Fabric, a Mixer, and Granny squares, oh my!

Hmmm, I really thought I was getting better at this whole blogging more than once a week thing, but apparently I lagged again. I'd really like to blog two or three times a week, but I find that I don't always have a project finished or interesting things to share. You don't really just want pictures of granny squares every day, do you?

The being said, would you like to see what a stack of twenty granny squares looks like? Yes? Okay!

I have actually completed more since this picture was taken yesterday, but I figured twenty was a good round number to share with y'all and frankly I didn't feel like taking another picture, teehee! I'm thinking I'll need about 100 or so to make a nice-sized afghan.

This week has basically all been about school, work, and granny squares. I had two papers due this week, and work sure does take it out of me, so unfortunately sewing was pushed to the wayside. But tomorrow, I'm going to the first meeting of the Toronto Modern Quilt Guild (TOMQG) and will finally get the binding sewn onto my most recent quilt (if you read my guest blog over at Rachel's you've already seen a picture of it).

On Thursday night Alex and I went to the Purolator depot to (finally!) pick up my new KitchenAid mixer! Alex bought me one for Christmas, but when we plugged it in it didn't work. We sent it back to KitchenAid and they sent us a new one (this was a much longer, drawn-out process than I'm stating here), actually a better one since they didn't have my model anymore.

It sure is pretty, isn't it?

Last week I got a wonderful package in the mail from my lovely friend Melanie. I had ordered some linen from her shop, and she sent me this:

That's the linen I ordered on the bottom, but checkout all the other lovely fabric she sent me! Melanie is pretty awesome!

Last night I decided to make lasagna for dinner; I make a pretty kick-butt lasagna if I do say so myself and every time I make it Alex seems pretty happy! I was going to share a photo with you, but then forgot to take one. How about a link to a cookie recipe instead? I made these cookies on Wednesday and they make probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever tasted! Want to try? Go here.

I have a lot of new patterns and designs floating around in my head; I've managed to get most of them onto paper and am hoping to get them sewn up soon. I really can't wait for reading week (two weeks away!) because it means I'll have time to actually get some sewing done. That's the week I plan to finish up my blocks for the modern siggy swap I'm participating in, and get some of my new designs sewn up. It'll be great! Until then though I still have a couple of papers due, plus work, and of course more granny squares, oh my!

For the Love of Craft Books

Okay, a couple of things before we get into my craft book post for the day...I am guest blogging over at Rachel's today while she is attending CHA. Head on after there (after you're finished reading this, ahem) to check out my post which includes both a giveaway (fabric, yay!) and a sneak peak at my most recent quilt! Secondly, I completely forgot to mention the last time that I posted that Vanessa over at V&Co featured the Viliya quilt I designed on her blog (since I used her tutorial for the pinwheels); if you'd like to check it out head on over here (last picture in the post). And last, but not least, I taught myself how to crochet granny squares yesterday (yay!), would you like to see my first one? It's a giant...

For the Love of Craft Books

Hi, my name is Kaye and I’m a craft-bookaholic...actually I’m mostly addicted to sewing books of any sort. I am also addicted to fabric, but that is a completely different story.

Of course all of you are readers (you’re reading this aren’t you?), but do you get that pulse racing, euphoric-high when you enter a bookstore? The one that kind of makes you sweat, and deep down you know that your credit card is waiting and ready for a workout? I get that, especially when I venture near the sewing books section. Every book tells a different story, but every book’s story still has at its core the same heartbeat of handmade love. Whether the book you pick up is in English or Japanese, hardcover or soft, chock full of pictures or simplistic and lovely line drawings, all of these books have one major thing in common – they were written by a person who lives and breathes creativity and who put all of themselves into their book.

One of the first sewing books that made me swoon was Amy Karol’s Bend-the-Rules Sewing. I originally found Amy though her blog Angry Chicken (she is neither angry nor a chicken), and was struck not only by her beautiful pictures, but also by her wit and natural quality. All of these things carried over to her book and I have had a lovely time perusing its pages and being inspired by the fun and functional patterns.

I do not often actually make a pattern or sew up something that comes from a book; rather I use these books as inspiration to facilitate my own creativity. Often times, it is not the pattern or project itself that causes me to create - I find inspiration in the way colours and prints are paired together, the look of a button, or a technique explained by the author. These are the things that make crafty-type books so invaluable.

Many times I fall even more in love with a specific fabric line or fabric designer because of a book, and this just recently happened with Kaari Meng’s (of French General fame) Home Sewn. I received this book as a Christmas gift from my Mum and have not only fallen even harder for French General’s most recent line Rouenneries, which is inspired by French linens in lovely muted tones, but have also developed a new respect for vintage French textiles (gorgeous!).

These types of books also give us the chance to peek into the lives of designers and crafty people we admire. This may seem like snooping or being overly-curious, but I think it’s really neat to get a glimpse of the surroundings of those people whose blogs we read, fabric lines we love, and whose creativity inspires us so much. This I found especially true of Anna Maria Horner’s Seams to Me; as with Amy Karol, I first found Anna Maria through her blog and immediately fell in love with her fabric collections, especially Drawing Room which is still one of my favourites. I remember going right back to the beginning and reading every post Anna Maria had written, she is so open on her blog that I immediately felt at home in her space and still to this day love seeing the way her family grows and evolves. In Seams to Me, most of the photographs were taken by Anna Maria and her children serve as models in many of the shots. Seams to Me is also a wonderful book because Anna Maria really encourages her readers to experiment and use her book for inspiration, not just for the patterns.

My newest love is Rashida Coleman-Hale’s I Love Patchwork, it includes 21 Zakka inspired projects and all them incorporate linen (which I adore!) mixed with lovely cotton prints. I can not remember if I first found Rashida though her blog, I Heart Linen, or when I saw her work in the premiere issue of Stitch magazine, but I know that I immediately fell in love with her creativity and the way she pairs textures. I am a big fan of patchwork and constantly find myself incorporating it into my own sewing; whether it’s the quilts I make or smaller things like the patchwork scarflette I made which has now found a home with Rachel. I Love Patchwork really challenges its reader to look at fabric in different ways and to consider mixing textures and fibres in their own work. When one opens this book you are immediately struck by the fact that it was indeed a labour of love, everything is so fresh and new, and the stories that Rashida includes with each pattern show just what kind of a lovely woman she is. And Rashida is indeed a lovely woman, I have had the privilege of talking to her a bit via the Internet, and she never fails to put a smile on my face.

Other favourite crafty books:

Martha Stewart’s Encyclopaedia of Crafts: Who doesn’t love Martha? Okay, maybe you don’t love her, but this book is a great resource. Many of the crafts are taken from issues of Living, but it’s so nice to have them in one, easily accessible space.

One Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins: Wonderful! I know that I personally have many one-yard cuts of fabric lying around that I bought because I loved the fabric but had no idea what I’d use it for at the time. This book is a compendium of 101 projects written by many of your favourite bloggers, crafters and sewists.

Zakka Sewing by Therese Laskey and Chika Mori: Another books of Japanese inspired projects; most of the projects are for the home (including a wonderful squirrel shaped teapot cozy which can be seen on the front cover). Like Rashida’s book, this one also mixes different fabric textures and types together to create beautiful pieces.

Stitch ‘N Bitch by Debbie Stoller: This is the book that I used when I re-taught myself to knit and it is fantastic. I have read many reviews where people have stated that using this book was the only way they were able to knit. I also want to get myself Stitch ‘N Bitch Crochet: The Happy Hooker because I just taught myself to crochet and I know this book would be an excellent resource.

Sew Everything Workshop by Diana Rupp: Really one of the best books that I’ve found for learning techniques. Great!

I also read a few crafty magazines including Martha Stewart Living, Stitch, and Quilts and More. Thanks for staying with me through this post, it came out a lot longer than I thought and I didn’t even say all I could have!

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. -Theadore Roosevelt

Back in May I signed up to participate in a swap hosted by Dionne, and funnily enough I ended up with Dionne as my swap partner. I posted about the items that I received from Dionne in this post, but I completely forgot to take pictures of the things I sent to her before I packed them up to post. I had been waiting for Dionne's post about the swap so that I could link to her pictures of my items, but she sent me the pictures just the other day and I thought it would be fun to share them with you here.

First up, here's a picture of all the little goodies I sent her.

I sent her some handmade goodies including the dish towel, coffee cozy, fridge magnets, hairband, and tissue cozy; I also sent her tissue for the cozy, vanilla sugar, a recipe, needle card, a notebook, and a package of sour patch kids. I also made the card. Because Dionne loves boardgames I used some extra Monopoly money I had and made a little tag for each item explaining why I thought she's like it.

Here are the handmade goodies (minus the tea towel and magnets) closeup.

The handmade items are all hand sewn too because I didn't have a working sewing machine at the time. I love cover buttons so much, and so here is a closeup of the magnets I made using the cover button method.

Dionne's photos are definitely way better than anything I could have taken (thanks Dionne!) and make all my 'stuff' look good! This swap is really what brought Dionne and I together as friends, and I'm really glad that I took part!

I'll be back on Sunday (the 24th) with a new post all about craft and sewing books, and a link to my guest blog over at Rachel's which also includes a giveaway!

Remember that very little is needed to make a happy life. -Marcus Aurelius

Hey bloggy-buddies! First off I just wanted to let everyone know that a post I wrote for the Flea Market Fancy Freaks blog has just been put up over there; if you'd like to read it click here!

On Thursday I received a great Christmas gift in the mail! Jennifer, aka Santa, sent me some lovely cuts of Heather Bailey's new Nicey Jane collection.

Isn't it pretty? Jennifer had read my Dear Santa post and decided that I needed a little Nicey Jane love for Christmas. Isn't that just the sweetest thing? Jennifer is a truly amazing friend and lady, and I consider myself very lucky to call her a friend. I really hope that one day I will get to meet her in "real life" and maybe, hopefully, she'll let me hang out in her awesome sewing room! Puts my sewing areas (oh yes, there are more than one) to shame, doesn't it?

I wanted to mention this before, but also wanted to give it a little more time in case I was wrong, it seems as if my swap-buddy from Beki's blogger ornament exchange (which I mentioned in this post) did not keep up their end of the exchange. I handmade two ornaments and sent them off at the end of November, but have never received anything from my swap partner. It's very disappointing, especially after the time I took to make them, and I don't even have pictures of them because I forgot to take them. Oh well, I guess that sometimes happens when you participate in these types of things, right?

However, this has not deterred me from taking part in another swap! Rachel over at p.s. I quilt is hosting a Modern Siggy Swap (you can read all about it by following the picture link in my sidebar) and I am one of the lucky 100 people who are participating. I've recognized a couple of people who are taking part, including my lovely and talented friend Rachel, and I think it's going to be pretty awesome! I've already picked out my fabrics for the coloured portions of the blocks (Amy Butler's Midwest Modern) and am just waiting for the white cotton to arrive before I start stitching away!

I've been slowly working on some things for opening up my Etsy shop, and am really very grateful for all of the support I've received so far! I will let y'all know when it's up and running. I've got my banners, avatars, etc all done, have ordered some business cards and return address labels, have been working on a design for thank you cards to include in the orders, and of course have been either stitching up lovely handmade goodies or designing new things. I really can't wait to get it opened up, and am hoping to do so within the next month or so if school and work don't get in the way too much. I really want to have a nice variety of things, without going overboard, and so have been busy designing new lovelies that I hope people (especially you guys, the ones whose opinions I really value) will really like.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend so far! Alex and I are off to run some errands (or messages as he calls them), and then hopefully I will get some sewing done!



Edited to add: During this difficult time, in the aftermath of the earthquake that struck Haiti, many people are wondering how they can help. Jade Sims of Craft Hope, along with a slew of volunteers, had started the Craft Hope for Haiti Etsy shop. There are many beautiful items up for sale in the shop which have all been graciously donated by members of the handmade community, and 100% of the profits are being donated to Doctors Without Borders. They have had (as of my last check) almost 250 sales, and are still going strong, but of course any support helps! If you'd like to help in the Haiti relief effort and buy a little something special, please visit the Etsy shop; you can also find all the information for donating goods to the shop on the Craft Hope site.

What I'm Up To...

I found this little list a few months back on Pip's blog. It's been floating around on my computer since then and I thought I'd take a moment to fill it in and share it with the rest of you. Let's see if anything interesting comes out...

Making... plans for opening up my Etsy shop. Not going fast, but I am trudging steadily along.
Cooking... no cooking going on here, we ordered Chinese for dinner.
Drinking... water. Wow, that's boring.
Reading... Persuasion by Jane Austen. It's fantastic (of course), as all Jane is!
Wanting... another Clover crochet hook! I mentioned them here a few months ago and finally picked one up a month ago. I love it so much and now I need every size (I have J, which is 6mm).
Looking... at granny square tutorials! They're just so gosh darn cute, and I really want to learn how to make them!
Playing... nothing. I'm blogging, why would I be playing anything?
Wasting... the little moments I could be getting things ready for the shop by reading blogs. I don't really see that as wasting though since it's something I enjoy doing.
Sewing... up something special as a surprise for a friend. Also sewing up a baby quilt for the shop.
Wishing... I hadn't had to go to work today so that I could have spent more time doing the aforementioned sewing.
Enjoying... the sound of the keyboard. No really, I really do like it (when it's me typing anyway).
Waiting... for a package from "Santa", aka Jennifer, to arrive in the mail. I have a feeling of what it could be, but I really don't know and I just can't wait for it to arrive!
Liking... CraftSanity's podcasts! I just got into listening to them because her last interview was with Rashida, and I'm really enjoying them! I've been listening to them on my iPod at work.
Wondering... how I will cope if no one buys anything from my Etsy shop. I know it will take awhile to get a few sales under my belt, but I also don't want to feel let down. It's kind of like comments on the blog (or blogs in general) - people obviously read, and follow but there's generally few comments. This could (and does) happen with an Etsy shop - people like things and enjoy them, but for whatever reason they don't buy. I am (of course) guilty of both these things - both not commenting and not buying, even when I enjoy or like something.
Loving... Ayu's new tutorial on the Pink Penguin blog! It's so darling and cute, and I can't wait to try making this little pouch! I also love Alex, of course!
Hoping... that school this semester isn't the farce it was last semester. Things got pretty ridiculous there for awhile within the Faculty, and I hope something like this does not happen again. Although the A+ my group just got on one of our final projects (worth 50% of our final mark), can continue to pop up again and again if it likes. An A++ would be even better (I don't think that's actually allowed).
Marvelling... at all the wonderful crafty people who are in the world! I just can't believe all of the amazing people who I've met both through blogging and in real life - it's really amazing!
Needing... the random hives to either go away or be explained. I think an allergy test is in order; it's starting to get pretty ridiculous!
Smelling... Alex's clementine peels. He really does love them...a lot...maybe more than me...no wait, that's not possible!
Wearing... flannel, patchwork pyjama pants and a tank top. I know, I'm classy and chic likes this all the time.
Following... a sort of made-up schedule in my head of what gets done when. It includes school, work, sewing, chores, etc. It really never quite works out like the way I plan in my head though. Oh well.
Noticing... that Tiffany blue really is one of the prettiest colours! (More on that later)
Knowing... that taking it one day at a time and not planning too, too far ahead really does work better for me. I'm not a very good advance-planner although I really would like to be!
Thinking... that I wish there were more hours in the day so that I could accomplish everything I'd like in a consistent way. I don't like being slapdash when I can help it.
Bookmarking... tons of sewing and crochet tutorials, recipes, and inspiration. I have tons of folders in my bookmarks to keep all of this organized, but it's still very difficult to find things when I want them!
Opening... an Etsy shop? Hahahaha, it had to be done. I'm opening up emails, blog posts, and a little of myself right now.
Giggling... at some of the funny stuff my blog friends write. Katy is definitely one of the more witty ones, and CakeWrecks (although obviously not friends of mine) is always good for a laugh!
Feeling... a little tired and out of sorts. I think I may need a break from school already!

Last Sunday was actually our anniversary (that is Alex and I). We went to Ikea in the morning to get a new cabinet for the kitchen. The old one was was pretty ugly (sorry Mum!) and well old (getting on 20 years I think, and bought if I remember correctly at Zellers). It was lucky we did buy the new cabinet, because when we came home I went to unload the old one and one of the doors fell out (I still don't really know how), hit me in the face, and would not go back into place. The door hitting me in the face was compounded by the fact that I (literally) walked into a wall the night before - I will never forget the sound my temple made as it smacked off the wall. I think the sound may have scared me more than anything.

Anyhoo, Alex spent the afternoon putting the new cabinet together while I took the doors and hardware off the old one and transported it into the den to hold me fabric and supplies. Would you like to see pictures? Yes? Okay!

Old one in it's new spot and without doors (evil, evil doors):

And the new one. We actually picked up that teapot at Ikea too, I like it:

In the evening Alex and I went out for dinner at a new restaurant at the end of our street, it was pretty good. Then we went to Insomnia, the site of our first date, and each had a martini. We wrapped up the evening at BMV, a local bookstore, which is the site of our first meeting (where he seduced me by talking about The Watchmen) and where we also went on our first date.

We exchanged our presents that morning; I made Alex a tie.

Here is the reverse, the lining fabric is Alexander Henry's Spotted Owl.

And, in regards to Tiffany blue which I mentioned above, Alex gave me this beauty from Tiffany. Isn't it pretty? I love it!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend so far! Look at me, I really am getting better at this posting more often thing, yay!

Forever is composed of nows. -Emily Dickinson

So far this week I've had three out of my four classes, starting working on projects to open up my Etsy shop (yay!), and caught up with friends that I didn't see over the holidays. It's been pretty good! I actually feel more relaxed now than I did during my three week break because I have time to sit, relax, sew, and there aren't any pressing deadlines. There are deadlines of course though, just not ones that are stressing me out, I am working on a blog post for this blog and will be guest blogging here at the end of the month. I will keep y'all up to date about the details when I get them!

First off, Emily re-opened her shop after the holidays and so now I can show you the print I bought and the two Alex bought me for Hanukkah! I bought Terrarium for us in November (I think), and Alex gave me As Long As I Have You and Books. Aren't they awesome? Emily is very talented and you should definitely check out both her shop and her blog! She was even on Martha, and y'all know that makes me happy!

Just before Christmas I found another artist on Etsy that I have fallen in love with and just bought this print; I cannot wait until it arrives! Here's a link to "Hidden Eloise's" shop and blog.

I now have pictures of the super-secret project! They are by no means great, or even good pictures; Alex says that they make it look more red-orange than it actually is. I think he's right, but I tried editing them (I generally have to fix the colours on all my pictures), and they definitely got better, but not good. The third picture was taken with my new camera (my Mum's old camera since she bought herself a new one - thanks Mum!) and is much better than the rest. I'm really excited to see how pictures come out from now on.

Okay, I will stop rambling and move on. Way back in May I ordered fabrics to make my Mum a quilt for her birthday in August, and I shared the fabrics in this post in June. However, I got bogged down with making a large quilt for my friends' wedding present and a baby quilt and just plain ran out of time, so I made her Madeleine the monkey (who you can see in my banner) instead. I decided that the quilt would be her Christmas present and so, without further ado, here is the super-secret, mind-boggling, stress-inducing, completed-while-I-was-sick, quilt!

It is made using fabrics from the Chestnut Hill collection by Jowl Dewberry. I designed the pattern myself, but used Vanessa's amazing pinwheel tutorial (this is the same method that I used to make the pinwheel's for Viliya's quilt). How many of you picked up that I masking taped it to the wall to take this picture, hehe?

The colours are a bit better in this picture, and you can see the quilt a little clearer. If you'd like to compare the colours, here's a link to the entire collection on Joel's site.

Here's the good picture, and of course it would be the picture of the back, but funnily enough the back is actually my favourite part! I used an unbleached cotton muslin for the backing (it is so super-soft, I really enjoyed using it!) and did two patchwork stripes using fabrics from both the front and the binding and a fabric from the same collection that Trish sent me as part of my birthday stash surprise. In the bottom corner you can see the little tag I embroidered for it; the embroidering was actually done in front of my Mum on Christmas day because the quilt was only finished on the 23rd and we went up to her place on the 24th. Gosh, I was really down to the wire, wasn't I?

This quilt encompasses many firsts, and as such it is far from perfect (sorry Mum, but it was made with love)! These were actually the first set of pinwheels that I made using Vanessa's tutorial, and so a couple of them are a little wonky and I had to unpick a number of times to "de-wonk" some of them. This is the first time that I've ever tried straight line quilting without something to go on, and it actually turned out pretty well all things considered, even if it is a little wonky in the corners. This is also the first time that I've ever made binding myself! I wanted it to match, so I bought a fabric from the same collection (but not one that was used on the front), found a great tutorial on how to cut the binding strips (so easy, it was unbelievable!), and went to work. It worked out pretty well, the only thing I would do next time would be to iron it into double-fold binding before applying it. I found it very difficult to work with as only single-fold (i.e. just ironed in half) and will definitely take the time to make it double-fold the next time!

So that's the super-secret project. My Mum seems to have liked it, what do you think?

P.S. Today's blog quote is courtesy of the lovely Kate Spain, one of Moda's newest designers. Go over and say hi to her!

Happy 2010 and a little bit of the year in review!

Well, this blog post has been a wee bit longer in coming than I originally said in my last post, oy, so sorry! With the holidays, being sick, and working blogging took a backseat this week! I'm hoping to be much better about this in the coming months.

And, just in case you wanted to know (warning: may be a tad TMI) I'm currently covered in hives from the waist up; Alex and I think I may be having some sort of allergic reaction to our Christmas tree. We took it down today and within half an hour of taking it outside I started breaking out. I have been itchy and red for about 5 hours now - I've tried taking a shower, dousing myself in calamine lotion, and I just took an antihistamine. We'll see what happens, I really just don't want to be itchy like this when I go into work tomorrow.

So, I wanted to (finally) share with you all the large project that has been taking up my time over the past few months before Christmas, but...my camera batteries died just as I was about to transfer the pictures to my computer. They are now in the charger and I promise I will finally unveil the super-secret project in my next post! I'll give you a hint though...I finally used the fabrics shown in the second picture from this post.

I will, however, fill you all in on the super-awesome presents I got for Hanukkah and Christmas. We went to Alex's parents on the second night of Hanukkah and had a great dinner. Alex gave me two Black Apple prints for Hanukkah, unfortunately I can't link to them in her shop right now because she's on holidays, but trust me - they're awesome! I will share them either when she reopens, or when I can take a picture of them. Alex's parents gave me a bracelet, the new Lucy Maud Montgomery book The Blythes are Quoted (which I've already finished and let me tell you it was fantastic), the new biography on Lucy Maud Montgomery by Jane Urquhart (which I'm reading right now), a pair of slipper socks, some gingerbread body lotion, and an immersion blender. Pretty great, eh?

For Christmas we went to my Mum's (and then to my grandparent's on Boxing Day); we have a tradition of eating junk food (no dinner) and watching White Christmas (my favourite!) on Christmas Eve. My Mum bought me two sewing books: Home Sewn, and Weekend Sewing. She actually bought me One Yard Wonders too, but then my grandparents stole it from her and gave it to me for Christmas, haha! She also gave me some fabric, a couple of acrylic rulers, food, a whole bunch of other sewing notions (marking pencils, bobbins, pins, etc), The Bay's charity bear (which I get every year), and a bunch of other stuff. One of the neatest things actually was that she ordered me a manual for Genevieve, my Janome (yay Cathi!) and I've learned some new things from it already.

Alex got me some bubble bath, a soup cookbook (I love soup!), The Bay's Olympic mittens, and...wait for it...a KitchenAid Accolade stand mixer! We will not go into all of the drama surrounding the mixer (let's just say it didn't work when I plugged it in and I'm getting a new one), but I love this boy! I can't wait to use it for the first time!

All in all, it was a pretty good holiday season. If I hadn't been sick and been so exhausted it would have been a little cheerier, but it was really nice to have the time to relax and just hang out. We didn't do much of anything on Christmas day except watch movies and play Clue (yay!). Alex and I also went for a drive to test out the new GPS my Mum gave him - he really likes it.

Alex and I decided to stay in on New Year's - we cooked ourselves a nice dinner (lamb chops on a bed of couscous and arugala), drank a bottle of champagne, and fell asleep before midnight! I go back to school on Monday for the new semester, I really hope that it's much less dramatic than the last.

So that this post isn't completely devoid of pretty pictures, here's a little montage of the projects I've completed this year (really, that I've completed since June since that's when I really started sewing again) minus the aforementioned super-secret project:

1. Lucy's Quilt, 2. Madeleine the Monkey, 3. Joshua's t-shirts, 4. Jenna and Joel's quilt, 5. Mo's Independence Day cuff, 6. Alex's owl pin, 7. Felt Bird Pillow (commonly known as Walter), 8. The owls, Ollie and Hemingway, 9. Buttons, 10. Pillows for our living room, 11. My first bag pattern, 12. Fabric bracelet and button earrings, 13. Mo's Buttercup bag, 14. Patchwork Scarflette, 15. Viliya's Quilt, 16. Embroidery (the tree was turned into an ornament), 17. Tote bag, 18. Irish Flood Relief blocks

There were other things made this year (including a whole slew of little things for Dionne) which I don't have pictures of. Hopefully I will get even more completed this year! One of my big goals for 2010, other than doing well in both school and work and just generally being happy, is opening up my Etsy shop. Alex has suggested that I schedule time throughout the week for just shop sewing and I think this would be a really great idea. I have so many patterns, ideas, and beautiful things running through my brain and I'd really like to put them out there.

Happy 2010 everyone! I will be back soon (I really believe this will happen) to share the super-secret project with you all!