Happy July!

I'm loving this color combination lately. It feels so summery and vintage and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Click on the appropriate size for your computer below to download.

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Office Space

Sorry for the lack of blogging in the last few weeks, my motivation has been seriously taxed. I'm still fighting a nasty virus that's now turned into laryngitis, blech. But enough complaining...

I was thinking today as I surveyed the disaster that is my office that it's really time to consider redecorating. It was the first room that we decorated when we moved into two years ago and while I do still love it it has some issues. I spend my entire day in this room working for my full-time job and many of my evenings sewing and crafting for the Etsy shop so it has to do a lot and be inspiring to me. As you can see from the terrible photo it's super super dark. (And yes, there's a plate on the floor) I took that photo mid-afternoon when the sunlight should have been pouring in but alas, it feels like a cave. It's on the upper floor of our house and I do love the room. It feels like being up in a tree house with all of the trees surrounding our home. I love the combination of the black storage pieces, the gray walls and orange accents but I think all of the black soaks up any light that the room does get and makes it seem darker and smaller. The monster Ikea storage unit is great for holding a gazillion things but what you can't tell from the photo is that it's smack dab in the middle of the room cutting the room in half. Because of the low angled ceilings it was the only place that it would fit. On the opposite side is my sewing area and another window. Another issue I have with the storage unit is that while I adore the idea of all of my fabric and yarn sorted by color and neatly folded to admire whenever I choose, in practice it just doesn't work. You can't really see because of the darkness but it's a mess, there's fabric falling out everywhere. I think I'd really like to find something that has doors or drawers to store the fabric so it's hidden. This would also help because this room serves as a playroom during the day too, meaning that the baby who's so much more mobile is now getting into everything.

So, I know all the black has to go and I need to find some low covered storage in lighter colors. Either something from Ikea like this, or something from a thrift store that I paint. I think I'll keep the orange accents but paint the gray walls white. Maybe I'll paper one wall in some vintage paper. I would love to build something like this to put in the center of the room as a sewing / cutting table. Another issue is the built in desk. It's so adorable and I love that it's recessed in the window well. The problem is, I think it was made for a child. The opening is too short to put my legs under when I have my chair at the proper height for my arms. Also the drawers don't work very well and so are not very usable. I would really really hate to get rid of it but I'm thinking that it might have to happen. I could probably find a new desk to fit in the space. But I don't know, what do you think? Sorry for the rambling post but sometimes it's nice to just get my idea out there, it helps to get your thoughts too and focuses me a bit. I'd love any ideas you guys have on creating nice crafty spaces. I also started a Flickr gallery here for inspiration.

New Prints

Hi all! Hope everyone is having a great week so far. I can't believe it's Wednesday already. I've been sick with a summer cold so the last few days are a blur of tissues and cold medicine. Today is much better and I'm hoping to be able to catch up and be productive the last part of the week. I did manage to get some new prints listed in the shop yesterday though! I'm using a new kind of archival art paper for the prints and oh my, is it lovely. The colors just jump out at you and the weight is just beautiful. There are two new prints in two different colors each. Many of you will recognize that cheeky little bird from one of my free desktop background. Hope you enjoy them! In the Shop here. Also, don't forget there's still free shipping on every purchase until the end of June!

Pretty Little Sleep Shorts

I've been promising my big girl a set of pj shorts for ages and since it's her birthday tomorrow I decided it was high time to make good on that promise. I used some of my favorite vintage linens and whipped up four pairs last night. I also bought some sweet little white camis for her to wear with them. I didn't use a pattern, just kind of winged them based on another pair of pj shorts she has. These babies are so light and soft (not to mention adorable) that methinks I'm going to have to make up some big girl ones for myself!

DIY Necktie Card

I don't know about you but Father's Day completely snuck up on me. I had a moment of panic when I realized that its this weekend already! So I hastily came up with this lightening fast card using things I had around my office. It's a great way to use bits of scrap fabric. So, if you still need a card for a special dad I hope you'll enjoy making this one! (P.S. Sorry about the dark photos - it's been so dark and rainy here the last week)

Materials:

Card template - free download here

Card stock

Exacto knife

Cuting matt

Glue stick

Piece of fabric cut to 5 inches x 3.5 inches

1. Download the card template and print out onto your card stock. Play with different colors of card stock if you'd like to contrast with your fabric. Cut out the card following the cutting lines or simple print out onto a 5x7 piece of card stock.

2. Using the Exacto knife cut out the window following the dotted line. Cut slightly on the outside of the line so that you won't see any of the line after you've finished.

3. Fold the card in half, then open it up and apply glue to the inside front.

4. Place your fabric face down onto the inside front and smooth with your hands. If necessary trim any fabric that's visible from the front. Let dry and you're done!

The Shirt

For the last five-ish years or so my husband has only worn western, rockabilly style dress shirts. On casual days he wears black tees and rolled up jeans. He's a simple guy. Unfortunately these shirts are pretty hard to find and they're usually pretty expensive. Sometimes $80 and up for the nice embroidered ones. This may not seem like a lot but we're pretty cheap around here, haha! So, for about five years I've been saying that I needed to learn how to make these. Up until now I haven't felt like my sewing skills were up to snuff but I thought that this would make an excellent 30th birthday present and boy was I right. He was giddy about this shirt and promptly "ordered" a dozen more just like it, haha! It made the work so very worth it. He wore it to work this morning and I was able to snap these few pics before he ran out the door. It's a bit wrinkly from being in the gift box but he was happy and didn't care.

I was terrified that it wouldn't fit or be super wonky when he put it on but, hallelujah, it fits perfectly! And to be honest, it fits nicer than his store bought ones. I know I'm biased but gosh, he looks so handsome in it! Of course it has "issues" being handmade. The slash pockets aren't exactly the same and don't line up exactly and the hem wants to roll but he was totally cool with all of its flaws and said those things made it better. (He's so sweet) I don't even want to think about the hours that went into this but it was a HUGE learning experience and I'm totally confident that the next one will go together in about a quarter of the time. Most of the time suckage was just that I had no idea how these shirts were constructed and since there are no modern patterns that are exactly like this I had to make some of it up as I went. I used McCalls 4530 as the main pattern and did a lot of research and comparing to his other shirts to make a bunch of little changes. The biggest of the changes was adding the slash pockets. There are ZERO instructions for how to make these so I used a tutorial for making a welted pocket and just kind of muddled my way through. I'm over the moon happy with how they turned out and now have a pretty good method for making them. The hand sewn arrow tacks ended up larger than I wanted just to cover up some mistakes but I like the way they look. I have to say though that my favorite part (other than putting the last few stitches in) was the embroidery. It was super fun and I've got big plans for future shirts! He's the upright bass player in a rockabilly band so I'm thinking he needs some "show" shirts, this is going to be fun!

Oh, and I made this shirt for under $20 pattern and all! Woot! I'll try to get some more detailed pictures in the next few days to share. Happy 30th to my very best friend and the most amazing husband a girl could ask for!

New Quilts and Catching Up

Wow, I didn't mean to completely disappear for an entire week! I was so busy getting ready for the market last weekend and this week has been a game of "catch up". My husbands birthday is tomorrow and I'm frantically trying to finish sewing his present. After tomorrow I should be back to the regularly scheduled chaos but in the meantime I've added a few new quilts to le shop. Hope everyone is having a great week!!