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!