Organize-Before Pics

A couple of months after we moved into this place - it was looking like we were going to have to move again. First because my Son got married and moved out - he had been giving me some money not a lot but still some. When things are already tight you get worried about loosing a couple hundred bucks. He's been gone 3 months now and I'm still above water, so it looks like we'll be able to stay. Then my mother woke up and was paralyzed from the waist down. We had no idea what had happened. She lived in her home for about a month - and luckily four of her five children all live in the same town so we took turns coming in and out of her home to care for her.

She was hospitalized 2 months ago - they think some kind of virus attacked her spine. They gave her medication and she has regained some movement from the knee's down. She is determined to walk again and I know she will. She comes home today, to her house she has been in a Rehabilitation center for the past 4 weeks and they have taught her how to care for herself. So it looks like I won't have to move back in with her. Which is good because she didn't want me to anyways - The dog, the Cat and my Husband drive her crazy!

So this MONTH I'm going to finish Organizing:

This is my Fabric it came out from under the stairs when Michael moved out and made it's way into his room!



This is the buffet table in the dinning room packed with currently finished projects:



This is one side with Scrapbooking stuff: needless to say I haven't put a page together since I moved here.



This is the other side with beading stuff: Haven't done any of that either.



This is the landing on the way up to the office:



This is the office: no room under any of the counters or desks:



I did manage to organize the yarn before life decided to kick my butt:



But the knitting machines are somewhere in there: under the stairs.



So in order to have someone to account to I'm posting it here - I'm going to Organize, Because I don't have to move. And if I do have to move well the move will probably go a lot smoother!

And this is the dog looking at me like I'm crazy! If anyone has some extra shelves feel free to send them my way!

Happy New Years 2010

2009 was a very strange year, and not just for me. It seems that everyone I spoke to throughout the year had major stuff going on in there life.

I really wasn't ready for this entire Holiday Season - Starting with Thanksgiving, or plans changed 3 different times because of all the family going in and out of the hospital. I would really like to keep the whole hospital stuff in 2009. It looks like my mom will be out of the Hospital on Wednesday. I am so grateful that everyone came out of '09 all in one piece, and the pieces that aren't currently working well look like they will recover. It didn't look like they would for all three of them at the beginning of each ordeal. My mom's legs, My daughter's knee's and my Husbands brain. I truly Thank God that everything was semi-normal at the end of 2009.

The best thing is that the look into 2010 isn't looking so bad. A lot of adjusting to all the stuff that happened in 2009 - the biggest thing for me is that my son Michael (25 years old) ran off and got married. Overnight, and without us. He is living nearby with his wife. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Well actually I know how I feel about it - but I would really hate to say something that I would need to take back some day. So until my emotions are in check, I'll try my best to keep quite!

Which is probably why there haven't been much blog posts, lots of time at the hospitals and stuff going on in life that I would rather not talk about.

So our Christmas picture was looking empty - So I decided to include the dog - that was really hard to do - I have some really funny pictures - but I'll only post the end result of several hours of posing and even that one is actually 3 pictures brought together in Photoshop!

I hope you all have a Happy New Year! Thanks for all the support!

Christmas 2009

For the past couple of years Christmas has been a bit different than our 15 year usual. This year it was even more different. Even though Stephanie came home for Thanksgiving and we bought a Christmas Tree and decorated it - it didn't feel like Christmas all month.

Probably because it was just me and Randy walking around the house doing our normal day to day activities, not really going out much - so we didn't see the decorations and the couple of Christmas parties we were invited to we couldn't attend because of other things going on in life.

At some point during the night of Tuesday the 22nd I got in my truck and started driving to Vallejo CA to pick up Stephanie - she changed her major so she had to empty out of the dorm room she was in - she's getting assigned to living space on board the Training Ship next semester. So I had to bring all her stuff back with her. I drove all night got there and packed up and turned around and drove back - the drive there was 7 hours and the drive back was horrible because of all the LA traffic it was 10 hours. Got home and straight to bed.

I wake up on Thursday Dec 24th feeling the spirit of Christmas - at that point I felt like Scourge - and Overwhelmed. So I made lists Gift list, Food list, Normal list, and off we went I dropped Stephanie and Randy off at one store with one list I went to another store with my other list - picked them up and then all conquered the 3rd list. And by 6 PM on Dec 24th we had a place we were going to wait till Midnight they had made Tamales I had made Posole and there were gifts for when we made our rounds on Christmas Day.

I sigh a sigh of relief I didn't ruin Christmas! It was actually a really good one considering all the other stuff going on in our lives right now.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My New Christmas Stockings

You can pattern draft just about any shape in Garment Designer, so every time I need to do something new I open up my Garment Designer first.

Luckily Cochenille has a Holiday collection so the starting points were a lot better than if I would have had to try and manipulate a top into a sock, but I'm sure I could have done it if I needed to. I've drafted some really out of the ordinary shapes in Garment Designer.


So I sketched the shape that I wanted to end up with on a piece of paper so that I would have a visual reference as to where I was moving my points, and came up with this a stocking shape that I could live with. I also changed the cuff of the original design to a Pocket from my inspiration picture.


email me (sonia@modesteve.com) if you would like the PDF pattern pieces. They are just the pattern pieces. It's not one of my fully illustrated patterns for beginners, so if you don't understand the sewing terms below you might have trouble putting it together.

Supplies: 3/4 yrd of Fabric, 3/4 yrd of Lining

Stocking Pattern: Cut 2 of Fabric and Cut 2 of Lining Fabric
Pocket Pattern: Cut 2 of Fabric
Tab pattern: Cut 1 of Fabric

When I lived in San Diego I worked at a Home Fabrics store so I have a small stash of Upholstery fabric. I loved the look of linen in the inspiration picture and I knew I had some in one of my boxes somewhere - so I looked and looked and emptied every container I own but it didn't show up - but then I ran across this fabric and liked the idea of the stockings in this fabric so I stopped looking and started cutting.


Sew Pocket:

If you are going to do embroidery you need to do that first.

Then with Right sides together sew the pocket leaving a 3 inch opening along the top. Clip the corners.

Turn Right side out. Iron. Stitch along the top to close the opening. Stitch the pocket to the front stocking piece.


Sew Stockings:

With Right Sides together sew the 2 lining pieces together leaving the top open. Do the same for the 2 fabric pieces. So you end up with to separate stockings. Clip the curves. Turn Right side out. Iron.


Sew Tab:
Iron tab in half lengthwise - Right side out. Iron in Seam Allowance on both sides. Iron flat with seam allowance to the inside. Stitch Lengthwise seam.


Bring the 3 pieces together:

Pin tab to the side of the stocking. I stager the tab putting on end on one side of the seam and the other end on the other side of the seam.


With right sides together slide outer stocking into the lining stocking.

Stitch top seam leaving a 3 inch opening.


Turn right side out. Iron. Top stitch along the top edge to close the opening.


And these are my last minute stockings - and they are last minute considering I still have tons of Christmas presents to finish sewing.

DVD Inspirations CD

Cochenille Design Studio has new product. Susan Lazear has created released a set of Inspiration DVD's.

Susan is a great photographer and she's been able to travel to do Fashion centered Destinations. She has compiled images from different trips that she has used in powerpoint presentations at different classes and lectures at Tradeshows all over the country and it was suggested and she decided to put them together as a product - and Voila - The best Inspiration DVD's I've seen.

The Europe Fall/Winter Windows 2008/2009 is collection of over 300 images of fashion windows from Verona and Venice Italy, and The Swarovski Museum in Austria. Sure to get your creative juices flowing!

This DVD contains two folders, one with graphic JPG images (large and small versions of the files) and one with slideshows. To view the slideshows you will need Quicktime 7 - which can be downloaded for free at Apple's website.
The images and slideshows are divided into three main areas:
VERONA: which includes images broken down into three categories; knit & crochet, sewn, and mixed media.
VENICE: which includes images together of garments, both sewn, knit and crochet.
SWAROVSKI: which features garments and related shot at the Swarovski Museum in Wattens, Triol, Austria.



The Europe Summer/Fall Windows 2008 DVD is a collection of over 350 images of fashion windows from Paris, Verona, Venice, Florence and parts of Tuscany, Italy.

This DVD contains two folders, one with graphic JPG images (large and small versions of the files) and one with slideshows. To view the slideshows you will need Quicktime 7 - which can be downloaded for free at Apple's website.
The images and slideshows are divided into areas as follows:
PARIS: which includes images broken down into three categories; knit & crochet, sewn, and the city.
VERONA: which includes images broken down into three categories; knit & crochet, sewn, and the city.
VENICE: which includes images broken down into three categories; knit & crochet, sewn, and the city.
FLORENCE: which focuses more on garments by designer.
TUSCANY: which features clothing from smaller cities and countryside markets.



They are $25 each but there is currently a special promo code on the website and you can buy them 2 for $40.

Christmas Stockings

I totally love Etsy. It has been such a source of inspiration. This year I've been on the look out for new Christmas stockings. I wanted something simple, The one's we have now are huge. I made them about 18 years ago, the family loved them as just about anything could fit in them.



Actually the first year I made them I put Stephanie in one of the Stockings. I wish I had taken a picture.

Any who - I think I just found the inspiration for our new family Christmas Stockings. From Pilosale on Etsy - I love everything in her shop - absolutely everything!



So this is the inspiration for our new family Christmas Stockings - so I guess I better get working on them - since my family keeps asking me when I'm going to put the stockings on the wall - at least now I have an answer - 'When I'm done sewing them!'

Printsource has a Blog!!!

I have come to the conclusion that my life will always be crazy. If I don't stop waiting until I have more time to do stuff then I'm never going to get stuff done. So today I'm going to follow the advise that my Dove chocolate gave me

"Bring your life to life: stop planning, start doing."

So I'm not planning this post - I'm just posting!

Printsource has a Blog!! I can't believe it I love this company they put out some of the greatest fabric and then are great for inspiration.

I don't know who does there illustrations and Photographs but I love them, makes me want to take a drawing class.

I hope you guys enjoy there Blog as much as I have.

http://printsourcenewyork.blogspot.com/