Hi there stranger...

So it's been awhile huh?


Sorry about that.  We were on vacation with my family up in Michigan.  Not somewhere we normally go to vacation, but this time was a little different.  We spent the week on Mackinac Island (pronounced mack-ea-naw for those of us not from the region).  There are no cars on the island - not even scooters or golf carts (except on the golf course...silly goofers!), just horse drawn carriages and bicycles!

And it was chilly, even down right cold part of the time.  Such a wonderful difference from the stagnant heat of New Orleans.  We spent many an hour on the bicycles circling the island, getting off to do some window shopping and ice cream eating and riding through the woods.  


A few milestones were reached during our stay in the island... the first was that my husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.  Go us!  ;)  The little one stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while we walked down to a lovely dinner at a restaurant overlooking the water.  It was perfect for us, beachy colors inside a window filled dining room (J pointed out that the color of the walls was the same color as our wedding cake!), yummy food and happy and friendly staff.   

I even found a quilt pattern in the design of the tiles on the bathroom floor!  Isn't it gorgeous?!

Speaking of sewing...I didn't get much of any of THAT done.  Which is a bit of a bummer.  But lots of time was spent with family so I really can't complain!  I took along my paper piecing teaser from the first issue of CraftSanity Magazine that I had yet to dive into and gave it a whirl.  At first, I really could not understand why people say it's addicting because it seemed like a whole lot of work to me.  But looking at the finished piece now, I really want to do more!  And I hoping to incorporate them into bags and items where they are not usually found.  Mostly though, it was that bathroom floor.  So so beautiful!  


I have been very inspired by the slow making/ slow sewing/ not sure what to call it - but the hand sewing (as in a needle and thread) talk that has been going on these days (more explanation coming soon...).  While working some late hours a few weeks ago, I finished piecing my first Alabama Chanin skirt!  I LOVE it and am happily looking forward to making more!!!  I put the elastic on while we were on vacation.  It doesn't look pretty, but it does it's job and that's really all I can ask of it, I think.  I don't have a picture of the whole skirt (yet), but here is the stencil before the reverse applique was finished. (note:  a few weeks ago my wonderful husband found freezer paper for me - I was beginning to think they didn't sell it in New Orleans, I couldn't find it ANYWHERE.  J to the rescue!!  This was my first freezer paper stencil and I was so happy with how it turned out!!!) (note(2): I did not draw the boat, I found it in Google images) (I think that's the last note...)

In my little sewing bag were also some shirt scraps and random thread.  The first time in a long time I went without a plan - and this was the result...

uh, sorry.  I don't have a picture of that either.  Coming soon!

Look at that, you got me all caught up in talking about sewing and I haven't even mentioned the other milestone!  ;)  Our little Wy is walking!  Definitely can't put my finger on an exact time or place but I know that when we got there he could only take a few steps before he fell down and now he walks across rooms and down hallways with no problem at all!  Things are happening quickly - I'm so glad we were able to spend the whole week with him to see all this unfold.


Alright, I suppose that's enough for now, don't you think?  Until next time...


Blessing friends!

Crafty goings-on and their inspirations...

Just a few of the things I've found my crafty-self engrossed in these last few weeks:

Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style.

To say that Natalie Chanin is an inspiration to me is a gross understatement.   These books and her work are all about hand stitching, using local products and workmanship, slowing life down....serious wonderfulness here folks.  If you've never seen her work, check out the website here.  

This is a spin on one of the projects from the Alabama Stitch Book.  A notebook cover!  My friend Brian was cleaning out his closets and was kind enough to let me pick through what he was going to take to the thrift store so I could get first dibs!!!  I used parts of two knit jersey shirts to make this super easy cover.

I apologize for the lighting...night photos are not the best option, but sometimes they are THE option, if you know what I mean...

Anywho - this shirt had awesome pockets that I was able to use, so now my cover has a handy dandy pocket to hold my phone or pens or whatever!

Obviously this one was for me to keep as I don't have the kinks quite worked out...and it would have helped if I had followed the directions, of course, but who has time for directions when you want to get started now?!  

I do love Natalie's style of imperfection and unfinished edges and will most likely be incorporating some of that 'feel' into my work.

This guide to crazy quilting along with a few blogs have been what I have spent quite a bit of my time on the last few days.  (this blog, and this one, in particular!) 

All this crazy quilting excitement got started when I finally figured out what to do with some very special scraps of fabric. 

When my Grandmother passed away, I got some of her clothing, some of the things I remember her wearing.  I wanted to make something special with them, something for her children (my Dad and Aunt) and the grandkids (myself and two cousins) (it's a small family!).  It has been several years now that these have been patiently waiting in a project bag, and the other week it hit me - crazy quilt pillows!  Which was great, except I'd never done a crazy quilt in my life!  Thank goodness for crafty blogs and helpful books!

Here is the first "naked" block (see, I'm already learning the terminology!) - it's naked because it doesn't have any embroidery/embellishment yet.  I have seen some beautiful examples of heavily embellished crazy quilts.  For these pillows though, since they are the first adventure of this sane girl into crazy quilting and because I want them to be used and loved, I think we'll keep it simple as far as embellishing goes.  More soon!

-Blessings-

Moo!

I started this jolly little cow while my folks were here a few weeks ago.  For some reason I just got it in my head that there needed to be a jolly cow to go along with the happy lamb in my shop.  This little guy is gracing the front of a business card holder!  

Time and daylight have not been on my side, so please forgive me for the picture quality.

Hopefully you get the idea anyway.

And of course, my hand-made cards do not fit in a normal-sized card holder.

Just gives me an excuse to plug another crafty lady!  If you haven't already, you should make a trip over to Dottie's shop: rainbeauxart  I think you'll be pretty happy you did!

Fun and functional for you this Thursday!

felt is fun! (and other tid-bits)

Not sure what spurred it, but I'm suddenly very interested in felt.  I made some felt flowers (which I forgot to photograph!) and this little strawberry.

This little guy was created while I watched Top Hat (how can you go wrong with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers???).  I've been using the acrylic craft felt which I have not been happy with at all.  No stores in my area sell anything else, so I looked to 'the internets', as my husband calls it, where I stumbled upon Wool Felt Central (check it out here!).  It turns out the brick and mortar store behind the website is in Cozad, Nebraska!

"So what?" you ask?  Well, it turns out I'm from Nebraska and while Cozad is not all that close to where I grew up (South Sioux City), just the fact that it is in Nebraska got me really excited!

Well, when I found out they are in Nebraska AND they have great prices AND fun patterns for things I've never tried before but want to look in to (all these fun patterns), I had to give it a go.  A little package arrived a few days ago and I can't wait to get started - but I'm not sure when I'm going to fit all this fun in!  This is going to be a present for my mom so I'm not sure if I can share a picture yet...

I also thought I'd share a picture of why my craft space looks like these days.  It is close to being declared a disaster area.  But you know what, I'm getting stuff done!  And who wants to see a pretty, clean, organized studio anyways?  Doesn't that just happen in our dreams?

Out of that mess came this 'dress-up apron'.  

You'll notice that I match my furniture.  The pillow and napkin (that's the top layer of the apron) are from World Market in a retro strawberry pattern that I LOVE!!!  The napkins were on sale the last time I was there so I got a whole bunch knowing that 'someday' a perfect project for them would come to me. 

The layer underneath is a pillowcase (ruffles and all) that my mom found at a tag sale.  I added a flower made from an old t-shirt, a leaf from a green ribbon and some worded ribbon from the scrapbook stash.  My first apron just for me!

In other news...I was sewing along in my happy little way the other day, making an apron out of a sheet and a pillowcase for a friend, when my sewing machine jammed up.  After taking it apart, cleaning it, putting back together, re-threading, etc. it is still not working correctly.  Now, I found a shop that repairs machines, but I'm afraid it will cost as much to repair it as I paid for it.  SO - I asked my friend Trish, who makes the most BEAUTIFUL quilts, what kind of machine she used and how much I should paid for a decent machine that won't do things like this to me on a regular basis.  She has a Janome that she really likes.
What about you?  Any advice?

flower frenzy

I had a problem.

The purse I was using was double strapped and one of the straps would not stop falling off my shoulder.  It was driving me NUTS!  

So, I decided to go to my purse bin (yes, I have a bin of purses/bags...I love them!) and see what I had.  There were only two purses that had a single strap.  One is a small one and this was the other one...

before

I love all the pockets and the adjustable strap, but it's a pretty drab bag.  So, I went to the web for a fabric flower tutorial.  I got some great info from this one.

after

I think it's finished, but I might still add to it.  So far, there are flowers, buttons and new zipper pulls.  (and some bangles that were shower gifts my mom made for the baby shower!)  

Making the flowers was so much fun!  They didn't stop on the purse - a brooch was made, too.  I think they might become a favorite embellishment...

Hope you're having a blessed weekend!