scarves!

Unicorns and princess and frog princes – yum. I’ve gone a bit scarf batty the last couple of days! These are backed with different linens and one is a very soft peachy polyester. They feel wonderful and look even better. So easy to make, too.

—

Today we went out for a walk around the city and had a really yummy lunch in Jordaan (Greg had a day off, due to him leaving again for Japan this weekend). On the way home we got some Australian Homemade chocolates -  seriously some of the best chocolates I’ve ever had, and wolfed them over the new Lost episodes. A good day, but I’m so over the rain now! Let it stop!

(Also, happy birthday to A. and happy belated birthday E.!)

amsterdam…

If you ever wondered how to get a piece of furniture up a really narrow staircase (ours is basically a ladder), this is how you do it: you can’t do it. Instead you buy some really thick rope and hire a guy who isn’t afraid of falling.

Let me let you in on a secret: even with all these high tech devices in place, they still didn’t manage to pull it up there!

need.sun.

Some of the places I’d love to be right now.

Thailand.

Italy.

Japan.

duvet covers.

Some weeks ago I finally (finally!) finished our Amy Butler duvet cover. I got the idea back in May (last year) when I ordered one yard of one of Amy Butler’s prints from Midwest Modern on a total whim. I washed it and as it was drying I realized that this fabric would make awesome sheets. It then took me months to get my act together – I had to order more fabric TWICE because of my shotty math, but in the end – it turned out beautifully. I went for ties for the pillows and a long zipper for the cover itself.

(I’ve since managed to pick up a fitted sheet from Zara Home (on sale!) in the exact same green as the duvet cover!)

Encouraged by the overwhelming success as well as by the vast amounts of leftover fabrics I am now working on another set – this time with some West Hill horses thrown in for good measure (to match the horse pillow I made last year). Hopefully I can manage to get it done in time for someone’s birthday, wink wink…

sewing space…

After months of total disorganization I had an epiphany over breakfast and decided to move some things around (namely, my husband) to create a sewing/working space for myself. We have a nook in our apartment that we’ve decided to use as office/common work space, but somehow it just wasn’t working out for me. Maybe because it looked like this:

Granted, the boxes underneath the desk are mine, but the rest of the mess certainly isn’t. But that doesn’t really matter anymore, because this is what the nook looks like now:

This seriously took 3 days to organize. I ironed and folded all of my fabric (not pictured).

My favorite section, of course, is the Heather Ross section. Wink wink.

Ahh, a clean, tidy and organized space – it feels so good!

machine update!

i am very happy to report that i’ve figured it out!

machine!

On the last day of the old year I got my Christmas present! It’s a Janome DC 3030 (called Magnolia 7730 in the States) and I got it mainly for free motion quilting, but I’m in owe with it’s possibilities (this is coming from someone who’s never worked with an automatic machine before) and can’t wait to sew clothes with it as well.

The lady at the store said I’d get a discount for bringing in my old machine, but I said no. I love it to death and with two machines I can set one up for sewing and one for free motion quilting. I already tried it this afternoon, super fun!

The only problem – the back. It looks weird. I think.  think I’m doing something wrong.

Anybody? I was under the impression that the stitches at the back should look the same as the ones in the front. Hmm. Is this not right? Does it have something to do with the thread tension something or other? (The dial above the needle is set to 4)

Or is is something else? These are the current setting I’m using, help!

n.y.d.

We went out for a walk in the morning, and it was freezing cold, but very pretty. Then, at noon, we had ‘breakfast’ of delish pancakes at the Pancakes! pancake place. We walked back home, and then at about 4 left again to see Avatar (wolfing some take away hot chips on the way to the cinema). Awesome New Year’s Day!

fabric fabric fabric!

Some weeks ago I arranged a Munki Munki swap with Charise and last night, when we arrived home after Christmas away, the packet was waiting for me!

Yay for kitties and ice cream trucks!

I sent 2 FQ’s of fishies in bags and fishies on blue, plus some coins of my Munki Munki scraps I got in that loot from many years ago (as well as a FQ of a Japanese print I got in Tokyo last summer). In return, I got the Ice cream trucks and kitties I’ve been wanting so badly! There’s also a piece of the Snowmen and the Shoes. Love it all, can’t wait to use it!

On a different fabric note, when visiting my Dad for Christmas I went to a local linen factory and got some really great looking (and cheap!) linen. I want to use it for more lavender sachets and with the textured one I’d like to try and make a vintage sheet/linen quilt. I’ll be updating my Etsy  shop soon, hopefully!

lavender…

A couple of weeks ago I got some lavender from the market – I past it several times in the last months and it always caught my eye, and so I finally decided to buy. It smells heavenly and I used it to make some lavender sachets. They were a great success, so I’m making a second batch using my Munki Munki scraps – hopefully I can sell some of them on Etsy!

I love the linen with the Munki scraps!