Invites: Golden Books Baby Shower Invitation

My sister hosted a baby shower--a double shower--for a couple good friends of ours, both having their firsts, and both having boys! And she asked me to help with it. It was one of those things that I didn't really have time to do but as soon as she mentioned it I couldn't stop thinking about it! I don't have much opportunity to do boy things...

She wanted to do a book shower. I love book showers! A great friend of mine threw one for me when I was expecting and it was so much fun. I believe there is no such thing as too many books, and my mother always reminded us that we should read to our children every single day. Plus there is something so nice about a gathering focused on memories and suggestions and treasured texts the anticipation of many happy hours reading to little ones.

So I came up with this invitation for the event. I took my inspiration from Golden Books, though the shower concept is bit broader than that--vintage children's books. I love the motif on the spine of Golden Books--those drawings of animals and plants and storybook characters. I love the simple stories. I love the idyllic era they suggest. So I went with the colors gold, white and turquoise and developed my own motif of line drawings on a gold background.

I found a beautiful nursery rhyme illustration in the public domain and came up with a little derivation of "Hey diddle diddle..."

I created a generic version of this invite, with "boy," "girl"  and "neutral" wording. If you would like the PDF you can download it here , edit it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, and then print on card stock. It is setup to print two 5x7 cards per letter-sized sheet.

It was so much fun thinking about this vintage book shower I think I'll have to do something along these lines for Tess' first birthday party! What could be better? Don't you love book parties?

Knitting: Tess in Neapolitan

 

Do you know how it is when there are so many ideas and desires swirling around in your head that you are quite paralyzed, not knowing where to begin? That's my January so far. I am actually trying to stay focused on a sweater for Audrey, which has been on my list for some time, but I also feel like I need to get everything else out of my head and on paper and prioritized so I don't remain randomized. But since I haven't yet gone through that exercise completely, I thought it might help to take a little break from the creating and enjoy something I made long ago. When my to-do list is really long it is nice to remember what's already been done!

So here is sweet Tess in a sweater I knit so long ago for her older sister, Audrey. This is likely the second complete sweater I ever knitted. I made it after finishing this first sweater for Audrey. I altered the pattern a bit by skipping the hood and felt quite clever about it but at the same time felt this effort was so humble that it wasn't really worth recording. No blog post about it. 

Maybe because Audrey wore it, and Scarlett after her, I love it so much now! It is a rather humble little project and the patterning is a bit strange with the yarn I chose, but I love the Neapolitan colors and I love the timeframe it represents: when I was expecting my first (long anticipated) baby. Though I am on to more ambitious things now,  I wonder if they'll mean as much to me as this little cotton cardigan?

Knitting: Looped Scarflette Pattern Winners and Coupon

I just finished another Scarflette, this time for a good friend with a January birthday, and this time in a great earthy combination of colors: aqua, brown and taupe. The yarns I used are Loops & Threads (a new Michael's brand) Country Loom in Driftwood (appropriately named I think) and Loops & Threads Impeccable in Aqua.

While I wouldn't want to use these yarns for an heirloom sweater for my girls, they are so great for more trendy projects, such as this Scarflette. They come in great colors and I really love the loft of the acrylic. It's cozy but not too heavy around the neck.

There were so many great comments on my pattern post--great ideas for colors and fibers for this scarf. I picked three, which stood out to me, and the three winners are:

1.  Tara, who said "I think I'd start with a purple (or purple and pink mix?) for my daughter, who would then demand one in every color that might possibly match anything she owns. After that, I'd probably knit one for me, maybe in Cian by Three Irish Girls? I love the bright yellow to bring a little happiness to the grey winter. :)"

That Cian yarn is just gorgeous! And I couldn't resist someone who sounds equally compulsive about making one in every color!

2. Shelly, who said, "I just bought a bunch of yarn in green, purple and red and I'm ready to make something for myself now that the holidays are over and I'm done making gifts ;-) "

My sentiments, exactly!

3. Courtney, who said, " I'm all about blending colors...I would love to make one in a deep red & a lighter red. One for myself and my 2 little girls!! How fun would that be. I love your site, you are such a inspiration to me. Thank you... Courtney

I hope you do make some to wear with your girls--I have had fun doing that. 

Tara and Shelly, please contact me and let me know your emails... AestheticNest [at] Yahoo [dot] com.

It was more difficult than I thought to pick just three. If you would like a pattern for yourself please click to this post about the Child's Looped Scarflette and use the coupon code in my Etsy shop for 25% off the Women's or Child's patterns, or both! I'm leaving it active through the month of January. 

Personal: New Banner, New Title for a New Year

Since it's the start of a new year I thought I'd update my blog banner. It was fun to grab some of my more recent, favorite images, and you may notice I went with the "Tess palette," which is lavendar, linen/taupe, cream and coral. I love those colors together! It's a new era with her in the family so why not wear the colors?

It's a bit hard to say goodbye to the old banner, which was the image under which I made this blog public last spring, so I'll post it here in memoriam.

The 2010 banner included a shot of Scarlett's crib and Audrey's portrait. The 2011 version includes Scarlett's portrait, Tess's blanket, and the painting I did of the three little birds in a nest. It's fun to think of the next banner...maybe it will include a portrait of Tess and a picture of her nursery, assuming we finally create a room to house her crib. Hopefully there will be many new paintings and handmade things to choose from.

While I'm revealing the new banner I also want to review the new title. Not blog title (though there might be a few good arguments for that, including ease of spelling, but "Aesthetic Nest" still seems to encompass the wide ranging creative interests about which I post...!), but rather, personal title.

My maternity leave expired at the end of last year and I gave up my business title for the title of SAHM. It may not carry the same weight in the world that my hard-earned executive title did, and I'll miss a lot of things about the marketing position I held at McCann Erickson, but I am thrilled to have the opportunity to stay home full time. My three daughters are my absolute best creative work and I am so looking forward to being with them every day for the ordinary and the extraordinary. Much like job transitions of the past I am a bit anxious about my new gig, not about regretting it, but about doing it really well. I hope I can meet my, and my girls', expectations! Most of you would probably laugh if you heard my internal monologue about goals, standards and the balance of time! I just know I would regret it if I didn't give it a try, so please wish me luck!

Knitting: Looped Scarflette for Me (Pattern Giveaway--Closed)

Is it just me or is everyone filling his or her lungs with a giant breath in anticipation of stepping forward this January? I love love love January. Contrary to the prevalent let down after the holidays I feel more energetic than ever. My Christmas list is finished, or I gave up on it, and I am ready to create a new project list! Feels like a clean slate and there aren't big calendared deadlines for a few months out. So here I go! I've got lots of ideas I'm anxious to get to but I have to start somewhere...

January also seems to be a more likely time for creating something for myself. It's typically too difficult to work it in when there are so many things I want to make and gift. Feels a little bit now or never this month. And so we have the "now" project: Looped Scarflettes for grownups. To be fair, I actually started this next phase of the Looped Scarflette right before Christmas and finished up a chartreuse version on Christmas Eve in time to wear to our family dinner.

I am calling the chartreuse version "Looped Scarflette: Chic."  It is a bit more narrow and lighter weight than the red version, which I'm calling "Looped Scarflette: Cozy," because it is cozier--wider and heavier. I love wearing the Chic version all day long while the Cozy really adds warmth when worn with a coat. Both versions are included in the pattern, which I am giving away, and also selling in my shop.

I am really having so much fun with these! I have loved making them kid-sized and love them for grown-ups too. I already gave one away to my sister-in-law and have a few more I want to make for January birthdays. They work up so quickly and the yarn combinations and re-combinations are a bit addictive if you are into color and texture.

This red, Cozy Looped Scarflette, was knit using two yarns held together: Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Cranberry and Patons Classic Wool Roving in Cherry.  The chartreuse, Chic Looped Scarflette was knit using Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick in Lemongrass and Lion Brand Vanna’s Choice in Kelly Green.

The only thing I don't find completely fun about these is serving as my own model! I'd much rather be taking the pictures. 

If you are interested in a Looped Scarflette for yourself you can find the pattern here in my Etsy shop.  I am also going to give away the pattern to three people--just leave me a comment below between now and Wednesday at midnight, and let me know what colors you would use to knit this. Thursday I'll pick three winners!

Happy new year!