What I've been up to lately

• Reading - lots of reading for school - Charlotte's Web, Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, and now The Jungle Book
• Cutting - rotary and scissors - stuff for quilts and doll dresses for Laurel's birthday/Christmas this year
• Recipe tweaking - working on the bakery menu and our ultimates
• Celebrating nine years with my sweetie!

That's pretty much it. No picture, sorry. I'll photograph the doll clothes once they are sewn. I'm planning to do as much as possible during the break between quarters. And I have to sew Laurel's Halloween costume then too. Ugh! But it's awesome!

Where have I been?

Oh, at school. And stuff.

But I'm putting on my apron and heating up the house (even more, thank you Seattle heat-wave) because I'm entering another recipe contest.

More on that later. But I'm entering three recipes. Because I love the sound of all three.

Pictures to come as I polish them off. Not personally. I would never eat it all myself. Well, maybe a bit, but shhhhh. Don't tell Aaron. He thinks I share everything with the neighbors!

Christmas Quilts

There is no denying that Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love love LOVE it! So I have quilts in the works.

First, I'm making this quilt with this fabric, fussy cut as the center squares and then surrounded by a whole mess o' red and white prints.
I'm using a white on white snowflake print for the sashing. So cute!

Next, I just discovered my new favorite pattern designer and ordered two right off.


I'm going to make both using this line of fabric:

Pretty cute, eh?

School starts for me soon, but I will make as much time as possible for sewing.

I have a problem

I want to be cool, really I do. I want to be a scrappy quilter. It sounds so, well, tough to me. Like "I can make anything from what I've got." Instead of being the matchy-matchy quilter I started out as. I've got a big ol' box of scraps. I just can't figure out how to do it.

My problem? I want a pattern. Here's a TMI moment, but I look for patterns in things. Everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Like, as in the tiles on bathroom floors everywhere. I go nuts if I can't figure out the pattern. I like symmetry. I like it to make sense. This might explain why I love math.

Quilts like these I love to look at. But when I have to try to put them together, my brain starts fritzing out. I can't do it! I find myself falling into a pattern. And then it doesn't look scrappy. It looks like I meant to do it. Grrr!
So I'm trying for color themes, like the rainbow zig zag above and this red/aqua below. I figure I can manage the scrappiness within certain parameters. I'm going to have to ease into this. It is not the Polar Bear Club. I'm not jumping in feet first here.

So I've got a whole big stash of red/aqua prints for a half-square triangle quilt. Love the brightness of it.

See, this quilt here is more my style. And cute. I might do one of these too. Just to have fun with it. I have some adorable cupcake prints that would be great with polka dots. Or an umbrella print. Or....something.
It is fun to look at quilt pictures, isn't it? LOVE these quilts. I'll adjust to my scrappy nature. It's just going to take me a really long time!

Boy Quilts

I'm liking this fabric for two quilts for my boys - these are just the car fabrics. There are other coordinating fabrics that go with them and they are all bright and fun and boyish.

What do you think?





My other thought is to just do bright colors in a traditional pattern like a zig zag or an Irish chain or a pinwheel quilt.

What do you think? If I make something just in bright colors, it might last longer, right?

Yes, Sir Mommy!

The title is my latest quote from Mr. Jamers. He salutes me and says "Yes, sir Mommy!" LOVE it. So I'm reporting on my progress. No pictures because I prefer natural light and what natural light we've had lately has been gray and drizzly. Thank you, no. So pictures will come later. I will prove to you that I have done what I said I would do!

So what did I do last week?

• Sewed three bags - I had to. I'm giving one away and I liked it so much, I wanted one for myself. So now I can give two away and still have one. Make sense? I hope so.
• Sewed white borders on all 4 - count 'em - Matchbox quilts. Now they are ready to be quilted. By whom....that's for another day!
• Finished cutting my fabric stash for my red/aqua quilt
• Cut the squares for my double nine-patch - this is the layout I chose, although I'm going to make mine 3X4 - two of them because I have a boatload of nine patch squares!
  

So, what is on the agenda for this week?

• Sew that darned apron for my neighbor - I keep forgetting to get interfacing - dragging four children into a fabric store for a smidgen of interfacing is not my idea of a good time. I'm going to Mom's on Sunday, so maybe I'll just take it with me...
• Sew the double nine patch blocks together
• Figure out cutting requirements for the nine patch setting squares and triangles
• Doll clothes, if I can fit them in!

Happy sewing week to all!

Next Week

I have big plans next week. BIG plans. I've finished the pink/green version of my Sent with Love Matchbox quilt. I'll finish the red/pink one on Monday. Pictures forthcoming, I promise. I've got quite a lot of the squares cut for my red/aqua quilt, but I think I want more variety, so that project is currently on hold. Now I'm finishing up my Love U nine patch quilts - I've got enough nine patch blocks to make two lap quilts. I'm in a lap quilt phase these days. Don't know what it is.

I want to make a quilt for each of my boys, especially since we plan on getting bunk beds for them when we move. William is in love with a quilt we received as a wedding gift. It's getting pretty shabby though, having gone through the washing machine quite a number of times. I'd like to make him something in his favorite color: green. I'm thinking a zig zag quilt or a single Irish chain. Needs to be manly though. Any ideas?

I've been liking pinwheel quilts for a while, and I've found my one true pinwheel love right here:


Some call it a Dutch pinwheel. Whatever it is, it is awesomeness in quilt form. I'm going to bust out my scraps and make something fun and special. This may be an ongoing project, but I'm totally planning on having fun with it.

So, to recap, for next week:
The apron for my neighbor
The 2 fun bags, one of which will also go to the neighbor
Finish red/pink matchbox quilt
Cut sashing for nine patch quilts

Maybe start sewing nine patch together, but I'll have to get my layout squared away first, and that may take a while.

Happy sewing! Oh, and we're making a donut cake tomorrow. I'll report, don't worry. Will is SO excited!