11 weekend sewing.

Sorry for the silence last week, I keep getting sick! Maybe I'm allergic to Michigan? That would be sad.  Anyway, I feel much better now and was able to get some sewing done this weekend. This is a pillow for my friend Emily who is having a baby in a few weeks!

 Her nursery is decorated around the Alexander Henry 2D zoo print, so I fussy cut a giraffe from the print for the focal point of the pillow. It's hard to tell in the pictures but I also hand quilted around the giraffe to make it stand out a bit more.

 I quilted it in straight lines following the log cabin design of the pillow.

 The 2D Zoo is framed with the wave print from Ty Pennington's Impressions, lime Kona, a blue shot cotton and some AH Heath.

I'm really happy with the way this turned out!  Hope you like it Emily!

12 single girl sewing.

Well I didn't find any template plastic last week but what I did find instead worked perfectly for making my templates!

Plastic dividers that you normally put inside of binders!  It's thick, clear plastic that is easy to draw on (I used a Sharpie) and cut out, and the best part is that you get 8 sheets in one package.  I spent $3.88 on this pack and there were other options that were cheaper, although not as thick.

I spent a night tracing and cutting while watching TV and it was much less painful than I expected.  Last night I cut two of each fabric (I am planning on switching up the order of the fabrics to add all 36 into my final quilt).

 The actual sewing part went really quickly.  I sewed all 8 quarter rings...

and I've started sewing them to my background fabric.  I hope to share the finished block in the next day or two!

7 rainbow strips.

My fabrics are all cut into strips for the Single Girl quilt.

They look kind of pretty all lined up, don't you think?  I'm headed to the dreaded Walmart after dinner (at The White House...YUM!) to see if I can find template plastic.  Otherwise I'll have to resort to cardstock, which just doesn't seem like it would work as well.  Wish me luck.

7 single girl quilt fabrics.

Have you heard about the Single Girl Support Group yet? I bought this pattern sometime last summer, and had yet to even open it before today.

I started seeing everyone's posts about their fabrics and progress and decided this would be a good time for me to join in! I picked out my fabrics today and now I'm trying to figure out where to get template plastic in this town.

I'm going for mostly solids and almost-solid fabrics for the rings, with Kona Medium Gray as the background.  I haven't quite decided on the size yet, I'll probably start with a baby quilt and see how it goes from there.  I would love to have a king size quilt for our bed but I am just not sure I have it in me!

I'm really looking forward to getting started on this quilt!  I'll keep you posted on my progress, but I'm sure it will be slow going.

11 thrifting finds.

I did a little thrifting at lunch today and came home with a few crafty finds!  A small Olfa cutting mat, a quilting ruler, an embroidery hoop, and a kit to make your own buttons.  Also some fun graphic vintage fabric and two silk scarves.  I love collecting Vera scarves, they're like little works of art!

I already put the button kit to use, covering them with some Alexander Henry Heath fabric and adding a magnet to the back.  They look so cute on my bulletin board!

 I have the hardest time throwing fabric scraps away.  Am I the only one who feels guilty throwing even the smallest scraps away?  These are really tiny!

I've been having dreams about thrifting lately so I had to get my fix.  Not bad for $2.33!

2 happy valentine's day.

Hope you all have a super sweet valentine's day!

15 shopping spree.

I did a little shopping last week and came out with a (virtual) shopping cart full of gorgeous fabrics.  They arrived at my (actual) doorstep yesterday and simply can't stop looking at them.

So much prettiness all in two (not-so) little stacks!  That would be 36 yards worth right there.  Shall we have a closer look?

First, a big stack of Painter's Canvas from Laura Gunn's Magnolia Lane.  Sadly the Teal was sold out already, but I hope to find some soon!

Then there's the Joel Dewberry.  Mostly the herringbone print from Modern Meadow, which is in the running for my favorite print ever!  I love it so much.  A couple prints from Deer Valley were on sale so I added those in too.

I had to pick up some of Robert Kaufman's Metro Living, and after looking at these prints I want to buy more!  They're just so versatile.

A few prints to possibly share with my swap partner in the Make Mine Modern Swap.  Clockwise from the top left:  Tip Top Tiny Elephants in Ivory on Slate Gray, Parisville Fans in Pomegranate, Impressions Wave in Gray, Haven's Edge Walls in Violet, Kumari Garden Sashi in Blue, Kumari Garden Tarika in Moss, and Modern Affair Organic Stripes in Papaya.

Lastly, Alexander Henry's Heath collection on quilting cotton.  The second print in the running for my most favorite ever!  I am so excited to have this line in my stash.

Now the big question...what to make with all of this loveliness?  Something tells me I'll be doing a lot of sewing in the coming weeks.

38 circle quilt take two.

I finally finished my second take on the circle quilt.  This one is a little more vibrant and fun than the first one.

I used a Claire Bella flannel as the backing to make it extra snuggly.

I quilted along each of the seams to make a grid pattern and also around each of the circles.  They kind of pop out off the rest of the quilt.

It's bound in Kona Ash (no surprise there).

Of course I had to add a little Bijou Lovely tag to the back for good measure.

I couldn't resist the polka dots when wrapping this one up!

I hope mommy and baby both love their circle quilt!

6 my favorite binding.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I bind almost all of my quilts with Kona Ash.  It is just the perfect shade of gray to frame bright and colorful quilts with!

Do you have a go-to color for binding?  

3 stash building.

I bought a few fun fabrics a few weeks ago that were on sale to add to my stash.  I can't wait to figure out what to make with the houndstooth laminated cotton!  Any ideas are welcome!  Dasha from Alexander Henry is one of my most favorite prints ever, I think I'll be making some pillows for our living room with that one.

I made another rather large fabric purchase last week as well and I'm counting down the days until it comes in!

0 weekend recap.

This past weekend was a good one.  The perfect mix of sewing, house projects, and family time.  I spent Saturday morning sewing up this pillow for a little birthday boy (to match his space quilt).  I finished the pillow just in time for his party with 10 minutes to spare.

We spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning renovating the bathroom.  It's so close to finished now, I can't wait to share pictures!  We just need to install the trim and add a little artwork.  Of course last night we had to watch the Super Bowl, which was pretty exciting since the Packers won!  This is Packer country so everyone was very happy to see them win.  Hope you all had a nice weekend!

3 snowmageddon.

Sorry it's been a little quiet around here this week.  It's been an interesting one for me.  Here's a summary.

-Traveled to the Boston area for work on Monday....the weather was perfect!

-Had my annual review

-Got a raise

-Got a promotion

-Sushi for dinner (I've been having withdrawals.  Did you know there is not a single sushi place in the Iron Mountain area?  So sad!)

-Snowmageddon started on Tuesday.  Everyone left the office before noon.  I stayed since my hotel was only 2 miles away.

-Shoveled a ton of snow off the rental car with those cheap tiny snowbrushes they provide you with.  Couldn't even reach the middle.

-Got to my hotel safely 

-Had to cancel dinner with my twin :(

-Sat in my hotel room all night

-Woke up to a snow day

-Debated when the best time to drive up to Manchester was while watching the weather

-Drove through the sleet and snow this morning while barely being able to see because my wipers were frozen and hoped I wouldn't die

-Made it here safely

-Went to the mall (there was no one there and half the stores were closed)

-Bought a new pair of jeans!

-Checked in to my hotel room, Skyped with my sister, and took a nap
-Bored in my room, wishing I had brought a little project to work on

Now I'm sitting here praying for my flight to leave tomorrow morning.  I want to go home!  There's less snow there.