Here are a few bits from our summer I never got around telling you about:

waking up to a parade of animals

living on muffin tin lunches

making giant bubbles

painting with chalk

making popsicle stick sculptures with pompoms and mama’s hot glue gun.

eating monkey cupcakes

and staying up too late to watch people dance in the trees.

There were of course many trips to the beach and weekend festivals and backyard sprinkler days and huddled by the air conditioner watching movies days. And I think it was a pretty good summer all and all. All three kids were home with me full time and managed not to lose my mind until the last week or so. I tried to have at least one project a day–here is my kid craft board on pinterest that I used a bunch–sometimes just as simple as cutting up some fruit for lunch, but it helped give our days some structure.  I hope your summer was wonderful! Now bring on fall.

This may look like a quilt, but it’s really only like a quilt.  It’s two vintage sheets stitched together and bound it quilt-like.  Most of the summer my kids were using their winter duvet covers as light blankets and it was bothering me to no end. So the quilt-like idea came about.

After too many trips to the thrift store, I finally found two quilts that would work.  I cut them to fit the weird ikea bed we have and pinned them together. I knew I wanted to quilt it in long slightly uneven lines–actually just like this beautiful quilt. So I contacted the maker and grilled on her quilting techniques and thread choices.

Then I picked up two different spools of variegated thread (wow, that stuff is expensive): a blue, magenta, and purple one for the flowery side and a more rainbowy one for the purple side. After what seemed like 400 hours of sewing straight lines, I moved onto the binding. I found this awesome Japanese polka dot bias tape in Frances’ beautiful shop, miss matatabi.

I sewed the binding on at the beach (and got many weird looks) and ta! da! Quilt-like thing! Now to start the next like-a-quilt for my son…

This top is made from fabric botched in the dye pot, which was supposed to be beautiful ombre curtains for my dining room, which before that was a lovely soft sheet on our bed, which got horriblly ripped, so I thought it would make nice curtains until I screwed it up the dye job (and turned the bathtub blue) and now, it turns out, is perfect for this top.

The tank top pattern is from wiksten made. Sadly, she’s not selling them anymore, but I bet if you scoured the web, one would pop up for sale. (By the way, if anyone has a xs, s, m tova top pattern that they’d like to trade for the tank top pattern–and trade back–let me know!)

The pattern is incredibly simple and nicely done: french seams, all edges bias bound, nicely cut. Because I’m always scared I will make clothes too small, I cut out patterns too large. So with this one I just said fuck it and cut a small. The fit is okay, maybe a little close, but at least I don’t have to take the sucker in. I was a little on the edge about the contrasting pocket, but today I saw a lady with a freakin sequin pocket, so I think I’m good to go.

August just flew by and now we are barreling into September! Would you like to sponsor Elsie Marley for this lovely month? The spots are 125 pixels square and $25/month. I try to keep my rates low so little shops and blogs can afford sponsorship. And if you are nervous about getting into advertising, I’m super laid back about it all, so don’t worry. Just email me already! elsiemarleyblog@gmail.com

Happy September (almost)!

For a few summers now my favorite thing to make (and eat!) has been a watermelon, feta, tomato, and basil salad.  Goat cheese is pretty damn good in it too. This summer I thought I’d branch out and make other fruit and vegetable salads. Every single one of them was delicious.

The basic formula is fruit + veg + herb + olive oil + salt.  Here are a few that have been extra good (they all have a glug of olive oil and a sprinkling of good crunchy salt on top):

• purple cabbage, pluot, red pepper, and cilantro–this is more of a slaw than a salad

• tomato, peach, and tarragon (pictured)

• cucumber, mango, mint, basil, and maybe a fresh chili or two  (rice vinegar or lime juice is good on this one)

Got any good ones?