Ode to Ohio

Four years ago, my little family moved across the country to Columbus, Ohio so my husband could attend The Ohio State University. Being a Utah girl, having never lived more than 5 minutes away from my family, it was quite a change for me. I tried my very best to acclimate to the new home, town, people, etc, but it was a struggle at first.

Over time, little by little, Ohio started to feel like home to me. I experienced new things, took up some new hobbies (blogging and sewing), and met new people.

Looking back over these last 4 years, I can't believe how much the time in Ohio changed me. I grew stronger as a person, a mother, and a wife. I realized just how important my faith is to me. I met people that have changed my life forever and that I now count as some of my very best friends. I could not have asked for a better experience, than I had in Ohio... Columbus is a great place!

As our time in Ohio was coming to an end, I found myself trying to soak in every last minute in Columbus. Savor every last bite of Graeter's and Jeni's Ice Cream. ;) 

Wishing time could stop, or that somehow I could bring every last person that I have come to love like family, with me, to my next adventure. 

So as we packed the moving truck, and pulled out of town, I couldn't help but feel like I was leaving behind a piece of my heart. Such is life, I guess. 

Right now, I am out in Utah visiting family for the summer, before we move across the country again, while my husband does some training for his new job. It's good to be back in this beautiful state... I love being able to look out over my parents backyard and seeing the gorgeous mountains I grew up looking at, the smell of summer in the garden, and watching my two beautiful children run around in the backyard- so carefree and happy to be with family for the summer.

Here's to wishing you all a beautiful summer!! 

xoxo, Ashley

PS:  Columbus is such a fun area! If you are ever in the Columbus area- You have to visit some of my very favorite places...

#1: SEW TO SPEAK

(Images via Sew to Speak)

It was so hard leaving this darling brick and mortar fabric shoppe. I love the staff, the fabric selections they offer, and that I was constantly inspired every time I walked in. I even taught my very first sewing class here and had such an amazing experience. 

I will definitely miss being able to visit Sew to Speak whenever my heart desired- which was sometimes more than once in a week!! ha ha

So if you are ever passing through Columbus, (or get lucky enough to move there) be sure to swing by and say hi for me! ;)

#2: The ice cream in Columbus is unreal...

Graeters and Jeni's are both so amazing!  I love the Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip at Graeters. The Brown Butter Almond Brittle and and Dark Chocolate at Jeni's (pictured above) is probably the best thing I have ever eaten. Lucky for me- I can actually buy both out here in Utah so I am slowly easing off my ice cream addiction- (Graeters available at Smith's and Jeni's at Harmons and Whole foods). But really- there is nothing like visiting either place! Definitely recommend it!

Last but not least, 

#3: Amish Country

I love the Amish people. They are so sweet and it is so interesting to see how they live. Our family loved going to Amish Country! We went probably 6 times in the 4 years we lived there. Our favorite place was Hershberger Farm in Millersberg, OH. It is a farm that has a free petting zoo, they sell furniture, do buggy and wagon rides (in the fall you can ride the wagon out to the pumpkin field and pick your own pumpkins), and they have a bakery- my husband is addicted to their peach fry pies (kinda like a krispy creme donut filled with fruit filling)- and I am addicted to their fresh kettle corn that they make over an open fire with a kettle (of course). It is definitely one of my kids favorite places to go and is worth the drive (just under 2 hours from C-BUS- but one of the prettiest drives I have ever been on). And if you are in the area, Heini's Cheese Chalet is a great place to sample amish made cheese and see how they make it! So fun!

Go visit Ohio!!

Anchor Chardon Skirt

I have been on the hunt for the perfect pleated skirt for about 2 years now.  I came across this fabulous pattern by a darling French pattern designer named Eleonore. She runs a shop called Deer and Doe and I love her designs. This skirt is called the Chardon Skirt and it is such a great pattern! I ordered it straight from France and the pattern arrived in less than a week... I was so impressed with the turn around! 

I picked out some fabric and got to cutting out my pattern. (I used Anchor Chambray for the main part of the skirt, Clown Stripe in Limeade for the accent. I am not certain the info on the bias tape, but I picked it up from Sew to Speak and it matched perfectly with the stripe.)

*Side note: Have you ever measured yourself for a pattern and thought "I'm gonna go with the smaller size because I know I am going to drop some of the extra pounds I put on over the winter."

- Me too! I'm so glad I am not the only one! ;)

 So I went for the smaller size and got to sewing. The pattern was so easy to follow and very straight forward (it came with instructions in English and French- in case you were wondering).

Well as I was sewing, I was thinking to myself... "Oh man...Not sure if this is gonna fit!" 

Sure enough- when I finished, I tried the skirt and I could zip it up but it definitely looked like it was a size too small. Bummer! I knew that with a summer of being active outside it would probably fit perfect in a month or two, but I had another idea....

My younger sister Heidi is the "pre- having two kids" version of me. I knew the skirt would fit her great. So I packed up this happy little skirt and shipped it to her! 

Doesn't it she look darling?

She is a missionary for our Church, serving in Tampa, Florida so she wears skirts everyday and was so happy to have a fun new skirt to wear! I just love her and am so proud of all of the good she is doing in Tampa. And I am so excited because she will be returning home in July and I will get to see her again! (Girl missionaries serve for 18 months away from family and loved ones. They get to call home on Christmas and Mother's Day and email once a week- but she is one of my very best friends so I feel like I haven't seen her in FOR-EVER!)

Ok... back to the skirt... a couple of my favorite things about the pattern is that there are pockets in the skirt (something I had never done before, but  was surprisingly easy), the pleats, the ties on the back of the skirt (optional), and the bottom of the skirt is hemmed with bias tape for a nice clean finish. I was very happy with the way it turned out!

I definitely recommend this pattern to anyone! Beginner or experienced seamstress! 

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

{Work in Progress} Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt

 Since fall of 2012, I have been working on hand piecing a hexagon quilt. I am using 1 1/2 inch hexagon templates from paperpieces.com and I'm aiming to make it a full, possibly queen, sized quilt. 

(it's a huge undertaking to say the least)

I was introduced to hexies by way of two of my favorite blogs... nanaCompany and Lovely Little Handmades. 

I am always so inspired by the fabrics, the design, and the projects that I find on these beautiful blogs... So when I kept seeing these darling little hexies that Amy and Kerry were making and using in projects, I knew I had to join in! I started basting my fabric to my paper pieces not really knowing exactly what I was going to make with them. 

 Then I came across this quilt on Pinterest and fell in love with the "grandmother's flower garden" style. Instantly I knew I wanted to use my hexies in a floral design and make a quilt.  

I really had no idea the amount of time and effort it was going to be to make a large hexie quilt. Like I said, I have been working on it for a year and a half now and am maybe halfway done with piecing the quilt top. {Yikes}

But the thing is... I have loved every single second that I have spent making this quilt. {and by seconds- I mean hundreds of hours} Seriously! 

I have loved cutting my fabrics, basting my hexies, piecing my flowers, joining my flowers... I even love the pretty scraps of fabric that have come from making this quilt. I just can't get enough of it! ;)

If I had to say my very favorite thing about making this quilt, it would have to be the fact that I take it with me everywhere! Anytime I am going to be riding in the car for over an hour somewhere, countless road trips back and forth across the United States, and to the Caribbean... 

{I got some seriously weird looks while "hexie-ing" on the deck of our cruise ship over spring break... I guess it's not everyday you see a twenty-something gal spending her time on a cruise sewing! but man- was I having the time of my life listening to the waves of the ocean, wind in my hair, playing with gorgeous fabric- that is my kind of vacation!}

I work on it this project any time I get a chance- whether it is while I am traveling, watching t.v., chatting with a friend, helping my kiddos with art projects, etc. 

I love that I can be working on something that I love, but it doesn't take me away from being with the ones I love... It's the perfect kind of sewing for me!

Stay tuned for the next however long it takes until this beauty is finished! I am always sharing my progress, along with other fun behind the scenes stuff on Instagram. And if you are interested in my "process" for making hexies- check out this post.

Happy Hexie-ing!!!

xoxo, Ashley

DIY Sofia the First Amulet of Avalor

I know that I post about sewing most of the time on my blog, but today I thought I would share a different sort of project that I did with my little girls last week. It was a lot of fun... They absolutely loved it!

So if you are a mom/aunt/grandma to a little girl, chances are you may have heard of a darling Disney TV show called Sofia the First. We are big fans of this show at our house. My little girls love Princess Sofia! (If you aren't into letting your kiddos watch TV, there are lots of darling Sofia the First books- like this one. I think it has the cutest combination of illustrations and fonts I have ever seen in a book. I absolutely love it!)

In the books and the show, Sofia has a magical necklace called the "Amulet of Avalor". It helps her do all sorts of things.

 My youngest daughter got a Sofia the First dress and crown for her birthday last year, but every time she pretended to be Sofia, she says "I need an amulet... I can't be magic like Sofia unless I have an amulet." So we decided it would be a fun project to make our own Amulets.

 We headed to Joann and went to the jewelry section. I got a large bag of assorted chunky plastic purple beads that looked like "jewels" according to my girls, some purple tear shaped medallions for the center of the necklace (they came in a pack of 3), and some elastic cord to string the beads so the necklace is stretchy. 

I let them string a few practice necklaces to get a feel for working with the beads and then we talked about patterns and stringing our beads in order to create the design of what we want it to look like. It was a lot of fun and was good practice- they had fun making a game of guessing "what bead comes next in the pattern?". 

After we had the beads strung on the elastic, I tied the elastic with a square knot and put a dot of super glue on the knot so it doesn't come undone and slid a bead over the knot while it was still wet. 

I am so glad that we made our own amulets instead of just going and buying one. It was such a fun and easy project for us to do together. We made an "Amulet of Avalor"  for each of my girls to keep and a couple to give to their friends. After we were all done, they had the idea to use the leftover beads to make mini necklaces for their bitty babies to wear. So fun watching them create!

Have a great week!! 

xoxo, Ashley

Colored Pencil Roll Up Case

For the longest time I have wanted to make my kids a "Quiet Kit" to bring to church each Sunday- full of things to entertain them that are quiet. 

I have some really great ideas for things I would like to make to go into the bag, but somehow other projects always take precedence and the "quiet kit project" gets put on the back burner... 

 Last weekend, I decided that it was time to start making things little by little to go into the quiet kit. 

  So I made a colored pencil roll up case. It was just kinda one of those cut and sew as you go projects with not much of an overall plan. 

 I have seen lots of roll up cases for crayons, markers, and pencils over the years. The thing I notice with almost all of them is how BIG the pocket is for the pencil to slide into. I wanted to make mine a bit more snug so that once the pencils were in, they stayed put. But as I have learned a time or two while late night sewing- sometimes my brain is ready for bed before my eyes are, and calculations seem harder than usual.... thus when it was time to stitch my pockets, I realized that they were actually going to be too snug! ha ha (just my luck)

So I went with Plan B and made wider pockets for 2 pencils to fit into.  Problem solved!

I used a stack of lovely solids from the Hawthorne Hues collection by Hawthorne Threads for the background of the case (I had to use 4 other random solids from my stash to match the pencils in edition to almost every solid offered in the Hawthorne Hues collection). Then I used some fabric from my stash (Handle with Care collection by Suzy Ultman) for the main part of the case as well as the wrap around ties. 

In the end, even with the measurement mix up, the case turned out exactly how I wanted- FUNCTIONAL. 

It works great, my kids love it, and it is a good start to my "Quiet Kit".

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Quilt As You Go Suitcase

The #1 reason (if not the only reason) I started sewing, was to make things for my little girls. 

I fell in love with the idea of being able to make something they could wear, use, or play with- and it was the driving force that made me step out of my comfort zone and try something new and learn to sew. 

 It has been so rewarding to be able to create something that my little gals dream up and help design. When they get an idea and start sorting through my fabric cart (a turquoise Ikea Raskog cart - full of all of my smaller cuts of fabric) for the "perfect fabrics" to use in their project, it just makes my heart swell! :)

 They love to sit on my lap as I sew, sit by my side as I cut fabric, pick up all of the loose threads strewn about my sewing area... Anything to be in on the action and participate in creating their "project". 

If you follow me on Instagram, this project is old news to you, but a few months ago my daughters were playing with their dollies and they decided they were "going on a trip to Utah" (where both of their grandparents live). Much to their dismay, their babies didn't have suitcases! What in the world were they going to put all of the clothes, diapers, bottles, etc. for their trip in, they wondered? The wheels started turning and before I knew it, there was a pile of princess fabric in front of me with a request for "a princess baby suitcase". 

 I picked a few of the coordination prints from the very large and very colorful  selection they had presented me with and we got working. This is what we came up with. I don't currently have a pattern for this suitcase, but I used the same method to make them that I did for the quilted ukulele cases... So if you are interested in making this, just check out that tutorial and make the tweaks necessary.

The girls were pleased as punch! All set for the "trip to Utah". Now they have requested another matching suitcase- Each baby needs her own of course. ;)

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Quilted Weekender Bag #5

I had the opportunity to do something that I have never done before over the last couple months. 

I taught my very first real life sewing class at a darling local shop in my town! 

It was such a great experience for me. I decided to teach a class on how I make my quilted weekender bag. It was a super intense project for my first time teaching, but all in all I think it went really well. I had 4 wonderful ladies as my students. We had so much fun together! 

My Leopard Print Weekender Bag was the class sample and it was so fun to walk into Sew to Speak and see MY bag in there on display for a few months! 

I love doing tutorials on my blog teaching how to make some of the things I make, so I knew I would enjoy teaching a sewing class in real life. It really pushed me out of my comfort zone though. I don't like having the spotlight on me and tend to be a little on the quiet side until you get to know me, but it was great for me to push myself a little bit and put myself out there.

I figured it would be beneficial to show my students step by step instructions- just like I do on my tutorials. So I decided to make a bag along side my students. Each night I came to class with what we would be doing already complete on my bag so they could see and visualize what their bags needed to look like. It was a good teaching tool for me- plus I had already planned to make a bag for my other little sis, so it gave me the motivation to complete it.  

Here are all of our finished bags together!

So here is how my weekender bag #5 turned out.

I used a kitchen utensil print that I found at Sew To Speak called Scandinavia Style (which I think is manufactured by Westex Fabric) for the Main panels but I have had a hard time finding somewhere that sells it online to link to- so if you are interested in this print, you could call into the shop and I am sure Anita would be happy to send some your way via mail if they still have some in stock. 

I loved all of the colors in the main print and just grabbed various coordinating fabrics from my stash for the patchwork portion of the bag.

It is definitely a loud and funky bag- but that's the fun of it in my eyes! I love putting together something that I know is one of a kind- unlike any bag out there... This one fits the bill! :)

If you are a regular reader of my blog, or follow me on instagram, you will know that I kinda have a mild obsession with this pattern- well maybe "mild" is too mild of a word... This is the 5th version I have made! BUT- making #5 and teaching this bag in a class has helped me kick my habit- at least for a little bit.

I don't wanna make this bag again for a very LONG time! 

Don't get me wrong... I love it with all of my heart... but 5 times making this puppy- plus teaching it has me worn out- mentally and physically! ha ha 

I used the Amy Butler Weekender Bag Pattern to make my bag, but followed a Quilt as You Go method inspired by Elizabeth of Oh, Fransson. 

If you are interested in some of the other modifications that I make to my weekender bag, here are links to other posts that I talk more about that in:

Weekender Bag #1

Weekender Bag #2

Weekender Bag #3

Weekender Bag #4

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley