Austin, Round One

Rich and I went to Austin last 4th of July weekend. He dragged me around to various cycling shops (which I secretly enjoyed) and the capital (many, many steps) and I dragged him through quirky antique stores, handmade boutiques and fabric stores (at which point he decided to nap in the car). If you ever get a chance to visit Austin, I highly recommend it! Only an hour or so into our visit, we began reworking our 10-year plan to somehow accommodate an extended stint in this super cool city. 

Some of the highlights of our weekend:

Mellow Johnny's, the bike shop/training center/cafe owned by Lance Armstrong, the kind of shop that makes a non-cyclist (like me) seriously consider making the change. Good coffee, too, always scores big in my book.

South Congress Street, also known as SoCo, home to iconic Allens Boots, curious goods and kitschy antiques at Uncommon Objects, St. Vincent de Paul, a vintage thrift store that my high school friends and I haunted back in the day (still going strong), locally handmade goods at Parts and Labour (basically felt like walking into Etsy embodied), and Amy's Ice Cream (mmm...Coffee Toffee...). Just to name a few.

And then there was Stitch Lab. Okay, so we're driving down some random street in Austin, just taking in the sights, when we pass a cute, little blue bungalow with a sign out front that says Stitch Lab. What?! Totally forgot that this shop,  which I'd heard about for years, was in Austin. Our lucky day! (Right, honey?) Upon entering the store, I walk smack into the middle of a sewing class being taught by none other than Tina Sparkles, whom I used to watch on Stylelicious along with her other Austin Craft Mafia buds. An hour and a half later, I blissfully emerged with several cuts of lovely fabrics, Sublime Stitching patterns (love!), a stack of wool felt and a recommendation for what turned out to be an amazing local Indian restaurant. I have to tell you, I totally geeked out in there (as evidenced by the fact that I took a picture of the girl cutting my AMH voile; note the graciously tolerant smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes). This is what becomes of a person who lives in a city with no decent - modern - fabric shops and sewing classes.

Couldn't get a decent shot, but I had to share this great collection of vintage embroidery...

The haul:

And the perfect finish: sharing Indian takeout on the grounds of the Long Center, unparalleled people watching (picture an old hippie/cowboy in skintight jeans dancing the two step alone with his eyes closed in the street for a good hour or so, just by way of example), listening to the Austin symphony bang out Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture with real cannons, and watching fireworks light up the Texas sky. So good.

hanging with the other freeloaders outside the fence...

On the off chance you haven't wandered over here from mmmcrafts, the reason I dug these old pictures out from last July is that my bff Larissa and I have a trip planned to Austin in May! I have been trying to get Larissa to Austin for a crafty girl weekend for, like, ever. This is her teaser. And, as if Austin didn't have enough to offer already, it just so happens that this year's Renegade Craft Fair coincides with the trip I'd already planned to visit my folks who live down the road, so I talked (pleaded, cajoled, demanded) Larissa into flying over to meet me. Yay! I feel a serious geek attack coming on.

patchwork shower curtain

My kids were enchanted by their cousins' bathroom last time we visited their house. My sister-in-law has transformed the small utilitarian space into an underwater paradise complete with a swirly, turquoise faux finish on the walls, ceramic tropical fish hanging from the ceiling and every fish-themed bathroom accessory known to retaildom. Very nice and very kid-centric. And while I greatly admire her generosity, both with her time and an entire room of her house, I'm not quite there. This was our compromise. 

(Excuse the poor photo quality. This bathroom is dark with a capital D. I did my best for ya.)

Funny thing - I actually found a shower curtain that I LOVED from Target after I'd already raided my stash for the fabrics for this one (inspired by AMH's Seams to Me curtain). The Target curtain was right there, so affordable, so cute, the perfect colors (more on that later) and (drum roll, please) ready to hang. I snapped a shot and sent it to Larry then and there to share my good fortune, snatched the thing up and bought it lickety split. It was only after I left the store that I got her response which basically ran along these lines: "Love it. So much I bought it myself a few weeks back." 

And now you know at least 40% of the story of our friendship. Is every BFF relationship so simpatico? It's a good thing we lives several states apart and have to do most of our communication via email or we'd basically be the same person. 

In the end, because I am the Queen of Indecisiveness, I went back to my original plan, which was to make my own customized, patchwork shower curtain. I've been drawn to this color combo for some reason lately - pumpkin, turquoise, and spring green with bits of brown. Since I have one girl and 2 boys, I tried to give a nod to all three in my fabric selection, since it is, after all, their bathroom. Theoretically speaking. 

Bits of  floral Liberty print for Aud, fun little cars and vans for Ash, and simple plaids for Gage, my big kid, plus a few more of my favorites. 

Construction details: The strips are ripped and top stitched down. So simple. I made the entire project even simpler by purchasing a super soft, creamy twin sheet from Target to use as the background fabric. (It was one of these, but my flat sheet was packaged separately, so I didn't have to buy an entire set. Cha-ching!) I didn't want to piece lengths of fabric together for the wide curtain and I really didn't want to buy major yardage, so a sheet was the perfect solution at about $10. 

I flipped the sheet upside down so that I could use the nice wide top hem as the bottom of the curtain, cut off the narrow hem (formerly the foot of the sheet), adjusted the length and added a simple rod pocket. I wanted it longer than a traditional shower curtain, so I hung an extra pressure-mounted rod and raised it up about ten inches over my existing rod and liner. The width of the sheet was perfect - when it's completely closed, it's very slightly gathered. 

I'm in love with John Golden. His "By Order of the Management" prints suit my benevolent dictatorship style of parenting perfectly. It was so hard to decide. They're genius, I tell you. Brush Your Teeth, Wash Your Hands, Mind Your Manners and Go Ask Your Father went across from the sinks.

Wash Behind Your Ears and Wipe the Seat went beside the shower and over the toilet. (Two boys, remember? John, how about a Lift the Seat sign next?) 

By the way, if you like these prints, I just saw that JG has a store wide 25% off sale going on over at his Etsy shop. I think that started the week after I ordered my prints. Nice, huh? Still love him though. 

what I got

Sorry, Larissa. You can comfort yourself with the knowledge that I apparently went a good bit crazier than you did with this sale. And I, too, am waiting on my backorders. Erm...and that second order. (That one was totally your fault, though.)

Here's one frustrating thing about impulse fabric shopping, for me. Just how much fabric do you buy? A yard? Two? Some of these beauties I have specific plans for, so those were easy, but the others were a yardage crap shoot. I just wanted as many of those yummy prints as I could possibly get. I ended up going with around a yard each thinking that that would be plenty for simple outfits for Audrey (most are 54" wide), bags, or throw pillows, for which my sofas are crying out. No self control, I tell you.

Another frustrating thing about impulse fabric shopping? That it generally happens when I'm not actually getting any sewing done. But, hey, my fabric shelves sure look pretty these days...

big fabric sale...

images courtesy of www.hancocks-paducah.com

I have a sneaking suspicion that there are those among you who share my weakness for a bargain, especially when it comes to fabric. (I know there's at least one of you out there.) Whether or not we've actually got projects lined up for the use of said fabric. Ahem.

So, I have to tell you all about this great sale that Hancock's of Paducah is having. Their sales are always worth checking out, anytime, but they seem to be particularly rich right now, full of Amy Butler (mostly), but also some Denyse Schmidt and Joel Dewberry. Even their 54"wide home dec lines, like Nigella and Ginseng, are going for $4.98 per yard. Down from around $16 per yard. Hard to resist, even if they are just going to pad my stash for a while.

Oh, some tips: If you just look through the sale lists under $5.98, $4.98, and $3.98 per yard, you may miss something. I actually searched for "Amy Butler Nigella" and "Joel Dewberry Ginseng" using the site's keyword search and saw a lot of $4.98 per yard (or $2.49 per half yard) prints than were not listed in the sales. (Make sense?) It's just too bad I figured this out after placing my own order...

Also, don't worry if you notice that a lot of the choice prints are on backorder. If you go ahead and order them, you'll receive your cut from the next shipment they receive, still at the sale price. I've done this in the past and they haven't failed me yet.

I've got nothing. (Okay, well, maybe a little something.)

photo courtesy of www.paristriptips.com

My goal for every single day of last week was to at least get a dress cut out for Audrey. The farthest I got was washing the fabric and futzing around with pattern ideas, finally deciding to draft my own. Which terrified me when I thought of cutting into Liberty fabric with an untested, self-drafted pattern (even if it is a really simple one), so I, of course, will have to make a trial run dress before I start the actual new spring dress. The self-imposed deadine for which is this coming Sunday.

So, since I have nothing to show you on that front, no decent pictures yet of this, I leave you with drool-worthy inspiration in the form of Bonpoint.

Rich and I stumbled upon this treasure trove of impeccably styled and crafted children's clothing last year in Paris. I spent as long as I could perusing, scrutinizing and memorizing the tiny, smocked, Liberty (of course) rompers, too-chic-for-kids t-shirts, and understated, yet luxurious frocks. That visit was far too short. (Rich, too, found it drool-worthy, in an entirely different way.)

In case you're wondering why I didn't bring home any of these confections for my own little prima donna, the price of one tee was right around 60 euros. But, hey, if that sounds good to you and you don't live in New York, Paris, or Rome, you now have the option of shopping Bonpoint's e-boutique. At the very least, the entire site is great for inspiration, complete with its own little pint-sized look books for the stylistically challenged.

New York was a dream trip last week, but my one regret was not getting to the Upper East Side to idea shop Bonpoint one more time. I wasn't too upset about it at the time, being exhausted and full up with girly fun, but writing this post brings it all back. I better go now before I get too worked up. Besides the fact that I totally could have had a dress cut out by now.

Oh, wait, I just remembered one more thing about my visit to the Parisian Bonpoint. While I was there, I met a fellow New Orleanian. She was drawling loudly to her adult daughter that she (the daughter) should seriously consider opening up a Bonpoint in her own hometown, London. As she was busily buying up one of everything in the store. Funny, chatting there with her halfway around the world from our common home, and yet still worlds apart...

Hope you have a productive day!

Score! or What I picked up in NYC...Part 1

image from savagesromance.files.wordpress.com

I'm back from my super girly getaway to New York City - exhausted, broke and full of inspiration for new projects this spring.

No comment from those of you who know about the ridiculous, ever-growing list of things I want to make, not to mention the towering pile of unfinished projects threatening to swallow up my craft room. Like you could say anything anyway.

Fueling the insanity was a trip to Kinokuniya, a humongous Japanese bookstore across from Bryant Park that's packed with great paper goods, unique toys and gifts, and - most importantly - row upon row of beautiful books brimming with crafty inspiration and, best of all, the patterns.

Here are a couple I picked up, along with some of the projects that sold me on them. I don't know the name of the first book (sorry - I don't read Japanese), but it's full of unusual projects using wool felt. The second is Machine Made Patchwork.

Oh, and I just might have picked up an extra Machine Made Patchwork for a certain super crafter who's looking to get into quilting... I'm sure you'll be seeing her completed projects from this book long before I actually get around to finishing one myself.

Erm...I bought more fabric.

..and all it took was an innocent email check and a sale notice from these folks.

Larissa, you know what my fabric stash looks like. More coming in to feed the hoard than going out as finished projects. But it's not like I was out there looking for it this time.

Also, in my defense, some of this fabric was only $2.98 a yard. Stuff by Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner... I mean, really, could you have let that pass you by? And I will use it. I will.

Dressing for Paris...ha

Last spring, my husband surprised me with plans for a trip to Paris for our 12th anniversary in the summer. My emotions went from shock to glee to dread as I thought of my boring mommy wardrobe and lack of Paris-worthy attire. I mean, I try, but this is Paris, no?

So after lots of fruitless online shopping and staring blankly into my closet for hours, I hit a fun local shop with Larissa and found these, which I promptly embellished in an effort to make them more individual and cool. I don't have any before pictures, so I'll just tell you, the mustard shrug was plain and the green jacket had some pretty hideous brass and pearl buttons.

I used Amy Butler's Lotus Lacework in Grey for the appliques, attaching them with Heat 'n' Bond, then embellishing with tiny, ivory French knots.

For the jacket, I just changed out the buttons for some that I covered myself from my scrap bin.

Okay, so I'll admit that I didn't have the courage to wear either of these pieces in Paris. No, I didn't find that all stylish Parisians wore only black, but these just didn't seem right, either. (Plus, I find that I'm not much of a teensy, fitted shrug girl - maybe 15 years and 20 pounds ago?) Still, I had fun playing with them.

And, in the end, who really cared what I looked like in the presence of this beauty? Certainly not me. (Now, if I could only remember this fact as I plan for/stress over my upcoming girl trip to NYC...)