Mom

I miss her every day.

halloween quilt

So after quilt attempt # 1 and quilt attempt # 2, I finally decided to take a class. I think I would get better working on my own (eventually), but why not speed things up a bit?! The class I'm taking allows for a quilt about the same size as a crib blanket (or smaller, even) I thought maybe I could make a mini-quilt as a gift to hubs to celebrate our two year anniversary. Wait...I saved the best part for last. It will be a HALLOWEEN quilt. This will be so fun! Here is some Halloween quilt inspiration from webland.

Qiviut Co-op

On our trip to Alaska, we visited the Oomingmak Musk Ox Co-op in Anchorage. There is a Musk Ox farm in Palmer, AK. This farm provides the Musk Ox hair to create yarn for Native Alaskans to make hand knit items which are sold at the Oomingmak Co-op in Anchorage. You can purchase hand knit items made by Native Alaskans from all over the state, or you can purchase hat kits that include one skein of yarn.



I purchased a couple of hat kits not too long ago to make hubs and me each a hat (above). I just received this cute thank you postcard in the mail! I'm not usually a big spender (hat kits are $80), but I am so glad to have purchased something that supports a good cause, and that's appreciated!

WVU Quilt

This is the first quilt I actually pieced together (knowing absolutely nothing about quilting, and barely knowing how to use my sewing machine). I did the pattern myself and I do like the way that turned out. I definitely learned a lot from this piecing - 1. how important cutting is; 2. using stretchy material is not a good idea; and 3. planning is REALLY important.





The quilting working much better than my first attempt. The quilt actually lays flat and there are only a couple snags on the back. I used a fusible fleece for the batting. I must say I love the pattern! I may make a duplicate once I refine my skills a little!

Gray and Yellow Guest Room - Curtains

So I finally decided what to do with the Amy Butler Fabric I bought not too long ago. (Who am I kidding...I knew all along). Since we decided to paint our guestroom a light gray, I thought this fabric would go perfectly!

This was my first attempt at curtain making - so I did a quick tutorial search. I ended up finding a couple that I meshed together to make our curtains. 7 Layer Studio has a great tutorial for lined drapes with an easy solution for the curtain rod slots. The tutorial is here. (Only thing I would change here is that I used a dark ribbon as the tabs for the curtain rod, and when the sun shines through...well, you can see them. Very obviously. I might use a lighter ribbon, or even fabric next time).

Sorry for the poor picture quality - I was just so excited to get these up!

I wanted hidden seams on the front of my drapes, so I used a blind hem. here is the tutorial I used for that. Unfortunately, I didn't have a blind hem foot for my machine, so my stitching isn't perfect. But, it is possible to do the blind hem without it.

Yay for curtains!

Stealing Away Moments

After I spent a long week of working on an outside project at an oil refinery in New Jersey, I found out my hubby had to go to Providence, RI for the weekend to work. So instead of heading back home to D.C., I made my way through the 4.5 hour drive to spend the weekend with him, after a 13 hour work day (ugh!). It was worth it though. And Rhode Island is starting to grow on me :). Here are some of my favorite things.

Mew's Tavern
Love this place.

Roaming the streets in Newport, RI.



Sunny Day on the Beach Near Iggy's Doughboys and Chowder House
(I know, I know...not healthy at ALL. But, really good all the same :)

Cave Idus Martias...

Stuck in Billings, MT airport for the next 8 hours since my flight was delayed. So much for avoiding the back luck of the Ides of March.

Beach Cuties

Don't you think this pic would make for a cute save the date for a destination or beach wedding? Plus, it really makes me want beach season to hurry up already.


This was taken on our honeymoon in Key West

Serendipitous

Partially because of my slight obsession with John Cusak, I have always wanted to visit Serendipity in NYC. So, when I realized that there is Serendipity at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas (our Valentine’s destination) I was jumping for joy to add it to our itinerary. Naturally. Not only is the atmosphere filled to the brim with adorable, the decor is...PINK AND ORANGE. Yes, I said it. And here is a little glimpse.



Alas, there is only time for so much fun, and we were unable to make it to Serendipity 3 for a cutesy lunch. Next time, I suppose….

In the meantime, I've heard through the grapevine that there is a third edition of Serendipity opening in G-town. At least I'll be visiting that one for sure!!

Vegas for Valentine's

Hubs and I aren't really into the uber-romantic traditions for Valentine's Day. Plus neither of us really think battling through drones of couples to go out to a nice dinner is any kind of romantic. So we jetted off to the southwest with plans to visit Vegas, Sedona, Arizona, and the Grand Canyon (as part of our see-all-of-the-national-parks-we-possibly-can-plan). And a typical (but still perfect) trip it was for us. We lost money in Vegas, it rained on us in Sedona, and it snowed 18" in Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon, so we didn't travel there. We did get some great views of the red rocks in Sedona, though. And, we had a most perfect getaway cuddled in front of the fireplace in our hotel room.