Friday, August 31, 2012

Near Ugly-Cry at the Dentist

..but not for reasons you'd think..  I mean, I don't like the dentist, but I don't usually CRY there.


 First full-sized quilt that I made for my Kindergartner.. when he was two.


 You see, I thought I'd made it through the first week of KG w/o the ugly-cry that I'd heard most moms talking about. You know, the ones that moms have after dropping off their baby for their very first day of school...  Didn't have it.  Not at all. 


Second quilt I made for him, I Spy, handquilted, when he was three.

 Until yesterday.  In public.  At the dentist. Of all places.

Minky blanket I made for him as a baby..he slept with it til he moved into a twin bed.

I picked my son up from school, and had to hurry to drop him off at home, before leaving immediately for my appointment. 


With his preschool besties at Halloween party last year.

On the way home, I asked him about his day, etc.  In which it came out that he stood by the fence during recess, "Looking for the car."  What car?  Some certain make or color of car that he likes?  No.  "OUR CAR, Mommy."


So excited to receive his own toilet paper for Christmas last year.. if you missed that post, read why it was on his Christmas list here.

My son was standing on the grass by the fence, looking through the chain links, watching to see if I'd drive by.  During recess.  When he's supposed to be playing. It made me so sad to picture him doing that..  I just wanted to come in with him, hug him, make him a sandwich, and watch a cartoon with him.. but had to rush out the door again.  Oh, and on my way out, he says to me, "Please come back as soon as you possibly can, Mommy."


posing with a Swoon block this spring

And then I drove off, mad at myself for having an appointment on that day, of all days.  Then I got to the dentist, went back to the exam room, sat in the chair blinking back tears.  Oh no... oh no.  Could this be the elusive first day of school cry that I haven't had yet?  Then the asst. comes in and asks me how I'm doing?  Notices my  sniffles that I'm trying to stifle, and is so empathetic, it makes me feel like I'm going to start sobbing.. she's handing me tissues..  I'm crying.. then the dentist comes in and wants to know what's wrong.  


Scratching our dog's name in the dirt at the dog park.

Oh boy.  I couldn't tell him.  I told him to have the asst tell him b/c I just couldn't say it again without sobbing.. so the asst. recounts my story about the chain link fence to the dentist, first day of school last week, blah blah, while I'm crying and trying not to cry harder... 

Um.  Is this as awkward for you to read about as it was for me to cry at the dentist? lol  I have such a headache today, too.. I think from all the tears that wanted to come out yesterday that I was able to stifle back and hold in.  Perhaps I need to go lock myself in the bathroom to cry them all out and get rid of them.


Where he scratched 'I (heart) MOM' in the dirt at the dog park.

We really had a great first week. He loves school.. He likes his teacher..  But apparently I had been suppressing some feelings about it.  And they found their way out.  At the wrong time.  And in the wrong place. lol  One of the other moms I'm friends with from the preschool class last year said that she had an ugly cry at the post office one day.  At least I'm not the only one, huh?

*Sorry no new quilty photos to post today, if you're new here from the giveaways blog hop, Welcome.  I scattered a few photos in here and there--thanks for going down memory lane with me for a bit.*

Have a great weekend!
xoxo

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Scrap Quilt Progress

First, I just want to wish a hearty "WELCOME!" to you if you're a new follower from the Back to School Blog Hop Party w/Giveaways over at the Quilting Gallery.  It's always so much fun to meet other quilter/bloggers from around the world.  Or down the street.  Or wherever. Hope my little slice of blog land doesn't bore anyone silly. :)

If you haven't entered my giveaway, go here to enter. :)  It will close on September 4th.

It's been a busy few days getting used to the Kindergarten routine, etc., and trying to get some sewing done in between other appointments (like the DENTIST-ACK!--just a cleaning, but I still do NOT enjoy the dentist--too many tiny sharp tools. Too close to my face.)

I've also been trying to finish this quilt top:


It's called Fields and Streams.. It's for my husband, who asked me to make it for him about a year ago, or even longer.. out of a book called Quilts for Men.  That he picked up when he was loitering in a quilt shop with me. lol  I cut out all of these triangles out of scraps that I already had:


Each block has 20 triangles in it.  Ugh.  When I made a couple of blocks originally, they weren't coming out the right size.. and I got frustrated and put it away.  

Lately, he's been asking me about it, kind of hinting.  Every time I finish something, he says, "What ever happened to Fields and Streams?"  So I figure he's feeling left out and wants me to make something for him.  Esp. since he asked for this one.  So I got it out again and the goal is to finish it by Christmas.  I only have a few blocks left to finish, so if I get it done early, it will have to be hidden away as a surprise..  He still doesn't know that I ordered this for the backing:


Lucy's Crab Shack Orange Creamsicle Cruisers.  *swoon*  It has special meaning, too.. b/c my hub is in LOVE with cycling.  Mountain biking, road biking.. he loves it all and can ride for miles and miles and hours!  Our garage is full of bikes and bike parts.  So even though he's seen the top being made, he will be surprised with the backing. :)  I just love this fabric!!

I also had a wild moment and decided to join a quilt-along.  Jack Attack over at Lily's Quilts.



Lilys Quilts


I've been drooling over Union Jack quilts on Pinterest for so long, and also over at Nanette's Blog, Freda's Hive.  It's high time I try one.  And this one only has three large blocks.  I think I might be able to handle three blocks! :)  (Nanette also has a really great London-2012 quilt in the works right now, too.)

I also joined a charm square swap.

Low Volume Swap
Click the button, there are still a few spaces left for that one!  I am thinking this quilt (click here for recipe) from the Moda Bake Shop would make a cute quilt with the charms I receive.
  
Neighborhood Charm.



Plus, it looks super simple, too. My kind of project!

Gonna go link up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced. And Thursday Think Tank @ Making Rebecca Lynne.
  
Have a great rest of the week!
xo
Friday, August 24, 2012

It's Giveaway Time Again!! :)

It's that time again!!  I love giveaways.. hosting them, entering them, and, once in a while, winning them! :o)

Michele at the Quilting Gallery is having a Back to School--

It's so fitting b/c my son just started kindergarten on Wednesday. 

I missed the last blog hop giveaway party, but this time I'm giving away a little pre-cut pack of fat quarters from my stash.  Twelve of them.. 



..along with a $20 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.



I love the FQS!!  :)  I will ship internationally, and you can enter anytime before Tues. September 4th.  

Just leave me a comment letting me  know you follow.  For a second chance, if you wish, you can tweet, facebook, or share on your blog and link back, leaving me a second comment letting me know.  I will post the winner sometime on Tues. Sept. 4th.  :)   For other giveaways, click the button below. The list of participating blogs will be listed there sometime after midnight, EST on Sunday morning, Aug. 26th.

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways

Good luck and have fun!!  

P.S.  Here is my little one and his 'Here I am at school!' pose..
..when did he get so big? 

I miss these chubby legs, and big cheeks. Has it really been 5+ years?


..And here he is walking into the rest of his life. ;) *sniff, sniff*

I think I need a tissue.  And some chocolate. I love watching him grow into a kind, tender-hearted little boy.  But I'm sad that it's going by so fast!!


Good luck in the giveaways!  Have a great weekend!

xo
Kelli
Monday, August 20, 2012

FNSI (lack of) Progress Report

Here is a picture of what I accomplished during the recent FNSI:











Yah.  I forgot about it. AGAIN!  That makes twice this year!  I had such good intentions, too.

BUT.. life happens, and things take priority, and in all of the goings on, I forgot!  I had planned to work on this quilt: (WooHoo--It's DONE!)



Get it all quilted and bound, and washed and dried, threads clipped, etc.  But didn't get to it.. so I finished it last night.  It is all done and ready to go.  I don't know whether to call it 'Pretty in Pink', 'Painfully Pink', or 'In the Pink'.  One thing is certain. You can't miss the pink.

The quilting was kind of random, "figure it out as I go" type quilting.. and pretty soon I had a pattern forming that I just repeated and it ended up looking kind of argyle-ish.  Which is more my style than zebra and leopard so it has a little of "me" on it.  

This is the largest quilt I've machine quilted with something other than lines going from one side to the other. It was great practice, and managed to get even more practice with the spray basting.  

Quilting on back.. *not experienced with picking quilting thread colors.. went with a light pink for the back.. might have looked better in another color-live and learn*  The back is black pin dot, just like the pink pin dot on the front background.  I bound it in the black pin dot, too.



Had to keep shoo-ing my son off of it b/c he sees roads in everything he looks at. ;)

I'm happy with how it turned out. Those strips that I really really didn't like at first really won me over in the end.  I hope it finds a happy home via Phoenix Quilts.

The things distracting me on Friday?

Well.. this little almost kindergartner and I were talking in the car...



 (one of the best places to talk) and he admitted to me that he was a little nervous to start his new school.  "None of my friends from my old school will be there." :(  The way he said it was so sweet, and kind of sad and anxious. This might explain the handful of meltdowns we've dealt with in the last week or two.. 

So we stopped by his school, to look at his new playground through the fence.. we have been walking to school and back home in the evenings.  The first time we walked there he held onto my hand so tight.  The next time, still held onto me but not as tight.  One day the gate was open so we went in and found his room #.  He got to see the door of his classroom.  The next day we drove past the school that I went to KG at, he thought that was cool.  

*sigh* And tomorrow morning we are going for orientation and to meet the teacher.  Wednesday is the first official day of KG. Wish us luck. *sniff* lol

During all of this, Buster decided to get another hot spot.  Poor dog.  I think they are caused by allergies.  And can be common in larger breeds. :/



It is on his hip. :(  So have been trying to nurse the poor, giant cone-wearing dog back to health, too.  He hates that cone.  Just lays around looking so sad.  This afternoon I took it off for a while, but if you don't keep your eyes on him diligently with it off, he will start biting his hip.  It's actually looking way better. 



Hopefully he can ditch the cone in the next few days.  He's so big, he can't even walk around without bumping it into everything.  It truly is the size of a large lamp-shade.

That's a little snapshot of life over here right now.. always something keeping us busy!

OH!  Be sure to tune in on the 25th for the Quilting Gallery's Blog Hop Party with Giveaways.  I had so much fun last time, I'm joining in again.  

Now I just have to figure out what to give away.  Fun, fun. :o)

Happy Monday, have a great week!
xo

*linking this quilt up with 100 quilts for kids*

Blog Hop Party with Give-Aways
Swim, Bike, Quilt
Thursday, August 16, 2012

Little Black Dress

CONGRATULATIONS, KAREN!!!

I picked the winner of my One Year Blogging Anniversary Giveaway just now, and the random number generator picked #12!

Not so good yet with the screen shot thing and getting the pic of the # generator to post, so you'll just have to trust me. ;)

Congratulations to Karen, who blogs over at Hughes Made That?  Email your info and I'll send it to the Fat Quarter Shop so they can send your prize ASAP. :o)

Enjoy your two charm packs of:


Looking forward to seeing what you do with it. :o)

You can check out bigger pics of all the yardage here.  And you can also read an interview with Basic Grey over at the Fat Quarter Shop Blog, Jolly Jabber which will be posted in the next few days.  

Thanks to everyone for entering! And especially to the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring.  You're all the BEST!  Here's to another year of blogging. :o)

Coming up in the next few days:

--Little Mister is going to start Kindergarten one week from today. *sniff*

--Painfully Pink Fast Forward quilt is done being quilted and will be getting its binding so it can be mailed off to the Phoenix Quilts project. 

--After which, SWOON will be getting its binding and will then get packed away to await its fate. (I'm thinking my Mom for Christmas?)

--Need to work some more on the Rainy Days and Mondays UFO, but kind of dying to make some more scrappy Kickin' Stash blocks to go with my other misfits that I love.



--Kind of want to start another jelly roll project since the Fast Forward pattern using a jelly roll went together so fast and was so much fun.

*Never enough time in the day* :)

Congrats again, Karen!!  Happy Thursday everyone.
xo


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Extra Day for Giveaway!

Decided to leave my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway open for an extra day since I was trying to coordinate it with the Fat Quarter Shop's  interview with Basic Grey, as they are being so generous to sponsor.  And because I am going to be extremely busy tomorrow.  

So I will post the winner on Thursday.  Up for grabs are two charm packs of Little Black Dress.


And if you'd like to enter, and haven't yet, click here to enter.

See you on Thursday!  Until then, I'll be knee deep (and 'in the pink') machine quilting.. Hope it turns out okay.  Getting lots of good practice. Would like to have it done by this weekend.:o)

Happy Wednesday! xo
Sunday, August 12, 2012

One Year of Blogging Giveaway!

I can't believe it's been one year since I started this blog.  It's been so much fun and I've met so many generous, nice, funny and creative people.  The Fat Quarter Shop is helping me celebrate by sponsoring a giveaway of not one, but TWO charm packs of Little Black Dress by Basic Grey for Moda.  



Thank you for following my blog along the way.. and special shout out to my first ever follower, Sunny @ Quilting Dreams.  I couldn't believe that a stranger a) found my blog in the first place and b) followed it.  Sunny has been so sweet and encouraging.  It's been so great getting to know quilters from all over the place! And being inspired by all of you. I wouldn't trade this little piece of cyberspace for the world!

To enter, just leave a comment letting me know you follow, that's it.  No hoops.  I will post the winner on Wednesday, only two days from now so hurry and enter! :o)

Oh, and remember the Kickin' Stash group quilt project/block swap that I kept blogging about earlier in the year?  Well, I made another KS block, this one in rainbow-y colors to go with my Modern Sampler Bee blocks.

And here is the rest of my collection.. getting bigger all the time. :o)

Thanks for being part of my blogging journey!  See you on Wednesday to announce the winner!

Hope you all had a great weekend!
xo

P.S. Linking up to WIP Wednesday @ Freshly Pieced.
Thursday, August 9, 2012

Friday Finish..& Upcoming Giveaway!

Two finishes in two weeks!  And a pig just flew past my window.;) Actually, this one is just in the completed top stage, still needs to be quilted.  

Here she is:

Subdued and subtle, don't you think? lol  I realize this fabric isn't everyone's taste, and honestly, not even mine.  The jelly roll was only $2.99 at Tuesday Morning though, so I couldn't leave it there no matter how much it made me cringe at first.  So it came home with me and hung out in the closet with other neglected fabrics.

Until my mojo came flying back the other weekend.  In part b/c of Julie's request, which you can read about here, to make quilts for wildfire victims who lost their homes and everything in them.  I thought someone out there (teen, tween, or otherwise) might like this jelly roll, and decided to make a quick strip quilt.  So I sewed the strips into sets of three.. and then bought this black swirly print, thinking it could be incorporated.

Then I remembered this pattern that I had, that was specifically for jelly roll strips sewn into sets of three.. and then I found the lazy angle ruler, which the pattern strongly suggested using..

And on Sunday afternoon, I found a pink pin dot that I had bought for a back for something else, and it seemed to go perfectly..

(Who votes NO for black swirly background?)

I started cutting.. and cutting.. until I had this..

Which became these..

Which eventually turned into this:

Plus sashing strips, and two strips of the black swirl at the top and bottom and now I kind of love it.  Never in a million would I have ever expected to love anything using those jelly strips.  I love the pattern.. It is Fast Forward by Jaybird Quilts.


We went outside to try to get a pic in natural light.. in 100+ degree heat. They turned out kind of blurry.. but my helper was a trooper.  I really admire all of you that post such gorgeous pics of your quilts in natural light.. I have yet to develop that skill. As you can see. ha!

Need to find a backing, and quilt it, and send it off, in hopes of finding a loving home. :)

Also, my one year blog anniversary flew by last week, and I had been so busy I didn't have time to plan a giveaway.  I actually forgot about it being the one year mark.. but this week, I made some plans, and well.. come back Monday as I will be having a giveaway to celebrate!  It will be linked to the Fat Quarter Shop.  :)  So don't forget to stop by.  It's been a great year, learning new things, being inspired by all of you, and making the nicest online friends ever!  I could never thank you enough!

Have a great weekend, and hopefully I'll see you Monday with something fun. :)

P.S.  Gonna link up with TGIFFLAFF, and Do Something Crafty Friday
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Buy Me a Coffee

Shop My Store

Shop My Store
Patterns & Quilty Gifts

Easy-to-Piece, Beginner and Confident Beginner Friendly Quilt Patterns

SHOP ACCUQUILT!

SHOP ACCUQUILT!
Team GO Getter!

Click or Scan

gift guide

Can't find what you're looking for?

Follow on BloglovinFollow on Bloglovin Follow me on Feedly
Powered by Blogger.

Fabric for One Giant Stitch

Fun Block Ideas

Have a Question?

Latest Instagrams

Come Sew Along!

Harry Potter Sew Along Fabric Kit

Background

Come Sew Along!

Pokemon Sew Along Fabric Kit

Come Sew Along!

Minecraft Sew Along Fabric Kit

My Latest Pins

Fun Fabric Shops


 photo wintercloth_zps928f3480.jpg

............................