sweet home alabama

my dear friend alicia is from alabama and we met about 4 years ago, when i owned wild wools. she came in to buy yarn and hearing her southern accent made me long for home. she spoke a language i understood. i invited her to a halloween party and from that moment on, she and her husband were part of our group. they were planning on living here for a year, her hubby was doing a dental residency, and then returning to alabama. they moved away, we were all sad and missed them. two years later we received an email that they were moving back to upstate new york and we were just giddy about it.


when alicia's mother and mother in law learned about cooper they immediately wanted to contribute to coopers flock. they went to their local yarn shop, in the making, and told them about the coopers flock project. and this little yarn shop in alabama rolled out the southern hospitality and took on this project wholeheartedly. they put out the call to their customers and they responded. the staff and customers of in the making, made 68 birds for coopers flock. can you believe it? alicia's mom delivered them to me this past saturday. and let me tell you dear readers these birds are so full of love, life and color!


the birds were both sewn and knit. the batch below are the sewn birds called purdy birdie.

and all the coopers birdies on an evergreen tree in the back yard.

both birdie patterns are on their website. these newest members of coopers flock brings the total to 397 birds! isn't that outstanding? thank you in the making, you helped this mama's heart heal a little more. and i know if i lived in alabama we would be best friends.

anatomy of a surprise baby shower

when i learned that tommy's mom, alli, was expecting her second baby boy in july, i knew that wanted to have a shower for her. i also knew that if i asked her she would say that she didn't need one, because she didn't need anything new. she is very practical, so i decided that i would make it a surprise shower. alli loves surprises, but she is very astute, so i knew it would be a hard task to actually "surprise" her. yesterday was the appointed day and she had not a clue as to what was in store for her. i told her i needed help with getting coopers flock ready to go to the hospital. she said that she had to work on saturday, but i pleaded with her and told her i really needed her here. thankfully she agreed, and when she walked in in she looked at me and said " there are a lot of people here to help you with coopers flock." it took a minute for her to realize that she knew most of the people in the room and they were not here to help me with coopers flock, but to help celebrate the arrival of her new baby. we both cried, thankfully i had plenty of kleenex left over from coopers service.

here are some of the highlights.

poms from PomLove hanging from the ceiling in bright colors that matched the invitation. i love these so and don't want to take them down. i think they would be just precious hanging in a nursery.

darling onesies cookies from cakeboxcookies. these cookies are amazing. they smelled so delicious when they arrived it was hard not to eat them before the party.

mini clipboard party favors, complete with pad of paper and mini sharpie in fun colors. thanks marta for the brilliant idea and posting about it on your blog.

and lots of cute presents including this precious knit hat courtesy of alicia, who happens to be sitting next to alli.

overall, a very successful shower indeed. i had such fun planning all the details. and i cant wait to meet baby charlie in a few months.

{jig} onesie winner

we have a winner for the {jig} onsesie gift set. i love giving stuff away. thanks to random.org, which random generates a number to ensure fairness. seriously i would give a the prize to everyone if i could. wouldn't that be fun?

anywhoo.... the winner is lucky number 8, who happens to be alicia. this is what alicia said "This quilt is so special, and you, Rachel, and Louis created such an amazing piece of art! You can come play on my mom's "vintage" 1960s sewing machine anytime you want - we can learn how to use it together! Love, Alicia"

Yay alicia. be a dear and send me your info, so that i can put you in touch with that creative mind behind the {jig} brand.

now i must think of another giveaway.

have a great saturday!

friday knitting

today i give you my creative laundry list that is in my brain because i don't have any finished projects to share with you.

i am working on two projects right now that seem to be taking me forever to finish. one is a sweater for my dear mom. it is an easy rowan pattern, simple stockinette stitch but the knitting seems to be never ending. maybe because it is on small needles, but size 5 isn't that small, or maybe its because there are two pieces to the front and back, or maybe because i keep making simple mistakes and have to rip it back. once i finish the front and have moved on to the sleeves i will feel like i am in the home stretch. i have set a deadline for myself.

the second project is for me, its the cover sweater on the spring/summer issue of vogue knitting. i do love it, but the knitting is slow going. it is constructed in two pieces, the center medallion and the outer band. i flew through the center medallion, but the outer band is comprised of 4 different stitch patterns and i have to pay attention. for some reason i have yet to memorize the pattern repeat. maybe it will be finished with it by the end of summer.....

but i think that real reason i am having a hard time finishing these two projects is because my creative mind is in on speed, its in overdrive. i have so many things rattling around in my head that i cant seem to focus. i have made a list but i just want to start working on the list, but am making myself wait until i finish the above mentioned projects.

here is a sampling of the list:

1. design polka dot baby sweater

2.design knit placemat with fabric

3. rework dr seuss baby hat

4. knit the whisper cardigan in spring IK

5. design baby blanket

6. knit the pirate hat for my cousin's son and my little brother

7. knit che pillow

8. rework and finish knit cowboy boot covers

9. knit baggy bolero

10. and finish those two projects that are on my needles!

happy friday knitting!

dear cooper

my dear sweet precious cooper,

today, we would have celebrated your 6th month of life. i have found myself wondering what you would have been like. would you be sitting up? would your hair still be so blond that it glowed? what color would your eyes be? would you have curls, like i did when i was small? i imagine that today, on this special day, we would have read stories and gone for a walk, played on the floor and taken a nap. my heart breaks not only because you are gone, but because of all the things i never got to share with you. but cooper, i am healing. i have more good days than bad days and am able to see you in the birds outside, the flowers in the yard and the sun as it beams through the clouds.

we had your memorial service a few weeks ago, but i know that you know that, because you were there. it was a glorious day, a little on the cool side, but the sun was shining, the trees and flowers were full of life, and the birds were singing all for you. there were 300 coopers flock birds in the trees, 100 for each week of your life and seeing them in the trees took my breath away. the way that you have touched the lives of so many is truly awe inspiring and when we take the birds to the hospital, you will continue to touch the lives of others. and that brings me peace.

your dad and i both felt some closure after your service. we had been preparing for that day for some time, but i am glad that we waited until spring. it gave us some time to heal a bit and to make that day very special for you. there were so many people there who never got the chance to meet you, but love you so much. we are truly blessed to have such loving friends and family.

cooper, i think about you so many times during the day. your dad and i miss you so much but we know that you are with us in your own way. the other night we were eating dinner, and there was a pair of cardinals outside the dining room window. your dad said that you sent them as a sign to us. they were so spectacular. i think they have a nest in one of the evergreen trees in the back yard. it is in moments like that when we feel your presence and we treasure them so. those moments enable us to move through life and help us to heal.

loving and missing you

mom

cooper's quilt

when i was pregnant with cooper i was obsessed with finding original, cute and hip onesies. i scoured the internet like a woman on a mission. it was during this time that i discovered {jig}. i immediately fell in love with her onesies and soon became one of her very best customers. because i was ordering so many onesies for cooper, i got to know the creative mind behind the onesies, alyssa. we made an instant internet connection and i am quite certain if we lived in the same city we would hang out. she shares my love of french fries, jcrew and method cleaning supplies. but alas, for now we are internet friends.


shortly after cooper died, i knew i wanted to make something out of the darling {jig} onesies he had accumulated, but there was one problem, i dont know how to sew, knit yes, sew not a clue. so i contacted rachel. rachel sews and i knew that she could help me with this project. after several discussions about what the blanket/quilt should look like, we decided we needed the help of lois, rachel's mom. lois knows how to quilt and she was just the woman to bring our vision to life.

so we set a date for a friday in april. i was given the task of ironing interfacing on all the pieces of the onesies that we had cut into strips. rachel and lois arrived at my house with sewing machines in hand and we got to work. after much discussion, alot of laughter, a break for lunch and lots of sewing we finished the top of the quilt. it was perfect. lois took the top home and handstitched the backing and binding on and topstitched over the top of the quilt. she brought it to me last saturday at coopers service. it turned out amazing, words cant even describe how much i love this quilt. and it never would have been possible without rachel and lois. it even made me want to learn how to sew, but that is a post for a different day.

after the quilt was finished i contacted alyssa to let her know what i made out of her most adorable product. and because i want everyone to know about {jig} we are doing another giveaway. that's right, you too can have your very own {jig} onesies. leave a comment by midnight on wednesday may 13th and you could win a 3 onesie gift box set of your design choice. you get to pick what boy or girl designs you want on the front.

and if you want to see more pictures of the quilt, you can see them here.

my mom

"All women become like their mothers.

That is their tragedy.

No man does. That is his."

-Oscar Wilde

i was not an easy child to raise. i was strong willed and determined from a very early age, which made my relationship with my mom difficult most days. you see, she too is strong willed and determined, leading to many power struggles between the two of us. as most young women do, i spent much of youth trying not to be like my mom. fortunately, as i got older, i realized that i had this woman in my life who was kind and gentle, strong and determined, passionate and full of life. a woman who loved her children fiercely and would do anything for them, a woman who had a heart so big it was hard not to notice, and a woman who was the worlds best role model. it was then that i realized that i would be lucky if i was like my mother.

sure we look alike, have the same hands and feet. we can finish each other's sentences and have the same funny quirks. we walk the same, particularly when we are walking on the beach. but are we alike in the ways that matter? do i have her strength in times of crisis? her grace? her compassion for others? her ability to stand for what she believes in, no matter if its the opposing view? would i be the kind of mother she is to my brothers and i? i don't know.

but i do know this, my ability to move through life without cooper the past five months is because i am her daughter. she is running through my veins, she is part of who i am and it is because of her, that i am the woman i am today. and i am so proud that she is not only my mother, but my best friend. i love you mom.

wishing you all a happy mothers day.