So I'm kind of freaking out!

On Saturday morning, I teach my first class . . . EVER.

The pattern for the class . . . Abel

I'm completely and totally terrified! But my friend Michelle (of Urban Spools) seems to think I'm pretty good at embroidery, so I hope I can make her proud.

I have been thinking nonstop about stitches, trying to keep everything straight.

Abel the Stitch Explorer by Follow the White Bunny

Will I sound like I know what I'm doing? Because I usually just wing it.

Will I make my students love embroidery? Because I do. But I know better than anyone that a bad teacher can kill a project. I'm worried! :/

So I haven't really been concentrating on anything else, except my Uncle & soon-to-be-Aunt's wedding quilt.

Kona snow, Kona champagne, Kona grass

They requested a Guest Quilt instead of a Guest book, and I have been put in charge!

This is Red Pepper Quilt's Economy Quilt Block.  I used the paper piecing template from Craftsy and enlarged it about 140% to almost 7 1/2" (hoping the paper on the back helps people write on the fabric a little better!). Also, as much as I hate paper piecing, my points are FANTASTIC!!!!

So pointy!

I'm almost finished with the blocks, and then I can get back to working on my MIL's birthday present . . . and then it will be time for CHRISTMAS!

Seriously, only 75 more days, and then SANTA COMES! "I LOVE HIM!!!!!!!" (I also love the movie Elf, this is a quote!)

Really? crap!

I am also participating in the You Are Here swap coordinated by Sukie - Don't You Know Who I Am?  I sent my partner a Dallas Mug with a book and some binding clips, and this is what my AWESOME partner sent me!

Thank you Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!!!

Hurray for Chicago! I'm super pumped! The next round starts in 2 weeks, and I am determined to actually make my next partner something!

Hopefully I will have my camera back in the next week or two, then I can stop with the phone photos, but until then, at least I have pictures!

See ya!
EL

PS: If you think about it, on Saturday about 9:30 and on Wednesday at 6PM, please send good thoughts to me. I'm going to be SUPER nervous!

Friday Finishes

*Still using phone photos. Thank goodness for Instagram!*

Woo hoo! It's FRIDAY! :)

Last night was our meeting of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild! So I can show you my Modern Mini. We could only use solids that our partner brought, and it had to be modern.

I made this one for Rebecca.

Half square triangles! :)

Angie made this for me!

Front

Back

It's perfect! I posted on Instagram about Miss A covering up her stuffed kitty with a towel because he was cold,

I swear, we DO have quilts in the house!

so Miss Angie made this perfect quilt for her and Kitty to keep warm! :)

We LOVE it! She's already slept with it!

I also finished my picnic quilt a while ago, and since I wasn't blogging, you didn't get to see it, so here it is!

So cheerful! And no white! I'm "growing" ;)

We spent most of the summer having picnics in the backyard, at the Dallas Arboretum, and in the living room. Miss A LOVES it!  (I think I'm growing a quilter! Hurray:)

Yes, I'm also growing someone with sass!

Quilt Stats.
Name: Picnic Quilt (I know, I'm not very original!)
Size: 68" x 68"
Design: St. Louis 16 Patch (tutorial at Sew With Sass)
Fabric: Picnic Pals by Penguin & Fish (the back is some random cheap fabric from JoAnn's)
Completed: July 7, 2013 (I swear, one of these days I'll finish in time for the correct holiday!)

See ya!
EL

WIP Wednesday

Hello! :)

Jumping right in because *someone* is begging to sing and dance. I'm doing this in between songs, during my breaks! (this girl NEVER stops! I'm so tired!!!) :)

I'm still working on my pixel quilt. No new pictures, sorry.

I've bought new fabric for a HUGE project due about the same time, so I'm trying to do the pixels quickly before the new fabric gets here. (My uncle is getting married, and they want a Guest Quilt instead of a Guest Book. Guess who volunteered to make the blocks! I'm crazy! But they are worth it!)

I also have been working on a Mini Quilt for the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild Mini Quilt Swap! But it's a surprise, so I can't show you much.

Solids only! Super fun!

But I can show you pictures of my embroidery. There are several ongoing projects!

Belle by Aneela Hoey

I worked on Belle at the beach a few weeks ago. I made her a red-head like Miss A, and I'll probably end up putting it up in her room! She loves balloons!

This one is the most important!

This was my second attempt.

I'm so lucky, my friend Michelle of Urban Spools has asked me to teach a class in embroidery!

Little Abel

We are doing Abel the Stitch Explorer by Follow the White Bunny.

It's a great sampler, and I'm hoping people like it enough to sign up!

So if you're in the Dallas area on October 12 or 16 and want to learn to embroider, I'd love to see you there! :)

See ya!
EL

Friday {Baby} Finishes

This post will be really quick as I am on my way to my SIL's baby shower. (PS still using phone photos!)

This is the quilt I made my future niece/nephew.

Hurray for Tummy Time!

Again, the gender is a surprise, so I made a neutral play quilt from the book We Love Color (the same one I used to make Steven's quilt).

Miss A "helping"!

These colors match the bird wallpaper they picked for the nursery.

Strips of Color

I used the scraps to make the banner for the shower.

Baby J!

And that's it for today! Now I'm off to the shower to see my family and eat cake! ;)

See ya!
EL

PS: For posterity, I finished the play quilt August 17th.

WIP Wednesday

Just a quick apology about the photos, my camera is broken, so you get phone photos! Hurray! ;)

I have MANY projects going (I love to start them!),

but I'll just stick to the ones that are most important right now!

I'm working on a pixelated quilt for a very special birthday at the end of October.

Section #1

It's from the book Pixel Play by Emily Cier, given to me by my awesome SIL! This book has some REALLY cool quilts in it!

The strips are super small, though, finishing at 1" tall, the smallest is 1" x 1" (and there are a TON of those!) So it took a little organization to keep them all straight.

2 of 3 poster boards filled with strips

 There are 7 sections of the quilt, each with 10 strips in it. It takes me about 2 1/2 hours to finish a section (the ironing really slows me down). But I definitely think it'll be worth it!

I'm also making a banner for my SIL's baby shower on Saturday. The baby's gender will be a surprise, so the name will be, too. So this banner will say "Baby J" when I'm finished.

Triangles!

Those are the things I'm working on today!

See ya!
EL

We're just going to ignore . . .

the fact that I haven't blogged since May. I'll give no excuses . . . you ask no questions, ok? ;)  (I just don't want you to know that I'm lazy!)

I have actually finished some things, though! I'll do it all a bit at a time so as not to overwhelm you!

First, I'll show you the quilt for my dad's 60th birthday!

I've been wanting to do a triangle quilt for a while now. I used the tutorial from Fancy Tiger Crafts!

The triangles are a mixture of green, gray, and black Kona solids I had lying around (sorry, I can't remember exactly which ones) and an Architextures print by Robert Kaufman.  The back is an old gray sheet (so it's super soft)!

For the label, I used a tea-towel with a calendar on it I bought from Spoonflower. I did the same thing on S's birthday quilt! (2013 is a big year! My niece was born, my husband turned 30, my MIL and dad turn 60 and my grandmother turned 90!)

He really liked it! My measurements were a bit off, so it's kind of skinny, but so is he, so it works! ;)

I'll show you more next time!

See ya!
EL

PS: for posterity sake, I completed this quilt on August 2!

Friday {Old} Finishes!

It's been a while since my last post . . . I think that last one is hard for me to look at, so I've been avoiding my blogger page.


Things have also been busy lately . . . with the warmer temperatures, I've been getting the kid out more. We've gone to . . .

the Dallas Arboretum,

the Dallas Zoo, 

and now we have gymnastics every week.

The only problem is that by the time nap/sewing time comes around, I'm pretty pooped too! So my sewing and blogging time is down a bit, but I'll try to be better for y'all.


But I have been working on things!

Mother's Day was last weekend, so I made my mom an Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote.

(I'll dedicate a whole post to this one; it was hard but definitely worth it!)

We (S & A & myself) made my MIL some yard art.

S & A built and painted the frames, and I made the stencils.

She worked HARD!

Both moms loved their haul!

The day before Mother's Day was S's 30th birthday. Among other things, I decided that 30 deserves a quilt!

I haven't gotten any great photos of it, and I'm still working on the "perfect" label, but I'll get on it and show y'all as soon as I can!

I've also been working on a St. Louis 16 Patch for a picnic quilt. (The fabric is Picnic Pals by Penguin & Fish. Just too perfect, isn't it?)

I ADORE this fabric! Remember when I did some embroidery for Alyssa at Penguin and Fish? She sent me a fat quarter bundle as a thank you, and I can't wait to finish this up!

Just look at this chipmunk and turtle. Too cute, right?!?!

Tomorrow I'll be at Saturday Sew for our Dallas Modern Quilt Guild, and I hope to finish the blocks (and maybe piece the top!).

Next week I'll be taking Miss A to see my parents in Lubbock. We'll be flying, and I've decided I need a new bag to take with me . . . so we'll see if I get it done in time!

See ya!
EL