Peasant Outfit for my Girlie

I've really been in the mood to make cute little clothes for my 2 year old girlie. I've had the fabric for this skirt (A Day in the Country, Fig Tree) for a few years and finally decided to put it to good use.

Here's the Front. For the top I used Simplicity 5118. I love how it turned out.

I used a Linen/cotten blend. It looks so cute and peasant-y to me. Peasant-y is a word, right?

And the Back. I almost skipped the ties but I'm glad I didn't because I think they add such a nice detail.

The skirt was me experimenting without a pattern for a simple gathered skirt. It worked out just fine after one round with my seam ripper. (I tried to make the waistbad before I sewed the side seam together. I quickly realized I couldn't insert my elastic if I did things in that order.)

Halloween top Finished

The Halloween top is done! I'm really happy with how it turned out. Its super busy and colorful and fun. I'd really like to have this one done in the next week or so. We've got to have atleast a month before Halloween to enjoy it!

Monster Mosaic

I finally got this one quilted and bound. Its a monster! The biggest I've ever made. It drapes over our queen quite a bit so we won't have any problems with anyone hogging the quilt!
Since its family size I thought it would be fun to quilt all our names and the year into it somewhere. I thought the kids might enjoy searching for their names over the years.
hmm... I guess if our family grows I might have to make another family sized quilt. oh boy!

Vintage Propellors recieved!

I recieved a wonderful package full of all the Vintage Propellor exchanged blocks! I love them! Great job girls!

The past month

Its been almost a month since I last posted! Not that I've ever pretended to be much of a regular blogger, but still, a month is a pretty long time.

I've had a busy month.

Hubbie and I celebrated 8 years of wedded bliss,

our little man turned 5,

I threw a birthday party for 13 preschoolers (that was poor planning on my part but we all survived)

and I've done a little bit of quilting here and there. More on that to come...

Halloween Work in Progress

I've been stewing over what sort of Halloween quilt to make for almost a year now. I bought the cutest Halloween fabric with vintage costumed kids on it and have been trying to figure out how I wanted to use it.

Last night I finally got an idea. I decided to go with a basic 9 patch block and then fussy cut the cute costumed kids to sprinkled amongst black and white polka dotted alternating blocks.

I was really excited and stayed up late sewing 9 patches. Its been so much fun to work with colors that I wouldn't otherwise- purple, orange, green and black! With some yellow and aqua thrown in for good measure. And lots of polka dots of course.

Today I sewed some more and then layed everything out to make sure it was all going according to the grand idea in my head.

Enter my husband. In all fairness, I guess I only have myself to blame because I'm the one who asked for his opinion.

Evidently, it doesn't have enough orange. And it isn't Halloweeny enough.

argh. There goes my enthusiasm.

I guess this quilt is going to require more sitting and stewing.

Please pardon the horrible picture. Its not sewn together and its a little bit jumbled but I think you can get the general idea. I think I'll be adding more of the Halloween kiddies.

What do you think?

Vintage Propellors and a little shopping spree

I've been working on our latest exchange blocks and finally finished this morning. I say finally because making 60 of these little 6 inch suckers just about did me in. I'm so glad to have sewn the last seam and gotten them ready to mail them off.

This will be a really great quilt when its finished. Here's the pattern: Vintage Propellors

Everyone in our group picked different colors for the propeller blades and is using black and white for the centers.

I've also been on a little bit of a fabric shopping binge this summer. I had gone a long time without buying very much fabric. And I just couldn't stand it anymore! I needed some new inspiration in my stash. Fortunately I've run across some great sales this summer and really stocked up!

I love the lollypop trees, the seahorses, the letters, the bright colors, the zigzags ...

the polkadots!... and best of all, all the POSSIBILITES that come with a new stack of fabric!!

Almost ready for a picnic

Thank you to those who commented on this quilt. It was unanimous (and I'm so glad because that's what I was voting for too!). Sashing won. The white and the colored posts really make a big difference in this quilt.

Sorry about the sort of fuzzy haze on this picture. It is so incredibly humid today that my camera kept fogging up.

This isn't a very big quilt. Just the right size for a table cloth or a picnic blanket.

Fitness Inspiration

I went to the library this week with high aspirations. Time to whip my flab into shape! Any pilates fans out there?

This one even inspired me to start getting up and running in the mornings. Me, a runner? It might be possible.

And this one.... well, this one is motivation too.

Where do you find motivation to get in shape?

Summer Picnic

I cleaned our bathroom this morning so I deserve a little quilty fun this afternoon.

After all the pee I cleaned off the outside of the toilet and around the floor I'm really tempted to install a urinal. Do you think that would help things? [ In all fairness to my husband I think the real culprit is my 4 your old son. sigh. When will I be done potty training this child?! ]

So, anyway, I started a new summer project. I haven't been able to buy very much fabric this past year, but fortunately I've been collecting fruity fabrics in my favorite colors- blue, red, yellow and green for a few years now. I've been collecting them so slowly that even though some of these are SEVERAL years old this is really the first time that I've gotten them all out together and tried to come up with a quilt to use them in.

I LOVE THESE FABRICS! They are mostly old American Jane prints. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before how much I love American Jane/ Sandy Klop. There are a few other fabrics thrown in including a few thirties and one wonderful Anna Griffin cherry print. They are all so summery and look like they are ready for a picnic!

But, as you can see, I can't decide exactly how to arrange them. I'm leaning more towards one of these scenarios but I want to hear some more opinions. What do you think? Which setting do you like more?

Did anyone keep reading after my disgusting account of toilet cleaning? Sorry if that was too much.

Well, it seems that the laziness of summer is keeping me from posting very often. Or, um, ever.


I had a great quilty day on Saturday though, that I want to post about.


My sister invited me to attend an Interfaith Quilting Bee hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kingwood, TX. I think this was the event's 9th year and I was impressed by the attendance and the different groups they donate quilts too.


My sister made two baby quilts and I made one lap size/ small twin sized quilt. We sat and tied them, talked and enjoyed seeing all the other quilts on display and being donated.


I left feeling very inspired to share my talent with others. I felt very inspired after Hurricane Ike last year to make donation quilts but didn't really get busy and follow through with that commitment. I started one quilt that has now been sitting half finished in a drawer for atleast 6 months.

However, at this event a few of the groups recieving the quilts spoke about what good the quilts do and how they are used. One of the speakers was from a Pro-Life Pregnancy Center and another from a County Child Protective Services Center. Hearing first hand how donated quilts bless those in need fired me up again to get busy.


Here is a horribly fuzzy picture of me and my sister and our donation quilts.
The quilt I made wasn't my usual style or really even my taste but I felt good about using up what I had for a good cause.

My intent here isn't to brag but really rather to share my inspiration. Over 350 quilts were donated on Saturday. That's amazing isn't it?! I'm excited to have stumbled upon this opportunity to help others in my own community.

Back to Real Life

Hello! We're back from California. We made it from the Oakland/Bay Area back to Houston in 3 days with 2 kiddos in the back seat.

Would you judge me a horrible mother if I said that now I'd like to have a nice quiet vacation sans kids? 3 days (sun up til sun down) in the car with them just about drove me crazy.

Really we had a great time. Disneyland was tons of fun. The grandparents were doting. The scenery was awe inspiring.

And now I'm actually a little bit excited to get back to reality. Here's the really crazy part: I was excited to clean my house this morning. And I'm really excited to cook meals for my family this week! No more hamburgers for a while please!

And now, where did I leave my sewing machine?

I've been thinking of green and yellow. Something late summery... I can't wait!

on the road

We're going on vacation for 3 weeks to California! We're escaping the Houston heat and humidity and hoping to find a little respite in Cali. (yes, right? somewhere? please?)

So here's the hard part:

We're driving. With two little ones.

And we have to cross some ugly territory (Sorry, New Mexico and Arizona. And Western Texas.)

Thank goodness for DVD players. And candy. For me and for them.

And here are the great parts:

Disneyland.

The Ocean.

Grandparents.

Cousins.

Family Togetherness.

It really is gonna be great. I'm excited!

And here's where you, bloggy friends, come into the picture:

I want to know where you would go if you were in Santa Barbara, Oakland, San Fran, or the Monterry Area.

Of course I'm asking about QUILT STORES, but also restaurants and fun places to take kiddos (ages 2 and 4).

And um, if you live anywhere along I-10 in Arizona, New Mex or Western Texas and want to stick up for your beloved home, please let me know what's to love where you live! Make me eat my words here!

Baby Pink Coin Quilt

I've been inspired by all the talk about coin quilts lately. So when I wanted to make a friend a baby quilt that's what I thought of first. Here's my scrappy pink coin quilt.



The quilitng is very amatuer. I need to practice straight line quilting.


Here's a question for those of you who are more experienced with it:


When quilting straight lines do you sew them all in the same direction or do you turn your quilt and sew in the opposite direction each time your go across your quilt? I had some trouble keeping it all nice and flat on and I wondered if it was because I should have been sewing in the same direction each time? What works for you?

I ended up quilting little squiggly flowers in the middle of each colored rectangle.

And of course, washing and drying helped the whole quilt to look nice and wrinkley in a good way, the way it should look.

I think I will be making another one of these to keep.

Cherry Ruffles

I've been in the sewing mood lately. Not exactly the quilting mood but in the mood to sew other things. My sweet little girlie has been in need of some summer clothes so I headed off to the fabric store.

Enter Simplicity 5695 and some cute cherry fabric.

I am very pleased with how this dress turned out. I love that fabric. And the gathered tiers. And the little red bow.

Its a teeny bit big still but that's nothing a few months won't fix.

One of my frustrations when making clothing is that I have a hard time looking at the picture on the pattern and then translating that into real life on my body (or on my child's body) with different fabric. But this time around I discovered another joy of the internet: googling the pattern.

Here's what I found when I googled this great pattern:

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2008/08/simplicity-5695.html
(I'm a big fan of v& co.)

the one that made me pick the cherry fabric: http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2008/07/so-pretty.html

and how cute and creative is this?! :
http://amazingmae.blogspot.com/2009/03/from-dads-shirt-to-little-dress.html


Wow! While putting this blog post together I just noticed that Amazing Mae has an adult ruffled tiered skirt. I think I need one too! http://amazingmae.blogspot.com/2009/05/ruffled-linen-skirt-for-her-you-not.html

Feathered Snowflakes- Finished!

I pieced this at the end of last winter (early spring 2008), sent it to be quilted last fall and finally recieved it back this month. I last blogged about it here.
This baby has had to wait a long time to be finished, but I think it was worth the wait.

These feathered stars did make me pull a few hairs out but I absolutely LOVE them. So worth it.
Aqua is my favorite color right now. So clear and crisp and happy.
Quilting by Wren Woodland of Utah. Look at how intricate it is! Wow! She did beautiful work.

Bananas

What could possibly be funner than polka dots and pinwheels?

Isn't that like the golden ratio of quilting? One part pinwheel and three parts polkadots.

Or did I just make that up?

The only way I can think of to improve upon Polka Dotted Pinwheel Perfection is to throw in some bananas!

I was very worried that I didn't have enough of the blue polka dot but it turns out that I was worried for nothing. I got this top finished up this weekend.

My kiddos LOVE the BANANAS! I bought this fabric several years ago just because they looked fun. They've been sitting in my stash waiting for their day to shine. Finally their day came and boy are they shining!

I hope to get this quilted before the end of the year! And then I'll post more pics.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

I'm popping in here today to join in on the fun over at Park City Girl's Online Quilt Festival. What a fun idea!

So I'm posting my favorite quilt. Its so hard to pick a favorite! But right now this is it.

I love the light springy, candy colors. I love that it was made mostly from my stash. I love the purple binding. I love that I ran out of the green polka dot fabric, had to use something from my stash and you can't even tell. I love that this is my own original design.


I originally gushed about this quilt here.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!

I am happy to know that our Savior, Jesus Christ, lives. He is our Redeemer, our Friend and our Guide. He loves each of us and because of the Atonement He has made it possible for us to overcome our weaknesses, sins and sorrows.

Here are a few videos that speak of Christ much more eloquently than I.

I hope each of you are enjoying a beautiful spring Easter day!

looking for fabric for my pinwheels

This afternoon I decided it was high time to dust off one of my quilts in progress and get it finished.

I started this simple bordered pinwheel several months back. I still love it and am excited about it but i've gotten to the boring part- sashing. and wouldn't you know it, i don't think i have enough fabric!

if anyone knows where i can get more of the Dotty P&B textile fabric (the white dot on dark blue one that is surrounding my pinwheels) PLEASE let me know.

My little man just walked in, saw all my pinwheels on the floor and sweetly asked, "Can I have this quilt?"

I asked him why, thinking it was because there is so much blue in it and he said, "Cause its got bananas."

:)

Me? Unproductive

I've been so unproductive lately!

So in honor of my own unproductivity I thought I'd celebrate other bloggers greatness.

Here is some eye candy from the blog-o-sphere.

crazymomquilts.blogspot.com she's always good in a simple, smart way. and i LOVE the squares.

filminthefridge.com i like her graphic, colorful and white style. here's one that i really want to duplicate with some of my own scraps.

and a new favorite: quiltsalott.blogspot.com this gal blows me away. she got skills. and such a great sense of color. i love what she's doing with both the triangles and the pies in this post. lovely.

Rant on Shopping for clothes

There hasn't been much quilting going on here lately. I've been busy de-wallpapering our bathroom.

argh.

But that's not what I'm getting on here to post about. Rather, I want to vent about my latest attempts at clothes shopping.

I really, really, really want a new Easter dress or skirt or something cutesy for church this Sunday. I've been scouring the internet and then hit the shops last night. Well, really I only went to two shops but still. That was brutal enough.

Let me just enumerate my problems and if you can offer any condolences or advice please do.

1. First off, its spring, right? Why are there so many black and dark clothes on the racks? I guess they are slimming but especially in the spring I want to look light and springy!

2. Trying on clothes is so depressing. In that little cubicle of a room I'm forced to examine my body in a variety of cuts and colors. I can't hide from or ignore my numerous flaws. I almost always go home with a bad body image after shopping.

3. They don't make clothes for real bodies. After 2 kids, I'm mourning my once hourglass figure. I'm more of an apple shape now. bleh. I'd like to dress in a non-frumpy manner but its hard to look good when most of the clothes are for skinny, flat chested super-models. I think this has gotten a little better lately. But I still struggle to find flattering clothes.

Well, that's probably enough venting. In the end I just bought myself a pair of practical jeans and went home to search the internet some more.

And that's where I found shabbyapple.com. There's some cute stuff there but what I really like is the fact that they help you figure out what shapes are flattering on your body. And most everything is cute while still maintaining a sense of modesty. And they have free returns.

So here's hoping that this dress looks good on me.

And the silver lining from last night: I went home watched Biggest Loser (I love that show) and then got up and exercised this morning. I'm determined to improve upon my dressing room experience.

And if you read all that I'm really impressed. Because boy, can I be longwinded (or atleast longfingered) when I go on a rant like that.

Red and Aqua Improv Quilt

My Project Imrov quilt is finished. I finally got the top quilted and bound last week. Its already spent a few nights on my little guys bed.
I'm really happy with how it turned out. It was a fun quilt to make and I think its a fun one to look at. I love the cheerful colors and the scrappiness of it.
And I'm really slow this year. This is my first official finished quilt of 2009.

thank you to everyone who commented! i really appreciated all the input! its so fun to hear all the different opinions on fabric and color.

in the end i went with the darker blue. i decided i wanted it to have a little more color so that's what i went with.

its a very simple blanket. i don't feel right calling it a quilt because there is no piecing. although, technically, it is quilted so i guess it is a quilt. a whole cloth quilt.

here it is, all gussied up and ready to go to its new home. i hope they like it!

help please

i'm making a baby blanket for a newborn boy and need some fabric advice.

i love vintage/retro baby prints. this is what i picked out at the quilt store.

the alphabet print on one side and the light blue polka dots on the other with red bias binding.

but i came home and was feeling like it was a little bit lackluster.

i turned to my stash for help and found that i had this darker blue polka dot that also works. i immediatelyl felt like this was a better choice.

however, in these pictures, i'm not sure again. which do you prefer?

and as a side note, I LOVE SANDY KLOP (American Jane for Moda) . i would love to have a little bit of everything she's ever done in my stash. and her patterns are all so great and inspiring. that's where these polkadots came from.

now, back to my blanket, i need some opinions, please!

my quilting sisters

my quilt group has exchanged quilt blocks again.

friday night was the exchange party, full of delicious food and conversations between old friends.

there were pieces of advice and opinions thrown around to be taken or not and encouragement and love for 'kindred spirits' (yes, I'm still reading the Anne series).

there were giggles and pregnant belly comparisions.

atleast that's what i hear and what i imagined.

i was 2000 miles away sitting on my couch playing dr. mario with my hubbie.

i love my hubbie. and i love dr. mario.

but i was sad about not being able to spend the evening with my quilting sisters.

here are the blocks i recieved.

great work girls!

and now i'm mulling over the endless possibilites of sashing, settings, alternate blocks, and borders. how fun!

been reading

I've been reliving my young girlhood lately through young adult fiction.

I find it much better than the depressing, political, voilent or immoral stuff written for adults. If I'm going to read I want to be uplifted or transported somewhere beautiful and full of hope and promise. Not instructed on the ugliness and immorality of the world.

Ok, enough soapbox. On to what I've been reading...

First I read Ella Enchanted. I have not seen the movie. Is it good? The book was very fun. I like Cinderella stories. I like any book that takes a traditional story and fills me in on the details that might have been left out of the original telling.

[Speaking of Cinderella stories, I liked this one better than Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, although that good too. This one still has magic.]



And now I'm reading Anne of Green Gables. I am a HUGE Anne of Green Gables fan. I have been ever since it was first aired on PBS when I was Anne's age. I defy any woman to tell me they don't love Anne of Green Gables. How can you not love all the innocent, beautiful, romanticism in this book? And how can you not love, Gilbert?! Tell me that!

The only thing I've found that Anne and I disagree on is the fact that she doesn't think there is any "scope for imagination in patchwork." I'm afraid that might be a sign of immaturity. :)

But um, here's my confesssion. Although I've been a long time fan of Anne of Green Gables, can quote her, compared my beaus to Gilbert, and just generally wished I was more Anne-like, this is my first time reading the books!

So there hasn't been much sewing going on around here lately. I'm too busy remembering all my young girl dreams and fantasies as I dive into young adult fiction.

Scrappy Mosaic

My Scrappy Mosaic Squares quilt is almost done! I just have to put on the borders and quilt it! I really don't think this picture does it justice. I'm just bursting at the seams with happiness for how this turned out.

Why do I love this quilt?

Well,
1. It's scrappy- beautiful and fun to look at. I could stare at it for hours.
2. Red, Blue, Yellow, White and Green- my favorites.
3. My sister and I have both been making the same quilt pattern. Her mosaic top is almost done too.
4. It's Scrappy- Cheap!
5. Lots of pieces. Yes, I love lots of piecing. I drive myself absolutely crazy most of the time. But in the end its what I love.
6. This was so fun to make because there were endless possibilites for patterns within the 7 x7 squares block.


I got the idea from Nanette (isn't hers just gorgeous?!) and found the pattern at the McCalls quilting website.

Today, as I was finishing, and then watching my sister lay her blocks out on the floor, we pointed out which block we'd exchanged. (I made one for her quilt and she made one for mine.)

As a regular quilt exchange participant, I thought how this block would be a very fun one for a block exchange. There is so much room for creativity with this pattern.

Dia de 30

Thanks for indulging my little blog pity party and leaving sweet comments for my birthday.

This birthday was a little hard psychologically but I really had a great day.

I cleaned house because I wanted to (which makes a huge difference!), sewed, chatted all afternoon with my sister (who has already passed 30), ate the most beautiful and delicious chocolate cake made by said sister, played Ticket to Ride with hubbie, my sister and her hubbie, and then topped the day off with a very fun episode of Psych, my current favorite tv show.

And now that the Dia de 30 is over, I'm not stressing about that number anymore and life is grand.

(I don't really speak Espanol. Had you going there, didn't I?)