tethered threads - month 1

Things were getting down to the wire. I had knocked out the first of my two blocks pretty quickly. I had a flash of inspiration for the first block - a crown for the little girl's Hebrew name. And by luck, I happened to find a paper piece pattern for a crown. I guess in this picture the crown itself is hard to see. Darn. Anyways, I was quite proud of my paper piecing and started dragging my heals about the second block.

I wanted to do something with 'sea' for the little girl's second Hebrew name. I tried to come up with a paper pieced design of my own, but gave up. Too hard!

Instead, I went with a block-y background and some appliqued owls. Aren't those owls just the cutest? I had trouble with the stitching around then owls when I lowered my feed dogs. So instead I just kept them up and directed the fabric through with my hands. It worked pretty well what way.

So, late in the night of the 29th and into the morning of the 30th I knocked out the last block. And into the mail they went. Hopefully, they should be at their destination by the time this posts. I hope you like them Jenny!

more quilting goodness

My new obsession with quilting really has come about through the blogging world. There are some amazing quilter-bloggers out there. So inspirational and so many it seems I'm always finding a new blog to oggle.

The Block Party blog is just one of many I've enjoyed checking regularly. It's so fun to see what these ladies have been creating for each other. And now... we can all get in on the fun. They've made the blog into a quilt along - can't wait for the first tutorial to go up. And I'm really excited about the possibility of more quilting bees. I'm loving the one I'm in right now. Everyone has made just beautiful blocks.

But... must get back to the Block Party... they're kicking off the quilt along with a give-away of some pretty fun fabrics. Free fabric?! Who wouldn't want to win?! So, go check them out and join the fun when the quilt along starts. I know I can't wait!

The dress - beta version

I got a crazy bee in my bonnet when I started looking for a wedding dress. My "prefect" dress just doesn't seem to be out there. And gosh, have you seen some of the crazy stuff they call wedding dresses? Puffiness, gaudiness, and major tackiness. So I sent off an email to my cousin Em asking if I was crazy to think about sewing my own dress. Her email back was encouraging, so I'm diving in.

I thought I'd draft a pattern from a dress I have as a starting point. But I was getting worried about how I was going to figure out the darts. As a break from drafting the pattern I did a little ebay search just to see what was out there in the way of patterns.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this pattern. {tiny picture, I know} It was exactly the dress I was trying to draft my pattern off of. Really? I couldn't believe it. My dress I had bought years ago in a little boutique in Arcata from a local seamstress. I was so surprised to see the pattern looking back at me from ebay. And the kicker... the auction was ending in 15min. I put in my bid and sat nervously watching the screen for the next 13 minutes. I'd never bid on anything on ebay before. Let me tell ya', it's nerve racking! The price jumped and I had to scramble to put in a higher max bid. I sat biting my lip hoping that my bid would be high enough to win. And it was! Heart attack adverted.

Yesterday I got a couple old sheets from Goodwill and today I set to work sewing version beta. First off, I had a brain fart and sewed 3/8" seams instead of 5/8" - a big difference that makes this dress much more sack-like. Next version I'll try to give it a bit more of a scoop neck and narrow the straps as well. And the back needs fixing too. {p.s. the picture is horrible} My sharpie is my friend on this one. Lots of marking and labeling. I am foreseeing many more beta versions to come.

In other sewing news, I finished up this little present this weekend. Mom, don't follow the link there!

Now, off I go to scrub my "new" cast iron skillets. A steal at the flea market, just got to get the rust off and season them up!

little things that make me happy

:: new, yummy green shoes

:: pretty new recipe cards

:: crisp weather so I can wear my "fancy" brown coat

:: tummy full of herbed dumplings and chicken soup

:: first set of block party quilt blocks finished {mostly on time} and in the mail

:: plans to sew lots this weekend

:: it's the weekend!

:: pretty packages arriving in the mail with exciting goodies

:: did I mention it's the weekend?!

Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

I may not have the best skills in sketching, but when I found out about this design contest at Shabby Apple Dresses ideas started collecting in my head. Not that I need any more stuff collecting in my head as wedding planning and such have totally taken over.

So, in an attempt to stop thinking about this {and move on to more important things like AH! I better start my first mock-up of my wedding dress} I drew this little sketch. My dress design for Shabby Apple dresses. Here's what I'm thinking... light blue linen - nice and breezy for spring. But it'll need to be lined with something, maybe slippery smooth rayon. It'll most definitely need some pockets in the side seams at the hips. Then to jazzy it up I'd go with a few rows of raw, edged ruffles around the bottom of different thicknesses and unevenly spaced - I'm thinking 3 rows. The top, scoop neck will also be edged with the ruffle like the bottom, but only about 1" thick and just around the front of the dress. Zipper up the back for easy getting into. And this little number will have cap sleeves with pin tuck ruffles at the opening. I'm thinking, all ruffles in orange.

My inspiration totally is coming from my fiance's ocean-scape photography. Especially at sunset, the cliffs of the Northern California coast light up orange with warm light. The water is a multitude of blues as the light gets longer. At the shallow spots it is the pale blue that I'm thinking of for this dress. Deeper the water turns rich teal and then indigo. Hopefully this dress will capture the peacefulness and serenity of this natural beauty.

And since this little spring dress needs a name... Davenport.

Mend-o

I seem to have disappeared from this little blog of mine. I was just thinking earlier today, "Gosh it's been a long time since I've posted anything." And it really has. Too bad in all that time I haven't really made any progress in my quilt. Yep, none at all. Instead, the days of fall have just slipped by pretty quietly.

I've done a little sewing, but will have to finish that up and send it out before I post it on here.

The high light of the last couple weeks was our trip to Mendocino. We headed up there for Lukas's birthday hoping to catch some of the clouds from the storm earlier that week. We got up early on Saturday morning to catch the sunrise. Totally expecting to be fogged in we went over to the Point Cabrillo light house. Light house in fog = cool (we hoped). As we walked out to the light house the sky behind us light up bright orange-y, pink-y, red. There were a few stars peeking through and not really any fog. Instead, we got to witness an amazing sunrise. It was quite stunning. It was especially nice when the warm sunlight fell across the light house. It only lasted a few minutes, but was beautiful.

That morning was the best clouds/light of the trip but we had fun the whole time. I got a fun new pair of shoes (pictures to come), we did a little shopping in Fort Brag and Mendocino, some tree climbing, cards playing, yummy pizza eating. We had a great time hanging out with each other.

In other news... I'm almost famous! I was surprised when I went to the Presser Foot blog today and saw my face smiling back at me. I'd forgotten I'd submitted this idea to them a bit ago. How fun is that? Totally made my day.

Cowlicks - pumpkin ice cream!!

blowing in the wind

Exciting, breaking news {well, maybe not that exciting} I have finished my 12 quilt blocks. Surprisingly these came together pretty quickly. I really love this fabric line. Just makes me smile every time I see it.

It was quite a challenge to get these pictures today. I had to wait for the weekend to be home at any time when there's light. Gosh, winter is totally creeping in already with the limited hours of light. And then today, has been windy as all get out. {you can see that in the picture below}

Next step? Calculate the yardage I'll need for the sashing. Then, design the backing. I'd like to add a couple smaller pieced blocks for the back.

Happy weekend!

and I'm going to start

After a long weekend with family camping {pictures to come}, capped off by Yom Kippur it was hard to go into work today. Especially on 6 hours of sleep broken into two hour stretches - staying up late, seeing my little sis off to the airport to go back to Israel, then seeing my parents off on their drive home. It was a full weekend. Now I'm home with an overly quiet home and it's only 8pm. I was seriously debating heading to bed super early, but with a little blog inspiration I've decided to pull out my machine and start piecing the squares I'd cut out last week. I'm really starting on this quilt!! Yay!

{In other news, I'm participating in my first "block party". With 11 other women we'll be making quilt blocks for each other over the next year. I'm month 9! Ooooo, can't wait. It'll be fun to sew for others and have them sew for me.}

{ps. sorry for the lack of photos!}

little bits of daily life

Fall is really here. I really felt it went I walked home yesterday. The air just felt different and the sun was much lower. Granted, I was almost an hour late due to a collision on the tracks before my evening commute. But still, the sun just feels different! Even this morning I can tell the angle has changed - moved more toward fall.

And now, a post in list form because that's what you're getting...

- A couple weeks ago I sewed up a circle skirt from a "vintage" bed sheet. I'd had it cut out for over a year in the hopes that it would become the bottom of a dress. I was following a tutorial and everything. But, when I saw how much time had gone by I just did a quick seem up the side, inserted a zipper, a couple darts for fit and called it a day. And, I got to use my rolled hem foot for my new sewing machine! I love it. I can't stop looking at the professional looking hem every time I wear the skirt. {hopefully, picture to come soon. Been meaning to blog this but the lack of picture was holding me up.}

- I've got my pieces cut for the quilt I've been thinking up and planning. Can't wait to see how this comes together. A bit nervous about the thought of machine quilting, but I know I'll just jump right in when I get to that point. Some day soon, hopefully, there will be pictures of completed blocks to share.

- Fall means the Jewish new year - Rosh Hashana. It means apples and honey. Signing songs and prayers to melodies used once a year. I got really nostalgic sitting in services. In my mind I could clearly picture being squashed in one seat with my friend Rosy. I got choked up when the choir sang the song that always makes my mom cry. I met the nicest woman and sat with her at both services. And even though I had just met her we connected and it made the services so much better and more meaningful. I think she felt it too.

- Tomorrow my family comes down. I get to see my little sister who is living in Israel! So excited. Family camping trip this weekend in the beautiful Big Sur coast. And then the fam will be here through Yom Kippur and my sister will head back to Israel.

And that's the list... you've gotten it!

little brown house

When I saw these little houses I started falling in love. Aren't they just darling? Now looking back on them I wish I'd chosen some more colorful fabrics for mine. Oh, well this wont be my last.

I was excited when I saw that See Katie Sew had made up a little free pattern for a house. I just had to try it.

This was my first time ever doing any paper piecing and... I loved it. It was a bit tricky at first to think of the direction I should put my fabric {only messed up once}. And getting the size of the pieces large enough for the parts around the roof that are at an angle.

Now I've got to think what I want to do with this little square. Hmmmm, maybe make some more little houses and make a quilt? Quilted pot holder? Any ideas?