Happy Holidays

My apologies for being so MIA lately, but let's just say there have been some things that have turned my personal life a bit upside down. There are alot of changes going on right now, and my posting will be intermittent for awhile. Bear with me! I will be back full force soon! And don't worry, I am still sewing, and will not let any of me bees or block swaps down!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, whichever you celebrate! Our Christmas was rather nice, we did gifts here at the house, and then went to Shaine's coworkers home for a Christmas dinner. I got to practice alot of Spanish speaking, and the food was great!

Cullen got lots of neat gifts (toys are so much cooler these days than when I was a kid!) but this by far was his favorite:

FNSI Results

It was a short FNSI for me, as I ended up scheduled to work, but I did manage to whip these up before I went in:

The blocks are going to be part of the next fabric box. The boxes are for a friend of mine, who is one of the names my family "pulled" during our secret santa swap (with 6 different couples, and over 10 kids total, that would be alot of gift giving, just in our circle, so we simplified it!). Lisa (I can say that as she doesn't read my blog hehe) is a sewer (sewist?) and used to do a little quilting, but now with working full time and two kids, she hasn't gotten her machine out in awhile.

I am hoping these boxes will inspire her to dig it out so we have sewing get togethers! I originally wanted to make three different sizes, but seeing as the party is in about 5 hours, It is looking like I may have to settle with two :( Although, how perfect is it that when I asked what her favorite colors were, she said lime green, purple, and black?!

I won :)

Almost two weeks ago, I entered a giveaway over at My Giveaway Today. It was for a penguin gift tower from Executive Baskets and I was hoping to win it for my sister, who is decorating her nursery with penguins and polar bears. Well, the way their giveaways work is they run for one day only, and then the next day you have just that day to claim your prize. I won (out of 668 comments! Can you believe that?) on Dec 7th, but didn't even realize it until Dec 10th!!! I was devastated that I missed it. At Shaine's urging, I went ahead and emailed MGAT anyway, explaining what happened and that I understood if it was too late. It wasn't! She said she planned on choosing another winner that night, but she hadn't yet, so I could still claim it!! Right away I had an email from the company for me to tell them where to send it, and I had them send it straight to her! How nice!!

Here is the little penguin in his new home. Pardon the finger, apparently I am not the worst photographer after all ;) I hope you like it, Chelsey, and that little Perry will like it too!

PTS4 Received! (+ some non-quilty-goodies!)

Once again, I am so pleased with my mail lady! I was starting to doubt the USPS after a package my grandmother sent me was M.I.A for about a week (what good is delivery confirmation/tracking if they don't actually update it?), but then yesterday I received a package I had ordered on Monday (only TWO days?!). I ordered these adorable candy cane earrings from The Clay Cafe, an etsy shop owned by a close friend of my sisters, who we met in high school (and her dad just so happened to be the CSM of the basic training battalion next to mine!) It came beautifully wrapped in a Christmas gift bag:

And inside were these goodies:

A postcard with a dinosaur for Cullen, a hairbow for Aubree (although she will have to actually grow some hair first!), and the earrings!

And how gorgeous are they? We have to dress festive at work, and I just now I will get lots of compliments on these, especially when I tell them they were handmade by a friend!

THEN TODAY, I walk to the mailbox, not expecting anything special, and there was a package, addressed to me, with "PTS4" written on it!! I was immediately nervous and excited, and even texted Shaine before I opened it. Inside, it was wrapped in pretty Christmas tissue paper, and even tied with a bow, but I was way too excited to take a picture first!

Oh, I was stunned! First of all, even the little goodies Megan sent were adorable and thoughtful. A note pad (maybe she saw my "make a list" posts!), a patchwork tissue holder, and a keychain wristlet (I think those are called FOBs? I never understood that name), as well as a little card.

Then the pillow... Oh my, the pillow...

She noticed that I adored cathedral windows (but have yet to attempt them myself), and knew I liked bold colors. The red and the black PERFECTLY match my living room! I can't wait for Shaine to come home with the car (mine currently is not running *grumble*) so I can run to Hobby Lobby or Joann's to get a pillowform for it! Thankyou so much Megan, it all is really fantastic! (And to the USPS-- I forgive you!!)

One Flower Wednesday

Here is a little one I whipped up today, out of my scraps again.

It isn't for the swap, so I have no idea what I will use it for, but I think the petals fabric is just so happy! I have some more stuff to show tomorrow, but for now I have to rush out the door for work! Cheers!

Jorie

Make a List Monday--On Tuesday

Surprise, Surprise, I know...
Yesterday I took a MUCH needed and well deserved "Girly Day" to pamper myself! A good friend of mine recently moved back to town (we went to high school together years ago in Missouri, and now both live here in Texas), and she is a licensed cosmetician--and great at it too! She really has a knack for style of any type. She offered to give me a makeover, and here's what happened.

Before:
Hair is long, but unhealthy (from bleaching the black and red I decided to put in it last year) and unevenly colored, as only the fresh, healthy hair at the top holds dye.

After:
About three inches off the bottom (should have taken off a bit more, but I was hesitant to lose too much overall length!), evened out the brown (a few shades lighter than my natural color), and added bright red lowlights. She even decided to curl it and do my makeup. I love it!

Amazing what a little change could do for a girl's self-esteem!

Then today, we got our family Christmas pictures taken! I won't post them all, but you can see them on Flickr if interested!

I made the mistake of scheduling the appointment for right after Shaine's workday ended. I thought it would be convenient to just go straight from work to the studio, but I didn't think about that it would run into dinnertime and Cullen would get fussy :( And of course, it was the one time I forgot to pack a snack while out and about.

So now that you know why my list is late, here is last week's:

1. Make progress on the quilt I was commissioned to make. 4/8 blocks done! I forgot to take a picture though, so I will share later this week!

2. Make my flower for Hanne in the Inchy Flower Swap Done! I need to get it in the mail ASAP though!

3. Finish the gifts for my sister Not done yet :(

4. Make some more self-binding receiving blankets/burp cloths Also haven't gotten to it!

5. Wrap up my package to my PTS4 partner and send it off (with lots of goodies!!) Done today! I know it wasn't done by Monday, but it was done before the list was updated, so I consider it a victory!

And so for this week:

1. Send off Hanne's flower!

2. {TRY TO} Finish my sister's gifts

3. Finish at least 2 more blocks for the quilt

4. Make Block 4 of the LCQA (I might attempt that one tonight)

And I think that's it for pressing stuff. I should be able to get it all done, as I have some extra days off this week! I hope everyone is making good progress on their Christmas projects! I have definitely learned why people start worrying about them in the Summer! Lesson learned!

It's done! (FNSI Results!)

Well, my Friday Night Sew-In turned into a Saturday morning sew-in, due to some unexpected houseguests last night, but I have finished up all the goodies that are going along with my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap!
There's the pillow, a mug rug, a drawstring bag (I used this tutorial--so fast and easy!), and some leftover triangles cut by my Go! Cutter for my partner to use however they see fit! Believe it or not, ALL of these were made using less than a fat quarter of each of the prints!

Now I am not sure if I am more excited to receive my own pillow or for my partner to receive hers! Making a trip to the post office on Monday! Should be a nice Christmas surprise for her :)

2010 in Status

So, on Facebook there is an application that makes a collage out of your status updates from the last year. I remember for 2009 it was pictures, which I thought I still had but apparently don't. Here is my status collage:

I find it amusing that the majority of them are about food, being tired, or me being a smart aleck! It reminded me of some great stuff that happened throughout the year, like when I got Cullen to flush the toilet while Shaine was in the shower (it makes the water really hot, and no it isn't mean, he deserved it for dumping ICE WATER on me the day before!), funny things Shaine said ("When is cinco de Mayo?" or when asked what his middle initial is he said "M as in Mary" instead of "Micheal" or "Mark" or any GUY name ;) ), or when Shaine won the state NCO of the year competition! It has been a good year, and I am ready for the next one.

And in other good news, I think Cullen is finally potty trained, during the day anyway. Hopefully in the next week or so we will be sans diapers for him all the way! Woohoo!

How has 2010 been for you? Hopefully good. Favorite memories? I am thinking that maybe I will gather up some of the neat partial-FQs I have and get a scrap bundle going for an I-Spy Giveaway at the end of the year! It would be my first giveaway, so what do you think?

One Flower Wednesday

Another for the Inchy Flower Swap:
I wasn't sure at first about the purple and the yellow, but I love how it looks all done. I just hope that the yellow isn't too dark for my partner this month!
I need to hurry up and get it in the mail!

Make a List Monday #7

I thought last weeks list was going to be simple... Let's see how I did...

1. Get 4/8 blocks done for the quilt I have been commissioned to make. It needs to be done by the first week of January. I am a little embarrassed to say I haven't even finished calculating the measurements of the blocks/pieces of the blocks.

2. Do my Layer Cake Quilt Along block Thinking about redo-ing the handle, though. I am really liking how these blocks are coming together!

3. Finish the Christmas gift I am making for my sister and her hubby-- Although I have a feeling a FINISH won't be doable, I hope to at least have it mostly done this week! Halfway done. Had to get some more fabric, which I finally did yesterday.

Suffice it to say, I am determined to make a much better move on this week! Shaine is gone out of town (again!) to Chicago, so its just me and the kiddos. I took off work until Saturday, which is both a good and bad thing. Good because it opens up alot of time for me to get some crafting done--which I really need!! Bad because that means I have no personal income until Saturday--which I really need!! Quite the catch 22, right? I am embracing the time off though, as I can make up for the missed money later, but time you can never get back!

So this weeks list is as follows:

1. Make progress on the quilt I was commissioned to make.

2. Make my flower for Hanne in the Inchy Flower Swap

3. Finish the gifts for my sister

4. Make some more self-binding receiving blankets/burp cloths

5. Wrap up my package to my PTS4 partner and send it off (with lots of goodies!!)

And that may look small, but not to me. Ah well, off I go! How are you progressing on your Christmas crafting?

And just so as to not have a picture-less post, here are two from my trip to Austin Thursday night to visit two friends I haven't seen since shortly after my return from Iraq almost 3 years ago.
Cullen and "Unc Paw" (Uncle Paul)

Matt, Me, Paul, and Cullen
(apologies for the quality. The lighting in the restaurant was horrible, and all I had was my iPhone!)

Pretty Fabric :)

As if I needed any more reasons to love the mail lady...
I am now definitely addicted to the "Stash Builder Bundles" at Imagine Fabric. I'm sure you can understand why :)
I ♥ Joel Dewberry!
Judi, of Green Fairy Quilts, also helps me spend all my paychecks ;) (Have you seen the examples of her long arm quilting? *sigh* When I do get around to making a LARGE quilt, I don't know who I would want to send the first quilt to, Judi or Natalia of Piece N Quilt. Both ladies are AMAZING!)

One Flower Wednesday

Seeing as how I have become quite enamored with these little hexie flowers, I have decided to jump in and share my flower garden by signing up over at Journey of a Quilter, and sharing my progress!

For my first One Flower Wednesday post, I am actually going to share TWO. These are two flowers I made during the road trip back from Kansas while it was still light out enough to do so.

They were made using the 2.5inch squares I cut from my scraps using my AccuQuilt Go! cutter. I have decided I am going to go back to basting them through all the layers though. I feel that it is sturdier that way, especially since Mister Cullen likes to play with them and he knocked the paper out of one of them.

I know I said I was going to share pictures of the new fabric I got, but I decided I will hold that off until I get the other package I ordered and share it all at once :) Happy Wednesday!

LCQA Block 3

I finished block 3 just now.
I love how it turned out! I was worried about having such a dark background fabric, when most everyone else had a light one, but I think it will be okay in the end!

I also took apart and trimmed all my squares in block 2. After putting them back together, the block now measures the exact same as the other two.

I guess I won't skip little parts of instructions anymore ;)

To join in, head on over to Moose on the Porch Quilts, or click on the button on the right hand side :)

Make a List ... Tuesday--Again!

I have a good excuse for this post being a day late! Besides a 13+ hour drive, getting home at 3am Monday morning, and running errands during the day, we also put up our Christmas tree last night!AND-- we are back on track with the potty training, so please excuse my son's mostly-nakedness!This is our second year with the white tree, and although I didn't care for it last time, I love it now! I do wish we could get a real tree, but with my allergies, and two VERY big dogs, this is just the easier and safer route! Here it is all done:

I know what you're thinking-- what am I doing with a 3$ Walmart tree skirt? Well, I hadn't thought about the fact that we needed one, and now there is no way I would get it done in time. So, maybe after all the chaos dies down I will try this tree skirt, Fruitcake Under My Tree, designed by one of my favorite bloggers, Tracey (traceyjay).

(Or maybe you're not thinking about the tree skirt, and you're thinking more about the horrible quality of the pictures... The first few Shaine took, so blame him for those ;) But yes, I do need a photography class, or some good tips!)

So, the list! Here is the list from last week:

1. Enjoy a family Thanksgiving in Kansas City. We leave home on Wednesday for the 13+ hour drive to Kansas City! First road trip with both kids, and hopefully they do well... It was a WONDERFUL visit, even though the road trip was a bit rough on the way up!

2. Squeeze in some time to check out some quilt shops while in Kansas City. Who knows, maybe some will have Black Friday sales! I did do a post about this already, some great stuff there in Kansas City, even though most of it was a bit more pricey than what I am used to here in San Antonio!

And for this weeks list, bear in mind I am working nearly every night this week again, and Shaine leaves on Sunday for a WEEK!

1. Get 4/8 blocks done for the quilt I have been commissioned to make. It needs to be done by the first week of January.

2. Do my Layer Cake Quilt Along block

3. Finish the Christmas gift I am making for my sister and her hubby-- Although I have a feeling a FINISH won't be doable, I hope to at least have it mostly done this week!

And on that note, I have to start getting ready for work! I love that I am working again, but I think this will be my last week of "Open Availability".... Last week was short of course, but the week before that I clocked 44 hours, and this week I'll be clocking about 35 or so. *sigh* I think the majority of quilting mamas I have seen are SAHMs, but I know I have seen some who work, whether from home or out of home, and all I can say is "Wow, how?!" Share some secrets! I barely found time to spend with my sewing machine before I started working!

OH! And I got some wonderful goodies in the mail yesterday! I will share some pictures and plans for those in tomorrow's post!

Thanksgiving Quilt Shop Hop

I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving! We took a road trip to Kansas City for the weekend, to spend the holiday with my side of the family, and we're getting ready to head back to San Antonio this morning. First, though, I wanted to share some pictures of the loot I picked up yesterday! My mom's friend Carey is a quilter, and really the only person outside of the bloggy world that I have regular access to that quilts. I think I did convince her to make a blog and share some pictures of the amazing stuff she has made, and the ones she is working on!

We picked out a few shops in the Kansas City area, and got on the move. First up was a smaller store near my moms house (that I can't remember the name of). The fabric there seemed extremely overpriced, and very much so like the fabric I can get at Walmart. I did pick up two FQs there to go into Cullen's I-Spy quilt. Next, we went to Prairie Point Quilts. They wouldn't let me take pictures inside the shop, because of some of the quilts on the wall and copyright issues, but let me just say WOW! They had some amazing quilts on the wall for inspiration, and aisles, walls, and racks full of amazing bolts of fabric. While much of the stuff was more of the country/repro/30s style, it just so happened to be exactly what I was looking for.

The next stop was Harper's Fabric and Quilt Co., and I knew as soon as I walked in that I loved this place. Maybe it was because I had Moda's Botany to my right, Fandango and Spirit to my left, and I could see Amy Butler towards the halfway point of the store. I picked up a few FQs that caught my eye, some Spirit yardage for a project I need to finish, and a small Fandango FQ bundle. I would love to have this shop closer to home! They had a small armchair they reupholstered with a scrappy log cabin patchwork, a big wall with every type of notion and thread you could imagine, a "sewing lounge" you could rent out by yourself or with friends and use your own machines or theirs and get some quiet sewing time!

Our last, and unintentional, stop was at a newer place called Fabric Recycles which we just happened to see as we drove by. It turned out to be a fabric thrift store. What an AMAZING idea! You could sell your stash, notions, UFOs, etc, to the store, which would resell them at discount prices. I wish we had found this place first! With everything color organized, it was really easy to see what they had.
I got some scraps for Cullen's quilt, and some good quality yarn for my sister's knitting projects. And look what Carey and I found:
Completely hand-pieced, 3/4in hexagons, all 30s prints. Carey and I both are pretty sure it really is very old. She nearly bought it, but there were a few moth holes, and a few stains. It was definitely an exhilarating find at first, though!

All in all, I got quite a few goodies, and told Shaine not to look at the bank statement this month (what was he thinking by keeping the cash and sending me off with the debit card?!) and it was a great end to the Thanksgiving weekend! Now, I must return to packing so we can get on the road back home!

Pillowtalk Finish!

I am all done with my partner's pillow! I quilted it using not-so-straight lines throughout all the grey sections. I didn't want to ruin the beautiful prints! The gray is a Kona Cotton, but I don't remember which one, I think it was medium gray. I also made a little mug rug to go with it, and will hopefully whip up one or two more goodies to include in the package. Other than that, it will be on its way to its new home soon!

Although, hubby says I should just keep it here ;)

Make a List Monday #5

Number five already? The weeks are really flying by. It is hard to believe the my little girl is almost three months already. OH and look, she's holding her own bottle already:

And her cute dress she wore today:
(My apologies for the horrible picture quality, but it was one of those "If I don't get this now, I'll never get it again", so the iPhone had to do!)
She is just getting so big so fast. She is already in 6m clothing *sigh*, and to think I thought I had enough clothes handed down to us to last at least the first 9-10 months....

Well, without further adieu (as I still have to cook dinner--sloppy joe's tonight!, and hopefully finish quilting the PTS4 pillow so I can share finished pictures, or at least another sneak peek tomorrow), here was last weeks list:

1. Finish my pillow for the PillowTalk Swap. I am ALMOST done with the front, I just have to get some thread in the right color for the quilting. Then some scraps to practice whether I want to do a zipper or an envelope backing, as I have never done the envelope. So if any of you make throw pillows, feel free to share your favorite tutorials for either method!--- This one is almost done. I have just a little more quilting to do, then the envelope backing (which I decided on due to being unable to find an invisible zipper in the right color, and being too impatient to wait to order one)
2. Make a mug rug. Yes. I first thought I wouldn't have a use for it in my house, but more and more as I see these rings on my glass coffee table, I realize we have no coasters and maybe a mug rug would make it so I don't have to break out the windex several times a day! Yes, I did make one! I love it! I made it to coordinate with the pillow, however, as sort of a way to test out how I wanted to quilt the big pillow (in case I messed up or I hated it!), so it won't be staying here. Still counts as a finish, though, right?
3. Go pick out some fabrics for a quilt I have been commissioned to do (excited about this one!) Hadn't been able to do this one until Saturday, but after not really finding anything that stood out to me, and due to time restraints, I decided I will wait and see if I can find anything at any quilt shops in Kansas City while I am there.

Not bad, 1.5/3 finishes.

Okay, who am I kidding, that's only half... In my defense, though, the quilting is going to look really awesome, and I have somehow squeezed it and the mug rug in between naptimes and after clocking more than 44 hours in at work this week! My list for this week is even simpler--

1. Enjoy a family Thanksgiving in Kansas City. We leave home on Wednesday for the 13+ hour drive to Kansas City! First road trip with both kids, and hopefully they do well... Now that Cullen is over 2, though, FLYING anywhere as a family is almost out of the question-- Would you rather pay approximately 200$ in gas round trip, or twice that amount per person times 3 people? I thought so. Although, this one is a bit more complex than it sounds since in order to get there and enjoy I must do a ton of laundry, get the oil changed, pack four bags, etc.... *sigh*

2. Squeeze in some time to check out some quilt shops while in Kansas City. Who knows, maybe some will have Black Friday sales! I know Green Fairy Quilts is planning a great sale for those of you who love to shop for their Moda precuts online (wink wink!) Meanwhile, if any of you have ever been to Kansas City or the surrounding areas (Shawnee, Basehor, or Leavenworth is where I will be spending time), and can recommend a quilt shop or to, please do share!

Flowers in November

It's starting to get chilly here in San Antonio. Yes, I realize some of you probably have snow already, or that its much colder than our 50ºF weather, but here's the thing-- I H-A-T-E the cold! If it drops below 70, I am a huge baby about it. Anytime I have to wear more than shorts and a tank top I get grumpy. Well, to combat the chilly temperatures, I have been making a few more hexie flowers.
They remind me of springtime and warmer weather! Cullen really liked this blue one, I had to trick him to get it back!

Both of these are for ladies in the Inchy Flower Swap, even though it isn't even my turn to swap with them yet! One hexie flower a month is simply not enough ;)

I've made great progress on my partner's pillow for PTS4! Almost done, so I will have another sneak peek soon :)

Pillowtalk progress, hexies, and more

I have all the blocks done for my partner's pillow. I wasn't completely satisfied at first, but the feedback I have gotten from the wonderful group members on the flickr group has been helpful!

The points don't measure up perfectly, and I have actually taken things apart more than once or twice. (Ignore the outside wonkiness... I haven't trimmed it up yet!) Normally, if it was staying here I wouldn't be such a perfectionist, but the pillows that come out of this group look so fantastic that I don't want my partner to be disappointed at all!!

I mentioned the boxy pouch I made that came out smaller than planned, right? Well it just happens to be almost the perfect size for my hexies:I printed the hexagon template from here. I am still waiting for my LQS to get the papers in. I know, I could just keep photocopying and cutting, but I'd rather pay for the convenience in this case!

Anyway, block two of the Layer Cake Quilt Along has been released! I would love to get it done today, BUT I do have work tonight, so we'll see. Plus, if I do it now, I'll be dying for the next two weeks until the next one is released! ;)

Make a list Monday #4

Well, last week's list was rather easy... I got some stuff done, and even made some additional stuff!

Let's see:
1. Make a boxy zipper pouch for my essentials at work (is it cheating to put this if I am already planning on doing it as soon as I am done with this?) Well, I did make a boxy pouch, and it did come out well... However, I made mine proportionately smaller than the tutorial, since my zipper was smaller, and as a result it came out too small to actually use it for what I planned to. It IS the perfect size to hold some of my hexie essentials, especially if I find a tiny pair of thread scissors! I will post some pictures once my camera finishes charging
2. Finish the last two cake stand covers This is proving harder than I expected. I thought this would be super simple, but I don't have the stands to make sure they lay flat, and are the right size, with the right hang over. *sigh*
3. Play with my new accuquilt dies (I know, hard to squeeze in, right?) Still working on this one ;)

And once again, this week will be rather short, too, as I work 5 of the next 7 days, and today is the only day off that is also a Night off for Shaine. (Yes, family time seems to be pretty rare these days, especially now that we are going to dinner tonight with friends.)

1. Finish my pillow for the PillowTalk Swap. I am ALMOST done with the front, I just have to get some thread in the right color for the quilting. Then some scraps to practice whether I want to do a zipper or an envelope backing, as I have never done the envelope. So if any of you make throw pillows, feel free to share your favorite tutorials for either method!
2. Make a mug rug. Yes. I first thought I wouldn't have a use for it in my house, but more and more as I see these rings on my glass coffee table, I realize we have no coasters and maybe a mug rug would make it so I don't have to break out the windex several times a day!
3. Go pick out some fabrics for a quilt I have been commissioned to do (excited about this one!)

And just so this post has a picture, here are the prints I have decided upon for my PTS4 Pillow for my partner (more on that tomorrow as well!):

Yummy Fabric!! (I still ♥ the mail lady!)

Well, I meant to post this all on Thursday when it arrived, but as you may have read, I got a bit distracted! Anyway, I ordered a FQ Bundle from Imagine Fabric late Sunday/early Monday, and it arrived in my mailbox on Thursday! I think that just might beat the record! The bundle I bought was their Designer Fabric Stashbuilder Bundle. 16 fat quarters for 28.50 (and less than 5$ shipping!)--That comes out to less than TWO DOLLARS a fat quarter! Yes please! Which fat quarters you get is not predetermined, but I was completely satisfied thrilled with what I saw inside that envelope! Look:Free Spirit

Some Heather Bailey

Valori Wells

My favorite of the bunch-- Heather Ross' Mendocino!!

There were two Amy Butler FQs, too, but somehow they escaped the picture session! (**Maybe one of those is contributing to my PTS4 creation, wink wink**)

I don't know about you, but inexpensive bundles like this are perfect for someone like me who does not always have a ton of money to invest in fabric at a time, but still likes the good stuff ;)

Look how pretty it all looks stacked up!

I think I unfolded, folded, unfolded, folded-- you get the picture-- each one several times!