a little indulgence.

I was just in Chicago last weekend and I stopped in the cutest little fabric shop, the Needle Shop. A super inspiring, creative space. I picked up these new bits for my stash, a couple of them are already slated for a project that I have in mind and the rest will be put to good use I am sure. They were all on sale, which makes purchasing designer fabric a little more tempting. I petted these little pretties the whole way home.

On the crafty front, I started a new quilt last week and am machine quilting it and i am trying to get the hang of my walking foot. I have to say, all that bouncing is a little distracting and i can't seem to keep my lines very straight. Hmmmm...practice and patience..... see you all soon!

no paper napkins.....ever!

So, I probably sound a lot like Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest, truth be told; I am every bit as passionate about my distaste for paper napkins as she is wire hangers. I am partly being thrifty and partly eco-conscious, although the cute factor is not so bad either. I am constantly thinking about how to tread a little more softly on this earth and my stomach flips just thinking about the disposable nation we live in. Disposable plates, cups, napkins, grocery bags, diapers, cutlery, even disposable toilet brushes! What? ? ? Yeah, toilet brushes. whatever. If every little bit helps, count me in... Make yourself some napkins!

You can find handmade napkin tutorials here, here, and here. Have fun, save a tree, live in luxury!

finally.

Do you remember this post from a long time ago? Inappropriately titled; Moving Right Along. I had high hopes for whipping this bad boy out. Although, I did say I wasn't in a hurry.... One might think this quilt involved an elevated degree of difficulty considering how long it took me to finish. I am pleased as pie with the way that it washed and dried. I was thinking that I would machine quilt it at first but then the snow came and I wanted a handicraft for the couch and t.v. watching so I hand quilted it. Happy sewing!

kit's quilt.

This was my Christmas present to my niece. She just turned 2 today! I tried to capture a photo of her with the quilt but her face is a blurr in every shot. (you try to get a 2 year old to sit still!) Kit's favorite color is "Lellow" So i wanted to make a quilt using a bunch of it and thought that primary colors would look nice together....

It is all hand quilted but I tied gold floss in the semi-vintage piece above. I can't really tell if it is a dog or a sheep holding a balloon. Whatever it is, I like it. It was my inspiration for this quilt.

Lots of "Lellow" on the back.

It folds up so nicely! This is one of my favorite fabrics that I used for the binding. It is so bright and cheerful. I especially love it next to the linen. All said, I am quite happy with the way this turned out.

apron tank.

So, my favorite cutie is going back to school after a nice holiday break. She called me today and said that she needed to get crafty. I didn't do a stitch of sewing on this one folks! I just stood over her shoulder and tried my darndest to not be bossy. We found a tutorial for a similar one over at Just Tutes.... She has a really nice tutorial that we altered a bunch and came up with one that flatters Miss Rosie just fine. I think I am going to make one for my niece too! Later.

new pillow.

I stitched a new pillow to match another pillow I had made a while back. It was lonely on my couch, so i thought it needed a friend. They get along very well together. The whole couch is happy now.






Now, If only I were as happy. I am aware that when screen printing, colors and dyes take differently and it is rare that prints from different lots will be identical but I cannot believe the difference in the two below. They are NOTHING alike! In my opinion, both these swatches should look like the one on top. It is earthy and warm, the newer on the bottom is soooo limey that it clashes with the rest of Amy Butler's fabric. I thought it looked a little different at the fabric shop, but I thought that perhaps it was the funky lighting and maybe it would look right at home. Hmmmfff! not the case. I am sure that i will get over this and find way to use the off-cast fabric, but jeez! This is my favorite print, EVER!

Can you tell the difference??? Am I just being picky?