September 29: the sound of silence....

September 6: 9-patches

Started a new quilt last night.  I brought the fabric home from work and had it all cut within 30 minutes.  I just finished half of the blocks before work this morning.  Here's what I have so far:

I cannot wait to work on it again tonight! 

August 30: Swoon, bag, books, camera strap!

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately.  I've finally got some time to myself, so I'm using it for fun stuff!  I finally jumped on the bandwagon and made a Swoon block:

I did mine a little bit differently, though - first of all, I used Marti Michell's template Set A to cut the block (so much easier).  Secondly, I decided to use all scraps for the one color.  I love it!  However, I don't see myself making any more anytime soon.

We received some coupons from Barnes and Noble the other day, and my wife insisted I take one to treat myself to this book I've been eying for months:

 It's got some really awesome clothes in, and I've been wanting to start on a new wardrobe for a long time.

I also picked up the new issue of MollieMakes, which has this awesome camera strap on the cover:

There were pictures of some others inside for inspiration, and I cannot wait to get started.  I'm actually considering doing interchangeable ones - I can't decide!
(P.S. - the people who do MollieMakes are starting a new magazine this fall about simple living.  I can't wait to check it out!)


 I'm finally getting things together to start selling my bags and wallets on etsy.  I made a prototype for one of my basic bags yesterday.  It was nice, because I was able to realize what was wrong with it.  This bag is a tote bag size, but with much more oomph to it than your regular tote.  There are two outside zippered pockets, and one non-zip pocket on the inside.  The handles are seriously padded and heavy-duty.  This will probably sell for between $65-80.

I made it for my wife, but I've got to take some notes and more photographs before she can have it. 

I hope to start blogging more soon... We'll see.

August 19: Bats

I love making stuffed animals and dolls.  I always have one (or more) in the back of my head that need/want to be made.  Next month, I'm offering a softie making class at Quilting Adventures:

I named him Herman!  I'm so happy with him.  The pattern is Sew Batty by Melly and Me.

I wish I could say I had more to say today, but I don't.  I'm hoping to enjoy the rest of this rainy day for sewing and reading!

August 16

Wow - I can't believe it's been a month!  So much for good intentions.

I've been working on a lot of things lately, but right now the only thing I have a picture of is this quilt I just made for a sweet little girl in my life.  She just turned 3, so I tried to get some of her favorite stories - the Lorax, Richard Scarry, and Goodnight Moon.  The back is done with Star Wars fabric.  The pattern is Texas Two Step by Atkinson Designs.

I took this picture yesterday while treating myself to lunch.  I got some of Christopher's Runaway Gourmay, and sat by the capitol building - an old Richmond tradition for my family.  :)

Hopefully I'll be back with more soon - I really just need to start taking more pictures!

work in progress

Last night I took a class with Kristal Evens at Quilting Adventures on English Paper Piecing.  I've tried it before on my own, and always hated it, but something just called my name to try it one more time.  So, last night my wife and I tried it out!  I don't know if she's loving it as much as I am, but this morning before work, I even made some more.  It helped to have someone teach me the tips and tricks to get it all right.

I also just finished a quilt top from Modern Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman.  After each project in the book, she has a few mini-quilts in the same pattern to show off different color choices.  I was looking for something to hand quilt, so I decided to do a mini version of Happy Hour. 

After all that, I decided that I wasn't going to quilt it how I'd originally planned (more on that later), so I don't know what I'm going to do with it now!


Last but not least, I've been playing around with these homemade polaroids and my own photographs.  They aren't perfect yet, but they are so fun and easy to make!  I'm debating selling some in my etsy shop.... We'll see what happens.

time to move on.....

... with my life.  But where to?  I am realizing all of the things I don't want long before I realize the things I do.  Where does that leave me?  Right now it leaves me with my photographs.  And someone to go to home to every night.  That makes me happy.  For now.  But something has to change.

Here's to the little things.... 

 

Here's to peace.....

 

Here's to simple pleasures....

And here's to sweet skies....