Pillows!

I mentioned in this post that I had no photos of all the pillows my Grandma created and took to the craft fair. Thanks to Aunty Kathy, here are a few photos showing all the pillows my Grandma has created. Actually, this is just a fraction of the pillows that she's sewn. I can't even begin to count how many she's done.

A hundred pillows ... at least!

A close-up of the pillows.

The artist among her creations! Can you find her?

Unfortunately, these photos don't do the pillows justice. {Aunty Kat, you NEED a new digital camera! Or maybe just play with the settings on your ancient camera?} Next time I'm on Kauai, I will definitely take some close-up shots of my favorite ones ... the vintage, pin-up surfer girl ones!

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas! Joyeux Noel! Buone Feste Natalizie! Feliz Navidad! Mele Kalikimaka!

May all your wishes come true on this most wonderful day of the year! God bless you and your loved ones!

(image from londonelicious)

Mini Craft Fair

In addition to the wedding that kept me stressed out and busy in October and November, I also participated in a mini craft fair on Kauai last weekend. It was a last minute thing that dear mom sprang on me two weeks prior. So right after the wedding, there I was trying to create a bunch of stuff!

The craft fair was part of the St. Theresa School Christmas program and also featured a Christmas play by the students (which had to be moved to the Waimea Theater because of the rain), a spaghetti dinner and a special visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus!! The craft fair was very small ... only 13 tables and we were the last to sign up and got stuck in a corner. The table and space around was shared by my mom, grandma, aunty and myself! It was a family thing. Thanks gramms, for sponsoring the table. We collectively sold a few things, but not much, probably because it wasn't advertised much, but more importantly, because it was raining cats and dogs! Kauai's westside is very dry and sees very little rain, even in the winter. But boy, did it storm. Later that night, while we were all tucked in bed, the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed. My baby sister swears her bed shook! So the rain kept the shoppers away. What to do with all these crafts? Etsy, maybe? I think so! Here's a peak a our table.

Handmade cards by Sister #3 (font of table), mom's embroidered pillows and pigs.

A basketful of raggedies by mom and me along with some cutesy, furry teddy bears!

Raggedies!

Mom's girl horse.

My goose.

A trio of friends.

Aunty Kathy's vintage suitcase of goodies. This picture does not do her creations justice!

Unfortunately, none of the photos show my grandma's stash of pillows. They were in front of the table in some baskets. When I say stash, I mean STASH. She must have had over 200 pillows. I'll have to find some photos to prove it. She's 83 years old and keeps cranking out these Hawaiian pieced pillows. She had some really cool ones!

Sew when's the next craft fair? Hmm ... what do you think Aunty Kat?

Wedding bells!

Well, hello. Yes, it’s been a long silence on the Sew What’s Next blog. It was never my intention to take such a long break. But life happened ...

... beginning with my sister’s wedding in November. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, and by no means a reason for interrupting this fledgling blog, but when your sister gets married, well, you just have to jump right in and assist with all kinds of things! And since Greg and I were married in Rome (only us, no one else was invited), I never got to do all the wedding planning stuff. All the more reason to help out Sister #1.

And, after reading about Smitten Kitchen's adventures with a wedding cake, I go and offer to make her wedding cake! I mean, how hard can it be? All I’d need to do is bake a few test cakes to get the hang of it, and voila, a piece of cake. Umm … no! Most of September and October saw me in the kitchen on weekends concocting different cake and frosting combinations.

The cake we settled on was a Red Velvet (minus the red food coloring) with a White Chocolate Cream Cheese frosting. This cake was a labor of love. It was a bit on the sloppy side, but hey, it was my first wedding cake. I think it was also my last wedding cake. I used to dream about doing wedding cakes. Not anymore. Sister #2 is getting married in April … we’ll see who gets to do the cake. Let me say that I am just baked out … besides the cake, I did almost all of the desserts! I was up the entire night and didn’t go to bed until 4am the morning of the wedding … and I only slept 3 hours! So did Greg. Thanks, honey, for keeping that mouse from jumping on me!

I wish I was taking photos along the way to document all of this, but I think I was just too stressed over all the planning, prepping and execution. A lot of things were done at the very last minute. But everything worked out perfectly! Take a look. Oh, and thank you Jules for your awesome photos ... all 590 of them!

Centerpieces waiting to be taken outside:


One of the tables:


Dessert table:


Ta-da:


Oh-oh:


The happy couple:


The end ...

Blog interrupted

It's been a month since my last post. Sigh. I have been busy, busy, busy at work. Besides applying for, interviewing for and being offered a new job, I have been seriously busy with day-to-day stuff. We're down one staff member and guess who gets to pick up the work? Yours truly! Oh, and yes, my new job is in my same office ... it's a promotion to the number two spot in the office. Needless to say, my crafting has been put on the backburner. My home computer has been off for weeks! Oh, I need to get back into fun stuff.

I visited the KCC Farmer’s Market this past Saturday. Boy, was it packed. I mean, the parking lot was full! I only went for one thing: tomatoes. And tomatoes I got!

Yummy grape tomatoes (sorry, crappy pic). I love tomatoes. I tasted one of the golden tomatoes at the Ho Farms' stall ... I could have stood there all morning popping those lovely little morsels into my mouth. I immediately picked up 3 pints (I already had 2 containers from Nalo Farms, although I think the Ho tomatoes were so much better tasting). Anyway, I slow-roasted a bunch using Smitten Kitchen’s directions. Threw ‘em in pasta with broccoli, chicken, garlic and olive oil. Yum! I definitely have to visit the market again, this time taking my time at the various vendors. I'll have to try the fried green tomatoes again; the first time I had them, they were great! And I'll have to bring my camera next time! Hint, hint!

Weekend misadventures

I really hoped to have posted a picture of those angels. Finishing them would have been a first step, but alas ... I did not get to crafting this weekend! I actually got to reading Rowena's fun blog, Rubber Slippers in Italy. Oh my gosh! I've gotten through her first year and a half of posts and I love it. You rock, Rowena! I can't wait to keep reading.

So, since I made no progress this weekend, I'll leave you with a shot of this cutie:

She's made from a Raggedy Old Annies pattern and she'll eventually make it to my Etsy shop when I'm ready to open up!

A bit about me ...

I was born on the lovely Garden Island of Kauai. I am the oldest of 8 children -- 6 girls and 2 boys! Can you believe that?
I grew up on Kauai until I moved to Oahu for college, where I've stayed. I have an accounting degree from UH, where I currently work FT.

I'm married to a wonderful, supportive guy. We were married in Rome and honeymooned in Paris. It was perfect and I can't wait to go back for another visit. I often tell Greg that I dream of living in France or Italy. He laughs!

We live in a small apartment which is being overrun by my cookbooks and craft supplies. We hope to move to our own home soon but the Hawaii housing market is ridiculous. We've even considered moving to the west coast, but we love Hawaii and would freeze anywhere else (I'll gladly freeze in France or Italy).

I enjoy crafting and being creative. I collect tons of patterns -- raggedy anns, bears, cats, stitcheries ... all kinds of stuff. I probably have way too much supplies; I'll never use half of this stuff in my lifetime. I'm also getting into sewing bags and pouches. Fun!! So you can imagine the amount of fabric I keep buying. Sigh. I just need to make time and get creating.

So with that, I'll end here, head to my local craft store to peruse the aisles and then return home and finish up some angels! Or maybe I'll skip the craft store and just finish them up. I hope to post a photo of the completed trio before the weekend is up ... wish me luck. Here's a sneak peek of the work in progress.

Up to no good

Not much sewing or crafting going on lately! But baking, well ...


Yesterday was the boss' birthday so I whipped up a batch of mini Poppy Seed Bundt cakes for her. Yum!

Latest purchase

Look what I got from Kaimuki Dry Goods.


I love browsing KDG, but I always end up spending way too much moolah whenever I go. Thanks, Dee Dee. KDG has quality fabric and a huge selection. It's the best fabric store in town. Really! Living in Hawaii is great, but everything is just so limited. Of course I order online, but I'm at KDG at least once or twice a month to get my fix.

What will I create with the fabric? Hmm ... honestly, it'll probably just get added to my fabric stash. Or maybe not.

Progress!

Guess what? Yep! I actually did a little crafting this weekend. Take a look ...


Okay, so no fair looking at all the junk in the background; it's my creative mess! Anyway, this guy is destined for my Etsy shop, which is not open yet, but I hope to get some stuff up there soon. I used a Patti's Ratties pattern and changed it a bit. Instead of holding a beehive, I have him holding a heart. But I must confess ... this creation was sitting in my WIP (Works-In-Progress) basket for the past 2 or 3 months! And since I just had to post something crafty in my second post, I decided to pull him out and finish him up. So how much crafting did that entail? Hmm ... well, all I had to do was sew his eyes and arms on, whip up his heart and tie a bow around his neck. I know, I know ... not that much crafting. But hey, at least it's something and now I have one less half-finished creation in my basket.

Hello world!

Hi everyone!! Well, here I am ... blogging! I've been having fun perusing all the wonderful, creative blogs out there and decided to take the plunge and create one myself (bear with me as I navigate the world of blogs). I've been crafting for many years, but I've been in a rut lately (lately? like for nearly the past year!). I've been inspired by so much stuff out there. Maybe that's my problem. While it's inspiring, it can also be a bit overwhelming. I want to make everything I see, open an Etsy shop or two, try my hand at something new. Good intentions, but alas ... my sewing machine sits idle! So, I hope this blog will get me creating and perhaps make good on those good intentions. The name of my blog? Well, that's sorta the story of my crafting endeavors. Sew what's next? I guess you'll just have to wait and see!