New Amy Butler!

Yesterday I had to do a bit of business at the shop regarding the Weekender Bag Class so I thought I'd just run in for a few minutes. Much to my delight the new Amy Butler Midwest Modern collection had arrived and was on the floor. It is stunning. The color palate is crisp, fresh and citrusy. It makes me want to put a straw in it and take a long sip. Amazing. This collection is different from her others in it's scale, motifs and hues.

I'm sure that I need some of this loveliness but I'm just not sure how much....

Lucy's race outfit

Lucy's race outfit, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Last week, Mitch, Lucy and I participated in the Virginia Beach Shamrock Fest. I jogged/walked the 8K, Mitch ran the half-marathon and Lucy ran the children's marathon (26.2 yards). I was just happy that I finished my race without passing out! I will spare you pics of me at the finish line - believe me, you don't want to see them!

I made Lucy this little shirt using Lite-Steam-a-Seam and then going around the edges with a zig zag stitching. She also has green sweatpants with hearts appliqued on the knees. She looked very cute and had a wonderful time at the races. She cheered Mitch and me on with great gusto and for us, seeing her face at the finish line made all of our work well worth it.

Happy Easter!

Dorothy's Chairs

Dorothy's Chairs, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Here's a picture of two of the chairs of Dorothy's. I loved these chairs as a kid and spent countless hours spinning them around, rocking back and forth and then when I got older, I would just recline in a chair and read a book. I believe that the chairs may have been designed by Milo Baughman for Thayer Coggin though I'm not totally sure. The cube was also Dorothy's.

I'm so happy to have all three of these pieces. Dorothy had lots of parties so I remember her guests relaxing in these with bridge mix and martinis. Imagine Esquivel in the background or some Henry Mancini to complete the memory.

As soon as I rearrance my sewing room/extra bedroom, I promise a picture of my other grandmother's sewing machine and table. I can't wait to plug it in and hear it sew again....

Hi hi, hi ho it's off to work I go...

I know that it's been a really long time since I've posted anything here. I always have the best of intentions but by the end of the day I'm just too tired to write anything creative or attempt to be witty. I have actually completed a few projects and started even a few more. I promise pictures soon but my computer is still having issues with uploading pics and I'm not in the habit of working with Mitchell's computer.

On Tuesday the things from Oklahoma City arrived, that is, my grandmothers' belongings plus a few other random pieces of furniture and childhood toys. It's weird to sit in Dorothy's very cool club chairs or work at my grandmother's sewing table but it also feels very comforting. It really is like having Dorothy and Eleanor in my home. The only problem is that all of Dorothy's furniture smells like her house - she always wore just a tad too much perfume. It's a bit eerie to smell my deceased grandmother in my house but I'm sure that in time, the scent will diminish and then I will long to smell it again.

The other reason that I haven't written is that I am indeed headed back to work as a nurse-midwife. I've accepted at position at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as part of the Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment Center, more specifically, as a midwife in the Special Delivery Unit. The first two months will be intense with training 5 days/week. After that I'll work part-time so of course I hope to continue working at the quilt store a couple times a month and also have more time to sew, knit, etc with Lucy in a longer day at school. I know I'm being wishful but a girl can dream....

I've been cooking up a storm the last couple of days and have two more days in the kitchen before I start. Plus I'm busy with laundry, reorganizing the house and finishing quilting projects. A friend of mine said I was "work-nesting." I like that.

More nesting tomorrow and hopefully some pics for here too.

And another thing

I have been meaning to get on the blog for a while - every spare moment seems to be spent sewing the circles quilt, entertaining Lucy, or organizing my house! My grandmothers' belongings are arriving next week including Dorothy's dining room set and swivel club chair and my maternal grandmother's (Eleanor) sewing table with her 1940's Singer inside. Needless to say, I have a lot of work to provide the room for these beloved belongings. Also, I fear for the delivery men - I could be in tears as they unload my family treasures. I hope they come prepared. Ha ha

I forgot to share another tip about the Amy Butler Weekender Bag. Two of my students used an old cutting mat for the inside of the false bottom rather than use template plastic. This produced a much more firm bottom and provided additional structure to the bag. Great idea!

And, have you seen Ginger Blossom? I absolutely LOVE it. Maybe just a few yards of it will do - I have to make room for the new Amy Butler too.

Back to the sewing machine. I watched the entire Project Runway 2008 season yesterday and I'm feeling inspired.

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....