a new addition to my camera bag.

My camera and I are very excited to have ordered a new lens tonight!  This one to be exact.

(source)

I spent a lot of time researching lenses during the past month and kept coming back to this one.  I'm hoping it will allow me to take decent pictures of my projects, even at night.  Lately I've been having to wait until my lunch hour or the weekend to take pictures of things for this blog, and that doesn't work for tutorials when I'm doing all the steps at night!  I hate using flash so hopefully this will be a good solution for me.  I've been learning a lot more about photography lately and I'm finding myself wanting to take more and more pictures to practice.  It's kind of fun shooting in manual mode and seeing how the pictures change while adjusting the settings. I can't wait to play with my new lens!  I'm praying for fast shipping.

my first quilt: the fabric.

These pretty fabrics are currently occupying my sewing table, all washed and ready to be turned into my very first quilt!

I'll be posting my progress very soon, as I've only given myself two weeks to make it!  What can I say, I live for deadlines :)

lovely designs: the (original) ruffled wasp bag.

After a whole month of guest blogging at Presser Foot, my ruffled wasp bag is finally finished.  If you're sewing along, go here to learn how to put it all together.  

Which bag is your favorite?  The black and yellow floral?  Or the linen and gray?

lovely designs: linen + gray + ruffles.

Remember how much I liked the linen and gray corduroy combination from this project?  Well here's my original take on that fabric combo.

I had so much fun making the ruffled wasp bag for Presser Foot this month that I made two of them!  I lined it with a melon colored flannel for a little punch of color. 

 I love this bag so much, I didn't want to part with it.  But alas, birthdays call.  Hopefully the recipient likes it as much as I do...

The original ruffled wasp bag should be up on Presser Foot tomorrow.  I'll reveal the result as soon as it's posted.

presser foot - pockets and prep

My month of guest blogging at Presser Foot is almost over.  Can you believe it's almost February?  My post on pockets and assembly prep is up.  You want to learn how to make purse pockets, don't you?  If so, go here!  It won't be much longer until the final purse is revealed.

lovely designs: a new project.

Lately I've been coming across a lot of quilt patterns that I really want to try.  Granted, I've never sewn a quilt in my life, but why not start now?  I came across this cathedral window quilt tutorial last week and loved the design so much I just had to try it.  Bonus that it doesn't require quilting the entire thing at the end, because I don't know how to make the pretty patterns that free form quilters make on their quilts.  Not so much of a bonus-- it took me a good four hours to make these four blocks and put them together (after a practice run that definitely did not deserve a place in this post).  

Do I have the patience to make an entire quilt?  I seriously doubt it.  But it would make for a pretty awesome pillowcase!  And can I tell you how obsessed I am with putting linen and gray corduroy together?  Another project using these fabrics is coming up soon!

presser foot - ruffled handles.

The next post in my ruffled wasp bag tutorial is up on Presser Foot.  If you're sewing along, go check it out!