Inspiration

Yes.I.Did.

I bought the first issue of Mollie Makes .

(There are exceptions to my cheap and thrifty rules.)

and Yes, that is a yard of Alexander Henry's Farmdale Fabric

Child #2 has graduated and will be leaving the nest. Leaving in his wake,

a spare room in the house.

LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN.

Spare room?

Spare room?

Spare room!

No, I will not make the spare room a shrine to my son's life,

sorry that shrine is in my heart.

and THIS room is getting a re-do
My Way :)

stay tuned.

Grandpa Pants

You know what I'm talking about!? The kind of mens jeans that are stiff and plain AND just begging for someone to stuff a hanky in them? Where the back pockets are spaced so far apart you could park a Hummer?

Yes, those jeans.

Well, to get to the point.

I've always wanted to try moving the pockets on a pair of jeans

(serious bucket list stuff here)

anyhoo

Enter:free-jeans-my-size-I'm-cheap-I-know

I ripped off the pockets and the small "roebucks" tag.

( a girl has to have some standard ya know)

And sewed on this cute bit of ribbon.

I grabbed a pair of my favorite jeans,

with pockets in just the right spot to use as a guide.

and stitched them right back on again.
only now there's no parking space!

Book Bag

Child # 3 was in desperate need of a new book bag for school.

She picked this delicious fabric from JoAnn's.
We mixed some old with some new
and for $3.00 she has a fabulous bag.

I used the shopping bag pattern from the Green Bag Lady
and added a lining and a flap.

Mother's Day

I did simple for Mother's Day this year.

Mug Rug's and Coasters.

She really deserve's a standing ovation.

but this this will have to do.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Quick Photobooth

I've been struggling to get good pictures from my camera. As blogland grows I see better quality pictures out there. You know the ones I'm talking about, where you can see every detail of the fabric- the grain-the stitches- the loveliness. I'm really not one to keep up with the Jones's. BUT, I do like a little stitchy eye-candy once in a while.

More than once I've seen someone make a photobooth out of a cardboard box, which is great except for the fact that you have to have a place to store the box when your not using it. So I decided to give this a try.

isn't this a delicious picture!

all I did was lay some posterboard around the bottom and back of my basket. Draped white fabric over the top to soften/even out the light and a little aroung the bottom. Ideally it should have a light/lamp on the sides too for a better pic. But I'm not complaining.

aren't these little peepers darling!

Map Quilt

that little spot is Tazmania, an island of Australia

and the start of my next project.

I love geography, cartography , historical books and ancient history. I've always thought it would be nice to have a map quilt to cozy up with while I'm reading about ancient times or far off places.

I am not impressed with the screaming colors of the fabric map below. So with some inspiration from fantastic map quilter Leah Evans , I am embarking on a new quilting journey. It will literally require me to stitch my way around the world :)

eat, pray, love....and maybe sew

I found this book at the library before I headed out for the sunshine state where I'm spending the week with my parents. And I have been doing just what it says : Eating, Praying, and Loveing the time I have with my folks.

This woman talks about Depression and Loneliness like they are detectives hiding out and trying to trip her up. How they catch up with her, and interogate her.

"They come upon me all silent and menacing like Pinkerton Detectives, and they flank me--Depression on my left, Loneliness on my right. They don't need to show me there badges. I know these guys very well. We've been playing this cat-and-mouse game for years now."

she tells them to go away but;

"Then they frisk me. They empty my pockets of any joy I had been carrying there. Depression even confiscates my identity; but he always does that.

Anyways its a great book for anyone who knows these thugs.

oh yes the sewing part. Well...um that just isnt happening. I packed half of my carry-on luggage with fabric, because I thought I would want to take advantage of this time to sew.(come to find out napping is the hobby of choice down here) Above is a project I started a year ago. Someday it will be a quilted world map with applique and embroidery.