Gratuitous Lucy Photo

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mitch bought himself a new Mac and has been in the process of transferring photos to this computer. Lucy and I have spent countless hours going through early photos of her to which she usually replies "Oh, I was so cute," which of course, she was. So I thought I would post one of my favorites. It's not a great picture of me but it really captures the moment. I think that this was later in the day after I gave birth to her.

What an angel.

Fast and easy notions bags

Fun and easy bags, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I loved making these - super cute and easy. Quick as 1-2-3. The pattern is from Quilts and More Winter 2009 and uses the new Westminster Fibers laminated fabric. I finished my edges with a serger but you could just use pinking shears. Had I not been on a coffee cozy craze, I would have given these as gifts but I think I'll start sewing a bunch of them in the New Year to give out as gifts. They would work well as reusable snack bags!

It is unbelievably cold here which inspired me to make beef stew from this book. Yum yum.

And I just finished Cleaving. Still trying to get my head around this book. Julie Powell is a truly gifted writer with a clever way of describing her experiences with food. This book though is less about food and more about her struggles to not just to find her life passion but how she lost it. Complicated. I myself am not a great writer so I would never do her book justice by writing a synopsis here. Let me just sum it up with this: S & M, butchery, goat's blood, Buffy, world travels, alcoholism, adultery, narcissism and soul mates. If that doesn't peak your interest then I don't know what will.

Glittering Nature

Mitch bought himself a new Mac and I haven't figured out how to upload photos yet so an updated photo of the gingerbread house will have to wait. For now, please enjoy Lucy's glittered woodland collection. We gathered the bark, acorns and pine cones on a recent nature walk and then came home and glittered to our hearts' content. There's no better path to a happy day than with Martha Stewart glitter. I'm not kidding. One problem- it gets everywhere. It's not a big problem but it is a bit embarrassing to be at work and see red and pink glitter sparkling in your hairline! Oh well, it comes with the territory if you have a crafty girl (or two) in your house!

BTW, over at Martha Stewart you can enter your glittered projects into a photo contest. You can find our photo there amidst some seriously crazy glittered photos and other projects. I don't think we have the slightest chance of winning but it's worth a shot plus Lucy loves to see the photo of her project on the MSL website!

Hope everyone is getting ready for the holidays. The snow has certainly added to the Christmas spirit. My pink decorations look even cuter against a white background. Ha ha!

Keep warm!

Hmm.

Mitch's attempt at gingerbread house, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This is what happens when you go to work and leave your husband in charge of assembling the gingerbread house....

'Tis The Season

Urban Outfitters tinsel tree, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

Well, it's getting closer each day. I'm feeling very sparkly this year, in fact I just added two more strands of twinkle lights to my holiday decor and I feel like I need more! It's just that kind of year. Plus all that Martha Stewart glitter has made me super-giddy about sparkles.

This tree I picked up at Urban Outfitters 7 or 8 years ago. I love how sparse the branches are as well as their length. It's the perfect tree to display my collection of homemade ornaments. My mother sewed the felt ones and my great-aunt did the tatting as well as the sequined styrofoam balls. I have a few sets of these felt patterns that my mother never made but to be honest they're just too much work! I can't believe that she had the patience to do all of these - my brother has another dozen or so. But it was the 70's which were all about craft, kind of like now but using less glue. ha ha!

Keep warm.

Amy Butler Field Bag

Amy Butler Field Bag, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

So here it is. At last. The Amy Butler Field Bag. It was a challenge as expected but well worth it. There are four large side pockets plus I added a small pocket for a cell phone or ipod. I put together 10 kits which are available at the shop plus I plan to teach a class in the spring.

This may be my last bag for a while only because there are so many things that I want to sew: baby blankets, pajamas, doll clothes.... And I need to figure out how to do more stuff on my serger - I'm just not taking advantage of its full potential.

I did manage to make an Eagles fleece poncho for my father-in-law. He's in a wheel chair so it's much easier to drape a poncho over him than a coat. It was fabulous! I gave it to him on game day when he was decked out in his oh-so-retro Eagles sweat suit from the 70's. I'll post a pic later this week. (My plan had been to make everyone pajama bottoms but that plan came to a grinding halt when I realized that I cut them a bit too short!)

Lots to do for the holidays. I decided to make fabric gift bags instead of wrap everything. The serger makes it super-easy plus it gives me an excuse to play with my stash!

Keep warm.

I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas

Pink Christmas, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

This is my pink tree and decorations collection. It's taken about 6 years to collect all of this stuff. I decided to display them together this year so that there could be a mass effect. What do you think? All I can say is that I grin each time I walk down the stairs and see all this PINK.

This ornament we found at Lord and Taylor. Lucy has shoes that match!

My great-aunt tatted the two following ornaments. Each year she would send us a box filled with tatted Christmas trees, candy canes and snowflakes. I have about 4 dozen of them now!

Lucy and I are way into Martha Stewart glitter. It's everywhere - in our hair, on our face, imbedded into the carpet. But that's ok. Everyone needs a little sparkle this time of year!