Flower Power

Fuchsia, one of my favorite flowers. One hanging basket adds some much needed color to my shady yard. I have heard they are easy to propagate from cuttings, so I'm going to give it a try. Who knows? Maybe by summer I'll have 2 hanging baskets!

More on bias tape

I curse the bias tape, but I love the bias tape. It's an odd relationship. Fortunately, the web has lots of tutorials that have helped me deal with the bias tape. Here are a few I have referenced recently:

-the Dread Pirate Rodgers method for joining the ends of double fold binding (she says it's foolproof, but I screwed it up several times-- I must be worse than a fool!)

- this tutorial by creative little daisy is a cheap way of making your own bias tape

Pleased as Pie

I just finished this stroller liner! It went together really quickly except for the very last part- joining the ends of the bias tape. You would think it wouldn't be that bad, but it took several tries and more than a little cursing before I finally got it.

This liner covers up all the food stains on the stroller, it is washable and reversible, and was made using things I already had in my sewing stash. Perfect!

Earth Day

I was going to title the post "Happy Earth Day", but this Earth Day I'm feeling more concerned than happy. I see people (myself included) making small and large changes to reduce their own environmental impact, but I don't think it's enough. I think that our impact on the environment is both personal and political and it is motivated by another kind of green: money. If I keep going, I will get into a funk, so changing gears...

I was doing a little research and came across the term "bright green" environmentalist. Looked it up on Wikipeida (of course). What color green are you?

Earth Day always reminds me of my days at UC Davis when Earth Day was celebrated with the Whole Earth Festival... think patchouli, flowing patchwork dresses, funky arts and crafts, etc. One year Kelsey and I were on the Karma Patrol; our mission: non-violent crowd control. We saw Big Brother and the Holding Company perform and their speakers were powered by a HEC (Human Energy Converter), a big hay filled wagon filled with sets of bike pedals. Sit in the wagon, pedal away, listen to music. It was fun. I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that in Augusta...

Flower Simplicity

We spent this weekend at a little house on Matt's grandparents' property. We call it "the lodge", "the lake house", or "GG's clubhouse". It is a simple cinder block house filled with an eclectic mix of antiques, family mementos, and vintage utilitarian items (the vacuum and iron are at least 50 years old). It is a great little hideaway, surrounded by woods and the lake.

When we got there, the weather was dreary and the sideboard contained a basket full of fall leaves and acorns and the table had a dark brown cloth. It felt like autumn, not spring.

Mollie and I wanted to decorate for Easter, so after coloring eggs, we went on a flower hunt and here are the results:


No "before" pictures, but trust me, the simple dogwood, spirea, and violets made the house feel like spring!

April = Sewing Month

My friend Nicola thinks April is going to have a sewing theme for her, so I've decided to jump on the bandwagon since I've got some projects going. Nothing finished for now, but I've got an 'almost' sewing project instead.

This one shows off Mollie's creativity. She wanted some new clothes for her doll, Lucy (creative, huh). I had just made her some doll diapers (see previous post for instructions) and didn't have time to make doll clothes at that moment. So Mollie asked if she could have some fabric and tape and she went to town!

Here is Lucy decked out in her outfit by MollieDesigns.

Almost Post

It seems like I'm blogging in my head all the time, but few ideas actually make it to paper the internet (ether, binary code, what have you). What have I been up to?

To give you a hint, here are a few links I've been enjoying:

-how to make a diaper for a doll from Skip to My Lou

-simple (and good!) whole wheat bread recipe from King Arthur flour

-tutorial on shirring by Pink Fig Patterns

Lots more going on... including less time at the computer!