I must be crazy.

I can't believe how much the start of school has messed me up. It's the very first year, not to mention there's a new baby in town, and clearly I have a lot of adjusting to do. I have grossly underestimated the amount of quilting I hoped to get done. Well, that and the rush to start and finish the Cat in the Hat quilt (all in just 2 weeks) left me a bit exhausted by the process.

Anyway, before I give you a quick update on what will be coming up, I have to post a picture of me meeting Dave Mathews this weekend. Sorry. I know it is totally unrelated, but it was a major highlight of my weekend. He's really very funny. Anyway, onto my upcoming projects and some exciting news.

In a previous post I mentioned that I tried out the HQ Sweet Sixteen and fell in love. Well... I couldn't believe how hard I fell. I was having dreams about sitting there quilting with it. So I called my local sew and vac, who told me about their special show pricing for the Babylock Tiara, which I also tried (from what I understand, the Babylock is just a private label of the HQ SS).  Anyway, I must be crazy because I put a deposit on the machine, and will be picking one up as soon as it arrives at the store. It was a pretty sweet deal, and I just couldn't pass it up.

So with that news here are some UFOs and upcoming projects that I need to get moving on.

• Finish the quilt top for the Beginners Quilt Along quilt- I hope to donate this one to charity once its completed.
• Make a paper dolls quilt from the fabric I purchased at the show. I actually bought more of this fabric, so if it turns out, I plan to make another one for Diva's school auction.
• I also recently bought some Thomas Kinkade fabric featuring Snow White. It is the fabric that made me start quilting, though I never actually bought it. I'll be doing something special with it for sure.

Also, I have been volunteered to be a quilter for the school quilt that gets auctioned off every year at Diva's school. I've seen this thing go for over $30k some years, and most years it gets donated back to be hung in the school halls. I am so excited that I'll get to be a part of it. Once I get some more information on the theme and what my part will be, exactly, I'll fill you all in. Here is a picture of last year's quilt.

Little Loo's Cake

And here it is. Finally! The cake I made for Little Loo's Christening. This cake was a yellow sponge cake with strawberry jam filling. All the decorations on it are edible and 100% hand-made, and the baby was even hand painted. I hope it was worth the wait!

The Philadelphia National Quilt Extravaganza

Wow. I was totally unprepared for how much my schedule would get messed up from school starting, since this was Diva's first time ever at school. All the meetings and breakfasts, and then throw in Little Loo's Christening-- oh man.

Despite all of the uber exciting things that happened over the last week or so, I'm going to skip ahead to the quilt show I went to. Don't worry, I'm still planning on posting photos of the cake I made for Little Loo's Christening... just not today.

Anyway, yesterday The Tailor and I went to the Philadelphia National Quilt Extravaganza in Oaks, PA. It was a great show. They had some amazing display pieces, as well as some great products for sale.  Unfortunately I forgot my camera-- major fail-- and my phone batter was too low to use for photos too-- double fail-- which was truly unfortunate because they had some really beautiful quilts on display from countries all around the world.  I loved watching The Tailor examine every quilt she came upon to see if she gave it her nod of approval. I would show you some of the ones that passed the test, but again, I didn't have a camera.

After checking out all of the quilts we moved onto the vendor section of the show. I found this great fabric panel Today's Paper Doll by Sibling Arts Studio. Each doll is about 10" tall. I also picked up some of the fabric with the extra outfits on it so that the dolls will have a change of clothes!







I had seen this quilt a while back, and always wanted to make it, but I was told the fabric had been discontinued. So when I saw this, I GRABBED it! I may actually pick up another set to make an auction item for Diva's school auction in April.

Despite how happy I was with my fabric find, I was even more excited to be able to try out the HQ Sweet Sixteen while I was at the show. And let me tell you something... I'm in love. And mark my words, it will be mine. I'm giving it until the end of the year, but more likely much sooner. I love it and it is amazing. I tried it out with and without the stitch regulator and it worked wonderfully both ways. I love how compact it is, yet how accommodating it would be for a full size quilt. It was sooo smooth and every stitch came out perfect-- no pulling, no loops... perfect!

The Tailor wanted me to buy it on the spot, but seeing as how the machine costs a few grand, I thought it would be best to not just charge the plastic without a second thought... even though I wanted to. The Tailor is a terrible, wonderful influence. She is bound to get me into trouble and soon!

Have no fear, have no fear...

The Cat in the Hat is here! Well, I was actually able to get Diva's nappy quilt done in time, and here's the thing...

Don't you just love how this:

Turns into this:

It's such a great feeling! I even had fabric left over to make this:

 (It's a matching pillowcase, in case you were unsure.)

This is a photo of the other side... I can't decide which one to call the front! Special thanks to Laurie at Lollypops Designer Binding for picking out such a great binding when the one I ordered was out of stock. Their customer service is unmatched and the quality of their product is great too!

Detail of the quilting.

If you like what you saw, please consider heading over to the Quilting Gallery and voting for my Cat and the Hat quilt in the School Days Contest. Voting is open this weekend only!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and if you have a chance head on over to Plum and June and checkout their giveaway. It's open until Saturday!

Back to School and Giveaway Winner!

Happy back to school for most of us up north!

Today Diva started her very first day at pre-school. She was soooooo excited to head off to school in her new outfit, but not before I could get some great photos of her!








For those of you who are wondering what happened to the Cat in the Hat quilt for Diva's nap time, I am still waiting on the binding! It's ok though. Fortunately, today and tomorrow are half days, and she doesn't actually need her blanket until Thursday. The binding should be arriving today, so I guess I'll be busy tonight!

As soon as it is done I will post a picture. Also, Little Loo's baptism is this weekend so stop by early next week to see photos of the finished cake!

And now, what you have ALL been waiting for. The winner of the amazing, pink seam ripper is.....

(drum roll, please)

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:135Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Judy1522 is the lucky winner! Congratulations Judy, I will contact you via e-mail to get your address. Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope you will come back often and comment. I love hearing what you have to say.