Another one bites the dust!

Woohoo! I’m on a roll. Two down and only two more to go.

This one is for my niece, Zoe. These fabrics are from a charm pack and I’ve already forgotten the name of the collection. (I know, I’m bad.) I just love the raindrops and the salmon and the hidden squirrels so much! The embriodery is free-handed, basically just doodles that I liked. Of course, none of it is straight, but that’s the beauty of handmade. So, I actually began this quilt, oh, last summer? Why yes, I am the princess of Procrastination. It is going in the mail tomorrow, so I’m hoping that my bro and sis-in-law don’t read my blog (or at least that they’ll feign surprise when they recieve the gift).

Productivity is the word of the week around here and as I finish projects, I am itching to add more to my list. My next sewing project will be the mod-sampler quilt that I mentioned in my last post. As for knitting, I’m actually completing one full pair of socks(!), only because I broke down and started knitting two socks at a time using very long circs and the magic loop method. They’re taking longer to complete, but I won’t have to worry about my chronic single-sock-syndrome. After that, I’m dreaming about doing my first sweater, prompted by the release of Spring ‘09 Knitty. I have eyes on the Pioneer top as my first sweater and the Aeolian shawl (times two and sewn into a rectangle) for a chuppah*. Sigh, so much to do, so much to do…

* Before you go getting your hopes up, I am not in want of a chuppah in the immediate future, but I do intend to knit it, which will take forever. I should probably get started if I want to get married before I’m thirty.

 

Busy as a sewing bee…

I’ve been sewing up a storm this week. My poor, neglected apartment is more of a mess than usual, but you know what, I don’t care. It feels really good to be creating again.

This is my new satchel. (Don’t you think that ’satchel’ a nicer term than ‘messenger bag’?) For a while now, I’ve been wanting to make a new one as the red corduroy messenger bag that I’ve been carrying for years has become lumpy and cumborsome. Having had some time to think about it, I knew exactly what I needed and had a pretty good idea about how I wanted it to look.

The fabric I used on the exterior was labelled ‘rodeo poplin’. I’m not really sure what that meant, though I suppose it would make a good western-style shirt. The teal color goes well with all of the colors that I usually wear, unlike my old bag. The interior is Linen/Morning Glory from Amy Butler’s Lotus line. You don’t see it here, but the pockets are lined in another fabric from Lotus, Cherry/Wall Flower. There are three pockets including th large front pocket with the pleating detail. The pleat was supposed to be asymmetric, but I fear that it is not enough to look intentional. The flap doesn’t have a closure, because I hate fighting velcro or snaps when I just need to slip something inside on the go. The dimensions are perfect to hold my study materials or a knitting project, but it’s not too large to carry those times when I just need my wallet and a shopping tote. I’m oh-so-happy! I couldn’t have asked for a better bag.

 

Monday Monday

When I added myself to the Free Fabric Friday drawing over at Sew, Mama Sew the blog, an email from Kristen asking me to pick out two fabrics from Heather Ross’ West Hill collection was the last thing I expected. Which makes finding this nifty little package in my mailbox on Saturday all the more enjoyable:

Matrioshki on beige and adorable tadpoles

My entire weekend was wonderful like this. We slept in, walked around the market, made a quick trip to the library, and even caught a few garage sales. And, oh do I have a treat for Thursday! I can’t wait to share my latest find.

I also have a finished object (*gasp*):

We went over last night to meet Baby Boy and these items were gifted. The booties ended up being simple toe-up baby socks with picot edging, sans pattern. Here is also a tiny kippah for Baby to wear during the ceremony. It is crocheted from a basic Star of David pattern. I am happy to add that the family is doing well and Baby is absolutely gorgeous, tiny, and sweet.

 

Goodness, Geisha!

This morning, and a beautiful sunny cloudy sunny Friday morning it is here in the NW, I present to you my latest F.O. and what is soon to be my very first etsy item (see here);

The Geisha Tote:

They seem to be whispering about something (or someone), yes?

I’ve had this fabric in my stash for a while now, but had a difficult time cutting into it (it’s So Pretty). That is, until I found the little polka dotted fabric.

 

Embroidery!

Several months ago, I decided that I wanted to learn more about embroidery, but I was on a knitting binge at the time, so the thought lingered in the back of my mind. Then I discovered Sublime Stitches and couldn’t resist the urge to make hip kitschy embroidered objects. Here is my very first embroidery FO.

Taken from a t-shirt at ThinkGeek.

I really love the idea of traditional, dainty motifs combined with the unexpected. I have some off-color tea-towels that I’m planning to work on after I finish a sampler for our bathroom that says “127.0.0.1 is where teh