And I missed it. A lot.

For weeks straight, I sewed and pinned and cut and measured and ironed and sewed some more and cursed my sewing machine and stabbed my finger with my scissors and ripped out an insane amount of stitches and contemplated throwing various crafty items across the room in moments of overwhelming frustration.

Why was I doing all this again?

 

Then I took off for Thanksgiving. And I went to my parents’ house. And I didn’t sew a single stitch for almost a week. And I missed it. A lot.

Missed choosing the perfect fabric and then watching its wrinkles disappear beneath the heat of the iron. Missed choosing the right shade of off-white thread. (Ivory. With a touch of pink. But not too peach.) Missed the cozy feeling of my craft corner. The piles of fabric. The cats falling asleep on my cutting table.

 

The sound the rotary cutter makes when it slices through fabric. Wearing my measuring tape around my neck like a scarf with my pin cushion strapped to my wrist like a bracelet.

It might not make sense to people who don’t sew. Or maybe it can be compared to other things — like running or writing or playing guitar or gardening. Something that you have such a passion for that it’s become a part of who you are and you feel a little off kilter when it’s missing.

So after taking a vacation from sewing, and selling my final apron from my Boutique (thank you, Ellie at Littlewanda!), I had a sudden and inexplainable urge to make an apron last night.

One side is powder blue with random white polka dots and a stripe of red polka-dot trim at the bottom. The other side is a graphic black and white print.

I’ve posted the apron in my Boutique here. Hope you like it!

Thanksgiving vacation

Five whole days without sewing. Without fabric. Without thread. Without cardstock. Without corduroy bags or reversible aprons or Etsy shops or blogs.

Instead, I spent a wonderful long Thanksgiving weekend at my parents’ house in Fernandina. And because there were no stashes of fabric or rotary cutters anywhere to be seen, I filled my days with family time, relaxation and other lovely events.

I took long walks on the beach with my mom, sister and this guy:

 

And this guy:

I went to my favorite Fernandina restaurant for lunch with Alex and my family, and we visited this great antique store downtown, which the owners had expanded considerably since last time I was there.

My sister and mom made pumpkin whoopie pies from scratch. I wish I could say I helped, but all I did was sample them to make sure they were as delicious as they looked. (They were.)

About six years ago, I made my parents a quilt for their anniversary.

My mom keeps it draped over a rocking chair in the family room. I’m glad she displays it, but I really wish they would get more use out of it. Mom, if you’re reading this, it’s okay to get dog hair on the quilt!

It’s so interesting to see what my style was six years ago. I created this quilt based on what I thought they would like and what I thought would match their home, but even with that criteria, it’s so different than anything I would make now.

For those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful holiday with your families!

Boutique update

I finished a new Luna Satchel and posted it in The Boutique today.

I’m really happy with how this bag turned out. I got to use my brand spankin’ new Fat Orange Cat labels for the first time.

The bag is lined in this great cowboy fabric that I just fell in love with when I saw it at the fabric store. It’s called “Way Out West” (LOVE!), and it reminds me of a little boy’s pajamas from the 1950s.

The new bag is found here. Happy shopping!

Update: Thank you for your wonderful, lovely comments! The bag has been sold!!!

Sweatshirts and coffee mugs

Alex and I walked a block to the bay this morning to enjoy our coffee on the water.

The weather has been so beautiful lately that we take advantage of it every chance we get. We turned our heat on last night for the first time, but when we awoke this morning, the air was just cool enough to make us have to put on sweatshirts before heading outside.

Three Gertrude aprons are tagged, boxed and ready to be mailed along with the Luna Satchel from yesterday’s post to my cousin in New York.

I went to the craft store yesterday to buy safety pins (just safety pins) for my tags and ended up also purchasing wrapping paper, ribbon, tissue paper, metal D-rings for a purse I’m working on, metallic silver craft paint and shoes. Well, the shoe store was next to the craft store. But still. Stupid craft store. I should have known better than to think I could get out of there with a $1.29 receipt.

I’m feeling very official today because the labels I ordered from Lucky Label arrived yesterday. I can’t wait to sew one into something! Anything! Hopefully I’ll be able to get some sewing done today.

One of these things is not like the others

What doesn’t belong in this picture?

Let’s see….fabric? Rotary cutter? Cutting mat? Furry tail?

I completed and mailed out my first custom order earlier this week. What a great feeling! It included the brown Fiona messenger bag from my last post, and two sets of note cards.

Last night, I finished the final item of my second custom order.

This order is going to my cousin in Long Island, New York. It includes three Gertrude aprons (similar to this one) and the above Luna Satchel, which is brown corduroy with a lavender lining. That was actually my cousin’s idea, and I think it’s such a beautiful color combination.

I love intertwining my design with someone else’s vision. The result is something I may not have come up with on my own. I appreciate being stretched like that.

Next, I’ll be working on another custom order for a coworker. She too requested a color combination that I may not have attempted on my own, and I’m really excited to get started on it. I’ll post my progress on that as it comes along.

Happy weekend!