needle & thREAD
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Good morning, sewing friends!
I'm afraid I haven't any sewing at all to report this week. I had grand plans for three completed sundresses. Life had other plans.
Let's revisit this post for just a moment, as I promised to tell you the rest of the story. I actually can't tell it in full. As I thought about it, I couldn't come up with a responsible way to tell it all. In part, our parish mission is regrouping after what can only be called a crisis and moving from 10,000 square feet to 1500 square feet. I ended up with a great many boxes from that move in my basement. And then, it fell to us, with the help of a friend, to sort and carefully steward those things into the future while we wait and save and build a church. I was constantly reminded of The Miracle of St. Nicholas. That's about all I can say there.
In the process, I discovered messes anew in the basement. Unlike last year, this year, I'm not claiming blame. It's all about the kids. So, I've just begun to read Cleaning House: A Mom's 12-month Experiment to Rid Her Home of Youth Entitlement. So far, I really like this book and I see it as a way to avoid ever having my basement look like Occupy Basement again.
I was going to sew on Monday. My plan was to sew and sew and sew. Instead, I was distracted by the state of my sewing room. Let's talk about nomenclature for a moment, shall we? I know that lots of bloggers call the room where they sew "the studio." They sew there. They write there. They do design work there. I do all that in my room, too. But "studio" just sounds weird around here. My husband is a television producer/director. He works in a studio. There's no fabric involved. But when we say "studio" in this house, that's what we all envision.
Since last year, I have completely taken over the office on our main floor. His trophies have been relocated to make room for my teacups. I still want to paint and to make curtains, but mostly, I just sigh contentedly in my "sewing room." When it's clean. And it was in need of some TLC this week. So I cleaned the basement and cleaned the sewing room and found myself with no time to sew.
Incidentally, I can't bring myself to call myself a "sewist," either. It just grates against my editing ear, I think. Instead, I think I'm on my way to becoming a modern seamstress. Maybe a quilter... A creator of quilts. Happy stitcher of mama-made dresses. "Sewist" just sounds odd to me.
{fabric cut and ready for three sundresses. that fabric was going to be lining for sewing room curtains. sundresses are a much better use, i think. i have a lot of it. more than three dresses worth.}
{books for inspiration. each girl has a sewing box. i have two. basket near the top holds the pieces for a quilt for my room. fabric to the right of that is heather bailey set aside to make a quilt for mary beth. fabric on the shelf below is flurry to be used to finish my christmas quilt and make two or three more.}
{anna maria horner on the entire upper shelf, right beneath baskets full of yarn. i think some of this will be a wedding quilt. stash of pinks is still formidable, rest of the stashes dwindling. on the far right is a big stack of flannels that will be winter pjs in time for the flurry of fall birthdays. at least that's the plan.}
What about you? Sewing? Reading? A little of both? What's on your summer reading list? Do you have a summer sewing list? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
Remember: Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway Here. It's not to late to enter. Winner Announced Tomorrow.
