And it feels amazing!

This post is going to be a bit picture heavy.  I feel like a proud parent, but not of my child this time.  I mean, I'm still proud of him, however, right now the pride is directed at 54 square inches of patched together fabric.

It is just so pretty!  I love how all of the contrast worked out together.  I did pretty minimal quilting on it staying in the seams between all of the individual blocks and again around the yellow squares in the middle.  The thin cotton batting is going to continue to wash up to get more crinkled and delicious.

I think that my favorite part might be the binding.

I love striped fabric and how it becomes little dashes when used for binding.  This fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls line and is just lovely.  I attached the binding from the front of the quilt by machine and hand stitched the back to ensure a seamless look.

And here is the whole of the quilt, you know, casually draped over our balcony.

I've posted this to Etsy and the listing can be viewed here.

Thanks for stopping by!

I Finished Something!

So I had signed up for another class with Needlework, even though the dreaded log cabin is still in progress.  I have been wanting to begin sewing off of commercial patterns for awhile and this cute little wallet fit the bill....haha, get it?  The bill...Listen this is as funny as I get when the Bubbs was up every hour and a half just to make sure everyone still exists.

Anyways, the wallet.  The class was surprisingly tricky.  All the little details were definitely time consuming but I do love how it turned out.  I am keeping this bad boy as I'm too in love with the fabric to part with it but how about some thoughts on whether or not some more should be sewn up to hit the Etsy shelves?

It has space for at least eight cards, a zippered pouch and two larger pockets for cash or check book.  I think that when I make more I will be using a sewn in button which wouldn't be visible from the exterior and I won't have to use a giant mallet.  We can all agree that I should not be given access to large objects used to hit things.  It's best if I stick with needle and thread.

Too Many Projects in Progress

I am in the midst of feeling that I have definitely bitten off more than I can chew.  My jaw hurts.  I am going to blame it mostly on the never ending hand sewing that a binding involves.  The log cabin quilt will be the end of me.  So, logically, I have been working on three other quilts as well.  Why wouldn't I do that?  I have a quilt that was my mom's Christmas present for 2012 and it is almost ready to be pieced.  Merry Christmas Mom.  You might get it December 2013.

I have been obsessed with the idea of making an I Spy quilt for the bubbs.  I love the idea of lots of print and making a quilt into a game.  Here's a couple of pics of the progress so far.  I have several more fabrics to cut up but I am loving how fun it is already.

I can't wait to see how it comes together!

Recovering from Vacation

We did a 5 night whirlwind Michigan visit last week.  So much fun hanging out with friends and family that we get to see far too little of.  The bubs also seems to have made some big strides in hating his car seat less.  There was only one major melt down, and I like to believe that it was because of construction.  He hates it those orange barrels just as much as everyone else.  As great as it was to spend time with everyone the adjustment back home has been rocky.  The first couple of nights back in the crib he decided he could sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.  Not ideal.  It has settled down a bit and I have gotten back to working on all things crafty.

Before we left I finished up some standard pillow cases for a friend.  They were a custom request because she loved one of the fabrics I used in the log cabin quilt.  These were super fun to sew up and I love that they go so well with her bedding and decor.

I also starting working on a couple of I Spy quilts.  There was a pile of fabric waiting for me at my mom's because I am too cheap to pay for shipping to Canada.  I washed it up as soon as we got home and am in the process of cutting it up.  I put a a design wall on my giant closet door and have been having some fun playing around with the arrangement of the blocks.  More pictures of those to come!

I wish there was a teething fairy.....

Wouldn't it be lovely if there was a teething fairy that brought moms wine and chocolate while their little ones were going through misery? I would also appreciate a watch that counts down to when the teeth are actually going to come through.  That has to be my least favorite part.  I don't like seeing the bubbs so uncomfortable but I really don't like that it seems like it is never going to end.  Ever.  So in my effort to preserve what sanity possible I have gone back to being scheduled.  Teething does not control our time, we do.  That is my mantra.  It seems that as long as we've got lots of distraction, I have a happy baby for about an hour from feeding until another nap is needed.  So we've gotten bubbles, we've borrowed a swing, found a good deal on a bouncy exersaucer, and have frozen ice cubes of milk.  If these teeth are not going to come in we are going to pretend that nothing is wrong.  The pretending seems to be working.  Naps are back to normal, happening in the crib and lasting more than 28 seconds.  This is allowing me to actually get things done.  I finished up the custom collage and I have all the machine quilting done.

Now to start the hand quilting and to sew up a couple of pillows that I cut and prepped.  This Sunday marks the last class quilting class.  I am going to be really excited to have that day back but I think that I am going to miss it.  I might have to see what the next class Johanna is teaching...

As always feel free to check out my etsy page.

Teething, Tears and Piecing a Quilt Top

The Bubbs has transformed.  I would like to talk about how it is in such a good way.  How he is trying to crawl but ends up face planting, how he is laughing at sneezes, and how he kicks away like a crazy man in the bath tub.  Instead I will talk about how he transformed into this screaming, inconsolable terror.  Not constantly, but enough for me to want to pull my hair out.  Like all first time moms, I thought, maybe growth spurt.  Then he started pulling the ears.  I was relieved.  RELIEVED! All I could think was if it is an ear infection, I'm pretty sure they give you something to fix that, to make the insanity stop.  To the doctor's we went.  Ears are amazingly clean and uninfected.  This is the part where the tears come in.  Who wants their baby to have an ear infection?  This lady.  Instead I was told by the doctor that it is teething and that it will probably still be weeks before there is any kind of actual tooth.  WEEKS!  I think that tears were warranted.  Teething seems like the worst thing ever and now I feel like it is going to go on forever.  We are living on Tylenol and hope here.

I am still loving the quilting time.  It is a really nice break.  I am a little bit behind where I am supposed to be for class tomorrow but here is a glimpse of the progress.

It is wrinkly and still taped but I am starting to love it.  It will be basted tomorrow and then I have to figure out if I am going to do any hand quilting.  Eventually I am also going to have to decide if it goes on etsy or on my couch.

Speaking of etsy.... I had some sales this week, including a custom collage that I am working on for a nursery.  I love the thought of something that I make making space pretty for someones new little person.  Hopefully the collage gives that mom something she loves to look at when her baby is screaming in the middle of the night getting his little teeth.

sleep deprivation and sewing

I believe that my son studied torture techniques prior to his birth.  He was a champ of a little sleeper as a new born.  I was one of those self-righteous mothers who reports smugly to others, "Oh he is almost sleeping through the night."  I got close six hours in a row before he was a month old.  This was clearly a tactic to lull me into a false sense of comfort. We have had multiple nights recently where he decides to wake up as soon as my head hits the pillow.  I understand why some moms get hospitalized for exhaustion now.  Needless to say my mental clarity and motivation have taken a bit of a hit.  I went to sewing class on Sunday with zero blocks constructed.  I walked out four hours later with four blocks constructed.  Math has never been easy on me and I know that the current haze does not make it easier but I am pretty sure that works out to an hour a block.  I have 21 more of those bad boys that should be done before next Sunday.  I mean, we will just have to see how that works out.

I did get a couple of new fabric collages done.  They are posted to the shop.  I can't stop thinking about Finding Nemo when I look at them.  It is fitting though because I firmly believe that I do need to "just keep swimming."

We also got our family photos back.  I will leave you with this gem.  It is what makes me so ok with getting up a thousand times a night.