I was so excited when the built-in shelving was complete in my sewing studio! I couldn't wait to see all my colorful fabrics and supplies. Now after working in it for over a year, I'm having my doubts about the exposed storage of my fabrics. The room only has one window which faces the north, so it doesn't get direct sunlight. I'm still concerned about my fabrics fading and accumulating dust. I have put a list of pros and cons together and let me know what you think. Pros: While I'm working at my table, I turn around and there is all my fabric! I can see what I have and what colors I'm running low of at a glance. It's so very handy to have it within an arms reach away. I love how it adds bright and cheery color to my studio. I really believe that it saves me time. I don't have to clutter my work surface with piles of fabric. Cons (only one): I worry about fading and dust accumulation. Lots of pros, but one important and big con. What is your opinion? I already have canvas drawers in my closet that would fit my fabrics (file style) so I can see everything without having to remove all of them to get to one fabric. I'm so torn over this decision! Images in the photo above can be found in "The Sewing Studio" graphic and clipart set available at Etsy.
I know I haven't been blogging much but it's not a bad thing. I've just been busy! But it's been a good busy. More on that another time. I thought tonight would be a good opportunity to share this beautiful sunset I just captured. The sunset is pretty but probably not as interesting as what I had to do to get to it. We saw it while we were coming home from dinner. Brian pulled into the driveway and I jumped out of the truck and ran to the backyard so I could go to the filed behind my house. Well, it had been a while since I've been back there. The path I had a while back was completely grown over with these big, huge berry bushes. But I ducked and pushed things out of the way, and just in the nick of time!
I don't know what it is about the change of weather, but every time the weather starts turning cooler, I seem to slip into my odd little comfort zone. I start thinking about the past. It starts with thoughts about my kids and when they were little and how a part of me misses that so much. They are both grown and on their own, and they too will begin to create fun memories with their own families. As I look through the photo albums I always seem to drift beyond those mommy and me days, and end up at the Sis and me days. The photo above is my sister and I when we were little. Where has the time gone? When I was a little girl, we had DIME stores, not dollar stores. We also had real dreamsicles that were soft and creamy, not vanilla ice cream surrounded by a hard and fake tasting orange shell. A Hershey Bar cost a nickle, and we had penny candy. Rob and Laura Petrie slept in separate beds, and every girl my age wanted to be like Marsha Brady. That said, you didn't think I could write a post like this without sharing a favorite Brady Bunch Moment did you? OK...back to 2013 and time to create new fun and special memories. Which reminds me, I have to download pictures and video I took yesterday and my great niece's second birthday party. No black and white photos in that camera!
Do you have little trinkets or items that you can never part with because every time you see them, they remind you of something or someone so very special? That's what the wine bottle opener represents for me. Whenever I use it I'm reminded of a very fun and special day spent in San Francisco with my daughter and her fiance the day before we all made the long but beautiful drive to their wedding ceremony at Yosemite National Park. We were shopping for a bottle of wine to take to our room. Since we flew out there, we didn't have an opener. We stopped at my favorite place in San Francisco, Boudin Bread, and purchased one along with our wine. Since we brought carry-on luggage, I didn't think we'd be able to take the corkscrew on the plane home, so Elyse and Mike brought it home to us. They were on a three week road trip during their stop to get married along the way. That was one fantastic weekend! Every time I open a bottle of wine, I see little glimpses of that trip in my mind.
By the way, I also bought the apron you see in the lower photo! Wine graphic in the image can be found in the "A Little Vino" clipart kit that is available at Etsy.
There are two things that signify to me that Summer is over. First being that kids go back to school, immediately followed by the Labor Day weekend. This time has arrived. It has been quite a Summer, in fact, one of the most eventful I've had! It started with a the trip to Delaware for my daughter's college graduation. It was my first time to the East Coast and we crammed so much fun into those five days! While there we also went to Lancaster for one day, and did some wine tasting on the way home. Another day we went to Atlantic City. That was a blast! There were events as well! We had college graduations and my niece's wedding. Last weekend we gave Heidi and Brian their baby shower. For those who don't know, they will be giving me my first grandchild in October! Fall is looking quite good as well. And then there were the visits! My Dad and my bonus Mom were here for two months. It was so nice to see them and spend more time than usual with them. Brian and I are planning on visiting them in Florida this winter. The next visitor was my daughter and her husband. They were moving from Delaware to Texas and stayed at our house while they were waiting for their new apartment to be ready. Always nice to have the kids home! There were other fun and exciting moments but above are the highlights. As I write my Summer wrap-up, I'm looking forward to some fun things that will be happening this Fall! I know there will be that grand daughter coming in October, but there will be another exciting announcement I'll be making as well.
So, how was your Summer? Images in the scrap page above are from my "Summer Lovin" clipat set that can be found at my Etsy Shop.
It can not get any easier than this! A co-worker told me about this recipe a couple days ago and since I have family here from out of town, I thought it would be a good time to make it. YUM! Too easy, took about 5 minutes, and so delicious!
Note: You only add the crushed pineapple to the cake mix. No eggs, water, or anything else the box tells you to add. Images are from my Christmas Kitchen clipart set which can be found at Etsy!
For the past year I've been making it a point to experiment in my sewing studio. I've been trying new types of projects, using new supplies, and new tools. I've also been trying new techniques using the supplies and tools I already have. It's been quite a learning experience too. Lately I decided to try my hand at free motion machine quilting. Why oh why did I not do this sooner? It really didn't take much practice and I have discovered that there is no rhyme or reason. You can't really make a mistake when you are making a bunch of squigglies! When combining free motion quilting with my decorative machine stitching, I was able to do the quilting on this Halloween table runner in less than 30 minutes! If I had hand quilted like I normally do, it would have taken me several hours which would have been spread out over a few nights. No more hand quilting for me! The Halloween table runner, which can also be a wall hanging (with my additional instructions included in the pattern) was my first "real" project I quilted using this method. I just listed this pattern, along with other fun Halloween projects at my Etsy Shop and Craftsy Shop.
One thing about my job at the Animal Clinic/Wildlife Rehab center is that you never know what you are going to see from day to day. Today was one of those cute moments. During our surgery time they had to take an x-ray of an extremely wild and aggressive (very large) dog. In the meantime there was this cute black and white dog waiting for his anesthesia. Since the shepherd was not being very nice, the techs thought it was a good idea to take this cutie-pie to a safe area. Instead of putting him back in a cage, they brought him up to us. While we were working on surgery charts, Tonto decided he wanted to make himself comfy on one of our chairs, but there was no chair available. No to worry, there was an easy solution. He just jumped up onto the chair behind Lisa (dark haired receptionist who is now sitting in a different chair) and continued to nudge her until she moved. He is now comfy and happy!
It's time for another favorite! This time I'm introducing you to rosin paper. This is the handiest of stuff to have around and it's soooo cheap! We buy a 36" x 140' roll for around $12 at the home stores. The first time I ever used it was when Brian and I were building a desk and we wanted the top to be curved instead of your typical rectangle. We used this for the pattern. We used it after that to cover a floor when we were remodeling and painting. Since then, I've discovered how nice it is to have in the craft and sewing studio. I keep a roll of it behind my door so it's always handy. It's good for the obvious such as covering my craft table while painting. It's also great for designing patterns. Right now I'm making some Christmas stockings and aprons, and it's great for making the paper patterns. If you've never seen what I'm talking about, you can find lots of images HERE.
I need a 12 step program for designing mug rugs and mini quilts. Seriously, I can't stop making them! In the photo above is just a sampling of them. There are more, but I gave them away to family and friends. There are also about a dozen that are fused to the background fabric and just waiting for some stitching. These are so quick and easy to make, and experimenting with colors and embellishments is a blast! Right now I have the mug rug patterns (PDF format) priced at $2.50 at my Craftsy shop.
