Also new...

THIS!!!

I absolutely love it! I ordered it a few weeks ago from Lisa Leonard Designs and it is just as lovely as I hoped it would be!

Future Quilter?

If Mommy has her say- YES! I've got big plans to buy this one a little sewing machine in 5 years or so!

Introducing... Miss Addy! She made her grand entrance in 4 1/2 hours flat almost 3 weeks ago. She was smaller than her brother was, which surprised us, but she's growing like a weed now!

(hanging out in her sling while Mommy vacuumed)

(kiddos- neither looking at the camera!)

The past few weeks have obviously been busy. Besides having a newborn, we've been shuffling family back and forth visiting, and Matt's basketball season started the week Addy was born. WHEW!

Sewing is taking a back seat, but I'm feeling the need to get back into the sewing room soon... Hopefully this week since I need to finish 2 pairs of PJ pants before Christmas eve LOL!

Some sewing! FINALLY!

You might remember this quilt from a bit back... it's finally finished! It has been quilted (loopy meander), bound, washed and is all ready to be gifted for Christmas- yay! It's a good couch/chair size, so I think it should be enjoyed regularly.

I've also been working on new stockings... nothing fancy- solid front, solid back, and fleece lined. They're a bit plain, but pretty big as far as a stocking goes, so I can fit a lot in there- which I'm sure will please kiddo. I have two more to do for the hubby and myself, and then some sort of name labels, but I haven't quite figured out how I want to do that yet.

I've been working on other things too- mostly matching pajama pants for the family for Christmas morning! The two kiddo pants are done except for elastic, which I need to run out and buy today and then I need to whip up some for hubby and I. Hubby isn't thrilled about the idea or the fabric chosen, but he'll suffer through one morning for the sake of some adorable pictures :D

Also, I need to work on the tree skirt that my sister has requested for Christmas. I have a set of blocks ready to go for it, just need to cut and get that into a tree skirt shape so it can be quilted and finished off. It probably won't take too long once I actually get around to it, but at a little over 9 months pregnant, my motivation is seriously lacking!

Another annoying 'I'm alive!' post...

But better things will be coming! I just need to take pictures of them first (them being a finish, and kiddo's Christmas pajama pants!)





As a filler, here is a picture of kiddo that I took while out playing with a new camera lens... and it portrays everything about this kid LOL

On other fronts- still pregnant, for a few more weeks (although I am full term now, so anytime is good to head on out there baby!) I need to work on my sister's tree skirt for Christmas, but I think everyone else will just get non-quilty presents- so I guess I should get to thinking about that!

Tomorrow's goal is pictures of sewing things for the blog- wish me luck!

Family Time....

Yesterday included a bit of family bonding... at the local range. Yeah- we fit in just fine here in southern Alabama!

Lots of shooting happened since I had my camera, and hubby needed to sight in his rifle for deer season. Loads of fun, even if it wasn't your typical family Saturday.

I also managed to get a bit of sewing in yesterday morning, and a little more today (so far, plannign on doing more here in just a few minutes!). I found a few random charm packs that had been lonely in my closet for way too long, so am working on a smallish wallhanging for the empty spot on the dining room wall. Hoping to get the top done today, and maybe a backing for a lap quilt since Christmas is quickly approaching! Pics of quilty things to follow....

Life in General...

Oh, it's been rough lately! The hubby AND the kid both managed to come down with a flu-ey illness in the last two weeks. And by that, I mean, hubby had it- kiddo had it, then hubby had it again. I must have an awesome immune system (yay! and knock on wood...)

So quilting has been on the back burner... blah. I've got projects in mind, and I even played with some quilt blocks made out of new fabrics, but so far- nothing that I want to stick with, so I guess more playing is in order! Plans today include buying more batting and at least quilting on something where a top is already done (ok, well, after I make some backings, another blah).

Hopefully soon I'll get back into the sewing swing of things before I'm derailed again in approximately 7 weeks!

Here's a bit of sunshine though- I found these growing along the side of our street a week or two ago, and thought playing with the camera was enough fun!

Signs of things to come...

Well, my calander tells me that today means FALL! However, the 90 degree weather, crazy humidity and my frizzy hair are telling me otherwise... We have noticed a few tiny signs of the season to come though- the above picture being one of them.

And this one... despite the warm weather, the falling pine needles are right on time! We have something like 15 pine trees in our back yard- I counted last year as I wanted to know how many trees were to blame for the endless raking.

And then there are other signs... signs of big changes to come! Welcome changes, but changes nonetheless. Well, I'm certainly bigger LOL! Baby Adelyn seems to be growing well, and all is good with dr appointments and such.

And these things... the washing, losing parts... I'm going to have to get used to that again!

In general though, I think we're looking forward to most of our changes! Except that whole sorting out my sewing room bit... eventually (and I mean like next summer) we'll want to move the baby into that bedroom, so things will have to be sorted, and probably some gotten rid of so that all the sewing things can be consolidated into our bedroom... what a hassle that's going to be!

On the sewing front, I'm seriously lacking! We've been super busy with Cub Scouts lately, and the volunteer positions I've taken on with that, that I haven't had the time or energy to do much creatively once the house gets cleaned and the family gets fed. I'm really hoping that I can just sit tomorrow in my sewing room... I don't know how much, if anything, will really be accomplished, but I feel the need to just be in there either way!

Shameless Fundraiser Link

Hey, I'm a mom- I'm allowed!!! And this sure as heck beats walking my pregnant @$$ around door to door in the heat!


-commence with shamelessness-


Anyway, as I've mentioned, Matt is a Cub Scout. And every fall, Cub Scouts do their big fundraiser for the year, which is Popcorn! (Sorry, no cookies- hit me up in 6 years or so!) No pressure, but if anyone wants some yummy, fattening, and of course overpriced popcorn (it IS a fundraiser after all!), you can use the link HERE to order year round. Using this link will ensure that fundraising monies come back to Ft Rucker's Pack 50 and the local council.

Thanks!

-end shameless fundraising-

Labor Day Weekend...

And we have NO plans! Just sitting around and enjoying the time together. I'm sure we'll end up doing some things that require effort though, like mowing and getting the pool down... blah!

BBQ tomorrow at a friend's house, so I'll have to do a bit of cooking for that, but nothing too much, and hey- at least I'm not hosting!

Not a ton going on in the sewing room, but I did get this made for little Miss Adelyn last week:

I didn't like that fabric though, so it's already got another fabric cover on it! Found the pattern for free at http://sewityourself.googlepages.com/ . Gotta love making something from your stash (plus a 3$ bag of stuffing) that you would pay 25$ for in the store!

We officially kicked off Cub Scouts last week, and the first meeting went fairly smoothly for one leader (me!) and 12 seven year old boys... lord help me! Now just to tackle popcorn and get that done... AHHHH!

A finish for Addy!

Adelyn's crib quilt is done! All we need now is to pick up some matching sheets, and then break the cat from sleeping in the crib... (I hear aluminum foil works great, but I've promised hubby not to do it til he gets back so we can both enjoy the amusement!)



The crib skirt/dust ruffle has been done awhile, all from the same fabric line (Moda Poetry!). I'm sadly down to just scraps of this stuff now, but have gotten quite a few quilts out of the original fat quarter bundle, so I can't complain. I do think I have enough to make a pillow case, so that once she transitions to a toddler bed, at least that will match!

And just a shot of her little corner of our room. I tend to be lazy for middle of the night feedings, so hopefully keeping her in there with us for awhile will keep her out of our bed (ahem, like Matt!) And... I get to keep my sewing room a bit longer this way! LOL

It's the MOST Wonderful Time... of the year (cue Christmas melodies!)

Nope, I'm not in a holiday mood just yet, but SCHOOL STARTED!!! (which is almost as good in my book!)

Matt is now a proud 2nd grader, settling in with his new teacher. No homework so far, so he's mostly a happy kid.

Matt has also inherited his dad's digital camera (well, they share, but if you ask Matt- it's his!). Apparantly he has learned the 'fine art' of MySpace type self-photography... I was so cracked up when I went through his camera this morning!


Most of his other pics are things like the cat, dogs and something he was watching on tv or elaborate scenes set up with his toys.

In other news... Mommy has a new camera too! With the recommendations of a few friends, I've managed to upgrade to a basic digital SLR... now to learn how to use the thing... Positive side note: I may not know much about settings on the camera, but the strap is now covered in a cute cute Amy Butler fabric, so at least I'll look good learning!

Snippets...

A few glances at what's on the frame!

This is Adelyn's crib quilt... almost half quilted! The crib skirt is already done, and I'm just going to buy sheets to match. I already have the crib bumper too, so this little girl should be nice and comfy in her pink covered crib!

Look at me go!

The fabric that started as just a few blocks yesterday is now a lap size quilt top!

This is one of two that will go out as Christmas gifts this year, so I'm ahead of the game (and a good thing, since I'll be to large and tired to do much close to Christmas!)

And it's a.............

GIRL!!!!!!!

We had our 20 week (well, it was actually at 21 weeks) ultrasound last week, and got the good news! She appears to be super healthy and growing well in there. Matt (our 7 1/2 year old son) had this response to the ultrasound tech's announcement, "Well, that's a darn shame".... LOL

Other news: Her name is Adelyn Kate... I went a bit overboard shopping, and have most of her wardrobe until 4 months or so already bought (you can't beat yard sales and coupons!)... and she will NOT be cold with the pile of quilts already waiting for her!

A New(ish) Project

This will be a Christmas gift this year, hopefully! I started a few of the blocks several months ago, but decided to finish them off earlier today. Now just setting blocks, a scrappy inner border and an outer border, and this sucker will be a top!

This isn't a normal color scheme for me, but it is very cheerful and I think (hope!) the recipient will enjoy it :D

It's a super simple bordered square for the blocks, but as I'd like to knock out the homeade gifts before I get huge and too tired to do any crafting, it will do.

TaDA!

I feel SO accomplished! 22 hours from making the first fabric cut, the baby quilt is done! Which gives me time to wash it and go to the store tomorrow to grab a few more little gifts to go with it before the baby shower Friday morning. Whew!

I quilted it in a medium meander, all over. Thankfully, it went pretty fast. The back is scrappy too, so I'm happy to say that the entire thing came from my stash! (Including the pieced together batting!)

And for some reason this always happens in my house... What good is a quilt on the floor without a few animals on the quilt, right?

I QUILTED!

Finally! I got my booty in the sewing room and accomplished things.

I have 2 of 10 swap blocks done- those need to be done and mailed by the 15th or so.

And, I made a quilt top today. I found out around 9 30 last night that there is a baby shower at hubby's office on Friday.... umm OK! So I got to work today, and the top is now complete. The plan is to quilt and bind and wash it tomorrow, and be good to go come Friday morning!

Here is the top- the colors aren't showing up as bright as they are in real life, but I still think it's cute for a little boy!

We're alive- I promise!

It's summer vacation though, so I tend to forget about updating the blog. We haven't been up to a whole lot- just getting more pregnant, and kiddo and I took a quick unplanned trip up to Missouri to visit some family for a week.

A few pics of randomness- I haven't been sewing a whole lot lately (since the last post!) but I do have a new stash of embroidered baby quilt tops to quilt up from my grandmother and 2 'new' but vintage quilts for the kids (I think full bed sized- will try and get pics of my old quilts sometime!)

16 weeks pregnant!

Matt getting a guitar lesson from Great Aunt Darlene... so far, all the effort he's put into learning how to play the guitar he bought himself haha!

Matt at CubScout Crossover- he's a Wolf now! (meaning I'm a Wolf den leader now- I'm sure this will work out wonderfully when I'm fat and crabby!)

Another Top!

So, it's absolutely not the one I was thinking of last week... I still haven't figured out quite what to do on that one (black and white prints with bright tone-on-tones).

BUT- I did find a jelly roll in my sewing room closet! It's Moda's Chutes and Ladders line (at least a year old because I'm pretty sure we lived at the other house when I bought it) and it needed something done with it. So I seperated out the pinks/purples from the rest and added a few stash fabrics.

This is the end result! The colors in this picture are washed out some, too much sunlight and I was too lazy to move it to a different spot on the floor, but you get the idea. The applique shapes are sort of just larger versions of the print on the smaller 4 patches. All the applique was done raw edged so it will fuzz up nicely after a few washes!

(and I still need to do something with those other colors... hmmm)

The End of May Thing...

There hasn't been a whole lot going on here the last few weeks. Definately not sewing!

Scouts (den level) is done for the year, and today Matt finished off first grade! Hello Summer Vacation... umm- Do we have to?

I've got a new idea for a floor quilt for baby, so hope to start on that in the next few days. Fabrics are in the wash as I type!

Easily my favorite 'fast' quilt!

Yup, definately! I've made this a few times now and it's sooo simple! Strips are cut either the same width or varying widths out of fat quarters and then sewn into sets of 3 or 4. Those strip sets are then cut into varying widths of 5, 6 and 7 inches. It's a different littie patchwork of sorts, but it works up so fast and easy!

The quilt on the top is a baby quilt- for moi! Well, for the baby- if it ends up being a girl! I made one out of this collection (Moda Poetry) last summer for a friend's baby girl and absolutely loved how it turned out, so I'm using up some of my scraps and other pieces for another.

The quilt below is approximately 3x4 feet and was made for my son. (Pic was before quilting and binding). He wanted it, and I happily obliged :D



More Mei Tai updates later- I recieved my Minky and print for the main part, but am waiting until my local Hancock's gets the color of twill I need in stock to get it made up. I am excited though!

Baby Sewing!

I spent yesterday afternoon playing with a Mei Tai pattern! I had bought it a year and a half ago or so, hoping to use it for baby shower gifts. (pattern is from here: Sew Liberated )

I finally dug it out, and made up a quick one. I'll take pictures later, since my camera batteries are currently charging. I do like the way it turned out, minus the fabric choices. However, I really wasn't worried about it since it was a practice piece- it'll work for around the house doing chores! It seems much sturdier than I thought it would, and I have a few things I want to do just a bit differently on the next one. P.S. The cat LOVED it (haha!)

I've spent this morning on Etsy searching down fabrics for my 2nd version, and have most of it ordered now. I still need some heavier weight stuff for the straps, but can get that locally at Hancocks- and to save some cash, I'll wait until my next sales flier with coupon comes in - no point in spending more now when I've got about 7 months to get it done!


I have a few other projects in progress. A lap quilt for my Mom for next Christmas- I want to start early since I know it'll get hectic this fall with baby preparations. A baby quilt for my son's teacher who just found out that she'll be having a little girl this fall, and another baby quilt for friends who are currently expecting their first! (I really do think there's something in the water down here in Bama, but hey- I'm not complaining!)

Meet Le Bebe!

Except... baby isn't a lot to look at now LOL. There's a head, tummy and some arm and leg stumps- and a good strong heartbeat! All seem's well in Stumpy's world according to the docs!

Today I'm hoping that the morning/all-day sickness lets up some so that I can get some much needed cleaning done. After I get at least some productive housework done, I plan on digging out some flat sheets (that we don't use!) and making a couple of crib shits using a tutorial I found online... too easy and hello - basically free since the fabric is already on hand!

We've been BUSY!

And sick... well I've been sick. Morning sickness is the pits- especially when it comes at a different time every day and I can't even plan around it!

Matt and I spent most of last week at Scout Camp. He was on spring break and since he was attending camp, I volunteered. I did lots of things that aren't really MY style- fishing, hiking, sports in the woods... I shudder LOL. But Matt had a total blast, so it was worth it!

Hopefully things will settle down soon, and I can get back to some sewing :D

Another Baby Quilt

I'm trying my best to alternate between gender specific fabrics for my baby quilt stash- a boy one, a girl one, and so on.

Today it was time for a boy quilt! I had got this F4 set and a piece of yardage of camp themed Hoffman fabrics a few months ago, and finally found the perfect pattern for them. I used the quilt tutuorial HERE and this was the result: (top only, quilting will come another day!)

Just a little bit of sewing...

These pants are from Weekend Sewing . The book is AWESOME! So many neat little things to make in there!

At some point I might have to try the baby kimono.... because it looks like we're going to have a little one to dress and cuddle and wrap in tiny quilts in approximately 8 more months!!!

Anyway... thought I'd sneak that happy news in there, but the real reason for the post was to show off M's new jammie pants! We have plans to make Mommy (me!) some matching sleep shorts, but for some reason Daddy wants nothing to do with pj bottoms made out of monkey flannel... what a party pooper!

What's on the design wall...

Well, the pink baby quilt was bound and finished this morning so I got to work on a few other things!

The project on the left is being made from a charm pack and pack of 2 1/2" strips that I picked up on sale at the fabric store last month. Right now I'm thinking that it will end up being a Christmas gift for my mom - I like to plan ahead!

On the right are some of the blocks for a quilt called Rick Rack Road... this was in a magazine (which one is escaping my mind right now!) about a year and a half or so ago. I even started it then, but triangles are tedious and I just found it on my table yesterday. I have about 1/3 of the 155 ish squares sewn... Maybe I'll just make it a goal to do a small stack of these each time I sit down at the machine.

Another finish! (almost!)

The fabrics for this baby quilt (approx. 40 inches square) are from the rest of the same Layer Cake that I used for the last baby quilt. I used the same block, but fewer of them and mixed with solid fabric blocks. It's very busy, but I've noticed lately that my quilts tend to turn out that way... I must be going through an anti background fabric phase!


The backing came from my stash... it was one of those pieces that was bought 'just in case'... Luckily I had just enough of it to back this. And I do mean JUST enough- I ended up trimming 1-2 inches of backing off of each side, and I had to sew scrap strips onto 2 sides to make room for the tension clamps on my quilting frame!

Just another view of the backing... I like when I can actually capture the texture of the quilting in a photo. I freehand quilted it in my all over floral pattern, and threw in a few swirlies for filler and extra fun.