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!