sunshine on a cloudy day

Happy packages from the mailbox certainly go far in cheering up a dreary day

Oop! What's this? A sneak peek of something? Hmmm...what could it be...

Happy Tuesday! I hope you're enjoying some sunshine, too!
Kim

walk in the park

Another visit to the gardens, and they were even more beautiful than before, if that's possible. I don't think I could possibly capture how spectactular this place is with my camera, words even elude me. I still found myself fascinated by the smaller details, though.

like this lovely speckled bench

Nature comes up with the best color combinations, am I right?

Are you as obsessed with Hens and Chicks as I am? I am so drawn to this plant, especially this miniature version.

They were in these beautiful handmade pots, not really part of the gardens but sitting on tables. I wanted to take them home with me.

I will have more project photos for you in the near future. I haven't had time to stock the shop as I have begun taking on holiday orders. I hope to have some goodies to put in the shop soon, but if you have something specific in mind that you'd like, please don't hesitate send me a convo since I can't make any promises about what or when items will be available.

Happy autumn!
Kim

Do not adjust the settings on your blogroll

I'm actually posting for the first time in *coughalmosttwomonthscough*. This summer got away from me; it's been incredibly challenging and busy, not always in a good way. And if you get through this next bit I promise there is some crafty goodness waiting down below.

First, I took part in a language therapy study with my two boys--it was so helpful. Sort of a Floortime style approach. In related news, we had to retire our old stroller and get a new one. Now, if you had told me before I had kids that I'd get excited over a stroller for my three year old, I would've said you were crazy. However. I didn't know then that I would have a kiddo with serious sensory issues and a major dislike of crowded, noisy, new places, who would weigh 45 lbs and insist on being carried everywhere. Hence: the Maxi-Cosi Foray stroller.

My 5-year old test drove this thing and would have to grow inches before his feet touch the ground. The canopy opens without touching his head, it has a smooth ride, storage underneath, and best of all a small turning radius. We got ours at Babies R Us, and it was quite a bit cheaper at the store, plus a 20% discount for trading in our old stroller. Good deal!

The aforementioned 5-year old kept himself busy this summer by discovering every possible way of getting out of the house or yard in order to explore the neighborhood without supervision. So securing windows, doors, etc. took up a fair amount of time, as well as our recovering from escape-induced panic attacks.

I was so busy, in fact, that I haven't touched my sewing machine all summer. I know. Both shocking and disturbing. Fortunately, one of my lovely customers inquired about getting a custom quilted clutch, and the rest, as they say, is history. She wanted something to match her black and gray diaper bag with hints of lime green, and let me tell you I was excited to have a chance to stock up on some Summer Soiree by Paula Prass for this project. I just kind of improvised as I went along, and I rather like how it turned out

and, of course, buttons

I also managed to add to my unending list of unfinished projects by trying out English paper piecing. No UFO collection is complete without having piles of hexagons waiting around to be made into something.

I'm dreaming they'll someday be a throw pillow on my chocolate brown couch.

We're now settling into the school year (finally both boys are going to school!), and I now have a couple of hours to myself every day. Hopefully that means I'll be able to post more frequently, or at least I'll be able to enjoy a quiet cup of coffee in the mornings...but more likely than not it will be a frantic dash to the sewing room to get as much done as possible in my free time....

Until next time,
Kim

photo tour

I had a lovely week enjoying a visit with my best friend Anna, who I haven't seen for a very long time (so long, in fact, that in the period since I last saw her my family has acquired 2 dogs, 1 child who is now 3 years old, and moved across the country--needless to say we had quite a bit of catching up to do). We enjoyed road tripping, swimming, movie-watching, and general girly chatting/dishing/giggling over fashion magazines, etc.

We also spent a fantastic afternoon here, wandering, people-watching, and smelling the roses, so to speak.

The textures and sculptures at the gardens were at least as fascinating as the flora. I was especially captivated by the Thai Pavilion, with its dragon-scaled roof and gold leaf ornamentation. I could have stayed there for hours, gazing into the fountains, watching the ducks, and dreaming about the pavilion's long voyage across the sea. So relaxing.

Where have you traveled this summer? Hopefully you have seen some lovely and new places, whether far away or close to home.

Happy exploring,
Kim

I suspect

That I may need to move someplace sunnier. I'm one of those folks who notices a distinct downturn in mood when it's cloudy outside, and we have had nothing but dreary, overcast days for the past week. You'll notice that I mention the weather quite frequently in my posts. It doesn't help that I sew in a basement room, and have but one window, that faces....northwestish? In any case, I don't get any direct sunlight down here, which is not only depressing but downright awful for taking pictures. Which is why I haven't yet shared my latest apron creation. (I will, soon...right Mother Nature?)

I needed a little bit of faux sunlight to perk me up this week, so I did what anyone else would do--I did some flickr-surfing. And I found this fantastic quilt. I think I gasped audibly when I first saw it. And I knew I had to make one. Had to as in I was going to be obsessed with this idea until I started making a string quilt of my own. And it had to have white center strings because that is completely brilliant.

After staring at my fabric stash for a moment or two, I started grabbing print after print. I think half my stash was on my ironing board at one point (it now lies in gloriously high piles on my cutting table). A little confession: I've always been terrified of scrappy projects. My brain has a serious problem with putting any old fabric next to any old fabric. Everything has to match, perfectly. I truly envy people who can throw a pile of random fabrics together and it ends up looking fantastic.

So this was also somewhat of attempt to just let go.

Except that I couldn't.

You have no idea how not-random these quilt blocks are.

But I'm okay with that. That's just the way my mind works I guess. In any case, I sure had fun creating a bit of sunshine on my own. And I have about 44 more quilt blocks worth of sunshine-making left to create!

Hope the weather is better wherever you are...
Kim

Sunny Day

In case you were curious about what my finished projects were in my last post, here they are: new clothespin aprons! They're fun as hostess aprons too. You can find all three of these aprons in my shop.

There's something so fresh and crisp about lemon-lime (Alexander Henry lemon print/American Jane polka dots)

I can't resist this combo of royal blue and orange (Denyse Schmidt daisy print/American Jane Pez print)

I love these cool oceany blue pressed flower and stripes prints by Amy Butler

This is quite possibly my favorite new print combo, a rose bouquet Pop Garden print by Heather Bailey paired with polka line by Anna Maria Horner. LOVE it.

I've got another Heather-Anna pairing in the works that is fab-u-lous. Can't wait to show you.

Have a lovely day!
Kim

Peonies & Popsicles

As the end of the school year approaches, our pace of life has been accelerating steadily with appointments, planning for summer visitors, sewing orders, and somehow not letting four dogs' worth of winter fur take over the house. I always seem to get more done the busier I am, and yet I was reaching a point where I needed a time-out. Fortunately I was in a cooking sort of mood the other day, and whipped up a batch of perfect aqua playdough. Jack and I spent a good hour playing with the warm dough and giggling nonstop. The photograph below is not representative of the fantastic mess we made of it.

After a much needed break, it was back to the grind. But last night I was awakened by a tremendous thunderstorm. I had to rush out of bed to close the windows and lay awake as lighting completely illuminated our bedroom. It was the kind of Midwestern thunderstorm that used to terrify me as a child, and in fact it didn't take long before we heard little feet padding down the stairs and climbing into bed with us. The storm finally subsided and we drifted back to sleep. This morning I ventured outside to see how the garden fared, and discovered some lovely and very waterlogged peonies that had begun to bloom.

The rain had completely rejuvenated the flowers and grass and our little bird feeding area was teeming with baby robins and rabbits. It reminded me how I've always been fascinated by the process of watching things grow. Flowers bloom from tiny buds, small kids grow into bigger kids even after consuming what seems like nothing but dirt and popsicles, piles of neatly folded fabric turn into something completely different.

Even after years of sewing, I still love watching this

turn into this

turn into this

I guess sometimes it just takes a good rain to make me slow down and enjoy life's little everyday magic. I hope you too can find the time to stop and smell the flowers today, or at least share a popsicle with a loved one.

Kim

Spring

I hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday weekend! I spent a good portion of mine shopping local nurseries for new perennial flowers, and then the remainder directing my husband where to dig all the holes for planting (I can be very good at delegating tasks, especially when it involves pickaxes and heavy shovels!). The landscaping around our house when we moved into it consisted primarily of hosta (mostly in sunny, dry spots...why??) and some non-descript shrubs that appear to be healthy breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which won't do at all. I adore birds and butterflies, so we put in some salvia, black-eyed susans, dianthus and lavender. I had no idea that dianthus smells so incredibly good, I could spend all day sitting in the garden smelling the plants. Next on my list is echinacea and shasta daisies.

The other day I was sitting in my favorite spot in the kitchen looking out the window and it was like a scene from a Disney movie, with all sorts of furry and befeathered critters frolicking outside: chipping sparrows and goldfinches at the birdfeeder, a chipmunk chirping on the rocks, and a couple of rabbits hopping through the grass. One of these days I'll have my camera outfitted with a zoom lens with me to capture it. In the meantime you can enjoy the flowers which stay nice and still when I crouch next to them to take pictures.

It was so energizing to spend time in the garden, I'm feeling very inspired for Spring. Hopefully that will translate into some fun new creations in the sewing room. That is, if my kids will take a break from being such night owls! Ever since the days started getting longer, my littlest guy can't seem to figure out when it is that he's supposed to sleep.

I've also noticed the clotheslines starting to come out, which means it's officially clothespin apron weather!

What's your favorite sign of Spring?

Out of Town

For anyone who is planning to purchase a sewing pattern this weekend, please know that I will be out of town and will send all patterns purchased Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (May 15-16-17) on Monday, May 18. Thank you for being patient and have a great weekend!

Kim

Shop update

Thanks for such a warm response to my new pattern! It's always a little scary to embark on something new but you all are making it completely painless.

However, it sounds as though some of you are having trouble checking out with the pattern in my shop. I'm thinking that there has been an occasional issue with the pattern disappearing out of a cart because it sold or I've taken it offline momentarily to update a listing. If this happens to you please go back to the main page of my shop and try again--I'm now making sure that there are always at least one or two listings with several copies of the pattern available at any given time.

You may also purchase the pattern right here from my blog by clicking the "Buy Now" button in the sidebar on the right side of the screen. Let me know if you have any issues with it, though I believe it should work okay.

Have a lovely rest of the day!
Kim