Print and Pattern Feature

A most heartfelt thanks goes out to Bowie of Print & Pattern for this lovely feature. Her blog is one of my favorites and I'm truly honored to be a part of it. Thank you thank you thank you!

I'm feeling incredibly grateful today and hopeful for what's yet to come.

In other news, there was a big 'ole update in both shops today, so check 'em out!

Almost Done...

It seems that all of my projects right now are at the "almost done" stage. I seem to get to this point and stall. Working full time from home with two young kids on summer break is nothing short of crazy. But I've finally settled into this hectic summer schedule and I'm ok with not getting as much done as I'm used to.

I bought this adorable crewel kit from this seller months ago and I'm just now working on them. This was my first experience with crewel work and I LOVE it! It's just like regular embroidery but you get to use yarn (yum) and it goes so fast (yes!). This is the result of such a few naptimes. Embroidering something like this with floss would take me months! It's refreshing sometimes to have a quick, instant gratification project to lift your mood. I'm hoping to finish this little guy this weekend and move on to those beautiful flowers.

I'm also hoping to catch up on sewing and restock the shop. Not to mention trying to tackle the pile of mending that's up to my eyeballs and finish seaming a baby sweater I finished knitting. In June I managed to sew almost an entire summer wardrobe for the oldest girl and also managed to not take any photos of anything I made, haha! I did say it's been hectic, right?

Yarn!

A few weeks ago I quietly opened a new Etsy shop. I've been dying (pun intended, hehe) to open a shop selling hand painted yarns for ages and ages and I finally just took the leap. It's lovely to have another craft to quiet my mind when the days are hectic. And these are such a lovely way to play with color. I've just added these three lovely skeins of sock yarn to the shop.

Now in the Shop!

My very first full fabric collection is now in the shop, available only for a limited time and only in fat quarters for now. It's perfect for all manner of crafty and quilty projects. There are also a whole bunch of Folky Guitars and Long Dogs for sale. Check everything out here. More goodies coming soon...

Coming Soon!

Here's a teeny sneak peek at what's coming soooon to the shop. To say that I'm excited about this would be an absolute understatement! Right now I'm having trouble not jumping up and down with glee! I received my sample swatches from Spoonflower for my new fabric collection and they're PERFECT. I was expecting to have to do some color tweaking at the least but the colors are spot on. Sigh, it's so good. It's groovy and retro but folky and sweet.

There are four prints total, (1 large scale print, 1 floral, 1 stripe - long dogs! and 1 panel print) and two different color stories on quilting cotton. I'll have individual fat quarters and also fat quarter bundles for sale in the shop very soon. Yardage will be available upon special request. This collection is limited edition and won't be available forever. Anyone interested in pre-ordering can contact me for details. I really hope you all enjoy this fabric as much as I do!

P.S. Sorry for the crap photos, there's a little girl sleeping in the one room of our house that gets decent light. Better pics and bigger reveal coming!

Spring Desktop Background

I've been reworking a lot of old patterns in new color palettes and thought this one would make the perfect Spring desktop background. I've been really drawn to super saturated, eye-popping colors lately. Like, need your sunglasses to view, colors. A few months ago I was pretty sure that I would just walk away from my previous style and old work but going through old files I've realized that would be like walking away from your family or a relationship that you've spent years and years cultivating. There's lots of life left in my old work, lots of work that I never did anything with. I know I seem so indecisive these days but I know lots of creative people are like that. It's easy to get bored or feel like you just want to be somebody different. I'm at this super weird crossroads and I'm not sure what path to take, or what I really want to do with myself. But rather than waiting around for the epiphany, I'll just keep on keeping on and see where it takes me.

I hope everyone is well and is enjoying the blooms of Spring and that you enjoy this background!

(Click on the appropriate size below to download the background)

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Kids Clothes Week - Day 6, 7 and Beyond

After the great Blogger crash last week I'm a bit behind posting my sewing progress. Thankfully all my missing posts came back so I can keep moving forward without any hiccups! The end of the week and weekend were pure craziness so I got very little sewing done. Daddy had three band gigs so I was "in charge" all weekend and we all were under the weather. I did manage to eek out this Ice Cream Tunic from Oliver + S for the big girl. I did a pretty piss poor job of cutting the fabric so there's a lot of areas where stuff doesn't quit line up right. The kid thinks it's cute though so that's all that matters!

There is a lot of talk of sewing burnout after this amazing week but I have to say I feel quite the opposite. I feel invigorated and ready for more! It's so nice to finally have time to spend with my lovely Bernina. I picked up a few new Oliver + S patterns today so I can make a few more things for the big girl. Her summer wardrobe is pretty pitiful so far and there's not much room this year in the clothing budget. I've challenged myself to try to reduce my fabric stash by 1/2 before I buy any new fabric. Not only to reduce clutter around here but to save money. I've got so much beautiful fabric, it needs to be used! And my girls aren't getting any younger, at this rate they'll be in high school tomorrow and I'll still have all this fabric laying around that I'd intending to make them wee little dresses with.

Last week I also started a quilt for the aforementioned big girl's birthday which is coming up quickly. There's some precious bits of Heather Ross's Far Far Away II in there and so far I'm loving it. I was going to make the entire quilt these 4.5" blocks but now that I see it up on my temporary felt wall, I kind of like the way the white border is looking. So now I'm thinking I may add some chunky borders around this color square of patchwork.

AND I have a pile of plushies all cut out and ready for sewing. They'll be in the shop in the next few weeks. Exciting times!