First day of "retirement"

My sewing machine and I have a renewed friendship - after making the travel organizer, I made a new knit top for the trip.  I used an Indy pattern and it turned out really cute. Here's the pattern:  http://sewliberated.com/products/paloma-top-tunic-and-dress

Getting ready for France...

Lately, I've been sewing for myself in anticipation of nearly a month in Europe.  First, my parents and I will accompany Archie on a business trip to the French Riviera.  Then, Archie and I will go to Italy on a music mission trip.  So, instead of learning the music for the second trip, I've been stretching and swimming to prepare my body and doing some sewing to cover it.  


Today, I made a travel organizer by following the instructions in this blog:  http://www.thimble.ca/?p=1443  

Of course, I had to modify mine, because I had only one zipper and I wanted to line the pockets on the left side.  So, I made a flap with Velcro to hold one of the pockets on the right closed.  If you'll notice, the zipper is metal - who knows how long I've had that!  The organizer didn't cost me anything, since I used what I had on hand.  I think it will work out well.  We'll test it in France this month.


After I took these pictures, I picked out the final top-stitching around the edges so I could get the folded papers inside easier.  It works much better that way.

Back At It

I'm going to try to post my new artwork, then Pin to Pinterest for more exposure.  If I get some pins, then maybe I'll reopen my Etsy store, or maybe I'll just create for my own enjoyment and whomever else wants to watch.  Since I'm still trying to find my niche in the art world, there will be a variety of styles.

Above is a small piece with paint, stamping, paper, fabric, ribbon, clay and a button.  

These next pictures show a tray I did last night to replace one I had to take down while the house is on the market.  (Apparently, houses sell better when there are no personal photos on display.)  I just collected all kinds of red and black things.  The top right rectangle represents my sewing and below it is a travel rectangle.  

Here's the entire tray.

Now, let's go on to this collage.

 Here's a close-up of the door, made from pictures of lots of different doors.

In this collage, I used paper, stamping, paint, decoupage, rub-ons, ink and a half-bead for the doorknob.