A nice weekend

We had such a nice weekend - the kind with not much to do and a lot of time to do it. On Friday night we went to my parent's house for dinner, which was fun. I managed to come home with some nail polish, socks, and dog toys as well... someone in our family was pretty happy about that one.

We worked on a few house projects, did some cleaning, and finally watched Bridesmaids.  I get what all the fuss was about - what a fantastic movie. Zac and I both loved it. Hopefully Kristen Wiig will make another one soon now that she's left SNL.

I even got in a little bit of sewing. I made a few baby gifts and started working on a "just because" project. It will be a table runner for our dining room - it still needs corners, applique, and to be quilted, but here's a preview.

I am tickled with how straight my lines ended up!! Those are 3.5" squares, for reference.

The horrific heat finally lifted in the Mid-west, and it felt a little bit like fall this weekend. We even made chili yesterday, though I have to admit that may have been pushing it a little. I can not wait for when it actually IS fall!

Even the crape myrtle had a nice weekend. I hope you did too!

A fundraiser quilt

The PEACE OUTside Campus Foundation, which was started in memory of my cousin Lindsey, is having a fundraiser at the end of the week. We can't make it all the way to New York for the event, but I wanted to contribute something to the event.

Enter -- the fundraiser quilt! I've made this quilt before. I love it because it's relatively quick to make and it's a great way to use up a jelly roll.

Apologies in advance for the pictures. I finished it all of 2 hours before I needed to mail it, and it was raining so this was the best I could do!

It's really bright and fun!

Zac helped me pick out the fabric for the back, and he felt very strongly that it needed to be dark to balance out the brightness of the front. Works for me! I did simple stitch in the ditch quilting on the front, and I like how the lines look on the back. They aren't perfect straight but it seems to work.

I have a few other jelly roll packs screaming to be made in to a quilt like this. Zac loves the look of the stripes, and I like it a lot too. It would be the perfect size for a baby quilt, as well. Hope you like it!

The Quilt Festival Part II

Yesterday I showed you all of the cool vendors, so today we'll explore some of my favorite quilts. There were so, so many, but I tried to be selective!

That's a QUILT. Isn't it unbelievable?? The lighter dancers are embroidered in thread. It was totally and completely stunning. and I didn't get credit info for this one either. Second media pass fail. 

Spring Blossoms by Terry Aske

Springtime in the Garden by Mary T. Schneider

I am obsessed with this one. How amazing is the applique? The picture doesn't do the colors justice. And look at the striped binding! Darling.

Something like this might be my next project. Swoon.

Is this quilt not absolutely beautiful? I captured the women in the picture to show you its size. It was HUGE.

The Cincinnati Modern Quilt Guild had an exhibition of Ohio Star Quilts. This one is by Amy Thonnerieux, and was one of my favorites.

I'm sure I'm biased because I love Cincinnati, but look at this beautiful landmarks quilt project completed by the Contemporary Quilt and Fiber Artists. Members of the group worked together to create panels for an expansive quilt depicting neighborhoods and landmarks in Cincinnati. It was incredible.

Love the riverboat!

And the skyline!

There were many, many more beautiful quilts, a lot that we couldn't take pictures of. It was such a great experience, and I'm grateful for the International Quilt Festival for making me feel like a rockstar with my press pass. Can't wait for next year!

I got a serger!!!!

You'll have to excuse the zillions of exclamation points that this post will include, because...

I GOT A SERGER!!!!

I am so excited. I have no idea how to use it, but I love it. I can already tell. I mentioned this briefly a few weeks ago, but you would have had to be reading pretty closely to find it. How many of you actually read that closely? It's okay - you don't hurt my feelings!

My mom's friend Judy wanted to get rid of her serger because she wasn't using it, and she let me have it for a steal. She's the best. Like, the best, best, best, best, best.

You'll have to forgive me while I spend the next few days (weeks? Months? Years?) learning how to use it... anyone have any great serger wisdom to share, or sites or tutorials that will help me learn to use it?

A Sweet Baby Boy Quilt for a Sweet Baby Boy

When my friend Claire told me she was pregnant last summer, I was so excited! Claire and I met in college - actually, before the very first day of my freshman year. She's the reason I joined my sorority (she promised me cake. What can I say? I'm weak!), and we spent the next four years being inseparable. It turned out that our parents live about two miles from each other, and we helped each other get ready (in different years) for our first dates with our husbands. 


Claire and Brian found out they were having a boy in August, and I got sewing. I took this quilt with me to my gramma's house to quilt on the long arm, and it was the last one we did. Which means we did this one by generator during Hurricane Irene. Not sure it's my finest work, but Claire and sweet little Charlie seem to like it!


This quilt came from the same book as the animal quilt I made, and it's definitely worth the purchase. It's a great book. You can find it on Amazon here. You could get it from a library, but the templates are really big - I mean, really big - so copying them would be tough. This quilt for Charlie is one of the reasons I bought the book, and I was excited to finally get to make it!

I think the semi truck is my favorite part! I had a hard time finding fabric for the back, but once I saw this, I was sold. I love the road signs and the bright colors!

The sweet mama-to-be sure seemed to like it!

Charlie came almost a whole month early, so good thing this quilt was ready. The sweetest part of the whole thing? Seeing that darling little boy enjoying his quilt!

Nothing like cute baby pictures to make Monday feel a little less like Monday. Click HERE to see the blog parties where I'm linking!

Gift for a Photographer

Our wonderful wedding photographer has become a friend of ours. When I found out she was having a baby, I knew I wanted to make her something fun. And, as always, Pinterest came to the rescue!

This image links back to a search on Etsy, and I can't find its original owner. Sorry about that. This is the best I can do.  Here's the inspiration I found on Pinterest:

Isn't it fun? Rachel's baby is a boy, so obviously hers looks a little different. But, Rachel might also someday have a girl, so I didn't want to make it too boyish. You've already seen the camera tag blanket as part of my Tag Blanket Tutorial, but there's more! Here's my version:

I loved it once I made it, but I thought it needed something else, too. Hence, another tag blanket!

Here's a close up so you can see it better:

I love it! If you're interested in making your own set, here's the tutorials you'll need. You can make it with literally any shape (as evidenced by my peace sign onesie set).

Applique Tutorial

Choosing the Right Applique Shapes

Tag Blanket Tutorial

Click HERE to see the blog parties where I'm linking!

Choosing Applique Shapes

I LOVE to applique. On pretty much anything. Ever since I learned how to do it, I've been unstoppable.

What I love most about applique is that it's so versatile. You can applique on almost anything and you can applique almost any shape. You don't need to buy special books in order to find the shapes - you can find applique shapes just by googling.

What you're looking for are clip art designs that have pieces that you can dissect into an applique shape.  If you look closely at the animal faces on this quilt, you'll see that I started with the largest piece on the bottom, and then added the smaller pieces layer by later to form the animal. On the blue zebra, for example, I started with the "body" piece, which is the medium blue, Then, the light blue nose piece was added, and finally, the dark blue hair (?) part and the nostrils. I embroidered the eyes last.



To find applique shapes:

1. Search for clip art images that relate to the shape you want to applique.
2. Choose a design that is SIMPLE and has parts that you can easily trace.
3. Mirror the image before you print it!!
4. Follow your normal applique technique steps.

When I made the peace sign onesie, I just searched for "peace sign clip art" in Google Images. I found this:

Some of those will make great applique shapes - some won't. Remember, you always want the most basic shape. The first shape is good, but the lines are pretty thin. Ultimately, I ended up using this one.

You can choose whichever one makes the most sense for your project, but the thicker the lines, the easier it will be.

You can do this with more complicated shapes, too. Say you want to applique a puppy.

You have a lot of options here, and almost all of them will work. Remember that you want to look at the shape like layers. On any of these, you'd first applique what is at the back (like the ears), and then layer the face and nose on top.

Does that help make sense of choosing applique designs? I'm not an expert, but hopefully this clarifies the process a bit and makes you want to tackle some applique designs yourself!

Tag Blanket Tutorial

Thanks for all your kind words about the tag blankets I made for my cousins! This is becoming my go-to baby gift... they're fun to make, they're a unique gift, and they go together pretty quickly.

The tag blanket I made using this tutorial is for my wedding photographer, who has become a friend of ours. Her first baby is due this spring, and how perfect is this for the son of a photographer??

I promise this is a simple project - and it's also very forgiving. If your squares aren't exactly the same size, it won't matter! You're basically making a pillow, and then turning it inside out.

To start with, cut two squares out of any material. I like to use a soft minky fabric on the back to make it snuggly and add another texture. If you want to embroider or applique on one (or both) of the sides, now is the time to do it!

You can use any size squares. I generally use somewhere between 8" and 10", depending on the size of my fabrics. Any bigger than that and they'll be too large for a small baby to hold.

Next, cut your ribbons. You can use as many different colors as you want. I tend to alternate three. Three ribbons on each edge fit nicely without being too tight.

To achieve varied lengths, cut half the ribbons 4" long, and half 6" long. 

Fold your ribbons in half, and then pin them to the right side of one of your fabrics. Do this on all four sides.

Head to your sewing machine. Set your stitch slightly less than 1/4" from the edge so that the stitches will be hidden later. You can use any color thread here -- you'll never see it. Sew over the ribbon, then backstitch the entire ribbon. Sew over it one more time.

Ultimately, each ribbon will be sewn over 5 times, eliminating the potential choking hazard. Unless, of course, you let your baby play with the tag blanket and a seam ripper at the same time.

This is what they'll look like when you're finished.

Sewing the ribbons on all at once makes it easier to put the whole blanket together. Now's the time to cut any threads.

Put your squares together, right sides facing. Set your stitch for 1/4" from the edge, and stitch ALMOST all the way around the square. Leave about 2 inches on one side open so you can flip it.

This is what I mean about this project being forgiving. This doesn't matter. Love it.

Turn it inside out -- it's almost finished!

Head back to your sewing machine. Top stitch 1/4" from the edge around the whole square. If you're a really straight stitcher, contrasting thread would look fun. I'm not a super straight stitcher, so I use threads that blend in!

Make sure you fold the part you left open under while you're top stitching and sew it closed.

There you have it! A personalized baby gift that will be loved for a long time.

A closeup view for you.

And the back.

Good luck making many, many tag blankets for the babies in your life! Let me know if you have any questions -- happy sewing!

Click HERE to see the blog parties where I'm linking!

Tag Blankets!

Two of my cousins (who are sisters) had babies this past fall (three of them, total!). I was way behind on sending baby gifts, but better late than never, right?

I decided to make tag blankets for each of the girls. They're really cute, fun to make, and I wanted to personalize them for each baby.

I made the first two for my cousin Molly's two baby girls -- Reese and Chloe.  Everything is cuter in two's, I think!

I embroidered their names on the minky side, and used cute fabric for the back.

A close up of the embroidery.

My cousin Kate had Cara a few weeks before Molly's twins were born.  How fun to have three girl cousins so close together in age??

This is the back of Cara's. I LOVE this fabric. I bought it as a fat quarter a long time ago, and decided this was a good reason to use it!

I wanted the twin's blankets to coordinate without being identical. Mission accomplished!

One of the best parts about these gifts is that they're lightweight, so they're easy to mail. I just rolled them, tied them with a silk ribbon, and sent them on their way!

I'm putting together a tutorial for next week, so stay tuned!

My New Year's Resolutions

My resolutions for 2012 are a lot like last year - a mix of resolutions and goals. I did better than I thought in 2011, but I still have so many wishes and hopes for 2012 that it's hard to narrow it down to a manageable list. Am I the only person who has about a billion goals right now? As evidenced by your comments on this post, I'm not, so I'll console myself with that.

So, without further ado, my list of resolutions for this new year. Excuse the random pictures - this is a painful amount of words and I tried to make it more fun for you.

1. Try to "have it all," but don't go crazy when I can't. I can't stop my crazy quest for a perfect life - it would basically be against my (insane) nature. What I can do is let it roll off my back when things can't be perfect. Any suggestions for how to actually do this would be greatly appreciated by me (and my husband who will bear the brunt of it if I can't pull this one off). My mood/stress level affects our relationship so much, and I'm not going to let it do so negatively this year as much as I can help it.

2. Schedule a monthly date night. Zac and I have promised each other that we'll have a monthly date night in 2012. Since we're still kid-less, we get plenty of time alone together, but we tend to fall into a routine and forget to schedule "special" time. Zac's planning the odd months and I'll plan the even months. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, but it will be fun to focus on each other a little bit more in 2012.

Us at a restaurant. In Paris. Which is unlikely to be one of our monthly date nights this year.

3. Stick to an exercise routine. Like everyone else in the entire world, I have this goal for 2012. Derby and I are starting our third week of Couch to 5K this week, and so far, so good. It helps to have a (dog) accountability partner, and the exercise is as good for him as it is for me. I also found a cool app that speaks the intervals to you so you don't have to stalk your watch, and I stream NPR while I run. Don't knock it until you try it - it's like someone's telling you an interesting story the whole time you're running but you don't have to talk back. The real struggle here will be fitting it in when life gets busy again in January. But I'm going to do it - I have to do it.

                             

Damn, Pinterest. Why you gotta be so dead on right and mean sometimes?

4. Make enough time for my hobbies. When I get busy, I get tired, and then I get stressed. I also tend to neglect the things that relax me when I need them the most, and I want to get away from that this year. Vegging out in front of the TV has its place, but I've wasted way too many hours doing that in 2011. Sewing and reading are my two biggest priorities here... and I'm setting a goal of doing both, for at least a little while, at least once a week. Nothing crazy, but I need to make this a priority. This also includes another quilting visit to my gramma in NY. 

                                        

This won't really be me. We have electricity. But you get the point.

5. Stick with our budget. Now that we've got our finances on track, sticking with our budget is a lot easier, because new clothes and an occasional Starbucks treat are built into it. The next stage for us is adding more cushion to our savings account and watching as things like new cars, vacations, and large home projects become a reality. This isn't a hard goal at all -- I freaking love this one!

                                                        

Me with all our budgeted money. Holla!!

6. Stay present. My new boss is a huge fan of meditation and mindfulness, and I'm so excited to learn more about this from her. I spend a lot of time thinking about things that have already happened, and an embarrassing amount of time worrying about things in the future. I need to focus on being present in the moment, not worrying about things unless they need to be worried about, and staying calm and un-frustrated. Easier said than done, but do-able.

                                                       

7. Stay organized. When I feel organized, I feel better. Period. I'm a pretty organized person, but there are always things I can do to help with this. Picking up a few things each night so our house stays clean, taking time at the beginning and end of each day to plan for the next, packing my lunch the night before, and re-evaluating each month to see what I can improve.

8. Take a vacation. We don't have the logistics of this one worked out completely yet, but I want us to take a real vacation (ie: not just visit family) sometime this year. I don't want the year to get away from us without ever making this a priority. And I desperately want to go back to our honeymoon spot. Not sure yet if that's do-able, but I'm willing to eat Ramen noodles for three months to make it so!

                               

9. Stick with my blog. This wasn't a great posting year for me, but re-discovering this blog over the past month has felt great. I really do love documenting our lives, and I love the community it brings me from all of you. So thank you for reading, and I'll do a better job this year of keeping this bad boy updated (who am I kidding? This blog is obviously a girl). If I don't follow your blog, leave me a comment so I can start!

That's my not-so-small list of things to focus on in 2012. This year, I'm going to actually remember to look at it more than once between now and the end of the year. Is there anything else I should include?