July is HOT!

I do not do well with hot weather.  Having said that, it seems like in the summer I enjoy such hobbies as knitting and baking.  Oh well.  I have been working on things for my wedding, here is a sneak peek:

And more blocks for a couple of my quilting bees.  Here are some blocks for Jan.  Only one month left for Around the Block!  Jan did a great job with her concept.  She precut the borders, and asked us to fill in the middle squares.  With different sized borders she will get a cohesive but varied set of blocks.  I love the fabrics too.




And here are a the last two blocks for Bee Inspired.

I am ashamed to say that these are 4 months late because I am so petty.  These happen to be the last set of blocks for this particular bee, and I was holding them hostage until I got my blocks.  They never came (I am still waiting for 5 people, isn't that crazy!), but I decided that I should take the higher road and just finish off the bee.  I never got all my blocks back from my first bee either.  I understand that there are life circumstances that causes people to renege on their commitments to the bee, but it does make if difficult when it's the organizer too.  These last couple of blocks to make me happy though.  The fabrics were wonderful to work with and I really like how the blocks turned out.

After next month for Around the Block my commitments to quilting bees are finished.  I had a good time with the first one, a bad experience with the second one, and a WONDERFUL experience with the last.  I got all my blocks (from Oz and NZ) with a month after my month was over.  If you ever get a chance to join a bee hosted by Sheridan, make sure you can make the commitments, then sign up fast!  She really takes care of you and makes sure everyone gets their blocks. 

Bees for March!

Wow, what happened to March?  I got behind on my bees, but I'm caught up again!  Here are the blocks for this month:

Blocks for Bee Inspired:



Blocks for Around the block:




Close up of my favorite... a star within a star!  Can you see it?



Also, I got all my blocks from my Around the Block gals!  Here are all the blocks together.  Trying to decide if I want sashing or not!  What do you think?

Hello 2010!

Oh my poor neglected blog!  I hope you forgive me... I'll give you lots of photos!  I have been really busy, but I have been sewing!  I knitted a  blanket for Chris' parents, and my sister and I sewed placemats and napkins for my mom.  Both were very well received. 

Lucy made it through Christmas with minimal torture from her human parents and received lots of toys and kisses.  Lets just say she was pooped.

      

I've also been sewing all the quilting bee blocks:



But perhaps most exciting of all, Chris' mom's friend's friend had an unfinished cathedral window quilt that needed a home, and I am the lucky one who received the box!  Look at all these goodies:



Recently I have been trying to catch up on my Green Tea and Sweet Beans block of the month.  I will update with photos of those blocks soon!

It's starting to get cold!

I guess it's officially summer still, but last night I had to get an extra quilt to put on top of my summer comforter. I think it's abnormal September weather for California, but oh well. We got a new king sized bed this past weekend, and it's fantastic! Unfortunately all my quilts are now tiny. I think I'll be requesting big blocks from my quilting bees!

I have finished a few more blocks for my quilting bees for this month. Here is the second block for September for Around the Block:

Unfortunately I ran out of blue, so the block is rushing back to Australia to be finished by a very nice and very understanding Helen. You should check out some of the other houses that are showing up in the pool... they are AMAZING.

For bee inspired, here are my blocks for Karla. This was my first try at disappearing nine patches, and they're pretty fun! I think I prefer regular nine patches, but these were fun anyway. I think they are very striking with the fabric and Karla is going to have a fantastic quilt.



And sadly, my last set of blocks for Chaletgirl Blockswap! It's strange to see that I'm done... now I just have to put my own quilt together. Sheridan, thank you thank you thank you for organizing this swap, it has been so fun!



So lets see, that brings me down to 2 quilting bees and one block of the month (post to come soon!)

Bee Inspired: August

Krista is/was moving, so she sent out her fabrics early. They aren't due until September, but I finished my block before July ended! She mailed everyone black and another color.

I have never made a whirlygig block before, but they're fun! I didn't want to mess with paper piecing or templates, so I drew out my plans and figured out how to machine piece it from there. The numbers turned out pretty nicely, I started with a 2"x2.5" rectangle and drew a line 1/4" from each side of the center. The littlest squares in there are 2" unfinished, and the entire block is 12.5" unfinished.

I think I like whirlygigs because the remind me of M.C. Escher.

Swaps for July

I'm all caught up on my swaps!

These blocks are for the Chaletgirl Blockswap:

Love Lara's fabric. Very easy to match, and so happy to use my Kaffe to match hers!

Blocks for Loulou. I'm not so good with pink, mostly because my stash doesn't have too much of it. But I think these worked out ok.

These blocks are for bee inspired. I can't believe we've already completed 5 months!

Blocks for Barb. I LOVE the fabrics she chose. She's planning on doing a wonky bento box quilt.

Blocks for John. Made from this pattern. It's going to be GORGEOUS!

Lastly, my blocks for the Three by Three swap:

Not sure how much I like these. I tried to keep with my theme of aqua and another color (seen here for May and June), but these were a bit off. At least they're the correct size! I measured each and every one.

And here are the blocks I received for June. I am getting excited to put this quilt together. It's going to be all sorts of random and crazy!

Mendocino Dress... at last!

Everyone on alert? A finished project!

I have seen this dress around the blog world, and I am so happy I am finally done. I confess, this dress gave me fits at first. It was my first time working with elastic thread. I got the thread to scrunch up, but not nearly enough. I was so frustrated that I put the dress aside for months (10, actually). In the super hot weather, I decided I wanted to finish it. I have been reading tips online so I was ready. My problem? It might have been the actual thread (I switched brands), but the main culprit was definitely that I was using too small a stitch. I had used the smallest stitch, but all the tips say use the longest stitch! It worked like a charm. Also, Heather Ross notes that it shrinks even more when you pass a steam iron over it because the elastic thread shrinks. In any case, it works now!

I need to add straps, but I already wore it for a bbq last weekend. It's fun, fast, comfortable... I didn't actually use Heather's pattern, I just took a rectangle and shirred the top. I'm sure her pattern would have helped with the pregnant look. The fabric is a sarong from Indonesia.


I also finished up my nine-block swaps, both for the Chaletgirl Block Swap and Three by Three. I think after I'm done with these my nine block obsession will be satiated.

Please notice that Nerdy Lucy has no ears!

Bee Inspired!

Alright, it has been a LOOONG time since I've posted. I have an excuse though.. I haven't really done anything! I have finished these two blocks for bee inspired. That's about it.

Oh I did go to Boston to visit some friends. SO fun. And I think I was full for the entire week after we got back. They also took us to Rhode Island, which is gorgeous.

Hurray!

Oh and in wedding news, we decided to postpone the wedding another year so I will be done with my masters degree. And can be the best bridezilla I can be! Just kidding. Maybe.

Hopefully some crafting soon!

Quilting Bee Updates

I made another block for the Bee Inspired Quilting Bee. This one is for Dianah, who is making a quilt of vacation homes. This one was different from the rest of the blocks I've made because she supplied us with a pattern and the fabric. I think the houses will be cute together. She sent me a striped brown fabric and a leafy fabric, so I imagine this vacation home is a log cabin with a thatched roof.

Also, I am going to be sending out my fabric for Chaletgirl's Block Swap today. This is the nine patch swap that I mentioned before. I am using Anna Maria Horner's Fortune in Sea, from her Good Folks line. There is something that I really like about this line of fabric. I think it will make interesting nine-patches, as it is a pretty large print.

I am so excited for these swaps! Hurray!

Quilting Bee Blocks

So I am now part of three quilting bees. How fun. These are nice because they get me to the sewing machine, even if I'm in a sewing rut.

Common Threads blocks:

I'm super excited, next month is my month! I bought my fabric so long ago, it will be a bit of a surprise for me too.

And my bee inspired block:

This block was fun to make. Rachel asked for pinwheels. This block seemed huge after all those Dear Jane blocks I have been making!