January Friends

I went out of town in January and visited with some friends. And of course, we did some shopping! Check out my cool new things! :)

I visited Stitcher's Paradise and Quiltique while I was in Vegas and I found a few things.

First, I was just going to slow my roll at the stitching store, because OMG, I went crazy last year and I still haven't stitched a thing, so *clearly* I did not need anything.

Or did I?

I was looking through their "old" stuff in the back, digging through the Glendon Place stuff, because I really do like her desserts, and I found this LE kit!   I had looked everywhere I could think of online to find it, and couldn't; *everyone* was sold out!  But lo and behold!

My only issue is that I hate the color of the fabric.  It's a pale baby pink and I just don't want to use it.  I want something that is just this side of white, either in grey or cream, but I'm not happy with what I've found so far.   But I'll get there.

These two adorable snowglobes weren't badly priced (so much overseas stuff is expensive!), and I snatched them up.    A friend gave me Elegant Squid, and I bought fibres for it, not realizing that she'd left her extra fibres in the package.  Oops.

And a piece of fabric.  Because.

At the quilt store I found some patterns.   The half-moon cases are something I think I will adapt.  Instead of having zipper pockets or holders, I might just line the whole thing in wool/felt and make half moon keepers for all of my different wips, so that way I'm not re-using the same one over and over and leaving threads in the wrong place.  I think it would work ever so much better that way.

The small design above the half moon thing is a pouch for carrying nail polish bottles and accessories, and that would be fantastic for travel, because right now I just chuck them in whatever bag.

The professional Tote is something I found online some time ago and have been meaning to order, but since they have it!   I hear it can be complicated to sew, especially because there are so many layers, but I'm confident I can pull it off.   There are a few things I would change about the design anyway, which would help.

Right now I'm using Vera Bradley diaper bags for work, which I love, except that they are low on pockets, and this thing seems to have about a thousand of them *and* the footprint I need for hauling things like lunch (I hate taking two bags)

I tend to pick up fat quarters in pairs.   I don't know why, maybe just to make sure I have something complimentary?
I got some pretty pink & red for a mouse I want to make. And skulls.  Because skulls.

I love this skull fabric because it's not obvious skull fabric?  It's from a Folklorico line, and I keep thinking that I might want to make my fancy work tote out of this.  It would be so fun!  (there is no reason to be full bore "professional", that's not the kind of work I do)

Lobsters.  Because Lobster ;)

This is the yardage I picked up for the professional tote.   There's another coordinating fabric I can buy (hearts and bees) for lining, they just didn't have it in.   There's something about these partridges I just adore.  I think it'll make a cute bag :)

So that's about it for all of the stuff I bought.   I did buy some new Vera bags.  I got a baby bag in Heather, which is awesome for work.  What I really like about these bags isn't just that they're the perfect size to haul my work crap, but that there's a pouch for two bottles, which fits my coffee mug and umbrella perfectly.

I also grabbed a pill holder thingie that I put my vitamins in (because I always forget to take them first thing in the morning) and a bathroom organizer travel thingie, because my old one, which is nearly 15 years old, is looking pretty sad.