Black Friday, Blue Skies, and Red Wine

This year, I had a wonderful Black Friday. My mother, Liam and I drove down to the Waterloo Premium Outlets and shopped for the deals of deals. We lightened our purses considerably (purchased a few purses) and had a very good time.

We spent the night in Geneva on the lake at a very pretty hotel. We took Liam for his first swim in a pool and thoroughly relaxed, dined, laughed and enjoyed ourselves. We didn't do a lot of waiting in lines and we just tried to enjoy the beautiful sunny day we were blessed with.

On Saturday, after room service (so fun) we made our way to Joann's for the shorter lines. I found some really adorable fabric and added quite a bit to my stash. For the first time in a long time I didn't even look through the remnants bin, I just bought what I wanted.

I'm not sure if the crosswords or the Eiffel towers are my favorite but they both called to me from the shelves!

I cannot tell you why but I loved this Rooster fabric, love, love, love!

And I thought this fruit was pretty darn cute too!

Someone very special has a mother who clipped this pillow (also pictured below) out of a magazine and requested one if I found some free time. As I've said before, there's nothing I like more than requests.

So while I was in Joann's I picked up some very adorable fabric and mesh. I heard that the very special someone is very interested in dinosaurs as of late. So once I get these Christmas Tree skirts out of the way, I will whip up this pillow and get it in the mail for Christmas. I'm pretty sure my little brother Matthew would appreciate one of these as well.

And lastly, I purchased some fabric for potholders, (again by request) how wonderful! I've only ever made one but I can't imagine they should be that difficult, only time will tell.

I also purchased Insul-Bright, which is the special lining that goes inside of potholders and provides more of a buffer against heat. The instructions suggest including a layer of Warm and White batting to absorb any moisture. I am slightly unsure as to where the regular batting would go in an oven mitt? Should I put it inbetween the fabric and Insul-Bright or inbetween the Insul-Bright and inside of the mitt? Anyone have experience with this?

Beanie Bags

So I have to apologize because I haven't posted in a very long time and my last post was quite sad. I have been through so much lately but I am slowly recovering and that is the important part. So all of life's heartaches aside; I have some really wonderful news! I found out on my birthday (November 13, 2010) that I was pregnant. I am having a baby boy due July 19th, 2011 and I couldn't be more excited. I will be embarking on this beautiful adventure as a single mother and I have faith that with all of my family and friends everything will be just as it should! That said, I have done very little quilting. Between the morning, night and day sickness, the sleepiness and all the first time mother aches and pains; I have had a very difficult time fitting some quality crafting time in. I am trying to do a better job at setting aside time for all those things I enjoy soooo much! I am 24 weeks so I should be far enough along to get some serious quilting done. Tax season is also slowly coming to a close April 18th, so I should have some more free time on my hands before the little one joins us in this big, exciting world. This is a project that I completed before Christmas last year and I just never got around to posting about it. I created beanie bags for my nephew "Logan" and my little brother "Matthew". They were 3 and 4 years old and just beginning to learn and understand their names and the alphabet. I found the tutorial here for the entire alphabet, however I only used the letters they needed for their names. After I gave the beanie bags for Christmas the requests started flowing in. I think they're a great tool for children learning to spell their names. I think Matthew really found it helpful to have the colors go from red to blue, it gives little hints if they get stuck. I used a special stitch that my sewing machine does on the top to sew on the letters, this tutorial uses fusible webbing which I found very easy to use and relatively pain free!

I have now completed three sets of names for three other little boys. I shall post them shortly, until I have something more substantial to occupy my blog. I dragged back out my autumn quilt I had started before my birthday and I am slowly making progress. I need to get going on a baby quilt for my little kicker! I have the perfect fabric backing already picked out, I've had it for quite some time and I absolutely LOVE it!

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful comments and helpful advice, it has meant so much to me. I have learned that with the help of friends and family, I can make it through anything!

Christmas Quilt

Is everyone ready for Christmas? Although I've barely started my fall quilt, I am already done with my Christmas quilt.
It makes me want to watch Christmas movies and light up the fireplace. Did you notice that ALL of the stores have Christmas decorations up already? Can you believe that? We haven't even had thanksgiving yet, what about the cornucopias, the turkeys, the pumpkin pie? Are we really ready to give up the oranges, yellows and browns for red and green. Although I'm very happy with this quilt, it's going in the closet until December (where I think it belongs).
This quilt measures 62 x 72 and will serve as a lap quilt during the Christmas season, or whenever I'm feeling particularly blue.
Christmas always seems to make me smile and feel warm and comforted. I used three different types of quilting on this quilt.
The center was stippled using the traditional stipple.
The colored sashing was stippled using a loop technique and around the outside I tried something new.
I think it looks like Christmas lights all around the outside of the quilt.
I once had curtains that I had made out of the binding fabric. When we moved last year I decided to cut up my curtains and recycle the fabric.
Needless to say I have a lot more where this came from!
I just love the way quilts look all rolled up, it's so fun and warm looking.
I can't wait to use this quilt next to my Christmas tree!

Weekend Purchases

There is something about remnants that I just can't ignore. I love them, I buy them whenever I find them, no matter how different, interesting, unique, colorful or dull. I have a true love-affair with fabric and I'm ok with it!

I love Remnants because they are:

1. usually 50% off,

2. just enough fabric without being too much,

3. usually something I wouldn't normally buy,

4. and always leftovers of what someone else thought was pretty or useful.

For all of those reasons they make a perfect addition to my stash!

Remember my last fabric purchase? I bought nearly 19 yards, this time, I've expanded to 23. I just can't help myself, I found the only fabric shop in the country where NO ONE goes there to buy remnants. I can literally just venture there once a month and walk out with over 30 100% cotton 1/2 yard pieces of fabric half-price.

So I purchased these...

and these...

and then fell in love with this fabric...

So I bought fabric inspired by it, to make a fall quilt around it.

Now that all the fabric is washed, dried, ironed and folded it can be put away and I can concentrate on more important things; like cutting into my new fall fabric and making a fabulously festive quilt!

Still Busy

As the summer winds down my weekends definitely haven't. My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary on the 5th of September. We had a wonderful time although I spent very little time doing anything crafty.

So this last weekend I buckled down and tried really hard, well sort of. My intentions were pure, my enthusiasm was present, my thoughts were in order... but so were my friends! And therefore, I accomplished very little aside from eating pizza, watching football and hanging out.

To continue the fun, today was my first day of work at a new job!

So, despite all the events I've attended and the very little bit of quilting I have done, I did manage to go fabric shopping. I guess you can say I had a little bit of pent up shopping energy.

I found some really pretty seasonal fabric.

And a bit more and some pink.

And some very adorable black, grey and white numbers.

As well as some very pretty blue and green fabric.

Now, the only problem is finding something to make.

I saw these in a store while I was on vacation, I thought they were absolutely adorable! I'm pretty sure I could make these, no problem.

I have also received a request for some superman inspired quilts for twin boys. I believe they are around 2-3 years old. I went shopping the other day for some superman fabric and this was the only pattern I could find, not in flannel. It seemed a bit violent for the recipients, or maybe it's just me?

I was hoping for something with a little less fighting going on, I feel like this is gang superman fabric with the graffiti lettering and such... the search continues!

If you find any please send me the links, I'm looking for something a little bit more adorable than the above!

I've Been Busy

I've been busy cutting, ironing and sewing, and therefore I have not been diligent about posting my progress. I don't think I've mentioned it, but when I quilt I am deep in thought. Sometimes, I don't even do anything but sit, make notes on a piece of paper, and contemplate my finished product.


There is a lot of math calculations and planning that goes into a quilt, it's not all fabric and fun. I mean it is to me, but to the outsider looking in; it's difficult!
In the picture above there is a lot of planning, cutting, staring and thinking going on.

And finally, the less difficult part of quilting begins, after all the pieces are cut!Here is another quilt that has been taking up my time. I started it about a month ago when I saw this post.

I had the colors all picked out for a few months, ever since I bought that patterned center fabric. It's one of those inspirational fabrics that makes you want to design a quilt around it. And lucky me, Amandajean already had, in the exact color scheme I was looking for.

And as I begin to baste, Pepe takes a seat to watch.

A Wedding Gift

Speaking of quilts made for wedding presents, here is one that my husband and I received for our wedding. It was made by one of my very good friend's mother. She is an avid quilter with a long-arm quilting machine. The detail in this quilt is absolutely beautiful. All of the little pieces make my head spin and remind me how new I am to quilting, and that I am still an amateur with a lot to learn. She did the colors in black and white because that was the theme of our wedding.

She originally designed the quilt to be taken to the wedding for everyone to sign with best wishes for the bride and groom. My mother and I couldn't bare to let people write on this amazing work of art. Besides, could they really have something important enough to write on this masterpiece.

Last time I visited I believe she was saying she taught a class on this quilt. She is definitely an inspiration to me! In order to complete the quilts I made for my mother and mother-in-law in time for the wedding, she taught me how to use her long-arm and helped me to finish both of the quilts (Brisk Breeze and Nature's Nine Patch). They both turned out beautifully! It's so nice to have someone who will take the time to teach you, so rare in this world.

This is where everyone was supposed to sign... no way!! Too gorgeous!

And the quilting was phenomenal, so perfect for the occasion. Daisy thought she would get into the photo opportunity as well, she's tired. "Please mom, sit still and put your camera away so I can go to sleep!"

...And my next project, I'm keeping the design for this one a secret until it is unveiled.
I have the quilt top and bottom complete, I need to iron, baste, quilt and bind and I will be done. That actually sounds like quite a bit, perhaps I should start another in the interim, two projects at once hardly seems like a challenge.

Purchases!

In anticipation of amandajean's quilt along (I'm way behind) and the next quilt I am making I needed to purchase more batting and sashing materials. In addition, I found some fat quarters I couldn't live without! The yellow and white are remnants, and the orange was a color I realized I didn't have in my stash... no orange, how sad! I have found that I am not drawn to either orange or purple, I need to work on my fabric selection in the future.
Here is a close up of the top fabric, I thought it was absolutely adorable, I would have bought more but they only had it in a fat quarter. Soooo cute!

I bought an entire bolt of Kona Cotton White, I have a feeling this won't last me much more than 2-3 quilts, I tend to enjoy the use of crisp white sashing (really opens up my quilts). I also purchased some more Coats Cotton quilting thread in Natural... I find this thread is best for quilting. The color blends very well with most colors.

I had a 50% coupon for Joann's and therefore purchased 10 yards of Warm and White batting. I haven't yet got up the courage to purchase an entire bolt (40 yards). Although I know I will never stop quilting, a tiny voice in my head says, "but what would you do with 40 yards?" For now I will stick to 10 and frequent Joann's until I can get up the courage to purchase 20 yards, we will work our way to 40.
All fabric is washed, ironed, folded and put away (yes, all 8 yards of the Kona Cotton too), perhaps a sneak peak at my stash will be warranted eventually!