Maggie's Quilt

 My sweet Maggie Moo has her very own quilt!  My goal was to get it to her before she turned 4 and I am more than a month early.  Go Mom!

I used the entire Nicey Jane line by the lovely and talented Heather Bailey.  This is probably my mostest favorite fabric line EVER.  That's really hard for me to say because gosh, there are oodles of gorgeous fabric lines out there.  But Nicey really does it for me in the bright colors, traditional yet modern design, and overall sweet and chic.

I think she likes it! 

She has asked me everyday for about a year and half if her quilt was done yet.  I'm not gonna lie... I kinda had this slated as a throw for our family room.  But I think the boldness of it really matches her personality so I decided to dedicate to my baby #2. 

I made the square-in-a-square blocks loooong ago.  Like when it first came out.  I bought a jelly roll and a bunch of yardage.  I didn't even want to take the time to think about a layout or I would ultimately decide nothing was worthy of such beautiful fabric.  SO I just plunged on in and made this very simple design as quick as my fingers would work.   It was exhilarating to work with these colors and florals yet after making the blocks, they sat on my shelf for months... years....

I've been so blessed with a lot of custom orders so I didn't get back to work on it for a really long time.  Lately I've had a few days here and there where the orders were light and I decided it was time to knock it out.  With my squeaky wheel (ahem) always asking about it, that gave me the accountability to finish it up in every spare moment I had.

I got it done this afternoon on a long car trip home.  As soon as we pulled in the driveway I literally tied the last knot on the binding.  We flew in the house, up the stairs, and tried it out.  She was all smiles and I was loving every moment.  As I was taking pictures of her, Maggie said "I want to take a picture of the beautiful quilt maker".  Well... ok.  So here is a rare appearance of me. 

Maybe you've seen the article floating around facebook lately:  The Mom Stays in the Picture.  I can totally relate.  Usually it's me behind the lens so it's not necessarily that I dodge pictures but no one else grabs the camera like I do!  And then when my husband does decide to click away, it's usually when I have 19 pimples, two days after my last shower, and in the middle of a discipline situation with a kid.  NOT how I want to be remembered. 

So after reading this essay, I decided that I do want to be remembered for being alive and if I don't start getting in the picture, this may not happen.  So here I am.  Maggie says "say cheese, mommy".

Cheese, sweetie!

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas I have a bouncing baby boy!  He's a little drooly as you can see. Eight months old now and really, really sweet.  How did we ever live without him??!!  I can't help but notice Grandma and Grandpa sent more gifts to him than to anyone else in the family.    Ahem.

I loved making this quilt for a dear friend.  She had a baby girl and like all good mommies do... they get a quilt to match the baby!  :)   It's super warm, backed with chenille and flannel as batting.  

This really has been the Year of the Shabby Chic Quilt.  I have yet to tally up the grand total of 2011 quilts but I'm sure the Shabby Chic will rule.

My newest babies... we have been entertaining 5 teeny caterpillars for about a month now.  They have all successfully grown into chrysalides and now THREE are butterflies!  We actually watched #3 hatch this afternoon.  It was completely amazing.  Sadly part of the chrysalis was on his face and he was unable to break free.  The little bugger fell to the ground and hasn't been the same since.  We're praying he comes around soon.

It was fascinating to watch the whole process of slimy slithery caterpillars turn into these beautiful butterflies.  Even watching the struggle as one neared its "finish line" was quite an allegory for our messy life.  I used to think when I became a mother, I would inherit all these remarkable "instincts" that we hear about. 

Nothing comes easy.  Instincts can work against me.  And boy is there ever struggle, even though I thought I would kind of have it figured out by now. 

But we also have joy.  A reason for hope.  At the end of the day we have a God who loves us so much that he reversed the "butterfly process".  He left his beautiful life in heaven to come down among the dirt here.  He did this to set us free and give us our freedom from the sin that entangles us and covers our eyes. 

I pray you have a blessed Christmas.  Full of light and hope and lots of love.

Quilt & Coat

My sweet, sweet Mama made this coat as a request from me. I saw it on SewMamaSew's website last year and could not get it out of my mind. After I tracked down the elusive Apple Dot fabric and JoAnn had a $1 sale on McCall's patterns, I knew it was time to get to it! She is WAY better at following patterns that I am - I have zero patience for that sort of thing. Maybe when I have really cute grandkids I'll learn to adapt!

And here is another peak at some squares I have finished for the memory quilt. This project gets me all happy inside every time I work on it. Lately that's been in 5-minute intervals, but progress is happening. I bought 5 more yards of interfacing (featherweight this time since they were out of lightweight - didn't seem to make a difference once ironed even though it felt heavier in the store) and it was gobbled up quickly too. My grand total is 8 yards so far with many more left to do. Just keeping track for the Quilt Stats at the end. I like to look back at the journey of the quilt.

Admitting a problem is the first step

I wanted to start a blog after being inspired from several other crafty blogs. I've learned so much and hopefully it shows in my work. I've been sewing for over 20 years - yikes, that makes me old - and only recently have I realized how much I truly love it. I consider it an art, and reading these blogs has made me want to be an artist.

The problem with a lot of experience comes my stubbornness. I tend to think I have all the answers or don't want to admit my weaknesses. So hopefully this blog will also help me put it out there that I make mistakes. A TON of mistakes, in fact. I burn bread in the oven. I bond with my seam ripper for hours on end. I put the kids in front of the TV for some time so I can sew "just one more block".

If I'm the only one who ever reads this blog, fine. I think it's the therapy I need. I love making quilts and other useful things. I have some sort of gene mutation where I don't follow directions, am really bad at patterns, get all impatient and do my own thing. Only to have something in front of me with a bajillion mistakes and ... where's my seam ripper? So happy new year, happy new blog. Here's to being honest about my abilities and non-abilities in 2009. I realize for most people, this came with adult hood. But it takes me a long time to learn things since I don't follow directions!

Here is the current quilt I'm working on. I've added the borders and am almost done piecing the back. I've made several mistakes piecing the little squares on the back, have ripped it apart a few times and I think I'm ready to rock now.