I'm back, just to say hello and to thank all you lovely people who have questioned my whereabouts, or asked friends if I'm "all right"! I am all right, but I wasn't for a good part of 2017; I jumped down my hidey-hole and, except for occasional forays on Instagram (mhoutz4) and Facebook, I laid low. I have continued  problems with my foot...not life-threatening, but life-changing. I had a complete rupture of the tibialis anterior tendon, resulting in drop-foot and considerable pain. It's not "fixable", so I have to find ways to live with it. I wear a brace a g ..read more

After too many years to count of speedy sewing, trying to get things done quickly, I have become enamored of slow sewing. Why? For one thing, I don't really need many clothes...I have so much and lead a fairly quiet life (Clothes-wise). For another, I have come to appreciate the steps in the process of making something, which includes A LOT of hand sewing, basting, and experiencing the magical process of MAKING.  And for a third thing, I am able to listen to audible books, music, podcasts for some of the time I'm sewing. When I get to a hard part, I turn off the sound and c ..read more

I have been a busy bee with family and friends, food, deconstruction and sewing. Here is my new Koos jacket, V1277... I was inspired by my dear Paris traveling companion, Ruth, who was wearing this magnificent jacket the day I met her... I used only stash fabrics for this, sticking to black, gray and silver (in great number in my fabrics).  The primary fabric, a black and gray parallelogram taffeta, was from Marcy Tilton,   as were the rest of the fabrics.  I was able to use a fun silver trim from Paris for the bias sleeve seam. Here it ..read more

I didn't really plan to take a break...I've been dealing with a health issue and a few other inconveniences, then I began a BIG studio clean out and finally got back my sewing mojo...so here I am! I tried out Sandra Betzina's new jacket/vest pattern, V1540, in a two-sided quilted poly from Mood Fabrics. I love that the other side (solid "merlot") shows a little when I move... The weight of this fabric is better-suited to my climate than some of the heavier ones I've sewn lately...although, it's in the high eighties this weekend, so I'll need to bring out my lighter-colored clot ..read more

I carved out some studio time over the last two weeks and worked on this; I returned to V1510, Sandra Betzina's vest pattern from last fall. I have been holding on to this verrrrry interesting fabric from EOS which I got a long time ago. It's a medium weight black jersey with squares of faux leather glued on. It looks a little like an alligator, but with a lot more texture...and you know me, I'm all about texture! .. I removed the extended shoulder, drafted a facing, and changed the pockets to folded patch pockets. The facing, collar and pocket lining were out of a lightweight ..read more

Happy New Year! Here we are, 9:00 pm on New Year's Eve, in a motel room in Pella, Iowa, drinking champagne out of plastic glasses to toast the coming year. We were probably asleep by 10...such an exciting life! We were in Pella for our eldest grandson's wedding, held in the afternoon of NYE. Here's the bride and groom with Dave and me the groom with his dad, our son and with his 3 brothers and 1 sister. And our beautiful granddaughter She's one strong young woman, growing up with 4 brothers! I wore a vintage Marimekko velvet jacket in black and silver. We fortified ourselves ..read more

More time has passed that I had anticipated...but the memories of the Paris trip are still warming my heart! photo by Shams  This was at the large flea market at Clignancourt, which Shams and I visited to test our Metro skills before the Tilton Tour began. A lotta red! One of the thrills for me was the evening boat trip on the Seine, in the rain. In all my trips to Paris, I had never done this, and it was magical! We had a few days of rain on the trip, but not pouring, and for this California girl, the rain was welcome! Here are the beautiful clouds after ..read more

It's taken me more than a month to get back to blogging...I posted some pictures as I went along on Facebook and Instagram, but I needed some downtime after I returned on the 14th. photo by Shams Here I am, in front of my favorite Paris sculpture, by Pol Bury, in the Palais Royal. Shams and I arrived in Paris four days before the Tilton Trip began, and managed to do a little retail therapy and learn the Metro system on our own. In our hotel lobby, raring to go! But first, a little fuel in the form of escargots, good bread and a glass of wine... Then, off to the Trippen ..read more

Last blog post before I leave for Paris! I am getting SOOOO excited! I managed to make one last pair of pants to go in my travel wardrobe... I used my  "Trifecta"pants pattern and a gorgeous cotton/silk blend cross-dyed fabric from Marcy Tilton. I am pleased and highly relieved that my foot is much better and will not slow me down in Paris. I went twice a week for three weeks to my chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries, and he performed the magic! Teddy has continued to dominate our lives...he is growing so tall, and he  LEAPS at the counters in the kitc ..read more

It's been 3 weeks since I've blogged...busy with puppy, daughters visiting, foot problems, sewing...the usual!  Here is the travel tote I've been working on...it's the Professional Tote by Creative Thimble, and I've made it once before; it was for my very first blog post, 5 years ago! I've had this marvelous black and white sashiko fabric for a while...I bought it on Etsy. I added some faux leather from Emma One Sock,  a marvelous stretch cotton dragon print from Marcy Tilton for the inner pockets  and a wine-colored nylon Taslan for the lining... I'm plan ..read more