Apple and Pear

I've been working on writing a paper piecing pattern for the apple and pear.  I hope to have them up on my blog for free as well as a tutorial. I'll keep you posted!

I'm doing this as a practice run for a more complicated pattern I'm working on.

In other holiday related family news - we got our xmas tree on Sunday.  We started a new family tradition a few years back and drive to the mountains to cut down our tree. 

Every year I underestimate the size of the tree we cut down.  This year I thought we found the perfect size tree but once we got it home we cut off another 3 feet!

It was pretty warm on Sunday so we trudged through the rain and over a small river to hunt down our tree.  I always hope for the idyllic Christmas memory but by the time we got back to the car my four year old was wimpering from being so cold. You can bet, when they are older, they will recall this as an awful miserable tradition : )

  

Friday Favorites

Some lovelies from Flickr that are inspiring to me.

Details here

I made another dumpling

This one is going to live with a lovely Flickr friend.

 I'm just now starting the skirt for Anna's sew along.  Anna's turned out soooo cute!

The sew along ended today, but I hope to get my skirt done this weekend.

I hope to start working on a special paper piecing  project this weekend (I'm so excited and can't wait to share the details) as well as attend a quilt show Here,  and this exhibit at the Nordic Heritage Museum. 

Happy Creating to you!

Ski Chalet

The latest theme for the Cocorico Bee is "Let,s Hit the Slopes" requested by Krista.

I'm embarrassed to say I live in the Pacific NW in Seattle but I don't ski!!   Yep, I can see the Olympics and Cascades from my neighborhood and the mountains are only a few hours away.   I skied a few times as a little girl but never really liked it. I think it was the cold and my fear of falling and hurting myself. So.... when Krista requested her ski theme blocks, I had a super duper hard time coming up with something.   My bee mates are so talented and set the bar really high. Meg made the most amazing ski boot, Amy made a skier - yes an actual person skiing! And Melinda made the cutest ski sweater you've ever seen!!

I visited the Swiss Alps years ago and thought a Swiss Ski Chalet would be fun to make.

This is what I came up with..................

I hope she likes it - it was fun to make.

Happy Sewing to you!

Little Dumplings and a busy October

I've been obsessed about making bags and pouches these days.  My latest is from Keyka Lou.  I love this pattern.  It is super easy and they are so cute -  as in tiny.  This "Dumpling" measures 5.5" x 3.5".  I made it for a special Flickr friend.  I hope she likes it.

I'm also participating in Lynne's small blog meet.

I made a mosaic of my sewing projects for the month.  I have done absolutely nada with my Farmer's Wife blocks.  I miss the farmer - think it is time for a little visit : )

I think, all in all, it was a pretty productive month.  See....lots of bags and pouches with a few bee blocks thrown in.

Have a wonderful day and happy sewing! 

Thinking about the Holidays

So I'm almost done getting ready for Halloween.  I made a vampiress dress for myself and I just need to add the zipper.  I'll post a pic when it is finished.

I hate to even contemplate this, but......the Chrismas Holidays are just around the corner.  My son is in 2nd grade and has a male teacher so I probably won't make him a gift, but my four year old has three female teachers and I thought a lavendar sachet and a gift card would make a lovely gift.

I love this project because it is super easy and a great way to use up your scraps.  And who doesn't love a sachet that reminds them of summer : )

Tutorial here : )

Another Suzuko Koseki Purse

I've taken a little break from my Bee Blocks to do a little sewing for myself.  I made the small log cabin bag from Suzuko Koseki's Patchwork Style and was very happy with the results. 

I just finished another Suzuko Koseki Bag from the same book - The Fan Bag.  I've never made a quilted purse before and I really like the results.  The quilting and batting gives it nice body and it is big enough to carry most of my stuff.  I'm definitely a Big Purse gal.

I'm not sure what is next though I do love this bag by Leila from Suzuko Koseki's latest book - Natural Patchwork.

Happy creating to you!

A Little Bag

I have acquired quite the nice collection of Japanese craft books but have never tried a project until now.  I've been doing alot of very fiddly, precise work with the paper piecing blocks I've been working on and felt the need to do some "free form" sewing.  I picked out the mini log cabin bag from Suzuko Koseki's Patchwork Style.

I used lots of scraps and just had lots of fun improvising as I went.

The bag is quite small - about 8 1/2" long, so I may use it for a pencil pouch.

***Happy Sewing to You***

More crossed off the "to do" list!

I've been in "getting ahead on my to do list" mode.  Although Christmas is almost three months away it will creep up and I want to have plenty of time for my personal holiday sewing.

I finished Annabel's Orchard block for the Cocorico Bee.  I designed it quite some time ago but had almost all day Sunday to work on it and was able to finish it today!

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  I love this bee - it really stretches by design abilities.

This little swatch was my inspiration......

I finished my 4 x 5 bee blocks

The pattern is vintage Alice Brooks found on Ebay. 

My collection of bee blocks that I have received totals somewhere around 16.  I'm really looking forward to creating a quilt with them!

 *** happy sewing to you  ***

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along - No Safer Road to Travel

I've been lagging behind in the Farmer's Wife Quilt along but I'm still really enjoying making the blocks when I can.  These two blocks were inspired by a letter titled " No Safer Road to Travel."

My favorite excerpt from the letter:

" To wake up in the early morning to the bird calls, the animal greetings, is better that the best symphony concert ever played.  To see the sun climb out of bed and reach out rosy fingers to pick up the dew drops from field and meadow, and to watch the joyous greeting of all nature, in the summer time, is worth more than silver and gold can buy."

Mrs. E. M. L.

Furnas County, Neb.

Patchwork 318 Bee - The second time is a charm

I've been having sew much fun using my "Patchwork Patterns 318" book from Kumiko Fujita.

Amisha chose a sewing theme and this is the block I chose.

This was actually my second try and I like how it turned out!  I was inspired by Faith's spools here.

You should really check out the Flickr Group here.  Kerry and Leila created some adorable blocks and I can't wait to see the remaining three blocks! 

Happy Creating to you!

My New Toy

My dear hubby got me a Holga camera last year for my birthday.  Yes.... last year and I finally took it out of the box, read the instruction manual I found online, loaded film and snapped some pics at our little vaca in Okanogan County in Northeastern Wa State. 

I am over the moon with this camera.  It is a plastic toy camera and its intrigue lies in the fact that it leaks light.  It creates some amazing effects.

You can really see the light leaks on this photo.

I think the light effects on this one are just amazing.

Now I'm dreaming of a trip to Paris or the English countryside to take more pics with my Dear Holga!

Happy Creating to you : )

No, really... ten years already ? !

Tomorrow will be my 10 year wedding anniversary.  I'm not sure where the time went.  It has been a very eventful decade.  Jay and I met in the University District in Seattle.  He was still in college (actually just finishing his last year) and I was full throttle 10 years into my career as an apparel designer. Ours is not a conventional union - I am almost 12 years his senior but Jay is definitely my equal, actually he most likely surpasses me in in soul years.  We have been through so much - things that cause some couples to divorce.   In the past 10 years we each lost a sibling, remodeled a 100 year old house, and had two incredible kids.  I can honestly say I've never been happier and know that the leap I made was the right one.

Happy Anniversary, Jay. 

  Love you....

Cafe Au Lait

Finshed....my first block for the Cocorico Bee.  Lauree chose Kitchen Couture and I decided to do a Cafe Au Lait theme.  I love my french press but it isn't very stylish.  I found some great images for antique coffe pots and decided to change my french press to an old fashioned French coffee pot.  This image is the test block.  It was actually the combo I was going to make for Lauree but later found out she loves orange so I made this block for her

The "lait" and "Cafe" labels were printed on fabric from my printer.  This is such a great way to take cool images and use them in your sewing projects.

Ok...I've have a list to make and some new blocks to make for a few more bees.

Happy creating to you!

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Tama

I've been entrusted with the care of this little doll named Tama.  She is so sweet and has been well loved.  I swear I felt a connection with her the moment we met.  Her Mommy asked me to give her a little TLC.  She is missing an eye and her nose and her clothes are a wee bit damaged.  I feel like the doll doctor on "Toy Story II" and am honored I've been asked to fix her up.  In the meantime she will be getting the royal treatment until she is reunited with her family.

Teeny, Tiny Inspiration

I'm so excited about the new block I'm working on for the Cocorico Bee!

Annabel's theme is orchard so I'm going to use this tiny fabric swatch as inspiration. It came with a group of vintage fabrics I purchased on Ebay and it is by far my favorite piece. It only measures 4" x 3 1/2" with each little square at about 1 1/2". I'm not sharing which little square I'll be using, but I thought it would be fun to share my inspiration.

I'm off for a little swim with the family on a beautiful 80 degree day!

Happy Creating !

Yummy Ice Cream....mmmmmmmm

We have had a wonderful August filled with outdoor swim lessons and a few fun get - aways. But I've found time to sew! I was so honored to be invited to join an incredibly talented group of ladies in the new Flicrk Group - Patchwork Pattern 318.

Each month we pick a theme from the book by Kumiko Fujita and make a block for that theme.

The first month Ayumi picked sweets' shop. You must check out her site here. She is an incredibly talented sewist and sells super cute fabric on her etsy shop.

I chose this truck and paper pieced the itty, bitty ice cream cone.

I used a new paper piecing technique from Kerry and you can find it here.

She is another incredibly talented gal in the group and you should really take a look around her blog - very inspiring!

Happy creating to you!

Living in God's Open Air

" If this question put by THE FARMER'S WIFE had been asked me fifty or even twenty years ago, I am sure I should have said No. But no position in life has changed so much this last fifty years, as the standing of the farmer's wife.

I could give you a hundred reasons for saying yes. I would have her marry a farmer because there she has the chance of living in God's open air, of living a pure life, away from the meanness of a rural town, and the petty thing they make so much of and away from the temptations of a big town."

Mrs. J. E. F.

Valley County, Mont.

So I've decided to approach the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along in a different fashion. I was doing the blocks in numerical order but was not reading the letters which is really an integral part of the book and the quilting blocks and is honestly the best part of making this quilt. The author, Laurie Aaron Hird, designed blocks to correspond with a particular letter. So, going forward, I will do the blocks and share an excerpt from the letter that corresponds with the block!!

Week #9 *** Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

I'm caught up with week #9 in the Farmer's Wife quilt along. Still loving making these blocks!

Ok, I'm off to do some sewing. Rainy summer day in Seattle!

Happy Creating!

Paper piecing and a Bee Block

The weather has finally turned around here in

Seattle so I've been a bit remiss in my blog posts. I started designing the block I'll make for the Cocorico Bee. Theme is "Kitchen Couture".

Lauree wanted kitchen themed items you would find on shelves. I love my french press (we use it every morning) so I thought I would do a French theme.

Go Here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/cocorico/ and see the incredible blocks that are starting to trickle in.

These are the pics I'm using for inspiration.

I finished one of the blocks for the 4 x 5 bee I belong to. I found the pattern on Ebay - it is an Alice Brook's vintage mail order pattern. I think it would work nicely as a whole quilt.

Enjoy your summer and Happy Sewing

Fun with Paper Piecing

My latest sewing obsession has been Paper piecing! I got the bug awhile ago when I found images from an incredible group of ladies who formed the Ringo Pie Bee. I've watched the group and the incredible things they create. You can find it here>

About a week ago I was invited to join a Bee of incredibly talented gals. We are following Ringo Pie and will make blocks for the Member of the month based on their theme. I was so honored and excited to be included with this talented group of sewists.

Our "homework" for July and August is to practice our quilting techniques. Lauree who co founded the bee had a link to this fabulous book.

Here is my first block from the book.

And my second.

This is my design based on elements from the book. I'm on a roll.....

Happy Creating!