Has it really been another year?  Truly?  It is so hard to believe.  It really doesn't seem possible that she is already six.

She makes me laugh and sometimes cry.  She is sweet and stubborn and funny and kind.  She can be a bit sassy, too.  Five was good to her - so much better than four.  I love the little person she has become.  It makes me want to squeeze her and not let go, but that just wouldn't be fair.  She wouldn't stand for it either.  No, it just wouldn't do.

So fare thee well five....and hello six.  I think it's going to be a good year.  Happy Birthday Kate.

Something new on the needles, in a lovely shade of green.

No, it's not mine.  It belongs to the newest knitter in the house.  She decided to keep it in this bag with a zippered top to keep out the yarn thief.  That silly cat.

Do you remember Jane's shirt designs?  I shared this version awhile back.  After reading all those encouraging comments, Jane was determined to see one of her designs become reality.  Many more drawings later, she settled on this for herself:

For this artist it is all in the details.  For this mom it is all about practical.  So we compromised and started production.  I channeled my inner Hannah and printed the words straight from my computer on to freezer paper.  I cut out the stencil, leaving the "o" intact.   I found a long-sleeved striped t-shirt from Target in an acceptable color combination and then paired it with a short-sleeved shirt (also from Target) we already had.  Jane did the painting.

Jane chose the fabric for the star and I did the applique on my sewing machine.   I cut the sleeves off of the striped shirt at the shoulder seams and then grappled with how I was going to attach them without some weird visible stitching.  I decided to sew them into the short-sleeved t-shirt at the shoulder seam allowance and it worked perfectly.  The key part:  I don't think that this would have worked if the shirts were different brands.  Both sleeves had the exact same profile.

See that smile?  Jane is one happy girl.  She designed it and we made it.  She wants to wear it.  All the time.  I couldn't be happier, either.  The experience was a good reminder for me that dreams can come true.   You just need to chase them a bit.

Jane also designed a shirt for Kate.  You can see it here.

I found this drawing on the family room floor.  It's Jane's work.  She is designing a whole line of shirts.  I love her color combination and the composition on this one.  And the message is spot on.

My girl rocks.

The girls started school yesterday and they were ready.  Kate seemed a bit nervous the night before...kindergarten at a new school will do that for you.  I bought them each an alarm clock with a cd player.  Jane was up at 6:30 complaining that her alarm didn't wake her up.  Well, hon, that's because it is set for 6:45.  Oh.  Kate was awake in bed waiting for hers to beep.  So cute.  Kate asked me to put her hair in pig tails which I just love on her, but she doesn't ever want (be still my heart!).  They barely ate any breakfast and were ready to leave about 20 minutes before we needed to.  That left us plenty of time for the photo shoot.

We hopped in the car and before we pulled out of the driveway, I told them my expectations:  do your best, be nice to your classmates, use your manners, listen to your teacher and say good-bye to me every day before you get out of the car.  They almost forgot the last one.

The principal greeted us at school and asked Jane if she was going to help Kate.  Sure thing, said Jane.  They jumped out of the car with big smiles on their faces.  And me, I was smiling, too.  I was almost as excited as they were.   As I drove away, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw Jane holding Kate's hand.  That's when I got teary.  It was the kind of moment I wish I had on film.  It was so sweet.

The tears didn't last long.  I got home, put on my running shoes and got some exercise.  Then came home and drank coffee, read blogs, flicked around on flickr and sewed.  And today, I am doing it again.  And tomorrow, more of the same.  Back to school never felt so good.

When we are in Telluride, the kids are all about s'mores.

Good times, people.  Good times.

Here is something I love:

Kate is at it again.  She asked me if she could embroider something to make a pillow.  Of course!  She drew this frog and I traced the back side of the drawing with a transfer pencil and then ironed it onto this cotton.  She worked on it for about 30 minutes a couple of days ago and then put it down.  This is why it takes her six months.

Not to be left out, Jane is working on a swan from the Sublime Stitching book.  She really wasn't interested in stitching one of her own drawings.  She is a wonderful little artist, but she likes lots of details and that doesn't always come across well with embroidery floss.

Something else I love:  the Creative Summer flickr group started by Molly.  Wow!  There are lots of great ideas over there and I plan posting as much as I can.  I am especially enamored with Mama Urchin's lily pad toss game.  Such a wonderful idea.

What creative things are you doing with your kids this summer?

...or it took Kate six months to embroider this shirt.  You choose the title.

She started this embroidery project in January.  The drawing is her own - I used a transfer pencil to trace it and then ironed it on to the shirt.  She picked it up now and again over the course of six months - most often when I was embroidering something.  She did the trunk first, then the pink flower, then the "hair", as she calls it.  I did the face.

When we took the hoop off, it had a nice big ring around it.  Yep, a big white circle where the hoop was and dirt and food and finger marks everywhere else.  I popped in the wash after a liberal application of stain stick and - voila! - a perfectly white tee!  Well, a white tee with a super cute smiley tree worn by a very proud five year old.

That's my girl.