Back in Business!

Hi!  After a long break, I'm back in business.  QUILTY BUSINESS!

I have been working on a lot of projects and buying a lot of fabric since my last post.  Let's find out more about all that!

First, I wanted to show you that I finished the front of my Modern Meadows quilt.  It took a long time.  Here it is:

Yes - it is really big!  This is a queen-sized quilt and by far the biggest one I've made to date.

I'm trying to improve my accuracy on lining up seams.  Did I?  Sort of.  Sometimes yes:

And sometimes no:

Check back tomorrow to see the back of the quilt!

Bratty Backpacks

I got this little hook at JoAnn's fabric store the other day and hung it up in my son's room right in the doorway next to the light switch.  Now he has a handy place to hang his humongous backpack and we always know exactly where it is every morning!

The backpack takes up like 65% of his body:

But if you go to JO-ANN's to look for this hook, be aware that the one you find will actually have a cute smiley face and rosy cheeks.  My son didn't like that part and was loud about that.  So I painted over it with some yellow paint I found in the garage!  Does that mean he is spoiled?

Answer - YES - he is spoiled (FYI).

Back and Better (?) Than Ever!

Wow, was I tired.  See, I am a life-long night owl and sleeper-inner.  But my son's new school (kindergarten!) starts at 7:55 AM.  Yes!  In the morning!  So I had to start waking up TWO HOURS earlier than I was used to waking up.

And, after weeks of "mysterious" exhaustion, I also started going to bed TWO HOURS earlier than usual.  Incredibly, that solved my problem!  But although my earlier bed time led to renewed personal sanity, it also seriously cut into my quilting and crafting time!  

In other words:  I have not made much progress on my Modern Meadows quilt.  I finally turned back on the sewing machine on Sunday and was able to finish the solid half of the squares.  I think they look pretty cute!

Now I just have to stitch up the other half of the squares.  Hope to have them done some time this week! Unless I get tired.......

Junk Store -- Not So Junky!

My sister refuses to go to any junk or second-hand stores with me.  The Goodwill?  Salvation Army?  Forget it.  Yes, she is a fancy lady.

So, to make her jealous, I am going to post some super awesome things I picked up at my local junk (I MEAN JUNQUE) store this past weekend.  PREPARE TO BE IMPRESSED!

First up, I got this old globe for only $35!!!  Globes can be expensive and this one is really nice.  I'm not sure what year it's from, but it includes Persia and Belgian Congo, so you know it's pretty old.  SCORE!

I also got this set of three children's books from 1956 for $2.00!!!  They are awesome!  Volume One starts with nursery rhymes and Mother Goose, Volume Two includes Aesop's fables, King Arthur and a selection of Greek, Roman and Norse myths, and Volume Three has full chapters from Robinson Crusoe and Huckleberry Finn!  NICE!

Long story short:  go to the junk store!  You may find some great stuff.

So Random

Recently, I've really enjoyed making quick projects like the hat and the two aprons that only take an hour or two.  I still love quilting!  But quilts can take a looooong time.  (Especially the one I'm working on now on which I have made virtually no progress......)

To make more fun projects, I recently picked up this book:

One of the first one-yard wonders that caught my eye was this hanging mail sorter thing?

And, as luck would have it, I recently purchased one yard of some strange canvas fabric at Ikea.  The fabric has a hot air balloon and hand prints on it.

Well, about an hour later, I ended up with this thing!!!  Here is the front, with four pockets:

And here is the back, with a creepy hand print:

I hung it up in my son's room to help keep his coloring area neat.  What do you think???

????

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!!!