my friends came to life, and we sewed!

it is hard to capture the words to describe my trip to atlanta.

it was so fun to spend the weekend with these girls!  it is hard to describe how much fun it was to sew right along with those who love fabric and creating and sewing just as much as i do. 

arajane  maureen  amanda  rachel  jessica  jacey  me  ella  holly 

(pic by maureen)

how fun it was to see rachel stand on her chair and as she took this picture.  how fun it was to talk with her about do.Good and the projects she is working on.  she is full of ideas and has so much talent and drive.  and she makes a delicious green smoothie.

(pic by rachel)

it is hard to describe how fun it was to walk next to maureen as we strolled into whipstitch.  i was so looking forward to meeting maureen, she is so sweet and had the best stories!  and she is AMAAAAAZINGLY talented.  the oozes talent and sweetness!

how fun it was to sit next to my dear friend Jacey, in person.  i love that girl.  she is such a wonderful person and jessica said it perfectly on her blog; "jacey was the glue that made us instantly feel like old friends."  that is true in every way.  

(pic by maureen)

how fun it was to see this dress... i need to make one and i will wear it every day with strappy sandals!

 

(pic by maureen)

how fun it was to meet ella, a fellow heal circle do.Gooder at whipstitch.  she is beautiful inside and out!

(pic by jacey)

how fun it was to see maureen and jacey take these two pictures of each other.  they crack me up. 

 

(pics by maureen and jacey)

so fun to finally get my hands on some quilt blocks and soo fun to see this fabric in person.  it is beautiful! 

it is hard to describe how fun it was to sit next to arajane as she made her 241 tote.  how fun it was to talk to her and jessica and jacey about certain things that have been very, very difficult for me lately.  i appreciated all of their kind, thoughtful words.  it meant so much to me.    

(pic by holly)

it is hard to describe how exciting it was to sit next to melody miller as we ate dinner.  it was hard not to pass out or pee my pants when she told me how good the honey lime chicken enchiladas i made for dinner were!  p.s. they are really good, you should make some, like today!

it is hard to describe how fun it was to be the middle of a designer sandwich! 

how fun it was to see jessica finish her + & x quilt top.   how fun it was chat and joke around with jessica, she is hilarious and so so so talented, be on the look out for an amazingly adorable outfit she whipped up for her daugher in like 2 minutes!

(pic by arajane)

it is hard to describe how inspiring everyones projects were.  amanda... amanda... what she was working on was stunning.  and she has the cutest little belly and was totally ok with all of us pushing on it hoping to feel the little peanut bumping around!  

(pic by maureen)

how inspired i was by hollys triangle quilt and also by her amazing hand piecing skills.

(pic by holly)

it is hard to describe how WONDERFUL it was to sew uninterrupted!  no children arguing or crying, no laundry to be done.  just sewing with wonderful dear dear friends! 

(pic by arajane)

it is hard to describe how thankful i am to all of them for letting me use their pictures since most of mine were not good.  ;)  thanks girls! xo

xx

nicke

my new Nikki tote

tomorrow morning bright and early i am jumping on a jet plane headed to Atlanta.  i am meeting some very special blogging friends for a long weekend of sewing.  i am beyond excited and am not nervous at all!

well, kinda.  

i really wanted to have a new purse to take with me and the nikki tote was the perfect solution.

i finished it up last night and i am quite happy with how it turned out.

i am going to link up to Purse Palooza! 

Fabric and Interfacing:  i used Dear Stella's Maasai Mara line and i love it so much.
i love the colors.  for the interfacing, i used pellon SF101 woven interfacing for the main sections of the bag and the pockets inside.  i used Pellon fusible fleece for the handles.

my new Nikki tote, a photo by xx Nicke on Flickr.

Pattern Pieces:  there were very few pieces to this pattern and the shape of the bag is really great!
it was a very straight forward bag to make.  the Illustrations and Instructions were spot on and very easy to follow.  

i really didn't Modify the bag at all other than i haven't added any buttons.  i am not sure if i will.  i like it how it is.  i guess it depends on if i find the perfect buttons.

so the Bottom Line is this:

it is a great pattern.  i would make it again and i would suggest you make one too.

my only warning is that the pattern instructs you to purchase way more fabric than you actually need.  this didn't bother me at all since i love this fabric a lot but really you don't need 1 1/4 yards for the handles and band.  

p.s. it is big.  i will be able to fit a lot of stuff in it!  yay!

xx

nicke

p.s.s

And, if you're a local to Atlanta, we'd love for you to join the group of us by meeting up with us at Whipstitch on Saturday morning, June 23rd. We'll be there around 10 am on Saturday, shop and then we plan to have lunch next door. Everyone gets 10% off that morning in-store at Whipstitch, we would love to see you then!  

shorts on the line...

only a week and a half until the official kick-off of shorts on the line!! what can you do to be ready? start thinking about shorts, of course! also, check out the shorts inspirations and tutorials that have been added to the shorts on the line pinterest board and join the shorts on the line flickr group.

here's the official schedule:

7.1 shorts on the line kick-off! 

week one: imagine gnats
7.2 Rachael (imagine gnats) and Melanie (A Sewing Journal)
7.3 Courtney (mon petit lyons), Inder (Inder Loves Folk Art), and Nicke (Kiss Kiss... Quilt)  yup, that's me! yay!
7.4 Rashida (i heart linen) and April (Sewing Novice)
7.5 Andrea (the train to crazy) and Kristy (Hopeful Threads)
7.6 Shannon (luvinthemommyhood) and Erin & Carla (Clever Charlotte)
7.7 Emma (Hello Beautiful) and Cassandra (Cass Can Sew)
7.8 Gail (probably actually) and Becky (Owly Baby)

week two: small + friendly
7.9 Carla (small + friendly) and Sophie (cirque du bebe)
7.10 Ros (Sew Delicious) and Veronica (sewVery)
7.11 Shelly (Figgy's) and Alyssa (Pile O'Fabric)
7.12 Jessica (a little gray) and Diane (from blank pages)
7.13 Kristin (skirt as top) and Kelley (Casa Crafty)
7.14 Katie (There and Back) and Tara (girl like the sea)
7.15 Alli (B. Yazoo) and Jennet (Feathered Nest Studios)

week three: Designs by Sessa
7.16 Vanessa (Designs by Sessa) and Jessica (Me Sew Crazy)
7.17 Cherie (You and Mie) and Jane (Buzzmills)
7.18 Karen (Sew Well Maide) and Stephanie (The Crafty Kitty)
7.19 Bianca (Sweet Diesel Designs) and Tara (true, pure, lovely)
7.20 Jenny (Stumbles & Stitches) and Susan & Adrianna (crafterhours)
7.21 Danny (Mommy for Reals) and Marian (Lady Face)
7.22 Jill (Made With Moxie) and Christina (2 Little Hooligans)

features and deadline
7.23 sewalong features, Rachael's favorites
7.24 sewalong features, Carla's favorites
7.25 sewalong features, Vanessa's favorites
7.26 final deadline for shorts sewalong entries
7.27 viewers choice voting begins

winners annoucements
7.28 judges' choice third place announced
7.29 judges' choice second place announced
7.30 viewers choice winner announced
7.31 judges' choice first place announced

i hope you'll be sewing along with us or at least following along.  i have a great plan in place but i know i am going to get "my shorts handed to me!"  did you see the list of people sewing along here... ;)  


xx
nicke

recent happenings

so remember not too long ago when i promised my small son a new motorcycle...

well, this isn't his but the promise has been solidified.

you should have seen him riding around on this.  

hilarious!

that little guy on the back of the bike is mr. H's nephew and owner of said bike.... 

doesn't he have the sweetest little smile.

doesn't mr. H have the cutest stink eye! 

he does it all the time.  if you get the stink eye from him you have to know that he loves you.  

i get it all the time.

and here is my little angel face all ready for the penguin cha-cha.

her dance recital was monday night and she was the cutest cutest penguin and smell good skunk that you ever did see.

(sorry for the crappy phone picture...)

notice the tights that are too big... 

and that sweet little smile.

i could just eat her up!

xx

nicke

Heal circle do.Good June

Heal circle do.Good June, a photo by xx Nicke on Flickr.

i made these two blocks for melissa's month of do.Good.  

she wanted modern stars, as in no wonky! 

 all solids. 

 i love how mine turned out.

being a part of do.Good has been so fulfilling.  

i love being a part of it and look forward to being a part for a long time!

xx

nicke

May blocks

heal do.Good stitches May, a photo by xx Nicke on Flickr.

May was a super busy month for me. between the anniversary and fifty shades of grey not much sewing was done... other things were done... ;)     mmmmm... yes, other things.

i was able to finish up my required blocks before the month was over so i delcare May a success on "multiple" levels! ;)

 amanda's blocks for wonky bee...