Open Studio Sunday

Satisfying, hearty, delicious.

 If you love pumpkin pie and oatmeal, 

you have to try this easy recipe!

May your kitchen smell amazing and your belly be full.

 That hearty breakfast was essential 

for tackling this pile.

Taking a break from bags & quilts, I gave myself 

permission to cut loose today and make mug mats. 

Are you in on the craze?! 

I've wanted to make them for months, and today was the day. 

Facing that pile of scraps was a little daunting,

but I eventually found my groove and was cranking out 

mug mats as only a sewer and mug lover could.

  Rebecca Ringquist's printed butterfly looks great next to

a piece of cotton that I dyed using the snow melt process.

Rebecca's printed fabrics are lighthearted and unique,

making them great fun to mix and match.

Unlimited potential, I tell ya! 

 I don't think I've posted pictures of my work table 

mid stream, but this is fairly tame. Those scraps  

grew to a full-fledged mound by dinner time. 

My favorites from today's session

(and they're not even finished yet!) 

Count me in on the mug mat craze because 

these are fun, addicting and useful.

Mug mats will soon be for sale in my shop 

just in time for holiday giving! College students, 

co-workers, hostess gifts, best friends...

who wouldn't love such a thoughtful gift?

A Little Seedy

 Arriving at the tail end of this year's gardening cycle,

 I've just gone out and collected all kinds of seeds.
I bring out a stack of small brown paper bags and simply
fill each with seed heads. One kind of seed per bag.
I let the seed heads dry in the bags
before shaking them for easy release.
Then I pour the seeds into pre-made, 
pre-labeled paper envelopes and line them up in 
an airtight container placed in the pantry for the winter. 

 Drying seeds holds the promise 

of exciting color & texture for next year.
Enduring long winters, this kind of promise 
goes a long way.

  

While I've collected plenty of seeds for flowering plants,  

here's my favorite source for veggie seeds & supplies:

Johnny's

Do you collect seeds, too?

Open Studio Sunday

Each October, I hope for a perfectly warm day 

to hunt through the local pumpkin patch, 

drink hot cider and savor homemade donuts 

before heading home to carve a scary face 
and roast pumpkin seeds.

 

This year, today is that perfectly warm day, 

so I'm taking you with me to a local farm, Reeds Seeds.

While they don't have hot cider and fresh donuts, 

they do have lots of charm,

richly hued corn, 

and white pumpkins!

On the way home, we're stopping to capture a final 

moment of Fall splendor. Can you believe snow is 

due to arrive in Upstate New York in just a few days?

Safe at home, this beauty basks in

the final hours of daylight.

My favorite girl just sent me the yummiest looking recipe!

Let's try this together:

pumpkin pie oatmeal

If you carved pumpkins, I'd love to see your faces,

scary or silly!

Cozy Cake

Good bye boring coffee cake.

Hello heavenly Spiced Sour Cream Coffee Cake!

Today is blustery, dark, damp and cold.

That's about right for this time of year in Upstate NY. 

So, after a morning of last minute (literally) garden 

clean-up, I came indoors, fired up the oven and

baked this cozy, comforting coffee cake. 

Not only does my house smell great,

but the cake was easy to put together, and 

I can't wait to share it with my nephews!

Give yourself a treat and check out 

Abby Dodge's "Baketogethers" on her blog.

A few months ago, she came up with this neat way 

to bake together even though we're all miles apart. 

You can join in!

Her wisdom alone is worth the read, but baking 

her personal recipes and reading how other bakers 

change things up are just as rewarding. 

Fire up your oven.

Open Studio Sunday

 Earlier today, I was honored to attended a wonderful
 baby shower for the lovely Kacie McLyman (center). 

She is beautiful inside and out, cool, and fun-loving. 

She'll be a great Mom, and making a few gifts 
to help her on her way was truly a joy. 

Weeks in the making, I had to keep these gifts 
a secret from you because Kacie's mom is 
my dear friend Vickie, and Vickie reads this blog. 
Hi Vickie.

 Now without further delay, here are 
the gifts made with love just for Kacie. 

 Because every mom needs a dependable diaper bag, 

and Kacie likes zebra print, this bag quickly became 
the starting point for the gift.

If you need a diaper bag that doesn't look 

like a diaper bag, you have to try this pattern by 
Rebeka Lambert.

Cute, hand printed onesies.
In case you're wondering, "M" is for Max. 

 All rolled up, ready for the diaper bag.

 Apologies for the dark photo, but I wanted to tell 

you about this wonderful travel changing pad.

A pattern in Lotta Jansdotter's book 

Simple Sewing for Baby, it's a really useful gift
 to make and give. As you can see, it rolls up 
and pops right into the diaper bag. 
Every new parent needs this!

 No restless baby is safe from the powers of a good book, 

a flannel tab blankie and a soft bunny. 
(These PDF patterns are available on my Etsy shop.)

All loaded up and ready to give to the most 

beautiful new mama-to-be. 

Wishing you the happiest motherhood, Kacie! 

Stitch & Tie

The original paper & paste 

 Welcome back for Part 4, the final installment 

in this series called Paper & Paste.

Last Wednesday I hinted about texture & shine. 
The bad news is that the "shine" fell through. 
The good news is the "texture" is ready to strut its stuff!

Have you tried sewing paper? 

Personally, I'm happier sewing thicker paper, and 

I like any thread that will breathe life into the design.

Here, I really enjoy the effect of variegated thread. 
(Better photo below.)

Today, I made a little booklet from plain paper I had 
lying around, and of course used the gorgeous 
machine stitched paper for the cover. 
A bit if wax linen thread, button hole thread 

or embroidery floss will work nicely for the binding.

 

Outside cover, bound with orange wax linen thread.

Inside the cover is just as nice as outside.

For me, free-motion sewing is like holding a pencil.

Anything can be "drawn".

A clearer view of the variegated thread.

My little booklet will be used as my personal phone book.

Yes, I still write them down...after all, an electronic

device just doesn't offer me this fantastic texture 

each time I reach for a friend's number.

Well, my friends, thanks for coming by 

for the Paper & Paste series.

I hope you'll cook up a quick batch of paste with 

young people and make some wrapping papers, 

holiday cards or gift tags, cut your paper into strips 

for gorgeous paper chains, or any thing else 

you can dream up. Most of all, have fun!

Open Studio Sunday

  

Today has been about my continual quest to find 

the perfect bag. Comfortable with both customizing sewing 

patterns and making my own, when I saw this bag I thought, 

"maybe that's it, the perfect bag." 

So, I figured it would be worth sewing precisely as designed by 

the very talented arsty-crafty babe, Rebeka Lambert.

  

 Immediately after sewing Rebeka's "Pleated Tote", 

I knew I really liked it. This bag is deep and holds 

a ton o'schtuff, the strap length is just right, and it 
looks equally great carried by a tall or short person. 
Now that's saying a lot. 

 

Pink never fails to cheer. 

I know my friend receiving this gift will be very pleased, 

which makes me very pleased.

Thank you for sharing your wonderful Pleated Tote

tutorial, Rebeka. I can't wait to make one for myself!