AfricanKelli

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Three lap quilts made with African fabric scraps and backed with cordouroy :: Each quilt has at least 50 pieces, symbolizing jubilee :: Gifts to celebrate weddings and friendship.

~K

Prayer shawl #2, knit and ready for delivery — a gift for an African friend.

~K

Like a little kid at show-and-tell in elementary school, let me be a bit brash and share a few of the thoughtful gifts I received last week. How rad is this stack of books? Oh, fantastically so! The Frida cookbook? I didn’t even know it existed until I squeeled like a fat kid in a candy shop when I dug open the paper. Amor!

The titles of all these books show you how truly thoughtful my friends are.

Amanda hunted down this cookbook for me after hearing about it on NPR. We are both cookbook junkies. I read them like magazines, marking pages, and circling things that sound interesting. This book in particular seems fascinating because of it’s emphasis on the science behind baking. I’m certain to share what I’m learning as soon as I dive into these recipes. (I need to find a new group of people to feed. Baking for one is a certain recipe for living in stretchy pants.)

My friend Kathryn sent a pressure cooker. Sometimes I scratch my head and wonder how people know me so well. New kitchen toys? SCORE. Thank you!

My brother had this lovely WPA print framed for me. To say it is perfect isn’t quite perfect enough.

And there was the Frida pendant Sue sent. Por el amor de Dios! Precioso!

There were many other handmade gorgeous things too. I am particularly looking forward to wrapping up in a new turqouise scarf Colleen sent. Safe to say I am thoroughly spoiled.

Thank you!

~K

I am traveling again this week, so imagine my delight when I came home to find this in my mailbox (filled with chocolates, no less):

Why yes, that is the cowgirl bag I admired several weeks ago on Julia’s blog. She made it for me, including that incredible handmade tag. It is loaded and in Chicago with me for the weekend. Love!

Thank you, Julia. What an incredibly thoughtful gift. I had my friend O take the photo yesterday morning after breakfast. I thought the cacti coordinated nicely; he thought I was crazy.

Speaking of Chicago, how about that President of ours?! Wow! Mr. President, Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Put that in your pipe, Darth Vader Karl Rove. (To be honest, I’m a little surprised by the announcement. Not that I don’t believe in our President, but wowza. That’s fast. I can only imagine the hemorrhoids currently boiling on the butt of Glenn Beck.)

I’m spending the weekend in the Midwest with some of my closest friends. We are attending a wedding tomorrow night that has been anticipated for, oh, 18 years or so. And I couldn’t be happier to be here, right now, with these wonderful friends enjoying this great time. Today, I’m off with the husband of one of my friends for an adventure. He’s a botanist and we need to collect seeds for future greenhouse work. A 3-mile hike, smart conversation, dogs and cool weather. Ahhh, this is one hell of a life I’ve been given.

Giddy up, cowgirl — away!

~K

Rosie had a stupid thing happen — her purse was stolen this summer when she was on vacation. We met  in Denver soon after the incident. When she lamented her new handbag had just arrived before she’d taken it on vacation, I knew good karma must soon be returned. She’s a sweet woman with a witty, spicy blog and it would be easy enough to send a little love her way.  Voila.

Is it the fancy handbag she’d carefully ordered? Nope. But it is made with her in mind and that’s something no sweatshop can say.

As for that contest earlier this week? The three winners, randomly selected, are: Trish, AmiS and Holly. Email me your addresses and I’ll get your baby bags in the mail!

~K

My friend Chris asked me to make him a Chevroleg bag months ago. I’ve been dragging my feet because it required going to Ikea, which is the equivalent of REI or Costco for me — $100 at a minimum seems to disappear on purchases that really don’t make sense. (2 gallons of shampoo? Really?) Without letting myself get distracted by the pretty fabric or section of plants, I  tucked shopping resolve in my pocket and came out with one of these $.99 blue bags. The plastic is heavy enough that it won’t fray and you can sew it with a regular sewing needle. Yet it is light enough that it makes a perfect cycling bag.

On this version, I added a small interior pocket for keys and change, per request.

I used velcro to attach the pocket so he could pull this out when going into a bakery after a long ride. I’ve ridden with Chris before. He’s a great athlete who loves his croissants too.

And so, you see the humor in lining the bag with a recycled flour sack.

Also, in contrast to the tutorial, I “splurged” and spent $5 on a clasp and webbing for the handle. We’ll later modify the length to his build and add an additional back strap to balance the weight of the bag.

I left the front Ikea webbing because it’s perfect for a carabiner key ring.

If you are looking for a couple sources of fabulous creativity, I ran across two lately that I think are bad ass:

1. Larissa’s appliqued messenger bag (thanks Ellen for sending this my way!)

and

2. This spectacular use of recycling and sewing for the home. How great is this swing? I am going to do this one day for my future backyard.

The beauty of the blog — sharing and inspiring!

~K

For a girlfriend who requested a “cupcake apron.” This one was hard to give away. I really, really love it. The gold trim is courtesy of Raesha. Thank you!

~k

Quilted fat quarters: Japanese inspiration: bamboo handle: gift for a sweet girlfriend

~k

Patience, said Rodin, is also a form of action.

Thank you, to whomever sent this colorful bouquet of encouragement and love. You must know me well — the simplicity of the flowers and vase, the sunflower (a Ya Ya staple) and the white roses are just right. My smile today reflects your kindness.

~K

Rebecca and Matt are having their first baby any day now and you can feel the excitement in our group. Mini’s three boys and Shay’s sweet girl were met with equal enthusiasm.  I cannot describe how fun it is to be a part of this.  Bec’s been my friend since second grade.  She met her husband on my 21st birthday. Her parents, sisters, neices and nephews are my family too.  And so, I am regularly moved to tears when I see her now, knowing how cherished and fabulous this child will be. Not to mention, the nursery they’ve created would have Crate and Barrel/Martha Stewart folk taking notes. It is beautiful and sweet and perfect.

For the record, I’ve got May 21st, baby girl, 8 pounds, in the baby pool. Matty’s going for baby boy on the 20th. Mini’s birthday is the 18th, so I am pretty sure she’s pulling for a double birthday. Matt and Rebecca are both born on holidays, so they are hoping for May 25th — Memorial Day to complete the trifecta.

I’m off for the annual Finny/Donk adventure this weekend, with our sweet Shelley home from Rome joining in the fun. So, if this little bird could hold off until Tuesday, that would be fantastic. To encourage such continued nesting, in the middle of the night I delivered a flock of Abraham Owls to cheer on the future Mom and Dad.  Bec’s got a thing for owls; I’ve collected them for her in a dozen countries. Now the wee one will have a cadre of her own.

Hoot!

~K

P.S. The Aussie/African roomie may or may not know how to sew buttons better than me; apparently they teach such life skills at boarding school. He wouldn’t let me take a photo, but he was very helpful and deserves credit for the owlies above.