Needles and a Pen » Knitting, Sewing, and Nursing School

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  • Welcome to my blog!

    Hi! I'm Traci. I'm a Registered Nurse who loves quilting, knitting, cross stitch, and the great outdoors. In my pre-scrubs life, I owned Real Photography, and you can still see my old wedding and portrait photography site here .

    I've created a map that shows links to our camping/hiking/general family fun review posts that you can find here. It's pretty much the coolest thing on this site. Thanks, Google!

    I great big puffy heart *love* comments, so please let me know you visited! I try to always reply!

a day in the life apron

Tuesday, December 28, 2010 Posted in aprons, gifts

I tracked down this ‘day in the life of a mom’ fabric like a dog tracking down a squirrel.  I was pretty much foaming at the mouth.  I love it.  I want to make my entire house out of it.  If you are a mom of a little boy, it will call to you like a siren song.  This is another cafe apron, this time for our sweet neighbors that we are soooo lucky to live next to!  With five boys (four of them at home, three of them 6 and under), I knew the print was a fit!  The backside is from the Robert Kaufman suburbia line.  It’s super cute, too.  Just not as cute as the mummysam Day in the Life fabric.  Because what is?!

(Since Nic was home I didn’t have to do my usual ‘in the mirror’ shot.  I assured him that, given the fabric, a little baby leg was the perfect addition to the shot (Miss Eloise got her first shiner about ten minutes before we took these pictures.  I had an unusually rough time with it–Will’s bumps and bruises were okay–it’s all part of being a boy.  But my tiny princess getting a shiner?  It just doesn’t fit!)  Note also the spiderman bandaid.  Because when you have a four year old boy in the house, your choice of bandages comes down to Spiderman, Batman, or Scoobie Doo.

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Susie - Sweet, Traci! I bought three pattern fabrics so I can emulate this style apron, it appears I need two more, oops! I love this style and am super inspired to get working on one for a present (in April) (I think I can, I think I can!)

Brooke - Awesome! Especially the bandaid. Another one I need to add to my Spicing Up the Kitchen swap mosaic!

(BTW, did you FM Erin to sign up for the swap?)

Alli - Thanks for pointing out this fabric! I bought a yard of it (and some other fabrics while I was at it >_< ) after I read your post. 😀

Decorate Your Soul » Crafty Mama Monday: Project 1 - […] said that, I happened upon a darling one-hour apron that I thought I actually could make over at Traci’s Stolen Moments site. Here’s the link to the original tutorial at Fabritopia and then my first attempt at an […]

new look

Monday, December 27, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

Spent some time on a new look for the blog today.  I’d been waiting on my photography blog redesign before really going to town on this one, but I got antsy today for a change.

I’m planning on a cute little sewing blog watermark and some sidebars with easy to access category links and other such awesomeness.  So if things look a little strange this week, you caught me during my tinkering!

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Lee - Love the new look, excellent job!

Bernadette - I pretty much LOVE the new look!
its so cute!

merry christmas to me!

Thursday, December 23, 2010 Posted in fabric, quilts, WIPs

I was stalking the UPS man pretty hard core yesterday, because I was expecting my very own SHERBET PIPS!!!!!

I got a fat quarter pack and a layer cake because I knew I wouldn’t be able to cut into one without having the other.  (And a PS to Moda–fabric is hard enough to cut into already without you packaging it all cute and tying it with a bow, thank you very much.)  They are adorable prints, and I know the bulk of my fabric money in 2011 will go toward yardage once it comes out in April!

(Okay, that one’s not really in focus but I like it anyway.)

I threw everything else on my list to the wind and spent two hours yesterday chopping and doing some sewing.  I’ve realized that as much as I love how coordinated single fabric line arrangements are, what I love most are more scrappy quilts.  So I dove into the stash and pulled out a bunch of coordinating prints and solids to use with these bad boys.

I’m not in love with this first block–my first attempt at an improvised log cabin style block–but I have a feeling that the goodness will come in seeing all the blocks together.

Here are my next two blocks…(I’m going back and forth on having the chartreuse in there.  It shows up in the sherbet pips prints and I think just a tiny touch will provide a perfect pop of color in the quilt, but I’m not sure if maybe the pink-blue-gray-red would be more wintery/cozy feeling.)

I’m soooo excited about this fabric and this quilt!!!

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Brooke - I love the colors in that line. Seeing all the fabric from your stash reminds that I need to seriously bulk up my reds. They’re pretty much non-existent.

Jennifer Woodward - I can barely stand the wait until I can stock my stash with this fabulous fabric. It is some of the cutest I’ve ever seen and I have to get my hands and sewing machine on some!

susanne - Yeay Shirbert Pips!!!! They greys make me swoon!!!!
I LOVE your first block!! I can’t wait to see your finished quilt!!!

susanne - *the greys. My auto correct always makes sound brilliant.

susanne - *the%20greys.%20My%20auto%20correct%20always%20makes%20sound%20brilliant.%20

Kristie at OCD - LOVE these!! Where did you get your hands on them??

Tuesday, December 21, 2010 Posted in Uncategorized

Here’s a sticker for you, Mom. Because you’re great.

Will, adorning me with a smiley face sticker after my workout.  I got two other stickers in the next five minutes—one for “being so good at your dances” and another “because I love you.” 

it’s like apron palooza over here

Monday, December 20, 2010 Posted in aprons

Another kitchen-licious creation for under the tree…

Another reversible cafe style apron, similar to this one.  Will picked out the elephant side, and I got to choose the forks.  Both from metrocafe by Robert Kaufman.  I really adore the forks!

ruffle apron

Monday, December 20, 2010 Posted in aprons

In the war between me and the shipping deadlines, the shipping deadlines seem to be winning.  I am getting my behind kicked by Christmas gifts!  Oh well, it’s hard not to want to make gifts for everyone when you can make stuff this cute!  Check out all the ruffles on this little number:

I based it on this apron pattern, making a few adjustments in how the waistband was constructed as well as making it lined.  Next time I’ll also sew strips between the ruffles instead of just sewing the ruffles on a background piece of fabric (so that the unfinished edges are hidden away).

When I proudly showed this to Nic while working on it he was terrified–he thought I was making a skirt.  Uh—earth to Nicolas–this would make THE BEST SKIRT EVER.  Sometimes love means romance and Paris and all things ooh-la-la.  And sometimes love means accepting your wife’s desire to dress like a 5 year old.

My little helper has also been hard at work.  I asked him to draw pictures on cards and here are his creations.  He was adamant that no two could be the same.  I love the details–like the swirl of garland down the tree and the circle train track at its base, the curly feet of Santa’s sleigh, the elf points and baubles on the elf shoes, and the flames on the log in the fire with the hanging stockings.

PS–if you missed the update on the giveaway post and were looking for the winner, Kelly was our winner and she picked the Ginger Bliss pack–congrats, Kelly!  It was great to read about everyone’s favorite traditions.  I learned that (a) there are a ton of Catholic quilters (way to represent the love for Midnight Mass!) and (b) very few favorite traditions were super creative or out-of-the-ordinary.  As I strive to make wonderful holiday memories for the munchkins, it’s nice to know that it’s the simple inside-the-box stuff that they will love the most. My original goal had been to respond to all the comments, but I was blown away by how many people entered, so I will simply say a big huge thank you to everyone that stopped by during the contest!  I have 50 new google reader subscribers, which is so awesome–thanks for adding me to your feed!  It’s so nice to share projects with people who like them, versus people who are terrified that you might make them into a skirt and then wear that skirt in public.  😛

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Meagan - I agree, it would be the best skirt ever. ( :