What a fun week!

This week has been filled with fun.  A week ago, our new bedroom furniture arrived and we LOVE it!  Before, we had several pieces from different places that we put together to "make it work."  Now, we have a matching set complete with two nightstands.  :)

On Tuesday, I drove to Charleston for the day.  My aunt and cousin were there for a baseball tournament so I went to visit.  We went to the market which is always fun.  We enjoyed some great food and an afternoon of baseball. 

A few weeks ago, one of P's co-workers saw his sandwich wrap and said she wanted one.  She also requested a make up bag that was fairly small, but still large enough to carry essentials.  I found a site with links to many different tutorials and let her chose the bags she liked best.  In the end, I decided to use the tutorial for a Straight Sided Triangular Cosmetic Bag.  The tutorial is okay, but it became a little rough.  I just used what I already knew about making bags (although I am not too good with the zippers).  I made this as a test bag just to see the size. 


This fabric is from the remnants bin at Hobby Lobby

It turned out to be perfect, but I still needed to work on the zipper.  Here is the bag I made for L.  She requested cupcake fabric, and I knew the Michael Miller Cupcake Party would be perfect!  I used Michael Miller Little Hearts for the inside.  These prints work well together. 

Here is her sandwich wrap.  Again with the Cupcake Party and lined with rip-stop nylon to keep sandwiches fresh. 

This turned out cute, but this is the first on I have made from a directional print.  I am not crazy about it because it is right on the flat size, but upside down on the folded side.  It is still cute, though.

I haven't made much progress on the quilt.  I have about 3 other quilts that I need to get started on, but I want to finish this one first.  I just can't find the motivation to do it.  :( 

Only two more weeks of vacation before school starts, but I am ready!
 

Older Completed Projects

Here are some other quilts that I have made.

This baby quilt was made for a co-worker of P's who was having a baby boy.  Needless to say, this family was crazy about the Kentucky Wildcats.

This is a split nine-patch quilt that I made for my cooperating teacher during student teaching.  I gave it to her on my last day.

This is another baby quilt.  It was alsow made using the split nine patch block although it looks nothing like the quilt above.  This quilt was made using only Amy Butler fabric from several different collections.  It has no owner. 

This is a baby quilt that I designed the pattern for myself.  I used the Animal Alphabet fabric collection and a few solids.  This quilt does not have an owner.

I have made two other quilts (that I can think of right now), but I don't have any pictures of them.  They will be coming soon.  They are both very large. 

The Visitor

We will have a visitor tonight and I could not be more excited!  My mom is coming back for a visit this week and I will have her all to myself!  I hope that there is atleast one rainy day this week so that we can go to Savannah and snag some fabric.  Since my birthday is coming up, I hope to be able to buy lots of new stuff.  I also am working on cutting out the dress below (Lisette by Simplicity Passport Dress.  Right now, I am just cutting it out of muslin to test it out and since most other attempts have ended up looking like tents.  I am also hoping my mom will help me construct it and make it fit better since she used to make lots of clothes befor we came along.      

I can not wait for this visit!  :)

What can you make with one yard of fabric?

The book One Yard Wonders: 101 Sewing Projects has 101 different projects that use only one yard of fabric!  It has many different things in it from purses to dog beds.  I have had this book for about a year.  I've looked through it several times and even flagged pages of things I wanted to make, but that was as far as it went. One day last week, I discovered that the people at Pink Chalk Fabrics were sewing two projects a week from the book and writing reviews about them.  During a late night, I made a new list of items that I wanted to make. 

Since then, I have crossed two items off my list. 

Dresser Organizer/Charging Station

I made the Charging Station to match our new bedroom colors.  (Oh yeah, we ordered new bedroom furniture and can't wait to get it in!)  Our new comforter is red and I think we are going to stick with tan as an accent color.  I made the inside with a tan and made the outside with a FQ that has many different colors.  The bias tape on the top does not look too good and I can't make it look very square, but it is functional!  It will look great on our new dresser and help us keep things together and more organized. 

Folded Collapsible Shopping Tote

 
What is this?  It is the Collapsible Shopping Tote.  It folds up into this small little rectangle so that you can carry it where ever you go.

hanging Collapsible Shopping Tote

I did a few things different from what they book said.  After the debacle with bias tape on the previous project, I opted not to use bias tape on the bag.  I made a liner out of muslin and attached the lining to the exterior from side seam to side seam much like the lining of a dress.  Everything else I followed from the book.  It is a nice size and would be great to use on quick trips to the store.  I think I may give this bag to my mom when she comes to visit next week.  :) 

Well...gotta get back to some other items on my to-do list before hubby gets home from work.    

Trying New Things

It's no secret we love to eat!  However, I am kind of picky.  I do not like trying new things.  I feel like we eat the same things and at the same places all the time.  To avoid this, I am going to try at least one new recipe every week.  We also tried a new restaurant this week.  It is called Squat 'n' Gobble.  It was great!  It is a 24-hour restaurant that serves food similar to a diner.  P ordered an omelet and I had country fried steak!  I can't wait to go back. 

Earlier this week, I looked through the Pioneer Woman recipes.  I chose two to try.  First up was the Tuna Melt.  P really likes tuna so I knew this would be a hit with him.  I eat tuna from time to time, but not very often.  Some of the flavors in the tuna salad helped to hide the "tuna" flavor.  Here is a picture of our lunch.  We experimented with different cheeses on top including provolone, cheddar, and American.  We didn't really have a favorite though. 

Also this week, I used my bread maker that I got for Christmas to make a loaf of white bread.  I LOVE my bread machine!  Here is a picture of my toast with the homemade bread. 

For tonight, we are having stuffed flounder that we bought at the store.  I can't wait to try it.  It looks delicious.  Tomorrow we are having another Pioneer Woman recpie, The Marlboro Man Sandwich.  I can't wait.  Cube steak, peppers, onions, and mushrooms.  Yum, yum!
 

Special Project

While I was home last weekend, one of my sister's friends asked me to make her a gathered clutch like my sister has. Today, I did just that. It was nice to work on something other than a quilt and be able to finish it fairly quickly. Here is a picture. I am giving it to her because she was such a big help and support to my family during my sister's illness. It is far from perfect, but I hope she enjoys it.



This afternoon, my mom said that she wants a seat belt cover. More fun, small projects to work on!

Purchases and Progress

I have been checking in on the Single Girl Support Group on flickr.  It is a group where people share their experiences in making a Single Girl quilt.  I wanted to order the pattern and found it at fabric.com.  On this website, if you spend $35, you get free shipping.  I couldn't pass it up!  Here are the goodies that I collected. 

I picked up some Kona solids since I have seen them everywhere online!  Most of the time for sashing or background fabric I use white or unbleached muslin, but I have a feeling that will be changing very soon. 
I ordered Kona Ash, Kona Slate, and Kona Coal.  I like the Ash, but don't know what I will use it for.  The Slate is a little blueish/purple.  The Coal is my new favorite.  (In fact, I needed to order template plastic to get started on the Single Girl and ordered more Coal to get the free shipping!) 

Look at that beautiful roll up!  It is Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush.  Here it is unrolled. 

I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet, but I couldn't pass it up. 

We have several friends who are having a baby so baby quilt ideas have been in my head!  I have several collections in mind, but I am waiting for them to be released so I can get started. 

Today I made a lot of progress on the quilt for my dad.  I basted it with pins. 

Now I am working on quilting it.  This is going to be a marathon!

I am not sure what part of me decided to quilt it this way, but I am quilting straight lines that are a presser-foot length away from each other!  This is going to be a long, tedious process.  In the picture you can see the backing fabric rolled up on the right.  It looks great, but is going to take a while to finish.  I hope to have it finished by next Thursday when I have to go to Greenville for a wedding.  Guess I better get back to it!