What do you do with a boring, too-big t-shirt with an unflattering unisex crew-neck? Usually I just keep it for a season out of guilt and then chuck it in the giveaway bag. Today I had a different idea.

How about re-doing the neckline a la those Built By Wendy tops I was making this summer? And then cutting a few inches from the sleeves and hemming them? And finally taking it in an inch on each side? Yeeeees, I think that will do nicely.

Maybe I could even dress it up with a belt and a tile necklace?

Or some fun umbrella earrings? Either way, it’s a BIG improvement I’d say.

I spent yesterday evening mulling this idea over in my mind, and this morning putting it into action. And that, my friends, is why my kitchen is still a disaster area, there’s a laundry explosion in my bedroom, and the living room is overrun with jackets and shoes. Those are the things, I was planning to rectify this morning before I got sucked into repurposing my shirt.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a dishwasher to unload…

Oh! Almost forgot my thankful thing. I’m thankful for good health - mine and that of my loved ones.

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Napkins. Easiest sewing project ever.

Ok, well, they can be time consuming if you have a lot to make, but they really couldn’t be simpler. And if you only have five minutes to spare, you can sit down, make one napkin, and get back to the rest of your life. They are the perfect “squeeze them in when you can” kind of project. You never have to spend any time trying to regroup, hoping to remember where you left off. Nope. With napkin making, you have a “done” pile and a “not done” pile. You are never coming back to the table “in the middle” of a single napkin, because, really, if you don’t have time to make one complete napkin, then what are you doing at the sewing machine anyway??

These are a gift for my MIL’s birthday, which is Monday. It is dangerous to admire something I have made unless you want one yourself. Case in point: back in August, my MIL complemented me on the Elsie’s Kitchen napkins I was using while serving Neil’s birthday cake. I said “thank you” but really I was thinking “oh, good, now I know what to give her for her birthday in 3 months.”

After completing the final napkin last night, I glanced at the clock to see that I still had half an hour before I’d have to quit and put the boys to bed. Then I took a look at the scraps I had left from napkin-making and decided a table runner was in order. My MIL already has a table runner, and I really don’t know if she’ll have any use for this, but I just couldn’t help myself and had to whip it up.

The fabric I used here was 3 Sisters’ Roman Holiday. I am as sure as I can be without having my MIL’s dining room set here with me that this yellow colorway of Roman Holiday goes perfectly with the upholstery on her chairs. And the large-motif flower pattern strikes me as something she would use. Hope she likes ‘em.

Today I am thankful that I bit the bullet and bought my sewing machine back in May.  I have to say, I’m so excited by the gift-giving possibilities this season. I’ve always loved giving handmade items, and for the first few years after I got involved in polymer clay, everyone on my list got a claything. After a while, I felt like everyone had enough clay jewelry and pens, and I started filling the handmade criteria by bartering with other crafters or buying things outright when I could. This season, I have a new skill, and it’s exciting to me to be able to use it to give gifts different than anything I’ve given before. I guess this means in 10 to 12 years when all of my giftees are all napkined-out, completely bescarfed, and over-aproned I will need to take up yet another craft…

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Or are you about ready to gouge your eyes out by now?

These are for the boys. The one on the left goes with Aidan’s orange vest, and the one on the right goes with Eamonn’s blue vest. They’re both made in my usual way, with flannel backing, polymer clay buttons, and a few patches of a solid linen/cotton blend. The patterned fabric is from American Jane’s Look and Learn collection - I used a charm pack, which gave me one 4.5-inch square of each pattern in the collection. That worked out pretty well for these small scarves, except that I might have chosen different areas of some of the patterns had I cut them out myself. For instance, I would have focused on little boys playing instead of little girls in those patches on the left. So far A and E haven’t noticed, though, and I’m not saying anything!

Kathi sent me the fabric to make this one for her. Good choices, Kathi, they go so nicely with the Blue buttons! Now, I just need to get this in an envelope and on its way. Sometimes that task takes me longer than it takes me to make the darn things! If any of the rest of you like this blue/purple one, there will be several more similar to it (and yet delightfully different) in my store the next time I get a chance to do some stitching. They’re all cut out and ready to go…

This might be a good opportunity to tell you about a few rss feeds that can help you keep track of my new creations for sale (just in case you’re waiting for a blue scarf, by chance). Subscribe to one or both of these in your favorite feed aggregator:

• New Creations at Polka Dot Creations
• New Creations at Etsy

And as far as the three scarves I posted about today go, there are more views of all of them on flickr, if you just can’t get enough. Heh.

So, what am I thankful for today? I’m thankful that I managed to stay awake on a 45-minute drive this evening, even though I was sleepy. I picked one of my mix CD’s at random to listen to, and it was a very good choice - kept me singing the whole way home. It was quite an enjoyable ride, and not once did I feel too drowsy to get home. Whew.

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I’m making scarves for the boys.  They’re going to be the two columns on the left, made to match their blue and orange vests.  The other three will go in my etsy shop.

I had to make coordinating buttons, of course…

Here’s another series of scarves I’ll be working on.  The one on the left is Kathi’s custom order, and the other four will make their way to my Polka Dot Creations (non-etsy) shop.

So that’s 10 scarves in the works.  After I took these pictures, I cut out the flannel backings and all of the linen pieces as well, so I have ten neat little piles, waiting for me to sew them when the opportunity arises.  Aside from the three that have definite recipients waiting for them, that could be in two days, two weeks or two months, depending on how successful I am at squelching the little voice in my head that says “who needs clean clothes, food in the fridge, and vacuumed floors? finishing crafty projects is of vital importance!”  It seems like a losing battle, but for the sake of my home and my family, I must fight the good fight

What am I thankful for today?  Well, at the risk of sounding exactly like yesterday, I’m thankful for an afternoon visiting with Michele.   Not quite like yesterday, though.  That was a visit with Michelle with two ll’s.  Today I visited Michele with one l.  Michele is my oldest friend, matron of honor at my wedding, and someone I rarely see anymore despite the fact that we only live about 30 minutes away from each other.  I’m thankful that she thought to email me last night when she realized she had a day with no plans, and I’m thankful that I was online at 11pm to receive the message in time.  And, after seeing our collective four boys doing a fine imitation of a jungle full of monkeys, I’m thankful that I only had to bring two of them back home with me.  Heh.

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Some days when the boys are home from school, I get all domestic and get in the mood to take care of laundry, clean up the kitchen, maybe catch up on some business email.  This is not one of those days.  When it became clear to me that the guys were hunkering down for a long morning of imaginative play in their pajamas, I decided I wanted to play something myself.  So, I sat on my bed with a pile of fabric, cut out the pieces for my mother-in-law’s birthday present, and I cut out the fabric for a skirt.  I didn’t stitch up my MIL’s napkins, but I did make this skirt - my Thanksgiving skirt.  Yes, I realize these guys are roosters and not turkeys, but I couldn’t find turkeys.  Or pilgrims.  Or cornucopias.  Or depictions of Thanksgiving feasts.  So roosters it is, and I think they’re nifty.  Specifically, the fabric is Alexander Henry’s The Roost.  The skirt itself was made without a pattern.  I just folded it selvage-to-selvage, stitched it into a tube, hemmed it, and made an elastic casing on the top.

I still felt like playing after that, so I colored my hair.   I spent this summer squirting peroxide here and there on my head, leading to streaks of lighter color.  I did have a plan, but I kind of lost interest in pursuing it at some point, and stopped bothering.  And it was starting to look like I stopped bothering.  So, I got my hands on a box of temporary 28-shampoo Chestnut Brown and went to town.  Now I look more like nature intended ;-)  At least for the next few weeks, anyway.

I didn’t make the soup this morning - I did that on Monday, but I did eat the leftovers for lunch yesterday, and that’s when I took this picture.  It’s Turkey Curry Meatball Soup, and despite the fact that it’s full of vegetables, I really like it!  I even liked it for lunch a few days later, and I am not a leftovers fan, generally-speaking.  Good thing it was delicious, because the recipe made quite a bit.  As part of my “get organized” initiative, I’m planning our meals for the week, and giving each day a “theme.”  Mondays are to be “try something new” night and this soup was the first candidate.  I’m so glad we liked it, because I now have three containers of it frozen for future “grab something decent out of the freezer” nights.

Day two and I’m already thinking of skipping the NaBloPoMo festivities.  Not that I won’t post every day, because I might, but I think I’ve lost interest in the idea of being part of the whole organized movement.  Still, being thankful is always a good thing, so I’ll end this post with what I am thankful for today:  Days off from school that we can spend playing (together or on our own) and spontaneously visiting with family.

And with that, I must go and straighten up the living room - my mother and nephews are coming over shortly to join us for lunch at Stewarts (see?  I meant it when I told them “maybe another day”) followed by a little play time.

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The boys and I braved 50-degree temperatures, squeaky car brakes and raging PMS for a quick trip to Wal-Mart today. I was in need of baby blue thread, and Neil not being home, I couldn’t just run out on my own. Waiting until Monday was out of the question because I really wanted all three of the last scarves completed and in my Etsy shop immediately. Patience is not my strong suit. So into the car we piled, amid I don’t want to go out’s and why can’t we stay in our pajamas all day’s and I think you should just go and let us stay home’s and (my personal favorite) Hey! I wanted to get in first! He can’t get in the car first! I wanted to get in first‘s.

Since leaving the whiny people behind in the driveway to debate the merits of being seated first was not a viable option, I soldiered on, bringing them with me. A few minutes on the road softened them to the idea of shopping, and I had just started to let myself think that this wouldn’t be a terrible trip after all, when they saw it: Stewarts. The only place Mom lets them have ice cream and frozen root beer floats for lunch. Can we go to Stewarts? Pleeeeeeease? Had I responded with my gut, I’d have said “You have got to be kidding me! The last thing I need today while your father is out of town and I am dealing with the Period From Hell is the two of you hyperactive on a liquid sugar lunch!” My cooler head prevailed, however, and what came out of my mouth was more along the lines of “I don’t think so, Sweetie. Maybe another day.”

There was a time, not so long ago, when “maybe another day” would have been greeted with a disappointed but understanding and accepting “ok, Mommy.” These days I am more likely to be barraged with a chorus of but why’s and I’m hungry now’s and why can’t we go to Stewarts today since Daddy isn’t here’s.  [Daddy has smartly declared his dislike of Stewarts, and in so doing has managed to render himself an obstacle to eating there.]  It’s enough to make me tear my hair out. When did they suddenly decide that whining, arguing, and pestering me was a good plan? I have never given in to that. I have never given them reason to believe that persistence in this manner would pay off to their advantage. The only logical conclusion is that they enjoy seeing my head explode as I try (usually in vain) to keep my cool.

But I was trying to tell you about my scarf, wasn’t I?

Wal-Mart itself was relatively uneventful. I got my thread, and the boys asked me if they could pool their Halloween money from Grandma and buy a new Backyardigans DVD. I have to admit, I was completely won over by the idea of plopping them in front of the TV for two hours this afternoon, and I readily agreed. As we were skipping with glee to the checkout, we found ourselves in the Halloween clearance aisle. I thought about the dragon costume, which has served us through three holidays now and a number of dress-up games in between, and it occurred to me it might be fun to pick up another costume or two. A few minutes later we were the proud owners of a $4 shark and a $5 Boba Fett. Not a bad haul.

Don’t worry. I am getting to the scarf. Really.

Upon our arrival at home, we made ourselves some lunch, and sat down in front of the new DVD while we ate. I got sucked into the hour-long Secret Agent Backyardigans special episode, but I managed to tear myself away before the two regular half-hour episodes began. And that, my friends, is when I put together the new scarf.

This lovely scarf, made with prints from Amy Butler’s Lotus collection and a custom coordinating button by me, was to be an attractive 6×60-inch scarf. But something went horribly wrong. Well, not horribly wrong. You can’t even tell by the picture. Let’s just say, when I measured the fabric last week, I somehow left off about 10 inches. So, ok. 50 inches long is still acceptable, right? Sure. But I also managed to cut the width so oddly that the scarf varies from 6 inches wide at some points to 5 inches wide at others. It’s kind of wavy, and it’s noticeable.

Yes, it’s a misfit scarf, but it’s not without its charm. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the wonky part isn’t at all obvious when the scarf is being worn. It’s still got some pretty fabric, and it’s still backed by a nice, soft flannel. And of course, it still features that funky polymer clay button. So I’m going ahead and selling it anyway. With a significant discount to make up for its shortcomings. I just couldn’t relegate the poor thing to the back of a drawer somewhere. Someone will buy it and shower it with the TLC it needs. Poor little misfit scarf.

Whew. I sure said a lot for someone who initially wasn’t going to even bother posting. I thought all I had to say was “I added three more scarves to Etsy” and that would have made for an awfully short, uninspired post. I guess sitting in my dark bedroom, lights off, in my bed, under the covers, 10-String Guitar emanating softly from the laptop speakers, I found my voice. I’d keep this peaceful music on all night while I sleep, except for the fact that once in a while a voice pops out of nowhere for a 10-second promo spot and scares the heck out of me. I don’t need that kind of stress.

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See? Told ya my Swamp color scheme and the Bleeker Street fabric belonged together! It practically looks like I custom-mixed those clay colors to match, doesn’t it? I think this combination is just yummy.  And what is interesting to note is that there is no actual aqua in the Swamp scheme.  The light blue and the yellowy green in such close proximity trick the eye into seeing aqua.  It’s that principle I wrote about recently in action.

I’m so glad there’s a nip in the air this morning, so I can wear it around on my errands.  If these colors make you swoon as much as they do to me, fear not. There’s another version of it headed to Etsy one of these days.

The husband has the good camera with him at the moment, can you tell?  Blogging has turned me into a photo snob.  I’m no longer happy with the 2.1 megapixel old standby, darn it.  If he’s going to make off with his decent camera all the time, then I think I need one of my own.  Any suggestions for a nice point-and-shoot that I can add to my Wists (another name for “list of things I’d like but will probably never get, but that’s ok, I can live without them if I must or find some way to turn them into a business expense and just buy them myself”)?

My flickr favorites this week. As you can see, I haven’t spent much time “flicking” this week. Where does the time go?

Speaking of time, I have roughly 2 hours left of child-free time this morning, and I need to spend it getting some orders the rest of the way out the door, and catching up on any number of other business tasks that fell by the wayside while I was experiencing technical difficulties this week.

Oh! Guess what. I bought yellow clay. That means the last few installments of Evolution of a Color Scheme can’t be far behind…  As long as Neil leaves me the better camera.

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So the lawn guys were here today cleaning up two weeks-worth of leaves. They did a great job on the lawn, the sidewalk and the driveway. And speaking of the driveway, guess where most of the driveway leaves got blown? Yeah, oh so conveniently onto the car. And up against the garage door. Neil was so amused he snapped a few pictures.

Amusingly enough, the head of the lawn guys lives next door, and when he looked out the window and saw what our car looked like, he came over and fixed it. And probably had a “discussion” with one of his employees. Heh.

I’ve got a bunch of new magazines in stock and covers to scan, but there’s a child sleeping in the same room as the scanner tonight - I had to separate the two little chatterboxes, or they’d never go to sleep. Guess I’ll just flip through the magazines and make note of the polymer clay articles for now and scan the covers another day.

Tomorrow is going to be dominated by Halloween-related activities. Man, I wish I liked this holiday. At least I have a snazzy new skirt to wear. I think maybe I need a fun skirt like this for every holiday…

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32 degrees to be exact.  It inspired me to get started on a line of scarves for my Etsy shop.  I finished the first today and have the fabric cut up for five others (one of which I am keeping for myself).

I used prints from Robyn Pandolph’s Empress Woo collection on the front, along with a nice linen-cotton blend.  On the back is a continuous length of cream-colored flannel.  I love these fabrics.  The Empress Woo skirt I made this summer is one of my favorites.

 I embellished the scarf with a polymer clay button.  I thought the colors in the Country color scheme went nicely with the Empress Woo colors, saving me from custom-mixing anything this time around.

I plan to make one more Empress Woo scarf, with colors that tend more towards yellow than green.  After that, I’ve got one based on the pattern in this skirt, one based on the pattern in this skirt, and two based on the pattern in this skirt (and one of those two will be mine - I can’t get enough of that Bleeker Street fabric!  It reminds me a lot of my Swamp color scheme, which is one of my favorites.)

I’m looking forward to making my own.  Plus, I really think these will make some nice Christmas gifts.  Hopefully there will be a few Etsy shoppers who agree with me…  And the best part of these scarves is that all of the prints are coming from my stash, which I have pledged not to add to until there’s more room in the box!

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We made a different kind of cookie yesterday and were waaaaay more successful than we were with the ill-fated Pumpkin Biscotti. This time I had the “help” of a little person, which is always nice, and we slaved away all afternoon getting that sugar cookie dough perfect. Yes, it takes the ultimate concentration to combine melted butter, an egg, and a pouch of cookie mix just right

It also takes the proper attire. During the early summer, when I was on my big apron kick, I had made one for Eamonn using some Curious George fabric and a thrifted sheet. He’d never used it since then, and wouldn’t you know it, I had no idea where to find the darn thing. So, he wore my Susan Branch apron - the pocket ended up in the back, and the ties could have wrapped around him twice before tying, but he was happy, and I think he’s just cute as a button like that.

A few hours later, I did find George. I had never put a polymer clay button on it, so I found one that I’d made in navy blue & white stripes and sewed it on with orange embroidery floss - I figured I’d be consistent with the theme of none of the elements of this apron matching each other. Now I just have to remember where I put the apron the next time we bake…

Pants. Made ‘em. Love ‘em. These look even more like pj’s than the other ones, though. What I really need to do is make a pair in a plaid flannel or a solid brown, or something like that - something that doesn’t scream “I rolled out of bed this morning and didn’t bother to get dressed all day.” As much as I love my Heather Bailey Freshcut Painted Mums, they really do look more like a lazy morning than a conscious fashion choice.

This week’s flickr favorites. Check out the Sharpies! Did you know there’s an entire flickr group devoted to photos of Sharpies? Two, in fact! Guess I’m not the only one who needs to have every color…

The boys have been asking us all week if we can go to a hotel this weekend. Being very much not made of money at this point in our lives, I think a spontaneous weekend away at a hotel is not in the cards for us. However, I have had them think about what their favorite parts of previous hotel stays have been. They’re making a list, and we’re going to try to recreate those experiences as much as we can. So far their list has things like

• Buy jellybeans (like we did at Ocean City in April)
• Go shopping (not sure how this got on the list, but I’m not going to complain about it, LOL!)
• Go to the boardwalk (Ocean City again)
• Have hot chocolate (like we did when they came to Philadelphia with me for the Donna Kato class in September)
• Stay up late playing Rummikub (Philadelphia again)

I think we can do these things with a game night followed by a day trip to a shore town about an hour away from here. I just hope the weather cooperates and that having to sleep in their own beds is not too much of a disappointment!

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I finally made Neil a pair of lounge pants, but I couldn’t persuade him to model them for you.  When pressed for a reason why, the variety of answers I was given included “I refuse to be objectified by you on flickr” and “because I’m not five years old.”  What, only five-year-olds can appreciate cowboy jammies?  Personally, I think he may still be stinging from the last time I posted his picture

The nitty gritty: The fabric is Alexander Henry’s The Wild West, and the pattern is Simplicity 4429.

Oh, and the pumpkin biscotti?  Awful.  Probably my oven’s fault, as they were undercooked and never got crunchy.

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It took me the better part of the afternoon, but I made my first scarf today.  I pieced together some coordinating fabrics for the front and used a solid-color flannel for the back.  I also got to try out a technique that I had tested yesterday on scraps - polymer clay appliqué onto fabric.  I am not particularly happy with the results.  Structurally, it all seems just fine, but I was too messy in the process of applying the clay to the linen, and ended up with sloppy lines.  I suspect this is going to be a technique that requires me not to rush through it…  I’m sure I can do this more nicely next time, but I’m not sure what to do about this one.  It looks perfectly fine from far away, but up close?  Ew.

I made this as a gift for my grandmother’s birthday, but I’m having second thoughts.  For one thing, there’s the messy appliqué issue.  For another, I’m not sure it’s “grandmotherly” enough.  Would you wear this scarf if you were 88 years old?  Might it be too busy?  I’m leaning towards giving it to her anyway.  She can always turn it the other way and wear the solid color on the outside.  And maybe the clay flower only bugs me because I know I could do it better given the time.  Listen to me rationalize.  Heh.

On the other hand, I could just buy her the usual sweater and keep the scarf for me.  I just discovered I like playing dress-up

The nitty-gritty: The pattern is inspired by the Scrap Scarf in Denyse Schmidt Quilts, and top-stitched a la the Bend the Rules Sewing bib, because it made me feel more secure that way.  I used selections from Heather Bailey’s Freshcut collection along with a solid linen/cotton blend for the front of the scarf, and a soft creme flannel for the lining.  The polymer clay appliqué was made from canes I had created specifically to coordinate with some of the Freshcut patterns.

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Yep, another knee blown out, another skirt for me. Woo hoo! Neil came home from Capclave Sunday night with the news that he’d worn through the knee on another pair of pants. I’m sorry for his wardrobe’s loss, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t good news for my wardrobe. I know I just made one of these skirts, but there are differences. This one is a better fit, but the other one is softer and more broken-in. Colorwise, Neil will tell you this one is light gray and the other is a brownish green. It’s all gray-green to me, frankly, and as such I am thinking of throwing this one in a tub of dye and seeing what comes out. I’m not sure what color I want to try yet, but I’m thinking something absurd like red or purple. I think it would have a neat effect of turning the skirt mostly brown, but with highlights of red or purple where there are faded parts. Rest assured I will keep you posted on what happens there. I wouldn’t want you to lose any sleep over it…

Oh, and if any of you know what causes this highly-frustrating problem when sewing, I’d love some guidance.

I decided yesterday that I just wasn’t happy with the fall apron I’d designed for myself, and I wanted to go back to the style I love, based on the one in Simple Sewing. It is the first thing I ever sewed and it’s still by far my favorite apron design. You don’t really want to know why I didn’t make one like this in the first place, do you? Or how I came to own two new pieces of Fall Back in Time fabric so that I could make this new apron to match my napkins? I typed it all out and it bored even me. So I’m skipping it, and you can fill in your own interesting back-story, if you’re so inclined.

Anyway, I’m really happy with this new apron - love the colors. And if you were a fan of the old apron, I’ve listed it on Etsy along with three others I’ve decided I won’t be wearing. I’ve got this weird hang-up now that will only let me use an apron that matches my napkins. It’s an illness.

Speaking of napkins, I just got the fabric for my last^* set, including a little bit extra for the obligatory matching apron, of course!  This is from Moda’s Christmas Past collection.  And I must have had temporary insanity when I bought these, because I accidentally bought twice as many half-yards as I need.  Duh.  A half yard can make 3 napkins, but I usually make two and use the leftover piece for other projects.  Wanting 20 napkins, I bought 20 prints, but I only needed 10!  So now I need this new book so I can figure out how to turn the leftovers into Christmas gifts.  Heh.

* Last set of napkins for my family. I do have a napkin set in the works that will be a gift, and I reserve the right to make a few sets for Etsy, if I so desire.  Heh.

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…that I had to go out and return a movie rental today (Evan Almighty - Clarke, Clarke & Clarke give it six thumbs up). Otherwise, I would probably have spent the day curled up somewhere cozy in my new lounge pants / pajama bottoms.

And I dare say that it wouldn’t have been too difficult to encourage the little people to join me in theirs.

Neil lucked out - not enough fabric for a fourth pair

The nitty-gritty:  The fabric is Alexander Henry’s Trick or Treat, and the patterns are Simplicity 4429 and 4336.  I made mine a size too big (at least) and took them in an inch on each side. Much better.  I also shortened them by 6 inches since I’m not as tall as they think I should be.

My sincere hope is that this doesn’t become as addictive as skirt-making or shirt-making.  The cost of material would not be pretty…

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The boys and I are on our own today. When I asked them what they wanted to do, the answer was “go to Panera.” Really? Really. Sure you don’t want to go to the bagel place (read: Mommy is addicted to their fat free tuna on a very light everything bagel, please get bagels, please, please, pretty please)? Nope. Ok, then. So we went to Panera for lunch. I tried a Sierra Turkey Sandwich (well, half of one, really. I’m saving the other half for supper) which wasn’t as good as the now-defunct Tuscan Chicken Sandwich, but it’ll do.

From there we walked to Path Mark, a supermarket I don’t particularly care for, which is redeemed only by the DVD vending machine they have. For $1 you can rent a movie until noon the next day, which I think is a bargain and very handy for those weekends when all of the Netflix are in transit and you’re dying for a little mindless entertainment.

After we safely had our movie in-hand, we walked over to Starbucks for a Decaf Tall Pumpkin Spice Latte for me and a couple of big cookies for the boys.  (Aidan lost his second tooth while eating his cookie.) This is going to be a very fattening day, I can tell. At least the boys ran around and burned off some energy when we got home. I promptly plopped myself down in a chair with my latte and my laptop. And my camera. But not the good camera - Neil’s got that with him, darnit.

Lots of pretties on flickr this week, eh? I can see the seasonal “warmth” creeping into my selections at this point. All that’s missing is images of crock pots and comfort food.  These colors make me want to curl up next to the fireplace with a quilt on my lap, some choral music on the DVD player, and a good mystery in hand.  Not quite chilly enough for that yet.  And that’s ok, I can wait.  Today’s weather really has been perfect.  It’s 60 degrees and sunny right now.

I started a project this morning that I hope to finish sometime today.   I’m making lounge pants!  I’ve got Eamonn’s done, and the pattern cut out for Aidan’s.  I want to make myself a pair, too, and if there is still material left, Neil is getting one.  We’ll all be sickeningly cute in our matching Halloween pants, I’m sure, but it’s not like we’ll be leaving the house in them. Well,  the guys won’t, but I might.  Heh.

How about you?  Having a pleasant Saturday?

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

’cause I’m kinda in the mood for a weekend. A crafty weekend. I know I left the “Evolution of a Color Scheme” posts hanging, but there is more to come. The next installment is already written, and I hope to get my hands on the clay for some color mixing within the next few days. With luck, I’ll wrap up the series within a week or so.  And I really hope the color scheme doesn’t tank.  That would kind of stink after all of the buildup, now wouldn’t it??

I got a call right before supper that made me think I am probably going to be invited to a baby shower soon, so while the pizza was in the oven, I cut out the fabric for three coordinating bibs, like the ones I made before. I’ve been wanting to make more, because they are a lot of fun, but I haven’t really had a good reason to do it. I used the pattern & instructions from Bend the Rules Sewing. Love that book. I need to see if there are any restrictions written in the book about selling the things you make from the patterns. It would be cool if I could whip up a stack of bibs, give some away, and sell others in my Etsy shop.

I made this yesterday, after I posted about the pillowcase skirt & table runner. [as an aside, it cracks me up how many of you are wondering now if you can fit into a pillowcase!] I’m not sure what I think of it. It’s my “fly by the seat of my pants, use whatever scraps I have left from napkin-making and add a matching clay button, fall apron”   I’d have been happier with a pocket that wasn’t stripey, but my leftovers in that collection are running low.

It looks like all I’ve done for two days is sew, but that’s really not true - I am just a fast worker.  In fact, if you read the crafter profiles in Bend The Rules Sewing, I am a classic Speed Demon if ever there was one! The bibs and the apron each took me less than an hour to do, and I stitched away at the dining room table after supper, while the kids played and did homework nearby.  As much as I would love to have a studio or craft room of my own, I think I’d miss a lot if I hid away in there any time I wanted to do a project.  It’s nice to be a part of the family life while I indulge my muse.

After tucking the boys in tonight I packed a huge batch of orders, most of them for the very excellent Millefiori Story.  I still have to charge the credit cards and print the postage, but I’m saving that for tomorrow.  I really preferred the idea of showing you my matching bib set to spending half an hour with the touch-tone phone punching in credit card numbers.  Yawn.

Speaking of yawning, it’s 11:25 pm and my dear husband wants to know if I’m going to “blog myself into oblivion” before crawling up to bed.  Guess that’s my cue to log off, eh?

One day closer to the weekend!

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Originally published at Polka Dot Creations. Please leave any comments there.

I dropped Eamonn off at preschool this morning and decided to take action and do something about my desperate hair situation.  My bangs were down past the tip of my nose and I’ve been grousing for a month.  I went someplace different than my usual, and on the way home I passed the Salvation Army Store.  Well, technically, I didn’t pass it.  I pulled into the parking lot, took a space, got out of the car, and went shopping.  Why?  Beats me.  I just gave 5 bags of clothes to this very store, and the last thing I need is more stuff.  Still, in I went.

I had forgotten Wednesday is half-price day, and it turns out it was also my lucky day.  I came home with a hooded cardigan sweater (something I’d been wanting) and a pair of black boots (something I’d really been wanting).  And each of them only cost me $3.  Wow.  I also picked up a pillowcase for 50 cents.

I remembered seeing somewhere online that you could make skirts from pillowcases, and a google search turned up this post. I wish I had a pillowcase as spectacular as the one she used, and now that I know that I didn’t pork-up so much this summer that I can’t fit into a pillowcase, I will have to be on the lookout for more interesting ones.

So here’s my new outfit.  The whole thing (minus the t-shirt that I’ve had forever) cost me $6.50 and about 1/2-hour of sewing.  Woo hoo!

I still felt like sewing after I finished the skirt, so I made a table thingy I’ve been thinking about for the living room coffee table.  I guess it’s a table runner, but it feels weird to call it a “runner” when it doesn’t actually run the length of the table.  Is there another name for this?  Anyway, it’s reversible.  This side is for the fall, with its leaves and pumpkins, and on the other side, I just used dots that coordinate with the walls of the room.  That will be appropriate for all other times of the year.  On both sides I used fabrics left over from my fall napkin-making.  Wait, I don’t think I actually showed you my fall napkins, did I??