Weekender Bag Class

Yesterday, at Pennington Quiltworks, I taught the second class of a two class session series on the Weekender Bag. Almost everyone completed the bag exterior or at least was able to sew one side on. I was very impressed with everyone's accomplishments - some of the students were beginners and tackled the project with great enthusiasm. One student, Gail, sewed the project on her Singer Featherweight which has inspired me to unpack Dorothy's and get stitching!





One mother/daughter team even went on-line and found this tutorial for making a zippered pocket in the lining! Their results were impressive:


I made a few changes to the pattern for the purposes of the class. First, in the pattern, it is recommended that you cross the cording over on itself at the bottom of the bag for finishing. The problem is that it creates a lot of bulk at the bottom of the bag and makes it very difficult to sew in the final steps of assembling the exterior. Instead, I had the students finish the cording using a method similar to one used in applying continuous binding. I'm not great at written instructions but you can find more details about this method in Amy Butler's Sophia Carry-All pattern.

Also, taking another tip from the Sophia Carry-All, I had the students machine sew the interior lining of the bag to the exterior in the seam allowances. It creates a much more sturdy attachment of the lining and actually enhances the overall interior shape of the bag. Pics of that are below:





And finally, here are a couple of pics of the bags made by the students. Most of the class made the kit which is like my sample. Three picked out their own fabrics and did a great job! Sorry Joanne that I didn't get a picture of yours!





Thanks to Gail, Barbara, Judith, Robin, Stefanie, Linda, Janice and Joanne for making my first class a success. I look forward to teaching my next Weekender Bag class in March - you have set a very high bar for them!

And, when I got home, this is what I found:



Mitch and Lucy hard at work hanging bathroom accessories, pictures, etc. Lucy told me to go away, that she was helping Daddy. I happily retreated to my sewing room to organize fabric/projects....

My Celebrity Morph by MyHeritage

Lucy's was pretty fun so I thought I'd try it too. Sophia Bush and I look kinda alike except that perhaps she's a tad thinner and younger....

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Pedigree chart - Free genealogy

Lucy's celebrity look-alikes

I found a link for this on play is the thing and thought I would try it out. What do you think?

So much to do

Today Lucy didn't have school so I was ready to entertain. The day actually went pretty well. We made whole wheat millet bread using the Tassajara Bread Book, one of my very favorite books of all time! My first batch of bread was made using the book and since then I have never been dissapointed with the results. Each recipe makes two loaves which seems like a lot but it never lasts more than a few days. His method requires four risings including one where you make a sponge. The resulting bread is dense but not heavy - excellent sandwich bread. Great as toast in the morning. In fact, I never really had satisfying toast until I started making my own bread - with homemade jam it's just heavenly.



I made a quick peasant style soup/stew to go with the bread: I added whatever vegetables I had in the fridge or on the counter to simple homemade chicken stock that was thickened with flour and butter. Lucy actually ate it which made me very happy and really, it was pretty tasty.



Today, Lucy and I also participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count. The birds were only able to hold Lucy's attention for 30 minutes so that's all we did but it was still fun. After we were finished, we logged into the site to report our data. I'm already looking forward to next year. I know, I've become a geek about birds!

I'm working on this quilt for the shop and though it seemed like it would be easy, I'm finding it to be a bit of a chore. The pattern comes from Valori Wells latest book, Simple Start - Stunning Finish. All this machine applique is overwhelming for me. My circles don't seem to be true circles and well, they just don't look perfect. I'm hoping it will come out ok after it's quilted. I have to get with it in order to get this to the quilter by the end of the month which is in 10 days! Argh!



My favorite projects of late are the Stitchettes from Wee Wonderfuls. They are sooo much fun to stitch and produce extremely gratifying results. Lucy picks out the colors for each of them (with a little guidance from me, of course) and then I stitch them up for her. I'm not sure what I am going to do with them - maybe display in embroidery hoops? I just ordered the Quilting Bee Stitchettes and can hardly wait to get started on them!!

blogging...

There are so many fabulous blogs out there - sometimes I wonder what my goals are for this one. In fact, I've been thinking about that a lot and here's what I've realized: this blog is for me but not just me, Marisa, but me, the world I've created for myself. It's a way for me to document what is going on in my creative life as well as my life with Lucy. I have a space where I can "bookmark" favorite things such as other blogs, websites, books, etc. And it's a way for me to keep others in my life updated on stuff. Does that make sense? It sounds kind of self-centered which I guess it is and well, blogging is kind of a self-centered activity. I'm assuming that others would want to read what I write and see my pictures - how much more self-centered can one be?

That said, I'm far from the only one doing this. I come across new blogs everyday. Many crafters are also professionals so the blogs act as a way to get their ideas out there and also to increase their visibility in the craft world. Many others are just like me, someone who loves what they do and wants to talk about it. We can't all be angry chicken, allsorts, or wee wonderfuls. Those women are amazing and their talents are unbelievabley inspiring!

All in all, I enjoy having this blog. It's like my own personal treehouse. I come here to gather my thoughts and check-in with others who are into the same things that I'm into. I probably won't ever do this sewing/knitting/embroidery stuff as a profession and that's ok. I enjoy the process of those hobbies just like I enjoy the process of this blog.

Lucy is stirring so I have to wrap it up. I promise not to blog about blogging again. Being overly deep and philosphical is not really my thing (those who know me, don't laugh!) much less writing about it. I'll just stick to what I know!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day

It finally snowed here this week - unfortunately it didn't last long because it started to rain by midnight but it was still nice to get Lucy all bundled up and go out for a walk in the snow. She loves to walk around in the snow, sticking her tongue out to catch a snowflake. We went around to the back of our house to refill our birdfeeders where we made snow mountains and stood watching the snow collect on the trees.




We hung up our birdfeeders in January and since them I have become quite enchanted with our local birdlife. Each morning as I make my tea, I look out the window to see what birds are visiting us. Watching them swoop down to the feeders provides me with a lot of enjoyment. Some birds like our large feeders, others prefer the suet while others prefer to peck around under the feeders for the seeds that fall to the ground. We have nuthatches, chickadees, morning doves, woodpeckers and tufted titmouses (my favorite). The other day a large bluejay appeared - wow was he ever intimidating. The other birds scattered with his arrival and I was totally mesmerized by his appearance. I've seen a cardinal in the tree but he's never come to the feeder.

When Lucy and I arrived in the back, the birds scattered. Slowly, over time, they started to come back to the trees. They were watching us to determine if it was ok to return to the feeders. Eventually they would swoop down to a feeder, grab a nut or seed and go back to the tree. I'm sure if we had stayed there for a while longer, the birds would have become more comfortable with our presence but Lucy was ready to do something new so we walked back around to the front of the house. I peaked around the corner after we were gone and found that the birds had reclaimed their feeders and were happily eating away.

As far as my sewing, it's been difficult to get much done in the last week. Lucy has been sick with croop so she's up most of the night and then exhausted during the day. The Weekender Bag class is going well -I'm very impressed by what the students have been able to accomplish. I will be sure to post pics of their finished projects after the next class in a couple of weeks.

Have a lovely Valentine's Day!

Betty Shopper

Betty Shopper, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I made this bag a few weeks ago and really enjoyed making it and enjoy using it even more. There are two large pockets inside that can hold lots of fabric and patterns. I generally carry this bag to the shop so that I can bring fabric back home without anyone noticing! Ha! Sneaky, right? Not really, Mitch always seems to know when more fabric enters the house - it's like he has a fabric (and yarn) radar....

Lucy and I took the train into the NYC today to visit my brother and sister-in-law. We had a great time walking around Washington Square Park and SoHo. And yes, of course we made a quick stop into Purl Patchwork. I really love going there but I never seem to have enough time or money to fully appreciate the array of fabrics that Joelle has in her shop. She really seems to be going more into the Japanese fabrics and Liberty fabrics these days. She also had quite a few Alexander Henry prints - great colors and motifs. I managed to make it out of the store with a small, but satisfying purchase. Two sets of Clover embroidery iron-ons, 1/2 yard of a darling hedgehog print (for my friend Kate whose middle name means hedgehog - go figure) and a yard of a large floral print by Kokka. Actually, it was the last yard on the bolt so I had to have it, right?

I'm teaching my class on the Weekender Bag this weekend and I'm a bit nervous. I hope I can pass along some sewing pearls to my students! Really, once you make that bag, everything else is a walk in the park.

Skirt and appliqued shirt

Skirt and appliqued shirt, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I have been having trouble with my computer recently - everytime I go to upload pictures, it crashes. Kind of a big problem, huh? So, I've resigned myself to using my husband computer which is sooo much faster but I can't watch Martha Stewart and blog at the same time. Instead I have to sit facing a wall. Oh well.

I made this outfit for Lucy using Butterick B4543. The skirt is super easy and fast to make. For the shirt, I just bought a plain tee from the Gap, cut out one of the flower clusters and used Lite Steam-a-Seam to apply it to the shirt. I still need to sew around the edges to neaten it a bit. I think that I will put some sort of stabilizer on the back since I'm working on knit material. I plan to make another outfit, probably shorts, in the same fabric using green colorway.

Here's Lucy modeling the outfit. I have no idea how she learned to pose like this. Honestly, it was a bit scary - she started posing in different locations all over her room, putting on more accessories as she went. Is this genetic? How did she know to do this???

I won fabric!

So, one of the things I love about blogging is just seeing what other people are doing. A great way to do that is to check out what's listed on flickr. When I first started doing the whole flickr thing, I set Starlit Nest as one of my favorites. She has an etsy shop where she sells lovely fabric sets as well as yardage. Anyway, she just had a giveaway and I won! Wow am I ever so excited. Can there be anything better than free fabric? Of course, the answer is no (well, maybe free chocolate ha ha)

Anyway, you should check out her listings and flickr in general. I love to join groups and see what other people are doing with their creative energy. I even found a group that just posts pics of pink Christmas stuff. Now really, how cool is that?

Moleskin notebook

Moleskin notebook, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This was such a fast project. I got the idea from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. You can buy the little notebooks at Barnes and Noble. The "pattern" suggests using glue on the inside cover to hold the stitches but I've been thinking that "No-Fray" could work just as well. Maybe I'll pick some up at the shop this weekend.

I also finished my Amy Butler Betty Shopper. I'll post a pic of that this week. What and easy and fun bag that was to make!

Soft blocks from charm squares

Soft blocks from charm squares, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I made these for my friend's one year old. They're so soft and squishy. Perfect for mouthing and throwing and squashing. Really easy to make out of precut charm squares (from my stash) or just cut 5" squares. Sew 4 together and combine in a circle, leaving seam open about 2 inches for turning. Then add side squares, turn , push out corners, stuff, blindstich opening closed (I do it by machine since little people can get most openings open) and that's it! Quick, easy and great results!

Craft a day

I have this plan for my days with Lucy - one craft project/activity per day. So far it's been going pretty well. Thursday we made Shrinky Dinks (remember those??) and then on Friday we made little felt dolls. The Shrinky Dinks were a blast to make - it really is pretty cool to watch them shrink right before your eyes. Does anyone remember the commercials for them? Anyway, mine were all some sort of log cabin block. Lucy's were a bit more creative - spirals, kites, rainbows. Well, at least a 3 year-old's rendition of those things.


The felt dolls also were a great craft to do. I clearly got into them more than Lucy did! I need to order some nice felt on-line but in the meantime, I bought some from Jo-Ann's - a mix of rayon and wool but they still worked. The yarn pieces are from my yarn-bits stash. Lucy proudly shows our visitors her creative work.


We made cookies on New Years. The cookie cutters were mine from childhood. They're really fun to use since they imprint an image on the cookie. It brings back a lot memories for me.


Today I think we might try marshmallows. A few others have made them here and here. I'm going to use this recipe.

Oh, and I made a skirt for Lucy yesterday - she helped so that was our craft for the day. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up but it certainly has been fun.

Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was a pretty good one for us despite not going home to Oklahoma. We went to Brooklyn to be with my brother and his wife and enjoyed their 9 foot tree! Lucy was really into the whole Santa concept so she was quite excited in the morning when she saw that the stockings were full and that there were even more gifts for her under the tree! Lucy asked every "Mall Santa" (Lucy's term, not mine) for a Dora doll with a pink shirt. Despite my hesitancy to give into the whole Dora thing, Santa complied and had one of his elves find the doll in Oklahoma City as they were sold out in Jersey! Of course, Lucy squealed with delight when she opened it and said something like, "See, mommy, Santa did know which one I wanted." Sigh.

Here are just a few Christmas pictures:


The holiday stockings I made for everyone. My first attempts at machine applique. Lucy's was the first and the most rudimentary. By the time I got to Mitch's I got better. Sorry Harper. I used "Cool Girls Quilt" by Linda Lum DeBono for guidance on the applique part.



I love this pink tree. It's actually a Barbie tree I picked up a few years ago at Michael's. The ornaments are a mix of vintage, Martha Stewart Kmart, and Urban Outfitters. And of course, the "skirt" is Heather Bailey.


Can you find the pickle?


Lucy making Holiday cookies with her Uncle Harper. The cookie recipe is from our preschool - we've been making the same cookies for 32 years!


Lucy loves her Fisher Price Digital Camera. It was her last gift on the eighth night of Hanukkah and has been a huge hit. She's actually pretty good at it. I'll post some of Lucy's pics next week.

As for me, I got exactly what I wanted: a 24 Watt Ott Lite. I left the flier with huge arrows in red ink on Mitch's desk and kindly reminded him almost daily. I was a bit disappointed on Christmas Day as it wasn't under the tree but when we got home, there it was on the stairs in all its loveliness waiting for me. It's wonderful. I don't know how I ever functioned with out it!

And Santa (me) got me two other books: How to Make Books by Esther Smith and Tricia Guild Pattern. Both are fabulous and make me dream of greater, prettier, craftier things....

Projects

I have actually been busy with projects despite the fact that I haven't posted any. I am currently at work on stockings for everyone and will post those closer to Christmas so as not to spoil the surprise for a few family members. In the meantime, below are pics of two handbags I made, both from the Amy Butler Frenchy Pattern.

This bag is a kit at the shop:


This bag was a gift for one of Lucy's friends:


Here's a picture of Stash and Dash bags I made for Mitchell's grandmother:

Cousins

Cousins, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I love this picture. I don't do too much matchy-matchy stuff but I couldn't resist buying Lucy and her cousin, Morgan, these very cute winter pajamas. Lucy was so excited to see Morgan in the same pj's! Morgan adores Lucy and will go anywhere, do anything Lucy wants and Lucy is happy to have her cousin tag along. It makes me so happy that she loves her cousin and that she wants to see her. Sometimes Lucy will look at a picture of Morgan and quietly say "I miss my cousin Morgan." It melts my heart.

Back to writing thank-you notes from my birthday!

Oh, and check out angry chicken for some really kicky holiday gift tags. I think that you could actually use them all thru the year....

bummer

This is a quick post. I just read that Blueprint Magazine is no longer going to published after the next issues. Ugh. I loved this magazine. It was perfect with great photos, ideas, colors. It seemed that it was really picking up a following so I'm not sure what was behind the decision. Personally, I think they should get rid of Body and Soul - it's just plain boring.

Anyway, I guess that the blog will continue but it's just not the same.

Bummer.

Gettin' Busy

Whew! Thanksgiving was lots of fun but wow, what a lot of work! Thank goodness for Whole Foods - I ordered their dinner for eight and then supplemented it with my family's sweet potato casserole, homemade pumpkin pie, fresh whipped cream, and fresh roles from this book. It was great! I let someone else do part of the meal and then I got to make the things that I like. Perfect. The table came together nicely after a quick run to Macy's the night before. I can't believe that I found this tablecloth with enough matching napkins plus I also got the Godiva turkeys half-off. Perfect. I love the centerpiece because the bowl is from my dear friend Megan in Pittsburgh. What made setting the table so much fun was the memories - as I put each piece on the table, I thought about the friend or family who gave us a piece of silver or crystal or of a family member who has passed away. Holidays can be quite stressful but I found this Thanksgiving rejuvenating.



Now, I'm sewing up a storm! I committed myself to sewing most of our holiday gifts so everyday is planned around my rotary cutter, sewing machine and iron! Plus my friends keep having babies who need warm blankets for the winter! BTW, if you just had a baby or if you are about to have a baby shower (you know who you are!) don't look at the next picture!! I love making these receiving blankets and burp clothes. Plus the onesies are so easy and fun, especially if you use Lite Steam-a-Seam. That stuff is fantastic; once the applique is applied, you just do a decorative stitch around the edge for effect and it's done! So easy and well worth the effort. Isn't this fabric great? I should have bought more....



My machine is calling. I promise a pic of my other Amy Butler bag soon!

36 pink years

Well, today was my birthday and I think all in all it was a pretty good one. In the morning,we took Lucy to her 3 year physical in the morning where she acted shy for the doctor! She's growing great and 50th percentile for everything. Yeah Lucy!

Then I was off to lunch with my friend Amy while Mitch took Lucy and her friend Lauren to the NJ Aquarium. He survived though he appeared a bit shell-shocked when he came home this evening. While the girls and Mitch were looking at fish, we got manicures and pedicures using the nail polish that my brother and sister-in-law sent me for my birthday.

Which brings me to the real reason for this post. I have the BEST brother and sister-in-law. I'm not exaggerating. They both totally understand my bizarrely high-expectations for my birthday and always rise to the occasion. Yesterday a box arrived from Fed Ex for me. I tried not to open the box most of the day but after dinner I just couldn't wait. So, I opened the box with the intention of leaving the actual gift untouched until the morning (today). Well, I opened it and found this:



Now, with all that lovely vintage wrapping paper, honestly how could I not open the box?! So, I thought I would just open the card:



Well, that was that. Lucy and I started opening the gifts. Harper and Vicky had collected 36 pink gifts for my birthday ranging from girly to sporty. Plus Harper, the mathematician in the family, included some trivia about the number 36. Apparently it's quite a lucky number: 6 x 6 is a perfect square, 9 x 4 is a product of a perfect square, plus a few other things that went over my head about prime numbers. And in each generation there are supposedly 36 leaders who maintain the status of the world! Wow, sounds like a great number - hopefully that means better things are on the way!

Oh, the 36 pink gifts were: 3 chocolates, 6 pink nail polishes, 6 lip glosses (I love lip gloss), 6 socks (three pair), 9 tennis balls (for my fledgling attempt to be a tennis player), 3 wraps for my tennis racket, one headband, and 2 sweat bands. What a treat indeed.

Plus, Mitch and Lucy gave me gorgeous pink bling earrings and breakfast in bed. And at the end of the day, we had my favorite pink chocolate cake (my mother has used the same recipe forever) with our neighbors. So far, my 36th year is off to a great pink start.

Re-entry

Well, it's been a bit difficult readjusting to life here. This past weekend was just a blur. The reality of Dorothy's passing is still coming over me in waves which I suppose is to be expected. I've been wearing one piece of her jewelry each day - usually a fake pearl necklace or something shimmery. Lucy is keeping me extremely distracted plus my birthday is tomorrow. I think I'm going to get my nails painted this red again, in Dorothy's honor!

The owner of the shop, Jan, put Stitchettes Numbers one and two in my employee mailbox the other day. I have looked at them multiple times on the Wee Wonderfuls site and have been tempted to purchase them. Thanks Jan for sharing these with me! It made my day! Now, I just need to pick out some fabric to get stitching....You can see what other crafters have done with the patterns here.

They come in cream-colored envelopes with a darling sticker on the front


and then when you open them, such lovely images appear!


Hillary Lang, the designer of these fabulous little things, also has a very cute elephant pattern (peanut, the weel elephant) in Joelle Hoverson's latest book Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. I wasn't sure what I thought of this book at first but the more I look at it, the more I like it. The pictures are fantastic and the designs are just very current and approachable. The elephant is one of the cutest projects in the book.

It's getting cold and we're feeling the urge to do cold-weather activities! Lucy and Mitch just mixed-up our homemade hot chocolate mix. It makes a ton of hot chocolate - enough to last an entire winter for sure. The recipe comes from my Aunt Debbie. I've been drinking it for years and can personally attest to how yummy it is - here's the recipe:

8 quarts powdered milk
16 oz Nestle quick
1 cup coffee mate
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup Ovaltine

Mix it all together in a big bowl, store in large glass or plastic containers like these. To make hot chocolate, fill mug halfway with mix, add hot water, stir, add mini-marshmallows and enjoy.

I'm a winner!

Wow. This is so exciting! My bag won the monthly u-handbag Amy Butler pattern contest. You can see the results here. I could really use a pick-me-up these days.

My grandmother's funeral is tomorrow. For some reason, my father decided to have her estate sale the same weekend so I went to her house last night and actually had to buy some of the items that meant so much to me. She had remarkable taste. Her furniture is very "in" these days but I love it because it really captures her spirit for life. I'll post pictures of my purchases later. I know that it's crazy and innapropriate to have to buy belongings of my grandmother's the same weekend as her funeral, but otherwise my brother and I would never have this opportunity again. It's really sad what families do to each other in times of crisis.

Dorothy's obituary is here.

Thanks for your kind words. I look forward to returning home and getting back to sewing, knitting, and being with my friends and family.

Stash and Dash Bags

Stash and Dash Bags, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Just a quick post before I head to OKC.

I made these out of the leftover fabric from the Weekender Bag. They're not hard but do require a bit of practice. I love that the lining is sewn in by machine and not by hand plus the little pleats at the bottom add just enough charm, don't you think? Anyway, the picture here doesn't do them justice - I think I was just looking for an excuse to have the gumdrop pillow from the shop on my blog! ha ha!

I'm off to OKC with Miss Lucy Rose. It will be a sad trip but I hope that as a family we can focus on celebrating Dorothy's life and all that she accomplished.

Life of the Party

Birthday dress and hat, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This picture doesn't really match this blog entry but I just couldn't help posting another cute photo of Lucy. My mother made her that had to match her birthday dress. When my mom was a little girl, her grandmother would send her a birthday dress each year complete with underwear, stockings, shoes and a hat. Now, she wants to continue that tradition with Lucy so she picked out this dress on our last trip to Oklahoma and then took the dress to the yarn store and picked out the colors. What a cute outfit! And Lucy loves the dress - she knows that it is something special.

I found out this afternoon that my paternal grandmother, Dorothy, had died. It's hard for me to believe that she is no longer with us. She was such a force, a pioneer in her time. She worked in the oil business and over time, invested in wells, making trips out to the fields with the men, wearing her hard hat. She never let us call her "grandma" just Dorothy. She wore bright colors, short skirts and fabulous strappy heels in a size 6! She was a voracious reader and could debate you on an issue from either vantage point. She believed in the power of women and the ability of any one to do what they wanted if they set their mind to it. She encouraged me in everything that I did. I wish that Lucy could have known her more. Dorothy was the life of the party; she could talk to anyone about anything and make them feel like she thought the world of them.

Dorothy entertained a lot! She had her bridge group, her executive secretary group, her book club. But man, could she throw a fantastic party. This is what she suggested that I always have on hand for an spontaneous fete:
Hershey's kisses
M and M's
Bridge Mix
Chips
Salsa with a can of black-eyed peas mixed together
and of course,
some good quality mixers.

There you have it. I'll miss you Dorothy. I'll do my best to teach Lucy what you taught me: to respect others, educate yourself, and never underestimate the power of a woman.

Lucy in Action

Lucy in action, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I love this photo - it was taken a few weeks ago with my new camera. Mitch bought it for me as an early birthday present (November 15th btw) but of course, he used it before I could and snapped this photo at the Princeton Battlefield Park. It perfectly captures the spirit of Lucy Rose. My neighbor described her as a ball in a ping-pong ball game which I think pretty much sums her up!

I finished my Frenchy Bag yesterday and will post a pic soon. Tomorrow I'm off to deal with the family stuff and then I'll be back ready to sew the winter blues away....

Disco Princess WItch

Disco Princess WItch, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Lucy wanted to be a princess witch for Halloween. I bought this fabric last year on clearance and thought it would be perfect. Initially I was going to do a very intricate princess costume but I quickly thought better of it and made a simple sheath dress instead, covering in pink tulle. I then made a cape with the tulle and a collar from the dress fabric. I wanted to make a hat to match but Lucy preferred the one from last year so I made her a sassy disco witch treat bag instead (I'll post a pic later.) Lucy wouldn't try it on until Halloween so thank goodness it fit!! The only trick was the set-in sleeves. I need more practice for sure! And, I promised myself that I will never ever work with rayon fabric again!!

And the blue eyeshadow - well Lucy loves to put on makeup with me so I let her indulge in the electric blue eyeshadow and some pink face powder. I know it's a bit over-the-top but hey, it's Halloween!

Amy Butler Weekender Bag.

Amy Butler Weekender bag., originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Yeah! At long last a new post. I wish I could write more about what is going on with me. Lots of family stuff that's really difficult and taking most of my energy these days. Thank goodness for my husband, daughter and Pfaff sewing machine. Ha Ha!

I loved making this bag. I started the project as an intermediate sewer and I think ending as advanced!! Seriously, it pushed my limits but wow was it worth it. Sadly for me, it's at the shop as a sample so I have to wait for the kits to sell-out before I can take it home. I'm planning to teach a class on it next February. I also made Amy's Stash and Dash bags. Great results but also takes some practice to get the zipper to look lovely.

All in all, things are well. I'm busy on yet another Amy Butler project, the Frenchy Bag. After this, I'm going to make a quilt with lots of lovely cheery fabric, though Amy's new Sophia Carry-All has my attention!

Winter is coming, the days are getting shorter and my sewing room is just looking so cozy. I've vowed to make all my Holiday gifts this year so I better put the pedal to the carpet and get sewing. Plus, there are babies gestating who will need warm receiving blankets and new mom's who need pretty tote bags. And then there are all those kind souls who are helping me with my life right now. Maybe just some pretty coasters out of my favorite Kaffe fabric

More later about Lucy and her fabulous Halloween adventures. This child is a pro at trick or treats!

I'm back

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. Life got a bit crazy with vacations and some family drama. Hopefully things will settle down now but I'm not completely convinced of that. I think that I'm finally realizing that life is well, always a bit crazy and that I've just got to learn to deal with it. Eating chocolate is one way to cope but not so great for my wardrobe aspirations! I've taken up tennis (I moved up to advanced beginner) and hope that the exercise along with the sewing will help me through the rough patches. Oh, and of course Lucy. She keeps me grounded and busy.

I am hard at work on my Amy Butler Weekender bag. It's really not that difficult but just time consuming. The fabrics are lovely but I can only post pics after it's complete - that's the promise I made to myself.

Still working on some Christmas projects for the store. Gotta get those done soon or I'm going to be in the doghouse!!

Stitching away

Well, I have been busy at my machine though I've been terrible about posting my completed projects! I often forget to snap a photo before giving said items away. I just made a very cute baby doll blanket and pillow for Lucy's friend, Stella. Lucy liked it but decided that she didn't need one - she already has three baby blankets which seems like enough to her. And then there are the other real baby blankets, Amy Butler totes, completed paper-pieced Christmas ornaments.

Now, I am working on the Amy Butler Weekender bag. I cut out all the fabric last week and plan to make the cording this week. My plan is to pack the whole thing up and take it to Maine with me where my mom and I can work on it together. Mitch tells me that's just silly - I'm going to be too busy driving around the fabric and knitting stores to have anytime to sew. He's probably right but I'm hopefull.

Here's a photo of Lucy and Mitch at her friend's birthday party. I love that they are color-coordinated!

Lucy and Mitch at Emily's party, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Very Cool Bike

So I recently decided that it was time for me to start taking better care of myself. I've started swimming and I'm taking tennis lessons (I've got a lot to learn) but I also thought it would be nice to get active as a family. Biking seemed like a reasonable activity for all of us, especially since I can't stand running! I gave my old mountain bike to my sister-in-law, mainly b/c it wasn't comfortable for me and it seemed to be a great fit for her. Anyway, I wanted an Electra Cruiser but it just didn't have enough gears for the kind of riding I envision us doing so I chose the Electra Townie instead. Of course, I couldn't have just any color, I had to have the special cranberry pink with fenders. I love it! Lucy loves it! Plus I think that I might actually use it and that will be a very good thing.

Lots of sewing projects coming down the pike to keep me busy. More on those later.

Holiday mini-ornaments

Holiday mini-ornaments, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

At last, pictures of my mini-ornaments. I really need to get back to work on these! I only have two more to make and then I can quilt them, bind and finish with a ribbon. I think that the fabrics turned out great! The fabric is from Red Rooster. We're going to sell the pattern and fabric as kits at the shop. Each kit will have 10 fat eighths in them along with the pattern from Cindi Edgerton. Her tissue foundations are fantastic and her directions are very helpful as well. I do enjoy making these but it takes a certain amount of patience and attention to work on such a small scale. They fnish at just over 3 inches with the binding.

I started a skirt for Lucy today out of Denise Schmidt's last line of fabrics. Lucy picked out the fabric herself and specifically wants a skirt so that she can "spin around." I think it will be a quick project once I get all the pieces cut out.

Then again, I do need to work on those ornaments....

Dirty Little Secret Bag

Dirty Little Secret Bag, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Ok, so here's just one little bag I've made. The others can be seen on flickr. I've made 3 of these so far but I have many more to go! I'm just having fun cutting into this fabric- I've been hoarding it for months, well maybe 2 years. Anyway, they're fun, quick and easy.

I've been making these for my friends who helped me out over the last few months. I have one friend who is a Mormom and is addicted to Dr. Pepper. I gave her one before her trip to Utah to hide her soda. My other friend loves chick-lit (think "The Manny") - I figure she can hide her books too.

I'm working on a bag for a friend of mine using Amy Butler fabrics from a few collections ago. I've decided that there's no reason to hang onto these fabric forever. I mean, Amy's fabric collection this season was fantastic. What I'm trying to say is that there's always more fabric....

bag making

Things got a bit hectic around here this past week. I was diagnosed with a tubal pregnancy last week (real bummer) and am still in the process of dealing with the management of it. I was given a shot of a nasty drug, methotrexate, that essentially helps to dissolve the pregnancy. Unfortunately my body thought it was pregnant so I still have to have a miscarriage of sorts so lucky me, that's what I've been doing for the past three days.

But, the upside is that I've been sewing out of my stsh. Just handbags but still it keeps me busy. I have a project for the shop that I need to work on but I can't concentrate on it. Hopefully I'll get back to it next week.

I promise to post photos this weekend of all my bags and foundation piecing projects. Oh, and I tried out the Clover yo-yo maker and I have to give it a big thumbs-up! What else? Hmmm - I did buy some doll patterns to make Lucy's babies some clothes. I thought I'd also make Lucy some coordinating outfits. And, I received my pattern from Disdressed for the "A day in the Park Backpack Tote." I'll get to that soon!

Now if I could just find some time....