Leo

Leo is on a mission to become the Jane Goodall of meerkats. He knows they are not native to America, but he is sure there are some really clever ones out there capable of air travel and ready for a non-desert climate. Also, his mom told him once that most things in life are possible, so he's pretty sure he'll find some. Leo wears his furry animal suit to blend in to the meerkat culture, but he never forgets to also wear his tie so that if he runs into any people on his expedition, they will know that he is doing serious business and not just playing around. Leo earned his animal tracking badge at camp last summer and so far he has tracked several squirrels and a few domesticated dogs. He is sure meerkats will be next, but gorillas would be pretty awesome too.

Leo was a special request for a friend's sister-in-law's baby. The friend I met at my most favorite place on earth. Since I have my own baby (currently sucking on toes [his not mine]) I have a little bit of a glimpse into their likes and dislikes. Leo has no buttons on him for obvious reasons, but I also tried to use lots of different textures with lots of tuggable parts. He also has 2 functioning denim pockets that can store teeny, tiny treasures. I hope he is well-loved!

Lydia with Stripey Shoes

Lydia is a people watcher. She likes to sit on city benches on high-traffic sidewalks for drinking her dark cocoa. She enjoys playing cupid and imagining different romances sparking between the busy, fancy people who wear high-heels and shiny, cuff-links. Every once in awhile she spots two people who she believes may be soul-mates then she'll firmly close her eyes and send them lovey-romance-vibes so that they'll make eye contact and then one will ask the other out for a cupcake.

Lydia's shoes are removable and carefully hand-stitched. I actually made her ages ago, but never blogged about her. I made a different fellow this week who is plump and wide-eyed, but he's not ready to be photographed yet.

I am a fan of people wearing animal attire. Not fur or leather, but actually dressing partly as an animal on non-Halloween days. I don't know why this is so attractive----maybe because I loved the idea of Never, Never Land and I know the Lost Boys looked like a bunch of animals. It's especially cute when little monkeys wear animal hats (see my little monkey below for proof!).
Pretty soon he will be wearing this and wherever we go we will hear a collective "Awwww!".

Gramps

It took me a long time to finish Gramps here. He was just such a regular guy, which is wonderful in the real world, but in the softie world it seems strange to spend all sorts of time sewing ordinary people. I couldn't seem to take him from drab to fab. I know he really isn't fab, but he's not drab--which is an improvement. The flower on his hat certainly helps. I also am having an identity crisis with him. At first he seemed like the instructor for the Mathletes, but now with the hunting-plaid suspenders he has become more of a farmer's man. Now that he has a flower on his hat I don't even know, but I do know he is chivalrous, because you can't have a flower on your hat and be rude. That is against the laws of nature.

I decided to try photographing gramps on my bright yellow table. Bright yellow as of 2 days ago. Being home all the time has me being a little adventurous with our furniture. There is the bright yellow end table, and now Walter's high-chair is neon green. There is no telling what is next, but I am feeling a sad lack of pink in my life.

In non-softie relate news, today I take my first tai chi class! I am very excited about it---I am hoping it helps with my neck pain I still have from being a crazy, addict sewer. I think I will like it because:

A. I like the idea of being a zen master, and
B. If you switch the sounds around it becomes Chai Tea which is probably my most favorite hot beverage.

Gavin

There is nothing Gavin likes more than a hard-boiled egg and a bit of cheese. He'll eat this breakfast every morning, outside under the shade of his umbrella. He makes toast too, but only to give to the birds because he is a gentleman who knows the importance of sharing. After the birds eat their toast, they are full of gratitude and in return groom Gavin's mustache for him.

So far stay at home motherhood has been a dream. I am not deluded to think it will always be this way, but for now it is basically awesome. I hang out with Walt and sew when there is time. Usually during this time, Walter is in his jumperoo screaming. He is not in distress or anything, the boy just loves to scream.

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes...

All good changes. Joseph got a job! I no longer have a job! Or rather, little Walter is now my full-time employer. Cutest employer ever. He doesn't offer benefits, but due to decreased stress levels I am sure I will be healthy as a horse. We had to move away from Bloomington and to a small town in Southern, IN known for old french architecture and watermelons. This small town is not known for Thai food or strong coffee, but there is a sweet little downtown that is trying very hard and a nice YMCA (great for my pursuits of becoming an amazon woman [one of my goals this year]). Mainly though, this town offers time. Time, sweet time. To play with my son and sew and take Albert on ridiculously long walks. I am going to get back to blogging, though probably more like once a week instead of daily so that I don't go to the dark-side (too much obsessive clicking). I am anxious to get back to sewing and share my creations with you though. Yippee!

Cone of Silence

Joseph and I kept Walter's name a secret throughout the entire pregnancy. It was very serious for Joseph, he did not want me even saying Walter's name when it was just the two of us at home, things may have been different if we had a cone of silence. When I made this banner for my little man he was still in utero and I was not allowed to piece it together until after birth. So while he was in my womb it was like a word scramble. This photo was taken by Mike Lee who came over to our house and took the most charming photos of Walter and Joseph and I (and Albert) as a family, including this one:


Look how tiny! To see more of MDLee's photos, go to his blog-----soooooooo fun.

Walter Nicholas Holsapple

He's here! I'm smitten. I can easily spend 8 hours straight staring at him and making various "aww" sounds when he makes a facial expression. And he makes a lot. Such an expressive boy (imagine proud mom face). I imagined my maternity leave being a creative time. I wanted to dust off my sewing machine and relocate my drawing pens. I imagined Walt swinging in his swingy chair while I sewed up charming stuffed creatures. I would show him my works in progress and he would coo with approval. And though I had heard rumors, I didn't imagine that nursing would be a full-time job. Some days I feel like all I am is a pair of boobs. I am deliriously happy, just not as productive as I hoped to be, but hopefully I'll find some balance and be able to do more frequent posts. It will be difficult to resist turning this blog into a Walter-centric blog (though my Facebook is another story---I'm waiting to see one of my status updates featured here), but I want to keep it about sewing and fabric, so the pictures above all involve Walter wearing a onesie designed by yours truly with fabric markers (thanks Tracey, Spaldo and Molly). He's going to wear it again this week when he watches Star Wars episode four with his daddy.