sewing project: carolina makeup bag

A while back, I made this roomy makeup bag using the Carolina pattern on Burdastyle.

The pattern was easy to follow and the bag easily accommodates large bottles (shampoo, contact solution, etc.). It turned out to be perfect for our honeymoon. 

**Since a lot of my current projects are Christmas presents, I won't be posting them until after the holidays. Instead, I'll post a few that I did pre-blog, along with a few non-Christmas projects.**

join a swap!

I'm participating in the Bend the Rules Sewing Swap and so should you! Make two semi simple pillows (the pattern can be found in Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol, available at your local library) and send them to your swap partner. The deadline to enter has been extended until Friday, so sign up if you're interested.

monoprints by anna betts

Loving this monoprint by Anna Betts.

I love the droopy quality the blind contour drawing lends the chandelier.

Check out Anna's excellent blog and Etsy shop.  

bookpros[e]: unnecessary punctuation?!

Image source.

Here's a link to my lastest post on BookPros[e] about unnecessary punctuation.

quilting project: lexi's quilt

My husband's cousin recently gave birth to a baby girl--Lexi--so I decided to make her a quilt. 

 

I used scrap materials I had in my sewing room to make the top, and purchased the yellow-polka-dot backing and lavender binding.

To make the quilt, I used a combination of three different tutorials. The top came from here, the directions on how to make a quilt sandwich and machine quilt came from here, and steps on how to do binding came from here. The binding is hand-sewn on the back and the finished quilt is about 28" x 28".

 

I also made a rather clumsy attempt to embroider the quilt with Lexi's name, my name, and the date. I'll have to work on improving my embroidery skills...

napkin rings by raedunn

I've been coveting these handmade napkin rings by raedunn for awhile. 

 

I think they'd make an excellent, personalized wedding gift, especially when paired with a set of handmade napkins.

knit necklaces by yesjess

Totally loving these knit chain-link necklaces by YesJess:

 

Can be found here and here.

cross-stitch project: kthxbai.

After finishing Tru Luv 4 Eva, I decided to cross-stitch a LOLspeak phrase, and wound up doing one of my favorites (which, according to Urban Dictionary, is usually used when you want to cut someone off and end a conversation): kthxbai.

I found the font online (rather than in my trusty cross-stitch alphabet booklet) and added a navy blue border of my own design around the phrase.

 

gift tags

 

For Christmas, birthday, and just-for-fun presents, I decided to make some gift tags. 

Using an old calendar featuring panoramic views of Big Sur, I got to work tracing an actual tag onto the back of each calendar image. I cut each tag out by hand, and using my trusty three-hole puncher, punched holes into the top of each one.

   

I have to admit, this project took forever. In hindsight, I probably could have saved time (and avoided hand pain) by purchasing a tag puncher. Maybe next time...

 

Check out the tags in action here and here.

cross-stitch project: you're pfun

For my friend's upcoming birthday, I decided to cross-stitch her a simple message, using an alphabet design from my booklet. Since her last name begins with "Pfun," this is what I ended up with:

 And here it is all wrapped up and ready to go: 

 

bookpros[e]: book recommendations

Beautiful limited-edition print by Mickey Smith, available at 20x200.

Looking for a good book to read? Check out my latest post on BookPros(e). I polled our staff to find out what they're currently reading, and they came back with some great choices.