Signs of Life

Hello Sunshine!

I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things, blogging is a habit that I have let fall to the wayside, so... baby steps.

It has been a bit of a gloomy winter, but for the past couple of days the sun has come out to play. There are signs of life everywhere. Flowers are popping up and perfuming the air.

Purple and green carpets under still leafless trees and Hellebore showing off their early blooms.

It's invigorating and energizing to see the natural world waking up. Are there signs of life where you are?

I'm off to enjoy the sun while it lasts. See you soon!

Nice Rack!

This weekend Woodworking with Sasquatch, aka The Engineer, made me this amazing rolling clothing rack for my studio. I love it! Isn't it a beauty?

I am one lucky lady. Thank you so much darlin'!

Random Acts of Sewing

On any given day there are a lot of projects waiting to be started, to be worked on, to be finished... and of course there's always laundry. 

There are some days however, that one must shoo away all those projects and to-dos buzzing around one's head and just commit random acts of sewing. Yesterday was just such a day. Something simple and happy, something that can be completed in the better part of a morning, and something useful as well. Yes, that was just the ticket!

I asked my girl to choose some fabric before she left for school then broke out some tried and true patterns that I have altered, adjusted, and sized up many times. I was able to give my new fancy steam iron a good work out and I must say it did a bang up job. (Last week my old trusty iron had a run in with some nasty synthetics and I'm not naming names, but it wasn't me... the end result was a new iron had to be acquired)

I spent some lovely hours happily stitching away, it did me a world of good I tell you! Nothing difficult or tricky, no doubts or maths involved, just familiar lines curving and meeting in a most satisfying way.

This morning my girl donned her new duds and blew kisses to me from the school bus window.

Well, I'm off - the laundry awaits!

A Tiny Miracle

Yesterday whilst out in the garden I spied a tiny miracle. Well, to be honest, I actually caught the scent of a small miracle before I spied it with my little eye.

Earlier this year I took a few leaps of faith when it came to planting in the garden. I have told you of the many fruit trees we have and the abundance we are gifted with. Still, I wanted to try growing something I have never grown before, melons. This is not the complete truth, I have on one other occasion grown melons, watermelon actually. However, that is a tale of woe for another time.

A cantaloupe melon, a Charentais Melon to be specific. Pony Girl is wild for melons, so I thought I'd throw caution to the wind and plant one small plant. Over the Summer months I diligently watered and cared for said melon plant. I was quite beside myself when the first little green globe appeared on the plant, and then 2 more joined the party.

As time went on I noticed that the small green globes were not growing to the size indicated on the information tag that came in the plant. Last week as I checked them again I sighed the sigh that says, "Well I gave it a go, what a shame."

Yesterday though, as I was returning from my errands I walked past the garden bed with the miniature melons and caught a whiff. The scent of a ripe melon! upon closer inspection  the little fruit fell off the stem into my hands. Oh my thought I, surely it wont taste good, it's only the size of a softball after all, not nearly the 2 pound fruit it was supposed to be.

I cut the melon in half, hmmmm... it looks good. And then I took a tentative taste. This my friends was the best tasting melon I'd had in an age. It tasted like candy! Amazing! Hurrah!

I saved the rest of the melon for Pony Girl, who did in fact agree that it was most delicious.

Though in the scheme of things it was truly the tiniest of miracles, I'll take it. It's the everyday little happy surprises that make for a happy life.

Hello Monday - Pretending Spring

Outside it is a gloomy Monday, all bluster and rain, gray skies and soggy ground. Inside however, I am pretending it is Spring. I spotted 2 little daffodils in the corner of the yard and one slightly battered Hellebore. I clapped my hands and said "Hello first flowers! You are a sight for sore eyes!" Then yes, I plucked them. The wind and rain were surely about to bash them to pieces and truth be told, I needed a bit of pretty to bring inside.

To keep up the illusion of happy Springtime on this stormy day, I have also started a quilt for a baby that could be coming any day now. Ooh, I'd better hurry shouldn't I?  I am using the most springy springtime fabric I had on hand.

I am using several fabrics from Urban Chiks - Dream On for Moda from a couple of years ago, and a vintage-ish green solid that I also had in my stash.

As you can see, it's easy pretending Spring with all these happy, pretty flowers about. Well, just as long as I don't go outside.

Are you impatiently awaiting Spring, or are on the other side awaiting Fall? Either way, may your week be a good one!

Origami Market Bag Tutorial - On WhipUp

Hey there! Today I have a special tutorial for my Origami Market Bags over at WhipUp!  I am pretty excited about it too!

These roomy over the shoulder bags are perfect for the market, beach, or an overnight get away. They sew up in a snap and make great gifts!

While you are over at WhipUp, be sure to check out the amazing post for pickled radishes and radish leaf pesto by Lindsay of A Wooden Nest !

Happy day to you!

Shabby Apple Dress giveaway!

You have heard of Shabby Apple right? They are the company behind a whole lot of vintage clothing style prettiness. Oh so many lovely dresses! I am rather fond of a pretty vintage style dress, yes I am. So, imagine my excitement when the folks at Shabby Apple contacted me and asked if I would like to host a giveaway of one of their dresses to my dear readers. Yes I would indeed!

Now for the dress, actually, there are three styles to choose from! Click on the link under the pictures to see more info and pictures.

At first sight

Snapdragon

Grand National

All you have to do to have a chance to win one of these dresses is to leave a comment on this post telling me which one of these dresses is your favorite. (Giveaway only open to United States residents)

For an extra entry to win, "like" both Shabby Apple AND Lola Nova Facebook pages and come back here to let me know you have done so.

Best of luck to everyone and have a sweet weekend!

Edited: Oh me! I forgot to say that the giveaway is open until Thursday, June 6th at midnight. I will announce the winner Friday, June 7th!

A Wordless Wednesday Sneaky Peek

Hello Monday and Thank You

Hello friends! I thought today would be the perfect day to send you a little love note. Part early Valentine and a heaping helping of Thank You!

I want to thank all of my lovely readers, new and old. You make my shiny place here sparkle even more. Thank you to all the new followers. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments you take the time to leave, I read every one and so appreciate your kind words and your saying "Hello".

I have been taking some time away from my computer of late, I think we all need to do that from time to time, but I'm feeling refreshed and ready to jump back in. Perhaps it is the arrival of the Lunar New Year, new beginnings and all. I am so looking forward to the coming days! And you my friends, are a big part of that.

So thank you from the bottom of my heart, your'e simply the best!

xo

Oh Joyful Day!

It is amazing what a little sunshine can do for your soul! This weekend we were gifted with two beautiful days, what a nice way to start the month. So what is a mama to do with such a gift? Throw caution to the wind, pull on some puddle jumpers, fill a backpack with water and snacks, tumble into the car and head to the country with my girl.

Alright, so not way out into the country, but only a 20 minute drive (both of us singing along to pop songs on the radio with great enthusiasm the whole way) to Sauvies Island. I was thinking Nature Walk, I was hoping for Whooping Cranes, but whatever the day might hold in store was fine by me as long as we got out there, out into the sunshine!

Though many of our "go to" wildlife areas were closed for the season, we were not deterred, the drive was beautiful and we were on an adventure! We stopped to view the geese, searching for the all white snow goose. However, we did not linger long for we were feeling a bit too silly and some of those bird watchers take the watching of birds very seriously indeed and tend to frown upon general silliness.

We ended up down by the river for a walk where we chatted with local fisher folk and played in the sand. Pony Girl found the perfect stick companion right at the beginning. We discussed it's merits as a possible fishing pole, alas we had no hooks and granola bar makes less than ideal bait.

The trees were still wintering, skeletal against the bright sky, the air was fresh and warm, the water sparkled and we chased our shadows across the sand.

We walked and talked and examined moss and tree bark. We saw cranes and herons and hawks and bunnies. We wrote our names in the sand with hearts and smiley faces. Then Pony Girl took over the camera and captured some fine photos!

And then we got really, really hungry! We walked back to the car, stomped our puddle jumpers free of extra mud and sand, threw "Sticky" the stick in the back of the car as it had been such a fine and useful friend on our adventures that Pony Girl insisted on bringing him home. And back we went over two bridges...

...ate a tasty lunch and agreed that we deserved to splurge on a strawberry milkshake!

Oh joyful day!

New Obsession

For my birthday The Engineer bought me a screen printing class, he knew that I had been wanting to take one for a while now. On Monday night I headed off to The Make House for my class with Nathan.

I took along a rendition of a Walter Crane illustration that I had done earlier, as well as a length of fabric to hopefully print my image on at the end of class.

So, here is what happened... I fell in love! Oh man, it was like magic. I had a feeling that I would really like the class and the art of screen printing since I have been working with fabric paint and hand cut stencils for quite a while. What I didn't know was that after getting home from the 4 1/2 hour class, I would be unable to sleep for all the ideas that kept leaping into my head and the excitement of possibility!

I loved all of the nuance involved in the process, the anticipation and the results (even the mistakes were fascinating). Nathan our instructor was great, it was obvious he really enjoys what he does and answered all of my questions - I had a lot of questions.

When the class was over I ended up with a couple of paper prints and my fabric print. It was so satisfying to have learned the basics of this art form.

This is something I want to pursue and I look forward to learning more, a lot more. So I have been busy making lists in my sketchbook and figuring out how many of my pennies I need to save up to set myself up with the equipment I need.

My tip for the week is GO! Take a class in something you have been wanting to find out about. Learn something new and have fun.

Gretchen goes to Barbados - A Pattern Review

Ah, the first dress of the new year! For me this is the perfect way to start a fresh crafty year. Making a dress for my girl is one of my favorite things to do. I find that it centers me, inspires me and is ultimately very satisfying.

Just before the Holidays Pony girl and I were in my favorite local fabric shop, she pulled this pattern from the stacks and said, "Please Mama, will you make this?" How could I resist?
The pattern is "Gretchen" by Modkid.

I have seen Modkid patterns before, but never picked one up. When I use a pattern company that is new to me, I like to resist the urge to alter, modify and forge ahead in my own wild fashion. Instead I keep to the pattern faithfully (mostly) and carefully follow the pattern's own instructions so that I get a sense of the company overall. This makes it perfect for a review too!

First Impressions:
The Pattern Booklet is beautifully photographed with an "Inspiration Gallery" showing the variations and lovely fabric combos. The pattern itself is printed on good quality paper with clear cutting instructions.
I like a pattern that allows for a ton of variations, this pattern definitely fits the bill.

I decided to make view D without the bottom band. I do believe I must have been day dreaming about tropical locales and sunny beaches... perhaps The Caribbean with it's vibrant colors, maybe Barbados! I used Moda's Trade Winds fabric by Lily Ashbury, very bright and colorful! I decided to make the largest size 10. Pony Girl is an 8/9, but I like a little room to grow.

Work in Progress:
The instructions were very clear and thorough, illustrations of cutting lay out and sewing steps were helpful. There are a lot of pieces to this dress, so once I had them cut I kept them in organized piles for ease.

As I was working I found that the pattern drafting was excellent. Every piece came together perfectly and even the sleeve attachment was close to effortless - which is not often the case.

This is a straight forward pattern and quite simple really. There are no button holes, no zipper, and the block piecing makes it easy enough for a beginner with just a little experience.

The only things I did that were not a part of the original pattern instruction were 1. increase the width of the side ties to 1 1/2" and 2. top stitch around the neck opening. Purely for personal preference.

What I especially like about this pattern:
Cute! Endless variation possibilities.
The sleeve gathering on the long sleeve version, nice design detail.
Oversized pockets! You all know how much I love a handy dandy pocket.

Things to note:
There isn't any thing I dislike about this pattern, just some things to keep in mind.
Using quilting weight fabric as I did, makes this a pretty substantial garment due to the linings. For a more Summery dress, I think it would make up wonderfully in Seer Sucker or even a voile. This is a full cut dress, the waist is very wide and then cinches in with the side ties - this makes it easy to pull on and off over the head. The size 8 would have fit my girl much better in the shoulders and neckline, though I did find that the length on the size 10 to be just right. If you have a tallish girl (like I do) you might want to double check the length before cutting.

I often find that the back of a garment is my favorite, wonder why...

The Stats:
I spent a couple of hours tracing the pattern onto my own pattern paper and then cutting out the fabric.
All together the dress took about 5 hours of sewing time to complete.
Yes, I would make this dress again.

And most importantly, my girl loves it!

Home again jiggity jig!

Hello friends!

I am home again after a most amazing adventure over seas. Suffering a bit of jet lag and still processing the wonder of my whirlwind trip. Upon returning home to see the smiling faces of my family, receiving the best of hugs and welcome homes, I did indeed do a jiggity jig - albeit a little clumsily and haggardly.

I have many photos to go through and many tales to tell, oh yes I do! I think today I most want to share some pics and words about the Lola Nova Sewing Whimsy Workshop in London.

Look at this lovely group of creatives! The only one missing is my glamorous assistant and photographer Jane of Flaming Nora. Who, it must be told, I could not have done without!

The workshop was held at the marvelous shop Bermondsey Fayre , thank you liz for having us! It was a gray and grotty day out with a chill and bluster about, but inside the little shop it was cozy as could be and my workshop friends all sat round the table making wonderful bits of "whimsy".

It really was a special evening thanks to all of the ladies who came and shared with us. There was making and chatting and that great feeling of working together on creative endeavors. There really is something so rewarding in that.

I was so impressed with everyone's projects, what they came up with, the clever and happy bits of making going on!

Thanks to Jane there were heaps of pretty bits to choose from, it took a bit of strong will on my part not to run off with a bag stuffed full of her supplies.

Thank you Colette, Linnie, Abi, Laila, Jhilmil, and Juliet! You all truly made it an evening I will always treasure.

Oh, and here is a little peek at their fab creations!

What a wonderful time we had!

...

A small note here to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the East Coast USA at this time. The devastation of Hurricane Sandy will be a long time in the recovery and I encourage you to donate to aid the relief efforts. HERE you can find a list of reputable charities. Thank you.