Figgy Pudding Swoon and October Bee Block

The other day I saw this on Flickr. I'm not a fan of the Habitat fabrics, but I love the Swoon blocks I've been seeing online lately. I was on the fence about actually buying the pattern, but after seeing what Erin is doing with it (and if a pattern has the ability to make fabric look good that I don't particularly care for), I decided I had to have it.

I can't wait to see Erin's finished Habitat challenge quilt at our next guild meeting.



I think it will be the perfect pattern to use for all my Figgy Pudding fabric. I may need to add a few tone-on-tone or solid fabrics to create more contrast within each block, but I'm really excited to get started on this one.



I'm still trying to finish up quilts that I've already started so I'm not putting any sort of deadline on this one. If I get it done before Christmas this year, great. If not, I'll work on it throughout the year and have it ready for next Christmas.



I spent a little bit of time yesterday working on Katie's block for the Sew Beautiful Bee. She asked for Christmas blocks. I kept having this image in my head every time I tried to come up with ideas. I'm not totally in love with it though, so if I get some time this week, I may make another block for her.



I didn't forget to show you the new project I worked on last week. I'm just waiting for a helper to take pictures of the full quilt.

Christmas Placemats and Coasters

So the mister had to work a 9-5 shift on Saturday and we didn't have anything going on. On a whim, I decided to make an advent calendar that I had already decided not to work on this year. Six hours and an unfinished calendar later, I was feeling pretty bummed about my spontaneous decision, especially when I have so many other things I should have been working on (like Christmas presents). My Saturday had been a waste. To make things worse, I was in the middle of making dinner when my three-year-old had an accident on his bed and I couldn't stop what I was doing without ruining dinner to go clean it up. Argh. BUT...when the mister got home from work, he had a big smile on his face and handed me a package, the Pillow Talk Swap package I was waiting for! I started to squeal (literally). My bad attitude quickly went away and I couldn't stop jumping with excitement. I haven't been able to take pictures yet, and the goodies I got deserve good pictures. So, stay tuned!

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There's a woman in my neighborhood that I really admire. She has four sons, all of whom have grown up and have families of their own now. When we moved into the neighborhood, she was so welcoming to our family. A few months back, her husband passed away suddenly and my heart ached for her. This was one of those couples that you just knew were in love with each other. They would hold hands and smile at one another, laughing and genuinely happy to be together.

Well, yesterday at church, she was sitting behind me. Before the meeting started, she leaned forward and put her arms around me. She has no idea how much I needed that hug. She just wanted to ask me for a soup recipe that I have, but her hug was so loving and caring. She told me she would call me after church to get the recipe when she had a pen and paper for writing it down. I knew right then that I wanted to make her something to thank her for the kind gesture.

After putting my daughter down for a nap, I pulled out a Figgy Pudding turnover and set out to make a set of placemats and coasters. I used the turnover triangles to make a zig zag pattern, one with white as the main zig zag and one with colored fabrics for the main zig zag. I framed each in a diagonal stripe from the Fruitcake collection.



For the coasters, I paired two triangles together. The back is the Fruitcake stripe. I quilted everything with a combo of straight lines and a decorative stitch that reminds me of hanging twinkle lights.



I finished everything shortly before needing to head out the door for a birthday dinner. I snapped these quick pictures with my point-and-shoot (no time for a photo op), then wrapped them up with the recipe. I dropped the package off on my way to the dinner and she gave me another big hug. She really is such a wonderful woman and I admire her greatly!

And just for fun, here's the soup recipe, which I modified from Stephanie's Kitchen. If you like the Zuppa Toscana soup from Olive Garden, you'll love this.

Zuppa Toscana Recipe:

1 lb mild Italian sausage
5 potatoes, sliced in half and than sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 32-ounce cartons chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 bunch kale, chopped
freshly grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the sausage in a large soup pot. Remove the sausage and set aside. Add garlic to the pot and brown until it is fragrant. Add the onions and soften for a minute or two. Then add the chicken broth and potatoes, and bring the pot to a boil. Simmer about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Add the cream and sausage to the pot and warm through. Add the kale right before serving. Then top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Ornaments Received

The goodies my partner, Diane, sent me from the Ho-Ho Holiday Swap arrived in the mail Wednesday. Look at these cute ornaments (and bookmark).



I seriously gasped when I took this ornament out of the package and saw the little note tucked inside. Diane sent me a piece of her family history as this ornament was made from a quilt given as a wedding gift to her parents (I think) in 1951. I couldn't believe it!



I don't have anything like this in my family so this was such a treasure to receive. It makes me excited for my grandchildren years down the road getting quilts that I've made.



This cute little tree ornament was made with the Figgy Pudding I sent out to our group.



And look at the back! Fun little selvages thrown in there. Love it!



Thanks so much, Diane! These ornaments have found a home nestled on my tree (high enough away from little hands, of course).

Fabric-Related Birthday Goodies

I celebrated my 28th birthday on Wednesday. I had to work. The mister had to work. It felt like a regular day. But then I tracked a package I had ordered the previous week and it was scheduled to be delivered on my birthday. Hip, hip! I ordered some yardage and a turnover of Figgy Pudding to add to my small stash.


I didn't learn about Figgy Pudding as early as the rest of you so I've been searching high and low for shops that still have some of it left.


I'm using Momo's Odyssea for the Jellyroll Quilt Along with Moose on the Porch Quilts. I bought solid Kona cotton in green, brown, and cream for the backing, sashing, and binding. When I ordered the Figgy Pudding, I decided to buy an extra yard of some Odyssea to supplement the quilt somewhere when we're done with all the blocks.


Yesterday, I stopped by my sister's house and was as giddy as a schoolgirl when I opened her gift. There was a new quilt book with really fun quilts for kids;


a quilt journal,


complete with blank pages for sketching


and graph paper for layouts;


some blackboard material for making chalkboard pillows for my two kiddos;


a scrapbook page for inspiration on a family tree quilt (we tossed around a lot of ideas for putting that one together);


and last, but certainly not least, a 24-piece fat quarter pack to make this kite quilt from my new book!


There's some Blush, Bloom & Grow, and others that I don't know the names of.


Yum,


yum,


yum!


Thanks, Hawl! You made my day!


The only downside of my birthday was that my back went out and I haven't been able to stitch an inch since Sunday! I'm dying to make some more progress on my Life Is What You Make It quilt as well as finish off the blocks for my Swirling Stars quilt.

Organizing my stash

I went to get goodies for our Easter baskets yesterday. Since my two kiddos are young and just starting to get a feel for holidays (well, at least the oldest is) we haven't done Easter baskets before. Instead of just doing junk, we opted to get them a couple sweets and a toy. While I was shopping, I decided to get gifts for my husband and myself as well. For me, some bins to start organizing my fabric stash.

Here is most of my fabric. Keep in mind that I'm a beginner and didn't really start buying fabric until December 09. I have some more fabric that wouldn't fit in this three-drawer organizer. It's still in my cedar chest.


The top drawer has most of the designer fabric I've bought. There's some Blush, Oz, Panache, the fat quarter pack I won, Figgy Pudding, Cutie Pie, Arcadia, Goodnight Monkey, and some others that I can't think of off the top of my head.


The second drawer has most of what I've bought at Joann's for different projects. Skirts and pillow covers, the spring quilt, scraps from my sister and mom, etc.


The bottom drawer has my flannel. There is flannel for two rag quilts to be made in there as well as the leftovers from the two rag quilts I made in the last few months for my kiddos.


I love having my fabric better organized. Although I need to buy at least one more unit, it's nice getting the fabric out of the plastic bags they came home in and into something a little more see-through and accessible.


Maybe organizing my stash this way will be a good way of getting the big TV off the floor. Maybe we'll have to get a new flat screen to hang on the wall and make floor space for the fabric bins. The mister would love that!

Stay tuned: This weekend I'm going to work on finishing piecing the top of my Life Is What You Make It quilt as well as piecing the eight remaining stars/pinwheels for my Swirling Stars quilt.