Waiting with Anticipation ...

Editor's Note: I had wanted to post this yesterday, but had to wait for my mom to return from the Quilt Retreat where they revealed the Round Robin quilts to the owners. I was unable to make it and since she didn't return until nearly 10 p.m., this post is going out today instead.

This week I finished my first Quilting Round Robin. Last November my Mom and a group of quilting friends needed another person to fill out their Round Robin, which was part of 3 other groups of 6. Since we started a meeting behind and one person short, we needed to attend our first meeting, their second meeting, with our medallion block and one border.

This was my medallion, is Sweet Tea Cottage Block of the Sweetheart Cottages in the Follow Your Heart Pattern by The Quilt Company. It was the first pieced quilt block like this. It was not as hard as I thought it would be and look forward to trying other patterns in the future.

 

Then I added a checker board style border and solid to bring out more of the green accents in the medallion.

 

 

The Shabby Chic look and soft pinks and greens are something that I have always loved though it was not the dream George had in mind for a home when we got married, so I never really decorated the home in that theme. But when I saw the Sweet Tea Cottage Block, I know it had to be the centerpoint of my quilt.

 

As far as my first Round Robin experience, I would have to say it was very intimidating. I am a novice quilter, at best, mostly making large repeating blocks. I have been exploring with Quiltsmart's printed interfacing, but I have very little confidence in my own skills. It was a big hindrance because despite the support and encouragement of the other quilts in my team and the others in the group, I still felt like I would be the person to mess up these beautiful quilts for everyone else and it soon prevented me from having fun. I learned a lot from the other participants and really enjoyed the experience, but after some thought I decided to continue in the Round Robin ... but solo. That just means each meeting I will work on a quilt and add a border, it will just be one quilt - mine. That way if I ruin it, or waste fabric trying to do something new, or any of the other worries I had, it will be at a cost to me, not another quilter. In fact, it will be the one I wrote about in my last post.

 

But regardless, last night was amazing. My mom arrived, as I said, pretty late. We had just come back from an Astros (MLB) baseball game and was trying to get the 4-year-old to settle down after copious amounts of junk food and sugary treats.

 

She arrived, ready to reveal my quilt and this is what greeted me ...

 

 

 

A few close ups of the various borders ...

 



 

Absolutely beautiful! I just keep opening it up and looking at it ... only to find something new to fall in love with. {sigh}

I will probably add another border or two to finish it off, and then hopefully get it quilted. But this wasn't the only tea-themed surprise this weekend. Come back later to learn what else I got to feed my obsession!

Until our next cup of tea ...

 

Quilting with Quiltsmart

So I just finished the last of the quilts from the Round Robin I participated in this past year (post on that coming tomorrow). But during that time I have been wanting to just saddle up the the sewing machine and get creative with some of the Quiltsmart interfacing I've got in my QS box in my sewing room. It sits there staring at me, begging to be inspiring but with so much on my plate lately and the commitments that I'd made didn't allow me to just be creative at the sewing machine. In fact, sometimes I was stressed trying to get to the projects on my list!

But, the Round Robin quilt that I finished on Tuesday was the final project to be complete! So excited!! Even though I am in the final frenzied weeks of the Fall Quilt Issue at TEAinTEXAS, I did spend my lunch hour "playing". 

I had previously started working on a Princess Feather pattern. The first border is not necessarily a border as much as turning the medallion on point. Something that I am scared to do because of the math involved and the potiental to waste fabric getting it right. But turning it on point using the grid interfacing and 2-in squares. Previously I had cut the squares and ironed them to the interfacing hoping for time to sew them ... but then my sewing machine broke.

But my dear sweet husband surprised me with a Husquvarna Viking Opal 670 in May and now I am in heaven!! So today, I finally had the time to get some stitching done, so off I went, getting started on my waiting Quiltsmart project!

Oh, did I mention it's Christmas themed!?! I have never made a quilt with the holiday theme or colors. I have always been hesitant because it was a little intimidating to make a quilt that was Christmas-y without being childish or "country", I wasn't sure if I could make one that was elegant and holiday-insired. But I am up for the challenge!! 

So let's see where this journey takes us!!

I am also in the early stages of working on a secret Quiltsmart project, something that I'd been thinking of and making notes on for about a year now. I'll post some sneak peeks of it, but am hoping that I can have the full vision complete by Christmas for a big reveal. Fingers crossed! 

Until our next cup of tea ...

 

Batter Up! Time to Rally Around the Home Team!!

Well our little Monkey has just finished his first season of Little League Baseball and it was an experience for us all! He was one of only 3 4 year olds, all who barely made the cutoff age by a month or so. The other 8 kids had played both Sping and Fall of last year in Instructional T-Ball and are moving to T-Ball.

Oh, was fun it was to watch him play, though most of the time he was dancing, practicing to be a Ninja Turtle or Superhero or picking clovers. The three of us moms were assured that all of the others did the same thing at this age, so hopefully next year will be more actual playing.

He was great at hitting and fielding, but once he was bored, other interests took over.

He did swim for about a year (you'll see that in previous posts from 2011) and even spent six weeks in soccer (the coach spent all her time on her phone and we had a lot of "breaks" where the kids sat around.) I decided that I should probably start a scrap book for him with photos and stuff because if I wait too long, it'll just be overwhelming. So I spent a few hours pulling out scrapbook paper I'd collected, sorting through digital photos and ordering prints and gathering notes of what I wanted to do. Finally I was ready to start!! Let the fun begin!!

Here is the first page for baseball. I wanted to get all his team info on there because I'll never remember. I can't even remember kids from his preschool class last year, much less any of his teammates years from now.

Well, I'm off to get some more pages done while he is running errands with Daddy. Ah, the life of a crafty mom!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

 

A Little Bit of Christmas for St. Paddy's Day ...

Hello Crafty Friends!! Its been  a while since I last posted on here, but I have been super busy with my new job, life as a baseball mom and working on some designs for a friend who has a quilting company .... but more on that later.

I've always found it easier to work on quilts when the weather is cold ... and even here in South Texas, we've had plenty of cold weather. Going with that theme, I want to share a project I had posted on another blog for a Christmas ornament in 2012 (blog has since been on hiatus.) I've had several friends ask me about it in the past few months and recently there were two questions on Pinterest about it as well. So here is the original post ... 

This Week's Project for the Great Mickey Mouse Tree of 2012

I'm going to try to do a set of ornaments a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas ... At least that is the goal. For the most part I know what I want to do, it's just finding that extra hour or two to do them.

Here is this week's project:

There are actually 4 but I am hoping to do more. This past weekend Mom and I went to JoAnn's and the Christmas stuff was on sale 50%-70% off, but they only had 4 of these ornaments in the large size, so as I get extra coupons I'll try to get a few more.

Now this isn't the plan I had at first. Here was the first try ...

But I wasn't happy with the ribbons. There were kind of "blah". Monkey and I went to see my aunt one night and we got to talking about the corkscrew ribbon for bows she was making and it led to the finished ones above. Much better ... I'll try to do a post on the step-by-step instructions to making the corkscrew bows, but if you Google it, you can find a variety of tutorials.

Inside the ornament, I cut out Mickey (or Minnie) shapes out of glittery scrapbook paper with this handy-dandy Disney paper cutter. I think I will add more and fill them almost to the top, but I can add later as I get more cut. It's easy, but so time consuming.

Well here's hoping I get time to do some more projects between now and next Thursday ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Grandmother's Inspiration

Every day I look for inspiration. You never know when or where it will find you. With that said ...

In January I started keeping my small fabric scraps with the hope of finding something to do with them. It seemed like a waste to throw them away and I kept forgetting to bring them to friends who have the patience for miniature quilts. So while I was perusing the Quiltsmart website making a wishlist for my birthday (2 week or so ago), I realized she had 1-inch Grid Interfacing (I have been doing projects with the 2 and 2 1/2 inch grid). I thought to myself, who would be crazy to cut pieces so small!?! Well fast forward to last weekend and you'll see who is just that crazy!

I was looking for an afghan while watching a movie and the first one I found was a scrap afghan my great grandmother made me years ago when I was in high school. She made it using all the leftovers and scrap pieces of yarn she kept and did the borders in purple. As I was watching the movie I suddenly thought why can't I do this with scraps ... in a quilt!

So the next day I set out to collect all the little piles of scraps from projects and got to work cutting them into 1-inch squares. I'll order some grid panels soon and get started, but I am so excited!! I know I want to keep the scraps together, rather than scatter them in a random collage, but I may do that in a later quilt.

So here is what I need from you ... Do you think I should ...

• Line all of the squares up in a row OR start in a corner and do more like clusters of the fabric?

• Should I keep all the panels in the 1-inch grid OR alternate between the 2-inch and 2 1/2 inch grids for larger pieces of scraps?

 Hopefully, I can remember to do a monthly update so we can all see how it is going!

Whatcha Doing Wednesday: Busy Start to New Year

Well, I can honestly say, I am exhausted!! I wish I could say it was because of some cool reason, like spending a week hiking in some exotic place, but alas, its just every day life.

Aside from weathering some icy winds the likes this Southern Girl is not accustomed to, I've taken on some new projects, I am working with a company that I absolutely love to create some upcoming new projects, but its still pretty super secret at this point. On top of two jobs and a hubby doing law school full time and an internship with the DA's office, we decided to sign the little guy up for Little League ... you know, because had some empty spots on our calendar. He was also promoted to a new class and he is progressing RAPIDLY so there are lots of programs and things we are doing with him to keep him challenged.

I am working on a lot of projects in the "creative" part of life as well. A friend's baby show is coming up, so there are things for that, I launched a new blog called, The Traveling Teacups and its a creative community for military families. We post projects, ideas and stuff that helps military families maintain a creative aspect in daily life whether its education or play. So we have creative posts about projects, reading, staying active and more. Just overall, a way to keep daily life well ... creative!

At my day job, this week I've been working on Helene Knott's Garden Patch Cats, as well as her Bloomin' Dogs. It has been quite an adventure. I'm not sure where I stand on the whole series, but there are some I like and some, well, they scare me. But they are a huge hit among our quilters, so we are working on completing more samples to show them off! What do you think?

I have also be working on some personal projects that are on my wishlist and completing some of the things on my Works in Progress List. Quiltsmart projects are at the top of my list right now, there are so many things to do. I'll show off some shortly but here is one that I did for the Traveling Teacups blog, and the start of something new ... Hmm, wonder what it could be?

I have finished a few things over the past few weeks, and will show them shortly. But, I'm off to work on anther project ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Starting Off 2014 With Organization and Goals

So I've been a little busy with some projects that I will fill you in on soon, but here is an update on where I am on half-finished projects ...

 

Every year, I start off by creating a list of unfinished projects and setting goals for the year. Some year I meet the goals, some years I don't, occasionally I exceed them, and that is a happy treat! 

I love organizing and reviewing where I am on many projects. This started of course, a few years after marrying my husband and learning how hectic military life can be, especially once the moves start. We were at our first duty station a little more than 4 years, so it wasn't unit that first move that I realized how chaotic things can get. Even wit the best of intentions and all the time in the world, not all of the boxes get unpacked, so get lost or damaged and others are mis-marked and put away as stored items. {sigh} Who says military life isn't an adventure.

In December 2012, the Army sent the "baby", pup and I home while my husband was sent to Korea. We knew at that point that he would be attending law school following that year overseas, so we were set on being in our own home for a while. Even now, 2 years later, we still have unpacked boxes. 

I have been working on it slowly, and have discovered a plethora of half-finished projects in boxes from one or more moves ago. It wasn't uncommon for me to leave the boxes that weren't a necessity until later, which is where craft projects were categorized.  

Over the years and many moves, I'd learned to bag a project or two to keep me busy until I could unpack the craft stuff, but that didn't stop me from exploring quilt shops or arts & crafts stores in my new location, so I'd start new projects that had to be added to the ever growing list.

This year, I decided to also make a list of the projects I want to do. I often see a project or pattern that I want to try, but forget about it when I get distracted by things in progress. Therefore, I will now make a list of these things, though I may not get to them. 

So far, this is my list for 2014 ...

Stitching

• Let It Snow (kitchen towel)
• Red, White & Blue Ribbon
• "Jamie" Star Towel
• Roly Poly Santas (ornaments)
• Watermelon Towel
• Purple Quilt Block
• Candy Canes (kitchen towel)
• God Bless Me (baby bedding)
• Daily Tabletopper
• Summer is Sweet (kitchen towel)
• Rejoice Wreath (pillow)
• Pink & White Monochromatic Heart
• Army Seal
• Easter Bunny & Egg (mom)
• Easter Bunny & Egg (me)
• Love, Honor, Cherish
• Christmas Stocking

Sewing/Quilting

• Black and White Quilt
• A Home for All Seasons
• Red, White and Blue Stars (towel)
• Spring 2013 Mystery Quilt
• Pink and Blue Child and Doll Quilts
• Blue and Gold Quilt
• Country Charm Wallhanging Quilt

Misc. Projects

• Jamie's art display
• Maggie's art display

Project Wish List

• Quiltsmart Lone Star
• Quiltsmart Mondo or Midi Bag

I'll post this as a page link at the top and update it as often as I can.

 

Whatcha Doing Wednesday: Holiday Projects

What a busy week it has been. Last Thursday I launched The Traveling Teacups: A Creative Community for Military Families. It is a blog aimed towards projects that military families can do, such as PCS projects (activities during moves), organizational projects, make and take meals for socials and gatherings and more.

We also spent the week with Navy friends who came to town to visit family (which included us!) 

We also went to a tree farm and got a Christmas tree and took all the decorations out of the attic ... Um, we have a lot.

After we put the tree up, and set out other decorations, I started working on a Christmas tree skirt. As readers from last year mayrecall, our tree is (mostly) Mickey Mouse themed and Idid a lot of ornaments last Christmas. This year I decided to go a step further and make a tree skirt. This is my progress so far. (These 5 are actually sewn together now, just have 3 more panels.)

 

I made the circles using Quiltsmart fusible interfacing with circles. So easy!! And with small and large circles, I can get two circles from each, so a panel of fusible has 12 circles, so I actually have 24! 

 

I am so excited, I hope to get this done and then do the panel of gingerbread men! I have other projects on the to-do list as well, such as the Pumpkin Seed quilt.

I'll post photos when I'm finished!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Checking In, Keeping Busy ...

Hello friends! Sorry I have MIA for a bit. I finally took the plunge. With so much encouragement, prodding and interest in the creation of a Creative Community for Military Families I finally decided it was time. So since November 1, I have been busy moving all the the posts from this blog that we've posted in the past month the the new blog and am getting ready to launch the blog Thanksgiving Day.

I am excited to put it mildly and apprehensive to put it honestly.

I've got so many ideas and hope that eventually I can get some guest bloggers to keep things fun!

This will return to my personal creative outlet and I am so excited. I've been conflicted about putting stuff that was about what I was working on while I was trying to get an idea of the kind of interest there is in a military family one.

Switching to the personal side, I am super excited about the start of the holiday season. Christmas music on the radio inspired me as I finish Thanksgiving projects and start looking ahead to Christmas. Yeah!!

This was the latest wine shades for our formal table decor. I loved this vintage-y fabric and it really matched the centerpiece mat.

This past weekend, my husband and I enjoyed a night out and attended the Alley Theatre's Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was great and seeing Houston at night is always a treat!

Well, off to work on some projects! Until our next cup of tea ...

You Saw It Here First: FA Edmunds Stitches Up Fun

It has been a busy week and a half for me. First I prepped for then worked at the International Quilt Market. This is such as great event, where hundreds of vendors in the quilting and creative arts industry come together to show off their latest and greatest products. While I spent lots of time working in the booth for my "day job", I did get to walk around and explore.

In my last post I briefly profile my choice for Top 5 Vendors to Watch For. Another company that was also at Market was FA Edmonds Co. I've worked with the company on several occasions. Edmunds has spent more than 50 years manufacturing needle and quilting frames and accessories. Recently, I had the chance to explore a little more into their products. 

Many creative arts projects that I do involve some sort of stitching or embroidery. I just enjoy needlework. With a variety of sizes and shapes of frames, its easy to find one that fits your needs. I really enjoyed trying my hand with the various hoops and can tell you that I have had a version of their Quilters & Stitchers No-Slip Hoop Tape on my hoops for a while now - both hand and machine hoops. Love it!

I've always loved a good sturdy hand hoop because it it one of projects that travel easily during those PCS moves. I remember being stuck in a hotel room at 8 months pregnant waiting on housing paperwork to clear and being so grateful for zippered bags of stitching projects. I switched easily between one or another whenever boredom set in and having a hoop that could take the stress and restlessness of a bored pregnant woman was crucial.

I will change my hoop to larger or smaller size depending on the project that I was working on and the fact that the Edmunds hoops I have stack inside each other will definitely make future moves less painful since can pack more efficiently and have multiple grab-n-go projects on hand to keep me entertained.

 

I would have to say that the one product that I have added to my wish list is the Antique Thread Keeper, and organization tool that had rods to hold thread and a drawer for additional storage. Most military family members will agree that organization is important, though maintaining organization may often be a wish of its own.

 

At the International Quilt Market I had time to talk to some of the representatives who attended and I was impressed with the teams' willingness to answer questions, and their knowledge in making sure that I found the products that were right for me.

 

 

One day, when military life lets us settle down more, I would love to work on a huge project on a floor hoop, but that is on the list for the future. 

 

The F.A. Edmunds line now includes hoops, frames and stands used for quilting, cross stitch, needlepoint, tapestry, crewel, latch hook, embroidery and punch needle embroidery. Edmunds' brand can be found in specialty chains, stitchery catalogs, internet outlets and independent retailers throughout the US, Canada, Europe, South and Central America and Asia. So for military families stationed overseas, you can find then near you as well.

Until our next cup of tea ...