Up next...

I'm about to start working on a customer quilt. Spa style colors were requested with full license to choose any pattern I think best. It didn't take me long to decide on a postage stamp quilt (very similar to this one). I just think it will be perfect and will almost mimic the mosaic tile that a lot of spas have. Can't wait to see it!
Got all my light and dark fabrics pulled.

But before I get to cutting...

...I need to bind this baby up! Totally in love with how this is looking and can't wait to show you the finished product. Going to have a little pattern for this one too.

inspiration overload

Well January went by fast!
I'm in the midst of finishing up a few little baby quilts right now and have been trying to plan my next project. I actually started to feel a little "stuck". There is just so much inspiration out there and lots of patterns and fabrics I want to try that I don't know which way to go! My Pinterest board for quilt inspiration has been growing like crazy the last few weeks. So has my Flickr favs.

Yesterday, I wrote down a list of quilts I want to make and what fabrics I want to use, etc.
Here are a couple of things that are on my definite to-do list:

• Fancy Fox pillow for my son!
• A Pacific Crest quilt from Beyond Neutral book (downloaded it on the iPad a few weeks ago; love lots of the designs in it!)
• and lastly, I am wild about this fabric combo: 

Not a 100% sure what pattern I'll use yet but I just love the bright red against the Essex Yarn-dyed Black again the Wild and Free plaid fabric. Maybe add a little mustard in too.

Does this ever happen to you? You're all ready to sew and make something but you just don't know what to start with?

dreaming of my next quilt....

Look at this bundle of goodness! Last week my mom took me birthday shopping and I came home with these FQs from Denyse Schmidt's Hadley collection.

I really want to make a vintage style quilt with these and I've been mulling over pattern options.
A postage stamp quilt like this one or this one?
This Vintage Nine Patch pattern maybe?
Or a truly vintage bow-tie pattern like this one?

What do you all think?

quilt therapy

I'm back! My surgery went really well and I'm recovering a lot faster than I thought I would. I even felt well enough to cut some fabrics for a new quilt yesterday (by the way, you use your core muscles quite a bit when rotary cutting, who knew? you discover these things when your core muscles have been cut into). Being able to play with my fabrics again is so good!

This is going to be another Archaeology Quilt but with a scrappy, low volume background. Can't wait to see how this turns out!

fabric candy

Hello! We took a lovely vacation to the family farm in West Virginia over the 4th of July holiday and I've had little time to sew (although I did baste and quilt a finished top, just need to get pictures of it now).

This literally just arrived in my mailbox. Happy, happy!
I pre-ordered a select few of the new Cotton & Steel fabrics from Hawthorne Threads.

There are soooo many great prints in these collections it was hard just to choose a few! As I've been seeing more pictures of the Cotton & Steel fabrics I've decided I need a few of those gorgeous lavendery pinks to add to my stash.

On a very personal note:
I'm keeping this short and sweet since I'm actually preparing for surgery tomorrow. It was back towards the beginning of this blog (7! years ago) that I had my first surgery and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. Yes, it can be challenging but there are many things worse and I'm fortunate to have excellent health care and a supportive family. We all have something in life that is difficult but those are what pushes us to grow. So I'd love to have your prayers for tomorrow! Thanks and I'll be back soon!

In progress today...

Happy Thursday!
Today I'm quilting...

...and planning my next project (always the fun part!). I think I've settled on these colors with a background of Confetti Dots.

What are you up to today?

today's projects

Here's what I'm working on today.

Quilting two custom commissioned quilts.
 A nautical themed baby quilt:

And a quilt that will be a wedding gift:

Also, I put together this stack of fabrics to make a simple patchwork quilt featuring the typewriters fabric (like this quilt). I can't wait to start cutting into these! It's my motivation to get those other two quilted quickly.

Hope you had a great weekend!

something old, something new

Happy Wednesday!

A few days ago I was too excited to start a new project with some Tule fabrics I got. I knew this Pow-Wow pattern would be perfect for them. I just finished quilting a few other quilts so I can now proceed with this one today!


Also, I wanted to show you a small finish. A few months ago I showed you a stack of fabrics.

With a few adjustments, they became a table runner. I adore this color combination!

My triangle tips aren't perfect on this one but I still love it!

Another year older

One of the nice things about living near lots of family and friends is that you get to celebrate your birthday multiple times! This year, I've been spoiled rotten. Last Saturday it was homemade chocolate cheesecake, last night we had butterfinger ice cream cake and tomorrow, homemade cinnamon rolls (I'm not much of a cake person)!
My hubby surprised me with these ear rings that I had favorited on Etsy recently. There are lots of pretty things in that shop.

(Photo from Lightborn)

Mom took me on our annual birthday lunch/fabric shopping outing. My mom is such a generous person! That little yellow polka dot was on clearance for like $6/yard, I totally should have got more than 1/2 a yard!


Yesterday, I started trying to quilt my Croquet quilt but very mysteriously the top thread broke about 4 times in a 25" section and now the thread is catching somewhere and making a big mess. It worked just fine the last time I used it and the only thing I did differently this time was use a different thread (Aurifil) when I usually use gutermann. I quickly gave up but am going to do a thorough investigation on it this morning.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Croquet, anyone?

Here's what I'm working on today y'all!

Last week I went to JoAnns (I live too close to one now!) and got a 1/3 yard of each from Denyse Schmidt's new line Croquet when they were 40% off. I'm not sure if I love the fabric or the name of the fabric more! I have great memories of playing Croquet at our neighbor's when we were young, they were like grandparents to us.

The colors of this collection are great but when I got home I was worried they were a little too "granny-ish". Not that there's anything wrong with that! I decided to go with 16-patch blocks which are sooo fast to make. Now that I have several blocks made I think I'm really going to like it! It will have a great vintage appeal to it.

new week {new projects}

Happy Monday!
Today I've been playing with polaroid blocks. Really fun!
I'm using this tutorial but making the center squares 3" instead of 2".

This color combination has been calling to me. I'm not quite ready to cut into these yet; my plate is FULL right now! Soon though.

3 things

Happy Friday!

Here are a few quick things that are on my mind.

1. I wish I were back on the beach in Hawaii! (instead I'm preparing for a massive garage sale tomorrow)


2. I wish I was cutting into this stack of fabric. (instead, see above)


3. I'm very proud of myself for not buying any fabric for the past 2 months! It sure helps when you are too busy painting, moving, unpacking, vacationing and preparing for a massive garage sale. There have been a lot of tempting sales lately too. I have my eye on several new collections though.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

loose ends

I forgot to show you the loot I came away with from QuiltCon!
It's so nice to see fabrics in real life sometimes (as opposed to ordering online all the time). I knew I would want to splurge on some goodies so it's all good but people, I seriously need to go on a fabric diet! I'm really going to try to restrain myself for a while (until the new Heather Ross collection comes out, that I will be buying!).

Those solids on the right are Oakshot Cottons, so gorgeous in real life! And it seemed to me that Architextures was the big "thing" at QuiltCon....it was EVERYWHERE (at EVERY shop booth and in tons of the quilts). It's a cool collection for sure but it makes me feel like part of the crowd. I'm fine with that though. :)


#20 Churn Dash for my Farmer's Wife Sampler. Plugging away.


Lastly, a sneak peek of my finished feather/improv quilt that I have yet to come up with a good name for. I need to get some better pictures, soon!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

New Business Cards

Happy pre-Thanksgiving! I've got some pies to bake today.

I had a slight blunder at the Etsy craft show earlier this month when I realized that my business cards still had my old email address that I had to cancel when we moved. Oops! So, when I got home from the show I promptly ordered new ones. 

Even though it's just a standard design on Vistaprint, I'm super happy with them!

Some new fabric treats. I totally had to have that Tree Bark fabric!
A few more Farmer's Wife blocks:

#86 Squash Blossom


#46 Hill & Valley

P.S. Thanks for the advice on interfacing! I've finished my bag and I'll be posting it soon. :)

must make NOW!

Oh if only I weren't knee deep in packing boxes!!! There are two things that I'm obsessed with right now. First, a Washi Dress. I've always thought it was really cute but I totally fell in love with it after seeing this version.
Second, I really want this Feather Bed Quilt! I knew I would have to make one the minute I saw it. I'm thinking my other new fabric acquisition might be nice for the feathers. Chicopee fat quarter bundle pre-ordered from Stash Fabrics.



That red there on top is such a gorgeous red! I have hardly any red in my stash because I can never find the perfect shade. I'll need to get some yardage of that one.

{good} cause

Hey guys, just in case you weren't aware, I wanted to mention the Action Kivu Fundraiser that Handmade by Alissa is doing. Having been to Africa twice now I can vouch for what an incredible difference a small donation makes! Action Kivu is such a great cause, I hope you will consider donating even just $10. And the prizes are INSANE! It was double motivation for me to get my name in the drawing. Today is the last day!

Anyway, I did indulge in a few goodies last week. I really wanted the whole line of Anna Maria Horner's new Field Study line (except for the leopard prints....not my thing I guess) but I forced myself to chose just a few of my favorites.

















I hate to admit that I have some more new fabric acquisitions to show off (what?! this is a tough time of year for me with all the gorgeous new fabric lines coming out!) but I'll save them for the next post since I really should be packing up the kitchen right now.

crazy times

Whew! Things have been crazy around here since we got back from Africa. We'd been considering it for a while but then 2 weeks ago decided to put our house on the market. So, if you've done that before you know how much work it is to prepare your house for sale! Luckily our house didn't need too much work but still, there were little things plus packing away all the clutter.

I have to say, my sewing area has never looked better!

And my Sparkle wall hanging found a temporary home in the spare/junk room-turned-play room.

We worked non-stop for over a week taking 3 loads of things to Goodwill and 3 loads of boxed up stuff for storage at my dad's place. The photographer came yesterday to take pictures of the house for the listing so we have a few days break before the showings start (hopefully!). It's exhausting to get your house looking like perfection!

At one point I was able to take a few minutes to pull fabric for my next quilt which is a commission due the first of August. YIKES! I've got my work cut out for me.

miscellaneous

Two days to go! Thankfully the packing is going quite well and my to-do list has many checked off items! I know I said I was going to post a finished quilt but I wanted to post about other stuff instead.

Yesterday and today I actually had a bit of time for sewing which was nice because it is a great mental break from trip preparation.
I finished the quilt top and backing and basted my do Good. Stitches quilt for April. I may not get it finished before I leave but at least it's almost there. I LOVE how it's looking so far, really nice work by the Heal Circle ladies!


I also got inspired and picked out fabrics for my next quilt! Like tons of other people, I have fallen in love with Lucy's Crab Shack fabric collection. I picked up two of the fabrics from my local quilt shop the other day but there is NO way I need any more fabric. So, I decided to pull similar colored fabrics from what I already have to get the same look and color palette. I can't wait to cut into this pile!


Lastly, I whipped up this little case for my Kindle. It's already packed away in my backpack ready to go!

I should be able to pop in here one more time tomorrow. I have to show you how huge my bags are!

stinkin' CUTE!

My goodness, I am behind on blogging! I've been fairly productive lately and I'm starting to hit one of those times where all the WIPs get finished around the same time.

This isn't anything finished but I just had to share a little fabric cuteness I got in the mail today from Fabricworm. Are these not the most adorable prints ever?! It's Ed Emberley for Cloud 9. I seriously wish I could afford to get all the prints in this collection!


And I've had my eye on these prints (Next Stop from Birch) and have been waiting for them to be released for months now. The one on the left is actually from a collection called Crabtastic and was a total impulse buy.


I whipped this block up today for my do Good. Stitches circle. It's a 25 Patch Star that was requested to be scrappy in rainbow colors. I love how it came out! I still need to make another one in solids but it was actually a lot simpler than it looks to put together.

exciting day!

Wow, yesterday was awesome!

First, I will start with the most exciting part. My quilt patterns are now for sale at the Fat Quarter Shop!

Next, I am totally on a winning streak (two wins is a streak for me LOL!)! I won this book that Stitched In Color was giving away (THANK YOU Rachel!). The quilts in this book are so gorgeous and modern. I'm ready to be a part of a quilting bee!

And finally, this beautiful fat quart bundle of 1001 Peeps came in the mail yesterday. It's the dusk palate. So pretty!

Yup, it was a good day. :)