Aiming for Accuracy Fabric Reveal

It is my sincere hope that my post of two days ago, wherein I was trying to decide which of two sets of fabrics to use for the Aiming for Accuracy Quilt-Along and my indecision thereof, did not keep anyone up at night or unable to function for the past 48 hours. I asked for your help in choosing, and I got some great and passionate responses like "Oh please oh please make the Christmas throw!" and "Go for the bright and leave the light fabrics behind!" and for heaven's sake, one of you even mocked up some blocks for me.

Blocks brought to you by the delightfully crazy Melissa D.

I never dreamed you all cared so much. It's that, or you are finding new and exciting ways to avoid housework. Which I am totally in favor of helping you do.

So after careful weighing of your opinions of my fabric choices, I am happy to announce that one of these pieces of sage advice was the tipping point:
So which was it:

A. You should go with the fabrics that you love because you may never finish the quilt if you're using fabrics you don't love.

or

B. I would choose the first one, because sometimes you are surprised when you use fabrics you don't like so much.

Hmmmm.....

And answer B it is!

 My decision came down to the fact that Lisa's comment put into words exactly what I was actually thinking - that if I am going to do this challenge, why not challenge myself all the way and choose the less obviously "me" fabrics?

Also, I took into account that I would only need background fabric, so that made the answer even more obvious. Today I found a lovely blue with small brown polka dots that will look so modern Christmas throw it is scary. I only wish the fabric photographed a little better.

This so doesn't look like the pretty aqua it really is.

I'm planning to use the solid fabrics on the left side of the photo for the squares in the border. I did have to buy the one red one, because this FQ pack did not come with a solid red. What the heck? I demand my money back.

I also enjoyed the advice of Jennifer, who wisely pointed out, "If you don't love the finished quilt, it's a great gift." Or raffle quilt item.

But don't get too excited VBES PTO. I kind of think I am going to love it when it is done, and Greta will probably be long out of that school by then anyway, given my track record for finishing projects for ME.

Phoomph.....There it is! and other midweek excitment

We're just phoomphing along over here in hottieland this week. I have to say, I'm so happy with how my Phoomphing Experimental Art Quilt is coming out, so you get a little sneaky peek.

After a few fits and starts, Phoomph and I became good buddies and I was able to combine some scraps and some covered buttons into these way cute pinwheel flowers.

I cannot resist a covered button.

I love how the pinwheel really shows off the awesomeness of Phoomph; not only are the flowers obviously quite three dimensional as they are practically leaping off the screen at you (please duck so as to avoid eye injury if necessary), but this was the best shape I could come up with for showing off the fabrics on BOTH sides of the Phoomph.

I am now as tired of saying Phoomph as you are of hearing it. The name has not yet grown on me and probably never will,

Another photo just to show the cuteness.

And a final close up of the three dimensional leaves that I accidentally made last week. (Tutorial here if you missed it.)

It's just that sometimes I impress myself and I just can't help but show off a little. No worries though, it is pretty rare.

I have a couple of ideas about what I might do with this artsy quilt, so I won't be showing you the whole thing. I'll let you know what happens to it, should it end up doing something other than residing in the UFO bin. I hope the suspense won't keep anyone up at night.

While we are looking at jewel toned quilts or extreme close ups thereof, check out this "Kickin' Stash" quilt that Quiltwoman.com posted on their Facebook page yesterday, made by a happy and satisfied quilter:

It's like the crown jewels escaped and formed themselves into this gorgeous quilt!

 Now I will be the first to admit that I don't give a lot of time or energy to a quilt backing. I know I am SUPPOSED to care if it looks at least somewhat coordinated, but often it just comes down to what I have on hand. However, I do get that it can be so very exciting when a backing is just plain perfection, and I think we can all agree that the backing this quilter used on her KS quilt is Uh-Maize-Ing.

I'd have liked to see her happy dance when she found this fabric.

I am so glad she sent me a photo of both the front and the back! That was a first, but it was very much worth it. Please remember to send photos of your completed projects to the pattern designers. We really do love seeing them and I have yet to receive a photo I don't fawn all over, which is always good for a chuckle or two while you try to figure out if I am serious or not. (I am. I'm one of those people who when I love something, I love it with my whole self.)

Since making the commitment last week to forget trying to fit in with the modern mods and design what I want to in my own style, I've felt a renewed sense of fun in the studio. I've also decided that even though Perfection is and Always Will be Overrated, improving oneself is always in style. To that end, I have joined the Aiming For Accuracy Quiltalong on the Quilting Gallery blog. This will be my first quiltalong ever, and I am hoping to be able to spell quiltalong correctly by the end. Quilt-a-long? Quilt-along? Quiltalong? It remains to be seen.

We'll be making this sampler, which is likely to be a testament to how many seams I can pull out in one project because for the love of all that is holy, thems some POINTS, hotties.

This quilt will either make me a point pro or push me further into the "fun over fuss" camp than anyone has ever dared travel.

The blocks are made from 24 fat quarters, and I'm torn between two color schemes. First, I have this stack o' fat quarters I got at Sample Spree from Riley Blake.

PROS:

• Would make a cute Christmas throw, which I have always wanted but never found time to make.
• There are actually 24 fat quarters.
• Fabric would get used rather than sit around for the next two years only to be given away or sold.

CONS:

• I don't love these fabrics and am not sure why I bought them other than Sample Spree can do that to you.
• Therefore, they don't excite me.

Second, I have these:

PROS:

• Jewel tones fit my style much better. 
• Batiks are forgiving to work with as they don't fray easily, and will make excellent points.
• Black background would look awesome.

CONS:

• I already own 9000 jewel toned quilts.
• Afraid my quilt won't look all that different from the sample
• I have to buy more fabric to get to 24.

So, which fabrics would you go with, and why? I promise to take all comments under careful advisement as I make my decision.
 

Kelli and I want YOU!

Please picture me with my Uncle Sam hat firmly cocked on my head, pointing at you and telling you to VOTE!

Both my friend Kelli and I are in need of votes this week. First, I randomly came across Quilting Gallery's "Circle Quilts" contest last week and entered "Ripple Effect".

I didn't realize voting started on Friday and goes only until 8pm Eastern today, so you only have a few hours left to help it get out of the bottom third. But if you are so inclined, go on over to Quilting Gallery and vote for it! Thank you! You can even enter for prizes just by commenting on her blog post. I have no idea if I win anything if I place or show, but I love this quilt and it deserved to be seen.

Kelli did way more planning and actual work to enter Art Gallery Fabric's "Make it Right Challenge". She had to use this panel:

and come up with something spectacular. And so she did.

Her entry is blowing away the competition, and granted I am biased but DAMN GIRL it should be because it is awesome and so different from the rest, but you can help her win too. Just head on over to Art Gallery's Pinterest page and vote for Mod Geo Cruiser by pinning and liking.

Kelli will get actual prizes when she wins for sure. I am only hoping she will share.

Go vote for us! Because you love our quilts, and because we are so cute.

Happy and Not-So-Happy Accidents (3D leaf tutorial)

Like most designers, a lot of my best ideas come when I am screwing up. It's just the nature of the art, especially when, like me, you design in your head and see if you can make what you see a reality. I think maybe once things have turned out exactly as planned. Maybe.

Yesterday I was playing with my new toy Phoomph, alternately shaping it into funky flowers and singing "Phoomph.......there it is!" like a 90s throwback geek, and I wanted to add some leaves to my floral applique. I got out my Leaves Galore rulers to cut out some lemon shaped leaves from some fabric backed in Mistyfuse. As Mistyfuse (honestly, not my favorite product for this very reason) is wont to do, especially when warm from the iron, it stuck to itself.

There was some cursing.

Then there was some excitement. Because if a project with Phoomph flowers needs anything, it's some 3D leaves. So I cut a few more leaves and purposefully creased them onto themselves and voila!

How cute is that?

So for those who want to profit from my mistakes, here is how it is done.

3D leaves (or other shapes, I don't care) using Mistyfuse

1. Apply Mistyfuse to the back of the fabric you will be cutting your shape from. If you have never used Mistyfuse, I warn you, you will either love it or hate it. I tend to fall into the latter category, but have to admit that for some things it is really the only answer.

2. Cut out an oval/lemonish leaf shape. I used the small Leaves Galore ruler (Sue Pelland), but any method will do. I am not giving you a template here but you can refer to my photo below if you need clarification of "oval" or "lemonish".

3. Carefully fold the leaf back onto itself, wrong sides together, and pinch it along the "spine" of the leaf. Be sure the pinched part is only about 1/8" to 1/4" wide. Open up the bottom part of the leaf. NOTE: This step only works when the fabric is warm from applying the Mistyfuse. You can rewarm it under the parchment paper if necessary, like if you did this yesterday and today are writing the tutorial.

4. Lay the leaf on your quilt and fuse it around the edges. The pointy ends will look a little raggedy and will stick up. That is okay. We're going to fix that in the next few steps.

5. Push one pointy end to one side. and the other to the other side as shown. If your leaf ends didn't quite line up and there is wrong side showing, well, that just shows you what way to push that end to cover it up. Brilliant.

6. Starting at one end, machine applique to just before the other end. If you can, tuck your stitching into the fold under the pointy ends, leaving the folded over parts of the creases unsewn.

7. Repeat for the other side of the leaf.

8. OMG is that not the cutest????

I haven't finished this project yet, so I haven't tried doing any decorative stitching on the leaves at this time, but that will come. Please feel free to give it a try yourself and let me know how that goes.

As for the not so happy accident of the week, I give you my right thumb.

You try taking a photo of your right thumb with your iphone and do better.

Remember my card catalogue drawer turned quilting tools holder I showed you a few days ago and appears again here? As cute as it is, we can only give it a B+, as that is the kind of blood spilled over its creation.

I bought the drawer like a month ago, all excited because I'd been on the hunt for something to make a quilting tools caddy out of and this was perfect - not too small, not too big, really just right. All it needed was two small pieces of wood as dividers. So I asked my husband to cut me a couple of dividers out of a piece of scrap wood. He said "Sure, put it on my workbench."

You ladies know where this is going. Of course he would argue the jeans he wants me to turn into work shorts have been on my sewing table for 9 months, but still. He HAS shorts. I NEED my caddy thing.

A month later it was still sitting on his workbench. Granted, he is kind of in the middle of this:

Walk out my sliding glass door at your own risk.

but I was over it. I wanted my tool caddy. So armed with safety goggles and the knowledge that I had watched him use the table saw a million times and how hard could it be, I found a piece of scrap wood and cut it into two little squares. Oh, the awesomeness of me!

But sadly, one square was just slightly too fat, and was bowing out the drawer too much when inserted. Clearly we couldn't have that, but it was too small a piece to feed through the table saw again - that much I knew. But lucky for me, I had also seen him use the jointer to shave off tiny pieces and he made it look so easy! Oh lucky day! In my mind I was fluent in two woodworking machines and I would not be stopped.

When Mr. QH uses the jointer, he uses it for large pieces. No one told me they are the ONLY thing you can use it for. So I fed my 2" x 3" piece through and BAM! It came snapping back at me like a boomerang on steriods. My thought process was thus:

1. Well. THAT was weird! And really loud.
2. Why haven't I seen that happen when Mr. QH uses it?
3. Why can't I feel my thumb?
4. OMG OMG OMG I can't look.

Kickback is a beeyotch. It took a few minutes to set in, but pretty soon I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I briefly considered calling a nurse friend to look at it but then I got over myself and used my ex-Girl Scout first aid knowledge to apply pressure and raise it up and really, all was well. In my younger days, I would have gone and had stitches. Instead I took into account that I was unshowered and only had a few hours left before the kids got home and I didn't want to spend them in the ER, so I went with "I'm a fast healer. If I feel faint I'll drink some orange juice and keep the phone handy." It really paled in comparison to the Great Hedge Trimmer Incident of 2001, the incident against which we measure all machinery-related injuries on my part, so I was confident I would live. And live I did - even managed to type my Modern Quilting is Making me Crazy post with a bandaged thumb.

I am no longer allowed to use the machinery unsupervised. It remains debatable as to whether I really was ever allowed to do so to begin with, but I am a firm believer in feigning stupidity and begging forgiveness is quicker than asking permission.

May all your accidents be happy ones!

Modernizing the Crap out of Quilting

Modern. It's the buzz word of the decade. I challenge you to enter any LQS around the country and not be boinked on the head with the word at least 15 times in the course of your visit, be it from the cover of patterns, the description of fabric lines, or even the cool haircut on the owner, which can be counted if you are struggling to find 15, but I doubt you will.

It's outside of the quilting world, too, with Target showing us "Fresh, Modern" palettes in everything from their towels to drink cups. As if the year 2013 invented the color orange, thereby making it "modern."

It's even at antique shops, where "upcycling" has become the way to "modernize" everything from barn doors to yellowed books to glass jars. I've even done a little upcycling myself, as evidenced by my-library-card-catalog-turned-quilting-tools-holder.

File that under "C" for "Things that can Cut you badly."

A lot of it I really love, but I shudder when I see people painting a gorgeous piece of furniture from 1862 and then "distressing" it for that "modern" feel (Begging the question - is distressed the way we are all supposed to feel in 2013?); having once stained an early 1800s desk the wrong color only to be told by an appraiser I had just "ruined all of its value," I can't even go there in my mind.


With that said, if you are just arriving to check out my blog today during a break from painting your grandmother's china hutch teal.....um.....welcome! It's no secret that I don't keep my feelings to myself, but I always respect the rights of everyone to do as they see fit in life even if I couldn't do it myself, and a teal china cabinet is no exception. You know without a doubt I applaud the color choice in any case. But overall, let's be honest, I'm over this modern thing.


A couple of weeks ago designer Ebony Love went on a tear in the quilting world, calling out designers for putting out stuff that is less than stellar in the names of money, fame, fortune, and deadlines in a blog post called "The Dumbing Down of the Quilting and Sewing Industry". She'd had it up to here with poorly constructed quilts and patterns that in her mind were not worthy of industry standards, and she had no problem telling it like she saw it. My only issue with what she said was briefly worrying that she was about to kill off my "Perfection is Overrated" lecture, but since I've had a few inquiries over the past week I guess we're good, and I am confident we are both on the same page when it comes to imperfect vs a big old mess. What has made me crazy about our industry and the "Modern" movement over the last few years is along the same lines, so with Ebony having blazed the trail, I'm feeling free to share my opinions. Not that it usually takes someone else to blaze that trail, mind you. (I've linked her blog post to her name, and I encourage you to read it at your leisure.)


Modern quilting: "Many people describe it as breaking-the-rules quilting, reflecting the personality and individual style of the quiltmaker. .......... quilts which may differ from traditional quilting through new approaches to fabric combinations, piecing, construction methods, and motif quilting."

Okay. Um, hello. I've been breaking the rules and making up new piecing techniques since 2005. And not ONE person cared enough to realize I was a modern quilter when modern quilting wasn't cool. Heck, I didn't even know it! Woo hoo! I'm ahead of my time! I bet by that definition just about every one of us is a "modern" quilter. But I bet if you are to ask Susie Q. Hottie, average American quilting hottie, what she thinks of as modern, she might also add negative space, squares, circles, and and heavy machine quilting. All of which, don't get me wrong, are great elements in a design and I love them individually and together. A quick search on Pinterest for modern quilts is going to give you every one of those things in spades. (Well, actually, spades is one shape I DIDN'T see in that search, but if you find one let me know.)

But here's the thing: How many times can we as the quilting community get excited about one more quilt featuring - wait for it - squares and rectangles surrounded by white or gray? How many more times are we going to accept a design in a magazine that is basically a log cabin done in "modern" fabrics? Or ooh and ahhh over a quilt that is mostly negative space with one crazy star or hexi strategically placed? Or clamour to buy a pattern by a well known designer that we could have figured out on our own because it really is just a nine patch or churn dash or any other public domain block featuring their new fabric line?

Before anyone thinks this is sour grapes on my part because I've apparently been modern for forever and am not raking in the fame over it, consider this:

It's baaaaa-aaaack.

I have repeatedly referred to this thing as "The stupidest quilt I have ever created" and I mean that wholeheartedly. It is fourteen strips of fabric sewn together, with a "modern" border made of squares. I put the top together in 4 hours while blind in one eye from a contact lens solution incident, proving that it takes literally NO talent or special skill to make, vision even being optional. It ended up on the cover of a major magazine, has been kitted by shops, has been a mystery class at least once, is the pattern more Susie Q. Hotties contact me to tell me they have made than any other, and has forced a spin off pattern which is my #2 best seller, all because it is "modern."

I love that this pattern has made people so happy. It makes me happy, too, because it is pretty and sweet and is accessible to every quilter no matter how newbie or advanced they may be. I love that it put me on the map a bit in this industry. And as much as I want to be able to just bask in that, I can't get beyond the fact that it is a ridiculous pattern, and one that I believe is popular only because of that "modern" element. And that feels a little bit like selling out, and that makes me die a little inside.

I've never been one to design for the masses; I design what I love and if the pattern catches on, I'm thrilled. I truly believe that there is a place in our industry for all kinds of designs, and as fun as it is to catch a wave of a fad like this quilt did for me, from here on out, I renew my vow to design from the heart, not from the whims of the industry, as I truly believe my designs are better when they are more me and less trend, and I hope a few of you might agree. I can't expect the rest of the industry to follow, but I know I will feel better about what I am putting out there.

I'm going to call it my "Post Modern" era.

A Little Wheel Spinning

As per ushe after a big event in EPQD's life, I find myself a bit overwhelmed and not sure where to begin after Market filled my head with new ideas in both design and business. With only five weeks left of school before that magical time of year you call "summer" and I call "My Yearly Internship as a Cruise Director," and having dedicated 40 plus hours a week to Market prep over the last few months, I won't lie - I'm tempted to lock the studio door with me on the outside, pour myself some iced tea, find a hammock, and sit for five weeks. Bonbons may or may not need to be involved.

A great plan if I were looking to kill off EPQD, but such is not the case. Instead I really want to be able to use the lessons I learned in Portland to make Houston 2014 even better. And I want to snap out of neutral and get to my list of new projects, one of which involves playing with Phoomph, a product I discovered in Portland. A product which, while possessing perhaps the weirdest name ever in the history of naming anything if you take urban legendary twins Orangejello and Lemonjello out of the equation, looks like way too much fun and something I think you will all agree has my name written all over it. Too bad for Phoomph that it isn't really called Beth or at least Quilting Hottie Foam. So much easier to pronounce and spell.

I am guessing the makers are big huge fans of onomatapoeia. Or saying "ph as in phone" when they spell things.

Basically phoomph is a soft foamy sheet that is kind of like contact paper on both sides, so you can stick fabric to it with no more than your bare hands. Then you cut out shapes and play. Instant fabric fun indeed! I've been off the embellishment wagon for a little while now and I think this is just the product that is going to haul me back on up to the rumble seat and stick some scissors in my hand. Plus it says right on the package that you can't sew it, so yay for new uses for Jewel-it!

Phoomph even has its own Pinterest page with all sorts of cute ideas, including this one:

Pretty sure my children are going to want to make a few of these.

Like a brand new quilter's penchant to take on a king sized quilt right off the bat, my first Phoomph project will be trying something I don't even see in those photos at all, but you know that's how I roll. Or poof, I guess, in this case.

I'm also attempting to get back on the EQ horse in light of some contacts in the magazine and book industries that I made while in Portland. I still think I need to take some sort of class on using the silly software, but in playing a bit this past week I am rediscovering how fun it is to just keep changing one little thing and therefore change the entire look of a block or a quilt almost instantly. Now to turn some of that Sample Spree fabric into some of these cute new blocks I'm creating. But that would involve unlocking the studio. And cleaning it up.

Sometimes the hammock just sounds more inviting. Convince me otherwise.

Spring Market Awesomeness

The culmination of "The Year of Me", ie Spring Quilt Market in Portland, is officially over but for the unpacking - and with luck some fun unexpected orders and reorders from some of the cool new shops who bought me out of Taking Names and almost out of Kickin' Stash, the definite stars of the show for me. I knew I wasn't the only one who thought they were cool designs and now some new quilters west of the mighty Mississip will know it too.

But I am getting ahead of myself. First, here was Barbie's Dream Booth, Wednesday around noon.

This photo is just about life sized. Really.

Pretty, huh?

This is Barbie's Dream Booth Thursday around 6pm

Probably not a great place for those easily susceptible to sensory overload, but I never claimed to be boring and basic.

The only things that photo doesn't show about the awesomeness is how I was the brightest and most obnoxious booth in the entire row. I kid you not, it was two wool people, an earth tones batiks chick, me, then four more primitive wool people in a row. There were many moments where Kelli and Kathy and I wanted to break out in a rousing rendition of "Which of These Things is Not Like the Others." But we resisted. I mean why rub it in that we were so confident in ourselves as to stick out like sore thumbs? This one illustrates it to a tee. 

Please note the "Kickin' Stash and Taking Names" pennants flying from the cormers of the top poles. You couldn't miss seeing us even if you wanted to.

And how awesome are those lime green pole condoms? As long as I don't get a paternity suit from one of the wool women that suddenly one of their creations is batik bright purple wool, I think they probably did their job.

Thursday is always Schoolhouse day at market, which is way fun and a great way to see what the various companies are doing and offering at market. I did a schoolhouse wherein I ran out of chairs, brochures, and even SRO floor space in the room as people were spilling into the hall. It was slightly crazy! I mean, I was up against FAMOUS PEOPLE for heaven's sake. I think it was the name of my talk.

See anyone you know?

Many many thanks to Anne Wiens of Sweetgrass Creative Designs in Shelby MT, longtime FB follower who came by to meet me and ended up being pressed into service as a brochure passer outer when Kathy and Kelli, my market newbie helpers, were off being all starstruck and spooled up and forgot to show up on time. I may never forgive them.

After my SH was over and I could breathe again, we went to a presentation by Island Batik to introduce their partnership with Operation Homefront, wherein the fabrics in their new Quilted in Honor line will make quilt for veterans and portions of the proceeds will go to monetarily help them out. There were many celebs present, including Eleanor Burns, Rob Appell, Alex Anderson, and Pat Bravo. Kelli and I had discussed earlier how we had been 20something geeks back in the day who used to get up early to watch "Simply Quilts", so we were groupies who sat in the front row and accosted Alex Anderson when the SH was over. Embarassingly enough, both of us insisted we watched it on PBS, which lead her to think we were morons I am sure since it was on HGTV. She kindly posed for a photo with us anyway.

I'm certain she thought we were thisclose to being stalkers.

Friday was all about passing out brochures and hottie buttons. Kelli's goal was to hottie everyone in the place, and she came pretty close. By Saturday, we'd moved on to the goal of hottie-ing famous people, and we did pretty well.

Tula Pink.

Photo actually taken Wednesday. Buttons had not even been unpacked but her booth was right near mine; she got one Friday and wore it all weekend.

 Angela Walters

She's twelve. Maybe thirteen.

Bill Kerr

Is he not adorable?

He was a particularly exciting hottie-ing for me (actually he was hottied by Judy Damon, but she kindly came to babysit my booth while I ran over to meet him) as I have an uncle named Bill Kerr and it has always cracked me up to see his name in quilt magazines. This Bill Kerr said he has met two other Bill Kerrs as well, so it is apparently a popular name. He could not possibly have been more sweet and kind, this guy.

Valorie Wells

Yes, Jeanne LeB. I love her teeth. Plus she is just as cute in person as this photo makes her look.

Scott Hanson of GenQ - again this one was Judy, and I never actually got to meet him, but this photo just is too awesome not to share.

Hee hee. Makes me laugh.

My favorite hottiefying (Are we loving how I am conjugating that word into every form I can in this post?) is one for which I actually do not have photo documentation. But I think you will all agree with me that to hottie Rob Appell was really just to confirm what we all already knew. When he stood in my booth and happily agreed to wear a pin I really think we were within seconds of the place bursting into flame. I've linked his name to a photo of him if you don't know him.

You're welcome.

My top three other favorite moments of Market:

1. Catching up with quilty friends in person. Loved the quickie opportunities to reconnect! Jen Eskridge and Robin Koehler stopped by Sat am and it was so fun to see them both. They are both some of my favorite quilting people!

And so pretty.

2. Being scouted out by a major publisher, who came by to court me both Saturday and again on Sunday. I currently have no intention of writing a book, but that was humongo for the ego.

3. Making my best connections on the light rail train. Seriously, you just never know how or where networking works best, and that was pretty funny to me.

My plane is just about to board, so I am going to leave you and go back to reality. But not before I thank Kelli Fannin and Kathy Anderson, my fantastic and amazing helpers. Without them there is NO WAY I could have done this and I truly will love them for the rest of eternity and we will be besties forever and forever. It was so much fun to work with them and see Market through the eyes of a newbie, too.

And not before I swag brag with one final photo of my Sample Spree goodies. I'm guessing at least one of these may be used as a giveaway pretty soon, and that will be my way of sharing the Market love.

The hotel carpet really makes a lovely backdrop.

Next up - a post later in the week to let you know how long it took me to find all the items everyone lost at home while I was gone for a week. You ladies totally get it.