cutting in

I am finally cutting into my Far Far Away fabric. I absolutely LOVE this fabric and have enjoyed glancing at it every now an then, waiting for inspiration to strike. Well, inspiration has never come, but a reason for celebration has.

Yesterday my baby sister gifted me with this wonderful new sewing machine (Have I mentioned that I have the BEST baby sister in the whole world?!)!! So to welcome this new beaut into my life, we will make a Far Far Away quilt together. I am a bit nervous because as I mentioned, inspiration never came, so I am truly going to "wing it". Let the fabric speak to me as I go, and my new machine guide me though it. Wish me luck!!!

carried away

My daughter has been sick for the last several days, so the computer and I haven't had much time together. Luckily, I have been able to sneak in some sewing!! This is a doll blanket to match Izzy's apron that I made her last week. Bitty Baby looked so cute wrapped up in it, that I kinda got carried away with the theme.

I decided that she needed accessories for her kitchen, and I had extra squares.... so.... I started with an oven mitt and pot holder...

that led to a kitchen hand towel,

which made me realize, that she needed a placemat for tea time.

At that point I felt the collection was complete!! She loves them all, but I think her favorite is the hand towel. It didn't take long for her to start washing her dishes and drying them with it.

patchwork apron

My daughter loves to play in here kitchen...and I love to make her aprons to cook with. Yesterday, i wanted to sew, but wasn't quite ready to start a new quilt...so my natural response was to pull out a pattern that I had purchased the other week.

The pattern is by Indygo Junction, named Jane and Sally Apron. Now I have to tell you that I would not recommend this pattern to anyone. The instructions were useless and I ended up just looking at the front picture to figure out all the details. I did alter it a bit, by widening the scallops on the bottom. I adore the way it turned out, and Izzy is really excited about her new little apron!

I couldn't decide on one fabric for the ties, so ended up using two different fabrics....a detail that I really like, now that it is done. I also chose to fully line the apron so that the quilting of the squares would stand out a bit more.

I love the patterns together so much that I am already planning a matching doll blanket for her bitty baby.

I found my first pair of Munki Munki pajamas last night at Marshalls. Woohoo!! I don't think I have ever been so excited over a pair of pajamas before. Now, I am known in my family for my ability to cut up anything in my path, if I think it will work on a quilt. Tee-shirts, pants, pillow cases, dresses, etc. I have no limits....so this Munki Munki craze is perfect for me! I even know exactly what I am going to do with this fabric.

finally

Davis's quilt is finally finished!! I have to tell you that this was a tuff one to get through. I don't know if my machine has realized that it isn't a quilting machine, or if I am just lacking patience...but whatever it is, we struggled!! I haven't ever made so many mistakes on one project before, from fabric pinching to crooked lines, which meant it took way longer to finish.

I did try something new though, I attached my edging to the front first instead of the back. I always sew my edging by machine, and every time I think the back looks better than the front. I have to admit that I am pleased with the way it turned out.

All in all, I am just happy to be moving on, and that my son loves it. He is all rapped up (even though it is currently 80 degrees outside) and very content. His words of comfort to me as I explained to him all the mistakes "Mama, perfection isn't what is important, the fact that you made it for me is what matters". I love children, so forgiving.

This second quilt is actually quite old, but one of my favorites. I made it using some of my daughters baby clothes, scraps, and a few patterns I just couldn't resist. I loved the way the patterns flowed together so much that I decided to tie off instead of quilt. I usually don't like to do that, but in this case I think it added to the simple sweetness of the quilt. The blocks that are opposite of the string blocks were inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Aneela at comfortstitching. I just love her stuff and find her to be such a great source of insperation.

My daughter enjoys pulling through the house and into the car, and hopefully it will last long enough that her daughter will one day do the same.

new machine...

Here it is, Monday....I have anxiously waited all weekend to quilt my beach quilt top, only to find myself frustrated and limited!! I know I have mentioned before that it is time for me to invest in a new machine, but I have trying to hold out until Christmas....now, I don't know how much more patience is in me!! I have spent the last few hours trying over and over to create this wave (that has been stuck in my head for awhile now), only to find myself pulling out numerous amounts of thread!! I am sure I am not the first to find themselves in this position. So what does a girl do?!?! I may just compromise with my machine on this quilt and stick with a straight stitch, but it is definitely time for a change. I have been trying to choose between a Janome and a Bernina, any suggestions on which would be a better choice?

basted and ready to go

My quilt top is finished and ready to be basted!! I had a few hick-ups on this one.....mainly because my brain wasn't really working yesterday. I blame it on sleep depravation! Either way, I have a few seams that didn't really need to be. Fortunately, my son will never know the difference, and I will have to live with it. The overall look of the top is exactly what I was looking for, so that will have to be enough.

I am really excited about this Ross find last night. A twin size bed sheet that will be the backing of the quilt. I think the sharks are going to be the perfect touch! I am really excited to get quilting away,( I have an idea in my head to create a wave pattern in the stitching) but sadly it will have to wait until Monday. I am off for a weekend away with my husband, child free!! It sounds exciting, but if I know myself, I will miss them terribly after the first day!

another beach quilt

Last weekend my 13 year old son asked me if I could make him a new snugly quilt. Now this is the boy that carried his first blanky for 3 years, so of course I got busy cutting and sewing. Luckily, I still had a lot of scraps left over from his bed quilt that I made a few months ago, so I didn't even have to run out and get anything. He loves nothing else than the ocean, and surfing....so I always keep that in mind when making things for him. I am hoping that when this quilt is complete it will not only keep him warm, but remind him of what he loves!

The post man brought me these little goodies yesterday!! I love them all, but would have to say that the daisy and dots are by far my favorite. I thought it was adorable when looking at it online, but in person it is FABULOUS (i have joined the world of freaks for Flea Market Fancy....I need it all)!!

raggedy owl giveaway

I just entered my first giveaway.....I couldn't resist it. Raggedy Owl is giving away some of the cutest Heather Ross fabric, and i had to give it a shot. Oh...the things I could do, the possibilities are just too exciting to even think about!

labor day weekend

At the start of this 4 day weekend I had a long, long list of projects I wanted to get too.....but I think my list was a bit too optimistic for a mom of 4. Between my boys football games, my families need to be at the beach, and my daughter's over all need of me, I did not accomplish much. I did, although, get to do a bit of organizing.

I am new to the world of "stashing" fabric. I was lucky enough to have two great quilt shops in town, so when a project would come up, I would just run out and pick up what I needed to do it. Sadly, within the last year both of these shops have closed their doors and I have resorted to internet fabric shopping. Who knew it was so fun....and so addicting?!?! A new obsession for my obsessive and compulsive personality.

Oh boy!

My girlfriend's son has a birthday next week, so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to use some of the wonderful "boy" prints in the world. Fabric (and not to mention my sewing) has come such a long way since my boys were little, so I truly enjoyed making this quilt. I loved the patterns, and their simplicity, so much that I didn't want to quilt on them, so I straight stitched through the white to add dimension to the quilt.

Although I love the way the overall finished product looks, I did realize while doing my quilting that it is time that I start looking into a new machine. I enjoy my brother machine, and have sentimental feelings for it because it was a gift from my husband, but it seems to have a hard time keeping the stitches consistent. Which isn't too big of a deal when piecing, but bugs me when I am quilting.

flea market fancy

These are the only two pieces of this precious fabric that I have gotten my poor little hands on.....i would LOVE to have them all!

My first blog

I have spent countless hours roaming through blogs of many great women, finding inspiration and loving the creation of others. My younger sister always teases me and says...."you should start your own blog, instead of just looking at everyone elses, then you can inspire someone else". Now usually I just shew her away and go on with my day, but for some reason, this last time it stuck. So here I am, starting my first blog. I hope to share with the women who have inspired me, and maybe spread a bit myself.

As a quick intro, I am a mom of three sons who are 15, 13, and 12. And like many crazy couples my husband and I gave it a second whirl and got our beautiful little princess who in now 2 (born after 3 princes, she was born to rein). I am married to a man that dreams are made of and we raise our family together in beautiful Southern California. I love creativity....it is the sanity of my chaos. Whether it is painting, refinishing, scrapbooking, sewing or any other outlet that I discover, i love the feeling of accomplishment through my own fingers.