(sick) ambition

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.

midwest modern

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.

a small disappointment

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.

recap

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.

a little organization

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.

Cutting myself off

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? ::

Stocking Up

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 ::