Flight

One year ago tonight, my future husband was on a plane from Boston to Missoula, Montana to see a girl he hadn't seen in roughly 12 years:  Me.  Happy anniversary of flight, dearheart.  It's been a crazy year...I love you.

My Weekend Project, Part II

This is what I really made this weekend.  I didn't decide til around 6:30 pm Sunday that I needed to create something...so one card was as far as I got.  It's amazing how long it takes to cut out a herd of tiny hearts!  No tutorial for this one...just a prefolded white card, some cardstock, scissors and glue.  And...if you're smarter than I am, a heart hole punch!  I can't decide whether to leave the front as is, or write something clever like, "Happy Valentines Day!"  Thoughts?

My Weekend Project, Part I

Okay, so I thought of posting a My Weekend Project every Monday to help motivate me to create more...The only problem is 1)  It's Tuesday...and 2)  This project is actually from a couple weekends ago.  Oh well, it's a start.  Hopefully later today I will post Part II, which will include what I actually created this weekend.

I never really saw the point of making pillowcases before, honestly.  But this last December when I was so homesick for family and Christmas in Montana, I discovered some flannel snowmen pillocases* that my mom had made for me a few years back.  Putting them on the bed made me feel so homey and festive and loved.  I don't know if making my own pillowcases have quite that effect (especially since Mac mildly hates them), but I really enjoyed the process and was pleased with how they turned out.  I used the Perfect Pillow Case tutorial from Stop Staring and Start Sewing, only I made my border (yellow) 2 inches wider (12"), which made the body (blue) 2 inches shorter (23").

Yeah, they're a little bit more Holly Hobbie-ish than my usual style...but there's also something comforting about that (maybe because my oldest sister used to make me and my middle sister Holly Hobbie art for Christmas presents).  There's also something kind of happy-sweet-silly-eccentric-English-lady about tossing floral prints wherever you want (perhaps this explains my strange addiction to cotton prints??). 

Mac's main reason for not liking them (or the one that he'll admit to, anyway), is that they don't really match** the rest of our "decor".  I'm putting quotation marks around the word decor because we haven't really done much that can be considered decorating...as you can see by the writing on the wall.

Hope you enjoyed the first of the My Weekend Project posts!  I'm really excited and hopeful about creating more this year.  I have linked the title of this post directly to the tutorial--I will try to do that every time I use a tutorial for a project so you have an easy reference.

*  Back then I wondered what I would do with 2 pillowcases!  I guess my mom was psychic.
**  It is truly a mystery to me when guys started caring about these things...I know I'm not the only one with a husband with a strong sense of style and equally strong opinions.  Ah well...at least he has good taste!

My Weekend Apron...or, New Year's Revolution Success!

I did it!  I said I was in the mood to sew and I actually did something about it!  Granted...I was only motivated because of a last-minute gifting opportunity which failed to materialize in the end (didn't finish in time, didn't like it enough to give it away)...but hey, I sewed!  It's been way too long, I have to say.  Both me and the machine could use a few improvements, but all in all I'd say we got along rather handily.

I made up the pattern for this one, but as I was brainstorming and gathering inspiration online, I did come up with a few patterns that look fun to try.  Best of all, they're free!  I really love the internet sometimes.  I'll try to post the best of my findings soon...I'd like to make another apron in the near future.  No real reason...they're just simple and fun, and I like having the freedom to experiment without worrying about whether I'd wear it (in public) or not.  (Sadly, this worry has become less and less frequent of late, and I think I may be in need of some fashion counseling soon.)

My workspace was looking so inviting this weekend, how could I help but sew!?

While I Was Away...

Here's a look at some of the things that went down during my incredibly long lapse from blogging:

I managed to convert 1 to 2 to 3 (and in case it's not obvious from the last picture...make a little cash along the way!)

I made my first successful pie crusts ever!

Mac started a blog of his own!

(Oh, and hell froze over too.  Tiny joke, as Mac used to tease me about my excessive blog presence.)

And speaking of hell freezing over, Mac took a walk with me yesterday for Christmas : ]  A walk as in...outside...with no foreseeable destination!  My favorite.  I think this deserves a post all its own.

UPDATE

I almost forgot!  I also got a new job, which is as close as I'll probably ever come to a childhood Della Street fantasy.

(Not to be confused with this...)

Haha, thanks for indulging me.  It looks like I also acquired a new follower in my absence, which thrills me to pieces.  Hopefully I haven't lost everyone with the last few hours of blogging!

Fingerless Glove Love

Doing what I do best...

In fact, this is what I shall be doing pretty solidly through the end of the month.  A friend of mine (she went to school with Mac and me!) has ordered 10 pair of fingerless gloves to give away for Christmas gifts.  Well, 9 to give away and 1 to keep for herself  : ]  I'm so excited for the knitting--and because it means I get to discover some yummy new yarn colors from KnitPicks!  Pictures and progress reports are sure to follow.  Now to the knitting...

Give a Hoot!

So, remember when I said I was searching for a knitting project to take up soon!?  I think I found my dream project!  It's owls!  On a sweater!  And it's free (courtesy of Ravelry.com)! 

On a slightly sadder note (or two), I'm afraid I'll have to wait until I have an income to make this.  For the time being, I'll have to occupy myself with projects that can be completed from my too-large (but apparently not large enough for bigger projects) yarn stash.  Second sad note...yesterday in church the 'turn-around-and-shake-hands' question was, "What is your favorite thing about Fall?"  So I proceeded to explain to two sweet ladies nearby that I was looking forward to the cooler weather...at which they both gave pitying laughs and said..."We don't have cooler weather.  In fact, we don't have Fall".  Apparently, Fall in Texas consists entirely of the smell of pumpkin spice.  Sigh.  I guess I'll have to content myself with a candle and a project I'll never be cold enough to wear.  The good news is, there is something called Winter that I've been told lasts anywhere from 3 days to 6 weeks during the months of February and March.  And then there's always the A/C situation...

Well, it may not be pumpkin spice, but I did bake some Apple Crisp this evening in a burst of Fall-y feelings.  Actually, the sad truth is, I thought apples might be a good way to sneak in Vitamin C for my sickly husband.  Apples have Vitamin C...don't they?  How about broccoli and tomatoes (which we had at dinner)?  Hm.  Oh who am I kidding...like I ever need an excuse to make/eat a treat.  I will tell you that I did manage to replace the white flour with wheat flour and use Smart Balance instead of butter.  Amazingly...it tasted just as bad for me as always...which, sadly, did not stop me from eating most of the pan.  (Thank goodness I halved it!)

My First Quilt...almost

Lately I have been feeling painfully inspired...and deeply unmotivated.  This, as you can well imagine, is a frustrating combination.  Today I got inspired to make my first quilt (maybe it was my talk of patchwork in the last post that did it).  I found some pretty hopeful beginner patterns here (Amy Butler!) and here...but alas, the above montage demonstrates precisely how far along I got in the project.

Well anyway, it was nice to unearth some of my fabric from storage.  It's also nice to know (in theory anyway) that one day soon I might possibly justify this weird addiction I have to cotton prints.  As for the jumping on the bed...Well, Mac was safely out of the room, the camera was rolling, and I'm afraid I couldn't resist.  Speaking of silly bedroom photos...

Mac dug my Seabiscuit costume out of the closet one evening and said, "You should take a picture for my profile".  I was more than happy to oblige...and more than pleased with the results.  He did not, however, end up using the photo, as he suddenly became afraid of the unsavory comments that might ensue.  Well, call me innocent, I just think it's funny.

I Love a Project

This was my project for the day.  Thank you cards for the wonderful guests at our wedding reception and send-off party.

I have a love-hate relationship with unemployment right now.  I love that it affords me time to do stuff like this,  but I hate that it brings no income and generally makes me feel like a worthless slob who stays at home shunning the lovely Texas sun.  Anywho.

This is what we used for our party invitations (minus all the details). 

I think it was one of our first lessons in the art of compromise.  I wanted to send out handmade invitations by mail, and Mac wanted to send out evites.  Thinking that it probably wouldn't put our union in the best of lights if we each did our own separate thing, we found a way to meet in the middle.  I handmade the invitation, and Mac scanned it in to e-mail to all our friends. 

This was what I had planned to do all along before changing my plan at the last minute.

I could never come up with a color for the birds, for reasons which I shall explain in a later post.  And I also couldn't shake the feeling that this picture was just a little too cutesy for our invitation.

This is the gloomy cousin of the previous picture.  Mac voted it down, and I agreed.

This is the original page in my sketchbook.

Now, back to being unemployed.