merry christmas to all!

I love Christmas, and a white Christmas is even better! (as long as it's not delaying my travel plans) On Sunday we're heading out to Myrtle Beach to visit my hubby's family. Good bye snow and ice, hello sunshine and sand!

granny squares

Why am I just now learning to crochet?? After a few hours of following along with youtube tutorials, I can do it! I want to make a granny square blanket, because I have always loved them. They aren't perfect yet, so I think I'll make a scarf out of my practice squares. 

good day

My brother got married today. It was b e a u tiful!

We're headed back home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a little crochet time in the car on the way back.

Lately I've been knitting/crocheting these headbands using this tutorial:

They're so quick to make and are a great way to use up scrap yarn.

Happy Weekend!

christmastime is here, happiness and cheer

I've been seeing lots of cute wreaths in blogland lately. So, I had to make one of my own. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I used pages from Emma. I had two copies so I didn't feel so bad about ripping the pages out of one. I crocheted the hanging loop. So pretty, and I think I'll leave it up all year round!

Here are some other pretties I've been eyeing:

source

 source

Have a great weekend!

red

yummy red goodness:

 source

source

source

source

I'm feeling festive. and crafty. Off to make a crochet garland for my tree!

a bit of a break

My little newbie blog and my crafting activities are moving to the back burner while I muddle through these last few weeks of classes. Once finals are over I'll be right back to crafting/blogging!

clever title

I. love. this. book. I have been waiting oh so patiently for it to come out. And, I just so happened to have a 30% coup to Borders and some Borders Bucks, yippee! Unfortunately, I've had zero time to make anything from the book yet, and I probably won't until winter break. (Ohhh winter break, PLEASE come rescue me)

On an unrelated note: we have a great new coffee shop. It's called Gray Owl Coffee, and I lovelovelove it. It has such a great indie feel, and the coffee is wonderful (french press)! So if you're in Norman, OK you should totally check it out!

latte. num yummy.

revive

Finally something fabric-y to show! It's just a quilt top, so not technically finished. But what the hey, I'll show it anyway. This is actually a shop sample I made for work. Now that it's finished I can make the fabric kits! The fabric is absolutely gorgeous - it's a line by Patricia Bravo (of Art Gallery Fabrics) called Revive. These pictures don't do the colors justice (the lighting in my apartment is terrible, and I didn't have a chance to take a picture outdoors before I had to take the top back to work). So just trust me when I say it is sooo much prettier in person.

The flower print in the middle is my favorite. I love it, it's so soothing. Lately I've been working with really bright, saturated colors, so working with these fabrics was a nice change. (Kindly ignore the wrinkles. I should have pressed before pictures)

The pattern came from this book. (Great book, by the way!)

Looking forward trying a new coffee shop this weekend, and a little relaxation time with the hubby. That's it for now!

quilting bee and pretty flowers

After seeing this to die for quilt top over at Film in the Fridge, I have been wanting to join a virtual quilting bee, but didn't really know how to go about it. Then, I came across the Block Party! blog. They've started a quilt along (yay!), and you can join just that if you're not into the idea of a bee. I am seriously SO excited.

This picture is not the greatest, I took it while I was walking to class this afternoon. The landscapers have been doing a great job keeping campus lookin' good.

That's it for now!

Hopefully there will be an actual sewing-related post this week!

ode to after-halloween candy sale

If I am patient, you will reward me with copious amounts of candy candy candy.

I've been studying all weekend, so no time for sewing. But I did manage to squeeze in a bit of bread-bakin' of the punkin variety this afternoon. I didn't realize I was out of ground cloves until I was in the middle of things, but I can only slightly tell the difference.

On to a new week!

happy halloween!

I intended to dye the frosting orange... but alas, I was out of food coloring. Oh well, they're still cute. and yummy. Happy Halloween!

"there is another sky, ever serene and fair"

I love that Emily Dickinson poem.

I met the hubby for dinner after work, but I had to take a quick picture before we ate. The sky was gorgeous! I love this time of year.

Looking forward to celebrating Halloween tomorrow, although I have tests coming up this week, so unfortunately the weekend will consist of obscene amounts of studying. Yuck.

rain rain rain

It's been gray like this all day. I had to walk to class in the rain today And, even though I had an umbrella, I still got wet. Mostly because I was trying to shield my backpack (which was holding my laptop) with my umbrella rather than my head. Usually though, I love the rain. I think I could live in Seattle. Maybe I should visit first.

Now for a bit of sewing:

I love piecing blocks like this - no pattern, just random. These are destined to be a birthday gift. Not the blocks themselves, of course, but the quilt they will become. Can't wait to start putting it together!

fall is finally here!

I finished another started-over-the-summer project. It's a string quilt (sew & flip style). I just picked some fabrics and started sewing, making it up as I went along. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! It doesn't have any batting between the front and back layers of fabric, so I don't know whether it's technically a quilt... ? Anyway, this blanket is a gift for a lovely couple I know, and I hope they like it! The weather has been so wonderful recently, I absolutely love fall! Trying to get this picture was a little tough, because it's been so windy.

Can you see the changing leaves behind me? YAY!

I've been dying to make one of these lately. I saw a pillow a couple years ago at Anthropologie that looked really similar. I bookmarked it online thinking I would try my hand at making one (Anthropologie is awesome, but I'm not spending $88 on a pillow). But it must be buried in my excessively long list of bookmarked stuffs because I can't find it now, so I was glad to come across this lovely tutorial.

This never gets old. ever ever ever.

finishing up summer projects

I have a bad habit of starting a project and alllmost finishing it before getting distracted by an idea for a different project. Sewers' attention deficit disorder, I suppose. And every time I walk past the s.o.u.p. (shelf of unfinished projects) they look at me with sad eyes like the money with the big eyeballs on the Geico commercials. So anywho, I've finished up a few, and here they be:

My pots and pans can't wait to rest their shiny bottoms on these lovely things. Now I have to make time to cook...

It wasn't of course until I got done that I noticed I had put the loops on different sides of each potholder - blast! Unfortunately, it will be noticeable when they're hanging because they're slightly rectangular instead of square. Oh well. Better luck next time. I'm sure not ripping them apart to fix one pesky loop. The pattern for these potholders came from this book - which I got with my 40% off coup from Hobby Lobby. (YEAH!) This is the first project I've made out of this book, but there are several more I have my eye on.

These placemats weren't from a pattern, just out of my head. I got this yummy Phillip Jacobs fabric at the 2009 OKC winter quilt show (the 2010 show is coming up soon!). I tried some wavy line quilting, and I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out. It looks like a wonky grid. I'm thinking of making some solid purple napkins to go with... or maybe some pieced napkins like these out of several different purples and a bit of blue.

Also, I got two new pieces of fabric from Hobby Lobby, and I love them. I haven't decided what to do with them (maybe a baby or lap quilt), but for now I'll just fondle and pet them.

Had a fantastic weekend with Charles, although it was spent mostly studying. We did watch a movie though - Away We Go, with John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph. It's a great movie, and the music is by Alexi Murdoch (♥ x a bajillion).

New How I Met Your Mother tomorrow! wahooo

Here goes...

I don't know what I'm thinking starting a blog... just one more thing to lure me away from my studies. However, I would like to document the process of my humble crafty creations, and also to document my life in general. So, here goes.