Quilty Love

I've been a little busy quilting, it seems. Last December, my friend from college asked me to make her a tee-shirt quilt.

And so I took my dear, sweet time and finished it two weeks ago. After I had procrastinated for a couple of months, I had decided to give it to her for her birthday, in September. That way, she didn't have to pay me for it and I could relieve my guilt about not getting it done in a speedy manner.

Turns out, it may have been the easiest quilt I've ever done and I am mad at myself for being such a baby about it. I thought the jersey material of all the tee-shirts would make it impossible to quilt and it could not have been easier. As long as I didn't do a straight line across, there were no puckers, ripples, nada. EASY.

I made a couple of strip quilts as well. I know they are simple and easy but I love how I can just put them together in a day or two, as long as I have all the materials. I love the grey one below:

I can't seem to get away from the Tula Pink lines! I love them so.

Humperdink!

I got a little money for my birthday so I bought myself a new friend:



And if you think money can't buy you a friend, you would be wrong! Also, my exposure is waaaay off here.



Isn't he adorable?





I admit that I bought him because I want to make owls but I am terrible at taking things from my head and putting them on paper. Not that I plan to steal this idea and sell them, more for inspiration for gifts to Jayden. Because she's the only one who appreciates my stuffed animal presents.

Ready For Me To Stop With The Hair Yet?

I did remember to take some photos of my curls once I removed the headband!





It's a shame that I don't take it out until I'm ready for bed. So I prance around and admire my hair instead of sleeping. It's sick, really.





The only problem with my hair is that I have crazy messy hair on top, near my scalp, and lovely curls at the bottom. So I basically have crazy hair.



Like anyone is surprised by that.

Curls Part II

As promised:





Maybe I should have smiled.



However, isn't my hair awesome? It's like the princess hair style I longed for when I was a little girl.



Also, it means that I can shower and put my hair up without washing it and that has never really been an option for me. If I do not shower, my hair never looks good. It is frizzy, flat, wonky, and just plain messy.



But now I can put it up! Especially now that it's getting long again, I've found myself lifting it off my back to cool down a bit. Since we keep having 100 degree days!



What about you, did you try it yet? :)

Pink!

I forgot to tell you about the baby girl quilt I got to make this month. It seems I've only made things for boys so I was completely thrilled when my friend asked me to make a baby quilt for a girl.

I think I was probably supposed to go a little more subtle on the girliness but I can't help myself. If you tell me I can use pink, there isn't much stopping me. My favorite print is the one that looks like pink peppermints.


Actually, I like them all! The back is a print of purple butterflies on a white background, but I needed to add a little length to it because I needed 1 1/3 of a yard instead of a 1/4. So I sewed the remaining stripes together, cut them down and sewed them together again to make a sweet little surprise on the back of the quilt.

My next project is a pink themed quilt for ME! Well, after I make something for my mom's birthday. Which is only a week away!

Shop Notes

I whipped a few box pouches up a few weeks ago. I gave one to my mom for a cousin and it felt wrong to not have a few on hand!

Luckily, they are simple to make! Once I figured out how, that is. Since I don't have a serger, I added a little bias tape to clean up my exposed edges. Someday, I will have a serger though!

Like August? It's my birthday soon, after all!

Happy Monday! You can find the box pouches here!

Market Bags

It's that time of year again! The Farmer's Markets are BACK!

I was unaware that the Market in Canon was open last weekend but I'm planning to make up for that this weekend! I have plans for a new hand woven rug from the local lady for my bathroom. Her husband sorts the strips of jersey for her to make into these thick, plush rugs. My mom got me a pink and purple one last summer for my birthday and I love it!

So since the market is back, I thought I should have some new bags on hand. Plus, I finally sold my stash from last year!

I think the one with the mixer, bowls and eggs is my favorite!

I also have a yard of the brown burlap left, I think it's time I visit my favorite fab-rick shop! :)

Of course, all my bags are listed here!

Shop Notes

So, I'm finally getting around to posting my latest scrap buster project: Checkbook covers!

Zebra print, because I know people go crazy for that kind of thing!

Innocent Crush

Parisville!

Another Parisville but a bit more subdued.

They can all be found in my shop!

Metro Living

Please excuse the photos. I finished this quilt about five minutes after I was supposed to be in the shower before church. But I wanted to have some proof that I made it before handing it off. Unlike the two bags I made with Parisville earlier this week!

My mom asked me to make a baby quilt for a granddaughter of a friend of hers. She is due to have a baby in a couple of weeks, and her baby shower was this weekend.

I only had a day to get this done, so I'm happy that baby quilts are very quick projects. I am totally in love the the Metro Living line by Michael Miller right now, so I picked out some coordinating fabrics with the help of Randi. I used a solid Kona cotton for the backing, but my quilt top was about 5 inches too big for the back so I had to add on some strips to lengthen it. It turned out to be my favorite part. Maybe because it's a rainbow them?

The binding was not planned. I forgot to get a fabric for the binding and I didn't have anything on hand that matched. Until I found the red/white polka dots! I am happy that it was pre-washed and ready to go! I didn't pre-wash the rest of the fabric, but I think that the red could have bled and I would be sad to hear if it was ruined!

Life 'Round Here

Jacob is in the beginning stages of potty training. Everyone says cloth is easier when starting that, but so far it hasn't proved true. Since cloth stays damp against skin, Jacob doesn't know when he's wearing underwear and when he's in a diaper. So, there has been a lot of bare bottom time around here! But occasionally, he just marches his naked butt to the bathroom and goes on his own! WIN WIN!

Now that my quilt projects are finished, for the most part, I've been doing a little mass producing! Above are some ballerina bags. I found the linen look alike fabric at Joanns and the yellow and blue screamed SPRING to me. I don't know why I bought the purple!

This is my second project. Checkbook coves! I gave two away, my mom and sister in law needed them. I suspect the zebra print will be gone in .2 seconds after I post them to Facebook. I am not a fan of the animal prints, but I know a few people who are! These are a pretty easy pattern from KeyKa Lou, she has awesome patterns on Etsy.

Cars, Planes, Trains and SUPER COPTERS

I finished the bilk of my quilting projects last week. I have one left to do, a tee shirt quilt for a college friend before I am DONE for a bit, but I need to decide on a backing for that one before I can quilt it.

I love the quilt I just finished for a little boy named Tanner. His mama said he likes anything with cars and trucks, so when I saw this fabric, I knew I had to have it! I found it on Etsy from this shop and I got the solid Kona from this shop. I love the orange so much!

When Jacob saw the fabric I was going to use, he immediately asked me if it was for a "Jacob peelow?" and I'm thinking that he probably deserves his own full size custom pillow. I just have to ask him to decide between Super Copters or Planes.

As for this specific quilt, it's gone to live in Russia for the next two years. How cool is that! Dear Quilt, please send postcards. ;)

Fab-rick!

I will be the first to admit I have a little stash going. I used to be able to fit it all into one of those little cubby holes on a shoe rack/hanging cubby thing-y (I have no idea what it is called. I got one when Jacob was a baby for his clothes and have since taken it over with Etsy stuff. He doesn't need it so it's fine!)

A while ago, when my stash started to grow too quickly to use, I brought in this bookshelf I bought when I moved home from college. As you can see, I'm quickly running out of space.

I'm also a huge nerd and have it organized by color, and often within color I have it stacked in fabric colorways, ie families.

I have a big more fabric stashed away in the closet: my yardage from Ikea and a few boxes of vintage stuff my grandparents sent me a while back. Someday, I will realize I can never use all I have and I will package it up and sell it on Etsy as a de-stash. Someone else can use it for some cute things I will never get around to doing!

Photography

For years, I've had my expensive SLR Nikon camera and absolutely no idea how to use it. I did keep it set to manual focus and P mode but I had no idea what my White Balance should be or where to set my ISO. I could only take photos during the day when the sunlight was good and rooms were well lit.

This Christmas, my mom gave me a photo class for my present and I'm on week two of my class. I took the photo above in P mode, but I changed the White Balance to tungsten lighting and set my ISO for 800. For comparison, the photo below is what type of photos I have been taking by keeping my ISO at 1600 and my White Balance on Auto.


This week, we are working on metering and I'm totally over my head but I certainly enjoy learning. Too bad I'm taking a class in wintertime when everything is dull, brown and ugly!

Bridesmaids-All in a Row

A friend of a friend contacted me through Facebook and asked if I could make her bridesmaid gifts for her wedding in June. She let me pick out the fabric and I was over-joyed to find that I had enough stash fabric to make five market bags for her ladies.

I got this flower print from a box my grandparent's found at an estate sale and sent to me.

I have a thing for birds.

And Parisville. I love Parisville.

I used Michael Miller Owls and Innocent Crush together. I think it looks good together!

I also made a pink corduroy bag with Parisville but it was too blurry and I didn't notice! I'm in the process of sewing buttons on three brush rolls and then I get to move on to making make up bags. I am somewhat sad to find that I had enough fabric to make sure a huge order, andI never once thought to make them for Etsy. Funny how you can find inspiration when you really need it.

King Size Quilt

I'm not sure what I got myself into on this project. Sewing up the blocks has been relatively easy, although I still have to sew the quilt top up and I'm already in by 7 hours. I have 27 blocks finished but I need another three to make it the correct length.

I've already had to go back for more yardage on the purple and I'm at a standstill until I get at least another 1/2 yard. I should probably get a yard just in case.

I am most nervous about quilting it. I am going to do straight line quilting but I'm worried my little machine won't be able to get the middle, even when I roll it tightly. Wish me luck!

Pillow Talk

I am participating in a Pillow Party! This month, it's being judged by Anna from Noodlehead. I've never participated in something like this, but I actually have a pillow to share.

This pillow is directly inspired from Cluck, Cluck, Sew. I used a soft white corduroy instead of a home decorating fabric and I used much more than 7 yards in my strip. I estimated around 10 but I wouldn't be surprised if it was 11 or 12. I intended for it to be just blue, green and yellow but when I reached the end of the yellow, I was very far from the center.

So I decided to continue with the color and ended up with a rainbow. I filled it up with poly-fill and sewed it shut. I should give it away but I love it! Sadly, I live in such a small place that I do not have a good spot to put it. Unless I'm willing to let CS sleep on it, or Jacob throw it to the floor. Someday, I will have enough space to decorate and I would love to set this on a pretty little antique chair next to the front door.

Etsy Party

My Etsy party this weekend was a small scale success. I only had 4 people come over and I anticipated a few more than that but I still made some Christmas money and had a good time. Jacob didn't get a nap so he was screamier than usual. Luckily, there were only tears and no hitting.

Some potholders made with Insul-bright to protect your hands. In other news, I sold them.

Box pouch. My mom calls them shave kits. I would use it for knitting projects.

Re-usable snack bags. I lined them with PUL so you just wipe them out. This way, you can slice an apple, peel an orange or fill it with carrots and not worry about the mess. I think these will make great gifts for kids. I bet they won't think so though!