In Idaho for 6 Weeks

I am in Northern Idaho staying at my parent's farm and teaching for 6 weeks at the University of Idaho.  This is the first week of teaching.  So far it has gone well, I have a good group of students, and we have a great start in the two classes that I am teaching.  Will post more on that as the session goes along.

In the meantime,  I am enjoying some lovely spring on the farm.

This is the Cutty Sark.

She is NOT the house cat.  That position is already occupied.  BUT she would like very much to be the house cat.  So for now she just follows you around... and she likes to roll... A LOT.

We have many, many apple trees on the farm and they are all in bloom this time of year.  They are so white and fluffy.  It is almost the end of the blooming period, so the blossoms are falling.  It looks like snow.

Butterflies are coming out to sun themselves.

More rolling.  Because it is better in dirt and then you become a dirt powder puff and can distribute said dirt (which is now dust) onto anything you rub against... including dark denim pant legs which show off the dust best.

These are yellow roses... or will be.  These are a wild form that my great grandmother planted.  They do not last at all as a cut flower and they only bloom for a few weeks... but when they bloom it is spectacular.  This should happen when I am here... so stay tuned!

Mom's flower beds are perking along.  All the bleeding hearts are blooming.  The Lily of the Valley is getting really close.  Ours in Portland was in full bloom when I left.  I don't think they will still be blooming in 5 weeks.  Luckily I'm going back on June 7 for a quick 3 day visit, so maybe I can see them in all their glory.

Saturday we are rototilling the garden.  This is my big work out for the summer.  Wish me luck!

Big Pattern Sale!!

Gertie reported on a huge pattern sale over at Vogue Patterns!  I think it ends tonight at midnight, so I snapped up a few Vintage Vogue patterns for $3.99 each!



I promise to sew them up into something shortly after they arrive.....

Amazing....

Have you ever dreamed of doing this?



Sometimes dreams do come true.

Edit:  The original video is MIA... which is a complete bummer because it was absolutely beautiful and the music and so appropriate.  So in the meantime enjoy this link for the info
Jetman Flying over the Alps
It is not as emotional as the Vimeo video, but it is still amazing.

This link is good too:
Breitling and Jetman

Love, love, love this...

I am so in love with the Johnny Was brand.  I shopped there last fall when I was in LA with a friend.  The fabrics are so beautiful and diaphanous.  Everything is intricately designed and embellished.  The store space in Santa Monica was just beautiful.

I wish my pocket book was filled to the brim with extra cash.... I love the word "pocket book".  That is what my Grandma Kottke used to call her purse.  Always pocket book and never hand bag, purse, or anything else.

Behold!.... the dial-a-stitch!

This was our thrift store find of the week for $20!!!  It is very heavy... a tank of a machine.  Everything works well and is fairly quiet when it sews.  It has a VAST array of stitches.  I will need to go through each one and play with it.

Automatic button hole system too!

There is a bobbin winder on the side.

We have not found much information on the web yet regarding this machine.  But I do know that it is a Japanese machine and is considered very good.

I took the top off for some cleaning and oiling, but everything inside was spotless!  The workings and screws looked brand new.  There are some chips in the finish on the base of the machine indicating that there was some use, but I don't think the previous owner used any of the fancy stitches or the buttonhole system.  It has 3 feed dog settings: embroidery (completely lowered), silk (barely peeking through the throat plate), and all the way up.  I'm really excited about the silk/delicate fabric setting.  My trusty Bernina Sport has either up or down, and if I'm sewing on really lightweight silk there are feed dog tracks.

The dial-o-stitch is primarily for the spouse's stitching of paper art book/zines, but I think there will be some use from me as well.
I also have a Singer Slant-o-Matic that we found last fall with every attachment you can possibly imagine.  It is currently at Montavilla getting a tune up.  LOVE the people there!   I will post pictures of that one once it is back.
I seeing a trend here in sewing machine names.

Hipster Games

Being a HUGE fan of The Guild webseries, and loving spoof in general... and being from Portland, home of Portlandia.... this made me laugh really, really hard.



I hope they make more.

I also realized that I only posted twice the entire month of March.  I need to be more prolific.

Estate Sale Finds!

I went to an Estate Sale on Monday and found this INCREDIBLE quilt top for $24!!!!  All the fabrics appear to be from the 40's and 50's.  It is almost full size.  Just needs the batting, backing, and binding.  I am going to tie it with black.

I also found this completely finished needlepoint pillow top.  I thought it would look great in my living room.

It was made in 1973 and Donna Peterson put her tag on it.  I think I will keep the tag on the pillow when its done.