More chickadee progress...

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I will be absent from the blog for the balance of the week (try to contain your glee).  We're actually going on a short holiday to Quebec...first time we've actually been away for a holiday in many years so we're really looking forward to it.  The fall colours should be great and I suspect my camera will get a lot of use.  Now we just have to hope for good weather to show them off to their full advantage. 

Please do talk amongst yourselves. 

Chickadee progress

Not much of the creative sort has been happening here, other than I'm managing to work at my cross stitch a bit in the evening.  So....here's the progress so far....

Piles....of the not-so-painful sort

Pile 1 of 3!

Today I was gifted with a TON of used denim and right now my living room has three piles looking somewhat like this.  One pile is being donated onwards because they are too good to cut up; another pile is 'my' pile that will be used in my jackets and other projects; and the third pile is the stuff that's just plain too grotty to use or donate which will end up going to the fabric recycling.  

I really hope we don't have company tonight
because there is NOWHERE left to sit!!

Latest project--- and ----- wow!!

This is my latest project - a cross stitched chickadee designed by Pam Kellogg.  My favourite bird is the chickadee so this was a natural for me to do.  I originally planned to give it as a Christmas gift, but I suspect that this little fellow is going to live at my house!  The pattern is called 'A Bird For All Seasons' and, besides the chickadee, Pam has included a robin, hummingbird and a blue jay.  We put a small birdfeeder up over the weekend and we already have chickadees (and a couple of bluejays) visiting us.  

Stash Enhancement, and Cartwheels

Actually I know better than to attempt doing cartwheels (couldn't do them when I was a kid and I don't expect that has changed with age!!)....but if I could, I would......our house is sold and the deal went through today!!  YAY!!  Jack is delighting in going around saying we are house-less.

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On a different note, long-suffering hubby
took me on an excursion to Fabricland
yesterday
and I enhanced my stash with all of this...

The four fabrics on the left  will be turned into jacket linings.  The bit of white to the right is three different types of iron-on interfacing, for various projects in the works.
The gorgeous orange (also on the right) complete with sequins is probably going to turn into a bag lining (or two.

Above is a hodge-podge of 'stuff'.
There's some thread (again earmarked for jackets),
a bunch of zippers - some for bags, some for jackets,
some nylon tape for making purse handles,

and some trim which will be added to
some boho bags (if and when I get time to actually make any!)

and finally, this came in the mail from StudioKat...

I can't wait to make this bag and have had my finger poised over the 'order' button ever since I 

saw the prototype being developed on her site.  

The flap of this bag is crying to be made in so many different ways, but
I'm anxious to give it a crazy quilt look and hopefully combine
it with some of my recycled denim too.  Some of the above stash
is for creating one of these!

Failed experiment

I knew this would happen, but had to try it anyway just to appease my curiosity.

Piece of lace, with what I suspected to be nylon content,
left in the tea dye solution for about four hours...

Looks rather tinted, but not much colour.

.... After rinsing

Colour?  All gone.
Sigh.

Hot stuff in the kitchen

My man,
cooking up a sweat!

AND,
what I cooked up yesterday!

 Tea bags drying in the sun  and the fabric from underneath, dyed a gorgeous hue of pink.

 

Winners!

Through the entirely scientific process of putting the numbers of 1 through 7 (the number of comments) onto pieces of paper, shuffling them about (including dropping them on the floor), and drawing out two numbers which then correspond to the order in which the comments appeared (see?  I TOLD you it was highly scientific!!)....

The winners of three STUDIOS magazines each

are....

KAREN  and  CHRISTEN!!!

I have your snail mail addy Karen, but I will need yours Christen & I'll pop you an email.  Thanks for entering everyone!

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and on another note entirely -
my thoughts today have been with those
so much affected by the tragic
events of
9/11.

Lookit what I won!!

Recently StudioKat did an interview of Margaret Travis who is the creator of the Eazy Peazy pattern line and Margaret was nice enough to offer a set of three of her newest patterns for StudioKat to give away.  I was lucky enough to be a winner and these came in the mail yesterday!  I am thrilled with each one of them and can't wait to try them out.  Of course you know that denim will come into play!!

Thank you so much to both Margaret and Kathy.  

Studio mascot?

Thursday I spent the day poking around a bunch of shops with one of my friends and this little charmer insisted that he needed to live with me and hopped right into my bag.  He's all of three inches tall and is meant to be used as a Christmas ornament.  Not this guy - he's perched on my bookshelf and there he will stay!!

Time for a giveaway?

I haven't done one of these for awhile and decided that I've trolled these for all the ideas I can glean for my new studio, so it's time to pass them on to someone else to enjoy. 

So - up for offer are six issues of Cloth Paper Scissors STUDIOS magazines....

I think, to keep postage costs reasonable, I will
split them into three giveaways of two
magazines each.
If, in the event I don't get enough
people interested, I might choose just
one winner.

So...the odds of winning are totally up to you,

my faithful readers!
Just leave a comment to enter!

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and,
here's a picture of a jacket sleeve,
showing the seminole insert.

Studio cat

Honestly, how is one expected to get any work done when studio cat #1 (also known as Cosmo) drapes himself across your cutting board and looks so darn cute??

"pet me, pet me,
puleeezeeeee!!"

Sleeves? Really???

Yes, these pieces of denim WILL be used in sleeves for the latest jacket.  Those of you familiar with seminole quilting will see where I'm going with this.  Stay tuned for the actual sleeve!