Flickr help needed...

[8/26] ANOTHER UPDATE: Only 3 more posts to bring back to life!! Then some new posts, and a giveaway to celebrate!

UPDATE: My blog is coming back to life [slowly]! I am re-uploading my pictures and working from my oldest posts to my newest. So I hope to be up and running very soon :]

HELP! I accidentally deleted my flickr account :[ I don't think there is much hope for me, but if anyone has any suggestions I'll take them! I tried to change my primary email address and it told me that another flickr user already had that email address - meaning I had 2 flickr accounts, 1 I used and 1 I didn't. Long story, short - I deleted the wrong one!

So sad, now entering a period of mourning...

crabby pinnie...

I have been dreaming of a tropical vaca and it's showing up in my crafty life! I joined the Scrappy Pincushion Swap over on swap [Thanks Corey for 'forcing' me into another swap!] - it has been so fun to watch the AMAZING ideas people come up with. Today officially ended this round for me - I have both received AND sent my pinnie!

This is crabby - I am really pleased with how he turned out. Swaps are always so much pressure for me. 'Will this be good enough?!?' I am so intimidated by the beautiful things that everyone else creates. My partner seemed to like animal/item shaped pinnies [check] and modern & bright colors [check]. Fingers crossed s/he likes it!! By the way - tutorial for crabby pinnie coming later this week :]

This is the fantastic pinnie I received from Christy. Can you believe all of those gorgeous Heather Ross fabrics?? She also included a seam guide ruler and a couple of great buttons. I really lucked out having her for a swap partner!

gadgets & gizmos...

I'm a huge Alton Brown fanatic - I'm a little bit of a food science geek :] My degree is in Family and Consumer Science Ed [that is the new name for Home Ec - the curriculum really has changed alot from the '50s, so a name change is somewhat warranted]. In college I loved learning why things cooked, froze, turned into ice cream, caught on fire, etc., etc. Anywho, Alton has a motto when it comes to buying gadgets and gizmos for your kitchen: no one trick ponies. i.e. no avocado slicers or corn butterers, you know those 'must have' kitchen tools that only perform one task. I kinda forget his valuable advice when it comes to crafting tools - and I'm kinda regretting it with this next tool... Anyhow here's a review:

Problem: Making piping that has a perfect quilter's 1/4" seam allowance. I noticed that I was cutting off the points of some of my pillow tops because my piping seam allowance was too large. So I thought, 'Gee, if I could only make a ruler that would have an indent for the piping bump - then I could trim the piping down...'

Gizmo: Simplicity Studio Simpli-EZ Piping Wizard

How it works: Cut a wide strip from your piping fabric [I cut mine 1.5" for 1/4" piping]. Fold the fabric strip over your purchased cording. Using a zipper or cording foot, machine baste the piping. [see the first photo above].

Find the measurement on the ruler that coordinates to the size piping you have. Place the ruler over your piping, cut with your rotary cutter. Slide the ruler as you go.

Bottom line: Great idea, poor design. The piping doesn't fit tightly into the grooves. I ended up with a varied seam allowance anyways because it moved back and forth while I was cutting.

The bigger problem is that because the ruler is so thick, my rotary cutter can't be flush against the side of the plexi-glass. This resulted in several cuts into the ruler - you know those annoying nicks that dull your blade and make the ruler inaccurate.

I wouldn't recommend this product - at this point I am just glad I had a 50% off coupon when I bought it! Have you used this? Do you have a swell 'perfect cording' trick? Do tell...

life in the real world...

I had to step away from my crafty/online/blogging life to be with a bunch of high school folks I love in my real life! We just got back from an amazing week of Young Life camp - the best week ever if you ask most of our kids. This year we were in Virginia at Rockbridge Alum Springs. Look for crafty posts soon, but for now I am still recovering :]

note: click on the links to learn more about Young Life or Rockbridge

pillow talk swap...

If you have been following along for a little while, you know that I have been overcome by pillow fever. They are just such quick projects for the wow factor that they provide. Plus they have given me the chance to practice my machine quilting [still nowhere near ready to take on a full size quilt]. I joined the Pillow Talk Swap in round 3, which is currently wrapping up. [WHAT?! you haven't checked out the beauties in that swap? You need to click on over there right now... well finish readin' this post first maybe :]

I didn't realize how much of a challenge this would be. The bar for quality and creativity in this swap is set very, very high. I went through no less than three pillows and zillions of design ideas, before I settled on this pillow. This isn't exactly like any of the pillows in my partners inspiration mosaic, but all of her/his faves seemed geometric and I think this fits the bill.

This block is a combination of different patterns: kaleidoscope [using my new ruler!], coin, and bunches of half square triangles. Fabric used is Blush by Basic Grey for Moda and a white Bella Solid - and a tiny bit of French General. The binding fabric is something from my stash, so I'm not exactly sure of the designer or line.

Hope s/he likes it - I'm super nervous!

pillow basics: two...

When we last left our pillow, we had basted and quilted our pillow front. A note on the size of your pillow front: for a really full pillow, add 1/2" to your pillow form size; for a more relaxed fit [I prefer this] add 1.5" to your pillow form size.

Now we are going to cut out the rest of the pillow. These instructions are for an envelope style back. I tend to use this method because: a) you can easily remove the pillow form for cleaning or when changing decor; b) it's fairly simple; c) no scratchy zipper.

From your backing fabric cut 2 rectangles. In this equation y = the measurement of one side your pillow [this is for a SQUARE pillow]. Measurement of each rectangle: y" by [(y/2) + 4]" For a rectangular pillow you will have two different side measurements, just plug these into the equation.

Fold one long edge of each rectangle over about 2" and press.

I will show you two methods for finishing the edges of the pillow.If you want to bind the edges like a quilt: cut 2.5" strips the width of the coordinating fabric. If you want to add piping/cording: cut 1.5" strips the width of the coordinating fabric. The amount of strips you will need is determined by the size of your pillow. To be safe I usually add up all of my sides [find the perimeter] and then add 10-12".

Look at the selvage edge of your strips. [A tightly woven edge that runs along both outermost edges of a fabric's lengthwise grain. Selvage edges keep the fabric from fraying.] Generally one of the ends will be printed like the rest of the material i.e. it won't have words or be a different color. If your fabric has fringy edges, carefully cut the fringe off. Using this method will lessen the bulk where your ends meet as you sew around your pillow. If the fabric you are using no longer has a selvage or both ends are printed, just fold one end under [WST] 1/2" and press. This is your 'start' end once we begin adding the binding or cording to the pillow.

Leave the 'start' end alone - go to the other short edge of your strip. Take another strip and lay it perpendicular over the other strip.

Sew at an angle from corner to the other. Trim off extra triangles. Press seam open. Repeat this step until you have one long strip. Using this method as opposed to sewing the strips end to end reduces the bulk.

ps: If you are enjoying these tutorials, feel free to add my button to your blog :]

year one...

We celebrated our first anniversary yesterday - it is hard to believe 365 days and all four seasons have gone by already! Many have asked what has been most difficult, what we have learned about one another, and what annoying habits have been discovered. I have no real answer for these questions, we dated for a very long time and knew each other pretty well before we got married. Certainly we grew together over the past year, but there have been no major hiccups or aha moments - it has been a wonderful year for us :]

I wanted to share some wedding cake pictures. I made the topper myself, and it turned out to be the jewel of the wedding decorations, certainly my favorite thing. Recently, I finally threw away the five or so 'test birds' that were in various stages of completion. For being only inches tall, they certainly took quite a bit of work!

I used several pieces of vintage lace and trim that came from my grandparents attic. Nearly everything is made from scratch: the top hat from cardstock and glitter, the birds are entirely hand sewn, the legs are wire wrapped in strips of papier mache and then painted, the beaks are a sharpened dowels that have been painted... lots of work, but great results :]

The cake is vanilla with layers of raspberry cream, made by Camelot Cakes. She is a wonderful baker and decorator. Aren't the flowers lovely? The fondent 'branches' are great touches.

On Sunday we unwrapped our cake topper. Layers and layers of aluminum foil and saran wrap inside and outside of a Tupperware cake saver. I'm happy to report that it was just as delicious as June 20, 2009 :]

Still to come this week:
* Pillow Basics #2
* Pillow Talk Swap Wrap-Up