pillow swap 3 : modern simplicity :

The pillow swap that I have mentioned in the past is hosting sign-ups right now over on flickr. If you are interested in joining this fun group of sewists and getting a pillow in return, head on over and sign yourself up quick! And don't worry you will have lots of time to make your creation. I think they don't have to go out until the beginning of June. I have participated twice over the past year and have really enjoyed the group, the discussions and the pillwos I have received from other members. Will have to share those pictures here soon! This picture is the mosaic I made for my partner to see my style so they can get to "know" me a bit before they start. The top picture is the pillow I sent out for the last swap to my partner.
Are you in?

I have been very absent lately and I guess that is just the sign of a full life right now! We are busy with soccer, being outdoors and enjoying spring and did I mention soccer!! But it is all good and I hope you are too. My creative side is missing as well. I haven't used the sewing machine in many weeks. What is wrong with me? I have a list of things I want to make but no desire. I even have new fabric to use. I hate when the creative bug eludes me but hopefully it will come back. Not everyone around my home has lost their creativity. This is the latest house my hubby has built and we recently sold. It is a great mix of cottage and modern I would say and a really nice couple has moved here and now calls it home. He loves what he does and although I am very biased, I think he is really good at it too!

Hope to have some of my own creations to share soon, I really do!

wonderful wednesday

Those were the words written on the board when I went in to do my weekly volunteering in the 2nd grade. I love it! When I dropped off my daughter at her preschool just before that, her teacher was lying under the table with a group of kids. I asked what in the world were they doing? "They are painting the bottom of the table and studying Michelangelo", she said!

Loving teachers and all they can bring to a child's life!

Also loving these new favorites on flickr. Inspired by the springy-ness of all the colors as I see blooms outside and birds at the feeder. Hope your day is wonderful too!

olympic education

As we are about to say farewell to the 2010 Winter Olympics, I have to admit that I watched the games almost, if not every night. I haven't missed much because I really love the Winter Olympics and I think my enthusiasm has caught on around here. My boys are now using sleds as snowboards and begging us to take them to the local ski mountain. Shawn White has become somewhat of an idol to them over the past few weeks. I tried to think who I worshipped like that when I was their age. I never came up with anyone actually, but I was never into sports like they are at this age. But mostly I love the feel of nations coming together, the thrill of all the sports and hearing the stories behind the athletes and their amazing journeys of success and even defeat. I wanted to share this site because we came upon it and have all learned quite a bit. It is on NBC and gives short videos behind the science of the Olympic sports. It was cool to see how the kids were putting it all together in their heads as they learned that snowboarding is all about math and physics. I think the school points were boosted a bit! Watch it with your kids, I learned a ton too! NBC Learn

the pillow swap 2

Last year sometime I participated in a pillow swap group over on flickr. There was a small group of sewers with very similar tastes and we did a blind swap for pillows. This year the little group has really grown and I was happy to sign up because it's lots of fun and I love a surprise! This is my pillow that I completed and will be sending out to my secret pal this week. This pillow got me back into sewing after my back surgery and it was a great project to warm my machine up again. I just hope she loves it!
I used lots of varying prints in blues and turquoise then stippled it and added a binding. It measures 20"x20"- big! If you are over on flickr and want to join a swap, I encourage you to try it. There are lots of different ones to try and everyone is sew nice! You can go see the other pillow creations in the group here.

:over the weekend:

photo from Heather Ross blog

Happy Monday! We had an enormously busy weekend! My oldest turned 10 on Saturday, I can hardly believe it. He celebrated with going to the movies and we had 5 boys sleep over. It was fun and wild and "sleep" was not a big part of the night! And Sunday was a mother blessing for my good friend who is about to welcome her second little boy into the world. So wonderful to be a part of all these boy celebrations and have some mama time too!

And I spent just a few moments loving these new fabrics from Heather Ross. You can purchase them over at Spoonflower. They are so darn cute!

Hope your week is off to a great start!

design & target

Lately I am sure everyone has seen the plethora of designers that are making their way into your local Target. First when I saw Orla Kiely, I was really quite excited because one of her bags has been on my want list for a few years. (still on that list) But then yesterday I saw a new commercial for Liberty of London. They are one of the oldest fabric designers from London and make beautiful and very soft and very pricey fabrics for sewers and home goods. But wait, what is this? They are coming to Target too? I couldn't believe it! I am not above shopping for them there either, because quite honestly that is more in my price bracket than $25 yard for fabric. They come out March 14th but in the meantime, head over to this site and you can download some of these gorgeous prints for your desktop as well as have a sneak peek at what will be in stores. What do you think about all these designers moving to the big boxes? Is this a sign of these economic times or do you think it is nice that normal pocket books can get in on some great style?