it's time for school already?

Since 1st grade starts on Wednesday, Granddaughter #4 ( 6 1/2) decided to whip up a little skirt for herself.........

She picked out her own fabrics and had a design in mind. My job, as assistant, was to do the measuring and cutting and to supervise to make sure it came out the way SHE visualized it! (oh, the pressure!)

She was SO pleased and proud of herself!

She even used a fancy flower stitch to pretty-up the bottom edge......

I'll bet she'll be the only 1st grader in her class who makes her own clothes!!!

(Assistant Mimi cut the panels a little too wide, making the skirt too long for my taste, so the sewing fairies just might make a few adjustments to shorten it after she goes to sleep tonight.....)

I sure do love passing on the sewing torch to future generations. Seeing kids get excited about fabric and projects and sewing machines/gadgets is one of the best things ever!

Sensory Overload

Have I ever shown you my favorite t-shirt?

I got it over at Craftster.org. I've started wearing it every time I go fabric shopping, especially if I'm looking for something in particular. It's sort of my "lucky fabric-shopping shirt".

I was wearing it yesterday when I finally made the hour drive to M & L Fabrics in Anaheim.
My Mom has been telling me about this place for quite some time now and Daughter & I have been trying to find time to go together for the last 6 months or so but the hour drive kept making it seem like a big ordeal.

Anyway, yesterday, Daughter had out-of-town company and couldn't get away but I really needed to find some San Diego Padres fabric for a custom apron order and had exhausted all other possibilities, so off I went, alone, in my lucky shirt.

I stepped inside the door and...WOW! Total sensory overload! I've never seen a store quite like this before:

Bolts and bolts and bolts of fabric, with about half of it priced at $2.98 a yard.

Shelves and shelves and shelves of flat fold fabric....not the easiest way to look at fabric, but at only $1.98 a yard you can work with it!

(I found this picture on flickr.)

There are 10 aisles like this one!

(I found this picture on Flickr)

"Secret" back rooms, each with its own category of fabrics......all so beautifully organized it took my breath away! If only the women who worked there could spend an afternoon at my local library fixing the children's section, which is always such an unorganized mess that I can hardly stand it. I'm sure they could whip it into shape in no time!

M & L Fabrics has a great selection of oilcloths, which I hadn't been able to find anywhere but online. There were hundreds of flannels, too. (I have a weakness for cute flannels for kids lap blankets)

At first I truly was having touble with sensory overload. With all those colors and categories and styles to look at, I couldn't think straight or focus on any one thing or really even look for what I wanted for at least 30 minutes. I just wandered up and down the rows, taking it all in, until my eyes and brain settled down and I could actually concentrate on what I was seeing.

My lucky shirt didn't work this time since I didn't find the Padres fabric I needed (I've since discovered it's out of print) but I didn't come away empty handed. I did only spend $23.00 dollars, but when Daughter and I return together it could be a different story!

I bought a few new (to me) fabrics with aprons in mind, including a piece with an unusual cigar-theme for a cigar afficionado I know......

and some pretty flannel to make a pair of new pillow cases for myself and some polka-dot oilcloth to make into some zipper pouches and maybe a new lunch tote.

I had planned to close up the "sewing studio" for the month of January and take a little hiatus but now I'm not so sure......

You know, its a good thing this store is an hour away or I think I would be in real trouble! It's a fabri-holics dream! (or maybe nightmare, depending on how you look at it....)

feeling apron-y again

The last few months or so I've been struggling with a little apron burn-out. After 2 years of concentrating most of my sewing time on them, I just didn't feel the apron spark like I used to. I even gave about 50 % of my fabric stash to Daughter to use for her newfound obsession with quilting and tote-bag-making.


Then, in the last 2 weeks I could feel the old familiar creative stirrings acting up and found myself happily making aprons again......AND THEN I MADE MY 50th ETSY SALE!! WOW!! I couldn't believe it! I hadn't really paid attention to that little number on the sidebar of my ETSY shop and then suddenly I noticed that it hit 50! That really lit a fire under me and my sewing machine....very encouraging!


I wish I had kept track of the total number of aprons I've made in the last 2 years, all the gifts, donations, and give aways.....Daughter pointed out that I take pictures of each one and why don't I just go back and count them all up?...well.....maybe someday when I'm feeling ambitious.....that will require a good chunk of time that could be better spent making more aprons!! (see, I told you I was in the mood again)

This is 2 weeks worth of sewing:




reversible leopard/tiger for a frend's 9 year old Granddaughter




A custom ETSY order: wasabi-green sushi


3 Autumn/Thanksgiving/Holiday for the ETSY shop:






for the shop, just because I like the fabric:




and wedding gifts for a 25 yr. old cousin and her new composer husband:



Today I'm working on a line of 7 Mens aprons for an upcoming Craft Fair. I can really put these together quickly, since for men it's all about the fabric. No fancy embellishments or trims, just your basic apron with pocket.

It sure is good to be feeling apron-y again!......feeling guilty about my fabric stash just sitting there unused was giving me a headache!

Here's to aiming for 100 ETSY sales!....I mean, why not? I never dreamed I'd even hit 50!

Project Runway, Junior Edition

I took each Grandchild school shopping again this year, one on one, except for #3 & #4 who like to go together. Because they like to have matching outfits I call them the "twin cousins". This year the girls couldn't find any matching outfits that they could agree on so they decided to design their own! They were thinking skirts and tops so we headed for the fabric department. They both instantly agreed on sparkly pink stars and butterflies and pink tank tops to match! Then it was up to seamstress MiMi to follow their instructions EXACTLY:

Skirts with sparkly stars on top and bottom and butterflies in the middle

They each chose a butterfly to be appliqued on their tank top

VOILA!! Twin Cousins once again....

and now that #4 is starting Kindergarten, they will be at the same school and are hoping to run into each other during the day, especially if they are both wearing their new Twin Cousin outfits!!

While we were looking at fabric, #3 spotted some fabric she absolutely had to have (I think she inherited that Fabri-holic gene that her Mother and I have!) so she designed herself another outfit.....

Stripes on the top and bottom and peace signs in the middle

Appliqued peace signs on a black t-shirt

She was VERY pleased with how it turned out

Look out Project Runway! It looks like we may have a budding designer in our family......

a REAL vacation......

I'm not one of those people who love to travel. I've been enjoying "stay-cations" as long as I can remember, long before that word was invented! But don't get me wrong, it's not that I haven't traveled anywhere. My mother has enough of the travel bug for 20 people, so by the time I was 16 years old I'd been to 40-something states and seen more things than I can even remember. I'd just rather stay close to home and sleep in my own bed and do all the homebody things I like to do. Add to that the fact that I HATE TO FLY and you can see why I haven't been on a real vacation in a very long time....

Well......last year, youngest Son moved to Cape Cod, and I knew I would have to change my way of thinking if I ever wanted to see him again..........so tonight I'm taking a red-eye flight from San Diego to Boston. COULD SOMEONE PLEASE KNOCK ME OUT AND WAKE ME UP WHEN WE GET OFF THE PLANE?? Actually, I've really been looking forward to this trip (except for the flying part) since this is a Mother/Daughter trip. Daughter is leaving Hubby and 3 Daughters at home to have their own Spring Break adventure while we go visit Son/Brother that we miss so much!

And of course this was a good reason for me to do some sewing to prepare for the trip so I dug into my scrap bag and made a few little goodies:

a fleece sleeve for my camera so I can easily slip it in and out of my purse:

a few luggage handle covers to make it easier to identify ours in a sea of all-the-same bags:

And then some projects out of the fabric stash.....

Son is a Chef and moved to Martha's Vineyard to work with a Chef friend who has a wife and 2 little ones. Since I have not met this family yet, I wanted to make them some gifts to thank them for being Son's "family" while he is living so far away from all of us here in So Cal.

Friend's wife was a Pastry Chef before becoming a Stay-at-Home-Mom, so I made her a pastry-themed reversible apron:

With two Chef parents, 3 yr. old son and 6 month old daughter need to have their own aprons of course!

They are also getting flannel blankets for the cold Cape Cod winters: bugs for the boy (I'm told he loves bugs and robots) and more cupcakes for the girl.

And here I sit at the computer, delaying the inevitable (couldn't we just drive there? How long would that take us?). We're leaving for the airport in 4 hours and I haven't finished packing yet.....

OK! I'VE REALLY GOTTA GO NOW......(must...get...on...plane....)

OLE! Fiesta Apron Swap

FINALLY!!

I've been waiting for someone to do a swap with this kind of theme. The perfect theme for me and my avocados! Besides all the avo cookbooks and avo doo-dads I have in my collection, I also have several avocado fabrics that have been calling out to me every time I dig into my fabric stash......

How's this for a FIESTA apron??? I made it entirely from things I already had on hand.

I'm really pleased with the way it turned out! This just might be in my top 10 favorite aprons that I've created! I embellished a kitchen towel to match.(did you know you can make ruffles out of grosgrain ribbon? Look how cute it looks)

The Fiesta swap package is also to include a fiesta-themed item of my choosing and at least one fiesta-themed recipe......WELL, what's more fiesta-ish than a big bowl of guacamole? Of course I'm sending along a big pile of avocados and an avo slicer.

Our family has so many much-loved Mexican food recipes that I couldn't choose just one, so I made up a mini cookbook with 25 of our favorites.

These are a few I included:

AVOCADO SALSA

SALSA VERDE

TEX-MEX EGG ROLLS

BROWN SUGAR CINNAMON ICE CREAM

CHICKEN SOUR CREAM ENCHILADAS

MEXICAN LASAGNA

MARINATED FLANK STEAK WITH LIME-CHIPOTLE GLAZE

CHILE VERDE

MEXICAN TURKEY MEATLOAF

BLACK BEAN AND SALSA SOUP

This package will be on its way on Monday to my partner in Texas...I sure hope she likes avocados!

I lOVE THIS SWAP! and I haven't even received my package yet!!

Thank you Val from Yarni Gras for hosting such a great theme!

Naked Baby

"Mimi.....this baby doesn't have any clothes. I think she needs you to make her something."

.....happy baby......happy little mommy!