Slippers

I love them, I need them, I threw mine away a few weeks ago because they were worn beyond the point of being wore out. For one thing, I have noticed I am really a slipper person (yes, I am an old lady inside this almost 30 year old body).

The past few weeks have been weird. Barefoot? Socks? Even flip-flops? Nothing felt just right... I missed my slippers. Now, a reasonable person would just go buy a pair of new ones, but it's summer. There isn't a huge selection out there. Then it hit me... I had bought everything to make slippers (the pattern is in Anna Maria Horner's amazing "Handmade Beginnings" book).

So in just a few short hours on Saturday I sewed up these beauties:

 

I used up some of my Anna Maria Horner fabric in my stash and since it was a large scale print, I ended up with a little mis-match set of slippers for the tops. The bottoms and sides are Ultrasuede and the lining is some flannel from Jo-anns. I chose not to add any embroidery or the flower to them, briefly I thought about adding some pom-poms. The pattern was easy to follow and went really quickly! So far I think that this is the best pair of slippers I have ever had (they are super cozy!!!!) and I am going to make a least one more pair for me and a pair for my mom.

Finally finished up a few projects...

that have been on my to-do list for what seems like a century. Both projects are for my mom to hang in her classroom (she's a math-science teacher). First, I thought I would make a quilt that she could hang in her room to brighten things up! Here is the finished Unwind pattern from Jaybird quilts in Little Apples fabric. (which seems like an entirely school related fabric choice;) ):

I love how it turned out and I must say the pattern was easy to follow and was a ton of fun to make. For  the backing I used a vintage sheet that I got from my grandmother when she cleaned out her craft room.

The other project I decided to make was a mini-quilt that my mom could hang outside by her door with her name on it. It turned out like this:

I found the test tube and beaker paper piecing patterns online. They were really simple and I think that they turned out well. Plus as an added bonus this project was made completely with scraps from my fabric stash!! Hopefully, I will be able to cross off a few more projects this week since I am on vacation for a few days! Happy sewing :)

So, I am already planning...

for the holiday season. I know super early but it will be here before you know it. My usual routine is to make some sort of game plan with projects and gifts that need to be made along with all the cookies for the cookie boxes that are mailed out in December. One of the new additions to the cookie box is a handmade Christmas ornament, here are the beginning stages:

mostly just the organized beginnings. Somehow I managed to also get the quilt for my mom's classroom, all pieced together and quilted yesterday (big shout out to Kristen for helping by keeping me company and sorting out my fabric stash!).

Now all that is left is the binding which I am hoping to get on there after I squeeze in a workout. Have you already been making a holiday game plan?

Finally some sewing...

I am serious, I think it has been about 2 weeks since I had time to really sew anything. (I was starting to go through withdrawals) The project that I spent the most time on was the quilt for my mom. This is where I am with it:

The pattern is the unwind quilt by Jaybird quilts. So far, this has been one of the easiest quilts I have put together. The goal is to have this finished up by Monday since it is going to be hanging up in my mom's classroom.

Some more FWQAL blocks

I am pretty behind on getting these blocks done, but I figure eventually I will get caught up. Besides I don't want this to turn in to a dreaded project. So here is my block #7 Birds in the Air:

Fabric used print is an Amy Butler and the solid is a kona solid. So far this block was the most tedious and mine turned out a little wonky but I still really like it! 

Block #8 Bouquet might be my new favorite of the group:

Fabrics used prints are Innocent Crush by Anna Maria Horner and the solid is Ash from Kona. This block was really easy to put together especially after finishing up #7. I could actually see myself making this block again. 

For Block #9 Box I used some of my Tula Pink stash (a little bit of Neptune and Prince Charming) I usually don't gravitate towards greens, but I think that this block turned out pretty well. 

Alright, I am off to try and catch up on a few more of these blocks!

Working on two quilts at the same time...

in an attempt to get a few things crossed off my list. So I really have project ADD and just sort of jump all over the place (that's probably why my to-do list is enormous), but I am working on that. Yesterday, I set up a small sewing area in the living room-- the studio is just a little hot in the afternoon plus it is insanely hard to watch a 3.5 year old and get anything done. The results tons of progress on two major projects. The first is the youth sized version of the Unwind quilt by Jaybird Quilts using the Little Apples Fat Eighths Bundle I picked up at quilt market, here is the close up of the blocks:

Here is the whole thing laid out on the design wall:

Overall, I love this pattern and this version is a little bit on the bright side of things, I think. The blocks came together sew quickly and now all I really need to finish up is sewing them together and making the backing. The quilt is actually for my mom (it was sort of surprise until I told her yesterday--- I am horrible at keeping surprises!) It is going to go in her classroom as a way to jazz it up which means I need to have it finished up in the next few weeks since school starts up again soon. 

The other project was one I quite awhile ago, yet I am determined to get it finished up; my single girl quilt! These are the beginnings of the rings: 

Right now I have 3 of the 4 quarters of 4 rings sewn together. I am only doing 4 blocks and am going to add a large borders to increase the quilt size to a large lap quilt. The background fabric still has to be cut, which I am going to try and get cut out to today if I get a few of my farmer's wife quilt blocks finished up (I am soooo behind on that one). Anyways, for the rings I carefully cut up two plume charm packs so each ring has a few different pieces. I can't wait to see this one finished up! Finally, a little bit of sewing happening around here, have you been working on anything fun?

So a little bit of what I have been doing...

in between work, catching the flu (which was pretty awful) and hanging out with my little man.

 My to-do list has grown, it's about 1 1/2 spiral notebook pages so far with more things being added to it daily. I have only managed to cross off a few things so far. One of the big things that I was working on was a new swimsuit for me. here's the bottoms so far:

My sewing machine and I are having a few issues but I am hoping to get this finished up in the next day or two... I also have a pair of shorts half-way done (meaning the front of them so far):

Maybe one day they will be finished up-lol! So far this morning, I have been working on a small quilt and am just trying to get something, anything off this to-do list! Alright, back to work I go hopefully with a few finishes to show you in the next few days. :)

In the studio...

I broke down and started another quilt. This time I cut into my stack of little apples that I picked up at quilt market. So far this is going to be one really quick quilt if I can stick with it and not get sucked into any other projects. Of course this means I am still behind on my Farmer's Wife Quilt Along, but I am just going to work at my own rather slow pace on that one! 

Oh and my best pal found this awesome dress while thrifting:

I think I will dress it up with a wide leather belt and I can't decided but I might shorten the hem a bit! I simple love it and can't wait to wear it.

Another Cosmo Bag...

this time in the Prince Charming Line from Tula Pink. Here is the front: 

I am really in love with this bag!! One of my favorite parts is the button:

This time I also added a little extra edge-stitching on the side pockets of the bag:

and finally a glimpse of the inside:

This is the only part where I forgot to do one little change with the pattern from the first time I made it. I wanted to divide up the pockets so they wouldn't be super large but with a few different sized areas to hold things (like a sketchbook, water bottle, camera, etc.) If I ever end up making this bag for the third time I will make sure to make that adjustment. I think I will get quite a bit of use out of this super large bag!

It's finally finished...

the innocent crush quilt (the pattern is the love letters on found here on Anna Maria Horner's make page). the front:

a close up of the front- the top is quilted with orange thread! 

the back of the quilt (this one is fairly simple back for me, usually I go all out on the back...):

and a close up of the back with yellow thread for the quilting!

I really love the way it turned out... and if you want to see it in person you can check it out at The Quilt Barn later this week!

I went to a wedding yesterday...

So it called for another one of my standby wedding presents, but I have to say this one has turned out to be my favorite love note pillow I have ever made! Here is the front:

and the back: 

the details: fabric is DS Quilts from Jo-anns and the cards in the pocket are from Papersource. I loved how the yo-yo flowers turned out (one of my best pals showed me how to use the clover yo-yo maker- I sort of lost the instructions- and it was so super simple and the results were very consistent) The flower centers are some vintage buttons from my collection. This time around I decided not to put in a hidden pocket but make it part of the design.

So, the wedding was lovely and it was a fantastic time. The bride looked amazing and the ceremony was very special. I hope they love this pillow and that they write lots of cute little notes to each other. This was my first experience attending a wedding solo (that I wasn't in) and also as a divorced lady. Needless to say it was a little emotional for me since I am such a die hard romantic, but I ended up having lots of fun (and I managed to only get a little misty-eyed during the vows that part always gets me). It's wonderful to see people in love! In the end it was a wonderful day filled with tons of love and laughter. 

I am totally not sure...

where last week went. In fact, i can't believe June is almost over and all the summer activities are in full swing. One of the biggest projects on my to-do list this summer was to paint some of x's room, switch out the furniture, and decorate it. So far, I have managed to get it painted, shampoo the carpets, and switch out the furniture. Here is the one of the walls I painted (the color is seal by martha stewart from home depot):

and in between all the of this I have been enjoying these:

strawberries fresh from the garden. I also managed to squeeze in a little yard sale shopping 

 (actually two of my friends spotted these and let me know) so I headed over and scored both of them for $4! A super exciting find :) I also started to cut into some of my tula pink stash for another cosmo bag: 

So far this summer looks like it is going to be awesome!

A few fun things:

first of all i caved and bought this:

which means that I joined The Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. I am so excited and am planning on using up tons of my scraps for this one. I am already a bit behind so I am going to work on catching up on the blocks this week. You can find all the details on the Fussy Cut blog and on msmcporkchopquilts blog

I also picked up some fabric for a couple of quick projects I am hoping to complete this week:

sorry the colors are way off but it is a little bit of kona in characoal, the two in the middle are from louLOUthi by anna maria horner and 4 fat quarters of prince charming by tula pink.

I am also making a little quilted happy 100th birthday card for one of my relatives. Here is the basic design (i am going to add a little hand embroidery then some fun machine stitches):

I used some scraps from my innocent crush quilt and I love how it looks like confetti!

Sunday...

finally, I am feeling a little bit better and that is a good thing. I have a huge week full of stuff to get finished up. Last weekend I managed to finish up a few projects:
first this wreath (I got it at the dollar store):

I used one whole charm pack to make the flowers (the flowers were made using the flower frill templates from clover size small & medium), the leaves are from felt with a little piece of wire glued to the back. I still might add a banner to the top corner or maybe a butterfly or a bird, but for now it works. Overall, I loved making the flowers- they were simple and would be a great project to take camping or while watching tv.

I also needed to make a little wedding gift up for my mom to give to someone she works with, here is the front of the pillow:

and the back with a little pocket for hidden notes (i saw this idea along time ago on badskirt's blog and have made a few variations for wedding gifts since then)

(the note cards are papaya A2 ric-rac from Papersource and  I stamped them with this stamp set in a chocolate brown ink)

Also, my mom was busy sewing up a cute baby gift. It was the patchwork sleepsack from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings book. I had made one as a sample awhile ago, so I thought it would be a great project for my mom to try out.

We made a few changes- we decided against the patchwork front (mainly as a time-saver plus I had already bought a large scale Heather Bailey print) instead of flannel we used fleece. I highly recommend sticking with flannel but the fleece did work so if your having a newborn in a fairly cold place this could be good. One final change that I made was omitted the Velcro closure and used 4 heavy duty snaps instead. This is the one thing that I think absolutely worked out better than the Velcro. They were easier to install and I think will last better.

Saturday's Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guild Meeting...

was lovely as always! It was great hanging out with everyone! I ended up not staying for sewing night mainly because i am starting to get a pileup of work at home that needs to be done and I was pretty tired from running my first 5k! Here I am with one of my best friends (I convinced her to do this with because I am lame and didn't really want to do it myself), Tara before the race:

We both ended up shaving 10 minutes off of our practice time, which was pretty exciting. We are already planning on completing another one either in August or September. 

Anyways, I thought I would share the finished up mini quilt I made for the Magic Valley Modern Quilt Guilds Mini Quilt Swap:

 The front of the quilt (it is a chair and the embroidery says ...take a seat)
and here is the back:

My mini quilt ended up going to Mary and I received Tara's (seriously I was so happy with that because it is orange) Here it is:

and the back:

These pictures really don't do the quilt justice, but the quilting is simply amazing. The mini quilt is happily residing above my  desk!

A little bit of sewing...

This week i finished up one class sample (class is next saturday at the quilt barn!). This is the Pretty-as-a-picture Dress from the Handmade Beginnings book by Anna Maria Horner. 

the front (sorry the picture is a little wacky, but it has a lovely bodice!)

the back with some lovely gathers at the waist. I must say that I am in love with this pattern, if I had a little girl I would probably fill up her wardrobe with these. The size for this one is 18-24 months, I think that the sizing is fairly generous and could easily work as a tunic over leggings or the like to extend the life span of the garment. The pattern was super simple and took me probably 2 to 2 1/2 hours from start to finish (tracing the pattern and everything) and the instructions were very clear.

I also made a little more progress on this:

and of course no week would be complete with out starting a new project (i actually started it last weekend), but I finally caved and started the Single Girl quilt:

One of my most treasured sets of fabrics (my 2 plume charmpacks) are being used for the rings. I only have enough to make 4 rings (that is the baby quilt size) however I plan on adding a large border and making it into a throw for the couch or a fun little picnic blanket. So far, I have almost all the pieces traced and just need to start cutting them out. I am really excited to see how this one is going to come out plus it gives me a little something to work on while watching the real housewives.

Picked up some new fabric...

I went on a little adventure on Friday and managed to score some of this:

Finally, I got my hands on some Parisville by tula pink and I must say i am in love. (the first three are from the parisville collection and the fourth on is some plume I picked up two weekends ago, I just forgot to show it to you). Overall, the day was lovely. I was with one of my best pals and our kids had a blast together! The service at the store was just as lackluster as usual and I wouldn't normally want to keep shopping there except that they had the tula pink. In the future, I will probably just order it online and hopefully get better or actual customer service, I should say. 

I also managed to score some nice lightweight denim for these:

hopefully i can get the pattern traced off in the next couple of weeks and has luck would have it, my pal scored an awesome vintage pattern for me from the D.I.-

view 3 is the one I love!! I plan on making it in the next month. 

Here are two more of my fabric find:

Some anna griffin (the dogs) and the new ds quilts, denyse schmidt from jo-anns. Some of these things are for a few planned projects and others are just going to enter my stash until I find just the right project for them! Have you found any awesome fabric lately?