Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Coming soon: Craft room re-do

My husband and father in law are remodeling our laundry/crafting room right now. The old room was small, dingy and gross. It's still going to be small, but hopefully clean and well organized, and a bit brighter with better lighting.

The timing should coincide with my schedule calming down a little. I hope so anyway. I haven't been able to sew for three months.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Selvedge quilt label!

I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I saw it on the Marcus blog. Neat-o!!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Cute beach bag for SIL



I sewed up this cute beach bag for my SIL's birthday. I hope she'll like it. I had picked up the outer fabric as a remnant at JoAnn and the lining is Freshcut. I wish I would have realized that the color looks a bit washed out on the leaves and taken new pics. Oh well! Note to self for next time. :)

Plus, aren't those peonies gorgeous?? I love when they are in bloom.

Meds for life?

When trying to get preggo with my daughter, I found out I have PCOS. Only a few of the symptoms are present for me. Now, I found out I have hypothyroidism and will most likely have to take meds for it for the rest of my life. Plus I just started birth control pills to regulate my crazy-a** periods since my daughter was born.

I'm hoping that will help me kick the weight I have gained and to have more emotional equilibrium. I really don't look forward to taking a pill every day for the rest of my life, but I guess if it has to be, it has to be.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Patchwork lottery


I decided on a whim to make 3 blocks for a patchwork lottery here. It was simple, and I had some scraps to use up for it. It would be neat to win the blocks back, but I also am happy that someone else might be happy with them too.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Late, but done!


I just sent out a quilt for a close friend from college's son. He already turned one. Better late than never. It really has been a chaotic year.



It was all stash, which is great. I started it by pulling the red pictographic print from Chloe's Closet by Moda. I think it is called 26 Letters. It is an old one and I only had half a yard of it. The quilt is made up of 6.5 inch squares (finished size). The backing is the same as the binding: a blue and red woven.



I tried a new machine binding as well. I first followed the directions from Modern Quilt Workshop to make the binding with a 1" bias tape tool. I thought it looked a bit flimsy after I sewed it on so I went back over it with a zig zag stitch. I like it for a rough and tumble kids quilt.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Giveaway over at Mid-Ohio Quilter

Mid-Ohio Quilter is having a giveaway over at her site. She wants to know what you would like to see at the Moda Bakeshop.

My comment was: How about a softie out of a layer cake? Maybe a bird? Or since Christmas fabric is coming out it could be a dove softie Christmas ornament made with a charm pack or layer cake.

I have it in my mind. Glace by 3 Sisters, with wings attached by buttons. Maybe even finding some sort of olive branch sprig in the floral dept. to attach by hand to a felt beak.

Hey, since I've got a vision, maybe I should try my hand at a tutorial!

Surfin all day, surfin all night

Ok, so admittedly I have been living overseas and should be taking in all the sights and sounds, really living it up. The reality is that Ella is happier with regular and lengthy naps, of somewhat unpredictable timing. I find myself on the internet all the time when she sleeps. I'm entering burnout (and my wallet can't handle anymore fabric purchases online) but I have found a couple neat things.

How awesome are these iron ons? Iron Me On and Sukie Iron Ons, available from Chronicle Books.



I've also been updating a very informal and by no means comprehensive list of tutorials I have noticed and want to keep in mind. It's in my side bar.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Ric rac binding--how cute!

I just found this tutorial on making a ric rac binding, and thought I'd share. Neat idea!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Stop, Drop and Roll

Yeah! (big grin) I won, I won, I won! (little happy dance)

I won a copy of Heather Mulder Peterson's Stop, Drop and Roll. I haven't played around yet with jelly rolls so this will be a great starting point. She says it is also fat quarter friendly. I do have plenty of those sitting around. Getting Ziggy With It is probably my favorite from her preview post.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

I've tagged myself

Heather Mulder Peterson has offered up her newest book to the first 5 people who tag themselves. I willingly signed up! I've always been a fan of her patterns and color combos and can't wait to see Stop, Drop and Roll.

Here are 6 or 7 random facts about me:

1. I also played softball in high school. I wasn't that great but our team overall was excellent for our league. I was an outfielder, mostly left field. Never broke a bat though.

2. Speaking of sports, I also have varsity letters in track (the thought of me sprinting around a track makes me want to laugh now), basketball and football cheerleading (is this a sport? maybe not). I was on the volleyball team my freshman year and only after that switched to cheerleading. Mostly, I miss the fabulous legs I had then.

3. My six month old daughter has already been on 3 continents. I actually highly recommend traveling with them at this age. They can't walk or crawl and can sleep in the stroller. I'm typing this from Prague, where I'm living for a couple of months. I know, lucky me! It's for DH's work.

4. I went to the coolest quilt/craft convention ever in Melbourne, Australia. It is called The Stitches & Craft Show. It was so worth getting soaking wet in the rain to get in. (It was raining cats & dogs!) There were fabulous supplies, including some indie fabric screenprinters, spectacular classes which I'm still disappointed that I didn't take, beautiful quilts on display, lectures, and other inspiring goodies. We totally have to copy this concept in the US. I will make a future blog post about it when I get home in June.

5. Until I was in college, I had only been in 4 states, no further west than Des Moines and no further east than Dixon, IL. We took annual vacations to northern Minnesota which I loved. My parents don't travel a lot, which is a total understatement.

6. My secret dream (ok not so secret now) is to design fabric. I think I could do it. I'm obsessed with pattern and color. Will I ever have the courage to pursue it, even if it goes nowhere?

7. I'm realizing how much I thrive in a structured schedule even though I don't think of myself that way. Somehow I find it comforting and reassuring. Go figure!

I don't know who to tag. I like that Heather did it voluntarily, so I'll do it that way too. I feel a bit uncomfortable that I might be imposing otherwise. Let me know if you want to share! I would love to hear from you!!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

I can't wait to actually sew

I feel like I've taken a 1 year hiatus from quilting, and I practically have. However, fabric "collecting" has been in full stride. I've even got fabric waiting for me at home in the mail. LOL

I've got more fabric than I can use and need to go on a fabric diet. (Not a starvation diet though...) I just can't help it. With every season comes more and more fabric I love.

I need to work on the Sonnet quilt from long ago, finish the quilt-a-long quilt, and I have a layer cake of Chic or Treat waiting to be made with this quilt pattern I picked up while in Australia.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Park City Girl's Quilt Festival

This post is for Park City Girl's Quilt Festival, which by the way is a fabulous idea!

My favorite quilt is the one I made for my daughter, now 6 months old. It is hanging on the wall in her bedroom.

It started when I bought a set of Freshcut fat quarters, mostly the peach-y fabrics. I thought immediately that they would make a great quilt if I ever had a little girl. DH and I had said we were going to try having a baby about a half year prior to the release of that fabric. Nothing had happened yet, but over time, I collected some additional fabrics, figured out what pattern I would use, and started cutting out pieces.

Still, no LO on the way. Eventually, enough time went by (2 years) with nothing happening that we began fertility treatments. By this point I had started slowly sewing blocks together. It was the 3rd treatment cycle, and 2 1/2 years after starting to get pregnant, that finally worked (and I'm thankful because I've heard so many people tried much much longer). Needless to say, the news that I was finally pregnant spurred me on to finish the quilt. It's one of those things that I think represented how much I hoped to have my daughter even when I got down about not being pregnant for month after month. I'm not really sure why, but in my heart I always thought I would have her. I think she already likes the quilt as she will look at it when I hold her in the rocking chair in front of it.




All this talk is making me wish I was home. I never took a photo of her room so what I've got to post is the pic of it right before it went to the quilter.

I can't wait to read all the posts about favorite quilts!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

A little bit homesick, in a good way

So still no sewing for me, but I have been dreaming of sewing things. I've been without a sewing machine since early Feb, and will be through May. I've been traveling the world, collecting lots of goodies (mostly fabric!) along the way. Plus the fall I was so busy with my new baby daughter, then with all the packing and wrapping up my life to be gone for a while. I'm so jealous to look at everyone's blogs and see all the neat things they are making.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

New Fabric studio

I just heard of this new fabric studio called Studio E. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for their fabrics. I like what I see so far. I have no idea where to find a shop that carries them.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Have to put this on my to do list

This pattern uses a fat quarter for the outside, and it is totally cute.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Yummy Balsamic potatoes

I made the potatoes from this link last night for friends. I thought I made waaaay to many and would have leftovers. They were so yummy that they were all gone by the end of the evening.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Connecting Threads free patterns




I just found some cute free patterns online at Connecting Threads. [Images are from their site.]

The pillow would look cute in some leftover fabric from DD's quilt. My problem now is that I have more ideas than time to do them. Actually, that has always been a problem. I'm envious of those who can sew quickly. :)