Feast For One

I am all alone this week, as Paul is down in Texas for the College Art Association. Cue “All By Myself.” We went to the grocery store before he left (did I mention that I don’t really drive…yet…I hope) and I stocked up on some stuff I’ve missed eating. I finally gave in to the completely ridiculously priced frozen shrimp. We’re landlocked, people.Oh, and I had a glass of wine. It’s been a long time since that’s happened.

I turned the frozen shrimp into roasted lime sesame shrimp (thanks to a bottled marinade) then had some leftover v-day accoutrements. Holy crap, those oils and vinegars Paul bought are SO good. Completely fresh and delectable. I also seasoned some rice with one of the spice mixes for our dinner last night, heavenly! I really miss Indian food. And Asian food. And Mexican food. So let’s all cross our fingers that the next place we go will involve other cultures.  I keep meaning to make a return visit to New York, but it’s just too expensive.

I have been working on some crafty things, I promise. But some of them are gifts, one is a custom job, and lots of things are work-related. It’s feast or famine in this freelancey life, so right now I’m somewhere leaning towards feast. Since I can’t show you anything, let me share these darling dish towels I bought at the Winter Fest instead. They were so cute, and they were made by retired seniors, so how could I say no?  There were about six stacks of them at the display and I started looking through every one until I felt very self conscious and decided on these two lovelies.

Happy dishes.
I’m hoping to get a lot of work done this week, but today I just felt mopey and sad and missed Paul. Tomorrow will be better!

Scrappy Trash and Snow Boots

I made a little trash bag for my sewing scraps last weekend. Not just any old trash bag, but a little one that attaches to my sewing table/cutting area with velcro, for easy access and easy dumping. I saw something like it at my sewing class, and I had to have one!

 

It makes it slightly easier to actually contain all of the cuttings and scraplets that are too small to save. Trust me, they are still all over the floor. But there are LESS of them on the floor! It’s also super convenient for threads I cut while I’m sewing, which tend to stick all over me and trail pathways all over the house. Sometimes I feel like a cat lady, only my cat is made of fabric refuse.

Basically I just made a lined bag with a foldover casing and two tabs with velcro sewn on. I used some super cute fabric from ReproDepot (I got it last year, so it’s probably gone) and 1/4 inch surgical piping to keep the bag nice and open. After our trip to Home Depot, it occurred to me that they probably sell something similar  and non-surgical at the fabric store- but this worked, and the worker was psyched to help us repurpose something. I’ve already used it on another project, and now that I know how, will probably use it again for things that need lots of structure.

It is cold, cold, COLD outside today. A winter storm is blowing in and there is so much snow that you can hardly see. Again I say, “So this is what they were talking about.” At least I’ll have plenty of chances to wear my new snowboots . I love the plaid—I can let it show if I wear it with skirts, or be totally incognito with pants. Yay. I hardly every put my shopping purchases up here, but … heck, I just thought they were so cute!

Hop Hops and Sewing Bag Questions

Yesterday I recieved this beautiful pull toy in the mail from Stump Pond Toys (photo from his shop). I found his store on my daily blog cruise somehow and this was just SO cute. It’s not for my sister’s baby, or anyone else’s. It’s for me. I don’t know why, I just needed it! I love that the guy describes himself as 87 and still kicking! And I’m happy to report that I have begun to see the bunnies on my walk home from work again (I thought maybe they got eaten, but probably they were just cold). Yay for hop hops, which is what I like to call them when I’m being silly.

Now  I have a question for you. Does anyone have any links or brand suggestions for a good, affordable sewing machine carrying case? Ideally I’d like something that is kind of cute (yeah right) and has a shoulder strap, plus pockets for accessories. In reality, this seems unlikely from my web searching. Perhaps I will have to make one, but I’d rather buy one. So, if you know of any, please leave me a comment.

Have a wonderful weekend. It looks like we’re going to be snowed in. Or for me, sewed in. (Dang, I am bad with my puns!)

Link Roundup

Thanks to Modish for featuring me in her Handmade Spaces column. Check it out to see pics of my craft room/studio (in a clean state).

All of my hats and earrings are on sale at Etsy- check it out! There’s still a good bit of winter left.

And check out this 2-part post on needlefelting over at ReproDepot where I show you how to make some cute felted owls, then give you ideas on how to use them.  Also exciting: All marimekko fabrics and products are on sale through January 15th! I loooove the print below.

And finally, check out my crochet-slash-art roundup on the Adorn blog.

Have a great weekend.

Recent Splurges

You may have read here that I resolved to buy a new sewing machine by the end of February. I’ve been meaning to do it but I always get scared to commit. My mom offered to pay for most of it, so it wasn’t even a money issue.  Well, today I got off my duff and went over to the Bernina store. And now I own an Activa 220! Well, actually they had to order it for me, but in a week or two I will. I’m very excited. I pretty much knew that’s what I wanted (especially when I saw the price tag on the Patchwork Edition, yikes!) — I have sewn on my  mom’s and it has SO much more control than my Singer. Yippee. One resolution down. I’m also going to take their free guide classes and I get to be a member of the Bernina club (ooh, a club!) for a year, which means a free class every month where I can learn something new on my machine. With Bernina, you really are paying for service– and I think it’s so great that they offer the classes, because what good are all of the functions if I don’t know how to use them? Yay!

In other much less expensive splurginess, I wanted to show off some of the fabric I bought before and over the holidays. I almost NEVER buy fabric, because I feel like I already have some slated for projects that were not completed, I get it free for work projects, etc. But, since I have been so obsessed with patchwork lately, I thought a few small amounts in colors I needed to fill out my stash were in order. Doing the patchwork swap was really fun because I realized sometimes you really only need a scrap of something to make a layout work. 

 

Here are some 1/2 yards I found after looking long and hard at Joann’s. The woman cutting them kept commenting on how “different” they were.

 

Here are some FQs I purchased in San Antonio. I liked the way this quilt shop had their shelves set up– there was a mini shelf under each fabric bolt shelf with all available FQs of those fabrics. That makes a lot of sense to me.

 

And here are some amazing flannels, from a different quilt shop in San Antonio. I have never seen flannels like this and I had to hold myself back.

The cool thing about  new fabric is that sometimes it makes your old fabric look better. I was going to make a project with the flannels but I ended up using just a sliver of the yellow- everything else was from my stash.  (I’ll show it off next week). I’m trying to be  more conscious of what colors I have a lot of, and where I can build up a little. It makes for a more complex patchwork, plus it’s always good to have options.

A New Hat

LuluBeans asked if I had a chance to make anything from the lovely yarn I ordered before the holidays. I started with this gorgeous stuff:

 
And ended up with this:

 

A super simple K1, P1 ribbed hat. The yarn was so pretty that  I didn’t want to do anything complicated, and I knew I’d get more mileage with knitting than crochet.  The project made a perfect plane-ride companion. I may end up adding some type of brim since it’s a little short for Montana winters (I ran out of yarn. Plus, it’s embarrassing to put hats on your head with needles sticking out of them on planes. Not that I didn’t do it anyway– but I find this method less reliable  for determining fit with knitting than crochet).

I love the way handspun yarn looks and feels (especially this, because the vintage fabric spun in keeps it from itching my sensitive skin).  The only hard part about working with handspun is running out, understandably. I think in the future I’ll do a mix of handspun and basic yarn to make it last. I could see it being really pretty as an accent row.  

I’ve been going to bed thinking about all of the things I still need to post. I haven’t even unpacked my suitcase yet, or fully dealt with this:

 

These are just the fun packages- not the bills. Thanks so much to everyone who sent me a card, a little christmas something, and my ornament swappers. There were a couple standouts that I’ll share…just as soon as I get around to it. 

Exciting Announcement!

 

I lied, I’m back already, to give you some exciting news that’s been in the works for weeks. I’m now also posting on the ReproDepot blog to give you lots of fun fabric-related inspiration. I first met Djerba, the store’s owner, at Renegade Craft Fair a few summers ago, but I’ve loved her store for years. Can you believe it’s been open 8 years already?! It’s full of fun fabrics and lots, lots more- I hadn’t full realized till I did a lengthy browse, but she’s now stocking all sorts of patterns, kits, books and notions, too!

I put my first post up today– go check it out!

Shopping Renegade

I spent this weekend sweltering in the Adorn booth and checking out all of the cool vendors at Renegade Craft Fair. It was really fun to meet some new people (some of whom I’ve been reading for years, but never connected with a face!) and have people recognize me from Flickr. I’m going to do a roundup post on the Adorn Blog, but here I wanted to share some of my swag before it gets mixed into the mess that is currently my room!

There were a lot of new vendors this year, which was cool, and also a lot of familiar faces. I tend to buy from the familiar faces (I know what I like, what can I say?), so of course I had to snap up this apple tote from Kayte. I literally squealed when I saw it. I think I’m having a primary-colors crush lately.

I started the first day with a cute sap (right) from Heidi of My Paper Crane. I actually bought this as a gift, but I can assure you the recipient isn’t reading (he/she isn’t born yet). Continuing clockwise, I also got a pair of silo earrings (vendor unknown, but I had forgotten to wear earrings and instantly loved these), and a ton (or, two pounds) of fabric from Repro Depot, including the background fabric. I talked to Djerba, the owner, about business and crafting in general–she’s been doing Repro Depot for 8 years, and it’s the first fabric store I found online. While I think it’s important to support your local fabric shop, I have a lot of love for Repro Depot. I didn’t even know some of these gorgeous fabrics existed before I saw their site, and I love that they’ve started carrying some jerseys and corduroys. Because where do you buy apparel fabric outside of NYC? Big craft chains have some slim pickins, in my opinion, but that’s for another post. Last but not least is a lovely red clutch that replaced my Sew Darn Cute clutch that Susan gave me for my birthday. I overloaded it and broke the zipper yesterday, but I was in the perfect place to buy a new one. I got it from Papi’s Mami. I love the zipper and magnetic closure/flap combination. I will be nicer to this one. RIP Squirrely stripe bag.

And, what craft fair purchase would be complete without some booty shorts? Etsy booty shorts, that is! The heat is getting downright oppressive here, so these will be nice to hang out in at home.

Stay tuned for more on the Adorn blog, probably later this week. We’re closing the next issue tomorrow, which’ll make 8 days of work in a row. So, it may be quiet on all fronts for a bit! Later this week: some exciting news from me. I’ll leave you hanging.

Fred Flare’s Next Big Thing!!

Fred Flare has announced the winners of their Next Big Thing contest. It’s an annual event where they pick handmade stuff to feature in their shop, and it looks like they’ve picked even more winners this year. I have so many favorites! Squeal. Like this tree earring holder, from Timber Handmade. I know I should wait till I see all the stuff at Renegade, but I want to get it now.

And a supercute stamper necklace friend from one of my favorite crafters, Sarah Neuberger of The Small Object. I kind of dorked out when I met her at Renegade last year in that I-look-at-your-website-all-the-time-but-how-would-you-know-that way. Heh.

And then there are these awesome reusable grocery bags by Susan Bijl. I love that they’re stil lin the shape of a traditional disposable sack. Maybe if I used these instead of my large canvas totes, the clerks wouldn’t look at me like I was an alien and make me bag my own groceries (not that I really mind).

Yay! I had the pleasure of meeting Keith last year and getting a mini-tour of the office– it looks like so much fun. I don’t know how they do it, but I love everything they love. And I love that they’re so supportive of independent crafters. Hooray!

Fabric Shopping with Mom

As I might have mentioned, my mom is in town visiting for the week. It’s been a lot of fun, although I’m in the middle of many hectic things at the moment (my sister just left a few days ago, we’re closing the mag, Renegade is next week (come by and see me at the Adorn booth), plus freelance and personal projects galore, gah!) but we’ve been having fun.

First off, I finally gave in to the Katie Jump Rope collection at Purl. Side note: I’m feeling sheepish about going in there a little too often as the staff is actually starting to remember me.

My mom wanted to make me a throw quilt where I could choose the fabrics, and the pattern she had called for fat quarters. So, of course I already knew. I just went ahead and split the stack of 36 FQs with her and then convinced her to make me a quilt like the “Flock of Triangles” one in the Denyse Schmidt book. So yeah, there will be a lot of leftovers. The first photo is the quilt fabric- I chose the dots for the back and a bright turquoise for the binding, along with mostly red/orange/yellow fabrics and one blue.  And now I can play with the other ones! No more fabric buying for a while!

It’s been fun to have my mom in town, and talk to her about crafty stuff. We are both a little different in the way we craft, but it’s fun to pick out stuff for a quilt, especially since I know what goes into making your own. Here’s a gratuitous photo of me and mom, and the spicy egg sandwich I had for lunch today at the Sabarsky Cafe (before seeing the exhibit at the Neue Galerie).

Tomorrow we (+my brother) are going on a helicopter ride over Manhattan. You only live once, right? Which means I should get to sleep! Hope you all have a relaxing weekend.