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I had the great fun of being in @brendagaelsmith’s Strip Ease workshop last night, through my guild, @baltimoremqg. I’ve been wanting to explore sewing improv gentle curves for a long time and Brenda was a phenomenal teacher. Through the wonder of the Internet, Brenda was in Australia, we were in the US, we had a 16-hour time difference and we all had fun sewing together! I am making blocks to go with my HST blocks that I started five years ago as part of a sew-along from @blossomheartquilts. I’m using quilter’s flannel that I impulsively bought way too much of many years ago. I’m determined to finish this year! 😀Bags are my true sewing love and this year I got to sew two of them! The first, a vastly simplified #sidekicktote from @noodlehead531, sewn in May. This is the second time I’ve made this pattern, and also the second time I used this group of fabrics (it’s actually the fifth bag I’ve made for myself with these fabrics!) The pattern has all kinds of cool features, which were a big part of why I purchased the pattern in the first place. But I ended up not really taking advantage of them with my first bag (which I wore out from constant use) and so, for ease and quickness, I just left them out of this bag. I added a bit of English paper piecing to the front for fun. 😀I also sewed a whole bunch of masks, a few of those I did manage to share pictures of back in April. at some point, I lost track of the precise number that I made but I think it was around 175. I did one final push to make around 110 and after I finish those, I decided I didn’t like feeling like a factory. 😉I donated the majority of them and was glad to be able to use up a whole bunch of fabric that I didn’t want anymore in pursuit of providing a way to help keep people safe. I also finished up mending a rag rug which my kids made for me (with my MIL’s help) from their toddler clothes. And finally, I sewed eight flannel baby blankets because pandemic or not, people just keep on having babies! ❤️❤️❤️The end of 2020 is nigh and I managed to share barely any of what I sewed this year. The pandemic drove me outside for solace rather than to my sewing room so I didn’t sew as much as I might have otherwise. (And, to be clear, this is not something that I’m sad about. Being outside really fed my soul this year.) But, I did manage to finish three more baby quilts to donate through the @baltimoremqg, thanks to @sewsobright’s coordination.“Hey kids! Let me tell you a story about the time that your grandma (who sometimes lost all track of reason when it came to sewing and Christmas) finally managed to sew stockings for her children, even though they weren’t even close to babies anymore. And then, after they were sewn, she loved the way they looked but she realized they were so small she couldn’t even fit a baby orange in the toe. (What was she thinking when she designed them?!?!) And meanwhile, she had only sewn your grandpa the world’s most pitiful barely-a-stocking stocking. So a couple years later, she decided that now that her oldest child was in double digits, she should really be sure that everybody had as big and nice of stockings as she did, thanks to her grandma (who, by the way is your great-great-grandma!). But, she was sad to lose the original beautiful tiny stockings she had made. So she ripped them apart, made big stockings (patterned off of the one her grandma had sewn for her) and then sewed the little stockings on top of them! Plus she managed to sew her husband a real stocking too! And that’s the story of how I have perhaps the world’s weirdest stocking. But isn’t it great, just the same?! Merry Christmas!”🎄🎄🎄As has been my practice for the past four years, I made a Christmas pillow for my mother-in-law‘s early December birthday. This year, I decided to make two blocks, paper pieced and from the original #splendidsampler. My original plan was to make two complimentary pillows but I only got one of them done in time for her birthday (was literally hiding in the bedroom finishing up hand sewing the binding, five minutes before we gave it to her! 😂) so we are giving her the other one for Christmas. The pillows are approx. 13”x17”, A totally cute size. All this fabric came from my stash and it’s a good thing that my mother-in-law‘s living room is now full to the brim with Christmas pillows because I have pretty much used up this particular set of fabrics. 😀 it wasn’t until I had almost finished quilting the first pillow, that I realized I had inadvertently chosen one pattern that made an X and the other pattern that make an O. So I managed to make two “hugs and kisses” pillows for a wonderful woman. ❤️Today, I am adding my voice to the much more eloquent chorus of many others to say that Black lives matter. It feels incredibly inadequate to say only that but it’s a start. .My front porch flowers are bringing me so much joy. Perhaps they’ll bring some into your day too? 😘It’s my first 2020 garden harvest! A good sized bunch of radishes, one carrot that overwintered (I doubt it’s going to be edible), and a really delicious assortment of baby greens for salad - it all makes me happy! My peas are taking forever to grow this year so I don’t know that we’re going to get many out of them, but that’s OK. My yard and garden have been my solace and my sanity the past two months. #salmonandsouvlakigardens #organicgardening #growwhatyoueat #baltimoregardenIt’s asparagus season!! Woo hoo! We haven’t had a functional oven during asparagus season since 2016 and so we celebrated by making our very most favorite way to eat asparagus! (Recipe from @smittenkitchen.) It’s been four years since we’ve eaten asparagus pizza and it was just as good as we remembered. 😍 We also enjoyed an all-local salad as well as another mustard-y hot dog pizza. Swipe to the last picture for the golden beet fritters that rounded out our meal. .In non-mask making news, we have continued our #quarantinebaking adventures and I just remembered I forgot to post pictures! On Easter weekend, we made homemade pizza and pita on Good Friday and then I made sourdough cinnamon rolls for Easter brunch. I used the sourdough pizza dough recipe and sourdough cinnamon rolls recipe from @maurizio. His instructions are impeccable; I am a rebel and don’t follow all of them; and the final product is still great. 😉 We made several different kinds of pizza but the one pictured is a fancy hot dog pizza that Nik had at a gourmet pizza restaurant once. It’s a Dijon mustard sauce with hot dogs, pickles, cheddar cheese, and raw onion as toppings. It might sound weird but it is surprisingly super delicious! #salmonandsouvlakibakes #sourdoughcinnamonrolls #homemadepizza #sourdoughpizza #hotdogpizza #theperfectloafDonated this set of 34 masks to @fablabbaltimore for their work with Housing Our Neighbors, helping those who are experiencing homelessness. Many thanks to @createdomesticity for stocking twill tape, and also for the front porch delivery! ❤️ Thanks also to @makergonnamake for her work on this project! (And please contact her if you’re able to help make masks or donate supplies or money!) #salmonandsouvlakisews #domesticitymasketeers #charmcitysewcial #bmqgsewcialdistancing #ilovebaltimoreCategories
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Monthly Archives: December 2014
Handmade Christmas 2014: A Baby Bird For A Brand New Baby
As is my custom with my nieces and nephews, I sewed a little baby bird (using this tutorial) for my newest niece, Annika, who was born the middle of November. This is the first time I’ve had the chance to … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
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October/November Sewing: Hooray for Katie and Baby Annika!
Ellie and Mark gained a new cousin when Baby Annika joined my brother’s family in November. I have four siblings and I’ve now made five diaper bags, one for each family! (Here’s ours, Eric and Meggan’s, Jon and Leah’s, and … Continue reading
Posted in family, love, sewing
7 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Hot Pads of Apology
Last summer, while visiting my family in Alaska, I was taking something out of my mom’s oven and somehow managed to drop one of her hot pads on the electric heating element on the bottom of the oven. Soon, there … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
7 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Mark’s Color Book
I don’t know if anyone has actually ever used the color book tutorial that I wrote about 18 months ago. I however, was really grateful that I’d done it because I used it myself when sewing this for Mark! I … Continue reading
Posted in Mark, sewing
6 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Retro Christmas Tree Lights For My Siblings
Continuing my “Christmas ornament” theme from the past couple years of presents for my siblings, this year I sewed everyone a string of retro Christmas tree lights. I even managed to sew a string for our tree too! Thanks to … Continue reading
Posted in family, sewing
4 Comments
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you! He is the Messiah, the Lord!
Merry Christmas!! We love you all! Love, Nik, Laura, Ellie and Mark “Hurry! Hurry! Have you heard? A child was born tonight, And every creature large or small Is precious in his sight.” from Hurry! Hurry! Have You Heard by … Continue reading
Posted in Ellie, family, love, Mark
4 Comments
Handmade Christmas 2014: Look! Two Presents for Ellie!
Thanks to all for your kind thoughts and prayers for me about my recent sorrow-filled post. I probably shouldn’t allow myself to press publish when I’m tired and sad. I’m feeling much better now and the past couple days have … Continue reading
Posted in Ellie, sewing
2 Comments
Happy “75% of 10 Years” Anniversary to Us!
On a lighter, happier note… The other night I happened to mention that on 12/23, it would be our 7.5-year anniversary. Nik, being the mathematician that he is, pointed out that this means we are 75% of the way to … Continue reading
Posted in family, love
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And So, As It Turns Out, I Can’t Do It All
The past four and a half months have been unusually busy for Nik and me. I participated in a major project at church, which consumed just about every minute I could spare at the computer (including the evening hours when … Continue reading
Posted in parenting, reflecting, sewing
6 Comments
And So, Alas, My Son’s Mullet Is Gone (but at least my mom is the one who cut it off!)
As Nik liked to say, Mark’s hair was “business in the front and party in the back!” for many months. We trimmed his hair a bit in April but Mark really hadn’t ever had a real hair cut. And, as … Continue reading
Posted in family, Mark
2 Comments
