My local craft swap was last night.  I made my little scrappy blocks into potholders.  They were all sashed in muslin with muslin on the back as well.  Inside is one layer of cotton batting and one layer of insul-bright.  The fabric for the loops also came out of the scrap bags.  This batch was crosshatch quilted with a zig zag using a walking foot.  I made six other ones last week that I quilted with a straight stitch and concentric squares.  Those turned out great, too.  I wish I could show you a photo - I gave them away to a wonderful group of ladies I met last Friday while stopping over in Minneapolis/St. Paul on my way to a family wedding.  Yes, another wedding.

A couple things I am excited about:

- Betz White's Felt and Stitch online workshop.  I've already signed up.

- Denyse Schmidt is offering a free downloadable tote pattern and a great deal on the patchwork promenade to make them.  Easy and cute holiday gift idea right there.

- STC Craft posted some free downloadable patterns from their books.  All are great for holiday gift giving.  Sorry I didn't post this before the giveaway....I meant to, but time got away from me.  Still, check out the patterns.  There are some good ones there.

Off to do laundry.  Back soon.

Just dropping by to say hello.

Hello.

Outside the leaves are rustling, the sun is shining and the sky is clear.  It's been in the 60's all day - yay for fall!  I have mums and kale to plant and even a few leaves to rake.  Each time I look down I smile.  Green boots will do that to a girl.

Now I am off to make applesauce and hunt down a 4th grade math textbook.  Just thought I'd throw that little nugget of disorganization to let you know that while today is mighty good, it's not perfect.  No day ever is.  And that is fine with me.  I'll take what I can get.

Happy Monday.  I hope your day is more than good enough, too.

Six more little patchwork blocks.  That brings the total to 16 for the week.  All are made from scraps which I find very satisfying.  I do like some of the squares better than others.  The first few I made are my favorites - I think it is because I didn't really think about what I was sewing together, I just sewed.  As time went on, I found myself looking at colors and trying to balance the squares more - that whole over-thinking thing I tend to do.  I think you can see that in these.  I guess old habits die hard.

I started making these just because.  I had no plans for them when I started.  But I now know what I am going to do with them - I'll fill you in on that next week after my local craft swap.  Can't ruin the surprise, you know.

Off I go.  Have a fantastic weekend.

The girls and I found ourselves at home with some extra free time last night after Jane's volleyball practice was canceled at the last minute.  Dinner had been eaten and homework had been completed so they played and I sewed.  There was no agenda - just a pile of scraps and some found time.  Before I knew it, 2 hours had gone by and I had finished 10 small log cabin squares.

There was no measuring or planning.  I put a small cutting mat on mysewing table and moved the ironing board over so I could reach it frommy chair - lazy, but efficient.  Cut, sew, iron, trim, repeat.  Over and over.

My free time at home is extremely limited in the next few weeks.  I'm not complaining, rather just commenting on the true state of my schedule.  I don't anticipate having much time to start new projects or even finish the ones I have begun any time soon.  So when two hours of uninterrupted craft time appear out of nowhere, I'm going to leave the dishes sitting in the sink a little longer and make something.

It felt good.

We went to Ithaca, New York this weekend to attend a wedding.  It was a beautiful weekend, sunny and crisp just a touch of fall in the air.  We watched the Dartmouth rugby team beat Cornell, walked the campus, drank some beers, visited the farmer's market, hung out with dear friends we hadn't seen in too long and made some new friends, too.  There was a wonderful brisket, apples and honey, noodle kugel rehearsal dinner, a toast by Fatty for his best friend, a wedding mad lib, a beautiful and touching ceremony, a gorgeous bride and handsome groom, another heartfelt toast, a delicious cake, lots of champagne and even more dancing.  I am tired and a bit sunburned.  Other than that, it was pretty much perfect.

I know this has nothing to do with crafts, but I just felt I needed to record this.  My life is full of good things and I am grateful for all my blessings.  This weekend was one of them.

New supplies make me happy.

And because I am getting emails....there will be more camera straps in October.  No date set yet, but not before the 10th.

Marty is looking for a few people to join her in a quilting block party.  As much as I would like to do this again, I just can't commit.  Instead, I told her that I would spread the word.  Go visit her blog if you are interested.

Linda is hosting a what is for dinner week starting Monday.  You can find info on that at her blog.  I think it's a fantastic idea and cannot wait to see what other people are making.  I don't know about you, but I can always use new ideas.

Things have been hectic, crazy around here so I wouldn't be surprised if I took an unannounced blog break.  And now neither should you.

Fatty and I are off to a wedding.  It's promises to be a good weekend - lots of old and dear friends and no kids.  Hope yours is fantastic too.

 

Monday morning I read Molly's post about getting kids outdoors.  Immediately I decided that we would do homework outside.  As luck would have it, the ice cream truck was practically at our driveway as we biked up the street after school.  That made homework extra sweet.

I received my October issue of Everyday Food yesterday.  I was super excited that I had everything on hand to make one of the chicken recipes.  I looked on the Martha Stewart website, but couldn't find a link.  If you have the magazine, go to pgs. 88 - 89.  You basically take a whole chicken cut into pieces (I had thighs and legs on hand), place them in a roasting pan with cut up new potatoes, the cloves from a head of garlic (unpeeled), some thyme, a quartered lemon and a red onion (cut into eighths).  Whisk together some olive oil  - the recipe calls for 1/4 cup, but I would reduce this to 3 tbsp. - and 2 tbsp. of balsamic vinegar.  Toss everything in your vinaigrette, season with salt and pepper and roast in your oven.  The recipe calls for 450 degrees for 50 minutes - I did 425 degrees on convection bake for 45 because that is how I normally roast chicken pieces.  I steamed some green beans, sliced some tomatoes and called it a meal.  It was a winner - everyone liked it.  It would have been extra good with some crusty bread to spread those roasted garlic cloves on.  Next time.

I found an acorn in the cuff of my pants this morning.  I am pretty sure I picked it up while biking the girls to school.  I never felt it fall in there so I was surprised when it rolled out.  Just another sign that Autumn is on its way.

Finally, if you want to hear me prattle on some more, Amy interviewed me as part of her Mama Views series on Progressive Pioneer.  I was flattered that she asked me to join her there.  I just re-read my answers and, again, am amazed that I didn't make a total fool out of myself.  Seriously.  Being the "A" of the Q&A takes some getting used to.  Thanks for the opportunity, Amy.

Chat with you all soon.

I wore my skirt from the moment I finished it on Thursday until I went to bed that night.

I got up on Friday morning and put it back on.  Don't worry - Saturday it went in the laundry.

I've had the Alabama Stitch Book since it came out - I think that was a year and half ago.  And from the moment it came in the mail, I have loved looking at it.  It oozes inspiration.  I was pretty sure it would join the collection of craft books that I love love love to own because they are so beautiful and inspiring, not because I want to make any of the projects.  Truth be told, I didn't want to attempt anything in the book.  Stenciling, hand sewing and knits?  Um, not for me, thank you.

But the more I looked at it, the more it grew on me.  I began seeing projects that other people had made.  Then I was truly inspired.  Maybe I could do this too.

 

I started gathering the supplies.  The fabric came from Mood in NYC - I bought that last November while shopping with Kristin.  The paint I picked up sometime in January or February.  I cut the skirt out in March, thinking I would get it finished for summer.  It didn't happen.  While in San Francisco this July, I found FOE in brown at Britex.  It was like a sign.  I came home, I stenciled and I started stitching.

Six weeks later, I have my skirt.  And if fits.  This is a big, huge deal, you all.  I know that the sizing on this pattern is different - it's based on waist size, not hip size so it was a guessing game as to what size to actually cut.  Both Blair and Melissa told me to go a size bigger than I thought.  I did.  I think that made all the difference.  I left the knots on the wrong side of the fabric because, as cool as they look on the outside, I'm just too tailored for that.  I also stitched the seams by machine instead of by hand mostly because I was impatient.  I made huge mistakes on the stenciling that almost made me drop the project.  But now that the stitching is finished, I'd have a hard time pointing them out.  Talk about forgiving.  It is also incredibly comfortable - hello knit!

I love it so much that I am already plotting another skirt.  With beads (oh my!).  I'm also trying not to get too excited about Alabama Studio Style.  Six months and counting....