scenes from the weekend

We're having amazing fall weather. Despite the cool temps (we were in the 20s this morning), we managed to have a lot of fun this weekend.

First, Avery and Claire ran a race. They did the school's cross country running program and did great. I'm so proud of them!

Then we were off to the cabin, where we spent a couple of days building a deck and spending some much-needed family time.

I'm in total disbelief that October is just a few days away. It's going to be a crazy month, so I'm making sure to get all of my bee blocks taken care of early.

First, my September block for do. Good Stitches. Natalie asked for a 6.5 x 48" block in gold, red, or plum with any piecing. I used my GO! baby and the tumbler die. Super easy!

Melanie requested two Trip Around the World blocks. She directed us to this tutorial and they came together quickly.

What's in store for your week? Is it fall where you're at?

be merry

Yes, I know, I know... Christmas is still three months away.

When I was digging around in my sewing room this morning, I found a bag of scraps that were already backed with fusible web. And I got the urge to revisit my "Be Merry" pennant quilt from last season.

This time I opted for stamping the text instead of stitching it-- what do you think? Better? Worse? Or just different?

I might be making a bunch of different versions for the shop this year. I always have more ideas than I do time, but hey, I'm thinking ahead. So it just might happen this year.

Hanging Hoop Wall Pocket Swap

I joined one last swap for the fall- my dear friend Amy's Hanging Hoop Wall Pocket Swap. There is a small group of us exchanging some super cool sewing organizers made from the free tutorial here on Sew Daily.

Since we're such a small group, I don't want to give away any hints to my partner about how I chose the fabrics. But I will say that I may have gone a bit more crazy with the patterns than she would prefer. I just couldn't resist mixing some patchwork with that Echino fabric!

We've got snow on the mountains behind our house this morning. How about if we just skip fall and go straight into winter?

And no, I'm not kidding. Break out the hot chocolate and ski boots! I'm ready for it.

sneaky peek for the week

We had a busy weekend, focused on some not-so-fun home and family projects that simply needed to get taken care of. I'm looking forward to a quiet house this week so I can complete an important project. Here's a sneak peek:

Stay tuned for more-- there's a pattern coming!

And in other fun news, I received my package for The Love of Solids swap from Jacey! She was so sweet and made a set of 5 placemats for my family. Each one is completely different, both in piecing and quilting. She also sent me a cool zip pouch and some awesome fabrics. It was like Christmas!

echino project tote and pouch

I whipped up another Echino project bag and matching zip pouch yesterday. It's been donated for a local silent auction this weekend that will benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

I made it completely out of stashed fabrics (linen, Echino, and Dazzle). Unfortunately, I'm down to a yard of linen. What to do? I may have to adjust my promise to abstain from fabric purchasing so that it excludes a few basics. Otherwise, so far, so good!

not fit for the farm life

You may remember that I joined the Farmer's Wife Quilt-A-Long earlier this summer.

The group is now 15 weeks in, and sure enough, I dropped out after 3. At the time, I wasn't sure exactly why I stopped. Maybe because the group got too big? Or was it the fact that I started to wish I had taken a different course with my blocks, using more prints like Kerry and Monica?

Well, the other day I figured it out. The reality is that I don't care for sampler quilts. I thought I liked them, but they're not for me. However, I still have a huge desire to learn how to make traditional blocks, plus I spent a lot of time on the ones I've already done. So I'm going to keep going in my own way, just using the individual blocks for things other than one big quilt.

To start, my first six blocks have been sewn into some pouches that I decided to list in my etsy shop.  

I'll admit that I have a favorite:

And I just can't resist a good stack of zippers.

This week I'm offering blog readers 10% off any item in my shop with coupon code SSBLOGFRIEND10. It's never too early to stock up on holiday gifts!

it all started with the ironing board (a sewing room redo)

Let me start off this post by saying that I feel so incredibly lucky to have my own sewing room. When we remodeled our basement and included it in the plans, I couldn't believe it! Having my own space where I can go make a big mess, then shut the door and know that the dogs won't eat things and kids won't step on pins has made me so much more productive. This was the space, in a corner of an open family room, before we remodeled: 



I love that blue, but what a mess!

And this was the space after:

 

neat and organized, but not as functional as I thought


When I picked the buttercream yellow paint for the room originally, I really don't know what I was thinking. The room doesn't have a window, so maybe I was hoping it would bring a sense of sunshine? Well, I never liked it. Everything clashed with it. Including my new ironing board cover from Target (at the beginning of this post) that Jenny told me me about after I fixed up the girls' bathroom. I had to have it, but it looked horrible in the room.

I started dreaming about new paint. And ways to keep Cooper from clearing off my bookshelves/dumping out boxes of snaps/etc. I made measurements and imagined all sorts of new layouts.

So last week I got to work. When Rob left for an overnight backbacking trip, I took advantage and made a trip of my own to Lowe's for a gallon of creamy vanilla paint, shelving, and two sets of coat hooks. In one 3-hour naptime (woo hoo!) I managed to move everything out of the room and do two coats of paint. That night I was able to install the shelving and start moving everything back in. By the time Rob arrived home the next afternoon, the room was finished. He inspected my work for safety's sake, and I was sewing again the next day.

It doesn't look this dingy in real life (remember, no windows!):

It's nothing fancy, but I love how it turned out. The best part of the room is that it's so much more functional. There is a ton more floor space, so Cooper or the girls can be in there playing (the other day Avery and Claire spread out and scrapbooked for hours) and I still have plenty of room to work. Eventually I'd like to make some floor pillows to make things cozy and a big detachable design wall for the wall next to my desk. But for now, it's just right.

jammin'

I got a screaming deal the other day on 10 bowls of raspberries from a sweet older woman off of craigslist. One of the few things I miss from my old house, pre-Rob, is the huge row of raspberry plants that produced tons of berries each summer. Weird though that we're a third of the way through September and just getting berries-- in past years I'd usually start picking by the first week of August.

I was able to make 4 batches of jam and use up every jar that I had sitting in the cupboard and pantry. I'm all set for holiday giving, and the mismatched jars will last our family for awhile as well.

I usually make my jam late at night after the kids all go to bed. Avery and Claire helped me with the third batch yesterday, and Cooper milled around in the kitchen with no problems. But this afternoon when I thought I could get the last batch done, he took advantage of my need to be glued to the stove (stirring, stirring, stirring) and stomped in the dog water, cleared out cupboards, and even stole my chocolate protein bar off the counter to eat. Good thing he's so cute.

What's in store for your weekend? I'm hoping for a bit of sunny weather, and morning skies like this to justify the cooler fall temps.

everything's coming up rainbows

I've completed my "Everything's Coming Up Rainbows" mini quilt just in time for my For the Love of Solids swap partner! She really hoped for something with rainbows. I was happy to oblige and play around with this combo again (I went rainbow in my "99 Bright Flying Geese on the Wall" doll quilt too), but this time just in solids.

The quilt is made of a combo of 20 different solids in a rainbow of colors, paired up with borders of white and Kona ash.

I couldn't resist going rainbow on the back as well.

But I did choose to keep the binding more simple with deep purple and shot of cerise.

For the bonus item, I made a tanagram fabric puzzle. I first saw the link to Beauty All Around's tanagram-esque fabric puzzle tutorial in a mosaic on the long thread, and I knew I had to give it a try! I made my pieces just a bit bigger though (they finish out at 4" square) and chose to topstitch around all of the edges instead of hand-stitching the openings. There are 42 of them after all! I think they'll provide a bit of fun for my partner (and maybe a small little someone else in her house).

I also made a matching pouch. The pouch is made from a strip of rainbow scraps and grey linen and features a lime green lining.

I figure my partner can use it for the puzzle pieces, or whatever else she wishes! (I have a rainbow zip pouch in a similar size that holds a small notebook and Cooper's crayons.)

All in all, this was a super fun swap to participate in! Everything I've seen in the For the Love of Solids flickr pool is amazing. It's fun to think about what might be coming my way!