An explosion in the sewing room

Although I'm glad to be done with this last craft fair, I'm not looking forward to cleaning up the mess I created. I think I'm pretty brave for showing this off, but I'm sure that some of you have or have had sewing areas that look just like this. Well, at least I hope some of you do. Not only is my cutting table messy, but under the table is just as bad, if not worse.
It has even spilled onto the floor and our hutch, which was the one place I was trying to keep "clean."
I suppose it wouldn't be that bad, but since I sew in our dining room, I have to look at this everyday on my way to the kitchen. There is just no way of avoiding it. Hopefully I can put a dent in it tomorrow when Isaiah's at school. I'll probably find some fabrics that I forgot I had. That's always exciting.

I've also been updating my shop, so there are a few new items and more to come. There are also pictures up on my flickr site of things that are not yet in the shop. If you're interested, just e-mail me and I'll get them up there for you.

monday

It rained on and off for pretty much the whole day on Saturday, making for a very wet craft fair. I of course forgot my camera, so I have no pictures of my booth or any of the other vendors. I did ok, making my booth fee back, but since it was an outdoor fair, there wasn't much traffic. I was a little disappointed, but at least I have a lot of stock now, both for my etsy shop and upcoming shows.

We also had a surprise birthday party for my mother in law Saturday night. It was my job to keep her away until the party, which was almost foiled by the rain. I had to convince her to go shopping on the way home and stay out for almost 4 hours. I was nervous that it wasn't going to work, but in the end it was the perfect distraction. She was completely surprised and it was a great party.

Yesterday I got to hang out with my sister in law and her two kids who were visiting from Florida. We were able to get pictures taken of all my leftovers from the show to put up in my etsy shop. I always think that getting photos is half the battle.

Anyway, today I am relaxing after a packed weekend and attending to a sick child. Hopefully we'll both get some rest today. Eventually I'll have my shop updated with everything from the show. I've already started this morning. Check it out here if you're interested. Happy Monday friends!

Hop, skip, jump

I knew after making Autum's block that there would be more wavy seams on the way. In Kathy's tutorial, she makes reference to a baby quilt she made based on Denyse Schmidt's "Hop, Skip, Jump" pattern. Of course, I had to make one right away. Like Kathy mentioned, I did not use the templates provided in the book. I just cut a rectangle from a piece of paper (I think 13.5 x 16.5), and used my rotary cutter to make slices in it. Then I just did the same with the fabric, using the paper pieces as templates.

I also (stupidly) tried free motion quilting for the first time on this quilt. I never knew it was such a full body workout! My hands started to hurt after a few rows, so it took me longer because I had to stop and start so much. I originally intended to quilt it using bigger loops like it is in the book, but I found the smaller loops a lot easier to handle. In any case, I'm happy with the way it came out, especially for my first time using free motion. I had really been looking forward to trying it out, as it was one of the main reasons I wanted a new sewing machine. Now I know why people were those quilting gloves!Now I'm back to sewing for the craft fair this weekend. Only a few more days to go and I'm stressing about not having enough stuff and trying to finish up the final details. Ugh, I seriously don't know why I do this to myself. Hopefully it'll be a success and I'll have lots of fun. I'm just praying that it doesn't rain!

Quilting Bee Block

I've been admiring the virtual quilting bees that have been popping up everywhere, so I was really excited when I had the opportunity to join one. Sarah of Small Fox organized the Busy Little Quilting Bee, where there are 17 of us. This means that some months we are making 2 blocks for two different people. It's exciting to have more than 12, because it means more than 12 blocks when it's your turn. This block is for Autum of Creative Little Daisy. She sent us the black and gray fabrics, and requested that we put a bright color in the center. I was really inspired by the Gee's Bend quilts and I thought the gray fabrics were perfect for it. This was also my first time using wavy seams, and Kathy's (of PinkChalkStudio) tutorial was great! I hope you like it, Autum. I'm having a really hard time sending this one away. I think I feel the need to make myself a full quilt just like this. Next up is Dana's block. She sent some midwest modern that I can't wait to use. There may be some wavy seams for this block too.

More of the Same

Nothing exciting has been going around here lately, although I have been busy sewing away for the upcoming craft fair. I finished three more lunch bags today, this time with chocolately brown linen. I seriously love that linen and wish I had bought more on my last trip to Joann's. Anyway, these lunchbags come together in a cinch, and I'm thinking about putting together a tutorial after the craft fair. Quick and easy, just the perfect project for me these days.



It has started to feel like fall around here, and I am loving it. It's putting me in the baking/cooking mood, especially after the fall Williams-Sonoma catalog arrived yesterday. Anyone has some good fall-ish recipes to share?

Inspired by....

A while back, I fell in love with this "Broken Dishes" quilt by Crazymomquilts. I had wanted to make one, but like so many times before, I got sidetracked. Then while browsing flickr, I noticed Erin from House on Hill Road had made one too. She used a charm pack, and I remembered that I had one stashed away too. Quickly, I began working on it, sewing together all the triangles. I had planned to give this quilt as a gift in July. Eventually it was pushed aside, in favor of other projects, until I saw JCHandmade's sneak peak of her quilt last week. (and who has coincidentally blogged about it today!!)
I was instantly inspired to use some dark brown linen for the squares. It worked out well for two reasons: 1. I had run out of my remaining charm squares and 2. It was seriously quick. I was able to finish up the quilt in a matter of hours and managed to hand sew the binding on during the Redskins win yesterday. Isaiah was a little disappointed that it wasn't for him. I guess I'll be making him another quilt in the near future.

more wristlets

I've had these wristlets on my cutting table, unfinished of course, for longer than I'd like to admit. Usually when I'm preparing for a craft show or large order, I like to work assembly line style. It's a great method for making a lot at once, but the problem is, more often than not, I have a lot of half finished things and nothing complete to show for it. This morning I had enough of them looking up at me begging to be finished, and I finally gave in. I'm glad I did though because now I have a feeling of accomplishment. And that's a nice way to start a morning, isn't it?

Old is new

There has been a lot of sewing going on around here lately, but not a whole lot of completed projects to show. My mind seems to be jumping all over the place, so I'll start one project and then have to start another one right when I'm thinking of it. It is throwing me into a little panic because I'm doing a craft fair in 2.5 weeks. I seriously must be crazy. The other day, while I was sitting at my sewing machine, I happened to look under a table a noticed this quilt top that I thrifted over a year ago. It had been pushed aside, forgotten about, probably just like it had been when it found its way to the thrift store. But at that moment, I had a plan for it, and begin cutting out squares from its nine patches. I was amazed at how suddenly, after a year, there was inspiration for this quilt top. Now it's not anything magnificent, but they eventually became coasters. This was the perfect project for the quilt top.

It had all been handsewn, so there was a lot of tearing and some stains that I had to cut around. The whole time I was wondering about the person who had begun this project but never finished. I'd like to imagine a younger girl learning from her grandmother. The stitches were large and uneven, but in some places smaller or on top of the larger stitches. In any case, I hope the person who had started this project would be smiling about me giving it new life. However simple it may be.

more pillows

As I type this, I am enjoying a nice hot cup of coffee and some yummy banana bread, without hearing "mommy" a million times or having to go fix the Thomas train track again. Isaiah is at his third day of preschool, and while it is an odd feeling not to have him here, I am really enjoying my free time during the day. It has also allowed me to be really productive when it comes to sewing. I just love sewing during the day with only the natural sunlight, something I miss out on when Isaiah is here (not that I'm complaining about being home with him, because I love it). Sewing now feels less like a chore or a job and more like a fun activity. Which is the way it should be.

I've been having a lot of fun making pillows with the $1.49 pillow forms from IKEA. Seriously, how can you beat $1.49?? I made these two on Thursday while Isaiah was at school. They are really quick and fun to make. Plus, I love that you only need a small amount of fabric. That way I can use my favorites, but not feel like I'm using them all up. You know what I mean? I'm sure I'll be making more of these today, so please forgive me if I post these everyday.

No more brown bagging it..

Because I am either insane or just like to torture myself, I signed up for a craft fair at the end of September. To be fair, John insisted that I sign up, as it will fall on one of his "good weekends." As I was writing a list of things to make for the fair, I thought maybe some lunch bags would be quick and easy. I had been wanting to make them forever, and when I noticed a few (ok, a lot of) scraps laying around and some linen, I thought it to be the perfect opportunity. I wanted it to be lined with something that could easily be wiped, so I searched for safe plastics for foods. One that I found to be o.k. was PEVA and it just so happens that most of IKEA's shower curtains are 100% PEVA. A nice excuse for a trip to IKEA, plus they are really cheap!

I wanted to sew a pocket on the side of utensils and napkins, but I forgot. Hopefully on the next one I'll remember. Since I always have trouble pricing, I thought I'd ask you my readers what you thought would be a good price for the craft fair. This one in particular is patchwork and 100% linen, but I may make them in other fabrics as well. What do you think?

On another "school" related note, Isaiah starts his first day of nursery school tomorrow. And I am freaking out. I cannot believe he's going to be a school for 3 days a week, all.day.long. He is beyond excited and keeps asking when he can go to school. Hopefully that excitement will still be there tomorrow when he actually gets there. Wish us (me) luck!

A new obssesion and winners

I've long been admiring those who have turned selvedges into pretty objects. There were pincushions by Manda of Tree Fall and this doll quilt by Ric-Rac. But, the one that I really fell in love with was this quilt I found while browsing on flickr. It is simply stunning. Anyway, I started cutting off all my selvedges in sight, which were far less than I thought I would have.

I cut four backer squares from muslin and began foundation piecing the selvedges. It was a little time consuming, but let me tell you, I think I have a new obsession. Now the only problem is I have run out of selvedges, which is hard to believe, but at least it's a new excuse for buying fabric. There's a couple more images on flickr if you're interested.

And the winners of Friday's giveaway, according the the random number generator, are :

So, Philigry, Jessi, and Julia, please send me your address to katiebhandbags AT gmail DOT com, and I'll put them out in the mail this week.

Thrifty Finds and a Book Giveaway

Yesterday was a nice and much needed rainy day, so Isaiah and I headed off to the thrift store. It was slim pickings around the store until I hit the craft area and found some yarn. There were two huge bags stuffed with yarn. Usually the yarn found at the thrift store is stuff that I'd rather not knit with, but upon further inspection, I noticed one of the bags had two balls of Debbie Bliss cotton. I'm sure you can imagine my excitement. I quickly threw the two bags into my cart, knowing they were a deal at $3.95 and $1.95 a bag. Seriously. The Debbie Bliss yarn still had the price tags on them, $6.50 for each ball!

Anyway, there were some other good yarns in there two. Some Encore, which I think will be perfect for a sweater for Isaiah. And this pretty green yarn, which feels like wool, but I'm not completely sure. I'm wondering if it would be good sock yarn. I'm really wanting to try to knit a pair. All in all, there were 14 skeins/balls of yarn for $6.00. Now I just need some suggestions on what to knit, after I finish knitting my Rusted Root, of course. Something quick, easy, and satisfying. I only wish I were prolific as some knitters I know.

I also picked up some new books for Isaiah, as is our habit every time we go. It's my go to distraction for him while I shop. There were two bags of books by Rigby Mathematics and they seemed interesting, so I figured I'd give them a go for .80 each. What I didn't realize, however, was that there were 4 copies of each of the 4 books. I obviously don't need that many, so I thought I'd give them away to whoever wants them. They're thin paperback books, written by math professors. They have a rhyme to them with numbers. I think they'd be perfect for kids who are learning to count, or even beginning readers. Isaiah has been enjoying them, but I do think they'd also be good for kindergarteners , whom I think they are really aimed at. They might also be a good addition to homeschooling. I have 3 sets to give away, each containing four books : Fish for Supper, Penny Penguin's Party, Birds, Birds, Everywhere, and The Queen of Hearts. Just leave a comment if you're interested, and I'll pick three people on Monday. I'm going to limit this to U.S. and Canada for shipping reasons. Have a nice weekend everyone!

grapes.

My mother in law came over Saturday with a huge bundle of concord grapes in hand. She figured I would do something with them because they are not entirely edible off the vine. I instantly remembered that I had seen something on the food network about making grape pie. I was intrigued and this gave me the perfect opportunity to try it out. So I popped grapes, simmered them, pressed them through a sieve, dumped them into a pie crust, and in 40 minutes we had a delicious pie that came from picked only hours before. Of course, there are no pictures of the pie because it didn't last long. I loosely based my recipe on this one.

Luckily, there were tons of grapes left over and my little assistant loved popping them out of the skins, full of deep belly laughs. While he napped, they were made into a delicious jam. Only problem is, we have one jar. Hopefully nana can pass on some more grapes. Isaiah thoroughly enjoyed the process. Perfect for little fingers that don't mind getting dirty.

Hello again.

ever notice how hard it is to take a picture of a curtain??

There's been a lot and nothing going on at the same time around here. Does that ever happen to you? John started his 2nd round of chemo on thursday and is now sporting the bald look. As I was shaving his hair, I remembered how good he actually looks without hair. I'm sure that I would not look so good without mine. We also had some good news on John's progress. I won't go into details (you can read them here if you want to), but we're happy with how things are going. Anyway, we had two days without Isaiah before his chemo started again. We were able to have a nice date night out together, dinner and a movie (Tropic Thunder, hilarious!), which we haven't done in a long while. I was also able to fit in some sewing. We've been in our house almost 2 years and I still haven't put up curtains in Isaiah's room. It wasn't really a problem until Isaiah started sleeping in a toddler bed. Now, every morning, he wakes us up with "It's not dark outside anymore. I ready to go downstairs." Every morning. This morning I was trying to explain to him that even though it's light outside does not mean it's time for everyone to wake up. It was really no use.

Anyway, he now has one shade in his room. I opted to go for a little bit more of a tedious patchwork pattern, because I obviously like to create more work for myself. I used blackout shade fabric for the backing which was a bit tricky to work with. Although I'm not sure if it was the blackout fabric or the combination of using it with linen. Whatever it was, there was a lot of slipping and stopping to readjust everything. I'm happy with the way it came out, although I could have made it a little bit wider. A little bit of light shows through each side. I'm just dreading having to make a second one now! At least Isaiah likes them. He said "those look cool mama." I'm glad he appreciates the effort.

More Dear Baby Janes

This past week I have been feverishly trying to catch up on my Dear Baby Jane blocks. I fell very, very behind and some of those blocks are very time consuming! So far, I think this one is my favorite.

I thought it would be harder, but it turned out to be pretty simple. I finished up 19 blocks and have only (I think) 4 left. Two of those are already in progress. This one is already cut out, but it is giving me a lot of trouble. I had to put it down and give it a break. Hopefully this weekend I can catch up on the last of the blocks. I have been trying to save the appliqué ones for Olympic watching at night. It keeps me busy so that I'm not falling asleep. I hate that these events are on so late. It's really ruining my sleep schedule! In other exciting news, my sister is moving down here tomorrow from NY and I couldn't be happier. Her move just happens to be perfect timing with all that's going on in my life. My parents will also be helping move her in along with some other family that is in town for the weekend too. I had the brilliant idea to have a family Olympics tomorrow night, so stay tuned for the hilarity that will surely ensue. Hope you all have a good weekend!

Doll Quilt Received!

Today was an exciting mail day. I was opening packages for the swap I am hosting, and as I was opening one, I realized it wasn't for that swap, but it was my Doll Quilt from the Doll Quilt Swap. What a great surprise! I knew some had already started going out, but I honestly wasn't even thinking that mine was on its way!

Isn't it gorgeous?? It's from Leah, who has a beautiful blog and makes some incredible things. The colors are just beautiful and match my bedroom wall perfectly. My MIL was here when I opened it, and she said "how did she know what colors your walls are?" I don't know how, but I do know that I'll enjoy looking at it every time I am in bed. So, thank you, Leah. I love it! (you can see leah's photos of it here )

Oh, and is anyone else enjoying the Olympics as much as I am!??! That 4 x 100m race was crazy awesome last night!!

Doll Quilt and some other stuff

Yesterday, I took advantage of being kidless and finally finished up my doll quilt for the Doll Quilt Swap 4. I had a hard time deciding how to precede after reading all of your feedback the last time I posted about it. In the end, I decided to just use both the white and black and I love the effect that it gives. The piecing on the edges were done on John's advice, who really liked the look. I really hope that my partner likes it. Hopefully I can get it in the mail tomorrow.

Isaiah stayed with John's parents yesterday and he'll be staying with them again tonight. It's giving me a good opportunity to get some things done around the house, things that would probably be undone in a matter of seconds with Isaiah around (you know, like cleaning up the living room). I wanted to thank you all for your comments on the last post. A little bit of an update: John just finished his first round of chemo on tuesday. We found out that if loses his health insurance, that the Leukemia and Lymphoma society can pay for it. That's a big relief. On the job front, I'm still looking. I have a B.S. in Chemistry, but have never used it. I basically got married right out of college and then had Isaiah pretty shortly after. We'll see what comes my way.

I've received several e-mails about donating bone marrow, and I wanted to pass along the info if you are interested in being a donor. John is adopted, so we are relying on the bone marrow donor registry. You can go here for more info on becoming a donor. If you do sign-up, please let us know because it would mean the world to us and we would want to properly thank you.

Also, a quick thank you to an anonymous person who sent us a dinner gift certificate in the mail. I would have thanked you privately, but since there was no name, this only seems appropriate to thank you here. So, thank you, thank you, we really appreciate your kind gesture.

Pheew, that was sure a long post. Now John can stop bothering me about not posting all week :). Hope you all have a good weekend. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful one here!

Unexpected

John has his PET scan yesterday and it revealed some findings that the doctors totally did not expect. They found some signs that the disease had spread to two other parts of his body. So he is unable to undergo radiation following the chemo as planned. Instead, he will undergo at least 4 rounds of chemo followed by a bone marrow transplant. Yesterday we were just flooded with information and everything is so overwhelming. They can't even give us statistics on how well they think this will work because John's lymphoma is very rare and unusual, with basically no literature or other studies like his. At the beginning of each chemo cycle, he spends the night in the hospital to receive one of the drugs through a 12 hour drip. He did this last night and I spoke to him this morning. He said he is feeling o.k. now, but woke up with chills followed by a fever early this morning. He'll then have a 96 hr infusion of chemo this weekend, which is the same as he had last time he went through this. At least it's a little comical that he has to carry around the chemo in a fanny pack. He's definitely not the fanny pack type.

Anyway, we thought that he may be able to work during radiation, but with this development, he'll most definitely have to take a leave from work. I'm hoping that we'll be able to maintain his health insurance and other benefits while he undergoes this. In the meantime, I'm job hunting, but I have no idea what I'll do, seeing as I haven't worked in 3 years. I know we are very supported by friends and family, but there is just a feeling of helplessness I can't shake.

So, that's the update. I'm sure John will be updating his page from his perspective once he's home and rested. Thanks to everyone who's been sending e-mails and well wishes our way. W really, really appreciate it.

More DBJs

I've spent the last couple of days trying to catch up on my Dear Baby Jane Blocks. I am very, very far behind (like 15 out of 40 something), but I made a lot of progress this weekend. I really enjoy the paper piecing ones, but the appliqué has been giving me a really hard time. The great thing about this quilt is that it really helps you practice all sorts of techniques and I have been learning little by little. I also followed this tutorial by Anina to make my own little quilt picture and I am in love with doing it. It's so fun to see my progress. Also, it'll help me plan a little better. I wasn't really keeping track of which colors I was using for each block and as a consequence I have a lot of groupings of colors. Also, I was wondering if anyone had any more red or aqua fabrics to swap. I have plenty of fabrics to swap, or some vintage sheets. E-mail me if you're interested katiebhandbags@gmail.com . Now, I'm off to order some more background fabric. I definitely didn't get enough!

Thank you

Hi Friends,

It's been a rough couple of days, but we're doing o.k. over here. The laughs and smiles have not faded completely, and I know that these will get us through the rough times ahead. I, of course, wanted to thank you for all your support and prayers. They really do mean a lot to John and I, and I have read each several times. I wanted to share with you John's page. He is planning on keeping it up to date, but will be dependent on how well he is feeling once he starts treatment. You can go here and read it if you are interested.

I also wanted to mention that I have added some new things to my sidebar. There are some new widgets (what a weird word), from amazon and goolge Adsense. I never considering adding these before, but with this round of treatment, John will be taking leave from work and I am trying to make a little money here and there. I am only mentioning it because I don't want any of my readers to be upset or offended that I am adding it. Once John is back to work, I will in most likelihood remove it. I am not even sure if it'll even amount to anything, but we'll see.

Anyway, again thank you for everything. I'll be returning with some crafty things this week. I swear nothing cures the soul better than sewing.