Another Adorable Apron!

Remember the book fabric?  I made an apron from it and it is super adorable!

The pocket is light blue fabric and the trim fabric is navy.  Super sweet!

I had to bribe my son to put on the apron and let me take these photos.  Only cost me one Little Schoolboy cookie!!!  A fair trade.

New Fabric Alert!

I went back to Rosie's (the happening place) this past weekend to get some solid fabric for my new quilt.  The ladies who work there are not nice to me.  But I think that is just their initiation procedure, like how you have to get "jumped in" to a gang.

Anyhoo, I was just going to look at the solids.  But then I saw this!  And it was so cute!  LOOK:

The pattern is called Goodnight Monkey by Erin Michael for Moda.  It's part of a collection based on sock monkeys?  Who read books?  Sounds normal.

I can't decide if this fabric would be cuter as a pillow or an apron.  VOTE IN THE COMMENTS!!!

Adorable Apron!

Remember the Amy Butler apron I was working on?  Well, it's done -- and it's super cute!

Check it out:

It has pleats along the top:

A little pocket:

And a towel loop!

The pattern was easy to follow!  I am going to make more of these!    Aprons are the new pillows!

New Project Alert! Excessive Links Alert!

The great thing about making all these quilts is that even though I have a bunch of projects in progress (such as the apron) and in the hopper (golf towel quilt for cousin, Ty Pennington quilt for sister), I can still move myself to the front of the line whenever I so choose!

Such a choosing has just happened!

As you may or may not recall, my recent bedroom makeover involved two prints from the Joel Dewberry "Modern Meadow" fabric line:

The curtains are Herringbone:

And the pillow is Sunflower:

I really like the other prints in the collection too, so I decided to use those other prints and make a queen size quilt that can be folded at the foot of the bed, decorator style!  NICE!

I picked the pattern "Small Plates" from the book "The Practical Guide to Patchwork":

I started cutting out the fabrics.  They look nice!!!!!

This one is going to take a long time, but we'll get it done.  Hold your horses, Towel Quilt!!!

Done!

Remember the turquoise and red diamond quilt I was making for a friend?

Well it's done!  And it came out pretty good!  Per the votes in the poll, I mixed up the two prints throughout the top pattern.  The pattern itself, I just sort of copied from a quilt I saw online after I'd made a bunch of half-and-half squares.

And, I may be deluded, but I think my piecing is improving!  This corner diamond lines up almost perfectly!!!

For the back, I just did some wide stripes.  You can also see the horizontal quilting.

The fabrics are very nice -- I got them all at Joann's.

Another quilt is done!  YAY!  Check back soon to see what the next one is going to be!  EXCITEMENT!!!

Project Sweatshop: Aprons

I recently got this great book, Amy Butler's In Stitches.  It's full of projects and patterns, and of course her beautiful signature fabrics.

I am going to try to make this "short pleated apron" ... cute, right?  And the directions do not seem very complicated.

My sister and I picked out this fabric to start -- Amy Butler Disco Flower and a coordinating solid.

I am hoping I will be able to make one of these with not too many problems.  Because if this works, I'm going to start churning these out like there's no tomorrow!  Sweatshop style!  They are perfect for birthday gifts, holiday gifts, housewarming gifts, etc.  If you know me, expect one soon!!!  Tell me your "colors" in the comments!

Fickle

Remember my gallery wall?  I was all about the gallery wall.  (Yes, I am very influenced by trends.  No, I am not embarrassed to admit that.)

Anyway, I recently decided that I no longer liked the gallery wall.  It sort of worked when it was the focal point of the room, but over time, it made me feel crazy because it was so busy after I added the lamps that I needed for light but didn't really fit in:

And the fun drapes across from the wall:

So, what else is there to do but change it up?  That is one of the things I like about home decor.  You can keep changing things.  You don't have to be stuck with any one look forever.

Remember the decorative wood panels from Ballard Design that I was liking?  Well, you may or may not be surprised to hear that I bought them!  And they arrived only three days later!

As soon as they arrived, I took down all my framed items (I was able to re-hang several of them around the house), patched the holes, painted the patches, and hung up the panels.  I think I love them!

The white is really working for me.

Must feature the Billy Balls

.Anyway, I love them and I love how they look.  What do you think???

Secret Change!

All of the trim in my house is white.  Except in two places: the back of the front door and one random hallway entry.  For some reason, the painter did not paint these two doorways.

I've asked my husband several times if he would paint them (we have plenty of left over paint in the garage) but he always said NO.  He said he LIKED the wood trim.  But it doesn't match the rest of the house!  I think we all know the real reason.  (It rhymes with "hazy".)

SO, long story even longer, a few weeks ago he went out of town on a business trip.  I took the opportunity one evening to tape off the hallway, prime it and paint it.  Took very little time.

After my husband got home from his trip, I waited to see if he would notice the change.  It's been about a month and he hasn't noticed yet!

Next time he goes out of town, I'm painting the back of the front door!!!

New Project Alert!

I'm already hard at work on a new quilt for a friend!  I'm using some cute turquoise and red fabrics.

Much like the zig-zag chevron quilt I made for my nephew, this quilt will also be made of half-and-half squares.  But I'm arranging them in the shape of diamonds instead of chevrons.

I do need your help with one thing.  Do you think the lay-out should be organized by pattern like this:

Or do you think it should be mixed up like this:

VOTE IN THE COMMENTS!!!!!  I tried to force my husband to vote.  He couldn't tell the difference.  WHAT?????????  Sometimes I feel like Jean Teasdale.

PS - Please excuse the extra poor quality of these photos.  I took them at night using the flash.  While catching up on my DEGRASSI summer episodes!!!

Birthday! Aladdin Quilt! Exclamation Points!

Well, another birthday has come and gone.  I had a pretty good one!

Look at the birthday flowers!

And the birthday cake!

Cute!

But, I'll bet you are all wondering whether or not I completed my birthday quilt!  Guess what???

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!  

And I think it came out pretty great!

My seams are still not lining up perfectly, but that just adds to the charm, right?  Here is a close-up of one corner.  I made the binding out of strips of all the patterns used in the quilt:

For the back, I added a stripe of the triangle shapes plus a leftover binding strip to add pizazz.  Also because I cut the backing too short so I needed it to be longer.

For the quilting, I just did some free-form horizontal lines (some straight and some wavy) and echo quilting along the vertical seams.  It was quick which was perfect because I realized that the actual quilting is the only part of quilt-making that I don't 100% love.  I only 45% love the quilting part.  I think I need to teach myself how to "free motion" quilt so I can add cool patterns and such.  Next time!

So, all in all, the Aladdin-themed birthday quilt is a success!  I can't wait for the weather to cool down so I can snuggle with it on the sofa.  Also so I can stop shaving my legs.

New Project Alert!

I've been trying to find a project for my 1,001 Peeps fabric.  Remember how cute it is?

After poking around online for cute quilt patterns and I found this:

Yowzers!  It is the New Wave Quilt from Oh, Fransson!  I think this pattern is perfect for the Peeps! 

I've already started cutting out the patterns and so far it looks good:

Now I just have to start sewing and stuff.

My husband asked me who this quilt was for and I said "ME!"  He laughed.  Why is that funny?  He thought I was joking.  ?????

WHATEVER!  Middle-aged ladies can have peach and pink "Aladdin" quilts.  It's very normal.

I'm going to try to finish this by my birthday (8/8) then wrap it up and give it to myself.  I already know I'm gonna love it!