simple Analogy

Nothin' To Show

Kind of just left you last week didn't I.  Sorry, but life has been happening, and as sometimes it happens a little more than at other times, it took me by surprise.

I've been sewing like a fiend, but can't show you a thing yet.  It's for my sister's baby shower this weekend.  I must say that I can feel the pressure as I look at the date on the calendar looming before me, see all the scheduled activities that will hinder me from sewing, and realize how much more I have to go on this present.  I might be pulling a few late night sewing sessions.  Blogging this week will be pretty sparse until the present is completed, and then I'll show you LOTS of pictures. 

*This picture was taken this summer in the mountains and has nothing to do with the post.  It's peaceful, refreshing.  I like looking at it.  So there you have it!  

It's the Little Things

A few little things that have been making me happy the past few days...

Three new dresses for under $25. 

I tried the jeans under the dress thing for the first time and like it!

"We're there for you, Mom!"  That statement from my boys meant so much.  I started teaching a new Bible study on Tuesday.  They know how nervous and sick I get before the first one, and Noah even woke up early (shock!) with his alarm clock (even more shocking!) and made breakfast for himself and Landon so that I would have one less thing to do before Bible study started.  They also helped watch the kids.  Have I told you how great my kids are?  Well, they are!

A new crock pot.  Let me tell you, these new-fangled (to me) crock pots are great!  My old one was one of those built in kind where you have to wrestle with keeping the cord and heating system dry while washing the inside.  Yea, OLD!  So now I can just remove the stoneware and pop it in the dishwasher.  I know!  I need to get out more!  Speaking of crock pots, which I only use every now and then, here are some of my favorite recipes:  Garlic Lime Chicken and Rice; Barley, Black Bean, and Corn Burritos; and Tortilla Soup. 

Playing with kittens.  Not mine, a friend's.

Black olive pizza, no sauce.

A cool, fresh autumn morning with windows open.

Reading to my boys.  They're never too old to be read to!!!!!

Christmas music in the fall.  Not too much, just enough to tide me over.  I didn't get to do Christmas in my own home last year because we were still living with my in-laws, so I'm really looking forward to Christmas at my house. 

Muffins from the library.

Urban Babies Quilt Top

When my niece was really small, one of her favorite books was Urban Babies Wear Black.  If they can wear it, they can sleep with it. 

All of those improv blocks I've done really helped me figure out how to piece this one.  I used graph paper to sketch the design, which makes it easier for me to mathmatically cut and piece the quilt.  I used two of the circles for the starting point of some improv blocks.  The other two were sewn together with a strip added for the size needed for piecing.  I also made a few rectangular blocks with the scraps.

It's hard to tell, but there is a big chunk of soft pink on the right side and the background is white with little black dots.  Very modern - just what those urban babies need.

I usually like to finish one project before I start another, but the quilting of this one will have to wait.  I've got a more pressing project to get going on.  It's gonna kill me to see this one waiting in the wings.

In Circles

These are my practice curves.  Megan recommended this tutorial and it is just what I needed.  I have an upcoming project that I want to use some circles in, so I needed to practice up.  My first one turned out very well.  The second was totally mutilated - probably because I needed to be humbled from my first success.  That and I didn't read the directions.  I made sure to consult the directions for three and four and ta da!  Second one not show for obvious reasons.   

But then I got to thinking, what am I going to do with these practice circles?  I mean after all they look great and shouldn't be thrown away!  I tiptoed back to my fabrics and pulled more reds and blacks.  I almost have enough to do a baby quilt!  Get your shoes on, Noah!  We're going to the fabric store!

Y'all have a good weekend and hopefully I'll have a quilt top to show you on Monday!

Just Ducky

It's a Red Letter Day at my house!  The postman just left this for me.  I can't tell you how much I love these fabrics.  The zig-zag is Chevron, but it goes very well with the colors of the Day.  All I need now is a nice yellow to go with.  That and to make up my mind about the design for the quilt.  Improv for sure, maybe some curves if I can get up the nerve!

p.s. Sew, Mama, Sew is having a sale!

 

If I'd a Known You Were Coming

This weekend was pretty laid back.  Lots of Mission (especially good season!), some sewing, some napping, lots of late night cake eating.  Tres Leches.  Actually I made it for Joel, who is NOT a cake eater.  Last weekend I brought Tres Leches cake for the girl's night out.  Joel and the boys happened to be at the restaurant when I stopped in to pick it up and ever since Joel's been hankering for Tres Leches.  He got on the internet, looked up a recipe, and asked if I would make it for him.  How could I refuse when he'd done all that work!  Not that I wanted to, of course.  I love a good piece of leche as well as anyone!

Really the cake was not all that hard: mix, cook, cool, poke, pour, refrige, dollop, eat.  It just takes a while to get through all the steps.  I didn't think it would turn out as well as the restaurant fair, but it surprised me.  Just as vanilla-y and flavorful, same texture, same yum!  It made the cut and was placed in my recipe book which is about ready to fall apart.  Anyone know where to get a good sturdy one with pockets? 

Speaking of recipes, I think it's about time to go through the recipe mags and purge.  Yes it's time for that quarterly purge at our house.  We've already started in the boys room and my closet.  It has led me to the discovery that my boys are growing up, in particular Landon.  This round he got rid of his collection of playmobile soldiers/knights/Romans/vikings/pirates.  They've been a part of our lives for so long that it's kind of hard to see them go.  But that's what purges are for, out with the old/unused yielding more space and an even more organized house.  Ah, I love this process!

***Totally unrelated, but did anyone notice the date yesterday?  September 13th.  Can it be a whole year since we met Ike?  Unbelievable!

Fall Color Crush

I'm really enjoying working with some fall colors.  Purple and sapphire blue are topping my list. 

I found this fabric in my mom's large cuts stash.  She bought this blue velveteen to make my sister and I some knickers for a wedding we were to be in when I was about six or seven.  The bride must have changed colors, because our wedding knickers ended up being made out of peach satin.  This fabric has been sitting around for about 27 years!  I guess it could be deemed "vintage".  Anyone really know how old something has to be in order for it to be vintage?  Just found the answer on Etsy.  20 years - yep it's vintage, but then that means that I am too!

Mom has pretty much given me carte blanche to any of her fabric or beads, so I took advantage of her generosity and snatched it up along with some nice charcoal gray which I used for the lining.  I just listed it in the shop along with some new Vintaj and pearl jewelry.

Ooo - gotta go check on my cake!  More about that on Monday.

Dying to Try

What started off as a butter colored linen skirt ended up as this funky gray green one!  I've been wanting to dye some fabric for a while and this skirt proved to be the perfect chance for my first attempt.  

I bought the fabric in the middle of summer when that color would have been perfect for this skirt (A-line, Sew What Skirts).  Unfortunately I didn't get around to making it until now - beginning of fall.  The thought of wearing that color in the fall just didn't seem right, so I bought some gray RIT dye and gave it a bath. 

If you're wanting to dye fabric but are a little afraid of it, don't be!  I followed the directions on the box (stovetop method) - piece of cake!  The color turned out evenly and even the off white zipper took on the color, which I didn't think it would.  I foresee more dying in my future.  I read about discharging and over-dying here first and have been seeing it around blogland.  I'm just waiting for Malka's book to come out to do more!  I love her stuff!

Woo Hoo!!!

OK, just politely tap me on the shoulder and tell me if I wear this bracelet too much!

Silpada Inspired

The ones I saw in the Silpada  catalog were sterling silver.  You know me with Vintaj!