Quilting and Knitting up a storm

But no pictures. Because I am lazy. And my son never sleeps. I've got the weekend off, so I'm thinking that I should be able to snap some pictures of my finished things for blog fodder next week.

I finished quilting my monster quilt, and I'm super happy with the way it turned out. I just have to attach the binding and wash and it's done. Yea! I think I'm going to try Red Pepper Quilts binding method. I've been trying to figure out a nice way to machine stitch the binding down, and I like the way she's done it.

On the knitting front, I finished my brother's sweater. And he promptly left the state. So, I've put off weaving in the gazillion ends for awhile. I should finish it and block it so that when he comes back he can wear it.

Other than that, not much going on. I joined ANOTHER bee. Yes. I may be crazy. This one is focusing on the string method, which I've always wanted to try. This month we're doing spiderweb blocks. I can't wait to start.

And, a little heads up for my peeps, October is a big month for me. Stay tuned. You may get some free stuff out of me. :)

Solid Bee Block. Oct

October is my month for the Solid Bee Block. And these are the fabrics I picked. Totally out of my normal range of color. Which is good! I'm asking for a wonky log cabin. I think this will be fun!

The Worlds Best Sandwich

Or, Why I May Die from a Heart Attack before I'm 35.

This sandwich was dreamed up by my husband. It is seriously the best. thing. ever.

First, fry up bacon. Lots of bacon. We use No Name Thick Cut Pepper. Then spread butter over bread and toast it. Just enough to make it crispy. I always get one of those short fat french loaves in the bakery section.

Next, tell your 2 yr old not to eat the stick of butter.

While the bread is toasting mix up the sauce. Which is equal parts Mayo and Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy (chipotle) BBQ sauce.

When Bacon is done, drain most of the grease out of the pan, but not all. Then throw 1 pound of deli turkey in the pan and heat it up. When it's good and warm, I split it into half and then throw on provolone cheese to melt. Slice up an avocado, add a little lime juice and salt. Then put it all together. turkey with melty cheese, bacon, avocados and drizzle sauce. Super yum. This makes enough for 4 people for one meal, or 2.5 people to eat twice.

Thursday

Today is my third day off in a row. Which is pretty refreshing after the pissy weekend I had. The house isn't any cleaner, there has been no sewing done, some knitting, baking and playing with play-doh. The lawn didn't get mowed. But you know what? I don't care. It's nice to just do whatever it is I've been doing these last three days.

I'm going to go back to rolling little balls of play-doh for my son. But first I thought I'd share this picture with you. I was quilting and J grabbed his notebook and color pencils and sat down to work while I was sewing. Thankfully the camera was close by.

Solid Bee Block. Sept Edition

So we were sent some pink, yellow and white fabric and told to make pin wheels. I had a ton of fun searching out a pin wheel to make. I wanted something really different. Then I found the Amish Pinwheel and I knew I found the one. I added a couple frames around the edge to get it to the right size, and because I wanted to use up as much of the fabric as I could. I still have to snip threads on this one. :)

And, because I had a wee bit of fabric left, and I love tiny little things, I added some white from my stash and made a MinPin block. :) Yes. Bad pun. I'm sorry. It's just too cute! Tiny! I luv it. :)

Quilt Top Done and some Knitting!

So I finished the quilt top for our bedroom. It's Swirly Girls Design pattern called "Equal Rights" There are eleventy billion triangles. Holy crap that was work. But I"m super happy with how it turned out. Now I just have to save up to get it quilted. I know a lady that rents her machine out and teaches you how to quilt. So, that's what I"m going to do. The backing is the light colored one with dots. I love that one. I'm not sure what I'm going to bind it in yet, but that's a ways off. I tried really hard with this one to just 'let go'. I tossed all the printed triangles in a bag, and just pulled them out and stitched them up. I would put one back if it was the same one I had just pulled out, but other than that, I just sewed. When I sewed the rows together, I tried to just do it. I wiggled a couple around, if there were too many pieces that we close, but again, I just tried to go with it.

On the knitting front, Sock Knitters Anonymous is back for a 4th year in a row! This months' challenge is hard for me. Black or white is the color of the month. Which I thought would be easy, but I can't find a patten I want to knit! WTF? So I'm going to do a patten by the chosen designer instead of the color challenge.

I think I'm going to go toss a load of laundry in, do the dishes and then skein up my yarn. I've got a sick kid at home, so it's just been a lazy day. If I have to watch Thomas one more time, I'm going to lose it. :)

Using up stash

So I've been working on some various projects to clean out my stash. This makes me happy on

several levels. Being creative and using what I've collected.

This one was inspired and made using Cluck.Cluck.Sew. tutorial. I loved the little offset boxes, so I had to make my own. I built this quilt around the dark pink bird fabric. It's hopscotch by red rooster. After I got my blocks finished I threw them up on my design wall. For like a month. I moved them around and then I moved them around some more. I finally came up with an arrangement that I was happy with. But I was just not feeling the sashing. I just thought white would be the color. But it was boring. It didn't pop. I just happened to have some brown left over from a different project, and I threw that up on the wall.

Totally different. That makes me really happy. So I went with the brown. I"m pretty sure the color is "Coffee" by Kona. I've got it all sewn together, but didn't take a picture of that. So you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see that. Now I'm just stuck on the backing. Do I piece it together? I've got the light pink and some birds left over that would work, but I'm not sold on that yet. It's hanging on my wall, so I can stare at it for a week or so. :)

1 week old

My nephew Mason!

Quilt By me. Photo and Baby by my SIL. :)

Fixing...Messing with...

Whatever you call it. Tweaking maybe? I don't know. I'm playing with my blog layout, so if you notice anything really crazy, I'm sorry. I'm working on having that fixed. My old set up was weird for posting pictures. They could only be super tiny. So I grabbed this template so I could post them a little larger. Easier on the eyes I think. Now I'm just tryign to make it my own, with my very limited html know how. :)

Cheater Cheater

I made this for a friend that had a baby on Monday. She is not a pastel kind of person. When I saw this panel, I knew I wanted to make it. Then I found out she was preggers, so I knew I had a match. I feel totally like a cheater cheater pumpkin eater because it's a panel. I still quilted it and everything. But still. She loves it and that's all that matters. I used Kona Honey Dew to bind it off. I didn't get a pick of the back, but it's a pink and burgandy print that matches the colors in the urchin.

Pictures!

This is one of the quilts I put together while my hubby was in San Diego. I had seen some on flickr like this, and decided to make up one of my own. I cut 2 1/2 inch strips and sewed them together. Then I cut those strips 7 1/2 inches. I slapped another strip on the top and bottom and done! I used some fat quarter I had laying around from a baby quilt I was going to make oh.. 5 years ago. :) The border is pieced from the leftovers. So much fun! I quilted it in white thread, just going about 1/4 an inch on either side of the seams. So it's a grid pattern. Simple, but striking I think.

What? You love it? You want it? Well, Lucky You! It's up in my etsy shop.

Also. I went and did something crazy. I started a bee. You know, a quilting bee? The theme is Solids. Just using solids. No prints. It can be a single color, or a rainbow of them. But only solids. Head on over to Solid Bee Block for more details and to join! Right now there are 2 peeps that have joined, so there is room for 10 more. Hurray! Act Today! No Delay!

Thoughts about Stash.

Since I don't have photo editing software on this thing yet, there are no pictures to share today. Sorry. Instead, I've cracked my skull a little, to let the crazy out and you guys (okay. You guy. My one faithful reader) in.

So I've been thinking about my stash, and stashing habits lately. Why I stash, what I stash. You know. Deep Thoughts. I have come to a realization that I am a collector. A hoarder if you will. My thoughts are along the lines of "I love it. I must own it all. If I use it up it will be gone forever." So, it sits. Lovely yarn or fabric just sits and waits. Which, after further thought, seems really dumb. Because if I USE it, I get to enjoy it while I'm knitting. Or put it into a quilt and then have a finished quilt that I or someone else will love and see all day. Instead of sitting in my craft room. Waiting for their full potential to be met.

While my hubby was away, I re-did my craft room and now I can see what I have. I pulled out 3 garbage bags of fabric that I no longer love, and won't use. People. That is just crazy. Now, granted I bought alot of this stuff years ago, before I had a husband, a kid and a house. But really. How long should I keep holding on to this stuff that I'm never going to use? So I was honest with myself, and got rid of a bunch. I also made it so I could see what I have, instead of hiding it away in rubbermaid tubs. If I can see it, I can use it. If I see it, I won't buy new stuff that I don't need. Well, that's the hope anyway.

A good example is fabric I'm cutting for a quilt. I bought a bunch of black and white fabric, wanting to "someday" make a black and white quilt. I bought that fabric before I starting dating my hubby. 7 years ago. I think 'someday' has come. I starting cutting into it last night. I didn't break out into a sweat. It didn't kill me. Hell, there is nothing special about that fabric. It's just fabric. I'm even throwing tiny pieces away, instead of saving them. Shocker!

When I was in college, I learned that once people went from a hunter gather society to a more settled lifestyle, they didn't need to hunt to live. But people still do. Those are the people that hunt for toys from their childhood. Baseball cards. Stripey Sock yarn. Whatever floats your boat. They hunt, they find, they collect. No reason really, except to fill some deep seated instinctual urge. Well, I'm breaking that habit. Mostly because I don't want to turn into my Grandmother, who couldn't throw anything out. She was a child of the depression, and saved everything. When she died and they cleaned out her house, she had 3 garbage bags of the waistband from men's' underwear. 3 bags. Of worn out elastic from Grandpa's skivies.

So. In my rambling way, I guess I'm saying this. I am going to start USING what I have. Knitting up that pretty sock yarn, instead of petting it and dreaming about the socks it will make. I will make those socks. I will cut that fabric. I will make a quilt. I will keep it and love it, or give it away and be happy it's making someone else happy. There will always be new yarn to love and pet. New fabric that is just the right shade of pink. Why am I saving all of the goodies? Wouldn't it suck if I died tomorrow, and my husband just sent it off to the salvation army? (Don't worry. My BFF Rose has strict instructions as to what her job is when I kick)

Use it or Get rid of it. Then get new stuff. That's my new motto. :)

Thoughts? Comments? Hints and tips?

Hello Blog World!

Okay. Let me whine a moment. I cut the heck out of the tip of my index finger yesterday fixing the ac and it hurts! A band aid doesn't want to stick and of course, it's right were I type. argh! But the ac is not leaking water any more, so that's a plus. *end whine*

While Michael was in San Diego, I finished 2 baby sized quilt tops. Of course, I left them at work when I showed them off to the girls, so I haven't gotten pictures yet. I work tonight, so I hope I'll remember them this time.

I cut out a wonky block quilt top and sewed it up yesterday. I just need sashing and it's finished.

Now. here's the funny part of the whole being productive thing. I cleaned out my craft room and it's lovely in there. But I've found if I haul my cutting mat or sewing machine upstairs and work in the kitchen during nap time, I get a ton done. I think it's because I can hear the kid when he wake ups, or I can sneak away while he's playing trains and cut a bit. So. Lovely craft room= no work. Working on the kitchen island = work done.

I think if I ever get these tops quilted, I'm going to toss them up on etsy. Maybe they'll sell. If not, I've got a stack of baby quilts ready for when all those people I know pop. Seriously. I think I know about 15 people birthing babies this year. Anyone else out there overwhelmed with babies? Not everyone I know is getting a quilt. Some are getting knit hats or flannel receiving blankets. I have a system. Blood relatives get a quilt. Good friends get a blanket and friends/coworkers get a knit hat. I have a bunch of hats to make, but they're super cute, made out of sock yarn. Hooray for using up leftovers.

ha!

I got me a laptop! It's a tiny little dell and I got it from my brother. Well, it;s sorta on loan until I pay him, or decide I want a ipad. :)

Which means, while I'm in bed with J watching toy story, I can surf the net. woo!

Another Baby Quilt!

This one is for a friends baby girl that was born last Sept. *oops* I made it before her first birthday! That should count. Right? It's my go to baby quilt pattern, Yellow Brick Road. Which I think I've made 6 like this, and am now over that pattern. It's all different shades of pink, with some Zebra print thrown in for fun. Because the Mom said "not too pink" Ha! Anyway. The light is crap as it was evening, and I just wanted to get this taken so I could mail it away.

Done!

It's finished! The quilt for my soon to be here niece or nephew

My SIL asked for green. So that's what she got. :)

The Quilt is from the Denyse Schmidt Quilts book. Flock of Triangles is the name. I used Kona Cotton White for the solid and lots of green. Some I had in stash, some I bought just for this project. I either got 1/4 yard cuts or fat quarters. I think there are about 8 different prints in there. I used the same green on the backing as I used for binding. I just quilted straight lines down the center of each triangle. Simple, yet beautiful. I hope the little one enjoys it!

We are not gonna die. You know why? Because we are so... very... pretty. We are just too pretty for God to let us die.

Watching Firefly while the boy naps. Bliss! :)

I joined the World Cup Hexagon Month over on Flickr. Because I am crazy. And I had this purple hexagon quilt laying around untouched for like.. 7 years. So I've been working on it again. Which is nice to do while sitting around while Johnathan plays trains. I sew a little, fix the track that baby Godzilla trashed, and repeat.

I finished the quilt for my up and coming niece or nephew. It's all done, ready to go to it's new home. I snapped some pictures of it, and we'll see how they turn out, as soon as the battery recharges. It's raining here, so I may need some new ones when it's sunny out.

Other than that, nothing new here. Johnathan fell down on Sunday and whacked his head and bled. I think I handled it pretty well. No tears from me. I just kept repeating.. heads wound bleed a lot...head wounds bleed a lot. He's fine. No stitches needed and no permanent damage. But still. Scary.

Seriously?

You know. I hope and wish and pray for a time when my life slows down a little. Gets more towards 'normal'. Whatever that is.

Lately I feel as if I've been flying 9 million miles an hour. I'm tired and I feel like I don't get anything done. Just go go go. It's weird really.

Last week was especially bad. Lots of bumps along the way. Some bad news, and more bad news, and then my Mom's retina detached and it was down to the cities for emergency eye surgery. Thankfully she's fine, and it seems to be healing well, and Johnathan was a little angel in the waiting room. But still. Last week kicked my ass.

Thankfully I've had Tuesday and Wednesday off, and I'm feeling a little better. I also have this weekend off. And if I bust my butt and get the housework caught up, I'm doing only fun creative things this weekend. Sewing. Knitting. Whatever my heart desires. Well, that and running after the worlds busiest 2 year old. Who, by the way is off the charts at 38 1/4 inches tall. 100th percentile. Damn. He's going to be taller then me by Christmas. :)

Anyway. He's napping and I should go do more laundry. Or something.

Pictures. As Promised.

First up, because I love it so much. Is the yarn I got at Craftstravaganza. Or, Craftapoloza. As I like to call it. :)

Dudes. Is that not the prettiest yarn you've seen in a long time? It's from the very sweet and very talented Aisha Celia Designs. She had some really great handspun and variegated ones. But this was the one for me. Well, I would have bought many many more had I had more money. :)

Next up is the little sweater I'm making for J.

It's the Wonder Years pattern that you can find online or over at Ravelry. Loving it so far. Making a size 3T.

And finally, a little sewing. A quilt that I finished sewing the top while I was pregnant with J.

I was hoping to get it done before his bday, but that's not happening.

The pattern is Yellow Brick Road by Atkinson Designs. I used a bunch of fat quarters I collected while pregnant and shopping. :) Not sure yet what I"m going to bind it with. The backing is just a solid green kona.

Dude.

It's been so long since I've blogged that I forgot my password. Nice. :)

So. Let's see. What is exciting as of late?

Hrm...

Couple weeks back Hubby, J and I went to the cities to hit the annual Craftstravaganzia at the state fair grounds. I bought a lovely skein of yarn from a local dyer, and as soon as I can find the camera, I'll post a link and a pic. I could have seriously spent a ton of money at her booth. But I was good. I only bought 1 skein of sock yarn.

I've been working on some kai-mei socks, out of Yarntini cabana boy. They're lovely. I'm on the second sock, and the ribbing part is nice to knit while watching tv.

We did a little yard landscaping last weekend. Again, as with everything, pics someday.

Cast on a shallowtail shawl last night. Yarntini Concord. Lovely dark purple color.

My baby turns TWO on thursday. I'm not sure where the time has gone. To celebrate we're having a little gathering on saturday. And Hubby and I are going to try to make him a sandbox. Being as neither one of us is really handy with a saw, we'll see how it goes.

Working on a little button front cardigan for J. It's dark grey with light grey stripes. I think it will be super cute. I'm knitting a 3T in hopes it will fit him next winter.

I work at noon today, so I'm just puttering around this morning. Still in my jammies. I think I'll go toss some laundry in and maybe do the dishes. Super exciting, I know. But first, I think I'll dig out some fabric. I designed a quilt in my head last night at work. I cut out some paper this morning, and I think it'll work out nicely. So now on to find fabric. :)

But really... I should go finish polishing my toenail. Priorities!