High on Kaffe!

As I've been sorting and cataloging my Kaffe Fassett fabrics I had a desire to make a quick quilt, so I used a tumbler kit (fabric was all pre-cut...including cropped corners for easy matching to piece) I had from the Quilt Shop in Danbury CT . Their merchandising is so much fun and very tempting (obviously!) http://www.thequiltshoponline.com/products.html

I just LOVE Kaffe's fabrics...I cut 2" strips from every one I have while I was cataloging. I will make many items from these in the future.

Work from Jane's Class

Last month Nancy and I went to Pro Chem in Mass. for a class with Jane Dunnewold...and once again had a fabulous time and made alot of wonderful fabric.


The piece above is done on silk broadcloth. We were learning about resists using countless tools. I love this piece...and wonder if I will ever be able to cut into it.....may have to use it whole :)

These are three silk scarves....the resists were wax and blue school glue.

We worked on big tables and I put down a piece of cotton as a dropcloth and ended up surface designing a dozen pieces like this. They are some of my favorite work from the week.

Then I got an idea to layer a piece of silk organza over a piece of cotton as a dropcloth. As I went about doing my resists, the dyes would go through the organza and make a duplicate image on the cotton....it's quite cool and I'm very happy with the results.

Items for the auction

These are the items I made and donated for the chinese auction at our beach this Summer. We are making improvements to the playground and shed area of the beach, so we had a fair on Labor Day and raised some funds to help. There were over 100 baskets or items that could be won...it was a big success.


These hotpads are made from a pattern in Quilting Arts magazine...so easy and I love using these colors.

The bag above is a Lazy Girl pattern....it was a big hit.

This "market" bag is a beautiful way to carry home the groceries....I'll stick to my Wegman's bags for that use!

This journal cover is strip-pieced with some of my favorite fabrics...love this green. I also donated a large tote bag....don't know why I don't have a picture...it was the most popular....I could have sold 10 of them.

Summer Recap

This summer flew right by...but we had a blast. I got the new cottage in good shape and then the family came for our big party in late July. Just about everyone was there...we are about 48 strong at full count. The family cottage had about 3o+ sleeping over and we had 8 in ours. The rest didn't spend the night. The weather could have been better....but we had a great time...we always do.




Logan got his first taste of Lake Erie....but it wasn't great swim weather, so sitting on the shore was about all.

The cottage is wonderful....I had a new floor put in to replace the old rugs. I put some quilts up on the walls and it was home.

And, of course, a swing for the front porch.

When I had any time this summer I tried to sew some small items...made a couple quilts from scraps, and made a few items for an auction at the beach fundraiser. I'll post those later.

We also spent a few days in St John, USVI at the wedding of the son of dear friends. WOW! We had a fabulous time....included was snorkeling, the wedding on a gorgeous beach, incredible food, a catamaran ride to Jost Van Dyke (BVI) to swim and visit Foxy's restaurant and The Soggy Dollar Bar. Great time with great friends!

Where does the time go!

It's not that I haven't been busy....just didn't think to post anything I guess. Since March I have been to Logan's 1st birthday party in Orlando (how fast did that go!), opened up our new cottage and did a major cleaning and re-furbish (new vinyl floors).

We will be going to a wedding in the Virgin Islands (St. John) and I decided I needed a beach (travel) bag. I've never seen tropical waters like this, so I made the bag in the colors I imagine it to be. It's actually more aqua in person. The wedding is very casual and on the beach...yea!

The fabric for the outside of the bag is scraps from Doshi (silk/linen) and it is sewn to canvas for body. The strip with the circles around the top is from Malka Dubrawski . http://stitchindye.blogspot.com/

Sewing Dresses!

When I saw this DKNY pattern in the Vogue pattern catalog I had the immediate reaction of wanting to make it. It's not something I could wear, but I have a lot of young girls in my life so I know someone will love it and wear it. I love a dress with pockets, and the pleats in this are fascinating....so I was driven to sew it!


So off I went to Jo-Ann's to get the pattern, fully intent on using fabric I had at home. But Jo-Ann's now has some really cute fabric and I couldn't resist this print. I knew the pleats would mean an interesting pattern in the way the fabric design fell. When I got to the zipper I realized I had never sewn an invisible zipper on my Bernina 1230...ever! And the plastic foot does not go on the machine. So I researched and wouldn't you know it....I had to order a bernina foot for it. I'm ok with that but wasn't happy about waiting for it to be delivered. Oh well.....I'll finish it next week.

And I have a couple other fabrics that I want to use for the same dress....charmeuse for one!...I'll just vary the sizes. All the Vogue patterns that day were $3.99.....(this one is retail $27.50...ouch)...so I got a few others too.



My tiny dress form comes in handy sometimes....the dress is a size 6!

Logan!

I'm visiting with Logan this week....what could be better?! He's 9 months old now.

This shirt was an attempt at the Zen shirt by Sewing Workshop. But as I was progressing I decided I didn't like the collar so I left it off. It has a placket covering the buttonholes (which I haven't put in yet ). It's made with my hand-dyed linen/rayon fabric.






The green jacket is also made with the same linen/rayon hand dyed fabric. It is Sewing Workshop's Onde jacket....a great pattern. I need to put the buttons on this one too.



I'm off to Florida on Tuesday for a week of playtime with my grandson...and it's 80 degrees there (about 25 here)....A bonus!

I'm Addicted to These!

The plumbers are switching my furnace (very old) from oil to gas today...so I busied myself with more handwork. I love doing all the different types of kits from Artgirlz....they are so funky, and fun! They even include the faces and hands...they have quite a fabulous business...check it out! The tiny tree is a pin. http://www.artgirlz.com/

I like the taller, regular shaped tree better...but this one made me laugh.

Nostalgia....

When I was a little girl, I loved to sew beads and sequins onto felt ornaments for the Christmas tree. I still have a few of them today and they evoke memories every year when I decorate the tree.

So when I saw the ARTGIRLZ at Houston a couple years ago, I was so excited and filled with nostalgia to see the cute kits they had for a tree, pins, felted beads, etc.



So last night I pulled out (finally!) one of the kits and made this Christmas tree. I LOVED making this, and will do more of the kits I bought. I see a bunch of tree ornaments in my future too. Such comforting handwork.

http://www.artgirlz.com/



Marcia

"Reds" Shirt/Jacket

I finally sewed some buttons (thanks Priscilla!) on this shirt/jacket I had made a couple months ago. The fabric is rayon/linen that I dyed over the rack with shades of red, amethyst, golden yellow and fuchsia.

This pattern (which I don't see anymore on the Sewing Workshop website) was a breeze to sew up...I had to add some length...I like things a bit longer.

Where did the month go?

Since my last post, tax season went into full speed....so between being back to work full time, getting ready for Christmas and finishing renovation jobs, it's no wonder I haven't posted anything. The best part of the season was having our little Logan and his Daddy and Mommy here for the holidays. We had a wonderful visit with them....Grampa Terry was TOTALLY smitten with Logan, and wanted to teach him many things from his childhood....we nipped that in the bud real fast !!! :)

The bib says it all!

The day after they left for home, Terry and I went to Texas for his sales meeting. This is a view from our room....beautiful place. The weather on arrival day was 80 degrees....next day was in the 30's and icy. Oh well...it was nice in the beautiful mall they brought us to.

The last night we went to a mini-rodeo and dance hall. We had a blast...we square-danced and two-stepped (badly)....Terry had no problem asking the dancing girls for help in getting the steps right! He even semi-mastered the electric slide....I love that he tries everything.

So....I couldn't wait to get some sewing done...this is a smaller change-purse.

You can see the size compared to the others I have done. Today I will clean my sewing room to get ready for some serious garment and bag sewing.