Monday, August 24, 2009

Repeats

I was thinking the other day that it's time to take down the Sunday Brunch Jacket hanging in the shop, hoping to inspire others to sew something. I really love that little jacket and now I will fold it up and send it to Jessica. Thank goodness she sees no pressure in me making these little things. I haven't asked Uber about that...... Anyway, I just love these patterns and when our corduroy came in at the same time as the Marrakesh line, I couldn't resist the way they looked together. This is size 6-12 months. Maybe the next time Baby E comes in I can see if it fits her. She's growing fast though...

I made another of Heather Bailey's aprons. This time I decided to make it reversible. It works. It wasn't too difficult either.
More later.


Thursday, August 20, 2009

Guest Room Slippers and a Gigantic Cat

You may not know this but I have big feet. I believe knowing that fact will let you in on just how big this cat is. Evie is big, not fat. She is curious too. And a bit of a freak.
~
This is my third project from Weekend Sewing. Everything was destined to go wrong with this project but, I think they turned out nicely anyway. Yes, there is a seam on the toe. No, there is not supposed to be a seam there. But what if you don't have enough fabric for the fold... I also forgot the non slip bottom fabric package on the counter at work. I was tired. They are still cute, if a bit challenging to make. I decided to sew the bottoms on with the machine instead of the suggested hand sewing. Not so easy to make it around the toe. I needed a mini machine and smaller hands.
More later.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

New Apron

We just received patterns from Heather Bailey at the shop. I decided to try the apron. It's a simple pattern and I like the way it turned out. I love aprons, I don't like ruining my clothes at work, I really need to remember to put mine on before going out on the floor...
~
If you've sewn with a few patterns, you shouldn't find this too difficult. The bodice is probably the trickiest spot. I made this with black kona cotton. Just a bit of useless fun. This is a mini scrap quilt. The squares are only 3 inches. Well sort of. I started it last night because I just needed to sew something and was too tired to really try.
More later.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Dear Summer,

Please stay through August, I have a new top to share with you! Yes, it's the smocked dress from Weekend Sewing adapted for me. I used a bit of my stash of Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt. I was fun to make ( thanks for the tips Jennifer), it's comfortable and I really like it.

I finally finished binding this quilt. I started it only 5 months ago. After sewing on the binding on, it took 7 more hours to complete the hand sewing. I timed it. I used a free pattern from AMH and the fabric line, Metro Blue Goes Green.

I really liked sleeping under it last night.
~
More later.

Friday, August 7, 2009

A pretty perfect day

I woke up earlier than I'd wanted to. So when You Know Who came in from his run saying there are two hedge hogs out by the door, I was ready. By the time I got out there though, one was bumpity bumping off through the grass. I should have taken a movie. It was funny. The other one froze. At first it looked at me and then...... It attempted to roll into a ball. Either it wasn't very practiced or I wasn't very threatening. Hiding it's eyes under it's spiky brow was the best it could do. Yes, Jessica, I touched it. That photo was blurry. It's very hard to take a picture at dawn, laughing, outside in your pjs, knowing your German neighbors have seen, and feeling so sorry for this little creature that you can't resist touching.
After that I pretty much started the day with a vengance. The next item up is a wristlet key thingy that I've wanted to make for awhile. I don't have the "real" hardware that everyone else uses, so this is my version. I love it, I don't know why but it makes walking the dog more fun. This one is for a certain friend.... is it pink enough?

Six more installments towards my spider web quilt.

A quilt top finished and hopefully quilting will commence soon. This is for a seven year old who likes race cars. I'm glad he also said these colors are favorites, they all happen to be flag colors in racing. I hope he likes it.

And then I was thiiiiiis close to finishing another top. Oh the saddness of miscalculation. Oh the harsh trials of directional fabric. So Jess, here's a preview, if you don't like it, too late.

And for goodness sake, if you don't like animal fur or random strings of thread do not magnify this photo. Thank you.
I even managed house cleaning and an hours walk around town, in the heat, getting bad directions, searching for a totto lotto that had a package for me.
~
More later



Thursday, August 6, 2009

Relax and Recycle

Yes, I too am on the string quilt band wagon. What's not to love? I'm using any paper I would normally throw away for my foundation and small peices of fabric I can't bear to throw away. The only peices you must be precise with, for the spider web pattern, are the middle "kite" shapes. I love the randomness of the rest of the quilt. I only have about 94 more triangles to go for a decent sized quilt. Hmmmm, maybe it will be a baby sized quilt.
~
If you'd like to try one there is a great tutorial here.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Have you been to the Bodensee?

Whatever you choose to do there, where ever you choose to go, the Bodensee is one of the most gorgeous places on earth. Bordering Germany, Switzerland and Austria it is Central Europe's third largest lake. It's my way of not missing the ocean so much. A two hour drive from Stuttgart gets you to a micro climate wonderland. Fresh fish, fruit, vegies and most of all SUN. So in the era of "stay vacation" I'd recommend it to anyone living in Southern Germany.

Mainau has a butterfly house that I could live in.





Meersburg, touristy yes, beautiful yes.
Ferrying around the lake is fun. Forced relaxation. The sights are sometimes very interesting.

This lovely seagull, tormented us most of our way around the lake. My big boy faked him out several times pretending to throw food in the water. Mean.... Nah. Funny, yes.

More later.