weekly gratitude: 1.22.10

just had to fix this bad boy up a little bit. i apparently hadn't used the original photo so the quality was pretty bad IRL.

off to bed.

nite!

love.

weekly gratitude: january

before i share all the work i've done this morning i have a very sad announcement...


it seems as though my sewing machine is sick. out of commission. needs repair.

as i've said before. i love this machine. it was my late grandma cisowski's and i've always adored it. in my lifetime i mostly watched as she made outfit after outfit for her cement goose that was kept NOT outdoors as garden decor but central in the living room as a member of the family. when i tell you this was the best dressed goose i'm not exaggerating.... it had an outfit for every month, occasion, holiday, and probably a few more thrown in between. grandma also made me several skirts while i was in high school which i wore to hoosier girls state as i needed "business" attire for our mock government, ahhh... indiana. good times.

anway. this machine is not done for. we are taking it into the city tomorrow to a singer service shop. to be honest i should have done this before starting the quilt. i think the machine just needs a thorough cleaning and a little love. so it will be back, and then i will finish the quilt, sheets, and other sewing projects i have planned. but i'm sad still.

so. weekly gratitude. like i said yesterday i'm really excited about this project. i've been steadily trying to get myself back into the habit of consistently scrapbooking and i feel so behind with pictures from last year that i'm really looking at this project as an opportunity to keep the year in focus and remind myself every week where i've been, what i'm most thankful for in my life, and all the important things that really matter.

i have decided to use this album that i got on sale from anthropologie awhile back...


it holds 4x6 photos three to a page and has like 37 double sided pages so my thought is that i'll use one page per week and use the extra places for more photos, art cards, journaling, or whatever.

i've completed the main spots for january thus far (pretty good for one morning huh!?!) i really love all of the downloads that karen has created for this project. all the links to these will be at the end of this post. when i replenish my printer ink this weekend i'll print them all out on 4x6's and then embellish and make art cards to go around them.

here they are....



oops! i missed the 9th. ok well i'll get to it in a little bit and post it later. i'm pretty proud of myself that i was able to do all of these so quickly! i never have done a lot of digital work but karen's templates are so simple and modern that i'm quickly becoming a big fan.

they aren't 100% done. joe just got new cards from launch so i'm going to scan on and put it in the open spot on that layout. i'm also going to change the border colors on that one so that they match the company's colors (which i can't remember at this moment if they are lime green or orange... bad wifey.)

as promised here are the links to weekly gratitude & the available downloads...

weekly gratitude blog
karen's weekly gratitude templates
karen's gratitude overlays

i linked up to the post on the blog because she has some additional information about fonts etc.

oh and the "growing" text on my page is courier new. it's a really simple text manipulation where i make the large word, turn it so it's on the side, and bring down the opacity in the layer blending options.

now off to eat lunch and knit a bit. the sun is shining and it's going to be a creative and inspiring day!

love.

**updated: added the week of the 9th in there!

gratitude.

this year we have many many things to be grateful for in the taylor household... the upcoming arrival of our first little one, joey's amazing job and increasing opportunities, our amazingly supportive and loving family and friends... the list goes on and on.

i've been toying around with the urge to really embrace a year long project that will help me stay focused on the everyday, where we've been, where we are going, and all those things that are truly important. so i literally just decided to commit myself 100% to lori & karen's new project Weekly Gratitude.


not only are these two artists that i really admire but they are great mothers, friends, and have some of the most open creative spirits of anyone i've ever had the pleasure to meet and befriend in the crafting community.

check out the weekly gratitude blog. they are only a few weeks into the project and already have so many amazing tools offered. i plan to use a 4x6 format. i have a hand embroidered/embellished photo album from anthropologie that's been calling for a project and this is perfect for it.

i haven't started as i'm determined to finish this quilt top this evening (i've been procrastinating a bit and dawdling after each column on the blogosphere...) but i think i'll start tomorrow morning to catch up for january and then make friday mornings my gratitude time. perfect way to start each weekend!

be sure to check out the weekly gratitude blog as well as their group on facebook to stay updated with the project!

one of the first suggestions karen had was to put together a little list of some things you are grateful so that over the course of the year if you get stuck you can pull right from the list... so here is my little backup of some things i'm very grateful for in my life:

1. my mom
2. colorful yarn & needles
3. the ocean
4. joey
5. hawaii
6. my typewriter
7. music
8. car trips
9. disney
10. vintage fabric
11. the city
12. inspired friends
13. perfect timing
14. chocolate
15. spring

love.

busy week.

so once again i put off my daily blog schedule this week.
but at least it's been a busy week so i have some things to share and new projects starting.

here's the recap.

monday i knitted my little fingers raw to finish joey's scarf. i had it about half done and wanted to make sure i got it finished for his birthday because we were supposed to be getting another temperature drop and some snow this weekend. i didn't finish until tuesday becasue i had to search and search for my container of yarn needles and stitch markers which had mysteriously stayed packed in our luggage after my trip home for the holidays.

here is the finished scarf. sorry for the crappy photos, took them super late tuesday and haven't seen the scarf in good daylight since. which i think means he likes it!

i didn't measure it, just used two skeins of lion brand wool-ease chunky in charcoal. it's 36 stitches per row and a ribbed 2k 2p pattern. crazy easy. i was really happy with how the ends were able to be stitched into the gutter of the first column. this is probably a no-brainer for veteran knitters but i wasn't super pleased how my fingerless gloves were stitching up and i wanted to make this scarf as perfect as possible so no little ends started pushing through.

tuesday was joey's birthday and we had a sonogram appointment to see our little girl again! we've decided on a name but haven't agreed how to announce it yet so the family is just going to have to sit tight for a little longer. anyway, she's absolutely gorgeous and doing so well. we are totally and completely in love with this little lady already.

yesterday i took the opportunity of one last nice day in the mid-40s to head into the city and spend all day shopping with my best girl. we went to greenwich letterpress, purl, anthro, and lions brand, and then finally got our boys together to meet and chit chat. it was a very good day. and i made out pretty well all things considered...

i picked up a few things i needed for the quilt & some new burp cloths for the babe (batting & terry cloth), found this gorgeous blue & sage willow printed fabric for a set of sheets for the nursery... also got this gorgeous yellow printed flannel for the nursery that i'll probably be using to make some warmer winter sheets for her too... some bundles of fat quarters for little projects and my next knitting project and the yarn for it too at lion brand studio.

since i have finally finished joe's scarf i'm now beginning on my baby knitting spree. my goal is to knit my way through itty bitty toys by susan b. anderson. the patterns start out really easy and i'm going to be finally mastering some techniques that i've really just played with up until now. hopefully our little girl will have this amazing basket full of handmade yarn toys to play and learn with when she's born. i have this dream that her first and most beloved dolly or rabbit plush be something i made her and that she can pass down to her little babies.

eek, that's thinking WAY too far ahead, haha.

today i'm going to:

finish my quilt top
send out some family emails
start a knitting project
stay warm!

have a great day!

love.

weekend WIP & etsy shoutouts...

happy friday!

anyone else totally excited for a weekend? as of right now i get a whole day with my joey tomorrow. this is very exciting for a girl who has herself and two sleeping pups to talk to all day. plus, it's totally unexpected this weekend since he was originally supposed to work all weekend. sunday he goes in, but i have a crafting date so i'll be entertained ALL weekend.

crafting dates are exciting in themselves... they are perfect excuses to make cupcakes!

so this weekend i have a couple of projects i'm hoping to finish up, or at least get a big chunk completed on... besides layouts i'm starting on this baby...

i have a few holes to fill but i should be ready to start sewing by later this afternoon. with some of the matching leftover squares i'm planning on making a big floor pillow for the nursery that matches...


it's a little more pink than i thought i would be into but i love it and i'm pretty sure i'll be using this to back it so it will tone down the pink a bit...


with the baby quilt being my main project for the weekend i thought i should share some of the etsy shops i've been buying vintage fabrics from this past week. i can't wait until spring when more flea markets and thrift opportunities open up in the city. if it's not open air nyc thrift really doesn't mesh with my definition of thrift. you mid-westerners are way lucky to have such great places to visit!

so for the meantime i'm using etsy as my main source for vintage fabrics, and i've found a couple of really great sellers so far. i'd love to find more if anyone has any favorites!

*eagerhands*

from Lora i got the pre-cut vintage squares. i'm not against cutting my own in the future and for other projects but when i saw her bundles i couldn't resist. her bundle came really nicely packaged and she even threw in a little gift for the baby. she's really sweet and i can't wait to find more goodies in her shop!

*demcdonough*

got this cute mushroom & butterfly fabric from this shop. came really quick in great condition. it's not assigned to a project yet but it will be!

*cedarbough*

is this not the cutest fabric ever? i absolutely love it and can't wait to get it in. i'm missing this valentine's day with a little one but i'm thinking i'll save it and make her a jumper or dress with this for next year. it's so sweet. i also bought the blue & green fabric that i'm going to use for the backing from this shop. they should be here today! cedarbough has a ton of great vintage textiles... great crocheted throws (going to have to learn how to crochet next) and fabrics. if you aren't into making your own there are some great things made from vintage materials!

*zwizzle*

finally, zwizzle. had the purple and blue one been a little wider i totally would have waited for these to come from australia to back the quilt. oh well. this shop is full of great vintage fabrics. i probably could have grabbed all of her fat quarter bundles but i thought i'd restrain myself for now. the shipping is really reasonable since they are coming from australia and she was super quick to get them out!

so those are the shops i've been using to really get my vintage fabric collection going. check them out if you are interested! there are a few others that i love but haven't purchased from yet, but those we'll leave for another favorite post.

hope everyone has a great weekend!

love.

workin'

been working on getting things together.
putting together a real schedule so that this blog is reader-worthy.
inspired to scrapbook again, will share finished products soon.

addicted to buying vintage fabric on etsy.

on my plate:
sewing some things from a few tutorials by rachel
finish painting my studio this week (two more days i can do it)
round 3 of choosing a color for the living room & nursery
finish knitting joe's new scarf (by spring would be nice)

love.

finally gettin' it 2010

hello 2010.
sorry it's taken me a few of your first weeks to get my act together.

the holidays were amazing and relaxing. it was fantastic to be with my family and just turn off my mind for a few weeks. all of the plans i made to do "things" over the holidays were thrown right out the window and i was just content to be. with family.

but now it's time to get a move on in 2010. we have a baby coming our way in just 20 more weeks! i'm halfway done with this remarkably enjoyable and EASY pregnancy and i'm feeling great and am super excited. we found out this week that we are having a girl and so i've been getting nursery decor plans together, and am finally letting myself oogle all of the crazy adorable things out there for little ones...

my project list is getting longer and longer but i'm not letting myself feel overwhelmed. everything i want to make myself for the baby seems pretty simple and if others can do it i can no problem.

2010. time to kill it.