Sewing for Babies

I finally unpacked my sewing machine this week and have been sewing up a storm ever since. First, I finished a quilt for my friend who recently had a baby. The satisfaction of finishing a project is unparalleled, in my opinion. Now, to get it in the mail!

Next, I made a pilgrimage to one of my favorite Portland fabric stores, Fabric Depot. This place is so huge, it can be overwhelming, so I recommend bringing a snack. I stocked up on a bunch of yummy woven cotten fabrics and picked up the most perfect organic cotton-bamboo jersey. Although I know I'll be back for more of the jersey, I bought this swath specifically for swaddling my little one.
Then... the sewing began.
I first made the "quick change trousers" from Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings. I was nervous about garment sewing after so much quilting, but I found this pattern to be quite managable for my first garment back after a long hiatus. I made this pair of pants in a size 12 months, but plan on making more in smaller sizes now that I know I can do it!


Next, I made a cotton swaddling blanket using this pattern from the Purl Bee. Very easy. I added a few flourishes by hand stitching around the inside of the blanket using embroidery thread.


Next up, a dress using these fabrics. I am in LOVE with this combination and think it would look super cute over pants in brown... or hot pink!

AND I just bought a pattern for cloth diapers and will be taking on that challenge next week as well.
What have YOU been up to this week?
XXOO
k

at long last!

hello dolls!
i'm back! i can hardly believe it has been nearly six months since my last post. although i'm still posting regularly at Sunrose Yoga, i have dearly missed my time here on the whale-love blog. so, what is new, you might be wondering...
we are expecting a baby girl sometime around march 1, so i've been growing & growing.

we traveled! (the san juan islands, california, south carolina, st. louis--i logged a lot of flight time before calling it quits for the remainder of my pregnancy.)

i've been sewing and creating up a storm.

my camera was broken (& then in the shop) for about 3 months (boo.).
we hosted a big-time vegan-ish thanksgiving.

i taught yoga through my 7th month of pregnancy.

we moved our house from seattle back to portland.
we celebrated winter solstice in front of the fireplace.
we rang in the new year with portland friends.
we are preparing ourselves and our new (but very old) house for baby-time!
*
how about you?

friday. musings.

so many wonderful things are taking hold right now:

new yoga classes & new yoga friends,

printmaking! (i took a hiatus from art-making while i was ill, but now i'm feeling the flow),

sunshine,

holiday gift making (i LOVE this),

sharing the love. (every day in every way.)

*

peace. & LOVE. always.

k

{P.S. I wrote a piece on intention you might be interested in over on my yoga blog. Click here to read.}

{P.P.S. The photo you see is from a backpacking trip this summer. Overtaking a ridge at sunrise on day 2. Taking hold of the day.}

substance.

dears, i have missed you. i have begun this post many times in my head, but then i couldn't ever quite make my fingers type it here in my blogspot text box. the truth is: i'm struggling with the purpose of this blog right now. with all of the blogs and other content coming your way, i am determined to make each trip to the kelly loves whales blog *worth your precious time*.

&

so i wonder if my creative endeavors,
yoga journeys,
fragmented sentences about life with the world's cutest dog & sweetest husband
are good enough...interesting enough...fresh enough... enough-enough.

when i began this blog, i was only just remembering my creativity, my dreams, my time, and this blog was a way for me to do several things: motivate myself to make art every day and chart my growth (if you will).

but what is it now?

i'm still not sure. i do hope you will keep reading.

*

so, that being said, what is on my mind?


i'm finally feeling better after my war with pig-flu. good health is something i treasure. while i was ill, i began tinkering with the idea of going high-raw all-vegan (HRAV). it's going swell. my favorite new habit is beginning each day with a green juice. today's juice was turnip greens, kale, granny smith apple, golden crisp apple, + 2 carrots. the turnip greens are spicy. it's fun. why am i doing this?

{well, i already am vegaquarian (we have eaten fish about once a month for the past 6 years. before that i was a 7-year vegetarian who would eat a hamburger once a year.) and i had all but cut out dairy & eggs in order to alleviate asthma symptoms.}

I want to be my healthiest self. It's that simple. And I feel amazing having made this switch.

more on this later. feel free to ask me anything about it.

*

YOGA

as you might have guessed, i have been devoting a major chunk of time to my yoga practice & teaching. what a blessing. there is always something new to love about the practice. if you care to, please do check out my podcast over at http://sunroseyoga.com/. it is my dream to share the yoga with anyone whose heart is open to it-- so much goodness for the body and mind. seriously.

*

okay, i think i'm done writing for today. thank you for your patience with me. i am grateful for each of you!!

peace. & LOVE. always.

k

gratitude.

feeling it.

{i think i'm back for real this time.}
peace. & LOVE.
always.

well.. hello there.

i've been away.
i've been internet-quiet.

i've been on an adventure that looks like

yoga.
music.
art-making.
food-tasting.
big-planning.
friend-hugging.
wide-open-eye-wandering.
quiet.
sleep.
breathe.
smile.

i know i will have more to say at some point, but for now...

ciao!

post-701.whooooo!

dears, happy wednesday. i thought today would be fun to share a few of my favorite photos from my yoga photo shoot. sending you sunshine.
loves.

hello hello.

darlings,
hello! what happened to me? well, i've been busy hosting a guest from American Samoa for over a week. we have been exploring all seattle together + enjoying the fall weather. i have also been making things. super exciting things. things i cannot wait to share with you.
and
i had a yoga photo-shoot on lake washington, so my podcasts will look even more polished. (a new episode drops on friday.)
my heart is bursting with things to share with you... insights i've had while meditating this week. in due time, though.
until then,
peace. & LOVE. always.
k

it's all happening.

darlings,
the blog has been quiet lately, somewhat. and if you've been here for awhile, you know that means that i have a lot cooking (or baking, as the case may be) in my idea kitchen. here are a few stories from the road.



- reading Lebendige Literatur & Was ist Deutsch?-- getting back on top of my german language skills. feels quite natural.

- my yoga podcast is in full-swing. in the process of learning oodles and oodles about podcast technology, i realized i needed to switch hosts. there are lots of changes in the works, but if you visit http://sunroseyoga.com/, you'll be in the know.








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-i need a haircut. it will be waist-length by christmas. and i need some sort of change. the drastic crazy-woman in me wants a cute faux-hawk shag, but since it has been about a decade since i have had hair that short, i think i should ease into it. i'm thinking about this {photo via H&M}.


-the quilt! i finished hand-quilting on thursday. i'll finish up the sides next week. then photos! dears, i am actually shocked at how decent it looks. most of the time, my sewing projects look completely jacked-up on the first try, though this is my first major project since i took apparel design and construction at the community college, so perhaps my sewing has actually improved! either way, i'm happy as a clam. {and p.s., hand quilting is hard work! i got a little callous from the hand-sewing!}

-essential oils! we harvested an incredible amount of herbs from our gardens last week: basil, sage, rosemary, oregano, mint and loads of lavender. one of my projects for the herbs is distilling my own essential oils. very satisfying.

-painting. finishing TONS. have a look.

happy weekend, loves.
k
p.s. LISTENING to lal meri, pomplamoose, matt & kim.

happy friday.

oh good things. so many good things.
being blessed with sweet yoga classes to teach.
sunshine-y days.
early morning work-outs with the mister.
knowing my newly-moved sister is feeling the groove.
work makes work. {the more i do, the more i feel i can do.}
closing in on a special project for a special friend & her lovely family.
PODCASTING. {this is such a learning experience. the audio is up on my yoga blog, but i'm still trying to figure out how the feed gets picked up by iTunes--i'm in the iTunes directory under Sunrose Yoga Podcast.}
being in LOVE every single day.
opening my brand-new etsy shop Sunrose Studio on Monday. {bookmark this, loves.}

what are your blessings?
peace. & LOVE.
always.
k

{p.s. the working title of the piece above is "cat mountain." too much?}

giveaway contest!

Darlings, I'm just so excited to share with you the latest creative bud that's beginning to bloooooom in my world. If you have been following my hints at all, maybe you've guessed it: I'm opening a new shop called Sunrose Studio.



Sunrose Studio will feature my fine art photography and digital collage prints as well as a rotating selection of original paintings. As always, I strive for my pieces to be affordable enough for you to become collectors of the work I create with LOVE.

Sunrose Studio will launch next week. . . stay tuned!

On to the contest/giveaway: I will be giving away one 8 by 10-inch and two 5 by 7-inch fine art prints to three luckies selected at random. To enter, leave a comment with your favorite photo featured below. This contest is open until Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 3pm Pacific Daylight Time. Good luck!



{the back-story: when I opened my kelly LOVES whales shoppe in November of 2007, I just went for it {as they say} without a lot of planning or forethought. While I'm glad I did this {it certainly helped get me started and let me surrender various fears about putting my art out for all the world to see}, I am now at a place where I have a vision for my creative endeavors in the long-term. kelly LOVES whales will continue to grow and thrive, though I will be using it for primarily paper goods & textiles-- journals, notecards, sweet lil' prints, tees and the such, whereas sunrose studio will be the place where I showcase my photography, digital collage, and original paintings. I cannot wait to welcome you to Sunrose Studio and the new kelly LOVES whales shop.}

la la la monday.

darlings,
thank you so so much for the sweet birthday wishes. it was as de-lish a day as ever {i ate my weight in Indian food, chocolate cake + macaroons}. it's definitely official, i am thirty-one. on with the show!

this weekend i...

*made major strides on a secret new project that will launch in the next week {more to be revealed soon, but hints may come up in my tweets}.

*organized our multi-media bureau as i cleaned the house from top to bottom {i love to embark on organizational projects. it pleases me to no end. now, i just need to keep it organized!}.

*had two magical cocktails at Barrio. {grapefruit soda + tequila + lime + salt = holy mother of yum}.

* enjoyed the sweet, colorful costumes for the gay pride events in our sister neighborhood.
added a few new seeds and starts to my urban garden retreat. {jasmine, another lavender, more pink poppies + something that will attract the hummingbirds. i did unwittingly run errands with dirt smeared on my cheeks, but no matter.}

how about you?
peace. & LOVE. always.

thursday. one year later.

oh, thirty-one. hello.




i've been expecting you.
sort of.
thanks for another great year, dear readers of this blog.
peace. & LOVE.

wind-swept wednesday.

Things I love right now:
Lavender-scented wind,
Cookies,
Plotting new plans,
Learning new skills {podcasting is happening!},
Hoping for a wonderful birthday,
Life unsaturated,
All of my amazing friends and family,
Reading before sleep,
Open windows,
Reflecting…introspecting.

*) wishing you a lovely Wednesday night.

la la la monday.

this weekend,i . . .

enjoyed life without a t.v. {we are analog & didn't make the switch.}
ate yummy seafood pasta at la rustica and watched the sun set over the Olympic mountains.
planned some communal raised beds with our sweet sweet neighbors. {you know i love to garden.}
listened to lots and lots of music. {especially loving making art while listening to yoga mixes my friend bekah made me.}
made tons and tons {okay, maybe not tons and tons, but quite a few} digi-collages.

essentially, i recharged the batteries. how about you?

my trip to st. louis

was exquisite.



big, fat naps with the ruggies.
hugging all of my people close.
sunrise over the city museum.
my first show at the fabulous {truly fabulous} fox.
mcgrupp.
dancing through this fountain at midnight.

moving letters all around.

i love to rearrange the view inside of our house. while i was cleaning the house before our trip to st. louis, i simultaneously gave the art-arrangements in our house a makeover so that when we returned from the lou, it would be like a whole new house {and a magically clean one at that!}. here are a few shots of the new-ness.



{top photo: all hanging prints made by me; middle: golden girls giclee print on canvas by Ellen Lohse, glass pieces by Chris Weber, flying cat card by Reiko Yamaguchi-Barclay, paintings by me; bottom: skunk cabbage screenprint by Sue Allen, mermaid giclee print by Holly Kitaura, paintings by me.}

la la la monday.

darlings,
oh this weekend was divine.
di-vine.
lots of good eats.
delicious sushi on saturday night.
homemade blueberry milkshakes.
spicy green curry.
candied ginger.
also,
a big, fat nap on sunday.
and you?

{in progress.}

happy happy friday.

darlings, what a week this has been!
i have felt supremely productive and creative, updating my online portfolio, creating some marketing postcards, updating the shop, brainstorming ideas for making this art-business work for me.
also, celebrating my show. {i wore the olive green wedges.}
practicing & teaching a lot of love-filled yoga.
making a new batch of limited edition prints. {a squid and whale dance in the abyss.}

what brought you joy this week?
peace. & LOVE.
always.
k