Fabric Tuesday: Is it October yet?

I know the sky and the thermostat say it's July, but I'm dreaming of October already. I LOVE October. Pumpkin everything, unless it's apple everything. Sweater weather. Soup weather. Football games. It's the best!

I fell in love with this fabric bundle by Anka's Treasures called Home for the Harvest. I love that it's fall, but it's got bright oranges and turquoise and green in there, along with a gorgeously rich brown. I purchased the kit for the table runner (pattern available here), but I just had to have a quilt too. Here's my tablerunner from last fall:

 I added a few polka dots and ginghams to coordinate and have been working on this one off and one for a few months now. 

My sewing buddy Heather just moved into a new house with a whole lot of floor space, so she let me come over and lay it out in her currently empty living room.  I cannot wait to back this baby in some cozy flannel and get snuggled up with it on my couch this fall!

The pattern is Open Season from this book, although I did modify the cutting instructions to use a fat quarter bundle instead, but that's how I roll. I also added an entire column of flying geese, along with the requisite sashing. Again, because I like bigger cozier quilts. And this one is going to be a favorite, I can already tell.

Happy Tuesday all! Time to enter the Weekender Bag sweatshop!

Zippity-doo-dah, Zippity-eh: zippy pouch instant gratification

I really love instant gratification. When you've got a mile-high pile of flimsies that are just waiting to get quilted at your sis-in-law's, you gotta do something.

And it got even better. I was looking for zippers when I happened upon a bunch of zippy bags I'd cut out two Christmases as gifts. Oops! So I got to sewing - no cutting necessary! Love that kind of sewing - sort of "just add water and get a bowl full of brownies" awesome!

I used this pattern, but didn't do the wrist strap because I didn't want to. Simple as that. Still, I like the boxy bottom modification and the little pockets inside.

These two are for my neice, so I'll give them as a Valentine's gift (and they match her Sophia bag!):

These two are for my mother-in-law. Another Valentine's gift!

My purple loving girl has already filled one of these with colored pencils and markers:

I've got about six more cut out, and plans for more. I like it because it works well with directional prints. I'll be cutting out some more, but then I want to try out this pattern because I like the gussets and that the zipper goes around three sides so you can open it pretty wide.

Comfort

Finished my word block for the do.Good Stitches bee. Low volume and ever' thing! Kinda proud of myself. First time doing the freezer paper version of paper piecing. I do like Elizabeth Hartman's refrigerator magnet pattern. Very user friendly, and great instructions.

Now what to do for my second block? I was going to do more words, but phew, those are lots of work! Thought about a churn dash using this aqua, some grey and white. We'll see what I decide tomorrow I guess!

Linking up!

Fabric Tuesday: Santa's Sweatshop

I love Christmas.

I just don't love how I make these last minute gift decisions. Talk about deadline sewing.

Throw into the mix one law student with finals, 4 sick babies and counting, 1 sick me and you've got a recipe for disaster.

Still, this is what I've got done so far:

One passport wallet, one oval box bag make-up bag and two dumplings. The oval box bag tutorial is found here. The dumplings are here. These were all just for practice. I'll make the "real" ones tomorrow. I'll use brighter zippers on the dumplings next time so there's some more color. Still, they are so cute. My oldest won't mind if she gets the guinea pigs! Not too shabby.

Until I look at what I've got left to make:

1. 3 library bags - these will be ridiculously easy once the fabric arrives, and the last of the "shipping out" gifts
2. 2 kindle covers
3. 5 different softies for my babies - not so ridiculously easy
4. jammies for the law student - cut out, just need the thread
5. 7 new stockings - oh my, this is insane
6. 5 dragon softies
7. 5 sets of dragon wings - my law student needs to draw out the wings for me
8. A zippy wallet for my husband - his design, my construction
9. And a partridge in a pear tree

Oh, and did I mention that we're hosting a Christmas donut fry on Friday night? Or I'm in the midst of a bunch of major dental work? Good times around here! And I still have Christmas goodies to make. I really need to plan better next year. Right. If only.

Yep. I'm nuts. Thankfully, the last final is tomorrow and then I'll get plenty of sewing time.

Fabric Tuesday: I've gone off the yellow/aqua deep end

Is there an institution out there for those of who become obsessed with a color combination? It hasn't creeped out of the sewing room, but my husband is getting worried when I say I'm going to make some yellow and aqua pajamas for myself. They're for me, so why should he worry? I mean, we could always go in for an awkward family photo in coordinating yellow and aqua square dance outfits. But I haven't gone that far off the deep end. Not yet.

I didn't jump on the New York Beauty Bandwagon a while back, but I saw this wall hanging and thought it would be fun to use up the rest of my yellow and aqua scraps.

This just makes my happy place that much happier.

Now I'm thinking of doing a row of yellow tulips as well. Is that too crazy? Or maybe just one tulip? But I like rows and rows of tulips. No vote. A row of three it is!

And then I think I need one of these signs to go with it all:

Source: etsy.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Linking up my madness:

Make-A-List Monday: Hey, it was a holiday

Not that we did anything special on Labor Day, but I gave myself the day off from blogging. Since I'm the boss, I get to do these things. Since I don't get a day off from anything else in my world, I'm allowed.

What was on my list last week?

• Finish toddler quilt.

 Done. Blogged here, but here's a picture of it:

I love it. Baby girl loves it. I love that sort of outcome!

• Get distracted by packages arriving in the mail.

 This wasn't hard at all. This stack of gorgeousness arrived and I couldn't stop touching it and playing with it.

I'm on the look-out for a truly stunning quilt for my daughter's bed. Maybe even two if I use some white (or, dare I say it, gray?) in there. Any ideas? I need something that has fairly big blocks, since there are some big prints that beg to be fussy cut. Here's what I was thinking.

Source: flickr.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: flickr.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: thehappyzombie.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: ohfransson.com via Jennie on Pinterest

Or this:

Source: elle-mental.blogspot.com via Jennie on Pinterest

I'm really leaning towards this one at the moment:

Source: freshlemonsquilts.com via Jennie on Pinterest 

 

• Cut and sew a Superman library bag for my littlest guy.

Not done. Fabric didn't arrive. Boo to that! I ordered it from Fabric.com through Amazon and it still isn't here. Never mind that I placed an order with Fat Quarter Shop and Green Fairy Quilts on the same day and they both arrived within 2-3 days. This Fabric.com order has taken nearly 2 weeks, and it's a whole lot smaller than the FQS one. Grrr.

• Cut fabric, interfacing and fusible fleece for sewing machine cover and table mat.

Done, and I even got started on this project. Pincushion is all finished. Waiting on my piping so I can get the rest finished.

• Cut more Lucy triangles (when fabric arrives).

Done. Got a big ol' gorgeous stack of triangles now. I'll lay them out next week, I hope.

• Sew up my project bags for the Sewing Buddy challenge.

Kinda got sidetracked making my pincushion. But they are there. Waiting.

• Cut out dresses for my oldest girl. Using this pattern, and I'm so excited for it. 

Got the skirt and waistband cut, but I need to cut the bodice and get started. She's super excited for these dresses.

Okay. So not bad. Now for this week:

• Piece the red Minky back for my son's R2D2 quilt (as soon as that *#%& fabric arrives)
• Baste his quilt
• Figure out how the heck I'm going to quilt it (maybe I should do that while I wait!)
• Finish thread catcher and sewing mat for Sewing Buddy challenge
• Sew up project bags for Sewing Buddy challenge
• Cut out bodice for my daughter's dresses
• Cut binding for string quilt and R2D2 quilt
• Cut and sew library bag for my little Superman

Oh, and here's another finish for you. I would have blogged it last week, but my camera battery died and some little person, who is cute nonetheless, stole my charger. I was almost forced to subject you to my horrid cell phone pictures when my amazing husband surprised me Saturday night with this:

 

I'm more than a little excited about it. People who say that it's not the camera, it's the photographer, are, well, in my opinion, liars. That's like saying that it's the chef, not the stove. I acknowledge the training and skill it takes to snap great pictures. But give a chef a campfire and expect them to create an equally delicious meal and they are begging for their professional stove. Just saying. I'm already getting better pictures with the auto settings on this one than I ever was with my little point and shoot. For good reason.

So I'm just arguing that anyone can learn to take great pictures, but it does start with a decent camera. I know this one isn't anywhere near as fancy (or as expensive) as they get, but it's a starter one for me.

Okay, so on to the finish. Mark this Christmas quilt off the list. Wish I had some fake snow to make it more festive, but we'll deal. Or not. If you want to send me nasty-grams, go ahead. But it's September, so I might not pay any attention because I'm listening to my favorite Christmas albums.

My oldest two are arguing over who gets to sleep with this already. Might have to make another one?

Linking up for Fabric Tuesday over at Quilt Story. Check it out - they have an adorable Out to Sea quilt on display!

Fabric Tuesday: first finish of the week

And thus begins the parade of finishes. I'm so very happy to have these ones off my top shelf (and off my 3Q FAL list). It's getting pretty empty up there, which is such a great feeling!

This is one of two matching quilts. I bought at FQ bundle of L'Amour fabric a long while back and made it into two lap quilts. Two panels came with the bundle, so I pieced them into the backs.

More loopy meandering, with a few hearts thrown in there for practice.

My first bit of distractions came with the mail yesterday. Two packages, just for me.

I've got big plans for most of it. I bought that Madrona script fabric just because. Sometimes you just need to do that sort of thing, right? I'll be cutting that stack o' Lucy's Crab Shack into big triangles today.

The UPS arrived a day early with my Fat Quarter Shop package. I sorted it out into projects. First, my tree skirt. So very excited about this one. That would be Cherry Christmas there and I'm in love.

The binding for my string quilt, so the only excuse I have now is I need a place to baste it. I'm trying to find a time to go to my church and use the gym floor. We'll see how that works out.

Fabric for my daughter's dresses. Girl loves her purples. Cutting into these as soon as I'm done with a couple other cutting projects.

That's all for today. I'll be back tomorrow with another finish. Guess this is what happens when you send your husband back to law school.

Oh, and linking up over at Quilt Story for Fabric Tuesday. I'm loving the baby things I see over there. Don't have much need for them myself anymore. My baby is deciding to stop being a baby.

Little turkey! But she's cute, so I can't help but love her.

Have a great Tuesday - see you tomorrow!

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:

Fabric Tuesday: the one where I got a little distracted

I didn't get that strawberry pinwheel quilt basted until this afternoon, so I might have gotten sidetracked by those triangles.

And I might have finished a quilt top.

These triangles are huge. Like 8.5 inches huge. Perfect for big prints.

The official stats:

Fabric: Apple of My Eye by Riley Blake
Pattern: sorta used this one by Lori Holt, but I didn't have the right triangle ruler that it calls for. And honestly, $14 for a pattern that basically says, "Cut a bunch of big equilateral triangles. Lay them out and sew them together. Baste, quilt, bind." It's a bit ridiculous. Still, I'm the idiot who bought it. Figured there'd be something special about it. There's not.
Finished size: 62 ish X 84 ish - I added an extra row, so mine is probably in the 92ish range

Linking up, because I can!

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:

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!

Fabric Heaven

Let me just say that it sure is a good thing I adore this fabric, PKM, because I've seen quite a bit of it lately. Armed with crochet hooks, and Downton Abbey, my darling daughter helped me turn these Dresden wedges after I had snipped all of them. Lots of finger pressing and the like went into these beauties.

Now I'm discovering muscles long-forgotten as I press them into points. Love what they are going to become. That's the best part of a good fabric - you can just see, with every step, how beautiful it's going to end up. The fabric does half the work!


Here is my finished Victory Garden quilt top. I've been madly pinning ideas on how to quilt it. I was thinking of doing three straight lines, horizontal and vertical, through the sashing and then a loopy meander in each block. Thoughts? Ideas?

Love this quilt, by the way.


Another of my long-ago finished tops is basted and ready for quilting. When it's done, I have a great home for it - a wonderful aunt happens to love yellow and orange and butterflies. I'd say this one fits the bill nicely. Hope she likes it.

I got a little carried away one Saturday as I discovered paper piecing. This is a mug rug for another favorite aunt. I just love that tea cup and the cake slice! I used the scraps from my Victory garden quilt and I love it. I've got plans to make a mini wall quilt of different cake slices - coconut cake, lemon cake, red velvet cake! So excited when my two loves - baking and quilting - collide beautifully.
My final finish is my Sunkissed postage stamp quilt. My first big quilt all done in free motion. I was safely doing straight lines and I ventured out my comfort zone. It's not perfect, but I like it. Did it in an all over loopy meander and once it washed up all crinkly and cozy I forgot exactly where the mistakes were.

New projects: I've added a few ideas and have some fabric in little bins, ready when I'm ready. My goal is to get more quilt tops quilted so I can comfortably move on to new things. I might just come clean next week with all the WIPs that exist in my sewing room. I'm getting my list of excuses ready, so please be kind and forgiving!

Finished projects: 2

WIP: I'll tell you next week.
Linking up with Fabric Tuesday and WIP Wednesday.