Sewing Day Dreams

I spied a white ermine dashing across the snow into the stone wall behind the house this morning... perhaps an omen! We are poised and ready for another snow storm here. Flurries are falling now, enough to scare me away from a trip over the mountain to see the dentist this afternoon. This is the second thwarted attempt to get dental work done... I would say "I suppose it was not be", but yet it has to be. Just as long as this cavity doesn't get infected, I should be able to wait a bit longer. So, now that I've narrowly escaped dental torture, it seems the perfect day for crafting. If only my littlest would sleep somewhere other than Mama's arms, I could perhaps dust off the old sewing machine and get that needle pumping (try as I might to use it in front of her, she is very jealous of that magic box that distracts me from her every need and perhaps a bit afraid of the noise).

I finally came into possession of this lovely Japanese sewing book that I've been admiring for far too long, and I'm hoping sometime in the next year I'll be able to make one of these lovely garments. It's titled, "The Stylish Dress Book", but it offers an array of blouses and tunics too. And yes, no kids clothes here, it's all clothes I can wear! I love the loose fitting and simple yet elegant style of many of the patterns (perfect for my post baby-having body). The most exciting part of finally getting this was that I got to use my forty percent off coupon at Jo-ann's. Hurray for a deal! I don't go there often, so it was serendipitous this book I've been adoring was in stock. I won't kid myself, it will probably be a while before I make many of these things, but the classic and functional styles mean it will serve me well throughout the years.

As mentioned before, most of my crafting these days is with hook and yarn. I try to plant yarn baskets everywhere so I can pick something up while nursing, watching a show or getting attacked by my children (urrr...playing with them). I find it much easier to do repetitive projects with yarn than I do with fabric. Lately, hearts have been a theme... hmm, wonder why? I love exploring granny squares too... there's so much you can do with them, and I've learned so much about crochet just from trying new blocks. Ravelry and Pinterest offer endless tutorials. I made some granny head warmers for holiday gifts. I'd love to design a granny sweater vest for Elsa before she gets any bigger, and I have some granny leg warmers in mind, too.

I think I need to take a break from buying more supplies and pattern searching... for my mind as well as my pocket book. I'm going to try to make an effort this year to destash... supplies and ideas. I recently did some stocking up on yarn and fabric, so I should be able to do just fine with what I have. Now I just need to carve out sometime to make!