a new look for Miss Dummy

Yes, that's the name of my vintage dress form. Pam asked me if I was going to be one of those people who gives their dress form a name...uh, OK, I guess not! But without a name, how do you talk about her? Because you will be talking about her.

She's really not such a party girl...her neck was just a good place to stick the lampshade project I've gotten bogged down with.



You have to admit--this is a much better look! It's this pattern and I really had a good time with it. Had to do a tiny bit of tweaking because apparently my body has some freak issues, but the instructions were great and the fit is really good. I love peasant tops and this one is nicely fitted thru the body--most of us don't need that maternity look.

The fabric was fun--BariJ's "Full Bloom" gave the top a nice, sort of Anthropologie look to it.

So Miss D better enjoy it, because as soon as the sun comes out again, she'll be back to wearing the lampshade.

the Quilt Life!

If you've been here awhile you remember the road trip Pam and I took in October to Houston to attend Quilt Market. What we weren't really able to discuss was the fact that we were On Assignment for The Quilt Life magazine!

Thought I'd have a little bit of time to post about this latest bit of excitement, but I'm already getting requests from readers to turn "Coffee with Friends" into a pattern.

Yeah, I may be biased because Pam and I are lucky enough to be featured in the premier issue, but honestly? It's an awesome magazine!

The photography alone is amazing. Just a super, inspiring read--if you haven't done so already, by all means subscribe!

And don't forget to check out pages 74-76...I'm particularly partial to those.

P.S. I'll let you know when the pattern is ready!

let's talk about saturday

Don't you just hate those blogs where people go on and on about all the wonderful places they've been and the people they've seen and the stuff they've found? Me, too. So I really do kind of hate myself for discussing last Saturday.



Pam and I stayed at our very favorite place--the Apple Farm. The parking lot is more beautiful than most people's flower gardens, the food is delicious and the rooms are super nice. If you're nostalgic for the 1980s and loved the world of Waverly chintz, floral wallpaper borders and pickled pine furniture, you'll be right at home. It's all so very comfortable. And doesn't have that motel smell...know what I mean? Even the nice places tend to have a certain aroma.

Should have taken a pic of our room--just picture a big bay window and sweet brass beds with pale pink and white blankets.

The weather was a little iffy--it rained pretty hard Friday evening and we were hoping for a better Saturday.

Pam had already met Susan Branch at Quilt Market many years ago but I'd never met her. One of the most fun parts of being on Twitter is getting to talk to Susan--pretty much every day. So when we heard about her Farm Stand event, we knew we'd have to go! I tweeted my impatience with the length of our drive...and Susan tweeted back that Pam and I were to count cows--most cows wins a prize. That was an easy one--Pam was driving so most of the cows were mine!

We wanted to get to the Farm Stand sale early--and don't let the gray clouds fool you--it really didn't seem at all dreary. Just nice and fresh.



That's Susan still directing set up.



We met Susan right away and she's exactly as you'd hope she'd be. Completely delightful.





It was a good thing we were among the first to arrive--otherwise I'm certain our treasures would have been snapped up before we got to them.



I found all my treasures in or around this tent...the tablecloth is a duplicate of my favorite vintage cloth that I'd already chopped up for valances...love the pillowcase and the doll bed and the big hunk of crochet. And look who else is here--my prize from Susan!





While I wouldn't normally recommend a cupcake breakfast, if they're Amy's cupcakes, any time of day is perfectly reasonable. She and her trailer could not have been cuter. And by all means try the chocolate peanut butter cup--you won't regret it.



It was sad that we had to take off so early--it was after all a long drive home and we both had stuff of the non-fun variety to attend to. Our last stop was in Paso Robles at the Cowgirl Cafe--amazingly good food.



Here back at home are my favorite Susan Branch items--I got this sugar bowl and creamer many years ago for Mother's Day. I was a stay at home mom and money was very tight--but I fell in love with these and my husband bought them for me. Pretty sweet, huh? What's not so adorable is what is kept inside the sugar bowl...that badly discolored quarter was made that way after it was eaten by my then 2 year old son. And that's all I need to share of THAT story.

And no, there's not much to tell about Sunday--spent most of it in a Benadryl-induced haze. Which was fine. Because the cobwebs have gotten blasted out of my head and I'm ready to design and sew again. And it's about time!

the weekend that's worth a couple of posts

It was long overdue, this weekend. I desperately needed to get out of town--2010 has not started out particularly well--far too many dramas and stresses and so forth to deal with. I needed to get away so that the cobwebs could get blown out of my head and maybe, just maybe some creative juices could get flowing again.

So last weekend seemed the perfect opportunity to drive down to the central coast and take in the fresh air and meet some new friends. Bloggy/twittery friends!

OK, so we'll start with Friday. Pam picked me up promptly at 7:00. Which is actually late for us.

First stop was KathiD's place. I tend to think of her as @KathiD because she's really a great twitter pal. I'd recommend that everyone go see her place--it's terrific. Just turn right at the corner where there's no street sign. She says it must've come down in the storm, but there sure was no sign of it. ("sign" of it--get it? I crack myself up).

So at this point we're wondering if she really did want to see us, but she was there waiting and did seem quite welcoming!

Her place is amazing. Her studio is amazing. Her dogs are amazing. Her shoes are amazing. What really captured me was her chickens. And obviously her rooster. I may be a city girl, but I recognized that guy straight away. Wouldn't you know his favorite hen is also a redhead? Of course!



I was enchanted by those chickens. And their indoor/outdoor living quarters. And then I saw the coolest thing--KathiD opens a lid and there are eggs in the egg boxes! Aqua-trimmed egg boxes! I told her how special it was to finally be able to see where eggs come from. She tried to set me straight by explaining just what the hen has to do, but LALALALA I want my eggs to magically appear in egg boxes, thankyouverymuch.


So after a delicious melted cheese-based lunch, the three of us headed out. KathiD wanted to stop at the Cotton Ball and who could blame her? Wasn't difficult to find some fabrics I'd never seen before. Pam says that's not true--that I HAVE seen those fabrics, but somehow they looked better on Friday.


Then we went to Cambria which is ever so charming. Got some ribbons at one of our favorite shops and then enjoyed looking at plants at the shop next door.

Sadly we had to take KathiD back home and then it was off to our hotel. To rest up for Saturday. Which yeah, I know, has been discussed at length all over blogdom, but you'll be hearing about it here as well. Very soon, even!

has anyone seen where my blog has gone?

What with one thing and another, it seems this poor blog has been neglected of late. I keep thinking that for SURE I've blogged about stuff, but no, it's just been little tweets here and there. Twitter seems so much easier--if there was a 140 character limit for Blogger, these posts might come a little more often. And perhaps you wouldn't get bogged down reading them.

Thankfully we've had a few really nice days lately--I'm sorry for all of you still deep in winter, and believe me, this sunshine will NOT last--but check out my almond tree! Even I, with my sad little camera, was able to get an Action Shot with a bee. The tree was full of them that morning. Once I got a few pics, my eyes were about swollen shut--a definite downside to this time of year.

I'm gratified that the Sweet Hearts towel kit was such a hit--and I'm awfully sorry that even with the extras I was able to put together I couldn't come close to making a kit for everyone who wanted one. I would like to do more kits in the near future--with some of my vintage fabric bits, if possible.

I'd love to know what sort of kits you'd like to see me offer--more towels? Something else? Please let me know!



Speaking of kits...I was thumbing thru the latest issue of APQ the other day and came across this ad--so if you've been wanting a kit for Rose Delight, Jennifer can help you out! And she's way better at having enough stuff on hand than I am...



Finally, while it's still February, check out this month's pic in the Irish Quilting calendar! Wish I could be there with my quilt...