Fabric and Antiques

I made it to the quilt shop in Coo's Bay yesterday, Threads That Bind. While I did find a fabric that i've been wanting, but seems to be sold out of in town, I can't say I was overly impressed with the shop. It just lacked ambiance. But they did have a large selection of fabric, just not a large selection of the major designers. It's not just about the fabric selection, but how the shops feels. I did walk away with these cute fat quarters, though. The brown Joel Dewberry on the right I also got 2 yards of. I want to make a blanket for Brice out of this, backed in cloudy comfort.

After looking at fabric, I walked down to an antique store and found these old wooden spools of thread...

and a neat button. A good shopping day, wouldn't you say. I'm thinking of going into Bandon today to the other quilt shop. Everyone is out for a ride right now, so it's probably a good time to go.

Someone is a talker today! I swear, he changed over night! His face looks a little different, he is smiling even bigger at me today and is really starting to laugh. He's laying next to me on the bed and if I'm looking away at the computer screen, he talks to me to get my attention and then laughs when I look at him. It's amazing how quickly they change. After nursing today, he popped his thumb in his mouth! He just can't be out done by his "cousin" Colin.

And the Winner is....

Terrible image, I know. But I can't get it larger and viewable. As you can see, I went to Random.org and have found my winner - #8! Congrats, Dawn! I'll be mailing your winnings out when I return to town (Saturday if we get back in time)...I just need to know which bag you would like to own.

I want to say thank you to everyone for submitting your favorite blogs - I had so much fun reading them and was glad to find new blogs to enjoy. I also enjoyed seeing some new names on my blog comments. I like this contest stuff, and I think i'm going to do one again real soon. Stay tuned!

Yesterday, while the family went out on the quads, Brice and I hung out in the trailer. This is what I worked on. It wasn't a tangle when I started...but of course, I made sure it became a huge mess. If it wasn't expensive, organic yard...I would have tossed it out. But, I persevered, and it's now a nice, pretty ball of yarn. Brice slept.



I'm going to start on a hat for Brice today. He's almost out grown the other one I made him. I didn't get to the quilt shops yesterday, but i'm going to check them out today when the others head in to town to dump/fill the waste/water tanks. "Uncle Boopie" (brother-in-law) had a little too much Yeager last night...it was good times. He got some permanent marker on his back - "Tramp Stamp". He still doesn't know it's there. We are all having a good laugh over that. Last year he passed out while sitting on a parked quad while we were out at the campfire. He fell off it. Quite funny (since he didn't get hurt). That's what happens when you have a high blood sugar and drink. We were kind enough to give him some insulin after we were done. I'll be posting photos to the Flickr album throughout the week. You'll see our pictures of "Boopie" there.

Hurry!

Tomorrow morning I draw the winner of the 100th Post Giveaway. If you haven't commented with your favorite blog (here) yet do so by midnight tonight for a chance to win. Be thinking about which of the three bags you would like to own - because winner gets their pick!

Today is day 2 of camping. Brice did SO good last night. No body enough knew he got up for a 3am feeding. And he slept until 7am after that. This morning he is talking to his Grandma Bonnie and laughing for his Auntie Annie - it's so sweet! I found some quilt shops in the area...so I just might have to check those out today!

Camping Week

This is our "camping" week. I say "camping" becuase we'll be in my father/mother-in-law's toy hauler...so that technically isn't camping when you're sleeping in a 5th wheel. We're still making our way down to North Bend, OR. Yes, i'm in the car. I love technology. Thank you Verizon! I'm hoping we get signal at the sand dunes...if not, i'll be calling my mom and having her draw the 100th post winner on Wednesday. But, I do hope we have signal so I can post about all the fun we're having. I haven't been on a quad in a year (pregnant)...so i'm kind of looking forward to going out on one again. Our last quad "camping" trip was in January to Glamis, CA. I was in no shape to be on a quad at that time. I'm in the backseat with Brice - I have a comfortable back seat in my Element! ...never having ridden in back before. "Uncle Boopy" is in the front seat with husband (yes, we call my brother-in-law Boopy).

Sadly, my craftroom is a bit of a mess again. But for good reason. Look what hubby did for me! (After months of nagging.) I can't wait to get home and put all of my fabric away on these new shelves. It will be so nice to see what I have quickly and not have to sort through rubbermaids.

Friday husband brought me home a little gifty from my Grandma - fabric! It's a "100th Post" present. Wasn't that nice of her! She went to Stitchcraft to pickout these great fat quarters! Thanks Grandma!

This weekend found me hemming pants. Easy enough to do, but hard on my nerves. I'm afraid i'll mess it up and with what I spend on jeans, i'm not wanting to mess up.

But, I got two hemmed, and they seem to be just the right length for the shorter shoes I now wear. Somehow I just can't see myself wearing my high-high heels anytime soon. Just doesn't seem like good shoe to wear when toteing a baby. But these darling wedges (soon to be joined by brown and red) are just perfect for just that!

My mom's Westie, Lady, while sometimes jelouse of the attention paid to the baby, seems to be warming up to him. She gave him lots of kisses yesterday.

Birdy Bag Tutorial

Finally - it's finished! You'll find the pattern here. I've made three so far and think they are so cute. Winner of the 100th Post Giveaway get's to choose which bag they would like. Enjoy and send me links to pictures of your creations!

This is What Happens...

...to your craft room when you have a new baby. It gets messy! So downstairs Brice and I went to clean it up.

And now it's sparkling clean again! It's amazing how a clean space makes a person feel productive. I made two more of my bags tonight. I also wrote up the tutorial for making one yourself. I'll post that tomorrow. Wow - I really need to get some stuff on the walls in there... I found my watercolors, maybe I need to paint something...

I even got my mini quilt from Kate hung! I love it in this space. I see it every time I enter my room and it's lit so nicely in this little alcove.

Who's the cutest baby? That's right, Brice is! At least that's what I think, especially with pictures like this! He had his first shower yesterday. As you can see, he's a happy boy. This kid loves his bath time.

100th Blog Post Giveaway!

This is my 100th post! I just can't believe it! I started this crafty blog in February, and in just 5 months i've made it to 100 posts. That is an average of 20 post/month. Not bad, if I do say so myself. (Sorry, I was a math minor, always have to see the math in things.)

So, in honor of my 100th post I have a giveaway planned. Up for grabs in 1 yard of Amy Butler's Lotus fabric and the cute little birdy bag I made using the applique technique found here. To enter, leave a comment with a web address of a favorite blog by next Tuesday, July 29th at midnight. Wednesday morning i'll do a random number generator to find our winner and (fingers crossed) mail it that day! This should be a great way to find some new blogs out there.

This was a very simple bag. And i'll post about it next! I'll also post the sketch of my bird so you can make your own birdy applique. So stay tuned...

And if you can't tell, I got a light box made! It's a little on the small side, but working out so far. Elizabeth was so kind to send me this link on creating your own light box.

As promised here is some of the fabric I bought the other day. My favorite thing - a pile of fabric. Actually, the fabric on the bottom I bought at a new shop here in downtown Vancouver today - StitchCraft. It's really a cute little shop. The owner is so nice! She only has about 80 bolts of fabric at the moment, but she told me about all the new fabrics on the way. The 80 bolts of fabric she does have is a fabulous selection. In addition to fabric she has lots of yarn and embroidery floss. It's a nice "everything" kind of shop, but not overwhelming in any way. The fabrics she carries are the high quality quilters fabrics by designers such as Amy Butler and Joel Dewberry. The cute kitty fabric on top...that went out as a thank you to a bloggy friend, but I made sure to keep another yard for myself, too!

And it just wouldn't be a post if I didn't have a new picture of Brice! He's 8 weeks now. We have our two month appointment this week. I'm a little apprehensive about this appointment, we wont be doing any shots for him right now, and i'm not sure if our doc will be on board for that. But I did give her fare warning last visit that I would be very picky about injections. I recommend Dr. Sear's Vaccine Book when having to make decisions on the in's and outs of injections for your children.

**Edit: I forgot we're "camping" next week, so I wont be able to mail the package until we return on Saturday. But I should still have signal on the V-Card and will draw a winner as scheduled.

I Want This Quilt!

And I bet you do, too! Read about the quilt on Old Red Barn Co. blog and then enter to win it! Hurry, though...ends tomorrow at midnight!! Good luck! Oh! I also (finally) updated my "Blog Inspiration" list (side bar) with more of the blogs I read on a daily basis. I've read most of these new additions for some time, but have just been lazy in getting them on the list. You might just find a new blog you enjoy reading.

It Was A Busy Week

It was a busy week! So busy I couldn't get to blogging. My dad, stepmom and three younger sisters came into town to see the newest member of our family. It's too bad my sisters don't live here, I think they would pay me to babysit Brice. They all fought over who's turn it was to hold him the whole time they were here. It was nice to have the break from holding him all the time, but I really missed him...even though I was right there the whole time. I figured something pretty neat out...my sisters are all at ages that I was when they were born. I was 11, 14 and 17 at each of their births and that is all of their ages now at Brice's birth. Very interesting...

We made homemade ice cream their last night in town. Lots of cranking. Afterwards my brother and husband decided to throw the ice across the pond towards another house (pretty far away). My husband has a good arm. Almost hit the house. All those years of baseball still with him.

My Great-Aunt Betty is here from Florida visiting her daughter and my Grandma (her sister). She got to meet Brice for the first time, too!

Saturday husband and I took Ryder to a local park and had lunch and then met up with some of my friends from high school that I haven't seen in 10 years! It's our 10 year this year, but we are not attending. So we got a get together of our own going. Not many could make it, so I think we'll try for another get together later in the summer.

Brice gave me his first big smile today. I was talking to him off to the side and then came into his view and was rewarded with this big smile. How wonderful it was! I just love those dimples! Of course he laughed for dad today. He's such a stinker. I just tell him "I'm the one that cares for you all day...I feed you, bath you, dress you and change your diaper..." He just watches me during my one-sided conversations.

Here's a peek at my next project. I'm hoping to start cutting tonight. My hour glass quilt might be on hold for a little bit while I work on this. I'll have to share my new fabric finds with you all tomorrow.

Vintage Sheet Swap

Elizabeth hosted a Vintage Sheet Swap recently. I really wanted to join in, but I was just about to deliver Brice and knew I wouldn't be able to get out and find sheets to participate. The idea was for everyone to send in fat quarters of their sheets, as many as they wanted in return. Elizabeth so kindly offered to enter me with some of her own sheets. I received my fat quarters and they are great! I already have a project in mind for them, but i'll fill you in on that later. Here's the Flickr group.

Look at all the great fabrics! I think my favorite is the second from the bottom, the pink and orange stripes. But I really like the first one under it, too.

My sleepy boy tossed off one of his little feety-rattles before drifting off to sleep.

One Year Down...

...and many more to go. Who would have thought a year from then that we'd be where we are now? Wedding photos and reception photos on Flickr.

Surprise "Squishy" Mail

Look what the post-lady brought me today! I didn't even know it was sitting in the mailbox waiting for me. I heard her drop it in the squeaky box next to the front door, but didn't think to check it. Husband brought it in when he got home tonight. I wasn't expecting a package! It was from Kate! And it was heavy!

Look what was inside! Fabric and chocolate. It just doesn't get any better than that! Especially when the fabric is Japanese.

I have looked all over the Internet for this red mushroom fabric. I am SO happy to have it!! How did you know, Kate? Now, what do I do with it? For starters, i'm going to have to clip little pieces of this and frame it to hang in my room so I always have it to look at. You know you have fabric like that in your stash!

Saturday in Sisters

It was last minute. Extremely last minute. My mom and I had talked about going to Sisters for the 33rd Annual Outdoor Quilt Show this weekend...but decided not to on Friday. It is after all a lot of driving with a new baby. But then I called her Saturday morning, at 9am...and we decided to go. So in the shower, pack the baby and off we went! 2.5 hours later (and two feedings) we arrived. It was hot, as Sisters is want to be this time of year, but thanks to our late arrival, we missed the HUGE crowds and could actually maneuver the stroller. Head over to the Flickr album to check out some of the quilts. Brice ended up sleeping the day away (not usual for him in the car) and it was a great excuse to see how he did since we have our annual two week car trip coming up in September. He was a pooped little guy when we arrived home. We did stop by one of our favorite shops in Bend, OR but were not impressed with there selection this time around. I'm not sure how I did it - but with that shop and The Stitching Post (which Valerie Wells co-owns with her mother), I came home with no fabric! What is this world coming to?!?

Things I Love - Day 5

I'm so tired - so this will be short. Almost forgot to post for the day, i've been so busy. Can't live without my rulers. These three are my favorites of the bunch, but in particular, I can't live without my 6" x 24"...really nice for cutting big chunks of fabric. And of course I LOVE the guides you can buy to go on the rulers. Just helps hold it in place while cutting and protects digits.

This was too cute, had to share. This is my dog Casey yesterday. Hubby turned on the sprinklers in the front yard and then forgot to turn them off before they cycled to the backyard (it's a big weedy mess right now that doesn't need to be watered) and stupid dog that she is (and I say that in the most loving way...just one too many seizures have destroyed precious brain cells) she laid in the lawn while it was going off. Well, maybe not so stupid...it was pretty hot here yesterday. Needless to say, she had to stay outside for awhile. But she was pretty smelly anyways, so this helped.

Here's Brice cheering on daddy tonight at his soccer game. He was really fussy tonight, I think he was too warm...and a bit hungry. I did my best, but he just hates to be stuck in that car seat.

Things I Love - Day 4

This is probably the lamest thing I love - but I do love it. It's my thread catcher. I think I read about this tip in a quilting magazine years ago. What you do is take some scrap quilt batting and cut it into a managable piece and use it to catch the thread you clip off of your sewing. It works really great. The fibers hold the thread until I gather them up and toss them in the garbage. What I did with this one was take a few pieces (two or three) and sewed them together and then trimmed around the edge. For me, it's nice to use this instead of constatnly reach for my small garbage) which is out of easy reach when i'm sewing).

I keep it next to my sewing machine, mainly becuase this is the best spot for it with everything else on my desk. But it works really well right here. Like I said, I just gather up all the loose threads when it fills up, easy off and easy into the garbage.

It Wasn't Planned...

...but that's why Liz and I are "twins".

Things I Love - Day 3

My Fisker's retractable rotary cutter. What did we ever do without rotary cutters? I remember cutting out my first quilt about 11 years ago. A double wedding ring quilt. I'm pretty sure I had a rotary cutter then...but I might not have. Can you imagine cutting out all of those pieces with scissors? I think it's a queen size. I still haven't sewn it together. It's in a box waiting for me to do that. It will probably never get done. Anyways, love-love-love this cutter because of the retraction on it. I also love the grip. It's my favorite of all the cutters i've tried. It just fits so nicely in my hand and it's easy to put the blade in and out. I highly recommend it!

Blogger is being difficult. I can't post a picture of Brice. :( We went to the park last night after dinner with hubby. It was nice. I'll have to post two pictures next time to make up for it!