more swaps!

another swap finished! i changed my mind a bunch about what i wanted to make, but i finally decided on the apron from my longest year. i love that it's reversible, although i found the ties to be a bit on the short side. if i make it again, i will probably lengthen them. i like me a big sassy bow in back.

i used a print and a solid, and some jumbo rickrack, and i think it's really cute! my husband thought it looked frisky. the only concern i have is that the pocket is a bit wide. it gapes when it's hanging, but when it's on it lays smooth. and the pics make the colors look like they don't match! i included a recipe for french onion soup, and the latest issue of martha's everyday food magazine.

i like the first apron i made, but it's not reversible, and i wasn't loving the pockets. there are some really cool aprons in the flickr swap pool. there are supposed to be three more swaps this year, i am already thinking i want to do the emmeline apron. i have two super fabrics that i picked up last month, a pink paisley and a green floral.

i hope she likes mine! i can't wait to see what i get!

it's finally here!

my mobile! well, mobiles! that's right, i hit the jackpot and my lovely swap partner lola...again sent me two fantastic mobiles!

i had seen them posted in the mobile swap group at flickr, but those photographs don't do them justice. the bunnies are so adorable, cuddly and detailed with tons of tiny yo-yos. and the sweetest little bunny print skirts! then there's the leaf mobile, with cool batik print fabric leaves. they dance in the air, and i think they will look awesome in my soon-to-be craft space upstairs.
thank you so much. i'll post some pics once they find their new homes.

clean up time

my enormous stash contains fabrics and notions from my mother, both of my grandmothers, my college roommate, thrift stores, yard sales, and freecycle, and who knows how many retail stores. i love looking through it, the history of some of the fabric, remembering where i got them. but it also made me realize that i've been afraid to use it, afraid of not living up to the potential that some of it has. but no more! i'm running out of space, actually. so i'll be posting some new projects over the next 2 weeks.

i'm really enjoying getting back into crafting and sewing. my brain is whirring with ideas and i am finding uses for my stash left and right. over my life, i've dabbled in about every type of craft you can think of, and now i just see ways to combine all of that into making things that make me happy. and is there ever some great inspiration these days! i had no idea how many talented people were out there. check out some of my links if you have time.

relief

whew. my mobile is mailed. it's all up to you, usps.

of course, as i was finishing it last night, i decided i didn't like the way it was hanging, it was about 3 beads too long on one set. but i had already tied everything off, so i decided to try to wiggle some beads about and broke the wire. of course. why leave well enough alone, i always say.

so i repaired it. then today, as i was trying to get some good photos of it, our son was becoming waaay too interested in it. and i knew any second i was going to blink, and that when i opened my eyes, there would be a pile of beads laying about. so i wrapped it and got it out of here before anything could happen to it! i so hope she likes it! i think it turned out well.

mobile magic

nothing like waiting 'til the last possible minute, right? oh well, i haven't received my mobile yet, which makes me feel a little better. and my swap partner hasn't posted hers yet either - so maybe i'm not the only procrastinator in the bunch!

anyways, i am really pleased with the progress made in, oh, a day. i think i will make myself one when this one is sent off.

projects for this week

complete the ties for my apron

continue stringing beads and paper discs for my mobile

finish a crayon roll for my niece's birthday

play around with the moda charm pack i got yesterday.

it's called dandelion girl, and i had hoped to use it to make a charming skirt for emma. only once i saw the fabrics in person, i don't think they suit a three year old. they look like they'd be better in a pillow for my couch. and i'm not just being selfish! the colors are beautiful, lots of sage green and cream and orange and rust. so i am planning to make a few disappearing nine patch blocks to sew into a pillowcase.

fun stuff

this is a pretty cool site

my first quilt blocks!

while rummaging through my stash the other night, i came across these two blocks i made a few years ago. the crazy quilt was done at a library workshop, and it reminded me how much i miss where we used to live. the topeka library was awesome and brand new, designed by michael graves. they offered free craft classes and they would also snail mail you books that you had requested. awesome, i tell you. i miss my libraries! the lawrence library was awesome too, in different ways. i used to spend a lot of time in both.

the other patch i made up one day - and obviously had no idea what i was doing! the light blue is actually a sheer fabric, and the print is some kind of synthetic blend. probably not the best choices for quilting fabrics, duh. if i remember right, i was just anxious to try out my new "teach yourself to quilt" kit i had gotten for christmas. it had a rotary cutter, a small mat and quilter's ruler, pins, etc. so that is what i came up with, ha!

i know i also have a nine-patch somewhere, it was the beginnings of a potholder, oh, 7 years ago? if i can find it, i want to make it into a disappearing nine patch. i'm so excited to try that one!

meanwhile, back at the swaps, i drew up a pattern yesterday for my apron. i used my all time favorite apron as a guide, and i got all of the material cut out and pinned. today i am going to try to sew the hems and get the ties made. i'm making a test apron first, out of a scrap i found, but it looks like it will be cute.

tick tock

i have been procrastinating. i always do this when given a deadline. but i did prewash my fabric for the apron, and i dug out some wire and pliers to start bending the mobile supports. i figured i needed to do that first so i could decide what medium to make my mobile out of. but since i've never done it before - i'm just not sure what will happen!

i've been envisioning a spiral mobile, because i have some fantastic paper with circles on it that look like they are moving, kind of an optical illusion effect. so, idea for today is cutting out these circles and stringing them or sewing them onto a spiral wire base, so that they will look like they are in motion even when they are still. i hope it's not too head shop trippy, and instead has a touch of class though. the colors are very earthy, deep green, red, orange, and brown on a beige background. i also have some green paper with printed words on it, i thought about backing the circles with it.

so some final things to decide.
how big is this mobile going to be?
should the circle be adjacent to one another or should i space them with beads?
should i string them horizontal or vertical?

any ideas?