May 10, 2013

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!!!


May 6, 2013







Good Morning Darlings!

Just a quick check in! After a lot of life changes, I am in the process of rebuilding my studio in a fabulous new house! I have a pile of great ideas and will be jump-starting this blog and my facebook page with some great new projects,  tutorials, pattern reviews and of course, studio goodies!

Happy Sewing!




February 2, 2012

Winners and Treats!



Well hello out there :-)

I can safely tell you with 110% accuracy that I am not the bloggy type. I really wish I was because I'd love to fill you in on all the fun I have with thread and fabric around here, but for some reason my brain feels spring coming on and it wants to be outside. Anyone else find sitting in front of a computer dreadful lately? Thats me!

So, in an effort to thwart the computer blahs, let's just talk about my nifty winner and let me show you what I've been working on!!!

The biggest news of course is that I am not a Riley Blake retailer and I sell it with Claudia at the fabric store. Very shortly you will see the Riley Blake paired with some of the discount fabrics which will save you $$$$'s when it's time to create!! I've already sold some in the Etsy store as well as in the brick and mortar store so get it while you can! Remember that I'll gladly create a custom bundle for you if you give me some direction. It's amazing how much money you can save quilting with a couple of name brand fabrics paired up with discount fabrics. I have a nice collection of other designer fabric stores, like my precious pal Amy at Pinked Fabrics as well who I love to support. If you purchase something from her and want some discount fabrics to stretch your budget with, please feel free to message me!

With that great news comes even bigger news for my little contest winner..

Shirley Haynes Clark!

My friend. Guess what?! You will be getting some pretty Riley Blake tossed in with your fabrics!!! I'm going to message you shortly and we're going to talk about what you like to do so I can load you up with stuff from here and hopefully you will send me wonderful pictures of what you do!!

Want a snipit of the latest from my sewing table?....


Yup, that's embroidery! I made that pattern one night when I was lamenting about how I need to do something portable, and a week later out of my hoop jumped this little gem! Forgive the wrinkles, I've not ironed it yet! It really went from my hoop to this blog!!

So... what are YOU working on??