• Blog

    Room refresh

    January 24, 2023 - By 

    It’s taken me a bit and is far from complete but I have finally starting the transformation of J’s room into a sewing room. The room is very small and we plan to keep the bed in there for now so that leaves less options for layout.

    This was my first layout. It was ok but far from ideal.

    This is how I currently have it arranged. It’s more functional but looks awkward. I still have issues with the desk space. The only place for a glass is behind the sewing machine. You may be able to see the empty coaster there.

    Truth be told, besides the bed, there is still some stuff that J has yet to move. So I am working around that as well.

    I have made use of the space though. These are a few journal covers I had rattling around my head. More to come on that as I continue working on them.

    Also was making use of scraps I unearthed while rearranging. Years ago I wrote an article for Sew Somerset describing my process for these mini collages. Now the junk journal community calls them clusters. I can get behind the name change but the process is the same.

    This bunch took me less than 30 minutes.

    I’ve also started work on a paper bag book. I haven’t made one in probably 10 years. I kind of burned out on it. However there is a baby boom around work. I thought I’d try my hand at making a few instead of the typical gift of a cute little outfit that baby fits into for exactly 57 minutes.

    As you might be able to guess…we are empty nesting again. We brought Mini-me back to college for Spring semester.

    When we walked into her room we were shocked that her cactus had grown with no light for a month. No water wasn’t surprising…but no light?!

    I snapped a photo out the window on the most boring part of our drive. There is about an hour of basically this view after you exit the interstate.

  • Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    Panda pillowcases

    November 1, 2021 - By 

    When I spotted some panda fabric at local quilting store I just had to grab it. Mini-me loves pandas. I thought I’d make her a cute accessory for her dorm room.

    My neighbor has been making beautiful custom pillowcases for family and friends over the summer. I’ve been admiring her handiwork. I happened to be with her at this particular quilt shop and guided me on how much I needed to purchase for a set of pillowcases.

    After giving me a brief verbal tutorial, she passed along the YouTube video tutorial she followed to create very professional results with French seams.

    I tried to snap some photos along the way but honestly without the video, my photos may not make a whole lot of sense. Not being one to try to recreate the wheel…and really just wanting to get these made…I didn’t take enough photos to create a tutorial of any sort.

    Sausage rolled fabrics that had me questioning my sanity.

    I’m mainly sharing my images to of course show off the cute fabric, but also to show how crazy this process seems and how you may fear you are doing something wrong…but don’t worry…it all comes together in the end.

    Again, this had me questioning my sanity…closing the seams with right sides out and raw edges exposed. All I have to say is, patience…follow the process…it will turn out right in the end.

    I love this little detail. A small tab of contrasting fabric.

    And here you have them…perfect French seam pillowcases…no exposed seams or raw edges. It’s a kind of magic especially when you think about the fact that I only sewed three lines of stitching, Crazy!

  • Art - Blog - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: catching up again edition

    May 11, 2021 - By 

    Once again I’m playing catch up here on my blog. Spring definitely gets away from me. School gets more demanding as we near the end which leaves me too tired to do anything beyond feeding my family and preparing for the following day.

    This spring we also have the added pressure of Mini-me graduating from high school! Stressing over whether or not there will be a graduation ceremony, a choir concert, grad parties, etc. And if there are…how comfortable do we feel about it. We finally got the answer to a couple of those question marks. There will be a concert but it will be single choirs to limit people and possible exposures. There will be graduation which will look similar to those in the past due to since our governor announced a step down in restrictions taking effect before graduation. This does make me nervous even though we are all vaccinated. Mini-me will not be having a graduation party.

    Last week was an eventful one. Wednesday was my birthday…next year is a big one… I was spoiled by friends and coworkers with kind words and thoughtful gifts.  Thursday, Mini-me and I drove to Duluth to move J home from college for the summer. It was a quick up and back trip.

    We had to take a quick detour into Canal Park before heading to campus…we love Duluth so much. I wish we could have spent more time there.

    If you look closely there are two ships in this photo. The closer one is a “salty” meaning it traveled in from the Atlantic Ocean. The other one on the horizon is one of the Great Lakes fleet of ore boats.

    I did manage to fix my journal. I plan to add some beads along the spine to cover the extra holes but decided that it would make the most sense to wait until the journal is complete.

    Look at all the pretty papers! I can’t wait to start using it. I know my birthday cards and notes are going to have a place right away.

    I have been sewing too..no surprise there. It is so satisfying to be making a major dent in my scraps. I have yet to decide if this will become a bed size quilt or a couple of throws.

    I had to share the mug J bought for me. He said it was a combo b-day and mothers day gift. So sweet.

    This summer appears to be getting more back to normal. Both kids have jobs…thank goodness! Mini-me will actually have two. J currently has two but his school job will end in June obviously and he will be able to put in more time at his internship. It’s so very exciting to see them both taking those next steps in life. Although I’m not even going to pretend to be completely ok with being “empty nesters” next fall.

     

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?