The Wednesday Showcase

The past week was super busy as my husband and I hosted a student. We had so much fun. Everyday was an adventure. It was like summer camp on steroids!!! We went canoeing, biking, learned to sew, took a ride in the airplane and learned all about what's involved to ensure a safe trip. Took in a play, and enjoyed an outdoor concert at Millennium Park. We saw a wonderful artist, Jose Gonzales. Sadly, I had never heard of him before, but he is one of her favorite artists, so she was super excited about having the opportunity to see him in concert. If you have never heard of Jose Gonzales, check him out, I think like me you will find a new artist that you really enjoy :)

Not to completely bore you, but I just had to share 2 more photos from my trip to the Butterflies and Blooms exhibit at the Chicago Botanical Gardens. I promise that it will be the last :)

Check out this guy, so beautiful. 

This is the actual setting. Could anything be more beautiful?!!! When I saw where the butterfly had landed, I immediately knew that I had to paint this.

 This piece is part of a series of paintings, or will be I should say. 

Here's the sketch of the after of the above picture. This is the rough sketch. I've now transferred it on to my paper and have begun painting. I gave him a bit of a whimsical feel by giving him a fat little body. So you can see that I do love butterflies :) 

Today is not supposed to be about me, so let's take a look at a few lovely bloggers whom you may not know.

First up is Lori of Monkeyroom. She's an American living in Germany. As you'll see, she has so many interests, and does them all so well.
I included the picture below as I thought it was just such a pretty picture of Lori :) 

Lori loves to sew and makes lots of great tops. I especially liked this Simplicity top. The neckline is so pretty. 

Lori wasn't so sure about this jacket, but I think it's fabulous. 

She loves to knit. Check out the great sweater she made for her husband, and all those socks!!!

And last, but not at all least, she loves to weave. Check out her blog and you can see the finished scarf. Such a nice piece. 

BTW, you can find Lori on Pattern Review HERE.

Next up is a lady who is brand new to my blog, but I have a feeling that most of you know her, and if you don't, then it's about time!!! Meet Patti of Not Dead Yet Style. 

She's not a sewist, and she doesn't cook, but she loves who she is, where she is in life, and is celebrating every moment of her life with style. And even better, she invites all of us to join along with her post, Visible Mondays. Each and every Monday, Patti invites all of us to link up to her post and celebrate our style, whether you made your garment or not. So ladies, for those of us who sew, this is a great opportunity to shout to the world that not only do we have style, but we're making that style with our own two hands! 

You'll also find wonderful articles on just about how to wear anything at any age, like how to wear a sundress, or bare your shoulders at any age.  So pop over and discover her blog, I know you'll be happy that you did :)

Have a wonderful day!

Rhonda

Butterflies And A Winner

It's Monday and it's the first day of the month...Rabbit, Rabbit!!!!

What in the world is Rabbit, Rabbit? A few months ago I shared that this is I guess, a superstition that if you say Rabbit, Rabbit on the first day of the month, good luck will come your way. Hey, why not? :)

I took a bike ride up to the Chicago Botanical Gardens yesterday and was surprised to find a Butterflies and Blooms exhibit. If you are anywhere near Chicago, I highly recommend visiting the exhibit. I felt as though I was in a fairy tale story with all the butterflies flying about. 

For some reason, they really liked me as they kept landing on me.

This one hitched a ride on my leg and would not leave. When I was ready to go, I had to get one of the people from the garden to remove him as we were not supposed to touch them. They told me that I am going to have tons of good luck as another superstition I guess is that when a butterfly lands on you, they bring good luck. Again, I'll take all I can get :)

I thought I would share a few other pictures that I took. I could really bore you as I took tons, but I will refrain :) 

This one doesn't even look real!

On this first day of August, I'm so happy that I can send out a little good luck with the announcement of the Swoon Patterns Evelyn Handbag and Market Tote pattern give away.

And the winner is Ginger!!! Congratulations Ginger. Email me at Sewbussted@yahoo.com and I will send your pattern out to you. It's a PDF pattern, so you'll get it right away!

Before I go, I thought I would share a few pictures of some of the Evelyn Bags I found. 

I thought both of these were especially cute. A little bit of an eye teaser on the left and a little Lilly Pulitzer on the right.

This photo gives you an idea of how large the market tote pattern is. Good size bag.

Have a wonderful day and I wish you a month full of the best of luck!

Rhonda