Final FQ

My last FQ came in the mail!! Such a sweet surprise yesterday. Its from Rebecca in Kansas City, MO, she insists there aren't many fabric stores there, but I think she did a great job finding some. Well, anyway, you can decide, but I cant wait to use this and the goodies that came along with it!! Thanks Rebecca!!



Ok I'm off to celebrate St. Patricks Day with the rest of Chicago!! Slainte!

FQ Swaps

I found two fat quarter swaps to join, sewmamasew and Stitches and Scissors, and managed to convince my crafty partner in crime to join in as well. I have 5 people that I am paired up with and Heather and I worked on our packages yesterday during a snowy windy day. Here is what we came up with: our chosen fat quarters, a chocolate lolly from a Wilton kit we impulsively purchased from Joanns (haha), some ribbon, and a homemade card. These are cutouts I have used before for cards and I also made a larger one to frame for my apartment. There is a second half that can be used along with the left side which includes the Hancock Center and other buildings on the northern side of the Chicago River. We used some Amy Butler paper and some other paper from a sweets paper collection. I think they look really incredible if I do say so myself...I hope my partners really love their packages. I can't wait to get mine in the mail (who doesn't like getting mail?).

On Friday night we celebrated Heather's boyfriend Nate's birthday, the big 26. She made a fantastic dinner per usual, and as a really special treat she made two cakes. A cheesecake for Nate, and a Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass frosted chocolate cake for me. See, FLW (as we affectionately refer to him) was my first introduction to the study of architecture, the idea that someone could create buildings that would be considered art. My friends here in Chicago have taken a few trips to various FLW attractions in and around Chicago, from Oak Park to Taliesin. Hence, the conception of my FLW cake. Here is the pic from Friday, it made me sad to eat, and I tried to forbid anyone from touching it, unfortunately that wasn't a popular order. So it was cut into and it was an amazing cake. I can't thank Heather enough, and all my great friends here in the windy city, really I am so lucky to have such supportive friends, and it makes me feel so loved that they want me to stay here for architecture school!! Cakes are definitely a good bribe.

My Therapy

I don't want to spend much time venting about things in my life that aren't going well. Thats not why I started this blog. But, I did start this blog and my etsy store and all my recent craft projects for the sole purpose of comfort, distraction, and confidence. I have had a pretty rough 12 months, yes a whole year, but this past summer I realized that I wanted to DO something about it. To start feeling better.

I started an Introduction to Drawing Class through the Continuing Education department at the SAIC in September. It was incredible. My professor, Ross, taught me to be confident enough to draw what I see in my head and all around me. I can't tell you how amazing it was. This helped to push me to apply to architecture school by getting one of the hardest parts of the application, the portfolio, on its way. I started Carson.J Designs around that time to give me a "reason" to make the jewelery I've been creating for forever. I rather quickly lost interest out of frustration and discouragement. I would still feel periods of sadness and loss, especially as I live alone, but the drawing and jewelery making really made me happy. It allowed me to focus on something outside of the pain in my heart and create something worthwhile.

Then in October I was given the perfect reason to bring out the sewing machine, a new baby on the way! My friends told me they were having their first child, a girl, in March and I quickly leaped to the cause and began work on the quilt. These friends, while far away now, mean alot to me, and I like to show people my gratitude, respect, and love by making things for them. What began as a smallish quilt project,quickly expanded into a full on fabric obsession (I have only recently discovered the amazing designer fabric out there) and a sewing project mission. This was it for me. I really began to pull myself out of the hole I had been in and get back into my groove.

I think about what to make, how to make it, all day, and even to put me to sleep and it soothes me. Relaxes, distracts, and comforts me. I am so grateful and fortunate to have the ability, or at least the desire to "create". It has been the most potent therapy, besides my nightly mug of Sleepytime or Tension Tamer tea. Thank you.
-love, j

Sunny Saturday

I took the first sunny day in awhile to take a few pictures to share. The first one is of a small stack of my fabric stash. These are all recent purchases of fat quarters from across Etsy. Floragraphix is my FAVORITE of them all, but there are some Amy Butlers in there and Patricia Bravo. My original plan was to make lots of laptop cozies but I havent gotten around to it. Some day soon I will get a little push I hope!!
The one on the right is a fabric jewelery pouch I made to give my friend Ruthie for the big 2-5 tomorrow. She shares her birthday with the Super Bowl, how uhhhh exciting? Or really just a reason for us to give her a little party without her knowing. There is a little treat tucked inside the pouch. I made it out of Heather Ross Mendocino fabrics I had leftover from the baby quilt I just made. We are also making cupcakes so I thought that cute cupcake toppers would be the perfect accompaniment. I just used some images of the Mendocino line and now all I have to do is find my paper cutter and put them on some toothpicks. Im going to use a cupcake idea from blempgorf and I will let you all know how it goes. Happy sunny Saturday from chilly Chicagoland!

Design Disgust?

So I am working on the quilt I mentioned in the last post. As you may be able to tell it is made up of different shades of purple and grey. Well, I don't know if anyone has noticed but there is like ZERO grey fabric floating around out there. I only found two shades of grey at my local Joanns, both different weights and had to order a third (which seems to be a silly waste of money). I went looking for more yardage of the darker grey today and it was nowhere to be found. UGH. I also just want grey striped fabric for the binding!! Why can't anyone carry grey striped fabric!?! I am seriously doubting this project, despite the top pretty much being finished.

Fabric Baskets

I found this tutorial on MissBehave's blog and had to try it out. I have a teeny tiny little studio apartment and it seems like all my things are always being knocked off of shelves and tables. Heather and I bought some fabric last weekend at the Vogue Fabrics in Evanston to make the big boxes, but after I found that great fabric yesterday at Joanns I wanted to make something smaller for my bathroom. My little Elnita sewing machine had a hard time at the end sewing through two layers of heavy heavy stabilizer plus home dec weight fabric and cotton fabric so I just hand sewed the corners where there was the most bulk. I wish I could just zoom through all the layers but my sewing machine does what it can and I do love it!! I can handle a little hand stitching on a Friday night. Besides that the little box turned out GREAT! It was exactly what I needed in my bathroom and it is currently storing all my day to day makeup and tools.