Ahhh... vacaton

We've been away for eight days and it was glorious. The picture is of the mountains around the lake we visited. So much fun, so much nothing particular to do, so much sun. It was the best vacation ever (yes I've said that about every vacation, but this one was the best!) It was long enough that we were ready to come home. How often does that happen?

But ready I was, more than... I was so excited to get here and so happy to see everything and just be here. The house, the animals, the landscape, the garden, the ponds, my bed... all the things that make this place our home. Being this excited to come home was the icing on the top of a great vacation cake!

We were visiting a small town near where we stayed. They had some really amazing little shops with lots of hand crafted items. I feel very inspired!

Clearing out the stash...

I have a lot of fabric. I love fabric and I can't resist a bargain. Every holiday or major sale you will find me searching through the end of bolt or last season fabrics... Two days ago, I found some amazing batik for $2.50 a yard! It's going to be a sweet dress, one day real soon. Oh wait, this post is about clearing the stash, whoops. Anyway...

I got some advice, once upon a time from a long time sewer, who said, "You don't need to buy the most expensive machine out there, but you want to buy the best machine you can afford". So many years ago, when I bought my first Singer, I paid $99 for it, cause it was what I could afford. What a great little machine, too. Two years ago, I bought another Singer, because my Grandma was a Singer sewer and I'm nostalgic about that... But more importantly, it fit my budget and tickled my imagination with features. This year, when contemplating the serger, I researched and pondered and dreamed, and finally decided on a Brother. One, it fit my budget and two, it has an excellent track record for troubles, maintenance and repairs.

Between the two, they have transformed my sewing life completely. I have always sewn, but now... It is so easy and fun to whip up projects that I'm actually working my way through my stash. Yes, it's true. Not that you can see much of a dent yet, but I'm working on it.

I plan to update regularly with my completed projects, but sometimes I give stuff away without taking pictures - - how frustrating is that!

I bought this fabric during one holiday blowout at JoAnn's and it's been sitting in my studio ever since. Now it's become sweet little shorts for vaca! Seriously, 15 minutes from laying out the pattern to trying on the finished shorts.

I think the lips are funny... On shorts...