I had said I would stop the project but it nagged at me and nagged at me. I was thoroughly pissed off that making a pair of kid pants was apparently too hard for me.
I love the philosophy of "all clothes are play clothes" but it also makes me cringe a little. It supports fast fashion too much for my liking and it feels privileged to think that it's no big deal if a kid ruins their one nice pair of pants or special occasion dress.
I scoured the internet for what was knocking around in my head and discovered Rae's work. She paints the most charming scenes of animals, gnomes, and fairies and it was exactly the whimsical, imaginative feeling I was looking for. She perfectly captured the sentiments of adventure, exploration, and imagination that childhood holds.
Wild Mill Kids lives in the pile of filthy clothes on the floor outside the bathtub because we were made passionately for the play clothes/weekend wear/cabin clothes pile in the closet. Wild Mill Kids is not for beauty's sake and will definitelynotbe featured on Sunday mornings, in frames on your living room walls, or in your holiday cards.
These are the memories that will flash through your mind at your child's high school graduation. That grubby little kid is going to head off into the world well prepared thanks to all the time you gave them to use their imaginations, take risks, and get creative in solving problems on their own.