Eating While Mommy Quilts

And here's a quick photo of Bean eating while Mommy quilts.



And mommy is officially crazy - I joined DQS8! :) Yay!

Goodbye 2009... Hello 2010!

Wow, this seems totally surreal to write - Hello 2010!!

May all of your new year wishes and resolutions come true.

Once, a while ago, my father told me that his resolution every year was to become a better person than he was last year. So Daddy, this one's for you: it's my resolution too, I will be a better person than I was last year.

I miss you Daddy. I can't believe that in May it'll be 3 years since you've left us.

And my other (hopefully stuck to resolutions):
~ Complete 4 baby quilts for Co-Workers
~ Complete my Coffee Quilt
~ Quilt the Red and White monstrosity.. (we'll see on this one)
~ Participate in at least 6 mini swaps
~ Get to 25 states for my personal mini challenge! :)
~ Make 15 mini quilts for the AAQI and my $1000 challenge
~ open up my own little store to sell mini quilt kits and mini quilts
~ Lose 25 pounds or more.

And on Monday - 6 mini quilts are getting mailed out!! So if you've been on my list of mini swappers (personal swaps) be on the lookout!

Show N Tell

Here are the other things that I've been working on lately.

This mini is going to a lovely lady in a personal swap:



It actually has been bound already, just need to label it.

Here's a close up of the hand quilting:


And this real mini quilt will be going in the package as well:


For Scale:


For Aunt Pitty Pat's Christmas Swap:
I'm in 2 groups, so I need to make 24 9-Patch blocks.
Here are 12 for Group 2.


This shows a truer color:


4 Seasons Holiday Quilt Swap:
This is it unbound, I just need to upload one of it that was bound.


Idea for the Inspired by the Fall swap:


I didn't sew anything for it yet - just playing with some placement.

Quick & Easy Elmo and Cookie Monster Cross Stitch

This was a mini project that I did for little JellyBean. She loves ELMO! So I came up with the pattern from a tiny web graphic I saw and just stitched it out. Took about 3 hours in total.



I got a cheap dollar store frame and just popped it in the frame. Here it is hanging up above JellyBean's crib. Now she wakes up and stands up to look and point at Elmo. You can hear her squealing and it's just totally adorable.




And here's the Cookie Monster one. I also used a computer web graphic to help me come up with this pattern.

First Snowfall is DONE! And a WIP

I just have to add the label to it and then I can show everyone! Next time I get it in my head to hand quilt with metallic thread, just smack me. It was so tough to get the quilting right with it. After one swirl, I realized I needed to double the thread (I know Quilt Police.. I know) but I was constantly breaking the thread and the only way I could get it to work and not break was to double it up. But in the end I think the doubled up metallic silver thread really looks awesome, and it looks like swirly snowflakes quilted in..

Hehe.. you have to wait until tomorrow to see the final photos.

And now, I've got no idea what to do with it, or where to put it. Terry and I moved into our house at the end of June, so our walls are still pretty bare.. and I'd like to keep it up for all of winter I think.

And just for fun.. here's Terry and me:


This is the WIP I was mentioning before:


This is going to probably also be hand quilted - the blocks are 12.5 inches each. Terry wanted me to make it for our wedding - 3 years ago! Oops.. I never finished it. I'm unsure of what design to quilt in it, I was thinking in each of the larger blocks something that is representative of us.. maybe in one block an outline of the USA, and one of the UK.. maybe an airplane, I'm just not sure. The quilt is about 120x120 without an extra border, and maybe I won't add one. I'm unsure about that. What would you do?

Sleepy Baby.. now with 3 teeth!

Little JellyBean is getting her 3rd tooth, and she's super tired because of it. But, problem is, little Bean only wants to cuddle her mommy. And that means Mommy can't get the last of her sewing done. Mommy needs to send out 3 swaps, so they'll be done tomorrow night, no matter what - Daddy is taking over the cuddling business instead of playing on his XBox. Mommy wants to have a little fun too!

Then I just need to put the final touches on a few other quilts, and I've got 2 of my personal swaps done! Yay! Go me!

Then, of course, I've signed up for the STUD mini - 2 of them actually: Woodland and Anything Goes (Halloween). And in my 6"-12" group we're signing up for Hawaiian style quilts or Hawaiian Themed. Since I've never made a Hawaiian quilt before, I figure a tiny mini would be an excellent way to try it out. And I've got a TON of hibiscus fabric which will be perfect for a Hawaiian themed quilt. I know just what I'm going to do for that one - and I've started getting out the fabric for it.

Till tomorrow when I get to show off the final versions of a few minis!

A few more things to show off..

And here are a few more things to show off to everyone!





These two trains were made by my father 26 years ago for me to play with. My husband and I were cleaning out my mom's attic (at her request) and we came across these trains. We got them down for JellyBean who's 9 months, and she loves playing with them. It would warm my fathers heart to know that she's playing with them. My Dad never got to meet JellyBean, he died in 2007, and it means the absolute world to me to know that my daughter loves something her Grandfather made with love. You can see JellyBean's hand in the bottom picture. She actually hasn't left the trains alone since we brought them down out of Mom's attic and washed them off. I think they've held up well for their age ;-)

And a Private Swap Quilt:
This is for the lovely Spiced Coffee on Flikr. She's my California! She picked "In the Garden" as her theme, and since I'm not a gardener (bugs need habitats too!!) I picked two things I just love in gardens - butterflies and flowers.

Here it is shown just after it was hand quilted, and before it was bound. The large flowers are raw edge appliqued, and the smaller flowers are backed with interfacing and sewn to the mini by tiny buttons. It's now winging it's way to California where Spiced Coffee will give it a lovely home.



A close up of the tiny flowers. They're about 1 1/4 inches each.


The back of Butterfly Garden. I couldn't really find any good "garden" fabric for the back, so I went with one that had flowers and butterflies and lily pads.

Ho Hum

Yep, that's what I'm feeling. Ho hum. Yesterday I was feeling awful about things in general. I've had to do so much stuff around the house, and I wasn't feeling appreciated at all. So I went on a bit of retail therapy. And it's funny because I've never liked retail therapy at all. I've wanted the new Sketchers Shape-Ups for a while, and I finally got them. They were so expensive ($104!!!) but I've been wearing them all day yesterday and so far today and I can really reel a difference in my calves, thighs and butt. Hey, if anything helps me to lose weight and strengthen my core, I'll try it. I really want to lose about 30 pounds, maybe more, and if these shoes can help, I'll give them a whirl. Plus, they're comfortable. :)

I've got a bunch of ideas planned out for the Stitchers Angel swap, and my Holiday Quilt Swap is in the process of being quilted, and my Scrappy Quilt Blocks are going in the mail probably on Saturday. If I can't get to the post office tomorrow, they'll have to wait until Monday. But all the blocks are done!

Terry, JellyBean and I are taking my mom to Washington DC on Saturday for my mom's birthday. The last time my mom was in Washington was probably 15-18 years ago, and she has never seen the World War II memorial, and she doesn't remember the Vietnam Memorial. So as a birthday gift to her Terry and I are taking her down to DC. My grandfather (Mom's father) fought and came home from WWII, and my other grandfather was a POW and KIA during WWII, so my father never knew his dad. My dad was born while his father was overseas and right before my dad's family found out that his father was MIA. So I think it'll be a beautiful thing for my mom to see the WWII Memorial. I know when Terry and I saw it in 2007 I just broke down crying because it was so powerful. And my father was not allowed to go to Vietnam because of the fact that his father died in action. The Navy didn't allow my father to enlist; and my father lost a lot of his friends in Nam. So when I went to the Vietnam Memorial I made an etching of my fathers friends names. Daddy died in May 2007, and I really miss him.