artsy-crafty babe

early fall

Can you believe that I've been carrying the same bag all summer long - the one I made myself for my birthday?  That was over 3 months ago.  I do believe this may be a record for me. 

After a little time digging through my fabric stash, I came up with this.  I think it'll do for now...definitely early fall worthy.  I thought for sure that it would be large enough for all my stuff, but after transferring my purse contents, I'm not so sure.  I'm going to test drive it for a few days then make my tweaks.  Who knows, it may be in the shop by the end of the week.

I'm still holding out for making a fall bag out of my hexagons, but that may take a while. Now that my hexagons are made, I still need to sew those suckers together...um, perhaps a fall 2011 bag may be more realistic!

 

whoops!

I didn't mean to disappear, but this whole back-to-school, supper, homework, baths, decent bedtime routine is kicking my butt!  You see, that's when I usually get my blog time in, but after all that I've been too pooped to do anything other than bathe myself, try to pick up my increasingly messy house, then get to bed at a decent hour myself.  Dang!

There are a number of posts I've started, like the one about Ava's latest antics (it involves hair - AGAIN), my new toy, playing with dye, and my increasing excitement about this, but getting them from my brain to my fingertips has been a problem (oh, and when there is time Matt has been hogging my laptop because he isn't getting along with his new mac book).  I'm sure you understand, don't you?  As soon as our school routine feels comfortable again, I'll be back - I promise! 

Craft Hope Book giveaway winner

Sorry to keep y'all in suspense....the winner is comment #71, Angie.  Congrats, Angie!! 
 
Thanks to you all for playing along!

hexed

Dang it!  I do NOT need another craft project…but after playing with my scraps last week, I succumbed to the hexagon.  They’re easy, fun, and totally addictive.  Arggggg!!!

Lately, portable crafts that I can work on in small bursts (and tuck in my bag) are just about all I can manage.  Having a couple of hours to sit at my sewing machine seems like such an unattainable luxury!  I often look back and wonder how in the world I used to be able to do that.  I suppose this falls under slow summer stitching, though it is definitely reflective of the upcoming season.

When I started making these hexies, I thought they would turn into a pillow.  But now I’m thinking they just might be the perfect accent on a new fall bag.  Hmmm…the wheels continue to turn!

***these are long hexagons (2 sides longer than the other 4), inspired by this

***Craft Hope book winner coming soon!!

Craft Hope...month of hope & book giveaway

You all know about Craft Hope, don't you?  Well, Lark Crafts declared August a Month of Hope in celebration of the release of the new Craft Hope book by Jade Sims.  If you haven't seen it, it's an awesome, beautiful book.  The book is filled with craft projects which have been paired with charities.  Crafting for a cause - perfect!

I am extremely honored to have a project included in the book.  Seeing your name and design in print never gets old, but it feels even better when it is associated with such a wonderful cause.

All month, the Lark Crafts blog is highlighting the designers behind the projects and the charities featured in the book.  I was included in the week 3 spotlight, if you're interested (if you read my blog I'm sure it isn't anything you didn't already know, but still check it out because the others are awesome).  You'll probably recognize many of the people who have projects in the book, it's a great group, I tell ya!

If you'd like a copy of the book, I have one to give away.  All you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  I'll keep comments open through the weekend then draw a name some time on Monday.  Good luck!!

feeling inspired

After getting  the wheels turning with my thread play the other day, I decided to give it another try by escaping to my sewing room after the kids went to bed.  Ah, early bedtimes - one of the things I LOVE about the school year. 

I am fortunate enough to have a creative space of my own, but I don't get to spend nearly enough time there. Mostly, it's simply a matter of my not thinking about it....out of sight, out of mind.

Once I'm in my space, it doesn't take me long to start pulling fabrics, putting this and that together.  Last night I decided to focus on scraps.  I started with one thing in mind (pinks), but quickly changed course.

I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with this, but I have a lovely stack of fabrics and some books pulled for inspiration.  Definitely patchwork, definitely browns & blues, but the rest is still evolving.  More time spent in my sewing room is definitely a must!

still looking...

I've made it my mission to find some pretty in every day.  I thought today was a bust, due mostly to the fact that it is Monday and the usual hustle and bustle dwindled the hours away.

But then I went up to my partially cleaned sewing studio to put up some supplies that I discovered today.  Do you ever do that?  Buy something that you think you need that very instant, and then you lose them only to find them weeks later?

That's exactly what I did.  At the time I was hot and heavy into slow summer stitching, and came across that thread on sale, which I NEEDED.  Yeah, I needed it so much that I lost the bag in the car. 

Anyway, instead of throwing in a drawer, I decided to take it all out of the package and play with it.

I must have had fall on my mind with all those yummy jewel tones.

Now that we have a few days of school under our belt, I'm allowing myself to think about the months ahead...my favorite time of year.  Come on fall, you can't get here soon enough!

finding the pretty

My ten on ten post got me thinking about the whole loss of my photo mojo.  Truthfully, I've lost my mojo in a lot of areas.  I shouldn't be surprised because it happens every summer.  As soon as all the end of school year/string of birthdays/dance recitals/soccer & t-ball games end, my thoughts turn blasé.  This happens to coincide with the sweltering heat that fries everything to a crisp.   Is there any surprise that I slip into a little lull?

I feel in the minority with this, but summer is not my favorite time of year.  I blame the miserable hot weather.

I realized that during this time, I stop looking for the pretty.  Last night I almost let another day of my 365 slip by, but I picked up my camera (the good one) and looked for the pretty.  My options were limited at that time of night, but as I scanned the room, I saw the jar of zinnias on my window sill that I picked from my garden.  Yes, pretty.

This afternoon I challenged myself to find some more pretty.  I'm sick to death of my house, so outside I went (smothering heat and all).  I naturally gravitated to flowers, but all that is blooming are the survivors...the lone flowers that managed to bloom when everything else gave up months ago.

A clematis? 

A bunch of vinca growing between the bricks of my patio?

It just occurred to me that these loners are doing exactly what I strive to do, but don't always achieve...bloom where they are planted.

Of course this little thing is pretty.  She always puts a smile on my face...even if I discover while putting on my make-up in the morning that she decided to play in my make-up bag the day before, using my favorite eyeshadow brush as a lip gloss applicator. 

Once I started looking for it, I even found pretty in my dinner prep.  Do  you line my pink knife?  Yes, it does make slicing & dicing more fun.

I am quite certain that with an attitude adjustment and some positive thinking, this little lull will quickly pass...and some cooler temperatures won't hurt either (but I can give up on that one)!

market bag

 
The pattern is ready to go!  It is listed in my etsy shop and on my patterns page.  I hope y'all like it :)

ten on ten - August

It's ten on ten time.  You know the drill, 10 photos over 10 consecutive hours on the 10th of the month. I thought it would be fun to do a 'day at work' version, so threw my little point and shoot in my purse, and off I went. Okay, so that didn't work so well. My 10 photos actually took place over about 14 hours. I quickly realized that photos in my office are pretty boring, and I didn't have the time to take them because I was, um, working. So here it goes...

 

 

I'm done.  It was a long, boring, busy day. 

***This post almost didn't happen because after looking at these photos last night, I was bored to death with them, and a little disappointed (and embarrassed) at how bad so many of them are.  I'm pretty sure my trusty little camera that used to take pretty good pictures has been dropped one too many times.  But truthfully, I'm lost my photo mojo.  My 365 has gaping holes in it and I've pretty much dropped out of 52 weeks of BAM.  Days and days go by when I don't even touch my camera, and when I do, I dislike everything I see through the lens.  It's just a phase...it'll pass....(fingers crossed!).