Well, I admit, I got my hubby to bring by a USB to mini-USB. I have no excuses. There are several hundred pictures that should probably have made their way onto this blog by now (or at the *very* least somewhere in my photo storage on my laptop). And since I'm up late, with a cold, having fallen asleep even before my kiddos tonight (which, wow fellow moms, how rare is *that*), and now can't fall back asleep, I may actually get to putting on here now that I think of it. Backtracking.... Anywho, I thought I'd share some of my favorite blogs with you of late. I was going to do another fabulous round-up (or at least *I* think they're pretty fabulous, or I wouldn't have shared them with you, lol), only to realize that I'm well past Valentine's Day, and that's almost entirely what the crafty and kitchen-y goodness of the blogosphere have been focused on for the past month, I think it would be a little passe for me to post links now. Hmmm. I must work on my timing. Or my remembering. Or my something.
As a segue into our list of crafty blogs, I can now safely divulge that I am in the middle of a project. Actually, I'm in the middle of about four or five projects, none of which is anywhere near ready to be cataloged, thank you very much, and some of which are very sadly in need of some desperate attention. I'm also in the market for a new sewing machine, and ironically, happen to be looking at an older, mechanical Bernina. Wow. Bet you never saw that coming. I also have plans to go check out the local Pfaff dealership, but there's a fundamental part of me that resists paying full price for something when I can wait, and search out that same something at a significant discount to buy it used. Strange? Yes, yes, it is. But all the same, I'm not entirely sure that a sewing machine, even a really incredible one, should actually cost anywhere near $1000. But maybe that's just because I'm cheap and slightly delusional (we'll blame the last on the fever, kosher everybody?).
So, backtracking yet again, I'm in the middle of what I'm calling "The Nesting Quilt." Which has been strongly influenced by the wonders of Oh, Fransson!, which if you aren't familiar with her work, is pretty darn right inspiring as far as modern quilting goes. The project I'm working on is about halfway in between her Crazy Nine Patchwork Quilt and her Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow (except in blankety, non-pillow form). Elizabeth is also the author of an amazing looking book, which I have to admit has been sitting on my wish list for quite some time now. You can scroll through her other tutorials on her website though, and I guarantee that you'll come away, if not wanting to actually make a quilt, at least wanting someone to make one for you.
I also have a second quilt I'm working on, which is an attempt at this quilt-a-long run by Stitched in Color. I have to admit however, that I'm not quite sure how it's going to turn out. I ordered some fabric bundles from Fabricworm, which has been an interesting process. I've never worked with fat quarters before, and I've got to say that there's a pretty steep learning curve. This is the bundle I used on The Nesting Quilt, and it looks like the bundle I found for the Colorbrick quilt is no longer available, but it was largely from the Echino Fall and Winter 2010 lines (which was also really interesting). I have to say, where I had been avoiding Echino before, mostly because of the price factor, and I wasn't honestly sure how much I liked the big, busy designs, I have completely fallen in love with this fabric line. The cotton/linen mixes are a *dream* to cut and sew, and the fabric is like a precious jewel for piece work (assuming you ever actually get the guts to cut it, which yes, actually took a couple pep talks on my side). I think that Hawthorne Threads is definitely my new favorite web haunt for fabric though. They have an amazing selection, incredible shipping rates, and their store is a breeze to navigate through, which I can't honestly say about either Fabricworm or Fabric.com. Fabric.com occasionally has some really good sales though, so if you know exactly which fabric you're looking for, and have more than $35 of fabric needs (which qualifies your order for free shipping), then you're in the right place. However, fabric goes fast here (I've had fabric disappear from my cart while finishing ordering, because it ran out of stock), so be careful. On the up side, Fabric.com has a *huge* apparel line of fabric available as well, along with a pretty great selection of patterns. This is actually where I ended up spending my birthday money, getting Oliver + S patterns for Ande. I am so wildly in love with these patterns that I can't bear to cut the pattern pieces to start her School Photo Dress, and am now in search of a copying store with a big enough machine to be able to copy the pattern (ummm, which, gosh, I really, really, really hope is legal, now that I think about it... it's for private use though, so that makes it okay, right?).
And while you're in a sewing mood, go check out Sew, Mama, Sew!, which is featuring a whole month of pillows as part of the multiple month pillow contest going between various different blogs. If you're really motivated (and maybe slightly less overwhelmed than I am), you can enter for some pretty fun looking prizes too. Of course, Crafiness is not optional, MADE (which is co-hosting a whole month of boy-inspired crafting), Made by Lex (check out the tutorials section for some fun eye-candy), and Made by Rae (the other co-host of boy month), are all some really great options too. I've also really been enjoying No Big Dill lately. Katy's designs are just different enough to keep those creative juices flowing even at your most desperate moments.
Anywho, I have *loads* of blogs that I switch back and forth on, so I'm sure that you can expect more of these lists over time. After our move (and probably after baby), I might even start posting links to my favorite craft tutorials *ever*. Unfortunately, the larger part of my crafty, kitchen-y, DIY-goodness is now hiding in a ubiquitous brown cardboard box, and may very well not see the light of day until May, so, who knows. I think I'm done making promises for this lovely little blog that I can't keep, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed on that one. ; )
Have fun and frolic until next time.
--Fay
As a segue into our list of crafty blogs, I can now safely divulge that I am in the middle of a project. Actually, I'm in the middle of about four or five projects, none of which is anywhere near ready to be cataloged, thank you very much, and some of which are very sadly in need of some desperate attention. I'm also in the market for a new sewing machine, and ironically, happen to be looking at an older, mechanical Bernina. Wow. Bet you never saw that coming. I also have plans to go check out the local Pfaff dealership, but there's a fundamental part of me that resists paying full price for something when I can wait, and search out that same something at a significant discount to buy it used. Strange? Yes, yes, it is. But all the same, I'm not entirely sure that a sewing machine, even a really incredible one, should actually cost anywhere near $1000. But maybe that's just because I'm cheap and slightly delusional (we'll blame the last on the fever, kosher everybody?).
So, backtracking yet again, I'm in the middle of what I'm calling "The Nesting Quilt." Which has been strongly influenced by the wonders of Oh, Fransson!, which if you aren't familiar with her work, is pretty darn right inspiring as far as modern quilting goes. The project I'm working on is about halfway in between her Crazy Nine Patchwork Quilt and her Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow (except in blankety, non-pillow form). Elizabeth is also the author of an amazing looking book, which I have to admit has been sitting on my wish list for quite some time now. You can scroll through her other tutorials on her website though, and I guarantee that you'll come away, if not wanting to actually make a quilt, at least wanting someone to make one for you.
I also have a second quilt I'm working on, which is an attempt at this quilt-a-long run by Stitched in Color. I have to admit however, that I'm not quite sure how it's going to turn out. I ordered some fabric bundles from Fabricworm, which has been an interesting process. I've never worked with fat quarters before, and I've got to say that there's a pretty steep learning curve. This is the bundle I used on The Nesting Quilt, and it looks like the bundle I found for the Colorbrick quilt is no longer available, but it was largely from the Echino Fall and Winter 2010 lines (which was also really interesting). I have to say, where I had been avoiding Echino before, mostly because of the price factor, and I wasn't honestly sure how much I liked the big, busy designs, I have completely fallen in love with this fabric line. The cotton/linen mixes are a *dream* to cut and sew, and the fabric is like a precious jewel for piece work (assuming you ever actually get the guts to cut it, which yes, actually took a couple pep talks on my side). I think that Hawthorne Threads is definitely my new favorite web haunt for fabric though. They have an amazing selection, incredible shipping rates, and their store is a breeze to navigate through, which I can't honestly say about either Fabricworm or Fabric.com. Fabric.com occasionally has some really good sales though, so if you know exactly which fabric you're looking for, and have more than $35 of fabric needs (which qualifies your order for free shipping), then you're in the right place. However, fabric goes fast here (I've had fabric disappear from my cart while finishing ordering, because it ran out of stock), so be careful. On the up side, Fabric.com has a *huge* apparel line of fabric available as well, along with a pretty great selection of patterns. This is actually where I ended up spending my birthday money, getting Oliver + S patterns for Ande. I am so wildly in love with these patterns that I can't bear to cut the pattern pieces to start her School Photo Dress, and am now in search of a copying store with a big enough machine to be able to copy the pattern (ummm, which, gosh, I really, really, really hope is legal, now that I think about it... it's for private use though, so that makes it okay, right?).
And while you're in a sewing mood, go check out Sew, Mama, Sew!, which is featuring a whole month of pillows as part of the multiple month pillow contest going between various different blogs. If you're really motivated (and maybe slightly less overwhelmed than I am), you can enter for some pretty fun looking prizes too. Of course, Crafiness is not optional, MADE (which is co-hosting a whole month of boy-inspired crafting), Made by Lex (check out the tutorials section for some fun eye-candy), and Made by Rae (the other co-host of boy month), are all some really great options too. I've also really been enjoying No Big Dill lately. Katy's designs are just different enough to keep those creative juices flowing even at your most desperate moments.
Anywho, I have *loads* of blogs that I switch back and forth on, so I'm sure that you can expect more of these lists over time. After our move (and probably after baby), I might even start posting links to my favorite craft tutorials *ever*. Unfortunately, the larger part of my crafty, kitchen-y, DIY-goodness is now hiding in a ubiquitous brown cardboard box, and may very well not see the light of day until May, so, who knows. I think I'm done making promises for this lovely little blog that I can't keep, so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed on that one. ; )
Have fun and frolic until next time.
--Fay
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