Birthdays Birthdays

Two of my older sisters both have birthdays within 10 days of each other here at the end of August/beginning of September.  Normally, I usually just send along a birthday card wishing them a happy birthday and another good year.  This year however, I wanted to make a little something extra for them to send along to let them know that I was thinking of them.  Luckily, Kelly of Kelbysews just posted a fantastic little Instragram tutorial showing how to make folded hexagon coasters!  Perfect!

 After a quick trip to JoAnn's (because most of the fabric in my stash is no where close to their personal tastes), I whipped up 2 sets of 4 folded hexagon coasters - one for each of my older sisters having birthdays.  Love how they turned out and especially love how the different fabric combos make them look so different.
Not wanting to be left out and tired of the sad sad coasters we were using on our dining room table, I pulled out some favorite fabrics and whipped up a batch for myself as well.  yum!

 And I also made a couple of Hexagon Fabric Trays (tutorial by Spoonful of Sugar) for myself.  Squee!

 And then not to be left out, my sweet sweet husband was sitting at breakfast admiring the new coasters I had made and wished that he could have one for his desk at work so he wouldn't have to see those pesky rings left by his coffee mug any more.  Well, darling, you are speaking my love language and before he had barely left the door for work that morning, I had whipped up one more just for him.  I pulled from my Carolyn Friedlander stash to make his so it would be a little more masculine for him.

 But I did have to add in a secret little love note on the back for him. :)

Anyways, tons of hexagon fun going on over here, but I think I'm done for a bit as I'm gearing up for craft shows and holiday sewing (yes, all ready!).
Oh, and speaking of birthdays - today's mine!  Happy Birthday to me :)

Buzz Buzz - August

Last catch up post I promise - well at least for my bee hive block anyways.  For the month of August, Michele S. (yes, there were three Micheles in a row!) was the lovely queen bee.  She was super gracious to all of us swamped by summer and picked the new, fun and super easy bonus block - Checker.  Oh my, what a fun block! And then she made it even more fun by asking us to pick any single saturated color of our choice for the half square triangles in the block.  She also asked us to name the blocks after food - pretty sure she was hungry when she was making up a few sample blocks. hehe  I also discovered that we both have very similar fabric crushes which made it all the more fun to have an excuse to pull out some of my most loved fabrics for Michele's blocks.  Yes - blocks as in more than one.  At one point I had fabric pulled for 6 blocks laid out on the bed, but my husband told me to calm it down a bit.  I ended up making three blocks because when the block is this fun and easy, one simply isn't enough.  Here is my Mango Muddle block:

 Here is my Saskatoon Berry block:

 And my Cheetos block:

 Wanting to include an extra special little extra into Michele's package since she has become such a fantastic friend through the coarse of this bee hive, I pulled out a pattern I've been wanting to try for a while.  It's called the Two In One Pouch by S.O.T.A.K. Handmade, and it's a super cute little double zippered pouch.  I pulled out some mutually favorite fabric and made the smaller size from the pattern.  Oh, so cute!!  Knowing it was going to a special home made it more bearable to part with.

 Overall, August was a lot of fun.  The package I put together to send to Michele was especially special to put together, and when Michele got the package, she was ecstatic!  Love it when everything I so carefully picked out and sent, ended up being just perfect including the little "Keep calm and..." sticky notes. hehe

Buzz Buzz - July

Playing a little more catch up on the bee blocks from this summer today.  For July, Michele M. was queen bee for the month.  She picked a block we hadn't done yet called the Autumn Chain block which turned out to be a pretty fun block.  The flying geese on this block didn't give me the problems that they had on the previous month's block - but then again they were bigger and constructed differently so that helped.  

Michele wanted us to pick whatever color we loved, mix it up a bit using warm and cool tones in that color to make a mono-chromatic block.  I couldn't go with just one color, so I ended up pulling my to favorite color crushes at the moment which are dark teal and dark pink/purple.

 I LOVE love love how the teal block turned out.  Pretty sure I could make a whole quilt out of just this block in just those colors.

 I love this purple block to and it was kind of fun to make a block that felt more girly than my normal personality.

 Since I had a bunch of little half square triangles left over from the flying geese made in these two blocks, I made a little mug run out of them.  Not gonna lie - it was hard to send along with Michele's package.  I also decided to try a new pattern called Pouch With A View by Three Owls Handmade to make another little extra to send along.  It was definitely fun and bonus - it used it some of the clear vinyl that I've had floating around for forever.

 So much prettiness in that package - it really hurt to send this one off, but soon enough it will be my turn to get pretties in the mail. ;)

Buzz Buzz - June

Yes, I know its like September all ready, but since I'm the Queen Bee for September, I thought it would be a good chance to catch up a little on the last 3 months of bee blocks that I made and sent out.
The month of June was a bit chaotic for us since we moved and had 2 road trips all within 3 weeks at the start of June.  Needless to say, my bee blocks were made at the very end of the month and sent out a tad late.  Thankfully the queen bee for the month of June was Michele E. and she was super gracious about it.
Michele picked the double star block for her block.  It was the same block we had made in May, but Michele's color scheme was totally different.  She wanted super saturated shades of eggplant, magenta with accent colors of chartreuse and coral.  Yum!  I didn't realize until I pulled together some fabric for her block just how much I Love these colors!  I see some serious stash building of these colors in my future. ;)

 Here are the two blocks I made for Michele.  I was pretty thrilled to get my hands on some brand new not even released to stores Cotton and Steel fabric to include in her blocks making them a little extra special.  And hopefully that made up for the fact that my blocks turned out a bit wobbly - the flying geese in these block just did.not.like.me.....

 I might have had a little fun checking out Michele's Instagram feed and noticed that she loves sharpies.  Yup, that meant that I just had to get her a sharpie in each of the colors she had picked for which she was pretty thrilled about.  I also sent along the left over scraps I had of the brand new Cotton & Steel which Michele promptly included into one of her projects the same day she received the package I sent her!  Love that!

I do love how each month, the blocks are so totally different (even if we do make the "same" block) since each queen bee has different picks in fabric.  Can't wait for more. :)

The Animal In You Swap

If you've been around Instagram at all this past year, you'll probably have noticed that sewing swaps have been all the rage.  It's hard not to get sucked into them when there have been so many great ideas and sewers involved in these swaps.  I did do a few swaps, and the last one that I was a part of was called #theanimalinyouswap.  The idea was to make 3 handmade items for another swap participant of that person's favorite animals.  I was assigned to make for a lady who LOVES Halloween which is rather comical since Halloween is by far my absolutely least favorite holiday.  Yes, I know, I'm weird and I'm definitely in the minority, but I just cannot stand Halloween.  I only tolerate it for the kids and even then, cute costumes are a must and a sugar high seems to help. But anyways...I digress. 

Running with the love for Halloween and specifically her love of black cats and bats, I managed to put aside my dislike of Halloween and came up with some fun and kind of cute things for my partner.
I decided to paper piece two back cats to get started.  The patterns are called Silhouette Cat #1 and Silhouette Cat #12 by Quilt Art Designs on Craftsy.  

I then pulled out some bright fabrics in her favorite colors, downloaded Anna Graham's Road Trip Case pattern, and got to work.  I turned the paper pieced black cats into panels for the outside of the Road Trip Case.  

All together, the Road Trip Case turned out pretty cute.  I thought it was fun to have a kind of simple outside to the case.

 But the inside of the case is ablaze in colors.  This bag pattern is definitely one I might have to revisit again someday.

 Well, one item down, two more to go.  On my partner's mosaic that she posted of animals she liked, she posted a few bat softies and a bat quilt.   I ran with those ideas too and made this cute little bat.  The wings and ears are made from a run sewing notions themed fabric making this the perfect companion for my partner in her sewing room.  I think this pattern is called the Barnabas Bat pattern by Bit of Whimsy Dolls.

 And the last item I sewed together for this swap is a twist on a herringbone quilt.  The rows columns are cut and switched around in such a way as to make what looks like little bats.  The center bat on the quilt was done in gray and got a little embroidered face to make it stick out.  For a bat quilt - its pretty quilt.  ;)

 This was also the first time that I used variegated thread while quilting and the green/orange/red mix worked really great for this quilt.

So, while I was pulling fabric together to make this bat quilt, I might have been inspired to use this pull (tweaked a bit) to make a maple leaf throw quilt for our living room.  But more on that later since its still half finished in my stack of wips at the moment.
All told, it was a fun swap and my partner loved the package I sent to her.  I think I definitely nailed her personality by what I made for her. :)  However, I think this will be my last swap for a good long while - too much selfish sewing I want to do, plus holiday sewing, plus craft show sewing - yup, the next few months are going to be busy for my sewing machine.  

Farm House Lane Quilt

I love my mom and I can honestly say she's one of my closest friends which is kind of funny because growing up and especially during my teen years we just didn't get along. At all.  Also, our tastes on almost everything are completely opposite!  But still, I'm pretty close to my mom and she is probably also one of my biggest cheerleaders of my life in general and also of my sewing and quilting.  I've made my mom quite a few different things over the past couple of years for her birthday or Christmas or just because which is always.  This spring though, my mom asked if she could hire me to make her a wall hanging quilt for her living room.  Ummm..Yeah!! =D

Since my mom's living room is decorated in a lot of blues and mauvey reds, I pulled together this pile of fabric to make a quilt that would compliment what she all ready had.  Definitely not my normal colors, but that's what is fun about making for other people - it forces me to sometimes play with colors and ideas that I wouldn't normally think about when I'm just sewing for myself.

She told me she liked the idea of house blocks for the quilt and I instantly knew exactly what I wanted to do.  Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet just published a new book this spring called "Farm Girl Vintage".  In the book, there is a quilt pattern for a throw sized quilt called "Farm House Lane" which I thought we be perfect for what my mom wanted.  I did adjust the number of houses and filler blocks I used so it would be more wall sized than throw sized.
Confession time - this was the first quilt I ever used an actual design wall for.  Usually it gets laid out quickly on the floor and picked back up before the kids can get into it.  It was like to have it up on the wall out of their reach so I could get the layout and colors just right.

These little star blocks took FOREVER! I think I spent more time on these 5 little 6 inch blocks that I did on piecing the rest of the quilt!

Wanting to do something different than straight line quilting on this quilt, I finally cracked open the "Beginner's Guide to Free Motion Quilting" by Natalia Bonner and made myself figure out this whole free motion quilting thing.  It only took a couple of evenings of fiddling with my sewing machine's tension settings and quilting up a couple of practice quilts (which my 3 yr old claimed for blankets for his lovies) before I had it figured out enough to tackle my mom's quilt.  And it turned out great!  You can't see the quilting too much in this picture below and I forgot to get any more detailed pics before I mailed it to my mom.

But anyways, I love how it turned out (even if it's completely opposite my normal color tastes), and most importantly my mom loves how it turned out. =D

Barn Quilt

 

I can tell that my husband gets me and humors me, and that I've possibly corrupted him with my quilty obsession when he suggested that we make a barn quilt to hang up on the house we just bought.  *biggest grin ever*   So after perusing Pinterest quite obsessivly for a while, I stumbled onto this Acadia National Park quilt block and knew it was the perfect fit.  You see, my husband and I had honeymooned in Acadia National Park and just loved the place.  Someday, I hope we get to go back.  I loved the idea of doing a barn quilt of a quilt block that represented the park and in colors that reminded me of being there. 

 One evening my husband was good enough to take the kids while I ran over the the hardware store where I got all the supplies I needed - plywood, paint, brushes, tape, clear coat sealer, etc. Thankfully, I'm not afraid of some quilty math and the block that I picked out to do could be broken down into a grid pattern so it was easy enough to draw it onto the board.  Armed with some painters tape, I taped off each color one at a time and started painting. 

 It took about a week to do since each color needed 2-3 coats and needed to dry overnight before I could move onto the next color.  But the end result was so well worth the time it took. 

 We haven't decided yet where to hang it up on the outside of the house, but hopefully soon. 

Buzz Buzz - May

Have I mentioned that I've been having so much fun being a part of the #thebeehivequilts online quilting bee?  Well, I love it and I look forward to each new month to see what block the Queen Bee for that month has picked out and what direction she has as far as colors, etc. for us that month.  And it's been so fun to get to know each of these lovely ladies a little bit better every month.
For the month of May, Melanie of Southern Charm Quilts was the Queen Bee.  She picked the double star block, and she gave some great direction for color choices.  Here is the block that I sewed together for her.

I also sent along a few goodies with Melanie's block.  After a bit of sleuthing, I found out she collects milk glass - how cute is that little tea pot teabag holder?  Just prior to sending out her block, Melanie had mentioned that she had just finished putting together a quilt top that ate up all of her black and white low volume fabric so I added in a fat-eighth left over from making her block.  I just love putting together a few extra goodies and making each package special for that month's queen bee.

Just this past week, Melanie just finished putting together all of the blocks she received and made into a finished quilt.  It turned out quite beautiful and you can go check it out in her Instagram feed if you wish.  I love how her color choices really played with the block and the repeating patter.  Simply gorgeous. 

Still Here

And just like I predicted, my time has been swallowed up by our move into our first home, an endless list of house projects, two busy busy little boys (including a trip to urgent care for stitches!), road trips, family visits, and just summer in general.

Unfortunately, writing on this blog falls kind of way down the list when it comes to prioritizing what things I want to and need to do.  Which is why it has now been 2 1/2 months since I last posted anything here.  geepers....I guess it has been a while.  Anyways, the move went well and the house is mostly unpacked and in order - or at least in the areas that count (don't go looking in the basement or garage).  And I've even managed to find most of my sewing stuff and figure out a set up that seems to be mostly working for me to sneak in some sewing here and there.
Hopefully I can work on posting a few catch up posts of the things I've been working on soon, but for now, I'm just enjoying our new home and time with my boys. :)

Summer Quilt Bucket List

Spring has finally come to us here in Northern Michigan and it's come in with a bang - 80 degree temps today!  I'm so excited for winter to finally be melting away from us.  While it has been a long winter, it doesn't feel like it's been a hard winter - just a typical winter here in the Mitten State.  However, I am so ready for summer and I am especially looking forward to this summer because for the first time ever, we will be living in a home that we own!  haha Yup, my husband and I are finally joining the ranks of home owners.  I'm really looking forward to being in a home that we can truly make our own.  Plus the house has a big deck and a fantastic yard for the boys!  I'm looking forward to many beautiful summer days outside with my two little boys.  

The month of May is going to be a busy month around here for us as I attempt to pack up the house and get us ready for the move with the "help" of these two little cuties. Also, we are taking a 5 day trip to New York with a stop in Western New York to drop of the boys with my mom while my husband and I drive out to the Utica area for a cousin's wedding.  We are hoping to get to spend a few days with my folks after the wedding and get a chance to celebrate our baby's 1st birthday while there.  .....  All that on top of moving!  haha oh well - it's either all or nothing for us and this trip was planned and committed to back in January.  Anyways.... all that to say, I don't think I'll get to do much sewing over the next 4-6 weeks let alone any quilting.  While I have been busy with a lot of sewing for the months of March and April, I haven't gotten to do much quilting which is my true love when it comes to fabric and sewing.   While I pine away for my sewing machine as I'm buried under moving boxes, I thought I would take a chance to make up a wish list of quilts that I would LOVE to make this summer.  This list contains mainly larger quilts that I want to make for myself just because the fabric is beautiful, the pattern simply cannot be ignored, the desire to try a new piecing or quilting technique, and because obviously, one cannot have too many quilts.  So here in no particular order in which they might be made is my bucket list of quilts I want to make this summer (wish me luck!):

Indelible Rocky Mountain Puzzle Quilt (Queen size):
First up, I've had this lovely bundle of Indelible fabric by Katarina Roccella sitting on my shelf for about 6 months now. 

I bought it the intention of making a queen sized quilt for our bed.  I was inspired by this Rocky Mountain Puzzle Quilt, and I've even worked out the quilt math.  Sadly, this quilt was put on hold until I got through Christmas sewing and then on hold again until after I got through craft fair prep sewing and now on hold again until after the move.  I definitely want to get to this quilt this summer!

Wild & Free Ducks In A Row Quilt (Long Throw size):
The second quilt I want to make this summer is based off of this quilt.  Becca of Bryan House Quilts just released a new quilt book called Modern Rainbow and this quilt is from a pattern in that book.  I have been hording a fat quarter bundle of Wild & Free fabric by Maureen Cracknell that I got back in November waiting for just the right quilt for it.  This quilt is it!

However, I'm stumped on what color I want to use for the background on this quilt.  I want a solid color and I don't think I want white.  I decided to finally break down and purchase my very own Kona color card the other day. 

Certainly out of these 303 beautiful colors, I can pick one that will be the perfect background fabric for this quilt. 

Utopia Molehills Quilt (Long Throw size):
The third quilt I want to tackle this summer is called Molehills.  It is a brand new quilt pattern just released by Latifah Saafir.  It is the first quilt pieced from curves that I've loved so much as to be willing to actually learn how to sew with curves! And bonus Latifah is hosting a quilt along for this marvelous pattern!  Added incentive to work on this quilt for sure!

I figured since I was jumping out of my comfort zone by tackling a curves quilt, I might as well get really out of comfort zone and pick a palate that I wouldn't typically go with.  For a while now, I've been seeing different projects pop up on Instagram using Utopia fabric by Frances Newcombe.  It's one of those fabric lines that initially intrigued me and has slowly grown on me to the point that I actually really like this fabric line.  A lot of the prints in this fabric line are not prints I would typically pick, but as a complete collection, I have developed a serious fabric crush.  So when I saw the Fat Quarter Shop run a sale on a half yard bundle of Utopia, I just had to get it and turn it into a Molehill Quilt!

Botanics "Yet To Be Determined" Quilt: 
This fat quarter bundle of Carolyn Friedlander's Botanics line has been sitting on my shelf for a while now since I snagged it off an Instagram destash sale.  While this bundle isn't quite the entire Botanics fabric line, there are still so many beautiful prints and colors just begging to shine in a beautiful quilt.  As of right now, I have three or four different ideas of what I could do with this bundle, but nothing seems quite like the right fit.  I'm determined though to keep looking and hopefully this summer settle on one.

Modern Maples Twin Size Quilt: 
Ok, so honestly this quilt has been on my some day, maybe might make list for a while now.  It's one of those quilts that I really like but it just has never been on the top of my list to make. 

 

Well that changed this past weekend when I was pulling together fabric to make a mini quilt for a swap I'm in and the fabric pull just screamed fall quilt and whats a more perfect fall quilt (that is NOT a Halloween quilt) than a maple leaf quilt.

 

 I added in a few more colors from my stash and cut out a twin sized quilt while I was cutting out the fabric for the swap quilt.  It ended up being exactly what I needed to work on this week - simple cathartic piecing.  I got 6 of the 30 blocks all pieced before I ran out of the background fabric with which to make the stems.  Naturally the fabric had to be special ordered from JoAnns but I'm sure this quilt will stay high on my list to get done soon.  

Quilty Projects for my Mom: 
One of my biggest cheerleaders and fans of my sewing and quilting has been my mom.  I've made here a few quilty things as Christmas and birthday gifts which you can see here, here, and here (at the bottom of the page).  Anyways, she recently asked if she could hire me to make here a wall hanging and several sets of place mats.  Talk about being a major supporter!  We haven't settled on what exactly I'll be making for her over the coarse of the summer, but I do hope I can convince her to consider some of the adorable quilt blocks out of these two books by Lori Holt.  I think my mom would really like them, and I always enjoy sewing up any pattern written Lori. 

Whelp...sounds like I've got plenty of sewing to keep me busy this summer in between settling into our new home, enjoying the beauty of Northern Michigan with my family, and all the other ADD sewing and DIY projects that I'm sure will pop up.  I girl can dream, right?