handmade kate

a cat's life

I wanna be a cat--or at least for the remainder of this week.  Lucky Clara Belle, all she had to do on this rainy day was to nap and strike super-cute poses.  Meanwhile, the rest of us had to go off to work in a cold drizzle, and from the looks of it, there's only more rain to come.

The kids are on spring-break this week, so they are splitting the week between the Grandmamas since Mama couldn't wrangle a week off work--blah!  Still, with a little more time for myself, I'm hoping to get back to the sewing studio a few evenings after work.  My mind is brimming with inspiration after this weekend's fabric run.  I picked up a few half-yard cuts from Amy Butler's new Midwest Modern collection, and I'm planning the first of this year's spring skirts with my favorite of the bunch. 

And over the weekend I gave the  BSR a try with some pretty happy results!  I practiced for only fifteen minutes or so on a few scraps of fabric and batting, and then, bam!, I finally got the "feel" for it.  I've had this pattern for ages but never felt like I could tackle the free-motion part of it until now. Oh, how I'm loving the new Aurora!

a new sewing republic

Ta da!

I've been nearly bursting to tell everyone about a new project that I've been contributing to, and this weekend I finally got the go-ahead to share!  Go take a look at The Sewing Republic!

It's Bernina's brand-new website for the next generation of sewers, something that is quite near and dear to my heart.  Right now it is only in it's first phase, showcasing product information, a find-your-dream-machine quiz, and some pretty nifty special offers. But what I'm most excited about are the sewing tips, tricks, tutorials, and projects that will be posted beginning in April.  I'll have 6 projects featured over the next year!  Here's a little peek of a few of them over at my flickr site. 

When Bernina contacted me a while back to see if I'd be interested in partnering with them to provide sewing projects for younger sewers, of course I didn't hesitate!  A long-time fan (and user) of Bernina machines, I almost thought it was a joke--that's how serendipitous it was.  And how they ever found me over here, quietly posting in my little corner of blog-land, I'll never know.  I'm ever-so-grateful though, and super excited!

Meanwhile, I'm happily sewing on an Aurora 440QE kindly loaned to me for the year by the folks at Bernina.  And my Bernina Virtuosa 153QE is visiting with her Grandmother for the interim!  (Hi Mom!!) 

Now, I can't wait to start on some quilts now that I've been introduced to the Bernina Stitch Regulator--oooh fun!

oh yeah, i nearly forgot...

I added an about page a few weeks ago if anyone is interested.  Gosh, it was hard for me to put that out there.  Does anyone else get sent into an absolute panic attack when sharing something so personal?

runner

This weekend, feeling a bit stressed from work, I came home and made a runner for the Lowboy my father had made many years ago.

(trying out a little free motion using the pattern from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing)

After that I went out and bought a new pair of running shoes (I really am trying to get back into running).

(said shoes propped up in front of the t.v.  nice action shot, huh?)

Yep, I'm trying to get back on track.