It was time.............

Warning:  You may find the image below  graphic and disturbing.  If you are a quilter / sewer / crafter, you may want to skip this post. I don't even know if I should be doing this. I mean after you see this I may be shunned from the blogging world of quilting and sewing forever. I'm sure I'll lose all my coveted followers but it's time you all saw.





Well here it is.........................the sewing ruler I've been using since, well................since as far back as I  can remember.  It's probably as old as me.  I inherited it from my mom when she could no longer stand to use it.

But the other day I just could not stand to use it one second longer.  I forked out $23.99 for this baby and can I just say it's the best money I've ever spent (besides for epidurals).  Isn't she just the loveliest piece of plastic/fiberglass  you've ever seen in your life.

Now to help you forget the picture you just saw I thought I'd show you some pretty pictures.  I can't take credit for these.  I snapped a picture of these cute little creations the other day when my friend Cami and I were working on this quilt.

This is Cami's little miniature version of  the raw edges quilt we made.  I think it's so cute, it would make the cutest little table topper.  She should probably just give it to me since she already has this.....................

adorable table runner that she made.   I love the colors she used, and the ric rac and of course the cute little cherries on the sides that I wish I would have gotten a close-up picture of.  Notice the scrappy binding, I've never made a quilt with a scrappy binding before, but definitely want to try it.

I'm so excited.  I finally got my hands on some of this stuff.  I Google it every once in a while hoping that some crazy person out there is trying to sell theirs.  I was lucky, I found a quilt shop that had some charm packs.  I think I'll be making a new table topper.  I still love the one I'm currently using, but after having it for three years, I've finally decided it's a little Christmasey!  I'm a little slow!

Baby Bliss

Not my baby bliss (sadly) but a new neighbors of mind.  Tonight I have a baby shower to go to and so of course it gave me a good excuse to do a little sewing.  I've seen some bibs like this on blogs and wanted to give it a try. 

I'm so addicted to this Ruby fabric.  I have a real fear of running out of it.  Every time I use some of it I have to go to the fabric store to replace what I've used.    I love this lace by Riley Blake.  If  our local fabric store sold this, I would be replacing it also.

Another thing I'm addicted to - Cross Hatch Quilting.  I know this bib didn't need it, but I just couldn't resist.  In turn - I probably made it a little too think - oh well, thick bibs are good right?  I used some matching dot minky on the back and some ric rac for the edges.

I've also been wanting to try Amy's tutorial for these burp cloths.  I couldn't find the nice diapers she used, I'm not sure if they still make them.  These are just Gerber Brand from Walmart, but they look sorta cheap.  If anyone has any ideas of where I can find some nicer quality ones I'd love to know.

Hopefully my neighbor will like them.  I'll be making lots more because I think a good quarter of my neighborhood is expecting.

One more quick thing - I had a comment asking me where I got the pattern for the  So Cherry quilt.  Sorry to say I didn't use a pattern.  Me and my friend just figured it out together (mostly her).   Maybe when things slow down a bit I can make a tutorial, but until then here is a few tips. 

- Before sticking on the squares I used a ruler and graphed out where I wanted the squares
- We used a glue stick to glue on the squares before quilting.
- Used a 1/2" border around squares.
- Used 1/4" seams on sides of squares
- My squares (I think) were 3 1/2" inches square.  I already gave it away or I would measure them.
- A walking foot helps a ton with this project

Hope that helps a little.  Feel free to e-mail with any other questions.

Soooooooooo Cherry!

A couple Fridays ago when my friend and I  were on our little quest to visit all the Fabric Stores in Northern Utah we saw the cutest quilt in a store in Logan called Bernina's.  We both fell in love with it and decided our next get together we would be making our own version of Bernina's quilt.

 I just finished up mine today.  My friend is having a baby girl and I found out the other day that she loves cherries so of course this fabric So Cherry came to my mind.

I decided to use the green on the back and pink for the binding.  I think I now have another favorite color combo, green and pink.  

I thought about using a "raw edge" for the binding, but decided just to do a normal binding since my favorite part of quilting is binding the back by hand. 

Oh and guess what.................for Valentines day I bought myself a walking foot (I told my husband it was from him).  I couldn't  pay the hundred something dollars for the Bernina brand walking foot, but I found one on e-bay for half the price that claimed to work for Bernina's and be just as good.  So far so good, it made this quilt so much easier than if I had used my normal foot. 

I hope my friend will like it.  I might not be able to wait until she has her baby!

We have a Winner!!!

 I feel bad it's taken me so long to get this posted.  I'd forgotten how hectic Valentines Day can be.  Making 70 something Valentines and 2 Valentine Boxes plus a craft for twenty seven 5th graders has pretty much swamped me.

Then winner is...................................
Comment #35 who is..............
Cindy from the blog -  Just another day in Paradise again!

You should definitely check out her blog.  She made her grandchildren pillow pets for Christmas - they are amazing.

Congratulations Cindy!

And today my oldest son is turning eight.  I know every mother says this, but when did he grow up so fast?  I swear this picture was taken just the other day in our little apartment in Logan, Utah while my husband was finishing college.

I have to brag a little bit about my sweet son.  And when I say sweet I mean it.  There isn't a sweeter boy out there.

Sometimes in the morning while I'm in the shower, he sneaks into my room and makes my bed.

When his older sister complains about having to do chores because she is too tired, he does it for her.

Being the middle child he tends to get looked over more often then I'd like to admit, but he is so kind about it.  He is definitely my easy child.





Here he is a couple of weeks ago.  My husband took my kids to the Hill Air force Base Museum while I was hitting all the Fabric stores in Northern Utah with my friend Cami.

In a couple of weeks he it getting baptized.  We went and bought him is first suit on Saturday to wear after his baptism.  It's a pretty special day that he has been looking forward to forever.

I love you buddy, I couldn't be more proud to be your mom!



I  have been sewing - it's just so rainy and cloudy, I don't think I could get a good picture if I tried.  I'm almost finished with a quilt that I can't wait to show you.

A Giveaway from the Fat Quarter Shop

I have some exciting news!  I have my very first Sponsor, the Fat Quarter Shop..  And there something in it for you also.  The Fat Quarter Shop  is very generously sponsoring this giveaway for a 25 dollar gift certificate to their store.

I have to say that I LOVE the Fat Quarter Shop.  They have all the newest fabrics from all the best designers.  If you love Moda's pre-cuts as much as I do, they are the place to buy them.  The other thing I love about them is that they are super quick at shipping out your orders.  I ordered some fabric from them a couple weeks ago.........it was at my house three days later.

To enter this giveaway just leave me a comment with your contact info.  It's as simple as that.  I'm not even going to ask you to become a follower, although that will make me super happy!  I will pick a winner Tuesday using that Random Number Generator thingy!  Good Luck!

Valentine T-Shirt

I wanted to do something a little more exciting today, but it's just been one of those weeks.  Soooooooo, here is my Valentine shirt for my daughter.  I say this every year, but I'm still shocked that she will let me make stuff like this for her.  She's in 5th grade, I give it one more year (maybe) before she tells me to quit

If you've read this blog for awhile, you're probably thinking, "Hasn't she made this shirt before."  The awnser is Yes, like for the last three years.   But hey, it's simple and it works.  If you're interested, here is a little tutorial.

I would LOVE it if you would share some of your Valentine ideas.  It can be something you crafted, sewed, cooked whatever.  Also, please come back on Friday - I have an exciting new giveaway that you will not want to miss.

Heart Hand Warmers Tutorial

First off I need to apologize.  I know I said I would get this posted yesterday and you would be able to link up one of your Valentine Projects.  This just took longer to put together then I anticipated.  I will be showing another Valentine project on Wednesday and you will be able to link a project of your own. 

I thought for my kids teachers it would be fun to make them these little heart hand warmers for Valentines day.   I made a little tutorial in case you would like to make some too.

Supplies needed:

Flannel - this just depends on how many you want to make.  Each heart takes two 5" squares of fabric.  So for two hearts I would get 2 -  5" x 10" piece's of fabric just to be safe.
Patterned Fabric - Same as the Flannel
Rice - 1/3 - 1/2 cup of rice for each heart.
Pattern - Download here
Tags - Download here  (optional)

Step 1 - Cut out your heart pattern
Step 2 - Layer your fabric - flannel, right side of fabric, wrong side of fabric, flannel.  Trace pattern on the top layer and pin.
Step 3 - Cut out your hearts
Step 4 - Make sure your fabrics are layered like in picture #4

Step 5 - Sew around heart.  Starting at the arrow (like in the picture above), start sewing making sure to back stitch.   Sew around  your heart, when you get to the point at the top, be careful not to go in too far.  Stop sewing about 1 1/2 inches from where you started sewing and backstitch.

Step 6 - Turn heart right side out with the patterned fabric on the outside of the heart.  Fill our heart with rice.  If your going to use your sewing machine to stitch up the heart be careful not to fill the heart too full or your presser foot wont stay on the heart as you try and stitch it up.  Or fill it as full as you'd like and stitch closed by hand.

 

If you want to make the tags - just cut a piece of fabric a little smaller then your card-stock tag.  You can make the tag easy enough, or I just bought mine at the local craft store.  I sewed the fabric and happy Valentines paper on the front and the directions on the back.

Package up nice and pretty!

I hope you've enjoyed this week of Valentine ideas.  Hopefully you will be able to use some of them.  Remember to come back Wednesday for one more Valentine idea and to link up your own Valentine idea.  I will also be having a fun giveaway next week from my very first sponsor so be sure and stop by!

Best Sugar Cookes Ever

I got this recipe from my sister n' law a few years ago.  It is seriously makes the best sugar cookies I've ever had.  I mean with a lb of butter of course it has to be good.  By the way I always use margarine and it works just fine. 

Enjoy!!!

A week of Valentines - continued!

For some of the ladies I visit every month I decided to make some Valentine Hot Pads.  I was going for something that looked Valentine-ish, but could still be used throughout the year.  These were so much fun to make.  I think this might be the new gift for friends Birthdays.

I decided to use the aqua's, reds and pink from the Ruby line by Bonnie and Camille for Moda.  I'm really loving these colors lately.  My daughters room is in desperate need of a makeover so I might need to talk her into these fabrics.   I used cross hatch quilting for the first time and definitely will be using it again.  It's a lot of fun.   I think I will deliver these with a pretty plate of heart valentine cookies.  I'll post my recipe for that tomorrow, they are super good!

 I am thinking however that I need to get a walking foot.  Do you have one?  Would you recommend getting one?  Are they worth the money - since they are not cheap?

Here are a few little tips for making these hot pads.

- I used 2" x 9" strips of fabric so I could make four hot pads and have a little room for a nice straight edge.
- Use two layers of thin batting.
-When quilting I only quilted the top pieced layer and one layer of batting.  The other layer of batting and fabric for the back I added when I stitched on the binding.
-The idea for the tags came from Nana Company's blog (of course).  I'm almost a little embarrassed I copy her so much.
- Used a 1/4" seam allowance.

Hope some of your can use this for a little Valentine gift!