in my spare time, I made a f***ing quilt.

I have NO IDEA how I did not post ANYTHING about this over the past couple of months. I literally started this quilt... almost a year ago I think? AND NO. NOT ONE POST.

Not a look I bought fabric! post.
Not a I washed, pressed and cut all these squares! post.

some sample colors that I wove together for your viewing pleasure.

Not a look how many squares I made or look now the squares are sewed into blocks! post.

NOPE! NOTHING! So I'll have to summarize my misadventures in my 2nd, yes 2nd! quilt.

Back last May, after I took my board exams, passed! and was waiting (im)patiently for my license to practice, I decided to go to Jo-Ann's because damnit, I had a coupon. I bought 20 fat-quarters of fabric, a couple yards of white fabric with tiny little birdies on it, and an Omnigrid 8.5" square template. I didn't know what type of quilt I was going to make, but damnit, I was going to make another quilt.

Seriously, nothing against my first quilt, but it's not exactly big enough for our bed. I'm afraid one night we're going to rip it in half because we always seem to be yanking it to cover our feets.  Here's where it gets confusing. 

Each fat quarter gave me 4, 8.5" squares of colorful fabric.I now have 80 colorful squares. I then cut another 80 squares from the white fabric. Every colorful square was sewed to a white square, then cut down into 8 triangles. You can see below how I drew, on each white square: Diagonally with a 1/4" allowance, then in half. This made a total of 640 squares. Unfortunately, I needed to sew an additional 10 squares from scrap fabric, but I found this out early, allowing me to incorporate them seamlessly into my quilt!  SEAMLESSLY. GET IT?

Every triangle was then pressed open into a square. Then came the hard part: Trying to decide how I was going to assemble all of the now 650 squares. So I'll leave you with some pictures... the first set is just showing how I actually assembled the blocks, and the last photo is of all the colorful blocks! There were so many patterns to choose from, but that'll have to wait for yet another post...

welcome to here.

My front porch was looking a little sad recently. The three small Christmas trees bushes I planted back in December were LONG DEAD.  Like, if anyone had a match close to that porch, we'd have burned the house down. I had a pair of skis zip tied to the railing, and the light bulb in the front light fixture blew out. And I had a Christmas wreath still up. A Christmas wreath.

It was time for a change. I'm pinching pennies a little recently. I ended up quitting my job, and now I'm working part time at various places. While I absolutely LOVE IT, I still have to be wary of my spending. Especially since I just blew a ton of the money I didn't have on a family vacation. Which brings me to my latest craft to spruce shit up: DIY spring wreath making.

For my cheap supplies, I visited the local Dollar Tree. Seriously folks, if you need wreath supplies, don't go to JoAnn or Michael's, or even AC Moore. (I love those stores though, don't be mad at me craft stores, I'm only trying to create things cheaply.) I found a bird and some fake flowers, all for the staggering price of $2.16. (Philly tax, ya'll.) At home, I had a bunch of yarn left over from my Poofball Flowers and some Scrabble letters from who the f*%$ knows where. I found some foam in the basement. Plus I had wine. All of these things are magical. Here's what choo doo.

Step 1: Cut a wreath out of foam.
Step 2: Wrap the foam in yarn. This takes a while, so pour the wine and put Portlandia on Netflix. When you run out of that color, just keep going with another one because who cares?
Step 3: Adorn your wreath with cheap flowers, a bird, and Scrabble letters.
Step 4: Hang your wreath and marvel at the awesomeness it is.

back at it!

Ch-ch-check it out, my Etsy site is back up and running! Some life changing events have been going on, and I'm not one to complain! My work life is re-arranging, and I've been happier than ever. I'm able to focus on so many positive things in life, and I thought I'd bring back my little shop. I took pictures and uploaded new photographs today, and I have ten new wine bags in the works. Back in the day, I began cutting ties for another five new purses, so I'm hoping to get them finished, too. I'll also be adding in a section for custom orders, like tie pillows, and my necktie Christmas tree skirts. I'm hoping to post more blog updates, too... especially since I created an entire quilt top without even posting an update... I know, how dare me! Cheers to all, more posts to come!