7 pondering fabric choices.

Just another pretty stack of fabric today, sorry for the lack of exciting content around here lately!  The last couple weeks have been packed full and I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit next week, and making something out of this stack just for fun.  Well, technically it's for a belated birthday gift for my sister really, but it counts as fun since it is exactly what I feel like making right now.  Thankfully my sister Gaby and I have very similar styles when it comes to colors and prints.

I posted this fabric pull on Instagram today and Anna commented that the colors we such "Holly" colors.  I do agree that this stack is very "me", but I don't really know why!  This is not the first time I've heard that and I think it's funny how everyone else can define things that are "me" so much easier than I can!  Is it the brights plus black and white combo that makes it "me"?  The text plus geometric print combination?  The addition of those pink-ish purples?  I do seem to add those to just about everything lately.

All I know is, if I could make a career out of just coming up with color combos and fabric stacks, I would be the happiest person on the planet!  Anyone want to hire me? :)

14 Quiltcon bound and some things you may not know about me.

As you read this, I am headed off to Austin for Quiltcon!  I am seriously excited and yet, always nervous for these types of events for some reason.  Being mostly an introvert makes things like this a little overwhelming for me.  I'm sure some of you can relate?

The Modern Quilt Guild is encouraging everyone to post a picture of themselves to put a face to the blog to make it easier to meet in person, and I am late to the party but still wanted to share, so this is me.

And just for fun, here are five things you may not know about me:
|  One  |
By day, I am a biomedical engineer.  I work for a medical device company doing usability/human factors testing and user interface design, and am lucky enough to work from home most of the time!  I do have a cube in our Boston-area office though and have to show my face there once a month or so :)

|  Two  |
I have three wonderful sisters, and each of us are a little over 5 years apart in age (17, 23, 29 and 34).  We are all in different places in our lives and our personalities are all completely opposite, but thankfully we still get along really well for the most part!

|  Three  |
My husband and I met in high school.  I spent a portion of my junior year trying to set him up with one of my best friends for some reason, but thankfully neither of them was very interested in the other :)  We've been together for 12 years now, and married for 3.5.

|  Four  |
I am very picky about the types of meat that I'll eat.  I can't even swallow a piece of steak because of the texture (it feels like I'm eating muscle, which I suppose is true!).  I am in love with vegetables though, and I've never met a vegetable I didn't like (other than green beans...ick!).

|  Five  |
You will probably never see me in public without a scarf or a necklace on.  They're my wardrobe security blankets!

and a bonus  |  Six  |
I never considered myself a creative person until a few years ago, and I still have a hard time defining myself as a designer/quilter/blogger/etc.  For the most part, I don't believe that creativity is something you are born with, I think it is something that is learned just like science or math.  The more time you spend doing creative things, the easier it becomes and the more you improve, just like with anything else in life.

Now that I've gone all philosophical on you, I think it's time to end this list!  If you see me at Quiltcon, please say hi!  I am terrible at approaching others but I really do want to meet you :)

15 weekend reflections.

The weekend sewing retreat in Atlanta was so amazing!  Spending time with friends, sewing, and shopping.  Chatting about sewing, fabric and blogging, learning more about each other, and eating lots of good food!  And of course, creating beautiful things.

 My triangles ready to be sewn into pairs.

 Jacey's scraps.

 Nicke's scraps.

 Rachel's scraps.

Maureen's blogger bundle.

Nicke sewing, Ara Jane pressing.

Amanda's Quilting Modern project. 

 Nicke's improv chevrons in process.

 Jacey's cross stitch in progress.

 Rachel's log cabins.

 Triangle progress.

Jessica's + and x blocks.

 Jacey's Pow Wow progress.

 Ara Jane's 241 Tote.

More triangles.

 Rachel sewing.

 Amanda sewing.

 Maureen planning her next block.

 Jessica pressing.

 Rachel's coin quilt progress.

 Amanda making more strips.

 Jacey's prairie braid.

Amanda's strips coming together.

 Jessica's finished quilt top.

Nicke's pinwheel block.

Maureen's quilt blocks.

I think it's safe to say we got a lot of sewing done this weekend!  I left yesterday feeling refreshed, happy, and inspired.  So many wonderful and creative people all in one house!  It was so nice to spend time with like-minded friends, each of us so different yet with so much in common.  More to come this week, including a stop at Whipstitch, dinner with a few special visitors, and some yummy recipes.

10 productivity.

I've been pretty productive lately when it comes to sewing.  I don't know what's gotten into me but I am so determined to finish up all the projects that have been pushed aside for so long.  Whatever it is, I like it!  It feels so good to check things off the list of remaining WIPs.  You can tell by the state of my sewing room that I've been doing a lot of making lately (and umm...not a lot of cleaning)!

I definitely need another system to sort my scraps.  This basket always seems to be overflowing no matter how much I try to use them up!

I finished the top of this puzzle quilt this week.  I gave this to my husband for our anniversary in September, which is embarrassing to admit.  Thankfully he doesn't mind waiting.

 I just need to figure out what to back it with so I can finish it now!

I've also got two quilts with binding attached to the front, just waiting for a little TV time to stitch it to the back, along with about a million other things going on!  Hopefully this productivity thing lasts a little longer :)

9 this week.

As usual, I took a lot of instagram pictures this week!  Here's a little summary.

I spent last weekend in Appleton for my sister's dance competition.  We shopped, ate Mexican food and drank margaritas, and watched a whole lot of dancing.  My sister's team did amazingly well and won a ton of awards.

My husband bought me flowers this week!  He's so sweet.

I found this picture of us at about 17, we look so young here!  So happy that we had the chance to grow up together.

I painted my nails a bright coral color (Rimmel Sunset Orange) this week, the pop of color makes me happy every time I look at my hands.

We made some delicious dinners this week, including homemade pizzas (the crust was so good!)

 and pasta with lemon garlic butter sauce and prosciutto wrapped asparagus.  Yum!

Progress is being made on our master bathroom, so maybe our bedroom won't look like this for too much longer!

 We're almost finished waterproofing the shower, and then we can start installing tile!

I've been working on my herringbone cowl at night.  I'm  not enjoying the process as much as I did with the honey cowls, but I know I'll love it when it's finished.

 I finished quilting this quilt last night!  I'll share proper pictures next week when it's finished.

We bought a new rug for the guest bedroom!  I love the pattern and the fact that it was on clearance.

I found two cute things while thrifting today, this awesome small metal globe and a milkglass vase (and yes, I already own two of this exact vase!).  I just can't get enough of the geometric shape of the bottom.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

4 happy 2012.

I'm a few days behind but happy 2012! I hope you all had a wonderful time during the holidays. I've been on vacation since December 20th, so it's a little sad to go back to work today. Here's a little taste of what I did with my time off...

Turned 28.

 Finished Christmas shopping and wrapping.

Visited with friends and family.

Attended and hosted a few Christmas parties.

Ate (way too much) good food.

Started our master bathroom renovation.

Rang in the New Year (with sparkly nail polish, of course!).

Read a couple books (The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, this series is amazing).

Did a little sewing...

 knitting...

 and quilting.

So that was my time off in a nutshell, mostly through Instagram pictures.  My username is bijoulovely in case you want to follow me there.