seams to me cuff

Another project that didn't make it out of my suitcase this past weekend, but I did wear it last week.

Project from Seams to Me

Lavender fabric from Denyse Schmidt

Brown ruffle is of Kona cotton and done with a ruffler attachment

Buttons are from my stash

Loops are made of perle cotton with a buttonhole stitch

Super easy to make, just be sure you don't pull the measuring tape tight when you take the measurements like I did. Next time I need to enlist one of the kids to help measure.

One of these would look great with some linen and embroidered motifs.

linen skirt

I worked like crazy last week to finish this skirt for Blogher. And then I never wore it the entire weekend. (I'd lose my crafty cred if I didn't show up with some clothes that I'd made.)

I still love it though. The pattern is from Linen Crafts. The fabric is brown linen and a cotton lawn print. The lawn is from Denver Fabrics. The twill tape is from the Martha Stewart line at Michaels. I have no idea if they still carry it.

As you can see the skirt is reversible and is made from two large rectangles. It's shaped slightly with darts that are hidden in the photo. I was shocked at how well the skirt fit(I've not had the best luck with another recent pattern). I made a few changes: shortened the skirt length slightly, inserted the twill tape into the seam for more strength and made the opening slightly wider to accomodate hips that aren't as young as the model's in the book. Since this fits me so well, I almost think that if you're very skinny, you'd have to make the rectangles narrower so the corners don't overlap where they're supposed to meet in the front. (The pattern is a "one size fits all" rectangle.) Once you wrap your head around how the skirt is worn, it's a very easy pattern to sew up.

Lisa's block

This one is it! The last block has been sewn for this Common Threads round and it seems I finished it first. It's not a race at all, but it pleases me to no end that I'm on time(for a change).

Lisa asked for symmetry, perhaps a log cabin and for the patterned fabric to be featured. I thought the courthouse steps version of a log cabin block fit the bill. I may have blown the symmetry thing with the machine appliqued squirrel though.

Still, he's pretty cute.

poppy's house

What to make for someone so generous with her home?

How about a home for her cell phone or camera:

The project is from Zakka Sewing and may be the only crafty project to ever catch Poppy's eye.

I did all the work by machine rather than the hand embroidery called for in the book. (The only exception was the girl's face. I gave up on a smile because I couldn't keep her from looking deranged. Though, now that I think about it, Poppy may have enjoyed that.) Also, be warned, this case is tiny. It's called a camera case, but I don't think any of the cameras in my house would fit in it. My cell phone will for sure.

Poppy, you even rate high enough for some Liberty lining and strap fabric!

I like how it turned out so much that I need to make one for myself now.

blogher 09 swag

Some people hand out totes with their logo or magnets for the fridge. I'm bringing in frappacino cosies for my roomies.

Blackbird commissioned one to fit her summer drink cup after I made one for her cold weather coffees. (These fit a Starbucks Grande plastic cup, per her request.)

I love how the selvage edge of the linen looks. Not sure on the button for her though - might be a bit flashy. I'm bringing some other options with just in case.

Too obvious? I hope not.

While I was at it, Susie Sunshine got her own as well. She's the first to benefit from my new collection of vintage scraps. They're so cheerful - like her. The buttons were hard to part with, but the pinks were a perfect match.

And the back of hers.

If you spot us on Michigan Ave. this weekend with our frappacinos, say "hello".

ready for blogher

I'm headed into the city today to see some of my favorite people and perhaps meet a few new favorites.

The last time I attended Blogher(okay, so I only attended the cocktail parties), I was woefully unprepared without business cards.

Not this time:

HUGE thanks to Kim for doing all the computer work for me AND printing them out on my cardstock. I didn't think it fair to ask her to sew all the buttons on and pink the edges as well.

like sorting buttons

There's a down side to having a great year of thrifting. Somehow it all needs to find a place to live once you get it home.

I returned home from vacation two weeks ago to piles and piles of things I've acquired over the past few months. Most had no place to go. Even with all the studio moves and reconfigurations I've gone through this year (which is why I've yet to post pictures), there just wasn't much room or a good system in place for new things. It seems I'd carve out enough space for what I had in the stash and then when I brought home new fabric I was back in the same boat.

Two things have happened over the past month. First, the kids have lost more space in the basement to my crafting. I really did feel some guilt over it at first. When they saw the pile of toys I was thinking of selling or donating though, not one of them flinched. Ellie and Glenn flat out told me to get rid of them. I then discovered that when I moved things out to make more room for crafting, they actually wanted to be down there with me a lot more. Amazing what a little room to breathe will do for a space.

Second, I purged my own toys, I mean fabric. Ruthlessly. Two large laundry baskets of fabric and a few other odds and ends have made their way to my quilting group for others to use. (One quilter's trash...) It seemed only fair to bring what I didn't need to the place where I've gotten so much.

That's left a lot of room for what I'll really use and some room to grow. Now that I think about it, that's where last week went - my basement - weeding, sorting, putting away.

That part of the process took a lot longer than I anticipated. How do you sort your stash? By fabric type, color, potential uses, amount of yardage? It starts out innocently enough, but there's always a pile that doesn't seem to fit into any particular category nicely. I've gone mostly with color, but even that threw me when I got to the odd greens - or are they more blue - or aqua? And what about this lavendar/periwinkle one? Do I put the solids in their own pile away from the prints? I think I've got something that will work for me in the end. More importantly, there's room at the top of each pile so I can get fabric out and put the pile back neatly. The key to keeping it organized isn't about shoving it away, it's about ease of retrieval.

The buttons are from the garage sale. Luckily, I already have a pretty good system in place for storing those. They're where they belong now.

the kids

If anyone has seen last week, please let me know where it is. I seem to have misplaced it.

It's pretty sad when I'm better at posting when I'm on vacation. Though to be honest, those posts were scheduled ahead of time.

These are for the relatives who've waited patiently for me to upload pictures - two weeks after getting home...

Meeting second cousins for the first time:

Even better - I got pictures of those little ones on the quilts that I made for them.

I have to force at least on vacation shot on all of you. Don't they look thrilled to be posed in front of the Capitol?

feedsacks 3

This is the last of them.

I love the one on the right with the houses. Aqua/green and red - a favorite color combination, but no idea where on earth I'd put it.

The two on the right will probably make their way into a quilt in Ellie's new room. I have a duplicate of the leaf motif from the fall.

I'm not much for navy, but I have so much vintage fabric in these colorways. I'm sure there's a quilt top in here somewhere. Maybe a picnic blanket since I don't use navy in the house at all.

As I was finishing up my selections, Norm went back into the house and came out with two aprons that Shirley had made from feedsacks. This is my favorite - the colors, the ric rac, the long length on it - there's even a pocket for the phone. I promised to give it a good home. The ties are wrinkled in the photo because I've already worn and washed it. I didn't bother to iron them before taking the picture.

feedsacks 2

More vintage treasure today(and tomorrow).

I love the reds. Gingham, polka dots and the bottom one - what are those? Ravioli? Rectangles with pinked edges? Love 'em.

I have 7 in this print. I think I'll give the Heather Ross wrap skirt another shot with these.

Most of the prints had two of each.

These were all singles.

More tomorrow.

feedsacks!

Here's the first round:

I've not done any research at all on the prints, so I've no idea what decade they're from.

I don't even care, I just love the fabric. If I know too much about them, that will only make me more afraid to cut into them.

A few in this next picture are duplicates of pieces I bought in the fall.

No, I have no idea how most of them will get used. The easy answer is quilts. I figure I have a good 50 years of sewing left to decide.

it's a small world

These are also from the garage sale. I'm not sure what she planned to do with them. They were still in their packaging and in a bin labeled 10/$1.00.

The food got me. All I could think of was "The Tale of Two Bad Mice" when Hunca Munca and her husband get angry when they realize the dolls' food is fake and they trash the dollhouse. I love that story. So do the girls.

What are the chances I'd ever get around to making my own little version of that house? I'd love to felt some wee mice. In the meantime, these might find their way into the girls' dollhouses. Might.

I have to figure out how to make this my twitter icon.

We're on the road heading home today.

Next week I'll start to post pictures of the newest additions to my feedsack obsession/collection.