patchy

Yesterday my sewing machine and I had a nice lunch date. I apparently became obsessed with patchwork and started sewing scraps together like a maniac. When I saw Kirsten's scarf a few days ago, I remembered the scarf in the Denyse Schmidt book I had been wanting to make for awhile. I only slightly followed her directions and used some various scraps of odd fabrics I had lying around. The back is lined with some flannelish fabric that I don't even know where it came from. I kinda like it and I'm resisting keeping it for myself. Oh where are you fall?? I want to wear some cool weather clothes with flip-flops! Anyway, simple project and fun to do. I'm thinking a few more of these might be whipped up for the upcoming craft fair in november.

These two belts also came out of my little frenzy. I followed this tutorial and they come together in a snap. Easy peasy.

Thirfty finds

While my sister and cousin were visiting, I did manage to fit in a trip to the thrift store. No visit would be complete without showing my guests my favorite spot in town. I found one huge bag of fabrics for $6.95, which I was debating on even getting for its "lofty" price. It's funny that when it comes to thrifting, I find it hard to pay more than $2 for fabric. This was worth it though, because the bag included some nice vintage fabric.

I'm definitely digging these brown ones for fall. Although I'm not so sure about the bandanna print. Also included in the bag were these red and green prints. They are great vintage prints, with that lovely vintage texture. Some of the green one might go on etsy because there's a lot of it. This apple print is one of my favorite. It almost has a knit feeling to it. I'm not sure what to do with it yet. On the way out, I spotted this beautiful green tablecloth.

I'm going to have a hard time cutting this one up! Sorry the pictures aren't the best today. I'm tired and it's dreary out. So this is the best they'll get for today.

The post that's all over the place

Wow! I've been gone for a while. Things are finally starting to settle down around here. My sister and cousin came to visit last week, so we spent a lot of time running around D.C. Then on Saturday my other cousin and I decided to hold an impromptu yard sale. Of course we pick the hottest day in August so far. It went well, but by the afternoon our traffic had really slowed down. Mostly the sale was freeing for me. I finally went through some boxes that hadn't been unpacked since we moved in. The things that didn't sell went straight to the thrift store and I am happy to say they are no longer in my life.

I haven't done a whole lot of sewing or thrifting since Florida. Even though that vacation was really relaxing, it's been so hard to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully today I'll get my act together. I am having one of those days that I feel like a really good mommy. Ever have those? We've already been to the post office and to Target. Isaiah got some new socks which he was really excited about. And we've played catch for about 2 hours. Now he's napping, and it's giving me a chance to straighten up.

I did manage to finish up this wallet and I love it. I finally figured out the kinks and the credit cards actually fit. whoohoo. You have no idea how frustrating that was! Anyway, I'll probably be making a whole bunch of these for the upcoming craft fair. (which by the way I'm still feeling stressed over.) Thanks for all your advice. Some of you may be getting some e-mails with questions from me!

And as if this post hasn't been all over the place already and making no sense, does anyone have a good source for snaps (the kind you can just hammer) and magnetic snaps?

Exciting News

I've been very excited and anxious over the past two days since I found out that I was accepted for the DC Craft Mafia's UNusual Suspects Holiday Art & Craft fair in November. This will be my first show, so I'm just thinking of all the things I need to prepare for. This is where I need the advice from all of you! Do I get a tax id number? Should I accept credit cards? They have an option to purchase an ad in the paper, should I do this? Should I include something in the swag bag that they'll be giving away to the first 100 customers? Where do I get great, cheap tags for my product? Ahh, so many questions and I would really appreciate any additional advice that you fellow bloggers have. Until then, I'll be sewing my little fingers away and having mild anxiety attacks. And if you're in the DC area, you can come to the show and meet me!

DC Craft Mafia is proud to present

The Unusual Suspects Arts & Crafts Festival

Saturday, November 3, 2007 12pm to 8pm

50+ Amazing Vendors

Donate $1 to The Washington Humane Society and get one doorprize ticket!

I'm baaack

Ugh, it's really hard to get back into the swing of things. We got back from Florida early Sunday after a wonderful, wonderful trip. Things went so smoothly, the weather was great, and it was so relaxing that our vacation almost feels like a dream. We came back to colder, wet weather, so adjusting was even harder. I can't complain though. It was really a great experience. We had so many funny experiences, including a free breakfast, that turned into a three hour sales pitch for a timeshare.



Our condo was gorgeous, just overlooking the pool.






We took a day trip to Ft. Lauderdale and drank Margaritas the size of our heads. Since there are so many restaurants there, on the weekdays they offer drink specials at just about every place. These bad boys were 2 for 1, "Millionaire" Margaritas. yuuuummm. We also had the most delicious meal there and I wish I had some of my Adobe chicken right now!



And another to Miami, where I tried in vain to be the paps and spot a celebrity. No such luck. I did get to see Versace's house and stand on the stairs where he was shot. Creepy and cool at the same time.



And created fun memories with Isaiah.



I won $8 playing the slots where Anna Nicole died aka the Hollywood Hotel and Casino. No pictures of that though. I was too busy dancing the the Frank Sinatra slot.

Today is John's first day back at school. It's funny how much my routine differs when he's not around. I actually prefer it. Not because I don't want him around, but because I feel I'm more productive. Anyway, I'm busy getting the house cleaned up. My sister and cousin are coming to visit for a few days. Hopefully I'll be able to fit something crafty in. I haven't sewn anything in over a week. Now I'm off to catch up on some blog reading...

Dinner recap

Dinner out was fantastic! I forgot what it was like to have a girls night out, ride the metro, and pretend to be one of the fabulous interns walking the streets of D.C. Not that I was ever an intern, mind you. But I like to image that they live fabulous, or at least interesting, lives. Sure they're probably all crammed into a tiny townhouse with 7 other people, paying $1000 a month each in rent. But they live right where all the best restaurants and all the action happens.

Anyway, where was I? Dinner. Right. The restaurant was great. I rode the metro in and it was only 2 blocks away. I felt like I had stepped onto the set of Sex and the City. The ambiance was great. Simple, calming, and fresh. My friend Amy and I had a small table near the kitchen, so we got to see every dish as it came out. It certainly helped our decision making for our meal. We quickly decided that we'd share each course, and what a great idea that was! For $30 you could choose one appetizer or "firsts" as they called them, an entree or a pizza, and then dessert or a cheese plate. These is what we ordered:

First Course:

penne & pulled amish chicken with dried tomatoes, basil, ricotta salata
fettucine & lump crab with radicchio, chile flakes, mascarpone

Second:

stone mustard braised shoat, grilled ciabatta, chard, peaches
Pizza with green pesto, local goat cheese, and heirloom tomatoes

Third:
Summer Fruit Crisp
Two cheese: one from the hudson valley (an ode to our home) and one from maryland

It was all so delish, that we over looked the fact that our waiter was a complete nerd (although we did have a few laughs over that). I definitely recommend the restaurant if you're in the area. I just wish that we had some leftovers!

This weekend we're off on another adventure. John's parents inherited a timeshare from his grandmother because they no longer use it. My in-laws said that if we (us and john's siblings) continue using it, that they'd keep up with the yearly fees. Since no one else was taking advantage of it, we decided we would and invited my cousin and her boyfriend to come with us. So, on Sunday we are headed down to Weston, FL (near Ft. Lauderdale), for an entire week. It's a much needed vacation, and for only the cost of the flight and a rental car (which we'll share with my cousin), it couldn't be more budget friendly!

Hopefully I'll be back with some great stories and pictures to share.

wallets and thrifting

Not much has been going around at Casa de Katie lately. I've just been feeling blah. I get this way when I'm stressed and/or tired, and there's a lot of that been going around recently. Plus it's so freakin hot out that I'm pretty sure I have cabin fever.

Anywho, I finally got around to sewing some more things today. I've been wanting a new wallet and have been fooling around with some patterns.

I made the black and white one first, and I love it, except that the credit card holders are too small. That's not very functional. To the second one I added a license holder and a zippered coin pouch. This was is a little better, but it is a little too bulky. I'll probably try a few more time, practice makes perfect, you know?

I also had some luck thrifting last week. I found some really cute vintage fabric. Do you see the one with clowns? It is pretty cute, but I'm sure I'll be putting some of that on etsy. And these 2 teacups which I couldn't resist. I love the color and the cute little pattern inside. I don't know why I'm drawn to teacups so much. And there's always the best ones at my thrift store. These will be on etsy shortly too.

I am a lucky mama today because I get to have a little much needed girl time this evening. I'm meeting a friend (whom I've known since middle school!) for dinner tonight. It's restaurant week in D.C. so we're trying out this cool sounding restaurant. They say they try to use organic and mid-Atlantic products when they can. That's always a plus in my book. Oh, I can't wait. I'll have to report on it tomorrow.

I'm pretty sure this layout is looking a little weird. My apologies. I'm too lazy to fix it today!

Camping, Cars, and a Quilt

Well camping was actually a huge success. Isaiah really really loved it. Of course, it was much easier when there were 10 extra helping hands. Isaiah did pretty well sleeping in the tent, although when he woke up Saturday morning he was mildly confused to see his godmommy and her boyfriend with us. Not to mention being completely covered up in the tent. I did wake up freezing Friday night. It was sooo weird and none of us expected it to get that cold.

We had a beautiful day on Saturday and hiked the Swallow Falls Trail. It was just so gorgeous and we went back later to go swimming in the falls. (Seriously, Lera, who wouldn't love Maryland??) It was cold, but it was such a great time. As we were packing up on Sunday it started to pour, but at least that happened the day we were leaving, and not on Saturday. It was so great to hang out with family and camp together. We always went camping as kids each year and it felt a little strange to do it together as "adults" and not with our parents.

Anyway, our car is waiting to be towed to the mechanics. Then we'll see what the damage is and what will need to be fixed. Hopefully it won't take long, but I'm over the car being stolen. I just want everything fixed and to have my minivan back. If those little bastards even think about stealing it again, I swear I will hunt them down!!

After a weekend of no crafting, I spend the day yesterday making a new doll quilt. I've been wanting to try out the "Anyway You Slice It" pattern from Denyse Schmidt. I really love how it came out. I'll definitely be making a few more of these since I already have the pieces cut out. It's now hanging on my "Wall of Quilts', which really only consists of 4 quilts, but hey, it's a start.

And I really want to thank all of you who have left kind comments, sent sweet e-mails and cards, and brightened my day after all this car stolen fiasco. Thank you thank you thank you!!

An Update

Thanks for all your comments about our van. They really put a smile on my face. Anyway, this is what happened up to this point. (Lera, this might sound a little familiar)

They actually found the van around 5pm the day it went missing and it was apparently in "driveable" condition. The car was only about 2-3 miles from here too. So yesterday morning John had to go over to P.G. county police headquarters to get the release, only to find out he had to go to the van (at the impound) to get the registration to prove that it was his car. About three people asked if we had the registration (including the police officer), and of course it was in the van. We had no idea that you should keep a copy at home. So if you don't, go out right now and copy it and keep if for you records.

Anyway, he had to go back to the headquarters only for them to tell him that he'd have to get a notarized letter from his father because his father's name is still on the registration. His parents had given us the car after we had Isaiah and we hadn't yet switched the registration. We had planned for John to go up to Baltimore with Isaiah to see his Nana because they had just gotten back from Nigeria, so he had to go up to Baltimore anyway. Of course, John forgots to get the carseat out of the van, and a *small* fight ensued in which I told him he'd either go get the carseat, or he'd go buy a new one. And of course, he bought a new one. Since they went up to b-more, I actually had the house all to myself which was really nice. On the way back down, John had to stop at his father's work in downtown Baltimore to get the note.

This morning John went over and got the release for the car, and the officer told him that the car was not in driving condition and it has to be towed. I figure, we have to pay a $500 deductible regardless, so there better be lots of things wrong that need to be fixed.

In any case, I am thankful that we are all safe. Things definitely could be worse, but it does suck to have to pay the $500. I understand the deductible if you're in an accident, but we weren't even driving the car. Oh well, I hope something bad happens to those bastards who stole it. Not really bad, just kind of a karma thing, you know?

And in other news, this weekend should be an interesting adventure. We're going camping with all my cousins that I grew up with. This is our first time camping with Isaiah, in a tent nonetheless, so wish me luck! We'll have lots of help as everyone wants to see Isaiah, so maybe I'll actually get a break. Enjoy your weekend!

Venting

My apologies in advance the the swearing, whining, or stressing that may follow in this post. I don't do it much, but today it's absolutely necessary.

Sooo, around lunchtime, John was about to go get us some food, and he says, "um Kate, do you wanna tell me where the car is?" Whhhattt? "Cause I certainly don't see it. Great. My first reaction is to see if it was towed. No such luck. Our fucking car was stolen. Just what we needed.

John calls the police and they send over an officer. He takes our statement, asks a few questions, then tells us a few other cars on our street had their radios stolen. He also said that he knew he'd be getting a call at some point about a stolen car because they found an ignition on the street. Why couldn't those fucking assholes just take our radio?!?! Apparently Chrystlers are really popular around here because starting their ignitions without keys is easy. Note to self: Do not get another Chrystler.

There are many sucky parts to this situation. First and the most obvious, our car is gone. Our minivan to be exact. Isaiah's one and only carseat was also in the van. Even if our car is found, there will probably be something wrong with it, and we'll at least have to pay the $500 deductible. Plus, the car has a lot of miles on it and just had to have the fuel pump replaced (if you remember). Getting a new car is completely out of the question. With only John working, the money situation is already tight, and having this happen is just an added stress. And on top of this, John's position at his school was excessed so he had to transfer within the school district. He had found a new position, but some genius within the D.C. Public school system has submitted his name for a part time position, so that's a big mess.

Ugggh, I feel so stressed and scatterbrained at the moment. I'm angry that someone had to take our car. I hate the feeling of not knowing if and/or when our car will found. I'd really like to give those motherfuckers a piece of my mind!! Not only that, but now I feel a little less secure in our house when John's at work at night. Now there will really not be any sewing done after dark.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Not that you had a choice ;)

Messiness and thrift finds

I really have no idea where my time goes. I thought with John home during the days, that this summer would be such a productive one for me. Instead, I'm finding myself under piles of laundry, dishes, fabric, and crumbs. You'd think that since my house is such a mess that we would have been doing some fun things during the day too. Not the case. So seriously, where is my time going? Probably to thrifting and computer time. And I'm not kidding when I say my house is a mess. Here's what my sewing room looks like right now.

Did I mention that this is also our dining room???? I did finally manage to update my etsy shop with some things and packaged up items I sold on eBay. What a joy that was.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to make a dent in it this week. Hopefully. I have had some success thrifting lately. Probably because I can do it uninterrupted. I found all these things last week. Two very cute Alice in Wonderland mugs, for a total for .60.

This very cute pink platter and french gravy boat. I couldn't resist them.

And one of my favorite finds, this tablecloth. Oooh, it wants to be a bag so badly. Maybe for the fall.

And just a reminder that today is the last day for the challenge. So go ahead and add your photos. There's already over 200 items added not including things Karyn and I did. Wowzers, you guys rock!

Why Raesha Rocks!

I received my Summer Fun Swap from Raesha today after much anticipation. She outdid herself, lemme tell ya. There was so much goodness stuffed into this box, I can't even believe it. My pictures probably won't do it much justice because we just had a much needed heavy rainstorm.

Anyway, here are my goodies. Raesha made her "bucket" out of a thrifted pillowcase. This will be perfect when I'm at the beach in a few weeks. She found this huge orange blanket at the thrift store for $3.99! Amazing!

She also made this beautiful doll quilt for an addition to my wall of quilts. It will be a perfect fit.

There's so much in this box, I can't even name it all! Cute cups, a quilt kit, magazines, lemonheads (which I looove), water bottle, and many other things.

To see what I sent here, go here. I didn't end up with very good pictures of what I sent. This was such a great swap. Thanks so much Raesha!

Silly Me

Ok, so I'll be the first to admit I'm a moron. I went away for the day, posted the PIF thingy, and totally forgot that my comment moderation is on. Anyway, the first three people were Runner Gurl, Miz Smoochie Lips, and Lori . Send me your addresses and I'll send you guys something bigger.

For the rest of the peeps that left a comment, send me your addresses too, and I'll send you something as well. It probably won't be as big or complicated, but it'll be something good. I promise.

Anyway, everyone that left a comment yesterday, please e-mail me your address to katiebhandbags@gmail.com . And feel free to post it on your blog too!

Pay It Forward

I've seen these around blogland and I was happy when Raesha posted hers, so here it goes:

“PAY IT FORWARD. The first three people that leave a comment and pledge to pay it forward to three others on their blog will receive a handmade gift from me within one year (July 25, 2008) of this posting. I will read your blog and get the essence of who you are to come up with an idea.”

Hopefully it won't take me a year! Anyway, have at it, and I will ship internationally for anyone that wants to do this.


I'm off to the beach for the day!! Have a great weekend.

Whatever gets you through the day...

What's keeping me laughing today:






I decided against posting the one wear he fell into the play garden. That was funny too though.

The one without the patchwork bag

No patchwork bag to show today. Last night Isaiah decided that 9pm would be his bed time, so I didn't get any crafting in. I did, however, manage to whip this little pouch up this afternoon.

I wanted to try Ginny's tutorial for zippers and let me tell you, it's fabulous. So now all of you go run over there and try it if you haven't already.

I also got around to finally taking pictures for my etsy shop. My mother-in-law had picked up all my bags that were at a post office/ gift shop a few months ago. The owner had sold a few, but he was trying to make some money too ( I don't blame him), and had priced them very high. He also had them in an odd place. Plus, I have a suspicion that he has a very regular customer base, so after a while, no one was buying. Anyway, so I now have a few bags that I am happy to have back. That means I have stock for my etsy store without even trying! ha! Hopefully I'll get around to updating my shop tonight. It really is time consuming, and after writing up all that eBay stuff, I sure do need a break!

What a bunch of squares

I'm officially in love with Amy Butler's patchwork bag pattern. This time I decided to wing it a little and just follow the process for making the bag. I was inspired by Denyse Schmidt's "What a bunch of squares" pattern so I made 4 squares and sewed them into panels.

After making some of these I was almost tempted to make a quilt instead. Then, I remembered that I wanted to start a project that I could actually finish, so luckily no quilts were started here. Anyway, I used the creme fabric around the squares for the top and bottom and quilted it with orange thread, Denyse Schmidt's fabric for the side panels, and a vintage orange zipper I found at the thrift store.

This bag came together a lot faster than the first one did, even with the modifications in size. Although, after finishing it, I was joking with John that it looked like a toaster cozy and he told me I should google it to see if people make them anymore. I said, I don't need to google it, I know people still make them!! So, if you see someone carrying this around, rest assured it's just a bag and not some crazy lady carrying her toaster with her.

For those if you asked if I'm putting these in my etsy store, I probably will be doing some shortly after I've made a few more. I want to wait until I can upload a bunch of things at one time.

Oh, and not to advertise myself even more, but I've put up all my American Girl things(among others ) up on eBay finally, so if you're interested, they're here.

If at first you don't succeed...

try again. Which definitely held true to form on my second attempt of the patchwork bag.

It was far easier to put together this time, and I'm really happy with the results. I cut out all the pieces last night and did the patchwork. I was able to finish the outside during Isaiah's nap and hand sewed the lining in this afternoon.

Now that I've finished two of these, I am in love with the pattern. The quilting of all the pieces is a little time consuming, but is definitely worth it. Plus I used fabrics from my stash and from my swap with Stefanie. It feels good to use some of my favorite fabrics!

Have a great weekend everybody!

A WIP finished!

With the end of bag month looming, and beautiful bags like this, I thought I'd finally finish my patchwork tote from InStitches. I have had a love/hate relationship with this bag since I started it. It was the first project in the book that really caught my eye and I think I was a little ambitious in starting it. While Amy Butler has great detail in her patterns, it is pretty much lost on me. Completely too wordy for my craft ADD. Seriously. I start reading, then the middle starts getting boring, skip to the end of the pattern, start sewing, then realize, shit, I should have read that more thoroughly. Which wouldn't be that much of an inconvenience if my seam ripper hadn't broken like 3 months ago and I never replaced it.





Oh, anyway, where am I going with this. Last night I finally got it together to finish the bag. I even stayed downstairs after dark when John was at work. I only got a little freaked out. So I happily sewed along until I realized, hmm, these handles are a little far apart. Riiiiiight, reading the directions problem again. Followed by the seam ripper issue, again. Those puppies are staying right where they are for now.




All in all, I'm not entirely happy with how the bag came out. Not enough disappointment to deter me from trying again though. After I finished sewing, I realized that the pattern isn't as difficult as I thought it was. I was just getting too confused by all the words. I used fusible fleece and I think it's perhaps a little too bulky for this project. Next time I'll try some flannel and maybe some of my 5" squares. Hopefully next time will be more successful.


And in other news, I have placed some water catching containers by our gutters in anticipation for some rain. (I'll try to send it up your way Lera). Kelli has declared this Green Week, and I'm really loving reading everyone's tips to better our habits for the environment. Now if only I could get Isaiah out of diapers. Although, now that I think about it, that may bring up some more poop problems.

Another Doll Quilt

Well, I think obsession is hardly the word to described what is going on over here at casa de Katie. I've totally been stalking the doll quilt swap, and I'm so jealous of everyone's beautiful little quilts, but it's also been quite inspiring. While perusing flickr (completely addicting), I found a few groups for doll quilts. One is the Doll Quilt Challenge and July's challenge is the Confetti Quilt with a tutorial by Lady Harvatine. It is a wonderful tutorial and a fun technique.

I finally finished up the binding today and I think it came out pretty well. It is a little puckered, but what can you do. I did some handquilting again, only few straight lines around the squares.

I'm trying to decide if I should keep it, or offer it as a prize for the Use What You Have Challenge. Speaking of, it is almost the end of July. Remember to add your projects because the amount of projects you add equals the number of entries you get for the prize!! So get to using up your stash, it's only a few weeks before you'll all be running out to the fabric store!