artsy-crafty babe

i'm a doilie convert!

Oh dear, where to begin?  I honestly don't know where to start.  

Should I talk about spending a weekend with two friends I met through this whole blogging gig, then meeting another (and her sweet, yummy baby)? 

Should I talk about how sweet Tif is in person? 

Should I talk about all the wonderful people I met this past weekend? 

The projects I made? 

The delicious food prepated by Angela?  The charming Miss Mary, who we all wanted to take home with us? (she even climbs trees ;-))

How never in a million years did I think I would craft with a doilie and enjoy it? Then wear that creation out in public? (yes I did)

The experience of if all? Sharing, listening, creating, crocheting?

Nope, I don't think I can...I'll let my photos speak for themself. 

You can check out the photo pool here, and read Tif's account here.

P.S. halfway through the trip my hives finally went away :)

as ready as i'll ever be

By the time most of you read this, I'll be off on my Dottie Angel weekend in Seattle.  Right now, I should be asleep in bed, but I had to get one last post in before I leave.  I must admit, I've been rather preoccupied with this trip all week.  I'm not an easy traveler, in fact, I'm downright sick over it.  Seattle is a long way from home!

Oh, I know that I'll have a blast once I'm there, especially considering that I'll be hanging out with some friends, it's the leaving my family and getting there all by myself that is causing me grief.  Yes, I know I'm a big weenie.

Anyway, I think I'm prepared - I have a stack of vintage linens, a dyed slip or 3 (all we need is 1), and a great big bag of lace, trim, buttons & whatnot.

One of our homework assignments was to make a name-tag.  I took inspiration from some embroidered pieces I had in my stash.  Eh, let's just say that embroidery isn't my strong suit.  As you can see, I'm not finished, but I'll tend to that on the 4 hour leg of my flight.

Okay, I really must get to bed, as I'll be up in a few short hours to catch my 6 am flight.  See y'all next week!!

grannying along

I hate to admit it, but when it comes to anything craft related, I get sucked in every time.  Addictive personality?  Maybe Probably. 

My addiction du jour is granny squares.  It started innocently enough.  I was reacquainting myself with crochet in preparation for the Dottie Angel weekend.  Crochet is on the agenda, you know.  I think we are to be working on squares to make a blanket, but plain old squares won't do for me, no.  I like to make things more complicated. 

 

Have I mentioned that I've never been able to crochet a square or make straight rows?  I always end up with trapezoids.  For some reason, I have issues keeping up with stitch counts in crochet.

Anyway, I decided to make a granny square because I've always wanted to make some of those.  All it took was a few youtube videos, then low and behold, I turned into a granny square making machine!  Gosh, so darned addictive!  I'm making small grannies, just 3 rounds.  I started with only a few colors, but on Saturday I had to make a run for more, and I may add more colors yet.  I think a gray or two added to the mix would be nice, no? (and the blues may have to go)

Boy oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?

done...for now

I think I'm done with this bag - this style.  Time to move on.  (this is why i could never do quantity sewing!!) The shape is good enough and I really, really like the fabric combo on this one.

It's not too different from the last one, in fact, I don't remember exactly what I changed...oh yeah, I attached the strap closer together.

I added a bit of hand stitching on this one, something I wanted to do since the first one, but was too lazy to execute.  I like it.  I like how it is subtle.  After the first few stitches I thought maybe I should have gone with a stronger color, but I think the subtlety is best.

One of my favorite parts (besides the hand stitching) is the pieced pockets.  That is the result of a happy accident - I was running low on fabric.  As much as I wouldn't mind keeping this bag, it will be in the shop soon, along with all of its' cousins.

Speaking of bags for myself, I recently purchased a new bag, which is something I haven't done in a long time.  Um, I must live under a rock.  All I wanted was a simple leather bag, but all I found was gaudy bling-bling.  I'm no fashion maven by any means, but eww!  Now I know why I make my own...perhaps I need to explore some leather suppliers...

dyed

I had a little fun this weekend playing with dye. 

Nothing fancy, just plain old rit dye + some new & vintage lace and doilies.

I'm not sure exactly what I plan to do with these, but I think I'll need them in a week or so in Seattle.

There will be slips & aprons to adorn, as well as a name badge to make beforehand, ugh!

No matter, I'm quite enjoying myself.  This is addictive, for sure!!

dresses

Before I went off on a bag making tangent, I was working on some dresses for me.  Aggghh!  Why is sewing clothing for oneself so frustrating?  Too many curves, I suppose.  Because I don’t sew clothing for myself regularly, I have to re-teach myself certain techniques every time.  Use it or lose it, it’s true.

The first dress I attempted was a tunic dress New Look 6803, which was a flop.  Once I finish the arm holes and hem it, I’ll wear it around the house, but that’s about it.  I should have done a full bust adjustment, but I jumped in without it.  Yes, I should have known better.  It fits in the bust, but looks like a sack on me.  I took it in a little on the sides, but it has pockets, so I was limited with what I could do without taking it apart (and I’m too lazy for that!).  I’m leaving it for now, and may return to it later, but like most things I make for myself, it was a learning experience.

Next I turned to Simplicity 2798  Unfortunately, it is out of print.  I chose this one because it is one of those patterns with built in cup sizes, which always makes things easier.  After my last sack-like dress, I chose to alter the bottom of the dress by flaring the skirt panels for more fullness to give me some shape.  Before fine tuning it, I liked where it was going, but that neckline had to go.

Using the first dress as inspiration, I scooped out the neckline (which meant I could fit it over my head) and added a placket.  I could have let the seams out along the fullest part of my bust a little (there's some pulling), but I already clipped the curves – lesson learned: try on before clipping curves!!  My princess seams are a little wonky, but this was a test run before using “good” fabric.  Next time I’ll try to do better. 

I added a self tie belt to give myself a little more waist definition without having to take in the seams too much.  I like it and probably will wear this one out the house.  I think I may have been channeling my inner Mad Men while making this….cocktail anyone?

*pretend like you don't see the dirt on the mirror and the laundry basket in the background, okay?

letting go

It's starting already, the "I don't want to go to school" complaints.  Only a month in, geeze!  To stop their whining calm their protests, I try to give them something positive to think about to make it through the day (though I'm sure the moment they leave the house they're perfectly fine!).

This morning we decided that it would be fun to make cupcakes this afternoon when the kids and I got home...but Lily would have to be in charge.  She's 9, I think it's time for her to get more comfortable around the kitchen.

Everything went well, but my goodness, how hard it was to stand back and not take the reins!  The batter, the mixer, the icing, the chocolate smudged mouths - my kitchen was a disaster afterwards, but so very worth it.  I know the kids enjoyed every second of it.  It was evident in their happy moods when Matt walked through the door.  Me, I was a little frazzled, but that's nothing new.  Yeah, I think this was a good exercise for all of us!

tweaking away

With a little free time before my departure to NOLA on Saturday morning, I was able to sew up that bag I cut out earlier in the week, you know, the variation on my fall bag.  As much as that bag was beginning to grow on me, I wanted to bring something roomy enough for my camera, and that didn't cut it.

Gosh, I wanted to love this bag, but I ended up disappointed.  I adore the fabrics, but once it was all sewn up, it was just plain boring to me.  The top totally ruined it for me.  All is not lost - I plan to lop off the top to do something different with it.  Shoot, I even put in a zippered pocket in it - I'm not giving up on it!

After a lovely day with my friends, and a much needed day of rest the following day, I was back at it with more tweaks.  This time I went shorter, a little wider, and added an interesting top.  Bingo!  I love this!

Those fabulous fabrics don't hurt, either.  An order of new fabrics arrived while I was away on Saturday, so I was inspired to give it another shot.  I'll admit that I still want to make some minor tweaks, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with it.

friday love

Oh sweet Friday, how I love thee! In honor of my favorite day of the week, I thought I’d share some things that I currently love on this fine Friday before a long 3 day weekend:

1.  tunics
I’ll admit that I’m a little obsessed.  I’ve been on the hunt for the perfect tunic pattern for years, but have yet to find one that accommodates my boobs and gives me some waist definition.  My recent sewing binge has ignited the obsession again.  I’m pretty pleased with the combo I’m wearing today that includes a too large tunic that took in at the sides & added side vents (I have no idea what I'm looking at...probably my awful, worn out, in need of replacement counter tops). 

2. my little green machine
I’ve been doing all my recent sewing on my little Hello Kitty Sew Pretty machine.  I’ve been so surprised at how well this little machine works!  I had to play with the tension a bit and I wish that it had a thread cutter on it, but other than that, it’s great.  It’s so easy to pull out and sew with.  The plan is to teach Lily to sew on this, and then she can have it...maybe.

  
3. the new Sweet & Low ad campaign
Seriously, could it be any cuter?  Have y’all seen this?  I was flipping through a magazine last week when I saw the owl ad (wish I had an image of that) – my first thought was CUTE!  And then I started thinking about appliqué.  After a little googling, I found I came across this article in the NY Times (go ahead, open it - more images).  Confession: the pink stuff is my favorite sweetener to put in iced tea.

4. good mail
oh. my. word.  when I pulled up at my house yesterday there were two boxes sitting at my back door.  I didn’t remember ordering anything, so I was a bit perplexed…and then I saw the return address.  A sweet blog reader, Erin, asked me a few months ago if I wanted some vintage sheets she was getting rid of – um, YEAH!  My goodness, look what she sent!! Wow, thanks Erin!!  I’m blown away at your generosity!!

And then, in my mailbox was another sweet little package of the vintage linen variety – Chris sent me two pillowcases she thought I’d like.  You see, that one on top is a favorite of mine.  I have one in that print that is currently in use on the girls’ bed.  A few weeks ago I found a twin set in the same print.  I told Chris about it (she understands these things) because I was so excited to now have that print to cut up and use…and now I have even more.  Thanks Chris!!

 5.  I'm not sure if this counts because it hasn't happened yet, but I am loving my day tomorrow!  A friend and I are driving down to New Orleans to hang out for the day with two other friends of ours. No kids, no plans.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!

Happy weekend, friends - enjoy :)

randomness

Ah, I feel like my wheels are spinning, but I’m getting nowhere.  Because I can’t seem to form a proper post, I figured I’d just do a big dump of some of the things swirling through my mind right now.

A while back I mentioned that we’re painting the concrete floors in the kids’ rooms.  Alex’s (green floor!) came out great, but it was so much work that we’ve been procrastinating over doing the girls.  I’m finally starting to put his room back together and I’m thinking about making him a rug room out of this fabric I picked up for my patio furniture this spring, following this tutorial.  He’s all for it, along with a chalkboard wall.  I think before it's all said and done this armoirewill make its' way in there too.

This past weekend I changed out my dining room chandelier again.  I really loved the circles, but that paper blocked out too much light.  At one point I experimented with using vellum, which allowed more light, but was kind of boring.  I decided to merge the two by printing a light damask design on the circles – just what I was going for!  Now I need to come up with a solution to seal the tiny opening in the jump rings because the vellum slips right through them.  I find myself picking circles off the floor several times a day.  Not cool.

I’ve been sewing quite a bit (well, quite a bit for my life right now).  After the supper dishes have been put away and the kids get in the tub, I start on my projects (while ignoring the laundry).  I’ve made my fall bag, most of a dress, and I have another bag cut out and dress pattern cut out – I’d like to finish all these projects by the end of the week (ha!).

The tweaks on my fall bag were pretty much immediate.  I was going to get it sewn on Tuesday night, but decided to dive into a dress instead.  I had the urge and couldn’t resist!  Unfortunately I didn’t have any fabric in my stash that would do, so I settled.  I got it sewn enough to try it on and adjust the fit, then I went to bed.  It’s a very summery dress, which I’m not feeling (despite the 90+ temps outside), so I put it aside.

What I am feeling are jewel tones.  Rich colors like sapphire, peacock, cranberry with maybe some chartreuse thrown in.  I think I need a few dresses in these tones as transition dresses – things I can wear now in these colors, but are sleeveless or short sleeved that I can layer with cardigans & tights in cooler months.  Sounds like a plan, no?

Okay, I can take a deep breath now - we're over the hump...the weekend is almost here!