Dental Work

January 23, 2012 | Uncategorized | Comments [2]

Remember that little destash I had to help pay for all my dental work?  Well, today I had my first procedure.  Owww!  I’m feeling better, thanks to my sweet hubby making me stay in bed most of the day.  I whiled away the time reading my latest library book and working on my cross-stitch.  I am *thisclose* to finishing it!  Woohoo!

Tomorrow is a preschool day for my littlest one, so I’m planning on finishing his quilt.  I’ll be back with photos! ;o)

A Little of This and That

January 18, 2012 | Uncategorized | No Comments

My sewing mojo has been back in force for a couple of months now.  I tend to go in phases: sometimes I go weeks where I don’t really sew at all.  It used to bother me, but I’ve learned if I just ride it out, my mojo will come back in full force!  I sewed my bum off for Christmas gifts, and I just finished the last of them: I made some Jane Market Totes for a couple of my quilty friends:

I used Heather Ross’s most recent line.  I used to never buy linen or medium-weight fabrics, but I have been finding more and more things to sew with them.  The fabrics gave this bag a bit more sturdy shape than quilting weight does.

I also finished a cowl for a friend’s birthday:

I kinda just made this one up as I went along.  I used a flannel between the two layers…it helped stabilize the voile.  I also added a pom pom fringe, which I would never do again.  It was SO tedious!!  I have an AMH voile stash that I’m trying to use up, so I’m going to make another one for myself.  The fabric is so silky, and the added squishy-ness of the flannel makes it like wrapping a cozy blankie around your neck.

This past Saturday I went to my local quilt shop to spend a gift card my wonderful father-in-law got me for Christmas.  I picked up a bunch of cute fabrics (which I didn’t think to take photos of) and some patterns.

I’ve taken the plunge into sewing more clothing, mostly thanks to this blog.  I’m planning on making the sailor skirt in khaki for L and the sailor capris…

…in Robert Kaufman’s Carolina Chambray.  I also grabbed a couple of embroidery patterns while I was there:

We’ve been working on Wyatt’s “big boy” room for awhile…it’s kind of a “vintage cowboy” theme, without being too literal.  I thought I’d embrioder a throw pillow with this pistol image:

He loves guns.  His daddy loves that he loves guns.  My hubby is a big time hunter, and I was raised in Idaho, where you’re taught gun safety from birth.

My birthday is just around the corner, and I’ve asked for a Kindle!!  I’ve been on the fence about it for awhile.  I love Love LOVE to read, but if I had to buy all the books I read, I’d go broke.  But I recently discovered that Amazon has a “lending” program, and my local library has a gagilion eBooks you can check out on your Kindle.  So I’m in.  I have informed my husband that if I do not get a Kindle, I will throw myself on the floor and pitch a fit.  I’m not too worried…he always does good with the gifts.  So I’m going to sew a Kindle case.  You know, so I’m ready *just in case*.  I’m planning on using this fabric:

Perfect cheater pattern, right?  I’m pretty excited!

Well, that’s all for today, peeps!  Happy stitching.

Destash

January 6, 2012 | Uncategorized | Comments [6]

A week ago I went to the dentist and discovered that I need a ton of dental work.  I’m not too surprised, since I’ve only been to the dentist 2 times in 7 years.  Its kinda hard to go to the dentist when you have two very little children, a husband who is out of town all the time, no babysitter, and living across the country from my entire family.  I know.  Boohoo.  But now that my youngest is in preschool 2 days a week, I have time to do exciting things…like go to the dentist.

But what you really want to know about is the fabric.  So I’ve been wanting to destash for awhile, and what better reason than to pay for dental work?  I know, what a glamorous life I lead.

First up are jelly rolls.  $37 apiece.  I have Bliss by Bonnie and Camille, and It’s a Hoot by Momo (The Dream On and Wonderland by Momo are no longer available)

Next is a Swell fat quarter bundle.  I bought multiples of this.  I have waaaay too much. $115.

Charm Packs: $9 each.  The only ones left are Hunky Dory (2), Hideaway (2), and Bliss (1)

Lecien’s My Folklore fat quarter bundle.  11 fat quarters.  $30 **GONE**

I also have a Momma’s Apron Strings ‘Twice the Charm’ bundle (pieces are 5″ x 22″) $25.  Perfect for Farmer’s Wife blocks!!

Last, but not least, I have Heather Ross fabrics.  Mendocino, $12 per half yard.  I also have a few Far Far Away prints.  Or is it called Princess and the Pea??  They are $12 a half yard as well.

And that’s it!  The best part about destashing is if no one buys anything, I get to keep it!  Tee hee!

Busy Elf

December 16, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [5]

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have been a busy little elf, sewing away.  I had lists made early, so I knew what I was making everyone.  That really took off all the pressure.  I have actually really enjoyed making gifts this year.  Its nice to sew up a whole bunch of things!  I haven’t been very good about taking pictures…my sewing room has horrible lighting.  So bad, in fact, that I bought a light box.  I also bought three cheap clamp lamps from Wal-mart.  They’re a little tricky to use…I may have hubby build me a little frame out of PVC tubing.  Anyway, all the pictures in this post were taken in the light box.  It was a little bit better, but I need to make some adjustments to my white balance, I think.

So, the first picture is the back of this placemat:

I used my Flower Sugar stash, and the quilt-as-you-go method.  It was so quick and easy!  This one is for my mum.  I think it will be perfect for her office.  I’ll be making another one today with Japanese fabrics for a special friend…

I also made my mum a Jane Market Tote:

I absolutely LOVE this pattern!  The bag is quick and easy to make, and the pin-tucks make it look so professional.  I added a little Japanese label of Anne of Green Gables.  I was (and am) a bit obsessed with Anne of Green Gables, so I know my mum will get a kick out of it.  I used the DS Quilts line from Jo-Ann (*gasp*) in blues (her favorite color).  I’ve decided I’m going to make a bunch for myself.  Then when I take them grocery shopping, I’ll look so hip! Haha!

I have also been making teacher gifts…

I used Noodlehead’s Gathered Clutch tutorial.  Its for Liberty’s teacher’s aide, and I put a gift card inside.  I have also made drawstring pouches for all of the teachers (FOUR!), and managed to squeeze in another one for myself!

In case you’re keeping track, that is 3 that I have made for myself, and 8 for other people, in the last 2 weeks.  What can I say? I’m a fan of the pattern!

That’s all for today!  If I don’t blog again before Christmas, have a very Merry Christmas (and I hope Santa brings you all a bunch of good stuff!)!

Spilling Some Beans

November 29, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [5]

Okay, so I’m not the first one to spill some beans about this…You may have already heard about a totally awesome book that was recently released by Lark.  Its available as an ebook right now, and the hard copies will be available Fall 2012.  Anyhoo, my homeboy John is the author, and he was kind enough to invite me to contribute to the book.  The book is called “Pretty in Patchwork: Holidays”.

It is chock full of awesome holiday projects by some of the most awesome designers out there.  Too many to list!!  Here is my project:

My project is called “Sugar Village Tea Towels”.  I used the fabulous Rosalie Quinlan’s fabric line from Lecien.  Her new fabric line, Folk Heart, is out now, and it is very similar to her previous line that I used.  Her fabrics are absolutely scrumptous!  Like a stack of candy.  I can’t wait to get my hands on some!!

If you’re looking for a great book full of fabulous holiday sewing (not just Christmas), run on over to Lark and buy yourself a copy!!

Thanksgiving Week

November 28, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [2]

Happy belated Thanksgiving!  I hope you all had a great holiday!  We went down to colonial Williamsburg for the week with the in laws.  We usually stay at home for the holidays, but this year my father in law persuaded us to join the rest of the family.  I have to admit, I was a little excited about not having to cook.  Don’t get me wrong, I love to cook.  But making so many dishes for just the four of us always seems a little wasteful.  We all had a great time, and the food was so fabulous, I think we are going to go down to Williamsburg again next Thanksgiving!

While I was there I managed to hit one antique mall.  I got a couple things…

I am so excited about this cookie jar!!  I have been looking for one like this for awhile now.

I also found this 1911 Coronation mug from the coronation of King George V!!  I was pretty excited to find it.

When I came home I had some happy mail!

My new Suzuko fabrics that I had pre-ordered!!  I can’t wait to play with these!

A little show and tell…

November 14, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [2]

First things first…a couple of progress pics!  The cross stitch is coming right along.  I absolutely LOVE it!  I can’t wait to finish it and get started on the rest of the seasons!!

…and a very unglamorous photo of Wyatt’s zig zag quilt. I’ve added another 4 rows since I snapped this pic.  I haven’t completely decided what size I’m going to make it.  I want it to be big enough for him to snuggle up with, even as he gets bigger.  I’m just playing it by ear at this point!

In other news, my hubby just took a cross-country trip and brought back some stuff for me from my parent’s house in Idaho.  One of the things he brought back was a trunk of antique quilts!  They have been immaculately preserved (the relative who had them worked in a museum).  I about fainted dead away when I saw this one:

It is in perfect condition!  There were no labels on the quilts (lesson learned!), but my mom told me the woman who made it passed away in the 1940s.

There was also this little mystery quilt in the trunk:

I call it the mystery quilt because I have another quilt just like it from my grandmother.  They both use the same fabrics, with a minor setting difference.  The one from my grandma has all the blocks bordered in pink, whereas this one just has a pink border around the edge.  Even the appliques use the exact same fabrics.  Neither my aunt nor my mother knows the story behind these quilts.  Who they were made for, who made them, etc.

There was also this awesome little cross stitch table runner hidden in the trunk:

How perfect is that for fall?  I’m putting it on my dining room table with a little fall centerpiece.

Until next time!

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

November 9, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [1]

My Scottish dad has a plethora of quotes.  One of his favorites is “Necessity is the mother of invention”.  I find myself saying it in my head quite frequently when a quilting idea doesn’t pan out like I thought it would.  In my last post I mentioned that I was planning on cutting up my Flea Market Fancy stash into a tumbler quilt.  Well, I didn’t have a tumbler template, but I had a bright idea to use my Dresden plate ruler.  I happily cut out tumbling blocks and started sewing them together.  Only they were forming a curved piece instead of a straight one.  So I ripped them apart, re-cut a little bit, and made a couple Dresden plates.

I have no clear idea about what I’m going to do with them….table runner?  wall quilt?  I’m not sure.  But I think I’m going to use a black and white text print as the background.  I’m just going to try a few things out, and see what works best.

Cross Stitch

November 4, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [8]

The very first hobby I ever had was cross stitch.  One of my earliest memories is stitching on a little horse sampler.  When I was in high school i was way in to cross stitch.  It was the only hobby I could afford on my allowance.  I used to stitch up Precious Moments patterns.  Yep.  I was pretty cool.

Anyway, Amanda has been killing me with her Pinterest.  She posted a pic of this and I HAD to buy it.  Like, immediately.  I found an AWESOME Etsy seller who sells kits (she’s seriously awesome, so please buy from her!) and bought it.

While I was waiting for my order to arrive, I sewed up a little project pouch to hold my future cross-stitch supplies:

I used Jen’s tutorial, which is great.  Its about an inch too short to fit the cross stitch pattern, so I’m contemplating making a new one.

Anyway, I was stalking my package, and it said DELIVERED when it clearly WASN’T.  I almost fainted from anticipation.  Apparently it was delivered to the wrong house.  So it showed up the next morning.  Let me tell you, I RIPPED into that envelope!!  It was all packaged so cute, but of course I don’t have any pictures of that.  Tissue paper was flying!  All but one of the pattern’s floss colors are the variegated, hand dyed type (Weeks, Crescent Colors), which I love.  Here’s a little in-progress picture:

Its called “Autumn Alphabet” by Lizzie*Kate.  I’m loving this project.  It goes fairly quickly.  I try to work on it in the evenings while watching a little TV.  The designer has an alphabet for each season, so I’m really wanting to finish this one and start the winter one.

Happy Stitching!

Stash Complex

November 3, 2011 | Uncategorized | Comments [4]

After I finished up sewing Halloween costumes, I decided my sewing room could really use a straightening up.  Wow.  I had no idea how much fabric I really have.  Scary.  Every time I reorganize, I am determined to use up a significant amount of my stash before I allow myself to buy any new fabric. I have a serious complex about my stash.  I buy fabric to make quilts.  Duh.  But I find myself unable to ever cut in to it.  I can’t explain why.  Maybe because I think that once I use it, it will be gone. I have decided that I need to overcome my complex.  And also, if I use up my stash, then I can buy a lot more fabric, right??

I decided to get started on a quilt for my baby, who’s favorite color is yellow.  He is obsessed with yellow.  Or, as he says: “MY YehYo”.

I am loving how it is turning out!  I have been slowly gathering the fabrics for it (and using stashed fabrics!).  Its surprisingly difficult to find “boy” fabrics.  Particularly when you are limited to one color.  Its coming together a lot quicker than I anticipated. Maybe that’s because my 3-year-old keeps “checking up” on it and telling me to “go faster!”.

In other stash-related news, I decided to cut in to my Flea Market Fancy stash, since they are re-releasing it.  And also because Doe said (not too nicely) that she was going to take it back if I didn’t use it.  Bully.

I would like to do a tumbler quilt and just make it as big as I can, using up all of the fabrics.  *GASP*  This is a big step, people.  But I have warned my husband when it gets re-released, I will be buying YARDAGE (i.e. EXPENSIVE) of it.  I thought that I had the little plexi-glass tumbler template, but I don’t.  So its off to JoAnn’s for that.  I just hope I don’t lose my resolve before then.