Love for the rick rick

Oh it's been so long since I've had time to work on any sewing projects! Was so happy to put the little one in her little dress and matching hairclips. I will not be a good etsy seller. I just want to keep everything I make for Margot!

Tow-maters

If you're wondering what I'm having for dinner, this is it. I'll be a little sad to cut into them.

Decorating

I've been inspired by a friends blog to post more decorating pictures.
Chandalier. Stock. Hated it when we moved in, it was covered with fake dusty grapevines. Ewwwwww. But new black shades help a little. And the Mardi Gras beads we put up for the Crawfish Boil help too... the might stay up. But I'm dying to take the whole chandalier down, chain and all, and spraypaint it red!
Throw up a few plates from Anthropology, and a lovely little etagere, and you've got yourself a corner. Still working on getting the basketry right. The trick is to stock the shelves with non-breakable, baby friendly and pretty all in one. So baskets filled with table linens and napkins it is. For now. It's coming along.
And here's the newest decor in the dining room. The artist on either side of the miror is Martin Laborde. He's based in New Orleans and the character he paints is Bodo. He's been my favorite since 1996. Well, and of course the Blue Dog has a special place in my heart too. On the sideboard is a terrarium made for me by my wonderful husband (with a Dunny in it), a New Orleans snowglobe and some party blowers in a hurricane glass.

Moving on to the library. How I love symmetry!! This miror was my Grandparents, though my Grandma has no memory of it. My Dad rescued it from their house in the Catskills! It's a good score. I made the curtains. The pattern is old architecture! Hopefully within the next few weekends we'll make some cornices.
And this is my beloved bookshelf, flanked on either side by Jazz Fest posters. The Professor chair little leather table (from West Elm) is great comfy nook for blogging.

And also in the library, my favorite antique bench, and more Jazz Fest posters. Hopefully this is where a piano will go someday!

And because I like him so much, here's our terracotta warrior in the foyer.

What I've been up to

Nap times have gotten shorter in the past few weeks, so I'm just not getting as much time to play as I was. Booo. But here's a zig zag quilt I started based on Anna Maria Horner's design but with Amy Butler fabric. I love the blue and orangey-pink. And the Missoni-esque design.

I also made this super cute peachy pinnie. I am kind of obsessed with rick-rack. It's going on everything. As you can see on the rest of my wall of unfinished business.
And here's a little house project Ray and I put together. Fleur de lis makes me happy. But it's probably time to cool it! I love my house, but it's not old and I love the character of old houses. This makes me love our house a little more.

Weekend Quiz

What am I?

Let's Play!

I brought the best little treasure back from VA! It's a coverlet that my Grandma sewed for mom's crib blanky. I LOVE IT. Look at that fabric!

So of course I was sooo happy to run across something similar this week and snatched it up for a dress!

The fabric for the next dress (which I put together last night) does not look like something I would pick! I obviously love vintage/retro designs and also flowery, girly and modern geometric designs. You may want to avert your eyes if you are offended by childish, bright over-worked patterns! Still, there's something about it I really like...


There's ruffle on the back too... tah dah!

I think I'll be spending a lot of time in the accessory aisle pretty soon. I am newly obsessed with this ruffle. Mmmmm ruffles.
These are based on a McCall's pattern that I have no idea when I bought. I usually wait until they go on sale for $1 each and find one thing I like in the book, then run through the drawer and pick out 10 things that look like they might get used. As far as I'm concerned, patterns are good for ideas and nothing else. Anyway, I'm happy to do things my own way.
Next up, some denim bloomers to go under the play smocks.
And coming up before too long... a Sucre & Spice store on Etsy! (I'm giving in to the pressure.)

Crawfish

This weekend was our 4th annual crawfish boil, and I had lots of things to prepare for it. I was upset and delighted at the same time that I was unable to find any cool invitations to a crawfish boil online. What? So, of course, I made some. I do love to silkscreen.

Then there was Margot's outfit to consider. I thought a good Southern Girl (which she unquestionably is, though she was born in St. Louis) would wear her finest seersucker. So here's what Margot wore:


Then there were the bibs, since friends from Nashville said they would only come if they could wear matching lobster bibs. So not only did they have the matching bibs, they had matching monogrammed bibs.


What's next on my list? Hmmm I think I'll finish a few little projects. It's sew rewarding to sew the last two buttons or last seam on a project that's been sitting for weeks or longer! Sometimes I save those up so I can feel productive :)

Snacks in felt

I kind of forgot about these little snacks I made for Nash, but found them this afternoon when I was folding up the packnplay to take on vacation. Look which bowl he likes better! Hmmm maybe I'll make him some felt broccoli....

Obsession of the week

Is applique. Fun!


I picked up a few little t's at Babies R Us and thought up some designs, cut 'em out, and voila! I started simple and am getting a little more detailed now. This one is my favorite, I think it's a keeper for little Margot. I love purple and red together.

Playing

I was waiting to sew anything until I got the new machine I've spent the last two months searching for, and then my mother in law was in town for a week, so I'm a little behind on my posts. But here are some projects I've been working on and me with my new Elna.
I'm trying to sew more with less patterns, so we'll see how that works out. Also, I've started cutting triangles to make Anna Maria Horner's Folk Dance quilt

I'm headed to Virginia tomorrow night (yipee!) so today will be packing up projects and getting ready to go!

Baby bloomers

I made these from the pattern in Amy Butler's book Little Stitches For Little Ones. They are so cute, but that's really not the point, since they don't fit AT ALL. (This is a great picture because you can't tell.) Ray cracked up laughing when he saw them and asked if they're baby low-riders. What did I do wrong?? I can't imagine that there's something wrong with the pattern, so I need to figure out what's wrong with me.