Really Random Ridiculousness

The amount of fabric I have bought over the summer is ridiculous!  I'm looking to my readers to hold me accountable...no more fabric/supplies until October.  Now I do have a couple of patterns that I have committed to testing that I will have to buy a little bit of hardware for and I do need a new bobbin case so I will purchase those just so I can not let anyone down but after that if I run out of fabric or need more to add borders it will have to go in the On Hold Pile.  I have lots of fusible fleece, interfacing and applique materials so I can always focus on stocking up my shop (which I really need to do anyway!).  Batting will probably be the first thing that I run out of but none of my quilts have deadlines at the moment so it won't be the end of the world.

The thing that brought me to this realization?

THIS...stuffed to the brim with all kinds of fabricy goodness.

And on a side note, we've been dealing with a very sickly little boy this week so he's been getting all kinds of goodies that he normally doesn't get...like milkshakes and gatorade :).  I guess there are some perks to being sick.

Enough rambling from me.  Linking up with Really Random Thursday!

My Main WIP

of the moment is my Star Surround Quilt.  I've had lots of questions about whether I should add another row of stars to the bottom to make it a little bigger, whether to add a border to finish it off, what quilting design to use, thread color, etc.

I think I've finally decided that I'm happy with it the way that it is.  I'm going to Target in a little bit to see if I can find a sheet that I like for the backing then I will baste it and quilt it with stitch in the ditch around each block and each star (in my mind this makes a really neat design on the back so we'll see).  The top thread will be a cream and the bobbin thread will be decided after I get my sheet. :)

Sorry for the super blurry photo.  I am actually considering getting a real camera.  It just seems like one more thing I have to keep track of though (sigh!).

 A more in focus photo so you can see some of the fabulous colors.

And a finish from a couple of weeks ago.  I've been making all of my samplers from the Frosted Pumpkin patterns into pillows with envelope style closures on the back.  Although I didn't get a photo of the back of this pillow I used the green Noteworthy print with birds.  I'm still not sure if I like the light aqua as the border.  I had my eye on something much brighter but while at a sew day I was greatly outnumbered when we voted and decided to go with the majority.  It's pretty, I'm just not sure it's summery enough for me.  Another problem I have with it is that I didn't do any quilting around the edges and I'm regretting it now.  Don't get me wrong, I still like this pillow I just should have though it out better and gone with my gut instinct.

A new WIP (no photo, sorry) is my Road 15 Quilt.  I'm using a pattern from Simply Retro-can't remember the name of the pattern.  I have almost all of my pieces cut -due to bad planning and deciding to make it bigger than the pattern called for I ran out of fabric-and have started piecing it together.  It has no intended recipient but I've wanted to make it for a couple of months so instead of working on my August goals or special orders from the Etsy shop, that is what I will be doing today :)

Linking up to Happy Quilting.

What To Do?

About the quilting on this one...

Sorry about the bad indoor photo.  By the time I got this far it was already getting dark outside.  I did my best to get it back to its original colors using Picasa.

I got lucky and was happy with the first layout I tried so I just went with it instead of second guessing myself and messing it up.  I think the lights and darks are pretty balance.

Now that it's almost completely put together (I need 20 minutes tonight, is that too much to ask?!) I'm looking for quilting inspiration.  How would you quilt it?  I love the way free motion quilting looks, but not how time consuming it is.  Plus, I'm not that great at it but I wouldn't entirely rule it out.  And what color of thread would you use?  A variety, gray all over?

Please let me know your opinions since I'm kind of stumped on this one but hope to get it basted this evening and start the quilting tomorrow.  Thanks in advance :)!

Oh, one more question...I'm not really a fan of square quilts.  Soooo, what would you suggest?  Make four more stars and add another row?  Add a thin border on two of the sides and a thicker border on the other two?  Or just get over it and have a square quilt?

Ok, that's it ;P

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday.

Homework Complete!

I'm all caught up and ready for next week!  At least on the Star Surround Quilt (a little secret...I've actually put together my blocks already which will leave me free to work on some custom orders all next week).  Can't wait to play with the layout for these!

Linking up with Happy Quilting. 

A Couple of Small Finishes

Not a lot of progress this week.  Wednesday when I should have been working on my Star Surround assignment, I was helping teach a couple of quilters how to make small zippered pouches.  I wish I had photos since theirs turned out great!  Here are the three that I finished. 

 

The perfect use for mini charm squares!  I can get two little pouches out of one pack.

 And the missing Sugar Club block.  It wasn't so much missing as I just forgot to do it (whoops!) but now I'm all caught up on this one and can focus on my Lucky Stars and And Sew On blocks for the rest of the month. 

P.S.  It's not looking so good for my goals this month.  So far I haven't even worked on any of them :(

Linking up with Kristy's Paper Piecing Party!

Where Did the Weekend Go?

I really don't feel like I accomplished much this weekend, but my photos say otherwise...

I will warn you now that there are a lot of photos in this post.  Most of them are sewing related.  Some are just cute :)

We started out our Saturday morning with a trip to the zoo.  Squeak discovered he loves wearing his sunglasses.  And we both discovered some great things about the zoo that we didn't know.  Like that they have a little water play area in the children's zoo and a river for them to play in as well.  We still haven't been able to go in and pet the goats due to my current state :/ but someday soon we will!  Squeak did get a little overexcited and managed to fall headfirst into a cement bench.  The EMT checked him out, declared him ok and he recovered quickly!

His favorite animals seemed to be the gorillas :P

Then it was off to meet up with PawPaw.  His last two visits weren't exactly great as Squeak went into stranger danger mode and ran away and hid the entire time he was here...but this time was entirely different!  He was in a great, social mood.

Saturday night I went to work on my HoHoHo Quilt.  This is the second block for it and my second attempt at applique.  If I hadn't run out of Heat n' Bond I probably would have kept working on it but since I did run out...

 

I decided to pull out some really old small items that only needed buttons attached to be considered finished.

Tada!  I also finished up two zippered pouches that I forgot to photograph...whoops!

 Sunday afternoon I remembered that Squeak would be needing a backpack to hold an extra change of clothes for his "school".  I figured it was the perfect way to use up some of my S'More Love scraps.  Still soooo much of this jelly roll left!  I did a simple drawstring tote and since it had to have his name on it I just used my free motion foot to outline the letters.  They don't stand out quite as much as I had hoped but it'll work.

Then it was on to my latest Sugar Club block.  After making this one I realized that I have either lost one or missed a month somewhere. 

 Here are all of the ones I could find.  I'm loving the say they are looking together!

 And a finish from about a week ago that I can show off.  Sara from Sew Sweetness has released her newest set of patterns and we usual, they are wonderful!  This pattern contains templates and instructions for two different styles of lunch bags as well as two different sizes of zippered snack pouches.

I wanted an excuse to use some of the cute prints in my stash that I've had for a while so I went with patchwork (what a shocker, huh?!).  I did have to buy the PUL fabric for the lining and the zippers.  I even used the Insul Fleece like the pattern called for to help the food retain its heat/chill. 

 A side view.

 And the tops.  My first time incorporating a selvage!  Truth...I actually just cut the main panel about 1/2" too short and needed a quick fix :)  But I'm so glad that it worked out this way!

 I only had a fat quarter of the green print to use on the back of the rounded bag so I had to add a thin strip of orange to make it big enough.

And the insides.  Not the prettiest but who's going to see them?  I did leave the seams exposed in my rounded version.  The pattern has you cover them with a binding but it was late and I was trying to get them finished up.  I didn't get around to making the snack bags :( but I still plan to since I have plenty of supplies left. 

I will leave you with one tip about working with PUL.  It is horrible--stretchy and difficult to work with.  I suggest that before you baste it on the machine you actually spray baste with some 505 to keep it from stretching as much.  I did that on the second lunch bag (the square version) and it was sooooo much easier to work with.

If you've made it this far, I'd like to direct your attention to Rachael Rabbit's blog post about her I Spy Charity Quilts.   Rachael is asking for 4" fussy cut squares to complete her two charity quilts.  And let's be real, who doesn't have a couple of fabrics that are perfect for fussy cutting that they can't spare a small scrap of?!  Please comment on her post so she can send you her contact information and get these quilts underway.

Hope everyone is having a great start to their week!

Joining in over at BOMs Away Monday, Design Wall Monday, Building Block Tuesday, Fabric Tuesday, and Linky Tuesday.

Last Minute Link Up

I never seem to be able to link up before the last day when it comes to the Star Sureound QAL. All of my centers went together quickly and I'm loving the way it looks!  I don't have a shot of all do the finished centers laid out but here is a sneak peek :)

I Had an Idea

but we'll get to that in a minute :)

First up, two WIPs that I will hopefully be crossing off of my list this afternoon

First is my Plus Quilt for Little Miss.  It is ready to be basted!

And second, my In From the Cold Quilt.  I have one more block to piece then I can add the borders (I've been doing the sashing as I go).

I've also got a bunch of other WIPs hanging around, but these are my two priorities at the moment.  A different type of WIP...

Hubby is trying to get the backyard Squeak proof.

It's not there yet, but he's made pretty good progress.  Due to a neighbor's dog and a chain link fence, we're having to add another small fence a couple of feet inside the existing one. 

And we figured while we're at it, why not redo the patio so we can actually use it?!  I also have a semi-plan to add a small vegetable garden in the area between the two fences since it would be safe from babies and dogs.

Now, on to my idea.  I'm not sure if it's idiotic or kind of fun.  While I was trying to organize this mess last night

I realized that I buy fabric with no idea of what project it will be used for.  I then hold onto it for months (or let's be real...years) waiting for inspiration to strike.  Anyone else have this problem?

What if I started a new challenge/linky party called Reader's Choice?  I'm still working out all of the details but basically I would show a picture of the fabric I have and tell you how much I have and let the readers leave suggestions of what I should make in the comments.  And I'm talking about specific suggestions.  For example, instead of just saying you would like to see a quilt, tell me you'd like to see a Swoon Quilt or instead of bag or purse tell me you'd like to see me use the fabrics to make a patchwork Super Tote from Noodlehead.  Then at the end of the week I would randomly pick one comment and actually make the item suggested.  Some months would be a fat quarter bundle that would be made into a quilt, other months I might have a bag of scraps that someone thinks should be turned into a scrappy potholder.  If nothing else it would challenge us to be creative and think outside our normal box.

And the best part?  You all could join in the fun with me by linking up with your selected fabrics at the beginning of the month and again with the finished project at the end.  There may be someone out there doing something similar but I've not stumbled across it yet.  And projects don't have to be limited to sewing.  Any type of crafty project is welcome to be linked up.  Maybe you have some old embroidery projects that you don't know what to do with (I know I do!).  Let someone else make the decision for you.  Maybe I could even scrounge up a small giveaway item for those who link up both times during the month...

Let me know if this sounds like something you might be interested in or if you have any suggestions about how to make it work better!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday. 

On Track

Just a quick post to let you know I'm actually keeping up with the Star Surround QAL. Here's what it's looking like so far

I'm posting from my phone this evening so unfortunately there is no link to the Happy Quilting site :( but I will be joining in the linky party anyway. Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

July Round Up & Fresh Sewing Day

 

 I accomplished more than I could have hoped for this month!  Here's a look at my list of items to finish for July:

• Make a baby quilt from the kit I bought on clearance at JoAnn's-nothing too special, but it should be a quick finish and make room on my shelf. --FINISHED
  

• Finish nursing covers-I'm trying to get everything ready for Little Miss's arrival.  These most likely would have already been done if I could find boning anywhere.--FINISHED!
  

• Receiving Blankets-these have already been cut to the proper size, they just need seams on the edges.--FINISHED but no pic, whoops!

• Family Tree Baby Blanket-top is pieced, just need to buy the backing, basted, quilt and bind. --FINISHED (except for embroidering the names on)

• Boo Crew Quilt-Just needs binding.--FINISHED

• Headbands-they each just need one, little seam to be completed.--FINISHED

• Riley Blake Halloween Quilt-my oldest WIP and the second quilt I ever started.  I need to finish piecing the back, then just baste, quilt and bind!--FINISHED

• New Wedding Quilt (not to be confused with the Dreaded Wedding Quilt)-again, this quilt isn't really my style, but at least the design is so much simpler than the previous one!  The top is almost complete...a trip to the fabric store and we should be good to go :)--FINISHED and delivered

I also managed to finish three quilts that weren't on my list as well as a pillow cover, two Lucky Stars blocks, curtains, pj pants for Squeak and his doll, 5 In From the Cold blocks, and the cutting of the fabrics for the Stars Surround QAL.  I'm still way behind on most of my BOMs but hopefully that will start to change.

My goals for the month of August are:

• Finish my Giant Swoon Quilt top
• Make the tops of the new quilts for the nursery (I'm thinking 2 boy, 2 girl)

Not exactly lofty goals but maybe this way I'll be able to get them done!

Linking up with A Lovely Year of Finishes.

Keeping Up

Last week's post about the Star Surround QAL was written and published from my phone :(.

So, a little more about it...

I chose to use a fat quarter bundle of Rock 'n Romance by Pat Bravo that I had been hoarding for quite awhile.  I only needed 16 of the fat quarters so the others will most likely be made into a coordinating pillow cover (or two or three).  My living room has no natural light and therefore needs to be decorated with bright, fun, vibrant colors, but every time I try to redo it, I gravitate toward the darker purples (I don't even like purple!!!)  Point is, this may end up being the first of our new decor for the living room.  I still haven't made a non-holiday quilt for our little family and that needs to change!  For the background I'm using a solid cream.  I'm going with the scrappy version (hence the 16 fat quarters) and spent Monday night pairing up my fabrics for the blocks, Tuesday sewing the triangles together, and the rest of the week trimming them down to size.  I thought that Melissa might have given us the impossible goal but I FINALLY finished them up yesterday afternoon! 

TGIFF x 3!

Several finishes that I've been waiting to photograph are finally ready. 

This quilt is my oldest WIP and the second quilt top that I ever started.  It was also my first time using designer fabric.  The quilt top has minimal quilting due to the fact that my piecing wasn't as accurate as I would have liked (understatement!).  The fabric does pucker a little where the quilting lines meet.  All in all though it is a fun quilt and is already being used in our living room along with the Boo Crew Quilt. 

A better shot of some of the cute prints :)

And the back...which is what caused this quilt to sit unfinished for so long.  I was trying to do a semi log cabin pattern on the back when I first started but after pulling it out of the closet a year later, I just started sewing stuff together randomly to get it finished.  I kind of like how it turned out though!

This is the first quilt I've finished for Little Miss.  It is just the panel from Sarah Jane's Children at Play line with two borders sewed onto either side.  Simple, but fun!

I had a blond moment when I washed it after marking the names with a Frixon pen (doh!).  So they will have to be put on and actually embroidered before it is truelly finished.

This was my first time free motion quilting a whole quilt (even though it's crib size it still counts, right?).  I just used a medium sized stipple on the whole thing.  Not too bad.  My shoulders were very sore and it took forever but I like the texture.

This is a cheater panel kit that I picked up on Clearance at Joann's a while back.  Again, very simple quilting.  I am tempted to add a bit of embroidery around the first letter of each animal but I'm not sure I'm that ambitious at the moment.

The back is a soft, snuggly flannel.

I have another quilt cut and ready to piece and one more just waiting on binding that will hopefully be finished this weekend.  Linking up to TGIFF!