Ah Oregon, how I love thee.  Last weekend Eric and I finally got some down time after a summer and a half of parties, visitors from out of town, home improvement projects, and general chaos.  We took some time to check out the Urban Folk Art show (more on that later), and then we made the beautiful drive out to Red Ridge Farms with our friends Sherry and Liam.  It was just heavenly.  What is Red Ridge Farms, you ask?  What isn’t it?!  Combine a family vinyard with olive orchards, lavender fields, a very magical nursery, giant olive press (yep, olive oil pressed on site), incredible shop complete with a conservatory and attached knot garden, and you’ve gotten close to describing what they do there.  But even that doesn’t say it all.  Did I mention that it’s nestled in the hills in gorgeous Oregon wine country?

I somehow didn’t take pictures of the adorable gift shop/ guest suite, but suffice it to say it’s ridiculously cute.  The shop is filled with scrumptious things like olive oil pressed on site, slabs of crystal salt, incredible terrariums and cloches, and a fantastic selection of books and dainty house plants.  And yes, they have a frog living in the conservatory.

One of the things that I really enjoy is that almost all of the amazing plants that have been used to landscape the property are available for sale in the nursery.  Those amazing roses with hips the size of plums- bought ‘em.  Delicate, feathery, dwarf willow- bought it.  Your very own olive tree?  yep.  Lavender?  What kind?  They’ve got more varieties of lavender than I knew existed, and the staff were super knowledgeable and friendly when Sherry and I asked our hundred and fifty questions about them.

I love the details, like these zinc plant labels.  And the shelves, below?  Look for them at my next craft show*, because cost be damned- I will have them!

*I’ll be at the Urban Craft Uprising in Seattle, and at the Crafty Wonderland in Portland this year- Yay!

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday!  I’m so grateful that I live so near to things like this.  Although Eric and I have now lived in Oregon for over a year, we’re just now getting to explore our neck of the woods and I just feel more and more lucky every time we discover something new.

It’s been stewing for a while, but I think it was my coffee buzz this morning that set me into action.  I’m officially on a mission to get rid of all of the paper towels and plastic sandwich bags in my kitchen and replace them with reusable stuff that is also much, much more aesthetically pleasing.  My first project had to be a few sandwich and snack bags for Eric.  There are definitely plenty to choose from on Etsy if you don’t want to make them yourself, but I wanted something masculine and cool looking, and it seems like the Etsy batch tends towards pre-school style.  So I whipped this puppy up, and guess what- it was SUPER EASY!  Follow along with me as I record my mission to replace my wasties with lovelies!

I’m sorry that I didn’t take pictures of the step-by-step, but I don’t think you actually need photos for this one.  Here’s how I did it:

Materials (for 1 sandwich sized bag):

• outer fabric- 9″ x 14″
• lining- 9″ x 14″ oilcloth or vinylized cotton (Heat N Bond makes a great iron-on vinyl)
• hook n loop (Velcro)- 6 3/4″

Step 1. Lay the oil cloth right side up with the long side parallel to your table edge.  Measure in 1″ from each edge and make a few small marks with a permanent marker.  This is where you’ll attach the velcro.

Step 2. Attach the velcro.  Line up the velcro so the top just covers any marks you’ve made, and make sure it’s centered.  There should be about 1″ of fabric still showing. It can be a bit tricky to keep the velcro in place on oilcloth, so I used a few strips of washi tape and just stitched through (painter’s tape would also work well).  Stitch 1/8″ or less all the way around, making sure to back stitch.  Carefully remove any tape you’ve used.

Step 3. Now lay the outer fabric on top of the oilcloth so that the right sides are together.  Stitch along the short edges (parallel to the velcro).  Turn inside out and finger press the seams tidy.

Step 4. Top stitch 1/4″ from the seam you’ve just made.  Now you can see why it’s important to give the velcro plenty of clearance.  This also gives your fingers room to open and close the bag easily.

Step 5.  Pin the fabric layers on the 2 long edges and baste closed.  Trim any wonky edges with a ruler and rotary cutter.  Fold your bag in half so that the velcro closes (right sides out), pin sides, and stitch 1/4″ from the edge.  Use a ruler and rotary cutter to trim the edges to 1/8″ from the seam you’ve just stitched.

Step 6. Turn your bag inside out and press the corners out as best you can.  Finger press the seams tidy and stitch 1/4″ from the edge, back stitching at both ends.  Repeat for the other side.  Trim any looses threads and turn right side out.  Voila!  Make some sandwiches and have a picnic!

I’ve been meaning to post this since we got back from our trip, but so many things have gotten in the way!  Nice, pleasant things though, like my dad and step mom visiting from California, like painting my office the most delightful shade of watery aqua, like shopping for antiques and coming home with beautiful bargains . . . so here we are with a post waiting to happen!

We’ve already established that the Urban Craft Uprising show was beyond everything.  Now let’s explore how Seattle is adorable and how I can’t wait for a reason to go back and snuggle into a wee existence in one of the adorablest places ever invented- Pike Place Market.  Forget the throwing of the fish- who cares about the fish when the market itself is a magical labyrinth of smells and colors?  What you see on the street level is a long, narrow building by the water, but it actually extends several levels below the street.  The top level is filled with flowers, produce, meat and fish, prepared food, jams and honey, and a wonderful specialty pasta shop, while the levels below are dedicated to bitty shops and curios.

Not only are the signs wonderful but the maze-like workings of the building add to the feeling of being in a magical place.  The sloping floor and pipe bedecked ceiling give the whole thing a ship-like quality.  The other delightful thing- wonderful smelling eateries abound!  Gorgeous breakfasts were being cooked at nearly every address for blocks around the market, and the bread, oh the bread being baked!  If any of you readers wants to sponsor me a comfy bed in Seattle  for a month I will gladly take you to breakfast there every day.

Of course it helped that our method of transportation to the waterfront was a cute, blue monorail car with watermelon red seats inside.

By the end of the too-short weekend even the strange, giant hot tub next to the bed in our hotel room seemed kind of wonderful and I was very sorry to leave.  But then I remembered that I live but a short drive away!  Next time, however, I think I’ll be making the journey by train.

Wow.  I don’t know if I even have the words to say how amazing this weekend was- it was A-MA-ZING.  This was my first ever Urban Craft Uprising show, and I’d heard really good things about it, but I didn’t quite know what to expect.  There was just something magical about the very precise choice of vendors and the very ( and I mean VERY) nicest customers I’ve ever encountered at any craft show, EVER.  Basically I wanted to give over my earnings to just about every booth at the show, because every vendor there was truly talented and one of a kind.  Not only was every booth unique, but the vendors were wonderful people and genuine artists.  It made me feel really warm and fuzzy to think that I got to be among them. Another plus- my booth turned out juuuuust right.

I wanted to create a space that would invite people in to explore, and I think I managed to do that.  My giant, four-sided button display created a sneaky hidden nook where I put my jewelry, and the back wall was literally a wall that I built to house purses, clutches, wallets and aprons.  I like it because it reminds me of the spot in my sun room where I photograph my product.

Next to the purses wall was our little cash wrap, and next to that was the rest of my sewing notions.  I think Eric makes an excellent sales associate!

The purse wall was sort of the highlight of the booth.  I got to debut a brand new purse design, to great success!  The Dewdrop Mini Tote was a definite favorite this weekend, and I’ll be posting it in the shop later this week!

I was SO excited to have a live bouquet of flowers in my booth, which is something I’ve always wanted to do.  These scrumptious ranunculus’ (ranunculi?) came from my backyard!  They’re my absolute favorite flower, and they happened to bloom just before we left for the weekend.  I think they made my booth extra, extra charming.

This little guy snapped off during the hustle and bustle, but he added a very lovely touch to the cash wrap!

I was so excited to be able to use real furniture this time around.  This gifted dresser makes the perfect home for all of my jewelry!  And I loved watching people explore the buttons and find this hidden nook behind them!

Mini pennants in a vintage mug.  A mug that is exactly the perfect shade of green.  I had so much fun mixing all of the shelving and knobs on the purse wall.  It also gave me the perfect excuse to spend a ridiculous amount of money on knobs at Anthropologie- something I’ve always wanted to do!

Rings!  Everywhere rings.  I love the tiered jewelry stand and the little saucers on candle holders.  Love, love, love.

Button badges below my new yellow mirror- love it!  You can also see my new signage here.  Green paper with white pencil- very, very lovely.

My new button display turned out great!  I found the most fantastic coral pink rope, which adds a fun accent behind the buttons.  At first I thought it might be too monsterously huge, but in fact it is the perfect size for one of my favorite and best selling products.  Next time around I’ll add more rope so that I can hang even more buttons!

We drove home late last night, and although I’m a bit tired, I’m also a bit wired because I just had the most amazing weekend.  Thanks so much to everyone who stopped by my booth.  I can’t wait to come back to Seattle and say hello once again!

Oh the sweat!  The splinters, the bruises, the dirt, heat, tears!  At last they’re paying off, because if all goes well, my Urban Craft Uprising booth this weekend will look a little something like  . . . THIS:

If you’re going to be anywhere near Seattle this Saturday or Sunday, July 9 + 10, you simply must stop by to shop all of the amazing vendors, and to say hello to me! Here are the deets:

Urban Craft Uprising

Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

July 9+ 10

11 am- 5 pm

Booth #27

As you all know, last week was rough for me.  But my spirits were very much lifted when the mail carrier brought me an unexpected package from my penpal and friend, Shrie, of Lo and Behold.  The contents were all treasures, but the crowning jewel was the most beautiful, carefully prepared embroidery of my logo, adorned with refined swirls and dainty crochet flowers!  It totally made me cry.  I mean, how touching is it that she designed this lovely piece, and then stitched each stitch, just for me?  Thank you so much, my wonderful friend, you have no idea how touched I am!

The colors and design suit me to a T, and as you can see, it fits into my studio exactly.  I’m so happy that I get to see it above my sewing machine every time I sew.  The note that Shrie included in the package was equally sweet, and without saying too much, I do want to say that I feel the same.  Hi five to penpals!

P.S. Thank you everyone for the hugs and condolences for Yellow Beans.

It’s a sad time here right now.  Our gentle Yellow Dog passed away this week.  We knew that it was coming, and I know that he’s had all the love and comfort possible while he was with us, but it’s still very difficult.  He was 14 years old and had survived the streets of San Fernando, survived Grandma’s cooking, survived being hit by a car, and lived through a complicated liver condition, and all with quantities of patience and gentleness that no human could ever muster.  As I look around the house during the day, making sure all three dogs are accounted for and not making trouble, I can’t help but feel my heart break when I realize that from now on there will always be one missing.