We’ve moved!!
In an effort to keep everything in one place, this blog has been moved to A Stitch in Design’s official website. It can be found here. Sorry for the confusion!
Last niiiiight
Last night I had the pleasure of meeting up with some lovely quilty ladies. It was the third meeting of the Philly Modern Quilt Guild and it was wonderful to meet in person the people I’ve been chatting with via the internets.
The meeting started off with great potholder swap. The photo is a bit fuzzy, but here’s Julie directing our helper with the potholder gift bags.
And a fantastic pic of all our hard work:
After the fun, we got down to business. Here’s a recap of what’s coming up for our guild (if you’re interested in attending any of these with the PMQG, let me know and I’ll direct you to the event organizer!):
- Quilt Odyssey Show in Hershey from July 22-25th, 2010
- Phillies Stitch N Pitch Game on August 10th, 2010
- PA National Quilt Extravaganza in Oaks from Sept 16-19th, 2010
- September’s Meeting: Sept 21st, Location TBD
Meetings have been decided for the third Tuesday of every month starting in September (we’re off for the summer). September’s meeting will also feature Project Pure. It’s similar to Project Plume done by Kansas City’s Guild in that we’re all challenged to purchase charm packs and create a quilt for the meeting. Can’t wait to see the packs!! Hopefully I’ll get mine by August so I can start brainstorming. It’ll be great to have a smaller quilt project in the works since I’ve really been focusing on clothing and such for myself recently.
The Guild is also looking into incorporating as a non-profit in PA so anyone with helpful info, please contact me!! I volunteered to do some research so any help is appreciated. After the business, came the fun. I know I should have written down who was showing what quilt, but I totally neglected to – oopsy! I was too busy drooling 🙂 On to the eye candy bit of the meeting!
A fuzzy Candi showing off her hexagon quilt along run by Julie.
Lesley and her wonky log cabin quilt top
Lesley with her sampler top
Cathy with her Celtic masterpiece
Janet and her charity fundraiser quilt
Allison’s lovely snails
Another of Allison’s lovelies
And last but not least, everyone in attendance last night:
On a random note, the color of my shirt yesterday was fabulous (thanks Gayle!!)! Anyway, that about wraps it up. If anyone is interested in learning more, click on the pic above and visit our site!! New members are more than welcome!
Papa’s Day – it’s coming!
I write a monthly gift guide for Handmade Philly and thought you might be interested in it too! Hope you find something good!
Oh my goodness, it’s almost father’s day! Don’t worry though, you still have a week and a half to pick out and order up the perfect gift. My dad is a traditional manly man. He works with his hands all day and I just can’t use a tie as a back up gift for him. Good news, I have a whole community of crafters to rely on – thanks Handmade Philly!! Hopefully you can find something suitable for your dad too, no matter what he enjoys. Click on the photos for more info!
I don’t know about your dad, but mine always needs a notebook to keep track of things (mainly car maintenance – thanks dad!!!) Pick up a small journal or notepad from readwritebooks which Dad can easily slip into his pocket or keep in his glovebox.
Does Dad’s space need a little brightening? Choose any of the sweet, bright, manly prints available from Pragyak.
This might be the coolest thing ever. Give Dad a way to see you every day with this awesome snapshot pin from Amy Blasco Jewelry. Dad can swap out the pics as you change your hairstyle and he can use this pin as a (large) tie tack or attached to his laptop case.
We all know how much Dad appreciates his afternoon beverage, so show him your love with a can cozy available from Grey Overcast Creations.
If Dad spends lots of time in the office, I’m sure his coffee routine could use a change of pace. Mix it up a bit by gifting him this lovely new mug from Bohner Designs.
Something else to brighten up Dad’s workspace – a terrarium! Pick up this small terrarium in person in Philadelphia from Felt & Kept (no shipping available!).
I don’t know about your Dad, but mine eats on the run every single working day. Set him up with this flatware set so he always has some utensils handy. It also comes with a cloth napkin and sandwich bags!
Clean up Dad’s act with this lovely soap dish holder from Light Mosaics. It’s gorgeous for catching light at the kitchen sink or in Dad’s bathroom counter.
These custom felties from Sqrl & Bee Studio are just too cute to pass up! Pick up one that resembles Dad, or maybe one that resembles you to grace his workspace. Even better, get one to stand for all your siblings so Dad can always have his family nearby!
Hopefully you found something in this guide that your Dad will enjoy! Don’t forget about the tons of other items available from Handmade Philly artisans that weren’t included in this particular guide.
Happy Fathers’ Day!!
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On your mark!
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending a weenie race. Yes, you read right – a weenie race!! It was held at Mayfair and hosted by the Dachshund Rescue of Bucks County. It was the first ever and Floyd surprised the heck out of us by taking third place in the adult division! He took first in his first heat,
then ranked third in the championship race.
I’ve never seen that many wiener dogs in one place. And the funniest part? Afterward was a hot dog eating contest – HAAAHahaha!!
We managed to get some great shots of our little racer plus some other quick doxies. Enjoy!!
It was incredibly hilarious and we’re psyched for next year! Maybe some t-shirts and signs? Racing stripes? All I know is, Floyd’s totally ready for a rematch!
Hobbies For All
When I’ve had a long, trying day within the confines (my loving term for sitting in my grey cube for 9+ hours a day), very few things are better than walking into my sunshine filled sewing room and just collapsing. I don’t even necessarily have to work on anything. I just love to revel in the nicely folded, color coded fabric stash and the drawers of beads, paints, and sketchpads just waiting to be pulled out.
We all have our releases and this fine weekend, my husband had the opportunity to revel in his for hours upon hours. He even had a captive audience! The photos from the whole experience were just too great not to share. So here it is, my husband and his father painstakingly cleaning their cars and the resulting beauty shots.
My husband’s father just bought his dream car which he’s been coveting for years. Recently the right amount of luck and timing all came together and it’s now his, all his. Well, and half his wife’s of course 🙂
It’s a 1986 Mercedes Benz red something or other. It’s only 3 years younger than me, but is in about 10x better shape.
The results: A photo shoot for convertibles only. The husband’s baby is the silver one, a 2002-ish BMW silver convertible (I know, you’re thinking, “she knows so much about cars and sewing machines! What a lucky man, that Mr. Bruno!”)
I guess we all have our hobbies right? And I do take lots of photos of my quilts and such so I guess this isn’t too odd. Maybe.
The best part? It gave me hours of guilt-free crafting time. Thank goodness for hobbies!!
Crafty Get-Together
Last weekend I hosted a crafty get-together in my back yard. The weather was horrible (or great to you summer lovers) but we managed to keep our cool with some beverages, good convo and the nice breeze. It was great to sit around and make stuff while chatting up a storm. I should have paid closer attention to what I was doing as a few of my bowls turned out lopsided. But that’s the joy of handmade, right?
Creative Challenge Numero Uno
(This was originally written for Handmade Philly on 5/5/10)
What’s the meaning of this?
Today marks the first ever (as far as I know, anyway) Creative Challenge on Handmade Philly and it is being brought to you by the letter W. W for who, what and Wordle, of course.
“We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?” -Marianne Williamson
What to do?
- Write yourself a sentence or two explaining what it means to be you.
- Head on over to Wordle (or try http://www.wordle.net/create), create your own cloud, and save it to the public gallery.
- Copy the web address from your browser’s address bar and post it in the comments below. Feel free to post your original sentence(s) as well.
“being nicole means sunshine, lollipops and rainbows with a side of thunder and introspection”
Keep an eye out for future creative challenges posted 1-2 times monthly ranging from quick little activities to in-depth musings, all meant to get your creative juices flowing. Enjoy!
Need some art for your walls?
Then join!
In honor of the upcoming holiday on May 17th, let’s have an art swap! May 17th is National Pack Rat Day (seriously, I don’t kid about these things). To celebrate, let’s all raid our stashes and create some lovely wall art to swap with others. I’ve never done this before so please bear with me and let me know if I’m missing anything!!
Sign up by Thursday, May 6th
Mail or Meet-up Exchange by Monday, May 24th
Sign up by emailing me your name, email address, mailing address, and a one word key word for inspiration. The number of swappers is unlimited and everyone is welcome to join, no matter your specialty. I’m going to either match everyone up by proximity (then you can meet to exchange instead of mail) or just randomly, I haven’t decided yet. Either way on Friday the 7th, you’ll receive an email from me listing your recipient’s contact info along with your inspiration word. Everyone has artistic license to interpret the word however they want. Please keep the final work within the size range of 3”x5” and 5”x7” that way it’s easier/cheaper for mailing and the recipient has more options for framing the work if desired. You’re only required to decorate one side of the piece, but if your creativity is overflowing, no one’s going to stop you from continuing on to the back! 3D pieces are welcome too, but I wouldn’t make things stick out too far for fear of damage when mailing.
Any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! As I mentioned, this is my first time doing something like this so hopefully we can work it out together.
Need more inspiration?
Why hello!
I’m Nicole and I’m super psyched to (finally) be here. I’ve been quilting and sewing for myself and others for about 8 years now. I set up my website in 2006 and haven’t changed it since. Recently I’ve been focusing a whole lot more on my business and I’ve been having a great time! I decided to start this here blog as an arm of the website (or all alone, if you’d like) and it will be all about my craftiness, the business, and the fun I’m having. I’m hoping this will turn into a great way for me to find new friends and share the fun (and headaches, of course) of fitting creativity into life.
Thanks for stopping by to visit – it means a lot to me! Leave a comment and I’ll try to return the favor.
See you soon!
A Stitch in Design 
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