The Next Quilt

So I know I have been a very bad blogger lately, in my defense it is mostly due to the fact that our home camera seems to have disappeared into the vortex that surrounds my guy and I am stuck begging and borrowing his work camera which also requires finding the special card reader thing to convert the files and means I have to take pics on the weekend when there is light. oh and we are also getting married which seems to be taking over a large portion of my life.
Anyway here is the next quilt for my good friends Emily and Mary Ellen. They are due at the beginning of September so I am feeling quit smug to have it so far along already. Emily's favorite color is blue and Mary Ellen loves purple so this felt like a good compromise. The top is half finished and now it is sitting on top of my sewing machine mocking me whenever I walk by. I am co-hosting the shower in two weeks and I think I am done racing through quilts- I want to enjoy this one so I think I am going to give it to them in August.

Very Cool Lamps

So our camera is MIA which has led to some bad blogging practices. Instead I thought I might show you all some cool etsy wears. I think these lamps are the bomb and we may just need one for our living room.
They are made by a lady here in NY and you can visit her etsy shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5670728

I Really am Alive and Mostly Well

I will be the first to admit that the last month or so has just been crappy. My mother was in the hospital way to long and then once she was released and healthy, on queue I got really sick. My guy knew I was really sick because I didn't make a thing for the week I was stuck at home. Instead I watch a lot of bad tv confirming in my mind that we really can get rid of it.
I am doing much better now; I no longer have a fever and I can actually talk. Best yet I am plotting and have started many fun projects. I may have to go into some quilt over drive because everyone I know, or close to everyone I know is pregnant. I feel I am in the middle of a baby boom and my sewing machine and i are doing the best we can to keep up.
My worry knitting is almost completed which is a good thing because like Madame Defarge I noted all that happened in that knitting over the last month and to be quite honest I will be happy to put the needles down.
I promise to take many pictures just as soon as I find the camera in the wreckage of our apartment

Worry Knitting

So my mom has had a pretty hard week, and without getting into the gory details she has been in the hospital post surgery and is doing much better. But things were a bit scary there for awhile. I realized a bit late in the game that I needed worry knitting. I had some crochet with me but I am not a crocheter by nature. I am a knitter and when I get anxious I need my hands to fly. So I found myself at my all time, hands down, favorite yarn store, downtown yarns petting loveliness.
And here is what I found, hand dyed merino superwash. My hands have been swift and I already feel better, and so does my mom.

Another Satisfied Costumer

My guy got back from delivering the precious cargo, oh yeah and having a nice trip visiting friends...
He brought with him the camera filled with photo's of Mr. Hunter loving his quilt.

A Thimble is a Girl's Best Friend

I haven't been writing about how much I have been working on Hunter's quilt because I can't hand stitch and type at the same time.
I am happy to report that Hunter's quilt is done and has been safely transported to England by my guy (I threatened him plenty before entrusting all that work to him. I made him put it in his carry on and gave him my father's traditional warning of "you're in charge, don't screw up").
I have been working on it so much that now that it is gone I am not sure what to do with myself. Truth be told I kinda miss it.
Once I managed to finish the last square the rest went pretty well. I was hoping that the backing fabric could be simply rolled over the edge to finish it but life is never that simple. The backing came up sort and of course I started hand quilting it, yes hand quilting it, before I realize it was on a bit of an angle.
I haven't figured out how to do a binding edge properly yet (despite the placemat project) but I am pretty good of finding my way out of the trouble I find my way into; I had enough of the center green fabric to add an edging to the backing fabric and that allowed me to do the roll over binding I was hoping to do.

Crafts with Love

I had a wonderful crafting moment this week when I remember the pure joy of crafting for someone that not only will appreciate my gift but also my ability to share goodness, compassion and love through making things.
I am still getting used to my new work environment, and even though I still don't think my officemates would eat my cookies I have found a few kindred souls that make the day better.
There is one fellow in particular that always brightens my day; even when she is having a really hard day she always has a wonderfully kind smile for me and I can always count on her for a good morning, something I have learned not to take for granted. She has been having a pretty rough month at work, you can hear it in her voice and see it in her eyes and well it just makes me want to love on her. Actually it makes me want to scope her up and take her very far away and surround her with good folk.
Last week I showed her some of my bags and pouches and she was so enthusiastic about the prints that I knew I had to make her one. I went home and set to work. I had to do a little mental brain tease to remember how to line a pouch after all those NY times zippy pouches but Tim Gunn (the sewing machine) and I finally got it right.
I gave it to her today with some Guatemalan worry dolls and it was warmly received.
The thing is, I have been so caught up in trying to complete my Crafting Resolution list and finding my way in a new job that I forgot the pure joy of making things and how important making things is to me as a way of connecting with people. I guess what I am saying is, Pastor Callie Janoff, I finially really get the Church of Crafts being and mission.
It is a really good thing to remember.