I Get My Jollies

I was putting some old magazines in the recyclables the other day when I came across this Sunset magazine. Fabulous looking food with even more fabulous looking wooly hand-knit hotpads underneath. Given the recent cold turn the weather has taken around here lately, I had to recreate the whole scenario ASAP.Yeah. Near miss. Whatever. Next time I'll use better looking yarn, a bigger white dish and actually cook real food instead of using those instant crock pot meals from the freezer section. Oh well. It was fun. I have to get my jollies somehow, right?

Here's another fun thing I saw in a magazine:

Eeeeek! It's the Michael Miller ad in the Oct./Nov. issue of Mary Engelbreit Home Companion. I knew there was going to be an ad in there, but I didn't know it was going to be a full-page spread. And I didn't know it was going to be so darn cute. And by the way, Melissa--those are your grandma's buttons!!!! :)

Spilling the Beans

Remember the cryptic post from early July--the one where I had a secret I was dying to tell, but I couldn't? Well, finally I can and I'm so excited! A couple of months ago, I was contacted by Kathy Miller from Michael Miller Fabrics. She'd done a search on Dick and Jane fabric to see what people were doing with it and she came across my blog and the little things I was making back in February and March for the baby shower I was helping to coordinate. Here, I'll save you some time and repost the pictures here:Anyway, she'd decided to start her own blog and asked me if I'd like to contribute to it. Well, hello? That was a no-brainer. I've loved MM fabrics since I first started noticing fabric. I made my first nappy bag with it. My first cute skirt with it. And of course all that Dick and Jane stuff. So YES, YES, YES! I was telling my hubby that it feels like high school when you have a crush on someone and then you find out they like you back! Swoon. And here's the most exciting part: she sent me some fabric to play around with. Woo hoo! So I'll be periodically writing tutorials for her blog using all that fun fabric.

Kathy's blog is now up and running. Go take a look and leave her a comment. And while you're there, you'll see a new, improved version of the cloth baby shoes (one with left and right foot specific soles) and a tutorial for appliqued onesies--with more on the way. You thought I was just hanging out all summer making lazy-butt food, but really I was working (like crazy paddling duck feet) on all this stuff I couldn't post. Ahh, I can't tell you how great it feels to finally be able to get this off my chest. Sweet relief.

Tweedle dum and tweedle dee

There's nothing I like more than having new playthings in my sewing room. Here are my new bias tape makers--tweedle dum and his little brother tweedle dee. Also, I finally splurged and got myself the large size cutting mat. I've been "making do" with a little one, and when I saw the big one on sale the other day I finally decided that I'd suffered enough. Sigh. And what a joy it is.

p.s. Hope you are surviving the back to school stuff. Frankly, it's killing me! I have 2 in school now, and between all the driving around and piles of paperwork, forms, emergency kits, and family pictures to turn in, it's going to be a little while before I make the adjustment. The boys are doing great, but I miss summer already. Oh, and little guy has developed a distaste for his car seat. Can you blame him? By noon, he's already spent more than 2 hours in the van. Poor kid.