A few blocks and an Update

I finished Block 6 of the Layer Cake Quilt Along a few days ago.

I like how it turned out!! I think I should have thought ahead more when picking the squares for the blocks, because now alot of the squares left are the same prints in different colors. I'm not sure how the rest of the blocks will look, but I can't wait!

I also *mostly* finished my Birdie Stitches BOM for the month of January. All except for two spirals at the top

I probably won't finish that until later this month though, so I am sharing it now.

Ever feel like you took too much on? Well, I'm there! Haha at least it is keeping me busy and my mind off other things. I ALSO am participating in the PS I Quilt Postage Stamp Quilt Along, and I am almost done with my strip sets and should have a picture to show you all tomorrow!

The new place is almost all settled and coming together, but I have to run to the store and go get some other little stuff, and get ready for work. Longer post later :)

I ♥ the mail lady!

Well, wouldn't you if she brought you all these goodies yesterday?

Okay, so my Go! got here last week, but I knew if I opened it there would be no chance of getting the costumes done! Besides, I am waiting on the correct dies to get here. I think I will take some of my scraps and cut them into squares tonight, though, just to test it out!

As for all the fabric, I have plenty of friends and family members who are currently expecting babies early next year, so I am going to be making quite a few baby quilts, I'm sure!

Another thing that came in the mail yesterday was part of my Christmas gift from my sister. It requires assembling, so I haven't taken a picture yet. What is it, you ask? Well, it's a shelving unit for fat quarters! And apparently it holds up to 300 of them! Considering I have nowhere near that amount, I think she's encouraging me to build my stash up a bit! Seeing as how I start my NEW JOB tomorrow, I think that just might be happening very soon! Also, our roommate is moving out at the end of this month, meaning that I will have my guest room/sewing room back! I can't wait!

Oh, and while on the subject of building up my stash, there are two giveaways going on right now with a sweet selection of goodies! First, Little Miss Shabby is giving away a NINE FQ stack of Summer in the City, with lots of ways to gain entries! Second, for a shot to win your choice of a jelly roll or a layer cake of Pure (like my charm pack up above!), head over to That's Sew Shawna and try your luck again :)

New goodies and giveaways!

Yesterday the mailman left these in the box for me:

I ordered them from Green Fairy Quilts, on Monday NIGHT, and they were in my mailbox on Thursday! The shop has GREAT prices and even better sales (the layer cake, charm pack, and shipping was less than 25$!), and the fact that it got here so fast makes it even better! I am not sure what I will do with them yet, but I love the charm pack colors and flowers, and may use them in a baby quilt. The colors in the layer cake match the living room decor quite well, also!

We are also sort of last minute planning Cullen's upcoming 2nd birthday party. It is in two weeks, which may not be THAT last minute, but I feel like invitations should have been sent out two weeks ago! It won't be too fancy, pizza and cake here at the house, but we are renting an inflatable jump house (40$ a day through the MWR!) and we have lots of water balloons that we never used this summer, so it should be a fun day. I am even thinking of maybe finding a little pinata ;)

Here are two more Accuquilt Go! giveaways, also:

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts (ending Friday!)

Millie's Quilting (ending Saturday!)

OH how I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get my hands on one :) I keep crossing my fingers that one day that lovely random generator site will favor ME ;)

My first bag!

So I finally broke into the Moda Freebird Charm pack I won. I had been planning to use it to make a bag/purse, but just didn't know what I wanted to do. I love following tutorials, and I think it's amazing that people are nice enough to take their time to show beginners like me how to make great things. For a long time, I had this tutorial from MBS open in an extra tab, planning to use the charms to make that bag, but decided that it didn't completely fit what I had in mind... So, while I was debating about it, I happened to find an old purse of mine in the garage:


I bought it in Chinatown in San Francisco back in 2005, and as you can see, it was VERY well loved and well used for a long time! So, without actually FOLLOWING the tutorial, I took ideas from that purse (the pieced top and placement of the straps), and ideas from the Chinatown purse (the solid border and more "rectangle-ish" look) and voila!- this came together:


It is definitely FAR from perfect, but I absolutely love how it came out, and since it is just for me the imperfections are okay. I love tutorials, but sometimes its even better to just sketch out some ideas, work out some measurements, fly by the seat of your pants, and see what comes of it! A very small part of me wishes I had used some.... less loved.... fabric, and not immediately used the charm pack, but there is still about half leftover for something else... Hmm Maybe a matching coupon clutch? Those are so fun to make!

I did learn a few things I will have to remember for the next bag I make, however:

• I need stronger/thicker interfacing. I thought it would be okay since it worked so well for the coupon clutch, but I guess because of the way it was folded, it already was much thicker than this simple tote.
• I need a new technique for the straps (probably SHOULD have followed the tutorial for that part, the way it is done there is much easier, and would have come out much nicer, but I wanted to use fewer charms)
• Stronger fabric for the interior lining. I used a pale yellow from my stash that coordinates with the exterior beautifully, but I am worried that it is so thin, that even my keys might one day poke a hole in the bag.
  
• The brown I used for the borders is from Moda Marbles, and I absolutely love it! It came in a box from Heidi (from Handmade by Heidi) when she was giving away loads of fabric and scraps when she was getting ready to move. I only have scraps of the brown left now, but I do have lots of blue on the shelf. I love how great patterned fabrics look mixed with solids, but I just don't like buying solids alot. The marbles, to me, are a great alternative! You still get the one color, but with some illusion of texture!

There were some other things when I was thinking about it in my head last night, but of course I can't remember now! Oh, and -once again- I apologize for the picture quality... Best I can do right now, but SUNDAY Shaine comes home with the new digital camera he bought. Did I mention that he broke my old one (the one who had been through a deployment, a pregnancy, cross country move, and the birth and first 18 months of my sons life). I was quite partial to it, after more than two years, desert, sand, and international trips, it still worked great, held a charge for a long time, and had GREAT picture quality (12MP). Somehow Shaine thought it would be a good idea to put it in his checked baggage-- the big duffel bag with all his shoes, clothes, and random uniform items-- on his way back from Italy. The conversation when he got home and turned it on to try to show me the pictures was actually quite amusing...

Shaine-- "Babe, I think you're going to be mad at me?"
Me-- "Why is that?"
Shaine-- "Because I think I broke your camera..."
Me-- "Oh no, sad, but not mad, because now you get to buy me a new one!"

That was about a month ago, and we would have gotten a new one sooner, but Shaine graciously allowed me to switch around our "wishlist" priorities so that I got my sewing machine sooner. Until he gets home though, we have to settle for iphone pictures. Now, I just have to find some beautifully scenic area in my house/yard that I can display things when I take pictures.... It seems all of you bloggers live in houses that look like they came out of magazines! I see beautiful furniture, hardwood floors, fabulous decorations, amazing patios, green GRASS (we just have weeds. It's green, at least, and better than the dirt patch we had for a back yard a few weeks ago, but still mostly weeds). I'm jealous of you all!

New Sewing Machine! (And a few new giveaways!)

Well, just after my last post, my sewing machine decided to take a dive... The shuttle thingy (excuse me for not knowing proper terms!) that spins around to pick up the bobbin string no longer spins. I am sure it is an easy fix, but above my head. The ironic thing is that while I was trying to peek and see if I could fix it myself, I realized what the problem was with my bobbin tension the last few weeks! Anyway, considering the sewing machine cost me less than 100$ to begin with, and I still need to buy the 25$ walker foot to fit it, I am sure you can guess that I am not exactly jumping to pay for servicing/repair. I had been hinting at Shaine that I wanted a new sewing machine anyway, and I have seen tons of good reviews on the Brother CS6000i sewing machine. It's inexpensive, COMES WITH the walker foot-- as well as several other nifty feet and accessories, and an extension table, and all for 153$ when all was said, done, and totalled up! I don't need a super fancy several hundred dollar machine, and probably won't for a long time, if ever, and if all the 900+ reviews speak truth, this machine is good for basic quilting and will last me a long time. I sure hope so! If any of you have used this machine, please let me know! Either way I am POSITIVE it will be MUCH better than the Singer Inspiration 4205 that I impulse bought two years ago without any research. Don't get me wrong, it did what I wanted it to do, but for a little bit larger of an investment I could have had much more!

So, since Shaine and Little Man are leaving me for TEN WHOLE DAYS on Friday (is it wrong to be excited about some alone time?!), I told Shaine I NEEDED the new machine before he left. Well, we ordered it last night, and it is supposed to be here tomorrow. I am so excited! I can not wait! I have some great ideas for new crafts, and can't wait to post them when they are finished!

The charm pack I won from Bev at 44th Street Fabric came in the mail yesterday! It is Freebird, by MoMo for Moda. So cute, and I could not be more excited! I am thinking a cute tote/purse? Maybe a matching clutch too!

Anyway, until I get my new machine and some new projects underway, here are a couple great giveaways I have found lately.... Be sure to check out the blogs themselves, too, lots of great stuff there!

• Fabric to make a replica of the really awesome bag she has a tutorial for at That's Sew Mandy
• Six gorgeous fat quarters at Jewel's Arm Candy
• Quilt kit, pattern and fabric from Moda's Blush line (Soooo pretty!) at Stash Manicure
• Fantastic giveaway with TEN prizes and winners at Portland Modern Quilt Guild!
  

Good Luck!