Weekend sewing

A little peek at how I spent part of my weekend.

I cannot WAIT to show this quilt once it's completed! It's a Christmas present for my hubby, the math and science geek.

A little snippet of the back.

And lots and LOTS of straight line quilting. I figure I'll need a couple more hours to finish the quilting and do the machine portion of attaching the binding.

And then I'll be able to focus on a couple of other things.

Sometimes, when I get in the groove on a project it's very hard for my brain to let it go. I obsess and obsess until I can finally get it done. Then it's like my brain breathes a big sigh of relief and makes room for other thoughts. Anyone else like that?

Boxed corners

I was playing around the other day with a new-to-me way of doing boxed corners. Want to see?

I made this little fabric basket inspired by Ayumi's wonderful tutorial over at Pink Penguin.

Usually, boxed corners are made by pinching the sides and bottom together to form a corner and then stitching and trimming the resulting triangle so that the box or bag has a flat bottom and can stand on it's own.

Instead of using that method, which is worked from the wrong side of the box or bag, I boxed the corners on the outside.

Folding the corners up in this way makes for an interesting detail on the outside of the basket. I stitched the corners to the sides and then hid the stitches under a small button.

So, if you're looking for a new or different way to finish the bottoms of your fabric boxes or bags, give this method a try!

Jammies!

Slowly getting back to some sort of normal around here. With a kindergartner and a preschooler in the mix, I figure sniffles and colds are going to be a part of daily life more often than not.

To ease out of my non-crafting state, I finished up these cold weather pj pants for the kids.

Owen picked out all of his fabrics. Spiderman, Lightning McQueen, and Mater. No real surprises there.

Bailey got the cute girly flannel that was on sale over the summer. Yes, that's a lot of pj pants but I did add a cuff to three of them so they should last through next winter as well. I hope.

I have a feeling this is the last time I'll be able to get away with making jammie pants for them using only one yard of fabric.

More sewing planned for later this week. And crochet. Did I mention I'm making a blanket? Yep. I'm crocheting a blanket.

Asleep at the wheel

Not really, but I am a bit under the weather. Must have picked up a little bug or something. That and my sewing machine is in the shop getting a little look-over for a weird squeak and strange tension thingy. I'm real technical. Can you tell?

Meanwhile, I took the risk of waking Miss Bailey to get this picture.

She takes her princesses very seriously. Apparently they all needed to be just so as she tucked them in to bed. Can't imagine where she gets that from (cough).

Enjoy the extra hour this weekend! I'll be back soon with some more crafty goodness.

Happy Halloween!

My three favorite goofballs and I wish you a very Happy Halloween!

I made Bailey's costume. Her request: to be an orange princess. I think I got that one covered. In her big shimmery pouf of a dress, complete with sparkling tiara, she is one happy camper.

Owen had the skeleton shirt already and then we found the gloves in a $1 bin at the craft store. After purchasing some black sweatpants, I decided to make a stencil of the leg bones and just use some acrylic craft paint I already had to complete his costume. He LOVES it!

We've already been trick-or-treating at Daddy's office (an annual tradition) and are looking forward to heading out tonight for a little while. They've already collected their body weight in sugar so I know we're in for a crash later tonight and probably tomorrow, too. Thank goodness it's only once a year!

Gratitude

I am in constant amazement. Really.

Every. Single. Day.

Here's one of the current reasons:

A dry field trip to the farm and pumpkin patch with Miss B's preschool class. Good times! Huge difference from last year (when we did NOT wear our boots) and the fields were nothing but a big ole mud slick.

Another reason I'm feeling the love:

I recently grabbed up some sweet fabric from Ashley's destash and asked about any FMF scrap packs she might have. I'm trying to put together a small and simple quilt using some of the coveted fabric as a fundraiser for the Arthritis Foundation. She was so gracious and kind and she sent me these gorgeous pieces. I never cease to be amazed at the kindness within the sewing/quilting/crafting community.

And the crazy amazing cherry on top of everything?

I am now the grateful and awestruck owner of this amazing book.

After posting about my search for Patchwork Patterns 318, I was sent a few leads on getting a copy. None of them panned out. The book was either already sold or waaaaay out of my price range. I kept looking but must admit that my search became somewhat half-hearted.

About two months later, I got an email from Stephanie, who read my blog post and was about to list her copy on etsy. I was headed out to Camp JAM and asked if she could wait to list it until I got back from camp because if I could afford, I would take it!

Well, imagine my surprise when I returned from camp to find an email from Stephanie, telling me about her grandmother's lifelong love of sewing and how she'd had to stop when her arthritis became too painful. Stephanie wanted to give me this book. And I promptly burst into tears.

I mean, really? We hear all the time from so many places what a messed up world we live in. I'm telling you - this world is great! People are amazing! There is goodness all around.

So I sit here. Filled with gratitude for family and friends and strangers who have become special people in my life. Life is wonder-full.

And yes, I know I used the word "amazing" a lot in this post. What can I say? It is what it is.

A Snow Globe is Born

Thanks goodness for the PMQG all day sew this past weekend. I actually completed a quilt top and worked on my latest paper pieced block. A snow globe for Melinda!

Melinda is one of my new friends over in the Cocorico bee on flickr. Her theme was "Vintage Christmas". I remember collecting snow globes as a child. I just loved shaking them up and watching the sparkley snow fall down over the scene!

This block was lots of fun to work on, though in the interest of full disclosure I have to admit to spending a bit of quality time with my seam ripper. There are a couple of places that I wish I had done a little differently but overall, I think it turned out okay.

Here's a picture with a ruler in it to give you an idea of the scale. Tiny! Curved piecing still makes me very nervous, so I made the snow globe and will applique that onto the background fabric.

And that quilt top I finished? Hopefully, I can get that basted and quilted up in the next week or so. It all depends on the kids and schedules and life.

Speaking of which.... this past weekend the whole family went to the Jingle Bell Run/Walk kick-off party and it was a blast. We got to speak about our family's experience with Owen and his juvenile arthritis. And Owen even got up in front of about 350 people and told a joke. I'm so proud of him! If you'd like to help him reach his goal, just follow the link on the top right of the blog.