Our gingham cotton, all-natural picnic blankets are some of our most popular summer sellers. So this year we decided to make up some rainbow colored gingham napkins too – for a picnic or a backyard supper or even a summer supper table inside.

With such a short, sweet summer season around here (is it already June?) – we need all the alfresco time we can get.

What are your favorite picnic pack-ables? Favorite picnic recipes? Treats? I think this summer we’re going to be doing lots of picnics, where we can combine some of our favorite things right now – eating, sunning and staring at one sweet boy.

We have a thing for it over at our shop. We snap up pieces of colorful, vintage seersucker gingham like nobody’s business.

I love the feel of it, the gradient colors, the texture… the lightness… and rescuing pieces of old fabric that are still beautiful and shouldn’t be stored for another few decades.

Recently we made up some spring and summer dresses with some little pieces we found. A blue and brown gingham seersucker one…

… and a hot pink raspberry and golden yellow one

 

It turns out that the fabulous folks at Romantic Homes Magazine included one of our handmade Marimekko picnic blankets in their October issue. What a thrill!

Thank you, Romantic Homes!

p.s. and if you are celebrating, have a fabulous Halloween.

The heat and the humidity of this part of the summer make even the lightest color, the lightest cloth feel like too much.  I love the freedom & lightness of this time of year.

This week we were inspired by sorbets and sunshine and … pink.

Here’s our new upcycled vintage gingham seersucker dress (available ready to ship in 5/6 and we have enough for made-to-order in a few more)

And our pink stuffed elephants mama & me pair…

And our new picnic blanket – upcycled gingham patchwork 1970s cotton – like a mod, retro rainbow.

Now I need some lemonade. Who cares if it’s only 8 a.m., huh?

Have fun playing today.

{photo above,one of our new upcycled vintage picnic blankets, this one from 1970s Pennsylvania Dutch cotton)

It’s sweltering here in Ottawa, and the humidity is slowing my whole self down, so I’m taking a little break today to splash in the sprinklers and feel the hummmm of the summer.

And to eat lots of arugula. The hotter it gets the more I crave arugula. And spinach. Hmmm.

Meanwhile, I have a new weekly post over at the NaturalKids team blog, a great virtual gathering place all about natural kid’s gear and artisans who handcraft it over at etsy.com

The blog has a brand new weekly line-up, frequent natural kids’ toys giveaways, weekly tutorials for kids and adults alike, peeks into artisans studios, and much more. Here’s today post.

Speaking of giveaways, you might want to tune in here tomorrow, because I have a great one for you!

Happy Tuesday.

Today, June 18th, is National Picnic Day is the U.S. (I’m adopting it here in Canada too).

A great reminder of the incredible joy that going somewhere in nature, laying out a blanket and having a lunch or a cupcake can bring. Especially when there are kids around. Especially when the sun is shining.

In my travels, I’ve always been amazed at how people are drawn to the idea of picnicking, and find a patch of green grass somewhere to enjoy some alfresco dining with their families. I saw impromptu picnics along the highway in Argentina, for example, that made me realize how immense and extravagant a place like Central Park is.

So happy picnic day to you. Cheers!

What is your favorite place to picnic, or your favorite picnic memory?

2 new picnic blankets from our shop

If I wasn’t still nursing, I probably would have had a celebratory G&T, but I had a {delicious & organically sweetened, bio-diesel-fuelled} Maine root beer instead, one of the precious few we picked up on our recent trip to Vermont.

After a few anxious months, we found out that one of our handmade picnic blankets made the cover of Detroit Home Magazine’s summer edition.

Here is a shot of the inside page.

The stylist on the shoot, Taryn from sage & style did such beautiful work – I wish I could walk right into her photos, don’t you?