Gehring Road

sunday stash... the window shopping and wishing version

 

Michael Angove's Fairy Clock for Liberty of London... 

Oh you elusive Fairy Clock fabric... how I love this print, how impossible it is to find... sigh. This weekend finds me not adding at all to my fabric stash, I'm trying to get some work done on the outside quilt before spring makes another appearance (the weather man said 80 for Saturday). Instead, I thought I'd bring you some Liberty of London fabrics that I would so buy if I was a Powerball winner... or the dog's teeth didn't need cleaning (and they really, really do)... or I was independently wealthy (I'm not, really, really not)... So for the Sunday stash, feast your eyes on $35 a yard... 

 

Sydenham Palace A, Tana Lawn, Liberty of London 

 

Hall Drive B, Tana Lawn, Liberty of London

 

Fairy Clock Pink, Michael Angove, Liberty of London  

In the nearly two years I spent in England, I visited London on a pretty regular basis, and very nearly went to school there... never once did I go to the Liberty Store - a mere 15 minute walk from Russell Square Station I used to get off at around the school. Now as a sewer and fabric collector (sounds better that way doesn't it?) I shudder to think of the damage I might do in the Liberty Store, which I'm quite sure I walked past several times...

  

 

 

And the inside...

 

(Photos from London Tourism)

"Bring me to Liberty or bring me to..." no that's something else. Oh the fabric... oh the floors and floors of fabric... In the meantime, this little print from Ikea is kind of gorgeous...

 

 and at $6.00 a yard... a bit easier to come by for sure. 

looking forward to... books, chili and family

I am so in need of a weekend... and I love that it is finally here.  Looking forward to the weekend is unfortunately a much bigger part of my work week than I ever thought it would be lately, but alas it is and I choose to think it is in actuality looking forward to time spent with loves and fabric and creative endeavors.  So in the healthy spirit of looking forward, I've spied some books that I just can't wait to add to my collection.

 

Anna Maria Horner's new book, Handmade Beginnings is arriving in May I think (along with a flurry of birthdays around here...hmm...) Do I love that quilt on the cover, well yes I do, in a big way... pinwheel full of bright and stunning fabrics? Yes please! 

 

Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts is out this coming week... a must have I must say.

 

The third round of Penguin Classics comes out in September, the books are lovely and Little Women, one of my very favorite books read while growing up is among the planned releases... excellent!

 

And chili... that enthusiastic member of last year's chili cook-off dead center in the hat, you see the one back with the head sideways ruining my picture... that's Rob.  Rob is taking part in the Chili Cook-Off to benefit the Relay for Life team in our town again this year.  We're looking forward to his chili "Chuck Norris' Oatmeal" (seriously) getting some kudos, though last year, I must tell you the chilis that won tasted like dishwater.  I can say that here... and might have said it there too... but quietly and just to Rob of course. Not that I'm competitive... ahem. 

 

 And really, the highlight of our TV watching these past few weeks has to be Modern Family... how I love this show... I mean love, love, love. It is just the best written and smartest show out there right now. And those who miss Arrested Development (all five of us) have found another fantastic hour of TV.  Love, and so looking forward to Wednesdays. 

Happy weekend all... hope you're looking forward to all that it has in store. 

etsy finds tuesday

 

Aleina Leather Bag in Green, Iragrant Etsy Shop 

Look away male readers (all two of you, especially you Honey... this post is about bags and will send you to your mental happy place, you know that place where you go when I start talking about paint colors, furniture and well...bags) 

Anywhoo, I'm loving bags lately... chunky, leathery bags in funky colors to be exact.  I'd love to whip up a leather birdie sling, but the mere thought of pulling that leather through my Bernina gives me chills. So, I window shop on Etsy instead.  Notice I said window in case my warning above didn't scare the Y chromosomes away... as in "why is the UPS man here again?" "why do you need fabric from Japan?" 

So feast your eyes on some of the lovely little finds I've happened upon at ye old Etsy... love it.  

 

Anita Handbag, Arton Crafts Etsy Shop 

 

Mustard Canvas Pleats Bag, TippyThai Etsy Shop 

 

For All Travellers Tote Bag, FoxandLocket Etsy Shop 

 

Juliet Tote, Christystuido Etsy Shop 

 

Large Brown Leather Travel Laptop Bag, The Leather Store Etsy Shop

 

Pomegranate Bag in Taupe Brown, Iragrant Etsy Shop 

 

Spring 2010 Truffle in Peach, Morelle Etsy Shop 

So there you have it... some lovely bags.  Window shopping (and blogging!) in pajamas, a very lovely thing indeed.  Happy tuesday... hope it finds you happening upon lovely things.

 

i love mondays :: alexandluke

 Alexandluke.com

I love a road trip... and this website. I just happened upon this story of a woman named Alex who in the span of a year lost a boyfriend, job and home (to fire, awful!).  Alex and her friend Luke are now on an epic adventure, going where the masses guide them and taking it all in. 

The past few months have found me listening to my loved coworkers saying things like, "I need a change" and "this job is never going to get any easier... I'm literally grading all the time." I might have gotten a little frustrated once or twice too. So Alex and Luke... I salute you and your bravery.  I'm relatively certain that if we could figure out a way to pay for the essentials (pedicures, books, and coffee) many of my coworkers (and I) would be on the road tomorrow.  Times they are a changing in our little corner of the educational world but that's all I'm saying about that. 

Anyway, follow Alex and Luke along their fantastic adventure. Gets me to thinking, how amazing would the JenRobKylie road trip be?  

sunday stash and some rethinking

 

Joel Dewberry "Modern Meadow" from Freespirt Fabrics 

I love Joel Dewberry... My fabric stash contains an obscene number of his prints, mostly from his "Aviary" collection. When I started the "outside quilt" I knew it had to contain some of the tree prints from his new line. Now that I'm looking at them, those plaids are also kind of fantastic...sigh. I did pick up a very small bit for the outside quilt, and for the backing.  I love that some of the prints are just perfect for hiding bits of grass stain that are inevitable on the back of my imagined quilt.

 

 

These two prints are both going into the outside quilt, I love them and think they'll be fine together.  I decided to go with the 12 18'' square quilt found in Material Obsession for this quilt, the size of the print in these two fabrics is lovely at that size, though I've thrown a solid into the mix (Little Folks Voile) and some smaller prints as well.  I took out the strawberries and the kerchief girl from the original design (of course after they were cut, but now they're just FQs) for the fact that I'd like Rob to feel comfortable carrying and lounging on this quilt (mostly carrying)... it just doesn't need to be that girly. I've chosen this for the back...

 

... kind of a vintage feel and I love the different scale of the flowers.  It reminds me a bit of our yard when the violets (not that those bare any resemblance to violets) come up... I love that I'm blogging this year and will be able to show you very soon how beautiful that is. I'm off to cut sashing (Kona Bone) for this one but do wish you a very happy Equinox and very early spring.

scenes from this week

 Someone sleeps with one eye open... it isn't Rob...

Not a lot of words in this post... just images.  This has been a confusing and difficult few weeks for me, and any attempts to right the confusion are leading to frustration so there has been quite a lot of curling up with loves... seeking the sun (and 70 degree warmth)... and overall relaxation this weekend, kind of just as it should be.  

  St. Patty's Day dinner... it was scrumptious...

 We had a visitor... I'll say nothing about what the dog wanted to do to it... ahem...

 Today was National Quilting Day... and I contemplated folding this fabric... 

 Some new Penguin Classics arrived... and that is one blurry photo...

 

Better... The new arrivals are: Emma, Lady Chatterly's Lover, Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island and The Odyssey...

  

... This is still my favorite...

 

... and the clothesline is in heavy use... I'll spare you pictures of our undergarments... 

Happy weekend to you all... as I navigate this strange moment I might be a bit quiet around here, a little quilting, a little introspection, a little relaxation and hopefully understanding will be happening in the meantime.  I hope this finds you enjoying the changes of the season and looking forward to all it brings!  

sunday stash and some acquisitions

 Spring Quilt (for outside) in the Planning

Life has been happening... I'm not going to make apologies for extended absences from this space anymore, but will say I've so missed it! Very little has been happening here in terms of sewing, planning for sewing is another matter though.  One of my very favorite parts of Spring is the sheer indulgence of time spent outside, in the grass, the garden, the woods with the dog and Rob.  I thought I'd make a quilt that could follow us to those places. Notice those grass-stain proof lovelies up there.  Surely fabric that looks like a grass stain can't be bad for outside, right? I did purchase some new Kona Bone for the sashing, and I have to say it is my favorite of the Kona whites. 

This is a much better way to see the loveliness that is Kona Bone and also that beautiful wheat fabric that of course, has to make an appearance in the outside quilt.  I can't wait for this quilt. The orange is just happy.  And hopefully those strawberries are used when we're eating our own strawberries this year. I'm just about ready for the change in season. Speaking of change in season... much has been happening outside...

Signs of life are everywhere.  Inside there have also been some changes... 

This lovely little lasagna pan (Giadda de Laurentis for Target) made it's way home and it looking forward to some Pioneer Woman meaty goodness...

...I lopped about six inches of hair off on Saturday (well I didn't, the lovely Kristen at Blades Salon in Wethersfield did, but I sat blindly... literally... allowing it to happen)...

...I swapped for some Gnomes... love!

... found some of this at Joann's and used a 40% off coupon to buy it... score! 

... and most importantly, the Rob has found his way home, even for a little bit.  I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have him here... ahhh... 

So dear readers, life is happening here... with it's disappointments, lessons learned, homecomings and procrastinations, and I'm loving each moment of it.  And you? What are you loving at this moment?

the here and now...

That little poof is my favorite part of Kylie's attempt to make herself big when threatened... threatening in her world is the mailwoman (though she loves to jump into her mail truck), people walking, people jogging (though she did take off and went on an early morning run with neighbors last year) birds, branches, cats, and one beagle named Ivan who frankly has it coming.  

That little lady who is currently sleeping soundly next to me is really the only one getting sleep here right about now.  I on the other hand am experiencing a bout of insomnia lately... it is a little frustrating to say the least.  So what to does one do when tired, but unable to sleep?  Sew of course. Seems like the best choice for someone as accident prone as I am... 

 

... that is toe versus oak by the way... it feels worse than it looks... I vow not to use the rotary cutter, fear not.

Last night I worked for a bit on the February March quilt.  My paper bag piecing is quite freeing, even though I keep sneaking peeks to find my favorite fabrics... old habits die hard!

 

This has been a super fast quilt top and should be finished this weekend.  More pictures to come. Maybe insomnia has perks? Phantom fog is one... the appearance of which last night prompted me to call it a night. Sleep came and I got a few hours right? Mere hours later I found myself watching Deadliest Catch episodes on Netflix. My insomnia viewing has also included a shocking amount of period films and more lemons have been slaughtered in this house at midnight (apparently lemon water is my insomnia drink of choice). Speaking of lemons... at least I'm not sleep eating. Anyway, my 5:30 am wake up call is the another deadly thing happening in the here and now. Off to try to catch some shut eye, but will probably end up watching the Hanson brothers catch King Crab... such is life. 

i love mondays :: lovely little things...

 

Green Interiors from Belle Maison

The desktop of my computer is usually littered with images.  Some are projects that I'd like to try, others are fabrics I'm wanting to use (or buy... ahem) but most are just sweet little looks into what people see around them.  This week, I thought my Monday love fest would be just a collection of some of the things that I've spied and have caught my eye... desktop worthy to be filed away and hopefully called on for inspiration in the future.  

Loving this beautiful quilt (randomly quilted and pieced with vintage quilts) from brand-eye a blog I just happened upon. I love some of the details in this quilt (the corners especially) and am feeling heavily the loss of mountains of sheets my Mother tossed when my parents moved a few years ago. Vintage sheets are a fantastic (and cost effective) way of making some really comfy and sweet quilts.

 

This wreath was featured on Etsy's homepage this week and I've been taking peeks at it since.  An instant favorite... I love this wreath and really all of the work from theconstantgatherer. The yellow/gold grey combination is really one of my favorites and I love the little additions of blue... really lovely.

 

Flickr user "The Butterfly Net" is doing some lovely things with pumpkin seeds quilts.  The hand piecing makes me a bit nervous, probably enough to keep me from trying it (for now...) but the final result is really beautiful.  Also, French General's Rouenneries line is really lovely... I rarely go for classic prints, but I'm thinking something in this might be lovely for some of the loves in my life. 

 

And how lovely is this Liberty of London fabric made into a clutch... For those of us interested, it looks as though Liberty's line for Target will be out March 10th.  I've seen some of the sundresses and really, can we wait for sundress weather?  I didn't think so. 

Just a little glimpse into what I'm loving and looking at lately.  We're about to start state testing at my school this week, I won't give you my impressions of testing, but I will tell you that some extra time to get work done and planned for post-testing is more than welcome.  Happy Monday and Happy March to all, I hope it finds you embracing the moment, or loved ones, or extra time, or a new purchase or the light at the end of the tunnel that is March, or anything at all that makes you happiest.