Woops.... FAIL me.

I was trying to be so secretive about my Heather Ross VW van quilt that I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. So here are the only two that I have....

The first picture if just my basic over all layout. The second is the finished squares, the strips for the top, bottom and back, and a more "decided" layout. If you have a decent imagination just fill in the blanks with white Kona cotton fabric (hard, I know). The binding is also a blue fabric, so no stretch of the imagination there either.

The real struggle came with trying to layer all the pieces. For some reason my sewing machine was rebelling against me (jealousy I'm sure), so when I tried to stipple the quilt I ended up with a bunch of birds nests and had to painstakingly take out all the stitches. Adam was actually a HUGE help with this too, and it kinda became our project while watching TV in the evenings.

Once I got the stippling stitches out I decided to try using the ribbon technique. Basically I threaded yellow embroidery ribbon through the quilt, and then tied each piece in the back. It's a technique I'd been wanting to try anyway, and I was pleased with the result... it makes the quilt much more "old fashioned" and let's it breath a little easier.

The second major struggle was when I took it to Miami and washed it (to try to even out the holes from the stippling attempt, and to get the cat hair off since Emma liked to lay on it despite my protests). When I removed it from the washing machine more than a few stitches had come out, and I had to rush to figure out a solution to the fraying. I ended up just using my mom's old sewing machine (which was a whole other set of problems) and rejoined the fabric with a zigzag stitch. Fortunately because I used white as my background color it wasn't all that noticeable.

All in all I had much higher hopes for this quilt than the end product provided. I did learn a lot in the process though, and I guess that's half the battle. My mom was also very excited about it (maybe a little too excited), but I guess mom's are happy with just about anything you make for them. I appreciated it though:)

Snow Day 2009

NYC received its Christmas present from nature last weekend in the form of a 1 foot accumulated snowfall, and I probably sat by the window watching at least the first 6 inches fall while screaming out updates every 5 minutes!!

Even though I've seen snow enough times to have experienced every level of it (watching it fall, tasting it, playing in the new piles of powder, building things from it, hurling it at other people, sliding around in and on it, etc) I still get 7 year old level of excited every single time!!!!! Honestly, its what makes winter worth it (well, that and scarves and ice skating and soup...). And while Adam was quickly over it all, I at least had Malcolm to act somewhat as amazed by the cold stuff falling from the sky as I was (at least as much as a cat can be amazed by snow).

I didn't get to build any snowmen (too powdery) nor did I get to go sledding (no hill) but I did get to jump around in it for a while:) And it makes me very excited that we're supposed to get more snow this week, on New Years nonetheless, and is part of the reason the 4 degree temperature outside today isn't as bad as it could be!!...

JoAnn Fabrics FAIL

Santa's Sweet Shop = Sweat Shop!

So I decided to alternate between sewing and baking this weekend, as part of my attempt to finish my Christmas presents before Christmas. Turns out that's more of a prison work camp assignment than a fun thing to do, but in the end I accomplished what I set out to (or at least came close enough). I tried the cake in a jar project I've been wanting to attempt for a while, and honestly it was a lot harder than the directions let on. I managed to over fill almost every jar, and then managed to drop almost everything I touched on the floor.... it was not a very happy, easy work environment to say the least. But in the end I think things worked out okay. And I was able to bring in the tasty treats to work today, so check those gifts off the list.

Now to just finish my shopping, sewing, packing and cleaning in less than 24 hours.

Filling the jars:

Baked spillage:

Looking better with sugar on top:

The finished product is much prettier:

Holiday Macaroons:

My excellent "leftover's soup":

Time Well Spent

I'm falling behind in my Christmas present making schedule, but for good reason... I've been busy making Christmas decorations to help get me in the holiday spirit, which I'm positive will motivate me to burn through all the present making projects I have lined up!!

Last night I made two banners: one that says "Noel" and another that says "Joy". I had completely forgotten about the Christmas fabric I bought almost a year ago from Crate & Barrel, and upon rediscovering it I decided it needed to be put to use right away. And since I've been wanting some sort of banner type thing to drape over the couch and TV in the living room, that's exactly what I made.

I also got my first Christmas tree yesterday, and while its only about 2 feet tall, its made me immensely happy:) I started to put a few decorations on it (the only ones I had) and this weekend I plan on getting a string of lights and some new ornaments to complete the tree! And perhaps most surprising is that the cats don't like it! Malcolm tried to take a few bites but quickly found out how much that hurts (it's a very sharp tree... even I got a few painful pokes). And I draped some red holiday fabric around the bottom to cover up the planter (its a live tree, not a cut one, and I'm hoping I can keep it alive for many years of holiday happiness) so hopefully that will deter any dirt digging.

All in all I think my Christmas decorating is really coming together, for the first time ever, and I'm really excited about it:)!!!

PS. Please excuse the horrible iphone pictures I took this morning... the decorations really look much better than they're represented here!!!

Oh Christmas Tree...

After being completely let down by Target yesterday evening (a seemingly hard feat, but considering the Brooklyn Target was voted the country's worst it really shouldn't come as a surprise), I decided to take matters into my own hands and whip up some small trees to place around the apartment.

And while I did manage to get a few decorations from said worst-Target-ever, it still isn't enough for the desired effect inspired by How I Met Your Mother. Basically I want it to be like "Christmas slapped you in the face".... and not in a bad way, just in a totally overboard kind of way. I just desperately want to be in the holiday spirit this year, to a sickening degree!!!!

So I'm well on my way to that tiny NYC apartment winter wonderland, but still not close enough. I think I need a real tree too... and more lights:)!!!