besties = bags!

when i saw this pattern by Miss Anna at Noodlehead, i just knew it needed to be made for my bestie's birthday! she's one trendy minimalist and this bag lent to such a unique design & function ability... it had her name all over it. period. i made a few personal adjustments for her... but other than that, this is one slick pattern that can easily be made in one afternoon!

i did end up making the strap 6" X 39", so my friend could use it more as a messenger bag when she takes her girls to the farmers market.

and yes, i pinned the crap out of it! haha... ( this pic is for youtraci! )

this picture is purely selfish... the pattern allowed me to use my new scissors again... and i lOVE them so, that i thought i'd throw them into a pic :)

i added an additional top stitch on her handles too! :)

even another bestie came over and modeled it for me!! ( without stealing it! ) LOL

in the end... i lOVE it! and i hope she will adore it too!! this was a ton of fun!

fact: Portland has now had 28 days of measurable rain during March, breaking the old record for 27 days as of March 29. Can you see why i continue buying rainbows??? wouldn't you! good grief... i NEED some sunshine!!! hahaha... Xo, Heather

Polka Dot Samurai – Samurai às bolinhas

So today it’s Polka Dots and palazzo pants (I can’t help myself recalling traditional Samurai pants when I see these pants, but in fact they are quite different from the real Samurai pants). The polka dot flower pin is a gift from a very dear friend and I thought she would like to see me wearing it! The yellow clutch adds a little bit of trendiness to the whole outfit (clich here for an article on the yellow clutch trend). If you’d like to make your own yellow clutch, Andy from Style Scrapbook explains how (click here).

Hoje temos bolinhas e calças “palazzo” (não consigo evitar de me lembrar das calças dos Samurais quando olho para estas, mas a verdade é que as calças dos samurais são bastante diferentes). O alfinete às bolinhas em forma de flor é um presente de uma amiga muito querida e achei que ela ia gostar de me ver a usá-lo hoje! A “clutch” amarela é tendência esta primavera (vejam por exemplo neste artigo) e dá um toque especial ao conjunto. Se quiserem fazer a vossa, a Andy do blog Style Scrapbook explica como se faz (cliquem aqui)

EXPOSE... the featured crafters!

Krista, Krista, Krista... where do i even begin??... this little minx is quite hard to like, really! she has worked in the Artic, South America, Nepal, Mexico and apparently... even skinny dipped in Thailand. thankfully, she has saved her most serious adventure to date, bee. Traditional VQB with us, for this spring! ( i kid, i kid ) ;) In all fairness, she's one hell of a crafter and i adore all that she makes! sharp little tack, hugh!...

Being that miss thing is from Canada... i thought i'd share with you my new Canadian Sponsor! How fantastic is Dragonfly Fabric's! This is one darling store that features my favorite designers for my Northern Friends to save on shipping! check her out!! Xo, Heather

Elope!

I feel like the word Elope is almost considered a dirty 4-letter word in the wedding industy. It really shouldn't be. But it's almost frowned upon.



Not by me, mind you.



But really, my clients almost whisper to me, I think we should consider an elopement... in a hush tone.



Honestly, if eloping is right for you, do it!



And if you do it like this, do it right NOW!



I've known Lisa for a long time, and I've known Jeff even longer. I love them, and seeing them happy and together is a perfect fairy tale ending (or is it, begining) for me!





Lisa & Jeffrey's NYC Elopement ! from Jeffrey Stoner Video on Vimeo.

patience.

i have none. nope, nada, zilch! so, when i tell you this bag has taken me 2 days to arrive at this current place... YOU should pity me ( and the 2 friends who've kept me on track! { thanks Irene & Traci... kiss, kiss!!! } ). All i want in my bloody life is to finish THIS bag! for two huge reasons... one, because it's stinking cute with all that Ruby Star Rising and for another because, i'm dying to try ( and cuss at ) a whole new bag for not behaving! )... but, alas... i am still waiting, hence the hardware needing to arrive! well... at least it looks mighty fine while i wait... yeah?? ;)

OOOhhh and thank so much for your lovely support on my newest tutorial!! it means a lot to me to NOT be talking to myself! hahaha... here's the winner of Muggy goodness! Congrats!! ;)

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers: 89

Timestamp: 2011-03-28 22:08:05

Mary on Lake Pulaski said... Your muggy goodness is so desirable! Please send one to me!

Happy Monday my Sweets!! Xo, Heather

My Burberry inspired coat (self made) – O meu casaco inspirado em Burberry (feito por mim)

The ones of you who also follow my sewing blog will be no strangers to this coat. I decided to knock off the famous waist zipper military style Burberry coat and this is the end result; I must say I’m quite happy, it turned out exactly as I had envisioned it. Today I’m wearing it with a bright orange tank top, my navy/black leather biker style pants and black wedge boots, a somehow badass look, hope you like it! I took the pictures in a hurry because it was about to start raining...
If you’re interested, the sewing details of this coat are published here; I’m hoping to publish the final sewing review in a couple of hours.

As minhas leitoras/leitores que também seguem o meu blogue de costura vão com certeza reconhecer este casaco, trata-se de um casaco feito por mim inspirado no famoso casaco Burberry com fecho separável na cintura, e estas são as primeiras fotos do casaco terminado. Estou bastante satisfeita com o resultado, ficou exactamente como tinha imaginado. Hoje estou a usá-lo com um top laranja vivo, as minhas calças de pele azuis e pretas, estilo motard, e as minhas botas de cunha, um visual um tanto irreverente. Espero que gostem! Tirei as fotos um pouco à pressa porque estava prestes a chover...
Se estiverem interessados, os detalhes de costura estão publicados aqui. Daqui a umas horas já terei publicado o artigo final sobre este casaco.

Mug Rug Madness!

whelp! i guess it's my day to share a little muggy madness. ;) i think now you'll know why i chose to post a tutorial on Grandmother's Flower Garden quilts yesterday!.. this is a very simple tutorial on making jumbo coasters with darling flowers on them, one for your Coffee and one for your Juice. and of course one lucky winner will win these! cheers kids! and cheers to miss Erin for inviting me to the party! Okay, tut time... i'm quite sure in the past 24hrs you've all made at least... say, 3 dozen flowers, right!?? no... well, don't worry you can whoop these up in a couple hours from start to finish! easy- peasy! Grab a flower! and a seam ripper! carefully cut your basting thread. turn your flower over, remove your thread bits and paper templates. give your flower a good press with your iron at this time, while tucking in all your thread tails facing the inside of the flower. cut: ( 2 ) 8" X 8" linen squares

( 1 ) 8" X 8" fusible medium weight interface

iron the interface on to one square of your linen and set aside. taking the remainder square of linen and your flower, pin in place. sew a top stitch around the flower. remove your pins and top stitch again following the center hexagon as a guide. place your two squares together Right side to Right side and pin. sew a 1/2 inch seam around 3 sides of the square. sew 1/3 of the last side and backstitch, leaving an opening.

( tip: i chose to backstitch at the beginning & the end of each side, instead of making one continuous seam, it's just how i roll. )

snip the corners and flip your square inside out ( or what i refer to as... turn & burn! )

simply, top stitch your opening down, while finishing off your muggy cuteness!

a pefect little home for your tasty beverages!

Okay... Q & A time!

1. i get all my paper piecing supplies at Sew Deerly Loved.

2. i used 1" hexagons for this pattern

3. i use fusible interface instead of batting, because i personally like the flat feel & look better.

4. YOU can reuse your hexie templates, so don't throw them away! LOL

&

5. Leave a comment here to win this set of Muggy Goodness, i'll pick a winner on Sunday!!!

Xo, Heather

Rock-Paper-Scissors – Pedra, papel ou tesoura

Got a wonderful surprise today: the necklace that I won from Denise Angela’s February giveaway (she hosts monthly giveaways) finally found its way into my jewelry avid hands, muahahaha! I wore it right away, I think it goes wonderfully well with today’s outfit! Denise Angela has great style and also sews most of her wardrobe! Thank you so much, Denise!

Hoje tive uma surpresa óptima: o colar que ganhei do sorteio de Fevereiro da Denise Angela (ela faz um sorteio por mês) finalmente chegou às minhas mãos ávidas de bijutaria, Muahahahaha! É claro que o usei de imediato, pois achei que ficava mesmo bem no conjunto de hoje! A Denise Angela tem muito estilo e também confecciona uma boa parte do seu guarda-roupa! Muito obrigada, Denise!