of ducklings, of life and of dreams

 Part one

  Good afternoon sweet summer beauties! This has been an incredible year in every way. Everything from moving and traveling, to a new baby and a death in the family. There are so many things going on in my heart that I will dedicate a whole blog post to it one of these days very soon. But now, as my baby is growing plumper by the minute and I’m feeling so strong and energetic I have been inspired once more to sit behind my sewing machine and tap out some beautiful garments for my wearing pleasure. Going clothes shopping these days is simply out of the question when one has three little ducklings following her everywhere. Therefore I have been doing a lot of online shopping. The prices tend to be on the outrageous side for me but I did cave and slap down the money for a couple of the most comfortable, flattering pieces I own. When it came right down to it, this chubby mama just needed to feel beautiful, and quickly! There are websites that are much more affordable, but their sizing is ridiculous and the quality is crap. So there you have it! I’ve been driven back (ok, more like eagerly running) to my 100% cotton jersey knit and our carefully and lovingly designed patterns to add a few desperately needed pieces to my wardrobe. It’s been fun. I missed the hum of the serger and the bite of the scissors through the fabric. I missed trying on a completed dress or shirt and looking in the mirror thinking, wow! I did good! It’s harder these days to get any sewing done though. My 5 year old has this great imagination and an expanding vocabulary. The stories that she comes up with and things she needs to talk about come at the most inopportune times. Then there is my 2 year old, he follows his sister around doing everything she does. He does not call her sissy or Abigail, he refuses to even shorten it to Abby. He calls her GIRL, and with great affection. He is my easy one. He plays in the sand box, pees on trees, and has a whole fleet of tractors that keep him happy all day long. Now add a baby to the mix. At only 11 weeks old, she is the troublemaker. She seems to know exactly when I’m in the middle of a project ( I begin nursing her as we speak!)  and somehow knows as soon as we sit down to eat and regales us with wails of how important her needs are. Of course the world stops for her and she is the center of our universe. I simply don't know how we lived life without her. She already sleeps 6 hours straight at night time and is the most smiley baby I’ve had. But lets face it, doing a sewing project in one sitting is out of the question. I think I stopped and started this dress at least 15 times yesterday!  

  I love the beautiful journey I'm on and the life I have been given. Baby wearing, herb gardens and natural fabrics make me happy. My one sadness is that El is so far away as she mothers and wife’s her own little brood ( let's be honest people, hers is a big brood!) We keep in touch daily and keep each other from going insane. We are just like you ladies, some days our husbands make us mad, sometimes we have no idea what planet our kids came from, sometimes we hide in the bathroom and call it alone time, sometimes we eat all the bad food, sometimes we call each other for help when the walls of overwhelming motherhood and disappointment wants to collapse on us. And just like you, some days we are able to step  back and look at our lives with a grateful hearts and it changes everything. Our husbands love us wildly, our children are our pride and joy, and we give up alone time to take our kids to the park or go for a slow walk together, we jump up and down and act crazy when one of our homeschooled ducklings finally learns to read. And we still dream.

  We dream often of the resurrection of Tangled threads production and putting our new ideas into action. We dream of pattern making, dyeing mouthwatering colors, wearing our creations and putting our creations in your hands to love as much as we do. But most of all, and I mean MOST, we dream about being together again and our lives having a few more corners of normal in them. I have found immense joy in my place in life right now; even the baby puke, the pee stained toddler, the kindergartner learning that the platypus has a 6th sense are things I don't wish away. I’m soaking up the little moments in life that are all to fleeting. But very soon we shall cover the floor with fabric clippings and hang rows of handmade things to admire, ( we actually do that, step back and drink in our work. It makes us unbelievably happy) then lovingly package and send them to you.

 I’m working on a tutorial blog about how to make a finished edge on a nursing top I designed. This blog was going to be about that, but I had too many fun things to share about my life and ducklings while I’ve been away from you all. So stay tuned for part two,  farewell for now my beauties - Aud