February

Since it's the first day of spring February, we spent some time with the windows open. It was surreal. Tomorrow it's supposed to be 50, and I'm sure we'll feel like it's freezing.

Patch is under the weather. He's missed school for three days. It's very sad, because it was his week to do the calendar at school. This morning, he woke up with a little extra gunk in his body. It's something he doesn't really like. As he was coughing, he cried in desperation: "I don't want to die!"

Apparently we're all a little dramatic.

I finished my first quilt of 2012. It's so cute. But, I hate to ask, has anyone seen my camera?

So that's me today. Just enjoying the beautiful weather and trying to keep Patch from dying a very tragic death by phlegm. Hopefully I will find the camera tomorrow and take a picture of this very cute quilt. But, if not, picture in your mind the most darling quilt you've ever seen. Mine's even cuter than that.

Big Z

This is me and my Grandpa, Big Z, in 1995. Do you know what's miraculous about this? We both still look the same. True story. Today he's 88. His life would make the best movie. He was born in Brigham City, Utah, a very small town with two delicious restaurants (Peach City and Maddox). He married the girl he'd had his eye on since grade school and took her to far away Princeton where he was the captain of the football, basketball, and baseball teams. While they raised their family, he juggled a career, family, and church service. He traveled around the world. His grandkids can brag that he almost went pro in baseball, and could keep up with any professional golfer. He is a man of talent, faith, and integrity. In his honor today, we're not singing "Happy Birthday." Instead, we're singing a rousing rendition of the Princeton fight song. Love you, Grandpa!

Crash through that line of blue, 

And send the back on 'round the end! 

Fight, fight for ev'ry yard, 

Princeton's honor to defend. 

Rah! Rah! Rah! 

Rah! Tiger sis boom bah! 

And locomotives by the score! 

For we'll fight with a vim 

That is dead sure to win, 

For Old Nassau. 

Pillows

I have felt a little disorganized when it comes to my projects. I just need to sit down and make a master list. But I haven't done that yet. So when I go down to my subterranean studio, I spend more time spinning my wheels than actually working. Yesterday I decided on a project before I went downstairs, which meant once I got there, I just got to work. And now today, I have 4 finished pillows.

 I only have one pillow form, though.

 Yes, this does count as one of my 2012 UFOs, as I had these pieced back around Christmas. I also used leftover charm squares from my craft fair sewing, which means this project was free. That's the rule, right? If it comes from stash, it's free.

 This last one I used 2.5" squares from the Delighted! launch party. Then I begged Amanda for some more of the green dot so I could finish this. It's going to live with my mom, who received the quilt for Christmas.

 I'm going to go post these pictures to the Sew Much 2 Luv After Christmas Sew Along. The prize this week is pretty cool. You shouldn't check it out, though. I mean, you might not like gift certificates.

Dieting

I am on a fabric diet for the new year. It's really a difficult diet to be on. I am allowing myself a few purchases, because just like a regular diet, if you cut yourself off completely you'll go overboard when you finally do break your diet. So I'm allowed to buy neutrals to finish quilt tops. You know, whites for sashing and things like that. Of course, now that I'm on this diet I have found several things that I need. From pre-cuts to yardage, I can feel a binge coming on if I'm not careful.

I haven't yet shared my goals for the new year. I have several, but some of them I'm keeping to myself for a bit. One major goal was to be flood free in 2012. I am proud to report that on week 3 we are still dry. Hurray! Another goal is to potty train Ginger. She has informed me that she doesn't need to use the potty because she wears a diaper. That's very good logic for a two year old. I'm afraid the only course of action is to take away her diapers; cut her off cold turkey. But first I'll have to gear myself up for the battle of the century.

She's a stinker, you know.

The Finished Clothes

I got horrible shots of the kids in their finished clothes. I mean, they were awful. And I got no shots with them all together. What kind of mom am I? Anyway, here's what I did get:

 The only one of Flower's skirt. Can you see the gold on the bottom left?

 Patch's tie. I won some serious "awesome" points with Curly for this one. He didn't even know you could make a tie.

 Mini-me and GrandPatty. Flower's skirt looks just like hers, except I used the fabric in Patch's tie.

And Miss Ginger. She loved her dress. She referred to herself as a "pincess" in it.

I am now on the lookout for fabric for Easter. Wish me luck!

Christmas Recap

Even though it was just two weeks ago (or so), it feels like Christmas was so long ago. Here are some of the handmade gifts I crafted:

These are cute little wallets that are closed with a snap:

 We put a gift card in them. The turned out so cute.

 I made several notebooks:

 The best part of all of these was that I pulled from my stash. Apparently I have a lot of nice fabric!

Curly took this table topper to work for a gift exchange. I was sad to see it go. I told him that if no one wanted it, he was to steal it back and bring it home. The person who opened it really liked it, so he felt it was better if she kept it. I think I need to make one for myself.

 

It wasn't quite the handmade Christmas I had envisioned, but it was still pretty good. I'm already plotting for next year.

What a Weekend

This past weekend, Mini-me was baptized.

It was such a special weekend. I made outfits for the kids (more on that later), and we had our friends and family who came to the baptism over for a party afterwards. We were all so proud of Mini-me and her choice to be baptized.

We love Mini-me. I am thankful every day to be her mother. Even on the days where she has a temper tantrum that begins at 7 am and ends at 7 pm. 

All the grandparents were there. Aren't we lucky to live so close? I think so. Such a great weekend. 

New Duds

For Christmas, I really wanted to make my kids cute outfits and show them off at church. I mean, that's the point of making kids clothes, isn't it? To show off a tad? But unfortunately it didn't get done before Christmas. I had the fabric washed and ready to go, so working on it this week totally counts as a UFO.

First up is the little dress for Ginger:

 For those with a keen fabric eye, I used some DS Quilts fabric found at Joann's. I used a coupon (of course!) so I think I paid about $5 a yard. In total, the dress will end up being around $11. I still need to add buttons and do the hem stitch on the bottom. I used the Oliver + S Playdate Dress pattern. I love it because it has maximum style for minimum time. I think it took about 4 hours start to finish for this cutie.

Next is this cute skirt for Mini-me:

Same DS Quilts fabric. I used a Simplicity pattern for this, I think it was a Hillary Duff pattern. It was also very easy and Mini-me is so excited to wear it. I still need to get the elastic for it. What I like about this pattern is that the skirt is plenty long. I hate little girl skirts that are inches above the knee. Their underwear is constantly showing and it's just too short. An 8 year old does not need to show off that much leg.

Still on the list of things to make is a tie for Patch. I think I'm going to use the gold that's on the yolk of Ginger's dress. And I also need to do something for Ginger. I have a larger DS print that has the purple as the background that I can use a skirt. I can also do just a headband for her, if she feels she's too mature to coordinate like that.

All I know is I should have majored in Home Ec in college. It would have been much more useful than my Humanities major.

Project: UFO

This year I am determined to use up what I have. I have several quilts in various stages of done-ness. Some are cut, some are half-sewn, and I even have on that is ready to quilt. I feel like I need to get a handle on those already begun projects before I start anything else this year. I have some really great fabrics down in my dungeon studio. In looking at them, I just want to sew all the time! But, unfortunately, my family has "needs." Like food. And clean clothes. It's a little inconvenient.

So yesterday I had a few spare moments, so I dug out the quilt I started with this:

It's a Rollie Pollie of Daisy Cottage that I got while visiting the Riley Blake headquarters. As soon as I got this in my hot little hands, I new what I wanted to do with it. I made the blocks back in October, and then other projects bumped it back in priority. Until yesterday. Here's the almost-finished-top:

I love the look of a bento box quilt, but I wanted to do something a little different. I just need to put some borders on it and then quilt it up. Maybe it will be done by the end of the week! I make no promises. Part of the problem with working from UFOs is that I get severe project ADD. I putter from one to another. Perhaps if I focused a bit, I could finish them all.

So what are you working on? Anything fun?

The End

Today is the last day of 2011. I'm not sad to see this year end. In fact, I'm thrilled. This has been a tough year. Our basement flooded more times than I can count. Okay, not quite. Just 4 times. But still. Once would have been sufficient. And then to end the year with a fizzle, Curly found out his employers would no longer support his working at the dinner theater. Losing income is never pretty.

On the other hand, we have had some good times, too. I found out a year ago that I would be part of Amanda's team. I think we can all agree that that's been fun. Especially the party. And I actually managed to finish a quilt (or two) this year.

Here's what I finished:

11 quilts!! That blows my mind a bit. And that's not counting all the table runners, bags, and craft show items I made as well. I've been busier and more productive than I thought!

My goal for 2012? Pretty simple -- 12 in 2012. I think this is pretty doable, since I have several quilts-in-progress right now. If I just finish those, I'm more than halfway there!

Also for 2012 -- The Weekender Bag. I will not be afraid!

Happy Christmas!

May the next few days be full of wonder and peace.

Santa Baby

A few weeks ago, we rode the rails on the Santa Train. Ginger was so excited.

When Santa arrived, however, Ginger was no longer excited but completely terrified. She wouldn't look up until Santa went in another car. And Patch was pretty nervous, too. He had to sit on my lap and wouldn't talk directly to Mr. Claus. Mini-me, on the other hand, chattered away about her desire for presents previously unmentioned.

Every year, Curly's work does a breakfast with Santa. The past couple of years, he has gotten to put on the suit. Again, Ginger would not go anywhere near him. When I took this picture, she had wrapped herself around my legs and would not let go until Santa left the area.

Let's hope he overlooks her rudeness and brings her some presents. After all, of the four kids, she's been the nicest.

I'm Delighted to Inform You

Today I'm a Course Instructor over on the Riley Blake Cutting Corners blog. Go here to check it out!

Not to toot my own horn too loudly, but it's a great tutorial for those irresistible 5" and 10" stackers and a little yardage. Let me know what you think!

And on a completely unrelated note, here is a hilarious picture of Flower:

Her show choir had a Christmas performance at the mall over the weekend. Apparently she's very focused. I took a couple of other pictures, and they all have this face! Funny focused Flower aside, her show choir is very talented. They sang a White Christmas medley that had my toes tapping, and they even dance a little. She loves being a part of it.

Someone's 2!

Ginger turned two this past Friday. She loved her birthday. She had donuts for breakfast, chicken nuggets and ice cream for lunch, and a cupcake for dinner.

 She only got a few presents (because she's only two, people). Flower was so sweet and gave Ginger a couple of her previously loved toys. Grandpatty gave her an Elmo, and the rest of us gave her Minnie's Bowtique. She has lots of eager helpers for play time.

Where the heck did 2 years go? It's just nuts!

One Short Week

Folks, may I have your attention for a moment? One week from today, all the stress will be over. All the preparation will be done. But getting to that point? Holy moley, it's going to be nuts! I have a lot to still finish. Am I alone in this? I doubt it. So instead of doing a post on all the things I have yet to do, I thought I would post about the things I finished last week.

First up is this adorable baby quilt, made from Ruby. It's also a Thimble Blossoms pattern called Wild Thing. It was my last customer order of the season.

 For the back I used some Nicey Jane. I love this stuff.

 Then, my friend Lauren and I decided to make a quilt for our blogless friend. It was made from leftover blocks from a quilt found here.

We delivered it this week, so she would have a chance to enjoy it. I think she liked it.

 Lauren is a genius, and turned the two leftover blocks into pillows. Look how happy Colleen looks:

Proving yet again that handmade is well worth the stress.

The Results

This is what I would have worked on last night, had I had batting that was the right size. But since I didn't, I worked on it today. The binding is on, so tonight I will finish it while watching White Christmas. I even have a cannoli for the occasion. So, when is bedtime?

Happy Christmas!

It's officially Christmas. How did that happen? We have been busy lighting the lights, trimming the tree, and decking the halls. So far, the season is full of joy. What it isn't full of is sewing. I've been busy with a few projects, but I am having a hard time finding my motivation. I think also that I have so many things to work on, that it's hard to focus. Am I alone here? Perhaps not.

I signed up for the Friday Night Sew In for tonight. I was hoping to get a baby quilt finished, but my batting is the wrong size. Ugh! I'll remedy that tomorrow and get it done and mailed out to my customer. I have a few more things I'm working on. I'll take pictures tomorrow when it's light.

So what are you working on? Are you ready for Christmas? I went shopping at Target last night, and practically skipped out thinking I had just finished. Then, I remembered I had nothing for Flower. Literally nothing. And then I started to feel stressed. She's with her mom this year, so I can shop for her after Christmas without too much of a problem. I would love some book recommendations for a tween, if you have any. She loves the Fablehaven series and would like books with a similar feel. She is not interested in Harry Potter, and she is way too young for Twilight. Any help?