MY quilt is done, now only 7 more to go :)

How terrible is that?? Finihsing the quilt I had planned on doing last (since it is for moi) first. I wound up getting hooked on the pattern and it just took off, almost without me realizing it :). I am working on lots of quilts at the moment and was not expecting to finish one so quickly, but a week and a half was all it took! I followed the previous quilt along from Lee over at http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/ and it is so perfectly explained!

The fabrics I chose are the colors of sunsets and sunset is my favorite time of day. I knew I needed a blanket to cuddle in that reflected my peaceful time. I saw Lee's quilt along about a month after it ended, but I knew it was "the" pattern that would be my quilt. I wound up machine binding this, and am in absolute heaven!! I am hooked forever- never again will I hand sew a binding- oh, such a nice feeling!

I used oranges, golds, reds, deep pinks, lavendars, and purples, with a few blues thrown in. It was so fun picking out the quarter yards I wanted- the poor, nice quilt shop cut over 60 prints for me :). And lots of Kona Ash, ordered from Etsy friends. Then it took months of looking and searching to find the backing. I wanted the specific colors I had chosen, and only those. Everything I found just didn't have the right feel, but I finally found EXACTLY the right thing at Hawthorne Threads (http://hawthornethreads.com/). Charlie and Lindsey have an incredble search engine that did the trick! So Castle Peeps it was, specifically Castle Town in Cardinal Red. Put it all together, with some quilting and a Kona Orange border, and you have the perfect sunset quilt for me :)!

Here's the folded and ready to cuddle picture:

I'm participating in the Gen X Quilter's Summer Fair and wanted to give you my favorite summer recipe.

It's the easiest recipe I know, but the yummiest too! You will never need to go to a BBQ house ever again... Wtihout further ado, Pulled Pork:

Ingredients:

4-8 lbs. Boston Butt Pork Roast (it HAS to be a Boston Butt to taste and pull the best)

2 bottles of Liquid Smoke (I use Hickory flavor) per 4 lbs of meat (8 lbs meat=4 bottles)

1 crockpot

Put pork and Liquid Smoke in crockpot and turn it on high for approx. 8 hours - I have found the altitude changes this number quite a bit. Just check it every so often, once it falls apart really, it is ready to pull. Take it out of the crockpot and put it in an old cookie sheet. Using two forks, pull the pork, separating the fat out. Put the pulled pork in a container and spoon several large spoonfuls of the "juice" from the crockpot to keep it moist. **This can be frozen once prepared and reheated later.**

Once you're ready to eat, put pulled pork on bun and add your favorite bbq sauce- for me and mine, that's Sticky Finger's Carolina (mustard base)- ohhh, makes my mouth water just thinking of it! Have a fun summer picnic!!

Supernova quilt top Finished!!

Looking at this project in the beginning, I knew it would take me forever. A week and a half later, it's done!! It's an old quilt along I found over at http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/, designed by the lovely Lee. The very first time I saw it, I knew it was destined to be my very own, sunset colored, quilt. You see, sunset is my favorite time of the day. It's special, calm, peaceful- no matter how crazy things are around me at the moment, and I just am overcome with an inner quiet and strength. I grew up in the South, and we had beautiful sunsets there. I worried when I moved to the West years ago that there would not be "my sunsets". I was thrilled to find that the West holds it share of gorgeous sunsets also. There may not be as much green, but at least there are sunsets. :) So this quilt is a special one to me. It will be my "go to" quilt- perfect for an evening hot cocoa and for lazy day naps (oh what would one of those be like?? :) hehe!)!

I found ShaShaLaRue (http://www.flickr.com/photos/46563412@N06/) on Flickr and loved her extra touch of the pieced border. Her colors were so close to what I wanted to do, and that was all the inspiration I needed! So a border it was- love how the border corresponds to the colors of the closest star!

I have stressed over the backing for months now- I'm not much for roses or big flowers, and most of the prints that had the colors I wanted in them were florals. I had almost settled on one of the new LouLouThi prints, but I didn't just want to "settle". So after more hours than I care to admit of searching the internet, I thought of Hawthorne Threads (http://www.hawthornethreads.com/) color grid (I had already searched their site, but not using that tool). It won the day and found my backing!! It wound up being the first Castle Peeps print called Castle Town in Cardinal Red. It has all the colors I wanted and looks like sunset has hit the town and is reflecting off all the buildings :). And I wanted something fun and cozy- castles are a little more grand than I was thinking, but every home can be our own "castle", and that sealed the deal! So I ordered it, and will have a back to the quilt soon! So exciting!

I am almost done hand sewing the binding on my Bottled Rainbows quilt. I have seen 2 tutorials in the last week about machine binding (thank you Kaelin http://theplaidscottie.blogspot.com/ and Jeni http://incolororder.blogspot.com/!!!) and will never hand sew another binding- wonder of all wonders!! I am beyond giddy! It takes me so long and I think of all the things I could be sewing instead :) hehe!

Now to fix my opps on Kermit's Path and see what I will have to do to make it work! I think I will wind up adding a border because I accidently cut all the pieces at 8.25" instead of 9.25 inches- gotta love that! HA! So off to get a section done! Have a great week!

My little space...

Remember that half-room I was talking about?? Well, here it is, full of my space! As tiny as it is--there's not quite 2 feet of space between my machine table and the cutting table--I ADORE it!! One good thing about tiny is that you don't have to walk far at all to cut, sew, iron, sew, iron, etc! It is crazy how wonderful everything becomes when it feels organized and situated :). I got some of the gorgeous Alexander Henry fabric "sew now, sew wow" for a curtain too! My poor hubby who has to share his office with this has to deal with all the cuteness, and he's being such a terrific sport!

I couldn't find a space for the design wall I had dreamed of, so I had to get creative on this one :). I wound up covering the closet doors with batting, by way of lovely duct tape, and a side wall. It actually gives me quite a bit of space, and I love being able to see what I'm working on :) The supernova blocks are the quilt top I finished last night- I should have pictures this week. Now just to figure out what fabric I want for the backing- I'm having a hard time. I am wanting something with the colors of the sunset in it- deep purples, oranges, reds, deep pinks, golds, etc. If you know of anything like that, give me a holler :) Thanks!
And then my ironing board is in the corner and the cutting table straight ahead. For the cutting table, I took the top of my foldable Joann's cutting table off, and put it on top of some modular drawers and shelves I found at Hobby Lobby (all 40% off, of course). They are not as sturdy as I hoped they would be, but after rigging them pretty good, I am pretty sure they will not cause any problems. My amazing daddy built me a 2x4 box to fill the gap between the modulars and where I wanted the table to hit. It's perfect- and darn heavy :). This is the favorite part of my new room. Since I have storage space, I can keep the top clear and have several projects on the table, cutting, at once! This is a DREAM!!

There you have it folks! Even my scrap hugegungeous Ball jars at the bottom of the table :)!! My space may be small, but it's functional for me, and I am really grateful for it! It has made a big difference in what I can get done, and it gives me a little space to call my own :).

Late night Sewing...

The past few days I have wanted to get some sewing done so bad that I have stayed up in the wee hours of night to get some blocks and cutting done :).

I got 3 more Supernova blocks done and then cut my charm squares for the Ellison Lane Charm Square Swap2!! I was home free and my ruler slipped on my last fabric- I really grumble when that happens. So the kind, sweet, wonderful Natasha, over at http://skyerevefabrics.com was kind enough to get me a quarter yard. I had to order quite a few other things at the same time, to make shipping efficient, of course :) hehe!! Let me tell you, if you want some lovely fabric with incredible service, Natasha is it! She is just amazing! I can hardly wait to get my package in the mail, and I'll get ya a photo :)!!

I almost have my new sewing half-room arranged- it is so wonderful to have your own "space". So much better than the living and bedroom cramped-ness. Been thrifting some too and found 5 terrific vintage sheets and a Pyrex FRIENDSHIP pattern 1 qt. casserole. It's not in perfect condition, but it is my "dream" print, and the first one I've ever seen, so I had to snag it up :)

That's a quick run down of life here lately- hoping to get some more sewing done in the next few days and I'll have some pictures soon too :)

Supernova Beginnings...

I have been so anxious to start this quilt, but with the others I am working on, I just haven't had enough time. I finally made some time and am so excited with how nicely these huge blocks come together! I love the scale of the blocks and the variety of prints you can use. I have two blocks done- of the nine- and the next one ready to be pieced.
I must admit, I wasn't too crazy about my fabric choices on the first, only for the reason that I am making a "sunset" colors quilt, and the blues came out a little too strong. That's ok, because the second block turned out exactly as I had pictured in my mind for this quilt. I think the blues will just blend in once I get all the blocks made. I can hardly stop making these blocks so I can see how the next one will turn out. You use a wild formula of which piece in your chosen series goes where, and they wind up looking a bit different than you think they will initially, on paper. But that's the fun and surprise of it. I am loving it!!

I am so thrilled that Lee made this quilt along available over at http://freshlypieced.blogspot.com/ so I could have my perfect sunset quilt!! It's my favorite time of day, you see. So have a happy sunset today- I am excited to get my tangible sunset finished soon!

~

PS- been switching around rooms in the house the past 3 days- almost have a little space for me (half of a room, but I am sooooo grateful for that half) and my sewing! Yipee!!

Jack-a-lope yumminess!

Have you ever tried one of these?? Oh. my. yumminess! You must search one out and get it! :) It's a hybrid of a honeydew and cantalope, and talk about perfection. It's smooth like a honeydew, yellow-y orange like a cantalope, and bigger like a honeydew. I now think it's the perfect summer fruit- right behind Georgia peaches! :) Oh and I love me some Georgia peaches, so sad I live so far away now. That's ok, I can still taste them in my brain :) hehe! Anywho- if you can find one of these yummies- you just gotta try it! It's worth every penny :)

Thrifting and more sewing :)

I found these lovelies at the thrift store this past week- I have never found a red or blue, so I was tickled :) The red is a 1 qt. casserole and the blue is a fridgie- neither have lids, but I was still happy about it. It's been a while since I have found any Pyrex, so it made me smile :). I sorted these blue and orange into pairs and have been sewing them together. Then you cut them from corner to corner to make 4 half square triangles :). It's a good activity to take along with me as I run places with the kiddos. This will be my warm cool quilt along quilt.
My other brilliant idea of the weekend was to rearrange rooms in our house and get my hubby's office and my sewing room in the same room- that would give me a "semi-all mine" sewing room :)!!! Yipee Skipee- much better than the part bedroom/part living room as I have it now! Let me tell you how thrilled I am- I am itching to get going! I have to shift 4 rooms of furniture to get it to work- that's what I'll be doing the next few days :) Fun, fun, fun!

The Challenge and Design Boards

I've been following along with Miss Leila over at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com for the Sampler quilt along. There was no block this week, just tips and help for designing our own blocks. She challenged us to make a 4x4 block at the end of her post. It's one of those things that I am sure has been created at some point before, since quilting has been around for so long. But since I am new to the art, this is the design I thought of- I am calling it "Intermingling Pinwheels". There are 4 pinwheels, all turing around each other. I love pinwheels, so this just called to me. If anyone knows if this block has an "official" name, I'd love to know it :).

I also saw this darling tute over at http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/ - Miss Lori's blog. She is so fun and I love how she makes EVERYTHING c-u-t-e!! It makes me smile. I have already messed up several blocks between the cutting board and my sewing machine- so these mini design boards have come in very handy indeed! I finished them and began using them yesterday! LOVE them! They are 10" square and I am so excited to make more sizes!
Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine this weekend!

Take Two

You know how things can just eat at ya- well, that's what this butter churn block did all this weekend. It didn't have enough contrast and I just had to make a new one to get it "right". The old one will become a matching pillow, I think :) Much better--- ahhhhhh.

Then, I have all my thread spools in an antique sewing chest. I love it- it was my Grandmother's, but it is overflowing and I can't find colors I need when I need 'em. So I found these at Joann's , with a sale, of course, and also an extra 10% off coupon! Love a good deal! Fabric is about the ONLY thing I buy that's not on sale :). And I go nuts when it is :). hehe. So these are now hung in my bedroom (I would so love a sewing room - someday) and it is so fun to see all the colors smiling back at me. I can find the color I want now too- added bonus!

Working on lots of quilts this week- hoping to also get the binding handsewn on my Bottled Rainbows quilt- almost there. I finally figured out I wanted to use Annie's Farm Stand to make the Farmer's Wife quilt, but all the prints I want are over $300. Yikes- definitely not within the budget. I've called all my lqs, and none carry that line. Shoot! We'll see what I come up with :)

Remember...

Happy Independence Day to all Americans out there :) May we remeber those fighting to keep us free and cherish every moment of that freedom! May it forever be part of us---

from http://bippityboppityboo.tumblr.com/ via Pinterest :)

Happy Mail Day :)

I love it when I have a great reason to do the happy dance at the mailbox!! It was one of those days a couple of days ago---I got my Farmer's Wife Sampler book and my Material Obsessions 2 book! I will be making the Gypsy Kisses out of MO2 and will be working (probably forever) on the FWQAL :) It is way over my head, but I like to push myself, so there you go :) I am just having the darndest time picking out fabrics on the internet- gotta get to a LQS soon!Leila's Sampler quilt we are doing over at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com as a quilt along has been teaching me a lot- for instance, when I think a print is not "too busy" , it usually IS!! hehe! So it is good I am doing it before and as I will be going along on the Farmer's wife too- every little bit helps me :) Here's block 3 from this week! Even though it's busy, I still like it tons! I wanted a pink-a-lious quilt for a little girl, and I'll be getting one :) Love it!

Happy a sunny day and a 4th full of sunshine inside!!