Menorah Table Runner.

Awhile back, fabric.com had this huge clearance sale, and I picked up a yard of fabric to make my sister cloth napkins for the holidays. Of course, then I had a ~6" strip leftover, and what am I going to do with menorah fabric? I thought to myself, why, I'll slap a strip of WOF solid on either side, quilt that bad boy and call it a table runner. Easiest gift ever, right? Like fifteen minutes of work, right? WRONG.

Or rather, it wasn't terribly hard, but it was terribly time consuming. Straight line quilting 1/4" apart over the entire runner took some time. I think by the time all was said and done, I easily spent at least three times as much time on this runner as I did on the napkins. (This pic is pre-binding.)

I do love the effect though. I placed masking tape across the surface at random angles, then used those as a basic guide. I think the quilting is what makes this runner awesome.

The solid was "pick a random solid that matches" and I really do love the blue. I chose to bind it in the same thing. The backing is a Kona gray. Steel or Coal, I think. My one grump about this runner is that the straight line quilting slightly warped the center stripe, so in certain spots, it looks a little wavy. (You can kind of see it in the second photo.) Hopefully, that won't be too noticeable to people other than me. My sister knows it's coming, and she's excited! It's a really early holiday gift, but since I wanted her to be able to use it during the holiday, well, that's the way it had to be!

The finished product is ~20" wide and ~42" long.

Tula CS Block 76-80.

I've finished another round of Tula City Sampler blocks. I am so close to finishing the blocks, I can taste it! This specific group came about because I had twelve other things I should be sewing...but I didn't want to. My CS project came to my rescue!

Block 76. Salt Water, Birds and the Bees, and some Cotton + Steel Basics. This is very much out of my regular color zone, but I really really like this block.

Block 77. It goes without saying that I LOVE this block. There's some Acacia here, as well as two older lines of Tula's that I'm too lazy to look up right now.

Block 78. Near identical to Tula's version, but I liked Tula's version, so why not?

Block 79=some Prince Charming, Modkid (Heavens to Helsinki line, I think?) and some Kona Aqua. My raindrops piece was the perfect width but was a 1/4" too short, so I made the center stripe 1/4" longer to accommodate that.

Block 80. And this is probably my least favorite because brown and yellow? Hello. So not awesome. Also similar to Tula's. This one looks kinda wonky, but I promise, it's the photo.

I think I numbered all of those correctly, but I could be wrong. I do know they are 76-80. I'm auditioning potential background fabrics because I just don't think I can do white. Any suggestions? I'm making the rainbow Gridlock version, and it's going on my bed, so it has to be fabulous.

SS: Fancy Tiger Haul.

Y'all, I got to visit Fancy Tiger. And it was GLORIOUS. If you are anywhere near it, go there. Go there now. Then send me a big box full of yummy Fancy Tiger fabrics to say thank you. In typical Audrey fashion, I completely forgot to snap photos of the shop, but trust that it was glorious. Fabric on one side, yarn on the other. Craft night in progress, and a ton of super cool peeps at work, including a bunch of spinners. I had never seen that up close before, and it was super cool, and they were nice and didn't give me the stinkeye for watching them with my mouth wide open in awe. (Added awesomeness? I got to go with Samantha.)

I totally bought a bag to go with my fabric. I needed one.

Kaffe Fassett shot cotton (can't remember what color), Cotton + Steel basics, Tula Pink EEP!, and Lizzy House to round it off.

I picked up yardage of this awesome voile print by Bonnie Christine. I haven't decided on a dress pattern--any thoughts?--but I know it will be epic.

And! If Fancy Tiger haul wasn't enough, my charms from the Tone It Down LV swap arrived!

We're bordering on TOO much awesomeness, but the lovely Michelle also sent me a bit of fabric and an awesome cool drawstring bag. (Aren't those fabrics so me? Michelle nailed it.) I'm pretty sure that I'm much too spoiled, and it was so so sweet of her. 

I'm linking up with Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles!

BQF: Fava's Quilt.

For Blogger's Quilt Festival this fall, I'm entering Fava's Quilt in the small quilt category. Let me tell you right now, this is easily one of the most exciting and fun quilts I have ever had the opportunity to make. The design is original, though I made the center medallion using a bee block tutorial from Sylvia, and the paper pieced feathers are from a free pattern of Sarah's. The finished quilt is square, and the sides are all about 42" long.

Fava is my third son, and I finished this quilt back in July just a few weeks before he was born. As I pieced this, I thought a lot about who he would be. I prayed over it, knowing that this little boy would change my life a third time in a super positive way. And he has. Fava is so sweet, and by the time he is old enough to fend for himself, he will understand the word "longsuffering" like no one's business. (He has very enthusiastic older brothers who adore hugging and kissing him.) Having a new baby pretty much kills any opportunity I have for sewing (or even showering!), but he is totally worth it, and I am so thankful for him. While this quilt took forever to piece and finish, I am happy that I took that time to make him something really special. 

When I first started planning this quilt, I knew I wanted to make a medallion quilt. Deciding on fabric was hard. I remember crying to my husband--remember that I was pregnant--what if I can't find any fabric that will be perfect for him? But then! I saw a F8 bundle of Violet Craft's Waterfront Park, and while I almost never use an entire line, I couldn't say no. I absolutely adore that line. I added solids in teal, navy, red, and white, and a some grays and khaki in the scrappy binding.

The back is more Waterfront Park. Apparently, if I'm going to use a fabric line, I'm *really* going to use it seriously. But I love this bridge print, and my husband loved it too, so using it as a back was an awesome way to showcase it.

The binding is one of my favorite parts. I was trying to decide what solid to use, when my friend K suggested I use all of them. YES.

The quilting was really simple--echo quilting in the solid fabric areas. I briefly considered using fancy FMQ, but the top is so extravagant on its own that I didn't want to take away from it.

Here the quilt is, hanging up on Fava's crib. This crib was also my husband's, and he and his three siblings used it. My two older sons used it. And now, my sweet baby Fava is its current resident.

Thanks for visiting--and thank you following friends for indulging me yet again with this quilt--and I am so happy to list this among the other fabulous quilts that are taking a part in BQF this fall. There is so much talent, and I can already feel my brain working as I get inspired by other quilters' creations.

October Bee Blocks

For Emma, I made two 16.5" HST blocks using blue and green fabrics. Our particular hive is only going ten months, so I'm done for the year. What will I do with all of my free time??? (Just kidding. I have a huge non-sewing list to tackle.)

Let's be honest--Stash Bee 2014 pretty much rocked. I enjoyed myself thoroughly. And if you're looking for a bee for next year, Stash Bee is pretty fabulous. If you already know Stash Bee is for you, but you haven't signed up yet, go do it! And if you've never ever heard of this Stash Bee business, there is an FAQ page with all sorts of goodness.

Is it crazy that I already have my block and color scheme picked out for next year? But I'm betting I'm not the only one!

In Real Life.

I am back from my epic road trip. 3,564 miles. 7 states. 16 days.

I am exhausted.

And now that I'm back, I'm tackling the equally epic load of laundry, complete and total grocery shopping, and trying to play catch up with homeschooling. Hurrah. The epic road trip did involve some fabric, so hopefully I'll be posting about that soon. There was no sewing...so that probably doesn't need a post of its own.

BUT! I promised a post about meeting up with Samantha of Diary of Madfabriholic, and friends, I am all about delivering. To be honest, I was all sorts of nervous before our meetup. I'd never ever ever met anyone I knew solely from the internet. More importantly, what if my introverted self refused to make conversation and we sat in a deadly lull for the entire time? What if Fancy Tiger wasn't my cup of tea AT ALL?

Of course, that didn't happen. How could it? Samantha is totally awesome, Fancy Tiger is also awesome, and the evening was super fun.

There was a froo-froo cocktail! I think it was called a cha cha? Or a chi chi? All I know is that it was delicious. There were also tacos because it was Taco Tuesday. (And not the deadly kind of Taco Tuesday, heeheehee.) I had a fish taco and a Spam taco. Let me be clear--normally, I would run from Spam like no girl's business, but in taco form? I had to see it to believe it. (And it was super tasty.)

Of course, it was a tiki bar, which made it more funsies.

Fancy Tiger was wooooooonderful, and the girl who cut my fabric didn't even think I was crazy for squeeing every thirty seconds over something new.

And the evening ended with Voodoo Doughnuts because OMG, it had to. And for a girl who is kinda obsessed with doughnuts--I had a doughnut wedding cake in lieu of the traditional kind--I was super happy.

More details on the trip later, including what I got at Fancy Tiger! Until then, I hope y'all are doing AWESOME, and WAIT until you see the yummy fabric I picked up. See that voile with the birds above? Start thinking of delicious dress ideas because I bought enough yardage for a dress, and I need me some ideas. It must be epic. And use less than three yards. And not be super hard. And possibly look good with boots. Those are the only requirements.

Traveling.

Hi, Friends!

My family has been traveling, and after a glorious visit with my BFF, we spent a week at a ranch where they had NO internet. I can't remember the last time I went seven days without internet. It was intense, let me tell you. But then again, our days were full hanging out with good friends and eating delicious food, and I didn't mind the no internet thing. (My kids had so much fun that they were practically unrecognizable each day when they arrived back at the RV covered from head to toe in ranch dirt.)

What that means is the blog posts I had planned didn't happen. I didn't read any quilt blogs. I hung out with my family and sat in the sunshine and learned to peg loom and one day even drove ninety minutes to get to town where I tried on cowboy boots and bought some "bling" jeans. I was able to watch a storm roll in while basking in the wide open skies. The smell of desert rain is incomparable. I miss the southwest something fierce, friends. And while I'm back to internet (and piles and piles of laundry) I will miss the awesomeness that was our trip.

I'm just popping in today, but I'll have more trip photos--including photos of my epic visit with Samantha and some really yummy fabric--later. For those who have written me super sweet kind emails checking to make sure I was still breathing, I seriously heart you. And hopefully I'll find a moment to get back to you today or tomorrow.

FF: Ikat Quilt

Today, I have about 1200 things to do. I absolutely have to finish them before I go to sleep tonight. And what am I doing? Well...I finished sewing the binding on this lovely, coerced my husband into being a quilt holder since the ground was wet, and now I'm writing this post. A quilty gal has to have her priorities! When I realized I was within striking distance of finishing up this bad boy before the end of Q3, well, you better believe I was going to make it happen. I'll just be up really really late tonight.

I used a pattern from the May/June 2014 issue of Love of Quilting. I loved the color scheme and the finished quilt so much, that I knew I had to make one. (If I knew this was for a girl baby, I would totally have gone hot pink, but alas, it's a Team Green baby, so a green quilt seemed more fitting.) The quilting is a mix of straight line and FMQ, and I had to bury about a kajillion threads, but it was totally worth it.

Before I started piecing, I hadn't intended to add a border. A yard of fabric would be a perfect fit to use as backing. But when I finished the top, it needed a little something to pull it all together, so I went with a black border. It meant my perfect yard of fabric backing was now too small, so I pieced together some of the scraps and added them in.

I almost always match my bobbin thread to my top thread, and this time was no different. I love the resulting lime, kelly green, white, and black threads all over the backing. I also adore this backing fabric. It was love at first sight, and I bought it knowing it wouldn't match perfectly with the front. (Did that make me pause for even a second? Nope.) The quilt measures about 36" x 45" and uses a myriad of different fabrics from a number of different sources. The border is Kona black.

I set seven goals for the Q3 FAL being hosted at The Littlest Thistle. (You can see my original list here.) This is finish number five. Project six (my city sampler blocks) was fairly unrealistic, and project seven dissolved, so I'm ecstatic to have completed what I did. In addition to this quilt, I also finished some cloth napkins, a couple of aprons, a 241 tote, and several placemats.

I'm linking up with the other FAL finishes at The Littlest Thistle and with TGIFF, hosted by Quokka Quilts.