My First Quilting Bee - Fabrics are Ready to go!

Yahoo!

I decided what fabrics I was sending out for the My First Quilting Bee. I'm almost done hand quilting JellyBean's Beatrix Potter quilt, and she just needs another quilt. Since we moved in late June I just got around to clearing out one of my filing cabinet drawers, and lo and behold I found the *perfect* fabric for her new quilt.

I got this fabric when I was pregnant with Bean in 2008, and it's been sitting waiting to be made into something awesome.

I've decided to ask for improv blocks, or for the participants of the bee to do whatever they feel like with the fabric. Just be inspired by it.



And naturally I had to make 2 sample blocks. I do have 4 made, but can't find 2 of them!

Here are my sample improv blocks. They measure 12.5 inches, so they'll finish at 12.

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.

Photos, Freebies, Idea and a Swap

Phew - the title of the post says it all huh? First things first - I finished 1 more block on JellyBean's quilt - I'll take pictures of that later. I need to charge the camera battery. It's coming together nicely, if I do say so myself.

I also made a block. I used up some scraps to make it, and now that the one block is made, I've no idea what to do with it.


Freebies: While surfing the web I found this site: http://www.lizzyhouse.typepad.com/freeabee/ <- all these goodies will only be available until August 15 - grab them while you can! It's got great ideas for all you crafty people. I'm sure some of you know about the site already, but I figured I'd share anyway.

Idea: Fall Quilt Contest <- I'm entering this one, I've never done a contest before (I've always been afraid of it!) I'll let you all know when I've completed my quilt. I've got a good idea for what I'm going to do for this, and I'll share some sneak-peaks as I make it. My goal is to start it this weekend - and since it can be a wall-hanging, I've got the time to do it. And if I can transfer my idea onto paper and then onto fabric, it just might look good.

My second Idea is coming together for the Block of the Month that I'll be offering here for free. I'm working on a sketch that can be used for Applique or Embroidery for a quilt block, or a mini quilt. I'm going to start the Block of the Month in September, I think that'll be the easiest thing for me to do, and put it up at the 1st of each month. I'm planning on having each of the unfinished blocks be 12.5 inches, so finished they'll be 12". And here's a hint - it'll have a teddy bear in it.

And the Swap: I've signed up for ModernJax's Scrappy Christmas Block Swap (see link to the right). It's closed for sign ups now, but I figured out some of the fabrics I'm going to use for my blocks. This will be my first swap in a long time - so I really hope what I make is up to par with those of you who do swapping regularly. But of course, I just *had* to buy more Christmas fabric, because you can never have enough.. or enough fabric in general. I don't need more fabric, but that's ok.. it's for all those "future" projects. Since I participated in the FabShopHop I found some amazing stores that had Christmas fabric for pretty cheap - so naturally I had to get some. But here is a sampling of the fabrics I'll be using for the Scrappy Christmas Block Swap:


Close up of what will be the center of the blocks:
This one is a little glittery. I love this fabric, and I've been saving it for the right project:


And I love this fabric too -it's SnowPeople!


All the Fabrics I've got so far:












A Few Close Ups of Bordering Fabrics:










And just for fun - my stash:

I do have more in a Rubbermaid tote, but this is the majority of the fabric I have.