Lucy in Portabello Pixie Gracie Dress

Lucy in Portabello Pixie Gracie Dress, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Can't believe that I never posted this! Things got super-busy with the holidays: Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas! I loved making this dress - for now it's at Pennington Quilt works. Now that the holidays are over, I'm busy with a pair of pants and another dress from the same pattern collection.

Lots of posting to come this month. Plus I've noticed that many people come looking for Mandy and Jenny patterns/inspiration. I'm going to post more about those too in the coming months.

Happy New Year!

My birthday cake

My birthday cake, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I celebrated my birthday recently and had the pleasure of making my own chocolate cake. For the cake and frosting I used a recipe from Birthday Cakes. Yum! Lucy was very concerned that I wasn't having a party for my birthday so she "invited" a few friends over for pizza, cake and dress-up. She had every intention of helping me make the cake but those dress-up clothes were just too tempting!

So, I'm a year-older and I hope that makes me a year-wiser. The last few years have certainly presented my family and me with a number of challenges that I think we have trudged through with only a few scrapes remaining. I'm grateful to all my friends and family for their support and love and hope that I can reciprocate when the time comes.

Happy Belated Birthday to Me!

Going shawl crazy

Koigu shawlette, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I'm way into shawls these days. Not really sure why. I think I was missing my knitting, particularly all the Koigu I have stashed away! I just grabbed a few skeins that were already wound (probably for some other UFO), cast on and started knitting. I might give this one to my mother for Christmas but I'm sure that she won't mind if I wear it until then....

I have a WIP using Ella Rae Lace Merino. This yarn is lovely and very indulgent. Though I have to admit that I'm anxious to finish it so that I can get back into that Koigu stash.

Happy Knitting!

Is it too late for a Halloween Picture?

Neptune and mermaid, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Lucy went as the Little Mermaid. I made her costume out of some blue pique I found in my stash. The pattern is a mix of one of the new patterns from Portabello Pixie and a Simplicity mermaid pattern. It worked out well but I think it's the wig that made the costume! Mitch decided to go as Neptune. Lucy had lots of fun pulling off his beard!

Recently I've become obsessed with Angry Little Girls. Hilarious and a bit dark - what does that say about me? ha ha!

Weekender Bag Class

Weekender Bag Class, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Here are the pics from my class. I think that everyone did really well and I loved their fabric choices.

I love how Laurel centered a bird on her side pocket panel!

All these bags almost inspires me to make another one....

Weekender Bag's first outing

Weekender Bag's first outing, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

What an amazing week in American History! I couldn't start this post without acknowledging our country's progress!

My Weekender Bag went on its first trip a few weeks ago. We visited my brother in Atlanta and I also took a class at the SAGA convention. We had a lovely time and I think the Bag enjoyed getting some fresh air. As a safeguard, I sprayed the bag with Scotchguard.

The bag is now safely back at the shop - I was a bit stressed carrying it around with me plus I want to teach my class one more time. I'll post those photos tomorrow.

Flirty Skirt and Halloween Skirt

Flirty Skirt and Halloween Skirt, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

While Lucy and I were in Atlanta, she performed for us on my brother's balcony. Yes, that is a flirty skirt covering the Halloween play-skirt I made for her. The skirt turned out a bit fuller and longer than I expected but Lucy clearly didn't mind. And yes, she is dancing with a dreidel in her hand. I believe she was pretending that it was a microphone.

Still working on her mermaid costume. Ugh. My mother looked at it today and I could see that she was trying to say something nice about it, particularly that it looked like an actual mermaid for a preschooler. sigh. I mean, it's a costume for a 4 year old and it's not store bought so it's going to be fine, right??

I would love to spend the day sewing tomorrow but I also have to pull together Lucy's birthday party on Saturday. Fortunately we are doing it at a local bird preserve so I don't have to plan entertainment. However, Lucy is expecting me to make mini cupcakes for the party as well as mini cut-out cookies for her class on Friday. Sometimes I wonder why I can't be one of those women who just buys stuff from a regular store? I mean, does anyone even notice the extra effort it takes? Well, that's a silly questions because I notice and I think that Lucy notices too. And, I enjoy doing it...most of the time.

First game of the World Series on tv - gotta run. GO PHILLIES!!

Shadow Work Initital

Shadow Work Initial, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This is one of the things that I learned - Shadow Work. This particular design is from a new book called Old Fashioned Baby. The designs are adorable. Her other patterns are equally lovely. Plus, at the SAGA market, she had the most fabulous collection of vintage buttons and lace. Oh my!!

Stitching Away

This last week I went to visit my brother and his wife in their new city - Atlanta. While there, I had the opportunity to take a class as part of the Smocking Arts Guild of America Convention. My class was with Wendy Schoen - I learned shadow work embroidery and gold work. The class was challenging but I really enjoyed myself and was surprised to find how much I enjoyed delicate stitch work. I will post pics of my projects this week and also provide more details on the convention in general.

I also took my Weekender Bag on its first trip! I took pictures of it on its outing as well and will post those over the coming days. It really is a very functional bag and quite comfortable on my shoulders though, if I do another one, I think that I will make the straps a bit wider and perhaps padded as well.

Happy Stitching!

The Delights of Fall

Apple Pie after shot, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I love fall, absolutely love it! When I was growing up in Oklahoma, fall always meant the end of the summer heat - we could finally sit outside comfortably and enjoy the breeze coming off the plains. Plus, there's nothing as great as shopping for back-to-school. I still look forward to each fall fashion with all its tweeds, jewel tones and cozy sweaters. And, unlike winter, during fall one can enjoy the crisp air without bundling up in a coat and multiple other warm accessories.

Plus, the fall harvest. Now that I live in NJ, I have the opportunity to buy locally grown produce. Lucy and I go to our CSA each week and pick up our share of veggies and fruit. We look forward to each week, wondering what goodies await us at the farm stand. Last week we were delighted to find squash, pumpkins,, swiss chard, peppers, lettuce, beets, radicchio and more! And the tomatoes - we've been getting them for about 6 weeks and they have been sweet and juicy. Below is my latest collection of sauce tomatoes ready to be blanched and frozen for winter stew.

In the last week, Lucy and I made two pies, a batch of applesauce and apple muffins. I bought Winesaps and Macouns at the Trenton Farmer's Market. The Winesaps were great in the pies and the Macouns were crisp and sweet treats. I"m hoping to get the Terhune Orchards to pick apples with Lucy tomorrow. As a child in Oklahoma I could never have imagined the opportunity to pick my own apples!

And finally, a bit unrelated, here's a picture of my Tupperware pastry rolling mat. As young children and teenagers, my brother and I rolled out hundreds of batches of cookies and pastry on this mat. My mom gave it to me when I moved into my first apartment in Philadelphia more than a decade ago. To see Lucy's little hands working at this mat reminded me of my own childhood and the simple joys of cooking with my mother.

Get outside and breath in the cool, crisp air. Enjoy.

Matryoshka Doll skirt

Matryoshka Doll skirt, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I've been busy with lots and lots of sewing projects, mostly skirts for Lucy. This one turned out really cute - I put a lace trim on the bottom instead of hemming it. I just cut two large rectangles, sewed the seams, inserted elastic and voila. A new fun winter skirt. I'm hoping to make lots more of these. Check out this site over at Oliver and S for another simple pattern.

I also finished a holiday tag kit for the shop and am teaching a class on those in November. I promise pics of them soon.

Now, it's on to the Halloween - Lucy wants to be a mermaid. I hope I can get it made and finished before the local parade on the 30th!

I'm still here

I have a lot to write and I promise to get to it asap. I haven't had much time with work and getting Lucy back to school though I have managed to read "Little Women" (love that cover!!) in the last month and think that I will dive back into it again. What a lovely and kind book. Just what I needed these days. I also started reading "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson which is an equally lovely book. Over the past two months I have faced a number of challenges that have required a lot of my spirit; both of these books seem to be filling me back up again.

I know, sappy. But that's where I am these days. More about stitching books/magazines that I'm reading in the next week.

And, btw, I did join Ravelry thought I haven't done much with it. Hopefully I can get to that too....

Lucy's First Quilt

Lucy's first quilt, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I found this picture today while I was browsing through pictures of Lucy as a baby. The quilt was being displayed at the annual Pennington Quiltworks Quilt Hanging. It was the first quilt I made from start to finish - I did all the piecing and quilting by machine. Making this quilt was one of my favorite things about being pregnant. I would spend the last part of my pregnancy sitting at the machine, day-dreaming of Lucy. I finished it just in time, a few days shy of her birth! Lucy still has the quilt on her bed and although I've made her others, this is the one she prefers.

The quilt is a simple 9 patch set on-point. I had actually found the floral focal fabric a few years before I had Lucy and held onto it for just the right moment. The other fabrics are a collection of Aunt Grace.

Looking at Lucy here, it's hard to remember that she was every little. I believe that she was around 10 months at the time of this picture. Look at how happy she is in this picture! She still smiles for the camera and has that same love of life!

I miss doing patchwork - perhaps this is a sign that I need to start piecing again....

Summer Fun

Sam Skates, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Wow! I can hardly believe it's almost August! I've been busy with work at CHOP and sewing when I can. I made Lucy a nightgown that she loves loves loves - she wants me to make "hundreds of them" for her. That request is a bit more than I can do but two or three more are in the works.

Plus, I bought quite a bit of yardage of Anna Maria Horner's new home dec fabric with the intention of making curtains for my sewing room. For now, I've tacked it in place just to see how it looks (love it) until I can get a bit more time. Ha Ha.

The little girl skating is called "Sam Skates" and is from the Wee Wonderfuls site. Her designs are just delightful. I want to do all of them! Her latest, the picnic fairy, is so cute. I feel a paypal purchase coming on.

Speaking of, I just sold a bunch of yarn on ebay and with my "winnings" I bought two Japanese sewing books. I can hardly wait to get them -they should arrive by Friday! The simplicity of the designs is inspiring. Maybe after the nightgowns and curtains I can get to them!

And, as far as classes at the shop, I have three scheduled. Flirty Skirts is August 6th, On a Whim (the circles quit I blogged about here) is October 8th and The Weekender Bag is October 12th and 26th. I also hope to put together a class on English paper piecing (Grandmother's Flower Garden) and appliqued t-shirts. More on those to come.

Keep cool!

Sewing for Lucy....

I made another outfit from this pattern for Lucy using the green colorway of Denyse Schmidt's previous collection. I loved making the entire outfit, the top especially because it presented the challenge of understitching, something I rarely do but always gives great results. The whole outfit is just really cute. Well, Lucy put it on this morning for about five minutes before she announced that it was too small on the top and that she didn't like shorts - she wants skirts that "spin around." Devastation. As much as I tried to convince her otherwise, she wasn't going for it.

So, this afternoon I bribed her to try it on for me so that I could take some pictures. The bribe: she doesn't have to wear it again. Clearly, the only way to successfully sew for Lucy is to involve her from the outset. I talked to my mom about this recent development. She said that I never complained about her sewing (it's true, I loved everything she ever made me) but I was always very involved in the process from picking the patterns, fabric and buttons. Lesson learned.

Here are the pics. Again, she wasn't up for posing so most of these are taken on the go. As you can see, Lucy is a climber too.







On a separate note, I just came across another great blog knittinginpink Everything is lovely on the site - this blogger loves socks and has so many great pictures of her creations. Plus, anyone who uses pink in their blog description is going to be a favorite of mine! Check out her site if you have a chance.

Lucy wants to take off her outfit. Oh well, maybe I'll just hang it in my sewing room for inspiration and as a reminder of what not to sew! Ha ha!

My Friend Mandy and Jenny patterns

My Friend Mandy and Jenny patterns, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Mandy and Jenny were my very favorite dolls. I had a doll box filled with clothes and accessories that I would pack up and bring with me on overnight trips to my grandmother's house. Grandma was kind enough to make me outfits for the dolls and my mother contributed as well. I saved the dolls and clothes with the hope that someday I would have my own little girl who would enjoy the dolls as much as I did.

That day has come. I recently gave Lucy both of the dolls as well as the box filled with clothes. I wish that Grandma could have seen Lucy dressing Mandy in the clothes that she made - I know that she would have been delighted to see the joy in another generation.

My mother found her collection of patterns for Mandy and Jenny. This one is my favorite - the drawings are so sweet and sooo 70's! It's hard to believe that those groovy fashions are coming back into style! My plan this fall is to make Lucy and the dolls coordinating outfits. Hopefully I can make that happen!

Getting it together

Grandma's sewing table with machine, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

One of my goals for 2008 is to finally pull our house together. We've lived here for 4 years and the upstairs still isn't painted (except Lucy's room, of course), the carpet hasn't been replaced, and the light fixtures are in a desperate need of an update! We inherited so many fabulous pieces from our families; I really think that they deserve to be in a house that's a bit more coordinated! I will post updates as we progress.

My current focus is lighting. For the kitchen, I found the most perfect light fixture ever here. I really want the pink fixture but the orange would probably be more sensible. Our kitchen table is a 1970's orange with pink vinyl seats. The pink vinyl is going to be replaced this summer with a darker pink, almost rose vinyl but the table will still be the original orange. Other fixtures to be hung include a vintage chandelier in Lucy's room, another vintage chandelier over the dining room table and a 1970's glass ball fixture in the stairwell. I also ordered a bunch of fixtures from Restoration Hardware (on sale) for the bathrooms and to replace the builder "quality" fixtures in the ceilings.

I'm planning to consult with a really cool designer from Black-Eyed Susan. I think she'll help me pull all these pieces together. Yes, I could probably do it myself but sometimes it just helps to have an outsider's perspective.

And finally, the sewing room. We took the extra bed out - now the space is all mine. I'm excited and overwhelmed by the prospect. I know it will be great for me and Lucy to have a room to create in and for me to have cutting space as well as sewing space. For now, I'm really enjoying using my grandmother's table (pictured above). Next week I'm going to take the actual machine in to be repaired so that I can actually use it too! Plus, with the extra space, I may get another small table just for Dorothy's Featherweight.

I'm off to Jo-Ann's to buy a fold-away cutting table! Yeah! Maybe I should get a dress form too...

Bye. Happy Sewing!

Inspriation/stuff board

Inspriation/stuff board, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This is a picture of the board in my room. It's no so much as a design space as much as it is a collection of stuff that either means something to me or inspires me or both. If you go to my flickr page, you can scan over most of the items for a description.

I've been busy making some very very cute fabric gift tags for the shop's annual Christmas party. Really fun machine applique. I will post pics when they're finished.

I'm also busy trying to pull our house together. A while back we received a lot of family heirlooms, furniture, light fixtures, etc - sadly a lot of it has either been put in the garage for shoved in a corner. Now that I have a bit more time I want to get stuff hung, recovered, repainted and so on so that we can enjoy them. More on that as I get projects completed.

Flirty Skirts

Over the last few months I have spent a large chunk of time each day sitting on a Septa train commuting to and from Phildelphia. Usually I read and listen to music. Sometimes I dream about sewing and knitting projects (a lot of the time actually.) These skirts were one of those dreams. I first saw the pattern here and then found a more refined version in the Summer 2008 issue of Quilts and More. I loved the simplicity of the pattern plus I could cut all pieces using a rotary cutter.

The first one I made was so simple that I immediately cut out fabric for the next one. Plus the blue and red one was a bit small for Lucy.



The second one I did out of Amy Butler's latest fabric collection.



And then I was having so much fun I just made this skirt with tiers of gathered fabric. Actually this one fits Lucy the best.



Also, as I went along I changed a few things. For starters, I used french seams to join side seams. I also added a bit more fabric to allow for a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Since I don't have a serger (yet, hint, hint...) I finished the gather edges by doing the following: I sewed the 1/2 inch seam. Then I sewed another seam about 1/8 inch to the right of the first one. Then I trimmed the seam to 1/4 inch. Then I zig-zagged the edge. A lot of work but I think it will hold up better in the wash. Plus, I grew up with a mother who was always turning clothes inside out to check the finishing. She said that the true sign of a well made garment was in the finished details - the stuff no one could see. So, as much as I try to be quick and easy about things, I still hear her voice as I'm finishing a project. sigh.

I plan to teach this project as a class because I think it's a simple project for a new sewer and the resulting product is just very very cute. Also, once you learn the basics, you can improvise and make your own version.

Finally, thanks so much to Sew Mama Sew for posting the circles quilt on their Featured Creativity blog entry! I hope that those of you who are visiting for the first time will come back often. I promise to update with more frequency now that I have more time. I also plan to post a tutorital for making the circles.

Off to the quilt store.

Finished at last!

Circles Quilt, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Here it is. The circles quilt from Valori Wells' book "Simple Start, Stunning Finish." I never thought I would actually get it finished with my schedule of travleing back and forth to Philly for the last 3 months! I backed it in corduroy as well - yellow with blocks of pink, green and turquoise. I'll get a pic of that the next time I'm at the shop; since I made it as a shop sample/kit, it will be there for a while. Karen of Poppycourt Quilting did the machine quilting for me and put the bias binding on as well - I just handstitched the binding to the back of the quilt. Lucy likes it so hopefully the kits will sell quickly so that we can have it on her bed this fall.

I'm well. It's been an adjustment to working but the part-time schedule is going to be fabulous. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is an amazing place - I'm happy to be a part of the care that they provide to families.

As for sewing, I'm doing a lot of it - skirts, baby blankets, bibs, etc. I will post of those later this week.

Speaking of, Lucy is asleep so I'm going to run upstairs, put a Gilmore Girls DVD in, and get stitching....