McIntyreGirl

Identity crisis :)

2011-10-29T09:30:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone :) I've been feeling a little antsy lately. I want to turn a new leaf, try some new things, update my 'online identity' a bit. I've started a new blog - still about my crafting adventures and occasional family hilarity! But rather than totally revamping the McIntyreGirl blog, I thought it would be best to start with a fresh slate. I've got big ambitions for my new blog and myself as a business; sort of a Field of Dreams philosophy :) Anyway, I was hoping some of you loyal readers would be willing to check it out and tell me what you think, and hopefully follow me over there. Here's the new blog address:
http://caitlin-mcintyre.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reading your comments and opinions! Thanks so much for supporting me :)

Goodie Bag Swap - Sneak Peek!

2011-10-19T10:02:00.000-05:00

I love flickr.

My latest swap is the Goodie Bag Swap, hosted by Kaelin and Angela.

As soon as I got my partner info, I had to get started on her bag right away :) I can only post a teaser photo, because I'm pretty sure she'd know it was for her if I showed any more of it:

I've still got a month before the mailing deadline, so I may try something else... we'll see!

Dress progress!

2011-10-13T18:59:00.001-05:00

So I've been working hard on my Vintage Flutter Dress. I'm really pleased with how its turning out! The top is a tad snug, but it does go around me. The skirt part, however, doesn't quite fit :( There's about a 2 inch gap between the fabric panels at my hips. I'm not discouraged, though, because I still need to lose some more baby weight. I feel confident that I may be able to wear it at Thanksgiving or Christmas :) Here's what it looks like so far:

I'll put it on and have my hubby take a pic when I get the chance. The only things left for me to do are to make the skirt lining, and then put in the zipper! Pretty good, huh? :)

Check out how I used an accent fabric inside the cap sleeves! Since the shot cotton is purpley-bluey, I though this Heirloom print was perfect to go with.

Alright, well that's all for tonight. I've got a serious migraine and my kids are driving me nuts... nighty-night.

Wish me luck...

2011-10-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

Oh dear. I've started a new project...

I saw this pattern while flipping through a fabric shop on etsy, and just really liked it. The pleated neckline is what sold me I think. I'm having a real pleat obsession lately. Anyway, I attempted to make a few me-sized clothing pieces about 2 years ago and became completely discouraged when they didn't turn out anywhere close to wearable in public. In my defense, the patterns I chose were probably Simplicity/Butterick/Vogue somethings from Joann's or Hobby Lobby, and the little cover illustrations looked like something I might like (in theory), but weren't intended for my body type. I'm kind of short and curvy, which is the exact opposite of the typical tall skinny model type that clothing is displayed on. Makes it really difficult to envision what things might look like on real people... However, the Vintage Flutter Dress pattern offers sizes 2 through 18, so I feel like I'll be able to make it work for me :) I'm not big on giant prints for my clothes, so I've chosen a yummy grape shot cotton, which is interwoven royal purple and blue:

I love how the fabric almost has an iridescent quality :) So far I've got the bodice almost assembled and I think there's hope! I'm dying to go work on it some more as soon as everybody's in bed asleep... Pics to come soon!

and I thought my husband had no interest in my crafty life...

2011-10-07T20:02:00.000-05:00

My husband said the cutest thing to me yesterday. He was just passing through the kitchen and said, "you haven't updated your blog in a while". Honestly I had no idea he ever read my blog! And it caught me off guard, but in such a warm-fuzzy way :) I know. I'm weird and lame. Anyway, I'm updating it now, and we'll see if he notices or not.

I got an amazing stretch of sewing time in this morning. Evyn napped for 3 hours and 15 minutes! And in that time I managed to finish my Heirloom Bricks quilt top:

I caught the last of the sunlight to take these pics. I want to redo them tomorrow maybe because the colors are so much richer in the bright day light.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out :) Sometimes a super simple design can really perk up your creative motivation. This top went together really easily, and I was able to chain piece a lot of it. I just *love* it when a project comes together without any hiccups.

Another finish I'm really excited about is my Showoff Bag (and these pics are terrible, so for that I apologize):

The pattern is Made by Rae's latest release. I love the size of this bag. Its super roomy without feeling like a bottomless abyss (see: Mary Poppins' carpet bag). I used two layers of craft fuse interfacing for the top bands, and a home dec weight fabric for the bag body. Its been a while since I've made a bag, but I swear home dec fabric used to be more substantial. The one I got doesn't feel much heavier than regular quilting cotton. I feel like it looks a bit lifeless, and the pleats don't stand out like I would like them to. So for my next bag I'm going to try some lightweight fusible interfacing and see if that helps.

On the interior, I executed my first zipper pocket!

I've done zippers as bag closures before, but never one where you install it within a single piece of fabric. I'm glad I now know how to do this, and plan to do it a lot more on future projects! BTW, pleeeeeeease don't look at my topstitching on the right and left sides. I didn't clip the curves enough before I turned the bag right-side-out, and I was too lazy to un-turn it. I promise I'll do better next time.

So what's next for me?? As soon as I finished the Heirloom top, I immediately began gathering fabrics for a Colorwheel quilt that my awesome friend Paula made me templates for. Amazingly, I found 41, of the 52 different fabrics needed within my scrap buckets! Now I've got to trace and cut out the wedge template a bazillion times. Don't worry, though. It won't take long to see progress up on my design wall :)

Well, that's all for today folks! Are you all getting lots of awesome projects done??

Its WIP Wednesday :)

2011-09-28T09:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Wednesday everybody! I love linking up with Freshly Pieced, and seeing everyone's awesome projects :)

This week, I've been showing some UFOs who's boss. I finished piecing the top for my spiderweb quilt from the KC Scrappy Bee:

I turned an Origins layer cake into this awesome quilt top for my mom:

I made lots of progress on my Kaleidoscope quilt from Don't Call Me Betsy's quilt along. I know I'm way behind on it, but better late than never! I'll be able to finish the top soon thanks to EmmmyLizzzy who is hooking me up with the last bit of Kona Ash I need!

I also *finally* cut into the stack of Heirloom that I got from Pink Castle Fabrics:

I turned that stack into this:

I've never made a "bricks" quilt before. The design is obviously very simple, but I love how the large rectangles show off the different prints so well!

Ah, fabric love :) Its so rewarding seeing what were once ideas in our minds, bring brought to life in these beautiful works of art!

Wishing you all a creative week!

Its been TOO long!

2011-09-24T21:21:00.000-05:00

My hubs and I did something that we haven't done in at LEAST three years (probably longer). We went on a date!! I genuinely could not tell you anything about the last time this happened. I've been a little stressed since I had Evyn, and have mentioned to a few friends/family members how much I would like to be able to spend time alone with my husband. Just the two of us, without any kids. To be able to have a real conversation about something (anything) besides the kids, or the house, work or bills. Honestly, I think we forgot how to be just us.

So the other night, my family took my older two girls, and a friend took care of Evyn, and we went out! We went to play miniature golf. I felt a little silly at first, but it really wasn't about what activity we chose. It was just important for us to be spending time together, enjoying each others company. Afterward we went to Sonic, sat outside with some ice cream, and talked. It was so refreshing to realize we still have things to talk about. We made sure to take photographic evidence of our adventure:

The good news is: We still like each other!! :) I'm so glad we were able to spend that time together, and I look forward to our newly arranged, monthy date night!

Two new quilt tops!

2011-09-22T17:24:00.001-05:00

I'm so glad to be feeling back to normal! I was doing so much hardcore sewing toward the end of my pregnancy, and then stopped completely once I had Evyn. It was a little difficult to get back into the mindset of finding time to sew, but now that I'm there, it feels great :)

In the past week and a half, I've completed two new quilt tops!! The first one started with a technique being demonstrated at a quilt guild meeting. Its called the "10-minute block quilt". you can find the tutorial from youtube here. I turned mine into cathedral windows. What do you think?

Its a little wrinkly... sorry. I love how the cathedral windows add so much dimension to the quilt top. And I already know how I'm going to quilt this one! I plan to give it to my mom for her birthday next month, so I've gotta get started.

The second quilt top I just finished last night is my spider web quilt from the KC Scrappy Bee. The blocks were kind of a pain in the ass to assemble, since the biased edges stretched with handling. It seemed like none of the triangles ended up the same size, and the block centers puckered... Its not 'perfect', but I'm really happy with the way it turned out:

Its super cute, and I think it'll be just the right size for Ardyn's toddler bed. I bought some hot pink minky for the backing.

Because these blocks were foundation pieced, the quilt top seems really heavy. Since minky is sort of heavy and plush, I've considered not putting batting in this one. What are your thoughts about this? I want the quilt to be comfy and soft, but not weigh a ton...

Well, that's all for today. Next on my list to tackle is the kaleidoscope quilt from Don't Call Me Betsy's quilt along. I've 2 of 6 rows completed. Back soon!!

6 Weeks: Gratuitous Baby Pics Post

2011-09-18T11:44:00.000-05:00

I have been doing some sewing lately. In fact, I actually started (and finished!) a quilt top this week!! So I'll be posting about that one soon. Until then, here's some pics of little Evyn :)

Back in the groove!

2011-09-10T21:32:00.001-05:00

My littlest little is a month old now, and I'm finally feeling ready to get back to business! I've done a bit of sewing in the past few days and I've gotta say, it feels great :) There were plenty of times over the last few weeks where I had ideas or inspiration to go sew, but I was just too physically and mentally exhausted to make myself do it. Anyway, here's what I'm up to:

I received my spiderweb blocks back from my KC Scrappy Bee members:

I made bee blocks for Paula:

and Toni:

And I've started working on a quilt top inspired by a guild member's show-and-tell from a few months ago. She told us it was called the "10 minute block quilt" and that we could find the tutorial on youtube. I like to refer to it as "faux cathedral windows", because that's what it looks like to me :)

Its pretty cool, actually! I've never tried cathedral windows before because all that fabric folding and pressing looks really difficult to do. This method uses squares. Just squares! Each block has only 3 seams, and poof!

I've also made a few more nursing covers, and sold a few too. They seem to be the popular thing in my shop right now.

Well that's about all I've got for now. I'll leave you with a pic of baby Evyn (not the very best pic...) snuggled in her swing. That's where she hangs out when I'm sewing :)

And this is why Hide-A-Keys were invented...

2011-08-31T19:03:00.000-05:00

I stepped outside very briefly this afternoon, to grab the mail and meet Dylan as she got off the bus. We walked back up to the front door to find that it was now locked.

Ardyn had been instructed to stay inside because she was running around in only her diaper, and Evyn was asleep in my room. Clearly displeased that I did not allow her to come outside, Ardyn decided to turn the little lock on the door knob. I had a miniature emotional breakdown while I tried to talk to her through the door and ask her to unlock it. My husband was a good 45 minutes away, still at work, and my mother was probably 25 minutes away. Good thing I'm addicted to my cell phone, so I had it in my pocket and was able to call both of them. Luckily, Ardyn was able to open the door after just a few minutes.

Needless to say, we will now be looking into getting a Hide-A-Key, ASAP!

Garden Fence QA - UPDATE

2011-08-19T09:39:00.000-05:00

I'm a bad quilt along hostess... :( I knew it was a little crazy starting a quilt along so late in my pregnancy, but I really thought I'd get all the posts up before my baby made her appearance. So, I'm sorry if you feel like I let you down. In addition to having had the baby 11 days ago, I'm also having an issue with my laptop - that's right, my NEW laptop. I've had to send it in to HP for a repair and will be without it for a couple of weeks. Naturally, all my pictures are saved on that computer, so I don't have them to post here. Double fail on my part. So I'm reusing some pics from the first GF quilt I made.

This last part of the quilt along is probably self explanatory. Once you've got your stack of blocks made, the next step is to lay them out.

I spread mine out on the carpet, and just arranged and rearranged them until I was happy with the way to looked.

Once the layout is decided, use 1.5"x10.5" sashing strips to assemble the blocks into rows or columns, beginning and ending with a sashing strip. Once your rows/columns are assembled, use 1.5"xWOF sashing strips, pieced together, to attach each row to the next.

Your finished top should look approximately like this:

All that's left is to quilt it! I chose a round/swirly quilting pattern, to offset the harsh lines of the block pattern. I think it turned out really great :) I'd really love to see pics of your finished quilts and progress, so don't forget to upload to the flickr group!

A new addition :)

2011-08-10T20:42:00.000-05:00

Wanna know where I've been? ... Having a baby!

BTW - this post will have nothing to do with sewing/quilting, so some of you may not be super interested.

Monday morning, my water broke (almost 3 weeks early). After several hours of walking and waiting for something to begin, my doctor said I really needed to let her start me on pitocin. She was concerned about my water having been broken for so long and the baby being nowhere near ready to come on out. So I begrudgingly let her do what she needed to do... I had so hoped to go into labor naturally, and to be able to try some different pain management options (knowing this will be my last birth experience). She did let me use one of those giant balls when I wanted to, and I could get out of the bed and stand up or rock back and forth and stuff.

Things started off kind of slow. It took me 5 hours on the pitocin to get to 5cm... and then 1 hr 28 minutes to dilate the rest of the way and deliver the baby! I was doing really well dealing with the pain in different ways, but toward the end, I started to freak out a bit and started talking about some pain medicine options. Well, that talk was a short one, because just a few minutes later I was pushing! She was out within about 5-6 minutes, 3 or 4 contractions.

Can I just say, childbirth HURTS! This is my 3rd baby, but I'd had epidurals with the first two. I expected it to be painful, but I swear, I could never have conceived of that degree of pain. And the sucky thing is, that I was in so much pain after I finally got her out, that I didn't even hold her until an hour later. Anyway, I survived giving birth with absolutely no pain medication, and I've got my third beautiful little girl now :)

Evyn Kerri McIntyre
7:28pm on 8/8/11
7lbs 9.2oz, 19" long

Now, for some pictures!!:

Her big sisters are really excited that she's finally here :)

100 Followers!! and some UFO progress...

2011-08-04T21:18:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo!! I can't believe I've hit 100 followers! This so exciting :) I'm going to have to come up with a great giveaway to celebrate... Hmm, I'll be thinking on that one :)

I've been getting some things done lately, which has made me feel like I'm actually accomplishing stuff. I'm sewing along with The Undercover Crafter through Amy Butler's book Little Stitches for Little Ones, and so far, I've made a "snuggie baby wrap":

and "cutie booties":

Aren't they cute!? A LOT of work, though, for some tiny shoes... My next project from the book is going to be "The Everything Bag":

I haven't started on it yet, but my fabrics are picked out and I'm ready to go!

Another accomplishment I'm pretty proud of right now, is that I *finally* started on the crib set for baby Evyn. First, I whipped out a fitted crib sheet:

The fabric is Michael Miller's Dumb Dot in Charcoal, ordered from Pink Castle Fabrics. Brenda's pretty awesome, and has some great stuff! I'm kind of in love with this fabric, btw... probably gonna have to order some more...

Next, I started working out the layout for the crib bumper pads. I had a 'lightbulb' moment, while cutting out fabrics for my Garden Fence Quilt Along, and decided to use those blocks on the pads. What do you think??:

I love the pops of color against the charcoal. Originally, I was going to make them double-sided, but this is what it looks like through the crib bars:

...not too cute. So I came up with another plan! Alexander Henry's Heath in Gray!:

An excellent choice, if I do say so myself :) I just love it when things work out so well! This fabric was also a snag from Pink Castle Fabrics. I'm telling you guys, check the shop out. You'll find something you can't live without ;)

I made the covers removable, in case they need to be washed, or if I ever get a wild hair and decide to make a new set. To do this, I had to use a zipper closure on the bottom:

Now, I'm personally a fan of contrasting zippers. I would rather have them super visible, and make it look intentional, than try to hide it and have it look terrible. I'm no good at invisible zippers, either, so I always just use the regular ones in bright/coordinating colors. I'm happy with it, so I guess that's all that matters. So I've got one bumper pad finished, five more to go... Small victories, though, people!

I went to have a sonogram today, and according to the lady, this baby already weighs somewhere around 7 1/2 lbs... I can't be having a ten pound baby, lol! She better get out here soon!

Garden Fence QA Sewing Instructions

2011-08-01T21:33:00.000-05:00

I'm still here!! Sorry for the delay in putting up this post. My little girl turned 2 last Thursday, and we had a family party and then a friend party for her over the weekend. I just couldn't get my stuff together, lol!

Anyway, without further ado, the sewing steps:

Once you have all of your pieces cut, you're ready to start sewing the blocks together. I, personally, am not good at random fabric pairings. I like to have more control over what goes together. So, my preference is to take all of the center squares out of your fabric stack, and begin to pair them up to your liking:

When everything looks good to you, start with your first set of center squares. Go through your pile of strips and pull out 4 of each size in the prints that match those two center squares. Also, grab yourself two 4.5", two 6.5", and four 2.5" sashing strips:

Ready to chain piece! Line up one of your 4.5" strips with the edge of your center square:

Sew a 1/4" seam. Go ahead and line up two of your shorter strips and two of your longer strips, and their corresponding 2.5" sashing strips and chain piece:

Now, this may sound confusing, but at this point I actually bring that center square back around to the front of the line and sew the second 4.5" sashing strip to the other side of that square:

This way, you've got half of your piecing done in one pass through the machine! Now snip everything apart and iron each piece open. It doesn't really matter whether you press towards or away from the sashing strips. However, do try to be consistent from block to block.

Now, you're ready for the second string of chain piecing. Line up one of your 6.5" sashing strips the new long side of the center square:

Piece the remaining outer box strips onto the other side of the sashing. Again, I bring that center square back to the front of the line and attach the last 6.5" sashing strip:

Snip apart and iron open again:

Start by attaching the 2 short strips to opposite sides of that center square. Press open, turn, and attach the 2 long strips. Press open, and your block is complete! Repeat these steps with the other center square and its coordinating outer block strips and you'll have a matched pair of blocks:

Complete these steps for all of the fabric pairings. I'll get cracking on sewing my blocks and will be back soon to discuss layout and final sashings to assemble your quilt top!

Thanks to everyone for your patience :)

WIP Wednesday!

2011-07-27T10:23:00.000-05:00

Ugh, man I have not been doing a lot of sewing lately. Between being 35 weeks pregnant, twice a week doctor visits, housework, and chasing after my two girls, my energy level has just been zapped.

Last week, my brother showed up at my house with two friends in tow, and I got a wild hair and recruited them to transplant my sewing room from the main floor down to the basement. It was crazy and not well thought out, but I now have approximately double the space to spread out and organize! So, this is my work-in-progress for this week :)

I positioned my sewing desk right in front of the huge windows that look out to the back yard. It was dark (obviously) when I took the pics, but those windows actually let in a ton of light. It doesn't feel like a basement dungeon at all :)

And since I now have actual walls, my hubby helped me put up a design wall! I'm so excited to finally have one. I keep seeing all these great crafty blogs where people show you their creative spaces and it seems like almost everybody's got one. Now I can be part of the 'cool' crowd, haha :)

This is my cutting table. I've got it on bed risers to make it counter-height. This really saves on back ouchies. I've got it positioned in such a way that I can stand on any side of the mat. And there's another set of huge windows to let in lots of light. I like hanging things in the window and having the light shine through, makes it look sort of like stained glass!

My stash shelf, all neatly stacked and organized!

This little nook will be nice if I just need to sit down and sketch something out, or do quilt-math :) I've got lots more room to utilize, and still plenty of things that need to be brought down from the old sewing room. I'm taking my time because I don't want to just bring down piles of stuff with no clear idea of where to put them and end up making a big mess. I've even contemplated the idea of somehow offering sewing lessons! Oh, the possibilities...

The only real, fabric-related news I've got, has to do with my quilt along. I've done the cutting so I could post instructions, but in doing so, I finally decided on a plan for my crib bumpers!! Here's a sneak peek:

I think this will look really neat, or at least it does in my head. More to come on those.

I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced! Head on over there and check out everyone's awesome projects!!

Garden Fence QA Cutting Instructions

2011-07-24T21:23:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! My Heirloom selections have not arrived yet, and I know some of you are itching to get started. So, I went ahead and cut some other fabrics from my stash, so that I could take pics for the cutting instructions. Interestingly enough, in doing so I managed to finally decide on a bumper pad design for my crib bedding! Woo-hoo! :)

Alright, so if you'll remember from the last post, I said you could use either fat quarters OR regular quarter yard cuts for this quilt. You will get three blocks-worth of cut pieces out of each quarter yard of fabric. I've taken pics for cutting both ways.

Cutting from FQs:
First, iron your fabric. Once on your cutting mat, square up one long side and one short side, and you're ready to start cutting:

Lining your ruler up against the longer (21") side of the FQ, cut 5- 2 1/2" strips, and 1- 4 1/2" strip:

There will be a little scrap sliver about an inch or so left. Discard that, we don't need it.

Then, cut the strips as follows:
- Cut 3 of the 2 1/2" strips into 5" pieces (you'll get 4 per strip, 12 total)
- Cut 2 of the 2 1/2" strips into 3" pieces (you'll get 6 per strip, 12 total)
- Cut the 4 1/2" strip into 3, 4 1/2" squares. There will be a scrap chunk left, but we don't need that for this quilt:

Repeat these cutting guidelines for each remaining fabric.

Cutting from regular quarter yards:
These instructions are a little trickier to explain, but hopefully my pictures make sense. If you have any questions, please send me an email!

So, start with your quarter yard of fabric:

Unfold it just a bit, and cut a 4 1/2" strip off of one skinny end:

Sub-cut that piece into 2- 4 1/2" squares:

Then fold the fabric back in half, like it came off the bolt, and square up one edge. Be careful to remove as little fabric as possible.

Cut one 2 1/2" strip:

Now, unfold again, and cut off another 4 1/2" piece, and trim to 4 1/2" square. You now have your 3 center squares for this fabric:

Fold the remaining fabric back up again, like it came from the bolt, and cut 2 more 2 1/2" strips:

That last strip on the right is now scrap. This is what your three 2 1/2" strips should look like:

Now, from the first strip you will cut 7- 5" pieces, and 1- 3" piece.
From the second strip, you will cut 5- 5" pieces, and 3- 3" pieces.
From the third strip, you will cut the remaining 8- 3" pieces.

You should now have 12 each of the 5" and 3" pieces, in addition to the three 4 1/2" squares. This is the exact same number of pieces as you would get from a FQ:

Repeat these cutting steps for all remaining fabrics.

As for the sashing, I didn't think we really needed a picture of a whole bunch of 1 1/2" strips. For each block, you will need:

2, 4 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips
2, 6 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips
4, 2 1/2" x 1 1/2" strips

Multiply these quantities by the total number of blocks you plan to make.

I hope all that makes sense to everyone. Please let me know if I was unclear, or if you need any help!! I can't wait to see fabric stacks in the flickr group :)

Garden Fence QA Fabric Requirements, and the giveaway winner!!

2011-07-20T09:25:00.003-05:00

Whew, man! I cannot believe the response I've gotten so far on this quilt along! I never expected so many of you to jump on board, but I am loving it! So, SO excited to do this with all of you :)

First off, I know you're all wondering who the lucky $25 gift certificate winner is... Mr. Random Number Generator had 41 comments to choose from and he came up with... #15, Jenniffier! She said:

"What a fun quilt along. If I finish my current to do list I can definitely join. I would have to use my stash though. I have gone way over budget since summer started. That is unless I win the giveaway. Thanks for the chance to win."

Congratulations, Jenniffier! I'll be emailing you shortly, and passing your information along to Brenda! Have fun picking out fabulous fabrics!!

And thank you, again, to our wonderful sponsor, Pink Castle Fabrics :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Now, on to the quilt along! Fabric requirements for the Garden Fence quilt, are a little harder to define than most quilt patterns. First of all, you'll need to decide what size quilt you want to make, and determine the number of blocks. Each individual block will be 10.5" square, before the sashing.

So if you wanted to make a baby size, approximately 30"x40", you'd need 12 blocks. Three across, four down.

A lap size, approximately 50"x60", would need 30 blocks. Five across, six down.

Queen size, approximately 90"x100", needs 90 blocks. Nine across, ten down. Make sense??

If you're going for a scrappier look, you may want to choose as many fabrics as you will have blocks. This lap size GF quilt that I made has 30 blocks, and I used 30 different fabrics from my stash:

Print/colored fabric requirements for this type of scrappy quilt are: 1, 4.5" square, and 1, 2.5"x32" (or WOF strip) from each fabric, or for as many blocks as you intend to make.

If you intend to use yardage to make this quilt, you will be able to get 3 blocks-worth of cut pieces from one fat quarter, or a regular quarter yard. FQs are usually a little pricier than regular quarters, so know that you have the option of purchasing either cut for this project. So for the Baby Size (12 blocks) you would need 1 yard of print/colored fabric total. Could be 4 quarter yards, or 12 scraps/stash pulls. I know this 'math' can get a little confusing. If anyone has ANY questions, please don't hesitate to send me an email. I will help you figure it out :)

Sashing fabric requirements are as follows:

Baby Size 30"x40" -- 1 yard

Lap Size 50"x60" -- 2 yards

Queen Size 90"x100" -- 5.5 yards

I hope this makes sense to everyone. Again, if you have any questions, please contact me. I want to help you! As you gather your fabric choices, don't forget to post pics in the flickr group!

Oh, and guess what! The amazing Brenda has another surprise in store for us! Now through July 27th, get 15% off your fabric purchase for this quilt along! Head on over to Pink Castle Fabrics and check out her ever-growing selection :) Use coupon code GFQAL at checkout.

Happy shopping everyone!!

Let's get it started, uh huh!

2011-07-17T18:19:00.002-05:00

The giveaway is now closed.

I'm so excited that people are interested in a Garden Fence QA! Seems like most of you wanna get started ASAP! I'm gonna get working on the posts, and get the fabric requirements up soon. I know I mentioned that this quilt is an awesome stash-buster, but I've been drooling over Joel Dewberry's new Heirloom line, and I've just got to have me some :) Here's my fabric selection:

This is the Ruby palette, and I'll use Kona Snow for the sashing. My buddy Brenda over at Pink Castle Fabrics, has just listed this line (and some other really great stuff, too!) so be sure to check her out!:

She's really great at helping you put bundles together, so give her a shout if you need any help.

And now for a little surpirse...! Brenda (who is awesome, as I've mentioned) is graciously offering a $25 gift certificate to her fabric shop to one on my lucky readers!!! How exciting! Who doesn't LOVE free fabric?! All you have to do for a chance to win is leave a comment telling me what fabrics/colors you're thinking of using to make your Garden Fence quilt! Super easy :) I'll randomly choose a winner this Wednesday the 20th. Good luck everyone!! BTW-- Brenda is also having a little giveaway on her blog, so make sure to check that out too! I heart giveaways :)

Next post will be the fabric requirements!! Stay tuned :)

Quilt along, anyone?!?

2011-07-15T14:38:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone.

Sorry I've been kinda out-of-it lately. This summer heat is really getting to me! I'll be 34 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and so far the most unpleasant side effect is simply that I'm constantly sweltering! Even inside, in the air conditioning, I somehow manage to sweat. I mean, on what planet does sitting still in front of a sewing machine cause you to become overheated??? It super un-fun.

Anyhoo... This will probably sound crazy, coming from a hugely pregnant person with 2 other littles to chase after, BUT, a friend recently posed the idea of my hosting a Garden Fence Quilt Along. As most of you probably know, I made one of these quilts last month and it was a total blast :) Its an awesome stash-buster pattern because you need very little of each fabric, and can even use large-ish scraps! Here's a few different example pics:

from Hyacinth Quilt Designs

from Don't Call Me Betsy

from Adventures of Savy Girl

from McIntyreGirl

from Heidi Gone Aussie

Aren't these quilts dreamy?! I absolutely how color/fabric choice has the ability to completely transform a quilt pattern. I've started a flickr group for pics of this kind of quilt, and for progress photos.

So what do you think, people?? Would any of you be interested in making your own Garden Fence quilt along with me? I know there are several other quilt alongs in process right now (and I'm participating in most of them, lol!), so this one wouldn't have to start right away. I will mention, though, that I'm already negotiating a potential fabric discount source for you, if we get this going! Leave me some comments, let me know what you think! Can't wait to hear from you!!

Definitely nesting.

2011-07-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Not much sewing has been happening around here lately. I was all pumped up on the baby sling making, but the holiday weekend really slowed down the progress of some fabric I had ordered, and the wait forced me to find other things to do with my time. I think I've decided on the placement of things in my "nursery nook":

It looks kinda cluttered at the moment, but I promise this is a definite improvement. The crib had been completely full of bags of baby clothes that were sent back from a friend I lent them to. I finally forced myself to go through them last night. The sheer volume of clothes was pretty overwhelming to me. Why does a tiny baby need SO MANY freaking clothes!??!?! The stacks on the changing table are some larger sizes that I'll store in a plastic tub til she's big enough to wear them. I've already got about 60 sleepers and outfits on hangers in the closet, and an entire basket of onesies in the little bookshelf. I think that's more than enough for now, don't you??

Our house technically has 4 bedrooms, but one of them is in the basement. I'm not ready to send my 6 year old down there just yet, so for now the baby will be in my room. The nook I've organized was originally intended for the TV and stuff, but I've rearranged everything and I think the crib fits pretty well over there now :) I still have yet to begin the crib bedding, however, now that the crib is emptied out I think the likelihood of me dealing with it has increased slightly.

~*~*~*~*~*~
The Eudora quilt guild had their annual show this weekend. I managed to get my shiz together and enter three of my quilts to hang in it:

This was my first time adding sleeves for hanging. I cheated and just safety-pinned them on, but hey, it worked!

I also managed to FINALLY sew on the label I'd made for Ardyn's quilt:

It took all of like fifteen minutes. Why it sat around on my shelf since last November, I'll never know... Pretty cute, though, right!?

Well, now that my long-awaited fabric order has finally arrived, I have lots of sewing in my future. I need to keep working on my Kaleidoscope quilt, and I have plans for several more slings. I went ahead and listed the new fabric options in my shop, and will update the photos as I get them made. Everybody wish me luck in finding the energy to start on the crib project! Back soon :)

Garden Fence - FINISHED!!

2011-07-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Whew! My fingers are sore after a marathon binding session, but I'm delighted to say that the Garden Fence quilt is finished!!

I'm completely in love with the way it turned out. The circular/swirly quilting really offsets the harsh lines of the quilt. And oh, how I do love a quilt fresh-from-the-dryer! The softness, and all the wrinkles and crinkles just make me want to snuggle in it :)

The finished dimensions are approximately 52"x63". A generous lap/throw size, but I also think it would be great for a toddler bed!

Check out my *dreamy* binding choice! Its Eucalyptus shot cotton. Extremely soft, and I think the dark teal/navy weave goes perfectly with the colors in the quilt.

I've really been doing so good lately, getting things completed and listed in my shop. As you may already have noticed, I have a slight addiction to buying fabric, and its only logical that I try to recoup some of my expenditures by selling the goodies I make! So, this big beauty has just been listed, as well as a couple of rainbow charm square bundles, cut from my stash - just in case anyone's interested :)

My husband (who does appreciate my crafty abilities, whether he likes to admit it or not) absolutely loves to see our girls enjoying the things I make. He especially likes it when I make them dresses :) But today, I had to snap a few pics of them snuggling under quilts, while watching Tangled:

Dylan the eskimo :) You'd never guess by this picture that its 101 degrees outside right now...

And my little Ardyn :) This is her "big girl" quilt for when we move her into a twin bed. I had originally planned to do that this summer, before the baby comes, but she seems perfectly content still sleeping in her crib! She is capable of climbing out of it, but she doesn't do it. So I figure as long as she's willing to comply, I'm not gonna mess up her comfortable sleep routine. There'll be enough 'life changes' coming up for her to have to process.

Slingin' it up!

2011-06-30T15:38:00.001-05:00

I had a friend over to sew a few nights ago, which almost never happens. She makes baby slings and nursing covers for friends, and a little for business by word of mouth, but she's never really gotten into quilting. So I decided to have her instruct me on how to make a baby sling of my own! I'm due in 8 weeks, so the timing is great :) --BTW, I still haven't started the crib bedding.......

I picked out some super cute purples from my stash and got to work:

I snagged up this Pearl Bracelets print from Lizzy House's newest line as soon as it came out, but I had no idea what I'd end up doing with it. I think this was an excellent choice for it :) The sling is lined with Kona Eggplant. You'll have to excuse the no-so-great picture. The sling doesn't fit quite right over my baby bump. Also, the doll was my husband's idea. I tried the sling on by itself and he said it looked like I was just wearing some weird purple Girl Scouts sash or something... Men.

Anyway, the awesome thing about this sling is that it can be made a bunch of different ways. For instance, mine is reversible:

I think that's a pretty awesome feature! As my mother would say "you get two for the price of one!!"

They don't take long to whip up, so now I'm on a crazy sling-making kick to sell them in my shop :) I know you can Google "baby sling tutorials" and find some free information on making your own, but I felt like some of them didn't show enough pictures of certain steps, and could be a little confusing for an inexperienced sewist. So... I wrote my own :) I'm putting it up on my blog, so give it a look and let me know if you try it out! This is my first attempt at writing a tutorial, so if you feel like its lacking something, or have a suggestion, I'd love to hear from you:) I've put a couple up for sale in the shop, and have fabric on the way to make several more. I've also got to get one made for my friend Darcy who's due any time now with her first baby. I love making things for my friends :)

I'll leave you today with a few more pics of my giant pregnant self, modeling the other slings I've made... haha!

Nesting, you say?

2011-06-24T23:45:00.001-05:00

I am not a domestic goddes. Cleaning/laundry/dishes... NOT my thing. Now, I understand that as a wife and a mother, there's a certain amount of this included in the job description. I do what I need to in order to scrape by... :) All this sewing I get done - usually to the exclusion of my grownup responsibilities. Anyhoo, yesterday I was in my sewing room beginning to cut out my fabric for the Kaleidoscope QA, when all of a sudden I stopped the cutting and started looking around my room. It was filthy. Disgusting. I keep my trash can next to my machine so I can discard clipped threads and whatnot easily. My cutting table, though, happens to be on the other side of the room. So what happens to trimmings?? Swept right onto the floor, usually. When it gets to where I see more fabric scraps than carpet, I get down there and scoop most of it up and throw it in the trash can. My friend Steph can attest to the extremely "poor" condition the room was in. Really, people, it was shameful. Bad enough that I did not even bother to take a picture for proof.

So I was looking around the room and began to feel the compulsion to clean it up. This is an odd feeling for me, as I don't experience it often. I finally realized that I was not going to be able to sew/cut another thing, until the room was completely picked up/cleaned/organized/rearranged. I've got so many projects going right now that the mess finally got to me. Luckily, my man happened to be off work, so I was able to enlist him for some of the heavy lifting :)

I cleaned.

I threw shit away.

I re-organized things.

Went throught tubs/baskets/boxes that had been on the floor since we moved in.

Vacuumed the floor. It hadn't been clean enough to vacuum in about 6 months... Not pretty, I know.

Its's still a work in progress, but I am proud to say it looks a million times better than it did! Here's some pics of my sewing room now. Newly refurbished :)

Ignore the junk on my ironing board. That's nothing compared to what I already threw away!
So, first we have my little shipping station:

Look! I cleared out all that shtuff that was under my extension table!

The hubs donated this metal shelving from the garage so that I could store more stuff:

It probably looks cluttered, but I promise, I put stuff on it like that for a reason!
We're gonna do this pic again, just to show the built-in book case wall:

See, my sewing room doesn't really have "walls", per se. I would love to be able to install shelving like this, but there's just no place to do that.
My fabric stash has not yet been organized, but it now resides right next to my cutting table:

I picked up some bed risers at Walmart today, so now my cutting table is at a comfortable counter height!
My cutting table:

I used small Command hooks on the wood that separates each window to hang my rulers on. And the junk under the table? Don't worry, it's going away. Part of me feels like that's usable storage space, but the other part says anything I put under there will just become shit on the floor. I think it'll be better for me if I just try to keep it clear.

Overall, though, I'm super excited about this new layout. I already feel inspired to work in the space :)

It's WIP Wednesday again!!

2011-06-22T00:01:00.002-05:00

Happy WIP Wednesday, everyone!! I think it just hit me how MANY things I've got going on in my sewing room right now... When I was taking pictures to write this post, I had to dig out all the projects that I've neglected for months and months, and I was surprised at how many there are... Well, here we go!

Up first, there's an order I've got to get finished:

I've got to make eleven gathered clutches for bridesmaid gifts for a wedding on July 15th. It won't be a problem to get them finished, in fact, I've got 5 purple ones complete so far. My mind is just on so many different things right now that I would rather be working on than this order....

I'm also in the middle of cutting out a few stacks of 100 charm squares in a rainbow assortment.

Elizabeth of Don't Call Me Betsy actually won one stack on my 100th post giveaway, and since I had to cut the squares I thought I might as well cut a few extra for my shop.

Here is a shot of my fabric stash:

I consider this a work-in-progress because I've been a total fabric glutton lately, and what used to be [somewhat] neatly organized by color, now just looks like a scary jumbled mess. This definitely requires attention in the near future.

There's my stack of quilt tops waiting to be quilted:

There are five of them. The top two are small-ish, and I could handle quilting them myself, just haven't gotten around to it.

I recently started attempting to separate/organize my scraps:

I feel like my 'system' could still use a little refining. OOH!- did any of you see Michelle's Sunday School (for sewing) post the other day?? She made some freaking adorable rainbow scrap jars with custom lids, and the whole project only cost $12!!! For sure this is on my list for the near future :)

There's also my crib bedding project. I ordered and received the bumper pad inserts like two weeks ago (at least), and still have yet to make any progress on them at all. In fact, they're still in the package:

I'm officially 30.5 weeks today, so I should probably make this more of a priority...

This quilt is one I started almost a year ago:

I made one with this pattern already and it turned out to be just about my favorite quilt that I've made. Click here to see a pic. I started this one as a gift for my cousin, "just because", since I loved how the first one turned out so much. Why did this get UFO'd, you ask??:

Can you see the slit in the middle of the light blue fabric? My oldest wandered into my sewing room last year and wanted to "help" me sew. Her way of helping turned out to be opening my rotary cutter and pressing it into my fabric... I got so mad (and didn't have any extra of this fabric) that I shoved all the pieces into a bag and stuck it in the corner. I know I can repair the slit. Its honestly only about a half inch long. I probably overreacted initially, but now I've pulled it back out and it is once again on my radar.

This is my first-ever quilt label:

for a quilt I finished about 6 months ago and have still never managed to sit down and sew the darn thing on!

There's also my DWR quilt pieces:

I haven't cut out any of the background pieces, but, as I've said, this quilt along hasn't even officially begun yet, so no rush :)

There's a Spiked Punch quilt top that I cut out an never put together:

Its made of Black solid and two custom jelly rolls made of only polka-dotted fabrics.

And lastly, a few Emmy clutches that I cut out, pleated, and then haven't sewn together:

............. WHEW! See, I told you I've got a crazy mess on my hands! And you'd all probably die if I took a full room picture of my sewing room. Its not pretty. At all.

So - how many WIPs was that...

Pre-existing: 9
New this week: 4
Finishes: zilch

Total: 13...

Well, thanks for suffering through my long list of craziness :) I'm linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced, so be sure to check out everyone else's projects!! Have a good week! :)

Giveaway Winners!

2011-06-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

I just want to say thank you to all who entered my giveaway celebration for my 100th blog post! Thanks guys!!! Now, I bet you're all itching to find out the winners... :)

Lucky reader #1 is:

Rachel D said...: I'm still a loyal follower!

Congrats, Rachel! You'll be receiving the Its A Hoot charm pack!

Lucky reader #2 is:

Elizabeth D. said...: Congratulations! I adore the backing you made for your Warm/Cool quilt, great idea!! What a sweet giveaway, I know I'd love some more warm/cool squares or some gorgeous It's a Hoot squares :)

Woo-hoo Elizabeth! You'll be receiving the Warm/Cool 100 charm squares!

and, Lucky reader #3 is:

Jacey said...: I've been enjoying your flickr stream, and your giveaway caught my eye, so here I am! I would love to win any of the three prizes. Your warm/cool quilt is looking fabulous so far! I really want to make one, but I've promised myself to finish a few things first.

High-five Jacey! You will be receiving a clutch of your choice from my shop!

This was a really fun giveaway for me :) I loved reading all of your comments, and I tried to respond to each of you, as long as your profile wasn't set to private. If you didn't get a response from me, then I'm really sorry. I did try to get everybody :)

And to the lucky ladies, you'll be receiving an email from me today. Send me your addresses, and I will be mailing out your prizes this week!

Thanks again for playing along!!!

Starting to feel the overload!

2011-06-20T20:51:00.000-05:00

No, I am not burnt out :) I have involved myself in multiple projects lately, and until tonight have not felt stressed at all tonight about having so many things on my plate. I received an order a few days ago for eleven gathered clutches for bridesmaid gifts, and this one task is what I'm feeling the pressure on... I had to order her fabric (or rather I had already ordered it, but still had to wait for it to arrive), and I also ran out of featherweight fusible interfacing, so had to order a new bolt of that. Plus, I felt like I needed to see the fabric in person to be able to get the right color zippers... Its silly, I know, but there's a high likelihood that my 'stress' over this order is due in large part to procrastination, as my mind is deeply involved in the other projects I'm also currently working on. Anyway, today, I forced myself to make some progress on the clutches:

1001 Peeps prints Sheherazade and Jewels, paired with Moda Bella Solids for the lining.

My customer requested 6 purple clutches, and 5 turquoise ones. Today I cut out all the components for the purple ones, applied the fusible where needed, and created the gathers on the front panels. I also ran to my LQS for zippers, and was a little disappointed that they didn't have just the right shade of purple ones... also, there weren't enough of just one color purple... So I got an even mix of two purples that both match well enough, and I feel that if they're split half/half, then it will look more intentional, and not like I just don't know what the hell I'm doing!

Also on my list of accomplishments for today, is the completion of all 80 pieced arcs for the DWR quilt along that Kaelin is hosting on her blog. This quilt along doesn't officially begin until July 1st, but we know how I like to get a head start:

I love the way they look all piled together :) I'm glad I went with this color pairing! And I think that using the Kona Snow as my background fabric will help tone down the craziness of all my bright print choices.

Another reason why I'm glad to say I have this part done already, is that the Kaleidoscope Quilt Along starts this coming Thursday. I was having a lot of difficulty choosing fabrics for this one, because I just couldn't envision how all the prints were going to blend together. The other day, though, I saw this picture on flickr:

These are Oval Elements by ArtGalleryFabrics.com. I actually used the orangey (Papaya) one in the pieced arcs for the DWR and I love it! The hand is just amazing! So, so soft. And don't you think they make perfect blenders for just about any project!? So I broke down and ordered a half yard bundle just for this quilt along, and I think its going to look awesome :) I'm going to pair the stack with some Kona Ash (very very light gray) for the background.

Well, I better get crackin' on these clutches if I'm gonna have that project finished by Thursday, so I can start on the KQA on time! Wish me luck! :)

Double Wedding Ring Beginnings

2011-06-17T19:38:00.000-05:00

That's right, I like some traditional quilt designs, too. I am a firm believer that color/fabric choice can transform a block/pattern of days-gone-by into something fresh and new again. Kaelin's DWR quilt along doesn't technically begin until July 1st, but you all probably know by now that I'm not good at waiting :)

Yesterday, my husband was off work, so I left the girls with him and trekked out to a fabric shop that I like to go to when I need to find a stack of coordinating fabrics. I find a lot of great deals shopping online, but occasionally I just really need to see/feel the fabric in person. I like to compile a literal stack of bolts and visualize the collective effect. I wasn't yet decided on a color scheme when I arrive at the shop, so I decided to just walk through the racks and racks of bolts and see if anything jumped out at me. The first bolt I pulled was from the Meadowsweet collection by Sandi Henderson, Paper Snowflakes:

I've been thinking of a pink/raspberry/orange compilation lately, and this print seemed to be the perfect start to my bundle! After the initial choice, it was much easier to walk the aisles again and pull more fabrics that fit my vision. I needed a total of 13 prints for the 'arcs' and 2 more fabrics for the intersection squares. Here's what I ended up with:

I really like the mix. The Mendocino Octopus print on top came from my stash at home. I was a little surprised at how slim the pickin's were for orange fabrics. I really wasn't interested in Halloween or novelty prints, so the selection was really bare. The solids I've chosen are Kona Bright Pink and Papaya for the intersection squares, and Kona Snow for the background.

You know how money burns a figurative 'hole' in your pocket? Fabric burns a hole in my brain. I wanted to get started cutting ASAP, but last night I was being tortured internally by the baby. I just wasn't going to be able to stand at the cutting board for hours. I felt like I was exhibiting full-on "sumo [wrestler]" waddle, and my capacity for air was being severely compromised. It was necessary that I just lie down and try to take it easy. So, I opted to bring the stack of 40 papers of arcs that I'd printed, and some scissors to bed with me. Eventually, the baby moved, or went to sleep or something, and stopped stretching up into my ribcage. I stayed up until one in the morning cutting out all 80 paper arcs... then today, I got to cutting up all the pretty fabric :)

See how neat and organized it all looks?! Immediately after taking this picture, I grabbed a plastic tub, tossed everything in (except for the solids), and shook it all up. I wanted to be able to grab fabric at random, but it hurt a little to just dump everything in together. I really enjoy a more crisp/clean approach to sewing, usually.

Well, it looks like there are many hours of mindless sewing ahead of me... better get started! Oh, and if you're interested in joining the DWR fun, check out Kaelin's blog. She's posted fabric requirements already, and gives several size options, from a single pillow, to a table runner, to a full 54.5" square quilt!

QAL Addiction

2011-06-16T08:33:00.000-05:00

I have joined a whole bunch of quilt alongs lately:

Kaleidoscope QAL w/ Don't Call Me Betsy
Bottled Rainbows QAL w/ Stitched In Color
Warm/Cool QAL w/ In Color Order
and now.......

Double Wedding Ring QAL w/ The Plaid Scottie!

I know I sound like a nut job signing myself up for so many projects all at once, but I find quilt alongs so motivating! Getting to see everyone else working on the same project, but with different fabrics/colors... So many possibilities! Plus I've actually COMPLETED my Warm/Cool quilt, so I feel like I can cross one off the list and make room for the DWR :)

I actually became interested in trying this pattern about a year ago, right after I got really interested in quilting. I went so far as to print out all the paper pieced arcs and instructions and everything, but never got farther than sewing fabric to 3 or 4 of them. Kaelin will be using the same free pattern that I found back then, by Jennifer Paganelli on the Free Spirit website. I haven't chosen fabrics for this yet, but its on my mind! Speaking of fabric choices, I still haven't picked any for the Kaleidoscope QAL either.... Must get this done!

I'll end this post with a few pics of my COMPLETED Warm/Cool quilt. It is now listed in my shop!

and.........100!!!

2011-06-15T01:24:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo!! I'm so excited to publish my 100th blog post! This past year has been an interesting and crafty ride :) I want all of you to know how much I appreciate your entertaining my ramblings and leaving super nice comments on my projects and finishes. My favorite emails to read are the ones when somebody leaves me a new comment! Makes me feel like I'm not just talking to myself ;)

My WIP Wednesday update is kinda small this week. I finished my Garden Fence quilt top, and its at the longarmer ready to be quilted. I got creative with some batting scraps and was able to fashion a piece large enough for my Warm/Cool quilt! I also made my first pieced backing:

Now this quilt is all basted and ready for me to start quilting it!! I'm really excited to get to work on it:

Then, I've got 5 more tops complete. Backings chosen for two of them. Batting purchased today with my guild member discount at the LQS :) Ready to kick some serious quilt-butt in the coming days/weeks!

Anywhoo, to celebrate this momentous occasion, I have prepared a couple of fabulous giveaways! I just love giveaways, don't you?! :) So, first off, the goods:

Giveaway #1 is a bright/fun charm pack of It's A Hoot!

Giveaway #2 is inspired by my recent finish, the Warm/Cool quilt top. The winner of this prize will receive a custom stack of 100 charm squares in a lovely rainbow array! Your own Warm/Cool Baby Quilt kit!!

Giveaway#3 is a clutch of your choice from my shop! You can see all the options by clicking here.

Now, for the rules.
In order to be entered in these giveaways, all you have to do is leave a comment! It might be helpful if you mention which giveaway you'd most like to receive. I can't promise that'll be the one you get, but I wouldn't want to send a stack of fabric to someone who isn't going to use it. For one extra entry, you can become my follower. For one more extra entry, you can "like" me on facebook. You can find buttons for both of these actions on the right sidebar. Scroll down a little, you'll find them :) Just leave a comment for each separate one. Maximum 3 entries per person. International readers welcome!

The giveaway will remain open until Monday June 20th at midnight. I will let Mr. Random Number Generator choose the three lucky winners! (Oh, and if your profile is set to 'no-reply', make sure to leave your email address in the comment)

Thanks again to all who support my crafty passion! I love you guys :) Don't forget to jump over to Freshly Pieced and check out everybody else's WIPs!!

Almost there...!

2011-06-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

This is post #99, people...! Keep an eye on me, cause I'll be making my 100th post in conjunction with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced, AND there may just be a little giveaway to celebrate the occasion! :)

Today, the mailman brought me some more cottony deliciousness:

I'm really excited to finally own some pearl bracelets, as I missed out on the original line/colors. And I've said it before, one can never own too many tonal polka dots! The blue dots on the far right have been pieced into backing for my Garden Fence quilt. The top is already with the longarmer, so once I get the back and batting to her tomorrow she can get started on it! Plus, tomorrow is guild discount day at my LQS, so I'd better stock up on some things!

I did a little sewing today too. This month marks the start of my first "bee" experience. I joined the KC Scrappy Bee with some friends from KCMQG, and this month, I made a block for Nikki:

She had us make "quake" blocks out of scrappy strips and white flannel (click here to see her inspiration pic). I used everything she provided in the kit, plus a few scraps of my own. I left it in three pieces because I felt like that might make it a little easier for her to lay all her blocks out an rearrange them to her liking :) Fun block, Nikki! I haven't done anything like this before!

Lil' Twister Quilt FINISHED!

2011-06-12T22:40:00.001-05:00

Whew! It feels good to post a finished quilt :) I've been on a serious UFO-ass-kicking train lately, and I'm really seeing a difference in my project pile. Today, I quilted and bound the Lil' Twister quilt:

Its listed in the shop. I can't believe how much fabric this little quilt too to make. Not one, but TWO Sugar Pop charm packs and a little over a half yard of the pink solid, chopped up with the Lil' Twister tool. The finished dimensions are 27.5"x30", just the right size for a new baby girl. It could be used as a car seat cover, or a travel play mat as well!

This morning, I also finished my Warm/Cool quilt top:

I thing it looks pretty awesome :) This has been my very first project with HSTs, and I really enjoyed it! It was fun compiling all the different fabrics and pairing them up with a contrasting color/print. I think there may be more HST quilts in my future...

Here are two of my favorite blocks:

I love the little Mendocino seahorses :) I actually only possess one FQ each of these fabrics, and had been hoarding them until I finally used a charm square of each in this quilt.

As soon as I pressed the last seam on this top, I was all pumped up to get started quilting it. Alas, my hopes were dashed because I didn't have quite enough batting for it... :( The piece I had did happen to work just perfectly for the Lil' Twister quilt, though, so at least I was able to work on that one.

Next up on my to-do list is getting all the completed tops quilted and finished. I have six of them awaiting attention. So, there's the Warm/Cool quilt:

I chose Kona Robin's Egg solid for the back. I think it gives a nice balance to the craziness of the front.

Next there's the Baby Rain or Shine quilt from Darcy's quilt leftovers:

I don't have any yardage leftover of any of the prints I used in this one, so I'm going with Kona Med Gray solid.

Then there's Rainbow Sherbet:

I pieced a backing for this one, but I kinda hate it... I may change my mind on this one...

I've also got the Peppermint Wreath Tree Skirt:

My Hexagon Charm Quilt:

and a simple Botany Picnic Quilt:

This one is nothing more than a Botany layer cake sewn together, but I made it close to a year ago... I really need to do something with it. Can't be used for a picnic if it never gets finished.

Here are all six of my tops, neatly arranged on my cutting table:

As soon as I pick up some more batting I'll be getting to work quilting the smaller ones, and sending the larger ones over to the longarmer!

Dreaming in technicolor...

2011-06-10T23:35:00.001-05:00

Its disturbing, really, how badly I have sewing/fabric 'on the brain'. I genuinely have a difficult time falling asleep some nights because my mind is so cluttered with project ideas or how I'm going to complete the next step of whatever's on my cutting table at the moment. I sew in spurts, though. I go nuts and sew almost constantly for a few days to a few weeks, and then I burn out and don't touch my machine for a little while. I'm obviously at the peak of my current spurt because I'm cranking stuff out like crazy!

After I dropped the Garden Fence quilt top off at the longarmer on Wednesday, I immediately felt the need to start work on something else. I signed myself up to participate in the Warm/Cool quilt along with Jeni at In Color Order, and got right to digging through my stash and my scrap bucket. I wanted to make the baby sized quilt, which requires 100 blocks. So, I decided to see if I could find 100 different fabrics! Amazingly, I got pretty darn close and found 98. Once I had all the charm squares cut and organized, the next logical step was to get to sewing!

My nice, neat stack of fifty charm square pairs - one from the warm side of the color wheel, one from the cool side. What next, you ask? Cutting them in half, of course:

And then..." Ironing them open, and separating them into two piles:

Trimming/squaring up...

They're so pretty all stacked up :)

Oh wait, are any of you wondering what happened to the quilt along part of this project?? Well, they're still on fabric choices... Ya, I probably get demerits for working ahead of the teacher... I can't help it, though, its my sewing A.D.D.! Once a quilt is stuck in my head, its all I want to focus on! So... I started sewing:

This is one half of my Warm/Cool quilt top completed. Jeni, if you happen to see this, I am sorry. I know I shouldn't have jumped the gun, and I possibly didn't do it just the way you will be instructing your pupils to put theirs together. I'll take my slap on the wrist now...

I kinda can't believe I owned that many different fabrics. Nikki loaned me a few orange and yellow squares, since I evidently don't purchase much in those color ways, but like 97% of the fabric in this quilt came from me. It shouldn't surprise me, since I've recently decided to admit that I have a real addiction to fabric. Case in point: last night's KCMQG meeting was sponsored by Marmalade Fabrics. Tammy brought like 80 bolts, I think she said, and had gorgeous displays of FQs and coordinated bundles on her tables. I know I took home my fair share :) Wanna see?? I know you do...

Some gorgeous Fats in lively colors to spice up my stash:

A Bottled Rainbows solids bundle, because I plan to tackle that project sometime soon:

And a chartreuse/gray Fat Pack just perfect for use in my crib bedding project!!

Score! I LOVE fabric. I want to look at it and touch it, and hold it, and dream up all the beautiful things I'll make with it...

Okay I went off on a little tangent there. Sorry.

The last thing I want to show you is another UFO I pulled out yesterday and finally finished. My Little Twister quilt top:

Two, Sugar Pop charm packs, and a half yard of the pink solid went into this top, and its final dimensions are only 29"x32"... This pattern may be cute, but it eats up fabric like you wouldn't believe!

Here's a shot of the back:

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate pressing seams open? Its pretty much the bane of my existence. I really don't like it. Some quilters swear by it, but I'm not one of them. They're so hard to keep flat! You press open the first seam and it looks alright, then you sew on another row and go to press that one open, and somehow I can't manage to not screw up the first seam in the process! Infuriating... But occasionally, pressing them open seems a necessary evil. Oh well...

Thanks for reading through my ramblings :)

Quickie update

2011-06-08T22:55:00.000-05:00

My meeting with the local longarmer this evening went great! I was able to finish the Garden Fence quilt top first thing this morning, so I was able to take that with me. We picked out a quilting pattern and some thread, and she says she'll have it done by the end of the month!! Wanna see the finished top...?

I think it turned out awesome :) I can't wait to see it after its quilted and get working on the binding!

And, since I can't seem to take a break after finishing something, I got right to work choosing fabrics for the Warm/Cool Quilt along:

I've cut 102 charm squares so far. The size I'm making only requires 100, but I figured it couldn't hurt to have some extra in case it starts looking like I've got too many of one color or something. Now, I'm sitting in bed marking the diagonal center line on the backs of all the squares. I'm probably getting a little ahead of the actual quilt along so far, but I've never been good at waiting... Shhh, don't tell on me :)

The KCMQG meeting is tomorrow night, and I'm super pumped to see all my quilting buddies. Tammy from Marmalade Fabrics is sponsoring the meeting, and will have a ton of fabric there for sale. I'm hoping to snag some great green/gray prints for my crib bedding project! I finally received the bumper pad inserts in the mail, so now I want to get started making the covers.

Alright, well, nighty-night peeps!

WIP Wednesday

2011-06-07T23:30:00.000-05:00

So, I think I might officially be crazy...

I got the idea to make my Garden Fence quilt just a few days ago, and tonight I am halfway through the final step for completing the top:

The sashing just makes this quilt. I love it.

I've just got to add the final two columns (with sashing) and its ready for the quilter! It just so happens that I'm going to meet with the new longarmer that I'm interested in trying out tomorrow night, so it will be nice to have this finished to take with me. I really hope I like what she can do, because I just can't stress how fabulously convenient it would be for me to be able to take my quilts right down the street :)

So from concept to finish in less than a week... I think that's pretty nuts!

Another reason I'm probably crazy is that I've found another quilt along to join!! Its the warm/cool quilt along over at In Color Order. Its basically an experiment in rainbow-y color values, and one hundred HSTs...! The big plus to this one is that I should [once again] be able to utilize my current stash and scraps to get all the fabrics needed. I'm going for the baby size quilt, which will be about 40" square. I'll need 100 charm squares in saturated warm and cool prints. If you think you might want to join in the insanity too, head over to Jeni's blog and check it out!

I'm also pumped to get started on the Kaleidoscope quilt along with Don't Call Me Betsy. I bought a "kaleido ruler" a few days ago, and it looks like a pretty cool tool. Elizabeth is going to provide a template for cutting the pieces, but I just really hate working with templates. I would much rather have a ruler I can cut against. I haven't chosen fabrics yet, but in my head I'm leaning towards some of the solids I just got in the mail the other day. Lots of people in this group are choosing vast arrays of prints for their quilts, and I just can't wrap my head around what they'll look like completed. Seems to me that all those prints touching would make for a really busy quilt... Who knows, though. It'll be interesting to see everyone's progress in the flickr group.

So as you can see, I'm getting things accomplished, but also adding to my list of projects... Two steps forward, one step back :)

Movin right along...

2011-06-06T22:30:00.003-05:00

I did quite a bit of sewing today! It started first thing this morning, then a little more during nap time, and then finally, once the kids were in bed. I've made huge progress on my Garden Fence quilt -- all 30 blocks are sewn together!!

As soon as the kids were in their rooms, I laid all of the blocks out on the living room floor:

I wasn't really in love with a couple of the prints I included in these blocks, but I was determined to {mostly} work within my stash. And actually, now that I'm looking at the blocks all together, I don't think any one print/color really sticks out in a negative way. I used equal yardage of thirty different fabrics. This quilt is a really great stash buster because you need very little of each fabric. Only one 2 1/2" strip, and one 4 1/2" square. You could probably make this out of large-ish scraps too! I googled this pattern earlier to see if there were any other examples for me to look at. I found this one by Jeannette at Gone Aussie Quilting. I love her color choices. Its so great to see how simply switching up the fabrics/colors can completely change the look of a quilt. Her quilt is 100" square, which means she made 100 blocks. Mine is only 50"x60", with 30 blocks, but it still makes a nice sized throw! My friend Steph is just starting with this pattern in Jay McCarroll's new line, Habitat. Pop over to her blog and check out her progress!

My next task will be to add the thin white sashing between all the blocks to complete the top. It should take me another couple of days, I would imagine. Then, I've got a new longarmer in mind to give a try. She's local; right down the street, in fact! I'm gonna let her quilt this one for me and see how I like her work. She'd certainly be convenient to get to, and she's a member of one of my guilds!

I'm going to end this post with a cute pic of my oldest, Dylan. We went to an outdoor festival yesterday, and her favorite thing to have done is face painting...

Thanks for stopping by!!

The mailman is my new best friend!!!!

2011-06-04T21:06:00.000-05:00

I just love receiving mail, don't you?! Even though its usually not a surprise because its probably something I ordered (or a bill :() its still exciting to open a package and experience its contents in person.

So when the mailman arrived with my expected goods this afternoon I could barely contain my excitement! I ripped open the box right on my entryway floor:

From left: Kona Eggplant, Cerise, Lagoon, Robin's Egg, Med Gray, Coal, Snow, and Natural Essex Linen

Building my solids stash... There's FIVE yards of Kona Snow in there!

My first official fabric purchase for the crib bedding project... I'm in love with this print, btw. I almost wish I had ordered more of it...

a little Loulouthi...

Persimmon and Tangerine shot cottons...

Rainy Days and Mondays dots. One can never own too many tonal polka dot prints, in my opinion :)

In total that's 24.5 yards of fabric.

(steps up onto podium)
"Hi, my name is Caitlin. I'm addicted to fabric."
(monotone crowd voices: "Hi Caitlin...)

I know, I've got issues. But I got some amazing deals, and just couldn't pass them up! AND I've already put some of it to use. I finalized my fabric choices for the Garden Fence quilt, and sewed my first four blocks together:

They haven't been squared up yet, I was really just itching to get started on it. This is probably the most masculine quilt project I've ever attempted. I've made one other quilt for a baby boy, but it was super neutral and I felt it really could've gone either way. I'm really liking the look of this one so far, though! I can't wait to get the rest of the blocks put together and start laying it out!

Sad mail day, and my funny kid

2011-06-03T13:08:00.001-05:00

The mail has been delivered here for today and my fabulous fabrics weren't in it :(

I'm chomping at the bit to dive into them! I cut out some more blue and green prints for my Garden Path quilt this morning, but I know I've got a few more coming that I'll want to include. I also must wait for the package because it will contain several yards of Kona Snow, which I need for all the sashing involved. I've cut into 24 different fabrics so far:

I've got them semi-matched up, but will wait for the few extra prints on their way to finalize the pairings. I'm trying to evenly distribute them and have a (mostly) blue fabric with a (mostly) green one, but it looks like I've got more blues than greens... We'll see, I know it will work out eventually :) If I add 6 more fabrics to the mix, the finished quilt will be approximately 50"x60", thirty blocks total.

Before I close this post, I would like to share a little snapshot in conversation between my 6 year old daughter, and her grandma... Probably won't be as funny to you as it was to me, but for any of you who actually know my daughter, you may be able to envision her little matter-of-fact attitude when she's talking :)

Grandma: So Dylan, do you think when you grow up, you might want to have children of your own?
Dylan: No, cause little babies are annoying. (this is funny to me because she has a little sister, and one more on the way!)
Grandma: Oh, so you might just get married then?
Dylan: Well, I don't think so, because Daddy is the only cute guy.
Grandma: All the cute guys are already taken, huh? Well what about Papa?
Dylan: Grandma, can we please just stop talking about this?

Haha... okay, enough of my silly life for now! Back soon!

WIP Wednesday

2011-06-01T20:29:00.006-05:00

There are so many projects going on in my head right now its just crazy. I've gone off the deep end and ordered 20+ yards of various fabrics to build my stash a little and to complete some projects I've got going on already. They should be here by Friday or Saturday and I'm SO excited for them to arrive...! I know I've been preaching lately about how good I've been by shopping within my stash rather than buying new fabrics, but honestly, my current selection is ALL prints. I rarely buy solids and if I do its usually a white/black/gray to be used as sashing or background. This time I chose some new fun colors and hopefully they'll help me utilize more of what I already own.

So anyway, on to today's progress!

I did some blog hopping this morning and found a few great looking tutorials that I'm dying to try out. First, is the Garden Path quilt by Hyacinth Quilt Designs:

I'm in love with the gorgeous yellow and gray combination... She really just provides cutting measurements and a quick "do this, then do this" explanation, but that's all you need. Its a super simple block and I think the overall look that you end up with is awesome! I've started cutting out prints from my stash to make my own quilt. I'm using blues and greens:

Only 16 different fabrics cut so far...

I've got quite a few as it turns out! I don't have any boys, so I rarely end up making things in boy-ish color schemes. This quilt, however, will most likely end up in my shop, and hopefully become some little boy's cherished treasure :)

The next tutorial I can't wait to try out is the Spider Web block, described by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! for Sew Mama Sew. I recently signed up to participate in my first quilting bee, and my month is July so I think I'm going to have everyone make these blocks for me. I'm envisioning a Kona Snow background with Chartreuse and Raspberry scrappy fabrics. I must confess that I shamelessly copied this entire idea from Natalie at Threaded Mess... (Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...!) She posted a great inspiration mosaic on flickr and I completely fell in love with it.

I also discovered a Kaleidoscope Quilt Along starting soon over on Don't Call Me Betsy! I've never made a block like this and am pumped to try it out! See, I told you there was a never-ending stream of craziness happening in my brain! I've got future UFOs coming out of my ears!! :) Just kidding about the UFO thing... its never my intention to start a new quilt and not finish it. Life just occasionally gets in the way, you know!? If you might be interested in joining the quilt along too, head over to Elizabeth's blog and check out what its all about. Fabric requirements will be posted this Friday, and then the actual quilt along begins on June 23rd...

I was able to get a few more Cupcake Pincushions stuffed and sewn shut this afternoon:

Chocolate cupcakes, of course! All of these tasty treats will be for sale in the shop. The puffy top is stuffed with polyester fiberfill, and the "cup" part is filled with crushed walnut shells for a little weight and stability. I've previously purchased small baggies of crushed walnut shells from my LQS for about $2.49. The other day I just happened to be driving by a pet store so I stopped in and asked if they carried it. Evidently its intended for Parakeet/general bird bedding, but its good for keeping your pins sharp, and people tend to like weighty cushions. I also learned that at this particular pet store, you can buy a 7lb bag of walnut shells for $9.99... and if you had a coupon it would be an even better deal! If you plan to make some pin cushions in the future, it is WAY more economical to buy the stuff from a pet store!

I'm still toiling over my crib bedding ideas. I found some of the Zen Garden print on sale in an etsy shop and ordered a few yards:

I plan to make one fitted sheet from it and save the leftover yard for use in the bumper or a pillow or little quilt or something.

My sewing room is starting to look a little scary... I've got small piles of fabrics all over the place for all these project ideas bursting out of my head. I plan to do some serious sewing over the next few days and hope to clear some of the mess up. I'll be back soon with more awesome pictures of my progress!!

Crib Bedding Part 1: Crib sheet

2011-05-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

I'm getting antsy after my last post to get started on the crib bedding, so this afternoon I Googled tutorials on crib bedding and found this awesome one! It is really well written and only has a few easy steps. I see it sort of like 'Crib Sheets For Dummies'!!

So I dug out some old practice fabric that I didn't have strong feelings about and gave it a whirl:

I was so pleased with the construction of this sheet! The mitered corners are french seamed, and the elastic is completely encased. The whole thing took about an hour from start to finish! Now that I know this tutorial works, I can buy some more expensive fabric to make the real sheets with! Purple isn't part of my color scheme, but I could keep this one around as an alternate just in case.

Ooh, and I think I'm making [mental] progress on the bumper! I did a lot of Google Image searching of other home-made bumpers and I found some patchwork ones that I really like. I think now I may go with several of the prints from my inspiration mosaic and mix them all together. Also, just to add some more interest, I think I'm going to add Raspberry to the mix. Not much, since I don't want the bedding overly girly. Just like for the piping and the ties... I think it will look really cool :)

a new challenge!

2011-05-27T20:53:00.000-05:00

With baby #3 on her way, I've decided that my crib and crib bedding need a serious upgrade. The crib that my two girls have used (and my youngest is still in) was actually my husbands from back in 1981. [Don't worry, we did the soda can test, and its safe.] He was a sweetie and cleaned, sanded, and repainted it for our first daughter in a color that matched the crib set I had chosen. Well, after 6 1/2 years and two babies, the crib is now scratched up, the bars are riddled with little teeth marks, and the side that's supposed to move up and down just stays down... So my neighbor was having a garage sale a few weeks ago and she just happened to be selling a white crib in nice condition, and obviously a little more modern than ours. I told her to try to sell it, and if it was still there after her sale, I'd offer a little less than what she was asking for it and take it off her hands. Luck was on my side, and a few days later it was mine!!!

I rearranged our bedroom to accommodate the new crib, and now all that's left is for me to make some snazzy new bedding. This is not something I've attempted before, but there's lots of tutorials online about making the bumpers, which I was considering to be the most difficult part, so I think I can do it.

I just ordered the bumper pad inserts from Joann.com this evening. I find it irritating that I was unable to find these anywhere that I could just go buy them and not have to pay shipping. Even Walmart sells them, but only online.

I've also compiled an inspiration mosaic in Chartreuse and White/Light Gray:

All of these prints are available at Marmalade Fabrics. I'm liking the grey Moda Cross Weave a lot, but just can't decide which greens to go with... Brandon, of course, only likes the Aviary2 Woodgrain print, but I'm pretty sure (if I use it at all) it would only be a small accent print somewhere.

Here's a pic of a crib very similar to the one I bought from my neighbor:

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to get the bedding started. Feel free to leave a comment telling me which fabrics are your favorites! I would find your suggestions helpful :)

Kickin ass, and taking names!

2011-05-25T18:52:00.000-05:00

I'm not normally such a horn-tooter, but I'm so awesome lately! I made the decision to focus (hard core) on my UFOs and not start new projects until I had them under control. Well, I've been sticking to it, and have made TONS of progress!!

Do you remember Darcy's quilt from last month? I had purchased enough fabric to make the throw size featured in Practical Guide To Patchwork, but then decided I didn't want it quite that big (since it was for a baby). So I had plenty of leftover sunburst blocks already cut out, just sitting on my shelf. Last night I finally pulled them out and got them sewn together! Then this morning I added some sashing and cornerstones(?), and VOILA!

A 34" square top for a baby quilt! I'm going to get this quilted and put it up for sale in my shop. In the center square, I'll offer to add a name or letter applique. See, those slices of fabric were just chillin on my shelf, minding their own business, and within a couple of hours I've turned them into something useful!

I'm so proud of myself for getting these things done.

Alright, enough of me on my soapbox :) On a side note, for all of you Bernina users-- I have a new in box Circular Embroidery Attachment for sale. I purchased it from Jamie (KCMQG) at the Bernina store. Once I got it home, though I found that my machine was not compatible with it (I use a Pfaff). There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, its never even been used. I just can't use it, and so if any of you are interested in this awesome little tool, give me a shout. Here's some pics:

Thanks peeps!

A little free motion experiment...

2011-05-23T20:06:00.002-05:00

Oh, man... I am not an experienced, fancy-free-motion-er. I want to be, but I'm just not terribly confident in my abilities yet.

Today, I decided to utilize nap time and get Seeing Squares/Purplicious basted.

That was more difficult than I thought it would be. Apparently I'm pregnant enough that crawling around on the floor safety pinning is a real workout! Once I got it handled, though, I was really itching to start quilting it. I stared at it for a few minutes, and just couldn't visualize a quilting plan that would only use straight lines (my comfort zone). Since the blocks aren't super defined, I imagined there would be lots of starting and stopping, and I didn't want to have to deal with that. So then I got brave, and (inspired by some of Angela's quilting ideas) decided to attempt some free motion. I was a little surprised that I remembered how to set up my darning foot, since I never use it :)

Once I quilted the first little square-in-a-square piece, I wondered if I had made the right decision... Then I decided that I didn't care what anyone else was going to thing of it, and chose to be brave and just go for it!

I began experimenting with moving the quilt around and creating different stitch patterns in each square. My lines are not perfect. Lots of them aren't even straight. The stitches are not all the same length. But guess what -- I'm actually enjoying playing around with different things!!

I tried some "free" straight lines...

Some pebbling...

Some loops, and a letter E!

This is going to be a baby quilt for Evan, when she arrives. I'm pretty sure she's not going to be too critical of my stitches :)

I'm actually thinking that my skills should improve, at least a little bit, by the time I finish quilting it. My confidence should be better, if nothing else. I can't expect to get any better if I never try!

KCMQG Meeting, Sewing Saturday and some Progress!!

2011-05-22T13:02:00.000-05:00

First of all, is everybody LOVING my new blog header?!?! Shea made it for me, along with one more that has the Seeing Squares quilt top on it. I LOVE them! Its awesome for me to see my name on one of my projects looking all official and stuff :) Thank you SO much, Shea!

This past Thursday was our monthly Modern Guild meeting, which is probably my favorite night of the month. Its so nice to get out of the house for a few hours and spend time with quilty/crafty people! The presentation was all about turning your sewing hobby into a lucrative business, and Shea (of Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio) was the speaker. She has recently released her first few patterns, and she shared her experience of going through the whole process of getting your ideas down on paper, writing out a pattern, providing illustrations, having the pattern tested, marketing her patterns and selling them to local shops and larger distributors. There are a lot of steps to go through, if you want to do it the right way, but its would be worth it to see your hard work being loved and appreciated by fellow sewists! :)

I have purchased 3 of her patterns so far, and actually made two of them. First, was the Seeing Squares quilt, and second is her latest pattern called Cover Up. It is a formulaic approach to making a custom quilted sewing machine cover for any machine. I started putting mine together yesterday morning, and then took it with me to work on at our guild sewing day at Harper's. Here's what I started with:

I'm still sticking to my convictions and trying to utilize what fabrics are available in my stash. This was good, actually, because that stripey floral print on the far right and left of the pic has been sitting on my shelf for close to a year! I bought it, because I thought it was pretty, but I did not happen to purchase any coordinating prints at the time, and have struggled with how to pair it up with other fabrics. Yesterday, I just put these prints together and went with it!

Now, normally, my sewing table looks like this:

I leave my machine open all the time, and the table is always a complete mess because I can just stick things between the desk top surface and my clear sewing table. I don't take the clear table away hardly ever, unless whatever I'm sewing requires me to use the arm or something. However, I have aspirations to clean up my act a bit, and not have my area in such a shambles all the time. So, here is the finished Cover Up, and what my sewing table should look like:

It fits great, of course, because it was made using my machine's specific dimensions. Here's another cool thing, though - since I usually have the clear table on there and the lid open with a pin cushion sitting on top, the cover still fits! It just rests on the table top, and then there's room for all my junk on top of the machine!:

Baby steps, right?! :) Anyway, I love the sense of accomplishment I feel each time I finish a project. This is such a simple thing to put together, and could be completed in one day. Also while at Sewing Saturday, I managed to get a backing pieced for the Rainbow Sherbet quilt:

It was also made completely from my stash in mostly greens with a center strip of pinks. Pieced backing is not my favorite thing to do. When I get a quilt top complete, I want to move right on to basting and quilting it. When you have to piece the backing, it seems like you're almost making another whole quilt top. My instant gratification problem doesn't have the patience for that :) I don't think the back has to be as special as the front, but I'm sure as time goes on and I have to do it more times I'll probably change my tune...

Harper's was a great time, sewing and chatting with guild friends. Time passes so quickly when you're having a good time and you've got people to talk to. It can be helpful to have these meetings at a quilt shop, because if you run out of thread, or you need to buy some pins or something, everything's right there at your fingertips! It can also be dangerous, because the temptation is there to take home all the beautiful, covetous fabrics! I was really good, and only bought one cut of fabric:

What do you think?? I just happened to spot this purple micro corduroy out of the corner of my eye, AND it was in the sale section! I got just enough for backing the Seeing Squares quilt and it was 25% off! LOVE THAT! I know I had originally selected Eggplant Kona solid, for this quilt, but I do not have that on hand just yet, so I seized the sale opportunity and went with this. I still have to piece that one square into it, but I am now much closer to completing two more quilts :)

Still UFOing!

2011-05-18T19:42:00.000-05:00

Eew, what is up with blogger right now?!?!

I am not good with technologic change. For the past year (since I started blogging) I've been having to mentally compose my posts from the bottom up. For some reason, the way the pictures uploaded, it forced me to choose the last pic first and work backwards. While this was kind of annoying, I was used to it. And just now, I get on here and the photo uploader is different and doing odd things... The toolbar is different... I don't like it.

Anyway, enough of my ranting for now.

Tomorrow is the KCMQG meeting, which I always look forward to! Our current charity project is to sew 'fetal demise' pouches for St. Luke's Hospital. Here are my two:

This project was a little difficult for me, because I've experienced this personally. Its a really nice thing to do for women who go through this, though, because (as someone pointed out at our last meeting), you can't exactly shop for this situation...

I've been continuing working on my UFOs and upkeep on my shop! I'm really REALLY trying so hard to be good and not spend money lately. I recently acquired a new fabric/drug dealer :) who is making it difficult for me... But anyway, I decided to make a few mug rugs for my shop. These are essentially an oversized coaster, large enough for your cup of coffee/tea/soda and a small snack. Here's the first, made from leftovers from the Seeing Squares quilt:

These in this last pic are some more mug rugs in progress. They're fast and easy to put together, and can be sold inexpensively.

I don't know if I've ever admitted this out loud, but I have a bit of a pillow obsession. There can never be too many pillows :) My bed is completely overrun with them. So much so that half of them end up on the floor overnight. Despite this fact, I'm in the process of making some more! Initial pillows in each family member's fav color. Here's mine:

My color is actually really green, but I've chosen that as the main bedding color for the new baby, so I'm letting her have it. Dylan's will be purple, Ardyn's will be pink, Brandon's blue, and Evan gets green. All lined up our pillows will read "A B C D E"!

Well, that's all for today! Back soon hopefully with more interesting things to discuss :)

Doo, doo, doo...

2011-05-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

...another one bites the dust!

In keeping with my recent resolve to address each of my UFOs before beginning a new project, I've completed my 'Seeing Squares' quilt top! The pattern was designed by Shea of Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio, and a member of KCMQG. I'm getting such a sense of accomplishment from completing things I've started, instead of staring at the pile of half-done projects.

And now, on to the pics:

I really like the color palate I chose. I'm not necessarily a K-State fan (or any sport team, for that matter), but these colors really blend well. I do wish I'd substituted the Tufted Tweets print for something that reads more solid, but I can't change it now. The pattern says that this quilt works well when you mix solids and prints, and I agree, but I think the prints should still basically read solid. A busy print makes it harder for your eyes to rest in the quilt.

My friend Paula, another member of the KCMQG, is teaching this quilt as a class at Harper's this summer. I'd like to try to get this quilted and totally finished in the next couple of weeks, and offer it to her to take to the class with her, if she wants it of course.

This last, lonely block will be pieced into the back. I've selected Kona Eggplant solid, and I think it'll look really great :) I've actually already decided to make another of these quilts in mostly solids with just one or two small prints. Tammy of Marmalade fabrics (yet another member of the KCMQG) has a great Kona solids selection, AND she delivers for free to guild meetings!! I'll be placing my order with her this weekend :)

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T16:25:00.000-05:00

This is how my children wished to spend this afternoon. Yes, that is a super classy Walmart pool, set up in our driveway. We're trailer-in' up the neighborhood :) Honestly, though, our back yard doesn't get a ton of sunshine, and it would (of course) ruin the grass. The girls had fun, though, and that's all that matters. My oldest did bring me "breakfast in bed" this morning, which consisted of four Ritz crackers and a jar of peanut butter. Its the thought that counts, though, right?! :)

So after the swimming and lunch, I put Ardyn down for a nap and decided to spend some time sewing. To mu surprise, I decided to pull out an old UFO from last year. Here's what I started with:

It was 2/3 put together already, and for some reason, I just never finished it. All the strips were cut and just needed to be sewn to the foundation papers. So I did!

In no time, I had the remaining blocks put together and trimmed. Stripped the paper off the back, and got the top completed!

I really like how this turned out! If I made another one some day I would cut the fabric strips a little wider. These ranged from 1" - 2", but after a 1/4" seam allowance, you're not making as much progress as you think! Anyway, the top doesn't look exactly like my drawing because I miscalculated how many blocks of each color combination. But I was still able to put it together, and I think it looks just as great :)

I hope you all had a great day with your kidlets and/or mommies of your own!

Trying my hand...

2011-05-06T10:22:00.001-05:00

...at hand quilting! I honestly have no idea what I'm doing, but its been fun so far. I saw a quilt at Harper's for a class called "Big Stitch" and really liked the concept of sort of drawing with the thread to create really cool quilting designs. I decided to experiment on the Jelly Roll 1600 quilt top that I made at the retreat last week, since I didn't make it with anyone in mind, and I'm not really attached to it. This way, if it turns out super awful, I don't think I'll feel so bad :) The fabric line I used is called Sunkissed, so my quilting plan is a 'scene' of sorts. Blades of grass along the bottom:

A bright yellow sun in the top corner:

The overall shape of the sun is okay (I traced a dinner plate), but I think I need to do a bit more with it. The yellow thread is pretty hard to see... I'm using the thickest Perle cotton, but because the colors are so jumbly in this quilt top, its difficult to choose a color that will be easy to see on all the different fabrics.

And among the grass, some taller stems with yoyo flower heads! Remember the yoyos I made from the Sunkissed charm pack a few posts back? I've found a use for them:

I think its kinda cool looking so far :) My husband told me yesterday that the yoyo flowers are ugly, but I'm doing them anyway. What does he know?? I'm also excited to be using this cool quilting frame that my mom got for me at an estate sale for $5! Its on a stand, so you can set it in front of a chair or even the couch, and stitch away!

-*-*-*-*-*-

While playing in the woods behind our house the other day, my oldest decided to pick these flowers for me for Mother's Day. Even though she's a few days early, I think its cute that she thought of me:

She also found us a new temporary pet. Again.

Remember the skink, Ketchup? We only kept him for two days and then released him back into the yard. So when Dylan came across this little guy in her playhouse, she immediately adopted him:

Its just a teeny little tree frog. Brandon said its a tree frog because his feet are sticky... I don't know. See how the underside of his legs are yellow? Guess what I named him..... :) Mustard! Haha. I thought it was funny. Anyway, we let Dylan keep him for one night and then let him go the next morning. Surprisingly, the little guy hung around until Dylan got home from school, where she spotted him chillin on the front of our trash can. She got to play with the frog a little more during the afternoon, until she went to look for him and he was gone. She was really upset that she couldn't find Mustard, but we assured her that another little animal will come along soon, we're sure :)

Just checking in...

2011-05-04T14:39:00.000-05:00

Just a quick update, today! I've finished piecing the top for my Peppermint Wreath tree skirt:

I'm pretty excited about having a handmade Christmas keepsake for my family :) The pattern was really easy to lay out and put together. I'm considering making another for my mom or step-mom. I also made bias binding for the first time. I don't know why I thought it would be more difficult than regular straight grain binding, cause it was just as easy:

Like the fabric?? Its peppermints to go with the peppermint wreath! :)

I also just put together two more clutches for my shop. I get so wrapped up in random sewing sometimes that I neglect my shop, and the whole point of having it is to try to make money... so I need to be better about its upkeep.

Well, that's all for now! Back soon!

An interesting commission...

2011-05-02T19:09:00.000-05:00

I just finished an unusual commission this afternoon. The customer was referred to me by Jessica of Sewbot's Laboratory, also a member of my guild KCMQG. She's swamped getting ready for quilt market, so she gave him my information. Anyway, here's the unusual-ness of his request:

One of his relatives is getting married in England in the beginning of June. Another relative decided to put a wedding quilt together for the couple, and sent out kits to people requesting that they each make a quilt block to contribute. The instructions requested for the family members to use some accent fabrics to cut out shapes and make a scene or picture on the block, and hand applique the pieces down, along with a message to the couple. Well, the average Joe probably doesn't know how to do all of those things, if they're not involved or interested in sewing. So, naturally, this customer sought the assistance of someone who could help him get his block complete.

And they funky details begin...

The deadline for having these blocks back to the person in charge was April 1st. The customer emailed me on April 25th, three weeks past the deadline. Then there's the issue of, I don't even know what he was given to work with, and how quickly will I need to get it complete. He overnighted the kit to me, which I received Saturday. I stared at it for the rest of that day trying to be inspired. Finally I remembered to ask the customer what his special message would be. He told me to use "Take care of each other." From there I decided to just embroider those words in the center and use to fabric provided add accents around it. Anyway, here's what I ended up with:

I'm not a big embroider-er, but this was actually kinda fun. Every bit of it was stitched by hand, as per the instructions. I think it turned out pretty well considering I had to come up with the design for some people I don't even know. The customer is very happy with it and sent me an email saying "It's BEAUTIFUL!!" so that makes me happy. He also paid me over what I asked him for, so I guess I did a good job :) And I finished it really fast, too. I got it Saturday afternoon, and I just mailed it back out today (Monday), overnight. Hopefully he gets it to whoever in time to be part of the wedding quilt!

Retreat, beat.

2011-04-30T18:52:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my amazing, totally selfish day where the hubby kept my girls, and I got to spend TWELVE blissful hours sewing away... Man I came home tired! I couldn't believe how fast the day flew by, though. Craziness. I got to meet and talk with some interesting people, including a few who happen to be members of the KCMQG, the presidents of the Olathe guild, and even a woman from New Zealand! I didn't get to as many projects as I thought I would, but still feel like I got lots accomplished. First, I got started on the Peppermint Wreath tree skirt:

I actually got all of those fabrics from my stash, too! The only fabric I did have to purchase, was the white/gray print that is paired with the red half-square triangles. Kinda proud of myself for using what I already had! I started cutting out the squares and assembling the top late Friday night, and got about a third of it put together:

There is a grid/picture in the instructions as far as the layout is concerned, but no instructions, or even suggestions as to the best way to get it assembled. Its not that big of a deal for me, because I'm good at puzzles and figuring stuff out on my own. Just means there are several partial/set-in seams required...

Once I got sick of messing with the tree skirt, I moved on to something that Becky found online - the Jelly Roll 1600 quilt. It got its name because the only fabric you use for the whole quilt top is one jelly roll! The 1600 part refers to the first step in making the quilt top. You sew all 40/42 strips together, end to end, in one long strip, one thousand six hundred inches long...! After that, you put the beginning to the end, right sides together, and sew one helluva long-ass seam until you reach the middle. Then cut that bottom fold in half. Your strip is now half as long, and double wide. Put the beginning with the end and sew again, over and over until you end up with a quilt top approximately 48"x64"! Here's mine:

This is one Sunkissed jelly roll. I sewed the strips together in the exact order that they were packaged, which means each color group was bundled together. While I'm happy with the way this one turned out, I think it would be better to mix up the color strips and choose them at random. It would provide a more random and jumbled overall appearance.

Anybody remember those yoyos from a post or two back? They're from this same fabric line. Since I haven't done anything with them yet, I had an idea to applique on some green pieces for grass and stems, and then use the yoyos as flower petals. It seems like a cute idea in my head. Now if I can just execute it well...

-*-*-*-*-*-

Today was Darcy's baby shower! It was so good to see my friend, and she looks absolutely adorable with her baby belly :) The quilt I made for her little boy was a huge hit. Everyone "oohed" and "aahed" over it. I also gave her a set of fabric bins that I thought matched her color scheme. Those were originally made for my shop, so they had my labels in them. Several of her guests asked me about my shop and said they'd like to look it up. I don't think it will probably amount to any sales, really, but it was nice to have people appreciate my work :) Here's a shot of Darcy with the quilt:

{nearly} wordless wednesday

2011-04-27T19:25:00.000-05:00

best. dinner. ever. :)

Darcy's quilt - FINISHED!!!

2011-04-26T19:43:00.000-05:00

Woo-hoo! I'm so happy to have Darcy's quilt finished and ready to give to her this weekend :) After I got the top put together, I kinda just let it hang out for a few weeks and didn't mess with it. I started to feel the time crunch a few days ago, since her shower is this Saturday, so I finally got to work. I layed out the layers and got it basted yesterday afternoon:

Since the back is minky, I used spray baste as well as pins to keep everything together. The spray was a good choice, and it worked very well; no shifting. I managed to zip through the quilting last night after the girls went to bed, AND got the binding started while I relaxed in bed watching tv! I couldn't believe the progress I was making :)

Today, I kept up the pace by finishing the binding and sewing the little yoyos to the center of each block:

I worked on it all day, it seems like, and I am now proud to say it is complete!:

Those little yoyos were kinda tricky to handle since they were so small, about an inch in diameter. I used an assortment of the original block fabrics to make the yoyos, and spread the colors throughout the quilt.

I chose really minimal straight line quilting for this project, because I wanted it to be really soft and have a nice drape. The more quilting you do, usually, the stiffer the quilt is in the end. And this is for a little baby boy, so I want it to be comfy and loved :)

I hope you love it, Darcy! Can't wait to see you in a few days!! :)
-*-*-*-*-

This Friday, I get to do something really exciting... I'm going to an all day mini quilt retreat at my LQS!! It is SUCH a RARE occasion that I get any stretch of time out of the house and without the kids. I am relishing this opportunity! I've been working hard to compile multiple projects to take with me, and I have high hopes of really getting lots accomplished. I've got all that interfacing {that I cut for those emmy clutches} fused to fabrics and ready to assemble:

I also picked up this cute, cute pattern this morning:

I am well aware that Christmas is many months away. However, it takes time to get these things put together, and this way there'll be no pressure to get it finished quickly :) I'm also excited about making this tree skirt, because I've decided that we are going to cut down a real tree this year. For as long as I can remember, we've always had an artificial tree, and while they might be more economical in the long run, there's just nothing like getting to choose your perfect tree and having the pine smell in the house during the holidays.

Easter, and a little sewing :)

2011-04-24T15:58:00.000-05:00

Well, actually, we'll discuss the sewing first. I pulled out the 'Seeing Squares' quilt last week and completed another section. Now the top is half complete. Still lookin good?

I also made yoyos for the first time this week. I used an entire Sunkissed charm pack, and made the extra-large yoyos with the little yoyo gadget. I was told I didn't need the gadget, but I think it helped make for some very easy, mindless handwork before bed. My inspiration for making them, was seeing some cute little animals at my LQS whose arms and legs were made from a string of them. All I see now, though, is how cool it would be to make a great big long garland of them in Christmas fabrics to hang on the tree :)
And remember those awesome pleated clutches from my last post? I'm still hot on making them, but the cutting out of the individual fabric sections as well as the interfacing that matches them is a little tedious. So I buckled down and cut out little stacks of interfacing; enough for 5 more clutches. Now, hopefully, making the next few will go a little faster.

And now on to Easter festivities...

While Ardyn napped yesterday afternoon, Dylan and I made and decorated some fun Easter cookies:
We ate about half of them, and then took the rest to share at one family gathering last night. Then this morning, we headed out to my dad's for breakfast and egg hunting. The girls, of course, ate the bare minimum breakfast so that they could move on to the piles of candy and goodies that awaited them... Ardyn enjoyed telling everyone how 'yummy' her candy was as she licked her lips and asked for more:

Then we all headed down to the basement where Uncle Ian helped Ardyn play some pinball:

Dad/Grandpa helped Dylan play some darts:

Aah, as if that weren't enough to tire us all out... After my dad's we had to head to my mom's so that she could see the girls as well. This wasn't a problem for the girls, since my mom has cats, and they both would spend the entire visit hunting them down to force love and attention upon them. Here's a pic of Ardyn calling "here, kitty kitty...":

Yes, that is my child. Halfway underneath the couch, attempting to convince one of the cats that it really wants to be petted... :)

To top off our family rounds, Brandon stepped outside briefly and managed to catch a small skink. He and Dylan have adopted it, and named it 'Ketchup', for its red lips:

Sorry for the bad picture but my camera wouldn't focus any closer.

Well, I hope everyone is enjoying their Easter! Have a great day!!

I'm baaaaack!!

2011-04-21T13:02:00.000-05:00

Whew! I'm so glad to have a computer again. Being out of touch with the world for a whole week made me feel like I'd temporarily turned Amish or something. Soooo not for me! I did, however, get LOTS of sewing done, as I was unable to get sucked into reading crafty blogs or pouring over flickr pictures for hours :) I made many trips to my LQS looking for notions and inspiration for some smaller/quick projects. One that I found was a pattern for a cupcake pincushion. Dylan and I tried it out a few days ago while Ardyn took her afternoon nap:

She was pretty proud of it when we finished. She also informed me that we would be keeping it and not selling it in my shop. Apparently Dylan feels that I don't make enough things to keep for us....

Last weekend we were invited by some friends to an Easter Egg Hunt at their church. They had several inflatable bounce houses and obstacle courses, a face painter, cake walk, several craft stations, farm animals, and horse/pony rides! Ardyn was mesmerized by the cake walk, and kept trying to claim another "prize" from the treat table :) She also got to ride on a horse for the first time!

It was a little chilly out in the wind, but Ardyn really thought that was the coolest thing ever :)

I made a set of fabric storage bins:

And I decided to join a new swap on flickr. Michelle from "i like orange, too!" started a Pretty {little} Pouch Swap, so I've been sewing pouches like crazy! Michelle also just released a new tutorial in her shop for her Emmy Clutch. It has adorable pleats and is a great size for carrying a small handwork project/craft with you on-the-go! So far, I've made six of these clutches, but here are the best ones:

Also, when I went to my guild meeting last week, I made a stop by Harper's and just happened to find this awesome lime green minky fabric which I think will be great for the backing on Darcy's quilt:

Considering that Darcy will be here in a week for her baby shower, I suppose I should really get cracking on quilting this for her, huh?

OH!- and to the THREE people who commented on my last post, you'll all be winners! What would you like? A fancy little clutch, maybe? A cupcake pincushion?? Let me know :)

Back in the dark ages

2011-04-14T13:20:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone. I'm sorry I've been missing-in-action this past week. My laptop decided to internally combust this morning, after days of acting strangely. Right now, I'm rushing to type this out while making a short pit-stop at my mom's so I could check my email and everything. Today I spent a small fortune ordering a new one and having all my data transferred from the old one... Anyway, I have been sewing and I do have projects and pictures I'd love to share, but it probably won't be until late next week that I really get back up and running. Also, today is apparently my first "blogiversary"! So if you want to win a little goodie from me in honor of this occasion, just leave me a comment! About anything you want! When I get my online-life back next week, I'll randomly select a winner and send you something new and fun I've been working on!

A new item, and the big news!

2011-04-02T18:55:00.000-05:00

You may have seen the fabric storage bins that I made for my shop in a previous post. Recently, I saw a product for children that consisted of a set of nesting/stacking bins, and I thought "I could totally make that!". So this morning I made my first attempt:
This set only has three bins, whereas the original product I saw had five or six. I was trying to make the math easy for myself, and created these bins at 5", 4" and 3" square. I can't go any smaller than 3", because I won't be able to manipulate it around my sewing machine arm, so I think I'll need to create half-sizes. These bins could be used for storing knick-knacks on a shelf, in a little girl's room, or as a learning toy for your growing toddler! So, give me some feedback, folks. Do you like this concept? Ways to improve upon this idea?

I finally ordered a Kona color card.

I'm not huge into solids, so I haven't really needed one, but I'd like to start some new projects and I think this will help me. Plus, I know I have some awesome print fabrics in my stash that I haven't used yet because I don't have anything to use them with. I hope to find some good coordinates for these fabrics so that I can finally use them.

And now, for the BIG news............... I had my 19 week sonogram yesterday, and...............

It's a GIRL! Little princess #3 is scheduled to arrive sometime in August. She appears to be perfectly healthy and measures right on track. We're 99% set on Evan for her first name, but have yet to agree on the middle name. I say Evan Marsh (my middle name, and my mom's mom's maiden name) and he wants Evan Kerri (his middle name... yes I know its spelled the girl way, he didn't get to pick it for himself...). Should we vote on this too??? :)

After the sonogram, I took advantage of a little kid-free time, and went to Children's Orchard (a second-hand children's store). I only bought a handful of newborn sized items, as I gave that size away to pregnant friends a while ago. I also impulse purchased this swing:

I'm aware that I'm still four months away from needing it, but it was there at Children's Orchard, used, but in fantastic/basically new condition. There's nothing pink on it, so my husband doesn't have to be offended by it, and I really like the blue and green polka dots :) Actually, I don't want my house to look like pink threw up all over it. This is sort of a gesture to Brandon that "hey, I know you didn't get a boy, but you don't have to drown in pink stuff, either".

Frolicking in a Modern Meadow...

2011-03-29T15:57:00.000-05:00

I made a really cute skirt today. It is a drop-waist box pleated skirt made in Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow line. I saw a design very similar to this on Moda Bake Shop, and thought it was a super cute idea. Dylan was my model for today:

All of my seams are serged for a finished professional appearance. It really turned out super cute! This one is now up for sale in my shop. I'll have to make one for Dylan that's a little roomier.

I also whipped up two little zippered pouches, also in Modern Meadow:

It's been a productive day for me! Sorry for the short post. I'll be back soon with more fun projects :)