Where have I been?

It's been a busy few weeks - the highlight of which was finding out my DH was offered a great job in the midwest! We'll be moving from DC to Indiana in the next month and we're very excited. But there is a lot to do between now and then...

Here is what I've been working on, though.



I saw these darling dresses on Penny's blog and she was sweet enough to send me the patterns. I've never embriodered before but I'm finding this to be lots of fun. I'm going to make them into a wallhanging for my mom, and I think she'll like them! Thanks again, Penny for sending along these fabulous patterns!

I also just completed this top for an online swap. A few weeks ago I posted that I received 12 blocks in the mail from my partner. My job was to use those blocks and my stash to make a top and send it back. I hope she likes it!! I had fun working with the bright colors.

Drooling on the new fabric...

It's a good thing I'm a rabid pre-washer. Not only does it force me to actually do laundry, but sometimes my drool ends up all over the pretty new fabric. My Moda Sunshine arrived today and it's so lovely. The paisleys are just the prettiest thing I've ever seen!

WARNING! Purchasing this fabric line is contagious!! (Thank you, Nancy for the shout out!) I agree with you that I'll purchase from Desperate Quilters again. They sent me tea!

Ok...less talking. More pictures! This is the entire haul:

And the Sunshine line that started the whole thing.

In addition to the tea, they sent me a bunch of free Moda patterns and some adorable Moda U postcards with block instructions on the back. The best is the back of their business card which has handy info on FQs:

I also purchased a FQ assortment of Moda Barefoot Batiks. The flip flops were just too adorable to pass up, and I adore the sea turtles.

Finally, a quilt blogger pointed out a chili pepper sale at Sew Thankful last week, and I had to get some for my DH.

So that is my fabric binge shopping. I really, really, really am going on a fabric diet for the rest of 07. This is the most fabric I've ever bought at once and I swear I have projects in mind for most of it.

Plus, I've had tonsillitis, so I totally deserve it, right??

Binge shopping and sick days

Who gets tonsillitis when they are 30? Who? Isn't this a disease of little kids?!?

I've been home sick from work almost all week. My machine, stash and UFOs have been staring at me but I haven't really felt inspired, so I took a cue from some stashbusters and decided to make my scrap bin useful.

Two days ago it looked like this:


I disdained my scraps for existing. The pieces were too big to throw out, but I was DONE with them and wanted them to disappear. What could I do with such cast off pieces?

Ta da!

I've also been reading a lot about fabric diets and am going to embark on one of my own. NO MORE FABRIC for the rest of 2007! (unless I need it for a project. also excluding the yummy monthly treasure packs I get from Dakota Cabin Quilts.)

But before I started my diet, I had to binge shop a little. I've been doing the Quilt Index Mall Crawl and I kept happening upon gorgeous fabric I needed to have -- Moda's Sunshine line by April Cornell...well, I specifically looked for it at every shop I visited, but that's neither here nor there. :)

After deciding that I wanted yardage instead of a FQ bundle, I binged at Desperate Quilters, which is a new store to me. I ordered late last night, and they've already shipped my fabric! Photos when it arrives.

(After I stop drooling.)

Creamsicles

My online group did an orange and cream swap a while ago, which inspired me to make this top:


This is my first two color quilt, ever! I think it needs another row, so that it is 4 blocks by 5, rather than 3 X 5, but I'm not sure what to do with it after that...any suggestions for a border?

I also have these blocks to work with from a swap. My partner sent me 12 blocks, which I will assemble into a top and send back to her. I've been playing with the layout a bit, but I haven't decided on anything yet.



Probably not the barn raising:


But maybe one of these two (I'll make 4 more blocks to complete the designs)

Enjoying the process

I'm really in a slow quilty mood lately, and I'm enjoying it. Taking my time and enjoying the quilting process just as much as the finished project. This mindset started when I joined an online group and began swapping blocks and tops with other quilters. While I couldn't ever slow down and make the quilt lovely for myself, I didn't want to ever send along substandard work to friends.

Quilt Pixie has a wonderful thought on this today as well...

Here's an interesting idea from a comment in my self expressions course that I hadn't thought of:

keep in mind as you're creating: It's not whether you like the piece or not - liking it is a bonus - creating it is the journey and what you learn from that and what you take forward.

Brilliant!