A Road Trip Was In Order

What is in the water???! There must be something in the water because my kids have been horrible the past few days!! Screaming, fighting, whining (lots of whining)...so I told my husband I needed 4 hours and $200 to myself this morning. His eyebrows lifted as he tentatively answered, "Ok....i think!" So, I was off.

I am a woman on a mission. Look Ma! NO KIDS!


I got halfway to my destination when I encountered a construction sign that said, "Expect Delays." Boy, if that isn't a phrase to live by. I was pondering the philosophical implications of that phrase when my peaceful reflection and introspection was rudely interrupted by:

An actual delay!!! I sure wasn't expecting that!!!

Go WEST, young old woman!


I finally arrived at my destination.


And now you understand why I needed 4 hours and $200.

Both stores are located in Morris, Illinois.

Unfortunately, after browsing the store for a half hour I realized I had lost my mojo. I was no longer gung-ho on fabric shopping. I don't know why. Maybe it's the huge pile of stash I already have; maybe it's the quilt-a-long I just joined and the two others I'm trying to stay in. Maybe it's just that getting away from the chaos at home allowed me to breathe for the first time in days and that was enough. I didn't need to shop. (Gasp! I just slapped myself!) So, I bought a cup of coffee and sat by the river that runs through this town and relaxed.

I didn't leave empty handed, though. Sunny and Elle both love cats and bugs (quite the combo, I must say), so I picked up a few cute fat quarters and some thread so I can make quilts for them.


I was amazed to see that they still hand write their receipts. It's a wonderful store with a TON of fabrics and I'll definitely go back when my stash needs replenishing.

So, I drove home and when I saw the city I actually felt like I was home. Pretty scary for someone who wants to move out to the country! We've been here for 5 years, though, so I guess it should feel like home by now. Here's to a good weekend!!

New Fabrics I'm Excited About

What new fabrics are you excited about?? Moda has three new lines I love:
First is Clementine, which is bright and happy:






Second is Figgy Pudding, which is, as you can tell by the name, Christmas-y. Is this cute, or what?


And this one I'm WAY excited about. Its called Shirtings. I'm definitely making a big quilt out of that one.



And did you know you can download .jpg files of Moda fabrics so you can use them in EQ6? Yep, right here. To download older collections, click on the link that says, "visit the Moda Fabric ARCHIVE."

In The Beginning fabrics has a new collection called Lily Pond that looks really cute for kids. My girls are currently fascinated by bugs, frogs, turtles, and birds, so I think they'd love this collection!


I also really like a collection by Henry Glass. Lately I've been feeling very vintage and want to work on a few quilts with reproduction fabrics or vintage inspired fabrics. Pocketful of Posies by Bev Proulx fits the bill. They are reproductions of 1930's fabrics. MUST. GET.





Now I have to get off the computer and do something productive...like finish my pinwheel quilt and my hexagon quilt....maybe do some laundry and put some of these toys away. Good Lord, my kids have a lot of toys!!! And they're all over the living room!

Be sure to comment on the fabrics you love...I'd love to hear about them!

Slowly, But Surely Getting It Done.

I made 4 more 9 patch blocks for Amanda Jean's One A Day Quilt A Long. I'm way behind, but at least I haven't shelved the project! I'm enjoying making the 9 patches and have been using many of the scraps from a hexagon quilt I'm currently working on.


I'm also a bit further along on my Lace Ribbon Scarf. I really like this scarf, but it takes forever to knit! Its going to look so pretty once its blocked.

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Wall-E Meets Lightening McQueen...

I finished binding Luke's quilt over the weekend. I ended up not hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt because I had a cute bright green thread that matched the fabric perfectly. So, instead I zigzagged the binding.

I absolutely LOVE how the green contrasts with the blue binding.

I wish it were easier to photograph large quilts. Any suggestions? Here's Luke's name quilted...

If you want to see the whole quilt top, a photo is HERE.

I'm also in a knit-a-long on Ravelry to make the Lace Ribbon Scarf. Here's my progress...


The yarn is Koigu KPPPM and is really pretty. The photo doesn't capture the color well because I took the photo in front of a window in the late afternoon. This pattern is really pretty. I love it! And it isn't very difficult. You just need to watch for the pattern changes. I had to rip back 11 rows last night because I realized I had dropped a stitch a few rows back. But since there are a lot of yarn overs I had a hard time recovering the stitches...that's why I ended up ripping back 11 rows. At least I didn't have to frog the whole thing and start over! Its on size 3 needles, so its taking a while to finish. I love it, though!

I also finished a few 9-patch blocks for Amanda Jean's Block a Day Quilt-a-long, but I don't have photos yet. I'll post those this weekend, probably. Happy Tuesday!

Because I Didn't Have Enough WIPs Already...

I started another one of these:


I started it on Mother's Day because I needed something to do during the car ride to my mom's house. I'm also in a knit-a-long on Ravelry to make the Lace Ribbon Scarf. I've got 4 inches of it completed. I'd be further along, but its knitted on size 3 needles. OY! I knitted for something like 3 hours and only have 4 inches of work to show for it. Its gorgeous, though. I'm using Koigu KPPPM yarn....yummy!

I'm also working on:
1) finishing up the hand sewing on Luke's quilt (on the binding).
2) a hexagon quilt that I can already see will be very hard to give away (i love it!).
3) a charm pack quilt
4) Amanda Jean's block-a-day quilt along
5) AJ Quilts' panda quilt along.

I've got a lot going on. So far it looks like the panda quilt will have to wait. It will be for my SIL and she isn't due until December, so I've got time. The hexagon quilt is for one of my son's preschool teachers who recently found out she has cancer. She's on her second round of chemo and I felt that maybe a bright, cheery quilt would be comforting in some small way. I hope, anyway.

So, I'm off to finish scrubbing the oven. Weeee! fun! I love to clean! NOT! But, it has to be done, so why bee-atch about it? Once its done I can quilt and not have a dirty oven nagging me. Its all good!

A Few Blocks...

I'm participating in Amanda Jean's block-a-day quilt-a-long. I'm a little behind in making blocks, but that's the story of my life, so all is good! Here is a block...

The floral fabric was cut from these pants that used to be Sunny's:

The flash on my camera washed out the color in the photo. The pants were a size 0-3 month and they fit her for a very long time. I thought that girl would never grow, but one day she surprised me and sprouted. That's another story though. I'm glad I can use her clothes to make quilts now. lol! Also in the picture you can see the white fabric cut for the panda quilt-a-long at AJ Quilts. I'm going to work on that tonight. You can also see Luke's quilt somewhat. The quilting is done so all that is left to do is bind it. Crossgrain binding is so much faster, so I might do that. But, I want it to last, so I'm debating taking the time to make bias binding. The thing is: the fabrics I used for the quilt are not the greatest. They don't make the Disney licensed print fabrics very well (definitely NOT quality fabrics!) so I keep thinking I shouldn't bother taking time to make bias binding since the fabrics probably won't last very long anyway.

Here are two other 9 patch blocks I finished today.

I debated joining Amanda Jean's block a day quilt a long because I have A LOT of quilts going on right now as well as a scarf I need to knit (on size 3 needles!! OY!), but I'm glad I joined because I really love the 9 patches I've done. They're really bright and happy. And I could really use bright and happy right now!

Have a great weekend!!

Houston, I Have A Problem....

Sunny has always liked to watch me sew, but now she wants to sit in my lap while I sew. This makes things a little, um, difficult. I had my iPhone nearby, so I snapped a few photos...

I'm finishing up the FMQ on Luke's quilt (he's beginning to think I'll never finish it!), so exactness isn't critical, but I do prefer a smooth quilting design to a rather jagged one (a squirmy toddler on your lap doesn't make for smooth sewing!).

Today she insisted on holding her bubble maker while sitting on my lap. Do you know how hard it is to FMQ while holding a toddler who is holding a bubble maker? It ain't easy. lol! I secretly LOVE that she likes sewing. Well, ok, not so secretly. I'm pretty open with my love of Sunny's interest.

I'm praying for a "like mother, like daughter" thing. I used to watch my mom sew and used to love sewing with her. There's nothing I'd like more than to sew with Sunny when she's a little older. So far Ellie shows no interest in sewing unless you count stealing my thread spools an interest. There's still time, though!

Quilt A Long With These Quilt A Longs!

I've joined 2 quilt-a-longs and am excited about them since my sewing room is finished and I've got SPACE to actually sew! lol! The first quilt-a-long is with Crazy Mom Quilts. She is having a one-a-day quilt-a-long where you make one 9 patch a day, for like, ever. But, if you make it to the end of the quilt-a-long you'll have enough 9 patches to make a gorgeous quilt. Its a great scrap de-stasher, too.

The second quilt-a-long I've joined is with AJ Quilts.

Isn't this the cutest Panda quilt ever? It will make a perfect gift for my SIL who is expecting her first children (its twins!). I'm going to make one panda quilt and then when she finds out the genders of the twins (they're fraternal) I'll decide if I want to make a second panda quilt or if I should go with a different animal for the second quilt. Maybe I'll make a Mariposa Quilt as the second baby quilt if one is a girl. We'll see!