Thursday, April 21, 2011

Playing dress-up

Last night brought another bridal shower and a fun game of dressing-up the bride - collage style.
 Even the youngest guests got in on the fun...

 Of course, it was pretty serious and important work at times.

 Choosing the perfect wedding day look requires careful consideration

 and maybe a little consultation from friends.

And the winner is:
Molly loved this dress (which she described as "Anthro-esque") and especially the diamonds.  You should have seen the ring, which I didn't capture in the photo.

Molly comparing rings.

Other close contenders:




And the evening ended with another little dress-up.
Molly's new apron from Anthropologie.  

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Creating and giving

As the tulips from last Saturday night's dinner began to fade this week, I tried to turn my attention to making wedding quilt blocks.


 I've only gotten as far as just starting to cut the strips for the wonky log cabin blocks.  My plans to make a couple of mock-up blocks last night were quickly tossed aside when I realized that I was going to have a full house for the evening.  Michael came home from Oregon State University for the weekend (and I love, love, LOVE having him at home), and Molly and Peter came over as well (and I adore that they have been coming at least once a week).  And Molly had plans of her own for the evening as she needed a little something for part of a shower gift for a friend and a birthday gift for another friend.  She knew just what fabric colors and style for each friend. 

And suddenly she was learning how to piece a wonky log cabin block and machine quilt!  I told you I'd make a quilter out of her!  I just didn't know it would be so soon!





Coasters!


Hot pad!

 Perfect gifts for two special friends.
The coasters are from a tutorial by Flossie Teacakes.

I am so impressed by Molly's work, I just couldn't stop taking pictures!
Sewing with Molly is such a delight, and I love seeing her at my mother's sewing machine!

We always manage to make one hot mess in the process of creating.

And speaking of creativity, we continue to be blessed by the amazing creativity of friends and family.  For example, a lovely gift arrived for Molly from her Aunt Ellen.




Taken right from the wedding invitation!  Molly and I were so blessed by her thoughtfulness and creativity.

And then there was another amazing shower today by a lovely and gracious friend, Terry.



 How beautiful is Terry?!?!  And look at what she did with a syrup bottle to go along with a gift of a waffle iron.

So cute!

Terry also gave Molly these pretty place card holders, adding these adorable cards that she made!
I love this gift!  The cards come in handy in all sorts of ways:


For the gluten free bride :).

Did you notice Terry's gorgeous apron, which was made for her by a friend several years ago?  It reminded me of these very pretty aprons on display at Anthropologie.  One of which may or may not make an appearance at a future shower....


A wonderful weekend so far, and there's still Sunday!

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Pre-wedding creativity

I am so fortunate to get to be part of a sewing group with some wonderfully crazy and creative women.  I couldn't ask for a more fun or inspirational group of sewing/quilting friends:  Heather, Violet, Irene, Mo, Monica, Traci, Gabrien, Kristin, Elizabeth, Jen, Shelly, and Sally.  And they are so generous!  For example, I recently received a lovely stack of Elizabeth's generosity when we all got together for a day of sewing and enjoying Irene's wonderful Tom Kah Gai soup!  I had asked for any unwanted yellow or gray fabrics pieces for a wedding quilt for Molly, and Elizabeth brought me this stack of beauties all tied with a bow!

They are absolutely perfect and blend beautifully with the fabric stack I had already started (some shown on the right).  I think by tomorrow night I may be able to untie the bow on Elizabeth's stack and start cutting!  I also recently added these two fabrics to the mix:

Posh Paisley by Michael Miller and Sketchbook Flowers by Carolyn Gavin.

I am completely head-over-heels in love with the yellow, gray, and white palette!

Molly even came for part of the sewing day at Irene's and started working on these for the wedding reception:

Notice the fabric strips leftover from the gathered clutches?

I love all of Molly's handmade wedding ideas, but it is doing strange things to my house.  The kitchen and dining room tables are covered with fabric and sewing notions (okay, nothing new there), but my living room is taking on a whole new appearance.

This is my coffee table.

This is my couch.

This is a corner of the living room, which I now refer to as Crate and Barrel Westside.

 This is Molly at her very first shower (by and for "family"), in a lovely dress from Anthropologie.  I think it's safe to say she was a little nervous to be the center of so much attention.

Then again, maybe it isn't so bad after all.

She had another shower last weekend at our church, Solid Rock, thrown by some very thoughtful and crafty friends (though one claims that she is not crafty but just very good at grunt work).  Take a look at all their great ideas.

Welcome!

Lots of flowers and trees.  BIG trees.

The "celebrate" banner was sent home with Molly.  The letters were cut from crinkled up brown paper and are removable so that Molly can use it for a variety of future occasions.  There are enough white flags to spell out "Happy Birthday."  We are going to use it again at the wedding reception.


The food was all gluten and dairy free for the bride and absolutely delicious!

Best use of a screen door ever!

Cute initials that were also sent home with Molly along with dozens of the puffy little yo yos.


Molly and her flock of excited little girls.



While working at the church the day before the shower, Peter got a peek at the room before Molly did.  And he described it perfectly as full of flowers, pictures, and all the things Molly loves.  And on Saturday it was full of many of the people Molly loves.  What could be better than that?

With wishes, true and kind -- Joan