my blogging is moving over to apriltwoeighty. its becoming increasingly more difficult for me to blog in two places at once, so i am combining my sewing/inspiration blog with my personal/decor blog. please please follow me over there if you follow me here, as this one will no longer be used!!
xo

jennifer over @ madebygirl posted about our apartment this week :) you'll get to see the photos that my amazingly talented friend jessica weiser took for me. eventually i will be putting up a whole slew of them (that didn't make it into jenn's blog) into a website for my home decorating business - my schooling is going really well so far and i'm enjoying it so much! the program is challenging but also interesting. (i tend to blog more about that over at my personal blog. follow me there, too, if you'd like!)

i'll be spending my free time this weekend working on two custom orders. they've both been cut out and i'm in the beginning stages of the sewing parts of each. one will probably come along faster than the other, so that is the one i'm focusing most on this weekend.

the top blue fabrics are for a baby who has yet to be born. i'll be doing a 9-patch quilt with two matching pillows. the bottom car/truck fabrics are for a little boy who is four and loves anything with an engine! (that is the one i'll be working on mostly this weekend.)

snowball quilt;

i tried a new pattern today, and it was much easier than i expected! i actually made the blocks smaller than the pattern called for, so it was a little different, but it still came out well. i used fabrics from the "figgy pudding" line, can't believe its almost time for holiday decorations! (well, kind of ;))

you can see the finished product with info etc, in the shop!

i definitely want to make a larger quilt using this pattern (and the larger 8" blocks that the pattern called for) for myself at some point - maybe one with all of my flea market fancy fabrics, and another one using my heather ross/munki fabrics!

tiny art mini quilts.

new in the shop!!

i'm so excited to introduce a new selection of
mini (and i mean, so tiny!) art quilts!
the smallest one is only 8x8" <3
more on the way, but for now, check them out!

de-stash.

over @ my destash shop: brand new scrap bags! lots of colors, awesome fabrics from some of my favorite designers! if you love little treasures & fabrics, you'll want one. or maybe you know a friend who'd like one, too! :)

Etsy Buy Handmade littledestash

(all proceeds are going into our cruise fund. just ten more weeks til we go!)

brand new for fall!

check out the new Echino "Chelsea" pillow
in the shop!

once i can get around to it, i'll be heading to the store for some new quilt batting and some pillow forms, to stock up for fall/winter. i'm doing two custom projects this fall (a car/truck quilt for a 4 year old boy, and a new baby's nursery quilt and two matching pillows), but still hope to get some new items up in the shop when i can. i have a Heather Ross Far Far Away quilt in the works right now (blocks are sewn up), and about five or six others planned out awaiting their turns (little red riding hood themed, heather bailey's fresh cut, and erin michael's lush ...to name a few!). so stick around. schoolwork & the custom work will be at the top of the list, but i can't wait to create some new things to share with everyone!

END OF SUMMER SALE!!!!

EVERYTHING in my shop has been marked down for our END OF SUMMER SALE!! its for a limited time only, so be sure to take a look :)


also, i've started a more personal blog over @ apriltwoeighty. you're welcome to follow me over there if you are interested in my more day-to-day life :)

another one!

another new quilt in the shop!

new in the shop(s)!!

i managed to finish up my little kawaii quilt last night, i seriously can't stand how cute the fabrics are! and i love the wonderland fabric for the backing <3 the quilt is for sale in my littlelegwarmers shop.




meanwhile, there are a few new listings over at my destash shop:

weekend.

this is such a beautiful weekend here.. and i'm loving it so far! last night we went to a beautiful nighttime wedding <3 this morning we got up and went to the beach, then did a little sightseeing. this afternoon i worked on spraypainting some more frames for our bedroom (photos to come eventually...still waiting to hear back from our landlady if we can paint the room or not), and tonight i'm going to work on some sewing for my shop. but for now, until i have some real projects to show you, here are some photos from our recent adventures :)

weekend in the sun.

pat and i made sure to enjoy most of the sunny day yesterday, with a trip to portland headlight.. sat out on the cliffs and the beach! i love maine summers <3

2 new quilts.

up in shop!
loving the orange/blue/brown color combo!



working a bunch more... reds/turqoise.. neptune collection.. red/green.. yellow.. midwest modern II... (if i can find the time to sew in the next few weeks!!)

goals!

i very rarely write such personal entries as this, but i find its nice to share from time to time things that may be related to my sewing business, or just life in general. you never know who may be going through something very similar or who may have some great advice or opinions! please please feel free to share!


as the summer is dwindling on and is more than half over (i can't believe it! we've barely had a summer this year as far as weather goes..), i find myself getting ready to make my goals for the upcoming year. my boyfriend starts his school year in about a month, he's in the process of getting his second bachelor's degree (has one in biology) in engineering); i've been graduated from college for almost five years now (my original degree in sociology). we both work full time at the hospital, and although our jobs are getting us by, neither of us completely enjoy what we're doing, and hope to move up to bigger and better things.... and we're both trying to get on our paths for the future (which will hopefully include buying a house).


some of my goals for the next year include:

* continuing to work on paying down my credit card debt (which i had racked up living on my own for the first three+ years) - i have a tendancy to do really well and pay off a bunch, and then slip back and add to it. i've since cut up all but two of my cards, and have a running tally of what i owe where. it can be frustrating not having large lump sums to put towards paying each bill at a time, and resorting most times to paying only the minimum monthly balance.

* i have recently decided to open a destash fabric shop on etsy to try to sell though some of the fabric i have stashed in my studio that i may not want to use as readily. a great way to make space, and a little money! i have always liked to share fabrics with friends and others who may love to sew as much as i do. it has given me an oppurtunity tmae room for some fabrics i've been looking to collect, and also to put some money into my savings a tiny bit at a time (it all adds up). in conjunction with this, i have decided to do my best not to buy any more fabric, unless absolutely necessary (batting, backing fabrics, and sashing fabrics are not included in this, as i tend to need more of those with each project!) - i have a great stash of fabrics, and plenty to work with for the time being!

* i have a big goal to actually try to sew more! a couple of years ago, when i was working retail, my schedule was a bit more condusive to having my second job of sewing. now that i work a regular 9-5, i find when i get home from the OR i am often times completely unmotivated to sew and really just want to put my feet up on the sofa infront of HGTV or Food Network ;) ...so, my goal, starting this week, is to schedule myself for a couple hours at least a couple of nights a week up in my studio. after the last holidays, my shop was dramatically (and happily) depleated of quilts. sooooo, i need to bulk back up! i have a tendancy to start a bunch of projects and never finish them -- so i'm going to start with some of those unfinished projects and get them up on etsy. then, i have a whole bunch of projects i am dying to start! and as usual, i'll keep things updated here with works in progress and finished items!

* my biggest goal is to hopefully go back to school next fall. i'm not ready for this school year, as i still have some planning to do and funds to find ;) but i am hoping for an online bachelor's program (that will make two of us with two degrees each!) in interior design. i have had a love of interior design since i was a teenager -- i always used to rearrange my bedroom much to my mom's chagrin, and my college dorm rooms were always way more organized and coordinated and decorated than my friends' rooms. i have had so much fun living in apartments being able to design my spaces, and most of the time on a very limited budget. most importantly, if i cannot be fully supported by my sewing, i need to have a job where i am happy and doing something i love. i enjoy my hospital job, and the medical field is a very stable one to be in, so clearly i will not be leaving my job any time soon; but i am excited at the prospect of being able to study interior design -- i would love to be able to run my own business or have a business with others -- where i can incorporate my love of color, space, design, furniture, and creativity. it will be interesting trying to take those steps towards fulfilling this goal!

i have a lot of work ahead of me, and i am really looking forward to be able to look back at progress (on all of these things!).

quilt show.

finally, here are some photos from the quilt show i went to in augusta, maine last weekend. such a great source of inspiration!!

ta-da!

between swaps and the quilt show i went to last weekend, i have recently acquired a decent amount of new fabric. thus, i have spent some time cleaning out my stash and have a new etsy shop setup for my de-stash!! please check it out if you love fabric, there is some neat stuff there, and i'm trying to save up for our cruise! ;) lots more to be listed soon!



XO,
brooke

ps. pictures from the quilt show to come!

i almost forgot!

just a few pics of some new things around the apartment...
cleaned up sewing corner in the second bedroom:

new quilt (from LLBean!) in the bedroom <3

finally hung the artwork in the upstairs hallway:

the new washer/dryer in the bathroom:

and FINALLY found a home for my favorite lamp!

a little fun inspiration!

....just in time for the weekend! i'm heading to the quilt show this weekend and will have lots of photos (and i'm sure lots of new fabrics!) once i return. but for now, here are some beauties!

summer update.

i admit, i haven't really done a lot of sewing so far this summer. i've been meaning to... there are piles of fabric ready to be cut, piles of blocks already cut waiting to be sewn, quilt tops that are partially sewn and ready to be finished... luckily it seems when i am least motivated to sew, i am snapped out of it by the potential for a couple of custom orders. i hope to finalize those plans soon, so that i can once again feel the undeniable happiness of successfully finishing a project.

mostly this summer has seen us out to brunch and basking in the sun (when it hasn't rained, thank goodness it has stopped raining! it rained for weeks and weeks...); we've taken up tennis, spent time at the small beach just a few blocks away from our apartment, slathered on the sunblock with high spf (for the boyfriend) and endured/enjoyed slight sunburns (on me).

we've been slowly but surely accumulating clearance/on sale summerwear to take on our cruise this november! bathing suits, shorts, strapless sundresses, sunglasses... we also purchased our first set of luggage together. (well, he paid for the cruise, i paid for the luggage!) i've started collecting travel size, travel safe, travel approved toiletries -- i can't even explain to you my love of tiny toiletry items, its weird how much i love the mini shampoos and toothpastes. we still need to get our passport, but we'll be doing that in a week or two! and then, we wait. 18 weekends to go until we're carribean bound!

okay, okay, back to sewing related things.. this coming saturday i'll be going to an awesome quilt show, and can't wait! i've gone the past couple of years and am always left feeling inspired and ready to tackle a new project. all of the vendors selling designer fabrics, though, is really my secret reason for going. last year i ended up with a new stash that lasted me until just recently! i'll be sure to get photos to share of all of the amazing work.

also, i've been getting good feedback on the mini quilts i posted to my etsy shop last week. i figured a few smaller projects were better than no projects at all, and i LOVE the wonderland collection of fabrics! the mini quilts are perfect to hang as wall art, to use as a doll quilt (or if you have a newborn preemie baby!), of even as a tabletopper.

i've been swapping hard to find and out of print designer fabrics in an online group, and have managed to collect some fabrics i'd been unable to find up til now! so exciting... its been fun to see what other people have in their stashes, and i can't imagine parting with some of the things they're swapping! my problem is that i collect these fabrics and then don't want to use them because they are so hard to come by! i just love staring at the gorgeous pile all stacked up! XD

so, in short, summer has been great so far -- hard to believe it is already half over, as it feels like we've just started! its been wonderful to share the sunshine with the boyfriend, friends, and family -- the first summer in recent memory that has felt so relaxed. here's to hoping the next month and a half is more of the same!

2 more!

two more bright and cheery Wonderland mini quilts in the shop!

now there are four, and i just want to hang them all side by side forever <3

got some great new sunny photos of the two new mini quilts for the etsy shop this morning, after basking in the sun myself for a couple of hours. i love these sunny weekends...

new in the shop!

two new "Wonderland" from Momo mini quilts (approx 15x20") in the shop!

lovin' it!

omg. someday i would love to have a fun little girly room like this.. LOVE the quilt with all of the amy butler fabrics!

onesie quilt, finished!

a couple of months ago i started working on this custom order for christine in california.. a quilt made from fabrics from a collection of her baby's old onesies. i alternated the onesie fabrics with some great designer fabrics (amy butler, denyse schmidt), and bordered/backed the quilt with some sunny yellow fabrics! the knits of the onesie fabrics gave me a bit of trouble with stretching, but i did my best. i'm hoping christine loves it, and now she will have something to last forever to remind her of the days when her baby boy was itty-bitty!

CRUUUUUUUUUUISE!!!

well, my boyfriend surprised me today by booking our cruise!! we had been talking about it for a while now, but he went ahead and did it!! we'll be going november 28-december 6th, on royal carribean! leaves from puerto rico, ges to aruba, dominica, curacau, and st thomas! OMG! i can't even put enough exclamation points to convey my excitement!!! plus, you know this is a great excuse to shop for things like carry on bags, bathing suits, and cute summer wear! right at the peak of summer sales! eeee! so, needless to say we're so excited and now can't wait for the next five months to fly by!! :D

here's the link to the ship we'll be on, check out all of the awesome things to do:
voyager of the seas

if you have any stories or advice on cruising, please feel free to share! xo i'm sure i'll be posting more about this as time goes on!

summertime sunshine quilt.

new in the shop! :)


i also spent the afternoon working on my custom order, and the top is finally done.. now to add the borders and backing, and to figure out how i want to top stitch it! since the onesies are stretchy, i don't want to shift it all out of whack. hmmm....

can't believe the weekend is almost over! :(

score!

well, we made the trek up about 45 minutes in the half-sun half-rain morning to go to the slummy surplus store that for some reason carries discounted fabrics (of my dreams! seriously!). i only make the trip up every six months or so, but its always worth it (if you can ignore your surroundings and focus on the search at hand). last time we went, i scored 6+ yards of denyse schmidt's flea market fancy sprouts in yellow (you can see a bit of it in my blog banner!), which is extremely hard to find since it is out of print, and can be very very expensive (i won't tell you what i paid, but it runs $20+ a yard on ebay, and i paid under $5 a yard!). i had wanted to buy the entire bolt but didn't want to go too crazy since i had some other things to buy. today we went up with the sole purpose of finding more, and i got THE LAST TWO YARDS. omg. i also got some other goodies, mostly to use as quilt backings. but i got about 20 yards of fabric for under $60!! regularly priced, it would have run me probably close to $200!

so, now that i've gotten a good bargain this weekend, i'm ready to lock myself in my sewing room tomorrow and work on some projects!!! first on the list, my custom order. second on the list, topstitching a quilt for the shop!

inspiration.

i'm dying for some inspiration here on this stormy rainy day (though it seems to have let up a bit since i got out of work...)! here are some things to make it all a little brighter around here :) enjoy your weekend!!

switch-eroo!!

recently we decided (due to noisy neighbors) to switch our bedroom and sewing room. ...i was hesitant at first, because that meant a smaller bedroom, but now that i get a larger sewing room its all good! ;) here are a few photos of the new setups, you can see the before-s if you scroll down a bit to some previous entries...

bedroom:







sewing room (& upstairs lounge area!)--

CELEBRATION!

tomorrow marks my 3rd year anniversary of selling on etsy! littlelegwarmers has been very successful and so much fun.. and i can't wait to continue creating and sharing with you! to celebrate, all items in the etsy shop are on sale! new items, of course, to come in the next couple of months! thanks for all of the support, and take advantage of this sale while you can! here's to another three years!
xoxo

brooke

hex's.

so even though my current stack of work looks something like this:
--1 custom quilt (cut out only)
--3 small/crib quilts (top sewn) that need borders, backing, binding for the shop
--1 flying geese quilt (top only 1/4-1/2 sewn) for the shop
--1 log cabin quilt (in the process of making the blocks) for the shop
aaaaand i'm trying (not as hard as i should be, obviously) to beef up the stock in my shop for the summer...

i still sat down this afternoon and started paper piecing some hexagons for a grandmother's flower garden quilt (for the shop). its going to be a lot of work since its almost completely hand sewn, but i had the itch to start the hex's and see how quickly (or not) i could do them. i am using a Swell charm pack (by Moda) for some of the hex's, and once i get those finished i'll just have to see where i need to go from there (30's repro?).



i'm the queen bee procrastinator, unless i have a super new project i can't wait to try. its just like when i was in college-- dying my hair was way more fun than writing papers! papers waited until the night before they were due! ;) that being said, no more hex's for tonight, and if i do any more sewing (we're supposed to be going out to the movies in a couple of hours..), then i'll be working on my custom order. and after that i'll be working on either my log cabin or my flying geese. the hex's...well....i'll just have to work on them while i'm watching tv or something.

because i'm kind of addicted.

east end beach.

pat and i got up early this morning because it was just too beautiful outside to sleep in.. we walked the two blocks to the Front Room restaurant, and sat outside for breakfast. ate way too much :) afterwards, we walked the next three blocks or so down to the eastern promenade, and went over to the east end beach to bask in a little bit more sunshine, before heading back home to be somewhat productive (i spent a couple hours cleaning up, putting away laundry, and meandering back and forth on some sewing projects).

onesies quilt..

sneak peek of the custom quilt i am making from onesies and great modern designer fabrics! i got all of the squares laid out this week, ready to start sewing! still deciding on border, backing, and binding fabrics. i chose to do just simple square blocks since the onesies' fabrics are stretchy knit and can be a bit more difficult to work with... but i think in the end its going to be perfect!

log cabin.

i am about to start a new project.. a log cabin quilt for my shop. even though i have like four or five projects already started, the motivation has hit, and i'm in the mood. (in my defense, some of the projects i've already started are waiting for their backing fabrics to arrive in the mail...) here are a couple of inspiration pics of log cabins in the style i hope to accomplish (using mostly scraps!)--- wish me luck! i'll post pics as i get some progress made ;)



i also have a custom quilt to work on starting this week, christine in california sent me a great box of her baby's outgrown onesies and a couple of blankies, to be made into a quilt for the nursery! i'm pairing those fabrics with some awesome modern designer fabrics, and am really excited to get started! i've cut the squares out of the onesies, and am excited to see the other fabrics paired with all of the cute soft fabrics! i'll be sure to get some pics of that as well :)

bedroom update!

got a new print from madebygirl for the bedroom! the frame is from ikea, and was originally black but i spraypainted it white to go with our decor. still working on it, but i'm trying to make the bedroom as peaceful as possible (since the neighbors on the other side of the wall are SOOO loud!)...

busy busy!!

we've been so busy with the new apartment that i'm just now finally getting comfortable and finding time to work in my sewing room... i've got a few little works in progress (plus two that are sitting next to the machine patiently waiting their turns..) that i'm anxious to finish up and list in my shop! stay tuned! :)



also, more photos of the apartment coming soon!

more of the apt....

most of the artwork you see around the apartment was purchased on etsy! we still have some things to get (dining area bistro table, and about six rugs ;)), but we're getting settled nicely.

living room...






we'll be going to ikea this weekend to get one of these!!! to put the tv on in the living room, and i can' wait!!!

art in the bathroom:


music room/office...(also known as the "man cave")

update!

finally got into the sewing studio to get some decorating done (so hopefully now i'll be more motivated to work! ;))! i love the space so much -- but i am already re-thinking the pink lamp and mirror (both items from my childhood that i recently spraypainted pink), i am thinking repainting them a more simple white. we'll see.. i'll be heading to Ikea this weekend to get a chair and side table (and lamp) to add to the corner underneath the pink mirror!

we're all moved in!

we're all moved in, and its starting to look a bit like home... we're making a trip to Ikea next weekend, so i will wait to post pics of most of the rooms until we've gotten the rest of our furniture and rugs etc...

but the sewing room is coming along. i spent a lot of time this weekend making curtains for all over the apartment. i'm still looking for some shelving, and i haven't hung any artwork yet.. but i thought i'd share some "before"s, in the meantime :)



















as you can see, i'm at least set up in there enough to get some work done. not that i have a lot of time for work related sewing, when i have so much fun stuff to do around here!!

here are a few sneek peeks of some other rooms we're working on...
the music room/office/homework room:




entryway/sunroom/kitty room/library:


bathroom:




bedroom:





coming soon: living room & kitchen & dining space!

i promise i'm still alive!!! just in the process of moving into the new place........... we had our brand new sofa delivered this morning, and we'll be moving the remaining 30% of our stuff this weekend... i have four sets of curtains to make! and even though i have barely unpacked it or set it up-- i LOVE my new sewing room <3

i promise to post some pictures ASAP! xo

in the process of moving for the next couple of weeks, but expect photos once things are looking relatively put together shortly thereafter! <3