Sling Thing Mania

Last week I made slings for the baby -- one for me, reversible from black to a deep red and black Victorian floral, and one in denim for the Man. And I started on a pink flannel one for Arabella to tote her baby dolls around in. I have enough fabric to make 2 more -- one in a black on black cotton and one in a black and white Colombian fabric that has been floating around my home since I lived in San Francisco, more than 12 years. If you are interested in making a baby sling for yourself or someone you know, this is the site I got it from:

http://www.sleepingbaby.net/jan/Baby/tubesling.html

I'll post pics later this week.

I know some people wonder about my tendency to wear black. Alot of black. I started wearing black in high school, before goths but after punk and neo-punk. It was the eighties, and whatever color was in last month in L.A. (neon green, or red, or white, or off-white, or whatever) was a big stinky fish this month. I got tired of trying to keep up with the fashion queens at my high school (I also couldn't get my straight fine hair to have the lift that they did, I should have known then to give up). So I asked my mother, "what color doesn't go out of style, is always 'in'?" She thought a moment and said, Black. Black never goes out of style.

From that moment forward, if I bought one shirt and it was offered in black, I got black. Everything coordinates with black. I do not own navy shoes, purses, or belts. I do not buy anything that cannot be worked into a black wardrobe, no matter how pretty or flattering. As a result, my wardrobe is pretty bland and weird. 9/10ths black, the rest is sage greens, reds, white, and some purples and taupe, and gray. Blue jeans don't count as a color unless you wear a denim outfit (matching jacket with pants, etc). The few things which do not coordinate with black are almost invariably gifts.

So when I make slings, which must coordinate with many outfits, I choose black. It is hard to sew black fabric, just as it is hard to knit black yarn, 'cause you can't see WTF you are doing. But I do it anyway.

So far Arabella doesn't show any preference for black, although her favorite dress of all time is her black velveteen sheath dress for the holidays. She wears that as often as I will let her (which means as often as it is not in the basement, in the wash. She will take it out of the dirty clothes hamper). Otherwise she wears many things at once, none of which 'go' together. Today she is wearing the eye-watering flamenco leotard over pink pants, with purple floral shorts over both. Yesterday was her Tinkerbell swimsuit with an orange bikini top over, and her gauzy fairy skirt on top, but oddly tucked into denim shorts with a pink ruffle. We try to get as many pics as we can of these outfits, so we have plenty of ammo for embarrassing her in front of her prom date and fiancee.