Plumtickled

SCORE!

Today was a good day. 

It was a Target day.

It was a Target day with NO KIDS!

Sigh..

I actually tried on clothes without Avonlea opening the door on me.  I actually stood still while looking at random stuff without saying, "Sit down on your bootie Avie!" or "Just a minute Mia". 

Not one time.

I went to Target with my Mom and my sister Debi, my two regular partners in shopping.  It's always fun.... no matter where we go.  We talked about almost everything and almost nothing really.  Know what I mean?  We also planned our trip to Daytona that we will be going on in six days.  (Mostly it was about food, surprised?)  It's gonna be a hoot to be in a hotel room with Mom, Debi, Kavin, Amelia Claire, Avonlea and me. 

Crowded, but fun.

Back to Target..... I scored this dress for only $12.48!  It made me look a size smaller, I swear ya'll!

  I also got this for mine and Darren's bedroom..... it's gonna be awesome! 

This summer I am making my house pretty again.  I've sorta lost my mojo with decorating and honestly.... even caring.  I know that sounds horrible but it's so totally true.  With new little girls, sewing for a living and now school.... there's just no time to do what I want to do for my home.  I've come to a conclusion, that it can almost take a toll on how we feel in our home.

With that being said, I've already begun working on Amelia & Avonlea's room.  I'll show you a bit of that tomorrow!  Cute, cute & cute! 

Today's plan

Ever since I opened this book:

and saw those bags that you see on the right hand side on the bottom, I knew that they would be perfect for Amelia Claire & Avonlea's room.

The book has really cute idea's in the colors that I adore.... pinks especially.  The idea behind the bags is that you are to hang them in your entrance way to hold all those odds and ends that don't quite have a home......

in our house, we need them to be garbage bag sized!

(seriously)

But, for my girls.... I think they're the perfect size!

So, I chose these fabrics:

Their bedroom walls are turquoise and their furniture is white and pink.  These colors should perk those walls up and add some fun to the room!  I plan to hang these up higher than usual, right inside their door.  *I want these to hold all of their toys that seem to get scattered and stepped.   And, the higher than usual is so that they need to ask to get them down, which I'm hoping will cut down on the constant clutter and mayhem in that crazy room.

*(Like Disney figures, My Little Ponies, Littlest Pet Shop, etc...)

The only problem I ran into were the directions!  Is it just me?  After cutting out all of the fabric and linings..... I just couldn't wrap my brain around how she explained it all.  I tried to sew one set up and totaly bombed it.  My Mom says these are German and were translated, perhaps they were.  Or more than likely, it's just me.

So, after Avonlea wakes from her MUCH NEEDED SECOND NAP, I'll venture back out and give it a try MY WAY.... and see where I end up!

I shall report on the progress! 

Judi

 

 

It's starting to look alot like a Quilt Shop!

Opening a quilting & fabric shop is not as easy as one might think.  Around every corner is a new form to fill out, a new person to call, a new color to pick out and a husband to ask a favor from.  Frankly, I'd rather deal with the IRS than ask my husband to add another project to his list of things to build for our shop.  I suppose it's his fault after all....... he is a carpenter and we love his work.  He is set to build us a shelving unit to house our new fabrics, a cutting table to mimic my beautiful bathroom sink that he built for me and an office partition to hide away all of our business stuff.  It's not too much, right?  Yeah, I better kiss some major booty around here! 

One of the best parts to opening our place so far is the choosing of the colors.  Actually, next to picking out our fabrics............ it is the best part!  Here is the color of our walls.......

It is a bit darker than the photo above portrays it as........ and we love it!  Our logo is being worked on as we speak and the colors we have chosen are turquoise, red & chocolate brown.  We chose the brown because we like it, but also because the building we are in is a historical one and the floors and baseboards are brown.  See:

So, why not incorporate it right?  Right.

I found our web-site designer and will begin on that project next week....... there's lots of organizing involved in that one........ and I've been designated the web-mistress by my two partners........ fine by me.  I sold my Plumtickled patterns for years and ran my own site, so the experience is already there.  The domain name:  www.plumtickledfabrics.com has been purchased and parked and the rest will be taken care of very soon!  HOotie HOotie HOOooo!

Today, we had our very first fabric representative visit us!  It was a bit nerve racking at first............ but I must say that Mr. Brian Cox of Timeless Treasures was a very pleasant, fun and helpful sales rep and put us at ease instantly!  We went through tons of samples and then began the process of elimination.  We had three piles............ the maybe's, the definite yes's and the definite no's!  We ended up ordering about 42 bolts or so of really great stuff!  So hard to decide, trust me!  Next, I'm off to finish our application to Free Spirit/Westminister Fabrics so we can stock our shelves full of Denise Schmidt, Heather Bailey, Heather Ross and Amy Butler.  Then off to Moda for some Three Sisters, Urban Chiks, and more.  Of course we are ordering from Alexander Henry, Michael Miller, Hoffman and Kaufman too!  Can't wait to get these awesome jewels in! 

Oh, let me know of any lines you would like to see in our shop and on our web-site and I'll see what I can do!   It's hard deciding for others when all you want to order is stuff for yourselves!!!

Well, off to get supper started and the night begun.  My Angel of a Husband will home home in a few hours and still need to do a few things.  I also have my Snickers Resisters meeting to go to at 7pm.  I'll be weighing in and hopefully see a loss this week.  I've been cutting back some...... okay...... alot.  I haven't had a Dr. Pepper in almost two weeks!!  For those of you who know me...... it's like heroin and I NEED it running through my veins to feel normal.  Thank god for Wild Strawberry Crystal Light in a Styrofoam cup with lots of ice!  (I'm recycling my cup over and over...... just in case you're wondering..... I love the earth too!).  Lotta..... I haven't posted my weigh in's in a while but will begin on Tuesday mornings from now on!  Uh, promise!

I'll be back with more news on our shop as it progresses.......... I truly hope we will be a place you'll want to visit and enjoy!

Extreme makeover needed!

Here is what my studio or sewing room looked like a few days ago.  Please, if you begin to feel dizzy....... throw your head down between your knees and breathe slowly.  It's a disaster, I know.  The little person on the floor with the cool striped hat is Amelia.  Don't worry, she has all her shots so there's no chance of disease or lock jaw.  My oldest sister Jerri Lynn will be here on Wednesday, you know the kind of sister that cleans for the Hell of it?  Yup, her.  The last time she visited she made me pinky swear I would keep it 80% clean............. of course my Mom, sister Debi and I all swallowed our tongues laughing with that suggestion.  So, we whittled it down to 60% clean. 

Before I go any further, I must explain something about my studio.  First of all, it's outside and not in any way shape or form connected to my home.  Thank God.  It is a building my Dad had built for my Mom to have a little antiques/Crafts shop in a few years ago.  It has no heat but hallelujah it has an air conditioner........ I do live just a few miles above the Florida state line.  So, when there is a get together, birthday party or Holiday the things lying about the house get sent out there.  Normally this means my two boys........ Coley who is 13 1/2 and Kavin who is 12 are the transporters of said stuff and flop the stuff anywhere there is a bare spot.  Hence........ the photo above. 

Now, here is part of my studio this morning. It's a little better.......... but not yet 60% up to snuff.  If I didn't hate painting .......... I'd paint the darn thing.    It's brown.  Just brown. 

Off to a better note........ my lovelies!  I went to our favorite Quilt shop this weekend for their annual fat quarter sale.  Twenty five for twenty five.  Her fat quarters were for $1.00 each in counts of 25.  You could pick out what she had already cut or have it cut from the bolt.  I bought 50!  I want to cut into these so bad but for the time being........ I'm happy just looking at them!  Wish me luck on my sewing room....... I have to make room for my new serger that will be here in a couple of days!  WOoooo HOOooooo!

Baking in the New Year

It was warm & drizzly but so much fun!  New Years Eve at my sisters is always spent outside under a string of colorful Christmas lights, with loud music streaming from the studio & food....... lots of it........ piled up high on sheets of wood.  There's usually a big fire in the center with chilly people huddled together trying to keep warm.......... except for last night.  It was warm and muggy........ ugh!  Then it began to rain....... on us and on the food.  Needless to say we ended up inside with wet hair, clothes & kids.  No problem..... we all found a seat and talked till we just couldn't stop yawning.  With my sister & brother with their families and mine with me, plus the company of great friends....... does the weather really matter?  Not one bit.... so bring it on!  (Just please leave the electricity going!).

What does all that have to do with the cookies above?  They were my sweet contribution to the party.  Two kinds of chocolate chip cookies made with a great new recipe I'll share below.  It has pudding in the mix.  The texture was just the best and gave great flavor.  I enjoy baking more than probably anything besides sewing.  My sweet husband gave me a pink Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas two years ago and MAN....... have I put the miles on her!  I wish they had a mile tracker thingy like on cars, I'm sure Laverne is past due for an oil change!  Here she is after giving me her best on the first batch of cookies.

I have decorated my kitchen around this fantastic machine.  I painted everything white and ordered those awesome pink dishes I've been slobbering over for years.  My cookie jars look great and the vintage kitchen toys fit in perfectly.  Don't you wish sewing machines came in pink too?  If only in my dreams!

I'll be doing some sewing tomorrow, well maybe Wednesday due to the fact that It's gonna take me all day to clear off our dining room table that became my sewing room for all the purses and bags I made everyone for Christmas.  I also made the most adorable dolls from Wee Wonderfuls Makealong story..... I posted those pictures yesterday.  Needless to say, there is a mountain of fabric that needs to be picked up and folded, threads & buttons to be raked up & pins to be found before the husband finds them.  (Never fails does it, the husband is the only one to step on them.... then you get the look).  Anyhoo..... I'll leave you with a picture of a surface in my home that is actually cleared off.  Don't get used to it mind you....... it doesn't happen often!  Have a great evening...... I'll be back tomorrow with resolutions.  Dread..... dismay!   Judi