Tied up with string

I love getting packages.  Even if I'm the one who paid for the contents...


From etsy.  A seller had their entire stock of fabric on sale.  The top is Joel Dewberry.  Which I know means nothing to most of you.  To me he means $10+ a yard. 



The next two are Michael Miller.  Also, $10+/yard.  No, I didn't pay that.

Maybe this will help to inspire.  I dunno.  I already  missed my nephews birthday yesterday.  Haven't even opened the closet to look at my sewing machine yet.

I'm tired and out of sorts from my 12 hour shift yesterday.  Nothing like starting out your week with overtime.

I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day. ~ Vincent Van Gogh

Possibilities

A stack of freshly-washed new and new-to-me fabric.

Thirteen inches to be exact.

"I don't wanna defeat you

I don't wanna be sad

I don't wanna forgive you

I don't wanna be mad
'cause it's always say what you wanted to say
as you're walking away
and I can't take this disappointment again
and i'm waiting..."
~ Lagwagon

little miss

i had a fairly creative weekend. want to see???

so this is the last tshirt i'm making for the going-away party at work for katie. and this will be her shirt. in case you haven't figured it out, katie is leaving and going back to school to become a nurse. LPN more specifically. i actually really like how this shirt turned out. and in case you're wondering, the letters are all freehand, so they're not necessarily lined up 100%.

the following is the reason i should never expect to get one thing (ie red shirt paint) when i go into joanns. i have to stop by the remnant fabric section. i mean, its almost expected.

it also enabled me to actually save more than i spent. kinda awesome when that happens.

its hard to tell, but there are actually all different types of fabric in there.

starting with the black meshy fabric and moving outward:

the black meshy fabric (for making more fruit/veggie grocery store bags or something else equally fun)

the big black bundle is actually a cotten/linen blend. its awesome. i really like linen. its super classy.

the one on top of that is the only plain old cotton. but i got it because its turquoise and brown and it just looks neat. plus it matches the colors in my bedroom and it might end up on a pillowcase.

the brown and tan houndstooth is a home-dec weight fabric that would make a classy hat or maybe a vest...? hmmm...

the tan stuff on top is vinyl.

the white and the black bundles at the very end are actually silky rayon or cotton and rayon blend.

okay, enough with the fabric, alicia.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

today i had the itch to make more dog biscuits. however because i still have neglected to buy a food processor, i was left with only one type of biscuits to make, that i've made several times already - a garlic cheesy biscuit. BUT....when i went to make them, i realized i forgot to buy yeast. so, i decided i still wanted to make something, so i used my blender as a food processor. it actually worked out really really well.

the following was my mad scientist workspace....

my kitchen is really small. i mean really. my bathroom is actually bigger. and this is literally half my kitchen. have i already mentioned its small? sometimes i have to get a little creative with space.

anyways, i started with baking peanut butter oat dog biscuits. they smelled yummy. they tasted kind of bland. but atticus liked them.

after they were done i figured i'd might as well make another batch because i already had dirtied up half of my appliances and dishes, a little more flour etc wouldn't make a difference.

so i made a batch of peanut butter biscuits. they were supposed to be peanut butter sesame biscuits, but i didn't buy sesame seeds (they were supposed to be sprinkled on top), and i figured attie wouldn't miss them. the second batch was a lot better. mmm...peanut butter...

so the domesticity hasn't ended yet. while the second batch was being cut out, i had a brilliant idea. i just bought atticus another kong, and i needed kong filler. (a kong is basically a fancy fat rubber tube with a tiny hole in one end and a bigger hole on the other - you can fill it with things and then put something on the big hole at the end and it gives your dog something to eat/play with. normally i fill attie's kong with dog food and then seal up the end with cream cheese. he loves cream cheese). anyways...back to my brilliance. i had just bought a bunch of sweet potatoes (or yams....i dont remember which) at safeway, so i decided to make mashed sweet potatoes. instead of milk, i used cream cheese.

mmmm. they were actually extremely yummy. and i was lazy and didn't remove any of the skins. it was still good.

(and i'm sure i'm not the first one to think of mixing up sweet potatoes and cream cheese...dont think all this talk about me being brilliant has gone to my head and caused me to believe this is an original idea. i know its not. i just get excited when i think of things without reading about someone else doing them first.)

they were a big hit with atticus too. (heres a picture of him and his kong...sorry for the blurriness, he was a dog on a mission).

if that wasn't enough, i also made a batch of cinnamon streusel muffins for me for this week. (well, "made" as in added oil, egg, and milk).

ignore that large burned part in the middle. i was sloppy.

so yeah...not a bad days haul.

and where was atticus for most of this baking genius??



outside, with his nose pressed up against the screen door.

"she wants me to be her emotional tampon." ~ c. berg

caution: pretty things ahead

so, alicia was bad again. this is what happens when i check up on my new favorite fabric site and see all the new stuff on clearance....




got more thread....new colors.....

some large ric-rac....

and, of course....japanese fabrics!

home dec weight...ants...

sun-shiney cotton...

more home dec weight...elephants!

a cotton & linen blend...

the last fabric, up close...

flying sheep on a gauze -like linen...

and some pretty butterflies.

last picture....how perfect are these together?



okay. show and tell is over.

i have lots of fabrics now, and lots of ideas. but i can't seem to find the time to make things. so, i'm making myself a pledge right now....no new fabric til i use some of my new fabric. my friend sarah's birthday is coming up....i think she deserves something japanese!

in other news, the academy has been mentally exhausting. not only the work, but the politics. i really hate politics.

"be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind dont matter and those who matter dont mind." ~ dr seuss

show and tell

TGIF. in many many ways.

i'm excited to show you all my new and fun packages i finally rescued from my apartment manager's office!

but first.... i left work on time today (4pm), and due to a slightly wonderful thing called daylight savings, and an even more wonderful thing called 64 degrees fahrenheit, i was able to try my hand at metal stamping outside on my cement patio. WOW. what a huge difference than stamping in my bathroom!! it was great! so much easier to imprint the letters on the metal, and the letters look a lot better. awesome.

i was able to finish the following (i purposely made it so you can't see what they say...)



the big problem with working on cement is all the grease or oil or whatever is on the stamps picks up the sandy grit from the cement. also, just because the letters imprint better, doesn't mean the stamps will not go flying out of my hand with significant velocity.

(my discard pile...and my quote book which was there for inspiration...)




atticus also enjoyed the sun. seen here deep in thought...




now onto fun purchases...

last week i FINALLY stopped window-shopping at etsy and bought something. actually, i bought two things.

the first....



can you see what it is?

heres another view....




its a bundle of zippers from kandcsupplies. aren't they wonderful colors? i bought a set of 50 (!) so i can start making small pouches. hopefully that will be as clever as this one.

my second etsy purchase is from a seller that i've admired for months and months. i keep looking at all his wonderful things. i dont know why i haven't bought from him sooner.



say hello to my skull mug!!!! isn't he fabulous????

and look at the bottom...he has a name! (shade)



plus hes dishwasher safe. and completely handmade. this same seller also makes many other fun things for your kitchen along the same lines (he has zombies and other monsters and skulls), and if you think this is cute, my pictures dont even do it justice. so seriously, check out skeletaldropkick. awesome stuff. i can't tell you how excited i am to drink my first cup of coffee out of him.

and finally...my stuff from purl. finally finally finally!

first off, look at my receipt slip.

thats handwritten. who wouldn't want to buy from a shop that hand-writes you a thank you? its the small things...

starting off with my sashiko thread. yes, when i start something i tend to go overboard. why buy one color when i can buy 5?? i have some plans for this stuff though....just wait....

i love sale fabrics. they allow me to get stuff like this....

(same design on 2 different backgrounds). how awesomely crazy are these? and theres so much going on its hard to take it all in...

here is part of the yellow fabric up close. very trippy, right??

next up, some pretty floral stuff and my...linen!! the linen is the stuff on the right. the color is "natural". naturally. its so prettily plain and linenly wonderful. i only got half a yard (its cost prohibitive), but i have some plans for this too....

next....my JAPANESE FABRICS!!!! these were the only two on sale that i really liked, but how awesome are they??

and finally, my huge splurge. japanese fabric, not on sale. i only got 1/4 a yard, but i think its enough. just look....



its on a canvas-like fabric so its a lot heavier than cotton. its hard to take it all in, i know. such an amazingly neat design i just might hang it on the wall and enjoy it for 6 months before i use it.

anyways, hope you enjoyed my show and tell!

happiness...

okay, i know this is amazingly shallow, but sometimes happiness CAN be bought. and it looks a little like this:




and like this:




as you can probably guess....my fabrics came!!!!!!

now its time for a little show & tell....


my kiddo choices:




this i saw for a specific kiddo (subject to change!) ....



for a somewhat older kiddo....(shhh!!!)

(and i already know what i'm going to make with it! of course thats also subject to change...)

kinda whimsical & fun fabric...

(i've been digging turquoise lately, dont know why)

sophisticated and pretty fabrics:





up close with the more sophisticated palate (i really wish i could take better pictures):





and my MOST FAVORITE fabric of all...



[insert drum-roll here]







i dont even mind that they're not claussens.

so there you have it....$50.79 worth of fun.

"get a good thing, hold it close to your heart." ~ joy electric