WIP Wednesday... on to applique!

We've been sick at our house this week. So I haven't got a lot of sewing done. But I did get some simple piecing.

I'm on to applique now! Busy starching my pieces...

Steiger's also been keeping himself busy.

a bag for me!

I saw this pattern over at fatquartershop the other day, and decided to get it.

It came in the mail yesterday.

And... voila! A Nicey Jane bag for me. I've decided that since Steiger will be starting swimming lessons in about a week, it will be our swimming lessons bag.

It's fully reversible, with a lined pocket on each side... the blue combo is my favorite, but I love the other one too.

Here it is!

I need to add a button, and hand sew a small part closed... but it's pretty cute, if I don't say so myself.

I close by adding that Heather, a lady I've recently discovered in blog land, is having a giveaway with some fabric I wish I would have known about while it was still available.

Go check out her work; it's wonderful. (She's also in my list of favorite blogs)...

Valentine's follow up

I have an online group of mommies that I chat with, and we decided to do a secret valentine. Well, I was paired with a little guy who I feel like I know from his pictures, videos, and his mama's blog.

Of course I had to make him a mini quilt. I haven't been showing it before now. But look how sweet! Even snuggled up with it.

I practiced pebble quilting, and a cartwheel, some applique, and Red Pepper's binding tutorial. It didn't go so perfectly as she does it.

Today was also mail day.

Hang around long enough, and you'll realize that though my life is blessed, my husband's love language is not gifts. So I take care of that. Like with this pretty orchid I bought myself for Valentine's.

That and...

I've been resisting for so long.

Futile in the end really.

Meet Nicey Jane. (purchased from Hawthorne threads)

Part of it is destined to become this.

WIP Wednesday - I should be sewing binding or siggy blocks.

But I'm not! Though I am really excited for when Steiger's quilt will be completely finished, now that it has been quilted by the lovely Natalia at piece 'n quilt, I started something new. A main part of that reason is that cutting and ironing are quiet, and the baby is sleeping... which is something he didn't do very well last night.

And, though I have 56 of these done, I still have 45 to go! (They're for Rachel's Modern Siggy Swap) And they're due soon!

This will be a quick post... but I've been designing something for a sweet little someone with what I ordered on Super Bowl Sunday, and showed up in the mail yesterday.

:)

It was inspired by this.

I drew the layout last night, and the fabric is now all ironed, cut, and sorted, and I've got the first couple rows sewn.

I think I'm gonna like it.

Last week I organized my stash. It was so fun actually... I wish I liked organizing other things this much. Steiger *helped.*

I'm ending with some snippets from my quilty to-do list.

- Find out from SIL her preferences for Cooper's Wheels quilt

- Piece backing for Rouenneries couch quilt

- Decide on quilting and quilt

- Bind Steiger's quilt

- Bind Owls and Raccoons quilt

- Finish siggy blocks

...

Progress

Other than the thin sashing-esque borders, I got the top all done!

Here is our couch quilt, in Rouenneries, by French General for Moda.

I now have no idea how to quilt it. Any suggestions?

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The life of a 10-month old sure is exciting. In just a few days, he went from being our floor-dweller, to climbing up on everything.

Including the dog.

We're getting ready to put in the garden (a smaller, more manageable version, complete with boxes and walk-ways),

and the doggie finally got her back-yard, so she can run around like a doggie should!

Other than that, we've just been hanging out!

(PS. Go re-read my "About me.")

The year of why not.

I've been thinking about resolutions since before the new year, and I think I finally picked mine.

"Why not?"

I think it suits me. It's positive and optimistic, but also not too overly zealous or committal. It isn't too scary for the part of me that over-thinks, and finds decision making (at times) excruciating.

I'm not sure exactly how this will play out in my real life, but I have a few ideas.

It was helpful today:

"I should get on the elliptical and exercise..."

(inner voice response: "why not?"...

we won't get in to the fact that I could have probably come up with many reasons at that point, but I didn't.)

So I did.

I should quilt that little top I started long ago. I should do a flower design.

Hmmmm... why not?

So I did.

I should cut all the pieces so I can finally finish my Rouenneries quilt.

OK. Why not?

So I did (finished pictures coming tomorrow I hope).

I should get all the laundry folded and put away.

See... here's where things got tricky. But there's always tomorrow. :)

WIP Wednesday... waiting for yardage

I've got something in store for

this:

This:

This:

and this:

But I've been waiting on yardage. Some of it arrived today! And some of it is still coming.

I have too many projects whirling around in my mind.

Thankfully though, I did get some of my modern siggy blocks done.... 90 to go!

Owls and raccoons in the trees.

I love that one day I will be that lady that makes all the new babies in her life a quilt (or 7).


So, after practicing on my mini giveaway quilts, I decide to try my own quilting on something real size, OK, baby size, but trust me, the baby is as real as it gets (at least in this house).

This is for a new baby soon to make its arrival to Jay's step-sister.

As I mentioned, this was my first real-sized other than straight-line quilting. I did stippling, and wasn't sure initially what I thought about it, but the more distance I have, the more I like it. I'd rate myself, "I don't love stippling, but hey, this turned out all right anyway."

The design:

I wanted something sort-of wonky-ish. So I cute a few strips of my focal fabric, Frolic, some Kona chocolate, a few pieces from some Love U alphabet books I have yet to get to, and a few other solids. I then did log-cabiny designs with just enough touch of irregularity. I'd make a block, and then adjust as I went. Width, borders... all those choices evolved along the way, but I am really happy with the over all look.

What I like about this quilt:

- the cute little peering owls, raccoons, birds, and squirrels

- the alternating chocolate bordered blocks

- the pops of red (I can't help it, it will forever be my favorite color)

- the scale of the fabrics is good.

What I don't love:

- the really light thread on dark chocolate fabric (hey, it was what I had, and it looks good on the light prints)

- the way the stippling looks like a camo outline (or worse in some places)

- that it still needs binding

- that I didn't get a picture of myself taking these pictures, with Steiger on my back in his beco, trying to pull out my hair.

The back is a piece of the focal fabric, a few pieces of a kona roll-up, a bit of kona chocolate, and some kona slate. The sun came out from behind a cloud for this picture, but the branches really work.

In case you ever wonder what Steiger's doing while I blog...