UFO -Joy In the New Year Challenge

Jacquie over at Tallgrass Prairie Studio is hosting a UFO Joy in the Year Challenge. I have a few UFO's myself to finish up. So my goal for this challenge is to finish up 7. I think this is a doable goal.
Thanks Jacquie for helping us out on this.
Oh did I mention that she is giving out prizes? Go check it out.

DQS7 Inspiration

Inspiration for DQS7
Originally uploaded by fireflylanedesigns

Hopefully this will help my swap partner get to know me a little better.
truthfully there are so many talented people participating in the DQS7 that I am not worried a bit at what little quilt will come to my house to live. Because I know it will be wonderful.
Now I just need to figure out what to make my partner.

Favorite Things Swap

Did you hear? Kelly over at According to Kelly is having another Favorite Things Swap again this year. Last year this was so much fun. So if you missed it last year get on over there and sign up for this year, I guarantee that you won't want to miss it.

Did you hear??

Twiddletails is having a giveaway! She is giving away an Oh-Cherry-Oh charm pack, just for posting a comment on her blog.

Now what are you waiting for? Get over there and post.

Shabby Garden Swap Goodies

So recently I signed up for the Shabby Garden Mini Garden Swap hosted by Emilie.
We each knew who are partners were. And can I just say that my partner, Gina totally out did herself on the package that she sent me.
The cute little tiles that you can see below are actually plant markers that she made, For Me!
She also sent the cutest package of flower pens which are wonderful, I have already used them. The nut brittle that is hiding in the back is GONE! and it was Delicious. I can't wait to plant the herbs. And I already used the darling gardening gloves last night while working in the yard.
Thanks again Gina, you are awesome. I just hope that she likes what I sent her.

Sweet Girl, a Chicken and a Zebra

So I have this sweet girl. She also has a chicken that goes with her almost everywhere. Well last week on Friday, Grandpa had a zebra sent to her by Cassie from You Go Girl Designs. Isn't this zebra just adorable? Her name is Zinny and Rachael adores her, I think as must as Chicken Doodle.

Thank you Dad and Cassie for the wonderful surprise you gave to Rachael.

Later I will post the surprise that I got.

My Sweet Little Girl

I have a sweet little girl that I love to sew for. So on Saturday night I decided that she needed a new dress to wear to church. I had bought this darling mushroom fabric at Joann's of all places. And then the polka dot is from the Garden Party line from Anna Maria Horner and I think goes darling together. I surprised her with it on Sunday morning when she woke up and she was so excited. She loves it so much that she wore it again today.
Now I am off to make some outfits for Easter. See ya.

AQB2 Block Finished

Here is the block that I made for Stephanie. She requested it to be the spiderweb block and then she sent us the fabrics. I think that this is going to be a fantastic quilt. I have had this block made for a few weeks but just barely mailed it out today. I hope that she likes it. Or better yet that her hubby likes it, because according to Stephanie the quilt is for him.

Happy Birthday Sweetie

Today is my Sweetie's birthday. He is thirty-nine today. It is alright for me to say that because I turned 39 on St. Patrick's Day. Yes he married an older woman.

He took the day off and we played all day. He is the best husband and daddy. And he is my best friend.

Happy Birthday Honey. I love you. Hope you had a great day.

Another Quilt Finished

I have finished yet another quilt. This time it was commissioned by a friend of mine for a friend of hers. She ordered it in November, but said she was not in a hurry for it, it's a good thing since it took me until yesterday to finish it. But it turned out beautifully.

All it is, is just scraps of fabrics sewn together and then quilted. The back is finished with a sage green chenille. I then bound it with a sage green and cream polka dot fabric.

Since it was a gift, I decided to gift wrap it for her and made a coordinating gift card for it, using the binding fabric and a cute pink button. She is taking it to her friend this weekend. I hope she likes it.

I Spy...

A sick girl under a brand new snuggly quilt.
Rachael helped pick out the i spy fabrics for this quilt out of my stash
and has been patiently waiting for me to finish it.


This quilt measures 55"x 66". And there is two of every block.
I got the inspiration for this quilt from Sarah, when she made this quilt.

Rachael went with me to pick the fabric for the back of her quilt.

She picked this happy striped flannel.

Here is the quilt all folded and snuggly looking.

This also gives me another finished project for March.

Have a great weekend. Off to take care of my sick sweetie pie.

Some March Finishes...

for the OPAM challenge. I am really liking this challenge because it is making me finish up projects that have been waiting to get done. Thanks Kris and May for hosting this.

an I spy quilt for my sweet girl (inspired by Sarah's i spy placemat).

It measures about 13.5x19

this is the back.

I just love the frogs and the polkadots together.

a bib for a trade out of my scraps

A wall hanging with a wonky log cabin as the focus. It measures 15x15.

This is going with some FQ's to Aimee.

Check back later this week for some more March finishes and a giveaway. Next week is my Birthday and I would like to give some lucky person a gift.

A Sweet and Swanky Giveaway

Credit: picture from V and Co. blog

Did you hear Vanessa at V and Co. is having a giveaway. All you have to do is go over there and post a comment about anything and then on Thursday she will hold a drawing for either a sweet or swanky honeybun from Moda.
And then if you post about it and link back to Vanessa's blog she will enter your name two times!
Wow! Vanessa you are the coolest person.
I really hope that she picks my name these Honeybuns look good enough to eat without any guilt.

What I've Been up to

So I've noticed that I haven't blogged for about a week. So I will show you what I have been up to.

I have had so much fun making the maverick stars block for the Bushfire project, that I made a baby size I spy maverick stars quilt out of flannel. It measures about 36x48. I think that it will make some sweetie pie in Australia very happy.

I also signed up for the Spring Fat Quarter Swap and this is what I got in the mail on Saturday from Aimee. She sent these wonderful fat quarters and then a surprise, this darling pin cushion. I just all of it so much. Thanks so much Aimee.

I also am participating in the SMS Fat Quarter Swap, so I have been getting squishy mail almost every day. Here is what has come so far.

this one is from Dani Kittelmamnn

This is from Anna Watkins

And this little lovely is from Joyce Moore, and is my first piece of Joel Dewberry. It is decorator weight and will work perfectly on the fabric boxes that I have been making for my Ikea shelving.

I have also been making these little fabric boxes for my sewing room but forgot to take pictures will post later.

So that's it. Now I am off to have Family Home Evening with my family.

bye for now.

Bush Fire Project

Over the weekend I finished my blocks for Tia for the Bushfire Project. I also found a baby quilt top while cleaning my sewing room that I am going to donate. My heart goes out to the people of Australia who are being affected by the horrible devistation that the wildfires are causing.

Valentine Hearts Quilt Finished...

FINALLY!! I pieced this quilt together last January(2008) thinking that I would have it finished for Valentine's of 2008. And it has sat pieced since then. It would have been done last week except that when I washed it some of the hearts frayed past the stitching..grrr!

So I had to go around all the hearts again! I think this is a fun quilt but not sure how much I love the frayed look. But my little 5 1/2 year old valentine LOVES it. So I guess that it all that matters. Plus the entire quilt including the back was from my stash.

I also get to count this as a completed WISP for February.

Wishing for Spring??

Then check out this swap, hosted by Darci at Stitchesscissors.com. She is hosting a wishing is was spring fat quarter swap. She is taking signups for a week. So get on over there and sign up. What are you waiting for??

Maybe TOO Much of a Good Thing?

I have been reading a few of the posts over at Sew Mama Sew, about people's fabric stashes. I thought this might be fun to participate in, although I am slightly embarrashed but just HOW MUCH fabric I do have. I am excited to say that I have been in my sewing room lately and have been organizing my fabric so that it is easier to use because now I know exactly what I have.

What do you usually sew?
I love to sew boutique clothing for my children and baby gifts. I also like to make quilts. Pretty much if it can be sewn and requires fabric I like to make it.

When you shop for fabric, what size cuts do you usually buy? (i.e. If you see something beautiful, but you don’t have a use for it right away, how much do you buy?)

I usually buy 1-3 yards of a fabric if I really love it and think that I might make my daughter an outfit, lately if I am wanting fabric for a possible quilt I will just buy a half yard. The good thing is, is that I use cotton fabric for most clothing and quilting so I can use the fabrics for either.

Do you buy on impulse or do you go out looking for something you need?

YES! But lately I am trying to just use my stash and not go shopping.

Are you a pre-washer? If you are, do you wash your fabric before you need it, or only when you’re ready to use it?

I generally put my fabric in the laundry room as soon as bring it home. But if the fabric is for a project that I know will not need washing I like to leave the sizing in and don't wash.

Do you iron it?

If it gets wrinkly.

How do you sort it? (color, print size, collection, etc.)

My cotton quilting/clothing fabrics I sort by color. I put all my flannels together. And any of my chenilles go together. And then I have all my novelty fabrics together. My nicer clothing fabrics hang up in my sewing room closet.

Do you have any special folding techniques?

I just recently organized all my fabrics and refolded them using this technique by Monica at The Happy Zombie. And I LOVE IT! It takes up far less space and I can see EVERYTHING at a glance.

How do you store your fabric?

I have shelving that I store my fabric that is 1/2 yard and more on. Smaller than a half yard I have sterilite drawer containers. I hang the nice fabric and my scraps I have organized by color in see thru containers and baskets.

What tips do you have for building up a well-rounded stash?

I think that you need good variety in the fabrics that you love but not necessarily a ton of fabrics. If you have friends that quilt arrange a swap to help build variety in your stash.( i have never done this but always thought it sounded fun).

When do you say enough is enough?

I think that I am at that point. Because do I really NEED all this fabric?? And do I really LOVE ALL of it!?

What are some of your favorite stash-busting projects?

Lately I have been making a lot of scrap quilts, which I am totally loving. Right now I am working on a string quilt for my daughter's bed. It is scrappy but I am being picking about the scraps I am using because I want it too look a certain wayI also love the method that Amanda Jean uses over at Crazymomquilts, where for instance you take say your pink fabrics and just keep sewing pieces of fabrics togther until you get a large enough piece and keep doing that until it is big enough for a quilt. Here is an example of one that Amanda Jean has made.

And here is a picture of one that I made.

Do you have a current favorite print in your stash? Let’s see it!
I have several favorites.

What’s your definition of the perfect stash?

I feel that I have a pretty great stash.

I feel fortunate that I can pretty much create a quilt from start to finish entirely from my stash.

I look at is as "Fabric Food Storage".

I don't think it really matters how large or small your stash is, the important thing is that you love what you have. And only buy fabrics that really make you happy.

Memory Game is...

Finished!! I can't believe that it took me so long to finish this fun little game. I started when Rachael was 3 1/2(she's now 5 1/2). I got this ideas from Amy at Happythings and thoght it was a great way to use up some of my novelty fabric stash. Yes this is all from my stash.

I am really please how it turned out. The "cards" are approximately 4x5 and I sandwhiched batting in between to make them soft. I also made a cute drawstring bag to hold the little darlings. Now my 7 month old and my daughter can both play with this. Instead of it collecting dust in my sewing room. And I get to add this to my WISPS for 2009 completed list.

Have a happy day!

Spreading the Love Giveaway

Hey! Did you hear?? Kim over at Bitty Bits and Pieces is having a 100th post giveaway.

You must go and check it out, she has some fabulous prizes. In order to get your name into the drawing all you need to do is post a comment on her blog and she will enter your name. And if you post about on your own blog she will enter your name 5 TIMES.

So what are you waiting for? Get over there and check it out.

January WISP Completed

I finally finished this quilt. I think I started it back in the beginning of summer. This was inspired by Amanda's house of girls quilt. I used only fabric from my stash with the exception of the back which is pink chenille. The quilt measures 42x45. I really enjoyed this method of quilt making. All I did was take pieces of fabric and sew them together, until I had a quilt. I will definitely be making this type of quilt again.

New Challenge

So I just signed up for the one project a month challenge, hosted by May Britt and Kris.
The goal is to finish up one WISP(work in slow progress) project and then make a monthly list on your blog of the projects that were finished in that month. So, since I have several quilt tops that are just waiting to be quilted I decided that this would be great motivation. I will be posting a picture of my first WISP project for the month of January shortly.

Favorites

I snagged this meme from Sarah over at House of Krom. Here is my variation...
my favorite -
color - Periwinkle
food - giordano's stuffed pizza with spinach and cheese
vegetable - Sweet Potatoe/yam
dessert - chocolate pudding served warm with redi whip
drink - water or milk
tv show - not really a favorite
reality show - Biggest Loser
hobby -sewing anything ie, quilting or making something for my daughter
movie - i have several
children's movie - Enchanted
child - just kidding
time of day - night
season - whatever is warm
ice cream - Most all of them.
favorite activity - spending time with my children and Hubby.
favorite snack- orville redenbacher 100 mini bag kettle corn
celebrity i would like to meet - Bill Harper or Jillian Michaels
type of clothes to wear - Yoga pants and a fleece pullover shirt

How about those Utes!!

Way to go Utes!!

They blew Alabama out of the water. Everybody except Utah fans said that Utah didn't have a chance at winning the Sugar Bowl. But Utah kicked their Hiney!!!

Way to put Utah on the Map!