WIP Wednesday

better late then never right???? depending upon which time zone you are in it maybe Wednesday or it may not be Wednesday.... doesn't really matter does it??? nor does it matter that i have been fighting with blogger to get this post up. did you ever play uncle when you were little? you know that game where some other kid twists your arm behind your back until you say uncle? well no one is twisting my arm but i am yelling UNCLE. life has been insane for me & i am seriously in need of some sort of a break. done with the venting now. onto the sewing stuff. i was working on this last week when i posted WIP Wednesday & i am please to say that the top is finished. set in brown of course. what else would you expect from me? this past weekend i also worked on some bee blocks. i don't think worked on is the correct term more like seriously messed up. that is what i get for trying to get 8 million things done at one time.

i read the instruction - draw a diagonal line on the back. i stop reading the instructions. draw the diagonal line on the back & i sew on the line.

then i cut 1/4" off from the line & get the above picture. i still have not read anymore of the instructions.

i press them to the printed side & then i read the instructions & that is when i had a total melt down. if my brain would have been working at the time i would have read all of the instructions & saw that the next step after drawing the diagonal line was to sew on both sides of the line. yep, major screw up for me. long story short i have emailed back & for with my bee block buddy & we have something worked out. trust me i still feel like a total ass for what i did. i could have chosen not to share that with you but i think its important to be honest on here & let you know that life isn't always great & wonderful. we are all humans & we all make mistakes which we learn from. isn't that the way life works?

this is what the block looks like when you read all of the instructions. i still needed to sew it together but you get the general idea.

i have also made a little progress on my never ending hand work quilt. for some crazy reason i thought this block would go super fast & i would be onto block 6 by now. me yet again. wrong.

whatever sewing you maybe doing i hope you are having better luck then me. i am ready to be rid of the insane life. UNCLE UNCLE UNCLE

Opps....

when i posted about the stuff i got from the various fabric shops in Boise i forgot about 2 very important items that i got. probably because they weren't with the fabric because i have been reading them. the 1st i Modern Basic pattern book by Amy Ellis. i love this book & it was a had to have for me. Amy blogs over at Amy's Creative Side.

2nd is Perfect for Precuts magazine that is just like a pattern book. i was so excited when i saw this & the sales gal said that they had just unboxed them that morning. if you love precuts then you need this bookzine.

update 3.28.11 there is a giveaway going on over at Mauby's go check it out.

WIP Wednesday

lots going on in my life right now however i am always able to find a few minutes to spend with my sewing machine.

i was in the middle of sewing together this quilt at camp when i got the text about my SIL in labor. its Circle Around designed by Julie from Jaybird Quilts. it crazy easy to put together. i have all of the rows done & about half together. it should be finished soon.

what are you working on?

update 3.24.11

there is a giveaway going on over at

Two Peas In A Pod blog

go check it out

&

another one at Sunshower Quilts

Quilt Camp Wrap Up

i did one post while i was at camp about some of the projects that people were working on, but i haven't done another post about camp showing you all of the other stuff that people worked on.

without further ado i give you

Spring Quilt Camp Wrap Up

{fyi lots of photos to follow}

a baby quilt.

amazing paper pieced project in the works.
western themed quilt made with her dad's old jeans.
quilt in the works.

quilt top i got sewin together.

{more to come on this one}

gorgeous quilt done by Sharon.

amazing work done by Andy.

block i made.

rag quilt made for Dawn's daughter. she did a machine embroidery design in the middle of each square. i am not a big pink person but i really love this quilt.

a Buggy Barn pattern.

another quilt top finished.

this was a block exchange quilt & all of the blocks have something to do with the state of Washington.

a bag that i am still finishing up.

{aka zipper bag}

love this quilt. maybe someday i will get up the nerve to make one.

beautiful quilt top put together by Nancy.

spring camp was a blast even with the interruption of my niece arriving into the world. its amazing to be in a room with such talented ladies who have a wealth of knowledge that they are happy to share.

i am working on a post with just my camp projects so look for that coming soon.

If you give you begin to live.......

if you are a reader of my blog then you know that i am a fan of the Dave Matthews Band (DMB) & if you are new to my blog..... well now you know.

DMB has a song titled You Might Die Trying which is one of my favs. there is a line in the song that says 'if you give you begin to live'. i am a huge believer in the idea of giving & not just giving of money but of time or talent as well. therefore i am always looking for ways to give with my sewing/quilting talents. i think i get this from my grandmother who was very big in helping people out & donating her time to great causes.

i have completed blocks for 2 causes.

i have made 10 blocks for Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt who is putting together quilts for Japan. go check it out & participate if you can. thanks to Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for featuring Beth on her blog if it wasn't for that i wouldn't know about this great cause.

i also have made 8 star blocks for Moda's Just One Star project which i learned about from Rachel over at ps i quilt. go check it out & participate if you can as well.

its a great feeling knowing that i have contributed to some amazing causes. i know not everyone has the time to do a whole quilt. me included. but a block or a few blocks is something everyone has the time to do.

my motto is

You Get What You Give

Catching Up

this weekend is all about catching up on sewing related stuff.

while i was gone i got some envelopes in the mail.

which contained my Let's Bee Together blocks.

this one is from Carolyn.
this one is from Melinda.
& this one is from Bailey.
{thanks for the little gift}
********
now onto some recent fabric purchases.
while i was in Boise i visited a few fabric shops.

1st up is Quilt Expressions.
i found the floral print & darker lining for another Cosmo bag & got some dark basics for my stash because we all know i don't like setting quilts with light colors.
i also got this Moda Candy Bar box. i have been wanting to get one of these for awhile now but could never find one that i really, really loved. this one hit the spot with 'bliss'.
the best part of it was that is was on sale. the box was beat up a little but 'on sale' HELLO of course i had to snatch it up.

the next stop was Quilt Crossing.
1st of all i about pasted out when i saw Neptune there let alone the other Tula Pink that i picked up while i was in that shop. i also got some laminated fabric for yet another Cosmo bag.

my last stop was Hobby Lobby
i found this yummy fabric there which i think i am going to use to make another (what i am calling) the zipper bag. i can't remember the name of the pattern. i made one at camp which i have yet to show you but i will soon & then we will all know the name of the pattern.

currently i am working on some star blocks for Moda's Just One Star project which i learned about from Rachel over at ps i quilt. go check it out & participate if you can.

i am also going to make some blocks for Beth over at Love Laugh Quilt who is putting together quilts for Japan. again, go check it out & participate if you can. thanks to Sarah over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict for featuring Beth on her blog if it wasn't for that i wouldn't know about this great cause.

i hope you all have a great Sunday & check back soon for a quilt camp wrap up post. its nice to be back home & back into my normal routine.

WIP Wednesday

its Wednesday & there is always a WIP

this is just a WIP of a different sort.

the past 10 days have been a blurr for me. truth be told the past 2 1/2 months have been a blurr for me. my calendar in my kitchen is still on January to give you an idea of how crazy things have been.

super short update:

since the 1st part of January my 90 year old grandma hasn't been in the best of health. she had lived on her own & been healthy up to this point. it has been a change for our family & one that has required a lot of work for some. i also had a trip to Texas for work as well as a trip out of town to the doctors.

since i work with my mom & she has been gone a lot with my grandma i have been working more trying to keep up with both of our jobs. the month of February is a blurr to me.

March came & so did quilt camp - which i will post more about that later. my life was pushed into overdrive on the 6th when my 2nd niece was born.

mom, big sister & baby at the hospital.

i stayed in Boise for awhile. i helped take care of the big monster, did some laundry, meals & those sort of things to be helpful. i did hit some quilt stores as well which i will post about soon.

we went grocery shopping while we were there. not the best pic (taken with my cell phone) but i couldn't resist. my dad on his cell talking & my niece standing in the cart. i am pretty sure that her parents don't let her do that - we just won't tell them.

when i came back home my mom then went down to spend sometime with them. when i got home i spent time with my grandma who was back in the hospital. she is out now & doing better. i am finally unpacked from quilt camp, my laundry is almost caught up & i am working on getting caught up at work.

on top of all the craziness my laptop decided to jump ship on me so i spent a ton of time doing online chatting & stuff like that to bring it back to life.

i just wanted to let you all know that i haven't fallen off the face of the earth. i will be posting soon about the rest of quilt camp, the projects i worked on there, bee blocks that i got while i was gone, fabric purchases made & what ever else i feel like yapping about.

i will say this....

spending almost a week with my family in Boise really make me want to be closer to them...... hmmmm......

***UPDATE***

there is a giveaway going on over at Mauby's.... go check it out!!!

http://www.maubys.net/2011/03/january-pattern-review.html

we interrupt this blog

we interrupt this blog to bring you

my new niece!!!!!!

we were at camp on Sunday when i got the text at 10:15 in the morning.

contractions were 5 to 6 minutes apart but not intense. they wanted to let us know but they were not headed to the hospital yet.

we hit the road & my great friend Sharon packed up my stuff & brought it home for me.

from camp to Boise is about a 6 1/2 hour drive. we made it in a little over 5 hours.

the hospital admittance papers were signed at 4:20 & she was born at 4:45.
even though they got to the hospital around 2:00 the hospital wasn't sure if the baby was going to be born then or not. little did they know......

********

needless to say mom, dad & baby are home now as well as big sister.

i feel like its still Sunday & i have been awake for 48 hours.

i will be here for awhile helping out as needed.

i will post some more pics of camp soon.

********

THANK YOU to all of my friends at quilt camp for your support over the weekend as we know it was touch & go there for awhile. THANKS again to Sharon for bringing my stuff home & taking it to my house.

At Camp

this was what it looked like on the drive to camp.

this is the view from our sewing room. the place use to be a ski hill.

pics of various projects in various stages.

my Cosmo bag.

some quilting going on.

more to come...........