fabric store run

I made a run to M&L Fabrics today and came away with a big bag of fun fabrics (and a little lighter in the wallet).

These are going to be Christmas presents for all the cousins and friends' children--they don't know about the blog, so I can get away with showing the fabric here.

These are going to be pajamas for me. My first attempt with knits. Wish me luck.

For a cute apron. I'm feeling very hip, having seen these fabrics on one of the fabric fashionista blogs I like. Well, hip and then not so much, since I'm sure they were using them a few years ago.

Another apron. It doesn't seem like I should need so many aprons, but I'm a really messy cook.

The beginnings of another Christmas quilt. It's good to see these all together--I can really see the colors I want to add to the mix.

Now I just have to finish the costume sewing for the high school ... and the house painting ... and the Hawaii quilt ...

the best kind of thank you

I was just skimming through Facebook and saw a post from my friend Tana, who is setting off on the "Vino Train" to celebrate her friend's 50th birthday. In the background of the photo of the ladies in their feather boas enjoying their wine, I can see the Happy Birthday bunting I gave Tana for her birthday last summer! What better thank you could I get than seeing that she wanted to share her gift with someone else! 

postcards from hawaii

So we went on this awesome vacation to Hawaii this summer. We spent several days in Honolulu and took a 7-day cruise around the islands on the Pride of America. We did the whole thing with our dear friends Gregg, Steve, William and Thomas--hopefully the first of many future trips together.

I was alerted by my sewing friend Tana before we left that Hawaii is a fabric shopper's paradise--she was not kidding! I went to fabric stores in several different places and piled up 27 different Hawaiian fabrics! What a great souvenir--they packed well and I knew I'd be able to make lots of keepsakes when I got home. Bill got the first one--the Hawaiian-style shirt I blogged about earlier.

When we were visiting Kauai, I went into a quilt shop and indulged myself with a nice little pile of fat quarters. Hanging in the window I saw my inspiration--a quilt called Postcards From Hawaii! I googled it when I got home and made up a pattern.

I had enough different fabrics that I only had to repeat each fabric three times. I even splurged on the fancy Kona cotton for the sashing that the original quilt had. (A 40%-off Joann's coupon helped to ease the pain.)

It went together really quickly and easily and I'm thrilled about how it's turning out so far.

Cincy got interested while I was taking the photos.

Now I'm starting to thinking about what to do on the back and binding and how to quilt it. I wish I could just work on this and not do anything else!

well...

I had a big pile of costumes I promised to make for the dance department and today a lovely group of sewing volunteers came and picked all of them up. Since I didn't have any dance costumes left to make I decided to make another yoga tunic with some fabric from my Nana's stash.

I was excited about using this 70's vintage floral--I thought the light weight would be good for class and I like the retro look of it. (Unfortunately, being actually vintage 70's fabric, I think it's at best a cotton-poly blend.) The solid periwinkle is also from Nana--I used it before in Frances's Flying Geese duvet cover.

The pattern is Butterick 4684, which I used for my flowered yoga tunic. I wanted to try inverting the facing around the neck so it would be a contrast. I had to make up a facing for the back of the neck, but I think it worked out ok. (Nice wrinkles. I fished it out of the laundry to take these photos.)

So with the whole thing done... Well... I'm not crazy about it and I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's too wide in the shoulders. Maybe the contrast facing is a little too big--it might be better if it were shaped around the slashed neck. I added some top-stitching and I think that helps a little, but I think it just turned out a little TOO authentically vintage looking. I can totally see my mom wearing this in some faded Polaroid circa 1974.

I just have to remind myself that I have exactly $0 invested in this project and it did provide a perfectly acceptable top to wear to class, not to mention an enjoyable afternoon of sewing. We'll call that a win.

vintage cutie

I was out walking with the dog this morning and I happened on a yard sale along my route. I decided to take a look and found this cute little vintage syrup pitcher. I love the red bakelite on the lid and handle and the pretty design etched in the glass.

Here it is with the other one I bought at an antique store a few years ago. Let's just say that I got a MUCH better deal today. But if you average the prices... Well, they are really cute anyway and they make a great pair.

Oh, and my apologies to the other yard sale patrons for my hyper dog and sweaty, mid-walk self. We really were probably not that fit for polite company.

we interrupt this crafty blog...

This is not a cute craft or sewing project. This is my *very* ugly water heater. But trust me--it looks a lot better than it did yesterday when it was full of cold water.

But now it's sporting this pretty copper tubing, the new thermocouple that I installed my very own self yesterday. Many thanks to the lovely young woman from the gas company who diagnosed the problem (and complimented my cute house on her way through).

This is the old thermocouple, which, thanks to the internet, I figured out to yank firmly out of the burner assembly, even though the thought of messing with gas and fire gives me the willies. I am already thinking of how much fabric I can buy with the money I did not pay a plumber to fix the water heater.

On another random note:

This is the first cup of hot tea I've been able to enjoy since about June! It has finally cooled off here. Hooray!

christmas stocking for charlotte

Why am I looking at Christmas books in October? Well, any crafter knows that there's very little time for Christmas crafting once you get anywhere near the Christmas season itself. Let's face it, anything left undone when you hit December does not have a great chance of making the holiday. At the very least, trying to get a lot of homemade holiday stuff done after Thanksgiving is not likely to fill you with cheer.

So this year I started early. I actually got a couple of things done in February but I'll post some pictures of them later. In the last couple of weeks I started thinking about stockings.

Fifteen years ago I used the Babar book as inspiration for this Christmas stocking for Frances.

I cut all the pieces out of felt and glued them down with some ribbons to accent the presents in Babar's sack.

I embroidered the stars in the night sky with silver threads.

About five years ago I made another stocking for our friend Shelley's daughter Sophie featuring Maisy the Mouse. This is where I would show you what the Maisy stocking looked like, but it never occurred to me to take a picture of it. I'm hoping Shelley will send me one this year when she opens up her Christmas stuff.

This year I made another stocking for Shelley's second daughter Charlotte. I adapted it from an Olivia illustration I found online. 

The cookie sheet with gingerbread men was in the original but I added the tree and the presents for some added interest.

The stockings are nice and big to accommodate plenty of loot, and I lined the front side so when Santa stuffs the stocking, nothing will catch on any embellishments.

I hope it will be part of many Merry Christmases for little Charlotte!

It's still too hot to finish painting the outside of the house, so I've started on the next project! More to come!