Vacation: The End

I'm home from vacation and all unpacked.

Days away from home: 11
States crossed: 4
Books read: 3 (including Harry Potter, which I am refusing to discuss because that would be admitting it's over)
Craft projects completed: 4 (small embroidery projects from Sublime Stitching)
Babies who enjoyed playing in the sand: 1


A success!

In other news:

My Tiki softies have been included at Softies Central!

I returned home to find Martha Stewart on the cover of my Wired Magazine with a Wii cake. A little surreal.

This week's Sew, Mama, Sew! Free Fabric Friday topic is about craft room organization. My craft room/office is the LEAST organized room in the house right now due to our kitchen remodel. It looks more like a pantry with scraps of fabric everywhere, and the dining room has become my sewing central. So I thought I'd share a tip instead of talking about organization. I keep a small plastic box stocked with a project all ready to go. That way if I'm headed somewhere I'll have to wait, or on a long car ride (while NOT driving) I can grab my craft box and have plenty to do. In the example below I have a small embroidery project in a hoop, coordinating thread, needles, and scissors.


PS I always hate coming home to a messy house after vacation -- but coming home to a house without a kitchen is far worse!

Vacation, had to get away

Sorry for The Go-Gos reference...

Just two days left of vacation! How time flies!

We spent three days in Raleigh with our friends Marc and Traci and then headed to the beach for a week. Jaxon was a bit unsure at first but has really taken to the sand and the surf (still unsure about the pool).

The weather has been lovely, the food even better.

Jaxon trying LOTS of samples of fresh watermelon at the Raleigh Farmers' Market

And at the beach...

Vacation Preparation

We are leaving Wednesday for vacation, yeah!

But I have so much to do before we go. Beyond what I needed to get done for a project at work, I needed to complete my review for Sew, Mama, Sew and make a new bag for the beach (of course)!

I made three bags from the pattern book SMS sent me, I now just have to write the review. I won't spoil the surprise, you can see the bags when the review goes up. But don't fret -- here is what I created yesterday (and finished this evening):


This was all made with fabric I had on hand and inspired by a bag I saw in a book. The tote in the book used vintage ties as straps. I bought some vintage ties from eBay but couldn't come up with a combination I liked. Yesterday I decided to make a bag for the beach (to carry all my embroidery, knitting *I'm trying!* and craft magazines). I wanted something casual enough for vacation that I could still use for work. Because I didn't have neckties I wanted to use, I traced one (vintage, so very wide and I made it longer) onto muslin. Then I created a patchwork from some Moda Summer in the City fat quarters my sister gave me. The body of the bag is leftover upholstery twill I used to slipcover a chair. I had a couple of issues, especially turning the necktie right side out after sewing it together (leave a turning hole at either end!), but I am really pleased with the result.


Here is the interior. I made lots of divided pockets for suntan lotion, magazines, sunglasses, etc, and nested two smaller pockets inside the larger ones for things I need to get to quickly (cell phone, cash, etc). I added a "keyper" (it's tucked into a pocket so it's not visible in the picture) and a magnetic closure. I think this also might make a cute diaper bag.

Now if only our bags would pack themselves!

Tiki Party!

I promised more about Jaxon's Tiki–themed first birthday party, so here it is! I visited Hawaii a couple of years ago and fell in love. Add in my love for Mid-Century Design and that equals an obsession with kitschy Hawaiiana. This is evidenced by my guest room and nursery decor (perhaps more on that later).

So we found Jaxon a Tiki shirt and I got a vintage Hawaiian dress and we were in business!

So here's a look at putting together a baby Tiki party:

Lots of homemade bunting -- all from tropical fabrics I had laying around the house, cut with pinking shears and sewed to double fold wide bias tape.

More bunting and some "No Punch Mai Tai Punch" from the book "Trader Vic's Tiki Party!"

The cake table with the Tiki cake inspired by the divided plate and napkins from Target (the non-existant kitchen is hidden by a table cloth!!)

A close up of the Tiki cake -- made by my favorite bakery, Resch's.

The Tiki head softies made by me!

They grow uo so fast...

Today is Jaxon's first birthday. This time last year I was in labor, and now he's barely a baby any more!

It's hard to remember life without Jaxon. Of course I remember being able to go to the movies whenever I wanted, or sleeping in until after 5:30...but somehow the happy days are happier, and the responsibility is staggering!

Charlie came down with a cold today and he went to take a nap so it has been just me and my boy for the last couple of hours. I don't mind!

Here's how Jaxon spent his birthday -- both the "Tiki Party" on Saturday and today's lunch. More on the Tiki Party later. I had trouble deciding so prepare yourselves for too many baby pictures...

Too much renovation

Shew!

So much is going on!

Check out our new decks! My uncle, with the aid of my dad and Charlie replaced our existing deck off the dining room and added one off our bedroom. Don't they look great (they ran out of spindles on the bedroom side so that one will be completed tomorrow)? Just in time for Jaxon's birthday party!




But what won't be ready for Jaxon's party, you ask? The kitchen! Here's what it looks like right now:


Can you believe it?

I just can't think about that, or it will stress me out. Instead I like to concentrate on all the crafts I still need to make by Saturday (as well as the food). I have a little more control over that.

Any more guesses on the softie pattern from last post? Sorry, Jane, definitely not related to clowns or ducks! Here's a WIP of one of the pair, without a face:



And so I will match the theme of Jaxon's party, this came today in the mail:



Vintage 50s, homemade...hand stitched! I think the fabric may have been from curtains! :-) Not only did I find this on eBay, but the seller lives in the same tiny town as we do! It was meant to be, except I have to take the dress out a bit. :-)

Some mistakes and a happy accident

I needed to get two gifts done for a joint baby shower this weekend. I can't be there so I had to have them ready to ship by tomorrow!

I might have rushed a bit, causing a few mistakes, and, as usual, I was tying to do three or four things at once...

I cut the fabric for the patchwork blanket, but I assembled the burp cloths first. I had this idea to use cheap handtowels in between two layers for extra absorbency. So I cut a layer of the novelty fabric, a layer of handtowel, and a layer of thin terry and pinned them together. This is where the problem began. I did this while watching a rerun of "The Office." I just can't get enough...

The terry was just a bitch to sew. It kept stretching and folding in on itself. I was really upset, but when I turned the burp cloth right side out, I had pinned it incorrectly -- with the handtowel on the outside and the messed up terry on the inside. Luckily I had bought blue handtowels that happen to match the novelty fabric. Happy accident!! I went ahead and made them all like that.


Things went a little better with the patchwork blankets. I love the minkee backing. The only problem I really had with these was with the fleece square. I've never sewn with fleece before and it, too, stretches under the presser foot.


Finally, I made wipes and diaper pouches from Jan Andrea's pattern. I added a grommet and made a handle attached to a keychain. That's one thing I wish I would have added to mine. I guess I still could.


And here it is all put together and ready to ship tomorrow:



Next up, lots of stuff for Jaxon's first birthday...softies from the previous post's pattern, decorations, a special bib, and maybe something for me to wear...we'll see.

My first softie design

I want to make Jax a softie (or two) for his birthday, like Easter, but couldn't decide which to make. I have Put Together Book #2 from Wee Wonderful, but I am saving hese guys for Jaxon to be a bit older (have no idea why). I thought a monkey might be good, so I talked to Jhoanna over at One Red Robin, but her Chimp pattern is not available in the US yet. What to do??

And then inspiration struck. Forget the monkey, I will make my own softie pattern!! So I did, and I had it printed at Kinko's on their large format printer (3' x 2'). So much fun!


Can you guess what it is?

Also, we attended the Washboard Music Festival here in Logan. We went for the greasy fair food (hhmmmm....elephant ears!!) but ended up looking through all the vendors' booths as well. We picked up a tie dyed romper for Jaxon (and a tie dyed polo for dad). Doesn't baby Jax look cute? You may have to ignore the cat scratch toy and the drooly chin (3 teeth coming in!!).

Our Postman Rocks!

I love our postman. Sometimes we have a postwoman, but I think that's only when our postman is off. Anyway, the family went to Cleveland this weekend to visit my inlaws and when we retuned these things were waiting on the doorstep:


I bought 4 patterns from Sublime Stitching, including "TIki Freak," "Swanky Decor," "Atomique," and "Monkey Love." Now I have to find a bunch of stuff to embroider. I thought this would be a good pastime for me on vacation since I am not loving knitting and I can't take my sewing machine.


I also received my package from Sew, Mama, Sew. I am doing a pattern review for them in July. Kristin sent me a total of 1.5 yards of fabric (I chose Tangerine Damask by Michael Miller and Dots by Heather Ross), a set of handles and the pattern (actually a set of 8 patterns). I need to make at least two of the bags and write up a review for the site. I'll let you know when it is posted. Thanks Kristin and Beth!

And on an aside...my sister and brother-in-law are in France right now (*sigh*), but before they met up in Lyon, David attended a conference in Geneva. Check out this awesome picture. Inspiration for a future project??

WIPs

I turned in my grades Wednesday and my school year is officially over! Yea! I still have to go in at least once a week for a project, but that's okay!

I have plenty to do at home to keep me busy. I just realized that Jaxon's birthday is three weeks away. I have to get working on the party. Also, we are going to start tearing the kitchen apart this weekend. I'm hoping we can have it all done by the J-man's party, but I don't think the countertops will be here in time.

Here are today's WIPs:


These are the parts of two baby blankets I am making for women in my book club. The tops will be the same -- a patchwork of fun jungle prints, chenille, terry, flannel, and fleece. Both will be backed in minkee. Don't these colors make you happy? I love bright stuff for babies. In a future post I will give you a tour of Jaxon's bright room. Also, notice these fabrics match the dining room walls. I sense a theme...


This will soon be a bag, inspired by Black Dog Design's Zakka Sac. My bag will be a lot bigger with lots of pockets inside, fully lined (including the knit bottom), and have a really cool colsure. More on the knitting in a later post. The fabric is Alexander Henry Beach Stripe. Please ignore the ironing board cover.


And today's final work in progress is an attempt to get Jaxon to eat more finger food than just Cheerios. Well, to be fair he'll eat toast or diced up fruit, or peas. I guess we'll see how he does with cake in a few weeks!

NQA Continued

More from my visit to the National Quilt Association Conference in Columbus...


I liked the fern-y quilting on this one.


Look at this. I mean, c'mon. I can't get motivated to create a quilt when I have this piece of perfection in my head! I love the use of black to set off the bright colors and I LOVE all the different colors. Beautiful!



I thought this was historically interesting -- the quilter wrote to studios in the late 30s, 40s and early 50s and received many, many autographed headshots of actors and actresses. She had her favorites transferred to fabric and quilted them. The other fabric style/color isn't my thing, but I thought the inspiration was nice.



Cute little puppies. AWWW.....Look at the block with the tail!


OK, this was a quilt full of clowns, which I find incredibly creepy; but the monkey was FABULOUS. I want a monkey quilt!!

And that's my day at NQA. I will show you my pitiful purchases later.

A Visit to NQA

The National Quilt Association held their annual conference this year (maybe every year) in Columbus, Ohio...just up the round from me and my home town! I decided to drive the hour to the big city and check it out.

I'm glad I can say I went, and I bought a modest three yards of fabric (more on that in a later post) -- but I don't think the amount I spent ($8 entry; $7 parking) was equal to what I got in return.

However...I did see some really cool quilts. *Warning* This post is super picture heavy!


Awesome Japanese wall quilt



Balloon bed quilt...wait for the detail...



That's a lot of piecing!



There were volunteers circulating wearing white gloves so they could show you the quilt backing. I actually liked the back of this one more than the front!



A wall quilt with funky colors and cool shapes...

You'll have to wait for the rest tomorrow. It's bed time!

A graduation gift and cheap inspiration

Charlie has a final tonight and needed study time so I stayed home with Jaxon today. While he was napping (and I was supposed to be grading!!) I finished my cousin Angie's handbag. This is her graduation gift from Jenifer and me. We found the fabric at a little quilt store and I love how it turned out. So soft!

I also had time to start another bag while Jaxon slept (you can see the beginnings in the right of the photo). I know, ANOTHER Frenchy Bag! I've made enough of these I can do it with my eyes closed. This one isn't for anyone in particular, I just had this fabric and thought it would be cute. After I finish this one I have one more cut (for me!!) and then I promise to move on to a design that is super exciting!

Jaxon and I ran some errands this morning, and we stopped by the "Going Out of Business" sale at our local Big Lots. So sad, this particular store was the best. Everything in the store (there isn't much left) is 50% off. I picked up these cute dishtowels (I think)...2 for $1.50. I think they might become handbags with bamboo handles. Any other ideas?


And lastly, I leave you a picture of Jaxon being "crafty." Now if he would just learn not to put the crayons in his mouth!