My First Madelinetosh Project

 

So, as you may know, I am a newbie crocheter.  I took my first crochet lesson back in February.  Since then, I have definitely found, yet another, crafting addiction.  I love how portable crochet is!  Today in my class my students are winding down the year by watching The Hobbit and identifying elements of the archetypal hero’s journey from the storyline.  I brought my crochet with me today, so that I could work on it while my students watch the movie over the next three days.  I haven’t had a chance to actually crochet at all because I’ve been busy removing everything from my classroom walls and packing up my teaching stuff, but I do plan to use a little of my planning time to decompress and crochet.

The project I’m working on right now is a cowl (and up until about a week ago, I could have still worn it here in Denver! – It’s been unseasonably cold recently).  I’m using that gorgeous yellow Madelinetosh thread I wrote about a few weeks ago.  I picked it up while on vacation in Portland at KnitPurl.  Love that store!!  It was very inspirational perusing all of the beautiful fiber in their store.  Now I also want to learn to knit!  I will be taking a class sometime this summer.   This is my first foray with Madelinetosh, and I can understand the cult following with this fiber.  My local shop seems to sell out all…the…time!  It is soft and so easy to work with!  Love.  I also have some more Madelinetosh from the same trip but in a darker, eggplant variegated color.

How about you quilters out there?  Any fiber favorites?  Since I’m new to the game, I would love some suggestions.  I recently bought some of these fun little Bonbons.  They are from Lion Brand, and I got them at JoAnn’s.  I am such a sucker for cute little colorful things!!  Aren’t they so adorable?  I have been using them to practice making crochet flowers.  Lion Brand has 6 different color assortments.  I have the “Celebrate” and “Party”, both are metallic (sparkly!  another one of my vices).  But next up on my list are the “Beach” colors.  Such great colors – not sparkly though.

I hope you are all looking forward to the long Memorial Day weekend.  I have no set plans, and I am really excited about that!  My goal is to get comfy somewhere in the sun and read my book and do some crafting!  Sounds dreamy doesn’t it?

7 More Days

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve been on here.  It’s that time of year for us teacher’s out there.  The last month of school seems to be one of the most exhausting and busy months all year.  We are almost done, though.  I am grateful to have had such a wonderful group of students and parents this year.  I have to say, honestly, this is the most supportive, involved group of parents I’ve worked with in a long time. 

As for blogging is concerned, I am so impressed by those bloggers out there who post frequently and reliably.  I don’t know how they do it, but I guess they make it more of a priority than I do.  If I was getting paid to blog, it might be different, but sadly, blogging is the first thing to go to the wayside when I’m busy and overwhelmed. 

I have been doing some minimal crafting though!  Some crochet (using some of that lovely yellow Madelinetosh I mentioned a while back), and some sewing (I made a needlebook – first one ever – and it came out ok, but I don’t love it and it’s not great enough to share with you all.  Maybe the next one will be better.) I am in love with the idea of needlebooks right now.  I actually devoted an entire Pin board to them.  This is one of my fav’s.  It’s adorable!!  I found the picture on Pinterest but it was originally listed on England’s version of Etsy called Folksy.  I love this site, and honestly, I think it is so much cuter than Etsy.  Not sure why. 

I have also be doing a lot more reading.  I finished Beautiful Ruins and The Great Gatsby over the last few weeks.  Now I’m on to The Devil in the White City.  It is very interesting!  I love novels that weave real history into the story line, and this one is actually based on true events. The writer is quite adept at balancing the back story with the regular story line, and I am enjoying it very much. 

Hugs,

E

So, what have you been up to while I’ve been gone?

 

New Season, New Table Runner

I decided to make a new table runner to celebrate the new season. I went with a blue and white theme and put together a bunch of my favorite patterns and colors. I love the bicycles. I think it’s from the Lucy’s Crab Shack line by Sweetwater from Moda. I did the backing and binding in a navy solid. I love the modern feel of it.

I did strips of different fabric sewn together in varying widths from 1″ to 4″. Then I sewed them to each other making sure to offset all of the seams.

I quilted it using straight lines in 1/4″ widths and I varied the stitch lengths. This was my first attempt at straight line stitching. I usually stitch in the ditch, but I like how the lines add to the modern aesthetic.

So, what did you all work on this weekend?

Hugs,
E

April Block Finish

I finished the April block for the Sugar Block Club, and I really like it. Don’t you love the orange deer print? It’s from Momo’s Oh Deer line from Moda. So cute!

This was a paper pieced block and it went really quickly. I live how Amy (the pattern designer) includes instructions on what size to cut the fabric for the piecing. That way there isn’t a lot if wasted fabric.

Now I’m off to work on some other projects and hopefully get my closet organized. I was hoping to pack away my winter stuff but we are expecting more snow and cold on Monday and Tuesday. I won’t complain though because we need the moisture.

I also started Crossfit this week. My husband and I signed up for intro classes and we have finished the first three if six before we can move into the regular classes. I’m really loving it! It’s challenging and fun and constantly changing so it doesn’t get boring. Between that and running and eating clean, I’ve lost 7 lbs in two weeks! Yay!

Well I hope you have a great Saturday. I’m going to get out and enjoy the near 70 degree temps. I’ve even busted out my shorts for today.

Happy Crafting!
E

Catching Up On March

Well I’m getting there. Here is my finished March block for the Sugar Block Club. I like it. I was waiting for a block to showcase that bear print! I think it will blend well with my other blocks. Apparently there is a storm on its way here. We’ll see what becomes of it. I’m not holding my breath for a snow day, but it sure would be nice!
One more block to get caught up. That one is paper piecing, which I have grown to love but seem to take a bit longer to put together. Ill keep you posted.

Happy Crafting!
Erica

My Week: In Seven Slices

Two posts in one day?  Crazy I know, but I have been neglecting my Seven Slices lately, and thought I should add another update.  So…here goes.

Slice #1 – Reading

I am currently reading Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter.  I joined a book club here called Women, Wine, and Words (fitting right?), and this is the book for this month.  I am not very far – like Chapter one, but it is good (what I’ve read).  Lots of description which I enjoy.  It takes place in Italy in a small coastal village in the 1960′s. 

Overview from BarnesandNoble.com

“From the moment it opens—on a rocky patch of Italian coastline, circa 1962, when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat—Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, Beautiful Ruins is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising—a story of flawed yet fascinating people navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams.”

Slice #2 – Fiber Addiction

The last week of March, I flew out to Oregon to visit my sister.  My mom flew out too and we had a wonderful “girl’s week”.  On one shopping day in Portland, we stopped at Knit and Purl, and of course I had to buy something.  I got two lovely colors of Madelinetosh Tosh DK in Candlewick and Tosh Chunky in Stephen Loves Tosh.

Candlewick

Stephen Loves Tosh

Slice #3 – Crafting

I am seriously behind with my block of the month quilt blocks.  I have to get the March block and the April block finished.  I couldn’t make it to the last two clubs at my LQS, so I’m on my own until May.  Hopefully my schedule will work out to go to that one.  Anywhoo, here are the blocks that I need to finish.  Maybe I’ll get them done today…

March Block

April Block

Slice #4 – Running

As you might have read from my last post, I’ve started running again.  I am using the lolo app on my iPhone to start up again.  I’m following the Easy 5K, and much to my surprise, I am finding it very doable.  Apparently, I’m not as out of shape as I thought.  It is a really good program if you are looking for something to follow to get your run on!

Slice #5 – Next Project

My next decorating project to tackle here at the casa is not such a fun one, but it will make my life much easier to manage.  I need to organize my closet.  When we moved in, I just hung everything up and left it.  I still have a box of “summer” shoes sitting on the floor.  It is a mess!  I just haven’t had the time to get to it.  It is on my list, and now that spring is sprung, I think I can start packing away some of my heaviest winter items and pulling out my pretty, summery stuff.  I will be channeling my bestie, Erica, as I take on this project.  Don’t worry, I’ll have before and after photos.  Isn’t this closet the dreamiest?  Hello, lover.

Slice #6 – On The Hunt

I am currently on the hunt for a new sheet set.  Sadly, my favorite, softest set was so threadbare that my cat ripped a hole in them while I was trying to administer medication with him wrapped in the sheet.  Thanks a lot, Odin!  So, I have a backup set, which are fine, but one set is not enough.  So I’m hunting.  I have a hard time buying sheets online because I need to be able to feel them.  I am wary of the descriptions provided.  I’m going to go check out this set at Macy’s – looks like they are having a sale: Westport Bedding, 600 Thread Count Tencel Sheet Sets.  Hopefully they have some.

Slice #7 – Current Playlist

Anyone who knows me, knows I love music.  Pretty much every genre, except that screaming, head banging stuff.  I’m also not a huge fan of the Dub Step fad right now.  However, everything else is pretty much fair game.  So what is on shuffle on my iPod right now?  Here you go:

• “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
• “The Boys of Summer” by Don Henley
• “Carry On” by Fun.
• “Change” by Churchill
• “Demons” by Imagine Dragons
• “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey
• “Ho Hey” by the Lumineers
• “I’m Gonna Be (500 miles)” by the Proclaimers
• “It Get’s Better” by Fun.
• “The Joker” by Steve Miller
• “Rayando El Sol” by Mana
• “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding
• “Supermassive Black Hole” by Muse
• “The Show Goes On” by Lupe Fiasco
• “The House That Built Me” by Miranda Lambert

So what are you listening to lately?

Happy April!

Wow!  I can’t believe we are already in the throes of April!  It’s crazy.  I have been enjoying the beautiful spring weather here in Denver, but sadly, there is a winter storm making its way into the state.  Ugh.  We are supposed to get a decent amount of snow, which would be fantastic if we get a snow day out of it.  We haven’t had one snow day all year.  We did get a delay back in February, but I had jury duty that day, so I missed out.  Come on snow day!

Meanwhile, until the icky coldness arrives, I have been enjoying the great outdoors.  I started up my running routine again, and am pretty proud of the 10+ miles I ran this week.  Quite a feat for not running for months, except for a rare day here and there.  I have also given up sugar.  Which, I won’t lie, was really hard.  I haven’t added any sugar or any kind of sweeteners for that matter to my coffee all week.  It was a little hard to get used to, but by this morning my coffee with fat-free half and half tasted just fine to me.  Funny how your taste buds adjust so quickly.  I would guess that if I added some sugar to my coffee, it would taste horribly sweet now.  It’s a good change.  Along with running and eating really clean (home prepared salads for lunch, protein and steamed veggies for dinner, and my normal Fage plain Greek yogurt with berries – no agave or honey), I have lost over 4 pounds this week.  I’m pretty impressed with myself.  Yay!

I am loving my lunch salads.  I make them the night before or sometimes the morning of.  They are really pretty easy.  They are pretty much a take off the whole mason jar meal trend, but I don’t have any mason jars, and I don’t need any.  I just use my plastic containers to build my salads.  You build them from the bottom up.  First you start with your salad dressing (unless you want to put that in a separate container – I use little tiny plastic cup thingys).  After that, you add your protein, chicken, steak, fish, etc.  Then layer in a lot of colorful veggies.  I love bell peppers, cucumbers (English so you don’t have to peel them), cherry tomatoes (no chopping involved just throw them in!), radishes, celery, sugar snap peas, etc.  You can even add some fruit like berries or apples.  Yum!  Want some nuts in there?  Add them in.  Hard boiled egg, slice them up and put them in too.  Then when you are done, just put your lettuce on top and pop on the lid.  Voila!  Salad ready to go.  Healthy, delicious, and the envy of everyone in the lunch room when you flip it over onto a plate at lunch time.  Try it this week!  There are so many ways to switch it up, and it doesn’t take long to make at all.  If you want you can prep most of your meat and veggies on Sunday and then make up a few days worth of salads to grab and go. 

Yummy Salad Fixings

Finished Salads Ready To Eat!

This week, I’m planning on cooking up some chicken, stir fry beef strips, and mini shrimp for different salad takes.  Just make sure that you get some good dressing!  You are eating healthy so you can add in a bit more flavor with a really good dressing.  I love the Brianna’s line.  Two of my faves are the Blush Wine Vinaigrette and the French Vinaigrette. 

I hope you all have a great week! 

Hugs,