Lovely Late Nights

Between it still being summer vacation (meaning... less downtime for me!), upcoming fall craft shows, pattern testing, training for a half marathon, and general increase in sewing motivation, I have had a few late nights lately!

I'm not complaining. Au contraire, I am really happy about my regained love of sewing. I was a little worried over the June/July months because I barely even lifted a needle. I'll blame the heat, and the fact that my sewing space was an utter mess. And not just messy. Dirrrty too. So after a good cleaning and cooler weather, I'm back at it!

Last night, I had the company of this lovely fellow:

You see, one of my favorite bloggers, Rachel over at Stitched in Color, is hosting a contest for Heather Ross' new fabric line: Nursery Versery. As luck would have it, when I read about the contest there were two yards of mice heading my way from FabricWorm. If you're a regular fabric buyer you'll know that the Kokka prints aren't cheap. You have to really really want them to hit "buy" on that shopping cart!

I really wanted these mice. I just love all of Heather Ross' work, but these mice were my "must haves" from this line. I bought in the natural and the green color way, and when I opened the package to start figuring on what I'd make for the contest that little farmer mouse just was begging me to be used. I mean, really! Look at his pleading little face!

So I dug into my favorite fussy cut project... the cathedral window zip pouch. I was completely and totally ready to make a color blocked linen pouch featuring this guy, and lined with the same fabric. But I finished the cathedral block, and again... this little guy said "really? just a zip pouch? aren't I more worthy of a bigger project?"... and I said "YES!" (really, it was possibly delirium from staying up too late plus the fact that I've been in major pillow-sewing-mode).
 

So, there you have it. Totally improv piecing, with some new Medrona Road (the orange), and  Modern Meadow (the green) - both from Hawthorne Threads. As a side note, the Modern Meadow came from one of Hawthorne Threads' scrap packs. They are an awesome way to build up stash of some great moden fabrics. I always go to my scrap pack stash when I'm working on the fly like I was last night.

I particularly love the organic, hand painted look of these two fabrics in conjunction with the little mousie. They match so well. The borders and back of the pillow are in natural linen.

That little guy? He's so happy to be surrounded by his fields...  And me? I'm so happy to be back in a sewing groooove. It feels good, people.

finished pillow size 16" x 16"

First Outdoor Show

This past weekend I attended my first outdoor show as a vendor. It was an extension of the weekly local farmers market, and therefore relatively low pressure. That is to say, it wasn't strictly a craft show, so the table fee was low and the atmosphere festive as opposed to a "shop til you drop" mentality.

It was a great setup for my first outdoor show. I got to drive right up to my booth location and I had two great friends helping me setup, takedown, and throughout the show. It definitely helps to have friends! Another really great friend loaned me her canopy tent, and I'm so grateful!

I had set up the booth in my mind  several times, and had trouble sleeping the night before for fear that I had misjudged the dimensions in my head. But really it all came together better than I had imagined, and hanging my quilts along the back and sides really made the booth come together visually. I made the table covering at the last minute, and am thrilled with how it turned out.

As you can see, it was a beautiful day, sunny and slightly breezy. It was wonderful to meet some local customers and people who just really appreciated my work :)

Hopefully next summer I can fit in more than one outdoor show!

No, where have YOU been?!

Uh huh. I know. It's been almost TWO MONTHS since my last post. Forgive me. We've been having some serious summer fun, and blogging took a back seat to playing in the water, exploring playgrounds, traveling to friends and family, and just... relaxing.

I promise I have been sewing too, and will have some pictures to share of my first outdoor market after this weekend! I'm excited, and big bonus, the weather looks like it will be nice.

And I promise that I'll be able to blog more once school gets under way. I'm looking forward to a fall of productivity, but for now... a couple of pictures to really show how much fun we've been having!