Oh, my.

I'm a little overwhelmed really. For a few reasons, but mainly because of the response I have gotten from the Bento Box quilt. Lately it has been referenced on the Sew Mama Sew blog, Malka's amazing A Stitch in Dye and (sharp intake of breath), Shim+Sons . All of this is crazy, because these people are pretty much some of my big crafting heroes, and they linked to little old me. I hyperventilated a little, and the husband told me to calm down, and reminded me that because he helped pick the quilt colors, (a 45-minute Hancock's fiasco), he is largely responsible for the success of the quilt. Anyway, thank you to everyone who has taken a look or commented, it means a lot to me, and I appreciate your interest!
This weekend was pretty much consumed with running around for various reasons, but Sunday afternoon I had some time to spare, so I worked on these, my latest WIP. They will be patchwork scarves, hopefully sometime soon. These little boogers are time consuming, though, mostly because I decided I needed patchwork on BOTH sides, silly, silly, idea.I also had a chance to go pick up some pumpkins at my favorite price chopper. I bought the Martha Stewart Holiday Halloween issue last week, so I have been thinking a lot about decorations, even though Halloween isn't really a big-deal holiday for me. I'm dying to make the turnip-lantern-light things, just as soon as I can find turnips big enough. I also picked up a few ingredients and made these really simple pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Pretty good, and pretty hard to mess up.
One thing I have learned from blogging is that I am awful at writing conclusions. And so I think I will stop trying, and simply end by dramatically saying:
"Conclude!"
(And a picture of my cat. Because, you know, I really like the cat, and assume everyone else must, too. See? Bad at concluding.)
Conclude!

Blogging for the Sake of Blogging.

Really, I should have titled it this post "I have nothing to say, but insist on saying something anyway". It is one of the most common scenarios I see played out in the classroom. Most times, it's as though the child had no idea their hand was raised until we call on them. Then, a puzzled look, a moment of stammering, and a totally random bit of information. So, here, I offer up the blog-post equivalent."This is the inside of my shower! See? I take showers in here. I like the curtain. Ok?""This is my sewing chair with a vintage tablecloth I am going to cut up on it. I put it there, to take a picture. I don't keep tablecloths as cushions. Did you see that show last night?""I washed the quilt, and it got all puckery. I like it better, it has dimples and texture and feels very REAL.""I made a muslin of a shirt that fit so poorly this is the only part I like, and therefor the only part I will show. Pintucks, much more fun than I would have thought.""Uhmmm.... Uhm. I forgot."

Less Interesting.

Thanks for the quilt love, everybody. I did not design it, it was actually the first quilt I have ever done from a pattern, and I really enjoyed it. I forget who wrote it, but I'm sure it can be googled. I think I will make a few more of these, as it was fast (relatively, of course) and I know lots of people who are having babies in the near future. Also, I forgot to mention that all those photographs were pre-washing, so I will probably post photos again of the quilt in its more bunchy-quilty permanent state.
In other news, I got new shoes.Ok, so maybe "news" is too strong a word to use for the acquisition of shoes. But seriously, plaid Pumas. So good.And, a bunch of WONDERFUL linen from Namolio on etsy. If you haven't checked her shop out, you really should, she's an amazing seller and I LOOOVE everything she sent me, which was more than I bargained for.Really, these photos don't do this stuff justice at all. It's great. And as soon as I have gotten over my quilt-hangover I'll start using it, I promise.

Bento Box.

Here it is kids, my weekend, in fabric form. Sorry I've been so stingy with the words lately, I blame it on 1) my laziness and 2) listening to This American Life whilst doing all photo editing/blog type activities. During the piecing process. This part went surprisingly fast, I think all in all it took about 5 hours to do all cutting, sewing, etc. involved in piecing.What REALLY took all the time was the quilting. Why on earth did I decide to do it like this? Sheer stupidity, I think, is the only answer. Never have I changed so many bobbins in one project. Blech.I sewed the binding on in a few sittings. I really enjoy doing the binding more than anything else really. It pulls everything together so nicely, and makes the whole thing seem real, which is nice, after you've seen it looking like a stringy mess for so long.How many pictures are necessary? Not this many.

Something Crafty This Way Comes...

Thought I would take a bit of time to share some QIP (quilt-in-progress) pictures. I've done two days worth of after-school work on this (3:00-6:00 pm), and I'm pretty pleased with the progress so far. I've got a bit to learn about following cutting quantity directions on quilt patterns, but, whatever. I started planning the color scheme and everything SO long ago, in Spring, and now I am pleased to see that it has worked out nicely, and doesn't much resemble vomit.

Pictures, That's What I Like.

Soooo Soft.Soooo gross.Newish cozy corner.New old coffee table.The kitty noseprint phenomena. On every one of my windows, exactly at kitty-nose height.Craft space in-progress.Outdoor neighbor.Vintage love.
All for now.

New Couch

Thank you for all the sweet words, everybody. This weekend was relaxing for the most part, except well, you know, the fact that we spent two days couch shopping, got rear-ended in the process, and had our cat fall from the upper level of our apartment to the wooden floor of the main level.(Don't worry, he's fine.) Sigh. But looky! Couch! Lovey Couch!So, I'm being a little silly about the couch, but it's really a big deal for us, our first piece of "real" furniture. We felt like such ADULTS, buying a couch, negotiating to get 10% off, praying it would fit up our stairs. And now that it's in place, we have started to feel like this place is really "home", not just another temporary place on the way to home.I love our entryway decor. Fake stuffed wildlife, what can beat it? When we weren't couch shopping, we did some swimming and antiquing in St. Joseph, hung out with both sets of parents, and listened to the song "Hold Music" by Architecture in Helsinki approximately 400 times. You should check it out, after three listens you will be totally incapable of getting it out of your head. Craft content is returning, I swear, but is on hold while my craft room is restructured around the huge amount of space I now have. Mwahaha.