I still quilt!

My sister in law is having a baby this winter- and of course that means it is time for a baby quilt. They didn't find out the sex ahead of time, so I chose some of my favorite colors to make something gender neutral. (I've been saving this teal for a long time!)

I love this simple, bold design. I hope she does too.

Currently the baby-to-be is being referred to as "cricket" and like his/her sister "acorn" I personalized the quilt with some crickets.  (I thought I placed them randomly, but they turned out to form a pattern- with one missing... oops.)  You can see Acorn's quilt here: http://skittl1321.blogspot.com/2011/10/quilt-for-acorn.html

Something new I've been doing on all my baby quilts, for the past 3 or 4...  (I wish I had this idea earlier....) Just add a little love in!

Get $50 in clothes, free. Seriously.

(Wow- it's been a long time.  I've got exciting news: I'm pregnant!  So that explains why I haven't blogged in months and months. I've instead spent that time throwing up.  More blogging soon.)

So one of my budget boards posted this and I couldn't not share!

$50 in clothes for free.  I actually spent $2.87 (for 2 dresses, 5 shirts and a pair of pants!), but only because I didn't want to give them CC information for $0 in charges. But if you get your cart right, it is totally free.  My sister-in-law has gotten an order from them previously, so while I can't review my clothes yet (I will) - this is legit.

Here is what I got. You can also see the totals, so you can see what I paid.

(The website also tells you the retail value of the clothes. Lesson learned: Holy crap, maternity clothes are overpriced.)


Get your free clothes:

Here's how to do it:
1) Click the link https://www.schoola.com/stitch/rf551692. That gets you a $15 credit (and me one too).
2) Click the Collection tab at the top, and at the bottom of the dropdown it says Create New Collection. A new screen will pop up and on the left side where you can click create a collection and select your preferences. Make sure and save the collection - this adds another $10 to your account. Then you don't actually have to do anything with it.
3) Add $50 worth of clothing to your bag.
4) Checkout and use the code ‪#‎schoolasummer‬ This gets you half off. Half off $50 is $25, and from above you have $25 in credits, so it ends up free. You also get free shipping for more than $25.


Edit: The #schoolasummer is over, but you can still get $25 credit.

And, I got my clothes in and they are seriously awesome. 1 shirt did not ship, and they gave me a $20 credit to make up for it.  The other 5, well 4 of them fit perfectly (one I just don't care for, but it is not the shirts fault.) And every single piece is in such great condition I would have never known it was used!

Piecing diamonds

There are lots of ways to make mistakes when piecing diamonds.  Watch as I explain how to get the perfect seam, and mistakes to avoid.

Cutting diamonds

I started my challenge block for the next month. Up next: diamonds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIlaT7O1tK0

What am I working on?

Here's a peak of what I am working on right now.  I've never done a pieced scrap quilt before. Wow do they take a lot of time!

How to clean a sewing machine

Here I demonstrate how I clean and oil my machine.

Small Group Challenge

Continuing the vlog idea.  Here is a peak into my sewing room as I make an improv block using equilateral triangles for my march small group challenge.





So? Do you like the videos?

Starting something new

So i've been really bad about blogging lately.  I decided to try something new, and have done a few short videos/vlogs.  Tell me what you think- do you like watching videos or would you rather read the blog?

This video shows how I store my fabric. And a quick peak at the disaster that is my sewing room right now.

2015 Small Group Challenge: Rectangles

For 2015 our small group challenge required us to pick a color that we would use in the challenge each month; then at the end of the year I will put them together as a quilt top.

The color I picked was Jade. Kevin told me I couldn't pick pink because it wouldn't be a challenge.  I have to say, this will be difficult to work with and incorporate other colors!

This month's challenge was rectangles. I made a simple, modern block using improvised piecing. I didn't have a plan when I started.

Dancing Butterfly #3 and #4

Two more butterflies done (there are 12 total).  Sorry about the weirdly rotated pictures. There is no way to fix them in

Butterfly number 3 features Echo Shell and Zigzag Path. 

I really like both of these designs and I am getting a lot better at keeping consistent spacing. It is fun to see how much I've grown in my ability to quilt over the past few years.


 Butterfly #4 features sharp stippling and bamboo forest.  I found the sharp stippling to be really challenging. I'm not sure mine really looks like what the design was set up to be, which is more flame like.  I'm so used to either all curves, or sharp zig-zags, that trying to make curves with points was really though.