a birthday quilt

My son turned 27 last weekend. Sad me, I didn't get to see him on his birthday (he lives in the far away state of Utah).  But lucky me, I get to see him tomorrow!  I am driving to Utah to help my daughter and her family move into their new home.  This means I can deliver his birthday quilt to him in person (always the best way!).

The pattern is called Strip Ribbons from GE Designs (a designer from Iceland, of all places!), and the design strips are called Seven Wonders by Parson Gray.  Oddly enough, I bought my strips from Overstock.com. And the strips really are straight lines.  They just look a little wavy because I've laid out the quilt on my unruly backyard grass.

The lovely ladies at J'Adore quilting bought the program for the design I specifically wanted for this quilt - Herbology.  I had them drop down the size of the pantograph to fill in the larger "blank" spaces.  They always listen to me and modify perfectly.

The backing is a homespun fabric from my local quilt shop.  I made the twin size quilt, but it looks more like a large lap quilt.  Maybe in Iceland they have small beds because of the need to snuggle to keep warm!

The quilt is funky and modern.  I hope my boy likes it and thinks of how much his mom loves him when he uses it.  Five down, two to go and then all of my children will have a quilt from me.

Later I will post about the lovely new sewing machine my husband bought me yesterday....

I'm going to take this lovely layer cake ...

And this free pattern from Moda Bake Shop ...

And sew something that will make my heart happy.

S is for psyched ....

I spent a little time in Barnes and Noble today with two of my sons.  While they were off looking at cast puzzles, here's what I found in the craft section.
I'm soooo excited!!

S is for Stitch by Kristyne Czepuryk

This abc quilt is so sweet that the embroidery must begin in tomorrow's quilting class -
but first I must decide if I'm going to make the girl version or the boy version.
I do have a grandson, so I should make the boy version but ...
I want to stitch the girl items, so to follow my heart I really should make the girl version.

Coin anyone??

row by row

Remember a while back when I posted a sneak peak of a quilt top I had made?
No?
The pattern was from Better Homes and Gardens American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine (Feb 2011 issue).
The fabrics in their quilt are conservative American Jane's.
The fabrics in mine are wild Amy Butler's .... (like Cameo & Lark).

Why do I love this quilt when it's obviously so bohemian?
Is it because I'm possibly a little bohemian myself?

Let's see....

The Urban Dictionary's definition of bohemian is:
somebody who leads an alternative lifestyle, they are not hippies because they can have an extremly wide range of different tastes in music, fashion, art, literature etc they are usually very creative people. they are above all optimists, even if they can be very cynical too. they like wearing a mixture of wierd clothes and mix different fashions together just for the heck of it. genrally very laid back and relaxed.
(Obviously you, Mr/s. Definition Person, are bohemian since you don't like to use capital letters!)

Hmmm.....

Definitely no.  Minus the "creative" and "optimistic" parts, that is NOT a description of me.

So I'm guessing that I'm enamored with this quilt because of its dynamic COLOR and ENERGY.  Even the fabric on the back sports a bit of an attitude!  Because this quilt has lived unfinished in my closet for a while, it is now thrilled to be out in the sun.  It deserves to show off a little, don't you think?

I had J'Adore quit a wave on wave pattern which is a little hard to pick up when you look at the quilt - not only in pictures but also in person.  But it doesn't matter since the quilt has so much to say with or without the quilting.

My only change to the pattern was making each of the outside borders much wider and adding a narrow contrast stripe.

This quilt doesn't fit anywhere in my house style-wise, but that's ok.
It sure fits happiness-wise.

cherry on top

As some of you know, San Diego's Quilt Shop Hop theme is "Just Desserts".  Our local shop (ahem...where I work) offers a cupcake block pattern (free) and kit ($4).  To show my loyalty - and because it's cute - I made the block and, of course, turned it into a potholder.

Because I'm just that stupid inexperienced, I ruined the brown/chocolate fabric that came in the kit by adhering the fusible applique paper to the RIGHT side of the fabric instead of the WRONG side!  Fortunately, I had a brown dot fabric in my stash that I could replace it with.  The darling cherry button needed just a little sprucing (it was a matte red), so I painted it a cheery hot pink with nail polish.

I was done before I got the end of You've Got Mail, so a quick project start to finish!
If you get a chance, I recommend that you run to Fat Quarters Quilt Shop and pick up a pattern and kit for yourself!

It comes with a recipe, too.  Sew yummy!

let's go!

Here's a quilt top that I completed last night.

It's for my grandson, Evan (of course!).
While I was visiting my daughter's family in Colorado a few weeks ago, we stopped in at the quilt store nearby (of course!).
My daughter loved this fabric panel by Michael Miller , so I bought a couple and designed this quilt.  The panel included a vertical strip of these blocks in miniature that I'll add to the backing fabric.

I had to work in reverse since I'm not yet good at figuring out finished sizes of blocks. For example, I made the cornerstone blocks from 5" squares, measured the finished product, and then cut the sashing to match them instead of the other way around. Someday I'll understand the fuzzy math of it all ....

I have to say that I do love the retro graphics myself and wish there were going to be a quilt just like it at grandma's house!

Note:  Because the blocks were not printed perfectly square, I cut away the original black border, squared the blocks, and sewed on my own black border.  Doing that allowed me to make the block borders wider as well as making the quilt symmetrical (always a plus!).

cookie redemption

As some of you know, I started a Saturday job a couple of weeks ago.
Not that I was looking for work.  Actually, I haven't had a paying job for 28 years.
But when I was approached by one of the teachers that I know who works at Fat Quarters Quilt Shop and was asked if I'd be interested in helping out on Saturdays, I realized that bringing in a little money to support my fabric habit wouldn't be a bad idea.
And the fact that I liked the friendly shop owner and cheerful employees sealed the deal!
So I worked my first Saturday and felt right at home.  I was in a fabric store, after all.
Working the register had a bit of a learning curve to it, but the day flew by and I didn't regret my decision one bit!

Then I got sick. Fever and chills sick.  And wouldn't you know it, I couldn't work the following Saturday.
That's right.  Worked one Saturday.  Called in sick the next.
The shop owner had to have her husband work the first two hours of my shift until the person who could work the rest of the day was available.  In the seven years she's owned the store, she'd never had to have her husband work.
Ouch.

So I asked what his favorite cookie was.  The least I could do was bake a thank you!
He said anything with peanut butter in it.
So I made these (recipe found here).

I was told they were delicious!  My sampling affirmed their chewy peanut-chocolate heavenliness.
I'm still on the payroll.

P.S.  The Easter eggs in the crystal basket are ones that my children and I made many years ago.  We blew the centers out and painted the shells with nail polish.  I'm so grateful that somehow they've survived four moves and continue to decorate our table each spring.

where I play

Thought I'd introduce you to my happy place.....
aka my sewing room.

First off, here's my dear friend Miss Bernina.
Not too fancy, but so reliable.  And she never complains.

I discovered the framed print at Home Goods (I'm a sucker for anything "birdish").
Not only does it cheer me, but the wide white matting provides a great spot to stick reminder post-it notes!

Next, my little retro doggie.  I downloaded the free pattern from pattern bee, stitched it on some dot fabric, and framed it in an inexpensive IKEA frame. See his little raised ear?  He's wondering what I'm up to.
And my "twirl-a-button" is a scrapbook pen holder.

Here is something I found at a thrift store.  I wasn't sure for what it was originally intended (maybe spices?), but it holds my quilting thread quite nicely! It was half-off day, so I think I paid around $2.

Next is the lovely 12 drawer free-standing kitchen cabinet I bought from IKEA.  A friend of mine had one in her sewing room, and it really is the perfect thing for storing fabric and notions.  The butcher block top is a great size for cutting mats and quite durable to boot.

And finally, here's a cabinet I bought years ago from an antique mall in Roseville, CA.  It first held school books for my children, then my blue and white dishes, and now fabric containers.  My daughter thinks I should Mod Podge decorative paper on the boxes. 

I think she's right.

And there you have it.  Right now, it's all pretty plain.  But I have big plans for adding color and making the space more personal.  My kids know that when I get to spend time in this room each day, they have a happier mommy and better lives!

Thank you, children, for knowing me so well and respecting what I love.
How 'bout I sew you something in appreciation?  ;)