Sewing Sunday

I just keep running out of time.  Time to sew.  I have the best of intentions as we gear up for the weekend but life happens and before I know it, Sunday evening is here.  So, while cleaning the house on Friday, I invented Sewing Sunday.  I am taking some part of Sunday and either cutting or sewing one of my many home projects as well as gearing up for the springtime craft fairs.  And, because I miss being here, sharing my little world, I am going to blog about what I worked on and share some photos.  Here I go...the first Sewing Sunday.

My project this Sunday starts back in West Virginia 3 years ago.  We were visiting my parents for the 4th of July weekend.  It was pouring rain, there would be no picnics or fireworks.  Dad, Chris and I headed out to an auction in the mountains of WV while Mom stayed home with the babes as they played contently.  We roamed around and I spotted this bright green rocking chair.  The kelly green color was beautiful, roughed up just enough.  The seat needed some work.  I loved the lines of the back.  I fell in love and I was going home with it.  We sat for a long time waiting for them to bring it to the front.  I was not the only one with my eye on it.  I raised my number and ended up in a bidding war with another woman seated in front of me.  And here is it.  Meet my lovely rocking chair.

The seat is wide so I can curl my legs up in it.  The back fits me perfectly.  It sits at our sliding glass door where we have full sun all day.  I sit here and read, make our weekly menus and shopping lists, chat with the kids, attend conference calls.  It is a lovely spot when the sun is streaming in.  It holds a wonderful memory for me and I feel comforted just sitting in it and remembering that day with Dad and Chris.

Back to the sewing project.  I have yet to replace the seat.  And, I decided that I wanted to be able to change the seat with the seasons or my mood.  Someday, I will actually rebuild and recover the seat.  Right now, I am having fun switching things up now and then.  Today, I made a reversible seat cover with fabric I have had for, hmmmm, 2 1/2 years or so.  I bought the fabric for the chair but I just never took the time to sew it.  For the holidays I have a sweet red, snowflake pattern that is reversible to green so in January it does not scream "old Christmas decoration".

After sewing the fabric together, I used a decorative stitch to close up the open side and finish things off a bit.  So sweet!

Here is my final cover.  It's like a little dress for my lovely rocking chair.  I think she is so happy to be out of the snowflake dress and into one that screams spring.  It all looks a bit retro when pulled together.  Ben likes the butterflies, Emme likes the flowers.  When I called Ben over to check out the fancy stitch (he was the only one around at the time), he said "Wow, cool.  Now you can make baseballs."  He sees baseball stitching and I see many more decorative stitches in my future.  I will be enjoying my morning coffee in my newly covered seat. 

I love the way the stitching turned out.  Oh, and you can really see the color of the chair here.  Cool, isn't it?

I am so looking forward to many more Sewing Sundays!

Cheers,

Sara





Can I do it?

As I sit taking in the pink sky of the beautiful sunrise, drink my coffee and cruise inspirational blogs, I look around at my disaster of a house and dream of what it will look like later today.  Clean, decluttered and decked out with my "winterscape".

Yes, I have things I save for January decorating.  I just don't like going from festive Christmas decorations to... well, nothing.  So, as we embrace the Maine winter, I decorate to celebrate it.  And as I cruised around the blog world, I decided I need to update some pillows on the sofa.  But soon after I began dreaming of a trip to Homegoods to find a few new pillows my mind said..."STOP!".  "We are in the second year of decluttering, finishing up unfinished projects, working with what we have...remember?" 

So, it was with this little in my head conversation that led me to post this as a reminder to myself.  I am starting off 2011 with a mind to manage what I have, winterscape the heck out of my house with what I have.  I can sew.  I can paint.  I can do this.  Join me on my journey for the next 6 months to only shop for inspiration, not for more stuff.  As of this morning, I am on a mission to finish the unfinished projects and only buy notions that will help me achieve this such as paint, thread, plants, etc. 

Really, I can do this. 

The Academy.

Pay it forward day.  Today.  Lately I feel like I am surround by people paying it forward.  To me.  Thank you. 

This is going to sound like an Academy Awards speech so queue music now.  But please read on and realize it is the small things that make a difference.  Sometimes it is just doing your job but it makes an impact.  Sometimes it is offering an idea but it makes an impact.  Sometimes it is simply a smile, a word of encouragement, a note, a call, but it makes an impact.

The last few months have been quite a journey for me and I have so many people that have made that journey amazing, happy-tear provoking, so crazy positive that I just go to bed feeling wonderful and fulfilled.  It's not really about the product I create.  It is the experience of it all that is so fulfilling.  As I write this, it reminds me of a moment this past summer (about a boy and his journey). 

So back to the music and my speech...it was the day I opened my business account and the woman behind the desk was so excited about my little venture that I skipped to my car and cried those happy tears.  It was the late night that I called my mother-in-law to help me with a tired and broken sewing machine.  It was the day that a dear friend asked for a stack of business cards to share.  It was the day that another dear friend took the time to take down an e-mail address in the check-out line because the cashier wanted a ZooZ bag.  It is the dear friend that has tried every thing I have made and is often my first test in a new creation. It was the day I sat with Erin as she brought the dreamy dragonfly to life.  It was the day(s) that my Mom and Dad participated in a craft fair with me.  A day full of laughs.  It is the time that my family sits and creates with me as I sew.  It was my brother's excitement and advice - my advertising/marketing go to guy.  It is the love and support that Nellie gives me every time I say, "Hey, I have another idea" or "Uummmmm, these numbers are not adding up again".  Good to have an accountant for a honey.  Thank you all.

My point, after my long speech, is that all of the above is paying it forward.  Everyday, not just today, people are paying it forward.  To me.  I can only hope that I am returning the favor. To someone.  Everyday.

Cheers,
Sara

Fear

I ran across this photo on a random blog recently.  And, boo on me, I do not remember where.  But, it is now my desktop wallpaper and I look at it everyday.  Somedays I just wish I could write on that wall and have someone come along and erase my fears.  But, quite honestly, fear can be helpful sometimes, forcing me into action.  So, my dear friends, here I go, writing on the wall...success, failure, change, acceptance, cooking a turkey, squats (that might be hatred, not fear), the upcoming craft fairs, the list goes on.

I love the note by the back tire, what looks to be "ditto".  So many of us have the same fears.

Here comes my magic eraser...wiping my board clean everyday and asking myself, "then what would happen?"

I am off to sew, without my mother-in-law in the room, with bobbins that I wound, with the fear of the bobbin and sewing machine wiped clean.

Cheers!

Sara

Employee of the Week.

Congratulations to the Dreamy Dragonfly’s employee of the week, Roter Ree (Ro for short). This team member is sha—arp, precise and always ready to pitch in. She zips through fabric and interfacing like no other. Ro just made it through two bolts of interfacing, working late into the night. Nice work Ro.

Ro’s spends much of her time in Grandma Bird’s train case with her colleagues. When she appears in the workshop (aka the kitchen island) she is ready to work. I just don’t know what I would do without her.

Cheers and laughter to you,
Sara

P.S.  I am off to go hang with I. Ron.  Good times here, good times.

From the Mountaintop

It is my wedding anniversary today.  Fourteen years.  I love him.  Madly.  Truly.  I love his long stories that have no point.  I love his full head of hair that is going gray.  I love him with the kids.  I love him when he is annoyed with me.  I love his warmth.  I love him in his soccer uniform.  I love that he watches junk TV with me and pretends to enjoy it.  I love his tacos and pasta.  I love that he loves me, no matter what road I follow.  I love that he takes care of me.  I love how he is a father.  And an uncle.  I love that he listens.  I love his friendship.  I love him.  Forever.  Everything.  I love him.

Stillness returns.

I am here. I have been quiet. But not really. Having come off a crazy summer of scattered schedules, get-a-ways with the family and some good ol' summer fun, I am getting grounded again. Finding my place. Getting back to the stillness, the present, the now. I lost that sense of stillness this summer and I did not realize how much I missed it until I looked back on the summer and only saw a crazed span of summer days, a whirlwind of activity and mostly, an unsettled me.  See my older post on stillness.

I took the road I once traveled. I exchanged sleeping in for meditation, running from one activity to another instead of going on a run, “relaxing” (read - sitting around) for exercise, dreaming about being creative instead of creating.

I am finding stillness again by turning back to me. I have only just started my meditation practice again and already feel the difference in how I approach life with more compassion and courage. I feel like the new, old me. The me that discovered how powerful it is to take care of yourself so that you may better take care of others. The me that handles stress much differently than I did less than a year ago. The me that wants to nourish my soul, my body. The me that wants to just simply be me.

We all have taken steps forward only to fall back a bit. In those steps back is a clear picture of what I want.

I am back. I will blog. I will sew. I will create. I will love. I will dream. I will strive for balance. I will be present. I will have fun.

I wish for you in every step back you find an opportunity to grow stronger, more compassionate and courageous and open yourself up to just being you, right now.  It sure feels good.

Cheers,
Sara