'Craft in America'

Well, I just finished stitching up a couple of batches of (pretend) choco-chip cookies like the ones that were in my shop a week or so ago. I need to make up the plate-pouches, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm usually out in the studio (pics to come!) once the baby goes to bed, but I wanted to do a little handwork inside tonight so I could watch "Craft in America" on PBS. So inspiring. If you haven't seen the series PLEASE do look it up. WOW.

A Little Something for Me

I had been meaning to make myself a wristlet clutch for the longest time and finally got around to it this weekend (my husband and son have recently discovered the joys of a looong wagon ride around the neighborhood :)). I'm contemplating making up a couple of these for my shop. I thought I'd give you a peak and see if anyone has any thoughts.

When I bought my machine (it's the Viking Scandanavia 200 - basic computerized- LOVE it!) a couple of months ago I picked up a little guide arm attachment to help with wide parallel stitching and diamond quilting.

This little elephant fabric just looked like it needed a little diamond quilting to me, so I thought I'd put the little arm to use (sorry for the blurry photo). It really works great. All you need to do is mark one 45-degree line...

and then use the guide arm to make the stitches whatever width apart you want (I think it goes up to 3" or so). I did the quilting lines about an inch apart...

I added a wrist handle, some metal hardware, a chocolate brown zipper, a little pink gingham check lining, and VIOLA!

I now have a cute wristlet clutch to toss in my backpack or grab for those quick trips to the bagel shop! :)

Just finished...

Well, I finally finished that baby gift basket I mentioned last time. I thought you might like to take a look. The idea was to have sort of a "jungle theme" for a baby girl. I looked for some modern jungle-y prints (animals?) but absolutely could not find anything that I wanted to work with. There ended up being about 5 different fabrics in this set, but I think they all compliment each other nicely. I tried out some new things this time.... So, here's what's inside: 1 minky blanket, 1 cotton quilted reversible bib, 2 burps (made with DSQ diapers), a set of soft blocks (like the ones in my shop), a pair of woolfelt baby shoes with daisy applique and a little asleep/awake door hanger squeaky toy.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for the toy/door hanger, but I think it turned out really cute. On one side there is a little pink sleepy-faced flower and on the other side a little orange "awake" flower. It's just something cute to hang on the baby's door. I put a little clip on the hanger so you can take the toy off and let the baby play with it. There's also a little squeaker inside. :)

Introducing Purl!

Well, if you missed Purl's (ever-so-quick) debut in my shop this morning, here she is! What a lovely little patchwork sea turtle. I just love how she turned out. She's now on her way to meet her brother Koa and I hope she'll make a couple of little girls happy :)...

"T" is for turtle

Oy. Thus far, this has been such a crazy week! I have been finishing up a loosely "jungle-themed" baby gift basket for my friend Jane (pics to come) that seems to be taking me forever for some reason. SOOO many ideas, so little time, (and so easy to get sidetracked...:)). Not to mention there are more little teeth sprouting in Kai's mouth right now. Add that to the "but mommy why would I nap when I can STAND UP in my crib!?" moves he's been trying out lately and "naptime" has been a serious struggle. Ever have one of those days where you feel like you are running ALL day? Yeah. It's kinda been like that. Whew. :)

I have been making progress on some important projects though. You might have seen a little patchwork sea turtle named Koa in my shop awhile back. Koa is a very special (read: difficult for me to part with!) little turtle who went to live with a couple of sweet little girls (with a very talented mom). Apparently there's just not enough Koa to go around (see here), so I was asked to make a sibling for Koa. I don't have her finished or named yet, but here's a pic of Koa's sib in progress...

Up and r u n n i n g...

Hi and welcome to my blog!

I have been contemplating getting setup here for awhile and after being inspired by so many crafty blogs out there I finally decided to jump in. Yikes! I hope I can keep up. For those of you who know me, you know that our son (Kai) has recently started CRAWLING. This is totally new territory for me. Gone are the days of plopping him down on a quilt on the studio floor while momma gets some time in on the sewing machine. Not that I'm complaining...after all he IS priority one...it's just that even though we anticipated this stage of his development I don't think we were as ready for the c o n s t a n t l y in motion thing as we thought we would be. :)

Needless to say, my crafty endeavors have been pushed a little further out on the back burner lately. I'd like to get several new items in my shop each week if I can. (So check in often!) I have a sketchbook full of ideas and projects and I am looking forward to working on some new items in the coming months! More to come...