Quilting bee

As I mentioned in the last post my machine has been giving me trouble lately, but I have been on a bit of a sewing kick. Though I don't have much to show for it, because much of my sewing time has been spent ripping seams. Bleh! But here are some pictures of some stuff that I have been working on. I have many more pieces cut out that are waiting patiently for me to get some patience to work on my machine.

Quilt block 2 for the Quilt along. Instructions HERE
Oh! This one isn't completed, obviously, but this is my "perfect" square in the works. I am bound and determined that this one will measure up at 12.5 inches square when it is done! So far my other blocks were 12 inches square, and 12.25 inches square, they will have to be redone...poo! This is actually a pretty cool picture of the piecing process, if I do say so myself! It is quilt block 3, instructions HERE.
Um, yeah, so this one isn't finished either. I just need to bind the edges, but it is all quilted! This is a mini quilt I made for Natalie's dolls. It was my first attempt at free form machine quilting (I prefer to tie my quilts). Not bad, and the squares look really pretty. I got the pattern from a new book I got that I am loving. It has 200 patterns for quilt blocks, and it shows which ones coordinate together. I like it much better than other books that just show a completed quilt with instructions, this way I can make my own patterns! The book is called "200 Quilting Blocks: to mix and match" (HERE), um, clever title huh? But, it is a really great book, I highly recommend it!
The bed for the blanket. I had fun with this. I still need to make one more pillow case, and maybe some more throw pillows, every girl needs lots of throw pillows.
I made the mattress myself. I am so proud of how it turned out! Oh, and note the padded headboard. These dolls are sleeping in style!

I don't want to forget that...

I am still trying to get out of my blogging funk, but I thought i should at least do a small update on the happenings around here.

...Brady went potty in the big boy potty for the first time on Tuesday the 13th (finally!). He got a new train out of the deal. I doubt this is the beginning of potty training, but still, he did it!

...Natalie has been walking around the house singing "I know 1 plus 1 is 2, go tie your shoe, I know 1 plus 1 is 2, go tie your shoe, I know 1 plus 1 is two-oo, I know 1 plus 1 is two-oo, i know 1 plus 1 is 2 go tie your shoe!" (set to the tune of She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain") and all the successive verses, for that last week. I love this, it is a dang annoying song, but it is MATH! She is learning math, how cool is that?? will try to get a video of this

...Keith is loving his new longer hours at work. He seems to be getting lots of experience which is good, and of course now he isn't stuck at home with us all afternoon...just kidding!

...My sewing machine is ticking me off! I am working on this quilt along, and for some reason my squares keep coming out a tad too small. My machine is rebelling against all attempts I am making to sew a 1/4 inch seam. I will win! I will! I am currently making a new square, carefully measuring as I go, and it will be the right size! It will!

...Erin totalled her car a while back. It was nothing serious, but she had a Dodge neon so the hood crumpled like a piece of paper when she got in the accident. So, in any event she needed a new car, and my Step dad, Vern, being the master haggler got her a sweet deal on a Ford Taurus that will be much safer for her to drive. Only thing is the car he found was in Spokane, so he ended up driving it down here for her. He was only able to stay for a day, but we all went out to On the Border (where we take all our visitors apparently) and had a nice short little visit. Of course I got no pictures, and of course Natalie had to act shy, and by shy I mean psycho, so of course I acted psycho as well, not pretty. Oh well!

...the weather is getting warmer, and that means the annual hunt for clothes that don't require a tank or undershirt underneath has begun! I just gets too hot to have so many layers of clothing on!

...Natalie has now taken to wearing her new swim suit around the house anytime she gets a chance. She looks like a chocolate cupcake, for reals! I just love to squeeze her and cover her in kisses! I am trying to squeeze out some extra hours at work so that I can afford to get a new swim suit from Diviine ModesTee (HERE). They are pricey, but so cute, and possibly as flattering of a swim suit that I am gonna find for this body. Plus I can get one that kinda matches Natalie.
Geez! That is a lot more than I thought I was gonna have. Really not much going on around here other that adjusting to the new schedule and bracing ourselves for summer to really kick in. We are hoping that we will be able to have some sort of a routine this summer. We always say that we will get into a routine when "life settles down", meaning when visitors leave, or work schedules get kinked out, but I am learning that life NEVER settles down! It is always one thing or another, and that is what makes life fun and interesting.

Block one and fabrics

Here are my fabric choices for the quilt along. The blue will be the large X's that go throughout the whole quilt and the greens I will use to make all the star patches. I am in love with the blue polka dot material and the greenish swirly material on the left. That was actually the first material I picked out and the rest followed. It is going to be a huge quilt and hopefully it looks good!

Here is my first block completed! I am pretty proud of myself because most of the corners match up, except for the first one I sewed! It was hard, but so fulfilling! I really didn't get a great picture of the block colors, but you get the idea.

No flash:
Flash:

Quilt A Long

I have been reading Crazy Mom Quilts (HERE) blog for quite awhile now and she has completely inspired me to start quilting again. Awhile back she held a "quilt-a-long" on her blog where each week she showed a different square and how to put it together and at then end showed how to finish it up, and viola! All the participants had a quilt. Well, she is doing it again, and this time I am going to participate. I am so excited! I will post pictures here of my progress so that I will be more motivated to keep up! Here is her picture of the finished quilt (I am going to use blues and greens instead of pinks), and HERE is the link to the post that explains it all. Anyone can join and follow along, you don't even have to have a blog! So if you are interested, try it! She makes it really easy with great step by step directions. Wish me luck!