Needles and Pens

My sisters asked what I wanted to do for our birthday weekend get-together, and I said, "Sew. And drink wine." So that's what we did! We spent the weekend together and finished this little recycled blue jean quilt. The back is all blue camouflage/wildlife print flannel: (Incidentally, we also finished three bottles of wine. lol) It's a big accomplishment for us to finish a weekend project, because around here, you never know how your plans will change, or who's going to stop by next. I think we did a pretty good job of "going with the flow." Much of the weekend was spent holding/rocking/feeding/enjoying my great-niece, Ciara, and my grandson, Mason -- such adorable babies! All in all, a fun and productive and tiring weekend! It's Monday evening now, and I'm just getting started on my to-do list for the week: My fabric order arrived today. Good timing! First up, finish the lavender/white custom order ragtime quilt. Finish green/mus...

Yes, he is finally here! Our baby grandson, Mason Mitchell, was born on Wednesday, September 26, at 10:32 a.m., a beautiful, healthy, nine pound, 4 ounce bundle of joy. Mama and baby are home from the hospital and doing well. We're all so happy the waiting is over. He is so precious! Just like his big brother, Aaron, so proud of his baby brother. And I am SO proud of him. :o) Yes, I am one happy Mom and Grandma. Here's the quilt I made for Mason, which has been all hush-hush until now. I wanted to do something extra special with this quilt, so I had it longarm quilted by Marcia Wachuta from Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting . She did a beautiful job with the swirls and hearts. I love it! I'm going to free-motion quilt like this someday... I couldn't wait to get the binding on so I could get it washed and see it in all it's crinkly goodness. I finished a baby quilt for my niece the same week, so I had to take a shot of the cous...

Another week has passed and I still don't have a new grandbaby to brag about. Darnit! My poor daughter is two days away from her due date and feels like she's about to burst. Hang in there, baby. It can't be long now! Meanwhile, t-shirts are ready for baby's big brother and sister when the big day arrives (iron-on embroidered letters)... we are beyond prepared. LoL Last week I mentioned how I had fallen in love with a certain CQUSA mystery quilt , and made three in a row using the same pattern. Well now I can share the second of the three -- this was the original "mystery quilt." Starting out, I knew only that I wanted to make a baby girl quilt for my niece's baby shower (she's expecting in November), and that if I used half the number of fabrics called for, I'd get closer to baby quilt size. Here are the fabrics I chose, six fat quarters and Kona white for the sashing: After cutting, the first step was to make these little 8-1/2...

Slowly getting back into the sewing groove now that fall is underway, and here is a picture of my latest finish... A cuddly heart quilt for this little cutie, my newest great-niece, Nora... I thought it would be fun to use leftover pink bits from her cousin Amber's quilt and cousin Zoe's quilt to make all the pink hearts, so they would all tie in a little bit. (Nora's mom is an interior designer and recently shared pics of Nora's nursery on her blog, Decorator in a Box . Check it out... do you think the new quilt will fit in?) And just for fun (and to keep my motivation rolling), I finished this little tote bag the other day for my grandson, made from a panel I won in a "Get 'er Done" Challenge drawing... Just perfect for overnights at Grandmas! :o)

Yesterday I attended a baby shower for one of my daughter's school friends, and as I looked around this room full of kids (who are no longer kids), I couldn't help thinking... where does the time go? I remember so many of them as giggling little girls not so long ago, and yet here they are, all grown up, working, going to college, starting families... They say that time marches on -- but sometimes it seems more like a sprint. Mommy-and-Daddy-to-be Pinwheel Quilt for Baby (who is coming in March!) Best wishes, Katie! I cannot wait to see your little boy. He will be such a blessing to you, and though there will be good days and bad days, he will bring you more joy than you could ever imagine. ;o)

Due to my lack of time for blogging this year, there were a number of quilt projects I never got around to sharing, so I thought I'd show them off in one last post for 2010. These were some of my favorites, too, because each was a celebration of a special little one in my life: July 2010 -- A Disappearing Four-Patch in pink and brown polka dots Made for precious baby Shyla, the new granddaughter of a dear friend of mine. September 2010 -- Woodland Four-Patch (with more polka dots!) Made for adorable baby Reid, my newest great-nephew. October 2010 -- A 1930's Patch Quilt Made for beautiful baby Zoe, my newest great-niece. And last but not least, October 2010 -- A Picture Play I-Spy Quilt For my sweet, sweet grandson, Aaron, who turned two years old this year. May we all be so richly blessed in 2011. Happy New Year!!

I haven't written a blog post since January? Wow. I can't believe how time flies since I started my new job. There just aren't enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do, not to mention what I have to do. Not that there ever were enough hours, but there are a whole lot less now. Funny how my "part-time" job has become more and more "full-time" as I've gone along. Still, I have squeezed in some sewing time here and there. It's almost a necessity when you're surrounded by fabric all day, talking to people who have fun, creative projects going on at their house. It's more than a little contagious. So this is what I've been working on since... January. (Still can't believe it's been that long.) A Noah's Ark Disappearing Nine-Patch baby quilt for a friend at our church, who recently had a beautiful baby girl... With my first attempt at a pieced quilt back... And another scrappy Fun with Bricks baby quilt for my h...

This past week, my great-niece, Sophia, turned one year old. I'd like to know, where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday I was making her baby quilt . We went to her birthday party over the weekend, and at the very last minute, I decided to make a grab ball to go along with the clothes I had picked out for her. (Just when I thought it was going to be a sew-free week! LoL) The free pattern can be found at About.com . Here are a few pictures from the party. The birthday girl... such a little cutie! Aaron getting reacquainted with his cousin... he's already her size! Sophia, enjoying her cake! LoL They have a nice playground at my nephew's apartment complex, so Aaron also got to have his first playground outing. (My sister, Jan, knitted him this sweater -- so cute!) He wasn't quite sure what to think, but it was nice being able to go out in the sunshine and fresh air... We all had a great day, visiting with family and friends and seeing how these little ones h...