Often times, I take for granted the fact that I grew up in a family bursting with creativity. My Grandmother would always visit with reams of scrap paper in tow. She brought them from her office job so that my brother could work on his drawings. He was the sort of kid that wanted to learn what a trapezoid was and drew nearly perfect circles before most could scribble out their first names. He’s now a talented illustrator. (Continue reading…)
Wow, another year into this great adventure—thanks for joining in with me! We’ve seen a ton of pattern releases, tutorials, DIYs, personal posts, baby announcements, bumpdates, and everything in-between. If you’re new to the blog, here’s where you’ll want to catch up on the year! If you’re a long time reader, it’s always good to look back and see what you might have missed! As we celebrate the coming new year, I thought it’d be fun to take a look back at the best posts of 2016: (Continue reading…)
The big day is almost finally here! Our baby girl could be here today, a month from now, or right on time—the anticipation is unbelievable! I thought I’d take a few minutes and share a piece of my heart as my due date quickly approaches. The nursery is ready, her clothes are folded in sweet little piles, and even with a few odd jobs that I’d like to be done before her arrival, I feel so ready to meet my daughter—my heart could just burst with the joy that I know comes after the long and trying process that childbirth will be. Entering into the Christmas season along with this new season of life seems so appropriate, and I’m starting to wonder if maybe God is trying to teach me something in His perfect timing. (Continue reading…)
As we drove deeper and deeper into rural Pennsylvania, I started to lose my way—does Google Maps even come out this far? Steven and I wondered as we kept on driving. Then, I saw it—a perfect little one room schoolhouse, smack dab in the middle of a field, with balloons fluttering in the crisp fall air.
“Oh my gosh! Is my Baby Shower here!? I exclaimed. Steven grinned as we pulled in and I excitedly jumped out of the car. I knew it was going to be an unforgettable celebration with some of the most amazing women I know! (Continue reading…)
“So what do you do?”
This question often comes up when meeting new people & I always sort of stumble around trying to find a way to encompass all of the things that I actually do in a socially-acceptably-short answer. The problem is that yes, I design patterns, but I also do a thousand other things that are just as important! If you start clicking around on my website, you’ll quickly find that this place is a gold mine for useful information; tutorials, patterns, spreadsheets, DIY project instructions…the list goes on and on. There’s so much packed into this thing, that you’re likely missing out on some part of it. Today, I’d love to show you just what I’ve got to offer and make sure that you’re taking full advantage of it!
I cannot believe that it’s been a year already—can you!? That’s right, one year ago, I decided to stop pursing jobs where I punched a time clock for someone else, and work for myself! The hours certainly haven’t been any more forgiving, but oh my my, are they satisfying. If you read my blog a year ago, you’ll remember that some interesting circumstances had me looking for a new job. When, by God’s grace, I was swept away for a week of solitude, I realized that working for someone else wasn’t working for me anymore. I’m so pleased to be writing one year later, full of optimism, excitement, and big plans. (Continue reading…)
There are always those moments when someone declares a regular run-of-the-mill blanket as a quilt. Gasp. And when that happens, somewhere in the world, a quilter looses her pins…and her husband’s heel inevitably finds it, and well…you get the idea. So please—get your facts straight—for the quilter’s husband’s sake! All joking aside, us quilters are very picky about exactly what counts as a quilt and what doesn’t… maybe even a little snobbish, but who can blame us? We have all poured hours and hundreds of dollars into a quilt that you’ve just demoted to blanket. I’m shuddering at the thought! Let’s get on with this post about what makes a quilt a quilt and what doesn’t.
Next time that you’re with a known quilter and see what you think might be a quilt in it’s natural habitat, go through this mental checklist before saying a word about what it is or from whence it came: (Continue reading…)
With 24 weeks in and 16 weeks to go until baby arrives, I’m starting to realize that we’re on the downhill—January will be here before we know it! Before she arrives, there’s so many things to do: I have full intentions of an entire-house deep-clean, finishing up the nursery (which includes replacing windows, making curtains, making a crib skirt, and 1000 other little details), baby & birthing classes, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and oh- that giant party that we call a baby shower—that has to happen too! (Continue reading…)
This past June, my husband and I took what we’ve deemed our “last hurrah.” We hopped on a plane, and then a train for a total of 18 days. It was something more like a European holiday than an American getaway. We traveled from East to West through the US and then a little South. We caught just a glimpse of this corner of the world & was it lovely!
Eventually, I need to get around to telling you the whole story, but a little sneak peak is what I’ve got for you today: The juxtaposition of seeing the awesome magnitude of God’s handiwork in the world, while considering the intimate engineering going on in my own body was breathtaking and consumed my mind for many hours staring out the train window.
If you missed my big announcement, make sure to check it out before reading on! (Continue reading…)
As you may know, I recently took a cross country train trip with my Husband, Steven in June. I can’t wait to tell you about the whole trip, but today I wanted to show you one of the most inspiring places that we visited along the way! We went to Mission San Xavier Del Bac in Tucson Arizona. There was lots of inspiration to be had on the entire trip, but this was an especially magical place. With painted stucco and Native-American inspired designs, I found a way to bear the heat and really soak in the beauty of this place. (Continue reading…)
The announcements are out, the family has been called, and I’m finally allowed to share our big news with the world! I can’t believe that I’m saying this, but the Rossi family is getting a sweet addition January 3. That’s right—I’m pregnant with our first child!
I can’t tell you how surreal it is to be typing those words right now. I honestly never thought that it would happen to me (just like I never thought I would turn 6, go to highschool, make it to and through college, or get married)! But here we are, and despite our stunned silence, it’s 100% true. There’s even a growing belly to prove it. (Continue reading…)
I tend to design (and make) a lot of baby quilts…why? Because there is nothing more fun than baby fabrics, baby colors, and baby-sized projects! A cute result, a quick reward—who wouldn’t love it!? While there are lots of fun reasons for making baby quilts, there are even more great reasons to receive baby quilts. So, if you’re the receiver, here’s a list of things to look forward to using your baby quilt for, and if you’re the giver, just know that all that hard work will be greatly appreciated! (Continue reading…)
