Wee robot quilts

The robot obsession continues. This week I made these three mini quilts. I found the tutorial on Stardust Shoes and knew it would be perfect for Luke's room. (The link to the tutorial isn't working...I'll update if I can figure it out.)


The finished size of each is about 12 x 12.





Love the eyes on this guy.



I appliqued the shapes and then echo quilted around them. This was really fun and makes for a cool effect.




I loved making these mini size quilts. They helped me practice some skills, especially the binding and mitered corners. Pretty tidy, if I do say so myself. Also, they're entirely made out of scraps I had on hand. Bonus.


Satisfied customer.

Now I just need to figure out how to hang them...

Be sure to check out more projects on Amy's blog!

Confession

I can't quite explain why, but I've become emotionally invested in Bret Michaels's health saga. And when he came out to play "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" with Casey James on American Idol last night, dang it, I got a little choked up.



I mean, sure he's totally skeezy but he just won Celebrity Apprentice, and his daughter had a health scare, and the man just had a warning stroke last week people! Is it so wrong to get teary when he makes a triumphant return looking every bit the rocker he was 20 years ago?

If I sign up for the next season of Rock of Love, please stage an intervention.

Blogger's Quilt Festival: My Scruffily Quilt

It's time for the Blogger's Quilt Festival! I had so much fun participating last year, and I learned a lot. For the last festival in October, I posted Luke's robot quilt, which was the second quilt I made. Since then, I've finished five more quilts and have a few more in the works, so it's safe to say I'm obsessed! When I was finishing up this quilt, my husband asked, "How many quilts are you planning on making?" I think I responded with a blank stare.


Anyway. Here's my latest finish. I used the Scruffily Quilt pattern from the very talented Rachel of P.S. I Quilt (available at Moda Bake Shop).


The quilt top comes together very easily using precuts (a layer cake, charm pack, and jelly roll). I used Simple Abundance (LOVE). The edges are left raw, so when it comes out of the dryer it's nice and frayed.


I was unsure how to quilt this baby. I'd only stippled before, but when I saw this version of Scruffily on Flickr, I knew I'd copy her quilting. I quilted in the ditch along each large square, then stitched straight-ish lines around the medium and small squares. I can't sew in a straight line to save my life, so they came out a little wonky. I'm choosing to believe it adds to the scruffily nature of the quilt.


For the binding, I thought about using the leftover jelly roll strips and making a scrappy binding, but I figured that this quilt had so much going on that it could benefit from a solid frame. So I went with a brown (Kona Sable) binding. Best part: Now I have lots of leftover jelly roll strips for another project!

After much deliberation (with help from my workshop friends), I decided to follow Alicia's lead and repeat a few of the scruffily blocks on the back. The solid yellow is Kona Sunflower. I couldn't imagine a better name for that color!




I had some struggles with this quilt (it was a bear to baste for some reason), but I'm happy with the outcome. It's going to be 87 degrees here today, so now it's time to crank down the a/c, curl up with my new quilt, and check out the rest of the blogs in the festival! Okay, really I'm headed to work, but that sounds nice, doesn't it?

We have a winner!

Man, y'all like free fabric! Go figure. After 760 comments (WOW), we have a winner, and it is lucky number 701.



That's Quilty Goodness!

(The number next to her comment says 101, but blogger starts over with the numbers after every 200 comments for some reason. She's actually 701.)

Quilty: I've sent you an e-mail! Just let me know your mailing address, and I'll send this your way.

Temporary loss of sanity

Looking for my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway? Scroll down to the next post!

I read online this morning about a fabric warehouse sale. A local shop that custom makes kids' clothes was cleaning out their warehouse, and they were selling all of their fabrics for $4 a yard. I headed over there at lunchtime, expecting to find a lot of pastels and bunny rabbits but hoping for a buried gem. Imagine my surprise when I walked into a room full of bolts and bolts of designer fabrics! This is what heaven looks like!

I must've blacked out for a bit, because when I came to I had amassed this collection. We're talking Amy Butler, Anna Maria Horner, Kaffe Fassett, Paula Prass, Heather Bailey, etc.... Good stuff.

I know, I know. It's a lot. But I actually think I showed great restraint!

Did I mention it was $4 a yard?

And...now I'm officially done buying fabric. Forever.

It's Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day!

UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. I'll post the winner soon!!

Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway day is here again! I've had a lot of fun with this day in the past, so I'm participating again with a little giveaway.

Up for grabs:

A honeybun of Wonderland by MoMo fabric


...and charm pack of Hope Valley.

If you'd like to win, just leave a comment on this post. Any comment is fine.

I'll leave the comments open until Thursday night, and pick a winner on Friday morning (5/21) using Random.org.

I'll ship anywhere! Just make sure I have an e-mail address or another way to reach you.

Have fun checking out the rest of the giveaways, and thanks for visiting my blog.

Dahlia the doll

Luke's little friend is having a third birthday party next weekend, so I made her a doll using Melly & Me's Dahlia pattern.


I was way intimidated by this pattern at first because it had, like, lots of words and stuff. But once I actually sat down and read the words, it was actually easy to follow. Plus the instructions are so polite! She says things like, "Please ensure that all seams meet."



Her dress is my favorite part.


Here she is unadorned. I had to buy a 5-inch-long doll-makers needle to attach her arms. Felt just like Geppetto.



I hope Maddi likes her! I had fun putting her together.

Hey, I'm participating in Sew, Mama, Sew's giveaway day, so be sure to come back tomorrow!

My super family

When I saw this pattern on Wee Wonderfuls, I knew it must be mine! My mom taught me to cross-stitch when I was a kid, but I hadn't done it in years. My friend Leah helped me pick out my supplies and gave me a refresher, and it was actually very easy.


I just put it in this frame to see how it looks.


I'm considering adding some writing to it. Maybe our names under each person? Or Super Bowlbys at the bottom? Or top? Thoughts?


Super Justin


Super Luke (who is very excited about our super family)


Super Me!

P.S. Hillary is currently sold out of the pattern. If you're interested in it and she restocks, be sure to scoop one up right away. The first batch sold out very quickly.

Check out more projects on Amy's blog!!

Craft Hope project 7

My alphabet bean bags for Craft Hope project 7 are ready to go. I'll get these in the mail this week, and then they'll be headed to the Liberia Orphan Education Project.

California love...

I took some pictures of my grey and green quilt before it flew off to its new home on the West Coast.



I used this free pattern from Oh, Fransson! (Side note: Did you see she has a book coming out in October? Must. have.)


It came out of the dryer very crinkly, which is good, because my mismatched seams are less obvious.


And...here's the back. The grey is Kona Coal, and the binding is Kona Grass. (Not coincidentally the same colors I used in my fabric flower rings.)

I hope this quilt is happy in its new home!

Check out more finished projects on Amy's blog!

Best show on TV

For me, nothing even comes close.

Cute movie

We took Luke to see How To Train Your Dragon today. It was my first 3D experience, and I must say it was pretty entertaining! (The most exciting part for Luke was the Toy Story 3 preview.)