Glad to be back

I've not been blogging since my birthday and I think a great little gift has been part of the problem.  Back on July 25, my birthday, I had some friend's over for quilting and dinner.  While I'm pretty sure very little quilting was done, catching up was fun and one even brought over some quite yummy and colorful cupcakes.  This night certainly didn't make me stop posting.  But just days prior I received this wonderful gift

This little tablet is so much fun and so easy to take to the quilting room, play pandora and look at quilt patterns.  I have been sewing some fun stuff and can't wait to start showing that off.  One thing that is hard to do on this little thing is blog.  I can't type as quickly on it as the laptop so today I dusted off the laptop and stopped by to say hi. 

Back in August the Indy Modern Quilt Guild and Crimson Tate quilt shop did a great First Friday night and hung quilts along the cultural trail on Mass Ave.  Here's a great little look at all the wonderful quilts. 

Happy Quilting 

Cathy

 

Modern Quilting

Maybe I'm not completely a modern quilter but certainly a large part of me is in love with modern quilting.  I like simple designs is my home life;  furniture, art work, etc.  Seeing quilting move in that direction over the past few years has been fun.  I'm not sure if most of my quilts fit that category.  My newest quilt certainly does, at least in my mind.

The design started while watching the Quilt Show.  Ricky Tims showed how to make this split rail fence block.  It's a simple block with a fun little twist.  My head started designing this quilt as he is teaching this block.

I thought about the rail name in the block more than the fence.  I was raised in coal country in Eastern Kentucky.  One thing you notice, I didn't until I moved away, is coal dust is on everything.  I had a white car and it was amazing the amount of coal dust that you could wash off the car.  So dark gray seemed like the perfect background color.  I had a set of Kona modern quilt guild fat quarters and thought those bright colors would be perfect with the gray background.  Here is the completed top and I really do love this one!!

Now I just need to decide how to quilt it, seems a little more challenging with all the negative space. 

Happy Quilting

CDC

MIA

Wow, time does fly past quite quickly.  Quilting took a break for a good bit of the summer but I'm catching the quilting bug again.  It started with a table runner for Mother's day.  I worked really hard and was loving the way the table runner turned out.

Other than messing up my first partial seam this went together quite quickly and I thought looked great.  I even loved my quilting, which is a first for me.  It's a simple pattern but still adds to the beauty of the piece.

 

Then it was time for the binding and it was Saturday night.  I have never struggled some much.  I took the binding off 4 times and redid it and it was still a mess.  I was ready to cut this table runner into little pieces and never think about it again.  At that moment I decided to just step away.  Here you can see some of the left over mistakes (really it's not nearly as bad as it felt that night)

Now that a few months have passed I think I could take this binding off, one more time and really take my time and finish what I still think is a great table runner. 

Happy Quilting

CDC

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

I knew April would bring some changes for all the lives in the house.  My nieces and nephew headed home to Arizona.  After a little over 2 years of having them around things had certainly changed. 

Here's a look at those cuties in Feb 2010.

This is how much they had changed by Christmas 2011.  Those cute baby faces have been replaced by amazing kid faces.  

I knew the kids leaving would be hard but really it was much harder than I thought it would be.  I couldn't be happier for them to be back at home and with their mom and dad but it certainly took me a little while to settle into my normal life. 

Life has returned to normal and I am having a blast.  Bike riding at whatever speed I want, craft time with no interruptions and getting ready to leave the house happens quite quickly.  Quilting has been happening as well even though right now I haven't taken a single photo of anything.  Tonight I should finish a really nice table runner with my most detailed bit of machine quilting to date.  I think I might become a machine quilting addict.  I do need to find a way to improve my posture while quilting.  Between all the quilting this week and driving a bit longer to work a couple days a week my back is not happy with me.  Oh yeah about that driving a bit longer to work.  In April I also agreed to be the tech to go to the new office we opened May 1, 2012.  So now 2 days a week normally quite easy 15 to if traffic is just awful 25 minute commute jumps to 40-50 minutes one way. 

I did make it to the Indy modern quilt guild meeting in April and had a blast and I will be trying really hard to join in of the fun in June.   I also made it to the regular Indianapolis quilt guild meeting in April and May.  I do love the speakers.  April was Cathy Miller , it was a fun evening and see did show some amazing quilts.  May was very special to me since I am taking her machine quilting class on craftsy, Wendy Butler Berns.  It was another great show and if just a few months or even weeks ago my head would have been clear I could have taken a workshop today.  

I hope everyone else has been enjoying spring!  

Happy Quilting 

CDC

Tonight's plan

I'm pretty excited that after work today I will be teaching little man, age 3 to sew.  He is quite excited and it should be a fun evening to watch his little mind go into over drive.  I'll do my best to come back and show off his work.

Happy Quilting

CDC

I've been shopping.

Not a lot of sewing has been happening recently but planning to sew has been in overdrive.  I will be making my sister a cape for comic con.  Which will be happening soon, of course March 24 is getting closer so it has to happen soon.  This should be fun and once I get it finished I will certainly show it off.

My brother is getting married in September.  I have a quilt planned for him using this pattern.  His favorite color is blue and my soon to be sister in laws fav is yellow.  What a nice french combo.  For the wedding they are going with yellow, black and white.  So here is some the fabric I've bought for this quilt.

For the back I plan to use this fabulous collection from timeless treasures, lemon grove by Alice Kennedy.

I also got some more fabric for a quilt which is right now being designed in my head.  Hopefully it will turn out half as nice as I am picturing.  

The last recent purchase is a big one and one I have been wanting for years.  My new bike!!

Happy Quilting

CDC

Always in Stitches ...

is one of my favorite quilt stores.  So much of the fabric I own is from this store.  I know I don't have a huge stash but it is a growing one.  I do buy lots of online fabric, since blogging at least.  Before blogging I didn't really pay attention to fabric lines being released.  Whatever the local stores had was perfect for me.  Now I do get those "seek peeks" and ideas fill my head and then I "need" that certain fabric and of course those online stores make that certain fabric easy to find.  I still try and support the local stores and of course it is great actually getting to see the fabric in person before purchasing.

Always in Stitches has a blog http://thatquiltshop.blogspot.com/  and recently has been starting to  do some tutorials and posting more often.  For Dr Seuss birthday they had a super cut giveaway and guess what, I was the winner!  This is my first blog win and it was quite surprising to see my name mentioned as the winner.

Today I went up to the store and got backing fabric for the zig zag quilt and got my prize.  It's a nice Cat in the Hat panel and the kids really got a kick out of giving him a hug.  This will make a really fun quilt for them.  Here's a look at the cute guy.

 

Happy Quilting

CDC

 

Lazy me

Some months just fly by and this month is certainly one of those.  It started with me getting a cold, sewing slowed down and then wow it's the 22nd.  I did give L and T the black and white/rock and roll table runner.   They both seemed pretty happy with it.  Of course it did start a little battle between them, would it go on the table or the bar.  My guess is the bar won but maybe one day soon I'll find out.

I did get some nice work done on the Valentine's day quilt, okay lets rename it the spring quilt and maybe just maybe I'll get it completed soon.  I have the top put together and just need to get some border fabric and get the borders on.  Then I'm going to quilt this one.  With all the table runner practice I think I'm ready to quilt a lap size quilt.  It should be fun.

Girl 2 had to get a tooth pulled, by the dentist, today.  I have been worried sick about this but overall she is one tough cookie.  I can only imagine the pain but only a few hours later she was in great spirits.  Here is a look at the great new smile.

I had a little headcold last week.

It certainly wasn't anything serious.  I think it was just a sinus infection.  The weather was bouncing around and my head just couldn't handle it.  I would be fine during the day and had no problem going to work but then night would come and my head would fill up.

I did get some sewing done since I last posted.  I will start by showing off my January UFO choice to actually finish.  If you have been following my blog awhile you might remember the wedding and the cupcakes.  Here's a link to that post, wedding.  It was a busy time this summer when my SIL got married and my sister and I agreed to make the cupcakes.  I had plans to complete a table runner for them but time ran out and it just didn't happen.  The wedding was wonderful and really I thought the cupcakes turned out great.  So the table runner sat around.  I got the top completed pretty quickly and then didn't finish the back until very recently.  I grabbed the black thread and got to quilting it.  It has been fun actually quilting some projects and I do seem to enjoy the quilting process as much as the piecing.

 The front is black and white, the wedding colors were black, yellow and white.  I found out during a bridle shower my SIL doesn't like any color black and gray are her favorite colors, seems crazy to me since there is not a color I do not like.

 The back is rock and roll themed, which was also part of the wedding.  My now BIL is the leader singer in a hard rock band phoenix on the faultline.

Happy Quilting 

CDC

Everyone Deserves Music

I love this song by Michael Franti & Spearhead.  Last night was the first night I thought I could actually play some music while quilting.  It started when the kids turned on their music out in the playroom.  I was in the sewing room and got into a nice rhythm while the music was on and thought I should bring the laptop up and turn on pandora.  As I'm finishing up all the blocks for the zig zag quilt Everyone Deserves Music came on and I was reminded this is probably my favorite song right now.  What a great way to complete and fun night of Friday Night Sew In.   I should really thank the FNSI ladies.  Without them I really doubt I would have sewed last night.  Even though this was a short work week, it seemed like one that would never end.  After dinner I think I should start catching up on Project Runway all stars and then think I should go up and sew, since I do sign up and say I would.  The music and sewing made for a fun night and as time flew I was able to complete all 41 blocks for the quilt plus 2 extras!

I used a jelly roll for these blocks.  I haven't used many of moda's cuts of fabric.  I have used one set of charm packs to make coasters and I'm still using a layer cake to do a BOM quilt, which I'm a bit behind on but hope to get completed soon.  The line was Ruby by Bonnie & Camille.  I had brought this as a gift for someone but then changed my mind and gave her another gift.  Then I saw the zig zag quilt on moda's bakeshop.  They used a layer cake but one of the comments asked why not use a jellyroll that is when the idea to use the jellyroll I had to make this quilt.  I love the look of fabic "waving"throughout a quilt.  Here's a look at a possible layout for my blocks and all the fun blocks I was able to finish last night. 

I think this will be my Valentine's Day quilt.  The colors are perfect for this up coming holiday. 

Happy Quilting 

CDC

Martin Luther King Jr Day

I hope everyone had a nice Martin Luther King Jr Day.  I hope you had at little a time today to remember his dream and did your part to keep his dream going.  We did take some time out this weekend to talk to the kids about him.  It's tough explaining this to kids ages 3,4 and 6.  Thankfully they are able to understand wanting peace for everyone and also able to understand he had a dream.  I think if you look back on things he did so much to help improve things around here, we still have quite a way to go but things are still so much better.

I did get in some sewing this weekend.  I already showed off the two blocks for my new BOM quilt.  I think it should be quite a fun quilt with a nice modern edge.  I also enjoy surprises so I'm excited to see what February's blocks look like.  I did get the rock and roll table runner quilted.  I just need to get the binding on and then I'll show it off.  I also got started on the zig-zag quilt.  I have all 48 blocks cut out and was able to sew together 8 of them.  I still have away to go but having most of the cutting complete so really help improve my time.

I also took a huge jump and decided to make a fun retro dress.  I have very little dress making under my belt so I think I'll need to brush up on some skills before I start the dress.  It should be fun and I have really been wanting to try something like this since I first brought my sewing machine.  Blame Project Runway but making a really great tailored dress is something I have been dreaming about making so soon enough I'll do it!  It is a craftsy class.  What can I say but I'm becoming a Craftsy addict.  

This dress also got me into a new to me local fabric store.  Really how one so close to me opened quite a few months ago and I knew nothing about it seems crazy.  The French Seam is a great little shop.  They even had quite a great sale going on so I was able to get the dress fabric and the lining for quite an amazing low price.  I might even sign up for a couple of classes.  I also went to Jo Ann fabrics for the muslin and a few other things.  While there girl 1 asks if I will make her and her sister a dress.  Why not I think.  I need to brush up on some skills and now is as good a time as any.  So I got a simple pattern and let her pick out the fabrics.  Overall it has been a great weekend, hope that is true for all of you as well.

Happy Quilting

CDC

Craftsy

I'm really not 100% sure how I got started with Craftsy.  I know one day they sent me a discount deal of a Kona solid fat quarter set in purple. 

Purple is girl 2's favorite and also my sisters so I thought not a bad set to have on hand.  I bought the set and wasn't surprised to get more emails from them.  Many good deals were sent out but really I try and buy fabric only when I have a project in mind, so I didn't buy anything else on impulse.  

Then one day around Jan 1 I get an email about a free block of the month lesson. I was curious about Craftsy's classes and thought a free one was a great chance to see if I liked it.  I signed up and watched the lesson.  Amy of Stitchery Dickory Dock  is teaching the class and she seems very comfortable on camera and has a great style.  The first two blocks look quite simple so I decide I'll give this a try.  Oh then I had to pick out fabric.  Of course mind my goes right to the purple set.  I go up to the sewing room and look to see what fabrics to contrast.  Once up there I can't get my mind off of using orange but I really don't like the oranges I have with those purples.  Leave it to craftsy, I think it was the very next day I get an email for a blue/green Kona solid set.

Blue is my favorite and I love blue and orange together.  Alright I was sold.  Then worry sets in.  I have not actually seen these fabrics what if it really doesn't work and also the set goes into green so I need to move my oranges toward magenta.  I pull a few more fabrics and just hope it all looks good together.  A few days later the fat quarter set arrives and I love it!  I fall asleep that night and wake up hating the fabrics.  I go straight to the sewing room, I loved these fabrics when I went to bed so why do I wake up hating them.  I look back at my fabrics and relax, I do really like them together.

Last night I finally make January's blocks.  They are really easy and fun modern blocks.  Each month will well learn a new technique.  This should be a great quilting experience.  Here's a look at my first two blocks.

Happy Quilting 

CDC

A few things I would like to make.

There are so many things I would like to make.  As I mentioned in an earlier post I have a hard time staying focused on just one project right now.  I thought I would go ahead and show all of you a few projects I really would love to do.  Hopefully soon enough I will do them and come back and tell y'all the good, the bad and the ugly. 

• Fabric storage boxes
• Tea time apron
• Braided scarf
• Zig zag quilt

Happy Quilting

CDC

A few things I did today.

The day started with some really yummy sausage gravy and homemade biscuits.  The sausage was from a local producer, Smoking Goose.  It makes great gravy but I also think it will be great on a pizza so that will probably be the way I use it next time I get it.  I made the biscuits just a tad sweeter than I normally would since the sausage was a sage, apple one.  Overall a very rich but tasty was to start the day.
Next I was in the sewing room but not to sew.  I needed to clean this space.  Fabric was really everywhere.  Christmas fabric in piles, fabric pulled for the zillions of ideas going through my head.  There are so many I'm having a hard time staying focus.  I needed to get those fabrics out of the way and work with more focus.   I called my sister up because she has plans for a patchwork cape.  I thought while organizing the fabric she could see what I have for her to work with.  Of course that got her mind working in overdrive as well.  She was great and really helped me fold fabric.  I have the fabric all back on my shelves!  Now there is nothing fancy about my sewing area but I will show you a picture of this area in it's okay not really that neat but still 95% better condition than it was this morning.    This shelving was meant to be used in the closet but do to bad planning on my part it really doesn't fit that well in the closet and now is used in the corner of the room. 

My sister and I also worked on one other project today, wine making.  I started wine making just a little over 1 year ago.  Groupon had a deal for a wine making kit Dec 30, 2010.  This is easy to remember because it is also dear J's birthday.  The first one we made was a Chianti, then we made a Pinot Gris and a green apple Riesling.  The next one which is still being made is a Cabernet Sauvignon from fresh grapes.  Now we are also making a Zinfandel Shiraz blend.  This has been a fun hobby but plans are plans are in the works for quite a few more to be made and storage will soon be a problem.  J is planning to make some shelving so soon enough that will need to happen.  In 2 weeks the Zin blend will be bottled and then will we start a limited release South African Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon.  That will be about 60 bottles of wine with plans to make a California Petite Sirah/Zinfandel and also Spanish Matador Trio Red which will quickly push that total to 120 bottles and then the Cabernet Sauvignon should be really to bottle making that total closer to 150.  Oh my the tally is getting up there but that I will only need a few other styles and I should have a nice wine to match nearly every style I would want to serve on hand.  

Here's a look at the 2 wines we are currently making.

 And a look at the kit we used for the Zinfandel/Shiraz. 

Happy Quilting

CDC

 

New Year's resolutions.

As I mentioned on New Years day last year I made a fun resolution to start a blog.  This did lead to many new projects and friends!  This year I have a couple of things I'm doing.
First I'm cleaning out the house.  I will go slowly and work one room at a time and sometimes a closet will count as a room.  I will remove all the things I know we don't use or really don't need anymore.  I will donate everything in good condition, recycle everything else and if it can't be recycled then it's headed to the dump. 
The next thing I will try and do is finish some UFOs.  My goal hopefully is simple.  I'm just trying to finish one a month, if I do more than that it's a bonus.  I think I have 8 or 9 unfinished projects and many of those a really close to completion.  Here's a look at the first two, these should be really quick.

This one just need a binding and I will certainly accept some help picking out a good fabric for that.

 This one is a rock and roll table runner and it's just needs quilted.  The tan fabric is the back and the stripe is the binding. 

Happy Quilting

CDC

Another set of pillowcases!

Alright I know I have been showing off pillowcases a few times already, so you may be getting bored seeing the same project over and over but I am loving making pillowcases.  Dec 30 was my dear J's birthday and since they actual birthday party did not happen until yesterday I made him a set of pillowcases.  The girls didn't want to give uncle J his "real" gift until the party so I thought we should make him something he could open on his actual birthday. 

Dinner Dec 30 was meatloaf hamburgers, broccoli and cheese, mashed potatoes and apple upside down cake.  The kids didn't want meatloaf, one of J's favorites, but they gladly ate meatloaf hamburgers.  I think the pillowcases turned out pretty well.  It's hard to pick out good guy's fabric sometimes.  I couldn't help but love all the new spring fabrics out but certainly most of those had a feminine feel.  He thinks they look retro so maybe it's a good retro feel, maybe.  Take a look and see what you think.

Happy Quilting

CDC

Happy New Year.

Welcome 2012!  I want to take some time today to thank everyone for such a first great year of blogging.  Last year trying this blog was my new year's resolution and unlike many years in the past I completed my resolution goal.  It has been a great year and I am certainly excited for what 2012 will bring.  This year will be full of changes.  One big one is that the 3 kids I talk about are really my nieces and nephew.  I have been taking care of them for the last 2 years and this year they will be moving back home with mom and dad.  I am so excited for the kids but once they leave this spring I know I will have some sadness.  I know there will be many more moments of sadness and happiness throughout the year so lets all get through it together!

 Happy New Year!

 Happy Quilting

CDC