that Luce girl's art

Not here, but...

2012-01-25T17:47:00.000-08:00

It's been a while, a really long while, since I've posted here.

After a lot of consideration, I've decided that this blog has become to "braggy" and not very beneficial to anyone else. Instead, I'm now sharing some of my projects as tutorials over at www.atluceends.com.

I hope you'll join me over there! If you hop over now, you'll even be able to enter a giveaway if you get your comments in before 1/28/12 @ 5PM PST!

Today's Etsy Favorites #1

2011-02-28T12:19:00.001-08:00

I thought I'd share some of my favorite Etsy finds every once in a while. Here's what I'm currently loving!

From left to right, top to bottom:

Red Rose with Sapphire Crystal by krev
Animal ABC Large Stickers Set of 26 by StephanieFizer
Hanging Hearts Wall Graphic by oneupdesigns
Cat Art Pilka Dot Kittens - Art Print by SimplyCutebyKaren

Just One Birdie

2011-02-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

At the same time I purchased the Owl pattern (see previous post) I also got this bird pattern from Gingercake. It's even easier than the owl, if that's possible! Again, I modified it a little. I used felt for the eyes instead of fabric, and finished the wing edges rather than zig-zag stitching them all. It looks better and will stand up to baby play longer!

An Owl or Two

2011-02-23T15:09:00.000-08:00

Last week we noticed that Halcyone loves the owl on our Pandora skin. She'll look at him and giggle, talk, and smile. See, he's really cute, right?

I was reminded of this cute Gingercake pattern I'd purchased back in December. We think one of the main reason's she likes him so much is because of his huge eyes. This was a super fast project. So here's what I ended up with! I modified the pattern a bit so that the head would be a different color and the wings have some cute rick-rack.

I'm working on another one for a friend. When it's done I'll post it too!

Belated Christmas

2011-02-21T12:50:00.000-08:00

I started working on this ornament the end of November, finished the main pieces in the beginning of December, then stalled. I didn't have any large beads for the finishing touches so it never made it to our Christmas tree! While sorting through my current projects last week I found it, added the buttons and recently acquired beads, and stuffed it! I'm hoping to make a few more of these over the next few months to have a nice batch for this coming Christmas! The pattern can be found over at Attic24. Super easy!

Yet Another Gift...

2011-01-01T08:00:00.000-08:00

Here's another wool pincushion I made as a Christmas gift! (I promise, this is the last pincushion!)

Dish Towels

2010-12-31T15:38:00.001-08:00

Again, these were Christmas presents that I finished a few weeks ago and couldn't share until now! I found these cute tea towels at Ben Franklin and decided to embellish them with some fun fabric from my stash and extra wide rick-rack. I measured the towel width, cut the fabric 1 inch longer in either direction, and ironed down 1/2 inch on each side. I stitched them down all the way around about 1/8 inch from each edge, stuffing the rick-rack in as I went. If you try this, make sure to wash both the towels and the fabric you'll be using ahead of time since they both shrink, but at different rates!

Birdie Pin Cushions

2010-12-29T13:12:00.000-08:00

I worked on these earlier in the month, but couldn't post them because they were Christmas gifts! I found the pattern in an older issue of Quilts and More. They were super easy and fun to put together. The hardest part was finding a heavy enough wooden spool to keep them from tipping over!

Dyed Burp Clothes

2010-12-22T18:55:00.001-08:00

I finished a few of these a couple months before Halcyone was born, and a few I put together last week. We use these ALL the time!

I got white Gerber cloth diapers from Babies R Us and used the following steps:

1. Wash the diapers (I did a few onesies too!) on hot once, wash on cold once, dry in hot heat. This sets the size and gets the diapers all fluffy.

2. Get the dye ready. I used Dylon for Hand Use from JoAnn fabrics and was super happy with the result... much better than Rit. Empty the dye into a pan, adding the hot water as directed on the package. Be careful with the dye; it's pretty fine and can easy float around. Stir, making sure the dye is dissolved.

3. Fill your sink or a large pot with warm tap water, dissolving the salt as the dye package directs. Add the pan of dye water, stirring until it's all combined.

4. Add up to 4 items to the dye in the sink. 4 is kind of pushing the limit for a dark dye, but I think 3 works out well. The fewer items, the more concentrated the color will be. Make sure the items are all well submerged and that there are no air bubbles hiding underneath. Set the timer for 15 minutes and let soak.

5. Stir when the timer beeps. Reset the timer and stir again 3-4 more times, dyeing them for an hour or so. The longer you leave them in the brighter they'll be.

6. Drain the sink and rinse everything well in cold water. I'd say it takes about 10 minutes of rinsing. Rinse until the water runs clear. (Note, with the reds I was never able to get the water completely clear, just a very very slight pink coming out.)

7. Wash again! Wash in cold then hot and dry.

8. Next up, prepare scraps of fabric to sew down the thick center part of the diapers. I had to measure each one individually because the centers were all slightly different sizes. I found that fat quarters were just long enough to work. Measure the width of the inner seams and the length. Add 1 inch to both and cut the cutesie fabric. Iron each edge under 1/2".

9. Pin the fabric onto the diaper in a few places to keep it tacked down. Sew with a zig-zag stitch, just inside the fabric, not on the diaper at all (except obviously on the back!).

Ta-Da! There you go! Super easy and fun.

Because Haly Needed a Kitty

2010-10-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

I've been on the lookout for a stuffed kitty for Haly for a while, but haven't seen one that looked cute enough. Then I saw this cute bunny pattern on one of the blogs I follow. (Sorry, I can't remember which blog!) It linked to another blog where someone had given the bunny kitty ears and a long tail. So cute! I decided to try it. First I made the bunny, then the kitty. I had to remake the kitty ears because the first set I made where too tall, making her look more like a mouse! This is a pretty easy pattern to follow, and really doesn't take much time at all! The pattern suggests using old t-shirt fabric, but I didn't have any so used flannel scraps instead. It worked pretty well with my walking foot to keep the fabric from stretching.

Embroidered Bag

2010-10-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea in mind for a while for an upcoming gift, but wasn't sure what bag pattern to use. I ended up finding on in one of my mom's quiting magazines that I ended up resizing to get it a little bit bigger.

I started by embroidering the little girl 2 layers of soft white canvas. The embroidery pattern is from the Pretty Maids I set by the designer of the Allsorts blog, bought on her etsy shop.

After trimming it to the size I needed I cut the rest of the bag pieces from some scraps of red Heather Bailey fabric and from a fun canvas table cloth I was given by a friend for projecting. I added a little bit of blue rick-rack as I sewed it together. If you've ever made a bag before, this is one of the simplest projects! It went together in less than an hour. This bag is about 20" tall by 15" wide.

Bright Quilt

2010-09-24T19:21:00.001-07:00

I put this quilt top together about 3 months ago, quilted it a few weeks later, and just finally finished up the binding this week! My mom has been machine sewing her binding on, so I thought I'd give it a try. It's super easy and comes out looking decent if you're patient!

Fall Owl Quilt

2010-09-22T11:54:00.000-07:00

My Mom gave me some of her cute fall fabrics to make a quilt with last week. She had made one from a similar pattern, so I came home and figured out some dimensions for cutting and went to work. I have now learned how to cut fabric with a rotary cutter while sitting down! It's not as easy as one would think. I decided that I wanted 30 blocks that are 8" once the quilt is assembled. I spent one day cutting, one day sewing, and 2 days basting, quilting, and binding. I think this is one of the fasted quilts I've put together! Tom and I both love the little owls in the bright fall colors.

Another Girly Dress

2010-09-11T17:21:00.001-07:00

I used 3 fat quarters and a little bit of white lining fabric to make another one of these cute Oliver + S sun dresses! This time it took less than 2 hours from start to finish! The only change I made was to not use the piping because I thought the colors were vivid enough.

Rainy Day Thank Yous

2010-08-31T17:01:00.001-07:00

Wow, today is a fall day! Yesterday I used my car's air conditioning and today I used its heater! I was hoping for another nice day to sit outside at some park and read in the sun, but oh well! Instead I spent a few hours making baby shower thank yous!

A Little Dress for Haly

2010-08-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

A few months ago when my mom and I were at Pacific Fabrics looking for diaper cover supplies, I discovered that they had a cute Oliver + S pattern on their clearance rack! I had been admiring their cute little girl dress patterns on their site for a few weeks, but didn't want to pay full price. Since I've been granted some sitting-up privileges by my doctor, I've spent a few hours over a couple days cutting and sewing the Tea Party Dress together.

The pattern came with 5 sizes, so I started by tracing th pattern onto a pattern sheet so I can use other sizes as I want them. I decided to go for the 6-12 month size this time, hoping that it will fit Haly next summer. If not, then I'll put a onesie under it and call it a jumper! This was a pretty basic pattern to cut and sew. The hardest part of the instructions to understand was the part about the yellow piping I added. If you've sewed much before, you should be able to figure it out without really needing the pattern instructions. One change I made was to not use buttons or make button holes. Instead, I again used my amazing 16mm snaps from the Snap Source.

My favorite part about this project is the main fabric I used! It is a cute little Strawberry Shortcake print from 1980 left over from something my Grandmother made, most likely for a cousin. I've had it in my stash for years and loved it, but never quite knew what to do with it. I still have more that I'm trying to find some cute project to use more of it.

Halcyone's Hexagon Bib

2010-08-10T16:05:00.002-07:00

I saw a picture of a bib someone had made with hexagons that I got my idea from. I have no idea where the picture came from, but here is what I ended up with!

I started by making hexagons. This meathod is called English Paper Piecing. This video is an excellent tutorial if you want to give it a try! Here are the steps I followed:

Make evenly shaped hexagons out of cardstock scraps.
Cut fabric scraps to go over the paper. I'd recommend a little more than a 1/4" allowance.
Baste the fabric over the hexagons.
Lay the hexagons out to make sure you have the colors set up in a way you like.
Whip stitch the edges of the hexagons together at the edges.
Iron once they're all sewn together
Remove baste stitching and pull out papers. If the papers don't look too worn, you can save and use them again.

Once I had the hexagons all sewn together, I cut a piece of fabric and sewed it across the top. I used a piece of an old skirt for the back. To get the pieces to stick together for when I cut out the pattern, I very lightly spray basted the backing, a piece of warm and natural cotton batting, and the hexagon piece together. After it dried, I pinned a pattern I made (I traced a Carter's bib, making the neck space a little bigger.) to the fabric stack and cut it out. I machine quilted the layers together. For the binding I used some bias cut binding made from more scraps I had. To finish it up, I used some great 16mm snaps (no sew!) from the Snap Source. Now I can't wait to use it!

Halcyone's First Sweater!

2010-08-03T17:04:00.000-07:00

I started this sweater for Halcyone last Tuesday and finished sewing up the seams today! I love the way it turned out! I picked up the free pattern a little over a year ago at Ben Franklin when I saw the one they had made with some of my favorite yarn. While looking through my stash of yarn last week, I re-found my yellow Lion Brand Recycled Cotton yarn and decided to give it a try. You can still get the Nature Baby Kimono pattern free at Ben Franklin in Redmond, or download it here with a free account.

This is one of the easiest non-scarf knitting patterns I've ever done. The whole thing is made with basic knit and purl stitches, a few easy "make-1" stitches (knit one in front and one in back of the same loop), and knit 2 together stitches. I made the smallest size of the 4 given in the pattern using size 8 straight needles. This took 2 skeins of yarn (didn't use much of the 2nd skein). I think if someone used a smaller size needle for a newborn size that 1 skein would be enough.

Paddington Quilt

2010-07-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I found a couple fat quarters of this cute Paddington Bear fabric. I added to the collection as I found different pieces of it on sale. My mom also had a few pieces that I was able to use to complete this quilt!

I finished sewing the pieces together and quilting through the layers about a month ago. This is the first quilt I haven't "stitched in the ditch" on. Instead I sewed about 1/8" on either side of the seams. Tom and I both like the way it turned out, and it was much easier to keep strait. After being put on bed rest I was able to hand stitch the binding down around the back side. Hopefully Halcyone likes this quilt as much as Tom and I do!

I'll try to update this blog a little more often! I've been working on lots of hand held projects over the past couple weeks. A few of them are almost finished!

Chalkboards

2010-06-22T17:51:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I got a can of this fun spray paint, and have since been waiting for the perfect wood panels to paint. Last summer I thought I'd found some free cupboard doors in downtown Snohomish, but when I walked back to pick them up they were already gone! About a month ago as Tom and I were pulling apart our crib for the dumpster (don't worry, we were supposed to... it had a significant recall so we mailed in its hardware for a new crib) I realized that the back side had 2 very nice panels. Tom saved them for me.

A few weekends ago I a spent the day sanding them and starting to paint. Last week I finished painting the first one and finally got it hung in our dining/living room! We love it! The second one will have a light blue frame and will hang in Baby Haly's room.

Little Booties

2010-05-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I found out that Anna Maria Horner's new book, Homemade Beginnings, had released! I ordered it at a nice discount from Amazon and when it arrived, started looking through it for fun ideas. It's a book full of maternity, baby, toy, and nursery patterns. I haven't decided which ones I'm going to make for Baby Luce yet, but I do have a friend's baby shower coming up. I made two sets of these cute little booties in size 3-6 months this evening. For the most part, they were pretty basic to cut and sew. This is the second time I've felt that Anna Maria Horner's patterns have an awkward way of assembling a lining, but in the end I made it work! I used flannel to line the burgundy set with, and am super happy with their fluffiness.

Local Yarn Shop Tour 2010

2010-05-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday through Sunday was the yarn shop hop in Western Washington. I participated last year, making it to 13 stores. This year, Baby Luce wasn't as excited about visiting yarn shops as I was, even though I promised to find things to make for him/her. I managed to make it to 4 on Thursday, and Tom drove me to 3 more before church on Sunday. There were a few more I would like have made it to, but they were all a significant drive. Making it to my favorite local ones ended up working well! The patterns the shops gave out this year (each shop creates a free one skein project and discounts the yarn they use) were not as impressive as last year. However, I did end up with a super cute crocheted scarf pattern to try.

I found a few projects to start working on in the near future. I'll post again as I finish them, but for now here are the ideas.

This yarn is for a little baby hat. If Baby Luce is a boy, then this hat will have to be a gift for someone else.

I've also recently started following the Spud & Chloë blog and keeping an eye out for their cute patterns and yarn. Hilltop Yarns East in Bellevue happened to have them! The yarn was even their project discounted variety. I picked out this cute polar bear pattern and some blue yarn to make the middle sized teddy out of.

Main Street Yarn in Mill Creek had quite a few samples of baby sweaters knit and displayed around their shop. One of my favorites is found in Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, which I bought for a good deal.

Lastly I found this un-spun wool at Acorn Street Yarn in Seattle. I've been looking for some for a while to use with Wool Pets, a book my sister got me for Christmas!

Giraffe or Horse?

2010-05-04T00:00:00.000-07:00

I made this cute horse with some giraffe patterned minky last week for a cousin's baby shower. I'm still not sure if it's a horse or a giraffe! It was a simple pattern I found at Ben Franklin. It takes about a fat quarter off a minky bolt, a few buttons, E6000 glue, yarn, a dowel, some kind of ribbon or strap for the bridle, and of course stuffing. The only problem I had with it was working around the minky stretching. Because the base of the head is turned under and gathered, it ended up not mattering that it didn't quite match.

Wedding Invitations

2010-05-03T18:00:00.000-07:00

I made these a few months ago, and figured I can finally post them without having to edit info out since the wedding is over! These were for my sister's recent wedding. Her colors were (of course) purple, teal, and brown.

Softie Blocks

2010-02-21T21:57:00.000-08:00

Today I went to a baby shower for my neighbor. I was looking around on etsy a few weeks ago for some fun baby gifts, and ended up deciding to make my own. I found a couple people who were selling soft stuffed baby blocks in various patterns and realized I could make them quickly and easily!

Directions:

Cut 6 - 3"x3" squares for each block.
Using a 3/8" seam allowance (no smaller if using minky) sew 4 squares into a loop. Start and stop seams 3/8" from edges.
Pin 5th square around the top and sew to all sides, being careful not to make tucks where all 3 seams come together.
Repeat with 6th block, leaving a 2" opening for turning in the center of one side.
Turn, pushing corners out to a point.
Stuff with a fluffy filling of your choice.
Sew closed with a discreet whip stitch.
Optional: Cut 2-3" pieces of sturdy ribbon or binding, fold in half, and sew into seams to create loops. Add a squeaker or bell to the center of the stuffing, making sure to leave a big enough opening for turning to fit it through.

Turtle Trio

2010-02-10T11:39:00.001-08:00

A few months ago I bought this cute little stuffed turtle pattern from Heather Bailey.

I thought that because they were so tiny, they'd probably be a little tricky and involve quite a bit of hand sewing (not my favorite thing!). However, they only needed a couple little whip stitch seams after turning the body and shells right side out! They were pretty basic cutting, sewing, and quick to make.

Here are my three little turtles!

Valentine's Cards

2010-01-27T16:04:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I noticed a few fun ideas while looking around one of my favorite stores, Impress Rubber Stamps. I bought some red and pink velvet ribbon, a greeting stamp, and made a mental note of a few paper punches to look for on a sale at Michael's. Since finishing the string of crochet hearts, I've had the past couple days to pull all my paper craft stuff out and create!

Some of my favorite products right now are alcohol based Copic markers, punches and these super fun grass cutting scissors from Martha Stewart.

I hope you enjoy them! I've even listed a few on my Etsy shop!

String of Hearts

2010-01-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

I started working on this string of hearts about 2 weeks ago. I got the idea when I saw one similarly made with crochet snowflakes before Christmas. I made the snowflakes, but didn't have time to get them strung so they're tucked away for next year! I found this crochet heart tutorial, printed it out, and started working away. I used a variety of hook sizes and yarns. Once I had the pattern down, I could make a heart in about 20 minutes!

Valentine Wreath

2010-01-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

Last month a couple friends posted a wreath they made in a similar fashion as this, along with this wonderful tutorial! A couple weeks ago I realized I should probably take down our Christmas wreath on the front door, but wanted something fun to put up in its place. I remembered the cute felt wreath and decided to see if I could make it work with a Valentine's theme. I bought a foam wreath form, a couple yards of white and ivory felt, and a few small sheets of reds/pinks/oranges to cut 3" circles from.

It took me about 3 days of intermittent circle tracing, cutting, and pinning to get it finished. I definitely have a blister on the tip of my thumb from pushing in about 200 straight pins! Once the felt circles were all pinned, I decided to add some fun flowers and the little bird to cheer it up!

Ellie-phant

2010-01-21T23:45:00.000-08:00

I made this cute little guy for a cousin of Tom's who is having a baby. I found the pattern on Etsy.com for a very reasonable price and set to work on him! This is one of the faster projects I've knitted recently. I started 2 weeks ago while waiting for my surgery to start (I had to check in about 4 hours early) and finished exactly one week later! It's knit in the round with very basic knit, purl, and increase stitches. I'm already contemplating a color combination for the next one, and have noted a few ways to improve the pattern.

Knitted Newsboy Hat

2009-12-14T10:14:00.000-08:00

I bought the pattern for this hat (Hannah Newsboy Hat) on etsy about 2 1/2 months ago. A friend I used to work with at a coffee stand has started her own business creating knitting patterns and knitting hats, mittens, etc. for people. She also recycles yarn and resells it! You should check out her shop, Pepperberry Knits!

I started working on my first hat from this pattern (beanie with scalloped band) a few weeks after purchasing the pattern, but got discouraged after a bad TSA experience. The first time I flew to Virginia with Tom for his job, I got a TSA gal who treated me horribly because I wear an insulin pump. She decided she needed to go through all my bags, testing for explosives. In the process she pulled all 4 needles out of the hat I was working on, and grabbed through the part I'd knitted so far. I took out quite a few rows on the following flight, but didn't pick it up again after that for a couple weeks. I tend to hop around from one project to another rather than just working completely through something. Now it's finished, and I love it!

Christmas Card 2009

2009-12-11T22:56:00.000-08:00

Guess what? I'm finally posting an art blog! I know it's been a few months, but I've been working on some larger time-consuming projects. I've spent a few days off and on working on our Christmas cards, and they're finally (all 60!) in the mail! Check it out! My favorite part is the little poof ball on the snow hat.

It's a Card Day!

2009-10-12T17:13:00.000-07:00

I got some new stamps last week, and spent Friday evening and some of the day on Saturday making cards, finishing up the last season of Murder She Wrote (tear), and trying not to get dizzy. I made some Christmas cards, some baby cards, and some just for fun cards. Many of them are now listed on etsy! Below are some that I had fun making.

The following 2 cards are my absolute favorites!

Crochet Baby Blanket

2009-09-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

About 6 months ago my best friend told me she was pregnant. I knew I wanted to make something special for her, but didn't know how long a crocheted blanket would take, what colors to use (boy or girl?), or even if I could follow a pattern all the way through successfully. I found a pattern I loved in the Spring 2009 issue of Interweave Crochet and some super soft recycled cotton yarn at Ben Franklin that looked perfect. I figured I could start the project with sage green, brown, and cream colored yarns, then add either a blue or pink border later.

As I started the project I made several trips to the local yarn store in Bellevue. They helped me learn how to form Tunisian stitches and showed me what a Tunisian needle is. The stitches ended up being easier than I had expected, almost like knitting with just one needle.

About two weeks ago I had all six star sections completed and began reading about stitching the chunks together and learning how to block. I didn't really think that blocking would help my pieces all fit together, but I was so wrong! Due to stretching while I was making them, the pieces were all slightly different lengths. Once I had them all flat on the table, I squirted the edges with water so they would stretch or shrink a little as I needed, then I pinned them all in place to dry.

I finished the blanket the night before the baby shower, perfect timing!

Quilted Pillow Covers

2009-09-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

When we got our new-used couches back in the spring, we knew we'd eventually need some throw pillows to jazz them up and to stuff behind one's back while watching a movie. I'd looked at pillows at a few different places and finally decided to just buy uncovered pillows and make something fun to cover them with. A few weeks ago when we were at Ikea I found two 19" square pillows that I thought would be dense enough. They've been hanging around on the couches since then, making me look like an odd decorator, but now they're finished!

I used a couple of ideas I found at Red Pepper Quilts because I decided it would be fun to use some of my fabric scraps. The first pillow cover used strips of fabric cut into 3" x 9" randomly sewn together. I used 1.5" strips of white in between the colors. The second pillow I used sets of 4 pieces of fabric from one color group cut into 1.5" x 4.5" strips. I finished the tops just like a quilt, with batting for stability, then sewed a double sided envelope-style back.

A Batch of Cards

2009-09-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

30 cards that is. A little over a week ago I got two orders for thank you cards. One was for 10 cards, the other for 20. It took me a little longer than normal to get through them because I've been sick for the past couple weeks, but at last they are done and in the mail! I took some pictures of the process. Basically, I cut the card paper, stamped the trees and cut them, cut yellow and blue layering paper, added the yellow twine, stamped and cut thanks, layered and cut the blue behind the greeting, and glued them all together!

Baby Shower Invitations

2009-08-30T11:06:00.000-07:00

I started working on ideas for these invitations about a month ago. I made a few different "pockets" before I found colors and rubber stamp combinations I liked. I began with a peach/cream/brown combo, but it ended up looking too halloweenish too me. I've decided I really enjoy sewing on cards I make, and it sticks so much better than glue! Once I had the design figured out it took a few days to get them put together and printed. Yay for 32 finished invitations!

Brown Bear Quilt

2009-08-27T17:15:00.000-07:00

This quilt went together so quickly! I bought half a yard of the animal blocks from the Brown Bear Eric Carle, 4 fat quarters, and 1/2 yard in a two different minky fabrics. I still have enough that I can make a second quilt exactly like this one. I used a pattern from the Summer 2009 edition of Quilts & More. I swapped some of the cotton fabric for minky (an interesting experience) and made 9 blocks instead of 20. This is the first time I've used minky. At first it was frustrating me because it kept stretching, but I added the walking foot and that helped keep everything lined up. At 40" square this will make a perfect baby gift!

The Washington Quilt

2009-08-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

The fabric from this quilt came from the 2007 Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. I started working on the blocks slowly back then, and have gradually added to the stack over the past 2 years. I used some of the patterns from previous shop hops, substituting the fabric from those other years with the Washington themed fabric from 2007. I pulled together enough fabric to fill in the sashing, boarders, backing, and binding from post shop hop sales. This quilt was fun because I had to learn how to do paper piecing, the blanket stitch, and English paper piecing.

Now it's living on the back of our large living room couch. Yes, the kitties tried it out while I was still sewing the binding on. They approve!

Above - English paper piecing

Below - paper piecing

Table & Chairs

2009-08-07T17:13:00.001-07:00

Well, I finally finished our dining room table and chairs today! We bought this set from our friends a little over 3 years ago, shortly after moving into our condo and when they were preparing to move to Australia. I'd thought about painting them all white or all red for a few years, then decided I'd like more than just one color. I knew they needed red to tie them in with the rest of our color theme, but was not totally sure what I'd end up picking until they were finished.

Four weeks ago we lined the chairs up to take them out to the Jeep, along with the disassembled table that Tom and Missy took apart, so we could strip the finish at my parents' house. We spent about 5 hours that day trying to get the finish off with a stripping product. It worked well on the table top, but didn't do much more than make a gummy mess on the table legs and chairs. We used a pressure washer to get the gum off, then took them back home for me to work on sanding out in our front yard. I spent about a week sanding, buying more sand paper, dealing with a tendinitis flare-up, and sanding again until the chairs were all smooth and clean.

I decided it would be best to paint the table legs first so we could put the table top back together and use it if we needed it. Next I primed and began painting and finishing the chairs. I had to take a break for most of last week because it got so hot and humid in our condo. I started working on the table top last Friday. I've had so much fun with it!

I used ideas I'd drawn in my sketch book and that I have seen on the walls in the Free People clothing store. I was scared to try it free-hand, but it worked well with the Decocolor paint pens I found! I finished the table top, coated it with a semi-gloss finish, and coated the chairs as well.

What Not to Knit... Seriously

2009-08-04T21:46:00.001-07:00

So many of you probably know that I'm a sucker for sock monkeys. I searched "sock monkeys" on google images today in an effort to find cute ideas, and thought I'd share some of the funnier pictures that popped up. They made Tom and I double over laughing, so be warned...

Don't worry. I promise never to make either of these!

Wall Art

2009-07-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

I started working on these back in the fall, and pulled them out when I was reorganizing some of the things in my craft closet last week. I used a light table to make my own embroidery patterns, traced them onto some bright scraps of fabric from random fat quarters I had, and used 5 bright colors of embroidery floss to stitch them out. That's the state in which I picked them back up. I found that I had 3 small sized canvas frames and centered and stapled them. I liked the way they looked, but thought they could still use a little more flair. I remembered seeing a pattern in a local quilt store for a flower by Heather Bailey. I'm not sure if it's the same one, but I found some rough instructions on her blog for some cute pop-up flowers. In the sticky, 80+ degree heat we've had the past week, I made 2 flowers and a little bird while watch streaming Netflix directly in front of our fan. I made rough flower and bird sketches and cut them out to use as patterns. To finish the wall hangings off, I pinned the flowers and birds through the canvas, enabling me to rearrange them if I want in the future.

Flower Assembly:

Cut 2 flowers from different colors of wool (felt would also work).
Bottom layer - Stitch around the edges of one flower with embroidery floss.
Top layer - Stitch around the edges, but pull a little tighter so the flower petals stand up and out.
Make a small sized yo-yo to layer on the top.
Cut various sizes and thicknesses of yarn to create loops or sprigs to layer between the top flower layer and yo-yo.
Stitch through all the layers to connect them. You can add buttons, beads, brads, or leave them with just the yo-yo on the top.

Laundry Bag

2009-07-15T11:05:00.001-07:00

Last week Rebecca and I got together to work on cutting our fabric. I got most of the monkey fabric cut out for a crib set, but had to take a brain break and finish later because I forgot to make sure the pattern on the fabric was running the correct direction. I caught myself in time to recover, and ended up refreshing my math skills in the process. I'm using patterns for a crib skirt, fitted sheet, crib bumper, and laundry bag from the book Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones.

I completed the Cheeky Monkey Laundry Bag the other night. I just love all this sock monkey fabric! It was pretty basic and quick to make. It just took a while to iron on all the fusible interfacing, but that's what a television in front of the ironing board streaming BBC productions of Agatha Christie is for, right?! The monkey's head is designed to stick with Velcro to make it easier to wash without reshaping his cute face.

2009 Quilt Shop Hop

2009-06-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop was once again last Wednesday through Sunday. My mom and I visited 13 shops on Wednesday, and another 7 on Thursday. We visited shops in Lynden, Bellingham, Anacortes, Everett, Bellevue, Renton, Des Moines, and some in between.

The shop hop included about 60 stores in the state that created 8.5" blocks from a collection of fabric designed just for this event. Each shop uses 3

pieces of fabric, one of them a coordinate of their choosing that is not part of the collection. We both liked this year's fabric, but weren't crazy about the main flower and butterfly print. One of the first shops we visited (Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham) had used the collection and added several bright prints of their choosing, which we loved! We bought a few half yards there to split and make our quilt with.

My favorite shops were:

Forth Corner Quilts, Bellingham
The Quilting Loft, Ballard
Quiltworks Northwest, Bellevue
Keepsake Cottage Fabrics, Bothell

One of my goals on the shop hop was to find enough sock monkey fabric to make a crib set with. I knew this would be difficult because that line of fabrics came out about 4-5 years ago. I ended up finding enough, picking up different pieces at about 6 different shops. Some of them were even on sale!

I also found the following exciting fabrics!

Paddington Bear & Eric Carle's Brown Bear - The Paddington fabric was half off and perfect for some other Paddington fabrics I've been accumulating slowly for a kids quilt. The Brown Bear fabric will work well for a baby quilt gift.

Anna Maria Horner Flowers - I've had my eye out for this fabric for a while as well. It's from an older line of Anna Maria's fabric, but it will be perfect for the couch throw pillows I'm planning to make!

And lastly, I found some cute patterns!

(Can you believe this is my 50th post?!)

Birthday Birdie Sling

2009-06-29T14:54:00.000-07:00

I was given a super cute Amy Butler purse pattern and a gift certificate for fabric for my birthday that I finally had the time to make! It turned out to be pretty easy. I pulled it out on a Sunday afternoon and finished it up the following morning. As always, the cutting (my least favorite part) took the longest.

I made a couple changes to the directions. I used a third fabric for the straps, rather than using the same color as the band around the top of the purse. Also, I added a magnetic snap to the band as a way of closing the top of the bag.

So far this purse has been the best I've made yet. It's deep and has large pockets. My favorite part is that it has one wide strap, rather than 2 narrow ones, which usually make my shoulder and neck hurt. The side is great because there's enough room to toss in a sweater and my knitting.

New Bling

2009-06-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

I've had this piece for a necklace for a while, but kept waiting to use it because I was afraid I'd mess up the length of the necklace or something silly like that. My cousin's wedding was this last Saturday, and I knew it would match my dress well, so I ended up stringing it and making earrings to match!

The Icarus Scarf

2009-06-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished this crocheted scarf! It turned out to be an easy project that I could carry with me to work on whenever I had a minute or just wanted to enjoy the sun.

The Icarus Scarf pattern came from The Purl Bee. I didn't use the silk yarn she did, but I managed to find some decent (and 75% less expensive) yarn at Hilltop Yarns in Bellevue. I used a size G, 4.00mm hook and it came out great!

Of course my kitties had to involve themselves somehow, so they managed to keep the yarn on the swift for me as I converted it into balls. However, the fast spinning motion made them all squinty.

First Yarn Shop Hop Project

2009-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

I just finished my first project purchased on the yarn shop hop last week! This was a fairly simple knitting project. It was supposed to be a stockinette knit stitch worked flat and sewn up at the end, but I really don't like purl stitches if I can help it! I used the pattern, but just did it in the round with 4 needles all in a basic knit stitch, and it worked!

Yarn Shop Hop

2009-05-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today I visited 9 Seattle area yarn shops as part of the 2009 Local Yarn Shop Hop! I started out close to home in Lake Forest Park, wandered through Seattle, and then back to the Eastside for Bellevue and Issaquah. In the process I explored Phinney Ridge, Wallingford Center, and the Madison Park area; all places I'd never been! It was a challenge to read directions and try to drive at the same time, but it ended well.

At each participating shop (there are 23!) I received a free crochet and/or knitting pattern for a one skein project. The shops had the yarn they used for their projects on sale, along with daily drawings in each shop. It was fun to see the variety of projects and familiarize myself with some new favorite stores! The free patterns I brought home include, a felted tea cozy (I always thought they were cheesy until I saw this one), several scarves, fingerless mittens, a stuffed octopus, a child's side button sweater, a market bag, and a beret. I think I'm going back to get the yarn for the tea pot cozy tomorrow, and I bought the yarn for the fingerless mittens.

These bright yarns are for this scarf pattern.

This is the yarn and tiny #2 sized needles for the fingerless mittens (pattern from Cultured Purls in Issaquah).

I got this yarn to make a baby hat with for an upcoming baby shower.

Here are the shops I visited and my thoughts on them:

Village Tea & Yarn, Shoreline - I loved this shop! It was elegant and cheery, plus they serve tea!
The Fiber Gallery, Phinney Ridge - This store didn't float my boat. It was a little to homespun and cold for me.
Full Circle Yarn, Ballard - Probably the bottom on my list. Cluttery and old patterns.
Bad Woman Yarn, Wallingford - Loved this one! It was packed full of great yarns and patterns, and the folks running the shop were very helpful and cheery. Lots of crochet patterns.
The Weaving Works, U District - Didn't love it or hate it. A large portion of their shop is dedicated to weaving, spinning, and dyeing.
Acorn Street Shop, Ravenna - Didn't love or hate this one either. They have a lot of yarn, and quite a few patterns, but not much for crocheters.
Tricoter Knitting Specialists, Madison Park - This was a nice shop, but very pricey. Most of their yarns were in the $15 - $60 range! Again, not much for someone who crochets.
Hilltop Yarn East, Bellevue - I still love this shop! They have a good price range in yarns, and their market bag pattern looks amazing!
Cultured Purls, Issaquah - This was also a nice shop, however not many crochet patterns.

Mother's Day Gift #2

2009-05-11T10:57:00.000-07:00

I made this little wooden scrapbook for my mom a few weeks ago, and have been wanting to put up the pictures, but knew if I did that it wouldn't be a surprise for her anymore! I took pictures from over the past 4 years of Tom and I and made them into this little books with lots of cute papers I've collected.

And the Winner Is...

2009-05-11T10:46:00.001-07:00

Cindi! The winner was chosen here. Thanks to everyone for entering the earring give-away! I've sent you an email, and will look for your reply within 24 hours. I'll do another give-away of something I've made soon!

Mother's Day Gift #1

2009-05-09T23:40:00.000-07:00

I made this apron for Tom's mom for Mother's Day, along with a set of Alton Brown's Good Eats DVDs. It's similar to the one I made a couple months ago for myself, but in cute slightly retro fabrics. I had such a hard time giving it away!

Bridal Shower Invitations

2009-05-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

I've spent some time over the past few weeks working on these invitations to a bridal shower for the fiancee of Tom's cousin! I think these are my favorite yet! I sewed the little sleeves together after lightly gluing on the layer of pearly paper and Amy Butler paper. The informational invitation part I did in Photoshop, and then stamped flowers and glued the pearl on.

Earring Give Away!

2009-05-02T15:22:00.000-07:00

This is my first give away, hope you enjoy it! I've made a pair of earrings for just this occasion!

Here's how to enter (you can pick from any of the following, or try them all to improve your chances):

Go visit my etsy shop and let me know which is your favorite item, and why by leaving a comment on this blog.
Purchase anything from my etsy shop, and leave 2 comments here letting me know.
Begin following my blog, and let me know in a comment here.
If you twitter, tweet about this giveaway and leave another comment.

I'm excited to see how this works out! The winner will be randomly selected on May 11, 2009.

Earrings

2009-05-02T15:14:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning working up a few pairs of earrings for my sister, who brought me beads a couple weeks ago.

And a Few More...

2009-04-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

I spent yesterday working on cards for a cousin-to-be's bridal shower, which I'll try to post soon, and these! Somehow, whenever I pull the camera out, a kitty shows up!

Cards for Kelly

2009-04-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

I got an email from my sister asking for some cards for the business she works for to use. I made a total of 15, but here are some of the fresh ideas I came up with!

New Cards!

2009-03-30T17:59:00.001-07:00

While I had my stamping things out from the invitations, I decided to make a few new note cards for myself, for my sister, and to sell on etsy! I just love the colors in the card with the trees.

Shower Invitations

2009-03-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

My cousin is getting married in June, so her sister and I are throwing a shower for her next month. I had a fun visit with Jamie last week to work out some shower plans and do a little prep shopping. I spent a few hours this weekend designing and putting together invitations. Here's what they look like!

Jewelry Braid

2009-03-23T14:43:00.000-07:00

I finished this project a few weeks ago, but we just got in hung this weekend. I got the idea for this jewelry hanger from the purse straps I made for my last purse.

Here's how I did it:

Cut 18 strips of fabric 2" by 45" long. (I used some scraps that weren't quite long enough, so just cut them so you have enough for the total length.)
Sew them together in sections of 3 so that you have 6 total strips, all about 135" long.
Stack them all together, and tie a knot in one end, with about 2" of strip hanging out of the knot.
Attach a large safety pin to the knot, and anchor that to something sturdy in an area with a LOT of space. I used our old couches, but a mattress also works.
Braid these strips. You'll have 2 strips together for a total of 3 to braid with.
Knot them all at the end and trim those ends up to about 2" hanging out to match the other end.
Sew as many buttons along the facing side of the braid as you'd like. I did them about every 3" or 4" with a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.
Hang where you'd like. This was the trick party for me, because it needed to be anchored to the mirror. Tom put a couple small nails into the back edge where you can't see for me to hang the braid from.

What a Swell Quilt

2009-03-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

I started this quilt last summer! It's made with the line of fabric called Swell by Moda's Urban Chicks. I love the bright red with pale yellow and blue. I was originally going to do a scalloped edge, but that turned into far too much confusion, so it ended up with a regular old straight edge. I used 2 sets of charm packs for the center, and yardage for the borders. It ended up being a very quick job to quilt once I had it all glue basted together!

The cats also decided they needed significant involvement in this project. Orangey helped me sew the binding together. Missy tested it for cuddliness while I took a break from whip stitching the binding to the back. Now our living room is proudly sporting a new couch-quilt, and the fall themed one is resting for a few months!

The Dining Room Wall is Finally Happy!

2009-03-18T15:04:00.001-07:00

When we moved into our condo 3 years ago, the back wall in our dining room was painted pink. Most of you know that I LOVE the color red. I decided the pink was close enough to red that I'd try to make it fit in with my bright red kitchen things. I didn't like the color, but thought I could tie it in by painting the same color pink around the window on the wall next to it, and by hanging a valence my mom made for me that had some cute pink/yellow/green paisley in it. I wasn't satisfied with that so I painted some paisley designs on the pink wall as well. I liked the way it turned out, but it still wasn't red, and it didn't work with the deep red drapes I now have hanging on the sliding door next to the window. Finally, I decided to paint the wall the same color as the fireplace wall I previously wrote about to help tie the living/dining area together! Here is a progressive display of the result! Tom and I both love it now!

This is the pink wall after adding the paisley designs.

This is the pink window box I painted, just before getting rid of it!

This was round one of the project. I painted the wall blue, then ragged the same bright green paint I have in the kitchen over the blue. Next I struggled to find a stencil I liked, so I bought one and made another. I used the one I made and didn't like it. Neither Tom nor I liked the green ragging. It looked like finger prints all over, not very classy. This is a picture of me trying the stencil we bought, which is what I used in the end.

A bigger picture of the green ragging and the stencil design I made.

After that discouraging first try, I repainted the wall blue (2 more coats!), switching from satin to eggshell in the process so it wouldn't glare as much. Then, Tom helped me by measuring and figuring out how far apart to paint each stenciled design. He suggested that I hang string at certain points, then measure off the string and use little pieces of tape to mark where the centers should be. This worked so well!

This is what each finished stencil looks like.

Here's a shot of the "new" dining room! We moved the hutch over to the corner as well for a little change and better access to the kitchen.

Dress Making is Not for Me!

2009-03-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

I have this super cute dress pattern from Favorite Things that I've been trying to get the guts to make for the past couple months. I finally decided that since I was scared it would not fit or something, I'd make it out of some cheap $1.67 a yard Wal-Mart fabric so that I wouldn't be bummed that I'd wasted my nice fabric if that happened. Well, it's a good thing I did that!

Back in January I made a skirt from a different Favorite Things pattern, that also came out horribly, except with that one, I used my nice fabric. It frustrated me so much! Actually it still does. I'm beginning to think it might be a problem with the pattern company. Both were pretty simple patterns, very easy to understand and follow. The skirt came out looking like it wold fit someone 3 times my size even though the top couple tiers fit well. I think I will probably end up just shortening that one. The dress also came out looking like it was made for a much larger person. This is so odd, because I made a size even smaller than I measured, because it seemed so ridiculous! I got the pattern pieces all cut out and even pinned them together on me, and it looked like it would be a fairly decent fit. I think I'm going to have to stick to the tried and true Amy Butler and Anna Maria Horner patterns. At least they fit well when I make them! Anyone want to give a stab at the dress pattern? It's yours free if you do!

Just for laughs, here are the pictures of the 2 things I've made with Favorite Things patterns. :)

Owls

2009-02-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

I made these little guys last week. I can't remember where I found the original idea I copied them from, but I basically just traced a picture I had saved. I put some stuffing beans in the bottom so they'd stand up better, but apparently they're just too stubborn for that to work!

Project Wedding Album: Complete!

2009-02-17T14:52:00.001-08:00

I picked up my last picture from Costco this morning, brought it home, and put the last page, which just happens to be the first page, together! It's a pretty simple page, but I wanted it to be more than just a picture and our wedding invitation. I found I had saved one of the postage stamps we mailed our invitations with, and created a tiny little mock envelope our of scraps to jazz up the page a bit.

Completed, the album starts with our wedding pictures, goes through our wedding and reception, and ends with our honeymoon. If you want to flip through it, ask me the next time you're over!

Another Step Closer!

2009-02-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

When we got home from church today I decided to make another valiant effort at completing our scrapbook. I got some pictures sorted and put a couple more pages together.

This is the layout I was most looking forward to, mostly because I love the pictures in black & white, and I think the paper is cute! I found this paper last year, covered with little vintage valentine drawings of hearts and polk-a-dots in colors I love! Somehow over the past year I've noticed that I lean towards a little bit of a vintage look, especially if it involves the color red!

Now I only have one page left to make the book complete. I just have to swing by Costco to pick up my last picture!

I made this little bee out of scraps I had from framing the pictures on these pages.

Scrap Scrap!

2009-02-14T20:49:00.000-08:00

I started working on our wedding album about 2 1/2 years ago... and I'm still not finished! At first I felt overwhelmed because there were so many pictures to choose from and I wanted it to look somewhat classy. I've now spent all that time gathering red papers and such, which is harder to find than one would think! The best time to find red is around Valentine's Day, because most of the wedding specific stuff is white or silver or gold. I've finally picked out enough papers that I can finish the album! I only have a few pages to go, so I pulled the album out this evening after a year of neglect. I still need to print a few more pictures, but I'm hoping to finish it this month!

A few years ago my mom gave me a book by Becky Higgins called Sketches. It has helped me implement new page layouts so that all the pages don't look like repeats. The book gives examples of pages she has made, accompanied by sketches that make it easier to visualize with whatever photos you're working with.

I've found cute embellishments all over the place the last few years, and have made a few of my own. I found velvet rickrack, brads with little pearls on them, red and silver glitter, fabric, and stamps.

Here are a few pictures of what I've worked on tonight!

I made this title by using a couple different pens in different tip sizes to write out the words, traced a few times, then went over it in some places with a bottle of red Stickles.

I made these little hearts because I felt like the page needed a little filling in!

The Purse Bag Thing

2009-02-09T17:18:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I stumbled across Anna Maria Horner, a somewhat new fabric designer. I fell in love with her designs and colors, and even her patterns. I flipped through her book Seams to Me at Barnes & Noble one day, and then went home to find it for half the price on half.com! After ordering, it arrived a few days later.

There are some super cute patterns in the book I'd like to try, including a skirt, some 9 inch storage tote cubes, another bag, a dress cover, and a few ideas for some hand applique. The book overall is a great beginners how-to-sew guide as well. I learned a few new things about clipping corners and curves as I worked through the purse pattern I used.

In the end I settled on the "I'll have one of everything bag" pattern. I ordered a few fat quarters from Anna Maria's new line of fabric called Good Folks, and a couple half yards from laniejane when they had a free shipping sale last week. I started cutting it out on Saturday while Tom was working on our new computer, and spent the afternoon on Sunday sewing it all together. It was so easy!

While I was working on it, Tom thought it was a hat for some reason, which I find pretty funny, because I'm sure everyone could picture me wearing a hat as vivid as this!

It is lined, but has no pockets. I think it would be pretty easy to add pockets if I make this pattern again. I absolutely love the braided straps!

(They actually inspired another project I've been working on that I'll try to finish and post in the next couple days as well!) At first I wasn't sure if I liked the tassel ties on the ends, but I think I've decided they're fun now. :) The size is great, but I think without pockets I'll need to find a little zip-case of some sort to put things like my chapstick in so it doesn't get lost in the bottom!

The Scarf is Finished!

2009-02-05T11:36:00.000-08:00

I spent most of the day yesterday trying to get this scarf finished! I ended up with a cramped hand, but I'm happy with the outcome. Although the sample picture I was working from showed tassels, I decided to leave them off because I'm not a huge fan of them, plus I know my kitties would have a hay-day if I added them.

Granny Scarf

2009-02-01T13:13:00.000-08:00

When I was about 10 my Grandmother taught me how to do the chain crochet stitch. My brother and sister and I spent many hours one summer making yards and yards of chain jump ropes, cat's cradle loops, and doll hair bows. Since then, I hadn't done more crocheting until I found a magazine at Wal-Mart last fall called Interweave Crochet. There are so many cute projects in it! I decided I'd better start with something easy, so I chose an afghan pattern that uses a bunch of circles all stitched together. I had a hard time understanding the directions, but my friend Heather was able to help me out over tea one day. That project it going to take a LOT of circles, so I'm working on it in between other things. Oh yes, crochet is far easier than knitting! For Christmas, Tom's parents gave me a book called Teach Yourself Visually Crocheting. It is the best how-to guide I've found so far with pictures (the way I best learn things!) and a multitude of stitch patterns and techniques.

In January, I went to the Lucky Brand outlet store in Marysville and fell in love with this scarf! I used to think that Granny Squares were cheesy looking, but then I realized that didn't have to be the case. It just depends on the colors! This scarf has mini Granny Squares in fun colors, and I thought it would be fun to try to duplicate. I took a phone picture... yes, that's why it's fuzzy. Then my next adventure began. How does one make a Granny Square? I googled around and found a hat pattern that may have worked, and a pattern in a book called The Cool Girls Guide to Crochet that Heather had given me for Christmas. It had a super cute pattern for a Granny Square scarf, but the squares were bigger than I would have liked. I again had trouble understanding the pattern lingo, so Rebecca and I met for a coffee and crochet date at Cafe Ladro, and she helped me struggle through the pattern in the book. I came

away with a good idea of what I wanted and how to read the stitch abbreviations! I then spent a little more time googling, and found an amazing tutorial at the Purl Bee.

I have now made about 30 mini Granny Squares using random yarns I've found in bright colors, using rounds 1 and 2. I'm just starting round 3 now, which will be my final round, in a taupe colored cotton yarn. I'll post a picture of the completed project soon hopefully!

We're Finally Finished!

2009-01-26T11:39:00.000-08:00

About 15 months ago Tom and I decided it was time to tear down our ugly fake-brick fireplace wall, seal up the fireplace better so we couldn't smell our downstairs neighbor's cigarette smoke, and paint and tile around the fireplace.

We started the project on Saturday on a whim, annoyed by all the smoke we were smelling that particular morning. After a few awesome hours of swinging a sledge hammer and axe in the living room, there was dust EVERYWHERE and piles of stucco-stuff and wire that needed to be carried out to the dumpster. After many trips in and out, the mess was gone, and we used the shop-vac to collect a lot of the dust. Tom pulled out the framing around the fireplace, and we were shocked to find a case that went from the top unit all the way down to the ground, just open with a couple stove pipes traveling through. The air in there was nasty, so we quickly blocked the kitties off (they saw a perfect hunting ground), Tom sealed the back of the fireplace up and stuck the wall back in around it, and sealed it up extra well. Over the next couple days we got new drywall up, then taped and mudded and sanded it... more dust again! I painted the wall a dark royal blue color, and Tom put up the cement backer board. (Sorry the pre-project pictures are a little odd, but those are the only pictures I can find that even have the old brick in them from the previous 2 years of us living here!)

I'd been thinking for a while that I would like to tile around the opening, but kept getting discouraged by the price and skill it looked like it would take. Finally this past September I collected all the tile I wanted to use from various stores and sales, and laid out my design on some latch hook rug canvas cut exactly to the size of the backer board. This was a huge help in centering and spacing, since i could work on it gradually on the floor. I used tacky glue to stick each piece to the canvas, marked the pieces I needed cut, and eventually cut the canvas into 5 chunks. (I could just see it sliding off the wall once we stuck it to the wet mortar in once huge piece!) It held well and set quickly.

Wednesday night, 4 months after sticking the tile to the wall, we finally mixed the grout and smothered it in place. Sponging off the tiles was a long job, and it ended up grinding our hands raw from the grit in the grout, but it's finished!

Earrings

2009-01-20T14:29:00.001-08:00

I've ventured back into the beading world, after not doing much with beads for over a year! At first I thought I would not make a great beader because I don't really like seed beads, but I've found some beautiful glass and vintage beads in shops and on etsy. I have a basic idea of how to use wire, but am still waiting to get into a class at the beadclub in Woodinville. I've made about 5 pairs of earrings in the past couple weeks, and have ideas for many more! Some of these earrings I've listed for sale on etsy already. :)

A is for Apron

2009-01-18T17:20:00.000-08:00

I finished an apron today that I started a few days ago, but that I've had the fabric for since before Christmas! I had ordered the book A is for Apron from half.com, but the first sale fell through, so I had to wait over a month to get my refund and re-order from a different seller. Finally, it came about 2 weeks ago and I took it into Kinko's to get the patterns enlarged. There are so many cute aprons in the book, too bad you only have to wear one apron at a time!

I learned a new technique for this project... continuous bias binding tape! I needed 6.5 yards of it, and the lady at the quilt store told me a fat quarter would be enough, but I was skeptical. This tutorial helped me through the process, and it was about 3 yards too much! Once I had the bias tape all cut, I used one of these little Clover gizmos to shape and iron. Tom thinks it's one of the coolest crafting tools I have.

Now I have this cute retro looking apron, made with some cute "chair of bowlies" Mary Engelbreit fabric, and I can toss the 2 worn and scratchy pre-printed aprons that I made in junior high... yes I'm even getting rid of the watermelon apron that I wore at our wedding over my dress so I could have lunch! I think it is quite fitting that this apron is called "The Lorelai," especially since I watched a few episodes of Gilmore Girls while working on it!

A Set of Cards

2009-01-12T12:27:00.001-08:00

I made a few more cards, that I was hoping would have a bit of a retro look. I'm not sure they actually came out that way, but at least they're cute!

A Few Valentine's Cards!

2009-01-09T08:08:00.001-08:00

I spent the day yesterday making a few valentine's day cards, and even got them listed on etsy! I have a few more ideas that I'm hoping to work on today and post as well. :)

A Walk in the Park

2009-01-06T14:53:00.000-08:00

Last week Tom and I took a cold walk across the street through St. Edwards Park and around Bastyr. I took a few pictures, and Tom loves this one, and said I should post it. It's kind of funny because you don't realize the scale until you see how big the fir needles are compared to the rocks and plants! Okay, so it doesn't look so amazing unless you click on it and see a larger version, but I can't post any larger on here. :)

Christmas Gift

2008-12-31T12:35:00.000-08:00

My mom gave me this quote that she wanted on a sign like the one I made for our bedroom, and sad she'd like one. This is what I came up with. It's supposed to match some fabric she's been using to make a quilt with. :) I finished it a few weeks ago, but didn't want to post this until after she's received it.

In a Pear Tree

2008-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Today I finished my pear tree quilt! Initially I thought that it would be a lap sized quilt, but as you can see it almost covers our queen sized bed! I used some Nancy Halvorson Christmas fabrics that I started collecting last year, and then found a complimentary line this year. This is the biggest quilt I've done, and it was almost too large to comfortably quilt on my machine. I think now I'll get back to a smaller project! :)

I made this wall sign for our bedroom about a month ago, but just got to the pictures! I used a piece of hardwood, covered it with a sealer and then used the crackle paint spread as the background. Then I designed the words in photoshop, printed it, and used graphite paper to get the outline onto the board, which I then used acrylic paints to detail.

Tea

2008-12-20T17:50:00.000-08:00

Today my mom, Tom's mom, and a couple friends and their mothers and I all got together at Willows Edge Tea Room in Mukilteo. It was a beautiful, yummy experience. We thought that with the snow outside and a warm fire, it made it feel like we were in the English countryside. :) Here are a few pictures I took while we were there.

A Few More Cards

2008-12-16T14:30:00.000-08:00

Here are a few cards I've been working on, but never quite got finished until now. :)

The card below is my first experiment with gray ink, of which I've seen so many lovely examples in the rubber stamp stores. I think my favorite part is the velvet ribbon!

Pears & Scotty

2008-12-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

I've finished a few more ornaments. The pear pattern intended them as pin cushions, but I decided they'd make cute ornaments. :) The scotty dog idea came from allsorts.

My Etsy Shop

2008-12-07T00:46:00.000-08:00

A lot of people have asked recently if I have any of my things for sale on Etsy... and I do! You can find me if you do a seller search for lucegirlsart. Right now I just have a couple of blank notecards on there, but if I get enough of the ornaments done for our own tree in the next few days, I'll list some of them as well. :)

Bells & Wool

2008-12-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

I got the pattern for these ornaments last year from Indygo Junction, but never had time to make them! When I saw the pattern, I loved the wool, ribbon, and bells. Now that the bells have been ringing around (literally) in my notions box for a year, I've finally been able to use them! I learned how to make a french knot for these, something I've never successfully done in the past. These were fun to make, so I'm planning on making a few more!

Christmas Houses

2008-12-02T17:01:00.001-08:00

I made my first set of Christmas house ornaments today, and I'm very pleased with what I ended up with! I started with chipboard house shapes, cut patterned paper and glued it on, then sanded the edges. I then used my crop-a-dile to punch holes and add rivets for the hanger, and decorated with velvet ribon, glittery stickles, and little acrylic disks. I found the "fancy ornament hangers" at Wal-Mart! Aileen's clear gel tacky glue seemed to work well for the paper, ribbon, and acrylic pieces.

Ornaments Round 2

2008-12-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

I've been working on these ornaments for a few weeks off and on, mostly when I just needed something to keep my hands busy. :) These are all Nancy Halvorson fabrics from her Christmas collection last year and her new one this year. My favorite ornament is the camel!

Christmas Ornaments!

2008-11-20T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've decided I'd like to use all home made ornaments on our Christmas tree this year, so here are the first ones I've finished! They're pretty easy to make. I just 9 strips of 1"x 6" paper, punched holes in both ends, and stucks brads through them. Then I fanned the papers apart from one another and tied on the ribbon with buttons.

Christmas Card Experiments

2008-10-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

I started making a few Christmas cards the other day to help me figure out what I want them to look like this year. I started with just the red/brown/orange combination, but decided it probably looks a little too harvest. Tom didn't think it looked like a Christmas card, so I experimented with some green paper and sparkle snow. These are just the first few I've come up with, so I'll post the final layout when I get it down.

A New Set of Stamps!

2008-10-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

I got this set of stamps a little over a month ago, and this is the first chance I've had to try them out. I love the blossoms and lanterns I've seen at all the shops, and thought I'd give 'em a try. I also recently got a little tiny sewing machine just for cards, and it's great! I had been hesitant to buy one because the reviews I had seen said the threads just pulled right out because there wasn't a bobbin. I finally found one with a bobbin, and it's worth it!

SU ink - pumpkin pie, kiwi, purely pomegranite

I love fall colors!

2008-10-05T22:43:00.001-07:00

I sewed some fall flannel strips to this card with my sewing machine.

Recipe: Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie from SU

Recipe: little pumpkin stamp and tree stamp - Roasie's Roadshow, spiral punch - SU

Recipe: ribbon - Target, gold glitter - Stickles, Chocolate Chip ink - SU

Recipe: Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Pie ink - SU

More Cards from the Summer

2008-10-05T21:35:00.000-07:00

Recipe: paper from Joann, Stampin' Up scallop punch and flower stamp

Recipe: JoAnn paper, pearl chalks, Versa Ink

Recipe: CTMH orange paper and inks, Tombow markers, Hero circle stamp

Recipe: JoAnn papers, Stampin' Up scallop punch, congrats stamp, and Kiwi ink

Recipe: Stampin' Up Papaya paper, Papaya ink, scallop punch, and rubber stamp

Some Cards from the Summer...

2008-10-05T21:16:00.000-07:00

Recipe: Stampin' Up bird stamp, paper from JoAnn, pearl chalks, Versa Ink

Recipe: Stampin' Up bird stamp, most of this ink is from CTMH

Recipe: Stampin' Up flower stamps, Papaya and Pomegranate paper, and tab punch

Recipe: CTMH citrus paper, Stampin' Up bird, tab punch, and Chocolate Chip ink

Recipe: Paper from JoAnn, Stampin' Up Wasabi ink, Chocolate Chip ink, and spiral punch

Wedding Gift

2008-10-05T18:54:00.000-07:00

I made this quilt and giraffe for a good friend who got married a couple weeks ago. She's doing her home in an ethnic theme, so I had fun picking out fabric and colors (teal, green, blue, brown, purple). This is the first time I've ever made anything with batik fabric, and I love it! Tom thought I should make a duplicate quilt for our living room.

Projects!

2008-10-04T23:42:00.000-07:00

I'll start off with a few older projects I've done, and slowly add more as I work on and complete them!