i much prefer my whites in flowers, rather than the stuff on the ground right now
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white wildflower
red panda, isn’t he cute?
he looks so cute and cuddly. red pandas are one of my favorite animals.
fabric stashes
“my husband says that i can bring home as much fabric as i can hide.”
twenty five reasons for buying fabric
1. it insulates the closet where it is kept.
2. it helps keep the economy going. It is our patriotic duty to support
cotton farmers, textile mills and quilt shops.
3. it is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.
4. it was on sale.
5. Okay, it wasn’t on sale, but by the time it was, all the good stuff would be gone.
6. a sudden increase in the boll weevil population might wipe out the
cotton crop……..for the next ten years.
7. it keeps without refrigeration. you don’t have to cook it to enjoy
it. you never have to feed it, change it, wipe its nose or walk it.
8. you need some extra weight in the trunk of your car for traction on
snowy, icy roads. this is important even in warm climates. you
never know when the weather will change.
9. like dust, it’s good protecting previously empty spaces in the
house, like the ironing board, laundry hamper and the dining room table.
10. when the big earthquake comes, all the fabric shops might be
swallowed into the ground and never seen again.
11. it’s not immoral, illegal or fattening. it calms nerves, gratifies
the soul and makes me feel good.
12. you’re working on building a complete collection.
13. because it’s there
14. it won’t break.
15. it’s much cheaper to cover the floor with fabric than new carpeting, and you can change the look more often.
16. you have new shelves for fabric storage, and if you don’t fill them up, they won’t look right.
17. they get angry when you steal it.
18. it will go with some you bought last year.
19. it’s so pretty, and you’ll use it some day.
20. a large fabric stash is the sign of a creative mind.
21.to keep the bed from falling down
22. i’m setting a good example for my children.
23. it’s raining (sleeting, snowing, hailing, thundering, sun’s too hot?).
24. it’s important to invest in cotton futures.
25. buy it now before your husband retires and goes with you on all of
your shopping expeditions.
glamor challenge
i have entered a challenge to design a formal dress for one of my girls. the challenge runs from feb 1-28 on doa. details here i can’t actually start sewing till the first but i have till then to work out the design at least enough to get all the supplies i need. so i’ve been putting together clippings, sketching like mad and now that i have a least a vague idea of where i’m going with this, pulling fabrics.
first i pulled out all my silks/laces spread them out on the floor. then started putting them together in color groupings, putting back in my bins anything that couldn’t be combined with at least 2 other things. once i was happy with the color matches i put them together in ziplock bags according to groups and set them aside for daylight.
step two was checking colors under daylight conditions. so each group got put on the table with the sun streaming in. this is where i eliminated some that no longer matched like this
and this…
i also needed to check that the colors worked in a photo since the judging will be done just with pictures
which eliminated groupings like this
which looked great in person but sickly in the photo
this one ”reads” completely wrong in a photo
the color gets really washed out, but it looks good anyway so it’s a definite possibility
as is this one
decisions, decisions, decisions….
creativity
“The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
the journal so far is clippings of bits and pieces that appeal to me: textures, colors, details…
these are just random pages
of things that probably won’t be recognizable when they make they way into a final design, but they inspire me and are a good starting point…
journalling
i don’t normally keep a design journal per se, a binder full of ideas/patterns in clear protective sleeves works better for me. i like to be able to move stuff around and order by priority, so having something that is stationary doesn’t really work that well for me. but these journals were so pretty, i just couldn’t resist
it’s funny, i love lace frills and shabby chic stuff, but i look horrible in it and wear mostly bright t-shirts and jeans instead. it doesn’t work well with “my” kids either. only noni and tiera are the frilly type. but i finally got a room all to myself and i did it up in lime green, fuchsia, and winter white. i think i love lace, but i’m more inspired by color.
alice in wonderland swap
i took pictures of the swap goodies i sent out for this swap and then forgot completely to upload them once my partner got her stuff.. so here are a couple of what i think are the highlights of the swap
here’s amberglas modelling the mad hatter hat and key necklace.
she thought it was a leprechaun hat and started step dancing.
noni had to checkout the quilt.
she didn’t want to let it go till i promised to make her a pink one, “which you still haven’t done” she pipes up.
sleepy time swap
after giving up on a swap that had gone missing for over a month, i remade all the goodies and sent it off just after new years. today i got news that both of them arrived…. at the same time! 😆
i was in a rush to get the first parcel off and forgot to take pictures of any of it, but i did remember the second time. the only thing i really regret not taking photos of was the dustbunny in a top hat, but what can you do? if i can just find the notebook i wrote my pattern in, i’ll have to make another one. it’s the nicest stuffy i’ve made so far (at least in my opinion :))
the swap was to include a nightcap, nightgown or pj’s and a shawl or robe. smidge loved modeling it and i hope revolutionary cakes girl likes it as well. she likes blue and vintagey stuff. the dress is fine silk yarn, the hat mohair and silk, the shawl and shoes of cotton sewing thread.
smidge seems to have mistaken this for a dancing dress. maybe ’cause she does a lot more dancing than sleeping?
she likes snuggling with the snail, who knew a snail could be so cuddly?
and a closeup of the snail
(for reference remember that smidge is only 4″/9cm tall) i crocheted him out of sewing thread with a 1mm hook. i need to work on my closeups with a macro lens. this picture came out really grainy when i zoomed in. i didn’t find out till later that my iso was on auto and got taken at 1600!
and finally a shot of all the goodies, including some story books and a concentration game for her little ones to play.
i’m making more of the hats/shawls and dresses in different colors to put up on the etsy shop i have yet to open 🙂
ladyslipper orchid
this beauty was a little past her prime, but lady’s slippers are fairly rare around here, so i’ll take what i can get.
pearly everlasting
“Nothing lasts forever.
So love what you have while you still have it.
Don’t take anything for granted
because you never know when something will come to an end”