Busy, Busy Thursday

With tomorrow being the end of the world and my birthday, namely my birthday because that one is certain to happen, I have been very busy today, so that I don't have to be busy tomorrow!!

I have gotten a lot accomplished.  Also, we are still rocking Instagram pictures.  I have a hunch that I'm going to get a charger for my birthday... much needed!!

Although I made the apple butter on Tuesday/Wednesday, I didn't get the jars ready for gifting until today.

I used the mitten print from Maude Asbury's Tinsel collection.  The apple butter turned out DELICIOUS!  Here's the recipe!

I have also been working on the pinwheel stocking.  Ten pinwheels are done.  Now I'm just feeling lazy about finishing the stocking... ugh.

So, once I finished that, I set it aside and worked on the pencil cases using a tutorial by A Spoonful of Sugar.

They were actually a lot easier than I thought they would be!  They both probably took me two hours.  And it probably only took me that long because I have to read directions like a hundred times before I understand and compute anything.

They're not perfect, but they're cute!  Here they are!

I like them.  And I'm going to have to make one for myself one of these days!

Well, I am off to make pie.  I really don't feel like making pie on my birthday... so I have to do it today.  It'll be good.

Have a great evening!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Do you Hear What I Hear by Sufjan Stevens

Christmas Projects

It has been so nice to be sewing and crafting!  I have really missed it!

Yesterday I sewed together a stocking for my Dad!  He arrives on Christmas day, so I thought that Santa would probably stop by the house to leave something for Dad and we needed to be ready!

I used Deb Strain's Spa and Kona white.  The strips of Spa are leftover from making my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole.  I thought it would be fun for his stocking to match his quilt!  I used a pattern found in the winter issue of Quilty.

For the back I just used Kona white and I quilted it with diagonal straight lines.

I am also working on a stocking for my Dad's beautiful wife, Lorie.

I'm using Kona white and Liz Scott's Domestic Bliss and making pinwheels for the stocking front!  For this stocking, I'm probably going to use a mix of the pattern in the Quilty magazine and Camille Roskelly's "Merry" pattern.

The other project that I've been working on is making stationary!  Every year Jake's siblings draw names for who they will get a gift for.  This year, I drew Stacie - Jake's brother's new wife.  I don't know her that well, but I thought I would make some stationary and sew up a pencil pouch using A Spoonful of Sugar's tutorial.  Who wouldn't like that?

This is an Instagram picture of two sets of the stationary.  The second set will be for my biological father's fiance.  I actually really like them!

There's been a lot of fun here at the Bauer house!  I love getting ready for Christmas and getting ready to see those I love!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Go Nightly Cares by Sufjan Stevens

Case of the Mondays...

I have been such a bad blogger!  Ugh, I told myself and told myself that I wasn't going to let the Christmas season run my life and make me procrastinate blogging, but it totally has!!  I promise, this week, I will be better!

As for my goals last week...

• Put up the Christmas tree: Yes! And I love it!  It is fully decked out with lights, but we don't have many ornaments, so it's mostly decorated with lights.  In fact, I just bought a star for the top of the tree today...  It's not fancy, but it brings in the holiday spirit
• Finish painting the kitchen and put it back together: Yes! And it looks lovely! I love it!
• Take treats to the neighbors: No... I'm a bad neighbor.  But I am making apple butter this week to take to my neighbors!
• Mail gifts: Yes! They should be arriving to their destination any day now...
• Get guest room in order and ready for guests: Yes! It's nothing fancy, but at least the bed linens are clean and comfortable.
• Work on the mini quilt: No... I've had very little time to sew.
• Hang some pictures: Yes! It is amazing how much more the house feels like a home now that I have pictures, and a painting, hung!

We also threw a surprise birthday party on Saturday for Jake's dad.  It was SUPER fun!  Jake and I have tried to throw great parties in the past, but they've all been kind of a flop.  This one rocked, though!

This week, the last week before Christmas, I have a lot of goals and I need to accomplish all of them!!

• Make two sets of stationary
• Make two pencil cases (using this tutorial!)
• Make two stockings (for my dad and his beautiful wife!)
• Make little apple pies (recipe!)
• Make little blueberry pomegranate pies (recipe!)
• Make apple butter
• Finish mini quilt
• Finish Christmas shopping
• Finish wrapping gifts
• Finish hand sewing the binding onto my biological father's quilt, The Curved Log Cabin

Well, I have a lot to do!  I'm going to have a wrapping party tonight - at least until it snows, and then it's time to sew!  It's going to be a great week!  I hope you each enjoy the joy of this Christmas time.  It only comes once a year.

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: The Christmas Wish by John Denver and the Muppets (Classic!!)

The Happenings

Well good afternoon, friends!

This week has been very busy getting the house ready for the party on Saturday.  We have gotten so much done, but there is still so much to do!!

Also: I still don't have a camera battery, so we're still rocking Instagram photos. :]

First of all, I bought the floss set that goes with the Woodland Sampler! I am SO excited!!

We FINALLY finished our front room!  That meant that the Christmas tree FINALLY went up!!  And since this is our first year putting up a tree, we did not previously know that we didn't have enough lights. Ugh.  I had to go out and get more lights today, but since all the sane people already bought their lights, pickings were slim... so our lights don't match.  But I love it none-the-less.

Also: I bought this stamp yesterday.  This is just one of the eleven clever sayings!  Other sayings are: "That warrants a fist pump", "Hot Mess", and "Oh, Snap!".  I love it already!

Today I have been enjoying wrapping Christmas gifts, now that I have a place to put them!!  I also wanted to get them out of my sewing room so that I can organize. Double win!  I am absolutely loving my choice in wrapping this year.  I think it's so lovely that I might make this a tradition.  Also: it's cheap.  All the money goes to the pretty ribbon!

The past few days have been grand.  I hope your holidays are shaping up to be grand too!

xxoMegan

Currently Listening to: Couer d'Alene by The Head and The Heart

Make it Happen, Monday!

Good afternoon, friends!

Life has still been crazy here in the new house.  I have officially decided that I am NEVER moving during the holidays again.  The fact that it is December 10th and I still do not have our Christmas tree up saddens me.  But it is pointless to put the tree up, if I am still painting that room.  Ugh.  I am going to try my hardest to have that room finished today so that the tree can go up tomorrow!  Speaking of goals, here's what I wanted to get done last week...

• Finish unpacking clothes: yes! I did not say anything about shoes... ugh
• Remove the wallpaper border and paint the front room: The border is removed and the walls are mostly painted.  We're still working on the edges and the trim.  This is what I want to be done today!
• Unpack fabric and sewing things: Yes!! It is so wonderful to have an entire room dedicated to my craft.  I'm loving it!
• Attach binding onto my biological father's quilt, the Curved Log Cabin: Yes! and I love it!
• Set up the Christmas tree: we've already visited the sad story of the Christmas tree not being up yet...
• Finish organizing the kitchen: Well, here's the thing.  It was almost done, but then we took everything off of the counter in order to scrape off the wallpaper and paint.  So, the kitchen is still a disaster.  It's such a mess that it almost makes me cry at least once a day.

So, last week doesn't feel like such a success, but we also got a lot of things done that were not on the list.  It's really been a process and a lot of work.  As much as I am ready for it to be done, the house is really looking a lot better than it did when we first bought it.  So, at least that's good.

So, here's some goals for this week!

• Put up the Christmas tree
• Finish painting the kitchen and put it back together
• Take treats to the neighbors
• Mail gifts
• Get guest room in order and ready for guests
• Work on the mini quilt
• Hang some pictures (!!)

Also, I saw on Instagram this morning that the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery just opened up registration for their new Woodland Sampler for 2013!!  You can register here and the Workroom is going to have a set of Cosmo floss that will be going with the sampler!  I am so excited!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Separate by Trampled by Turtles

Mini Project

When I finally got internet earlier this week, one of the projects I found while I was catching up was this mini quilt on the FreeSpirit blog by Swim, Bike, Quilt.  I wanted to make it immediately.  But I couldn't.

Yesterday, however, I started cutting triangles!

(Yes, still rocking Instagram photos...)  It felt so great to finally cut fabric!

I laid out all the triangles this morning.  I love it!  This fabric line is Poodle by Jennifer Paganelli.  I love the sort of vintage-y feel it gives to the little tree!  I am excited to work on this little tree whenever I get a chance!  I hope I can finish it up next week!

Happy Friday!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Sleepyhead by Passion Pit

Curved Log Cabin: Binding Attached!

Attaching the binding to the Curved Log Cabin quilt seems to be a small feat, but this week, it's a big deal to me!  It was so nice to hear that hum of the sewing machine after not hearing it for at least three weeks!  Since my camera battery is still dead, we're rocking Instagram photos! (Can I say #InstagramAddict?!)

I know I've said this before, but I love love love putting the binding on!  I'm excited to hand sew it down!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Tightrope by Walk the Moon

New House!

Today I have for you, my friends, photos of the new house!  These photos were taken the morning after we moved in... So... it's basically a mess!

This is the front room from the front door

Dining room/kitchen

Our new fridge!

The living room from the kitchen

Basement

Still the basement

Laundry room in the basement

Shelves in the laundry room

Upstairs hallway

Guest bathroom

This is the spare room that Jake and I camped out in before our bedroom was painted

Master bedroom!

Bathroom in the Master

Sewing room!

Garage!

There you have it! Our new house!  Thankfully, we finally put a table in the sewing room and even though it's not permanent, it gives me a start to putting the sewing room together!  Unpacking fabric is fantastic!

I hope y'all have a great day!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to:  Only You by Ellie Goulding

Posting from the New House!!

Well, good afternoon friends!

I feel like it's been forever since I've even been on the internet!  We only just got cable and internet yesterday and it feels so good to be back!  A lot happened while I away - it took me over an hour to catch up on my blog reading!

It has been Crazy Town, USA over here.  Every waking moment is devoured by something that needs to be done, cleaned, unpacked, or organized.  I'm using my "lunch break" to post!  Before I get into the house stuff, let me just tell you a story:  Once upon a time I had a camera battery charger.  Then it ran away with the dish and the spoon.  And now my camera battery is dead. The end.

I did get good pictures of the house the morning after we moved in and I'm getting process pictures with my phone, but they're not very good pictures.  I'll be getting a charger this week, so I can post some good pictures for y'all!

Even though it's not Monday, I want to recap on last week's goals and set some goals for this week.  Last week I wanted to...

• Finish packing everything: Yes!
• Clean the apartment/turn in keys: Yes! Hallelujah! 
• Finish hand sewing the binding onto my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole: Yes!  See the finished quilt here!
• Move: Yes!
• Paint master, kitchen, and front door: HA! Looking at this now, I must have thought I was insane. We barely got the master bedroom painted.  And we still have to paint the trim and door in that room.
• Unpack clothes: Mostly...
• Unpack fabric and sewing things: No... :[  We put all the clothes boxes in my sewing room to store them until we got the master set up, so there isn't even a table set up in there yet. I'm sad about this one.

This week I have a lot to do!

• Finish unpacking clothes
• Remove the wallpaper border and paint the front room
• Unpack fabric and sewing things
• Attach the binding on my biological father's quilt, the Curved Log Cabin
• Set up the Christmas tree!
• Finish organizing kitchen

I will post more about the house and include the pictures I do have tomorrow!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Good for Great by Matt and Kim

Body and Sole: FINISHED!!!

While I was in St. George over the holiday, I took my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole, to work on hand sewing the binding.  I didn't get it finished while I was there, but it was a breeze to finish (only one Psych episode!) once I finally sat down and finished it.  I'm going to let the quilt do all the talking because I am just in love.







I am so excited to check this quilt off the list!

Also, here is a fun side note: this is a scheduled post because I am currently MOVING!!! Gah!! Next time I post, I'll be doing it from our own home!

I hope you're having a great day!!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: In Transit by Albert Hammond Jr.

Curved Log Cabin: Quilted!!

I am SO excited that the Curved Log Cabin quilt is ALMOST done!!!

Natilie Thompson did an amazing job quilting it and I am so thrilled with the way it turned out!  I would have really loved to have sewn the binding on yesterday or today, but I'm missing two important supplies in order to accomplish that... my rotary cutter to cut off the excess batting and backing and a table to sew on!  I have efficiently packed my rotary cutter and Jake has efficiently taken down all the tables.  Well, aren't we an efficient pair?!

Well, without further ado... Here is this beauty!







This quilt is going to be so hard to give up...

On a slightly more exciting note... we FINALLY closed on the house yesterday! I can't believe it has happened!  We are scheduled to begin moving tomorrow.  Hallelujah!!  I am STOKED to have my own sewing room!

I hope y'all are having a great day!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Tongue Tied by Grouplove

Make it Happen Monday + Catch Up

Good afternoon!

Holy cow, it feels like forever since I've been in this space!  While I have been incredibly busy, I am so sad to say that we were not able to close on the house before the holiday (due to an underwriter that was clearly already on holiday in his head).  We do have a SET TIME to close tonight, though!  That means that we'll be moving on Wednesday.  YAY!!!  So, here's to another week, but hopefully with some more blog time.

First, let's recap on the goals for the week before last:

• Finish quilting my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole: YES!! And I love it! There are pictures here!
• Make and attach binding for my Dad's quilt: yes!
• Pack master bathroom: yes!
• Pack master: yes!
• Take the Curved Log Cabin quilt to the quilter: yes! and I got it back last Tuesday! I'll be sharing pictures of the quilt a bit later this week!
• Buy batting for the Curved Log Cabin quilt: yes!
• Pack fabric/sewing things: this is a sad yes.

Jake and I were also able to pack up all the dishes, pots, and pans before we left for the holiday.  We were both really disappointed that we didn't close, but we used our new found spare time to go Christmas shopping.  While most things in our apartment are packed, there are those random things that haven't quite found their way into a box... So for this week, we have some pretty big goals.

• Finish packing EVERYTHING (I don't think I even have a choice on this one!)
• Clean the apartment/turn in keys
• Finish hand sewing the binding on my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole
• Move!
• Paint the master bedroom, kitchen, and front door
• Unpack clothes
• Begin unpacking fabric and sewing things (yay!)

In a way of catch up, the holiday was super fun and super tiring!  We took Jake's sister, Heather, down to St. George with us and we had a fun 4 hour car ride.  The night we got down there we took family pictures, which were hectic and crazy, but it was a good time.  For Thanksgiving dinner we went over to Jake's grandmother's.  She cooked an amazing meal!  It was a nice treat to have lamb on Thanksgiving!  On Friday Jake and I casually hit some black Friday sales.  We had two great finds!  One was a 4 piece Craftsmen tool set for Jake.  Since his birthday is in two weeks, it's an early gift for him.  The second great find was this cookbook:

This is a cookbook based off of the Wagamama restaurant.  I went to this restaurant in London and fell in LOVE.  I could not have been more excited to have found this book!  I am super determined to make some of these recipes!

On Saturday we just hung out with the family and played games and then Jake, Heather, and I drove home yesterday.  So, here we are.

It was a great week, but I am glad to get back to a normal schedule.  Well, as normal as can be when we're buying a house and moving!

Have a great Monday!

Currently Listening to: Comme Un Enfant by Yelle

Busy Friday

With our closing date now just days away (we're not sure if it's going to be Monday or Tuesday... grrrr...), I have been super busy packing and running here and there.

The good news is that I've finally settled down on the exact color for our bedroom walls.  The main color is going to be Valspar's Fresh Mist, and the accent wall... well, I'm doing a design that involves about 10 different colors.  Here's a sneak peek with the Fresh Mist as the main color:

I am SO excited!  Our bedroom is going to be fresh and eclectic.

Today, I am thankful for cell phones and being able to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.  It's truly a great blessing.

xoxMegan 

Currently Listening to: Pickin' Up the Pieces by Fitz and The Tantrums

Quilt Shop Review: My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe

Last Saturday, after working with my Mom, we made the trek to Logan to visit My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe.  Best. Decision. Ever.  Even though it was snowing and we had to drive through a canyon... worth it!

The moment we stepped through the front door, I was in love.  The shop had welcoming aura.  I felt like I could have stayed there all day and the staff would have loved to help me search, mix, and match.  Everyone we talked to was super nice, helpful, and excited about the projects we had in mind.

One of my favorite things is that I very quickly found the one-stop-pre-cut-shop area!  I love pre-cuts and I love when they are all together and very easy to find.  Like most shops, all of their new fabric was stocked by collections, with the Christmas and children fabric in specific areas.  They also had a great selection of solids, but I didn't notice any Kona solids... Their fabric selection is very different from that in the Salt Lake valley, which is refreshing, but also makes me sad because it's such a long drive to Logan from where I live!  For example, I have not seen any Art Gallery fabrics in any of the quilt shops in the valley, but this quilt shop had both solids and prints.  Refreshing!

They also have an AMAZING retreat area upstairs in the attic.  My mom and I went through their main sewing space and the kitchen and we wanted to simply join the group that was already there!  Check out this page on their website if you want to read more about the attic and the services they offer, including 20% off everything in the store!

I might have been able to pay more attention in the shop if I wasn't so thrilled and overwhelmed by the amazing quilty goodness that I was surrounded by... When we left I told my mom that we should make the drive quarterly, but now I'm thinking monthly... If you live anywhere close, or are going on a road trip through Utah, it is WORTH the stop and the extra time it takes to get there.  I definitely recommend this quilt shop.

Have you been there?  What do you think of this quilt shop?

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Turn All the Lights On by T-Pain

Body and Sole: Quilted

I finished quilting my Dad's quilt, Body and Sole this week!  I am SO excited with how this turned out!  I wish, wish, wish there wasn't snow on the ground so I could take this beauty outside for some nice photos... but alas, my moving box-filled apartment will have to suffice...



I quilted it with concentric circles using a tutorial by Karen at Blooming Poppies.  I started the circles off of  the center of the quilt and I think that it turned out really great!  The only part I had trouble with was the very middle small circles...



Since I didn't share the backing that I found for the quilt, here's a shot of the whole back:



The backing is Studio 8 for V.I.P.  It was the only backing that I found that had that dark blue, but didn't have flowers or anything girly.  In between the Studio 8 panels, I used some of the left over jelly roll strips I had of Spa by Deb Strain.



The quilting is more apparent on the back and I just love that!!



I am so thrilled with how this turned out!  If you want to see the rest of the quilt top, check out this post when I could take pictures in nice weather!

Today I am especially thankful for friends and family that are always ready and willing to lend a helping hand (like, for moving!)

Well, I hope y'all have a great Wednesday!  I am off to pack because we only have 5 days until closing!!!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to: Darkest Street by Fitz and the Tantrums