I'm @ The Factory

It's close enough to my birthday/ the Composer is always up for a little road trip/ who needs a reason to visit Alabama Chanin again?

A jumble of salvaged chairs painted in cheery colors.

Stenciled pieces available for sale. I think these may be journal cover size.

The collection garments are so substantial--even monumental--in person.

I absolutely love the varying shades of white and cream and the different elaborate treatments in the wedding collection. Of course.

My real business today was choosing a small palette of fabrics for some new summer clothes. Two pale grey, some hyacinth, and a dab of pink.

I tried very hard to stick to my plan. And also remember to get foldover elastic. Done.

Eye candy: this "Lace" stencil which is one of my favorites ever. Here are three treatments. I love the top one because of the extra row of stitching above the edge of the design, which carries the embellishment further into the plain fabric (this is an elaborate scarf, so beautiful). Also love the coppery sequins filling the cut-out spaces at the bottom.

Then here you can see the same stencil treated differently--the dark areas are totally filled in with coppery bugle beads. Oh my word.

And finally, below, the same stencil done in a black appliqué on pale pink, with all those openings filled in with black beading. Just like glamorous lingerie from the fifties.

While Baby Napped

This baby is a great sleeper (also eater, also spitter-upper), so we got to read for a bit under the rosebush during the afternoon nap.

An Update + An Iris

The girls are having their spring break so we camped this weekend. Now, I pride myself on having survived outdoors through pretty much all the difficult conditions from hail to plagues of caterpillars. This one was new though: fog so extremely thick we couldn't see thirty feet. It wasn't raining but water was running out of our hair. 

*

I've been whittling away at a sizable work project. Fortunately it's easily quantified so I know just where I stand. Running up a tally and marking things off a list are very motivating rewards for me.

*

And today we brought our crib down from the attic. We'll be hosting a friend's foster baby for the next couple of days. *Lots* of attic dust to deal with, and the Composer is out at Walmart right now buying new sheets. I guess I'm a little excited.

Bits of Daisy's Room + Cat

We were going for a soft, luxurious, cocooning thing in Daisy's room. Clearly it worked for Sister, at least.

No doubt she appreciated the creative layering of fabrics--crocheted afghans on top of embroidered quilts on top of dust ruffles, and the sheepskin laid over the cotton rag rug.

For Sister, it's a little bit like the Princess and the Pea. For Daisy, it's a perfect retreat. Best part: I didn't buy a single thing (beyond the can of paint), just pulled furniture and goodies in from other parts of the house.

My Mostly Off-Line Lent (So Far)

Much reading, thinking, and discussion going on in the house about the issues surrounding Distraction by Technology. Lots of practicing the discipline of being unplugged.

Also experiencing an unprecedented interest in leather notebooks:

 (much cheaper on ebay than on the Filofax website!)

And in old-fashioned letter-writing. I use Daisy's piano lesson as my Correspondence Hour. 

. . . And Two Totes

Also, two fun totes available.

Silk and Mohair Capelet

I've put this capelet in my shop because it's just a little too large. Happy shopping to just the right lady!

Cold Out; Tea In

Finally, as a season untimely born, we are having a bit of winter. Sleet outside, Earl Grey inside.

Log Cabin Quilt: Cloud Shadows

This time I was disciplined and sorted those dark and light scraps! Then put them together in diagonal rows. We think it gives the effect of cloud shadows going up and down hillsides.

Also, I inaugurated the use of the 1/4 inch seam. It added an astonishing amount of square footage to the quilt--so this is one of my biggest efforts!

Proceeds from this quilt will go to  our dear young friends who are the first married couple of our kids' group to have a baby--they just found out last week. They're still on the church-mouse student budget, so I'd like to help purchase a nice stash of quality cloth diapers for them. Here's the shop link.

Puffy Cheeks

Sister was not the only girl today with puffy cheeks--Daisy had two wisdom teeth removed yesterday and has entered the puffy stage of recovery. We've had two quiet inside days watching the sun shine and the wind blow, and tomorrow we'll be almost back to normal.

Miss Buncle

My cousin Sally sent me the first book, and I was hooked.

I ordered the next two on my own, and they've been my Sunday afternoon treats.

Oil Painting: White Camellias

I went to the studio Tuesday evening and mentioned I was thinking of painting white camellias. 

"There are some blooming in my neighborhood," said my teacher Sarah, "but you'll have to drive the getaway car."

So I kept it running at the curb while she crept across the dark yard and snipped a few blossoms from the rent house down her block.

Anything for art.

Wasp's Nest

Strictly for decorative purposes, in the sitting room.

The Hyacinths Say Hello

 . . . hello, and Lenten blessings. I am giving up internet distraction for the forty days. I will post on my blog and check my email, but nothing else for the weeks to come. A new season!

Alabama Chanin Walking Cape

I've been interested in the Alabama Chanin Walking Cape ever since I saw it in the store and admired its secret inside pocket. And outside pockets! Last year the AC website offered the pattern as a pdf purchase, and this week I bought it and made it up . . . but in a woven, not a jersey.

I chose a light gray wool woven because 1. I didn't have four yards of jersey to use and 2. I had this free wool. I fully lined the cape with a second layer of the wool, machine stitched it, and (as you see) put rounded pockets on the outside. There's a square inside pocket that's perfect for phone and keys if you are, in fact, walking. Or use the pocket for a tissue if you're going to wear this cape to the movies with your husband to see Lion.

A super-simple project and one I look forward to sewing up in jersey.

A Bright Sunset

Inside and out.

Daisy's New Ice Cream Parlor

Daisy's bedroom has always been known as the Mango Lounge, but Clara and I have been re-doing it in the softest, creamiest pink. It will hereafter be known as the Ice Cream Parlor.

(Benjamin Moore. Walls: Melted Ice Cream in Pearl Finish. Floors: Pure White Latex Floor Enamel)

What We Put Up With

This is what we have to put up with all day.

At the Greenhouse with Clara

Saturday morning errands with a little recreation thrown in.

I've been wanting a maidenhair fern--they didn't have any, but I got a little rabbit's foot fern.

Someone Else's Needlepoint

Needlepoint pillow from the thrift store, perfect condition, just a dollar. The back is velvet!

Sunday Table with Tulips and a Menu

For Sunday's lunch crowd I used a very large pan, and laid two whole chickens on a bed of vegetables--several pounds of chopped potatoes, and three leeks (white parts sliced thin). All of it drizzled with olive oil, salted and peppered. A celery stalk in the chicken, and the uncovered pan in the oven on 350 for three hours.

Also a side dish of green beans (from frozen, in the Crock-Pot), and a big batch of biscuits made before church, and a green salad.

Eleven Paintings in the Shop

I've posted eleven more paintings in my etsy shop. The pricing to some extend depends on size (there are big pieces and smaller ones) and also on how successful I think the painting was. So you will see a variety of Price Points (such a genteel phrase!).

Crocheting: Jersey Rug

Last week I cracked open the two large boxes of jersey scraps to see what was going on (besides Too Much). Lots of long, skinny scraps of not-cotton: pretty much worthless for sewing. Awkward skinny  shapes and mishmash of fibres.

So, jersey rug time. When I had pulled out everything I wanted to use, I had a pile that was knee-high. Fortunately Clara was on board, so for the last couple of days I've been cutting strips (free-hand, about two inches wide), and she's been crocheting.

This is clearly the right division of labor, since her stitches and rounds are far more beautiful and even than mine have ever been.

Jersey Table Runner + Oranges

I started this appliqued table runner almost a year ago for the sole purpose of having a hand-stitching project on a trip to New York.

It's appliqued, with each design element cut out as needed from the applique fabric. Not the best method, since it's possible to mix things up accidentally (don't ask).

Still, I love the process and the end result.

Alabama Chanin jersey in Natural, and one of the pale grays for the applique. Blanket stitching around the outside edge.

Log Cabin Quilt: Red Coral Red

Morning + Fog + Camera

This morning I ran on the road rather than driving to the trail. My cool-down was the long walk up the driveway. So foggy!

Everything misty and mysterious.

Except for Fitz. No mystery there, just affection.

Abstract: Catfish Ponds

If you've ever flown over the Mississippi delta you've seen these catfish farms from the airplane window.

That Third Quilt Top

This wild thing is the third top Clara and I pieced in our fit of madness last week. It's the first one to be quilted. We turn the lights down so it doesn't burn our eyes.