Heading to the Expo

For those of you in the United States, you know what kind of winter we have had.  Record low temps and snow totals, ice storms in places that rarely see that type of weather, and school closures.  I've nearly lost my mind.  You might think that all of this time stuck inside would have led to lots of sewing projects.  Well, you would be wrong.  Most of my time has been spent refereeing two little boys who have had quite too much "togetherness" and cleaning up piles of Legos and other messes.  So, I have nothing to show for what is usually my most productive time of the year, winter.

I am, however, heading off for a bit of inspirational time at the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Baltimore on Thursday.  But this year I won't be shopping and attending classes (well, I might do a little of that, too), I will be teaching some of those classes.  I have been offered a most fantastic opportunity to fill in for a teacher who couldn't make it at the last minute.  I was only asked to do this about a week ago, so I have spent the last week (in between yet more snow and more school closures) coming up with lesson plans, making samples and packing supplies.  Here's my table all piled up with my preparations.

I have to say that sewing these samples has really inspired me to come home and make myself something from the lovely heavy-weight linen that I used for my samples.  Perhaps it will be ready by the time spring arrives.  Which can't be soon enough in my book.  I will leave you with this link to a post from the past which conjurs up memories of spring and cherry blossoms:  What I Like in March:  Cherry Blossoms.

Pig Cupcakes and Musings on What to Wear

My youngest son celebrated his third birthday this week and requested a farm animal-themed party.  I'm all for catering to my kids' wishes when practical but I am not one to spend long hours creating the perfect birthday party.  What I want is something quick that has some visual appeal.  These cupcakes were certainly attention grabbers (particularly amongst the three-year-olds who were delighted to eat the ears) and took only minutes to make.  Start out with regular cupcakes and a batch of pink icing.  The ears are pink wafer cookies cut into triangles, the snouts are pink mints and the eyes are mini chocolate chips.  Simply ice the cupcakes and press the facial features into the icing.  Done.  Big success at the school birthday party.

Since I didn't spend hours in the kitchen making elaborate birthday party fare, I had more time to spend on my real passion, sewing.  Thanks to the generosity of grandparents, I was able to escape for a couple of days this week to the Sewing Expo which is held in my area annually.  I had plenty of time for some classes and for browsing (and spending) in the vendor area.  I've taken some pictures from my classes which will become blog posts in the near future, so stay tuned.  And I'm always so filled with inspiration and the desire to sew after time at the Expo that I spent about 2 hours today cleaning my sewing room in anticipation of some serious garment sewing in the near future.  But during all of this excitement I had a bit of an epiphany which I think many of you will identify with.  I came home with some much-needed (not!) fabric and sat down to write out some ideas I had for the various pieces.  And what I thought about during that note-taking session was the frustrating time I had getting dressed that morning.  I always like to try and wear something that I have made to these Expos (it only seems right) and I must have tried on at least 8 different combinations of garments that morning.  Nothing worked.  With time running out and my hair still wet, I finally threw on my Anniversary Dress and a pair of knee-high black boots and called it quits.  When I thought back on why I had so much trouble I realized that it had to do with separates.  I have several great jackets that I love to wear and a number of skirts that I really like, but none of these seem to have something that coordinates with them.  I think this is one reason I like dresses so much:  you put them on and you're dressed.  So one of my new "resolutions" is to try and create coordinated pieces that work together so I don't have such a frustrating time in the future.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and ideas on how to solve or prevent this problem.  Please share.