Lucy & Norman

Granny Square Fever

2012-02-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

Yep, I've got it bad. Of course the last thing in the world I needed to do was start another quilt, but after seeing Jolene's beauty, I knew it was a MUST. MAKE. NOW. It seemed only fitting to pair this block with my current fabric obsession -

Suzuko Koseki. I want to marry these.

Here was the test block.

The next day I made another,

and yesterday another,

And one today.

A Granny Square a day!

That's about all this little lady is letting me accomplish!

Grellow and Blue in Love

2012-02-01T10:35:00.000-08:00

I can hardly believe I finished two quilts in January! The binding was completed late last night and I couldn't wait this morning to run outside in my bathrobe in between rain showers to take a few pictures. I apologize for the many photos in this post, but this quilt is my new favorite and I could not resist.

It was started over a year ago when I pulled a stack of grey, gold, blue and cream fabrics for a bee project and fell in love with the color palette. I knew immediately I needed a quilt using those prints. Inspiration struck in the form of Denyse Schmidt's Drunk Love pattern. I knew I wanted to go for something a bit more free form though, so this was made all on the fly with no pattern involved. Just slightly off-kilter log cabin blocks with no precise measuring involved except in the finished block size (12.5 inches).

It was so much fun to play with so many beloved prints from my stash. During the first few years of learning I made most of my quilts from one designer line of prints. Now I'm having even more fun choosing my own stacks and creating combinations. This quilt includes favorite prints from Heather Ross, lots of Denyse Schmidt, Uptown, Modern Meadow, Momo, Cosmo Cricket, a smattering of japanese lovelies and lots more.

I quilted it in an organic swirl pattern on my home machine (Bernina QE440). It's not perfect but I think it turned out pretty well. The backing is a Robert Kaufman Monaluna print I scored for $7 a yard on sale with a pieced strip using leftover scraps. I bound it with a Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley Prairie Rose I had on hand.

The quilt was originally going to be a king size for our bed, but in the end I stopped at a nice 70x70 to use on our family room sofa.

This one is going to get lots of snuggling for sure.

Swooning and Swirling

2012-01-26T05:15:00.000-08:00

I finished my first block for the Swoonalong! I'm sure you've heard of the Swoon quilt pattern and the quilt-along held in honor of it by now. Just in case you haven't, check out the Flickr group and see the eye candy being cranked out by all 600 plus members!

Instead of going for the traditional two-print block of the pattern, I decided to follow the lead of Erin and Katy and go for scraptacular!!! Yes, it's colorful and a bit wild, but that's just the way I like it. All the lovely prints are from the Pam Kitty Morning line I mentioned last week.

Now that I've pulled off block number one, it's on to quilting up my Grellow and Blue Drunk Love interpretation. I'm quilting this one in swirls, which is a little out of my comfort zone but so far I'm liking the effect. Finished quilt coming soon.

And taking it's place on the design wall is my big old scrap giant once again. Less than three rows to go! I'm going to try to finish this one soon because it has a date with a very awesome long armer. I think this quilt also needs a name. Any thoughts?

Today also brought some happy mail - a stack of Aneela Hoey's new line, A Walk in the Woods. I'm not quite sure yet what these are destined to become, but once I saw them I knew they'd be mine. Probably a sweet new quilt for Olivia.

So I guess after all this long while I'm finally back in full-tilt quilt mode. It feels good. What are you working on this week?

Tumbler in the Snow!

2012-01-18T13:43:00.000-08:00

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am that I got to take these photos of my finished quilt in the beautiful snow! All of Western Washington is getting dumped on today and the whole region has come to a halt. But it's beautiful here and we're staying warm and cozy. I only had to step out a few feet in the backyard to get these shots - our house backs up to a green belt. I have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of my finished quilts hanging over this little wooden fence (secretly it was one of the big selling points of the house for me, I'm such a nerd).

I started this quilt back in September before we moved when I was in need of a simple project to relieve me from my Maple Leaf Rag quilt. It's full of all my favorite fabrics in a brown, cream, tan, red and blue color palette, even some precious ones I only had little scraps of left. I love how the tumbler pattern just shows them off with enough variation from simple squares.

I backed it with a Robert Kaufman print I found on the $5 flat fold table at my LQS, and bound it by hand with a Lecien gingham check while catching up on my new favorite show, Downton Abbey (isn't it everyone's new favorite?)

So that's it! I love it, and it's a fine little throw size at about 55x60, but I do wish I would've made it just a hair bigger. Oh well. It just feels good to finally have a new finished quilt.

And look what showed up this morning! Thirty fat quarters of Pam Kitty Morning's gorgeous new fabric line! I am in love with the sweet retro colors and prints in this line and have a feeling we'll be seeing lots of genius from this talented designer. I'd been lusting after this stack since I had first seen it, and when Katy announced she would be starting a quilt-along for the beautiful Swoon pattern I knew the two would be a marriage made in heaven. Don't you think?

Time to get cutting! I hear this quilt has a lot of little pieces!

Snow Day Sewing

2012-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got our first snowfall of the season. And it was a LOT by Seattle standards. We got a full seven inches at our house, with more on the way! It's especially beautiful here at our new house surrounded by all the woods. So we spent a lovely day playing outside, eating beef bourguignon and creamy polenta, drinking hot cocoa, and because Mark was home all day that meant he could occupy Lucy and give me some extra sewing time.

I finally made Jeni's Drawstring Bag! If you haven't checked out her tutorial, you should. It's simple and precise and quick. The only mod I made was to make the exterior fabric from patchwork. This one is for a friend, but I loved it so much I cut the same squares up to sew one for myself too.

I was also able to finish quilting my tumbler quilt last night! I'll be binding it today, and I'm very excited to take this finished quilt out and photograph it in the snow!

We were a little bit ill-prepared gear-wise for the snow, but Lucy had a ball anyways and Mark is out getting supplies right now including new mittens, snow pants and a sled. We're due for another 5 to 8 inches over the next day or two. It's starting to come down again now right as I type!

Even Norman loves the snow!

If you look closely you can see our first snowman in the yard. I think a whole snow family is on the agenda for today.

Have a great week everyone and stay warm!

Attacking the Pile!!

2012-01-09T19:02:00.000-08:00

The pile of WIPs, that is! It's a new year and a fresh start, and as much as I'd like to start a brand new project NOW it feels pretty good to try and finish up some ones that have been set aside for far too long. I won't be making any lofty crafty goals this year as I don't think I accomplished even one that I made for 2011, but I do feel my sewing mojo is back in place and that's a good thing.

First WIP up is my Grellow and Blue Drunk Love interpretation. I started this one almost an entire year ago, declared it would be a king-size for our bed, finished half of it and got sidelined by my pregnancy with Olivia. As we all know, I spent the remainder of 2012 playing with babies and moving and next to zero sewing was accomplished. Well, NO MORE! I finished the last block for this baby yesterday and I will finish the top by tonight come hell or high water! Sure, it's turned into a much smaller 70x70 but that's good enough for me. I have other plans for our bed quilt. So, if you don't see a finished version of this quilt soon, please give me a ~~swift kick in the arse~~ gentle reminder to get it done!

Next is this simple Loulouthi flannel quilt top I sewed up right before the holiday madness began. I've been a little unsure of how to finish it, and frankly a little frightened to baste it since I'm going to use some slippery-as-an-eel voile for the backing. But it's going to be super cozy so hopefully I'll find motivation soon. I'd really like to hand-quilt this one, but not sure I can make the time commitment. We'll see.

And now that the design wall is open again, it's time to get crackin' on the old Maple Leaf Rag again! I forget how many blocks I have sewn already, but it's nearing the finish line so I hope to get the rest done very soon. I love, love, love this one already and I'm very excited to have it become my first professionally quilted quilt.

There is still a lot going on in knitting-land over here. Not a day goes by that I don't knit at least a few rows on something, and usually a lot more. I've definitely become a knitter for life. There's a little group of us doing an informal sock-along on Twitter, and I was going to bow out until I decided maybe it was just what I needed to get going again on this long-forgotten sock:

Meet Miss Marlene. She's beautiful, but she's a nasty one. Though I think if I ever manage to finish the pair they will be well worth the headache. The yarn is from a Seattle local dyer, Hazel Knits, and it is lovely stuff.

I've also joined a Sweater knit-along on Ravelry, and I'm hoping to finish a sweater a month this year. Sounds ambitious, but I have three partially finished ones (four if you count another for Lucia) and the group is a great learning and motivational tool. I've still got away to go but I made some good progress on my Coastal Hoodie while sick in bed last week (the whole family got mowed over by some disgusting virus, but we're all much better now). The stripes are lots of fun and the madelinetosh merino/cashmere sport yarn is sheer pleasure to knit with. I'm not looking forward to weaving in all these loose ends but I have high hopes that this one is going to be a daily wardrobe staple.

So that's what's going on around here. I'm hoping to get on track again with blogging so I hope to see you all again here really soon with lots of projects to share!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T11:51:00.001-08:00

Stitchin' in 2012!, originally uploaded by Lucy & Norman.

I've felt like I didn't get quite as much accomplished craft-wise this year as I had hoped for, but when you put it this way, I suppose it was a fair amount considering I also made this one, my favorite FO of 2011:

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and crafty 2012!

The Holiday Crunch

2011-12-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'm alive! Really, I am! I know it's been ages since I've posted and I miss it. I mean to sit down and write a blog post every day, really I do, and then, well, I just don't.

It's nearing the end of the year and I'm sort of falling into my normal introspective, reflective mode. This has been a very busy and exciting year for me, full of so many life changes, and crafting has really had to take a backseat. I most definitely underestimated how much more time another little one would take away from my creative pursuits (well worth it, of course). I've gone through periods of frustration when I can't dive into my sewing room as much as I'd like, but I think now I've come to peace with it and I'm just trying to enjoy my little girls as much as I can. Just popping in to work on a project for 15 minutes or pet some fabric helps. Of course the big move also took every minute of spare time for the last few months to pack, deal with the house closing and then unpack, but we're really getting all settled in now, loving our new house and I'm looking forward to a nice, calm period after the holidays.

And can you believe Christmas is almost here? I need more time! I have managed to finish a few holiday gift knits. This one is my favorite - the Avery Cowl for my mom. I knit this from quite possibly the world's perfect yarn, 100% Aran cashmere from the Plucky Knitter. Luckily it's a fun and easy pattern because I have at least two more of these to knit, one for my mother in law (she will be getting a beautiful green half-knit cowl wrapped up with an IOU note!) and I won't be able to resist one for myself too of course :)

I also knit this hat for my little brother. I think it's a perfect 'guy hat'. The pattern is Windschief by Stephen West, and the yarn is madelinetosh Vintage in Mare.

I've got another hat almost finished up for my dad, a quilt to bind for another brother and some place mats and napkins to finish up for Mark and I think I'm done with gift crafting. As much as I enjoy giving hand made, I think next year I'm swearing it off! Too much pressure and I'm just too slow. I always like to pretend I can knit five times faster than I can. If only.

I did make this pretty cowl for myself last month-

This pattern is called Millwater - a great pattern if you're new to cables, and very wearable. I hardly take it off. The yarn is another favorite base, Plucky Knitter Primo Worsted in the color Vogue.

I wish I had a cute holiday photo of the girls to share with you, but it was all I could do to even get them dressed up to see Santa the other day. A trip that, by the way, was a complete disaster. No Santa photos for us this year!

I'm so happy I was able to pop in and say hello. I'll be off now to try to cram about a month's worth of holiday preparations into these next three days and try to relax while doing it. I hope you are all well and eating lots of baked goodies - that's the top of my agenda today!

The October Post

2011-10-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

I realize it's been a really looooong time since I've posted, but I have a lot to share, so I apologize in advance for the lengthy post.

It's one of those pretty perfect autumn days. Sure, it's pouring down rain, but that just gives me even more of an excuse to stay inside and bake, knit and sew. October has always been one of my favorite months here in the Northwest, the days starting long and warm and then turning dark but cozy at the end of the month. This October has gone by more quickly than I could believe, but a lot has been going on around here! We finally bought a house! It's set to close next month, and while it's been extremely stressful dealing with all the red tape (which I'm sure you know all about if you've ever bought a home) it's so exciting! And yes, there will even be a sewing room for me:)

So in between all the boxes and packing I've even managed to finish a quilt top. It feels good to work on something so simple and satisfying. It's just a tumbler pattern, but made with lots of my favorite prints from the cream-beige-brown-black-blue-red color palette I'm currently obsessed with.

I'm hoping to mop the floor of this house one final time tomorrow before we move so I can baste the top, and hopefully have a finished quilt to show off soon.

I did actually finish a new sweater for me this week too! My brother took a few goofy shots of me outside yesterday before the torrential rains set in.

The cardigan is called Golden Wheat by the fabulous Veera Valimaki. It was an absolute pleasure to knit in this madelinetosh merino/cashmere/nylon blend and I see it becoming a real wardrobe staple. I'm really pleased with how this came out, which is not always the case with everything I knit. The color is called Cousteau, in case you were wondering.

And it's not really fall to me until I've baked some Harvest Squash Bread. These loaves turned out perfectly today, and one of them will be off to our winery for the crush crew tomorrow.

Mark has been crazy busy with wine harvest right now. Making wine is a ton of dirty grunt work so it's awesome to see him getting such great recognition, like in the latest issue of Wine & Spirits magazine. Mark Ryan Winery was named one of the Top 100 Wines in the World in 2011!

And of course I have to show off the little people. It's amazing I'm getting anything done with these two around. Between potty training and chasing one very busy two year old, and nursing this baby the crafting hours are few and far between (and if anyone has tips for getting a baby to take a bottle please bring it on!). My saving grace is that Olivia still likes to nap quite a bit, so if I can time the two naps together some sewing gets done - housework can wait, right?

Olivia is almost 18 weeks old and I can hardly believe how fast the time has gone by.

So that's what's going on around here. I promise I'll have more quilty/crafty stuff to show you again someday, but thanks for hanging in there with me in the meantime:)

Goodbye September!

2011-10-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

Lack of sleep has left me feeling a bit unintelligent lately, so instead of a wordy post, I'll leave you with a few pictures of some things that have been occupying my time.

My Maple Leaf Rag - halfway there!

Vanadium Cardigan - actually finished back in July, but I've forgotten to show it off here. So soft!

My Wispy Cardigan. This little sweater took FOREVER!

My Coastal Hoodie in progress - my first stripes!

And this sweet little girl. I can hardly believe she's already 13 weeks old!

Happy First of October everyone!

Blog Break

2011-09-17T09:49:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to pop in and let you know all is well! I realize it's been a long time since I've been around, but sewing has come to a screeching halt (don't worry, I'm not pregnant again!) so I haven't really had a lot to show and tell.

Instead, I've been goofing around with these guys (please excuse our disheveled, 'I-don't-care-I'm-on-vacation' appearance). We took a much-needed, first family of four vacation to a beachfront rental house near Cannon Beach, Oregon last week. Despite some serious fog we enjoyed perfect end of summer 70 degree weather and spent lots of time trying to keep Lucia from running head-long into the ocean. Other than that we ate ourselves silly - I think I ate fish and chips on four different occasions and consumed half a pound of salt water taffy! - and I actually went to bed before nine o'clock a few of the nights. I did get some good knitting time in, especially on the road. I finished a fingering weight cardigan I'll be able to show you as soon as I get some photos taken.

Harvest time for wine grapes is right around the corner, so it was great for Mark to get to spend a little time with the girls before his schedule gets crazy for a few weeks. If you want to check out a bit about our winery, we finally just got our new Mark Ryan Winery website up and running, which is very exciting considering the one we had up before was such an embarrassment. Now we're looking sort of pro! And we also just got named one of the Top 100 Wineries for 2011 by Wine & Spirits magazine!! That's one of the top 100 in the whole world!

So between all of this and trying to manage a quickly growing infant (she's getting so cute and starting to do all that sweet cooing! Pictures soon!) and this girl who is smack in the middle of the terrible twos (but so much fun to watch learn about her world at lightning speed!) I have had very little time in my sewing room. I'm hoping to carve out a few hours this week, though. I can feel the lure of my Maple Leaf Rag scrap quilt calling.

I hope you all have a lovely, relaxing weekend with a little crafty time carved out for yourself, too.

DE-STASH!

2011-08-31T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've just listed everything I'm letting go of in my effort to make some space and sanity in my sewing studio! There are some great gems in these bundles, perfect for stash enhancement. Don't forget, 10% off with code CRAFTFRIEND at check out.

This way to the goodies - http://www.etsy.com/shop/meggied23?ref=seller_info

The Farmer's Lady Friend and a Destash!

2011-08-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I've been a lazy blogger! Well, I have had my hands a bit full with little people, but I started these blocks even before Olivia was born and never even photographed them. I wanted to join the Farmer's Wife Quilt-along from the beginning when my friends Amanda and Angela announced they were starting the group. But they are already in week 14 and I haven't exactly progressed much with my mere six blocks. So that's why I'm the Farmer's Lady Friend for now. No strings, just fun, and we'll see if I feel like making a bigger commitment in the future.

The blocks are a ball to make - at least the simple ones I've started with have been. I pulled all these fabrics from my stash to work with, all in shades of red, blue, brown, tan, cream and black. I'm loving this palette and I'm thinking of using Quilter's linen in charcoal as my sashing.

And here's a heads up that I'll be listing a big de-stash this week if time allows. I've been feeling the weight of my ginormous stash lately, especially with my limited available sewing hours and our tight household quarters, so I'm having to say a bittersweet goodbye to some loved fabrics who need a home where they will be used. These will be mostly all bundles, a few really big assorted ones full of treasures and maybe a few more designer bundles (my Freshcut stash is already listed here).

I'll post here, on Twitter and Flickr as soon as they're ready to be listed. You can all use the code CRAFTFRIEND for an additional 10% off:)

WIP Wednesday ahem Friday

2011-08-05T10:32:00.000-07:00

ETA- Please excuse me for not knowing what day of the week it is! It's been a little crazy around here. Olivia is growing like a cute little weed but experiencing a bit of tummy problems, resulting in hours of trying to soothe her. Lucy, being two, is behaving as such - and maybe finally exhibiting a bit of jealousy toward her new sister. Top that off with all kinds of potty training fun and you have one tired mama. Mark has been a big help but I think it's taking a little toll on both of us - so much so that we both forgot our wedding anniversary until the evening before! Oh, well, I guess this is all to be expected and at least we are managing to have some fun in between temper tantrums, colicky bouts and diaper changes.

Crafting is the main thing keeping me sane right now, even if it's just a half an hour squeezed in here or there. Here's a progress shot of my latest quilting obsession - my Maple Leaf Rag WIP. I just absolutely adore working on this in the little snippets of time my girls are allowing me, and it's incredibly satisfying to use up so many scraps from all my left over projects. Sorry for the crappy dark photo, but the lighting in my studio is really harsh. But at the rate this is going I'll have a quilt top to show you within a month or two. The pattern is one from the lovely Sarah Fielke in the book Material Obsession 2, and if you are like me and drowning in scraps I highly recommend it. It even uses all those odd-shaped teeny tiny ones. I think it's seriously the most fun I've ever had piecing a quilt top, and I'm quite sure it's going to end up being my most favorite quilt I've made yet.

I'm getting in as much knitting time as I possibly can also and the sweater kick is still going strong. I'm going to need a bigger closet to hold all the sweaters I have planned! My latest is a pattern called

Vanadium, which is a pleasure to knit and I think will get tons of wear. I'm using a delicious madelinetosh alpaca merino sport weight yarn in a color way called Black Velvet. I took this photo last week and I should finish it up hopefully by tomorrow.

I hope you all have a good weekend with lots of crafting and sunshine. Please wish me happy babies and long naps:)

A New Start

2011-07-20T12:41:00.000-07:00

I am happy to say that after all this time, my sewing mojo has returned. It had been sad for me the last few months before Olivia's arrival that I had no physical stamina to get down to it in the sewing room and left me feeling a bit guilty every time I would go in to visit and pet my beloved yet neglected fabric stash. And so I am quite pleased with my rapid recovery and newly found inspiration!

After wading through countless UFOs that need my attention, I found I was overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of some of my projects (what was I smoking when I started THREE king sized quilts?) or just not turned on by others (picking up my single girl seemed too fussy; the quilt-as-you-go-blocks were just not speaking to me). So I decided to shelve it all for now, let go of the UFO guilt and do what I really wanted to do - start a shiny new quilt.

Since I hadn't been able to sew for such a long while I spent a lot of time pouring over my quilting books, and each time I'd come back to the glorious Maple Leaf Rag scrap quilt from Material Obsession 2 (if you haven't checked this book out yet - do it). Not only is it just the thing I need creatively at the moment, it will vacuum up beautifully the metric ton of scraps I've been hoarding. These crazy fabric diamonds or 'kites' are the first step in piecing the Maple Leaf Rag. I'm having a ball diving into my scrap dumpster and sewing all these bits together - I need 128 kites total and I'm already over halfway there.

Hooray for new projects! I'm off to go work on it now while Lucy and Olivia show me the sweet courtesy of napping simultaneously.

Lovely Gifts from Lovely Friends

2011-07-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Look who is asleep on the job again! My little model isn't being very cooperative, but she is still very happy about her new gifts. This baby, by the way, is making up for all the uncomfortableness of my pregnancy by being just the sweetest angel imaginable. When she isn't sleeping, she's eating or just cuddling. Lucky me. (ETA: I wrote this a few days ago. We have since encountered the dreaded middle of the night cluster feedings. Oh well, at least she gave me a break for the first two weeks!)

One of the biggest rewards I get from blogging, Twitter, Flickr and Ravelry are the friendships I've formed with kindred spirits who share common interests. Chawne has continually wowed and inspired me with all of her diverse creative pursuits from knitting to crocheting to spinning to quilting. Not to mention we have a seemingly shared appetite for the finer foods in life (okay, and maybe even some of the not-so-fine ones - Reese's eggs and tater tots anyone?) So when I received this package in the mail last week, I knew it would be good but I almost fell over from the loveliness of this quilt she made for Olivia. Perfectly pink improv patchwork in all shades with her signature lettering of Olivia's name. She even sent along some hand-dyed yarn and fabric for me to play with! Thank you again, C, we adore this quilt. (Chawne has a post on her blog about it here if you'd like to see more).

I've already had the pleasure of sharing with you this adorable little sweater hand-knit for Olivia by the generous, sweet and talented Kaye of Miss Print. She sent it a few months ago and I could hardly wait to try it on our new girl! The weather has been dreary and cool here since she was born so we've already gotten in quite a few wears before she outgrows it. Isn't it the cutest on her? I just love the bright yellow shade Kaye chose. Thank you again, Kaye, she has gotten many compliments on her tiny sweater!

I hope you all have a great week. I'll be back soon, my sewing mojo has finally returned so I'll have something quilty to share with you soon!

The Olivia Report

2011-07-05T11:50:00.000-07:00

I guess it's high time I introduced you to the newest member of our family! Olivia Grace came to meet us at 6:41 PM on June 27th at a big, strong 8.13 pounds and 20 inches long. She is one week old now and settling in beautifully. So far she is such an easy baby! Lots of sleeping, great at nursing and quite a snuggly little thing too.

Lucy is just madly in love. All my anxiety surrounding this transition was unwarranted. Lucy is sweet and gentle toward her baby sister and not a bit jealous. And it looks like Mark is doing just fine surrounded by girls and all their accoutrements as well.

So I'm getting lots of rest and cuddle time and did I tell you yet how happy I am NOT to be pregnant anymore??? Little Olivia was all worth the uncomfortable pregnancy and less than fun labor & delivery, but I like her much more on the outside where I can kiss this sweet little face.

We're Ready!

2011-06-24T12:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we're as ready as we're ever going to be! Olivia Grace will be here by Monday the 27th of June for certain unless she decides to make an appearance on her own. In the meantime, I will be mentally preparing, knitting, carb loading for labor energy (read: excuse to have Mark make me pasta) and getting one last trigger point massage to hopefully get things going.

I don't know if you can ever be ready for labor, but I feel oddly relaxed about it. Maybe I'm just to the point where I've had it up to my eyeballs with pregnancy. Carrying around a nine pound baby is difficult and not just mildly uncomfortable, to say the least! And of course, I'm ready to meet our new sweet little girl and excited to watch our family grow and change.

I've only managed to make a few hand-made items for Livie, including a minkee-backed Little Folks blanket (love the idea of minkee, sewing with it not so much), another voile receiving blanket, some terry cloth burpies and bibs. The teeny tiny sweater I knit for her may still be a bit too big for her to wear home from the hospital. It's a really simple, quick knit called the Small Things Sweater - great for last minute baby gifts. I used only one skein of madelinetosh dk in the color Gossamer I had left over from another project. It still needs buttons so I had better get moving on that.

I will truly have a new baby to show off to you when I see you here again! Hope you all can handle lots of baby pictures because I have a feeling that's what you'll be getting:)

Wow! I finished a quilt!

2011-06-10T08:57:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished baby Olivia's play mat quilt! I got the piecing done rather quickly, and soon afterwards almost completely lost my sewing mojo. But it's all finished now, and I think it will look even better with a sweet little baby girl resting in the middle, don't you?

The pattern is called the Sixth Times a Charm from Anna Maria Horner's book Handmade Beginnings. I loved pulling all sorts of girly prints from my stash in hues of pink and yellow to slice into strips. But I must say, I was in complete shock of the amount of waste leftover and after cutting my first set of triangle components, I looked for another way to pull it off. Rachel has a great post here about her method of reducing scrappage. Even after making alterations, I couldn't even bare the thought of trimming this hexagon into a traditional rectangle quilt and leaving so many precious prints behind with no purpose. So in the end I decided to leave it in this shape, and actually I think it will get a lot of use this summer outdoors under a shady tree.

The quilting is minimal, and honestly I would've liked to have done more but my time at the sewing machine is extremely limited these days and this one just needed to be finished. I'm trying now to work on bibs and burp cloths for the baby, which is proving to be a difficult task these days. Sitting at the sewing machine is do-able, but standing up cutting fabric and ironing leaves me feeling woozy and ill. But hopefully it won't be long now. I'm 37 weeks along, already dialated and the doctor thinks this girl is already tipping the scales at 7 1/2 pounds. Time to come out baby girl! So needless to say, I'm hoping my next blog post is one to show off our new addition to the family:)

36 Weeks in Ecuador

2011-05-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I've missed you. I really haven't meant to stay away this long, but truly there has been nothing to report. And in a lot of ways, it's been nice to take a blog break. It's getting me ready for the inevitable one to come once baby Olivia gets here.

So here I am at 36 weeks - in one of the few photos I've allowed of myself this end of the pregnancy. As you've heard me complain before, I've been feeling a bit less than sexy so photo shoots are not something I find enjoyable. But I thought I owe you a belly shot and I needed to show off the project that's been occupying me this month.

This is a test knit I just completed for the talented designer Joji, and also my entry for the Madtosh May Sweater Knit-along. The pattern is called Ecuador and has just gone on sale, available on Ravelry. It's a circular design sweater with lots of drape using a loose fabric knit from a light fingering weight yarn. I used madelinetosh merino light for mine, in the Calligraphy color way. I'm not the fastest knitter in the world, and this one took many, many hours for me to complete so I'm very happy that I'm quite pleased with the way it came out. Right now it makes me look like a bit of an orbiting planet but I think I'll love it once I lose the tummy. I also took some photos of my cousin modeling it, if you'd like to see what it looks like on a non-gigantically-pregnant woman. My Ravelry project page is here.

Now is the part where I sit and wait in between big bursts of nesting energy. The first one hit last weekend and my house is nice and clean and organized but it completely wiped me out. I'm hoping for a few more before baby arrives so I can finish all her bedding, swaddling blankets, bibs and burp cloths. I'm just now hand-sewing the binding on her quilt so I'll have that to share with you this week, too.

It looks like she could come anytime after this week. I'm measuring almost two weeks ahead, and because Lucy was such a big girl (nine pounds two ounces and not exactly an easy birth experience!) my doctor is not intending on letting this baby get that big. And trust me when I tell you that every one around me would like her to make an appearance sooner rather than later. I'm afraid they are all a little sick of my bitchy mood and constant whining. But you know, when you can't even make it through a trip to the grocery store, you have constant body parts jabbing into your lungs making it painful to breathe and have a whole other list of unmentionable symptoms, who can blame a girl for wanting it to be over? I know a lot of you have been right there with me!

Much love to you all, and please keep posting all the lovely sewing eye candy for me to drool over while my own machine sits in nearly complete hibernation.

A Spring Baby Quilt and some thoughts

2011-05-02T13:19:00.000-07:00

This has got to be the fastest little quilt project I have ever completed. My very dear friend gave birth to a gorgeous baby girl last week and because she chose not to find out the sex of the baby beforehand I didn't have any handmade gifts for her. So after visiting the tiny little babe and exhausted mama in the hospital I went home, found a rare burst of energy and busted out this simple patchwork.

I am proud of myself for using only stash items, including pieced batting scraps and a Dream On print I had just lying around. I chose springy, girly hues of yellow, pink, green and blue from my stash, cut into five inch squares, free-motion quilted and hand bound with a sweet little Minny Muu print. I have to say, I miss my basting spray more than ever these days, as is evident in the little pucker in the corner there. But that's luckily nothing a quick spin in the washer and dryer won't cure.

Now it's really time to get sewing something for my own baby girl on the way!

I never got a chance to share with you the finished Tiny Tea Leaves sweater I knitted for Lucy. This was such a fun, quick knit and I think it will get lots of wear. I'm almost finished with the grown-up sized one I'm knitting for my mom's Mother's Day gift, and already I'm plotting one for myself. Good thing my mom is much smaller than me or I'd have a hard time giving it up!

So, I really wasn't sure if I was going to address this subject here, and even though I don't have much more to add to than is beautifully stated by my lovely friends Katy, Amanda, Kaye and Monica, I feel as though I should make a statement of my own. I know some of you are saying "huh? what is she talking about?" and I don't really want to re-hash or go back and refer to the original sources. What I will say is that there has been way too much negativity and inane bickering floating around in this quilt-y blog land lately. There are real people out there with real feelings being very hurt by bloggers and commenters. I feel very strongly that this has absolutely no place in this creative crafting community, and it has me gnashing my teeth and my defensive claws coming out. My personal stance is from the "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all". This does not include solicited constructive criticism. Rachel wrote a great follow-up post here which I plan to incorporate into my own commenting etiquette. I feel like I'm preaching to the choir here, however, as I have never received anything but support, love and encouragement from all of you here.

Along the same lines was brought to my attention that many folks have strong feelings and are fed up with what they perceive as snobby bloggers who only want to present their perfect lives, bloggers who are driven only by sponsors and running up their numbers, bloggers who just post gluttonous pictures of fabric purchases and bloggers who can't even take the time to answer a comment. I was shocked and saddened by this sentiment. In my experience, every blogger just wants to share and present their work in the most inspiring way possible, and some are just trying to make a living. Maybe they don't show you every glitch in the process along the way because they sell their quilts! And I don't know about you, but I always enjoy seeing a beautiful new stack of fabric and seeing what new line one of my friends has fallen for. Perhaps a blogger doesn't ever tell you the mundane or painful or messy parts of their lives because their blog is the place where they get away from all of that. I know I edit out the piles of laundry and dirty dishes out of all my photos, not because I'm trying to paint a perfect picture of my life - which is far from perfect! - but because frankly I don't find that particularly inspiring! I really do try to answer as many comments as I can, but please know that if I don't always get to it, I still read every thoughtful response and truly treasure them all. You guys are what keeps me blogging!

I know it was mostly unnecessary to say this aloud to most of you, and that it's all coming out like the unintelligible ramblings of an exhausted pregnant lady. Let's just remember that we all love to create and share. I know I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for all the beautiful creations by others I see every day.There is too much sadness in this world, why don't we keep our little corner of the universe a happy, supportive, positive place we can go to get away from it all.

Slow and not so steady

2011-04-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

It actually looks like a bit of spring here today! I apologize for the wrinkly, untrimmed photo of my new quilt top, but around here you have to run outside quickly at the first glimpse of sun if you want to get any outdoor photos. The rain is scheduled to come back in just a few hours.

I've been experiencing a bit of guilt over the lack of handmade items I have made for the new baby - it seems like Lucy had a million little things by this time in my pregnancy with her. But, in all fairness not only was there the absence of a toddler to chase around back then, but I also enjoyed a fairly easy pregnancy the first go 'round. Not so this time. I know I should just buck up and focus on the fact that I have a healthy little girl growing right along, which of course makes me overjoyed, but I am finding that having to spend a lot more time off my feet and away from my sewing machine is extremely frustrating.

But enough complaining. I did manage to finish this quilt top for the new baby before I became plagued with another round of pregnancy symptoms that benched me again. It's based on The Sixth Times a Charm quilt from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book. I'll give you my thoughts and ideas about the design as soon as I get it all quilted and ready to show you the whole thing.

I've still been knitting away like crazy - the Snowbird sweater I'm knitting for myself is taking awhile, but it's getting there. I also just cast on another Tea Leaves Cardigan, this time one for my mom for Mother's Day. She loves blue and looks great in it, so I had to pounce on this absolutely gorgeous madelinetosh merino/cashmere worsted yarn in the Laurent color way. It's sheer delicious pleasure to knit with. No stalling on this project, it must be done by May 8th!

I have to share this beautiful gift I received in the mail yesterday for our little lady on the way. It was knit by none other than the talented, generous, sweet Kaye Prince of Miss Print. Can you even believe it? Thank you, thank you again Kaye, I just can't wait to button her up in this wee little sweater!

I caught a look at my shadow this morning - wow, that bump is getting big! I'm thirty weeks today!

Before I go, I wanted to let you know there is still a fun giveaway coming - I'm working on a little project to share with it so it's been delayed due to my lack of machine time! Also, I wanted to thank you all for the interest in the Knitting Needle Clutch recipe/tutorial. That is coming too, hopefully sooner than later.

I hope you all have a great Easter weekend - I'll be quietly turning the big 3-5 while dyeing Easter eggs and filling Lucy's Easter basket! The doc has me off candy and sweets for now (boo! hiss!) so please don't tell anyone when if you see me stuffing my face with Reese's Peanut butter eggs and cupcakes:)

Patchwork Needle Clutch

2011-04-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I sewed something! It's small and may have taken me a lot longer than usual, but I feel quite accomplished to have finished a project on my machine, considering the circumstances. For the last two years, my poor knitting needles have been a jumbled mess residing in a plastic bag. I've had to hunt for the correct size and type of needles every time I start a new project. No more! Now I have this cute little clutch to stow them all away in neatly and even take on the go.

I used many of my favorite prints, including lots of scraps, along with my new favorite solid, Robert Kaufman Quilter's Linen in charcoal. Little half square triangles make up a zig-zag pattern for the outside of the case, folded in thirds, (I still need to add a button)

and the inside has twelve pockets made for holding all my circular and double pointed needles. I just love it! There are a few changes I would make to the design next time, making it just a bit taller and adding a top flap which would double as a zip pouch for holding other knitting supplies. I may consider writing up a little "recipe" if anyone is interested in making one for themselves.

Quite a few good things have come in the mail lately. I must admit I have long been suffering from solid fabric phobia. It is a point that is severely lacking in my stash and also, I believe, in my finished quilt designs. I have attempted to cure this by joining the Pink Chalk Solid of the Month Club. My first shipment did not disappoint! The month of April theme is jewel tones, mostly in the form of Free Spirit solids. The color saturation and hand on these is wonderful, and I'm sure they will soon become my go-to solid choice. I also had to pick up a copy of Modern Log Cabin Quilting by Susan Beal. The beautiful quilt on the cover was enough to sell me, but the inside is chock-full of gorgeous, inspiring projects too.

And I'll leave you with a little Tuesday morning rainbow. Even if yarn isn't your thing, you have to admit these beauties from Wollmeise are quite the eye candy, don't you?

I'll be back soon, hopefully with an actual quilt to show you! I'm feeling a bit better the last week, limiting my sewing time to an hour and a half in the evenings, so progress is slow but steady. And also stick around for a very exciting giveaway coming for you!!!

Sedum in Thyme (and 27 weeks and counting!)

2011-04-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Thank God for knitting! It is about the only thing keeping me sane right now. I won't get into all the gory deets, but let's just say this pregnancy is less than fun at the moment. I've been dying to get at my sewing machine and bring into reality all of the million quilt-y ideas swirling around in my head. And last week I even had a few rare bursts of inspired energy and indulged in a few marathon patchwork sessions. But as a result, I paid the price so back to my evenings in bed it is. Luckily I'm surrounded by some ridiculously luxurious yarns to keep my busy.

I finished my new sweater, Sedum by Jane Richmond, a few weeks ago, and I love it. There are a few things I'd do differently if I was to knit it again, but in general I'm quite happy with the results and hope to get a lot of wear out of it next fall (and hopefully be able to button it further down my middle at that point!) Right now it's making a great cozy jacket for those rare crisp dry days we have up here this time of year. And I love how long it is - it even covers my expanding backside!

The yarn is none other than my very favorite, Madelinetosh, in the Bulky weight in the Thyme color way. It's a super soft merino wool and I hope to use it for another heavy cold weather sweater again soon. I didn't alternate skeins, and as a result there is a tiny bit of color pooling, which I know bothers some folks, but for me is just part of the beauty of hand-dyed yarns.

I'm also finishing up a sweet little cardi for Lucy, also using Madelinetosh yarn, this time in the 80/10/10 merino-cashmere-nylon base. This will be her Easter sweater. The pattern is the ever-popular Tiny Tea Leaves, and is a simple and satisfying knit. I can't wait to make a big one for me too!

All this lying about has gotten me lots of time to discover many new beautiful yarns (to-die-for Sanguine Gryphon Bugga pictured below). Who ever knew that yarn, like fabric, could be elusive, hard to find and hoard-worthy? I had heard of people who had yarn stashes the way I have a big fabric stash, but I never understood it. Since I learned to knit, I had always found a project I wanted to take on and then find a yarn to use. Now here I am, with more gorgeous yarns than my snail-paced hands could ever knit in a year. Dare I say yarn hoarding could be even more addicting than fabric hoarding? Yes, I am aware I have a problem, but I am waiting to address any character flaw issues until after this big old baby is born. For now, I think I have enough to work on:)

Still chugging along!!

2011-03-28T13:17:00.000-07:00

So I guess today is the wrap up of our Single Girl Quilt-along. My big confession: This is about as far as I've gotten. One big finished block and lots of pieced arches, some of them ready to have the curves sewn. I certainly was crazy (blame pregnancy hormones, yes, Katy!) enough at the start of this quilt-along to think I'd be able to keep up pace, but as soon as that misleading beginning-of-the-second-trimester-energy-spurt petered out, it quickly became apparent there was no way on earth I'd have this all finished up by today. So, all of you other Single Girl laggers, don't worry. Katy, Nova and I will all still be around and active here and in the Flickr group. I have a deadline to finish this one up by June for a special gift, so I had better pony up my giant belly to the old sewing machine and get going. Because at this rate, I'll need every second! Oh, and who wants to baste and quilt it for me???

A big huge thank you to all of you who joined in all the fun for this quilt-along. Never in a million years while we were hatching this plan did we ever think over 250 Single Girl-ers would pop up! And thanks so much to my partners in crime, Katy and Nova, not only for holding me up and dealing with my slackness on this project, but for your incredible quilt-y genius!

So while I have been decidedly NOT sewing, I have still been doing lots and lots of knitting, and even more yarn ordering. An embarrassing amount, I fear. My latest thrill is the beautiful hand-dyed skeins of Rohrspatz & Wollmeise. These beauties are very difficult to get your hands on and now that I have some of my own, I know why. The color saturation is so incredibly vibrant! I can't wait to cast on. I think the blue is going first, to be knit up as a pair of socks my father-in-law requested for his birthday.

And in other news, I must take a moment to once again lovingly brag about my very talented husband. That's him, Mr. Winemaker of the Year! Our local Seattle Magazine (it's the same publisher that I believe most of the bigger cities have) just hit the stands and we couldn't be more thrilled with this honor. It's a publication that keeps big tabs on the Washington wine industry and holds it to very high standards. Mark works so hard and I'm so proud of him for earning this honor.

Happy Monday all. If anyone needs me, I'll be sitting on my bed drinking tea, knitting and reading book two of the Hunger Games. And thinking about working on my Single Girl:)

A pile of girly goodness

2011-03-21T12:46:00.000-07:00

I'm just popping in to say - look at me! I'm actually sewing something! I didn't forget how to use my machine! And I'm having fun!

I stayed up late working on this new, out-of-the-blue project and my legs and feet are paying the price (I guess it's time to finally invest in support hose, but who wants to spend their spare $60 on something so dreadful and uncomfortable?) but it's worth it. My progress on my Single Girl quilt, and sewing in general, has been stalled significantly due to this issue, but it was high time I made something for my little girl on the way. After I saw this gorgeous quilt, I was inspired to pull out my yet unused Handmade Beginnings book and get to work on one for baby.

So, we'll see how far I get before it's back to feet up with tea and knitting. I've also jumped on The Hunger Games bandwagon for my very first read on the Kindle to keep me company during lounging time. I made this little pouch for the Kindle awhile back but I don't think I've shown it here. I used the tutorial from The Sometimes Crafter - my dimensions are wrong since I have difficultly following instructions, but it still works and keeps it cute.

I'll hopefully have my newest big knitting project to show you this week - yay! - and I'll be back for sure next Monday when we wrap up the big Single Girl Quilt-along. I guess that means I better get moving on mine!

Flying Geese Baby Boy Quilt

2011-03-14T09:44:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I actually finished a sewing project! Admittedly it's a pretty small quilt, but a finish nonetheless. This little quilt was a shower gift for a very special baby boy. Of course, all babies are special, but we couldn't be more excited for the safe arrival of this particular one after the heart-breaking journey to parenthood his mom and dad to be have experienced. And these friends of ours appreciate hand-made very much, so it was a joy to make.

I hoped to get some more cheery photos to show you, but our weather up here has been downright craptastic (word of the day!) with no signs of letting up & this has already been gifted so here we go.

I started pulling lots of boyish fabrics from my stash before we knew the gender of our own little one on the way, and even purchased a few "just in case". And I finally got to use lots of favorites that have been just sitting unused for years, like old Heather Ross goldfish and dogs. A simple flying geese pattern to show of the colors and prints seemed like a good way to go. The quilt finishes at roughly 30x36, was backed with a soft flannel from Anna Maria Horner's Folksy Flannel collection, free motion quilted and bound with a Park Slope leaf print in blue.

We topped the gift off with a little store-bought something, and these tiny baby boots I whipped up last week. Aren't they adorable?? I'd already forgotten how little baby feet are! I found this wonderful pattern, Stay-On Baby Booties and used some Koigu PPPM, which is a great yarn and comes in tons of delicious colors. Our own baby will be getting many pairs of these little socks!

Now that this gift is taken care of, I can turn my attention back to my sorely neglected Single Girl quilt. If you've joined in our Single Girl Quilt-along too, don't forget to hop over to Nova's blog today for the latest installment - Hand Quilting!

The Effortless Cardigan

2011-03-07T09:27:00.000-08:00

While only minimal amounts of sewing may be going on around here lately, LOTS of knitting has been making up for it. I've been off my feet, knitting close to five hours a day (usually late into the night), and I finished my new sweater in two weeks! This is record-breaking for a slow knitter like me.

The pattern is called The Effortless Cardigan, designed by Hannah Fettig and it's very hot amongst all the Ravelers right now. And really, it was fairly effortless if you don't count all the hours logged and aching muscle joints. A great sweater to try if you're comfortable with knitting but haven't yet made the plunge into sweater-knitting.

Mine was knit with the gorgeous madelinetosh dk in the color Gossamer. I love grey and this one has a beautiful, very subtle lavender hue to it. It's super comfy and wearable and will get tons use use during the rest of my pregnancy and beyond.

I'm looking rather grouchy here showing off my growing rear, but I wanted you to see how the back of the sweater hangs. Modeling is never my idea of fun and certainly not at 23 weeks pregnant!

In between knits and purls, I'm trying to squeeze a little sewing machine time in, and I really need to get to work on my Single Girl quilt. I confess I've fallen behind. If you have too, make sure you hop on over to Katy's blog for inspiration to get you going again - she's leading us through step 4 today in the Single Girl Quilt-along.

Happy Monday Everyone!

grounded

2011-02-28T09:29:00.000-08:00

So far this year a whole lot of fabric (and yarn, but I'll get to that) purchasing (see above stack of Greenfield Hill) has been going on, but not a whole lot of actual sewing. Not a lot for me, anyways. After my big post first trimester energy spurt, I developed a minor yet irritating pregnancy side effect that has forced me to spend as much time as possible off my feet. Not bed rest - just household duties, errands and chasing Lucy are taking up most of my allotted "standing" hours and not leaving too much to quilting. I'm sort of wiped out at the end of the day anyways, so sewing after bedtime has lost it's normal appeal lately.

I have managed to work a little bit on a flying geese baby quilt for a special little boy who will be here in April, but other than that, all my crafty time has been devoted to knitting.

My love of knitting has been slowly increasing over the last two years as I've been skill-building, and the last few months I've developed big-time knitting fever. I finished a cardigan the other day, so hopefully I'll be able to show it to you this week.

I've been adding to the yarn stash, first with a little Wollmeise I was turned onto by my friend Chris. I haven't found a project for these gorgeous skeins yet, but they are absolutely lovely with deep color saturation. If you haven't heard of Wollmeise before, they're extremely sought-after and can go for crazy prices. As far as I know, there is no retailer in the US.

But my big yarn indulgence right now is with the gorgeous bases and colors of madelinetosh. The owner of my LYS refers to my syndrome as 'madtosh' disease, and man, I have it bad. After knitting my last sweater with it, I just can't get enough. I even joined the Magnolia Society sweater club, which will ship me enough yarn over the next six months for three whole sweaters!

Right now I'm working on another cowl in tosh merino dk in the Black Velvet colorway. Yum! This pattern is called the Eternity Scarf.

I've also started another sweater, this time Sedum by Jane Richmond. I'm knitting this one up in squishy-soft Tosh Bulky, in the soft Thyme color way. It's seed stitch so it's a little time consuming, but I hope the effort will be rewarded.

And don't worry, I've got lots of baby projects all ready to cast on too for our new little girl!

By the way, if you're on Ravelry, you can find me here.

Don't forget, all you Single Girls, today Nova will be leading us all through step three of the Single Girl Quilt-along. Nova makes sewing curves a breeze! I'm off now to do a little work on my own Single Girl quilt so I hope you all have a fantastic Monday!

Single Girl Quilt-along: Part Deux

2011-02-21T07:08:00.000-08:00

Congratulations! You made it through the most trying part of making the Single Girl Quilt! If you missed this part or you're just a bit behind, you can find Katy's clear and concise directions for templates and cutting your fabrics here.

I lucked out and got the fun and easy part of this quilt to lead you through - piecing your rings. For this stage you're going to need:

All of your cut pieces, arranged in order and separated by each quarter, as follows - Quarter #1 - pieces A through H, Quarter #2 - pieces I through O, Quarter #3 - pieces P through W and Quarter #4 - pieces X through EE
a quarter inch piecing foot
a seam ripper
your pattern for reference

I've laid all my pieces out alphabetically on top of some plastic lids I use to store my fabrics in. This way I can move them around without disturbing the order. I've found the best way to do this for me was to lay my plastic templates on top of each piece so I don't accidentally sew some wrong edges or pieces together.

To start the first ring, you will place piece A right sides together with piece B. All pieces allow for a quarter inch seam. Sew the pieces together on the right edge, matching NOT the top and bottom edges, but where the pieces intersect at the seam allowance. This is the most tricky part of the piecing and you may have to use your seam ripper to get the first few right, but once you get the hang of it, it's cake. The more extreme the angle on the pieces, the less the edges will match.

Here's what I mean:

See how that seam intersects on both edges right where the fabrics meet? That's what you want. Flip the piece over and you can see it on the other side too.

Super easy once you get the hang of it, right? Diagram 4 in your pattern can explain this also.

Continue sewing each piece to the next, A through H for your first arc. I checked each piece for accuracy and finger pressed the seams toward the newest piece each time. Grab a cup of tea or coffee and continue all your arcs in Ring Quarter #1. It goes together quick once you're in the groove! Keep going in this way for Quarters 2, 3 and 4. When your'e all done, you can press all your seams.

Then admire your beautifully pieced Ring Quarters!

Make sure you keep all your rings pieces in stacks, all of Quarter 1 together, all of Quarter 2 together and so forth. And that's all there is too it!

It's really exciting to see all these Single Girl Quilts being made all at once! Make sure you visit the Single Girl Support Group regularly to see what everyone else is up to, and if you find yourself with any questions, there's tons of help there too. Please also feel free to email me directly at

meggied23 at hotmail dot com

with questions or if you find any goofahs in my tute here. Make sure you don't forget to post your own progress pics in the group pool. And please, if you have any further tips on this portion please add them into the discussion in the group too!

Next week is the part everyone is dreading - sewing the background to the rings. But really, have no fear! Our in house curve-sewing genius Nova will be holding our hands all the way next Monday, February 28th, over on her blog.

Happy Sewing!

It's a GIRL!

2011-02-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

We had our 20 week ultrasound yesterday and were thrilled to find out that we're expecting a little sister for Lucia! I really wanted another girl and I think Mark had resigned himself long ago to the fact that he would always be outnumbered. More importantly, she looks like a very healthy, strong girl. We even got to see amazing 4D images of her moving around like crazy. And she already has plenty of hair! I'm a bit worried she's topping 15 ounces this early- we make big babies. But I guess I had better lay off the cupcakes a bit!

It was a pretty epic day. In addition to the good news, we finally bought a new car! The 1998 VW Beetle I've been driving for the last twelve years crapped out - again. Being pregnant toting around a toddler with a smelly, hairy dog riding shotgun has been less than fun. Believe me when I tell you how elated I am to not have to use a lint roller on my pants every time I get out of the car.

We decided on a Ford Edge, which will be perfect for hauling babies with a space in the back all for Norman.

So today I'm feeling happy and content and ready to do a little work on my Single Girl Quilt. If I'm not back beforehand, I'll see you all here next Monday for step two of the Single Girl Quilt-along!

Single Girl Kick Off!

2011-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

The day is finally here! The Single Girl Quilt-along starts today, with the lovely Katy leading you through step one of cutting your templates and fabrics. She did a very thorough and clear tutorial on this part, but if you need any clarification or help, Katy, Nova and I are all happy to answer any questions and of course you can just pop in over at the Flickr group any time with over 200 willing Single Girls to lend you support!

The block above is the test block I made using some of my Liberty of London fabrics. I love how it turned out, but the bulk of that fabric already has a project, and for the quilt along, I've cut into my stack of precious Neptune fabrics. I think the scale of these prints is perfect for the pattern and will result in a soothing, harmonious quilt. It's destined to be a gift for a special family member. I know it will be hard to part with, but she'll adore it and I'll still be able to visit it regularly!

Here they were a few weeks ago all laid out awaiting the tedious cutting phase. I just popped on a few This American Life podcasts and it was done in a flash. And I promise, the rest is easier from here. I'll be leading you through step 2 - piecing the rings - next Monday the 21st, so get cutting!!!

Are you just thinking of joining in now? It's not too late - and Wondrous Wovens is having an opening day special on the Single Girl pattern today only. Use code singlegirl.

Well, I should be off working on this today but I'm a bit pre-occupied and anxious due to our 20 week ultrasound visit tomorrow, so I think it would be wise for me to stay away from any project requiring accuracy or brains. I think loads of chamomile tea and some knitting is more my speed today.

Happy Valentine's Day Single Girls!

20 weeks and knitting along

2011-02-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

So here I am at the twenty week halfway mark and all I really feel like doing right now is knitting. A run-on cold and a minor annoying pregnancy side effect has had me pretty much in bed with my feet up as much as I can. At least it has been a condition that is happily conducive to knitting! I'm very much missing my sewing machine, although I think the break has been good for me. I'll have to be back at it again soon enough to keep up with the Single Girl Quilt-along, which is kicking off with Katy on Monday. Then you'll find part two, piecing, right here on Monday the 21st!

I finished my Big Herringbone Cowl a few nights ago and I seriously don't want to take it off. It clearly doesn't belong with the stripey athletic tee I'm wearing here but that paired with some preggy yoga pants is my uniform these days so oh well. The cowl pattern is a free tutorial from the lovely Purl Bee blog, and I knew the moment I saw it I had to knit one for myself. And it was a great excuse to use this gorgeous madeline tosh merino yarn I impulse bought from my LYS. The colorway is called Amber Trinket, and it is one of the prettiest yarns I've ever had the pleasure of knitting with. No photos could capture the true beautiful purples, oranges and maroons, but this is a fairly decent representation. This pattern gave me a bit of trouble in the beginning due to first a too tight, then a too loose cast on, and again later when I found out I had twisted my stitches when I joined in the round, but I persevered after ripping out four times and from then on it was easy peasy.

And here is another self-portrait-in-the-bathroom of my belly, twenty weeks along! I'll hopefully have some exciting news to share next week after our ultrasound. I've convinced myself it's a boy but Lucy loves to pull up my shirt and touch the belly saying "see-ster!" No joke. We'll soon find out, and either way, I hope you'll all be able to tolerate the large amount of baby-crafting that will inevitably crop up for the second half of this ride.

Today I'm a bit crabby as my car broke down and our bathroom sink sprung a gigantic leak, and tonight we are having a big party at our winery to release our new Cabernet and Pinot Noir, so I will be forced to have to put on real clothes and leave my knitting behind. But I suppose I'll be back soon enough. I hope you all have a happy weekend filled with lots of sewing, knitting or your current vice of choice.

no diets here

2011-02-07T15:58:00.000-08:00

Yep, I've been shopping. While the whole rest of the world seems to be on an extreme fabric diet, I have decided instead to do my part to keep the fabric industry afloat. And since I have nothing I've made to show you, I'll share some of my new yummies.

Above is a fun smattering of prints from my favorite online shop, Superbuzzy (I couldn't resist throwing a few boy prints in the cart - we find out what baby number two is next week!), and five colorways of Sweet Grid by Yuwa (from Charm Stitch).

The new baby on the way was a good excuse to finally pick up Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings. And after seeing this gorgeous quilt Anna herself made out of Innocent Crush, Pastry Line and the Square Dance panels, I just had to pick up some of the voiles to add to my IC collection.

The Drunk Love WIP made me order a few more coordinating prints to throw in - that quilt is getting huge and the more prints the merrier!

Then this fat quarter set of hard to find Henna Garden just happened to pop into my Etsy cart. Who could resist that?

And every single one of these prints was a definite necessity: flowers from Lecien Flower Sugar, mingle dots in Steel, the new quilting weight Heath check from Alexander Henry, some Robert Kaufman Metro, campers, elephants, a Megumi Sakakibara print and some new Kokka Snow White beauties.

The yarn stash has grown a little bit too. I've developed such a madeline tosh yarn fixation, it seems like every project I have planned is destined to be done in tosh. I think that beautiful grey colorway, Gossamer, is going to be cast on tomorrow for the Effortless Cardigan by Hannah Fettig.

Even my fabric imp, Mercury, has gotten a new outfit. This sweater set was hand knit by the talented megipupu, and it is absolutely lovely. You can occasionally find her Blythe knits on Etsy. Mercury is perched atop the Ruby Star Rising and Robert Kaufman Quilter's linen she made me order from Pink Chalk.

So yes, I have added a lot to my stash. Now I just need to find the time and energy to sew! The cold bug has finally landed on me and now it's back to bed. I hope you all are staying warm and healthy - and getting all your supplies together for the Single Girl Quilt-along! It's been so exciting seeing how many of you are joining in. Everything is kicking off on Valentine's Day so there's still time to quilt with us!

The Rotating Bed Quilt Project

2011-02-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, in over two years and twenty quilts I have yet to make us a king sized quilt for our bed. Partly due to the obvious - making a king-sized quilt is a lot of work. Partly due to the fact that we're comforter-with-a-duvet-cover people and convincing Mark that a quilt will be cozy enough takes a lot of, well, convincing. And also partly due to the fact that I can't decide which of my beloved fabrics I'd like to see day in and day out on our bed. So since I couldn't decide on just one, I've decided to make THREE! The plan is keep our neutral colored bed linens, and interchange three different quilts with coordinating throw pillows as the mood strikes.

The above stack of beauties is my collection of double gauze cottons, both from the 2009 Chelsea line by Echino and various Nani Iro prints. I truly love, love, love all of these fabrics and have been longing to see them sewn up. I've waffled about going strictly Nani Iro or adding in the Echino, but when I lay them all out together they just seem to fit. This one will be large, simple patchwork with lots of emphasis on the creams and white prints (more are on order). I have plans to splurge on an all double gauze backing, too, so this will be one light and luxuriously delicious quilt. The final touch will be hand-quilting.

The second one is the grey/blue/gold/cream 'drunk love' quilt, and it's already coming right along. These are such fun and relaxing blocks to piece, and I've also been having a bit of fun amassing some more prints in this color scheme to add in. As if I needed an excuse to do more fabric shopping! Twenty-one blocks are finished so far, and for a king I have quite a few more to go, but it should go quick. This quilt will be the first one I'll send off to a long-armer. Honestly it makes me a little nervous, but not more than trying to machine quilt such a monstrous quilt myself.

And quilt number three is my long term, paper piecing Liberty of London hexagon quilt. This one was started last spring and has reached a bit of a stalling point since all of my hand-stitching time has been devoted to knitting lately. I'm in no rush, though. I've bought, swapped and been gifted almost one hundred different Liberty prints for this and every time I do pull it out it's a joy to work on. I can't imagine how thrilling it will be to be able to put it on our bed. As girly as it is, even Mark appreciates the time, effort and beauty in this one.

So that's my goal for this year. Whether I'll be able to pull that off while having a newborn and a toddler remains to be seen. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this new little one will appreciate the joys of sleep more than his or her big sister!

The Kerchief Girl Quilt

2011-01-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

My Kerchief Girl Quilt was started way back in June of last year and is now finally finished, and I have to say I couldn't love it more. If you aren't familiar with the kerchief girls, they are a popular print from the Japanese fabric manufacturer Kei, and one of my favorite fabrics ever. I knew I wanted to make a quilt to showcase them in all six of their color ways separately. I went through my stash bringing out many of my most loved prints to coordinate with each of the girls and decided to make simple blocks inspired by this bee quilt of Rita's. It was so much fun piece! The six big blocks have actually been just sitting around in my sewing room for months now waiting for me to figure how I was going to incorporate them into a quilt.

After the holidays were over and I ticked a few WIPs off the list, they began calling to me again. Originally I had planned a much bigger quilt requiring more blocks, but in the end I decided sweet and simple would be best to show off the prints and colors. A little Kona white and a patchwork border finished it up.

The quilt was loosely free motion stippled, backed with a pretty turquoise blue print from Oliver & S's City Weekend line (from my stash - yay! - and is fabulous as a backing with it's silky smooth texture) and bound with a tiny ladybug check from Lecien's Minny Muu. It measures roughly 50x65 and is my new perfect knitting - in - bed cozy.

I can't resist showing a few more shots - we actually got sun in Seattle last weekend so I finally had an ideal opportunity for some decent photos! Normally I never photograph a quilt until it's had it's first wash and dry, but I literally raced through the hand sewing on the binding and darted outdoors to take advantage of the fleeting sunlight.

Another work in progress is finished! Now I'm off to work on my new WIP, my Single Girl quilt. I'm so thrilled so many of you are joining in our quilt along - if you haven't signed up yet, pop on over to our Flickr group, The Single Girl Support Group. You still have plenty of time to get everything together, and we'd love to have you!

The Single Girl Support Group!

2011-01-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I didn't up and leave my husband with a baby on the way......we're having a Quilt Along!! Since I'm in the last time zone to post, you've for sure gotten the news by now - the crazy-talented Katy, ingenious Nova and myself are making Denyse Schmidt's Single Girl Quilt and want you to quilt along with us!

This pattern has been languishing in my stash untouched for over a year now, and it's finally time to brave it. If you've been dreaming of making your own Single Girl Quilt, we've set up the Single Girl Support Group on Flickr, so we can all share tips and share this ride together, as well as keep each other motivated to finish our quilts.

Sound like fun? We're requesting that only serious Single Girl quilters join the group so we all stay on track to get it done. If a whole quilt sounds like too much of a daunting task but you'd still love to join, don't worry, you can make a pillow or baby quilt too. Here is what you need to do:

Go here, and request an invitation to join the support group. (You can still join the quilt along without joining the group as Katy, Nova and I will be taking turn hosting the steps right here on our blogs, but the Flickr group where be the place we can all have discussions and share our progress.)

Get your materials:

* the single girl quilt pattern (there's a list of stockists at the bottom of the post)

* lightweight card stock or template plastic to make the templates
* a pencil for marking your fabrics (if you use dark fabrics a silver pencil or silver gel pen is a great tool)
* fabric scissors (yes - you have to cut those fabrics the old fashioned way with scissors)
* paper scissors (for cutting the templates)
* fabric - the requirements for each size are listed below;

Baby size (4 blocks) :: 43 x 50" :: 1/8 yard each of 31 or 36 fabrics for rings :: 2 1/2 yards of background fabric
Twin (12 blocks) :: 64 x 88" :: 1/8 yard each of 31 or 36 fabrics for rings :: 5 1/2 yards of background fabric
Queen (16 blocks) :: 85 x 92" :: 1/4 yard of 31 or 36 fabrics for rings :: 7 yards of background fabric
King (20 blocks) 106 x 92" :: 1/4 yard of 31 or 36 fabrics for rings :: 8 1/2 yards of background fabric

Scrap lovers - you will need strips of scraps that are at least 3 1/2" wide

The fun all kicks off on Valentine's Day, so that gives you plenty of time to get everything together, including your courage! But have no fear - although this pattern isn't suited to the novice quilter, it's really quite simple once you've got all your templates and fabrics cut. Curves can be a little tricky at first, but after a few tries you'll have the hang of it and we'll all be here to help you through it. Even Denyse herself will be keeping an eye on us, and has generously offered to clarify any of the steps if we run across any issues.

Here is the schedule we have planned:

14th February - Katy's blog - marking and cutting
21st February - my blog - piecing rings
28th February - Nova's blog - sewing the curves
7th March - Katy's blog - assembly
14th March - Nova's blog - marking the quilting design and hand quilting
21st March - everyone's blog - wrap it up!

Here are a few online shops where the pattern is currently available:
Pink Chalk Fabrics
Wish Upon a Quilt (on sale there!)Blue is Bleu (free US shipping!)The Stock Room

Sew Mama Sew

Are you excited yet?? We are! So come on, join the fun - you'll never regret having your very own Single Girl Quilt! And don't forget to grab our button for your blog!

A New Quilt and a Winner!

2011-01-20T12:03:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much who took the time to enter into my Dream On giveaway! You left over 800 comments and I loved reading all about your crafting goals for 2011. And welcome to all of you who just found me here for the first time. I'll do my best to keep you entertained. The one lucky winner of the Dream On quilt kit is Jackie! Jackie, Congratulations and I sent you an email to get your mailing address.

While I've been finishing up my Kerchief Girl quilt, I got the unstoppable urge to start in on a new idea. I pulled this beautiful stack of prints for Brooke's block in the Bee Hexed In bee this month, and really became enamored with this color palette of deep golds, creams, ivorys, greys and light blues. I've started seeing this combination in different forms all around now, and I'm thinking it might be the new "red and aqua" of 2011!

Here is a little peek of what I've made of these fabrics so far:

I was feeling the need to work on something requiring little accuracy - free-flowing and a little improv-y. I've always loved the Drunk Love style from Denyse Schmidt's book, and this one is inspired from the Drunk Love Two-Tone, except using mostly prints instead of all solids. After a few blocks, I decided to change it up a little and add in a few rogue improv blocks to spice things up. So far I like where this is going, although I wish I had a bit more neutrals to add in. Does anyone have any favorite cream colored prints?

The great thing about this is that my oh-so-opinionated Mark loves this style of slight wonk and the colors, I suppose, are man-ish enough for him. So I've decided to go for a king-size on this one for our bed. Which scares the hell out of me when I think about the basting/quilting stage with my giant belly in the way. Maybe it's time to finally send one out to a long-armer!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and make sure you check back in here on Monday for the big announcement! Judging from a lot of your comments, this is going to be something a whole lot of you will want to join in on. You'll be able to find the same announcement over on the blogs of my partners-in-crime, the most talented Katy (i'm a ginger monkey) and ingenious Nova (a cuppa and a catch up), so make sure you pop in over there too!

Wednesday Stuff

2011-01-19T11:29:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to remind you all that today is the last day to enter the Dream On giveaway. I'll close comments at 9 PM PST tonight and announce the winner tomorrow.

Also make sure you stay tuned for another big announcement on Monday!

I'm off to keep on quilting this project, so hopefully I'll be able to share it with you soon.

Happy Hump Day!

Dream On Giveaway! (Giveaway ended!)

2011-01-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

I just realized I promised you all a giveaway today!

I am decidedly not in the "stash pact" or "fabric diet" camp this year. Actually I've ordered a bit more fabric than usual the last couple of weeks and bought more yarn than I could ever knit in the next coming months. Oh well, I've got other things on my plate right now than suffering defeat at another failed resolution. But in the spirit of supporting all of you who have made this resolution, how's about a gift of fabric?? It's OK if you didn't buy it yourself, right??

Dream On is such a gorgeous line from Urban Chiks for Moda, based on the designs of vintage sheets and ripe with sherbet-y pinks, greens, yellows, blues and oranges. I finished my Dream On quilt (you can see the whole thing by the link to it on my sidebar) this fall, and this fabric was truly a "dream" to sew with. Would you like to make one yourself?

For this giveaway I have not one, but TWO jelly rolls, FOUR YARDS of the beautiful patchwork cheater print for the backing and a half yard of the stripe in orange for a binding for one reader. Just add batting and maybe a solid and that's enough for one HUGE quilt!

Hopefully that will help someone lessen the pain of their fabric hunger pangs. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what is the number one project you would most love to complete in 2011, whether it be a quilt of a particular design, a crocheted granny afghan, a knitted sweater or just your first ever big sewing project. Be specific, I love to read the details! (My own goal is to complete my "Ode to Denyse Schmidt Colorwheel" quilt and my Liberty of London hexagon quilt!)

For a second chance to win, become a follower,

and for a third chance, blog or tweet about my giveaway!

Please, please make sure your blogger is not set to no-reply, or leave an email address so I can contact you. The winner will be chosen on Thursday the 20th of January. Good luck!

Pasha and the freakishly large pregnant belly

2011-01-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

Sounds like the name of a story in a book of fables, doesn't it? Pasha is actually just the name of this hat I finished knitting late last night. I'm quite proud of how it turned out, actually fitting my head and my first lacework with no mistakes in it. I used my favorite yarn of the moment again, Madeline Tosh Pashmina, in graphite. This one will be getting lots of wear.

Isn't that fabric it's sitting on gorgeous? It's a Nani Iro cotton/linen print that is currently being chopped up and made into a clutch (the market bags just aren't looking too sexy for toting around to dinners out).

And please forgive the terrible self-portrait-in-the-bathroom, but here is me and my giant growing belly. At only 15 and a half weeks, I realize this is REALLY big. I'm already getting tired of hearing "are you sure there's not twins in there?" quips. Nope, only one. One big baby, that hopefully won't top ten pounds at birth!

My other big baby is in bed so I'm off now to continue my super sewing blitz - but check back Friday for a GIVEAWAY!!!

Sherbet Pips Snowball Quilt

2011-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:00

The Sherbet Pips and Snowballs quilt is all quilted, bound and freshly washed. I started this one back in October, about one second after a layer cake of this delicious line showed up on my doorstep. I'd been thinking for days before it arrived how best to utilize the ten inch squares to get the most out of all the prints and have minimal waste. I'm happy I went with the snowball design, even if the piecing became a bit tedious. But I think it shows off Aneela's adorable prints quite well. I really love her first fabric line to pieces, and I'm even more excited because I know she has a ton more up her sleeves to keep us insatiable fabric addicts busy for years.

If you haven't been lucky enough to get your own Sherbet Pips yet, yardage is set to be released in April. There have been some pre-cuts floating around out there, but they're selling out like hot cakes, so if you see some, don't hesitate. Can you tell I'm really good at enabling?

Along with Aneela's super sweet prints, I added in some Bella Solids in popsicle, sisters pink, blue raspberry and medium grey for the squares. The binding is one of my favorite prints from Momo's It's a Hoot line and I couldn't resist backing another quilt in Bliss flannel. (I never pre-wash quilting cotton, but if you're backing a quilt in flannel, I've heard it is imperative to pre-wash due to a higher shrinkage percent. I wasn't going to risk it).

This is the first "real" quilt I've made for Lucy, but she's going to have to share it with me for awhile.

I'm on a real roll this week, with my energy level finally returned and Lucy deciding that naps are OK again (at least for now!). I just finished another quilt top and yet another is being sashed, so I should have lots more to show you soon.

I'll also be making a quilt-along announcement as soon as I get my proverbial 4%*# together, and a big, fun giveaway at the end of the week!!!

Weekend Update

2011-01-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

I love the holidays, but I have to say I'm glad when they're over. I was really missing a bit of peace and quiet! It has always felt natural for me to go into hibernation mode this time of year, retreating into the introverted part of myself and finding great satifaction in spending lots of time in pajamas. This year it may be even more true with the baby on the way.

So I have been getting some much-needed stitchy time in - some sewing, but mostly lots of knitting! I made these wee sweaters awhile ago, but honestly these poor Blythe girls have been getting zero attention lately. I was super excited to adopt a few of these dollies, but a combination of extreme fatigue, the holiday rush and Mark's horror that his wife is playing with dolls has put sort of a damper on this particular hobby. This last fact may actually be a good thing to keep me from attempting to aquire every Blythe I fall for. Anyways, this was a quick little knit adapted from the pattern by NxtDrGrrl, and I used my favorite sock yarn of the moment, HazelKnits, in Herbtopia and Strawberry Lemonade colorways.

What else is going on around here?

I've finally hopped on Twitter! You can find me here.

A friend got me to join Pininterest! Never heard of it? Neither had I! It is so much fun and a great way to put everything that inspires you creatively in one place.

Right now I've got Pasha by Jane Richmond on the needles. It's coming together quickly. I'm on a real kick to knit up a few more wintery accessories before the weather turns warm. I'm sort of obsessed with cowls right now, and this Burberry-inspired (free pattern!) one and the newest knit from the Purlbee (someone stop me from ordering the five skeins of Blue Sky worsted I'll need!) are topping my list. I also just got the Fiddlehead Mitten pattern - I'm really aching to try some simple colorwork!

My Sherbet Pips Snowball quilt is all quilted up with only the binding to go! It looks like I'll be able to finish a few quilt tops this month and it feels good to knock some UFOs off the list. The Kerchief Girl quilt is ready to be sashed next.

There is now over 500 of you lovely people bothering to read about my little life! You know what that means - giveaway coming soon!

A Good Start

2011-01-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

As 2011 begins, I've been thinking about all I'd like to see myself accomplish this year. That is, besides making a whole human being. As you can see whomever has made his or her home in there is growing happily right along! A little bit freakish for 14 1/2 weeks, but this may also have something to do with my unbridled appetite for holiday sweets like the box of Jeni's ice creams we received and the gigantic celebratory dinners I've been indulging in. Weight loss is not on the New Year's resolutions for me this year anyways, although I am promising this little one I'll be making a point of consuming lots of vegetables whether the craving strikes or not.

I was quite prolific in quilting during 2010, and although I still have a long list of quilts I would like to start and others I'd like to finish, I've resigned myself to the fact that with a baby on the way I may not be able to tick off every one on my list. Here are a few:

A new quilt for the baby. I started pulling lots of boy fabrics for a flying geese pattern in blues, greens and greys. If it turns out to be a girl, this will be a gift for one of the many boy babies we have friends expecting soon.

It seems my Kerchief Girl quilt is ready to be born. Remember these blocks? I just finished my Sherbet Pips snowball quilt top for Lucy and the kerchief girls have taken their place on the design wall.

The Lotus quilt. I started this in 2009 and I think it's time to get going on it.

The Paint by Number quilt. The ladies from the Bee-autiful Bee made some creative and inspiring improv blocks for me, and I just need to sew up a few more to make what I think will be a gorgeous quilt.

This list could really go on and on until I bore us both to tears. I would love to say I'll start my Japanese fairy tale quilt soon and finish my Liberty of London hexagon quilt too, but those may well be goals for 2012. Besides, I'm finding it hard to find time to hand piece lately, as the knitting bug has really set in and all that hexagon time has been bumped for yarn. My Kererra sweater desperately needs to be finished, especially since it is wearable even as my belly eclipses my toes. Speaking of toes, I've also become obsessed with trying out all sorts of sock patterns. The Marlene socks are on the needles right now. I love how they're turning out but you have to actually think to knit them, so I found myself in need of a simple garter stitch project, so the Noro Rambling Rows blanket was begun.

I've always have a thing for Noro yarns, picking up all the skeins in the shops and trying to figure out what they'll look like all knit up. Watching the yarn change colors and deciding on which colorway to add next will hopefully keep my attention for the duration of this longer term knit.

My other goals of 2011 are these:

To get a handle on crochet. It just doesn't come naturally to me. Luckily I have a fantastic LYS with all kinds of talented teachers on staff so I plan to take a little clinic soon. I'd love to start that Granny Square blanket after I finish the Noro one.

To learn to make macarons. I still dream regularly of the ones I had at Laduree in Paris.

Get back to yoga. I would love to commit to more, but one prenatal class a week with supplementation at home will have to do for now.

To learn to make Waldorf dolls. I've wanted to do this ever since Lucia was born, and I think she is old enough now to start appreciating more handmade dollies.

I'm still waffling on whether or not to commit to 365. I think it will help in so many ways to make me a better photographer and I love the idea of recording our daily lives. I'm onto a good start now so we'll see how I keep up, although I'm sure some IPhone pictures will have to do from time to time, like the first one up top.

I hope this list isn't too lofty and unattainable. I really should be adding "keep the house cleaner" "spend less money on yarn and fabric" and "remember to wash face at night", but those don't really sound very fun. Maybe in 2012, hehe!

Happy New Year, all! What are your goals for this year?

I guess I really was busy this year....

2010-12-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

As 2010 is coming to a close, I've been spending a little time looking back at all my handmade adventures this year and realizing I really have accomplished quite a lot that I set out to do. I have finished twelve entire quilts, found my knitting mojo again and completed a ton of other little projects. I still have about a half a million UFOs lying around and even more ideas that are bursting to be born into real fabric and yarn actuality, but all in all I'm very proud of the progress I've made in most facets of the needle arts.

I just wanted to share with you some of my most favorite creations this year~

My first completed quilt of 2010, the FMF Wonky Log Cabin, which I started during the Old Red Barn Co. quilt-along using the tutorial by the fabulous John (aka quiltdad). So much fun to piece, although this one has been slowly having the shoddy pre-Bernina quilting ripped out. Hopefully it will be all done and couch-worthy again soon.

My Far, Far Away quilt is dearly loved. The double gauze is so soft and I went the extra mile piecing the back on this one.

I was a little reckless cutting into my Bohemian fabrics, but came out with one quilt for our newlywed friends and one for me.

I love seeing all these Munki Munki prints all in one place,

and spending lots of time under this one, which wins the prize for most-used.

I finally finished knitting

my first-ever sweater for me,

and gained enough new knitting skills to be confident starting new, more complex projects like cabled hats, mittens and socks.

Lots of smaller, yet satisfying projects were made,

and there are still lots of long-term projects waiting their turn to be picked up again, like my "Ode to Denyse Schmidt" spiderweb,

and my paper-pieced Liberty of London hexagon quilt.

Hard to believe all that was done during naptimes and nights while Lucy grew from this little babe,

to this big party girl.

Maybe there were more nap times than I thought!

Thank you so much to all of you for your supportive words over the last year and for all the inspiration I receive daily from you sharing your own work. It's truly what keeps my creative fire lit. I can't wait to see what you can do in 2011!

The Joy of Christmas Baking

2010-12-23T10:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm cheating a little, but I did actually bake ALL these Christmas cookies - only it was two years ago. I was in the midst of a strong burst of second trimester energy while pregnant with Lucy during a snow storm that left me stranded at home for three days. And I must've lost my mind.

So far this year I have only been able to pull off our favorite, my Grandma's thumbprints, and I'll try to bust out a couple more tonight while Mark is out with the boys Christmas shopping (read: beer drinking). At least he'll be out of the way so I'll have something to show for my efforts instead of him pillaging each batch as they cool and leaving lots of crumbs behind!

Some of these are recipes that have been passed down through my family, and some are from various other cookbooks or websites. From the top:

1. Grandma's Pecan Tartlets (yum!)

2. Magic Bars (so easy you can't not make them)

3. Thumbprints (our fave)

4. Chocolate Peppermint Sandwiches

5. Russian Teacakes and Peppermint Snowballs

6. Chocolate Mint Thumbprints

7. Creme Wafers (our other favorite, melt in your mouth goodness)

8. Eggnog Cookies

9. Lemon Glitter Sandwiches

If you're interested in any of the recipes, just leave me an message (but make sure I can reply to it!) and I'd be happy to share - even Gram's old recipes!

I hope you all have the merriest of Christmases, full of plenty and surrounded by those you love!

Christmas Pickledish Quilt!

2010-12-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

It is absolutely nothing short of a small miracle that this quilt is all stippled, bound and freshly washed before Christmas. It seems I got a little holiday stitching fire inside of me, despite my pregnancy-induced chronic fatigue and mental psychosis! Or maybe because of it.....either way, it's all done and waiting to be cozied up under with hot cocoa by the Christmas tree.

I had a blast piecing the pickledish blocks. I don't know if it was the excitement of getting to use all these cheery holiday fabrics or the satisfaction of successfully pulling off these moderately challenging blocks, but I really do think this was the most fun I've ever had piecing a quilt top. Aneela put together a fabulous tutorial complete with templates and clear, concise directions for her Pickledish Quilt-along. If you feel comfortable with curves, or have been wanting to attempt them for your first time, I whole-heartedly recommend giving it a try. Even just one block would make a great pillow cover. This will certainly not be my last pickledish quilt.

The quilt I made measures roughly 55x55, using everything from Munki Munki flannels, some Shinzi Katoh Christmas prints I'd been hoarding, Sherri Berry, Minny Muu, Flea Market Fancy, Bliss, Amy Butler Lotus and more. I bound it with a green, yellow and red plaid from American Jane and the back is a super cozy flannel red and white polka dot from the Bliss line. I did get a few mild puckers on the back due to some hasty basting and the lack of adhesive spray (I'm going to have to train someone else to do it for the remainder of my pregnancy), but another Christmas miracle washed them almost completely away! I truly LOVE LOVE LOVE the way this one turned out! It will be sad to put away each year after the holidays, but I hope it will be a happy tradition to bring it out again each year with all the other decorations.

Thanks for all your supportive comments regarding my last "first trimester monster" post. I don't think I'm totally out of the woods yet, but I'm getting there. I've got some serious baking to tackle tonight so I'm hoping to sneak in one more post before the big day to share some of my grandma's delicious cookie recipes with you. I hope all your holiday preparations are smooth and stress-free!

Finishing up and finding balance

2010-12-17T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today was the first day in weeks that I have felt like my old self. At twelve weeks along, I'm officially (depending on who you ask or what book you consult) into my second trimester, so maybe my body has finally exited off of the major hormonal roller coaster it's been riding. I know I should be grateful I haven't been subjected to morning sickness, but I think I've made up for it in the crazy, weepy, insecure, irritable head I've been living in lately. Let's just say I haven't been a barrel of monkeys to be around. Besides these fun pregnancy side effects, my bionic fatigue has been compounded by my sweet little girl who has become downright nasty at naps and bedtime, leaving me riding about six hours a night of sleep, some of which has been spent on her bedroom floor, desperately trying to get her into a calm slumber. Add in the constant internal obsession I have to be constantly creating but no time in which to do it and top it off with crafting deadlines and the pressure to make a perfect homemade holiday, and it stands to reason that all I've really been feeling like is a big hot mess. Oh, and did I mention that I've already gained seven pounds (thanks to dear Mark's successful attempts at trying to perfect his pasta making skills, and my intense craving of anything sweet, gooey and baked)? Not quite so cute and pregnant looking yet, just really paunchy! It's no fun feeling this crappy anytime, but especially not at the most merry and bright time of the year.

Okay, enough complaining already! Today the sun came out and I didn't cry even once. I had the energy to do a little Christmas shopping and finish up my pillow for round four of the Pillow Talk Swap. Those curved hexagon stars didn't really lend themselves to the traditional square shaped pillow, so I stuffed it myself in a hexie shape. For the back I went with a simple grey and white dotty print from Momo's It's a Hoot line and bound it with some Kei dots. I like how it turned out pretty well, and I hope it's to my partner's liking, too.

It feels good to have a couple of things finished or in the final touches stage. My Honey Cowl is all done up and getting lots of wear - they say the cowl is the "must have" winter accessory this year! Mine is knit with some luxurious Madeline Tosh Pashmina in cerulean and it's super soft.

I've also finished a couple of bee blocks and believe it or not I'm already quilting my Christmas Pickledish quilt. I'm hoping to finish up another dolly for Lucia from the Wee Wonderfuls book for Christmas, but other than that I'm going to take a big, huge break from expectations on myself and try to enter 2011 with a fresh crafty slate. Until then, keep your fingers crossed for me that the hormonal monster doesn't return:)

Bliss Daisy Chain Quilt

2010-12-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

This one has actually been finished for almost a month now, but I've had a dreadful time getting any good photos of it so I've put off showing it to you. The weather and lighting has been dark and dreary up here for a long time now, making outdoor quilt photo shoots out of the question. You'll just have to take my word for it that this one is much prettier in person.

It's easily the most "traditional" of all the quilts I've made, so a big departure from my usual style, but I really ended up liking it. I had a couple of jelly rolls of Bonnie and Camille's Bliss line, with no real direction to go with them until I was browsing around my LQS and found the book "Jelly Roll Quilts" by Pam and Nicky Lincott. I'm not usually a fan of using pattern books or regimented cutting and piecing instructions, but when I saw the Daisy Chain Quilt pattern and remembered Brioni's gorgeous quilt, I decided to try it out. It was a very simple pattern to follow and came together quite quicky for all those little squares. The neutral is Kona Bone.

This was actually a birthday gift for my mom back in October, but due to the quilting time I grossly underestimated, she didn't get to take it home until Thanksgiving! Good thing moms are patient people. I think the timing was okay, though, because it sort of has a holiday feel to it, don't you think?

I quilted it with a free-motion cathedral circle design, something else that was inspired by Brioni's quilt. It was surprisingly easy to do once I got in the groove, just time consuming. But totally worth it and I think it adds to the old-fashioned charm.

I was thinking I haven't shown you a glimpse of old Norm in ages! The poor guy is having a bit of cabin fever these days and really isn't interested in mom's new fabric or quilts. For his Christmas gift this year, he's asking Santa (aka Mark) to take him one day a week to Camp Happy Paws for some play time, so if he can manage to stop eating off of Lucy's high chair and running through our backyard mud puddles, he might just get his wish.

This pretty stack of fabric is from Tula Pink's new Parisville line, and let me tell you how beautiful it is in person, especially if you love bright gum drop colors. I have a pattern all picked out for these, but for now they are just going to sit on my shelf and look pretty.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-12-10T09:13:00.000-08:00

Since I've finally been able to drag my sorry tired self out of bed a little more frequently now, I've been able to attempt a bit of shopping, holiday baking and decking the halls. Even if I paid my brother in wine to put the lights on our house, made Mark go alone to pick out the tree (which I did about the most shoddy decorating job on ever - this coming from a person who usually spends no less than three hours on stringing the lights alone, I've even been known to use garbage twisty ties to wrap them onto the branches!) and have done most of my shopping online, at least it's starting to feel a little Christmas-y around here. The holidays with a one and a half year old in the house is too fun and special not to enjoy every moment. And taking a bit of stitchy time to work on this quilt has been helping to make me feel festive, too.

When Aneela announced her Pickledish Quilt-along, I knew I wanted to join in despite my lack of energy or need to start a new project. But I'd been searching for a pattern to make from all my holiday prints and this seemed like a perfect way to showcase a bunch of fussy-cut snowmen, gnomes, trees and snowflakes. And I have to say, this may be the most fun I've ever had piecing a quilt! It's so much fun to pick out the combinations for the arches, and the curves are just challenging enough to hold my interest without making me want to scream (OK, maybe just a little). I'm determined to have this one finished and on our sofa for Christmas morning, but if I was a betting woman, I probably wouldn't be betting on my side of things for this one!

I started collecting fun, whimsical Christmas prints when I first started ~~hoarding~~ collecting fabric, but this is the only project they've been cut up for so far. There's some Munki Munki, Shinzi Katoh, Sherri Berry, Minny Muu and even some of Aneela's own Spoonflower holiday fabric all represented, mixed with a hodge-podge of other red and green prints from my stash. And now I have a million Christmas sewing projects rolling around in my head and after a small fabric buying hiatus I've become a bit obsessed with collecting prints for all my dreamed-up stockings, table runners and tree skirt that I fantasize I'll have enough time to sew up next year. These fun new prints are from Alexander Henry's Merry Modern and Candy Colored Christmas lines.

Thanks so much to all of you for the baby love! I'm eleven weeks along now and feeling pretty good, and looking forward to that second trimester burst of energy!

I'm back! - with pillows and an announcement!

2010-12-05T21:20:00.000-08:00

First things first - many of you have guessed that I am evidently not the best secret keeper. Baby #2 is on the way! Of course I was trying to wait until the recommended 12 week mark to make it public, but I'm just too excited! We've had our first ultrasound and everything is looking good so far. We're ten weeks along now (although I look more like I'm twenty!) so that puts the due date right around the first of July. I'm feeling pretty good lately as long as I get myself to sleep early. I'm usually a night owl so the ten PM bedtime isn't my favorite, but it seems to be keeping me from falling asleep in my one paltry half decaf cup of coffee in the morning.

Consequently I'm way behind in some sewing projects, especially bees (sorry Chris, Leslie and Angela!) but I'm working on it, and the above picture is the beginnings of my pillow for this round of the Pillow Talk Swap. My partner is down with bright colors and coal solid sashing so I'm hoping this will turn into something that will make her happy. I have a habit as using my swap partners for guinea pigs for new designs and techniques, and this round I decided to bust out the curved hexagon star template I bought after seeing these beautiful blocks by Amy awhile ago. The stars aren't the easiest to pull off, but if you're familiar with curved piecing it's definitely do-able. I'm already mentally drafting a "falling stars" quilt.

Although I am always mailing my swap pieces off on deadline day, I'm always paired with partners who are on the ball and get my present to me very early!

Look at this gorgeous pillow Lori made for me!

She did such a beautiful job with the design and craftmanship. I love the bird fabrics!

And as if the front wasn't lovely enough, check out the back:

Isn't it lovely? The cream and soft pastels look perfect in Lucy's room. Thank you again Lori for all the love and effort you poured into this piece!

Before I go, I just have to do a bit of bragging. My husband Mark was just featured in the latest issue of the Wine Spectator! It's a very highly regarded magazine that has the largest distribution of all the wino publications, so this was quite a honor. He's the big handsome one in the middle, and the photo was taken at our tasting room in Woodinville, Washington. I am one proud wife!

I hope you're all enjoying the beginnings of the holiday season. I've actually been getting a bit of sewing action in lately so I'll be back soon.

A grinding halt...

2010-11-22T19:41:00.000-08:00

That is what crafting productivity has slowed to around here lately. Okay, well I have been knitting. In bed. And baking. And eating a lot of the baking. But mostly napping when I can (which isn't as much as I'd like with an 18 month old girl who has decided she doesn't much care for her own naps!) and tucking myself into bed after dinner to make it only part way through a movie before falling asleep. My sewing machine is lonely. I'm getting behind with bees and swaps. I won't even tell you about the pile of dishes in my sink and the mountain of laundry piling up.

But you know what? I'm kind of enjoying this little vacation from the pressures I normally put on myself to produce crafty things. I've decided to ignore the perpetual list of crafting "must-dos" for now and focus on sleeping, eating, reading and spending time with my little family. I'm happy as a clam. And I expect to be back in full creative force in about another four to five weeks:)

Pips and Pickledishes

2010-11-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

I guess it's an Aneela-project sort of month around here! I waited about one hot second after receiving my precious Sherbet Pips layer cake in the mail to start slicing and dicing.

In anticipation of it's arrival I had already decided on the design I wanted to go for and ordered some coordinating Bella Solids in scarlet, sisters pink, grey, blue raspberry and popsicle. I'm liking the "snowballs and squares" look - I think it showcases the prints nicely and the solids give everything a little 'pop'. I love these fabrics so so so so much! This is about as far as I've gotten in piecing the rows. It's a little tedious so it's slow going.

And I'm a little late to the party, but you've all heard about Aneela's Pickledish quilt-along, haven't you?

Now these are fun to piece! I haven't sewn any blocks together yet so can't attest to the difficulty or lack thereof for the arc piecing, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I've already tackled curves so I'm not too frightened.

I love having all of this Christmas mess strewn about my sewing room. I suppose it isn't yet appropriate to bust out the holiday decorations so this is tiding me over until after Thanksgiving. I started collecting all these holiday prints last year but never got around to them, but I'm hoping we have a nice little Pickledish Christmas quilt to cozy under during December. Realistically, that will probably be December 2011!!

I'd love to get sewing on all of this right now, but Lucy is sleeping and honestly, mama needs to go have a nap too!

It's A Hoot Triple-Squared Quilt Tutorial!!!

2010-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is my version of the "Triple Squared Quilt" tutorial I originally planned for the Moda Bake Shop. If you need to catch up on the story behind the tutorial, read this post. I just want to say that Moda has been very kind and gracious throughout this little debacle, but regrets they won't be able to re-post it. Thank you all so much for your supportive words, I'm really happy so many of you still wanted the tute, so here it is! And of course we all know there are dozens of different variations on this design floating around out there, my little version is just engineered to help you get the most variety of print and color combinations out of ten inch squares of fabric.

If you want to whip one up out of your favorite layer cake, here is what you'll need:

One or two It's a Hoot layer cakes, depending on whether you'd like to make a baby-sized or large throw quilt. You could easily convert this to a jelly roll, fat quarters or yardage also and make any size quilt you like.

3/4 yard It's a Hoot print 32377 45 Fudge Turquoise for the binding

4 yards It's a Hoot print 32371 15 Sky for the backing

a Design Wall (I highly recommend this, even if it is just a piece of batting tacked to your wall - that's what I use! I will make designing your quilt so much more easy and enjoyable.)

First, open up your layer cake(s) and pet all the yummy new fabrics:) Next divide them into three piles, trying for a good diversity of prints and colors in each stack. Then, combine two of the stacks into one pile. You will have one stack with 14 (28) prints and the other with 28 (56) prints.

You will begin by rotary cutting the larger stack as follows:

1 strip 6.5 by 2.5 inches
4 strips 4.5 by 2.5
4 squares 2.5 by 2.5

Make yourself a little cutting map of this diagram for easy reference. The cross-hatch sections indicate portions unused in the pattern - set those aside.

With the smaller pile, cut the following pieces:

2 strips 6.5 by 2.5
3 strips 4.5 by 2.5
3 squares 2.5 by 2.5

Here is the cutting diagram for that pile.

Phew! All done?

Now you can separate all the pieces by size.

You will start building your blocks by pulling two squares of different colors and prints and sewing these right side together. Finger press your seams to the left.

Next, chose a 4.5 inch long strip matching the square on the left and sew it, right sides together, to the top of the squares. Finger press this seam towards the new strip.

Chose another contrasting 4.5 inch strip and sew it to the left of your new square, finger pressing again to the left.

And finally add the matching 6.5 inch strip to the top and finger press again toward the new strip. Now, press your finished quarter block and start making a pile.

After I've completed a dozen or two, I like to start placing them in a pleasing way on the design wall, arranging four mini - blocks to make one larger window-paned square, or bento box. Try and be as diverse as possible with your combinations.

When you get near the end of your strips and squares, you will have some left over. I added these in with my cutting scraps and made myself a new mug rug and patchworked the front of a new tote! You could also use them in piecing a backing, if you wish.

Now you'll want to sew you quadrants together, and press your seams open to minimize bulk in the center where all the seams meet.

Here is what your finished block will look like!

Now sew these beauties up in rows, 4 by 4 blocks for the baby size,

or 5 by 6 for the throw quilt!

Baste, quilt and bind! Enjoy your cozy new quilt!

This will yield one generous baby quilt, approximately 48 by 48.

Or, if you used two layer cakes, one 56 by 68 throw quilt!

I hope you all enjoyed my little tutorial - it's my first so go easy on me! But please let me know if there are any changes you find that need to be made:)

Show and Tell

2010-11-03T19:15:00.000-07:00

First I want to say thank you to all of you who left such sweet comments about my last post. You instantly made me feel so much better about everything! I'm still waiting to hear if the tutorial will be re-posted on the Moda Bake Shop, but no matter what you will see it here or there soon.

I just can't make enough of these Jane Market Bags! Not exactly as fashionable as the handbags I used to carry, but these have become my carry-all tote for knitting, diapers, wallet, water bottle and every other on the go necessity. My first one has been going everywhere with me so I decided to make more before I trash it too much. I love the fact that one or two of these can be whipped up in an evening.

The first one is made of twill cloth from It's a Hoot by Momo, and is probably my favorite print of the line. The yardage is supposed to be out any day now. I used up some scraps from the quilt to do a little patchwork on the pocket, paired with a little japanese linen.

The second bag is a buttery soft linen by Megumi Sakakibara from Superbuzzy that I just couldn't resist. I have a half yard stack of the cotton prints by this designer that have been marinating in my stash for awhile, so I cut a little up to patchwork the pockets of this one, too. And the lining is one of my favorite Modern Meadow by Joel Dewberry prints, Herringbone in Maple. That guy is just a genius with coordinate prints, don't you think?

My stress relief knitting project of the week is this super simple Drop Stitch Scarf. Looks complicated? Well trust me, it's not! If you can knit and count, you can make this scarf. I love this Manos del Uruguay Maxima merino wool yarn soooo much. The colorway is Chrysanthemum and it makes me happy to see the cheerful colors changing as I go along. Having a simple knitting distraction is a necessity for me because my big long-term projects tend to be above my skill level and drive me crazy more than occasionally. I'd really like to finish my Kererra sweater up but I keep encountering road blocks. If anyone has experience with knitting double garter stitch in the round, please PLEASE contact me - I beg of you!

And I just finished up my block for Brioni (flossyblossy) in our first month on Bee Hexed In. She chose blue and green and I think this quilt is going to be just lovely!

I have lots more to show you soon - don't ask me where all this crafting energy came from! Right now I am ready to hit the sack and it's only 7:15:)

It' A Hooty Dilemma

2010-11-01T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here it is, my It's A Hoot quilt I finished awhile back but haven't been able to show you until now. This quilt, along with a full tutorial for constructing it out of a layer cake, was scheduled for the Moda Bake Shop this weekend, but had to be yanked after only twelve hours. Needless to say I'm disappointed after pouring so much time, thought and energy into the tutorial and making of this quilt. But unbeknownst to me, the name I used for the tutorial is under copyright. Because of all of the countless variations on this design and the many different versions of tutorials already all over the web, I wrongly assumed this pattern belonged to the public domain. All I set out to do was to try and show you how to cut up a layer cake to make this design.

So yeah, I'm bummed.

With all due respect to the owner of the copyright for the name of this design, I wonder where the line is drawn if the quilt is by a different name. Like everyone else out there I detest copy catting and plagiarism and completely understand the right of the designer to protect their own creations. But when a design is so simple it can be made in a million different but similar ways, who owns the design? I know this issue strikes a cord with a lot of you, especially those of you who feel your owns designs have been ripped off. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Anyways, the quilt is done and I think it turned out beautifully. I knew the moment I saw the previews for Momo's new line "It's A Hoot" that I couldn't wait to get my hands on these fabrics. The color palette is full of yummy jelly bean colors that really speak to me, and there are some great stash must-haves in the line like the egg dots and the branches print. I love the large scale prints, too - I think I already showed you the peek of the back as I binded ~

And here is a shot of it against a clear blue sky not often seen around here these days! These photos were taken in the beautiful gardens of acclaimed Herbfarm Restaurant near our tasting room in Woodinville, Washington.

Anyone have any new name ideas for this quilt???

And of course I couldn't resist showing you my little Mouseketeer on her first Trick or Treat outing! She would only wear the ears for a few minutes so this is the best shot we got of her in the full get-up.

Happy First of November - today is official "start your holiday projects for real" day!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Time!

2010-10-29T16:36:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Blogger's Quilt Festival! I just love cruising through all the beautiful quilts and finding some blogs I've never visited before. The last festival was my first entry, and I chose my beloved Flea Market Fancy quilt. This time around, I have a lot more quilts to choose from, so it was a harder decision. But in the end, the quilt that gets the most use wins - my Little Folks HST quilt.

I love this quilt so much for many reasons, the biggest one being the amount of tedious effort that was put into it. It literally had me tearing my hair out at a few different points during the process! But in the end, soooo worth it.

If you've worked with this voile before, you know how wonderfully soft it is. The softness and light-weight makes it a bit slippery, so piecing the half square triangles was less the easy! It's quite imperfect and tons of the points don't exactly match, but I learned a lot of valuable lessons in the making of this quilt, and for me it sort of adds to the charm.

I backed this quilt with voile as well, which made it super tough to baste. I could just NOT get it without a pucker when I took it to the machine. So, in the end, I hand quilted all whopping 90x90 inches of it. And I'm not sorry I did. The hand quilting helped to retain the soft, airy feel of the quilt.

And this is where you can find this quilt on most days of the week....

being loved and used just the way a quilt is meant to be.

Make sure you hop on over to Amy's page all week long and check out all the other lovelies!

Welcome to all of you who have never visited before! I hope to see you again soon!

WARNING: The following post may make you green with envy

2010-10-27T10:29:00.000-07:00

I am feeling like one of the luckiest girls around today - look what came in my mailbox!

SHERBET PIPS!!!!!!!!!

I told you that you'd be jealous! Of course you've already heard of Sherbet Pips unless you've been hiding under a rock somewhere. It's the first I'm sure of many stunningly adorable fabric lines by Aneela Hoey for Moda. Aneela is one of my most favorite crafters in all of Blogland and when she announced her designs were going into print I jumped for joy!

And let me tell you, they are even better in person....the colors are absolutely perfect and I think I might faint from kawaii overload.

"Scoot" is a favorite from her Spoonflower prints, and I think that "scarf stripe" is ingenious.

And check out her awesome coordinates! These will for sure be joining the ranks of stash must haves.

And puppies - in four colorways!

Don't forget about what is probably the most beloved image in Aneela's designs, "Girl on a swing" or is she called oh, cherry?

I was really hoping to go to Quiltmarket this year but it just wasn't in the cards. Since this was at the tippy-top of my list for a sample spree purchase, this is definitely making up for me missing the show. But, I MUST HAVE MORE! Yardage is not available until April next year, so this will have to tide me over until then. I see a sweet little quilt for Lucy, something simple to showcase all the loveliness of the prints. You know I won't be able to resist cutting in for long!

Hand Stitching Central

2010-10-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

That's what my bed has become lately. And I love it! Ever since I can remember, I have been big on hibernating when this time of year rolls around. I love pajamas and tea and coffee in bed, wrapped in a blanket, knitting and stitching merrily away. Of course, that pesky thing called life does get in the way that demands I get up and take care of life's necessities, but then after Lucy is tucked in it's back to my favorite nook in the universe again.

I just started cross-stitching this cute little Alice in Wonderland pattern by Gera I ordered from Superbuzzy - it's the first time I've cross-stitched anything since I was in junior high! I also just ordered a new PDF pattern designed in part by my super talented blog buddy Amanda. Have you heard of her new venture The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery? These gals have some crazy cute patterns already in stock and I can't wait to see what else they will be coming up with!

On the needles is the Honey Cowl from Madeline Tosh. I had to jump on that bandwagon after my awesome new LYS started carrying Tosh yarns. This one I'm doing up in the Pashmina in Cerulean Blue. It's a gorgeous yarn and a satisfying simple knit which I'm distracting myself with when my Kererra sweater WIP starts frustrating me.

The hexagons are for Brioni's block in our first month of the Bee-Hexed In Bee. I was so honored to be invited to join this group of gals and the block we're making, based on Tacha's Bee Hexed pillow pattern from Fat Quarterly Issue #1, is labor intensive but well worth the outcome.

That quilt in my lap is my old Flea Market Fancy, which is enjoying some rigorous ripping out of the quilting right now. It's a fun stress relieving activity! Okay, maybe "fun" is not the right word. But I love the quilt, the quilting not so much. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have gotten up off my duff to do a little time at the sewing machine lately - I finally finished up my blocks for the 3x6 Bee. I'm sorry these are so incredibly late ladies! I love this Circle of Geese block, but I sort of lost my steam on them. Somehow I thought machine paper-piecing would go much more quickly, and boy was I wrong! But I think they turned out pretty well and I hope my fellow Bee-ers like them!

And I know you're all wondering what is going on in Blythe land around here, right?

Introducing Miss Astrid! She arrived very quickly on Saturday (I got her from the U.S.) but I didn't want to show her off until she had some proper attire. And what a better welcome home out fit that a little Liberty of London jumper? I've got a stack more patterns (even some knitting ones!) and fabrics to make some teeny weeny clothes from.

Astrid is an Ice Rune, and while she is quite pretty I do see some customization in her future. Does anyone know a good spa to send her to state-side? I might give it a go myself but it makes me nervous. Any tips would be very appreciated.

Thank all of you so much who participated in my big Stash Sale Blowout! It was a crazy few days and sort of exciting but I'm glad it's over. I couldn't believe how fast everything sold. Every time I went to list the next item, the one I had posted right before it was gone! I do apologize to all of you who sat chained to your computer trying to get what you wanted without even getting up the use the restroom! I know, because I've been there before! It's nice to know my beloved fabrics will be going to some homes where the will be equally loved.

I also wanted to ask you to stop by the Moda Bake Shop this coming Sunday, Halloween! I've been hinting around about this for awhile but I can't wait for you all to see what I've "cooked up"!

More on the way!

2010-10-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Yipee! I just bought my first Blythe! Thank you so much to all of you who found something from my stash to add to your own! But wait - there's more! I need to finish this sale up today so I can clean my house and pay attention to my child. She was allowed to eat a pink frosted donut for breakfast that her dad brought her so I could try and get some more listings going. This has been a bit of a whirlwind, life needs to return to normal!

So take a peek, I hope to finish listing by this evening. There are still a few more treats to be gotten, even some Flea Market Fancy!

Thanks again everyone!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/meggied23

******UPDATE: I am still listing more items, hopefully starting around 3:30 PM west coast time if Lucy will nap!
There is still a big FMF bundle, some Heather Ross and a couple more goodies to go!

It's ON!

2010-10-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Wow what a crazy morning! It's nice to know you all are just as nuts about fabric as I am. It makes me feel good I'm not alone! So this is the state of my dining room table today as I'm photographing and getting everything ready for listing.

Thank you all for your inquiries, and I apologize if I wasn't able to contact you personally, but with over one hundred emails today, my internet crapping out last night and chasing after Lucy, I really ran out of time. I just couldn't keep track of who wanted what so I have just decided to list it all up on Etsy.

I just dropped Lucy off at my MIL's house so I'll be listing for the next few hours and probably some more this evening. A few things have already found new homes, but there will be lots more fun stuff. One of the Flea Market Fancy layer cakes, the Lotus bundle and some Bohemian is sold, but I have one more little package of Bohemian and I'm going to list the other layer cake in a bit. It actually feels good to clear out a bit, I think I was starting to drown in the pools of fabric!

As I said yesterday, de-stashing makes me a little uncomfortable because everyone has a different perception of value. I don't consider myself "gauging" because I've never bought fabric with the intention of profiting. I also need to consider that many of my fabrics are from expensive quilt shops with sales tax and shipped with high foreign prices from Australia, Asia and Europe. I am making an effort to offer the things I'm willing to part with at a price lower than you would pay on ebay or from an active Etsy seller. But please understand that I love all these fabrics and would be just as happy to keep them. I do hope though, that you find something at a value you deem fair and will love as much as I do!

Here is the link to my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/meggied23

Thanks so much for checking it out!

******Update: It's 6 PM west coast time and I have to feed my baby and spend time with the family. I'm planning on listing more around 8:30. Thanks so much, all of you - I can't believe how ravenous you are! Looks like I'll be getting a Blythe very soon!

Destash Sale Coming!

2010-10-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

In order to avoid a visit from the Hoarders television crew, I have decided it is time to part with some of my beloved fabrics. As you can see, my stash might be just a little bit out of control. And this is just a little part of it. There's much, much more.

Don't get me wrong, seeing all these mountains of fabrics everyday brings me great joy. But I could sew every day until eternity and still not use it all up. Plus, there is always something new to buy!

And then there might be one other little reason I want to unload some of these precious beauties:

Don't laugh at me.... I went and fell in love with Blythe dolls. (If you aren't sure what a Blythe is, just search for them in Flickr and you can see millions of people's prized dollies, all complete with handmade outfits and custom hair-dos). A few of my favorites are here and here and here. (Yes Katy, I have a crush on your girls). I got these two little miniature Blythe dolls at Target to help tide me over until I can get my hands on the real thing -

They are super cute and Happy Meal sized, and best of all, cheap. But the real deals are 12 inches tall, imported from Asia and expensive. So, I'm cashing in some of my stash to pay for this new frivolous obsession. Plus, Mark is not really on board with the idea of his wife starting a doll collection that Lucy is not allowed to touch, so this is my only way!

Okay, I know you are all saying "who cares about Blythe, Megan, what are you getting rid off???"

I have a fat quarter bundle of 19 different prints from Amy Butler's Lotus collection, my favorite line she ever produced. I'm still in the process of making a king sized Lotus quilt for our bed, and this is some of what I have to spare. Most of these prints have been out of print for awhile now and some are impossible to find.

I also put together a fat quarter bundle from Tula Pink's Flutterby line, which I fell for well after printing and ordered from all over the country.

Lots of rare japanese fairy tale prints to go through - I'm still not sure what is going or staying. They are hard to let go of but I know they will make someone else very happy!

And I may just be letting go of a Flea Market Fancy layer cake or two! I purchased these from an Australian quilt shop about a year and a half ago and they include lots of desirable prints, even brown posies and grey bouquet. I'm adding a few extra prints from my own stash to sweeten the deal.(****I should also add here that these were made up by a quilt shop and do not include every FMF print, but enough for a good sized quilt!)

I do want to state here that I have never destashed fabric before and it does make me a bit uncomfortable because I do not want to be perceived as a gouger. All of these fabrics are rare and hard to find, and I am not trying to make a large profit from them, just get the value I put into them and buy myself a new Blythe! And hopefully in turn make their new owner happy.

Lucy just went to sleep so I am spending the evening going through everything else. I am thinking of adding some Uptown, Lush, Munki Munki, Heather Ross, Neptune, maybe some more FMF and even a little Anna Maria Bohemian to the list.

If you are interested in anything here or are looking for something in particular let me know. I just wanted to let you all have a crack at it before I list it on Etsy. Please email me at meggied23 at hotmail (dot) com. if you need more info.

And don't worry, this will still be a quilting blog. But I might have to show you a cute Blythe doll every now and then:)

****Just wanted to let you all know I've already got a lot of inquiries so please don't be upset if I can't answer your email until tomorrow early afternoon:)

Weekend Sewing

2010-10-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are at blog post 101! Thanks to all of you for your warm wishes for me making it all the way to one hundred posts. I'm not really sure how I had enough to post about in that many posts in just over a year, but I'm happy you're still here reading with me!

I've got a few finishes going on now, which I'm super happy about so I can dust off the sewing table, re-organize, and tackle a bunch of projects that have been on the back burner for too long. And start a holiday project or two. And then there is round 4 of the Pillow Talk Swap! But first I think I'll just take a few days away from it all and just knit. I don't love deadlines but I seem to have more than my share right now.

The Bliss quilt is almost finished. The top has actually been done for a month or two but I just haven't had time to quilt it yet. It's a gift for my mom's birthday - which is tomorrow! - but do you think there is anyway on earth I will actually finish? No. I thought I could knock out some quick free motion quilting, but after drooling at Brioni's quilt for so long I really wanted to go with these cathedral circles. So here I am at the ninth hour and not even half way done. But it looks great and I think my mom will be impressed once she finally gets the quilt! A sneak preview for her will have to do for now. Good thing moms are a forgiving bunch:)

And I'm just on the last leg of hand sewing the binding on this one, and I'm dying to show it to you but it's going to have to wait a couple more weeks! It's my very first tutorial and I'm a bit nervous about all my instructions working out.

It's made with the new It's a Hoot line from Momo - it's so cheery and vibrant and I couldn't wait to sew it up. Yardage is coming out soon and I'll definitely be investing in lots of the prints for the old stash.

Well I'm off for a rockin' Saturday night of quilting but I promise not to get too wild!

I've discovered the secret.....

2010-10-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

to successful quilt basting!

And Happy 100th Blog Post to me!

Dreamy Windmills Quilt

2010-10-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

Before I do anything, I have to say a huge thank you to you all for such lovely, helpful and sometimes hilarious comments on my Arrrgh!!! post. You sure all do know how to make a girl feel better! When I first started blogging and flickring, it was to share my projects with whomever cared to see them, but I really think I've kept at it because all the supportive, caring - dare I say friendships? - I've made here. It's not that I don't have "real" friends in my "real" life, I've got lots of great ones, actually. But the kindred spirits I've connected with here understand the part of me that obsesses over fabric, curses my sewing machine and gets my panties in a bunch over quilts puckering. No one else in my life besides you guys gets it! So thanks for being here:)

I think all of your collective empathetic encouragement and sweet advice did the trick! Dreamy Windmills is by no means perfect, but guess what? No puckering! I adjusted my presser foot pressure as a few of you suggested and it really made a world of difference. Serves me right for not taking the totally free Bernina classes offered at my LQS that it never occured to me that was a big problem. I also succumbed to the temptation of basting spray for the back, but I doubt I'm pregnant yet so it's only my own brain cells I'm offing. And lots and lots of pins, every one I own, for the front.

We got outside to take a few shots this afternoon, but as you can see, autumn has landed in Seattle, and a blustery storm is rolling in.

Here is a more cozy indoor photo:

Isn't Dream On such a pretty line? I chose the orange stripe print from the line for the binding and I'm completely in love with the print I used for the back. It's a big cheater print that comes in two colorways and is perfect for backing if you're like me and usually just want to get to it and not have to bother piecing the back for interest. I used four charm packs combined with the Kona Ash solid in simple half triangle square Windmill blocks. If you're thinking it looks different than most Windmill quilts, it's probably because I set these on point. After it was washed and all cozy and crinkly, I decided there was still something missing, so I'm going back now and hand-quilting some of the star outlines. It measures a generous 60x60 and Mark thinks it's a little bit girly but somehow I doubt that will stop him from using it.

Welcome to the bunch, Dreamy quilt!

Oh yeah, you probably want to know who won the City Weekend jelly rolls! Here we go!

Number 284 Mary on Lake Pulaski

Number 293 Weatherbee:)

Number 71 Jennspen

Congratulations ladies! I'll be in touch soon to get your mailing addresses. I can't wait to see what you make with City Weekend!

Aaaargh!!!!

2010-10-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of full disclosure, and because a little empathy always seems to help me feel better, I'm going to share with you the crappy crafty day I'm having. As much as I love the tons of inspiration I get from reading blogs and cruising Flickr, sometimes I just have to wonder, are these people human? Some of these ridiculously talented crafters never seem to have a pucker, hole, bump, missed seam, chopped off point, crooked line or unintentional wonky quilt block in all the hundreds of gorgeous projects they endlessly churn out. And I have to love them, because the only make me aspire to be better. But I happen to be a mere mortal, and all this crafting is for me, a journey, as cliche as that sounds, of learning. And the thing I love most about crafting is the process. But today, I would really rather be perfect!!! I just don't have time for this and I really wish I could be making forward progress instead of having to backtrack over all these mistakes!

I thought I did quite a nice job basting my Dream On quilt and set out to try out some straight line quilting. I went really well on the City Weekend baby quilt and I thought I was finally starting to even like my walking foot. But damn it! PUCKERS! I don't know if this one is just too big and is tugging too much with it's weight, or if I just suck at straight line quilting. I have a Bernina 440 QE and it should be able to handle this. I'm bound and determined to get this one perfect. So I'm spending this morning during Lucy's naptime unpinning all 300 pins and tearing out the quilting I already did. Not my idea of fun. I'm trying to go without spray basting since we're trying for another baby, but I may just have to get out the gas mask and douse this thing full of toxic goo.

The other large pain in my arse today is my Kererra WIP. I've been making such progress and I've really been enjoying this knit - until I got to the shoulder. Take a closer look:

Yikes! I've tried picking these stitches up three times already and the join looks like absolute crap. So this afternoon I'm off to my fabulous new LYS to be rescued. This shop just opened a few weeks ago near my house and I was thrilled to find the woman who taught me most of what I know is working there! So I pray Annelie can help me move past this, and hopefully I'll even learn something.

If anyone out there has any advice to offer, I would love to hear. But first, I'm taking Lucy on a nice long walk on this blue sky morning to blow off some steam and look for some motivation to tackle these projects again. And if any of you need a to vent a little crafty frustration, feel free to let it go here:)

And if you haven't entered in the City Weekend giveaway yet, it's still going so pop into my previous post and leave a comment!

City Weekend Baby Quilt - and a giveaway!

2010-10-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to get a few more sunny-day pictures of this little quilt before I showed it but it looks like the weather won't be cooperating today. So here it is, all washed and cozy and ready to be packaged up and sent to it's new owner in Portland, Oregon, who is being born today! Lucy has a new cousin, Harper, (isn't that a cool name?) and I thought this would be a perfect gift to welcome her arrival.

I am just adoring this new line, City Weekend, by Liesl Gibson of Oliver & S fame. The color palette is so vibrant and unique! I'm especially loving the bright tomato red, turquoise and golden yellows, so I chose to highlight those colors in the backing, border and binding. The rest of the quilt was made with just two charm packs and a bit less than a yard of solid. Half triangle squares and little four patches, sweet and simple. It measures about 42 x 48 and I made friends with my walking foot with just some simple straight line quilting. I also used bamboo/ cotton batting for the first time and I LOVE it! The loft is a touch higher than Warm and White so it's super squishy and soft. I based the design off of a traditional pattern I'd seen in some vintage quilts, but I think the fresh colors give it a modern feel. I should also mention that the hand of these fabrics is silky soft when you touch the yardage, more so than typical quilting cotton. I'm thinking Liesl must have had a say in choosing the base cloth to make the texture wonderful for children's clothing. Lucy will definitely be getting a dress made from these soon.

So are you thinking you might like to play around with these lovely prints too? Moda has generously given me not one, but three, jelly rolls to pass on to three of my lovely readers!!! You've got three separate chances to enter, too! For the first chance, just because I love hearing what everyone else is up to, leave a comment telling me what your big crafty project is this week. If you're a follower, leave another comment for another chance, and if you follow Moda Bakeshop, go ahead and enter for a third! I'll have random integer choose three winners on Thursday at 5 PM western time. Good luck!

In case you were wondering what my big project is this week, it's quilting up my Dream On quilt. I'm in serious finish-mode and it feels so good!

Have a great Monday!

My husband is gonna hate this hat....

2010-09-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

But ask me if I care. I don't. I'm so proud of myself! This is my first ever hat-for-me and my first cable pattern. Cables have scared me off for a really long time but these were beyond simple and this was actually a very relaxing knit. I totally recommend it for anyone who has wanted to try cables but didn't know where to begin. If you can knit in the round, you can do this.

And to show you the fit, here is me playing self portrait model again, this time in the bathroom. I had to take a lot of these to even get one OK shot - and without the toilet in the background. I almost left in my beloved Heather Ross VW vans bathrobe that hangs on the wall, but I decided it was so cute it would distract from the hat.

Yep, Mark has already called this a Rastafarian hat. I had to take back some new jeans I bought recently because he said they looked like "swabbies", and who wants jeans to look unflattering to their guy? But the hat is staying. And you know the best part? It's loose so I can wear it all over on cold days but still not have total hat head.

Oh yeah, the pattern is free on Ravelry - Star Crossed Slouchy Beret - and mine is knit with a scrummy squishy Mirasol Miski baby llama yarn.

More on this next post - a new baby quilt from Oliver & S's new City Weekend line. The binding is only half on and I really don't count a quilt as finished until it's all washed and crinkly, but the sun was shining today and I'd like to get all the outside pictures of quilts while I still can. We never trust the weatherman in Seattle when he says tomorrow will be sunny too!

And I found a new method for taping down backing! Wine labels work beautifully! I'm always running out of tape when I decide to baste, so I was happy to find this roll in the garage. Don't worry, this vintage has already been bottled so these are just some leftovers who needed a job.

I might not be back until Monday but check in then for another giveaway! There's a hint in this post as to what it will be - and it's a good one!

The Wonky Yellow Brick Road Quilt (in pug)

2010-09-26T19:30:00.000-07:00

The Wonky Brick Road quilt is all stippled, bound and freshly washed, ready to go to it's new home. I made this one for my dear friend Kari as a house warming gift - she just bought her first condominium and I wanted to show her how proud I am of her for such a great accomplishment. She's been hounding me for awhile to make her something handmade so I thought this would be the perfect occasion.

I'm loving how this one came out! The idea was born for this quilt when I found this adorable Spoonflower print on Etsy by Pugnotes. Kari loves her pug like he is her fur baby, so I knew this would be perfect for her. I wasn't sure how I would be able to showcase the print in a quilt until I remembered this one the talented Ashley came up with awhile back. I thought something similar would be a lovely way to use this print generously and still be able to incorporate lots of sherbet-y floral and geometric prints into the mix. Plus the cheerful wonkiness of the design reminds me of my friend, who always keeps me laughing.

I used lots of oranges, pinks, and golds with a splash of lavender in prints mostly from Erin McMorris, Heather Bailey and Amy Butler. I have a tendency to want to make a quilt all from one single designer's line, so it was fun to play with a mix of all these fabrics and see how harmoniously they play together. The method for piecing was simple and free-flowing, if not a bit tedious toward the end. But so worth it for the overall effect and how the "grout" makes all the prints pop.

For the binding I chose my favorite print from Erin McMorris's Weekends line and splurged on some deliciously cozy Little Folks flannel from Anna Maria Horner. This is the first quilt I've backed in flannel but definitely not the last! It's so cozy!

I had to get one more shot in since it was one of our last beautiful blue skies up here in Seattle for awhile....

Lucy does not want to give this one away. But it's much easier for me knowing it will be loved and I can visit it pretty much whenever I want to.

I hope you love your new quilt Kari! (and don't pretend you aren't reading this post - I guess the surprise is spoiled now!)

We also have a winner for the Innocent Crush fat quarters! I decided to go with random.org instead of choosing my favorite pattern because there were so many good ones suggested. Thanks to all of you for your thoughtful input. The winner is #20, Faith! Faith is one talented woman and I read her blog regularly for inspiration, so you know she will do something awesome with these fabrics.

Happy Sunday everyone!

The spoils of the day (and a little giveaway!) GIVEAWAY ENDED! check back again for more fun:)

2010-09-23T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm crushing hard on Anna Maria Horner. Okay, it's no secret that I always have. I've made a quilt or two from each and every line she's produced (except Chocolate Lollipop) and I still hoard all her old collections. So of course I've been waiting with baited breath for her new Innocent Crush line to come out, and pouting that we have to wait until November. So imagine my surprise when I was cruising Etsy the other night while Mark was out of town (you know what they say - when the cat is away the mouse will shop!) and Whipstitch Fabrics had the whole entire line in stock! I had to contact them to make sure they hadn't forgotten to write "pre order" on the listings! But sure enough, they had magically gotten them that day and besides their in store customers I was the first person to get my greedy hands on them!

The gals there were wonderful to deal with and got my fabric to me in just two days! It arrived this afternoon and I am blown away once again by the beauty Anna Maria continues to create.

These are gorgeous and the colors are perfect for fall. I really have too many other WIPs going on right now but I have no idea how in the world I'll be able to keep myself from cutting in to these!

As if that wasn't enough to get my heart racing, a special package of gorgeous Nani Iro arrived today also! Matatabi was having a moving sale and how could I resist? A little double gauze to add to my collection and some of the linen from her vintage collection (a new clutch maybe?)

The best thing to arrive on my doorstep today though, was my sweet husband. He came home this afternoon from a trade show in NYC and came armed with gifts as he always does. This time he had to make it good to keep me from being too jealous of his visit to Mario Batali's new spot Eataly. He did good! The gals at Purl Soho were so helpful in choosing these gorgeous Habu yarns for the Color Change scarf I've been dreaming of, and some new Liberty lovelies to add to my long-term hexie quilt project.

And this is what we'll be up to (or into, rather) tonight......Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams. All I can say is YUM. After reading this Flickr thread the other night we recklessly ordered seven pints of this stuff against all dietary logic ( I mean, come on, I've been trying to lose 8 pounds since Lucy was born!) I'm blaming this all on you Chawne if I gain some more;) But really, this ice cream is crack and I'm sure it won't be the last box arriving on our doorstep. Mark wasn't in the door for 5 minutes before diving into the Black Coffee flavor and proclaiming it his favorite ice cream ever. (Insert sounds of our pant seams tearing).

And because I'm feeling like a big old spoiled brat, I want to spread the love around to you too! I picked up a couple of extra fat quarters of my favorite prints from the Innocent Crush line to give away to one of you. I have a million quilt pattern ideas rolling around in my head but not one of them is speaking to me with this line yet. Will you help me please? In order to enter for these little pretties, just leave a comment telling me what design or pattern you think would be lovely in Innocent Crush. I haven't decided yet if I'll draw this randomly or pick the idea I like the best so please give it a little thought!

One comment per person please and I'll pick the winner Sunday at 5 PM Western time so I can pop these in the mail to the winner on Monday! Please make sure you leave me a way to contact you!!