Good Luck Running Banner

Two of my friends from college ran a half-marathon in Vancouver, B.C. last weekend. Contrary to popular belief, Hallmark does not sell "Good Luck on your half-marathon" cards, so this is what I came up with to show my support!

I started with my basic banner format, quickly and easily cutting out the letters thanks to my Silhouette Cameo. I strung the banner on a shoe-lace to add to the running shoe theme. I wanted a fun colored shoe lace, but didn't have much luck or time after a four store scavenger hunt. The ones I ended up with were at least 50 % off!

My vision for the running shoes involved bright, vibrant colors. Jen has this gorgeous pair of very neon Nike running shoes. When we were in Albuquerque on the shuttle bus to our rental car, the woman sitting across from us spotted them, and said with utter disgust, "wow, your shoes are green!" Since then we've used any opportunity to poke fun at brightly colored tennis shoes, and I thought they were just what these banners needed.

I used my Silhouette Cameo Sketch Pens to trace the shoe clipart images, then the cutting tool for the shoe outlines.

I played with adding shoelaces to the shoes, but ultimately felt the design started to get too busy. I thought they turned out really cute, and may use them for another project.

I struggled with attaching the shoes to the banner. I had considered connecting the shoes on their own string, and making a double banner but the shoe line kept twirling. Next time I'll either make the shoes double sided, or place the letters directly on the shoes.

Hopefully in the very near future they'll enter a triathlon so I can also bedazzle a banner with neon bicycles and swimsuits. 

Zipper Pouches

Lately I have been inspired by all the cute zipper pouches crossing our Instagram feed. I decided to teach myself how to make them, since they make such a nice and practical gift. Last month was my dear friend Virginia's birthday, and she was the very gracious recipient of my first zip pouches.

For some reason it was especially satisfying that these pouches nested so well!

Bunny was not included, but other goodies were zipped inside. These beautiful zippers were sourced from my LQS Modern Domestic. Now I just need to get to SCRAP to buy some leather for handle pulls. And to be honest, I can't wait to go to the Pendleton store and find some remnants to make into pouches. A new sewing obsession has been born...

New Orleans Part Two

Hello friends! I'm excited to share part two of my New Orleans adventure with you this week!

In my last post, I mentioned that one of the many things I love about New Orleans is the music. The street musicians are incredibly talented, and the music is vibrant and played with such passion. As you walk down the streets in the French Quarter from one performance to another the atmosphere has such an intensity, almost making you feel like you're living in a movie with your own personal soundtrack. I loved it.

Jackson Square was my favorite place to listen to the street musicians and constantly full of crowds of people stopping to take a picture or dance. The energy was contagious. Jackson Square includes St. Louis Cathedral shown in the picture above, a gorgeous park, and the Presbytere and Cabildo where the Louisiana Purchase was signed.

On the perimeter of Jackson Square you'll find Stanley, my favorite spot for lunch. The place was packed, so we were lucky to find a spot at the bar. I was mesmerized by every mouth-watering plate that flew by me.

I was told by a few friends that taking the streetcar through the Garden District to look at all the beautiful houses was one of the "must-do's" in New Orleans. Thanks to the advice of our concierge, we got on the St. Charles Streetcar early in the morning, and boarded at the end of the line to have our pick of seats. It's $1.25 for a one-way ticket, or $3.00 for an all day pass. We stayed on for the entire route, about 80 minutes total. When we got off, the line to board went down the entire block!  At the end of the route, everyone gets off so the driver can flip the seats to be facing forward for the return trip.

Most of the route passes through St. Charles Avenue which is lined with hundreds of gorgeous homes. Every mansion we passed appeared more outstanding and grand than the last. I am fascinated by old houses, and thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many balconies and turrets and arches. I am obsessed, and completely in love with porches. I looked enviously at so many estates with rocking chairs thoughtfully placed amongst extravagant wrap-around porches, and pictured the owners sitting out on a warm evening sipping cocktails and people-watching.

These pictures don't do the homes justice, and I often couldn't grab my camera fast enough to capture the beauty of the intricate structures as we zoomed from stop to stop. It was fun to look out at many of the trees lining the streets, covered in beads from past Mardi Gras parades.

Next on the agenda was an afternoon cruise on the Steamboat Natchez.

We arrived 30 minutes early to much longer lines then we expected.  While waiting to board, we were serenaded by a steam calliope playing old-fashioned tunes. We found seats outside on the third tier with spectacular views of the St. Louis Cathedral. The majority of the tour is narrated with interesting facts about landmarks and the cargo carried along the Mississippi, and concludes with live jazz music. It was a very relaxing two hours and fabulous way to see a different part of the city.

We had a great dinner at Arnaud's on our last night. We sampled the gumbo, more amazing bread that took up half of our table, and one of their signature cocktails. Brennan's is still my favorite, but Arnaud's was definitely delicious and worth visiting. The other unique thing about Arnaud's is they have a Mardi Gras Museum upstairs that's free. We had the entire place to ourselves and were able to admire the intricate and elaborate costumes of a woman who was queen of over twenty-two Mardi Gras balls. It must have been quite the workout to carry the trains on those gowns!

The following is a random picture that totally captures the whimsy of Nola. Unfortunately my friends and family were not rewarded with this classy souvenir.

I mentioned Cafe Beignet in my first post. On our first day, we visited Cafe Du Monde, the most famous place to sample beignets in the city, but the line was way too long.

We went back on our last morning dodging under balconies trying to avoid torrential downpours and lightning strikes. It was a pretty nasty morning, even from my Seattle weather standards so we chose not to sit outside. We brought them back to our hotel room, and although it was only a 10 minute walk, they just weren't quite as good as Cafe Beignet. I blame it on the weather, and would definitely give them another try. On the other hand, the Cafe Au Lait was lovely.

Just a few steps from Cafe Du Monde is the French Market with many fun shops, and praline manufacturers. I had never tried a praline prior to this trip. I found them creamy with great flavor, but really really sweet.

New Orleans is full of historical landmarks and museums, and there is so much we didn't have time to see. The New Orleans Pharmacy Museum was just steps from our hotel, and with my interest in medical history, it seemed like the perfect place to peruse. They offer guided tours most days at 1:00, and the cost was only $5.00. You can arrive about 15-20 minutes early for a self-guided tour of the second floor.  It turned out to be one of the most fascinating parts of the entire trip.

The first licensed pharmacist in the US worked at this pharmacy.

In the picture above are show globes that were used to communicate disease epidemics to the citizens of New Orleans. Different colors represented the severity of the epidemic and were meant especially for the illiterate portion of the population.

Our guide, Owen, did an outstanding job describing the conditions, equipment, technological advances, and history of the medical field in New Orleans in the 1800's and early 1900s. After hearing his one-hour history lesson, it was amazing to me that anyone survived those times.

I could not have asked for a better experience in New Orleans, and fully intend to visit again. I'm trying to talk Jen into going with me next time!

New York Beauty Mini Quilt

I'm so happy to have a new finished quilt to write about! The pattern for this 22-inch mini is called New York Beauty Circle of Geese. The finished quilt consists of four quarter-circle blocks,  with eight different colored triangles in each curve. The pattern is designed by the very talented Better off Thread and is available for purchase on Craftsy. 

I laid out my cut rectangles before I started sewing to make sure I was happy with how the colors flowed. 

This quilt gave me the opportunity to earn my paper piecing chops back. It had been a while. It is a somewhat wasteful way to sew, but the perfect points look awfully nice. 

One of my favorite things about mini quilts is the opportunity to push yourself to try new things without making too much of a crazy commitment. On this mini, I was inspired by this pattern and made up a similar repeating quilting pattern for the areas outside the largest circle. My free motion quilting skills are still fairly non-existent, so I quilted this mini with my walking foot. 

I was tempted to add even more quilted detail, but my dwindling thread decided my stopping point for me!

This quilt was a birthday gift for my dear quilty friend Grayce, who likes rainbow quilts as much as I do.  I hope it will be a cheery addition to her wall!

New Orleans Part One

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to spend four amazing days in New Orleans with our lovely mother. I've always wanted to visit the South, and was thrilled to get the opportunity to explore this gorgeous city. I'd jump at the chance to go back!

There is quite the selection of historic hotels in the French Quarter. I decided to book a room with a balcony at the Omni Royal Orleans. I wanted to be able to sit outside at night and hear the music playing on the streets below. After a 5 hour flight, and bumpy cab ride, we were so excited to check in, only to be told someone had vomited in the last balcony room the night before and they couldn't get the smell out. I was definitely bummed, but still trying to be polite. The gentleman at the check-in desk asked if I was a reasonable person. I replied "of course" -- and he proceeded to tell us that his only option was to give us the Penthouse at no extra charge for our entire stay! Cue fireworks and confetti. My jaw dropped to the floor and I had to ask him about four times if he was kidding.

Never in my life will this happen again. I took many mental pictures, and gleefully skipped around every inch of this suite. It was so luxurious -- 1500+ square feet including a sitting room, dining room, wet bar, gigantic four-poster bed, two bathrooms with a jet-tub and my favorite part --a  gigantic private balcony overlooking the French Quarter (see first picture for incredible view). It was also about four steps away from the rooftop pool and observation deck.

Our first night we ate dinner at the hotel's restaurant, The Rib Room. Every dish was delicious, but the bread was the most noteworthy. Each table gets its own gigantic loaf, still warm from the oven with the perfect mixture of crunchy crust, and soft and airy center. Who doesn't love a good loaf of bread? The other magical aspect of dinner was a Wedding March parading through the street with musicians and dancers. We were advised it's rare to catch one of these, and this happened to be a random Monday night! The incredible energy and looks of pure joy on the participants' faces brought an instant smile to your face.

My first experience with beignets (fluffy doughnuts with mountains of powdered sugar) was at Cafe Beignet, just a few blocks away from the hotel. They were delicious in all the right ways, and well worth the 40 minute wait and line out the door. Believe what everyone says about not eating them while wearing black...

We also did a City Tour to explore New Orleans beyond the French Quarter. The tour took us through one of the neighborhoods majorly affected by Hurricane Katrina. Over 9 years later there are few remnants of the devastation caused by that storm. If you look closely, you can still find houses with markings from the search parties.

Along this tour, we stopped and walked around one of the city cemeteries. The above ground graves are pretty incredible to meander through. Our tour guide gave a really interesting explanation of what happens to the bodies, and how these grave sites are used for so many generations. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but definitely take time to walk through one if you get the chance!

Later that afternoon, we took a walking tour of the most haunted parts of the city. I can't begin to recount the many gory details, but it was fascinating and a fabulous way of learning about the rich and colorful culture of the French Quarter. Several days after the tour, I was flipping through a book in one of the local gift shops about the most haunted parts of New Orleans, and every place we visited (restaurants, museums, hotels, etc.) all had at least one associated ghost story.

The best meal we had in New Orleans was at Brennan's. We walked by this restaurant on our way to Cafe Beignet. There's a gorgeous window that looks into the restaurant's enormous kitchen and everything looked so delicious we decided to come back for dinner. We learned the restaurant just reopened about 4 months ago after a long renovation. It has a magical twinkling courtyard and the most amazing drinks and food I've had in a long time. I had the best Gin & Tonic of my life at this restaurant and highly recommend the Steak Diane. This is also the birthplace of Bananas Foster, and it did not disappoint.

In my next post I'll share more about our trip including the Garden District, Steamboat tour down the Mississippi River, Jackson Square, Cafe du Monde, and the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. Until then, Happy Spring Break!