Urban Home Goods Swap Received

I should have posted about the goodies I received in the Urban Home Goods Swap a while ago as I received my package back in March. Jamie, stitch_girl, was my partner in round 4 of the Pillow Talk Swap. When I saw the photos she posted in the Flickr group of this bag and pincushion, I thought there was no way they were mine. But, what are the odds?! They wound up at my door.

She made me this gorgeous market bag and this adorable pear pincushion, complete with some fun pins.



She used fabric from both the Far Far Away and Far Far Away 2 lines by Heather Ross. Love it! Her choice of fabric for the straps was perfect too. Once I saw how well the Modern Meadow and Far Far Away 2 colors went together, I ordered some to use as the binding on my Far Far Away 2 Kitchen Windows quilt.

Here's sleeping beauty as the pocket on one side of the bag.



And the frog prince on the other pocket.



Jamie and I seriously must have been on the same wave length because as she was making this bag and using this exact little guy for the pocket, I was using him in the mini quilt I made for my Make Mine Modern Swap partner.



Here's a closeup of the pear pincushion that I absolutely adore! Jamie did such a good job on the construction. And look at the hand-stitching of the veins on the leaf!



Even her stitching on the stem is perfect. And I love these leaf pins. I want to go buy more of them because they're so nice and sturdy.



Thanks again, Jamie! You really did a great job putting this package together for me. I totally love everything about it!

Sewing Update

So, I've been more of a slacker with this blog than I thought I'd be after getting over the sick part of being pregnant. I've been sewing, but I just haven't made the time to take pictures of anything. I want to blame it on the cruddy weather we had up through Sunday (thanks, Mother Nature, for sending me not only rain on my birthday last week, but snow too!), but I know it's just my laziness winning out.

I finished the quilt top and backing for my Far Far Away 2 Kitchen Windows bed quilt. After much anxiety, I decided to send it out for quilting. I've never been willing to spend money on long-arm quilting since I figured I have the means to quilt myself, but this quilt is huge (between a king and a queen) and I knew I'd kill my back if I tried to baste it and quilt it myself. (A bad back plus no support due to an ever-expanding belly equals a lot of back pain.) So, I searched around and found a lady near my inlaws who is quilting it for me for a pretty good price. I should get it back next week. Once I get it bound and washed up, I'll post pictures of it.

While that quilt has been at the quilter's, I started item #3 on my 2011 quilty to-do list: my Goldfish quilt.



I had already fussy cut 20 goldfish out, and then I added a little bit of white around each fish. Then I used 3" strips of orange and blue fabrics to create each block. The sashing is Kona stone. I plan to add an additional border of the orange and blue stripes fabric from Heather Ross' Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries line to make it big enough for a lap quilt.





Several people have asked if I was making this quilt for our baby. That wasn't initially what I had in mind, but I have some more fish that I can use to make a baby-size version of this quilt...if I can keep some sewing momentum going through the summer.

2011 Quilty To-Do List Check-In

Thanks, Elizabeth, for hosting this check-in. I really needed a reminder of the goals I set for this year. I'm sad to say that I'm pretty far off from where I'd like to be. I didn't realize how unproductive being pregnant would make me.

1. Cathedral Windows Quilt - Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it's not going to happen. I at least bought all the background fabric that I'll need, so I'll be ready to go whenever I get around to starting on this one.

2. Bee Quilt - I'm mailing out the fabric today for my month in the Sew Beautiful Bee. I'm really excited to see what everyone sends back and how my circle of geese quilt comes together. Once all the blocks are received, I'll need to make two more blocks and then I can piece the top. Hopefully, this quilt doesn't get put on the back burner.

3. Goldfish Quilt - I've fussy cut all the goldfish for this quilt and pulled the fabric I want to use. Now it's just a matter of starting to piece the blocks.

4. New Bed Quilt - The quilt top for this one is almost finished and I'm really excited about it. I started heading in one direction (using All Star 2), but then changed my mind and decided to use my Far Far Away 2 Kitchen Windows quilt for my bed. Thankfully, the mister is on board regardless of the princesses. =)



5 & 6. Quilts for two of my sisters - I've got most of the HSTs pieced for one of the quilts. I've also gathered the fabrics for the other quilt and need to finalize the design I want to go with.

7. Quilt for my mom's bed - Haven't started on this one.

8. Colorbrick Quilt - I've got my fabrics set aside for this one (are you seeing a pattern here?), but haven't cut into them at all.

9. Wheels Quilt - Haven't started on this one either.

10. Figgy Pudding Christmas Quilt - I hope to make this one over the summer. I will have my hands full with a sweet new baby during the months that I would normally work on Christmas items, so I think Christmas in July will be in order this year.

11. Unfinished quilt tops - These are still on hold and will probably stay that way. I'll probably finish the Patching Up quilt I made when I had my miscarriage last year. I think it will be a good way to allow the quilt to come full circle by finishing it for this baby.



12. Swaps - I think I can fully check this item off my list. I participated in the Spicing Up the Kitchen Swap, the Urban Home Goods Swap, and the Make Mine Modern Swap (shipping today!). I'm taking a break from swaps for the rest of the year. I officially return to work in the office in May and it may take me a while to find a good balance in my new schedule. I don't want to commit to anything that I may not be able to give my full attention to.

So there you have it. I definitely can see where I need to step up my game and "git er dun" as my work friends would say. Now that I'm finished with my swap items and have a month off in my bee, I'll be able to start prioritizing and check a few items off this list.

Now, head on over to Don't Call Me Betsy to see how everyone else is doing on their 2011 goals.

Back from Portland

Hi all! I had a fantastic weekend in Portland attending Lizzy House's Textile Design Workshop. I took a lot of photos. I'll show a few in this post, but to see the entire set, click here. You can also view the PNCA Flickr set by clicking here.

My return flight was delayed three hours so I got home much later than I wanted last night. It sure was nice to come home to my family though.

Over the three-day workshop, Lizzy taught us true pattern design and then we spent the rest of the time learning how to block print and screen print on fabric. It was great having such an art-filled weekend.

Now I'm trying to catch up and get back to a normal home-life. Enjoy the photos and let me know if you have any questions.

This and that

I tried my hand at paper foundation piecing for the first time a couple weeks ago. In our Sew Beautiful Bee, Elizabeth sent out these AMH fabrics and asked for spiderweb blocks. After two nights of sewing, I finished this puppy up. Talk about needing patience to tackle this block! I love how it turned out though.





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Tomorrow is going to be a big day! I'm heading to Portland with two of my sisters to check out this:


I can't tell you how excited I am. Not only do I get to have a little vacation with my sisters and pick Lizzy House's brain for three days, but I get to spend time with my best friend. It's sure to be an amazing weekend!

I hope all of you have a fantastic weekend too!