halloween i spy

pumpkins
black cats
spidey webs
candy corn
witches hats
falling leaves
silly bats...

what do you "spy?"

decisions, decisions.

way, way back, what seems like a zillion years ago, i thought i had things figured out. of course that particular quilt was more purple-y & girly in the traditional kind of way. but i pretty much assumed it had been hung on the wall to stay. but now that this quilt has arrived home & is currently testing out the spot on the wall, i'm having a hard time making a decision. it really isn't that big of a deal, or at least that's what the hubby is continually telling me. but, right now it is a big deal, at least to my sanity. this simple decision will have a huge, no astronomical impact on the entire room. whichever quilt is chosen will ultimately play a big part in the decision regarding what color to paint the powder blue dresser (perhaps a bright tangerine for a little pop! or maybe we don't paint it at all?). it will also effect (or is it affect?) the wall hangings, light fixtures & all the other little odds & ends that will play apart of making this room "hers"... in the end, this simple quilt decision could totally & completely shape this little lady's personality & life-to-be. okay, so maybe i am being just a bit over dramatic, it's just the hormones talking. but seriously, this is a big decision, & i hate making decisions.

progress.

her walls are still (& probably will remain) a boring shade of beige. the recently purchased dresser is still powder blue & there isn't a whole lot hanging in her closet. but yesterday, i did manage to hang a quilt on the wall, silently proclaiming the room "hers". granted, i'm not promising that this particular quilt will stay on the wall, i am retaining the right to possibly make a change, depending on how this quilt turns out. but for now, it'll due. so, just in case you were starting to worry that she was going to make her grand entrance into this world, & i wasn't going to be prepared (because let's face it, you might not be worried about that, but i certainly am)... i am still taking those "baby steps", slowly, ever so slowly i'm making progress.

just in case you doubted me...

just in case you thought there was a slight possibility that i was exaggerating just a touch regrading my current mental state - here's some proof. randomly & totally out of the blue, this week i decided i needed to sew a quilt for the baby. mind you, i've already sewn one quilt & several blankets. what i really should be working on is stocking her boudoir with clothes, that she might actually wear. but no, the bee in my bonnet insisted i sew another quilt... i was a little worried that my the other quilt i had made was a bit too girly - because it had purple & pink in it, gasp! so, i thought i needed another, more subtle-ly pink quilt. anyway, long story short - i sewed the quilt. but, when all was said & done, there were two patchwork squares driving me crazy. one square had two pieces of the exact same fabric touching at the corners (yes! just the corners were touching). the other square had two pieces of the exact same fabric separated by only one small square. when i actually thought about it, i knew i was being crazy. hello?! the ENTIRE quilt is patchwork. lots of different fabrics going on there. no one would ever notice, except for me. & yet, all day long, i kept looking at that quilt, letting those two little squares eat me up inside. until finally, i picked up my trusty seam reaper, un-picked my way to those devilish little squares & fixed the problem. when i was done, i really & truly felt like i could breathe again.

believe me now? i'm definitely on the fast-track to the funny farm. hopefully this baby arrives before i make it the entire way.

work in progress.

i have to admit, it's still hard to believe that i'm having a girl. already outnumbered 3 to 1, i was totally prepared to hear that another boy was on the way. so, it's taken some time to adjust to the fact that this little one will be bundled in a little bit more pink than blue. & to tell you the truth, the thought of all that pink kinda scares me! so i'm starting slowly, i wouldn't want to overwhelm my senses. this first quilt is actually more blue, with just a few touches of pink... it's all about the baby steps.

it's beginning to look a touch like christmas.

just putting the finishing touches on my newest quilt. (featuring michael miller's christmas line, it's called "christmas with a twist". fitting don't you think?) this is definitely putting me in the holiday spirit. i can't wait to hang this bad boy on the wall.

cowboy up.

thought i'd take a moment to document one of my more recent adventures in quilting (click on picture to enlarge it). the fabric for this quilt have been sitting in my closet for over a year. luckily, some gals & i threw a cowboy themed baby shower & that was all i needed to get my butt in gear & whip this bad boy up. although, i did experience a few minor set-backs. for example, while cutting my fabric i realized i didn't have enough of the main "cowboy" fabric. fortunately for me, at that exact aha! moment, a girlfriend was visiting of of the fabric meccas of the world. unfortunately though, they didn't have my exact fabric, so i crossed my fingers, said a little prayer, and told her just to pick me up any cowboy fabric that had some red it in. amazingly enough, it all worked out in the end. now, i just have to keep the scissors out of gavin's hands.

a slight mishap.

you know how i thought my most quilt was done? well, i guess gavin didn't agree. he found a pair of scissors ( & when i say "found" i mean he climbed up onto the counter & got them off the top shelf in the cupboard where i was hiding them) & cut the binding. i guess he didn't love it as much as i thought he would. so now i have a bit of repair work to do.

arrgh! i found me treasure map matey!

my little guy's love of pirates runs deep. so i can't think of anything better to grace his bed than a quilt made up entirely of "yo ho!" fabric & backed with a super soft minky. now i just have to work on getting him to actually sleep in his bed, instead of trying to escape all night long. (as always, click on the pictures to enlarge the detail.)

cutting on the bias.

let me be honest here, this post is mostly for my benefit. one day, i may want to cut my fabric on the bias again. & more than likely i'll have forgotten how. (what's cutting on the bias you ask? basically, instead of cutting your fabric in horizontal strips, you cut it on a 45 degree angle. it's great for strips, checks... makes them lay at an angle. still confused? check out THIS picture of my quilt. see the how the stripes on the binding lay at angle? that's because i cut the fabric on the bias.) and yes, before i get started, i realize there are lots of tutorials out, showing you how to cut on the bias. but all the ones i came across involved math & looked super confusing. although, the perk of using THIS how-to, is that when you are done cutting, your strips are already sewn together... but just looking at the diagrams gave me a headache. so, here's how i do it... (a big thanks to abby for teaching me how!) click on each picture to enlarge & show all the fine little details.

step one: lay out your fabric, similar to a piece of paper (i use the selvedge edges as my top and bottom). now mentally, or literally, which ever works for you... mark each corner. starting with the top left & going clockwise, mark the corners with A,B,C & D (as shown below.)

step 2: fold corner A down diagonally, so that the top (selvedge) edge lines up with the side. when folded, corner A will be above corner C. (see picture below)

step 3: fold corner B down diagonally. you will basically be folding the crease created by step 2, in half. when folded, corner B will be above corner D, and your fabric will look like a little house: a triangle roof (we will call the tip of the roof or triangle: E) & a rectangle below. (see picture below)

step 4: fold corner B up to point E, once again, folding the crease in half. (see picture below)

step five: carefully flip the fabric over. instead of seeing the right side of the fabric near corner C & the wrong side near corner D, you want to see the right side of the fabric near corner D & the wrong side of the fabric near corner C. you also want to make sure that corner D is pointing down, with the long horizontal edge at the top. (see picture below)

step six: this step isn't necessary, but i've found that if i fold the fabric in half, i can cut a strip with just one swish of my rotary. simply take corner C & fold it back over the fabric (to the left), making sure to keep the horizontal edges lined up. (see picture below)

step seven: line your ruler up with the horizontal edge & cut strips to your desired width. (see picture below) i prefer to cut them about 2.25" wide.

step eight: viola! bias cut fabric.

it'll be jeffy, me & amy in the bedroom tonight.

that's because i've finally finished my quilt. i started it forever ago. i can't believe it's finally finished! to be honest, it was a snap to sew the quilt top. i used the turning twenty pattern & just added an extra row or two (i wanted it to fit our king size bed. so instead of a quilt that measures 70" x 86" mine is 84" x 117"). next came the easy part, dropping it off for my cousin to do the machine quilting with all the lovely loop-d-loops (which i'm sure have a proper name, although being the novice quilter that i am... i'll just stick with loop d loops). when i got my quilt back, all that was left, was for me to the binding, & yet i just never got around to it. i needed to cut my fabric on the bias to get the diagonal lines for my binding, & i didn't know how to do that. (so that was my excuse.) but really & truly, i just wasn't looking forward to hand stitching the back side of the binding (you know, after i attached the front side with the machine). so for months my beautiful quilt sat. but not anymore! i can finally proudly announce to the world that it's finished! and although my bedroom has never been the hot spot of the house tour, i may soon be inviting complete strangers up to check out my new little beauty. if he doesn't already, i'm sure the ups guy will soon love amy butler as much as i do! anyway, i know i'm being silly, going on & on. heck! it's just a quilt... but i feel like a proud mama, wanting to show everyone her brand new little bundle of joy. so, everyone, meet my quilt. it's so bright & cheery - just like a little bit of sunshine in my room. (click on the pictures to enlarge their loveliness.)

keeping warm.

have you ever been given a gift that didn't just tug at your heart strings, but pulled & pulled them hard? several years ago i got married... i remember we were at a bridal shower for me. surrounded by many of our nearest & dearest. the next gift in the pile read "love, mom", & i was excited to see what she had chosen for me. a waffle iron? that kitchen-aid i'd been eyeing? bed linens? towels perhaps? you never know what you're going to get from my mom, she's always liked surprising us kids. so, when the present finally arrived in my lap, i tore into it, as eager as a child on christmas morning. totally expecting some BIG item off my registry, you can imagine my surprise when i found a blanket beneath all that beautiful wrapping paper. that surprise quickly changed to joy, love & a plethora of other feelings as i realized what i was holding. i had known she had been working on a special project, but i had had no idea it would be this. (click on picture to enlarge)

now, to the untrained eye, this appears to be simply a blanket, you might even go so far as to call it a quilt. but if you were to really study it, you would realize that it is made of clothes. you might even notice a clothing label or two, perhaps a shirt pocket, a couple of buttons, even a logo or two. and to you, the untrained eye, this might seem a bit odd. but for me, a soon-to-be-bride, it meant the world. for each & every square, each piece of clothing portrayed a memory. there were the pjs my dad wore nearly every day, his work shirts & golf shirts, bits of the shirts he wore to church on sundays... pieces of his life. (click on picture to enlarge)

and once you realize & understand that i knew my dad wouldn't be there with me, celebrating my big day, having this quilt, meant that i would always have a piece of him with me, & that meant more than anything, i'll ever be able to put into words.

just recently, actually for christmas, gavin & owen each received their own special blankets from my mom. once again, the gifts were a total surprise. this time around instead of using clothes, her medium was photos. using pictures of everyone in our family (that she had printed on fabric), she made the boys (& my niece kate too) their own patchwork blankets. the kids spend a little time, every day, just looking, pointing & naming everyone in each of the pictures. now, even though we don't live as close as we like, we always have family with us. (click on picture to enlarge)

it's been said that "our lives are like quilts - bit & pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love." i for one definitely agree, & have at least three quilts to prove it.

pumpkins & ghosts, oh my!

halloween is just around the corner. lucky for me i found the fabric for this cute quilt already cut! with the hard part out of the way, all i had to do was sew this puppy together & send it off to be quilted! easy as pumpkin pie!

found something to keep me busy.

i like quilting, but i'm not very good, so i don't know what possessed me to make a quilt for my king size bed. well, actually i know what possessed me... amy butler's incredible fabrics. this should definitely keep me busy for a while.