Fun Star Quilt

A friend of mine recently got married and I figured I had some time to get a perfect Quilt together for him and his new bride. But then he dropped the bomb on me. They are moving to Bangladesh in August! It's now time to up my game and get it started! I did find a great pattern on Moda Bake Shop. And I have got the cutting started. And finished. And then I started on my first few blocks! I'll add photos and we will see where it all ends up. Today is going to be a sewing, cleaning and maybe a running day. But the  run may move to tomorrow when I can hit an air conditioned track. Cause I'm a super baby! 

This is the amazing pattern that I picked. I'm doing it in teals and coordinating colors. 

This is the first block. It was my first adventure with paper piecing and I might have to be honest and say I LOVE IT! And will be doing way more! 

This is block 11 and the second one I sewed. I am loving it so far! Let's get more done!! 

And for some fun I'll show you what I did yesterday 

This is our fun before picture (and our made by us tutus, my sister and Hannah and I made them! We've got great plans for more and better ones) 

And the after photo! So much fun Color Me Rad rocks!! 

Back To The Blog

Now that summer is coming to an end I have a feeling I'll be back at the blogging! I've had a couple really great busy successful days! 

Yesterday I started my Disappearing Nine Patch quilt. I got all my nine patches sewn together and then I got them cut into quarters. I forgot to take photos because my phone was dead and my iPad was playing music. 

I also did 108 flights of stairs. Which means that I can walk up to the chapel in the stratosphere where I am getting married in about 5 weeks! (Holy crap time goes by sooo fast) I also ordered my necklace and earrings for my wedding day! WIN! 

Today was another super busy day. I went out to coffee this morning with *LB* and then home to clean the carpet in my bedroom and the hallway and the top two stairs and the landing! I then sewed the quilt top. I'm a super fan of the quick and fun disappearing nine patch!

 Then I ran for 36 minutes on my treadmill. I've started to try to do at least 30 minutes of activity a day. Day 2 a success! 

Now off to plan something for dinner! I promise I'll get some better pictures of my quilt top up soon!!

Ps! For everyone whose been following you know I have a love for the dodgers and they have clinched the western division! 

Binding Time!

My last couple days off went super well! I got a LOT done! A crazy amount actually! It is now time for me to do some binding! I tried it over the weekend and there was a TERRIBLE!!! seam ripping accident! It was awful! So I seam ripped it all and I will try again today. I have loads of pictures to show you all of them were taken with my iPhone so I apologize for the quality but at the same time I don't because I have a giant love for my camera and once I take it out I want to play with it and take loads of photos and go for photo walks and just take loads of pictures. So while in the middle of a project it's best if I just iPhone and continue with the project. I promise once I finish my Shattered Hooter blanket I will pull out the big camera and take amazingly beautiful pictures and close ups and super pictures and when I finally get to give it to Three (my friends baby!) I'll try to get a few shots with her and the blanket! Lets GO BINDING!

This is me using painters tape to measure out my quilting lines

This is me pointing out that I am an idiot and I make mistakes (I made this one about 8 times throughout the quilting process! Including when I was trying to fix it this time and was aware that I had to make sure my backing fabric wasn't being sneaky and folding back on its self.

This was a teaser picture for my step sister who has spent a lot of time and text messages encouraging me and helping me get to this point in the blanket.

Back to work doing more quilting I was 100% determined to  get this quilting stuff done that morning. I was actually dreaming the night before about my quilting plans!

This is me taping out the other 1/2 of my quilting pattern

This is a close up of one of the diamonds that I made! I'm 100% glad that I decided to sew on both of the sides of the piece of tape so that I could get those cute mini diamonds at the top, bottom, and both sides of the big diamond

The finished quilted quilt! Just waiting for some trimming and binding! And some better pictures! These pictures are terrible! Especially with the amount of work that went into this! I need to do better and stop taking the easy way out! Even though I think the excuse is legit!

Shattered Hooters!

After a small amount of indecision I have decided to borrow from Tula Pink and shatter some glass around my Owl! It is now going to be named "Shattered Hooter!" My step sister has helped me a super amount, she suggested that I use the Tula pink idea! She sent me a tutorial video. And after that failed she sent me a mini photo explanation tutorial! Yup she's my sewing advice. It's AWESOME! I may just have some of the best family a girl can asks for! I promise to post some pictures as soon as I have some shattered glass pieces together. I have 1/4 of them sewn together or pieced and not sewn together... Hrmph. It's hard to describe

My Unfinished Workload...

My sister Mrs. Purple Quiltapotamus has challenged me to list all my unfinished work. So here goes nothing. She did it! She says "It does a crafting soul good to see what needs  to be done!!!"

This is a blanket my sister knitted based on our idea from "Once Upon A Time" and I hand embroidered the name and hand sewed the triangle name piece on. Our hopes are that we will have these up for custom order on our Etsy Page very soon. All I have to do for this one is take it to the post office and send it to my friend's baby in Calgary. That should be easy enough.

 These supplies are for two more of the same type of blanket. The pink ribbon needs to be sewn together because it wasn't long enough but its perfect for the little lady who is going to be getting a white blanket like the one above. I just have to make her name Triangle. Hopefully I'll get it done this weekend. I have a date with her mother next week. The blue ribbon goes with that cute name triangle which needs to be sewn on to a blanket. The knitting is done! My sister (B) is a beast when it comes time to knit or crochet! She whips things up like nobodies business.

This one is almost like the first one, except it needs a little bit of ribbon help. It needs nicer bows and some trimming. But then I can take this with me to work and give it to the babies mommy to take  home with her. I might just wait till the little blue ribbon blanket above is complete so I can give it to both people at the same time.

My baby gift that's not needed until January when we have the baby shower. Its coming along well. Mr. Eric Gagne is there to guard my pieces. I have a few more blocks to sew. They're in the plastic bags there. And then I get to put it all together. Although I think one of my middle blocks is way smaller than the others so I might have to redo that one. I'm waiting until they're all done to judge! I have a feeling this is gonna be one awesome gift. Now that my sewing machine is repaired I can easily get back to work on it.

This project I really need to get going on! These are squares from my nephew's baby shower. Everyone there wrote him a message and now I am hand embroidering their words on to pieces of fabric that his mom is going to quilt for him. If I don't get myself going its going to end up being his wedding gift! UGH! I was doing really well not that long ago. Then I put it in my sewing bag and got caught up with something else. I only have a few squares to go. Hopefully in the next couple weeks I can bang them out and get them in the mail!

This also makes me a bit sad. I started this skeleton couple a while ago and then I had a custom order so they lost their hoop. My friend from work drew them for me! (I LOVE HIS ART WORK) I should finish them and get them up on my Etsy site super soon.

My wild hexies! I'm actually kind of amazed at how many I have done! I know that its not that many considering how many I will need to make my quilt. But I'm still majorly excited about them! (This is what my sister meant when she said it was good for the crafting soul!) Now I just need to either get a bunch of these sewn together so I can take their templates back or get on making more templates! (Its just so much work!!) When I started this I jumped the gun a bit and didn't use a printed template so now I have to keep making templates that seem like they'll be right. And I have to make sure that they are right otherwise I end up with ones that are way way smaller like the grey one I recently blogged. But after seeing them all out I think I can finish this project. Maybe not by the time I'm 30 though...

These are coming along as well. These will be needle books soon enough! I can't wait! There is also one not shown in the picture because its a gift. Hopefully I'll be able to get a lot of work done this upcoming weekend. And I'll try to keep you all posted on my progress!

The only other major outstanding project is updating all the finished for sale items on to my etsy page. I did get four new things listed yesterday so hopefully this up coming week I can get more up there. Maybe I'll get a couple of these items off my list and ready to be listed!

A Domestic Thursday

Once again I had so much to share and I forgot to blog! This Blogtoberfest challenge really is tough! Hopefully day I can do one for yesterday and one for today. :)
Yesterday I baked some Oh Henry squares from one of my grandma's recipes. It's delicious! Then I made some Zippy Pineapple chicken for dinner.
After the baking and while making dinner I started actually sewing my baby quilt! It's coming along really well! Aside from the seam ripping because I stitched the one block the same as its mirror image from the other side. Who knew an owl needed a left and a right wing.
So far I know I have to improve on my seam lining up but I'm sure in time with practice I'll be able to nail those suckers! (Please feel free to comment with hints and tips for making that happen!)

Progress Report

I am beyond excited to show you all how much progress I have made so far in October!

Drumroll please!

Sewing Space

Today I shall have the house to myself!!! (Excluding the cat and the bunnies! But they're my favorite part of my family! lol) The plan is to set myself up a little sewing space in the living room! LB's grandma had an auction sale last year just before she moved into an apartment and I bought a wicked awesome super lamp and its in my sewing space! Then I have a sewing table and a chair already in the space and I've been stacking my EPP fabric on it since I started that adventure. So I think its gonna be perfect. I've even told LB thats where I plan to put my sewing machine and he didn't insist that I take it to my craftroom. Although I did tell him that this way I can sew and watch Baseball! Which I'm actually starting to enjoy (but don't tell him that!)
Alright I'm off  to get started! Hopefully I'll have some pictures up soon! And if anyone out there has any great suggestions for blogs I should follow for beginning quilters please send me your suggestions!


************************************Update*************************************
DONE!

 This is our record playing. Its also from the auction sale! We LOVE IT! We do however need more records because we don't have that many. Today I picked Buddy Holly! Yesterday we were listening to Michael Jackson's Thriller! Most excellent!

 This is my little place now! I can't wait to get a cork board for the wall! Hopefully LB can make it stay up! We have a super old house and getting things to stay on the walls is a bit harder than it sounds!

 I turned off my ultra cool light so you guys could see it a bit better! I love it! I think it'll also be perfect when I'm sewing. I can turn on one, two or three of the light bulbs depending on how dark it is. (See my handy tool sitting there! Please don't look Dad! I promise its not a good butter knife. Its a random one that doesn't belong to my set)

SEWING MACHINE! Its got sooo many options I'm a little intimidated by it. It did come with a DVD so I'll watch that and get some courage!

A Kijiji Purchase!

I've been playing around with the idea of getting a new sewing machine for a while. I broke one of mine and can't find the piece I need to fix it. And taking it in any where is going to cost a fair bit of money. And seeing as I didn't spend that much money on it and it isn't that great of a sewing machine I decided that I wanted to get a new one.

So I thought about taking a quilting class and figuring out which would be the best of the best sewing machines and saving the oodles of money that it would most likely cost and decided that I most likely wasn't patient enough for that. And if I did stick it out then maybe I would move on to another project shortly after spending all that money. And it happens with me. That's why I'm no longer allowed to buy gaming equipment  I always think I REALLY REALLY REALLY want it. Then I get it and use it for a few weeks and then it sits there gathering dust unless my boyfriend uses it!

Yesterday while I was at work I was a little bored so I was on Kijiji and thought I'd look up sewing machines. I found one that I liked and that was "modern" and I did a bit of research on it and it looks like it would be a good starter for quilting and doing serious sewing with. Now today or tomorrow I get a new sewing machine!!!! YAY!!! I have so many thoughts in my mind for all the things that I wanna sew. Does any one have any great suggestions for a beginning quilter for books that I should look for or blogs that I should follow?

I'll post some pictures after I get my new baby and get it set up!!! So excited!

New Bed Plans

Yesterday we got fantastic news! We are getting a new bed!! What!! What!! A new bed!!! And it's gonna be a king sized bed which will perfectly fit my blanket plans!!!
And I finished the stitch work on my baby blanket gifts. Now tomorrow I will hopefully be attaching them to their knitted blankets. More pictures to follow!

Stitching Madness

Everyone I know seems to be having babies lately and I'm 100% excited for all of them! So I've been cracking the whip on my poor sister and has been making her knit baby blankets. And I believe that she has finished all of them now. Now it's my turn. I'm stitching little corner patches with names and a small design. I would like to get two maybe three done this week so I can get them to their rightful owners next week!
This one is for one of my oldest friends.

What is Lost must be found!

Today while watching Dexter on Netflix with LB he suddenly exclaims that something poked him on the top of his foot! That's right bloggers! I can predict the future! He found my favorite needle! I'm sure all needles were not created equal and that sucker is my preferred one! It was the perfect length! And now its back! Safely in my wrist pin cushion! WIN! Thanks LB for finding that for me!

Overwhelmed

(I'm sorry that I can't link the picture to its owner. But I do love it!)
Yesterday was new fabric day. It looks like I was in a green phase! I bought some other colors but I bought three different greens. The chatty lady who cut all my fabric was super nice and encouraging. So then I was thinking about how I actually wanted to lay my pattern out. And WHAM!!!! Overwhelmed in 2.2 seconds when I realized that I am going to be making 900!!!! flowers. 30 per row, 30 rows. OMG and that's just the front!
Kept sewing and got to thinking. 30 sounds like a doable number. Yes I could do thirty. Then I should be able to do 30 rows of 30. I'll just do it one row at a time. I can do this! If I can run a marathon I should be able to stitch a blanket. I'm getting faster when I do the stitching so by the time I'm 85 I'll have my nursing home blanket complete. Just kidding! I'm going to try to get it done within the next year or so. This month I turn 29 so I'll try to have it done by the time I'm 30 (or at least one side of it)

One Flower Wednesday

10 hours of work done! And one happy Wednesday flower completed and four more waiting to be stitched together! And one PVR getting emptier!

Rainy Flowers

Its been raining for the last few days, so I've been in the house. So far I've got about a billion hexagons cut out and ready to be basted. I have got about 30 basted and then I've got about 6 complete Hexie <flowers> bunches. :)
But yesterday I was out taking garden photos in the rain. I hope more flowers open up soon. And I hope that my poor hail beaten bleeding hearts come back.

Despite the weather we went for a 3 mile run tonight. It was super nice to be out moving after sitting at my work desk for 10 hours. The track was as thrilling as ever :) ! Hopefully we will stay on track so we can get super wicked personal best in California this year!

E.P.P Weekend one!

 I've gotten four flowers done, although from now on I will be referring to them as "bunches" because *LB* (Boyfriend) doesn't want to sleep under a flower bed.

 This will be one of the black pieces

 Another one of the black pieces. I love the music notes!

 Black piece. I realized I'll need a lot more black pieces than I will of the colored pieces But The black pieces will be fun with their colorful ways! :)

This is my first (and only) colored flower. I'm hoping to make it to the fabric store today to pick up some more fabric and get a bunch more cut out. I think I can do this project while I'm at work! I should be able to do at least a little on my lunch breaks!

I Get Buy With A Little Help From My Friends

Another Craft That I Love!

I've been doing a lot of embroidery for the last few years and I love it. I love finding a new picture or coming up with a new pattern.
Currently I am working on a pillowcase for one of my Co-worker's Daughter. Its based on Jake And The Neverland Pirates cartoon. She loves this show and when I went to Disney World (Another love... Travel and running I was there for the Goofy Race and a half challenge). I couldn't find anything there :(

 The pillowcase is white but the photo is a little dark. I was taking photos with my Iphone and they are unedited. Sorry. Above his Cubby (Not to be confused with Chubby)

And this is Jake! The main pirate. His "J"'s on the boot just need to be washed off and then redrawn and stitched in shiny gold.

A Slightly Slow Start

Today I got the pattern option picked out. I think Idea 3 is the winner. Then I went through all my fabric and picked out what I would like to use. I picked out the stuff I'm going to use for the black squares!

The bright blue will be paired with some new items from the store :) Those will be the colored flowers! Getting the Hexagon pattern was a bit of a pain. I thought that I could use my Cricut to cut out a hexagon only to find that all my cartridges don't have a hexagon. Then I thought about printing. But as I said before my printer wants no part of this craft activity. It's holding out until I refill its ink. Tracing was the best option. Right from the computer screen to a lovely white piece of paper. Yup I did it! Well not me. Mine turned out looking like a five year old on a sugar high tried to trace them. However my awesome sister was able to do it. Then to make her even more awesome she cut 5o of them out of "Freezer Paper" for me while I watched TV with the boyfriend. *Best sister ever* (She's the B in B.S. Crafts, which is really named for our Grandma, but it works out perfectly with our names too)