Foxglove Accessories

New acquisitions

betsysiber — Sun, 13 May 2012 23:17:43 +0000

We made a new shopping discovery last week! Circa Modern is a local vintage furniture shop specializing in lovely midcentury modern pieces. Inge is just starting to become interested in child-sized chairs, so we decided to treat her to a set of these bright beauties:

They should fit well into our rainbow of a house. We’re also working on a new play area for her, photos coming soon with the chairs in action.

What!?!

betsysiber — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:26:47 +0000

Holy sh#t! Can you believe it? I finished my quilt top this weekend, and I’m VERY surprised by how well it turned out.

This pattern ended up being very forgiving, and although it doesn’t look exactly like the photo on the package, it definitely still works. Due to my overzealous trimming of the ring quarters, my circles are a little more squashed than they’re supposed to me. Oh, and don’t looks too closely at the seams. Everything about this project thus far is wonderfully imperfect.

This week I’m meeting up with Holly, my quilting mentor, for help with the next step – actual quilting! For those of you that don’t know (I didn’t before I started), quilting is actually the act of joining 2 or more layers together. In most cases that’s the quilt top, batting and the backing fabric. So, I’ve still got a ways to go but I’m not short on motivation!

Quarters

betsysiber — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 02:48:37 +0000

This week I’m pressing and (attempting to) square up all of my quarters. I have done a test circle, and I have to say this quilt will NOT be perfect. But hopefully that will make me love it even more…? Oh well, there must be a first attempt after all. Here is what my nice little quarters look like at this point:

My little helper has not been as cooperative lately, but she makes up for it in cuteness.

In pieces

betsysiber — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:40:01 +0000

My quilting may have escalated from hobby to obsession. For 2 weeks, I slowly but surely cut out each individual piece, ending up with this lovely stash:

The next day I was finally able to sit down at my machine. I now have 64 little curved strips, one for each quarter of a circle.

For some reason, Inge is able to tolerate my cutting and sewing while playing on her own nearby. I think it’s because I do a lot of chattering while I work, something I’m not able to do while on the computer.

Next up is a trip to Quiltology to purchase my background fabrics, and then I should have some rings ready to show off soon!

Quilt

betsysiber — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 22:02:19 +0000

This winter marks the start of a new endeavor for me: Quilting. Last year, I stumbled upon a Denyse Schmidt pattern at my local fabric shop and it was love at first sight. I bought the pattern on the spot, not knowing the first thing about quilting. Really. My knowledge started with questions like “what’s the puffy stuff in the middle?”

Obviously, I needed some guidance. That’s when my friend Holly stepped in. She saw me raving about the pattern on Pinterest and as it turns out, this experienced quilter had the same pattern sitting at home waiting to be started. We met up a couple of weeks ago and over a bottle of red wine and curried chicken, she showed me the basics. So now it has begun! Wish me luck on my quilting journey. I’ll try to keep everyone updated on my progress.

Here it is! The Single Girl Quilt. And at some point in the future, it will be mine.

Laying out my pieces for the first ring.

Putting a lot of scraps to use on this project!

Changes

betsysiber — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 19:57:22 +0000

This is certainly a momentous time in my life. A marriage, a birth, a near-death, and now a possible move to a completely new place. Matt is currently undergoing a nationwide job search for a college teaching position. He has had a few interviews and one offer, but we are still very much in limbo regarding where we will settle in the Fall. The possibilities are pretty vast and include New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Maryland, New Mexico and California. We discussed all the possibilities before he even applied, and together ruled out any options that either of us could not live with (Texas). Although I know I should be more uneasy about this uncertainty, I’m actually incredibly excited! For me (I’ve been calling myself Queen Housewife lately) most of these locations would mean an upgrade to a HOUSE, complete with yard and front porch. Every time another interview goes well, I am scouring my real estate app for housing options. I can see us in an adorable yellow bungalow like this:

… with a lovely little studio like this in the backyard:

… and a hammock. Yes, there will definitely be a hammock.

Studded

betsysiber — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:53:39 +0000

Just listed 10 new pairs of stud earring on the etsy shop today! Stop by and have a peek.

betsysiber — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:03:56 +0000

Have you heard of Pinterest? It’s basically on online “pinboard”; a place to add visual bookmarks by category and follow others with the same interests. It’s really, really addicting. Check out or follow my boards here. Here are some pins from one of my favorite boards, “patterns + prints”:

A very special necklace…

betsysiber — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:42:38 +0000

…for a very special lady! I have had these photos for about a year and just rediscovered them while doing some digital sorting. I collaborated with Donovan Beeson‘s incredibly thoughtful Mother on this beauty of a necklace:

Donovan is one of my biggest fans, so I knew that she would love almost anything we came up with. I love to see her wearing it around town – it fits her postal style perfectly. Check out Donovan’s blog here and her paper goodies here.

Via Mexico

betsysiber — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 01:50:35 +0000

Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful responses to my writing on Matt. He has been doing much, much better and I know it is partially with all of your good wishes and prayers to thank. Here are some beautiful Mexican stamps that I’ve been lucky enough to make into a necklace or two. Image compliments of Parcel Post.