I may be a bit biased...

But I just rocked my first try at true bias binding! I matched up my seams with the pattern of the stripes too! And then I bound it completely by machine. Seriously. Whoa. And then I did it again but with ric-rac. Seriously ric-rac is so cute! I need more of it now. More cute. 

tiny wonky nine patch from Oh Fransson!

I listened to the entire two disc album of Billy Joel Live at Shea Stadium. I heart Billy Joel. <3 

I can't hear anything but Billy while I use my husband's noise canceling ear phones... that's weird when sewing. It's a first for me, really.

Binding from the back. Yummy!

I finished two projects. They've been lingering around for a while. One because I made it so intricately, and tiny that I didn't have the time or energy that night to bind it. It was put immediately into constant use under our teapot. It's about 7" square and rocks! It's already tea stained... and I'm pretty sure I set those stains pretty good with my iron while perfecting that no pin, no hand sewing, all machine, amazing binding. (I'm a little excited about it really).

Binding from the front.

I needed a project to sew tonight. Since I've decided to buy backing fabric (instead of using the not-quite-right fabric from my stash) for the baby quilt top I made yesterday... that post is coming sometime soon. So I didn't have a "set my mind to it" project to knock out while DH did homework. Obviously this was a night for complexly simple finishing projects. (no making that dress that I really want to make for Allie but don't seem to have the brainpower/want to design it). 

I realized it was a night to finish that teapot holder thing when I was making myself some tea (that yummy black tea that I talked about the other night). Of course, that should be finished. :) It turned out really cute. The binding is a thrifted bed sheet. You might have recognized it from last summer's matching skirt/dress. so I apparently never showed you guys the pic of both of us? Here it is:

This was a whole year ago... can't believe it!

 ******

Ok so that took all of half an hour... (who knows Billy Joel was still singing so I was still sewing). As I stood looking at the leftover bits of that binding I realized how awesome it'd be on the bookshelf quilt I'd been avoiding that I thought didn't look right. I knew that as much as I didn't love that FMQ writing, I wasn't going to pick it all out. I might as well finish it right? Perfect chance to use that pink ric-rac. I had bought it specifically to use on this quilt. Perfection! The no pins, no hand sewing binding worked perfect too. Perfect. I even remembered to add those corner things so I can properly hang it at some point. I think it'll go right above Allie's bookshelf (the one we haven't bought yet) for her room (when we get a new apartment). Perfect. 

"Children are made readers on the laps of their parents"

Notice that I even alphabetized the books. Bookseller that I am, I knew it'd annoy me if they were out of order!

Back, showing corner tabs to use a dowel rod to hang it.

Now for some tutorials I used. Well sort of. I didn't actually follow any of them... I mostly looked at the pictures then went to my sewing room and rocked... Anyhow. I don't like following directions but you might. 

Bookshelf mini quilt tutorial
Ric-Rac binding

no pins, no hand sewing. I have no clue if anyone has a tutorial for this... I just ironed it all into submission then crossed my fingers (not literally - that could be dangerous). It worked but would be a lot of extra work for a larger piece. No, really I can't find anything like whatever it was that I did. Maybe I'll take some pictures and try to explain it... some other day! For now I'm off to bed.

(pictures will be added tomorrow!)

Tea Mixing Class at Adagio

As a spur of the moment decision Wally and I decided to go to the tea mixing class at Adagio Tea. A couple weeks ago we had done a tea tasting evening at their shop and really enjoyed it. We've been drinking our loose leaf teas a lot more often since then. For those of you who don't know, wally likes tea... and likes to buy a variety. I'd already begun mixing my own, my favorite combo being an equal mix of "green roibos bonita" and "fruit medley." It's a yummy combination. 

Tea tasting cups - three teas steeped and draining into cups!

On to the tea mixing. We first learned the basics of how to pick flavors to mix together, keeping in mind the strength and character of the teas. Then we got to mixing. First we picked out three teas, and after steeping them we tasted each one and decided how much of what to add to our cup. It was really pretty cool.

mmm... tea.

I was shooting for a fruity tea that still lets the tea flavor shine. I think I accomplished it pretty well with the mix I call "Fresh Fruit" which includes three different teas (4 parts White Peach, 3 parts Strawberry Black, and 1 part green rooibos citron). Wally did a study in black teas (he usually drinks white or green tea, I usually drink black or rooibos). He created "Black Sabbath" which includes 2 parts Orange Black, 1 part Oriental Spice, and 1 part Assam Harmony. They're both pretty awesome!

Just me... still another month or two until I can share pictures of Wally again!

We're currently drinking my blend. Yum! This was a pretty awesome class, definitely worth it, and really, a pretty cool date too. I have to mention though, there was this girl in the class who had the most totally cool curly hair in the world - and she shared some conditioner tips with me! Her tea was "German Chocolate Cake!" I hope she doesn't mind me sharing a picture, because one day my hair might be as cool as that. 

German Chocolate Cake!

And finally, here's a pic of the store manager Nicole mixing up our blends for us to take home!

Here's a link to the facebook page, should you want to stop in for their next class!