bad news, good news

The bad news is my sweet little quilt didn't get picked for an online feature. I'm somewhat disappointed, but I know that I will have something to share soon enough. The good news is that I've listed this beauty in my etsy shop. This was entirely my design and I really love the way it turned out. So much so, that I will be writing this into pattern form and that too will be in my etsy shop.

sunday snapshot

It has been a busy weekend around here. My new washer and dryer were delivered Saturday afternoon and I've been giving them (and myself) quite the workout. It's so great to be able to get so much done so quickly!

Finally tonight I was able to spend a little time basting a quilt. It's all ready to go onto the machine in the morning.
How was your weekend?

what's new?

It has been a fairly busy week here. I have a new quilt top complete. I wish I could share it with you, but I have submitted it for consideration for a Moda Bakeshop feature and am waiting to hear back. I'm not 100% sure what the 'rules' are about that, but I don't think I should feature here until I know if I've been selected.

I did some shopping today at my local Joann store. I received a 25% off entire purchase coupon valid this weekend and wanted to go pick up a few things. I was presently surprised that Kona solids were already 40% off, so with the coupon, it brought the price down to $3.15 per yard. That is way too good to pass up and I use so much white, that I decided to stock up. But now that I'm thinking about it, I probably didn't buy enough. Maybe I'll stop back by later this weekend to get a little more.

In other big news, my husband surprised me yesterday by purchasing a new washer & dryer set. They will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I have already sold our existing set on Craigslist and a sweet girl who is just a year out of college is the proud new owner. There were lots of dust bunnies in there, so I've got some cleaning to do before the new ones are set up tomorrow. I'm really excited about this!!

It looks to be a fairly cold & rainy weekend here, so when I'm not slaving over the laundry, I plan to get some sewing done. Lots of projects on deck, I've just got to jump in. Hopefully I will have some photos to share with you tomorrow.

quiet day

It has been kind of quiet around here today. We celebrated my husband's birthday over the weekend and through Monday, so I guess I was just a little tuckered out from all that. I spent a little time this morning working on a new quilt. Not sure when I will be able to share it with you, though.

I've really been trying to make a conscious effort to blog everyday this month. So far, I've been good about it, but it's days like these, when I would normally not post anything that have turned into lengthy absences from my blog. So, I'm posting anyway, even though I don't have much to say other than hello, and thank you for taking time out of your day to visit.

today i...

-finished four hot pads
-facebooked
-felt chilly
-started a fire in the fireplace
-petted my dogs
-dropped nine (yes, nine) eggs on the kitchen floor
-cleaned the kitchen floor
-bought a birthday present
-set out balloons and birthday cards for my husband
-grabbed the paper from the curb
-sifted through the coupons
-cooked breakfast
-watched tv
-took pictures of hot pads
-edited photos
-listed hot pads on etsy
-dropped a whisk on my foot
-felt pain
-failed at making cream cheese icing
-called my friend royce
-removed winter shrink wrap from windows
-scrubbed window screens
-washed windows
-put up window screens
-felt hot
-felt tired
-succeeded at making cream cheese icing
-iced a red velvet cake
-cut my husband's hair
-fed the dogs
-took a shower
-treated my husband to birthday dinner out
-put on my pjs
-had some cake and ice cream
-watched a little more tv
-posted this list

what did you do today?

keepin' it real

a few more

It's another gloriously beautiful day here in Music City! I took advantage of the warm sunshine earlier today to snap a few more photos for my etsy listing. Hope you are enjoying nice weather today too!

pretty as a picture

After a whole lotta messing around, I was finally able to get a few (or, 97) photos of my quilt. As I mentioned previously, I am listing this beauty in my Etsy Shop and needed some great shots.

Out of the dozens I took, these are the three best. It was getting late in the day, so I was fighting with sunlight that would be harsh one minute and grayish the next. I will try again tomorrow, but these have given me enough to at least get the item listed on Etsy.

So, if you've had your eye on this quilt, be a dear and buy it. It will be all yours, you just gotta go get it, right here.

finishing touch

Tonight, I put the binding on my lovely stacked coins quilt. Forgive me for the blurry photo, not enough light this late for a good pic. I am so excited to have this quilt finished. Tomorrow I will take her outside for a photoshoot, then she will be the first, of what I hope to be many products in my etsy shop. I love this quilt so much and a part of me is sad to think of selling it, but for financial reasons I really can't keep it. I've got to thank my friend Royce for pushing me to use the pink binding instead of white. It really is the perfect finishing touch.

Please be sure to come back tomorrow to see her in all her glory!

wordless wednesday

just like big john's beans and fixin's

Pardon me while I take a brief break from quilting-related posts to bring you a recipe for a delicious side-dish. I grew up enjoying Big John's Beans and Fixin's with burgers and hot dogs. They were a staple in our house. This brand of beans has been discontinued and is no longer available in stores. I've been trying to reformulate that taste with other ingredients for a number of years and this past weekend, I think I finally got it right. So, without further ado...

Ingredients:
28 oz. can Baked Beans
6 oz. can Tomato Paste
2/3 C Dark Brown Sugar
3T Worcestershire Sauce
1C Diced Onion
1t Kosher Salt
1/2 t Black Pepper
4 pcs Thin Sliced Bacon

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except bacon in a large mixing bowl, mix well. Spray a 9x9 non-metallic baking dish with non-stick spray. Pour bean mixture into baking dish and top with bacon slices. Bake in 350 degree oven for 90 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

giveaways!

Want some free fabric? Be sure to check out these great giveawayshappening in blogland:

Enter to win a free charm pack of a not-yet-released line from Robert Kaufman Fabrics at:

Jaybird Quilts

Enter to win SIX yards of your choice of Bella Solids, courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop at:

p.s. i quilt

Good Luck!

quick makeover

I posted a few weeks ago about a new pattern I purchased from Vanessa at V&Co. It's the Houndstooth Quilt and it has been occupying my thoughts lately. I have a few larger projects on my mind, so I thought something quick would be just the right thing for today.

We've been in desperate need of some new pillows for the living room and these are just the right touch to freshen things up. Now, if only my husband can keep the sofa looking so neat.... yeah, right!

What did you do today?

making progress

My stacked coins quilt is coming along. I finally finished all the quilting today. It has now been trimmed down, and the edges have been stitched with a loose zigzag. Now, it's time for binding... one of my favorite parts (really it is). I think I've decided to use a white binding, but then again, there is still time to change my mind.

Hope you have had a wonderful day. Don't forget to spring forward tonight!!

the start of something big

Almost eight months ago, I designed a quilt to be used in our master bedroom. It uses drunkard's path blocks...172 of them. I chose Pure by Sweetwater for the fabric and I purchased it about six months ago. I was very busy last fall finishing my gift quilts, but that big stack of fabric has been calling me. Last night I finally answered.

The pieces have all been cut (thank you Go! cutter) and now the real work must begin. I've armed myself with a Curve Master foot, but I think I am going to have to practice ALOT before I can sew the good stuff pin-free with any confidence. I'm counting on you guys to keep me motivated and on track with this WIP.

a little birdie...

--this giveaway is now closed--

... is having a giveaway. Fly on over to JaybirdQuilts and enter the giveaway sponsored by:

wordless wednesday

the thing about f.a.r.t.s

I am back home tonight after a quick trip to visit my family. I grew up in Golconda, Illinois, which is a sleepy little town overlooking the Ohio River. It also happens to be just a quick 30 minute drive to Paducah, Kentucky. Yesterday morning was cold, rainy and gloomy. It was the perfect day for a f.a.r.t.

I suppose I should probably explain what a f.a.r.t. is... before you quit following my blog. Fabric Acquiring Road Trips are a great way to spend a few hours, but they can be dangerous when you are trying to stick with a budget!

My mom walking into the store. Isn't she cute?!?!

So yesterday, I suggested to my mom that we take a quick trip to Hancock's of Paducah. I grew up shopping there, so I suppose you could say most fabric shops are a bit of a disappointment to me. We spent a little more than an hour picking out what we wanted to purchase. I restrained myself, and limited myself to about 10 yards, which included my favorite red dot from Bliss, some cute red, yellow and green stripes from Punctuation and a three different Bella solids.

My new stash. All kinds of lovely!

eye candy

I love houndstooth and just last week I was thinking about how to design a quilt pattern to create houndstooth. Imagine my delight when I stumbled across this beauty last night. I'm giddy just thinking about all the lovely quilts I'm going to make with this. If you love it too, you can get a digital copy for yourself (only $7.50) right here.

quilting around

Our kitchen table is round and 50" in diameter. It's also white. I love white tables, but I had never owned one before, so I didn't really think through the perils that would come along with a white table when I bought it a few years ago. I just knew that it met some important criteria.... it was round, it was white, it was exactly my style, and it was pub height (36").

I'm not really a table clothkind of girl, which is interesting because growing up, my mom always had some sort of tablecloth on the kitchen table (we weren't fancy enough to have a dining room). I do like placemats, but they are kind of difficult on a round table. Imagine my delight when I saw a free (bonus!) pattern from Moda for a 50" round quilt. It's made using an incredible wedge ruler and although it looks complicated, it is really so, so easy.

Round Tabletopper featuring Sunkissed by Sweetwater. This photo was taken prior to quilting & binding.

Last week I completed my third round table topper quilt. It's a perfect fit for our table and I like having it in place all the time. The previous versions were Halloween and Fall fabrics. I wanted something that would work well for Spring and well into Summer. It's a welcome reminder of the sunshiney days that are just ahead.