laptop update

Thanks so much to everyone who chimed in with laptop tutorials!

I think I'm going with the one at CrapIveMade...

but now, can I request one more round of input?  My sister and I have really different taste.  Really different.

She is thinking she would like a fabric that is kind of Art Nouveau but does not look ANYTHING like ANYTHING Vera Bradley has ever produced.  (Being in the same city as Vera Bradley kinda does that you.)

I sent her to Quilt Home and she found this Amy Butler print...I'm not sure of the size on this print, do you think it will work on a laptop cover for a laptop that has a 17 inch diagonal screen? 

Can you suggest any other fabrics that might fit the bill?

100 Quilts for Kids

In my efforts to cut and tidy up my scraps...I found these squares.  My friend Holly sent these to me months ago.  And now I know what I want to do with them!  100 Quilts for Kids is gearing up and I hope to use these for a quilt for a child right here in my community!

(Head over to Katie's blog and read more about this project!!)

The squares are not uniform...some are near 5x5 inches, but others are 3.5 x 4ish...so I might start by squaring up these pieces...but from there...I'm still in the dark.  Do I keep it uniform? Do I stack them like a coin quilt? Do I use them as the middle of a log cabin?  any suggestions?

School bag

I made my pre-schooler a tote bag for school tonight.  He is not at all excited about the idea of school, so I thought if he picked out the fabric he might be more interested in the process of getting ready for school.  He picked out this home dec fabric at JoAnn's this week.

And it was a no brainer to line it in Pokemon fabric!

I started making this bag with directions from Amy Karol's Bend-The-Rules Sewing...but got utterly lost immediately!  So I went back to the tutorial Terri has on her blog.  The only thing I added was boxing the corners...following these directions.  Hugo is happy with the finished product...although he is no more excited about school.

 So I am also playing with my tiny scraps and have come up with this block.  Which arrangement do you prefer?  top or bottom?

Children At Play

Here are my favorite children at play...empty boxes is all it takes really.  This space ship has since been painted red, graffiti with Pokemon and christened The Raichu.

And here are my second favorite Children At Play:

 For those of you who know Anna perhaps the baker's twine will be a dead giveaway...but I am lucky enough to live in the same city as Anna, and she has a sweet online store selling bunnies, bakers twine, fabric and other fun goodies!  When I found out she was selling Children at Play I placed my order right away...she is even selling it at 20% off right now!  look!  she has the balloon fabric!!

Of course, I also picked up some bikes and trikes fabric too...maybe you noticed in the first picture we have a few bikes around my house?  I've been collecting bicycle fabric for ages...my husband needs a bike quilt.  sooner vs. later hopefully!

leftovers...

Thanks for your suggestions of what to do with the leftovers from my obsessive squares cutting...
I have a few things happening on my "design wall".   Some neutral blocks and then some blocks made using the leftovers of my square cutting...I think there is some hidden potential in both projects!

OK, my oldest sister who NEVER asks me to make her anything has asked for a lap top case.  Help! does anyone have any pattern suggestions or tutorials to point me to?

ok, someone is waiting to finish our game....

Cutting scraps

Ever since I finished the recovery quilt, I have been cutting squares from my scraps and in some cases, my stash.  mostly 2.5 inch squares, but some 5 inch squares when the size warranted it.  I love seeing my fabric up close and personal...not sure if I am going somewhere with all this cutting, although my new Amish books have got me thinking about Sunshine and Shadows...for now, I'm just enjoying the cutting.

This is a small section of what is left over...scraps from my scraps.  I'm having a hard time with the thought of putting them in the trash.  any good ideas for what to do with them?

Recovery Quilt

I made this lap quilt for my best friend's mother. She is recovering from major surgery.

This quilt taught me that its great to have a layer cake laying around. and, it taught me that I really really learn how to machine quilt. Other than straight lines. Because straight lines are making me batty. note to self: start experimenting!!

I'm linking this post with Clover and Violet's Stash Project of the Month.  Check out what others are making from stash, and this month, how others are organizing.

book finds

The kids and I were at the downtown library this week and I found a few treasures...some I bought at the bookstore of library withdrawn books and a few I borrowed.

First, my purchases:

Can you believe the library let me have these books for $1 each!  I love Amish quilts, and I read the first chapter of The World Of Amish Quilts while sitting outside with the kids.  There are many Amish communites nestled all around northern Indiana, I find it fascinating to learn more about their culture.

(and a quick stop at a thrift store netted me some binding and ribbon for cheap!!)

And then I checked out a number of other quilting books, these two being my favorite.

 

Carla recently posted about one of Mary Mashuta's books and blogged about her project, check it out!  Both of these are great books!