A little bit more about me...

since I am sick, I have been able to catch up on some of my blog reading. (it also helped that I cut my blog subscriptions in half and can now really enjoy reading some of my favorite blogs again.) I saw this fun A to Z about me survey on One Pearl Button and thought hey, i haven't had a very productive week which doesn't lend itself to awesome blog reading content, so here we go...

A. Age: 27 and a half
B. Bed size: Queen and for a single lady you would think that was spacious, but when you add in a cat and a toddler who likes to spend part of his time in there you end up with maybe a quarter of the bed if you're lucky.
C. Chore that you hate: dishes, hands down my least favorite oh and probably vacuuming.
D. Dogs: totally awesome (i am a big animal lover) I have 3 max, barney, and archer
E. Essential start to your day: hot water with lemon, email, twitter, and Facebook (on the weekends coffee)
F. Favorite color: Right now Orange hands down!!
G. Gold or Silver: silver usually- but sometimes gold just works better
H. Height: 5'7" , but I like to wear heels to add some extra height!
I. Instruments you play: used to play violin in grade school and middle school
J. Job title: job 1: small-business owner/designer/illustrator (in progress) job 2: merchandiser for a department store job 3: sewing instructor,
K. Kids: 1 independent, funny, lovely, crazy 3.5 year little boy, Xavier also referred to as X
L. Live: in Idaho
M. Mother's name: Paula
N. Nicknames: Krazy KZ, MoMo, KZ JO, baby girl
O. Overnight hospital stays: Once just when i delivered X
P. Pet peeve: jeans that don't touch the ground when wearing high heels and hit mid-shoe (I like them touching the ground or above the ankle) also I never buy the first magazine on the shelf always from the middle of the stack & I can't stand it when someone else looks at it before me.
Q. Quote from a movie: From a movie--- dude, where's your car? or anything from bridesmaid's which was sooo funny
R. Right or left handed: Right for most things but left handed for others--
S. Siblings: half sister older than me
T. Time you wake up: 4:50 am on weekdays & between 6:30 and 7:00 on weekends usually
U. Underwear: umm, of course
V. Vegetable you hate: BEETS!! but i can grow them and make awesome beet pickles apparently
W. What makes you run late: not prepping before hand, but i hate being late so i am usually 10 minutes early.
X. X-Rays you've had: arm and teeth
Y. Yummy food that you make: chili, pizza, fruit crisps, banana bread
Z. Zoo animal: tigers, monkeys, and elephants.

The week so far...

I have been busy with work, running, some sewing, and illustrating a few things. Not a ton of progress on too much but I am hoping to get a few things finished up on Friday. Yesterday, the weather was so nice that I spent a little bit of time outside. Here is funny shot of Archer (x's dog):

He likes to think he is so big ( he weighs in at a hefty 5.5 lbs)! Anyways, tomorrow I will be sharing a peek inside my closet and later this week my spring wardrobe sewing plans...

A finished quilt and some allergies...

I really hope that the weather makes up its mind, my head/nose can not handle anymore of this hot then cold then rain then hot then cold. This allergy season I am having a hard time adjusting because the pollen and mold counts keep changing so dramatically. Some days my head just feels like it might explode. ( I realize this may be on the verge of too much information, but is anyone else having this problem?) 

When I am not busy sneezing, I have been working on several projects here is one of my latest finishes:

Introducing the "Spearmint" quilt, which I made for a window display at The Quilt Barn. (top photo is the front and the bottom photo is the back.) This is actually the first large quilt I have every made and I really enjoyed the process. The quilt top is based off/inspired by the free Woodland Delights pattern by Paula Prass. I made quite a few alterations (like sizing and added more prints) and the back is some random piecing. I am working on writing up a free pattern for this. The prints are all Amy Butler and the solid is a Kona solid (Tarragon) from Robert Kaufman. 

Other things that are being put together this week- a hexagon tutorial for the magic valley modern quilt guild, I will be showing paper pieced hexagons, appliqued hexagons, and then these fun hexagons from jaybird quilts. Yesterday, I came up with a fun project to but all the different hexagon options on, which I will show you all on Friday. I am also trying to finish up another quick quilt and do a little pattern writing along with finishing up the agenda for our June guild meeting. Our guild is also having our first sewing night on Friday night, which should be super fun and hopefully fairly productive! I have a feeling that this week is going to go by fairly quickly and be filled with a few accomplishments. Now I am off in search of some breakfast, since I keep forgetting to eat in the morning... 

I can't believe it's already Thursday...

I really have no idea where the week went. A few weeks ago when I bought a day planner, I thought I would have trouble (a.k.a is it really worth it to buy one of these things) to fill up, but I was proven wrong. The planner has been consistently filling up on a daily basis, along with keeping me more focused and on track, I have been getting a ton of things done on my ever growing to-do list.  

Here is the table runner all finished up:

and here is the back:

and a close up of the quilting:

There were 8 extra blocks, so I made some matching coasters to go with it:

Remember, all the paper hexagons that I have cut out... well, I finally got a few covered with fabric:

A few of the things I have been working on are still under wraps, but here is a little sneak:

I can't wait to show you all the things I have been working on!

Deadlines

This week has been full of them. I did finish this shirt, which is for a window display. The pattern is Kai's Shirt from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross and the fabric is from Michael Miller (Hedgehog Group).

I can't wait to share some of the stuff I have been working on, but it is still going to be a little while!

If you need me,

you can probably find me at my sewing machine...

A busy Monday...

I have been super busy lately, which is great! I did manage to clean up the studio last night:

So far I haven't had a whole lot of time to get up there and sew, but I did get the new sewing machine setup in it's new spot. While running a few errands today, I picked up some more bobbins, a new bobbin case, some pins and the spring issue of Stitch Magazine. Tonight, I am hoping to read through it and pick out a few projects. 

A little sewing recap for the last week...

 A new project is in the works using 2" hexagons:

So far, I started cutting out 72 sheets of hexagons (that's 360 hexagons!) The fact that I can work on these while watching tv in my downtime and still feel like I am getting something done is awesome. All of the hexagons are going to be turned into a large wall hanging for our living room.  

On Friday afternoon, I also picked this lovely little guy up:

I am totally psyched and have done a little bit of sewing. So far, I am in love with it. It has so many great features and is a nice upgrade from my last machine. (I am keeping my old machine for a back-up/extra machine!) Now I need to spend a little more time sewing, but probably won't happen until after I clean this up:

 Working on several projects at once, usually ends up with fabric, thread, paper, (apparently even hot wheels are in on the sewing process, see the left bottom corner) and just a general mess everywhere! Tonight, I am planning on doing some cleaning and rearranging so I can start several new things this week. 

I also spent a little time working on some little girl's clothing (something I don't get to do very often) as a first birthday present. I made two simple sun-dresses and a pair of shorts (the shorts you will see later this week in a tutorial). I love how they turned out!

I went fairly girly with these and added lace trim to the bottoms. I used elastic thread to add some shirring to the top and made matching ties. The ties are long enough that I am hoping they can transition into fall over a t-shirt and some leggings to extend the usage. 

This week, I have a ton of sewing planned along with getting a free tutorial up, just in time for summer! Have a fun rest of the weekend, I am going to try to spend a little time outside, edit some photos, work on some stuff for the modern quilt guild and anything else that I can squeeze in! 

Friday

Right now I am loving the warmer weather. My productivity level has certainly increased these last couple of days. Last night's quilt guild meeting was a blast (I always have fun anyways!) I finished up my dress also known as prototype number 1. 

I wore it last night to the guild meeting, you know giving it a trial run, so I can change up the pattern if necessary.(By the way don't you just love self-timer photos--wink.) I made it out of a 2 way knit and left the bottom hem raw. So far it is super comfy and next week I am planning on making it out of cotton print, plus a few optional accessories to go with it. 

I have been busy sewing some other little projects, such as these wonky stars:

I also signed up for the swap that our guild is doing, so be prepared to see more of these around here on the blog. As for this one, I am turning it into a large (the block is 12" x 12") trivet for the kitchen. 

  Over the weekend, I plan on finishing up a few more UFO's, so I can get started on some new projects. Also, I am hoping to have the free summer shorts tutorial for boys & girls up next week. 

  

Waiting for spring to get here and stay...

I woke up to snow this morning, luckily, it melted quite awhile ago. I am really hoping to get up in the studio to finish my dress tonight. Here is a peak of how it is turning out so far:

Today, Xavier and I made my mom a little surprise Mother's Day gift from this tutorial via Holidash by not martha; 

I really loved this tutorial and found these flowers a lot of fun to make. The only thing I changed was during the final parts of assembly, I used some hot glue to make it go a little faster. I am hoping to make one, not quite as big to add to a hair band or head band. These could be quite addicting and really help me work through some of my felt stash. 

Today...

I spent the main part of my early morning here.

 Admired my new post-it notes (yes, i love them and am sort of a post-it note addict)

Watched the rain fall... (I do really like rain)

now I am off to have a little fun (one of my best buds, Megan, is visiting this week so we are heading to the bowling alley, grabbing some lunch, doing a little window shopping) Then, I need to finish up a few sewing projects and I have a quilt guild meeting tonight...

I have been fitting in a little sewing...

not has much has I have hoped for, but enough to be making progress.... 

 Here is the first muslin of a new summer basic top that I am working on. I still need to drape the back, but I am really liking how the front is turning out so far. My plan is to line the top (in white) and the main fabric is a fun small floral (sort of like a Liberty print) 

Finished this block and now I am debating on whether I should make more or just quilt this up as a mini quilt... 

I also finished a new pair of lounge pants for Xavier, this is a really lightweight cotton that will work well through the rest of spring and I made them long enough that hopefully they will still fit in the fall. I made them using my tutorial for Holiday Lounge Pants (I made size 4T this time and I still have another pair or pants and a pair of shorts cut out. They just need to be sewn up!) This week I also hope to make a dress and a couple of other things... What have you been working on?

I made it back from my little adventure...

I had a great time hanging out with family and spending time goofing off with my mom and of course you can't forget Xavier. Spring was in full force, so I took the opportunity to have my mom snap of few shots of X and me. Here was one of my favorites:

and here is a little close up of some spring blooms:

All in all, it was a great weekend. I caught up on some tv, read some magazines, made a trip to a jo-anns superstore, and ate a bunch of really good food. Plus, I got a little bit of sewing finished up today (1 pair of pants for Xavier) and started draping a new summer shirt, which I am really excited for. Okay, I am off to try and squeeze in a couple more projects before Xavier wakes up from his nap and finish watching the Masters!

Debating...

on whether I am going to make it to the trail to do a little jogging (if the wind wasn't starting to pick up, I know I wouldn't be hesitating, but come on Mother nature the wind and snow/rain just isn't cutting it anymore for me. I would like some warmer weather please and hopefully the jogging strollers tires are still full air) or else I might just stay home and do some yoga (but I did do this yesterday along with my budding little yoga man, seriously have you tried doing yoga with a crazy 2 year old climbing all over/under/helping you). Nothing like being indecisive about what workout you want to do in order to keep procrastinating, well and getting sucked into my google reader (I seriously love that thing, if you have a blog I would love to check it out and add it to my reader). 

I have been actually doing a few projects in my 40 minute time frame (that is if x decides to take a nap). I almost have a really late Christmas gift done (I know it is almost May, but Jo-anns finally got in the batting I needed, no joke 3 months of waiting, I would have ordered it online but the shipping cost more then the amount for the batting.) Hopefully, it will turn out and look awesome. It is a project from the One Yard Wonders book- I will share the completed project next week. 

Lately, I have been trying to find projects that I can sew really quickly or have different stages that make for good stopping points or has some things I can work on downstairs while x is awake (like hand sewing, small amounts of tracing & cutting, etc.) Needless to say my sewing skills are really speeding up, plus it makes it easy to know when to change the machine needle about every 10 days or so (I do keep a little sticky note on my machine to mark an hour of sewing down, just trying to keep it maintained since it seems to be getting a little fed up with me lately.) Yesterday, I spent a little time working on making some triangle blocks for the sew-along at Sew, Mama, Sew. I used some Amy Bulter Midwest Modern fabric and some muslin. Now, I am not sure which of these 5 block designs I like best: 

   diamonds

 triangles

 zig-zag

 hourglass

skinny diamonds

The block is fairly big and should end up around 16"x16", I am not sure if I am going to attempt to make a lap quilt or just make a mini-quilt to hang on the wall. I really like working with the triangles because they are so quick and easy to make the squares then the designs are limitless it seems. Some of the designs could easily be broken down in to blocks 4"x4" with sashing in between them. There are just so many options and I am being indecisive. What's your favorite?