Overdue blanket

In the last couple of weeks or so I've been motivated to pick up all my nearly done knitting projects and finish them up! This one was first because this weekend I'll be seeing the receiver of this very very late gift. I think I promised it to her 3 years ago. I know, so embarrassing, right? Better late than never I guess! I hope she likes it.


























I ran out of yarn with just a few yards to go and really didn't want to buy another ball. So I found some yarn that was close in gauge - hence the red corner. I was almost too lazy to block it but am glad I did because it does look neater than before.
















We're heading up to Tahoe this weekend with some friends, and I'm super excited because instead of skiing and boarding like everyone else I am staying in the cabin! I've decided that I'm done with snow sports, and I found a *really* cute little project to work on during the day. It's something I've never done before, so we'll see if I can do it!

Schmap photo and Lotta love

A small and random piece of news: I found out today that Schmap decided to use one of my photos in their Stockholm guide! Okay, so the photo is teeny on the page, but it's still kind of exciting, right?
















We went to Stockholm and Copenhagen for our honeymoon back in September and had a great time seeing design-y goodness everywhere we went. We also spent a day in Aland in honor of Lotta Jansdotter! The postal service in Aland recently asked Lotta to design some stamps and postcards for them (see October 23rd entry from Lotta's blog) -- too bad it didn't happen before my visit! Speaking of Lotta, I got some of her goodies in the mail this past week from some good friends. I absolutely love the pattern on the fabric bucket.

Perfect-bound notebook

Wow, I can't believe over a week has flown by since my last post! I had this past Monday off which was great - I hung out with some friends and then had a nice dinner up in SF with Irving. It's been really wet and cold the past couple of days. There's been reports of snow down here and while driving to work this morning I saw quite a bit of snow covering the top of the hills (or are they mountains?) in the distance. So beautiful. Anyway, I managed to squeeze in just a teeny bit of crafting recently:
















I've always loved the look of perfect-bound books and notebooks, and recently found out that it's possible to make one myself! I spent a whole afternoon reading tutorial after tutorial and had Irving make me a little book press. And then the press sat there for a loooong time before I collected everything else I needed. But I finally did it!
















I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. The spine seems strong (I'll probably test it some more) and is easy to flatten out when opened. I used some leftover covers from the saddle-stitched notebooks I made for the craft faire. I'm definitely making more of these!

Sewing machine cover

When I bought my sewing machine, I was bummed to find out that it didn't come with a hard cover, since I knew that older models did. I decided to make something like a dust cover for it.
















It was a bonus that I happened to have fabric that matches the light blue-green accents on the machine. I kept an opening in the top for the handle, but the top can still stay closed when the handle is down.
















It was really nice to be able to sew a little this weekend. Having a finished project, even a simple one, is soooo satisfying! I think I'm going to take a nice Sunday afternoon nap now :)

Happy hand towels

I've been meaning to replace our old hand towels for awhile. This weekend I finally got around to buying some nice new white ones and slapping on some cute fabric from my stash (now that they're all pre-washed and ready to go!). I was a little bummed we really only needed 2 hand towels - I wanted to do more!









While poking around on the web today, I came across Avie Designs. Absolutely beautiful and completely inspiring! Nothing gets my heart rate up like pretty patterns on paper. (Okay okay, pretty patterns on fabric too!)

And even though it's still winter, I am eyeing this strappy cuteness (in brown).

A new year

Ah, it's been a good break. I had the last week and a half off and it's been the perfect mix of rest, fun, and productivity. The Christmas dinner we hosted for our families was great. I got to clean and even make some pillows for our naked couch. I've been really into gray and this citron-mustard-yellow, so couldn't resist these two finds in the clearance bin.









I also did a little decorating and decided to pink and pre-wash most of my fabric collection. It's taking awhile, but I think being able to just pick up a piece of fabric and sew will keep the laziness at bay when inspiration strikes. I really want to get better at sewing this year!









Just before the weekend we flew out to New York to visit my college buddy and her parents in New Jersey. We only had about a day and a half in the city and besides all the good food we ate (always central to reunions with college friends!), one of the highlights was visiting Takashimaya. Unfortunately the online store is bit sparse, but everything there was just so beautiful and unique. In New Jersey we rested, played games, cooked, and of course ate! If we had more time I would've loved to visit the Lotta Jansdotter store in Brooklyn amongst other cute shops I always hear about.