Here's lookin' at you, 2009

1. Asymmetrical skirt, 2. Kimberly bag modeled, 3. Ruffled Wristlet, 4. Fruition,
5. Flowergirl dresses, 6. Elissa's Quilt, 7. Chuppah, 8. Quilted and Binded,
9. Fabric bunting, 10. Hopscotch Quilt, 11. Wonderland sewing machine cozy, 12. Napkins!

A lot happened this year. I found a job I really enjoy, welcomed my best friend's new baby, created the most wonderful wedding Peter and I could have hoped for, got married, honeymooned in Italy, and enjoyed time spent with friends, family, and my sewing machine (but of course!).

I also participated in my very first virtual quilting bee.

1. Erin's block for PTQB, 2. May block for Allison, 3. Katie's block, 4. March - Sara's block, 5. June Block 1, 6. August Block - Punch Drunk, 7. String quilt block, 8. Mini log cabins, 9. Spiderweb block, 10. Block for Beki, 11. Oh Christmas Tree!, 12. August block for Kathy

It's been a great year. Thank you for visiting this little space o' mine through it all.

Up next

Just look at all those pretty colors. I'm finishing my Blossom quilt next, but this Good Folks fabric is after that. If only I could figure out what to do with it. I was thinking this, or this, maybe this, oh and wouldn't this look nice too...

Ohhhhh yes!

The feeling of satisfaction. Several tv shows and movies later, I finished binding it by hand last night. I'm going to throw it in the wash tonight and let it get all crinkly good. I'll post pictures of the finished quilt this weekend.

Favorite Things Week - Thursday

One of my favorite things is learning something new. I think most of the people that read this blog can relate. Isn't that one reason why we create things? To learn a new skill and learn how something is made. Of course there are many reasons why I love to create, but I think learning how to make something is a big one.

So what does the photo of the camera have to do with learning new things? Peter gave me photography lessons! I start my class in February. I'm so excited. I've been wanting to learn how to take better photos for a while. I guess you will all know how the class goes by the quality of pictures on this blog!

Favorite Things Week - Wednesday

Some flickr favorites: 1. in my studio, 2. Passarinhos estampados,
3. string block quilted pillows, 4. IMG_1599, 5. sewing room, 6. block 2 for sarah

Today I am 29 years old. I'll have a hot cup of tea as I do every morning. I'll eat at two of my favorite restaurants in DC for lunch and dinner. I have to work today, but tomorrow I have off, and tomorrow I will celebrate my birthday again by doing some of my favorite things. I will run in the morning. I'll browse the aisles of my favorite craft store, Joann. Maybe I'll do a little quilting. Maybe I'll pick up a new knitting project. Maybe I'll make a new skirt. Whatever I end up doing, I'll enjoy today (and tomorrow). I hope you will, too.

Favorite Things Week - Bo

Need I say more?

Favorite Things Week

Since my birthday is this week, I thought I'd celebrate it all week long by posting a favorite thing every day this week. I hope you'll share your favorite things too!

One of my favorite things is the first big snow storm of the season. Washington D.C had a record breaking snow storm this past weekend. It was a good excuse to stay close to home and make biscuits and beef stew to share with friends.

All that snow left my arms tired though. No, not from shoveling.

From quilting. I finished quilting my Pieced Together Quilting Bee block quilt! And oh, how I love it. Now I just need to bind it and throw it in the wash.

Monday morning

1. Christmas star ornaments, 2. olive & archie, 3. piecing, 4. single girl, 5. flock of triangles quilt 1, 6. Shalom, 7. tea wallets, 8. Smile Crocodile, 9. Children backpack - green flowers

I'm not making a lot of handmade gifts for the holidays this year. I just don't have the time or the motivation. If I did, I might make the people on my list some of the cuteness in the pictures above. But not this year. I'm slowly working on my Pieced Together Quilting Bee quilt in between looking at houses and work. It's nice to have a project that I can pick up for a few minutes here and there. I'm also working on a secret project that I'll share after the holidays if I get it done in time. What are you giving for holiday presents this year?

Little boxes on a hillside

(1. My Town quilt- a beginning, 2. little house quilt in progress, 3. house mini quilt)

Yes, people, we have houses on our brains these days over here. And I'm not talking about houses made out of fabric either (although I do think about those too). Wish us luck as we embark on this real estate adventure!

In other news, it is officially cold outside! At least I have a good excuse to drink hot chocolate, not that I really needed an excuse before. I highly recommend this delightful mix (introduced to me by my sister-in-law). Stay warm, friends.

Monday

Ambitious, my plans were for the weekend. I almost finished the quilt top, and would have if I hadn't miscalculated (guessed) the amount of yardage I would need for the sashing. I was just a little bit shy. Then of course I had a movie to see, and friends to visit, and errands to run and then it was time for bed on Sunday night. It's almost finished though. Now that I have enough fabric to finish the top and to complete the backing, I might start quilting by the end of the week. The question is, how should I quilt it? It's too big for me to even think of free motion quilting it with my limited patience and FM skills so please don't even mention it. I was thinking of doing vertical lines, what do you think? Any other ideas?

Also, I'd really like to improve my photography skills. Can anyone recommend a good book on digital photography and/or Photoshop?

Blocks, blocks everywhere!

This is the scene of my sewing room this morning. I decided to make a queen size quilt and thus needed to make a few extra blocks. Today I will finish the top! Oh, and did you notice my new big a** ironing board? I asked for it on my wedding registry. Peter asked for a huge tv, I asked for a huge ironing board. You all understand, I'm sure.

The day after

Today I am thankful I'm not out in the Black Friday mess. However, several stores are trying to woo me through email. Must. be. strong.

I took the day off from work today so I could sew, and sew is what I intend to do! I'm hoping to at least finish my Pieced Together Quilting Bee top. I've had all of the blocks back since May. Should I be daring and actually hope to have this quilted by the end of the weekend? Of course that means I'd have to go out into the shopping mess at some point to get the backing and batting and thus be likely to be pulled into other kinds of shopping as well which means less time sewing! Hmmmm, a conundrum, people.

Ruffled Wristlet

Now that I've finished documenting our wedding, it's back to the regularly (or so I wish) scheduled programming-sewing! I'm grateful to finally have time to sew again.

My friend Catherine saw a ruffled wristlet I made a few months ago during her last visit and gave an audible "Ohhhhhh, cute!" I immediately knew what to make her for her birthday earlier this month. I even had the materials already on hand. It doesn't get much easier than that.

One of the things I love about this pattern, besides how cute it is, is how little material it uses. You can make this by just going through your scrap stash (because you know you have one). I think it's a really useful design too - just big enough to hold all of the essentials but little enough to grab and go for a night out or a trip to the gym. I use mine a lot. I'll try to take a picture of it the next time I am home during daylight hours, which sadly, is not often these days. Darn you winter!

(Thanks to my sister, Kathy, for modeling for these pictures.)

Pattern: Ruffled Wristlet by See Katie Sew
Materials used: Amy Butler Nigella and Lotus fabric from scrap stash
Notes: Cute design, great pattern! I've made this twice now and plan to make it again!

Wedding - DIY details

Planning the wedding was fun, albeit a little stressful at times. Putting our own personal touches on the wedding was very important to me (and the crafting relieved some of that stress!). Here are a few our diy wedding details.

My dad and I cut some old plywood which I painted and used to tell guests where to go.

I made the flower I wore in my hair with a simple silk flower and a hair comb.

We wrapped the mason jars that held our flowers with twine for a rustic look. Aren't those flowers gorgeous!

My brother-in-law, Kenny, made our huppah. He found some old trees in his backyard and propped them inside some flower pots. My sister, Kathy, potted the flowers. As for the cloth, I sewed ribbon on each corner of some sheer ivory voile and tied it to each pole. I am keeping the cloth in hopes that someday our children will be married under it as well.

I created the escort cards, invitations, and table numbers using some beautiful letterpress stationary that I found at Target. We saved a lot of money making our paper suite ourselves, and I don't think I could have found a more appropriate design for our wedding.

The table numbers.

I also hand painted our wedding cake topper. Standing next to us are our kitties, Bo and Kitty. Silly, I know, but it was fun having them on our cake.

And let's not forget the inspiration behind it all, those gorgeous napkins you all have been hearing me talk about since January!

Thank you all for coming along with me as I documented our wedding day and some of the planning that went into it. I'm so glad you were supporting me through this journey. Thank you!

Wedding - Flower Girl Dresses

I have a few more details I want to document about our wedding day, so I hope you'll bear with me through just a few more wedding related posts.

I had a hard time trying to find cute yet affordable flower girl dresses so decided to make them myself. I think colored flower girl dresses are cuter than the traditional white flower girl dress. Also, I selfishly wanted to be the only one wearing white.

I found the perfect fabric at G Street fabrics - a light, but rich purple dupioni silk and used Simplicity 4647 for the pattern. The dupioni was very easy to work with, and the pattern went together quickly.

For the sash, I used purple ribbon that matched the color of the bridesmaid dresses (which were cocktail dresses from Nordstrom, by the way). I pinned the sash with a silk flower I found at Joann's.

I seriously love how cute the dresses turned out. I was afraid the girls wouldn't like them, but they LOVED them too. They danced happily in them all night long!

Wedding - part two

The weather was gorgeous. We were lucky.
The days right before and after were cold and rainy.

I loved my bouquet and all of its dangling ribbons.

The girls loved their dresses.

A handsome bunch, don't you think?

The ceremony, my favorite part of the day.

So happy.

Can't forget the details.

Taking a moment.

Dancing, this way.

The food was delicious.

The cakes were too (carrot cake, chocolate ganache cake, rasberry chiffon cake and apple pie).

The donut stand was a hit. Best.donuts.ever.

A photo booth captured some hilarious moments.
It was a fun day.

(Images by Cramer Photo)

Wedding - part one

It was a beautiful day.

(Images by Cramer Photo)

Dancing, this way

Our wedding photos are in! Images and wedding details to come later this week.

Photo above by Cramer Photo.

Halloween Recap

I've always loved Halloween. Growing up, I would decorate my bedroom with pictures of cats dressed up as witches and haunted houses. I used to read a lot of ghost stories too, which is odd because I now avoid scary movies. I must have been a tough kid!

I don't decorate for Halloween anymore, (maybe someday when we own our house), but I still like to dress up. Because of our wedding and honeymoon this fall, Halloween was kind of an afterthought. I still managed to come up with a decent costume I think. Peter and I dressed up as Archie and Victoria Lodge. I think my costume only made sense when I was right next to Peter - I mean Archie - though.


Last year I was Audrey Hepburn and Peter dressed up as a 1920's gangster. I already know what I'm going to be next year - but it's a surprise so you'll have to wait 12 months to find out.

P.S. How is it November already?

In love with Love

I'm back from our honeymoon in Italy! It was fantastic - we ate, hiked, rode bicycles, stood in awe in front of ruins and paintings, and enjoyed being newly married. After being away for two weeks though, it's nice to be home.

I don't have much to share right now, as we haven 't gone through our Italy pictures yet and we're waiting for wedding photos from the photographer (I've seen some sneak peeks and they are gorgeous so far!). Right now my house is a mess and filled with registry boxes, a very needy kitty is on my lap (he'd rather I pet him than type this post - he has let me know), and I need to get ready for my first day back at work. But I hope to find some time to sew soon, especially after seeing an announcement in my email box that Amy Butler has done it again - a new fabric line, Love, and some new patterns. Have you seen? I'm loving her new Love fabrics, especially the one featured on her new Liverpool shirt pattern (I like that pattern too):

How very Boden it is! I love it. Hmmm, I might just skip work, ignore my messy house and sew instead today! One can wish...