Side project: Pillow Shams

Still sewing away on a few quilt too projects (because one project is never enough and to be honest, I get bored or frustrated and need to step away from certain projects to think things through in regards to how I need to be doing things differently in order to be successful).

I did join the Single Girl Support Group, but am continuing to wait for the book with the pattern and template to arrive. I am loving reading the Q&A posts as well as the FYI posts so that I can be prepared when it is my turn to start building the blocks. The question came up: Who is going to be making pillow shams? One of the gals came up with some super links and I wanted to share as well as document some of my own faves (for my own future use!).

Prudent Baby (Love the fabric on the edges of the shams, not too feminine)

 Film In The Fridge (These are pretty pillowcases)

The Cottage Home (Frilly and beautifully feminine)

Retro Mama (More pretty pillowcases)
My mom is notorious for historically making my brother and I pillowcases. Really. I have a Snoopy Christmas pillowcase, a Snoopy St. Patrick's Day pillowcase, three flannel (one white with blue flowers, a second white with rainbow horizontal stripes, and a third white with red words), and a Robert Hoffman easter egg pillowcase. Then this year for Christmas she made all the couples in our family matching pillow cases, so the hubs and I now have a CHRISTMAS SET!!! Thanks Mom! xoxox

I love my headboard :) Tufting is WAY TOO much work to ever do again...

Lawn Chair Quilt Progress

Been raining all day in Phoenix!!! Smells good :)

So I guess I should come clean. My name is Michonne and I really like Moda Bake Shop. I love that normal people make their patterns. I love that they have the directions right on their website, they make complete sense(!), and I LOVE that everything is F-R-E-E. Yes, friends. Free.

Love. Moda Bake Shop 'Recipes'

I found the Lawn Chair Quilt a while back and have had it all bookmarked and ready for making a baby quilt, but really haven't done much more than the bookmark. One of my girlfriends from high school just had a baby. A Valentine's Day baby girl!!! This baby is destined to be a tom-boy with a mom that is a Sand Dune Champion Racer, so I didn't want it to be too girly. I figured a bright blues and pinks combo could be super fun AND I used more of my stash!!!

Here's the idea of the pattern:

and here is what I came up with (a much smaller version as I was only going crib-size vs anything any bigger):

Look, it's a Michonne-tree.. Those are my knees :) I ended up using a white with tan Peter Cotton Tail-type fabric as the background (starting to run out of white in the old stash...). I think it turned out pretty cute. Not to girly and not to masculine. Now I just need to figure out what kind of cute border I can get on this one STAT! I am kind of thinking a wide, plain border (with blues and pinks somehow).

How Do I Construct This Quilt?

Every time that I am making a quilt for someone or just sitting down for some therapy, my hubby asks if the quilt will be for him. It is pretty much a running joke at this point. I would love to make him a quilt, but he can't seem to figure out what is 'manly' enough to suit his disposition until now. My handsome husband has decided that he likes abstract-like quilts and he has committed to a pattern. Yeah. Whoa. I had to pick my jaw up off of the floor because nothing ever seems manly enough for this Model A driving, Y block building, ball bearing packing, engineering hubby of mine. SO I am thinking, 'Gee, this is awesome. I had better be able to make this quilt for him...' And then he shows me this picture:

It's the album cover to a Deathcab for cutie album. A boy after my own heart.... except that I cannot wrap my head around how to actually put this thing together. Ugh.

I need help figuring out how I would construct this... it looks complicated and hard? Does anyone know of any examples where seams don't exactly match up and look completely random/artistic like this? I need help :( Below is a ticker-tape-style version.... Getting closer, but totally need some help here.

http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/2010/07/working-hard-to-get-ready-for-upcoming.html

I would really like to do this without having to go all Ticker-Tape-Parade on it. I like the idea of having all my raw edges on the backside with no fraying to maintain the crispness of the quilt (for this particular project). Just don't know where to begin with this process..

Recommendations? ? Guidance?? Help??? :(

Coffee Cup Sleeve

I have been thinking about making a few of these for a while now. I completely love the idea of making something that people will actually use.

Here is my first attempt at a coffee cup sleeve. Not perfect, but super duper fun aaaaand utilitarian. This really bright blue/peach dot is a Kaffe Fassett print that I have been unable to put into any quilts (so far) just because it is so incredibly bright. I also haven't really made anything that has been a bunch of turquoises lately. My favorite thing is the glass faceted button. It is vintage, was a part of my grandmother's button collection, and my mom lovingly gave the collection to me! Score!!!

Hello pretty little vintage button xoxo

Socken Quilt-A-Long Progress

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notebookdoodles/

The Cherry House Quilts Socken Quilt Quilt-A-Long is hopping right along. This week, we were to sew together all of our baby 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares into color-coordinated strips. This went together so quickly for me that I ultimately decided that I could move on to the next step.

Once I had ironed out my 5 pieced strips, I decided that I wanted my quilt to be a little bit bigger. I know, I know, I know.... I said I wouldn't fuss with someone else's pattern before I had tried it out, but my need to stash-bust got the better of me and so I cut 5 extra color squares for each pieced strip. So I essentially added 10 more squares :) to increase the length.

I then ironed my wide strips and prepared to sew to the pieced strips and I realized ---- gee, this is the reason that we only cut 18 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares to begin with: this is the width of the fabric. Duh. So I pieced in an extra 10 or so inches to end of each of my wide strips. I was very happy that I had a plain background with minimal large flowers randomly placed as the design. I think it turned out really good and it is going to be hard to tell from a distance where I pieced in the extra 10 inches on these strips.

Finished Quilt top

A little bit of a close up

Close up of the red and the orange pieced strips

Close up of the yellow and green pieced strips

I am incredibly happy with how this quilt top went together (very speedy and perfect for an adorable baby quilt!!!) and how lovely the final product is. I can't wait to post this to flickr, but am going to wait until the rest of the group is at the final step. I don't want to be the person who goes ahead before they are supposed to..... ya know?

I guess the next step now is to figure out how I am going to quilt this pretty little baby. I am leaning towards trying my hand at hand quilting. Here are a few pictures of what I am currently inspired by:

Not too much, just enough: Perfect!

Pretty curves and nice stitches

Love the idea of tracing the flowers

Do you have any good recommendations? Ideas? Experiences?

Thanks for stopping by :)

Finished Fat Quarterly Quilt-A-Long (slightly modified) Quilt

I finally finished (bound and quilted) my Fat Quarterly Quilt-A-Long Quilt. As I mentioned before, I have somewhat modified the pattern. After I sewed up all of my strips (of course I didn't entirely pay attention to the quilt-a-long instructions ( I am a terrible listener... )) I ended up with many more color-white-color strips than I had solid pieces to sandwich with - hope this makes sense. SO I ended up alternating every other 'box' block with a 'cross' block. Ehh... It worked for me :) I am counting this as my first quilt finish of 2011 (with The Postage Stamp as my second.... when I get it back from the long-arm quilter and I bind it).

Here is my modified version below:

I love Nicey Jane!! I didn't use any of the pink - but that is definately my favorite.

Can you find what I wrote in the border?

Here is what the quilt-a-long was supposed to end up looking like:

See where I modified the pattern? I went with a 'cross' every other 'box' block.

 The entire time I was quilting this quilt, I had the biggest feeling of disappointment. My borders had ended up stretching just enough to where I did not feel I could go with straight line quilting (which was how I had initially wished to quilt the entire quilt). So I was incredibly bummed. I ended up stippling the outer two white borders and I am very happy that I did. I love the way this quilt turned out and am happy with the learning experience. I really cannot explain how much I learn with each quilt-a-long. All the wonderful discussion points on the boards, all the sharing of each others' frustrations... it is so nice to know that I am not alone in occasional frustrations.

Thank-you online quilting blogs and flicker. Today I am incredibly thankful for you. xoxoxo

I do believe in magic

It's a good thing b/c I need about 16 hours worth of sleep tonight to make up for the lost sleep this past week due to stress. Went out to dinner with some friends for Mexican food and Margs... was quite delightful. More pictures tomorrow: I have the Socken Quilt top ready to share! Also, finished pictures from my (super duper late) finished Fat Quarterly Quilt-A-Long quilt. It turned out incredibly cute and looks fantastic all crinkled up after a round in the washer & dryer.

Motivation (surprisingly NO lack-there-of) for quilting! Excited.

Last year was the year of running. Well, I only ran one marathon and one half marathon, but to be fair, I had never run a half marathon and the most I had ever run before was likely less than 12 miles at one time.

Me in front of the marathon route at Nike Town

My number for the San Francisco Nike Women's marathon

Monterey Half Marathon with my brother. I was having a good time. HEY, it wasn't 26.2 miles, my feet had healed from the mass quantities of blisters that I had built during the marathon the previous month. I was just happy to be running again.

This year is going to be my year of sewing!! I have already challenged myself to use up my stash. Now I have challenged myself to complete one  quilt per month at least! So far so good! I have finished the green modified-first-quilt-a-long (Fat Quarterly) that I ever participated in online. So this will be my #1 finish for 2011.

I have also found an abundance of quilt-a-longs!! I am sooo incredibly happy to find online support and more importantly I am excited about all of the inspiration I keep seeing and all of the tricks and reminders that I keep stumbling upon: pure awesomeness!!!

Quilt-A-longs:
1.) modified Fat Quarterly Quilt-A-Long (Quilted, bound, complete)
2.) Postage Stamp Quilt-A-Long (Top:complete, dropped off with long-arm quilter!!)
3.) Socken Quilt-A-Long (in progress!)
4.)....Considering the Single Girl Quilt-A-Long - I mean why not, right?? Found out about it on Nova's blog. Looks awesome and lord knows I need the inspiration, support, and hand-holding ;) This could be the perfect wedding gift for my brother and his wifey-to-be!! Pretty excited about this one!!!

Step 1: Socken Quilt Progress

I love this quote. I love this script. I love the colors. I think I am completely in love with this little print.

Nothing really to report on the running front: 3 miles this week.
As far as quilting, I have finished step #1 of the Socken Quilt. I sewed together (in color-coordinated strips) all my teensy-tiny 1.5 x 1.5 inch squares! This quilt is much, much smaller in comparison to the ginormous Postage Stamp Quilt (60 x 80 inches) that I just finished up, so there is a small part of me wondering how it would look if it were a little bit bigger..... I think I'll just focus on the pattern at first - the way it is SUPPOSED to be done, and then I can play around with it :)

Here are my strips (I am opting to do 5 instead of 4 in order to get a rainbow effect (kinda). I haven't ironed them either AND it's dark here.... I'll try to get some prettier pictures this weekend and maybe even speed forward to the next step!!

The Small Things

http://www.flickr.com/photos/parkerfitzgerald/

All day long, it is my job to be critical about the small things. I am a pediatric/neonatal pharmacist. A decimal place is a big deal. Different concentrations and routes of administration matter. The little things matter so much that it is hard to step away from work-mode sometimes.

The truth is that truly enjoying life does not include being critical about things. It really is all about the small things, just enjoy them. I am constantly reminding myself of this and working towards making it a habit. <3 <3

Very First Mug Rugs!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/parkerfitzgerald/

 Here are my first attempts at finishing a Mug Rug with my favorite mug (this mug is the perfect size - fits right into the palms of my hands and keeps them so toasty and warm!). Yes, there are multiple things that I will need to continue to need to work on and yes, this is the perfect opportunity to work on said skills because this project is such a small project.

I used some super cute pink cupcake fabric that my aunt bought me for Christmas. I really do not have all that many large-scale whimsical prints that I could use for centerpieces to the project, this seemed to work out. I do think that the binding got the best of me on this project. Not quite sure why, but I didn't do my best binding here. Bummer.

BTW the fabric in the background will be the fabric that I hope to use for my Socken Quilt. More on that project to come!

Tying Up Loose Ends

I Love Natalie Dee (http://www.nataliedee.com/)

On a more sewing-y note, I have decided to send out my Postage Stamp Quilt to a long arm quilter that I have been stalking here in my home city (I'm pretty excited to see what she comes up with!). I am really excited to see what kind of custom quilting she can do because I still need to get my Mariner's Compass quilted!!!

This is the only photo of this quilt top that I have right now. It was also the first time that I had ever used anything batik-y. I fell in love with the Fossil Fern collection. BEAUTIFUL fabrics.

I was also playing around, I keep seeing super cute little 'mug rugs' on Flickr and all the gals with the lovely quilting blogs are all about them. I figured if they can do it, so can I!! So I tried. I started with two, I figured one for my mom and one for me. That way if I mess one up ROYALLY, I can still send mom the good one. Well, they both turned out darling. :) I'll have to post pictures tomorrow. Be forewarned, they are incredibly girly. Lots of pink and lots of my stash getting used up (not enough, but it's a start).

I still have to finish quilting my very first quilt-a-long quilt with Fat Quarterly ..... I hope to get to that later tonight AND THEN I will be working on another QUILT ALONG! Cherry House Quilts is posting a quilt-a-long and it is made completely with solids. Something that I have never done, but am completely intrigued with! I made the commitment at the beginning of the year to use up at least half of my stash by year's end. I do not have very many solids (this is a new and exciting thing for me), so I am going to use a large print for the background and smaller prints as my dotted lines. I'll have pictures for that tomorrow **finger's crossed**.

Possible Changes Coming Up Ahead?

I think that I am going to follow my heart regarding my job.... Please don't be wrong little heart of mine...

Blustery Day! Siggy Swap Ideas...

Working in a hospital, it is  very easy for me to avoid the elements: the 120 degree summers as well as the windy and sideways rains during monsoon season! I hear that it was a very blustery day around town today :) I would have no idea, but it was very nice to finish the evening out sewing while the hubby and the greyhounds nap in the living room. <3 <3

I am currently working on finding an interesting block for the Siggy Block Swap that I joined on Flickr. Here is my first and second attempt (see below). I am having a hard time finding something creative to send out to the other gals.

On another completely different note, I am very ashamed to admit that I was getting frustrated when my math wouldn't work out and I kept on ending up with 5+ x 5+ inch blocks when I was shooting for even 5x5..... I had the wrong presser foot on my machine :( not my 1/4 inch. I am completely embarrassed, but somewhat relieved. I was beginning to fear I had had a stroke. Not kidding :( this is a major fear :( of mine.

Definately not my best work....

Here are some of the pictures from the roadster show that the hubby and I went to last weekend in Pomona.

The inside of a really pretty Coupe.

Pretty powder blue Roadster.

I have no idea what this car was, but it made me happy. It looks more red in this picture, but picture it as an irridescant watermelon color WITH a metal roof: LOVED the roof.

Yeah, I don't know what this car is either, but the color of the body is a beautiful, pearlescent, pale, pale vintage green color. SUPER AWESOME!

This is a really cool colored Coupe.

 I think I will attempt the siggy blocks again tomorrow night: WITH my 1/4 inch presser foot..... geee whiz...