Inspiration, new discoveries, and some projects!

Wow, it has been a long week, guys. And such a short weekend, knowing that I have to go back to work study tomorrow! I don't care what anyone says, working at a child care center is hard work. My knees and ankles are forever hurting from getting up and down or crawling across the floor to capture some nosy little child, because sometimes it's just easier to scoot or crawl than to get up again. I do enjoy it, but it is exhausting!

This morning, I came across three lovely new blogs. They are all so beautiful and inspiring, and I have spent way too much time reading them today, while I'm supposed to be writing an updated/revised fairy tale for College Composition II. Mine is a version of Cinderella set in 1930s/1940s Hollywood. =) Anyway, here are the new blogs I'm following so you can check them out: Bess' Bag, Bramblewood Fashion, and Sewing in the Past. I promise you won't be disappointed. Among other things, these blogs have made me really want to sew, got the song 'Tradition' (from "Fiddler on the Roof") stuck in my head, reminded me of how much I want to see "Anne of Green Gables" again, and given me the strong desire to go thrift store shopping.

Speaking of sewing, here are two orders I made last weekend. This one is a small purse for a little girl whose birthday is next week. Her grandmother asked me to make it for her. It's a small version of the Buttercup Bag.

This clutch is for my cousin's wife's mother, for her birthday. My cousin's wife picked out the fabric-it's printed canvas type fabric from Hobby Lobby-and the large flower pin to put on it.

I lined up the stripes! First time ever. =)

This is my first real embroidery project. I've been on quite an Alice kick lately (the new movie released on DVD Tuesday! I got it and watched it that night. Lovely. My mom found me a copy of the 1933 version yesterday!), and I wanted to do some embroidery. I traced out one of the original drawings from the book onto fabric and started embroidering over it. I just work on it when I have time. Here's where I was at last week:

And here is where I am now:

I'm not too sure about the hair. The color is weird, but I didn't have much to pick from. And it's looking a little Medusa-ish. And the eye and mouth are a little weird. But other than that, I'm really liking it so far! The sleeves are not meant to look filled in. I was just going over the lines on the sleeves. Now it makes it look like I forgot to fill in the bottom of the dress, which I wasn't planning on doing. I haven't decided what to do about it yet.

When it's finished, it's going to be wall art framed in a wooden embroidery hoop. I'll post pictures of the finished project! =)

Until next time,