Keeping Busy and Other Nonsensical Things

To start off I will get the bad mojo out of the way. My website looks like a five year old created it. Like a mass produced, fill the pictures and content into set spots and call it good. Uh, so not good I cannot even tell you. This blog looks positively divine, comparatively. So. Still working on that. (Did I cry? No, but I stomped around and had a fit like that five year old that did the site. :0)

Other goodness though, would be going to Seattle to enjoy a weekend away with a girlfriend, eating and drinking our way through downtown. Perfectly lovely. Also, West Seattle Fabric Co. will be carrying my patterns, so a little bit of write off going on? Why yes I think so! And those gals (Monica, the owner, and Meg, sweet friend and employee) are fabulous I tell you. The neighborhood is terrific, with everyone walking their dogs, enjoying coffee on the sidewalk... I want to live there. And I am not kidding. When I walked into the bright space of the shop, I was greeted warmly by Meg, and found out that Monica was across the street enjoying lunch with her husband and daughter. They popped over and I got to meet them all, with their little daughter all dressed up witchy and super cute for Halloween. Loved it, and a perfect end to a great weekend.

I know I have said before that "Night Circus" is a good book, and since Halloween is my favorite holiday, I volunteered to have book club here, and (duh) chose that book. It's not a Halloween themed book per say, but very magical with a "night" and all black and white color scheme. I had a little too much fun prepping for this party, but all seemed to enjoy it, as I even placed a dress code on the guests, and dressed up as one of the main characters myself! Tomato Basil soup and a bevy of sandwiches comprised the menu, with black forest brownies for dessert. YUM. Fun night!! (Also, I am slightly OCD, and since the theme was all black and white, I of course covered up all my furniture with white sheets. :0)

This is why.

I am systematically recovering the cushions on my microfiber couch. Anyone with this color of microfiber, with kids and/or pets, knows how difficult they are to keep clean. I have an impossibly great collection of home decor weight fabric, so I patch worked it all together to create large sheets, and cut out the pattern. (By "cut out the pattern", of course I mean that I set the cushion on top of the sheets of patchwork and cut around it. :0) The hardest part was stuffing the cushions in without ripping or tearing the seams. I encourage child labor on this, and had my eldest sit on the bent cushions so I could pull the fabric over. So you see, I have a bright and multi-colored living room, which is wonderful until you are doing a black and white themed dinner party.

We did discuss the book briefly, and are considering changing our "book" club, to "wine" club.

This is one of my new (By "new" I mean of questionable date and purchased second hand.) "girls". I am currently stalled on a ruffle vest pattern, and having a dress form to work with is divine. There were two sizes, so I bought both. I will probably recover them. In answer so some of your questions, "Why wouldn't you get a dial-a-size?" I had considered it, but to be honest, my studio is located very central in our home, and being a bit OCD, I wanted them to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible. Plus they are fun to dress for the holidays, like I did here.

Well, thanks for sticking with me while I toil on the website, and finalize some other projects. Also thanks for sticking through my ramblings, I am going to go polish off some more Halloween candy now. Then my hubby is taking me out to a nice lunch at our favorite restaurant before taking the kiddos out trick-or-treating. WOW it just occurred to me that we only have one trick -or-treater. Sad how they grow up so fast. And sad that I am running out of candy.

Enjoy your Halloween!! :0)