artsy-crafty babe

quiet

There's no hustle and bustle for us this Thanksgiving week.  Matt and the kids are out of school.  We don't have much planned other than dinner at my in-laws on turkey day.  Black Friday?  No, thank-you.  That sort of craziness isn't my cup of tea...unless it is some sort of on-line deal that doesn't require me to leave my house.

 

This week I look forward to the quiet of low key evenings with my family.  We have a 1500 piece puzzle in progress and movie watching is in order.  The other day I picked up some cookie making supplies, so I'm sure there will be some cookie making in my near future as well.

 

Craft-wise, all I feel like doing is hand sewing and knitting.  My second alabama stitch skirt is sooo close to being done.  My goal is to wear it on Thanksgiving.  It's nice and stretchy, perfect for a feast.  My featherweight cardigan is also very close to completion...only a sleeve ribbing to go.  The collar on this thing is curling like crazy, so it's going to need some serious blocking.  I wanted this done in time for Christmas, so I can almost pat myself on the back for that one...as long as another project doesn't hop on my needles and keep me from finishing (the yarn was in my stash...couldn't resist!).   

So yes, I'm feeling quiet.  Quietly counting my blessings and quietly working on my projects while I soak up this time with my (not-so-quiet) family.  Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

lunch date

 

I had a lunch date today with my special boy.  We ate Thanksgiving dinner in the school cafeteria.

My boy is such a gentleman.  I told him that I wasn't sure what to do, so he got my plate for me and put the utensils in their proper spot.  Everything has a spot, you know.

When we sat down at the table he opened my utensils (they're in plastic wrap) and put my straw in my milk...chocolate milk.  At last year's dinner with Lily I ended up giving the boy next to us a milk shower while inserting my straw.  It's a good thing he helped me out.

After our meal, he gave me lots of hugs and a few kisses.  He didn't even care that his friends were looking.  I'm so smitten. Yep, he's my special boy!

about the weekend....

Sorry to talk about the weekend late on a Tuesday night, but I was a little distracted yesterday.  I stayed up way too late making that bag Sunday night and couldn't wait to tell you about it, I'm sure you understand.  Thanks for all the bag love!

 

On Saturday morning I decided that we should get out of the house and DO something.  After a week of being cooped up in a germy house, we needed to get out.  It had been a while since we got out to do something fun as a family, so it was time. 

 

At first we couldn't decide what to do, where to go, if we should go on Saturday or Sunday, but then we just did it.  No planning.  We got dressed, told the kids to wear comfortable shoes, and took off to the Audubon Zoo.  We've kept a family membership to the zoo since Lily was a baby, so going to the zoo is nothing new for us, but it had been a while.

On the ride there we talked about what animal we most want to see.  Alex wanted to see a giraffe and Ava was all about zebras.  She went on and on about how she wanted to ride and pet a zebra.  I loved hearing them chatter about what they were going to see once we got there.  I think this was the first time that she was old enough to really enjoy going to the zoo and remember it.  She hasn't stopped talking about it and keeps asking to go back.

I think Alex belonged in the monkey habitat.  That boy kept climbing on everything.  He would have climbed in with the animals if he could.

We checked out the new dinosaur exhibit that was set up where the birds usually are.  The place was all misty with robot dinosaurs that moved and roared.  Ava did not like this one bit. 

 

She FREAKED out, poor baby.  She kept her head buried in Matt's shoulder the whole time. 

He had to leave while I stayed with the other kids.  Leave it to Alex to try to climb the dinosaurs.  Yep, he tried it.

Before leaving we had to stop by Monkey Hill to let the kids burn off some energy before the ride home.  Alex had no problem with that.  Rolling down the hill wasn't fast enough, he preferred to RUN...straight into me at the bottom of the hill. 

It was such a fun day.  We're finally at that point as a family where we can pick up and do things like this with no constraints.  There were no diapers to deal with, no naps to work around, no strollers and special accessories to tote around, just us and a free day. 

We took our time and enjoyed the sights. We played in the fountains and climbed trees.

There was lunch at the zoo cafe, we rode the train and bought souvenirs.  By the end of the day all three kids [and parents] were pooped - they all zonked out on the ride home.

We definitely need to do things like this more often.  I love this little family of mine!

selfish sewing

 
 This wasn't the post I had planned for today.  We had a great weekend, which is what I was going to post about, but then last night I didn't feel like going though all my photos so I sewed something for myself instead.  You know how I get when I make myself a new bag...

LOVE!!  Ever since I made the first appliqued phoebe, I wanted one for myself, but larger.  I probably should learn to carry a smaller bag, but I'm a big bag girl, especially now that I carry around some knitting or hand sewing with me.  Not wanting to draft a large size phoebe, I put the idea off until something came to me.  It hit me yesterday that I could use the pleated pocket pattern that I'm currently working on, but instead of using the pleated pocket piece, I could use the pocket lining piece to make a plain pocket, perfect for adorning with my "leaves".

 

I was actually going for a random leaf pattern, but once I had them laid out I decided to make distinct stems.  This gave me a chance to draw with the thread, which was fun.  I've never done anything like that.  I had to do a bit of seam ripping here and there, but I think it turned out okay.

  
Unlike my other versions of this bag, I chose to make the exterior out of one fabric.  I think mixing up patterns would have been too much with the applique.  I love this woven fabric and used every single bit I had left of it.  This fabric has been in my stash forever, at least 13 years (sometimes being a pack-rat is a good thing).  I got it back when I worked at a fabric store.  The store had a settee slipcovered in this fabric and I got to take home the scraps.  I also bought some yardage and still have some floor pillows covered with it.  I'd call that a pretty good fabric, don't you think?  Because the exterior fabric was so sturdy, I did add a fun printed lining.

*you'll have the excuse the wonkiness of it - it's already full of my stuff!  Now that I've made this version, I'm motivated to finish up this pattern.

what I've been working on

I'm sure you guessed it, I was working on more appliqued phoebes.  I wanted to try something a little different this time.  The cooler temps and lower humidity we've been experiencing down here have influenced my fabric choices.  One bag is made from wool and the other is corduroy.  I'm all about cozy and warm, not that it is actually cool enough to wear those fabrics.  I guess if you can't wear them on your body, wearing them on a bag is the next best thing.

I really like the pops of color against such wintry fabrics.  To carry that theme further, I chose to line both bags with fun prints that mimicked the colors on the outside.

The red bag is very similar to the first, with the addition a few more flowers, but the wool one is quite different. 

This design happened by accident, but I like how it turned out.  I have a few more designs with the "leaves" that I'd like to try out, but I couldn't find the right base fabric to put them on.  I guess I'll have to wait on that one.  Both of these should be in my shop some time this weekend.

I also started on a new skirt, teal with black.  My first thought was to use black thread to do the stitching but after doing one, I didn't like it.  The black thread disappeared.  What's the point of all those stitches if you can't see them?  I switched to white, but it was too stark.  I'm sure I'm being too particular, but the light gray seem just right.  Don't expect this one to be done in a week, I plan to enjoy this one.  Stitching in my down time, my new favorite way to relax.

The sickness seems to be lifting from my household, thank goodness.  I'm ready to be back to normal, crazy schedule and all!  Have a great weekend!