Welcome to the World, Brian

Babies, brides, diapers, dresses………It seems like every couple of months there is a joyous occasion to celebrate (I still feel too young to have friends getting married….it is weird).

Last week, my cousin had a baby, whom they named Brian J  Thankfully, everyone is healthy and happy.  I have not been able to go see the baby yet, but we already have a HUGE family, so I think I will wait until everything gets settled down. I’m sure the new little guy is overwhelmed to a world with so many people.

Also, it will give me time to trim all of those pesky stray threads from a quilt that I made for him.   Baby quilts are awesome!!! I love making them.  You don’t get bored working with the same fabrics or using the same techniques because it is so fast.  Plus, you get to use adorable fabric. 

**After a long morning in church, my dad offered to be my model.  See, he's still in his suit.  I'm spoiled**

I have a hard time choosing fabric for boys…………personally, it is not that inspiring when compared to the fabric for girls (I have a weakness for girly fairytales….I’m dying for a reason to use the peeps 1001).  I think that this quilt is a little sophisticated for a baby, but I am really happy with how it turned out.  I wanted to incorporate Japanese fabric to honor our Japanese heritage (even though I have red hair and blue eyes, I am a quarter Japanese.  I have all the recessive genes.  I promise I’m not pulling your leg).  The blue fabric was imported from Japan.  I got it from an estate sale, so I’m not sure what line it is from, which is too bad because I think I would like some more.  It is gorgeous.

For the back, I chose a navy polka dot.  I think it adds some more playfulness while still matching the style of the front.

*Please ignore the stray threads.  I promise that these hid when I was trying to snip them, only to pop up during the photo shoot, which is just plain mean* 

Quilting this was a BLAST.  First of all, I used my new walking foot……….It is one of the great loves of my life.  Using the right tools makes a big difference (obviously).

I can’t quite recall what this kind of quilting is called, but it is straight-line, diagonal quilting to form cute little diamonds.  I used my dad’s painter tape to make it as straight as I could, though it is still far from perfect. It is great pattern, and I will be using it again in the near future.

I don’t know my cousin’s decorating taste, but I hope that she loves it as much as I loved making it.

Btw, does anyone know the relation between me and my cousin’s baby?  Is that my second cousin?  My cousin once removed?  Oh, well, I will soon be claiming my rights as family to steal some time with the new little cutie J

On a completely different note, I’m trying to take up cooking.  Cooking is something that I want to be good at, but it is hard to put in the time and money it takes to be good.  When I was in London, I cooked all the time with my flatmates and loved it.  At home, it is just so much easier to warm up leftovers, go meet with friends to grab a meal, or rely on my mom’s cooking.  I don’t know how faithful I am going to be to my cooking practice, but I started again this weekend.  I made a sweet and sour pork stir-fry for our Sunday family dinners.  Everyone ate it without complaints or bogus compliments, so I’m going to call it a success.

*My brother and I share an intense and undying love for coke.  The cans you see on the left is the end of a long line of empty cans.*

Wishing you a life free from stay threads,

Amy