nanaCompany

:: week in review

• During our walk to school, my little boy ran ahead and started yelling, "Go away!  Old lady monster, go AWAY!"  At me.  I don't know how he came up with that but Olivia started chiming in and I just about died laughing.  Old lady monster?  Really?
• I went running on those "mean streets" of L.A. for the first time since I sprained my ankle... and didn't fall.  The treadmill isn't enough anymore and it was time to face my nemesis.  I ain't scared of you potholes!
• Today I went to the store to buy dinner, but instead I bought two chocolate eclairs (for Anne and I) and a cannoli for my husband.  Sadly, I ate the entire cannoli even before reaching the check-out line.  I've since explained to my husband that there is an eclair for him, but I took a bite out of it first... and that we'll be having egg sandwiches for dinner.
• That's okay because yesterday it took 3+ hours to cook short ribs to perfection and my husband gobbled them down in 5 minutes.  Dang.
• Olivia has declared with no uncertainty that she loves her daddy more than anyone.  Including me, sniff sniff. 
• I've finally found a nursing school that might be a perfect match for my needs, and this morning I passed the entrance examination with flying colors.  Woohoo!
• I sewed the binding on the baby quilt and added one eensy teensy applique. 
• Obviously not much happens around here in an ordinary week ~ even if it does feel like we're all spinning our wheels like crazy.  You know what I mean, right?

Check out my friday faves below... See the oval frame in the upper right hand corner pic?  I'd love to embroider that... someday soon...

1. colors, 2. detail of pillowcase, 3. Cup o' tea!, 4. One Good Thing: Rooster Tea Towel, 5. door sign, 6. IMG_2249, 7. patchwork baby quilt, 8. Flowers, 9. Pillow Talk Swap - finished star, 10. I'll follow the sun, 11. 相信溫柔以待, 12. vintage floral teatowels, 13. gathered

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Happy Friday all!  xo amy

crafting with love

With love, indeed.  Isa in Germany, the artist behind the blog Crafting with Love, sent me a package that knocked my socks off.  We're talking fabrics, trim, sweets... (Isa, my little ones took off with the kinder eggs so fast, and I made the wafer cookies disappear nearly as fast)... and then there were the handmade items that nearly made me cry.  First there was an iPhone pouch...

... my very own Hoppel...

... and a doll quilt so adorable, every little detail!

It is mostly sewn by hand... each star, each bunny... and embroidered.  Of course, Olivia took one look at it and said, "that's me, Olivia.  Right?"  Yes, Olivia. ;)

And Isa used all her (and my) favorite fabrics in the quilt.  I happen to know that her stash is filled with fat quarters, not yardage, so besides the bundles of cute fabric she sent,  I was thrilled to receive 4" squares from her most beloved Lecien prints that are 100% impossible to find nowadays.  It didn't take me long to figure out what to do with the squares...

I worked it out like a math problem.  Twelve 4" squares gave me 12 hexagons (1.25" per side).  After I cut out the hexagons I was able to cut 1.5" squares, and the remaining scraps are perfectly sized for ticker tape pieces.  And since these are her favorite prints, I used the 1.5" squares to make a little thank you gift for Isa.  I'm thrilled enough to have the hexies and the scraps.  So, tada! 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Isa!  I hope you like my humble gift... xoxo amy

oh what a night!

It was my husband's 50th birthday last friday and I threw a surprise dinner party for him that turned out just about perfectly.  All I can say is whew!  And again, whew!  And darn, wish I got pictures of us (I did my hair and everything) but you know how things go when you're having a good time!

Next day we went to lunch in Chinatown since we had a bunch of family in town...

aah... here's the birthday guy with Olivia, and his parents...

hi there!

Let me just say... good times.  I know the weekend is long past, but I hope you had a fun one... xo amy

"a little bit a lot"

... that's what my son would say if you asked him what's been going on around here lately.  Today is a big day for us.  Someone is turning 50 and it ain't me, not yet!  More on that later, but since I haven't finished the baby quilt, I thought I'd give you a sneak peak...

It may be the simplest quilt I've ever made... and I'm loving it!  Happy Friday all!

1. My latest collection, 2. ornaments from my new kit, 3. Untitled, 4. Crane Star Pillow - tie, 5. 21st Birthday Telegram, card, 1969, 6. s i m p l i c i t y, 7. Untitled, 8. Teeny Houses, 9. cherry blossoms galore, 10. Baby Bliss Bowtie quilt, 11. Get Cozy, 12. dottie angel day, 13. Ticker Tape Mini Quilt

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

oh scrap!

hello!  Did I mention I was working on a baby quilt that had me frowning... a lot?  I made 14 blocks using some of my fave hard-to-find fabrics and then made the gut-wrenching (drama queen!) decision to scrap it, and start from scratch.

Well, I'm so glad I did.  The quilt is not yet done but, hey, the pillow nobody asked for is FINISHED!

I always had pillows and stuffies in my children's cribs... I don't think you're supposed to do that anymore (to prevent SIDS, I think), but a nice flat pillow is a good thing in my book.  I used the quilt scraps to make this, so it was super easy.  Machine quilted it "in the ditch" ever so slightly.  Tada!  Now I've got to go finish that quilt.

Cheerio! xo amy

:: home sweet home

There was going to be a post on Friday but things didn't go as planned.  It was one of those days.  Rained in the morning, grey all day, I felt slumpy, and then, the absolute worst: the baby quilt I was working on looked horrible.  Not at all like I had pictured it in my mind.  I spent a lot of time squinting at the blocks I'd made so far, rearranging them, frowning, sitting, staring off into space, pulling more fabrics, and... more frowning.

One can only do this for so long... right?  Once I realized I was going nowhere, I decided to do a little creative therapy ~ another ticker tape piece. 

Cuter in person? yep.  Tiny? Measures 6" x 6".  And oh the thrill of working on something so simple, so mindless, and cute!  It'll be going in the shop soon.  Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!  Here are my faves for the week:

1. Unseen Ocean, 2. Lace Angel Journal is FAT - Explore #54, 3. NI 051 b, 4. Single Girl pillow, 5. All of them, 6. Bonnie, 7. a dottie angel book..., 8. Embroidery monogram patterns from 1950, 9. Linen Skirts, 10. Milk & Honey, 11. Ribbon Embroidery Set 2, 12. Ruby's Quilt, 13. Page 13

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

:: it's the small things

I'm in the midst of sewing a baby quilt, which is kind of a large project for me ~ ya, I enjoy the immediate satisfaction that comes from making 'pretty little things.'  So, while I was deciding on fabrics and design ideas for the baby quilt, I found and finished yet another tiny project.  A needle book.  Quite useful when one is doing hand sewing out of the home all the time.

If it looks familiar, you're right, you've seen the patchwork before... it was originally a pouch for my iPhone, sewn up a year and a half ago, but I'd made it too small.  Poo.  It sat on my shelf all this time, but now I've taken it apart with my handy dandy seam ripper and turned it into something I stinkin' love and will use almost daily.  Yea!

I hope you all are having a great week... xo amy!

:: twinkle little star

Lots happening around here, though not any crafty or pretty sort of 'happenings.'  I've been out of the house far too much for my taste, but today I found a moment to sit down and stitch up this one little star... made of linen, sequins, a tiny grommet, and twine.

For now it is all alone, but I hope to have a garland like this by year end...

Source: marieclaireidees.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

I bet the sweetest dreams are had beneath those stars...  xo amy

a bear, a mouse, a bunny?

 Aaaahhh... yes.  Normally, when I'm at home and can't hear the sound of my children I immediately suspect something is wrong.  Very wrong.  You know what I'm talking about.  But with the big one and the little ones all safe at school, this new silence at my house is not so bad... I miss the little buggers, but I'll get over it.  My new four (count 'em, 1, 2, 3, 4) hours of freedom is like a shock to the system, but I envision lots of productivity and maybe even some house cleaning!  (ya think the excitement is affecting my brain?)

Proof that my brain is not working properly is that I didn't take pics of the kids 'til their third day of school.  Bad momma.  (Note to self: stop asking the kids to smile for the camera... see what happens below.  Scary.)

Let them do their thing... aah, much better...

These last two mornings, I've finally gotten around to making a baby set for a childhood friend who is now a proud momma to baby Jonathan.  I love how the bib came out.  Love the softy, too.  There is a rattle inside the head so it makes a cute little noise.  The only problem is: what is it?  Is it a bear?  A mouse?  A bunny?  Your guess is as good as mine.  Poor thing is going to have identity issues, but I suppose as long as it is loved it'll be alright, right?

I think we'll let Jonathan decide what it is ;)

Have a wonderful weekend!

1. the cookie thief ;), 2. framing objects, 3. I believe in pink., 4. Untitled, 5. summerhouse pillow, 6. New vintage embroidery project, 7. we are the dreamers, 8. FWQAL #111-Wrench, 9. "New Home" Coaster Set, 10. Gluten Free Strawberries & Cream Cupcakes, 11. ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿, 12. Untitled, 13. ...

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy

:: French knots

I admit it.  I didn't know how to make a French knot til this weekend.  I swear the heavens parted and angels sang when I finally began making them successfully and easily.  You might take a look at my pics to see if I'm making them right, I think I am.  There isn't much consistency, though.  Some are tight and some are loosey-goosey, but I don't care ~ they're fun!  Now I want to find an embroidery pattern that calls for lots and lots of French knots!

I can fairly easily say this is the best embroidery I've ever made.  I love how delicate it is, and the colors.  I used a single strand of floss for everything except the French knots, where I used two strands.  See pattern here.

 

I was so happy when I finished stitching this over the weekend (checking it off that to-do list, woohoo!) but I quickly realized I'm not done at all.  What should I put in the middle, if anything?  And then what should I do with it?  What would you do?  I'm all ears ;)

xo amy

linen + hexagons

Some months ago I sewed a bunch of hexagons together and then I tossed them aside.  They joined my pile of unfinished wip's, but now there is one less...

... and I've got this beautiful linen+hexagon pillow!  Of course the hexagons were paper pieced and sewn by hand, but the quilting and binding were sewn by hand, also.  Love it.   This one's going in the shop.

xo amy

:: friday

The Queen of England, Meryl Streep!?!  Wowsers, I've loved reading your stories!  And, I've since remembered a fun one... at a party at Paramount Studios, John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John took the stage.  Just before leaving, I was introduced to Jeff Conaway... I played it cool while we talked, but inwardly I was doing a happy dance.  In case you don't recognize the name I'll throw out two clues: the party was for a movie called "Grease"... do you remember "Kenickie"?  Love, love, love.

There's lots on my to-do list, but since I've been recuperating from my accident (I had a violent "meet and greet" with the pavement the other day while running), I've been laying kinda low.   Here's a peek at some old wip's I've been playing with...

And as this is the last weekend before school begins... I'm off to play today!  Have a great weekend, everyone!

1. F1000001 , 2. Vintage perfume label on tiny old bottle, 3. 20 :: 365, 4. the clothesline, 5. erinzam, 6. homemade yummy goodness, 7. easter dress detail, 8. Untitled, 9. #4, 10. apple stamp, 11. Mini Scrappy Log Cabins, 12. Sticker pack, 13. vintage spools

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

xo amy