Quilting-along

So far I've made it through week 3 over at Old Red Barn Co. It's been interesting watching my fabric choices pan out. Hold your breath GA fans. This quilt is for the hubs (I figure if I screw up the GA Tech one during my "learning curve" it will only make my UGA themed quilt better :) Seriously - I hope this turns out because I am busting my behind to keep up with the weeks with all the hullaballoo going on around this house. 11 weeks to go til Baby arrives!!

Behold weeks 1-3.

Pick out your fabric.

Cut it all up.

Sew it all back together in random order and cut again.

All ready to lay out and assemble. Go look at everyone's progress on Flickr. It's so inspiring! Now just gotta find binding and backing. (Man, I want that sewing machine!)

Milestone: My First Blog Quilt-Along

I joined a Quilt-Along over at Old Red Barn Co. Why might you ask? Um, because she is totally giving away a sewing machine! And I totally want a new one! And I am just that dedicated to join a quilt-along just so I can win a free one - because I'm trying to be frugal (read: a cheapskate). Honest-to-blog though, this will be a great experience with a group to answer questions and be supportive during this learning process. I am PUMPED!



I've been blog-stalking some amazing quilters since I started the projects for the nursery. And these aren't your grandma's quilts - these are hip and retro and chic and modern. Really, the end product is anything the desinger wants it to be. It is truly a craft that I have been tinkering around but not dedicated to. Maybe this will get my gears going and I'll learn some along the way. (Not to mention I haven't "quilted" any of the blankets I've made so far so this will challenge me to learn at least that.)

Wish me luck. I am off to find fabric. Hopefully this will be a blanket for the baby's stuff at my mom's house. With any luck - it will go well and the maw-in-law will get one too! (I had to join Flickr to enter so you can check out the progress over there!)

The one where the razor attacked me...

This little shower gift was suggested to me by a friend. She had one and it was SUPER cute - and didn't look that hard to make. And it wasn't - once I figured out what I was doing. Note to self: take a picture of the prototype to go by while crafting. I am extremely happy with the way it turned out though (after the trials and errors). Behold, the fancy-fied wipey travel case for baby mamas.



I bought 1 fabric quarter ($0.99), some ric-rac ($1.99) and a wipey travel case ($2.99).
1. Cut the fabric quarter down to the relative size of the case. Do the same with some quilt batting (I already had on hand).
2. Place the batting on the case, laying the fabric on top. Starting at the clasp (but being careful to avoid both it and the edges) start gluing the fabric down, matching the edge of the fabric to edge of the case.
3. Glue all the way around. Clip the fabric to accommodate the hinge - gluing toward the hinge but never on the hinge. The fabric will hold itself in place back there.
4. Once you finish this, the batting should have made the case feel a little plush to the touch. Close the case to make sure you there isn't glue preventing it from functioning. (This is where I went wrong, thus pulling out the razor blade to scrape off my mistakes - and incurring some minor, but cumbersome, injuries).
5. Take your ric-rac (or border of your choice) and start gluing from the edge of the hinge, around the the front - laying it along the edge of the fabric to hide the not-so-pretty raw edge. Continue around the case until all is bordered and looking fabulous.

And Wah-lah. A travel baby case - that didn't cost alot, is super-cute, super-functional, and a great shower gift. Add a pack of wipes to start baby-mama off and you are done. It really will be an easy gift now that I know what I'm doing.... but we learn from our mistakes, right?

Happy Weekend!

I got a little side-tracked...

This weekend I got a little side tracked. My grandfather is in the hospital recovering from a stroke - so I made him a photo quilt instead of making NICU isolette covers. He needed something to keep his spirits up and that became my priorty. And we think the Rehab nurses will be able to use it to work on his speak, saying our names - little bit of a motivational tool. I couldn't resist. You understand. (pics soon)

So - here is the pattern my buddy and I developed for the OmniBed isolette (translation: Cadillac of the isolette; amazing life protecting machine). If it works, I'll post it in its entirety for anyone interested.

We are going to the fabric store TODAY so I can at least make a mock-up tonight and take it to the NICU for a trial run tomorrow. I've got to get back on track.

Here are the two original covers. They were made from a pattern we found for the Step-Down isolettes (translation: I'm-getting-closer-to-going-home Bed; still very awesome in action). Good Luck our little twins. Lots of people are praying for you!

One for the Recipe Books...

Ok, I was so excited about this I felt it necessary to post twice in one day. I know - it's momentous, so bare with me.

This very evening- I tried a new recipe. Bracing myself against Hubby's uncertain glares into the baking dish, I plated and our dinner began. What happened next was unprecedented. Lo' and behold, my hubby enjoyed it! In fact, he couldn't stop saying how much he LOVED IT! Yes - you read right.... loved it. He even made the comment "You can put this one on the list of things to cook again."

I love to try new and different things, but Hub is a meat-and-potatoes kinda guy. Knowing that Apple Pork Chops with Stuffing would be a stretch, my need for some fall flavored food led me to cook it anyway. And the reward was AMAZING. Cooking is not my strong point, so when we both like something - it is a HUGE plus. Thanks Hub for making my endeavor that much more special!

*Click Link for Recipe!

Jam Up!

Last night Hubs and I decided we were going to try and make our own blueberry jelly. (Thats right, jelly, not jam). We have all these fresh picked blueberries from our backyard - and since you can only eat so many blueberry cobblers and dump cakes - we decided to do something different.

Thus commenced the bluberry smashing madness in our kitchen. My hands are stained from straining blueberry pulp through panthose just to get 3 cups of juice. Nonetheless - we followed the directions to the T and are waiting on the 24 hour set period to end. As of right now, sadly, the concoction has not "jelly-fied". Maybe be 7pm we will be eating blueberry jelly on toast - we'll just have to wait and see.

But I LOVE trying new things like this with my hubby. Even when it doesn't work out right - at least we gave it our best shot. In fact, we've enjoyed blueberry season so much that we are planning to plant our own garden this fall. Self-sustaining here we come!

Maybe next time, Paris...

So, we cancelled our trip to France due to the hubby's immobility and succession of doc appointments. 

I think there is a bad omen surrounding our little trip anyway. A friend we were traveling with busted one of his front teeth yesterday. (They are departing tomorrow - what timing.) At the dentist this morning, he and his wife were advised to cancel the trip because the tooth was cracked. However, The Second-Opinion-Dentist did a temporary fix and told them to enjoy France. See ya in 3 weeks.

Luckily it worked out - but a little too coincidental for the superstitious. 

So how does Sonoma Valley in December sound?

(Photo courtesy of Fermentation: The Wine Blog)