Linz Sews

Crazy

2012-01-27T14:22:00.001-07:00

So... I had a c.r.a.z.y idea for a block. It's a dual purpose block - the first purpose - the Skill Builders Sampler QAL has been doing curves all this month, and I am using this as my challenge block. I had to set in two whole circles. And that was after a tremendously awful bout of piecing. With Y seams...

This was my "pattern"

So, here it is - bragging rights to anyone who can tell me what the inspiration was... :)

It's not anywhere near perfect. But, hey - it's not too bad, either! :)

Setting in circles isn't as hard as I though it would be, but it does involve some work... such as, making a foam board "map"...

The second purpose? You'll find out soon... ;)

Puzzle Quilt all done!

2012-01-26T09:41:00.003-07:00

I am so pleased to be sharing this with you today!! I am happily finished with the Puzzle Quilt!

Isn't it darling!?! It does have a bit of a story, so bear with me!

I found that this pattern, while cute and fun, is a little difficult. The piecing was fast and easy, but you really had to pay attention while sewing the rows together! It was SUPER easy to sew blocks the wrong way, and I did have to do a little unsewing now and then. But that wasn't a big deal. The first big deal whoopsie came when I - ummm - dropped my iron (again). It didn't seem like a big deal (because it never has been before), so I just picked it up and set out to press some seams.

Within SECONDS, I smelled a horrible smell and looked down to see this:

AUGH!!!! I have never scorched fabric before. I cried. Then I unpicked this block and made a new one. Then I went and bought a new iron. :)

The rest of the process seemed to go just fine. Until... after I finished quilting, I found a tiny whoopsie. a seam that had popped open and had made a tiny hole. It wasn't any bigger than 1/32 of an inch... but it was there. I was seriously upset. So, I decided to fix it up by appliqueing a small puzzle piece over it.

It's my favorite part now! lol! So, yay! Happy Ending!

I decided to quilt using a meandering stipple, because I thought that the look of stipples really lends itself well to puzzles!

The back is so cute!! I love the dots! And it's flannel, so it's super soft!

I am so glad to have been able to make this quilt for my dear friend's new nephew! I sure hope they love it! :)

Puzzle Quilt Stats:

Pattern: Connect the Dots by Liz Schwartz & Stephen Seifert

Finished Size: 39" × 51"

Quilting: Meandering Stipple (on my own machine)

Fabrics: various prints from various designers:

White dot (on back) - FLANNEL - Robert Kaufman, "Cozy Cotton" Screen print D#9255
Bright Blue - Michael Miller, "Doozie" Tie Grid in blue
Stripe - Robert Kaufman, "New Traditions" I couldn't find which color specifically.
Navy dot - I have no idea. Sorry.
Grey - Sherbert Pips, Grey squares
Green dots - Riley Blake, Felicity

WIP Wednesday!

2012-01-25T06:54:00.001-07:00

I almost forgot it was Wednesday!!

I got quite a bit done this week, and I'm super excited about where things are heading! Let's go!

Skill Builders Sampler

Whoops! Haven't finished last weeks block! I printed the pattern... now where did I put that? Hmmm...

E's King Size Zig-Zag

FOUR sets are done!!! Only two more to go, and those two sets are BOTH paired and marked!! YEA!!!! I really am so excited about how this one is coming along!! :)

Baby Boy Puzzle Quilt!!

Top = done
Quilting = done!
Binding = on, but needs to be stitched down! I am going to finish this TODAY!!! It is really cute! It has given me a few headaches, but I am thrilled with how it's come together! I'll probably post finished pictures tomorrow!! For now, here's a sneak peek...

Beejeebers

Next month is MY month!! I have a super fun idea in the works! I ran it by our Bee Mama, and she really liked it too, so now I am in the planning stage and I'll be doing my own block (as an example) this week! I am SOOOOO excited for this one! Yea!

Baptism Dress

Still waiting for the fabric to arrive. Grr... It should arrive Friday. Then... let the sewing commence!

Flower girl dress

I met with the mom yesterday about this fun little dress. It is not a traditional flower girl dress, and I am excited to figure it out! Here's a hint - this dress involves a corset and feather boas. Interested? Stay tuned! :)

Well, that's all for this week! Be sure to check out all of the lovely WIP's over at Freshly Pieced!

TNT Thursday

2012-01-19T09:34:00.000-07:00

So I have done a few new things, and I want to link up to Melissa's TNT Thursday!!! :)

Some of these, you've seen - but I forgot to credit my new acheivements. One is a small thing, but a NEW thing, so here we go!

First - a few weeks ago I made my own paper piecing pattern for the Beejeebers!

Word.

Second - this week, I FINISHED my first needle-turn applique block!

Yea!

Last - yesterday I ordered fabric online for my daughter's baptism dress. Now, I have ordered fabric online before - but not SILK!!!

That's right folks. The princess is getting Dupioni Silk. I've never worked with it before, never bought it before, and I am scared to death of ruining such delicious fabric. :) Wish me luck!

Happy TNT Thursday! Here's to trying new things!!

WIPs on Wednesday!

2012-01-18T05:35:00.000-07:00

Another week - gone! I can't believe how fast a week can go by, but this week, at least, has seen a lot of progress!! YEA! As an aside - this post marks my 200th post! Big smiles!

Skill Builders Sampler - TWO blocks finished!

Block 21 - Applied Applique

This block is called Topeka Rose. I did all needle turned applique. It took a Looooooong time. I wondered why on Earth I didn't go with an easier method. But, now that it's done, I am totally proud of what I've done here!!

Block 23 - Drunkard's Path.

I love the name. haha! Leila gave a GREAT tutorial for this method that included how to make the template in whatever size you want and how to get that curve sewn. If anyone is interested in learning to sew these dastardly curves, her tutorial is a great place to learn! It is found HERE.

As another side, this quilt a long has been a great learning experience! It's never too late to join in! The master list of blocks is found HERE!

Baby Boy Puzzle Quilt

Cut out, laid out, and ready to stitch top together! Yay!

E's King Size Zig Zag

I am HALF way through the Half Square Triangles!! YIPEE!!! And you know - the more I get done, the more I love it! The fabrics are gorgeous and this is going to be awesome!!

Baptism Dress - I have decided on what I'm going to do (and it's going to be awesome!). I'm going to get fabric today! :)

Flower Girl dress - I have the beginnings of a design in mind. I am going to sketch it out today and see how we feel!
See? Lots of great progress! I am thrilled! Linking up to Lee's WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

Bedroom is done!

2012-01-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

I am SO pleased to say that the bedroom project is FINISHED!!! YEA!!! It took two weeks. Two LONG weeks. I am not usually sooooo ready to be finished with a project, but this one just about killed me. I do not want to do any more home projects for a while. So, you know we'll start one in a few weeks... lol!

Anyway, in truth, the bedroom reno started 2 years ago when we painted the walls grey. At the time we put up barn doors for the closet and bathroom, but we left them unpainted. For TWO years! Sloppy. But, I am happy to say, once we started on the floor, we continued through and got the doors finished too! I am pleased (?) to say I am now near expert in vinyl spackling, and also, pretty handy with an angle grinder.

So, here it is, in all it's glory! (Bear in mind, it is really hard to photograph a room...)

The bedroom!

Michael built these valences to cover the tracks, and they look awesome! We have decided to put some pictures (and um... a few gifts from the kids) on display up there. I think it's just awesome!

This is what we decided to do for the thresholds. It looks so cool in person!

Ta-da!! I am so relived to have this over with! I am planning on changing our bedding (although, shockingly, it doesn't involve a quilt...) and we are going to get a rug too. But for now, this is done! :)

It's Wednesday - so WIP it!

2012-01-11T00:15:00.000-07:00

This week has been one of good solid progress. And Pintrest. Heaven help me, I have a Pintrest problem. You know, I joined Pintrest to pin quilt patterns that I loved and wanted to try. It has become my fantasy high heel closet instead. Sigh.... heels.
Anyway - I do have a quilt board, and a sewing board, and a craft board too, so feel free to come check out my boards, and maybe get some shoe inspiration too! lol!!

Anyway - here is my sewing progress!

E's King Size HST Quilt:
Set one is finished!!!! YAY!! Set 2 is sewn and pressed just waiting to be trimmed...

Skill Builders Sampler:

I made block 22 - flowering snowball - our first curved block. Curves are bleck. But they look wonderful!!!

I also (finally) started block 21 - the applied Applique block.

It's progress! Not much, but progress none the less! Why I decided to do all needle-turn on this one I currently don't know. I am sure I'll be glad when I'm done... right?

Beejeebers:

First block done! I created a paper piece pattern for this all by myself!!

I wish I would have copied it, though... lol!

Finally, Special Baby Boy Quilt:

We have decided on this super cute pattern:

Source: equiltpatterns.com via Lindsay on Pinterest

In these super cute fabrics:

I am really excited to get going on this!!! Yay!!

Upcoming: A little flower girl dress for my friend's daughter, and a baptism dress for MY Princess! Stay tuned for more on those!!

Well, that is all for this week! Be sure to check out all of the awesome WIPs at Freshly Pieced!

Beejeebers January block

2012-01-06T09:55:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I made my first bee block for the Beejeebers Quilting Bee! She asked for either a wonky house or tree. I decided to go with a wonky house. I knew from experience that "improv" piecing is not that easy for me, so I decided to go with paper piecing.

The Problem: I didn't have a house paper piecing pattern. So... I made one. It was an awesome learning experience, and I am SO pleased with the result! Hopefully Jamie will like it too! :) So here it is: a paper pieced wonky house of my own design!!

Yay!!! But... 2nd problem. I didn't copy the pattern. Whoops! lol!

WIP Wednesday - New Years edition

2012-01-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

Happy 1st WIP of 2012 everyone! I am excited to be able to link up with Lee again! We've missed you! :)

So - sewing has been pretty scarce the last few weeks. The holidays totally messed me up, and then - right before New Years, Hubby and I took on a HUGE semi-spontaneous project...

We ripped the carpet out of our bedroom, spent New Years Eve (all. day. long) working on cleaning and prepping the concrete, finally painting the concrete floor BLUE!!!

It turned out simply fabulous. This picture doesn't do it justice... Unfortunately, the painting happens over days, not hours, and needs to cure for 72 hours after the final coat, so we have been displaced for almost a week now. And we won't get the room all the way to finished until Saturday. SIGH... but, I am so tickled with how it turned out!!!

Anyway - SEWING!! As it is a new year, I have taken a step back to reevaluate everything. I have decided that I need a little more balance in my life, and that means facing my obsessive personality head on. As such, I have decided that this year I will be focusing on QUALITY over quantity. I will be doing less projects, but they will all be BETTER. More focus on technique and skill.

So here is my current WIP list for the start of 2012:

E's King Size:
This has officially moved up to top priority status. She doesn't need it soon, but it's going to take a while. Here's where I'm at.

I am currently pressing and trimming the first set of HSTs. This quilt will have... wait for it... 720 HST. Ugh. So, I am breaking them down into 6 sets. This is the first. Wish me luck! :)

Skill Builder Sampler:

Going strong. Here's my latest block: Circles

I know this doesn't look all that inspiring, but I learned SO much with this block. Each block was sewn using a different applique method. The largest one was my very first needle-turn applique!!! And guess what? I LOVE IT! It looks so nice and isn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be! So, my next block is all needle turn:

Wish me luck! :)

Beejeebers Bee:

I joined this wonderful Bee and am in the planning stages of the first block. She asked for a wonky house or tree and I am so excited to get it going! I'll be doing it this week, so stay tuned!

Special Baby Boy Quilt:

A dear friend of mine has asked me to make a quilt for her twin sister's unborn baby boy, due in March. He is having some major in-utero health problems, so it is a scary time for them. She has asked me to make something special for him and her sister. I am honored to make it. It is still in the planning stages, so stay tuned for that!

And that, my friends, is all for now! I have a few more that I will start after I get one or two checked off, though! Happy WIP Wednesday! Be sure to check out all of the lovely WIPs at Freshly Pieced!!

2011 Recap

2011-12-31T14:03:00.002-07:00

19 finished quilts, and a whole bunch of SBS blocks...

And a whole bunch of other stuff! :) Good sewing year!

Christmas was fun!

2011-12-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

Christmas was a blast this year! The weekender bags were a HIT!

So was the Lego bag! In fact - that may have been the biggest hit of the little man's entire haul! Yea!!

As for me - as we opened presents, I was wildly spoiled with clothes, and shoes... check out these beauties...

I feel a new blog header coming on... :)

I also got (myself) this book:

I am so excited to get into it and learn some new techniques and things! Yea!

But, as the present opening wound down, the one thing that I had asked for - a Dress Form - remained absent. I was so bummed. But, I didn't want to whine on Christmas - especially when I had received such beautiful heels, so I didn't say anything and just started plotting when I could buy myself one. Afterward, as we were getting ready to pile in the car to go look at Christmas lights, (we open family gifts on Christmas Eve - to keep them separate from the Santa mayhem) I opened my car door to find:

My Dress Form!!

It was sitting in my seat!!!! hahaha! My hubby laughed and said, "Well, I had to surprise you somehow!"

Isn't she lovely? Her name is Trisha. I can't wait to put her to good use!!! :)

On Christmas morning, after the Santa mayhem, we went to church!

(He's a little monkey, isn't he?) Doesn't the Princess look pretty? I was right, though - we left a huge pile of glitter in the pew at church. I felt bad... but at least she looked good!

It was a wonderful holiday! We took a getaway to Zion National Park on Christmas day for a few nights, and the Weekender Bags were used and were a huge success!! I am so happy I made those!

Hope everyone had a great holiday too!!

WIP Wednesday - sigh of relief edition

2011-12-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

That's it. I'm done. I made all the bags I am going to make, all of the ornaments that I am going to make. My Christmas sewing list has all been checked off. Some crossed off for sanity's sake, but all the projects that needed to be done are done!

What a glorious feeling! And now just for fun... a recap of all the crazy holiday stitching...

Weekender Bags - all three of them!

Dopp Kits + a tutorial - to go with the weekenders

Lego bag

Skirt

Stocking

The Dress

The Dress that didn't work

Bags and ornaments - I didn't end up with pictures of all of them... but you get the point!

So what's on tap for 2012?

I have E's King size Zig Zag as my only currently in progress project. Wow. Only one. Weird.

I am still working on Skill Builders Sampler! I still need to make block 20, but that's going to have to wait until next week.

I have joined in a Quilting Bee for 2012! We are called the Beejeebers, and it is hosted by Melissa at Happy Quilting! I am totally excited!! Funny story - Melissa asked for name suggestions, and I recommended Beejeebers as a joke. I was telling her that this is my first Bee, and it scared the beejeebers out of me. So the next question was about a name, so I put down that. haha! Everyone liked it. I think that is just plain awesome! :)

Other than that - I plan on being a little more reasonable next year. My unlimited sewing budget was, once again - summarily rejected. So, no more than one quilt per month, and I want to do a lot more "other" stuff - like cloths, bags, and things. Should be a great year!!

Hope everyone out there has a wonderful holiday season, and a wonderful New Year!!

The Dress

2011-12-20T11:53:00.000-07:00

So, sorry about my freak out yesterday. I was feeling stressed! :) BUT! I am happy to say that yesterday proved to be a very productive day! For sewing. But don't look at the state of the rest of my house... yikes.

Anyway - I finished the princess's Christmas dress today!! YEA!!! And it really turned out beautiful. Probably my favorite dress that I have made to date! :) So here it is in all it's glory:

The Princess stayed home from school sick today, but I drug her outside for pictures anyway. Please overlook the lack of hair doing! :)

She picked gold and red so that she could have Griffindor colors. We are currently reading book 7 of the Harry Potter series, and at present, that world has overtaken our lives! :) At least they are Christmas colors too!

She picked out the trim on the over skirt. I wasn't sure about it, but I really like the way it looks! So pretty! The flower was purchased at Joann's. Lovely finishing touch!

Now that this is done, everything else just seems easy! I may even have time to read a book or two! :)

Crunch Time

2011-12-19T13:22:00.001-07:00

I got Z-E-R-O sewing done over the weekend. We were babysitting our niece and nephews, and therefore N-O-T-H-I-N-G got done. Except a lot of stress eating. But that's another story... hahaha!

So now, I am feeling the crunch. I don't have a ton left, but I do have some major holiday deadlines. I have one more bag to make, one more ornament to make, Princess's dress to finish, Rudolf cupcakes to make, and a whole lot of delicious fudge to make and take to neighbors. And only 5 days to do it.

Today, I have tried to get some progress made - and I have, a little - but it seems like when you need to get things done - everything that can go wrong does! As I was working on the dress today - my thread kept breaking. This normally isn't a huge issue, but it was for gathering the skirt, and that really does need to be one long thread. Then, I ran out of bobbin thread. Grrr... And to top everything else off - every inch of my sewing room is covered in red glitter. Why? Because I allowed the princess to pick out this fabric for her over skirt:

Why do they even make glitter fabric? Oh, yeah - because it LOOKS good. But it is a MESS!!! :)

Wish me luck over the next few days! I am feeling pretty good about things, but we shall see!

WIP Wednesday - hang in there edition

2011-12-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last week, my brain decided to take a vacation. Seriously. I forgot to take my son to preschool one day!!! Well, almost - I would have forgotten, but the other car-pool mom called me and asked where the heck I was (in a much nicer way), so they were only about 20 minutes late. Seriously, who does that?

I also forgot to do a WIP post. It threw me off. I didn't realize how much this weekly post helps me keep things together! So - here goes my list of WIPS!

Finishes:

One teacher gift, a fabric ornament

Tutorial found HERE at V and Co. I love how it came out, but I really hate hot glue!!

A Few drawstring bags for friends

Tutorial found HERE. This is a great tutorial! It is quick, and really cute!! Love them (want to keep them!!)

Stocking!

Read about this one HERE.

Progress:

SBS Block #19

SO cute!!! SO CUTE!! I love this block!

Princess's dress - all cut out and in the "next up" position! Yea!

E's King size - all cut out and starting to prep for piecing!

On hold - my dress. We'll see if I can squeeze that one in before Christmas. Probably not.

So there we go! Lots of fun and I feel like I'm really making progress on the list! Only a week and a half til Christmas!!! Wowza! December has really flown...

Can you make...?

2011-12-10T06:28:00.001-07:00

One of my very favorite questions to be asked is "Can you make {whatever is on their mind}?" Usually it is something I haven't done before, but I almost always want to give it a try.

Yesterday one of my best friends asked me if I could duplicate a stocking for her baby. The rest of the family had stockings that looked like this:

Unfortunately, this style wasn't being sold anymore, and - naturally - they didn't want their baby boy to have one that didn't match. So, I set off, found the supplies and recreated it as best as I could. Here's what I came up with:

What do you all think? Close enough? The cream's are a little different, but I think it's probably close enough. I hope she is happy with it! :)

Quick Skirt, and Sad News about the Dress

2011-12-08T05:30:00.000-07:00

First up - we took family pictures today. I had tried to do some via tripod, but they were an epic fail. So I asked my sister in law to take a few for us. As I was planning the wardrobe, I realized the sever lack of nice skirts for the princess. So, I made this one. It took less than 1 hour, start to finish!!!! I am definitely going to do a tutorial on this skirt soon!

I used suiting for the first time ever! (Hello, TNT!)

I must say - I have now fallen in Looooooove with suiting! It is so soft and the perfect weight! And the lining fabric was so silky too... I love finding a good fabric! It does fray a bit, but not any worse than organza or satins.

Check out my hem-less hem! It was so easy and I'm glad it worked as well as it did! Again, stay tuned for the tutorial!

So, in other news, I managed another epic fail on my pretty blue dress. Everything went pretty well, but once the zipper was in I found a major problem with the fit that cannot be easily fixed. I would have to redo the entire bodice (and that's the hardest part of the dress!) Grrr...

I am sad about it, but - never to be kept down - I know what needs to change, and I am planning on redoing the dress - in suiting. **Delighted Sigh** I think I will like this much better than satin prom-dress material anyway! :)

Linking up to TNT at Happy Quilting!! Cheers!

Lego Bag!

2011-12-05T13:24:00.001-07:00

As one of my many Christmas projects this year, I decided to make a Lego Bag for my 4 year old boy. When I saw Lee's tutorial a few weeks ago, I knew our house HAD to have one! I am happy to say - it's done!! Yay!!!

Here's the outside of the bag. I used some left over Halloween fabrics (that weren't too Halloweenish, and some fabrics from my stash.

There's the inside! I happened to have this blue fabric in large quantities for a number of years. I don't remember what I originally bought it for, so now it has made a lovely inside for our bag/play mat!

My hubby had some cording and grommets, and I had a few cord locks on hand.

So, did you catch that? ALL of the fabric and supplies were taken from my stash, or already in my house, which (somehow) makes this bag free. ;)

Thanks again to Lee for this great tutorial!! I know it (and all the Lego's that are going to be inside of it) will be a big hit this Christmas!

Dopp Kits - A Tutorial!

2011-12-03T06:11:00.001-07:00

Today I finished the Dopp Kits to go with the Weekender Bags. I fiddled and tweaked and changed the original tutorial (found HERE) so much, that I am going to share a new tutorial - Dopp Kits, Linz style. ;)

For those who are not familiar with the term "Dopp Kit" - it is just a manly term for a toiletries bag. :)

Materials:
1/3 yd main fabric
1/3 yd lining fabric
2/3 yd fusible interfacing
1 12" (or longer) zipper

Cut:
From main: 2 - 11 x 10 inch rectangles
From lining: 2 - 11 x 10 inch rectangles
1 - 3 x 7 inch rectangle
From interfacing: 4 - 11 x 10 inch rectangles

Apply fusible interfacing to the wrong side of all 4 rectangles (main and lining fabrics)

On ALL 4 rectangles (main and lining fabrics), on 11" side, measure a 4 x 2 inch rectangle from one side, mark the side line only.

Move ruler over 3 inches, mark next side line and bottom line.

Do this on both sides on all 4 rectangles, so there is a 3 x 2 inch rectangle marked in center of 11 inch side as seen below.

On all 4 pieces, cut out 3 x 2 inch rectangles. They will look like H's now.

Zipper! I find it helps to sew a little zig zag stitch at the top of my zipper to keep it together. To do this, simple set a short zigzag stitch length and stitch a few times in the same spot above the zipper head.

At the end of the zipper, create a stop block by setting a long zig zag stitch and stitching a few times in the same place, so that the stop is just short of where your fabric ends. The zipper will need to be 10 inches long.

Make a zipper sandwich. With one piece of LINING right side up, lay your zipper right side up on top of it, keeping the stops just inside the edges. lay on piece of main fabric on top, right side DOWN.

Pin all layers in place, and then trim off excess zipper. Mine was way long...

Using your zipper foot, stitch the layers together.

Flip open and press.

I like to top stitch, again using the zipper foot. This isn't strictly necessary, but I think it looks nice.

Now, make the zipper sandwich on the other side, stitch, press, and top stitch in the same manner.

Once that is finished, flip like fabrics together like so:

Stitch the long edge on main fabric the entire length.

On long side of LINING, leave a 4 - 5 inch hole for turning.

Now, on the short end of MAIN fabric, on the side where the TOP of the zipper is, line up edges with zipper in the middle, like so:

Place on machine, folding the lining edges down like so.

This can be a little tricky, but carefully stitch the main fabric together, just catching the lining around the zipper. Do the EXACT same thing for the lining, catching a little of the main at the zipper.
Make sure to fold them back so you are only getting a small amount as you stitch over the zipper.

When finished, you should have closed off both the main portion and the lining, with the zipper caught in both. It looks like this:

Now, reach on in and open up that zipper. If you don't, you won't be able to turn it!

Now do that same tricky step on the other end of the bag.

Set that aside for now to make your handle. Press 1/2 inch down on both sides of handle

Then, fold in half and press down.

Top stitch 1/4 inch on both sides of handle. Now it's done!

This next part can be a little bulky as you make the corners, so be patient and don't be afraid to manipulate the bag as you go!

Pinch the corners so that the seam is centered on the other side of the cut out square. Slide your handle in and center it in the seam.

Stitch the corner closed.

On the opposite side (make sure to do this on the short side!) bring the handle over (make sure it's not twisted!) and pinch the corner in the same manner. Stitch as before.

Now, start pinching and stitching all remaining corners. It gets bulkier with each corner, so be patient!

Once all corners are sewn, trim off excess zippers and seams as necessary.

Through the opening in lining, begin to flip your bag right side out.

As you turn, keep the lining out of the main bag.

Stitch the opening in the lining closed, either by machine (as I did, but you do have to manipulate it a bit!), or by hand.

Push lining into bag and push out all courners until shape is correct.

Ta-da!! You have made a nice little dopp kit!!

Look how cute it looks with the Weekender Bag!

Now fill it with travel supplies and enjoy your trip!

Princess's Bottled Rainbow - finished!

2011-12-02T14:32:00.001-07:00

I am just so proud!! My Princess finished her very first quilt today!!! Here it is:

Princess's Bottled Rainbow, by my Princess, Age 7

finished size 40 x 47

I love this satisfied look on her face!

And this is what she has been doing since finishing it!! I am so so proud of her!

Dopp Kits

2011-12-01T08:41:00.001-07:00

When I finished making the Weekender Bags, I found that I had a obscene amount of fabrics left over. So I thought it would be fun to make little Dopp Kits for the kids to go with their bags. I found several Dopp Kit tutorials, was (and am still) unsure which one to use, so I decided to try THIS one.

I started using my fabrics, so I wouldn't mess up the kids and somehow run out of fabric. Here's try number... well 2. Try number 1 was a disaster... lol!

The cute little handle. It's still a little wonky, but I think I have it figured out for next time!

In a further flash of brilliance, I decided to try out putting in an exterior zippered pocket. I used THIS tutorial for that, and LOVE how it turned out!! Not hard at all. This is going to become a regular part of my bag making!

All in all, this was fun, and turned out okay. I am going to make the kid's smaller though. SO many firsts here, I am definitely linking up with TNT at Happy Quilting! Today she has an awesome bag tutorial, so check it out!!

WIP Wednesday - Mah na Mah na edition

2011-11-30T05:56:00.001-07:00

Wow. It feels like a LOT longer since last week's post. Thanksgiving will do that I suppose. I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done this week. Some, but not a lot. But a lot of decorating got done!! :)

Over the weekend, we took the kids to see the new Muppet Movie.

Hilarious. If you haven't seen it, go see it. We laughed our heads off!

Anyway - sewing!

{Almost} Finished:

Lego Bag!!

It is sewn and the grommets are in!! Just need to get cord. I don't know how I missed that when I was getting supplies...

Progress:

E's King Size Zig Zag: the cutting has commenced.

That's 360 squares. And that's only half...

My dress: started

Cut out and the bodice has started getting stitched! I really love the color. So, as I was pinning that wicked curve in the bodice, I was reflecting on how different dress making is from quilting. And then I had a fun idea crop in. Would anyone be interested in a "Dress making for Quilters" sew along? I think it sounds fun! :) Let me know...

Princess's Bottled Rainbow:

She decided to make a smaller quilt, so after she finished her 6th block, we sewed it up and quilted it! Now she is pinning down the binding!! She is doing the roll over method and will be finished soon! I can't wait to show you!!

Last - I finally started a Twitter account. I really don't know how it all works, but if you are on there to, look me up!! I'm @linzsews!

Well, that's all! Be sure to check out all of the WIPs over at Freshly Pieced! :)

My Turkeys

2011-11-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

I really love Thanksgiving!! Since I am not (ever) in charge of cooking the main dishes (I'll try not to take that as a commentary on my cooking... lol!) I try to contribute some fun extras. This year - Cornucopias and Pilgrim hats!!
Wait for it...The Cornucopias started with this...

I know. the picture alone makes me happy... Anyway, that turned into these:

Then - the hats:

Chocolate dipped marshmallows on fudge stripe cookies. Your welcome, family!! But - to the real reason for the post. My Turkeys. The only turkeys I will probably ever make...

You may notice the Princess's very interesting shirt? It her own design. It used to be a tank top, and she had me sew in the sleeves, upside down, of an old sweatshrit of her dad's... as turkey wings. It was a cleaver idea! lol!

He really is a little turkey...

hahaha! But really - from my home to yours - Happy Thanksgiving!

*****

As I have never used foam board in something that someone wears, and also... I have never made turkey costumes, I am going to link up to TNT at Happy Quilting!

I also want to list a few things I am thankful for:

I am thankful for my family. My husband, who is my best friend, and my kids who make me smile everyday.
I am thankful for all of my extended family. It's like having a giant cheerleading squad just for me!
I am thankful for my home.
I am thankful for my talents and the opportunity to share them.
I am thankful for the Internet!
I am thankful for all of you!

WIP Wednesday - Giving Thanks edition

2011-11-23T05:51:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's Wednesday again!! More specifically - I can't believe it's the Wednesday before THANKSGIVING!!!! Where did November run off to? Better yet, where did 2011 run off to?!?

Anyway - it's been a spectacular week!!

Finished:

WEEKENDER BAGS!!! All 3 of them!

Check out all the glory HERE!

Turkey Costumes:

They are finished, hilarious, and fun. I'll be posting a real picture of my little Turkeys in them tomorrow! (In the meantime, here's a funny story - yesterday, my 4 year old was at his karate class, and was telling his Sensei about being a turkey. His Sensei had no idea what this child was talking about. I was laughing pretty hard!)

Music Stand Carrying Case:

I really needed this! AND - I will be putting up a tutorial soon!! So, stay tuned! :)

Progress:

Lego Bag!

I actually got some sewing done on this! The top is about 2/3 of the way sewn! I am using all of my leftover Halloween-fabric-that's-not-too-Halloweeny fabric, and I really like how it's coming together!

Skill Builder - block 18 Circle of Geese

I have been wanting to try this one!! I was a little afraid that my floral print would be killer on the eyes, but - it's okay. I really do like it! And with this block, we are officially half way!!!

No progress:

Dresses - mine is cut out. And we did get the fabric for the princess's! And I got ALL of her cuts at 50% off!! YEA!!!

E's King Size - still in planning and acquiring stage. She did choose the HST route. So I have to gear up for a few hundred HST. Wish me luck. ;)

As tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I would like to take one second to say something I am thankful for. I am thankful for the online quilting and sewing community. I have never "met" a group of kinder people, who have taught me so much and who are unfailingly supportive! Thank you all for being my virtual friends!! :) Have a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!

So that is all for now, I think! Be sure to check out all of the WIPs over at Freshly Pieced!

Weekender Bags... DONE!

2011-11-21T12:27:00.001-07:00

I cannot believe I am saying this before Thanksgiving, but... all 3 Weekender Bags are finished!!!! Yeehaw!!!

I have to say, I am really thrilled with the results.

This one is the princess's:

It was the first one to go through each step, and therefore is the worst of the bunch. I almost feel bad. But... not bad enough to try again. I made a poor choice to top stitch the lining in on hers and I cringe every time I look at it. So I hand stitched the other two and I'm glad. But I feel bad about hers. But you know what? She'll love it! So that's okay.

This is the little man's:

His was second on each step, and therefore, greatly improved. I so love the fabrics on this one!

Here's MINE!! (I don't know if you can tell, but I really like mine!)

I saved mine for last. I am glad. (Muahahaha!) By the time I got to my bag on each step, I had things wired. So mine really is the best. (insert smirk). I Looooooove the fabrics for mine. It is so bright and happy. I am a little sad that I have to keep it under wraps until Christmas. I want to use it NOW!! :)

So, my thoughts on the Weekender Bag. Honestly - the best analogy I can come up with is that this pattern is a little like childbirth. The beginning stages aren't too bad. Then you have to suffer through a few stages of utter agony. But when you are done, you are totally thrilled and feel like a goddess. But would I do it again? Hmmm... Ask me in 3 years.

WIP Wednesday!

2011-11-16T05:57:00.001-07:00

We'll call this one "I survived the infamous step #11 on one of the Weekender Bags edition!"

hahaha! Anyway -

Finished - Turkey Table Topper!

Weekender bags - as you can see above I got the Princess's bag through that horrifying step #11. It was slow and believe it or not I was sweating at the end. Literally. It kind of felt like a wrestling match. But it went well (I think. I still haven't inspected it yet.) The other two bags are through step #10 and anxiously awaiting #11.

I am so glad that I did all three bags together. If I waited to make mine (as I had originally planned), I probably wouldn't have ever done it. Not that is pattern is all that bad, but it does leave a bit of a bitter memory... And then I wouldn't have cut into this gorgeous material!

Pretty, right? I just wish the scale was a little smaller. Anyway, here is where the three bags are sitting right now.

:)

Turkey costumes

Almost done. I was trying to keep them simple, but as usual I ended up having to figure out some random problem. This time? I used felt for the feathers and they kept flopping over in a very uncute way. Interfacing didn't work. Even Peltex didn't work. So, I wondered around a hardware/craft store until some inspiration hit - foam board!!

Worked like a charm. Of course, that took out a lot of sewing in favor of hot glue! lol!!

Lego Bag

All the pieces are cut out! I forgot to take a picture, though, but I think it's going to be really cute!

E's King size

I got this beautiful stack of fabric in the mail!

Yea!

SBS Skill builders - Block 16

I just love it. Seriously!

No real progress:
My dress
Mug rugs
Princess' dress

So, that's it! Be sure to check out all of the lovely WIPs this week over at Freshly Pieced!

Gobble Gobble!

2011-11-14T12:46:00.001-07:00

I finished up my Turkey Table Topper!! It is so cute and makes me smile every time I see it!

The feathers are a large scale half Dresden Plate. The body and face I just designed on the fly. Turned out cute, though! I opted not to quilt it (time restrictions) so, I just made it a tablecloth topper instead and just hemmed the edges with a zigzag stitch.

It's making my Thanksgiving Happy! :)

WIP Wednesday

2011-11-08T21:16:00.001-07:00

Another week... a busy one! Let's get to it...
Finished: Awesome Quilt!! Yea!

Weekender bags.

I cut out everything that I could possibly cut out. One total bag and all of the fusible webbing and peltex for the other two. Although, I did end up being short on fusible webbing. Either the pattern was wrong, or the lady at the fabric store stiffed me. Who knows. Anyway, today the fabric for the other two bags arrived, and can I just say - GORGEOUS!! I am so thrilled. I don't have a picture yet, but will get one by next week. So - first bag. I am through step 7. Now I'm on hold until my zippers arrive. This is my very first attempt at piping, and it wasn't too bad! YEA!

So far, this pattern is not as bad as I expected, but let's see how the rest treats me...

SBS:

Block 15! Love it!

NO Progress:
Princess Christmas Dress (although we did decide on colors and pattern)
Mug rugs (yeah, right. Let's talk about these around December 20th)
Lego Bag (soon, though)
King Size for E (we did find some fabric that she likes, though!)

NEW this week! (I know - I really have lost it.)

A dress for me! I am so excited to do this!!!

Turkey Costumes.

I suppose it's my fault. But, the kids begged for Turkey costumes for Thanksgiving. Here's the idea...

Which inspired this:

A Turkey Table Runner! This is just the layout, but I really think it's going to be darling! :)

So, there we are! Lots on the sewing table. Wish me luck and sanity!! :)

Linking up to WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!

And TNT at Happy Quilting!

Awesome Quilt Complete!

2011-11-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

I am so happy for this finish!! I got the fabric for this quilt about a year and a half ago, and got the blocks done about 6 months or more ago. So, I am thrilled to f.i.n.a.l.l.y have this quilt done! It's such a pretty color pallet, and just in time for Fall!!

Here is it - Awesome Quilt

Quilt Stats
Size: 58 x 71
Fabric: Awesome by Sandy Gervais
Binding: Chocolate Brown, machined sewn to front, hand stitched to back
Quilting: Meandering Stipple
Destined for: My living room, for fall decoration

WIP Wednesday - getting organized

2011-11-02T05:53:00.005-06:00

October is over and, in my sewing world at least, left me exhausted! I made 3 costumes, two trick or treat bags, and a quilt... whew.

So now it is time to get organized for the holidays! But first a confession: I don't know if you noticed this about me, but I tent to go overboard. Now, with that in mind, here is my holiday sewing schedule!!

November

1 - "Awesome" quilt.

I got this fabric more than a year ago. It's called Awesome, and it's a beautiful fall line. I had the squared finished a looooong time ago to, so I just need to get the top sewn together!

2 - Weekender bags - at least get them started...

I didn't typo there. It's suppose to be plural. I got this c.r.a.z.y idea to make my kids weekender bags for Christmas because they don't have great suitcases and we travel a lot. Then, of course, I want one, so I have the supplies for 3 bags here or being shipped here. The fabric in this picture is going to be for the princess. The other fabric is in route. Wish me luck. Or call the funny farm...

3 - Lego Bag.

When I first saw Lee's tutorial for this, it was like Heavenly choirs sang! My boy needs this for Christmas!

December

1 - Finish weekender bags

2 - The princess' Christmas dress. She wants gold and red. Griffindor colors. Yes, I'm serious!! lol!

3 - Mug Rugs for gifts.

4 - Planning/ designing E's King size. I have a friend who has commissioned a king sized quilt. I will be really getting into the meat of it after the holidays, but I will be planning, etc. as I can! I'm very excited!

And for both months - keep up with Skill Builder blocks. These are the October blocks that I just barely finished in time! :)

Crazy Quilt block

Diamond Dash

String block

Okay, that is all. I hope I can get it all done and not go crazy, but that is what the holidays are looking like for me!!

Linking up to WIP Wednesday!!

BQF - Purple Gems

2011-10-30T15:19:00.005-06:00

I think I finished by the skin of my teeth here, but I did finally finish this great quilt just in time for the Bloggers Quilt Festival!! Yea!!

I have named this one Purple Gems. This is the first time that I have made a whole quilt with only two fabrics, and also the first that I have made with black as the background!

I really love how dramatic it is!

The story behind this quilt is special to me. For the last 2 years, I have been a leader in the Young Women's group at our church. I work with girls ages 12 - 18. The girls I work with are wonderful!! They work on a program full of goals and projects, and have all 6 years to complete it. The quilt today is for one of my girls who recently finished the entire program in just 2 years! I don't think I need to explain how awesome that is! It is a lot of work, and I am so proud of her!

Quilt Stats:
Name: Purples Gems
Pattern: Happy Quilting Quilt a long, by Melissa Corry
Size: 51 x 68
Fabrics: Solid black, Riley Blake "Trick and Treat" in purple
Quilting: FMQ, stipple

Princess Buttercup

2011-10-28T21:02:00.003-06:00

Okay, now for mine. I must apologize in advance. Apparently, when I'm the one that needs to be in the pictures, it becomes very difficult to get good pictures. lol!

Anyway, I wanted to be Princess Buttercup for Halloween, but I already had a gown cut out (for another purpose that didn't end up happening) and that had been sitting in a bin for about 2 years. So, I just redesigned the sleeves and made it a Buttercup-ish dress. I really like how it came out!

Pink! I love the shimmery overlay. I added the gold trim to make it kind of royal looking.

The sleeves are my favorite! I designed them myself and love how they came out! They are really heavy, though! :)

My 7 year old took this picture. It's the best we got... hahaha.

Our crazy bunch! Happy Halloween everyone!! :)

Thor

2011-10-27T06:13:00.006-06:00

This project was a really fun headache for me! Yes, I did the shirt twice. I made the cape three times. I tried to find a store bought Thor costume. (There weren't any!) But, I am very pleased with the final result, so here it is - Thor, god of thunder.

Yes, the helmet and hammer are store bought.

I made the little "glove" things just as little slip on sleeves. Seemed easiest.

The shirt is all fabric (the darker grey is taffeta, the shiny is vinyl!) and I attached it with super mega Heat n Bond. It's more art than sewing, and it's the first time I've done anything like it. I copied the design from a little Thor action figure! lol! I would have liked a full metal breastplate, but my blacksmith skills are lacking ;) (I did consider sculpting it out of Styrofoam, but my sculpting skills are lacking too...)

The cape is taffeta. If I had to do it over for a 4th time, I would have used satin. The taffeta is just a bit heavy.

The curve in the shoulder was a very important detail for me, and proved to be the hardest thing to figure out. I tried several things to hold the curve and had several failures. Finally, after scouring the notions section (and discovering a whole bunch of awesome things I had never known about before!) I found belting. Yes, the stuff you would use to make your own belt!! It was stiff and just the right width. I hot glued three layers together and glued it into my cape. Perfect. I had to attach the cape with staples, but we don't need to dwell on that! ;)

So, as I had several firsts on this costumes as well, I am linking to Melissa's TNT again! For Heat n Bond and Belting fun! :)

WIP Wednesday!!

2011-10-25T21:30:00.000-06:00

The "I've lost my mind" edition!! lol!

Okay here's what's going on in my sewing room...

The Princess finally laid out another block!

Notice the high heel? hahaha!

I was all Halloween costume-d out this weekend, so instead, I put together a quick quilt top, using only two fabrics, and a modified version on Melissa's Happy Quilting quilt-a-long quilt.

It looks so cool! I'll be finishing it pretty soon, so stay tuned.

So - on to the "lost it" portion of the post.

Last Thursday, the kids went to a Halloween party. Remember the Thor costume?

Well... it didn't work. The cape came off and little man managed to cover the shirt in frosting. That is the excuse I am going to use as to why I re-did the entire thing. (The real reason is that we watched the movie over the weekend, and all I could think of was how lame my costume was.)

So... re-do! I am pleased with how it came out! Here's a sneak peek: (which, I'm not trying to be tricky here, I just haven't taken any good pictures yet!)

I will be getting pictures in all it's glory tomorrow, and will post pictures right after that! :)

Finally - as a last bit of crazy, I decided to use leftovers to make the kids Trick-or-Treat bags that matched their costumes.

Mom of the Year, right?

So now I just have my costume to do and a day and a half to do it! Wish me luck! :) This is how it looks right now...

lol.

Be sure to check out all of the awesome WIPs at Freshly Pieced!

E-Mealz Winner!!

2011-10-24T09:07:00.005-06:00

We have a winner!!!!! And the prize goes to...

#11 is - A.J. Dub!!! Congratulations!! I have sent you and email! Yea!!

And don't forget, for those who didn't win, but want to give this a try, just visit E-Mealz and in the promo code, enter "savemoney" and receive $2 off!

Rapunzel...

2011-10-21T07:10:00.006-06:00

I finally managed to get the Princess into her costume and get some pictures! I am so so SO excited about how this dress turned out! It is probably my very best dress to date! :) So, with no further adu, I give you my 2011 Halloween masterpiece (haha) Rapunzel...

I LOVE IT!

She loves it...

Here's a close up of the front. I am pleased with the grommets and everything! I was a little worried about those! :)

The back. This is probably the best zipper I have done!

The braid. I kind of think the big flower is way too big, but she loves it and won't let me change it!

The wig took almost a whole pound of yarn. I have never done anything like this at all, and it was mildly intimidating! But I am really pleased with how it came out!

As it was the first time I have made a wig/head piece, I have decided to link this up with Melissa's TNT link up - because it's important to celebrate when we Try New Things!!

I am so happy to have made this beautiful dress. I really do love making dresses, even if they are a t.o.n. of work! It worth it to see this beautiful smile!

Coming soon: Thor. hahaha! Now, on to the Halloween parties! :)

Mealtime Makeover + a GIVEAWAY!!

2011-10-20T07:20:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon something that has changed my life for the better! Today, I am going to share the joy!! :)

Background: I really don't like to cook. Wait, that's not totally true. I don't mind cooking, I just really really hate having to come up with ideas for meals every single day. Ugh. So, I usually don't. And we usually end up eating out or having something ridiculous like cereal or scrambled eggs for dinner.

Enter: Mealtime Makeover (or E-mealz).

I happened to be listening to a radio program that I had never listen to before and haven't listen to since. But in the few minutes that it was on, I heard and ad for this website, and decided to check it out.

Here's how it works: for $15 per quarter (that every 3 months. So, about $1.25 per week), you get a weekly meal plan with a complete shopping list. Additionally, you can select the store you shop at, and they will plan the meals around the weekly specials at that store. You can pick from several plans including 7 day meals for family, 5 day meals for 2, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Portion controlled, etc.

I have been subscribed for about 3 weeks now, and let me tell you my thoughts.

I love it. I LOVE IT!

So far, there have not been any repeat meals, (although there are several I am really looking forward to again!) and all of them have been very, very good. Not only that, but pretty simple to make. The instructions are easy to follow, and the meals are pretty well balanced. There is always a fruit and/or vegetable involved. Most importantly - my kids will eat the food. And as the mother of the two pickiest eaters on the planet (and the pickiest eating Mom on the planet) I can tell you, that is saying something.

I haven't found a single downside. ;)

As soon as I knew how happy I was to have found this I started planning to share it on here, because if I magically found a way to feed my family and have extra sewing time, then who am I to keep that to myself?!? :) Then I had a great idea. I emailed the site owners and asked if they would be willing to put something in as a giveaway... and they AGREED!!!

Here's what's up for grabs: a free, 2 week subscription to E-Mealz!!! YEA!!! Here's how to enter: (3 possible entries...)

1. My followers get a freebie! So, if you are a follower, leave me a comment saying so! (if you aren't a follwer, you can become one and comment!)

2. Anyone and everyone - leave me a comment! Any comment! :)

3. Spread the love on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, where ever, and leave me a comment telling me!!

Easy peasy!!

ALSO - E-Mealz has also generously given me a promo code for you all to use to get $2 off your first subscription!!! When you sign up, type "savemoney" in the promo code and get those $2 off!! A huge thank you to E-Mealz for that!!

***Giveaway is now closed!***

WIP Wednesday - Halloween edition

2011-10-18T20:07:00.007-06:00

I am still up to my eyeballs in Halloween costumes!! I thought I had a great time table all laid out... but then the kids got invited to a Halloween party which bumped things up by a week. That's cool. Then, I got the great news that my sister and her family are coming to visit, which put the deadline at... tomorrow. Eeeek! I have to have my sewing room clean before they come. Otherwise, there will be nowhere for them to sleep! :)

SO - I have had a marathon sewing fest the last few days. I had forgotten just how labor intensive dress making is. And there's nothing quite like saying, "Honey, go get me a hammer so I can do the next step on your dress!" (lol!) BUT - I had also forgotten just how much I love it! I finished the Princess's Rapunzel dress today (whew!) and will give you a little teaser:

I am going to force the child to go for a photo shoot tomorrow and I'll get some real pictures up soon! But first, I have to finish the this:

Yeah. Turns out, if you want to do Rapunzel hair, it takes a pound of yarn. Who knew?

By comparison, the little man's Thor costume felt almost like cheating. It came together in less than an hour. Here's a preview:

My princess dress (hiding behind Thor there...) is currently on hold, but I am pleased to say the sleeves are going to work! More on that later...

So, that is my Halloween costume summary! Better pictures to come!

ALSO - on THURSDAY (October 20) I will be posting a review of an awesome website complete with a GIVEAWAY!! I promise you - you don't want to miss it, so mark your calendars!! :)

Linking up to Freshly Pieced! Be sure to check out all of the awesome WIPs!!

Diamond Chain Christmas Quilt

2011-10-14T06:52:00.003-06:00

A finish!! Yea!! So here is the completed Diamond Chain Quilt, a wonderful quilt-a-long hosted my Melinda, of Tilda's Twisted Life!

I really like this pattern! Is interesting, but simple. It was really fun to make!

Clearly, I had a small issue with the quilting in one area. Don't look too close. Or look close, but don't laugh! And yes, I am way to lazy to pick that out... ;)

I quilted with green and red thread, which is the first time I have used multicolored thread. I really like it! It adds some interest to the large areas of white!

Thanks again to Melinda for hosting this quilt a long! It was fun!!

I am linking up to TGIFF over at Quilt Matters! Be sure to check out all of those great finishes!!

WIP Wedenesday!!

2011-10-12T09:08:00.003-06:00

Wednesday, Wednesday... how you constantly creep up on me! :)

This week, I managed to have a finish (YEA!!) and a few starts:

I finished my Diamond Chain Christmas Quilt!

More on this later!

I started my Halloween Princess Dress:

And am about to start The Princess's... Princess Dress. (lol!)

That's... pretty much all! Not a lot of projects, but a ton of work to do!! :)

Be sure to check out all of the WIPs at Freshly Pieced!

Birthday

2011-10-11T06:42:00.004-06:00

So... today is my 32nd birthday! Yea! I plan on spending the whole day sewing. Because that's what birthdays are for, right?! lol!

To celebrate, I am going to share with you my very favorite birthday cake recipe. You can thank me later... ;)

Best Ever Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake

1 pkg (18.25 once) Chocolate Cake Mix
1 pkg (4 serving size) JELL-O Chocolate flavor (or vanilla) Instant pudding & pie filling
4 eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 2 (9 inch) round cake pans. Beat cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, and water in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed just until moistened, scraping side of bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 2 min or until well blended.

2. Bake 30 - 35 min, or until toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min on wire rack. Loosen cakes from side of pans with spatula or knife. Invert cakes onto rack; gently remove pans. Cool completely on wire racks.

Enjoy!! Don't you just love birthdays?!

Look! I sewed something!

2011-10-08T19:12:00.005-06:00

Okay, this has been an interesting week. Marathon recovery made me incredibly lazy (and snacky. I have had more junk food this week than anyone should ever eat!!) and I also had to do some traveling for my grandpa's funeral :( So, not a whole lot of sewing going on...

But, today, I did finally get something sewn!

Behold! Skill Builder Sampler Block #13!!! String Block. I love this method! It's fun!

I sewed through the tip of my finger while doing this. I mean the very tip, so no bleeding, just a horrifying moment and a little soreness! lol!

But! I have gotten all of the necessary fabric for both mine and the Princess' Halloween costumes! (Your welcome Joann's. Fabric needs to be cheaper...) and so, some epic sewing days are ahead of me!! Yea!!!

St. George Marathon 2011

2011-10-04T10:14:00.002-06:00

Saturday I ran my third (and final) St. George Marathon!! Woot!

Last year's marathon was super hot. Like 95 degrees at the finishline. FYI - the ideal running temp - 55 degrees. So yeah, way too hot. I spent all year praying that the weather wouldn't be like last year's. Well... it wasn't. It was worse! hahaha!

When I was walking to the bus at 4 am, I heard someone say that it was 80 degrees. Right then. I pulled up the weather on my phone. Guess what. They were right. !!!!!!!!!!!!

When we got up to Central, Ut, where the starting line is, I stepped off the bus and my heart sank. It wasn't cold. In fact it was down right pleasant. The announcer guy at the starting line announced that it was the warmest starting temperature that we've ever had. Which is exactly what he said last year.

At that point, I had a little heart to heart with myself. Okay, so it was going to be hot again. So what. As this is my last, I was determined to enjoy it no matter what. And as a benefit, I had actually done some specific heat training, so the heat shouldn't bother me as much as it did last year. And the fact that I dropped a frying pan on my foot the night before wasn't going to bother me either! (yes, this is true. It was weird, and I felt it the whole time, but it wasn't really a problem!) I had brought a camera with me this time and that brought a bit of fun as well! :)

Here's us loading the bus (at 4am)

Start Line!

Anyway, the race. It was fun. Ever wonder what it looks like being in the middle of the pack of a marathon? It looks like this:

I ran a stellar first half, but - as expected - I slowed when things started heating up. There were thick clouds in the western sky, and even though I was cheering them eastward all morning, the sun seemed pretty determined to burn them off whenever they got too close. So, the clouds didn't really help. They just made it more humid. lol!

But the heat really didn't bother me too much. The thing that was really bringing me down were sudden and frequent cramps in my calves, that started at about mile 14. I had to stop virtually every mile to stretch out my calves. I have never had this happen before! It was awful! But, I kept on keeping on. It was interesting. The usual spot for my legs to start getting sore didn't bother me at all. The entire run. But my calves? Nightmare!

Here's me at mile 20. Good times. (You know, every time I took a self portrait, some other runner offered to take a picture. How nice...)

Considering all factors, I decided that I would be happy with just beating last year's time. I didn't know if my calves would allow such a thing, but that was what I was hoping for! The single most liberating moment came at mile 24, when I realized that I could literally walk the last two miles and still beat last year's time. I came in 6 minutes under!! Even with added adversity and extra heat, I managed to improve. That was awesome!! I managed to run across the finish line, waving to my sweet family, and see a good friend who was volunteering, who greeted me with a big hug! It was a great ending to the race! (ps - I made a video as I crossed the finish line. But it is so bumpy that I can't really post it...)

This is Chelsea. She's awesome. And, my neighbor, came with her kids and cheered me on at the finish line too! It was so so sweet! Then, on to pictures with the family!

Me and the sweet hubby!

Me and the kiddos!

Me and my sister!

And me and my mom!

And so, thus ends my marathon running career. On a hot but happy note. Although, next year's race isn't until October 7th. I'll bet that one will be cooler...

Twin Frolic!

2011-09-29T14:54:00.004-06:00

Okay, here it is! Twin Frolic, Sister quilt to Queen Frolic:

I really like how it came out!

Stats:

Size 62.5 x 91
Fabric: Frolic by Moda
Quilting: Loopty - Loos in pink!
Binding - Frolic Dots in Cream, machined front, handstitched back

I am so happy to have these done! Yea!

Swiss Kids

2011-09-29T05:49:00.002-06:00

I just quickly want to post a picture of my friends CUTE kids in the Swiss Days costumes. Oh, my but they look darling!! :)

It's Wednesday?!

2011-09-28T09:37:00.003-06:00

Okay - so I totally didn't realize today was Wednesday!! hahaha! It's been a week... I'm linking up with Freshly Pieced! Be sure to check it out!

So my WIPs are dwindling (in a good way!). This is where I'm at...

Finishes:
Halloween Quilt
Summer Series Quilt
Swiss Days Costumes
Twin Frolic!! (I just finished this today, so I'll be posting pictures tomorrow! Yea!)

Ready to Finish:

Diamond Chain! This has been basted for a while. I have a plan, and will be quilting it tomorrow! I am really excited with my ideas for this! :)

No where near finishing:

Poor long lost Avignon Picnic. It's still folded neatly in the drawer, not even basted. I'll try to get it basted this week.

In Progress:

Skill Builders Quilt a Long. I have two more blocks done:

Beacon Lights:

This was fun, but kind of stressful. All. Those. Seams...

House and Tree:

This was fun, but I would like to try it again to see if I can make it cuter. ;)

Up coming: Holiday sewing!! Halloween costumes, Fall and Christmas Projects!! I am so excited!

Good news: I won some Scrapbooking software from Tilda's Twisted Life blog giveaway!! Yea!! I'm feelin' lucky these days!! :)

Finally, one of my major WIPs of the year will finally be completed this coming Saturday!!

That's right! Saturday I will be running my third (and final) St. George Marathon!! I am excited and nervous and thrilled! Wish me luck!!

Swiss Days

2011-09-23T11:54:00.004-06:00

The small town immediately south of my small town was founded by Swiss emigrants, so every year they have the Swiss Days celebration. It's fun. They have a parade, and games, and all sorts of great things. This year they are having some sort of little pageant for kids who wear Swiss costumes.

Anyway, my friend has three kids that she wanted to enter in this pageant thing, but she couldn't find Swiss costumes anywhere! Well, let me rephrase - she couldn't find kids Swiss costumes anywhere. Trashy adult Swiss dresses? Sure, but those just wouldn't work! hahaha!

So, she called me on Wednesday and asked if I could please please please sew some Swiss costumes for her by Friday. Well... SURE! :) I didn't have any patterns, but I had an idea of what we should do that would be cute and simple. I managed to get all three done yesterday. It was a pretty busy day... Anyway, this is the finished product:

I am so happy with how they came out! Not bad for one day of marathon sewing, huh?! :)

Summer All The Time Complete!!

2011-09-21T08:30:00.005-06:00

With no WIP Wednesday Linky this week (Good luck to Lee who is busy designing a fabric line!! Woot woot!), I have decided instead to post a FINISH!!! Probably my favorite finish to date! (Yes, I know I say that every time. But I mean it every time too!) Yesterday I finished my Summer Series Quilt a Long, which has been named (by the Princess):

Summer All The Time

I am so so happy with this one!

I hemmed and hawed over the quilting. I knew I wanted free motion, but with such a dark back, I didn't want to use light thread, but I also wasn't sure about dark thread on the front. What to do...

I ended up asking the advice of my local quilt shop ladies. They universally agreed to match the thread to the back and sashing. So, with a bit of worry, I trusted them and plunged ahead with grey thread. It worked wonderfully. Yes, you can see the quilting on the blocks, but this is SO much better than seeing the quilting on the sashing and back. It actually seems to enhance the blocks and at the same time, doesn't call too much attention to the sashing. YEA! Great lesson learned there!

Binding... well, my whole approach to this quilt has been to go bold or go home, so I went with bright orange. I really like it. It's the perfect pop of color to finish off the quilt.

Thanks to Lee, Kate, and Faith for hosting this great quilt a long! I learned SO much and have finished a quilt that I can cherish for years!! Yea!

Which Witch Complete!!

2011-09-15T09:28:00.006-06:00

I am so SO so SO thrilled to have my Halloween quilt finished!!! This has been a joy to make and even more joyous to finish! This quilt is my favorite. I know, I say that every time, but this time I mean it the most!! I think this quilt must have been designed just for me. After all, it combines two of my very favorite things: Halloween, and High Heels! :)

Anyway, with no further adu, here she is: Which Witch

For quilting, I did free motion quilting with little triangles. I had seen this and really wanted to try it. It turned out well, although I wish I had been a little more aggressive with the angles. Some look too round. Oh well, it was way fun to try!!

Quilt Info and Stats:

Pattern: Which Witch by Crazy Old Ladies
Size: 37.5" x 46.5"
Fabric: various Halloween deliciousness, most of which I got after Halloween last year. Oh, and I over bought. By a lot! :)
Destined for: ME! It's mine!! All mine!! Muahahaha!

As a small update, I haven't quilted any of the other quilts yet... soooo, I might get one more by next week, but even that's not likely! haha! Oh, well!! :)

WiP Wednesday - Basting edition!

2011-09-13T22:00:00.000-06:00

So... I got a lot done this week! (I was going to say "I was a sewing machine this week" but... well, it is funny, but - you know...)

Anyway - I managed to finish the tops of: Halloween, Diamond Chain, and Twin Frolic.

!!!!!!!!!

Awesome!! So, today I had a massive basting party. See my sweet little helper?

I got Halloween, Diamond Chain, and Summer Series basted. I still need to baste Twin Frolic, and long lost Avignon Picnic.

I also managed to get Halloween quilted, and the binding stitched on, but have no pictures to show for it yet!

I will be out of town this weekend, but I am hoping to get all 5 tops quilted within the next week. I'm hoping, but not totally hopeful. We'll see! Wish me luck!!

Be sure to check out all of this weeks WiPs over at Freshly Pieced!

Mini Quilt Monday!

2011-09-12T07:30:00.003-06:00

I am so excited to join in Faith's Mini Quilt Monday this week!!

For the last few weeks, I have worked on my "Super Secret" project - which was a birthday gift for my sister, who just 2 days ago turned the big 4-0!! :)

My sister is an author, with her first novel coming out in November!! YEA! So, for her birthday, I made her a mini quilt bookshelf:

She loved it, and I am thrilled!! I just love mini quilts!!

WiP Wednesday!

2011-09-07T05:19:00.004-06:00

It seems like I haven't done much this week, but in reality, I did make some progress! That's so happy! :)

Super Secret - DONE! In the mail! Yea! But, I still can't show it. :) I'll post pictures SOON, when I know the recipient has seen it first! I was pretty tickled with the finished product though, so stay tuned!

Halloween - I have the blocks sewn together and one border sewn on!! YEA!! One border to go, then on to quilting! It is SO cute!!

Twin Frolic - blocks are sewn! Now, just need to get the top together!

NEW! Diamond Chain Quilt-a-Long with Tilda's Twisted Life! I am a little behind on the quilt a long, but making some progress! I am doing this one as a Christmas quilt! Here's the layout I have so far!

I love the middle fabric! :)

Let's see...
Summer Series in waiting to be quilted.
Long lost Avignon Picnic is waiting to be quilted.

And, I think that is all for this week! Hopefully, I can get Halloween and Frolic tops done, so I can have a massive quilting party! :)

Be sure to check out all the awesome WiPs over at Freshly Pieced!! Happy WiP Wednesday!!

Tired...

2011-09-02T20:17:00.001-06:00

I totally planned on sewing a lot today.

After my 23 mile run.

I have 4 weeks left until the marathon, and this is the apex of my training.

Needless to say, after waking up at 4 am and running for about 4 hours... I spend the day crawling around and lounging on the couch. lol!

Tomorrow... THERE WILL BE SEWING!!! :)

WIP Wednesday!

2011-08-30T22:27:00.004-06:00

Here we are again!! I feel like I haven't gotten much done. Probably because of the lying sick on the couch watching Disney Channel for two straight days. I've seen enough Good Luck, Charlie to last a loooooong while. :)

I am tickled pink to now have 99 followers!! Yea!! Maybe I'll hit the big 1-0-0 soon! :) **edit!!! Mitzi is now #100!!!! YEA!!!! I am so tickled! WooHoo!!

Anyway, here is what I managed to get done this week:

SBS Block #9 - Double Star

I really like this block! I like the 2nd layout too, but I didn't get to make another one. So cute! And notice the awesomeness with the outer directional fabric?!? All the same direction!!

That was pure luck. I didn't really even pay attention until I got to the outer corners. hahaha! Lucky me! =D

Halloween Quilt - all 9 blocks are done!

The applique was a bit of work, but they are so so so cute!!! I am so excited to sew the top together this week!!

Twin Frolic - squares are... basically... cut out!

I have drawn up the plan and it should come together quickly!!

Secret Project - I have a MAJOR good idea for this. But it would take months to accomplish, and I have... about a week. So I'll go with the simple, original plan. Irritates me though...

That's all. I really need to step it up this week! :) Be sure to check out all the awesome WIPs at Freshly Pieced! Happy sewing!

We have a winner!!!

2011-08-29T09:07:00.003-06:00

So, I spent the weekend in a useless lump on the couch. I really hate being sick. :( At least I had my Bottled Rainbow quilt to snuggle under! :)

Anyway, I want to say THANK YOU to everyone that entered the giveaway! Your comments were so nice, and I am so so so excited to now have 99 followers!! That is just stupendous! I am sorry that I didn't get to respond to all of the comments, but - as I mentioned before - I was somewhat useless this weekend! lol!

So - Mr. Random made me smile by choosing #60 out of 60!! Awesome!! Soooo, our winner is

Kylie!!

Congratulations Kylie! I sent you an email!!

Thanks again to everyone that entered and welcome to all of my new followers! You all rock!! Happy sewing! :)

Better late than never - A GIVEAWAY!!

2011-08-26T10:43:00.000-06:00

Sooo - I thought my 1 year blogiversary was in August. I was wrong. It was in July. hahaha! SO - a month late - Happy 1 year Blogiversary to me!! :) To celebrate, I am having a giveaway!! We'll call it the "Better Late than Never" Giveaway! Sound good? :)

Here's how you enter: Leave me a comment! The end. Sound easy enough?

And here's what's up for grabs...

A Moda "Lollipop" by Sandy Gervais Jellyroll, AND a Moda "Chrysalis" by Sanae Charm Pack!! Yeehaw!!

The Giveaway will close Sunday, August 28, 2011 at midnight - Mountain Daylight Time (Because... well, that's my timezone.) and I'll draw a winner on Monday, August 29!

Thanks for celebrating my blogiversary with me. A little late. ;)

100 Quilts for Kids!

2011-08-24T18:32:00.000-06:00

Woot woot! I can't believe it! I won something again!! :)

Kate, over at Swim, Bike, Quilt (which by the way, makes Kate like a soul mate of sorts in my opinion!) had a giveaway to kick of her 100 Quilts For Kids drive. I am so excited to participate, and will be donating these two quilts to a local charity!!

Wonky Block Baby Boy Quilt

Happy Circles Baby Girl Quilt

If you are interested in participating, please do! Get all the details here:

Anyway, when she posted the giveaway post, I was comment #1. I even thought as I was commenting, "Well, I'm first, so I won't win anything!" hahaha! I guess Mr. Random does pick #1 every now and then!! :)

I am happy to be the winner of some Katie Jump Rope scraps!!!

Kate made here Summer Series Quilt with these and I am so so so excited to make something with them!! Yea!!

WIP it up!!

2011-08-24T07:11:00.000-06:00

So, I finally feel like I'm starting to get back into the swing of things! Yea! I have had a very productive week!

Finished - Queen Frolic! Hip Hip Hooray!!

Top Finished - Summer Series! Bigger Hip Hip Hooray! Thanks for all of the love on this one! I am tickled with it and cannot wait to figure out the quilting!!

Blocks finished - SBS Sampler: Virginia Star and Breaking out!

I just have to say, I LOVE this magic way of making Flying Geese. It has saved the geese for me! :)

Still in progress:

Halloween! I have everything cut out and sitting in cute little piles. Now that I have finished the Queen and the SS top, I think this one can become my focus!!

New Stuff:

Frolic 2: This is a twin size sister quilt to Queen Frolic. The lady that I made it for has a bunk bet set and wants a quilt that compliments the queen, so I will be diving right back into the leftovers to come up with something cute! Now that the queen is done, I am much more excited to start this one!

Super Secret: I have an idea for a secret project for a special someone. It will be a quick project, so more info to come soon!

Well, that's all! Happy WIP Wednesday! Be sure to check out all of the awesome WIPs over at Freshly Pieced!!

Summer Series Top!!!

2011-08-23T13:44:00.000-06:00

Yipee-yi-yea!!! I finished the Summer Series top today!! I am SO excited with how it came out!! I made a few extra blocks (another Arkansas Traveler, another Greek Cross, and 2 Virginia stars) to make the quilt a little bigger. And I added sashing and a few borders to create a 66 x 66 inch beauty!!!!

Here she is: Named by the Princess, "Summer All The Time"

**Love** Probably my favorite ever.I used Kona Charcoal for the sashing. I really wanted the colors to just pop out. I think it worked perfectly!! I can't wait to quilt this baby!!

Queen Frolic Complete!!!

2011-08-22T09:54:00.000-06:00

Yipee!!!! I finally finished the Queen Frolic Quilt!! I am so excited (and relived) to have this one finished!! Sorry for the less than awesome pictures, it was the best I could do today... ;)

I must be honest here... I love this quilt! The applique turned out better than I could have hoped! Love it!

Pink sheet on the back! It is so bright and happy!

The owl is my favorite!

So, this one is finally of the WIP list, and today I will start the twin size sister frolic quilt! It'll be cute! :)

Also, stay tuned! Later this week, I will be having an "Oh, I missed my blogiversary?!" Giveaway!! :)

WIP!

2011-08-17T07:29:00.001-06:00

Wow. I am so far behind, it's just sad! I am still coming out of vacation mode... housework is not getting done. Sewing is being neglected. I'll get back into the groove but for this week, here's all I've got...

Summer Series: the 12th block, which I did the moment I picked up my machine:

I love how it came out. I decided to go bold and colorful! So, I have all 12 blocks done, but I decided that I want to make the quilt just a little bigger, so I'm going to make a few more, then get the top pieced together.

I did also get the Virginia Star done for the SBS Sampler, but I haven't take pictures yet. It's a motivational problem. My mind is still in Colorado. ;)
Anyway, I will pick things up this week, but for now - don't miss all the great WiPs at Freshly Pieced! (Oh, and don't forget to vote for Lee's fabric - see post below!!) Happy WiP Wednesday!!

Let's get voting!

2011-08-16T10:09:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone!! The vacation was fabulous, but it has taken me forever to get back into the swing of things! I have only sewn one thing in the last two weeks!!!! Yikes!!

BUT - more importantly - I have something fun! My great blog friend, Lee - of Freshly Pieced is in a contest at Connecting Threads and needs YOUR vote!! The winner of this contest gets $2000 AND the chance for their fabric design to be sold through Connecting Threads!!! How awesome is that?!?

Here's what Lee has submitted:

It's called Flourish!! Isn't it darling?!

Click HERE and go vote for FLOURISH by LEE HEINRICH!! It only takes a second!

Thanks and GOOD LUCK LEE!!! :)

A Legend

2011-08-04T13:22:00.000-06:00

Today I dropped off my sewing machine to get a service and cleaning. I planned it this way so that the week I would have to leave it would be over my vacation. But I didn't think about how I would make it through tonight. I feel like I left part of my soul behind... ;)

Anyway, a quick funny story. The story behind how I got my wonderful machine is very cute. Last year, I was having a crumby year - dental wise. I managed to have to get 3 root canals and 3 crowns. Totally blew my sewing machine savings. During the 3rd root canal, I was whining to my hubby about how my teeth kept preventing me from getting the machine I wanted. The day I got the 3rd and final crown, my sweet hubby came home with the very machine I had been pining over for a year or so. It was the sweetest thing ever! He went to three different quilting stores until he found the one that sold Janomes. So. Sweet.

Anyway, today, as I was filling out the service info thing, the lady looked down at my name and said, "Dunn! OH! I remember when you got this machine. Well, when your husband got it for you. *giggled* That was so sweet!"

Yep. My hubby is something of a legend down at the local quilt shop! How awesome is that?!

WiP!

2011-08-02T21:30:00.000-06:00

Wednesday's here again!! Yay!! Let's get going!

This week has been busy, but has felt pretty unproductive. I'm not sure why it feels that way...

Princess hasn't made any blocks this week, but has certainly had fun with the new GO! Baby. She has cut out many a shapes and is designing a pillow for herself with them. I'll post a picture of it as soon as she approves the layout! ;)

For me - I also have been playing with the GO! It's great! I used a little charm pack that I picked up a few weeks ago to make some diamonds! I am going to make this:

into a little pillow! I love the fabrics! It's a new Moda line called Hometown (I think) and it is darling!!

I also played with the half square triangle die. A.MA.ZING! Look:

A perfect 3.5" HST. No. Trimming. Required. At. All!!!! **angels start singing** I asked my hubby if he realized how much time it was going to save. His exact answer was, "Well, based on the amount of time you spend quilting, I'll just guess a few thousand hours or so." He's right.

Anyway, In Progress!

Summer Series: Minnesota and Evening Star

I love them both! I love how this quilt is coming out SO much!!!!! When I started I had a thought about who I might give it too. But I am loving it so much that I want to keep it. I have no need for it. I have no real place for it. Everything points to the fact that I shouldn't keep it. Am I going to keep it anyway? You betcha.

SBS: Bowties! This was fun, and I like how the block turned out!

Halloween Quilt:

Finally, I started the cutting on this! I have a few more of the applique pieces to cut out, but that shouldn't take too long! Glad to finally have this one started! Yea!

Queen Frolic: Still waiting to be quilted. It mocks me every time I walk into my sewing room. I think I will get quilting tomorrow! I hope. :)

Other stuff: I made some curtains for the kids rooms. I'll post pictures sometime soon!

So that's all! I will be taking my sewing machine in for a service Thursday, so that it can be all tuned up while we are on our last vacation of the summer! We are leaving Friday morning, so I'll be a week or so late on the last Summer series block :( But, we are going to have some major fun! So, I'll be absent all of next week! I'll miss you all!

Be sure to check out all of the awesome WiPs over at Freshly Pieced!! Cheers!

A new bag for me!

2011-07-30T15:17:00.001-06:00

I noticed a few weeks ago that the bag I use to cart all my stuff to church has a few seams that were coming apart. It was the bag I made over 4 years ago to use as a diaper bag when my son was born. It has had a. lot. of use, so I figured it was as good an excuse as any to make a new bag!! I actually spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted this bag to look like, and I decided that I wanted a simple, sort of neutral color, but add something fun to show off my true sewing love - quilting. :)

So, I made a few awesome quilt blocks to attach to the outside! I LOVE how they came out!!! Here it is:

One one side, I did the "Star" paper piecing block from the Summer Series, only I shrank it down to about half size. With the border, it finished at just under 7 inches. I love it!

On the other side I just made some half square triangles and created this cute pinwheel/star thing. It finished at just over 8 inches.

The inside is a deep blue with green pockets. The fabric is all Modern Meadow, that I was able to get at 50% off! Woot woot!

I am so happy with this bag! I know we'll have many happy Sundays together! :)

It's here!!!

2011-07-29T17:11:00.000-06:00

=D <----- This is ME!!! I just got this delivered to my door!! YAY!!!

Thank you, again, Elizabeth, and AccuQuilt, for hosting this AWESOME giveaway! I feel so blessed/lucky/happy/ecstatic/shocked/grateful...

Funny story - the UPS guy rang the bell. I thought he was going to have me sign for it, but no. He said, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but my wife is really into quilting, and I'm wondering what this is?" I explained and he, smiling, said that he was going to check them out for his wife. I think we'll have one more very happy quilter soon! :)

GREAT day!!

Summer Series: Lucky Pieces

2011-07-28T10:39:00.000-06:00

I stressed about this one more than the others, as far as color placement went. The orange was an after though, but now I think this might just be my favorite! Tutorial for this block is here!

WiP Wednesday!

2011-07-26T21:52:00.000-06:00

GREAT week!! Best week ever, really...

First - I WON an AccuQuilt Go! Baby!!!!!!!! Squeeee!!!! It's set to arrive on Friday!!! I am SO excited!!!!!! (Thanks AGAIN Elizabeth!!!) :)

Second - I FINISHED the Kaleidoscope quilt!!! Check it out HERE!

Next - I painted, reorganized, and cleaned out our home office. Turned out to be a HUGE undertaking, but I am happy with the result. Check out the awesome vinyl quote I put up...

Because it's just not home without a Harry Potter quote on the wall. ;)

Okay - sewing WiPs!! Princess finished her 4th and final pink block and started laying out her first yellow block. I am so proud of her!

I made a few more squares for the Summer series! Here's a picture if my seven completed blocks:

Love. Them. The new ones are the Star (Top middle), Arkansas Traveler (top right), and the 6 point star (middle). I love them ALL! I did another 6 point star, string style, but decided it was too busy and went for a simpler, non-string version and LOVE it!! This series has been so great!

Skill Builders: Arizona Block

I actually had to do this entire block twice. Why? Because... I used some white fabric from my stash that was - apparently - pretty crappy. It SHRANK as I ironed it. It was the most bizarre thing I've ever seen! So, I had to redo the million HST's (augh!) and ended up with this beauty. I really, really like the finished product!!

Other things (no pictures):

Queen Frolic - basted, ready to quilt!!
Halloween Quilt - Oops again. :)
A new bag for myself!!! - cut out! AND I mad a square to sew on the outside. I can't wait to finish this up and post pictures!! Stay tuned!!

Well, happy WiP Wednesday!! Be sure to check out all of the awesome WiPs at Freshly Pieced!!

Kaleidoscope Complete!!

2011-07-25T11:35:00.001-06:00

It's done!! I was able to finish up my darling Kaleidoscope quilt last night during a Harry Potter marathon with my daughter. Yes, it was fun. We watch the first 3 films...

Anyway, here it is! My completed Kaleidoscope quilt!

I really love how this top looks! I love pink and green together, and now I am a fan of pink and grey!

The back can only be called Scraptastic! I used all of the leftover pieces from my fat quarters and put together this... well, scrappy back. I really like it! :)

For quilting, I did loops, in pink. I LOVE how it looks!!

A big Thank you to Elizabeth, from Don't Call me Betsy for hosting this quilt a long! It has been very fun, and I can't wait to try another one!!! :)

Yay me!!! I won!!!

2011-07-25T08:40:00.000-06:00

Oh my heck!!! I woke up this morning to the BEST NEWS!!!!! I WON an AccuQuilt GO! Baby!!!!!! YIPEE!!!

Elizabeth at Don't Call me Betsy hosted this giveaway and I am so so so happy and SHOCKED to have won!! Yea! Now I don't have to beg my husband for my birthday! lol!!

Also, I finished my Kaleidoscope quilt! S0, I will be posting pictures later today!!

YAY!! What a wonderful day! Thanks Elizabeth!!

Follow-up

2011-07-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

haha... just in case you were wondering...

A skirt on a whim

2011-07-21T14:46:00.000-06:00

So, today after this happened,

(Yep. He decided to give himself a haircut... **sigh**)

I decided I need to create something to make me feel better. So, I grabbed some fabric I had picked up to make myself a bag, and instead made a pencil skirt. I just sort of winged it, but it turned out good! Even the darts worked out! :)

Yea for skirts!

Paper Piecing!!

2011-07-20T10:29:00.001-06:00

Success!!! Today, for the Summer Series Quilt-a-long, I spent about 2.5 hours figuring out paper piecing. This is my first EVER attempt. I have been scared to try. After this - I am in love! What a neat/fun/totally bizarre way to quilt! This, folks, is why we should never let fear stop us from trying things! So, with a feeling of pride, I present my first paper pieced block - Star!!

Yea!! I am so happy that I had some time this morning to get this done! It's pretty neat!!

WiP Wedensday

2011-07-19T21:59:00.000-06:00

Wednesday arrives again! Here a look into the in-progress drawer! I've got a lot!!!

Princess has finished her 3rd block...

She is doing great! And, isn't she the cutest thing ever? :)

As for me, I am in Quilt-a-long Heaven!! :)

Skill Builders Sampler:

This week we did pinwheels!

I love pinwheels! And these are so cute! I finally found a decent pink/red to add to the color scheme to get the colors moving! I look forward to the next block! Here are my four completed!

Love em!

Summer Sampler Quilt a long:

Since last week, we've done Greek Cross, Mosaic Block, and Flower Garden Path. Here are my four completed ones:

Love. Love. Love. With my SBS blocks in a much more subdued color scheme, I wanted this to be bright and colorful. Done. And I couldn't be happier with the blocks so far! Although, the last one had about a zillion half square triangles. And that was following a zillion HSTs in the pinwheel block. Ugh. While I am happy to get better at them... please!!! NO MORE!! lol! Okay, I know there will be more, but yikes. ;)

Kaleidoscope:

The top is done! I added a border and really really love how this top has come out!!!

Queen Frolic:

Question: Am I the only one who gets to the point where the only thing left on the top is the borders, and then spend all my time avoiding the borders like the plague? So a job that should only take about 30 minutes ends up taking 5 days? Do you do that too? I hope so... anyway, I finally got the borders on (today). I went with plain white borders and I think I like it. It almost feels like you're looking out of a big window.

I have a sheet for backing and should finish it up this weekend! Yea!

Halloween quilt: oops. I'll start that this week...

Well, that's all! Be sure to check out all of the wonderful WiP's at Freshly Pieced!

Ninja Star - a tutorial!

2011-07-14T21:09:00.000-06:00

I was asked to do a tutorial on the Ninja Star, so here we go!

I admit - I like this version of the Ninja Star a lot better than my original! ;)

Okay - first off, block will measure 12.5 inches unfinished, all seams are 1/4 inch, and I pressed most of my seams open to reduce bulk.

Fabric

You will need:

4 - 3 7/8 inch square blocks of print for star points

4 - 3 7/8 inch square blocks of background fabric

4 3 1/2 x 6 1/2 inch of background fabric

Start with Half Square Triangles! Match one background square to print square, right sides together. Trace a line down the diagonal on each set.

Sew 1/4 inch on each side of the marked line:

Cut down marked line:

Now you have eight sets!! Press open and trim the corners!

Arrange squares in this manner:

Start by sewing the half square triangles together this way:

Sew a background rectangle to each set of HST to form 4 sub-squares:

(On these, I pressed the seams toward the background rectangles.)

Now, sew two sub-squares together:

Then, finish off that square by sewing the two halves together!

TaDa!! Your very own Ninja Star!! Happy sewing everyone!

Kaleidoscope Top Done!!

2011-07-14T13:37:00.001-06:00

I. Love. It.

Not all of my points match up perfectly, but I can overlook that because it's just so darn cute!! Thank you Elizabeth, for hosting this GREAT quilt-a-long! I can't wait to quilt it up!!

Stay tuned: tonight I am going to put up a Ninja Star tutorial! It's fun!! :)

WiP Wednesday!!

2011-07-12T23:24:00.000-06:00

Howdy! What a lovely week it's been...

The princess didn't make any more progress this week. Something about swimming lessons, dance class, play dates... you know! :)

But me... Oh, it's been a fun week!

SBS Quilt a long:

It was challenge week: design your own block and get the measurements right. I did a block I've decided to call Ninja Star.

It reminds me of those throwing stars. Picture the star part in silver and the background in anything else... do you see it? I really like it! :)

Summer Series Sampler Quilt a long!

Block one: the Virginia Star!

I went with bright orange and yellow. This quilt is bound to be bright! I love it!

The Queen Size for the Princess's teacher: Here after called "Queen Frolic" (Original, I know...)

I am LOVING how this is coming together!! I am pleased with the applique too! So fun! I still need to add the border, but this top is just about done! Yipee!!

Check out all the great WiPs at Freshly Pieced!!

Bonus Block!

2011-07-08T15:37:00.000-06:00

So for the Skill Builder Sampler QAL, this week was a challenge week - design your own block and get the measurements correct. This is hard for me, but with Leila's instructions, it turned out to be pretty fun! Here's the block I came up with...

I am going to call it Ninja Star. Because anything with Ninja in the name has to be cool. ;)

Here are my four completed! We'll see if Ninja makes it into the finished quilt...

Kaleidoscope progress!

2011-07-07T15:48:00.001-06:00

Yea!! I had a wonderfully empty day today, so I was able to finish the next step on the Kaleidoscope QAL! 12 blocks - done!

This is my temporary layout. I can already tell that I am going to move some, but so far, I am liking what I am seeing! :) It's not too late to join in if you are looking for a great quilt a long!!

WiP Wednesday!

2011-07-06T05:49:00.000-06:00

Ready... Set... GO!

First up - Princess WiP

She isn't quite finished with her second block, but she has laid out the scraps. She told me yesterday that she is going to change a few, and sew it today. So, she'll probably have two finished to show next week! She is having a great time!

As for me...

SBS Quilt a long

The Churn-dash

Very cute block! I am really enjoying this quilt a long! I feel like I have learned a ton already!! Here are my three so far!

Cute!!

Kaleidoscope QAL
My corners are sewn, and I am ready for the next step! Here is my favorite layout: random deliciousness...

NEW PROJECT!

The Princess's former Kindergarten teacher emailed me and asked if I could put together a quilt for her little girls queen sized bed. After some thought, I showed her an older panel that I still had sitting in my drawer, and she really liked it. Then, as I was talking to my neighbor, I learned that she had a whole bunch of the Frolic line in her stash, which she let me buy from her! I have enough for the whole top and part of the back AND binding!! YEEHAW!! I have some great ideas, but here is a taste of the layout beginnings...

More to come! Stay tuned!

Finally... It's July now. Is it time? I think it's time...

I just love Halloween!! And I have been sitting on this pattern since last November. I can't wait to start working on this!! :)

That's all for this week! Linking up to Freshly Pieced! Be sure to check out all of the awesome WiPs!!

Photographing a Quilt, a tip!

2011-07-05T13:11:00.000-06:00

One problem that all quilters seem to face is photographing a quilt, really - of any size. I have a system that really works well for me, so I want to share it!

It starts with an outside wall. Preferably, a wall with Northern exposure, so you always have shade for the best lighting (my available wall has Western exposure, so I have to take the pictures in the morning or on cloudy days. Kind of a drag, but we do what we can...)

Anyway, start by using these screw in hooks:

You can get them for very little at Home Depot or the like. I spaced mine about 90 inches apart, which works for most of my quilts. And,they are so small, that they aren't an eye sore when you aren't using them.

Then, get some thin rope. On one side, tie a square knot.

On the other end, tie a Trucker's Hitch (don't know how? Neither do I. My Eagle Scout hubby tied mine for me, but there are some instructions HERE.) This knot is awesome, because you can start with it totally slacked, then slide it tight, then loosen it up when you are done. You never, ever have to untie it. It's great!!!

Hook it onto your second hook while loose.

Then slide it until the rope is tight.

Then you have a nice cloths line type set up, and can hang that quilt for well lit, even pictures! Just use cloths pins!

So, there's my tip for the day! Happy sewing!

Hexagon Circus Quilt - complete!

2011-06-30T09:36:00.001-06:00

Well! Here it is in all it's glory!!!

Finished size: 54 x 49. I used the piecing method from the pattern Mini Merry Go Round, but added sashing, using the instructions from Hexagon Park Quilt on Moda Bake Shop. I really love how it turned out!

Fabric: Carmel Town (SO CUTE!!!)

The back! I really love how the back came out!!

Here's a closer look at the back and quilting! I hope you can see the hexagon shapes! They look fantastic in person! )

This has been such a fun quilt to make! It's so bright and happy! I have decided to list it in the shop for now! Yea for another fun finish!!

WiP Wednesday...

2011-06-28T22:07:00.000-06:00

We may have to call this "Princess addition" because she seems to have as much as I do! lol!!

Seriously - here are the Princess's projects:

Her first Ticker Tape block:

Turned out great! It was fun to watch her. She kept whispering "concentrate... concentrate!" as she sewed! It. Was. Awesome!!!!!

Today, my incredible friend and neighbor watched her and the little monkey for me while I got my haircut, and she came home with this:

And SHE made it with only a little help!! Awesome!!! Thank you Shelley! She is SO proud and I am tickled pink!!

Okay - now for mine...

Hex 2.

I got the top finished, got the back pieced, and got it basted by bedtime last Wednesday. Then I decided on how to quilt it. I went with stitching 1/4 inch on either side of all the seams in the hexagons. Yep. That would be 4 laps around all 42 hexagons. As I was quilting (which I only just finished yesterday, mind you...) I kept thinking, "WHY?!?!" But then I would look at the quilting, especially on the back, and say, "Oh, yes! This looks great!!!"

I just got the binding attached today. I don't have a single picture of the completed quilt top. Give me a day or two, and it'll be all done and pictures will abound! :)

Kaleidoscope Quilt a long:

Cut, and ready to go for the next set! Yea! I love this already!! I have already decided to quilt with pink thread. ;)

Skill Builder Sampler Quilt a long:
Block #2: Value 9 patch

I am pretty bad with the whole "value" thing, so I really tried to work on that with this block. I learned something about value! IT'S AWESOME! I had to go through about 4 sets of fabric picks before it clicked. And I really love how this block turned out! The only problem? I am using scraps for this QAL, and most of my scraps are out of print, so there is zero chance for me to have a whole quilt with these fabrics. *sad face* Seriously. I would love it! ;)

Well, that is all for this wonderful WiP Wednesday! Linking up to Freshly Pieced! Be sure to check it out!

A contest!

2011-06-28T14:22:00.000-06:00

Okay... I went ahead and entered a contest over at Riley Blake Designs! It's fun!

I entered my Mod Times #1 in All Stars 2!

Wish me luck!

Here she goes!

2011-06-25T12:28:00.000-06:00

And... she's off!!

What a great day!

A Place for It at Last...

2011-06-23T20:38:00.000-06:00

Last week I repainted my 4 year old's bedroom. Today, I asked him what kind of picture he would want above his bed. He responded with, "I want a quilt on my wall!" **Heart melts**

Then it came to me: I have a quilt that I designed and finished almost a year ago, neatly folded waiting for me to decide what on Earth to do with it. Ever since I finished it, I've been trying to decide if I should give it away (NO!) or write up a pattern or tutorial (even though changes would definitely be made now...) But I just hadn't decided yet. I still might do a little pattern, but for now, it's here:

And I couldn't be happier!

WiP Wednesday!

2011-06-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

It's Wednesday again!! It sure seems to creep up on me. I was THRILLED to have a great finish this week!! Yay for Bottled Rainbows!! And thank you all for the BR love! It means a lot! :)

As far as my "In Progress" drawer goes... it felt shockingly empty. With the BR quilt out of there, there is a lot of space! LOL! Must... fill... space... which leads me to a story. The kids and I went up to Cedar City on Monday with my husband who had to work up there for a few hours. Now, when I have a few spare hours in an unfamiliar place, and happen to find a fabric store in my "safe zone" (I get lost easily...), things happen. I don't think I should have to take responsibility for my actions in those circumstances... ;)

What happened? This:

Fabric for a Bottled Rainbow-esqe quilt! But!! This one will not be made by me, but by my 7 year old daughter!!! Yep, she wants to make one for her bed, but instead of Rainbows, she wanted blocks in just four colors! See what she picked out? I think she's got a great eye for colors. Anyway, I will piece the blocks, but she will do all of the scraps! So from now until this one is done - expect a "Princess WiP" section! I am tickled!

Now, for my WiPs...

Skill Builder Sampler Quilt-a-long - Block #1, Log Cabin

I like how this one came out. A lot. I am planning to make every block with nothing but scraps, if I can help it, so it might end up being wild, but that's okay. I'm building my skills, and that's what matters!

Hex

Almost have the top pieced! Only 4 rows left to go! And that won't take long! I am loving this! I can't wait to piece a back as well!! I also am having visions of awesome quilting floating around... we'll see! :)

Oh, dude. That's all! See, I really do need to fill my "In Progress" drawer... I know! I'll pull out this long forgotten project!

Yea!! Dancing Squares! :)

Be sure to check out all of the awesome WiPs at Freshly Pieced!

Bottled Rainbow - Complete!

2011-06-19T21:54:00.000-06:00

I am SO thrilled with how my Bottled Rainbow turned out!! Yay!! This has been a wonderful project - one of my favorites!! I would like to thank Rachel at Stitched in Color for hosting this wonderful quilt-a-long!!

So, with no further adu - my Bottled Rainbow Quilt - all done!!

Finished size: 68 x 84

I don't use it often, but I did back this one with minky. The last quilt I used minky on was the Supernova, that I gave to my hubby. Well... I kept stealing it from him (it's so snuggly!!), so I decided to splurge and back this one with minky for ME. So he could keep his... You know - keeping the peace! lol!

The binding was from Riley Blake's "Feeling Groovy" line. It's flannel. The only reason I decided this was okay was because I was using minky on the back, so a flannel binding would be okay. Well, that's just how I justified it. Truth be told, I just loved it so much, and it was SO perfect, I just HAD to use it!!! :)

This has been so fun! I am kind of thinking that a weekly ticker tape block may still be in order, because they are SO fun! This is now my very own snuggle-on-the-couch quilt! Yay!!

Patriotic Table Runner

2011-06-18T12:20:00.001-06:00

I have some neighbors who are just fabulous. They recently moved to my neck of the woods from a much larger city, they are kind, keep a eye on our house, spray our weeds occasionally, and are generally just really nice. Lately, I have really been wanting to show my appreciation to them, to yesterday (and today) I made them this Patriotic table runner for the Fourth of July.

I am thrilled with how it came out! I LOVE this Twin Star block (I used the tutorial HERE from Piece N' Quilt). It is lovely, and I have to say - I think this is some of my best piece work. I really hope they like it! I am going to take it over tomorrow. Yay!

WiP Wednesday!

2011-06-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

Awwww, Wednesday. I didn't think that I had gotten much done this week, on account of a spectacular hike of the West Rim of Zion National Park that the hubby and I conquered. It was awesome! And very strenuous!!!! But look at what we got to see!!!

I know. It was amazing!

Anyway, as I started taking a look to compile this post, I realized - I had done quite a bit! I finished two pincushions and a curtain (see posts below), and I finished two Bottled Rainbow blocks, as well as some progress on the Hexies! Wow! That's pretty good!

On the Hexie front, I got the sashing cut, and put it on...

They are turning out SO cute!

I picked out the fabric for the Kaleidescope Quilt a long! It's cute!! Zoo Babies in Pink with light gray for the background! Yea!

But the real news is in the Bottled Rainbows... I finished two blocks. And, for those keeping track... those were the LAST two blocks!!!! Yea!!!!

Raspberry

And Orange!!

Now, actually - I've got one better... today I stitched the top together. The top is done!!! I am not posting a picture, though, as I want to reveal the finished product when it is, you know - finished! Another couple days and I'll do the grand reveal. Suffice it to say - I am tickled pink with how it came together. Really. I just love it! I can't wait to show it off!!! Stay tuned!

That's all for my WiPs this week!! Happy Sewing and be sure to check out all the amazing WiPs at Freshly Pieced!!

Another pincushion and Raspberry Block

2011-06-10T08:43:00.000-06:00

I decided that I needed to make a bigger pincushion. The cupcake, while cute, and still being used as a decoration, was just too small for all of my many pins. So, I decided to make a mini-sprocket pillow and use that as a giant pincushion. I love it!!

Yea! Still looks crazy with all those pins, but at least they all fit!! ;)

I also finished the Raspberry block!! Yipee! I really like how this one came out!! Only one more!!! :)

A pincushion and a door

2011-06-08T21:38:00.000-06:00

So... in attempt to get my room functionally beautiful, I decided to make a pincushion. A cupcake one!

Turns out, I'm not so skilled at sewing in 3D! hahaha! It's cute, though. And, it turns out, when you stick a few hundred pins in it...

It really doesn't matter what it looks like! Hahahaha!!

Also, I made a curtain door for my little storage room - you know to keep certain little monkeys out...

I love how it came out! This fabric is one of my current favorites, and I just love how my circle string things came out! Yay!!

WiP Wednesday!!

2011-06-07T22:16:00.000-06:00

Wow, Wednesdays come around super fast!! I haven't gotten a whole lot of sewing done, but I have been very busy! Here's what we've got...

Bottled Rainbow - Ocean Block

I love this one too! Another little butterfly block... I couldn't help myself! Two more to go!! And! I picked this out for the binding!

I still have to get the backing, but I think I know what I want. I just have to do the math and go buy the right amount!! :)

I made some progress on the Hexagon quilt! I love it so far! I can't wait to get it put together!!

That's all the sewing I have for this week (Sad!) But! My major project for the week has been: painting and re-reorganizing my sewing room!!! And it's just about done! Yay!!

Story - when we bought our house every wall, all of the ceilings, the doors, and base boards were all painted the exact same color. A brown that was a little too pink for my taste. If it had been on the walls of a few rooms, I probably would have liked it. But, on every stationary surface? Not so much. It has taken 6 years, but I am finally almost done eradicating the color from my home. My sewing room was the last big room. Now all that's left are the bathrooms and the laundry room. I will get rid of that color if it kills me. Muahaha!

Anyway, here is a picture of my newly painted sewing room!!

Yay!! I am so happy with the color now! It's so soothing! I have two more projects left in here and it will be totally done! Hooray!! So, now on to more sewing!!

Be sure to check out all the awesome WiPs over at Freshly Pieced!! :)

Mod Times #2 Complete!

2011-06-02T10:26:00.000-06:00

Here she is! I am so SO pleased with how this darling quilt came out! I love the fabric, the pattern, the back! I am so excited to get this up on my wall! :) Thanks again to Twinfibers for hosting this VERY fun quilt a long! This is an amazing pattern that is way fun to sew! Thanks!!!

WiPs of the week!

2011-06-01T00:01:00.000-06:00

Wow. The holiday really threw me off. I can't believe it's time for WiP Wednesday!!!

So, I spent a lot of last week cleaning and organizing my sewing room. Holy Crow. I am glad that I did it, but wow. I did not realize how much I have... Don't tell my husband, but I probably shouldn't be allowed to buy fabric for a long while... ;) lol!

Anyway, here are a few of the thing I worked on...

Bottled Rainbows!

Here's the block of the week - Cerise. I am going to just call it "That pretty purpley color" I love it. I had fun with this one! Love that little leftover Butterfly block! And now, only three left to go! I think from here on I am not going to show the whole group; just that week's block until it's done! Muahaha!

Mod Times - quilted! Binding on! Ready to get that binding done! I'll post pictures as soon as it's finished!! :)

New project! I found a fat quarter bundle that I LOVE and decided that I wanted to do another hexagon quilt. I'll use the same piecing process as the original Hex, but modify it a little. It'll be fun!

While I was cleaning, I found this picnic quilt top that I finished many months ago...

aaaaaand forgot about!! How on Earth does one forget an entire quilt top?!? I am now considering what to back it with and how to quilt it! It's a fun quilt! :)

For my almost-due new nephew - a onsie. He's the 7th child! I though this was funny...

Last - I am still having problems with commenting. I cannot comment on blogs that have comments embedded at the bottom of the post (unless you allow for anonymous or name/URL). So, if I used to comment, but suddenly stopped - I WANT to!! Maybe you could change to the pop-up comment screen, you know - just for me? ;) No, but - know that I'm reading and totally being inspired by your projects!

Check out all of the awesome WiPs, this week at Don't Call Me Betsy! Happy sewing! :)

Oh, and yeah - I'm all for this one... :)

My sewing room exploded.

2011-05-27T11:55:00.000-06:00

I got a bee in my bonnet. My sewing storage room was out of control. It was getting desperate. So... I pulled every thing out. I have been folding fabric for over 2 hours. And I'm not done.

(Although, I did get Mod Times #2 basted! It's the roll right there. Just waiting to be quilted. Will I ever be able to reach my machine again?!?)

What did I get myself into?!? I know, I know - it'll be nice when it's done. But right now I need a break. Wish me luck!!

WIP Wednesday!

2011-05-24T23:48:00.000-06:00

Another week - gone! I feel like this week has been a whirlwind - with a try at a tri (lol!), dance recitals, preschool graduation, last day of school, and on and on... Whew! But, I was able to get a little sewing done too!

Mod Times #2 is still waiting to be sandwiched. I am so excited to quilt it, but I need to mop the floor before I can baste. (sigh...)

I made a new dance bag for my little dancing queen.

I used the "leftovers" from Mod Times #2 (ahem - because I bought the end of the bolt. Don't judge. It was 50% off...) It turned out way cute, and now she can actually fit her three different pairs of dance shoes - tap, ballet, and jazz - into her dance bag! Sheesh.

Cute, right?!

Bottled Rainbows - Moss block

This is block #12!!! 4 more to go, and I saved my favorite colors for last! Yea!! :) I kept this one simple, and I really do like how it came out. I also like that it is mostly Fandango scraps. I love LOVE that line! :)

I really love this project! I am so excited to snuggle under this one! I'm totally going to hog it all to myself!

Also on the drawing board - a simple skirt tutorial and pants to skirt (My hack method) tutorial! Stay tuned for those!

And - I am really excited to join in this skill builders quilt a long!!! It is going to be awesome!!

Well, that's it for this week! Be sure to check out all the WIPs at Freshly Pieced!

An Excess of Mug Rugs

2011-05-24T11:17:00.000-06:00

For end-of-year-teacher-gifts, I decided to follow Melinda's example and make up a few mug rugs. I even used her poem! (She said I could!)

The Princess designed the one for her teacher (her teacher had an ocean themed room)

Cute yes? Here's the outcome...

I designed the rest. Notice how simple mine are? Yeah. SIMPLE. But I love them and they were fast to make!

And one more for the crossing guard (she's got a big job, too!!) :)

I love mug rugs! :)

A Big Serving of Humble Pie

2011-05-23T13:16:00.001-06:00

I know you are all wondering about how the triathlon went. Well... it was a complete disaster. Seriously! It has been a long time since I have outright failed at something, so I guess I was just overdue for a good humbling! lol!

Here's me getting ready to start the swim.

Which I only made it partway through. Turns out - swimming in a pool is a lot different than swimming in a lake, and swimming in a swimsuit is a lot different than swimming in a wetsuit. (Can a get a Duh?) So, I had trained for swimming, just not the right kind of training. But that wasn't the kiss of death.

Here's how this all went down. I started the swim out pretty well. I did, however, realize quickly that I had worn the wrong kind of wetsuit. I borrowed a friend's regular, scuba wetsuit, which was too thick, so I had a whole lot of drag going on. I had, about 400 meters in, decided that I would have to alternate between freestyle and breaststroke to finish.

That was went I collided with another swimmer and took a foot to the gut. Now, it's important for me to say - I don't blame the other swimmer AT ALL. It's a free for all, we're all right on top of each other, and it's hard to see where the other swimmers are. So, not that person's fault. And the kick didn't even hurt. But, it was enough to through off my rhythm and breathing, and caused me to start taking in mouth fulls of water. And out in the middle of a lake is not the most ideal place to try and recover from getting the wind knocked out of you. BUT - I don't think the kick would have effected me as much if I hadn't already been struggling.

I swam (if you are being generous with the term swim) another 100 yards or so, and tried to determine the best course of action. I was still coughing and getting mouthfuls of water. I do NOT quit easily, so this decision was painful. But even now I can't regret making the decision to pull out. I wouldn't have been able to finish the swim. At least not before the cutoff. So, I swam over to one of the officials on a jet ski, told him I was pulling out, and climbed on the back of the jet ski. He was great about it, as were the people on the boat who had to call in my number into the race director.

I was hoping to just get to the dock, hand in my time chip and make a discreet getaway. But no. NOW came the embarrassing part. I got to the dock, was helped off by a young man who would not let go of my arm. He kept asking if I was okay, then told me that I would have to talk to "the race director. She's the one in the green shirt... yes, right there, running toward us."

She was running. Sprinting actually. Right. Up. To. ME. And behind her - the medical staff. Complete with a full stretcher. **Dies of complete embarrassment** Holy cow, it was humiliating. Anyway, I assured her that I was okay - and that all I really needed was a rock to hide under and die of embarrassment. Fortunately (?) I wasn't the first to pull out for that exact reason, and I am sure I wasn't the last.

So, a bona-fide failure. But, I certainly learned a valuable lesson about preparing the RIGHT way. And you do know what this means, right? Michael will be ordering a kayak and a few little life vests today. And from now until next year, we will be spending a few evenings a month with my three family members in a kayak while I swim in the reservoir until it's easy to do. Next time.. I'll be ready! :)

But humble pie doesn't taste very good.

Mod Times #2 Top and Back

2011-05-20T11:49:00.001-06:00

I was able to get the top of my second Mod Times quilt all put together last night, and then I pieced the back today! I love 'em!!

I went with white background because when I looked around at greens, they just didn't "feel" right. So, white it was! And I like it very much! But I think the back is a big win! I just love it! :)

Tomorrow I am participating in my first open water Olympic distance triathlon! I am excited and a little nervous! It's a 1500 meter swim, 20.5 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. I know I can finish, but wish me luck to not finish last! lol! :) Have a great weekend!!