Out of the Ordinary

So this is not a typical post for me, but I wanted to share some advice to anyone who reads this blog....

Our home was broken into and they took our iMac and my jewelry box. Everything was on that computer. All our music, our pictures, budget, and anything and everything that had to do with my shop. And our tax information...

I see the importance now to backing EVERYTHING up. Put all your pictures and important documents on a separate flash drive or burn them to a CD. If you have passwords saved, don't. At least not for anything that could be compromised. If you have homework or in my case the beginnings of a portfolio, keep that on a separate flash drive too. And most importantly don't forget to take your flash out of the computer.....

I will probably never get my jewelry back. There are things in there that can never be replaced and hold sentimental value to me. To some jerk who took it it's worth nothing and I hate to think of which dumpster it ended up in. Scan or take pictures of all your jewelry. Save receipts or photocopy them.

It sounds so paranoid to do this but I never imagined getting robbed. I have equal bouts of extreme anger, helplessness, and sadness. I don't know if I will ever see the necklace my grandmother made me or my hair comb I wore in my wedding, but take pre-cautions and safeguard your possessions.

The Stash

We've all been there. You find a cute piece or something unique and YOU HAVE TO HAVE IT! This is how fabric stashes are formed. It's like collecting pieces of artwork or cute sweaters. I inherited this trait (passed down on the X chromosome) and have my very own fabric stash.......



I came across this article from Craftzine.com and the similarities are eerie....

This article has some good advice for de-stashing that stash. I'm just happy I haven't gotten to this point yet....

So I stumbled upon this woman, Anna Maria Horner, and I just have to say how AWESOME is her fabric!?

Just a wee sample of the awesome goods

She has a link to her online shop and blog plus information about a book she wrote that will be coming out October 20th.

The Woman of Honor Dress

My dearest friend had a beautiful outdoor wedding at her parents on a lake this fall. An amazing crafter, she created everything from the invitations to the boutonnieres. As the Matron of Honor I chose to make my dress and she and I picked out the fabric. I used Amy Butler's Lotus Dress pattern.

We also made a little shrug out of some knitted delicious orange fabric. After I put the dress together I decided it needed a belt to give me a little bit more of a waist. I found some great pumpkin orange velvet ribbon that did the trick and a leather belt loop.

In typical Rachel mode of operation I finished this the day before the wedding. Overall this was a great pattern to use. Butler's directions are very straightforward and takes you step by step. Where it could use improvements is by having more diagrams of some of the steps. I follow directions easier with visuals than with the written directions. If you do the same, a few steps may be a little frustrating. This was also my first lining and it went rather smoothly. A few tips:

• Use the silky nylon lining, don't bother with cotton. You will want something that lays smoother under the dress.
• When doing the lining on the top where the neckline meets the dress panels, hand sew it first to match it up.
• Hand sew the hem. It looks 10 times nicer and gives a smoother finish at the bottom.
• Try it on and adjust the darts. I did a few times and was able to get a better fit.

Coin Quilt

This is a stacked coin quilt I've started. The pattern came from Joelle Hoverson's book Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts . Most of these fabrics are now out of print. I had enough that I should be able to make a second quilt. I'm thinking a railroad pattern....

Business Cards

Yeah they finally Came! The top picture is the back, the bottom would be the front. I ordered them from Overnight Prints. Not quite overnight (about 5 days), but the quality is amazing. Now to find a business card holder.......

Overdue

Orange reversible dress

and the inside (or is it the outside?)

I'm embarrassed by how much time has lapsed since I last wrote, my apologies! So I have a bunch of new fun things up. Last weekend was totally devoted to my sewing machine and I loved it! I have some more that are waiting in the basket that are calling my name.

I just ordered some Onesies from Zee Spot. Brown, blue, red, orange, and yellow. I'm sketching down ideas....