.

I shared a booth with my friend Jenifer, and our load in time was at ten in the morning, although the show did not officially open until 2:30 P.M. I managed to pack my garment rack, over a hundred garments, and all the other accouterments into a giant suitcase and Rubbermaid box with wheels. I also had a folding chair, and a giant two year old (Harlan measured in at 3' 2" at his recent two year check up) in tow. My plan was to pull into the loading dock, strap Harlan into his stroller and make short runs with all of the gear into my booth inside. There were a bunch of volunteers working at the loading dock whom I had been told via e-mail would be willing to help vendors load in. The volunteers who stood by the entrance with clip-boards in hand were a bunch of barely-twenty-somethings with a Delia's aesthetic, who seemed to think that the woman running laps between the station wagon and the kid in the stroller was invisible. By the time I had gotten the suitcase past them and ran back with Harlan to the box and chair sitting in the middle of parking lot, an older volunteer approached me and asked if she could help. Usually I'm one to say, "No, no, I got it" even if I'm on fire and someone approaches me with a bucket of water, but on this day I happily handed my child over to a stranger while I ran back to pick up the box and chair. When I got back Harlan was surrounded by nice women all chatting with him, and he did not even notice my 30 second absence. The helpful stranger then helped me even more by dragging the massive box and chair all the way to my booth for me. Big thanks kind stranger!

The show was a lot of work but also a heck of a lot of fun, not only because I got to experience total strangers rushing over to ooh and aah over my efforts, but because I met so many cool, talented people who were all trying to do the same thing that I have been- earning a living by making things. I managed to do some great trades as well, but unfortunately I can not show you anything I received nor any action shots of Rose & Duke because MY CAMERA BROKE!
Great timing, as my father just bought me a micro lens for my birthday too.

Moving right along, I know I need to post something visual, so I'll mention some holiday crafting inspiration for any of you who don't have enough already:

Sew Mama Sew has a post each day this month with a different tutorial for something you can make as holiday gifts.

Anthro has some adorable hand sewn felt house ornaments that have inspired me to make some for some upcoming ornament swaps.

Alicia P. is going to sell some kits to make her famous Santa Lucia dolls. You better bet I need one. Speaking of Alicia, if you know any Corgi lovers you need to get a gift for, how about this book?

And lastly, I have a new Japanese fabric ALERT for all you fanatics out there:
LOOK HERE
Or don't if you like money and want to keep any.

Again, apologies for the lack of photos, hopefully the matter will be resolved shortly.

Holiday Season Begins Here

October kicks off the holiday season and off we went last weekend, to Marble Falls to Sweetberry Farms.


Pumpkins were piled everywhere, including on a lovely rusted bed and inside an old truck:




Notice any difference between myself and the other visitors? I know it's difficult to see all the people in the bed photo, but I can assure you that none of them were wearing dresses, let alone ones from Anthroplogie, nor are they wearing Camper maryjanes. They were not holding toddlers wearing cute shirts that their friend Abby got for them at Tea Collection sample sales in San Francisco. Pretty much everyone seems to wear jeans, t-shirts and sneakers, and I'm not talking about cute vintage Wranglers or sexy fitting Barney's jeans with Petite Bateau tees or American Apparel hipster ringer tees.

Pumpkin patch (a.k.a rural) fashion was a topic of discussion on the car trip back into town and we came to the conclusion that in country settings where people drive everywhere, fashion is not as important as it is to people in cities. There is less reason to dress and also less inspiration to be gained from the outfits of others. Back in NYC you could easily be entertained walking around any neighborhood and taking in all of the ensembles. Back when I worked up on Madison Ave. there were some pretty awesome outfits to be seen- the creme de la creme of expensiveness, and of course, ridiculousness. You know when you look inside Vogue and think Who the hell wears that crazy rabbit fur bikini top with high-waited jeans and hooker boots? Well, just go walk around the 57th St. area and you will see that there is a real-live market for such absurdity. One of my favorite times of year was the dead of winter when one could spot men donning thick fur coats, looking like life-size teddy bears. My co-workers and I would regularly spot Bill Cunningham (photographer of style for the New York Times) standing back from the street with his camera hanging around his neck. We would non-chalantly pass in front him trying to look like we were laughing or enjoying ourselves in slow motion, just in case we would be good fodder for his Sunday Styles section. Alas, we never showed up in print although several of our other co-workers did, and it always felt like we were somehow part of it too (even though we were in no way part of it obviously). I have to say that I felt a kindred spirit in Angelina recently when she talked about still wanting to be able to get dressed and enjoy fashion even though her daily life doesn't exactly require it. As the no-office-to-go-to mother of a toddler, I really don't have any good reason to get out of my velour pants and thermal shirt, but for the most part I do, just because it's fun and I also feel like I lost my identity during the year that this outfit was the only one I wore (2006 when Harlan was a baby). Now that I get a full seven hours sleep each night and am not breastfeeding, there is really no reason not to get dressed each morning.

I hope I am not offending any country dwellers out there- I'm sure many of you own garments other than hemmed jean shorts and puffy white sneakers, but I have not met you so I'm basing this passage on my own experience with country folk (which is pretty minimal honestly- I am definitely the person that the bumper sticker "Yankee go home" is intended for).

Speaking of fashion, the local temperature finally dropped last week (going down the the upper 30's at night and warming up to a lovely upper 70's during the afternoons) and Harlan got to wear this awesome vintage plaid jacket that my friend Karen got him at an auction up in PA.

Karen is due to give birth to her first child in two weeks, so send her best wishes everyone.

On the drive back to town we stopped at a roadside junk shop and picked up this antique child's rocking chair for $15.

It is not in perfect condition as the wood could use a little shine and the vinyl has a hole on the seat and a paint stain on the bottom front. I plan to refinish it one day and keep it in my future craft room with some softies on it. For now Harlan loves it and it goes great in our living room.

Speaking of crafting (and of chairs for that matter) I got three wonderful books in the mail last week as an early birthday gift (thanks to the magic of the amazon.com wish list) from my father and stepmother in law:


I have had my eye on this one for a while since it features so many great interviews and projects from many great crafty bloggers out there. I have to admit I am in love with Heidi Kenney's tissue box cover:



Just when I thought I was too cool for something as lowbrow as a tissue box cover, I find myself feeling I can not live without making one.

Simple Sewing with a French Twist has been at the top of my wish list for a while. Here is a peek of some inspiring projects:



This folding chair is the first thing I'm going to make (as soon as I finish 100 other things) for our balcony. You just need to find a wooden folding chair, spray paint the frame black and sew a basic seat and back for it by tracing the one you rip out of it.

I discovered this book over on Posie Gets Cozy and have been wanting to try a little ribbon embroidery of my own (project 102 on the list I suppose).

Also in the mail as an early birthday gift came this hand embroidered Chinese top from my mother in law who lives in Taiwan:

Also super inspiring.

I'm working away on the business and here are a couple of hoodies I'll be offering. The one with the initial be available upon order with whichever initial the customer wants. The letters are from a vintage pattern that Karen also got at an auction for me a while back.




I need to get a better lens for my camera so that I can control the light as well as get more detailed shots of embroidery stitches. Perhaps as a birthday gift to myself :)

Speaking of the embroidery business, the shop has a new name. I had to cancel my tax i.d. number in NY and have to file a new Doing Business As name here in Texas. As you know I had trouble figuring out how to keep "Bun Bun" but get rid of the "baby" so that people will not assume that I only make baby clothes and items. I wanted something that indicated both genders and that sounded like it was from a few generations back. I ended up choosing the names of my favorite great-aunt and great-uncle, who are still going strong up in Brooklyn in their eighties. They are Rose and Duke, and Rose is a fantastic needlepoint artist to boot. Here is the postcard for the new shop:


I found a web design team to take over the task of creating a site for me, and it will debut in February. Until then, enjoy your Halloween.

Down in Old San Antone

I've been hard at work making different items to sell, and I won't be showing most of them here until they're all complete and Stitch is right around the corner. In the mean time here is one design I've been working on. First, I wanted to do this little bunny for a wall hanging:
I had already sewn this embroidery from early on this summer into a wall hanging:
Then the bunny's balloon reminded me of a cute shirt that Harlan received as a gift for his first birthday. It had a large number one on it. I fooled around with a couple of variations:
and


Last Sunday the Crumble family went for a quick drive south to San Antonio to visit our pals Ellen and Brennan and their sons Quentin and Emmett. Ellen and I were college roommates our freshman year at Reed, and Brennan came as a freshman the following year. I still remember the letter I received from Ellen the summer before we met. She told me that she loved rock 'n roll and was currently listening to Daniel Johnston, Fire Hose, The Meat Puppets, and Neil Young (also a weakness of mine). She drove her grandparents old beater while smoking and listening to the radio, and she wondered what kind of car I had and if I was bringing it with me. I knew right away that we were going to hit it off even though I didn't yet know how to drive (I was a NYC kid- none of us drove). During our spring break freshman year we embarked on a road trip to Idaho and ended up going all the way to San Antonio, Ellen's home town. It was my first trip to Texas and I was hooked!

Here we are in our dorm room, dressed up like Gun's & Rose's for fun:


And these are shots of one another that we took during that road trip, in San Antonio:

I can't believe I'm sporting the vintage men's vest in both photos. What the f was I thinking? Even worse than the fact that this look was in fashion then is that it's on its way back. I just saw it in Lucky and almost felt compelled to write them a letter telling begging them to just let it go with acid wash and the other bad late 80's fashion choices.
I almost feel badly for the models.

Ellen and I drifted in and out of touch with each other over the years since college ended, and eventually we both lived close to one another in Brooklyn. Last spring Ellen returned to San Antonio and we are neighbors once again. I think she looks exactly the same now as she did almost twenty years ago. And look what cute critters she and Brennan brought into the world:


After eating some killer breakfast burritos (San Antonio is something like 80% Mexican and the Mexican food there is amazing) we went to a local park.


The picnic house at the park looks a lot like a famous San Antonio landmark:


I got a bit lost trying to find I-35 to get home from the park, but the big blue Texas sky did not disappoint.






That's my kind of October day. Guess what else we do in Texas in October?