A Mistake Becomes A Revelation

That moment when you realize you just spent 20 minutes sewing the binding on to a quilt that needs to be done TONIGHT... to the wrong side of the quilt.  Panic.  Rage.  Regret you even chose this hobby.  And then... wait a second.  Instead of hand stitching the binding to the backing of the quilt... why don't you just fold it over and topstitch the binding to the front of the quilt.  Saving approximately 1 quadrillion hours of time and frustration.  Mind: blown.

Debut of Urban Zoologie monkey print.  Love those little bastards.

Finished quilting this one tonight.  It's the sister to the Bayside Baby Boy's quilt (that I believe I was too lazy to take a picture of).  So the next time one of my reproductive friends creates a girl human, I will be ahead of the game. 

Also, pancakes with attitude:

Here's Something Annoying That I Did

Now that I'm trying to think of words to describe this mess I've made, I'm having a bit of trouble.  Basically I screwed this quilting up and while it's fixable, it's beyond annoying.  And my fingers hurt. 

I made a bib

Here it is:

Amazing, am I right?  It's a starter bib.  Flannel front, terry cloth back, simple top stitching around the edge.  Fun. Simple. Cute. Pulled out my old sewing machine to try zig zag stitching, only to find it minus one pressed foot. Drag. Amazon.com to the rescue. A new one will be shipped to me in - wait for it - 10-22 days. Awesome.

Also, sliding:

Itty Bitty Elephants

OH MY GOD THESE LITTLE ELEPHANTS ARE SO FUCKING CUTE.

Sorry for that outburst.  But they are.  And they are my new pattern on Pieces of Candy Crafts.  Woo.

Oh and I finished a quilt for a Bayside Teammate.  Shower tomorrow.  Very excited.  Need daylight and my taller roommate to hold it up so I can take a final photo.

The Woman who Mistook Her Friday Night for a Hat

So this happened tonight.  In a few weeks I will be participating in the Jingle All the Way 8k. A group of us have decided to dress as characters from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I chose Linus because I have the perfect blue blanket. The other key to his costume is the green pompom hat. I couldn't find a suitable one for purchase, so found this pattern online. It knitted up super quickly and minus the pompom was completed in under two hours. However, i do wish I'd had the patience to actually test my gauge because it's a tad on the tight side. But still cute as hell.

My Shoulder Hurts

Free motion quilting is tough on the muscles. But it's done. Another stippling success. Each time I do it I become a little bit more in control I what I want the thing to actually do. It's like practice makes... something something. 

In other news, Halloween happened. 

And we went to the farm.

Turtles! And farm!

Turtle pattern.  Come and get 'em.

Also - pretty great farm weekend.

Now With Tractors

New pattern on sale in my Etsy shop.  Woo!  Don't everyone order one at once!

Two Quilt Tops

Two quilt tops done!  Complete with Capers' seal of approval.  The blue one is destined for Bayside Baby Boy 2013.  The recipient for the red one is TBD.  I'll keep you posted.

Wednesday Night (not) Dinner

Here's what I did tonight instead of going out and socializing with friends and family.  I regret nothing.

Quilt in Action - Foreign Service Edition

Remember the trip to the post office to send a baby quilt to Lima, Peru?  Probably not.  Well, I do!  And here is that baby and that quilt!  They are currently in Pennsylvania before heading out for another foreign service stint.  This quilt is going to be more well-traveled than I am...

Etsy Shop - Now with Airplanes

I just worked up this little number - by request.  I like it.  I am also very tired.  Good night.

Pretty Nice Little Saturday

Spent the morning on a private island in the Potomac.  No Big Deal.

And then unto us came a 3.5 hour nap (and still counting).  I have spent it creating a new custom cross stitch for my Etsy shop and sewed up these 135 squares.  Not Too Shabby.

Cross Stitch - done! And framed!

Done!  I'm ready to get these little guys out of my life.  Even though I'm super happy with how cute they turned out.  Apologies for the iPhone photo.

Something that doesn't suck

I just went over the $300 mark with my etsy sales.  I'd say it's about time I quit my day job and focus on this full time!

Hey blog

Not much new to report. Currently in Aspen aka a completely different reality. One that does not involve bedtimes or diapers or trying to translate the utterings of a toddler. But does include television production that is a whole other world of its own. Mind: blown

[update]

I never actually published this post.  I blame the flips.  But regret nothing.

 A bunch of stuff has happened since last I posted some two months ago.  Here's a little tour:

We went to a baseball game.  Go Nats!  This was back when there was hope for a winning season.  The Rupper seems to know that no good can come from this team.

This hair happened and was hilarious.

I painted this.  So proud and a little tipsy.

We enjoyed the Memorial Day Parade in my hometown.

4 hours in the ER, 5 stitches, and 1 clumsy baby.

On our flight to California.  What an angel.

Summer time and living is easy.

Why aren't we still there.

The Rupper reluctantly enjoys the beach.

Home from vacation and met by a flat tire.  Insult to injury.

The Rupper's attends his first birthday party.  There were reservations about the ball pit.

More summer fun.

Let's not forget why we're here... the crafting.  Quilt top for Baby Girl RFL.

Binding will have to wait for another night.

Here's a little tease of the quilt top for Newest Corlette - hot off the presses today at 11 lbs. 4 oz.  Yowza. 

The last pic is of a full Pieces of Candy creation.  The Newest Corlette has been assigned the butterfly as her spirit animal, so of course I wanted to create a quilt accordingly.  I scoured the internet for the perfect fabric and came up with this:

Super cute, right?  I secured the delivery of two yards of this fabric with absolutely no idea what I wanted to make with it.  As I started looking through my stash I found 2 fat quarter medleys from Keepsake Quilting - butterfly themed batiks that came as a part of my stash inheritance.  It was too perfect to pass up - all the coordinated fabric I would need (backing and binding included) to make a cute little quilt.  And the sentiment was there as well - my mom knew the Corlettes and had in fact made a few gifts for MJ - a little sweater and adorable pair of pants.  I think she thought of her as kind of a starter grandchild.

said sweater.

As always, I love making things to share with my friends and family, especially when there is a baby involved.  Let's be honest, there's always a baby involved.  I love working on these projects, feeling thankful that I have people in my life that I can inflict my obsession upon, and looking forward to getting to know whoever this little person will become. 

New Pattern for Pieces of Candy Crafts on Etsy

Cute birdies.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/piecesofcandycrafts

Cross Stitch Progress is - in a word - Slow

Don't get me wrong.  I love cross stitching.  But it is a form of torture.  It takes foooorreeevvver.  And if I don't wear guards on my wrists the Carpel Tunnel strikes with mighty force.  But these pieces are coming along nicely, if slowly.  They are for a complete stranger, I am probably going to lose money on the deal and I have abandoned all of my other current projects... but it's worth it.  Look how freaking cute they are!  

PS Tomorrow is my 5th wedding anniversary.  Look how cute we were!