Photoshoot with my Girlies

I feel like I haven't been able to spend a lot of quality time with my girls lately...I'm still recovering from surgery and it's not super easy to get around with crutches.  Last night we watched the Royal Wedding together and they were both just in awe.  I had to explain the oh-so-complicated English traditions and ceremonies.  They loved seeing all the princes, princesses, and other royals...and those awesome hats the ladies wore to Westminster Abbey!

So today, we did a makeup and dress-up day and took a bunch of photos...they turned out so pretty!!

It was such an awesome day :o)

WIP Wednesday

What is your favorite part of creating a project...quilting or otherwise?  My favorite part is getting started.  With quilting, I get started and then once the top is put together, I dread getting down on hands and knees to pin-baste it...so it gets neatly folded up and placed in a closet for when I feel like getting on the floor!  Unfortunately, this doesn't happen as often as it should.  I think a lot of quilters have that problem, which is why there are so many of us with WIPs bursting out of our closets!

So, my plan is to make a list here and then work on them once a week.  I have many, but I think I can start seeing some progress in a few weeks!

1974 Quilt

Beachy Baby quilt

Scrappy Split Rail

Twiggy quilt

Vintage Valentine

Recess Zig Zag

Of all these, I love the Recess Zig Zag the most (although the 1974 quilt is pretty funky too)...it's fun and funky and I love bright colors against the white.  Plus the pattern by Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts is SUPER easy...you can find it here .

New Wave Quilt Pattern by Oh, Fransson--Something to do with Nicey Jane!

I bought this Nicey Jane FQ bundle about a year and a half ago....and of course, when I bought it, I thought it was too pretty to cut!  Seriously, this is my problem with almost all the fabric I buy.  So, I finally found a pattern that I really like that will not require me to chop up my fabric into tiny pieces.  AND I am going to start working on it TODAY...YAY!!!  I also have some quilts that are WIPs, but I will finish those in time.  

Nicey Jane FQ bundle

 

Pattern can be found here at Oh, Fransson (LOVE her blog and quilting style...lots of clean lines and precise sewing)  and there is an awesome acrylic template for rotary cutting found here.  I just got mine in the mail today, so I am ready to go!!

Easter is over, but this is the hair accessory I made for my little girl, Dayna...I wasn't able to get a picture of her wearing it with her Easter dress, but I will do that sometime very soon!

Pattern Review--Snazzie Drawers Juliette La Fleur

I am a huge fan of patterns and tutorials that are created by "real" people...NOT a big fan of those mass-produced and written in 12 languages on tissue paper that is so apt to rip and wrinkle and NEVER fits back into it's original package!!  To me, those patterns are written with abstract, confusing directions and I only buy them if absolutely necessary--which is next to never--can you tell these are not my favorite?? Patterns created by real people have all kinds of tips, tricks, shortcuts, and practical instructions that actually make sense!

I have bought several patterns in the past year that I would like to share here.  All have been simple and easy to follow, and yet offer a unique product.

The first pattern I am showing is Snazzie Drawers' Juliette La Fleur pattern found here.  I wanted something new to match my daughter's Easter dress and decided to give this one a shot.  My almost 8 year old is kind of over the big boutique bows, although I still think they are adorable on her :o)

So, here's the one I made for Emma...she still wanted a headband, so I made a pretty woven headband using this tutorial and just clipped the flower to it.  I could be biased...but I think it turned out adorable!

I love this pattern for a couple of reasons.  It's easy but doesn't look like you just threw a bunch of stray pieces of fabric together.  It looks "shabby chic" but not ratty.  You can make this with just about any fabric and embellish it to your heart's content.  It doesn't take a lot of fabric to make this so you could really buy a more expensive fabric like dupioni silk (another weakness!) and it won't break the bank. The only downside is the price of the pattern, but I am happy to spend money on patterns/tutorials that pay for a person's time and creativity.

Random Midnight Musings

Here I am at 2 a.m. wide awake with a mind full of random thoughts.  I have been sleeping on and off since I had foot surgery on Tuesday.  I have had to keep my foot elevated "toes to nose" to prevent any swelling and have tried to stay ahead of the pain.  I've had more pain today, but it's going okay.  I still have about 15 orders left to get sent out and then I am taking a well-deserved break from Sweet and Sassy.  I am reaching burn-out, which is no fun at all!  I have been wanting to sew for a while and just haven't had any time to work on anything else.  I have 2 daughters and a niece that need spring dresses, and 2 nephews that need adorable bow ties :o)  Plus there are some quilts I want to work on, too.  There is also a room-full of fabric screaming for my attention!

My daughter's b-day is a little less than a month away.  I cannot believe she is going to be 8.  Those 8 years have flown right on by.  I have to say, I really enjoy her being older, but now her problems are more complicated.  She is having to deal with mean girls lately and it is breaking my heart.  I tell her to just be nice, no matter what...knowing that advice is lame.  What is the deal with mean girls and clicks, anyway??  I wish I could tell her it gets better as you get older, but it doesn't.  Mean girls are always there...so how do you deal with it?  Ignore it, make other meaningful friends, confront the problem? All of these things I have told my daughter to try, but she is hurt by these other girls every day.  It is very frustrating.  I think it's a girl thing.  You know you have a bunch of other friends that would walk the ends of the earth with you, but you still want to be liked by the mean girls.

My other daughter is graduating from K-5 next month and I am a basket case.  I was super excited for Emma, but Dayna's has me all in knots inside.  I am torn between wanting her to grow up and wanting to keep her just the way she is, a mama's girl who thinks I hung the moon and daddy hung the stars.  *Sigh*

We've had a lot of house trouble lately.  Not long ago, our hot water heater broke under our house, flooding the entire crawlspace with water.  Today we had one of our beautiful pine trees fall on our house.  Geez.  Thank God for homeowner's insurance!

Okay, not too random, but just some thoughts on my heart at now 2:30 in the morning.  I am still wide awake, though and strangely craving a brown sugar Pop Tart!

New Fabric from My Favorite Designer--Be Still My Heart!!

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE fabric.  I don't just love it, but I also collect it...in abundance.  It is really ridiculous at times, but I just cannot pass up beautiful fabric.  I heard somewhere that if you see something you like, even if you don't have a project in mind, get a yard of it because you never know if you'll ever see it again.  Unfortunately, I took that advice to heart and my sewing room proves that!  I am a quilter and avid sewer, but I haven't created a quilt in such a long time.....that is about to change.

My all-time favorite fabric designer is Joel Dewberry, hands down.  I love Amy Butler, Michael Miller, and Heather Bailey (among others), but my style is decidedly Joel Dewberry.  I caught a glimpse yesterday of his new line on Etsy featuring my 2 favorite colors...purple and green.  The other colorways are awesome also, but the plum and sage colors are just amazing together.  I must get my hands on this fabric!!



The funny (or not-so-funny) thing is that I will probably buy several yards of this beautiful fabric and then it will sit on my shelf because I just can't bring myself to cut into it.  That is the way it always is with me!  I think I have a fabric disorder!  I bought some JD fabric a long time ago and it took me over a year to decide what to do with it...I came up with this design.



But still haven't quilted it yet....because I am afraid to mess up my JD fabric!  Ugh, I am a mess :o)