More Christmas Presents!

I made a few more handmade items for Christmas this year.  Nothing too crazy, though, and I actually forgot to take pictures of a few things, which really sucks!

Elizabeth and I swapped mini quilts and sewing machine covers for Christmas.  I've only made a couple mini quilts ever, and they've always been for me, but I love the idea of them because sometimes the thought of making a huge quilt is just exhausting.

I broke into my stash of Mendocino to make this Round n Round mini.  I've been hoarding this fabric for years and it's been passed back and forth between me and my mom.  Currently, it's in my possession, and my mom and I decided if I ever have a kid the baby room should be Mendocino-themed.  I love that idea, especially now that I have Heather Ross Prints and can order the Swimming Sisters print off of Spoonflower.

I quilted this mini with light blue Aurifil in perpendicular straight lines.  I was unsure about this at first but I really like the subtle movement and I love the little boxes it creates--some mermaids and fish are framed!

I backed the mini in Art Gallery Oval Elements and made little hangers so Elizabeth can put it on her wall!  I used a coordinate from Bonnie and Camille's Happy-Go-Lucky for the binding, which was perfect.

I had never made a sewing machine cover before, so this was a first and was a little scary.  I decided to go with the "quilt" version, which isn't as structured as other sewing machine covers.

I had an idea in my head about how I wanted to make this: I originally wanted to use the Thimble Blossoms Mini Spools pattern to make five spools across the front and a rainbow dresden on the back.  But I did the math wrong (unsurprisingly) and ended up with three spools on the front and two on the back.  Oh well.

I used some fun fabrics from my stash for the spools.  I thought I had gray faux-bois fabric in there somewhere, but I couldn't find it for the life of me!  So white faux-bois it was.

I quilted it with white Aurifil in straight lines, which is functional and doesn't take a lot away from it.  I didn't want it to be overwhelming--this is something that needs to fit into Elizabeth's sewing room fairly easily!  It's definitely not a statement piece.

Sigh--the backing.  I agonized over this for hours--what to use?!  I've had this Melody Miller Viewmasters print in my stash for well over a year, after spending too much on it on Etsy.  The colors went with the spools pretty well and the linen substrate will hold up pretty well, too.

I used the Motif Madness print from Rashida Coleman-Hale's Tsuru line as the binding, which I made extra wide just for fun, and I threw in some aqua and red from Oliver + S's City Weekend line for the ties.  That's it on my machine above.  Hmm, maybe it looks too good and I should've kept it...

I also made Kelby a Gather cowl (pattern by Tin Can Knits; Ravelry notes here), a mini iPad case and a box bag, but I completely spaced on taking pictures of those.  That's what happens when you procrastinate and rush through!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Christmas at Our House

Hello!  I'm so sorry about the long absence--with Thanksgiving being so late this year, it seems like the last three weeks have been a blur of preparation and work.  As of last night, though, I'm done with my full-time job until January 6th and all the presents are wrapped!  I have one more stocking stuffer to buy but that's it.  It's such a good feeling to know I can spend the next two weeks knitting and watching Christmas movies and lots of Netflix!

Because everything is officially done, I have lots of time to blog now!  I have about four posts coming at you in the next week.  Watch out, world!

First up, I wanted to talk about some Christmas decorations at my house.  Most of what we have (outside of ornaments) is handmade, either by me or my friend Elizabeth.  Elizabeth and I swapped Christmas pillows this year which really livened up my living room!

Aren't they adorable?  Elizabeth is an awesome quilter and her skills really came through with these pillows.  I wish I could capture her FMQ skills but you just have to see them in person!

Also, that's our new couch!  No more sad back cushion, which makes me ecstatic.

I sent Elizabeth two pillows as well!

This pillow was made with a mini charm pack of Aspen Frost by BasicGrey and some neutrals.  I used this tutorial from Moda Bake Shop and an Aspen Frost print for the back.

For the other pillow I used a tutorial from Sew Mama Sew and Winter's Lane, which is easily my most favorite winter/holiday fabric line ever.  I also used Quilter's Linen for the first time ever and I can't recommend it enough.  I love the look of linen but Essex can sometimes be a pain in the butt.

I also sent Elizabeth some homemade gifts!  Like this drawstring bag...

...which had a Honey Cowl inside!  I used Madelinetosh DK in Mica for her cowl.  I love the way it turned out!

So of course those two pillows aren't our only Christmas decorations.  We have our stockings from last year, too:

I don't remember talking about those Swoons before, but I painted them in August.  Right now they're resting our mantle because Nick won't hang them.  Oh well, two fewer holes to patch when we move!

The little birds on either side of the Swoons are from Target.  My brother and his fiancee bought the other two in the series without talking to us first--quite a coincidence!

Here's our tree, with the treeskirt I made last year:

We bought this tree at Home Depot this year and I love it so much.  I'll miss it when it's gone, actually.  It smells great, it's super healthy-looking, and it was $30.00.

I also made a little runner for my quilt cabinet, which had the pumpkin runner on it during the fall:

I used the Jingle block from Thimble Blossoms and a bunch of red and aqua scraps from my stash.  Red and aqua are the colors of the holidays now, it seems.  I used red gingham for the binding which is just about the best thing ever, I think.  The little owl jar is from Target this year, while the knitted tree is from Target last year.

How do you decorate your home for the holidays?

Patchworking

I'm moving on with my life since those shorts.  They kind of put a damper on my sewing for the weekend, but they're now in the past.  And PS, I'm going to try the Sewaholic Thurlow pattern, I think.  They look like they're more my style, with a lower waist and back pockets (a flat butt's best friend).  I haven't ordered it yet, but I'm considering it.

Anyway, I read a lot of Amanda's blog this weekend, going through the archives and looking at pictures.  I love her blog, if only for the visual inspiration.  She lives a very pared-down lifestyle, has an awesome stash, runs her own business and just is pretty cool in general.  I wish we were friends (virtual or real-life) because I really admire her.  But, of course, now all I want to do is embroider and patchwork.  She cross-stitches, which is something I haven't done since middle school (and I don't think I ever finished a project) but her patchwork is just so damn inspiring I can barely stand it.

I couldn't get off the ground with any experimental patchwork yesterday, so instead I spent hours and hours looking at quilts online.  I have three planned for Christmas gifts, but is that being ambitious?  Wait, I'm a pretty ambitious sewer, right?  So it's okay.  Anyway, here's some inspiration I found around the internet yesterday:

Thimble Blossoms' Dilly Dally, Merry and Swoon patterns are gorgeous and fresh, and we need some stockings anyway.

Jeni B.'s Patchwork Picnic quilt looks super easy...but almost too easy.

However, her Plus quilt is something I'm dying to make for Nicholas for Christmas.  We're only exchanging one gift this year, and I kind of want to make him a quilt in his favorite colors (eggplant, charcoal, white and black).

I'm also thinking of spending lots of money and buying some Medocino to make my mom a quilt for Christmas.  We're going no-frills this year--normally Christmas is lots of money and lots of presents--so I'd like to give her something meaningful and something handmade.  I've found a few FQ sets that won't break the bank, but I'll need more than that.  Does anyone have a resource besides Etsy and eBay?

What do you all think?  Are you a quilter?  What would you recommend for a beginner who likes a challenge?

Labor Day Weekend and Cake

Today seems like a wasted day.  It's rainy and dark and chilly - I should be at home reading on the couch, not sitting at my desk at work!  I definitely shouldn't be wearing a skirt either.  I should be in pajama pants.  Unfortunately, I don't think work cares, so I'm here.  I know it was a three-day weekend and all, but still, work schedules should be based on weather, not hours.

I'm trying to think back over the weekend, remembering what happened, what I can tell you, but I'm coming up with nothing.  I worked from home Friday so it seems like the weekend started forever ago.  Sometimes long weekends are like that, and while I'm not dying to get back to work, the disruption in my schedule is enough to make me crazy.  For example, by Monday afternoon I was about ready to stab Nick in the neck just because I was so annoyed with everything he was doing.  And it's not like he's a generally annoying person, but once you spend long amounts of time with the same person everyday, all day--well, they become the worst person you've ever met.  I'm sure he felt the same about me, so no hard feelings.  This is what happens in a one-bedroom apartment without friends.

We did celebrate his birthday finally.  Though I made him dinner (and cookies!) on his actual birthday, it wasn't until Friday that I had time to make a cake, and Saturday that we were able to drive to Virginia to eat at District Taco.  We also stopped at Total Wine because it is September, and September means fall beers are out.  As a result, over forty beers now reside in our kitchen, but not all of them will fit in our fridge.  We obviously need a bigger place.

We also ate at Taylor Gourmet yesterday.  I read about it in Dwell a couple years ago (while I was still living in Savannah) and was pretty much amazed that they owners were handsome men who could cook.  While we were in Bethesda yesterday we decided to stop for lunch.  We definitely weren't disappointed.  It's a collection of salads, sandwiches and appetizers, but the bread is fresh, the mozzarella is moist, and the turkey is roasted.  They serve Pellegrino and Boylan sodas.  And they have risotto balls!  We weren't hungry enough to buy an appetizer, but damn were they tempting.  I highly recommend it, whether you're on K Street, H Street, or Bethesda Row.

Here are some pictures!

My assistant

Friday was all Christmas, all day

My slanted cakes.  Apparently my oven doesn't heat evenly.  Oh well, once you put some frosting on top, who really cares?

It's officially fall!

Cake!  Ina Garten's coconut cake and frosting, with lemon filling between the layers

Two J. Crew skirts picked up from a thrift store.  Love it!

My new Colette Violet blouse.  Since this picture was taken, I've added navy bias binding and elastic to the sleeves.

So that's about it.  My birthday is this week, and though I've taken the day off, I currently have no plans.  Art museum, maybe?  Sleeping until 2?  (Probably not.)  I'm not sure.  If anyone has any free ideas, please pass on.  I don't have any money, but I have an entire day to myself.

Repent!

Ugh, I'm so sorry it's been forever.  Last week was the kidney infection, and just as my insides were starting to feel good again, I came down with Nick's cold.  So I've been dealing with a sre throat, hurty eyes, headaches and sinuses that just won't stop.  All in the middle of summer!  Aren't I lucky.

Subsequently, not a whole lot has been going on.  I did throw out tons of produce yesterday--we bought it the weekend I got the kidney infection and I didn't feel like eating for almost an entire week--including two pints of cherry tomatoes, romaine lettuce, limes, a cucumber that was actually growing mold, potatoes that smushed in my hand...it's really sad and I feel awful when that happens, but I just didn't feel good.  Now we have no produce and I'm not going to Safeway until this weekend, dammit.

I haven't sewn in a few weeks either.  Either I haven't had the energy or I haven't had the motivation, but both are linked to the awful insides I've had lately.  I finally sat down and read a pattern last night (for the Oliver + S Playdate dress, if you must know), and I'm hoping to work on it this weekend, but, sigh, I'm just tired, you guys!  I've had a lot of work to do lately and very little sleep and I'm just not feeling it.

Anyway, so right now my mind is on the near future.  We're trying to decide what to do for Thanksgiving and Christmas, because Nick won't have the time to go home for both holidays.  I'm hoping someone will make it up here for one of the holidays and we can go home for the other, but people in Florida are just so unwilling to leave!  (Dad.)  (This is all guessing, but I'm also guessing I'm right.)  I'm also trying to narrow down Christmas presents, as I'd like to make something for everyone.  However, how will that play into the spending limit, if there is one, and will everyone think I'm lame?  Most likely.

As you can see, you haven't missed much.  One last note: if you have a ton of cherries you don't want to throw out (yay, I saved something!), make this.  I didn't use sour cherries, just bing, and I made it in an 8 x 8 pan so it's a bit fluffier and more like coffee cake.  Delicious!  Nicholas has banned me from taking any to work because he said he wants to eat it all.  So far, he isn't doing a bad job.

Have a great 4th!  Tell me exciting stories!

Wednesday's Thoughts

I like this blog much more when it's just rambling.  Who has time for discussions anymore?  Not this girl, that's for sure.

• Due to a very old Fresh Air interview with Jay-Z on the Metro this morning (I was in a non-music mood) and reading Nat the Fat Rat's archives in my downtime, I have this newfound urge to move to New York.  I've never even been there!  And from what I hear, it's cold, smelly, dirty, and filled with crazies.  But I want to go!
• My boyfriend just messaged me to say he can't wait until Dogfish Head 120 Minute comes out this/next week, and it will be $30 for a four-pack.  This is my world.
• After seeing an incredibly large, naked, pregnant stomach, I've officially closed up shop in my uterus.  That just simply isn't going to be my thing.
• Still no closer to discovering who I am.  How must it feel to just know, in your bones, that you're meant to be a mother, or a lawyer, or a doctor, or a writer?  Because I don't have that feeling, and I'd love to know where I'm going.
• Why don't people pick up their feet when they walk?  Stop shuffling around.  (Said Betsy.)
• It's only Wednesday?  Really?



Source

Oh yeah.  And all I can think about is Christmas.