February 27, 2011

Mid- Atlantic Quilt Festival - aka. Road Trip!

Yesterday some friends and I road tripped it to the Mid- Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton Virginia.  We saw some amazing quilts on display...









We ate yummy food- Krispy Kreme, Cracker Barrel & Pierce's BBQ.  And of course bought some fun fabric to add to the stash...





I also totally splurged to buy my very first design wall! It is collapsible and totally easy to assemble.  If you don't have one yet I recommend this one.


Did anyone else have a chance to go?  
Take care mucho,
-Natalie 

February 25, 2011

DC Modern is a little more official :)

As many of you know that I started the DC Modern Quilt Guild a little over a year now.  I really have loved that I started this adventure because I have met so many wonderful people that constantly keep me motivated in creating more and more each day.  We are so lucky to have such a diverse group of quilters with many other talents besides just quilting.  Insung Kim was so nice to volunteer to create a logo for us...

Doesn't it look awesome!  And to make matters even better I printed them up into business cards so that we can have membership cards.  When I returned from my impromptu trip I found them waiting for me on the dinning room table.  It brought a smile to my face.  For those of you in DC Modern reading this you have these to look forward to at our next meeting!



This weekend is the Mid Atlantic Quilt Festival in Hampton, VA.  Luckily that is only about 3 hrs away so a group of friends of mine from DC Modern are carpooling for a little road trip.  Since I have been all about our fun new logo I have decided to make a bag to show it off.  So far this is what it is looking like... 

Those of you from DC Modern that are going as well, please look out.  I would love to see you all there.  So fun!


Take care mucho,
-Natalie

February 24, 2011

Impromptu trip...

So I have been MIA for the past few days because I had to take an impromptu trip to Ecuador.  My mom got some bad news, that my grandmother passed away.  I feel as though life is just way too much sometimes.  The one good thing that comes out of something like this is that everyone is able to get together.  We all got together in Guayaquil, Ecuador where my mom is from.  It was so nice that quite a few of us were able to make the long trip there.  I can't even remember the last time so many of us got together.

I was also very happy when my aunt, who was the one to take care of my grandparents ever since I can remember, let me take with me one of her shirts that I remember fondly as a kid. 

It was my mothers and then was passed on to my grandmother.  I am looking forward to creating a fun quilt out of it so that I can wrap it around me and remember all the great memories I had with my grandma.  I love the numerous memories a simple quilt can hold. 

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

February 15, 2011

Eye Candy...

My Japanese fabric shopping spree in pictures....
 oil cloth

 misc. yummy-ness!
 Oh, echino how I do love thee!  the bottom one is a nylon (umbrella-like) fabric... awesome!


 The most amazing fabric store in Tokyo.  A must see and buy, buy, buy for anyone visiting.  I had quite a few of these bags :)

 more echino... are you really that surprised :)

 A little Heather Ross for Kokka

 some really soft terry cloth and a little more Heather Ross...

 a few solids.... at such a great price I couldn't resist!

 just cute finds!

 and here they all are lined up all nice in their basket ready to be made into something!


Look out for a few of these for sale because I think I went a little nuts and wont be able to have enough time to create with all these wonderful finds.  So I figure I should share the wealth, right?  Feel free to write me if there is something you absolutely love because you can have first dibs :)

Take care mucho,
-Natalie

February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

Hope everyone is feeling the love today!

 This is a Valentine I received from one of my students.  Sorry for the awful picture :( it was taken with my phone camera, which isn't the best.  She melted crayons into a heart shaped mold and stuck a little note that reads "You melt my heart!".   SO cute and totally brilliant for an art teacher!

Sending all my wonderful blog friends lots of love today!
take care mucho,
-Natalie

February 7, 2011

Infant Mittens


I haven't gotten my act together to share with you my loads of fabric that I bought while on my wonderful Japan trip, but I do have a fun small project I have been working on getting posted that is finally done :)

My friends little Sophia came into this world just a little earlier than expected.  She was a tiny cute little thing born in the middle of winter.  I knew she needed mittens that would fit her just right to keep those cute little fingers warm.  I grabbed my double pointed knitting needles and went to town.  

 

I kinda made it up as I went along but I wrote down what I did so that I could make two matching mittens.  If you are interested in making a pair for a little one in your life I wrote down the "pattern" below. 

Take care mucho,
-Natalie



Newborn Hand Warmers
Materials:

Left over sock weight yarn
Size 5 double pointed needles


CO 32 sts distribute them among 3 dpn’s
k2, p2 ribbing all around
con’t in ribbing pattern until piece measures ¾ inches from CO edge
Next row: *k2, yo, k2tog* repeat all around
k all around until piece measures 2 inches form CO edge
Next row: *K4, k2tog* reapeat all around
Next row: k
Next row: *k3, k2tog* repeat all around
Next row: k
Next row: * k2, k2tog* repeat all around
Next row: k
Next row: * k1, k2tog* repeat all around
Next row: k
Next row: k2tog all around
Cut leaving at least a 6in. tail. 
Using a tapestry needle pull tail through the remaining loops.  Pull tight and make a knot. 
Weave in ends

Add a 4 inch long piece of thin elastic.  Weave through the holes made above the ribbing.  Hand sew elastic ends together. 

Repeat the whole process to create the second one and then your DONE!

February 1, 2011

Konichiwa!

I'm back from Japan!  
And it was AMAZING.  
You probably didn't even know that I left because things got a little crazy the days before leaving.   I had a fun Sayonara post started to fill you all in on the great adventures, but it never got published :(

Anyway I went and I am now back loving the Japanese people even more than I did before.  
It was my first trip and hopefully not my last.  My husband, who is half Japanese, was the best tour guide, and even better translator, that anyone could have. 

We ended up visiting Tokyo, Kyoto and the magnificent Mt. Fuji.  It was quite a lot to do in just 8 days, our trip was cut a day short because our flight their was interesting to say the least.  A long story short our flight that was supposed to take off on Saturday afternoon was pushed way off to 8 am Sunday only to do an emergency stop in Anchorage, Alaska because there was a medical issue on board.  After all that we did manage to finally get to our final destination.  

  I of course had to take advantage with the little time (only 2 days instead of our 3 in Tokyo) and may have gone a little nuts at Nappori (their fabric district).  That is a whole other wonderful post filled with lovely eye candy (for those fabric loving friends).  

Here are a few highlights of the trip in picture form, enjoy...








Oh Japan I hope we meet again soon!

take care mucho,
-Natalie