sew...whatcha doin'?

i have been wanting to get my hands on natalie chanin's two books, alabama stitch book and alabama studio style, but each time i consider the $35 a piece pricetag, i end up buying fabric instead.
you understand this, i am quite sure.
on a whim, i decided to see if our library had these on the shelf, and sadly, they did not. but...requesting books from neighboring libraries and libraries throughout the state is my new favorite thing to do, so i had both books in my hand within 2 days!
gosh, i have always loved the library, and libraries in the summertime can send me back to my childhood in an instant. our girls have a deep love for the library, too, and for this i am so glad. forgive me my gush-iness about the library, but come on, libraries and librarians equal awesome!

anyway, i am totally enamored of natalie chanin's aesthetic and her story. i always have some sort of handstitching with me, usually hand embroidery on repurposed linen, but i have been aching to cut up some super-soft tees (thanks, celie!) and make a skirt like beki's for me and skirts or tops for the girls (i *love* this one found on flickr!).

so, if you are feeling a similar ache, and yearning for some "slow summer stitching", follow me over to beki's and join in on her stitch-along during the months of june, july, and august. and don't be jealous because she and i get to run away once a week for a couple of hours to sit and sew together. okay...you can be a little bit jealous, but in a nice way. i know that i always am when i read about you lucky girls who find time to spend with each other sans kiddos.

p.s. i wonder, in a few years, will my children still get the "phineas + ferb" reference if they read my blog?
p.p.s. wade, if you ever *do* read my blog, i am telling the whole of the internet how wonderful you are...without you, there would be no running away without kiddos once a week for a couple of hours to sit and sew with beki!!! xoxo