craftopia.

As soon as Kalin and I arrived in Twain Harte, Julie, Taylor and I went directly to the funny little Pharmacy that houses a quite impressive selection of fabric at a very reasonable price. Taylor and I decided that we were going to make the Amy Butler Nigella quilt that I have been hoping to make for quite awhile. But, I don't really have the qualifications to produce a quilt. Luckily, I have my mother-in-law who is always working on a quilt to supervise Tay's and mine first attempt. We selected a few fabrics from the bargain section to complement our "bulb" pieces. Here are a few pics of the process:

the set-up of our craft space.  strips of fabric everywhere

48 squares to start this project.  sew. iron. sew. iron. etc. cut.

12 pieces just like this.  all that's missing are the bulbs.

Quilting is pretty time-intense, but as we are nearing the end, it is pretty rewarding and I am excited to have it finished and put it to good use.  although, we can't use it now.  its 100ish degrees here.

Also, I recently was looking through some embroidery blogs and came across this Japanese technique of Sashiko, which I am pretty sure means something like pull-through or something similar.  I was so excited to find the supplies in San Jose and am almost finished with two patterns.  It is definitely some sort of art form because the fabric bunches if you aren't careful.  I have a bit more to learn, but I like the results so far:

So far this trip has been quite successful in crafting.  I am truly enjoying it as I typically don't have a whole lot of patience for large projects.  But this is good.  SO good.  I highly recommend being unemployed and doing what you love with the one you love.  

Next stop: Lake Tahoe.

Oh, and here is a squirrel that was awkwardly perched on the deck (just for Darcy...)