Bloggers Quilt Festival Entry

I love perusing all the entries on Amy's blog this time of year. There are so many talented quilters on these here internets!

I thought I would share my favorite quilt I made this year. Sadly, I gave it away. Well, the people I gave it to weren't sad. They were very happy.

 Curly's brother got married this summer. He was the only family member who had not received a Jana quilt, and when he told me he'd be getting married, he not-so-subtly hinted he'd like one.

They liked all sorts of colors, like red and maroon and green and blue, so when I found this fabric by Momo, I knew I had a winner.

 I free motioned quilted it using a double circle swirl-ish design. It gave it great texture.

It really wasn't easy to give this one up. I told the happy couple that this quilt was meant to be used. If it wasn't, then I would come back to San Diego and collect it from them. I hope they know how serious I was!

Head on over to see the other entries, if you haven't already! Thanks for looking at mine ;)

Popping In

Just popping in to say there is snow forecast for tomorrow. We may get between 1-3 inches. My stomach churns a little at the thought. I definitely have enough bread and milk, but not toilet paper. Wouldn't it be something if the trunk-or-treat at church was cancelled due to snow? That would actually be fine because, ahem, Patch doesn't have a costume yet. I'm such a bad mom! Here's a picture of my favorite costume he has worn:

It was in 2009. He went as Padraig Harrington.

That is all. Carry on.

Best Week Ever

Last week really was the best week ever. I took advice from "What About Bob?" and went on a vacation from my problems. I left my stresses on the ground when the plane took off and didn't worry for a moment while I was in Utah. Well, maybe a moment. When the school called on Tuesday afternoon, I had a minute of stress. But just a minute.

Amanda made me dance for my supper. Okay, okay. It's time for some honesty: I was a willing participant. We danced our way around town, and even made a stop at the Riley Blake corporate office. Before we convinced Cindy and Jina to dance on camera, they took us into what I refer to as "The Room of Awesomeness." I wish I had taken a picture, but if you click on the above link, you can see me dancing in it. The room had all of Riley Blake's fabrics in it: past, present, and future. Cindy graciously gave me a Rolie Polie (2.5" strip bundle) of choice:

 What did I choose? Daisy Cottage by Lori Holt.

I love the pink, yellow, and trendy gray in this line. I'm almost done with my quilt top. It is way cute. I'll share in the next couple of days. Candice got one, too. Check out her blog for her project, which will hopefully be soon. (Feeling the pressure, bestie?) Okay, it may not be soon. She gets to go to Market at the end of the week. Maybe Amanda can convince her to dance this time.

I really had the best week last week. I came home relaxed, albeit exhausted from the lack of sleep. I really can't thank Amanda enough to asking me to "help" with her fabric launch party. She rocks.

Home Again

I flew in late last night. The kids didn't seem to care that I'm on Utah time and were up at 7:15. Ginger has not left my side. It's good to be home, but I miss my friends.

They are too fun.

What Can I Say?

I meant to blog yesterday. No, really. I did. But between making a million tiny grilled cheese sandwiches and crafting the cutest dress form out of Delighted!, I just didn't have the time.

The dress form is to the right. I taught a mini-class on making a pincushion in a bottle cap. It was as cute as you imagine it to be.

There was delicious food and a crowd of fabric loving folks. Jennifer over at All Things Belle has a great write up. There are no pictures of me, but we'll forgive her for that. She was no doubt intimidated by my beauty. Either that, or every picture featured me talking. I did that non stop for several hours. Surprised?

My mom's cousin MK and her daughter Jenn came to play. I love family!

I was rockin' the backwards braid. It was great to have my hair out of my face and I felt very current. 

Also at my table were the owners of Riley Blake. After I confessed what a huge stalker I was of theirs, they invited me to come visit them at their corporate office. I didn't have to be invited twice! Amanda took us there today and let me tell you, that is one fun office. I'd like to move here and work for them. I'm not sure what Curly would have to say about that, but I'm sure it would go something like, "No."

Anyway, I walked away with some goodies. I'll tell you about them later. I'll show them to you now:

Gah! I'm off to sew. You do the same!!! 

PS -- I have a few things to give away. I'll do it next week when I'm back in my homeland. Can you guess what it is?

Reading Recommendations

I am leaving tonight. Actually, I leave in about 3.5 hours when I pick up the kids from school. I haven't even packed yet. I'm not too stressed about that part -- I mean, it's not like I'm packing all 6 of us up. No, what stresses me out is that my in-laws lose a kid. It kept me up until 2:45 in the morning. They never have lost a kid, so it's not like my fears are founded in reality.

Anyway, I have 6 hours of travelling. All. By. My. Self. YAY! I love flying alone. I can sleep or read or watch the movie. And no one asks to share my snack. It's heavenly. I'm taking my Nook, but I'm almost done with my book (Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet). What should I read next? What have you read recently? What do you like to read on a plane? Please share! It can be slightly trashy, don't be ashamed! I love a good Jennifer Crusie every once in a while ;) Thanks!

I'm taking my laptop with me, so expect updates from The Quilted Fish headquarters!

I Am So Smart!

Growing up, we were avid fans of The Simpsons. My favorite moment of the franchise is where Homer sings this little ditty: "I am so smart! S - M - R - T! I mean, s-m-a-r-t." I sing it to myself on almost a weekly basis.

Why am I so smart this time? I went into my LQS for batting today. While I was there and waiting for Patch to be done in the bathroom, I was thinking about how I want to be better at quilting. Now, I know most of you are now thinking that I am already a rock star at quilting. And it's true. I am. But I'm also pretty sure there are areas where even I can improve.

How am I going to do this? Starting in January, I'm going to quilt my way through this book:

I know I've already made several quilts from this book. But, I gave those all away. I want to keep some. Each month I'll make a different quilt, and then use a different style of quilting on it to boost my free motion skills.

I know this isn't an original idea. Kristyne at Pretty By Hand already did this. Her results were spectacular, which I find spectacular.

Anyone care to join me? It would be so fun to do it together!

Party Time!

And you're invited! Amanda had the genius idea to have a fabric launch party for her new line, Delighted. 

It is a guarantee that a fun time will be had by all! If you're in SLC area, clear your schedule and come to the party of the year. In case you're worried you won't recognize me, I'll be the beautiful one telling a joke while wearing a handmade apron.

Shameless Self Promotion Post

I have updated my etsy shop again. This time, 4 crayon folios. And, right now I'm offering free shipping. Say what? That's right. Fa-ree. Just use the code OCT10FREE. I thank you.

Oh, Canada

Today my sister in Canada is celebrating Thanksgiving. It seems a little early to those of us in the Lower 48. One has to wonder: Do Canadians start their Christmas shopping on the day after Thanksgiving like we do? If so, they are pretty smart. I'd like to have my shopping done by Halloween. It never happens, but a girl can dream. But, I digress. Back to my sister.

I would definitely call her "the pretty one." Also "the athletic one." (I'm "the smart one.") She has two handsome little fellas. They are also Canadian. So is her husband. Canada is very far from Maryland, which means I haven't seen my sister in over a year. Nonetheless, I am thankful for her. I hope she has a wonderful day today and enjoys her Jello Salad (sorry, Melly, I just gagged a little writing that. Jello Salad is so gross).

My sister served her mission amongst the Spanish speaking Arizonians. In her honor, tonight we are having fajitas with homemade tortillas. Enjoy your Jello.

A Week!

An entire school week has gone by without me posting. Oh dear. I haven't had much to say. Nothing has flooded. In fact, the rain stopped and the sun came out. I had almost forgotten the sky was blue. I think I burned my retinas. It's been a good week!

It's also been a busy week. This week I completed 3 projects for Amanda. Here is the back of one of the things. Not only is the fabric fabulous, but I'm pretty pleased with the quilting:

 Then, yesterday I used a new pattern:

 It's a crayon folio. So cute, right? This is actually the second one I made. The first one had some errors.

I learned some very important lessons when making this. For example, did you know that velcro can melt? Well, it can. And it smells bad. Now that I have learned all my lessons, I'll be making a ton for the November craft show. I think they'll sell, don't you?

Free Stuff

Do you like free stuff? Of course, we all do! (Remember that old Sally Struthers commercial?) If you haven't heard, Amanda is having a great giveaway on her blog. There are two criteria to enter. First, go here and leave a comment. Then, go to Facebook and "like" Xyron.  What does this machine do? It cuts stuff. Like fabric. It's awesome. So go enter and good luck!

'Tis the Season

It's here! Halloween Season has arrived! I know that's not a "real" thing, but it sort of feels like it, doesn't it? The stores are decked out in Halloween splendor. There are TV specials popping up. There's a nip in the air and it definitely feels like fall. I love it.

In honor of this most wonderful time of year, I've marked down my Halloween decorations in my etsy shop. I only have two banners left, so hurry on over!

Happy Haunting!