Quilt Con-5 Things You May Not Know About Me

QuiltCon is only 3 weeks away and I couldn't be more excited!!!! After an extremely challenging year, this is a treat to myself - a Mommy vacation sans children or husband (will miss them though and do love them lots!). 5 Things You May Not Know About Me: 1. I've surprised my best friend by buying her a ticket to join me in Austin; my second best friend who I've literally not seen in 5 years (since my wedding....oh my) as she lives in Phoenix is also coming!!! How awesome is that! They're not quilters and don't share my passion for quilting/knitting/fabric design however I swear we've been sisters in another life!! haha Love them, miss them and many margaritas need to be had!!! Yeah baby!!! 2. I'm a piler....aghhh...had to admit it. Now don't get me wrong our house is clean and as tidy as it can be when you have two small children...and well...you know the drill. Art piles from school, fabric piles on UFO in the sewing room, etc. etc. Maybe we need a bigger house and more filing cabinets? :) 3. Love portrait photography. Babies in hats...nothing more cute in my opinion. I've teamed up with some local photographers and have swapped pictures of my daughters in the past for some of my baby knitted hats. Great idea and was a win win for both my photography friends and my family. 4. I'm passionate about patient safety and am a big advocate by profession. Justice seems to be a theme in my life. 5. Love Starbucks Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate...what can I say...who doesn't love salty and sweet combos? Oh...and did I mention Margaritas on the Rocks?

Waverunner Quilt

Waverunner Quilt, a photo by Bumble Beans on Flickr.

Love Victoria's aka Bumblebeans' original Waverunner Quilt!!!

Love the colours, the improv style, the quilting...all together it's just beautiful and definitely speaks to me! I decided this would be a nice quilt for my husband so I sent out some fabric to the gals in my bee (Unscripted) and they sent me lots of beautiful pieces back. I've slowly added to what they made and this is what I have so far. It's a work in progress for sure. Was supposed to be a Christmas present (what was I thinking) so needless to say here it is at the end of January and it's still a wip! I am proud though as I've decided on the backing and ordered the flannel fabric a few nights ago - just in time before the crazy shipping rates to Canada go in effect - ugh!

Not sure how I feel about it. I think it's one of those quilts that I should suspend my thoughts until I've finished piecing the top. What do you think?

Simple Marks Zippered Pouch - for me!

I've been wanting to bust out my little package of "Simple Marks" fabric - 2.5 inch squares. I bought two packs earlier this week and they were so cute I couldn't resist! At first I was thinking of a pillow but then I thought a zippered pouch for myself would be way more practical:)

I decided to alter the usual pattern I used from Noodlehead because I wanted a taller pouch. I went with 10.34 x 12.25 x 4. It will be perfect for small knitting/crochet project and sewing supplies. It actually reminds me of Elizabeth's pattern.

I still have to add the topstitching and close the lining but I'm happy with the results. I think maybe next time I'll make it 3 inches in depth and I could always add some quilting but overall I'm happy with the results. Thanks for stopping by!

More Zippered Pouch Gifts

The last of my zippered pouch gifts using Noodlehead's Zippered Pouch Tutorial For this one I used equal parts linen and some old Amy Butler (5 inches x 5 inches).

Pillow Talk Swap 9

I totally forgot to post my pillow for the Pillow Talk Swap 9! It was my first time participating in it and let me say, it won't be my last I hope:) It was a lot of fun especially seeing everyone's progress as we went along. I called my pillow "Scrappy Shoo Fly." I actually made a drawing ahead of time (which I never do typically) and got an idea of where I wanted to go with the colours in the pillow. I started off with using linen as my background colour but I found it kind of boring.

Text fabric has definitely been "in" this past year so I ordered some from Mad About Patchwork which is an online fabric store in Canada! I chose Madrona Road by Violet Craft for Michael Miller. Love it! So, here is the finished product. What do you think?

Quilting it was the fun part for sure! I knew already that I wanted to quilt it in concentric circles. I love things all circular when it comes to quilting! I found Blooming Poppies tutorial helpful - love her quilts by the way!!

Pillows are definitely the place to practice different quilting techniques - easy to maneuver compared to a large quilt and you're not likely to get bored of it in a smaller project:) Ahhhh....those rings .... love them!!!

I went with a simple envelope style closure in the back but next time will definitely use a zipper back closure with flap. I came across this tutorial which I'm going to use for sure:) Thanks for stopping by friends!

Goodbye 2012 and all my UFOs

I have to say I'm not really sad 2012 will soon be behind me. If you've followed me, you will know that the end of 2011 and 2012 have been by far the most difficult year of my entire life with the loss of both of my parents, particularly the loss of my Mom which was very tragic and devastating. The fall out after her loss with the parties involved have challenged me both personally and professionally. However, I feel I am making headway with the latter and so my new life has begun. I look forward to new beginnings on so many levels and I crave some "down" time. Things like sewing for fun again, knitting again, making things for my family....travelling in the new year, family time, fun stuff:) What I like about blogging is that sometimes it helps me to keep accountable. I don't even want to confess how many UFO's I have or how big my stash continues to grow. So, I need to stop buying, finish my UFOs and just keep a list of favourite things to make "someday." I don't know about you but I get overwhelmed with all of the things I'd like to do and then don't get around to finish things I've started! Bad! Bad! Bad:) So, I'm confessing to you now....here's a list of things that I need to finish in the New Year! Scrappy Circles Quilt (need a pieced back for it):

Jelly Roll Quilt(again need another back):

Beach Quilt:

DS Spools Quilt:

Waverunner Quilt (for my husband) which was part of the Unscripted Bee I belonged to:

Drunk Love Quilt I started way too long ago and still have more to complete:( I do absolutely love it though:) And who can forget this quilt top I made several years ago....now I'm getting embarrassed! My string quilt: My orange and aqua quilt: Not to mention my knitting UFOs....aghhhh In the interest of "coming clean," this poncho was originally a 6-12 month size that I finished last year but then it was a little too short on my daughter so I needed to redo the bottom by lengthening it.....and now Miss P is two!!! I still have a cowl for me that has been on the needles since our trip to Florida last February, etc. etc. Pheww....now I feel better...the cat is out of the bag!! Now, that I've told you I'll have to think about getting these UFOs finished right?! Did I mention that I went to my local yarn shop today and bought some new alpaca wool to make some fingerless mittens for my stepson's girlfriend and that my four year is still waiting for me to finish her little knitted hippo that I started in August of this year?! So, like I said, 2013 is a New Year full of promise:) Thanks for stopping by and I hope your New Year brings you lots of finished UFOs, good health, peace and happiness! Okay, here's a list of some things I did complete....and feel good about:) (don't know why the Mosaic isn't showing but oh well the links are there if you're interested) 1. "Scrappy Shoo Fly"-PTS9, 2. Simple Modern Baby Quilt, 3. Pumpkin Hat-Age 4, 4. Urban Baby Cable Beanie, 5. Pouches, pouches & more pouches, 6. Other side of pouch, 7. Urban Baby Chinstrap Beanie; Newborn Photo Prop, 8. Urban Baby Pixie Hat-Newborn Photo prop-Newborn-3 Months, 9. Urban Baby Flower Beanie-Newborn Size-Detachable Fabric flower, 10. Quilt Con Block Challenge, 11. Baby in the Hood Jacket, 12. My First Pillowcase!, 13. Hello Kitty Dress- OwlyBaby Pattern (4 yrs)-"Betsy Pillowcase Dress", 14. Urban Baby Pixie hat, 15. Urban Baby Earflap hat, 16. Urban Baby Earflap Hat with Detachable Flower, 17. Ikea Lined Drawstring Bag, 18. Bliss Quilt Top-Scrappy Circles, 19. Sherbet Pips Jelly Roll "Race" Quilt, 20. Unscripted Bee Block; (Tara) And to my beautiful Mom....I miss you more than words can say xoxo

Merry Boxing Day:)

Hopefully you've had a wonderful holiday with your families! As a last minute finish for a preschool teacher, I whipped this up the other night. You'll have to excuse me for the bad picture but it was late at night so lighting wasn't great! I used this tutorial again as I made three more in September. Remember these?

I used linen for the bottom and some Anna Maria Horner for the main body of the pouch. What's on your to do list before the end of the year? I still have two more of these pouches and I want to make a fabric box for my daughter's room to keep the diaper supplies organized. I'm going to work on some knitting tonight....first time in a long long time!