a quick bag

And an even quicker post. It's hard to sit inside at the computer when it's 75 degrees (in May!!!) and looks like this outside:

I've had this awesome printed panel from Amy for months. Even though she includes a pattern with it for making the cutest mini quilt, I always thought that I'd like it on a tote bag. But I never got around to making it. After I saw this bag yesterday, I had no more excuses!

Following the ever popular Jane Market Bag pattern, I grabbed fabrics from my stash and got to work this morning while the kids slept in. An hour and a half later, I had a bag.

I've also got a little helper who is popping a new tooth/getting over a cold and cranky as ever. The only thing that he wants to do is be held or play outside on the deck. So off we go.

Have a great weekend! I hope it's full of sunshine and fun.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival- Spring 2011

I'm sneaking in at the end of Amy's fabulous Bloggers' Quilt Festival this year to share my favorite (for now!) quilt. Meet Ingrid:

Ingrid is a quilt I finally sewed up earlier this year. She's made of bee blocks from the talented members of the Not Your Grandma's Quilting Bee group on flickr. I asked everyone to make blocks inspired by an incredible Ingrid Press quilt that I saw here. They are each sewn out of various cotton and linen neutrals, a piece of shot cotton, and a print (mostly Anna Maria Horner's Good Folks). (Click on the photos to see them more clearly.)

I chose blue and green shot cottons and a strip of more Good Folks for the backing, and quilted a basic loose grid to keep Ingrid nice and soft.

Although I think she's absolutely beautiful, I really love Ingrid because she is a family quilt. She spends her days crumpled up amongst legos and dog hair...

... and is well loved by all of my kids too.

Thanks for visiting! And make sure to check out the rest of the entries in the Bloggers' Quilt Festival too. There are so many inspiring quilts posted!

teacher thank you gifts

It's the last day of school! When Avery started kindergarten, our district implemented a new calendar that runs from mid-August to mid-May. It still amazes me how quickly the end of the year creeps up!

Avery and Claire go to one of the coolest schools in town (in my opinion) and are surrounded by incredible teachers and staff. I had originally planned to do gifts just for their four homeroom teachers, but then the list grew to include everyone from gym teachers to the school secretaries. I needed to find a way to keep costs down. Enter the zip pouch!

I made 13 pouches, all of the same simple design. They are made out of what I thought was a grey crossweave (in reality it's more blue) and a single patterned fabric for the reverse applique window and lining. Everything came from my stash, including the interfacing and zippers. They sewed up quickly once I got an assembly line going. 

Avery and Claire put each one together. Inside the pouches are some yummy chocolates, a handwritten note from the girls and me, and a $5 Starbucks card for the homeroom teachers. The two male teachers in the school get a Starbucks card and chocolate instead of the pouch. I attached a tag to the zipper pull that has each teacher's name so that the girls can easily tell which one is which.

I'll admit that this is not normal for me-- usually I have grand plans to make things but then run out of time and end up doing a last minute dash to the store for gift cards. I'm happy to have had the chance to do something more personal. On to summer!

a tale of banishment and a book bag

I have a confession. I have not checked a book out from our public library in 11 years. I knew it had been a long time, but didn't know exactly how long until I went to get a new card last week. See, I had this nagging feeling that I had overdue book fees from my adolescence that were never paid. I was right.

When I tried to get my new card, the sweet lady behind the desk said, "Oh, my," and flipped the computer screen around for me to see. Across the top of the screen was the word "BANNED" and a note that I owed $30 for late fees that dated back to the summer of 2000. Whoops. At least it wasn't as bad as I thought. But banned? From the library? How embarassing. It was the summer I was newly pregnant with Avery and getting ready to leave for my senior year of college, so I blame it all on a freaked out preggo brain.

Luckily all is cleared up now. I am the proud recipient of a library card once again and plan to take the kids there quite a bit this summer. To celebrate, I made myself a new book bag out of some Alexander Henry Heath fabric and a pack of Umbrella Prints remnants.

It's lined with some an elephant fabric that worked just perfectly and has a dotty pocket just right for my card.

Now to make a list of books to check out! Any suggestions?

pretty {little} pouch swap complete!

After swearing off swaps for a bit, you may remember that I couldn't help but join in the Pretty {Little} Pouch Swap on flickr. The pouch I made was well received by the fantastic Kerry of VeryKerryBerry last week. As members kept adding their pouches to the pool, I'll admit I was getting a bit antsy wondering which one would come my way. I loved so many of the pouches that were posted!

Well, I am so thrilled that my wait is over, because I received this lovely package in the mail today:

When I opened it, I literally squealed and started jumping up and down. Linda (lindakl on flickr), who lives in the Netherlands, made me this incredible patchwork pouch out of some of my most lusted after fabrics. She even lined it with the coolest hot pink Suzuko Koseki button fabric that I have had in and out of my etsy shopping carts over the last few weeks.  Inside the pouch were so many great goodies too-- awesome Suzuko Koseki and Kumiko Fujita fabrics, fun trims, and a waffle cookie (that was immediately devoured).

Receiving such a wonderful gift was a great treat after a long day spent chaperoning the 2nd grade field trip to our local indoor water park. Linda, THANK YOU!



for Thomas

Baby Thomas finally arrived on Saturday, just in time for Mother's Day!

Thomas' nursery was to be fish-themed, so I pulled out my stashed Heather Ross goldfish in bags pajama pant panel. And didn't you know? There is a fishy named Thomas.

I couldn't resist making a matching onesie to go with the quilt as well.

Without revealing too much information that is not mine to give, I will say that Thomas was one long-awaited baby. I am so thrilled for my friend Katrina and her husband, and I can't wait to travel to see their new little guy and give his chubby cheeks lots of kisses.

fun with blocks

I was doing a little photo shoot of a fish today.

After school, the kids got in on the action.

I sent Katrina's baby goodies off in the mail today (come on baby Thomas, let's get this show on the road before Sunday!) so I should be able to share pics of the quilt next week. Now, back to getting ready for dinner a la Cinco de Mayo. Yay for scratch margaritas!