My Crafty Corner

I am very excited to say that we have sectioned off a little space for me in our guest bedroom/office to do my crafty things! Right now it looks a little boring.


So I have a few projects up my sleeve to spruce it up a bit. That way I will be inspired to do more crafts, we all need a little inspiration, right? Okay so my first completed project are these wonderfully fun fabric covered cork boards. They are too cute. I decided to take a little break from the quilt. It was very fun picking out the fabric for these boards and better yet the project was done in 3 days! Really it is a 1 day project but I didn't buy all the supplies on the first trip to the store. It was nice to have quick results. This idea came from a very fun magazine called Stitch. I am in love with this magazine. It is full of fun sewing projects. There are about 7 other projects in the Winter 2008 issue that I am itching to do. I haven't even checked the other issues but I'm sure they are full of great projects too.

Here are a couple pictures of all the supplies for the fabric covered cork boards.

These were so fun to make you can really be creative with the kind of fabrics you choose. I only picked out 2 and I decided to go with plain colors for mine; so that I can fill them with fun clippings and pictures and whatever I feel like. This project has made my corner so fun to be in.


We also found and inexpensive shelf to store extra fabric and supplies. Also a stool to sit on I am very excited about this I was using one of out dining room chairs which for me was way too short, now when I am sewing I can actually see what I'm doing :). Lastly we decided to place the white cylinder lamp in the corner it was previously in the far corner of our bedroom getting no use. You can't see this in the picture but there is a nice space for my sewing machine under the desk so when I need it I can move the computer and in a snap I have a sewing desk. All these changes are vast improvements to the functionality of my crafty corner, and I'm so excited!!!


Stay tuned for future updates. I am considering recovering the stool at some point with a fun fabric :). But for now my craft time will be devoted back to the quilt.

Unexpected Finds

I love antique stores. They are so inspiring full of unique treasures from the past. Most often I cannot come close to affording these treasures. Recently I paid a visit to a quaint little shop in Woodstock, VA. It was beautiful and full of fun things most of which were crazy expensive but I was able to leave with several beautiful finds that I want to show you!
I always tend to head straight for the jewelery in shops and at this store they had a great selection. I love Cameos but had yet to own any...until now, which brings us to the first finds. I was so excited to find these two pairs of earrings. They are both made of some kind of plastic which made them affordable for me, but they don't feel cheap at all which is nice. Both pairs are screw backs which is also something I have never had, I guess that shows their age.

Here is a picture of my fun jewelery finds.

Next are the buttons. I love unique buttons they can be so interesting and give extra interest to clothing. I don't have a big collection of buttons but this shop sure did, there were buttons everywhere I turned so I could not help but check them out and I am glad I did. I was able to come home with four special buttons. I can't wait to use them on something!

Here they are...

It's hard to see the wonderful detail and beautiful color of each button in these pictures. The ones on the right are a nice olive green with a little hint of amber in the etching, and the red one on the left has an intricate design around the rim, so fun..

I wish all of you could have seen this antique shop with me. Hooray for old things!!

Fabric!!!

Yes it's true the fabric came. I was so excited when I received the email that they had shipped my fabric, but I was even more excited to find it in my mail box the very next day! I didn't realize but it was shipped from only 1 hour and a half away from me. I immediately pulled it out and started envisioning the finished quilt. I am still a ways away from a finished product but it was fun to daydream. I have made a just little bit of progress thus far. I have cut 3 yards of my white fabric into 12 inch squares and have begun the folding and ironing step. I am on my way to a masterpiece! So far this quilt has been tons of fun to make I have really enjoyed the folding/ironing stage it reminds me of that game fortune teller from our childhood, I can remember playing it for hours. I love that game!

Well here is what you are waiting for....fabric pictures of course!


Here is a picture of some of the folding progress of the quilt

Well I'm off to iron some more!

Special Visitor

My week started out with a special "surprise" visit from my wonderful friend Carrie from out of town. The truth is that it was supposed to be a surprise but I actually knew she was coming all along. I happened to be sitting right next to Jordan when he received the email from Carrie that she wanted to come up for a surprise visit. Sadly he mentioned to me that Carrie emailed him before realizing what her email was about so it was a bust from the beginning. I still tried to pretend that I didn't know when Carrie arrived but she could see through me instantly...I wasn't the least bit convincing. None the less we had a wonderful time! She came up Sunday afternoon and we spent the day chatting and catching up then we had dinner at a yummy Thai place in our downtown mall. Then Monday came and we had a slow paced morning with a yummy breakfast and then we ended up at an amazing bead store which is also located in the downtown mall area. There Carrie and I both choose our beads and made a necklace, it was so much fun we spent the whole afternoon there. If you live near a bead store I highly recommend making something it's a fun experience for sure.

Here is a picture of Carrie's necklace, the beads she picked where a fun range of color's and I love her little elephant!

Here is a picture of mine, it is made with colorful Jade. I have been eyeballing this kind of Jade for awhile now so it was fun to make something with it.

So Thank You Carrie for visiting me I had so much fun!!

Quilting...Past.Present.Future

I'm on pins and needles waiting for my fabric to arrive in the mail for my new quilting project! So In the mean time I have decided to write about all my past projects and on to what I am doing now.

Below is my very first quilt. I had decided to make a quilt during the summer after my sophomore year of college so I called upon the help of my best friend's mom who is an avid quilter and craft maker. She gave me countless quilting books to look through to find the perfect pattern. I finally decided on a windmill pattern. Then it was on to the fabric store for fabric this was my favorite part I love finding coordinating fabrics. The backing fabric is filled with cute little ladybugs I had to mention that since you can't see them clearly in the photo. As I made the quilt she guided my through the process sharing many tips from her years of experience. I pieced the top by machine and did the quilting by hand. I loved the whole process.
Several years went by before making another one. My next two quilt projects were just block quilts with stitching at the corners of the blocks to secure the quilt.

This one I made for my first apartment, instead of batting for the middle I used an imitation down blanket, which makes it nice and fluffy. Now it has made its home in our guest bedroom.

The last one was a Christmas gift for my Husbands parents. The middle used for this one was batting. I love paisley fabrics...


Now for my new project!! To start I want to let you know what spurred me on to do another quilt. The past 3 quilts were spread out by 7 years because of full-time school and then a full-time job. Well now we have moved and I have no job (trust me I am looking) but in the meantime I need a project to fill my time. My loving husband suggested I make another quilt, which I thought was a superb idea. I have decided to make a quilt for my wonderful parents. After a week or so of collaborating with my mom on what she wanted pattern and fabric wise, I am almost ready to begin just waiting on the fabric. My mom decided on the cathedral windows pattern, and I am so excited that she did because I have seen this quilt several times and thought it would be fun and challenging to make. So when I googled the "cathedral window quilt pattern" this wonderful blog post from 2007 came up with step by step instructions I couldn't believe it she makes it look so easy! Which made me even more excited about the project cause now I feel like it is very doable. I can't wait to start! Check back for updates on my quilting progress.