Vote for me!

The contest is up and running. See my entry here.

Hopefully your socks are way across the room! :)

"Uncommon Quilt" #2

"Holiday Aftermath" 8x10

This quilt uses leftover holiday bits. The background is printed tissue paper, and the decorations are paper package tags and other bits cut from wrapping paper, along with some curly ribbon! The letters and tree are from scrap fabric that I hoisted from Mom's scrap bin before I left.

Note to self: Sewing on tissue paper is a one shot deal; make sure everything is set before you stitch!

The brainstorming begins...

I'm working on developing my "masterpiece" for the Amy Butler Contest.
So far I've decided I want a tote/ridiculously large bag for work and shoving stuff into when shopping and whatnot. And it has to be both fun and functional. Amy's work is the best of the midwest: a little trendy but still traditional, chic but relaxed, genuine and unpretentious. I figure if it makes me happy then I've stayed pretty true to the theme of the contest (and made a bag I love in the process).
My preliminary sketch:Blurry, I know. But it will be interesting how close the final bag comes to this. I'm guess not even close, based on past performances!

I wish I was as cool as...

Amy Butler! Sigh. That woman is ridiculously talented. When her house in Ohio (!) was profiled I was insanely jealous. My thrift store/vintage finds are never that cool or look so chic--we still have the college dorm room-esque vibe going on with most of our furniture! So I was uber excited when I saw this:
Make a handbag inspired by Amy Butler!?! And win a sewing machine (the one I was looking at buying!)?!?! It's like they read my mind...
Apparently I'm a little slow on the uptake as this has been up for a while. Better get a move on!

Humdrum hutch goes bookish

Finally finished!
$30 Hutch via Craiglist plus a gallon of paint and a old hardback book have transformed this less than stylish hutch into a stylish piece of furniture. Check it out!Before: Ewww, not cool. Useful but ugly!
After: Much better!
Up close and personal: The back of the shelves are papered with pages from and old book for a neat effect.

I entered this in Blueprint magazine (so sad it's out of print!) and Apartment Therapy's January Jumpstart contest. Hopefully the judges will be as fond of it as I am.

My first "Uncommon Quilt"

Inspired by this book, I tried my hand at a so-called uncommon quilt:

"Overindulgence" 8x10

I used pieces of fabric that I pulled out of mom's scrap bin, some red, pink and purple nylon net, bits of gold ribbon I had stashed away, and red heart rhinestone that were left over from Jen and Ray's wedding gift. Most of the stitching was done on my mom's Bernina; I would have never been able to do that free-motion-esque heartbeat on my machine!