I was looking for some photos in my folders which apparently don’t exist - have you ever thought you took photos of something but as it turns out, you didn’t?  Well, I’ll have to remedy that soon.  Anyway, I found some photos of a quilt I made for my friend Susan that I meant to show you last year but completely forgot!  I should probably share this with you know lest I want to wait until next fall.

Susan is distinctly an autumn person, at least in my mind anyway.  Anything maple-y/pumpkin-y/autumn-y makes me think of her and the cozy Arts and Crafts-inspired home she and her significant other have carved out for themselves.  (And I mean that almost literally - her boyfriend is quite skilled in wood-working and did most of the remodeling himself.)  For a long time I had been collecting fall-ish prints — acorns and autumn leaves, mostly — to make them a quilt, including some pieces found at a quilt shop on Bainbridge Island on a trip we took with her sister many years ago.

I think this pattern is called a Roman quilt although I’m not 100% sure of that.   It’s pretty easy to do but looks fairly intricate.  As you can see, 3 long rectangles to make a square; then each square turned 90 degrees from the one next to it to create the zigzag design.  The layers are held together with a variety of brownish buttons (ones that are smooth and flat so they don’t scratch or poke).

It’s a small thing, the right size for your lap, as you’re curled up with a book and a mug of tea.  I wish I had taken better photos of it but oh well, what can you do.  I’m happy with how it turned out and now it’s with Susan, where it belongs!

Speaking of tea, it’s time for mine.

Just when I was about to finish up the sewing lessons I, well, go off and get married…It’s official, I’m a Mrs.!

A Mrs. who voluntarily got up at 6:30 this morning (that’s A.M.) ; I couldn’t sleep (perhaps I’m still wired from the events this week!) so I put on my robe (it was almost chilly), ate some Nilla Wafers and mini pretzels (you’ve really got to eat them together, it’s so good) while watching bits of Life Begins for Andy Hardy and snapped a couple of pics.

I will - OF COURSE - be sharing real wedding pictures with you as soon as I get them!  I’ve already looked over the Polaroids and am so far really excited about our photos.  To be continued!

(Updated 08.07.09: I added a few photos to flickr, not official wedding ones, but a few stills I took myself.  Enjoy!)

Thank you for your engagement well wishes!  They really made me smile.  As you can imagine I have become a little consumed with wedding ideas and planning; the reason being I’d like to get married this year.  I’m not interested in a long engagement (partially, I suppose, because we’ve been together for 5 years and I’m not getting any younger!) and have very quickly come to realize that stuff (venues, photographers, etc.) gets booked up well in advance.   Seriously, the idea of eloping becomes more and more appealing as I traipse my way through wedding-related sites on the internet.  Anyway, I haven’t forgotten about my Sewing Basics series!  Just, you know, trying to wrap my head around so many things.

Anyhow, wanted to share some vintage finds (and related wedding ideas).   I decided a couple of months ago that I wanted a regular phone, one that plugged into the phone jack without needing to be plugged into an electrical outlet as well (I presume so that the answering machine will work).  I was going to get something cheap at Goodwill and store in the closet just in case - just in case the power goes out, my cell doesn’t work and I need to make a phone call.  You never know!   But since I was in the market for such a phone it dawned on me to get a vintage one - a rotary phone!  At first I wanted aqua or Robin’s egg blue but when I saw this chocolate brown one I knew that was the one I wanted.  And I think I paid about $10 or $11 (plus shipping) on eBay.   And yes, it works!  The really hilarious thing is, to test it out I dialed my cell phone number which has a different area code from my home phone.  By the time I got halfway through the darn phone number, I forgot which digit I was on - hahaha!

A few weeks ago I won this vintage quilt, also on eBay.  I don’t know about you but I don’t necessarily want my vintage finds to be in pristine condition.  I love the yellowing and fading and little threads hanging out;  I love things that were once used and loved very much.  This is a bow tie quilt and I’m sure you can see why.  Probably 1930s with lots of feedsack prints.  The grey fabric you see on the far right is what I’m going to use to make bias tape to rebind the edges; while I love the tatteredness of the quilt, I don’t want what stuffing that is left to fall out.

Ok, wedding stuff!  I haven’t decided if I’m going to carry a bouquet or not.  I’m thinking not but who knows, I might change my mind later.  I have my dress mapped out in my head and I would love to wear a vintage flower at my waist with a ribbon or a sash in a color besides ivory (which is the color of the dress).  I haven’t finalized any wedding colors yet but I’m leaning towards ivory, chocolate brown, mustard-gold and lavender/iris.  Possibly a spot or 2 of aqua, reminiscent of the mermaid ring box.  And instead of a boutonniere, my fiance could wear a vintage hankie in his breast pocket.

More hankie possibilities here.  And the yarn for something I might make to keep me warm after the ceremony.

So I figured out that the next Sewing Basics post will be about deciphering the back of your pattern and selecting the fabric. (Hmm, did I say this already?)  I will try to post this in the next couple of days so you can get your things ready if you choose.  More soon!