A proto and some peelings

It's always a good idea to make a prototype BEFORE embarking on the real thing. I made a pointy kitty this week as a test before doing the Back Tack kitty. There were a few construction issues and the questions of how hard to pack that fiberfil into the body... the answer is- quite firmly. The first kitty still needs its eyes and nose, but Miss Elsie carted it off right away and was in love. You will notice that one eye is really crooked. I have appliqued in a while. I need to practice working around the pins, rather than removing them and going freehand.




Here is the skin of the cat for the Back Tack project:

I'm trying very hard to stay within the 20 percent allowance for an accent color.... it's very hard.

Mother's Day... weekend, actually

I hope all the mommies I know had a wonderful Mother's Day.... and you all remembered to call your mothers to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. Here in Portland, the weather was gorgeous... so of course I over did it in the garden. By 8pm, I was so stiff I could hardly get up from the table!
On Saturday, Elsie requested a Family Movie Night and sleepover in Mommy and Daddy's bed. Since we have watched every family movie we own at least 20 times, we thought we would purchase a new one. We bought Nanny McPhee. If you have not seen this movie, it is a gem. The set design and colors are fantastic bordering on the surreal and getting more so as the story takes off. In the children's room, each of the seven children have their own bed. Each bed has what appears to be a handmade coverlet- one with granny squares, another quilt in a log cabin pattern. I need to see it again just to focus in on the detail.

Mother's Day morning came at 6:30am as my offspring woke up and then woke me up to ask "Where is Daddy?" who was downstairs making breakfast. So Elsie and I curled up in bed to watch some Disney channel for a bit (no Charlie and Lola this morning unfortunately). Dave brought the breakfast upstairs, so I had a lovely breakfast in bed and then received some fabulous Mother's Day booty downstairs. Elsie and Dave had given me a large bouquet of Gerbera daisies the day before which I had been thoroughly enjoying. Then I received a stack of Green and Black's chocolate and a printout of the Cath Kidston umbrella I wanted (the printout was to show that the umbrella had indeed been ordered and was just not here yet).
Then we headed for Portland Nursery for some general plant wandering and shopping. Followed by 8 hours of intense gardening, planting, cleaning, etc... an excellent day! I fell asleep at 9:30pm and slept soundly until this morning... when getting out of bed was a challenge due to sore muscles.

New favorite things

I have been an avid reader of blogs for the past year. I have come across several things that various bloggers seem to absolutely love. I have tried two of them over the past week.
The first is Green and Black's Organic chocolate. So purchased two bars to test- dark chocolate with currants and hazelnuts, and dark chocolate with almonds. I have no pictures to post, because in my current pregnant state, I eagerly munched them right down. Of course taking advantage of the high iron content of dark chocolate. They are (were) every bit as good as people have been saying! I now will have to purchase the other flavors (I'm particulary interested in the caramel). Maybe next time I'll have time to take a picture. The packaging is lovely.
The second thing is anything to do with Pride and Prejudice- book, mini series, or various movies. I am now ashamed to admit that I have never read the book nor any Jane Austen for that matter. I read other types of classic books (H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Shakespeare, etc), but not any Austen. After all the ravings after the most recent movie came out, I thought I had better explore this particular work. I treated myself to an OnDemand movie of the Keira Knightly Pride and Prejudice . Amazing!!! I loved the story and characters, Lizzie's parents, and, of course, Mr. Darcy (who wouldn't!?!?). I have heard rumblings that the BBC miniseries is actually superior to this movie in terms of accuracy and character development, but it is 5 hours in length total. So for now, I have added a DVD of Pride and Prejudice to my birthday/anniversay/just-buy-it-for-me wish list. Did I mention that the costumes are stunning?!?!.... links have been added for shopping convenience.

Springtime baking...

I love pies and tarts. Growing up, all I ate for breakfast during the summer was cherry pie. We had a pie cherry tree growing in the front of our house, and my mom would bake the pies as long as I picked the cherries. This seemed like a reasonable arrangement... so I ate a lot of pie.
Elsie and I did some baking yesterday. We had some leftover crust, so we made some mini tarts too. We will fill these with fresh strawberries later.


The finished product in the back yard....


I have found that Martha Stewart's three pastry recipes work the best- Pate Brisee, Pate Sucre, and Pate Sable. One for each occasion. The trick- keep that butter COLD! and then chill the dough before rolling it out. A beautiful flaky crust every time! Let me know if you want me to post the recipes.

Back Tack Thoughts

I have more energy today than usual, so there are two posts. I've been contemplating my Back Tack project. I hope my partner doesn't think that I've completely forgotten the whole thing. I haven't posted anything.... YET. I spent a little time rummaging upstairs and came up with these things...

Lovely large plaid, but maybe too much red to qualify. Looks good with some of my vintage ric rac...


I love the spider web-like appearance of this all-over lace. It is a gorgeous fabric that I have now had for over ten years! I would have to back it with something...


These are all the black or black and white options that I could find at hand. I kind of like the houndstooth. The red buttons are from my Grandma's button box... probably came off something my Mom wore.

Basement Update

As I type, our alarm guy is moving some wires (read as tucking them up and out of sight) and an electrician is also doing the same with the jumble of wires in our basement ceiling. Each of the previous owners of this house put their own spin on do-it-yourself home wiring. We have an interesting woven pattern of wires criss-crossing the ceiling... which we are planning on leaving unfinished and spraying white. We also have a Gordian knot of plumbing, but that's a story for another time.
This is officially the start of the remodel. Hopefully Dave and I will be able to move a cabinet this weekend and tape the layout of the new walls onto the floor. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!!! I was starting to get depressed due to lack of progress. It's no fun to spend all winter cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and then 3 months of planning, planning, planning, and nothing happens.
Since I haven't posted any pictures lately (and what fun is a blog without pictures), here is a photo of our bubble princess in the bath....

Tired, tired... oh yeah, did I mention I was tired?

I have been extremely exhausted this last week (hence the no posts for a week), spending most of each day on the couch in the TV room. All the blood tests that the doctor has done indicate that I am just fine and nothing is wrong. Apparently it is just general pregancy weariness. However Miss Elsie doesn't want to play quietly from 10am until 2pm which is about how much additional, horizontal rest I need each day. I've shifted my eating around a bit to include more protein and iron and am also taking an iron supplement. I seem to have a bit more energy and am spending less time on the couch.
Since I'm not up to much gardening, house cleaning, or anything physical, I've decided to tackle my knitting pile of UFO's. I was trying to knit Miss Elsie a skirt last November, and did not follow the directions. The skirt is knit in the round and required two rows of reducing stitches (knit two as one). My first attempt, I only reduced 1 row and did not wind up with the cute flirty ruffle at the bottom. Also the finished width of the skirt was large enough for two Elsie's. So I gritted my teeth and started to unravel and re-knit. That is when I discovered the challenges of unravelling on fuzzy yarn. What a nightmare! The first few rows of un-knitting almost wound up as a giant felted mass... but I perservered and am about 5 inches in length away from finishing the skirt. It is probably a little heavy for spring/summer, but I'm adding a bit to the length for this fall. I will post pictures later.

Springtime and flowers....

I have been spending a lot of time in the yard over the last two weeks... doing a bit of weeding, planting and pruning. Things are looking so bright and flowery! Here are some of the flowers that I have been enjoying...





Miss Elsie's house all duded-up for the summer....

... we planted her pots a few days ago.
The yard and flower beds look really great through June and then everything starts to slide downhill. I have quite a few beautiful dahlias that start to flower in July, but the yard just doesn't have the same wow factor as May and June. I need to do some research and find out what I can plant that will give me some mid-summer punch. Maybe I should plant cosmos seeds where ever there is any soil peeking out. They grow easily from seed and bloom in a whole range of colors...hmmm.

Has it really been a week since my last post??

The sun comes out, and I disappear to my back yard. I just love spring and planting things!
Wednesday was cloudy and cool all day so we did spend the day inside sewing. I made this outfit for Elsie.

I've been promising to make her some new clothes and just can't seem to find the energy or the time. The top and pant are from a Burda pattern. Burda has way cooler clothes for kids than McCalls or Butterick. Sometimes home sewing patterns can look.. well... homemade... as in "yes, I made this myself". Rather than "That is such a cool outfit! Where did you get it?". I usually strive for the latter comment. Another awesomely inspiring kid's pattern resource is Ottobre Design. Each magazine comes with all the patterns for every garment shown. I bought a subscription last year. Unfortunately, I haven't sewn anything yet, but the spring issue has some amazing things. Maybe this weekend I'll whip up a few more things for Elsie.

My crafty self...

I have been in touch with my Back Tack partner who is heading out at the crack of dawn to some amazing Quilt Show/Flea Market in Arkansas. At her request, I have posted things on my site to help her get to know me a little better... actually I should have done this months ago.... it was a very inspiring exercise.
After spending an hour in my studio, I was able to locate some of my stash to photograph. I have come to the conclusion that I am better at aquiring vintage goodies than using them in projects. I firmly believe that some raw materials need to age until the right project comes along, but I think I need to get moving!
Here is a tiny sampling of my treasures:
I started to hunt for old heat transfers a few years ago. Sometimes they are priced a little too high for my taste, but I was able to get a good deal on this stack. The pillow case was embroidered by my Great Aunt Ruth. She always made these for every family member for big events- high school graduation, marriage, etc. I aspire to embroider as well as she did... and she did it right up until the end while she was sitting in her chair with her oxygen.


I love, love vintage hankys. I use them for some of my children's skirts. Every once in a while a come across these scene or single image ones. I love the graphic style. This one is done by Pat Prichard, but I also have several by Tammis Keefe.


These fabrics were an amazing score at a city wide yard sale in my hometown in Idaho. I think I paid $2 a yard and the woman was VERY generous at estimating yardage. These will eventually be curtains in the house.


Assorted goodies... you can never have too much vintage ric rac or seam binding. The old colors are way better than that interesting primary polyester junk in the fabric stores.


My favorite purchase ever! I was looking for a vintage paisley for three years and found this one shoved in a trunk at a flea market. It does have some moth holes which is acceptable considering it is from the late 1800's. The laces on top of it are fine, fine cotton. One of the cards says made in France.


Detail of the lace.... so delicate... I'm saving it for a special project


This little project has made me realize that I really need to go through everything and press it and group it, so when I start a project I can find things! Maybe I'll sew a little something up for Miss Elsie this afternoon. We've had a long dry spell, and I'm getting inspired to creat a little something.

Trying to get crafty again...

I went into my studio yesterday morning trying to dig it out from under the piles and piles of stuff. There sat a very imposing stack of mending, alterations, and repairs. I forced myself to get through everything, so I could clear one of my work tables. I think the Back Tack project is going to be good for me... as far as getting things cleaned out and me back on track. After all the mending, I didn't have time to photograph my stash of vintage goodies (project for tomorrow), but I did come across this fabulous apron that I bought last year. It has so much amazing open work for such a simple, humble piece of clothing....


Continuing on in the orange theme, here are a couple of shots from Portland Nursery from this morning....


It was such a gorgeous morning that I decided to swing by the nursery and pick up a few plants for the hanging pots on our front porch. The colors and plants are so inspiring there and arranged in such a lush manor that it's almost like being on a tropical vacation. Did I mention Portland Nursery is within walking distance of our house? Good thing the jogging stroller doesn't have a lot of room in it.

Back Tack III

I just received my Back Tack partner info today. I'm so excited that I got in! But then I realized that my blog hasn't had a crafty post since I don't know when. So I will be scrambling around this morning to take some pictures of my various projects to give my partner an idea of myself. Currently my blog just shows the house projects... not very fun, although I supposed you could craft a softie out of left over junk from the basement... not very soft though.

sick, sick, sick....

I'm recovering from a terrible cold. I spent the entire weekend in bed. The spouse took Miss Elsie to a birthday party on Saturday and to his family's Easter brunch on Sunday, while I stayed home and tried to breathe through my nose. Posting will be a bit infrequent this week while I try to catch up on some housework and finish recovering.
I will leave you with this picture of our little ballerina enjoying dance class....

Wonderful weekend of activities

The wonderful activities started on Thursday with my friend Michelle Rajotte's open studio...

Michelle designs a line of jewlery called La Picosa. She and her husband bought a 1960's house last year and spent most of the winter remodeling, painting, and fixing. It looks AMAZING... almost makes me want to move... almost. She has this gorgeous studio space in the daylight basement. The first Thursday of every month she open her studio for shopping and socializing. She makes a mean pot of coffee!

Friday morning Miss Elsie and myself headed to the park with another mom and little girl from the neighborhood. The girls had fun and the moms were able to get some exercise. It was a gorgeous day... you would almost think it's done raining and spring has arrived.... NOT. That's Portland for you.

Saturday morning we headed to the Peter Rabbit Breakfast in West Linn. My friend Kerry's children attend a co-op preschool and this is the school's fund raiser. Elsie rode in a firetruck and police car... complete with sirens!! Her Daddy willingly accompanied her, telling everyone that this was the first time he had ridden in the front seat of a police car. Great...

That afternoon myself and my friend Suzan went to Crafty Wonderland! Any crafters in Portland should go to this once a month event at the Doug Fir. Some amazing talent was there including Portland blogger/crafter Little Birds. She makes the most darling little stuffed animals. There were jewlery makers, painters, collage artists, clothes, screen printed tees for adults and kids (lots of kids stuff), cards, and PDX Super Crafty, who puts the whole thing on, have a DIY table set up to teach you a craft! So much fun and so inspiring... maybe I'll finally get around to doing some crafting this week. This was supposed to be a crafting blog, but instead it's become a basement remodel blog. Will keep you posted.

For now I'll leave you with a picture of Miss Elsie painting easter eggs.....

... note the lips pursed in concentration.

New additions...

We will soon be a family of four instead of three. I am 14 weeks pregnant and due the first week of October. I spent most of February in the throes of morning/all-day sickness. The nausea started at 7am and would last to around 7pm, but eventually it stopped. Then the extreme exhaustion kicked in. For awhile I was going to bed at 8:30pm and getting up at 7am! Nothing like 10-1/2 hours of sleep to make a girl feel rested. The food aversions were challenging this time around. If I ate anything with garlic, I felt like I had the stomach flu for 6 hours. Things seem to be balancing out now, and I have more energy and can eat anything.

So, of course, the house projects need to be kicked into high gear. I want everything done by early September, so we are not still in construction/painting projects during the delivery. I'll have to keep you posted on that one. We are hauling another load of stuff to Goodwill this weekend and maybe some things to the Rebuilding Center (house recycling place that is incredibly addictive- they have EVERYTHING!). That should take care of the final pile. Our contractor is coming next week to assess the situation. Yippee!

Scratch one off the List!

I have mostly finished the back porch. I have one small corner of the floor to touch up, but here is the result of a week's worth of work....


Now our three cats have a glamorous litter box room that is far easier to clean and far less smelly. My seedlings will be moving out there this week too. My tomato plants are 6" high already!

The window guy was here the morning to measure for new windows in the basement, AND we also had him measure all the windows in the house that we are thinking of replacing. We are hoping to replace a few upstairs this summer and do the rest next year. Then all the windows will be able to open! All of the windows except two are original to the house circa 1921. Right now there are three large ones that have solid storm windows on the outside and no screens.... so they remain closed all the hot summer. But the Great Window Upgrade is a project for next summer....

Basement Progress

After a crazy Sunday morning of cleaning, we have made tremendous progress in the basement. Not to mention, just gidding rid of broken things or strange junk.
Here is the before:


... and here is the current state of things...


The quantity of stuff has been greatly reduced. The items worth keeping have been stored properly in the storage section of the basement. The window guy is supposed to call this week to come and take measurements. Hopefully by next week there will be some plans laid for ripping and tearing!

Strange stains...

Still working away on the mud porch project. After two coats of Kilz, I still have brown stains seeping to the surface. There is some linoleum backing residue that we couldn't get off... and this seems to be the problem. I am applying a third coat today which will hopefully seal it in.


On the fabric side of things, I received these absolutely beautiful Printmaker International prints in the mail.

I ordered them from Fashion Fabrics Club after my friend Mo sent me a fabric alert email. I'm hoping to make Miss Elsie a summer dress out of the ranch house/BBQ one. I've got a whole stack of mending to get through first to clear my sewing table for fun projects.....(sigh) there's always something holding up the fun.

Do I really need another project?.....

....Yes, I do!
Backstory-
This past winter a local cat decided to mark our mud porch screen door as his personal territory. Our three cats decided to return the favor by marking the inside carpet. After cleaning repeatedly with a carpet cleaner, using pet odor neutralizer, and Febreeze, we cannot get the smell out. To top it off the spouse purchased a different formula of cat litter last week that for some reason smells fruity. So we have fruit and cat urine wafting into the house occasionally. Not pleasant!

So yesterday, I ripped out the floor coverings. The first layer was indoor-outdoor carpeting. The second layer was a mid-seventies vinyl that came apart in pieces like construction paper. The third layer (which was over the wood floor) is real linoleum. Our house was built in 1921 and the linoleum is of that vintage. Unfortunately it was completely unsalvagable due to the mass amount of glue used to hold down the aforementioned vinyl. So now it looks like this:



I was delighted to see the wood floor in good shape... no holes or anything rotten. We are planning on painting a good coat of Killz over it (too seal in any remaining stinky stuff) and then paint it grey for low maintenance. However in the process of scraping off the remaining residue this morning, I wore off some of the skin on the palm of my hand. Took me awhile to realize that that was why my hand was burning inside my gloves... a little slow sometimes. So I have one corner left and the spouse has agreed to help finish it tonight when he comes home...


It already smells so much better!!!! The new paint will perk up that space, and I've cleaned off my grow light shelves, so as soon as everything is put back out there, I can start moving my plants and seedings out. Spring has sprung!

Finding Spring

This morning is so beautiful and warm with blue skies! I could hardly resist, so I grabbed my camera and headed out in my pyjamas to snap a few pictures.




They have this strange lighting quality about them, because my flash kept firing. I kind of like the way the daffodil one turned out.... and you can see the wonderful blue sky!

We are off to Home Depot this morning to buy lag bolts to hang our bathroom cabinet and to buy a new microwave. The handle came off 3 weeks ago and we've been making-do with the stump that's left. It won't last much longer, and if it breaks off then we can't get the door open. Miss Elsie and I are heading to the farm on Tuesday, so Dave will be installing the microwave while we are gone.... I like those kinds of projects.