a little of this, a little of that

My Mom, Aunts, and a couple friends of theirs get together to sew from time to time at a beach house that belongs to one of the ladies.  Last weekend they invited me, too!  {If it hadn't been rainy and grey, I'd have taken a picture of the ocean view for you - it is fabulous!}

Anyway, with a whole weekend of kid-free sewing time, you'd think I would have lots to show you, right?  I wish, but my seam ripper saw a lot of action this weekend.  And I had to leave for a few hours because the boys went fishing with their Dad, who got a lure stuck in his finger and couldn't find his health insurance card.  I had to bring him mine so he could go get the lure cut out of his finger.  {I think Dad made sure the first fishing trip of the year was a memorable one!}

Most of my progress isn't photo worthy yet. 

I did finish another Pink Penguin fabric bucket {I love making these!}  My Aunts oohed & ahhhed over this little bucket, which made me so happy because my secret plan is to make them and my Mom each one for the quilting retreat we will be going on together.  Won't they be perfect for holding small sewing tools on the table?

I think fabric ariving in the mail is one of life's greatest pleasures, don't you?  :)
I ordered an assortment of Kona Cotton from Hankocks-Paduccah recently.

These are destined for various projects, but don't they look lovely together?  Left to right they are: Mango, Lemon, Burgundy, Zucchini, Honey Dew, Clover, Kiwi, Pear, Jade, Teal, Blue {ok, after reading all the other creative names, the simplicity of this one gives me the giggles.  Yes, I know I'm easily amused.}  Peacock, Windsor Blue, & Snow. 

I really love that they labled each cut of fabric - by hand even.  Somebody hand wrote lables to help make my life easier  :)
I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday & TGIFF @ Quilt Monster in my closet - head over to check out what everyone is up to!

Easter Recap

On Palm Sunday, our church had a lovely evening for families.  We watched a short film on Easter, ate yummy goodies, and made crafts.  This lovely empty tomb moss garden was a favorite for my boys  :)

Saturday before Easter, I had a migrane :(  I spent the afternoon sitting on the couch watching The Incredible Hulk - the pilot episode to the late 70's tv show.  {I think this is the version I used to love when I was 2 or 3}.  When I tried to stand up, I got an awful pain in my back and its been bothering me ever since.  Its actually kind of embarassing to admit how I hurt my back.  I mean, I don't even have a good story to tell people.

How did you hurt your back?

Oh, I did it by sitting on my couch.

Lame, isn't it?  :)

Anyway, I had spent two days driving all over tarnation looking for a great pair of black heels to go with my aqua & black skirt for Easter Sunday - and I found the cutest pair! {maybe I should have taken a picture}  You should have seen me hobbling around on heels with a sore back - I could barely walk, but I wasn't letting a great pair of shoes go to waste in my closet :)

We did our egg hunt after church services, and I let the boys' father be in charge.  He bought camoflage eggs for an outdoors egg hunt!  {they were eventually found}

He also locked us out of the house!  It turned out ok though, he was able to get a window open and lift up our oldest son so he could climb in and go unlock the door.  The boys thought it was hillarious, and want to make it an Easter tradition :)  They are arguing over who gets to go through the window next time.

That about sums up our Easter - I hope you had a great one! :)

Edited to say:
I nearly forgot to show you a picture of our Easter Bunny :)

Actually, we've had him for a couple months, but he is very hard to get a good picture of since he rarely sits still.  His name is Silver.  I'll try to get a better picture and introduce you properly soon :)

TGIFF Meadowsweet style

Hello Everybody!  If you are here for TGIFF, welcome! I'm glad you are here - make yourself at home and nose around a bit :)  And to my regular followers - you know I love you all bunches! Having you to hang out & talk quilts with makes me smile everyday :)

As promised, I have my Meadowsweet bag for my finish today

I used a kati cupcake pattern called My Favorite Bag. 

The details:

measures roughly 18"x15"x5"

uses a magnetic clasp {my first time using one}

six outer pockets, & six inner pockets

fabrics are all Meadowsweet

*I decided to use some fusible interfacing after all!* {or stabilizer. or whaterver that really stiff fusible white stuff I had hanging around my sewing room was.  I'd almost forgotten I had it. Then my son went running through the house wrapped up in it, and I thought I might as well put it in the bag. At least that way he can't wrap up in it and run around anymore. But I'm wise enough not to challenge him to try, just incase}

Now I have a confession to make.  I almost titled this post TGIFF Humble Pie style.  Because while this side of the bag looks great, that's not the whole story.  And I don't want to only show the good stuff and hide my mistakes and give you all the impression I'm so great at this sewing business when I'm not.  So I'm going to show you the other side, too.  Oh, the other side.  :(

Now, the grommets are added last after the rest of the bag is done.  Let me tell you, it is very nerve racking to cut a hole in the tote you just made!

Yikes! that is so hard to do, if you know what I mean :)  {I used the pins to keep the outer layer & lining from shifting while I cut}

7 of the grommets came out fine, but I think I cut the hole too big for one of them.

Ick.  I haven't tried to fix it yet.  Sometimes it is just best to walk away for a little while.  If you have a suggestion for fixing it, please leave a comment.

Here is a shot staring into the mouth of the beast {hehe}

These pockets are huge - I think this tote would make a great sewing bag with lots of room to keep tools & such.

There were a couple seams when I was sewing through 6 layers of fusible fleece and 6 layers of fabric at once, and let me tell you my little Janome stitched through it like a champ!  I was so proud, the thickness didn't bother my machine at all :)  Then when I was sewing just a couple layers of fabric, my needle fell off.  {?!?}  I was actually freaked out for a couple minutes, because I thought the damage was alot worse, but once I put the needle back in I didn't have anymore problems sewing.  Weird :)

Ok, your turn! Let's see those fabulous finishes Ladies & Gents!  Don't forget to check out the other great finishes & spread some comment love around :)  In your post, link back to the party or include the TGIFF button.  Happy Friday everyone! :)

WIP Wednesday

April 4th, and I have a picture of something that is not on my April sew list to share with you.  I know, that just shocks the pants right off you, doesn't it? :)

36-patch blocks, one complete, one almost, and 47 blocks left to make.  1764 little 2.5" squares of stash-busting goodness. that's the plan, anyway :)

actually, I stitched these about 3 weeks ago.  but this is the only picture of sewing progress I have to share that you haven't seen yet.

My Meadowsweet tote has been priority around here, but I'm not sharing until Friday, so you'll have to come back then  ;)

That's my biggest bit of news, really, because I'll be hosting TGIFF!

I'm a bit nervous because I've never hosted a linky party before.  Wish me luck, will you?  Better yet, come back Friday and join the link up fun - or watch me crash and burn.

Let's hope for lots of finishes being shared and Ooohed & Aaaahed over :)

a list for April...

In an effort to be intentional about my sewing priorities, I'm making a 'to-sew' list for April and linking up to To Do First @ Lawson and Lotta.  I'm looking forward to the challenge of revisiting my list at the end of the month to see how I did :)

Must Do
1. Meadowsweet tote bag
2. quilt my Wizard of Oz quilt top
3. Hands2Help quilt
4. duffle bag for my quilt retreat in a few weeks
5. 4 Pink Penguin fabric buckets
6. 3 album blocks
7. a stacked coins top made from a jelly roll
8. finish cutting 2.5" squares for a swap over at The Curious Quilter
9. tidy up my sewing room - Amylouwho is going to have a link-up for before & after pictures.  I took the 'before' pics already.  It's downright embarassing. 
10. Stay open to whatever sewing whims hit me during April :)

Might Do {as if that first list isn't overly optimistic :) }
1. DP pillow - I have 4 leftover blocks from  my DP quilt, and I can't let them go to waste, can I? :)
2. Disappearing Nine Patch - I started this last fall, and I haven't touched it for at least three  months. I'm just looking for progress, not a finish on this one.
3. laptop sleeve
4. Pink Penguin lunch bag
5. a few coffee cozies

Yikes, there is alot on those lists! But most of those are small projects or are already nearly done.  What is on your April Must-Sew list?

April Fresh Sewing Day

Hello Everyone!  I'm linking up to Fresh Sewing Day at Lilly's Quilts!  I'm glad I have a blog to remind me of what I've done, and Fresh Sewing day as a prompting to look back at the previous month, because until I went back over March's posts I couldn't remember what I had sewn!

Um, my most exciting finish ever! {really, how could this slip my mind?}

a new laundry bag from this tutorial

I made a picnic quilt top before I remembered I was out of batting - still need to get some so I can finish it

plus, I cut into my precious Meadowsweet & Tuesday at the Table is helping me get my cooking mojo back.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has accomplished in March!  Happy Palm Sunday to those who celebrate it!  :)