m.i.a.

well, hello folks! it's been a long time. i have become an awful blogger since i started being at home all the time. i'm never on the computer anymore. i've pretty much been sewing and hanging out with my dog all the time these days.

also, we unfortunately had a pretty sad event in our family. my sweet grandmother passed away a few weeks ago. a lot of time was spent going back and forth between san diego and los angeles before her passing. i wanted to see her as much as possible. she was such a big influence on who i am as a person and a crafter. she was really into needlepoint and counted cross-stitch and made stuff for our entire family. she was really a special lady and i miss her so much. if your grandma's still around, give her a kiss for me the next time you see her.




i really want to get back into blogging and i have a ton of projects laying around that are finished or close to being done! i promise to have more posts soon about the quilts i have been working on and will be making soon! until then, here's a stack of tops waiting to be quilted. some of these may look familiar. one is for me and the other two are gifts! more about them soon!

happy birthday to me!

i had an amazing birthday on saturday. first thing in the morning, my boyfriend gave me this beauty:




he is so good. i found it on etsy ages ago and fell in love with it. i even looked it up again a few weeks ago and was heartbroken that it had been sold! it's gigantic (86x100) and mostly hand-sewn. i plan on bringing it to the next meeting because it's 100000x prettier in person.

then later on in the day, i went and checked my mail and found even more goodies! my pretty {little} pouch swap was waiting for me, and i was totally blown away by how amazing it was!!! the super-sweet jen made me this great little wristlet that i used right away! it was filled with totally practical items that i would have ended up putting in there anyway. it was so thoughtful of her! i really love how she went out of her way to make something that was so *me*!




i mean, look how well she pegged me! an order i had just made from superbuzzy also came in the mail that day, with the same fabric she used in it! she really got my taste.

lucky duck!

yesterday, we had another great lamqg meeting. we gave our home goods swap items to our secret partners, and i think i lucked out on both ends! i got to make something for someone i hadn't met, so i was a little nervous. but luckily the super-sweet hollie seemed to really like the sewing machine cover i made her. and i liked it so much that i think i might have to make a similar one for myself!

and i really hit the swap partner jackpot on the gift i received. liz is one of my favorite quilters in our guild. she always has great, bold colors and really graphic patterns. she made me this amazing pillow, and i can't wait to put it to good use!




she really pulled together all of my likes into one BIG pillow! and bucky was a big fan, too. he couldn't stop sniffing it!

the state that i am in

things in my life are very transitory at this point. i am kind of feeling like i'm in limbo, and the state of my workspace is definitely reflecting my mood. when i step back and look at it all, it's an overwhelming mess. but i have to remember that there are moments of inspiration hidden among all the fabric stacks and unfinished projects. i just need to pull myself back together and get to work on it!

swaps and more swaps

i've been taking time off from work here and there to steal away a day or two for sewing. it's been really great and i've been able to get so much done!

i keep on saying "no more swaps!" because they can be a bit overwhelming sometimes, but i can't stop myself. too many great swaps keep on popping up and i love an excuse to sew something for someone else.

the lamqg decided to have a home goods swap, and i got a really cute partner that i wanted to make something useful for. i hope they enjoy the sewing machine cover i made! i also threw in some other goodies, because that's often the best part about swapping!




and i also joined the goodie bag swap on flickr, and i knew i really wanted to try making a jane market bag because i love the one i received in a previous swap. i decided to give it a try in colors that were more me than my partner so that i could use it if i messed it up too badly on the first try. but the pattern is so easy and went together so great that i'm going to give the bag to my mom for mother's day! i know she'll love it as a beach bag, and i plan on filling it with a towel, sandals, sunscreen and probably a good margarita mix!