Fun! Fun! Fun!

Life is good. I don't remember the last time I was having so much fun. Seriously... I love that I have a few good friends, and even one that I can occasionally get down on the ground and play good old fashioned jacks - really two middle-aged women taking a sewing break and reliving jacks competition of our youth... my friend beat me with finesse! Game on girlfriend!I am impressed that she still has hers - mine are long gone. I tried to buy my kids some and they were so cheaply made. On a crafty note... check out these amazing fabrics. O M Gosh I may need to do a couple pillows of the birds... some are aqua... This is a pocket of a tote I made... and in a bit of whimsy I sewed baubles as eggs in her nest...Speaking of fun... here are some ultra-fun aprons that I made for my friends at LOOM I used some pink glittery fabric, jumbo one rick-rack - the best hostess gift don'cha think?Forgive the bad pictures - I took these in my car on my way to deliver them...ack! these aprons are so much better than my pictures.

And my creative pals - trust me - there is fun to be found all over LOOM The store is packed but not cluttered, it is all careful displays and hidden gems. Here's a coooool display. Don't you just want to hang out here?

And here's a furry display with a great fashion sense... lemony silk shantung and tulle - so so so dreamy together. Honestly, I may get married again (!) just to see my girlfriends in lemon silk shantung bridesmaids gown... now that would be FUN!

Moulin Rouge Tote and Chairs

Hello! What a whirl... I've been really busy with my day job and sewing lately. I love it... especially making totes from fun and funky fabrics. I made this pretty tote for Loom with my signature button-weave handles. My love of buttons has finally been appreciated, by those other than myself! I feel rather vindicated and proud of my stash these days. My years of thrifting, antiquing and crafting = a good thing!

I would never have stumbled across this Moulin Rouge Masquerade Lady fabric otherwise... I would have blended into a bunch of quilters fabric and not have caught my attention. But... I love it... And frankly, I have been rather caught up in the whole French = feedsack, beige, burlap phase. refreshing to see these vibrant COLORS. Reminiscent of the 1940s - barkcloth with the wide plumes... nice! I can't remember who makes it...

Bright fun, vibrant fabrics... playful candy-colored buttons - so summery and cool. Same fabric on these chairs, paired with fuscia pom-pom trim - oh la la! I didn't do these chairs but they are perched mighty prettily at Loom !

Medieval Warrior, Woman & Roses Tattoo Fabric

I made this tote out of a really cool cotton quilters fabric that features tattoo stylistic images. Love the script and the tone-on-tone subdued quality. Nothing that I would have stumbled across and been immediately been drawn to. That's what is so unique for me right now - I stop by a unique fabric store nearby and get a stack of exquisite fabrics and free reign to, as Tim Gunn would say, "make it work". Of course, I'm not doing runway designs - I'm doing little aprons and totes. Creating fun and funky stuff with fabrics that require me to stretch my own vision. The feather trim wouldn't have been my first choice either - I paired the graphic print with scraps of classic ivory silk shantung - it all worked together Btw, I missed the season premiere of Project Runway on Thursday night because it was playoff time for my daughter, Cathrynn's 10 & under softball team (they won!). I usually bring a tin of buttons or beads to the games, but these were nail-biters and I didn't get much done this week.

I enjoying being I'm back in the driver's seat. Cruising along, sewing machine pedal to the floor, sewing machine humming along. I hadn't sewed in several months - I'd been beading instead. Or maybe cleaning, baking and cooking. One of the things that I was doing then that I may be neglecting now ;) But, I feel invigorated and excited.

(If you're interested, these unique fabrics are available at LOOM)

~Pretty and Scary~

If you're a Junquey Gal like me you live on the edge. You get excited at musty, dusty boxes at flea markets that are fresh from attics and basements. No one has polished and primped the loot and jacked up the price. Sometimes you find bugs - slimey silver-fish freak me out... mostly you find junk not my adored JUNQUE. But you go for it. I can't resist opening every potential button tin and suitcase that I find. The hope of a vintage fabric or button goldmine outweighs the potential for grossness and danger. The worst EVER was a small train case - with a few teeth and a hair brush chock full of DNA tucked into one of the charming side pockets. That was years ago and I'm still repulsed. But I trudge on, 'cause I'm like that. When I buy button tins, I have a method of dealing with all the ick and danger lurking below. I take a big colander and line it with an old terry-cloth towel. Dump the entire tin into the colander, run hot water and squirt some laundry detergent over the whole pile. Occasionally an old button will gel-up and not be able to be saved, and the fabric ones may be at risk. But seriously - old cloth buttons stink if not washed. I then take the whole thing and dump on my patio table. I run a large magnet over the pile to grab all the rusty old pins and needles. And weather permitting, let them dry in the hot sun. Then my little Junquey Gals, Cathrynn and Olivia sort them by color and favorites and oohh and ahhh over the special ones and claim a few keepers. This was the not so pretty left-overs after last weekend's haul:

Tetanus shot anyone?