Thank you for your terrific suggestions about pulling out of the January Blahs. While the trip to the New Zealand beaches for a real visit with my blogfriends Miss Smith and Mary Nanna sounded really fabulous, the airfare is a bit out of my price range at the moment.
Dear Anonymous seems to know me so well... I have my guesses about who she is. I have taken bits of her advice: particularly, spending time with other people's children, like these sweet feet.
And an impromptu lunch date with four year-old, RaRa. And some knitting with lady friends. And remembering to take my Vitamin D.
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So in lieu of a trip to New Zealand or even to a big city, and considerably cheaper, I had a therapeutic shopping excursion to Alewives Fabrics this week. I went knowing that I wanted to make myself pajama pants in flannel. And that maybe I might like to begin a quilt for my boy who will turn 13 this year (December, so plenty of time), in colors of orange and blues. You will recall that his room is orange.
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Imagine my thrill when I discovered a precut pack of twenty fat quarters in just the colors I had envisioned, for a Turning Twenty Quilt. That's an amazing retail experience, even more than the usual to be had at Alewives. So, I splurged for it and the border, backing, and binding fabrics and will begin working on it this winter, when I need the color therapy too.
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I also discovered a bag I had to make, the Winslow Market Tote (free pattern here). And if you're wondering, the answer to the question "Do you really need another bag?" is *always* Y.E.S. It's lined with linen and is a nice hefty size for all of the stuff that usually travels with me.
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And now it is really snowing like crazy outside and I have been home all day sewing intermittently with breaks for shoveling. Perfect.
Here's what I can tell you about Pajamas for Everyone in Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing. For size medium adult, you need more fabric than she says, and don't even try to use a fabric that has a directional print. This called for 2 yards and there was just no way to make that work with the direction she wanted you to lay your fabric down in. So I turned and folded my fabric another way and it worked.
pajamas for everyone with small bums
One more thing to know, and this may be TMI blogfriends, is that I do not have a very large bottom. I would call it medium flattish. But the way the PJs fit me is just a bit more snug around that area than I would like. I'll definitely still wear them, but next time I will also adjust the pattern. Maybe I just like a loose PJ. Anyway. Aren't these the happiest looking pants you've ever seen?
I don't think I ever showed you this bit of sweetness that I purchased at our school craft fair at the Mosey Handmade table. It is the perfect size to protect the little bits of technology items that we carry around these days.