I have had the same stocking since I was born. It is very detailed with a mohair bearded Santa and my name stitched into the top. It was a beautiful work of art but time has not been kind to it. Years of crayons and cinnamon bears have stretched the yarn and it seems that moths have been snacking indiscriminately.

Please disregard the bangs, it’s my understanding that they were the result of a few minutes left to my own devices behind the rocking chair.

So it was time to find a new place for Santa to hide his treats. And since all the stockings have to match everyone got a new one! Which is especially nice for Matt since he had been using an actual sock. My knitting skills are pretty basic, I know how to caste on, so recreating an elaborate santa with a hat and bells was out of the question. I choose felt as my medium, cut some snowflakes, added a few polka dots and a quick run through the sewing machine and this was the result…

I was so happy with the finished product that I thought this year everyone could use a cute new felt stocking and have listed them in my Etsy shop!

I have a pretty strict rule that I do not turn on the oven in the summer, especially this summer. So we have been pretty light on baked goods around here, sure there were the occasional spoon cookies (no bake cookies) and plenty of ice-cream to go around but no cakes or cookies or pies. This is a little sad given all the wonderful summer berries but I am not willing to roast for pie, even warm bubbly blackberry peach pie.

However the wonderful mood enhancing fall weather has arrived and with it came the desire to bake. It just so happened a coworker was celebrating their birthday last week and I used it as an excuse to whip up an apple pie.

I admit I was a little rusty, the crust a little thicker then I like, but minimal swearing during the process. I used the Cook’s Illustrated No Fail pie crust, the one with vodka, and loosely followed their basic apple pie recipe. It went over well, just a small sliver made it’s way back home for Matt.

So here is to pie season.Orchard season. And weather that doesn’t hurt!

And since we’re talking about seasons I suppose we could talk about the holiday season. For once I actually got my act together and made stockings. A few are at Made and hopefully I will get some listed in my shop this week.

So with the name came the new site, new business cards, new labels and a pretty new stamp! I knew that I wanted the new logo on all these items in some form but it took quite a bit of trial and error I found the look I wanted.

The business cards were fairly straight forward once I decided to orientate them vertically instead of horizontally. The real drama came when I tried to get them printed. I really wanted to go with an Etsy vendor, but struck out on a number of attempts. Then I was in a time crunch and went with an office box store and it was a disaster. The printing was not evenly spaced, the ink was the wrong color, the paper was too flimsy and the edges on 1/3 of the cards looked as though they had been smacked with a hammer. Finally I went to a local store, that aside from their inconvenient hours, was amazing. The people were friendly and easy to work with, even though my order was probably their smallest to date.

For the labels the problem was not the vendor, I knew that I would go with JenniferJewels, I have used her in the past and am always thrilled with her work. The hang up was the design because the sky is the limit with Jennifer. She can do any size or color, you can choose sew in or iron on. Once I inverted the design the rest was just tweaking the proportions and sizing.

The stamp was something new this time around. I had previously gone with a customized embossing plate, but it was a little limiting and cumbersome. This time around I decided to have a rubber stamp made. I went though the same shop that made my business cards and once I brush up on my inking skills it will be perfect!

This store has been on my radar for a few weeks, but I just hadn’t had the chance to make a trip to Kansas City to check it out. Now that I have I think I need to go once a week just to make sure there is nothing new I need.

While the website looks a little sketchy and the stores location leaves a bit to be desired, unless you have a craving for butter laden Fazoli’s breadsticks, I can assure you that a trip is well worth your while. A side note for those in the area that might be planning a trip, there are TWO Metcalf Avenues that run parallel to each other, you want to take the Eastern one, trust me.

But back to the business at hand. I did not see a fabric over $7.99 a yard. And they had hundreds of bolts of decorator fabric, in any color/print imaginable, including some patterns I have seen recently in local shops. The real bargain came from the clearance fabrics which were $2.00 a yard. Yes $2 for 1944 square inches of fabric, that makes each square inch of fabric .001 cents, they are basically giving it away.

I did show some restraint and only purchased 9 yards. Five of which I am hoping inspire me to finish decorating the bedroom. I am unsure of what I will do with all the fabrics but I’m sure i will find a project or two to start.

So while it may seem that I vanished into the abyss I assure that I have been here. Not doing quite as much quilting/sewing/baking as I would like, but still here. And speaking of here, here is a new place. For those of you looking for me at Food Fabric & Paper you were redirected here, to this lovely spot in the internet configured with much patience and Boulevard Wheat by Matt.

Among the things I have been doing and failing to share with you has been my foray into the retail business of downtown Lawrence. An adorable shop opened a few months ago called Made. It’s filled with 100% handmade things, a brick and mortar Etsy if you will. A friend of mine convinced me to take some of my wears down a few weeks ago and today I dropped off my first order of iPad2 and Kindle sleeves! I’ve been selling things online for a few years, but somehow the idea of them being a an actual store makes me giddy.

So if you happen to be in the Lawrence area take a stroll downtown, not a long one though you might collapse from heat exhaustion, and pop into Made, I’m sure you’ll find at least 4 things you can’t possibly live without.

I suppose we could move through the pleasantries of ‘how are you’ and ‘where in the world did you go for a good portion of 2010′ but I think it’s best to just jump right back in.

That being said Santa was especially impressed by my behavior this year as evidenced by this beauty…

A Viking 6440.

For those keeping track at home I have sewn my way through three previous machines. They were great little machines but seemed to only last a year before I was headed back to Target for another. I was in the market for a better machine but was unimpressed with the current variety on the market. I knew I didn’t want a plastic, I didn’t want a bunch of computerized nonsense and it couldn’t cost a fortune. Which led me to the world of refurbished machines. And with a little collaboration and some impressive eBay maneuvering this 26lb work of art was tucked under the tree for me on Christmas morning. Yes I did say twenty-six pounds, I am considering a pulley system for when I need to move it.

I have yet to try out all the bells and whistles but I have managed to find my way to a straight stitch. Which is handy because some nice boy gave me a Kindle for Christmas, which fits nicely in my purse but it was in desperate need of a barrier between it and the things that live in the bottom of my purse. (On a semi related note how does all that stuff make its way into my purse? I swear there are receipts from five years ago and enough crumbs to live on for a month, even though I cleaned it out last week.) So after a little pep talk I plugged it in. And it was amazing. I was able to whip of this adorable sleeve and a few others for the etsy shop in an afternoon, with not one tear shed or exasperated sigh released.

I was also able to finish a quilt for an adorable little girl who may have been born back in April. I have decided to call it an early birthday present.

I have been waiting for today since Monday, at about 8:32am. Not for any reason in particular, just for the weekend and its lack of expectations.

Today began with muffins. Warm and sweet with the perfect crumb and a burst of tart blueberry. I started with a recipe from Smitten Kitchen, one that she readily admits tinkering with and added a few of my own alterations. The original recipe was for bread, but as we all know ‘quick breads’ just don’t cut it in the morning when you have a hankering for warm homemade bread, now. So I took the recipe found here, added a handful of fresh blueberries dusted in flour so they wouldn’t sink to the bottom, and topped them with a toasted pecan streusel.

I knew the baking time and temperature would need to be different for muffins and because I like instant gratification if at all possible I opted to bake them at 450 degrees for 8 minutes and then 400 degrees for 5. They turned out a little dry around the edges and stuck to the paper liners a bit, but they were pretty darn wonderful. Especially when paired with a warm cup of coffee! Which I have recently learned is amazing black, sans a drop cream or grain sugar.

Streusel

1 T cold butter
1 T flour
1/4 cup-ish of brown sugar
some cinnamon
some toasted, chopped pecans or not
This made enough to top a dozen muffins, but I could have used a little more top the last few muffins

In other news I did finish the Jungle Circles quilt AND the Spider-web quilt, and put them in my Etsy shop. But then they sold. Within a day of being there. I admit I was sad to see them go so quickly but they are off to a good home. And it means I should really get working on all those WIPS (works in progress) that are stacked on the shelves in varying states of completion.

One of those WIPS features robots and space, which makes me think I might have to tear if from Matts hands when it’s finished. I hope to add it to the shop by Monday, but we’ll see, there is Jayhawk basketball on today! When I was debating on fabric for the back of the robot quilt I came across this WONDERFUL Denise Schmidt stripe. Which was sitting right next to these little green sprouts from Jessica Levitt. They screamed spring to me, which for anyone else in the midwest or the eastern seaboard for that matter can’t come soon enough!

So I have been playing around with the idea of curves for awhile. But they are scary. After an in depth discussion weighing the merits of hand appliquéing versus piecing I decided to give appliquéing a try. I even did a trial run, with ugly fabric so I didn’t waste any of my pretty prints! It came together pretty quickly, I had the top done in a weekend. I have not quilted it yet. Something about thread, you know the stuff they always ask you if you need when you are settling up your bill. If all goes well it should be done and in the etsy shop this weekend.

The Alexander Henry 2D Zoo print was my jumping off point but I think my favorite is the backing. I found it hiding on a bottom shelf and the colors could not be a better match! I love when you can pull fabrics from multiple designers, lines and possibly decades and create a beautiful one of a kind quilt!

You would think that since I haven’t posted to awhile “ahem” that I would be brimming with new sewing projects, failed cooking attempts and anecdotes but it’s been fairly quiet around here. There was the predictable pandemonium with cake project and the usual chaos that accompanies the holidays but now were’re getting our ducks back in a row. And hunting through drawers and cabinets for all the long-underwear and down blankets we can find as the temperatures this week are not supposed to break 20 degrees. Yes I said TWENTY and no we did not move to the Yukon a since we last spoke.

Ben & Martha’s wedding was wonderful and uniquely them. Who else would think to have a sing a-long? But I was bad and didn’t drag out the camera to photograph the fruits of my labor. Luckily the photographer, Jennifer Wetzel, came to the rescue and snapped a couple shots, I hope she got a cupcake before she left!

Christmas was wonderful. Lots of family and lovely gifts and some good ole’ wood cuttin’. I received the cookbook All Cakes Considered and am pouring over it every chance I get. Its author is a producer on NPR and her quips and tips As to be expected of a book authored by an NPR producer the writing rivals the recipes. I did manage to get one handmade gift delivered on time this year. Which for those keeping track is progress. My dear Aunt Lulu needed a lap quilt and Sarah’s just happened to have some fabrics right up her alley! I think it will be put to good use this week.

Matt & I are experiencing the last bit of Christmas tomorrow night at Krause Dining. But more about that after we have indulged our palettes.

All’s pretty quiet around here. Trying to get back into a groove and maybe even be a little productive!

I have a finished quilt to post about but I couldn’t wait to share my newest project.

The inspiration came from a quilt Ashley over at Film in the Fridge made. I have been wanting to make a black and white quilt for sometime but I just couldn’t decide how I wanted to lay it out so there wasn’t too much white space. When I saw her quilt and read her amazing tutorial I knew knew I had to try it.

I still need to sew the blocks together and then add some sashing… and quilt… and bind…