all in the family... :)

yay!! my mom has opened up her own etsy shop called Back Porch Quilts and has a wonderful assortment of hand-sewn quilts in a variety of sizes, colors, and patterns...

Sage Green, Brown and Cream Quilt Table Topper

i grew up sewing alongside her, ooh-ing and aah-ing over the crisp cotton fabrics and fussy-cut pattern pieces on her craft table...

Oh Baby Star Quilt Wall Hanging

all of her pieces are instant heirlooms and family traditions, to be passed down from generation to generation...

Log Cabin Star Quilt Wall Hanging

and just in time for the holiday shopping season, these quilts will make a wonderful gift for your family as well :)

Christmas Quilt Table Runner

i am so proud of her and all her accomplishments :) and my dad helps out as photographer extraordinaire, so its fun for me to see my own roots in action :)

Twin Size Sampler Block Quilt

and then there were 4...

...so its time we added to our humble little family, and once again we get to hear the pitter-patter of little feet around the house...

well, its more like a rolling sound, since those little feet, 4 to be exact, belong to our new hamster, Harriette, who loves to scoot around in her little green ball :)

and she is quite a husky thing! over 6 inches long, she barely fits through the little tube adjoining her double cage condo... but she rolls like a champ around the house and only bumps into things she wants to sniff out...

she's my new spinning buddy, i usually bring her and her ball out at night and she gingerly bumps my wheel now and again as she cruises the floor, as if to say "looks great! maybe a little more fluff or bling and its golden!" :) i love pets that just listen and love and make me laugh :) xoxo

ETSY SHOP UPDATE: Saturday Nov. 14, 11am pst :) coffee and cookie dough this time... why chance it by baking? xoxo

a rrrrroaring good time :)

...so, it was my son's 4th birthday last week and between his party and halloween weekend, we are officially partied out! :)

we had all of his "best" friends, a.k.a. the neighborhood kids, over for a super fun time in the double-slide bouncy and i think the parents (and grand-parents) had just as much fun sliding as the kids! :)

and there were so many fun toys and gifts that we'll get to play with, over and over and over... :)

and THEN there was the fur... TONS of fur snippets EVERYWHERE in the house!! he wanted to be a red furry dragon with yellow trim :) so, of course, i obliged... :)

...and just fyi, NEVER cut any sort of faux fur type fabric with scissors, ALWAYS use a razor to cut only the backing and then you don't have fur bits all over... UNLESS you are making it the day before halloween, then you'll need to just hack at it!! :)

...so now we rest :) until i just get so stir crazy that i have to dye, card, and spin :) next UPDATE is on its way!! :)

Big Purge... Mini Splurge :)

...so this week, i finally decided that i have HAD it! i mean, i am REALLY sick of it! sick of all the sh-tuff that i had collected and had been storing and carting around and "organizing" and living with for the past 7 years... so the dudes and i had a treasure hunt all thru the house gathering up anything that held us back from the freedom of a clutter-free living space, and everything that was used in the past but is not useful in my current endeavors–

all my old sewing supplies, fabrics, trims, etc. from my previous career as a fashion designer... saving up anything spinnable or giftable of course...

all my old jewelry making supplies and metal-smithing equipment and wax that was left behind...

all my rolls of plastic and patterns i had used to create my revolutionary "pick-a-pack" storage systems for organizing your kid's wardrobe... i'll trade ya my copyright for fiber!!

and thus, we have cleared out my home and garage, leaving only the essentials... and most importantly, space to store my bins full of raw fleece ready to be washed, dyed, carded and spun into my latest wildest dreams! :)

...so this week its just a mini update :) a mini splurge for you! :) UPDATE in the shop on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 12noon pst :) hope to see you there! coffee and cookies as usual :)

A Cinderella Moment...

...so we finally had the chance to watch Cinderella with my little guy who always dresses up like a prince... and i just fell in love all over again with the wonderful story and lovable animal characters and magical transformation and all the colors and sparkles there were to see :) and of course i just melt when the fairy godmother's wand sends a spiral of glittery magic around Cinderella and she is instantly transformed into the most loveliest vision of all :)

and it inspired me to create some magic of my own, with a little bibbidy bobbidy boo and a dash of sparkle and voila! now you can have a sprinkle of magic, too :) grab your favorites in the next SHOP UPDATE, Monday Oct. 12 at 10am pst :)

the stepsisters, Anastasia and Drisella:

fairy godmother and prince charming :)

and glass slipper, a candy wrapper corespun yarn with crystal embellishments :)

and i was also in a holiday season, wintery wishing (its still sunny down here!) and nature's offerings kind of mood... and have some yummy peace offerings also in the mix :) UPDATE on Monday, Oct. 12, 10 am pst :)

hope to see you in the shop... cocktails and toffee bars will be served :)

Updating an Obsession :)

so, YAY!! i finally have found a way to make one big obsession obscenely BIGGER! i started a new fiber frenzy in my own studio and now can't find my way out :) i've been up to my knees in raw fibers, dyepots and carded fluff trying out my new toy (i'll give you one guess!)

and my neighbor's little daughter has been my biggest help of all! she helped me pick out colors and textures and we carded up a sweet little dream batt that i can spin just for her :)

so here's the good stuff!! sneak peeks at the BIGGEST update i've had, and probably the funnest one, too!! :)

and after arm-wrestling for a spot in line at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival Fleece Sale (say that 3 times fast!) and scoring the HUGEST haul of fleece, i will officially be up to my neck in it! who won the wrestle? probably miss AtomicBlue herself, but it's such a fun way to go down! :)

Spinderella :)

so, yeah... from rags to richness is pretty much how it goes down over here :)

I absolutely LOVE to get my hands on anything from my stacks of fabrics, my son's toy bin, shredded threads from snagged garments... you get the gist...

and if you really want to see what i mean, take a peek at my recent "spinterview" interview... a nifty little question and answer ditty that the boys cooked up :) they did the asking and i did the chatting... you know me :)

an excerpt from the "spinterview"...

Why do you love to spin? For me, spinning is like painting with my hands and dancing with my feet… I absolutely LOVE going to my stash and searching for the batt, locks or roving that is calling out to be my next project… I love digging through my bins of fabrics and trims and beads and novelty yarns and threads to find extra goodies that might want to be spun into the yarn… I love sitting down with an oiled flyer and a fresh bobbin and having the opportunity to spin something unique, whimsical, textural and colorful… I love holding fiber in my hands and letting it twist and spin and form into shape… I love having the chance to pass the creativity along to someone else who might knit, crochet, felt, or craft with it in some way… and I love teaching my son how to take something in your hands and make with it something new ... for more about my whirl-wind adventures in fiber yumminess, click here to read on...

and have you checked out the Spin In Public website? a tres cool celebration of us spinners and fiberistas who love to give it a whirl in public and do some grand style exhibitioning out there in real life :)

so there you have it... another great reason to hold onto your belly button and toe lint :) cuz ya just never know when it'll end up in the mix :) okay, i'm so grossed out by that thought right now, but somebody had to put it out there!! :) xoxoxoxo