Some of our favorite things

OK, we've all seen many gift guides this season - in blogs, in the newspaper, in magazines. Here are just a few of our favorites this year:

Kim Scott, a fabulous designer of skirts, has an etsy shop, and is also one of our December artists of the month: http://www.etsy.com/shop/kimscott. See that photo above? That's MY skirt, made by her. I have to restrain myself from wearing it every single day. I think I need to put in a request for another. She adds a flirty ruffle at the bottom, lines them with a lightweight cotton solid, and has an elastic waistline to give it comfort and casual-ness.

Ann Brotman, creator of Burst of Color, makes re-usable snack bags. Let me tell you, they're becoming all the rage about town! I send my kids - and husband - off to school each day with their sandwiches packed in them. At the end of the day, I shake out the crumbs (or wash out the jelly), and they're ready for the next day.
My 12 year old, Jane, requested them to "gift wrap" her gifts for friends - you know, lip gloss and socks and candy - things we gave when we were 12! Here they are, ready to take to school:

Portia Perdue, who makes Perdoozy aprons: http://www.etsy.com/shop/perdoozy Portia has sold over 1,000 of them on etsy, and each is put together with an eye for color and hip-ness and a hint of retro and loads of style! Now, I know she's ready to close the shop to be able to have a relaxing Christmas with her family, but she's one to keep in mind for gifts throughout the year!

That was just a tiny tiny sampling of the many local artists whose wares we love.....we hope to post a few more in the next few days!

Here's one to show his future girlfriend....

Here's Henry, (who's 6 months old already!), wearing one of Dagmar's hats. I just couldn't resist posting this! Dag was one of the artists at our craft show last weekend, which was fabulous.

Fabric on it's way to Hip Stitch - selected bolts from:

Anna Maria Horner's new Little Folks Voile

Amy Butler's Love Home Dec.

Jane Sassaman's new Sunshine & Shadows

Next on our list - more laminated cottons - not only does Amy Butler have some out, but Anna Maria Horner and Heather Bailey....what to choose, what to choose....

It's a.....baby!

Congratulations, Ellen! Our sweet, lovely customer, friend, and store photographer, had baby #3 Tues., Dec. 1. We've been waiting excitedly to hear the news, and her husband called yesterday to give us the details. I'm not giving ANY detail, 'cause I want her to do that on her blog.

My firstborn, Jane, was born Dec. 16 (she'll be 12 this year!!). There's nothing like a newborn babe in your arms as you snuggle in to celebrate the holidays!

A bit of gift making

Today's agenda: sleep in (8:00), go out to living room, where family is watching the Macy's parade on t.v., fix coffee, sit down with embroidery to finish the project above.....a Christmas gift for my mother-in-law. It's a flour sack cloth - I ordered them in bulk a few months back - can be used for any number of cleaning, kitchen, pantry uses. I just love love love Sublime Stitching! Hip Stitch gets their email newsletters - they're having a special now thru Dec. 1 - order any products from the website, and pay only $1.00 shipping! To add to that, I ordered 4 patterns, and they had buy 3, get the 4th 1/2 price! Woo hoo - can't beat that deal! This ain't your grandma's embroidery....check it out!

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Check this out!

Look what customer/amazing sewer Robyn (I read her blog to get inspired to sew like her) is doing now! She's writing the blog for this website. How did you even find out about a job like this?! I know she's a writer/editor by trade, so I guess she's in the know about writing jobs....kind of like being in a band and knowing how to get gigs. (does that analogy work?)

Anyhow, your latest project - the coat - is beautiful - great job!! (I've added the blog to my blog list at right)

Saturday night, I got to book a private party in the lounge, for my book club. We just finished reading The Wednesday Sisters, which takes place in the 1960s/70s, so I thought it'd be fun to get together to discuss it and make aprons - a very retro project. So, so fun. And by the way, I have no pictures because our family camera has finally died. So I'm camera shopping. And that's that.

Shall we tie one on?

I discovered this while surfing online.....read what's on this website:

National Tie One On Day™ – November 25, 2009
“Women clad in aprons have traditionally prepared the Thanksgiving meal, and it is within our historical linkage to share our bounty.” EllynAnne Geisel
Four years ago, I noticed that Thanksgiving was talked about in terms more commonly associated with stress, than joy. I remembered my mother’s absolute love of Thanksgiving, as a day more than anything else of sharing and gratefulness. So I created National Tie One On Day™ as an annual opportunity to return the “give” to Thanksgiving by sharing our good fortune with someone in need of a kind gesture.

National Tie One On Day™ has nothing to do with purchasing anything special or even driving!
Participation is simple. On the day before Thanksgiving, November 25th this year, pause in the preparation of your own meal, wrap a loaf of bread or other baked good in an apron, tuck a prayer or note of encouragement in the pocket, and tie one on…an apron, of course! and deliver the wrapped bundle to someone without your bounty… a neighbor, friend or family member in need of physical or spiritual sustenance, a bit of recognition or just a kind word.
I know it to be true that whether you live in a high rise apartment building or on a quiet block, no matter which direction you walk out of your own front door, someone deserving of a gesture of kindness is close by.
National Tie One On Day™ is a win-win, for the participant and the receiver. By embracing National Tie One On Day™, you will make someone else’s day brighter. (written by ElllynAnne Geisel)

Isn't that just a great idea? If you do this, email us at Hip Stitch and tell us about it!

Can we rid the world of plastic bags?

A friend sent this link to me, about plastic bags in our world. I found it quite good. I hope you all are taking cloth/canvas/recycled bags to the grocery store with you. I remember about 90% of the time to grab one before I go in....when I forget, I come home with a plastic bag and put it in my stash to make recycled totes out of them. Have you made yours yet?

We offer a class, you know. Because we have a guest instructor come in to teach it, we want to have a minimum of 3 people commit to take the class. We're going to keep the date open-ended.....when at least 3 call or email who want to take the class, we'll schedule it. Then we'll do this all over again....and again.....until we have zillions of recycled plastic tote bags in the world!

Damn cancer

That's just how I feel about it. Damn cancer. As I go through life, I know more & more people who are afflicted with it. This week, it was Betty, a customer from day 1 of our opening. She's sweet and gentle and just a lovely lady. I had last seen her about 2 months ago - and when she walked in our door this week with her daughter, I didn't know it was her at first - I was with another customer, and greeted them, and let them browse. Then, Betty came up to the counter, and I saw it was her - with a pink knit cap covering her head. And I looked into her eyes and saw that it was her - without her beautiful white hair. And my heart sank, and I thought, "Damn cancer." She's fighting through it, and I want so badly for her to win the fight.

Today, it reared its ugly head in the body of a 5 yr. old boy, whose grandmother, a dear friend of ours here at Hip Stitch, told us that the family has just been informed he has about 3 months to live. He's fought this disease for a few years now. It seems that the fight is over. Damn, damn cancer.

We're going to do our part to do SOMETHING. Starting in January 2010, Hip Stitch will be forming a group in the lounge, to meet regularly, and make hats, for those who are going through chemotherapy. Hats with style, with flair, with warmth and most importantly, with love. We'll provide the lounge - the patterns - the fabric (though we'll be having our annual fabric exchange in the new year, and asking for donations of fabric to go to making the hats)

More details to follow about our group. In the meantime, pray for those fighting this disease. Pray for a cure. Just pray.

Winners!

Our Love Collection fat quarters drawing was Friday, and the winners were Theresa and Gail, 2 awesome customers! Congratulations, ladies!

November's calendar is up (yes, I know it's ALREADY November). I sent out the email newsletter, but forgot to include that we're having the make-your-own-dressform class again - remember the photos from that fun day?! Sharon Hatcher is back to teach it once again. Get yourselves signed up!

Kathy Rowe set up her goods as artist of the month - oh my, I'm having to restrain myself from grabbing a few things to purchase for myself....I'll be gracious and let customers shop through the month. Fabulous work, she does.

My husband asked last night if he can put up a few Christmas lights in the house (we do them inside and out) I said that was fine if I can start playing some Christmas music. He hasn't agreed to that end of the deal yet. Either way, as a retailer, we're breaking out the decorations in the store - I think it's officially the season in stores, right?!

Show & Share

Two sweet girls in dresses made with Hip Stitch fabrics -

Fabric is Heather Ross - Mermaids - an easy Simplicity pattern. The cuteness is innate, I think!

And here's a cute Southern Belle (she really is from the south!) wearing the Oliver+S birthday party dress in Amy Butler's Lotus collection:

Tonight I made my 9 yr. old the pajama bottoms from our Favorite Things Sleep Well pattern - she picked Moda sock monkey flannel. She's sound asleep wearing them, so a picture will have to wait....and the top is next to make.

I hope everyone is busy getting ready for Halloween, or is ready for Halloween! I've had just a bit of sewing to do - a poodle skirt for a friend's teenage daughter, this top for Claire's 50s costume, and a trip last night out to a few stores to finalize an M&M costume for my 11 yr. old, Jane, who wore it today to school (all APS middle schools are out tomorrow & Friday for parent conferences - Halloween came early) Her's was easy - big blue sweatshirt, long underwear, and a cut-out "M" to glue on her front. Oh yes, and blue hairspray for a final touch.

We picked up some Keds at Goodwill for Claire, and last night I colored in black to make them saddle shoes - presto change-o!

That gross brown at the back/bottom of the shoe? My attempt to add the authentic brown stripe....until the marker ran out of ink.

Quilt Market envy once again

Well, the Fall 2009 Quilt Market came and went, and we at Hip Stitch had to live vicariously through her and her and her, as we couldn't physically be there. Someday, someday, we'll go, and we'll be like kids in a candy store.

News from the store - the drawing for fat quarters of Amy Butler's Love Collection is still a week away, and the basket is filling with entries....get yours in! Emily - friend, customer and one stylin' gal, has graciously lent us a quilt top to display, made out of Love fabrics - it's just beautiful. I have the quilting bug, oh I do - but there's sewing, and embroidery, and knitting, and not enough hours in the day!

Projects going on in the lounge lately:
*Julie came in to finish sewing her little boy's Batman costume for Halloween. Julie is a recently new sewer, but you wouldn't guess that by looking at the bang-up job she did - she delved right into a pattern and whipped it out!
*Julie (another one by the same name) took our serger by storm and stitched up rolled hems for Boy Scout neckerchiefs - around 100 of them (maybe more?). They came out beautifully, and saved her from having to double turn/press/stitch hems in them all.
*Tom, a weekly lounger and all-around great guy, is mastering taking in his jeans. He lost some weight, and decided to tackle alterations rather than buying a new wardrobe. Our 1st sessions together in the lounge consisted of many broken needles and thread, and trying to get through multiple layers of denim as he took them in on the sides. He's now actually adding pleats to take them in, and doing an amazing job!
*Madeleine, a sweet girl of 10, is taking weekly lessons. She's made a robe and pajama bottoms for her American Girl doll, and we're now starting matching pj bottoms for her. She's focused and motivated and a joy to work with.

And a peek into November......I'm so excited about our artist of the month (we took Oct. off). Kathy brought in some of her hand sewn items to show us this week, and, well, I just don't want to say anymore, but leave some surprise as they'll be out and for sale during the month of November. Just save some of your Christmas shopping for her items - I know I am!
Sharon Hatcher is back to teach another dressform class in Nov. - woo hoo!
Book of the month: Last Minute Fabric Gifts. I've been perfecting wool felting for some of the projects.
Ooooh, I just can't wait!

Taos in Fall

The Taos Wool Festival was 2 weekends ago....my family drove up for the day on Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day - and such a treat to wander around, watching the spinners and the knitters and be inspired. My girls each chose some beautifully-dyed wool which they want to spin:

I wore my capelet, knit with Dagmar spun & dyed yarn. It was a lovely community-gathering event - I recommend it to everyone to experience!

Amy's Love Collection is in......have you been over to see it?! One bolt has sold out already. Starting this Friday, the 16th, you are invited to enter your name in a drawing for a set of fat quarters selected from the collection, just by coming into the store and viewing the fabric. If you make a purchase, you may put an additional entry into the drawing. We'll keep this going for 2 weeks; on Friday, Oct. 30, a name will be drawn to win. Come on, what are you waiting for?! (well, Friday, apparently!)

We're on board

Ok, Ellen, we're with you! I love the 3/50 project, I've registered our business with them (the website says it takes up to 10 days to post), and I'm wholeheartedly in support of their mission - SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES! Yes, it's virtually impossible to exclusively shop locally. Yes, I also find myself at Target weekly, stocking up on essentials. And it's hard at times to pay a bit more when chain stores have things for less. Case in point: our little store. You can go into Joann's or Hancock and find loads of fabric 30%, 40%, 50% off. We just can't afford to do that. We're not a conglomerate. But before you wonder if I'm sending you off to shop at the chain fabric stores, I'M NOT! We gals at Hip Stitch have a passion for sewing and crafting, a passion to get others passionate about it, too, and order fabrics we passionately love. (Can you guess the word of the day?)

I was off yesterday - Jen was at the store. We got some new fabric in, and I was dying to come over and see it. I talked to her just before the store closed, and told her it was so hard for me not to come in today!! I just love our store! But my day was meant to be a true day off - my 9 yr. old was home sick w/fever and cough (I don't think it's THE flu), and I had a day just being home with her. Just being a mom all day.

Soooo, to follow along with Ellen's Five for Friday (we're going to pretend this was published on Friday), here are my favorite local businesses:

1. Village Wools: Since I picked up knitting again about 2 years ago, I discovered this store and just love it. Love the help sessions. Love talking to the ladies. Met my dear friend Cheryl there. (I think our coversation started with changes women go through when they reach their 40s, and it was instant bonding!)

2. Frontier/Golden Pride: The owners are Larry and Dorothy Rainosek. I've never met them, but my husband went to school with their son. I'm always amazed that every single employee I've ever come across at either the Frontier or Golden Pride (I go to the one on Juan Tabo & Comanche) is pleasant, well-mannered, intelligent, and efficient. They have the best tortillas I've ever tasted - I buy a couple dozen at a time and stick them in the freezer. And the rest of the menu? Well, it's just fabulous.

3. Morris & Comanche: (this was my husband Dan's suggestion, but I wholeheartedly agree) Our car repair guys, who are located at, well, Morris & Comanche. Robert is the owner - he's a great guy, genuinely nice and honest. My mom started going to them when she moved here 4 yrs ago, and she loves chatting with Robert - I think she'd love to find him a nice girl to marry, 'cause she thinks he's so wonderful! Along the car repair theme, I also like El Piston Loco. Dan's old Toyota pick-up was losing the clutch this past summer. He'd be driving down the road and it would slip out of gear, rendering him unable to accelerate. It drove me crazy, and I was just about to take that old thing to a car dealership and trade it in when the custodian at his school recommended this place to him. (a friend of a cousin, or a cousin of a friend, or a cousin of a cousin - some connection he had) The guys at El Piston Loco told him to pick up the part at an auto store down the street and bring it to them. They put it right in, charged us a very decent price to do the work, and now that old truck is driving like a dream. Plus, it's so fun to say 'El Piston Loco'.

4. Papa Nachos: A delicious restaurant for Mexican food. Hidden between the gas station and the laundromat, it's a tiny place. We love the nachos, which have ground beef combined with a green chile sauce. Just down the street from Hip Stitch, south on Louisiana.

5. Rising Star: our favorite Chinese eatery. Just 2 stores down from Hip Stitch, I mostly eat there at lunchtime while I'm working. Orange Chicken is my favorite - it's hard to break out and try new things when I have a favorite. Great fresh food, Shang (not sure if I'm spelling his name correctly) is the owner, a really nice guy.

There - my list. Go local!

New Arrivals!

Christmas fabrics are out! Can't you just see a cute apron, placemats, napkins, and more?!

Delivered today: Sew What Bags, one of our favorite books, and The Sew-it Book - original printing - 1929. We couldn't resist.

We also got more of this pattern:
and of this:

and Oliver+S fall/winter patterns!

Embroidering and parties and oh so much fun!

Hip Stitch hosted a birthday party this afternoon - 10 girls, including one very special birthday girl! The girls embroidered book covers, and I was blown away with their natural talent! The book covers were already made, out of simple canvas. The girls got to choose their design to embroider from a selection of iron-on patterns out of Sublime Stitching.

They choose designs of dogs and ice cream cones, cupcakes and moons. After a short instruction, they got to work. They took a break from embroidery to eat birthday cake (peanut butter cake, which was fabulous!) Below is the birthday girl, who came decked out in - what else - a princess dress.

Another project they did was to make a bookmark by collage-ing fabric scraps onto cardstock paper, then painting on fabric stiffener. They whizzed through this craft!

And on the topic of embroidery, after getting charged up after seeing Robyn's work, this is my 1st completed project, which was delivered to Dagmar as a late birthday gift - a perfect choice for her, as she makes me the best lattes I've ever had!

So here's how this story begins.....today was the make your own dressform class in the lounge, which I'll get to in a moment. I wanted to attempt this at home before the class, so I could know what was going on, even though I didn't teach the class.

So one night this week, I recruited my husband Dan to help. (Ignore my junky kitchen in the background) Needless to say, this was a very amateur attempt, with a guy who just wanted to get this whole experience over with so he could watch baseball. Poor Dan - the things he does to support Hip Stitch!So on to today's class.....Sharon Hatcher was our class instructor. She was amazing! We had a full lounge - 8 of us total. We started with a pile of packing tape:
And started in an assembly line, taping each other's backs. Yes, those are garbage bags we're wrapped in - haute couture at its finest!
We quickly wrapped ourselves, layer after layer......

And voila, a finished wrap! (Lovely Lisa modeling hers)

Here's my finished form:

I'm maybe going to paint it, or put on a coat of Mod Podge....something to give it a finished, somewhat creative look. All in all, this was a fantastic class, and one we're planning to do again. Every gal who sews should have her own custom-made dress form!

Look at what's for dinner, along with lasagna:
From Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, this is Focaccia with Onion and Rosemary. My family is going to bite into it in about 5 minutes, as soon as I'm done with this post. I'd better type fast.

Here's a skirt that Dagmar gave me about a year ago, picked up at a thrift store. It was a very large size, but the fabric is great. I finally got around to taking out some panels and turning it into a wrap skirt. Love, love, love it.

Robyn is inspiring me to embroider. Check out what she's been doing. I'm getting going on some projects!

Woo Hoo - A night out on the town!

Alright, so it was nothing like college, where I could easily stay out 'til 4 a.m. But it was a night out, nonetheless.....7 of us met at the the Guild, to see Handmade Nation, last night. What a great movie. I'm so inspired about creating, living my life with sewing as a priority (yes, family is up there, too), buying locally-made goods, support local crafters. An all-around fun evening. The movie got out at a little after 8; we stood outside the theater and talked/dreamed/reviewed the movie. By about 8:30, it was time to go back to our lives - some had babies to get home to, some had just sleep to get home to. Not like 20 years ago....!

Jen wore a skirt she made out of Heather Ross fabrics, Peg wore a Decades of Style dress made out of Amy's fabric, I wore Lila Tueller's Funked Out Peasant Blouse, Diana had a purse she designed and made.....it was just so darn fun!

Bear with me.....

......as I re-format the blog again. Just searching for a good fit. Ellen Benson came a few weeks ago and did a photo shoot for our website/blog. She's awesome!! We'll be adding to the website in the next few days.

A few more

how about this one.....
or this.....

Aren't they marvelous?!

Love, love, love!

I sat down at the computer tonight to check email and saw that we had a sneak preview of Amy Butler's Love collection! We (my girls and I) sat down and eagerly awaited for the link to download....here's a sneak preview:

and here.......

....I was so darn excited I taught myself how to use Power Point and set up a show of them all, which I'll load onto the computer at the store and have running so you can see it when you come in! Yippee!

Enough about me

Sorry about that last outburst......the dishwasher had me in a rage.

Here is a BEAUTIFUL jacket made and modeled by Peg, a frequent lounger and friend at Hip Stitch. She's off to the Santa Fe opera wearing it over a little black dress. I think she's going this week....every time she comes I have a senior moment and ask her "is the opera tonight?" and she patiently says, "no, I'm going on August....." and says the date and then I promptly forget it. Anyhow, this is a Marcy Tilton pattern for Vogue, and Peg did some wonderful and magical things to the silk to make it bunch up like this. (by the way, we have a silk resource if anyone has a project and wants to order a few yards of some....sort of like the drug dealer of fabric)

And on to other fabulous projects made by fabulous customers.....Laura, her daughter Caroline and her mother (egad, I forgot her name) came to the lounge one day this summer to make aprons. Here they are, 3 generations, in their "In Stitches" half-aprons:

What's the point?!

I load them. I turn it on. I unload them. I load them. I turn it on. I unload them. I load them.........
I just want to sew!

I celebrated my birthday in early August, and went to one of my favorite places for creative inspiration, Anthropoligie. A gift from me to me was this delicate teacup. I now have my morning coffee in it, and it really tastes better than before!

My family went to Denver for a few days....took in a Rockies game, where I wore this great bucket hat made with Amy Butler fabrics......

....and of course, wore my lounge pants to the game. Yes, I read at the game. My husband was so amused that he took a picture to document the event:
I also visited Fancy Tiger in Denver, where I met Amber and Jaime, the owners. What a great little place! They sell yarn as well as fabric (Amber said they were originally knitters), and I was so inspired looking around. Amber was patient and sweet as I tried not to ambush her too much with questions. Don't miss checking them out if you're in Denver!

Finally, here's a school bag made by 13-year-old Taylor with a little help from me. She had in her mind what she wanted. I altered a pattern, and here's what she went off to 8th grade this year with! (I know, mom, I'm not supposed to end a sentence with a preposition) It has a zipper closure and inside pockets.

For the next 3 months, we'll be featuring different books we sell in the store. Classes will be projects from the books, as well as our standard Hip Stitch basics and few others. September features Sewing Green. I'm on the verge of publishing the calendar, so be patient as we finalize things!

Now that's what I call perfection!

Now, on to a mom's night out here at the store....a fun group of gals, who are becoming regulars at throwing parties in the lounge, gathered a few weeks ago to sew. They made pillowcases, wrap skirts and lounge pants. I was called back to the lounge - away from stuffing my face (see below), to look at this pinning job done by Tracy. It looks as though she used a tape measure to get an exact number of inches between each pin, but in reality, she's just that precise! It was quite amusing - and admirable, when you think about it. No mamby-pamby throwing pins on the fabric - this took some thinking!!

Back to the stuffing my face reference. As these ladies have gathered here before, they bring their own food for the party - and I can't get enough of the Spinach Artichoke Dip that Jennifer brings each time! Here's the recipe, that she so graciously shared:

1 pkge. frozen chopped spinach

1 can artichoke hearts, drained & finely chopped

1/2 c. shredded mozarella cheese

3/4 c. parmasan cheese

3/4 c. mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all ingrediants. Bake @ 350 for 20 mins.

How easy is that?!

I'm behind on what I want to post, so bear with me as I backtrack a bit....
.....here's a very grainy shot of Jennifer, my niece, at her anniversary party July 31st. I post this - not to talk about all the partying I do (uh, next to none?) - but to show off the Weekend Sewing Yard Sale Wrap Skirt she made, with a matching head scarf, for her party! Jenn is not a girly-girly by any means, but when she does wear a dress or skirt, she looks so....natural, just like she's in jeans and a t-shirt. I'm so proud of her & her new hobby - sewing!

Next post coming: a fabulous mom's night out at the store.....and a recipe to boot!

Two Henrys

First, I'll start with Henry my neighbor down the street. Here's what I know about him: he's widowed, he's in his 60s? (if he's older, he doesn't look his age) He's an artist of many sorts. He and I always wave to each other when I drive down the street. He knows about Hip Stitch and always asks "how's the hippn' stichn' going?" I'm trying to get him into the store one of these days.
So today, my husband Dan calls me and says there's a piece of furniture out on the curb in front of Henry's house, with a free sign on it. Now this is HUGE, because Dan really doesn't support my bringing any more furniture into the house (there was a time when I was a regular at yard sales and thrift stores, scoring great deals and refinishing/recovering furniture)
So he picks it up, and he and I love it! Here's the before....a new coat of paint is in order.
So bear with me, there's more to this story. Tonight at dinner, the doorbell rings, and it's Henry, here to tell us he has yet another piece we can have, one that he thinks will be perfect on a wall at my 'hippn' stitchn'', for thread and other notions. As he walks off from our porch, he does a little Michael Jackson moon dance - quite a good rendition, to be honest with you. I just really like that Henry.

And here's the other Henry - desparately in need of an updated picture, as he's now plump and has more hair and long limbs and smiles and coos. He's now a regular at the store, and not always happy about being there, but we're all glad he is!