I am a huge fan of sewing with what I call thrifted, gifted and found textiles. For quilts I will use anything with the exception of knits. I do not mind sewing with knits but I do not like spending the time to prep them with lightweight interfacing.
The youngest will be taking over the room that was being used by his brother while he was living at home for the past year and a half. He will finally have the twin or bunk beds ( that has not been completely sorted out) and so he will need another quilt for the other bed.
I decided to make another up cycled quilt to not match but to be a "brother" quilt for him. It will be a log cabin like his but it will be Courthouse Steps. I have everything started and have been making progress...
These blocks are from bits and pieces that I have already in my stash and also from shirts that I grabbed from Michael while he was packing up to move to California to finish college.
I am piecing with Aurifil 50wt on my Bernina.
You can see more of the first quilt by visiting here.
If you want to know more about sewing with the thrifted, gifted and found...I wrote a Monday Motivation post that will help you get started into this amazing world of quilting with something other than quilters cottons! You can find the full post by visiting here!
Wednesday, May 31, 2017
Up cycled Courthouse Steps Quilt ( quilting with garments)
Labels:sewing,quilting,fabric,family
memory quilts,
sewing with thrifted garments,
upcycled sewing
Tuesday, May 23, 2017
What happens when real life happens to bloggers...
Blogs are places we go to see pretty, well organized, thoughtful, creative and motivational lives.
I am fortunate and have a beautiful home, four fantastic children ( even the short grumpy one), employment that makes me happy ( I am a Creative Social Media Manager working remotely ) and I have been married for almost 30 years to a pretty tolerant in-house engineer considering he puts up with fabric, sewing machines and ongoing projects all over the house.
In my life, you will not find a team that includes photographers or editors, no one to make graphics for me and no one to write or proof my copy ( although if I paid the teenager, she might and she would probably do it even better).
Everything I do on all of my social media is just me. JUST ME! I am not complaining. I find extreme joy in my life as a blogger and community builder. I adore people. I adore the creative community! I find it a great honor to be even a small part of all of your lives!
I am putting this out in the world so hopefully you can understand that when there is a lapse, it is not because I am not wanting to be creative or share, it is because sometimes in life, other things happen and agendas do have to be prioritized in a different way.
My last post was a Monday Motivation post from 15 May. After that post so many things ( both good and not so great happened) making it difficult to get my act together and even more difficult to write a blog post:
Here is how it all went down...
LIFE 101...
May 01 Michael told us he would be leaving for California to finish up his college degree in San Diego on 10 May. SO HAPPY he is going but we had all thought he was staying until late May/early June
Everything is fine until...Adam gets sick on 03 May. We went through the entire school year with almost no illness at all! We did have our yearly Christmas Break sick that seems to be mandatory but nothing major. Adam was SICK. He was coughing for days on end so I had sick kid at home...and then Katy came down with it a few days later. It was almost a full week of sick kids. Not very productive at all.
Michael then was getting ready to move, getting his physical for a possible job in Antartica ( breast exam included...SWEAR!)...when the 10th arrived, it was really insanity! I was helping him do all of his last minute packing ( and my work) and then he was on his way...and I was left devastated. I already miss him and Tara so very much.
The following day I was on my way to North Carolina to Pineapple Fabrics for their warehouse sale that happens every few months ( next one is August 3-4-5 and I will be there!). It is a fast five hour drive from where I live so I go down, help out and snag some AMAZING fabrics! I drove and worked Thurs-Fri-worked until 2pm on Sat and then drove home.
These were all kinds of AWESOME!
I saw my good friend Jennifer Mathis from Ellison Lane Quilts and Sew South retreat goddess! It has been FOREVER since I saw her last and my heart was filled with JOY to see her!
It was a great weekend filled with some pretty amazing people and fabrics!
Monday I had work completed and my post UP! I even had the house cleaned and almost 100% of the laundry done AND PUT AWAY! YAY ME!
Tuesday was possibly the best day I have had in years. EVERYTHING was perfect. My work was awesome, the weather was gorgeous and I had so much completed, it was crazy! I called the in house engineer to tell him of all of my good fortune and then said...OH NO!...it is too perfect...get ready for it!
I was born and raised in the South. I am from pure bred superstitious stock. I know it is all poppycock but when you are force fed superstition soup, you have a hard time letting it go, especially if it served up with cast iron cornbread and real butter.
And then it happened ( you kinda KNEW this was coming), I had a call from Adam's school...he had come into the office with a stomach ache. He stayed for a bit, the let the nurse know that he was not trying to get out of the state standardized testing 😂 Even when he is serious he is funny!
He came home and things went downhill rapidly. He was on the floor in PAIN. I had never seen this in any of the kids. The pain was unbearable. I convinced him to take a warm bath and that seemed to help for a few minutes until he got out and puked on the carpet in the hall because he did not have the energy to make it back to the bathroom...poor guy!
We spent another couple of hours with him in bed crying in pain and me not leaving his side. Could not touch him but he wanted be to be there...and I was...
Until I decided that he HAD to be seen! I found a local ( 30 min away) urgent care and broke every law making it there before they closed so that he could be seen. Katy asked if I wanted her to come too. I said yes because me carrying an 80+ pound child was probably not happening.
We made it with 4 minutes to spare!
He was seen and they took all kinds of samples, asked the usual questions ( fever...sore throat...out of the country...drainage (((((YUCK)))...and some others...NOPE to all of them.
The results came back as strep+ and a WBC over 34 THOUSAND...and with that we won the ticket to the closest emergency room.
Checking into the ER is always a crap shoot. Sometimes you can get there and it is not too bad. That was NOT the case at all the night we checked in at 11:01pm. We waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...
Katy worked on her school paper that was due on her cell phone and my phone was almost dead. I did not think we were going to be going to the ER so I did not bring my laptop or my charger for my phones.
They called us back at 0400...that is FOUR AM for those that were not in the military! He was seen for five minutes by a kind dr and then it was decided that Adam would have to get shots of antibiotics. Then more waiting...
We finally walked through the door of home at 0530. Just in time for the in house engineer to go to work and for Katy to get ready for school. YES, she told me that not only was she going to school, she had a tennis match. She is crazy!
I went to bed. Staying up 24 hours was just not something this 50 year old could manage! Adam woke me up at 9:30 and was not in as much pain. He had a fever at this point and still needed me so I spent time with him.
We are at Wed 17 may now, I think...
On Wednesday it was decided that I was going to be attending Quilt Market. I made my flight reservations, already had a place to stay and then started organizing all of the graphics and schedules for Missing Market. I had all the graphics completed on Wednesday evening and started on all of the copy on Thursday.
My flight was Friday evening and I packed about one hour before I left home. Thank goodness Adam was feeling much much better by Friday morning.
I was still working my regular job during all of this, so you can see where I may have had to make judgement calls for my poor blog.
Fly into St.Louis Friday night about 11pm...bed at 12am...OMG!!!!
I hit the Market floor with Sara the following morning at 9:30am!
I spent all day Saturday and only half the day Sunday taking notes ( I did not take photos because the lighting in there was the WORST), talking to people and trying to stay caught up on the Missing Market event.
I was so happy to see many people I have not seen in over a year. Elisabeth from Robert Kaufman and author of the new book Fussy Cut Sampler ( I will be participating in the blog hop here)
I flew home on Sunday and my head did not hit my pillow until 2 AM!
Yesterday ( we are now up to date almost), I was a zombie! I still had to get kids ready, catch up on work and housework...it was all pretty crazy!
So here I am today. Hoping that the rest of this week will be uneventful so I will be able to take care of my family, my business, my creative time and...yes...my blog!
I love my place here, it has been my place to share, to dream and to make connections with people that have been friends in real life and online.
After I emptied my bag today ( looking for my keys because some DUFUS made two drs appointments on the SAME FREAKING DAY), these goodies fell out and they were just perfect to brighten my day and quilt those superstitious deamons!
I am hoping to have more pretty photos and projects up VERY soon! What happens when bloggers are interrupted by real life ( both good and some not so good) is lapsed posts.
I am fortunate and have a beautiful home, four fantastic children ( even the short grumpy one), employment that makes me happy ( I am a Creative Social Media Manager working remotely ) and I have been married for almost 30 years to a pretty tolerant in-house engineer considering he puts up with fabric, sewing machines and ongoing projects all over the house.
In my life, you will not find a team that includes photographers or editors, no one to make graphics for me and no one to write or proof my copy ( although if I paid the teenager, she might and she would probably do it even better).
Everything I do on all of my social media is just me. JUST ME! I am not complaining. I find extreme joy in my life as a blogger and community builder. I adore people. I adore the creative community! I find it a great honor to be even a small part of all of your lives!
I am putting this out in the world so hopefully you can understand that when there is a lapse, it is not because I am not wanting to be creative or share, it is because sometimes in life, other things happen and agendas do have to be prioritized in a different way.
My last post was a Monday Motivation post from 15 May. After that post so many things ( both good and not so great happened) making it difficult to get my act together and even more difficult to write a blog post:
Here is how it all went down...
LIFE 101...
May 01 Michael told us he would be leaving for California to finish up his college degree in San Diego on 10 May. SO HAPPY he is going but we had all thought he was staying until late May/early June
Everything is fine until...Adam gets sick on 03 May. We went through the entire school year with almost no illness at all! We did have our yearly Christmas Break sick that seems to be mandatory but nothing major. Adam was SICK. He was coughing for days on end so I had sick kid at home...and then Katy came down with it a few days later. It was almost a full week of sick kids. Not very productive at all.
Michael then was getting ready to move, getting his physical for a possible job in Antartica ( breast exam included...SWEAR!)...when the 10th arrived, it was really insanity! I was helping him do all of his last minute packing ( and my work) and then he was on his way...and I was left devastated. I already miss him and Tara so very much.
The following day I was on my way to North Carolina to Pineapple Fabrics for their warehouse sale that happens every few months ( next one is August 3-4-5 and I will be there!). It is a fast five hour drive from where I live so I go down, help out and snag some AMAZING fabrics! I drove and worked Thurs-Fri-worked until 2pm on Sat and then drove home.
These were all kinds of AWESOME!
I saw my good friend Jennifer Mathis from Ellison Lane Quilts and Sew South retreat goddess! It has been FOREVER since I saw her last and my heart was filled with JOY to see her!
It was a great weekend filled with some pretty amazing people and fabrics!
Monday I had work completed and my post UP! I even had the house cleaned and almost 100% of the laundry done AND PUT AWAY! YAY ME!
Tuesday was possibly the best day I have had in years. EVERYTHING was perfect. My work was awesome, the weather was gorgeous and I had so much completed, it was crazy! I called the in house engineer to tell him of all of my good fortune and then said...OH NO!...it is too perfect...get ready for it!
I was born and raised in the South. I am from pure bred superstitious stock. I know it is all poppycock but when you are force fed superstition soup, you have a hard time letting it go, especially if it served up with cast iron cornbread and real butter.
And then it happened ( you kinda KNEW this was coming), I had a call from Adam's school...he had come into the office with a stomach ache. He stayed for a bit, the let the nurse know that he was not trying to get out of the state standardized testing 😂 Even when he is serious he is funny!
He came home and things went downhill rapidly. He was on the floor in PAIN. I had never seen this in any of the kids. The pain was unbearable. I convinced him to take a warm bath and that seemed to help for a few minutes until he got out and puked on the carpet in the hall because he did not have the energy to make it back to the bathroom...poor guy!
We spent another couple of hours with him in bed crying in pain and me not leaving his side. Could not touch him but he wanted be to be there...and I was...
Until I decided that he HAD to be seen! I found a local ( 30 min away) urgent care and broke every law making it there before they closed so that he could be seen. Katy asked if I wanted her to come too. I said yes because me carrying an 80+ pound child was probably not happening.
We made it with 4 minutes to spare!
He was seen and they took all kinds of samples, asked the usual questions ( fever...sore throat...out of the country...drainage (((((YUCK)))...and some others...NOPE to all of them.
The results came back as strep+ and a WBC over 34 THOUSAND...and with that we won the ticket to the closest emergency room.
Checking into the ER is always a crap shoot. Sometimes you can get there and it is not too bad. That was NOT the case at all the night we checked in at 11:01pm. We waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...
Katy worked on her school paper that was due on her cell phone and my phone was almost dead. I did not think we were going to be going to the ER so I did not bring my laptop or my charger for my phones.
They called us back at 0400...that is FOUR AM for those that were not in the military! He was seen for five minutes by a kind dr and then it was decided that Adam would have to get shots of antibiotics. Then more waiting...
We finally walked through the door of home at 0530. Just in time for the in house engineer to go to work and for Katy to get ready for school. YES, she told me that not only was she going to school, she had a tennis match. She is crazy!
I went to bed. Staying up 24 hours was just not something this 50 year old could manage! Adam woke me up at 9:30 and was not in as much pain. He had a fever at this point and still needed me so I spent time with him.
We are at Wed 17 may now, I think...
On Wednesday it was decided that I was going to be attending Quilt Market. I made my flight reservations, already had a place to stay and then started organizing all of the graphics and schedules for Missing Market. I had all the graphics completed on Wednesday evening and started on all of the copy on Thursday.
My flight was Friday evening and I packed about one hour before I left home. Thank goodness Adam was feeling much much better by Friday morning.
I was still working my regular job during all of this, so you can see where I may have had to make judgement calls for my poor blog.
Fly into St.Louis Friday night about 11pm...bed at 12am...OMG!!!!
I hit the Market floor with Sara the following morning at 9:30am!
I spent all day Saturday and only half the day Sunday taking notes ( I did not take photos because the lighting in there was the WORST), talking to people and trying to stay caught up on the Missing Market event.
I was so happy to see many people I have not seen in over a year. Elisabeth from Robert Kaufman and author of the new book Fussy Cut Sampler ( I will be participating in the blog hop here)
I also met Mister Domestic! We have been social media friends for some time now but this was the first time I had met him in real life. He is as much of a trip in person as he is online. It always amazes me when people say to me, " You are JUST like you are online!" I am always me...and Mathew is ALWAYS himself, I like that!
I flew home on Sunday and my head did not hit my pillow until 2 AM!
Yesterday ( we are now up to date almost), I was a zombie! I still had to get kids ready, catch up on work and housework...it was all pretty crazy!
So here I am today. Hoping that the rest of this week will be uneventful so I will be able to take care of my family, my business, my creative time and...yes...my blog!
I love my place here, it has been my place to share, to dream and to make connections with people that have been friends in real life and online.
After I emptied my bag today ( looking for my keys because some DUFUS made two drs appointments on the SAME FREAKING DAY), these goodies fell out and they were just perfect to brighten my day and quilt those superstitious deamons!
I am hoping to have more pretty photos and projects up VERY soon! What happens when bloggers are interrupted by real life ( both good and some not so good) is lapsed posts.
Labels:sewing,quilting,fabric,family
blogger,
blogging life,
Quilt Market,
sewing blog
Monday, May 15, 2017
Monday Motivation {4th of July free pattern links}
Welcome back to Monday Motivation! Warmer weather and July 4th will be here before you know it! Time to start getting ready for parades, block parties and BBQ!
In this week's collection are free patterns for quilts, printables, pinwheels and other fun things to make your day memorable!
Get ready for the RED, WHITE and BLUE!!!!!
Bonnie Hunter has this fabulous Red White and Blue free quilt pattern here.
In this week's collection are free patterns for quilts, printables, pinwheels and other fun things to make your day memorable!
Get ready for the RED, WHITE and BLUE!!!!!
Bonnie Hunter has this fabulous Red White and Blue free quilt pattern here.
Star Spangled Banner Bunting free pattern from Petals to Pitocs can be found by visiting here.
Better Homes and Gardens has a collection of free small quilts including this Patriotic table topper! This pattern and more can be found by visiting here.
Take over as grill master with this fun apron pattern free from Crazy Little Projects.
Make some cute Star potholders using this free tutorial from Art Threads that can be found here.
Free 4th of July party printables can be found on Tip Junkie!
Make these fun festive stars to add to your July 4th party! Lia Griffith has the how to for this creative DIY here!
Patchwork Posse has an adorable Quilt As You Go Pillow tutorial perfect for your home decor!
Looking for a way to add fireworks to your cones? That Bald Chic has a tutorial that will delight the kids ( and some adults too)!
This stitching project is free from Glory Bee and can be found by visiting here.
Maison De Pax has the most adorable mason jar diy that can be found here!
Paper Pinwheels are EVERYTHING for a block party or July 4th parade! Good Housekeeping has the how to for these fun additions here.
I hope you find inspiration in these tutorials and make some creative time for yourself!
Please join me for more fabulous tutorials, inspirations and humor that I share everyday on:
Labels:sewing,quilting,fabric,family
Free 4th of July patterns,
free patterns,
how to 4th of July,
sewing patterns
Friday, May 12, 2017
Dandy Drive Sew Along Final and Giveaway!
It is time to wrap things up for the Dandy Drive Sew Along with Sarah J. Maxwell and Pat Sloan! The past few weeks have been FAST! Hope you have been having fun sewing along with us and getting from start to finish in recored time!
The progress train got off track because I am stumped on how to quilt it! Isn't that always the way?
My good friend Mandy from Mandalei Quilts just opened up her new long arm studio in New York...I may see if she can fit this one in for some negative space fun!
How would you quilt this one? Simple organic lines, pebbles, grid ( I LOVE grid), FLOWERS!
Here are some of my progress shots!
There are LOADS more FABULOUS DESIGNERS that are participating in this fun sew along so be sure to stop in and see what they are doing too!
This week the giveaway is not one but TWO Aurifil thread collections! One from Pat and one from Sarah! To enter for your chance to win these small spool thread collections please visit HERE!
Thank you for stopping by every week for progress shots and hope you have enjoyed this fun sew along!
Friday, May 5, 2017
Dandy Drive Sew Along!
This week is working on sewing it up! I have not made ALL of the required blocks so I am getting creative with what I DO have and will be making a much smaller quilt. If you have not started making the quilt yet, you can see how wonderfully large the flowers are! This is being held up ( rather reluctantly) by a 10 year old home with a terrible cold. The storms were headed in so, I had no choice.
You know as quilters, we do what we must. I bought him ice cream to make it up to him! But he is tall and this section covers him up!
These flowers are incredible!
In the beginning, when I was looking through the instructions and cutting fabrics, I was thinking that this was going to be more 6 inch blocks. That is all I have been making for the last year with The Splendid Sampler and The Tula Pink Modern City Sampler.
These are NOT 6 inch blocks and I completely miscalculated what I would need. That made to be CREATIVE with FABRIC!
I had some scrap of Field Study from Anna Maria Horner that had all of the colors I was looking for to use in the flower and...YAY ME...it looks perfect!
The number one thing I love about scrappy quilting is that you CAN add whatever whenever and it still looks great!
Now that you have seen the size of the blocks, imagine an ENTIRE quilt with them! You can find the patterns for the full quilt by visiting Sarah J. Maxwell's or Pat Sloan's site.
There are LOADS more FABULOUS DESIGNERS that are participating in this fun sew along so be sure to stop in and see what they are doing too!
Sarah: Facebook/Instagram/Website
Make sure to enter for your chance to win this week's GIVEAWAY!!!
A FULL Fat Quarter Bundle!
Not too shabby😉
To enter for your chance to WIN this fat quarter bundle, visit Pat's blog HERE!
Labels:sewing,quilting,fabric,family
Dany Drive Sew Along,
Pat Sloan,
Sew along
Monday, May 1, 2017
Monday Motivation { may the 4th be with you}
Welcome back to Monday Motivation! When you are married to an engineer and have a slew of boys, odds are pretty good that Star Wars ( and LEGO) are a huge part of your life!
In a few days is May 4th. It is an unofficial holiday for May the 4th be with you!
Fast, easy and cozy! This may be the new favorite in your house! Get the free tutorial by Snap Creativity here.
In a few days is May 4th. It is an unofficial holiday for May the 4th be with you!
Fast, easy and cozy! This may be the new favorite in your house! Get the free tutorial by Snap Creativity here.
Quirky Granola Girl is incredible! Make sure to check out her free pattern for The Deathstar mini quilt here!
Every household needs a Lord Vader quilt in their house! Schwin& Schwin has a free pattern available here.
Remember when I started out with Star Wars AND LEGO? Quiet Play has this insanely cool LEGO Star Wars Quilt and the the pattern is FREE! WHAT!?! Visit here to learn more!
Grab your hook and crochet this super cute Death Star! Get this pattern by visiting Yarny Doom here.
Everyone LOVEs the sweet R2-D2! You can hug this knit R2-D2 with a pattern by Sarah Rudder on Ravelry available here.
The tried and true Millenium Falcon Mini Quilt can be made for your good guys with this free pattern from Just Joshin on Craftsy.
The dark side storm troopers are pretty cool when cross-stitched with a free pattern by Stitchering.
Yoda is the most quoted character in our house. Not sure why other than the in house engineer can make his voice...LOL! Your kids ( and mine) will LOVE this towel! It can be for after bath OR just for fun! Let your kids decide! Get the free pattern from Doing Splendid here.
This may be MY favorite from this collection ( really hard to pick a favorite). Get this cross-stitch pattern here.
Simple and awesome! Claire Brown has this cross-stitch pattern on Crafts Tuts Plus!
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Stop the All Terrain Armored Transport! This is in German but the tutorial is pretty straight forward! Run to DIY with Love for this tutorial!
Last one was too sweet to pass up! This baby Yoda crochet hat is the perfect way to start your youngest Jedi off on the right side of the force! Get this cute pattern on Raverly here.
Get your 4th on and have some fun!
Please join me for more fabulous tutorials, inspirations and humor that I share everyday on:
Labels:sewing,quilting,fabric,family
Free Quilt Patterns,
how to sew,
May the 4th be with you free projects,
Monday Motivation
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