OK…it’s taken by pushing my iphone between the blinds, but this is a photo of a lovely winter red Mr. Cardnal.  Mrs. lives there too, in the birch tree, just outside the windows to my office and my sewing room.  What a delight on a winter morning to share the day with them!

Here’s what I have been making.  

I know it doesn’t fit my dress form.  It’s for a slim little redhead who will wear it over her wedding dress on Saturday.  I drafted the pattern with PMB.  It is elbow length and lined with a chartreuse radiance lining.  (See picture of lining below.)  The faux fur is from Fabric.com…just took a yard.  I made the button by gathering a circle of fur and sewing it into a ball which is simply sewn to the cape by stitching thru the center to form a shank.  It closes with a ponytail loop sewn into the collar/cape seam. 

I have also altered a red dress for DGD to wear as she serves as her mother’s maid of honor, hemmed the wedding dress (charmeuse) with a chiffon grecian style overlay, and altered my own dress…no…I didn’t make it…and shopped for shoes..and…and…well, you get the idea.

Tomorrow we host the family for Thanksgiving.  It’s a big day for us.  We always make it our special day.    We also celebrate our own wedding anniversary on November 30, it will be 7 wonderful years! 

I’m fascinated with quilting, especially on a day like today.  I’m at the beach for vacation, it’s raining (again) and I have a sinus headache from all those barometric changes.  But as I sit here killing time catching up on my blogs…I discovered over on the Jolly Jabber that Fig Tree quilts will be sponsoring a block of the month club that’s a bit different.  It’s smaller.  Now I have always liked the block of the month club idea because they pick out the fabric for you.  Not that I don’t like picking out fabric, I do that quite well thank you, but I get distracted and pick out way too much.  Have you seen the cute quilt cottons out there lately?  And Moda…just to die-for quality!  So the idea of a little quilt sounds doable…something I may just tackle.

Tomorrow we head home.  I did get in 4 hours of lovely beach time this morning.  We had a very relaxing vacation and I am anxious to see the kitty girls again.  Hopefully they are settling in to the new home more by now.

Here’s a few pictures of today:

Morning on the beach:

My little piece of the action…or perhaps non-action is a better description.  I watched the birds, the little sand crab (I think he said his name was Andy) the families playing in the surf and walking by and  read a book for 4 hours there this morning.

The clouds rolled in this afternoon.  After just a few minutes on the beach the raindrops just got to be too much and the lightening in the distance made it wise to bid farewell to my little beach haven.

Farewell for another year, I linger and peer back over the dunes as I climb the stairs and head for our little house to wait out the rain, knowing it will be dark by the time it’s over and I will not be visiting the beach again this trip.

Today is the second day of our annual golf/beach vacation.  Yesterday we played golf at Timber Trails golf course in beautiful Dauphne, AL.  After a long year of struggling with the knee I was able to play the front 9 and then chose to play just one 4 par and 2 3par holes on the back.  I got my usual poor score but enjoyed the time with DH, the beautiful course and a few good drives…some of my best ever.

Last night we arrived at our usual rental house in Kiva Dunes (Ft. Morgan).  We rent a pretty little 1 bedroom home on the 8th tee I believe it is.  We had a late night swim in the pool all by ourselves and DH was off early this morning to an Arnold Palmer course he was looking forward to playing for the first time.  I was off early to the beach where my lawn chairs and umbrella awaited.  But after a mere 45 minutes sprinkles began to fall.  I have waited out a shower or two under my umbrella on the beach before but a quick check of the radar on my iphone indicated this would be more than a quick shower.  I headed in.  This is the view outside my window just now.

But…not to fear, I am sitting here, making a quick blog entry, listening to music on my iphone and will tackle my knitting if it doesn’t clear soon.  But hopefully this afternoon I will be back enjoying the beach.  As for DH….well, he is not usually daunted by the rain so I am sure he going to finish at least 18 holes before I see him again.

Loretta

When we first saw our new home we noticed the wine cellar that had been created under the stairway to the bonus room.  Dark, climate controlled and in my mind, just the absolute perfect place for storing fabric.  DH kindly removed the cross members which held the bottles.  I lined the wooden shelves so the wood, would not come into contact with my fabrics.  The wood had been sanded quite smooth and finished but I just can not risk some of my fabrics.  So, I began this afternoon to unpack boxes, refold and compartmentalize my fabrics, mostly by color.  It will be so easy to see what colors I have on hand and so nice to know that what is safely tucked away under our stairs is of a very fine vintage!

The rest of my much smaller sewing space is beginning to take shape.  All my machines are now moved into the room following a frantic search for the serger which had mistakenly been placed on a high shelf in the garage.  The double door closet will be transformed by DH from one hanging shelf to a full wall of shelves and he will build me a cutting/ironing table with storage there as well.  But in the meantime, I could sew.  You just never know when you will be overcome by an irresistible urge to whip up a new garment, or if the need for a quick bit of mending will arise.

It is a bit ironic, that I have left behind my drapery cutting table and now live in a home devoid of all window coverings…but I will manage.  I see lush drapes for the bedroom, simple pleated drapes for the living room and a relaxed roman or two on bathroom and office windows.  Undecided yet is what will grace the dining room, my sewing room and the guest bedroom.  I think at this time the sunroom windows will remain just what they are…glorious portals for sun or storm (and besides, they have sun film already applied.)

Ahh….it’s starting to feel like home!

Loretta

We have a pod in our driveway nearly half full of boxes, on Friday afternoon we will have a moving van.  In the meantime my life revolves around boxes.  On Saturday morning about 8am I will say farewell to the “sewing room” that came with a house attached that I purchased 11 years ago….has it really been that long?  I will be downsizing my sewing space but DH has promised me a wonderful table and I’ve been scouting for my favorite features on my favorite blogs.  Downsizing can be good…I will have to be more organized and as I packed away fabric for home showings I learned that less is more when it comes to my creativity.

The move will be good.  We are getting a wonderful house, near the grandchildren, with a fabulous floorplan nearly the same as the one we have now.  I’m giving up the bonus room.  I just can’t handle the stairs, and DH will use it as his “DEN”….no roaring from this man, he’s a sweetheart!  It will also double as a dormitory for grandchildren. 

I think not having to run upstairs to my space will result in more frequent use.  I’ll keep you posted on that one.  So…if I vanish for a few days while I unpack, just stay tuned….I’ll post pictures of the new space as it develops…and I have plans…lovely plans, now that I will have walls, rather than just slanty ceilings. 

Finished this jacket some time ago and never got a picture up.  It’s a mirror shot so leaves something to be desired.  But I love the jacket.  FBA and shortened the sleeves otherwise XL fits fine.  My topstitching with Gutterman Topstitch thread leaves something to be desired.  I think I prefer regular weight thread for this job. 

May have gotten a bit carried away with the FBA too, but I hate a jacket that gapes.

This is just a piece of white linen/cotton blend that’s been in the stash for ever.  Unlined is perfect for summer.

Kwik Sew 3529

Just finished pant number 20 from the 4/2009 version of Ottobre magazine.  These will be for DGS for second grade.

. Pockets really have velcro under the buttons but the snap at the waist is real.  DH used tools from his workshop to hammer it on.  Hope he likes them!  Size 122.

This is my first Ottobre children’s garment.  I have been sewing with the women’s patterns for some time but just ventured into the children’s.  I have 3 DGS who are all 7…or just about one is just 3 weeks away.  I thought I would enjoy myself and save the mamma’s some money by making some school clothes.  But…I need to test sizes.  So..the boy who likes animals is going to get this shirt made from a cotton fabric from my stash that was very popular with sewing DGS for making pillows and bags.  The buttons were from the stash too so I think I get extra credit here.  Oh Pam…not quite competition for you yet, but I must say the excellent draft of Ottobre makes me look good, don’t you think?

On a side note, much of my sewing room is packed and stored because our house is on the market…you know what…I really am more productive with fewer choices and more room for the creative juices to flow so I don’t get all caught up in trying to choose something from the endless piles.  One thing I have noticed in the past is that some of my favorite garments were challenges from leftovers or too little fabric…I think I like problem solving as much as sewing.  I really do have to figure out how to manage the stash better.

Loretta

Two weeks ago I was in Madison, Wisconsin for work.  One evening we walked down to the student union along the lake and I snapped this photo with my iphone…not bad huh?  The sunset was beautiful but we didn’t stay too long as the lake was rather stinky.  And…we 50 somethings were a bit out of place at movie night on a college campus.