Happy birthday, birthday twin!

These pillowcases are made with Amy Butler's Love collection. The paisley pattern was a bit busy, so I used just a splash of that for the cuff and used the larger patterns for the main part. The set is a present for my birthday twin. She's one person I know for sure I won't forget her birthday!


Today I'm having my family over for a birthday brunch. Although does it count as brunch still if we won't be eating until after noon? I'm making a couple breakfasty casseroles and I whipped up a beautiful fruit salad we'll have with Greek yogurt with honey. It should make for a lovely meal. Now I better get to work getting the house ready!

New addition

I've been quite remiss lately in crafting and posting. But a new addition to my home is a bit of a distraction. Meet Alexi, a three-year-old Borzoi. Borzoi are sighthounds, so related to a greyhound only more hairy. Her fur is so soft and shiny like silk. With big black spots underneath her mostly white coat.


I haven't taken a lot of photos just yet. Although she seems quite adept at posing. She and the cats are slowly getting to know each other. The cats aren't so timid (they spent a few days on top of the furnace) and Alexi is learning they don't want to play (a few hisses and swats later). Hopefully soon we'll all settle in.

Turkish delight

My lovely friend Tara was so sweet to pick out a Turkish spindle for me while she was recently at the Sock Summit. I saw them while I was at a spinning retreat last fall, but hesitated on buying one more thing when I had already splurged on so much fibre.


These spindles are handmade by a man in the states who I think can barely keep up with the demand. You can really see the care that goes into them. The Turkish spindle is a neat design because you can pull all the pieces apart and you have a ball of yarn ready to knit or easily ply. Bottom whorl spindles also spin way longer and smoother than a top whorl. This one is pretty teeny and I plan to take it on my upcoming trip to Italy. I'm sure my mom and I will get some interesting looks while spinning in the airport.

Not only was it super sweet for my friend to pick this up for me - and use some of her valuable yarn-buying time - she gave it to me as a birthday gift!

I know I like them

Today I'm going to a friend's bridal shower. Along with a gift card, I wanted to give her something handmade. So, yes, another set of pillowcases was made. It gave me a project for this amazing fabric I picked up not long ago. (It was still sitting on my sewing table to admire.)


The pillowcases are so pretty on their own I don't think anything more than a ribbon is needed.

Picnic minus the grass

I wanted to get a shot of this picnic blanket on grass, but my new yard is still waiting for sod. I just got soil, which I guess is something. Not having grass does have a big advantage - time I would have wasted mowing and weeding is freed up for more sewing!

I whipped up this picnic blanket when a friend and I planned a lovely afternoon under a tree in a park to escape the sweltering heat.

I pulled the fabric from my stash - teeny flower and fruit designs I thought were perfect for a picnic blanket. I could have used a bit more yardage, but worked with the bits I had. Every bit. The binding is pieced together with leftover fabric strips and the remaining scraps weren't big enough to save.


It's reversible with the same patchwork design on each side. I prefer the blue side, which is the one I quilted with random squares and rectangles.

I can't believe how quickly I made this small quilt - pretty much in a day - compared to the long toiling over my first one. Now I feel ready to tackle a bigger project. Thankfully I need not look any farther than my stash again, with a few kits just waiting for me.

Quick and easy

I whipped up a set of pillowcases tonight for a friend's birthday with these batiks I picked up last week. The one print, predominantly a deep blue/black dotted with lighter blue triangles, kinda looked like a night sky sparkling with stars. Seemed like a perfect choice for pillowcases. The other is in matching blues with flowers.


I know I love my handmade pillowcases, so I hope she does, too. I'm going to bundle the pair with a bottle of shower gel and sponge, all tied together with a ribbon.

Tada!

My quilted tabletop is finally finished! I started this long, long ago. Well, last summer. Then it gathered dust all winter. And summer arrived. Again.

I think the delay was really just my nervousness. I made the squares when I first started sewing and I just wanted to play around with pinwheel blocks cuz they looked like a neat technique. Making an actual quilt with them seemed way too daunting. Really it wasn't too scary once I jumped in. It's by no means perfect, but I learned a lot along the way. And, hey, it doesn't look too bad.


The quilt adds a nice splash of colour to my cafe table. Now it looks like the perfect spot to sip on an iced coffee and read a book.