Fabulous Home

Well,,,, here we go again. We just got settled into this beautiful house and hubby got transferred! Will I ever get sewing projects accomplished? Hopefully soon. We just love this place. Its huge with a great layout. This is no ordinary run-of-the-mill tract home. It's totally upscale and quality built. The outer walls are at least 8 inches thick and the home is so energy efficient that we have only had to turn on the AC when the outside temps exceed 95. Windows everywhere....great for utilizing the wonderful breezes both morning and evening to freshen up the house.

Over-sized lot with drought tolerant plantings, including lots of roses. And a huge, oversize, extra deep 3 car garage. I use one of the bays as a workout and craft room.

Here are some pics:

Homes are set wide apart!

Check out those high ceilings!

Large Guest Bath!

Elegant Powder Room

That's a big den behind the french doors...

Great room has speakers wired into the ceiling!

Life vs. Hobbies

Oh my goodness, these past 3 weeks have been crazy.

Sewing like a madwoman, getting ready for shows two weekends in a row - which, by the way, went rather well with quite a few sales. And, at the same time, frantically searching for a new place to live since our lease expires in just a few weeks. I've never experienced such "competition" to rent a place! It would seem that as soon as an ad came up on Craigslist, I'd respond only to get beaten out of it by someone else who got their first! (that would be for the nice places, never mind the crappity crummy places) I was becoming very sad and anxious.

But it has all turned out quite fabulously. We've been crammed into a tiny condo for the past year and a half, with NO extra room for anything. But now, we found a beautiful newer home by word of mouth. It's less expensive than where we are now and is 1000 square feet larger, including a good-size den that will soon be my sewing studio. Wohoo! I can't wait.

So now that the shows are over, I'm packing as fast as I can. Move day is less than 2 weeks away. So please excuse me if I seem a bit absent lately. I promise I'll be back soon and more productive than ever!

An Unexpected Treasure

Today we stumbled upon the tail end of an estate sale.

Usually I find my trash/treasure at thrift stores and oddly enough, never question the past life of the items found there.

Going through someone's house and taking things away left me with mixed emotions. On one hand I would have liked to be jumping inside saying "Wohoo! What a great deal!" but on the other hand, I felt a little sad and creepy and more like "Gee, thank you Elsie." (my make believe name for the dear lady). "I will honor you by re-making your beautiful clothes into "new again" pretty things that will hopefully be loved and enjoyed for years to come."

I told the ladies conducting the estate sale what I would be doing with Elsie's things. They thought she would be pleased.

Elsie, I can see by your style that you were a grand and gracious lady, although a very petite size 2. You must have lived life by the fullest as the story is told by what I discovered in your home. I am honored to be able to pass along some of that great energy I found there today. Thank you.

Sew much fun

I'm not on my regular computer to be able to put up a lovely photo but I still feel the need to post as its been 2 weeks since my last confession! I've been so busy designing, cutting and sewing to keep up with my unexpected popularity. Well, not actually MY popularity but the bags and aprons I've been knocking out with wild passion. Seems that my little creations are catching on.
I showed some to a friend who owns a floral shop and she promptly requested that I send her a bunch of bags in time for Mother's Day, oh pretty please :) Naturally I was happy to oblige.
Then, I showed some to another crafty friend (who knows a lot of other shop owners and crafty afficionados) and next thing I knew I was being asked to provide the goods for a "bag party" they wanted to throw on my behalf. Did someone say "Party"? Wohoo. I'm there.
Then, a few days ago I was invited to participate in an "Earth Day" artist and whatnot celebration. Of course I had to say Okay. And the next day is the Walk For Autism and I am sharing a booth with a most talented artist friend.
While it all is wonderful, it also means kicking it into high gear and turning out as much merchandise as I can possibly make without passing out.
Sew much fun, it might be too much fun.....not!

Ode to Aprons

Today I was not in the mood to sew.

I rather wanted to go thrifting for treasures instead.

But I said to myself "No. Tilly, you have to get work done!"

Now mind you, the kitchen was a mess after making that lovely pie

and dishes needed to be done...which is not exactly what I wanted to be doing either.

As I filled the sink with hot soapy water and filled it with dirty dishes,

it occured to me that I had on a nice, bright t-shirt with no spots..yet.

Well, it was only a matter of a few moments when that would be changed.

And I remembered how my momma always wore an apron to do chores.

As a child I even made her quite a few. Now if I get to choose between a fun project and "chores" I can tell you the fun will win for sure. I immediately took off the rubber gloves and ran upstairs to peruse the selection of used items that were waiting patiently to be transformed into their second life. As I pawed through the hangers and stacks and bins (yes, there's quite a lot) I came across some leftover bits from the "Pinafore Bags." Bright, breezy, floral and girly. Perfect for an apron.

Now, with my lovely new apron I don't mind doing the dishes so much.

Maybe I should make more of these?

Pie Time

The decision wasn't difficult.

Oatmeal "2" vs. Yummy Freshly Made Strawberry Rhubarb Pie "10"

It was time to grab something to eat with my morning coffee.

I perused the choices.....the usual oatmeal with yellow raisins and cinnamon sugar

or

the pie.

It was no contest, really.

It was "Pie Time"!

and it may continue to be Pie Time for lunch and dinner

since I'm the only one who likes Strawberry Rhubarb Pie at my house.

That's OK with me.

Momma's got a brand new bag

Here is a little montage of some

lovely bags

I made today and yesterday.