Oh, Happy {Mail} Day

These delicious FQs of Tula Pink's latest collection, "Prince Charming", arrived on my doorstep today! I was thrilled, especially because I only ordered them 3 days ago! And yes... I have already studied, fawned over, and stroked all 30 of them ;) *Please ignore that pesky shadow on the lower left*

LOOK AT THE BIKES!!! Eeeeeep!

I'll be awhile before I get to cut into these babies - I need to finish up my W(s)IP! That will give me time to look for the perfect quilt pattern ~ any suggestions?!?



The Wrench - A Different Sort of WIP...

Okay - I hope I don't bore you too much with this, but I'm going to post about the rather large wrench that has been tossed into our life here, and has caused more than a few headaches (literal and figurative) and also has kept me away from my sewing machine and the laptop for a bit.

OUR WATER HEATER. The thing was apparently only a few years younger than myself... oops. It was "born" in 1987. It's not something we often checked (obviously) - if the water was hot, we thought the ol' water heater was A.O.K. As it turns out, it had developed a very slow leak, who knows how long ago. The result?! Water damage. Lots of it. Not only did the heater itself need replacing, but the stand it was on and the cabinet it was in (located in our garage) had been completely corroded and infected with mold. SO when the construction started on that, they found that the damage extended into the house. Bad. Enough gab, I'll just show you what we've got now:

So... we have our internet connection back (of course, the damage was in the "office/extra bedroom" where our cable was set up). We have our shiny, new water heater (1st pic). And sizeable holes in the walls. Finally, yesterday, I was able to sew up a couple more of these...

Over halfway done! And just so this post isn't completely useless - the tutorial I used is found here.







"Cozy Dreams" for Grandma

I'm calling this quilt "Cozy Dreams" :)

'Cozy' because I hope that's what it will make my hubby's Grandma (as I mentioned in my previous post, she is elderly and has trouble with always feeling cold).

'Dreams' because of the fabric collection I used: "Dream On" by Urban Chiks.

Quilt Stats

measures approx. 57"x57"

• Fabric used: "Dream On" (layer cake) and bound with a print from "Sugar" for Art Gallery Fabrics ( ---------->)
• backing is pieced with white super flannel and a row of Dream On blocks
• simply quilted with a crosshatch through the blocks
• batting is Quilter's Dream Delux (high loft) *Note* I hadn't used this batting before, but I wanted the warmest option for this quilt so I deviated from my usual Warm and Natural. The Quilter's Dream was fine, but I will probably just stick with Warm and Natural or Warm and White from now on. I found this batting to be a bit on the heavy side and it didn't seem significanly warmer than the "Warms" when I was under it stitching the binding.
• bound with 2.25" binding (straight-of-grain, double-fold) - machine stitched to the front and hand-stitched to the back. 

The Front

The Back (nevermind the Hubster's tennies/socks) 

The Quilt Roll

 The Chair Drape



I'm pleased with how "Cozy Dreams" turned out and I hope Grandma Liliane enjoys it! After this simple quilt, I'm ready for something a bit more challenging, which is why I joined up with the Kaleidoscope Quiltalong (see my new sidebar button) hosted by Elizabeth over at Don't Call Me Betsy. The fun starts with fabric requirements being posted this Friday (6/3)! 'Can't wait!!

WIP Wednesday #28

I'm linking this post up to WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced.

I'm currenly working on quite a few things, but I wanted to share a specific one today - this is a quilt that will be sent to my husband's grandmother. She is in her 80's and in poor health, so I thought a quilt made from this cheery, springy fabric collection would give her something happy to enjoy. It is just a simple patchwork layout, I went with this for a few reasons: (1) I love this fabric and wanted it to really shine, (2) I really like the look, and (3) I need to finish this quilt ASAP, as Grandma Lilliane lives in Switzerland and shipping packages there often takes quite some time!

I finished up the quit top this morning, so now all that's left is to piece the backing, layer, quilt (I'm thinking a simple cross-hatching through the patchwork), bind, wash, and ship! Well... in a list that sounds like a lot! I am glad to at least have the top done, though!!

Have fun checking out all the other projects in progress at Freshly Pieced!

Happy WIP Wednesday!

A Button!

A very quick Monday post to say... WE HAVE A BUTTON!!! Directly to the right of this post, on my sidebar, I now have a Vintage Bicycle button that you can feel free to grab and share on your blog, if you're so inclined!!

As a brief sidenote - tomorrow is my oldest girl's last day of Kindergarten! As she keeps reminding me, after tomorrow I'm going to be a mom of a 1st grader - yikes! I made a little wristlet pouch for her teacher and one for her teacher's helper. Here's the only one I snapped a pic of before she gave them to her teachers today.

Oops, not sure why the pic won't load upright!!!! Oh well, you get the gist ;)

Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday



Finally, A Finish!

It's a perfect rainy morning (thus the indoor photos) to share my recently finished quilt. I've shared about this quilt here before, but I've finally found the time to finish it up. This quilt is a gift for a special new boy who was just born to a family that we're close friends with. I used a Lily and Will charm pack by Bunny Hill Designs. I sewed up some pinwheels and scattered them in with some great Kona solid squares and backed the quilt with a really cozy blue flannel. I stippled pretty closely over the entire thing and bound it with Kona solid in Tarragon. This was my first time using bias binding and overall, I like it. There were a few hiccups, but I think the process will go a bit more smoothly next time. The pics were taken before washing, so the finished product will be more crinkly and cozy :)

This is a close-up of the back - the color isn't very true in this photo (the shade of the backing is much closer to the peek of it in the first photo), but it was the only decent shot I was able to get of the quilting.

I'm linking up to Fabric Tuesday again, so head over there (via the button on my sidebar) and see all the great fabric projects being shared!!