Helllllloooooo out there

Well, that was fun. Closed down the shop for three weeks. Oops. didn't think I'd be gone that long, and if the sun hadn't come out today, I might have delayed it a bit longer. I think I'm working like the groundhog, only backwards. It's the last dregs of a long, gray, wet winter and I lost my motivation to jump back in. Inertia again. I relapsed.

I have been sewing, though. This is the longest quilt project ever for me. A wonky log cabin in Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley. I am inspired to quilt diagonal wavy lines from a pic I saw here. Laura J did a beautiful job of a grey modern quilt. I visit her quilt every day and just stare at it when I should be finishing mine. I was also very envious of her sunshine, but coping better today as I have my own.

Back on the grid today, moving among the living again. And added a little clearance section to my shop to celebrate the warm rays.

Hope you get some vitamin D today, where ever you are.

Bits of the Holiday Week

This morning as I shuffle around in my orange aeropastale tee, green sweats and merrill clogs (the shoes have to be comfortable, don't they?) I think, "gosh, we clean up good" Perhaps a shower later...And what kind of mother lets her daughter go out in this blizzard? Now I must go collect her.

Actually, our dear friends invited us to a turkey dinner, so I'm going out in the blizzard, either way.
And my cottage has made progress. Now it has windows and shingles, as of today. I love construction! Smell that fresh cut plywood!
My best surprise gift ever! Husband flew my mother in for a week! Of cooking! Tamales! Gumbo! Pancakes! Enchiladas! Lots of TLC for everyone. We love us some Patsy!


I learned how to make triangle

squares from the block party quilting tut and made lots of them! I thought about doing a zigzag pattern for my husband's quilt, but in the end, I made patches of the girls artwork and poems and scattered them in. Nope. No picture of the finished quilt. Now it's gone off to work, of course.

My teen uploaded (downloaded?) her ipod stuff into my iphoto cache and I got a sneak peek into her quirky humor...And remember those rolls I made for art and whatnot? I made LoAdS of them. Loads.
And A fabric cube from Anna Marie Horner's Seams to Me book, for teacher.
I participated in a giveaway from Imagingermonkey. She named a lucky winner recipient of a gift certificate to my shop. That was fun. Wish I could just give people things all the time!
Today we will have more snow, so I'm contemplating some lovely indoor crafty projects. And since I mentioned all that yummy goodness, I 'm thinking I'll waddle over and reacquaint myself with the treadmill.

Hope your holidays are wonderful!

Another Bo Peep Skirt

Yes, it's another Bo Peep Skirt for a full-grown girl! I have started, hic cupped, halted, suspended several works in project--a prairie top resized for me (it's ginormous and I don't know which way to start tailoring it) a bulb applique pattern from the Amy Butler inspiration page, a pinwheel style patchwork for a round foam form ( I did put in an actual zipper, very proud). And they all call to me from tHe bottom of my project basket buried under shipping supplies and handfuls of ready-to-embellish tea towels--won't that be darling! I can't wait to try Anna Maria Horner's kitchen towel project....but there I went off subject again.

So it's Friday, company coming in from out of town, big bash planned for my hubby's 40th for the following Saturday night, lots of orders to fill, children to cart round. I think the weather must have done it, that slight chill, the October sunshine and a little breeze with the promise that 90 degree days are banished for a while. I thought I needed something kicky and ruffly and fun to pair with my favorite black cherry Lucheses boots. A little shorter than my first skirt, just to celebrate the last bits of warmth before winter reminds us she is no friend to bare legs.

I whipped this up fairly quickly. I think by the time I adjusted the length for the waistband allowance and a rolled hem it was--er--a little too flirty, so I threw in another length of the okra seeds cut on the bias to lengthen it out. I really stretched myself on the color and pattern mix, pulling from Anna Maria's book, Seams to Me, and the Flickr groups who stun me with their creations. If I were smart and techy I'd link to them right here....but I am not, so go look at Flickr groups regarding Seams to Me, and designer quilting fabric groups. You can google, right?

Anyway, I think this pattern would be adorable in some understated prints as well but I seldom buy muted prints, I don't think that's my wheelhouse right now. I'm looking forward to washing it to add to the softness.

My skeptical teen aged nephew voiced his opinion,"Aunt D, what exactly is that supposed to be?"

"It's just me." I said with a wink.