Look what I have!!!

Thank you Anna!!! I'll be trying this out as soon as I get something basted!

WIP Wednesday

I tried out a few new things this week, and took a couple pictures too!  I have much more that is "in progress" and I even cleaned up my sewing space (and then messed it up picking fabric for the patchwork prism QAL).

First I wanted to share some non-sewing business with you.  I've been trying to hit the gym frequently to get rid of some "extra stuff" I'm carrying around and went with a friend on Monday.  This was new for me.

I don't really like working out around or with people I know.  I'd rather sweat like a fool and look like one around perfect strangers.  But, my friend had invited me to a class, so I laced up my Asics and went.  And I went to the wrong one...in the wrong room... It was an aerobics type class and wasn't super challenging except for the abs part (but holy cow have I been feeling it since).

Here's the thing though,  I am a 5' 10" uncoordinated mess when it comes to having "moves"... I look like a total loser in a room full of mirrored walls, and have always been shy and self-conscious...yikes...so the fact that I stayed and did the workout was an accomplishment for me.  So yay!  There's that.

In more interesting news, I tried Hexagons!  It was easy!  And fun!  I was prompted to make these because I joined a hexagon swap.  I figured I probably wouldn't give it a try unless I had a reason to make them and this was it.  I followed my friend Katie's tutorial and it was wonderful.  I don't use thimbles though and found my fingers were ok (so far - granted I've only made about 30...I made some more last night after I took this picture)

Then, I made these two blocks with fabrics from my scrap box for Katherine in one of the bee's that I just got a spot in.  She's making this quilt as a gift and I think it's going to look really wonderful!

And I picked out fabric for the Patchwork Prism QAL.  If you haven't heard about this yet you should check it out.  It's an amazing free pattern from Anna Maria Horner and there are some truly amazing prizes (like a new Janome sewing machine!!), so I'm all over this.  It's being hosted by Bianca who is amazing, and you don't want to miss it.  Seriously. 

It's much more color theory than I'm used to wrapping my head around so I kept this post from Bianca open while I pulled my fabrics (all from my stash so far) and I really like the way they look together.  I want to add a yellow and perhaps another brown and another red.  What do you think? Anything you would add or take out?

I really like looking at these and haven't moved them off the table yet.

I'm also working on the Zooey pattern by the great and talented LuLu (here's her Etsy shop) and should have the top done tonight or tomorrow (I hope) and then it can hang out with the other tops in the pile on top of the dryer :)

On an unrelated note we have also been trying no naps for either kid this week (their choice, not mine...) and Abby has been wearing real underwear and using the toilet to go potty.  She's doing pretty well so far, but I'll spare you the nasty details.   It's been an interesting week so far.

 To you experienced moms out there, what did you do when your kids stopped taking naps?  I'm trying to figure out how to still get that break in the day that we all need, and haven't quite figured it out yet.  Any tips or advice would be wonderful!!

I'm hoping to get to the post office today to annoy the mail lady some more, and hopefully I'll be able to get some things finished this weekend between potty breaks and laundry.

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced (be sure to check out the other lovely projects over there!)

Happy Wednesday everyone!!!

p.s. This is my 44th post - I'm thinking something fun for my 50th!  Stick around!

Maybe the cutest thing I've ever made...

...besides these monkeys of course... ($20 pool and 80 degrees?  yes please!)

...would have to be this little turtle and snail block...

Of course the colors aren't 100% but I love how it looks like the turtle and the snail

are having a VERY important conversation.  I just know

they're bestest friends!

I am participating in a potholder swap this month and the end of this month is coming up soon...

So, last night I grabbed some supplies and started "messing around" with them.  That means I had no plan but just did something because I had to...deadline approaching...and this block is what I came up with!  This morning I finished it off and made another one as a mismatched "set" for my swap partner.

I added some hand stitching around the star of the turtle one and then in the middle of two of the borders in the second one instead of machine quilting it (I am without a walking foot you see...)

And the back...not as exciting...

I used binding I'd already made that was leftover from other projects and I like the colors together.  The turtle and the snail is a 7" square and the wildflowers one is about 7.5" square.

I just hope my partner likes them! I let my 3 year old put them in the mailbox today so hopefully they'll be arriving next week!

Thank goodness it's finally warm!!!

WIP Wednesday

Today I'm determined to get my post finished before it's Thursday and the title and link up no longer apply.  Here we go!

I got 4 blocks done for Bee Simple (I got to fill a spot so I had two blocks from March to catch up on).  These went together really easily, and turned out pretty well!  I think they will turn into great quilts. It's not great lighting but there is a white border on the bottom and left sides as well. 

 I also got one of my Hoop Up! Stitch and Send projects on it's way today!

 It's a quote from Modern Family that says, 

"If you want to fly I'm not gonna hold your feet to the ground, 

I'm gonna be the one to push you off the cliff." 

-Phil Dunphy

Here's what's up next:
Learn to make Hexies for a swap
2 potholders for Bee a [modern] swapper potholder swap (excited to start on these designs)
Modern She Made swap

This is my jumping off point for the MSM swap.  I don't want to give too much away (it's a secret swap) but I want to make a couple i-spy placemats for my partner's kids (hopefully in this color combo) to include with the other goodies.  Stay tuned partner!  More sneak peaks to come!

For now that's all I've got.

I appreciate the tips for the allergies and have been on the lookout for some locally made honey, as many of you said that helps, but haven't found any yet.  I've been hitting the Claritin pretty well in the mean time.

Linked up to Lee's WIP Wednesday!

Oh, and while I was perusing the other posts linked up to Lee's WIP Wednesday I came accross Kelsey Sews and saw the awesome quilt she made with i-spy charms.  I've got sooo many of those, I'm going to try to whip up a quilt with her tutorial soon to get some of them used.  I think it'd be pretty great to use rainbow charms in the quilt also.  Have a look!

Covert Robin Guest Post

I'd like to welcome Jill from Made with Moxie to the blog today!  She is the wonderful creator of my incredible clutch from the Covert Robin Swap!  


Hi! I'm Jill, aka ThatMoxieGirl, from over at Made with Moxie Today I am going to be sharing the gift I made for Marian as part of the Covert Robin handmade gift swap.


This was my first swap ever so I was totally nervous. I wanted to make Marian something she would love love love. I'm one of those people plagued with the need to give the perfect gift. The fun part of a swap is that you get to stalk a person's blog, flickr account, pinterest, etc to get an idea of who your person is and what they like. Call me crazy, but I like it. I'm the kind of girl who peeks in your medicine cabinet when I use your bathroom. (There go all my dinner party invitations....:P )

Oh, yeah, my gift for Marian. I'm a sucker for bags and I haven't met a crafty lady yet who didn't love them too. Just about the time I got my Covert assignment, Anna at Noodlehead released her new Envelope Clutch pattern. It was a great
excuse
reason to buy the pattern, or at least that is what I told my husband. Seriously, I have very tolerant husband, but I don't think he completely understands the You Can Never Have Too Many Bags philosophy of life. *Note: this also applies to shoes.

I used some of this pretty flowered fabric that I had been
hording
saving for the exterior and a sweet green polka dot for the lining. Inside the clutch there is a good sized zippy change pocket, slots for four credit cards and 2 pockets for a phone or other what-nots. This was the first time I had ever put a zipper in like that so I was so nervous not to mess it up!

To finish it off I added a little hand embroidery in complimentary colors to the exterior flap.

I always think it is nice to have a small bag for daily necessities that you can throw in a bigger bag (because I have an infant and toddler to haul around their "stuff" too.) I really hope you enjoy your new clutch, Marian and thank you for having me over!


Jill you really did a wonderful job, I'm so happy with this clutch!  It's perfectly done and absolutely my style!  I absolutely love it!

Be sure to check out Jill's blog, she's wonderful!

Dear Allergies

You need to leave now.  Before I itch my eyes out and sneeze off my nose.  Please.  It's been a fun week but enough's enough.  I'm going through Visine and tissues like nobody's business.  Not cool.

This is just getting ridiculous. 

Oh, if you could tell the wind to take it down a notch that'd be awesome.  Thanks.

An Award and a Birthday!

First of all, I have some exciting news to share.  I've been awarded the Liebster Award by Deanna of Little D and Me! Isn't that cool!

I'm totally thrilled, even though this award is a little vague in detail.  Deanna did some research though and here's what she found.  

Basically, it's an award that goes to bloggers with small blogs.  By small, I mean less than 200 followers.

So, thank you Deanna!  Deanna was my partner for the Covert Robin Swap and if you haven't checked out her blog yet, you really should.  She's an amazing woman, and super talented!

Ok, so here's what I get to do now. 

1.  Thank the person who gave you the award and link to their blog.

2.  Choose 3-5 blogs with less than 200 followers and pass the award on to them.

3.  Display the Liebster Award somewhere on your blog

Here are my nominee's:

stephjacobson - I got to know Steph a bit through an I-spy swap I participated in earlier this year.  Her blog is full of crafty things, and she is super talented and creative.  You should check out the Star Wars party she threw for her son!  Amazing! 

There and Back - I've become Katie's Flickr stalker, and first found her from being in We Bee Modern together.  Now we're in several swaps and bee's.  She knows how to find the good ones! Remember those plus blocks with Echo I made a while ago?  Those were for Katie, doesn't she have great taste?  I'm not sure how many followers she has but I really enjoy everything she posts.  She's one of my creative idols, everything she makes is awesome, and I love how she writes her blog.  

City Stitches - Megan is amazing.  She leads bees, QAL's and does everything in between.  She is a wonderful crafter and has fantastic skills.  She's super nice and so talented.  We're about the same age and so I love hearing about her experiences and ideas.  

Mommy Made It! - I just recently found this lovely blog and really enjoy her posts.  She dives into projects and shares her experiences with them.  I like the guts it takes to do that.  I'm excited to see how her Hopscotch quilt comes along too!

Anyway, be sure you check those out. Congratulations blog friends!

In other news, it's my son Matthew's 3rd birthday today!  So we're going to have a fun day of Lego's, Mario Kart, brownies, playing at the "home park", and French fries - per his request.  

 There was a ladybug in the yard yesterday that they watched crawl around for almost an hour!  

I'll be back later with a WIP Wednesday post.  I've been busy and have lots to share!