Project Barbie

For all of you who love Pr0ject Runway, check out Project Barbie! No joke, this is for everyone who wants to sew along with the talented artists of Project Runway but on a small scale. So you follow the rules and challenges of the show, but make your project doll-size! Very, very cool!

Greatness comes clothed in pajamas

I just got a CD of photos from my Aunt, sharing more great memories of the Sisters Retreat. What I love most about this picture is the clock. I think that was the day that we all stayed in our jammies. All day. That might also have been the night when dinner got so wild I almost peed my pants, laughing so hard. I was so afraid I would miss something if I got up from the table. It was like being at a slumber party in the 6th grade. But with all the fun and none of the anxiety.

Now that I've been home for six weeks, I finally unpacked my trunk this afternoon. It felt good, but was sad to go through all the projects that I didn't get to finish. With tremendous help from my mom (she's the best!), my sewing room is all spanky clean and organized.

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For those of you who missed the Amy Karol book signing at Bolt last night, I have to say, she's GREAT. Totally sweet, very fun, and incredibly enthusiastic! I was able to say a few words about teaching at bolt and she said she'd heard of me - the greatest flattery! I was all twitterpated to be meeting such a celebrity, and then that she KNEW of me?! It was great.
Even better was the fact that the early afternoon was spent at The Pine Needle in Lake Oswego, where they were celebrating their 15th anniversary and having a big, big sale! They were awesome with the little man (who was a total trooper being dragged along for the ride), and we were able to pick up the Amy Karol book. We got home in time to put the little one down for a nap and then whip up one of the dish towel aprons from the Bend-The-Rules book. That meant I was able to get a little prize when I went to the book signing, since I brought a completed project!

There's nothing as good as being recognized. For being a teacher. And for being a "sewing person" as Amy puts it.

Cheers and happy sewing!

Is it Christmas yet?

I am one of those people for whom it is never too early for the stores to start stocking Christmas goodies. I love the anticipation, the decoration, the parties. All of it! This year I'll have a bit more decoration at my own house. And on my own self.

These projects were all started at the Sisters Gig. The table runner still needs to be quilted and bound. The back of it has red and green chili peppers for when we either need a bit less wild of a table runner or have already spilled candle wax on that side. The pillow in the center still needs to be stuffed.

And the apron is miraculously finished! Ready to wear! Now I just need my kitchen remodel to get wrapped up so I can start cooking! For the past six weeks we've been without our kitchen and bathroom. It's been nuts! But we're getting close! Next week the floor coverings and countertops go in, then it's just plumbing and putting the finishing touches on everything! Can you tell from all those exclamation points just how excited I am about the whole thing?!

It was a year ago (November 15th) that we discovered the water damage that started this whole remodel/repair. And we'd only lived in the house two weeks when it happened. So when this is all done, it will finally feel like we've moved in!

Some photos finally

I finally got around to uploading the last photos from the OLD camera. Now the learning curve will begin as I navigate the NEW camera. Of course, now there is so little natural light, I'll blame my questionable photo quality on that (versus, say, my unimaginative choice of backdrops...)



The hood and body of a jacket for the little man's upcoming birthday! The pattern calls for a 1" hem, but I think I'll hem it all the way to the bottom of the zipper. It will still fall well below his hips, so I may add a bit of elastic to keep it from getting drafty.

One space left!

Due to some cancellations, there is still one space open in the Apron class at bolt fabric boutique! Class will be held Tuesdays, November 20th and 27th, from 7pm-9pm! There are two apron choices: Flea Market Fancy (a tiered half apron) and Flirty Skirty (a very cute bib apron). Come join the fun!

Good Things

Good things come in handcrafted packages!
Check out the 30 Days of Handmade Projects over at Sew, Mama, Sew!

Remodel Mayhem

In the midst of this crazy remodel, I managed to crank through a whole load of sewing! I got a baby blanket started AND finished (sorry no photo, it's a gift not yet given. To a baby, not yet born...). And I got some small Christmas gifts finished. Yes, the F-word. I haven't used it much around here lately, as I've gotten very good at starting, and not so good at finishing things. And I got a darling coat cut out for my little one. Photo of that soon.

But I'm sticking my head in here to say that there are two spots open for the upcoming Apron Class at Bolt. You will have your choice of a very cute and feminine apron with a bib OR a waist apron. There have been some amazing apron patterns coming out, and we've grabbed TWO of them to play with!

The apron could be made to be worn at the holidays, so you look super cute in the kitchen OR it would make a fantastic gift - one size fits most!

Happy sewing and I hope to see you in class!

New Classes at Bolt

I am so grateful to teach at Bolt. It is, by far, the coolest shop I've ever shopped, has the greatest owner/person I've ever worked for, and has the most wonderful clients that sign up for classes in the most record time ever! I've wanted to post the class list for a couple of days, but the classes are all nearly full. If you aren't on the Bolt mailing list, you can sign up in the store. That way you'll get the email notice of the new classes as we add them.

For those of you patient enough to be on a waiting list, it's worth a try to get into:

Zipper Clinic Sunday Nov 18th, 4:30-6:30pm
Cute Skirts Tuesdays, Nov 6th and 13th, 7-9pm
Aprons Tuesdays Nov 20th and 27th, 7-9pm
Learn to Sew: Swing Bag Sundays Dec 2nd, 9th, and 16th 4:30-6:30pm

Call Bolt at 503-287-BOLT. If the class is full, you can ask to be added to the wait list. That way, if we add another session, you'll be the first to know. But each time we send out a new class list, the wait lists start over from scratch. Basically, if you still want in the Cute Skirts class, get on the waiting list. At some point you'll get in!

And if it all just makes you crazy and you want the class r.i.g.h.t.n.o.w. , I am resuming giving private lessons in Portland. Right now I am limiting it to Sundays, prior to teaching class at Bolt.

Happy sewing!
-- and that photo up top is an apron I made for a friend for her birthday! It's roughly the apron pattern from Amy Butler In Stitches. I like her method for the waistband and ties. Instead of handstitching, I just did stitch in the ditch from the front, and it worked nicely.

Sister's Retreat 2007

I've been back from the Sister's Retreat for about a week now, and am finally recovered from the sore abdominal muscles! Wow, we had some serious laughs! I have such a great family, and when the women get together, we have SO MUCH FUN!

We got a lot of sewing done, and I'll post some snippets for you. None are all the way finished (except maybe one), but you'll get the idea. ;)

We worked on fabric postcards, and mine was originally going to be that project that you just jump into, thinking you'll toss it in the trash and move on to an attractive version of what you started... It might still get replaced by a better version, but I was aiming to a) play with my new machine (eeeeeek! yay! it's so gorgeous and wonderful. More about that later!) and b) sew myself a reminder of the view from my sewing machine for the weekend. I could look out the window, and beyond the deck rail was a beautiful view of Hood River, the Columbia River, the railroad on the Washington side of the river, and Mt. Adams.


First I backed the fabrics with Wonder Under (or maybe Steam a Seam?) and fused them all together. You'll notice I forgot to add the mountain. The day I worked on this, it was cloudy and I couldn't see the mountain. Out of sight, out of mind!
Then I sewed some fancy stitches to be the "train" and played with thread colors to make the muddy embankment on the far side of the river.
I spent way too much time trying to get the deck rail just right. I played with the paper backing on the fabric and using my ruler, drew the rails. But after I cut out the deck rail, it was way too big. And the scraps left over from the cutting looked better. So now I still need to sew it all together.

Oops, gotta run, more photos tomorrow!

Off I go...

To the 2007 Sisters Retreat! I'll be gone until Tuesday and then will have all sorts of delectable photos to share, hopefully one of my solid color quilt! So far it looks like this. Have a good weekend!

p.s. Be sure to keep your eyes out for the November/December class list from Bolt! We'll be offering another slew of great classes!