In season: blooms and bags

Ah, it feels like Spring is really, truly here. The back garden has started to bloom with flowers that I didn't even plant and have somehow evaded the greedy bulb-eating squirrels. They look so delicate but are very hardy. I've lived here four years and they keep coming back. I'm always so delighted to see them pop up, they seem like little miracles because I definitely do not have a green thumb. One of my colleagues is splitting some plants and offered to give me some. My first question was "Do they need to be watered?" She looked incredulous and replied "Yes, Elise. All plants need to be watered." Hmm, maybe that's my problem? The whole watering thing has always seemed so daunting.

Here's a beauty that doesn't need any tending. I've been hoarding this piece of Freshcut for quite a while and finally managed to cut into it. I had barely snipped the last thread before I filled it with my daily essentials and put it to use. See it sagging under the weight?

These twin tulips are my favorites this year. Just lovely.
Speaking of pairs, here's my second new spring bag. Yes, last Friday night was a late one (2 am to be specific). I actually made three Frenchy shoulder bags, but one was a repeat at the request of a dear friend. I have been intending to build up a stock of bags, scarves and little softies so that I'll be gift-ready like Tory, but so far the gift closet remains bare while my wardrobe bulges. I've definitely honed my technique on this last trio, so I'm sure there will be more to come. But first there's the small issue of a baby shower next weekend and a pair of gifts that need to see the light of day by then. Stay tuned.

Washed and Ready

I finally made my fabric choices. After two previous (and failed I might add) attempts last week to pick fabrics I've managed to purchase the perfect fabrics for the Hop, Skip, & A Jump quilt.

With that all important first step out of the way I was able to officially start my quilt on the weekend. Saturday found me up early washing and ironing the fabric so that the rest of the day could be spent enjoying a long awaited spring girls' day out. Then on Sunday I could be found stooped over my kitchen table cutting 96 assorted fabric strips for assembly into 12 quilt blocks. It certainly required more cutting skill and patience than I thought might be needed to produce such random shaped strips. I guess that is the genius behind Denyse Schmidt's modern quilt marvels.

Now my goal for the week is a completed quilt top. If I can manage that I'll breathe a little easier. But only momentarily....like Elise I need to both start and finish gifts for a baby shower. The craft list is never ending. Thankfully I like this sewing thing.

A girl has to eat

Is it just me, or is time moving at warp speed these days? I was in Chicago for work earlier this month and actually managed to take my embroidery with me, work on it and take a photo for a blog post and then never managed to post it. I even had a great anecdote about how my scissors were nearly confiscated during the security check, but now that it's two weeks later it's not as interesting. It was pretty exciting there for a few minutes when I had to go into the little cubicle to have my bag searched, trust me.

The Stitchettes continue to keep me busy and I might even end up with enough to make a quilt. Have you seen the tulip fairy? Love her. I have a couple of sewing projects in the works but I've got a final exam in three weeks so I've had to push things to the back burner. Except for the gift I have planned for a baby shower that I'm attending in two weeks, I have to get that done in time. Actually, I have to start it and then get it done. Yeah, I shouldn't really be blogging right now.

As usual, having too much on my plate makes me think about what should be on my plate. Food, that is. I recently bought Bill's Open Kitchen and am finding it very inspiring. Everything is so fresh and simple. Tonight I made the chickpea stew and it is now my new favorite. So, so good and it only took 30 minutes from start to finish, including putting some rice in the rice cooker and a piece of salmon in the oven. I also made a quick marinade using parsley, garlic, olive oil, salt and black pepper in my mini food processor. I slathered some on the fish before cooking and used the rest as a sauce. Yum!

Gathering....

....supplies, inspiration, courage.

I'm preparing to undertake my biggest project to date, my first quilt. It's not just any first quilt either. This quilt will provide color, comfort, and warmth to Little Miss Lou's new big girl bed. It's a big deal for both of us. That is why I find myself obsessing over its necessary perfection.

Gathering the right supplies for the job was the first order of business. Over the last week I've been studying Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts and Denyse Schmidt Quilts with an intensity not seen since college. I ended up with quite a list. As luck would have it, though, the shopping stars had aligned. Joann's started a 50% off sale on all quilting supplies yesterday. (It runs until Saturday...go, you must need something!) I picked up bias tape makers, binding clips, curved safety pins, extra-fine glasshead pins, a pinking rotary cutter and replacement blade, a 12.5 x 12.5 inch ruler, batting and thread. I also picked up a huge 24 x 36 inch self-healing cutting mat. All I need to get now is a walking foot. I've toyed with the idea of skipping this and making do but something tells me I shouldn't. Any thoughts?

Gathering inspiration just may be the easiest part of this whole process. Making a decision about a pattern though is another story. It was after much deliberation and fretting that I finally decided to go with Denyse Schmidt's Hop, Skip, & A Jump quilt. It was seeing this beauty on flickr that provided the final push I needed. I love how young and fresh this quilt feels. It's just the feeling you get from being around her. I just wish I could bottle her energy.

I've already purchased the perfect backing and binding fabric. You can just catch a peak in my first photo. I intend to pull colors from her existing curtains to round out the 7 or so additional fabrics I need. I'm hoping some of them already live in my stash.

Now all I have to do is gather the courage I need to start and finish this project. (Deadline: May 23). I'm sure the perfectionist crafter in me will struggle at points along the way. When she's threatening to take over the project I'll just try remember the most important thing. I'm making this for a little girl whose only request was that it be made by Auntie J.

Fabric, It's An Addiction

I'm Tory and I'm addicted to fabric (and ice cream, but that's another story).

The Anna Maria fabric had barely settled into its new home when I found myself before the computer staring lovingly at the new Amy Butler quilting fabric line, Midwest Modern. You see, I had made myself a quiet promise after my Nigella shopping spree. If I made it through February and March without making a fabric purchase I could go a bit crazy with the new releases due from Anna Maria Horner, Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry beginning in April.

The only fabric that made its way into my home was the Drawing Room fabric and it was a giveaway, so promise kept. That means that on April 1 I could be found pressing the "Order" button for sixteen (yes, you read that right, 16!) of my favorite Midwest Modern fabrics. Overindulgent? Perhaps, but with 10% off from my favorite fabric e-tailer and a birthday gift certificate from my sister the spending madness was brought back towards sanity.

Special Delivery

With a five day weekend planned to celebrate my birthday I hadn't intended to do anything exciting last Wednesday night. Plans quickly changed when I found this wonderful package from Anna Maria waiting on my kitchen table. Packing and cleaning up my crafting tornado shifted way down the list and "photo shoot" was added to the top in all capital letters. A girl must have her priorities. How many times does a person win fabric that hasn't even hit stores yet?

I ripped opened the shipping box to find the fabric neatly wrapped in fuchsia tissue paper. I snapped a few photos and carefully pulled back the paper to reveal two perfectly folded stacks of fabric, eight half yard cuts in total. It was certainly more than I had ever expected. Anna Maria had sent each fabric in her Eccentric Warm palette. It was the perfect choice. When she had first posted photos of her Drawing Room fabrics it was this palette that I was drawn to with its rich, vibrant colors. After photographing the stack in many layouts I set about ironing each piece for their close-up shots.

(Left) Trellis (Right, top to bottom) Pressed Flowers, Nouveau Bouquet, Shadow

(Left, top to bottom) Plumes, Volumes, Branching Out (Right) Sketchbook

Aren't they lovely? Even my dudely recognized them as works of art as I showed him each piece. (Thankfully he doesn't bore as quickly with my ramblings on fabric as I do with his ramblings on business ventures.) My current favorite is Trellis with everything else a close second. The fabric is a wonderful weight and will sew up beautifully into anything from home goods to bags to skirts. Start bugging your favorite local or on-line fabric store to stock this line, you're going to need it. I already have big plans for this line. Now if only I could bring myself to cut into it.

I couldn't properly end this post without sending a huge thank you to Anna Maria! Thank you!

Under the sea

(image from Starlit Nest)

My last Heather Ross purchase hadn't even arrived when I discovered she has another line due out in May. Mermaids, seahorses and octopi, oh my! The timing couldn't be better as Miss H., the six year-old daughter of one of my dear friends, has requested an under-the-sea room make over. Who can resist such a request?

With some wall decals like these

or these whimsical ones that I found on Etsy. I can't wait for our first consultation with Miss H. to see what she thinks. Oh, I hope she wants to make a shell mirror frame too.

Doll quilt swap

The lovely and talented Mortimer's Mom of Ubercrafty is hosting a doll quilt swap and guess who signed up. Me, of course! It's very exciting, I've never been involved in a swap before. And having just re-discovered the trunk full of doll clothes made by my mom I'm all about the littles. Everyone seems to be making doll quilts these days and I love them. Not that I've made one myself, but that will soon change. The swap is open to everyone who signs up by April 7th, you should check it out too.

Outfit above made my my mom, circa 1972. I'm pretty sure we had curtains made of the same fabric. Very chic, don't you think?