Thrifted: five men’s dress shirts in various muted shades.

Assembled: a quick quilt top, from 11″ squares cut from the larger sections of the shirts.

Quilted: with grey perle cotton.

In progress: but honestly, not really loving it as much as I’d like.  Something’s not quite right.  There seems to be a very fine line between “muted and manly” and “unattractive,” and I think this one has its foot firmly planted on that line.  I wanted to do something that was outside my comfort zone–which is to say, that wasn’t electric-bright colors and whimsical dots–and this certainly is.  As a result, it’s harder for me to evaluate whether I’ve achieved success.

The plan: to keep pushing on through, in the hopes that when I get to the other side, I won’t hate it but rather that something will reveal itself to me.  My default, fall back plan is that if the hand quilting fails to capture my imagination and redeem the palette (which I admit is so far outside of my own Spring palette that I can’t be sure I even know the names of these colors), I’ll take out the hand quilting and machine quilt in a wide chevron.  Because everyone loves a chevron.

Other options I considered for this project:

• all flannel shirts
• all seams flat fell, with no backing or batting–just a single layer of flannel with reinforced seams
• larger pieces cut as wedges from the sleeves, then assembled at angles
• whole-cloth man quilt, made from a single cut of flannel

Once again, we’re putting our house on the market.  I’d say it’s because we’re gluttons for punishment, but really it’s because the baby sleeps in the closet, and I just can’t face her first birthday with her snoozing under the suit coats.

At the foot of our bed, we have an Ikea bench.  It’s covered in white canvas.  Or, more accurately, it’s covered in black dog hair that covers the white canvas.

That is not a shadow.  That is a filthy line rubbed into the fabric from the dog brushing up against it over and over and over.  As our eldest used to say: bee-ee-skusking! I mean, that is just humiliatingly vile, and I have officially aired this laundry all over the Interwebs.

When the realtor comes over to take photos of the house for the web, I cannot allow this to be seen.  More importantly, I can’t let people walk through my house and observe the filth of the dog.  I care not that they’ll understand–they shouldn’t have to, and I can hear a chorus of those of us who’ve tried to market a house in the past three years agreeing: ain’t nobody gonna buy a house that isn’t spit spot.

So today, I was forced to do this:

And can I say: I really love it.  Curse that dog, but it led to something yummy.  I have canine conflicts, clearly.

Alexander Henry’s Larkspur, with a muslin backing where it will be hidden at the foot of the bed.  I’ve never loved the color of the walls in our room–my husband painted before we were married, and while it’s a very nice, soothing, masculine color, it doesn’t work with ANY of the blues I generally choose, so I’ve struggled to sew for this room.  Thank you, Alex Henry, for giving me a fabulously pretty print in exactly the right shade of blue.  Now we’re both happy.

At least, until we finally move.  And pick a NEW paint color.  But that’s a sewing saga for another day, yes?

This series is really meant to be about sewing for the home, which makes today’s travel post a teeny bit off-topic, but this little project made me feel like a SUPERSTAR when we traveled with our eight-month-old this past week, and I’m so in love with it that I really wanted to share.  Don’t hate.

My husband travels for work twice a year, and went to Hawaii in July.  He and I had been there on our honeymoon, and he was kinda bummed that he went back on his own.  So when the chance to visit again came up, we jumped and splurged on a ticket for me to accompany him–woot!  This trip was our only Christmas gift to one another, and I’ll be honest: totally awesome.  Didn’t miss having boxes under the tree for me one. single. bit.

The weather was a little rainy the first two days.  Here, we’re driving Tantalus and Round Top to see the city views, and stopped off for photos of Diamond Head while baby napped in the car.  Thanks the the friendly local for the couples shot!  Aloha!

You heard me:  we took the baby.  That was the only wrinkle to this whole trip: our youngest is just eight months old, and still nursing.  I’ve never pumped for any of our babies (one: too lazy; two: I hate doing dishes, and bottles look a lot like dishes to me), meaning she got to go along for the ride.  Nothing like a trans-pacific flight with your infant to put the R in romance, yes?

Before we left, I was DEAD SET on streamlining our travel-with-baby plans to make it possible to still have an amazing trip, but make sure that baby was happy and willing to go along with our sightseeing and beach-hopping plans.  I have no doubt that all of you are hearing me on this: planning is THE KEY to happy babies.  THE KEY.  Which is where this little beauty comes in:

What’s that?  Doesn’t look like much?  Just a boxed pouch with a zipper?  Oh, young one, how naive you can be.  This is not simply a pouch.  THIS is a Baby Happy-Making Machine.  But wait–there’s more!  It’s a PURSE-SIZED Baby Happy-Making Machine.  It’s amazing, I won’t lie.

Perfectly sized to hold four or five diapers plus wipes with enough room leftover for two containers of baby food (the larger size), PLUS baby snacks and a spoon!  You heard me!  And it all measures just 11″ x 4″ x 2″ when it’s stuffed full.

As if that weren’t enough: took me about 40 minutes to make.  Our flight left at 9 am–at 10 the night before, I cut out the four pieces, and at 8 the next morning I stitched it all up lickety-split, just in time to slide it in my bag to take on board.  Best quickie project ever, yo.

This project is based on this fabulous tutorial from Pretty Modern. I added four inches to the length of the pouch, and used an invisible zipper rather than a standard.  Huge hit.  HUGE.  Will never travel without this puppy again.  Being able to leave the hotel in the morning and not worry that we’d need to be back for lunch, knowing that we were covered even if we stayed out til dinner time, that even a double blowout day would not derail our plans.  It was just the right size to fit in a purse, beach bag, a little tote–and never made me look like I was weighed down with baby luggage.  I hate that look.

Out for a fancy dinner at Alan Wong’s. My Baby Happy-Making Pouch made this lovely meal totally enjoyable.

I may hate the look of an overstuffed diaper bag or purse bursting with baby gear, but I love this look:

The look of a happy baby, with a clean hiney and full tummy.  All from two fat quarters and less than an hour of my time.  Hello, awesome.

Just a few more days until Christmas, and progress is looking very strong on the Advent calendar front.  I’ve fallen a bit behind, but other than the fact that I feel I’m letting you down, I almost don’t even mind–I’m having such a good time building this village and imagining my little family unpacking it each year at this time.  I don’t think it’s too late for you to make yours, too!  Check out the progress on the Advent Calendar Sewalong and share your photos of your Advent calendars in the Flickr pool.

I am, at heart, a planner.  I tend to make lists and sketches and diagrams and schematics, and wrestle endlessly with ideas–talking them out loud to myself as I bring them to life–before I act on my plans.  Sometimes this looks like procrastination, sometimes it looks like too many ideas, but it’s where my best work gets done as often as not.  There are occasions, though, where I get an idea and it takes hold of me and I run with it.  This is one of those times.  Better yet, it’s one of the times when I get an idea from a plan I’ve been dreaming up, and the two have wild hairy babies and take off into the wild world, breeding huger plans that involve all of you, too.  So, I’m kind of excited about this today, and hope you’ll play along with me.

Here’s what happened:

Yesterday, I was sort of lazily looking around the (messy) studio, thinking to myself, “What should I sew next?” in the lackadasical way of someone who has something to do but has forgotten about doing it.  And then it hit me: Advent calendar.  How many days left until December?  Ooops.

Last year, I planned to sew an Advent calendar based on the one my mother had made when my sister and I were young.  It never happened.  So this year, at the Sewing Retreat, I was working through plans and deciding what I wanted it to look like, determined that I would get it done this year.  I didn’t get it done yet.  I had a vision of a patchworked and semi-quilted project that would last until my own children have children, very much in the style of the one my mother still hangs every year.

Last night, before I taught my class at the shop, I mentioned all this to Diana, our intrepid manager extraordinaire.  I lamented how challenging it would be to make this calendar in one-and-a-half days, but was determined to see it happen this year.  The design is a village path leading between houses, with a chapel at the end, twenty-four buildings in all.  A (fabric) paper doll family moves from house to house over the course of the Advent season, arriving at the chapel on Christmas Eve to await the birth of the baby Jesus.  The foundation of the whole thing, which is designed to hang on a door or wall, isn’t the challenge–it’s all those little houses!  Diana, who always says just the right single word or phrase to fire off a million ideas in my head and make the final details click, says, “You can make one house a day.”  That was all. And the light went on: What if I make one house a day?  Like, through the Advent season?  And this year, as the little family makes their way to the chapel, the village grows–and then next year and every year after, the calendar is done and ready to enjoy?  Brilliant!

But of course, being me, I continued to think about the plan, and it began to take on a larger form all of its own: what if as I make each house, I blog each house?  And share them with you, like an Advent house-of-the-day as December moves along?  Fun!  But then, I have some other really cool stuff I want to do on the blog this December, and I don’t want to pepper everyone with multiple posts per day.  So maybe the houses go on their own page?  And I link to them from the main page?  But wait!!  Wouldn’t it be cool if we could make little houses together?  Like….like…like an Advent Calendar Sew-Along!

The fabulous wreath featured on this button is available from georgiapeachez in her Etsy shop–love those vintage bulbs!

And now here we are!  I’m delighted to invite you to join me in sewing my Advent calendar this December, bit by bit, all of us together so that we can finally, finally get it completed and share it with our families.  It’s such a great tradition, and one I loved so deeply as a child, and I hear and read so much about so many of us wishing we’d found the time to make one.  In the spirit of our 2010 Sewing Goals, let’s make the time and sew them alongside one another.

You’re certainly not limited to making a calendar like mine, although I’ll be sharing details, tutorials and templates as we go along if that’s what you want to do.  I’ve compiled a list of amazing and modern and inspiring Advent calendars to sew all over the web for you to pick from–just making one while the rest of us do is enough to share the spirit!

I’ve placed a button in the sidebar to click each day and see the newest little house go up on the background.  I’m super looking forward to seeing all the many, many variations out there, and can’t wait to see this one finished and drinking in the buzz and the warmth of Christmas!

Advent calendar designs, tutorials, and inspiration:

• The Whipstitch Village Path Advent calendar! Follow along each day starting tomorrow, and see the circa-1975 inspiration here.
• Embroidered felt Advent calendar on Purl Bee
• Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! shows a quilted calendar on Sew, Mama, Sew
• Jenny B Harris of All Sorts does a pocket-style calendar
• Wouldn’t these stacked fabric Christmas trees make a sweet Advent calendar display on a table top?  From the Small Object.
• Liesl Gibon’s lovely mitten calendar on Oliver + S
• Wool stars Waldorf-inspired calendar from Heirloom Seasons
• This blanket stitch garland from Anna Maria could be a super cute Advent garland, too!
• Super sweet felt calendar from Inchmark (via The Long Thread)
• Teeny tiny stocking calendar from Trillium (love this one!)
• Miniature Santa sack Advent calendar from The Mother Huddle (via CraftGossip)
• House of many windows Advent calendar tutorial from See Mommy Sew
• Little Birdie Advent calendar from Skip to My Lou
• Modern quilted Advent wall hanging from Freshly Pieced
• String of Lights Advent calendar garland from Elsie Marley
• Updated 12/1: I just learned through Dana of MADE that Homemade by Jill has been hosting an Advent Calendar Sew-Along, too!  See all the posts here.
• Fairytale Pumpkin has Advent calendar kits available for purchase.
• Pocket Advent calendar from Noodleheads
• Did I miss a really great modern Advent calendar?  Add the link in the comments and I’ll update the list!