Another year gone and another has begun...Enjoy!

Another year gone and another has begun.  In the blogs I follow the common theme is planning for the year including resolutions and/or goals.  Since we rang in 2012 (which was only 9 days ago) I've tried to think about what my resolution/goal would be.  Last year I knew what my resolution would be before the clock struck midnight.  This year it was harder - so many changes happening in the next 12 months that I didn't know if anything could ring true for the entire year.  But I thought and I thought, and surprisingly around day 3 of the new year I had my plan/resolution/word...and I have to thank Faustino for inspiring it.

On the 1st we were eating dinner and Faustino told me his resolution was "to not waste a single day" - it's easy for him to do when he sometimes works 12-13 hours in a day and then sleeps for 8 hours.  A day or two after our conversation, I realized "wow, thats a great resolution" and decided I could use that as a base for mine...

Enjoy.  Thats it.  My resolution is to enjoy 2012.  Sometimes I get so preoccupied by work, I get so wrapped up in life that I don't enjoy my life.  Essentially I don't stop to smell the roses and its a shame since I come from a family of green thumbs. ;)

This year will bring a lot of change, it will bring a lot of fun, but it has the potential for bringing a lot of stress and anxiety (which can cause me to have anxiety attacks which isn't healthy for 26).  I vow to enjoy this year.  I will enjoy my months in Spain and not stress about "what if" my plans at home are on schedule, I will enjoy our family vacation with 20 or so people, I will enjoy the planning that will be happening in 4 months between my return from Spain and my wedding in October, I will absolutely enjoy my wedding (no brainer) and everything that comes after.

So here is to your resolution and to mine.  Happy 2012!

Day 4 - I fell in love at the Britex

I fell in love with 4 full floors of different fabrics...now these weren't what WOW'd me but I love fabric in general. :D

Day 3 - The Hustle and Bustle

Public transportation.  Bart.  The every day hustle and bustle.  You'd hope with all the money you spend and increases in fare that they would keep the place a little nicer.  Just a hope...

Day 2 - You Gotta Do This!!!

Sign to let the people know they need to spend $29 to zip line above Justin Herman Plaza.  Last year it was free thus the long lines at all hours of the day - this year not so free and of course no lines. ; )

Zip Liners - Wish my phone had a better focus feature

Window Washer at the Building next to me

Oh the joys of working in a high-rise Building in San Francisco - seeing people crazy enough to work in a window washing rig 20 flights above ground.

Another project complete!

Yay!!!  It has been about 3 weeks since my last blog and since I started the tablecloth.  Now it wasn't a hard project, but as you know life can get in the way, so a project that should only take me a couple days at most, took a little longer than expected.

French fabric with beautiful colors

Like I previously mentioned, I found the beautiful fabric at my grandma's house.  I think she must have purchased it on one of her four trips to France.  The fabric has a variety of vibrant yellows, blues and greens.  Since its a lightweight fabric you can pretty much see through it.  To add a little thickness and to make it look "finished" I added another layer of fabric to the back.  The bottom fabric is again something that I found at my grandma's place (I have vowed not to buy any fabric for a while - I've decided that I would use as much as I can from my grandma's stash and that should last me a while).  Its a light blue fabric that matches one of the colors on the French cloth.

I also found a ton of great binding at my grandma's place, but unfortunately the one's I brought home with me wouldn't work.  They just weren't the right color and I also wouldn't have had enough to finish the project.  So last week I bought a pack of yet another blue binding from Beverly's Fabrics and Crafts in Alameda.  I brought it home and what do I realize as I'm starting to pin it to my tablecloth??  Its not long enough!!!  Ah, I guess I should have measured the tablecloth before I left - but I wasn't thinking.

Finally, on Sunday I made my way back to Alameda and bought another package of binding.  And while Faustino was out with his brother, I put the finishing touches on my first - yes that's right first - tablecloth. 

And three weeks after I started (okay maybe four now), I finished another project.  Now, I might not be going as fast as I would like to go, but I'm chugging along and I'm happy with the results.  And now I'm getting prepared to start my next sewing project.  This will be a little more difficult so it might take me a little while longer to blog about it.  In the meantime, I still work on taking photos and maybe even making a journal.

First time binding!  And it doesn't look too bad. :)

As always, stay tuned...

Starting where she left off...

My grandmother, well she was... a great seamstress.  She had a ton of energy and she was the most creative person I knew.  She was always busy sewing, cooking, baking, sketching, painting, traveling, tending to her garden or working with one of us on any one of the projects above.  I spent a lot of time with her until her death in 2004.  So its no wonder she rubbed off on me in some way or another. 

I realize I'm not a great seamstress, actually I'm really just a beginner (though I've sewn a bit here and there).  Around 2000-2001 my grandmother gave me her sewing machine but I wasn't ready to do anything on my own...or even take it home with me. At that time in my life I was too preoccupied with sports and hanging out with friends. But last summer I finally brought the 1970s Singer to my apartment. And slowly, I've been using it for my projects. Anyhow, I feel with practice, dedication and concentration that maybe, just maybe, one day I could be a good one.


As I've mentioned in a previous post, my grandma started many projects that she never finished (another thing that rubbed off on me).  And now 7 years after her passing, my mom and I are finding these unfinished projects as we clean out and organize her craft room.  One such project that I found was some gorgeous fabric (purchased on one of her trips to France) that she was turning into a tablecloth.

The beautiful fabric that someday soon will cover my table

It looks like she sewed a few pieces together to make it long and wide enough to fit a small table (which is perfect because it should fit mine).  Now, all I have to do is finish it - which I hope to do in the next week.  I know it won't be as fancy as hers would have been if she finished it, but I know it will make her proud.  And I know she'll be happy to know I'm starting where she left off...