I Have A Repurpose

Yoke Tops & Honesty Okay I LOVE this idea. I am so excited to give this a try. I found the idea over at Into The Fray (her photo and craftsmanship shown in picture above!) who found it from other crafty ladies. What a great idea for a summer shirt!! I am heading to nearby thrift store to stock up on some "material". I believe you use simplicity pattern 4589 as a guide to help with the shirt. If it turns out to be a good fit, then I may find myself having a nice collection of these this summer :D

Of course I need to finish up sewing my new p.j.'s. One thing at a time I guess.
Posted using ShareThis

Today

Even though it is (gulp) snowing outside, I am still hopeful for spring. We found these growing in backyard the other day. Life is showing up all around us.

OH My GOSH!! I love this book. I think I am the very last person to discover this book, but better now then never. Amazon here I come. I read over a recipe for this and it looks so easy and so good. Perfect for a busy family trying to eat healthy! I enjoy homemade bread so much and this could be the start of a beautiful thing.

Monday Wishes

How cute are these??!! Found these lovelies on Etsy from Jolly Polly Pickins. The more I look at these, the more I think these are perfect for summer sipping!

Keepin' It Local

This beautiful ball of yarn is from an amazing local artist. Yarn Hollow is run by Rita who lives here in G.R.! She is an amazing fiber artist who's work can be found at City Knitting. I fell in love with how soft and vibrant her yarns were. The colors are just lovely. This particular colorway is called Mojito (had to get it!). I am not sure what I am going to make yet. In the meantime I am happy to have it in my stash and smile when I see it!

Summer Never Sounded This Good

This summer the hubby and I are having a musical getaway. We are headed to the Rothbury music festival held here in Michigan. Who will we be seeing of the course of 4 days??? Well......
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, The String Cheese Incident, Ms. Ani Difranco, Guster, Martin Sexton, Flogging Molly, Railroad Earth, The Hold Steady, John Butler, and so many many more.

I am thinking that a couple of cute wrap skirts made in a fun batik print may be just the ticket for a music weekend!

Next month we are having a family knit along. My mom, cousin, sister, and I are going to break down and conform to making the Clapotis. We figure it fits in with everyone's skill level and comfort level. We have beginners to the more advanced knitter. I have received my yarn in the mail. I LOVE it. It is bamboo by Southwest Trading Company. The color is called 24Karat. I would like my Capotis to be more like a scarf. I have 500 yards of yarn to make that happen. Anna and I were thinking how we would like a yarn that has a soft hand and drapes well. I think this will fit the bill. My goal is to have something to wear year round!

Flickr sewing tattoos group - Monday Fun

Flickr sewing tattoos group
Originally uploaded by SwanDiamondRose

Found some inspiring tattoos in a fun little flickr group. (Carrie, I know you are rolling your eyes at flickr, LOL). These ladies are so dedicated to their love of crafting they have decided to ink it. There are some really cool ideas in this group. Have a happy Monday!

March Is .....

Small Press Month!! This is the 13th year of a month long celebration of the independent publisher. Check out this website for more information and to see if any events are going on in your area. In the meantime support you indie publisher and small press this month. You might discover some amazing new things. This was from the website.......

As best-selling author Sherman Alexie—the face of this year's Small Press Month Poster—states: "The small presses represent what is most brave, crazy and beautiful about our country and our literature. So let us all sing honor songs for the independent publishers."

Back to Basics

This is my new favorite sewing book. It is simple (just like the title) and inspiring. The blue fabric I found on the clearance rack at the local fabric store. It is home dec. weight and I thought it would be good paired with another fabric. If you love your designs with a Scandinavian influence, this is a book that you will enjoy. I am thinking of sewing a couple of gifts with this.

My next project for me is to make some summer p.j. 's. The fabric is made from bamboo and I thought that would be REALLY comfortable for the warm weather. It is soft and stretchy.
I think the sleeveless version would be nice.

It's Here!!!

YES!! The spring issue of knitty has finally arrived!! When you think spring, it is hard to think about knits. My summer knits usually consist of socks and projects of the lighter fair. There is one pattern that strikes my fancy and I think would be just fine to work on as the weather warms. It is the flit + float by Birdy Evans. It is so pretty and light, perfect for warm weather living. I think I even have someone in mind to knit this for. For now I am just going to drool and little and work on some projects that I have started. Although I do have a trip to city knitting planned for tomorrow night!

Give Beans A Chance

I was struggling on Sunday with something creative to do with the kiddos. Well, you know how you always have some dried beans that have been hanging out FOREVER in your pantry?? I decided to put those to good use. We broke out some "cooking" supplies and played for quite awhile with those dried beans, peas, and lentils. The boys had a great time dumping, mixing, sorting, and just playing with the texture.


When the boys were all done playing I just saved the beans in a Ziploc bag for another day. All of us agreed it was a fun afternoon!

Feeling Groovy

Wow! I have really been off my blogging game. Things have been the usual busy around here. The rain has been keeping us indoors, so I am taking advantage of that. I finally have a couple of decent pictures of my new Built By Wendy top. The fabric is from Alexander Henry that was purchased at the local fabric store. This was a very simple and easy to sew pattern. A great top to wear this summer while out running around with the kids. Just through it over your head and go. Still more to work on, but so far I have been very happy with how things are turning out this year!

This past week I spent the day braking in the new food dehydrator. The result?? I really love it, but I do need learn more patience with this dehydrating business. What I worked on were some root veggies and then a strawberry fruit roll-up.

What I used were parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, and I had some left over green beans that I thought I would try out. The beets are just so pretty!! I added a herb and garlic seasoning to them to give them a little zing. That was a good idea. I think that the beets and beans would have been better, but I needed to let them go a little longer in the dehydrator.( a little chewy yet) I also tried some parsnips as well.
The end result was a great first go at it. I really cannot wait until the veggies and fruits are in season! I think this spring and summer are going to be full of wonderful eats!!

Oyi! I have finally recovered this weekend from ANOTHER day of feeling yucky! Down with a fever this time. This winter has really been a tough one around here. Before going down with the sickies I managed to get the new food dehydrator up and running. LOVE it. I did some testing with a strawberry fruit roll up and some dried root veggies. I cannot wait until the farmer's market this year. I promise to have some pics up soon.

I also did get some sewing done for spring as well. My Barcelona skirt is almost done! I am taking the advice from whispering pine and NOT hemming the bottom of the skirt. I like the idea of the frayed hem matching the rest of the frayed lines that happen with the skirt. It is my first time with a zipper and my first time with a lined skirt. I really am super happy with how it turned out. I also have my 5 minute skirt done! With the weather still very chilly there are no good finished photos, but here is one that I do have. Not the best I know, but you get an idea for the fabric and the easy F.O.E waistband. Still on the To Do list are a couple of shirts and a linen skirt. Then it is time to shop for some cute t-shirts to wear with all these fun new pieces.