Not all baby quilts are pastel

“It’s very bright” is what my husband said to me.

Many times.

So what.

I was certain that my sister-in-law (who loves orange) would approve of it for her baby girl due at the end of the month. At least tummy time will never be boring.

I used a bunch of Prince Charming fabrics with some solids and a few other coordinates for good measure. I did choose a nice soft flannel for the back for some extra snuggle factor.

Another sister-in-law gave birth to a baby boy last night and I’ll start to work on something for my new nephew. I’m not crazy about unisex quilts so I’ve been waiting. I’ve found some crazy awesome fabric to base it on. Have to wait to tell more on this one until it’s done.

Couch runner?

What do you do with a table runner without a table? Dress up a neutral couch, that’s what. I made this for my mom’s birthday in her favorite colors. The backing is mostly an old bed sheet that I’ve always loved but gave out in a few places. So soft. Happy Birthday Mom.

Meet Lily

My pre-owned Viking Lily 545, found around Christmastime on Craigslist. It was way more machine that I was looking for but the price was way more than right. It was a steal. My Elna was giving me tension problems (as usual) and it didn’t make sense to put more money into tune-ups that could be better put to a used machine. I just got lucky on this one. My two must-have features were needle-stop down and see-thru bobbin case. The rest of it is just gravy. Lovely Swedish-made sewing gravy. Delicious. I love it.

Finally… a real post and a finished quilt!

I’m so excited to have a functioning computer again and the ability to post pictures and update that I don’t even mind showing this picture showing my husband’s clothes strewn on the floor. I finished this quilt around the new year. I love Laura Gunn’s Lantern Bloom line and wanted to find a way to feature the large scale prints. I’m also a recent convert to using solid fabrics. I improvised a simple block pattern and had some fun with this. I love the rich, warm browns and the pop of the blue and purple.

I also like pieced backs and finagled a way to use up almost every scrap of the fabric to compose the back.

I also am in love with stippling. I keep thinking that the shapes look like seaweek fingers or something algae-like. Maybe I’ve just seen too much Spongebob lately. This quilt is for sale in the gallery.

Thanks for your patience while my computer was kaput. I promise more frequent posts. And thanks to the person who nominated me for a featured blogger with Park City Girl’s Quilt Festival. I’m honored. Watch for the feature on Amy’s blog.

Two Words

Fabric Porn.

Becca lent me her copy of the new Hancock’s of Paducah catalog. I’ll try not to drool on it too much.

(Still without my computer, whimper. Hopefully things will resolve this week and real posts will resume.)

You Can’t Make This Stuff Up

We’ve had another round of illness here, a particularly nasty stomach bug. After a few days of recovery and no trips to the grocery store, I improvised dinner for the kids with a chicken breast and some french fries from the freezer. The big boy comes into the kitchen while I’m cooking and says, “I thought we didn’t have any chicken nuggets.” I said that I didn’t have them but I made them from scratch. “I’ll eat them even if they’re from scratch because I like chicken nuggets,” he says to me. I shout, “From scratch is better!” as he runs from the kitchen.

After dinner he says, “Mom, where’s the bucket?”

Oh no, I thought. Not again. “Not feeling good?” I ask.

“Yeah, my stomach feels funny. It must be that scratch you put in the chicken nuggets.”

After a short vocabulary lesson, the bucket was retired, in case anyone was wondering if I poisoned my child.

Where did December go?

December has consisted of holiday shopping, holiday baking, holiday wrapping, holiday cooking, holiday cleaning (not much), holiday chores, holiday travel, holiday festivities, family, friends, food, etc.

And …. sick kids, sick dad, now a sick mom, and…. a broken computer (argh! what am I to do?). More regular blog posting will resume when this gets straightened out.

Happy New Year everyone! A Healthy and Happy 2010 to you all.

Peg

Where did November go?

Well, December certainly is here. The big boy wants to know why we have snow when the first day of winter hasn’t arrived yet. (He’s very literal.)

I finished my Stash Busting Bee block on the last day of November. Pivy sent the center fabric cut in a circle and asked us to stretch our imaginations. I thought I would play with contrasting angles and lines against the circle. It’s raw edge applique over the pieced back. I hope she likes it.

Exciting News! Sew Fresh Fabrics is Here!

One of the reasons that I have been a negligent blog poster these days is that I’ve been working very hard with my good friend Becca (you may know be13cca on Flickr) on our new Etsy fabric shop, Sew Fresh Fabrics! We are both hopelessly fabric addicted, quilting maniacs and dream of colorful bolts of goodness. What better way to live the dream than open a fabric store, right?

We’ve got a great selection of Kona solids right now as well as some fun designer prints and shipping is free from now until midnight, CyberMonday Nov. 30 (EST). Check us out, bookmark us, let us know what you’d like to see us carry. We’re expecting new fabric in weekly, including Amy Butler and Michael Miller dots, some great Alexander Henry prints and others. Like many a quilter, this is our heart and our soul and our dream and we’d love for you to join us on our journey

Weekend Workshop

I took a workshop this past weekend with Christine Fries-Ureel. She’s an amazing art quilter and teacher. Her forté is thread painting and embellishment. I learned a ton about the techniques and materials to create all sorts of dimension and shapes in fabric and thread. I started with one of her painted quilt tops and did the embellish stitching and created the cutest little hedgehog and leaves for him to live in. (See his little face down there?) It was tons of fun. Don’t miss a chance to see her work or take a class with her. Her story and journey to and through the quilting world is inspiring.