Half A Bubble Off Plumb

I saw this great tutorial here and remembered that my girl had asked for a PINK crown for her birthday...





...at 10 pm, the night before the party, recovering from the flu...yup - that's just crazy.

I swear, the birthday stuff is almost over. Pretty soon no more pink...
for a little while anyway.

Chicken Pot Pie

'Nuf said...

Still in the Pink & Something to Crow About

Yes, it's dress #2 in the world series of PINK. Here you can see the closeup of the wool felt flower charm I made to go with the dress.
...and the dress in it's entirety

No, it isn't all pink all the time but, it is pink enough to make the qualifying round.
I used a pattern for this one. Onion 20026 with of course, some alterations. I loved putting this together, a great pattern! I will have to get some other Onion patterns and try them out as well. I used a Michael Miller print for the bulk of the dress and a Kaffe Fassett cotton for the cuffs and hem.

Now, in other news...


The Lovely Miss K and I finally had our Tuesday Craft Date. Last week's was cancelled due to illness. The craft du jour was freezer paper stencils.


This is a very satisfying and simple craft. There is a great how to here. Miss K painted poppies on a T-shirt and I chose some crows for a piece of cotton calico. We used Jacquard fabric paint and paint brushes to apply it. Miss K took hers home to dry so, I don't know what the finished result looked like. I am hoping she will sport her new shirt soon so I can check it out. Here are my crows (I have a little thing for crows), they will be used in an upcoming project.



I love that a group of crows is called A Murder of Crows!

My Side Of The Bed

I recently had a brief flirtation with a piece of property. I came across it's enchantment via craigslist. Was it love at first sight? 5 acres and a 1918 farmhouse with a shop, extra outbuildings, and fields - fields people, come on! I felt the quickening pulse, the shallowness of breath, the palpable longing and a desire awakened. Resistance was futile, I was hooked. I imagined a future idyllic, this property and I, oh the magic we would make. So caught up was I, that I called the owners and crafted a meeting. As the appointment drew closer, my family and I discussed the pros and cons, the lifestyle differences and the realities of taking on such a fantasy. As we drove into the country, winding our way along the river, I wondered to myself, "What do I really know about this land?". "I don't know you at all. Are you good? Are you a heart breaker? How will I feel when we meet?"
The moment of truth before me, I stepped out onto the gravel drive in my rain boots, as the crunch reached my ears I realized, I don't believe in love at first sight. This was a clear case, pure and simple, of lust. I had me a little bit of land lust for a spell. It was a fun rush for a minute but, I was glad to come home.

So, I thought I would do a post about my little house. There are so many things I love about it. Today's post is about a small slice of my home. My side of the bed. I love this intimate corner of my universe, it makes me happy.

I dare you to post about your side of the bed, include a picture. If not your side of the bed, then another little snap shot of what makes where you live Home. Come on all you bloggers, I dare ya!

Rock and Roll

Today it will be eight years since my Dad passed away. I was thinking of him and decided I would share something kind of fun and entertaining. This video is from The Ed Sullivan Show 1967. That's my Dad "Smitty" on the drums.



Nice Tights!

A Preponderance of Pink

It's Fuchsia, actually.

It's done, The Pink Dress! I was going off a dress my girl fell for in a store. A proper party dress indeed. Not my usual fare. In fact, I find it well...altogether too precious. Still, this is about her, it's not about me (it isn't right?).

Some detail

And just to prove that I am completely off my nut, there is a pink dress #2 in the works. Perhaps a little different.

One more pic to show it's true colors

Dream Big

So, I was down in my creative space this morning to do some good work but, after cursing for the umpteenth time as I tripped on a pile, something crashed to the floor, or not finding what I needed, I gave up and took a look around. Sheesh! This place is a mess. I haven't really cleaned up or organized since the whole holiday frenzy and it kinda looks like a craft bomb went off in there. I am a person who does not tolerate clutter and mess well in my home. In fact, I am a bit of a neat and clean freak (Don't get me wrong, I do like to make a mess and get muddy and such outside) As you can imagine, I have had to do some letting go since my child arrived. It remains a struggle that I continually deal with, especially since I have the feeling that I am cleaning constantly but, there seems to be a perpetual hurricane in my house tearing up the joint. Anyway...

I went upstairs, made myself a cuppa tea and daydreamed of beautiful sewing studios with lots of light and well organized work stations. Like the ones pictured above. To give you an idea of what I am working with: Our house is a little 800 square foot cottage, a constant work in progress. We have an unfinished half basement which holds the washer/dryer, camping gear, bicycles, my husbands tools, bookshelves, sports equipment, firewood, the canning shelf, bits of furniture and heaps of boxes filled with...well I couldn't honestly tell you. My sewing room/nook/corner/cave/area is in one 5x9 corner of the basement partitioned off with hanging sheets. I share it with some quiet but industrious spiders and a clover that grows through the crack in the tiny light-less window. (and no, I will not be showing you a picture of it until it's cleaned up) I will not even tell you what all is in this sewing area, let's just say it all fits together like a wonky Chinese puzzle. There isn't any heat down there and the lighting is pretty dismal, I work under a florescent shop light. I know, it sounds like I am complaining but I'm not (O.k. maybe just a little), the truth is I feel incredibly fortunate to have this little space and overwhelmingly blessed to have our sweet little house. Owning a home was not something I would have believed could ever happen in my life so, I count my lucky stars. I will feel much better once I get in and organize the place.

Still, it is fun to dream. I dream of sewing studios, my husband dreams of a woodworking shop and my girl dreams of pink ponies. What do you dream of?

Let Me Introduce You

This is Elsie.
She is a present for my girl for her 4th Birthday. I find it's hard to wait to give this dolly to her but, wait I will. Though I have made my share of softies, I haven't made up many dollies. Elsie is sweet. I think she could have done with a bit more stuffing, I had to use poly quilt batting which was what I had on hand so, she is a tad lumpy in spots. Still, I am a bit fond of her. I hope my girl is as well.

Now it's back to the pink mess in my sewing nook. The dress is taking shape slowly, how it will turn out I can not say. The mad scientist in me will be experimenting with zipper placement today and ruffles. Egads ruffles and zippers, best to have a seam ripper at the ready.

Edited to give credit: oops, I forgot to mention that Elsie was inspired by these dolls, I saw these and created my own version. Hers are lovely.