brand-eye

barcelona pictures

2012-01-16T20:20:00.005-05:00

our trip was incredible and barcelona is so much fun. everybody should go there at least once in their life even if only to see sagrada familia. it is a masterpiece of a structure and trying to put it in words or capture it in photos is impossible.

i've been super busy lately and don't have time to post about our whole barcelona trip, but hope you enjoy these few.

happy new year

2012-01-04T18:07:00.004-05:00

i hope everyone had a great holiday season and new year. we had a very busy (but fun) christmas with our families, then hightailed it to barcelona for a week where we rung in the new year. more pics and a longer post about it will be coming.

how did you spend your new year?

rock n roll quilt finished

2011-12-21T12:03:00.005-05:00

and the rock n roll quilt is finally finished! and it's huge! i stopped keeping track of how long this one took, but let's just say it took forever. i first blogged about it in february.

not only is the front the shirts, but the back is too. shirt backs :-)

it was dark when i finished it so the pictures are not great. i'll try to get some better ones this summer since it'll be residing in the house beside me.

happy fall

2011-11-26T20:15:00.002-05:00

i took a few shots before all of the leaves fell off the trees.

baby quilts

2011-11-12T16:33:00.003-05:00

i've had a bunch of custom baby quilt orders lately. here are a few pics of a couple i made in the past month.

don't forget you can order yours here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/79348398/custom-baby-quilt-in-a-modern-design

2011-11-12T16:16:00.004-05:00

are you a pinterest addict like me?

the other day i saw a great idea to display your bracelets with a bottle. so i grabbed one of my many pieces of milk glass (a vase) and used that. as you can see i am also a fan of bakelite.

you can follow me here:
http://pinterest.com/brandeye/

golden nugget and the moland house

2011-10-24T19:45:00.009-04:00

a few weeks ago a friend and i went to the golden nugget in lambertville, nj. it's a really great flea market where you can find many amazing things.

i found about 5 awesome paintings and drawings just in this box.

on the way home we stopped at a historic house that i've driven by many times, but I never could convince dave to stop and see it. jenni was up for it so we stopped and are so glad we did. the moland house was one time George Washington's headquarters. it was built in the 1700s as a residence and has been restored.

the kitchen:

the kitchen sink.

a porch.

how gorgeous is this shade of blue?

and this shade of yellow. do you love this this asymmetrical fire place as much as i do? i want one.

and a hand quilted quilt.

custom baby boy quilt

2011-10-14T17:24:00.003-04:00

here are pictures of a baby boy quilt that i made for an etsy customer. it was made with joel dewberry herringbone grass and some other coordinating fabrics.

clover market this sunday the 16th

2011-10-13T10:36:00.004-04:00

if you are anywhere near the philadelphia area, you should come to the clover market this sunday. i will be there, along with my wonderful husband. you will also find over 70 sellers of fine things: artwork, crafts, jewelry, antiques and vintage goodness galore.

here are the details:

sunday october 16, 2011
10 am - 4 pm rain or shine
12 E. Lancaster Ave.
Ardmore PA 19003

hope to see you there!

step into my hyundai

2011-10-08T20:44:00.005-04:00

ok so in real life i own a hyundai (actually we own 2, and i love them, but they are not "cool" cars).

my first car was a 1974 super beetle, in orange. and it ruled. but ever since then my cars have never been as cool. although they are practical.

the neighborhood beside us had a car show the other weekend so we walked down there and saw some sweet rides. we like to imagine that these are what we drive.

we'd own a camper...

and a convertible...

and an electric car...

baby girl quilt

2011-10-08T20:33:00.004-04:00

the pictures could certainly be better, but here they are. this custom quilt was made last week and obviously photographed at night.

it looks better in person, i promise.

p.s. if anyone understands iphoto, please give me some pointers. i edited these and now the unedited versions are the only ones i can find.

tgi friday

2011-09-30T13:31:00.004-04:00

the last two fridays have been great.
last friday, i was mentioned on apartmenttherapy's re-nest site. yippee!
and then today my profile is on the clover market blog.

hooray!

now i'm off to a music fest for the weekend where i will see portishead and chavez, among many other bands. i'm super excited :-)

a turquoise baby quilt and pillows

2011-09-20T10:55:00.007-04:00

i made all of this last friday when i took off the day of work. it's amazing how much you can get done when you wake up at 6am and just start sewing.

please note my new plant below. it's some fancy pants oregano from terrain. i am hoping i keep it alive for at least a few months. on a side note, terrain is incredible. however, i'm not sure how they get away with their prices! it just becomes comical after a while. oh look, it's a table runner on sale for $90, or a 4" plate on sale for $30. how about this table that's been sitting out in the rain for a year for $5,000. it gets to the point where i think $24 for a plant is a steal. then i get home and realize i just spent $24 on an oregano plant. at least it came with the cute planter :-)

getting back to business... the new baby quilt is in the shop

and the pillows are available here in the shop.

random

2011-09-20T10:46:00.002-04:00

just because he's the cutest.
and check out the beauty at the glenside farmer's market. we bought a ton of stuff, i'm making one of those butternut squashes tonight.

100SALES

2011-09-12T14:59:00.003-04:00

in honor of my 100th sale on etsy, i am offering 10% off ALL items in my etsy shop! just use coupon code 100SALES at checkout for 10% off everything. now would be a perfect time to order a quilt for a holiday gift :-)

CLICK HERE

frames quilt and CLOVER market

2011-09-08T18:32:00.003-04:00

the first clover market of the season is next sunday, september 18. i've been busy quilting some new items for the shop. i bought a couple of these fabrics at a great quilt shop in pike place market in seattle. i still haven't told you about that trip, but hope to get caught up one day.

the faux bois fabrics i bought at spool several months ago. they sort of remind me of a series of frames hence the name, frames quilt.

and just because my dog is the cutest in the universe.

five minute pillow makeover

2011-09-01T17:57:00.004-04:00

want to snazz up some pillows? all you need is some trim, your pillow cases and 5 minutes.

so you'll want to grab your pillow cases. then cut a length of trim that is long enough to go all the way around the edge, with an extra 1" to fold under.

start at the seam and fold the trim under itself 1/2". you can pin the trim first, but i like to just jump right in and sew.

sew along the edge of the trim. if it's thick trim you may want to sew along each edge, but mine was skinny enough to just sew one edge.

once you get to the end, fold the edge under again and voila. beautiful pillow cases :-)

hancock shaker village

2011-08-31T17:23:00.006-04:00

so several weeks ago we spent a few days in Massachusetts, which you may remember. i've been a huge blogging slacker lately, and then we were out of electricity for a few days due to hurricane irene. so let's just blame it on that, shall we? :-)

the hancock shaker village was incredible. although i can't necessarily condone all of their beliefs (celibacy, no thanks), there is much i can agree with (racial and gender equality, simplicity).

i am a huge fan of the shaker pegs that go all the way around most of their rooms.

the picture above is a rendition of what they think the colors were as originally painted. also, one of my favorite colors.

and inside, they made boxes (which i had to buy of course)

they were avid canners and preservers of food.

the round barn building.

and the animals. the pigs were adorable, notice the one still laying there, sleeping. dave said that is me.

even the floor of the icehouse was cool.

everything was beautiful.

shupp's grove

2011-08-15T17:35:00.009-04:00

i always find great things at shupp's grove flea market. warning, a ridiculous song plans when you click on that link, but it's worth it ;-)

here's what i purchased: 8 vintage frosted glasses (which i was going to sell, but decided to keep), a vintage necklace, a vintage fish belt buckle thing, a plant in a copper sugar canister, vintage trims, and sweet vintage pearl, shell and bakelite buttons.

i think i spent around $60 for ALL that stuff. the most expensive things were the buttons, which i could have easily spent hundreds on. a seller is there that literally has thousands of the most gorgeous vintage buttons you'll ever see.

berkshires

2011-08-08T17:51:00.014-04:00

dave and i went to the berkshires last week for a couple days for a little rest and relaxation. it was absolutely wonderful! i have to thank travelzoo for having a great deal that i snagged in the spring. i wouldn't have even thought of going there if i didn't see it on travelzoo.

the drive there was actually pretty easy. PA->NJ->NY->CT->MA. sounds like a lot of states, but the east coast is pretty compact, so it didn't take long at all (5 hours including a stop for lunch at an organic farm stand that had delicious cheeseburgers).

after a tiny hiccup with a bridge being out, and no cell service, i somehow navigated us to our destination. the old inn on the green. i can't say enough about this place, it was amazing.

the main building (above) was the restaurant and had guest rooms. all of the dining rooms were lit only by candlelight, so the evening dinners were romantic.

we ate breakfast on the back screened in porch. while eating our amazingly delicious scones, muffins, yogurt, granola, fresh fruit, juice and coffee, we watched birds at the bird feeder, and also saw a bunny and a chipmunk.

our room was huge and perfect.

and they had a pool, which i wasn't even aware of before we got there. i'm really glad i decided to pack swimsuits just in case.

we went for a very short hike on the Appalachian trail. we didn't have water and the way we started was straight up-hill so i made us turn around after like 10 min. we then went to a store to get some H2O and then found another, much less strenuous hiking path at fountain pond state park.

we also went to the hancock shaker village, which was incredible so it deserves it's own post.

what new place have you gone or do you have planned for this summer?

baby iva

2011-08-04T16:45:00.004-04:00

dave and i are going to have another niece soon! i made her this quilt, i hope she loves it.

garden

2011-08-02T20:56:00.007-04:00

the squash has taken over the garden at this point, but we did harvest a couple of peppers a few weeks ago. green peppers and jalapenos.

kutztown folk festival

2011-07-28T18:02:00.017-04:00

a couple of weeks ago we went to the kutztown folk festival, which is now my favorite festival ever. i have no idea why it has taken me 32 years of life to finally go, but it was amazing.

here are some highlights.

hex signs galore:

pennsylvania dutch food: (side note PA dutch is not actually dutch, it's german.)

along with the usual pa dutch style pot pie, you could also get an ox sandwich, yes an ox. next time we are definitely getting this.

adorableness.

and last but not least. QUILTS! over 2000 of them.

the one on the right was one that won one of the top honors. it was incredible. they all were!

the barnes

2011-06-23T16:46:00.009-04:00

will only be in in the space where it was meant to spend it's eternity for another week, so get there if you can!! i finally went on tuesday and the place is magical. it's right outside of philly and is housed in a gorgeous building, built by albert barnes for his collection. if you've seen the art of the steal of have been following this mess, you know that the barnes foundation is moving the collection, which is in direct opposition to the will of albert barnes. there are a lot of details involved, but the bottom line is go see it while you can in the place the art was meant to be viewed! inside photography is not allowed, but here are some shots of the museum and gardens surrounding it.

the collection includes 181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 60 Matisses, 44 Picassos, and 14 Modiglianis, among other paintings by Van Gogh, Degas and countless others. it's a wonderful place and will certainly not be the same once it's in that modern monstrosity on the parkway.

barnes foundation website here where you can see the collection and make reservations (if there are any left) to see it in person.

this was our favorite. the postman by van gogh

daisy janie

2011-06-18T16:23:00.008-04:00

i've been a fan of the daisy janie blog for years, so i was very excited when she posted a project that involved quilters. Jan, the lady behind Daisy Janie is a fabric designer and makes organic cotton fabrics. her designs are just my style. the project was this: she'd send fabrics from her geo grand collection to lucky people like me and we would make quilt blocks for her, which she will sew into a quilt for donation to Project Linus. i had always wanted to join in a quilt block project, so i was very excited when she contacted me to be involved.
here is the gorgeous fabric that i received.

i finally decided to make a city skyline with the fabric.

it was fun to just let my imagination take the lead with this project. i can't wait to see the finished product!

orange baby quilt

2011-06-10T18:04:00.008-04:00

now in the shop.

7 years...

2011-06-05T16:18:00.003-04:00

... of making me laugh, cooking me delicious food, and being my best friend.

i love you dave :-)

stargazer #2 complete

2011-06-05T16:07:00.005-04:00

front:

back:

details:

you can order your very own right here in the brandeye shop!

quilts

2011-05-24T19:21:00.004-04:00

while shopping at my favorite antique mall in the area (stoudts, who also happen to make WONERFUL beer), i saw some beautiful quilts.

and luckily the red light right down the streen cooperated so i could idle just long enough to take this pic.

baby love quilt

2011-05-24T18:38:00.005-04:00

i recently made a baby quilt for some LOVE-ly friends of ours, who are expecting a baby in july. i forgot to take pics of it, so snapped a couple in my car about 5 min before the baby shower :-)

art

2011-05-17T17:57:00.005-04:00

last year dave and i went to a first friday and saw an artist (gregory prestegord ) that we both REALLY liked. we had been wanting to buy something, but never got around to it. i went to first friday in april and stopped at F.A.N. art gallery. as luck would have it, he was having another show, so we bought one of his amazing paintings. his paintings really capture philly, with all it's imperfections and grit and grime.

stargazer #2

2011-05-17T17:49:00.007-04:00

i started making another stargazer quilt for a customer from the clover market. can i tell you how incredibly hard it was to find gray quilting cotton? i'll bet it took me longer to find the fabric than it'll take to make the quilt :-) i finally found it at my fave store spool.

the front is finished and the back is almost finished.

next up will be the quilting and binding.

i love the clover

2011-05-06T18:31:00.004-04:00

we had another gorgeous day at the clover. as i was getting everything ready, i noticed that a LOT of the stuff i bought over the past few weeks has been green.

i was contemplating keeing the fire king milk glass mugs, and sort of regret selling them. i always have sellers regret! i was going to keep them if they didn't sell, but they did. oh well!

since the weather was AMAZING, i finally had a chance to wear my new summer dress from target. have i mentioned my love for target? it runs deep.

the next clover market is june 5 and if you're in the area you should go! there is so much great stuff, you'd be a fool to miss it. i won't be there, however, i'll be celebrating 7 years of marriage on that day. guess that makes me a fool....

happy earth day

2011-04-22T16:21:00.006-04:00

spring

2011-04-14T18:14:00.003-04:00

the fritillaria blooming means one thing: it's officially spring!

is this not the coolest flower ever? i look forward to it every year.

clover market recap

2011-04-14T18:08:00.006-04:00

i busted out my woodburning tool saturday and made this sign.

overall the day was a success! here are some pics of my "shop."

now i need to hit up some flea markets and sew some more quilts and pillows to restock :-)

clover market tomorrow and a new quilt

2011-04-09T11:52:00.006-04:00

i'm getting ready for tomorrow's clover market. i just made a brandeye sign out of a piece wood and a wood burning tool. i'll have pics of it finished after the market.

and i just finished a new quilt, can you tell i'm ready for spring?

what are you doing on this lovely weekend?

front page news

2011-04-07T19:38:00.003-04:00

well not exactly front page real news, but yesterday at 2pm a brandeye etsy item made it to the front page. i checked my activity feed on etsy this morning and noticed that i had a TON of new "hearts" on this vintage bitters bottle, as well as new "hearts" for my shop. so i headed over to heart-o-matic on craftcult and sure enough, front page. how exciting :-)

around the house

2011-04-01T16:53:00.005-04:00

dave made a killer dinner last weekend.

homemade gnocchi with beef in a delicious sauce.

and the vintage "b" i bought for my craft room has decided to stay in the living room for the time being. it is sort of odd (or very cheesy) of me to have just a "b" in our living room, but i think it looks cool. and the trophy beside it dave won for being awesome. the award was for being the happy hour planner at work. seriously. haha.

custom baby quilt

2011-04-01T16:47:00.005-04:00

here is a custom quilt i whipped up this week.

i really love the animal print fabric. i hope the baby does too!

the highland quilt

2011-03-21T16:42:00.009-04:00

you never know where you'll find inspiration. this quilt is inspired by the brickwork of a local school, highland elementary, which we pass every day while walking our dog moz.

available in my etsy shop here. you pick the colors and i'll make one just for you :-)

tight lipped

2011-03-13T10:26:00.003-04:00

my tulips closed and won't open.

in other news, new quilt design in the works :-)

clover market: april 10

2011-03-13T10:13:00.003-04:00

i will be selling my wares again at the clover market. i hope you can go! so far there are 40 confirmed sellers for that day so you'll be sure to find something great to buy.
check out their website here for updates.

april 10
12 E. Lancaster Ave.
Ardmore PA 19003

10-4

see you there!

Retro Modern Baby Quilt

2011-03-06T14:26:00.006-05:00

i just listed a new quilt. it was 100% inspired by the vintage floral/polka dot fabric, which i bought from the lovely freckle wonder.

front:

back:

available in the brandeye etsy shop.

antiques

2011-03-03T18:59:00.006-05:00

a few weeks ago we met my family at some antique stores in adamstown. you can't drive a mile without passing approximately 13 antique stores, it's heaven. i saw lots of cool things, including quilts.

i LOVED this folk art piece, but it was huge and my house is little. but the other day i thought of one place it MIGHT fit, so i want to go back to check it out.

and how about this for merchandising?

locket

2011-03-03T18:48:00.005-05:00

my love of flea markets is no secret. you just never know what you'll find, but you know it will be awesome. i found this locket at a flea market years and years ago and have been wearing it a lot lately.

this weekend i finally got around to putting a picture in it. dave and i circa 2001.

yay for accomplishing things you've been meaning to do for years.

sometimes craft night is more about the food...

2011-03-02T19:35:00.004-05:00

...and friends.

but they are the most important parts!

craftiness

2011-03-02T19:30:00.004-05:00

i finally made some new banners for my blog and shop. do you like them? and i have been sewing up a storm and crafting new tags. more updates to come soon. hope everyone is great!

AC baby

2011-02-23T18:52:00.010-05:00

so we headed to AC last thursday night to celebrate my bday and it WAS awesome. here are some highlights that were captured on film:

driving into town.

after first being booked a room that looked quite disheveled, sort of like someone had a quickie after the room was clean, they upgraded us to an ocean view. pre-dinner drinks.

late night boardwalk.

the obligatory 3am trip to tony's baltimore grill. this place is awesome, but only when it's late and you're drunk.

hotel views.

frolicking

and then i became a BIG WINNER! you gotta love the 6 card bonus on the 3 card poker game, which turns a non-winning hand into a winner. i'm now officially a table game player and not just a push-the-button slot player. thank you bally's.

and the chelsea, for another great night.

happy vday

2011-02-23T18:17:00.008-05:00

we spent valentines day at home, eating a delicious steak dinner made by dave. i made chocolate chip bread pudding for dessert, but forgot to take photos of it.

i bought us tickets to the philadelphia orchestra and reservations at barbuzzo. i finally got to wear my blue tights that i bought about 3 years ago.

the kimmel center is such a rad building.

and barbuzzo was even better than we imagined.

if you don't count pizza actually in italy, it was the best pizza i've ever had. and the budino was killer. just make sure you mix it up a little and don't have your first bite include only the caramel, because it'll taste a bit like a salt lick.

all in all an epic weekend.

stargazer quilt

2011-02-21T10:11:00.009-05:00

the stargazer quilt... inspired by snow covered fields in lancaster county. you can order your own in your favorite color combo. the front contains one 'chasing tails' square, surrounded by a solid color. the quilting lines start around the star and are reminiscent of lines of a field.

machine quilted with a hand sewn binding.

available in my etsy shop in 3 sizes.

wall hanging or baby quilt
throw quilt
twin size/coverlet

rock and roll quilt

2011-02-04T16:20:00.007-05:00

i could have cried when i cut up 22 vintage rock concert t-shirts.

this past summer my neighbor gave me her collection of AMAZING rock concert t-shirts to make into a quilt. she was a busy girl in the early 80's, going to every awesome show that came to philly. i called her before i started cutting last night and she gave me the OK, with slight hesitation. apparently these shirts are worth a small fortune, but they are her memories, and she wants to be able to enjoy them instead of having them stuffed in a drawer.

this one is dave's favorite.

and i had to cut them in order that i liked them. yes, i'm sure this is weird, but i started with the ones i liked least and the last one i cut was this one. i mean, how cool is this?!?!? she actually called me again just before i cut this one and i answered the phone with "you didn't change your mind did you, because i'm on the last one!".

she is also the coolest and let me wear them until i made the quilt. i figured i better start it before it gets warm, so i'm not tempted to wait another few months to make it :-)

our giant tv

2011-01-28T17:52:00.005-05:00

we (dave) have been wanting a new tv for years and we finally took the plunge and bought a 42" flat screen. i also splurged on this AWESOME art piece by paintsquare that i had custom made to match the room. the sweet credenza is from a thrift store by my work, and was only $45! yes, $45.

the only thing we have left to do is figure out a cord-hiding-system.

and we didn't even have to get rid of the elvis presley armoire. it now fits snuggly in the dining room and gives us lots of extra storage space. next we want to get a nice big painting to go in the dining room.

snow day jan 2011

2011-01-27T16:40:00.004-05:00

we have decided that this is our year of indulgence. fancy cheeses from dibruno brothers, lavendar truffle honey from garces trading company, and chimay. every day is a celebration of something.

today it's snow.

hello there almost february

2011-01-27T16:30:00.002-05:00

i can't believe it's almost february. my 32nd year of life is right around the corner. i've been working on this quilt that i've been really exicted about. it's the first of a new quilt design and you will be able to order your very own in your choice of colors and size.

stellarquilts video

2011-01-17T13:21:00.003-05:00

i just found this video on the etsy blog. you have to check it out, it's awesome and his quilts are awesome too. you can find them here.

25% off ALL vintage housewares

2011-01-12T16:12:00.004-05:00

i'm trying to sell some things, so that i can buy more :-) so ALL vintage housewares in the brandeye shop are now 25% off until monday.

happy new year

2011-01-12T16:05:00.003-05:00

we spent the new year in mexico and i'm finding it very hard to back into the swing of things. i still wish i was laying on a beach, being served drinks all day.

merry christmas

2010-12-23T12:46:00.007-05:00

we decided to go sans tree again this year. we actually have lots of little trees (i collect them), but no "real" tree. my mom got me this ceramic christmas tree last year and i love it. it reminds me of my grandma marilyn and grandpa donald who i always miss, but especially at christmas. each year they had ceramic trees and as a kid i always thought it was really lame to not have a real tree, but now i get it. it's amazing how your mind changes as more time and experience are under your belt.

i made some changes to our living room. we got a NEW flat screen TV! which rules, although it's making our tv watching time increase. after the new year i'll get some pics of the new set up which includes a credenza and new art. in the meantime, here's a sneak peak of the art and my wreath from craft night.

have a very merry christmas from me and moz.

custom quilt #2: take 2

2010-12-23T08:52:00.009-05:00

i am usually a procrastinator, but this time i actually finished custom quilt #2 two weeks early. that proved to be a good decision, because when i took it out of the dryer a few seams had ripped open. heartbreaking :-( this happened once before and i ended up giving it to my niece. this reject i gave to dave, since he's been wanting a quilt for years. i do, however, intend to make him his own.

anyway, here's the reject original (the back is above).

and here's the new, non seam ripping one :-)

i even make a little tag for the gift giver.

christmas shopping

2010-12-15T06:09:00.008-05:00

this year i've been trying to get a lot of shopping done on etsy and at local shops and craft fairs. we were driving through manayunk the other weekend and drove right by three potato four, which i have been wanting to stop by, so we did. they had LOTS of cool vintage stuff, you should check them out.

i also went to the craft show crafty balboa, which was fun. i didn't buy any gifts there, just stuff for me :-)

where have you been doing your christmas shopping?

custom quilt #2

2010-12-03T16:35:00.005-05:00

i started another custom quilt, this one is a christmas gift for a lucky person. here are some pics of the quilt in process.

custom quilt #1 finished

2010-11-29T19:23:00.004-05:00

and here is the finished quilt that i started way back in august. our day before thanksgiving was very hectic, so i didn't get any great photos, but here it is. it's huge! i had to send it out to get quilted it's so huge!

i'm pretty confident that it will look much better in their bedroom, then it does in these pictures.

happy thanksgiving

2010-11-29T19:02:00.009-05:00

we had such a wonderful, long weekend. lots of cooking was involved. first i tried to make pie dough, which was a disaster. i used the food processor for the first time and think i used the wrong bowl, so it was hard as a rock and never came together. but thank goodness for the ready made pie crust, it was a life savor to the apple galette....

...and pecan pie.

then lots of things with the leftovers. stuffing/potatoes/turkey/gravy balls (aka thanksgiving balls)...

and turkey pot pie.

the real PA dutch way.

how was your thanksgiving?

cyber monday sale: 10% off

2010-11-29T08:18:00.002-05:00

enter BRANDEYE10 at checkout and get 10% off your entire purchase.

shop here

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fall in the city

2010-11-21T08:55:00.005-05:00

last sunday we went to philly and walked around a lot. here's some of what we saw.

sushi and wreaths

2010-11-21T08:48:00.003-05:00

i finally had another craft night last week, it had been months since the last one. dave and i have been taking a japanese cooking class at the local high school, so i thought i'd use my new skills in the kitchen and make some miso soup and sushi. the soup turned out good, but the sushi rice wasn't great. i think i added too much water, oh well. it was still delicious.

we all made wreaths, check them out.

what have you made lately?

retirement home...

2010-11-05T15:55:00.006-04:00

... for horses. yes, you heard me. i wish i could retire here, ryerss farm for aged equines. we found ourselves in pottstown for a wedding a couple of weeks ago, so i tried to find something fun to do in the area before the wedding. thanks to the internet, i found this to do. it was so much fun and made me remember how much i love horses. as a kid i rode them at summer camp and i always loved it. you couldn't ride them here, but you could pet them and feed them carrots and apples until your heart's content.

i'm taking a photography class at our local high school, so i tried to use my fancy pants camera on complete manual mode. well, most of them looked awful, but i got a couple that turned out well.

have you done anything unexpected and fun lately?

pumpkin picking

2010-10-25T18:00:00.007-04:00

a couple weeks ago we went with some friends to this great farm near us, none such farm. we intended to only go there for the market, which sells delicious meat that is raised across the street. but they had a pumpkin patch so we went there first.
i've never been to one before, it was really cool.

then dave made this killer beef stew for dinner.

quilt photos

2010-10-17T14:29:00.014-04:00

a couple of weeks ago i went home to spend the weekend with my family. i brought my quilts because i wanted to get some picture of them with a field background, so my dad found a good spot. it was on PA state game lands (aka hunting land). luckily you aren't allowed to hunt on sundays, so we were safe.
wool suit fabric quilt

modern floral baby quilt

retro floral stripes quilt

pink modern floral baby quilt

and a special thanks to my dad for his help with holding the quilts!

camping

2010-10-17T14:13:00.005-04:00

a few weeks ago we went camping at tobyhanna (again). that place is so great, especially for those with dogs who love to swim.

our camping neighbors had the coolest dog, named lloyd. he was only 8 months old, but gigantic. he was a mix between 3 types of mastiff and a dane. so you can imagine how big he will get. i can't stop thinking about that dog, he was the (second) cutest.

it was fun

2010-10-13T17:20:00.006-04:00

thanks to everyone who came out to see my first show at the clover market. the day couldn't have been more perfect and the weather was gorgeous. here are some pics of my set-up.

lily of the valley quilt

2010-10-09T15:27:00.005-04:00

the lily of the valley quilt is finished, just in time for the clover market tomorrow. stop by anytime from 11-4 if you're in the philadelphia area.
the center is a vintage tea towel and it's bordered by vintage and new fabrics. i really love how it came out.

i quilted around each flower and the bow to make it pop and give it lots of texture. i love how it turned out! if it doens't sell tomorrow, look for it in the brandeye etsy shop.

doilies and clovers

2010-09-27T20:36:00.004-04:00

i made these for the clover market. if you're in the area on october 10, stop by anytime from 11-4 to say hello and do some shopping. i went sunday and there were many, many awesome things.

i'm also hoping to finish this quilt by the 10th, wish me luck!

mozer

2010-09-24T17:45:00.001-04:00

yes, this is why our couch is dirty and stained, but how can you resist this face?

i could eat this every day

2010-09-24T17:34:00.004-04:00

philly is a foodie town, a serious foodie town. and we go there as much as possible, usually making our plans around seeing friends and eating. the suburbs where we live are a different story. it's a dining wasteland. there are mediocre places, but none too great. within the past year a vietnamese place opened, pho and beyond, and we have been going ever since. it is seriously FANTASTIC. here's a picture of their cabbage soup, which has the most amazing broth ever.

from bag to tag and the clover market

2010-09-20T20:16:00.009-04:00

i had been keeping this bag around (from my trip to the amazing terrain), because it was too pretty to throw away. today i noticed that it was falling apart so i was just about to put it in the recycling, when i had the idea to cut it up to use as tags. i planned to go to the craft store today to buy some, so this saved me a trip, and recycled something that would have been in the trash.

while cutting up the bag, i noticed this, which i thought was appropriate :-)

and why, you may ask, do i need tags? because i'm doing my first show! i'm super excited about it and nervous at the same time. i'll be at the clover market in ardmore, pa on october 10, 11-4. you can check out lots of details about the market here. hope to see you there!

retro bird pillow

2010-09-13T16:36:00.002-04:00

i had some of the patchwork left from the retro bird quilt collection, so i made a pillow. you can find it in my shop here.

lily of the valley quilt: in-process

2010-09-13T16:30:00.004-04:00

here's a sneak peak of a new throw size quilt i'm working on. here's what i started with, then edited and added fabrics as it evolved. the center and inspiration for the quilt is a vintage lily of the valley kitchen towel that i picked up at a flea market. it's a beaut.

Vintage Doily Pillow

2010-08-29T13:02:00.003-04:00

I just listed a new pillow in the shop. It's made from a vintage doily and a mustard color linen, check it out here.

flower box

2010-08-25T19:07:00.005-04:00

our railing was slowly rotting, so dave ripped it out. it was one of his summer projects since he had off all summer (must be NICE). once he ripped it out we agreed that it looked better and he suggested a planter box instead. great idea, so he made it and i painted it and here it is.

i love it :-) it adds a nice punch of color to the house. i just need to balance it out by having one more thing that color on the porch. oh, what to paint....

st. john: the food

2010-08-25T17:37:00.009-04:00

we ate lots of great food in st. john. although, i was surprised that there wasn't more local food. i guess when your island is that small, it's hard.

first up, fish taco's at the tourist trap. this place was adorable and had good food. we got fish tacos and a lobster roll.

oh and presidente beer.

surf and turf at spyglass, which had a great view of the sunset.

and some local cuisine at windy level. the chicken curry was delicious and the cabbage side was even better. i don't have pics of the food we ate at a food truck before this. it wasn't very good at all, and then i slid down their steep driveway on the way to the car and cut up my leg and hurt my finger. it sucked :-( my finger actually still hurts. but the kid watching got a kick out of it.

and some caribbean lobster at morgan's mango. i thought I was splurging on this, but then my parents picked up the check and i felt really guilty. :-)

st. john: the animals

2010-08-22T15:02:00.013-04:00

if you want to go to paradise, go to st. john, USVI. it is heaven on earth. we spent the first week of august with my family on vacation there. st. john is 2/3 state park (thanks to a rich rockefeller who donated it to the US). here are a couple pics of all of the wildlife.

donkeys: this guy came up to our car and i really wanted to pet him, but didn't want to loose a finger.

goats: this guy was up on a table at miss lucy's and was rambunctious and wanted us to feed him leaves.

birds: this one was following our boat on our way back from a charter to the BVI's (which were awesome by the way). my dad held up a ritz cracker, which he dove to get. he was back about 5 minutes later for another one.

cats: a stray cat at our villa that my niece wanted to keep.

iguanas: there are also lizards around, but they move too fast to take a picture.

hermit crab: i guess that's what this is!

fish: we saw some cool ones while snorkeling (like cuttlefish!). this little guy was swimming around my legs while at the soggy dollar bar. he had one little black fin on top and an orange one on the bottom. he was cute!

flea marketing

2010-08-11T16:44:00.005-04:00

i finally made it to a flea market just before we left for vacation (a post on that soon). they had this awesome sign from ambler, which is a town by me where a few of my friends live.

and lots of pyrex.

and i even got to pet a pet goat!

have you found anything good lately?

custom quilt #1

2010-08-11T16:37:00.005-04:00

i am working on my first custom quilt and here's a sneak peak at the process. first is choosing the color scheme and fabrics.

next is the design, i gave two options.

and now i'm working on the blocks.

i'll keep you updated on the progress!

cucumber and a pickle martini

2010-07-27T19:46:00.010-04:00

we got our first cucumber out of our garden the other day. not everything is surviving in the garden, but we are harvesting a few things! jalapenos and cucumbers have been a success.

i made dilled cucumbers. the recipe basically consists of 1 large cucumber, 1/2 cup white vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar and dill. first slice the cucumber and add salt to it and let sit 15 minutes. wash off the salt, mix the other ingredients together, then toss in the cucumber.

delicious.

and if you want to be adventurous, make a dirty martini with pickle juice replacing the olive juice. dave wasn't a fan of his, but i liked it. (i could only drink one though.) thank you to craft night (or just eat, drink and talk night) and specifically jenni for coming up with that excellent idea :-)

covet

2010-07-27T18:15:00.004-04:00

i love this chair from designedbyfrancis on etsy. it also happens to be called db chair, which i'm sure means dave and brandi. if that means i can talk dave into getting it, i'll lie.

four of a kind

2010-07-25T11:12:00.009-04:00

dave and i spent a night in AC for his bday. this great hotel, the chelsea has one day sales (if you're on their mailing list, so get on it!) where rooms are super cheap. after trying to coordinate a date where someone could watch moz i just randomly picked a thur night and booked it. we had a BLAST.
first some drinks in the room.
followed by hanging at the chelsea pool, then gambling and eating and drinking and dancing.
we had a great meal at dock's oyster house. calamari first then i ordered a scallop and risotto dish, which was absolute sweet heaven on a plate.

dave ordered a clam bake, which was good, not as good as mine though.

then we gambled and i won about $100. most of the bars closed at midnight so we went back to the chelsea. at night the area around the pool becomes a dance club, which was fun. we danced to some crap remixes, but they played at least a couple decent songs. i don't know why all clubs don't play 80's music, don't they know it's the most fun to dance to??
we then headed to tony's baltimore grill to get some late night food. eating after a night of drinking is the best way to avoid a hangover, so that is what we did.

the food isn't great, but it hit's the spot at 2am. we got a meatball pizza.

friday we woke up and had breakfast at teplitzky's, which i sadly did not take pictures of. the decor of this place i love, it's retro themed and right up my alley. the food is ok, bloody mary's are good :-)
after breakfast we went to the tropicana to do a little more gambling. i lost the $100 i won the day before, but dave hit it big. REALLY BIG! this is what four of a kind looks like playing let it ride.

it pays 50 to 1, and dave bet $30 so he won $1500!!!!

we then spent the rest of the day shopping at the outlets with some of the winnings. god i love AC :-)

sailboat quilt

2010-07-20T18:26:00.005-04:00

the sailboat quilt is in the mail to nexessary exTRAVagance in chicago.

i also made this doily pillow to send.

hope they make it safely!

kanthas at the philadelphia art museum

2010-07-20T12:20:00.005-04:00

you've got a few days left to go to the kantha exhibit at the philadelphia museum of art, it ends sunday. i finally got a chance to go last weekend and it was great. the level of detail on the embroidered quilts is crazy. i can't even hand quilt one quilt and every square inch of these are embroidered with intricate designs. not only is the design embroidered, but the entire background is stitched, which gives them depth.

from the museum website,

"Stitching kanthas was an art practiced by women across Bengal, a region today comprising the nation of Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. Lovingly created from the remnants of worn garments, kanthas are embroidered with motifs and tales drawn from a rich local repertoire and used especially in the celebration of births, weddings, and other family occasions. "

i snuck some pictures and didn't get caught this time, unlike last time. the pictures are not great, but you can see everything on this website.

this one was my favorite, i loved the geometric design.

ps. the exhibit is in the perelman building, so you can just pay $8 for that building.

pay it forward... coasters

2010-07-15T21:19:00.006-04:00

so here is the outcome of the pay it forward post... coasters. personalized...

i practiced using my free motion quilting foot on these coasters and was semi-successful. it definitely takes some practice to use! once i get some free time quilted coasters will be in the shop!

Sailboat Quilt Progress

2010-07-08T20:28:00.006-04:00

i always try to work with what i have and so i started with this, a vintage linen kitchen towel that i picked up at a flea market. i decided each half would be it's own quilt.

then I surrounded it with other vintage fabrics.

and bordered it with white fabrics and made the back.

i'm almost finished with the quilting, then binding, the done!

two new pillows in the shop

2010-06-26T16:50:00.003-04:00

we had a nice and lazy day for the first time in ages. i finally spent some time making a couple of pillows and i just listed them.
here and here.

pay it forward-the sneak peak

2010-06-22T20:42:00.001-04:00

so remember when i posted this? pay it forward? i finally got around to finishing the gifts, which will be in the mail shortly. here's a sneak peak!

i don't want to ruin the surprise, so once they're received i'll tell you what they were :-)

dc

2010-06-22T20:37:00.004-04:00

i'm so behind on everything at the moment. i had to go to DC for a work seminar, not my fun brandeye part time job, my real one that actually pays the bills. i basically saw trains and train staions...

a couple glimpses of museums (only if they were having an 'event')...

and the convention center and my hotel room.

shop hiatus

2010-06-13T13:32:00.003-04:00

i'll be away at a work conference for a few days, so the shop will be closed until thursday evening. see you then!

necessary exTRAVagance

2010-06-07T20:33:00.005-04:00

dave and i, and his bro and sister-in-lay, spent memorial day weekend in chicago. we had a blast and had perfect weather almost the entire time. we took a trip up to the andersonville section of the city to visit the shop, necessary exTRAVagance, that is selling some of my stuff. it was so exciting to see my stuff actually in a shop, and what an amazing shop it was. it is filled with all sorts of hand made, eco friendly houseware. heaven... and i got to meet the very sweet owners, travis and kelli.
this pillow might look familiar.

and these gorgeous quilts, one of mine is in there.

check out the shop if you are in the chicago area:

5416 North Clark Street
Chicago, Illinois 60640

and tell them i sent you!

we're (almost) outnumbered

2010-06-05T11:40:00.004-04:00

so we found out we have two new additions to our "family." the fantastic mr. groundhog has two kids. they're taking over and have set up their home in our compost and under the shed. any idea how to get rid of them? they're cute and all, but i'm not so sure i want them living in our yard (and eating our garden).

6 years

2010-06-05T11:34:00.002-04:00

6 years ago i married by best friend. i couldn't have asked for a better husband. love you baby!

the retro floral stripes collection

2010-06-03T20:00:00.008-04:00

the retro floral stripes collection will soon be added to the shop! a gorgeous quilt, kitchen towels and a pillow. all are made with a combination of 100% linen, vintage fabrics and trims.

coming soon...

EDIT: they are now in the shop!

quilt here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/48954257/retro-floral-stripes-quilt
kitchen towels here:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48956659/white-retro-floral-stripes-kitchen-towel
http://www.etsy.com/listing/48956123/tan-retro-floral-stripes-kitchen-towel
pillow here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/48955230/retro-floral-stripes-pillow