Kermit's Path starts to look like a path :)

Miss Angela, over at http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com, has dubbed my version of her Zig Zag Quilt Along, Kermit's Path. And it finally started looking like a path yesterday! :) Yipee! I spent most of the day, that wasn't filled with kiddos and family, ironing, sewing, and ironing more :) I wound up with 20 "paths" of the same fabrics and 8 "paths" with different fabrics on either side of my Kona Basil. I worked out a really cute layout for it and am itching to see it laid out. BUT we gotta make cuts first and sew and iron more before the laying-it-out stage hits :) I'm trying so hard to be patient! Working on my other bazillion projects should keep me busy- HA!! Here's a few of my favorite "paths" to give you an idea of the Basil- I think I am gonna just go ga-ga over how it looks all put together! I am soooo going to love the darker backgroud :)

I have also been working on my folding- another one of Angela's amazing tutorials! It is easy, I just am really slow. I don't know why but I am not too lickety-split at it :) As long as it looks lovely like this, I am good :). Look at that Kona rainbow--Drool!!

Exercise can kill you...

That's why I just simply don't do it :) HA!! Well, in moderation, exercise is a very good thing, and I need to be better. It's that whole "the kiddos keep me too busy", "I sew during my exercise time", "I hate running" thing :)!!

Growing up, I danced- lots. And I adore dancing still, but over the years I have tried to find some other alternatives to help keep me in shape. Running is NOT an option. Actually, I hate it- there are not many things in life that I will claim to hate, but unfortunately, running is one of them. I like walking, but in the mountains, in over a foot of snow all winter, it doesn't work. And summer gets too dang hot :) hehe! Excuses, excuses, I know :). I like my elliptical, but it fades in time too.

So the one thing that has kept me going- that I started back up today (after our mini vacations in so many rows) is Yoga! I LOVE the stuff! I have many DVDs but my favorite instructor for "my" style is Susanne Deason. I love Amazon too- that's where I buy all her stuff :). So it's a win-win. I get exercise and Amazon makes money.

Today I tried a new DVD and it was a hit! (And no, you will not get a picture of me in my yoga outfit :). )So back on the exercise train I go- and I will create time to sew!! :)

Oh my merci-ness- I WON!!

Ok, let me preface this by saying, I rarely, if ever, win anything I need. Every once in a blue moon I will win a little something cute or fun, but it is hard for me to find a specific use for. Well, Miss Kaelin is having a wonderful quilt along over at http://theplaidscottie.blogspot.com/ and Pink Castle Fabrics sponsored a giveaway for foundation piecing papers. I really needed these since I want to follow along but make a slight variation to the quilt- more of a pickle dish shape in the end- and I don't have a clue how to paper piece! Since I needed them really bad- it's been on my "to buy" list for weeks now- I knew there was no way I could win. Fast forward to today... I went to the mailbox and found this -->

Oh my stars in the morning- for REAL!!!??!!! I was in shock! I flew inside to my computer and went straight to Kaelin's blog. I had been out of town the day she announced the winner but had tried keeping up with blogs on my phone. I think I saw the first winner and didn't even remember that there were 2 winners. What an awesome surprise that was to see my name there! Oh wow! I danced the Happy Dance and proceeded to squeal every few minutes for the rest of the afternoon. Every time I look at my desk, I get all smiley inside :) Thank you so much Kaelin and thank you Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics!! I can hardly wait to get the fabric together to start!! And I get to learn something new!! Yipee all around!
This is what I have done lately- cut out almost 600 squares for the Hello Pickles quilt I am making using Karen's wonderful instructions! She's over at http://feistyeily.blogspot.com/ and she makes some beauties too! Stop on over and see the Christmas version of her original quilt that she's working on for Angela right now- it's YUMMY!! Makes me wish it was Nov.1- yes, I put up my Christmas tree that early :) It takes me 3 days- I have a 12' tree with an insane number of ornaments- so you gotta have some time to enjoy it :)! Sorry, I like tangents...
Then here is my second block for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler quilt along (you can follow along at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com/). It is a 9-block square and I wanted to try an O's and X's pattern to mine. It's harder to see with it all being pink, but the all being pink part is important, so that is what it had to be :). I like it, even though it is busy- it's pink, and that's what counts! And I really like the fabrics in this one!
I also got almost 100 green strips cut for Angela's Zig Zag quilt along over at http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/. She said I should call it Kermit's Path, and so it is! Love it! It's so sad that I will probably have to explain to it's recipient who Kermit is :)! He may be familiar with him through old VHS's, but so sad he's not still around on tv! It makes me smile and I am so excited to start piecing!!

Back to busy! Make like sunny today!

1965...

I wasn't around then, but I heard that it was a good year :). One thing that was good for sure was this--- I was tickled to find it at a chain thrift store today- hard to find things that aren't beat up there. I searched and the closest I could get to a pattern name is "floral". I was really bummed because there was no lid, well, according to Pyrex Love, it was not made with one. Yipee- I didn't miss out on a lid :). And it is in PERFECT condition- I am so excited! And I love the divided dishes - I know there are some that don't, but they are one of my favorites! I use them the most :) And orange is great!! It made me smile- a nice reminder of spring! And don't you just love my roll of batting in the background :). Have a happy vintage day...

Binding!!

I worked all day today free motion quilting squares- more and more huge squares on my Bottled Rainbow quilt! And I LOVE it- oh, so much better than the loops ever dreamed of being :)! Yipee! It was worth unpicking for over 8 hours to be able to quilt it in lines. And it was my first line project too. I really like the look. I got the binding cut, sewn and stitched on the front. Now to pin the back and hand sew away :)!! hehe! I'll be busy tomorrow!
I can hardly wait to put in the the wash and watch it come out crinkly :)!! Oh, I have a hard time being patient! It will be worth the work- the colors just make me smile, and the Kona Ash with the lines on it look great! So excited!

Then I'll be on to my next project- or several at one time, probably :) Here's how my first block of 36, it was 3 a month, not 1, HA!, turned out. I love the Pink-ness! Going to be so much fun seeing all the pink in this one :)

That's my progress at the moment- wait a day or two and I'll have FINISHED Bottled Rainbow pictures- woot, woot!! :)

Ou la la and a big Oops!

Missing in action again- we wound up having a surprise weekend long vacation for a great- grandma's birthday. It was so nice to get away and just be together- hotels are magical places for kiddos :). So it was good, but now I'm back, ready to get going, big time, on these projects!

I finally have so pretty fabric to show :) Yipee! Here's the home decor weight fabric for the first bag I'm making with help from http://sweetbeebuzzings.blogspot.com/- keep your fingers crossed that it turns out alright- I'm a little nervous to try this :) But with such pretty colors, it will have to be cute!

Then here is the green fabric for the quilt along over with Angela at http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/! I'm doing a boy version of the zig zag quilt and had a request for shades of green, so here they are! Now the tough part is deciding if I dare put it on a white background or a soft green Kona shade. Hmmmm, any opinions???

Then for the Pickles quilt I am making from the lovely tutorial from http://fiestyeily.blogspot.com/, I had a request for wild, fun colors! I asked the lovely ladies at http://www.etsy.com/sewfreshfabrics to make me an "unafriad of color" bundle, but with less flowers. They were so wonderful to create this group, just perfect and so happy too :)!!
For the We can do it Sampler quilt at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com/, I am going to make an all-pink version- so excited about this! One block a month is completely do-able! Nice steady pace :) So here are my pinks- all ready to go -- yummy!

Then, for the quilt along with Jeni at http://incolororder.blogspot.com/, we are doing a warm/cool value quilt. On my list of "To make" quilts is an orange/aqua quilt, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity! I love some pictures I've seen on Flickr of orange and aqua value blocks, so this will be fun to see a whole quilt like that :)

These two fabrics are both favorites- the trains becuase trains have always been big at my house, and the campers are just perfect! We love camping and these cuties fit right in! I could buy a bolt of these :)
So now, cutting will keep me busy for a year! :) hehe! I have to seriously get busy on cutting to keep up with all my groups- off to Joanns to get a new rotary blade :) And lastly, I was so excited last Wednesday to quilt my Bottled Rainbows quilt. I had thought and thought about it and decided that loops would be a fatastic contrast to the "square-ness" of the blocks. Well, I got about a tenth of the way through and looked at it- it did NOT look good to me- I didn't like the contrast and it made me feel yucky inside. Oh dear! So I turned off the machine and grabbed my lovely seam ripper. I have picked for over 6 hours and have about 1/3 to go- oh dear!! I do not like it when I oops, especially on such a beloved quilt. But it will be the way that looks best by the time it's done- at least it's fixable, right?! :) Oh well, I'll get some more blisters and hopefully have it done by THIS weekend! HA!

Have a great start to the week! And enjoy the sunshine!

Getting so close!

No, I have not fallen off the earth- we just got back from our "stay-ca-tion"! We had a blast going and doing all within about an hours drive! It's so fun finding things close that give you the perfect opportunity to have fun with your dear family! So now I'm back- posts will be regular again :)--

My Bottled Rainbows is peiced and ready to go! Here it is in the nice sunshine- finally! I was so excited that Rachel mentioned it over at http://stitchedincolor.com ! Oh the stories this quilt tells- each square has it's own narrative, and then there are a few things running through them all! I have been itching to get this one finished. Therefore, I have been not so patiently waiting on the remaining fabrics :)! They finally came, and I am going to be throwing myself into this today- yipee!
Here's the Kona ash for the border- I may throw some of the stripe in at the points where I have to stitch the border- still working through this in my head! Then the Remix argyle for the back, and the stripe for the binding. I looked at the remix stripe, but this one was more "Us"! It is an Alexander Henry print and I loved how the lines look like crayon on either side of the stripe- too perfect! So there is all, ready to be cut up and put back together! YAY!! Here goes...

Some fabric and a Vintage Tale...

I spent 2 hours, yes, that long, in the biggest quilt shop around yesterday. I went there looking for my Supernova colors (I'm using the awesome already finished quilt along over at http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/!) of sunset and ran all over the store gathering. I love coordinating, it just still takes me forever to decide :). At the end of those 2 hours, I had a wondermous stack of 31 quarter yards of delicious sunset prints- I chose purples, reds, deep pinks, orange, and yellow. I am so excited to make this blanket- sunset is my favorite time of day, after all :) Here's my loot, all set out pretty on my cutting table:

Then I spent the day ordering and getting fabrics online- ash Kona, since I can't find that necessary color at any store in my area (I think I'll just start ordering bolts of it), Remix argyle to back my Bottled Rainbows, a Alexander Henry to bind the Bottled Rainbows, a flannel to make a doll blanket and pillow set for a sweet customer, a green fat quarter bundle for the zig zag quilt- I'll need more still, a huge fat quarter bundle for the Hello Pickles quilt- i'll still need sashing, and still looking for a few others- PINK! I went through my tiny stash and found what aqua and oranges I have for the HST Warm Cool quilt along, so I need a couple more blues and some oranges for that one too. So fun to see so many colors flying everywhere! It's great!

My dear hubby brought this shirt to me yesterday- we've been going through rooms, trying to rid ourselves of anything unnecessary, and this one finally came to that point. He had this shirt when I met him, so it was purchased somewhere way back in the early 90's! It is still in pristine condition- it is one of those shirts that you hardly ever wear beacuse you want to keep it so nice ;). We just couldn't bear to part with it, too many smiles, so it will be cut into squares for a quilt one of these days. I thought that would be the perfect destiny for such a wonderful memory! That's the nice thing about quilts- you can wrap yourself in a whole bunch of memories!

My list of projects just exponentially increased :)

I went from almost finishing up my last project to having a huge list pop up overnight! All these quilt alongs that will be so fun, and a few that are already finished- poo- that I want to do still!
I got my Bottled Rainbows all sewed together- now I just have to be patient for the mail lady to bring my fabric border (using Kona ash), backing (Ann Kelle Remix argyle and Henry Glass rainbow crayon stipe) to get those on. I think I'm gonna use my Kona solids as a binding :) So excited to see this one all put together!

So I was browsing the blogs I love, obviously a little too much lately, looking for my next project, and wound up with SIX, yes, SIX! Is that too many?? Oops! Oh well, I'm jumping in with both feet! These quilt alongs are all just starting (well, 4 of them are qal's) and I want to follow along! I figure it will be a great way to learn new techniques and broaden my horizons :) very quickly. hehe! So here's what I'm tackling- all at once---

http://incolororder.blogspot.com/search/label/Warm%20Cool%20Quilt%20Along This is Jeni's warm cool value quilt along- I've made my schnazzy mug rug like this and love it so much, that an entire quilt is definitley a must! I am thinking just orange and aqua for this one- that would mark 2 things off my want to make list at the same time :)

Next is http://sweetbeebuzzings.blogspot.com/ tote bag quilt along. I have never made a bag before and this one looks really cute and functional, so I'm going for it! Broaden those horizons, right?!

Then the Zig Zag quilt over at http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/ . Miss Angela is wonderful and the pattern she created is just lovely- I'm thinking shade of green for this one!

The last "official" qal is over at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com/ . It's the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler quilt- I've never made a sampler quilt either, so it should be a lot of fun! Still trying to decide on colors for this!

Then a qal I just missed was the Supernova over at http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/ . Another beautiful quilt that I will be making in colors of the Sunset- deep purple, red, orange, yellow, deep pink, and some deep aqua/teal thrown in. So excited about this one- getting fabric for it first. It will be my first half-flying gesse square quilt! Soooo fun!

And lastly, another dear blogger, Karen of http://feistyeily.blogspot.com/ , created a pattern that has just been calling my name- she named it Hello Pickles, and I am sooooo thrilled to be able to make this one too! I'm going to be making it in pink, orange, aqua, and green- thinking the new line from Lecien called Happy Mochi Yum Yum- gotta wait a month for it to come out! Ugh- patience, I know!

So there's my list- my fabric budget just got shot! :) hehe! But I am making one of these for each of the kiddos so it gives me a really good reason to spend it :)! So fun! Now, what are you all working on??

My last 4 blocks- woot!!

I almost squealed as I finished up the last of my Bottled Rainbow blocks- can harldy wait to set them all out and see them together :)!!! EEPPP!! I'll have to make a bigger joining stitch cause my squaring-off wasn't as perfect as Rachel's :) (http://www.stitchedincolor.com/) But that's ok, I am adding a sashing anyway, so it will all turn out lovely! I am so happy I took the plunge and went applique crazy with the "image" in each block- it really became a family quilt that way!
Without further ado--- the last blocks---

Chartruese block- we play LOTs and I mean LOTS of board games around here- some of our favorite family time. So a board game had to be on a block. This one was kinda tricky for me to get the picture in my head that I wanted to be on the fabric. It turned out better than I planned- there are 4 game pieces, dice, a curvy path, and of course, home! Love it!

Then the aqua block- I still need more blues, but this one is not as noticeable ;). Another favorite thing is backyard family baseball games, so this block sports a homerun baseball headed to the sky (top right corner).

The berry block is obviously a cupcake- however, we are not huge fans of cupcakes per se, but we ARE huge fans of chocolate cake with as much chocolate iciing as possible :) Thought a cupcake would be cuter than a 9x13 pan ;) hehe!

Then finally, the jade block has a hammer hiding in it. I have lots of building creative minds around me, and the sound of hammering is a wonderful sound to me- thus this block's design.

By now, I've wound up with too many favorites to list- it has been a really fun project!! I'm grateful to Rachel for the inspiration!! There you have it- all done and ready to lay out all together- I am so excited- off to see my rainbow :)

Handmade...

When I think about all things Handmade, I think of pride in your workmanship, I think of good quality, I think of feeling good about helping others in this big boxed world, and I think about inspiration. Where does inspiration come from?? All around, of course! And more importantly, from within. That's the best place to find it- we can all see, hear, touch, or feel the same thing, but we all take something different away from it. That's what is beautiful about life. Here are some things that have inspired my handmade thoughts this week...

This sign, in my sewing/crafting/living room is the first thing. It applies to so much in my life, but to me, creating handmade things is a journey- one that we can find joy in along the way!

The next is my bead boxes- I have them on a shelf in my closet and everytime I walk in, the colors and shapes and sparkles make me smile. I make jewelry as a hobby, this is where my inspiration for that begins- just seeing it all together...

Children are wonderful places to find inspiration- their heads are full of amazing, limitless ideas and every one is GOOD! To them, everything they make is a work of art, and I love that! I know a little boy that loves to make BOOKS! He writes about all sorts of ideas he gets, illustrates them, folds and staples them, and then you have the most glorious collection of books around! I am so happy to be able to have personally been told these stories by the author himself!

And lastly, I LOVE pinwheels, big time! I just designed and am selling what I call the Fly Away with Me necklace. It's oh so simple, but it reminds me to keep life that way too. And when I look at it, I'm inspired to create more things!

Handmade is a journey, full of joy, and always expanding! What a great thing to be part of!