Gehring Road

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. 

just a few changes

Just a few technical changes here on the blog mostly having to do with organization. New buttons are on the right side of the blog, see them hanging out over there? I really love the color, which will match a new banner soon-ish! I found them here, if you're interested. Some of you might use BlogLovin or Google Reader (not for long, unfortunately but there are some alternatives) to keep track of blogs, so far, I've just used bookmarks which is... much less efficient than some of the Blog-keeping programs out there. I very, very recently started using BlogLovin and you can find me here, if you'd like to follow this little blog of mine... I love how streamlined the look is:  

...much, much better than Safari bookmarks... that I sent me into a panic during the great computer "erase the hard drive" debacle of last summer. So much easier. 

And further jumping into the 21st century... finally... I am also on Instagram. Taking very, very bad photos of (mostly Kylie) but also dinners and of course, the fabric that comes to our door in the mail. I don't yet have an iPhone, which might account for my less than stellar photos. I just recently bought an iPod touch, mostly to hold my music while I complete a Run to 10K program this Spring and Summer. I'm surprised at how much I love it (both the iPod and the running!). It is really perfect for the time being, and is just what I need. 

Hope you enjoy these little tiny changes around these parts... I have some fabric to show you a bit later (it was a perfectly wonderful mail week I tell you!) and my vacation has begun... I love vacation. Happy Sunday everyone. 

steamy

 Jen Kingwell's Steam Punk Quilt Pattern from Shop in the Making Etsy Shop

Goodness, I've fallen very hard for this quilt pattern. Innocently prowling Flickr this morning, I happened upon Jeannette's beautiful stack and pattern (she blogged about it here). Amy mentioned a quilt along and I contemplated bribing someone to send me the pattern from Australia... until I found it available in an Etsy Shop owned by a fellow American! Phew. I love, love, love this pattern. It's absolutely the perfect answer to my what to do with that stack dilemma. I really wanted something round, and I really wanted rings around the roundess to mimic the inital inspiration. This pattern is really perfect for what I had in mind, it's serendipity I tell you. It is very unlikely that I will begin this beauty until the summer, which is just fine for the time being. Another reason to look forward to my beloved vacation... I just can't wait. Happy Wednesday everyone! 

patchwork bag beginnings

It's feeling a lot like Spring here today, and that puts us in the mood for some cleaning... and sewing, (mostly sewing) as it turns out. I finally threw away my Heather Ross make up bag (the one that, during construction, prompted me to swear like a sailor... it's true, ask Rob). I held on to that bag because it was a pain to make. This weekend, while throwing out some make up that needed to be tossed, I decided to pitch the whole bag as well. How's that for Spring cleaning? Out with the old. I then went scrap diving (mostly!) and put together a (kind of wonky... I cut hacked into those feathers at a weird angle it appears) quick little patchwork panel for a new make up bag. I'm going to use Noodlehead's wide mouth tutorial again, with the contrasting panel on the bottom. I love this color combination... it's a bit of a fix for me before I'm able to really sew with this pile. Soon, soon... just another five hundred (I exaggerate... a bit) geese to go! Happy Monday everyone!

i heart maine

Oh friends, it has taken me a while to write this post... mostly because I'm still processing our wonderful little adventure. A few weeks ago, I saw Rhea's post that Alewives Fabrics would be having a re-opening sale after the completion of a renevation at their sweet little shop. I jokingly emailed Rob at work asking if he was interested in taking a ride, and to my surprise, he said yes... to a four hour drive from where we live to Daramascatta... for fabric. I am one lucky lady, I tell you. We headed out early on a Saturday morning and made it up to Alewives before noon. I was completely overwhelmed with Alewives, they have such amazing fabrics and lovely quilts are simply everywhere inside the store's beautiful space. We just really don't have anything comparable in Connecticut, so seeing all those beautiful, modern fabrics in one space rendered me a little gobsmacked. I kept taking laps around the store taking it all in. Luckily, Rob took some amazing pictures. I ended up buying a full fat quarter Field Study bundle and some lovely voiles. I have a hodge-podge plan for the voiles for the fall. It was so great to be able to match up different fabrics and spend time oogling others, I just loved it. 

Truth be told, much as I love the fabric finding that happens when head out on an adventure, time spent chatting (and most often laughing) with Rob in the car is always, without fail, the highlight of these excursions. We had so much fun. Maine is stunningly beautiful, I left it inspired, happy and looking forward to returning again very soon. More on our Maine visit tomorrow... Happy Tuesday everyone! 

so this was march

(Still!) Journaling... follow my Project 365 here.

Welcome April... we've been so looking forward to your longer and (hopefully soon!) warmer days. March was filled with car rides and adventures, many laughs, treats, plans, sewing and much love. The journaling portion of my photo journaling project often took a back seat. I even took a picture of my computer and the skylight at 10 pm one night, hazy with sleep and ready for bed but just sneaking in that photo each day. And yet, this project of mine continues... one photo each day this year. So far, so good. As for right now, I'm looking forward to April with its vacations, its storminess (today it hailed and it made me remember how much I love storms), its flowers and the coming green. Many more adventures and hopefully more sewing on the horizon. Happy April everyone! 

lemony

Last week, I picked up some Meyer lemons at the grocery store, mostly because I've been craving all things lemon lately but also to add some spring color and cheer to the kitchen. I should say, force some spring color and cheer into the kitchen... it's been a cold start to spring thus far! Rob decided to make Smitten Kitchen's Lemon Bars on Sunday and they were so incredibly good. Have I mentioned how much I love that cook book? I do, and we do as it turns out. These bars were perfectly lemony and wonderful. They're as perfect for an after lunch snack as they are for breakfast. I know this from experience! I have a sneaking suspicion they're pretty perfect for a Monday night snack... I'll report back. Happy Monday everyone. 

weekend plans

I had big plans for the loft this weekend. Spring cleaning, some organizing, some folding... and not much happened. Instead, Rob and I spent a full weekend with friends and family, picking up new sheets and relaxing together. It was lovely. I did manage to organize some of my precut ("my precious") bundles into the bookcase that keeps on giving. There is just so much space in that bookcase and I love it. The space to the left of that beautifully organized case is about as disastrous as one could imagine. I'm messy when sewing and cutting. Really, really messy. All of the material from various projects (if you squint you can see this stack squashed in there) is wrangled in that mass of fabric. It needs folding. Badly. And yet, I don't feel so guilty that it was neglected this weekend. We had a lovely few days and it was just what we needed.There's always next weekend... or possibly tomorrow if this snow keeps up. Happy Monday everyone. 

and then there were doughnuts

"Just no more cookbooks!" is a phrase often repeated around Christmas and Rob's birthday here at our house. This guy of mine is notoriously difficult to shop for ("I have everything I need!"). It is however, all too tempting for me as someone who loves books and loves Rob to want to add to his quickly growing cook book collection, but in truth, he has a few cherished favorites that he uses almost always to plan our meals and adventures in eating. When I saw Top Pot's book, I bent our rule of no more cookbooks.

Top Pot Hand Forged Doughnuts is a Seattle based doughnut legend that is consistently voted best doughnut in the area. People seem to love their doughnuts and rave about their tasty creations. Rob likes to indulge in a doughnut every day few doughnuts when he travels to Seattle for work. He even braved TSA to bring one home for me on one of his trips. It was so, so good. 

So for Rob's birthday, I knew Top Pots cookbook would be a hit... and that it would prompt testing and doughnut eating. Last weekend while I was busily sewing in the loft, Rob was making the "Glazed Ring Doughnuts". They were so delicious, eaten plain or with a bit of sugar. We bought a candy/deep fry thermometer and it was well worth it. At the same time that we are getting used to doughnut making, we are also getting used to our new oven's bread proofing settings. Rob felt like the oven was a bit too dry to really do its best on the doughnut dough in its rising phases, I thought they were fluffy and wonderful. Rob's final verdict was that more practice needs to happen, and that is just something I'm not going to disagree with or complain about! The cookbook is filled with recipes for other things besides doughnuts or baked goods that can be made with left over doughnuts. Left over doughnuts? Not in this house. Maybe with more practice. Happy weekend everyone, hope it finds you enjoying whatever it brings your way. 

many geese, all with one wing

Oh my, the geese, the geese I tell you! I spent most of Friday and part of Saturday working on my Flying Geese quilt. Chain piecing these is satisfying work, but it is taking some time to put this together. I have to remind myself that the original quilt is made for a full to queen size bed and this is going to take a while. Most of my geese have acquired a wing and I have a load of ironing to do. My pile of triangles dwindles by the day and I'm so looking forward to putting this together. I'm thinking it will probably be sent out to be quilted. I can't imagine finishing this myself. It is, however, very nice to be thinking about the finishing. The end is in sight... I think!