they've been my favorite since i saw them in january 2004

and at the rate things are going... I don't foresee that "favorite status" changing anytime soon. Not at all. Enjoy.

get ready to be inspired

Remember my ridiculously talented BFF Diana?

You know, of Yan Photography?

Well, she's putting on a workshop, wait no, HEARTSHOP they are calling it, with none other than thee Becky Earl! What an amazing, powerful duo!

The minute I heard about it I clickity clicked all over that link to see if they would be doing it while we are on the mainland this summer and alas, they are not. It's June 4th and 5th (come on ladies, wanna push it back a month and a half later??)

Oh and the schedule is so AMAZING! A campfire? Really guys? That's enough to make me want to look for flights.

Fly me out Yan and Becky! I'll model a shoot for you. It can be, like, a learning experience for your attendees: how to shoot someone awkward, and let's face it, not really photogenic. Whaddaya say? Anyone? Bueller?

Anyway, browse around the workshop site if you live anywhere near Utah and I think you'll get as excited as me and lucky you- you live in driving distance if you are anywhere on the mainland.

Here's some of their recent work:
YAN-





I had to stop myself- I could have picked like every photo from her blog she's so dang good. AH!
and we can't forget Becky Earl-





Is anyone freaking inspired yet?

I also love how it is a workshop about getting back to the art that you love and making it shine. It just seems like two days packed with brilliance and positivity. I so want to be there and I am not even a photographer!

Please attend this heartshop and then call me and tell me all about it. I'll be jealous, but happy. :)

Calling any interested My Cup of Tea Sewing Society friends!

I finally got my act together and the invites are just about ready to go out to you and yours!

The membership cards have been sitting on my sewing cabinet for, like, forever.

All I have to do is print the invites and address the super cute envelopes I just got.

Has it been so long that you don't even remember what I am talking about?

The My Cup of Tea Sewing Society!!!

ARE YOU STILL IN?

Here's what I need you to do:

1. if you live by me just comment that you want to join and I will hand deliver your invite and

2. if you don't live a short drive or even canoe paddle from me then email me:

stephaniexrobertson(at)gmail(dot)com

with your mailing address

and POW! You're in!

This is open to anyone who likes to sew or just even talk about sewing

-all skill levels
-all ages
-male or female
-even if you're not much of a blogger
-if you know me in person or we have never met
-even if you don't really sew but you happen to love Project Runway so that counts right? (cough, Diana)
-if we blog comment each other regularly or if you just creep around here and are too shy
-if you just like silly little society invites and membership cards. You can put it in your wallet next to that pesky Old Navy card you got talked into once again.
-if you are even barely considering it. Just do it. I promise I will be tickled instead of freaked out if I have no idea who you are and you want to join. This is just for kicks people.

Hit me up! I have like a million of these membership cards- it's really no sacrifice and I would love to get a lot of fun people in on this so we can talk all things crafty

and it's FUN

and you need more fun, admit it.

CAN'T WAIT!

joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Even when the cabin fever sets in from days of fevers, chills, snotty noses...etc.

and we go crazy so we have to get out for some short lived adventures where we wont infect others

only to find out that we can't stay out too long because the little fishes are in fact fevery, chilly, and snotty...

I wouldn't trade my job for anything. I get to be home with the snotty little hulk-underwear wearing beasts all day. They are mine.

And we are kinda attached.

photos from pink week

All unfortunately taken on my camera phone and indoors for the most part. Sorry for the grainy-blurfest. But pink week wasn't that bad. The eye drop four times a day thing was a bummer, but it was a pretty restful, homemade kinda week overall. Lots of stories, and movies, and legos, and music, and kids crafts, and snacks, and singing, and fort building, and even naps. It was ... wholesome. Yep, that's the word I was looking for. Pink eye, you should try it sometime.







It's fun to get all creative at home. If we ever felt stir crazy we hurried outside for a quick spin around the block:
and this picture was from last week, but Asher is just cute.


Anyway, we survived and had fun, but we are looking forward to getting back to the beach and playground and playdates with friends too!

OH! and sewing society pals- the membership cards should be landing in my mailbox today or Monday! Yeah, I ordered them instead of making them. Vistaprint is cheap and I don't really enjoy making paper things. What of it. :)

is it your cup of tea too?

okay, remember when i said i wanted to start a "my cup of tea sewing society"? i was half serious and half just saying it so let's get serious about getting silly here.

it's going to be purely ridiculous. and maybe a little inspiring to those of us who love to talk about sewing 24/7.

there is no commitment required. no social commitment, no whole separate blog to check/contribute to, no time commitment, no nothing- just every once in a while i'll post sewing questions or conversation starters and everyone who wants to weigh in can. for example: what is your favorite kind of project (knitting, quilting, hand-stitching, felt toys, clothing....etc.), what inspires you, what's the best kind of thread/scissors...etc. to use in your opinion...etc.

when my new nest is finished in 100 years, i may have a few society gatherings that are a no-pressure-come-if-it-suits-your-schedule kind of thing and every once in a while we will spotlight certain members and the projects they are working on if they so choose so we can all oooooh and aaaaaahhhh over them.

whatcha think?

is this your cup of tea? novices and experts, men and women, locals and mainlanders and internationals welcome.

and just to prove exactly how frivolously fun this is going to be, i'll make you a personal invite and membership card to put in your hello-kitty wallet or next to your holly hobbie machine.

just comment with your email address and i'll take it from there.

it's getting pretty silly up in here- who's with me? :)

my cup of tea sewing society

i think that's what i'll call our sewing society. i googled the name to make sure we would be one of a kind and found that there is a "just my cup of tea" social/sewing society in brooklyn (hunt 'em down lizzie and take 'em out!) but they don't look very active and we won't have the "just" as part of our name. you still in? not sure what it's all about yet, but it's gonna be about something. like sewing and tea cups and general awesomeness.

anyway, here's what we've been working on lately - and by we i mean thomas and me- which is a whole separate society- although he is my cup of tea.... oh gosh. someone help me please.

first: you must know that i am the photographer on these and so the pictures are not up to snuff and therefore don't fully showcase the projects well. it was kinda frustrating, but you can get the idea.
first thomas found this headboard on craigslist and decided it would look cool upholstered in the two panels. it was a very tricky project because we have never done anything like it before and it wasn't as if we could just staple everything to the back of the board.



he figured it out though and it looks great!

he did that while i worked on our bedspread:

and we both cut out the fabric together for both projects to make them perfect. it was fun working together. we came up with this very basic design and at first it was looking a little too south american for me. i like the south american look, but we were going more for basic, clean, beachy, and modern and that isnt necessarily south american is it. after i got it finished and laid out on the bed though i was pleased as punch.


here's the back:
with the mustard, cherry red, and sky blue repeated a little. this picture kinda makes it look like a mans sweater from the mid-nineties. whatcha gonna do. i promise it's real swell.

next?

i just have to quilt it and i'm gonna try to do it by hand since it measures 90x90 and was a beast to maneuver through my machine in separate pieces. wish me luck.

oh and here's the stockings:


oi! sorry for the bad lighting. again. i love how they turned out though. i was going for depression era homemade with the charm of the ball fringe. depression era charm? yes. stay with me.

i'm thinking about embroidering our names on them, but i'm gonna wait til my mama comes in a few months to embark on that new frontier.

and... oh yes, i made these christmas cards for the womens organization:

for their sub for santa program. my mother-in-law designed them and donated the supplies and i made them. neat!

ok.

thomas found a multi-colored antique pharmacists desk thingy on craigslist and sanded her down like crazy and painted her and now she looks like this:


thomas is just, well, cool like that to say the least. she'll look even better once the knobs from anthropologie arrive- picture two little black and white clock knobs on there.

and i guess that is all for now friends.

i'm tickled by the idea of our "my cup of tea sewing society" because i'm silly like that. it's going to be fun. get your tea cup ready and your sewing machines dusted off, oiled up and ready to go! anyone can be in it. i wouldn't say it's much of a social society because i'm not one for social commitments, but it's gonna be our cup of tea and that sounds good to me.