None to go!

I finished the clutch for my mother-in-law!  I like it a lot...although I think I like the one I made for my mom better.

 It was Danny's idea to put the vertical stripe.  I love it!

 I LOVE this fabric.  It's from Connecting Threads

 Zebra lining!

So there you go!  Two finished clutches for Mother's Day!  I love making these!  :)  And sewing!

One down!

I have completed one of my Mother's Day gifts!  This one is for my mom...I'm incredibly excited about it!

 It's a clutch!  She asked for one at Christmas, but I made her a quilt instead...so now she'll get it!

The lining is almost always my favorite part of every bag!

It felt so good to be at the sewing machine again!  My sewing room is a WRECK right now; I really need to clean it up!  That made it kind of hard, but once I found everything I needed it went smoothly!  I have another of these to make (in different fabrics, of course) tomorrow!

Mother's Day!

Tonight I'm planning on making Mother's Day gifts for my mom and mother-in-law!  I think I'll probably just make them zippered clutches...they're easy, and they have both asked if they would ever get one!  :)  I should have pictures to put up tonight or tomorrow!

...I'm incredibly excited to sew.  Sew excited, if you will.  :)

Holy Cow!

One of my favorite things is that quilting bloggers do giveaways...I always enter them, but have never won anything.  Until NOW.  Rachel at Stitched in Color did a Flea Market Fancy giveaway and I won!!  I'm on cloud 9 right now!  Lucky for me, it is a bundle of the warm tones...I just bought a bundle of the cool colorway, so these are all new to me!

Seriously, I'm so excited.  My husband just declared that I should probably win something everyday, because it puts me in a good mood.  :)

Also, I haven't sewed in literally forever.  I need to whip up some Mother's Day gifts, so I'll be forced back to my machine soon!  Hooray!

New projects!

I haven't sewed in FOREVER.  Literally.  It's been forever.  But tonight I'm helping my coworker make some belly bands for her adorable pregnant bump!  And I just ordered a fat quarter bundle of Flea Market Fancy!



I'm so excited!  It's so pretty!  :)

Also, I ordered it about an hour ago, and it's already out of stock on fatquartershop.com.  Holy cow!

In any case, I'm excited to get back to the machine.  I really need to start making more time to sew!

...kind of.

I never updated about my sewing date!  Of course, it didn't end up quite like I thought it would.  We talked a WHOLE lot and didn't get much sewing done.  Oops!  But I finished the baby blanket for my cousin and did one burp cloth!  I still really need to finish the rest of those so I can send them soon!

As I've said, I'm doing Oh, Fransson!'s Sparkle Quilt quilt-a-long.  Cutting out all the 3.5" squares is super tedious, though.  Cutting is absolutely my LEAST favorite part of quilting.  Blah.  My parents got me an Accuquilt Go! Baby cutter for Christmas, which is AWESOME.  I bought the 3.5" square dies for it this week, and I think it'll make this quilt go a lot faster!

Today we're going to a fabric store in a town about 30 miles away...I'm excited!  I've been trying really hard not to buy fabric this month, but I really want some!  I might be addicted.  Don't tell my husband. :)

Have a beautiful Saturday, and a great Valentine's Day!

Back on the horse

That's right, people.  I'm getting back on the sewing horse!  One of my coworkers invited me to come over for a crafting day today!  Hooray!  I have a whole list of things I'd like to get done.  So.  As long as everything goes as planned, I will have the following to show you later:

*Baby blanket and matching burp cloths for my cousin
*Two pairs of blind hemmed pants (one for a coworker)
*A pair of pajama pants with a new waistband
*A zippered pouch
*The start of a tshirt/pj quilt
*AND MAYBE MORE!

I'm so excited.  I just can't hide it.

Ok, so the pajama pants.  I bought them because they're SUPER cute and not too thick.  I didn't realize that the waistband has exactly NO elastic.  You have to tie the drawstring, and they fall down all the time.  So I'm going to take the waistband off some other pajamas that I don't wear and replace it.  We'll see how it goes.  Also, I exactly a bajillion tshirts and pajama pants that I need to cut up and turn into a quilt.  My parents get me pjs for Christmas every year, and now I have more pajamas than I could ever wear.  But I love them.  So into a quilt they go!  Ha!

...that'll be the warmest quilt ever in the world.  Oh well!  It'll also be SO SENTIMENTAL!

Alright.  I'm going to gather my two sewing machines and all the supplies in the world and head to her house!  Wish me luck!

Success!

I sewed today!!  Unfortunately, my bum face made it really hard.  It's hard to focus with only one eye!  I'm doing Oh, Fransson's Sparkle Punch Quilt-A-Long, and I started today!  I only sewed one star, just to see how hard it was.  I'm really excited to officially get the quilt underway...it's so cool!  I'm using blues, purples, greens, and yellow with white "negative space."  I think I'll bind it in pink.  Maybe.  This quilt is all for me!

I did a whole lot of sitting around again today.  It's really starting to bum me out!  We also started looking at cruises for the vacation we're planning this coming December.  Fun!  I'm going to need to start working out.  :)

Also, Ellie is the sweetest thing ever.  Danny, too.  I guess.  And my face hasn't gotten any better, but it's starting to twitch now.  Weeeeird.

Hopefully I'll get some more sewing done soon!  It felt good to be slightly productive today!

Still Standing

My life has basically been full of paralysis lately.  I have done nothing but go to work, close my eye with my finger, and sleep.  And I've watched a lot of television.

In case you wondered, this is what I look like at the moment:

 This is a smile...

And this is me doing nothing with my face.

Here's a picture of me without Bell's Palsy, in case you wondered:

I can smile with both sides of my face, I promise!  Also, I can feed cute kittens!  Eeeek!

So anyway, there's my week.  Paralyzed.  And it keeps getting worse.  Let's hope it starts getting better now!  RIGHT NOW!

Paralysis

I have Bells Palsy!  Woooo!  Basically, one side of my face is partially paralyzed, and will be for awhile...like maybe 2-3 weeks or more.  I have a mild case of it...not too much drooping, and I can move my muscles a little bit.  Thank goodness!  Speaking clearly is hard, and chewing is even harder!  I also can't blink my right eye, which I'm sure looks really creepy to other people.  

Also, I have to wear an eye patch to bed so my eye doesn't dry out.  I'm technically supposed to tape my eye down first, but that makes me cringe.  Instead, I filled my eye patch with cotton balls to keep my eyelid down.  Much better!  Call me old fashioned, but I prefer not to rip my eyelashes out with tape.

Before I knew that I had Bells Palsy, I was pretty much certain that I was dying.  On Monday morning I ate some yogurt, and then noticed that my lips were numb.  I figured it was a suddenly-developed allergy to dairy (thank goodness it's not!).  I googled "numb lips" just in case it wasn't an allergy.  BAD IDEA.  Numb lips can be an indication of SO MANY bad things, like multiple sclerosis and lip cancer. Gah!

I then noticed that one side of my mouth wasn't working when I made silly faces in the mirror.  Later, my eye stopped blinking.  Luckily, the doctor got me in quickly and confirmed that I wasn't dying of a horrible disease.  Yay!

Being paralyzed is exhausting, as it turns out.  I'm so tired, even on the great steroids they gave me!  Also, the more I talk, the harder it is for my muscles to move.  I've been talking out of one side of my mouth, which is my husband's specialty.  Maybe this will be permanent and we'll the be side-talking family!  Yee haw!

...I just imagined us in chaps and spurs, talking out of the sides of our mouths.  Of course little Cletus was there on his pony!  Giddyup!

ALSO.  Eye drops are from satan.  I hate them.  But if I don't use them, my eye will shrivel up into nothingness and I'll have to get a magical glass one and they'll call me "Mad Eye."  So I guess I'll continue using them.  Bah.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Once upon a time, we moved into a little house.  It was not very nice, but it was a rental, so we couldn't do much to improve it.  So we decided to paint (with the landlord's blessing, of course)!  This is what we did to the living room (IGNORE THE MESS, PLEASE!):

 I spy Danny!

A peek into our embarrassingly messy bedroom...

So, I love the red paint.  Love.  It.  The brown...not so much.  It looked great next to the red on the paint swatch in Walmart, but it makes our living room/kitchen seem cave-like.  It's just so dark!  We decided to repaint it a cream color to brighten up the tiny room!  Here's what it looks like NOW!

 There's my puppy!  Also, a huge picture of us will go above the couch!

 Pretend that one picture frame isn't crooked...we're working on it.

 Watching Modern Family!  Also, a biggish picture of us will go under the music note thing.

The door got some new paint, too! :)

Basically, we love the transformation!  We still need to hang a few pictures and get some new curtains, but other than that, we're very happy!  The kitchen still needs to be painted, but it'll have to wait awhile...painting is apparently very strenuous exercise.  My muscles need a few days to recover from all the furniture moving!

Here's some eye candy for you.  Because I know you wanted some.  :)

 She somehow got paint on her nose...

 I almost captured her "baby rabbit" face!  She puts her ears back and makes big sad eyes.  Like a baby rabbit.

 Ellie obviously loves the new couch...she's on it constantly.

A peek at me during nap time!  Ellie thinks she's a cat.  Meow meow.

And now it's bed time!  I'm pretty sure my hubster is turning into a pumpkin...and he won't go to bed without me.  Dorkus!  Tomorrow is cleaning day, which will be SO MUCH FUN!  My sewing room needs some serious organization...although it's last on the list of things to do.  Hopefully we get to it!  Gute nacht!

Some pictures!

I know that you're probably wondering what my dog looks like!  She's beautiful.  The most beautiful thing I've ever ever seen.

Another beautiful animal in my life is Danny.

Ain't he cute?  :)

This week has been slightly crazy, and I haven't taken any time to sew.  Darn.  Just so you know I'm not lying about my crafting abilities, here are some pictures of Christmas presents I made this year!

 I made a couple other bags, but I don't have pictures...darn!  They're so much fun to make, though!  And so easy!  I used Noodlehead's Gathered Clutch Tutorial (found here) for the black and white and red clutch, and did my own thing for the others!

 Quilt for the in-laws!  My husband sewed all the squares together AND basted it!  He's a rock star.

Love that binding!

 A quilt for my parents made out of Grand Finale by Sandy Gervais.  Love that beautiful fabric!

Front and back!

SEE?  I totally can sew.  I just haven't lately!  I have a long list of things that I'm working on...first and foremost, a receiving blanket and matching burp cloths for my cousin's baby.  I also need to finish some quilted coasters for Christmas presents (late is better than never, right?).  Elizabeth over at Oh, Fransson! is doing a quilt-along for her Sparkle Punch quilt, and I plan to follow along and make a quilt for myself!  I also have a baby quilt for our future (unconceived) child started that I need to finish.  So many projects!  I think I need to quit my job and sew.  That will pay the bills, right?

Drowning

I've been drinking water lately.  Lots of water.  When I'm home, it's not a big deal...I can just drink water and pee all day long.  At work it's a different story...I drink lots of water, and then I pee a lot (you didn't know this was going to be a science blog, did you?).  A lot lot lot.  While wearing dress clothes.  In a public restroom that smells bad.  Not my idea of a good time.

Today I'm wearing tights under a dress.  Tights are the WORST.  They're super cute, but pulling them up and down is a pain in the tush.  Also, the more times I use the restroom, the greater the chance of accidentally tucking my dress into my tights and making a fool of myself.  It hasn't happened yet, but it's just a matter of time.

I thought you should know.  Also, I'm bored at work and blogging is the only thing I could think of that would entertain me.  

Maybe I'll sew tonight and share a project with the blog world instead of continuing to share dumb stories about my bodily functions.  We'll see.

...doubled in half!

Hello!  I decided that I need to start a blog.  It's obviously the cool thing to do.  I figure it'll be mostly about the crafty things I do, although I also want a record of my exciting life!  I'm absolutely terrible at keeping a journal or diary, so maybe I can make this work.  I have no idea who is going to read this...probably just me.  And maybe my husband, because he's the only person who even knows that I started a blog!

I have a funny dog named Ellie.  And a funny husband named Danny.  And my name is Erin.  We're a funny little family.  We also got a new couch, which is basically like a child to me.  We have a fish named Dart...he has defied the pet store gods by staying alive almost a year.  We forget to feed him a lot.  He ate the other fish we had (Wiggles).

I love to sing and sew.  I have a degree in singing (super useful!), and I mostly taught myself to sew.  In ninth grade I took a "clothing" class during the summer to take care of a credit of practical arts.  During that summer, I made a terrible blue dress, a mediocre 9-patch pillow, and I sewed through my finger.  It was fun times!

Again, I have no idea what this blog will end up being about.  Probably Ellie.  She's kind of the center of my life.

I love you, non-existent readers!  We're having a sleepover in the living room tonight so I can sleep on the new couch (weirdos).  Here's to having a sore back in the morning!