sneak peek

so i have been absent from blogging for a good reason: productivity. this past week i have been working on the final touches to halloween costumes and other house related projects. Miss. A's costume is finished and for the most part she is accepting the fact that she is wearing foe fir. her trial run on Saturday evening went well and we hope for the same tomorrow. this evening i am finishing a costume for a friend of ours. he has commissioned me to make him a costume of Baseball Furies from the movie The Warriors. it has been quite fun getting paid to make something, i am at liberty to do as i see fit.

other projects that i am working on are window coverings for Miss. A's room. she is now moved into her room but it is a bit cold without shades. i am working with a pattern from Two Straight Lines. i love the simple design and i enjoy everything about it with the exception of the coral color which dominates and may be a bit overpowering for the room. i would love to get done with them soon but we will see what comes of them. i am also slowly working on getting my studio done and we are still picking out the color for our bedroom. so for now we are still sleeping in the den and my sewing and knitting things are in the basement or in boxes.

seeing that is it now almost ten i should stop procrastinating and finish this costume. the good news is that i have The Warriors playing in the background for a bit of entertainment and/or distraction.

abyss

vertigo
Originally uploaded by devinemom.

i believe i have conquered the abyss of emails sitting in my in-box. this is an ongoing battle with me. the other day i started to sort through the five pages of well over five-hundred emails. quite a task to take on. in there were many unanswered comments from my blog and i am sorry for that. i do intend to get back to each and every person that writes but it is hard. the good news is that i have gone through all of my emails. i have filed, sorted, erased and replied to them all. some of you may end up with a few emails from me in the morning, sorry for the backlog but i tried. as for others i am sorry if i was unable to write but there are many of you who have 'anonymous' return addresses. many times i tired to track down your email via your blog but other times i was unsuccessful.

i truly love reading and responding to everyone who writes. my goal is to try and stay up to date a bit more. maybe reply within a week. i will at least start with that goal in mind.

evidence

my remnants basket filled with fabric is a good sing. i feel good seeing that because it means that i have made time to sew. this past week i was struck with inspiration and time which resulted in productivity. Miss. A had decided to not sleep so well at night but took to compensating naps during the day. this was to my advantage during the day. i dove right into a few projects that i have wanted to get to for some time now. the first of which are a few gifts that i am sending off so i can not reveal a full photo until they are safe in the hands of the receiver. i am quite excited about these items because they are a bit of a prototype of things i want to start making along with a few other items. my biggest road block in getting things off the ground is a company name and logo. both of which are getting narrowed down but it all takes time.



along with these gifts i also got around to making some throw pillows for our living room. they are about two-thirds done but i ran out of steam, just for a short time.




Miss. A's unfinished room was calling to me. yes that is right i am still plugging away on that room. the good news is that the closet is all finished and i only need to paint a second coat on the windows and doorway. this weekend it will be done and she will be moved in. at least that is my goal.

down and back::down and back

this past weekend my sister and i made a trip home with the kids to visit family. her son and my mother share a birthday so it was quite fun to go down there and spend time with family. we were able to explore around town a bit with the kids and took them to places we enjoyed playing when we were little. it is amazing how things have changed over the years. my mother was quite excited to take us to a new park they had built and the kids loved it.



Miss A went straight for the sand and insured that she got quite filthy. i was sad to see that they had taken out the old equipment such as the horses that rocked on a giant spring attached to the ground. it was nice to see that they had not removed a few of the stultpures that i fondly remember playing on.



the weekend felt long in a good way. despite the short amount of time we were there it felt relaxing and drawn out. i was able to also visit with friends in the evening and even hit a few thrift stores with my mother. every since moving to Portland we have been disapointed with the thrift store selection compared to back home. in one thrift shop i spotted a wonderful mid-century dresser. it was the exact style i had been looking for. up here they are going for a significant amount more but i figured that since we had the kids in the car there was no way to transport it. i wrote it off but took photos to show Daniel when we got home.

upon returning home sunday evening Daniel convenced me that we should indeed buy it. so the next morning i tracked down the store and called thinking it would not be there two days later. to my surprise it was and they were having a sale. the savings from the sale covered the price in gas so i knew that it was to be mine. so back down I-5 i went to get the dresser. it felt strange doing the drive again just for a dresser but i think it was worth it.



since returning home i have found myself a bit sick but have somehow found a way to get to the sewing machine and make a few things. i have even been sketching the many ideas that are running through my head. yesterday i started on Miss. A's halloween costume. last year we dressed her as a Yard Gnome and this year we think the costume will be just a fun.



the idea for this year has been rolling around in my head for the past nine months and so it will be interesting to see how it is transformed into a costume.

the feeling of fall

the other day i received my latest issue of Everyday Food and was surprised by the selection. i usually find just a few menu items that are appealing to me but this time everything looked so good. maybe it is the cooler weather and the prospect of soups and roasted fall vegetables. i am not sure but it was enough to inspire me to plan a few weeks worth of meals.



last night we enjoyed the roasted fall vegetable and ricotta pizza. the flavors were amazing, nothing beats roasted potatoes and squash.



today is a cooler day and so i was able to test out my new sweater. i am pleased with the outcome and still wonder why it took me so long to finish. i guess if i did not have so many projects going on at once i would have completed it by now. if only i had a bit of the Type A personality in me. oh well i will settle for my Type Z personality any day. this is the title i give myself since i am so far from Type A. i guess the correct term for it would be ADD but oh well.


miss A had a few shots today and is napping so i am off to take advantage of the time i have.

[found]

today was the day for finding things.

i found the yarn today. a friend of mine informed me this past week that a yarn shop in town had one skein left of my color. i had forgotten this information until today as i was unpacking a box in my studio and came across the sweater again. yes that's right i started to unpack a box for that room but it got put by the wayside as i flew out the door to the yarn shop. you see i have to do things like run to the yarn shop when i remember or i will forget for weeks. it was amazing the shop had the yarn. when i got home Daniel asked if it was from the same dye lot and i said it didn't even matter i just wanted the sweater done with. once home i started working on it and did not want to stop.



it was finished this evening as we watched some Netflix of Lost. i will have a finished shot of it soon.
___________________
while working in the yard today we found a few other more interesting items. moving into a new place is a bit like going on an archeological dig you find the remnants of people before you. we have found newspaper clippings of a small child, a sliver of comic strip tucked in the cracks of the floor, an abandoned spork left in the kitchen drawer, straight pins stuck in the wallpaper of the bathroom and more. all of these things reflect some small bit of the people who lived here before us. it is interesting how these forgotten items are shaping our perception of who they are.

today we added to the list of evidence a few more items. while i was dumping a house plant that had long been dead by the time we moved in i fond at the bottom a wonderful Melmac plate.



it had been placed at the bottom to help with drainage but as i washed it off i fell in love. it is in perfect condition and i wish the whole set was there. while daniel was sorting through a pile of wood he found a scrap of wood that someone had documented a design for wood steps. the person was meticulous on detail and materials.



to think of the life that was lived here before us... it is a wonder what we will unknowingly leave for others to find.



::a shot of Miss. A's room. it only needs one more coat of paint but we are getting there::