Kasey's Skirt

I finished this skirt for Kasey's belated July birthday over labor day weekend up at Mike's dad's house in the woods. I zigzag stitched around the raw edge about 3 or 4 times to get the cool hemline (at least I think it is cool). We had a fabulous relaxing romantic time :) It even rained! I want to eat Marcella's tomatoes there in the background.

Boy dog is getting pretty old, but he sure can take adorable pictures still.

Margaret Bag

I finished this cutie patootie bag last night. Used Oh Fransson's Margaret Bag Tutorial

Fun stuff. I used an old vintage sheet to practice the bag. Looking forward to more!

I love it! I hate it!

That's what Mike says I am like. I can't just sort-of like something. I'm a all or nothing sort of gal. I'll make this short. I like to cook. I wish I knew more. I need to know more. I saw 'Julie and Julia' in the theatre this weekend and now I'm obsessed with Julia Child's cookbooks. I love Julie Powell's blog. Every day after work I'm poaching eggs like crazy. My first poached egg ever, and it wasn't oval and the yolk was not as runny as I prefer, but it tasted heavenly. I made more tonight, and didn't take pictures before I chowed. They were more ovule and pretty than this one.I also made my version of that fabulous bruschetta that Julie and Eric totally devoured in the movie. It was so good I had it for dinner last night and breakfast again this morning at work. A coworker said "....whoa... " as I walked by with my plate of heaping tomatoes and fresh basil on toast. I skipped the garlic on accident last night, and found that it tasted fresh and yummy without, so I skipped it purposefully this morning too. I believe many fantastical meals will come out of me in the following months as I devour Ms. Child's cookbooks and continue reading Ms. Powell's still-on-the-internets blog. Currently I have had on my shelf, for, oh, over a decade, a used copy of The French Chef Cookbook and am just now busting it open. Stay tuned. Oh and I haven't forgotten my sewing, it's just taking a back burner this week. Har har.

A Start

Disappearing 9 patch quilt top - it's getting there! Slow and steady wins the race this time.

Another Bag

I'm having fun making these bags. This one is larger for more groceries and has an inner pocket. I'm practicing on these, then I'll start making the numerous birthday bags!

Skirt Time

I made this quick and easy skirt for a little one yet to be born. I hope mommy likes it! I think I'll make another slightly larger one too, with lace at the bottom.

Neighborhood cat and Mo

This neighborhood cat has been loitering on my porch the last couple days. I made the mistake of petting him a few days ago, then again this evening. Mo is quite curious!

Picture Post

Finished blocks for Marina's cherished fabric improv quilt made by the Underground Sewers (that's our group's new name!). She absolutely loved all of our creations and I can't wait to see how she pieces all of the slightly wonky blocks together. We weren't allowed to use straight edges or rotary cutters for this assignment! I just love how bright and textured the fabrics are.

These were mine:
and these are all blocks the five of us made - just a start!
This is a block from my Neptune disappearing nine-patch. It is taking me forever to get this thing done, but I'm diligently getting the top pieced together this week. Hopefully I'll get the back done and the quilt sammy made next weekend. And this, well this is the very impromptu market bag I made this afternoon. I needed to get to the grocery store, and I lost my other pre-fab market bag months ago. The guilt of using the Co-op's paper bags got to be too much, so here is this beaut! I altered this tutorial a bit and used 3 different fabrics instead of two.


I used some Joel Dewberry, some Arcadia, and the ever popular Essex linen in putty. Lovely fabrics, I must say.
She made her maiden voyage this evening, and came out like a champ! But just because I'm paranoid, I'm going to stitch the heck out of the straps so they don't detach from the bag. Happy Sunday, not looking forward to Monday....

Failing Miserably

I am so far behind on where I set my sewing goals earlier this summer. I have slacked BIG time on my Neptune quilt, but the top is almost patched together. I am primarily writing this to kick myself in the butt to progress on my projects. I've done a few things, like making a tablecloth for my friend Kasey, and I've made a little progress on the improv squares for Marina for our quilt group (basically I've cut the random pieces of fabric). I realize I am so far from improv that it is incredibly hard to actually complete. But, I must get it done because in 2 days the ladies are coming over to share our blocks!

This summer has been incredibly busy with weddings, parties, vacations, and just all around outside sunshine time that does not equal inside sewing time. However, true to it's nature, coastal Humboldt County has been experiencing the traditional foggy summers, so I should be getting more done than I am. Oh well.

Oh, and we've been doing some of this too:

Brave

I am not entirely sure why Farrah Fawcett's death has hit me so hard. I was never a huge fan of hers, never went out of my way to see any of her movies and never googled her. With that being said, I am so very proud of her for making her struggle with cancer public because, in reality, the process she went through was just like any other person dealing with the balance between life and death (though perhaps the more regular folks with cancer are not flown to Germany for experimental treatments). Apparently she documented her struggle with video for the last few years of her life and I think that was one of the most wisest actions she could have taken during this process.

The battle begins with awareness.

Her struggle was not ANY different than my grandpa's or my still-living grandmother's, or your sister, friend, mother, cousin, neighbor, coworker or grocery store clerk. There has been cancer in my family, on both sides, and I realize how prevalent the disease is and I am also quite scared that I, too, will probably fight some sort of cancer as I age. Is that morbid of me to say? It just seems to be everywhere. I can just hope that those fortunate enough to affect millions of people like Farrah will continue to reach out and inform and help research grow. I have been part of a local American Cancer Society Relay for Life team for many years now, and it seems more important now than ever before. So let's conquer this devastating and painful disease once and for all. If any of you, my readers, are interested in donating to the American Cancer Society, please Click here to visit my personal page.

Thank you.