she's here!

I hope you had a lovely weekend! I had a fantastic weekend, particularly because it wound up being an extra-long one, filled with coffee with friends, all-you-can-eat sushi birthday dinners, lots of sewing, catching up on Gossip Girl, a sweet letter and package from Mia, and a visit from Annie, in town from New York. We went eyeglasses shopping and I was itching to get a new pair myself. So tempting, but I couldn't do it. Annie is such a pal, I wish we could hang out more often!

On Friday, before heading over to an opening the gallery where Geoff has been working, I stopped off at Presse Internationale on College Street because the darling of an owner/manager (who was absolutely mystified as to why this magazine is so popular!) had set aside two copies of Lula for me. One for me, one for Erica.

Maybe it's just me, but this issue is very goth! That means I love it!

progress

(Oreo left some cat prints on it -- I have already accepted that there will be cat furs sewn right into the quilt, but luckily Adam & Kate aren't allergic.)

I made the Cutting Corners quilt top last night. It was so easy that now I feel silly for having fretted about it. I took the measurements provided in the book, multiplied them by 1.66 to get something more queen-sized, cut the pieces, and hoped for the best. I ended up having just enough of the County Fair fabric; I only had a couple of inches left over, and had to piece together a few odds and ends to make it last. It was close.

As I sewed it, I doubted my fabric choices. I was upset that I had picked a fabric for the centre panel that I hadn't seen in person first. In the morning light, however, I think it looks quite lovely and I'm very pleased. I think part of my problem with the Volumes fabric is that I made myself sick of it, looking at pictures of it every day, thinking about it all the time, etc. The fabric is really quite beautiful, though.

I'm looking forward to The Workroom's Quilt Sunday this weekend. I can't wait to see this quilt when it's finished!

I hope they'll like it!

about that lark & wolff blouse

I bought it (and a slouchy black cardigan to go with it, because Tara-Lynn is right and sometimes you just have to splurge on yourself)! I'm wearing it now and I am very happy with it. One thing, though: it has hidden, in-seam pockets, which are kind of cute in theory but which I find impractical in practice.

(This is the super-cute polka dot version.)

Because of the way this blouse fits on me (a bit fitted at the hips), I know I'll always tuck it in. The pockets create entirely too much bulk, then, in the place where I need it the least. So I took my seam ripper, popped them off, and stitched up the sides. The result is a 100% perfect blouse!

n.b. I've been feeling guilty about something I wrote in that post; I don't hate on cashiers, ever, unless they're outright rude, and I was kidding in that instance. A man at a bookstore I worked at once yelled at me and made me cry because the lineup was long and the "real" bookstore across the street was out of the Sunday NYT. Even if it makes me a pushover sometimes, I will never be like that man! It's just not worth it.

dare me

So I just started a part-time job working for a rare book dealer, and the showroom is in a beautiful building on Yonge that just happens to house an Urban Outfitters. I went there on my lunch and found this on sale:

It's a Lark & Wolff by Steven Alan blouse and it's only $40, which is a tiny fraction of the cost of an actual Steven Alan shirt. I stood in line to pay for it but since I only had half an hour for lunch, well, I didn't have enough time to deal with the lineup (why are the teens never in school?) and the slowest cashiers in the history of ever, both occupied with performing returns. I hung the shirt on the closest rack and left, then thought, "Saved by a hissy fit!" (I am trying to save money, you see). Now I think I should get it anyway. Should I take a break later and go back and get it? Say yes and I'll totally do it!

Still no sign of Lula. I've been checking almost every day!

oh dear

I want to make a quilt as a wedding present, and oh boy, is it ever difficult to make a decision! I think I'm going to make a super, super simple one because I've never made a quilt before: the "Six of One, A Half-Dozen of the Other" from Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. Picking out a fabric has been agony, though! I want one really fantastic print that I'll use with a solid colour, and I think I have settled on the one I want.


This is "Volumes" from the Anna Maria Horner "Drawing Room" line. Home decor weight, but that's fine. I love it. I think it's perfect for the couple, who are very bookish, and who love colour (there are brighter colourways but I think I'll stick with this more subdued one). I deliberately stayed away from ornate florals or anything too cutesy, because the quilt is not for me! How I'm going to actually quilt the thing, I'm not sure (The Workroom's sew-by-the-hour to the rescue?), because my sewing machine is teeny-tiny.

I am nervous about ordering the fabric because they know I'm making them a quilt and the pressure is on! I hope it won't be too plain. There's a lot riding on these little volumes!

teacup bangles

I love these teacup bangles from Linsday Pemberton!  She takes porcelain teacups and slices them with a diamond cutter.  I'll take three, please!

Via Frankie.