30 July 2012

Make-A-List Monday: pre-vacation projects


We're planning a trip to Boise next week, I think (how's that for planning?), so I've got some projects I want to get done before then.

Oh, but first my list for last week.
  1.  Press Cowgirl HSTs. Done, even with a little lady who likes to grab me by the legs and not let go. Makes it easy to stay in one place for a long long time!
  2. Clip dog-ears off HSTs. A few "I Love Lucy" re-runs and I finished this one too. It's good to keep the goals smallish, right?
  3. Sew together Cowgirl pinwheels.Um, this is halfway done. I need to press the seams on the first half, then finish the whole pinwheel blocks.
As for this week, Here's what I've got planned:
  1.  Stitch together those Cowgirl pinwheels.
  2. Trace Halloween stitchery #3 (because I finished #2 last night - see it up there? - wahoo!).
  3. Finish stitchery #3.
  4. Make template for Cowgirl pinwheels and start trimming blocks.

There we go. It's our last week of swimming lessons, and life is always crazy busy, but let's see what I can get done, shall we? My husband is still home and has promised me some sewing time, so maybe I'll finish more than I plan. Not holding my breath - this rarely happens!

What's on your list this week? 

28 July 2012

Decision, Decisions

I am horrible at making decisions.

Awful.

I'm glad the ones I do make and stick with (my husband, my kids) are great ones. You'd think I'd get better but I don't.

Especially when it comes to fabric things.

Here we go - I decided to procrastinate doing something else and cut a few circles using my new circle die for my Go! cutter.

All along, I thought I would be doing scrappy circles along with my scrappy Dresdens.


But it feels too busy for me. I'm already planning a pretty busy sashing and setting squares, so I don't want to over-do it.

So then I thought, okay, plain white. Or a white on white tonal.


But that felt too bleh for me.

So then I thought, what about a small polka dot (all of these fabrics, by the way, are from Pam Kitty Morning).


I like. A lot.

I realized while writing this post that what I really sound like is Goldilocks. Too busy. Too bleh. Just right.

But the real question is, do I stick with the yellow dots or go with red dots?

See, I can't make decisions!

But I can host a fabric swap over on flickr - yellow and aqua charms, if you're interested. One yard of each. Come join the fun!

27 July 2012

Friday Finish: Finally, pictures!


Even a quick weekend trip can totally throw off your sew-jo. I've been trying to get back in the swing of things and get to work on stuff, but boy howdy is it hard.

This finish has been finished for a bit now (for my 3Q FAL plans), but I haven't had a chance to take any pictures of it. Until today. I wanted to go to my favorite bridge, but it's windy and I'm not too keen on it falling in the muck. Guess the backyard will have to do.


I seriously love this quilt. I love the colors in this fabric line (Apple of My Eye from Riley Blake). I love the binding - the red/pink herringbone print. Love the back too - the red/pink daisies on aqua.


I know I've gotten a little crazy with the triangle quilts, but it's fun and different for me. I've got one more in the works, made from Lucy's Crab Shack. If I cut a few more triangles, I can make one big enough for my bed. Although I don't need it, but since when has "need" come in to the picture? If our power ever goes out in the wintertime, we're going to be just fine!


The best thing about these giant triangles is how easy they are to put together. The hardest part, really, is laying out all those triangles and keeping baby girl off of them. She likes to rearrange them for me. Silly girly.

I got some fun mail yesterday too - my Accuquilt circle cutters, so I can finish up my PKM Dresdens. Anyone have a great suggestion for a hand-applique book/video/tutorial? I'm in desperate need!

I'm linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, who gets to piece while at the beach - lucky! Also linking up with amylouwho for Sew & Tell Friday - you must go check out the cute jammies she made for her littlelouwhos - adorable!




25 July 2012

WIP Wednesday: where I realize that Halloween isn't that far off

I love Halloween.

I think it's because I love candy. And free candy? Sign me up!

I've got big plans this year. I've got two snuggle quilts to finish. One wall hanging to embroider. And a macaw costume to make (my daughter is determined to push my sewing/crafting skills to the limit every year - last year she was Abigail Adams).

With that, here is what I'm working on.


I finished the first of 12 embroidered blocks and started the second.


I have 11 to go and I've got to start moving it. No more spare computer time for me! Every little minute needs to find me stitching so I can have this lovely girl hanging for most of October.

Although I am taking a few minutes each day to sew these babies together. They are on my list for the 3rd Quarter Finish-A-Long and I've gotta get crackin'!


Linking up! Have a great Wednesday - we might go to the pool this afternoon, so I'm not expecting to get a whole lot done today. Sigh. Summer calls!

WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

23 July 2012

Make-A-List Monday: where I don't have a picture of my finish!

I finished it, I swear.

I have at least five adult witnesses, plus my children and theirs, to swear they saw the finished quilt (from my 3Q FAL list - the sports one).

I just never got a picture of it. It's in the hands of our awesome friends in Seattle. We were so busy the whole time we were there, we didn't have time for quilt pictures. Crazy, I know, but that's life. Maybe I'll ask them to take a picture and send it to me. Then I'll have my proof for you!

We did have a fun weekend. Air show on Saturday, awesome Chinese food Saturday night. Now I'm back, my phone is fixed (LOVE having that man home), I have a new watch (gorgeous anniversary gift!), and I'm ready to work.

Okay, so on last week's list, I had this:

  1.  Piece back for Hall of Fame quilt. I totally rocked this one. The fabric arrived Thursday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
  2. Baste, quilt and bind Hall of Fame quilt. After I pieced and pressed the back, I basted this baby and started quilting. At 12:30 a.m. (I had to feed my kids, get the to bed, and oh, pack my car!), I stopped. I was 2/3 done but I was exhausted. Woke up at 6:30 and finished it by 7:30. Bound it and called it good. They were thrilled with it, so that's awesome.
  3.  Play with HSTs. Meh. Didn't feel like it. But I did do something else, but I'll post later about that.
And now we're on to this week. 

Here's my list:
  1. Press Cowgirl HSTs.
  2. Clip dog-ears off HSTs.
  3. Sew together Cowgirl pinwheels.

I'm sticking with three sewing things because we've got fun stuff planned and lots of housekeeping to do before school (law school and homeschool) starts up again for us.

Oh, and some cool pictures, so my blog isn't super boring. I love airshows.

The first two, in case you are interested, are the Patriots. They are a civilian flying team, made up of retired Blue Angels and Thunderbird pilots. They are awesome.


And yes, that's an explosion in the right up there. It was really loud and shook the ground. I was in line for pizzas and these teenage girls behind me were freaking out. One of them was screaming, "Why is the smoke BLACK?!!" Um, it's not going to be pink, sweetheart.


And this was the best picture I could get of the Thunderbirds. They are the Air Force equivalent of the Blue Angels.


What's on your list this week? I promise more sewing related pictures tomorrow and Wednesday.

17 July 2012

Fabric Tuesday: The case of the missing corner

Happy July 17th!

I woke up to a lovely e-mail from my husband for our anniversary. The day was going well. We were early for swimming lessons.

Then I dropped my phone at the pool. Cracked the screen to heck and back. It still functions, for now.

Lucky me, I married a man who can fix things. So he's ordered a new screen and it will get here Monday. Until then, my phone is uber-fragile (you must say it in Italian).

But my day got better again when I checked the mail. Guess I can't say I never win anything, because I actually won something. Two something. This is the first something:



I won Randi's fat eighth tuesday a couple of weeks ago and it arrived today. I think it was meant to happen.

Now, what to make with it??? Cute  little zipper pouches? A scrappy camera strap? A doll quilt? A pillow?

And I'm still waiting for my fabric to arrive from Texas so I can finish that Hall of Fame quilt. So here's what I've been playing with:


They aren't perfect and I don't much care. They were just some random scraps. Just wanted to play around and make a pillow or something. While I was playing around, something went missing:


I suspect it's my little sticky fingers Caroline. She's not talking though.

Linking up:



Fresh Poppy Design

16 July 2012

Make-A-List Monday: the end is in sight!

My single mom gig is almost over! This time next week, I'll be blogging with my man in the house once more. Heck, I'll be happy just to have him in the same state!

And it's our anniversary this week (11 years!) and there's a present coming my way. I'm wondering what he came up with, because we have a tough time shopping for each other. We both have very specific hobbies and we usually end up giving each other gift cards rather than run the risk of buying the wrong thing.

Okay, enough about that. Surveys say that mushy love stuff does not make good blog content. I'd have to agree.

Here's my list from last week:
  1. Piece Hall of Fame triangle quilt top. DONE!
  2. Finish a library bag for my 4-year-old. Um, forgot this one.
  3. Cut and sew swim bags for my oldest four kids. Nixed this one. They don't need them.
  4. Cut out Twirl Hopscotch quilt. Didn't get to it. Cut something else instead.
  5. Have a sew/cut day with my buddy Alisha (while our collective nine children play in the very small pool in my backyard). Rocked this one. Doing it again this week.
  6. If Hall of Fame top gets pieced, baste it. Sure wish this one were done, but waiting on 1 more yard o' fabric.
  7. If Hall of Fame gets basted, start quilting. See #6.
Wow. I thought I was super productive! But wait - I did finish basting, quilting and binding a quilt (reveal on Friday - sorry for the tease). It takes time to take awesome photos like I do.

While I wait for that fabric to arrive, I just can't sit and twiddle my thumbs, so I'm playing with the scraps from the triangle quilt I just finished.

See? I used my Go! Cutter to cut out HSTs (really little ones) and I'm thinking a throw pillow is in order. Or a doll quilt. We'll see.


As for this week:
  1.  Piece back for Hall of Fame quilt.
  2. Baste, quilt and bind Hall of Fame quilt.
  3.  Play with HSTs.
In non-sewing to-do list, I've got to pack six people up for a weekend in Seattle. I get to have breakfast at my favorite bakery in the entire world. And dinner at an amazing Chinese place.

Sigh. I miss Seattle.

14 July 2012

This is what happens . . .

. . . when big dorks like me don't order enough fabric for the quilt they are wanting to have done by Wednesday night. This coming Wednesday night.

Here's hoping the peeps at the Fat Quarter Shop can get it here in time. As it is, I don't think we're leaving a day early anymore. I'm going to need every last second to get that Hall of Fame quilt done.

And before you ask:

  1. I dug through my stash. I've got nothing that would go well with the print I've got for the back. And no scraps.
  2. I'll have all the pieces cut so when that one lone yard o' fabric arrives, I can whip that back together and get to basting. 
  3. The binding is all ready to go as well.
 In the meantime, I basted and starting quilting this one:


Makes me happy to get to steal five or ten minutes here or there to stitch a row.

I'll keep ya posted on my Hall of Fame quilt!

13 July 2012

Friday Finish: Lucy's Crab Cakes are done!

Check off the first finished quilt of the 3Q FAL baby! I'm determined to plow through that list. With a quilting plow. Or something.

I present to you Lucy's Crab Cakes:


I know, more of my awesome photography skills. I need a new camera. And I need a new backyard. And one of those cool wrought iron beds to put my quilts on. And for this quilt, I need a beach. With a virgin pina colada and a book. And my husband and no kids.

Sorry. Little daydreaming there. But a beach shot would be nice. Sadly, there are no beaches where I live (although I'm not landlocked - just have to travel like Lewis and Clark did to get to the Pacific, and I'm fresh out of canoes).


Backed her in that cute clothesline print. The bikinis crack me up.


This one (above) would be my daughter's favorite block because the name of the city she was born in is written in green (we did live 9 blocks from the ocean at one point - why oh why did we leave?).


And this one is my favorite. I'm actually seriously contemplating a bag made from these fabrics. Think I can convince my husband that I need a new bag? I scored this pattern yesterday (and paid far too much for it, but I'd never seen it before).


I know, it's been out for forever, but I'm not as cool as everyone else. I'm still wearing boot cut jeans when skinny jeans are in style. But I love this bag. It's oh so perfect for me and it just might become my new favorite. Be prepared to see many versions of it soon. I might have to give some as gifts. Might.

Okay, the stats on that quilt up there:

Pattern: Piece of Cake 3 by Camille Roskelley for Thimbleblossoms - it really is a piece of cake, I promise!
The fabric: one Lucy's Crab Shack layer cake, plus some yardage
The size: 63ish X 74ish - the perfect beach blanket (if you're lucky enough to have a beach)
Quilting: meandering loop - I've done this so many times now I might start walking in a meandering loop and that would be bad. Going to switch over to straight lines for a bit before that happens.

Linking up with Sarah at Confessions of a Fabric Addict, who has some pretty amazing finishes on her blog.

Have a great weekend - I'll be plowing. On my sewing machine. Because I like to mix metaphors.

11 July 2012

WIP Wednesday: why didn't I do this before?

I love embroidery. I'm not spectacular at it, but I really like having something that travels well and I can work on anywhere.

So why haven't I started an embroidery project for over two years?

Wait, don't answer that. There is no great reason.

I needed something to take to my church activity last night. I've been wanting to make this wall quilt for a while. I had the fabric. I had the pattern.

So I traced out the first one and got going yesterday afternoon. As it stands now, I'm almost done with the first one.



This might actually get done by Halloween. Shock! Gasp! Eek! Who knew?

And I've got half the Hall of Fame Triangle quilt laid out. I have to keep the door shut on this one because my little miss likes to crawl in and rearrange everything.



Still, it should be done by next Wednesday, no problem. Yeah, my deadline has moved up. My law student wants us to come up a day early so we can play. I'm all for that. And he just might let me do a little fabric shopping . . .

Linking up!



Have a great week and I'll see you Friday, because I have a finished quilt to show off. Just need to go to the pool to take some pictures!

09 July 2012

Make a List Monday and One Thing, One Week Challenge

Last week, Amy over at Amy's Creative Side hosted another One Thing, One Week challenge. I was up for something smallish, what with the holiday and all.

My goal was to cut up my Lucy's Crab Shack FQ bundle into triangles. And I did it, between all the barbecues, pool days, cherry pies, fireworks (oh my goodness, the fireworks!), hikes, and fried chicken (twice because I love my husband that much).


Not only did I get those cut, but I scored a stack o' 2.5" squares from the scraps using my Go! cutter.



On the list for this week:

  1. Piece Hall of Fame triangle quilt top.
  2. Finish a library bag for my 4-year-old.
  3. Cut and sew swim bags for my oldest four kids.
  4. Cut out Twirl Hopscotch quilt.
  5. Have a sew/cut day with my buddy Alisha (while our collective nine children play in the very small pool in my backyard).
  6. If Hall of Fame top gets pieced, baste it. 
  7. If Hall of Fame gets basted, start quilting.
I have to have that Hall of Fame quilt done by next Thursday night. I might be calling for some babysitting assistance!

08 July 2012

Third Quarter FAL Plans

2012 Finish-A-Long


Well, 5 out of 8 last quarter was pretty fantastic. 8 was a little ambitious, but if I don't go big, I go home. Or something like that.

So here's to going big.

My 3rd Quarter FAL list is twice as long plus four.

Yep. 20 projects.

Several of these are just needing basting, quilting and binding. I'm determined to clear off that top shelf in my sewing room and give some quilts away for birthdays and Christmas this year.

So here goes:

1. First, this triangle quilt made from the Apple of My Eye fabrics. Baste, quilt, bind, done.


2. I've had this one cut for forever. A couple of weeks ago, I unearthed it and stitched together the HSTs. This one will take some more work, but it's going to be super cute when it's done! I'm thinking it will be for my baby girl.


3. Pardon the blurry picture.  I finished piecing this one last summer and it has been sitting. No more sitting! Part of the reason is that there is a mistake in there, and I've debated fixing it. But I know I have to, even if it involves a seam ripper (my Hermione Granger wand/seam ripper is still forthcoming). Once that mistake is fixed, it's a baste, quilt, bind, done.


4. My Sunkissed Granny squares. And I'm going to hand-quilt it. Yep. A first for me, let me tell you. But I ordered some Finca Perle cotton (even got myself a color card) and I've just got to kidnap my mom's little quilting frame. It should be fun!


5. My mother of a granny squares quilt. This baby is queen sized. I've got a pieced border I'm still working on/arguing with, but it's coming together. And it's awesome! So I've got to finish that border, then baste, quilt, bind. Question - would you hand quilt this, or not? I've got the Finca Perle for it, but as it is going on my bed, I'm not sure. Advice please!


6. I fussy cut a mess of those Holiday Hostess squares for this quilt. I love that fabric that much. Just another to add to my red/white quilt collection for Christmas. I'm thinking this girl is getting backed in red minky though. Because this is going to be my snuggle quilt for the holidays.


7 and 8. I bought a FQ bundle back when I lived in Seattle of the L'Amour collection. I made these two Valentine's quilts. The backs are going to be awesome - I centered the quilt panels that came with the bundle. Can't wait! So, baste, quilt, bind, done.



9. A nine-patch baby quilt using Love U fabric. Baste, quilt, bind, done.


10. My love affair with Lucy continues. Also my love affair with triangles. It's a healthy (and soon to be warm) obsession. Gotta piece this girl, then baste, quilt, bind.


11. This one is so close to being done. Just gotta quilt it and bind it. It's my new picnic blanket. LOVE this fabric. I've been dreaming in Lucy's Crab Shack colors for weeks now.


12. Another one started last summer. All the blocks are pieced. I just need a fancy stitch to attach those circles on the center of each block. Then I'll piece the top and, you guessed it, baste, quilt, bind, done. My oldest girl has claimed this one.


13. This red string quilt for a friend's wedding. HAS to be done by the end o' August. Nothing like a deadline to get this girl moving.


14. I might have quite a few Christmas quilts to finish. But then, it's cold in December. They are SUPER useful! Baste, quilt, bind, done.


15. Yep, another Christmas quilt. Again. But I have five children. Who don't like to share their cozy blankets.


16. My yellow and orange string quilt that I love. That my husband loves. The back is pieced. Just need to baste it and quilt it and then find a binding I like. I'm thinking the small chevrons from Riley Blake in orange. Thoughts?


17. We're having an activity at church Tuesday night where we just get to work on projects. My goal is to get this one cut out. Guess I should press those jelly strips first. I'm excited for this one - LOVE this pattern.


18. The most popular quilt I've ever made. My oldest son's birthday is in November and I've got to get this one done well before that time (my three oldest children are within 4 days of each other, so I've got to be on top of the whole birthday thing by the end of summer). We'll be backing it in red minky because red is his favorite color and minky is awesome. That star print glows in the dark - it's so cool.


19. I desperately need a cover for my sewing machine. I needed one for my Husky - my kids liked to put pins inside it (a very not happy husband got them out each time). My Henry likes to open the side thingy on my Juki and remove a spring. Makes me bonkers. Plus, a sewing machine cover is just a good idea. I'm making a set like this one from Bloom and Blossom:



I'll be using Mama Said Sew for it, so I've got what I need on pre-order from Pink Castle Fabrics (how awesome is that?!).

And one more, that needs a picture. I'm making a "Thank You" quilt for the family my husband has been staying with all summer. They are great friends and we're so blessed to have them in our lives. I'm making another triangle quilt using Emily Herrick's Hall of Fame fabric (they are HUGE baseball fans!).
 
So that is twenty projects total! Holy Schmoley!

Linking up at Quilter in the Gap for the party - come join the fun. Make a long list!