Just sharing a sew along/quilt along that excites me!!

As a budding quilter and sewer in general, I am constantly reading about techniques and patterns to try out. I don't have the confidence to try much of it out on my own though. :( So, when I heard about the We Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler project over at Sewn by Leila, my eyes lit up. I'm definitely all in! It's really nice to tackle a project with a group of people that are ready to support you (or suffer with you, as the case may be, LOL!), and it's a cool feeling when you are able to support others with your skillful knowledge and advice.


So, check it out and join in!

We Can Do It! Skill Builder Sampler

Recently ... (pic heavy)

Once again, I have neglected this space. So here are some of the things I've been playing with lately. :)

Nails:

Crackle! Maybelline Firefly from the 2011 spring collex with the white China Glaze crackle over top. I loved this.



I won the OPI FB giveaway!



And tried Cheyenne Pepper



Tried out a new Jesse's Girl polish, Glee. It's beautiful but stained the CRAP out of my nails and skin. :(




Thought I found a HTF Hard Candy polish, but it ended up just being mislabeled. :( It's not actually Zombie.




Tried out one of my 3 free Zoyas. Miley is seriously beautiful.




Made a fun franken for an awesome friend. It's called My Sour Valentine.





Quilting:

I have FINISHED my very first quilt thanks to the That Girl ... That Quilt Along!!

My dog always gets in the way when I try to take pictures of it, LOL!




I joined the 3x6 mini quilting bee block swap and completed the blocks for my hive. So fun! Here are the blocks I made:














Crafty: I've been working on test products for my upcoming etsy store grand opening! No pics of this stuff at this time ... ;)


The Jr. production of God Spell at the Landis Theater wrapped in February. Here's a pic of Miss M that is just so unbelievably fantastic in my humble opinion. :D



She wasn't cast in the current production, which is Wizard of Oz, however she will be part of the stage crew with her brothers. Fun fun! Mommy (me, lol) is auditioning for a role in Cabaret tonight. Here's to breaking legs!!



And that's about it I guess! Have a great day!

Wowza! Crazy generous giveaway at Lucy & Norman!

Not one, but TWO jelly rolls, PLENTY of yardage for a quilt back AND yardage for binding!!! Head on over to Lucy & Norman to check it out and enter.

Super sweet giveaway at Quilt Frenzy!

Head over to enter to win a whole year subscription to Love of Quilting! This is a very generous prize!!!


Quilt Frenzy


Good luck!

Quilt Along Progress

Here are a couple shots of my quilt along progress (That Girl ... That Quilt Along)



Here is the mountain of scraps rendered from wonkifying my blocks.


Here are a couple of blocks laid out to show the wonky effect. It's pretty subtle, but gives the simple layout a little more interest.

Now I just need to sew the blocks into rows and the rows into the finished quilt top! The QAL layout is for 5 blocks by 8 blocks, but I'm not crazy about the long and narrow look. So, instead, I think I'll do 6x6.

Sweet fabric giveaway at Retromummy!

Literally sweet, as in the Sweet Broderie range by Rosalie Quinlan. I'll tell you what ... if *I* win, Miss M's going to get a quilt and probably matching pillows. These fabrics are to die for for little girly girls.

Check it out and enter and Retromummy.

That Girl ... That Quilt Along progress ...

So, week one was pick fabric.

Check!

Week 2 was cut the fabric.

Check!

And now we're on week 3, assembling the blocks. Here is my progress so far.

That is 80 strips sewn to 40 squares and 80 seams pressed. OY! I need a taller ironing board! Bending over it is killing my back, and I have 240 more strips to piece and press!!!

I'm a complainer, but in reality I am really enjoying myself. I'm new to sewing, and getting better and better with each cut and each seam, and more confident. I can't wait to see the finished result and ship it off to my friend's little boy!!

Oh, and here's the sewing machine I use, just for fun.

So, I joined a quilt along ...

I'm so excited. I hope I don't screw this up, I intend for the finished product to go to my friend's little boy, hopefully by xmas. Anyway, if you want to scope it out, just click the button on my side bar. :)

Lamest blogger award goes to ...

ME! I'm so lame.


Not really. I just haven't had interwebz access at home practically all summer. And I just lost my job of 10 years due to the economy. My employer had to close the doors of the retail establishment he's owned for over 25 years. :( It's all good though, I'm sure I'll be gainfully employed relatively soon. I hope ...


So, I've painted my nails umpty times since I last posted. Here's Maybelline Sweet Clementine:

Outside, slightly overcast.


Inside under crappy lighting.

With a coat of China Glaze 5 Golden Rings (or whatever it's called, from last year's holiday line) in a little bit of sun.


Inside under crappy lighting.

The color of Sweet Clementine isn't exactly as pictured. It's closer to the indoor pics though. Very creamy and bright at the same time, but not as dark as the outdoor pics show. I liked it a lot. It was so long ago that I can't comment on the wear. *shrug* I know I added the gold glitter to give it some oomph, not to hide tipwear or anything.


The Divine Miss M had her off off off off off off Broadway debut as the most incredible Who Whoville and the entire Jungle of Nool (Seussical Jr.) has ever seen ... That's right. I said it. Here's a blurry picture.


The boys were also present for the festivities. They don't have a theatrical bone in their combined bodies, but they are very interested in the technical aspect. They participated in stage crew. I *thought* I had a pic of them ... but apparently I don't. I have no idea. ... and then I had the great idea to poke around in my mother-in-law's photobucket acct. Ha! Pics! I haz them! They're from her phone though, so they're only slightly worse than the ones I take with a real camera, lol.

I don't think I have cool internet nicknames for the boys. When Mr. Raz and I are trying to talk about them when they're in the room, we refer to them as Senior Uno and El Doche (Doe- Chay), lol, so I guess that'll do. Senior Uno is on the right. He's 10. El Doche is 9. Please don't EVER ask Uno is Doche is his big brother. He gets SOOOO mad.


All 3 of my rockstars!

The Divine Miss M favors her mother with a picture. Can I have your autograph??


Mr. Raz is NOT fond of the camera. :D


I'm still working on Miss M's blanket. It's about 2/3 finished. I'm so over it, lol. Since I like to flit from thing to thing, and I ran across some really beautiful items while blog hopping, I have decided to learn to quilt. Here's the top of my first project, a table runner.


I'm pretty proud of myself. It's pretty much my first time sewing, and while my seams are crooked, and it will probably be wonky once it's all done, it's still freaking awesome.

A close up of my prints. I don't know why it's so dark. The colors are actually really bright and refreshing. They look kind of drab here. Prob caz we've had NO sun in weeks (except last Saturday, but that was then, this is now). I'd link the project I'm doing, but I'm not sure if it's allowed by the blog owner, so, umm, it's a project called City Windows Table Runner and it's at the Moda Bakeshop blog.


I guess that's it. I need to go cook dinner for the kids now. I don't feel like it, but they need to eat, right??


FIN