WIP Wednesday: the one with Pam Kitty Morning

Woke up under this quilt this morning. If old wives' tales are true, I should have dreamt of the man I would marry. I didn't do that - as I am already happily married, that sort of dream didn't seem like a good idea.

But it was a lovely quilt to sleep under.

Isn't she purty?


Love this quilt. Loved the fabric. Loved the pattern. Loved it all.

It's the biggest quilt I've ever FMQed, but I managed okay with a meandering loopy stitch that washed up gorgeous and crinkly.
The weather cooperated and gave me some snow to take pictures on. I'm ready to make another one - I have enough left over fabric to make a baby quilt.

More pictures to come on Friday.

As for my WIP list, I've been a busy girl.

I wiped this one off, and I basted another quilt last night and will start quilting it this afternoon.

I pulled out another UFO and was working on it when I realized that my iron was transferring the blue of my ironing board cover fabric to my quilt blocks. Grrr. Not happy. So I'm waiting until payday (tomorrow) and I can get a new, better cover. I know I should recover it myself, but I don't need to add another WIP, do I? I won't be buying a cover at Walmart this time around though.

In other news, I'm sewing for my husband's birthday on Saturday. Just some jammies and a tool thingy he's wanted for a while. I'm not so good at winging it, so I hope that turns out well.

Linking up:

Fabric Tuesday: the one with just one picture

That's what I'm doing today. Quilting my PKM Victory Garden quilt. I'm two-thirds through it and I'm so excited to be done. Clearing off that top shelf in my sewing room is feeling great!

The rest of my week will be prepping for my husband's birthday on Saturday. I've got a couple of easy things to stitch up (some jammies and a "tool thing" that he's wanted for forever). I'm hoping to baste another quilt in the meantime.

And I've been thinking. About me, and sewing, and friendship.

So much of blogging, for me, is about meeting people and making friends, about having this common thread, if you'll pardon the pun.

A good friend invited me over for a girl's night. I asked what we'd be doing.

Long pause.

We wouldn't be doing anything. Just hanging out.

And I didn't want to go. I made some excuse, probably about the baby or being tired or something else, because I didn't know, at the time, why I didn't want to go.

Since I'm wont to over-think everything, I over-thought this one.

And I figured it out. I like to be doing something, even when I'm with friends. Especially when I'm with friends. Sewing, stitching, cutting, whatever. I like to visit, but I like to be busy. When I do get free moments of time, I want to be doing something. So much of my day involves doing nothing (well, nursing a baby is something, but it's pretty stationary and doesn't allow for much more than blog surfing, which I LOVE).

Your thoughts? I think I would have liked to have been a part of big quilting bees and groups and such. Where I live (middle o' nowhere Idaho), there isn't a quilt group I can join. So I'm a part of this big, awesome virtual quilt group. And it makes me happy, even if I do get the reputation of being anti-social.

Have a great Tuesday!

Oh, linking up:

Finish it up Friday: the one where I'm most certainly not a robot

What's that?

I'm most certainly not a robot?

She's gone nuts over here.

Most likely because I'm having to prove over and over again that I'm not a robot.

I have the word verification thingy turned off, and here's why. I never get spam. Perhaps I'm not important enough, or popular enough, to be bothered with. Either way, hasn't happened.

Now, if I do get a couple here and there, I'd rather I have to just delete it than torment the people nice enough to comment on my blog with straining their eyes, trying to figure out two blurry, sometimes nonsense words. Not going to do that to you. It's my way of saying "Thanks for commenting!"

Phew. I'm done. But I urge you to seriously consider turning it off. Just try it. If you get spam, blame me and turn it back on if the spam annoys you that much.

Okay, on to the finishes!

I've blogged two of these this week, but I have different pictures this time, so they are kinda new to the awesome 17 followers I have. By the way - I got a little giddy when the number hit 15. Don't know what I'll do when/if I ever get to something really big, like 30!

This first is my Happy Campers postage stamp quilt. It's going to be my husband's birthday present, which is why there isn't a full shot, as his 6'2" self was not allowed to hold it up.

So this is what happens when you hold it yourself and ask your six-year-old son to take the picture:

Cool, but not what I was going for. At least it's so blurry you can't tell that I need to sweep.

A roll-up shot. I love a good roll-up shot. I'm working on mine.
And I love a plaid binding.

I needed to wrap up in it after I stood in my sludgy lawn (the snow is melted and the homeowners we rent from never much cared if they had grass or mud, so it's mostly mud).

Next is a baby boy quilt that I hope goes to my darling friend who is expecting her sixth child. The first five were girls, so we're crossing our fingers on this one.


The last two finishes are just fun little ones. My son William (who can't take a picture) asked for a book basket he can put on his bed. I spent some (okay, a lot) time on Pinterest looking for an idea. I found this one and adjusted the size so the books would fit.
I like it okay, but I need to play around with it some more. I want the sides higher, and I want to add handles next time. My daughter wants some for her doll clothes. I like them because they don't break like the plastic bins do.

And there were square scraps when I was all done with the fabric baskets (I made four). So I made a quilt for William's bear and bird. His sister has a gazillion doll quilts and he needed one for his animals. Happy to oblige.
I backed it with the glow-in-the-dark star fabric that's on his yet-to-be-quilted R2D2 quilt.

And now, the progress. Working on one of my mini quilts - this one is selfishly all about me. I love cake. LOVE cake. I got a baking and pastry degree for Pete's sake. Yes, I love cake.

So I found this paper piecing pattern and decided to make six slices. One for six of my favorite cakes: carrot, red velvet, old-fashioned birthday cake, devil's food, lemon and coconut. The coconut is not working out well - white cake with white frosting is tough to execute. But it's my favorite favorite. What to do. Still, what do you think?
The carrot cake is pretty bright orange though, right? I might remake it with a softer orange if I can find one in my stash. That one is a little over the top, but it works.

Last, I've been cutting granny square prep while my kids do their lessons. I busted out my Sew Cherry FQ bundle and have been happily slicing and dicing. The quilt along is starting next week. Can't wait!

Linking up today with crazy mom quilts and

Check them all out. It's my favorite thing to do on Fridays, to browse all the finishes and progress. And leave nice comments. Even if I have to prove I'm not a robot perpetually!

ETA: I can't believe I keep forgetting to blog my super fave finish this week:

Source: swagbucks.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Seriously. Loved. This. Finish.

Red dress? Snowy proposal? Can't beat it. I'll be watching it over and over again until the new season comes out. Love my Downton Abbey.

WIP Wednesday: the one with the cheerleader and where I lost some {WIP} weight

When I was in high school, I desperately wanted to be a cheerleader. Not a basketball cheerleader, a football cheerleader (there was a difference, and I liked football better).

Instead, I played sousaphone in the marching band - if you beg me, I might be able to unearth a photo.

But one of my favorite cheers went something like this:

W - H - I - P
Whip 'em to victory
Whip (ch)
Whip 'em good!
{clap clap clap}

repeat

That little cheer was going through my head after my last WIP Wednesday post. Oh, and that (ch) is supposed to be a whip crack sound.

I whipped 'em good this last week.

Finishes:

Pulled this Happy Campers postage stamp quilt off my top shelf, basted it, quilted it and bound it. Hiding it away as a birthday present for my always-freezing-in-his-office husband.

I also pulled this quilt off the shelf. It was cut and ready to be pieced, so I whipped it up over the weekend. Now if my good friend will only have a baby boy this go 'round.
I'm counting these next two as partial finishes - the tops are done and they get to move on up to the top shelf as they wait for me to get more batting.

My Sunkissed granny squares are done. Just in time for me to start another one - see below. I didn't have enough of that creamy neutral for the extra-wide borders, so it's a generous baby/toddler quilt size. I'll give it to my Little Miss Sunshine.

The tutorial is here, for those who are interested.

This next one languished forever. I made the blocks using the last of this buttery strawberry print - I loved it so much, I made an apron out of it.

Well, I finally figured out how I would sash it. Once that was figured out, it was just a matter of getting to work. And work I did. The whole quilt needs to be pressed, so here is just one of the blocks:

Up to the top shelf!

On to the WIPs:

My goal is to sew 10 Dresdens a week until I run out of wedges. I have NO idea how long that will take, but here are a few of them:
I really, really, REALLY love them.

And if one granny square quilt wasn't enough, I jumped feet first into the Granny Square Quilt-a-long. Check it out. And join. You know you want to.

I'd thought of using some PKM for it, but I didn't want to burn myself out on that fabric. Gotta keep the passion alive for those Dresdens or I really will feel like I'm in a sweatshop.

So I dug out my Sew Cherry FQ bundle and am pressing it and cutting it this weekend in preparation for the quilt-a-long. Can't wait!
And finally, in progress is my Modern Mini challenge. Well, I'm making two of them. And you get to vote on which one I should enter - how awesome is that!

This pile o' PKM scraps (and a few others - I'm not so cool I have lots of scraps just yet) is going to make two very cute paper-pieced mini quilts.

And I've got a giveaway in the works. I've set a goal and once that goal is reached, I'm going to celebrate by giving away some charm packs (Ruby!!!!) and a couple of Thimbleblossom patterns. Keep watching - it's coming!

Linking up:



See you next Wednesday! Come back on Friday for my finish post - might whip something else good!

Fabric Tuesday: the one with the sick baby

I was an awesome busy girl this weekend.

No, really. And at the sewing machine, no less.

That long WIP list made me feel more than just a smidge guilty. I couldn't stand it anymore, so I pulled down this quilt that was already cut and ready to be stitched together.

I finished binding it yesterday morning. It felt AWESOME! Who knew it felt so good to start and finish a project in one weekend? I might have to try this again.

But now I'm on to wiping a few more things off that WIP list.

My Sunkissed granny squares top is done, the backing is ready and . . . I'm out of batting the right size. So I'm waiting for next month and hopefully a batting sale at JoAnn's.

I sashed and bordered my strawberry pinwheel quilt. Have to piece the back for that and it's ready for quilting as well. And . . . no batting. Sigh.

The good news is that I'm working on this one:

My Happy Campers postage stamp quilt. Just doing diagonal lines on it and I'm halfway done - would be finishing that up today but . . .

Yep, the sick baby mentioned in the title. She was running a fever during the night, which meant we were both up a lot. Now she's super clingy and she just wants to be snuggled. Since I don't have a grandparent or great aunt here to help out with the snuggling, I'll get to do it.

And the big kids get a bit of a break from homeschooling lessons.

But things are getting done. I just need to tell my family I want batting for my birthday. Boy, will they laugh at that!

More on the WIP list tomorrow - we'll see what I get done today. I might have to go back to piecing tops in anticipation of the batting coming my way!

Linking up!

Finish it up Friday: the one with Granny and yet another bag

I think I might be the only person who isn't excited it's Friday. Crazy, right?

Since most days are the same whether it's Monday or Saturday, Friday doesn't really mean much. My law student husband doesn't go to school on Saturdays, it's true, but he's going shooting with friends tomorrow so it's really not a day off for me.

I've been sewing lots this past week (when I find a moment), but I've only got one finished, completed, cross-it-off-the-list project to show. But it makes me happy because it's pretty and useful.

I present yet another drawstring bag.

I've had that rainbow fabric for ages and finally put it to use. This bag now contains our Magna-tiles (truly the world's greatest toy and the most popular one at my house). They were stored in ugly gallon-sized Ziplocs and it was making me nuts. So a rainbow drawstring bag came of it.

By the way, order some of those things. If you have lots of kids, order three sets. They are awesome and you'll find yourself playing with them too. My kids make rockets and houses and spaceships and my daughter even made a cuttlefish. Seriously. It was so cool!

My granny squares are all done - hooray! I loved how they turned out and now I'm on to the sashing and bordering and quilting. Love this little quilt already. Someone on flickr commented that it made them crave rainbow sherbet. Didn't think of that when I made it, but I can totally see it!
And my Ruby granny squares - Ruby was a granny, so it makes sense, right? More of these to come when my big girl Ruby charm packs arrive.
I have big plans - I always have big plans. I've got some sashing to do on another quilt and then I'm determined to finish that one, once and for all, and cross it off the list. Wish me luck - and have a great weekend! Any big plans for the holiday?

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.

Where have I been?

Hi, my name is Jennie and I've been living under a rock somewhere. I only NOW jumped on the Ruby bandwagon. But then I've been known to only catch on to the latest fashion when it's on it's way out. At least Ruby isn't on it's way out!

I acquired a baby Ruby charm pack and it's been residing in my windowsill, in all it's cuteness, for a couple of weeks.

Along came the granny squares.

I finished my Sunkissed ones and had a few neutral squares left over.

That mini Ruby charm pack jumped off the windowsill and into my hand faster than you can say "Camille Roskelley."

It made two darling granny square blocks.

I might have ordered some big girl Ruby charm packs so I could make a big girl quilt out of them.

Might have.

Given my huge WIP list, that would be ridiculous, right?

But I'm a ridiculous girl!

p.s. Have you seen the granny square flickr group? Be inspired. Or tempted. Or distracted. You pick!

WIP Wednesday - the one where I come clean

Deep breath.

I'm coming clean. Warning: longish post!

As I've said before, I've got quilting ADHD. I know it.

I start something full steam ahead. Some projects I finish because I'm super excited about them. Others, I lose interest in. Or it frustrates me.

My goal this year is to finish all this stuff.

As I distracted myself from it all with some granny squares (but I've got 12 done!), I don't know if that will happen.

Still, for you viewing pleasure:

The top shelf

Quilts that make it to the top shelf are done. As in the top is done. They still need to be quilted. A lot of these were pieced while I was finishing my degree at UW. I only had my little Husky back then, so I couldn't quilt them yet. I got my Juki as a graduation present.

Why aren't they all quilted? Well, in my defense, seven have been quilted. And we moved. And my husband started law school. And I had a baby. Some are waiting for my FMQ skills to improve on smaller projects. Stuff like that. But seven is awesome. I'd never counted it up before, so I'm super excited.

So, on the Waiting to be Quilted list:

• William's R2D2 quilt - just finished this one
• Holiday Hostess quilt
• Red/Aqua barn raising quilt
• Red/Aqua Dutch pinwheels quilt
• L'Amour quilt #1
• L'Amour quilt #2 - yep, there are two - maybe they'll be done by next Valentine's day?
• Dream On orange/pink quilt - I started FMQ this one, but had some serious tension issues, so I'm begrudgingly bonding with my seam ripper
• Dream On blue/green
• Double Hourglass Christmas quilt
• Easy as Cake Christmas quilt
• Rolling Pins Christmas quilt
• Love U baby quilt
• PKM Victory Garden quilt
• Happy Camper postage stamp quilt

The rest of the shelves:

These are all quilts in various stages - some just need the entire top pieced. Others are in the block stage. Some of these are just "here's the jelly roll and the pattern - start it later" stage.

On the Piecing list:

• Indian Summer Nine-Patch quilt - working on the borders now
• Delft Blue Dutch Pinwheels - this one is frustrating me - started piecing it on my Husky - should just finish it on my Husky
• Yellow/Orange string quilt - the goal is to make this one big enough for my bed - which means I need 20ish more blocks - yeah, a little burnt out on this one for now - I'll pull it out this summer
• Strawberry pinwheel quilt - finally figured out what I'm going to do with the sashing on this on, so I'm working on that this week - top might be done really soon!
• Red/Aqua pinwheels - after quilting 2 red/aqua quilts, I'm giving myself a little break from staring at these colors. Still love them. Just need a break
• Quite Contrary Kaleidoscope - just need to applique the circles onto the blocks then piece the tops.
• Oh Cherry Oh funky pinwheels - another frustrating one - this time it's my Juki. I just want a high shank 1/4" foot that doesn't have the little guide thing on the side. Is that too much to ask?
• Christmas string quilt - see yellow/orange string quilt - will work on it when I get some of the others cleared out
• Sweet Divinity quilt - in the middle of it
• PKM Dresden plates - that would be the Dresden sweatshop I disappear into from time to time
• Sunkissed Granny Squares - 12 blocks done!

Quilts in the Prepped Stage:

• Cowboy Nieces and Nephews baby quilt - cut - just need to be pieced
• Cowgirl Saltwater Taffy quilt - cut - just needs to be pieced
• Ready Set Snow Matchbox quilts - yep, two of them - cut and ready
• Christmas Tree quilt - cut and ready
• Halloween zig zag
  

And quilts in the Design Stage:

• Richard Scarry quilts for the boys
• Max and Whiskers quilt
• Oh Cherry Oh Dottie quilts
• Strawberry Fields quilt
• Twirl quilt
• PKM Good morning quilt
• PKM pinwheel quilt
• Spiderweb quilt
• Ruby flannel bed quilt
  

There you have it. My before pictures, kinda like people who are serious about weight loss and they take the before picture. I'm hoping in six months time my after picture is "slimmer."

Oh, and this is just quilts. Don't get me started on the girl dresses, husband jammies, bags, etc. And it is all interrupted regularly by: a hungry baby girl, a stuffed animal in need of emergency stitches, and dinner prep.

Wish me luck! Feels good to confess. Brownies for those who read the whole thing!

Linking up:

Happy Valentine's Day!

find your Downton Abbey valentine here - there's four and they are awesome!

Have a lovely day!

Weekend with Granny

And I enjoyed every blessed, distracted minute of it!

Happy Monday - going to see if I can finish all these blocks this week and get the top done - wish me luck! What are you up to this week?

Linking up:

Distracted . . .

Tell me I'm not the only one with quilting ADHD?

Source: Uploaded by user via Jennie on Pinterest

I'm happily plugging away in my Dresden plate sweatshop when, whilst ironing, I spy two Sunkissed charm packs that look so lost and lonely. I bought them, not knowing what I would do with them.

Enter pinterest.

See, I have a four-month-old baby girl who is a princess and feeds on demand. And boy is she demanding.

So, to save my sanity, I joined pinterest. And the rest is history.

I found this tutorial (I'm not the only one to find it!) and have been wondering what I would use to make it. I don't have enough scraps just yet - not as cool as the rest of you.

Enter those charm packs.

So I chopped them into 2.5" squares and ignored them while I made more Dresden plates.

It's snowing today (how's that for justification?) and I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to make some granny square blocks.

So I made one. It was super easy. So I made two.

Aren't they cute?

I think I might make more. Shhhhhh. Don't tell the Dresden bosses!

Finish it up Friday: the one with the bags and R2D2

Source: uppercasegallery.ca via Jennie on Pinterest

That's my inspiring quote of the year. I turn 35 this year and I've been thinking about how I haven't done much. Well, when I'm being a dork I think I haven't done much. Then I think about what I have done:

• completed my bachelor's degree (I was pregnant twice during this process, had two newborns along the way)
• Made five beautiful babies
• Attended one of the best culinary schools
• Got my husband into law school

So Julia is my inspiration, because there is so much more I want to do!

On to my week. Didn't get a whole lot done.

See, there I go again. I did get a whole lot done, but not a lot on the sewing front. Not what I wanted to get done. But I'm super excited with what I did accomplish.

Made these two bags for my oldest daughter. She needed some bags, she tells me, for stuff. Roger that. I bought this pattern (buy the pattern - the tutorial one is awesome, but all the different sizes are so great - I've got plans to make dozens more!).

Can you tell she likes kitty cats?

On to the Dresden saga. I'm still loving my Dresdens. I love that I can sit down and do one if I only have a few minutes, or get five done if I have more time (which I never do). The box of wedges is always on my sewing table so that when I can, I steal away and make another one.

I tried out a just pinks and reds. Your thoughts? I'm kinda liking it. I've got another one ready to sew that is just greens and yellows and it's super cute too. Who knows, I might just make them into pillows.

Source: etsy.com via Jennie on Pinterest

This is my William. He is my oldest son (6). He is the only child I have who has eyes like mine.
Seriously, how do you say no to those eyes? I can't. And when he told me his blanket was falling apart, I had to do something. I had to set aside the girly Dresdens to make a manly quilt for my big boy.

There's a backstory here - see, William's blanket that is falling apart was a quilt we'd received when we got married. When he was little, he adopted it. It goes everywhere with him and has been much loved. But the binding is falling to pieces and there are several other issues. And it's kinda girly too.

Enter a quilt made to look like his favorite Star Wars character. R2D2. I am so unbelievably proud of this quilt. It is the very first non-baby quilt I've made with a specific person in mind. I love love love how it turned out.

He's standing on a chair for me and it's still too big for him to hold up. See that smile? So worth it. Just have to get some red minky to back it with, baste, quilt and bind and I've got one happy little man!

The background and borders is this awesome star print by Michael Miller. And the stars glow in the dark. So cool. Now he'll want me to turn off the light at night!

That's been my week. Linking up with crazy mom quilts and Confessions of a Fabric Addict.