crafty holiday weekends....

....are the best! Especially when you've got two lovely assistants. Here they are, "guarding" the sewing room (or more likely hoping someone will come round the corner with cheese!).

First on my to do list: blocks for Rebekah's round of the Common Threads Quilting Bee. Her fabrics were terrific to work with! We each made 15 inch blocks that are going to be put together with grey sashing... so cool! I've been thinking about my month - which isn't until April - and I'm starting to get excited. By then, the mister and I will have a new queen-sized bed (hopefully!) that will need a lovely covering...

And finally, a wild crafting hair moment: I decided to make something Christmas-y for our table - just a simple quilted placemat. Ye olde Christmas ficus just seemed a bit lonley this year.

a little series (so far)

Today, I'm so very thankful for dog parks... and tired brindle doggies. A little peaceful crafty time is so nice! I think I've got two more in me: birdies, I think, with some (score!) Ikea fabric leftovers! These guys are bound for 7 x 7 stretchers and then...

Happy turkey (or tofurkey or veggie lasagna) day, everyone!

trees and more trees

Last weekend was my family's official yearly girls-only camping trip (with margarita machine, of course). It's unseasonably warm for November (or at least it was last weekend) so we got to take in some lovely scenery. These images are from Craggy Pinnacle, just one of the many awesome spots along the parkway. Every time I hike past this tree, I wish I spoke entish.

And perhaps it was the hardy trees of the upper elevations that inspired this little mini. The little hand stitches are my favorite part. I can't wait to see these last few little minis on stretchers... I just received the stretchers so I'm thinking I'll finish a whole batch over the holiday weekend. And then maybe a store update?

many minis!

You think I'd know better and give my Singer a nice and easy settling in, but no! I've been wanting to try pebble quilting for a while, and I must say, the results are a nice compliment to my wonky...er...messy quilting style. This one is made with the same hand-printed stripe fabric and is bound for the stretchers. I do love the minis!

And speaking of minis, the vet just told us our little Violet is probably a bit older than we first thought, maybe 8 or 9 months. Which means she may not be getting much bigger after all. She's about 25 pounds now, and she may not top 35... We like the sound of that even better: an itty bitty pitty! She looks a bit business-like in this photo, though I think she was actually trying to figure out if my straight pins were edible!

Love song for Singer 6105

Oh, happy day. My sewing machine is back in action! And working better than ever. I continue to be surprised by how attached I am to this machine. The thought of learning a new machine positively horrifies me. And, I guess, it's also related to the fact that this was my mom's machine (until I "borrowed" it 10 years ago), so I've always imagined I'd make my children's clothing on it... Or at least puppy costumes. Speaking of puppies, things are finally starting to settle down at the homestead. Violet is doing well (see puppy montage - my favorite kind - below!), and Baby is starting to enjoy her new little buddy, despite that constant gnawing feeling in her ears, lips, legs, face, bum....

With the ensuing calm, I've had a little time to create. Gosh, the place didn't feel like home until I got to be creative here. The first experiment was printing my own fabric with cardboard cutouts: based on an idea I saw in a magazine, I cut out strips of cardboard, glued them in a stripey pattern on another piece of cardboard, put paint on the strips, and pressed them onto the fabric. Easy, fun, and that imperfect look I've learned to love.

Then I used the printed fabric as a background for these little red corals. I don't know why sea life - kelp, coral, greenies - keep popping up. I live in the mountains; I suppose I should be making pine trees and mountains instead, but... I do like this little mini and it's the first of a little series I have in mind.... we'll see where it leads.