Bikini Fabric Design Contest

Finally a blog post about fabric and sewing, right?  Life has been exhilarating, exhausting and perfect.  But this leaves little time for sewing and fabric design.  Recently I received an email from Fabric On Demand asking for submissions for fabric designs for a bikini contest.  I was intrigued by this and thought I would give it a shot.  I came up with several designs and submissions.  I have entered Spoonflower's fabric contests before but with no winning designs.  Although its been great fun to have the challenge of coming up with the designs.  If you don't put yourself out there you will never know your true potential.  This morning when I checked my email I had an email from Fabric On Demand, letting me know that I was one of the top 20 finalists chosen by them and MilkBaby Bikinis owner Catherine Thordarson.  Come to find out Cat is a Missoula, MT native!  Cool right?  So the winner gets $500 and their fabric design featured on one of her bikinis for a fashion show June 9th.  The winner is chosen June 6th.  There is also an added bonus of the bikini line featured on The Ultimate Bikini for summer 2011.  I am still in awe that my design made the top 20.  I wanted to jump for joy this morning,well, I may have done a little happy dance anyhow;)  So I would love it if everyone would check out the designs and hopefully vote for my fabric. "Floral Sizzler".  Just click on the fabric swatch below to vote.  Its very easy I promise!  No scrolling through pages etc...  I am going to have to stop being a Hermity Farmer-Women long enough to do some more fabric designs so I can keep this up!

Mice are invading!

Well our house is coming together finally and we have started moving stuff in and getting organized.  But last night we ended up with a mouse in the house. Arghhh.  So I am not moving any more fabric in until the problem is gone.  Mice just love fabric and making a mess of it!  I so do not love mice right now.  I am very anxious to get sewing.  I have lots of new curtain projects for the house as well as lots of other projects that I just want to do.  I think once we get the mouse problem taken care of I will be in a lot better shape.  Anyone have good suggestions for dealing with mice.  We live in a mobile home (well actually 2 that are joined together)?  We have sealed every place we could possible think of.  I am headed to town for more mouse traps this morning, time I could be spending getting ready to move the sewing area in.  Damn mice anyhow!  We even have 2 cats who are good mousers, but they aren't used to hunting in the house. Our cat Velcro saw the mouse that we saw but lost it when it ran around the corner out of the bathroom. He stalked around the house for quite a while with no luck.  Clorox is also going to be my best friend.  We really don't need hauntavirus. Ok well I really will come back to sewing and blogging, I promise!
~Christine~

Velcro

The Hermity Farmer-Women

Mom and I decided that it was time to blog our adventure in the family commune/farm:-) We plan on having recipes, stories and life adventures. We also have a facebook page as well. I hope my readers can check out this new adventure!
www.hermityfarmer-women.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=102116&id=1137921319&saved#!/pages/The-Hermity-Farmer-Women/159166044131104

Time to Decide

Well as it seems to happen every year I am behind on my scheduled sewing projects.  I find it a bit hard to make space to feed the family, bake Christmas goodies and sew all on the same table.  I have been making fudge and neglecting the sewing.  I had intended to have Christmas pj's sewn for all of us, but it just isn't going to happen.  I don't like to have unfinished projects but at some point I have to tell myself that I am still human. " My magic wand is out of batteries" as my mother in law would say.  I was also going to have crayon rolls for the 3 kids and only 1 is done, well mostly, I still have to sew a button on it, I can hope I remember to do that.  Of course I also need a few shirts for myself and haven't done that either.  We bought another trailer to attach to this one, so eventually I will have a sewing room again.  Its small but it is better than the table, at least I don't have to worry about spilled juice on fabric.  But getting them mated together has been a project, with the temps down below zero and my hubby and my dad sick, things have been put on hold.  I am also cooking Christmas dinner for the family, which of course its wonderful to be near again but it will be quite the crowd.  I hate to use anything store bought, i always make my own pies and crust and rolls and breakfast foods etc... but I have also come down with this cold and am feeling like store bought might be the way to go.  I have to make the decision to keep my sanity.  Right?  But I should be Superwoman or something, I want to be, its my need for perfection.  I have also cleaned house 2 times today to be followed right behind by 2 crazy boys who make it seem as I have done nothing.  So I am not going to pick up things until the last minute before dinner, otherwise it will be a constant battle.  Anyhow I don't mean to be a scrooge, its not my intention but I need to write down how I am feeling and let it go.  I am very excited to get to spend Christmas with my family all together, its been a long time.  I think mostly I need sleep, so I guess that is what I will do next. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my readers!

Sewing from the Kitchen Table

Well it seems that the kitchen table is not just for meals anymore.  I have claimed one end for my sewing.  I just couldn't go anymore without the stress relief that sewing gives me.  Although it isn't ideal or my huge sewing room I used to have it functions.  I have actually been able to turn out quite a few projects recently and its been great.  I have started to accept what I have and work with it.  I know that many others have only known a kitchen table or small desk for a sewing space and get by just fine, so there is no reason I can't do the same. Mostly I have worked on Christmas gifts and decorations, a YaYa's Apron, Ali Foster Purse, crayon rolls, candy cane curtains etc.... I love Christmas!   I tried to make the YaYa's apron reversible, but that didn't quite turn out as planned lol Sivje's pattern is perfect though and I can't wait to try more.  The Round Satchel Bag sewing pattern by Ali Foster is fabulous and great to whip up.

I am featured on Guide to Art Schools 50 Best Sewing Blogs

Wow!  Really I could believe it when I opened up my email this morning.  I am featured on Guide to Art Schools 50 Best Sewing Blogs.  Just amazing and exciting, really its fabulous and made my day.  Thank you for sharing my blog in your 50 best sewing blogs.  It is wonderful to know that little ole me can make a difference and that I inspired other readers.  I know its been ages since I have posted, it has been totally crazy around here.  I keep thinking I will get set up for sewing again, but other things have taken priority.  Like unpacking boxes, hunting for meat so we have something to feed the family and dealing with all the paperwork and chaos that goes along with a medical retirement from the Air Force for my husband.  I have seen so many things recently that I am dying to make but am not sure when I will find the time.  My fabulous mom has let me set up a sewing room in her house since I don't have room, but alas its not "set up".  Its just boxes and fabric strewn about.  I even need to make curtains for the house but haven't found a moment for that either.  I just keep telling myself that it will get easier and less chaotic, but really life is chaos and I just need to get a better grip and hang on for the ride.  Maybe I need to take a lesson from a bull rider on getting a better "grip" lol.  I hope that I can still maintain some of my readers though this transitional time for me.  I promise I will be back up and running just as soon as I can.  Thanks again to Guide to Art Schools for choosing my blog and a big thanks to Sewing Mamas for the inspiration to become what I have today!

Retirement and Moving: A Long Process

My husbands medical retirement is final! Yay! It was a beautiful ceremony and we had a fun dinner with friends after the ceremony.  I flew out to Dover to attend the ceremony and load the rest of our items and make the long drive back to Montana.  I am so glad I don't have to do that drive again, it was long and exhausting.

We are in the process of moving out of my parents and into our own little "home" just down the road.  2 bedrooms for the 5 of us, but its just temporary and its affordable.  I am sitting amidst mass amounts of boxes and stuff, wondering where I will ever put it all.  For the time being I am going to keep my sewing studio at my parents, although not ideal it gives me plenty of space for my sewing and projects.  I wanted to hug all my fabric when it came out of the trailer, I have missed it;-)

I am not sure that I will be adding items to my etsy shop any time soon, but I am still certainly available for anything you need, just send me an email coveredbydesign at hotmail.com insert the @ in place of the words.  I just don't like spammers being able to locate emails so easily:-)

I have lots I want to do for Christmas projects!  Lots of decorating and gifts.  Now to find the time to do all of it.  I also need to find time to hunt and fill the freezer with Venison.  We have been out for a while now and I miss it!

On another note I bought a new horse.  She is a 20 yr old purebred arabian mare, Nites Amore (Mora).  She is a great horse and will be fun for the kids and I, plus she is a great companion to Gopher, he missed having another horse and was thrilled when I unloaded her off the trailer!

I would post some pics of all the events but my camera isn't here and I can't yet find the pics of the ceremony;-(  So I  will have to make a post with pics later on!

Thank you readers for hanging with me though all this chaos in my life!

ETA: Found some pics of our new horse.