Karamat

Project Life Week 4

2012-01-29T19:19:00.002-06:00

January 22 - January 28

Sunday: Lunch at Double Dave's... YUM!!
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Monday: I think I need those rolling pin guides.
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Tuesday: The perfect answer to a really rough day.
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Wednesday: This makes me smile!
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Thursday: Made in Cherry quilt is coming along nicely
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Friday: Almost through my first skein of black.
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Saturday: Brought home a new toy today.
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Hushabye Quilt

2012-01-27T19:25:00.003-06:00

Yes - I did start out the year with 14 quilt tops that need quilting
No - I haven't finished them all... or even most... 2 are done though

So why did I put all other projects aside to take this yummy fabric...

...and turn it into this quilt top?

No idea why... other than "JUST BECAUSE"

The quilt top measures 48" x 60" and is made from 1 Jelly Roll of Hushabye by Tula Pink and a few scraps of white.

A Pair of Baby Quilts

2012-01-24T20:13:00.003-06:00

A couple of baby quilts for a couple of new babies...

... all washed, crinkled, and ready to be loved.

Project Life Week 3

2012-01-22T18:25:00.003-06:00

January 15 - January 21

Sunday: Taking a picture of Megan taking a picture of me.
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Monday: Oh how I love Painter's Tape!
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Tuesday: binding, binding, binding
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Wednesday: The start of a new project
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Thursday: 20 blocks done and ready to be pieced together
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Friday: I love that I can get Kindle books from my library!
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Saturday: Fab new books!!
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A Pretty Good Day

2012-01-18T19:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was one of those rare days where I was home all day, with no one around and nothing that had to be done. So I spent most of the day sewing and catching up on some TV shows via Hulu and the iPad.

cut, pieced, attached, and serged bindings for three quilts.

took this fabulous Tula Pink Hushabye jelly roll...

...and cut and pieced for a new quilt (no real reason... just got inspired after picking up the rain drops on clearance at a LQS).

and finally I pressed my fabrics for the Made in Cherry quilt along.

A pretty good day!

Project Life Week 2

2012-01-15T19:33:00.003-06:00

January 8 - January 14

Sunday: Winter in the South... warm enough in January for swimsuits and washing the dog in the backyard.
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Monday: Back to the gym after a little break
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Tuesday: A favorite childhood toy... I remember playing this on the floor of the back bedroom at Oma and Papa's house.
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Wednesday: Kitty and I have the same favorite quilt
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Thursday: Picking out fabric combos for a Swoon quilt
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Friday: What's in my bag today
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Saturday: She oversees everything I do... now if I could just get her to baste it for me.
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12 Quilts in '12 Challenge

2012-01-13T20:13:00.003-06:00

A few of my Houston Modern Quilt Guild friends are hosting a challenge... 12 Quilts in '12.

Oh boy, do I need this motivation! I did a little project inventory recently, and there's more than a few things I need to finish up.

Works in Progress
1. Loulouthi quilt
2. Handpieced hexagon quilt

Quilts That Need Binding
1. Sugar Pop Tumbler
2. Boutique Pinwheel
3. Tranquility Jacob's Ladder

Abandoned Projects
1. Block of the Week (1 block left)
2. Block of the Month (11 blocks left)
3. Pinwheel Sampler (just need to put it all together)
4. Jelly Roll Sampler (just need to put it all together)
5. Farmer's Wife blocks
6. Quiltsmart Apple Core

Quilt Tops That Need Quilting
14!!! I'll spare you the detailed list :) But 5 or 6 of them are small, baby quilts, and a couple I'll be sending out for quilting... so that leaves me another 1/2 dozen to figure out.

And then there's the projects I have planned for this year...Swoon, Made in Cherry, a variation of FITF's Rectangle Squared, and Wonky Interlocking Stars

I'm tired just thinking about it all.

Quilt Alongs for 2012

2012-01-10T21:47:00.003-06:00

I really wasn't going to participate in any quilt alongs this year. But what's a girl to do when 2 quilt alongs pop up, for quilts I had already planned on making this year!?!

Made In Cherry Quilt Along

Chelsea is putting together the Made In Cherry quilt along using Sarah Fielke's pattern (free on the Lecien website). I got to see Sarah's quilts, made from her new line St. Ives, at Fall Quilt Market... and what a fun set of quilts these are!

And while I have a fat quarter set of St. Ives, I've decided to use a different fabric line... Swoon by Melissa Averinos (Yummy Goods). Still thinking about the background fabric... maybe Moda Crossweave in Tan.

Swoon-along

Katy is hosting a Swoon-along using Camille's Swoon pattern. I've made one of these blocks before... turned it into a mini-quilt for a swap. The blocks do take a fair amount of time, but WOW are they impressive in person.

For this one I'm going to use Sweetwater's Hometown collection, along with a little Moda Bella in White.

So how about you... any quilt alongs planned for the new year?

Project Life Week 1

2012-01-08T12:30:00.000-06:00

I loved my picture-a-day experience in 2011, so I'm going to do it again this year. But this time I'm going to use one of my favortie iPhone apps... Instagram!! Enjoy a look at our life... in square pictures!

January 1 - January 7

Sunday: First Starbucks of the year!
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Monday: My typical breakfast
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Tuesday: Making progress
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Wednesday: Fun mail day
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Thursday: My favorite shoes
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Friday: New cookbooks!
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Saturday: First day of swim lessons for 2012
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Cross Stitching... Again

2012-01-07T19:45:00.003-06:00

20 years ago you probably wouldn't have seen me without a cross stitch project close by. I LOVED stitching... and stitched every where... while watching TV, on family road trips, during my (blow-off) Yearbook class in high school...

Over time other things started taking priority in my free time (SEWING!! QUILTING!!) and cross stitch projects got stashed in a box in the closet. But over the last year I've been lovin' the pictures of Amanda's cross stitch projects, and thinking about picking up a project.

And what better project than The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Dessert of the Month sampler?!?

I'm not 100% sure about my fabric choice (slim pickins at Hobby Lobby today)... I might give JoAnns and/or Michaels a try tomorrow... but I'm excited to get started.

While searching through my craft supplies this week I found a few old projects. I'm a little sad that I can't find the full chart for the bunnies (missing the color chart) or any part of the underwater chart... I would love to finish them up.

I Love Scraps!

2012-01-02T19:05:00.003-06:00

I've had my heart set on making a scrap quilt for some time now... the memories in each piece... using up the final little pieces of treasured fabrics... finding a use for those "what was I thinking" fabric pieces... I love it all!!

I never thought I had enough scraps to actually make a whole quilt, but earlier this year I pulled my scraps from various bags, bins, and totes and color sorted them... holy scraps... that's a lot of scraps!

So what's a scrap lovin' girl to do... why make one of Katy's Scrap Vomit quilts of course!!

This was the last thing I finished piecing in 2011 (with a couple of hours to spare even).

It's a little big (70" x 98") so I think I'll send it out to be quilted. Looking forward to having this one to snuggle under soon!

Project Life Week 52

2012-01-01T20:20:00.003-06:00

December 25 - December 31

Merry Christmas
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A pre-birthday trip to Build-A-Bear
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Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl!
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Mom was playing around with a layout on some pieces I was trimming up.
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The holidays are over... back to the regular Starbucks cups.
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Poor little thing got kicked in the eye at school today.
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Final quilt top of 2011 finished today.
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HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

A {Sewing} Year in Review - 2011

2011-12-29T20:46:00.003-06:00

While I didn't meet all of my 2011 sewing goals, I did work on a lot of fun projects this year!

Wishing you a happy and healthy New Year!

Project Life Week 50 & 51

2011-12-26T20:00:00.003-06:00

December 11 - December 24

Gingerbread House fun!
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Making good progress on this quilt... half of the blocks are pieced
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Another holiday bag
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My Secret Santa Swap package arrived!
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I took a crochet class tonight
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The elf hanging out in the tree with a new puzzle for Megan
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Installing the 2012 officers for Houston Modern Quilt Guild
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A new skirt for Megan
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Ariel made a special appearance at Megan's birthday party
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Wrapping Christmas and birthday presents
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A few more bags for teacher gifts
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Santa made a visit to the school Christmas party
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A little Christmas gift to myself
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Couldn't find our book, so iPad to the rescue
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Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T07:11:00.001-06:00

Birthday Party

2011-12-20T22:30:00.003-06:00

We had Megan's birthday party this week at her pre-school. Can't believe my baby girl is about to turn 4 years old!

She loved the new outfit Mommy made for her party. As much as I tried to keep it a secret, she knew I was up to something in my sewing room Sunday afternoon.

She was surprised when Ariel arrived though!

Ariel read a story, gave the kids rub-on tattoos, and showed them a dance

A quick birthday hug...

...And then it was on to cake and presents

Such a fun afternoon!

Crochet

2011-12-17T10:39:00.005-06:00

Thursaday night I took the Crochet 101 class at my local JoAnn store. The class was $35 and came with a kit.

The color of that skein is not off from bad lighting... the kits actually came with "Pea Green" yarn.

After 2.5 hours, this is what I was able to finish:

After 2 tries with the Pea Green yarn, and lots of skipped stitches, I switched to a slightly variegated yarn the instructor had in hopes that I could see the loops better.

Was it the best class I've ever taken? No... the instructor's directions were different than the step-by-step guide that came in our kit (and different than other on-line instructions I've checked out since then.) But signing up for the class, and spending the money for it, forced me to make the time to finally give crochet a try.

Between my new book (thanks to a 50% off coupon), new variegated thread, some on-line instructions, and my mom's help when she comes home for Christmas next weekend I'm determined to get the hang of this!

Giveaway Day Winner!!

2011-12-17T09:56:00.004-06:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway! I love reading the fabric picks!

Random.org picked a winner:

Valerie - I'll be in touch shortly.

Secret Santa Swap

2011-12-15T06:18:00.003-06:00

I love Secret Santa swaps, so when I saw that Amy was hosting one on Twitter (#SSSwap) I jumpped in! This one was low stress... there was a dollar limit, and the gift didn't have to include a hand-made item... I knew I could squeeze that into the busy holiday season!

My super fantastic package from Elena arrived last night.

Home baked bread, embroidery hoops (perfect for my new sewing area!!), a little clutch (perfect for holding my phone, chapstick, and a debit card!!), some fabric, embroidery floss, cute little thread spool push pins, and the most adorable berry basket.

I love everthing!!

And here's a little peek at what I sent to my partner. Of course I ended up making something... and probably changed my mind 4 times before I made a final decision. Joan's favorite fabrics are French General, so I hope my final decision was spot on for her.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

2011-12-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

It's that time again... Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!

Up for grabs - 2 yards of fabric or 2 charm packs from my shop.

To enter, leave me a comment with which fabric from my shop you'd pick if you're the winner.

Entries will close 7pm (Central) Friday December 16th. I'll draw a winner and everything will be ready to mail out Monday.

Good Luck!!

Project Life Week 49

2011-12-11T20:02:00.003-06:00

December 4 - December 10

Finally decided what to make my #ssswap partner
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Adding these to the gift bags for Megan's party
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Working on the Scrap Vomit quilt
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Our silly little elf got caught playing in my fabric scraps.
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Pick A Bunch quilt
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Holiday pot luck... I've never seen so much food!
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Fun party at Pump It Up!
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Scraps

2011-12-09T20:21:00.003-06:00

So what do you do with your scraps?

Earlier this year I bought this storage unit at Target and I LOVE it!! (Okay - truth be told I do wish I had bought the 9-cubby version... that red/pink bin is getting a little full.) It is perfect for holding all those little bits and pieces.

But now I need to figure out what to do with bigger scraps.

See, I love working with fat quarter bundles... as much as I'd love to be able to pull together a selection of fabrics from different collections for my projects, in reality my sewing time is so limited that pre-coordinated bundles are the way to go for me.

But I'm finding that after a project I usually have a good bit of the bunde left over. And now I'm trying to decide what to do... keep them all together to make a second (or third) quilt from... swap them with someone and add something new to the stash... or split the set up and stash it away in my scrap bin?

Pick A Bunch Quilt

2011-12-07T21:39:00.003-06:00

Remember this quilt I made over the summer... well it came back from the quilter last week!

The quilting is just wonderful! Really glad I went with someone else quilting it... it wouldn't have turned out even a fraction this great in my hands on mom's long arm machine.

I really had no idea what I wanted to use for the binding. But then I saw all the left over backing I just couldn't justify spending additional money to buy another fabric for the binding. And you know what... I love how it turned out!

Here's to some summer flowers warming up a cold winter!

Project Life Week 48

2011-12-04T19:45:00.003-06:00

November 27 - December 3

Megan's 2011 ornament
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November do. Good Stitches blocks
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Tried using the serger on the binding before hand-stitching to the back.
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Working on something special
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Some of my Black Friday shopping has arrived
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My sweet kitty Krystal
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Our elf brought Megan a gift card so she could get some cookies.
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Family Fun Day

2011-12-03T19:59:00.003-06:00

Today we put aside the chores and errands to have a little fun!

The morning started with a gift to Megan from our elf. She did really well with her star chart this week, so Santa and the elf thought she deserved a $5 gift card to buy some cookies at Starbucks.

After collecting her gift we headed out to Chick-fil-A for breakfast... Biscuit, chocolate milk, and hashbrowns... yummy!

And since it was the first Saturday of the month, we headed off to the zoo for Member Saturday (opens early at 8am for members)

Megan rode the carousel 4 times... she rode the snake, the okapi, the lion, and the dolphin. Melvin, the carousel operator, is so much fun! I love riding the carousel when he's there!

A little lunch at Central Market (California Connection sandwich... YUMMY!!)

...And a snack at Starbucks (they were out of cookies, but she was more than happy with chocolate chip banana bread)

...left us with a very tired little girl

Christmas Gift Bags

2011-11-30T21:11:00.003-06:00

I had a little time earlier this week and whipped up a couple gift bags to hold holiday gifts. Just the perfect size to hold a little fabric, a Christmas ornament, and some yummy chocolate!

The pattern is Jeni's Lined Drawstring Bag tutorial and the fabrics are from Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas (still a little left here and here).

Now I'm on the hunt for some My Little Pony fabrics... these would be perfect to hold Megan's growing My Little Pony collection.

Project Life Week 47

2011-11-27T20:22:00.003-06:00

November 20 - November 26

Volunteering at Bike the Bend with FBTSL.
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Thinking about fabric selections for my #SSSwap item
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Megan got bit by something... we think a spider (MUCH better by the next day!)
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Simple Abundance Postage Stamp Quilt
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Megan thought the Christmas tree needed her 2010 & 2011 Cane dogs.
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My new notebooks arrived today... love the colorful stripes!!
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A few goodies after visiting British Isles (on Small Business Saturday)
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Simple Abundance Postage Stamp Quilt

2011-11-25T19:40:00.003-06:00

My love for Postage Stamp quilts continues... First there was the Verna version, and then the do. Good Stitches quilt, and now one made from Simple Abundance (by Bonnie & Camille for Moda).

One of my favorite quilt patterns + one of my favorite fabric lines = LOVE

Add one more to the to-be-quilted pile {grin}

Project Life Week 46

2011-11-21T21:11:00.002-06:00

November 13 - November 19

Happy girl with her new hula-hoop!
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We've started using our new mail sorting system and love it!
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It was the kind of day that only a couple glasses of wine and a little on-line shopping could take care of.
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I love my new coffee cozy!
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So proud of riding her bike to collect the mail.
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Having fun handstitching hexies.
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Megan and her new holiday Cane
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Erin Condren Life Planner

2011-11-17T20:51:00.004-06:00

Before last month I hadn't heard of Erin Condren or her Life Planners. She showed up one day in my in-box in the form of one of those 'daily deal' emails.

Now I LOVE planners (even in this day of digital everything), and the deal was good (50% off), but it was still a pricey planner. So I turned to Google to see if anyone else had heard of these... well I don't know where I've been... turns out these things have been ALL OVER blogland (reviews, giveaways, discount codes)... and people seem to love them, so I ordered one.

I selected the Favorite Things Life Planner and was able to customize the front and back covers with my favorite things... starbucks, quilts, champagne, disney world, my daughter, diet cherry coke, christmas, chocolate, fletch, purple, john sandford books, sewing, margaritas, cupcakes, reading, chocolate chip cookies

Here's to a well organized 2012!!

Project Life Week 45

2011-11-13T19:57:00.002-06:00

November 6 - November 12

My winning from Saturday's Houston Modern Quilt Guild Quilt Festival Meet-Up.
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WIP
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My new sewing space.
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Taking some new pictures to send to Grandma.
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Another winning... this time from Delish Magazine.
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The 3rd DSQuilts collection at JoAnns
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A great day for a little soccer in the front yard!
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A Change of Scenery

2011-11-09T19:47:00.003-06:00

I got a little change of scenery this week

Hubby and I cleared out the junk (oops... I mean guest) room and moved his desk in there, so I'm taking over the office once again.

I've only gotten as far as moving my table and sewing machine in... I'm looking forward to getting my fabrics, notions, and books all set up and organized.

Project Life Week 43 & 44

2011-11-06T19:25:00.003-06:00

October 23 - November 5

Hard at work.
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Fine in a pich, but I miss my regular machine.
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An apron I picked up at Disney World; thinking about turning it into a bag.
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Hubby went to the grand re-opening of the Galleria Disney Store and brought me home new ears!
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Making Halloween bags for Megan's class.
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October do. Good Stitches blocks - nothing like waiting until the last minute to mail them out.
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New puzzles!
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One of my favorite new fabrics from Fall Quilt Market.
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Tinker Bell at her school Halloween party.
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These arrived over the weekend, and I've just now had a chance to open up the box... beautiful quilting!
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A sign that Christmas is on the way... and I'm not ready.
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The down-side of cheap parking at Quilt Festival - I have to wait for the slow-pokes to show up and move their cars.
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Guess I'm a little shopped-out... this is all I came home from Festival with.
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The Houston Modern Quilt Guild Quilt Festival meet-up. Lots of fun (and not just because I won a Go Baby)!
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Winner!

2011-11-06T12:39:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the delay getting the winner announced... the last couple of days have been a little crazy! While sitting at the kitchen table this morning I kept staring at our family calendar on wall... the next 9 days have NOTHING scheduled! Bliss!!

Well, on to the winner:

Alisa... I'll be emailing you shortly

And here's what is on the way to you:

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-11-02T12:00:00.001-05:00

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Welcome! If you're visiting for the first time please feel free to take a look around... you'll find my sewing adventures along with my documentation for Project Life.

If you're looking for my Quilt Market/Sewing Summit giveaway it is one post down.
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This year for Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival I'm showing my Bliss quilt.

I shared a post about the quilt earlier this year. In that post I mentioned getting inspiration to finish up the quilt after sitting for almost a year.

So I thought this time I'd share the story of that inspiration and some new pictures now that I've had it quilted by the super-talented Joanna.

A few months ago I decided to join both the 3x6 and 4x5 Quilt Bees on Flickr. After lots and lots of thinking about it I decided to make a pinwheel block with the Twister Tool for both of my groups. I love this block, but boy does it take a lot of fabric! All but one or two members wanted white as their background, so that made things easy, but also meant that I would need 2 - 3 yards of white.

I knew I should have a couple yards of white left over from the piece I used for the Bliss quilt - perfect! But what if I made all the Bee blocks and then realized I cut something wrong for the Bliss quilt? I had no idea if that piece was Kona or Bella. So I set out to finish the quilt first and then move on to the Bee blocks. And everything worked out perfect!

I'm still sewing away on the binding... just need a little more TV time with hubby to finish up the hand stitching.

2011 Quilt Market

2011-10-31T19:56:00.003-05:00

Another Fall Quilt Market has closed... And it was a fun, busy weekend!

I'd show you my pictures from the weekend, but after 2 days of lugging my DSLR around the convention center I have a grand total of 4 pictures... and none clear or in focus. There may be a few on my phone... if I got any good ones I'll update with them.

Friday was a FULL day... Schoolhouse, Fabric 2.0 party, and Sample Spree. Schoolhouse was loads of fun! I attended sessions given by Jane Sassaman, Lynette Anderson, Anna Maria Horner, Sarah Fielke, Natalie Lymer, Vanessa Christenson, Thomas Knauer, Betz White, Amy Butler, Valori Wells, Tula Pink, Sarai Mitnick, and Kay Whitt. Lots of great information and inspiration!

Sample Spree was as crazy as ever, but I went in with a plan and got everything on my list (plus a little something extra.)

Lecien - Woodland by Natalie Lymer, St. Ives by Sarah Fielke, Folkheart by Rosalie Quinlan, and Flower Sugar.

A Walk in the Woods by Aneela Hoey and Pear Tree by Thomas Knauer

Saturday and Sunday were full of walking the show floor, attending book signings, meeting with fabric reps, and spending time with fun quilt peeps.

How about a little giveaway? Leave a comment and later this week I'll pick a winner to send a selection of Quilt Market and Sewing Summit goodies to.

Now for a couple of days of rest and then on to Quilt Festival.

Project Life Week 42

2011-10-23T20:23:00.003-05:00

October 16 - October 22
The Disney edition

Megan loved meeting Alice!
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Meeting Rapunzel was priority #1 for our first day in Magic Kingdom.
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Buzz & Woody - A dream come true.
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Prince Eric and Ariel... the BEST character meet & greet of the trip! Saw them again the next day and they were just as wonderful!
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Everyone needs a little Pixie Dust in their hair.
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Finally on the last day Megan was "ready for Stitch"
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Saturday's swimming lesson turned into a Private Lesson since Megan was the only one that showed. 30 minutes of non-stop swimming... that was one tired kid!
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Sewing Summit - The Sewing Room

2011-10-18T10:00:00.001-05:00

One of the coolest parts of The Sewing Summit was the sewing room... a hotel ballroom filled with everything you need to sew the night away. There were rotary cutters, rulers, mats, pins, ironing boards & irons, portable design walls, and 50 Baby Lock sewing machines.

I brought along a couple of charm packs just in case I had time to sew. I thought at best I would get my tumblers cut out; maybe even get started on piecing them together. But once I got started I couldn't stop... and look what I came home with

This will turn into a quilt for Fort Bend Junior Service League's Charity Ball auction.

Project Life Week 40 & 41

2011-10-16T12:00:00.002-05:00

October 2 - October 15

A little gift for Megan from my Oma
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The box I've been stashing items to pack for Sewing Summit
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Finally making some progress on cleaning out the pantry
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Gifts for Megan to open while I'm away
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Salt Lake City (and SNOW!!)
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SLC Shop Hop goodies
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Amanda's Mini Quilts class at Sewing Summit (one of the six classes I took over the weekend)
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Home again!!
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The to-do list Chris left for me Monday morning... I picked up a bit of a cold so rest & TV were the focus of my day.
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Goodies I brought home from Sewing Summit... swag, giveaways, shop hop, and swaps
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I may have gone a little overboard on the $5 tshirts at Old Navy
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The start of a new project
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2 quilts ready to go out for quilting
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Megan's new camera
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Sewing Summit

2011-10-11T21:30:00.004-05:00

Sewing Summit was a fantastic weekend!!

Mom and I flew out early Thursday morning... so early that we decided it would be easier if I spent Wednesday night at her house. I left Megan little gifts to open each day I was gone. I loved calling home to find out which gift she had opened for the day!

We spent Thursday getting settled in our hotel room...

Just a part of our incredible room.

The view from our room

...and finding some yummy lunch...

Waffles at Bruges

Friday's big events were the Shop Hop (3 beautiful local quilt shops)...

My haul

Mom's haul

...and the opening Meet & Greet... what fun getting to meet so many quilters and sewists!!

Saturday and Sunday were filled with classes. I attended Bags 101 (with Bari J), Freemotion Quilting (with Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew), Color Selection (with Jeni of In Color Order), Mini Quilts (with Amanda Mrs. McPorkChop), Photography (with Vanessa of V & Co), and Blogging (with Dana from Old Red Barn Co.)... my head is spinning with all the information and inspiration!

We made it home late Sunday night, and I spent most of Monday on the sofa nursing a bit of a cold. I finally got a chance today to pull out all of my weekend goodies... in a word... WOW

I'm already planning for next year's event!

Look for a giveaway coming soon!

This is the Year...

2011-10-03T12:00:00.000-05:00

... that I finally learn to crochet!

I had a roommate in college that was going to teach me, but we just never got around to it. And my mom and I have been talking about her showing me for about the last 15 years. Mom even brought everything to the hospital when I was being induced for Megan's delivery December 2007 - the IV in my hand (and oh yeah, the contractions) kind of prevented that from happening.

But this is the year!
1. Mom and I are heading to Sewing Summit later this week and she's planning on a little crochet lesson for me when we have some free time (maybe the flight there or home... looks like we are going to have a BUSY weekend.)
2. There are plans for a do. Good Stitches meet-up/pop-up crochet and knitting lesson at Sewing Summit one evening after the day's activities are over.
3. Crafty Minx is running a Crochet School through out the month of October.

There's nothing stopping me now!

Project Life Week 38 & 39

2011-10-02T20:41:00.003-05:00

September 18 - October 1

My new toy!
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A new Jane Market Bag in the works
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Paperwork!!
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Jane Market Bag - made with fusible fleece and interfacing in the straps.
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lots and lots of hexies
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Krystal does not like when the suitcases come out!
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All dressed up for Aunt Jenn's baby shower.
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A day in San Francisco... and we loved the Sea Lions!
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LONG day of travel home
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While Megan and I were in San Francisco, Chris made a trip to IKEA to get me this great table!
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do. Good Stitches quilt finished
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September blocks for do. Good Stitches
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Charms for the Sewing Summit Color Wheel Charm Swap
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LOVE my new violet All Stars!
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No Project Life update next week... I'll be in Salt Lake City for Sewing Summit!

San Francisco

2011-09-30T21:11:00.004-05:00

Last year my sister moved to the San Francisco area, got married, and is now expecting a baby girl in November. So last weekend Megan, my mom and I headed out West for my sister's baby shower.

On Sunday we drove into San Francisco for a day full of the tourist sights:

Crossing the Bay Bridge on our way into the city.

A quick trip to Japantown (my hunt for cute Bento Box things was a bust... I think I need more shopping time!)

I loved this sign... it reminds me how flat Houston is!

The bread from Boudin Bakery was INCREDIBLE!!

No time for a tour... this will be on my list for next time.

We loved watching the Sea Lions.

A trip down Lombard Street

And we took the fogged in Golden Gate bridge home.

But the best part... Megan loved getting to meet her new cousins!

do. Good Stitches

2011-09-28T20:29:00.003-05:00

The quilt I planned for do. Good Stitches is all done!

Throughout August each lady in the Grace circle made 2- 12.5" postage stamp blocks.

I put them all together (with a little help from kitty)

And quilted it on my mom's machine.

Now it is ready for a new home!

Jane Market Bag

2011-09-21T23:11:00.004-05:00

I made another Jane Market bag this week. This one is going to Sewing Summit with me... for the shop hop, for carrying FQ Swap and Color Wheel Swap packages, and any other goodies I might need.

I made a few modification this time (thanks to suggestions from some seasoned Jane Market bag makers)... adding fusible fleece to the bag and interfacing to the handles.

Despite working with fusible fleece 1,000 times before, I struggled with it this time (might have had something to do with a sick little one getting me up at 3am, 3:30am, 4:15am, and finally for good at 5am!) I'll try another one with the fusible fleece, but I think next time I'll cut the fleece a little bigger than the fabric and trim down once fused (some how I just couldn't get it cut right!) and I'll use a little bigger seam allowance (1/4" was hard to maintain in the thicker seams.)

I think my next one will be a library book bag for Megan from Poky Little Puppy/Golden Books fabrics.

Project Life Week 37

2011-09-18T21:20:00.003-05:00

September 11 - September 17

A couple more blocks for do. Good Stitches Postage Stamp quilt.
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The do. Good Stitches quilt is kitty-approved.
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Quilting the do. Good Stitches quilt.
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My new travel sewing kit.
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Megan's coloring skills are getting better and better (I thought daddy helped her out with this one!)
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This space intentionally left blank.
I've been working on a commissioned quilting piece, but didn't ask if I can show it yet... I'll update once I get the go-ahead.
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HMQG Habitat Challenge... lots of GREAT things made!! (totally forgot to bring mine for show-n-tell)
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(Next week's Project Life won't be posted on Sunday ... I'm taking Megan to San Francisco next weekend to see my sister and nephew!)

Travel + Sewing

2011-09-14T21:33:00.002-05:00

I'll be doing a little traveling over the next month and a half and plan on taking some hand-sewing projects with me... great for those hours spent in airports and on planes!

So I was THRILLED when I saw this tutorial pop up on Pinterest!! A few months ago I got to see the original one that Strawberrylicious made for Liz in the Make Mine Modern swap... super cute!! Making one for myself was on my would-like-to-do-someday list. Well, with a BIG THANKS to Amy for coming up with the tutorial, I now have one of my own!

Fabrics are some scraps of 2 DS Quilts prints and 1 print from the Milly collection by Erin Ries for Clothworks.

Project Life Week 36

2011-09-11T20:33:00.003-05:00

September 4 - September 10

Special blocks for a couple of extra-special quilts.
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Quilting away on my Sugar Pop tumbler quilt.
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Just a little more than a month until our trip!!!
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Luggage Strap - my project for the HMQG Habitat Challenge.
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My first embroidery project
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NH magazine clipping my aunt sent... beautiful house with 4 seasons... makes me want to move TODAY!!
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A fun day at the Children's Museum with Grandma!
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HMQG Habitat Challenge

2011-09-07T20:33:00.004-05:00

So last week I showed a picture of the work in progress of my Habitat Challenge piece.

Well I finished up over the holiday weekend... a luggage strap for my upcoming trips in September and October!

I used this tutorial... and it went together perfectly!

Project Life Week 35

2011-09-04T20:49:00.003-05:00

August 28 - September 3

Love this album... and listen to it almost every day.
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Megan + Chocolate Pudding = A BIG MESS
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Working on my Habitat Challenge project for HMQG.
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I've been cutting and sewing away on a SV quilt, and finally stopped to count squares... I have way more than I need... maybe 2 quilts?!?
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Finally basted the Sugar Pop Tumber quilt... and guess what's on the iPod... The Black Keys
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Megan added a couple of new members to her fish family.
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We never miss a chance to ride the carousal when at the zoo.
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WIP - HMQG Habitat Challenge

2011-08-31T21:52:00.004-05:00

The Houston Modern Quilt Guild is participating in FreeSpirit's Habitat Challenge.

Our mid-September deadline was fast approaching and I really had no idea what I was going to make. I even toyed with the thought of sitting out of the challenge. But earlier this week inspiration struck!

After picking up some heavy-duty sewing needles this weekend I'll be ready to finish it up. Just in time for our next meeting.

Project Life Week 34

2011-08-28T21:00:00.003-05:00

August 21 - August 27

Sunday night... the temperature difference between where we live and where we want to live.
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Megan loves the necklace I received from a bee member (maybe sometime soon I'll get to wear it)
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Banana Bread!!
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Megan's first 100-piece puzzle.
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Part of the bee blocks I finished up this week.
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Megan's reindeer had lots of fun with the sunroof while waiting in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru.
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"It's a closet, not a museum"
Three bags full of clothes for the charity shop and one bag of junk for the trash... a good start to cleaning out the closet.
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Bliss Quilt

2011-08-27T20:12:00.003-05:00

Another UFO quilt top finished up this week!

This quilt is not how the fabric started out...

Over a year ago I had this GREAT idea for a quilt, so armed with a charm pack I made 42 4-patches. And then my idea started to fall apart. I still like the pattern idea, but I think it was a matter of wrong pattern/wrong fabric combo.

So the 4-patches sat on the edge of my ironing board for weeks while I tried to decide what to do with them. And then I saw this quilt on Mary's blog... PERFECT! A few more 4-patches, some solid and I'd have a fab quilt top! So I slowly got to work.

Then I got another great idea... I wanted a special gift for someone special and I thought this would fit the bill. I moved into overdrive trying to finish it up on a tight timetable. I ended up missing my self-imposed deadline and then began to question my choice of gift. While I'm sure the recipient would have loved it no matter what, it really wasn't the right fabric for her. So I put it aside and made her another quilt.

For almost a year the almost-finished pieces of this quilt have sat on a chair... waiting for the inspiration to finish. Well it finally came last week. I added the setting triangles to the rows, pieced the rows together, and added the borders... and one more quilt top finished!! AND I LOVE IT!

Quilt Bees

2011-08-25T20:13:00.005-05:00

This quarter I signed up for the [3x6] Quilt Sampler Bee and 4x5 Modern Quilt Bee on Flickr. Somehow, in my head, that didn't seem like much... but in reality I've been sewing these blocks for a week. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!!

3x6 Bee

4x5 Bee

Project Life Week 33

2011-08-21T20:28:00.003-05:00

August 14 - August 20

Megan got 2 fish today (and named them Nemo and Nemo 2)
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Swoon mini-quilt done and ready to go to a new home.
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A batch of Chocolate-Caramel Party Mix all ready for tomorrow's baby shower.
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Baby shower for 3 expectant dads... one baby arrived at 12:12pm on the day of the shower, and another baby arrived that same night. Still waiting on the baby girl.
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A little something for Megan to give her teacher tomorrow... Monday she moves to a new preschool class.
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Working on 3x6 & 4x5 bees.
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And I wonder why the weekend seems to fly by...
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Make Mine Modern Swap

2011-08-17T19:48:00.003-05:00

Monday I received my package for the latest round of Make Mine Modern swap. My partner could not have put together a better package for me!

Actually, it started on Saturday when a package arrived straight from an online-fabric shop with 4 beautiful 1/2-yard cuts of fabric. No name, no hint... I figured it must be my partner! And then Monday another box arrived with these beautifully wrapped packages

Under the tag that read "Hope your travels are zippy"

3 zipper bags... perfect for all those little things that get lost so easily when traveling. And they'll match the purple leather Cambridge Satchel I ordered last week!

Under the tag that read "To get you started on your new craft"

Embroidery supplies!! No excuse to not give it a try now :)

And finally under the tag that read "Made to match"

A pincushion/thread-cathcer MADE TO MATCH THE SEWING MACHINE COVER I RECEIVED LAST ROUND!!! How cool is that!?! (it is already getting a little sofa time while I rip out some stitches).

Completly spoiled!!

And here's what I sent off to my partner:

Think I'm going to have to make a Swoon mini-quilt for myself soon!

Project Life Week 32

2011-08-14T21:00:00.003-05:00

August 7 - August 13

Megan's new buddies... Clifford, Mac, T-Bone, and Cleo
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Almost 11pm Monday and I've finished piecing the Ups and Downs quilt (explains the really bad cell phone pic)
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Megan found the Mickey fabric I bought last weekend... I want to make her pants, she wants a top
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I love when new fabric shows up!
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Megan has gotten into the habit of taking off her shoes and putting them under the coffee table when we get home...silly girl.
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7 years together and they still don't get along.
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Playing dress-up on a Saturday afternoon.
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Ups and Downs Quilt

2011-08-10T20:29:00.005-05:00

Late Monday night I finished piecing the Ups and Downs quilt. L.O.V.E. this quilt!!

This is the biggest quilt I've made in awhile... 90" x 90"... 100 9-piece blocks

For sure this one is going to have to go out for quilting... no way I'm going to try to get all of that through my sewing machine... and I'd use my mom's long-arm, but I think she still has the shorter table/poles set up and this one won't fit.

But first I need to decide on a backing (leaning towards the fabric in the bottom of the picture.)

Pattern: Ups and Downs by Sarah Fielke published in Down Under Quilts
Fabric: From Little Things by Sarah Fielke and Moda Crossweave in Natural

Project Life Week 31

2011-08-07T20:18:00.003-05:00

July 31 - August 6

Clifford, Mac, and T-Bone made their way home with us today.
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Mean Mommy struck tonight... Little one wouldn't stay in bed so she lost Lamby & Clifford for the night.
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100 blocks sewn and all ready to be ironed.
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Spent some time going through (and tossing out) magazines. Feels good to get them into the recycling bin.
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Little one's lip is finally healing after a little bicycle accident earlier this week.
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Cherry-flavord fountain syrup stains... who knew ;)
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New Princess dress-up goodies from Grandma.
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WIP

2011-08-04T20:10:00.001-05:00

100 blocks... ready to be ironed and pieced together.

Project Life Week 30

2011-07-31T21:18:00.003-05:00

July 24 - July 30

Megan & her Princesses
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Playing with letters
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Our first dish from "Don't Worry, Dinner's in the Freezer" (cooked it Thursday and it was yummy!)
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Megan's new boots from Grandma (and they light up!)
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Tried Bikram Yoga tonight... glad I tried it, but not sure if I'll go back again.
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Working on something for my Make Mine Modern partner.
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Silly kitty... don't you know there are pins under your bum!
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July Bee Blocks

2011-07-28T21:51:00.003-05:00

I think this July has been my favorite month for Bee Blocks! I've LOVED every block I've made this month... pattern and fabrics.

For the Fresh Modern Bee:

We were challenged to work with words. Mandy provided individual words to each of us and I was thrilled to get LEAP!

For the Bee Quilted group:

We made bowtie blocks. A bowtie quilt has been on my to-do list for some time now. After making this block I REALLY want to make a quilt from them!

do. Good Stitches for July:

Wonky crosses are a lot of fun! And I had a lot of fun pulling all browns for the backgrounds of the 4-patch.

And August will hopefully bring more wonderful blocks... we're getting started with my pick for the Grace group's do. Good Stitches August block:

Jane Market Tote

2011-07-26T19:49:00.003-05:00

Megan's teacher had a birthday Monday. I thought that would be a great opportunity to finally try out the Jane Market Tote.

I let Megan pick out any fabric she wanted from my stash... she was dead-set on the dogs as soon as she saw them. I was so afraid her teacher wouldn't be a dog person! Turns out the 3-year-old knew what she was talking about... her teacher has a dog and the 2 of them talk about dogs at school.

For the pictures I filled the bag with 2 boxes of cereal and a bag of popcorn. And there's still a good amount of room in there! But I didn't send it to school empty... there were 2 bags of my (almost) famous caramel-chocolate snack mix.

Project Life Week 29

2011-07-24T20:41:00.003-05:00

July 17 - July 23

What a way to take a nap!
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Working my way through the 'Ups and Downs' quilt.
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My Disney Movie Rewards Bambi lunch box arrived today!! Think I'll use it as a traveling sewing box.
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We bought Bella a ThunderShirt... hope it works!
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Megan's passport arrived today... where should we head first?
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I spy... 4 in-progress projects.
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Chickens at HEB. I love yard art!!
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Mommy/Daughter Day

2011-07-23T20:17:00.002-05:00

Megan and I had a fun Saturday together...

We started the morning with breakfast at Chick-fil-A with daddy. After a kiss bye, we were off on our adventure.

First stop was the grocery store... look at the chickens they had outside! There was even a bigger version!

And no trip to the store is complete without a few Buddy-Bucks and the Spin-N-Win game.

Some fresh fruits and veggies from Sam's... yummy!!

With the groceries put away we were off to swim lessons.

A quick change of clothes and we headed to the quilt shop. The ladies loved Megan, and she loved faking being shy.

Lunch break at Raising Cane's (or Ms. Aimee's restaurant as Megan likes to call it)

Our big stop of the day was a paint your own pottery place (thanks Groupon!) We pick up our pieces in a couple of weeks... can't wait to see how Ariel turns out!

And for Mommy... my first coffee (at 2:30 in the afternoon)

WIPs

2011-07-22T20:58:00.003-05:00

I get so excited about the potential of new projects that I really can't hold back from starting while the idea is fresh. So I guess that's how I end up with more projects in the works than I can keep count of.

I'm slowly working my way through...

* Ups and Downs quilt with Sarah Fielke's From Little Things
* A baby quilt... that Ruby patchwork started out as another project, but it just wasn't working out. So I'm repurposing into a baby quilt (although I'll need to wait for the yardage release to finish it up).
* Two bee blocks... a Bowtie block (the Odyssea fabric) and a word block (the red E is from my test run, the actual fabrics are in that pile).

* More pieces of the Ups and Downs quilt
* Fabric for a couple of Jane Market Bags (gifts needed for Monday... guess I better get onto those!)

* A small lap quilt that needs to be quilted.
* Fabric selection for a project for my Make Mine Modern swap partner.

There are a few more in process projects... more bee blocks, a few more baby bibs, getting caught up on my Farmer's Wife blocks... and lots more I'd love to start, but for now I'm committed to clearing off my sewing table (and ironing board).

52 Lists in 52 Weeks || Week 6 & 7

2011-07-19T19:31:00.003-05:00

Week 6
10 Things I Want/Need to Let Go Of

Week 7
Things to do on a Rainy Day

Project Life Week 28

2011-07-17T20:10:00.003-05:00

July 10 - July 16

July do. Good Stitches blocks
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A new quilt fresh from the dryer
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Starting a new project
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Megan's current breakfast of choice... Cheerios and Peanut Butter Puffins without milk
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Megan wanted her hair in a pony tail... it maybe lasted an hour
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200 HST ready to be trimmed
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Megan came along to the HMQG meeting and made a new friend.
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Hope Valley Plus Quilt

2011-07-12T19:45:00.003-05:00

Another WIP can be checked off the list!

About 6 months from start to finish... a week or so to cut and piece, and a couple of weeks to quilt and bind. And the time in between... putting off basting the quilt :)

I've gotten used to quilting large tops on my mom's longarm machine. But I knew I wanted to quilt this one with straight lines on my sewing machine, so that would mean basting. Turns out the largest tile area in my house is the master bathroom. After clearing out the rugs, the cat's bed and her food and water, there was JUST enough room (as long as I stepped on the quilt's edges to get around it).

Project Life Week 27

2011-07-10T20:56:00.003-05:00

July 3 - July 9

Helping daddy wash the car.
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Nothing happier than a dog with a bone.
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Megan loves her new puzzles!
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Another fun day at school... clown, balloon animals, and face painting
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Baby bibs for some little ones arriving later this year.
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The flowers Megan picked out this week.
(Forgot a Friday picture; doubled up on Saturday)
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Megan's first swimming lesson... she loved it!!
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Baby Bibs

2011-07-07T20:37:00.003-05:00

At last count there are 6 babies coming to our friends, family, and co-workers before the end of the year. Time to get started on some handmade goodies for the little ones.

These have been so much fun to put together! And a great use of scraps... the Hope Valley in the Baby Girl bib is left over from the quilt I'm binding right now. And I can use all those little piece of batting I always seem to have cluttering up my sewing area.

Fabric: Beetle Boy by Ellen Crimi-Trent for Clothworks

Fabric: Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt for Freespirit and Munki Munki by Heather Ross

I will definitely be making more of these!

52 Lists in 52 Weeks || Week 5

2011-07-05T19:53:00.002-05:00

Week 5
A Waiting List of Books

I saw this quote on Pinterest last week... "After I finish a series, I don't know what to do with myself. I feel like I've suffered a tragic loss." YES YES YES!!!

Project Life Week 26

2011-07-03T21:20:00.003-05:00

June 26 - July 2

Spent the day cutting up scraps for a Scrap Vomit quilt.
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A 'Get Well' gift for Megan from her cousin.
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All pinned and ready for quilting.
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Cars 2 - Megan's first movie at the theatre.
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All caught up - weeks 1 - 5 of the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along.
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Blue cupcake icing!!
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Halfway through quilting (and 3.5 bobbins used)
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Pick A Bunch

2011-07-02T19:27:00.003-05:00

I finished piecing this quilt last weekend. I love the purples in this line!! And the pattern shows off the fabrics perfectly.

I know I can't do justice to the large pieces with quilting on my home machine or my mom's long-arm machine (my long-arm skills don't go further than a loopy meander) so I've decided to send this one off to a professional. The backing fabric arrived yesterday, and next week it will be packaged up and sent off... can't wait to see what comes back!

The Farmer's Wife QAL || Weeks 3 - 5

2011-06-30T19:57:00.003-05:00

I spent a little time last night getting caught up on my Farmer's Wife blocks. Missing a week or 2 in a QAL easily snowballs into another unfinished project for me (Summer 2010 Block of the Week, Jelly Roll Sampler, Pinwheel Sampler just to name a few)... so I'm happy to be on track once again with this one!

For Weeks 3 - 5 I made (from the top): #21 Contrary Wife, #10 Bowtie, #34 Flock, #4 Basket Weave, #54 Kitchen Woodbox, #20 Churn Dash

And all my blocks so far:

52 Lists in 52 Weeks || Week 4

2011-06-29T22:23:00.001-05:00

Week 4
Wish List

Project Life Week 25

2011-06-26T21:54:00.003-05:00

June 19 - June 25

Happy Father's Day!
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Fab new fabrics arrived from a swap with a Flickr friend.
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See that depression in my pillows? That's where the cat likes to lounge the day away.
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The cat's other favorite place to spend time.
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My brave girl on her way home from tonsil surgery.
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A new quilt in the works.
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I love the purples in this line!
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Catching Up

2011-06-24T19:34:00.004-05:00

This week just seemed to dissapear on me. My daughter had her tonsils taken out yesterday. And even though it is a "routine" surgery we've all been a little distracted this week. She came through surgery just fine and is on the mend. Now we're looking forward to lots of movies and ice cream for the next week.

I spent some time this week working on a project that turned into a disaster. Maybe a few day's distance and I can try to salvage the project.

I've also spent a little time playing with Robert Kaufman's Pick A Bunch line. I love the colors in this line!

I'm behind on my Farmer's Wife blocks, but have no doubt I'll get caught up soon. Though I might have to go back on my promise to try some of the template blocks this week.

I did finish my list for this week's 52 Lists. But I've decided not to post it. "What I learned from my dad" was a hard list for me to work on... my dad and I haven't spoken in years.

Project Life Week 24

2011-06-19T17:13:00.003-05:00

June 12 - June 18

Buzz, Woody, Jessie & Bullseye... everyone accounted for!
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Week 1 & 2 of the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along.
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Some of the Father's Day cards we are sending out this year.
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Innocent Crush Brick Path quilt
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George the Puppy. A gift for my daughter for after her tonsil surgery next Thursday.
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The new quilt is kitty approved!
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Who knew plastic flamingos roosted in backyard trees?!?
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Innocent Crush Brick Path Quilt

2011-06-17T20:50:00.003-05:00

Remember my No-Snow Snow-Day quilt? Well, I finally got it finished up.

The plan was for me to quilt it on Mom's long-arm machine. But after some chit-chat, getting the kiddo set up with a movie, piecing the backing, and loading the quilt onto the machine, we decided to go shopping! In our defense it was the last day of 50% off Warm & Natural batting at JoAnns.

So Mom quilted it for me. And she had a great verigated thread... blues, yellows, purples... it matched the fabrics perfectly!

Thanks Mom!

52 Lists in 52 Weeks || Week 2

2011-06-14T21:36:00.004-05:00

Week 2
What I've learned from a trip to NYC:

The Farmer's Wife QAL || Week 2

2011-06-13T22:15:00.003-05:00

This week I again went with blocks that don't need templates. I'll need to make sure I don't leave all the hard blocks with 10,000 pieces for the end of the QAL!

#81 Snowball and #103 Whirlwind

I wasn't sure about using the brighter blues (almost aqua) from this bundle... but now I think they'll all play together well in the end.

Project Life Week 23

2011-06-12T16:41:00.003-05:00

June 5 - June 11

Blocks for do. Good Stitches quilt bee.
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My first blocks for the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt A-Long.
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My first time making Wonky Stars and I love them! These don't get to stay with me, so I might have to make myself some soon.
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The full DS Quilts collection from JoAnn (U.S.) and Spotlight (Australia).
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Some fun new Christmas fabric arrived this week.
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Friday night watching the Bruins in game 5 of the Stanley Cup and hand stitching binding to my AMH quilt (that mom quilted for me!)
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Grandpa Larry (AKA Grandpa Two Dogs) sent along a new swimsuit, so we had to give it a test in the sprinkler.
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Fort Bend Rainbow Room

2011-06-09T08:00:00.001-05:00

Today is the Rainbow Room's 11th Annual Flo Berkman Awards Luncheon. I had planned on attending, but other commitments are keeping me away. A little bit of me will be there though...

This cute little tumbler quilt, made from Kate Spain's Fandango collection, will be a part of the silent auction. If you're attending, please consider bidding (and bidding high)... the Rainbow Room does fantastic work in our community!

do. Good Stitches

2011-06-08T12:00:00.000-05:00

After admiring the fantastic work being done by the members of the do. Good Stitches charity bee I finally joined in. The Grace circle started this month and our first block was a muli-colored zig zag block.

I originally requested to be a Stitcher... but they were in need of Quilters before starting another circle... so now I'll be a Quilter! In addition to making 2 blocks every month, twice over the next 12 months I'll be the one to come up with the quilt pattern, piece together everyone's blocks and get the whole thing quilted and bound. August is my first month as Quilter... and I'm already thinking about what I want to do!

The Farmer's Wife QAL || Week 1

2011-06-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

I really tried to pass on this one... a year long quilt along... 111 quilt blocks... that's some commitment! But then the pictures started popping up on Flickr and I couldn't resist.

Rather than going with scrappy blocks I thought it would be fun to give it a try with a range of Kona colors. And I just happen to have a FQ set of the Kona blues (although now I've read that completing all the blocks will take 10 to 11 yards of fabric... guess I better get another FQ set!)

My first 2 blocks:
I picked these because they looked fun, and I didn't need the templates for them (just didn't feel like using them right now.) I'm sure I'll continue to pick blocks at random... sewing whatever strikes me at the time.

#9 Box
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#73 Rainbow Flowers

52 Lists in 52 Weeks || Week 1

2011-06-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

I love lists... so when I found Kellie's challenge to complete a new list every week, I knew I had to join in.

Week 1
Today I Will...

The list prompts will be posted Sundays on Kellie's blog, but I'll probably get my post up Monday or Tuesday. And I'm taking a simple approach... journaling my lists on my iPhone.

Project Life Week 22

2011-06-05T20:47:00.003-05:00

May 29 - June 4

Project in the works...
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Picked up a couple of new toys at JoAnn's Memorial Day sale.
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Realized I need a little "help" when handstitching binding.
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Done! Donated to the Rainbow Room for their annual fundraiser luncheon.
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Went to see Stitched The Film at MFAH... a fun documentary about quilting.
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After generating this much paper in one day I feel like I owe the planet a new tree.
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the book... the templates... the fabric... I'm all ready to start the Farmer's Wife Quilt A Long.
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Stitched {the film}

2011-06-03T06:47:00.004-05:00

Last night I had the opportunity to see Stitched the film.

Image from http://www.stitchedfilm.com/

A wonderful look into the world of quilting, the International Quilt Festival, and three artists who created some controversy with their work.

The film is on tour... if you have the opportunity, please go see it. And if it isn't making a stop in your city, pop over to www.stitchedfilm.com and pick up a DVD for yourself.

Project Life Week 21

2011-05-29T20:43:00.003-05:00

May 22 - May 28

Pinwheel top completed.
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My first time sewing with laminates.
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The very early beginnings of a scrap quilt from 2.5" squares.
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My new Kindle case... didn't really need one, but I've fallen in love with this print from Spartina449.
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A box full of goodies from Quilt Market!!!
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Megan practicing her letters.
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Every Saturday Megan plays the Spin & Win game at HEB.
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Sewing with Laminates

2011-05-27T22:02:00.003-05:00

Have you had a chance to try out laminate fabrics yet?

After mentioning on Twitter that I had been wanting to give them a try, Jennifer Paganelli, of the amazing Sis Boom, offered to send me some to try out.

The fabric was nothing like what I was expecting! I had this image in my mind of a think fabric, hard to wrangle, hard to sew... boy was I wrong!! These fabrics are just wonderful! Soft, easy to cut, and so easy to sew.

I'm looking forward to more laminate projects in the future... maybe a rain hat and poncho for Megan next.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Winner

2011-05-25T21:40:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone that took time to stop by and enter my giveaway!!

And the winner is...
Sparrow in Flight - I'll be emailing you soon!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

2011-05-23T06:00:00.003-05:00

It's that time again... Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is here!! I always look forward to finding new blogs during this week of giveaways!

Up for grabs: 2 yards of fabric or 2 charm packs from my shop. (And I'll probably find a few other goodies to throw in there too!)

To enter, hop over to my shop and then leave me a comment with which fabric you'd pick if you're the winner.

And for my blog followers (new and old), if you'd like a second entry just leave me another comment that you're a follower.

Entries will close at the end of the day May 25th. I'll draw a winner and everything will be ready to mail out Monday May 30th.

Have fun!

Giveaway is now closed.... Winner to be announced soon. Thanks to all that entered!

Project Life Week 20

2011-05-22T20:45:00.003-05:00

May 15 - May 21

Working on bee blocks.
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Megan loves the 'mingos' daddy bought her... one of these days she'll be able to pronounce the full word.
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Sassy kitty... she's been very vocal and sassy lately.
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Why do both camera batteries die at the same time?
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Verna Postage Stamp Quilt
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Preparing for our trip by trying on our ears!!
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Repurposing the extras from the Postage Stamp Quilt into something else.
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Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-05-20T20:00:00.003-05:00

You know those projects that once they POP into your head you put everything else aside to work on? This was one of those...

I started out making it just to make it... I had just purchased the Tumbler template and a few weeks before that I had swapped someone on Flickr for 2 charm packs of Sultry... the perfect combo!

I was working on this quilt while my daughter was home sick from school, and all day long, over and over, she told me it was beautiful and asked if it was for her. Well of course the answer was YES!

She loves the quilt...And so does a neigborhood cat.

Verna Postage Stamp Quilt

2011-05-19T20:05:00.003-05:00

I finished the Verna Postage Stamp quilt last weekend.

And I love it!!

Now to decide how to quilt it.

Moda Bake Shop

2011-05-16T07:00:00.001-05:00

My first Moda Bake Shop project is up today!!

Please hop over and take a look. I'd love to know what you think!

And to celebrate I'm extending my weekend Etsy sale - all yardage is $6.00 a yard (1 yard min. cuts)

Project Life Week 19

2011-05-15T20:37:00.003-05:00

May 8 - May 14

Happy Mother's Day!
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...still working away on my Verna project.
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Sweet Jennifer sent me some of her new laminate to play with... can't wait to try out some projects with it!
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Buying new plants for the flower beds.
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My little clown... they have been studying the circus at school this week.
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I fell in love with this pillow at Target. Can't wait to surprise Megan with it at Disney World.
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Birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Megan loves to ride the Monster Truck!
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A Little Free Time

2011-05-14T08:32:00.003-05:00

I was supposed to be at Quilt Market in Salt Lake City this weekend, but some scheduling conflicts came up and I had to cancel my trip.

So with a mostly cleared schedule for the last couple of days I've had some time to sew.

And I'm even further along now (after staying up WAY TOO LATE last night)... I should be able to finish piecing the top today.

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T22:03:00.003-05:00

Part of my gift to Mom for Mother's Day was a pincushion...

She loves this fabric line (Happy by Me & My Sister for Moda) and she uses lots of pins when putting quilts on her long-arm machine, so I knew it would be a useful and loved gift.

To bad I didn't think about it sooner... Mom only got to see it in a partially completed state. See, starting a project at 9:30am when you're supposed to be showered, dressed, and out the door for 11:00am lunch with family was not my best idea. Oh well, it gives us a reason to get together soon!