Giveaway at Green Fairy Quilts!

Have you visited Green Fairy Quilts? What a great selection of precuts, and awesome sale prices all the time! Some of my favorites:

Etchings Wovens - YUM!
And also, Little Apples, can't believe I haven't gotten this yet!

And one of the coolest things about this shop? You can pre-order fabric that wont be coming out until April. By then, you'll have forgotten you even spent the money so it'll be like a free fabric surprise when the mailman comes! Definitely can't argue with that kind of logic!

Today Green Fairy Quilts is having a great giveaway on their blog - maybe Judi should go on quilting retreats more often if this is the kind of shop running Clint does, eh? Go check it out!

For myself

I wanted to make some sort of cute basket or something to store my pearl cottons in, and I had a bunch of Loulouthi scraps leftover from this, so I sewed them up and made another basket. Unfortunately, it didn't quite turn out how I imagined, and I may not use it for what I originally wanted, but I still think it turned out cute!

See, a little deep for a cute way to store and also display those yummy colors, but it'll work for now!

Mail day

Is it wrong that I just wanted to roll around, clothing optional, when I opened my mail and saw THIS(!!)? I've been eagerly awaiting a couple of packages, but none more than that one from Pink Chalk Fabrics with my Kona Color Card. Something about seeing all those colors lined up, neat and orderly, and LABELED for all eternity, now in my possession. Great day, I'm just sayin'.

Also, I finished lilSGT's bean bag chair! I used the tutorial at Making It Fun, and the fabric is Michael Miller Kids: Honk Honk (aqua), Plaidsportation (black), and Lunch Box Plaid (yellow). I love how it turned out, and so does the kid (though no decent photos have happened yet with him playing/sitting on it!)!

Finally!

Well, she did it, she tied the knot! Which means I can finally show what I made for my friend and her husband! So far, it's my favorite quilt I've made (though my brain thinks I've got this great idea, even though I have no idea how to make it come into fruition, so we'll just see), and she claims to like it, so yay! She didn't, however, say how her husband felt about it, and this after I tried so hard to include enough masculine color in it to appeal to them both. But alas.

The Front, Amy Smart's Chrysalis Lattice Quilt, using Joel Dewberry's Aviary 2 instead of Chrysalis

The Back. My absolute favorite.

The pillow covers. I didn't want to ship them stuffed, so Mom got some forms and did it for me! Thanks, Mom!

And that's it! It is a very simple and straightforward quilt top, nothing fancy, but great for showcasing your favorite fabrics! I used straight line quilting, about a quarter inch on either side of the seams. I added the strip of purple at the top to make it big enough to fit a queen bed, in case my friend decides to use it that way. It isn't necessarily meant for such, but I wanted her to have the option. I just wish I could have been there to give it to her in person!

Repurposing Rocks!

Well, after some not-so subtle hinting that I was making things for everyone else but not for him, I finally whipped up SSGT's computer bag. I am pretty sure I put it off because he wanted me to use his old uniforms as the fabric (hello, obsess with ACU much?) and I totally didn't want to deal with taking out seams. But, I figured for this project I'd not worry about saving every scrap of fabric I could, and just find a patch big enough for my needs. And I did, though it took two uniform tops, and the main pocket of a pair of pants to do it! I'm very pleased with how it turned out, and I love that I didn't have to sew a pocket. It came together SO fast, and the most challenging part was the zipper (isn't it always?!), though even that was my best zipper installation ever! While it ended up fitting his laptop, it is pretty snug, so when he gets a new laptop I'm going to make sure it is small enough to fit perfectly (so as to avoid having to find another set of uniforms in good enough shape to save fabric from!).

So, again, the pattern was Sew Spoiled Laptop Sleeve, and the fabric was government issued uniforms (I hope I'm not setting myself up for some federal lawsuit about destruction of government property).

Roller coaster

Well, our second attempt at taking lilSGT on a kiddie ride at a fest wasn't as successful as we'd hoped. Our logic was that if one of us was on the ride with him, then he'd be more OK with it. Poor guy. And what awesome parents to document his terror, right?!

I'm not seeing EuroDisney in our near future!

P.S. Thanks to Rachel for pointing out the (very) obvious to me, and for not even making fun of me! The pictures still aren't what I was expecting, but at least you can make them out now.

A finished project

I made some cute little storage baskets for lilSGT's toys. The pattern/tutorial is in the sidebar at Making it Fun, one of my favorite new places for amazing tutorials. Seriously, check out the list on that page of tutorials - I couldn't even tell you how many of those I've downloaded already, but it's a LOT.

Fabric is Dan Stiles Marine for Birch.

On a side note, does anybody know why my pictures are so small now? Before I lost my way from here, pictures were fine, but now they are so small and I don't know how to fix it! So, help! Thanks!

Hooray for quick projects!

So, I finally figured out that if I do quicker, more simple projects, I feel much more accomplished. Like I'm making more progress, getting more done. Such a simple trick, and it lets me use way more yummy fabric, in a bigger variety of ways, than just making quilts would! Plus, no aggravation of trying to drag a huge quilt through my weensy little machine to quilt the top (gotta be my least favorite part!!). So, win-win!

I made my first Gum Drop Pillow (Amy Butler) today. I decided to bring some color into our living room, because up until now, it's been brown, beige, brown, black, and brown. Did I mention the brown? So, I chose brighter fabrics for these (hopefully I'll get a couple more made), and then I am hoping to do the Loulouthi Tiles quilt-a-long, hosted by Rachel at Stitched in Color, to brighten things up a bit. You know, when I get to it.

So, mission accomplished - color! These pillows are incredibly simple to make, the hardest part was stuffing it with the filling. It's hard getting it in there evenly and if you didn't notice in my pictures, I strategically angled the pictures so you couldn't see exactly how lopsided mine turned out! :) This one pillow ended up taking two 5 lb boxes of filler, and there still could have been room for more! That's a lot, and also a lot of money, so I don't know that I'll be exactly rushing to make more, but eventually I will!

Progress

Well, I've gotten a couple of things done over the last few days. I finished the awesome wedding gift (can't wait to share it!), and then I took a long long long break from sewing, and then I made this sewing machine cover for my friend, Susan's, birthday:

Then I made my moms laptop sleeve:

And today I whipped up this apron from a kit I got while in Oregon:

It's reversible!

In other news, two days in the last week have had lower categories leaving the airport, so maybe, just maybe I'll get to make it home for my friends wedding. My fingers are crossed!

Updated: I totally forgot to give credit!! OK, the machine cover is from Empty Bobbin, with only minor adjustments on my part. The apron is by Mary Mulari,and I got the kit at Stitchin' Post in Sisters, OR. The laptop sleeve was from Sew Spoiled. oops!

If you know me at all . . .

then you know I'm not a fan of worms. Or slugs. Or, really, anything that wriggles, slithers, creeps, or slimes its way around the world. Ugh, I shudder just thinking about them! Once I worked in a mailroom, sorting and delivering mail and I came across a piece addressed to me. I was so very excited, you know how it is when you find you've got unexpected mail? Yeah. I opened it up and inside was a fake rubber worm, like the ones you use when you are fishing or something, I guess. Maybe I would have been a little suspicious if I'd noticed that everyone in the mail room had gotten very quiet and were watching me from the corner of their eyes, but no, I was caught totally unprepared. Oh those jokesters.

Then when I moved to Utah, the first time, I received a postcard from a friend with a picture of a huge ol' banana slug on it. You know, to remind me of home. I love that they all know me so well!

Anyways, this was all over a decade ago, but recently I've been reminded of these events. You see, its been raining like crazy here and you know when it rains a lot it brings out the worms, right? Back home, when it rained like this, it was nearly impossible to avoid the worms when you went out. Apparently, here, when it rains like this, along with the worms it also brings out the slugs. Oh lordy, the slugs!!

However, this sight totally makes the obstacle worthwhile!

Next month, one of my best friends is getting married. I've been invited to be her matron of honor, something she takes very seriously, I believe. Well, I do too, of course, but the bride is probably the most traditional friend I've got, so I know its a very big deal to her to have asked me, so I'm taking it extra super to heart. And I'm very honored. And I'm VERY worried I'm not going to be able to get there. Living in Germany is great, but boy, it's a long and expensive way from home! I have discovered, and embraced, the opportunity to travel Space-A, but I've been tracking flights out of here for the last couple of months and it isn't looking promising for me. There are these categories that determine your priority if a seat is available on a flight and basically I'll be near the bottom. And nobody even close to my category has gotten out in over a month. And the wedding is in less than a month, and dang it, I really want to be there! So, buy a regular ticket, you say! Yeah, have you priced international travel during August lately? We did that last year for the kids and we're still paying that credit card bill off!

Anyways, I'm just bummed because I really want to be there for my friend and I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to. I guess the good news is that I finished her wedding present and it's by far my most successful project yet! I'm very excited about it and can't wait to give it to her! Maybe I'll mail it now so I can share pictures once she gets it. :) But, we'll wait it out and see if travel options look up next month. Fingers crossed!

Bweeto!

I have to say that this is the funnest age with my guy! In the last month his vocabulary and pronunciation has changed a LOT, and daily there are surprises and exclamations over things he says that we've never heard before. The other day, SSGT was wrapping him up and calling him a burrito, and every time he unrolled him, "Bweeto!" was shouted with urgings to do it again! Very cute.

I've been fairly productive on the sewing front, and I'm really excited that my motivation has stuck around for more than a day or two (we're going on over a half a year, I think!) and can only hope that it sticks around long enough for me to finish all these project hopes I have in my head (and my bookmarks, and blogroll, and oh dear I've embraced pinterest, and geez I hope I stay forever motivated!). I'm looking forward to August being over so I can share my current works, but I'll try to take some pictures of other projects I've got going to share.

In the meantime, BWEETO!

4th

Happy Fourth of July! Lots of people have asked if there are any festivities here, and yes, of course there are! There are so many American military installations in Europe, and well, we definitely need to be able to have the opportunity to celebrate our country while living abroad, so there are lots of things going on. However, we're not doing anything! With a youngster who wont make it late enough for fireworks, and with a constant drizzle forecasted for the day, there just isn't quite enough motivation to get out for it. No problem, more time to work on one of the gazillion projects I've got going on right now!

And boy, I am seriously loving the projects I'm working on! Unfortunately, I can't share pictures yet on the off chance that the future recipients of these gifts actually stumbled across this here blog! And unfortunately, they wont be gifted until August! Hopefully I'll finish them soon and be able to work on some public projects. I will say that Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry is a gorgeous collection to work with! I wasn't too enthused at first, but I totally love how things are coming together!

And I guess, for now, that's all. Have a great day of picnics, family and friends, and fun!

Father's Day

Laptop sleeve

I made this laptop sleeve for my new laptop yesterday.

I was amazed, first, that my old sewing skillz were still hidden deep inside me somewhere, and second, how quick this came together. If I'd had all the things I needed at once, it easily could be done in a day. Oh, and if there weren't toddlers and husbands to distract me! Not that I'm complaining, once SSG T's leave is over, I'll be scrounging for free time!

The pattern is by Sew Spoiled, though I'm pretty sure I purchased it through Pink Chalk Fabrics.

Whatcha got?

A toddler.

Long time comin'

Finished my niece's quilt at long long long last. I hope she likes it, because there were so many times I nearly ditched this project. I started out with some fat quarters of Tina Givens Fairy Tip-toes, and at the time, loved it. I even loved it when I got each set of blocks pieced together. But then, oh then, I made some terrible choices with border colors and what not, but given that I have to order my fabric online, I had to make do with what I chose. And boy, is that a lot of pink. And not soft, baby, easy on the eyes pink, no, this is screaming in your face pink.

But, it's done. Hallelujah!

the front

the back

I'm glad I finished it, it is going to a special girl who could certainly use a special present, just for her. My niece recently broke her arm, had to have surgery to repair it, and then got pneumonia, like, the very next day! Poor girl. I just hope she can survive all that pink. Hmm, or maybe I should be more worried about how her parents handle it?