Lucy and Lily

I didn't have time to post this yesterday so I'm catching up today. Lucy and Lily were working on these projects at lunch! Lucy is working on a sock, and Lily is working on a wristband! Aren't they great?!?!? As usual, when the Craftster conversation turned toward knitting I headed for the door. Later!

AZ Craftsters Meet Again....

We started out at 10:00 at the Phoenix Public Market. It was EXTRA FUN today because of the Mariachi Band and the Dancers who performed. Chris, Denise and I mostly bought FOOD.... but I also purchased something VERY special...

My grandmother's church always had a church Bazaar. As a young married person I bought several of the "Handtowels with crocheted top/loop with button that goes over the oven handle things..." You know what I mean, right? Someone send me a link to a bizarro collection of these - please!

Anyway, after seeing my great interest in these - my grandmother would pick them out especially for me and send them every year. She died several years ago and I miss her. When I spotted the ladies with the display of these towels I knew I had to have one. Imagine the display...perrhaps 50 or 60 of these in pairs, back to back, carefully priced and packaged in plastic baggies. All of them lined up like little soldiers for my perusal. How could I choose? One of the ladies came to my rescue pointing to the one in the middle "It's Precious Moments," she confided. I felt so special knowing that she was willing to part with such a rare and valuable item. I mean you just don't see these every day. "I'm getting this for my daughter." I told her. "Oh there are two!" What a deal. For five dollars I got TWO of these towels. My day was now complete - but there was more to come...much more....

I excused myself to visit the Arizona Antique Show. For the first time in my life I bought nothing. It was a bust. Absolutely nothing. I wasted no time catching up with Chris and Denise at City Bakery and who was there to greet us? An entire family of knitters! That's right, the husband, the wife and the two daughters all knitting! Here is a link to their website.

These are my kids!

Our "old" computer is broken. It hasn't worked in ages. No internet - nothing works. We figured maybe we had a bad virus and we wanted to just "wipe it clean" but I KNEW I had some really cute photos on there so I was hesitant. Well.... Ken's friend John Matush came over and took the machine home with him. He downloaded all of my files onto a cd and then "wiped out the hard drive." I put the files on my "new" computer and look what I found.... These are my children - Christmas 2003. Clockwise from the top left there's Dan, Kaitlin, Matt, James and Will. Note that James has a bright green cast on his arm!

Denise Makes a Necktie Skirt!

Yes....Another victim for Mama Klu. Oh, it started innocently enough - "Come on over and sew, Denise. I'll show you how to make a necktie skirt for Aria (her 8-year-old daughter.)" Meanwhile I am gleefully chuckling "Mwah ha ha ha.... give me two days with this one and I have her converted for sure. Tom Cruise has nothing on me." Well after two mornings of sewing, sure enough, Denise is talking about making Halloween costumes, following patterns and coming back to learn to use the serger! YAY! Great job, Denise!

Best Wishes to Gus and Cami!

Ken and I attended a wedding on Saturday. It was really wonderful.
Guess where they met...

Really Great Bags!

There are many many bag designers online. Here are a few of my favorites:

Sophisticated Kitsch, Magnolia Pearl, and Ruby Tag bags. Enjoy!

How to Help.

There are many many worthy relief organization out there helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina. As Americans we are always ready to reach out to those in need. The "on-line indie craft community" has come together in a unique way to offer their products for sale to benefit the Red Cross. As a buyer, you receive the goods, but ALL PROCEEDS go to the Red Cross. The crafters and artists have donated their goods. So, let's all make this effort successful and SHOP!

Happy 17th Birthday Ryan!

Some special orders are more fun than others....

...and this was a fun one!

A skirt for Cora to match her cute new shoes! My AZ Craftster friends helped me choose the ideal fabrics. I hope it fits!

The Ruby Slouch

Presenting.... The Ruby Slouch! I have been working on this design for a while. It's kind of tricky, but I like the way it turned out. This one is for me.

Retreat in the Pines

I spent Friday and Saturday with my girlfriends in Prescott. Even though it was only about a 2-hour drive you can see that it is quite different from the Scottsdale desert where I live. Linda's log cabin is beautiful and the pines are fragrant and refreshing. I'm on the far left, then there's Judy, Karen, Mary, Gail, Mandy, Sherrie, Debbie, Star, Linda and Wanda.

AZ Craftsters Meet Again...

...and I forgot to take photos! Oh well.

We started the day at Gracie's Thrift in Tempe. It seemed like a good idea since everything was 50% off. Well guess what? Everyone else in town seemed to have the same idea! The store opened at 9:00. Apparently there was a line outside and everything. We arrived at 10:00. I immediately headed toward the neckties. I was VERY selective - only choosing clean, nice beautiful pink, purple and paisley ties...and a couple of others... Ummmm okay I found a total of 23 ties for 50 cents each. Not the best price but certainly a good price for a choice selection of ties. I also got a pair of natural-colored jeans for a "super-secret" project.

Chris found some great stuff - a wool sweater for felting, a knife rack and a teapot in a pattern that she collects! Carole found some vintage sewing goodies, and our new friend Kathleen found some clothes for her daughter and a bunch of vintage crafting books. We had to wait in a very long line to check out so it's a good thing we had each other to keep company.

Afterward, Denise met us at SAS Fabrics. I have a "Special Order" for a gypsy skirt for my friend Cora. She wants it to match her new VERY CUTE shoes. I brought one of the shoes into the fabric store and the girls helped me to find just the right fabrics. I hope Cora likes our choices.

Carole had to leave, but the rest of us went to lunch at Haji Baba. Naturally I had never been there or to ANY Middle Eastern restaurant....unless you count Greek. I had no idea what anything would taste like so I just ordered a "Combination Plate." Everything was scrumptious!

Ryan and Dan

This is my son, Dan and his sweetheart, Ryan. Dan is the middle of my five children. He's a senior in high school. Don't they look happy?

Always Sewing!

I liked the size and shape of the necktie schoolbag so I used the same pattern to make another bag from a vintage crazy quilt top. (Please note that this was an UNFINISHED quilt top - I don't cut up perfectly good quilts.) Anyway, it turned out pretty well....

So I made another....
Am I obsessed?

Check this out!

Purses made from zippers!

Look at my Counter!

It's closing in on 50,000 hits! It seems like I should celebrate or something...

Scarfles Go To Summer Camp!

Every year I send my friend Cassie a camp Care package. This year I thought she would have fun with a box of scarfles and other skirts to share with her cabin. Do you think they had fun? Cassie is the one in the rainbow skirt.

Carly's Adventurous Artwork

I've just added a link to Carly's blog. She is a mixed media artist working as a teacher in London. Be sure to check out the links to her artwork. It's fabulous.

Carly Makes a Tote

Carly was back again to finish her tote bag and just to generally hang out with Kaitlin and I! Didn't the tote turn out great?

Carly makes a necktie skirt

Hi this is Carly! Desperate to learn how to sew before I begin teaching textiles in a secondary school in London, Laura came to the rescue. She has offered to give me a few sewing lesson while I'm home for the summer. Today we made a necktie skirt! Very cute and I'm sure the kids in London are going to have as much fun with this as I have. I can't wait to learn more!
Please check out my blog.

Tutorial for Necktie Schoolbag!

I made a couple of adjustments in the schoolbag. It's a little smaller - five ties across instead of six. I worked very hard on this tutorial yesterday. Give it a try!

Back to School

I set out to design an alternative to the messenger bag. Lifting the flap every time I want to open the bag is a little tiresome. Also, when the bag is really stuffed it just doesn't look right. I wanted a BIG bag - big enough for schoolbooks, but easy to open and close. So, here is my first effort. What do you think?

Is it Fall Yet?

Inspired by my young students I have been making necktie skirts for girls! They are MUCH faster - requiring only 7, 8 or 9 ties. What a breeze. Here is my lovely long-legged niece Alex modeling. Doesn't she look great?

Zipper Pouches!

I've discoverd that a great way to use up scraps or to practice a new technique is to make a zipper pouch! The top one is made from necktie scraps, the next is ribbon scraps.


Here are the backs.


The daisy pouch features a ton of freestyle machine embroidery. I know it's hard to see in the photo. Do you recognize the last one? It's the first project from my bag of vintage trims!


Here is the lining on the daisy pouch. Cute?

March of the Penguins

I try to keep my blog crafty and not all over the place but I have to tell you that I have a new favorite movie! March of the Penguins! It is completely fascinating. There is no way you could watch this movie and not believe that there is a Divine Creator who has perfectly designed each species.

Kelly in a Gypsy Skirt

This is my oldest son's sweetheart - Kelly. Doesn't she look great in the gypsy skirt?

Vintage Trim Bounty

A trip to the local antique mall turned up this bag of vintage trims for $10.00.
Here's what's inside....
Here's a close-up of the small stuff.

What will this become?
Stay tuned....

Of COURSE I've been sewing!

It's just that there's really nothing new. More gypsy skirts, more bags, more lace minis, more necktie strawberries. Here are a few of the new bags....

Necktie Skirt Class #2

The girls finished their skirts! Here are Rebecca, Anya, Bonnie, Jodie, Katya and Nicole. Didn't they do a great job?

Because Everything Looks Better With A Rooster On It

I actually made this skirt last summer, but it didn't sell :( So... this summer I added a rooster cut out from a vintage kitchen towel. What do you think?

Fun on the Corner

Last Friday was another Designer Showcase at Here on the Corner. Do you think we had fun?




Kaitlin, Ryan, Mandy, Sunny, Jessica and Ruby!



Kaitlin and Jessica shop the Rick Rack Ruby rack....



Sunny in her gypsy skirt. Dig the belly bag.



Don't miss Mandy's cute necktie bag!

Necktie Skirt Class #1

Rebecca Chooses Her Ties....



Anya Chooses Her Ties....



Meanwhile, Katya...



...and Nicole are already sewing.




Sammy (left foreground - sorry about the quality) is an old pro. She came to Mama Klu's Summer Sewing Extravaganza last year. She's making a skirt for her very fortunate cousin. Please notice that we are using my THREE Bernina sewing machines.





At last Rebecca is sewing! This is her FIRST real sewing project! It's going to be great. This photo reminds me of a fisherman with a really big catch....

What happens next? Tune in next week for Necktie Skirt Class #2!

A New Design!

This is a lace mini-skirt. The top layer is stretch lace and the bottom two layers are ruffles. This is designed to wear outside of your blue jeans. The "Lace Mini" is debuting tonight at Here On The Corner. Thanks again to Ryan for being such a darling model!

A New Design!

This is a lace mini-skirt. The top layer is stretch lace and the bottom two layers are ruffles. This is designed to wear outside of your blue jeans. The "Lace Mini" is debuting tonight at Here On The Corner. Thanks again to Ryan for being such a darling model!

Thank You!

Thank you everyone who voted for Ruby in the latest Craftster challenge! Once again I made a decent showing...probably finishing in the top 10. Here is a link to the truly-deserving winning entry.

Tomorrow is another sewing class - necktie skirts!

Elephant Clutches

I spotted an elephant clutch in the March 2005 issue of Teen Vogue. Sorry I can't find an on-line image. The designer is Patch NYC and the price is $245.00.... Anyway, just the idea of an elephant clutch is intriguing, isn't it? My friend, Judy, gave me some Asian fabrics and I was wondering what to do with them. It took a while, but here is the result. The zipper was tricky. The tail is attached to the zipper pull and don't miss the tacky plastic fish bead! What do you think?

Something Fun!

This is a link to etsy... A site where you can purchase handcrafted goods directly from the artist. It looks great and it's brand new - Check it out!