Friday, December 24, 2010

merry christmas!

off to maine, brrrr! crank up the twinkle lights and have a merry christmas!!!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

it's coming...

and i am not ready. i don't have the time. today is my day off, i worked the last 6, many without lunch breaks and having to run straight home from work for one reason or another, and i have not had a chance to do much shopping. (ok, well, those 2 sweaters i bought myself, they don't count.)

so today is a mad rush to get a sorts of things done. i feel terrible that i haven't made more cookies, or sewn more, or cleaned more, or whatever more! i did, however, get a gift done, so chalk that off the list!


i tried to make some zip pouches today, quilted, of course. i think they came out pretty cool if i say so myself. so it goes like this...

cut strips of fabrics, different widths, same length (mine was 9"). sew together, quilt with batting and back (interior) fabric. (my quilting is mono directional, i simply stitched the width of my sewing foot.) once that was done, i trimmed the quilting clean, stitched on the zipper, then stitched the sides! it's not tailored inside, but i used some fray check to help keep the top clean. i don't think it matters much as they are just cute little pouches for whatever, makeup, jewelery, or a make shift wallet.

i show it today because though i have not given the gift, the recipient doesn't know who they are. so it will still be a surprise... merry christmas!

Monday, December 13, 2010

sunday, bloody sunday

yeah, not the most constructive day of my life. i tried to get things done. i managed to pull the old wall hangings down off the wall in the dining/sewing room. only to tear off a bit of drywall paper and find out that i need to give the wall a quick coat of paint. (by taking down the artwork, i got that lovely reminder of ed's smoking... he is quitting in 2 weeks though... he better.)

after that i made two new christmas cookies. kinda failures... first up, the ganache tartlets...


ok, they look alright. but not so hot. they are supposed to have a sprinkle of sea salt on top, but frankly i think they are a bit salty already. and i didn't have the required 3 1/2 inch round cutter, i had to scrape by with a 3 inch, and i question if the difference would have made the tartlets just big enough. i dunno, i am still debating whether to take them to work tomorrow. second up...


a christmas jelly. now i know, one may think, hey they look kinda good, but they are stickier than all get up, worse than clark w. griswold's tree sap! you toss them in sugar, which helps for a second of two, only until the heat melts it down again, and you are back where you started! it took alfie 2 minutes to eat his! (i had made some in cute apple shaped silicon molds, as they are apple/apricot... can't even get them out! i am hoping that by sticking them in the freezer i will be able to salvage the molds... ugh.

finally, while working on said wall project, i was trying to rub sticky tape off the wall, and somehow managed to rub the top layer of skin right off my index finger! how the frig is that possible?!?!

i am typing like a weirdo... little sewing was done. i made a pie chart half circle, i'll explain another time, but i did spend a few hours making my pattern in proper style. it's coming, i just know it!

whew, i'm glad the day is over... better make some full proof brownies to make myself feel better...

Sunday, December 12, 2010

pillow talk

one of my new classes in the new year is a great string pillow! it is very easy to make, and the results are uber rewarding. it looks like so much more, and you can totally impress people who don't sew by having them think it took you ages and ages. nice.


the collection of fabrics were not chosen by moi, but i seriously think anyone would think that i did. this is a sample for the class, with fabrics chosen by the lovely laura at spool. does she know me or what? yeah aqua!

so basically it's a paper pieced project. paper you say? yes i say. paper. by sewing to actual paper you have keep all your lines nice and straight and clean. (things i love, yet rarely maintain.) when you are all finished the project, the sewing you did creates perforations on the paper and it tears right off! so easily you go from this...


to this...


super neato cool. i know. there is actually a great little tutorial at filminthefridge, check it out. and if one was so inclined, the class schedule is available... now i have to go and make that amazing new anna maria free love emblem pillow!!!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

merry merry

ho ho ho and all that crap. put up our itsy bitsy tree today. towering in at a huge 3 feet, she is up and running, (even though 1/2 her pre-attached lights burned out and i had to go to the home depot and grab a new strand to finish her off.)

i am fine with having a small tree. so be it. we have a small apartment, what more can be expected. i am also pretty sure that my edward doesn't really care much if we even have a tree. but come on, if one even sees one of my quilts, they know i am a shiny bright twinkly christmas light kind of girl!


i have been busy all day... ran to the super-marche, the depot, as mentioned, came home, cleaned the house, started the laundry, i got a stew simmering in the kitchen for dinner...whew. it's after five, and i haven't sewn a stitch! nor did i yesterday. (wait, does sewing buttons on your boss' coat count? it was christmas charity, the poor man lost all his buttons, what could i do!)

i guess i better get going then... plus i have some cookies to make! i did make a great pillow this week though, more to come on that soon! ho ho ho!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

bohemian baby

ah ha! the second installment in my baby quilt/play mat has been completed! i am v.v. relieved to be done. it took a few days to do the binding, sad, but frankly migraines don't care what you have to do, and after roughing it up at work for 9 hours, frigid weather changes, and good old fashion tiredness, two nights in a row the pain came back, and looking at tiny little threads, well, yeah, not so much... but it's done now, and awesome!
a good pal of mine said that the first installment of this piece made her want a baby girl, like right now. a complement, i believe. so now i want her to want a hippy, bohemian baby. but no sunshine... no moonbeams...

more like jefferson airplane, beads, lava lamps, and a baby in a sweet sweet bandana! yes!!!


i love this color scheme, rich reds, pinks, navys... it's a mix of anna's new shattered design, along with some good old kaffe in tonal plaid and wild florals, and a back of one of kaffe's wovens... a dirty minty green streaked with reds... love.


again, this pattern is really very easy, a take on log cabins, lots of strips, a few angles, and there you go. i should have it done soon... soon.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

to teach is to learn

so.....ahhhh. yeah. still tired. christmas, love, work, eh, not so much. but not all work. i did manage to finish all piecing and quilting of my second installment of my to be pattern. in fact, after i post this, do a bit o-flickring, and grab some iced tea, i will bind it up while watching some tele-vision. nice. of course, i have no pictures to speak of at this moment, but blame that on lack of proper lighting, not my sewing abilities.

what i do have to show though is me! yes, yes, drum roll. super excitement... i can feel it in the air. (blah, blah, blah...)


there i am in all my teaching glory. but i have to tell you, and i think laura, the gracious, lovely sewing owner of spool, has said it best about my pictures... "One is blurry, but I thought it fitting since you are always in motion! I mean that in the best possible way!" how true... and i do take it as a compliment. when i am showing someone how to sew it's pretty awesome, and i can get, oh... how do i put this... i think, in a tizzy would be accurate. in general, i can be known to get a bit babbley and fast paced. it's in my nature, what can i say, i'm a leo.

but how can you not? i joke in class about how i turn all hippy dippy, talking about going with the flow, loving your colors, and being one with the fabric. cheese, yes, i know, but i think of quilting like painting. sure, the fabrics may not be your own designs, but what you can create with another's work can be pretty extraordinary. all just by playing with proportion, contrasts and colors. i love how everyone is making the same quilt, and yet they are so completely different.




i love all the colors and patterns, and the whir of the machines, and the sighs when they find out they will have to hand sew their binding! it's wonderful. (don't worry though, i know one day someone will appreciate the hand sewing of binding as much as i do.)

and so yeah, its totally awesome. see what i have learned. teaching rules.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

no picture

that's right. no picture today. i was going to do a post, and then i thought, self, you don't really have a picture to put up. i mean, you haven't really done anything, but you have to put up a picture. you just have to. eh. (shrug.)

i felt compelled to put something up, as the most amazing thing ever has happened to moi. yes... ANNA MARIA HORNER TOTALLY COMMENTED ON MY BLOG! WHOOOOOOOOOOO! CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!!!!

the best christmas present ever! everyone i know knows... like my gentleman, mother, co-workers, students... i blabbed it out to everyone. so there! sweetness...

however... that excitement can only take a girl so far... i am beat. see, i work in retail, as the illustrious and over worked holiday elf at a beautiful tableware boutique.  do i dress like an elf? nah. do i toil and run around like a mad-capped crazy trying to make everyone's holiday gifts happen happily. yes'um. so tired. so very tired. i sewed for like, 45 minutes, now i feel like passing out.

so to recap...

no picture today.
anna maria totally saw my quilts.
be kinder to retail folk this holiday season.
and sew.
word.