Thursday Think Tank

I've got to get this list down somewhere or I'll go insane....

I keep trying to make a list of things I want to get done in the near future, but my papers keep getting hijacked by my kids. When I go to review my list I either can't find it or it is shoved somewhere with marker scribbles all over it. So I decided this was the best place to do it. Then, I remembered my friend Rebecca has a Thursday Think Tank, and what do you know, I'm actually doing something on time!! So if you want to see what some other fabulous people have on their To-Do lists, head over there and check it out!

1. Halloween/Fall Table Runner

I love this Halloween runner by Anna of Noodleheads. I am awful at remembering to decorate for the seasons. My kids love it when I put fun little things out, so I really want to get better at this, but I am so picky! Happily, this table runner doesn't offend my style.

2. Quillows for my boys

Isn't this cute? I have been wanting to make a quillow for each of my boys, but had forgotten about it until I saw this tutorial by Nova at A Cuppa and a Catch Up. I would love to get these done by Christmas, at least for the older boys. Not sure that will happen, but maybe I could shoot for their birthdays.

3. I-Spy Placemats

Again with the stuff for my kids...I've been gradually collecting some fabrics for these but I think I still need a few more. The pretty ones pictured above are from Stitches and Scissors.

4. Updated version of Dana's robe for the boys

You can see my first attempts here, but I want to make them each another robe, and maybe a couple for my nephews, too. They are so easy and fun to make, not to mention seriously cute on little kids. The next ones I make will be long sleeved with contrasting fabrics in the hood and cuffs and cute bias trim.

There are several more things on the list, but I hear the baby waking up and a certain two year old is nagging me for some oatmeal, so I guess that's all the time for today...

Thanks, Rebecca Lynne!!

WIP Wednesday

Where were we?
I feel like it has been forever since I've sat still and thought about what I'm working on, even though it has only been two weeks. We've been on vacation, started pre-school, and started soccer all in the last couple weeks and I'm just barely starting to get things organized again.

Finishes: 

So far I have gotten 3 of 4 items finished for the Goodie Swap, with two weeks left until shipping.

Making Progress:

 

 I am nearly caught up on my Across the Sea quilt, just have to get the front borders on then I can start the back. I haven't decided yet if I will completely follow along with the planned backing or not. I had planned on using Christmas fabrics for this, then changed my mind to using my Hometown Layer Cake, but in the end I decided to make it a bright, multicolored quilt for a child. I was getting a little antsy about getting this quilt done so I could get started on another quilt for Kate's 100 Quilts for Kids, but then I realized that I should just use this one instead. Two birds, meet one stone.

 I also decided on my palette for the Dead Simple QAL, just need to get a couple more solids ordered and finalize my plan.

No Progress:

Sadly, no progress has been made on my kaleidoscope quilt. I love this quilt and can't wait to get back to it. I had intended it to be a quilt for Fall, so I really need to get on that, don't I?

 As always, a big thanks to Lee of Freshly Pieced for hosting the party!

Three down, one to go...

Tired of hearing about this swap yet? Well, I'm almost done. 

Here is the mug rug for my second partner. Still have to figure out my "goodie" for her, but I hope she likes this part. I had fun making it, but I found myself making lots of dumb mistakes. At least three times I fused the stuff (sorry for the technical jargon) to the wrong side of the fabric, then when I was getting ready to stick the petals to the background, I peeled the backing off one and ironed it on, but realized I would need to put one of the other petals under it so I had to peel off part of it. Then I went ahead and laid out all the petals how I wanted them and ironed. Only, I am an idiot and hadn't peeled the paper off the other petals yet, so obviously that didn't work.

One of the petals shifted a bit during pressing, so the middle of the flower didn't look quite right. I decided a button would cover it nicely. I was totally shocked that I had a button that sorta goes with the design. 

Originally, I wanted to echo quilt around the flower, but all my attempts looked pathetic, so I went for the diagonals instead. 

It's a little hard to see, but I love how the back fabric has a similar design as the flower on the front. And it is my partner's favorite colors, so that's always a plus. I don't keep an enormous amount of fabric and supplies on hand, so I always love when things work out how I want, using what I have.

Linking up with Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story. Thanks girls!

Edited to link up to Mini Quilt Mondays at Fresh Lemon Quilts. Thanks, Faith!

Dead Simple Palette

Not that I really need to be jumping into another project yet with so many still to be finished, but I wanted to go ahead and get my palette finalized for the Dead Simple QAL with Lynne at Lily's Quilts. 

I had such a hard time choosing just one. I love seeing all the different groups of colors on Design Seeds and did not want to choose.

Here are some of the finalists:

In the end, I decided on this:

Here are the Konas that I think I will be using:

I'm excited to get started on this QAL, I just need to bust a move on my other projects this weekend.

Goodie Swap, Take 1

A few weeks ago I joined a swap being hosted by Cindy of Fluffy Sheep Quilting. She called it a Goodie Swap, and we were given the names of two others and are to make them a mug rug and another "goodie" of our choosing. There are around 60-something ladies in this swap from all over the globe and whose talents and experience range from super-creative swapping pro to...well...me.  I've never joined any other swaps before and really, have hardly sewn anything for anyone other than my family. 

After looking through the photo pool of what others were creating, and getting completely intimidated, I decided that this time I must have a plan before I just randomly start sewing things together or it would surely be crap. So I took my trusty sketchbook with me on vacation and proceeded to completely ignore it for 6 days. Finally on the drive home I opened it up and started doodling ideas. Nothing looked that interesting and I am really just not good at the planning aspect. I tend to just start a project and roll with it. So that is what I did.

Here is the first mug rug I made. My partner has loads of things she likes, so I found myself obsessing over what to make. Completely stalking her Flickr and blog, agonizing over all the cool stuff she had chosen as favorites. Finally I just decided that there was no way I could compare to that stuff and I should just suck it up and get moving. So this is what I came up with. I have to say I am pretty happy with it. I wouldn't be disappointed if it showed up in my mailbox, so I decided it would be good enough to send. Here's the back:

Now, onto that other "goodie" we are to send. I actually started this one as something else, but it started getting too big, so I made it into a pouch.

It is roughly 8" by 8". I did try the zipper tab things again on this one because I just think they make the pouch look a bit more professional and I need all the help I can get in that area. 

Not bad, but I think with a couple more tries I can get them even better. I'm not really a fan of the color of zipper that I used for this, but couldn't find one that I liked, so light green it is. 

I think I may make one more little thing to put inside the pouch before I send it on its way. 

Now to agonize over my second partner....

 Time to see what other fabulous modern creations are being made and displayed at {Sew} Modern Monday. Thanks, Megan!

 And super-excited about Mini Quilt Mondays at Fresh Lemons Quilts. Thanks, Faith!

A Wedding Quilt

My husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last weekend. I had planned to post about this on the actual day, but didn't get to it before we left for our trip. So imagine you are reading this on September 3rd and I won't feel like as much of a slacker, okay?

As one of our wedding present, my mom made us this quilt. She made quilts for my sister and brother for their weddings, too, so it wasn't necessarily a surprise, but in a way it was. I really did not expect to like it as much as I do. That is not to say that I don't love my mom's quilts or that I don't think she is a talented quilter, it is just that we have very different styles. But I really love this quilt.

I always wanted a Fall wedding, but Labor Day weekend was about as close to fall as we could get. Marrying a farmer means that you can't really plan any activities from mid-September until Thanksgiving, lest you miss precious harvesting time. And since we were getting married in Tennessee and so many people were traveling from Indiana and Iowa we decided that Labor Day weekend was the best time so everyone wouldn't be as rushed to get back after the wedding. It really was perfect. We had so much fun. While I was in the planning stages I had so many people tell me that they didn't even remember most of their wedding, which I thought was kind of sad. I vividly remember so many things about ours, and I'm so glad that I do. 

The fabrics in this quilt were actually used as runners on the tables at our reception. So it is kind of fun to have that link to our wedding in the quilt.

Of course I couldn't leave without a shot of it on the chicken house...

So, I'm on vacation with my family and hadn't really planned on blogging while away, but I'm stuck in our room with a napping baby so here are some random thoughts....

• Wisconsin is freaking amazing. Seriously. I have a tendency to choose some less-popular places to vacation but have never been disappointed. This is no exception. Definitely feeling the love for the Badger State. In summer anyway, probably not so much in the cold, cold winter.
• It seems that our favorite thing to do on vacation is eat. Really, it's one of my favorite things to do at home, too, but more fun here since I'm not doing the cooking. Do calories consumed while on vacation count?
• I have found a few quilt shops to browse. Sadly, none have been very modern. They seem to really like their batiks up here. Which are lovely in there own right, just not really for me. I did go to the best one so far this morning. It was in Sturgeon Bay, but I can't think of the name right now. I'll let you know when I'm not trapped under a sleeping baby.

Whenever I find a new fabric shop, I always get this excited little feeling before I go in, thinking what if this is the place? You know, what if this is the place that has that whole line of hard-to-find fabrics just sitting in the back on a dusty shelf because nobody realizes what a gold mine they have? I have yet to find this store, of course, but I did get a bit excited this morning when my little eye spied a bolt of Katie Jump Rope in the corner. Of course it wasn't one of the prints that I really love, but I got a few FQs anyway, mostly thinking of a future giveaway. My question is this... If it were you in this situation and found a few yards of an out of print fabric, would you buy it even if you weren't in love?