~ Sea Escape ~

This baby of mine has actually been completed for a short time now, but with all the surfboards/patterns, she hasn't had a proper photo shoot.

I have found that it's quite difficult to get the silvery shimmer on the water ... on film.

But trust me ... there's a lot of shimmer going on here.

Which extends down to the froth and the foam. 

And the sand.

 The stars simply lie on the sand.
This wall hanging is 25" wide x 36" long just like the others.

I can't decide whether or not to go with another seascape next, or one of the other things on that very long list in my head.
A great many lists have been made on paper, but the one in my head seems to always take precedence.

I love the Sea.
Can ya tell?

~ Surf's UP!"

It is shocking but true!
I have added a NEW pattern to my Etsy Shop ... the first new pattern in almost a year.

Truth be told ... I made this little gem last summer, strictly as decor for my studio.
A couple of weeks ago, I took note of this, found my notes and wrote the pattern this weekend.
You can make this quilt in a weekend.  Easy. Simple. Quick.



She is small ... 16" wide x 27" high.
Hence, the price is a little smaller also ... only $6.00 for the pattern.
This is a true bargain, because there are essentially two (2!) patterns here. You can make the quilt or you can make a 16" square pillow out of the center panel.

I have named her "Moondoggie" and, yes, I realize that dates me.

You can find the pattern here on my Etsy Shop.

You can find the original Moondoggie ... surfing some California waves with Gidget.

~ Blast from the Past Craft ~

So ... I woke up the other morning and, even with my eyes half open, focused on the two recessed rectangles that are above my two closet doors.
(One closet.  Two doors.)

I have awakened to that same sight for 2 1/2 years, but this time was different.
This time I knew that I wanted to fill those spaces with something.
Something simple.

Back in the 80's, I did my fair share of stencilling, but I had not given it much thought until the other morning.

I had been reminded of stencilling because I had purchased ... and inhaled repeatedly ... this delightful and gorgeous book by Dena Fishbein of Dena Designs.

In the back of the book is a stencil.  A free stencil.
So within moments of waking up, my plan was already in motion.  I did have to buy new stencil brushes as my old ones would be almost 30 years old ... if they had survived the moves.

So while still in my jammies this morning, I stencilled with glee.

Thank you Dena!

~ A Binding Agreement ~

So ... I was finishing up my latest project yesterday and starting on the binding.
(You can see that I attach the sleeve to the top and sew within the 1/4" seam before I start the binding process.)

Anyhoo, that got me to thinking about the three (3!) tutorials I published a little over a year ago which outline the quilt binding process that I taught at this store in AZ for over 6 years.

Since then they have been pinned countless times, but I know personally that I often pin something and then neglect to ever actually go back and reference it when I need it.

Sad but true.

So here is a reminder to take a look.  I can promise you that you won't ever want to use another binding method after you have tried this one.

Tutorial One: How to get crisp, square, professionally looking corners.
See HERE.

(And yes ... I changed the "sky" on my quilt.  About 6 times.)

Tutorial Two: How to join those edges for a smooth, bump-less junction.
See HERE.

Tutorial Three: Sewing the binding down on the back.
See HERE.

Pin it. Use it. Love it.

~ Lessons Learned ~

This is a picture of my mom and her sister.
My mom is on the left.

This is a picture of me and my sister.
I am on the left.
I still need to learn to stand up straight.

My mom sewed those charming dresses for my sister and me.
She took great pride in the fact that she had "never had a sewing lesson."

I learned to sew because she taught me how.
Those were great lessons.

I have a picture of her that sits to the left of me as I sit at my sewing machine.

Everyday I look at her ... and thank her.
And miss her.

Who taught you to sew?

~ Temporarily Clean ~

So ... on Monday I cleaned my Studio.

It took all morning.
It made me happy.

And then ... for the next two days ... I couldn't bring myself to go in and mess it up.

Weird.

Finally, yesterday afternoon, I started sketching.

After the sketching comes the fabric picking process.
Which ... FYI ... is my favorite process of all.

Sky.

Sea.

Sand.

I have had my fill of clean.

Let's make a mess!

~ A Pressing Matter ~

So I bought a new ironing board cover.

Why?
Because the old one was way too gross for words ... or pictures.
Let's just say I use a LOT of fusibles and sprays.

This one is Laura Ashley and I bought her at Home Goods for a song.
And some money.

The hard part ... the really, really hard part ... was stretching it to fit snug-gly over the top of the board.
I seriously incurred some knuckle injuries in the process.

Was it just me?

Oh who cares ... I'm just loving the way everything is coming up roses.