Are you pinterested?

So are you?

I am definitely pinterested! I love all the ideas, the creativity, what girl would not love to look and dream of things that may or may not come into being! If you haven't checked it out yet here are a few things I enjoy from my pinterest boards!

From Cluck Cluck Sew

 From Home Sweet Hideaway

From Bjanebrewing.com

And that is just a tidbit....if you have not checked it out yet; here is a little warning....

It's Highly Addictive!!

Check it out, let me know how you like to pinterest!

Angie

Well Happy Belated Halloween.  It was a rainy an soggy one here in VA. We did get to visit all the important people like family and that was about it. I have been busy in the sewing room. I made my oldest daughter's Rapunzel from the Disney Movie Tangled Costume. I also made the Dorothy costume that my youngest wore a couple of years ago for my oldest daughter. I know I recycled. But hey I am a working mom and time is precious! They both looked adorable anyways :-)

I also did some commission work for one of my co-workers. It was been harder to get out and sew in the evening since my husband's job moved him 2 hours away from us during the week. He is supposed to be in this position until the New Year. I am hoping that I survive it and can find my mojo in all of our schedules.  I have started to think about what I want to make folks for Christmas...I really need to get crackin....Well I hope to write to you all soon with some wonderful items that I have finished! :-) I hope you have a great weekend!
Angie

And then there were 20!

And then there were 20!
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

I know I should be saying welcome back to my own self. We have started preschool for my oldest, which involves me driving an extra hour each day. The wonderful fall colds have already hit all of my family, and time has been flying by way to fast.

I have done a little bit of sewing. I made my cousin a nursing cover, the neighbor a couple of pillow cases, and blocks for my Michael Miller Clubhouse quilt.  (Sorry I do not have any pictures.) 

Tonight, I got to work on my farmer's wife blocks! :-) I know I am way behind, but I hope to catch up maybe in the next couple of weeks. I really enjoy making these blocks. I am starting to think about sashing colors, I was thinking about Kona ashe, but I am second guessing that now. Any ideas? I know I will be adding more blocks with black and white prints too.

This block reminds me of summers I spent working in my grandparents garden. I truly enjoyed these summers and loved the fresh squash!

What is a snowball without a little winter blue? I like how this block turned out.

18 down...93 to go

18 down...93 to go
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

Between my oldest daughter's birthday party, my Husband taking me to Las Vegas for the first time, stress at work, Earthquakes, Hurricane Irene, no power, and preparing my big girl for school it has been a busy couple of weeks.

I finally got to sit down last night and make a few of these wonderful Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Blocks. I am loving the bright colors with the simple black and whites, and white and blacks. I really can not wait to get to make more of these blocks. At this moment I am only 10 blocks from being on target for 2 a week. Maybe this labor day weekend will be a good one to sew! I hope you and your family have a lovely long weekend, and I hope to bring you progress soon :-)

Tangled Birthday!

 So my oldest daughter Megan turns 4 next Thursday. Wow I can not believe that
it has been four years already.  I asked her what she wanted for a birthday theme and she told me, "I want a tangled party Mommy" I thought great! That was before I realized that there is not that many things on the market for Rapunzel and the tangled movie. So what does any mom do when she can't find something she wants, she googles it and finds out how to make this party work.  I found a great blog called Super Mom Moments. My creative juices started flowing and before I knew it I was in the midst of a Tangled Birthday Party.  So here is my Tangled birthday party in a nut shell. The decorations...

 
The favors: Bags I made with stickers and Pascal blow toys...

And then the best part of the party was the tangled cake my mom and dad made her. My dad measured it and it came out to 35" tall! I thought it was wonderful....

Megan thoroughly enjoyed her party and so did her friends. I am so glad, because I am completely pooped. Well I am glad this turned out to be a happy ending! Happy Birthday to my big girl! I love you very much!

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Weeks 1-6.5

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along Weeks 1-6.5
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

I know it has been a while since I last posted but I have been quite busy. Currently at my full time job we have been undergoing a large renovation and I have been coming home absolutely wiped.

I did get to finish a flannel blanket, nursing cover, and burg clothes for my husbands step-cousin who is expecting her first born next month. I have also been slowly working on my Farmer's Wife blocks. I have added 4 more blocks. This makes me only 4.5 weeks behind, but slow and steady I will piece all 111 of these little blocks.
One of my blocks: Butterfly at the crossroads 

 

I am pondering redoing. I ended up messing up my calculations and it is a bit (well, really!) wonky. I paper pieced the Attic Windows and Windmill blocks

 

they both turned out beautiful and I love them a lot. I also pieced Birds in the Air. 

I cut each of these blocks, and I have to say I felt quite proud to say I made this block and it is relatively 6.5" square! That was a lot of little pieces. Well I am off to bed...work, packing, vacation, Meg's 4th birthday party, and hopefully some sewing are going to catch up to me soon!

Giveaway Alert

Want some fabric? Or a book?

Look at this yumminess, would you like it? Win it here...The Intrepid Thread

Farrmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Blocks

Farrmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Blocks
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

I was able to add 3 more blocks to my FWSQAL this morning. Man it was already 80+ degrees at 6am. No A/c in my sewing room meant, I really have put sweat into these blocks. I added a purple block and an orange block. I hope to get better lighting at some point today. But I am liking the colors so far. I am definitely going to stick with the black and white fabrics!

They keep multiplying!

Weeks 1, 2, and 3
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

So a summer cold has taken a hold of my entire household. So with us at home today, I could not go back to sleep this morning so I made two more Farmer's wife blocks. I am loving the bold colors with the strong black and white. I am really enjoying these blocks. I am only 1 week behind now. 6 blocks done, 105 left to go! Talk to you soon!
Angie

It's been all but quiet...(pic heavy post!)

I may have been quiet on here, but my machine has sure been getting a work out lately...

I have had 3 baby showers in 2 weeks.  The first one was a dual surprise shower for my friends Amy and Chrissy.  Chrissy is bringing baby #9 to our group of 7 close friends and it is finally a boy!  So for her I made...

This is the Tidbits pattern by Swirly Girl Designs. I made this top, cutting, sewing, pressing etc in less than 3 hours! Now I just have to quilt it! The fabric is Funny baby by Moda. I love how it turned out, and I was glad she loved it too!

I also made Chrissy some wonderful additions to this quilt...

Amy was the other recipient to the dual surprise shower, however, she did not find out it was a girl until the day of the shower...We love girls, Amy's sweet addition will be girl #8 and baby #10 to our family of friends...I will be making her a quilt top as soon as I find some pink to go in the mix! But I did get to make her these...

If you are wondering how we made it a dual surprise shower, we told Amy the shower was for Chrissy and Chrissy the shower was for Amy. We are all spread all over this lovely state of Virginia and we knew that we may not be able to have all the ladies together before the baby's come, so we surprised them both! :-)

The third baby shower was for my cousin Meredith, who is having baby #4 and it is finally a boy! :-) She told me she was doing a nautical theme and I was excited because I had this quilt pattern in my stash already waiting. I made it majority out of 30's prints because Meredith so loves 30's prints. She is a newbie quilter and I was super excited to make this for her. I love how it turned out, but I did not enjoy staying up late to finish it...I wanted her to see it at her shower this past Friday night.

and a close up of the sailboats...

She loved it, and in the haste to get the presents wrapped, I forgot to get a picture of the blankets and burp cloths that I made her. I still have several other accessories to make for each lady, and an additional baby quilt for my hubby's cousin who is having a baby boy as well. I am not sure what to do with all these boys since I have two girls, but it has been nice to work with blue fabric! :-)

And last but not least...If you have not heard about the Farmer's wife quilt Along? 

It is the happening place right now. It is based on the book by the same title by Linda Aaron Hird.. I have owned the book for a while now, and did not have the nerve to start it..templates and I don't get along. However, Angela of Fussy cut blog (btw...I love her blog and all the colors she works with..super fun!), and her friend Amanda, started this weekly quilt along with real simple rules. 2 blocks a week of your choice and you can make them as fast or slow as you want and with any fabric combination you choose. I was SOLD, especially with all the eye candy that has been floating around on the flickr page..

So here is my take on the farmer's wife quilt so far...

I am thinking about doing black and white with lots of color splashes...I am not compltetely sure about all my color choices yet, but we will see with time. I do love the black and white so far :-)! PS these blocks are very addictive!

So now that I am tired of just reliving the past 2 weeks with you all. I think I will head to bed and hope this summer cold will leave my house as fast as it came. I hope to have more blocks and quilts for you all soon! Much love,

Angie

Do you remember these?

Do you remember these?

Well add these...

And you get these beauties...

Put them together and you get this wonderful thing..

The center for my Lone Star quilt "Over the Border" from the Material Obsession 2 book. I only have eight more of these to piece. I replaced the brown from the book with the Indigo. It is made all of batiks from my stash :-)...My 3 year old helped me place the colors. I love the way she was care free about the color placement. I would have been so rigid with it. Now all I have to do is sew 8 more of these star points and figure out the background fabric and  the border fabric...these are giving me a hard time. I think I will head to one of my favorite LQS tomorrow to try and find them. Wish me luck!

I have to admit I was a bit intimidated by this quilt, so I decided not to hand piece it like I had originally thought about doing, and I did a little online research.  I found this great video series here (just search Lone Star Quilt)! I really love the idea of basting the strips together and checking your points so you can correct errors if need be.  So after watching that last night, I got this accomplished today! :-) So far I love it...now to just find the borders. I hope maybe to have the center of the quilt finished before I have to return to work on Tuesday. Keep your fingers crossed! 

Happy Memorial Day Weekend Everyone!

Tornado Relief: Can you help?

Can you help? I have been watching all the devastation on TV about the tornadoes that are wrecking havoc on our southern states.   It especially hits home when my husband's Aunt and Cousin lost countless things just a few weeks ago in the tornadoes that hit Deltaville, VA.  Both houses have been totaled not to mention 3 vehicles, a garage, boats, golf carts, etc.  My hubby's Aunt was very lucky she was home at the time and lived to talk about the events of that evening. 

One of the blogs I follow Jennifer can Quilt and fellow Richmond Quilter, Jennifer is trying to help in a little way. She is right it is time for us to start taking care of each other here in the states as much as we help all the other countries in need.  She is having a giveaway for one of her beautiful quilts for anyone who donates their time, money, or blood to help tornado victims.

My heart sank watching those in Joplin, MO and then again when FEMA denied money to those in Southwest VA who have been hit by tornadoes.  American come on and step up to the plate.  GIVE whatever you can give,  go registrar to win a chance at Jennifer's quilt, and even make quilts for those who have lost everything.  By the way follow Jennifer's blog, she gives some beautiful inspiration! Blessings to you and yours and may God keep you all safe during this scary weather season.

Happy Mother's Day!

I hope this day has brought you many smiles, laughs, and giggles from the ones your love. My family let me have a wonderful nap, and now I get to go do some sewing and cutting! Love all around to you and yours!

Happy Mother's Day!!!

Stack of Diamonds

stack of diamonds
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

I have fallen in love with "Over the Border" version of the Lone Star Quilt from the Material Obsession 2 book. I love the balance of cool and warm colors. I am going to convert it into my own bright version in Batiks, all of which were sitting in my stash (jumps up and down and dances). I am thinking of hand sewing this and making it my summer travel project, whatcha think?


I also have been working on a UFO chick quilt for a friend, it is a secret project so I can not share any photos right now. So what are you working on right now? Any secrets in your neck of the woods??

I am still among the living...I think!

I am sorry to each of you for this being my only post in what feels like forever... this has been the worst month in a long time.  My supervisor has been off work dealing with some family health issues, and that has piled the work on me, I am miserable at my job and really pondering whether I want to go back to school and obtain my RN or find a new job. I did get a call back interview the other day, and I liked what they had to say about the position..so do I take the offer i feel might be on my way? or do I find a way to work and go back to school. Oh I wish I had a crystal ball. 

And as if all that was not enough, my oldest daughter was hospitalized last week with walking pneumonia. Praises to God, she is out of the hospital and much better! but have you ever spent the night in the hospital with a 3 year old? It is definitely an experience I hope never to repeat again. 

I have only been able to do a little bit of sewing, a project for a dear friend of mine that I want to do for my creative 2011 resolution!. As soon as I have the top pieced I will get you pics.  

Again, I hope you all understand my absence and please forgive me.  I hope to be up and running creatively very soon. I think I need some catching up on sleep first! Happy Easter and Welcome Spring. :-)

Just one star blocks

Just one star blocks
Originally uploaded by lovesewspecial

Well we (my dear members and myself) made two blocks for the Just one Star can comfort a solider. I hope that we can get more made here soon. I got to start a new project yesterday, My hummingbird quilt. So far I am in love with it. I got 12 of 50 blocks made! :-) Hopefully, I can keep up the momentum and finish a top that I am working on for my friend Susan! it is a secret and I am super happy about how it is looking so far!

One Star can comfort a solider!

Have you heard about this wonderful program sponsored by Moda, Quilts of Valor and headed by the Semper fi fund?

It is a challange by Moda to make 100 quilts by Flag Day June 14, 2010.  That means making 1800 star blocks.  You can find all the good information and the star pattern here! But I have a feeling they will make 3 times that many quilts. They are asking quilters to make one star in blue or red and sign your name and location to the block and mail them in. Moda and some wonderful quilters will peice, quilt, and bind the quilts to be given to our service men. Can you ask for a better reason to sew than that!

So as many of you know,  I am a CTRS (certified therapeutic recreation specialist) who works with disabled adults in a daycare setting. They wanted to do an activity around quilts since Saturday is national quilt day! I saw this call for action last week and decided it might be perfect for us! I pitched it to them today and we are IN!! They are already asking me if I can make enough for a whole quilt for a solider? 

I even offered to give some fabric from my stash so that they can choose their fabrics to make their stars! I know it may not seem like alot, but for these folks who are already disabled and want to help others, they jumped (some of them literally) at the chance to say thank you even if it is in a small way, and even if it means I may spend all weekend sewing blocks together! I am super excited about it! Hurah! as one of my former military members put it! :-) all smiles!

Who is in with me? check out Rachel's blog for a challenge to go with this quilt challenge!

Weekend Progress a little late!

Well I had hoped to post this blog earlier in the week, however, with an anniversary and finding out that both of my girls had pink eye (in both eyes) and my little one also had ear infections (did you know that babies get ear infections with pink eye?) this post will finally be completed on Wednesday...

I had a productive weekend, YAY!! Here is what I accomplished...

My first month of Michael Miller's Clubhouse quilt by Swirly Girl Designs.

I also started on my blockapollooza quilt along blocks...

For this quilt along I am stash busting and using Charm by Amy Butler, and various Kona solids. It is real bright, and so far I am liking it, I am a bit behind, but I know I can catch up, the blocks go together fairly easy.

We will see, hopefully your home is "sick bug" free, and that you get some sewing done too :-) I hope to get some down the end of this week as well.

My First Tutorial

When I gave my wonderful tidbit to KarrieLynn a few weeks ago on her Freckled Whimsy's blog, I have had several people email me and ask that I give some visuals to help describe my method. Being a visual learner I should have thought about that before, but alas, I will sum it up to a blond moment, and I didn't have any. I had intended to take some pics for several weeks, since then the wonderful winter illnesses have hit my house, and all of us have been a bit under the weather. Finally, I am happy to say we are on the road to being healthy and I was able to capture some shots for all of you.

My grandmother taught me this technique years ago and I still use it today.  By following these steps, you can reduce the amount that your blocks will stretch or distort when you need to draw diagonal lines or press bias seams. 

First, Find an old, but clean piece of cardboard. mine was originally a piece used inside a shirt when you wanted to pant on the shirt, and I cut it down for this purpose.  Take two pieces of fine sandpaper and tape them down onto your board.  This makes a great surface to transfer markings to fabric. The sandpaper holds the fabric without distorting it when you draw on it.  

Lay your fabric on the sandpaper, and place your ruler on top.

Take your pencil and starting from the center of the block, Draw outwards towards the corner.  Lift your Pencil and start from the center again, and draw the second half of your line to the opposite corner. 

When you remove the ruler you have a perfect line corner to corner and your corners will not be distorted from the line being drawn. Notice that the line is darker in the center. I have a tendency to overlap my line when I start from the center and work outwards.

i use the same center principal when I am ironing a seam on the bias of my fabric (like in flying geese and HST).

Use the corner of the iron to start pressing from the center.

.Use the iron to work the seam outward from the center, on larger blocks, I will press from the center to one corner, and then again from the center to the opposite corner. 

Pressing from the center helps to keep the block square, and causes very little stretching on the bias seem. You just gotta love that! :-)

So does that make sense? I hope this helps you out. If you need more details let me know and I will gladly help. I hope that you all will have a beautiful weekend! We are enjoying some wonderful 70 degree weather!

A Quilt in Less than a Month

I joined Rachel's postage stamp quilt along at PSIQuilt back in January. I could not believe we would be making a small bed size quilt in a month however, I finished up very early this morning...I won't tell you just how early, but I am definitely working on very little sleep today! But here she is...

Isn't she pretty?!?

And a look close up too...

I decided to use Farmer's Market by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller Fabrics for this quilt. I love all the bright cheery colors against the white. I know I love the brights, but they just make me smile. I had originally bought most of these fabrics in a kit. I loved the quilt, but changed my mind and picked another color scheme for that quilt. 

I decided for this quilt along (and pretty much all quilt alongs I join this year) to bust open my fabric stash and between the kit I had purchased and my stash, I had 24 of the fabrics from the line...not too bad. I did have to cut them into 2.5" strips, but I used a tool called the Shape Cut by June Taylor, and I have to say it is my new favorite friend. Much cheaper than buying Jelly rolls of solid colors. And from there the piecing went fairly easy.  

The best part of this quilt is that I finished the top in less than a month :-) I used 6 yards of fabric from my stash, and my darling 3 year old helped me with this quilt. She decided it was fun to layout the fabrics and help mommy iron the blocks, as well as layout my blocks in their rows. So although there maybe the same fabrics side by side, but that is what she wanted, and I loved her helping me quilt! :-)

Well I hope that you all have a blessed weekend, sorry for the long post.. I had a lot to say! :-) 

Postage Stamp Quilt Along Update

I was able to finish cutting all my strips tonight. Here they are looking all pretty...

and of course I couldn't just leave them alone, here are 4 of the blocks.


Now only 44 more blocks to make, and then I have to stitch them all together. Normally, that would not be that bad, except all my gals (mad love to my girls) and their families are descending on my house this weekend for an awesome get together! I need to get working on this quilt, and my house...hmmm the choices! :-)

Happy Sewing and Quilting!