Life . . . Part 2

So, I told you a while ago that life was getting in the way, and blogging was the easiest thing to take out . . . but I didn't tell you what life was causing all the havoc.

I'm pregnant!

I'm sure most of you know by now from Facebook, but I figured Google deserved an explanation, too! I don't really have any good pictures to show you, the sonograms so far are kind of blobby, and I haven't figured out how to scan them in well yet. But I'm sure I'll get one up here soon!

For those who want to know, I'm 15 weeks along, and due February 7 (that's the day after the Super Bowl, for those of you counting down!).

The crafting has been basically nil since I've been so tired and not really feeling well, but that all seems to be getting better, and I should be back crafting in no time! But probably crafting tiny things for a while ;)

Anyway, thanks for listening . . . I'll keep you updated!

See ya!

Life

Hey guys.

So, life has gotten in the way a little lately. I'm going to take a little break for now, but I'll be back soon! I just need to reorganize some things.

See ya!

3 Reasons

I can't get any crafting done!

Ralphie helps with the basting.

Katie holds down the quilt.

Oliver oversees Beth's quilting.

But they're so darn cute! It makes up for it!

See ya!

I've been a BAD, BAD girl!

You have NO IDEA! First of all, I haven't posted in . . . well . . . you can see that for yourself. Anyway, it's been a busy time . . . at work and at home, topped off by the most horrific illness you've ever seen!

But you don't want to hear about that, do you?

You want to hear about the crafts, don't you? I have finished one quilt on my UFO list to the side . . . the Green one. Also known as S's quilt.

Isn't it pretty?

It went perfectly with our room, and it's so . . . I don't know . . . modern (at least comparatively). It really goes with our style, simple and clean. I LOVE IT!

It's the Denyse Schmidt pattern Stacking the Odds, and the prints are all Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley (the green and blues). I love it, but the pattern is a bit of a . . . handful. I don't recommend it for new quilters, but it is a simple pattern. Confused? Sorry. Here's my little review: Ms. Schmidt's directions are amazingly clear and detailed (what every pattern reader hopes for), but Ms. Schmidt is also a perfectionist (and rightly so, have you seen her stuff? AMAZING!). I recommend this if you have experience piecing and quilting, and know where you can cut corners and make your own way. If you are still in the stage where you must follow every direction exactly to the "T", please hold off on this pattern. You will end up stressed and angry, and nobody wants that! Once you are in a more relaxed place, this pattern is clear and easy, and very satisfying (I pieced it in an evening)! (The white is Kona Snow that I got from Fabric Shack, and the Hope Vally I bought at the City Craft, my favorite LQS)!

So, here's the part where I've been bad. The week before I finished this lovely piece of quilted goodness, I started THREE MORE PROJECTS! Now, bear with me, 2 are for Mother's day and one is for a competition. I can't pass up those opportunities to create, can I? Can I? Please validate me! ;)

So this next month will be pretty busy . . . in addition to Mother's Day, and the deadline that imposes, my SIL is graduating on 5/14, and she will be getting a lap quilt (cross your fingers) and the competition quilt is due 5/15 to "Happiness is . . . Quilting". Also swirled into the mix is S's birthday, and his brother's birthday (probably not a crafty gift, boys are difficult to craft for) and the bee blocks.

OH NO! The bee blocks! I'm 3 months behind! ACK! Sorry sistas!

Thankfully, the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild is having their Saturday Sew this weekend. I plan to focus on the bee blocks and get those caught up, then work on the graduation quilt (on the list as the Pink Quilt). If you're in the area, you should come! It's a great day full of chatting and sewing! Last month was so much fun! You can find the details on the site.

Since this post is a little bereft of pics, I'll leave you with a shot of my Cherokee Roses intertwined with another bush (I can never remember what it is). I think it is SO PRETTY! Yea Spring! :)

See ya!

P.S. I just posted my first ever tutorial on the Dallas Modern Quilt Blog for a personal ironing stand! Check it out!

Spring Fever . . .

has turned into Spring Cleaning. Not a lot of sewing, but a lot of BLAH! So, unless you want me to show you all the dirty little corners of my house (and believe me . . . I'd love nothing more than to show you), you'll have to be content with some older things and some rambling.

First of all, I should catch you up on my bee. I've let you know about everything up to December, which was my month, but I have not told you about anything else.

This was the block I made in January for Cassie.

She asked for all pinwheels, but we could use any one we wanted. I LOVED the fabrics she picked. It made me think of the French Riviera. Have I ever been there? No. Do I know much about it? No. But the cool spring colors just made me feel the sea breeze in my face and a cool drink in my hand. LOVED IT! I can't wait to see the whole thing put together! I was so proud, I actually finished this one on time and packaged it up to mail out . . . and then it got lost in the clutter of my sewing room . . . so one more package was late. Sorry Cassie!

I haven't finished Meagan's block for February or Beth's block for March . . . and I'm sure I will receive April's fabric any day now. So what little sewing time I have left this week, I will be working diligently on these. I PROMISE, I'm turning over a new leaf RIGHT NOW!

That's it for now! If you don't hear from me soon, send search parties in the direction of the fabric pile in Richardson!

See ya!

Winner and Sew Saturday

Sorry it took so long, but I don't know how to close the comments in my blog, and I was hoping for a few more comments . . . but I can wait no longer. Thanks you guys for your comments. Fi and Abby, thanks for keeping me company! I'm not sure I can do this alone, so keep me updated with your stuff.

And now, drumroll please, . . . the winner is . . . Abby! I didn't take any pictures of the drawing, but I basically put the 3 names in a bowl and S pulled onefor me. Abby, I have a charm pack of Moda's Authentic for you I got at the Quilt Show! Look for an email later!

Yea!

Next up, if anyone is in town, tomorrow is the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild's first official Saturday Sew! It will be Sew FUN! (ha ha, I know I'm not funny, but it's Friday. Cut me some slack!) Come join us!

See ya!

1 Year!

Today is my 26th birthday and my 1 year blog-a-versary! Hurray! In case you're keeping count, this is my 49th post, I have 4 followers, but 6 readers (according to the comments on my last post)! Not too shabby, huh?

I had a great birthday! My family (including the grandmother that taught me to quilt) all came down to go to the quilt show in Dallas this weekend. We had a GREAT time! Today, S's family came over, and we had a great big party! I don't have much to say about the weekend as I'm laying here on the couch, content and sleepy, and just wanting to stare out the window at the beautiful day outside!

Me, my SIL, my Mom and my Grandma at Market Center for the quilt show!

I have decided on a Birthday Resolution! (I figure, I'm so bad at New Year's Resolutions, I should make them on my birthday, as it is a new year to me!!!) I am overwhelmed at the number of UFO's in my possession! It's insane! I keep cleaning up the guest bedroom and finding all these half-finished projects I forgot about! So I'm going to work on them this year. I'm not saying I will finish them all, and I'm not saying I won't buy anything more, because we all know that it's impossible for me! But I am going to make a dent. Y'all are going to have to help me, though. I'm going to put a list up on the side-bar here, and list everything I'm supposed to be doing. It may take me a while to list everything, because it will take me a while to find it all, but once it's all up, I'll keep you informed on which ones I'm working on and how it's going. It should be everything I have bought or committed to before today (since I bought a ton of stuff yesterday at the show). If I decide to quit something, I'm going to explain it to you. If I buy something new, I'll have to justify it to you. You will have to keep me honest . . . will you help me?


As an advanced "thank you", I'll have a little give-away. Just leave me a little comment before Tuesday at Midnight telling me what you think about it, and I'll pick a winner on Wednesday!


See ya!

Christmas Wrap-up #3 - The Final Saga

This post is going to be ALL ABOUT ME and what I got for Christmas:) Yea!

I want to introduce you to someone very special to me. We met at Christmas, and I turned a new page in my life, and will NEVER LOOK BACK!

ERNST!

Isn't he hot? He happens to be a Bernina 220 and runs like a dream! (In case you didn't know, Bernina is a Swiss company, so I named him after the smart kid on The Swiss Family Robinson, Ernst!)

Also, the awesome MIL got me this sweet ride for him, so I don't have to carry him!

He can do so many more things than Mo could, and he can ACTUALLY QUILT! It's so nice to not have to get frustrated with a tired old machine (sorry Mo, I still love you, a little).

My loving husband went to the Bernina store, unbeknownst to me, and picked him out, as well as a few accessories, ALL BY HIMSELF! Isn't he a peach? I don't know what I did to deserve him! One thing he made sure of was that Ernst came with instruction. Part of the package was 4 classes at the local Bernina Store to learn all about him and the crazy things he could do. That's what I was doing all January! We made all types of crazy samples, and now, I'm a MASTER! (Well, not really, but at least I know the ins and outs of him!) So, our house is pretty harmonious now, and I'm TERRIBLY happy! Hope you all had as great a Christmas as I obviously did!

See ya!

PS: My 1 year blog-a-versary is coming up. Shall I do anything special for my 2 readers out there? Hmmm?

Valentine's Day Skirt

We interrupt your regularly scheduled Christmas Wrap-Up (only one left to go) to bring you a special mushy post!

For about a week or so, I have had an urge to make a skirt. This is funny, as my past two attempts at apparel making have, well, not gone so well.

The first one was in my home-ec class in high-school. I made a wrap skirt. Just a big hemmed piece of material with a snap and a tie; easy, right? Wrong. I didn't put the snap on right and had to wear it with a safety pin.

For my brother's wedding, I decided to make a simple dress. It was frustrating, but when I was done, it actually looked like a dress . . . until I put it on. Let's just say, the girls would not be caged, and leave it to the imagination. (Don't worry, I wore something else to the wedding).

But I have been wanting a skirt for a week or two, so when City Craft had a Snow-Day sale, and I found this book, I got excited. I bought 3 yards of Amy Butler's Love fabric, and last night, I whipped this up.

My Valentine's Day Skirt!

It's the Modern Circle skirt, and it was pretty simple. The book has some really cute stuff, and some really weird stuff, but it's a basic intro into apparel making, and is really helpful with terminology and growing your confidence. I give it a solid A.

I've worn it all day, even though there is snow on the ground and the wind is whipping it all over (I think I might have mooned some people) but it was very happy looking and brightened an already great day! We went to a lovely breakfast at Panera and then to see Valentine's Day, which I loved, despite all reviews. Now we're hanging out and I will be making a big fancy-smancy dinner. It'll be LOVELY!

And yes, I know I need a tan, and no, I will not be getting one. Because, as my 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Odom, once said . . . Glaringly White is Beautiful!

Happy V-Day!

Christmas Wrap-up #2

Now, moving on to S's family.

I made this for S's brother. It's a smallish lap quilt, and it's just a bunch of flying geese squares in green and white.

This was for the SIL. She's a quilter, so I made her a bunch of accessories. A pin cushion from an Oh Fransson pattern (I love it, have one myself), and a few needle books and a small scissor holder. (Also a fabric gift card, but I didn't make that!) The fabric is Alexander Henry something (I can't remember the line, but they are all the same line. I bought them here.)
This one I made for S's dad. I finally got the Modified Bento Box right! It's maroon and white, for watching the Ags!

This one I made for S's mom. It's a beautiful pattern from Bunny Hill. I taught myself embroidery on it (I had done a little, but this is my first big project). This was the 2009 Block-Of-The-Month. I should have showed it to you earlier, but I wanted it to be a surprise.

This is my favorite one. It' July! Yea!

That's it for everyone else, I'll show you what I got next time!

See ya!

Christmas Wrap-up #1

Lets start with my family, shall we? I know my attention span isn't that long, so I'll try and keep this short and sweet.

First, a review. I decided to make everyone something hand-made for Christmas. I needed a padded cell before it was done, but it is finally done.

I made my mom this Dogwood throw. She loves dogwoods, and I knew she admired the quilt in one of my first quilt books. (I actually bought it for S for Valentine's day one year, but that's another story.) I taught myself needle-turn applique on this one! She loves it.

I knit my first hat for my dad. My poor dad, it's pretty bad, but I'm still proud of it. And so is he (I think!)

I made my brother beer coozies. They have his pictures on them! They crack me up to no end! They were difficult to make, and they're not very well constructed, but they were good for a laugh!

I made my SIL an embroidered picture with a "J" in it. She once asked me to embroider olive leaves for her (she's Greek) but I couldn't figure it out, so this is the next best thing!

For one grandmother, (the one who taught me to quilt) I made a pin cushion and gave her some fabric. She was pretty happy!

I had been wanting to make a Modified Bento Box for a while, so I decided to make one for my grandmother and grandfather. I didn't use a pattern, just looked at some on-line and went for it! (The main one I looked at was the one by Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts. I miss her)! Anyway, I didn't measure correctly, so I ended up making matching boxy quilts. They really enjoy them, though! This one was for my grandfather.

This one was for my grandmother.

Finally, my cousin had her first baby in November, so I made this blanket for little Gema Neveah!

That's it for my family . . . next time . . . the in-laws!

See-ya!

ACK!

I know . . . I'M HORRIBLY LATE! December was a mess trying to finish up Christmas presents . . . then January was a mess, trying to finish up Christmas presents (only 3 weren't done for Christmas, but the last one took until January 25! My poor mother-in-law!)

I also got a ridiculously wonderful present, and I want to introduce you all ASAP, but I don't want to rush it. So that, and the Christmas Wrap-Up will have to wait. I hope to get it all done this weekend, but we'll see.

For now, I just wanted to stop in and let you know I was still alive, and give you some AWESOME news! Last night was the first meeting of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild! Hurray! We had so much fun! I met a lot of new people, and we're going to have a BLAST! If you're in the area, you should stop in next month! We're just getting the ball rolling, and since all we really did last night was meet each other and talk about what we wanted to do with the guild, I don't have much to tell you, but know it was great!

Anyway, I'll be back soon with crafty stuff, I promise!

See ya!