we have a winner!

Yaaaaay!

The etsy shop giveaway winner has been selected!

here is the list of people who entered the giveaway

taken with my blackberry because I forgot to charge my camera... bad blogger, no cookie!

And here is what the random number generator had to say about it!

Congratulations, Vikki!  

Email me at julie@julierosesews.com so I know where to send your box of presents.

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday!

via the little things we do

1. If money wasn't an issue, the first thing I'd cross off of my life list would be installing steam heat and solar hot water power in my mom's house.  It's in my plan for as soon as possible.

2. Calamari salad is something I like that other people think is weird.  Seriously, I cannot get enough of it.  Top five favorite foods.  ...Maybe top ten.  But it's definitely up there.

3. If my life were a movie right now, it would be called "The Girls Who Stare at Cats."  Haaaa. 

4. Three things I am looking forward to this month are 1) my mom's visit next weekend, 2) continuing my internship, which I really, really like, and 3) napping during the awkward 12-3 break that I have on Mondays.

5. My favorite song to sing in the shower is "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2.  I usually sing this when I have shampoo in my eye and can't find my towel.   

6. If I found out that the production of Louisa Harding's Willow Tweed yarns was stopping this month, I would go out and buy as much as I could tomorrow.

7. One thing I'll never grow tired of is the feeling of getting everything done that I'd planned to get done at the end of the day.  Which I did today!  Hence why this post is going up when it's just baaarely still Friday.

Oh goodness gracious.  I am so sleepy.

Night night, everyone.

but wait!  enter the etsy shop giveaway.

♥

girl of a thousand projects

Oh my gosh, you guys.  I have been working on so many projects lately.  Not that it's at all unusual for me to have a zillion projects going at once-- if I'm not busy with schoolwork, I make something else for myself to be busy with!  So here's what I've been up to.

I snagged the Dulcie Dress from Anthropologie over winter break-- it's feminine and floaty and oh-so-soft.  But the high neckline was doing nothing for me, so...

I'm just finishing up lowering and widening the neckline, I plan on completing that tonight.  I tried it on and pin-marked where I wanted to new neckline to be, and then used a bit of the lining to create a new neckband.  I tried it on and it's so much more flattering.  All I have left to do is to stitch the clean edge of the band on the inside.  Yay!  Also, isn't that knit lace beautiful?  The photo from Anthropologie's website really doesn't do it justice.  Cutting into that was a scary moment, even after careful consideration.

I've also been making paper garlands for my etsy shop!  I'm so pleased with how they're coming along. I have three up for sale now, and I'm working on a fourth that might be my favorite one yet.  (Pssst... you know how in my etsy shop giveaway post, I mentioned a personalized surprise?  Just saying.  If you like the paper garlands, now would be an excellent time to enter the giveaway.)

Last up is my Field of Flowers blanket.  I've started joining rows together!  I only have 4 put together so far, but each one consists of 63 flowers, so it's still a pretty major undertaking.  My next step is to weave in the ends on each of the rest of the flowers I've crocheted so I can keep joining them.  I love, love, love how this blanket is coming along.  When I'm stitching the rows together, I put it across my lap, and I can already tell how warm and cozy it will be when it's done.  In case anyone's curious, the yarn is Louisa Harding's Willow Tweed-- it's 40% alpaca, 40% merino wool, and 20% silk.

What projects are you working on?

♥

the cat post.

You surely saw this one coming.

It's time for that blog post.

It's the post in which I talk about...

...my cats!

That's right, I said my cats.  These wonderful little sweethearts were my grandmother's cats.  I've always liked them, but while I was staying with her over winter break, I got to know them very well and I became very attached.  When my grandmother passed away, my brother suggested what I'd been hoping for but didn't want to ask-- whether the kitties could be mine, and come with me when I get an apartment after I graduate this May.  It turned out to be the perfect solution-- they would need a home, and the first thing I was going to do when I had an apartment was to find a cat or two to keep me company.

Aren't they adorable?  The bigger one is named Bucky, for his little white chin that resembles buck-teeth, and the smaller one is named Cocoa.  They are everything I could have hoped for in a pair of cats-- loyal, sweet, playful, and cuddly.  There is nothing else quite like the bliss of falling asleep to soft, rhythmic purring...

...except maybe waking up to it.

care to enter the etsy shop giveaway?  you could win bobby pins, a velvet bow brooch, and a special personalized surprise!
♥

that thing you do

You guuuuuys.  One of my favorite movies, That Thing You Do, is on Netflix right now!  Basically, it's the story of a 1960s rock band with one major hit song.  It's a really fun movie, and Tom Everett Scott is completely adorable as the leading man, and Liv Tyler looks so ridiculously pretty.  Go watch it!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather lately-- by 7 p.m., I'm so ready for bed.  I think it's just belated exhaustion from everything that's happened during the last month.  I haven't been taking particularly good care of myself recently, because there were other people who needed care way more than I did, but now I'm paying for it.  So I'm going to try to get back to yoga more often, and I think I'm also going to cut out sugar, at least for a few weeks.  I just feel so sluggish after even a little bit of it lately.  Alright.  Yeah, let's do that.  Has anybody else tried cutting out sugar?  How'd it work for you?  

Also, since I've been so narcoleptic lately and sleeping instead of blogging, I'm extending the etsy shop giveaway until February 20th.  Yaaaay!  Enter it!  There are only two completed entries right now, so your chances of winning are excellent.  

Hope you're all having a fantastic Thursday evening!  Or whatever day you read this.  I hope it's a good one.

♥

lady in yellow

 

Lady in Yellow

Thomas Wilmer Dewing, 1888

I absolutely love this painting... Not least of all because it looks like how I imagine Belle from Beauty and the Beast would look if she wasn't animated.  Her expression is so thoughtful and serene, and I love when portrait subjects have a more relaxed posture.  The 1880s through the early 1900s is probably my favorite period in American art.  This lovely painting is in one of my very favorite museums, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, where my grandmother, my mother, my brother and I went every summer while I was growing up.

don't forget to enter the etsy shop giveaway!

♥

once upon a dream

Ann He takes some of the most beautiful photographs I've ever seen.  She has such a sensitive, feminine aesthetic.  Can you believe she's only sixteen?  I'm so looking forward to seeing more of her work.

care to enter the etsy shop giveaway?

♥

fill-in-the-blank friday ♥

via the little things we do

1. One of my favorite things to do when I have free time is reading, at the moment.  I was given a fantastic book for Christmas (more about that soon!) and every time I have a second,  read a few more pages.

2.  When I have free time I tend to make big plans for productivity, then end up watching Netflix and cuddling with my cat. Or, if I'm in the city at school, I end up running a million little errands and cleaning my room, and then I'm out of free time.  But at least I get a nice clean room out of it!  I spent some free time cleaning my room before I left for winter break, so when I go back, I'll have everything nice and tidy!

3.  If I had an entire day completely to myself, I would watch some movies and television on Netflix, knit, cuddle with my cat, putter around the internet, and snooooooze.  No matter what I try to do in my free time, I usually end up snoozing.

4. I would prefer to spend my free time (alone or with others) hmmm... generally alone, but I also love spending my free time with my best friend Marissa or my cousin Kaleigh.  We kind of do the same things that I would if I was alone-- making crafts (ok, I make crafts while I watch Marissa play video games), playing around on the interwebz, watching television and movies, and-- you guessed it!-- snoozing. 

5. Most of my free time happens during RA training week and move-in week at the beginning of each semester, and during closing week at the end of the semester.  It's the only time I don't have homework!

6. The best thing about free time is being able to do whatever I feel like doing, whenever I feel like doing it!  

7. The next time I have free time, I should probably do yoga, but that's kind of out of the question at the moment because I don't like leaving my mom by herself downstairs with my grandmother, in case she needs some help or needs me to get something or call someone or whatever.  It wouldn't be a zen experience.  And anyway, I forgot my yoga mat at school. 

like pretty things?  like winning things?  like winning pretty things?

enter the etsy shop giveaway!

♥

bend...and snap!

Ugh, you guys.

Today has been just ridiculously frustrating.

I couldn't seem to get anything done.

But that's ok... because Legally Blonde is on television, and I'm surrounded by craft supplies.

I'm just going to hole up in my grandmother's upstairs living room and wait for the stars to realign.

nothing like velvet ribbon and vintage flowers to salvage a bad day

want to win some pretty things made with those ribbons and flowers?  
click here to enter my etsy shop giveaway!

♥

over the river and through the woods

...to grandmother's house we go!

I'm spending a lot of time at my grandmother's house over winter break, because she's having some health issues and she usually lives alone.  

Her house is absolutely adorable.

the kitchen is decorated in red and yellow

coffee for Nanny and my mom, tea for me

my mom surprised me with my very favorite lemon soda for New Year's Eve!

pretty mirrors in the hallway

aren't these cute?  I love the pink ruffly edge.

Nanny's cats

One of my favorite things about being at my grandmother's house is spending time with her cats (I am officially out of the cat-lady closet.  Whatevah.  Love me, love my love of cats.)  Their real names are Bucky (the big guy) and Cocoa (the little guy), but lately we've taken to referring to them as "The Chaplain" and "The Sergeant-At-Arms," respectively.  Which makes it very funny to talk about them-- for instance, "The Sergeant-at-Arms is enjoying some kibbles" or "The Chaplain and the Sergeant-at-Arms have retreated to their love nest."  

Teehee.

hey!  hey!  enter the giveaway for some goodies from my etsy shop!  it only takes a minute.

♥

new home

Welcome to my new home!

After three years, I've finally taken the big step and created my own site.  Yay!  Now you can follow with Google Friend Connect or subscribe by email over on the left side, or check out older posts and the blogs I read on the right.  I'm still working on fixing some formatting, and I'm sure I'll add some more little features here and there, but I'm too excited to wait any longer to welcome you all to my new little space on the internet.

♥

To celebrate, let's have a giveaway!  One reader will receive two of my very favorite accessories from my etsy shop:

the Summer Morning Button Bobby Pin Set, and...

the Raspberry Snow-Puff Brooch (shown here on one of my hats), plus a little extra surprise from me!

♥

Here's what you need to do to enter.

1. Be a public follower of Julie Rose Sews (it's that snazzy 'join this site' button on the left)

2. visit my etsy shop and leave a comment here on the blog with your favorite item.  In the same comment...

3. Tell me your favorite book!

For additional entries, you can:

1. Tweet about the giveaway (just mention @julie_rose_sews so I can see it!)

2. blog about the giveaway and leave me a link to your post.

(make sure to leave another comment for each additional entry)

This giveaway will be open through January 25th, and a winner will be randomly selected on January 26th.  International entries are welcome!

Update:  This giveaway has been extended until February 20th.  Yay!  More time to enter!  The winner will be selected on February 21st.

I hope everyone's staying warm through this chilly weather!

♥

etsy shop giveaway winner! ♥

Hi lovelies!  We have a winner for the etsy shop giveaway!

And the winner iiiiiiiis.....



Meredith, from yours, mine & ours !

keep an eye on your email, Meredith, because this is coming your way, along with instructions for redeeming it:

yaaaay!  thank you so much to everyone who entered!  there will be more giveaways this summer, too!

♥