finish it up Friday, 11/30/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday! I'm so thankful that you all join me in this business of finishing each week. It's good to have the accountability!

Today I have a few small finishes...but they are big on the cuteness factor. At least I think so!

I started this thread catcher last February or March at a craft Saturday with some friends. All it needed was a pincushion. That should definitely take months...right?

 I added a cute little pincushion....just this morning. FINALLY! (I'm so glad I did!)

I used leftover batting (cut into little squares) to fill the pin cushion....and I filled it to the brim! It's nice and solid and not lumpy. I usually use crushed walnut shells (can't find them) or poly fiber fill (which I have plenty) but I wanted to see if I could use up some of this batting that I just can't seem to throw away. I'm happy to say I like the results so far. (I love using it all! And I love red polka dots, too....in case you haven't noticed. :) )

I also quilted and bound a few quilt blocks and turned them into pot holders. Hurray for machine binding! I'm so glad that I decided to NOT make this into a big quilt. It would have been cute, but I'd rather not have one more project hanging over my head at this point.

The last finish I have to share today is a mini up, up and away quilt that I made for a sample at my local quilt shop. The pattern is found in Sunday Morning Quilts.  I've always thought it would be neat to sew samples for a quilt shop. Now I'm actually doing it and using my own patterns. Never dreamed that would happen, but it's pretty neat!

And here's the back. (I might like it more than the front....why does that happen?)

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week! Happy Friday to you!

staples

I've been thinking....

...having plenty of batting and white Kona in my sewing room is much like having a well stocked flour and sugar supply in the kitchen. I love having a well stocked pantry. A well stocked sewing room could possibly be even better. :)

cyber monday sale and a question

I'm having a sale in my shop today, since it's cyber Monday and all. I'm offering the diamond pillow pattern and the lazy summer days pattern for 50% off--one day only. Both patterns are pdf files and will be sent to your email within 24 hours. (At least I will do my very best to do so!)

I also put signed copies of the book on sale for $19.95. (Shipping is additional.) This sale will be good for two weeks. It would make a great Christmas gift for you or someone else!

Now, for the question portion of this post. I've got my drano quilt basted. But how on earth should I quilt it? I'm totally stumped. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Here's a peek at the back. (LOVE!!!)

One last little tidbit for today....this is a conversation that happened in our house last night.

my 9 year old: "why do we have to go to school tomorrow?"

my husband: "because it's open."

(such a great answer, don't you think?)

Happy Monday to you!

finish it up Friday, 11/23/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday! Sorry I'm posting so late today. My life is nuts.

I have a few home finishes to share. They are exciting, but on such a different level than sewing finishes. That being said, I'll take ANY finish at this point.

Yesterday my husband and I replaced the brick work on our front step. Just in the nick of time. I was putting in the final bits of mortar right as the weather turned cold and windy. A mere hour or two before it started raining/snowing. I'm so glad that project is done!

(I took this photo before the mortar even had a chance to dry.) Masonry work isn't my favorite. :P And I'm wondering when I am going to figure out that I should hire out some of this work? I am a slow learner.

Then, after all that fun, we laid a new bathroom floor. Too much work in one day! Today my husband and I are hobbling around like we are 80 years old. Those are two significant projects that were finished in ONE DAY. Man, am I thankful.

I was trying to get my drano quilt back pieced and ready to go for today, but it didn't quite work out. I've got a plan...all I need is an hour to sew it together. Oh, that sounds blissful.

How about you? Have you had time to finish anything this week? Hopefully you've had time to sew. If so, please link up! Happy Friday to you!

making memories

Nothing says "Thanksgiving" like a home improvement project or two, don't you think?

Today we are replacing a bathroom floor.

(Good grief! Why couldn't we do this for us?)

We are also taking out the crumbling brick on our front step and replacing it.

With all the work ahead of us, I decided to go all out and make prime rib. 

This is what memories are made of! :)

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

choose joy

This move (or impending move, I should say) has been extremely difficult. There have been many tears, lots of stress, and  more exhaustion than I thought possible. Let's not forget sleepless nights. I'm a bit ashamed to admit this part, but it all has been accompanied by lots of moping around on my part. So, when the idea for this pillow popped into my head (in the middle of the night, as most great ideas do), I knew I couldn't let this one go by. I pieced the low volume slab the very next day. I finished up the details and made it into a pillow a few days after that. I finished it within a week of inspiration. That never happens! I absolutely love how it turned out! I am not saying that it has been a magic wand on my attitude or anything, but it's a tiny step in the right direction.

---

Thanks for all your thoughtful comments in the previous post about fabric usage. I appreciate those of you who took the time to weigh in and join in the discussion. If you are a fabric hoarder (like me!) there are a few comments that might encourage you to use your pretties...and that's a very good thing!

it's all just....

Thanks so much for all you who commented on my take a guess post. It was so fun to read your responses!

Here's the answer.....

(Right???)

I made this because I desperately need the reminder to quit hoarding fabric. I've got lines that I haven't really used yet....like Pips! How old is that line now? I've got Ruby and the new Flea Market Fancy that I'm holding on to. Also, layer cakes of Reunion, Marmalade, Sew Stitchy...Posy. Let's not forget Chicopee! SO, what am I waiting for? (Other than time to sew! HA!) Hopefully this reminder helps!! Because I want to use my fabric while I still love it! You know?

Are you like me and hoard fabric? What line is hardest for you to cut into? Or do you have no issues cutting into the good stuff right away? If the latter is the case, can you share you secrets? Please?

Happy Monday to you!

finish it up Friday, 11/16/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday! I actually finished a quilt this week. Hoo-ray! :)

This is my hello sunshine quilt. You can read more about the fabrics and templates used in this post. I will note that the template I used is not quite an equilateral triangle...but since I'm only using the one shape it wasn't a big deal.

To quilt it I did a free motion swirl in silver thread. (I love the 70 weight from Connecting Threads.)

I bound it in this fabulous lime green fabric. This print is equally great in all the colors they offer...sun, magenta, teal and sprout. I love them all!

I chose to machine bind this one. I LOVE the speed of finishing a quilt in this manner. I also love the line of top stitching on the binding. My husband must be skeptical about this approach because he always asks me if I like it. It makes me chuckle. And it makes me thankful that he takes an interest in my work. He's such a sweetie!

I pieced leftovers for the back. It's so fun for me to work out a pieced back. I love the pop of lime on the top.

The laundry line fabric print is one of my favorites in this collection! It makes me smile.

It measures about 45" x 60".

It's been quite awhile since I finished a quilt and I have to say it feels pretty darn good.

I hope you have had a good week finishing as well. Please link up your finishes and then go and cheer on a few others. Happy Friday!

really random thursday

good news...I haven't forgotten how to quilt. what a relief!

(oh how i miss quilting several hours a day!!!!)

other snapshots from my week....

i joined instagram and i'm loving it. i'm @crazymomquilts over there. (if only blogging were that quick and easy!)

my son had his first choir concert this week. i could have bawled like a baby through the whole thing. he's growing up fast. (he is in no man's land for clothing sizes. especially dress clothes. fun. times.)

i bought a stack of chicopee. not sure what to do with it yet, but i'm determined to cut into it before it gets "old".

i've been deep cleaning everything in sight. it's exhausting but amazing how good things look when they are clean. who knew? i feel the compulsion to clean even when i'm out and about....like at the post office or the store. i need to remind myself to tone it down when i leave the house. (true story.)

my daughter LOVES running our Keurig. don't worry, she only drinks hot chocolate. so far. we predict that she is going to grow up to be a barista. :) those little hands are so precious.

we got our carpets cleaned by zerorez yesterday. they do amazing work! i never would have thought that our carpet could look that good. yippee! if you need your carpets cleaned, i'd highly recommend them.

i had a friend come over the other night to help me start staging my house. (it's much like playing dress up...but with your house.) we used things that i had on hand and it was FUN! i can't wait to finish up that project. (and kicking myself for not doing this much sooner!)

linking up with Cindy's really random thursday.

hope you have a great day!

take a guess

I started this fun little project this weekend.

It's ALL just________.

how do you think I'm going to complete this sentence? (if you were at retreat this weekend, please don't spill the beans quite yet!)
how would YOU finish this sentence?

Incidentally, it's really, really fun to free piece letters.

finish it up Friday, 11/9/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday! Today I'm blogging from beautiful Colorado. :) It's quilt retreat weekend. Hurray! :) :) :)

I have a few finishes to share. It's been quiet here on the blog but life has been anything but quiet. Oh. Mylanta. In the midst of everything I managed to finish up yet another rag rug, which was a gift to my fabulous and lovely friend Tara. (there is a tutorial here, should you want to make one yourself...and I think you should. ;) )

I also finished painting the trim in my basement this week. (a big fat hurray for that!!!) I started putting my sewing space back together. I even got to sew there for a bit before I left. And it was good.

This is what the trim looked before. (I'm l-o-v-i-n-g the white trim upgrade.) 

Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes and cheer each other on as we share our finishes! (Please remember to link to a specific post when you link up.) 

Happy Friday to you!

finish it up Friday, 11/2/12

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

Somehow I managed to finish up a few thread catchers amid my uber crazy week. (I'm not quite sure how, but I'm glad I did.) They will be going to my retreat attendees next week. I love making these! Because I know someone will ask, I am planning on writing up a pattern for these at some point....after life settles down just a bit. (I can't wait.)

This has nothing to do with finish it up Friday, but today is my 6 year blog anniversary. SIX! I can hardly believe it. I've been thinking about it a lot and got mixed feelings about it. I did some reading back in my archives this week. Do you ever do that? Doesn't it feel kind of weird? I've got lots of  thoughts on this subject, but I'll save the rest of my introspection for another day.

Do you have a finish it share? If you do, please link up. Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday!