Thursday, February 28, 2013

Missing Mojo & Portland Market

Well, the sewing mojo has left the building.. :(  Is anyone else missing theirs, too?  They may have run off together.. not good timing as I need to finish a couple more swap packages.

But in other news, my sonny, of "nincompoop"-spelling fame, is now asking me if he can look online to see if there is a poop.com~which throws him into fits of giggles.  When I tell him no, I don't think so he says to me, "But WHYYYY, (kindergarten-appropriate whiny voice) there is a DOT COM for EVERYTHING, Mommy!!!!" *sigh* Tech savvy kids these days! pfft. ;)

Speaking of said kindergartner, he took this photo the other day with my hub's phone.. he loves and adores taking photos and videos and I like looking through them to see the world from his perspective. Especially if they are of this furry monster that has my heart.





Lucky him to be growing up in the digital age.  All I remember about taking photos as a kid is my mom or dad constantly telling us not to "waste the film".. plus, you didn't want to waste money on developing loads of blurry and dark photos.

Re: the giveaway.. Be sure to come by on March 8th.  I was planning a milestone giveaway, and decided to combine it with the Blog Hop Party with Giveaways (button at the top)~there will be THREE fun prizes up for grabs from each one of my sponsors.  Fun FUN!!! I'm so excited! Hint: one of the giveaway items is something yummy whose name has numbers and letters in it.  Can you guess? :)

Thanks for the input on the possible backing colors for the Rainy Days and Mondays quilt top..  I'm still up in the air about it, but I'm leaning toward one color in particular now, I think.

One more teensy bit of news.. that I can hardly contain myself over.. Beth, of EvaPaige Quilt Designs, is going to have a booth at the Portland Quilt Market in May, and... I get to go and help her out!  Eeeek!  I'm sooo excited. (as in doing 'lame-mom' happy dance excited!) I even debated whether to share on here b/c I don't want to jinx it. 




Fingers crossed and knock on wood that I don't contract the shingles or small pox or some other dreaded illness that would keep me from going.  And I've never been to anything like that before, so if you have any tips for me, feel free to share!  I hope I will have time to take pictures and blog from there.  I'll be the one standing there in awe like a deer in headlights. So excited! Can anyone tell me what to expect?

Well, I should probably get some sleep.  It would look really bad if I fell asleep during my son's parent/teacher conference tomorrow. Yikes.  

Happy Thursday! 
xoxo

Sunday, February 24, 2013

I Spy a Giant Hexie

Still grinding along on my swap blocks over here.. Friekishly Monsterous Tooth Fairy Pillow was a fun diversion for a late night of crazy improv sewing, but then it was back to my Taking Names swap blocks.

Here are some of my own, some that I made and some that I received..




The most recent set that I finished up used orange for the background and she requested shades of grey for her blocks.



Two more sets left to make.  And about a week left before the deadline, so that should be just enough time to get them done and all mailed out.  (They are not a surprise so it's okay to share pics.) Can't wait to get some more of mine in the mail, too!

Here are the ones I have finished so far.  It's so much fun to see how different they look in different colors.  I'm looking forward to seeing all of the quilts when they are done!








The RD&M quilt top is starting to creep into my thoughts, too.. Might have to start on quilting it soon..  I'm starting to miss it. ;) I just need to figure out what I'm going to use for the back and how to quilt it.


Any suggestions as to what color to put on the back?

Happy Monday!
xo


Thursday, February 21, 2013

Friekishly Monsterous Tooth Fairy Pillow

Ack!!!
What is it?!

Last night I stayed up way too late b/c I started thinking about a monster squishie that I saw in the book, Plush-O-Rama.  I thought it might make a perfect tooth fairy pillow for my son, since he should be losing a tooth sometime soon.  No loose ones to report yet, but I'm sure it's in our near future.

I set out with some fleece, and an idea in my head from the pic in the book, but no pattern, and well..

May I introduce you to Mr. Tooth-Eating, Money-Puking Monster.  


I used small scraps of leftover quilt batting to fill him, so he's a bit lumpy and grumpy.. He has no arms, oversized ears, hap-hazard-pinked red polka dot lips and a black eye.  (Buttons courtesy of my grandmother's button jar-even the large metal square one, which is my fave.)

He is not above sticking his tongue out at you.. I told you he was grumpy--


--and when you let him eat your lost tooth, if you're lucky, the tooth fairy might throw a spell on him while he's sleeping and turn said tooth into a few coins.  

Which he will promptly puke out for you the next morning, but only (and I mean ONLY) if you're a good boy.

Blaugh-bluh!!!

I think it turned out so ridiculous, but fun and it made my sweet boy laugh when I showed it to him this morning, which made it totally worth staying up late and making something so silly!  He loves it!!

Right away he found a pen and some paper and told me he was going to put a note in its mouth for the tooth fairy to find. Eventually.. when he actually loses a tooth..



I think Mr. Kindergarten is going to be sorely disappointed, don't you? hahaaha The (2) wasn't there at first.. he told me there was some space between (me) and (100) so he added a (2) and changed the word 'bill' to 'bills'.  As if one wasn't far reaching enough.. (eye roll) Can't blame a kid for trying I guess.  We then had a conversation about how the tooth fairy has to visit millions of kids and is no where near being that loaded. :)  Never a dull moment!


Reubenita is smiling on the outside, but she remains appalled at his very existence, and is glad he is moving straight into my son's room. :)


Hope you're having a great week.. still working on those swap blocks over here, scrappy ones this time .. two more weeks before the deadline.  I saw a sneak peak of the settings today, and I think they are going to turn into some really fun quilts!!




Sunday, February 17, 2013

Nincompoop?!

Lots of exciting news this last week.. but first, some photos..

My sonny wrote this word all by himself..  He saw it in a book a few days before.  It cracks me up! And he got the spelling right. ahahaha  I keep it nearby b/c it makes me laugh.  I feel like some days, I make so many silly mistakes, I should laminate this and wear it as a badge. hahaa



Also I've been making progress with some blocks lately.

Envelope #3 Taking Names swap blocks done in shades of brown with the provided blue background:








Envelope #4 finished last night, black and white with bright yellow background:





The strips that look like solid black are actually black with white pin dot.

Time to start on envelope #5.  Four more to go, but three weeks to do them.

Made one more block for the impromptu quilt last night, here it is before being dissected:



I went around and around with the choice for background fabric for this, and so far I'm just so-so with it, it's not too exciting.. :/  But I'm interested to see how it looks in the end, and I think it will go with my Bro and SIL's decor so fingers crossed.

In exciting news, Riley Blake pinned my heart block as the cover pic for their "Mystery Blocks February" board on Pinterest..I was scrolling through their Pinterest boards one day and saw my block.  What?! Such a minor thing, but so fun!

Also, Lynne @ Lily's Quilts wrote a post about her flickr group, and included Jumbo Jack.. so flattered.  And my Sugar Block Club block appeared in Amy's post over at Stitchery Dickory Dock. As if this wasn't enough excitement,  last week, my Rainy Days and Mondays quilt top was featured over at Sewing Barefoot for getting the most views.  It's so fun to be surfing around online and suddenly see something you've made.  Do you agree?  Or am I just a big ole' dork?  Or shall I say nincompoop. ;)

In other happenings, my hub hung the valance I stitched up last week and now I'm itching to get some other things fixed up in there.. I will be sure to post pics when it's "all done" but I'm sure it will be a while.



And.. don't stray too far away b/c I'm planning a big giveaway soon to celebrate passing 600 followers.  How did this happen?! It still blows my mind, but I appreciate all of you who follow along, and stop by with your sweet comments.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

xoxo

Links: Project Inspire, USS Crafty, Alderberry Hill, Weekly Creative, Creative Bloggers', Your Great Idea, Six Sisters' Stuff, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Do Something Crafty, Ladybird Ln., Weekend Wrap Up, Craftionary, Craftastic Monday, More the Merrier Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Sew Darn Crafty, Think Pink Sunday, Sunday Showcase, Sew Chatty, Sundae Scoop, Clever Chicks, Round Tuit, Motivate Me Monday, Motivated Monday, Monday Funday, market yourself monday, crafto-maniac, Design Wall Monday, Make it Pretty Monday
Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Riley Blake Mystery BOM

Hi Everyone! :)

Riley Blake's Mystery block of the month came out yesterday, and perfect for Valentine's Day coming up, too!




The foundation paper piecing went much smoother this, my second, time around.  No fingers sliced with the rotary, and only one area where I didn't quite cut my piece big enough.

This still intimidates me a little, though, to be honest.. and there was a moment of why won't this heart come together?!  I soon realized I was missing an entire section.. one of the paper pieces had fallen into the floor under my machine.  I was about to print out the templates again when I finally spotted it.



It is designed to be reverse appliqued or you can top stitch it on.  Since I'm still trying to master FPP, I decided to top stitch mine on, instead of trying to learn another new thing.  Someday I will learn reverse applique though, I will!  Just not with this block. :)

So I pinned it on, and top stitched.  After pinking the edges.



And then I decided to try out one of the embellishing stitches on my machine.  Flowers.  So I straight stitched around the edge as close as I could get, and then stitched on the flowers.  It was pretty easy, and I like how it turned out.  I'm not very experienced with any stitches other than straight and zig zag, so this was a fun variation to the normal routine.



I think this is also the first applique block I've ever done.  That's what I'm liking about these BOMs, they are pushing me to try new things.



And so the collection grows.. looking forward to next month's BOMs.







In other news, working on my third envelope of Taking Names swap blocks with these fabrics:



They are coming together nicely..



That's what I'll be working on today, had to take a break yesterday for the heart.  Couldn't resist. :)

Off to get the little mister off to school.

Happy Tuesday!!!
xoxo

Linking up with: Design Wall Monday, Craftastic Monday, Make it Pretty Monday, Bombs Away Mondays, Cowgirl Up, More the Merrier Monday, Make the Scene Monday, Masterpiece Monday, Fabric Tuesday, Sew Cute Tuesday, Show and Tell Tuesday, Little Quilt Monday, WOW~WIP on Wednesday,We did it Wednesday, WIP Wednesday, What's it Wednesday, A Crafty Soiree, Transformation Thursday, Things I've Done Thursday, Artsy Corner Thursday
Friday, February 8, 2013

Swaps and Wins

It's been a busy week of sewing up swap blocks, and in the midst of doing all of that, I've been using the pin cushions that I won in the last few months.  Which reminded me that I don't think I ever shared them on here.  I've had some good luck in the winning department!

First, a few months ago, I won this most ADORABLE sewing kit from Juliet over at Tartankiwi.  Thanks again, Juliet, I just love love love it!  Look how cute it is. (I borrowed this pic from her blog b/c it shows it so much better!) The pieced apples, and the house on the pin cushion are perfect!



And this pic, too.. look at that cute lining, and scissor pocket. And those elephants.  I love it!



Here it is after winging it's way from New Zealand to California. 
[told you her pics were better than mine.. ;)]



Then, last month, I won this giveaway from Charlotte's Web.




See that envelope that says New Zealand Post?  NZ has been so kind to me recently! ;)  A fab pin cushion (such cute details!), and a message hoop.. look at that bunting on there and the string with the pins.  Not to mention the charm pack and book.  Thank you thank you Wendy (and Charlie)!  

The hoop is hanging over my sewing area and makes me happy whenever I look at it. :)



New Zealand bloggers are sooo kind.  Actually all quilty bloggers that I've met are so generous and kind. You're all amazing.

And, just this week, I found out that I won something else, this giveaway (of Oakshott cotton) over at Todd's place, This Guy Quilts. Thanks, Todd! :) If I never win another thing, I will never complain.  I have had some good luck lately.  Thanks to all of you!  I plan to spread the love with a giveaway of my own soon.

In sewing news, still working on my swap blocks for the Taking Names Group Project for EvaPaige Quilt Designs.  I have two of my eight envelopes done.  Here's a peek.  

Twelve of these done..





And twelve of these done.


And now I think I need to make a quick trip to get some FQs as I don't have many fabrics in the other requested colors.  Two or three are asking for black and whites also, and I'm getting low on those, and one asked for shades of gray, and one shades of brown, of which I have hardly any.  Oh BUMMER..  Have to buy some FQs. I hate buying fabric. (said with my fingers crossed behind my back and dripping with sarcasm~ha!) :)

Six more envelopes to work on~

Have a great weekend!!
xoxo

Linking up at Crafty Soiree, One Creative Weekend, artsy-fartsy mama, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, do something crafty, Ladybird Lane, Weekend Wrap Up, Friday Fun, Six Sisters' Stuff, Things I've Done Thursday, Submarine Sunday, Sew and Tell Saturday
Tuesday, February 5, 2013

WIP Wednesday~Group Quilt Mania

What have I been doing this week...

Hmm.. lots of random sewing it seems. I've been keeping busy with these "Taking Names" blocks for our group quilt/pattern test project.. been making a few more of my own while I wait for my package to arrive with all of my partners' background fabrics in them.  When that comes, I will be making 12 blocks for each person (eight people) so it will be crazy for a few days.  I don't want to be the one who misses the deadline.  However, I think I'm the only one from the west coast, and my package hasn't arrived yet from the Boston area. :/  So when I wasn't working on my own blocks.. (I have 18 now)


..I started cutting out some strips in preparation, as I've heard some of the other participants have chosen black and white to go with their chosen background color.  



Can you believe this was my scrap basket when I started..



And this is my scrap basket 18 blocks later?



Is it just me, or does it almost seem that they've multiplied?  You can't even tell I've touched it, much less made 18 blocks.  So crazy.

No progress has been made on the Impromptu quilt, but I did sew up a quick valance for our upstairs bathroom..



 ..that is primarily used by my son.  This is some home dec weight fabric I've had for years and years.  




Slice, dice and hem. For this window..



I think will warm it up in there a little and go with his jungle-y things.

Rug:



Towels:



$4 pics from Target:




And last but not least, the tissue-puking Tiger. :)  Gotta love little boys!



One of these days, I will take care of the mirror situation, and repaint the vanity.  For now, I'm just glad I finally got out that piece of fabric and made something with it!  

So far so good in keeping with my "Drop and Give Me Twenty" (minutes of sewing a day in February) pledge.

Gonna link up with Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.  Hope everyone's having a great week so far!

xo

p.s. In other good news, my finger hasn't fallen off, and I've graduated from a pressure bandage to a regular bandaid and it's not bleeding or throbbing anymore. :)

*also linking up with Crafty Soiree, What's It Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, Show & Tell, do something crafy, confessions of a fabric addict
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