Complete: Blingerbrewster Quilt

While visiting Wilmington last week I finished another quilt too. Its the one my machine stopped on and is one of my favorites so far. I used a mix of fabrics including Amy Butler, Michael Miller and some freespirit fabrics. I pieced random fabrics for the binding and I kinda like the miss-matchyness of it! I love the way I quilted it! I think it worked with the white but im not sure it would work with everything.

The backing is a fabric I really loved at Joanns. Typically I dont like to mix designer fabrics with Joanns but they went with the "bird" theme and I liked it!

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Complete: Bulser Quilt

I finished the grey quilt I posted about last. I'm going to name it Bulser Quilt. Because the last name of the new baby getting it is Sulser and its a baby. :) And in my group of friends we like to do that for some reason. It works. How was Bercer sound? ehhh I'm not too fond of it. Anyway, here it is:

I ended up not particularly caring for this. Im not a fan of the way I quilted it but oh well, im experimenting.

Its also WAY too tiny for my liking

My favorite thing about it is the backing which is from an Amy Butler line... I think Midwest Modern. They main fabric line was the Deer Valley and the sashing color was a grey from Kona Cotton. Its my new favorite and I loved it as soon as I saw it.

I didn't follow a pattern per say but I used this photo as inspiration.

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2 quilts and a birdy

Goodness. At the beginning of this year I did not anticipate being as busy as I have been. I am blessed to have found something I'm good at. I think the best part is that other people agree! Its a little crazy. Anyway, because of that my whole 365 crafts in a year most likely wont happen. Especially if I keep making all these quilts for other people! Now that my sewing machine is fixed and beautiful again Ive been working a bit here and there at some super cute quilts.

This first quilt is obviously not done yet. Just the top. Im trying to decide if I want to add a grey sash around the edges to make it a little bigger. Its a bit smaller than I would like but hey, its for a baby its supposed to be tiny. What do you think? I think I need to start working on piecing in more straight lines so in the end the quilt will look more put together. I'm getting better but I think in the end I just need to be a more precise cutter and im not.

Also, said baby doesn't know if shes a boy or a girl so that's why its gender neutral. I'm not a fan of yellows and greens and stuff but I figured this works.

This next one was the quilt my machine broke on. :( Well its finally quilted and I think I might bind it tonight so its not quite finished yet. Also, I know this is a terrible photo but I waited until late to take a photo of it.



Today I was outside. Wow! Right there I should stop. It sure is hot out there. I miss being in Pensacola. That way on the humid days you can go to the beach but here.. there isnt much to get away from the humidity. Anyway, I was taking out the trash (Oh! That makes more sense) and I saw the cutest little birdy on a weed. Yes that thing its sitting in is a weed growing in my flower garden that desperately needs to be weeded. Oh well.  This little guy was awesome and oh so still. I shot all these with my 50mm, he let me get that close!

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Bzzzzzzzzz the bee is still going

Terrible news. My sewing machine is broken. Of course it broke when I actually had time to sew too. Doesn't the sewing gods know that I have a nephew popping out in August! And friends are having babies all summer! BAH! Ive also been a terrible blogger and crafter lately. I have done a few things here and there but its mainly been for the quilting bee Im participating in. But even that has been rough to keep up with. Its crazy how busy I have been with my photography business. I am really blessed to be able to do something that I love. It is am amazing feeling that I can imagine some people never even get to experience. I already have an idea for my nephews quilt I just need to get a few more "manly" fabrics for it. I think Im going to go with a brown blue and green theme and keep it simple and just randomly piece it square like. Here is are a few of my most recent blocks for the bee that I have done.

This was my first time working with batiks and I kinda like them. Perhaps one day Ill do something for me with them.





Lets hope my sewing machine is an easy fix and fixed soon.  :) Im itching to get crafty.

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Baby Christopher's Quilt

Oh man has it been a while. That's not to say I haven't been crafting. I have been just barely here and there. Wedding/busy season is now in full swing but Ive managed to crank out a few things so far. February was my month in the quilting bee and Ive received all my blocks and i'm excited about putting them all together. Ive pieced one quilt top and I just need to quilt it now. Its a present so I can post it yet. But I have finished one quilt for my friend Ashley. She's having a baby boy in late May and I wanted to make her something. She's a crafty person too so I was a bit nervous especially trying this new pattern. It was ok. I wasn't really a fan of it but I think the quilt turned out alright. Maybe Ill try it again. Ive been collecting the Mendocino line and I love all the zigzag quilts i've seen from that so far. What do you think?

My favorite was the binding. I love it!

Obviously I took this in a hurry and needed some way of holding it up. It worked.

I used two fabric lines here but they are both by David Harry for Freespirit. One was Robots and the other was the jungle animals and transportation. As soon as I saw this fabric I thought of Phillip mainly and I figured Ashley would like it as well.

Isnt this fabric the cutest thing you've ever seen? Its from IKEA. I love that place!

Yay. Ill try and update more often.

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Dress Pattern!

Ive decided what Ill do with the Valentines day fabric and it sadly doesn't include my "vintage valentines" fabric. Im going to make it strippy! Everything has been cut and I think ill end up finishing the top tonight.



These are the fabric im going to use.


I went shopping at Joanns yesterday. Spent a little bit of money. But, I found fabric for a few friends to continue their Christmas presents. Guess who these fabrics are for?


One of my projects this year was going to make a dress for myself. So I broke down and bought a pattern. I think im going to try and make the blue one at the bottom. I love the collar and the bow in the front!


Ill do it all in one color though. I loved this fabric too much and I couldnt find anything that worked for me.

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busy busy busy

Ive been busy making Christmas presents.


What! Making Christmas presents. I know.. im a little early but hey! might as well be done more quick than hurrying the last few weeks. Im not done with any of them yet. I need to take a trip to Joanns for a few more finishing goodies. Since they are presents I cant take any photos yet.. :(


I did finally finish my 2 blocks for the quilting bee though. Im happy with one and not so much with the other.

Happy


Not so happy

I ran out of the blue to finish edging it in. I think perhaps if I could have finished it maybe I would like it more.

Next on the cutting board is this fun Valentines fabric!

Its going to be a table runner. My problem is.. I want to include this fabric in with it.



But I think its too red.. and not poppy in color. hmmmm. ideas?

These are my favorite 3 fabrics from the Valentines day line I have.

They remind me of my best friend Alex. This is something she would draw. :)

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day 8-11: Soiree Quilt- Check

I bet you thought I had given up didn't you? I didn't Ive been busy. Busy with other things and I haven't been able to sew or anything until late in the night and by then the photo taking is no good. Last weekend was pretty busy. I don't remember what I did but I was worn out and not feeling so well.

I did make some progress on some sewing things though. I binded a quilt ive been working on since before Neil left on deployment. Its only my second one. The pattern I used was from Moda bakeshop. Have you seen their tutorials. Some are pretty fantastic. This quilt seemed quite easy for a beginner. I used 2 of Moda's Soire charm packs and white Kona cotton solid on the sashing. I forget what lines I backed it in. I really like the back although I don't have any photos for you to see now. Later on when I have Neil helping me I will. I ended up using the same line as it is in the tutorial so just assume it looks a lot like the one shown until I can get a better photo.



The binding matched perfectly and its from Michael Miller's soire line. Odd that that are both from a "soire" line and look a lot alike. Anyway, like I said this was my second quilt ever and boy did that binding give me a rough time. I did it a completely different way last time and it looked like crap in my opinion. :/ So it took me one day to actually get it on right and I had to rip it up a few times to get it on straight. Ughhhhhh. Then last night I finished it by hand sewing the back of the binding on. Its a bit wonky in spots but I don't think it looks too bad. Plus, it was good practice. And hey, I'm done with it. I'm not sure who will be the recipient but two of my family members are preggers and neither one know what they are having so I guess if either one of them are having a girl then its for them. :)



I started working on Katie's blocks for the quilting bee while I was frustrated with my binding. I like the one I have started I just need to get it finished and then do another. Once they are through Ill put up some photos of them.

Sometime last week I was meandering around TJMAXX and I stumbled upon this little bit of awesomeness. I have just read a blog about how Sublime Stitches no longer carries it and the only way I get my greedy little nibs on a copy is to buy one from a store and who knows how many are left out there. Well I practically stole this for a whopping 3.99! Wahooooooo! It really made my day.


Yesterday I had a newborn session with the cutest little guy in the world. His mom also rocked my socks. She had a ton of ideas and we rocked them. Anyway to get to my point I came home to some awesome new fabrics!! I signed up for the monthly stash building club at fabfanatics.com and this months "theme" was Free Spirit. Next month is Amy Butler and March is Heather Bailey. I'm really hoping that the only fabrics I get from the Heather Bailey month is Nicey Jane. I'm so in love with that fabric. Hey, my birthday is coming up? If you're going to get me something Id love 2 yards of each print. Thank you :)

Oddly enough from this lot I already had three of the fabrics. :) But I did get two from nicey jane!

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Day 6 & 7: Pillow- Check!

Look at what I finished today!



Isn't is awesome!

Today I put some embroidery on the back panel


I like it.

Im very happy to be done and it is my first real thing I have finished so far. I am counting the embroidery as a project in itself so technically its my first and second finished product.

Ive had quite the busy week. Busy doing random stuff though.

I dont think I ever posted about my new years resolution(s)...
I figured it might be nice to make a list that way at the end of the year I can see how I did. Here goes.

1) Not to drink soda pop again this year (last years old resolution)
2) Cook at least 10 things a month
3) Read at least 5 books, rereading the Twilight saga doesn't cut it. :(
4) Obviously the crafts, hopefully 365 in the end.
5) Shoot 15 weddings, I have 5 booked now I just need to find 10 more. Any takers?
6) Shoot a model once a month. I'm no good when it comes to models, mainly because I don't know strobes the way I want to. Because of that it makes me think I'm less of a photographer. I know that sounds silly but I'm going to try. Ive already got January's lined up for when I'm in Orlando later on in the month.
7) Ill also try to clean more but im not having that be a resolution
8) get creative with my 52 weeks I started today. You should check it out in a few weeks. I have a few awesome ideas.

I think that's it. I know its a lot. But if you don't set goals how are you do push yourself? hah, I originally wrote that as "punch yourself." I know I probably wont do it all especially once Neil is deployed again(the cooking part) but Ill try!


Oh yeah, check out these sweet pjs I found at Target :)

Neil's call sign is Gnome so Ive been collecting "gnomey" things ever since.

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Day 4 & 5: thrift shop yummies

Yesterday I had to go to court because I got a ticket back in October. In NC when you get a speeding ticket you either pay the full amount, hire a lawyer or go to court yourself. Figures I would get a ticket 3 hours away from my house now. Ugh. So, I got up at 4:30am and made the trek on over to Beaufort, NC. Turns out all you really have to do it show up, stand in line for a few minutes and when you reach the lady she asks, "do you want this lowered?" I wonder if anyone ever says "No, I totally deserve this amount." She didnt lower it too much but I guess it paid for my gas out there and back. Since I was out there and I had all day to do nothing I decided to get a few geocaches. I went around to a few Neil and I had tried to find previously and still had no luck. I did end up finding 3 or 4 we hadnt tried though. I even saw my first OTHER geogacher out and about. Neither of us could find it. :( Do you geocache? Find us here. We are Team Awesome-o.

After that most of the thrift stores were opened and I know I havent posted here enough for you to understand how much I love them but I most certainly do. I went to a few and they were kinda ehh. I did happen to see a quilt shop right on main street and I got all excited and then of course they are closed since its a Monday. Why are all quilt shops closed on Mondays? Its crazy annoying. Anyway, I got a few super cute things. I was in the Christmas spirit...




I got a few other assorted Christmas items as well including at least 100 gift tags and cute ceramic mouses.

I also got this big bag of buttons for 50cents


And this milk glass bowl


I absolutely love me some milk glass. There is just something so beautiful about it. Its classic and gorgeous.

I found a few sweaters for myself and Neil and these super sweet vintage pillowcases

Im not sure why Im all about the 70s recently. Its kinda weird.

Anyway, it was a great day. It ended with me finally deciding to go with 9block squares and I was sewing away. I did the same today. Half the top of the runner is done but I had to put it down for today. And I dont want to bore you with photos of the same thing over and over so I opted out of a photo today.

Hopefully in the next few days Ill get to something more colorful!

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