Unraveled

Angel baby...

My great grandmother (tilda's great-great grandmother) gave me this onesie after Annie was born. She told me that her children wore it when they were babies... 50 years ago! Unfortunately, Annie was already too chubby for this heirloom by the time it was given it to us. Luckily, Joe pulled this out of Tilda's drawer the other day. It fits her just perfectly! Maybe this was not a coincidence... Matilda is a much easier baby than Annie ever was. She naps in places other than our arms, she goes to sleep fairly easily at night, and rarely cries. I never used to believe people when they told me that their newborn slept all day. I thought they were either lying to themselves or had just forgotten how rough infanthood can be. Now, I too am one of "those" people. Of course, I loved Annie as a baby. She was the first, and I was wholly in love with her. But, as babies go, she was not easy. I found myself wishing us through her first few months, just willing her to nap! to sleep! to self-soothe! to grow up! With Tilda, I am in love with her littleness. She is just the best age... squishy and lovey and smiles and giggles. If she was sleeping through the night, I would try to keep her this age forever.

Labels: tilda

First Love, First Quilt...

One day, about two years ago, my husband and I were walking around the West Village headed to my favorite yarn store, Purl. We passed the then-brand-new Purl patchwork, and I dragged my husband in. Pregnant at the time with Annie, I instantly decided I would make her a quilt. I already owned Kaffe Fassett's Caravan of Quilts, and wanted to make one of the more complicated quilts in that book. The lovely woman staffing the shop talked me down off that ledge and convinced me to pick something much more manageable for my first project. I spent an hour salivating over all the gorgeous prints, and plucked various gems off the shelf. After spending way too much money, I walked out with a stack of fabric and a new love of fabric. For the next few weeks, I slaved over my mother's Singer sewing machine. I had never made a quilt before, yet I was convinced that it couldn't be too difficult. I worked and worked, and this was the result!

Labels: Annie, Quilting

Boxes: 1, Me:0

After unpacking what seems like a million boxes, we're finally starting to feel at home. We did a lot of work to this house in a very short period of time, and I will post some pictures early next week to show off the magic that a few coats of paint and some curtains can work. Til then, a peek:

Love at first sight.

When I first came across Melissa's etsy store, Little Girl Pearl, my first though was, "Thank goodness I have a daughter." Her dresses are exquisite, her palette inspiring, and her technique impeccable. I've been dying to order from her for the past year and a half, but hand crafted goodness comes at a price. With the holidays approaching, I decided to splurge on the girls' Christmas dresses. This was the result! Yummy, right! Melissa was a dream to work with. I picked out the two styles, and she sent me a whole host of inspiration fabrics. I chose this bright flower pattern, and Melissa took it from there. The dresses are amazing, and I cannot wait for the girls to wear them. Although they are festive, they are not overly Christmas-y, so hopefully they will wear them through the spring. I wish I had taken a picture of the packaging, even the box was beautiful. Now, go, run off and order yourself some lovely dresses from Little Girl Pearl! I am already dreaming of the dresses I will order next year.... hmmm, maybe a bright green?

See Katie Sew Giveaway

Katie's blog is new to me, and it's fabulous! In commemoration of her two-year blogiversary she's giving away a box full of fabric! Check it out: http://seekatiesew.blogspot.com/2008/10/two.html Tell her Kristen sent you!

Why you should always pre-wash...

Now, I know that some of you swear that you never pre-wash fabrics. In various quilting forums, I have heard that pre-washing is a "waste of time," "unnecessary," and just plain "silly." I have always questioned this wisdom, and have always pre-washed my fabrics, especially solid colors. I was just too worried that the dye would run later and ruin all my hard work. As you may remember, Mattie's quilt featured some of Patapri's lovely hand-printed fabric. In pulling out my accent colors, I knew that I wanted to use the bright, lively, chartreuse. I embarked on my usual thorough search for a quilting solid in such a color. All local fabric stores were visited, and alas, no chartreuse... really nothing even close. Kona samples were ordered... the greens were a bland disappointment. But then, out of the corner of my eye, in the red-dot clearance section of Jo-Ann's (gasp!), I saw the perfect color. Eye-poppingly bright and vivacious-- CHARTREUSE!!!! I quickly checked the fiber content-- yes!!! 100% Cotton. My one concern was that the fabric was dip-dyed, so I was worried about color consistency. I decided that I would only use strips from the end, which would ensure that all strips were the exact same shade. Now, as I explained above, I ALWAYS pre-wash. Suspicious of the dip-dyed fabric of uknown origin, I prewashed it not just once, but TWICE!!! Apparently, twice was not enough. Although it is hard to see in this picture, the greenish-yellow fabric in Tilda's quilt has bled (twice now), turning the white sashing to more of a yellow. It's not too bad, but it is disappointing none the less to have something that I worked so hard on turn out to be less than perfect. The moral of the story... always pre-wash. Although maybe the true moral is not to trust Jo-Ann's clearance offerings, no matter how perfect the color!

Labels: Quilting