granny squares

I am adding 'make a granny square blanket' to my list of goals this year. But I suppose I should add 'learn how to crochet a granny square' first. I found instructions here. Crossing my fingers I'll be able to figure it out, wish me luck!

Anyone care to join me? Do you already know how to crochet a granny square?



(images from here and here)

i was thinking of you... month one

Husband and I sat down earlier this month to write down our goals for the year. We broke down our lives into different categories one of which was 'our relationship.' Among other things, we decided to surprise one another each month with a small gift or act of service that costs little to nothing. The point being that we would be thinking about the other person and how we could make life for them a little easier, love them a little more, or make them happy in some little way. Because sometimes its hard to forget about yourself. So I will be starting a new series of posts documenting how we do - partly to make sure we do it.

January:

I surprised Husband with a bag of pistachios to snack on at work. It was a very simple thing, but it made him happy.

Husband surprised me by cleaning the entire house while I was away - toilet and tub scrubbed, kitty litter changed out, the works! It made me extra happy.

I need to step up my game next month so I've been thinking about him a lot lately. And since that was the point I guess so far its working.

(picture)

fabric find { nani iro 2010 }

True Up shared this small preview of the Nani Iro 2010 collection. If they meant it to be a teaser it definitely did its job because I am left wanting to see more! I'm not sure when it comes out, but I can't wait to see that brown dress up close and personal - and I love how they affixed it to the wall with yellow tape.

this week in the shop...

I will be adding a bunch of cute vintage shoes to the shop this week! Here is a sneak peek at the majority of them. I am hoping to have them all available by Thursday at the latest. Thanks for looking !

weekend snapshot: kitten kisses

We gave Petunia to the Little Miss for her birthday last year. They sure love each other a lot.

applique mini-challenge: day five

Dress number five: The Birdhouse

I saved this red dress for last because I had no idea what to do with it, I couldn't think of anything besides Christmas! So I didn't really make this applique up - I cheated (although there weren't really any rules) and traced it off of a vintage dress. Here is the pattern in case you want to use it yourself. Just click on the picture to save or print (for personal use only please).



So that is the end of this challenge. I think my favorite is the first one I did with the umbrella and raindrops, but I love them all.


Would you be interested in more vintage embroidery/applique patterns?

love

I obviously have embroidery on the mind this week, but I'm sure these beautiful wall hangings by Dottie Angel would have caught my eye anyway...



Don't you think the one above would make a great Valentine? You could just add a pocket on the back for a little love note and, of course, some candy.

applique mini-challenge: day four

Let's go fly a kite!

applique mini-challenge: day three

I hope you aren't getting sick of these dresses yet because we still have two more to go! Here is day three's dress: A Cup o' Love


The perfect dress for a tea party with friends, or to just look cute in your momma's arms.

Hope you enjoy!

applique mini-challenge: day two

Day number two of my mini-challenge brings us: Anchors Away!


I couldn't think of anything better suited than a sailor motif for this navy blue color. Pardon all the debris showing up in the pictures - she needs a date with the lint brush - but other than that she is ready to go! The neck tie is two separate pieces attached at the shoulder seam. That way the tie won't move around and end up in the back, or get too tight around a little neck.

I have no idea what day three will bring, but until then - au revoir!

applique mini-challenge: day one

I've decided to give myself a little mini-challenge this week. I've had a bag full of cute plain vintage dresses sitting in my work room for months waiting for me to give them a make-over. I add to the bag every once in a while and imagine what fun appliques I could add to them for baby shower or birthday gifts, but the problem is I've never touched them. So, this week I will do something about it and make-over one dress a day and show you the results!

Here is dress number one - Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.


I will have to put new elastic on the sleeves before I give this one away, but for now I am just focusing on getting the appliques done. This was my first time using a split-stitch and it was really easy and surprisingly therapeutic once I got going. I just hope by the end of the week my fingers toughen up!

Just imagine if it really rained striped, checkered, and colorful raindrops! See you tomorrow for dress number two...

zzzzz

I'll be the first to admit this blog has been a snooze-fest lately. I've felt so uninspired and my ideas for posts have been fresh out. But today I saw this pretty necklace and I was instantly inspired to do two things. One, make it. And two, take all my vintage clothing pictures against a white wooden background. I feel a little stirring of my creative juices so hopefully I'll get out of this slump soon and have something to show for myself. In the meantime, thanks for hanging in there. I'm trying to whip something fun up for next week!

coming soon...

It's been a little slow going for us this year. We've already had our first bout of sickness take each of us down one at a time but now that we are all recovered I feel like the year is finally beginning. And that's pretty exciting because even though its still the dead of Winter and my feet are freezing, Spring is slowly getting closer and that makes me happy.

Here is a sneak peek at some vintage clothes I'll be putting in my little shop this week. One of my resolutions was to be more consistent about updating my shop so hopefully this is just the beginning of many new additions to come. Thanks for taking a look!

dear new year,

We hope you find yourself at home in our little family. We can't wait to dive into January and get to know you better and we're curious to find out what experiences you hold in store for us throughout the year - hopefully more good than bad. We've made some plans and anything you could do to help them happen would be appreciated, but we'll do our best all the same. So here's to 365 days to live better, and love more. Welcome 2010.