craft night

Before I knew it, it was Saturday and my first craft night was mere hours away. I kicked my cleaning into high gear and got our apartment into great shape. Having a few people over is always excellent motivation to make your place fully presentable!

I had been gathering crafting supplies for a couple weeks, so I set out arranging everything on our dinner table. Each guest was to select a square of fabric and a contrasting color of thread. They also got a 5” embroidery hoop, a couple crewel needles, and a set of stitch instructions. I set out several of the embroidery books I got from the library as additional reference/inspiration material.

I had asked everyone to bring a dish to share and we had quite an array of delicious snacks! I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of our buffet. We had bean dip, hummus and pita, chips with salsa and guacamole, caprese skewers, crackers and baguette with cheese and homemade hot pepper-peach jam, and caramel apples. Nearly all the non-pregnant people enjoyed wine while the rest of us stuck to fruit juice. My guests were even kind enough to leave me leftovers since our fridge was utterly empty!

After we dined, I had everyone practice some basic stitches on their piece of scrap fabric. Basic stitches like the backstitch, stem stitch, and split stitch are incredibly useful and take just a little practice to get perfect. After the ladies had gained some confidence in their stitching skills, we got to work transferring simple images onto the items they had brought (cloth napkins, dish towels, baby shirts, etc.). We spent the rest of the time working on those projects and chatting.

I have a tendency to be awfully anti-social, but it was wonderful to have such a great group of women over for the evening! I should really do this more often.

That evening I finally got the chance to bestow upon my friend April the handbound book I’d made for her eons ago for a giveaway on this blog. I still owe several more people books as well, but I figured I may as well get started on the delivery. I made April a blue robot-themed book in which to write down her son Hunter’s funny comments. I wish I had done a better job doing this with Chloe, who continues to make Jesse and I laugh with hysterical, out-of-nowhere quips.

 

After transferring Quinn’s big owl embroidery project onto fabric during the week, I finally began stitching on Saturday evening. So far I’ve only finished two letters of Quinn’s name (which involved outlining in backstitch and some filling in with satin stitch) and I can tell that this project is going to take forrrrevvvvver. It’s a fun challenge though, and one that will definitely strengthen my embroidery skills. I’ll post periodic updates of that piece once I get an initial portion finished.

android

I am not even going to say what time I got out of bed yesterday. It was a work holiday for me, and I'd been so busy over the traditional weekend that I never stopped to plan out a productive Monday off.

Saturday night, Jesse and I ventured downtown. I'd been hanging out at home during the day and was craving a jaunt to Portland to participate in the nightlife. Well, to be there at night. We caught the end of happy hour at Oba! and snacked on green chile mac & cheese and spicy corn fritters. By the time we were finished, it was nearing the start time for a movie I'd been eyeing at the cozy, hip Living Room Theater. We grabbed some popcorn and a big bowl of olives and watched the Coen Brothers' "A Serious Man." I had only read a brief synopsis about the film on the theater website and we'd seen a somewhat cryptic preview months ago. Jesse and I both loved it. Just go check it out.

On Sunday I had some friends over to eat, drink, chat, and check out what Scentsy products are all about. After my apartment cleared out, I was feeling tremendously lonely all of the sudden, so Clara and I grabbed some pizza and watched the white knuckle season premiere of "24" - which was new for me.

Monday arrived too soon, and before I knew it, Jesse was out the door for the first of his two shifts. I got coffee brewing (on my own - this is rare) and set my mind to not turning on the television. I cooked up some steel cut oats for the first time ever and doctored them up with a bunch of tasty ingredients from the pantry. Maybe way too many tasty ingredients? I jumped in the shower and then dressed in the most comfortable (slovenly?) clothes I could find.

I got to work at my art table, in front of our big window overlooking the pretty, pale trees and a loudly churning creek, for the first time! Nose to the proverbial grindstone, I finally finished up the first of my Pay It Forward books. I won't be posting photographs of any of these books until they are all complete and distributed, but I took a few pictures of my messy workspace. It's a lot more satisfying to have a space covered in scraps of paper and shiny smears of PVA. I have the materials for my next book, and the slightest vague concepts for the other 4. Not to mention various other book and non-book ideas that I only HOPE will be realized.

Jesse brought home a delicious lunch and sweetly said I looked pretty in my slovenly, glue-stained clothes and no-makeup. Not that I believed him, pretty sure he was joking. He turned on the tv, I thought it acceptable to relax and watch Seinfeld for a while. After he left, I dug through Chloe's to-be-bedroom for my sewing machine. I'll be using it at my first sewing class on Saturday, and I wanted to make sure it actually worked. I have an old Singer 603E that I got for free from a very generous lady on Craigslist. I knew it was serviced just before going into storage from several years. Fortunately, it seems to function, but only time will tell.

A non-sequitur note: I need to devote a lot of thought and energy into getting restful sleep. It's been a difficulty for me for years, and I know it will be a blend of several techniques and natural elixirs that help me get there. Tips are welcome. My attempt tonight will be: (a) yoga, (b) hot shower, (c) hot sleepy tea, (d) clean sheets, (e) happy thoughts.

books books books

It's Halloween! I'm decked out in my Builders & the Butchers crow shirt and Audubon crow earrings, feeling good. I'm musing over my conversation this morning with my stepdaughter who turned 8 today. She told me an elaborate story about the time her dad accidentally decapitated her at the beach. She was really mad at him. As my dad (an extremely proud new grandpa) says, she is a delight.

So... I've been entering a lot of contests lately. And by a lot, I mean a lot. I won an essay contest through work a few months back and it got my sweepstakes competitiveness raging. On one hand, I sort of feel like spending hours entering contests is a waste. On the other hand, you WIN STUFF!

Last week Jesse called me at work to let me know that a big package had arrived from Simon & Schuster publishing company. I was too curious to wait, so I had him open it. Inside was a letter saying that I had won their summer reading contest! I won 7 books worth almost $150 including:

• Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner
• Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisenberger
• Full of Life by Nancy O'Dell
• Mommywood by Tori Spelling
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
• The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans
• The Lovers by John Connolly

Okay, not exactly the kind of books I normally like to read, but free books is better than no books!

In other book news, I've started work on my "Pay It Forward" books. It has been too long since I built a book, but I've found that the skills are relearned quickly. It helps that all my supplies were recently categorized and stored in an easily accessible fashion. Here's a sneak peek at the first of the 6 books I'll be constructing.

thank you mufn!

I'll be honest. I have not given adequate thought to my April 29th Pay It Forward promise. Darn it. I know I'm lacking in the reliability department, but I'm slowly improving.

Yesterday, a mysterious package arrived in the mail. Its weight and shape didn't match my expectations for a package I knew was coming, so I eagerly tore away the outer brown paper to reveal a gorgeously packaged, heavy, rectangular item. Just as gorgeously wrapped as these pretty packages.

I found a little notecard inside the package that read

Sara, I am so glad that you left a comment

on my blog & am now receiving this
small handmade gift. I hope that you
will post a picture of what you
received & continue to pay it forward to
5 more people. Enjoy the book! Have
a wonderful day & know that you
are loved.

-Muffin

Oh my goodness. I can't believe it, I said. This was a gift from pretty, talented Pauline from Mufn Inc!

Inside was a lovely little handbound journal with handmade cover paper and endsheets, delightful detailing - including rub-ons and bone-like beads, and soft, brown suede serving as a spine cover. The book's pages are white with a great linear texture!

This thoughtful handmade gift made my day! It was invaluable to know that someone had set out to make a special present just for me...for no other reason than to pay it forward!

This delivery has made me recommit to getting handmade gifts in the mail to first 4 people who commented on my original Pay It Forward post - Jon, Tim, McKenzie and Trina. Unfortunately, I have no way of getting in touch with the 5th commenter - Laura, who I've never met.

So - I will also send a gift to the first person to comment on this post!

It was somewhat silly of me to expect to be able to get this gifts created while planning a wedding. I am going to have boundless energy and focus when Jesse and I return from our wedding and honeymoon in late September - so I vow (get it?) to get to work then!