Seems Like A Century

Me: "Hmm so we've been married two years huh?"

Hubs: "Yeah!"

Me: "Feels like two centuries."

Hubs: "HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Me: "In a good way... ish."

Hubs: "Hmph."

Heehee I like to keep him on his toes.

Busy Busy Busy

I've been working on the commissioned quilts... Almost done hand quilting the first one. Hopefully I'll start on the second tomorrow. I'm still annoyed that I fell ill because I haven't been able to do much Christmas stuff like I'd planned. Oh wells. I might try and squeeze in a few things though... fingers crossed.

Okay, back to quilting. My hands really want to call in sick.

Two

Happy anniversary babe! I love you, I love how you love me, and I love that you let me be myself. Thank you for choosing to spend your life with me, and for making me laugh every single day. And thanks for making the coffee every morning.

Two years ago, I married my best friend. In his parents' living room. Yeah that's right, living room. We had 90 days to get married (all that fiance visa blah blah) but we figured 11 days was a long enough wait. We said our I Dos, had lunch at one of our favourite little cafes, and then he went off to class. The stuff dreams are made of.

I honestly was quite happy to leave it at that because I'm not the kind of girl who gets excited about weddings. I never thought I'd get married. Didn't even want kids before I met the hubs.

But we did have two receptions, one here in CT, and another in Singapore. I was SO happy when it was all over because good grief weddings are a chore.

This photo was taken at our reception in May 2008 for his side of the family.

And this is from August 2008 in Singapore during the traditional Chinese tea ceremony where we present our spouse and offer tea to our elders. That's my MIL in the hot seat. The hubs was so afraid he'd do something wrong and make someone upset lol Dork.

I'm Done Eating For The Foreseeable Future

The eleventeen pounds of leftover turkey in my fridge signals to me that Thanksgiving is over. That explains the gut I'm hefting around.

I did exercise some self-restraint at dinner so I don't feel so disgusted with myself. Although I did go back for a tiny little itty bit more pie later in the evening... oh regrets.

I blame my wall hanging?

After dinner we took a ride to my in-law's newly built creamery and outdoor grill to make sure the timers worked on the Christmas lights. It's opening in March and I'll be in that kitchen a lot. Here's the hubs pretending he's on The Price Is Right. So pretty.

I'm pretty much a chocolate ice-cream only kind of girl, but during our taste test (it was so awful... we were made to eat all this free ice-cream...), I totally fell in love with grapenut ice-cream. Yeah, grapenut. It's so good that it doesn't bother me that there's no chocolate whatsoever.

And the rest of the evening was spent watching TV and dressing the Christmas tree. We arrived for dinner and the tree was all set up and lit... but naked. My MIL announced at dinner she was waiting for me to decorate it. At my old job it used to be my duty to decorate the office tree. I'm not sure how this happens but it seems to become my duty hehe I don't mind though, it's fun, and makes up for my lack of Christmas trees during most of my childhood.

(By the way looking at that picture now, I want to drive back to my in-laws' and fix the damn ribbon. It's so crooked. Ugh.)

Thankful

I may be new to this whole Thanksgiving tradition, but I do like that we all get to think about what we're thankful for.

I'm thankful for...

1. My family's health and happiness.

2. Us no longer being sick :)

3. Chocolate.

4. The laughter and fun we'll have at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.

5. Being able to exercise again. Because oh my god I'm going to consume such an obscene amount of calories.

6. Everyone who reads this blog. You encourage and inspire me every day.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Christmas Is Apparently On Its Way

My first finished item since the Worst Flu Ever! :)

I had a jelly roll of Deb Strain's It's Snowing, and log cabins popped into my head. I love all the prints from this collection... snowflakes, little Christmas trees, dots, stripes and snowmen! What's not to like :)

And as usual, I stippled it. I'm compulsive. I need to do straight line quilting sometime soon hehe

I used a solid red for the back with some of the prints in strips... and used the same solid red for the binding. I figured the front was busy enough.

It ended up measuring 41" by 14.5" and is currently available in the shop SOLD.

I Heart Lego!

Obviously, I really love Lego. UO is really testing me with all their Lego things.

I want this.

And this.

  Oh, and this.

IhateyouUO.

Flickr Favourites: The Baked Edition

In honour of all the Thanksgiving prep that'll be happening in kitchens all over the country, here are some pretty pictures of baked goods. Try not to drool too much.

1. Baking With Love, 2. AZ Cookie Bake 12 12-9-06, 3. baking biscuits, 4. Cupcakes from Baked website, 5. 09.11.09 | Baking Day, 6. baked doughnuts, 7. Hand pies ready to be baked, 8. the baked hostess like cupcake, 9. Baked Apple Cake

In The Works

It feels good to have WIPs again. I'm working on two things in tandem just because I need to play catch-up big time.

This one's obviously Christmassy... I love those little trees.

This one's for a commissioned quilt that'll be a queen-sized quilt. One of three. Wish me luck.

And who's excited about all the baking that'll go on tomorrow?! Thanksgiving is a new concept to me (I think it'll be my third this Thursday) but anytime I get to bake, I'm a happy, happy girl. I think I'll be making one of these, and one of these.

The latter is for my FIL who... doesn't... like... pecan pie. I don't understand how anyone could not like pecan pie. My brain hurts thinking about it. The only time I've not liked pecan pie was when the cafe I used to hang out at changed their recipe and added dates. DATES. Who does that?! Ridiculous. Dates.

Remember Me?

Oh hi, hello. It's me. I'm finally feeling more like myself... days of sleeping and moping around the house feeling like utter death seem to be behind me. The hubs is much better too :) I hate feeling like a little wounded bird, but this bout of flu really kicked our asses.

I'm back to doing chores (getting better isn't all it's cracked up to be!) and cooking... but the best of all is I'm back in the studio, baby! I hadn't touched my sewing machine in over a week. That's not right. So many things need to get done, and everything seems like it's in complete disarray. My entire schedule's been pushed back almost two weeks and I'm not happy about that. It's difficult to find my mojo after this unscheduled pause, but I just need to breathe and take one step at a time.

Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm back, and things will go back to normal around here shortly. And I still want to cough in my hub's cousin's face for giving us her flu.

Giveaway At Flea Market Fancy Freaks!

Flea Market Fancy Freaks is hosting an amazing giveaway... go now!

And my fingers remain crossed that we'll actually manage to bring FMF back :)

I Want This!

Lego is releasing a model of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (my favourite museum in the city!)... and I want it please! It'll look adorable (it's only 4" high) next to my New York City in a Bag.

And a big thank you to everyone and their well wishes. It means a lot that you care :)

The Truth Hurts When You're Sick

People need to just lie to sickies like me. I think it helps the healing process... or something.

I looked in the mirror after days of ignoring it...

Me: "Oh my god! My eyebrows are tragic!!!"

Hubs: "Yeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..."

Me: "HEY!"

And the in-laws dropped off food and groceries this evening... my husband opened the door and I see bags of food fly in and my MIL shouts "I don't want to breathe in your airrrrrr!"

Way to make us feel like lepers! Haha!

I'm still swirly in the head and the cough's a little better but still lingering. The hubs is stuffy and he sounds like a muppet. I think it's cute... he doesn't agree with me. I've been sleeping like a newborn but my husband lacks that talent so he kind of glares at me whenever I wake up and reminds me that he's incapable of sleeping 12 hours straight. I feel like we've fast forwarded to when we're both in our 80s, pottering around the house really slowly, finding every day chores a huge inconvenience.

I can't wait to get well.

Feeling Blue

Since I'm feeling blue and getting really friendly with my bed, I thought I'd post pictures of a few of my favourite blue bedrooms.

I'm feeling about the same as I did yesterday... although the coughing's getting getting more spectacular by the hour. Fun.

Pictures are from Home Sweet Home.

Sick Aud = Unhappy Aud

I'm sick. I was feeling kind of yuck last night but had a massive case of denial. Today I couldn't get out of bed and slept 17 hours. Yeah, I seem to be pretty sick. I'm bored of sleeping so I've moved my convalescing downstairs to the couch to watch mindless TV... always helps, I think :)

Flickr Favourites

1. Circle circle Dot Dot quilt - closeup, 2. quilting detail 3, 3. snake charmer hand quilting-3, 4. crazy memory develops, 5. Nate pillow , 6. Higher level project, 7. house mini quilt, 8. measure!, 9. quilting detail

Knitting... My Old Friend

Hey look! Knitting!

I used to knit like a fiend... all last winter I was knitting like it was going out of style. And then I just kind of stopped. And I haven't picked up knitting needles in what feels like forever. I really should... perhaps after Christmas? Probably not. Sewing's so much quicker. And less aggravating.

I have a friend who's still waiting on some fingerless gloves. I have a fingerless glove completed. Basically I finished one side and hate it with a passion so I have to frog it completely. And that's what's keeping me from diving back into that project. I did finish her beret though. I think I'll mail it to her just to stop her from penciling me onto her Shitlist. Can't risk losing her... it's hard to find sarcastic and witty people to be friends with.

Let's hope I finish the damn fingerless gloves before the turn of the century.

Essence Table Runner... Version 2.0

Made another table runner out of Essence by Sandy Gervais. I like the first one, but I felt you couldn't really see the prints too well... So I made another where you could!

A little part of me wishes I'd have quilted it in a grid pattern or with straight lines now... but I like it all the same.

I used the same binding as the first one... can't get enough of it heehee!

The back's a red tartan... it's almost Christmassy, no?

Anyway it ended up measuring 41" by 16" and is currently available at the store SOLD! :)

I warn you... I might have another Essence runner to come. I haven't yet decided...

Sucked. In.

On Sunday, my husband got it up his ass to clean the house. He removed and soaked our blinds, he dusted, and tidied the house. I'd say he's better at tidy than I am... I'm more mayhem and chaos. I find a clear surface area and put things on it. And leave them there. And have selective vision when I come across them again. I'm my father's daughter, what can I say?

So I walk through the kitchen while he's tidying up in there...

Hubs: "So you like that I'm cleaning the house?"

Me: "Yeah sure, you should do this more often."

Hubs: "Hey aren't women supposed to be turned on when we do the housework?!"

Me: "Meh. That's what we tell you so you'll do it."

Hubs: "WHAT!"

Me: "Suckerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......"

Shadrach, Meshach And Abednego

I was listening to this in the car on the way home today... thought I'd share.

Enjoy.

Essence Quilted Table Runner

It was time to re-stock the table runner section in the store so I pulled out my Essence fabrics. I really do think Sandy Gervais' collections are very suited to decor.

I just love the blues in this collection.

The eggplant-coloured fabrics remind me of the couch my mum chose for one of our homes in Australia... we initially balked at it because it was such an unusual colour, but now eggplant makes me smile. Still hate the vegetable though...

Cute little flowers on the binding.

For the back I wanted the binding to stand out, so I just used the same green leaf fabric I used to sash the runner.

It ended up measuring 41" by 16.5" and is currently available in the store SOLD! :)

Fashion Inspiration: Where Quilting Meets Fashion

Umm, lady, your jacket seems to have been stippled...

Blogworthy

On Friday morning, the hubs was officially sworn in as an attorney. Yeah, I know. I almost lost the plot when he walked across that stage and announced himself. It was quite the experience and I'm glad I got to witness it. Plus it'll probably be the first and last time I stand in a room with a few hundred lawyers. I hope. (Sorry honey, no offence heehee...)

Anyway, later that evening...

Hubs: "So did you blog about me getting sworn in?"

Me: "Err no..."

Hubs: "Why not!?"

Me: "I haven't gotten round to it!"

Hubs: "Awwww... I'm not blogworthy anymore!!!"

Such a whingy crybaby :)

And even later that evening... Let me preface this by explaining that my hubs has made it his life's mission to convince me that he's Chinese too. It helps to take a deep breath when dealing with him sometimes.

Him: "So your sister and I have an on-going debate about me being Chinese."

Me: "Uh huh. And how's that going for you?"

Him: "You know, the sooner you guys just accept that I'm Chinese, the better. You're lucky to have me on your team."

Guess we've been told.

Yeaaah... No

Found at Urban Outfitters.

I... don't...umm... what?

I'm shuddering at the thought of putting any of these on my person.

Regretsy

I don't know if any of you know about the website Regretsy, but it's a good source of comic relief. Although I shouldn't really laugh since I do sell my items on Etsy lol

Zoo Pool Quilt... A Little Differently

I've made quite a few of the Wonky Zoo Pool quilts as custom orders and since they were all ordered based on the first one, they were all made the same way -- wonky blocks on the back and front with the same backing fabric. Enough of all that! I really don't fancy making replicas of a quilt but I am in love with the 2D Zoo Pool fabric.

Not that this new one's vastly different, but it's not wonky and the back has a strip of strips instead of blocks.

My lovely assistant volunteered to hold up the quilt (I wonder what happy pill he took today!) so I have nice shots the front and back.

The back's a lot like the Birdie quilt's. I just love the look of the strips bordered by the white against the dark blue dot fabric.

For a change, I used the same green Kona fabric I used within the blocks for the binding. I actually prefer it to the blue binding I'd used before, especially against the dark blue.

It ended up measuring 39.5" by 49" and is currently available in the store SOLD! :)

Blast From The Past

I don't have much from my childhood. My mother was a fan of throwing things out without asking. I still give her grief for throwing out my entire Adventures of Tin Tin collection, and all my Smurfs and Strawberry Shortcake figurines. I loved Apple Dumplin' best.

For some reason, Mum saved this. My first quilt... I'd say it's about 30 (ahem) years (ahem) old.

It's tiny and has been washed so many times that it's amazing it looks as good as it does. It's extremely simple (basically just a panel) and absolutely worn thin but I love it dearly.

Hello Strawberry Shortcake and Huckleberry Pie :) See that strawberry house in the background? I had that house and it held all my precious things. Apple Dumplin' slept in there most nights.

Ruffles! Clearly my love for ruffles began at a young age.

My husband said I ought to make a Strawberry Shortcake quilt... Hrm I don't know. Maybe in the future when I have a little girl to make it for.

Oh, Anthro

My wallet has gone into hiding because the largest Anthropologie catalogue ever just landed in the mailbox today. Smart little wallet.

Some of my favourites...

Love this. The neckline is perfect.

I want this skirt please.

So cute.
  Oh pretty ruffles...

But aside from the clothing, I think I look forward to Anthro's holiday decor with as much excitement. There's too many to even say which are my favourites.

I'm going to go lie down...