Little Scraps of Happiness

January Mini Quilt

2012-01-16T07:57:00.000-08:00

Here's my January Mini Quilt for Crystal.

I could not think of an idea at all! So I came up with this just using some scraps. I think I need to start coming up with several ideas and write them down since I have 8 or so more of these to make! But boy are mini quilts ever fun! Making mini quilts has got to be one of my most favorite projects I've done! They are fast and practically instant gratification!

measures: 16"x19"

fabric: "California Dreamin" by Jenean Morrison

2011 in review

2011-12-29T13:51:00.000-08:00

I guess I was busy this year!

I think part of how I accomplished so much was hubby was deployed 8 1/2 months of this year.

But also in this year, we moved from one coast to the other! (California to Rhode Island!)

Happy New Years my Bloggy Peeps!!

Teacher's Gift

2011-12-17T08:43:00.000-08:00

My eldest daughter is in 2nd grade. I decided to make her teacher a Christmas gift this year after polling some of my teacher friends. They all said it would be nice to receive a home made gift, so I made a Christmas table runner for her.

This pattern was one that I won on Rachel of p.s. i quilt's blog a couple years ago. I finally got around to making one.

Baby Clothes Quilts D.O.N.E.!!

2011-12-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

I am so glad I got these done! When I agreed I'd do these for a friend I really had no idea how much work is involved.

First there is the cutting up of the clothes. Then, if there are outfits made of jersey knit, they need to be interfaced for some stability. Then you end up with squares of all different sizes. So what do you do? It's hard to have a plan for a quilt when you have various sizes of fabric pieces. So I completely improved the whole thing. I realized working with the knits was such a pain that I selected to not use any more than I had to. That being said, there weren't very many cotton prints. So I added lots of my own fabric which was fine with my friend, thankfully! I showcased specific outfits that were set aside for each girl and then the rest of the clothes were worn by all three and incorporated in each. When you are dealing with several different outfits, nothing really all matches each other. So there are lots of colors going on, but I think as a whole it works.

I can say I will never make any more of these again except for the two I plan on making my girls some point in their lives. They will probably be high school or college graduation, or wedding gifts, so I have some time! And I only saved cotton clothes for theirs. Knits are just really hard to quilt!
Each one measures approximately 54"x62"

ABBY'S

KELSEY'S

LILY'S

December's Mini

2011-12-12T16:50:00.000-08:00

Here's my mini quilt for December. I wasn't going to do it "Christmasy", (is that a word!) but then this idea came into my head one day. I think it looked better on paper, but it turned out ok, I guess. I really liked the background fabric. When I saw it, I thought it totally looked like wallpaper which is what I was going for. Then for the quilting, I decided to quilt in all the white lines of the pattern. It's my favorite part of the quilt. Sorry for the crappy picture, it was raining so I had to take it indoors.

I HATE BASTING!! poem

2011-12-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm yelling

Yes I'm screaming

What I'll do next, there's no telling

It hurts my back

It hurts my knees

I don't like it, It exhausts me

I absolutely HATE basting quilts

Two down....three more to go. Yep, I'm going to do a little quilting this weekend!

For inquiring minds....I spray baste. I have to do it outdoors....and it's breezy today.

yep....I HATE it!!

My "pain-in-the-neck" quilt project...

2011-11-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

Baby Clothes Quilts

THREE of them

One of my friend's asked me if I'd be willing to make her three quilts made of her three daughter's baby clothes. I told her I'd look into it and get back to her. After lots of research online I found that to have these made in a lap-sized quilt they can run anywhere from $300-$500!

Her girls are 10, 13, and 15 and she'd been hanging onto these clothes for all these years to have them made into quilts. I thought, "How hard can these be. I'll do it!" So she brings me the clothes and a couple days later, I go through the huge Rubbermaid bin. Oh NO! 85% of it is all jersey knit stuff, 5% is sweaters, and the rest is cotton fabric. Then in the bin are 3 bags with specific outfits for each girl in each bag. Each bag contained their "coming home" outfits (all jersey knit stuff in newborn size) and then some t-shirts and sweaters. oh....what a challenging project I have ahead of me! These things have been hanging over my head for so long. I've had this bin of clothes for almost a year!

I'm determined to get them done this month. I've got the first one just about done. I took a sneak peek picture last night to send to my friend and she loves what she sees so far.

Honestly, I'm not super crazy about them because the clothes I had to work with was so limited and not my choice of fabrics, patterns or colors. But I've added some of my own fabric and did the best I could working with some of those knits (and no sweaters! you just can't cut up a sweater and incorporate that into a quilt!)

Hopefully I'll have all three of these done soon to show you.

I've learned one thing...I'll never make another one of these again.

(Except for the ones for my girls but I was smart and ONLY saved cotton clothes!)

My Husband's Quilting suggestions....

2011-11-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

Who knew?!? He actually had some good suggestions!

Let me first give you a little background on my husband.

He's a "man's man".

He flies in an airplane for a living. He hunts. He fishes. He rides motorcycles. He shoots guns. He watches and plays most all sports. He breaks bones in his body. He's just your typical guy...the kind of guy with absolutely no feminine side to him. (poor guy, and he lives with 3 girls and a female dog!)

Anyway, he tolerates my fabric and quilting obsession. I was a little worried with this last move we made. See, he was in Afghanistan for about 8 months and I think I used fabric as my therapy. Once we moved, he actually SAW all the fabric. He asked me, "So, what do you think you spend a month on fabric? $1,000 per month?" I replied, "NO WAY!" (really I don't! I don't know what I spend but I do know it's not that much!) Anyway, he's great about it and makes it a joke. Which I love because sometimes I feel a little guilty about how much fabric I have and the fact that I don't have any income coming in. But he knows my job being a stay at home mom is rough when he is gone so much, and this is really my only hobby.

Ok, let me get back on track here....

I love Cathedral Windows Quilts. I've always wanted to make one and was always intimidated and thought I couldn't do it. I received a coupon via email from Joann's for 60% off a single cut of fabric. I thought it'd be a good time to get some muslin for one and attempt it. I bought 6 yards. (come to find out later, for the size I want to make I need 20.5 yards!! OOPS!) oh well, it'll get me started anyway!

So I cut some white, cut some charms, and start ironing away. Boy is it a lot of work.

My whole reason for wanting to make a Cathedral Windows quilt is because at night after the kids go to bed, I don't sew. That's when hubby and I watch TV together. We DVR a ton of shows and it's the only time for us to watch them. I usually sit on one couch and play on the computer checking blogs, flickr, pinterest, facebook, etc, etc. Well it's ridiculous. I think about the hours I sit on this damn computer and I could be sewing something instead. For whatever reason, I don't like to quilt, sew on my machine, cut fabric etc. at night. That's what I like to do during the day. So hence me coming up with starting a Cathedral Windows quilt. I can sit here and watch TV and hand stitch my little windows into the quilt.

I sit down to start and say to him, "you know what, if I just machine stitched all these, it would be so much faster." He replies, "Isn't that defeating the purpose though? You aren't in a rush. Take your time and enjoy it."

Wow....he was so right! I know most of the time, all my jabbering about fabrics and quilts goes in one ear and out the other with him. He could care less. I know when I start talking about quilts, fabrics and blogs, he probably says to himself, "oh gosh, how long is she going to go on about this crap."

So I start hand stitching with regular thread. I don't like it. Then I try stitching with some perle cotton thread and I'm just not sure. I can't figure out how the stitching "is suppose to be." So again, I ask his opinion. "Which one do you like better? The one with the thread you can barely see? or the one with the thicker thread that is pretty visible?" He says, "The thicker thread, obviously! You aren't going to do all that hand sewing and then not even be able to see the quilting! I mean, if you're going to hand quilt this whole thing, don't you want the stitches to show?"

YES!!! He was so right! I couldn't believe I didn't come up with any of his conclusions on this quilt!

So with every tedious step on constructing this quilt, I am learning to really appreciate every moment of it!

Forty....

2011-11-14T06:24:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's the big one.

The start of Mid-Life, Right?

or is that 50?

Regardless, for some reason, this Birthday is kinda freaking me out!

The sound of being 40 just sounds old to me.

I still feel 24.

So I guess that's all that matters, right?

I went away this past weekend with my husband to Foxwoods Resort & Casino in CT to celebrate. We had a blast and it was so nice to get a kid-free weekend!

When I returned home, I had received some goodies in the mail from Crystal.

First up...a lovely mug rug

How awesome does my mug look on that mug rug?

Then....a mini quilt

Then block #1 of the Dresden king sized quilt we are making for my bed. She completed the first block and I'm so in love with it! It's pure perfection! Nothing like looking at this to motivate me to get my butt in gear and start making mine! We're making a total of 25 Dresden Plates with Crystal picking up most of the slack and making more than half! She's such an awesome girl! I can't believe this will be on my bed someday! Super excited!

The mug rug and mini quilt were all made with scraps from the Dresdens.

I love everything! Thank you so much, Crystal!

November's Mini Quilt

2011-11-07T15:01:00.000-08:00

Here's the *November Edition* of the "12 months of mini quilts" for Crystal.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm making Crystal a mini quilt a month, for a year. The reason I'm doing this is because I'm making a King sized quilt of Dresden Plates made of my coveted "Flower Sugar". I knew that was the fabric I'd use but couldn't decide on a pattern. Crystal helped me design the quilt top, cut the fabrics, and she's even making more than 1/2 of them for me! So anyway, my way to thank her was to make mini quilts for her. She's using them to hang in her studio where she sews.

So that brings us to this mini quilt. It's made with "Tailor Made" by Cosmo Cricket. The fabrics are so cute and all "sewing" themed. They are just real hard to see in my pictures! I forgot to measure it but it's approximately 19"x25" (that would be my guess!).

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-10-29T16:32:00.000-07:00

I decided to play along...

Amy's at it again hosting her wonderful Blogger's Quilt festival.

I love it because I always find new blogs to follow and get to see so many beautiful quilts.

It always inspires me too!

My entry is the Saltwater Taffy Quilt that I offered up for a silent auction.

You know, the one that earned the school a whopping $21

You can read all about that fiasco here.

Fabric: various from my stash

Pattern from Rachel of p.s. i quilt found on Moda Bake Shop

Christmas Tree Pants

2011-10-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

I finished my Christmas Tree Pants.

This was super fun to make. BUT...I was in too much of a rush or just plain ol' not paying attention when I assembled the top! I was 3/4 of the way done machine quilting in all the patchwork areas when I found my mistake!

The 2 patchwork blocks were suppose to be center top and center middle!

So I improvised and hand appliqued a star on top of the bottom right corner patchwork square.

Then, I had NO CLUE how to do a binding around a circle, so I made mine kinda gathered. It's not perfect, but it will work, and who will really see it since it will be around the trunk of a tree, covered with presents!

I'm happy the way it turned out and I think it will look nice under a tree.

(sorry about the pics...had to take them inside since it's been raining all day!)

one of the things I'm working on...

2011-10-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a Christmas Tree ~~Skirt~~ Pants for my tree this year. Here are my first 4 blocks. You can find the tutorial for the sew-along here.

The fabric I'm using is the leftovers from my Advent Calendar: "Be Merry" by Mind's Eye for Riley Blake Designs. I'm so glad when I bought this that I bought way more than I originally needed!

The only problem that I have is that I'm a little disappointed how the white stars don't stand out against the white printed fabric, but it's what I had and I love the fabric and it will match my advent calendar, so it will have to do and I know when it's done I'll like it!

Parisville, Baby

2011-10-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Finally unpacked and back at my machine!

My husband's cousin is expecting her first baby and it's a girl. I had a Parisville fat quarter bundle that I've been dying to cut into. I also wanted to make a Loulouthi Tiles baby quilt and knew this fabric would be perfect!

Quilt Stats:

measurements: 42"x48"

fabric: Parisville

quilted by machine in a random meandering stipple stitch with Connecting Threads "Sunshine".

Then I made this mini quilt for Crystal, who is a WAY BETTER photographer so you'll see better pictures over there!

She is helping me make a king sized quilt for my bed. I finally decided what I wanted to do and it's going to be a huge project and she kindly offered to help make half the blocks and make a couple pillow covers too! So my way to repay her is to make her a mini quilt each month for a year.

I'm so excited that I'm laying in bed at night with ideas swarming in my head endlessly!

Great Friends and Mini Quilts

2011-09-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love the quilt blog community.

I have gained some really great friends through these here blogs.

I even have a BBFF (Best Bloggy Friend Forever)!

Her name is Crystal.

And she is super special to me.

She has helped me and taught me so much about sewing and quilting.

I think I communicate with her more than any other friend I have.

And we've never met in person.

And we are Pen Pals.

And we write to each other at least once a week.

And she sends me some really great stuff.

This is just one of the awesome things she's given me.

So perfect!

I finally got to hang my 2 mini quilts in my room.

The top one is one that I received in the Modify Tradition Swap that was held some time ago.

Someday, I hope to have mini quilts covering every wall in my bedroom!

UGH! Let the unpacking begin...

2011-09-10T07:10:00.000-07:00

We made it to Newport, RI!

And oh-my-gosh! I LOVE it here! This is by far the best place we've ever lived! We are living on Fort Adams which is a State Park. It's kinda a peninsula so we have water on three sides. From some of the upstairs windows we have views of all the sailboats that are surrounded by us. It's gorgeous! The mansions that are around us are amazing too! I can't wait to be done with the unpacking so we can explore this area!!

Ok, so normally I'd NEVER post pics of my house looking like this, but I just moved in so I have an excuse for my place to look this bad!

I enjoy all the military moves we do....

....but the unpacking SUCKS! I'm so overwhelmed I don't see an end in sight!

Bad part is that I won't let my husband unpack anything because then #1, I won't know where he puts stuff and #2, I'm kinda a control freak and it has to be perfect. If it's not, I have to redo it. So in the end, it's more work for me. So I do all the unpacking, organizing and decorating and he watches football. I think he gets the great end of the deal! but he is running all my errands and doing the big grocery shopping today. I should send him with the kids so he gets a taste of what I go through when he's deployed! ;) Nah, I'm not that mean!

Here's some of the house now:

family room

view from dining room towards family room

here's my "craft closet". I don't think all my fabric is going to fit in this one little dresser!

This is my youngest room. Her dresser is under and behind all those boxes!

Here's a view from the doorway to my eldest daughter's room.

and then in her room facing the door. Poor girl..this is my project today!

this is just inside our room looking towards the small master bath.

master bedroom. boxes on the left are 3-4 high and 2 rows deep...oh and about 5 are clothes along with 2 wardrobes that aren't unpacked yet and our closet is full! Nice! Fortunately our dressers are empty, I just hope it all fits!

ok, gotta go get busy now! Have a nice weekend!

Avalon x two

2011-08-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

I have a friend (another Navy spouse) that really likes the quilt I made for Sean (my husband). She liked it so much she asked what the fabric was and where to order it. She then asked if she bought all the fabric, if I'd be willing to make her one. I said sure. Well because this pattern uses fat quarters she had to order 1/2 yard increments. So I told her she'd have enough for 2 quilts if she wanted. So she said that would be great.

Quilt Stats:

Pattern: Avalon found in Material Obsession

Fabric: Amy Butler Daisy Chain

Measurements: 58"x78.8"

machine bound front and back using Jennifer from That Girl..That Quilt's tutorial found here.

(yes, I typically do not like machine binding the whole quilt and I've said in the past I won't do it again, but I needed to get these done fast and this time I did A LOT better! Using the binding clips, like Jennifer suggests, helped a great deal and this time it turned out pretty darn good!)

I got all my quilts done that I set out to do with exception to the one vintage sheet quilt for our bed in the trailer. The top is almost done, I'm just not sure if I can get it done by Tuesday. The packers arrive Tuesday to pack us up and we will be on the road next Friday!

ok, so do you want to hear our trip itinerary for relocating from California to Rhode Island? Well I'll share it anyway! This, of course, is tentative, but we hope to stick pretty close to this plan:

Friday Aug. 26th: Barstow, CA

Saturday Aug. 27th: Cedar City, UT

Sunday Aug. 28th: Grand Junction, CO

Monday Aug. 29th: Denver, CO

Tuesday Aug. 30th: Grand Island, NE

Wednesday Aug. 31st: Rock Island, IL

Thursday Sept. 1st-3rd: Rockford, IL (this is where my mom lives)

Sunday Sept. 4th: Sandusky, OH

Monday Sept. 5th: East Stroudsburg. PA

Tuesday Sept. 6th: NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND!!

Yes, it's taking us this long because we are pulling a travel trailer and have 2 kids and a dog. So we are figuring about 300 miles a day. Enough time to set up camp, take a swim, and make some dinner...then bed after each stop.

I'm super excited to hit the road! I love road trips!

quick post... (non quilty!)

2011-08-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

...to let you all know I'm still alive.

Hubby made it home safe and sound. Hurray!!

We had a "date night" last Friday.

(and in case you are wondering, NO he didn't go out in a wife beater! he was wearing it because he bbq'd burgers for the sitter and kids before we left! When I posted this to my facebook page, of course we got a lot of smart-ass remarks from all his buddies about his "wife beater" tank top!)

Date night turned into a "tattoo night". Yes, you read that right! I got my first tattoo. A Red Hot Chili Peppers symbol on my left ankle. He got a swallow holding three hearts.

Then on Monday we went to Disneyland for 3 days. So yeah, we've been quite busy!

Happy Daddy with his happy girls!

And...we have orders! The move is set up and we have a place to live! We are getting packed out the week of the 22nd and will start our cross country trek from California to Newport, Rhode Island on the 25th!
AND...I only have 3 quilts left out of my long list of "to-dos" before we move!
I think I can, I think I can.....

Today you are Three....

2011-07-31T18:35:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet, little, Eden!

Your Daddy comes home tomorrow after a 217 day deployment....

best.gift.ever.

Elena & Eden's Vintage Sheet Quilts

2011-07-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got the girls' quilts done. These will go in our trailer when we drive across country for our move (which I have no idea when is going to happen since we STILL don't have orders!) But for now, the girls are sleeping with them every night. They drag them out while they are watching TV in the family room too. I'm glad they are being used and I love them!

Each is backed with a vintage sheet. The smaller one for Eden measures 50"x54". Elena's measures 53"x65"

Babysitter's Quilt

2011-07-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

I finished a quilt for my babysitter. She's a 23 year old college student living in the dorms, so I thought this would be nice for her to have. She has been wonderful! She's the first "sitter" we've had in 6 years! I seriously don't know how I would have made it though this 7 1/2 month deployment without her!

My husband is due home on the 1st!! We have a "date night" scheduled for the 6th, so I'll be giving this to Brittany then.

It's kinda hard to see, but for the quilting I free form quilted large flowers in the center of each 10" square and then a smaller flower in each corner where the squares met up. They aren't perfect, but something different for me and I really like how it turned out. (these 2 pictures above were taken before washing and drying the quilt) This quilt is made with Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane and measures 58.5" x 67.5".

A little "DS Quilts" love...

2011-07-13T11:50:00.000-07:00

check another "to do" off the list.

I have another friend prego and I made this quilt for her. Her baby shower is after I move so I won't be able to attend so I needed to get it done before I move.

My friend really likes the more "traditional" style quilts so this is what I came up with.

measures approximately 42"x42"
Anyway, it was suppose to be a quilt consisting of the Carpenter's Wheel blocks. BUT I wanted it to be completely scrappy consisting of the reds and blues in the DS Quilts fabrics. Well it just wasn't working out. So I constructed the center "Star Flower" then just winged it on the perimeter of it. After 4 of them, I got super sick of half square triangles, that I gave up. So for the center block, I did the star flower and then just used the fabrics to frame it. Then I realized it still needed more so I did the star flowers for each corner. I like how it turned out. Hope she does too! I'll give it to her later this month. (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read my blog, so I think I'm safe!)

Do you think I have a chance.....

2011-07-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

of starting and finishing 7 quilts by August 1st? I'm giving myself the August 1st deadline because if all goes as planned, my husband is coming home the 1st of August after being gone since December 26th!! I'm so excited and I know once he's home I won't be sewing, plus the fact that the next week we will be getting packed out to move to Rhode Island.

These have all been cut, just ready to be sewn together:

two Daisy Chain Avalon Quilts (need to be done by 7/29)
one 80"x80" vintage sheet quilt (needs to be done by 8/5)
three 55"x70" vintage sheet quilts (need to be done by 8/5)
one 60"x70 Nicey Jane quilt (needs to be done by 8/5)

plus one top that is done and needs to be basted, quilted and bound; also due by 7/29.

So do you think I can do it????

Random Reflections

2011-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Here's a quilt i finally finished for my friend. I'll be mailing it off to her tomorrow.

I finally used the last of my Verna too. Well, I think I still have some scraps but not much!

I had won a giveaway from Rachel of ps i quilt about 1 1/2 years ago. Right before Verna hit all the stores. I won a jelly roll, a layer cake, and a honey bun. I used the layer cake for my pinwheel sampler quilt. So since I already had a quilt for myself with this fabric, I decided to make a quilt for my friend with the jelly roll.

(yes, one section of my fence is new, the other old!)

Quilt stats:

Measures 57"x57" (I wish I would have made it bigger, but oh well!)

Pattern: Random Reflections found here

Fabric: Verna by Kate Spain

Binding: a fabric I bought at Hobby Lobby

Backing: 2 fabrics from the Verna line and some white that I had.

One more off my "to do" list! YAY!!

I'm a little obsessed....

2011-06-21T20:03:00.000-07:00

......as you can plainly see!

(don't mind that this is laying on some extremely LONG grass that is in desperate need of mowing!)

I've got some pretty big plans for the quilting and I can't wait to get started. I wish I didn't have so much going on over the next few days!

Baby Sawyer Quilt

2011-06-20T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have a friend pregnant with a boy and they've picked out the name "Sawyer". (so let's hope they don't change their mind!) Anyway, her baby shower is next month so I made her a ticker tape quilt. I will never tire of making these! #1, they are a great use for scraps; #2, they are super fun to make; and #3, I have yet to see one that I didn't like. Babies love them because they are 'textural'.

I did learn something though...I usually use a glue stick to hold my scraps in place before I sew them down. This time, I ran out of glue sticks about mid way through. So I improvised and used a temporary fabric glue. Well, those scraps that were held down by fabric glue are stiff and kinda hard. I had no idea it would do that and I'm hoping with more washes those will soften up. So I'll wash and dry it again and see if that helps!

I've had a couple people ask me about labels so here's the label for this one.

I used Rachel's of ps i quilt's tutorial, except I machine stitched through all layers to attach to the back.

(and yes, it took me until right now that I realized I wrote July when it's actually June! Oh well, the shower is in July!)

Quilt stats:

measures: 30"x38"

made entirely of scraps from my stash and many given to me from Crystal (Thanks Crystal!!You seriously have the best scraps EVER!)

background fabric is unbleached muslin

backing fabric is one of the prints from Folksy Flannel by Anna Maria Horner

binding fabric is Farmer's Market "Pomegranite Seeds" by Sandi Henderson

In honor of the RHCP...

2011-06-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

Red Hot Chili Peppers Symbol

I hunted and hunted for an asterisk block pattern that I liked that would work for what I was aiming for. Of course, no luck. I'm sure there was probably an easier way to construct this block. But me being the inexperienced quilter that I am, I couldn't figure it out. I'm pretty pleased with it except that I sewed some of the points into the seams which really ticked me off. It was unavoidable with the way the blocks were. (see, my inexperience in calculating the right measurements! Plus the fact that I suck at math!!) Oh well...
This block took forever and I'm not sure I'll make more or not. I may just try and do something with this one.
we'll see!

A Family Heirloom

2011-06-17T15:11:00.000-07:00

This quilt was made by my husband's Great-Great-Aunt. My mother-in-law gave it to me several years ago for my eldest daughter's bed. We used it for a while but then I put it away. It's falling apart in places and I just can't risk it being completely ruined so now it sits in a cupboard.

I've been wanting to do a blog post about it for some time now and finally got around to it.

We don't know exactly what year she made this but she lived from 1872-1962.

It is hand appliqued and hand quilted. Here are each individual butterflies:

The solid blue part of the quilt is hand quilted in this really neat design, too. (kinda hard to see in the picture)

Then in several places there are worn spots, like this:

There isn't a quilt label, which really makes me sad. I'd love to know when this was actually made!

This quilt fits a full sized bed.

I love this quilt and I love that it is still in the family.

Winner!

2011-06-17T08:14:00.000-07:00

Random.org selected a winner!

#6: Victoria Paige @ Boutique Uniquely, you WON!

I've sent you an email requesting your address.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Now...

2011-06-15T10:44:00.000-07:00

....I just have to quilt and bind it!

A soon to be baby quilt for a friend.

Oh and thanks for the ideas for the teacher. Starbucks gift card and mug it is. It's what my daughter wants to give him anyway, so it works out perfectly!

Suggestions??

2011-06-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

Totally not quilt related, but I need help....

My eldest daughter's last day of school is THIS Friday and I need to get her teacher a gift.

Her First grade teacher is a man.

I'm rather new at this (gift-giving for teachers) but I'm staying true to form and totally waiting until the last minute, as usual!

Any suggestions???

For YOU!

2011-06-12T12:56:00.000-07:00

Quilt measures 56"x66" and is made of vintage sheets, including the backing. it is bound with "Feedsack" by Sarah Morgan for Blue Hill fabrics.

In honor of all my wonderful readers, I whipped up this lovely Vintage Sheet quilt for you! (you'll have to excuse you crappy gray skies. We are experiencing "June Gloom" in full force here!)

It's my 2 year blogiversary this month and I wanted to reward you! You have no idea how much I appreciate the comments, support, friendships and inspiration you all give! So this is for you.

I've met some great people and friends through this blog, so thank you!

To win all you have to do is leave me one comment. BUT...there is a slight catch. I like to hear what you guys have to say, so I'd like you to answer a question for me!

What is your favorite book that you've read recently? (Or just a great book you've read)

I'm looking for some good reads this summer and would love to hear some suggestions!
I'll pick a winner Friday June 17th, 2011. This giveaway is open to everyone...worldwide.

all because of c c.....

2011-06-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

It's all her fault that I picked up my crochet hook again. I mean seriously, is this amazing or what? My word girl, you've some some serious talent! So I'll say it again, thank you for inspiring me!

I'm not solely working on this, so this is something that will be a work in progress over many months. I wanted something portable to be able to do when we move from California to Rhode Island in August, and this is perfect! Especially since we are driving and pulling our trailer. I'll be able to do this on the road while I'm in the truck and when when stop for the night.

Mia's Quilt

2011-06-07T18:51:00.000-07:00

This is for my husband's step sister who is pregnant with baby #2. They like the name Mia, so I'm hoping that's what they decide to name her! But to be safe, I haven't done a label yet.

I'm still calling it Mia's quilt for my blog though.

It was really hard to get a decent picture of this quilt. the colors are very light and muted, this was the best I could get! (If you click on the picture, it should take you so you can click it to enlarge and then see the fabrics a bit better)

Quilt stats: 37"x48"

Fabric: Robyn Pandolf's "Beach House"

I bought a roll up of "Beach House" that consisted of 5.5" x 22" (and I forget how many strips were in it) a LONG time ago from a local fabric shop. I think I mainly bought it because of the "name" of the line. That and I knew that I'd use it someday to make someone a baby quilt. I just cut the whole thing up different sized blocks and then sewed them together randomly. For the binding, I used left over strips cut down to 2.5" and then pieced together. The backing is just made of a single piece of one of the fabrics in the line.

twenty one dollars....

2011-05-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

(this post is a bitch-fest and I'm long winded. I've calmed down a bit, but when I think about it my blood begins to boil all over! So you're forewarned.)

$21 dollars is what this quilt went for at the silent auction.

Do I think my work is so fabulous that it warrants a ton of money? No. But come on! All you fellow quilters out there know the time and money that goes into making a quilt. I wanted to help the school. That was my intention all along.

Let me tell you how it went.

I get to my daughter's school. I see all the baskets of great stuff that is up for silent auction. Each basket has a list of it's contents and the value of the basket. Just about every single basket had a starting bid of around $10. TEN dollars for stuff that was valued at $100, $200, $250 and up!

To top that off, each bid can only be increased by $1-$5 higher than the last bid. WHAT?? Are you F'in kidding me?? This is a fundraiser for the school!

I come to my quilt that I donated. Starting bid: $10. Value: $50. Wait...WHAT?? The materials alone cost me close to $100. So I spoke with the lady running the silent auction part. I told her that I made the quilt the value needs to be at least $150. So she changes it to $250 giving me some credit for my 20+ hours of labor on the damn thing. I look, the bid is currently $11. O.M.G.

I take my girls around the festival to play some games for a while. I go back to the silent auction items. The quilt is now up to $20. I see a lady sitting in front of it. I don't think much but find it odd that she is just sitting there. I hear the lady running the auction with the bullhorn make an announcement that there is 30 minutes left on auction items. More time goes by....lady still sitting in front of quilt. Bullhorn lady (the chick running the auction) looks at lady/friend sitting in front of quilt and says, "when I give the 30 second warning, write my name down for $1 more that is on there right now!

wait a minute...WHAT did I just hear??

I look...

lady sitting in front of quilt has one arm on one side of sign-up sheet, her cell phone on the sheet and her sweater on the other side of the sheet.

At that point it all comes together.

She had her friend post up in front of the quilt, somewhat hide the sign up sheet, and then make sure HER name was on it last for the $1 higher bid!

This is a woman that is working at the fundraiser to help raise money for the school.

Auction ends. Quilt sells for $21 to the lady running the damn show.

I was furious and I left.

Today, the President of the Parent Teacher Committee (who is my friend, who asked me to donate the quilt in the first place) speaks to me and apologizes about what went down. She wanted to give me the money for the value of the quilt. I refused. Apparently 4 other people approached her today complaining about what they witnessed with the quilt. One of my other friends asked me where the sign up sheet was for the quilt yesterday because she wanted to bid on it but never saw it.

There is a chance this woman could read this post as I included my blog info with the quilt.

and I hope she does

and I hope she is embarrassed

and ashamed of herself

as she should be

Thank you for taking the time to read this if you've made it down this far. I'm fuming over this and being able to vent to fellow crafters with big generous hearts, helps. Ok, I feel better now!

The Price is Right

2011-05-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

This is a non-quilting/sewing post. I just have to share about my Price is Right experience!

A group of us from my spouse's group went to Price is Right on Monday.

It's a whole lot of standing around in lines. Once you get into the studio, the actual show taping is a little over an hour. It's much smaller inside than it appears on TV.

One of the girls from our group made it to contestants row.

Then she placed a $700 bid on a Xbox and 6 games.

Ding.Ding.Ding.

Someone got the bid right on the nose!

Yep, it was her! So she got $500

Then she moved to her game and she didn't win :(

BUT she got to spin the wheel and got 90 cents!

She was the runner up in the showcase!

First showcase was a bunch of trips and a Cadillac!

Of course the guy kept it.

Her showcase was a trip to Las Vegas, New York, and Spain plus $3,000 cash.

Unfortunately, she was over, so the other guy won. But she still won $1200 and it was a blast and such a fun experience!

Episode airs June 7th, 2011

when you get to the end of the 1st line, there is a green screen that you get your picture taken in front of. Then they offer these pictures to you for $20. My friend still had her phone at this time, so she snapped a picture of ours. (I'm the goofy one in the middle!)

FUN weekend ahead...

2011-05-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

In celebration of half way through deployment our Officer's Spouses Club always plans something BIG. The squadron my husband is assigned to deployed in February on the USS Ronald Reagan. My hubby left December 26th to Afghanistan for 8 months. So I'm a little over 1/2 way, but since he's still assigned to The Black Eagles, I'm still a part of the group.

So TONIGHT 16 of us are taking one of these:

to go here:

Saddle Ranch Chop House on Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA

to have and do some of this:

Then hopefully, I won't feel like this:

Then...on Monday, I'm going here!:

I will keep you all posted how the Price is Right went and if myself or any of my friends were called to "COME ON DOWN!"

"Salt Water Taffy" scruffily quilt

2011-05-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

Another scruffily quilt. Yes, I love this pattern. It's easy, it's fairly fast, and I have yet to see one that I don't like.

I was approached by a friend who is also the President of the Parent Teacher Committee at my daughter's school asking if I'd be willing to make and donate a quilt for a silent auction fundraiser benefiting the school. Of course I said yes.

I went through my stash and pulled these fabrics. The tutorial for this quilt can be found here.

I altered the pattern a little bit. First off, I didn't use a layer cake, charm pack and jelly roll. Since I was using yardage, I cut the large squares 10.5", the middle square 5.5" and the center square 3".

For the binding I tried something new. I wanted to create a "scruffily" binding. So I attached the folded part to the edge of the back side of the quilt and then folded it over to the front, and then machine stitched it to the front. In doing this it created the effect I was looking for and I'm pleased with the end result. I did realize something though, I will never machine stitch the binding on quilts anymore. As it is much faster, to be blunt, I just plain ol' suck at it. So I'll do the finishing by hand from now on out!

quilt measures 57"x66"

Pay it Forward Selectees

2011-05-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

So I got 7 people interested in participating. I had to pick 3. I wrote all your names down on little pieces of paper and drew 3.

Here are the three people I will be making a special homemade item for:

1.) Trish

2.) Amber

3.) Madison

I'll be sending you guys emails in a minute!

I'm super excited!

ok, so here's the deal...I have 365 days to send you your special something. When you receive my gift made especially for you, you need to then "pay it forward" and make something special for three other people...and on it goes....

I want to thank all the people who were interested in participating and I wish I could make something for everyone...but that would just be too hard for me right now. (hubby is deployed and has been since Dec.; when he gets home in Aug. we are immediately moving from CA to RI. So needless to say, it's going to be c.r.a.z.y. here in a few months!)

"Love in a Mist"

2011-05-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

It's done and I really, really like it.

Measures 35"x39"

"Love in a Mist" blocks made with "It's a Hoot" by MoMo

White is an Ikea Dvala sheet

Backing & Binding is Tina Givens: Tropics

Quilting: all hand quilted with white, yellow, pink and charcoal #8 perle cotton thread

(In this picture, my lines look a little wonky. It's because I have it laying on my bed and my down comforter is under it kinda bunched up. Ooops!)

Pay It Forward....Wanna play?

2011-05-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

I was selected by Jennifer as one of her "pay it forward" people! I'm super excited about that!!

Anyway, now I need to pay it forward to three of you! Maybe I'm suppose to do this after I receive the pay it forward gift myself, but I'd like to get started now.

Here's how it works...

I have 365 days to make three of you a handmade, special something. (I promise you will like it, or at least I hope you will).

Then YOU will need to Pay It Forward to three people.

See!? Fun, huh?!

If I only get three people interested, then I'll take the three. If more are interested, then I'll pick three.

So tell me, Would you like to participate? If you would, let me know why. I'll pick the three people on Friday. (or if there is only one...then you will be a pretty lucky person!)

"Sea Glass"

2011-05-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

I love this quilt.

It's probably one of my favorites.

I made this for a friend that is going to have a baby boy. Her baby shower is next Saturday.

The fabric is a variety from my stash, some from Joann's and most from Little Island Quilting's giveaway that I won a little while ago.

I quilted it doing straight lines 1/4" from each seam. It's backed with a flannel print from Joann's which I forgot to pre-wash. (I never pre-wash any of my fabrics except for flannel.) This quilt is so crinkly and I have no idea if it's because of not pre-washing the flannel or not. But I love it!
measures: 37.5" x 46"

This is taking FOREVER!

2011-04-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

it's going to look good when done, I think...but boy is it time consuming!

(any thoughts I had about hand quilting my MT quilt are now gone!)

fabric diet needed...ASAP

2011-04-14T19:11:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from vacation and bought a whole lot of fabric that I didn't really need. But I'm tired of liking something, then waiting, then having it not available. So I bought it!

I had a great time at my mom's and the kids had a blast. But I'm happy to be home and ready to get sewing again!

Here's what I got:

Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane. All 50% off from a lqs in Rockford, IL

6 1/2 yards of Anne Kelle's Remix for Robert Kaufman @ 70% off from a lqs in Belvidere, IL. (yes, I bought all that was left on the bolt. I paid $18 for all of it including tax!)

Some dots to go with my "Flower Sugar" fabrics. purchased from Hancock Fabrics in Rockford, IL. One is a Robert Kaufman that they accidentally didn't charge me for.

Michael Miller's Lil' Cowpokes and Lil' Cowgirl and a blue bandanna print from the same line. I couldn't resist, it was too darn cute! Purchased at Hobby Lobby.

Some miscellaneous prints from Hobby Lobby that were all on sale 30% off.

and of course, some of those Denyse Schmidt fabrics that are now at Joann's that everyone is talking about. Another that I was not going to miss the boat on!

What I'm working on...

2011-03-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

I decided to hand quilt this. I made a small quilt (baby sized) with the two 12" blocks surrounded by A LOT of white. I wasn't sure what to do with it as far as the quilting goes, but then decided to hand quilt it. I'm pretty excited and I'm loving it so far. It was originally going to be a gift for someone having a baby girl, but I love this so much and with all the hand quilting and time, I'm not sure I want to give it away for fear it won't be appreciated! So this may end up hanging on a wall in my house.

I finished my hst quilt top, but have not quilted it yet. That will be on hold for a couple weeks. I'm heading to my mom's in IL next week and I haven't been there in two years, so I'm rather excited! My sister is also going for part of the time. It should be lots of fun!

I won't be blogging on my end the rest of this week and all of next week. But I'll be reading all of yours while I'm gone. I plan on bringing this quilt with and hopefully finishing it, but we'll see!

Ty

2011-03-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our Spouses Group was contacted earlier this week to see if we'd be interested in attending a taping of Ty Pennington's new show Greatest American Auction. Of course most of us wanted to go. Anyway, it's a show similar to Antique Roadshow. It was fun hangin' with my girls, but the whole process of the day was actually rather boring. We were right behind the stage for the whole filming of it, so whatever footage they use, I'm sure we will be in some of the shots. It was neat to see, but lots of just standing around. Afterward, we did get a picture with Ty. He is a pretty funny guy and seems so down to earth. He had us laughing rather hard at times.

and I will say a majority of the time...we saw Ty's butt crack. I have a picture, but I'll be nice and not post it! ;)

Love in a Mist

2011-03-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

I.love.this.block.

fabric: It's a Hoot by MoMo (thanks Crystal for the tutorial and the leftover charm pack!)

You can find the tutorial here.

I'm not sure how I like these fabrics/colors in this block, but I'm still going to make another one and one more but with only 2 fabrics. More to come this weekend! Have a nice one!

Are Joann's fabric taboo in the quilting world?

2011-03-24T13:46:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying...I won this from the lovely Alison of Little Island Quilting. I have to say it's been a while since I won a giveaway of fabric. So this was very exciting to me. Especially because these are some of my favorite colors and I have very little of them.

After I received them I shot Alison an email saying that I got them and thank you. She replied and said, "I look forward to seeing what you do with it...you're not allowed to stash ok?"

I'm SO GLAD she said that because honestly, I would have stuck the pretty fabric in my cupboard for another day. Because I feel like I have a ton to do right now and I keep procrastinating. So because she wanted me not to stash, I thought about it the day I got it. I went through my cupboard of fabric to see what I had. I decided I was going to make a simple half square triangle quilt. I wanted to get started right away but I needed more blues. I didn't want to order any fabric because honestly in the past week or so I've ordered over $100 in fabric online. (Fabric I don't need, but was on sale and I couldn't resist.)

Ok so back to my blog title...I went to Joann's for fabric. I found lots of great fabric that will work perfectly.

So what's the deal....do people not use Joann fabric? Yes, their selection is sometimes limited, but I go there a lot and seem to find what I need most of the time. I've had no problem with their fabrics. Yes, some are thinner than designer fabrics, but I usually skip those. I try to buy the better quality Joann fabric when possible.

Now I have all I need to complete my half square triangle quilt.

ugh....

2011-03-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

one of my least favorite parts of quilting

is it just me? I hate trimming blocks....

Yumm-O

2011-03-23T08:23:00.000-07:00

breakfast...

I love french toast made with a french bread loaf!

Aren't my new dishes cute? I love them so much. Thanks Trish for introducing them to me! ;)

Head on over...

2011-03-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

to the All Things Vintage Sheets blog. I'm offering a giveaway over there for their "Birthday". Make sure you enter over there and not here!

Here's what's up for grabs!

21 Vintage Sheets fat quarters.

(a couple slightly smaller, and a few quite larger!)

Swanky Lattice

2011-03-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

One of my friends contacted to me to see if I'd be willing to make a quilt to donate for a silent auction to raise money for her son's preschool. I was more than happy to oblige. I had a "Swanky" by Chez Moi Jelly roll that I really had no idea what to do with. It's was something I purchased a long time ago originally to make a quilt for my daughter. Since then both our tastes have changed, so it was just an extra item I had. I do love the fabric though.

A long time ago, I saw this and knew I wanted to make one someday. Then there was this one and this one! I really love those. So this was born:

Quilt stats:

colored fabric strips: Swanky jelly roll by Chez Moi for Moda

white fabric: Ikea Dvala sheet

backing fabric: a fabric I really liked found at Joann's

binding fabric: another one found at Joann's

measures: 59"x69"

I quilted this one using Connection Thread's Essential PRO thread. It's 100% polyester. Why did I use this thread instead of my usually Essential thread that is 100% cotton? I just wanted to try it. It says it's for long arm users. Even though I'm not a long arm quilter, I wanted to see how it was. Here's my review. I had absolutely no thread breakage and very little, if any, lint. So that was nice. It quilted beautifully and I'm glad I tried it! I'm not sure of the weight of it, but it did seem a little bit thinner than the Essential cotton thread I normally quilt with. But I really liked it and will use it again in the future!

I hope my friend's preschool gets a little money with the help of this quilt.

Stacked Strips

2011-02-26T11:44:00.000-08:00

I don't really know what to call this one, so "Stacked Strips" it is.

A fellow Navy wife asked me if I'd make her a quilt to give to one of her friends that is having a baby boy. So this is what I came up with.

The puckers didn't show up too bad. But I will say that using the Minky as the backing didn't result in as much "crinkly-ness" (I know that isn't a word, but you know what I mean, right?) The cotton fabric and cotton batting, of course, shrank after being washed and dried, but the Minky doesn't have any shrinkage, really. But it still turned out nice and it's so soft!

Quilt stats:

Top: made with various fabrics I had in my stash

Back: Minky fabric

Measures: 38"x41.5"

what the heck???

2011-02-24T22:39:00.000-08:00

What am I doing wrong?

This is why I hate straight line quilting! I basted the crap outta this quilt (I spray baste). I used the Minky fabric on the back and I have absolutely no puckers. It's perfect. It's the top that is a hot mess. See above! There are only a few spots where this happened and I haven't washed it yet because I still have the binding to do. So I'm really hoping after a wash and dry that these won't be too noticeable.

My machine has a dial that I can turn for the presser foot tension. Do you think I should have put more pressure or less? I just can't figure it out. I played with it over and over and never could really tell a difference. I just don't know why my top was getting so many puckers! So frustrating! Any tips are appreciated! This is why I always free motion stipple my quilts!!

**edited: FYI, I used a walking foot and still had this problem. I've straight line quilted in the past and don't recall having as many issues as this time. Not really sure, what's happening!**

Ticker Tape x2

2011-02-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a couple doll quilts going to a friend of mine for her kids. I saved my Verna scraps from my pinwheel quilt specifically to make one of these someday. I love it!

Measures: 16x20.5

Front: all Verna by Kate Spain scraps

Binding fabric: Celebration by Brenda Riddle for Lecien

Backing fabric: Darlene Zimmerman's Clothesline Club 2007 "Fresh Picked"

Measures: 16x21

Front: all scraps from my stash

Binding fabric: some no-name red stripe I had in my stash

Backing fabric: "Apron Strings" by Chloe's Closet

Winner!

2011-02-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

The winner of the "Arcadia" honey bun is Shannon! Congratulations! I've sent you an email requesting your info.

Thanks to all that entered! I loved reading all the great quotes!

Have a wonderful weekend!

any tips?

2011-02-02T17:41:00.000-08:00

Have you ever used one of those "minky" or "velour-type" super soft fabrics for a back of a quilt? Not a big quilt but like baby sized? If you have are there any tips?

I have a local quilt shop here that sells end of bolt cuts 50% off and when I saw these dots, I couldn't resist! It's just under 2 yards, over 60" wide and would normally be $16.99/yard. I got it for $16! It's so super soft!

I have a friend that is pregnant with her first and she just found out she's having a boy. So I thought maybe I'd use this for the back of a baby quilt for her, but I've never used it before and wonder how it will quilt up. more than likely I'll be doing a free motion meandering stitch.

I quilted a quilt for a friend last month that had fleece for the backing and that went fine. I'd never used that before either. No puckers when it was done!

Anyway, I'm nowhere near using this yet, but thought I'd put it out there to see what you guys thought.

If you haven't entered my giveaway, you still have one more day to do so!

~Giveaway~

2011-01-31T19:19:00.000-08:00

Yep, another one!

Why?

because of these reasons:

a.) I'm celebrating one month down and 7 to go for my hubby's deployment

b.) YOU...

I love my followers!

The fact that YOU take the time to read what I have to say means a lot to me.

YOU inspire me.

and YOUR support means more to me than you'll ever know!

c.) I'm happy and I like sharing the happiness!

So what am I giving away, you ask? Well...it's my favorite. My absolute favorite.

One honey bun of Arcadia by Sanae

How do you win this lovely?

Leave me a comment with one of your favorite quotes. From a movie, a great philosopher, a child, someone in history...whoever! I just love to read great quotes. I'm anxious to hear what you got!

I'll draw a winner Friday 4th.

Here's one of my favorites (and I have no clue who it's by):

"The wonderful thing about the game of life is that winning and losing are only temporary unless you quit."

And we have a winner!

2011-01-26T08:14:00.000-08:00

#31: Dian who is brand new at blogging WON! That's a pretty good way to start off Dian! I sent you an email requesting your info and I'll get this out to you asap.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I absolutely LOVED hearing about your weather and where you live! It's so neat that blogging brings people with common interest together from all over the world! To about 90% of you...stay warm....apparently, it's cold old there!

Here's a couple pictures of my daughters that I had taken recently for Elena's 7th Birthday (which is on Valentine's Day) and a couple pictures of the two of them (Eden is 2 1/2) for V-Day cards for family.

....and yes, I'm well aware that I'm in for a world of hurt when these girls are teenagers....my poor overprotective hubby!

how 'bout a giveaway?

2011-01-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

just because this is the fabric I'm working with right now

and because this is extra and I don't need it

I'm going to give it to one of you!

up for grabs is a charm pack of "Swanky" by Chez Moi

here's the rule:

to enter please leave a comment and tell me how the weather is where you are at! Yep, that's it!(make sure I can get in touch with you if you win!)

I'll draw a winner on Wednesday January 26th

oh, and the weather here in beautiful Southern California is sunny, bright, and nearly in the 70s.

winter? what winter?

(personally I think it was too short here, but that's just my opinion!)

Good Luck!

Another COW party

2011-01-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

Last night was our "Officer's Spouses Club" C.O.W. (Commanding Officer's Wife) party. So we got to shower our new COW with lots of cow gifts. I made another table runner. I also gave her a cute cow mug and a cow spoon rest. (forgot pictures of those)

IKEA Fabric

2011-01-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Here's my stash of IKEA fabric. I've received a lot of questions about the IKEA fabric so I thought I post something about it.

The "kid's fabric" is found in the children's/babies section of IKEA. It's usually in the corner or against a wall with all the bedding and curtains. Most comes grouped together, some are sold single. All are pre-cut in approximately 3 yard increments. I love them, and use them for quilt backs for baby quilts.

They also sell fabric by the yard which is usually by their curtains and rugs department. Most of their fabric is a heavier weight, like home decorator weight. Within all their fabric there are a few quilt weight fabrics. I only have these two:

Hope that help some when shopping for fabric at IKEA!

Fabler quilt

2011-01-17T09:08:00.000-08:00

First finish for 2011. This is for one of my husband's cousins who is having a baby boy. I got the invitation to the baby shower about a week ago so I had to get on it. I kept putting it off and then realized I needed to have it in the mail by tomorrow. I made this in one day. I used fabric from IKEA from the "Fabler" line. (Hence the name of the quilt.) The front is some fabric that has been fussy cut and framed with another print from the line. The binding is from "The Darcy Collection" by Anna Griffin. And...the Color Catcher worked! Thank goodness!!

Quilt measures 39"x43"

Major disaster avoided? We'll see....

2011-01-16T16:55:00.000-08:00

I never even thought about it until I went to wash the quilt.

It's red & white...and for a boy....would it run?..oh no..maybe I should have thought about this sooner...I'm using IKEA fabric vs. quality quilt shop fabric....this is a gift that MUST be in the mail on Tuesday....I'll throw in a "Shout Color Catcher" and pray.

Took it out of the wash to throw it in the dryer....all looked fine....then found the color catcher sheet on the bottom of the washer....

PHEWWWWWW.......

The sheet on the left is a unused one out of the box...the one on the right, came out of my washer!

I'll show the quilt tomorrow when I get some pictures of it in the sunlight outside. Let's hope when I pull it out of the dryer I don't find a disaster!

Heart Felt Wreath

2011-01-02T14:42:00.000-08:00

This has been on my "to do" list since last January! I had even gone out and bought all the stuff to make it last year, just never got around to making it.

Yesterday I managed to clear out all the Christmas decor and pull out the Valentine's Day decor. I realized that I don't really have that much so I decided to make this! Tutorial is found here. I had bought red, white and pink felt and 2 Styrofoam heart wreaths. For my next one I'm going to try using all three colors. I like to have them on my girls' bedroom doors. These are super fun to make but kinda time consuming. Oh and I almost got a blister cutting all the felt circles out! I plan on hitting Joann's and getting some more wreaths and some other goodies that I'll show when I'm done.

My year in review...

2010-12-29T10:43:00.000-08:00

1. Cow Table Runner, 2. Friendship Bags, 3. Trees Mug Rugs, 4. mug rugs, 5. Halloween Table Runner II, 6. Halloween Table Runner I, 7. Sean's Quilt, 8. Vintage Baby, 9. "Maverick Stars", 10. HalloweenWreath1, 11. Fall Fabric Wreath, 12. Avalon4, 13. Sam, I am, 14. "StarStruck", 15. sent with love, 16. pinwheel sampler, 17. winnie scruffily front, 18. Gino front, 19. Scruffily Nostalgia, 20. twin#1, 21. twin#2, 22. Snippets front, 23. winnie front, 24. Ticker Tape, 25. littlequiltfront

Been seeing these popping up everywhere, so I figured I may as well do one too! And I'm glad I did!
#1 - I accomplished a lot! I didn't think I did this much this past year, so it's kinda nice to see it all in front of me.
#2 - I have learned to to take a little better of a picture. Take that back..I've discovered Picnik for my photo editing needs. So therefore, my pictures are a little better.
#3 - This was just the motivation I needed to start getting busy on my next year's worth of projects!

Our Christmas was great....Hubby left for his 8 1/2 month IA (individual augmentee) to Afghanistan on Sunday :( He is spending a week in San Diego doing medical stuff and a bunch of paperwork, then he's off to South Carolina for 2-3 weeks of Army training, then he'll head on over to Afghanistan. We (the girls and I) are doing just fine. First few weeks are always easy for me b/c we get into a routine. Now...4 or 5 months down the road.....I'll be pulling my hair out and I'll be trying to throw as many "pity parties" that I can!

Have a Happy and SAFE New Years!!

My friend, She's a COW...

2010-12-10T17:28:00.000-08:00

What? You think it's mean to call my friend a COW. I don't. She doesn't. It's actually a great honor in our community. See, being called a COW means that you are a Commanding Officer's Wife! And that's exactly what she is now! VAW 112 (not my husband's squadron, but another here on Point Mugu) had their Change of Command today and my friend Jen is now the "Official" COW of Vaw 112!

So this morning while they were having their Change of Command ceremony, a bunch of wives from our squadron (VAW 113) went and decorated her house "cow" themed.

Tonight is her Change of Command party at their house and I am giving her this:

a "cow" themed table runner....

I had made the top and after the fact found this on Etsy. So I did the applique on the back because when I laid it out to do it on the front, with the cow print fabric, you couldn't really see the cows. So the back will have to do! And...with my inexperience of doing applique and using fusible web, of course, it's reversed! I never know which side to trace on etc.! Didn't really matter for this so it still turned out ok.

Our Change of Command is on the 15th so you may just see a repeat next week! Have a great weekend!

More Friendship Bags

2010-12-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

The friend that ordered all the mug rugs also wanted 5 "Friendship Bags" for her to give to her nieces and friend's kids for Christmas. She requested black and pink ones. They turned out pretty cute!

Tutorial found here

O Christmas Tree

2010-12-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

This year we did something we have never done. We bought a Christmas tree from Home Depot. Usually we either go to a tree farm or a National Forrest to cut our own tree down. Since we are now living in Southern California I just didn't feel like doing the long drive to the mountains or foothills somewhere to hunt for a tree. So I went and just picked one from good ol' Home Depot. AND I LOVE it. I think it's the prettiest tree we've ever had.

While decorating and going through all my ornaments, I came across a box that my mom sent me last year at Christmas filled with ornaments from when I was a child. For several years, as a child, my Grandmother would buy an ornament for me. This box contained those. I didn't even go through the box last year since I got it at Christmas time and my tree was already decorated. So it was real neat to see them. These are so old. Some almost 40 years old. I love the "vintage-ness" of them! Some I remember, some I don't. But these in particular, I love!

My mom made this little walnut mouse. Isn't it cute!

My mom made this one the year I was born 1971. It's a "Holly Hobbie" that is suppose to be hold a candy cane I just haven't gotten any yet!

Another one my mom made

How cute is this Raggedy Ann?! My eldest daughter loves this one too!

I absolutely LOVE this one. On the back of this it has the artists initials and the year '77

I finally did it...

2010-12-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

..bought a whole bolt of Warm & White Cotton Batting! (90" x 40 yards) I went to Joann's on Saturday and the batting was 50% off, normally $10.99/yard on sale for $5.49/yard. Then I had a coupon for 20% off my entire purchase! So I paid approx $4.39/yard! I'm so excited. I got sick of buying 5-7 yards at a time and then having this folded up wad of of batting shoved in a cupboard. So now this way, I have it all on a bolt and in a box (that now I have to find a place for!) But hey, maybe this will motivate me to go through a couple closets and weed out some crap!

Disneyland....

2010-11-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

....was packed. Fun, but way too crowded for me. The good part was that Thanksgiving day it was pretty empty, so that was nice. The day after Thanksgiving was the busiest I've ever seen it and I've been there A LOT! (too much actually. Hubby and I decided we need to wait at least 2 years before we go again. It's actually getting a little old to me and I never wanted that to happen, so time for a break!)

The holiday decorations were amazing and I'm super glad I got to experience that! It really put me in the holiday mood. Here's some pictures that my hubby took.

"it's a small world" all lit up

More Mug Rugs

2010-11-22T10:30:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine placed a custom order for some mug rugs to match her tea cups for a tea party she wants to have. I haven't seen her cups in person but she requested blues, yellows and white. I made her these eight:

Then she loved the mug rugs that I made previously of the trees and requested four of those for her family room. So, here are those:

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving (well, those of you that live in the States, that is!) And everyone else, have a nice week. We are headed to Disneyland tomorrow for the rest of the week and I'm so excited! (even though I was just there in June.) I've never been during their Christmastime decorations and I'm super excited for it!

Today is the first day....

2010-11-14T08:27:00.000-08:00

of the last year in my 30s.....Wow...I'm getting old....and it really hit me this birthday....

On a good note, hubby is suppose to return today! Keeping fingers crossed he makes it. We have approx. 6 weeks together so we are going to make the most of it! I think we are going to Disneyland for Thanksgiving....

Doll Quilts

2010-11-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

I had 12 of these blocks assembled to make a baby quilt a while back and then scratched the idea because I didn't really like how it was looking. (and I didn't feel like making around 20 more!) So I decided with the ones I had made I'd just make some doll quilts for the girls.

Then I saw this cute binding tutorial so I wanted to try that as well. First, I've never machine finished my binding, so I wanted to see how that went with something that "didn't really matter". So I tried the tutorial and it's really neat and very easy. But I still need practice on that one! So then on the other 2 I decided I'd machine attach & finish those as well since I just did the 1st one in no time flat. BUT...I realized I attached the binding to the BACK (as it states to do in the cute faux piping tutorial) then finished it (by machine) to the front!! Another DUH moment. Didn't even realize that was wrong until several hours later when I was looking at the 2 that didn't have the "piped binding". I realized what you are "suppose" to do after the fact...oh well! Machine finishing the binding is so fast! Talk about instant gratification when finishing a quilt! Although I enjoy hand stitching the binding to the back way too much to give it up. But I have realized that if I need something done quick and it's small, I now know that I can do it by machine.

Mug Rugs

2010-11-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

Here's the other mug rugs I made. I tell ya, these are quite addicting! They are so fun because they don't take much time and you an try new stuff on a smaller scale. I've never really done applique, so this was a bit of trial and error. I realized you can use fusible web. Duhh!! I realized if you fusible web the whole thing, when it's done it's like a piece of cardboard. Oops! (and it was heat n' bond lite!) I have no clue what I'm doing. Even with all my screw ups I still think they turned out sorta cute! Top 2 went to Crystal and the other 2 went to my BFF.

Check this out!

2010-11-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

Remember my "Maverick Stars" donation quilt? Well the lovely Lisa over at Shiner's View suggested that I submit my story to Quiltstory and I did. Well they are featuring me today! Go check it out!

questions....

2010-11-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

What do you do with your quilts that aren't birthday presents, baby shower gifts, anniversary gifts, Christmas gifts, or any other gift imaginable??

Do you keep them for yourself?

Do you sell them? If you sell them, do you have an etsy shop? Or other web-based shop? Do they sell? Do people actually buy quilts that are handmade? How do you set a price? How do you spread the word that you have quilts for sale?

I ask because I see myself making a bunch of quilts in the future for no particular person or reason. Then I think, "what am I going to do with 15 quilts in the house?" Yes, I have my bed, my daughter's beds, the guest bed, and the beds in our trailer to make quilts for...but then what? What do I do with all the "quilt along" quilts I have in the works? What do I do with all the beautiful lap sized quilts that I want to make?

All but two of my quilts I've given away to friends, family or donation. Now what? What do you do with your quilts?

Decoupage

2010-11-08T08:29:00.000-08:00

I saw this in one of my friend's kitchens when I lived in NV. When we moved into this house and I decided to do my kitchen "retro" themed, I knew I wanted to do this too! Right before I left NV I had purchased 6 yards of this fabric. I made a kitchen valance and now my EAT letters. This is also the first time I decoupaged. I got the paper mache letters at Joann's and then covered them with the fabric.

Couldn't resist!

2010-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Yep, I just decided I'd join another quilt along! Yeah, I know...I have 2 others that I've started and haven't finished yet!

(sorry for the crappy picture. I took this tonight in my kitchen so the lighting and shadows are pretty bad!)

Fabrics: Dream On by Urban Chicks; Moda Bella Solids-White; Moda Marble Botanicals

But I just got this gorgeous "Dream On" Charm pack that I'm dying to use, and I just came across That Girl...That Quilt's blog and saw the quilt along that just started, so I have to do it...right? Plus I have all the other fabric. I bought the "Marble Bontanicals" at a local quilt shop that was 1/2 off. It's not like it's my favorite fabric or anything, but for the price I couldn't resist. I figured it would make a good quilt back for a baby quilt sometime. But when I looked at it tonight with the Dream On charm pack, it looked perfect.

So let's see how far I get with this one! ;)

I'm totally starstruck!

2010-11-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

OH MY what a fabulous day I had! I'm a HUGE Red Hot Chili Pepper fan...like, ridiculously huge! Last night I found out that RHCP were going to be at the Barnes & Noble at The Grove in LA today doing a book signing event for their book that was just released. Of course I missed the boat on getting a wristband to get a book signed. I was so upset! Then one of my friends here on base called and said I should go anyway and that she'd watch my kids. So this morning before I headed out I found out that they were doing an interview w/ Mario Lopez for Extra at 11am. I made it there! And oh my gosh was it ever AWESOME!!! They were so close to me! I'm so in love with Anthony Kiedis! Didn't score on the book signing, but after seeing them so close for the interview, I didn't even care! I know.....I sound like a ridiculous teenager! Oh well!!

My Girls......

2010-11-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

....had so much fun last night. Although Eden (my 2 yr. old) got a little scared of all the boys running around here with scary masks on! So she ended up riding in the jog stroller most of the night! Trick-or-Treating on a military base is so much fun! I can't even explain how many people are out and how cool it is! We had a great time!

I've been bitten....

2010-10-31T11:34:00.000-07:00

.....by the "Mug Rug Bug"! Have you?

What is a mug rug you ask? Answer: A mug rug is an oversized coaster for your mug or glass or cup and has room for a cookie on the side!

These are so fun to make because they are so small! I have more of them to show, but you have to wait..they are going to a couple friends that might visit here every so often!

This one was my first practice one and I screwed up on my binding, so I'm keeping this one. Obviously, it's made with some of my vintage sheets scraps.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2010-10-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to participate in Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival! I've never done this before because I always feel like I have to wait for just the right quilt to enter. Well, ya know what?? I love my Pinwheel Sampler Quilt. So that's what I chose to enter!

I participated in Rachel of p.s. i quilt's Pinwheel Sampler Quilt Along. I thoroughly enjoyed making this. I loved the fabrics and looked forward to what combination I'd use for each block. This measures 58"x69" and is made with Kate Spain's "Verna". The solids are a white and a beige IKEA sheet. This quilt lives on my sofa and I use it just about every day when I'm watching TV.
Enjoy browsing all those beautiful quilts out there! What inspiration!!

Deliveries Deliveries!

2010-10-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Don't ya love mail!?! I got a box yesterday from Crystal. She's been trying to purge some of her stuff she doesn't want or really need. She also knows that lately I've been on this HUGE "Vintage" kick. I am obsessed with vintage sheets and it's been gradually spilling over into everything vintage. I love it! All of it...the furniture, the music, the clothing, the way of life....I could go on and on. I can honestly say that if I could time travel I'd go back to the 40s and 50s. I would happily wear a gorgeous swing dress and heals, have dinner in the oven, lipstick on and greet my hubby at the door with a cocktail in hand for him to sit and relax. (I know...I could do it now, but nah...)Anyway.....Here's what I got from the lovely Crystal:

5 Vintage sheets, a "Dream On" charm pack, 2 adorable flax-seed hand warmers, 2 Mendocino coasters which also came with matching little napkins (not pictured) that got commandeered by my daughters to use as doll blankets. All beautiful stuff! Thanks, Crystal!

Then today the mailman delivered some fabric that I ordered from Above All Fabric who is having a great sale of $3.99 & $5.99 fabrics! I seriously think I found a new "favorite" online fabric store! On top of great prices, they have $5 shipping (NO LIMIT!!) in the US! And they are FAST! I placed my order on the 26th and got it 3 days later.

top left (going down): Amy Butler Daisy Chain: Wildflowers-Rose, Amy Butler Daisy Chain: Sweet Jasmine-Natural, AB Daisy Chain: Mosaic Rose, AB Daisy Chain: Kaleidoscope Dots-Rose, Patricia Bravo Spellbound: Deep Graphic Rose

center top (going down): Mo Bedell Party Dress: Scatter Garden-Shindig, Mo Bedell Party Dress: Diamond Garden-Shindig, Patricia Bravo Spellbound: Midnight Bubbles, Patricia Bravo Spellbound: Lavender Plaid

top right (going down): Patricia Bravo Nature Elements: Lime Sherbet, Erin McMorris Park Slope: Leaf Dots-Green, Michael Miller Candy Dots

I've been really wanting to make a quilt with purples, navy blues, and lime greens. (some of the Amy Butler prints are a little too pink, but I'm sure I'll find other uses for those!) So now, I'm hunting and gathering purples, dark blues, and lime greens.

I am absolutely LOVING Anthology's High Society in the Lime Palette

Have a Spooktacular Halloween!

My awesome giveaway win...

2010-10-23T16:24:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I've won a giveaway. Whenever I do, I'm always thrilled. This one especially! Kati at from the blue chair, hosted a giveaway for some great business cards. I entered and won!

I love them so much! (I'm not a great photographer, she has some better pics on her blog!) Notice the front of the card??? It's my Modify Tradition quilt top! I chose that picture because with all the different colors, it kinda goes with my blog title. (Now I have the constant reminder to hurry up and finish that quilt!!) Soon....

The last time I had business cards was before I was married (and before kids) when I used to be a Probation Officer. Even then, those cards were the standard issue "County" cards, nothing fancy! It's so nice to now have "fancy, nice" cards!

Thanks, Kati!

Halloween Goodies...

2010-10-19T09:35:00.000-07:00

Since I now have 2 kiddos that will be "Trick-or-Treating" this year, I needed to make another Trick-or-Treat bag. I still had some left over jelly roll strips from this bag, so I made another one.

Then, while I had all my Halloween fabric out, I figured I'd make a couple table runners with the scraps. My mom's birthday was yesterday so I made one for her. The other one is for my grandmother that lives next door to her. I figured my mom could pick the one she likes and then give the other one to my grandma. Now I just need to make one for myself!

Afghanistan.......

2010-10-08T08:03:00.000-07:00

I guess I knew it was going to happen, so that's why I'm not shocked or surprised. Right after we moved back to CA in June we were informed that my husband's current squadron would be cutting him loose in December. He was suppose to be on 24 month orders. Because they are letting him go in December after only 8 months he is now being sent to Afghanistan in December.

(and to get into why is too long, but it all boils down to "fit-reps" (evaluations for the Lieutenants) while he is in the squadron, he hogs up the #1 spot b/c he is the most senior so in turn "screws" more junior Lt.s while he's there. Squadron's solution: get rid of him, problem solved. Never mind that we just moved here in June, have a child in 1st grade that just started in September and now my husband has almost 2 extra years of "free-time" so getting sent to Afghanistan is inevitable!)

He leaves a couple days after Christmas. At least we have Christmas together....

Another Avalon Quilt

2010-10-07T15:39:00.000-07:00

Apparently this is my "go-to" quilt when I need to make one quickly! So because my hubby gave the Maverick Star quilt away I promised him I'd make him one before he left on the USS Ronald Regan for a month. Which luckily for me, his departure was pushed out a couple weeks. He was suppose to leave this past Monday, so I was working like crazy to get this done. Took me 2 days and then I just had the binding left to do which I lagged on because of the postponement.

Anyway, it's done now and I LOVE this quilt! It's made with Amy Butler's Daisy Chain. Measures 62"x82"

I think one of my favorite things about this quilt is the back. I made it with a vintage sheet that Crystal sent me a while back. It's just a twin size sheet with tiny pinstripes that are green, yellow, tan and blue. And...it is SO SOFT! I want to keep this quilt so bad for me, but since it's for the hubs, it will be in the house (when he's home) so that's ok. Maybe I'll just steal it from time to time! ;)

A fun filled weekend

2010-09-27T08:32:00.000-07:00

So this post isn't about any new quilting...but I just had to share this.

So ya know how I made this quilt for the Hawkeye Ball that we attended on Friday? I had a couple fellow Navy wives that were all over it and wanted it bad. One in particular, was partly in charge of setting up all the raffle items ahead of time and had gone to the hotel and took the time to hang and display my quilt with the other raffle items.

(picture taken with her camera phone)

We arrive at the Ball and buy some raffle tickets. They were only $1 a piece, which kinda made me sad. Especially to think that someone could buy $1-$5 worth of tickets and win my quilt, but oh well. So my hubby bought $40 worth of thickets and we move down the line to distribute our tickets. There were some great prizes: Tiffany bracelets, necklace, "Date Night", golf lessons, a Nook, I could go on and on. I dumped a bunch in the date night, my hubby in the golf lessons, some in a "kids pack", and he puts ONE ticket in the quilt bag. You see where this is going don't ya!? As he puts his one ticket in there, I see my friend's husband (the one who hung my quilt) putting a HUGE stack of tickets in there. 100 to be exact.

The raffle begins....Friend who hung quilt wins the 1st prize, a Tiffany bangle bracelet. Friend wins second prize, a Nook. And so the raffle continues.... We win "Date night" which was $50 gift card at a nice restaurant, 2 movie tickets and a $15 Starbucks card. We're happy...

Raffle continues....quilt ticket is drawn....1st number called....no one claims it....going once, going twice....drawing another ticket.....who wins?.....My hubby! He walks up to get the quilt, gets it, turns around, walks right over to friend who hung the quilt's table and hands it to her. Comes back to our table and asks, "that's what you wanted me to do, right?" "YEP!"

After raffle is over, friend comes up to me and thanks me with tears in her eyes and then tells me that the 1st number called was hers but her husband wouldn't let her claim it since they had won the 1st two prizes. He wanted someone else to have a chance. So all along, I knew she was suppose to have that quilt!

Come to find out that she had purchased $350 worth of tickets...she deserved every prize she won!

And of course....the rest of the night and all weekend I heard, "sure wish I had that nice new quilt" So now I have to get busy and make hubby a quilt before he leaves on Monday for another month on the ship! (probably not going to happen!)

Oh and I had "Pin-Up" girl photos taken with some of the wives of our squadron. Here's one that hubby took of me. The rest by the photographer are coming soon. It was SO MUCH FUN getting hair and make-up done and then dressing like the beauties of the 40's and 50's. What a fabulous day!

Vintage Baby!

2010-09-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

I participated in the Flickr's Vintage sheet swap a while ago. (well right before I moved) Anyway, I sent 80 fat quarters and got 80 back! I've been chomping at the bit to make some vintage sheet quilts so FINALLY I whipped up a baby quilt. I plan on making A LOT more of these (especially since I have SO MANY vintage sheet fqs)! I'd like to have one for each bed in the house for the summer months.

This one is going to a fellow Navy wife here in Point Mugu who's daughter is turning one. I had lots of fun going through some of my fat quarters and picking out some bright, cheery prints for a one year old girl. This measures 46"x46" and is backed with some IKEA fabric.

"Maverick Stars" DONE!

2010-09-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

It's done and ready to be donated! I'm so happy with this quilt. I think it turned out real nice. This is being donated to the VVOSA on behalf of VAW 113 Officer's Spouse Club for a raffle that is being held this Friday at our Hawkeye/Greyhound Ball. I hope whoever wins this loves it as much as I do! I guess I'll have to make another one just for us. My hubby wants one to take on the ship for his rack. Better get busy! He's due to deploy in a few months!

measures 60"x72"

Never Forget

2010-09-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

I'll never forget.

I would not have the life I have today had 9/11 never happen.

The day after the tragic events, my husband joined the Navy. He did this to help fight for all of our freedoms and to fight to insure that this never happens again. He said to me the next day, "I'm signing up and joining the Navy TODAY. I can not sit by and watch something like this happen again without fighting. I have to help."

I'm proud to have a man that stood up and makes sacrifices every single day to protect our freedoms.

God bless the families that lost loved ones on September 11, 2001.

God bless every single service member and their families for helping in the fight.

Halloween Wreath

2010-09-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

I can't stop!

I posted a picture of my Fall Wreath on my facebook page and a friend suggested a solid black one with longer fabric pieces for Halloween . So I ran right out and got some Kona Black and cut 2" x 6.6" pieces and whipped it up. I kinda jumped the gun because I'm not really even sure if she really wants it, but if she doesn't OH WELL, I'll have something to hang on my door next month!

Access Denied..

2010-09-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

Why can't I get onto Etsy? It keeps asking me for a user id and password for "authentication"! Then won't even open up the site....I'm confused. Am I doing something wrong??

Fall Fabric Wreath

2010-09-08T17:49:00.000-07:00

I love making these!

This is made up entirely of scraps.

Tutorial found here.

Now I just need to find a longer wreath hanger!

Maverick Stars Top Done!

2010-09-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

I finished the top for the quilt I'm donating for our Hawkeye Ball VVOSA raffle. I was going to quilt it next week. Maybe, just maybe, start it this weekend. My weekend plans fell through so now I'm home with nothing to do, hubby gone again and eldest daughter is coming down with a cold. So we shall see!

Popcorn, Indiana

2010-08-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried this?? I bought a large bag yesterday from Whole Foods Market. Didn't open it until today and now only 1/2 a bag is left! Oh my gosh this is some GOOD kettlecorn! I don't recommend trying it...you can't stop eating it...I'm not kidding!

Maverick Stars

2010-08-22T15:51:00.000-07:00

Inspired by this.

Four down...26 to go!

Avalon Quilt in Chocolate Lollipop

2010-08-08T16:21:00.000-07:00

Here's the quilt for my sister's Birthday. I hope she likes it. I was hoping it would be a tad wider, but this will have to do. measures 62"x81". Made with Anna Maria Horner's Chocolate Lollipop.

I ended up just using white thread to quilt it. It turned out fine.(the grid kinda looks wonky in the picture, but it's not in real life. I think maybe the way it was hanging on my fence or something made it look a little "off")

Well...one thing off my to-do list! Many more to go.....
oh and on a side note...hubby didn't make it home yet. His plane broke before take off, so the other 3 planes arrived home but his didn't. They had to use a crane to lift the plane off the air craft carrier and then maintenance was going to work on it. I'm hoping he comes home tonight! For now, he's stuck in San Diego just waiting. It's no fun having all the other husbands and daddy's home but mine :( (yeah...I'm having a pity party!)

Hubby returns tomorrow!

2010-08-06T08:48:00.000-07:00

Finally, he comes home tomorrow after being gone for two months! Now we can celebrate our daughter's 2nd birthday, one week late; have my mother in law visit next Wednesday for a week; and go on a weekend getaway to Vegas, just the two of us, next weekend. Then he leaves the 19th for another month :(

Freedom isn't free. Thank you, hubby, for all you do! I love you!

Little Scraps of Happiness

January Mini Quilt

2011 in review

Teacher's Gift

Baby Clothes Quilts D.O.N.E.!!

December's Mini

I HATE BASTING!! poem

My "pain-in-the-neck" quilt project...

My Husband's Quilting suggestions....

Forty....

November's Mini Quilt

Blogger's Quilt Festival

Christmas Tree Pants

one of the things I'm working on...

Parisville, Baby

Great Friends and Mini Quilts

UGH! Let the unpacking begin...

Avalon x two

quick post... (non quilty!)

Today you are Three....

Elena & Eden's Vintage Sheet Quilts

Babysitter's Quilt

A little "DS Quilts" love...

Do you think I have a chance.....

Random Reflections

I'm a little obsessed....

Baby Sawyer Quilt

In honor of the RHCP...

A Family Heirloom

Winner!

Now...

Suggestions??

For YOU!

all because of c c.....

Mia's Quilt

twenty one dollars....

The Price is Right

FUN weekend ahead...

"Salt Water Taffy" scruffily quilt

Pay it Forward Selectees

"Love in a Mist"

Pay It Forward....Wanna play?

"Sea Glass"

This is taking FOREVER!

fabric diet needed...ASAP

What I'm working on...

Ty

Love in a Mist

Are Joann's fabric taboo in the quilting world?

ugh....

Yumm-O

Head on over...

Swanky Lattice

Stacked Strips

what the heck???

Ticker Tape x2

Winner!

any tips?

~*Giveaway*~

And we have a winner!

how 'bout a giveaway?

Another COW party

IKEA Fabric

Fabler quilt

Major disaster avoided? We'll see....

Heart Felt Wreath

My year in review...

My friend, She's a COW...

More Friendship Bags

O Christmas Tree

I finally did it...

Disneyland....

More Mug Rugs

Today is the first day....

Doll Quilts

Mug Rugs

Check this out!

questions....

Decoupage

Couldn't resist!

~Giveaway~