one and done

If you are my real life friend and just had a baby, close your eyes and leave right now! Your husband is bringing you this gift tonight :)
I finally finally finished one of my three in-progress baby quilts. And not even the one I was working on earlier this week. This is a baby quilt I started working on back in September, although I saw the fabric back in March. I based the blanket off of an idea in Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts- "Follow the Lines."


I didn't quilt nearly as much as that quilt called for, but I started in the middle by outlining every third or fourth animal, spreading outwards towards the edges. This way there would be no bunching or wrinkled fabric.


The fabric is Alexander Henry 2D Zoo in the blue colorway, and it's for a lucky baby boy! I bought flannel backing from JoAnn's, and regular blue double-fold bias tape for the edges, which I zig-zagged on.


The outline stitching did indeed take forever, but I made double use of my time by watching Season 1 of Mad Men (although the beautiful sets and costumes made it hard to focus on sewing). Last night I watched an episode of Samantha Who, The Daily Show, and two of Colbert Report while finishing and then re-fixing the bias tape.

I'm very proud of this blanket. The sewing might not be the best ever, but I love love love the fabric and hope that his (super cool) parents like it too!

dia de los muertos

I was at the Indianapolis Art Center last week for my running club, and took several pictures of their Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead exhibit. I loved their decorations, including those made by local school children. Then, last night at the Dollar Store, in search of a flag lapel pin for my Halloween costume (which I cannot find ANYWHERE), I found these:

Felt shapes, five for a dollar, in bright colors. It reminded me of this:

I love the bright shapes and different sizes of the felt shapes. Plus, I can use them again for birthdays or come springtime! I'm going to join them with a needle and thread, strung through the tops of all of the shapes, and hung from my stairway.


ETA: The Felt Mouse had a similar idea, and added fabric skull accents too. Too cute!

worldle is endless

Have you seen Wordle? I love it! I've been playing around with it for weeks, and today I created some "welcome baby" cards for several of my friends (two had babies the same night!). I played around with it for awhile to get the word sizes right, and I'm very happy with it. I'm going to print it out, back it with darker cardstock and attach to a simple blank white card.

Here's a tip: numbers don't really show up in wordle, but they'll show up with letters. So for "October 1, 2008", I input it as "october~1st~2008." The "~" indicates a space should be included. I put the basic template for the words I used below. Fill in the baby's name, date, weight/size, and parents name. Obviously, you can add other words like brother/sister, or make it for a girl by switching out all the gender names.



word template for the baby one:
welcome welcome welcome welcome welcome
welcome welcome welcome welcome welcome
welcome welcome welcome welcome welcome

baby baby baby baby baby
baby baby baby baby baby
baby baby babybaby baby
baby baby baby baby

name name name name name
name name name name

dayoftheweek dayoftheweek dayoftheweek dayoftheweek dayoftheweek dayoftheweek
date date date date date date

time~pounds~inches time~pounds~inches time~pounds~inches time~pounds~inches
time~pounds~inches time~pounds~inches time~pounds~inches

family family family family family family family
joy joy joy joy joy joy joy joy
happiness happiness happiness happiness happiness
hugs hugs hugs hugs hugs
son son son son son
nephew nephew nephew
parents parents parents
grandson grandson grandson
kisses kisses kisses
blue blue blue
cuddles cuddles cuddles
bottle bottle bottle
teddy~bear teddy~bear
lullaby lullaby lullaby
gift gift gift
crib crib
bib bib
blankie blankie
crying crying
diapers diapers
waiting~for~you waiting~for~you
special special special special
grandparents grandparents
aunts aunts
uncles uncles
cousins cousins
hospital hospital
onesie onesie
pacifier pacifier
rocking~chair rocking~chair
rattle rattle
nursery nursery
toys toys
naps naps
games games
books books
first~words first~words

mom~and~dad mom~and~dad mom~and~dad mom~and~dad mom~and~dad mom~and~dad mom~and~dad
momname~and~dadname momname~and~dadname momname~and~dadname momname~and~dadname momname~and~dadname


One I made out of Le Petit Prince, the entire text (older books are easy to find online in RTF! just google it)

101 Things

I'm starting a 101 Things in 1001 Days. My end date is June 29, 2011, so I have plenty of time to finish these!

I sorted them into categories, although some do overlap. I think the first one I'll finish is the Marathon (November 1st!). I'll also try to post on my blog every day until then.


Crafty Things:
1. Post on my blog(s) every day for a month (0/30)
2. Do a Photo-A-Day every day for a month (0/30)
3. Tag/sort/organize all my photos in Flickr (0/1)
4. Tag all my photos on my Mac (0/1)
5. Make extra cards so I have a stash of 20 extra birthday/baby/thank you/wedding cards (0/20)
6. Finish duvet for my bedroom (0/1)
7. Find four photos for the dining room frames (0/4)
8. Make a cork board/bulletin board for the back door (0/1)
9. Make the Bean an Xmas Stocking (0/1)
10. Start knitting group (0/1)
11. Learn to crochet (0/1)
12. Take an art class (0/1)
13. Sew a dress (0/1)
14. Do Wordless Wednesdays for two months (0/8)
15. Buy an original painting or artwork (0/1)
16. Make a felt bowl/box/something (0/1)

Financial Things:
17. Pay down my CC debt (0/1)
18. Pay down my Dad debt (0/1)
19. Pay down my termite debt/Get termites taken care of too! (0/1)
20. Save in Emergency Savings account $500-$1000 (0/1000)
21. Close all credit cards for cards I don't use/Credit check yearly (0/2)
22. Put $5 into emergency account for each task completed. (0/101)

Things for me:
23. Read 21 books off Big Read List (I've read 39 so far) (0/21)
24. Spend a (non-vacation) day off the internet (0/1)
25. Volunteer 101 hours (0/101)
26. Send and receive a postcard via postcrossing.com (0/1)
27. Identify 101 things that make me happy, make a list, maybe a wordle? (0/1)
28. Take a gardening class (0/1)
29. Go to a lecture at the library, IUPUI, Herron, etc. (0/1)
30. Get a tattoo (0/1)

Things for other people:
31. Send ten thank-you or birthday cards (0/10)
32. Send special cards to my mom 30 times. (0/30)
33. Buy my mom flowers (0/1)
34. Donate 30,000 grains of rice to freerice.com (0/30000)
35. Freecycle ten things (0/10)
36. Cook dinner for Mom and Dad (0/1)
37. Take my cousins to a museum/zoo/out for a day (0/1)
38. Take my parents out to dinner (0/1)
39. Vote in (and encourage others) to vote in the 2008 elections (0/1)

For funsies:
40. Go to the movies alone (0/1)
41. See a Broadway/Broadway Across America show (0/1)
42. Watch 20 classic/old movies- get from AFI List (I reserve the right to skip scary movies!) (0/20)
43. Buy a dress from Anthropologie (0/1)
44. Get a mani or pedi every week for a month (0/4)
45. Create an inspiration board or book for crafting and home (0/1)
46. Read five biographies (0/5)
47. Read 35 more of Agatha Christie's books that are available through IMCPL (0/35)
48. Learn to drive a stick (0/1)
49. Win a contest (0/1)
50. Buy red shoes (0/1)
51. Read five graphic novels (0/5)
52. Go to the Symphony (0/1)

Gardening Things:
53. Build raised planting beds (0/1)
54. Plant Way Back garden (0/1)
55. Plant a tree (0/1)

Health and Fitness Things:
56. Run a marathon (0/1)
57. Bake a gluten-free cake, not from mix (0/1)
58. One week without candy- three times! (0/1)
59. Donate a gallon of blood (0/8)
60. Walk the Bean every day for a week 10 times (0/10)
61. Do a triathlon (0/1)
62. Join an Intramural sport (0/1)
63. Sign up for a 5K with Mom (0/1)
64. Take a new fitness class at the gym 10 times (or 10 new classes total) (0/10)
65. Join a running club (Athletic Annex) (0/1)
66. Buy a new bike (0/1)
67. Go hiking five times (0/5)
68. Go rock climbing (0/1)

House Things:
69. Purge and donate 101 Things (0/101)
70. Organize pantry (0/1)
71. Clean out bedroom closet so you can see the floor (0/1)
72. Paint guest room (again) (0/1)
73. Paint hallway (0/1)
74. Dismantle Panic Room (0/1)
75. Document possessions for insurance- photos, registration numbers, etc (0/1)
76. Put together an Emergency Kit/Evac Kit (0/1)
77. Find, buy, or create a headboard/bedframe (0/1)
78. Find, buy or create art for above said headboard (0/1)
79. Buy a hamper, put clothes in it! (0/1)
80. Get another dog (0/1)
81. Escrow monthly for termite contract ($22/month) (0/32)

Social Things:
82. Go to ten local live-music shows (alone, if I have to!) (0/10)
83. Go to Roller Derby (0/1)
84. Go on a blind date (0/1)
85. Have a Girl's Night In for movies and mixed drinks five times (0/5)
86. Go on at least five dates (0/5)
87. Throw a Family Dinner twice (0/2)
88. Host a game night (0/1)
89. Try ten new restaurants in Indy (0/5)
90. Go to a wine tasting (0/1)
91. Go bowling (0/1)
92. Celebrate my 30th birthday IN STYLE (0/1)
93. Go to the Indiana State Fair (0/1)

Travel Things:
94. Travel to one foreign country (0/1)
95. Go to a Cubs game (0/1)
96. Go to Ikea in Cincy/Schaumburg (0/1)
97. Travel to at least three other states (Ohio and Kentucky do not count) (0/3)
98. Spend a weekend in Chicago (0/1)
99. Visit Grandpa (0/1)

Work Things:
100. Get a raise (0/2)
101. Get a promotion (0/1)

blue and green equals art

I finally hung some pictures in my house. Only two years late! Story of my life.

The downstairs of my house is painted green, and I've been accenting it with blue- blue glass vases, blue pillows (to come), and artwork with touches of blue. I have a large, gorgeous photograph I bought at Penrod several years ago. It's of a bright blue door somewhere in Santorini- I love it, and I can't believe it's been hiding in my closet for two years. It's my first and only true "art" piece so far, and I even tried to find that door in Santorini when I went four years ago. Alas, I couldn't find it. I did, however, take many other "blue" photos in Greece (pretty easy to do; everything there is bright blue!) and I am going to accompany those with some other "art."

I took some square frames from the clearance section at Target- three bucks apiece last winter. I added some pages taken from a calendar we gave my Mom last year. It's a page-a-day type of beaches from around the world. I picked four of my favorites and hung three on a column in my dining room, and added another to an end table that was missing something in my living room.




(sorry the flash blew it out so much)

There are over a hundred photos left, and I didn't want to waste them! I took some photo coasters that had been sitting empty and unused, and cut up four other calendar pages for those. I didn't want a recognizable "beach scene," so I picked four aerial shots that had texture to them- they are all water, but it's hard to tell when a small section is used in a close-up.



Tomorrow I'm going to finish using some of the other calendar pages in more square frames. I love making art out of found pages like this...it's professional photography, but it didn't cost much, and I'm recycling the pages too, in a way.

baby quilt

I am 95% done with the baby quilt I made for my friend. I still have to sew up a spot or two and do the quilting, but other than that, Finito!!! My first quilt, and the first thing I've sewn in years. Now that I've brushed up, I can work on the duvet cover for my bedroom.

I used a pattern from "Quick Colorful Quilts for Babies and Toddlers" by Rosemary Wilkinson. It was a very basic book, although I had to do quite a bit of math in order to cut out the rectangles. But I think it turned out well. All of the seams and joints between rectangles lined up and everything.

come out, come out, wherever you are!

I bought some bulbs for 50% off last fall when I was refinishing my floors. I stashed them in the basement and promptly forgot all about them, until I discovered them a few weeks ago. They daffodils and alliums were sprouting in the bags! I picked up some potting soil, mixed it with some peat moss, and filled these pots to the brim. I probably should have planted the bulbs a bit deeper, but I did what I could. Spring has sprung!



(yes, that's part of a blender in the background. ha!)

more on the bathroom front

I finally touched up the ceiling in the bathroom- when I painted the walls I got quite a bit of green on the ceiling back in September. It was time to fix it! Also, you can see my shiny new camera in the new mirror.



The angle of this is a bit strange (why didn't I just stand in the bathtub to take a straight on photo?), but I hung a grouping of white frames on the wall to cover up some poor plaster work (by me, ahem). I wanted to hang some beautiful artwork, but I don't really have any pieces, so instead I went the thrifty crafty route and used scrapbook paper! I chose several different designs from Archiver's, and then picked what looked best against the wall. I cut the pieces to fit, stuck them in some cheap frames from Target, and voila! Instant artwork! Nevermind that the sticky hooks I used to hang them up fell off the walls last night...looks like I'll have to bust out a hammer and nails after all.



On a side note, green walls are really hard to photograph against.