all girls considered

It was time to do a girl quilt and since my friend's daughter, Reagan's B-day is coming up in Jan. what better colors to use than pinks, greens and oranges 8)  Simple cuts coupled with simple hand piecing and viola---a girl quilt top.

The back was pieced with a very soft color scheme of flannel and Chez Moi with some beautiful mint green panels (one on each side).  Squealing with excitement over these colors folks!!

Some gingham in dark pink  I picked up yesterday for the binding.

Pinned and ready for some free motion action.  Yes since this little recipient isn't going to be looking at my quilting job AT ALL probably, I am psyched now to practice away.  Aren't those Kona colors just a rainbow of yummy goodness??!!  So glad I pinned with the special plastic colored clip on thingies and used my Kwik Clip too--try it for yourself--so worth the money.

Between all this sewing I have taken on some more cooking in the kitchen and here are some delicous and EASY donuts I created the other morning for Ayden and I.

Biscuit mix, oil, a wok, sugar, cinnamon and lemon sprinkles= Heaven!!

Why then I had to go lose some of those calories and quickly if I might add;0)  So off I went to my favorite quilt shop!

Walked in the door to It's a Hoot first off!!!

And a few other FQ's waiting for me to snatch them up and love on them!

Then of course I had to have this and I think it was about 5 sec tops for me to snatch that up!!  Central Park I LOVE every last bit of this fabric line by Kate Spain<3  <3 <3  The colors are gorgeous.

I also received this book in the mail a few days ago from a giveaway that I entered over at Learn to Quilt.   Thank you Chris Dahl!  It looks to be very interesting and I cannot wait to dive into it.

 Maybe if  I stay away from the sewing machine long enough and OH the kitchen too eh?---he,he,he,he,he!

See ya''ll later!

Sara

Holiday cooking and baking

Not so much quilting as there is time being spent in the kitchen part of the house these days.  I love soup as you all know and I love to bake.  Therefore, the house has been smelling terrific with the aromas of pumpkin apple soup and molasses cookies!  Yum! 

This was from an issue of Taste of Home.

Someone know of any really good soup cookbooks?

Easy to make-- ooooh sooooo yummy in the tummy!

 
Hugs,

Sara

One more Christmas present

It is getting too late already to make a quilt for my brother, Brian, but instead I thought I would do it backwards.  So I made the pillowcase, that will match the quilt, that I make for his B-day, next year in August!  This gives me plenty of time for creating something wonderfully masculine with some baseball added to it.  Baseball is his favorite sport to watch:)

The brown polka dots remind me of a baseball diamond if you look at them just right and the blue stripes remind me of the stripes in the guys uniforms for some teams.  I took a little bit of a  baseball novelty print and added that for the trim.

I used the tutorial over at Karamat.  Easy peasey once I realized which way I needed to have the fabric (selvage to selvage had to be on the left and right sides) so I could fold them wrong sides together later on on one side and the bottom.  

There was also another issue when I pulled the trim and main part of the pillow out of the cuff.  The trim was folded with right sides together instead of the other way around.  Seam ripper time:(

Now----- I KNOW how to make a pillowcase!!! (correctly that is)

doesn't Ayden look dreamy?!

I really,honestly haven't touched any quilting  so no new pics and I am sad about that, but other things have tugged on me recently.  Really looking forward to sewing day soon--- I HOPE!!

I did make some yummy, healthy veggie soup though yesterday:)  So a little eye candy if you will.

Carrots, peas, corn, zucchini, a rutabaga, some crushed tomatoes and other seasonings made this dish very good to warm the soul on a cold day;)  The rutabaga was a vegetable I hadn't cooked with ever so that was an add in idea from my friend, Christina.  She is a smart girl because rutabagas are truly a new fave of mine!  I froze about 4 servings yesterday and put a few more leftover servings in the fridge.  I heart soup so much that I could eat it all year!!!  Don't think Ayden would mind either;)


Happy December!

Sara

Birthday wishes come true

If any of you read my posts often, you know that I have been craving some older collections of Tula Pink:)  Satisfied that!!!

 Some of these, also on my list-----check!!

 Comfy,cozy:P

A few days before my Birthday I received a package from UPS that MY sweetie told me would be coming and that  I would have to sign for it---my brain was in full gear at that point-----WHAT IS IT?!

Waited for that UPS guy until 5PM, signed for it and brought into the kitchen--heart pounding.  Slowly open the small box---hmmm what COULD IT BE?!  

Kay Jewelers appeared on a flier inside---wh----atttttttttttt IS it???????????

The blue print is a hint:)

This is IT!!!!!!

 Sapphires and diamonds--chaaaaching!!!!!  Need some insurance people!  

 The hubby has EXCELLENT TASTE IF I do say so myself--and I called him right away of course to thank him and he asked me if I liked it----OF COURSE!!!!!  Awesome!!!!  You rock BABY!!!


  If that wasn't awesome enough, this year my Birthday was on Black Friday---hmmm, well, I could look at that in a bad way or a good one.

 I chose to work it to my benefit---he,he: )

Woke up early, AND I mean as early as 5AM and headed over to Joann's AND then again today at around 6:30AM!  Ayden slept over at a friend's the first day and today I bought him breakfast for coming along!

PICKED UP:

Thread was $40 with gift card and 20% off     say WHAT!!!!!

Cutting table $60!!!!!!  It's all assembled and ready to be broken in--Ayden helped his momma;)

I'm in heaven (sing along!!)

Afterward it was onto Toys R Us for Ayden's presents--tis the season of course.  Got some great deals there as well.  The little guy will be very pleased.  I also scored some great outfits that were marked down and the cutest sleeper ever:)


Later, I drove my friend, Steph's car back to her house, I used it for the big stuff I purchased and helped her get ready for her trip.  

Finally we ate some Birthday pizza and then Steph and her family wished me a Happy Birthday with a molten cake and a candle on top---love ya Steph!!!!!  She brought me upstairs  to pick out some fabric from her stash too!!!! (definitely doing that for her Birthday in Feb;)

COULDN'T HAVE ASKED FOR A BETTER BIRTHDAY!!!!!  Turning 30 isn't so bad after all---I just divulged my age---yikes---not a bad feeling either.

OK well this old fart has to hit the hay now because I am pooped just talking about all that!!! 

Love ya'll,

Sara 

 

What are you Thankful for?

Just a quick post to remind everyone to truly remember what they are thankful for the most.

As for me:

I am thankful for,

God

my hubby

my extended family 

friends

my home

yummy food always:)

freedom

prayer

laughter

faith

on and on it goes.




Stop tomorrow on the day of thanks and remember what it's really about.

Blessings,

Sara

P.S.  here is a wonderful list of scriptures and quotes to think about.  

 




 
 

I am Free to Roam

Free from spending money???  NAH!  Free from spending a lot?  YES!  

With gift card in hand, I went to Joann's the other day and bought up some needed notions,embroidery thread and fabric.

The orange and green is to finish up the sashing and border for Sherbet top.  Kona Surf and Midnight and some Kona coal are for a special somebody from Sue's shop.  Simply Solid Fabric is an amazing shop online that will customize your Kona order to whatever specifications 
 you give her---how GREAT is that folks!!  She labels each piece of fabric with the color as well!!!  Lovin' it!!!!

Back to Joann's purchases now, I also found this very,very cute birdcage patterned fabric for $2 off a yd so it was $6 a yd!!  Snatched up some of this eye candy right away.

See all the little birdies in the cages?  Click on the pic to see them clearer maybe.


Onto some variegated perle cotton thread for a secret project for a friend's Christmas gift.  These are soooo pretty:)

Just looking at them is satisfying for me at this point.  They may be my new favorites when it comes to thread shopping.  Texture really comes to life when using these babies!!

There has been a sale going on at a local quilt shop that has since closed as of yesterday evening, very sad to see a shop go like that as we all know.

On a brighter note, the owner was able to sell everything off with the exception of a few small things.  Yeay!!   Of course I contributed to some of that!  I bought some fat quarters awhile back from them and yesterday I ran over there the last hour before they shut the doors and bought up a bolt of interfacing for 70 cents a yd, the rest of a  bolt of a green and white floral print for $2 a yd and the remaining 4 or 5 yds of a gray/black floral print fabric for $2 a yd. 

THE best purchase decision I made though was to marry this man.  Congratualtions baby on your promotion to Warrant Officer for the Army!!!!  It was a true blessing to be there for your graduation:)

                                                           WE LOVE YOU! 


Enjoy your Sunday and each other slowly,

Sara

In print

Won this for Ayden over at Jeri Lander's blog  a few weeks ago!

Look they even added some quilting pics in the book for ME---he,he,he!

You can also find around 100 hidden bunnies throughout the pages of the book;)  I think I may be more excited than the little guy;)


I also received a book from my in laws for Christmas (YES Christmas started early here!).

Looking forward to diving into this one soon!!!

Challenging for sure:)

Though Fun indeed---E!!



This giveaway here looks really fun too!!!

Happy Saturday Everyone!

Sara

the BEST reason to quilt

My MIL, Teri with her newly gifted quilt!!!!

CAN YOU TELL SHE LIKES BLUE WITH THAT COUCH SITTING THERE?! :)

My first gifted quilt is out of the way now and it feels real good!!  Definitely motivation to finish the next;)

Yeay for the first chance to create a coin quilt *squeal* and there is a definite smile across my face with the way the lime green, pink and orange are coordinating so well together;)  I have the Kona orange and chartreuse green to go ahead with the sashing and border, but I haven't made time for it lately to be honest.   There have been other things which have taken all my time, but that is alright.  I will get to you soon sherbet top----soon!  For now I get to stare at these pops of color on my design wall--not a bad trade off;)

Happy Friday folks!

Also please go check out Retro Mummy for a very pretty giveaway.

Take care,

Sara

Relaxation in the form of thread

A cut embroidery pattern was calling my name and an instant smile was on my face.  I could kick back in a chair and relax while Ayden watched a Land Before Time movie(his favorites!). 

With all the blue MarkbGone pen it is hard too see my stitching on some areas, but you can get an idea of what I am working on now.  I also had to redo the birdie, it was looking a bit rough around the edges;)  I really like how the two toned thread came out on him though and his little beak is pretty cute!

A few peach toned french knots for the "tree people" eyes and the rest is done in a simple back stitch and some satin stitching as well.  I used a pastel green for the tree outline, soft blue for the first tree's ornaments and greyish purple thread for the next tree.

Wondering what colors to go with for the snow areas on the trees and the ground.  Thinking of mixing white with one of the three colors below.  OR should I buy a pretty variegated thread instead?  Help anyone?

 Maybe I will win some of these for my embroidery projects!  Aren't they super cute:)

Don't forget to set your clocks back an hr! 
Take care,

Sara

In the making...

Maybe for some this is a lot of fabric and others this is the tip of the iceberg?!  For me, I am constantly trying to think of new ways to organize things get it it where I want it while my hubby is not present.  I took a day and grabbed all my fabric from upstairs in my home and brought them downstairs to where everything else sewing related was accumulating in my studio dining room slowly throughout the week;0)

I found this storage rack thing in my hubby's Army closet and figured---ah-----well, he won't be using it anytime soon for clothes, socks, etc.  I snatched it!!  There is a small crack in my plan or rather an annoyance that has occurred though.  I cannot put any fabric on the second shelf because the top fabric boards overlap onto the next shelf---uuuurrrrrrghhhh.  Oh well- such is life right?!  My Ayden already figured out how to topple the whole thing over as well, but it is back in working order currently (I WILL let you know if anything changes!)  It has been nice to see all my fabric in one place and not have to go up and down the stairs to grab yet another fat quarter, yardage or whatever.  I am also finding myself thinking of new color combinations as I sit and eat with Ayden at the dining room table cutting table.  I KNOW I am obsessed, but who isn't that is a quilter??  Speaking of obsessed, I think I have become a little obsessed with this fabric line that I won over at Talk About Fabric recently.

greens,yellows and purples-oh MY!

Even though I am working out of my dining room, it still feels so great to be able to have my own little nook for creativity to spread its wings freely:  )  This is what I have started on recently, but now am at a stand still due to needing more fabric!  See, so maybe my stash isn't so bountiful--he,he,he!
Really, though I need more yardage to make the LONGGGGG sashing strips and the borders too because this will be a twin size.  A twin?  I AM taking on another challenge with another twin size quilt you heard me right!

This is the quilt, only in my version the yellow and red will be obsolete and the colors are orange, green and pink, rainbow sherbet. I am taking the skinny sashing strip on each side of the wider sashing strip out completely.   Don't really feel the need for it.   It is definitely one that I have been wanting to tackle for awhile.  I A.D.O.R.E. it very much!!!  There have been doggie ears on the pages for this quilt for many months!  Cute, fun and quite easy.


I have also started an embroidery Christmas pattern!  I am stitching the Christmas trees on the far left bottom corner.  Aren't they too cute for words!  I just wish there was more updated posts on Annie Oakleaves (the designer of this pattern) blog:(

Eventually I would like to do a couple other patterns from the collection on the toweling fabric I have bought.  (It's not osanburg cloth, but still very good fabric.) Anyway I cannot wait to see the whole towel stitched up.  I will be sharing some pics on here of  my WIP soon.

With all this sewing going on, you probably wouldn't guess that Ayden and I have been under the weather for the last couple of days!  We are trying to get as much R&R as we possibly can before our trip to AL this coming Tues for my hubby's graduation!!  So excited to see him and congratulate him and pin his new rank on his shirt:)  Very happy times right now!!

SO please pray that we are at our best for our upcoming travels and that we arrive in AL safely!!

Go see Lavender Ridge for another sweet giveaway too!!

Hugs to all my blogger friends,

Sara

Welcoming Fall!

Oh the weather is getting cooler outside and cookies are baking in the oven and scents of apples brewing in a pot with cinnamon are amongst us all now.  Sipping warm apple cider makes me feel all wonderful inside and comforted by the season of fall in the air! 

To celebrate, here is my finished pumpkin wall hanging gracing its presence on my front door entrance.

my hand stitching is getting better and my pace is moving on up:)

crinkly and soft, ahhhhhhh!

Brown, yellow, orange and green floss were used throughout

enjoying the scrappy binding more and more each time

Happy Fall Everyone,

Sara

Learn2Quilt

This blog has been one I have been following for the last month.  It has great how-to instructions for beginners, binder sets you can purchase to learn more about a specific area of quilting and so much more!  Chris has gone the extra mile to create a blog that strictly teaches others how to quilt!!  Nothing can beat that folks:) 

The whole month of November she is doing a giveaway with the chance to win one of 4 different prize packages--yippeeee!

Are you in???!!!  Go check her out NOW!!! 

Enjoy Sunday,

Sara

For a special friend indeed

I have been talking AND talking about this "quilt" that I am piecing---then sandwiching and then quilting.  OH and then binding.  Well this has gone on long enough in my book so here is the big reveal.  Just been putting it off because the person whom is receiving this quilt, that I am sooo very proud of, doesn't actually get it until next month.  Still top secret stuff, but I couldn't help myself, hope she doesn't figure it out;)

The quilt top looking all pretty:) approx. 35"x37" wall hanging

see the pockets for some photos or cards---very nice!

Don't you just love the colors here---so calming to me!!

Hand embroidery for the curvy lines

stitch in the ditch in a matching dark blue Sulky thread

my hubby's idea for the backing!

This quilt is very special to me because it is for such a very special lady to me:)

Blanket stitched to the back

Woweee!!!  I got through it and I am feeling that great feeling inside, to say the least, that this gift is going to make a certain someone feel VERY blessed!!! 

May you feel this blessed as you quilt  for someone you dearly love and cherish:)

Take care,

Sara