Even More New Threads!

At the last quilt show I was at I picked up a few new embroidery patterns by a designer out of Australia and when I finally pulled them out last month to stitch one up I didn't recognize the threads she called for.  I brought the pattern to the stores closest to me that carry threads other than the normal DMC stuff but no one knew anything about them.  So I then went to ETSY and after an exhausting  ;) 5 minute search found a seller (also based in Australia) that had not only the thread but also the color I needed. 

It took some time but its finally here.  It feels so different than any other floss I have ever had, it is so silky and smooth.  The color is gorgeous in person and I can't wait to stitch with it! I'll post some pics once I'm well on my way with the project.  Just a few things to finish up post-Christmas (man did it come fast and blow by! Yikes!) and then I can start up on some personal projects.  

I have lots planned for the winter and I can't wait to hole up and get stitching!

Anybody else have any plans?

~Leah 

Fun Mail!

What can I say I'm a sucker for a good sale and while I was away on vacation I might have slid a little online shopping into my fun filled sunny days.  The day after I for back there was a package dropped on my porch that was very appropriately labeled...

All wrapped into one package was a ton of stitchy fun.  I got myself a new hoop, some needles, some patterns, a pair of new scissors, a trio of patterns and most importantly some new floss.  

Since Sublime Stitching announced their floss launch I've been curious to work with it and their latest sale gave me just the chance.  

I haven't had the time to break it out yet but I will let you know as soon as I do.

I hope you all have some fun mail land on your porches as well!! Its back to the grind for me tomorrow,  its crazy that vacations always seem too short no matter how long they are.  

Hope all is well with you and thanks for stopping by!

~Leah 

Vacation from Life

So I had grand plans for this little blog of mine but it seems like life had other plans for me. These last few months have been some of the hardest and most stressful that I can remember. Every time I looked at the calendar a month was come and gone and I felt like I was constantly stuck in the same place but getting nothing accomplished.

I have made a few changes that I am hoping will help take the edge off as we go into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I wanted so badly to have a handmade, homemade Christmas but I just know in my heart it won't happen this year. All I can do now is scale back on my projects, really choose the ones that are important to me and then let the rest fall where they may.

I was getting so caught up in the chaos around me that it was really hurting some of my most cherished relationships. Friends and family noticed the change in me and pushed me to take some time for myself. Well thanks to their pushing and an impeccably scheduled Patriots game I got my little vacation from life. I've spent the better part of the last week relaxing and catching up with friends while soaking up some sunshine (I am still amazed at how much better I feel when I get to play outside in the sun!) in beautiful Florida! Yesterday was the highlight of the week, my brother's birthday and the Patriots vs Miami game. So I got to celebrate and spend the day with my brother while enjoying one of our favorite things. I have one more day here at the beach before I have to head home but I think it was just what I needed to clear my head, clear my heart and refresh my outlook on things.

So I will leave you with what I am looking at as I type this post, my little stretch of sea and sand.

Here's to a brand new start!

I hope all is well with you and your and as always, thanks for stopping by,

~Leah

The swap is here, the swap is here!!

Lets get this out of the way, I am sorry for the long absence but I had a ton going on and just needed to focus on a few other things.  I'm back, I promise!

Even though the month was busy I did get a few little things done, including my uber-cute-if-I-do say-so-myself pincushion for the Modern Quilt Guild Swap.  You may recall I first mentioned this a little ways back but its finally here! Saturday the 17th is when my guild meets next and thats when these little guys will get sent to new, stitch lovin' homes. 

Say hello to my little friend!

Truth be told I have mixed feelings about letting my little guy go.  I am super happy with the way it turned out and sort of don't want to part with it.  On the other hand, I know all of the other guild members probably put just as much hard work and love into their pieces so I can't wait to see what shows up in my mailbox. 

I backed it with a spare charm square.  One of my favorites, Neptune by Tula Pink!

 Strangely enough his pattern was meant for coasters.  I found the pattern as I was thumbing through my copy of Cross-Stich and Needlework and to me it immediately looked like a modern quilt.  

I hope the recipient likes it!!

I have a couple of other WIPs that are no longer WIPs to share but those will come a little later!

Thanks for swinging through, 

Leah ~ :)

Its Game Time!

Hi there everyone! This post is being brought to you buy Logan Airport WiFi! I'm so not excited about this. 

I would much rather be at home on my couch getting ready to watch the Pats kick off but alas I am at the start of another business trip. In order to make myself feel a little better I figured I would take this opportunity to share with you my favorite football season recipe. Well if I am being honest it is my favorite any season recipe. My buffalo chicken dip!

These little guys pack a bit of a punch and can either be made on a stovetop or in a crock pot, depends on your style of tailgating :)

The recipe is super easy and takes no time at all so you can make this right before your crew shows up or the night before.  Here's how it's done...

What you need:

1 cup Franks Red Hot

1 cup light ranch dressing*

2 cans of chicken**

2 cups reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

2 8oz packages of reduced fat cream cheese

Couldn't be simpler! Start with the cans of chicken, the franks red hot and the ranch dressing. Warm that up to the point where it just begins to bubble. Add one package of the cram cheese and stir until it is pretty much melted in, then do the same for the second package. I like to let mine melt totally so that I don't have to deal with lumps of cream cheese later. Last step is add the majority of the shredded cheese and stir until melted. One thing to note is that I always use the low fat versions of things, not the full fat, to make sure that the cheese melts well and the dressing isn't too runny. I also use the larger sized cans of chicken but the regular size work just as well, i just happen to like a lot of chicken in mine!  DONE!

Transfer to your serving dish and use the little bit of cheese left over to top it off. Serve it with carrot or celery sticks, chips or wheat thins and enjoy! 

The crock pot version is even easier, toss it all in and let'er rip!

I hope you and your crew enjoy!

GO PATS!!!

Fall is a Fickle Thing

In New England we are used to weather changing in a heart beat so I shouldn't really find this unexpected but just as I finished pulling out my cold weather clothing the thermostat almost hit 70 today...so much for my comfy cozy wool sweater!

Amazing how this is what greets me at my front door (don't mind the paint job, we are in mid-project at the moment) as I leave the house in a t-shirt and sandals! At least we had a few chilly rainy days this past few weeks, I was able to catch up on some cross stitch, make multiple batches of my pumpkin muffins and enjoy a new beef stew recipe. 

My car also had a milestone... and strangely enough it happened on 10/10... I kid you not!

Crazy right?!?! And yes I did pull over to take the picture.

All in all not a bad month so far.  Now I get to spend the rest of the week preparing for a business trip, yippee skippee!

Hope October is treating you well!

~Leah 

Swapping Pincushions!!

I am super excited for this one, I love swaps! I have done 3 so far (1 scrapbook page swap and two small embroidery swaps) and really enjoyed them all.  This time around the swap is being run through the quilt guild I am a member of but another chapter.  The lovely ladies of the Kansas City Modern Quilt Guild are organizing this as part of the build up to QuiltCon in February.  They set us up with some basic 'rules' (the pincushion must have a modern aesthetic and must not contain anything breakable) and sent us on our way.  

We will be swapping with members from several other guild chapters from Vancouver, Austin, Wichita, Bay Area, Indianapolis and Northern Virginia as well as Kansas City. Some of these chapters have huge memberships so we are talking a lot of little pincushions shipping all over the country.  I hope I get one from Vancouver, then I can say I have an international pincushion! hehehe

Now here is where my confession comes in, I am not a modern quilter.  I am actually not much of a quilter of any kind but if I had to peg myself as anything I am traditional through and through.  I am still working on finding my stye and the patience to actually see a full sized quilt through until it is completed (I am currently staring at 2 unfinished block of the month quilts).  

I can whip out a mug rug like no one else though!! :)

I hesitated when they first announced this at our meeting but the more I thought about it the more I wanted in.  I am just going to have to go down a different road.  I am going to cross-stitch my pincushion! I found this great little design that actually resembles one of my favorite modern quilts (it very geometric and a bit retro-ish to me) and I chose a fairly modern color palette of grays, teals, lime greens and a splash of coral.  

It looks better than it sounds, I promise. 

 

I started it this evening and here's what I have so far.  

I'm hoping that the recipient likes it. It's always a little scary sending something you spent a lot of love and time on off to a stranger. My fingers are crossed!

I'll show it off once its finished before I send it off to it's new home!

~Leah 

30 in 30: Wrap It Up!

So despite a minor snafu towards the end I think I was pretty successful with my September quest.  I actually got a lot of wish list projects started, finished some that were outstanding and really enjoyed looking back through past projects.  I also think this month has helped me get a little smarter with planning things out and using my craft time more wisely.  In looking through my stash (I only really shared a fraction of it) I also learned that I might need to set a budget for myself and start to buy only the things I need.  During this process I was able to put together a box of supplies for donation; full of things that I know I will realistically never do but will bring someone else a lot of joy.

Now my goal for better photography is still a work in progress.  I need to spend a little more time getting to know my camera and maybe spend a little time reading up on photography in general.  I also tend to take a lot of my pictures at night, now that fall has arrived that means after the sun is gone so I need to get better at working during the daylight.

What stood out the most for me was that the things I was most excited to share with you were things that people had made just for me. I was second most excited about things I was making for others.  I have so many things started that I intend to keep for myself (especially now that I have moved and need to redecorate) but those didn’t jump to the front of my mental line when I was trying to think of what to share. 

While this was a fun experiment it was really stressful, posting everyday was a struggle and sometimes I felt like I was posting just to meet the goal.  I know I shouldn't have because really if I don't put my heart into writing it why would anyone want to read it... but in the end I am happy with what I shared and what I was able to get planned with this month's help.  I know this is something I won’t repeat anytime soon but it was a great learning experience.

What made this September special for you?

As always, thanks for stopping in and taking the time to visit my little corner of the web!

~Leah

30 in 30: Ornamentation

I am not always the biggest fan of glitter but I love sequins!

When I give Christmas gifts I like to give something handmade to go along with it even if I am giving a gift card or something store bought.  I remember making these when I was little for school although I am pretty sure all we did was glue the crap out of these little suckers.  A few years ago I reached into the past and made these sequined ornaments.  With Christmas just around the corner I have started to make a few more.  This time these ones will be for my tree!

Sequins are really hard to photo! Reflecting and sparkling all over the place!

My tree is a little non-traditional, a lot of my ornaments are either flamingo themed, have feathers or aren’t “Christmasie” and are purple and pink or blue and line green.  Since sequins come in the big multi-colored packages I ran with the multi- colored theme and then turned out some traditional red and greens as well.  I used shorter length, flat head pins, basic Styrofoam balls and a little bit of white all purpose glue (dollar store version of Elmer’s) just for added security.  

These are pretty time consuming but what can I say, I love a tree with a little bling!

Rumor has it that Christmas is less than 90 days away!

Eeek!

~Leah 

30 in 30: Crafy Namaste

I love when things I consider important to me overlap.  

As I mentioned not to long ago my motto is ‘Good Health is Self Love’ so I spend a lot of time working to be healthy and happy.  I do what I can to eliminate the abundance of stress I face in my 8-5 life by spending time at home and at the gym doing things like yoga. 

I spent a lot of time using a second hand mat (thank you to my very generous friends!) until I decided that yoga was something I wanted to do more often.  When I bought my own mat I decided that it needed a sassy spot to live in while not in use but I didn’t really like any of the bags or straps I saw in stores.  I had this awesome fabric from Ikea that I never had any idea what to do with but it was decorator weight so I knew I wouldn’t be able to quilt with it.  This is really the only thing I have sewn on my own that wasn’t from a pattern or tutorial.  

I used my Ikea fabric and some pink cotton I had left over from another project and I
made fabric covered buttons for the first time ever!

The pocket zips and is the perfect size for a small wallet, extra hair elastics, keys and chapstick.
I'm not the best planner but my hair elastic closures worked great in a pinch!

Don't mind the rouge chapstick, he rolled into the picture and my battery was dying.
I was far too lazy to take another picture!

It took a lot of trial and error and it isn’t perfect but I love my mat carrier. 

~Namaste

30 in 30: Who’s the Cutest Ever Gadget Cover…

Ok so about a week ago I got a book delivery that I had forgotten I ordered.  The book I really wanted was Aneela Hoey’s Little Stitches (I may be mildly obsessed with her at the moment) and the second book I had just added in because it had an owl on the cover.  All kidding aside I had seen a few write ups about the book and thought it might be right up my alley.  It was in fact one of the owl projects that jumped out at me first, I am full fledged on the owl bandwagon by the way!

I decided to make this little cover for my new phone (I finally upgraded from the 3 to the 4s just in time for the iPhone 5 to come out… sigh always a step behind!) just so it had a little home.  I used the templates from Happy Stitch and just added an extra pocket on the back (a suggestion in the sidebar) for my headphones.  

                         

 

I wanted something for fall so I used up some of my wool stash and part of an old scarf I had and lined it with basic muslin that I had lying around.  It took about 2 hours from start to finish and I am super pleased with how he turned out.

                    

How cute is he?!?!?!

~Leah

30 in 30: Way Back When

As kind of a fun item I wanted to share with all of you the first thing I ever sewed all by myself using a sewing machine.  I was very proud of it at the time and it just shows how far you can come with practice and if you stick with it.  I still prefer to hand-sew over my machine but I am not nearly as afraid of my machine as I used to be. 

I don't remember why I made it but I remember not allowing my mom to help me with it. 

 I still love the little heart buttons! And check out my zig-zag stitchin' skills!! hahaha!

Its funny, I have no reason to keep it, will never use it again but I just can't bring myself to throw it away!

Where did it all begin for you way back when?

~Leah 

30 in 30: Something New to Use...

I will openly admit that I am not the most tech savvy person, I still have issues with my point and shoot camera, but more and more I find myself finding new projects and idea through various technologies.  I am an apple girl so I recently got myself an iPad, mostly because my 10 year old MacBook is starting to show signs of its age, and I have found all kinds of new Apps that are awesome for the creative side of me. 

First up are the Point de Croix series. These cross stitch apps are mostly free and contain all kinds of designs both big and small.  I have only stitched up some of the smaller designs but these mermaids are next.  All of the keys reference DMC colors and there is a great 9 page spread with al kinds of tips for new stitchers.

Next up is XFloss, this one is so clutch to me.  It takes a while to get it ready to use but once you do it is awesome.  Take the time to enter in all of your threads and the number of skeins you have of each and no matter where you go you will always know whats in your stash.  It crosses over to your iPhone as well so its super mobile. 

And how can I leave out my girl Martha. Love her or hate her the woman can rock a craft tutorial like no other!  The Martha Stewart CraftStudio is a neat little tool that allows you to make cards that you can email, post to Facebook/twitter, store as a photo or upload to Snapfish to either incorporate into a photo project or print out just as is.  Its a great way to make fun wallpapers!

Last up are my scrap pad apps.  I only have the trial versions but I have about 12 of them.  Some were free others were $0.99 or right around there (again me being cheap comes into play!) and I have a lot of fun with them.  Another way to make fun wallpapers and photo collages this apps is just like scrapping with paper.  Its just a lot easier to email!

Don't mind the pictures of me.  This was a project my trainer had me complete when I hit a plateau, the before made me cry and the after made me so proud (Good Health is Self Love is my motto by the way). I kept it simple but the program has all kinds of embellishments.

I stumbled on these guys while just randomly browsing around.  Some I found on my own, others were recommended from various places.  In the case with all of them I have them listed not because I am affiliated with them but just because I really like to use them.  I always wonder when I see people glued to their tablets and smart phones exactly what they are looking at and in my case its probable one of the above. 

I love that traditional, time honored crafts have been able to stay viable in a tech-heavy world!

What are some of your favorite tools?

~Leah 

30 in 30: Something Spooky This Way Comes…

Halloween is such a fun holiday for me. 

 I live in a neighborhood with lots of little ones so there are trick-or-treaters a’plenty.  

I grabbed some floss from a little kit I got, squared off some scrap aida and dug out some free Halloween motifs.  

I haven't decided what I will turn them into yet, probably some kind of pillow or placement...

Just a few little projects to get me in the holiday spirit. 

~Leah 

30 in 30: Prep Work

I love that moment just before you start a project, the one where you have all the materials fresh and in front of you ready to go.  The gathering and sourcing is all done and the project is ready to go! 

I finished the biscornu I started in late July and have started a second one, another Christmas gift in the making! I love that floss comes in so many colors but I hate that floss comes in so many colors! Now that I have them picked I started stitching and I will keep working on it during my lunch hour.  

I also got myself all set up for another project, this one will be a gift for my brother and his wife to celebrate their wedding.  They got married back in June and the original design I chose for them I hated once I got about half way through it.  I got them a substitute gift at the time but I really want to give them something special for their home.  

 I plan to start this one this coming weekend.

What's on deck for you?

~Leah 

Little Disclaimer on this one~ I just now realized that this didn't post as I thought I had scheduled it to yesterday morning so this is actually what should have appeared on 9/23... Boo! Ruined my streak!

30 in 30: That Warm Fuzzy Feeling

I am a huge texture person; the feel of something makes a huge difference to me.  It’s why I always seek a fabric out in person before ordering it online and why I am super picky about my wools and felts.  Nothing ruins a project faster than low quality materials. 

Most of my wools I picked up at my favorite quilt shops or at quilt shows and my felts I bought online after requesting sample pieces.  I love that certain online shops will do that now, easiest way to make me a customer for life.  I love the rich deep colors and the mix of textures; they just feel good in my hands.  I love how easily it works up and how many different things you can do with it.  My stash is running a little low but I’m sure I can take care of that pretty quickly!

What is the best part of your stash?
~Leah

30 in 30: Unexpected Surprises

Don't you just love it when you forget that you ordered something and then when you get home there is a little package on your porch. Surprise!!!

That was my day today :) 

These little beauties arrived for me today, can't wait to use them!

It's the little things sometimes, I swear.

~Leah 

30 in 30: Friends You Make Along the Way

Simply because of how I spend most of my day I like to fill my craft room with things that make me smile.  Pepe and Petunia are two of those things.  

Pepe the Pepper Shaker followed me home from Mexico! I used him as a glitter holder/shaker for a while but now he just sits contently on a shelf and holds the occasional pin.  

Petunia the Pincushion is a friend I literally made along the way, she is actually the only reason why I bought the book her pattern was in.  I was flipping through, saw her and stopped flipping and headed to check out! (I discovered once I was home that the book had a bunch of other cutie patootie patterns as well.)  I love her little face and her pretty little flower.  Even though she is a pincushion I can’t bring myself to poke her!

I love to surround myself with little things that make me happy. 

~Leah