Blogger of the Month Quilt Along

I have been neglecting mentioning an honor at being asked to partcipate in a blog along. There are 12 of us participating - one each month on our blogs. I have the list and will be updating from my mom's computer this weekend. My computer is attempting to die and takes hours to update! I am adding a button to my blog next and will be posting a full post with links and details in case you want to hop from blog to blog and learn a new block eachmonth!! Details this weekend!!

Dining Room/Coffee Table Makeover

Before:

The dining room set and light fixture

We rent and therefore, you can do little changes to your place without taking down walls etc.  Our landlord is great and allows us to paint, etc.  I have hated the light fixture since we moved in. I hate the carpet too, but that's another topic for another day :).  I love our dining room set but always wanted it to be black.  Here is the middle process.  We still need to seal it - but it is almost done. I reupholstered the pads several months ago, but now they look perfect with the set.

(Ignore the hubs in the background doing laundry!!) The round table is the coffee table, I forgot to take a before photo.  The little triangle around the table are little stools to sit on. I am in the process of changing those too.  The table was brown with leather. I got the table for free from MIL but I hate brown.  So, we are making it work.  Pictures to follow soon of the coffee table.  We also got a new rug:

We got a new run in the living room and moved the gray one to the dining room.  Once the pads are on the stools it will be complete. I still need a gray sectional for the living room but that is one taking some time to find exactly what I want and in our budget range :).

The light fixture up close on the box.  Love this and got it for $25 at Lowe's.  We have placed the old light fixture in the closet should our landlord want it placed back up when we leave (why, I would never know???).  As you can see in the above photos that the hook was placed in a strange place to hang a light fixture.  That is next on the hubs list to move the light fixture actually over the table. It will be so fantastic when it is all complete.

I have some general accessories to still find and I am working on a table runner for the dining room to bring color in. I love black and grays - but I know I need to bring some punch in.  Updates coming as soon as I can find what I like!

I did not make these.....

But shoes are an art form to me :).  I had a big party I attended back in July where one of my friends was receiving awards and my non-profit I work for did as well.  So - I got a cute black cocktail dress but needed awesome shoes to bring it up a notch. I had envisioned bright pink shoes and wanted them to be adorable.  Here is the crazy part...... I found them in under 20 minutes for $29.  I walked into DSW, walked around, went to the clearance and saw these shoes.  Tried them on and next thing I knew - I was at the cash register.  My husband had the look of shock on his face as he had snacked and hydrated before leaving the house for an all day marathon for shoe shopping.  These shoes were a hit and women were stopping me left and right to say how much these loved them.  I heart them too!

Cute Headband

I bought this cute headband at a small business in Tulsa, OK a few months ago while visiting my mom.  I just love it!  So much that I took a photo at work to text to friends and family. I do work, I promise!!  I am thinking I might need to make a few more to match all of my outfits!

I am an artist.....

Well, maybe just a tulip artist.  Some friends asked the hubs and I to join them for a painting class.  What a blast!  You can bring food and wine (which we did - lots of wine) and then the instructor takes you step by step through how to paint the item. You can choose your own colors and I am proud to say I was the only yellow and pink!!   We had a great time....now, where do I hang these??

PS - I am winking - looks like I only have one eye :)



For my friend Jen

My friend Jen worked with me for about a year and just recently took a job at another company.  While I was sad to see her go, I knew the new job would fit her so well.....and she loves it!  I made a special mug rug for her to take to her new job.  There is a story behind this mug rug:

I work for a non-proft as a social worker that assists people diagnosed with cancer.  Jen was our activity manager and she also helped arrange speaking engagements to ask for companies to consider work place giving to our organization.  For those who do not know me well - I have always loved Firemen.  I have a weak spot for them and often turn into a hot mess when speaking with one. 

One day, Jen approached me saying that a Fire Department had requested we come out three different days to speak with Firemen and she had thought of me right away.  Now that's a good friend (although my husband might disagree!).  I could only do one of the days - Monday.  So come the weekend before my speaking engagement, my car died and I was stranded at home waiting for a rental car and could not speak Monday. I ended up switching around with Jen and agreed to do Wednesday and she drove me to the speaking engagement - once again - a good friend!!  Well, Jen and my boss took the other two days and they spoke to some pretty hot men.  So, Wednesday rolls around and I am pumped!!  I get there - and not to be mean - but I got the leftovers. I have a strong aversion to mustaches. I always have even since my childhood.  I would say three fourths of the room had mustaches and there wasn't a whole lot of muscle either.  Jen kept saying she was sorry that I got the leftovers and she got the hunks.  There were 2 pieces of eye candy there and I got a wink from one - so that made the day better :)

I couldn't believe it when I was out fabric shopping and found some firemen fabric. I bought it and set out making a mug rug. One side has firemen - the other side has chevron zig zags in red, blug and black.  Here is the front:

I used the part that had the hunky man on it and then sewed the mustache man in at the bottom.  She laughed so hard when I gave it to her and loved it.  She keeps the chevron side up at work (she is so much better behaved than me - I would totally have the guys face up) and peeks at the firemen side when days are bad or she just needs a jump start.  I was so happy to make this for her and so very happy that she loved it as much as she did!!



Memory Loss

I can't remember if I have shown you the mini quilt I made for the Doll Quilt Swap from Flickr.  This was my first true mini quilt that I did everything on: assembling, quilting and binding.  First binding ever.  Not too shabby for a beginner if I say so myself!!



Next WIP to complete

I started this quilt back with the quilt along. I did great until it was time to add the background shade. I chose a new background fabric twice as each did not quite fit well enough with the star.  Both times it WAY overpowered my star.  So, I put it away for awhile as I was frustrated and now I have brought it back out to see the light!!  Now, back to the same question I had a few months ago - what color to use?????

I used a tangerine and that was way too bright. I had a lilac purple and it looked way out of place.  I have considered a dark eggplant purple.  What do you think? Any suggestions?  I want to try to stay away from white and cream.

Quilt for my Mother In Law

I can share this one block on here as I let my MIL already see it. Just as a sample and a teaser.  As long as I have been in the family (12 years now), she has been asking and hinting for a quilt and she loves red and white quilts. 

I went to my local quilt shop (well, an hour and half away) and they had a block of the month that fit perfectly!!  The pattern is Michael Miller Clubhouse and the fabric line is called Cottage.  I let my MIL choose from a couple different red/white quilts and she chose this one.  The club started late so we won't finish the block until January so it will be a late Christmas gift, but one I hope is worth waiting for.  Here is the first block:



Gifts for the Husband

We went to Portland, OR in May for vacation. My husband had requested two items for this trip: a new neck pillow and a Nook holder.  I have to say that I almost stole his Nook holder.  I loved it, but it definitely describes him better, so I let him keep it!

Front of the neck pillow

The back

Front of the nook cover

The back

The best part is that he loved them and used them.  I love to see him using items I have made.  It makes me happy to be able to make things for him that he likes to use.

Blocks I have made for my Bee Groups

Here are some of the recent blocks I have made for the past several months at the request of the monthly Queen Bees:

I forgot to take the picture after I added the middle circle!!

Some of these may be repeats, but I couldn't remember what I had posted already!  You can find these blocks and more in The Modern Block Book.



Pinwheels top finally done!!

It took forever, but I finally finished the top.  This was a quilt along with Pinwheels in the Park on Flickr.  I can't wait to have it quilted and use it.  My friends always ask who the quilts are for that I make.  They keep being made for me because I love the fabrics too much.  I need to start using fabrics I am not in love with and then I can give them away. Until then, they are all MINE!!  Can anyone tell that I am an only child??

Stick a fork in me.....I am done!!!

Voo Doo doughnuts in Portland, OR

This has been me for the last few months.  There has been a lot on my plate and I kept denying that is was bothering me at all.  Until I noticed something......dust on my sewing machine.  I don't sew every day, but I sew several days a month.  I was cruising through blocks and projects and then everything just stopped.  Now, this is no new post - and one that has been shared by numerous individuals time and time again.  However, I find it very therapeutic to say it out loud.  I over committed in my private life, I was volunteered and over commited by my job and I WAY over committed myself in my sewing life. 

I came back on a high from the Sewing Summit and hit the ground running.  I also met a ton of COOL girls who had such great blogs, readership, etc.  I suddenly found myself desiring the same thing.  What I did not consider is to do one thing more means other things must decrease.  Instead, I attempted to do it all.  I began sewing what others were doing or what seemed the popular thing to do.  The dust on my machine spoke so much to me.....I stopped sewing what I wanted to make and started striving to be other people.  We all do this in so many aspects of our lives, so it isn't anything new I am talking about here.  My coworkers started asking when I would bring in more of my sewing items.  I cringed every time someone at work/friends asked me to make something (which isn't me!!).

So - I went into my craft room and threw out half the projects I had on papers and only kept the ones I really wanted to make.  I have a few more commitments to follow through on - and then I will stop committing to every thing under the sun.  I also realized all the cool people I have met and who have thousands of followers......they are wonderful people with truly awesome abilities to sew and reach people....and that is not my lot in life.  AND - that's ok.  The fact that even one person out there finds my crafting remotely interesting is like having thousands of followers :).

Since letting go and prioritizing my machine has begun to make noise and my awesome new craft room built by the hubs is being used as it should.....to bring me joy.  My job as an Oncology Social Worker has days that include cancer patients being evicted or houses foreclosed on, the horror of watching a disease alter relationships and lives and the unpredictable moments of death.  Sewing allows my mind to process the things I witness and to make peace with the things I have been unable to bring about change for my clients each day.  I find joy and smiles when I make something.  I find peace in the sound of my machine and the consistent up and down motion of my needle.  I find love in the finished products I make or in the items made by others through swaps.  AND that is what I need to be reminded of daily..... I am a pretty awesome girl with a fun hobby that includes a community of pretty awesome women across the world.  Let me remember to focus on that when life makes me feel like a voo doo doughnut (although - I would be pretty tasty...wink).



Books and Blocks Bee Button

<a href=" http://www.flickr.com/groups/1917458@N23/ " target="_blank"><img alt="Books and Blocks Bee"src=" http://i1241.photobucket.com/albums/gg501/punkrockertracey1/BlocksandBooksBee.jpg "/></a>

This is the first button I have ever made and I could NEVER have done it without the two fabulous tutorials on Ellison Lane Quilts.  If you need any type of button - she is the gal to see!!  Girls in my Bee - feel free to grab this button.  It is small enough for blog posts or for sidebars.  If you have problems with the code or it works incorrectly - let me know.  As I said - this is my first button!

On another topic - I have been missing in action for about a month.  Some of the reasons include a birthday vacation (nice!!), work is CRAZY right now, a new yoga workout buddy to attend classes with me and a little loss of my sewing mojo.  I have a post about the mojo topic coming soon.  I am really looking for some feedback and would appreciate some insight from all of you!  I will try to post that in the next few days.

Smarty Girl Bag

My mom wanted to make the Heather Bailey Smarty Girl bag and so I made one as we made hers.  I, of course, used the Outfoxed fabrics with Anna Maria Horner, because that is all that I can seem to use!!

Meal Planning Board

I have been looking all over Pinterest for a meal planner but couldn't quite find what I wanted.  So, mom and I went to JoAnn and found our own supplies and made a board.  I absolutely love it and hope the board will be useful for us!!

Books and Blocks Bee

I started one last round of Books and Blocks Bee based on the book Modern Blocks. We will take up to 9 more people and make the block/blocks of your choice for your month.  Not too much commitment as you only have to make a block a month.  Consider joining us in the fun!!
You have to request to join through Flickr.  Here is the LINK.  Let's try to get this group up and running for these ladies who would like to join.  Even if you can't make another commitment, consider mentioning this on your blog to get it filled.  Thanks!!

Solistice Star - The Ribbon Star

This block was too much fun. I finished it quickly and wanted to crank out a ton more.  I love these fabrics too.  Find more about the Solistace Stars here!

Sew.Happy.Quilt QAL

This quilt along has been a blast.  I have had such a fun time pushing myself to learn more techniques and fun blocks.  This blog introduced me to Starch and I have never had so much fun.  Plus it makes my craft room smell good!!!

In Color Order BOM

Loving this Block of the Month.  Join in the fun!!  The BOM is all around Half Square Triangles.  Here is January's block.  Want to join.... In Color order and the intro is here:

Yesterday I was too late to get into CityStitches Bee based on blocks from the Modern Blocks book that has 99 blocks made by incredible people. Well, CityStitches graciously offered to lead someone in how to lead a Bee to allow others to participate. I volunteered and there is still room. I am willing to lead up to two groups. I am posting from my IPhone so this will be a fast post. Find the group at Books and Blocks Bee you will find us. There are 8 spots left right now for the first group. Come sign up and buy the book!!

Craftsy BOM

It makes me laugh to say BOM instead of Block of the Month.  I am guessing that means I have a warped sense of humor or may be trapped in the body of a 6th grader.  Here are the two blocks I made from the Craftsy Block of the Month.  It is not too late to join in and a blast to make.  We made a Asterisk and a Wonky block.  I am additcted to the wonky block and may want to make a whole quilt with this fun block.  The materials are a gray Bella solid and Tula Pink Prince Charming.

Come join the fun on craftsy!

Japanese x and + Blocks

I joined a swap awhile back and the swap date is quickly approaching.  I have 2 - almost 3 done.  Now I finally have a rhythm down and will be attempting to complete all the blocks I plan to make and swap.  That is the only problem....how many to make and swap!!

Want to make a block yourself?  Find a tutorial on badskirt Amy's blog!!

Lilly Apron Pattern

If you like aprons and haven't made this one yet, you need to!!  I just need to stop making them for friends and make one for myself!  Here is the latest one for a friend:

My first mini quilt

I have started my first mini quilt.  I am still in the process of quilting and binding the quilt.  This could be my favorite thing I have ever made to this point.  Well, outside of aprons, bags, quilt blocks, etc. :)

You can buy the kit with different fabrics from what I used at a local store here in Dallas.  If you would like one, check out Quilt Asylum's website.