Mother's day is for moms, and for those who mother.

Happy Mother's day to all you mommy bloggers! I'm always a bit at a loss on mother's day. It's weird to be the mom on Mother's day, after living my whole life as a kid. :) Truth is, I'm pretty lucky. 

Mother's day is always a little odd for me in another way though. On holidays like this I'm really reminded about the kids that I want, that I wish for, that aren't here yet. As anyone who's spent any amount of time trying to conceive - the celebrations of motherhood are soured a little, by the loss of every passing month. Every missed chance. 

I'm entirely lucky to be blessed with Allie - as easy as it was for us to have her - she's perfectly mine. (Did I ever mention that she's got my attitude? For better or worse). It kills me that at this point she'll be 5 years older than any siblings (at the very least). She wants friends, and calls her friends "stisters" (adorable extra t's). 

There are so many deep feelings going on here. But I'll take them - each day is something new. 

I hope you all have great mother's days - give your mom a hug. Hug the strong women in your life - mother or not, let them know they're appreciated! 

WIP Weds (thursday)

CMQG Modern Art Challenge for Natalie

Where has the last week gone?

I'm knee deep in WIP's this week. I typically don't leave things hangning when I haven't surpassed a spacific step (a full block done. etc). But not this week. I've got half projects all over the place!

Let see:
I have a bee block that's half finished - hand drawn paper pieced... all the sections are pieced, but only one quadrant is sewn together... I guess I'm a little late on that one since it's now august! Eep!

This little guy measures just 3.5" square... yep that's a 1/4" border. 

Then I've got some teensy peicing done for a special tiny piecing blog post... but you'd know that I have the blog post written and had to go back and take pictures for all the steps. Now I have all the steps photographed but no desire to add them in to the blog post / edit. lol. Soon soon. It'll be a fun one.

I'm wrapping up some loose ends with my QuiltCon funding - have a couple pouches to deliver this weekend and a couple more to ship out tomorrow. My lovely MIL has put money down for an order of mug rugs for Christmas gifts for all her co-workers --- which means: I've hit my goal and I'm going to QuiltCon! :) lol. This will actually cover some of my hotel stay too! I'm a little excited to work on some mug rugs too - I haven't made one in a while!

Also, this little girl helped me sew up this little mug rug for my MIL for her birthday. Allie was so excited to help. She picked the fabrics and helped me feed them through the machine. She was very patient, which I'll need to keep in mind for the future!

I finished reading a book yesterday (this counts as a project finished?) It was a quilting related book suggested to me/loaned to me by my quilty friend Emily. The book was "O the Red Rose Tree" by Patricia Beatty. It was a pretty good read. It reminded me of my days in 4th grade when I was reading through the Little House On the Prairie books.

Ok now for the WIP count - this is a very imprecise list.

• Lindsey's quilt - ran out of white thread - back needs to be pieced, then basted, quilted and bound. I'm getting close!
• Bella bella quilt - no progress.
• CMQG Modern Art Challenge: mostly finished with the quilt top - but need to finish the same part on the "sister quilt" so that I have one to keep.
• My Precious QAL - basted and ready to quilt. Not sure if I'll quilt it now or wait - I really aught to buy a new walking foot first.
• Bee block for July - in progress
• Some pouches - one for my mom specifically --- I need to get that done!

Actual finishes:

• Bella solids quilt - finished!! I need to take some pictures of it though! 

Guess what I made today...

...Are you ready for it??!!

A bathing suit! 

Yep I winged it and it turned out fairly perfect! 

I was a Joann's today and they had all their clearance fabrics 50% off the clearance price. So naturally I grabbed some super cute swimsuit fabric! I bought a yard and a half and used only about half a yard. It was $6/yd after the discount.

I used Emily's technique - bribery with lollipop.

While Allie napped I scoured the house for one of her tank tops and underwear (clean thankfully). I roughly copied the racer-back tank - no lining, edged with fold over elastic (FOE). I happen to be allergic to elastic, but not to FOE - so I typically have some on hand. 

The bottoms were a bit more tricky to figure out - because I wanted them fully lined - I traced the underwear but somewhere in the process of adding seam allowances I managed to have a front and back that were nearly the same. In the end it didn't matter too much - I actually like a fuller bottom - less wedgies. I didn't use any elastic in the bottoms and the stitches around the waist stretch just enough to get them on. 

It's not perfect, but it'll work -- MIL's condo association's pool opens tomorrow! Here's hoping for nice weather!! 

(ps - I'm working on figuring out how to restrict the pinning of certain pictures (such as Allie in her bathing suit) so please make a little effort with me - just pin the blog header and notate that it's a post about swimsuits.)

Quilts in the Smokies.

You may have noticed that I haven't been here all week. Yep, we went on a big grand family vacation. 14 of us (including four children) in one big cabin near Gatlinburg Tennessee. It was really a great time! 

The picture above shows the deck of our cabin (yes there was a hot tub out there!) ... with a nice view of three of the four made-by-me quilts that were brought on vacation by family members! Rosemarie's quilt was being used for a movie-time cuddle so it's not pictured. :) Such an awesome feeling to know that everyone loves their quilts so much. 

Here are some highlights of the trip in photo display... Cute cousins sharing a menu.

Crazy tons of family squishing together for a photo.

Girls sharing the experience of a visit to the aquarium.

The little ones helping Mimi (grandma) with breakfast.

And posing for a picture near a pretty stream. 

It's been a relaxing week -- but I can't lie... I'm pretty happy to have Internet again! :) Not that it wasn't fun trying to steal wi-fi from our neighbors in the rain, in my sister's car, at midnight.... lol. 

More cool things to follow!

I'll shave my head - will you make a donation to end childhood cancer?

Rosemarie w/ her family - in their Rosemarie shirts made by Blamo!

Hello! It’s been a while since I posted an update on my niece Rosemarie. She’s doing ok and her cancer has been stable, which isn’t great, but at least it’s not growing. Last summer Rosemarie lost her hair (for the third time!), and myself and my family shaved our heads in solidarity. Rosemarie is five now and it’s harder for her now when she loses her hair. In August when I shaved I donated 14” of my hair to the Wig 4 Kids which provided Rosemarie with a wig.

Rosemarie helping me shave my head last summer.

Now I’ve decided to shave my head again to match Rosemarie’s bald head, but also to raise money for childhood cancer research, and I’m asking for your support. I’m going to have my head shaved at a St. Baldrick’s Foundation event on March 16th at Fado Irish Pub, Columbus Ohio.

With my bald head, I’ll stand in solidarity with kids being treated for cancer while raising money for life-saving research.

Please make a donation on my head to help me reach my goal of $1000, and watch me and others “Shaving the Way to Conquer Kids’ Cancer!” This is a fun way to do something very important.

You can give directly online (search for my name, Emily Lang at www.StBaldricks.org) or by phone at 888-899-BALD. Credit cards are the most efficient way to give, or you can write a check payable to “St. Baldrick’s Foundation.” I’ll be collecting pledges! To see a list of my donors, fundraising progress, and “before” and “after” photos, visit my page (www.stbaldricks.org/participants/mypage/participantid/505739) on the St. Baldrick’s website.

St. Baldrick's funds more in grants for childhood cancer research than any other organization except the U.S. government. Last year, the Foundation has funded nearly $22 million in new grants – all because over 45,000 people shaved their heads!

You can count on this donation being used responsibly. To see all the research being funded – by disease type, location and more – visit www.StBaldricks.org and click on "Where the Money Goes," then "View Grants."

On behalf of Rosemarie and other kids with cancer, thank you for your support!

Rosemarie and Allie - little ballerinas.

Allie's Quilt - Revisited

I see this image several times a week, when Allie lays her quilt out on the floor and gauges her current foot size against the size at about 6 months. :)

As you can see, there's quite a difference! She's growing up so quickly! Pretty soon she'll need a bigger quilt!

Adorable right? If this is the first time you've seen this quilt go ahead and read about it here.

...

Our first Christmas tree.. it's tiny like Allie. And she loves it!

(Dear family, especially Roseann and Linda don't read this post!)

I've been a busy little sewer this year... somehow I decided to whip up a few projects for gifts... and that ended up with me sewing for everyone! Here's part of the tally.

Tons of Zip Pouches for my sister, brother in law, and two other relatives (although most are for my sister). The cloth bags are all made from scraps, sized according to the uses my sister wanted (example: snacks for the purse). The plastic type bags were made from cutting up plastic coated re-usable bags from various places. Michaels, Pier One, and of course my grocery store! lol.You can get about two whole FQ's worth of material out of a single bag for $0.99! that's a deal! I also used this tutorial/measurement guide for those box pouches. they turned out perfectly!

 Stockings for the little girls. From right to left  Allie's stocking (made several years ago... I didn't get around to making her a new one, this one is really poorly made - I didn't know how to sew a 1/4 seam then!). Then the green and red one is for Rosemarie made with scraps and porthole blocks. Then Katee's which is actually almost entirely scraps from my mom's quilt - much more grown up (and my fav!). Then last is Gia's which sat in my head long enough that I HAD to make it! lol. All these were using scraps (except the backs) - so it's like a free project right? I used the pattern from Purlbee for the shape.

Some close-ups of the insides of a couple pouches. I used these adorable printed iron-on labels that I received in a swap this year. I'm sorry that I can't for the life of me think of who it was that sent them! Step up if it was you, because they're awesome and add such a finished touch to these bags!

Finally a couple rice pocket warmers!

And a still WIP... Swoon Quilt! I finished four blocks yesterday! I'm ready for sashing but wasn't frugal enough with my white... I'll have to buy a bit more to sash it!

That's it... ok well there's still quite a bit more... and another whole quilt that's so close to being finished!!

A little catching up (and rambling)

(please enjoy some totally off topic photos of my mom's quilt - and my kid jumping/tumbling all over it. BTW: Mom, don't look!)

First off, my Christmas sewing is looking good. I have one of the two big quits nearly finished (just need to add binding and the label!) and I did more fabric cutting/marking last night for the other. I'm still not entirely sure how I'll quilt it, --it's Swoon -- and it's going to be about 80" square! Eeek! I have had an offer to use a guild friend's mid-arm on it... I've never used one but it might be worth a try!

Christmas shopping... I'm one of the only people that we're buying a gift for this year (since I'm making so many!)... my request was one of those acrylic sewing machine extension tables. I can order it for my machine for about $120 (24" square)... but Vogue in Evanston recently bought out a lot of them that are pre-made, and they're selling them for half off ($50 for 24" square!)... unfortunately they don't have a listing for one that matches my machine exactly. So I have tried scouring the internet for a better deal - one that fits my machine... without much luck. I found one option that's smaller (about 20" x 15") on ebay for $25... that would sorta fit my machine... there might be a bit of a gap and the shipping is $9 which really makes it not as worth it. 

So. I talked it over with my dad - fix-it extraordinaire (but he lives two states away!).... if I can find one of the sale ones at Vogue that comes close to fitting my machine we can take it with my dad to my uncle's wood shop and find a way to trim it down or fill in the gaps (if it's too big or too small). It seems pretty straightforward from what I read online (if you have power tools!). So that's an option... the catch is that Vogue doesn't have them in store, they're at the "warehouse" across town... which is open for re-sellers only... lol. I think I'm going to call up the warehouse tomorrow and see if they'll let me in to check the dimensions. Maybe they'll let me... and then maybe they'll let me purchase the right one on the spot (no shipping!!). :) Best case scenario I'll find one that matches up pretty well without needing any alterations. 

Another option/idea. My sewing table is a general wooden craft table - with lift out panels on the two sides that open into a compartment several inches deep for storage inside the tabletop. ... If all else fails I may bring one of those panels and my machine home with me at Christmas and we'd use the power tools to cut an opening for my machine to sit inside the table (lifted to the proper height with a book or two). I like that idea too... it would give me about four feet of level work space to move my quilts around while quilting them.... 

Can I have some experienced input? I hear the extension tables make a TON of difference in FMQing, and in general. Do you think it'd be better to lower my machine into the table (nearly free), or better to buy the one from Vogue that fits best? Ahh. I hate parting with my/our money! 

Sorry that was such a rambly process to lay out my options... sometimes writing it all out helps me to process what it is that I really want. Maybe that will help. 

Another thought which is quite unrelated. We had Allie's IEP meeting today, and it looks like even though she's cleared to start pre-school in a normal (non-special ed) classroom, she won't be able to get a spot in one of those classrooms until she's at least four - since they're all full with waiting lists. So it looks like she'll be in the hearing impaired classroom, potentially with some time each day in the regular classroom.... I'm ok with that. The HI program has a longer day which I'm not happy about... the kid is three and doesn't need to be in school all day... but they assured me that if we wanted to limit her hours there it'd be completely up to us, so we could do half day instead. Which is awesome. (rambling again....sorry). I'm excited that she'll finally be being followed by a speech therapist again (and that it'll be as needed), and that she'll get to be around the other kids. We've been warned though that she'll likely be the most advanced in her classroom. They were having troubles coming up with goals for her IEP... because she's already there with all the normal 3-4 yr old things. lol. What a great testament to our "language rich" home (and her AMAZING early intervention therapists who taught us everything). 

As a side note to all of that... can you imagine how much I could get done sewing (or *gasp* housework) during those hours each day? lol. I won't know what to do. 

A Quilter's Dream!

 Two things happened this weekend that would certainly fall under this title. 

First this happened: 

Three quilts in a row. Wally's quilt, my quilt, and Rosemarie's quilt
(Which she brought with her!)

My family was in town this weekend and There were air mattresses all around. On top of each one? A quilt!! All but one of them was made by me, and one of them was made by my Aunt Kathy (given to me when I was about 10). 

In the other room two more! My first ever quilt (t-shirt quilt), and one made by Aunt Kathy.
(Crumpled on the unmade bed? Allie's quilt)

Pretty amazing right? I love the thought that my quilts kept them warm all weekend! :) 

Second: 

This evening before dinner, Wally called me in to the kitchen to see what Allie was playing. To our surprise she was playing "fabric store" with the paper towels (strange enough to have them in the house!). She rolled out a few lengths of towel, then used her two fingers in s scissor motion to "cut" (rip) them apart. Too cute! She kept talking about cutting fabric.... adorable! 

I've been away...

No excuses here. I spent the week with my neice Katee - who stays with us for a week every summer. She went home today so now I have time to catch you guys up on the fun happenings around here while she was here!

First of all Katee is awesome! She just turned 11 and has been sewing with me for... four years? (has it really been that long!!??) I set out with the idea that we might make these purses that Kat made recently. I'd pinned the tutorial and it all seemed pretty simple although challenging enough for Katee. We've mostly made small flat items while sewing. This one required three pannels of patchwork that was sewn "quilt as you go." 

She rocked! No I didn't happen to snap any pictures of her in process (this mostly happened after 9:00 pm while my kid was sleeping). I do have to tell you about the back of her pouch. We'd already done the first two pannels doing typical paralell stitches in the quilt as you go pieces. I left the room to start fixing dinner and came back to see her with an almost completed panel featuring concentric rectangle quilting!! I'd not shown her how to do that or even that she could do that! I don't know that she'd even seen that done on any projects before! Katee rocks! Her color choice for the back was pretty awesome too!

She ended up quilting her initial and last name on the back as well. Pretty clever that one! :) I'm really impressed!

That project took us through most of the week - since we didn't have too much free (toddler free) sewing time to work. She did all of it but the free motion quilting on the top flap. - all the construction and everything! 

Among the other activities that the week included, we made a fort using her fort kit that I made her and her sister for their birthdays (link to tutorial here).

We also had ourselves a little tea party. It wasn't as frilly or pretty as I'd have liked... but it was pretty cool! We had finger sandwiches and tea and fruit. It was a yummy little party. I broke out my tiny espresso glasses for the occasion. :)

Hope you had a great week as well!!

linked up for Travel Handmade!

Not enough sewing time...

Notice the 12 thousand stickers all over her knees? lol

Thanks to this little girl who seems to think that nap time/bed time is "get out of my new toddler bed time." Adding to the exhaustion is that she's now decided any car trip is "let's houdini out of my carseat time" Yes that latch across her chest, she's figured it out. We now tape it together... which buys us a few minutes. 

Fun times. She is, however, celebrating her birthday in two days... and then we'll be celebrating with the Ohio part of the family on Saturday. Exhausting. We're going to have my niece Katee in town next week so there'd better be some sewing getting done then - since she wants to sew! :)

Sigh, I'm off to relieve my husband of the "hey it's night-night time!" duty. This kid is so exhausted; she really should just go to sleep!

Thank You Emily!!

Don't mind, she's three which means that she thought "hey mom's taking a picture I should jump on one foot!"

Last week my CMQG friend Emily came over to sew (was that last week already?). As sweet as she is, she brought an adorable handmade dress for Allie! I think she knows that I don't have the patience for such details on a dress! This one is just perfect! She even figured out her machine's buttonhole function for the bajillion buttons on this! :) Absolutely adorable - and purple which is Allie's (my) favorite color!

Allie has worn this dress twice so far (in one week!) And she keeps pulling it out of her closet and carrying it around saying, "Oh Pretty! Emily  made it for me!" :) thanks Emily!

Also please try to ignore that the first decently lit place that I thought to take a picture was at Victoria's Secret...
I swear we were there for body spray (for my MIL). lol.

Why Haven't I Posted This Yet?

Haha. I just wrote half a post about a quilt that I'd already shared but thought I hadn't. Funny how that happens sometimes!

Instead here are some pretty pictures that are lurking on my computer but don't qualify for their own blog posts. 

(Above) Curtains from my old sewing room are now in Allie's bedroom. They look cuter than ever with little yellow fabric scrap ties. I love them. (Ikea rocks). PS When hanging the curtain rods I used a drill for the first time in forever (my BIL's) and I must say I like the power. 

I love this picture. The look on Roseann's face is sweet. The girls looks so happy and chilled out. 

Strawberry Buttercream. Need I say more? YUM!

Haha. Funnest thing ever? Colored frostings in squirt bottles for decorating during a party!

Awesomest kindergartner (holy wow is she getting old!) party game? Relay races with floaties on. No real reason for it. No prize for the winning team. No worries about who "won" (the girls actually tended to wait for the slower runner at the end before turning back to run to the finish line!). Fun. 

Happy birthday sweet Rosemarie!! :)