Complete!

ed. note -- I wrote this last night, but Blogger wouldn't let me upload pictures. ARGH!

I sent off the swap quilt yesterday. Here it is, mistakes and all!




And speaking of mistakes...

I wanted to make Jaxon a Halloween blanket, something quick that I could make in a couple of hours. I did patchwork on one side and flannel on the other. Usually I would simply topstitch around the edges, but for some reason I wanted to try satin binding. I thought black satin would look kind of funky on a Halloween blanket and I had been wanting to try it anyway.

I forgot how much I hate sewing with slippery fabric. I tried to miter the corners using pleats. Yeah, that didn't go well. The directions said to "Fold blanket binding around corner so that a neatly mitered pleat is formed on the top and bottom at the corner and pin." Easier said then done. And of course once I spent an hour pinning them to perfection it all shifted in the sewing machine.

Here is the best corner:


And here is the worst:


And here is the blanket. I must admit, I do like how the binding looks (from afar).




It needs to be washed so Jaxon hasn't played with it yet, so in lieu of a picture of that, here is a picture of him with one of his favorite toys -- a fly swatter. Don't worry, it's never been used for swattin' flies.

WIPs and a Tiki

I've been working on my swap quilt, and I think I probably shouldn't have chosen to do a swap for my first quilt. Although I've scaled it back quite a bit, I'm still wracked with self doubt about my progress. I hope my partner can see past my novice skills.


I'm adding an embroidered button for some pizzaz. At least that I know I can do!

Also, I've been working on a custom order baby set (for twins!), some diapers and wipes cases, and a couple of Christmas projects. Check out all of these flannel squares I've cut:


In other news, I got my commemorative Kahiki tiki mug from Tiki Farm last week! Yea!


If you've never heard of the Kahiki (you poor thing!), it was probably the best example of a mid-century polynesian supper club in America, and it was in my hometown. I spent many a birthday and special event at the Kahiki. In 2000 it was demolished to make room for a Walgreen's. What a shame.

This is what the Kahiki looked like in its heyday:


And this was the huge fireplace inside (the inspiration for the mug):


If you're interested in seeing the demo of this great building check out this Flickr stream:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/campfiremike/sets/72057594131033655/

Swap, stitching, and Jaxon. Oh my!

I haven't mentioned that I have joined a swap! How could I have forgotten? I got an invitation to join the Four Season Quilt Swap.

My one and only swap did not go well. I never heard from the recipient. No swap package. No thank you. The swap organizer asked the participants to email if we did not receive anything. The organizer promised to both send me something and attempt to get my partner to send back my gifts (she sent an apology to the organizer and said she would). I've stopped holding out for a fun gift from either. Really, all a crafter wants is a nice "thank you" anyway.

I thought I should put this bad experience behind me and try again, and this gave me an excuse to make a quilt (finally!) that is small and quick. The theme is, of course, Autumn. I got little information from my partner, so I am winging it. I originally thought I would do a reversible wall hanging -- Thanksgiving on one side and Halloween on the other. I'm giving up on the Halloween for a nicely quilted back. I don't know what I was thinking when I picked this crazy spiral:


A couple pieces are missing in this picture -- I was gauging fabric choices. I'll let you know when the quilt is complete. You can see part of it peeking out from the left side here:


These are some of the embroidery projects I have been working on from the Sublime Stitching book and some of the individual patterns. So much fun!

And finally, here is our new babyskin rug! Jaxon refused to nap for Charlie last Friday while I was at work, but kept taking "breaks" from playing.



The return to school has been keeping me very busy, but now that my sewing machine has returned home I am trying to make some time for sewing (and blogging). In the words of Yoda: Do or do not. There is no try.

Nifty Gifties

Check out the nifty gifties I got this week! Warning. I was too lazy to get up off the couch to take the pictures: 1. Because it's been a long first week back to school and 2. We've been watching the Season 3 DVDs of The Office that just came out....SO...the pictures aren't great.


My cards/tags came. These are actually business card size, but the plan is to hang them on my handiwork. The front has a new updated logo and the back has a little info and plenty of room for me to write a description/care instructions/price. I'm very happy with them!


One of my students did a study abroad this summer in China and Japan and brought me some fantastic stuff!! This is the September 2007 issue of Cotton Time, and three adorable tea towels. He thought I could use them as fabric but I don't know if I have the heart to cut them up. Fantastic!

My sewing machine comes home tomorrow! It's been a tough couple weeks without it. Dinkin' flicka!

Good Customer Service!

I've noticed that customer service in general is getting worse and worse. I tend to complain about it a lot, so I thought I would share a good customer service story with you. While visiting the San Diego Zoo we bought Jaxon a cute little romper. It lost two snaps the first day he wore it. I found a Web site for the manufacturer and emailed them. Their sales rep couldn't replace the romper because they don't keep Zoo merchandise in stock, but she promised to send a gift for Jaxon. He got the following today:

Jaxon enjoyed playing with his new hat before bed time.

Two super cute rompers!! The one with the pirate says "Tough Guy" and the one with the shark says "I'm on a 'see'-food diet.

So buy Stephen Joseph merchandise with confidence!

It's been rather quiet around here while I prepped for the new school year (today was the first day of Fall Quarter), and my sewing machine is in for a tune up so there has been absolutely no sewing. It's all backing up! I'll share some embroidery with you later in the week.

In other news, my grandmother made it through her surgery with flying colors! Thanks for the good thoughts!