Some boy fabric in my girly house!

I was super lucky last week and won a giveaway by Fabricworm on AnneMarie's blog Gen X Quilters. The ladies at Fabricworm were so fast sending out the bundle I won!

Isn't it a fantastic bundle!? I love the way they put fabrics together. A big thank you to Fabricworm!!

Seeing all these boy friendly fabrics reminded me that I still hadn't made the boy burp cloths that were on my to-do list. The mommas to be are coming for a playdate with their older kids this week so I figured I'd get them done. There are 2 mommies so I made duplicates of everything since they'll be opening them together.

I made these with some of the Fabricworm fabric. How cute are those tractors!?

The rest of these were stash fabrics that I had in mind for this project. Happy to be able to cross another project off my wip list. And excited to have a little something for the expecting moms!

Another trip to the post office

I think they are getting to know me there. The woman who works there has finally stopped being totally nasty to me! So what goodies were going to the post office?

First off, the samples for my mother of the birdbath blocks. What do you think - bone or white?? I'm going to be interested to see what she says. And because I have a brag a little, my two year old saw these on the wall and said, "mommy made octagons!".  Why yes I did little one.  The truth: I think she learned that watching Umizoomi.

The second thing I was delivering was my Pretty {little} Pouch Swap. I really struggled with this swap and I'm hoping I did my partner proud. I usually have that burst of inspiration. You know - as Oprah calls it - the aha moment. That one never came this time. I'm not sure if it's because we were working on such a small size or what.  So I tried to come up with something that would best suit what I think my partners tastes are. She's been super busy at the moment and so pretty quiet on the flickr boards.  Hopefully I got her tastes right!

Of course I couldn't stop with just one. That little guy needed a friend!

Hope you like them partner!

WIP Wednesday {24}

This week really went quickly. Maybe it was the holiday. Or the constant rain? Either way, we have sunshine today - yay! eta - it was sunny when I wrote this yesterday. not looking so good for today. :(

Finished this week:
Pretty {little} Pouch Swap -  I think I want to do a separate post for this shortly.
Fabric organization -  I got some breathable drawers at Target and finally have a place to put the fabric I folded so nicely.

In Progress:
King Size Bird Bath - working on the sample blocks to send for a decision by my mom. The Kona bone definitely goes with the Aviary2 colors better, but my mom has her heart set on white. It will be interesting to see what she decides. They both look great though.

Supernova - I am in the middle of quilting this one. I keep doing it in shifts because I get so bored quilting straight lines. I think I need to break out of my mold and do some free motion on an upcoming project.

For the Supernova I've also settled on and cut out my binding. I hope the bold binding doesn't take away from the quilt. I debated a lot on what to bind this one with.

 I've finally settled on my 3x6 Bee block and did the mock up in my colors. All the fabrics have been pulled for my partners, I just need to get piecing.

Pattern testing for a friend - in progress. No photos at this point!

And my biggest WIP - the bathroom! I'm proud to say I stripped all the wallpaper in that room in a little over 2 hrs.

There were 4 different wallpapers in that room and some came off a lot easier than others. There is one little section that hubby will have to do because I couldn't get a ladder close enough to reach it. But phase one is done! The walls look good enough to paint. Now for the patching of holes. Interesting side note - I think the wallpaper was original to the house (1969) because when I peeled it off the walls are just primed and there is writing on one about where the pieces should go.
Here's the view from the outside room (laundry) through the door. I'm deciding on my paint colors. The purple is out due to the laundry room being red! All the rest of my color swatches are gray. There are a LOT of grays to pick from in the store.

Pending my attention: (same as last week)
PMQG Charm Pack Challenge - I think I know what I'm doing for this, I just need to do it!
Boy burp cloths
Amy Butler Bag
curtains

Total WIP's this week:10

Stop by Lee's at Freshly Pieced to see what everyone else is doing!

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

I got to pick up my Bernina over the weekend. And I'm happy to say it's running well! And for those of you who know the place I used for service, they stood behind the machine and did the repairs at no charge! Yay! I'm so happy to have it back.

That's my Supernova getting quilted. I don't have much else to show since I've been helping a friend out with a project that can't be shown. But I do have a little PSA. Don't cut binding when you are tired! We were having some seriously early mornings last week due to a child who can't tell time. I decided to do continuously cut bias binding while I was a little sleepy and made a mistake when lining up my drawn lines. Instead of one strip or a bunch of loops, I wound up with double wide binding!

It was easy enough to fix. I just had to cut it in half and sewed the two strips together, but it was funny all the same.

Central Park Postage Stamp Quilt Finished!

It's finally done! My postage stamp quilt from PS I Quilt's quilt along (that's really a mouthful!). This was such a great quilt along. I highly recommend it for anyone! Especially if you have a jelly roll that you don't know what to do with. I mean really - look at this....

And some more.

I've been calling this my liberation quilt. I was a pinner before I did this quilt along. When Rachel mentioned that she doesn't ever pin I finally let go and just matched the seams as I went along. And it turned out beautifully. Now I don't really do much pinning.

I finished all the quilting at the PMQG sewing day last Saturday.  I just did straight diagonal lines through the white blocks.

I decided on a solid back (except for my label of course).

I'm so happy with how it turned out. Thank you Rachel for a great quilt along!! This one is all mine. It's living on my couch now.

Quilt Stats:

Quilt Name: Central Park Postage Stamp (original huh?)

Pattern: Quilt a long by PS I Quilt

Fabrics: Central Park and Kona White Jelly rolls

Finished size: 61"x81"

Finished: 4/19/11

WIP Wednesday {23}

Well, thanks to a super generous friend at PMQG, I'm back in business.  She's loaned me her back up machine so I can keep on sewing! Actually a couple of generous members offered to loan me one. I can not say enough about the wonderful people in this guild! Thanks guys!



So here's what I've been up to this week.

Finished this week:
PMQG pillow swap: on the way home from the meeting last  night I realized I never took a photo of my pillow! That's a first for me. Hopefully Andrew has one from the meeting and posts it to the guild site.
My postage stamp quilt!! And if it ever stops raining here I'll post some full photos of it. I'm seriously in love with this quilt.

In progress: lots of fabric pulling
King Size Birdbath: I received my solids and the one print I was missing from Marmalade fabrics to go with the Aviary 2 for this quilt for my mother. I'm going to make her some sample blocks in Bone (thanks for the suggestion!) and White to let her make that decision.

I've been pulling fabrics for my 3x6 Bee blocks which lead to some fabric organization. And not really a surprise to me, I've got a lot of purple and blue!

I pulled everyone's fabric for 3x6  and then changed my mind on my block again! This one is it, no more flip flopping.
Supernova: I got the blocks together before taking my machine in. Now i just need to border it and i'll be back on schedule.

Pretty {Little} pouch swap: I've decided on some Modern Meadow for this pouch. I do want to make a mockup first in some cheapy fabric first though.

Pending my attention:
PMQG Charm Pack Challenge
Boy burp cloths
Amy Butler Bag
curtains

Total in progress this week - 8

And last week I mentioned I was thinking about getting EQ7 for mother's day. I've gotten lots of great info on that, thanks everyone! Does anyone know anything about the Quilt Pro software? That one is Mac compatible and will be easier for me to run. Just curious if you like it, etc!

Head on over to Freshly Pieced to see what everyone else is up to this week.

Another sewing hiatus?

The verdict is in. I took the machine to the repair place and they've kept it to make adjustments. I'm seriously annoyed. I have a Bernina and it wasn't cheap. Meanwhile I've had it in I think 4 times in the last year and 2 months that I've owned it. That's way too much right?  I'm thinking they shouldn't be charging me for this latest repair. Especially since it was just in for repair in January after having been tuned in November. Am I right or am I just angry?

The other thing I'm aggravated about is the service. They tell me the sewing machine man will be in on Friday. But oh wait, since it's a holiday, he may be in a different day. But - they don't know. And all the rentals are gone, so call to see if they come back and if the repair man has come in.
Really? Do they not know I'm going through withdrawal without my machine? I think my future career should be sewing machine repair. First so I can take care of my junk machine and second because it seems like a pretty flexible job no?

sigh.

I've let them know I'm not happy with it. I think when I go back I'm going to ask about any buy back or trade in programs they may have. The problem is all they sell is Bernina and Brother and I don't think I want either of those.


At any rate. My type A tendencies are going a little crazy during naptime without a sewing machine. I always have to have a project. I've been cleaning my closet and pulling out my spring and summer clothing. I also did some more fabric organizing.

And I think this project is next on my list. Warning - bad photos ahead!

 This is my main floor powder room, you know, the one guests get to see? It's where country floral went to die. There is not only a border on the top of the room...

There's one on the bottom too! And that pinky red color? That's a striped wallpaper too.

My favorite? The balloon valance and lacey cafe curtain. It's hard to see, but it's fabulous. And really, this is a first floor bathroom - how about some privacy?

Thankfully the previous owners did update the sink and toilet so they are nice. All this really needs is wallpaper stripped and painted and replace the window treatments. I'm nervous about peeling the wallpaper though because the walls are plaster. Hubby has scared me by saying it might not come off smooth and then we'll have to wallpaper over it! Have you removed paper from plaster? Any tips??

Also I haven't decided on what color to paint this room. For reference, the room that leads to this is our laundry room and it's that burgundy/red that was pretty popular a few years ago. And the tile on the floor is kind of a mottled pink. The rest of the downstairs is either white or a neutral peachy/orange. The bathroom is really tiny so I'm afraid to go dark. What do you think? I was kind of thinking light gray since I've been on a gray kick. Have you done a gray that you love? I'd love ideas.

Saturday Sewing Day

On Saturday I went to my first Philly MQG Sewing day. It was a dreary rainy day so it was perfect for staying inside and sewing. And so much fun to hang out with the fun PMQG members. If you've been thinking of joining, you absolutely should, everyone is very friendly and fun.

Here's part of the group going about their business. Yes, we have a foozball table and a pool table at our location. And amazingly, no one played! Everyone was way too busy sewing, chatting and getting a sugar buzz.

I was working on my Postage Stamp quilt. This was the perfect place for me to do the quilting. Quilting is my least favorite part of the whole process. It just gets so monotonous and I hate fighting the weight and bulk of a quilt. So I loved being able to stop and walk around and chat when I needed a break from it. And I got input on what I was doing too.

I'm happy to say I got the quilting finished during sewing day and I'm now binding it. Hope to have finished photos soon.

Here's my table. Both Anna and I were working on Central Park projects. Actually, I believe there were 4 of us there working on Central Park - it's what all the cool kids are doing.
Speaking of cool kids, the most exciting part of the day for me was finding out that the coolest kid of all, Miss Tula Pink herself, had posted about me on Facebook. My inner sewing nerd went berserk! She posted about my Cameo Hoop. I am so excited that she saw it. And even more excited that she thought it was worthy of posting!
And the mystery of the day....

Candi was sewing and her thread popped out of the needle without breaking!! Crazy. Anyone ever see that before?
So everyone keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm taking my sewing machine to the local dealer/service store today to have them take a look at it. I'm sure they are going to tell me nothing is wrong with it. But it is seriously frustrating me. My thread breaks on the top and I'm constantly cleaning it and changing the needles. After discussions with everyone over the weekend. I KNOW this isn't normal so hopefully I know enough to convince the service shop. But at the same time - I hope they don't have to keep it!

A wonderful package received

I was having a rough day on Friday. But I knew my weekend was going to be good when at the end of the day my Make Mine Modern swap package arrived. Look at all the wonderfulness that I got from my partner Julie Antinucci!!

That's the Amy Butler Little Stitches for Little Ones book. {Should be used a lot because I have about a half dozen friends having babies.} A pretty journal, thread, rickrack, buttons and fat quarters! Whew!!

First off is the awesome market bag. The box that the whole package was shipped in fits inside this so that is stays open! So clever. I already used it to drag my stuff to sewing day.

And look at this cute little detail. She  put her logo on the bag!

And then there is this gorgeous bag. I should have gotten a close up shot of the Joseph's Coat block. It's perfectly beautiful! She split it in half and put one on each side of the bag.

And the inside is reversible! And it's made from the same fabric that I made my daughters baby quilt from. Every time I see it it makes me happy! It's also the perfect size for my laptop, I've already gotten the opportunity to use it also for sewing day.
I've also been waiting to takes photos of something in that tree. It's my favorite tree outside our house and everything has been too heavy to hang on it.
So a big thank you to Julie for such beautiful stuff! I'll post more later about our PMQG sewing day.