A Handmade Christmas

Wow, the holidays are here! It's been a little crazy with school approaching so soon (Jan. 10th), and waiting for all my housing information to get in....plus, not to mention Christmas! There are so many wonderful things to come for Quail Stitch, don't give up on me just yet!! Thanks for all the readers & comments, this blog for me is something I really love...a very very early beginning to my dreams. We've had a lot of views in a short amount of time that we've been up, and I really appreciate it!

Once Christmas is over we should be back in full swing :)

i love our house during Christmas!

& of course what are the holidays without wrapping presents for loved ones. I enjoy it so much, here are just a couple of the ones I'm excited to give away! I like to keep it simple & pretty. I wrapped most of my packages in none other than packaging paper from a store where my mom bought some frames. Then just simply tied yarn from my own yarn basket. Love it! It makes me feel like something straight out of another time & someone delivered these to my doorstep :)

& now for some handmade gift  goodness!! 

We're originally as a family from Southern California, we were all born there, and I was raised there until I was seven. The majority of ALL of our family (mom & dad's side) still live there, and near Christmas it can be hard to be away from family that we're so close to. 

My grandmother on my dad's side is incredibly crafty (maybe I get my love of crafts from her!). She works with yarn companies to create lovely little patterns for kid's toys, apparel, etc. Every year she sends the kids of the family handmade gifts. My siblings and I always got sweaters, and now that we've outgrown the gifts, she sends my little nephews and niece all kinds of creations. Here are some below. There's really nothing like gifts like these that will last a lifetime. 

She puts little tags with each name on them, it's a sweet little touch.

I love this knit little stocking for my nephew Oliver. Amazing!

& this knit red robot for Oliver as well. 

This is a sweet little sweater for my niece Ani. 

& a little star blanket for the youngest nephew Dash

Until next time 

Happy Holidays,

xoxo

Quail Stitch

Portfolio

Hello dears! I just wanted to share with you some photographs from my online portfolio

  QUAIL FOTO

With a gallery style set-up you can easily browse through a portion of recent work. Please feel free to comment, or to book me or shoot me an email simply do so: quailstitch@yahoo.com

I'm starting at a University in just a few short weeks to begin my journey as a student of Art/Photography. Can't wait to share all my college classroom and college life adventures with you. Please check it out! :)

happy holidays,

xoxo

a sneak peek below :)

Winter Feet

1.Ruche 2.Toms 3. Modcloth 4.Ruche

warmer months playlist.

i compiled a playlist for us of a few tunes to listen to during these cold months. Whether you're snuggled up, crafting, or falling asleep... enjoy :)

so take a moment to listen through and do some last minute online shopping, or browse through your fav. catalog, or think of what to make for a holiday dessert 

oh, give us all some suggestions won't you? i'll add to the playlist.

DIY...FYI I'm Sick

Well tonight I'm feeling pretty under the weather.. I closed tonight at my workplace, and it was a mutual decision between me and my co-worker that we both felt sick and so we closed slowly and took our time. It made it pretty stress-free, but i got out late, and now I'm yawning ever few minutes! I have a sweet friend at the Starbucks near my work, so delightfully I'm sipping on my On-The-House Venti Iced Green/Passion tea. It's helping :)

Tonight I'm taking it pretty easy, but I've been looking up some diy ideas to share with you, & this one from Once Wed is pretty simple & I'm exciting to try it tonight, or maybe tomorrow (so tired!!) It was originally for a project for Design*Sponge and was converted to be used for a wedding. I love this idea. I have a ton! of little chinese laterns from multiple outdoor parties, and I've been storing them hoping for a chance to reinvent them. 

these sweet fabric hanging pom-poms. these ones were made for chair aisle decor at a wedding, but there's obviously so many uses for them. I might try to hang them above my bed. I have all this tissue type paper, that was used to wrap some fragile items we bought at a store, and I think I'll try that first! The pictures are pretty self-explanatory below, but just in case you need directions, here's the how-to from Once Wed. 

If you find yourself creating some of these, let us know how you did it, what you used, and share a pic with us pretty please!

p.s. My siblings and I went to the gym this morning...man, I felt the pain! I haven't done a real work-out since sophomore year of high school, pretty lame! My sister & I probably complained a lot to my brother, whose is training for the Army before he stars bootcamp in January... Our drill sergeant :) Hopefully I'll get fit!

Happy Holidays,

xoxo

getting creative & my room

I just wanted to show my room before I semi-move out into my dorm room in a few weeks! Wow, that is crazy! Lot's of new adventures coming up very soon, and I hope you check in often to follow me in my university endeavors :). 

Anyways, here is my room! I finally had my walls painted grey and I'm absolutely loving it. I picked this color on a slight whim, it turned out well I think. 

an organized closet, that's a first for me!

& 

I wanted to share with you some projects...which I will do a more detailed post on.

My beauties! To the left is my sewing machine, it's been around for quite a while, & to the right is my recently purchased serger. It's a dream!

There will be a more detailed post on this later, but for now here's a top I've been working on for my 5 year old sweet niece. I had this  pink polka dot fabric just waiting for a project, and it was my first time freehand cutting something so small! It ended up being good size wise, but who likes anything plain?! So in true to me fashion, I added ruffles because they're my favorite. It's almost finished, but I'm thinking I'll add some buttons or something sweet for her to make it more personal. & then I'll post it again, on the model!

& it's all serged up! I love the clean lines & the sturdiness, nothing like it!

&

Here's just another little project I took a little time to make the other night. I went to Michael's Craft Store in hopes of recreating a necklace I found on an etsy site- Super Duper Things. She has some really amazing creations, check it out & it's so affordable! She lives in the UK unfortunately, and until I purchase something of her's, I though it'd be a great project to try and recreate my own version. Below is simply a charcoal felt "bib" style necklace, complete with lobster clasp, & cute detailed buttons. I've been wearing it over simple tops to add a handmade touch, & I'm really loving it!
I loved trying my hand at some incredibly simple jewelry making, more in the future! I hate boring nights, and I'm a firm believer that doing something creative & productive doesn't have to be complicated or super expensive, & it should be done often!

*if you're interested in this piece, or a variation of it, let me know! 

 Here's a headband I made during the summer. Simple mustard pleats, it's cute and voluminous :)

Let me know if you want one ;)

Until next time!

Happy Holidays,

xoxo

Holiday Shoot

Hello lovelies! It's been a wonderfully long day for me here in Charlotte. This morning I did a shoot for a wonderful family we are friends with. They wanted some candid fun shots in their hip-cute modern home for the holidays & I had a great time doing so! My great friend Benjamin Joyner a fantastic filmmaker/musician (here) let me borrow his Canon 7d for the morning, it made shooting even more enjoyable and easy. So cred to him! 

Here's a peek at this great couple & their adorable kids...

Aren't they just so photogenic! I love it... 

*to view more of the photographs from this shoot, & see the rest of my recent portfolio go to: quailfoto.tumblr.com

*to book me for a shoot, or for questions or comments, email me or comment below!

Afterwards i spent the afternoon lounging at Starbucks drinking a grande Chai tea latte, eating a warm cheese danish (mm), listening to my favorite pandora stations and editing photographs from the day. It was a lovely three hours spent. There's something about just getting out of the house! Editing/sorting is so time consuming so it was good to get a fresh perspective, outside of my bedroom, desk or kitchen. I'm pleased with how they came out!

On another note, but definitely still holiday photograph related, my lovely sister of The Terrific Four blog, came over to the house today, and we took these cute holiday photos of her & the kids. Being an aunt is the best, might I add! 

What sweet boys I have in the family! 

Well besides buying some running shoes tonight, that was my busy day in a nutshell! An even busier day tomorrow, and another great photoshoot coming up, as well as work, and a work out session! Thanks for checking in lovelies... goodnight 

as always,

happy holidays,

xoxo

the quail stitch