Thanks to generous family and friends and the presence of an existing child, Heather doesn’t need anything for her soon-to-come baby. At least, nothing I can afford. So I figure, if someone doesn’t need anything and I feel compelled to give them something anyhow, it should either be (1) delicious or (2) small and always (3) made by someone totally awesome. In this case, the awesome person is me. I decided to make baby Leigha an owl.

First I made a 1″x1″ doodle of my idea. Then I made a bigger doodle. Then I started cutting fabric. For some reason, having a child has liberated me from the confinement of using sewing patterns. I used: six co-ordinating colors of fleece fabric, six colors of thread, three types of ribbon, half a plastic snap, some quilt batting,  some crinkly plastic and a couple of steel jingle-bells. The owl has a wingspan of about 7 ¼” or 18.5 cm. It’s so adorable! I want one for me…

Oh, and what did I learn about photography today? To use snow as a neutral background, shoot into the sun and let the object’s shadow fall onto itself. That way, the whites are burned-out whites and the object’s colors remain somewhat vibrant. Otherwise, the snow turns neutral-grey & when I try to fix that, the colors get a bit washed out. I’m sure there’s someway around that issue, but it takes time.

We don’t have a Jack-in-the-box,

but we do have a totally awesome vintage 1974 Fisher Price cash register with all six coins.

Iris drives off in the getaway car as Joshua tries to heist the cash register.

Joshua checks out Iris’ butt.

Iris adores baby Mesa.

Joshua writes Iris a message on the magnet board, but Iris can’t read.

Mesa is astounded with Joshua’s skill at making the climbing men climb.

Joshua assesses whether the toys are distributed evenly enough across the floor.

Which of the following do you prefer?

1.

2.

On Mondays, we go to a Waldorf playgroup called Star Garden.

Iris really likes it.

Now Iris is a dough pro.

Everyone got some dough (including Mesa)

to poke

and pat

and prod

and pinch

and roll

and roll some more.

Heather is going to have a baby. I am practicing capturing her belly with light.

I have some ideas how to make it better.

Ooh! I’m so excited…