Making Stuff

The creative sap did rise and I made.

A slap dash little quilted camera case for my point and shoot travel camera.

I managed a few good rows on my Granny Cowl with pretty but pesky gray cotton.

And I am eyeing this fabric for a bag, it's an unusual choice for me, but it is awfully pretty.

What are you making?

Have a happy weekend all!

The Calico Prairie

Hello.
Fist off, I want to thank you all for the very kind and encouraging comments you left on my last post. You are all so ace! You made me feel better and so grateful to have this lovely community.

I am on the up-swing for certain. We have had a few days of the most glorious weather, and really a little sunshine goes a long way in putting thing to rights. Long days spent in the garden, planting promise and meditating on beauty is most uplifting.

So today I thought it was long over due to talk a little stitching, share a wee bit of the creative mayhem that goes on around these parts. As I said before, there hasn't been a huge amount of craftiness going on here - what with the busy and a little green cottage in a certain amount of upheaval - makes for less making. I am currently working from my sewing machine on a little rolling cart that gets moved about to any (and there isn't really) clutter free corner I can find. Still, a moment here and there some stitchy business can be had.

Sometimes in my creative process I can become a tad fixated, or even obsessed as the case may be. I wake up one morning and there is a little voice in my head that whispers to me saying things like, "Octopus", or "Stripes". So then I get consumed and spend the day thinking about octopuses? - octopi? - octopodes?, or stripes. After thinking and pacing I begin to work and suddenly I have stenciled an octopus on a tea towel, a dress, and a backpack. You get my drift.

Some of these obsessions are short lived, I get my fix and then the next little whispers begin over my morning coffee. Some obsessions last longer. My latest obsession has lasted a couple of months now and it shows little signs of letting up. It is all about Prairie Dresses!

Not to be confused with Little House on the Prairie dresses, but a slightly more modern interpretation of an all purpose Prairie Dress. One that can be worn over pants, layered with T-shirts, or on their own. Made with Calico from my grandmother's fabric stash in funky combinations in various lengths and sleeve types.

It all started with a whisper, a certain Pony Girl, and some of my grandmother's fabrics that had been hanging around waiting for their chance. A bit of thinking and pacing led to a pattern drafting and then to the first of 5 so far.

There have been a couple of pattern tweaks along the way and there may be more to come. I am in love and I just can't stop! I do wonder when the passion for the calico prairie will wane and the next fixation will take over, but in the meantime I'll be picking out the fabric combo for the next one.

And what about you? Do you ever find yourself creatively obsessed? Do tell!

Penny Wise

Upon discovering the sad little balance in our bank account, with a week before payday, I quickly commenced a campaign of the utmost frugality. What that means dear friends, is a long day in the kitchen. There were some lovely peaches that begged for a pie. Two loaves of bread, one whole wheat sandwhich loaf and an egg bread for morning toast and jam (the jam is stocked in the basement from the summer berries). Then there came our famous Pot-O-Beans, simmering for hours on the stove.
Fortunately, we seem to have moved past the heat wave so that a hot kitchen was not too miserable.

As I cooked and baked away the day, I was reflecting on how fortunate we are. Mr. Nova has a secure job, we have a sound roof over our heads, and we are in relatively good health. So many people I know are going through some rough times right now and my heart goes out to them. I was also thinking about simple living, something I believe in but, what does it mean really? Let's see...we make most of our food from scratch, we grow a good garden, we are raising chickens, we make the most of our environment and surroundings, we reduce, re-use and recycle...
There is more to it than that, how to explain it? Well, lets just take a trip over to Wikipedia to see what it has to say about Simple Living, hey that's pretty good for a start.

We have our luxuries to be sure, we splurge on good coffee beans, organic produce and the occasional treat. We live well and I feel so blessed and grateful for my beautiful family and our little cottage.

I am also immensely grateful to have my grandmother's gorgeous old canning jars full of dried goods lining my kitchen shelves. For the lean times, these lovelies are great bounty. Treasure that needs only a little imagination and seasoning to shine, to sustain and to remind us to keep it simple.

Wondermommy's New Scantly Clad Pattern!

Today Melissa from Wondermommy has launched her new E Book 'Scantly Clad' in her web shop shop.wondermommy.net!
As I mentioned before, Melissa chose me, along with a couple of other very talented folks, to be a pattern tester for this before she put it up for sale. What a great honor and joy.


I had a great time sewing up the Skantly Clad Pattern. Everything came together beautifully with the thorough instructions. Easy enough for a beginner, with endless possibility and variations for the advanced seamstress. The clothes fit well and look great! I will most definitely use this pattern again and again. Melissa has created a real winner!


I have to say that being a part of this process was a great experience for me. To help a fellow creative mom realize her vision while creating awesome clothes was a blast.

Congratulations Melissa! and thank you for having me be a part of fun.

So, go get your Scantly Clad Pattern at http://shop.wondermommy.net or at Wondermommy's Etsy Shop

Go on, make your own!

Fairies in the garden

Yesterday we had a beautiful break in the rain, sunshine and warm enough to go sleeveless. So, after our daily ritual of sqwirmy hunting...

we decided to build a fairy house. My girl and I repurposed a birdhouse that she and Mr. Nova built last year. It has never housed any birds and we thought that maybe the fairies would like it.


We both agreed that the best spot in the garden was under a canopy of Bleeding Hearts.
This morning the rain returned - yet, when we checked the little fairy house, there was a tiny thank you note written on a leaf!

Dream Big

So, I was down in my creative space this morning to do some good work but, after cursing for the umpteenth time as I tripped on a pile, something crashed to the floor, or not finding what I needed, I gave up and took a look around. Sheesh! This place is a mess. I haven't really cleaned up or organized since the whole holiday frenzy and it kinda looks like a craft bomb went off in there. I am a person who does not tolerate clutter and mess well in my home. In fact, I am a bit of a neat and clean freak (Don't get me wrong, I do like to make a mess and get muddy and such outside) As you can imagine, I have had to do some letting go since my child arrived. It remains a struggle that I continually deal with, especially since I have the feeling that I am cleaning constantly but, there seems to be a perpetual hurricane in my house tearing up the joint. Anyway...

I went upstairs, made myself a cuppa tea and daydreamed of beautiful sewing studios with lots of light and well organized work stations. Like the ones pictured above. To give you an idea of what I am working with: Our house is a little 800 square foot cottage, a constant work in progress. We have an unfinished half basement which holds the washer/dryer, camping gear, bicycles, my husbands tools, bookshelves, sports equipment, firewood, the canning shelf, bits of furniture and heaps of boxes filled with...well I couldn't honestly tell you. My sewing room/nook/corner/cave/area is in one 5x9 corner of the basement partitioned off with hanging sheets. I share it with some quiet but industrious spiders and a clover that grows through the crack in the tiny light-less window. (and no, I will not be showing you a picture of it until it's cleaned up) I will not even tell you what all is in this sewing area, let's just say it all fits together like a wonky Chinese puzzle. There isn't any heat down there and the lighting is pretty dismal, I work under a florescent shop light. I know, it sounds like I am complaining but I'm not (O.k. maybe just a little), the truth is I feel incredibly fortunate to have this little space and overwhelmingly blessed to have our sweet little house. Owning a home was not something I would have believed could ever happen in my life so, I count my lucky stars. I will feel much better once I get in and organize the place.

Still, it is fun to dream. I dream of sewing studios, my husband dreams of a woodworking shop and my girl dreams of pink ponies. What do you dream of?