Sherbet Pips!

For my birthday last year,
my dad gifted me a layer cake
(that's thirty 10" squares)
of Sherbet Pips by Aneela Hooey.
It took me a while to decide what to do with them
(yes, I have decision making issues)
(duh)
but once I figured it out,
the quilt came together rather quickly.

This will be my first venture into free motion quilting
so I'm a little scared to officially start it.
But I'm sure that even if I screw it up,
it'll still be warm.

Even if it's not that pretty to look at.

Hey! Sort of like me.

Cheers,
A

Freestyle

Saturday I sewed.
When DRL and  I went to Austin in December I picked up some fabric
at my favorite Austin fabric boutique, The Stitch Lab.
I had a half yard of quilter's linen in this great deep indigo color and it happened
to coordinate perfectly with the Erin McMorris' Summersault print I acquired on my trip.
The problem: I only had a half yard of that, too.

Oliver+S makes my favorite children's clothing patterns.
Almost everything I've sewn for my girls has been from one of Liesl's great patterns.
But they all require at least one yard of the "main fabric" for dressmaking.
I found myself on the horns of a dilemma.

I wanted to make Stella a dress.
I wanted to use these two fabrics.
I had no pattern.

Crap.

Except not!
I found a Gap dress in Stella's closet,
a hand-me-down from Elena,
that seemed exactly perfect.
I traced the body, adding extra width for the placket,
and a half inch all around for the seam allowance.
I relied heavily on the skills I learned making Liesl's patterns:
Sewing a placket,
adding a sleeve,
basting,
pleating,
hemming.
And I winged it.
I freestyled Stella a dress.

It's not perfect.
It doesn't lay flat in the front.
I accidentally cut the bottom (left) back piece.
I had to applique a patch there (I only had a 1/2 yard. I couldn't cut a new piece).
The pleat is slightly off-center in the front (It's spot on in the back!)

But I'm crazy happy with how it turned out.
Stella looks amazing in it.

Here's to trying new things.
To being brave and throwing the "you can't, no way" out the window.
Because the only thing worse than completely screwing it up,
would be to never have tried in the first place.

Cheers,
A

Craft Magic

I went to Texas over the weekend.

I had to shoot a wedding near Driftwood

(home of the Salt Lick Barbeque)

(yum)

On Thursday,

I had a bridal shoot with the bride-to-be.

I wanted her to have a bouquet....

so I made one.

You know.

With all my craft-magic.

It's amazing how much I enjoy creating.

Choosing components

(yarn, fabric, flowers, words, etc)

and putting them together,

arranging them in exactly the right way.

It's not perfect.

But then, when is anything I make perfect?

There is so much beauty in imperfection.

Cheers,

A

Owl. Party.

Saturday was Elena's birthday party.

Her owl party. 

I spent hours making feathered masks,

wooden bead necklaces, 

gift jars,

pretzel sticks,

cake pops,

owl donuts (that turned out like chickens)

and owl lanterns.

I finally threw a DIY birthday.

It.

Was.

A blast.

The kids in attendance thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

I am still thoroughly enjoying the cake pops.

Elena is asking how long before she has another birthday 

so she can be five.

I told her not to be in such a hurry to grow up.  

Here are some photos from the day:

(Owl babies and Owl Cake are courtesy of the amazingly talented Rebecca Weber)

Cheers,
A

Anatomy of a Fabric Shop

I like shopping for textiles.

Yarn, fabric, thread.

I like walking into stores and seeing color, vivid, muted, soft, vibrant.

Patterns. Textures. 

Most of the time I go into a fabric store just to look.

See what's new, if anything inspires me.

I almost never go in with a plan for what to purchase.

I yarn shop like that, too,

and I really like the organic nature of it all.

Letting the textiles speak to me,

as it were,

and beg me to take them home and make something wonderful.

But I am a nerd like that.

*pushes taped glasses and adjusts pocket protector*

For those of you who've never ventured into a fabric store

this....

this is the magic that it holds:

Especially if you're lucky enough to find yourself in a store with bolts upon bolts upon rolls

of Echino and other Japanese imports.

And the thread wall?

My favorite part of almost every single store.

I long to have selection like this at home.

Special thanks to the Common Thread in Austin for allowing me to photograph their amazing store.

Cheers,

A

Two Faced

My bff Nadia asked me if I would make a quilt
for the little boy she is expecting in October.
"Of course, love!" I said.

I sent her a few links to quilts that I liked
or that I thought would be perfect for a little boys' room.
"I like the zig zag pattern," she said.
So I sent her some fabric ideas.
"Mmmm....Ummmm...Er...ah...How about just solids? It looks like a lot of work to put a quilt together,
and I don't want it to get too....busy."
"Um...yeah. Sure. Okay, Nadj," I told her.

But I knew better.
There was no way I was going to use just solids.
No way, no how.

We talked colors.
She liked grellow.
But she also liked turquoise and coral.
"They don't really work together, honey," I told her.

"That's okay," she said.
"We can have a double-sided quilt. It'll be perrrrrrfect!"

mmmmmkay.......

"Yep! You've got it! I'm exCITEd." I choked out.

I set to work. I zigged.
And zagged.
I pieced the turqcoral side.
Then I hung them on my design wall.
Side. By. Side.

Crap.
No good.
I can't do it. I can't do this two sided quilt thing. It's no good I can't do it. Too busy. Too much.
OHMIGOSH It's just TOO much!!!

So I took a photo with my phone.
And I begrudgingly sent it off to Nadia and asked for her input.
BEGRUDGINGLY.

"I love it! It's going to be perfect!" she said.

Mmmmmkay......

So I basted.
I quilted.
I doubted, and doubted, and doubted some more.

Then I washed it.
Put some binding on it,
and fell truly,
madly,
deeply
in love.

And so, too, did Nadia.

*phew*

Cheers,
A

Obsessed

Five more aprons.
Because I'm obsessed.
I don't know when to stop.
I can't help myself.

These, however, will likely be going up for sale....

Cheers,
A

Kitchen Aid

I can't exactly cook.

Okay, let me rephrase that:

I don't consider myself a cook.

In the kitchen, I need all the help I can get.

So this weekend,

while recovering from bronchitis and effectively quarantining myself in the house,

I decided to try my hand at making an apron.

I traced the outline of an apron my fabulous Auntie Kay made for me a few years ago,

and winged the rest.

I was really happy with the results,

and made Elena a matching apron, in case she needs help in the kitchen, too.

But I still had all this fabric laying around the house. 

So I thought to myself,

"Self, you'd better keep on sewing."

This one was made using Anna Maria Horner voile for the ruffle and ties.  I LOVE how it turned out.  Vintage yet modern.

Grey+Yellow is a hot new trend.

And I am in love with this apron.

You may remember this fabric.

I made Elena a skirt using it (see here)

I had just enough stashed in my fabric bin to make this.

The question now is:

What do I DO with all of them?

Cheers,

A

Hat Season

No. Absolutely not.
It's in the triple digits here,
with no end in sight.

But should Texas ever dip down into frigidity,
I'll be ready.

Extremely ready.

Cheers,

A

Priority Mail

I've mentioned before that I like to craft, right?
I've also mentioned that I'm a top-rate blog stalker?
Okay, not really.
I mean kind of.

Maybe just a little.

I feel it necessary to mention that I only blog stalk people who I think are fabulous.
And who I think I could actually be friends with if ever given the chance to meet in person, properly introduce myself, and woo said stalkee with my real-life awkward charm.

Exhibit A: Jasmine Star.

Me and Jasmine? We're practically the same person.
Minus the whole dropped-out-of-law-school-to-become-a-world-renowned-international-wedding-photographer thing.
But I digress...
The other day she had mentioned her love of all things stationery,
and being the crafter
and blog-stalker giver that I am
I emailed her that I would be sending her some hand sewn blank notecards.
But she'd have to send me her address.

Then I promised I was totally sane and I have two kids and okay fine I go a little nuts sometimes but I mean who doesn't and don't worry I won't pull a Selena or anything like that I just want to send you something nice because I pledged to "Pay it Forward" in 2011 by sending handmade items to five people (who volunteered to receive them) but I don't care I want to send moooooooore.  *deep breath*

So she replied to my email,
kindly as ever,
and let me know that I am her "favorite stalkerish friend"
and gave me her address.

So I sent her these:

But I didn't stop there.
I kept sewing.
Because I like making things.

Even more, I like surprises.
Especially ones I manage to keep....

Which leads me to a story about my dear friend, Anda, and a funny little thing I like to call
Serendipity.
I decided to make her a little journal.
A place to write her dreams.
Wishes.
Gripes.
Somewhere to play a game of M-A-S-H with a girlfriend.
Or tic-tac-toe.
As it happens, the day I finished the moleskine, I read the following on Twitter:

anda_marie Anda Marie 

I bought these three awesome notebooks a few months ago. I guess they were so awesome I totally misplaced them. Story of my life.

31 May

I almost peed my pants.
But I did a kegel and took a breath.
Then I readied my thumbs and almost tweeted her back, "Not to worry, friend. Check your mail in a few days."

But I didn't.
I set those thumbs down and took twelve paces backwards.
Counted to seven.
Threw some air punches, just for good measure....

And quickly went to the post office to mail her gift.

I designed it to mirror the look of her blog.
Her amazing re-brand.
The launch of which caused her night sweats and stomach knots and oodles of worry.
Silly, I know, as it's basically complete amazeness.
I don't know that I did her vision justice,
but I sure tried.

I do love how the little hearts turned out....

I had two moleskines left, so I decided to make one for Gladys.
She had been under the weather for a few days.
Then Adele, her favorite, had to cancel the SFO leg of her tour,
leaving Glady with tickets to a non-existent show.
Since I couldn't console her with an actual cupcake,
her second favorite,
I sent her one:

If I could have fit myself into that envelope
I would be in 'Frisco right now.
Sitting in a pool of dreamy light,
or on the dock of the bay,
and standing next to Gladys to see who's taller
only to find out we're exactly even.
Except she's totally prettier. And younger.
And less jiggly.

....

I was so inspired by the use of the Heather Ross fabric on Gladys' notebook,
I made another for my greedy little self:

The spools?!?  Of thread?!? The soft colors!?!? Purple?!?!
Swoooon!

But I think I might need to gift it to someone.
Or maybe have a give away?
Or maybe sell it?

Turns out that being a greedy little wench just doesn't suit me.
I can't bring myself to keep something that could bring joy to someone else.

But how much would one sell such an item for?
Certainly it wouldn't fetch a first born.
Or a sixpence.
Maybe two bits?
Does anyone know the actual value of two bits?

Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller....?

Maybe I ought to just give it away....

Cheers,
A

Sneak Peek

Cheers,
A

Knitty

On the off chance that you thought perhaps I didn't do enough crafting over the holiday weekend,

I also finished a knit jumper I had been working on for Stella.

The pattern was sized for 6-12 months,
but since my kids take after me in the height department,
I simply added an inch to the pattern and called it even.

It's made from a super lightweight bamboo/cotton blend
so she can stand to wear a knit jumper
in the Hades heat of central Texas.

I'm thinking Elena might need one of these, too....

Cheers,
A

Yarn Eggs

I have yarn.
Lots and lots of yarn.
Scraps.
Yarn balls too small to use in any real project.
I was at a loss as to what to do with them, when I came across a photo on Pinterest.
Decorations for a child's rainbows and unicorns themed birthday party.
They were, for all intents and purposes,  yarn eggs.

So on Saturday, Elena and I decided to make our very own.

Add equal parts Elmer's Glue and water.
Cut 3 foot lengths of yarn.
Dip yarn in glue, remove excess, wrap around balloon.
Repeat until balloon is covered.
Hang to dry.

Allow to dry for a minimum of 24 hours.
Once dry, do not pop balloon!
Cut hole in top and let air out slowly. This is very important!
(Failure to adhere to this step cost us our blue yarn egg.)
String yarn or fishing wire through top, tie off and hang.

Next up: I am going to make some in all white and decorate the bedroom.
Helpful hint: Cotton yarn works the best. Wool is sketchy, at best.  Acrylic doesn't work at all.
A little corn starch added to the glue mixture would have made the balls sturdier and the glue work better.

Have fun!

Cheers,
A