WIP Wednesday

Oh man. I'm almost finished with the Cat in the Hat quilt. I'm just waiting on the binding to arrive. But here is a sneak peak!

While I was waiting, I decided to make a matching pillow case with some of the leftover fabric, since Diva will be using this for nap time at school. 

Unfortunately, because of my deadline for the Cat in the Hat quilt, I haven't had much time to finish my blocks for the Beginners QAL, but here are the blocks so far. 

Don't forget, there is still time to enter my giveaway here!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced today.

And now for the sprinkles...

It's been a while since I've posted anything cake related. What with having a new baby around, and working on some of my other (more pressing) projects I haven't had much time to putz around with caking for pleasure. That being said, however, Little Loo is going to be Baptized the second weekend of September and for some ludicrous reason decided that I would do the cake for the big day.

As with most of my cakes, I needed to start on the details weeks in advance. In this particular case, I need to finish the baby, the roses, and the bow so that they have time to set and harden before I place them on the cake. Here's what I have so far...

This will go on the top tier of the cake. The roses still need to be colored (I started the middle one already), but I think I may leave the butterfly on the baby's back white. The other tier will also have the roses on it, provided they don't overwhelm the cake. And yes, everything in that photo is edible.

Don't forget to check out my giveaway post for the Blog Hop Party sponsored by the Quilting Gallery. The giveaway is open until September 3rd, and each visitor has 2 chances to win! Good luck.

Thanks for stopping by!

Blog Hop Party and Giveaway

I figure its about time I hosted my first giveaway. And what better time than in conjunction with the Blog Hop Party over at Quilting Gallery. I am super excited to be giving away a Seam-Fix. It's a great little tool.

For those of you who haven't seen it before, it's a seam ripper that picks up all those annoying little threads that get left behind with a swipe of the white rubbery tip. Now, being fairly new to quilting, I do my fair share of ripping out seams. It works great, much better than picking out the threads with my fingers....

So, if you are interested in winning this lovely pink lady, all you need to do is check out another post or page on my blog and come back here and leave a comment. For a second entry, be or become a follower of my blog and leave a second comment letting me know.

This giveaway will be open until September 3 at which point some lucky participant will be chosen at random. This giveaway is open to international participants. 

Good Luck!

Cat in the Hat Sneak Peak

So, I have been feverishly working on a Cat in the Hat quilt for Diva. It's due date is a hard and fast first day of school, which up here means I still have 2 weeks to go. All of the blocks but one are done, the backing is finished, and then the top needs to get put together and I need to quilt the hell out of it in a hurry.

So, here are some photos of where I am right now.

This will be the quilt top

Here is a close up of one of the blocks

And here is the backing.

Wish me luck on finishing this bad boy in time. 

Linking up with Quilter in the Closet and Freshly Pieced today.

My new friend, Betsy

So yesterday I do what I always do at least once a week. I checked my local craigslist for anything quilting related.. and something just a few towns over caught my eye. There was a garage sale that had a Grace frame for sale. I've been thinking about getting some sort of machine quilting frame for a while so I jumped into my car and headed off. When I got there I discovered that the Grace frame mentioned in the ad was for hand sewing and I was sorely disappointed... until I saw this beauty. It is a 99k13 Singer vintage sewing machine from 1928. Now, I realize these are no big deal. I mean, its not a Featherweight or anything. But just look at her. She is so pretty. And she purrrrrrrrs. I had to have her. So after a quick test to make sure she did in fact work, I loaded her up in my car and brought her home. Being relatively new to this whole sewing and quilting world I've never used a vintage machine. But I keep hearing such wonderful things...

Unfortunately, Betsy here (didn't I mention that I named her Betsy?) is missing her accessories. She came with her cord, her lid and key, her knee lever, a needle, a foot, and a really really old tube of lube. I know she originally had a number of other accessories so now I'm on the hunt to find them. If anyone can give me a lead that would be great!

Anyway, here are some more photos of Betsy. Apparently she was a floor sample. I wish I knew where! Once I have a chance to try her out I will let you know how it went.

 Also, for anyone who is interested, Plum and June is sponsoring a great giveaway. Check out Plum and June for more information on how to win a half-yard bundle of Apple of My Eye by Riley Blake.

Almost There!

This week we were to complete the 10th out of 13 (well, technically 12 for me since I am not doing my design on point) blocks for the Beginner's Quilt Along. Last week I decided to add a new color, a solid grey, into the mix because I was finding there just wasn't enough contrast for the blocks with what I had left of my fat quarters. The thing was, I really hated the way it looked. Which kind of peeved me off since I bought the grey specifically for the purpose of using it in my remaining blocks.

Anyway, I was poking around my (very tiny... so tiny you can't even really call it a) stash, and noticed I had the black with a subtle grey swirl in it. It was perfect. So I ripped apart last week's block, resewed that, and did the block for this week.

 Ahh. That's much better. It just works so much nicer than the grey one don't you think?

Anyway, then here is the one for this week-- Riding the Roller Coaster

Here is a picture of the first 10 blocks. Unfortunately my design wall (aka the back of a vinyl tablecloth) has a dark red on the other side so things aren't popping as well as they do in person, but you get the idea. A white vinyl tablecloth is on my shopping list.

WIP:
Beginners Quilt Along quilt
Cat in the Hat nappy quilt

Linking up today with Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesdays

A Nappy Quilt for Diva

So, I know I promised my husband I wouldn't start any new projects after Little Loo arrived. I mean, a new baby plus a toddler keeps me busy enough, nevermind the laundry, the cooking, and just making sure the house doesn't look like a total warzone. Buuuuuutttttt... I called Diva's school yesterday to see what school supplies a 3 year old might need and was told she needed a blanket for nap time.Well, of course I wanted to make her one! And I even had the perfect fabric to do it.

A few months ago I went to a quilt show in Lancaster with a friend of my mother-in-law's. While I was there I picked up some of the Robert Kaufman Cat in the Hat fabric. It was so adorable, and I had had my eye on it for quite some time. I always figured I would make a quilt with it and keep it around for when someone close to me had a baby... whenever that might be. But really, what would be better for nap time at school than the Cat in the Hat! Anyway, here is a photo of the backing. I love the panel because around the Cat is the entire story written out is a nice blue text. More to come, and soon. Diva starts school on September 4th! Yikes! I hope I can get it done in time.

I have to say, it was so exciting cutting into the fresh fabric. And naturally, in my excitement I just dove right in. I finished the backing last night... I know, I know, way to do things bass ackwards... but it was the only way I was going to be able to get an idea of the dimensions for the front. Here I go again without a pattern.

Just Sayin'

Little Loo is so excited she can hardly contain herself!

Forget Seesaw, I'm Playing Catch-Up!

Well, it has definitely been a while. I thought I was falling behind before, but this time I was really behind. I've been so busy with a new baby, toddler, and husband that I haven't had time for much else. But between last night and early this morning I think I have managed to catch up... and I'm even having my entire family over for dinner tonight too. Sometimes I think having company come over gives you just the right kick in the pants to get you going again. Well, that, and thinking you are a day further behind than you actually are.

All day yesterday, I thought it was Wednesday-- clearly the lack of sleep is catching up to me-- so after Little Loo and Diva went to bed I scrambled to finish my blocks... that's right I said blocks. Don't judge. I never finished my block from last week and I needed to do my block for this week. Well, here they are.

Block 8, Play on the Seesaw

Block 9, Meet Me at the Fair

I can't believe that there are only 4 blocks left in the quilt along before assembling and finishing the quilt. It went by so fast, and I learned a good amount. I'm not totally happy with my fabric selection at this point... there just wasn't enough color range in it, but all in all I think it will look ok. I am thinking about donating this quilt to Quilts for Kids. It is an organization that distributes quilts to children with life-threatening illnesses or to those children who have been abused. One of the great things about this organization is that you can request a quilt kit, with fabric to make a quilt (you just supply the batting). After finishing the quilt (you have 4-6 weeks to do it) you mail it back along with one of your own to donate. Its great for me because I am really enjoying making the quilts, but don't really know what to do with them. This way I get the fabric and everything, and kids will benefit too! I'm not in any shape to start on now, but once I have some time its high on my list.