Check out the back!

I made this table runner for a dear friend's birthday. The inspiration was this woven ribbons block pattern and a bundle of muted blue/grey FQs.

The three white areas produced when the blocks were put together just begged for embellishment, so I enlisted my mom and her embroidery machine to sew a design in there. I picked one that fit with the floral and circle theme of the fabrics. The quilting is simple straight lines following the woven ribbons pattern, which meant a lot of stopping and starting.

I think my favourite part, oddly, is the back with its mini table runner floating on the deep blue fabric.

No scrap was spared. But with the fun detail on the back, I think that side is worthy of showing off, too.

Riding fool

This isn't a crafting accomplishment, but I just reached 2,000 kilometres for the cycling season. (Sadly cold, dry winter air doesn't mix well with exercise-induced asthma, so my cycling is limited to spring to fall.) Maybe I've earned a few fat quarters from this bike-inspired collection?

Crafter's paradise

I made this bunting for my CFF Tara to celebrate our trip to the crafting mecca of Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago this past weekend, and also to lessen the sting of a bunting-related injury. It can happen.

If you haven't been to a Renegade show, go! All these amazing crafters gather together to sell their stuff in a really fun, casual environment. The Chicago show was huge! More than 300 vendors created what seemed like an endless line of tents stretching far beyond what my camera could capture. For lunch we had ridiculously delicious shrimp tacos from one of the many food stands.

I found some favourite card makers like Kate Funk and My Zoetrope, and new favourites like Genevieve Santos, Little Canoe and fellow Canuck Mehoi, and picked up a new Red Prairie Press top. It was a great crafty excursion with a great crafty friend! Made even sweeter with a generous amount of Chicago mix popcorn. That was lunch one day because we wanted to eat light before digging into a deep dish pizza for dinner. Makes sense, right?

Chicago is a lovely city, even on a foggy morning.

Hero in a half shell

Amazingly, I finished the presents long ago for a visit this weekend with a friend and his family. But of course I can't resist a little last-minute crafting. I decided I needed to make something a bit more fun for a little girl than a rag quilt, so I searched for a cute stuffed animal pattern. This cute turtle toy is a simple project from Make It & Love It.

I grabbed bright fabrics from my stash to put it together. The tutorial had a link to these helpful instructions on hand sewing an invisible seam.

This was the first stuffed toy I've attempted and it went fairly smoothly, although it gets a bit tricky sewing around the bulky appendages. By complete chance, one piece for the little guy's head caught a large circle in the fabric's pattern to make an eye. Too bad I didn't realize until after it was sewn together, cuz now he's a cyclops. Well, the other side has a swirl, so it's kinda like he's winking.

WIP

This woven ribbons block popped up during my blog reading recently and I knew I had to give it a try.

The block looks neat, but it sure requires careful work when sewing them together with the ever increasing number of seams to line up.

What about Bill?

Last night I put the last few stitches on my Bill Murray cross stitch portrait. Love it!

Even better, it got me thinking about some favourite Bill Murray movie quotes and scenes. Where to start!?!

"There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't. My ex-wife loves him." - What about Bob?

"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." - Groundhog Day

"Don't point that gun at him, he's an unpaid intern." - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

"Next week on World of the Psychic: hairless cats ... weird." - Ghostbusters 2

He doesn't even have to say anything to be funny, as we see in these scenes from Wes Anderson movies: Throwing a shoe in Moonrise Kingdom or taking out his anger by interrupting a basketball game in Rushmore.

And his appearance in Zombieland was about the best movie cameo ever. "Just Bill, I think, now."

What are your favourite Murray moments?

Model shoot

My cat Ariel is simultaneously the most beautiful and kinda goofy looking cat. Maybe it's the big nose. But she sure takes a good photo.

Although she's a bit of a diva who can tire quickly of the camera. Even while just lounging on my bed.

Notice how she's sleeping right at the top of the bed? How considerate of her to concentrate her fur on the part that goes right next to my face. It's her new favourite spot, one I'm hoping she'll soon tire of snoozing on. Her nestled on my down duvet on top of the pillows is rather princess and the pea.