Sample Spree's Here!!!

Sample Spree fabrics are here and they are so lovely I can't stop admiring how pretty my shelves look!!!Who needs throw pillows and pictures on the wall when you can just decorate with gorgeous fabric bundles?! (The hubby reminded me they are not all mine to keep but I'm going to admire them while I have them and I'm sure that some of them are going to make their way into my stash!!!)
For those of you who pre-ordered these goodies, they are on their way and you should have gotten an email from me with your shipping tracking number. If you didn't order yet, get them now! They won't be back in stock until September/October...

100 pounds of Moda fabrics...life is good!!!

...and we have more solids in stock! They've been back ordered so if you've been waiting for these colors you're in luck!!!

Glowing!

I have to confess that I love glow-in-the-dark stuff. I even bought Glow Worms (remember those? Do they still make them?) for my girls when they were little because I could totally get away with it & they were for for the babies, right?
Well the Glow Worms have been retired but I still like glow-in-the-dark so when I found out there was quilting thread that would glow in the dark I knew I had to get some! I've been playing with some fun robot fabric from I Heart by Rashida Coleman-Hale for Timeless Treasures and this just seemed to be the perfect fabric to try it out on!

front

back

The robots are too adorable and I love the coordinating gear print for the back! I put an invisible zipper in so the pillow form can be removed for cleaning (you can't see it because it's invisible ;P) I love the way it turned out and I have a girl version in pink, too!


Of course I needed the right quilting pattern to show off this amazing thread and I think I found it! I love all of the gears and cogs...perfect! What little kid (or grown-up kid) wouldn't love this?! 

glow-in-the-dark quilting!

Well, back to work...hope everyone is having a great day!

Summer!

I couldn't let the first day official of Summer go by without a few words about how great this season is! I love the beautiful, full, leafy shade trees. I love the sunny, blue skies. I love the warm weather. I love the smell of freshly-mowed green grass. I love the gorgeous pink calla lilies booming in my front yard. I love drinking ice-cold lemonade. I love wearing flip-flops (even though this is SoCal and we wear them year-round anyway). I love the birds singing me awake in the morning. (The exception being crows. I do not love crows.) I love Summer.

Seriously! Right in my own front yard!

I'd love to say that Summer is my favorite season but I say that about each season as it creeps up on me. In a few short months, my favorite season will be Autumn, and rightly so. We all need change to keep us appreciative of what we have :)
One of the changes that summer brings for most of us is no school for the kiddos. While I enjoy the company of my children, it is making one of my goals a bit challenging. My effort to make a quilt for each one of my kids for Christmas is a bit delayed as I have found them to be a little more nosy curious than I expected. I don't know why this surprises me as I have known each of them all of their lives and I have always known each of them to be nosy inquisitive.
I have continued planning though, and I think I came up with an idea for my rough & tumble boys. I have been saving their worn-out Levi's for ages and I have quite a stash of previously-worn and washed-a-hundred-times-so-they're-super-soft jeans. I think I am going to make their quilts out of these. I don't want them to be rag quilts so I'm thinking up an idea to reduce bulk in the seams so I can still quilt it on the longarm. I'll share my success if my idea works and if it doesn't, then I guess I'll be sharing my what-not-to do ;P
Oh, and I picked up some patterns for a lovely block-of-the-month sponsored by my quilt guild. It started a few months ago so I'm already behind but I have a feeling that once I dive into the box of lovely Ruby scraps I've been saving that I'll get caught up quickly!
For those of you who pre-ordered Sample Spree pre-cuts it looks like they'll be here soon! As soon as they arrive, I'll get them in the mail to you!If you haven't seen them yet, check them out! Moda even made some mini charm packs that are just 2 1/2" squares...perfect size to play with or make teeny-tiny projects!

 

Thinking about Christmas...

It’s June and that means that Summer’s officially here and flowers are blooming, grass is being mowed, kids are swimming and BBQ’s are happening all over the country…perfect time to relax, kick back and think about my Christmas projects!

The kids don’t know it yet but I’ve made a plan to keep up with all of my regular activities and still make a quilt for each of them for Christmas. Having 5 children means that kind of plan requires über stealthy execution: they all think I just have a few extra custom quilts on my plate ;) It’s even more fun when I have them picking out their own fabrics and they don’t even know it! They are so used to me asking their advice on quilting designs that they don’t think anything of me showing them fabric combinations for their own quilts! I hope I can manage to surprise them while I make these right under their noses ;D

So far I have ideas and fabrics for the girls; the boys are going to take a little more effort and undercover work as teenage and nearly teenage boys are surprisingly not all that interested in fabric selections…

Etchings for Kimberley

Vintage Modern for Kathrine

Flora for Kelley

Maybe they’ll be a little easier to sort out when new fabrics arrive for the shoppe… Moda’s at it again with Sample Spree from Spring Market and I ordered some amazing new fabrics! Limited quantities of pre-cuts are available before their official release; you can pre-order them now on my site! They'll ship to you as soon as I get them!! 

Simply Color by V and CO.

Tapestry by Fig Tree

Cuzco by Kate Spain

Chateau Rouge by French General

Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille

Vanessa Christensen of VandCo debuted her first line and it is scrumptious! There are also new designs from Bonnie and Camille, Kate Spain, Fig Tree and French General. Thinking about all of this new fabric makes me happy!

June 1st? Really? Where did May go???? Well I guess May was so busy it just literally flew by…

I’m so proud of this girl! Kimberley graduated from High School and she’s on her way to college this fall. She’ll join big sister Kathrine in the ranks of being a grown-up and now there’s only 3 left to go. I’m not sure what I’ll do when they are all gone…you hear it all the time that they grow up too fast and this is very, very true :(

(I plan on just keeping them all forever and not letting them grow up but they are pretty much ignoring me. I’ve informed them that it is rude to ignore their mother but they are grown-ups now, remember? ;P)

Well, I’ll just suck them into my fabric madness and they won’t be able to leave! Kathrine helped a ton with this beauty…

Isn’t it just gorgeous?! Or should I say Luscious? Oh, and it’s big. And has cotton and wool batting so it is very heavy. And really, really warm. It’s new home is in Canada so I think that’s a good thing :D

Well, this big quilt has evolved with quite a bit of drama and my beloved Bernina ending up at the sewing machine doctor. Fortunately, it was not a serious problem and now all of those pesky computer upgrades it has needed for years are now taken care of! I get to pick her up tomorrow and I’m sooo excited! I’ve had a loaner machine that a good great fantastic friend let me borrow but I’m so glad I get to have mine back! It’s made me realize that maybe I’m a trifle spoiled with all of the wonderful things my machine does that I take for granted. It’s also made me realize that maybe I’m a trifle spoiled with the great friends I have…don’t worry, friends never get taken for granted (love ya, Bri!!!)