Lettergirl

Recycled: our quilt.

We've had a few cool evenings in a row.  We use a pale matelasse spread in the summer, and the colors in this quilt make a striking change:

Recycled: some wedding favorites.

Paging through an old portfolio, I found these:

Vacation next week, back on the 11th.  I'll make it worth the wait!

Recycled: NY circle album.

 A record of my weekend in NY with J. in 2006:

I used a circle-shaped chipboard book.  Some pages are painted, others are decoupaged.  Many of the embellishments are three-dimensional for texture.  The whole thing is slathered in a couple coats of Mod Podge.  (And we are wearing our matching jackets.)

Recycled: applique.

I love handsewing.  Here's a pair of pants I embellished with applique for J. last summer, using a pair of jeans that had gotten too short for her.  (I added the beads in the center of the flowers when she had her birthday slumber party -- nine 9-year olds!)

A Fine Romance.

Do you remember A Fine Romance, that darling stationery store in Uptown years ago?  I adored it.  Seventeen years ago I sent Penelope, the owner, this mailer, and instead of ordering any of the designs I had prepared, she ordered a batch of cards just like this.  My first bit of success in the stationery world.  In some ways, I wish it could be like it was back in the old days -- I have always wanted to keep my company small, which is very hard to do in today's business climate.  It seems that if you don't get bigger, you wither.  I really love the relationships formed by my small business model, the friends I've made, the flexibility in my schedule -- creative and personal.  I'm just not altogether sure that the world will allow me to go on doing things the way I want to....  This would be a great day to send me some snaps via email or comment!

I am a morning person.

...and this morning I needed to bring my daughter to an appointment, then I had my weekly Lunch with Lisa (definitely more on that in another post), now it is after 12 and it's just not a post-happy time for me.  So instead of doing Step Two today, I'm going to recycle an old project:

I made this handbag while waiting for J at her jazz dance class a couple of years ago.  I love handsewing because it is so portable. 

Isn't this lining fabulous?  It's Heather Bailey for Free Spirit. 

You know, if I didn't have my list, I might not have accomplished this project at all.  So keep working on your list and I will be back bright and early tomorrow with more organizing tips!

Recycled

One of the parts of blogging I am most looking forward to is rediscovering favorite projects from the past 16 years.  The first one I'd like to share with you is a sewing project from fall 2006.  Juliet and I were spending a girls weekend in New York, and I made us matching jackets for the trip (yes, matching).  Juliet's is, of course, the darling one.  In addition to its sweet wee size, the quilting is more detailed & I embellished it with beads.  Here's to recycling!
Our jackets are made out of old sweatshirts!  I have long been wanting to make an all-red quilt, and to that end have been collecting red/pink/orange fabrics for a few years.
We also wore the jackets for opening night of Orphan Train at the History Theatre.  Coincidentally, we are going to see These Shining Lives there tonight.

Still can't quite figure out the macro setting on my new camera, so bear with me!

Let me know what you think....