So now I'm in trouble!

Well, I'm completely embarrassed! Becky gave my blog an award, even though I've completely been neglecting it of late! What can I say...I'm getting married in 4 days!  I really do promise that later this summer I'm going to become blogger extraordinaire...including a tutorial on half-square triangles using a method that I really love and doesn't seem to be that common (a take-off of the grid method).  Hmmm...maybe next weekend...after the wedding!

So, first, let me tell you about the award!  It's called the Liebster Award (German for favorite) for bloggers with 200 followers or less. As a recipient of the award, you have the chance to thank and link back to the blogger who gave it to you as well as passing it along to five other deserving blogs.

Becky is the only bloggy friend to whom I've ever sent something (a sheet set for a charity project that she was doing), and it's funny, because having never met her, I feel like she is nonetheless a good friend.  I know she is cheering for me right now and awaiting pictures from the wedding!

The Liebster Conventions says that you should:

1. Thank your award presenter on your blog and link back to him/her.

(Thanks again, Becky!  I'm really very honored (and inspired to do better!)

2. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
3. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that you think deserve to be recognized (see below).
4. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
5. Have faith that your followers will spread the love, too!

Well, I have to choose my other bloggy friends who leave such nice comments and also consistently inspire me to want to make more lovely things with their great examples and tutorials!  Thanks, y'all!

1.  Leslie of Leslie Unfinished

I particularly like the way Leslie's blog is set up, especially with her page of finished projects.  I want to do that!  I am most assuredly going to follow her lead on some flannel blankets with homemade piping, and the pinwheels quilt is on my list, as well.  (I really need to make a list, like she does!)  I'm also going to follow her lead and start sewing clothes again.  I'd thought I would make an outfit for this weekend, but...it didn't happen!  Some year!

2.  SarahZ of Prairie Patchworks

I've always loved old barns with a passion...there's just something about them.  And what better than a blog for barn quilts.  I just love the whole concept!

3.  Cindy of Hyacinth Quilt Designs

Cindy shared her Garden Fence design, and I've made too many versions of it to count, I feel like!  (Not really, but one for Anne, one for my brother's duvet (just waiting to be basted), and one out of pastel batiks that I thought might end up as one large quilt, but it might turn into 4 baby quilts...I've got the stack of blocks just waiting to decide.  I am madly trying to finish my take-off of it...the reverse miniaturized garden fence, which looks nothing like the original, but I love it nonetheless!)  I've got about 6 more blocks to handquilt, but I've gotten pretty fast at it.  I can get it done by Monday...or at least I really, really hope so!)

Cindy constantly has wonderful ideas that inspire me.  I have no idea how many followers she has...probably way more than 200, but since I can't tell for sure, I'm sharing the award with her!

4.  Lyanna of Purple Panda Quilts

Lyanna has a great blog and shares my love of purple and gray.  She did a Stockings for Kids drive that really made me happy.  I'm hoping to participate next year! 

5.  Anne of Sweet Pea

 
Of course, my dear friend Anne is definitely the Liebster of all Liebsters.  Anne's daughter, Aileen, is almost 6 months old, and she is an environmental lawyer working full-time who nonetheless made time to throw me the greatest bridal shower ever!  And, Anne is the person who encouraged me to blog in the first place.  I loved her old blog, The Barefoot Quiltessa, but she changed the name.  I imagine that she'll get back to blogging again when she gets more than 1 consecutive night of sleep.  She has still managed to quilt up a storm, including a beautiful hand-quilted queen-sized quilt for her niece...the same niece for whom we made Anne's first quilt together almost 7 years ago now.  Time flies!
 
 

Well, speaking of time flying, I've let an hour and a half go by trying to make these difficult decisions (and trying to figure out how many followers people have), and now I really must go make dinner and prepare to clean house.  (I'd planned to answer the fun questions Becky tagged me in, but it, along with the pictures from my bridal shower, will have to wait.) 

But...for a few pictures, I thought I'd share the quilt I just finished binding after work tonight.  This is the storm-at-sea quilt I made for Talia and Aaron for the wedding 2.5 years ago.  I still need to make a hanger and a tag for it, but it is officially quilted and bound, so I want to switch to Anne's.  I plan to ask the wedding photographer to take better pictures of this when I give it to them, since I've still not read the lovely book Anne gave me for my birthday about how to photograph things for one's blog.  I really need to get on that, as is evidenced by these pictures earlier this week when I thought I was going to have time to blog!

The next time you hear from me, most likely, I will have a new last name!  Hooray!  All we have to do is finish cleaning up the house, and the festivities begin tomorrow with a mani/pedi with my bridesmaids (Talia and Anne) while Bryan picks up my parents from the airport (what a great guy...no wonder I'm marrying him!).  Then, we're having a nice dinner tomorrow night with a few of my friends and my parents.  Sunday brunch, then pick up my bouquet, then the official rehearsal dinner with Bryan's family (at least those that are local, plus his uncle is coming in from New York), and then Monday, we head to the courthouse and then to a lovely tea place for lunch/afternoon tea.  That night, we'll have dinner just with my parents and his mom.  The only sad part is that my brother and Bryan's dad couldn't make it to town, but they are here in spirit and will definitely be missed.



Anne, Aileen, Me, and Talia



Anne's image of our wedding!  I feel like such a princess!

So much to say, and so little to show!

I can't believe it has been over a month since I've last posted, but it has.  Time flies, and so much has happened!

The big news is that I am actually getting married!  We finally set a date (April 30th, 2012)...yes...that's right!  A couple of weeks ago we decided we should get married in less than 2 months.  So much for the typical long engagement during which time the bride actually plans a wedding!  (And no, I'm not pregnant yet!) :)  To make things less insane, we threw out our latest idea of a picnic in the park-type wedding, and we are going to the courthouse in Annapolis to "get'er done!".  But...I still wanted a celebration, and my friends and family have pulled through for me in a big way - I feel really special!

My mom flew up from Georgia last weekend to go dress shopping with me.  We went to Nordstrom's Wedding Suite, and IT WAS AWESOME!  We'd signed up to make an appointment later than we should have, it turns out, and we got very lucky that the coordinator was willing to work hard to fit us in for an appointment with a stylist last Friday.  And even luckier that the stylist was training someone else, so I had two people helping me and making me feel like a princess.  It was like my own version of "Say Yes to the Dress", and it was a blast.  Having never tried on wedding dresses before, I didn't have a sense of what would look good, and, in actuality, I wasn't looking for a traditional wedding dress, but it was so fun to see what that would be like. 

The really funny thing was that the dress I think I'm ending up with was the one that I saw as we were coming up the escalator and looked into the area...I pointed to it and said "that's the dress".  They didn't have it in my size to try on, so we sort of forgot about it in trying on gowns that were in my size (or close enough to be put on and then closed with clip things!).

Here's the winner of the ones I could try in my size...and it is pretty close to what I'm ending up with, though I'm hoping that the final one looks better.  I thought about sharing some pictures of the rejects, but...well, it's dinner-time and I don't want to spoil your apetite (further)!

I actually ended up ordering three dresses...they are sitting in boxes in my front hall right now waiting for Sunday, when I'll open the boxes and try on the dresses with my two super-close girlfriends (Anne and Talia...both of whom have unfinished quilts that I hope to finish before the wedding...because why not give myself something different to stress about work on?!?)  We will then go to brunch, because one way or another, I suspect I'll want a mimosa!  (Incidentally, after seeing the pictures my mom took of some of the rejects that were being pushed on us the next day at Neiman Marcus, I should really go on a diet.  Instead, I made blackberry cobbler earlier this week, and I'm currently contemplating getting up and making chocolate mousse before Bryan gets home from work.  I think I have the wrong idea about how to solve the problem of my mental image (aka Supermodel) not matching the photographic evidence!  Oh, and might I add that I'm about to start a daily push-up regimen - yikes!)

Anyway, in other exciting news, Anne is hosting a bridal brunch for me, which I'm absolutely thrilled about!  It's on April 15th, so I should probably not wait until that day this year to do my taxes!  Details...

We'll have at least one small dinner celebration the weekend before the wedding, and then my aunt and uncle in New Orleans are letting us use their amazing backyard for a family crawfish boil/reception!  More on that later (once I've figured it all out!).

In further exciting news, I am once again a landlord, and I'm thrilled.  After having my house in Athens, GA, on the market for 5+ years (and only rented 1 of those years), I'm excited for the stress relief that comes from having someone living there.  It's always a bit scary, but the couple seems really nice, and I reduced my rental price pretty significantly to make it possible for them and in hopes that they'll take good care of the house, so hopefully karma will work for me this time.  I'm crossing my fingers, and in the mean-time, it is nice to have someone there to pay some of the bills and to take care of the yard!  Who knows...maybe someday they'll be able to buy it!  This is a picture of the Paulonia tree blooming in the front yard...isn't it amazing?!?  I planted that tree (o.k., my brother planted it, but I helped), and look at it now!  It's huge...wish I had something to show the scale better!)

Oh...and you probably would like to hear about quilting!  I've got so many tops finished or really close, but no pictures!  I'm hoping to have some time this weekend to wash the kitchen floor and baste 6 projects!  (OK, I divided the duvet cover for my brother into 4 quadrants for the front, plus 1 pieced section on the back so far.  The picture shows the layout on my design wall before I pieced it...it has sashing between each block, and I think I'm going to free-motion a different design in each block for the fun of practicing...it's the back of a duvet cover, so it won't matter if it isn't perfect, right? 

I spent many days working on organizing my sewing room so that we could fit more stuff under the bed before my mom's visit, since she was going to need to sleep in the bed, and it was completely covered in fabric and projects.  I have a little more to do, and then I'll finally be able to present the sewing room in all its glory...I'm sure it will stay cleaned up better after seeing what agony it has been to get it manageable!  Here's part of the before...complete with my little helper...NOT!

I also have to get Talia and Aaron's quilt basted.  I love the idea of presenting them with the quilt I promised them at their wedding on my wedding day, plus it is also Aaron's birthday, so I'd love to get it done and delivered.  The top turned out so beautifully that I really am terrified of messing it up with the quilting, so it may be slow-going, but I think I'm finally mentally-ready.)   I'm also taking off at least 3 days from work during the first two weeks of April, so I should get a lot done, in theory.

OK, Bryan's home and catching me in the fact that I've not done anything about dinner or cleaning up the dishes from breakfast (which I usually do during lunch on days I telework!), so I better run and show him that he's not marrying a lazy bum!  Heh...what he doesn't know...

I'm about to post more regularly, including a fun "tag-it" post from Becky!

Long time, no post!

Well, I haven't had much to blog about, as my day job turned into my day-night-and-weekend job for the last month. I'm finally going to do more than look longingly at my sewing machine this weekend as I trudged from work to bed (one time 24 hours after having left my bed - brutal!), and hopefully by Tuesday I will have finished a small project that was supposed to be done in January! And by this time next week, I might even have finished up a bigger project, too!

I am also 769 blog posts behind on my reader. And I decided last weekend that if I want to get married this spring, I should probably pick a date and start planning! I saw a blog where everyone got a homemade cloth napkin as a wedding favor. Love the concept, even more so if it had a matching placemat to cover the graffitied park benches in the pavilion where we're holding the event, but yeah...less than 3 months...not going to happen, I'd say!

I do have a great helper, though! If only she would learn how to sew!

A few more chevrons!

I continue experimenting on my method, and meanwhile, I've completed 9 chevrons! Only 51 to go (yikes!)!

I stopped by the closest quilt guild tonight and was sad to find out that I'm too late to enter their quilt show in the spring. I'd thought the timing would be perfect to be able to show my Storm-at-sea before giving it to my friends, but alas! I'll just have to make an awesome quilt next year in time for the show! I'll try again in 2 weeks to see if it looks like a fun group. It doesn't seem as welcoming as the DC Modern Quilt Guild, but I'd thought it would be convenient and fun to meet some nearby quilters (plus I don't really know anyone in this area, and it would be nice to meet folks who may know nannies or babysitters for our future little one!). I'm a fan of having a regular date night with my sweetie, but that will be difficult without knowing someone we can leave our child with, but if someone has a recommendation from a quilter, well...high praise indeed!

I have lots to accomplish this weekend...my aunt's birthday is next week, and I plan to actually have a nice present for her in time this year, so I need to mail the package by Monday. But...tonight, I played with chevrons!

A start (at last) on Chasing Chevrons

I finally took a couple hours tonight to make a couple of blocks for the Chasing Chevrons quilt-along, in which I am terribly behind but still very excited! I am glad I made a few to try out my method, as I'd picked out the wrong size of half-square triangle stencil. The stencils refer to the finished size, and I kept confusing myself about that, as I need 4" squares to see together to end up with a 7.5" unit. When I used the ones that said 4" finished HSTs, I ended up with 4.5" squares, which meant I did a little trimming. I'll try tomorrow with the 3.5" finished stencil, and I should be all set, though I may still make the larger ones for the strips I already cut, since it is nice to have room to trim them, so that they end up a perfect 7.5" square. That said, the stencils were surprisingly accurate, so I'm not too worried about them. I used a marking pen tonight, but I'm anxious to see if the pounce pad works, since that would make marking go even faster! I'll take some pictures of what I'm talking about later this week, since I'm pretty excited about this concept...making gridded HSTs using a stencil! I'm planning to time myself to see how long it takes to make this quilt at a leisurely pace...2 hours tonight for 2 of the 60 blocks, but I was puttering a bit.

Also, thanks for the birthday salutations! It was lovely! Bryan took me to a wonderful restaurant on my birthday for a romantic dinner for 2, and then Friday we celebrated with 3 great friends at the restaurant where we went last year for my birthday/our engagement, and our meal was exquisite! We spent the weekend cooking Cajun...crawfish bisque Saturday night and crawfish pie tonight! I made some chili this morning for a frozen food baby shower brunch today, but I was sad when I realized people had brought cute baby things, in addition to the frozen entree we were asked to bring. I could have made a cute blanket or burp cloths, and i was dying over the little outfits, but then again, I have enough projects on my list right now, so maybe it is good that I didn't realize I should have done more. Ah well! Not enough hours in the day, and I'm determined to get rolling on things for our future little one!

The big 3-5!

Well, today is my birthday, and I'm in pretty good company. I share the day with Dolly Parton and Paula Deen! Spunk and butter...that about sums me up (or at least I'd like to think so)!

My poor mom braved a blizzard in Birmingham, Alabama, to get to the hospital to give birth to me. No one knew how to drive or had snow tires, and a police officer had to get my mom to the hospital after a harrowing walk up a steep hill (both directions barefoot, I'm sure).  ;)  I was supposed to be a scheduled C-section because my brother had been an emergency C-section, but my mom got to go through labor (lucky girl!) for awhile because the anesthesiologist had gone home and couldn't get back to the hospital through the winter weather. (I can imagine her distress...definitely not part of the deal...labor pains and the joy of recovering from having your belly slashed open (though at least this time they could make the cut straight!))  My dad was at home sleeping...the excitement from my brother's birth 2 1/2 years before had been enough to last him a lifetime, apparently! The family lore is that my mom called to tell him he had a baby girl, he said "great" and promptly went back to sleep. (I was born just after 7 in the morning.). When he got up later, my grandmother asked if he'd heard anything from my mom when he nonchalantly gave her the news. Poor dad...every year we give him a hard time about it. Gotta love family traditions!

For many years, I was the most excited about turning 34. That was my varsity volleyball number is high school, and I always looked forward to it being one of the best years of my life.  Well, it was!  My boyfriend, Bryan, proposed to me on almost my birth minute last year, and I was very surprised, but excited! I said yes, of course, and one of these years (probably this one), we'll actually get married!  I sort of wish we'd gotten our license so that we could run to the courthouse today, since it's a Federal holiday on the anniversary of our first date and we'll be out of town on his birthday.  I guess we'll just have to have another special day to celebrate...awww darn!

The only sad part about looking forward to being a certain age for most of your life is that now my big year is over.  I'll never be 34 again.  As I told my mom yesterday, it's all downhill from here.  I was joking, but it felt like less of a joke when I got up for Pilates at 5:30 this morning...yikes!  Now I wish I'd taken the morning off work for a leisurely breakfast and sewing time, but I always wish that by Thursday morning, so...better to stick with routine!

At least my favorite year ended well...Bryan brought me these gorgeous flowers.  He brought me some right before Christmas, and the purple flowers were actually just finally starting to fade yesterday...well done, my good man.  But, these are just exquisite.  I have no idea what that purple one is, but it is so cool!  Maybe some sort of thistle?  The first flowers Bryan gave me were purple tulips...he'd actually listened through our many hours of conversation, and he paid attention(!) and knew that purple was/is my favorite color.  I don't know why things like that still shock me and please me so much, but they do!  I'm a very lucky birthday girl, indeed!

One thing, One Week Challenge

Last week, I saw Amy's One Thing, One Week Challenge, and I decided to join in the fun!  The idea was to pick one thing and accomplish it, and the reward (other than the wonderful sense of accomplishment of setting out to do something and actually doing it) is a bunch of charm packs of Flurry for one lucky winner.  Having just bought a tiny bit of yardage of a couple of prints from the line, I really, really, really hope I win! :)  (Yes, I broke my pledge to not buy new fabric for six months!  I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out...but still, I kept it more in control than I usually do, and since Bryan and I weren't officially exchanging Christmas presents, I decided that he really wanted me to buy myself some fabric.  Yeah...that's it!)


Anyway, even if I don't win the Flurry charm packs, I've already won because I've made great progress on my projects and felt more motivated than usual, so thanks Amy!


Here's what I said:


"Good challenge! I just finished the top of my storm-at-sea quilt, so assuming the fabric arrives in a timely fashion, I’d like to get the back made. I’m also going to try to make a good start on a duvet cover for my brother…I’m using Cynthia’s garden fence design again, and I hope to get the first ring of sashing cut and applied to 36 charm squares of Fandango! Finally, I hope to finish organizing and cleaning my sewing room this week. That is 3 things, so I guess I’ll be happy if 1 of them gets accomplished (though just writing it down is motivating me to make better use of my prized vacation day and get up and get to it!"


Yes, apparently I have trouble following directions (or I know myself well enough to know that I hate basting and cleaning, so I needed to give myself a chance at accomplishing a goal)!

Well, not only did I get the first round done on my brother's duvet, but last night I finished pressing all 36 of my completed blocks! Admittedly, I spent about 9 hours on Sunday and the better part of Monday working on it, in addition to a few hours on Saturday and many evenings last week.  I was slowed down slightly by the fact that I apparently have difficulty with simple addition.  I cut my pieces to 3.5" and 5.5" rather than 3.25" and 5.25", so I had to go back and trim my units before adding them.  D'oh!  (I did figure out that I could just trim one side of each unit and save the extra trimming for when the block was complete.)  Having added the second set of sides, I'm finding that they aren't adding up to a perfect 11" square...not sure how I managed to be off, but I started trimming them last night and decided to see how I felt this evening.  I decided that they were close enough, so I've just sewn the first row together.  I don't think it will be obvious when it is on the bed if it's not perfect...and it is better than their current duvet cover, which is apparently completely worn out!


I'm really looking forward to getting this duvet cover done - I'd told myself that I wasn't going to work on a project for someone else until I made myself a quilt...have I mentioned that I sleep under a blanket that was originally my brother's that I remember him having at least as far back as 2nd grade...so...it's at least 25 years old, if not older (but I love it)?  For a quilt, I still use my first "big" quilt - a flannel cheater print quilt that I did in a simple log cabin with piano key borders and a back that I designed myself.  I was so proud when I finished it, and I still do like it (and our cat loves it!), but gosh...that's been over a decade ago now and I've come a long way...and besides, I'm still cold many nights, so I need to get to work on my chasing chevrons quilt, which I've decided to make in the twin size rather than the sofa size so that I can use it on my side of our king-sized bed, given that I'm always freezing and Bryan is not!  Too many projects, not enough hours in the day!  Perhaps I'll start trying to set a reasonable goal for myself each week and then trying to accomplish it (or, as in this case, exceed it!).

This is a picture of my little "helper" on Sunday night.  She was annoyed that her dad was at book club/movie night and that her mom wouldn't sit down and provide a warm lap but instead just kept ironing, cutting, and sewing like an obsessed automaton.  So, she found the warmest spot she could...right where I had been sitting!  It was fine while I was ironing, trimming, and designing, but when I was ready to sew again, we had to talk.  Poor kitty!  At least she's now content to sit by me while I sew...she used to just meow at me until I gave in!


My challenge for the next week...tear myself away from the duvet cover to finish placemats for my aunt in time for her birthday on February 2nd.  They are all cut...just need to change my thread and get to it!  There...one task...let's see if I can get it accomplished!

My supermodel, Aileen, and a failed (but funny) attempt at a sleepsack!

Last Friday, I had taken the day off to go and visit Anne in the morning before having our ducts cleaned (yuck!), and I got to meet Aileen at last!  She slept through my first visit, but this time I got lots of smiles and good baby holding time!  She's such a dear, and Anne is a great mom...I knew she would be, but it is still strange to me...I'm older than Anne, and I feel like I should know all this stuff that she knows, but I don't!  Perhaps it comes from learning by experience or the fact that she has read lots about it?  That said, I'm glad to have a friend nearby to call when we get around to having a little one who is way smarter than me on mom-stuff!  I'll gladly follow in her footsteps!  ;)

Anyway, one of the fun things I worked on over the holidays with my mom's support and cheerleading/holding assistance was making a sleep sack/pajama (in addition to hand-quilting Aileen's second quilt...it's sitting on the couch next to my mom in a "Where's Waldo?" cameo).



I have a bunch of old t-shirts that were misprinted/out-of-date, but they are 100% organic cotton knit from Patagonia. Mom had said she would take them to Goodwill years ago, but luckily for me, her "slacker-ness" worked out (am I really admitting/encouraging this hoarding behavior?  Yup - guess so...sorry, Dad!).  I had seen a pattern for a sleep sack using "upcycled" t-shirts when I was searching for a crochet pattern on the internet in the airport on my way to Georgia, and I thought it sounded like fun to try it out, but I mistakenly thought I could improve upon it instead of just following the directions as written!  I made one, and I'm so glad I waited to make 20 until after trying it on Aileen, because the pattern (as I modified it) didn't work that well (at least for Aileen).  I'd also never sewn knit before, so I didn't understand why some of the directions were what they were until seeing it on a baby (like not using the finished hems of the shirt to wrap around the openings - not enough stretch at all!).  In fact, I didn't think we were going to even be able to get it on Aileen, and at one point she looked unhappy about being my model, though luckily there were no tears - just lip trembling warnings of tears.  We did get it on her, though, and it was great to get feedback from Anne so that I can start over with some different ideas.  I also brought home a couple of Aileen's shirts - 1 that was too big and 1 that was too small - and one of Aileen's sleep sacks that fits right now and that Anne really likes the fit/features of to use to attempt to make my own patterns.  I've decided to try again from scratch to see if I can make an idea that I had for the bottom closure work with the rest of the garment.  If I can get it right, then I'd like to make a bunch in different sizes so that I have a stock of baby clothes before we even get pregnant, as every mom (especially every older mom like I'll be) has told me not to plan to do a lot after the baby is born, or even during the pregnancy.  Since we most likely will only have time/strength/money for one child, I want to enjoy the experience thoroughly and not be stressed out over having a naked baby, so making cute clothes in advance seems like a good idea, and if something doesn't work out, then my friends and/or local charities will benefit from my sewing frenzy!  Win-win!

Aileen - "I used to have a hand.  Where did it go?"

Me - "The force is strong with this one." Aileen - "Um...not funny, lady!"

"Oh, ok, I'll smile for you this time, if you promise to make me a better outfit next time or get me a part in the next Star Wars remake!"

In addition to my organic knit, I should have LOTS of extra knit from making t-shirt quilts for Bryan from the HUGE stockpile of concert t-shirts, in particular, that he has been saving for 20+ years!  I'm excited about making t-shirt quilts for him on many levels, and I'd be lying if I didn't admit that one of the reasons is that it will be nice to get to reduce the volume of t-shirts being stored...plus we need quilts, but we don't need multiple large plastic vats of too small or too big t-shirts!  We started sorting over the holidays, but it was a little overwhelming.  Hopefully we can get the first quilt designed and made, and that will make it a little easier going forward.

"Just a few t-shirts for quilts...including one from our favorite BBQ place in North Carolina!"

"Is there any room for me on the bed with all of these t-shirts?"

Question:  Has anyone ever used water soluble fusible interfacing, especially with knits?  I was thinking that it might be a great answer for t-shirt quilts, since I need the interfacing to help in construction, but it would be nice to not have the stiffness/weight in the final quilt.  If you've ever tried it or have thoughts about whether this is a good idea, I'd love your insight!

Lots of sewing, little blogging!

Hi,
Sorry to be so scarce, but I've been super productive on the sewing front! I finished the top of my storm-at-sea, and I just love it! Fabric arrived today for the back (though it is not the perfect blue that I had hoped for - drat!). Hopefully I can get some better pictures this weekend...it's a rainy, dark day today, and I just snapped this one as I was heading to bed!

I took Monday off work and started a new project. I'm making a duvet cover for my brother out of Kate Spain's Fandango line. I had picked up a bit of yardage when it was on sale at Hancock's of Paducah, and then I managed to find 2 charm packs online to buy. I had been showing my brother some pictures of my recent quilts during our all-too-brief visit after Christmas, and he liked Hyacinth Design's garden fence pattern as much as I do, so I told him I'd make his duvet cover in that design. One problem - when I got home, I discovered that I didn't have a jelly roll in Fandango (I was confused by the fact that I'm planning to make myself the same quilt out of Terrain!). Luckily, my most local quilt shop (Tomorrow's Treasures in Crofton, Maryland) had 17 bolts from the line still in the store, and better still, they were willing to cut me 1/8 yard strips when I explained that I'd been in search of a jelly roll. They tear their fabric, which I don't love, but they tore it generously, so even after washing it, I had more than the 5" I needed for the design. With a 5" strip cut from the yardage I had, I had borders for all of my 36 blocks! I've already done the inner block and decided on my order and which strips contrast nicely with each charm square, and I've cut about half of what I need for the outer part of the design in just a few days! Pretty exciting! It's amazing how much more time I have to sew when we eat leftovers or pizza!

I've also prepped all my fabric for the Chasing Chevrons quilt-along (including a good bit of starching/Best Pressing), and I've now received the stencils I ordered from Connecting Threads that I will use to mark my gridded triangles for quick half-square triangle construction and picked up a pounce pad from Tomorrow's Treasures when I picked up the fabric to make said marking even easier.

I've got several other fun projects in the works, but my 2012 resolution was to post shorter notes (and more frequently - ha!). Like all my New Year's resolutions, we're off to a rocky start! Hope you are having a great week!

Our non-traditional Christmas!

We have had a really nice day today, just our little family (Bryan, Pilgrim, and me)! We never left the house! After some homemade orange cinnamon rolls reheated from yesterday and a latte,

we watched a couple episodes of Modern Family, ate a grapefruit, played our new board game (Ticket to Ride), and then made crawfish inside-out sushi rolls with avocado, green pepper, and a Crystal hot sauce mayo! Black sesame seeds added a little crunch, and it was pretty close to perfection! We were so pleased that it worked - we're going to make more tomorrow!

Then we watched that light-hearted family movie (sarcasm), In Bruges, while a perfectly happy kitty slept in my lap, and I did a little hand quilting! Not exactly an uplifting movie per se, but Bryan liked it. Bryan is prepping some fingerling potatoes for roasting since I'm providing a warm lap for our sweet girl, and we'll have leftover braised short ribs, sautéed mushrooms, potatoes, and maybe a delicious leftover whole wheat roll (my best batch ever) in a bit for dinner! We had a piece of leftover mocha cake for our mid-movie snack, so dessert is already eaten (so good)! Perhaps another movie or some reading tonight! Low key day - exactly what I needed!

We said we weren't really exchanging gifts, but Bryan got me an awesome apron with my family tartan and seal on it, Ticket to Ride, and 2 exciting cookbooks - The Commander's Palace Cookbook (a restaurant in New Orleans that we loved on our trip in May) and "The Best Make Ahead Recipe" from Cook's Illustrated. Lots of inspiration and great ideas...can't wait to get cooking!

Becky wrote a great post about the gift-giving to the family that I wrote about a few days ago. It made me so happy to do something nice for someone really in need. Everyone in my family (both immediate and extended) is doing pretty well, so it can be a little hard this time of year to think of a gift that they want but don't already have...part of why I'm so behind on gift shopping (not too mention making presents!). It feels so good to be a tiny part of helping to make someone else's life just a little better...someone who doesn't already have more than they need (myself included).

I'm so thankful to have a loving partner, a wonderful family, a sweet little snuggle bug who loves sitting on me, very good friends, a roof over my head and delicious food to eat every day, and money for luxuries like fabric, thread, and a sewing machine! I'm so fortunate, and I realize that!

I'm also thankful for my new community through the Interwebs! I love getting to know you and your families, seeing what you are working on, being inspired, and knowing that I'm not alone in my love of creating beautiful, functional art! It's been really fun so far, and I'm looking forward to lots more sharing in 2012!

Thanks, and I hope you are having a joyful holiday season!

I won!

I've been fortunate enough to win two giveaways this year.  Back in July, when I was just starting to get into reading blogs (and before I'd even really written much on this one!), I won a fat quarter bundle of Joel Dewberry's Heirloom line from Karen Gray of Karen Gray Designs via Jennifer of Ellison Lane Quilts.  In addition to a great bundle of fabric, Karen included a quilting magazine in which she was featured - so cool!  I've yet to use that fabric, partially because I was convinced that I could make 3 different quilts out of that bundle and carefully planned my cuts based on an 18" x 22" piece of fabric before I remembered that there would be some shrinkage when I prewashed.  Whoops!  I need to redo some of my layouts before I cut into it, so...that's still on the to-do list!  (I'm very much in the pre-washing camp, in case you were wondering!)

This past week, I entered several of the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day giveaways, and I won my choice of a pattern by Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter.  I chose her Double Crossed pattern, as it reminded me of the Urban Lattice design that I'd seen at Me? A Mom? over the summer that I never got around to making.  I have really liked this look for awhile, and I was interested to see what Amy's measurements looked like and if she had figured out a different way to do it that could go together even faster, as I definitely wasn't interested in the paper-piecing/string block method (too much work!).  Amy's method is way more my speed.  I also really like the Facets quilt that Tracey made, as well as her method.  http://traceyjayquilts.blogspot.com/2011/01/quick-how-to-urban-lattice-blocks.html
They are different enough that I may have to try both!  Double Crossed looks like a nice weekend project, which would be pretty welcome after some of my more complex piecing of late!  I might even try the "cut everything out according to the pattern measurements" method for once, instead of my usual method of coming up with my own way of doing things!

Anyway, I feel very fortunate to have had Mr. Random Number Generator land on me twice this year!  And since I tried to win a lot of books and fabric this year where I wasn't so lucky, I might just have to splurge and go on a little shopping spree, perhaps in January for my birthday (or perhaps I'll be smart and take advantage of after-Christmas sales, if those exist this year!).  Of course, I don't need any more projects or inspiration right now, nor do I need any more fabric, but...

I think one of my early 2012 projects will be to come up with a page with all the quilts and other projects I'd like to make, with the fabrics I'd like to use, so that I can have a check-list of things I want to work on (ala Candy of Candied Fabrics wonderful monthly checklist).  Someday, I'd also like to have a page showing all the quilts I've made over the years...though the picture collection process will be the most difficult part of that endeavor.  I wish I'd kept photos of all of them...especially the baby quilts I've made.  I'm hoping that I can get my brother to dig out the ones I made for my nephew when he was a baby, since they, in particular, were outstanding - one in particular where I did some incredible embroidery that I'd like to see again.  We'll see how that goes!

Today, I did a bit of piecing this morning, followed by what was supposed to be the beginning of the bake-a-rama! I've got a lemon pudding cake in the oven now, and a little cat who needed a lap. In a few minutes, I'll get up again and get the fresh rolls started, then the "Swedish Tea Ring" (aka my grandma's coffee cake). I'd hoped to make several batches of cookies, too, but truth be told, I'd rather go take a nap! Not sure why I'm so tired lately...perhaps job stress, perhaps a little cat keeping me up at night? Perhaps I'm just getting older? Anyway, we're having the big family Christmas celebration tonight with Bryan's family, and it should be really nice. Bryan's mom, Margery, is making shrimp and grits, along with a mocha cake! Bryan's SIL is bringing salad and wine, we're in charge of bread and lemon cake, so...plenty of dessert even without loads of cookies!

Hope you have a very happy holiday season,
Elle

More progress

I spent many hours in the sewing studio over the weekend and a couple evenings last week, along with a good part of the day yesterday, and I'm making great progress on my Storm-At-Sea. I've got 4 columns joined together and a 5th column pieced.  Yesterday, I finished piecing all the little square-in-a-square blocks, as well.  I'm absolutely loving how it is coming together, and it's been made easier thanks to a $5 purchase at my new-to-me closest local quilt shop last Friday night - grippy adhesive rings that I applied to my Fast2Cut templates! I had been having a horrible time trimming my diamond units because the template kept slipping, but no more! The pics aren't great - quick snaps of the pieces laying over the side of the guest bed, but it's better than the design wall mess pictures, right?! I'm being pretty careful, and it seems to be paying off - my points are matching better than I would have expected!  It's taken a ridiculously long time, so I might not tackle it right away, but I will make one of these for myself some day.  It really is one of my very favorite designs - I love that wave on the diagonals!

I also thought I'd show some of my side projects using the scraps - these are a few of my tiny chevrons...

And a few of the pieces to make more chevrons as I get more HSTs put together into flying geese units. I also have had fun with my triangle off-cuts making little kites, then seeing them together! I'm either going to appliqué these to make little mug rugs or potentially use them as a focal point on a bigger quilt.  They end up being seven-sided, so they are a bit strange, but waste not, want not, right?  (And yes, Santa-Elle is buying herself a new ironing board for Christmas!  I might also finish up with my sewing room reorganization - that would be pretty exciting!)

I'd thought about putting some of the off-cut pieces on the back of my storm-at-sea, but I've decided that this back will be simpler than my norm...a solid with just a few stripes. The calm in the storm, so to speak - especially since I don't know yet whether it will end up as a wall hanging or being used as a sofa quilt!  

I haven't looked at enough storm-at-seas to know, but I'm thinking about just binding it when I get to the edge and not including any borders...I'm worried that they'll break up the pattern too much.  I guess I'll see when I get there...it's definitely close.  I need to piece 4 more diamond units, since I decided to go bigger than originally planned.  I've got about 9 more big SIS units to add the final triangles to, and then I just need to trim and make the columns, connect, etc.  I think one or two more good days of sewing, and I might have a complete top!  Hooray!  I have no idea how I should quilt it, either...suggestions are welcome!

My big project got pushed to the side briefly this weekend for a bit of charity sewing. Becky had blogged about making some quilts for a family that had nothing - their 18-month-old had been sleeping on a board on the floor until recently! She'd just gotten a mattress, but had no bedding, so I'd volunteered to make a fitted crib sheet out of this cute fabric I'd gotten at an online store's going-out-of-business sale.  I had a bit of fabric left over, so I made a really cute top sheet to match!  I wish you could really see the detail in this sheet...I went a bit over the top, perhaps, but it turned out so great ("adorable" was Becky's word!)!  I sewed it such that I had a fold of white sheet at the top, which I folded over again and top-stitched so it has a nice thick edge...easier for little hands to grab to pull up or down. Of course, the band of print just makes it so pretty!  I thought about doing a blind hem, but decided instead to turn over two layers of fabric and top stitch around the entire perimeter in hopes that it will be sturdier.  I know it's silly to get excited about making bedding, but it is something I really enjoy doing, and I love the idea that I've been able to help someone while doing something I enjoy!  The crib sheet has French seams and elastic across the corners in a diagonal so it hooks under the bed - I'm hoping that will work better than the typical way elastic is applied to keep the fitted sheet secure. 

Becky is finishing quilts for both kids and delivering them on Christmas Eve, so I'm glad that these arrived in New York in time for delivery (and so that Becky could incorporate the remaining pieces of the print onto the back)...hope it makes someone's Christmas a little brighter!

I'm also making progress on the hand-quilting on Anne's mini quilt...though it's a little slower than I'd like, since usually as soon as I sit down, I have a cat in my lap, and she can be a little hard to quilt around!  I'll probably take it home to Georgia after Christmas if there is room in my bag, since I suspect I'll do a fair amount of "visiting" with my family.  I'm only there for 5 days, and I have one friend who wants help making a t-shirt quilt, along with a trip to visit my brother and nephew in Athens, so I'm sure it will be a whirlwind, but I love having some hand-work with me - that ensures that the trip won't be dull (indeed, if I have sewing, we'll never sit down)!  I'm really looking forward to the trip...I've missed my parents a lot, despite frequent phone calls.  Of course, I'll miss Bryan and Pilgrim when I'm there...I guess it is a good problem to have to love and be loved by people in multiple states!

Happy holidays!

Storm at Sea Preview...

I thought I'd give a few sneak peaks of my current piecing project (while I handquilt Anne's quilt).  This quilt is long, long overdue.  It was meant to be a wedding present for my friends, Talia and Aaron, who were married on Columbus Day weekend of 2009.  I had given them a beautiful piece of pottery as their official wedding present before they even got married, so my goal was to have it finished by last Columbus Day.  Well, I'd made great progress, having finished lots of diamond units and the middle part of the large square-in-a-square units, but I got stuck on layout.  I'd tried this arrangement, carefully balancing the tones of the center squares and the diamond units, and then I didn't know where to go next.

I tried various designs, and even had Talia stop by to take a look on our way to the Renn Fest over the summer.  Despite her assurances that she'd like it however it turned out, I was unhappy with my options, so I set it aside and worked on Anne's quilts.

Well, I got it back out recently and put it up on the design wall, and it seemed to just fall into place (or I decided to just go with it...probably the latter!).

It doesn't look like much here...I took lots of pictures (most of which I'll spare you) because my pieces have had a tendency to fall off the piece of flannel when my cat comes in to ask me to return to being social (another reason to make a real design wall!).  But, over the last week, I've managed to get 3 columns put together, and I'm loving it!  It is nothing if not time-consuming, especially since my perfectionist side is coming out in spades, leading to...drum roll...lots of pinning!

My goal now is to finish 1 column per evening.  That may be difficult to keep up, since Bryan does occasionally like to see my face, but still...I really want to get this done.  (Bryan asked me on our walk on Sunday if his t-shirt quilt could get into the mix, and I told him I had to finish this first, so I suppose that may help!)  Hopefully Congress will adjourn soon so I can take a few vacation days and sew all day...my idea of heaven!  I wish I could have taken a picture of the two columns that have already been stitched together, but it was quite dark last night, and the only place to photograph them would be on the bed, which, despite my organizational efforts, is still covered with fabric.  I tell myself that if I just sew faster, I'll use up my fabric before I finish getting it all put away.  Of course, since I've decided to make a Chasing Chevrons mini-quilt with the off cuts from my little square-in-a-square units, that seems unlikely.  The chevrons will finish at maybe 2 or 2.5 inches.  But...they are a great way to use leaders and enders and have a surprise extra quilt when it's all done.  That is what I'm telling myself as I try not to burn my fingers ironing open seams on itty-bitty half-square triangles!

So much to sew, so little time!