nanaCompany

home sweet home

Last week, at the very last minute, I decided I really wanted to see my dad for his 70th birthday...  Next morning, Mia and I got on a plane to Connecticut for a surprise visit.  My sister picked us up from the airport and we went straight to the restaurant where my parents were having dinner.  Ha!  So much fun.

We couldn't stay long, but Mia got to see fresh snow (yay!), and my parents and I stayed up late every night watching grown-up tv (no Spongebob), and I got a good dose of Mom's homecooking.  It was so good to be home.

Waiting at home for me in L.A., were three packages of fabric and stuff I can't wait to get my hands on.  This (above) was the smallest little packet.  I'll show you everything else soon.

I got right back into hand quilting Mia's new quilt.  And at last, I'm finished...

The binding is going on now...

xo amy

S is for Stitch... Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Yay!  It's my turn to talk about "S is for Stitch", the beautiful new book written by Kristyne Czepuryk of Pretty by Hand ... and to offer you a chance to win a copy! 

Inside its pages, there is a set of embroidered alphabet designs for a girl, and another entire set designed just for boys (of course, you could mix and match if you like).  The book shows you how to embroider the designs and how to incorporate the finished embroideries into quilts and other charming little projects.  Take a peek!

Ya, I told you it was beautiful.  (And I'm thinking that tutu embroidery above would look great on a tote bag for Livi's ballet slippers)  Now... if you love to embroider, this book is for you... but if you've never embroidered anything in your life and you've been wanting to learn how to embroider, this book is definitely for you.  

Years ago I picked up a basic booklet on how to embroider from a craft store and I sat down with floss and a crooked needle and went to work ~ well, this book is 100% better than what I learned from.  Thanks to Kristyne's meticulous style and her background in teaching, she shares all the information you need to get started and stitching, along with helpful tips and techniques.  She talks about separating floss strands, how many strands to use, how to transfer designs, her favorite knots, her favorite needles, and why thread snips are easier than scissors... among plenty of other things.

And what's perfect about Kristyne is that she offers all her knowledge while at the same time encouraging everyone to "find" their own preferred methods along the way.  That's a style that works for me.  And in that spirit, I've decided to use her unique embroidery designs in my own way.  Page by page, I'll be making a soft alphabet book for my girls.  Here's the cover:

And here's one of the embroidery designs I can't wait to stitch:

I'll keep you posted with my progress!

Now, for the GIVEAWAY!!

To win a copy of the book, "S is for Stitch", please leave a comment on this post telling me how you might use the alphabet embroidery designs.  The deadline to enter is 4 April 2013.  Winners outside of the US will win an e-book version.  Good luck!!

And make sure to visit these blog tour stops for more chances to win:

• Anne Sutton ~ BunnyHillBlog.com - Monday, March 25
• Lori Holt ~ BeeInMyBonnetCo.blogspot.ca - Tuesday, March 26
• Sherri McConnell ~ AQuiltingLife.com - Wednesday, March 27
• Kristyne Czepuryk ~ PrettyByHand.com - Monday, March 28

xo amy

S is for Stitch

Have you seen?  There's a new book out there called "S is for Stitch" and it just happens to be written by none other than Kristyne Czepuryk, my homegirl that you all know as the hilarious voice behind Pretty by Hand.  Honestly, I am so proud of sweet K, but when I finally got to see and hold her book in my hands (I waited a long time) I was so impressed.

It is beautiful, informative, and whimsical.  And today is the start of the book's blog tour, which will not only introduce you to the book ~ offering a peak into its pages ~  but give you the chance to win your own copy for free.  In fact, there'll be eight chances for you to win your very own copy.

Check out these awesome blogs for the tour:

• Allison Rosen ~ StashBooksBlog.com - Tuesday, March 19
• Allison Harris ~ CluckCluckSew.com - Wednesday, March 20
• Amanda Jean Nyberg ~ CrazyMomQuilts.blogspot.ca - Thursday, March 21
• Me (please excuse that I have inadvertantly called my blog "awesome") ~ nanaCompany.typepad.com - Friday, March 22
• Anne Sutton ~ BunnyHillBlog.com - Monday, March 25
• Lori Holt ~ BeeInMyBonnetCo.blogspot.ca - Tuesday, March 26
• Sherri McConnell ~ AQuiltingLife.com - Wednesday, March 27
• the amazing Kristyne Czepuryk ~ PrettyByHand.com - Monday, March 28

I'll see you back here on Friday!

xo amy

:: My favorite part

It starts like this:

Pulling fabrics and squinting and staring at different combinations for a while.  Then you add prints, remove prints... look at them in different light.  Then I get all excited about putting them together...

For this one, I did a simple one patch on diagonal.  The squares started at 3" and finish at 2 1/2" each.

And the quilt sandwich has been sprawled across the couch for several days now.  How silly of me to think I could actually quilt it by hand in a few days.  Probably it will take a week (or more?), but luckily the quilting is my favorite part.

If you're interested, here is all the info I have on each of these fabrics:

1. Regent Street Lawn by Sentimental Studios for Moda
2. Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller, Meadow in Poppy
3. Liberty of London Tana Lawn (I think the print is called Nancy Ann)
4. Yuwa Live Life Collection
5. 30's Collection by Atsuko Matsuyama
6. Spot On by Robert Kaufman, D# 12873
7. Lecien Old New 30's collection
8. Rose Maison by Renee Nanneman of Need'l Love for Andover Fabrics # 5120
9. Seaside by October Afternoon for Riley Blake Designs, #C2964
10. 30's Collection by Atsuko Matsuyama

Now, back to quilting! 

xo amy

Wonder

I call Mia "the Wonder baby" not only because she charms me to no end and I adore her to the moon and back, but because she is the miracle baby we didn't expect my body could nourish and grow ~ she's the baby we didn't expect to ever hold in our arms or hear laughing or see smiling back at us.  I waited every day for the miscarriage to happen.  It didn't help that not one of my doctors or nurses had any experience with my particular "condition" and I received no assurance or hope at all from reading stories on the internet.

So I wrote one, myself.  When the people at WhatToExpect.com asked me to be a Word of Mom blogger I had to seriously stop and think, "What could I possibly have to say to other moms out there?"  As one who never feels as if she's done enough I couldn't comfortably dole out parenting advice or tips.   And then it occurred to me that I might offer a teensy bit of hope to other women out there in the same position I was in ~ scared and looking in vain for concrete stories of a successful pregnancy.  If you'd like to read the short article, find it here.  It is aptly titled, "My Baby is Proof that Pregnancy after Endometrial Ablation Can Be Successful."

And take a look at Mia today.  Nine months old.  Two teeth.  Crawling, pulling herself up to standing.  Says Ma-ma, Da-da, Na-na.  It's music to my ears.

xo amy

let the Spring cleaning begin...

If you're not one for piles of delicious fabric, cover your eyes or look away and scroll down as fast as you can!

This is all my new stuff.  In the 1st pic: fabrics from Sew Mama Sew.  Bet ya didn't know I've been slowly gathering fabrics to make a Hope Valley quilt one day ~ love that line.  Also, I've always liked Joel Dewberry's Hierloom bouquet prints.  In the 2nd pic: fabrics from The Quilt Asylum.  Some of these are going in the quilt I'm making right now.  And in the last pic of yummy repros: all fabrics from Quiltin' Gals...  which is an awesome shop for 30's reproduction prints because they have a great selection and they're reasonably priced.

So, enough with the fabric gluttony.  My shelves are now overflowing and I've decided it's time for a bit of spring cleaning!  A little destash, a re-organization of my supplies, and a total re-fold of all my fabrics are in order.  So, I went to start the monster job of this Spring Cleaning and after five minutes of rediscovering the contents in one little box I was already distracted... just sitting there playing with my stuff.

Putting a few supplies in pretty glass jars was as far as I got but I look forward to doing more because the old adage is too true for me ~ Out of sight, out of mind.  I need to see my stuff!

As for the bit of patchwork I just had to make last week?  I turned it into...

A pouch.  A zipper pouch to hold hexagons on the go.  I'll try to get a better pic of it later,  it's pretty cute.

Did I mention I'm working on a quilt?  ;)

xo amy