Game Night

Okay, so a huge KUDOS to everyone who guessed TRIVIAL PURSUIT!! It is in fact a Trivial Pursuit board! :)

Now, here's the big reveal of function #2 for this block! February is MY month in the Beejeebers Quilting Bee, and the theme I have decided to use...

FAMILY GAME NIGHT!!!

Squee! I have had this idea floating and forming in my mind for a long time, and I am so excited to make it a group effort! I can't wait to see what the other gals come up with!

Here's the basic idea: the quilt front will have blocks, each representing a family friendly game. Then, on the back, I will be creating a giant chess board! And I will probably even make big chess and checkers pieces! I think this one is going to be SO much fun!!

So, to my Beejeebers gals - good luck! I can't wait to see your creativity in action!!!!

Crazy

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!

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!

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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!!