A New Year {In Which We Recap Our Months of Silence}

Posted on February 24, 2012 by christygill

Hello my dear friends!

At long last, how have you been? I am quite well, thank you. As you may have noticed, fall (and winter, for that matter) got away from me. The thing is I *was* sewing and crafting, I just failed to tell you all about it. For that, I am sorry and I will venture to make up for it here.

To be brief, I was spending much of my time in the fall prepping for Christmas. Not only did I try to hand make as many gifts for which I had time, but I also was in a sewing and embroidery frenzy to prepare for my first ever vendor fair. I’ve included a few pictures of my little table set up with some of the holiday goodies I made.

The fair was generally a success and a wonderful networking and learning opportunity. Vendors from Northern Virginia came to sell their goods and to support local businesses. I ended up being the only purely craft table in the bunch and found it a great occasion to introduce new people to the world of Etsy, let alone my shoppe. While I can’t say I sold a great deal, I am happy to say I got over my jitters of first time vendor-ing and am eager to participate in another community event.

Fall also was a busy season of weddings both for me and my lovely customers. As you’ve seen before, I love to embroider antique handkerchiefs for brides and their grooms. Some like to carry a hanky with their bouquets or as a pocket square, while others may just tuck it away in as a keepsake to share with their children one day. When I embroider a one for a friend, I have no intention for her to use it in a specific manner, but only hope it will act a personal token to show my elation at her happiness. I’ve had the pleasure of embroidering handkerchiefs for very dear friends and lovely customers. Some have been for brides and grooms, some for honored attendants, and some to note the anniversary of the day that love was first pronounced. I’ve included a few of my favorites for you. If you know someone getting married, approaching a significant milestone, or if you’d just like to give your father personalized handkerchiefs because he’s awesome (that’s what I did), I would love to work with you. Feel free to contact me or read more about custom handkerchief orders at my etsy site.

Welcome Back {In which we update, at long last}

Posted on September 15, 2011 by christygill

I’ve been silent for quite some time, and I apologize to the few of you concerned with the well-being of my blog. I do so appreciate your reading and commenting and sharing with kindred spirits! Now, I’ve said it before, but I have multiple blogs on the docket, so you can expect updates at a steady speed.

To start, (or to finish, in a way), I hope the last weeks of summer found you relaxing, enjoying a lovely novel and time with friends and family. I was happy to partake in the above with Teddy R. and DB3, The Help by Kathryn Stockett and March by Geraldine Brooks, and a trip to California for the wedding of two dear friends. Shout out to my sister for providing me with the fantastic reading material!

Relaxing for me generally includes crafting on the couch, with perhaps a bit of Buffy or the BBC (Thank you, Lauren C., for introducing me to Downton Abbey!) to keep me company. I recently went through a Mod Podge, paper crafting mania and came up with new sets of ceramic coasters.

Cute, eh? There are more in the shoppe, but for those of you feeling crafty, you can find a fantastic tutorial at Style Me Pretty. They really are quite simple and just require a bit of patience during the cutting and sealant stage.

I can hear my Dad thinking, wait, that’s *all* she did this summer? Don’t worry, I had custom orders (hankies, mostly), to keep me stitching away and gifts for some lovely brides. Also, at long last, I did a bit of baking again. Check out the yummy goodies that will be featured in an upcoming post:

I also had the chance to restock in wonderful autumn fabrics, which will be making their way into the shop in the coming weeks. And let’s not forget that Halloween will be kicking off my favorite holiday season very soon! Last year, David and I dressed as George Michael Bluth and Maebe Funke from Arrested Development. I think it’ll be hard to top that one this year. Any suggestions?

And because everyone loves a beautiful bride. xxxo

High Tea {Tea Wallets Galore!}

Posted on June 29, 2011 by christygill

Well folks, it seems y’all like the tea wallets. I’m just so pleased with this news! They’ve made great gift card holders, business card keepsakes and of course, tea protectors already. And I thought they were just so great, I made a plenty more.

hiding a gift card?

Check out all of the fun florals and colors! I haven’t been able to decide which is my favorite. Can you? Oh-and there is at least one that can act as a more masculine card holder if you know of some hesitant male tea lovers. There are many more in the shoppe, but you’ll have to check for yourself!

This past weekend, I also had the great pleasure of doing a reading at my dear friend, Kate’s, wedding to her charming Adam. Below are the hankies I embroidered for them as a little extra offering on their special day. You can order you own personalized handkerchiefs (vintage and new) by convo-ing me on etsy!

And for the groom, I veered away from the lace . . .

xox!

Not Only For The Royals {Weddings and Special Orders}

Posted on May 25, 2011 by christygill

As I mentioned yesterday, my recent virtual silence was due in large part to some very special custom orders (and a few gifts).

Now that I am in my late 20′s, I find myself invited to more and more friends’ weddings. I’m thrilled with this progression, as it generally includes multiple fun parties with wonderful people (as those are the only kind with which I associate). Recently, my first “grownup” friend to become engaged, K., had her bridal shower and bachelorette. As the bride is quite a foodie, the kitchen themed shower came as no surprise. Knowing her lovely taste well and that she is a sewer herself, I figured she and her fiance would appreciate a set of placemats for their new home. I fell in love with this gorgeous fabric and knew it would be perfect for the two.

Okay, seriously, don’t you love this sweet hummingbird and his pals? Don’t worry, I *loaded* up on this fabric and will have some bits to share with you soon. - ^

I don’t think I can properly express how tickled I’ve been by the warm reception to my shoppe, not only from family and friends, but fellow crafters and artists. The support my fellow crafters offer one another on these internets we love is truly special. While I started this project as an outlet for myself, I now have gotten much more unexpected pleasures in the way of community. Each day I find myself browsing and commenting on the discussions amongst the “English Geeks of Etsy,” or sharing tips and ideas with crafters from near and far. Just the other day, I noted to David the change in my most visited sites according to our friend, Chrome (hint: Anthro has been replaced).

This brings me to a bit on a wonderfully kind customer and amazing photographer, alittlebitsarah. By some twist of fate, this well published and basically famous (!) artist found my little store and requested a custom handkerchief for her pending nuptials. From the start I did not have the type of base handkerchief she was looking for, yet we worked together to get a wonderful result. Ms. Elizabeth Sarah was gracious enough to allow me much creative license (I created the design based on multiple drawings she and I’d researched), despite this being for a very important day. And even when we hit a snag (literally!), she was patient and so appreciative of my work. After a multitude of messages to one another on the design, colors, and our admiration of each other’s work, my favorite piece of embroidery I’ve done yet was born.

And didn’t she find the loveliest vintage hanky? I must insist you visit Elizabeth Sarah’s flickr account and blog now. Really, aside from being a lovely person, she is an uber-talented photographer. I have to admit, I am more than a bit tickled that she said such nice things about my work!

I’m off to do some more embroidery. Speaking of, has anyone else entered this contest? I just started my entry!

Cassie Quinlan

Hand Crafted Works of Whimsy

Tag Archives: weddings

A New Year {In Which We Recap Our Months of Silence}

Welcome Back {In which we update, at long last}

High Tea {Tea Wallets Galore!}

Not Only For The Royals {Weddings and Special Orders}