I still make stuff; really, I do. Last night I finished my second pleated beauty bag from Bend-the-Rules. The first one was gifted before I had a chance to photograph it, made with charcoal wool and pleated with grey and pink thrifted goodness shared by Ella.
This pleated beauty is for me. I thought that my first run at the pattern made a bit of a floppy bag, so I beefed up the second one, adding interfacing and canvas lining. Despite breaking three needles on the machine while topstitching, I'm pleased that the bag can stand on its own.

I ended up having just enough of the repurposed falling leaves gabardine. It's the same fabric that recently inspired some freezer paper stenciling. While the fabric is almost gone, I have a hunch those leaves will continue to fall onto paper and bookcloth.
Another beauty in my life turned two this weekend. Two years old. A fever, cough and runny nose kept our festivities quiet and slow, but we managed to bake a cake, share some gifts and talk a lot about the day she was born. She tells her favorite part of her birth story like this, with elaborate hand gestures and enthusiasm: "...den daddy scoop you UP out of water!" She was born at home in a waterbirth tub, with her daddy catching her, welcoming her into the world (and these days she refers to herself in the second person).
I remember experiencing such euphoria in those first days with her. It seems like yesterday. And too it seems that there hasn't ever been a time that I didn't know her. Happy birthday, my little firecracker!