Unveiling....

the apron!!
I'm seriously loving how it turned out and yes, you could easily find me in a Montana snow drift (if I had it on over my 32 layers of clothing and parka). Things have been too busy for me to break it in but once I finish up baking the clay in the kiln this week I will whip up something in the kitchen!

This weekend was spent in lovely, toasty Palm Springs where the hubster participated in the Tour de Palm Springs...102 miles of cycling...in 6 hours...can you say "ouch"?! (he's the guy, still smiling, in the middle in the black, blue and green jersey)


While he foolishly cycled a century, I made a trip to Palm Desert for a little window shopping...as with everyone else who comes across the window displays at anthropologie, a picture was in order! Sadly the reflection in the window takes away the impact but it was the most lovely paper gown with furled zipper rosettes.


I did a little bit of shopping at one very eclectic shop where I added to my ceramic birdie flock for my plants...a crimson one for my giant orchid (that has been stubbornly refusing to bloom)...


a bright cerulean for my passion fruit vine (not to take a turn for the yicky but see the empty snail shells in the pot? Apparently there's a Ratatouille...thought it would be nicer if I gave him a cute nickname...anyway, he's been visiting at night and having his midnight escargot in my plants...)


and a pretty mossy green that will live in the lovely wooden birdhouse like structure I also picked up...I think it will stay indoors though.


Last, a neat wire mannequin and a trio of little wooden jewelry holders... I always need display ideas and they were a bargain so I figured I should take the leap.
Hope you had a lovely Valentine's Day yesterday...I enjoyed a large quantity of Harry & David's truffles...mmmm xoxo

Change in Plans...

Today WAS to be devoted to whipping up the cute little apron I showed you in my earlier post. Instead you get to see the crazy fabric combo I decided to select. The main fabric for the apron will be this awesome floral explosion... the pocket and ties will be all dotty! The pics here aren't as great of a representation of how vivid the colors are in the floral...I'm pretty sure you'll be able to see me baking from a mile away!Unfortunately I am convinced that I have an infestation of gremlins in my home...I have now been unable to located two or three random (not frequently used) items, in this case my rotary fabric cutter. I have determined that I am unable to cut a straight line from a bolt of fabric, so I decided to not start stitching until I actually have squares that are square! Tomorrow a trip to Michael's (or some crafty variation thereof) to buy yet another rotary cutter (making it inevitable that I will find the original one on Monday) will be necessary and hopefully I can get the apron finished before the weekend is over.

In other news, I finally committed to a new full size kiln after quiet a few months getting by with just using my little bitty baby kiln. Of course it won't arrive for a little while but there will be beauty shots once it does! I was really pleased with some of the pieces from the last baby kiln load, including this key... Now for something cute... any suggestions for the caption that would go with this photo of my nephew and his furry brother? All I can come up with is the night after a Milk/Milkbone bender!

Plans and Projects...

The last couple weeks have been on the hectic and busy side- I feel like I've been trying to cram in more than usual...although that has also included fun time with friends and fitting in a short run every couple of days (only because I can't do a long run yet!). For that reason, not a whole lot of new work has resulted from me in the last few days...but I have been glazing, and enough to fire the kiln today so there will be some restocking of the website happening this week.

So even though there's not so much new from me, I have a knockout bracelet to share made by Dawn of Northern Adornments... I love that she was able to find a matte finish wire for her Viking Knit to pair with the Spruce bracelet bar. Check out how perfect that weave is!

Despite my busy bee-ness this week I have managed to spend endless chunks of time fabric hunting online. After my visit to the wonderful fabric/yarn/book/gift shop a couple of weeks ago with my neighbor where I picked up some super funky fabric, I decided that I needed to dust off the sewing machine again. The amazing fabric (which I can't find a pic of online so you'll just have to wait for the finished product!) is destined for a super cute apron using this pattern... I think I might change up the pocket a bit and go for a smaller, side pocket instead of a large centered one though. Also while at The Grove, I discovered Amy Butler's Style Stitches book with the most adorable mix of handbag patterns.



I was so smitten with this particular bag...that I decided to take a huge leap of faith in my novice sewing skills and give it a shot! I chose this amazing peacock pattern for the outside of the bag... and this pretty design for the interior. The bag pattern includes dividers to keep everything organized inside so I'll be using a nice grass green in the background color of the interior fabric. The biggest challenge was finding home decor fabrics that I loved in the same online shop as the trim fabric for my apron! The purse fabric is a little trickier to locate as it needs to be 54" wide instead of the usual quilting/apparel width of 44-45". Luckily I was able to find what I needed at Fabric.com...although I still need to pick up the supporting materials for the handbag. I may have to procrastinate on it for a little while though to work up the nerve!

Just a quick reminder that my CSN stores contest is still running until Thursday so if you haven't entered, hop over to that post to comment!