"one thing" wednesday: the bathtub edition

and now for something totally different...

You know, I've been thinking about one of my resolutions for the year - to slow down - and I realized that I could do with some slowing down on my blog. I think I kinda jumped right into the crafty bits without giving any context about myself. Indeed, the crafty bits are probably more interesting, but I think I'm ready to share other stuff too, since a lot of my life happens away from the computer and the sewing machine. For example, a lot of my life happens while I'm staring at the fixtures above. I am - and have been since as far back as I can remember - a professonial soaker. Swimming pool, natural spring, hot tub, babbling brook, claw foot - you name it.

And it's one of those "small things" that make me feel human on a regular basis, and definitely one of the few moments of the day when I feel I can actually control the speed of life. It even dictates how I pick out my music... when I go shopping for tunes, it's either bathtub music, sewing music, or roller skating music for me (although there are a few specific sub categories: staring out the window music, music to play Catan to, chopping veggies music...)

What do you do to slow down?

white fabric vs. reality

I had big plans for a quilt made with blocks like this one. I was hoping for a project I could spend some serious time with, something I could work on slowly over the next few months of winter. I'm drawn to tone-on-tone designs and decided to shoot for something artful: Gee's Bend-esque with some hand stitching (a la Victoria's spectacular work quilts) and spot ties. But one block in and I'm already reconsidering things. I love crisp white fabric but I know it wouldn't stay that way long in my house. And I hate to think of a quilt not being used as such; I think that's the beauty of this medium. So I'm undecided at this juncture... Suggestions? Thoughts? Fellow dog-hair-bedecked quilting commiserators?

And oh goodie: another mystery project in the works. Here's a sneak peek... I'm liking this orange and aqua color combo-so cheery mid-winter.

welcome 2010: project #1

Project #1 is officially in the books! This baby quilt (for a friend who's due in February - mums the word!) was so fun. Of course, the kelpy design/motif continues to make an appearance, but I did try a few new things with this one: spot tying, hand stitches, and taking my time. Seems like I'm always trying to work as fast as I can, but I really tried to slow things down. I think some good came of it... including my growing love affair with my walking foot. How'd I ever do it before?

Here are a few more close-ups; I think close-up photos always do a better job of capturing a quilt anyway! But I do have dreams of a new camera. And I'm open to suggestions (hint, hint)...

happy (crafty) new year!

I started my crafty year off with a little bit of sprucing up around ye olde sewing room. I've been thinking about a way to display and access my threads, and I stumbled upon an idea for a simple spool board. It was super easy:

1. Mark a 2" grid on a piece of wood.
2. Hammer in a nail at each intersection on the grid.
3. Spray paint the whole shebang.
4. Add some ribbon trim (with simple fabric glue).

My cork board got a little update too... crafty fun quick and cheap! And all that lovely thread to be inspired by...