July 31, 2012

I Went To NYC And All I Got Was Fabric

Well, and a skirt from American Apparel, but that doesn't quite have a ring to it.

When I booked our hotel in Chelsea, I wasn't aware that it was a mere three blocks from The City Quilter! How thrilled was I?! We'd arrived at the hotel before check-in time so we wandered around and the quilt shop was our first stop. 

The hubs (bless him) sat on a chair and let me have my fun. And what fun I had! Well, I did control myself... my basket was pretty full initially, then I put back things I didn't 'need'. Ahem. 

I got this tiny little Japanese hexagon patchwork book, and it's so darling! I need to start drinking tea so I can make a tea cosy for teapot I don't currently own! 

And I also made off with a few cuts of Japanese fabrics that were too good to pass up. Love those scooters and hexagons! 

There was a small bit of yellow pearl necklace in the large scrap bin so I scooped it up. And I got New York fabric that only The City Quilter sells because they designed it themselves. I have a few FQs of their New York fabric so I got yardage in hopes that I can finally get round to making something.

Didn't go to Purl Soho this time, but I reckon I spent enough there last time so I could skip a visit!

July 30, 2012

New York, New York

The hubs and I spent a couple of days in the city this past weekend and it was HUUUUUUMID. So muggy and gross, but the awesomeness of the city distracts you from that just a little. 

We took a train into the city and got the old, mucky trains again. I've been spoiled by the lovely new ones that these ones were like riding in rubbish bins. Blech.

Our hotel was near The City Quilter so it was one of our first stops! (More on this later!!)

192 Books... an amazing bookshop full of literature, art and cookbooks.

In our hotel room after ducking in for a shower to try to recover from the humidity.

As always... Num Pang was awesome! They always have new stuff on their menu, so I tried a catfish sandwich this time. Loooovely.

The hubs had a Brooklyn sausage one that was pretty damn good too.

A great pizza place called Co. and their pizzas were simple but so bloody good. Seriously.

And POP BURGER. OMG so cute! Look at how teeny and tiny they are! But don't be fooled... they're filled with meaty goodness. Noms.

My gelato looked like a bunny rabbit :)

Puzzled by Aztec superfood at Whole Foods. (Well, not puzzled anymore because a whole bunch of friends on Instagram gave us good ideas on how to ingest it.)

COFFEEEEEE... necessary for starting our day in NYC.

B&H Photo was shut all weekend :( Sadpants. But my bank account is a happy fellow haha!

July 27, 2012

Happy Birthday To My Sisters!!!

It's my sisters' birthdays today!!! Woot woot!

They're 29. Seriously? They're still my babies. Tiny, little babies.

Dearest Averil & Aurelia,

I'm forever thankful that Mum and Dad made a little oopsies and ended up with you guys. Best oopsies EVARRR. Life would be boring without you. More sane, but boring. Also, my inheritance would be muuuuuch more significant. Just saying. I can't wait to see you guys in September! We're going to have SO much devious fun and drive Steve sooooo crazy. Awesome sauce on both counts. MUAK!

Love youse guys,
Your LBS*


* Little Big Sis

July 20, 2012

One More Patchwork Quilt For The Road

When I made the decision to stop taking custom orders, I looked at the list of customs I'd already agreed to and never thought I'd get to the end. But here we are! My very last custom quilt :) For now or forever, I don't know. I'm just really thrilled to move on to the next chapter with a clean slate!

It's just a simple patchwork quilt for the same client who's ordered a few patchwork quilts in the past. They're pretty much the same kind of a quilt so we tend to change the colour of the back just to keep them a little different.

The client asked for less fabrics with white / cream backgrounds, so this one is beautifully saturated with colour. I believe she's going to use this one as a picnic blanket, so perhaps she wants to hide all the potential stains... clever duckie.

I went with a green backing because I figured picnic... grass... green. I know, I know. I'm so brilliant. The binding is a yellow and white stripe with different shades of yellow... I thought it looked nice and sunny, perfect for a picnic!

It's on its way to her, so she'll get to enjoy picnics on it before summer ends! :)

July 19, 2012

If It's A Funeral, Let's Have The Best Funeral Ever

Last night the hubs and I went to see Shut Up and Play the Hits, a documentary about LCD Soundsystem's final gig in April last year. It was such an amazing experience, and the fact that it was playing just that one time made it something truly special.

We're both huge fans of LCD Soundsystem and it's really sad that they've called it quits and won't be recording or performing anymore. This doco doesn't come close to experiencing them, but it was beautifully made and so raw. I shed a tear when they played "Someone Great" because of course I started thinking about my grandma when he kept repeating the line "someone great is gone". James Murphy shed a tear when he sang it... strangely heartwarming.

(On a different note, the hubs now wants me to cut my hair like keyboardist Nancy Whang's. I can only describe it as a reverse mullet... short in the back, party in the front. Not. Happening. Honey.)

RIP LCD. You North American Scum :)



Picture from here.



July 17, 2012

Single Girl Quilt... DONE!!!

Look! It's my Single Girl quilt ON MY BED!!!

I had it long arm quilted by Laura and I AM IN LOVE!!! It's beyond beautiful and better than what I thought it'd looked like. You'll have to excuse the odd light... our bedroom gets pretty much NO light and the bulbs are yellow. Boo. Anyway, I went with a baptist fan pattern because I didn't want to distract from the rings too much. So happy with my choice!

(Please ignore the headboard-less-ness... we haven't gotten round to choosing one)


I used a Moda Dottie in grey for the back and it's really the perfect backing. Dots? Check. Beautiful hand? Check. Wide back? Check check check!

The binding is Kona Coal, just like the background, because I didn't want to take away from the rings. So it kind of looks like the rings are just 'floating' there without a frame.

The quilt kind of matches my current nail colour... dark grey. Total coincidence but I like it! :)

I highly recommend this pattern as a long term project. Do a little here and there, and it'll be done in no time. Mine would've been finished a lot sooner had I not left it on my shelf for months on end. Thank goodness I worked on mine with Shannon because I don't know if I'd finish at all otherwise. So that's another tip... maybe work on it with a friend, if only just to keep each other on track.

Speaking of Shannon, look at hers!!! She very unselfishly gifted it to her friend as a wedding gift (hmm there's something ironic about a Single Girl quilt as a wedding gift lol). The quilting is spectacular and I honestly am in awe. LOVE!! :)

July 14, 2012

Friday The 13th

I had to get a root canal done on one of my teeth that I broke in my bicycle accident when I was 16. One of the dates available was July 13. As in Friday the 13th. I said why the hell not. If shit's going to happen, it might as well happen on my schedule.

I'm quite amazed that I managed to make it to the appointment because my heart was beating out of my chest. When I sat in the chair I thought I was going to pass out. Then it began and I almost fell asleep. It was no more difficult than a simple filling... the root canal itself was super quick. The waiting for x-rays to make sure everything was done correctly took more time than anything else. I think the hardest part was not being able to talk for an hour and a half. Being quiet is very difficult for me. Clearly. I contemplated learning sign language so I could communicate to my dentist but then I realised quickly that he'd have to learn too, and then the idea just fell apart. See, when I have to be quiet, my brain goes nuts. Thank goodness I could still laugh at the jokes the dentist was making. Otherwise they'd have to sedate me for sure.

Anyway, for those still cringing at the idea of a root canal, just keep looking at the pretty flowers :)

July 9, 2012

Rouenneries Deux Runner

I made a friend of mine a very simple table runner for... well, no reason, really. Just thought of it one day. I used French General's Rouenneries Deux, and if you haven't worked with the French General collections before, they always have such a beautiful hand and wash up sooooo nice and soft.

I used three different reds, keeping it super simple, with cream fabrics for accent. I figured with five kids, she doesn't need anything too light on her dining table! Hehe :) I just quilted it in a crosshatch with ecru thread.

Hope you like it, Manda! :)

Because Izzy doesn't seem very impressed at all.

July 8, 2012

Instagram

Yesterday, my sister professed her love for Instagram. I really, really love it too. It makes sharing things so easy, it's got an entire community on there, and it's just hilarious fun. It does make blogging about stuff redundant at times, but since when has that stopped me?

This bunch of photos are called Pictures Featuring My Left Hand...

I was ironing the hub's shirt and I found an almond in his shirt pocket. His response? "Oh. So that's where it went." Good grief.

One of the hydrangea flowers from the garden. The hubs had trimmed the bushes and chopped this one off with about half an inch of stem left, so I had to float it in a bowl. It's still looking good, actually!

Giant blueberry. 'Nuf said.

Mutant cherry. It's either giving birth or has a giant hemorrhoid. 

The first salad I made with the grape tomatoes from my garden!!! I was grinning while eating. Not advisable.

Blueberry buckle I made with some vanilla ice cream. So good.

Prawn / shrimp salad I made one evening when I was completely out of ideas.

Bunless burger (it's messy but kind of fun to eat), a hot dog and coleslaw... summer eats :)

And of course, the cats. Sometimes I want to squish them into a ball and carry them in my pockets. But I won't. For now.

July 4, 2012

Striking Things Off My List

I am down to one last custom quilt left on my list!!! How psyched am I?!?! 

When I made the isosceles triangle quilt a few months ago, I'd already decided no more custom quilts. BUT. I had so much fun making it (I'm still in love with the colours!) that I agreed to do one for the first person who emailed me about it. 

And while I love this quilt, I'm glad I only agreed to do the one because I've been getting constant email and Etsy requests ever since. It's a wonderful problem to have, I suppose, but if I hadn't stopped taking orders, I'd have made a few dozen of these by now. Then I'd want to stab all triangles everywhere and be on a murderous rampage. And prison really wouldn't suit me.

This one's a lap quilt, which measures about 56" by 67". I kept the dimensions the same by just increasing the size of the triangles. Not just a hat rack, you guys.

The one thing I would've changed about the original was the quilting. I did straight lines on either side of the seam, and I hated it. Okay, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. So this time I stitched in the ditch, and I like it a lot more. A LOT.

So one more to go. It's a patchwork quilt, so it's easy peasy :)

Edit: I've started taking on customs again, but at a slower pace. Please email me if you're interested, thanks!

July 3, 2012

First Tomato!

LOOK! IT'S A RIPE TOMATO! 

As in just the one! I ate it right after snapping the picture (I washed it first, of course) and then realised I didn't take one to post on Instagram. Doh.

Two other plants have tomatoes ripening too... Look at all of them! Hopefully I'll be able to make a salad with a whole lot of them very soon :) 

The little fellow is still plugging along but definitely not doing so well. There are little tomatoes growing though, so maybe there's still hope. Fingers and toes crossed!

July 2, 2012

Olivia Turns One!

Our niece Olivia turned one and she had a rainbow party over the weekend! I got a txt the other day asking if I'd be the official / unofficial photog for the party. 

Her mummy is big on themes and does a beautiful job of decorating. If I had a kid, the theme would be 'birthday party' and as long as there was some food and a cake, I'd consider it a success haha!

The birthday girl in her handmade birthday tutu :) She's freaking adorable.

Big sister Ava showing me how she eats broccoli lol! Quite violently, actually!

A friend of mine made the cake, and it was giant. It's covered in buttercream and it was over 90°F outside, so kudos to her for keeping it looking so lovely. 

It's a rainbow cake!!! Isn't it magnificent??? I don't know how she did it. She'd been stressing about whether the layers would turn out, and I believe it came out beautifully. The hubs said it looked like such a simple cake from the outside, and so the rainbow was such a great surprise. And it tasted better than it looked. Seriously.

[If anyone in the CT area wants cakes done by my friend, drop me an email and I'll give you her info.]

Olivia got her own slice and made a cute little mess hehe She went colour by colour, so her face went from purple to blue to green to yellow... and then her mummy decided that was quite enough cake lol!

Cake mess = outfit change. I think I'd wear that dress if it came in my size. Seriously.

It was such a great birthday party and I know Olivia had fun. Looking forward to more birthday parties over the summer which I'll have the pleasure of shooting :)


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