Quick Holiday Projects

If you're visiting from BabyLock, welcome!  As you may or may not know, I use a BabyLock Symphony--and LOVE it!  When BabyLock asked me to participate in their Snappy Holiday project, I was honored.....and a little shocked! :)  I decided to make this festive little pillow using reverse applique and raw edge applique along with a bit of quilting.  I hope y'all like it and if you make one, please let me know!  Be sure to head on over to BabyLock and check out the other projects!!!  If you want to hop over to my little etsy shop, you can enter the code "BABYLOCK" at check out for 15% off!

Coach, Circus, and Cranberry Pie!

My friend Ali came to visit last weekend and we had the best time! We went shopping and ended up at Coach where I had a 25% off coupon and convinced Ali she NEEDED that yellow tote!  Yellow is Ali's "signature" color, so it really was a necessary purchase!  I needed no convincing that I needed the yellow clutch! :)  I just love a good leather bag!

We also went to this local craft fair.  I had heard all sorts of hype about it and how it was the best one. Um, lets just say Ali and I felt it wasn't our style.  We did manage to snag this AWESOME pie!  It was a cranberry-almond pie, but it was kind of like a tart or coffee cake in reality.  Whatever it was it was fabulous and we ate every last bite in two days!

I got a bee in my bonnet about making this quilt.  It's a pixelated heart based on one Jolene made with Kaffe fabrics.  I knew I wanted to use Anna Maria Horner's Field Study as soon as I saw it! I was very focused on finishing this one over the weekend!  When I get really into a project I tend to sing to myself.  My song of choice this time was "do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-CIRCUS!-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-AFRO! CIRCUS AFRO! CIRCUS AFRO! Polka-dot, Polka-dot! Polka-dot! AFRO!"  So anyone with kids will know the reference there, but Ali had no clue what it was from!  That didn't stop her from getting the song stuck in her head! ha ha ha!!!    Ali got a ton of stuff done, but I'm not allowed to show you anything because it's top secret! 

Jolene's quilt.

I'm so happy with how it came out!  It's hard to see the quilting from this picture, but the heart is quilted with straight lines that form a "V" in the center.  The neutrals are free motion quilted.  I *think* I may list this one in my shop in order to help pay for this:

Eeek! I have no idea how to use it, but I'm going to take my Pixelated Heart quilt out for a REAL photo-shoot to break it in!

Not to get all mushy, but I just love all the friends I've made through this online sewing community! It's so special when you actually get to spend time with one of them in person!

Chugga-chugga!

I think I can I think I can I think I can! I'm chugging on through some projects!

I finished my Modern Maples quilt!  I'm still a bit undecided on how to quilt this so it's been put aside for now.  All ideas are welcome!

This is my backing for my Modern Maples, but I don't have quite enough so I'm still brainstorming the best way to make it work!

I also finished the custom order table runner.  It's a larger version of a tutorial I have on my blog.  This one is 20"x80".  The font is from Word and is called Georgia.  Heads up if you make one of these, it is spot clean or hand wash only!  The center portion isn't quilted so it's gets a bit wonky if you wash and dry it like a normal quilt!

I finished this custom quilt top too!  It's been nick named "The Beast" since it is 108"x156"!!!!  It's at a long arm quilter now because I was not going to even attempt to wrestle that!

I also finished a few gifts for my best friend's baby shower! I won't be able to go (she lives in TX), so I may have gone a bit overboard with the gifts.  This is a peek-a-boo play mat based on Anna Maria Horner's pattern in Handmade Beginnings.

I modified the original pattern by only making 6 blocks instead of 9.  I did this for a few reasons: 1) I wanted to eliminate some of the girly colors since she's having a boy 2) I wanted to personalize it a bit by adding the applique  3) I really didn't have any cute I-spy type fabrics in other colors.  Oh, I also didn't add the border that the pattern calls for.  The mat is 36" square.

Peek-a-boo!  I used some precious fabric here (not that my bestie would know that), but it's for someone special so I needed special fabric.  Had I to do this over again, I think I would have added some batting or at least some top-stitching to the flaps--just to make it feel more polished.

I raw edge appliqued the letters in matching thread rather than blanket stitching to add even more texture after it's washed.

I was especially happy to find a home for that squares fabric! I was gifted that fabric by a friend and have always loved it, but I never had the right project for it.  This was a match made in heaven!

I also made a minky-backed monogram blanket, two appliqued onesies (Texas and the Apple logo), and three bibs!  

Here's a better pic of the monogram blanket.

Whew!  Off to work on some more projects!!!!

Project Overload

I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately.  Lots of custom requests, lots of project for family members I've left undone for far too long, lots of projects I want to start but have no time for, lots of Christmas presents I want to make, lots of opportunities from Sewing Summit I need to follow up on, the list goes on.  When I get overwhelmed I tend to freeze and do nothing (or at least it feels that way).  I'm trying to get my act together, but in the mean time, here's a glimpse into my world lately!

This is my mom!  She'll probably kill me for posting this pic (yes, she reads my blog religiously, even if she doesn't understand half of all the fabric mumbo jumbo).  You can see I come by my silly faces naturally!

My new, and LOCAL!, friend Stephanie made this for me--for no other reason that she totally rocks!!!!  She used my alphabet pattern but shrunk it down to a virtually impossible 1.5"high! That is some kick ass paper piecing my friend! I totally cried when I opened it! Thank you again!

I made a shower curtain for Ann Kelle's blog! I don't know how she made my crappy pictures look that good, but she's pretty fab!  

My oldest kiddo turned 6! I had to make his cake because he wanted Green Lantern and that's not "in" right now.  I hate to bake so this was a labor of love! 

My youngest is growing naughtier by the day, but he's just so dang cute!

Went to the Franklin Pumpkin Festival and ran into these cool dudes!

Both boys got an A+ at their doctor and dental appointments! We like to pass the waiting time by making silly faces.

A Flickr friend, Jenny, asked me to make her some boxy bags--she even sent me the fabric!

I was super happy with how they came out! They both have laminated Lizzy House Pearl Bracelet on the inside!  They are also HUGE! That's a FQ bundle of Prince Charming on the inside!

It wasn't until I finished this one that I realized the radios matched up along the zipper.  TOTAL ACCIDENT! I'm simply not that talented to do it on purpose!  I really wanted to keep this one!

The rugrats had fun Trick or Treating and I had fun passing out candy!

Hopefully I'll get my act together soon and have more projects to share!