Christmas in England

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone! With so much to do in preparation for spending Christmas with my future in-laws in England I did not have the time to post all the things I have been working on recently! And now that I am safely here across the pond I am without my laptop where all the photos are. So for now: merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy new year and see you next year with more blogging!!

it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Oh it has been so long since last I posted!  Things have been so crazy with graduate school, finals, and prepping for Christmas abroad with my fiance's family!  Anyways,  there are plenty of things I have been working on...and slowly but surely I will post them.  Below are some custom pillows done for a classmate. Also, MY BUSINESS CARDS!  Emily Taylor is the most amazing friend and designer and come up with the look, so a huge thanks to her!  To come in future posts:  a precious tutu for my little cousin, a cover for the kindle, an full sized apron and more!

sneak peeks...

Here are sneak peeks at some projects that are currently underway!  The first two pictures are the fabrics for a commissioned piece for my step sister, who wanted something special, original and customized to give to a friend as a Christmas gift!  I won't post the finished product until after the holidays (as you never know who reads these things) but I will give you a few hints!  It will have ruffles on it (not much of a hint there since I will slap a ruffle on anything standing still long enough!) and I will be creating a custom monogram on it, and it is something I have done before, but haven't done before...curious yet?  I can't wait to see how it turns out!

The third photo is a close up of the fabric choices and chevron detailing on a skirt I am making...it is so close to being finished and I just want to wear it so badly!  But outstanding orders take precedence.  It is on the back burner for the time being.

The last clump of photos are some more fabric flowers I made while working this weekend!  I made the UNC flower during a home game (we won!) since I couldn't be there physically due to work.  And I got an order for some flowers on headbands for younger girls, so I started making smaller ones as well.

Oh Oh!  And guess what!?  I officially have business cards!  Well, I don't actually have them...but they are being made and mailed in the next two weeks!  Thanks and major props to Emily!  Will post pictures when they arrive, and of course will be passing them out along with every purchase!  Ekk!

Email me if you have any interest: sew.abel@gmail.com

need a quick stocking stuffer?

If you are looking for a quick stocking stuffer, look no further!  I make monogrammed drink coozies!  I can do initials, sorority/fraternity letters or university letters (ex: UNC), etc.  Below is an example of a coozie I did for a friend looking for a birthday gift for her roommate.  This one in particular is a large coozie that fits the 32oz. Blue Cups from the bar He's Not Here in Chapel Hill (yes, Chapel Hill residents, you read correctly....Blue Cup Coozies!).  But I can make regularly sized coozies as well.  I hand-paint the letters using fabric paints and set them with a hot iron so they will not fade and will withstand use.  Shoot me an email if you are interested at sew.abel@gmail.com. 

Monogrammed Blue Cup Coozies: $15

Monogrammed Regular Coozies: $10

while on the subject of Emily...

I guess while I am on the subject of Em and Nick, I should post the dress I made for her for their engagement photos!  I had made myself this dress before and always thought it was so "Emily.  " I was so excited to get to make her one too!  I spent what felt like hours in one of my favorite fabric stores, Mary Jo's (which is HUGE!), looking for the right material.  I thought I would never find it.  Just as I was about to give up I spotted this fabric out of the corner of my eye, and just my luck there was just barely enough material left on the bolt!  As an added surprise for Emily, I hand stitched her initials and his over her left shoulder.  It really made for some beautiful photos.
Thanks Em for letting me blog about you!

Aren't they such a beautiful couple!?

I love the shoulder cut-outs on this dress!

Em and her mom found a perfect family broach to help polish off the sash.

"evp <3's rnt"

my best friend's wedding...

I LOVE Emily and Nick Taylor!  They are probably my favorite couple, and when Em asked me to be a part of her...I mean "their" ;)....big day I was beyond thrilled!  I knew that Em would come up with brilliant ideas and I couldn't wait to help bring her visions to life.  I am posting pictures below of some of the things I had a hand in, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Making the flower girl's skirt was probably my favorite project!  I just made the skirt; the top was actually her own little cotton dress.  The feathers were just so beautiful and went so well with the overall feel of the wedding.  Em emailed me a picture of this and I created it with no pattern or instructions...so needless to say I am pretty pleased with my self :)

For anyone interested, I will reproduce this skirt, or one similar, upon request...
I want a grown-up version!

Silk Dupioni flowers

Our bridesmaid dresses were beautiful, and versatile (and pretty comfortable to boot!) but being true to Em's style, they needed a little extra umph!  So I made 12 silk flowers to pin onto the dresses

While at a dress fitting, we put a veil on Em, and loved the look of a birdcage but did not love their prices!  The ones in the salon were over $100 and I am sorry, that is highway robbery.  I told Em not to fret, and not to worry about what anyone else liked, that I would make her whatever she wanted...and of course it couldn't be plain!  So I added some feathers from the flower girls dress and a few pieces of my great grandmothers costume jewelry.  It was perfect!

Here is Em and her mom after just putting on the veil.

These were definitely my largest undertaking for the wedding!  They are yarn balls made with  paper mache paste and balloons!  I made just over 50...though we did lose a few on the car ride up.  Thank goodness I drive a sporty little Honda Fit that can hold a surprising amount!

We hung them in clump down the walkway to the reception and put battery operated votive candles in them.  They were particularly beautiful after the sun had set

Fabric Flowers

I don't know about you, but Pinterest has really sucked me in!  It is the perfect way to pass the time when you are sitting in a 3 hour lecture, right?  Well, while sculling around one day I came across this blog:  http://treyandlucy.blogspot.com/2010/11/ask-and-ye-shall-receive.html  and this hair accessory.  Anyone who knows me could tell you how much I love  flowers made out of different and interesting materials (since I am allergic to the real deal), and I especially love fabric flowers!  So I had to try this out for myself.  I have worn it a fair amount since I made it and get tons of compliments on it.

Thanks to Tanya at http://treyandlucy.blogspot.com/ for the beautiful blog and inspirations, and thanks Sarah for being my model!

Etsy!

Finally!  I have finally uploaded a few things to Etsy.  I have dragged my feet long enough, as any of my close friends could tell you.  So today I bite the bullet and put my stuff out there!  In the top left of this blog there is a link that will take you to my shop.  Its a small number of bags but hey, you have to start somewhere!

I have been working on some other items that I will be uploading as soon as I can finish them...get excited!

A little preview of whats on Etsy!

tunics for the winter?

I don't know what it is about the fabric store that brings out the crazy colors and prints in me!  Stick me in a shopping mall and I am immediately drawn to beautiful -but neutrally colored- clothing.  Stick me in the fabric store and you would think I was sewing cruise wear!  But what can you do?  So this is what I have been working on today.  The top, itself, is only missing a hook-and-eye (my least favorite thing to sew!) but I don't think I am done quite yet.  I bought some thin but fuzzy fabric called "minkee" that is normally used on things like baby blankets.  My thought is that I can sew a detachable lining that will button into this top...this way I could wear it over the Christmas holiday, since I will be in England where I have no appropriately warm wardrobe!  And then I can also bring a little color to the English countryside :)

my pillows aren't naked anymore!

I get bored very easily.  So when I first moved off campus and into a house (where I finally got to sleep in a bed bigger than twin) I decided to buy a somewhat pricey, but ultimately well made quilted comforter in white.  I thought it will last me a long time and this way I could do crazy pillows and curtains in whatever colors I wanted and they would always go with my comforter, no matter how often I changed them.  Well it is time for a change!  I gave the original pillow shams I made to a friend and have finally gotten around to making new ones for myself!  New apartment, new shams!

The patterns are a little busy, but I just love the colors!  Plus I figure I have less than two years left to put "A's" on things and use funky colors and patterns with pink in them...after that its wedding bells and color palates that suite both genders (which is a fair trade in my mind, anyways)...

I can do these with any letter, and in any color combination.  I also made the smaller black and white pillow with the blue ribbon detailing, which can also be made to order in any color, etc.

aprons...

While doing my undergrad I joined the sorority Alpha Delta Pi.  Every year, my chapter does a silent auction to raise money for the local Ronald McDonald House; which supports the families of sick children by providing housing within walking distance of the hospital and often times providing meals too.  I was trying to think of things I could sew and donate to the auction.  I came up with this design idea for an apron.  It is 100% my own original design and I love making them!  Since then I have been commissioned by several people to make them their own apron, as well as making more for the annual auction.  The great thing about these is that no two are the same!  The overall design stays the same (though there is some slight variations in size) but I never use the same two fabrics...so each one is as unique as its wearer.

Pricing is as follows:

$35 for an apron with front pocket

$45 for an apron with sorority letters or monogram

They can be shipped to anywhere in the US for $5.  Sorority letters or Monogrammed aprons are shipped at no cost
Email me at sew.abel@gmail.com if you are interested
If you are interested in a full apron, please email me for pricing.

Debuting the first two aprons at the Silent Auction

Sparkling ADPi Apron

Commissioned apron with front pocket 

Beginning....

Creating a blog has been on my to-do list for far too long!  So here's to new beginnings and blogging!  I am hoping that this will be a way to be able to share my creations and endeavors with family, friends, or anyone really.  Today, while working at the local quilt shop, I was talking with a coworker about seeing the imperfections in my own work and being my own toughest critic.  And she said something that really resounded with me and felt appropriate for my first post:  She told me about how some quilters like to purposefully place a mismatched block in their quilts, calling it a "humility block," because only God's work is perfect.  So this has got me thinking about how all those little imperfections (that really only I ever see anyways) are like "humility stitches."  If anything, they add character