Countdown to Bar Harbor.....

"About midway along it on one of the uprights is a plaque marking the state line, and I for one always begin to feel wonderful the minute I've passed that marker.  The air starts smelling better, and the trees across the river on Maine soil look greener.  When I come off the end of the bridge, I always think, "There! Now at last I'm in Maine!" and everything is suddenly bright, even on a foggy day.  Maine has that effect on her partisans."

~The Coast of Maine by Louise Dickinson Rich

In exactly 7 months, Kinsey and I will be in the middle of our anniversary vacation to Acadia National Park.  Our first and last trip there, was for for our honeymoon, which will be 4 years ago in September.  We are super excited to go back and if you know us at all, you know we can mention Maine daily, especially Acadia.

So in 7 months we could be here (on the overlook of Bubble Rock):

Or here (on Sand Beach):

Or here (one of our favorite spots that we call Rice Beach):

the gift of art prints

A few weeks ago was Kinsey's birthday.  One of the gifts I got for him was this great print from etsy by laurageorge.

The very top has the heading "things I'm thankful for" and includes just about everything we love.  

Here's a fun little card, too.  Also from laurageorge.  They kind of look like potato people.

This one I got for Kinsey last September for our anniversary.  It's from etsy by artsharkdesigns.

The print is actually of Maymont Park in Richmond, Virginia.  Ever since we went to Richmond in 2007 to sell our crafts at Spring Bada Bing we've loved going to Maymont.  It is a huge outdoor area/mansion/educational center and has some really amazingly large trees, too! (In fact, I called it the "land of huge trees" in an old blog post about the park here .)  I was thrilled to find a print of this wonderful place and loved the couple with umbrellas image.  

The Ongoing Quest for Fabric and the Shirt of my Dreams

This past week, I found some really great fabrics for a few projects I've had in mind.  Above is my newest fabric additions.  The past couple times I've went, I've been really drawn to the "artist series" of fabrics they are carrying.  Last year I bought some of this fabric by Heidi Grace.  My usually crafting style doesn't really feature too much fabric that has busy prints.  I'm usually drawn towards small prints and not too overall distracting from the main color.  However, I often really find great fabrics with lots of color and big prints, but can't usually find a good use for them in my day to day sewing.  Maybe I'm just plain in my choices.  Or maybe I just prefer small prints.  Anyhow, I have yet to use the yard I got of this fabric, but I love it. 

Speaking of of big prints, I absolutely loved this one I found!  It's very similar to fabric that Ikea offers.  I like the flowers, birds, and nature inspired designs.  I'm definitely planning at least one pillow and another very exciting project with this one!

This fruit fabric definitely has a retro vibe going, but I think it will be really fun to use for kitchen textiles.  Maybe a few pot holders and kitchen towels?  It also would make a really nice and graphic pillow.  (Yes, pillows are a new favorite thing of mine.)

The whole reason I even went to the fabric store wasn't to stock up on fabric (which kind of happened anyway), but to find suitable shirt material.  Last summer, I made a few sewing goals.  The goals included making a dress (I even bought 2 or 3 patterns) and making a blouse.  I didn't make the dress (I did cut out 80% of the pattern pieces) and I made a few attempts at a simple tank with shirring.  The tank wasn't really what I wanted.  I think it might have been okay, but the fabric just wasn't right.  It seemed  little too stiff.  It seems to be really difficult for me to find the type of fabric I want for my shirt.  I like my summer shirts to be pretty thin, soft, and usually a simple print.  I have a few shirts I bought that have the exact material I want, which just seems to be 100% cotton or a cotton/silk blend.  But the only fabric at the store that's even close to the same feel I want, is either too silky or the silky/polyester/see through material.  All the 100% cottons are really stiff, even after repeated washings.  So I guess my question is, where can I find suitable shirting fabric that is lightweight and in nice prints?  

Until I find it, I figured I should start practicing.  So the top 2 fabrics in my new fabric stack and the purple gingham (which is almost the exact feel of the fabric I want, just not really the ideal print) are my practice fabrics. 

The pattern for this shirt I found last year on the Sew Mama Sew.

I love the the style of the shirt and the pleated details of the back.  Why isn't it easier to find shirts like this one in the stores?

So, I'll be practicing with my fabric and keep checking the stores until I find "the" lightweight summer shirt material I want.

You + Me + the Jellys (or Jellies)

Ever since seeing the jellyfish exhibit at the Baltimore Aquarium this past fall, I've been really fascinated with them. So much so that I've started to find myself sketching them in groups for no apparent reason. Then, I embroidered this orange one for my current exhibit.

My favorite jelly inspired design so far? Definitely this one. Two jellys (or is it jellies?) holding tentacles in love? Yes.

Offering them as pictured or customized with your choice of names.