Garden By The Sea

I have been eyeing this print from Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson.  It's so pretty and swirly.  I especially love it in the Speckle color.  I was window shopping at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics and the next thing you know I was day dreaming of lunching in Carmel, Ca.  Carmel, officially named, Carmel-By-The-Sea is a little seaside town with cute shops, yummy cafes and sweet pots of geraniums everywhere.  The houses in the village are known for their secret gardens.




This is my daydream, "Garden By The Sea"

FEATURE FABRIC: 

Garden Gate in Speckle, Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson

COORDINATES:

1. Scissors in Coral, Tailor Made by Cosmo Cricket
2. Lime Ta Dot
3. Natural, Kona Cotton Solid
4. Spencer Stripe in Mint, Parisville by Tula Pink
5. Herb, Kona Cotton Solid
6. Vintage Catalog in Coral, Tailor Made by Cosmo Cricket
7. Tile Flourish in Green, Heirloom by Joel Dewberry
8. Aqua, Kona Cotton Solid
9. Welcome Road Slate, Nicey Jane by Heather Bailey
10. Coral, Kona Cotton Solid
11. Lisa in Pink, Poodle by Jennifer Paganelli
12. Deco Fans in Pink, Dolce by Tanya Whelan

This is the last day to enter my Little Apples giveaway.  Good luck everyone!!  I'll see you tomorrow when I announce the winner.

Progress: Modern Crosses

It's the first week of school and Mama finished a quilt top! Yahoooooo!  It's been such a long time.  I'm feeling a little rusty and exhilarated all at once.

This is my version of the Modern Crosses pattern from Susan Beal's book, Modern Log Cabin Quilting.  I first blogged about it here.  I LOVE this pattern.  I will definitely be making it again.  Maybe reverse the colors next time, or scrappy, or maybe monochromatic, or solids.  There are so many possibilities.  Susan just showed a pillow version of this block made with Pendleton wool.  I really love the way that looks too.

The leftovers are being pieced together for the back.  Quilting and binding will follow shortly.  I'm trying to decide between simple straight lines and an all over meander.  I read somewhere that the denser the quilting, the more durable the quilt.  Is there any truth to that?  This one is headed to Japan so I want it to be the best it can be.  What would you do?

One night this week I was feeling adventurous and sewed up a test block for my upcoming Accuquilt tutorial.  Heirloom half square triangles.  What'cha think?

Meanwhile, Mr. L is busy working on his letters, and Miss H is happy as a clam gluing glitter and sparkles to construction paper.  Win-win-win!!!  When I go to pick them up they both get a big huge grin on their faces, run for hugs, and shout, "Mommy!"  Then they start chatting excitedly about their day.  It's the best feeling ever.

Happy weekend everyone.  : )
-A

Sugar Creek by Denyse Schmidt

**Update: Sugar Creek is now available online at Joann's!!**

I went in to Joann's to buy batting for our next guild meeting. They were out of batting, but I came home with these pretties instead. Does that ever happen to you? You go in for thread or needles and you leave with "other". I love this other! Introducing... Sugar Creek by Denyse Schmidt, but you already knew that didn't you?  ; )

A little sampling of what my store had in stock.

Larger cuts of my favorites.  I LOVE these!

There are a few prints I couldn't find anywhere.  Namely the burgundy colorway. In fact I have been following along in the flickr group and no one has seen the burgundy prints. It's very strange. Yoo-hoo.... burgundy where are you?



And this little girl... gaining a steady three pounds a week and going through puppy food like crazy. We discovered bully sticks (thanks to a great suggestion here, thanks Paskiaq!!) and she's a happy chewer. I didn't know what they were so I googled it. Ew! I'm warning you, don't google it. Just don't.

If your looking for the giveaway, you can find it here.

100 Quilts for Kids

Have you heard about 100 Quilts for Kids?  It's a quilt drive hosted by Kate at Swim, Bike, Quilt.  She is asking quilters to make and donate a quilt for children in their communities.  She's offering up some great prizes as some incentive too.  You should go read her blog post here.

I will be making a quilt and donating it to the local NICU where my children were born.  This is something very near and dear to my heart and it feels so good  to be able to "do something".  Do you have an extra charm pack, a UFO or a overstuffed scrap basket?  Make a quilt for a baby.  Baby quilts are a quick finish and they mean the world to the special person who receives it.

Here are the rules as posted on Kate's blog:

100 Quilts for Kids Basics

-Make a quilt (baby, toddler, twin)

-Take a picture/s of the quilt (fabric, in progress and finished shots all welcome), and add them to the nascent 100 Quilts for Kids flickr group

-Link up on September 28-30 or October 12-14 to be eligible for fabric related prizes

-Donate (most important part!) your quilt/s to a child or organization in your community (i.e., my quilts are going to an organization in DC that provides care for children waiting foster care placement; my mom would donate to a group of her choice in the Bay Area)

PS, Great response to my Little Apples giveaway so far!!  Reading your comments is much better than twiddling my thumbs waiting to pick up L from his first day of school.  Only 75 minutes left to go, but whose counting?!  : )

Giveaway: Little Apples by Aneela Hoey

**This giveaway has ended.  The winner is Michelle from Chellemybelle Designs.  Congratulations!!! **


It's back to school time.  Let's celebrate!  I have a layer cake of Little Apples by Aneela Hoey to give to one of you!!!  DH bought this in Cincinnati with my fabric friends in mind.  He knows that you (like me) love a good fabric giveaway.

I can't wait to make something with this fabric.  The illustrations are so sweet and the colors are gorgeous together.  They're just right for Fall.  If you haven't read the inspiration posts on Aneela's blog you should.  You will love them.  Here are some links for you: From Seed To Fabric, Round and Round and Plaits the Way I Like It 

Do you want to see Little Apples in action?  These are some of the projects I've been admiring:

Apple Crate Quilt by Angela at Fussy Cut

Pillow by Julie at The Intrepid Thread

Firecracker by Katy at iamagingermonkey

Upside down Little Apples by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew

WIN Little Apples by Aneela Hoey

Up for grabs is one layer cake of Little Apples by Aneela Hoey for Moda.  A layer cake is a stack of 10"x10" squares from one fabric collection.

ENTER TO WIN:

1) Leave one comment below.

2) Do you follow my blog?  Yes?  Enter a second comment for another chance to win.  I always take care of my readers.  ; )  Thank you all for checking in to see what I'm up to.  With the kids in school I'm excited to get back at it!!

International entries are welcome! One winner will be selected randomly on September 1st, 2011. The winner will be contacted via email. Please make sure your email is visible in your profile or added to your comment.

Good luck everyone!!  We'll talk more soon.

-Adrianne

Sunday Stash 17: Cincinnati Adventures

I haven't done a Sunday Stash in a long time and I thought it would be fun to share what the DH brought home from Cincinnati.  He's a good storyteller don't you think?  He assures me it did really happen just-like-that.  Unbelievable!

To know him is to love him.  Tom loves surprises, he loves a squeegee hunt and he loves over the top.  One time, about 8 years ago, he ripped a page out of the phone book to find an obscure album for a gift.  Together we hit every single music store, new and used, within a 50 mile radius.  I'm talking Rasputin's, Amoeba, Streelight Records, The Warehouse, Sam Goody, etc...  I looked at the long list of stores and I asked him why don't we call and find out who has it. With a twinkle in his eye he replied, "that's no fun."

So, let the fun begin!

SEWN STUDIO, CINCINNATI, OH

Straight from the suitcase

All of my bundles were beautifully wrapped in twill tape

FIFI & FIDO BY ANNA GRIFFIN

Do you see the "hound"stooth and herring"bone"?  Ha!

Dog bed for Daisy?

CARMEN BY ANNA GRIFFIN

My very favorite print.  So soft and lovely.

TOM'S PICK

We both love Sherbet Pips.  He doesn't know it yet, but I bought yardage of the gray puppies for lounge pants for him.  I think it just moved to the top of the sewing list.  ; )

LITTLE APPLES BY ANEELA HOEY

One for me and one for????  Stay tuned.  : )

GRATUITOUS PUPPY SHOT

Sorry, couldn't resist that last one.

Happy Saturday, Times Three

What a great day!

1) DH surprised me with fabric from Sewn Studio in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Read his funny story about what he had to go through to get it!!

2) A fun afternoon of quilting and fabric talk with my modern quilt guild.  Lots of stuff in the works there.  Habitat anyone?!  I also received some puppy toys and sage advice from fellow dog owners.  I love it!

3) I was featured on Fat Quarterly!  Well... not *me* but my quilt.  What a wonderful surprise!!  You can see my Modern Crosses Quilt towards the end (it's the aqua and red one) http://www.fatquarterly.com/week-4-mlcq-apron-along.html  I blogged about the quilt here.  Once it's finished it's being donated to Quilts for Japan.  The fabric was supplied by Julie at The Intrepid Thread.

   

Busy, Not Productive

What the heck happened to July?  I admit I've been busy, just not very productive in the quilting department.

Silly Daisy crawls under her dog bed in her crate.  She is learning sit, down, come, and most importantly no bite!  Man can this dog get mouthy!  She's not too interested in her Kong toy (stuffed even).  Any tips for buying bones or toys?

The kids are out of school, enjoying sprinklers by day and froyo by night.  I think they're too young for, "I'm bored" but I have noticed they get crabby around 3pm everyday.  Just in time for me to take an energy dive myself.  I'm trying out a home style matinee today complete with popcorn and juice.  Wish me luck!

A little retail therapy.  I went to Michael's looking for Fandago stationary after Kate Spain posted this.  Success!

I made the Pioneer Woman's Alfredo last night because H. batted her eyelashes and told me it was her favorite.  She rarely makes requests and I loved making it for her.

I have a serious hankering of my own.  I see Rice Krispie Treats in my future.  I always add a smidge of vanilla like my Mama taught me.

I've been cutting fabric bundles for our upcoming BAMQG Habitat challenge.  w00t!  We have our monthly meeting this Saturday and I can't wait!!

A box from Accuquilt arrived at my doorstep.  I am trying to finish quilting my Kona challenge first before opening it up.  It's taunting me from the doorway, "Open!  Open!  Open!"

I had a dream where I turned this stack of fabric into this quilt.

EQ and I are getting to know each other.  The photographer and designer in me wishes it was a little more like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator.  I do really like the print rotary instructions function.

Joel Dewberry's Heirloom has landed.  I bought a stack from the Intrepid Thread.  I really love the quilting weight.  Have you seen the home dec line?  Oh my!

Speaking of The Intrepid Thread.  Julie is having an blogiversary and a huge giveaway.  Julie and I know each other through the guild and she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.  Her online shop is one of my favorites.  She has the best customer service!!!  Go have a look and tell her Little Bluebell sent you.  : )

H's closet doors need fixing.  I'm pretty handy but I can't figure out how to take off the original wheels.  Argh.  So frustrating!

We took the kids to see Winnie the Pooh.  I thought it was sweet and kind of sleepy.  The kids thought it was hilarious.  Mostly.  The Backson was a little disconcerting.

A picnic in Paris?  Yes please!!  Hey.  I've got bread, cheese and a quilt.  Maybe a picnic in the backyard?

I first heard this song on Tara's blog and I can't get enough.  Perfect background music for a California summer.

I can't believe it's August already.  All aboard!  Full steam ahead until school starts!  Gulp!  Already?!

xx

Adrianne