Baby Burp Cloths

Good morning!! I've been so busy in the work world, that I haven't had three seconds to sit here and catch you up on what's new with us over here! Let's start with an update on the sewing studio.

I think I mentioned previously that it's all painted up!!! I haven't moved in yet, and all of my stuff is sitting in the middle of the room while I am waiting to create the built-in. I just finished designing it but I change my mind every three seconds. Seriously. I think it's a designer thing. This weekend I'm off to a reclimation shop to see if they have any while lowers on the cheap :)

Last week I had a work meeting with a lovely local client who has a pregnant employee. I adore her as well and thought I'd take along a mid-pregnancy treat! Who doesn't like a little treat?? I happen to know her little bundle is a bouncing baby boy, so I snipped some squares from some flannels I have and backed them with soft ivory terrycloth. Voila!

This has to be the easiest little sew job around. In fact I think my daughter is finally ready to learn how to sew so this will be the project we do together first. These 3 little cloths took me about an hour to whip off. I'm not going to do a little tutorial as there are about 900 of them online, but I will tell you that as far as gifts go- it's always nicer to have handmade!

Today, I am very grateful to have some time to get back to my mini curvy pinwheel quilt. Next post I'll talk about my experience with the pattern and show you some progress!!

Happy Thursday!!

That Sewing Machine Thing

A few years ago I had this itch to sew. I bought a pile of fabrics, a pile of notions, and a cheap little sewing machine from Walmart. I wasn't too sure if my new hobby was a passing fad or something more. Well, I guess it is an addiction because here I am with my own studio, a pile of cute things and a fabric stash that somewhat resembles the cutting floor of a JoAnn's. 

Before the move my poor little sewing machine, who has seen some serious action, was not behaving like a good machine should. I put off dealing with it until after we moved, and when I plugged him in... well he works but not like he should. He likes to snaggle his bobbin and snap his needle. No amount of fussing with the tension resolves his issues and after a series of frantic google suggestions and a phone call to the sewing machine doctor, he's just not coming back to life. Honestly, he doesn't owe me any favors... I'm not too sure it even cost me $100?

I called the sewing machine doctor back and asked him how much it would be to resurrect my sweet, and he told me somewhere in the neighborhood of $200. .. No. My machine didn't even cost me $200 so after a lot of pouting my darling husband suggested that I magically go out and get a new one! Well.... don't mind if I do....

This time around I decided that I wanted to try a sewer that had embroidery options. I don't want to commit to a full fledged sewing machine, so I thought this little buy may be a good option:



Its a Brother SE400 and it does sewing and embroidery!! What sewing machine do you use?

New Digs

I don't think people realize that when they start to become part of a community, that community misses them when they disappear for a time! I did get your emails and facebook messages, and I missed you, too!

Over the past year my husband and I decided to make a big shift in our situation. I took on a second job, which didn't leave me any time to sew or do other hobbies. The result of all that hard work though, is our new house and a dedicated sewing studio with two huge windows! Now that we have moved, and life is trickling back to a more relaxed atmosphere, its time to get the studio into an organized space. In our last house, it shared a room with the guest room. In this house, the guest room is downstairs so the sewing studio has it's own space!

A lot of people ask me how I make a color decision as they are often overwhelmed with color choices. Previously, I would recommend flipping through magazines to see what colors they loved and then work with them to find a way to marry them into a scheme. Today, we have Pinterest! What would we do without Pinterest?? Its pretty well laid out for you!!

(image: design-seeds.com)

 Sadly, being a designer does NOT mean my new house is in flawless order. Quite the opposite. The former owner had an Easter obsession. The master was bubblegum pink. The two other bedrooms are lavender and grey. The living room is soft pastel green and the kitchen is a soft yellow!! The basement is just a disaster. We won't go there yet.

Back to the sewing room: it's lavender. Problem #1: the new color.

Back to Pinterest!! I know the problem with Pinterest is that it's somewhat "pie in the sky" in its images. Who in their right mind has a sewing studio that looks like Martha popped up with Oprah's pocket book and gold leafed the walls?? Nobody. My budget is $60 for paint and $100 for MDF to make some built in work surfaces. Later, my budget will have some room for a new light fixture but for now it's limited to work surface and color.

So there is what I'm thinking....

(image: original Zulily.com)

Lighter than lime green. Love it. With white shelving and the wood floors, white window trim, and some sort of patterned drape would be really pretty. I love how fresh green is. I don't like white walls, but I love white as a furniture piece!! Is it bad that I love that little scallop trim?

So: I will blog about the sewing room transition in stages so you can see how we do this because right now it's a big mess with plastic bins holding all my stash... that ever growing stash..... It's amazing how I've pawned stash fabric off on all my sister in laws, but it still keeps growing.... !!!

Re-do to-do list:

1. Pack up the studio
2. Pick a wall color
3. Tape and prep for paint
4. Pick a built-in color
5. Design the built-in
6. Paint the room
7. Paint/Build/Trim/Touch up the built in
8. Unpack and Reveal!!!