le winner

And the winner of my first giveaway is commenter number 2 - Tim, who said "Inspiration: ballet."  I thought at first that his suggestion was in jest, but it turns out he intends on giving the finished product as a gift.  This theme should be a healthy challenge for me.  I plan on getting a few more details from Tim and hopefully commencing work next week.  Stay tuned for photos of the process!

summertime giveaway

Much to my chagrin, I won exactly ZERO of the Giveaway Day giveaways.  Can you believe it?! 

I must have used up all of my luck landing the little lime-sized baby that's in my belly!  Well, that's a contest I was happy to win.  That's right, I'm pregnant with my first little one.  This little boy or girl will join big sister Chloe, my exuberant 8-year old stepdaughter, who has been waiting for years for us to break this news to her!  Here's a pic of her bouncing wildly right after we shared the exciting announcement:

I'm due on December 9th and hopefully we'll find out the gender on July 7th - little more than a month away!  Fortunately, Chloe will be able to accompany us to that appointment and will learn the news when we do.  She has already chosen the names Jordan, for a boy, and Sally, for a girl.  :) 

So in celebration of this great development, and despite my utter lack of luck in the giveaways, I have decided to hold my own giveaway.  I've settled on giving away a cute and functional Summertime Messenger Bag.  The best part is that the prize will be specially crafted with the winner in mind!  So leave a comment with what you'd like the inspiration for this bag to be if you're the winner. 

I'll accept comments until Thursday, May 27th at 11:59pm PST.  On Friday I'll choose a winner using a random number generator - so be sure to include your email address so I can contact you!  I'll probably solicit some more of your ideas on what you'd like the bag to look like, then I'll get to work on it after our long Memorial Day weekend at the Oregon Coast.  (ps: I'll ship internationally!)

In the meantime, here's a photo of the one project I've found the energy to work on in these harrowing first months of pregnancy!  This sunglasses case was a birthday gift for my dear friend, Sarah.  Kudos to her on snapping a great pic. :)

taking notes

Have any of you heard about the amazing Giveaway Day events on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog?  Holy smokes, what a dream for me (have you noticed I'm a contest junkie?)!  If you visit the blog you'll find three hyperlinked lists.  Each list contains a TON of blogs that are participating in Giveaway Day and are raffling off sewing supplies, handcrafted items, or both.  I estimate I entered at least 200 of the contests!

I obviously didn't submit my blog for the event, but I'm interested in doing a little giveaway.  I'm curious what people would like to see given away though... You can browse back through my blog to see the projects I've worked on, but I'd also be more than willing to try out a new idea.  Feel free to comment with your suggestions, or else I'll just figure something out on my own!

I actually did a bit of sewing recently, but I can't post photos of the item yet.  It's sitting at home, waiting to be wrapped up in a birthday package.  It was nice to pull the cover off my sewing machine finally - after weeks and weeks of unproductive laziness.  Now I've got my eye on this tutorial and maybe this one, and I'm interested in making curtains for Chloe's room.

Secondly, browsing through the photographs on my cell phone always helps to remind me what I've been up to since I wrote last.  I was happy to come across this beauty:

That's right, one of our favorite local bands, The Builders and the Butchers, will be playing a handful of presumably FREE shows in the Portland area this August.  I highly recommend that if you have the chance to check these guys out, that you do.  Need a preview?  Here's a video of a song from their most recent album.  Oh man, they are so good.

cravings

Sampler Box - Fleur de Sel

Calabasas Candy Co.

Stardust 14k Green Gold Nugget Earrings

Plum & Sage

Organic Essentia Satchel in Plum

Infusion Natural Fibers

Dilly Square Dish

LAS Pottery

Just Two Roses

creative.hodge.podge

Worlds Away Terrarium Kit

Augury

photos in the meantime

our finally-finished guest bathroom

kate bingaman-burt's obsessive consumption exhibit at land on mississippi

the oft-visited multnomah falls

my new calavera necklace from frock on alberta

rainy day slug

flavour spot sausage & maple waffle

compose

Wow.  Having finally been diagnosed (bronchitis and the flu) and properly medicated, I am finally starting to feel better - on this, my 12th day of being sick.  I'm really looking forward to feeling like myself and returning to my usual level of multi-tasking busy-ness.

I've been able to put a little bit of work in on some sewing projects during my rest time spent at home.  It's been nearly impossible to stay seated on the couch, so I'd periodically cut fabric and move to a new seat at the sewing machine.

First, here's the project I was working on before my departure for Arizona.  It was my "travel tote" that I packed full of supplies and carried with me through airports.  I liked the size and strength of the bag and the deep side pocket I installed on the inside.  I was flattered to be asked once on my trip if I was selling the bags - to which I answered, "Not yet."  The deer stencil is from this cool book, which Jesse got me for Christmas.

Next is a little pincushion; the directions, by Heather Baily, can be found here.  I thought the pincushions I found at sewing supply shops were pretty horrendous, so I found this cute template and used some fabric from my first shopping spree at Mill End.  Next time I would stuff the cushion to be a bit firmer - and my slip-stitching skills (which close the final small opening by hand) really need some work.

Last is a "rice heat therapy bag" - the template can be found here - that I made as a birthday gift for my coworker.  This project includes an inner muslin bag which holds two pounds of rice, and a patchwork slipcover with a Velcro closure.  The recipient can microwave the whole bag for 2-3 minutes and apply it to "aches and pains."  I'm pretty pleased with the result and am excited to deliver this gift when I return to work tomorrow.  I found that a pre-assembled "fat quarter" pack from Joanne's provided a nice array of complimentary fabrics that I completed with some carefully chosen solids (Jesse helped with this!).

I've got to make note of yet another contest I've won!  Let me tell you that entering every contest you come across - and firmly believing that you're bound to win - is a winning combination!  This time I won two tickets to a concert that Jesse really, really wanted to attend, so I'm thrilled!  The artist is Citizen Cope, a singer we've seen several times before and who puts on a great show every time.  I just got the email this afternoon, and the show is Wednesday night, so I'm really hoping to be up and running by then.

mesquite

The bad news is that I got sick midway through my visit to Arizona, didn't pull my camera out of its case once during the trip, and now I'm going to miss at least my first day back to work.

The good news is that I snagged my sister's old cell phone, which boasts a 3.2 megapixel camera (opposed to my old scrawny 1.3), and I remained standing and somewhat active till the end.

The trip was relaxing, with very nice weather and a lot of time spent with my family.  We hit up the Sierra Vista Farmers' Market and the annual Home Show.  I also managed to visit with the "grandparents" I adopted/appointed after all of my biological grandparents had passed away, as well as enjoying a dinner out with two of my sisters-in-law.

Speaking of which, I visited the grave site of my much loved paternal grandparents, and the marker honoring my maternal grandparents, whose ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean.

I enjoyed the company of my parents' and sister's menagerie of pets.  This photo is of my dad's cat, Lucy, who is believed to be an unusual Sokoke.  Tree climbing must be a hobby of the breed.

Then there was Murphy, my sister's 9 month old pup, who I wanted to steal.  He was such a mellow, gentle sweetheart.

Kate's newest addition is Otis, a Labrador/Shepherd/Great Dane mix, who's been deemed a "piranha" because of his sharp, bitey teeth.  He still has a LOT of growing to do, and he could never really muster the energy required to move his heavy little body around quickly.

Before my family brought me to the airport, we visited Tucson's Reid Park Zoo.  In tow was my adorable, chatty 4-year old niece, Leah.  She must have quoted Spongebob Square Pants for 2 straight hours of drive time. :)

One last note before I retire, once again, to the couch.  I got an email from Powells.com while I was in Arizona letting me know I'd won the contest I'd recently entered!  The contest on their blog asked that readers submit a 50-word story beginning with "Once upon a time..."  I whipped up a Portland-themed story and was the first person to submit an entry.  My prize is a funky Alice in Wonderland tote bag featuring artwork by Camille Rose Garcia.  Pretty cool to win a writing contest from the illustrious Powell's Books!

covet

Rock Fetish Smoky Quartz Oval Ring

Garnet Girl Designs

Saucy Bracelet

Leaves of Glass

Bee Bliss Necklace

Rachel Pfeffer Designs

NV Earrings

The Glass Onion

cherry compote

A gorgeous weekend has passed and now appears the threat of untimely snow to break our stretch of early spring.

Clara kindly took me out to brunch at Detour Café on Saturday morning. We sat outside and peered through shrubbery at pups passing by on the sidewalk. I had the most delicious French toast of my life. So delicious that I must share the menu description:

Thick slices of our cardamom bread,

dipped in custard and toasted to perfection.

Topped with cherry compote and toasted almonds;

served with organic maple syrup.

I returned home in the very early afternoon and immediately threw open the door to our balcony. The sun was beginning its slow descent – the one that bathes our apartment in golden warmth and infuses the air with optimism and calm. At Clara’s recommendation, I set up an account on last.fm and got the music rolling. I pulled a small table and chair onto the balcony and sat down with a bottle of hard apple cider.

And I sat for about two and a half hours. Letting the sun warm my face, listening to a variety of birds hidden in the trees, thinking happy thoughts. Oliver and Aurora were more than happy to join me, napping in the panels of sunlight beaming down on the wood floor.

I eventually grabbed my camera and got a few photographs, before retiring back to my seat. If only every Saturday could be so glorious (not raining).

our view

saved from death by Aurora

dark-eyed junco

I did progress a bit on one project. I hope to have this all finished by Wednesday or so. Here’s a sneak peek.

Lastly, I want to mention two exciting developments! The first is that I’ll be taking a short vacation very soon. I depart next Tuesday, March 16th. I’ll be spending a few days in southern Arizona with my family – just relaxing and catching up, not to mention indulging in a margarita or two and getting some REAL sun!

Equally awesome is the news that my great friend Stephanie (you know, the gal who crafted our wedding skullpture) is coming to visit in just a month! Her trip will officially mark the beginning of visitor season here in Portland. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’d like to schedule your own vacation to this lovely city of roses.

skillful

Since the money trees haven't finished their spring bloom yet, I've turned to locating sewing tutorials online.  My honest preference would be to print my well-crafted wish list from Powells.com and head to the Burnside location, but it turns out searching the Interweb (as my husband likes to call it) is a lot more affordable.

So I thought I'd share some of the clever tutorials I've come across and may experiment with in the near future.

Quilted Door Stop
I love the quilted panel on this - I was thinking of incorporating the same basic idea on a handbag or a cute dress for Chloe.

Stackable Boxes
This are so practical!  What a great way to keep organized.

Simple Party Clutch
This is a smaller bag than I would normally use, but just perfect for spending an evening running around downtown Portland.

Spring Ruffle Top
I haven't made any garments yet - this may be my first one!  I'm actually partial to the version without any ruffles.