Rings on Parade

As soon as the glue dries on these rings, my fingers will be adorned. The yellow button and antique green stencil bird bead ring is my early favorite. I plan to hold off making any more rings until I can fieldtest the glue.

Photos From Arizona

In addition to the many hundreds of photos I took of the kids in Arizona this past October, I also attempted to artfully photograph the desert. The result is three pictures, one of cacti at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens, one of Superstition Mountain and one of bluffs outside Sedona. They finish off the new less-cluttered-with-toys look of the family room and remind us of a great vacation.

Ringing In the New Year

I have discovered that you can buy ring blanks. Now I can make my own rings out of small items glued to the top of pre-bent metal. What possibilites for a quick, shiny project! I am collecting buttons, coins, cabochons and whatnot. With 10 fingers to decorate, I won't hesitate to build a larger-than-average ring collection.

Maybe A Bit Large

This reversable one-piece smock top is great for twirling because it's a bit large. Do you think K will wear it when she's 5 or 6? Somehow I feel in a rush to make things for her because I know she will soon select her own style. On the other hand, N is pestering me to make him a fabric wallet. He says he doesn't mind flowers, but I'm sure I have some monkey fabric around somewhere....

Birthday Sewing

M took the day off so I could have the whole of my birthday to do whatever I wanted. I spent most of the day sewing, playing with a new pattern for a fabric wallet/whatnot holder. I used vintage feedsack scraps for some, tried a snap closure, and matched vintage buttons with fabric collected in Colorado this past summer. Watch your mail because when I'm done making a bunch of these, I will be giving them away to make space for the next little project.

Padding the Blog

It's early to resort to this, but it's my blog, and if I want to share a collage of projects past, I will. Here are purses and bags from the last year or so. Each one has a gimmick. One is made from a placemat, one from remnant fabric, one folds to be a portable market bag. I would share that I have installed hooks in my closet to display purses that aren't currently in use, but that would be over the top.

Peek Pouch

I have a new hand-held email-checking gadget so I can see if anyone has written me and then respond from anywhere. Of course this necessitates making a pouch for it. Marimekko remnant fabric, a little velcro closure and a vintage stencil bird button combine to give my little Peek a comfortable home.

Wall Hanging or Table Runner?

The pattern for this quilt is supposed to be a table runner. I think it would look good as a wall hanging on a very thin section of wall. I find if I take a picture of the cut pieces before they are sewn together I can get a feel for the overall balance of the colors and patterns. I don't usually make a quilt or wall hanging that has only a few fabrics, so understanding the surprises that appear when many colors and patterns are joined is best known before sewing anything together forever.

New Earrings

Besides red, I am currently enthralled with beads that are clear. Having recently learned to coil short sections of wire to make connectors between elements in jewelery, I made these silver and clear earrings. I think they'll go with everything, and I'm a person who can't have too many pairs of earrings.

Who Doesn't Want One?

I was thrilled to receive for Christmas a Zutter personal binding machine. Now I can punch holes and attach a metal ring binding to anything I want. I am stock-piling interesting cardboard boxes to make into great covers of handy notebooks. This little gem has a front and back cover made from old hotel room keys from M's trips back to Seattle. So cute! Want one?

Sssh, Don't Tell!

It's late, but I finished a purse for A, part of her Christmas present. Made from an open-source pattern, it has a quilted remnant Marimeko flap. The purse body is made from remnant pin-stripe and remnant black denim fabric. It has an interior zipped pocket, a key fob looped on with a scrap from A's wedding present quilt and a strap long enough to wear across the body. A can add a heavy brooch to the flap to personalize the bag (and hold it closed).

I Also Love Orange

I went along when the "in" color was lime green. Now I think it's orange's turn. I am collecting orange beads to add to projects or stand on their own. Here is a bracelet. It's orange.