All Dressed Up

I've been on a bit of a rampage lately. It seems like every other day I'm swept away by a desire to sew a garment, mostly for myself, of course. First there was my foray into my most beloved pattern, Burda 7798. I made it as a top, then a dress, then (here's the revelation part) another dress, then another dress for my middle girl and yet another for my daughter's friend. Yes, that's right, I love this dress so much that I'm making it for somebody else's daughter. And don't think I haven't tried to convince my eldest that she would look fabulous in one of these dresses. "Just pick out some fabric," I plead, " I'll even pay for it." So far she's resisting me. But that's OK because while she ponders whether or not she wants us to appear in public sporting identical frocks, I've been busy making Amy Butler's Anna Tunic as a dress.


The pattern can be made as a cami, tunic, or dress. I opted for the latter and I'm very happy with the final product. I'm definitely making this pattern again, though I did find the dress a little big and will probably size the pattern down to the small size. I've made another Amy Butler pattern before and am so impressed with the detailed instructions and the attention to ensuring that the item is beautifully crafted both inside and out. Her patterns are more expensive that most, but absolutely worth it.


I've also recently sewn the Built by Wendy pattern, Simplicity 3835, again, surprisingly, as a dress. Here too I'd made the top and decided to tackle the dress. I opted to keep the raglan sleeves rather than the sleeves/neck finishing that the pattern calls for. This dress is OK, but not a stunner. I can see wearing it to putter around, but I'm not wowed with the results. I'm not as down on it as my eldest, who described it as a nightgown, but I'm not bubbling over with excitement.


Despite any disappointments I'm so enjoying making these that I seem to be spending a fair amount of time trying to figure out when I can squeeze in a few minutes to cut out the next pattern. In fact I was looking through some of the pattern books the other day and was elated to see so many wonderful dress patterns. I am obviously not done with this particular obsession.

Dumping Pictures

Not too long ago I received an invitation on flickr to join a group whose entire focus was to get members to dump their entire photostreams into the group. I think the point of this was to create the biggest flickr group. I didn't join. I just couldn't see the point. But today I'm doing a mini, very mini, version of this. I'm uploading a series of unrelated photos just because. I don't even have a goal. I just want to get the pictures out there. I will say that they were all taken in one day. So if I have a criteria for this picture dump, it would be that. Who knows? If I like the way these images look together, I might do this again.


My friend Vicki was admiring a reversible bag that I had made and was using to carry my knitting. Needless to say, that's all it took for me to offer to make her one. In the end I made two because I wanted her to have a choice. She chose the one with the squiggles fabric.


I have a customer who has an amazing collection of Oilily fabric and this is probably the tenth item I've made for her using this fabric.

Imagine this photo without the white pick up truck. A little difficult considering this is Texas, but do your best. Is the truck gone? Good. Now enjoy this wonderful combination of colors. This building is located near the Austin Community College central campus and I discovered it a couple of weeks ago. I was turning a corner and it caught my eye. This picture was taken during the week, but I'm planning on returning on a Sunday when I won't have to imagine the cars away. Ever since I noticed this building I've started to notice other buildings that display great color combinations.
So there you have it. One day's worth of pictures.

More Circles

Aren't circles grand? I think so. I've been thinking for a while of different ways to make circles and recently decided to try my hand at appliqueing them.


I had originally made these circles and appliqued them on to squares of fabric. My thinking was that I would sew the squares together like I do with my dyed twinkle quilts. But when I tried that it just didn't seem to work. Each circle needed a little surrounding space.


In the end I opted to baste each of the squares on to a piece of hand dyed linen and leave the edges raw. I had this vision that I would "glue" the squares on to the backing fabric with the quilting.


This little square is my feeble attempt to be clever. It's there, but not really. Get it? I did admit the attempt was feeble, but I do like the way it stands out from the other squares.
I'm pretty happy with the way this little quilt turned out and it's sparked all sorts of new ideas. So, expect to see more circles here.

Thanks to all of you who commented on the progress of my king size Twinkle quilt. In answer to those who asked about how I make the circles, I wanted to let you know that I'm working on something to explain that technique and hope to have it ready in a couple months. I'll keep you posted.

Quick and Dirty

Sometimes it feels like the days are so full that I hardly have a second to think. I know you know what this is like. Normally...pathetically...at 9:20 pm I'd be fast asleep. But tonight I was determined that before I went to bed I would post something...anything here. The funny thing is I've got images to post. What I lack lately is that quiet time it takes to put my thoughts together. Well I'm rebelling against that reality and posting despite the lateness of the hour and the rambling that's going on in the background. I'm also determined to post because I am practically halfway through my twinkle king size quilt.
Check this out:


Am I the only one who hears Jon Bon Jovi singing, "Oh, we're halfway there!"?

Shop Newz

I have to smile having just intentionally misspelled the word news. My uncle Shlomo, now sadly deceased, used to rail against the American propensity for intentional misspellings. The word night written as nite on a highway billboard would set him off about the bad example this brand of spelling error was setting for the youth of this country. Looking back, I realize that his rant was slightly tongue in cheek, but I have to wonder what he would think of the inundation of our culture and language with email influenced shortenings like LMK and LOL.
What does that have to do with the title of this post? Uh...nothing. I'm a stream of consciousness kind of thinker and stuff just comes to mind.
Anyway, I've added some new items to my shop and thought I'd showcase them here first.


Both these pieces are made with what I call "low volume" fabrics. I really enjoy working with intense colors, but these fabrics offer me a respite. I need that every once in a while so I can return to color with a fresh eye. Also, it really lets me focus on the graphic quality of these fabrics.


I love the simplicity of these items. They feel fresh, and making them is almost a cleansing experience. I actually currently working on several pieces that are raucous with color, but I'm sure I'll need to make more of these kinds of things down the road. I guess it's just a matter of balance.

Blog Pictures

You want to hear something funny? Not funny, ha-ha, but funny, strange. I organize all of my pictures in one folder labeled "blog pictures". Now that in and of itself isn't so strange. What's odd is that most of the pictures that I designate for my blog don't usually end up there. They go over to flickr or my etsy store, but not all that many make an appearance here. At this point I should probably vow to turn over a new leaf and change my neglectful ways, but I know myself better than that. I'll just have to chalk this up as one of my many faults and turn to other things.
Like this:


I've been making hand dyed and batiked camera straps. These are so fun and easy and fun and quick and fun to make.


That last one is reversible. I guess technically they all are, but the others are the same on both sides and this one isn't. They're all adjustable because I bought these cute little ladder locks.


It took me a few minutes to figure exactly how to attach them, but I think I have the hang of it. One thing I should make note of in the future is that anything that needs to be used in pairs should be purchased in even amounts. Next time I won't buy 25.

Current Temperature:: 95 Degrees

Perfect winter knitting weather, huh? I think so.


Actually, if you live in Texas and you wait until the weather gets cold to knit for winter, you won't finish the project in time to wear it. The season is just too short. Also, having made quite a few summer tops and dresses this year, I'm ready to sew and knit for the other season we have here. The saying is that in Texas we only have two seasons: summer and winter.
I'm itching to get started on two patterns in particular, a new hat design by brooklyntweed author Jared Flood and the February Lady Sweater. In fact when I drove to my LYS, air conditioning blasting because, hey, it's hot here, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had already knit up a sample version of this cardigan. And, the owner is currently working on her own version. Wonderful examples of this sweater have been turning up on flickr lately, but it looks like I'll be spying it in the streets of my very own hometown as well. That is, once the mercury reads below 90.