nanaCompany

:: hand sewn sweets

It was nearly 5 years ago that I timidly opened a shop on Etsy, selling children's aprons and felt cookies.  I really didn't know how to sew ~ that was the very beginning of this self-taught sewing journey and my first aprons were badly constructed and kinda ugly.

Luckily my sewing has improved ~ but the felt cookies have stayed the same.  I've been sewing up the same play cookies for people around the world these past five years and just yesterday I woke up early, early ~ and decided to make a set for Olivia, a bunch more for a holiday garland, and another set maybe for a giveaway...

Slooowwwly the Christmas decorations are coming out.  I've got a cute idea for a garland featuring these pretend cookies... we'll see if I can pull it off as cute as the vision in my head.  Also, I've been drinking ginger tea today to try and ward off this morning/noon/night sickness.  Have you any good remedies?

xo amy

throw the confetti: we have a winner!

I can picture a lot of husbands' eyes rolling at the list of feel-good movies you've put together for me.  And I confess, out of all the movies you've mentioned, I've seen (and love) nearly all of them and they already line my shelves.  But there is one I haven't seen before ("You've Got Mail") that was mentioned so many times, I'll have to netflix it for sure.  The winner of my little giveaway mentioned two faves~ "Amelie" and "500 Days of Summer."  And the winner is...

Yay!  Amanda of Itchin' Stitchin' was randomly drawn from all those sweet comments you left, but I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart to each and every one of you.  I am so thankful for your prayers and good baby vibes.  I feel that every little bit will help and maybe, just maybe, we'll have a miracle baby in our arms at the end of this.  For now I'm still in the midst of first trimester yuckiness ;(

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  We went to Las Vegas to celebrate it (and my birthday) with my husband's family.  Fatique and nausea were conspiring against me the entire time, but it was awesome to see family who entertain in so many ways ;)  Love 'em. 

1. You cannot always have happiness, but you can always give happiness., 2. vintage threads, 3. 20, 4. Untitled, 5. On my desk, 6. quilt kit :: coming soon!, 7. HAMMERPRESS, 8. "housepillow", 9. party light, 10. Yarn, 11. DSCN1077, 12. NEW Three Rose Necklaces, 13. Sprinkled Cupcake

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

So I hope you enjoyed a happy Thanksgiving and are now ready for a kickin' holiday season... my favorite time of year.  Have you started decorating yet?

xo amy

a giveaway and an announcement

Warning: things are about to get personal.  I was going to wait a while longer, but I can't keep a secret, at all, and the things that are happening now are really affecting my daily life more than I'd expected.  So I'm gonna spill...

About a week ago I was to finally begin classes for nursing school ~ we'd been preparing for this for months but I'd been wanting to do it for years and it was going to be such a major change in our lives.  Suddenly though, all this has come to a screeching halt as I've discovered I am pregnant, yes.  I'm pregnant.  Which is a joyous thing except that I had an endometrial ablation about a year and a half ago and I haven't had a period since and my uterus is in no condition to support a pregnancy and the possibility of miscarriage is so high that I can't quite wrap my mind around the idea that we're actually having a baby.  But right now, at least, I am very very pregnant.  I'm horribly nauseous and queasy and emotional and exhausted and I'm not really able to do much at all.  I'm getting kinda good at playing Angry Birds.  No sewing of any kind has happened.  In fact, all my rare moments out of bed these past few days have been spent building Lego ships with the kids.  A good use of my time and energy, I'm sure ;) 

So, sadly I have nothing to blog.  One moment I'm in tears, waiting for the miscarriage, and the next I am imagining this crazy house with one more baby in it.  I would love to know if any of you have had a successful pregnancy after endometrial ablation.  I know that many of you have had high risk pregnancies and can totally relate.   I am so open to hearing anything you might have to share with me.  I thank you for reading all of this, if you still are, and I hope I don't sound too much like a sad-sack, even though I am.  Hormones, ladies, they just don't help!!!

But I thought I'd end this post on a good note.  Have you seen the new book from C&T Publishing, called Modern Blocks?

I'm so honored to have two blocks featured in it...

But these two are my favorites...

{ by Melisssa Crowe }

{ by Lynne Goldsworthy }

And I have a copy of the book to giveaway!  So, all you have to do is leave a comment here on this post, telling me... hmmm, let's see... how about, what's your favorite movie to watch when you're not feeling well?  I have this really weird ability to watch the same movies over and over again... lately I've been watching "Atonement", "Star Trek", and "Pride and Prejudice."  And now that the holiday season is here, I'm sure we'll be watching "Elf" again... love that movie.

So, the giveaway is open to my international and domestic friends and I'll accept comments until midnight on Friday, November 25.  Plus, I'll be adding a few extras in to go with the book.

Cheers to you!  xo amy

thankful

During a month that is all about giving thanks and being grateful, I couldn't pass on the opportunity to sew up a small thank you for Joan, who recently sent me a parcel of goodies and Lecien Flower Sugar scraps.  Of course, I used some of those very scraps to make this needlebook for her...

{ In case you missed it, I did a tutorial on how to make your own needlebook here. }

This is just a trifle, but my way of saying thanks.  Of course I'm thankful for about a million other things, but I'll spare you the list.  I do have to show you the early Christmas present I just received in the mail from Isa... 

This, my dears, is a wee Christmas stocking, hand appliqued and embroidered in a style that is so adorably Isa ~ and imagine, this stocking arrived in a box stuffed with chocolate, goodies, and fabric.  Yes, a lot to be thankful for...

Lastly, thank you for coming by...

1. Carrot Cake , 2. FWQAL 42 - Gray White 2 Flower Sugar Lecien, 3. cherry blossoms galore, 4. Love, Cake, & Sprinkles Sliced, 5. Tote Bag Love!, 6. Hair clips, 7. how perfectly perfect..., 8. Pretty Peggy Garland, 9. Red Springy Pouch, 10. Some new additions, 11. fun with wool, needle and hand felting japanese craft book, 12. Sewing Egg Carton, 13. Untitled

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

And make sure to check in on Monday... I'll be doing a little giveaway!  xo amy

:: tuesday

Life has gotten a bit dramatic over here and soon I will have news to share with you... today I've got this children's tote bag to show you...

It's pretty simple: a basic tote bag with a deep front pocket featuring handsewn hexagons.  Canvas webbing handles.  Fully lined.  Wooden accent buttons.  Measures approximately 12" x 14".  Made with love ~ always.  Going in the shop, when I get a chance.

xo amy

:: friday again?

thank you thank you for your well wishes!  Just a few more and I think I'll start feeling better.  Also, the soup my husband brings home is a help.  I am a huge fan of soup.  As in, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Clam chowder, matso ball, French onion, beef barley, potato, albondigas, lentil, tortilla, wonton, even a chicken soup, if it's done right.  Heaven help me, I am turning into an old lady right before your eyes 'cuz I just realized that pajamas, a warm scarf, soup, and staying home and quilting are my favorite things in the world!

Another favorite thing?  Surprise mail.  The awesome lady behind momomadeit on Etsy just sent me a nice big parcel of scraps... mostly Lecien Flower Sugar scraps, but there were plenty of others, and some trims and a cute handmade ornament as well.  And why did she send all this to me... a virtual stranger?  Because she knew I would love to put these scraps to use and she was right and she is awesome. 

During my hour out of bed today I sat with a dresden plate template, a hexagon template, and my quilting square... just snipping away!  I'm so excited to see what I can do with these... thank you sooo much, Joan!

Friday faves...

1. In the end, I think that I will like that we were sitting on the bed, talking & wondering where the time had gone., 2. OOAK Sheepy*, 3. Untitled, 4. l/ll, 5. Paris frame of mind, 6. Teddy Love, 7. sprig needlebooks, 8. ..., 9. Victoria Magazine July/August, 10. cursive hello wooden rubber stamp, 11. Ribbons, 12. seasonal letters, 13. Fabulous mail day :)

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Happy Weekend to you!  xo amy

:: the start of something good

This is just the beginning...

... and I'm liking it so far.  It's a housewarming gift ~ a tea towel, although for a second there it almost ended up an apron.  And I do think it's pretty as it is, but my goal is to personalize it with some applique and embroidery for my beautiful niece who got married over the weekend.

These two are so truly beautiful inside and out.  They were married at the top of a hill overlooking the ocean and it was crazy windy, but breathtaking.

Of course, now I have bronchitis.  Yep.  I had a cold but now it's full blown bronchitis and today I was that mom picking up her kids from school in 5 layers, shivering in 70 degree heat, tissue in hand, red raw nose, watery eyes, coughing ~ the kind of person I avoid like the plague.  I won't blame you if you want to go wash your hands now...

Have a wonderful, healthy, happy week!

xo amy

:: for Rach

A long time ago I found the most perfect fabric for my {flickr} friend, Rach.  Perfect because she loves Karel Capek... the tea, the adorable tins, the sweet illustrations, and now Karel Capek fabric!  So, I bought a little bit of it to make her something and after an elongated flurry of snipping and stitching, this quilted wall hanging thingy is my surprise for Rach.  It has been a long time in the works (I did the patchwork then let it lay around, I added the linen, did some quilting, ignored it, I added the hand-sewn binding and let it lay around some more, I added the lace and let it... yes, lay around, etc. etc.) and I'm so glad it's now finished so I can finally send it to her.  I hope she's got a spare bit of wall for it...

I had fun making this because the only part I planned were the patches of Karel Capek fabric and the rest evolved organically.  The lace on the bottom is a most delicate antique lace I found once at an antique store.  It was such a short length I had no idea what I would ever use it for, but throwing it on Rach's piece felt right.  If you're familiar with her you know already what a sweet lady she is.  Cheers to you my dear!  xoxo amy

And of course, here's a little friday inspiration...

1. Special order, 2. brooke dress, 3. handmade zakka for baby, 4. spring tile, 5. Liberty Launch Party, 6. Pink Vanilla Meringue, 7. Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt, 8. Morning Coffee, 9. french sequins in pretty packages, 10. home sweet home, 11. project patchwork, 12. colour palette : a wee hint of cobalt..., 13. Tamar Mogendorff

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

Happy friday!

hello mr. turkey, how are you?

Hello!  I feel like I've been gone a looong time but it's been less than a week.  Last Saturday my sister and her friend arrived for a visit.  Sunday, the three of us ran the Los Angeles Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon...

... which was awesome.  Monday we spent all day in Hollywood, then raced home as the sun was going down, put the kids in their Halloween costumes and walked into town for the party on Main St., followed by trick or treating. 

I didn't get one single good shot of the kids in their costumes but they were cute as heck and we had a blast, all of us.  Next day we spent the entire day at Disneyland and went on nearly every ride because the parks were virtually empty... yes!  And more family fun followed until today ~ we took the "aunts" back to the airport so they could go home to Connecticut, and now we resume life as usual.  Which leads me to turkeys...

"Hello Mr. Turkey, How are you?"  That was a song Nicholas came home singing from pre-school last year and so I made him a pillowcase.  And now that Halloween is so suddenly over, Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming fast!  I'm thinking placemats for the kids might be in order... though Mr. Turkey, I now see, needs one of those red dangly things.  Anyone know what that thing is called?

To help me get back into the sewing spirit, I just received this in the mail from Kerri's shop, So Deerly Loved...

Thanks so much, Kerri!!  Time to get reacquainted with my sewing machine!!!

xo amy