Happy Monday!

Happy Monday survival wishes to all!

Here's what I've got to show for my absent-ness lately.  Our little ones have been trading colds and coughs but I think we're over it.  We did a lot of this recently...

 This is their new favorite book and favorite story - The Gingerbread Man.  And yes, that is me.

I finished my bee blocks for this month of the bliss circle of do. Good Stitches.  I winged it and I think they turned out ok.  Next time though, I've got to make sure the edges aren't going to be lost when all the blocks are sewn together.

I am currently hand quilting my husband's quilt!  Yahoo, this beast has been weighing heavily on my shoulders.  Here's a very badly lit photo of the top, which measured 81x91.  And it's pretty great.  I tested it by falling asleep while working on it yesterday and it was very nice. It has flannel on the back :)

Here's a sneak peek for my partner in the covert robin swap!  I'm hoping to get this baby on it's way this week.

I started a new project from Camille Roskelly's book, Simplify, last weekend and got all the strips sewn up last night.  This is the Dream Big pattern in the book and it's been a super quick and painless project so far.  I picked out a bunch of spring prints from my stash to use here as it was grey skies and almost rain/snow/sky-spit yucks last week...blah...this quilt will be a reminder of happiness even when the weather sucks.

I still have to pick border fabric.  This pattern has a couple borders and I might do white as one of them...or a solid...any ideas?

Hope you all had a happy St. Patrick's Day this weekend!  We had corned beef and cabbage for dinner, per tradition, and saw the first green in the grass in months!

And to leave you with something that makes me smile

It's so nice when we all get along! 

Linking up at Canoe Ridge Creations for Sew Modern Monday  

and with Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday

I Won Something Awesome!

My day has just been brightened by a fantastic email. I won a giveaway!!

Red Pepper Quilts had a giveaway from Moona Fabrics of 10 fat quarters of Summerlove by Pat Bravo.  I entered it dreaming of all things summery and thinking I might as well go and buy some.  These giveaways have hundreds of entries and I can't remember a time in my life that I've won something...

The fabric was in and out of my online shopping carts all day!

And what did I find today in my inbox? I had to look twice...I won the 10 fat quarters!!!!

Check out this fabric...it's unbelievable! I have shopped at Moona Fabrics before and they are a wonderful place!  If you haven't visited them before, you should definitely check them out!

I'm so excited, now I get to flip through my quilting books and find the perfect pattern to use for these beautiful fabrics!  Stay tuned...I'll be sure to share pictures when they arrive!

a little about me...

I love when bloggers I'm reading post tidbits about themselves.  That makes it more personal and friendship-y to me.  I like it.  I haven't done much of this and realize that just by looking through my posts it's not too personal. 

I apologize. 

I hope to become more relateable and personal so you can all get to know me better...and I thought this might help for the blogger who has fallen upon having me as their "person" in the Covert Robin swap get to know me better too :)

Here's some help/random things about me:

I am a dog person
I am a Mac person
I am a diet coke person
I like blue, grey, oceany, beachy, summery colors
I am a stay at home mom with 2 kids
I love Modern Family, Psych, The Golden Girls, and 30 Rock
I am the housewife version of Liz Lemon (though I am taller and don't wear glasses...)
I get bored easily and have about 6 WIP's and at least 4 quilts I have fabric pulled for and want to cut and start
I got married when I was 19 and now we have 2 kids (our son came 2 weeks before I graduated college) and will hit our 5 year anniversary in May
I want to have at least 2 more kids but we're going to wait a while until the Mr. gets a little more school checked off
I am from Palo Alto, California and would love to move back...tomorrow if possible...(James Franco went to high school with my brother and Jeremy Lin was in the class after me...my only link to famous people...haha)
I don't like peanut butter or applesauce, bring on the Nutella!
I would love to decorate my home in a shabby chic way with a touch of modern, lots of white so the color pops, and a gas stove is a must (but we're renting so...someday?)
I am very shy...that's why I like this blogging thing...In person is a little scary for me...
I don't like talking on the phone
I love cooking and baking and the Food Network
I wear flats, not heels.
I am a chocoholic...seriously...
I don't like Twilight. 
I like the Hunger Games.
I love to read and have too many books...about a third of them are children's books.
I am not a morning person
I am not photogenic, I'd rather take the pictures than be in them. 
I have never made anything with a zipper
I have never made a pillow cover....or anything more than quilts of various sizes...
I'm not into fabric with licensed characters...I LOVE Aneela Hoey, Sarah Jane, and October Afternoon
My favorite fabric collections so far are Fly a Kite, and California Girl, and I'm looking forward to my order of Flea Market Fancy!!



Hope this helps a little! I'm pretty sure my Flickr is linked on the side of my blog, as is my Pinterest if you need more visuals!   

Fingers crossed I will have things to show you tomorrow!  I'm making good progress on my husband's quilt and need to go find some flannel for the back. 

Happy weekending to you!!

oops...

...I totally missed WIP Wednesday again...mainly because I hate uploading just a couple pics at a time to the computer...

BUT, I still wanted to share what I've been up to this week.

 I have FINALLY gotten the blocks cut for my husband's quilt.  This week he offered, out of the blue, to move the furniture so I can sandwich it up, cute right! I think he's a little anxious for me to finish it.

 This is what I came up with for the March block of the Books and Blocks Bee Too, which was a challenge for me.  I don't usually dream of these colors, and the middle fabric just isn't my style, but I wanted to make our March leader happy.  I'm happy with what I came up with.  That's the joy of being in a Bee, you get to make things you normally wouldn't make! 

This was for We Bee Modern March where our leader this time gave us free reign to do whatever block we wanted to.  Scary!  Too many options is always a good problem, but still a problem for me either way.  I need some kind of direction.  I asked what colors she likes and she said green and grey.  I think it turned out well and I'm really glad to have both of these blocks checked off my to-do list!

Oh, I also finished the HST block of the month too but didn't get a photo taken yet. Check!

I'm also participating in the Covert Robin swap and have been stalking my recipient's blog.  I'll tell you a secret: I'm super intimidated by their skill level!  Holy moly.  We're talking this is one super talented lady!  I figured out what I want to make and am now just waiting on the supplies.  I just hope she'll like it!!  

My Made in Cherry quilt is sandwiched and ready to quilt so I'll have that and (fingers crossed) my husband's quilt top to show you tomorrow!  

Happy Thursday!

Happy March!

I can't believe February is gone.  March will probably go even faster, there's a lot to do already!!

I suppose I did get some things done in February:

 HST block of the month from In Color Order

 Greek Cross

 Solstice Star Sampler from Fresh Lemons

 Granny Squares from Jolene's tutorial at Blue Elephant Stitches

 Finished 2 out of 3 baby blankets using granny squares

 2 Blocks for Avery

 Bee block for We Bee Modern February

 Sailboat blocks for do. Good Stitches Bliss circle

 Extra large granny square block (2) using Joelene's tutorial again and Fly A Kite fabric

 Books and Blocks bee February block

 Map blanket for my kids to mess with

 Picked fabric for a friend who's getting married in June.  It will be a Swoon!

Finally  put together my Drunkard's Path quilt and got about 1/4th through hand quilting.

I guess February was enough time to get a few things done.

Here are my plans for March:

-Bee blocks (1) We Bee Modern - I get to pick which one I want to make out of the book, so that will be fun, but which to pick!! (2) Books and Blocks bee - our leader has chosen Megan's star from the book, which is an awesome block.  I'm a little less excited about this one, just because it's just not my style of fabric choices, so this may be a bit of a challenge. (3) do. Good Stitches bliss circle - we get to make pink and orange wonky log cabin blocks, awesome as I have lots of pink and orange to choose from!  I haven't made wonky log cabins before either so I'm excited to learn.

-Finish quilting Drunkard's Path quilt

-Finish quilt from the Mr. - I've got almost all the blocks done and am really really hoping to have the top done this weekend

-Solstice stars and summer sample quilt - I have enough to make a top with and want to use the rest of my Woodlands fabrics to finish it.  Should be easy to put together once I finish a few other things first!

-Last baby quilt - bind, wash, and mail!

-Sew Cherry Quilt - I picked the background fabric and just need to cut it, and piece the back.  I'm going to use some Sarah Jane prints on the back and I think it will be cool enough to be reversible.  Really want to check that one off the list and start using it!

-HST Block of the month from In Color Order - Jeni's posted to tutorial for the March block and I'm hoping to get that done today with my Salt Air and Bella solids in white charm squares

-Swoon wedding quilt - fortunately my friend isn't getting married until June, but I'd like to get a couple blocks done for her quilt this month.

-In Law's wedding quilt - Start putting the virginia stars together that will make up the top.

-make a plan for another Wedding quilt 

Wish me luck!  I'll update soon.  

Monday once more!

Good morning friends!  I didn't get much sleep last night so I apologize for any incoherance.  Our little Lady Face doesn't seem to be feeling that terrific, and woke up a whole lotta times last night.  So we're going to snuggle on the couch and have a Buzz Lightyear movie marathon, poor girl. 

I did have a pretty productive weekend though!  Here's what went down.

Books and Blocks Bee Too: I was a little stumped at what to do for this.  The queen of February chose the book block on p. 126 and I wasn't sure what I had in my stash that would fit what she was looking for.  She wanted the block altered a bit so she could do her own sashing thing, so we left the strips off of the top and bottom making it 12.5x8.5, and wanted the spine to be white so we could all sign our names.  After a trip to Joann's for the fabric pen, I found the green Nicey Jane print that I used as background and then received the Japanese fabric in the mail with a bundle of Pezzy Prints (yay!) and thought that would be cute. 

I'm quite pleased with how it came out, even if the spine is a touch long...

Thanks to an almost blizzard (windstorm with some morning snow) we stayed home all day Saturday and that gave me time to put this together!

 I got the fabric from Hawthorne Threads, isn't it cute!  I'd been looking for something like this and couldn't find what I wanted.  This was it!! I tied it so it would go even faster, and because I wasn't sure what I would do to quilt it.  I didn't want to obstruct any of the gorgeous images on the fabric.

 The nice people at Hawthorne Threads cut it so nicely that I could immediately sandwich it together without having to cut it and none was cut off in binding either!  Truly an easy project.

The kids like it, and it is filled with all sorts of fun and educational things.  A win win for me!

I have also pulled out one WIP that I've been meaning to finish for some time now.  It should be done this week (fingers crossed). Remember that Drunkard's Path quilt-along?  I finally finished the top and then it sat and sat for a couple months on top of the washer...I had the backing fabric picked, and it was all ready.  I was a little bummed with it initially because it wasn't as big as I'd hoped it would be and so the border I had added to it wasn't what I thought it'd be.  It just didn't add up to what I'd hoped.

But then I pulled it off the washer yesterday and gave it an ironing, and what do you know, I love it again!  I think it's a great size and will look wonderful over the couch.  I'm doing a simple hand quilting to it, and used an old sheet I picked up at my parents house over thanksgiving that is the perfect rosy, dusty pinkish color that I wanted, and so soft!  It will be wonderful to have it finished.

I will take a better picture when it's done.  The quilting is looking really awesome so far, and should look even better after it's washed and crumply!

I'm linking up to Sew Happy Geek for the Manic Monday Linky Party and at Canoe Ridge Creations Head over and see what everyone else is up to this Monday morning!

I think I'm going to make some hot chocolate!

I am going to copy this awesome post idea from Tanesha at Crafty Garden Mom. Love this idea and it's great since I haven't posted anything in a while (it's almost March...what?!)

Today...
Outside my window... It's 10:40pm.  Dark and very cold with remnants of the snow that came while I was asleep Friday night/Saturday morning.

I am thinking... Lady Face's birthday is only about 35 days away.  She will be 2 and I want to be in better shape by then...so March will be super fun!!! right. Just found a blog that I am really really enjoying, especially this post (about white trash cooking - soooo funny). Her posts remind me of my grandparents who were from Kentucky and my years in Virginia in college in what I considered "The South".

I am thankful for... My family.  The ones that live in the same house as me especially.  They are so good to me.  I love them tremendously.  Even the furry one. 

I am reading... Well, at the beginning of the year, every year, it's my dream goal to read a book a week.  I love to read, but lately quilting and sewing have been my go-to free time spenders...so I've only read one book so far this year.  I am reading The Dog Who Came In From The Cold by Alexander McCall Smith.  I love all of his books.  He writes about happy things and real stuff. Little victories and life things that make us all part of the same goodness. Absolutely adore it.  Life's too short to read crappy books that make you feel terrible...
 

I am wearing... um, Don't look now but I got some pj pants at T.J. Maxx and they are too short (I'm 5'10") which is what I get for buying girly pj pants and not man ones like I usually do.....but I'm wearing those, a BYU Track t-shirt, and (get ready for this one...) a blue Ralph Lauren jacket....from Costco. Almost thought I'd classed it up for a second there, right?

I am creating... a quilt that has been semi finished for months now, a quilt for my husband, and three wedding quilts.  A me that is  leaner, toned, and almost constantly sore from being shredded by Jillian Michaels...I'll let you know how it goes during March when I actually do the workouts more than once a week :)

I am hoping... that I can have more patience this week, and that comfort will find it's way to those I'm worried about.

I am hearing... Little Lady Face sing and mumble as she falls asleep, and the clicking of the Mr's football game on the Wii.  The classical station on Pandora - which is currently playing the LOTR soundtrack. 

Around the house... I need to accept the fact that I will be in a semi-constant state of doing dishes and laundry for the rest of my life.  It will never end until I do.  Shingles blew off our roof this weekend and since we're renting we came home from church to find the owners friend on the roof fixing them.  Poor guy.  It was like 25 degrees. We offered him some donuts but he said no :(

One of my favorite things... Our new leather loveseat (thanks tax return!), a hot shower, Starbucks hot chocolate mix, and the individually packaged skinless salmon fillets (yep, also Costco). And the instagram photo's I took this weekend (see below)

A few plans for the rest of the week... it's Sunday evening so the week is just beginning!  I'm hoping to do fun things with my kids, to get outside, to exercise every day, get the top done for the Mr's quilt, and get some more stuff checked off the mandatory to do list so I can work on some fun quilting projects for me.  I also want to start reading another book to the kids at nap time.  We read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to them a while ago a chapter or two a night and they loved it!  Time for another one. Oh, and to get more sleep...that'll probably help all the rest go better...

A picture (or four) to share from the weekend...

 

I am happy... Because my kids are healthy.  They are cute.  They love me.  I am happy because my Husband is pretty awesome all the time, and has made me confident that we will always be together.  It's reassuring to know that, and thinking about it makes me feel really special. I am also happy because our rental here is starting to feel like our space.  I'm starting to not be so hard on myself, and to realize that I have the next moment to do better than I did before.  Might sound lame, but that's a big one for me! And finally, I got to stay in my pajamas for 90% of the weekend and I let it happen.  It was glorious.



Bonus points if you can tell me who that little person in the hat looks like!


How was your weekend?