Latest Yarn Addition.

The yarn on the left is a skein of glorious hand-dyed yarn that my amazing mother-in-law bought for me in Alaska many many many years ago. (It may be over 10!) I have technically been knitting for a long time, but mostly squares and rectangles. This yarn was so glorious and beautiful that I didn't want to knit it up in a plain ol' scarf. It needed a majestic project. I needed more skillz. And I needed more comfort with a pair of needles in my hand.

After knitting up my first pair of socks, I figured I would attempt a shawl, and while I was unpacking, I pulled out my lovely beautiful Alaska yarn. I think it's meant to be. I teamed it up with this yummy mustard color from a the most amazing LYS that I visited yesterday, and I'm in business! I'm always super inspired by Alia and Samantha's knitting (and sewing!) adventures, and after watching them churn out so many lovely shawls, I want one too!

Mid-Year Review.

This year has been a whole lot of chaos and rebuilding and noise. OMG, can we talk about the noise? My almost two-year-old is currently wielding a harmonica that my dear sweet husband gave to him. PRAY FOR ME. I've moved states, which involved packing and loads of adulting. I've made it through the first half of a pregnancy. I've almost finished homeschool planning for the 2016-2017 year, the first year I'll be teaching two kidlets. And with all of that going on, I've still managed to do a bit of sewing. While all of that stuff kept me from posting at the first link-up of the year, it didn't stop me from making goals for what I hoped to accomplish in 2016, and I'll be linking up for the mid-year review at Quilting Jetgirl.

1. Make Stuff that I Want to Make

Midnight Mystery Quilt from Meadow Mist Designs

There have been definite successes in this arena. While I wavered back and forth on a quilt that etiquette dictates I probably *should* make, I ultimately decided not to. Instead of being completely concerned and absorbed solely by what the recipient of a quilt would like, I've made certain that each project had a 'me' element. There is something to be said for considering the likes and dislikes of the recipient, but I got into this place where I was making quilts that I didn't even like, and they were sometimes painful to complete.

2. Make Stuff for Me

241 Tote by Noodle-head

I'm especially excited that I finished the 241 tote that has been on my to-make list for ages. I haven't touched my Midnight Mystery quilt top, which will eventually live on my bed, but I have hope for that.

3. Try New Things

Yep, yep, and yep. I finished a pair of knit socks, which feel like pillows on my feet. Years ago, my mother-in-law brought me some beautiful hand-dyed yarn from Alaska, and I finally feel brave enough to use it, so I'm hoping to cast on my first shawl soon. But I think I'm most excited about my continued use of knit fabric. I was really quite terrified of sewing with knits, and while my projects haven't necessarily been perfect, they have all been wearable, and I'm excited to further explore this.

4. Finish a Quilt a Month

Pattern is Beacon by Quilting Jetgirl

This is a sort of. I finished one quilt in January, February, and March. So far, so good. I finished TWO in April, which helps because I finished zero in May and June. I've finished one quilt this month, and I might polish off a second, so this goal is still achievable. I may finish 12 quilts this year. But I might not, and I'm giving myself a pass on this one if necessary as I have a baby coming, and little known fact, they take up a bit of time. (Understatement of the year, perhaps?) 

5. Donate at Least One Quilt

Yes! I donated my Frozen Watermelon quilt to my local Project Linus chapter. I'd love to make at least one more this year, but that probably won't happen.

6. Get Started on Birthday/Holiday Gifts

Maxaloones!

I have made some birthday gifts, and I've made a list of what I'd like to make for this holiday season. We'll see how good I am about actually starting those gifts and getting them done in a timely fashion. A couple of years ago, I suffered severe burnout for the entire month of January because I had crammed so much last minute Christmas sewing into the final weeks of December. I wasn't sure I would ever want to touch my sewing machine again. (Silly, yes, but at the time, a very valid fear.) I'd like to avoid that experience if possible.

7. Continue Working Through Modern Rainbow

This is my version of Bryan's Huckleberry quilt.

I have a long-term goal to make every quilt from Rebecca Bryan's Modern Rainbow book. I love pretty much every quilt in that book, and I've made two so far. I'm hoping my next one will be her Wavelength quilt, and I'd love to have it on my wall, but we'll see.

All in all, I'm where I want to be. (Not exactly true: I'd like to have all of my holiday gifts already finished so I don't have to make them!) But looking back at my goals list, I think I've made good progress or have the opportunity to, so no complaints here. 

Christmas in July

This is the brunt of my Christmas sewing for this July. But if I was going to get anything finished this July, I'm glad it was this stocking for the baby.

We don't do traditional colored stockings or even Christmas fabric stockings in this house. I'm not anti- those things...but for some reason, I loved the idea of non-traditional, and I went with it. (I *really* need to make a tree skirt--there are so many opportunities here for fun fabric play!) The family already has a red, blue, green, yellow, and hot pink stocking, so I opted for purple for Ms. Vanilla. I dug out purple fabrics from stash, but I also raided my scrap bin, which yielded the squares for the ombre strip. To be honest, this is not my favorite stocking I've ever made--it's okay. But I might remake it. And that would be okay too.

And the back. The fabric is a special print my friend S gave me before I left. So of course I had to use it for a special project. I also lined the stocking with it, and added bonus, I have plenty leftover. Fabric from friends is the best kind of fabric!

I wish could say I sacrificed everything and went upstairs to the attic and got out all of the stockings to show them together, but the temperature up there is roughly equivalent to the surface of the sun, so I've opted to stay downstairs where it is slightly cooler. I'm sure you understand.

This is finish #4 from my Q3 FAL list, woo! 

FF: Rainbow Log Cabin Quilt.

Baby quilt #1 of 3 is done, woo! If I'm honest, this quilt turned out differently than I originally anticipated/planned. I started making rainbow log cabins, then thought they'd float rather nicely in a background of low volume goodness. (In this case, the background is grunge in vanilla.) So maybe this quilt doesn't look exactly how I'd envisioned it, but I think it conveys the right message for this baby.

For this baby, I hope he has a bright and colorful life with lots of open space and room to grow into the man he is supposed to become. It's the kind of thing I'd wish for my own kids, and when I was sewing the binding onto this one, it's what I fervently prayed.

The quilting, believe it or not, is actually my favorite part of this quilt. Not because it's super fancy or crazy wild--it's simple, but I feel like the lines are effective. I used a cream thread to blend into the background, and I used my new hera marker--which I adore--to make those crisp and deliciously sharp lines. Marking this quilt took me maybe half the time marking normally takes me--definitely a win.

The back is a mix of two space themed prints--more along the idea that I hope this little babe has a wide open future--and a rainbow strip that I pieced ages ago from weird angle scraps. It fits perfectly with this quilt!

Baby quilt #2 of 3 is waiting to be basted, but I've yet to even cut fabric for #3, something I should probably do, and soon!

This is finish #3 from my Q3 FAL list. Only thirteen more things left on the list to complete. Totally doable. (In crazy land, but as I'm pretty sure I hail from crazy land, it's all good.) How are your FAL list/Q3 goals coming along?

Maxaloones for C

I am so excited to have these done and mailed before my nephew's birthday. These are from the Max and Meena Maxaloones pattern, which I have had on my to-buy list for forever. They are specifically designed for cloth diaper babies. If you've ever cloth diapered, you understand the struggle to find pants that will fit over that bum. The pattern features three sizes, and all three sizes cover a wide age range. Size 1, which is what I sewed up here, are supposed to fit from three months to three years old. With baby #4 on the way, I'm a huge fan of clothing that will actually fit the kid for more than two hours, know what I'm saying? (Added bonus, I think they are ridiculously cute.)

I used Art Gallery knits for there pants, and friends, everything you may have heard about Art Gallery knits is true. They are SO soft. I'm trying to restrain myself and not buy a huge load of more AG knits for Vanilla. (I do have some planned for her.) I think these are both from Bonnie Christine's Hello, Bear collection, but that could be totally made up.

And these are the pants as worn by my two-year-old. They're for my nephew's first birthday, but I think they'll fit him just fine too. I hadn't planned to make a pair for my two-year-old, but they look so stinkin' cute that I'm pretty sure he needs some too. And maybe my four-year-old. And maybe my six-year-old who is on the small size?? Because why not? I guess this pair of Maxaloones means my fear of knit fabrics has been conquered? They're still not my favorite to sew with, but I'm getting more comfortable with them, for sure.

This is finish #2 from my Q3 FAL list, woo!

Night Sky Quilt Top.

I am really, really excited about this one. I labored through the cutting, but when it came to piecing, I couldn't get this bad boy assembled fast enough. I love the way she turned out, scrappy and so very very green.

The most difficult part of assembling this top was piecing together the rows. My seams didn't always want to behave and meet up properly--I found a good mix of 1) no, this has to be seam ripped and sewn again, and 2) this is sufficient.

I have some fairly dense (for me) quilting planned for this one, a mix of straight line and FMQ. I'm excited to get started, but I really should finish my rainbow log cabins quilt first. Plus! This one still needs to be basted, a task that I always hate and dread. And I'm out of batting--I feel like I'm always out of batting--why is that?

FF: Star Blossoms 2 Cushion.

I am thrilled to have this one complete, especially as it's a super late birthday present for my sister. It's the same pattern as my own Star Blossoms project--a table topper that I turned into a cushion--modeled from the awesome Star Blossoms tutorial from Stitched in Color.

A loooooong time ago, I made my sister a quilt for her living room. Her house is mostly tans and chocolate browns with pops of yummy turquoise. It's stunning, and I was so happy that the quilt I made fit into the decor scheme. While I've since used up almost all of the fabric scraps I had from that project, I did have a bit of the turquoise batik left. Team that up with a couple of other turquoise prints, an aqua B&C print for the center hexagons, and this tan w/ gold metallic fabric that I've had for ages, and this cushion cover was born.

I did finish this cover a bit differently than my own. I used an invisible zipper instead of an envelope closure. My own pillow's closure gapes horribly, and I didn't want that business on this gift. I also didn't put a binding around it. I really like that aspect of my own--it frames it rather nicely--but I didn't have enough of any of the fabrics to negotiate that, and I didn't feel like introducing a new fabric for binding was the right call, so plain Jane it is.

Plain Jane or not, I feel like she's lovely in her own right!

One last photo of this baby before I pack her up and mail her off! I do hope my sister likes her!

Oh, and this is my first finish from my Q3 FAL list, woohoo! Q3 list, I told you I was going to dominate you, and this is the right kind of start.

A Rainbow Quilt Top

The past ten days or so have been extremely productive sewing. I can't exactly explain why--if I could, I would harness that productivity and make a killing selling my "secret", but since that's not going to happen, I'll just be content with what I've gotten done, a list that includes this quilt top!

Of the three baby quilts I need to get finished in the next few months, this one tops the list, as its recipient is arriving first. I have until the end of September, but I worry that it'll take me that long to figure out how to quilt it--I have a feeling that the best quilting scheme would be WAAAAAAY outside my comfort zones, like so far outside that I wouldn't even know where to begin. But will my old standbys be an uncomfortable fit? This lovely is basted, so I need to pull it out when the kids are occupied and just take a bit of time to mull it over.

This is my favorite block of the rainbow log cabin bunch. As you can see, I really went wherever my scraps took me, and this top includes plenty of solids, prints, batiks, etc. There are fabrics from all sorts of quilts projects--this one includes scraps from my second quilt ever, and even a strip from a quilt I made for the recipient's older brother!

I have loads of that swirly star fabric, and at 45", this quilt will require just a bit more than WOF for its backing. I opted to use a complimentary planet fabric, and this rainbow strip I've had lying around for way too long. I almost used it as part of a quilt backing several quilts ago, but I didn't need to piece the back, and my husband kindly mentioned that it's a special piece that I should save for a special quilt. I'm really glad I listened to him, as it fits this one much better!

I'd like to say I'll have this one quilted asap, but I just don't think that's going to happen. (Especially when I have another quilt top complete that seems like a much easier project to tackle! But more on that quilt later.)

Vanilla Bean.

Some of y'all might remember this cute little Geranium dress I made a few months back. I had intended it to go to one of my kajillion friends who are preggo.

But it turns out I won't be giving it away. Instead, I'm pleased to tell you my own little bean, affectionately called Vanilla until she has a proper name, will be wearing it, maybe as early as this November.

I'm really, really, really excited. (And maybe already planning to sew a stack of girl clothes!)

SS: Blues and Greens.

This is the haul for this week! From top to bottom, Kona solids in Pacific, Sky, and Peapod, Grunge in Bright Sky and Kelly Green. The Kona will be used for my middle son's big boy quilt--we start construction on bunk beds this week, so I've got to get moving!--and the Grunge is to finish off my Stash Bee quilt for this year. (Wouldn't it be grand if I actually finished that quilt before the end of the year?)

I also bought a hera marker because I've never used one before, and I'm hoping it revolutionizes my quilting-line-marking experience. So many people talk of how great hera markers are--I guess we'll see if it works for me!

I'm linking up with Sunday Stash at Molli Sparkles--it's been awhile!

Q3 2016 FAL List.

Let's go, Q3! I am excited to tackle you and show you who's boss!

1. Negroni shirt for husband 

I completed a muslin that was waaaaaay too big. 

I need to make another before proceeding.

2. Midnight Mystery Quilt

Top needs borders, baste, quilt, bind

3. Quilt for K
blocks done; need to sash and join 
DONE

4. Baby Quilt for Baby S
Quilt Top Finished
DONE

5. Baby Quilt for Baby H
Quilt Top Finished
DONE

6. Baby Quilt for Vanilla
Dresden Quilt using my Tula stash, especially True Colors

7. Big Boy Quilt for Lito
Fabric and pattern selected

8. Maxaloones for C
fabric on its way--some Art Gallery knits
DONE

9. Maxaloones for Vanilla
fabric on its way--that awesome hot pink Lizzy House knit fabric

10. Dress for N
pulled fabric

11. Dress for L
pulled fabric

12. Dress for Vanilla
Baby Geranium Dress pattern w/ C+S prints

13. Dress for Vanilla
Lace dress using fabric from Grandma

14. Sew Together Bag for N
need to finish for his birthday
DONE

15. Star Blossoms Cushion
EPP done, need to baste, quilt, finish
DONE

16. Stocking for Bun
pulled fabric
DONE

Sixteen items on the list? That's it? Seriously no big deal, right? Um...right. :) Here's hoping I can knock at least some of these off the list! 

I'm linking up with the Q3 FAL list. Good luck to everyone!

Starting a Night Sky Quilt.

Yesterday, I pared down this lovely stack of yum and started cutting fabric for a new baby quilt.

I had different plans for it, but every time I thought I had settled on something, there was a nagging little feeling lingering at the back of my brain, telling me it wasn't quite the right pattern. I'm sure those other quilts would have been lovely too--how can you go wrong with that stack?--but it wasn't perfect for my dear friend's baby, and that was that.

I managed to get to this point last night, and OMG, am I glad I pushed on. (Thank you, Netflix!) When I finished this block, I was fully in love, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was the perfect project for this stack and for this baby and for my friend.

I opted to do a scrappy LV background instead of one color, and I'm glad I did. I like the added interest. (Yes, I know it's a little nutty to have so much white on a baby quilt, but have you seen that block? How could I say no?)

This morning has seen block number two and some added borders.

I need to redo frame fabric for that half hexie on the top left. I misjudged fabric placement in my haste to see what it would look like, and I cut it too short.

The pattern for these blocks is Jaybird Quilt's Night Sky Quilt. This is the second pattern I've attempted by JQ, and oh la la, can I just say, I am having so much fun? I loved loved loved Julie's Northern Lights pattern, and I've made a ton of them (three?), but this one. I see more in my future.

I have a few more blocks to make, and then it's time to piece everything together. I am super impatient to see how everything shapes up!

Starting Lito's Big Boy Quilt

As y'all know, I have three little boys. The oldest two share a bed and sleep under a lovely quilt that my quilting sensei made for my oldest. In the last few months, it's become abundantly clear that my growing boys are outgrowing a shared sleeping space, and bunk beds are in our very near future.

But this isn't exactly new information. I knew that their time sharing a bunk would be short-lived, and while it's been sweet, they're getting older and need a bit more space. Lucky for me, I was thinking of this eventuality when boy #2 was still a wee baby. And that's especially lucky, since it meant I was able to pick up this lovely stash of Lizzy House's 1001 Peeps while it was still more readily available.

I got nervous for a bit. Number two had a love affair with the color green, and I had a feeling he wouldn't dig a blue quilt. But in recent months, his heart has moved to blue, and I'm taking advantage of that shift before he decides that another color has won his heart.

I ordered some complimentary Kona solids--Peapod, Pacific, and Sky, though I also liked Ocean, Oasis, Caribbean, and Windsor--and after auditioning several quilt designs with Lito, he selected the quilt plan I've been leaning toward, Kate Conklin's Fussy Fairytales quilt pattern.

And once those Kona solids arrive, well, I'm excited to start cutting!