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annie banan-e

Nothing much to report lately. Getting some sewing done and getting ready for vacation. We have the late summer boredom, but are loving it.

This is my sweet buddy, Annie, who warms my feet while I'm knitting. She goes on long walks with me (or my hubby) and follows me every where I go. She also loves to have kids climb all over her. She even has her own doggie giggle that she lets out when the kids are playing with her. Isn't she so cute!

recent creations

2+2 blouse by Oliver + S made with Heather Ross' Underwater Sisters and accented with Anna Maria Horner's Filigree.
Custom made Birthday Party Dress by Oliver + S made with Lizzy House's lollipop trees and green stripes.
Hooded cloak from a Debbie Bliss pattern made with Pima cotton. (For my own little Hobbit.)

sooo tired

Sorry about the lack of posting. I'm in that early stage of pregnancy where you just want to sleep all the time! Of course my other 3 little minions will have none of that!

But I fell in love today!! Oliver + S announced their fall patterns! I can't wait to get my hands on those patterns! I'm already searching for the perfect fabric for jackets for all the kids.

giveaway

So...apparently there aren't many of you out there. Oh well. Since there are only 3 comments, you are all winners! haha Suze, Renee G, and Pixie13 please email your addresses to elaine@thehandmaderepublic.com within the next week and I'll send your fat quarters along! Thanks for participating!

fabric giveaway!

As I promised....a fabric giveaway. I'll give a fat quarter each of the fabric pictured above. Just leave a comment and I'll randomly pick one from the bunch to be the winner. I know you readers are out there...I see it on my site meter, so start commenting!

painted elbows, rubber boots and smooches

I'm on the husband's computer so I had to use what pictures I could find on here for this post. For your enjoyment, I have found a fuzzy smooch from Matilda and the kids' summer boots. This was an older picture of their boots. The cows are now totally muddy and have lost their tails, the geckos have lost their soles, and the other pair are barely worn since Matilda chooses to go barefoot outside. Now on to our message of the day...

So after living in this house for 2 1/2 years, I have finally painted the kitchen! I haven't taken any pictures yet, but will soon. I did somehow manage to get paint all over my elbows and didn't notice until after I went to Mass. haha Now all I have left is to tile the floor, get new lighting fixtures, and a few odds and ends and my kitchen will be complete. Of course that will probably take me another year or so. I don't even want to think what my kids would do to wet tile and grout.

So I promised tutorials and a giveaway. Well, I worked really hard on a tutorial, but I'm not really happy with the way it turned out. So I'll give it another go and post it later.

The giveaway...how about Friday? So tell all your friends to visit here on Friday for a chance to win some fabric!

for all the little helpers...

I'm having a lot of fun with Red Letter Day by Lizzy House. I just put three very sweet little aprons in the shop.

My model was so kind to pose for pictures even though some of the aprons are quite girly! For those of you who sew, would you like an apron tutorial? Maybe I'll start working on that. They're lots of fun to sew and lots more fun to wear.

Coming soon: The Handmade Republic's first giveaway!!

What a week!

We have been busy little bees around here! I finally got the van all patched up. The sad thing is that I had already canceled our camping trip for this weekend since I didn't think we'd get the van back in time. I made up for it in smores for the kids tonight. Our dryer won't be repaired until Wednesday, but it looks like sunshine for the week, so watch out clothesline! There were hundreds of other things that got done around here including a shop update and a Harry Potter watching...my favorite of the HP movies so far. I also have that jeans patching tutorial all finished up, now if I can just find the time to post it...
I think we'll take this weekend kinda slow though. Enjoy the outdoors and perhaps catch another Harry Potter viewing. (yes I'm that nerdy) What are your plans for the weekend?

PS The bees and turtle reside at the Columbus Zoo in case anyone's interested
PSS Look for children's aprons in the shop soon!

why

Why is there a picture of fabric line drying in my laundry room? Because my dryer just broke. Why isn't it outside on my clothesline? Because it's pouring rain outside. Why don't I just pack up the kids and go to the laundromat? Because the transmission went out on my van, so I have no way to drive the kids around until next week. (Three car seats don't fit into Jason's Passat.) Why is the quality of this picture not so great? Because my 5 year old camera is on its last leg and I have to tap it on the side to get it to work. Why did it take me so long to sign into blogger to make this post? Because something's wrong with my computer. (I've been looking into Macs this past week.)

Sometimes life is just comical.

The surprising thing is that none of this has really upset me. (Well, except for the time I yelled at the cable lady over the phone, but that's another story.) We've actually had a pretty great weekend despite everything breaking this week. The garden got a great watering from Mother Nature, and I picked the mother of all squashes from it. The kids have been silly all weekend. And the husband and I had a nice night last night being nerds and playing WOW. And I have a lot of sewing that I get to do tonight. Alrighty, I'm done with my lengthy post. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Jackalope!

Jack the goat whisperer turned 3 on Friday July 3rd. His requests for the day were to go to the zoo to pet goats, ride the zoo train and feed the lorikeets. This is actually something we do every week, but I guess that shows just how much he loves the zoo!
It was a great day that ended in train cake (no I didn't have anything other than these pans to put it on) and fireworks. They loved the grow worms (grow poop as they called it through fits of giggles...boys!) He's come a long way since his second birthday. He's been a great little brother and big brother. He has developed a great and funny imagination. And two days after his birthday, he actually went to the potty all by himself!
Happy birthday my little Jackalope. Can't wait to share many more with you. I love you!

sailing away

I just made the sweetest little outfits! I made two in size 2T. I used Oliver + S's Sailboat pattern which was a really fun and simple pattern. I highly recommend it to even the beginner sewer.
For those of you who don't sew...I just put these in my shop at a discounted price!

playdate dress

I know it's a bit early to start thinking about fall, but I saw this fabric and immediately thought of a fall dress for Matilda. It's an Oliver + S play date dress made with Wonderland fabric from Moda.
I've also knitted a little blue hooded cloak to go with it, but I still need to sew on a button and block it. Pics of that to come later.

If you like this dress and want one for your little one, just send me an email (elaine@thehandmaderepublic.com) or send a message through my etsy shop and we'll see what we can do!

Coming soon: a tutorial on repairing blue jeans and more fabric coming to the shop any day now!

yay Lizzy House!

I just made a shop update! Hop on over and check out the Lizzy House fabric I just listed! I've also just started a flickr group just for all of you. Feel free to put pics of any creations you have come up with! And yes, I've finally decided to do the twitter thing. Follow me there: thehandmaderep.

a nice andy's room welcome

There are three things my kids love: Thomas the Tank Engine, any book by Mo Willems and Pixar. While watching Toy Story (again) on a rainy day, I got inspired. The walls in Andy's room had these cute little clouds all over. The walls in Liam and Jack's room were painfully boring.
Well, after some leftover white paint mixed with a few cloud stencils I made out of file folders, a whole new room was born. Still messy, but cute walls.
The boys love it. When they went to bed last night, they said that they're going to sleep in the sky. I still have a lot of touching up to do, especially since Matilda decided to "help" with one of the clouds. To add their other two loves, I left up their little Thomas posters and I'm going to paint the pigeon somewhere on the wall.

I think that I'm going to continue on this trend of "crafting" my house.

support your local etsy!

I just got this really great print from The Black Apple! I love it! Now should I hang it in the boys' room or mine? I'm also totally in love with this print. Remember to support your local Etsy!

upward to the vanguard

Welcome to the very first post on The Handmade Republic blog! What is The Handmade Republic you ask? Well, I'll tell you my friend...

After toying around with the idea of opening an online fabric shop for a long time, I've finally decided to go for it. But I want a bit more than just a fabric shop. I want to build up a community around The Handmade Republic. Things you can expect to see here: pattern reviews, craftily (is that a word?) inspirational movie and book reviews, tutorials, free patterns, and much, much more!

For now I will be selling some fabric and super cute kid's clothing on Etsy. And oh the fabric I have coming in! It will super duper will power not to keep it all for myself! There will be some Lizzy House, Anna Maria Horner, and Amy Butler.

So come grow with The Handmade Republic!