Make a List Monday

I have been reading the lists that Sarah, from Confessions of a Fabric Addict, makes for herself each week, as well as the updates showing how much she got done off the list from last week. It hit me that I could probably benefit from making myself a list each week. I am sure I will never COMPLETE the list, but at least if I have it organized it might make it all seem less daunting! So here goes, my crafty to-do list:

1. Stitch up some quick cake stand covers for my sister

2. Finish the owl pillow she asked me to make for her (all that is left is to stitch up the opening from stuffing it

3. Finish spraypainting Cullen's costume (I thought I had enough blue spray paint on hand, but fell just a bit short, so I have to get a new one)

4. Complete making Shaine's costume... I can't wait to share this one!

5. Sketch up an idea for a new baby quilt for a good friend, and for my brown bag quilt

I think that is all reasonable stuff to finish in a week! Nothing too involved, so hopefully I will be able to get it done. The costumes I have to get done, so at least I know those will be crossed off the list! ;) Are you as excited about Halloween as I am?

Oh, and be sure to head over to Sarah's blog this week! Her birthday is Friday and to celebrate, she is giving away two great charm packs, and there are lots of ways to earn yourself an entry. Check out that blog post here! Good luck :)

And just so this isn't a post without any pictures, here is Cullen at Halloween last year:

Swaps and a Giveaway!

I have signed up for two swaps in the last couple days!

I am SUPER excited, as I have not yet participated in any. First, I signed up for the fourth round of the Pillow Talk { Swap } and I can not WAIT to get started! Here is my inspiration mosaic:
I am sure it probably seems all over the place to a PTS veteran, but I attempted to show styles and designs that interested me. I love bright colors, but as far as our home decor goes, we have mostly jewel tones... (Although I have already warned Shaine that a really awesome pillow may call for new curtains and wall hangings!) Truth be told, I haven't been sewing or quilting long enough for anything to be "old" or "outdated" to me yet anyway! Everything is new, interesting and amazing! (Whoever makes mine will be lucky, I am going to be easy to please!)

The second swap I signed up for was The Inchy Flower Swap. Each month you send to someone, and receive a 1 inch hexagon flower. Each month is a different person, so you are sure to have a WIDE variety of prints and designs when all is said and done! I better practice to make sure mine are up to par.

The giveaway I mentioned is at Green Fairy Quilts. This is one of my favorite online fabric shops, and the one I check first. They always have great deals and sales, and until Monday you have a chance to win a fat eighth bundle of Breakfast at Tiffany's (gasp!) or a $30 gift card to the online store (for the most referrals). I am sure I will not be able to refer too many people, but if you do happen to head that way, mention me :)

Fall fun!

You know you have quilting on your mind when normal things remind you of something you want to try. Although I have been walking into this kitchen more times a day than I can count for almost a year, I never really noticed the tile...

Snowball blocks!
Also, Cullen has these super neat alphabet flashcards, and he likes to bring them to me so I can tell him what letter it is. This one made me giggle:

I shouldn't be surprised. After all, I can't think of THAT many words that begin with the letter Q and could be used in a flashcard like this. Either way, it made me smile!

It has been a busy weekend, but I am hoping to escape for a few hours tonight to get some sewing done. Shouldn't be a problem, since I took the kids out of the house to let Shaine have some uninterrupted guy time on our big screen for the football game. I did do two new applique shirts this weekend for our family trip to the pumpkin patch. I am horrible at remembering to take pictures BEFORE I put them on my kids, but you can sort of see them in this horrible iPhone picture.


Also, here are a few more pictures from the pumpkin patch

Hope everyone else is enjoying this season as much as we are!

Fun With Applique

I still haven't found much time to finish any projects, and by that I mean I haven't even sat down at my sewing machine at all in exactly one week. I can physically feel the difference when I don't get to sit down and play with the sewing machine. Sewing and creating definitely keeps my blood pressure low! Since I have nothing new and fantastic to show, I thought I would share some quick but adorable applique I have done lately. I shared a picture of Cullen in his birthday shirt in my last post (I still kick myself that I didn't get a really good picture of the front and back before he spilled juice on it). Forgive me for the low quality pictures, I really need to find a better spot to take the pictures!

Anyway, last week I found some plain colored onesies in the closet that had been handed down to us for Aubree. Although in great condition and no stains, they were rather boring and the color a bit dull. I decided to dig out some scraps from the scrap cabinet (Yes, a whole cabinet!) and see what ideas I could come up with. First, the green onesie. I dug out some darker green batik scraps and made a stem with two leaves:

Aubree is going to be a flower for Halloween. I still have to make her headband and petals, but that shouldn't take too long! Well, that took me all of 10 minutes to do, including the stitching around the edges, so I grabbed the next one and decided to try a cute and fun design:

These are scraps from a baby blanket kit I had bought from Joanns before Aubree was born (a bad idea, since the satin unravelled through the seams after only a couple washes), and I made the "a" out of the busiest one, and used coordinating colors to mimic the designs in the main print. I absolutely love how it turned out, and she should fit it soon! I still have two more (a white and a darker pink), the white one I plan to do a cute fall/halloween themed one for our trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend. Cullen will also be getting a matching fall/halloween one as well! The best part of raw-edge applique is that you can use scraps that you already have to create something new and fantastic! Now, I just have to think about some cute ideas for their pumpkin patch shirts, and for Thanksgiving coming up! Any ideas?

Cullen's Birthday!

I have some new things I have been working on, but have had no time to finish any, so unfortunately I have no crafty pictures to share right now!

What has kept me so busy? Well, my sister came to visit all last week, and Cullen's second birthday was on Friday. All week was spent going to the zoo, and getting stuff ready for his big party we had on Saturday. The party was a huge success, and he had a blast! I used raw edge applique to make him a cool birthday shirt: It had a 2 on the front and his name on the back!

My sister made him a cool Halloween themed "cupcake cake":

And he had lots of fun with all of his buddies:

Poor guy still got a bit of sunburn, even with SPF 50 slathered on! (And Nevaeh is wearing the pillowcase dress I made for her a few months ago!)

I still can't believe my little man is two! Shaine and I were looking at pictures from his first birthday, and just marveled at how much he has grown, and learned, since then.
He knows all of his shapes, colors, most of the animals and the sounds they make, and we are working on numbers and letters. He says "please" and "thankyou", gives his baby sister hugs and kisses all the time, and helps mommy every chance he gets. He is easily the best little boy I could have asked for. While I can't wait to see him grow and learn more, this is such a fun age that I just want him to stay where he's at for awhile longer!

Hopefully, now that things are settling down and returning to normal, I will be able to get some things done. I have a few WIPs, and lots of pretty new fabric I haven't even played with yet!

Finished Botany Quilt

I know I promised these pictures days ago, but this has been a drill weekend, so Shaine has not been able to make it home before dark to help me hold it up and take a decent picture outside. I ran out to the backyard to snap this one before the sun went down.

It was made using this tutorial from Piece N Quilt. While I love my finished project, I now wish I hadn't opted out on the ric rac! I used contrasting brown thread to quilt, which looks cool on the brown back, but stands out a bit TOO much on the front. Ahhh well, I like it anyway, and it's staying here with us!

See? Aubree loves it already!

GREAT things going on!

Yesterday I nearly died.

Ok, not really, but when I laid down to feed Aubree, and decided to check my email while doing so, I got an email that sure made me think I did! It was an email from Ariane, of Ariane's Crafts, telling me that I won a giveaway on her blog. Not just any giveaway, but THE giveaway! An Accuquilt Go! Cutter and three dies!

I immediately called my sister, and made her get on the computer to check Ariane's blog to make sure! I have entered a few Go! giveaways, but I never realistically expected to win one. I can't wait to try it out! The dies I chose are the rag quilt die (so I NEVER have to snip those edges again!), and the apple core, and the drunkards path. I chose those last two because they are ones that I absolutely love the look when they are done, but I have been too intimidated to try. To even be slightly off while cutting could cause serious headaches and waste!

I also finished the binding of the quilt I was working on in my last post. It is now all washed and crinkly, and I love it! It's the first quilt I actually used FMQ to make a DESIGN, not just stippling or wavy lines... well, attempted to, anyway ;) It's not perfect, but it is cute, the hubby even says its awesome, and I can't wait until I get better at FMQ and can compare my progress. Its a nice sunny day out, but as we have just recently had a bunch of fire ants moving into our yard, I don't want to set it down, even for a second, so when Shaine gets home I will go outside and take a nice picture to show it off. Next on my to-do list is to baste and -hopefully- finish Shaine's memory quilt by Sunday, so he can show it off at drill and maybe get a few people interested in one of their own!

Today also marks the kick off of the Fall into Fall Giveaway bash. If you haven't heard of it yet, you DEFINITELY need to check it out. Well over 100+ bloggers are hosting giveaways. If I had heard about it sooner, I would have tried to get some stuff together, maybe some FQs and embroidery floss. Hmmm... I'll save those for when I have some more followers I guess! Anyway, grab yourself a snack, something to drink, and get over there to see if any are ones you would be interested in entering!

Another great giveaway going on right now is over at Spun Sugar Quilts! She is celebrating her 600th post with a fabulous giveaway and 6 winners. Fat Quarters, charm packs, pincushions, magazines, patterns and more could be yours, so head over there to throw your name in!