Easily Distracted

As usual I am in the middle of multiple projects...and not getting anything that I set out to finish done.  

Eh, !#$@ it.

I have so little time to Make these days I insist on having fun in the time I have.  Once a project starts to feel like work I just can't push through.

My studio table began looking overwhelmed with scraps and selvedges that this pincushion danced through my head and it just had to be put to the front of the line.  

It is made up of 1.5" blocks using selvedge in a basket weave piecing arrangement.  The back is a current fav of mine, Dear Stella's Maasai Mara in Sari Lime.  Damn I love that green!

The girls keep telling me that they love my *pillow* - haha.  I bet I have doll pillow requests in my near future...

- rebecca lynne

Purple Play

Hahahaaa...and so it grows....

 

- rebecca lynne

Posted with Blogsy

Sick Guilt

Sick guilt.  Have you ever had it?  It is when you are sick, so you stay home from work because you are feeling awful or are just courteous enough to not want to spread your germs, and yet while home recuperating you feel guilt.  Guilt that you aren't at work working.  Do you know what I mean?

Well I am home sick today and I have sick guilt.  What inevitably ends up happening is that I try to check email from home, listen to voicemails, and generally fret all day about what I should be doing at work instead of taking fever meds and using up boxes of tissues.

I hate sick guilt.

In the world of creativity - have you ever started out with this totally awesome design plan.  Pattern - check.  Fabric - check.  Dedication/Motivation/Time - check.  And then halfway or more through the project, after pressing, cutting, sewing, and re-sewing you throw that baby up on your design wall or spread it out on the floor only to go What the H?  Yeah, I had one of those moments this week...

I love my fabric choices, it goes well together, and yet the vibe I wanted to get from the pattern I chose (which is just a very simple basket weave) just completely sucked with my fabric choices.  The thing that I had seen in my head?  Well this was Not It.

However, as in all things art, and a hard lesson I have learned time and time again in school and beyond, I can give up and whine about this (which I clearly just did above) or I can move on and see it as a creative opportunity.  So creative opportunity...here I come...

In this case, my creative opportunity will be involving these which I am dubbing the *Purple People Pleasers*

And see?  I am keeping to my stash busting commitment...the Purple People Pleasers stack contains some of my favs, AMH, Jay Carroll, Tanya Whelan.

Linking up to Live a Colorful Life's Really Random Thursday (I love this week's post.)

And of course Thursday Think Tank.  What is your Think Tank this week?

HERE ARE THE RULES! 

1. Link up any post from the past week that features some creative thinking going on in your creative world.   It can be anything, quilting, home improvement, fashion, crafting, DIY gifts, cooking...whatever you have recently thought "hmmm, you know what I should create" is perfectly appropriate for the Think Tank.  TTT is all about whatever you are currently brainstorming and would like feedback or encouragement on!
2. Somewhere in your post, link back here to my blog. (Or grab the T.T.T. button for your sidebar.)
3. Comment on at least a few of the other links—because what fun is a linky party without comments

Making House: DIY Fabric Napkins

When we moved I discovered that I have, uh, quite a little bit of fabric (imagine this being said with a wincey face and a shrug of my shoulders towards my ears).  AND...while mentally I have quilt designs intended for every piece of fabric I ever purchase...well let's face it...quilts take time and I definitely don't have a lot of that.  AND...I have lots of fabric that I just can't seem to Make Myself cut into because it is so precious to me that to imagine it no longer available for the day I have the cojones to actually use it for the absolute perfect project for it makes me teary eyed.  Mary Fons Porter said on a Quilty video I tripped across that buying fabric is so much fun it is as fun as buying clothes.  I don't know about you but for me that was pretty much the biggest understatement ever.  Clothes require sizing, fitting, and a place to wear them.  Fabric, unlike clothes, doesn't care where you put it or who is going to see you wearing it or whether your shoes will match, it doesn't make you feel fat or wonder why you didn't lose that last 5 lbs you promised yourself you would(!), fabric is just ready to be there to be loved, admired, inspiring, comforting, pet, and eventually so worn in to the point of sentimental love.   Fabric is a hell of a lot better than buying clothes.

Anyway.  I realize that I have to stop hoarding fabric.  I have to USE my fabric otherwise it won't ever be loved and enjoyed.  Which is why my 2013 pledge is project Making House.  Those fabrics are going to be used goddamnit and I am going to enjoy them with each and every project I make to create personal touches in our home house.  Be it pillows, quilts, fabric decals, hand towels...or napkins...

We painted one wall in our kitchen Benjamin Moore Bright Yellow...and man...it is bright.  It is also a yellow that tends toward a gold hue which means finding the right yellow that complements and doesn't clash is an issue.  

That is unless you have a crazy obsession for all things Anna Maria Horner (which, of course, I do) and therefore happen to own a stash of her Lou Lou Thi Needlework Crossing Paths in Tumeric.  Which is only the perfect combo of gold yellow, burnt orange, and blue to go with my wood table, yellow wall, and blue chair pads.  HA!

Clearly I was never going to use needlework for this fabric.  Clearly I was kidding myself when I bought it to make pillowcases.  Clearly...this was meant to be.

These napkins measure 17" for a bit of an oversized dinner linen.  To keep it fun and versatile each napkin is reversible with a funky monotone fabric on the other side.  This is great for changing the mood depending on the type of dinner and also will allow guests to distinguish their napkin!  

Now someone clever is wondering why there are only 3 napkins thus far...yeah well chalk it up to motherhood.  Nothing gets past my daughters.  As soon as Miss E and Miss O saw Mommy's cool napkins they said Mommy we want napkins...where are ours?  I knew I'd never hear the end until they had their own.  I even considered sharing my AMH stash to the princess napkin cause, but I knew my heart would stop half a beat each time my two year old smeared something undesirable on that most beloved fabric.  I know that sounds horrible - I really love AMH that much!  Instead I went with another favorite and steadfast love of mine...Amy Butler!

And yes, these have cute little uncoordinating backs too!  To accommodate small laps they measure about 12", roughly the size of a standard paper napkin.

Our napkin family.

Project Making House is on a roll...now only 3 more *adult* napkins to go...

Here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to DIY Fabric Napkins!

- rebecca lynne

New Do for Two

For those of you who know me in real life, or who have emailed with me extensively, you know I am not a Facebook person.  I am not a sharer of photos of my chickadees online...I cringe when other people do it and it is simply a consequence of what I do professionally.  This is even More True now that I have left Brooklyn and am living in a place where everyone knows everyone else and if people wanted to find my children it could be easily done.  [Some of you are probably thinking I am paranoid with a sinister mental slant...I hope so...it means you aren't exposed to the crap I see on a daily basis.  ;)]  This said, I love when Other Friends post pics of their kids because I am so far away and it is the only way I can keep up with what they are doing and how big they've grown!  I know - total double standard...

However, Miss E and I had the most amazing day yesterday I just had to document it in Instagram photos and write a post because I never want to forget!  Growing up I always accompanied my mom to the Salon and when needed had my hair cut as well...yesterday E and I had a girl's day and we went to the Salon, the Mall, and even Starbucks for a treat.  My little girl is growing up and I think she really needed a day with Mommy and no little sisters.  As she told me while walking into Starbucks "Daddy, L, and O are not here Mommy.  It is just us."

By the way, I totally had my hair CHOPPED.  And, I LOVE IT!  I feel like me again!  The whole having my hair down to my shoulder blades thing just wasn't cutting it in the MRL world.  Thank God the Funk is back.

 

Miss E with completely incriminating crumbs around her mouth.  We took a good 5 inches off her hair too, thank goodness, brushing it was becoming unbearable!

As I type this my Miss E is sitting next to my computer playing with the wooden sewing machine Santa brought her for Christmas...she just paused in her pretend project with my scraps to inform me that she is making napkins for the table just like I do.

Be still my heart!

- rebecca lynne

Thursday Think Tank

You know what I am think tanking?  How utterly RIDICULOUS it is that I pay for the same service, at the same rate, just mere miles away from where I previously lived, for internet that for some reason DOESN'T WORK FOR CRAP! AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH. ***Experiencing Technical Difficulties***   Perhaps this will actually result in my accomplishing more than web surfing?  Eh, unlikely...

WHAT IS GOING ON IN YOUR THINK TANK THIS WEEK? 

HERE ARE THE RULES! 

1. Link up any post from the past week that features some creative thinking going on in your creative world.   It can be anything, quilting, home improvement, fashion, crafting, DIY gifts, cooking...whatever you have recently thought "hmmm, you know what I should create" is perfectly appropriate for the Think Tank.  TTT is all about whatever you are currently brainstorming and would like feedback or encouragement on!
2. Somewhere in your post, link back here to my blog. (Or grab the T.T.T. button for your sidebar.)
3. Comment on at least a few of the other links—because what fun is a linky party without comments

- rebecca lynne

Finish-A-Long 2013 Q1

Alright.  I'm doing it.  Clearly I need to...I'm joining the FAL being hosted this year by one of my favorite virtual people ever, Leanne from She Can Quilt.
[I must also give kudos to Lucy and Helen whose posts about the FAL furthered my resolve to join...]

When I lamented that taking a pic of my projects to be completed was my first barrier in this process Leanne was kind enough to email me and say just take a picture with your phone!  Damn, that woman knows how to get me going.  So, haha, I did.

Now I usually bite off more than I can chew.  However, I am going to make a goal that I think I can very reasonably reach in the hopes that it will only serve to help me going for Q2!  Good strategy right?

To Be Finished #1: ZigZag Quilt

Yeah yeah, please ignore all the stuff around the zig zag.

In my defense when I unpacked my sewing stuff after the move this was the first UFO I put up after hanging my design wall.  So...clearly my subconscious is screaming "get a move on chica!"  After all, this flannel quilt won't be all that in the summer months...

To Be Finished #2: Rainbow Quilt

I have the backing...I have the binding...I have the batting.

Then we moved.

Miss E's birthday is this month so I'd really like to get this one done first.  I am thinking straight lined quilting within the rainbow square and perhaps diagonal quilting on the white?  As usual I am probably taking on too much...I'll start with the straight lines and go from there!!!

Alright.  Wish me luck.  Send me lots of "atta boys"!!!  I'll get my girls on it too...  Oh and go visit the 2013 FAL Link Up - lots of amazing stuff happening!

- rebecca lynne

She's Alive!

Alive...it's alive, it's alive!!!

Yes, I'm alive and thriving actually.  Here are my fabric pics for a new project I am working on...let's call it part of my Making House obsession.

Hope you are all well and enjoying 2013!

- rebecca lynne