Wow!

I can't believe it's been three months since I've posted anything!  Time sure does fly, doesn't it?  lol  Since being upset with the hubs... we CeLEbrAteD our daughters High School Graduation;  we went on a great family vacation to northern Tennessee - which included going to the Country Music Festival in Nashville, TN; Ziplining; visiting Lynchburg, TN; visiting a little quilt shop that we discovered driving up the highway; lots of food; lots of fun; and most of all NINE glorious days with my hubs and both of our amazing kids!  This summer also started a new chapter in my life as I've started a new job and our daughter has officially started college!  We got in a couple of fantastic motorcycle rides; went to baseball game....  wow!  No wonder I'm exhausted?!  hahaha!  I guess I always thought my life would slow down a little once both of my kids graduated...  boy, was I wrong?!  lol  It would seem it's gotten busier! 

It the midst of everything else, I also managed to make two half-square baby/lap quilts, teach my nieces to hand-stitch hexagons together; work on my daughters Kalidescope quilt, finish my oldest nieces twin-size quilt and do a little on my youngest nieces quilt. 

I've even made plans to attend a few quilting events with some of my husbands cousins that love to quilt, too!  I'm looking forward to it, too!  

Well, I'm finishing up some certifications for my new job so I better get back to it....  I have one test left and I'll doing a happy-dance when it's over!  LOL

Grrrrr!

as much as I love my husband......  he's about to get slapped up side the head!!!  grrrr!  he's been in a foul mood for several days and it's starting to irritate me!  

for years, everytime my husband eats something he gives the last bite to our dog......  he's the only person the dog begs from like this!  but then he gets pissed at the dog for begging?!  what the heck?!  YOU made him that way! 

if you choose to sit and eat a fist full of cookies and they crumble all over the place..... dont shove the remaining cookies into the dogs face so they fall to pieces all over the damn floor then get mad about it!  ugh?!

sorry........  if I don't vent here i'm liable to actually slap him!  lol

Oh My Goodness! Oh My Goodness!

This isn't related to scrapbooking or quilting but I couldn't resist sharing this!  I'm an Iced Coffee Fan thru and thru and here's a blogger with the perfect recipe!   Click *HERE* for the recipe!  Also, be sure to check out the entire blog as she shares delicious recipes! 

The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Book

I'm so excited!!!  I ordered this on Sunday and it arrived TODAY!!  WOW!  Thank You Amazon.com for your AWESOME service!!!  After drooling over all the beautiful blocks I see others making from this book, I knew I had to have it! 

I'm sorry this pic is so small....  I borrowed it from Amazon.com



I do have a question though...  has anyone else realized that block # 102 and block # 107 are the exact same block?   I'm just asking....  but they are the same.  Infact,  if you look at the last post I made prior to this particular post...  I did two blocks - identical pattern but one is pink the other yellow - it just so happens to be the same as blocks #102 & 107. 

I'm looking forward to making these blocks.  I'm not part of the group that is doing them together but I'm still going to dig in!  Just as soon as I get some of these other projects off my table!  I think I know which fabrics I want to use.  I've recently purchased enough yardage to do a huge quilt for my own bed and after looking through this book, I think I've just found the pattern (or patternS in this case!) that I'm going to use! 

Have a great night! 

UFO's & WIP's....

ya' know...  it's always nice to see those piles dwindling down!  There's a great joy in knowing that you are FINALLY getting some things done and off your UFO/WIP list(s)! 

My daughter has been asking for a quilt since just before Christmas.  She knew what colors she wanted but everytime I tried to get her to select a pattern...  she would "like" several but never just had that one "jump out" at her.  Until, that is..........  she seen the Kalidescope quilt done by Allison over at Cluck Cluck Sew! 

I started cutting the pieces Friday evening - everybody in our house had plans Friday night so the dog and I stayed home together!  He snored while I cut fabric!  lol  I was up early Saturday morning (as usual!) so I started assembling the pieces into the squares needed for this project.  Then sewed the squared into rows.  Now that all the rows have been sewn together and the primary part of the top is finished, I need to add a border (maybe two) then it will be ready to layer, baste & quilt!

I have a few pics but don't want to share them just yet.  I noticed last week when I was finishing my nephews quilt that I do pics of the tops and share them before they are finished but  never share the finished product!  So I'm trying to get into that habit....  we'll see how long that lasts!  lol

Once my daughters quilt is finished, I need to get the two done for my nieces (yes, they are already started!) and then I need to finish Hannah's....  once those 3 are done I have one that's been patiently waiting for about 4 years to be completed....  I'm ready to get it out of the way!!!  It's a photo quilt for someone - but I can't tell you who it's for incase they read my blog!  lol 

So, with that said, I need to get back to work!  Have a great Sunday!

Some new blocks...

!This block is from the Craftsy BOM - it's block #1 (of 2) for February.  It was actually pretty simple to do which surprised me!  I just kept looking at all those triangles and really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get them assembled.  HA!  Was I fooled!  If you want to know an easy-peasy way of making this block just jump over to the Crafty site *here* and watch the "Block Of the Month" for February. 

Pink for Megan * Yellow for Hope

Both of these blocks are made using the same pattern.  The original pattern called for the center to be done with the background fabric (the white one in this case) but I wanted to see what it would look like done with the all yellow.  I really like how it turned out!

 This one is the traditional style for this block.  I really like it too!

I made a few other blocks last night, too but they didn't make it on to the camera just yet.  They need a little more work!  lol 

Happy Crafting!

"Crossroads" for Colby

That's what I'm calling this quilt.  It's for my nephew, Colby.  He'll be 3 in August and this is supposed to be his birthday present.... although I may have to give it to him now!  lol  I'm never this early with a birthday gift but when I seen this Moda Honeybun - Zippety Doo Dah - I couldn't resist!  It has Colby's name written all over it!  It didn't take very long to come up with this pattern.  The strips in the honeybun are 1 1/2" wide.  I started by sorting them into color-groups and then just started putting a Red, Cream & Blue together for each set of 3.  Once they were sewn and pressed I cut  3 1/2" sections and just started playing around until I came up with this pattern. 

If you look closely at the cream strips between the blocks, you'll see that it's a "homespun" fabric which isn't exactly "quilt material" but it was truly the closest thing I could come up with when I was looking for a cream fabric.  Am I happy with it?  No.  Not at all.  I'll never make that mistake again.   I wanted to have a cream sashing around each block and then just have the red sashing around the outter part of that.  I ripped out so many seams just trying to line up the blocks - because "homespun" is so loosely woven that it pulls and distorts very easily - that I finally said enough was enough!  I didn't have the energy to rip out the smaller pieces between the blocks but I guess it didn't turn out too terribly bad the way it is.  All the red sashing is cut at 2".

The striped blue fabric - or "ticking" as it's also known - around the outter edge is from some yardage that was in one of several boxes of fabric that was given to me a few years ago.  I had no idea what I was going to do with all of it but when I started this quilt for Colby I knew exactly what I was going to use it for!  I cut the "ticking" at 6 1/2". 

Each block has it's own unique personality....  just like Colby!  lol 

This is just a closer view of some of the blocks but you can see a little of the ticking off to the left of the picture.  Although it's a different shade of blue than the rest of the quilt I think it's a good match. 

Tomorrow I'll layer and baste then start quilting....  I'm just not sure how I want to quilt it though.  Probably just meandering, like I usually do.  That seems to work best for me! lol

Happy Crafting!  Have a great night! 

I've been playing with new patterns!

New to ME, that is!  LOL  I happened to hit JoAnn's at the perfect time because not only was I armed with a fist full of coupons this weekend...  they had a TON of stuff on sale at really good markdowns!  I was excited because this is the chance I had been waiting for!  The chance to try new things!!!

 Have you ever seen something made by someone else and you're just in complete awe by the beauty?

Or seen something with about a GAZILLION tiny pieces in it and thought to yourself, "good grief?! I could never do that!" 

Well, that's sort of how I have been feeling about some of these gorgeous quilt patterns I keep drooling over!   A few nights ago I found an awesome tutorial on the 'Lil Twister pattern and WOW!!!  Talk about SUPER EASY!!!  *I'll share that link as soon as I can find it again!   Click HERE for awesome tutorial!

Of course, this 'Lil Twister is a 'lil elusive!  I've never seen this template anywhere so where did I go to get it?  EBAY of course!  All I did was type in "quilt supplies" and VOILA!!  There it was!  With a pretty little "Buy Me Now" button right beside it!  lol   The price was right so I hit that button!  Now this was Sunday evening...  I was supposed to be "watching" the football game but who can watch a stinking football game when your team isn't playing?!  I can't!!  lol  anyways....  like I said, that was Sunday evening and here it is....  Wednesday....  and my 'Lil Twister is in my mailbox!!!  Just waiting for me to use it!  And use it, I did!!! 

I've been playing with pinks and greens for about a week now so I figured I'd keep right on going with that theme! 

Here's my version of a 'Lil Twister.....

I've been making  placemats for my kitchen in the pinks & greens so I'm thinking this will be going in the center of my table!  : ) 

Last night I was playing with these little hexagon pieces...  you know, the ones we're supposed to measure our fabric around, cut it out, then run a basting stitch around it, then iron it, then attempt to dig that little plactic piece out!  Yea, well....  it didn't go exactly as planned!  I tried to follow the instructions!  Honestly, I did!  But when it got to the point where I was supposed to dig out that little plastic hexagon...  it just wasn't happening!  I couldn't get it out!  I used the little stick-thingy that comes with the shapes and well..........  that was a joke!  I'm sorry to say but that was one of my LEAST favorite pieces to create!  So I got the bright idea to use the shapes to cut out my pieces but instead of standing on my head to get them un-done I decided to use them for pressing purposes and that seems to work pretty well for me! 

Here are a few that I did last night. I'm in the process of making quilts for each of my 2 lovely nieces and their little brother.  Hope, the oldest, loves the color yellow so hers will be in shades of yellow.  Megan, the middle one, loves the color pink...  guess what color her's is going to be?!  lol  So what I've been doing is trying out all these new quilt patterns and making two of everything....  one in PINK and one in YELLOW....  these are definately going into the girls quilts!

These next two blocks are also going into the girls quilts!  It's the same pattern as the 'Lil Twister but on a larger version!  The actual size of the finished square is 13". 

Happy Quilting!!

For Hannah...

Hannah is my sons girlfriend and we think the world of her!  She lives across the hay field so if I ever wonder where my son is when he's not home or not working....  I know right where to find him!  lol 

I have been trying out new things using my scraps and this is what I've come up with so far.....

I started by stitching odds and ends together to make a decent sized piece of fabric.  I decided I wanted to try doing something with triangles so that's where the green came in.  So if you look at the other half of those squares, you'll see all the different scraps I used to make those squares.

  There is no pattern to this - just me, my imagination and lots of scraps to utilize!  lol

Hannah likes pinks and greens to that's where the color scheme comes from but other than that...  it's just quilt-as-I-go!  I'm planning on giving this to her for her graduation in May so I need to get back to work! 

Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting!

Such a Proud Momma!

I'm so proud of my daughter!  She makes an effort to "try" whatever I'm doing or making at the time....  whether it's scrapbooking...  painting... cooking... quilting... but her patience and attention sometimes runs short and she loses interest. LOL  She's 18...  a Senior in high school, an Honor Student, works a part-time job, has a boyfriend and is active in various sports....  so she's a pretty busy girl!  We went shopping out by Pittsburgh about three-weeks before Christmas and of course we hit up the giant JoAnn's in Greensburg!  I could have spent all day there!  LOL  I had a mission and a fist-full of coupons!  I was in search of the camo fabric for my son's Christmas quilt and my daughter was just looking around, waiting on me to get done. She was asking me questions about quilting and while I was trying to explain some things to her,  we came across some packets of "BOM's" that were on clearance sale.  She fell in love with the colors and asked if I would mind if she tried it.  Well, HELLO?!?!  I was thrilled!  This was one more thing we could share!  She was all pumped to do this!  I showed her how to hand-sew the pieces and to work at keeping the stitches small and in a straight line.  She did really well with it.  But.....  like most things that are tiny and time-consuming.....  she put it aside and forgot about it.

Well, this morning I finally decided I was sick of looking at it laying on my scrapbooking table and asked her what she was going to do with it or did she just want me to finish it and be done with it?  Nope.  SHE was going to finish it!!  I offered to show her how to use my new sewing machine.....  *cringe*.....  lol   I turned the speed down, wound a bobbin and showed her what to do.  She took off from there! She would stitch a seam and then go press (or "set" ) it.    The whole time I'm just smiling and loving every minute of this!  Yes, she had to tear out a few seams and wasn't happy about it but once she realized that you can't just slap it together and that you really had to take your time and line up the seams and keep your stitching consistant and even...  she kept that momentum going and actually finished it!!!  And it's BEAUTIFUL!!! 

When we picked up the BOM packet we also got an extra blue & green FQ  because the actual finished square was only 8 inches.  The red printed fabric in the corners was from my stash but the red was a perfect match to the red square in the center.  I should mention that the BOM packet had pieces for TWO 8 inch blocks so she made both and used them to make a pillow.

I think she did a fabulous job on this and I couldn't be more proud of her and her first quilting project! She just need to hand-stitch the bottom closed and it will completed! 

Great Job, Stacie!  You done a great job on this!

Love, Mom!

Lots Going On...

I've been working on so many different projects in the last few days...  plus working my full-time job...  I keep asking my husband if he could win the lottery so I could quit my job...  that way I can just craft & create all day and all night!  lol  he just laughs!  grrr!

I don't have any pics to upload yet but I will in a few more days.

Check back soon to see what I'm rambling about!  : )

Ugh!! I told you I couldn't wait!!!

I knew that I couldn't wait a year to finish this quilt!  lol  There's no way!  I'm way too impatient!  Well, because of that "lovely trait" I now have to re-do my two January BOM's!  Plus, I have to start all over with fabric selection!  ugh?!   Oh well, I do it to myself!

Anyways, here it is!  Here's my Wonky Quilt - as a tribute to the Pittsburgh Steelers! 

All that's left is the layering, quilting & binding and then it's ready for me to use!!

Craftsy Block Of the Month #2

As promised...  here's the 2nd block for the month of January over at the CRAFTSY site.  The instructor is the awesome Amy Gibson and if you would like to check out her personal website just click on her name!  I promise you won't be disappointed!

None of us that are signed up for Amy's class over at Craftsy are sure what our BOM Quilts are going to look like in the end and because I'm somewhat of an impatient person I think I'm going to create another set of these blocks for the BOM project and then just keep going with the "wonky" blocks I've started and get this Steelers Quilt finished!  I have a few ideas up my sleeve for some other crazy blocks and I'm looking forward to wrapping up in it while I watch the Steelers roll into the Super Bowl and go for that extra ring! 

 Here's a shot of both blocks together ~ Amy will be assigning two blocks per month and truth be told, she could assign two a week! They are so easy - and that makes it fun! Let's face it, quilting can be a little intimidating! But with Amy's instruction, it's more fun than not! 

I came to the conclusion some time ago that quilting is a lot like scrapbooking....  there's no right way or wrong way!  But rather, your own interpretation of whatever you're creating! Join us if you'd like!  It's FREE....  it's FUN....  and you will LEARN so much! 

Make sure you come on back to see whatelse I've got going on and don't forget to stop by in February to see the next BOM's!

Craftsy Block Of the Month!

I recently found this craft site and I have to admit - I  LOVE  IT!!!!  It's so inspiring!  The site offers various courses and I found a "Block Of the Month" course that is being taught by none other than the amazing Amy Gibson - she is definately a fresh inspiration!   I've been ckecking out her site and everything she creates is absolutely beautiful!  She makes it seem so easy, too! 

Each month there will be two blocks to make so to see the craft site for the "Block Of the Month" just click *HERE*   In the meantime, I'm going to share my very first "Block Of the Month" with you - keep the laughter down to a minimum!  lol  I've spent 3 days just trying to decide what fabric I wanted to use and I finally decided that I was going to use the Black & Yellow fabric I've been collecting - actually, everytime I see something in those colors in the remnant bin I grab it right up!  Yes, I'm a STEELERS FAN and this is my tribute to the  Pittsburgh Steelers!  It will be going with me everytime I go to the Steelers Training Camp and stand in line for hours just to meet the players! 

So here it is..........  Block #1........... 

Come on back to see the #2 block in a few days!  I'm trying to pace myself!  hahaha! 

**Happy New Year**

Happy New Year to all my friends & family!  May you be blessed beyond your wildest dreams in 2012!

As usual, we got together with some very dear friends for New Year's Eve and we always have a good time with them!  Laughing and catching up on all the things that transpired during the outgoing year! 

I've been feeling a lot better physically than I was a few months ago so that means I'll be getting a LOT of projects completed that I started at various times!  I'm looking forward to it!  In 2012 you will be seeing a lot of completed goodies that I have stashed away in my room!  Quilts...  scrapbooking items... cards...

I'm not sure if I'm off to a good start or not though! lol I'm having an allergy attack and it's really irritating me.... drippy nose... itchy throat... sneezing... not how I want to start my new year! lol oh well! If I count my blessings they far out-weigh any allergy attack I can have! So bring it on! 2012... I'm looking forward to all you have instore for me!!