A Few Sneak Peaks
I am in full swing Halloween costume mode. And holy smokes it is turning out so much better than I expected! I think I’ll finish Creamie’s costume by Friday, that’s the master plan anyway. We’ll see how it goes. I didn’t really think through the whole thing in the beginning. If I had I probably would have designed a pattern that didn’t require me to cut out 64 separate pieces. So far. So, besdies all those little beensy pieces, her costume has required
Five new spools of thread.
A lot of pinning of a lot of small pieces. Like, an awul lot.
And seventy yards of sequins. Well, I bought seventy yards… I haven’t used them all yet. Key word, yet. I have a feeling a lot of late nights are in my near future. But it is going to be so worth it. I can’t wait to show you her costume, and then, hopefully, mine!
I want a goat farm
A few weeks ago I came across this post over at Framed Cooks. Not only did it make me want to eat nothing but grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches for the rest of my life, Now I also want a goat farm. With goats. These goats in particular.
[ Photo of Nubian Goats at Hildene Farms by Kate Morgan Jackson ]
I have been sewing Halloween costumes in every spare minute since Friday. And they are turning out even more awesome than I could have expected. (I bought seventy (yep, 70) yards of sequins today… which would make anything awesome.) The goal is to have Creamie’s finished by the end of the week so I can be a part of Tabi’s Halloween Sewdown. I’m sure I’ll be finishing my own costume in the car on the way to our first costume party, but Creamie’s will be done by Friday! That’s the plan anyway…
Carmel Apples
Carmel is one of my favorite things. And I am craving these right now. Like a lot.
[ image from elsie*cake on flickr ]
Only I’m trying to decide between carmel apples covered in my favorite candies, or carmel apple cuppieckaes. I might make both today. I’ll let you know how it goes. I think it will perk my Monday right up.
*Also…. I much prefer the term carmel to caramel… though I really have no ide awhy.
For the Love of Shoes
Yesterday I met my sister heidikins for lunch. I posted about her new blog project The Shoeologist a little while ago. She’s been posting a pic of the shoes she wears everyday, and as a result she’s got piles of shoes all over her house.
After I picked out a pretty pair to take home for a while, I made a few others line up on the stairs for their class picture. I love it. Of course, I’d love it more if it were typewriters in every color lined up on MY stairs. But to each her own.
Another New Project
Yesterday Scott looked at the dining room table, and the couch, and the floor where I have projects in various stages of completion and said “I am just wondering, and don’t get mad, but how many different projects are you working on?”
Answer: I don’t know. But I just added one more. And it’s going to be awesome! The shoes belong to my sister… And the rest? Well the rest is a surprise.
A memory quilt
It’s nearly a month late, but I finally finished Scott’s birthday present. And by “finished” I of course mean half done. I made him a quilt, but not just any quilt. This one is special. It’s a memory quilt. Last spring Scott’s dad L.T. passed away unexpectedly. While we were dealing with everything that happens when a parent dies, this idea somehow showed up in my mind. I gathered up all of L.T’s clothes. All of his pants and button up shirts and suits and anything else I could find. I hid them under the piano and while Scott was at work and Creamie was napping I secretly started cutting them up.
Only, it turns out that cutting squares out of clothing is a much more time consuming process than just cutting out squares. I was picking off pockets, and trying to make the most of the little fabric I had (LT’s not a big clothes guy…). And it seems that I cut out 4.5 inch squares for days. And then after the squares were cut I took the advice of a much wiser quilter than me, my cousin Liz. She suggested I put some lightweight interfacing on the back of those thin cotton shirts. And I’m glad I did. Not only did it make the squares a million times easier to sew together, I think they will hold up a lot better. Of course, that meant after the interfacing was ironed on I had to cut them out again. Sigh. Finally, after cutting out squares for forty days and forty nights (perhaps a slight exaggeration) I realized I’d never finish the whole quilt in time, and it was time to move on to Plan B.
Plan B: Just finish the top. After I had laid out my quilt and started sewing squares together I realized just how big this thing was going to be. And since I am going to quilt it myself I decided that there was no way I was going to be able to get it quilted in our small house without Scott finding out about it. Did I mention that this quilt is huge…. like 90″ square huge? No? Oh. Well it’s big, and I’m a little nervous about fitting it under my machine. Plan B was going great. I did what anyone trying to keep a secret does. I banished Scott to our bedroom with his laptop and his snacks and threatened death if he so much as thought about taking off his noise canceling headphones. I needed to sew in the living room so I could see the whole thing layed out while I worked on it. I told him that if he needed something he should text me from the other side of the wall. Such a great age we live in, right? Plan B was going along nicely, and then life intervened again. Creamie had a few less than awesome (read non existent) naps in a row and then I got called away on an emergency midnight thrifting adventure.
Plan C: Give my dear husband who I love more than anything else in this life a big box of squares and a partially finished quilt for the big 3-0 birthday, with a promise that it will be done soon. And look, only a month later the top is finally finished. Scott loves what this quilt is going to be, and I love that we’ll have a little part of his dad with us always.
I’m adding this to Sew+Tell at Amy’s. I also need to thank a few of my quilty/sewing friends for some serious input in the laying out of this quilt. Scott is usually a great sounding board to bounce ideas off of, but that wasn’t going to work so well in birthday stealth mode. I think it was TraceyJay who inspired me to go with diagonal stripes and I love the way that they turned out. I’m going to spend the morning catching up on some projects while Creamie plays with grandma, and then I’m going to spend some quality time with a needle and thread and see if I can knock out two more Christmas presents. Have a happy weekend!
Happy Pink-O-Ween
I came across this post on the Amy Atlas blog a little while back. And now I’m rethinking my whole idea of Halloween. Bring on the pink-o-ween!
Yes, I’m quite sure that any future Halloween party of mine will be filled with pink and sparkles and cupcakes. I’ll leave the dead zombies and the haunted houses for someone else. This is much more my style. Happy Pink-o-ween!
All images found via this post on the Amy Atlas blog, party designed by Courtney of Pizzazzerie, photographs by Kristen Steele.
What do Japanese China and Bluegrass have in common?
Yesterday was a good day. Despite my less than awesome fall allergies, yesterday was a good day. In the morning I went a thrifting. I successfully talked myself out of a beautiful old wood desk because I don’t have room for it (and it was totally overpriced.) I talked myself out of buying an awesome metal filing cabinet with drawers and shelves and cupboards because I don’t have room. I talked myself out of buying any more fabric until I can use what I’ve got, and make some room on my shelves. I even talked myself out of buying two more gorgeous old sewing machines, one complete with a full box of attachments and feet. Again. I don’t have room. But I did have room for these.
I came home only $7 the poorer, and happy with my finds. And then I started suffering from buyers-leavers remorse. This is a scientifically discovered and researched symptom where the sufferer starts feeling pangs of sadness for the things she didn’t bring home. The things she decided to leave behind. Close to the end of naptime, which I had spent chatting with a friend who helped me solve some serious Christmas present issues, I was checking my email. And in a passing comment an online friend mentioned she had lost her thrifting mojo because she hadn’t seen anything good for weeks. And that’s when I knew I had to go back.
My morning adventure had turned up a few old sewing patterns, a cute pair of T-strap shoes for Creamie and the Japanese Noritake china bowl with the lid. But the problem was with these Pyrex Bluegrass saucers. I happened upon a stack of 22 of them. And immediately they all went into my cart. They are in near mint condition, bright and shiny, and I really love the pattern. It’s not quite blue, but not quite green enough to be turquoise. (I’ll have to consult my box of 200 Crayons to get a more accurate color description.) I loved them. But what in the world would I do with 22 saucers. Nothing. So I put all but four back on the shelf and went home happy. But as the afternoon wore on I started feeling anxious and nervous. I was starting to feel as though I had left something important someplace where it was sure to fall into the wrong hands. And so when Creamie woke up we went back to the thrift store.
And I brought 18 more plates home. And now I have a stack of 22 Bluegrass saucers. And what in the world will I do with them? Nothing. But the anxiety went away, and I was happy. I also happened upon a matching mini pitcher to go with my Japanese bowl. So, to answer the question “What do Japanese China and Bluegrass have in common?” When combined they produce an amazing cure for buyers-leavers remorse. It’s been documented.
[ Pumpkin Spice Eggnog with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Hello Delicious. ]
Still happy, after dinner we went to Ross to look at toddler snowpants and boots. I decided to just look at their jeans. Just to see. I am in desperate need, but I hate trying on a million pairs of pants only to throw them all on the floor in frustration. In all the racks I found one pair that looked promising. One. I took my one item to the dressing room and tried them on. And it was love at first fit. They were perfect. It was a miracle. Since when have you (men excluded) ever gone shopping for pants and come home with the one and only pair you tried on. If you asked me yesterday the answer would have been zero. And today it is “Just Once.” Yes, yesterday was a good day.
Allergies. Yuck.
I had one of my greatest shopping days ever yesterday. And as soon as I stop sneezing long enough to take pictures of what I found I’ll post them. I’m so glad that my summer allergies are over, but I can’t wait for the snow to end my fall allergies.
[ Telephone Girl print by The Black Apple on sale! ]
I’ll be back soon!
Cedar Breaks
Last night we got back from a perfectly long weekend. We spent a few days together with some friends at one of the greatest places on earth: The Cabin (definitely deserves to be capitalized). Creamie has taken to calling it The Cabbage. Ha! It was absolute heaven, and just the relaxing weekend we needed right now. We were able to fit a lot into the few days we were there, most of which I did not take pictures of. But this pic is my very favorite from the whole trip.
We went fishing at Navajo Lake, and it was every bit as beautiful as it looks. The water is crystal clear and you can see straight to the bottom. It was a warm afternoon and I sat on a blanket on the rocky beach looking at the leaves and watching my two favorite people do what they love most. Fishing for Scott and throwing rocks for Creamie. If I ever have a chance to live one day over again, this will rank high up on my list of options. After Creamie had stepped in the water a few times and her shoes, socks and pants were soaked we got back in the car for a short drive to Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Often overlooked, Cedar Breaks sits in the tops of the mountains with the rim well over 10,000 feet above sea level. Wind and water has carved out a gorgeous amphitheater 2,500 feet deep that is full of amazing red rock formations. The whole mountain top was crusted with beautiful snow but a bitterly cold wind kept our visit short.
I could look at these rocks for the rest of my life and never stop loving them. I’m jealous of the snowman, because he does get to look out across this beauty for the rest of his (albeit short) life.
Creamie couldn’t appreciate it much. It was getting to be late afternoon and she hadn’t had lunch. She was going on day three with no nap. And due to her earlier adventures at the lake she is wearing her mittens on her feet instead of her shoes. Which unfortunately meant that she had cold hands and feet. Good grief, where are that poor child’s parents.
We were sad to come home and face the real world of phone calls and piles of emails and work and laundry. It was the perfect weekend. Thanks M+G for letting us crash at your Cabbage. We can’t wait to go back. (Also, SNOW! I got to touch it and taste it and smell it. I can’t wait for winter to creep down the mountains and settle in at my house.) Happy Monday!
pinksuedeshoe 