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Uniform Studio Journal...
:: I started making these little swatch cards to keep track of the fabrics I have. Each one is marked on the back with tape listing the quantity and width of the bolt. I’ll use these at the show to keep track of how many items can be ordered from each fabric. I really like seeing all of the different colors and textures together.::

happy holidays

::embroidering has just begun on this side::
and here's another example of my gifting sensibilities this year. by now, I'm sure you're thinking, what's up with all this white? this is going against my color grain... but at the same time fits completely with my first rule of any artistic pursuit — follow that gut instinct. and in this case, that white fabric and I fell in love. and now I'm about to send it across the country on its merry way.

I've really jumped into the making stuff kick this year... hilarious because the amount of space we occupy now is a postage stamp compared to our digs in Nashvegas. And even if I did want to sew with a pattern, there would be no room to lay it out. I have just enough room to haul out my sewing machine between meals and marie's projects in the "kitchen" to sew my small-ish stuff. and yet, I have to say, I love it. (although. a crafting room would be great. just saying).

Angry Chicken has some hilarious gift tags to print out... if you know they're going to the kind of person who has a sense of humor. (and, of course, I do know those kinds of people!)

hand made holiday

from pillows to purses, hopefully I'm getting it all in.
these photos are ridiculous, since there's basically no light here on the east coast after about 3 p.m. but I figured they'd never been seen if i didn't post now, since they're heading under a christmas tree soon. I usually get the pre-gift jitters about now... wondering if the present will be well received, or if it'll end up hidden away and unloved. hopefully, I'll hit the next stage in the gifting process... it doesn't matter as long as I tried my best, made something I'd love to get, and made it to the best of my ability. whew. hope i get to that place soon.

p.s. the lining of this bag, which I didn't photograph, is vintage fabric with cute, wise sayings... the most apropos right now? a stitch in time saves nine (or seven hundred in my case).

*snow daze*

oh the holidays... nothing motivates me like the thought of a snowed-in Sunday, when it's not impossible to get out of the house but pretty undesirable! so, here's the sewn, and still unstuffed pillow I'm probably going to give to a lucky recipient this Christmas... probably one of those people on my list who I never know what to get for them (read: me mum). This same person deserves an all-expense paid trip to Italy for a month, but since I can't quite afford that, a handmaid pillow is the next best thing...

hope you're having a great weekend, and aren't covered in slushyness!

pillow

it's a little lumpy, but here's a pillow I made for marie this summer. It includes two of her favorite things -- purple and circles. Oh and believe me, the symbolic reasons behind both are deep and long winded. Actually, I loved the colors together, and had fun with fabric paint. This was during the summer when I had more downtime than I needed... now, of course, I wish I had more!

Here's a detail:

mismatch

before moving back north, I had big bouts of downtime at my last job... hence hand sewing this pillow together at my desk during breaks. I have to say, initially I wanted things to line up (maybe to justify some sort of quilting law...) but then I decided I didn't want to have straight lines and angles. I don't generally enjoy my sewing to be too 'perfect,' which may be why I've balked from the quilt marie's grandmother assigned. sewing homework=ridiculous.

this is one of a few things I've sewn and not immediately given away. which reminds me, christmas is coming...

details

fashion fashion fashion... in hindsight, i think i read more about people who take their fashion seriously (sometimes pushing it to comical heights). You know the type who grab found objects and create random, but 'cool,' combos.

This site makes me feel guilty every morning... not jewish grandma guilt from ages past, but the nagging little voice before i get dressed that says, would that be featured on bitsandbobbins? noooo, missy. and usually i move on.

elyse sewell, in her random blogging states, is part of the aggressive fashion machine... but adds her evergreen comments to a world that is hilarious and strange. (plus cultural commentary on hong kong. makes me want to visit even more).

this site is just begging to be rifled through for hours... people who work here are way way way too cool.

a hankering

i'm sure you know how it is... the afternoon has rolled around, and it's not even close to dinner, and it's still too close to lunch to even really be worrying about dinner... and yet. i think a peanut butter and apple sandwich is in order. the snack of champions. too bad i don't have any of these ingredients handy today, but the picture looks good.

last night, marie's grandmother flew diligently across several states to visit and she brought me a nice little pile of fabric! new-to-me fabric presents are such a treat... it's like getting a brand spanking new journal with blank pages waiting for some creative bug to bite (regardless of if it ever does! i have hundreds of just-started journals to prove it, beginning in preschool).

hopefully, i'll get around to using it soon (and showing my projects... dang camera/scanner debacle).