sneak peak: quilt for my first wee nephew

my brother and his beautiful wife welcomed a brand new little boy to their family almost a month ago.  they went the traditional route of not finding out the gender, which i give them props for.  it's got to be the world's best surprise, that anticipated announcement "it's a ---" in the delivery room, and i had always thought i could stand the suspense myself but i couldn't do it!

i had been waiting to find out who the little person was before starting on the arm's length list of homemade baby things i have in mind, not out of a blue=boy and pink=girl mandate, but to put a personal spin on things.  the moment i found out i ordered the fabrics and as they've come in i've been busy planning, cutting and getting ready.

first up, a simple crib-size quilt.  a lot of dots, some chevrons, japanese elephants and many lovely hard-to-find fabrics from heather ross' long out of print lightning bugs series.  here's a sneak peak at the colour scheme:

grand opening: spool of thread

had to swing past the fab new sewing lounge spool of thread today for their official grand opening.

i'm sure i wasn't alone in singing "hallelujah!" from the corner of fraser and 15th! there is much to sing about: a shop full of hand-picked fabrics and a space where you can drop in and sew by the hour - six machines, room to move, tools of the trade and a welcoming, bright, modern atmosphere. they offer classes too, from sewing 101 to a variety of project-specific workshops. and looking at the row of gleaming machines, i had such an urge to hold a crafternoon in the space!

of course, i had to leave with a little something... cream fabric with aqua dashes for the back of a quilt-in-the-making and some lovely hatched charcoal fabric - possibly, hopefully a skirt for yours truly. or many dresses for little girls. ;-) i suspect i will be going back for more very soon, and a class to boot.

speaking of fabric love...

just discovered this awesome cloud print fabric from australian designer and creator penny eager of pocket carnival. i love it!!! it's so perfect for vancouver.

fresh fabric

new fabric from japan arrived in the mail today! cole was as curious as i was to open the package, particularly when he spotted bubble wrap on the inside. this kid loves bubble wrap - he even accosted a lady in starbucks last week when he spotted the bubble-wrapped frame she was carrying.

this shipment, the latest from a string of late-night fabric buying binges, contained a nice little bundle of japanese linen/cotton blend mid-weight prints from etsy's this and that from japan. i love them all!

they are swirling around in the dryer now after their first wash - can't wait to tuck into them.

ink & spindle sale

get the deals while they're hot! ink & spindle, australian makers of drool-worthy natural fibre screenprinted fabrics, are having a sale! they're consolidating their range and there are some steals to be had on discontinued prints & colours. fast!

crazy for umbrella prints

i recently found these very cool hand screenprinted fabrics from australian umbrella prints. they also sell kits, skirts, jewelery, cards and much more... outside of australia, you can buy their fabrics through their etsy shop. they're so so cute - i want them all!

the fabric trimmings sampler might have to do for me for now - i've spent so much ordering fabrics lately and my addiction really needs a proper support group!

and how cute is this nimbus lion kit from their shop? it's got it all - cute print, smile, cuddle factor:

turning over a new leaf

well, my non-productive funk from yesterday hasn't completely lifted like the fog on a san francisco morning, but i'm making some progress...

we went to buy an embroidery hoop from the some-folks-think-it's-awesome but i-kind-of think-it's-mangey dressew. they had a mediocre selection of embroidery floss but the $2 wooden hoops were the right price. i have a love-hate relationship with that store. i think stuff there should be even cheaper, since the store is a mess and it's next door to the bong shop, the staff are so surly and it's so hard to find anything, but then on the other hand if you want some affordable neon ricrac (which i do!) or the choice of a million different zippers, it's a pretty good place... and where else in town can you buy a slutty cat costume 365 days of the year? oh, there are two stores at least in town for that... ;-) beware - the most junior staff member at dressew will be sent over to take away your cup of tea, should you bring one in with you...

anyway, the purchase of the embroidery hoop should help me out immensely. i recently got this awesome sublime stitching embroidery pattern by emily martin of the black apple. i didn't have a plan for it at first, just loved it and it since it was only $4.50 i thought i could just buy it to stash for an inspired moment. but now the little black-forest houses are calling to me and i'm making something fun for cole. more info shortly...

and when we got back from our trip to dressew, there was an awesome package of japanese fabric from superbuzzy stuffed in the mail slot! these terrific echino fabrics, which i have fun plans for...

in the spirit of productivity, maybe i should buy this new leaf journal from sukie. with a leaf on every page, it seems like the feel-good kind of journal. £9.75 - you can find it on this continent from three potato four, but i like typing the pound symbol.