I’m still trying to find the best places to take photos.
And Winifred being OH-So-helpful!
And a Purple Fish
It’s a Pink Fish
This is probably a more realistic color than most of my fish.
White Fish
These Chicago fish are moving very slowly 😆
The photos make the white look a little shimmery but it is just very white wool.
I finished my Quilt
This was a project that was easy to work on in little spurts for the last few years. I just went back and the first in progress photos were from August 27, 2021.
August 30, 2021- testing out the block design.
September 2021 I was working on the border-
And then I got swept up in the prep for moving. No time for fun projects. At Christmas 2022, I packed up a bin full of things to send to Chicago because my kids were going to drive a truck. So, I didn’t see it again until the end of April 2023.
This is the backing that I made in our first AirBNB-
Putting all the layers together at the end of May.
And then I started quilting in June.
At the beginning of February, I found the binding that I knew I had somewhere, and so it was time to finish this quilt!
I wanted to get photos before we moved out of our rental- it had the perfect porch to take the photos!
Front-
Back-
The story behind this quilt is that it is full of nostalgic fabrics for me! The fabric eras start with the 1960’s, my mom’s dresses and caftans, my neighbor’s Marimekko curtains, 60’s and 70’s Indian print fabrics- skirts, a halter top, more curtains, Indonesian block printed fabrics that my Mom loved to sew with in the 70’s. There is fabric that I got in High School that I loved so much that I hung it up in my college dorm room. Marimekko scraps that I bought at a yard sale in the 70’s. There are also some 80’s and 90’s fabrics that I could never part with. I really can never get rid of beautiful fabrics! So many memories and so much history!
We’ve finally moved in!!!
I have a lot of catching up to do, over here in blog land. Now that we have moved into our new place, I can finally get my life back in order- sigh of relief!
2/25-
2/26 :-)
and 2/27-
Boxes and wrapping paper everywhere. Little by little it will get done. Last night was a thunder storm and the view was incredible!
Slowly Starting
I’m starting 2024 making with 2 fish. There will be more then 2, but for today :-)
It will take me a while to figure out the photography in my new place. I’m trying lots of places!
20 years
Today is my 20th year of blogging. This past year has been sporadic because of the great upheaval of moving and (hopefully soon) resettling. Hurray- we have a move-in date!
This was the first photo that I posted back in 2004-
The first post is a mess- repeated 4 times and the photo is very NOT right… ah, the olden days.
Blogging has been a joy. I always thought I’d do it whether anyone read it or not. It is my “filing cabinet” documenting every doll I’ve made since then. And, all the steps that took me to where I am now. It is a true online diary. I met so many interesting people, made friends, was inspired, and had so many opportunities because of this blog.
Thank you to anyone and everyone who has been any part of this journey. I love and appreciate you all!
Paper Patterns
It’s been a long time coming but I finally have paper patterns listed in my Etsy shop.
These are the 5 that are available for me to mail to you.
I am happy to do wholesale orders and group orders for anything over 10 patterns. Email me or send me a message through my etsy shop or various social medias.
And photos from Today
As you will see, it is still very much a work in progress. The photos are not great because it was a very wet and dark day today.
I have been bringing plants over whenever the temperatures are moderate. I was/am worried about moving them in Chicago winter when the apartment is finally ready. I got rid of the regular size fridge and got a little one.
The kitchen area- I took off the doors of the upper cabinets and will use the shelves as display space. The unit has 10 ft ceilings so I was never going to use them for storage.
I am still unpacking boxes and trying to find places for everything. Yesterday I put up the track and bracket shelves- more room for all my treasures! Mid-photo is my sewing machine, ready to get back to work. Actually, I already made myself 2 smock tops last week. It was sort of a clothing emergency!
You can see that I’ve got a table set up in the middle of the room- our former dining room table. And to the left of that is my flat file where I store my felt and buttons.
And here you can see into the former “sleeping nook” (that’s how it was described in the listing). My IKEA unit is mostly filled up, no surprise!
There will be a lot of rearranging in the next year or so as I settle into the space but it already feels like my place. It is making me so happy.
Studio Makeover
Some photos of the studio transformation.
All the orange is gone and the trim needs to be painted. I scheduled the movers for 10 days after the closing and Thanksgiving was in the middle of that, so the schedule was very tight.
I will admit that the trim only got painted where I knew I was putting things… The rest is still on the to-do list.
This was halfway through the load in. The movers completely covered the rug with my stuff.
And then I went to IKEA and spent some $. Perfect fit!
And here is the big day when I brought my sewing machine to her new home :-)
Here is a short video of the mess.