Happy New Year and a Vintage Sheet Quilt Top!

It's that time of the year again...a few days late! Lots of goals for this year...it just feels good.  I have lots of quilts to FINISH and more projects in my head than I know what to do with.  I have weight to lose (so original, I know!) and plans for a healthier life-style.

So, first up!  I finally got my vintage quilt top put together!!  I used this tutorial for assembly and I was very surprised by how easy it ended up being.

This quilt was inspired by Jane Austen's quilt my all-time fave author.  When I found out she also quilted, it just made me love her more!  I have to admit I was a little bit afraid of piecing all those diamonds (with all that bias), but I actually think I will make another one!  Anyway, I know I still need to square it up, put the back together, and finish quilting it....but this is progress for me.  One of my many goals for this year is to FINISH the quilt tops that are pieced and laying around, and to finish piecing the ones that are cut out and stored in baskets waiting for my time. So....here's to 2012!!!

Vintage Linens Quilt Top Stats:

# of Diamonds - 103
Lap Size - 50 x 65
Time Piecing - the length of New Moon, Eclipse, and Sense and Sensibility (hehe!)

Linking up to Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday!

Merry Christmas!!

Girls snug in their beds...cookies out for Santa...birthday cake for baby Jesus frosted...we are ready for Christmas!!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Geeky Gifts--Comic and Superhero Etched Glasses

I saw this tutorial on Pinterest the other day, and knew I HAD to try it myself!!  I have some wonderful geeky men in my life...my husband and my bro-in-law but they are not the easiest to buy for.  I don't have a Silhouette machine so I had to go old school and print the logos onto paper, then cut them out of shelf-covering contact paper I got for a dollar at the dollar store.  That was the most time consuming of the whole project!

Here are the materials I used:

Set of 4 Glasses--$5.99 from Marshalls
Etching Cream--small bottle was $12.99 from Michaels so take a coupon!
Paint brush
stencil--I used the shelf-contact paper for $1 from the dollar store

I only made 3 so far because some of the other stencils I want to use will take me while to cut out.  Lesson learned is cut out all the stencils you want to use BEFORE you start this project!  These first 3 were pretty easy to cut out.  This was my first time using etching cream...so easy!!  Paint on up/down then across, thick coat.  Wait 5 minutes and rinse.  Doesn't really get any easier!

This would be great for sports logos, names, honestly, just about anything!

For my non-geeky friends...these are Thundercats, Batman, and Captain Marvel (aka Shamam)

This one is my fave so far!

So, off to make the rest!  I've got 5 more to do!  The small bottle of the etching cream seems to go a long way, so I will have to see what else I can etch :o)  I have a feeling I will be making more for my nephews, too!!

Wave Quilting Pattern and a Finish!

This is definitely my go-to machine quilting pattern.  It goes quickly, covering a lot of the quilt in a short amount of time, it's easy, and it looks pretty :o)  This is what it looks like on paper...it's a pretty fun quilting pattern.  I practiced a lot on paper before attempting the pattern on my quilts!  But I have to say...I am kind of in a machine quilting rut.  I need to branch out into other quilting techniques...but it's so easy to do what you already know!  What is your go-to quilting pattern?

This quilt top was made by a sweet student of mine a few years ago when I used to teach high school.  She was in 9th grade at the time, and was dying to make a quilt...perhaps I had something to do with that :o)  Anyway, we would take time each week in study hall to work on the quilt top.  That was almost 5 years ago now...and she never finished it.  Well, she finished the quilt top.  So her mom asked for me to finish it for her to give her as a Christmas present this year.  I am so excited to finish this for her!

close up of the back...I love the backs!

California Girl

This month is blurring by...again.  I want it to slow down!  Saturday we took the girls to Disney on Ice...oh my word, so much fun!!  This week, I had to go to San Francisco for some training for work. When I told my girls I was going, they cried....a lot.  Emma's first thoughts were, "but who's gonna check my homework??" So cute!  I'm from California, so I feel like I am totally at home.  I love it here!!  Watching the sun set on the ocean is just awesome!!  I am definitely a California girl :o)

Anyway, here I am at 5:30 in the morning, pacific time, wide awake.  The jet lag always kicks my tail, especially coming back home to the east coast. Not looking forward to that one!  When I went through airport security yesterday, I had to go through the big x-ray machine.  I really thought at any moment I was going to teleport to another dimension!  It's circular shaped, and the x-ray thingy spins around...very sci-fi.  Then after I got x-rayed, I had to get a pat down.  It was a little disturbing...especially when they started squeezing my hair and patting my head.  Really?  I have huge hair, but hello, really??  What exactly am I going to p up there?  I guess you can't be too careful, but I thought it was a little over the top!  The flight yesterday was pretty uneventful, except I am pretty sure airplanes just keep getting smaller and smaller!  I sat on the aisle and got brushed by every larger bottom that came my way.  So much fun!

In crafty news, I started a new hand-piecing project so that I could take it with me on the flight, not an easy task when you have to keep elbows inside your little seat. I haven't gotten very far...but I love this project!!  It's pretty much going to take me forever to finish, but that's okay.  The fabrics are a random assortment...the quilt shop was having a great sale on fat quarters!!  I am hoping to work on it a lot on this trip!!