Sewing & Sowing

Sowing...

We had the most incredible spring weather last week! I felt like I was on vacation with a week of sunny, 60 degrees, nice breeze, and low humidity. Just Perfect! This time of year I become torn between sewing and sowing! I love to garden! I've been a garden addict for years. To keep the costs down I sow all of my annuals every year. My favorite annuals are impatiens, begonias, coleus, and petunias. Last year I had over 800 annual seedlings to plant. I have sown my own perennials in the past but now my gardens are packed full them so now I only purchase perennials from the garden center if it's something I must have or something that is unusual or rare to find (there always seems to be something). I grow the annuals to add color and texture to areas throughout my perennial gardens. Here are some photos of my flowers last year:

1. IMG_6606, 2. IMG_6598, 3. IMG_6597, 4. IMG_6628, 5. IMG_6585, 6. IMG_6586, 7. IMG_6582, 8. IMG_6587, 9. IMG_6590, 10. IMG_2242, 11. IMG_2243, 12. IMG_4143, 13. IMG_4145, 14. IMG_4141, 15. IMG_4122, 16. IMG_4118, 17. IMG_3579, 18. IMG_4123, 19. IMG_4113, 20. IMG_3589, 21. IMG_3583, 22. IMG_3581, 23. IMG_3538, 24. IMG_3534, 25. IMG_3504, 26. IMG_3515, 27. IMG_3508, 28. IMG_2223, 29. IMG_3412, 30. IMG_3547, 31. IMG_3410, 32. IMG_3356, 33. IMG_3586, 34. IMG_2152, 35. IMG_2172, 36. IMG_2178

Sewing...

A few weeks ago I indulged in a trip to B&N (all by myself) to purchase several sewing books! My intent was to buy one book but we know how that goes for some of us. :) I think my stash of books is getting to be as large as my fabric stash. Instead of dreaming of what I want to make someday out of this inspirational books I decided to actually try out some patterns. I've been working my way through Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing book. Her directions are wonderful and her patterns are all very easy which make it nice to whip up something cool in a short period of time.

I made this Go Green Tote for a friend's birthday using the her Simple Tote pattern

And this Cafe Apron. I used a blue batik fabric and added a towel loop and two pockets:

Check out Lotta Jandotter's Simple Sewing Flickr Group
to see what others have made from her Simple Sewing book.

Spring Cleaning ...

Now I have taken a break the last week or two from sewing to organize my sewing studio (which is in my basement) so that I can make room for my seedlings. After I'm finished cleaning up and organizing I will start sowing my seeds. Then my goal is to get our basement repainted, new desk, new cutting table, and add some new decor to get this small space into a better working area for both me and my husband. So this small space needs to be turned into a sewing studio, office, temporary garden center that is comfortable and not over crowded. How will we do that??? I don't know yet. I will take all spring and into the summer to get this done. I will be posting more about this. But first I need to get those babies sowed!!