An Itsy Bitsy Spider

I have finished another UFO (unfinished object) on my project "to do list". This was a quick and easy project. I actually thought I'd finished it last year but wasn't really happy with the web only being in the right corner, so I duplicated and modified where needed on the left side. I like it and so does the husband.  Halloween is his favorite holiday. Now I'm off to do another Halloween project!!

Garden of Color ... In Madison, WI

I'm sitting at the airport waiting to head back home and see my Prince Charming and Little Prince, so I thought I'd post about my weekend activities.

I had a great, but VERY busy weekend. On Wednesday, I flew in to Wisconsin to help my mom at the Quilt Expo in Madison, WI, where an estimated 17,000 are quilters and crafts (and some husbands) in attendance and I can tell you, it was fun both as a vendor AND as a attendee (Mom let me go shop a little each day when things slowed down.) There were more than 175 vendors in attendance as well as 126 informational lectures, 24 stage presentations, 30 sit & sew workshops, and 12 hands-on workshops. I wish I could have attended some of those!

On the work front, I was lucky and mom had me working the demo table all weekend, so I got to fuse art quilts all weekend, specifically floral ones, my favorite.

The first one I made was for me! It was called Country Charm, by Happy Stash Quilts, though mine was a little less country and a little more rock-n-roll.

Instead of the country colors on a light colored background,I decided to do mine in jewel-tones with a black background. Mom really like the color combinations so I guess I chose well. Usually I am really hesitant and ask her a lot about color choices or give her a palette and she helps choose the fabrics. So, I'm a little proud I guess. I totally get how nerve-racking it is for newer quilters or those new to fusible to choose colors, and why so many ask for fabric kits. Why mess with a good thing ... But I did and it turned out great.

After finishing mine, mom asked me to make the one for her sample. We make a lot of sample so that we have them on display and she can change them out according to the area that we are going. She also teaches a variety of classes and brings anywhere from 60-100 quilts, so she is always making more. She added a new class recently where she shows different changes to a pattern that can make it unique. You don't always have to follow directions ... Unless you're a child and your mom is giving them!

So I let her use some of the ones I make as a teaching tool, because really, I haven't even got my son's school pictures from last year up, so I'm a little behind on hanging my wall-hangings as well. 

Ok, so I did Mom's Country Charm as well, at least the tops. We have to put them on background fabric when we get home and have more work space. I still need to decide what I want to do for borders on mine ... Hmm ...

Here is a photo of both, side-by-side. Mine is on the right, Mom's in on the left. (Hmm, not such a good view of mine. Oh, well.)

Since I finished two quilt tops on Day 1, on Day 2 I started working on McKenna Ryan's Bella Garden, a sample for my mom. It is a nine-block pattern when put together creates a large "collage art quilt" as I like to call them. I have loved McKenna's work for years, but never did one because I was a bit intimidated and also, it's been years since I demonstrated at a show- like 10 years!

 

Usually, I did the sales and cashier part of shows since I wasn't too comfortable answering off-the-cuff questions that come with the demo part of it. I know the facts (the marketing side of me), but never really did the quilts, so I could've really talk about technique or experiences. Yesterday, someone called me " an expert on fusible and I turned looking for my mother! I guess I answered her questions sufficiently!

Wow! This post is getting long ... Ok, so back to McKenna's Bella Garden. I did Block 1 {Garden Party} and half of Block 2 {A Vine Buzz} on Day 2 of the show. So easy, so fun ... But mainly so beautiful. The flowers are so much in the realm of what I love, being a girly-girl and all. I like the animals of Bigfork Bay Cotton Company, but the florals win my heart!! Here is Block 1. We have to put it on background fabric, but Mom will do that when they are all put together.

Here is Block 2. I loved putting the grape clusters together and the intertwining tree truck was awesome. I was so happy that McKenna chose to intertwine them rather than piece them, it is so realistic. 

I started fusing Block 3 {Lily's Pad} to fabric, but we didn't get it cut or start fusing together. Maybe I'll get to work on that one later, but either way, I'll try to post photos of all of the ones we worked on when they are finished. 

Happy quilting, (or whatever craft you are doing today!)

 

Boot Scootin'

I have been having a little fun lately or at least trying. I haven't had a lot of extra time, but I have been trying to get some crafting in. 

You may remember my extensive to-do list, so I decided to start tackling some of it. This was one was a priority because my mom wanted to use it as a sample at quilt shows and when she teaches classes. So how'd I make it? Glad you ask!

First, the pattern is Bigfork Bay Cotton Company's"Bootiful"by artist Carol Rockwell. It is a fusible appliqué  pattern, made using the Appliqué Pressing Sheet by Bear Thread Designs. Essentially is is a grown up version of childhood cutting and pasting! You trace the pattern onto fusible web, iron the fusible to the backside of your fabric and cut them out, The place The Appliqué Pressing Sheet on top of your placement guide and build the pattern. Easy Peasy!!

So this is mine just before I ironed it on the background fabric. It didn't take me long, ion fact, I rolled it up like this to finish at my mom's house around Christmas, but then the baby got sick and the holidays hit, then Hubby came home from a year-long tour in Korea. So life got in the way of me finishing this it literally took me 5 minutes to finish it.

 

I have another pattern that I'll be doing as a demo at the show this weekend, sometimes I get to do ones that I want and then mom uses them for samples, especially since we have such different tastes and two patterns turn out completely different. I'll have to show you that in another post one day. Until then,

Happy stitching ...

 

http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/quilting-store/bootiful.html

Growing Pains

Tommorrow is a big day ... my lil guy starts Preschool 3. We actually have him in an accelerated program where he started a Preschool curriculum at 2. He's going great in it, and the teachers say that he is really picking things us fast. 

This was the first class he was in for a year. Since the school starts the preschool program at 2, they also start the kids on the "school calendar" schedule, transferring them in August, but they still have to be at the curriculum level of the new class. 

His current class has 22 kids and only 9 are moving forward, to include our smart little Monkey. 

I made a little sign for photos of his first dayin the new class. Hopefully bith her and Daddy will be in a good mood and I can get a photo. Both of them think that this type of stuff is nonsense, but i try to get these moments before they fight too much.

All of the items I found  in my craft room, so its a bonus to have a "free" project.  

Have you documented school moments like this? What did you do? How did it turn out? What advice do you have for other moments like this?

2013 Hoffman Challenge

There is really nothing I can say about the Hoffman Challenge.

These are some of my favorite quilts on display. There were also dolls, clothing and accessories like bags and totes, but I forgot to get photos of those.

Which one is your favorite?

 

A "Mountain" of Fun!

I know its been a while since I posted {hangs head in shame}, but it was with a good excuse {smiles in excitement}.

We just came back from a vacation to Disney World with our neighbors and their children who had never been. It was so much fun to see Disney World "like the first time". We'd had annual passes when we were stationed at the Air Force Reserve Base in Miami. We got to show them all the things we loved and were even able to ride a few of the adult rides that wasn't possible without someone to watch the toddler.

I did a few sewing projects before we left and the tote bag and skirt (for neighbor's daughter) were great. The boys loved their pirate's bandana, though it was too hot for them to wear.

Then earlier this week, I hoped in the heavily loaded car with my mom and we headed off on a nearly 2-day drive to Loveland, CO where Bear Thread Designs had a booth at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Festival! Oh, my goodness! It is the second-largest show that we do each year and as usual, I had so much fun! 

I was so excited that Mom decided to to let me man the sewing demo table where I made strip quilts (or at least started them), from Brenda Henning's Strip Therapy series. So in love now. I almost want to do them all! Every day was a new project as we made sample quilts for the booth in the future. Now I want to do too many projects to even count! I usually am the cashier and help customers, but this time I spent the 3-days sewing. Can't ask for a better job than that!

I was also able to spend some time looking at the 2013 Hoffman Challenge projects and I have to admit, I will never have skill or imagination like that. I'll post some photos later, as many are on my iPhone, not the iPad, but it was breathe-taking. If you ever get a chance to see one of those amazing quilt displays, don't pass it up! So much amazing talent!

I also got some fabrics and accessories to make some projects, some that will have to be done this weekend for our son's god-mother's shower (Yeah! A little girl to make stuff for!). I'll post those photos after the shower on Saturday, but in the meantime, wish me luck that I get everything done on time!

Well, I hope everyone in blog-land is having some fun with projects. I'm going to see how many blog posts I can write while I am a passenger (though I should sleep!). Here is a pretty picture of the Colorado plains ... looks like a storm is rolling in ...

15 minutes later ... stormed rolled in and look what we saw! 

You could see the complete rainbow and it was much brighter, but an iPad in the backseat made it difficult to capture. A few minutes later, we had a beautiful sunset as well ... Well Colorado, you are showing your true colors today and we are thankful!!

Happy stitching!

"Whatcha Doing?" Wednesday: A Dose of Disney

I hope everyone is having a "creative" week! For me it has been mostly about Disney. Some of our friends is taking their kids to Disney in a few weeks and I made this skirt for their 13 year old daughter. I have been trying to find a quick and easy pattern and saw these "circle skirt" DIYs on Pinterest  and gave it a try. Really easy, but since she is really tall and thin, I had to add length to make it "Daddy-approved" so we went with a black wide hem to compliment the (not shown) black elastic waist. I'll have to post a photo when completely done.

For both their son and mine I made pirate bandanas out of this material (ARG, matey!) It was quick and easy, just square of material, folded in half to form a triangle and ta-da! You have turned a toddler into a pirate!

 

 

Lastly, from the leftover material I made this cute Minnie Mouse tote ... o.k. this was for me, but seriously, its so cute! We go to Disney when we can so next trip ... I'm going to be rocking this cute bag. It's actually larger than I had anticipated since I didn't measure or plan out. Just cut and go really. Making additions, like to ribbon as I went. Now I want to do more Disney stuff! But first I have to finish the skirt and add handles to the tote. We'll see where the creative journey leads!!

 

Craft Room: It's What You Make of It!

What is your craft room like? Is it a room specially made for you or a corner of the living room? I can say that I have had it all. From a bag by the sofa, to a room solely dedicated to my crafts, and everything in between!

 

We have spent the last 10 years in the military with a total of 5 moves, each house different. In Louisiana I had a random walk-in closet. It was an odd space, as all the on-base houses in the section had the same space, but for some reason the two-bedroom houses on the ends of streets had only one bath and the others had two.

 

So there was a random walk-in closet in the hallway. It was barely the width of the doorway, so you couldn't put shelves on the sides, only at the end. So they put small shelves barely 12-inches deep. It was such a challenge to make it useful space. By the time I got it to a functioning level, it was on to the next adventure.

 

Soon the Army moved us to Georgia where we had 3 bedrooms, but since we were only there for 8 months, we only unpacked necessities, so my craft (mostly stitching) projects were things that I found and started there. Packing all those boxes in hopes of finding everything I needed for a project just didn't seem worth it. Two months after we got there, we found out we were expecting out first child, so baby bibs and towels were fun, quick and easy!! 

There were other moves, but before we moved back home, we were stationed in Miami. We had a big 4-bedroom home and the downstairs "office" was quickly deemed my craft room. (I think at 8-months pregnant my husband was willing to agree to anything to prevent the pregnancy tears!) It was a small room by many standards, but for a craft room it was great! On one side there was double door closet which held our holiday decorations, and then we put his grandfather's large executive desk on one side for my computer and paperwork, and the other side we placed the childhood desk that his grandfather build him for the sewing machine. A bookshelf for organizing and it was great! the room was just off of the kitchen, so I could use the breakfast table for cutting or laying out projects.

 

Finally the Army brought us back home, where Monkey and I made ourselves comfortable while the Army sent my husband to Korea for a year. Now we are here, in the home my husband grew up in. My craft room is larger, but space is smaller. At first it was going to be a craft room/guest room, but then my husband was accepted to and started law school, so now it is a craft room and office.
 

 

Organizing the smaller space has been a challenge, but I am grateful that we have the financial stability for me to be able to do extra things like this, even with my husband transferring to the Army Reserves and in school full time. It's still a work in progress, but I have learned to adapt over the years as a military spouse so its not took big of an issue. I do occasionally still take over the kitchen or playroom floor when I need to ... that's right, everyone shares around here and sometimes I am laying out a project alongside trains and Legos!

 

I am off this week, so I am hoping to get some projects done, or at least with enough progress to post some updates! What are you working on this weekend?

 

 

The Accidental Chef: Lasagna Rolls

This is a blog post I used to do on my main blog, A Cup of Tea with Friends. I love trying new recipes, though I seldom follow them exactly. Usually I combine several recipes, then see what happens! Then I post it on here and pray (if its good) that it comes out the same next time. So far only 1 recipe has proven difficult to replicate, The White Beans and Ham.

So, here it is ...

Ingredients ... 

9 lasagna noodles

1 pound ground beef

 1 c. chopped onions

1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce

 2 c. mozzarella cheese

 1 c. parmesan cheese

 1 container of ricotta cheese

 2 eggs (lightly beaten

 

Directions:

1. I put water on to boil for the noodles.
2. Then I browned the ground beef.
3. As these cooked I mixed together the eggs, lightly beaten, cheeses and some salt and pepper.
4. I let the noodles cook for 12 minutes once the water started to boil. Then drained.
5. When the ground beef was browned, I added chopped onions and 1/2 of the jar of spaghetti sauce.
6. One by one, I  layered the noodles with a spoonful of beef and sauce, then the cheese mixture and rolled then up. (I didn't put any filling on the last 1/4 of the noodle because it made it too full. Then I placed then in a greased glass baking dish.
7. I baked for 13 minutes at 400 degrees.
8. THEN WE ATE THEM UNTIL OUR BELLIES WERE FULL.

Oh, man, they were yummy. Hubby and I are taking some to work for lunch tomorrow, but I am thinking of doing more of the meat and sauce mixture next time and freezing some. There was some extra cheese mixture left over, so I may try it with spinach one night when hubby is at school and see how they turn out vegetarian style! I'll let you know ...

 

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! I hope you'll be spending time with those you love. This is probably the first time our toddler will be able to stay up late enough to see fireworks, so we're looking for some family event in our area. These are some patriotic projects I've done in the last year. Hope you have a great day!!