circle skirts

the summer of 2010 was unseasonably warm for most of us here in the usa. even shorts felt a bit uncomfortable and in my middle age years, i'm all about the comfort.

i needed something of a new wardrobe, but couldn't find anything i liked or was willing to pay for at your typical retail stores. fortunately for me and those of you who love to sew, i've a machine, fabric and thread ready at my disposal.

i'm also somewhat a creature of habit, particularly if it means a perfect fit.

and so all three of these little fab and funky beauties are the double circle skirt from this collection by favorite things. you can dress them up for a nice evening out to dinner, particularly the longer one, or more casually with a tank, tee, flip flops or in barefeet for hanging out, inside or out!

and because these are double, no slip necessary.

the sweet skirt i am wearing is an embroidered voile in deep lilac/blue.

the one i am holding in my hand is from Anna Maria Horner's line, Little Folks, a voile in coloring garden  - sea (top layer) and little honey - meadow (bottom).

the skirt on clotilde is a floral voile i purchased in the summer of 2008 from Fabric Bliss, an online vendor i don't believe is in service anymore.

the hip skirts are one of the first ever pieces of apparel i made for myself shortly after i started sewing. however, i used a batik. i love the colors and designs available in batiks, but they can be a little stiff. the designers suggested a voile and i would agree. it's seriously flowey and drapey, falls smoothly over your curves or pencil straight if you're taller, thinner. and with these fabrics, wash, dry, wear them slightly wrinkled right out of the dryer or hang them. no ironing necessary!

cutting and sewing is straight forward and easy. i serged all of the seams and double stitched my hems. still, it's a quick little sew.

whether you choose to add the belt loops as i did on two out of the three or not, you can wear it either closer to your waistline or as a hip hugger.

fortunately for me, i'll be able to wear my skirts about 3 out of the 4 seasons. i'd say that's getting the most for my hard earned dollar. and i've no doubt my quality is every bit as good as what's available at a top line retailer.

flower child

are you a facebook user? though i am careful about how i use it, it pays to support your favorite vendors by hitting the "like" button. this online shop, for instance, recently offered fans a 20% discount in celebration of customer appreciation week. what a good time to pick up a few new things!

i mentioned in my previous post that i had veered toward less bright colors and patterns. i believe the above palette is more subtle for me. lol!

when i begin my browsing, i generally head straight for the "quilting fabrics ➝ retro & mod quilting fabrics" and there i found these beautiful prints.

from top to bottom:

peace & flowers

medallions & tile sorbet

bubbles

guatemalan flora

i've no immediate plans for this yummy goodness. but it makes me happy to touch, to feel, to smell the new fabric, sweet eye candy.

i did make a couple of very cute skirts that i wore repeatedly throughout the summer. when i've a chance i'll snap a photograph and share.

satchel for two

here i am, once again. i've somewhat re-prioritized. and at the top of my list is more time for sewing and designing.

just last week i finished this bag. with a few modifications, it could be the perfect slouchy bag i've been looking for.


i used this pattern. it's quite simple, but the directions could be a bit confusing if you're a beginner. a step or two is missing. i pretty much disregarded the directions and sewed it as i have many other bags.

all the fabrics are from Michelle D'Amore's line, Hippie Chicks, for Marcus Brothers, 2009. it's a little brighter than i've been using lately, but i was able to use up some yardage from previous projects. and i do love the flower chain on the front pocket.

the bag is fully reversible, giving you a pocket inside and out. you could seriously fit a grocery bag of items in the bag!

today fall is in the air after a long, hot summer. ah, bliss. there's nothing i like better than throwing the windows wide open to the air, sky and sun.

peace out!

my heart knows warm moments...

...for the kindness of friends.

i can't tell you how wonderful it was to receive this delightful wonky star and sweet season's greetings from Stephanie yesterday. visit with her at Jonquils and Ladybugs for creative goodness and inspiration to a homemade life. thank you, Stephanie, for your kindness, your support, your person good and peaceful. i share this warm moment with all who visit here as a way to extend my own greetings and thanks for wonderful friends and as a means of reflection on the beautiful people that i've known throughout my life. may we all receive and give kindness in quiet gestures, handmade with love.

go to swing bag

pattern: swing bag by amy butler
external fabric: kaffe fassett stencil carnations in taupe
lining: tina givens for westminster fabrics tropics in aqua
other notions/materials: cotton duck to line the external and interior fabrics
modifications: inside pocket
date completed: 9December2009

on tuesday i basted all the canvas to the exterior and interior fabrics for the main panels, pocket and straps. i like my bags extra sturdy for carrying everything but the kitchen sink if need be! so yesterday, when i sat down to sew, it was nothing but to stay with it, start to finish. it was the perfect day as the rhythm and motion of stitching and ironing is a good way to process life happenings in calm and of rational mind.

are the fabrics a bit of a departure for me? perhaps, but i like a basic tan bag, particularly in the fall and winter months when i'm most often in jeans and boots, colors more neutral then they are in the bright sunshine of spring and summer. i had bought the stencil carnations specifically for a bag and the aqua tropics, well, i thought it coordinated well, yet added a bit of pop for the pretty blue.

this is such an easy pattern and the bag so practical, seriously good to get me back into the "swing" of sewing after a few months off. and now i've been once again bitten by the bug and have a few more patterns selected to decide on my next project.

and do you know how long it's been since i've browsed fabric? i can only imagine the wonderful designs come out in my time away.

peace and love to you and yours these holidays!

and thank you to my friends who haven't forgotten me, but continue to show me their support and love, time after time, in quiet gestures of a spoken word. you rock!

lost & found

i realize that, if i had waited but one more day, it would be exactly three months since my last post. goodness. it's been much too long and i've been missing some of my blogging friends.

i've been away, if but here, in my small urban environment, enjoying what has been a glorious autumn and playing with a new camera. oh my. i do love it so!

but, yesterday on what was a rainy, gray day, i was craving a little sewing time. i've not a tan bag that i "need" to wear with jeans other then store bought, and that just won't do.

it's my go to pattern, the swing bag by amy butler, the one i find most comfortable to wear and easy to use.

i promise i'll be back when it's finished. and i'll be visiting with you!

peace and joy this december day!

long overdue

hello, friends!

hope everyone has enjoyed a great summer in this hemisphere!

i've been missing in action and long overdue in sharing about this quilt top with you.

in recent months i've had the pleasure of becoming re-acquainted with one of my favorite former co-workers. so much has happened in the ten years or so since we worked together on a forest research fiber farm (basically, growing trees under irrigation to shorten the rotation length to harvest). he and i are most definitely from two different worlds, but hit it off from day one. we knew laughter and great conversations about many topics as we plowed and planted, weeded and treated for insects. it was an idyllic place in many ways. needless to say, however, i was tough as nails in 'tude and body, most often the sole female, dealing with these many obstinate men.

we moved away as our professions took us elsewhere. and i took up cooking, gardening and sewing, a far different life did i choose to lead as i meander through middle age.

after finding each other, thanks to this great virtual world, he wrote and said that since i had now become quite the domestic goddess...with a chuckle, knowing how once the many negative connotations of such a statement rose the hair on the back of my neck...he'd like to send me a quilt top that his mammy (his daddy's mama) pieced sometime 30 or 40 years ago. of course i said yes! it came in the mail a few weeks later and here i am, finally gazing at it once again.

i love it for the smell. it must have been stored with love and care because there are no wears and tears.

i love it because it truly is a "scrappy" quilt. there are all kinds of materials in here, from tapestry to polyester blends to cotton, and some scraps were pieced together to make a square to size.

and i love it because it was hand pieced with a little bit of machine. perhaps that came at some time later through the years.

i'm going to do my best to bat, back and quilt it. i don't know how it'll go. maybe i'll have to do it by hand, too. regardless, i feel wrapped in the gift of friendship simply to have it. and my hope is when i'm done with it, to send it back that he may have it in his own family, for he, his wife, son and daughter.

thanks so much for letting me hang out here with you, too, in friendship.

it's here! it's here!

my beautiful bag has arrived from stephanie and i am so inspired and happy! of course i had to open the box no sooner i brought it in. and i'm pretty sure i was giddy with anticipation. i still have a big grin on my face!

when stephanie invited me to do this swap, we chatted a bit about what pattern to use for each other. she mentioned she was thinking about the multi-tasker tote by anna maria horner as she not yet seen me make it. how did she know i had been eying that pattern for some time, but hadn't yet bought it? :) i love it. i love the size, the straps, the easy access pockets on the outside and two smaller on the inside. and i love the fabric she choose. the pink, orange and brown are so rich and fun! wow!


i told you she was a hippie chick!

of course she included a few little yummy treats tucked inside...a beautiful crocheted zipper bag and snap pouch! because you see, stephanie crochets. she paints and has made the cutest little panda felt animal, too. and now i've my own fwumpus originals. i'm a very lucky girl.

stephanie mentioned in her note that blogging has led to meeting new people and making friends. i couldn't agree more.

thank you, friends!

and if you have never participated in a swap, whether with one or a few, i would say, "go for it." i promise you'll receive in generosity and friendship as you so kindly give. i know, thanks to these fabulous ladies you really should visit here and here.

because she's a hippie chick

market bag with the strap tucked in ready to package...


beach stripes...


i'm soooo happy. stephanie has received the bag i made her in our bag swap. now i can post pictures and share a little about the fabric i chose for her.

when she first invited me to do this bag swap, well, i did have a little something in my stash i could have used...a little something also in a purple, my latest color craze these days...but it's much more fun to shop. you know i couldn't resist when i spotted the new line, hippie chicks by michele d'amore for marcus fabrics. oh my gosh. i just love it and selected a few different pieces.

i decided on the purple daisy stems and beach stripes to contrast. i browsed stephanie's pics of fabric she has in her stash and what she has used for her own sewing projects, noting she liked florals. so, my purple passion with her flower power and you have THE only choice possible!

the pattern is portabellopixie market bags and i made it fully reversible which is nice because i couldn't decide what side i liked better after i was done! and i like my bags sturdy, but not heavy, so i lined both the "exterior and interior" with a cotton twill. i hope she will enjoy the bag and the little fat quarters i sent for her own projects for moments and days to come.

and i am so looking forward to my own beautiful bag which should be at my doorstep soon!

please visit stephanie. she's doing a 10 day photo journal of Musikfest.
rock out, everyone, and enjoy these magical days!

just what i've been waiting for

i'm so excited! the fab fabric has arrived from a funky new line by one of my favorite designers that i intend to choose from for a bag swap with the amazingly talented Stephanie (pop on over to her blog and visit her terrific photos on flickr). here's just a sneak peek, but i promise details after i've finished and my package has been mailed, delivered & received. it's been a while since i've been at the sewing table. this is the inspiration i've been waiting for and i'm sew ready to get back at it.

hope everyone is enjoying a terrific july, near and far. make the absolute best of it in perfect celebration of your interests and passions.

lest i lose my groovy groupies...

...i share with you a little summer lovin' from my garden & walks around my sweet neighborhood.

i confess there's been little sewing happening here...some sketching and designing in my journal, but no cutting and sewing, yet. i do believe the summer sunshine bug has bitten. i look for every excuse to get outdoors despite the pretty warm temps and virtually no rain. i would love to get myself to the beach. alas, the flowers and offerings of mother earth comfort and console in the meantime.

busy bee on Helenium mardi gras - helen's flower

my first flower on the double knockout rose


impatien. mordecai historical park


zinnia. flower garden on courtland street


to all those here in the good ole us of a, a safe and delicious 4th of july holiday to you & yours! and to virtual friends abroad, a beautiful and bright july day.

peace out! ride the rainbow to your dreams!

a really BIG bag

big bags seem to be the rage this summer...for the beach, to go to market. Having made a couple myself from amy butler like the Betty Shopper (see here), i decided to come up with my own groovy big bag using a shape that i like, sewing methods that i've learned. i sketched it out yesterday morning and got to cutting, ironing and sewing. this fresh paint by michelle d'amore (blogged about here) was just perfect, inside and out! i finished just a little while ago.

it's BIG! yes, it measures 22" across the bottom and 30" from the shoulder strap down to the bottom. it may be a little bit too big for someone 5'1" like me, but now that i've got a pattern and my sewing know-how (on the first try...so exciting. maybe i really CAN sew!), so easy to tweak and play with, including mixing and matching fabric on the outside as well as various pockets on the inside, and size, of course for different frames.

super cool! oh, so it was raining outside today? sweet, refreshing rain. i didn't hardly notice for the warmth inside, but did enjoy a moment in my raincoat and with my camera looking for some kind of photo op. sweet, refreshing rain. my garden is so appreciative of your generous nature. :)

for a family friend

pattern: an everyday bag by favorite things
fabric: amy butler daisy chain. exterior: daisy bouquet. indigo; interior: kaleidoscope leaf. dots
other materials/notions: pellon fusible thermolam plus to line exterior, canvas to line interior pockets, pellon shape flex woven interfacing, 1 large button, small diameter cording, metallic snap
modifications: lined handles and tab with woven interfacing and interior pockets with canvas for stability; lengthened the handles; used a snap in place of velcro
date completed: 03June2009
a gift for: mrs g, a family friend

it's done and i'm so happy with how it came together and how it finished. i've e-mailed my mom a few pictures and as soon as i get a mailing address, the everyday bag...perfect, i think, for wearing with jeans as mrs g does...will be carefully packaged and placed in the mail. i took my time on this, but really it's an easy to follow pattern, and a purse versus a tote type bag, for a little change up in any woman's wardrobe!

thanks, mom, for giving me this chance to sew for a dear friend!

and now...some planning and designing of my own. i may have a little sales opportunity. one day at a time and full moments these early summer days!