{Sew} Beautiful - January Finished!

I think the Dresden plate for Cherie went quite well! I can see how these things can be addictive! Such a great outcome. I didn't have any troubles making it, but I'm glad I did do a sample block with my fabric... since I happened to make the center circle wrong the first time! No troubles got it right the second time. lol. I'm really loving these colors too! Pretty awesome!

Here's my little tip from this project. I used masking tape numbers to keep the order correct when sewing the petals together. Cherie had mentioned numbering the blocks, and I'd never done it this way before; the only thing I had handy to number with happened to work well! I just wrote out the numbers 1-12 on my roll of tape, then ripped each one off. I was careful not to iron over them, but I don't think that really would have done any harm.

Dresden Plates

practice block

Today was a day of firsts for me. It was the first envelope of Bee fabric that I got in the mail, and the first practice block to be made. Now I don't think I'll necisarily make a practice for every month, but this month was a bit outside of my norm. For the month of January, Cherie requested Dresden Plates using this tutorial (but using a different ruler). I used some of my larger scraps to put together a sample. It went together much easier than I thought it would! And thanks to Cherie's suggestion of numbering the backs, the petals stayed in their proper order! Unfortunately I don't have a large enough piece of neutral fabric to sew this onto (lol lack of solids in my stash - they're always the first to go!). The practice was great and now I'm confident about starting the real block!

A little more edgy and sparkly too.

Of course I didn't take a "before" picture... but about a year and a half ago I had painted the round clip that connects allie's hearing aids to her shirt (so if she pulls them out they are attached instead of hanging out in the bottom of the toy box etc). It started out red and yellow with a childish elephant on it (Phonak's design = lame). The first time I painted it (with nail polish, what else? lol) it was completely white with pink and red polka dots. Cute. That was getting boring though, so while we were visiting my sister and her family, we painted it (again with nail polish) a metalic grey with purple sparkled border, with pink and purple polka dots. Adorable, edgy, rocker girl, and sparkly too! :) lol. It's the little things I swear. Allie doesn't notice the difference. Oh and did I mention that my dad and I busted the clip apart to put it back together so now it works properly again? lol. Hilarious really. Glad I didn't have to go buy another one!

{Sew} Beautiful Bee - February Preparations

I have February as my month for my first bee. I've been brainstorming ideas and fabrics. Santa brought me some fabric to match some that I already have. And today I sat down and cut the amount that I plan to send to each person, and tested out my blocks!

Two witdths of each fabric (3 prints, three greys) 1"-3" wide

They went together pretty smoothly. I am looking for 16" blocks (a little big I know) but anything around 14"-16" would be fine since I can always add another border to square them up the same size. 

This is the block that I'm asking everyone to make. I'm thinking that I'll send more of just two grey colors, since I didn't even use the third on this block. I'll also throw in the suggestion (for those who plan ahead) that if you'd like to have the final border all the same fabric, you should not use it elsewhere in the block (since it takes more fabric to make it all the way around). As it is, I don't mind either way. Feel free to mix things up a bit too. A border can be pieced or not, joined on a right angle (the grey with the black and white piece shown) or at an angle as the outer border. Really I'm requesting this block because while it is not that hard, it does take time and ability to be random. My best examples of these blocks are here and here.

Block B, optional. Made with leftover fabric.

Then I made a second block with my leftovers. If anyone would like to make two blocks they're welcome to. The second could be the same as the first, or in this style. This can really be as random as the sewer wants. I like this "matchstick" type block. I especially like the narrowness of that dark grey border. These don't have to be a full 16" since it'd be hard to get it there with the scraps depending on how you used the fabric for block A. (mine here is about 14"-15"). I can always add to finish the final border etc to square it up. Here are examples of thsi style block and creative variations. 

 

What do you guys think? Should I even include the second block at all (remember it's totally optional). Should I send the fabric cut into strips already, or just send a 6" or so chunk of fabric from each color? More variety of colors (with this plan each bee member will be getting a slightly different variation of colors).
Here are my initial sketches. 

Haha... lots of doodling going on there.

I like what I've got so far... now for those final decisions. Then I can cut and package it all up to send out!

Go Courtney!!! Team AQUA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A new toy...

Santa got a good deal. :) And it's green too!

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

This little girl made her mama proud by getting totally excited about the homemade dress with Mickey Mouse on it... so much so that she HAD to wear it over her PJ's ... and the rest of the day! :)

 

Here's hoping that your Christmas was just a great as ours!

2010 In review.

January, a month of new beginnings. Last year for Christmas (er...late November) my dear husband got me a new sewing machine! It's a Singer Confidence, and her name is Nancy (after "Sewing with Nancy" on PBS). It was just a nice little upgrade from my bottom of the line sews two stitches only machine. The big difference is that I wanted to get the most out of it so I didn't hesitate to buy new feet and try new things.

Last January I attempted my first bit of free motion quilting. I made this little doll quilt for my friend Schell for her birthday. I'm not sure she "gets" doll quilts, but whatever. lol. I think it turned out great. I also worked a lot on a "sample" quilt that I made to try out some new piecing methods (a year ago I did not even know how to make a log cabin!) These pieces are now at the bottom of the shelf probably never to see the light of day again. They weren't bad but lacked the color and style that I now appreciate. I learned a lot.

February found me stippling like a mad woman. I made doll quilts for my nieces so that I could practice, and I think I got pretty decent at it! I made my first stack of cloth napkins and haven't looked back since (no paper here anymore!). The most momentous thing I did regarding sewing was, I used a rotary cutter for the first time! The first fabrics I cut into were my stack of Little Folks that I'd gotten for Christmas (the best gift ever!). I also learned several ways of making a log cabin... and various other blocks. All self-taught via books and blogs.

March brought on a great change in our family's lives... one which I still can't talk about. More on that in the coming months. I finished my first big quilt! My "Little Folks Quilt" was stippled in a linear fashion... hard to explain but I hadn't quite got the randomness down yet. But it got all crinkly and lovely and I love it. Also, all the dolls in the house got puffy paint hearing aids to match my little girl's purple ones. She got a kick out of that!

April I got hooked on ruffles. And learned that I don't particularly like sewing hexagons. I also got my first yard of fabric from my big giveaway win - one yard a month for a year from the publishers of "One Yard Wonders!"

May was a month of matching skirts and string quilt quitting (I gave up and it will now - eventually - be a toddler quilt), and sewing my first purse, for my mom of course!

June was a month of crazy growth. I started flickring - and joined my first swap (DQS9). I immediately chose the hardest quilt I possibly could think of and got to work on it for my partner. I love that quilt! That was really the first quilt that I really planned start to finish. I knew what I was doing and how it was going to end up. Amazing! I also played with some fabric (still unfinished blocks) and made some more doll quilts to give away to small children.

July surprised me. I was randomly compelled to make a full size quilt for the baby of my good friend from high school (who I haven't seen in years). I did it in record time and pebble quilted it. I got tons of work done on my DQS9 quilt, and taught my niece how to quilt. I also was surprised and completely heartbroken over the sudden loss of my best friend's friend's baby who was stillborn (note: I've never met this friend of a friend). The loss of Anne Michelle is still terrible for me, I don't know how my friend, or the baby's parents can handle it. I made her a mini quilt (about 30" square?) The piecing on that quilt was done with tears in my eyes, and it was passed on to Leslie, the baby's mom - hopefully she finds healing. Pray for her.

August was a crazy month of keeping busy, trying new things, and joining and finishing swaps. I finished the DQS9 quilt, started making mug rugs by the dozen, swapped pincushions, tackled zippers, and went to Disney! I can't tell enough about that Disney trip! As you can see my baby and her friends Donald, Goofy, and Pluto. Also, I started a flickr group to compile blocks to make my niece Rosemarie a quilt. Rosemarie is four and has been fighting cancer for three years. Pleas pray for her!

In September I mostly sewed smaller projects, lots of mug rugs, lots of pincushions. three swaps, and my first commissioned work (a set of coasters for my friend).

October was a month of sewing nearly every day. I made a gnome costume for Allie, and some box totes for myself and my sister. I sewed together and quilted Rosemarie's Cancer Killing Quilt. I made my first pillow - from my swapped Mod Bento blocks.

In November I joined up with the Pillow Talk {Swap} and started on the most complicated block I've ever done. There are definitely a couple hundred tiny pieces sewn together in that 12" block! I sewed up the extra blocks from Rosemarie's quilt to make a companion one for her sister Katee, and got them both quilted and the binding attached before my deadline of thanksgiving (where I spent our trip to Ohio hand sewing them down). Oh and I started Christmas presents too!

Now here we are in December, where I've found both Rosemarie and Katee's quilts are finished in time for Christmas, I've been very busy with other smaller Christmas presents, and decided about two weeks ago to start on a Christmas/birthday quilt for my husband. Luckily it came together very quickly and is nearly finished! I also got an early Christmas gift of a walking foot (hehe... I should have gotten one of those a long time ago) - which was used to quilt dear husband's quilt!

Wow. Comprehensive? No there were quite a lot of sewing things left out... but overall I think I was a bit obsessed with sewing/fabric during 2010! It's kept me busy which is great. I look forward to more progress and learning in 2011! Thanks for sticking with me!

Out of order.

I worked for literally an hour last night putting together mosaics for a post about my projects from this year. After all that I'm going to write about goals for next year today instead!

Here they are:

1. {Sew} Beautiful Bee & Swaps. I'm making this just one on my list since this is the extra, the push my boundaries and try something without worry. Whether it's a project pushing my color comfort zones, or my style... or even something technically challenging. But I'm going to try this year to make doubles of what I make for swaps. I really miss my DQS9 quilt that I sent off this year... I wish I would have made even a tiny one for myself

2. I'd like to make a quilt for my mom or my MIL this year. Not to push too much, since I made two quilts for my nieces at the same time this year. That was really crazy. I'll see how it goes. I think maybe my mom first since I seem to make little things for my MIL more often since she's here locally.

3. I really would like to finish the String Quilt I started last january... lol. It's supposed to be for Allie's toddler bed.

4. I'd like to follow a pattern for a quilt this year. I (kinda) followed my first pattern with the color brick quilt, it was crazy how quickly that went together without a lot of time thinking about it/figuring out measurements.

5. I want to make a wonky star quilt with light/medium grey and a pop of color.

6. I want to keep working on taking better pictures of my work. I've come a LONG way this year... gotta keep learning!

7. I'd like to make a baby this year. (too much? sorry). Oh and maybe not flip out nearly as much each month when I'm not pregnant as I have been. Just saying, although throwing myself into sewing is a pretty helpful way of coping.

8. I want to make more ruffly dresses for my daughter.

9. I would love to make more personal connections in the sewing world. I feel like I'm just out here. I don't go to guild meetings since they're a bit far away, and I don't know anyone in real life who quilts (aside from wally's great aunt...). I'd possibly like to make these connections at the Sewing Summit. :) Lofty goal there... don't know if we'll have the money.

10. I'd like to keep teaching my niece to enjoy crafts and sewing.

Now link up your goals over at Don't Call Me Betsy

Pillow Talk Swap Recieved!

Pillow Talk Swap Recieved!
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

Today I received my package from Adrianne (Little Bluebell) and it's spectacular! My personal fav. AMH Good Folks fabrics and grey! It's gorgeous and fits right in with my bedroom! (Although the little girl keeps walking around hugging it). She sent along a beautiful matching pincushion too! :) Amazing!

Fabric Tuesday!

so this is love mosaic
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

A near finish... I just need to sew down the binding on this one! :) Dear husband must be loved... I knocked out this quilt in less than two weeks and used some of my favorite fabrics which otherwise would have been horded forever!
This was my first time doing strait line quilting... in a step pattern at that! My walking foot (thanks Santa!) came in the mail yesterday so I got right to it! The baby took a really long nap while I got it all done. Well I surely made up for that last night by having to sleep on the floor next to her and wake up every half an hour or so while she was sick. Yuck. That was seriously the grossest night of my life thus far! lol. She's feeling better now (thank God!). We did call the doctor, who said this is going around.

Some binding sewing will be happening tonight! Oh and I even attached a quilt label too! :) The pattern for this quilt was the Color Brick Quilt Along hosted by Stitched in Color. It worked up really easily and turned out just great! I added a border though to add some extra length. It's definitely the biggest quilt I've ever made (by a few inches)!

Now go on over and link up for Fabric Tuesday!

Dilemma: What to make for BIL for Christmas??

Should I make him one of these heat therapy bags?

Or a pillowcase like these?

Or a zip pouch like this?

I think it might be a heat therapy bag since the other two options require me to go to the fabric store. I've already got two therapy bags ready to be filled (but need to buy some rice and oils). It's just that I don't know what sort of thing he'd use. Would he use the pillowcase? Would he think the zip pouch is too girly? lol. I also don't know what I'm making for my dad. Probably a pillowcase... but I have very limited options with the boy fabric (it'd be green fabric with mushrooms... lol.) I think I'm almost done with my Christmas sewing!! What am I going to do when I'm all done with it? I have no clue. lol. Play with the walking foot I just got today? :) Ok well I'll have to be quick before Santa wraps it up! :)

The longest naptime ever!

Allie has been sleeping for longer than I care to admit. Past the three hour mark. It has allowed me to not only baste, but also quilt my color brick quilt! And... I even had time to sew on the binding (that I'd prepped last week). Wally is now snuggled under it napping himself (I still need to hand sew that binding down). What a productive day!! Oh and my walking foot came in the mail today!!! I can't imagine having ever tried strait line quilting without it (which I definitely had done on a smaller scale). The step pattern quilting went pretty quickly with the walking foot! :) I'm really excited! Pictures once the sun comes out again!!!

PS - My friend Courtney was totally on Entertainment Tonight today... TOTALLY! Oh I love her. lol. Just wait until March! ... oh if you only knew, dear readers, if you only knew!

{sew} beautiful - inspiration

My month for the {Sew} Beautiful Bee is February, so I figured I'd take advantage of the sale I just saw at the Creative Merchandise Ebay storefront. Seriously $3.90/yd for Good Folks fabric!! I've ordered from them before (that's where four of these from the mosaic came from) and the shipping and service was very prompt! I'm excited to get such a deal on the rest of them!! I'll be ordering the three additional yards tomorrow (need an invoice email for combined shipping!) and looking for that last fabric (Good Folks Fortune in Sea) to round it out. :) I can't wait to see the blocks made with this fabric!!! Check out my gallery if you'd like to see the rest of my inspiration!

A mini update.

Today I made an unexpected trip to Joann's. I had not really measured before I bought the light grey fabric for the border and sashing for Wally's quilt... and I ended up needing about another 6" worth of the 7 1/2" border fabric. lol. So instead of insisting on stopping by the Joann's in Naperville (since our local Joann's doesn't carry this color of Kona), I figured there was one on my way from my allergist so I stopped in. :) They did have the fabric and I actually found some great fabric for the back of the quilt. It's a cross between teal and navy blue - Joann's brand. But once again I hadn't done my measuring yet so I winged it and bought 2 1/2 yds (it was on sale for $1.99 a yd!)... but it turns out that this quilt is much wider than I'd thought (which is a good thing), and I need to buy two more yards! So I will have to stop there on Sunday (the sale on that fabric ends Sunday).

On a great note though, I did have time this afternoon to use that fabric! I cut and added that last side of border fabric, layed it out on the floor and measured it (the top is 65" x 80" pretty nice), worked out how I'm going to do the back, cut and prepped the binding (Kona Coal with a scrap of AMH Good Folks). All set to go. And... a birdie told me that last night Santa ordered a walking foot for me... which will be delivered in time for me to quilt this guy up to put it under the tree! :) I must love my husband! :) Ok, really I do, but I also really enjoy throwing myself into a project like this!

Introducing: Gertrude!!!

Introducing: Gertrude!!!

No, I don't have another sewing machine! This one just came over for a play date (oh gosh I hate that phrase). lol. This is Mary's new (old) machine from her mom. So can anyone guess how old she is??? lol. Guess away because I'd have to look it up to figure it out. Anyway, Mary came over to sew last night and sew be did! She finished five (count them) pot holders for gifts! 

And I finally sewed up that second gather clutch from about a week ago, cut and sewed borders onto Wally's quilt (minus one side since I was about 6" short of enough fabric... Joann's here I come), and I made allie a quick little dress. :) Check two more things off my Christmas sewing list! 

Allie's dress is made from a Mickey pillowcase that was used by DH and his brothers when they were little. It's a bit threadbare, but it'll do. And since it's Mickey it's sure to get that WOW appeal from my two year old! I followed this tutorial (which I've used in the past) and it came together really really quickly! I hope the arm holes fit her though... that's my only worry. 

I'm pretty happy with the gifts I've been able to make this year. We really don't have much money right now so it's pretty helpful to have had the chance to use up some of my beloved fabric for my family! Unlike many people I am hearing throughout blogland, I'm pretty much loving making my gifts. No stress... we have a standing "if you're broke don't worry about gifts" policy with both our families and that helps. Also I simply don't make things for people who won't appreciate them. lol. Ok so that seems harsh but it's the truth. :) Luckily that doesn't happen often.

 

So This Is Love... Wally's Quilt

New list of christmas sewing:

As promised...

My Pink Hair

• Pillowcase for Dad (do I have fabric for this? lol... possibly need to buy a yard of man fabric)
• finish piecing top of Wally's quilt
• baste, quilt, and bind.

• Finish sewing annoying gather pouch thing... (It's really not that hard I need to just do it)
• Make another zippered pouch (not gathered, probably the boxed pouch style)
• Sew a dress for Allie
• Think of something for my brother in law... could I make him a boxed pouch?
• Heat pack for BIL who keeps injuring himself.

 ___________________________________
old Christmas list... nearly finished.

• Finish the top of Katee's Quilt.
• piece the backing, quilt, prepare binding, and attach binding (ready to be hand sewn at thanksgiving).

• Buy fabric for the backing of Gia's baby quilt. 
• quilt, prep binding, etc. Decide what hand embroidery to do.

• Start / finish / decide what I'm sending for the mug rug swap (Send date: Nov 22-29)
• Quilt, embroider, and finish two swap pillows for the Pillow Talk Swap (one for partner and one for me). (Send date: Dec. 15) --not sent yet though!
• Make pillow cases to match Katee and Rosemarie's quilts.
• Design quilt labels for Katee and Rosemarie's quilts.
• Buy fabric/start sewing quilt for Wally. (He wants me to make him one for Christmas... lofty goals I think! lol Part way pieced, need to buy a couple more yards of kona ash.
• Make another ruffle dress for Allie for Christmas.
• Make a pillow out of mod bento's from swap for a Christmas gift
  
  I've also gotten a couple other things finished.
  • One purse/wallet/clutch  for a Christmas present. (another is nearly finished... and will be once I'm done being frustrated with it! lol
  • One zip pouch for a Christmas present.
  • One pillowcase for another Christmas present.

I can hardly believe it!

{sew} Beautiful

I joined a bee! :) Ok so it's really not that hard to believe I'm very excited and can't wait to get started (which is a good thing since I've got the second month!) I've never done a bee before, but I can totally understand the draw... getting to try new things, push your creativity, push yourself outside of the box, practice perfection, etc. :) And in the end you've got blocks to make a great quilt! I think it'll be pretty great and I'm already being inspired by everyone involved - I've been a follower of most of their blogs for a while, and they have made some of my favorite flickr faves! :) I'm pretty impressed to be counted among them! Oh and did I mention that it's a bee using modern fabrics? Yum! :) More on this to come! :)

Rosemarie's quilt

 


Rosemarie's quilt
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

They're finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A journey that began at the beginning of August is drawing to a close. I have completed Rosemarie and Katee's quilts made with the blocks sent to me from all over the world! If you don't remember the whole story feel free to check it out here and here. It's taken a few months, but they're all together and ready to go to the girls this Christmas (or as soon as we see each other next!). Last night I also made them each a pillowcase to match. A Christmas gift of love and prayer! Thank you so much to all of you who helped and encouraged me in this project. The end product is so amazing! I can't wait to see them snuggled up on the couch with them!

Thanks to my father in law's awesome house for lending me good place to photograph them.... in the semi sunlight of winter. More info to follow. :)

PS - Pink hair happened for two of us in this house tonight... pics will follow. lol. :) I LOVE IT!

PSS - Fabric Tuesday, check it out!

So close!!

Just a little peek at what I have very very nearly finished! I finished sewing down the bindings last night! I just need to sew down the edges of those labels!! Then they'll be washed and crinkly and loved a little more by me before I wrap them up for the girls!!! I promise full quilt pictures very soon! Until then, thank you to all who helped make blocks for Rosemarie's Cancer Killing Quilt, and Katee's matching one! :) They're really beautiful and full of love and prayer from all of you! Thanks!!

Christmas Cards!

Have you sent yours yet?

Do you send them? (ok so I should)

Maybe you send a loong Christmas letter detailing out you year's accomplishments complete with a home printer - printed colage of photos. (you know who you are!)

I don't send cards. Well let me rephrase that, I've only been a certifiable adult for a couple years and well, it's not been a habit that we have started. Yet. At what point does card giving become necesary? We do our best attempt at thank you's. And random correspondance? I LOVE IT! :) Why not christmas cards then? I feel boxed in. They have to be red and green, or they have to be professional photos. Nope, they don't! Now go check out the options over at Shutterfly.

Have you checked out those options there? Over at Shutterfly they even let you search their cards by color. (ok so there's only one yellow christmas card but there are lots of non-traditional ones! Even a few that say Merry Christmas! :) My favorite part about Christmas cards are the pictures of the family. I mostly love to see those smiling faces anytime I can! I think it'd be great to send one out from my parents, with our whole big extended family! That's the best!

I like this one - wouldn't it be just perfect with Allie's smiling face right there? 

Check out more here!

As I've already mentioned, I'm better at thank you's than regular Christmas cards, they've got the most adorable ones here: 

Looking for something great to go with your holiday mug rugs? A mug with your pic on it! I may go off and order one of those now since my MIL asked for a mug rug and a mug for christmas! 

Yum!

 It'll go great with this!

So now that I've got my dream Christmas cards all picked out, you can pick some out too! Go here for more info about getting 50 free Christmas cards.

Mug Rug Swap 2 - Awesomest partner ever!

Mug Rug Swap 2 - Awesomest partner ever!
Originally uploaded by emedoodle

I received my swap package yesterday, from the Mug Rug Swap 2. I can say I'm blown away at not only the talent and execution that my partner (Jen, flickr: mjandco) used, but also her ability to precisely pinpoint my personal favorites! :) When she posted a peak of one of these mug rugs I actually asked her to send it to me! She sent two gorgeous mug rugs, a sweet personalized zip pouch (which has a fishy and a bike on it!!), some packets of yummy instant apple cider (I'm drinking now), and ... scraps of my favorite fabrics! AMH Good Folks!!! (some of these I'd never actually seen in person since they're not carried in any LQS's that I go to!). Thanks Jen; you're the best!!

Quilting Math Revisited.

My friend Mary is (relatively) new to sewing and likes to have a lot of guidance from me about how much of this or that she needs. It tends to usually be a vague question. Such as in this situation, "How much batting do I need to buy?" (she's making potholders, about 9" cut. She has great hopes of sewing something like thirty of these babies before christmas (some before next saturday!). lol. :) I figured I aught to break it down using my mad algebra skills. Did I mention that I once wanted to be a math teacher? {ok that was fleeting, mostly I wanted to teach theology and math, but well, theology teachers don't need degrees, there was no chance that I'd be hired as anything but a math teacher so I dropped the Edu from my major!}

Enjoy!



Mathematically speaking:

X/9.5 =Y

X= number of inches wide the bolt of batting is
Y= how many potholders you can make out of a 9" cut off of that bolt of batting. (giving wiggle room for imprecise cutting)

N/Y = Z

N= how many potholders (one piece of batting per) you want to make
Z= number of 9.5" lengths you'll need.

Z(9.5) = how many inches you'll need to have the lady cut off the bolt of fabric. (multiply this by two if you're going to use two layers in there, which I'd recommend!)


:) hehe. Maths are good.

You got that?

Pepsi Refresh - Vote for John Tracey Clinic!

Head on over to: http://www.refresheverything.com/jtc and vote for JTC to receive money to continue their work advocating and educating people with hearing loss and their parents! 

Allie, at about 5 months (she was aided at 2 mos)

You may or may not know that my daughter was born with moderately severe bi-lateral (both ears) hearing loss. She wears hearing aids every waking moment, and with help from the John Tracey Clinic's distance learning program for parents (a parent taught means of learning spoken language), and Early Intervention, she is now actually a bit more advanced in speaking/listening than the average child her age! This takes a lot of time and energy, and we use the tools we learned through the distance learning program at JTC every day. 

JTC's distance learning program was very helpful for us since in the beginning everything was very overwhelming. It took a while to get on track with regular visits to therapists through Early Intervention, and JTC helped to educate us in the meantime. They really were the first source of information we had available to us. And the distance learning program is free. :) Please support them! 

"So This Is Love..."

I've decided that is going to be the name of Wally's quilt. :) Cue Disney song:

Here it is all layed out. Ready to be sewn together, then sashed. I do need to hit up Joann's (the one in Naperville) since I don't have enough Kona Ash to sash it! I am a bit worried about it not being long enough? I may have to add a nice border around the whole thing so it covers Wally's feet! I guess I hadn't thought of that. lol.

After laying it all out I took the chance to play with some of those scraps! These little guys may end up as a little doll quilt for my wall? I'm using the Joann's quilter's solid -- close to Kona med. grey. I think Kona Coal would be the best grey solid for this... or maybe the ash will be once it's all together. either way I love these colors. :) Finally some AMH purples!

Christmas projects list updated.

Here's my list to do (as posted about a week or so ago):

• Finish the top of Katee's Quilt.
• piece the backing, quilt, prepare binding, and attach binding (ready to be hand sewn at thanksgiving).

• Buy fabric for the backing of Gia's baby quilt. 
• quilt, prep binding, etc. Decide what hand embroidery to do.

• Start / finish / decide what I'm sending for the mug rug swap (Send date: Nov 22-29)
• Quilt, embroider, and finish two swap pillows for the Pillow Talk Swap (one for partner and one for me). (Send date: Dec. 15) --not sent yet though!
• Make pillow cases to match Katee and Rosemarie's quilts.
• Design quilt labels for Katee and Rosemarie's quilts.
• Buy fabric/start sewing quilt for Wally. (He wants me to make him one for Christmas... lofty goals I think! lol Part way pieced, need to buy a couple more yards of kona ash.
• Make another ruffle dress for Allie for Christmas.
• Make a pillow out of mod bento's from swap for a Christmas gift
  
  I've also gotten a couple other things finished.
  • One purse/wallet/clutch  for a Christmas present. (another is nearly finished... and will be once I'm done being frustrated with it! lol
  • One zip pouch for a Christmas present.
  • One pillowcase for another Christmas present.

So this is love....

 Yep, you're seeing correctly. I actually cut into my AMH Innocent Crush FQ's! All for my hubby! Ok so maybe it's not completely self giving... it's also because I so badly want to sew with this fabric, but I want it to stay in my house. :) So this will become a Color Block Quilt using the tutorial from Stitched in Color (now go over to her flickr group and ooh and ahh over all the color bricks!). I'm still not 100% sure that this is the best use of this fabric, but hey, DH is really excited (and it gets me out of shopping for a birthday and Christmas!), and it gives me the freedom to play with some of the scraps too! Another perk? I edited the FQ stack I'd bought, reserving the lighter purples/pinks so I can add them to my AMH stash and maybe even use some with those lighter Tula Pink fabrics. :) Possibly another quilt right there for me! :)
Oh and tomorrow's Fabric Tuesday, go on over and play along!

**EDIT**
I've already sewn these all together - one more step and I'll be forced to go buy more grey at the fabric store. Oh darn! :) This sure is a gift that keeps giving! :)

Delightful colors yes?

WOW!

I just made a Gathered Clutch from the tutorial by noodlhead. I decided to cut fabric for two of them, one for my mom, and one for my MIL. I am ok when it comes to sewing in zippers. I am pretty decent at most other sewing. Why did it take me almost three hours... maybe more... to assemble them? (ok to assemble one and partially assemble the other). I just don't get how to get those ends of the zipper looking so neat and tidy. It doesn't work so well for me. I can't ever figure out am I supposed to sew all the way to the edge here, or almost to the edge there, are those tabs supposed to be tucked under while I sew the body of the bag together? lol. The zipper itself was a breeze (ok almost a breeze), but those silly ends / sewing the body together just kicked my butt! I decided to set the second one aside (with just that last step to go) until tomorrow. lol. I'm not sure if my mediocre finished product is worth all the effort. I like the boxed pouches much better because when I was done sewing them I felt like the end product was worth the time taken to sew it. :) That's of course aided by the fact that while sewing the boxed pouches I didn't get frustrated nearly as often. lol. In theory I should be able to figure out how to neaten my sewing around those ends of the zipper. I hope! :)

PS - I used some of the new Tula Pink fabric for the pouch(s) - it sure is beautiful fabric!!