Some Sewing

As most of you know, April 15th has come and gone and now this CPA can get back to some normalcy for the first time in a long time. 

I worked on a few projects sparingly throughout busy season, but none of them are in a state to be photographed for your enjoyment. 

I've done my fair share of day dreaming over the past few months and knew that one of the first things I would work on was getting organized!  First up .... a revamp of my knitting and crocheting tools was in order for sure. 







I totally ditched my previous crochet hook organization before I could snap a picture of it for you, as it was pretty hideous. It was one of the first projects I worked on when I started sewing a few years ago and it was truly atrocious. 

I happened upon this really great black & white linen fabric and decided to use that as the outer fabric, and then walked by this raspberry red sketchbook-like floral print that I quickly became obsessed with. Do you think they pair well???

I originally wanted to embroider each section with the respective needle size, but knew that if I did that before I actually sewed the thing together, there would be no chance of the embroidered section actually lining up properly. So I opted out. I also tested some fabric stamping, but it just wasn't crystal clear enough for my liking. 
 

I tested a few different models of this baby before I settled on this exact pattern.

For such a simple item, it certainly took a lot of thought. I considered the number/sizes of steel crochet hooks vs aluminum vs wood, the varying heights of the different styles of hooks as well as the different brands of hooks, etc.

Do you love it as much as I do?

How much would you pay for it at a craft fair? 

I am sooo excited to get organized after a hectic busy season and was even more excited to knock another item off my Bucket List. See this project and my other projects at my Finished Projects page and Flickr Account.

HOLLER

Calm Before the Storm

I absolutely love Christmas. I love relaxing with family and friends, hosting and attending parties, and giving and getting presents of course. 

But you know what the WORST part about the Christmas season is? The end. 

Not for all of the selfish reasons you may think. I don't get post-holiday depression because of the lack of things to do.

I get depressed because the end of the Holiday Season means the beginning of the other season of my life, TAX SEASON. 

January is kind of my time to get my affairs in order. Haha that DOES sound depressing. 

I have two weeks after the New Year to make and break resolutions, pick up the house, reorganize closets, clean out junk drawers, etc. This time is otherwise known as "the calm before the storm".

I guess that I will say my Goodbyes to you for the next few months. I might pop in and out as I please, but I cannot make you any promises as I will be spread quite thin until May. I am actually making an effort to work LESS this year, but I should probably spend that time getting in shape rather than crafting. Oh the horror. 

HOLLER!

{Christmas Crafting} "Squares on Point Quilt" for Baby

The final gift to round out all of my coworker gifts this year is a baby quilt for one of the partner's in our firm, who had his first baby last May. 

I wanted to make an easy quilt with a simple pattern, but lots of color and a big impact. I also wanted to us up some Anna Maria Horner flannels and some great Linens that I got at a local estate sale. I decided to use my Squares on Point quilt pattern that I developed for a class last month. 

This quilt kind of came together as I went, and I actually ended up using 3 different linens. A nice grey linen for the quilt top, a nice dark navy linen for the backing, and then for a great punch of color I used my new favorite color on Earth, for the binding.

I just love this fabric. It is soooo nice to work with!! Seriously, go buy some Anna Maria Horner Folksy Flannels.
 

 

I actually worked on this entire quilt while I was teaching the class for the quilt. Given that I could only pay limited attention, I opted for super simple quilt lines. 

I don't think that I have ever been more proud of my binding job either, this quilt was ALMOST perfect!! Seriously, I actually did a really good job. I'm not boasting, I'm just happy that I finally have the hang of it.
 

For the backing, I used a dark navy linen. I wanted something super durable because this will likely be tossed on the floor and crawled all over. 

 

 Some more glamor shots for you!

I hope you enjoy!!

HOLLER!

Catching Up and Making Soup

It may sound a bit dramatic, but now that tax/busy season is OFFICIALLY OVER, I feel as though I have escaped from prison and am finally freeeee. Actually, maybe that's the wrong analogy... I feel more like I've been grounded for months and my mom finally caved and let me watch TV and play with my friends again. 

I got back to quilting the My Sweet Charli quilt (here & here). I was about 2/3 done with the quilting. Last week I finished up the quilting (pics to come soon) and bound the quilt! I spent about 8 hours quilting and binding and it was awesome. I was working on the quilt in our dining room and I had our french doors wide open to the outside, it was like I was Quilting al Fresco. It was awesome. I only snapped a few in-process shots, I will take more photos when it isn't pouring rain outside and I can get some nice outdoor shots.

Last weekend I also threw a baby shower for a friend. I have to say, my absolute favorite thing about entertaining is making floral arrangements. I just love it. This isn't some of my very best work (I was running quite a bit late) but it was still wicked fun. My friend is having a little baby boy, so most of the decorations were blue, but I thought I'd break up the monotony with some white and green arrangements. Still keeping it boy-ish. 
 

I also started cooking again! It has been a WHILE since I cooked real food (like, not buffalo chicken quesadillas). Given that is was rainy and about 50 degrees this weekend, I decided to make some Minestrone Soup. It is pretty much my favorite soup that I've ever  made. Naturally, it's a Martha recipe from her Cooking School book. 
 

I am officially back to blogging, thank God!! I have surely been missing it. Thanks for checking in!

HOLLER!