Thursday, January 31, 2008

Lucy's Bag

So after we started accumulating stuff for Lucy, I decided that I needed a bag to put all of her stuff in. I remembered the Craft Apple Diaper Bag, and promptly ordered the pattern and got started. ** When I ordered the bag, it did not come with pattern pieces, just measurements. Being mostly a quilter, that made me very happy because I prefer my rotary cutter and ruler to tracing a pattern anyday. But from the website it looks like she's including pattern sheets now! **
Lucy's Bag front
I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I used some of my precious Japanese fabric for this bag, so I'm glad it turned out well.
Lucy's Bag top
The only thing is that I thought it would be bigger! Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE big bags. Maybe I'll try the Eco Market Tote next!

Oh yes, I tried to put Lucy in the bag and then take photos because yes, I am one of THOSE people. It didn't work out, mostly because she's so short and she insisted on having her head over the wall. So she ended up kind of hanging by her neck over the wall of the bag. Not a happy puppy. Thanks to everyone for all your nice comments on Lucy! She's a handful, but a lot of fun.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Lucy's First Day

Lucy on Ikea bed
Oh she is so cute. She's a very quiet dog, only whining when we leave her alone in her crate or her pen. She's been pretty mellow today, but she definitely loves being picked up and loves falling asleep in laps.
Lucy Sleeping
Or maybe on Chris' back... time for another nap!!
Lucy and Chris Sleeping

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Today is Corgi Day!!

YAY! In a couple hours we're leaving to go pick up Lucy. We are VERY excited. I guess this is turning into a puppy blog, huh? Even my sewing lately has been dog related... We decided we wanted to crate train Lucy, and since I'm always looking for function, the wire crates appealed to me because it comes with a separator panel. Unfortunately, it is and looks like a cage.
Simplicity 4713
This is Simplicity 4713. It was fun to make, and I'm fairly happy with the outcome, but I did have to make changes while making it.
Dog crate back
First of all, the pattern sizes included did not include my crate size, so I had to adjust it to fit my crate. And then my crate has 2 doors, so I had to make another opening.
Dog crate front
However, I love the fabric, and I think the paw print appliques make it cute. I've noticed that a lot of the things we're buying for Lucy are blue. I hope no one thinks she's a boy! I was a tomboy growing up, so I think I'm pretty anti-girly girl, even for my dog. So lots of orange and blue for us, thanks!
Dog crate top
And here is what else I've been working on. Cheri and her fuzzy butt of a dog, Teddy, kindly gave us this crate, but the front was ripped up because fuzzy butt decided he wanted to force his way in. I fixed it, and am very happy with it. We're going to use this as Lucy's car crate.
Soft dog crate fixed
Ok, next time you hear from me I'll be with a puppy! Hurray!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Linky Meme

Ripple Progress 1/22/08
(photo doesn't have anything to do with this post other than Cheri asked how my ripple blanket was progressing....)

Ok, I've been tagged by Julo. I don't mind answering meme's (I think I secretly enjoy them), but I don't really like tagging people, so I don't really like meme's as a whole. But I love reading other people's meme's. I just don't like tagging people to do them. Is that strange? Anyway, this is one of the more interesting meme's that I've been tagged with. Here are the rules:

Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you’ve written. But there is a catch:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be about anything you choose.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.

Since my blog is relatively new (almost a year old), we may have to stretch a little to fulfill all the requirements... Ok, here we go!

Link 1 - This post from Mother's Day. We have a very strong female gene in our family... Out of the 8 cousins on my mother's side, there are 7 girls and just one boy...

Link 2 - Haha, I forgot about this post. This is from when I went down to San Diego with a few of my college friends. Oh the picture that Justin photoshopped is fantastic. Interestingly enough, this post includes answers to another meme....

Link 3 - This one is hard for me. I feel like I'm kind of all over the map. What defines me? I'm cheating on this one and using this post. This one just happens to include another meme (I guess I really do like them! Who knew?), and photos of quilts I liked from the quilt show. I think the quilts show a bit of what interests me and what grabs my attention. And looking back at that post, I still like them so don't worry, the interests are current! :)

Link 4 - Something I love? Just one? I LOVE to travel. I love going out and trying new foods, seeing new sights (and sites) and just absorbing the feel of the place. I love all the cultures that different areas of the world have to offer, and I love seeing how my priorities I have from growing up as an American are different from people in other countries. I had one big trip this year, chronicled in this post.

Link 5 - Corgis! I have corgis on my brain! Honestly I have had them on my brain for a while, but I haven't shared that information with all of my bloggy friends until recently. Last year when I was taking a photo a day, there is a shot where I went to a corgi specialty back in May. I think it was couple months before then was when I had decided that I wanted a corgi and that I needed to do more research. It's been a long time coming, but with Lucy coming home with us soon, it will all be worth it. Hurray! Here is the post about Lucy.

Ok, and now my least favorite part. Who to tag? Ok, I tag Melody, Kristine, Amy, June and Suzanne.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Puppy Video!

Oh I'm so glad you guys are ok with a little puppy mixed in with the crafting. Thanks for all your nice comments!! We fixed up the video of Lucy, here it is!

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Happiness is a warm puppy.

So here is who has been taking up all my crafting time:
Lucy looking
This is Lucy, and she'll be coming home with me at the end of the month. Like JuLo, I've added a counter to the side.

As I only have one blog, I'm afraid that this is going to turn into a half crafts blog, half puppy blog. I hope you won't mind.

Lucy Sitting

Thursday, January 10, 2008

First New Project of 2008

Ok, so I have a lot of unfinished projects left over from 2007, but why should that start me from a new project? I went to Joann's yesterday and got these fabrics to start a new one...
Crate
I'm VERY happy with my fabric choices, and I hope it comes out as cute as I'm imagining it.

Also, on a separate note, today seems like it's going to be an off day. This morning, I went into the shower with my glasses on. Whoops!

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Happy New Year!

Wow, that was a nice break. I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! Sorry for the lack of blogging, but with all the last minute frantic gift making I've been a little crafted out and too tired to blog. Another reason too, but that will have to wait for the (maybe) next post. Now that I'm back... lets go over my 2007 resolutions, shall we? I've been to scared to look at them until now.

January 7, 2007


1. Get an awesome calendar - I got two awesome calendars last year. Nikki McClure's and Lotta Jansdotter's
2. Take a photo everyday, and post it on flickr - Well, I started out well, but then I petered out. I don't think I have any after August. Still, that's 8 months. Pretty good! :)
3. Finish reading Moneyball - Uh, no. Did not finish this.
4. Make a quilted coaster - No, but I got a coaster when I suscribed to the sampler. So I didn't really need to make one after that. I'd still like to make a set though.
5. Finish Sampler Afghan - Hmm, that didn't happen either. But I am much further along. Out of 99 squares, I have probably around 80 of them complete.
6. Take my GREs - No, but I decided to go to SJSU instead, so I didn't need to take them
7. Finish making duro dress - Complete!
8. Join a ________-a-long - Joined many -alongs, but my favorite was the In Stitches Sew Along. Thanks Finny and Donk!
9. Go to a Sharks game - Check!
10. Do a mystery quilt - I started at least two, finished none.
11. Organize Closet - Done, but figured out that it's too small!
12. Go to Japan!! - So fun. Need to go back when it's not so hot and swelter-y
13. Knit a sweater - Didn't even come close on this one. I bought yarn to make a baby sweater... picked out a pattern, but that's about it.
14. Get new glasses - I did get new glasses, they're blue!
15. Improve my posture - Can't tell. I'm going to say probably not.
16. Apply to Grad School - I applied to SJSU, and I am now in their Aerospace Engineering Masters Program. Hurray!

So sorry, this was kind of boring for you all, and there are no new photos. Honestly it's because this is a cheater post because I still don't have my act together yet. Oh well. New Year Resolutions for 2008: 10 sit ups a day, and use less plastic. I ordered some reusable bags from reusablebags.com, so hopefully this will help when I go to grocery stores and other stores in general. I'm also going to make some bags, maybe with this pattern or this one or this one. I'm going to stick them in everything (cars, all my purses, etc) so I have no excuse. Maybe a few more resolutions coming too.



Oh! Since I'm posting, I should mention that the In Stitches Sew Along was GREAT, and that you should join the next sewing adventure. The book is Simple Gifts to Stitch, and details can be found here or here.