{sneak peek}

    I am sorry that I have been {out of the loop} lately...

...I am in the process of creating an awesome new website and so with it comes much planning. I am hoping that you will all bear with me over the next few weeks as I assure you that the end result will be both beautiful and FUN!
For now - here is a sneak peek of some things I have been working on!

{farmhouse apron feature}

A while ago I made this sweet {farmhouse chic apron} ... it was, surprisingly my first sewing project ever, on a machine, even though I had been collecting fabric for years...and sewing little things by hand ...

... when I showed my pals, they encouraged me to send it in to (apron-ology) magazine. Imagine my surprise when they accepted it into their February 2012 issue!

I had posted a few photos but somehow when I was updating some computer/blogger information this post, among others, was lost. Since the apron is to be featured this month, I thought I should recreate the post ... so here it is.

... I am a collector of fabrics. I do not need a reason to buy them. I have stacks and stacks of favorite textiles lining the shelves of cupboards in the studio. One day I happened to move something and there was a little pile of neatly folded calico's ... and an apron was born.

... I have fond memories of a favorite grandmother wearing an {apron} at all times. She was the matriarch of a hard working farm. No matter which chore she was immersed in, you could find her bedecked with an {apron}.

... and while {Granny's} aprons were not neatly starched and spotless, they were {loved}. Each one of us grandchildren would find a way to bury ourselves within her {apron strings} ... she would dry our tears, wipes our mouths, and mop up our spills with her {apron}.

To don an {apron} is a wonderful thing for me ... a reminder of my past and the love that a sweet and wonderful woman gave to me. I think of her often, as I brush crumbs into my pocket ... Granny keeping her post tidy ...

... and so the {farmhouse style}. A gentle reminder of what I remember. What I {love}.

... enjoy!

{featured here}

{linking up to this great party here}

http://www.cloverandviolet.com/search/label/Stash%20Project

{recycled repurposed & resplendent in shades of white}

There is something soothing about the color white. It is simple. It is pure. It is stark in it's beauty...

...but bringing together the many different shades of white can be resplendent in itself.

I have always recycled, repurposed my {laundry sheets}...dye catching sheets, fabric softener sheets. I have dyed them, cut them, sew them into projects.

 No matter how many times I have tried, I just can not bring myself to throw them away...

...each time a fresh new load of wash is complete I add another dye catching square to my growing stack of {laundry sheets}...

...the same goes for softener sheets. Fresh out of the dryer they are soft, they are wispy and they hold just a hint of that lovely smell they started with...

 

...so the other day I had an idea. I would use this beautiful pile, in shades of white, to make a new wreathe. I have been wanting a new one, in shades of white, of course...{take a peek at the end result}...

 ...I already had everything I needed, either in the studio, or in the laundry room...

{ a grapevine wreathe}

 {white fabric}

{my laundry sheets}

{these were already in beautiful varying shades of white thanks to the wash loads themselves}

 ...First I cut my banner pennants from white fabric.
Next I cut my letters { L O V E } from a dye catcher sheet...

 ...Then I began to make my flowers. I cut various strips of the sheets according to what type I flower I wanted to create...

 ...each was more beautiful than the next...

 ...I had no patterns, I just cut...

 ...and then twirled them around and fastened them with masking tape...

 ...I made large and small flowers...

 ...the result was this beautiful wreathe in {shades of white}...

 ...if one {laundry sheet} felt gray or dingy, I didn't let it stop me...

 ...because in the end, when it was cut and twirled, it was just as beautiful as the rest...

 ...there were tinges of the palest pinks and yellows...

 ...and lots of yummy off white and gray...

 ...for a pop of true, crisp white I added a few flowers fashioned from a white coffee filter...

 ...together, they were a gorgeous recycled, repurposed bouquet...

 ...each flower, surprising me more than the next...

 ...I created a few leaves out of some scraps of a utility grade white fabric...

 ...and filled in with the wonderfully, wispy {softener sheet} flowers...

 ...it is so dreamy...

 ...a close up shot of the dye catcher sheet letter sewn onto the banner...

 ...I am in { L O V E } with this wreathe...

 ...and I feel good that I could {recycle & repurpose} something old into...

 ...something simply 

{ R E S P L E N D E N T }.

I am sharing this project here:

enjoy!