WIP Wednesday

This is my very first go at paper piecing. It is the botm for my guild. While I don't anticipate using much of this method anytime soon, it was nice to try it out. Tommy held my hand through it and told me that according to physics I was using imaginary numbers. Mhmm. 

Here are the first six blocks all together. 

Another project I'm working on is a kaleidoscope quilt. So far I've been doing lots of cutting. Over 500 pieces so far and another 300+ to go! A few years ago that would have freaked me out but now I am so excited to be working on it. Last week my friend Julie picked up this kaleidoRuler for me; it is a must for cutting these blocks!

I considered going for an ombré effect in the quilt but after seeing these fabrics in black and white I realized that there's not nearly enough contrast in their values to do that. So I'll just sew at random and save ombré for another day. 

Episode IV

He is almost five after all. 

Stash Starting Resources

I have a friend who has expressed an interest in learning to quilt. I must admit I am a little hesitant, because, what if she's better than me; or what if she realizes that it's not always all *that* hard, or what if I feel the need to do some sympathy fabric shopping?

Regardless, I thought it would be nice to share some good resources, and a couple favorite blogs. There are tons and tons of great quilting blogs, but I limit myself or else I would get nothing done because I'd spend all day scouring the internet.

Stash Building:

One of the first blogs I remember reading was Crazy Mom Quilts. In this post she shows how she folds her fabric, and also shares her criteria for scraps.

I love Connecting Threads, and their fabric. They come out with new lines often and are very affordable. 

They sell their fabric collections in precuts as well. And they don't charge for it! Buying a charm pack pretty much anywhere else will cost you 30% more or even more than that! For reference, a yard is 36"xWOF (width of fabric, which is usually 42-44").

For more thoughts on fat quarters, read Don't Call Me Betsy's post Dear Fat Quarters. She discusses what size cut she prefers and why.

Another blog I love is Cluck Cluck Sew. It's full of fresh colors and clean lines. She shares a post on how to start a fabric stash here. And I love her bottom line: the bottom line is, whether you have a big stash or a small stash..buy what you love.  If you love it, you’ll use it and be more happy with what you have. 

In Color Order has a whole blog series discussing fabric and color. She covers topics like: storage, organizing and buying as well as color schemes, tones, etc. This girl is thorough!

If you know of any other great resources on starting a stash or organizing or fabric, please share in the comments.

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Minivan Mom

Like a good friend said: "It's like wearing flip flops; it's not sexy but it sure is comfortable."

Mostly May

Time is flying by here and we are loving out little family! Every day feels busy and full and mostly in good ways.

The boys love being together and Daniel often asks if Eli can stay in his room for quiet time. Sometimes I oblige him for 10-15 minutes. But lately it all the little toys make me nervous with Eli's scooching about. 

We checked out a local arts event recently and enjoyed seeing artists and musicians showing off their talents. Eli rode on my back and got plenty of compliments. 

This sticker cracked me up, as the event reminded me a lot of Austin. 

Eli is enjoying his jump-up a lot these days. This is one of two places it can hang in our house. It's a great location since I can sew and see him at the same time. 

Eli is so strong! I won't be surprised if he is crawling by 6 months. He started rolling onto his tummy recently. And now pushes up a lot with his arms and even pushes his legs under him.

I made these little mug rugs for Daniel's teachers as end of the year gifts. Attached is a super cute mug rug poem that Tommy wrote. 

Here's my handsome boy all graduated from preschool! We plan to start homeschool kindergarten in the fall. 

We are all crafty here! Me with fabric, Daniel with colors and Tommy making weapons!

A little Bible study!

I could just eat him up!! The guys from our care group recently went to a speedway to watch races and had a blast. I might have to join them next time. 

Hope you enjoyed a little update. Thanks to Tiffani I finally figured out how to better blog from my phone!!