Last Sunday H and I headed up to NYC for a day out with Laura Ann. We met at her place in Astoria so I could see some redecorating she’d done (which looked fantastic, by the way). When I ran back out to the car for something, Laura Ann and H posed.
Tag: laura ann
Laura Ann’s birthday is just a couple weeks after Christmas, and it’s kind of become a tradition now where I sew her something for one of her Christmas/birthday gifts. First came the travel wallet, then the quilt, and now just something small–mug rugs. I’m jumping on the bandwagon of this surprisingly addictive trend. They were so much fun to make, I may whip some up for us to use around the house.
LAM came over on Friday, and it was the first time we’d seen each other since around Thanksgiving. So we just exhanged Christmas and birthday gifts, but these mug rugs had been put aside before the holidays when I was just feeling too pregnant to look at my sewing machine. I’d finished the tops but hadn’t quilted them, so on Thursday night I finished them. It’s the first thing I’ve sewn since H’s arrival, and it took quite a bit of time to squeeze in some sewing with her wiggling and wanting hugs. But I got them done, and I love them, and LAM loves them. The homemade tradition continues!
So here’s what I did, these were definitely a make-it-up-as-you-go kind of project. Read more on LAM’s Mug Rugs…
And exhale. This week was crazy, but now I’m back. As of yesterday I am 6 months (24 weeks) pregnant, I can’t believe how fast it’s going.
My mom and Laura Ann threw me a baby shower last Saturday. It was at my house, so I knew about it. My mom originally booked this really cute tea shop in Red Bank, but they went bust over the summer without telling anyone. I saw one of the owners working in the Easy Spirit store at Jersey Shore Outlets, go figure. So anyway, since we’d picked the weekend and some of the British folks had already bought plane tickets, we decided to have it at my house. And it was so lovely, I had an amazing time!
It’s now 8 in the morning a week later, I’m wide awake, and I decided to start posting the photos. So forgive me if I’m slightly delirious and mushy, it really was a great day. My mom and her accupuncturist found the caterers, and they were great. Perfect Blend out of Trenton, they cater tea parties. The ladies were so nice, the food was amazing, and they left the kitchen cleaner than it was when they got there.
I only used my point and shoot for photos, but I did get a few shots of the day. My living room was taken over by pink balloons and tables.
And the caterers transformed it.
Laura Ann brought my FAVORITE cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine. I could’ve just eaten these all day.
Other posts on this project: Green and Gold Quilt Pt. 1, Green and Gold Quilt Pt. 2, Green and Gold Quilt Pt. 3, Green and Gold Quilt Pt. 4.
Okay, now I can reveal the details behind this one. This quilt was Laura Ann’s birthday present. And Adam and I were able to meet up with her last night in NY to deliver it on her birthday, then race home before the snow storm that closed schools here today.
Read more on The Green and Gold Quilt Is Finished and Delivered…
I saw this hat in Anthropologie and fell in love with it. With my hair, I don’t pull off hats very well. But I love looking at them and living vicariously through people who can. And this felt cap was so charming that I instantly decided it would look fantastic on Laura Ann. So I gave it to her for Christmas.
It’s been a great few days. Laura Ann and I went up to the Catskills to the Emerson Resort and Spa. We walked around Woodstock, we ate good food, we tried to fish (need a license) and meet a tame bear (but he’d retired). We saw the world’s largest kaleidoscope, which is actually the trippiest thing I’ve ever experienced. Ever. But most importantly, we spent a whole morning at the spa getting scrubbed, buffed, cleaned, polished, and massaged into putty. It. Was. Fabulous.
Today I’m posting twice. Both the Philly Modern Quilt Guild meeting and the Beefsteak deserve their own posts. And it was quite a Beefsteak this year.
We had 10 people this year for our table, and we had to defend our title from last year in the bread sculpture competition. We take this competition very seriously, I’m not sure why. But once everyone has doubled over into a beef coma from the all-you-can-eat food, we get a second wind and set out to build these elaborate pieces of art with bread. And we won again, 2nd year in a row. Next year the competition will be fierce, I can feel it.
It was my niece Grace’s first beefsteak. You have to start young.
This year we built a ship out of bread, complete with skewers as masts (we bring skewers and toothpicks for support each year). We covered the masts in the decorative napkins my mother brought to make our table look festive. I swear, that’s who I get it from.
Last night Laura Ann and I went to Stitch Fest at Martha Stewart’s headquarters, a launch party for her new Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. We had such a good time, and it was great to see demonstrations and displays of projects from the book. Plus, we met Martha herself. I wasn’t sure she would be there, but she was incredibly gracious. I won’t lie, though. I completely geeked out. Here are some photos.
My BFF Laura Ann had her 30th birthday a couple of weeks ago, and I am late with her present. But I finished it this week, and I love it.
I tweaked the design for this travel wallet from the “E-Ticket Wallet” by Kevin Kosbab in the Spring 2009 issue of Stitch magazine. His was grey felt with an applique airplane on the front. I decided to make this one using some of this great home dec weight fabric from IKEA instead. Because it’s not as thick as felt, I reinforced both the inside and outside with thick fusible interfacing, and I lined all the pockets and also used fusible interfacing.