My Happy Turtle

See you in November

2008-10-05T09:41:00.000-07:00

Hello crafters! Just popping in to explain my absence. In early September I volunteered for Barack Obama's campaign here in Ohio. I'm the canvassing coordinator for wards 2 and 5 in Upper Arlington, and it's kind of like a second full time job. Without pay. :)

I'm really having a good time getting out and talking to neighbors about the election, and doing everything that needs to be done to run a canvassing effort. But it leaves no time for crafting.

I'll be back after the election making up for lost time. See you all in November!

Birthdays, Firsts, and Super Service

2008-08-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

Busy Week, Day One: There's so much to do before we go out of town that I decided to give up tonight, put my feet up and enjoy my birthday with a glass of red wine, some convention watching, and a quick blog post.

Xander had two 'firsts' in the past couple of days. First day of kindergarten and first lost tooth. He was a little champ about both, admitting he was nervous about his first day but sure that he would do fine. He did.

His tooth fell out last Friday, and his day care provider wrapped it up so he could get it safely home for the tooth fairy (the weirdest and warped of all parental lies).

I finished his toothy pillow just in time. Zipper mouth stores the tooth until night time fairy replaces it with money. What will she do with all those teeth, Xander wonders.

Rewinding a few days, on Friday I got a package in the mail from PurlSoho. Before leaving for vacation I ordered fabric from them to make a quilt for Quinn. When I returned from vacation the package was waiting, but it was the wrong fabric. I contacted them and they quickly sent out the right color.

Now, here's the kicker. It wasn't their mistake! I clicked the wrong button, ordered the wrong fabric, and they completely helped me get what I needed in plenty of time to get started on my project. I'm sending the 'wrong' color back to them, and will be placing an order for another project tonight.

I visited PurlSoho in NYC when I was there this past April and just loved their store. They were kind, friendly and helpful. And now I know they treat their online customers the same way. Thanks much, ladies!

Finally, I spent a little time organizing my sewing room this weekend. It was completely out of control and very distracting. It's in good shape now, but I realized I've never posted any photos of the fantastic room I inherited when Quinn and Xander decided they didn't want separate rooms. Here it is, in all its girly-glory:

:: Project board, storage, shelves, and naughty turtles ::

:: Fabric stash (looks small!) and books ::

:: Knitted bowls holding thread ::

In three days, it's Quinn's birthday. In four days, my Father's birthday. Luckily I only have sewing projects for one of them. Quinn has decided that she wants a "furry trashcan" to keep her plushy sheep in. She's turning four, so there's really no talking any sense into her. I just need to make a furry cover for a trash can. That's on the agenda for Busy Week: Day Two.

Green, brown and orange

2008-08-22T20:01:00.000-07:00

We're still enjoying tons of fresh veggies from the garden. Quinn picked these two lovely peppers tonight, and they'll end up being a stuffed pepper lunch for the both of us tomorrow. I'm so happy I have one kid who really enjoys growing and eating veggies. The boys in the house are merely tolerant of vegetables.

I managed to pull together two more Pattyfair prototypes this week between attempting to catch up at work (fail) and getting Xander ready for Kindergarten (pass).

I bought these handles two years ago, and never quite found the right place for them. But after picking up another yard of Joel Dewberry's sparrows and woodgrain, I found the perfect fit.

I only have two more pairs of these handles, so I think I'll simply choose some of my other existing fabrics, make the same shaped bag, and be done with that!

Then, I finished up this simply, plushy tote. I had planned on using the cute deer patches I picked up at Craftin' Outlaws, but when I ironed the seams open, the patch melted off! Jeeze. Good thing I didn't use them on a dress for quinn or something!

The brown patch in the middle is actually a pocket for a cell phone. No one likes digging through a big tote bag trying to find their ringing phone.

Oodles of Inspiration

2008-08-17T18:39:00.000-07:00

This was the perfect weekend to bridge the gap between vacation and work. The weather was perfect. The garden veggies were abundant. The kids were content.

On Saturday I took Xander with me to Craftin' Outlaws, one of the larger hipster craft shows in town. There was so much inspiration there, I just had to start on some new projects that afternoon. A day and a half later, I have three new projects started, and one completed. Boy did I miss my sewing machine while I was out of town! (I've come to terms with the fact that makes me a bit pathetic).

Here's some of the cards and chatchkies Xander and I picked up while we were there. Lot's of people had business cards with monsters on them, and Xander grabbed every one of them.

I think I stunned Erica by spending only three dollars at the show. These cute patches were just too hard to pass by. If only Quinn would let me make a dress for her. One of these would be great on the front of an A line dress.

Before we headed out for the show, we had lunch made from veggies fresh from my garden. I love this time of year, when you pick your lunch right before lunch.

Then today, I started cutting up my latest haul from Sew to speak, and thanks to Quinn, who decided that spending two hours in the sewing room with me sounded like fun, I was able to finish this handbag up before dinner.

I put in a pleat on the outside of the bag, and then struggled a bit to figure out how to work out the dimensions on the inside of the bag. In the end, I put the pleat in, and then sewed it up so small items wouldn't get lost in there. If only I had paid more attention during geometry in high school! Oh well. In any case, it looks good. And it has a small cell phone pocket, and a magnetic snap closure.

Quinn, who feels she contributed greatly to this project, insisted that she model for a photo. If you ask me, she looks great with blue and brown.

Since I made this handbag with no particular reason in mind, I guess I have officially started making bags for Pattyfair. One down, 49 or so to go.

Summer Break

2008-08-15T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a lovely summer break around here. There's been so much going on, I took blogging off my to-do list. I've barely even surfed around to see what you all have been up to either. I just started poking around a few days ago when we got back from a nice long vacation. You've all been so busy! So many interesting projects going on out there. I'm ready to jump back in with both feet.

Here's a bit of what I've been up to:

:: getting oodles of lovelies from Sew to Speak ::

:: working on this slouch hobo-style bag for myself ::

:: hitting the beach. hard. for two weeks ::

:: knitting this hat from One Skein for a friend's new baby ::

:: burp cloths made from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern collection ::

:: got some lovely new yarns ::

:: turned them into felted bowls for thread ::

:: owls have taken over a few ::

:: turned some of Xander's monster art into this canvas wall piece ::

:: finished this custom order for Kate ::

:: the inside is as fun as the outside ::

:: we grew our first hanging tomato garden ::

:: and discovered wasp-larva covered tomato caterpillars ::

:: completed a challenging (and fun) custom order ::

:: a gig bag for Elisa ::

:: she has already taken it on tour with her ::

There it is. The brief history of our summer. For the next few weeks, we'll be busy getting Xander ready for kindergarten. Celebrating my birthday and Quinn's birthday. And Kevin and I will be taking a short trip to Vegas without the kids (of course!).

But I'm sure I'll get a little crafting (and posting) squeezed in there somewhere.

(sick) ambition

2008-05-13T19:44:00.000-07:00

I've never been a fan of folks who go on and on about how crappy they feel. And, I feel like I've mentioned my ailments too much recently here. So all I'll say now is that I took a rare day off from work this week to try and rest up. And, I decided to get back to my crafting routine despite not being 100%. Too many ideas were clogging up my noggin.

I started by working on the little pleated clutch in the photo above. I had thought about working with pleats in linen for a while now, but couldn't find a good online tutorial for it. I finally just went into it blind. With mixed results. For one thing, the cute leopard is supposed to be all the way over on the very right hand side of the bag. How did I not notice that mistake until I was finished?! Rusty!

Next, I knocked out this fantastic dragon bag, a custom order for Carrie, that I am going to hate to part with! I came up with a new design that really complimented the Alexander Henry fabric. There's an outside pocket to the left of the dragon for her cell phone.

It also has two pockets inside. The bag is reversable, so Carrie can use this side if she wants a little less dragon.

My felting frenzy continued. I knocked out five more bowls, and am now trying to figure out how to embellish them. Beads? Cord? Embroidery? Who knows. I'll try something. I also started thinking about how to execute this idea I've had running around the noggin: knit fire.

We have a fireplace upstairs that we wanted to get operational this winter. But when the chimney guy showed up to inspect it, he called it a 'widow-maker'. Eek. Maybe not then. So, I've been thinking about a knitted/felted fire art installation in the hearth. We'll see. The to-do list is long.

I brought the bowls outside to dry a bit in the sun. I've always been happy that X and Q have an interest in my projects. They like helping me pick colors, sort zippers, fold fabric, whatever. I let them touch everything except for the needles, pins and blades. And they both really like the new felted bowls. So, I assumed when all of the bowls disappeared that they had been comendeared by one of the kiddos.

Yep. They were being used to feed Rody the horse. And the puppies. And the dinosaurs.

Finally, I recently checked out this new fabric shop on High Street called Sew to Speak. It's all goody-goody goodness. I did my best to restrain myself, but ended up walking out with four yards of black and grey canvas, and these two goodies:

:: Giraffes from Alexander Henry ::

:: The most amazing Japanese import linen/cotton blend from Echino ::

Ah. The love. The only down side is that I really can't start on anything new until I knock out some more of these custom orders. It's a nice problem to have.

felt frenzy

2008-05-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

It was a nice weekend - all things considered. Kevin had to work a ton of overtime, Mother's Day included, so the kids and I were on our own most of the time. As a bonus, I now have strep throat (what the heck is going on with my immune system?!), so we were pretty much stuck inside too.

The upside is that I had plenty of time to indulge this felting frenzy that I've been on since Thursday night. Thursday night, Lynne showed me how to knit in the round, and I've been knitting up these little bowls almost non stop since. I gave the yellow one to my Mom for Mother's Day.

Other presents included cards from my kids, an upside down tomato plant from my Mom (no place for vegetable planting in my small, small yard), and crafting cash from Kevin. Hopefully I'll be feeling better soon and I can head out to the store and spend it.

the curse of threes

2008-05-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

It turns out I did come back from Chattanooga with bronchitis. And a sinus infection. And then, late last week, I came down with fifth disease. And, although not being a particularly vain person, I was a bit embarrassed to show up at work with all of those spots.

The upside was that I had the perfect excuse to lay low this weekend and find stuff to do around the house. The weather cooperated with my plan on Saturday by spitting down rain and keeping me indoors. Now that it's finally warm out, we moved our bed back into our bedroom and I started setting up my new sewing/crafting room. The kids have been a big "help" by sorting fabrics and spools of thread into piles based on color. I should have photos to post by this weekend.

Earlier in the week I finished up the quilt in the above photos for the Four Season Quilt Swap. I put a lot of thought and time into it, but I've pretty much been shamed by the other quilters, who all seem to have tons more talent/experience. My partner should have received her quilt today, and I hope she is happy with her newbie creation. I have lots to learn!

midwest modern

2008-04-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

I really only needed one fat quarter in something brown for my four season quilt swap design. But when I got to the fabric store, I found everything was priced 50% off. And they had a bunch of bolts from Amy Butler's new collection, Midwest Modern Why even bother trying to resist?!

Seven wonderful yards now rest on top of my sewing station. Just begging me to rethink my quilt idea. At the very least, you can expect to see something from the Ohio Sky palette worked in there.

Tennessaw Tennessee

2008-04-21T16:44:00.000-07:00

We're back from Chattanooga, Tennessee! It was our first time there and we had a great time. The weather was great, and there was so much to do. We could have easily stayed another three or four days. But, alas, it's back to work. And, I've come down with another bug (bronchitis?) and don't know when I'll have time to make it to the doctor this week. I'm going to take a week off from any after-work crafting and try to get to bed early. But I'll be back next week with more of the projects I'm working on, including a tiny preview of the quilt I'm working on for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap.

In the meantime, here's a few snaps of our vacation.

:: Sunglass holders and pencil bags for Xander and Quinn ::

:: Quinn and Kevin on a carousel ride ::

:: Xander plays on a sculpture outside the aquarium ::

:: Munc shadows (Quinn is behind Kevin's legs) ::

:: A sign at Rock City ::

:: A waterfall at Rock City ::

what happened?

2008-04-14T20:48:00.000-07:00

Was I really gone for over a month? I know I slipped into digital world for a bit, reading things like this, and this, and this.
But I didn't think it had been a month!

Still, I did find time to do some non-pixel related work:

I finished up this scarf. Just in time to put it away for next winter, now that Spring is here.

I'm working on this sweater for Lynne's class. I'm predicting I'll finish up in the fall, just in time to put it on. (Just kidding, Lynne!)

I took a trip to NYC with a girlfriend to visit another girlfriend. While there I picked up these fat quarters from Purl Patchwork.

And this book from Purl Soho I can't wait to have a reason to knit those angora booties! (I'm talking to YOU, Erica!)

Jason turned me on to these stickers from Sticker Robot.

And we were in the local newspaper last Saturday for a story I submitted about meeting Barack back in March. The title of the story in the paper was "Flirting with Fame". Yep, Kevin teased me about that.

Now, I'm relaxing for a few minutes before going to bed after getting everything ready for the Munc family's trip to Chattanooga tomorrow. We were supposed to fly Skybus, and this is the second time I was burned by them in the past 10 days. *sigh*

Anyhow, I was able to put together these cute messenger bags for the kids. They outgrew the ones that I made for them when we went to Boston (on Skybus. *sigh*) last September.

Yes, that is paint on Xander's sleeve. Yes, that is chocolate ice cream on Quinn's shirt. That's how we roll.

I also made them cute little sunglasses holders and a small pencil/pen/stickers holder bag, but I forgot to photograph them before the sun when down. I also made these cute little travel pillows for them for the car ride down (yep, I'm pretty bummed about not getting on Skybus tomorrow). I'll snap all of them when we get back into town.

I promise not to wait another month.

a small disappointment

2008-03-07T19:37:00.000-08:00

We're supposed to be packing tonight. But our flight to Chattanooga was canceled due to the first Nor'easter to hit us in '08. Lousy timing. The kids were really excited about the trip. We were supposed to go here. And here. And here. If we're lucky, we'll be able to leave on Sunday morning.

That is the second disappointment of the week. The first came late Tuesday evening when it was clear my choice in candidate wouldn't be winning Ohio's primary. I was much happier on Sunday, when Jason and I got to shake hands with him. Later, a friend of a friend quoted us in this article about the election.

In the two to three seconds I spent not obsessing about the upcoming election, I did manage to plan out a few new crafting projects. I ordered some new fabric from phatfabrics (pictured above), and am planning on doing something with this in the new master bedroom.

I also took a trip with Lynne to a yarn shop and picked out some nice wool for a sweater I'm going to be starting. Yep, you heard me right. I've been knitting for five weeks and she has me starting a sweater. I love that girl's optimism.

Finally, I found out this week that I'll be participating in my first quilt swap! I'm really excited and have been thinking about what kind of design to work up. I promise leave American politics out of it.

yes we can

2008-02-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

First let me apologize for the second non-crafting post in a row. I've been out of town and haven't gotten to much new to post. But, I did take half a day off today to see Senator Barack Obama speak at The Ohio State University, and I wanted to at least put up a quick post about it.

If you get a chance to see Obama in person for yourself, you should do so. He was amazing. I'm not kidding, I saw girls walking back to campus after his speech who were crying. Crying. Moved to tears. Wow.

pretend warm

2008-02-21T18:28:00.000-08:00

Oh February. The shortest month. The month that seems the longest. After the umpteenth day of cloud-covered skies and temperatures in the teens, I decided that some pretend warm was better than no warm at all and took the kids to the Franklin Park Conservatory. Ah, moist air. Warmth. A pretend bit of summer. Lovely.

As a bit of irony, I'm scheduled to leave town tomorrow afternoon with some girfriends to have a girls' weekend out. In, of all places, Chicago. Heh. Chicago in February. Who planned this trip?

seeing spots

2008-02-18T20:30:00.000-08:00

I finished the leopard quilt this weekend. It only took a week from start to finish, which is pretty fast quilting for me! I'm so happy with it, and Xander loves it too. Quinn is feeling a little jealous and is asking when I'll have hers done. I'm afraid that it's going to take a bit longer than a week since I'll be out of town for a few days. Luckily, she's luckily enough to have a big brother who is good at sharing, so they both were wrapped up in his quilt this morning.

The finished, washed size is about 44" x 64"

And now it's all nicely fluffed-up and puckery.

For Quinn's version, I'll be using browns and yellows. Including the top fabric pictured here that I got from Jamie over at PhatFabrics. Jamie is a lovely seller and I'll be buying from her again. Check out her store, she has some great deals going on now. She's on both eBay and Etsy.

In knitting, I learned both increasing and decreasing this week, and am looking forward to getting a little practice time in on the plane. I'm also working on a digital photo project for my friend Lynne. I'll be posting that once I'm a little further along.

snow day

2008-02-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

For the past few days it has been unreasonably cold here in the Midwest. The kind of cold where you have to keep the kids inside all day. The kind of cold where you start to think that maybe your family wouldn't mind eating canned soup all week if that means you don't have to go out to do shopping.

But there hasn't been much snow. Still, every school in the area closed today because of the threat of freezing rain this morning. I'm happy to have a day off from bundling up the kids and getting them out of the house. It's nice to spend an extra day in our jammies staying cozy by the fire.

Plus, I'll have an extra hour and a half in my day since I don't have to drive to and from work and daycare. I plan on using that time to start quilting Xander's leopard quilt. I put together the top over the weekend, and am soooo happy with it so far!

The turquoise is a little bright for me, but Xander loves it. And, I have to admit, I love how it turned out on the applique. It's the first time I've tried reverse sewing the stabilizer to the fabric and then finger turning it before ironing and sewing. Even with all of the curves, it turned out nice.

Also on the 'nice' list this week is this art bag I whipped up for a birthday gift for one of Quinn's school mates. It has a nice little drawstring top and a front pocket. It's filled with art supplies for a creative three-year-old. Pom-poms, pipe cleaners, pencils, scissors, and some glitter glue. I like it so much I'm putting together the same thing for one of Xander's friends party for this weekend.

recap

2008-02-03T16:39:00.000-08:00

I meant to post about three times this past week. But I never felt like putting down what I was working on and firing up the computer. So here's the Sunday evening recap.

Week three of knitting lessons got us started on this washcloth sampler. I think I might be brewing a nasty knitting addiction. I even took this with me last night when Kevin and I went over a friends house. Just give me a handful of cats and I can be *that* crazy girl now. Eeek.

It was a great mail week, something new showed up on three different days. I got the latest Craft magazine - chock full of cuteness, as usual.

I also ordered more of the Echino fabric from Repro Depot. After finishing the cheating quilt, I immediately wished that I had made it a little larger. So I picked up these two prints with the idea that I'll make two 5' x 7' blankets, one for Xander and one for Quinn.

I'd like to be one of those piece-as-you-go quilting types, but I feel the need to do at least a little bit of planning, if only to keep me from buying twice as much fabric as I need. I started working on this little sketch, and the next thing I know, Xander had gotten a hold of it and was putting little 'X's' in the three large circles I had drawn. I asked him what he was doing, and he said that he wanted that quilt to be for him, so he was making sure I knew by putting his initials on it. Nice.

And if that wasn't enough mail fun, I also got this hardbound printed book I put together from my 2007 photographs using blurb.com. I'm so happy with the results!

The quality of the printing is great - better than whoever Apple uses for their iPhoto books. And, blurb.com is way, way cheaper too.

The largest book you can get from Apple is 100 pages, and it will cost you $120. The book I got this year is 160 pages, and cost me $38.00. Yeah, I hate to say it, being the Mac-elitist that I am, but when it comes to book printing, I'm leaving them for blurb.

Here's a couple of more snaps of some of the inside pages:

:: Xander and Quinn shot in a makeshift 'studio' in our living room ::

:: Apple picking back in September ::

:: Shots from our trip to Mexico ::

Incidentally, all of the shots on the recap post today were taken with my camera in manual mode, not auto. I'm still sticking to my homework assignment of taking at least one photo a day in manual mode. I'm determined to keep the flash off as much as possible, which continues to be a challenge in the winter in Ohio.

One final photo - Quinn asked me to stop taking photos of all of the 'stuff' and take a few of her. As you can see, we spent a lazy Sunday day at home, in our jammies, and I didn't even get around to brushing her hair. She loves days like this.

'cheating' quilt complete

2008-01-28T20:17:00.000-08:00

It's finished! The only thing I don't like about the 'totally cheating' quilt is that I can't seem to snap a good photo of it. I finished it up yesterday and got it in the wash today. It's now all full of dimpled, puckered quilty goodness. I love it!

I tied off each square with 100% wool yarn, and it felted a bit more than I had hoped in the wash. Still, I'm really happy with the results. Especially the binding. Which is hands-down the best I've ever done, thanks to a couple of tips from Lynne.

Xander and Quinn love it and spent evening 'sharing it' since it isn't large enough for both of them to snuggle under together.

Despite the lack of photos (hurry up, Spring! I need light after 6:30 pm!), I had a great crafting week. I learned the purl stitch this week in knitting class. Now I know what they mean by "knit one, purl two". I think I remember that from old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Strange.

I also took a photography lesson from Ray. I've had a Nikon D-70 for the past couple of years, and I've hardly ever taken it off of 'auto'. Kind of crazy since I took photography way back in high school and have at least a basic knowledge of camera theory.

For homework, I have to take photos every day on manual, for 30 days. The quilt photos are day 1. As you can see, there's lots of room for improvement.

something new

2008-01-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! I started Lynn's beginner's knitting class last Thursday. It was great! Very relaxing. It's been nice practicing this week at home by the fire, with a glass of red wine. ahem. My second class is this Thursday, and I'm hoping to have the whole skien knitted with no mistakes by then. Wish me luck!

totally cheating

2008-01-20T07:01:00.000-08:00

Last week I was feeling a little lazy. This happens a lot in January. Once the holidays are over we seem to get hit with an obnoxious twenty degree drop in temperature and snow. The snow would have been festive in December, but in January it just serves as a reminder that we have at two more months of winter to get through and I start to feel, well, lazy.

So, I spent a lot of time last week on the couch with the TV on and a nice wood fire going, glass of red wine in hand, reading blogs. While purusing The Purl Bee I came across a link to their echino line of fabrics and found this great patchwork fabric (Kokka Fabrics Echino Red Squares 95000-500/b14). The perfect project for someone feeling lazy - a fake patchwork quilt!

I ordered a yard and then was off to the fabric store to get some kona cotton for the backing and the strippy binding. The binding I pieced together from four different colors of fabric (okay, that part wasn't lazy).

Then, I just quilted the layers together by "stitching in the ditch" between the squares of the printed top layer. Viola! The totally cheating quilt! I still have to finish sewing the binding on, but I want to take the whole thing over to Lynn's place so she can show me how to correctly hand stitch a binding. The finished quilt should be up here in the next week.

crafting for home

2008-01-12T19:42:00.000-08:00

I was so happy to take down Christmas decorations last weekend. Not that I don't love Christmas. Or decorations. It's just that after six weeks, I was about done with all of the red and green, and gold.

But I have to say that once I looked around the place, I decided that I was also tired of my non-Christmas decorations. Sigh.

So, project 'crafting for home' has officially begun.

I've got a lot of ideas, and hope to have things spruced up around here by spring. I thought I'd build a little momentum by knocking off a few quick projects first. And the first one is this little patchwork cover for the flat panel TV in the kitchen.

:: with a thin handle on top for easy removal ::

a little organization

2008-01-05T21:33:00.000-08:00

One of the gifts Santa brought me this year were these cool little plastic fabric wrappers from Polar Notions. So far, I'm liking how they work. It's nice to actually see what fabric I have.

I've been looking forward to turning the spare bedroom into my sewing room, but that project is on hold until the Spring. Kevin and I took it over while we were working on our bedroom and discovered that it is by far the warmest room in the house. There is no way I'm moving out of that room until at least April.

happy new year

2008-01-01T17:30:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2008 is here, that my 11 day vacation is over and I'm heading back to work tomorrow. It was a fantastic, relaxing 11 days that ended in a great new year's party with friends and family.

I should do something sentimental or insightful here. A summary of 2007, a bit of looking forward to the things ahead. But I'm just too tired and am instead heading off to bed. Perhaps I am a bit too old for partying until 6:00am after all. Ahem.

:: new year's gifts for sarah and dawn ::

:: with this bit of cute sewed tissue paper as the wrapper. from joelle's book ::

a Merry Christmas indeed

2007-12-30T14:52:00.000-08:00

Wow. I've been gone for a month! I didn't mean to disappear for so long, but I'm sure I'm not the only one whose items on their to-do list outnumbered the days left before Christmas. I'm happy to say that I got most of it done. Even if I didn't take photos of everything. Here's a few I did manage to get:

:: the Munc holiday card, finished in time to get in the mail ::

:: matching print on canvas for above the mantle ::

:: opening stockings on Christmas morning ::

I'm now looking forward to playing with my gifts from Santa with the few days left before I head back to work.

Happy New Year everyone!

Finally, Pattyfair

2007-12-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's Pattyfair was a great success. I'd estimate that nearly 100 people attended, and by the looks of things, everyone had a great time. My little booth did really well. I brought 54 items to the show and sold 34 of them. Which leaves me plenty to dole out as Christmas presents.

Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my little camera (hopefully it is somewhere at Patty's house) that has all of my snaps from the event. But, I can at least share some shots of the great loot I picked up from some of the other crafters.

:: baby gift set by Beth of Modern Jax ::

:: amazingly detailed cards by Robyn of Sleeping Dog Designs ::

:: gift tag set to benefit the Dain Yoder/Ray Cuevas Soccer Fund ::

Now that the event is over, I need to get started on a my Christmas crafting list. Most of which involves printing gifts on my neglected large format printer. I'm looking forward to relaxing on the couch with my laptop this afternoon and doing a little bit of digital design.

Getting Close

2007-11-28T21:48:00.000-08:00

Pattyfair is coming up quickly -- in three days! I still have lots to do before Saturday, including a completing a custom messenger bag order and two scarves. But, most else of what I need to do is already done. Including:

:: printing this 3' x 4' poster for Patty's door ::

:: printing this sign for my booth ::

:: making these custom price tags ::

:: sewing this pocket apron to hold my cash during the event ::

As a bonus, I was really productive over the holiday weekend and completed these items:

:: two denim totes ::

:: two gray totes ::

:: two brown totes ::

:: ten zipper clutches ::

I decided that I liked the zipper clutches so much that I cut out 16 more sets last night -- thinking that I should have one to match each of the bags I've completed. Big mistake. I'm a little burned out on the sewing, and I don't know how many of those additional zips I'll have completed by Saturday.

I'm not going to stress out about it. I already have 46 items completed, which I think will be more than enough.

I'm really looking forward to the event. There are a lot of talented people involved, including my friends Beth and Robyn, who have both been busy getting all their stuff ready.

So, if you're in Columbus Ohio this weekend and would like to swing by Pattyfair, post a comment here and I'll send you the directions.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T08:56:00.001-08:00

I love Thanksgiving. Mostly because of our unorthodox family tradition. We don't go anywhere. We don't have anyone come over. We don't participate in Black Friday. We do cook the feast, down to every last side dish. And talk about what we're thankful for over dinner. But it's just the four of us. Usually, still in our PJs. The rest of the weekend we spend together by the fire. Watching moveis, playing games. Relaxing. It's a great break before the crazy Christmas season starts.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Perfect Crafting Weekend

2007-11-18T20:46:00.000-08:00

Ahhh. What a weekend! What a perfect crafting weekend. Friday evening Kevin went out with some friends, so I was able to catch up on some things around the house and cut some tote fabric for sewing later.

Then, on Saturday, I met the lovely and talented Amy Butler at her trunk show at a local fabric store. She was really warm and friendly, and started the conversation off by asking me what *I* was working on.

I asked her about her new lines coming out, (pay attention in January and July) and then cheesed it up enough to ask for an auto and a photo. She complied with both. Of course, I bought more fabric, which I really should have resisted, and have started working on more totes.

If you haven't done so already, you need to check out Amy's new book
Midwest Modern which is really amazing. Great photography, great inspiration.

Then, if that wasn't enough, there was a great indie craft show Tiny Canary that I attended on Sunday. There were 40 or so really talented crafters there and I was able to meet several local artist that I really admire. Including, yumi yumi who remembered what I bought from her on Etsy four months ago. Wow, impressive. She's a lovely and talented lady who was nice enough to let me snap a quick photo of her in her booth. Which was swamped with people almost the enitre time I was at the show.

I also picked up this amazing fox print for Quinn from the tugboat printshop

And a set of these lovely owl ornaments from Craftpaca

Nice.

Post Every Day?

2007-11-16T18:09:00.000-08:00

So, who thought that this 'post every day in November' thing was a good idea? Um... not me. It's not that I don't have things to post about. Mainly, the problem is the sunlight. All my photos look terrible. I'd be up for a post-every-day-July. But November? Ugh.

Enough whining. It's actually been a great week. I decided on Monday that work was just going to be tough for a while, and I needed to find a way to have enough energy at night to turn the sewing machine on anyhow. And voila - after my little pep talk, I managed to turn out six totes for Pattyfair.

Then, on Thursday, I went to the CSCA Creative Best awards. Lots of fun inspiration there. My favorite piece in the show was this poster:

I just love how non-digital it is. It's hard to see from the photo, but there is a great reflection on the type. It makes me miss print design.

So, the photos are far from great, but here's the totes I turned out this week. Bringing my total for Pattyfair up to 25. All of them are reversable, and have cute little tags on both sides to attach an o-ring for a keyclip. A couple of them have keyclips too.

:: girls and bunnies ::

:: elefantastic - with two pockets ::

:: more bad ass skulls ::

:: fun japanese winter scene ::

:: the last of my fun mod neutral fabric ::

:: more of the joel dewberry birds ::

Sneak Peak

2007-11-11T19:43:00.000-08:00

I've been working a little on the family Christmas card this weekend. I've decided to give my home printer a break and have it professionally printed this year. Which opens up sizing possibilities, but also means that I'll have to finish up the design soon if I want to send them out on the first of December like I had planned. This year I'm going with a 17 x 5.5 quad fold. Here's a sneak peak of the front cover. It will probably change seventeen times before I'm finished with it.

blogging break

2007-11-06T22:30:00.000-08:00

It looks like I have just returned from an unplanned blogging Break. Xander turned five last week (I still don't believe it) and I had to prepare for a party with 14 five year olds. Not to mention the family party on Sunday. Not to mention the crazy project at work that is taking up all of my time.

So, I haven't gotten much crafting done. But, I did put together this invitation for Pattyfair, which Patty has been distributing far and wide. I think she's going to have a good turn out.

I also threw together a super simple tote pattern that I plan to sew this week. I hope to get ten totes done by Sunday. Probably impossible. But I like to aim high.

Oh, and did I mention that I've recently become addicted to facebook? Or that I did an illustration for Kevin to use as his profile pic? I'm working on one for myself but I'm having a hard time, either because I have hair, or I am vain.

Five for Friday

2007-10-28T16:49:00.000-07:00

I've hit a personal sewing record this week! Last Saturday I started cutting out fabric for totes and by Friday I had completed five of them! I don't expect a repeat of that this week, but I am definitely feeling better about the small stash I'm building up for Patty Fair. The one above was made mostly to satisfy my Halloween spirit, but I think it will find a proper home in December at the show.

I will have to work out a better system than photographing only on the weekends (I've grown accustomed to updating this blog more frequently than once a week), but for the next couple of weeks that might be what I have to do.

I have a ton of stuff scheduled for the next two weeks including Xander's fifth birthday and my brother's first annual Home Brew Fest. The birthday will keep me busy, and I have to work on some design materials for Home Brew Fest and Patty Fair this week. It will give my sewing machine a little time to rest.

:: grey canvas inside with key chain and two pockets ::

:: no outside pocket on this one - I didn't want to interrupt the pattern ::

:: linen lining with two pockets ::

:: I love this bright fabric ::

:: denim lining with two pockets ::

:: birdie tote ::

:: key ring inside. wood grain trim ::

:: a little extra detail on the tag ::

:: matrushka doll tote ::

:: red pockets inside ::

Crafting for Home

2007-10-22T18:30:00.000-07:00

I took a brief break from sewing for Patty fair to do a little crafting for home. I picked up this reversible spider web fabric a few months ago not knowing exactly what I'd do with it. I had already made the kids trick or treat bags last year, so finally I decided on this table runner.

Xander just loves it. It's great to have a kid who really likes my crafting work. Every time he sees a new tote or handbag in the morning, he'll comment, "Nice one, Mom!" Or something like that.

And speaking of totes and handbags, I've made a few this week. But I don't have any good photos. Now that it's October it's barely light out when I leave for work, and it's almost dark by the time I get home with the kids at night. I hate using the flash, so I'm going to have to figure out how to take photos of all those projects that I usually finish up at 1 a.m.

Totealicious

2007-10-17T20:15:00.000-07:00

Things are back to normal this week now that training is over. I even have enough energy to sew. So I whipped up this Autumn tote since I thought it was time to start carrying around something new.

I was really happy with how this turned out and plan to make a few for Patty fair. Patty fair. Six weeks until Patty fair. Wow. I had better get cracking.

:: Inside trimmed with a band of purple fabric and has an inside zipper pocket ::

Modern Jax

2007-10-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us girls took a trip down to southern Ohio today to see
Beth and her little cutie Jaxon.

Beth gave us a tour of her home and it put me to shame. I swear, every room had something handmade in it. And I'm not talking wee bitty wall hangings either. I'm talking linens. Linens! Dear lord! I am humbled.

The kids had a great time. And even let the adults talk for long stretches at a time without interruption. Bonus.

:: Quinn is my little art girl ::

Finally Autumn

2007-10-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Has it really been a week since I've posted. Wow, sorry about that. I was in training all last week and fell asleep exhausted every night. Didn't turn the sewing machine once.

At least we got out this weekend and enjoyed the autumn weather that finally arrived this week. Crisp air. Cool temperatures. Ahhhh.

:: Quinn's always ready for anything ::

:: X and Q take a hayride ::

:: Xander is about to plunge into the hay pile ::

:: Giant pumpkin playin ::

Fast Forward

2007-10-07T18:03:00.000-07:00

It was 90+ degrees all weekend, and it's making me crabby. Since working on a bunch of fall related projects last weekend wasn't enough to coax actual fall weather in, I decided to fast forward a bit this weekend and get started on putting together my Christmas card.

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a bit obnoxious to be working on that in October, but my friend Ray was available to take photos, and I was looking for an excuse to keep the kids indoors for a few hours.

Ray got some great shots, and I've spent several hours already today working up some rough comps.

:: The kids cooperated! ::

:: To be honest, they were bribed a bit ::

:: and it worked ::

I also finished up another messenger bag and put it in the bin for Patty Fair before I was tempted to load my stuff up in there and take it to work with me tomrrow.

:: zipper pocket inside ::

Birdie Bags

2007-10-04T19:51:00.001-07:00

These two birdie bags took a lot longer to get done than I anticipated. My machine started protesting with the weight of all of the interfacing, and I wasn't able to get out and get some denim needles until the middle of this week. But here they are. Elisa already bought one of them, and was nice enough to get me an advance copy of her new CD, Compass and a Pen, (it's really good) too. The other one is going into the bin full of bags for Patty Fair.

Kevin and I have a sitter tomorrow night and are heading out to see a movie. Not sure which one yet. We've been hitting a lot of movies lately (gotta love Netflix) and really laughed at this one, got depressed by this one, and surprisingly (at least to me), really enjoyed this one. But tomorrow, I think I'd like to see Across the Universe.

I also want to take the kids to the pumpkin patch, but it's supposed to be 90 degrees all weekend. I'm so over it.

I also have another messenger bag that's about half completed that I'd like to finish up, plus a commission for a friend who needs a gift for his wife that needs to get wrapped up next week.

I had better try to not stay out until 3:00 am tomorrow night.

:: The dark version of the birdie bag ::

:: Complete with inside zipper and magnetic snap ::

Not letting go

2007-09-30T20:00:00.000-07:00

Summer just won't go away this year. Not that I have anything against summer. It's just that I'm ready to move on. My autumn wardrobe is hanging in the closet, waiting for a day when the temperature doesn't reach into the '80s. The gardens have been winterized, summer toys are being moved into the attic. But summer just won't go.

I know that in February, when I feel like I'm being smothered by the long dark nights and short sunless days, I'll wonder what on earth I was complaining about back in September when the weather was oh so very July.

But right now I'd like a little autumn. I did my best to pretend this weekend that it was here. I took the kids out apple picking, went to an early Halloween party, and did lots of baking with fall ingredients. Maybe mother nature will take the hint.

:: We were told to eat while we pick - and we did! ::

:: Quinn did her best to keep up with Xander ::

:: Who was able to do his picking from the proper in-tree position ::

:: Cooking up apples to make my mother's recipe for pink apple sauce ::

:: Oh so yummy pumpkin muffins ::

The pumpkin muffins were a modification from Amy's recipe. I set out to make them just as she did, but found myself without several of the ingredients she used. They turned out sooooo good that I think I'll just stick with my modifications.

chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

2 cups flour
3/4 cup bran
1/4 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cups apple sauce (I used my homemade pink sauce)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the dry ingredients together. In a different bowl mix the eggs, oil, applesauce and pumpkin. Add the dry stuff to the wet, then stir in the chocolate chips. Bake 20 minutes.

Easy enough. And, I'm really not kidding here, super fantastic yummy.

Since I hadn't felt that all that was really quite enough time in the kitchen (heh. joke.), I went on to make a nice little dinner of scallops, wild rice, and spinach saute to celebrate our 12 year anniversary. We couldn't find a sitter this weekend, so we're hoping we can go out to celebrate a bit more properly next weekend.

And finally, one of the summer toys I haven't put away quite yet are the kids' bikes. Xander has been on quite a project to teach himself to ride sans-training wheels. He really doesn't seem to want our help, he wants to figure it out on his own. He asked Quinn if he could take the training wheels off of her bike for practice since he's less afraid of falling from her bike (it's six inches shorter).

Today, he worked it out and was petaling away all afternoon. Look at him go! Whee!

Reversable stash

2007-09-26T21:30:00.001-07:00

I found this great canvas in my stash and used it as the main panels for the front of these two patchwork handbags. The top panel is the right side of the fabric, and the bottom panel is the wrong side. I'm going to try to get both bags done by Friday.

I also whipped up these two mini zipper pouches using the same fabrics that I used for my last messenger tote. One is for me, and the other is for my friend's mom who took a look at my great grandmother's quilt and showed me how to repair it. That is going to be one long project. And when it's done, there's no way it's going on my bed, like I originally had hoped. Turns out it is way to fragile.

Serger Class

2007-09-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

The second (and final) part of my serger class last Tuesday was fantastic. The instructor would hand us some odd fabric pairings, tell us to set all our dials to the default position, and then serge. Of course, she was attempting to make our machines behave badly. And, when they did, she let us try to figure out how to fix the problems.

By the end of class I was able to do the four-stitch overlock on several different types of fabric, started working on a three-stitch overlock, and did even did a rolled edge. Yippee!

The rest of the week was kind of a blur: entertaining external partners after work, seeing Kyle Cooper speak at CSCA, going out with Kevin to celebrate his birthday on Saturday, and then having out of town guests in today.

Things are going to settle down a little this week, leaving me with some time to practice what I learned at class before I forget everything.

Cutting myself off

2007-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

I had the best intentions. Really. Last weekend I decided it was time to work through my stash and stop spending so much money on fabric. I made three bags from Amy Butler fabric that I bought more than a year ago. I even talked to Robyn about it at work on Monday. I was serious.

Then, Monday afternoon, I went into the fabric store to check the starting time of my serger class on Tuesday. And walked out with a yard and a half of new fabric. So much for willpower. Good thing I've never tried heroin.

:: messenger bag with brand-spankin-new fabric ::

:: how could I resist the fabric I used for the lining? ::

Too much going on

2007-09-17T22:31:00.000-07:00

We had another great weekend. Perfect weather. We got out to the North Market for the microbrew festival and had friends over later in the afternoon for some game watching, grilling and hanging out. It was a fun time. But, it turns out I missed Craftin Outlaws, which was held on the same day. Drat. The next indie show is on the 18th of November, and I've put it in my calendar so I don't miss another one.

:: Quinn models a hat that I'm planning on giving to a baby that's expected in December ::

:: Three bags I made on Sunday for Patty Fair ::

:: The largest bag is fully reversable ::

Three Hours Later

2007-09-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

I had a great time at my first serger class yesterday, even though we weren't supposed to turn on our machines until two and half hours into the class. So I left with only the smallest amount of evidence of having been to class at all. But here it is: my first attempt at a four thread overlock. Not bad eh? The stitches line up on the edge of the fabric - bonus! Next week we get to run through all of the stitches on our machine, which will be more fun (I assume) then learning the mechanics of the machine.

As a bonus, when I got home I found these little lovelies in the mail. I picked them up from someone (sorry - I forget who!) on Etsy last week. Cute, eh? I think it's time to make a few more of those cell phone bags.

My New Baby

2007-09-09T12:57:00.001-07:00

I decided a while ago to get a serger this fall, and when a sale came up last month I went for it a bit early. I was just able to take my new baby out of the box this weekend, and after playing with it for a few hours I'm feeling completely inadequate. It took me 10 minutes just to thread this thing!

Luckily, I'm signed up for a beginners class this Tuesday. Unluckily, I have to travel to NYC tomorrow, so I won't be able to get any more practice in beforehand. Oh well, at least I got it threaded.

We're Back

2007-09-08T12:48:00.001-07:00

Well, as I had hoped, my kids are great little urban travelers. We had a great time in Boston and the two of them kept up with Kevin and I quite nicely. Xander initially kept asking us why we were on a walking vacation, but he got into it okay after being on the Freedom Trail for a couple of hours.

When we got back this morning and pulled into the driveway, Quinn actually cried! "I want to go back to Boston!" She said. Kevin and I are already talking about taking them out to Vancouver on Spring Break.

:: Quinn loves Skybus ::

:: Xander on the Freedom Trail ::

Off to Boston

2007-09-04T20:10:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow Kevin and I are taking on the kids on their first flight. We scooped up some $10 tickets to Boston on Skybus a few months back and the trip has totally snuck up on us. We're madly rushing around tonight doing laundry, packing, and trying to figure out what to do in Boston. I'm sure that part will be pretty easy once we get there.

I'm not even sure the kids would care what we did. They are just so excited to get on a plane. When we were at the pool Monday they looked up every time a plane flew over (which, unfortunately is about every 10 minutes)and asked, "Mommy, is that our plane?" Finally we saw an orange Skybus and I was able to say, yep -- that's the one.

I'm hoping I'll bump into a vintage fabric or clothing store while we're there. Other than that, I'm open to anything. See you all when we get back this weekend!

Labor Day Arts Festival

2007-09-03T09:53:00.000-07:00

I got up early(ish) and headed over to the Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival to try and beat the heat and crowds. I'm not sure that I beat either of them, but I was able to make it over without my kids, and actually take a good look at everything without worrying about little hands. I was even able to try my hand at blowing a glass bead. Let's just say there wasn't any natural ability that was uncovered in this area. Some highlights:

:: Meeting Tim George "Mr. Etch A Sketch" ::

:: And seeing some of his work up close ::

:: Talking to the wonderful Tara Hubbard who had a another great selection of handbags this year ::

:: Seeing this amazing quilt by Barbara Robertson that took over a year to make ::

:: My first (and probably last) attempt at glass blowing ::

:: Recycled bottle caps ready to be used in a mural ::

Fox Party

2007-09-02T22:55:00.000-07:00

Quinn had a nice, fun, (and relatively quiet) birthday party today. Because it's Labor Day weekend, all of the usual invitees were out on vacation and we celebrated with just the extended family (all 13 of us). I was able to pull together enough fox-related activities in order to satisfy Quinn's near to last minute request for a 'fox-party'. Both kids are upstairs now sound asleep, and after finishing this glass of wine, I'm going to bed myself.

:: Fox shirts - finished up just in time! ::

:: Birthday banner in the dining room ::

:: Fox bags for the pinata ::

:: Fox and flowers cake ::

:: Fox for Quinn ::

:: Baby quilt for the Fox ::

:: Quinn with her new bike gear ::

Not exactly what I was going for...

2007-08-31T10:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, when I should have been doing anything pertaining to getting ready for Quinn's party, I instead whipped up this new bag style I've been thinking about.

It's not exactly what I was going for. It's a little wider, and not quite tall enough. I was picturing a little more curve at the opening. And, I wanted to fold in the sides at the top near the handles to give it a little extra curve, but my machine totally rebelled against going through the 12 layers of fabric there, so I had to give up on that.

At least, for once, I didn't try my latest idea with my favorite-fabric-of-the-moment. It only took me five or six times to learn to perfect a new style before bringing out the fabric you really want to use.

I'd love to try again today, but I really, really need to get going on Quinn's party preparations. I bought her a little bike, and it needs to be assembled. I think I should plan on spending about 12 to 14 hours on that one today, given my track record with assembly projects. Directions and I just don't get along.

:: 2 pockets, and a magnetic closure ::

:: Should have been working on turning this into a fox shirt for Quinn ::

Long Pah-ty Weekend II

2007-08-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

I had another busy weekend that kept me from my sewing machine. We went out with friends Friday night to celebrate my birthday, attended a yard party on Saturday (for nine hours). And then, because it just seemed wrong to not follow that up with something on Sunday, the kids and I joined friends at a Bavarian fest.

So I didn't get nearly as much done as I should have, and then woke up today with the flu. Quinn's birthday is tomorrow, and her party is Saturday. So, let's hope that it it's a short run and that I haven't already infected my children.

:: Traditional dress and dance at the Bavarian festival ::

:: Quinn won't pose ::

:: Either will Xander ::

45 minutes later

2007-08-24T20:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I noticed two tiny scratches on my new Blackberry screen. I've been dumping it loose in my totes, and it's been rubbing up against something (keys?).

Today I had 45 spare minutes, and thought I should whip something up that I could use to carry the blackberry around in safely inside my totes.

45 minutes later -- voila. Handy phone tote.

I have to say, I was really happy with how this turned out. Sometimes, you just get in the zone and it's all so easy. Too bad you can't have those days more often.

:: Lined with fabric I picked up in NYC ::

:: Look how snuggly the Blackberry looks. Aw.... ::

I've been getting a lot done this week due to the horrible weather. We've had storms every day. It's cloudy, depressing, and hot. But I can't help but walk around with a smile on my face. Because I have a new roof. And nothing is leaking. The sound of rain on a brand-new slate roof is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Our basement, on the other hand, is totally wet. But what can I expect. Our house is 90 years old, and the basement foundation is really just large stones stacked on top of each other. Which, when you think about it, is something you really shouldn't think about. Okay, um.... turning brain off now....

August Birthdays

2007-08-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

August is a busy month for birthdays. Mine is on the 25th, Quinn turns 3 on the 28th, and my dad's birthday is on the 29th. I'm able to pretty easily ignore my own birthday now that Quinn's is three days later. And now that I'm in a long stretch of not really getting any benefit of adding years, it's nice to have an excuse to overlook it.

But, I have to admit that Quinn's kind of snuck up on me this year. I realized a few days ago that I hadn't sent out invitations yet, or even come close to thinking up a theme. This is pretty sad considering that last year she got homemade softies and t-shirts from me for her wild house monkey party. This year, um.... yeah, no idea.

So, Monday night I whipped up these invitations with the help of some stock illlustration. I was pretty happy with the result (considering the minimal effort involved). That is, until I showed them to Quinn to ask what she thought. 'Um. No mom," was her reply. "Not good."

I suspect she might be right, but, as I don't have time for re-do's, I'm afraid she's stuck with it. Luckily, she's only turning three. She'll forget all about the invitations by the time her party rolls around.

Random Photo

2007-08-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

I found this one when I was organizing photos over the weekend. I snapped this while Kevin and I were at a pub on vacation earlier this summer.

New bag style

2007-08-21T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm really happy with how this one turned out. I took my time and made sure that all of the seams were straight and ripped out the inside zipper twice before I was happy with it.

:: Check out the hardware on the handles ::

:: And my label on the side. And the inside pocket. And magnetic clasp ::

:: How do I get the handles to stay up in my photos? Meet Xander. ::

:: Three finished elephant mini-clutches ::

First Day of School

2007-08-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Well, first day of preschool anyhow. Still, Quinn was terribly excited. She had been carrying around her backpack all day Sunday and was ready and standing at the door five minutes before me this morning.

I feel bad about all the kids starting 'real' school next week as we are having terrible weather this week -- the last week of vacation. We've had thunderstorms every day and lots of rain. We got outside after work and school for a few minutes when there was a short break in the rain.

:: Xander climbs our only 'tree' - an overgrown burning bush ::

:: Quinn helps mom make a zucchini quiche ::

:: I had to throw some bacon in the mix in order to get the boys in the family to eat it ::

long pah-ty weekend

2007-08-19T21:03:00.001-07:00

I had plans to do a lot of sewing this weekend. but it didn't quite work out. Instead, I went out with friends Friday night and then took the kids to a party on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. I finished a handbag tonight, but it was raining outside and too dark inside to shoot without the flash, so I'll have to post that tomorrow.

:: The party turned into a toddler-rave after the sun went down ::

:: The next morning was rough on Xander ::

Busy Week

2007-08-15T20:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy (and fun) week so far. We had a great time at the tree farm and the stars put on a pretty good show -- even though we had to wake up at 3:30 am to get the best viewing time. The kids managed to spend all night in their own tent leaving Kevin and I to the big tent by ourselves. Nice.

On the way home I picked up a bunch of fresh locally grown veggies and have been cooking something new up every night. It's made me think I should really try cooking more often.

:: Whole wheat pasta with fresh veggies and feta ::

:: Asparagus tart with fresh eggs ::

:: New apron from Anthropologie ::

Some other stuff going on this week:

:: Checking out Marrietta Brewing Company with Mike and Erica ::

:: Sketching up a logo for their new brewing company ::

:: Watching Alisa perform ::

And, of course, some sewing. I have two small elephant clutch bags completed and am working on a new bag design. Hopefully I'll be posting the finished product in a couple of days.

Going Camping

2007-08-11T08:17:00.000-07:00

Kevin and I are taking the kids to his parent's tree farm tonight in the hopes of seeing some good meteor action. It's the annual Pirseids meteor shower and we can usually see it pretty good down on their farm – away from all of the city lights. Mike and Erica are coming with us. We’re looking forward to a night of playing shadow puppets in the tent with the kids, making s’mores and watching the light show.

:: Quinn is excited to leave town ::

:: What a ham ::

Stocking Up

2007-08-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

It's now only fourteen weeks until Patty Fair and it's time for me to really get cranking. I'm tryting to knock out three bags a week between now and December 1st. Wish me luck! I just got an order in from Repo Depot Fabrics and will be cutting out pieces for my medium tote pattern when we get back from camping tomorrow afternoon.

:: Yellow, orange, and green ::

:: More great greens in this barkcloth-like fabric ::

:: I love this mod print ::

Happy Accident

2007-08-09T19:51:00.000-07:00

I love this bag. Even though it isn't at all the bag that I set out to make. I had planned to make a messenger bag and try out this new corner technique that Lynne had told me about when she looked at one of my recent bags. But, part way into it I realized that I hadn't considered how the messenger flap would work with those corners. So, I cut the top part off and decided to go with my normal button closure. Then I thought I should turn the bird fabric into a front pocket instead of just a decorative accent. I made the pocket and then realized again that now the corners wouldn't work. This time I abandoned the corners all together. I'm really happy with how it came out and am now thinking that this will be one of the patterns that I use for the bags I make for Patty Fair.

::The inside of the bag has one large Velcro pocket::

::I love the square hardware on the handles::

Pardon our Dust

2007-08-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

It all started when I asked my brother, Mike, to cut down our headboard so it wasn't so tall. When we pulled the headboard away from the wall we learned that the window had been leaking for who knows how long, and that the plaster was ruined underneath.

Usually, i don't run into these problems until I start taking down the nasty thirty-year old wall paper in our house. Which is exactly the reason I was content to live with the horrible blue and pink flowers in our bedroom. I knew the moment I started to take it down I'd find some huge problem (like we did in the other two bedrooms) and would end up gutting the room and putting up drywall.

So, here we are gutting the room and putting up drywall. We could have done just the one damaged wall, but my brother and I have the same philosophy about these kind of things. So instead of a small patchwork job, we're getting new drywall, new electric (it just makes sense to update that old knob and tube while the walls are done), a new drywall ceiling (it would be weird to have a plaster ceiling with drywall walls), new handmade wood crown molding, window trim and baseboard (because we're not going to but the ninetly-year old original trim back up when it's all beat up and has been painted about 20 times already), and reworking some ducts so the fireplace stands out better. Okay, that last one is purely cometic.

Also, when I say 'we' I really mean Mike. Lord knows Kevin and I don't know how to do this kind of stuff ourselves.

Green Sunday

2007-08-05T16:10:00.000-07:00

We got back from Mexico yesterday -- 18 hours after we were scheduled to arrive (why is air travel so messed up this summer?!). We had an amazing vacation. In fact, I've realized that up until now we've been taking trips and that this is our first true vacation. Meaning, we did a lot of laying around on an all inclusive resort and very little sight-seeing. It was a wonderful change of pace.

I have about one hundred things to do before heading back to work tomorrow, so there's no time for real blogging tonight. But I did want to post a few photos.

See you all later in the week after I dig out a bit.

Leaving for Mexico

2007-07-25T21:16:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, we're leaving for a week long vacation in Mexico with our friends Jason and Sarah. The kids are staying here with their grandparents. I'll be taking a week-long blogging break, but will post some photos when I get back.

Kevin and I are really looking fowrard it. See you all soon!

New Fabric

2007-07-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

A bit of new fabric from the Joel Dewberry and Amy Butler collections. I can't waiting to start turning these into some messenger bags....

Birthday surprise

2007-07-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last year, my friend Dawn gave me some lovely fabric that her Grandfather sent over to her from the UAE back when she was in highschool. I thought that it was far too generous to pass that on to me, but Dawn said that she had the fabric for close to 20 years already, and she didn't think she'd ever get to it.

So this year, for Dawn's birthday, I made her a simple clutch using some of the fabric that her Grandfather had given her. Bright red isn't really her thing anymore, so I used some nice rich brown on eiher end of the red to tone it down a bit. When I gave it to her late Saturday. She seemed to really like it.

The wait is over

2007-07-21T00:48:00.000-07:00

I've been excitedly waiting for the new Harry Potter book for months. I pre-ordered it on Amazon.com back in February, but decided today to join the party at the bookstore at Midnight on Friday too just because it sounded like fun to be there with a big crowd. Having gotten a wristband earlier in the day, it only took 17 minutes to get the book after they started selling at 12:01 Saturday morning.

Now I'm safely back at home, having just poured myself a glass of wine, and am ready to tuck in and work my way through this thing. I might be hard to reach until I finish it.

Messenger Tote

2007-07-17T19:43:00.000-07:00

On Monday the kids went to bed at a reasonable hour (which around here means something like 10pm) and Kevin was out with friends. I decided to get started on some custom orders. But while I was digging up my black canvas, I came across the Russian doll fabric again, and ended up getting totally distracted. Ninety minutes later, I had this new messenger tote. Which, as it just happens, coordinated just perfectly with the red and white blouse I was planning on wearing to workTuesday. I got a bunch of compliments on it today at the pool (after work), so I'm thinking it might be a good idea to whip up a dozen or so in this style for Patty Fair in December.

:: a bit of nice detail above the mht label ::

:: the inside of the bag is lined with matching Russian countryside canvas ::

Beach Kids

2007-07-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

I had a little time at the end of the day today and was able to play around a bit with my favorite beach photo of the kids from our recent trip to Hilton Head. I love Quinn's face in this one. I swear I wonder at least half a dozen times a day what's going on inside that girl's head. Whatever it is -- it sure looks like fun.

Sewing Break

2007-07-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

I had grand plans last week - lots of sewing, lots of crafts with the kids. None of it got done. Now my head is cluttered with projects and I have very little time this week to get them turned out.

The good news is that people have gone mad for the elephant bag design and I have four custom orders! I should have bought more of that fabric when it was available. It's long gone now. But as I mentioned in a recent post, on my short list of things to do is fire up that large format printer of mine and print some fabric. I've got a cute elephant pattern running around in my head (they keeps bumping into that citrus pattern that's up there too). It would be lovely if I could get to that next weekend.

Even though there wasn't enough time for sewing last week, I was able to find a hour or so to surf around and get inspired.

One of the things I came across was this blog by Aline Yamada, a fine artist and illustrator living about a half mile from me here in Ohio. She makes lovely delicately coloured prints using a mixture of illustration and digital techniques.

I ordered these two prints from her and they are just as beautiful on paper as they are on screen. To see more, click onto Aline's etsy shop. When I received her package in the mail I realized that I've been jogging past Aline's house for the past two weeks on my new running route. Small world.

Elephant bags

2007-07-08T07:30:00.000-07:00

For being a busy holiday week, I’ve actually gotten a good amount of sewing done. Last weekend, I fell in love with the wipe holder bags that Beth created for Karen and Julie’s shower. I thought they would make a great clutch bag if the dimensions were just a bit smaller. I started working on that one after the 4th of July, but it was late when I started and I forgot to make it smaller. So, instead of a clutch, it’s turned into a smallish-sized messenger bag. Don’t you just love the elephant fabric!

I added a zipper pocket in the front for easy access to my phone. And like Beth, I used grommets on either side to attach the handles. Overall, I’m happy with how it turned out. But I think that the flap is a bit anemic looking. And, the Velcro closure is a bit too high on the flap.

I lined the inside of the flap with the pink version of the elephant fabric. It seemed like a great idea at first, but the Velcro kind of ruins the effect.

I was able to use my new labels too. I ordered these weeks ago from Name Maker and am pretty happy with them overall. The ones with my name on them are a bit larger than I would like. I thought the second line would me smaller than the first. It kind of feels like my label is shouting at people.

After making the elephant messenger bag, I thought that a couple of little clutch bags would be cute to go along with them. I’ve cut everything out and will hopefully get to sewing them together tonight.

We’re having wonderful weather this weekend. I took the kids to the pool yesterday, and we’ll probably head over there again today. After dinner yesterday, we took them to see Ratatouille. I had never heard of that dish before, and it looked pretty good (in pixels anyhow) on screen. I found this recipe on Epicurious and might give it a go.

ingredients
1 onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons olive oil
a 3/4-pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 pound small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

preparation
In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occassionaly, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well. The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

Happy Fourth of July!

2007-07-04T08:25:00.000-07:00

We're taking a little rest between a couple of parties that are going on today. We started bright and early this morning by riding on our street's float. The kids and I spent several evenings last week putting poms in the frame. It was all finished up last night around 7pm. The theme was "through the ages" and to honor Ohio we build small replicas of a varitey of planes from the first one that the Wright brothers flew, through WWII planes. The float itself was the space shuttle. We used an old school bus as the frame. It was amazing. I wasn't able to take any really good shots of us in the float, because I was in it with the kids. But if I get any later I'll add them to this post.

My town is pretty much crazy for the Fourth of July. Most streets shut down, everyone pulls their grill to the front yard, and it's an all-day celebration. We have two more parties to hit this afternoon before the fireworks (I hope we have fireworks. It looks like rain).

The kids are all tuckered out from the whole parade thing. So I think we're all going to take a group nap now. Have a happy Fourth!

:: Our Space Shuttle float stole the show ::

:: The view from the front - it's huge! ::

:: On the float - waiting for the hatches to open so we can pop up in front of the judges ::

:: Waving to the peeps ::

:: The crowd loved it! ::

:: "We did it!" ::

:: Enjoying some well-deserved watermelon ::

Shower Gifts Completed

2007-07-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

I was kind of a down to the wire thing, but I got the quilt and diaper bag completed in time for the shower today.

Here's the diaper bag for Julie, in her favorite color It has an outside cell phone pocket and six interior pockets. One of them has velcro to keep her keys and wallet safe.

And here's Karen's quilt. Yes, it's the same material as the quilt I made for Moon's baby. This one was a lot easier to put together thanks to the walking foot for my sewing machine. That thing is a dream.

Here's the quilt all bundled, the wrapped gifts (gotta love that Target wrap) and a snap of Karen opening it.

I've Been Tagged

2007-06-25T20:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Beth tagged me and I’ve been lax in writing up the seven random things about myself.

Vacation is over so no more excuses! Here’s my seven random things:

1. I love love love the smell of mulch. Not just any mulch, but the really stinky black mulch. I love to mulch and refuse to wear gloves while working with it. I think I was a dog in a previous life.

2. My daughter came pretty close to being born on my birthday. I actually felt fairly strong contractions on that day, but then they stopped on their own. Quinn was born three days after my birthday, but 21 days before she was due.

3. I’ve been to Asia, Europe, and the U.K. and will be heading to South America this summer. But I’d really love to visit Africa.

4. I’m a pretty big sci-fi geek and used to watch Dr. Who every night at 7:30 on PBS with my Dad. I even know what TARDIS stands for.

5. On the subject of sci-fi: I absolutely love Starbuck from Battlestar. Don't you think that character is much better as a girl?

6. I decided that I wanted to go into advertising at the age of 13 when I saw the “1984” commercial from Apple on the supper bowl. Nine years later, I got my first job in advertising.

7. I just started running. After a lifetime of not running, I can now run eight miles. I don’t know why I started. I don’t know when I’ll stop.

Wish Me Luck

2007-06-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

We safely got back from the beach yesterday having only one short scary incident with the kids in the ocean (there's always one scary incident). We even made it back in one day, and in time to go to a Summer Solstice party that a coworker was throwing. It was a couple of days after the Solstice, but I bet we could have still stood eggs up on their end if we wanted to.

Now that we're back I have only seven days to complete two shower gifts for friends of mine. I'm making a crib quilt for one and a diaper bag for the other. Seven days. Wish me luck.

Having Fun at the Beach

2007-06-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

I think this one says it all. See you in a couple of days!

Ready to Go. Almost.

2007-06-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

I've got bags under my eyes, but I got it all done:

Blankets for Xander and Quinn. I'm only showing Xander's here because Quinn picked fabric that can be described as fabric that only a two-year old would be able to appreciate.

Car bags for the kids.

That are reverseable.

And finally, this beach tote for me.

Things I like about it include the inside zipper.

The folded handles.

And the side pocket.

I guess now that I'm done with all this I had better start packing. We leave tomorrow. See you all when we get back!

Getting Ready

2007-06-14T23:02:00.000-07:00

Kevin, Xander, Quinn and I are leaving for a beach vacation in one week. So, of course I've set some completely unreasonable goals for myself before leaving. I'd like to get a summer weight blanket done for Quinn and Xander, little bags for each of them to try and stash all their car toys in while we're on the road, and a new beach tote for me. I'll check back with you soon to let you know how I'm doing.

Quinn's Bag

2007-06-13T22:58:00.000-07:00

Quinn is in a real Mommy mood lately. Whatever I have she wants. Whatever I do she wants to do. It's pretty cute. Except, she always wants my purse. It's driving me crazy. So today I whipped up this super-simple little bag for her. So far, so good. She hasn't asked for my purse in about ten hours.

About Turtles II

2007-06-11T22:51:00.000-07:00

So, I've been thinking, I really ought to fix poor Turtley's shell. But I'm not sure what to do about it. Try to find some matching flannel? Replace the whole shell? I think I've decided on making patch that has some embroidery text on it about how I got the turtle along with his name. But I'm not in the embroidery mood. I'm in the sewing mood.

So last night I took a bunch of kimono scraps and made a little friend for Turtley. I think she turned out pretty good, but I don't like the way her head turns down. A friend of mine just saw her and said that if I added some extra tags around the legs it would be a great gift for babies. I have a good friend who's having a baby in early July, so I may try to make her one that matches a quilt I'm making for her.

About Turtles

2007-06-07T22:35:00.000-07:00

Have I ever told you about My Happy Turtle? If I haven't then I suppose it's about time I did....

When I was two years old my father took me to a church fair. At this point, I can't for the life of me figure out what he was doing there. I don't ever recall him being in church with us when I was little. Anyhow, we came up to this wonderful table of little stuffed animal turtles made out of old flannel shirts.

I was instantly in love. With the whole stack. When I think about that day now, a couple of versus of Dr. Seuses' Yertle the Turtle tend to play in my head (The turtles, well now, the turtles are free. As turtles and maybe all creatures should be.) But I doubt by the age of two that I had heard that story.

My dad let me pick out a turtle and then probably regretted it ten minutes later when I still hadn't made up my mind. They were all so darn cute. Finally, I selected this green little guy.

Yes, he's having some shell problems now, but give him a break -- he's 33 years old! Frankly, my shell isn't what it used to be either.

The reason I'm telling you this is because about eight years later, Turtley, as I named him (but I referred to him as "my happy turtle") was still living in the most prized position of being on the center of my bedroom pillow, surrounded by about 30 other stuffed animals. One day, I picked him up and took a good look at him. And for the first time in my life I remember thinking, "I could make this."

I sure you remember when that happened to you. One day, you just looked at something and thought. Gee, I bet I could do that.

That very day I asked my mother to show me how her sewing machine worked.

Giving In

2007-06-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

My kids are getting old enough to ask for things. So, a few weeks ago when I heard the ice cream truck in the neighborhood, I put it on the list of things that I was going to be tough about. I mean, come on, $3.00 for a stupid push up? No way. As you can see, my resolve lasted for exactly... a couple of weeks.

I'm not sure how it happened, but I was getting the kids out of the car today while I was on the phone. The ice cream truck came around. The kids started yelling and running up to the truck. The conversation I was having was serious and I didn't want to hang up. The truck slowed down. I looked at the truck driver and shook my head "no". He sped back up.

Then, the roofers who were at my house at the time (don't ask) jumped down and ran over to the truck and flagged him down.
The truck backed up right to my driveway and the roofers started picking out treats.

My kids went wild. I couldn't get off the phone. I found myself handing over six dollars for two spider man popsicles.

Five minutes after this photo was taken I had two kids covered in red and blue dye that only half came off in the bath. I'm pretty sure that my resolve against the ice-cream truck has been renewed today.

New Old Bags

2007-05-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

My good friend Jolie is moving to the big apple tomorrow, and we got together tonight to drink a little wine (okay, a little more than a little) and take some photos before she locked up her house for the last time. It gave me an opportunity to also take some photos of these two bags I made for her a while back.

This one I gave to her for her birthday last year. It's actually the first bag I ever made (a tube bag for my first try?! what was I thinking?) and it turned out pretty good, all things considered. The middle section is deadstock vintage cotton kimono fabric. Jolie has used this bag so much that she actually wore out the lining! I whipped up a new lining so she could get more use out of the bag.

This one she bought from me back in December at a craft show I was doing. It's one of my all time favorites. The bunny material is pre-world war two cotton cloth from a child's kimono. I just love the leapfrogging bunnies!

Jolie invited a bunch of her friends over so she could take photos of us for her new job. She wanted girls from all different sizes and shapes in order to have some stock photos of 'real women.' Here she is taking a couple of snaps of me.

For the record, I do appreciate Jolie not saying out loud that I was there to fullfill a requirment for a body type most resembling a 12 year old boy. Curves? Anywhere? Nope.

I found out that I have been tagged by Beth but I'm too tired tonight to think of seven interesting things. I promise to get that posted early next week. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy a lovely weekend with my husband (sans kids) and some friends up at Kelly's Island.

Two new totes

2007-05-22T19:26:00.000-07:00

So, true to my word, I'm back on the sewing-wagon. I made myself sit down Sunday night and try a new tote idea that was floating around in my head. I had this great leftover cherry fabric from a diaper bag that I made for a friend over a year ago. I recently used some of it in a bag for my friend's wife for Mother's day. The whole time I was sewing that bag I was thinking about how my sister would just *love* this fabric. She's been faithfully carrying around a bag that I made for her back in the fall. And all the orange and deep blues look a bit off in the Spring. I can't wait to give this to her when I see her later in the week!

I love the wooden button and the white piping. But I thought that maybe the bag itself was a bit long. Hard to reach all the way to the bottom for your keys....

So, Monday night, I tried again and came up with this. I've been waiting to use a bit of this fabric since I brought it back from New York in February (why, oh why did I only buy one yard?!) and am reallly happy with how this one came together. I found fabric for the lining that almost completely matches the blue on the exterior. There are two inside pockets. One closes with velcro. But, it's a little short.

I'm feeling a bit like Goldilocks now, but tomorrow I might try one that is just an inch or so longer in both the bag and the handle. Maybe that one will be just right.

Working and Playing

2007-05-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

We'll it's been another three weeks with no blog updates. I think I need to make a Spring resolution to get back on the blog-wagon!

We've been enjoying a lovely Spring here in Ohio, and it's kept me from my sewing machine. I just love being able to get out of the house after a long winter and tend to the flower gardens and play in the yard. And with daylight savings coming three weeks early this year, I've been spending a lot of time outdoors in the evenings. I've also started running (me! lazy me!) and am really enjoying it.

I've also been:

Playing with my little Xander (the Bunny - who always comes over to his Mom for a quick snuggle).

Playing with my little Quinn (the Birdie - who is always trying to fly away).

Making this purse for my friend Tim, who gave it to his wife for Mother's Day. I love the cute cherry fabric and the leather button.

Making this purse for my friend Patty, who gave it to her sister for her Birthday. This one is fully quilted and has lots of inside and outside pockets.

Throwing a going away party for our good friends Jolie, Alan and Sadie, who are moving to New York in two weeks. I was finally able to give Jolie her armwarmers, made by the lovely and talented woman over at Treehouse28 (she loved them!)

Shopping for fabric. Getting inspired. And working very, very hard at my day job.

But, I do have a few new messenger bag and tote ideas floating around in my head that I'm eager to try, so I think I'll send out for a new batch of movies from Netflix and dedicate some time to sewing this week.

Back in School

2007-04-25T09:20:00.000-07:00

Well, not exactly. But after sitting in a couple of 8-hour training classes this week I kind of feel like I’m back in school. I’m taking full advantage of having a week without the kids. Shopping, eating, meeting new people, enjoying Chicago nightlife. Oh, and going to class and learning new things. The proof is here.

So far, I think that the highlight of the 'after-hours' portion of the conference was getting a chance to have a drink with Chiara Fox, an Information Architect for the company hosting the event. Chiara is also a crafter and put together these amazing quilted and knitted wireframes. She showed me some photos of them (you can see one here) and I fell in love with the concept. For those of you who don't know -- wireframes are used to express the physical location of items on a web page before you start working on the visual design of the page. Anyhow, I loved that Chiara was using traditional crafting methods to express a relatively new artform. Look for a story about her and this project in the next issue of Craft magazine.

Too Many Stitches

2007-04-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

This was a week of catching up on all my ignored sewing projects. After five days of sewing every evening (thanks, Kevin, for putting up with a noisy machine all week) this is what I got done – three pairs of hemmed pants :: a scrap belt for my sister’s sweater :: two kimono scarves for my friend Lynne :: a new lining for my friend Jolie’s purse :: and this baby quilt for Moon’s second son who will be here soon.

I feel caught up enough to go our of town next week without worrying about my sewing stack. When I get back, I’ll be ready to start on some summer handbags. In the meantime, I’m sure going to miss these sudsy bunnies!

While I was out

2007-04-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. I've been trying to get caught up a few things: work, the house, taxes, friends, family. I was sick (for about a month) and went to New York for business. Twice. There hasn't been a lot of time for crafting. In the whole month of March I was only able to complete one project.

I have two handbag orders already for this month, and two friends who are having babies. I'm going to try making a couple of baby quilts.

Messenger bag for a new online friend.

Amy Butler fabric for two baby quilts.

Fabric I picked up at a shop in Harlem. Time to get started on those summer handbags!

Getting ready to celebrate Easter with handmade Easter baskets for the kids.

Weekend Goodies

2007-02-26T18:25:00.000-08:00

All four of us are still laid up nursing horrid colds and the flu. Today I lost my voice, which for me at least, is a pretty big problem. Despite all of that, I managed to have a pretty good weekend. I was able to get out and see some friends Saturday night (which admidittedly, wasn't the best choice for a speedy recovery) and then hunkered down on Sunday to make this bag for my sister-in-law. Happy Birthday, Erica!

I also brought home a bunch of fabric and leather samples Saturday night (er, Sunday morning) from friends who thought I might be able to use them. I'm thinking of using the leather for handbag bottoms and handles. It will be interesting to see if my machine can handle it.

Check out that huge, fantastic role of red canvas! Thanks Sarah and Edit!

Toasty Warm

2007-02-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

We're supposed to be getting yet another freezing rain storm this evening, but I couldn't feel warmer at the moment now that I have received these fantastic warmers from the lovely Alix at treehouse28. I love how soft and comfortable these are. The fit is great and they are warm enough that I've been going around the house in t-shirts since I got them in the mail late this week.

This second pair was ordered for a friend of mine. I can't wait to give them to her. I know she's going to love them.

If you haven't run across Alix's shop on Etsy yet, you should really check it out. In addition to the warmers, she makes fantastic tops (mostly for layering), neck, head, and arm warmers, and a couple of really amazing dresses and skirts. The clothing is all custom made to your measurements. Thanks again, Alix! You are a truly wonderful lady!

I'm going to try to get quite a bit of sewing in this weekend. Being frozen in tomorrow will probably help me from getting too distracted. I have couple of birthdays coming up that I need to sew for, a few custom orders to take care of, a gift for a new friend that I need to mail out. And a new tote idea that I want to try out. It had been on the back burner for a while, but after seeing Sally's new tote I'm all inspired to get working on it. Although mine will be a bit smaller and have a whole lot less pockets. I'm not that ambitious. Love that new fabric, Sally!

For all of you here in Columbus, get the driveway salt out. The groundhog may have seen his shadow weeks ago, but the storm clouds are ignoring him.

Smooch

2007-02-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!
xoxo

Snow!

2007-02-13T15:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, we got some real snow to go with our cold weather. We also got some freezing rain and sleet. But the snow was nice. A snow emergency closed downtown, my office closed at 1pm, and I got to go home and play with the kids outside.

Luckily, Kevin was able to do a lot of wood chopping yesterday. I think this will be enough to keep us toasty warm for a while.

Things I Like Today

2007-02-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

My new iPod holder from seabreeze studio.

New fabric from superbuzzy.

New linen tape from superbuzzy and atelier jade.

The start of a new patchwork project.

It's Cold

2007-02-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

It's really cold around here. Our roof still hasn't been fixed since the hail storm in October. Most of it is still covered in paper, not slate. I'm not kidding. Paper. On our roof. So, no surprise, we've had a hard time heating the house recently since the cold snap started. In fact, it's been so cold that last Thursday, our dining room table cracked in half. Completely in half. Bring on Spring!

Sadie Style

2007-02-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

I never wanted to be the kind of parent who pushed their kids into liking the same kind of things that I like. But I have to admit that I secretly hope that one of them will be interested in drawing. So far, no luck (although Quinn might end up surprising me). So, I'm a bit envious over my girlfriend's daughter, Sadie. She's only a bit older than Xander and already has this really cool style that's all her own. Okay, so mostly it's doodling. But it's really cool doodling. So cool that I've suggested that my friend print Sadie's stuff on t-shirts because I would totally buy one. So, she did, and I did. And here it is. It's hard to tell the detail from this photo. But Sadie's stuff is really intricate. I guess it's not surprising that Sadie is good at this, after all her father, Alan, is amazing. You can see his stuff here. And you can check out Sadie's online store here.

Elefantastic

2007-01-31T20:09:00.000-08:00

I had the misfortune of visiting Atelier Jade's site in January on the very day she left for vacation. Of course, I fell in love with the elephant print cotton fabric. Of course, I bought it. Then I waited. I have to admit, the fabric showed up just about five days after she got back from vacation. That's pretty quick, if you ask me. So, now there is this cute stack of fabric to figure out what to do with.

To add to my 'problems' I placed an order from Superbuzzy There are a whole bunch of new items out there. If you haven't seen it already, take a look. I just had to have the Matryoshka Doll canvas, and got it in two different colors. If you want to order some, do it soon! I think there are only two yards left.

Learning Something New

2007-01-30T19:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know that I'm not the first one to blog about this book (I actually first heard about it through Emily's blog) but after getting my own copy I decided it's so good I couldn't resist talking about it. See and Sew pretends to be for children, but I think it's actually for adults who remember being how to taught to sew by their mothers or grandmothers.

Besides the fun nostalgia factor, this book actually taught me how to do a French knot! I can't tell you how many times I've squinted over a finished embroidery piece trying to figure out exactly how to twist up the thread to make those little flowers, etc. Hurrah!

Quilt Monday

2007-01-29T20:36:00.000-08:00

Kevin's mom, Laurie, came for a vist this past weekend and brought with her these quilt rounds that were completed decades ago by her relatives. It looks like a bunch of vintage feed sacks were used for these, and I'm so excited to have them! There are 12 in total, and at first I was thinking of sewing them onto a quilt in a simple four by three pattern. But now, I'm thinking an organic shape might be more interesting. I've been arranging and rearranging them on the floor for a few days now, and even the kids are starting to give me strange looks. I thought I'd be exempt from that until they were both at least eight years old. Alas... how wrong I was.

Bad Photo Woes

2007-01-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

I've been having the worst time with photos lately. I acutally finished this handbag about 10 days ago, but couldn't get any good photos of it. I left the handbag and my camera out, and every couple of days I'd try taking a few more but they all ended up as dull and flat as these here. After looking at the forcast for the next five days, I decided to just go ahead and post what I have. I'm so envious of Sally's photos, she always seems to have the best light out there. It seems like a big cloud just decends over Ohio in December and doesn't let go of us until March.

At least I'm happy with how the handbag turned out. I'll do it a little differently next time, but overall I think this pattern will work out pretty good. There's a cell phone pocket on the outside, and a zipper pocket inside too. It's small enough to throw a few things in there and head out for a nice evening.

I Love You Moo

2007-01-11T18:41:00.000-08:00

This is seriously cool. Moo cards from Flicker. I just got mine in the mail today. Here's the deal -- pick up to 100 photos from your Flickr library. Crop the images using their simple crop tool. Choose the information you want on the back of your card. Pay $20.00 with a credit card or paypal and your done! I got my cards in about 10 days (all the way from the UK!) and just LOVE them. My only small complaint is that they are a little dark. But they are using quality card stock and the print quality is pretty good overall. I already have an idea for my second set of cards. Check out the details here.