$4.29

My find yesterday at Goodwill.....

....for only $4.29! I'm thinking this is the one that I'll add an applique to in Kim's class on Saturday the 30th. The flip flops, by the way, are my daughter Jane's, who now seems to wear a size 8, just my size! Yippee - we can share shoes!

This handsome young man came to visit Hip Stitch today - Jen brought him in for a visit after his 2 week appointment this morning. There's nothing like holding a tiny baby in your arms to make all things right in the world.

Here's a tote bag I first embroidered before constructing the bag. It was such a fun project to sit peacefully and hand embroider. The pattern is an iron-on transfer from Sublime Stitching. We're out of the book, but we do carry the craft pad of transfers. This is going to be a kids' class this summer, but I'm thinking we need to have one for adults, too!

Last week of school for the kids....last week I'll have to occasionally put a "back in 15 mins." sign on the door and fetch my children on the days my husband can't....don't know if any readers have come during that 15 minutes and experienced a bit of frustration, and I certainly apologize if that's been the case!

The Fiber Arts Fiesta begins this Thursday - get on down to the Manuel Lujan Building at the fairgrounds and check it out!

Downtown

Last week I headed into the city....Nob Hill/UNM area, that is. For a suburbia gal like myself, this was a big deal....lots of traffic on Central, finding a parking spot (I successfully parallel parked, for which I was famous when my friends and I would head to Georgetown in D.C. 22 years ago in my mom's VW beetle convertible, and only I could squeeze into spots no one else would attempt), and walked around Nob Hill, feeling so, well, like a city girl!

I went to The Designer's Lounge, and met Teresa and Patty, owners as well as mother & daughter. I've been meaning to get down there for months and meet them, and they are really great women who have a beautiful lounge/studio and got to see some of their fantastic creations!

I then went to Papers, to shop and say hi to Erin, a Hip Stitch customer who works there all the time (so she says!) I just love that store, and found a great, well, paper, to hang on our wall. I parked a few blocks away, and walked through the neighborhood a bit, dreaming a bit of living in one of those quaint little houses and being able to walk everywhere....such is the downfall of living in the suburbs - not enough opportunities to walk to where I need to go!

The best bread EVER

OK, if you're at all interested in homemade bread, you must stop what you're doing and order this book.....
You'll get loaves of bread that look like this and taste even better! I started baking last week and my family goes through almost a whole loaf a day, starting with toast in the morning, and sandwiches in lunches. The mix is easy to make, stores in the fridge, and you just break off a piece when you're ready to bake. (there is an initial rise time involved, as well as a 'rest' time before you bake, but it's worth the wait)

Henry's arrived!

Jen delivered 7 lb. 14 oz. baby Henry today, via c-section. He's quite perfect, from what I could see through the nursery window.....long toes, a bit of dark hair on his head, just adorably pink and rosy. Hmmm.....I'm seeing some cute little Oliver & S patterns made up for him....Congratulations to the Dean family! (I asked her at the hospital if she'd be in for her shift at the store at 2:00 today, but she just ignored me - smart woman)

Take one 11 yr. old girl.....one pair of hand-me-down denim shorts that are too short for her taste.....and a handful of scrap fabric:

Voila - a "new" pair of pants that she was so excited to wear to school! She's still deciding if she likes the 'unfinished' look at the hem.

Our Spring Soiree & craft fair this past Saturday was quite successful! If you came, it was great to see you, and thanks so much for shopping. Such neat homemade items - from baby onsies to diaper bags, coffee cozies to lavendar and mint-scented eye pillows, skirts, journals, jewelry, baby blankets....I'm always so amazed at the talents of so many and I love love love to encourage shopping locally - we hope to do this more regularly!

I'm loving......

Gardening time.....I planted this morning basil, oregano, and cilantro. (and my morning had so many things on its "to do" list that I forgot to show up at the store to teach a class....thank you Jen, for stepping in...!) The cilantro is always iffy....it seems to be a very sensitive plant and the sun has fried it in the past. So we'll see. I could subsist on basil all summer, though.....as well as.......

......my yogurt "parfaits" - Trader Joe's French Village Vanilla yogurt, chopped strawberries and/or blueberries, with Trader Joe's Mango Passion Granola mixed throughout. Heaven.

Summer wear - this is a 1973 pattern I picked up last summer at a yard sale. The perfect fabric finally arrived (ahem, at Hip Stitch) The pattern was not easy to follow - techniques were different than today, like interfacing not attached right away to the facing pieces like in today's patterns, so I made changes as I went. My husband said I look like I stepped out of the movie Edward Scissorhands. (What does that mean?! I haven't seen the movie!!) Will someone please explain it to me?

Anyhow, I love the dress - I feel so, well, groovy wearing it!

Here's the pattern:And now I can reveal the birthday gift I made my dear friend Lisa, who revealed to me that she READS the blog so I couldn't post this until I gave her the gift. I made her the Weekender Bag, and though it's a pretty difficult project, I love the result, and would actually make another!

Happy Birthday, my friend - I'm very proud that I got your gift to you only one month and one day after your birthday!

We're just about ready to post the May calendar, which includes a class on making a Yoga Mat bag, and the Weekend-Away Travel Bag, on a day/time that I hope you can make, Robyn!

Oh, on a side note ('cause I never digress..) last night was the preview - for parents - of the puberty movie being shown next week at school to 5th graders. Oh my goodness, I was taken right back to 5th grade myself and had to fight the giggles all through the viewing. Now it's real - I can no longer avoid that my kids are growing, and I have to keep a straight face when I explain things that might come up, and I have to use the right words for body parts! What kind of mother am I?!

I'm an empty nester

Well, they're gone - all 3 baby robins have flown the coop....and how sad I am. I checked on them Friday morning, and they were there, plump and fluffy - took the girls to school, went to the store, came home, and.....an empty nest. Maybe this is a small preparation for the real thing in 8-10 years.

Thursday night at the store, Kay, Julie and I made the travel bags from Weekend Sewing. We had begun at the last craft night, but ran out of time. Kay and I used scrap fabric from the lounge; Julie's is in the middle, made with Amy Butler's Lotus Collection - Geisha Fans. This was a fairly simple pattern - once we got the directions down. A few confusing moments!

Our scheduled Spring Soiree may have to be re-adjusted a bit. Scheduled for Friday, May 1, and Saturday, May 2, my kids just came home with flyers for our school's annual Spring Fling on the evening of May 1. Heather and I are both volunteering at this event, and Jen will be there with her family! Thus, the craft show/soiree will be all day Saturday only - maybe extending after hours a bit....I'll be sending out an email about this to customers!

A clarification about Jen's baby.....'Dean' is her last name, not his name.....we're privy to his name, but will reveal it when he's born, which we just found out will be May 4, unless she goes into labor before then! A new addition to the Hip Stitch family!

Dagmar's sock knitting class finished up this past week - how fun it was to watch the progression as the ladies knit their brightly-colored socks. I hope to be able to make my pair soon.

More good things

Here's Miss Ann and the tote bag she made:

It was a quite a project, but came out beautifully, loaded with pocket and heavy duty interfacing. She took a class at Southwest Decoratives (fabric from there, also, and we still let her into the store even though she cheated on us!!) Good job, Ann!

And another good thing - baby boy Dean is just a few weeks away from making his appearance. Jen goes tomorrow to get her c-section scheduled. We can't wait!

And more on my obsession with the baby robins outside my window: all 3 are doing just fine, and now have quite a fuzzy coat of feathers. Mama is taking good care of them - I hope to be able to document them until they learn to fly!

A delivery from the UPS guy today: all Amy Butler fabrics - a number of bolts from the Nigella line of home dec., as well as Lotus, Belle and Daisy Chain - some that we thought were just swell!