Hand: Lovely Little Lovebirds

I've been in love with Sublime Stitching's "Dutch-Russian" set since it was released, though it took me a few months to cave and buy the pattern.

"But I already have so many patterns!" Practical me said.

"But wouldn't this look just lovely hanging in your kitchen?" Craft Addict me piped in slyly.

This argument went on (and often does when a new project requires new materials not found in my ample stash of supplies) and (as usual) Craft Addict won.

I'm very glad she did. This was a serious joy to stitch. I love the design so much I stitched it on both ends of the tea towel. There's something so happy about the bright colors and twisting vines, and the pretty little lovebirds. It even got a nod on Sublime Stitching's Twitter. Hell to the yeah.

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As if my dialogue between Practical me and Craft Addict me weren't enough, I truly think I have a sort of odd split personality thing going on. On the one side I love and make horror movies, obsess over freaky microbrews, and play violent video games. On the other...there's the monkey quilt-in-progress, stitched tea-drinking bunnies, and the whole pink cake obsession. Weird.

Speaking of those bunnies, I was thrilled to see one of my Black Apple stitches get a nod on You Can Call Me Chris, alongside some other wonderful stitching. I seriously love those baby onesies. Which again...falls into "weird" for me. Me? Onesies? WTF?

Hand: Taking the Cake

I've been plagued by the weekend blahs. Yesterday I was in a particularly nasty funk, which called for some major-league cute crafting to cure.

So, I pulled out my new copy of Softies -- which I snagged as a b-day gift to myself a couple weeks ago -- and whipped up this adorable little party cake. It's all hand stitched, made of equal parts craft felt and pure cuteness. It was also a major bonus that I had all the right supplies on hand! I love projects I can start and finish without a trip to the craft store.

Now I'm eyeing my felt stash, and wondering just how awesome a little black and white cake would be...

Eye: How I spent my summer vacation

Chillin' with one of my favorite writers in Baltimore, MD.

June came and went in a flash. I looked up today and it hit me that yes, we are now in July...so much so the 4th has passed and my 30th birthday is looming right around the corner. Criminy.

But not thinking of that today. Today, thinking of patching my poor old couch, starting a swimming regimen, and finally, FINALLY posting to my neglected blog.

Why has it been neglected so? Well, June began with me pulling my filmmaker hat off the shelf for my first-ever film festival screening, and then rapidly trading it for my traveling hat, as my husband and I took our first trip together to the East Coast.

Baltimore, MD, to be specific; five days in Baltimore and 24 hours in Washington, DC.

The Washington Monument, as seen from Constitution Gardens Lake.

I don't think I have words for the sheer wonder that was this trip. We stayed with a trio of our friends in Baltimore, who were generous enough to share their apartment space with us. So, aside from lots of sightseeing and feasting, there was lots of board games, Rock Band, laughing, and staying up too late talking on the balcony.

Blue crabs with Old Bay, ready to be devoured. Our hostess and her family treated us to a real Maryland crab dinner.

I'm still sorting through the 400+ photos I took on the trip, and I've begun posting them in a Baltimore/Washington DC Flickr set. So far, I'm through the first three days of the trip. Gotta get a move on...more to share soon!

The Capitol Building in the rain...the last stop on our 24-hour self-guided tour of the Mall.