School Year Wrap-Up

Well its officially summer break here, which means 3 kids in-house all the time, playdates galore, trips to local attractions, and even a chance for a family vacation next month!  All this also means I am having to work harder to fit crafting time in :)  I won't complain though, I am truly truly enjoying this time with my kids.  My oldest was in first grade this past year and I realized for the first time that, while its nice to have time to do work while he's in school, I really missed him.  He left at 8:30 am and didn't get off the bus till almost 4.  Then there was homework, after school activities, dinner, and only about an hour to actually enjoy time together.  Next year my middle child will be in first grade and I am already anticipating how much I'm going to miss the older two!  Luckily I still have one at home to keep me company though.

Anywhoo... I have gotten a few things done in the last few weeks.  I wanted to make an extra special gift bag for my kids' teachers because of all the love they put into teaching them this year.  Last year I did a movie-night themed bag for Eli's teacher, but I wanted to do something a bit different this time.  Just like last year I made simple patchwork-style gift bags using some fun coordinating fabrics and lined them.  This time I added an interior pocket and a fabric flower turning these totes into almost a fashion accessory!  I posted a pic of them on the Knits and Knots Facebook page and got a lot of positive response. I had several follow-up orders and I had fun seeing how they each turned out with different fabrics.

I was contacted by a photographer for some seasonal hats for her fall/winter newborn photo shoots.  I loved the outcome of both of these sweet toppers.

And my last project is the most fun of all :)  This sock-monkey photo prop set was commissioned by a girl who had seen one online and tried to order it for her soon-to-be-newborn baby only to find out the woman selling them had closed her shop to new orders because she was swamped with business!  I couldn't blame her as the idea is simply darling.  Its a sock monkey earflap hat and matching diaper cover with the cutest little tail on the rump.  Unfortunately for me I don't have a good model to show it off, so this was the best I could do.

Sister Set

My first order from the Summer Line was a "Sister Set" of coordinating pillowcase dresses.  The dresses are for the daughters of a dear friend of mine.  She wanted them to be in the same print but not identical.  We chose this gorgeous bold print and accented it with cream on one dress and black on the other. 

I love the versatility of the pillowcase dress.  It can be worn as a typical dress, with leggings or capris for a fun contemporary look, layered over a long-sleeved shirt and jeans or tights for a fun winter style, and it can even be worn as a top as the owner ages!

Photo Reality

So... I haven't been crafting much lately.  I admit it, I've been a complete slacker in this area!  But the reality is that I have been taking my creative drive in a different direction lately.  I'm going to share a bit of what I've been up to.  If you're not interested, feel free to skip this post, but I was just feeling the urge to share this part of me with you as well!

I have always loved nature.   My most vivid childhood memories are crisp images stored in my mind of the places I played outdoors.  I can remember as a little girl sitting on the warped, aging, moss-covered wooden bridge that crossed the little birch-lined creek in our backyard.  I looked down into the slowly moving water that was covered in a layer of golden leaves newly fallen from the trees and my heart swelled with delight!

I so desperately wanted to capture this image and keep it forever.  I tried to take a picture with my little plastic camera that my parents had given me for my birthday, but it turned out flat and blurry and just did not come close to the image I had stored in my mind.  I figured I just wasn't any good at taking pictures, or that it was impossible to have a photo capture what I was seeing, and my desire for photography waned.

As an adult my interest in photography has grown again as I wanted to find a way to better present my products.   A few years back I bought a super zoom camera that allowed me to have more control over the outcome of my photos and I truly got hooked!  This winter I took a photography class taught by my dear friend Jill Reid of Raindancer Studios and learned even more about what a camera is capable of.

This spring, I was finally able to afford a digital SLR camera, and I have actually been able to truly capture images as I see them!  I have spent countless hours outdoors with my kids; stopping at random locations, crawling on the ground, bending at funny angles, taking shot after shot as I learn the ability of my camera and its different functions.  And I have been capturing some of the most amazing (to me) photos of the glory of this season.

There is nothing in the world that makes me feel closer to God than to revel in His wonderful creation, and I have truly been drinking it in this spring!  I hope you enjoy these as much as I do and that you are able to enjoy the glory of the springtime (or the fall, depending on where you live) happening all around your home as well!

*all images (c) Andrea Moberly 2011.  May not be duplicated or used for any purpose without express permission.*

Summer Line

My "official" summer line is up!  You can find the link at the top of the page, or just click below to see what's new for the season!

Summer Line 2011

Molecular Love

My sister and I are both a bit geeky.  For those of you who know either one of us, this is probably not much of a surprise.  To be honest, we came by it naturally.  Our dad is an engineer, our brother is an engineer, I have a BS in chemistry, my sister teaches high school chemistry, biology and physics.  Geekiness (geekyness? geeky-ness?) is in our blood.  Needless to say, I was totally tickled when my sister asked me to make two stuffed molecule rattles for a friend of hers who is expecting this summer!  She requested methane (CH4) and water (H2O).

We went with traditional colors for the methane C-black and H-yellow, but for the water we went with pink and white since we just found out the baby is a girl.

I will admit I totally looked up the relative atomic radii of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, and their respective bond lengths and made these molecules accordingly!  I just couldn't help myself :)  I didn't have to look up the bond angles (I still remembered those from my pre-children days).

On a side note, craftiness also runs strongly in our family's veins.  My mom ran a craft consignment store when we were little out of the detached garage behind our house.  She made pottery and sold all kinds of crafts.  I have very vivid memories of my preschool winter days, stirring the hot apple cider on the antique gas stove that was her grandmothers while customers roamed through "Nana's Cupboard" looking at all the locally made treasures!  I know that my love for crafting comes straight from my mom.   My sister has recently discovered her own crafty passion: jewelry and soapmaking.  She opened an Etsy store this winter where she sells handmade jewelry, stitch markers, and soaps.  Check out Endless Forms to see what she's got!

Easter Dressing

For some reason Easter is the time of year I feel the most motivated to make an outfit for my daughter.  Maybe its the expectation that everyone dresses up for church on Easter Sunday.  Maybe its that the dreary weather of winter is finally gone and with its departure comes the desire for bright colors and breezy clothes and something new.  This year I started with a skirt.

I used a fat quarter pack I had bought last fall, cut strips of varying width, sewed them vertically into a rectangle and made a simple gathered skirt.  I trimmed it out on the bottom and added a nice comfy waistband in a coordinating knit.

I scoured Anna's drawers for a tank or t-shirt in coordinating colors that I could embellish to match the skirt,  but just couldn't come up with what I was looking for.  I did, however, have a ton of the knit leftover so I decided to throw caution to the wind and work up my very first t-shirt.  I'll be honest, sewing with knit fabric scares me.  Inset sleeves scare me. adding a neckband scares me.  Making up my own pattern scares me.  This was a BIG leap for me!  I took a t-shirt I knew fit her and used it as a pattern for the new one.  I kinda just winged it, but I think it turned out pretty nice!

I whipped up a little flower in matching fabric to add some feminine charm.  Turns out the outfit is great for jumping,

spinning,

and overall looking sweet :)

*lets all pretend we don't see those weeds in the patio, ok?  I can only handle on task at a time these days :) 

Catching up

So, my blogging has been pretty non-existent lately.  I can make lots of excuses, but the largest and most realistic one is that my baby boy has needed me.  Alex is healthy, smart, and full of energy; but he is also a bit anxious, clingy, and needing my full attention for large portions of the day.  This comes with the territory of adoption, especially adoption of children 6 mo or older.  So, upon the advice of some dear friends and other adoptive mamas I decided to set aside eagerly pursuing business and instead keeping myself free to just be a mom.  The good news is I have gone from seeing this most of the time:

To seeing a lot more of this:

Its totally been worth every moment away from my craft.

That's not to say I've done nothing over the past few months.  I just haven't been cranking out project after project like I was over the early part of the winter :)  Here are a few pics of the last couple of projects I've worked on:

These are decorations that go on a camera lens.  Professionals use them to get babies and children to look at the camera rather than the person holding it!  I made these for Jill from Raindancer Studios.  She's trying them out and giving me suggestions on how to improve them! (these photos are awful because I had to take them with the camera on my phone in order to show how they looked on a lens.)

I made a cute custom set of coffee wraps for a dear friend.  She is getting married in a few months and picking out all kinds of handmade goodies for her bridesmaids.  I was so honored when she requested personalized wraps for each of them.  We made them in her wedding colors and they are personalized with flocked lettering.  LOVE how they turned out!

And last but not least I finally got around to making one of these little birdie rattles.  I have seen this idea floating all over the internet for a long time but never had time to sit down and work out a pattern.  I had an excuse while making a baby shower gift for a friend.  I love how it turned out and will definitely be making more of these in the future.