Happy Halloween

done

can't believe all I've accomplished in the past couple of days

Etsy shop is up and running...wheeew!

Wish me luck!

almost there

soon...maybe even tomorrow...I will have a new fall/winter line for sale in my Etsy store

my most favorite collection yet!

garden

I spent a couple of hours at the garden plot this week, ripping up plants that were past their best and planting seeds for fall (swiss chard, spinach and lettuce)

This was my first year growing vegetables and I learned a few things:

it is AMAZING how much food two 4x4 foot beds can produce

no matter how cool it might sound to grow "Armenian" cucumbers or "lemon" cucumbers...they probably do better in Armenia...regular old pickling cukes seem to do best in our damp New England climate

It is not a good idea to have tomatoes and lettuce in the same box...lettuce needs a lot of water and tomatoes seem to produce a lot of leaves and little fruit when watered too much

Other boxes at our community garden that were planted with tomatoes and then basically totally neglected have the most amazing tomato yields...the plants look like crap but there are tons of lovely fruit

Planting zucchini and summer squash is not worth the space the plants take up...so cheap to buy at the supermarket!

Pumpkin plants make me a little uneasy...an ENORMOUS amount of vine for just a few pumpkins.. the leaves and stems are so prickly.. and the vines are almost sentient...I think they'd starting winding around my legs if I stood there for too long! But, it'll be very cool to have grown our OWN pumpkin this Halloween!

new dress

i love sewing this dress

the Yeppar pattern is so, so nice ..I added long sleeves to it

psst...I think I've found a new design for some fall/ winter dresses for my Etsy store

stay tuned ;)

dress for a birthday girl

for our sweet friend Mae



fab pattern from Yeppar (I added longer sleeves)
Moda fabric...It's Hoot

gearing up for fall

just need to add the buttonholes...adorable pattern by ChickenHill

blueberry

Lily's pie masterpiece...it was so, so delicious!
I love the look of concentration on her face .
We have one more year at home till this little one goes to preschool.
These are the days, my friends...the sweetest.

Lunch

My sister brought tons...well, pounds and pounds of corn this weekend. She got it fresh picked from a farm near her house. I didn't want any to go to waste so I made a really easy corn chowder for lunch. It was seriously good...nothing compares to sweet, juicy, crisp corn.

This is how I made it...


Corn Chowder

melt 2 tablespoons butter
saute a diced small onion till softened
add 2 tablespoon flour
cook for a minute or so
add 2 cups milk
2 cups corn kernels cut off the cob
a big handful of chives
cook for 8 minutes or so
salt and pepper to taste

I served with bread and a salad of lettuce leaves from the garden...the chives were from our garden too!

sisters

sand castles

every time we are at the beach Mike builds a very elaborate sand castle with Lily...he calls them fortifications, or sandschloss or seaside defense complexes...such a 7 year old boy at heart!

birthday with his brothers

like their game faces? ha!

grilled picanya (Brazilian grilled beef), cold beer and his family all around made for a very Happy Birthday

Love you Mike!

birthday present for Miss N

a gift for our sweet, sassy friend whose favorite color is purple!

tunic pattern by Mani Mina

Notus fabric by Daiwabo

Sherbert Pips accent fabric

most days

you can find us here...

and every day I am so grateful to be able to spend

this precious time

with

this precious child

in

this precious place

Dinner

one of our favorite meals this summer

Salmon Cakes

Cakes
3 packs Salmon (6 oz each pack)
half stalk celery finely chopped
chives
half small onion, grated
1 egg
2 tablespoons mayo (or so...I just use a soup spoon and put in 2 big blobs)
1 large teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup breadcrumbs

Coating
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
pinch salt
pinch black pepper

Make
Mix all together and then form into patties and dredge in the mixture of flour and smoked paprika, salt and pepper

Fry in a skillet until golden and crispy

Serve with tartar (LOVE mayonnaise) sauce, hot sauce and a green salad....

and of course, an ice cold Corona with lime ;)

Garden

on a gray, hot, humid morning

this is the place I most love to be this summer

Our community garden is on Winter Island...not an island, really, but a lovely, quirky peninsula surrounded by the rocky, New England coast...and the best part is, it's only a 15 minute walk from our house!

We've had bumper crops of swiss chard, lettuce of all kinds, sage, dill, chives and parsley and now our plots are on the verge of exploding with cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplant and beans. This is my first year as a vegetable gardener and I am amazed at the quantity of veg two 4' x 4' plots can yield.

simply a miracle for this city girl !

KCWC - Days Three and Four

Not too much sewing going on these past few days...just this muslin for Mia's knot shorts which came out waaaaay too tight (good thing I made the muslin in cheapo fabric). I've redrafted the pattern with a bunch more ease and bought some nice stretch twill to make them up in. I got to the fabric store yesterday and picked up some other pretty cotton batiste fabrics for some tops for Mia. Hopefully I'll have some time to sew tonight and tomorrow.

Check out all the BEAUTIFUL things people are sewing for the KCWC on Flickr. I just love this online sewing community. Such sweet and inspirational and talented people :)

KCWC - Day Two

Pattern drafted for Elsie Marley's Knot Shorts for my big girl

and a little nightgown of my own design for my littlest...can't seem to stop sewing for her, can I?

KCWC - Day One...confessional

I have to admit, right off the bat, that I cheated a bit....I've also copied someone else's work, but more on that after. I cut out these appliques on Friday...but I sewed them on the tees I bought from Target, this morning. I LOVE the Mini Boden catalog. I drool over it every time a new season arrives. I also say to myself, and any one else who will listen, or pretend to, that I can recreate most of the designs that I love , myself. So, I've taken the plunge and knocked off two of the latest Mini Boden applique tees. These are the last two items I had left to sew for my littlest girl's summer wardrobe. They will go with a couple of pairs of shorts I've made for her. Now I am on to the big girl's new clothes. Pattern making commences tonight :)

Happy Mother's Day and...a list

We had a lovely day yesterday...aren't my Mom and sister beautiful?

and today was a day just for me...

presents and shopping and pedicures...

and it's still not done...dinner's being made and wine is being poured...yippeeee!

Happy Mother's Day to you all!


and now...my list of what I hope to make during this week's KCWC.... Meg from Elsie Marley was kind enough to compile a very, very awesome collection of tutorials and patterns on her PINTEREST page...with the exception of the scalloped shirt I am going to make all of these items for my beautiful and sweet Mia...she's 14, almost 15 and suddenly wants me to make her summer clothes...I am not going to say no...not too often a teen is interested in what her mom does. ;)

Links in order top to bottom:


http://sewretrochic.blogspot.com/2009/10/shirred-mod-top-tutorial.html
http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/2011/02/scallop-shirt.html
http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2011/04/free-pattern-month-day-4-elsie-marley.html
http://bridgetbaxter.blogspot.com/2010/02/apron-top-tutorial.html

Kids Clothes Week Challenge...I'm In!

Basically, you commit to sewing clothes for your kids, or someone else's kids for one hour a day for 7 days...and then sit back and marvel at HOW MUCH you can get done in such a little bit of time! I always like this approach...takes the sting and anxiety out of a big project whole.

There are awesome ideas over on Elsie Marley...make sure you check out the Pinterest page...and a really cool week of interviews (pre- KCWC Week) with designers who create lovely patterns for children's clothing.

Want to join? Go to Elsie Marley leave your comment, and off we go!

P.S. and here is the link to the Elsie Marley Flickr group...so don't forget to click over, join the group and show off your creations and get inspired by some really talented and creative people!

summer clothes for the girl

Oliver & S Ruffled Halter Top Pattern...free download!

Love the way this top is constructed and the ruffles were surprisingly easy to do...I changed it a bit by lengthening the pattern and adding two more ruffles to make it a sundress and by adding elastic to the neck tie and crisscrossing it in the back and fixing the straps to the back.

These sets were made with Aneela Hoey's adorable Sherbet Pips fabrics and
shorts were made with Oliver & S Class Picnic pattern

sewing for the girl

I'll admit it, I LOVE dressing my little girl. I sew a lot for her and buy ridiculously expensive shoes for her...with the justification that, if I am saving SO MUCH money by making most of her clothes then certainly I can splurge on shoes, right? So far, Lils has been amazingly compliant. She hasn't had much to say about what she wears...so when she started expressing a very clear preference for pink (yup, Princess Pink...yuck!) I felt like I had to give in on it....hence the skirt above. I just made up it up with a rectangle of fabric (45" x 12") and added tulle to the bottom and a band of jersey for the waistband.

Then I was off...got my sewing thang back and ordered some pdf patterns from Heidi and Finn..
such a deal! 5 patterns for 25 dollars. I've sewn 2 pair of cargo pants (of which I do NOT have photos of, stupid camera battery) and this pleated skirt below...which I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

I saw a very trendy tiered skirt at le target the other day that I wanted for Lils but didn't want to spend $15 so I found this pattern from Pink Chickaddee Patterns and today I'll use some of my stash fabric and tulle to try to recreate...and it'll be pinkish and perfect for a certain 3 year old.

I really like the Heidi and Finn patterns...the photos could be a bit brighter but the instructions are good. The styles are a little different and not too cutesy(a feature I am clearly negating by constructing the garments in pink, pink, pink.). I have 3 more patterns of theirs to try out and I'll post photos (if I can get the stupid camera to work) when I do. The Pink Chickadee Tutorial looks good...I'll report back later...
anyone else have any recommendations for good patterns?

Chalkboard Tree

so...I think the tree did turn out pretty cool! or maybe I am just driven mad by the snow...15 - 20 inches more tomorrow...ha...hahaha...hahahahahaha

aaaanyway...my former sewing room turned playroom needed a little something to funkify it...and I have a can of chalkboard paint that needed using up...and I have been wishing I could copy Lightbluegray's gorgeous tree...and voila! I just drew the tree shape on the wall with pencil, painted it in with two coats of the chalkboard paint and then cut out bunches of leaves from my huge basket of fabric scraps. I stuck the leaves and squirrels to the wall using a cornstarch paste (recipe here) which is supposed to make it so the fabric can just peel off the wall when you want to change it up.

what do you think? cool or crazy?

Quilts!

all finished and ready to give...I used this wonderful tutorial from Aneela Hoey of Comfortstitching and it was a lot of fun...a lot of work ...not sure if quilting is really my thing but I am very happy that I gave it a try....we have been trying to get up to see the little babies the quilts are meant for, for about a month now...but it just. keeps. snowing. ..uuughh...hopefully we will get there very soon :)

since I am no longer doing too much sewing(read ANY) for my Etsy store or for fairs ...not really worth it in the end...I did learn this lesson years ago with my now extinct handbag business, but I guess I had to learn it again...we now have a little more space! ...the teeny, tiny room at the top of our stairs that has now been turned into a playroom for Lily...I am working on a very cool (at least I hope it turns out that way!) wall decoration...photos soon!

hope you are having a lovely weekend!

a wreath for my friend...new babies....new house......new year...we both agreed this morning that maybe, just maybe, the wind is blowing us some happier, gentler times...fingers crossed





the tutorial for this wreath can be found....here :) thanks Lindsay!