Gehring Road

love... again

I'm in love with sewing again, phew... After a stumble, I needed something to remind me of what I love most about this hobby of mine. And I am loving the process, the mess, the trimming, the piecing of x plus blocks today (totally inspired by this lovely quilt). I finished cutting fabrics today and just started playing around with some fabric combinations. Things matched, points pointed, seams look straight... phew. I have thirty six blocks to make, also (big sigh here) thirty six days left of summer vacation. Sounds like a fitting way to enjoy these last few weeks of these lovely days, no? I want to relish the process of the making of these blocks just as much as I'd love to relish these last (weep) summer days. Tomorrow's block sits next to my machine, ready for the making, ready to be put aside to finish some other projects and start other things anew. I love that about the creative process.

I'm also loving that sweet little lady Miss K who has been my constant companion during these days. She's happy to hang out in the sun listening to Pride and Prejudice (again) and the hum of my sewing machine (again!). I love being able to peek in on her during the day... oh summer, please linger! Happy Friday everyone, I hope it finds you staying cool and loving where life takes you these days. 

summer voiles... an update

That stack of voiles was cut into simple 6'' squares over the weekend and laid out on the floor in the loft just so. I love how this crazy patchwork is coming together. We're calling it the "gypsy quilt" for now but since we're big Hemlock Grove fans around here it is also the Rumancek quilt. I've stalled a bit in the making of this, I was anxious for it to come together quickly, but as the school year comes to a close, there are inevitably things that take my attention away from sewing over those precious weekend days... like this little one...

... and that's probably just as it should be. There's always next weekend, and here it comes! Happy Thursday everyone! 

sunday stashing

I can't say I've had the best weekend... it has been a bit confusing, sad and all around wrong. My silver lining are those two loves in that last shot. That sweet photo was quick and just perfect that other day, I love it so much I created a black and white version in Lightroom. It makes my heart melt, that does. Besides my two loves, there has been some amazing visits from our mail carrier this week. She brought a delightful package of Liberty (eep!) fat eighths and Bloomsbury "Charlston Farmhouse" yardage from Dry Goods Designs. I love their unique fabrics, they are quickly becomming one of my favorite go to fabric stores online. And then... my fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner's Field Study Linen arrived from Westwood Acres in record time (I love quick shipping, but like when my packages arrive spaced more apart so it looks like I have less of a habit than I clearly do!). All in all, a very, very good week for fabric. Now if things would look up in all areas, I'd be a very happy lady. Happy weekend everyone, back tomorrow. 

through the snow

 

This is what the snow looked like yesterday, at times it looked like pouring rain. That dog in the window is not for sale. She's a protective one that lady, she would like her humans inside with her where it is much safer and certainly warmer. Sweet lady. Happy weekend everyone, we're glad to see the sun this Saturday!

good morning!

 

A girl and her sweater... that little movement under her sweater is a whole lot of tail wagging. She really loves the morning. Her little growls are her way of showing her love...(we think!) If she was feeling something else there would be teeth (we know!). Ah, life with a Jack Russell Terrier! Anyway, from us to you, a very good morning. Happy Tuesday everyone.  

today... so far.

The snow is piling up outside, but inside, it's been a day of sewing and resting. So, so good. I decided to spend a bit of time basting (finally!) my Strips and Bricks quilt. I cut fabric for this quilt in 2010, yes 2010. When I laid it out on the floor in the living Rob walked by and said, "When did you make that?" Ha ha. I really wanted to back this quilt in Kona Ash, but I recently used some of the yardage I bought for it in my Semiology Quilt and was just shy of what I needed. I went with Kona Coal because I had it on hand and didn't want to lose momentum. Probably for the best as Kona Ash is almost the same color as our couch. Change is good. It will be quilted tomorrow if the power stays on. Cross your fingers. I also had some time to work on some Anna Karenina blocks. All in all, I've loved this snow day turned sewing day. Rob would like you to know I didn't bake or get out of my pajamas. Just how snow days should be, don't you think? 

blizzard ready

We're ready. They're calling for a bunch of snow and school is cancelled for me for tomorrow. I'll bake in the morning and sew some. It will be those two new reads (Liberty Love and The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook to be exact) to keep me company as the snow begins to pick up. Crossing fingers that the power stays on! 

Miss Kylie gave us quite the scare last night. Coming in from her before bed trip outside, Kylie ran full tilt into our sliding glass door. It was dark, she was cold and the sound of her hitting the door was beyond words. Awful. She seemed a bit startled but then came in and was ok. Rob took her to the Vets this morning to get checked out and all is well. Our girl: head, spine, nose and sweet tongue as you can surely see are all in good order, thank goodness. Very, very scary. I'm happy to have time to snuggle her tomorrow morning and like most days I'm home, she'll be my tiny shadow throughout the day. Happy Thursday everyone. Hope you are also ready... come what may! 

true love.

It's a little early for Valentine's love, but there is so much love coming from this little one lately. A true love story if you will. My goodness did she miss her guy while he was away this week. She spent the ten minutes Rob was outside on Saturday tracking his every move. When he is safely inside, she was content to curl up in her favorite spot... about six inches from the wood stove, snuggled in what formerly was my sweater. She scratched at it, rolled on it, and claimed it as her own. Nothing like a layer of cashmere to keep you warm in front of a blasting wood stove in the sun, no less. This little lady certainly knows what she likes. 

It was exam week for us which means there was absolutely no sewing this week at all. Fabric buying and arriving (just when Rob came home, of course!) happened, but sewing was just not in the cards. Correcting was. Battling a slice of mean at work also crawled into my Friday. I like sewing better. Happy weekend, I hope yours was full of much love, warmth and light. 

new stack love and love

I still have this absolutely beautiful quilt on the brain and my solids for it have finally arrived. I love how the fabrics are coming together. I have some narrowing down of plaids (I love that red plaid but might use the orange), and should probably figure out which background fabric will work best, but for now, I'm just happy to see it coming together in the planning stages. Even though I really should be finishing up the many other projects I have in the queue, so to speak, I'm really anxious to give my new AccuQuilt a whirl. Perfect excuse to start some flying geese. 

No sewing today though because we are off adventuring. Boston this time. We're so excited, especially considering Rob's been away for work and just got home this morning. There's loads of this happening as we ease into this exciting day...

Very good to be off on adventures with this guy. Happy weekend everyone!

and so this was christmas

A belated happy holidays everyone! We had the most blissfully calm, relaxing and peaceful holiday this year, it was so needed after the emotions of the previous weeks. Words sort of failed me in many ways after the tragedy at Sandy Hook... except with my students, and thank goodness for that. Here in Connecticut, where really nothing felt normal or right in the days leading up to this particular holiday season, we were blessed with a bit of snow on Christmas morning. Though our thoughts were often elsewhere, we were all the more grateful for this season of togetherness. I had no idea that a break was so needed until it was here, I've loved every minute of it. Here are some scenes from our days... 

(Rob's Chocolate Raspberry Torte... words cannot express how I loved this cake!)

We found ourselves loving left over chocolate-raspberry torte by tree-light, watching much loved favorites in pjs in the days following our holiday. It was perfection. Santa brought me an AccuQuilt fabric cutter and some amazing dyes... goodness does he have good taste! I'm anxious to dive in to new projects but am going to try to be better about finishing projects this year. A good friend knew just what was me and found that lovely Jane Austen print from My Ideal Bookshelf. We were also given tickets to see The Blue Man Group in Boston in a few weeks by Rob's Mom and her husband Chip. My parents gifted us with a super fancy toaster oven we've had our eye on forever. Such thoughtful and wonderful gifts.

Bits of organizing here and there have happened, the loft has seen some changes, more on that to come. Another storm blew by leaving us with much more snow than anticipated and another excuse to pad around the house enjoying these most lazy days. I hope you've found time to do the same!