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i hope everyone had a lovely thanksgiving. my sister and her boyfriend flew to kansas city to spend thanksgiving with his family, which meant that i stayed the weekend in la pet sitting. my thanksgiving eve was very frustrating, i went to 3 grocery stores to find all the ingredients for the 2 dishes i was making, after a few tears of frustration and a glass of wine i relaxed and went to be early. the next morning i made a last minute run to find some brioche and spent the rest of my morning cooking and sewing.
the two dishes i made were artichoke dip for an appetizer and roasted-parsnip bread pudding for a side dish (i got the recipe from martha stewart's thanksgiving issue). 
{preparing} 
{fresh from the oven}
while the dishes baked i found time to whip up a birthday present for my best friend laura. i made her a camera cozy (a tutorial from sew mama sew), and a small carrying case for the gorilla pod (a flexible tripod) i bought her. 
{laura's towel, i'll use this fabric scrap to make a loop}
{label for emilee's quilt, the mermaid pattern is from sublime stitching, i tried to mimic the colors in the fabric}
{squares for the next quilt top}
and a sneak peek into my new apartment...
i'm moving in with my friend kristina; this is a view from the kitchen to the living room. most of the furniture will be gone and the nook you see in the foreground will be my sewing area.
i'm very excited!
things that make me giddy- simplicity patterns now have a small collection of patterns created by cynthia rowley! they look very cute, and i can't wait to attempt one or two for some new summer tops or dresses.
i really like this one, i'm thinking the sleeveless version (top left) will be perfect as a beach cover-up.
coming soon: my project ideas for mother's day
here are the "baskets"; i plan on finishing the edges with some bias strips and the handle will either be out of canvas or a fabric that coordinates with the baskets.
these were easy to make, but i wasn't terribly happy with how the double-sided interfacing went in and i had to deviate from the pattern a bit.
also, here's one of the easter egg's with a pocket. it looks a bit wonky because it's stuffed with tissues (i left the stuffing at home). i also sewed this on the machine, i think i'll sew the other ones by hand.
pinning the pieces together
laying out the sashing and squares
the quilt is now almost big enough to cover a full size bed, i'm pretty sure i can adjust the pattern to fit a queen bed. i already have fabrics picked out to make the next one (which might be a birthday present)....
my friend veronica's birthday is here again (i made her a bag last year) and this year i plan on making her this very cute ipod/camera cozy (via sew, mama, sew) with a matching tote bag.
and these super delicious looking cookies from the blog a friend to knit with.
next on my to-sew list is making a little gift for my friend laura. she just started a sewing class, so for a little encouragement (and because i plan on making myself one) i'm making this adorable pin cushion (it was featured on etsy's how-to tuesdays).
lastly, i brought my sculpture project home to finish over the weekend, there is so much detail on the purse, it's all a bit daunting.
le sigh, should be a nice weekend.
this weekend i completed my apron (the one i want to use during my sculpture class), so i wanted to share photos both of my apron and of my project in class.
this was my piece at the beginning of class last night. during class, i hollowed it out and did a lot of carving. the difficulty with sculpting this purse is that the lines on the purse change a little bit every time i move it around. otherwise, i'm very happy so far and other students keep joking that i'm already done (i wish!). 
i'll take pictures again tomorrow, my piece has already changed quite a bit. i have to say that with weekend sewing, sculpture, going to the gym and doing yoga all of them have contributed to my feelings of calm and peace these days. i hope everyone has hobbies or activities that make them as happy.
weekend sewing by heather ross (she makes the fabric i'm using for emilee's quilt)
zakka sewing, zakka means household goods in japanese. a couple other bloggers have mentioned this book and if you read this blog you know i love japanese fabrics. plus, how cute is that squirrel teapot cozy?!?!?
bend the rules sewing, another favorite in the blog-o-sphere. i've looked through it a few times and it has some darling projects.
sunday was a very productive day for me, granted i slept in, but i was still able to accomplish so much: i went to the art supply warehouse to buy supplies for my sculpture class, i finally gathered up all my giveaway clothes and got them out of my room, i did laundry for the week, and then i sewed to my heart's content while i watched an america's next top model marathon and the academy awards.
after buying my tools for sculpting, i decided i should have a tool roll. i worked out the dimensions i would need the roll to be and assembeled it based on the crayon rolls i made for the kids at christmas. some of the lines are a little wonky, but all in all i'm very proud.
next i made a yoga mat bag, i used the pattern/instructions from my favorite sewing book lotta jansdotter's simple sewing. this sewed up very fast, and i love this fabric, it's a joel dewberry print in upholstery weight cotton. i'll take a picture in more natural light so you can see just how beautiful and vibrant it is. the strap is a bit long, so i may shorten it up an inch or two, otherwise it's perfect.
you can see it also has a pocket so i dont have to take my purse with me!
next i moved on to an apron pattern (also from lotta's book) i only made it though cutting the fabric before deciding i'd wait and finish it next weekend. but here's a look at the start. the fabric is from amy butler's lotus collection, the apron is supposed to be reversable and i was going to use both of these fabrics, but now i think i'll just use the lotus for one side and a nice linen for the other. i'm making this arpon so i dont dirty up my clothes during sculpture.
finally, i continued work on emilee's quilt, only two more squares to sew, and then i can start piecing it together. like i said, a very productive sunday!
i saw this post yesterday on design*sponge, and immediately felt inspired to create a lunch tote of my own. however, i have a mini fridge at my office to myself, so a lunch tote isn't really necessary... but that doesn't mean those near and dear to me can't benefit (jasmine?).
i've already decided to change a few things; i'll use mini pockets instead of the elastic, snaps instead of buttons, and, instead of deconstructing a tote bag, i'll just make my own. i'm starting to feel my sewing machine calling my name again, i'm sure i'll be crafting up a storm in no time. and, perhaps, opening an etsy shop???
i have felt so relaxed and relieved since christmas. in the early hours of christmas day (4am?) i put the finishing touches on my gifts and had them all wrapped and under the tree. it was a lot of hard work, but i was so happy and satisfied with how my projects turned out.
here are some highlights...
madison with her backpack, i filled the bags with coloring books and pens, and for a last minute addition, made crayon holders. i made the backpacks and crayon holders for aislyn, madison, little john, and emilee.
emilee with the pillow i made her, the fabric is by heather ross's "mermaids and sea creatures" collection
a mail bag and some project bags for jasmine
lavender filled birds for robbie
the little deer bag for my aunt jamie and the bottom two items are travel tissue covers for my grandmas
i also made; kiki a scarf and gloves, a scarf and check book cover for my mom, hand embroidered dish towels for gina and gary, a "tool" roll for my friend robin, a little box bag for serena, gloves for veronica, and pillows for laura.
phew! and even after all that, i started knitting a scarf christmas eve and gave it to my aunt jamie when i finished christmas day.
a glimpse into my present making... i still have a lot of finishing touches to put on everything, but i'm pretty happy so far.
i'm really into making quilted pillows, the second one will be for my dear friend laura, she loves russian nesting dolls. 
christmas seems to be coming at a rapid pace and i feel like i have no time left! luckily, i had all day saturday to myself. saturday morning i was able to sleep in, and after getting up i drove to joann's for supplies. the rest of my day was spent attached to my sewing machine. i was able to put a nice dent in my christmas presents, but it still doesn't feel like enough. i've also developed a sanity-saving system of precutting all my fabrics the night before i sew and stacking them with their directions, it makes life so much easier and organized.
sunday, my friend talia was hosting a tree trimming party. i was hoping to make her some ornaments from these really cute nesting doll embroidery patterns, but alas i ran out of time. instead i made my aunt gina's artichoke dip and gave talia a darling penguin ornament i bought in claremont village. i'm happy to say that the dip was a huge hit. 
i'm really looking forward to christmas and being able to share pictures of all the projects i've been working on. as a post christmas treat, i think i'll tackle this project for myself...
i was also pleased to see that a number of the contributors planned on making their presents this year. speaking of homemade, i finally (for the first time in a few months) pulled out my sewing machine. last night, while i watched grey's anatomy, i sewed together all of the backpacks i've been working on. it's such a feeling of accomplishment to look at finished stitches! i only made one mistake, by the time i was on my 3rd bag, i accidently sewed the open part of the bag shut. whoops! luckily i realized half way through. there are still a few more finishing touches (the drawstring) so i'll post pictures later....
also check out design*sponge's gift guide. i want just about everything listed, and it's all under $25!
the begining:
the finished look:
spoiler alert!
the question that has been plaguing me the last few weeks (what crafty thing can i make for the gentlemen in my life??) has been answered!!!
mom don't look!!!!!
if anyone wants some, let me know after the holidays... or maybe you'll get them for christmas...
this is the fabric from the previous post, can you guess what they'll be??
last sunday jazz and i went to ikea, and i finally got to look through the fabric they sell by the yard. i was able to find this gem. i am making some drawstring backpacks for the little girls in my family, i plan on embroidering their first initials on the front, probably in a bright pink... (i'll be making one for little john too, but in a green print fabric. pic's coming soon).
in continuation of my quest for an (almost) all homemade christmas i also plan on making my own christmas wrap and gift tags. i bought lotta prints a few months ago and have been wanting to try lino printing ever since. my friend robin and i went to the local art supply and picked up the tools i would need. i haven't tried anything yet, i'm still sketching designs... but you can see robin's example...
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