I've been tagged. And I'm only doing half of it because I'm just that way.

One of the most amusing blogs that I read is Quilting in my Pyjamas. We regularly exchange hysterically funny emails, mostly about the things in my couch. Someday one or the other of us should publish some of them as a series of blog posts. Although maybe no one else would get it...

So anyway, I've been tagged by Shay, which is cool and all and I got some new readers- HI!- but I don't tag people back because some people don't like it and I feel like it puts them on the spot. I am just going to answer the questions and if anyone who stops by wants to play along, feel free.

The "award" is the "Cherry on Top" award and you are supposed to write about 3 things you love, beside fabric, obviously, because that would be... well, obvious. I love:

1. ROYGBV
2. Cats
3. Fiber optic things- like Christmas trees (preferably with fiber optic angels on the tops) or pictures with moving water (and sound!) or those flower lamps that you always see at thrift stores or really ANY thing that glows and changes color.

I think the reasons that I love this stuff do not even need to be articulated. Of these things, sadly, I only own three (or four if you count the cats separately). I don't count the rainbow because you really can't OWN that. I do consider that I own my cats, although they might think otherwise. As far as fiber optic things, I have a Christmas tree and an angel. I really need one of those flower lamps so I can enjoy the beauty all year.

Can you imagine a fiber optic rainbow colored cat??? It would be as beautiful as a gold unicorn or a fat baby. But probably an unbearable snob.

Pictures! Of Bags!

Here are pictures my big bag order. One of my friends ordered 7 bags from me. She owns a salon and is giving each of the stylists, the receptionists and the massage therapist a tote for Christmas. As if that isn't nice enough she is filling them up! Lucky ladies! I want one!

I quilted the interiors and exteriors to heavy interfacing individually before I sewed them together so the bags stand alone. Which is saying a lot- these bags are BIG.

LARGE bag- for massage therapist to carry blankets to and from work.

All the pockets in the different bags are the same- behind are pen pockets, outside is a pocket that would hold a magazine or papers

 

other side- divided into 4 sections

Exterior- Amy Butler Lacework with an orange lining

Interior- fussy cut flowers for pen pocket (this one bag is different- the pen pocket is outside the paper holding pocket)

Exterior fabric is Nicey Jane- Hello Roses in Olive. Everyone that sees this LOVES this fabric. I do too- am working on one for myself made from this same print.

The bags for the stylists. The shop colors are brown and turquoise. Really cool!

All seven bags! I am pretty proud of them- they turned out really nice. YAY! Glad to be done with this.

 

 

A Bit of Solidarity

A bit of solidarity

So my new camera came and I thought you might enjoy seeing what I've been looking at for several weeks. 

(My grandma would die if she saw this...)

 

Later, I promise pictures of BAGS.

Conversations from Sunday School

Miss T: "So, because Solomon asked God for wisdom, what else did God give him?"

Brady: "Lots of stuff."

Lukey: "Santa gives lots of presents.

Miss T: "Ok, but we're talking about what God gave Solomon."

Lukey: "They're a lot alike." 

V(Another student): "Not really."

Lukey: "I guess you're right. Santa's a little fatter." (holds up thumb and finger about an inch apart)

Because I went ahead and ordered a new camera Paul found the missing one. And I must confess: I am the culprit. I had put it in a box of sequins (??? I'm blaming it on the codeine) and set it up high on a shelf in my sewing room. I have no recollection of doing this, but the aviator and the cowboy could not have reached the shelf without extreme measures. Their mother must have done it... and yes, I apologized. In my defense there are a LOT of pictures of Legos on the the camera so I was NOT the last one to use it. I probably would only have taken maybe 5 pictures of Legos. Or none.

 However, I took the opportunity to upgrade my camera so when I get it I will probably be posting much better pictures. We can hope. And now there is a camera for ME, and a camera for the REST OF THE FAMILY. So no one can blame anyone else for taking theirs. Although I imagine I will still be expected to keep track of both of them. 

Would you like some cheese with that?

I have been sewing a fair amount lately but I have no pictures because, according to one son, 

SOMEONE 

or, according to the other son, 

SOMEONE ELSE 

was taking pictures with my camera and now, well, it's nowhere to be found. Most of what I have been doing is finishing up ancient WIPS and working on the bag order (which is due next week). It's not very much fun anymore. No more custom orders for me. Turns out I don't like doing the same thing over and over.

I have been miserable lately (I have pneumonia- YUCK!) and what time wasn't spent sewing or sleeping was spent laying on my couch reading. I even made a permanent dent in the cushions. They are about an inch and a half thick now where I parked my caboose. This makes my butt hurt, but not enough to actually get up. Or even move to the other end. 

Of course, being an inconsiderate wife I timed this illness with beer- oops, I mean DEER- season and got zero help from my offspring's "FATHER" "FIGURE" (HEAVY sarcasm- note the caps, italics and quotation marks). I DID get a lot of help from my mom, sister and mother-in-law, so at least the women in my family rock. My mother-in-law kept the kids on Thanksgiving so I slept all day and had frozen pizza for supper. Poor me. Sigh.

So what else can I whine about...? Oh, I'll just quit now. I'm tired from typing. I should take a nap. Maybe I will think of something else to complain about later and find the energy to write a paragraph or two about it.

In the meantime everyone should leave fawning comments telling me how bad they feel for me and what jerks men can be. Probably won't be too hard to come up with something since I'm sure you've met one or two and they're all idiots.

I used a pattern!! An Amy Butler pattern, no less!

 Due to being absolutely miserable with The Plague or The Bloody Snotty Death Cough or whatever it is I have, I have been reeeeeally lazy for the last week. I think Child Protective Services should come and remove my children from this unsafe, unsanitary environment. 

(I wonder if I called in a complaint if they would figure out it was me...?)

Anyway, as I was languishing on the sofa this weekend, the library called and said they had a book at the front desk for me. I put a sweatshirt on over my crusty a-leper-wouldn't-wear-them pajamas and brought my germy self down there to see which book it was (since I had forgotten what all I had requested). It was Amy Butler's Style Stitches!!  I was so excited to get my greedy little hands on it.  Almost made me feel better for a second.
Almost.

I have a friend who recently started working at the library and she has been amazing me with the books she can find. I do catalog searches and come up with nothing, but if I ask her she can almost always find them for me. So: make sure you check with the librarians at the front desk if you can't find the book you want in a catalog search. They may be able to get it for you.

This was the first time I had ever actually used an Amy Butler pattern or read one of her books, but I love the fabric and I wanted to see what the patterns were like. (Plus I think I need to learn to use patterns. And plus her bags are really cute.)

The book is beautiful. It could be a coffee table book. The photography is gorgeous, and the pages almost have a scrap-booked kind of look to them. It is well laid out and has a ring binding so you don't have to worry about it falling apart. The pattern pieces are all full size and are in a cute little folder at the back of the book.

I have not used patterns very many times (for anything, not just bags) so some of the terminology was confusing to me, but I managed to get the first bag in the book- the Cosmo bag- finished during the past few days. I have seen online where people made this bag in a sitting, but it took me much longer. Just the cutting took hours. Once the cutting was done it really seemed to go quickly. The projects are arranged easiest to hardest, and this was the first one in the book. EEK! It was a little tricky I thought. I definitely would not have been able to make this bag if I was a beginner. I am a bit nervous about tackling one of the harder ones.

The book has you cut all the pattern pieces out, then the fusible interfacing, and then you iron the interfacing pieces to the fabric pieces. If I make another one, or any of the other bags with lots of pieces like this, I will iron the interfacing on to the yardage in big chunks and THEN cut out the fabric pieces which would save a step. It would use a little more interfacing, but not much, and the time saved would be totally worth it.

hanging (empty)

sitting (empty)

I also wish the book had more drawings to illustrate the individual steps. I was quite lost a few times, but that could be partly due to me not bringing my A game this week. I am going to make a stiff bottom insert and see if that helps the bag hold it's shape more on the inside.

 I did not divide the pockets as the book showed. I wanted to be able to put papers or magazines in the inner pockets so I offset the stitching line to one side or the other. I also added some smaller pockets behind the large ones. Not crazy about the pockets this bag has, but that's a really easy fix.

I have to rip apart the top stitching that is on the inside of the handle. It doesn't look nice, and I didn't catch everything I was supposed to. This is the last place you sew after you flip the bag right side out, and it's got a lot of curves so it's kinda tricky.

Overall, I very much like the book and will buy it. There are some other really cute patterns in it and I learned a LOT making just this one bag.

I heart lime green...

... ergo, our front "Fo-yay":

I am contemplating which of my vintage sheets to slice into for new curtains for the door window...