Hayden’s Quilt

It’s done!
It’s done!

Behold!

Okay, too dramatic? I’m just very excited to finish up this quilt and share it with you all. Though it figures that the days between finishing the quilt and gifting the quilt were either dreary and rainy or I was too busy, so I didn’t get decent photos. (Though, I did end up getting one of five month old Hayden approving it.)

I started it in the beginning of July—though I didn’t touch it most of October. So it took me about four months, give or take. Machine pieced but hand quilted. I’ve decided four months is a bit too long, so I’ll be attempting machine quilting for the next one.

It’s about 40” x 60” with a patchwork of vintage gingham, Harmony Art Organic cottons and an Erin McMorris print for good measure. Paired with the gray, I think it’s a lovely color combination.

PS: Happy Bench Monday!

SMS Giveaway Day Reminder!

Psst. I’ll be participating in Sew Mama Sew’s December Giveaway Day this year. You should too. It’s tons of fun. *nods*

I’m also giving away some kitchen-y cuteness over at Making the World Cuter. It looks like Tiffany has got a lot of great people lined up already. Swing over to sign up yourself or for a chance to win starting November 30th.

Happiness Is…

Hello dear readers. Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. Well, perhaps it hasn’t really been that long but it *feels* like a long time. I just thought perhaps I’d drop off a “Happiness Is…” post here and let you know that the pot holder tutorial is coming soon.
Happiness to me lately is a few stacks.

Like a new stack of books to get lost in.

Or a stack of new fabrics—payment for a pretty awesome commission (details coming soon.)

Or a stack of vintage fabrics—from a family friend.

Even a stack of freshly made coasters, now in the shop.

I hope you all in the States have a great Thanksgiving holiday. I’m looking forward to seeing family I haven’t seen in a long time, giving a little baby her quilt (details on that coming soon too) and stuffing myself full of Tofurkey Roast and mashed taters.

What is Happiness to you right now?

Two New Skirts.

Two new skirts in the shop!


(Pardon the horrible, noisy photos.)

My Creative Space.

Just a sneak peek or two this week.

For My Pink Girlfriend.

Apparently when I was little I loved the color pink. I don’t remember this (selective memory?) Anyway, to give anything the color pink was the highest compliment from me. So when I called my aunt my Pink Girlfriend, it’s not hard to see why it stuck.
More recently, my mother was bragging me up to my Pink Girlfriend, showing her my pot holders. She dropped a few hints that she’d love a pair to match her kitchen—apple-y greens and blues. I knew the exact fabric. And lo and behold, I found it at Contemporary Cloth when they were featuring an awesome coupon for True Up readers. The result was these wonderful pot holders.
Do you remember your favorite childhood color? Is it the same now? Or did it change a lot? Did you go through phases?
(Also do you think you’d like a tutorial for these? I know there must be a ton of pot holder tutorials out there, but I’d be willing to share mine if there was enough demand.)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend. :)

For a New Little One to Come in February

My cousin and his wife are expecting their second little boy in February. So I whipped up a couple bibs and a burp cloth. I used up some Harmony Art flannel scraps I had to make one bib and the burp cloth while the other two bibs are cowboy style—done in red and blue paisleys. I know they must have a ton of baby boy things already, but the way I see it, you can’t ever have too many bibs or burp cloths.
It seems everyone around me is announcing a new baby to come, so I’m going to get to work on more bibs and burp cloths once I find out the sexes. I’m thinking some little appliques to snazz them up a bit.

Again, I used the pattern from Chickpea Sewing Studio for the bib and drafted my own for the burp cloth.
Progress on Hayden’s quilt (which I started back in July) is coming along. I had it stashed away for pretty much all of October but dug it out again because I’ll be seeing her at the end of the month. Now that I have a deadline, I should work more quickly and efficiently. I do believe the next baby quilt will be machine quilted.

Wardrobe Staple.

Every woman needs a little black (preferably linen) pencil skirt in her wardrobe. I’ve looked high and low over the years for that skirt, with no success. It either had too many fancy details or was ridiculously over-priced. So I finally decided to just make my own. Why I didn’t do it sooner, I don’t know. But I have been so happy with this skirt and wearing it all the time, especially with pretty tights.
Along with my dark rinse skinny jeans and my age-old corduroy blazer, I think this is slated to be a staple for me. I foresee a lot of use out of this skirt–I mean, it goes with everything.
Now to think of the little black dress…

How about you? What are your wardrobe staples? Any of them handmade?

I Wished I Knitted and Thoughts on Names

Photo via here.

I really wish I knitted better because there are a couple awesome patterns out there with my name.
Yes, Liesl. (Or Liesel*)
All my life, I always stopped to look at those racks of personalized mugs or key chains, hoping, maybe there was that off chance they’d have mine. But alas, the only place it didn’t go from Leslie to Lisa was at a little gift shop in Southern Germany. And even then, the little hook with “Liesl” just stood there, sadly vacant. Someone had beaten me to them. I always cherished gifts given to me with my name engraved or embroidered on—especially a little denim purse with orange letters spelling my name.
And now, my crafty self finds these patterns and I don’t even knit. Hmmph! Is there a pattern or something special out there with your name that you love? Characters in a book or movie? Where or how did your parents get your name? (Mine is from The Sound of Music.)
And while I’m on this topic: I also found a crochet pattern for Spectator Gloves. And I’m in love. (Actually, I’m in love with everything from the Adventures of Jessica Rose shop. It all looks so classy and soft and gorgeous.) I want a pair. But I can’t afford them pre-made and I’m not sure I could understand the pattern if I bought it.

*There are no photos on this site that I could find but a simple Google Search will provide some.

Why Yes! These Aprons Are Made of Awesome!

It was a beautiful day today and I had the luxury of a free day to sew. So I finished up the next batch of aprons (with the windows open) and then went out to get pictures. I’ve got two more almost done and then I cut into the new Amy Butler Love prints.
Check out non-poladroid pictures over in the Aprons Set at Flickr. They will all be listed in the shop this week.