Tuesday, November 27, 2012

One Swanky Shop | Horseshoe Bay






We celebrated Thanksgiving with my hubby's family, for the first time in Horseshoe Bay -- awe.some. We stopped in this unbelievably cute interior decor shop called One Swanky Shop -- such pretty pretties everywhere! Unfortch I didn't see the door sign that said no photography (oops!), but now we *all* get to enjoy their visual feast for the eyes ;)!

Monday, October 08, 2012

Luckiest girl

It's a Party! Well, technically a Sew Swap, hosted by Ashley Marie of The Little Willow Tree! And holy cow, I'm so glad my friend Regan clued me in, bc the treats I received from Jennifer (of the etsy store lilgirlshop!) are AMAZING! She completely took my random bits of info about me that I shared with hostess Ashley, and RAN with it :D Now, as you can see in the pics, I am the proud owner of not only the cutest & most-perfect-for-me hot pad (pink? Teal/aqua? CUPCAKES? Checkity check check!), but also the cutest quilted wristlet! Jennifer was so sweet in her note, where she said she was intimidated sewing for another sew-er, but shoot -- her gift totally blew mine out of the water! (Sorry, my swap-ee!!)

Thanks again, Ashley, for being such a fabulous hostess, and THANK YOU SO MUCH, Jennifer, I love my swap gifts!


 
 
 
For my creation, I was assigned Monique, a mama of 3 young girls -- I took advantage of sewing for a stranger, and shared what I love doing with my daughter: MATCHING!  I think I must be one of a rare breed, and I sure hope Monique is like me!  Not knowing exactly what ages were the girls, I made half aprons for the whole crew in various sizes -- I am sooo in love with aprons, and have a mini-collection for myself :)!  I'll admit that these were the first ones I made, so perhaps this was not the best choice for me :D.  I used the fabric that Angela Yosten shared with me (Eden by Lila Tueller for Moda Fabric), since the layer cake stash that I had was primarily in pinks + yellows, 2 of Monique's favorite colors! And had some lovely florals + bird prints, which was just cheery enough to be good for kids + grown-ups :)! Unfortch, my photos turned out horrendously --  but hopefully Monique & her girls enjoy the aprons!

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Have machine, will travel

Vegas for a week? Heck yes, my machine wants in on that action! I know, sounds crazy... And maybe is crazy. But with my husband at a conference all day for most of the week, and my first time in, ever, to have a full day *all* to myself with zero interruptions -- well, doesn't that sound like heaven for a sewing-addict? I admit: I ate myself sick 2 days, so I did a lot of sleeping (darn those buffets! And tasty Italian dishes!), but my day-and-a-half of sewing was bliss. And totally worth my rolling carryon sacrifice to my machine. Perhaps not worth all the space I used up for all the fabric I brought (what was I thinking?), and I realized that -- despite my fun partnering with charities this summer -- I am not destined to make cloth dolls for profit. Bc no one would buy the one I was making for a friend's daughter :D I just really wanted to see if I could help expand the market of cloth dolls to kids of all colors -- not just African American/black children or white children, and not just Hispanic (though there are few of those out there too), but also the darker-complected Asians (like myself), or the Southeast Asians, or the beautiful shades in between (like my daughter, who is half A/PI, and half white. Anyhoo -- I'll have to figure out another way to realize that dream (or let it go), bc my sewing-calling clearly lays elsewhere :D Maybe in creating padded casing for sewing machines, to insert in a wheeled carryon... Hmm...
The machine, enjoying the view in the hotel room.
my attempt at hand embroidery, free-style (bc I'm a smidge lazy), for my daughter's room >

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

this day

Originally posted by Oliver Knox:
This is never an easy day. But it is especially difficult for all of you, the families of nearly 3,000 innocents who lost their lives—your mothers and fathers, your husbands and wives, your sons and your daughters. They were taken from us suddenly and far too soon.


Even now, all these years later, it is easy for those of us who lived through that day to close our eyes and to find ourselves back there—and back here—back when grief crashed over us like an awful wave, when Americans everywhere held each other tight, seeking the reassurance that the world we knew wasn't crumbling under our feet.

And even though we may never be able to fully lift the burden carried by those left behind, we know that somewhere, a son is growing up with his father's eyes and a daughter has her mother's laugh—living reminders that those who died are with us still.

As painful as this day is and always will be, it leaves us with a lesson that no single event can ever destroy who we are. No act of terrorism can ever change what we stand for. Instead, we recommit ourselves to the values that we believe in, holding firmly without wavering to the hope that we confess.

God bless the memories of those we lost. And God bless these United States of America."
 - President Obama, 11 September 2012

For no matter how many anniversaries you experience, for at least an instant, the terror of that moment returns; the lingering echo of that phone call; that sense of total disbelief that envelops you, where you feel like you're being sucked into a black hole in the middle of your chest.

My hope for you all is that as every year passes, the depth of your pain recedes and you find comfort, as I have, genuine comfort in recalling his smile, her laugh, their touch.  And I hope you're as certain as I am that she can see what a wonderful man her son has turned out to be, grown up to be; that he knows everything that your daughter has achieved, and that he can hear, and she can hear how her mom still talks about her, the day he scored the winning touchdown, how bright and beautiful she was on that graduation day, and know that he knows what a beautiful child the daughter he never got to see has turned out to be, and how much she reminds you of him.

For I know you see your wife every time you see her smile on your child's face. You remember your daughter every time you hear laughter coming from her brother's lips. And you remember your husband every time your son just touches your hand.

America has not forgotten the heroism of your husbands, wives, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers.
 - Vice President Joe Biden, honoring the passengers and crew of Flight 93, in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.  Biden lost his first wife and baby daughter in a 1972 car crash.


Monday, September 03, 2012

Summer of Sewing

 
I have so many projects on my list. Today being Labor Day, I didn't work on these; instead, I bought more materials :) Including this one, that I hope will be a bag for my fabulous mother-in-law. Also on my checklist:
  • sending off the quilt for Jessica Christine
  • monogram-appliqué-ing the quilt for my friend's newly-adopted son
  • knocking out 5 postings for my etsy shop
  • altering 4 shirts for my daughter (the straps for 2 tanks, and modifying 2 shirts into dresses)
  • replacing the cover of Z's nap mat with something more our style
  • finishing one of the 4 dresses I want for myself ;)
I'm hoping this list will help hold me accountable!

Celebrating my summer of sewing, here's what I knocked out since I completed my beginner's sewing series:
  •  3 rag quilts: one for my next door neighbor that i ended up keeping :), one for a photographer friend, and one for my friend's son
  • a t-shirt Gameday dress for my hubby's cousin (grad gift, woot)
  • embellished matching toddler t-shirt dresses for Z and her cousin
  • 1 hemmed pair of jeans for the hubs
  • an embellished tie onesie for a first birthday gift
  • 2 zippered clutches
  • 1 ribbon taggie toy
  • 4 zippered boxy bags
  • 1 doll for Z, 37 dolls for orphans
Not so bad for a summer :)!

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Addiction


I have no words. Other than I soo want to keep this for myself. Lucky you, Jessica ;)! Not quite done but maybe by Friday -- else it will be in the mail soon for sure!

Sunday, July 29, 2012

It's Official

It's official. I've got an addiction. Once I get caught up, I'll explain my new found knowledge. In The meantime: check out the awesomeness I won from Angela Yosten, http://www.angelayosten.com!! Of course the best part is that note, but eeee, I'm so excited! Of course I wanted to do my thank you post by posting a pic of what I crafted with the goodies, but that is going to be a long time coming :D I did use the press and tape measure though -- woot! Thanks again Angela!

More Treasures!

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