welcome to the 60's

Let me just Clue you in. I have been doing a bit of sewing lately.  However, not much of it has to do with quilting. Don't worry I have got it together. After having "the time of her life" sitting through the Hairspray production, Emma has decided to don her own "Hairspray" themed costume this Halloween.  But first, I needed a pattern.

I chose this Burda jumper pattern because of its drop waist and front pleat.  I went with this over the top polyester floral, which I must say it is Groovy!

Emma has been dancing around the house belting out tunes from the Hairspray soundtrack for the last week.    I'll just Lay it on you, Jack is about to Loose his Cool. I am afraid if she doesn't lay off, we might just have a rumble.

We picked up a belt and those "Hip" boots up at Justice.  Sure they are not exactly "go-go"boots but at least she can still wear them after this all goes down.

So let so, go, go of the past now
Say hello to the love in your heart
Yes, 1 know that the world's spinning fast now
You gotta get yourself a brand new start

Hey Mama, welcome to the 60's

halloween treats

With Halloween just a few days away I couldn't resist whipping up a batch of yummy goodness. (drool).  Carmel Apples!

I stuck, mostly with the recipe on the back of the Carmel bag, through in a had full of candy corn for extra bright orange color. (you know you cannot get that color in naturally).  I melted the Carmel and the candy corn in the microwave.  How simple?!  I could have made plain old Carmel apples, but with all of those yummy gourmet apples out there I couldn't resist adding MORE!  I chopped up some Oreos,  M&M's and melted some chocolate.

 Talk about 900 calories of sweetness.  OH!  it was soooooo good. I made enough that each child could have two, one M&M and one Oreo.

The problem I encountered is going to sound so bizarre.  Yesterday it was HOT,  81 degrees here.  We have had the air off for a couple of weeks enjoying the cooler temps.  Well, when the temperature outside rises, so apparently does the temp on the inside. (who knew? heehee:)  The temperature got hot enough that it remelted the Carmel.  OH, NO!  OH, YES!  Now we have 3 apples sitting in a pile of Carmel, Oreos and chocolate.  Somehow I don't think that will stop the kiddo's from chowing down after school.

Quilting patterns

It dawned on me about 2 weeks ago that I had quilted in several months! Granted I had been using my new Handstitched skills to 'quilt' but I had not used my long-arm machine.  The layer of dust covering the machine was my first clue.  The second clue was the layer of things, most of which did not belong to me, that had built up on my quilting table.  Why must every flat surface announce "Please drop everything on me!" Ultimately, I took down my color wheel quilt, loaded it on the machine and got to work.

You might remember this quilt from the Curves Class I took back in February.  (really, was it that long ago?)  sigh.  I had the quilt top finished, the backing cut and even a piece of batting ready to go.  Then the poor thing hung on my "to be Quilted" rack for months.

Such an extended period of time has elapsed that I can't even tell you what got in my way.  Life.  I guess.

Bound and determined to get this baby quilted and hung up on the wall I went to work.  I quilted the background in three colors of gray, ranging from light to dark on the corresponding light, medium and dark areas of the background.  I divided the background area up into wedges by simply extending the wedges from the color blocks.  Within each wedge area I quilted wavy lines, alternating between horizontal and vertical.

Within the center of the quilt I used the pebbles quilting design.  Then I got a little crazy.  I tried something new.  I used my long-arm machine to baste the color wheel.  (gasp!) I then took the quilt off of the machine and starting using my table top sewing machine to quilt the individual color wedges.  (totally out of Control!)

I have 4 wedges quilted with different straight line designs.  Now, what I cannot decide is should I repeat the designs I have or try to make a new design for each wedge?  Or should I only quilt every other wedge.  I have to admit I am leaning towards this idea because it means less quilting time but also because it gives the quilt depth bringing some wedges forward and pulling others back with the dense quilting.

When I am finished I hope to hang the quilt on this wall. This series of wooden wall art has been "hanging around" our house longer than I can remember.  Truthfully I am tired of looking at it.  That and tired of straightening the four individual pieces every time I walk by.

Adding a little color

Emma and I had a girls day Saturday.  The boys were busy winterizing the boat.  (sniff) yes it is sad.  Autumn inspired us to change our colors a little bit.

Emma and I got pink streaks in our hair!

and that's the end of round 3

I finished up these little beauties 2 weeks ago.  I cannot believe it has taken so long to post!  These dogwood blossom appliquéd blocks are part of the 3rd round of my Modern Medallion Quilt. (Yes, I am still working on that quilt.)  It has been the biggest Handstitched project to date.

These dogwood blossoms were fused onto the background fabric.  I used a blanket stitch to applique the flowers to the background, as well as adding a decorative flair to the edging.

And here they are added to the third border.  The next round should go quickly. (HA!  That is a relative term around here.) When I actually get to it, it will go quickly.  Solid grey or green will surround the quilt in the 4th round.  It will make a beautiful setting for the hand quilting!

Score one for Mom!

After hanging on my "to be quilted rack" for about 3 or 4 months I managed to get yet another soccer quilt, quilted and bound.  Wahoo! This quilt was made up of assorted soccer jerseys and t-shirts from 2007-2010.  Now both younger kids have their own quilts to sit on during their brothers matches.  My only error. .. The two quilts are not the same size, so of course they both want the bigger one. Sigh.

Best Date Night Ever

John and I try to schedule a date night at least once a month.  Just a time for the two of us to be together and enjoy a conversation without interruption. (crazy?) The boys are relatively unconcerned, usually indifferent about us leaving.  As long as they have TV, Video games and enough food to sustain them they are happy.  Emma on the other hand likes to put up a fight.  She hates being left here with her brothers.  It is not that they are mean, quite the contrary they cater to her more than I like.  She just wants something special to do.  She feels left out. She will complain, argue and cry every single time.

After a long, long week away last week John and I decided we would have a date night this past weekend.  We had several options available, the usual movie, dinner, shopping or music at the bar which were all okay with me.  Then on Wednesday evening I heard an advertisement for Hairspray the musical.  The performance dates were this weekend How perfect. We haven't been to a way off Broadway production in years.  The more I thought about it the more I realized this would something Emma would LOVE.

Emma is our performer.  Musicals are one of her favorite things. She loves drama, singing, and dancing. Hairspray just happens to be her new favorite.  After consulting with John we decided to include Emma in date night.

Saturday John and I announced we were going to have date night.  Emma of course highly objected.  5 minutes after the announcement Emma gets a phone call.  It was Daddy asking her out on a date with Mom and Dad.  She was beaming.  She spent the rest of the night planning her wardrobe, singing the hairspray songs and dancing around the house.

When we FINALLY got to the theater  she was in awe.  Everything was exciting, even the orchestra pit! She sat and sang along with every song, danced in her seat and shared secrets with Dad, it was so cute!  She compared every act to the movie and shared the differences.  When the final song in Act II came on, (You can't stop the beat)  she asked if it was wrong to stand up and dance in the isle!  With no one sitting behind us in the balcony she did just that!

On the way home she sat in the back seat bopping to the music only she could hear, and reliving the musical in her head.  Half asleep as we pulled into the driveway she said, "Thanks Mom and Dad.  This was the best Date night EVER!"