today i am super happy to be a virtual 'stop' on abby glassenberg's blog tour for her new book, the artful bird - feathered friends to make and sew. any of you who've been reading this blog for awhile are probably pretty clear that this little blog is not so much about sewing (mostly because i am not too good at it,) but despite this deficiency in my crafty repertoire, some of my favorite blogs are mainly about sewing. well, let me rephrase that - they're blogs by lovely, smart, talented women - mostly mothers - who also have some mad sewing + creating skills. abby glassenberg's blog, while she naps, fits that bill to a tee. i've been reading it for ages, and i've had the pleasure of meeting abby a few times over the past few years at various art openings, too. it's always a treat for me to meet a blogger in person and confirm that the person behind the blog i love is actually just as lovely in person, and abby definitely is!
the kids and i were thrilled to get a copy of the book last week and have been pouring over the pictures and instructions since, trying to decide which bird we want to try our hand at first (really, it will most likely be my hand(s), with them as the support team,) and we've all spent some time doing some fun representational drawings of some of her amazing creations, too. neither of them would allow me to post any here on the blog, but the dorky mom in me would like to report: they're pretty sweet.
for my part of the blog tour, since i am not an amazing seamstress who can ask the technical questions that some of the other stops will be able to handle with much more grace + expertise, i thought i'd ask abby some of the more basic questions i've been wondering about. here are her thoughtful responses:
jen: how did you manage to juggle everything - the creating and writing for the book, *and* parenting/pregnancy? i am in awe!
abby: I really like to feel productive! When I don't have a project to work on, I feel blue and mope around the house. So for me, having lots of things going on at once keeps me happy!
People often ask me how I find time to create. I actually find that having short periods of time to work in between having to pick someone up from school and feeding the baby or doing some other kind of Mommy duty is a blessing. When I have too much time on my hands, I tend to not be as productive, but knowing that any minute the baby will wake up and need me makes me get right to work and use every minute! Sewing and thinking about softie patterns gives me something to think about that is all mine, separate from being a mother, and I need that balance to feel content.
jen: what does a so-called 'typical' day look like for you these days?
abby: We are early risers. I am up at 6:10 am every day and out of the shower by 6:30 am. We come down for breakfast around 7:00 am and my husband, Charlie, leaves for work before 7:30 am. We hop in the car to take Roxanne to elementary school (she is in first grade) which starts at 8:30 am and then head to Stella's school which starts at 9:10 am (she is in pre-K). Then I stop for coffee on the way home because I love the foamy milk in cappucino and I have a two-month-old baby so I'm not sleeping through the night and need some caffeine. When I get back home, I put the baby down for a nap and I sew, respond to emails, update my Etsy shop, write a blog post or work on a sewing pattern. Or just read blogs and look at pretty things on Etsy. But I try to limit my computer time. I pretty much sew and write until school is over, alternating those things with nursing the baby and playing with her and changing her, of course. I pick Roxanne up at 3:05 and Stella at 3:20 and then we head home. I give the big girls a snack and then I start making dinner and lunches for the next day. I love to cook so I make dinner every night. Tonight we are having leg of lamb, roasted cauliflower and brown rice. Then I bathe all three kids, one at a time, and get them ready for bed. I put the baby to bed at 5:45 pm.
Charlie comes home at 6:15 pm and we sit down in the dining room together for dinner. After dinner he puts Stella to bed at 6:45 pm and I do the dishes and clean the kitchen while Roxanne does her homework. I read to Roxanne and Charlie puts her to bed at 7:30 pm. Then I sit on the sofa with my feet up and eat my dessert and relax for a few minutes! I head up to the studio at 8:00 pm and work until 9:00 pm and then come back down to hang out with Charlie for half an hour before we go up to bed. And that's my day! Right now, as you can see, I don't exercise. Sad, sad, sad. I really need to exercise.
jen: what's your favorite project in the book?
abby: My favorite project from the book is the bird in the nest. The bird is very simple, just three pattern pieces, with no wire legs to balance. You can sew him up quickly, in less than an hour I'd say, and then have fun embellishing his wings.
The nest came about in a funny way. I collect vintage spools of thread and I keep them all in a big basket on one of my studio shelves. After a while the thread ends always end up tangled in a big, colorful knot. One day I just took hold of the knot and made it even bigger, pulling thread off the spools and winding it around and around until it looked like a bird's nest! Put some downy roving in there to create a nice soft cushion and then set the bird on top. Such a fun springtime project I think!
jen: what blogs do you read to stay inspired?
abby: I love to look at the work of the four contributors to The Artful Bird - Ann Wood, Jennifer Muskopf, Abigail Brown and Tamar Mogendorff. Each of these women make incredible soft sculpture and whenever I check out their websites I feel like turning off the computer and getting out my needle and thread.
I subscribe to 130 blogs in my reader and I find that generally seeing everyone's creative output is really motivating for me. When I was in college I could never study alone in my room. I needed to get to the library where I could see everyone else studying! Then I would motivate and hit the books. Reading all those art and craft blogs and seeing what everyone else is making has the same psychological effect on me. "Oh man, what she made is awesome. I better get upstairs and make something, too!"
jen: thanks so much for your thoughtful and inspiring responses, abby! i am so impressed on every level.
AND! since we bought a copy and then were sent one by the lovely folks at
interweave, i have an extra copy of abby's book to give away. if you'd like to win it, please leave a comment by monday evening, 2/21/11 at 6pm EST. i will draw a winner and send out an email.
2/21 edited to add:
congratulations to julie from fresh basil! you've won the book. nice going! i am emailing you now for your mailing address. thanks to everyone who commented.
