Progress Without Posting

I have been away from the blog lately.  I have been busy with studying and family as usual. I had been quilting and have some progress to report.   First, a full view of Happy in Cali:





This is not a great shot but its  the best I can do with my camera. I really love this quilt!
This has been  finished for a while but I just kept trying to get a better picture. Oh well...

Next up is this baby quilt that I finished in July.  Again, took forever to get it photographed!  Its not perfect but its so soft and cuddly.  The fabrics  are all flannel and that makes it so nice for  babies. I originally started out making this for a friend but did not get it done in time to give to  her, plus the sashing is so uneven.  I am not sure what I will be doing with this one.  I really do  still love this one so much as  well.



So, after this one was done, I could not find time to quilt. When I did have  time I was just too tired. So, I did not work on anything for weeks.  Until I decided to go ahead and cut fabric for the next baby quilt.This time it would be pink for a baby girl recently  born.  I decided  to try out  the 10-minute blocks. I already had the fabric so I ran out and got the book.  Now I have mentioned before that my crafting only happens when my little guy is sleeping. So I guess it was about 11 PM when I sat down to cut this fabric.  I put a brand new, very sharp  blade in my rotary cutter and for some reason  I put it down and went to do something else. I came back and picked up the rotary cutter to get started. Well, guess what happened? I did not have it in safe mode and you guessed it, I dropped the cutter!  The blade made a clean 1.5 inch cut in my leg and necessitated a trip  to the ER.  I ended up getting 3 staples.  I was mocked by  everyone in  the ER when I told them that this was a quilting accident!

After that, I was hesitant to quilt late at night. So, it took me a while to jump in again to get the quilt below going.  But since I used the  10 minute blocks it did not take long!




I am planning to add a thin white border and then another 3 inch border in a pink polka dot print.  Then on to the quilting.  I will likely do a solid pink backing or maybe brown.  We shall see!

So,  that's my  progress so far!  I still have to put one more border on my red,  black and white quilt.  I am thinking of calling it Newspaper....because of that very  old, very bad joke.

For now,  no more late night quilting! And, I had the good since to invest in a rotary cutter that is always in safe mode when not in use.  Thank goodness for Joann's coupons!

Finally, just  tad bit of cuteness!





Join the fun over at Freshley Pieced to see what many talented folks are up to.

A Finish on WIP Wednesday!

Happy in Cali is done! Unfortunately, its late and the pics did not come out well so I will post a pic of the full piece when I get some outdoor shots of it.  In the meantime, check out the quilting and the binding:



At first, as I was making the binding, I was thinking that I had made the wrong choice. But when I started stitching it on with my walking foot, I knew I had a winner.  I really love this quilt.  Its backed with yellow flannel.  I really like the way flannel feels on skin so I choose it more often than not to back my quilts.  I usually stock up on it at Joann's on Black Friday because its always on sale then. : )





 

 I quilted the entire thing myself. I decided to free hand some flowers in the borders. I heard an interview over on  Craftsanity and the artist was speaking about how doodling helped her come up with some of her fabulous embroidery designs.  I also reviewed some videos on free motion quilting and they talked a lot about practicing by drawing out the design on paper so that your brain can get used to what you want your hands to do. Well, I have been doodling this same flower since I was in elementary school so my figured my brain should be pretty familiar with it by now, since I am now over 40! I made some booboos but I am overall very pleased with my first attempt. I am so happy I dove in because now I feel energized to finish my other projects!


And go on over to Freshly Pieced  to check out some more fabulous work from  the WIP Wednesday Participants!:

Quilting Fun!

We celebrated my son's birthday by taking him to Legoland! I just cannot do a big party every year so we decided that a fun place like legoland would be perfect for a brand new two year old!  I actually have to give credit where credit is due and say that my husband planned the whole trip.  I just sort of showed up and through some clothes in a suitcase (after he had already gotten his clothes and my son's clothes pack\ed!) and jumped in the car.  Everything was perfect from the hotel we stayed in to Legoland itself. It truly was the perfect place to celebrate for a child this age. The smiles on my boy's face were really worth the ticket price (not cheap, btw!).

When I knew we were going to legoland, I of course realized that we would be near some cool quilt shops. One is called Quilter's Paradise and its in Escondido California.  My husband endured a trip here right before we headed to legoland. We almost missed the place because its in area where there are no other retail shops. I guess this is a testament to quilters.  We know where to go when we need fabric!   When we got there it looked closed but thank goodness I got out to take a closer look and found that the door was open!  The place is huge!  I did not think to take pix of the inside but if you are in the area, GO GO GO!  I plan to go back! 



I also went to QUILT IN  A DAY!  I don't know what I was expecting but it was such a small place because most of their business is online. They have a large classroom and the set where they shoot their shows is also on the premises.  Check me out in Eleanor Burns' parlor:





And here is the retail space:



I bought the pattern for this hugs and kisses quilt and I think I have mostly figured out how to make it on my Accuquilt GO!



This place had really good fabric prices and I picked up a few pieces for a future project.  Hopfully I can start working on it soon, though I still have 3 current WIPS that I need to finish up!

Since I always like to leave you with just a little cuteness, here is my little one having a ball at Legoland!

April Craft Day!

Yesterday I attended the April meeting of my craft Meetup. We had a fabulous time. I actually found this group on Meetup.com and its a fantastic group of people. If you are looking for a likeminded group people to craft with or looking for people who share your other interests, Meetup.com is a good place to start. Check out the fun time we had.

I worked on three sewing projects.  I clipped my rag quilt.  I still have some more clipping to do.  I also pieced a new quilt that I will post in a few days. And, I began hand sewing tabs on the back of my little art quilt that I made last year and  posted about here:

http://kimknitsinla.blogspot.com/2010/07/oc-county-fair-quilting-and-more.html

I had the little art quilt taped up to the wall but now I want to actually hang it properly. So I found this  easy you tube tutorial:

http://youtu.be/Cgsb-qZA6Bk

Here is my rag quilt so far:

Front



Back




Hopefully I will post about my 3rd project, which I am making with my Accuquilt Go Die Cutter!

I almost forgot to add a little cuteness!  Here you go!

crafting and recuperating

I am at home this week after an outpatient surgical procedure last week. I am doing well and will be back in the swing of things next week. Being off has afforded me the opportunity to do a bit of crafting. Because of my surgery, I am not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds so my son, weighing in at 23 lbs, continues to go to daycare while I heal. So, that leaves me with time to craft. The first few days after the surgery, I was in a percocet induced haze so all I did was lay on the couch and babble unintelligible words and phrases which my husband rightfully ignored. But by Monday I was able to handle my sewing machine so I decided to work on a baby quilt I have been making for a friend. I am happy to say that I finished it! The baby is due in the fall so I am way ahead of the game. This is my second Crazy Shortcut Quilt and I have to say, I really enjoy quilting in this style. This was made with one layercake that I found on ebay for $6.00! The sashing and the binding is symhony broadcloth from JoAnn's that I got on sale so this gift was very affordable. This pattern works up quickly since the squares are precut. It took me a while because I have a little one and am in school and have precious little time for crafting. But I really think if you have the time, and you are good at Quilting, you could finish this one in no time. Looking forward to making more of these in the future!












This pattern was developed after the book was published and you can find the pattern here:

Marguerite's Blog

Its so far from perfect, but it turned out great and I enjoyed the process!


And finally, a little cuteness for the road:

OC County Fair, Quilting and more cuteness!

I think I may have said before that the one thing that I have always been sure of is that I wanted a family of my own. When I think about my life now, I just smile. I mean, life is not perfect, we have debt, we live in a small apartment, we are not working at our dream jobs and I have been battling infections all year. But even with all that, I am very happy because of my family! I am sort of shocked when I say that I am happy. Its because what matters most is family and good solid friendships and I am rich in both. I have a fantastic husband, a wonderful baby boy who is growing up way too fast, a fantastic extended family who love us all and who have completely fallen in love with my son ( although, who could blame them, he is so precious!), wonderful wonderful friends all over the world who have rejoiced with us and mourned with us. I feel so very very rich! I finally have the right perspective on life (at least, right now I do!). I could not ask for more.

This weekend, was all about family, even my crafting! DH and I took our little one to the Orange County fair. We had a blast. The little guys clapped the whole time as we walked through the rides, exhibits and games. He could not do much, but he seem to really enjoy just being there adn seeing everything. This was my first time at the fair. It was truly like an old fashioned fair. There was a working farm, there were pie eating contests and arts and crafts exhibits. Beautiful quilts, woodworking projects, knitting and crocheting. I was inpired to enter one day ( not sure when though!). Then there was the food. Why is it that they fry everything at fairs? Check out some pics:

So this was a great family day for us. So cool to watch our son experience life.

In crafting, I have a finished object! I actually worked on this all week to try to finish is. It was supposed to be done in feb for our anniversary. Of course, it just did not work out. But I managed to get it done. Its sort of an art quilt, totally improvised by me. I think it came out great. Its so not perfect but I love it!



We ended the weekend by teaching Sunday School to the 3rd and 4th graders and I thoroughly enjoyed the kids!

So, you see, a fantastic, fun filled, family weekend!

cooking and quilting

Today, I spent most of the day with my little family. We enjoyed going to the local farmers market this morning because we had an evening service today at Church. After the market we came home and while I cooked for the week, my husband watched the baby and washed 3 loads of clothes.

I had a marathon cooking event in my kitchen. I try to cook a few things we can eat throughout the week on the weekend so I don't have to worry about it through the week. This weekend I made:

beef stew
rice
pasta sauce
beans from scratch
squash/potato soup and

this:
Cookie Sheet Chocolate Bars

I am planning on taking a nice portion of these to my bible study group this week. The turned out great! See:







I love the Mennonite Girls Can Cook site. They really can! I have made 3 of their recipes so far. All have been hits!

I have not quilted this weekend but I did a lot before I left for my vacation. Here is a sneek peek of my next crazy shortcut quilt:





Here are some closeup shots of the decorative stitches I am using for the quilting.




I love the little hearts!

Finally, I will leave you with some cuteness!