Saying good bye is so hard to do.

After a long hard fight against leukemia my youngest sister Leslie is now at peace.   We will miss her so much and I don’t know how we will be able to cope without her.  So grateful my mom and sister were with her at her time of passing.

Leslie we miss you and love you so much your strength and spirit are always with us.

My latest work in progress, she still needs a few finishing touches and some wings!

I am not a good blogger, I know this.. life is so busy its hard to take the time to sit and write.

This summer has been no exception, 2 beautiful weddings, new babies, lots and lots of slings were made, many days at the park.  I spent much of the summer following my kids around the neighborhood, as they found eggs from our friend’s chickens, picked raspberries and rode their bikes around the block.  We are lucky to have a park nearby with a wading pool so many afternoons were spent with friends.

This summer my business has grown, new stores and new customers, also a lot of great new prints!  I almost wish I had a baby so I could wear a fancy new sling   I will have to live vicariously through my friends and their new babies.  It has been such a pleasure having a new little person to get to know and be a part of her special first hours & days.  Such a familiar sweetness in having a new baby snuggled up to you in a sling!  

This summer I have also made many, many bonnets.  These beautiful babies look so sweet!

This is another sweet babe born this summer and snuggled up with her amazing midwife Mama :

* photo courtesy of Danielle at  Rabbat Photography

I have also had the time to make a few dolls this summer and was sent this beautiful picture :

This little girl is such a dolly herself, what a beautiful child and I’m so happy she loves her  ‘Ava’ doll.  It’s quite amazing how much alike they look!  This picture warms my heart <3

I have also been working really hard at getting organized, sorting through what we need and what we don’t.  It’s been hard, many years of having small children and lots of stuff has gotten mixed up in this house.  We were able to clean out and paint the kids bedrooms which we havent done since we lived here, so nice and bright now!  One day we will get to my turqoise bedroom, soon I hope!  We have a garden full of tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs to eat up before the frost comes.

Here is some more random shots from summer :

a golden chrysalis – pure magic!

my little butterfly pixie!

My youngest sister and I this summer, it was so nice to have a visit with family and all the kids played so well together.

This year has also been filled with a lot of worry.  My sister is very sick, she has relapsed and had a lot of ups and downs in her care since being re-admitted.  Worry has been all consuming for our family and there has been days when the ache in my heart has been unbearable.  She has been so strong through all of this and it has been so hard on her to be away from home.  She recently transferred care to another hospital, we’re hoping new doctors can look at her case with fresh eyes and offer better quality of care.  The hard part is she is now further from home and family but it’s what needs to be done to get her well.  Any positive thoughts you can send her way would be so appreciated.  Something everyone can do to help is to donate blood, so much is needed by so many.

Well so much to do before bed, Saturdays are always busy, market, running errands, and dance class tomorrow, and two celebrations to go to, so glad I squeezed in a nap today because there will be no rest tomorrow!

Nature and all it’s beauty never fails to amaze me.  This is my iris garden after a spring shower and a rainbow.

I have been really lucky to meet many mama’s growing their babies, meeting them shortly after their birth and teaching them how to sling their babies.  Even luckier, I have had the opportunity to make these babies their first birthday present.  This doll is for Natalie, her mama bought a Pandawrap before she was born and she specially ordered this doll to celebrate her baby’s special day one year later!

There are some great new prints for spring.  This one is by far one of my favourites, purple disco dot trim on espresso organic twill.  I also have new fabrics for the PandaWrap, this is a 70% bamboo 30% organic cotton blend and comes in a beautiful raisin colour.  The fabric is silky soft, lightweight but very supportive and just the right amount of stretch.  I had the opportunity to take this wee tiny baby for a walk last week in the wrap and it was so sweet and cozy!

May has been busy for me, lots and lots of sewing, the K-W Baby and Toddler show, bike riding with my family and so much more.

  I have two new retailers for my slings, one in nearby Cambridge and one in the beautiful city of North Bay where I grew up and my family still lives.  Bush  Babies Baby Boutique carries many great natural parenting products, cloth diapers, carriers, amber necklaces and so much more, their customer service is amazing!  Ecobabies is located in the Eaton Family Health Care Clinic in Cambridge, they also offer cloth diapers, stainless steel drinking bottles, BabyLegs and lots more!  I am so excited to be working with two more like-minded ‘mompreneurs’ promoting natural parenting.  It is so great to have companies supporting Canadian made work-at-home ‘Mama’ businesses! Thank you!!

update April 22nd 12:00 pm

~*~ Happy Earth Day Mama’s ~*~

Thank you everyone for all the great babywearing comments!

The contest is closed so stay tuned to hear who won!

update : The winner is Kaycee!

Congratulations!  Your number was drawn through a random number generator!

Please contact me through my website to make arrangements for your new Sewfunky Sling!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In celebration of Spring I am going to have a contest for a free Sewfunky Organic Cotton Adjustable Baby Sling.

 To enter please leave a comment on this blog entry about one of the many amazing benefits of  ‘babywearing’ 

 Don’t forget to leave your email in the post so I am able to contact you or check back on the draw date.  Entries will be accepted until Earth Day, April 22nd, 2009 at noon and I will draw names from a hat, later that day.

  This give-away is open to everyone!

Please feel free to pass on the news for a chance to win!

Join the Sewfunky Fan Page on Facebook  to be in the loop for updates on all of our great products and events!  We love to see your pictures of happy babies in their Sewfunky Slings!

Good Luck & Happy Spring

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 I was so very busy in March preparing for the Stitch N Kitsch Spring Show & Sale. I had a great day, it’s always so nice to see old friends and new, and meet lots of mamas with bellies and babies! There were so many beautiful things there as well, we have so much amazing local talent

Spring has come with so many blessings, my sister is in remission, for more we could not ask. I am so glad she is on her way to being well, she still has a lot of treatments ahead of her but she is such a fighter, we are all so proud of how strong she has been through all of this. Thank you to all of you for your kind words, prayers and thoughts.

We have no snow left and the kids and I have been out on our bikes and getting fresh air, time for me to shed my hibernation pounds! ha ha ha

I have a few more dolls made, you can find them on my site or on etsy

Stay tuned… this week I am going to post a Sewfunky Sling Give-Away to celebrate Spring!

you will only get this if you are a fellow crafts person or love a crafts person.. super funny.. thanks for the link Nadine!