Thursday, April 29, 2010

Got My Groove Back

I think I've been slow to pick up my sewing after taking a couple weeks off....I guess I got used to watching TV all day....reading some good books....haven't had the discipline to sit myself down in front of the machine and get some work done.  But, I've got quite a few orders in line, a few gifts to make, so I've got to get my butt back in gear.

Here's a peek at what's crowding up my sewing table.....



I did manage to finish this set:




Alrighty, time for me to get back to work!

Monday, April 26, 2010

All Things Texan

Another week has gone by and I'm in catch up mode.  Got a few orders to work on and am slowly getting there.

I thought I'd dedicate this post to all things wonderful in TX.  This weekend, we had a blast hanging out with friends, introducing fellow Jerseyans to the Texan way of life.  On Saturday, we hit up the crawfish festival here in Old Town Spring and gorged on all sorts of goodies.  This time, I chose not to bring my camera, so that I could get down and dirty eating those crawfish.  So, a picture from a couple years ago will suffice.  We housed a couple of buckets of these crawfish:


The aftermath:


It was my first time trying Boudain - which is basically dirty rice stuffed into a sausage casing and I'm a believer!  It was soooo good.  All in all, it was a fun time hanging out, listening to some Zydeco music, counting pit bulls, and of course, stuffing our faces full of Cajun goodies.

On to some more goodies, last week Andy brought home a treat from his trip to Victoria:





Step aside slim jim and all other imitators....this is the real deal.  The make-you-want-to buy-a-cowboy-hat-and-go-herd-some-cattle kind of jerky.  It's awesome.

Taking another step back into time, last month I got to go to the Championship BBQ Cookoff at the Rodeo.  I never got to post about it, so here are a couple of pics.  First, we got all-you-can-eat BBQ :


Then topped it off with fried oreos.




So, you see, it's no wonder that people in general are bigger down here in TX.  Just look at all this awesome food!  If you find yourself beginning to drool, you really need to come and visit us...or, better yet, you can just move down here!  There's a house across the street for sale :-)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Goodbye Manicure

and good riddance! A week ago, before I got really sick, I was inspired by a burst of spring weather to give myself a manicure and pedicure.  As a rule of thumb, I generally don't do manicures because I'm one of those impatient and clumsy women who cannot make a manicure last more than a couple hours.   But, I was feeling a little under the weather, had nothing to do, and was inspired by the nice weather to make an effort to look a little nicer.  Normally, my manicures last all of a couple hours before they are subject to abuse and clumsiness, which leaves me with an ugly nail job.  However, since I spent the week laid up in bed with no sewing, no cleaning, no gardening, no cooking, no dishwashing....my manicure stayed in tip top shape for a whole whopping week.  This weekend, I made a return to my sewing machine and 30 seconds in...jabbed my nail with a pin.  30 seconds later...got a pen spot on my thumbnail....from there, it was all downhill as I dove back into dish washing....cooking...  I do have to say, I'd trade in my salon perfect manicure for my health back any day!

I haven't done much sewing so I don't have any pictures of recent creations....However, here are a couple of pics taken from my friend's camera when she was in town.  I think she's talked me into buying a new lens for my camera as the only real difference between the pics I took and the ones she took was the lens.  Everything looks better with natural lighting.

Perhaps I need to hire some hand models as well as props for my creations....

Saturday, April 17, 2010

A Small Step Forward

Well, I've spent this week horribly sick in bed....hence the lack of posts.  It's pretty tough getting sick when you have a autoimmune disease...everything just hits you 10 times harder.  Well, this illness really got the best of me for a few days...but luckily I got into the docs, got some superpower antibiotics and have been seeing alot of improvement each day (besides the fact that I am still having insomnia issues).  Maybe soon, I can move out from the quarantine room in my house.

But since I've been away for so long, I though I'd show you a special treat.  Recently an old friend got married, but I was unable to make the wedding (due to the fact that we've been invited to a record of 6 weddings this year).  For two people to fly out, it's just too expensive. So, to make up for it, I made the newlyweds this:





These are tea towels, good for kitchen use, wiping up spills, drying up dishes.  According to the ladies in the shop, they're pretty absorbent, but Eric and Nina will find out for sure.

I liked these so much I almost kept them for myself.....except I'm not Nina....and well, Andy's not Eric....oh well.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Old Friends

Well, it's been a rough weekend/beginning of the week for me.  Somehow I caught a bug and have been running a fever, which means that I've gotten no sewing done and have been sitting around on my bum watching tv all day long.

But, over the weekend, I got to hang out with some college friends.  There's nothing quite like the relationships you build in college...there's this level of intimacy developed by living in close quarters that is hard to find once you're in the real world.

Well, I was showing my friends some of my items and had a brilliant idea.  Being that I do not have children of my own, and therefore have no models for my creations, I had to improvise:


Gotta love that these girls let me do this :-)

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Sewing Buddies

There are really two things that make sewing more fun (as if it wasn't fun enough already).  One is sewing with music, the other, sewing with a buddy.  Come to think of it, I don't think I ever sew without some tunes on - they get the creative juice going.  I'll save that conversation for another post.  

Onto the second - sewing with a buddy.  My friend Jaime recently dove into the sewing world with me and it's been a ton of fun.  Being a more seasoned seamstress, I helped her with her first project (the crazy girl took on a huge quilt for her first project.....that's why she's my kind of gal).  

The best part about her?  She's my age ~ She was born in the same decade as me ~ In fact, she even a little bit younger than me!  Awesome, we're going to start a revolution.   Sewing's not just for grandma anymore.  

Most recently, we went fabric shopping, I introduced her to the asian grocery store and to pho, and worked together on a new cushion for her bench (all in one day):


Jaime is like me, just flip-flopped on the outside.  What do I mean?  Well one day we went out to lunch and asked to have half the bill put on our separate credit cards.  Jaime's Caucasian, but her last name is Chong.  I'm Chinese, but my last name is Sokolik.  Well, when the waiter brought back the cards, he gave me the one with Chong on it and gave her the one with Sokolik.  I suppose it makes good sense that her name fits me better and mine her.  

So, I'm overjoyed to have a new sewing friend :) I mean girls really have to do everything in pairs right?  

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Sewing and Shoveling

Back from a mini Easter vacation.  We had a fun relaxing time with Andy's parents and Beau the bulldog.
Here's what's been coming out of the shop lately:






Ever since this fabric line called Blush by Basicgrey from Moda came out, I've been dying to make something out of it.  I was so excited when one of my customers picked this fabric - it's my favorite out of the whole line.  What can I say, my customers have good taste!

On the home front, I broke ground today on the newest patch of garden in my backyard.  There's an8-9 ft gap between two citrus trees (really little shrub/sticks) that I planted and I wanted to join them together into one patch.  I'm hoping to get some flowery things planted..like roses and hibiscus.  We'll see how long this will take me.  Right now, at the pace I'm going, I think I'll be done in a month....unless I cave and ask Andy to do it for me (or he may find my digging so pathetic that he'll volunteer to do it for me)....

Friday, April 2, 2010

Happy Easter!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter!  Here's a nice springy blanket I made recently.  Seems like I make alot of stuff out of this fabric too - I guess it's a big hit for those non-gender babies as well as stylish boys.



We're off to Plano to visit family for the weekend.  Hope you all have a great Easter!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Lions and Tigers and Bears!

The past few days have just been beautiful out....so I haven't gotten much done in the sewing world.  Gotta take advantage of the nice weather before it gets too hot and the sun gets too strong, and I turn into a hermit.  Went to the zoo with some friends and saw lions and tigers and bears!




Excuse the terrible hat hair....I guess when a 3 year old finds your crazy hat hair hilarious, you wear it around proudly just to bring out that infectious smile.  I just love these kids!  Adorable kids like these are the reason I make what I make.


Andy's been away for the past few days, I'm looking forward to his return and to spending the weekend with family.  I bet all the wildflowers will be out on the drive up to Plano...so lovely.  Well I guess since this is mainly a sewing blog, I should post something related.  Sent this out a little while ago: