Ear Worms

I'm still mulling over a super-introspective running post, so for the time being, I thought I'd let you listen to some of the songs I've been loving recently.

First up: Old Enough, by The Raconteurs, featuring Ricky Skaggs and Ashley Monroe:




Continuing the Ashley Monroe theme (don't you just love her old-timey voice?) here's the Pistol Annies singing Hell on Heels.




Little Lion Man by Mumford and Sons:




And last, but God knows, not least: Alison Krauss & Union Station's Lie Awake, which is a track on their newest album. Which, P.S. you should listen to RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND.

The Least Amish Amish Craft Fair In History

I found myself in Indiana's Amish country this past weekend and on my way back to Chicago I took a side trip to Napanee, Ind. That's how I wound up at Amish Acres, a sort of Colonial Williamsburg knockoff of the Amish variety. Except, you know, without any actual Amish on site.

They happened to be having an arts and craft festival that featured some truly hideous things. (One guy was selling carved wooden signs that said "Tequila makes my clothes fall off." Like I said, TOTALLY. NOT. AMISH.) But amidst the calico and spice dips and rag quilts (side bar: rag quilts? No. Just no.) there were some cool pieces of folk art.

And thus, I present to you, a selection of the non-heinous items at The World's least Amish Amish Arts & Craft Festival.

Spoon art.

Carved wood gnomes. GNOMES, PEOPLE!

There were lots of letter pictures.

I'm bummed I lost this artist's card, but her mixed-media work was cool

A dala horse.

Reclaimed metal turkey! Gobble.

Reclaimed metal flowers. I ALMOST bought one.

This was the most Amish thing there.

Overexposed.

I've been braving the fully manual setting on my camera this summer. It's been an adventure. In not all awesome ways. But sometimes, your dumb mistakes turn out to look sorta cool. Witness: my peony.  Mayhaps there's a metaphor in there somewhere.

So tell me, what are you working on this summer?

Nesting doll(s)

I can't stop embroidering. Or wanting to make pillows. Luckily, the two seem to go together. (Well, they go together if you're a crafty freak.)

A few weekends ago, I stitched this super-cute Russian nesting doll, using a pattern from Sublime Stitching.

Looks adorable, no?


I started adding sashing when my machine crapped out on me. (Apparently, one cannot sew quilts for two years and not have the insides cleaned. Note to self.) It's since been repaired, but here's the work-in-progress. The fabric on the left will be the backing.

Gorgeous

My current brain worm.



Doesn't this line just give you chills? "And promise not to promise any more." Sigh. Perfect winter song.

Pillowy Pillows

Because I'm me (and by "me," I mean, strange) the highlight of my staycation was finally getting around to some of those lingering projects. (And by "lingering projects" I mean sewing, which is why the burned-out lightbulbs in the impossible-to-remove light fixture are still dark.)

Anywho, this brings me to these pillows that I recovered, using my stash of Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile. I used the dobby yellow print as the center and did some simple piecing with two other fabrics around it. Because the voile is so sheer, I added a layer of fabric stabilizer to the back.



I used some Little Folks flannel on the back and, inspired by some sewing I did with The Modern Gal the weekend before, made a simple envelope enclosure on the back.



I did two pillows before my sewing machine crapped out on me (a story for another time), but I love how they turned out. Simple and sweet, and perfect for my living room.

Embroidered Christmas.

I've come a long way since my sock puppet days. (Although, I believe such maturity probably comes along with, you know, being legally able to drive, vote, drink, lose my 401(k) during a particularly bad day in the market...)

Anyway, even though it's after Christmas AND after Epiphany, which means I'm all kinds of late, I thought I'd show off some pictures of some little handmade gifty things I made for the holidays. I forgot to take pictures of some Christmas tea towels I whipped up for my family, but I did snap some pictures of Christmas ornaments I made as hostess gifts.






For the curious, I just downloaded a fun font, then traced it onto the fabric and stitched from there.

Then, since I couldn't stop embroidering, I made this awesome sexy librarian pillow for my badass librarian friend. I used a Sublime Stitching pattern and just did some basic piecing of fabric around the border.






And then, since I STILL couldn't stop embroidering, I made this pillow for me.

Wedding Quilt. A Tour.

One month shy of the Emily Post wedding gift limit, I was finally able to send off Currer Bell's wedding quilt. I've written about the super-slow progress on the project before. It kept getting sidelined by baby quilts and other assorted projects that I could power through. In this one, though, there was no powering. It was just lots of work all the way through.

But I'm so, SO glad I did. I think it looks great and I really like the totally different double sides of it. They have such alternate vibes, but yet they fit together. A fitting metaphor for a marriage, no? (Note to self: existential thoughts about quilts and quilt design makes you STRANGE.)

Anyway, because I am a strings-attached friend, I made Currer and her man, Hot Pants, send me pictures of the quilt once they'd received it. And they totally delivered.

To start with, I should note that the theme of the quilt was birds. They used a bird theme prominently in their wedding decor, and I wanted to use this awesome Alexander Henry "starling" fabric as the centerpiece of my blocks.


From there, I modified this pattern by Oh, Franson and built four concentric color-themed squares (with four different fabrics per square) around the piece of the Starling fabric. (Incidentally, this quilt pattern is where I learned about the Starling design.)

From there, I added white sashing (borders for you non-sewer types.) And the front winds up looking like this.


Here's another view:


The back is totally different. It's a scrappy Urban Amish quilt, a pattern designed by the always awesome ladies at Quiltology.


Next I added two borders _ one white and one in this kelly green fabric by Denyse Schmidt.



The quilting is done in a kelly green stipple pattern and I did the binding in something that for the life of me I cannot remember. What I do remember is sitting in a rocking chair in the back of our unairconditioned church sanctuary with the quilt in my lap working on the binding during a service. And loving every sweaty minute of it.

The quilt winds up be a solid snuggling size for one person, or two people who just want a light blanket. Here's Currer Bell holding it up.

Front:



Back:


Crazy view:


Woot!

Hawaii Pictures. Part III.

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Sunset over Hanalei Bay.

Quilted baby goodness.

Or maybe it should be baby quilted goodness? Either way, behold this gender-neutral baby quilt I made for my friend Sara and her little boy Ben. (Who, at the time, we did not know was a boy.)

I don't know who's cuter! The quilt, the kid or the onesie (which is a gift from my awesome friend Emily.)


Here's a look at the front of the quilt, sans baby.



And the back:


The quilt is less scrappy than my usual ones, although I made it entirely out of stuff already in my stash. Also, it's the second-ever quilt I quilted by myself. Hell to the yeah.

Hawaii Pictures. Part II.

I'm sure you're SO excited to see more of my Hawaii photos -- none of these are super impressive, but are all little snippets of what it was like to be on the island. In case you want more eye candy, Part I can be found here. Hoping to finish editing the massive collection this week!


Sign for a sort-of hidden beach off the beaten path.


This is what the beach looked like when you got there.


On Kauai, the Kilauea Lighthouse is famous. It's the most northern part of the state's most northern island.


Isn't the sky amazing? Speaking of amazing sky (or really, an amazing shade of blue) check out the color of the water here.


On my last day, I tooled around and saw a small sign pointing me in the direction of the oldest Catholic church on Kauai. St. Raphael was founded in 1841 and since I'm a sucker for churches, I stopped to take a bunch of pictures.


There were great icons and statues inside.


And there was also a great little cemetery nearby. Yes, I did type the phrase "great little cementery." What of it?


On Kauai, everyone said "mahalo" instead of thank you. This was possibly my favorite use of "mahalo" in print.


One of the places I wanted to visit was Lumahai Beach on Kauai's north shore. It's where they filmed part of South Pacific ("I'm gonna wash that man right outta my hair!") It's a hike to reach the beach, and it's also one of the islands most dangerous in the winter time. That's because the steeply sloping sand create a strong undertow and the waves crash right on the shore. You actually have to hike down a pretty steep dirt trail to reach the beach and along the way, there's all sorts of signs to reminds you that you're about to risk life and limb. At least three of the six signs ended with "you could be swept out and drown." Noted, Kauai. Noted.


But Lumahai is actually pretty awesome in the summer time when the waves are gentle. We saw an amazing beach wedding take place on the sand. It was just the bride, the groom, and officiant, a photographer and a guitar player. No guests. No family. No ridiculous party full of details no one will remember, but that probably overshadowed the point of the wedding -- you know, to be MARRIED. It was, quite honestly, one of those moments that restored my faith in people. It was a ceremony that was just about the two people and not about what other people thought or what other people wanted. Somehow, the bride hiked down the path in her dress. When she got to sand, she tossed off her shoes.


And last but not least, this is a picture of the sidewalk at the Kauai Coffee Company. With more than 3,100 acres, it's the country's largest coffee plantation. And note, to travelers: unlimited. free. samples.


And last but not least, a bird of paradise flower.

Hawaii Pictures. Part I.

Hello, bloggy peeps. So check it: I went to Hawaii! For a week! It was awesome! Beyond words! So much so that all I can do is talk in exclamation points!!

Anyway, since I'm a rather huge freak, I managed to take something like 1,800 photographs during my week on Kauai. That, of course, means the editing process is going to be nothing short of a beast. But I started today and made a dent.

Here are some of my favorite shots from the first batch.

Enjoy!

_____

After a storm, I spied this double rainbow over Shipwreck's Beach. That's dad in the swing, taking his own pictures. Did I mention the light in Hawaii is effing stunning?



Fresh papayas, for sale in Hanapepe.


Sails of a catamaran, cruising in the Pacific along the Na Pali coastline.


Sunrise over Poipu Beach, by our hotel.


Random graffiti along a back road.


Flowers on the edge of a cliff looking over into a valley along the Na Pali coastline.


Plumeria flowers were EVERYWHERE. I wanted to take them all back home with me.


Awesome warehouse painted like a dive flag just off the dock in Port Allen.


More to come.