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?