Category Archives: Hobbies

Fuilt = Faux Quilt… It’ll catch on

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So I went a little crazy a few days back and was cleaning out our closet. Trying to purge! One of my secret [not anymore, obviously] resolutions was to simplify my crap and organize what I do keep. I think I’d use more of my stuff if I had it organized and in a place where I would use it. Anyway, the point is that I found some pajama pants. Dubble Bubble, Oscar Mayer Weiner and Oscar The Grouch. I love them and want to remember them but I don’t wear them so…

PJ Pants Throw

I got them together and started hacking away at them with my very awesome fabric shears. I promise, those scissors are the greatest thing ever. They have some spring action goin’ on and make it almost effortless to cut through fabrics. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, pajama pants. So I cut out 11″ squares of these three pajama pants. I also cut out 11″ squares of some of the same type of fabric in pink because I figured my faux-quilt or fuilt if you will, needed some solid in there with all of those busy patterns.

I sewed all of these together (about 42 squares total) and then sewed them to the back of a dark grey fleece throw that I had layin’ around. Thus creating the fuilt throw that you see above! The great thing I absolutely love about this is that one side is soft and cool, while the other side [fleece] is warm and fuzzy. It is a great contrast and I think I’ll probably end up using it a LOT! And since doing this I have really sparked my creativity and passion for making quilts or throws. I want to go buy a bunch of fleece and start throwin’ these badboys together! Good times and horrible carpal tunnel pain.

On The Wedding front, I have designed my invitations, I think. I’m taking them to mama’s house tonight to get her opinion or suggestions. I think my first draft is actually going to be my final! And how I love that so much… Now I need to design the Reply Cards and I think I will be all set for that. I’ll post my final design once I get them all complete and in the mail. What else? Hmm.. I changed my flower to the cala lily. Which I love and I’m totally excited about! I bought a few light pink lilies that were on the clearance shelf at Hobby Lobby to take to the wedding planner to see if she wants/can use them. They’re adorable and I’m sure they can be useful somehow!

Stomache is feeling better but I would definitely say that today was a rough day at work. There is so much stuff piled up on my desk right now and it made for a pretty stressful day. Not to mention, I had the Mother of All Headaches today for at least 2+ hours.

Sew Crazy

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So I really conquered my fear of sewing machines this year. And I can’t even tell you how proud of myself I am. I have always been intimidated by it. I think most of my fear has stemmed from the Sewing Machine Lingo. There are presser foots, bobbins, levers and about a thousand different types of stitches. All of these things are enough to drive a beginner absolutely bonkers! I have never even touched a sewing machine until a couple of weeks ago and now I am hooked.

I made a couple of “stuffed animals” for my first few projects. I also made a draft dodger for the window seal next to my computer that has The Worlds Worst Insulation. It makes a HUGE difference and I am already planning on making a few more for other drafty areas in the house. Our gas bill last month was HORRENDOUS due to the craptastic insulation in this house!

So today I broke out the machine again and I made myself a vintage looking Apron. It is adorable (in my opinion) and I have many ideas for more, sexy aprons in the future! The one thing I’ve found about sewing is that I hate cutting pieces out. I can’t ever get them straight when I use scissors. I like the actual sewing part and the part where you add little do-dads to make it all pretty. The cutting of each piece and measuring? For the birds! So anyway, below is a picture of the apron I made.

Apron

It was a fun little project and now I am ready to tackle more. I need to learn all about “binding” and stuff. I have been wanting to make some purses and coasters but they all use this Mysterious “binding” and I have no idea what they are talking about! I think this week I will have to make a special trip to the fabric store to find out what binding is and get my hands on some.

Well, time to go pick my man up at the airport. He’s flying in this evening and I am so excited to see his beautiful face again. I miss it a lot! It has been at least 5 days since I’ve seen it and I’m ready to see it again. I’m also looking forward to a humongous hug from him. Here are a few of the things I’ve missed most about him:

  • Hugs! He always gives me hugs.
  • Kisses!
  • “Bless You” – every single time I sneeze. Even if I sneeze continuously, averaging 10 per minute, he will say Bless You every single time. He missed about 9 bajillion sneezes while he was gone and those quiet moments between sneezes were hard ones :(
  • Smackin’ My Butt – He does this a lot. It’s a term of endearment, not some pervo-thing. And it doesn’t feel quit right without it!
  • Warm bed at night :(
  • His smile

In case you were wondering

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I am still alive!

We had a wonderful New Years Eve. We rang in the new year with friends and singing and laughter and at least twenty puffs on the good ol’ albuterol. Too much excitement these old lungs, I suppose.

Gene is gone right now. He flew to Colorado to help drive his brother to California. They left this morning sometime around 7 AM and are supposed to arrive at his parent’s house sometime around 4-5 AM. It was an out-of-nowhere trip due to some family problems his brother is having. I would have gone but a plane ticket for myself would probably have been a waste of time. Plus, due to the circumstances, I think just having Gene there is a good thing.

Anyway, regardless of all of the issues, I am missing him terrible. And I use the word terrible VERY strongly. I’ve cried more in the last 24 hours than I have in a long time. Some of it is due to missing him so much and some of it is due to me having to endure things alone that I usually don’t have to. Emma is ill and I had to take her to the vet today, alone. Last night my back was effed up big time and I had to endure that, alone. I banged the CRAP out of my toe this evening and I had to endure that, alone. I woke up this morning to a house full of diarrhea (Emma!) and I had to endure that, alone. It is all tiny, minuscule crap that doesn’t even really matter in the grand scheme of things. But when you are used to having someone by your side ALL OF THE TIME and they are always there, it is such a shock when they are gone.

Gene is not only my fiance but he is also my best friend. I hear women get so excited when their spouses leave to go on business trips or out of town for other reasons and I honestly can’t see myself EVER being like that. I have so much fun with Gene, both as lovers and as friends. We always laugh together and have such a blast. I tell him absolutely everything, whether he wants to hear it or not ;) And gees it is a shock to the system when that one dependent person is gone for a little while!

Needless to say, I want him back right now! He probably isn’t coming back until late Saturday night or Sunday night. Selfishly, I wish he would come back on Saturday night… But I also want him to be able to spend some time with his family while he is there.

Well, better head off to bed. To another cold and lonely night. Oh and I don’t know if I mentioned it or not but I finally broke out my sewing machine and have spent WAY too much money on supplies and fabric.

Future Seamstress

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I got a Singer Esteem sewing machine for Christmas!! I am extremely intimidated yet so excited to get some projects underway. I’ve never even touched a sewing machine in my LIFE, seriously. So I’ll probably be heading out to a book store this week to grab some sewing books. Before I go, any recommendations?