May Fresh Mini Quilt: Finished!

I barely finished this little mini for the Fresh Mini Quilt Club before the end of May!  I shouldn't have left it to the very last, but I did.  I'm so glad it's finished and that it's another thing that I'm all caught up on!



For this little quilt I originally wanted to use a solid blue background and then make the stars out of various yellow prints.  I didn't have enough blue solid, so I couldn't do that, but I knew that I wanted the starts to be the same color in different prints.  Since I'm obviously into purple lately (check out my violet hair!) I went with some of my favorite purple prints.



I used Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House, Spookyville, Gypsy Caravan, Color Basic + Plus by Lecien and the star print that I have no idea where it came from.  The solid is Kona Bone.



I used Tula Pink's Nightshade for the back and Alexander Henry's A Ghastlie Angle for the binding.  I really like how it turned out!  I think I'm going to give this little mini to my mother, who just loves purple!  I think it would make her office feel more home-y.

Yay for another success in the mini quilt club! Three down, three to go!

Currently Listening to: Heart it Races by Architecture in Helsinki

Virtual Quilting Bee Block #6

Yesterday I completed the sixth and latest block for the Virtual Quilting Bee.  It feels very good to be all caught up!



For this block I used Honey Honey by Kate Spain and a Birch organic fabric that I don't know the name of.  The solid is Kona Iron.



I needed a warm block to be mixed in with all these cool blocks and I'm glad I finally made it. I like the look of all six together!  I'm excited for the seventh block to be released tomorrow!

Currently Listening to: Amazing by Kanye West

Recents >>

It's been a rough couple of days for me, here!  Not only is there so much to do, but add on family drama and my biological father coming to see my house for the first time and you have a recipe for a mile long to-do list and not a whole lot of motivation!  Thanks to Jake, progress is being made on the yard so that it looks nice and tidy for my father.  Hopefully I can get the house shaped up by this weekend, too.

Anyways, let's move on to what's been going on...

I finally started working on the little girl Houndstooth quilt for my friend that is having twins!



The fabric is Kona white and Kona Cerise.  I really love that Cerise!



I have also been working on the May mini for the Fresh Mini Quilt Club.  It's not even quilted, but I am really hoping to have it done for a Friday finish!



Thanks to Aneela Hoey and the Fat Quarter Shop, I won this fat quarter bundle of Boo Crew!!  I am so excited to sew with it, but I don't know what I'm going to make yet!



My local quilt shop brought back a few copies of Tula Pink's 100 Modern Quilt Blocks from market and I am SO excited that I was able to get a copy!



It's even signed!! I cannot wait to make a sampler quilt from this book!



Lastly, I have recently decided to make 99 goals that are to be completed in 999 days.  One of my friends from college has done this and it looks like it was a lot of fun.  She just recently completed her first 999 days and she's now working on her second.  So, I have been trying to come up with 99 goals.  So far, I have 32.  I'll be sure to keep you posted on the goals I have and when my start and end dates are - as well as posts when I complete a goal!  It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it.

More recents >>
loving > home made honey wheat bread
craving > fries + fry sauce alllll the time!
wishing > i could drop everything and make a sampler quilt from Tula Pink's book!
feeling > cold + hungry
current temperature > 58°

Currently Listening to: 100 Suns by 30 Seconds to Mars

Finished Pillow

I have recently been thinking about Father's Day and what I should make for my Dad.  Last Christmas I gave him this quilt called Body and Sole.



It's made of Deb Strain's Spa with Kona Iron.  (There's a full post on it here)

So, I thought I would make my Dad a matching pillow!  I promptly turned to the book Pillow Pop for a pattern that would match and one that I could use the left over fabric from the quilt.  The Crimson Stones pillow was perfect!



Since I used jelly roll strips to make his quilt, that's all I had for this pillow.  Luckily, two prints from Lizzy House's Constellations line are a perfect match in color to the Spa line!  I used those prints for the center squares.  The solid is Kona Iron, to match the quilt.



The pillow came together pretty quickly and I'm very pleased with the result.  It's about 18" square.  I didn't have a pillow form the correct size, so I just used what I had and stuffed some batting in to make up the difference for these photos... I'll be flying to Dallas and giving it to him in person, so I'll buy a pillow form there!



This was my first time sewing partial seams, and it wasn't as hard as I was expecting!  It still came together easily and quite well.



I'm excited to give this pillow to my Dad! I hope he likes it as much as I do!

Currently Listening to: Birth by 30 Seconds to Mars

Virtual Quilting Bee Block 5

I was disappointed with myself that I did not complete this fifth block for the Virtual Quilting Bee before I left for Vegas because I knew that the sixth one would be released while I was away.  But, I did sew it up this week so that I can be all caught up before the seventh block is posted.



I am very pleased with this block!  I used Urban Mod and Les Amis with Kona Iron.  It came together quickly and I think it's one of my favorites...



I am still quite enjoying this little bee and I have been pondering what fabric I want to use for the next block...  That always seems to be the hardest part for me!



Currently Listening to: From Yesterday by 30 Seconds to Mars

WIP Wednesday!

Since I've gotten back from Las Vegas, I've been trying to get things done before I leave on another trip!



As I have mentioned before, I have been working on three Houndstooth quilts for gifts.  Two of them are for a boy and girl twins.  The above photo is the progress that I've made on the quilt for the little boy!  I'm hoping to sew the quilt top together this weekend.

I'm also working on my mini quilt for the Fresh Mini Quilt Club!  I'm annoyed with myself for having put it off until the end of the month, but I'm determined to finish it before June!



I picked all the fabric for it last night and I cut it all today.  I'm also hoping to have this little quilt top by the end of this weekend so that I can quilt and bind it next week!

So, that's what I'm up to!  What are you up to?

Currently Listening to: Up in The Air by 30 Seconds to Mars

Spring Favorites

Since I've been out of the sewing room for the past week, I thought it would be fun to share what I am totally loving this spring.



Jake actually bought these flats for me back in February, but I haven't been able to really enjoy them until the warm weather came.  These flats are made by Lucky Brand and I am completely in love with them.  They are super comfortable and I wear them every chance I get!



I know triangles are all the rage right now, but I totally love them too.  What's more is that I am really loving gold, too... like, a lot!  So when I found these earrings at Urban Outfitters, they had to be mine!



Thanks to Anna at Noodlehead, I won this leather cuff from Kari Renee Designs! I loved the cuffs when I first saw them on Anna's blog, but I was so thrilled to receive this one in the mail!  I love the black... and gold!



I also love crystals and I have a growing collection of them.  Every time I travel I try to find one, but I usually look in antique or thrift stores.  This one is from our Las Vegas trip and it was a total unexpected find!  I found it at Scamp & Scoundrel located in the Miracle Mile Shops by Planet Hollywood.



Lastly, before we left I found this awesome terrarium in the dollar section at Target!  I bought five of them, but I couldn't wait to plant a little succulent in one of them just to see how it looks.  I love this little guy!  Isn't target the best?

What are you loving this spring?

Currently Listening to: Bright Lights by 30 Seconds to Mars

Recents >>

Holy cow!  I unintentionally took a little break from blogland.  Last Tuesday Jake and I left super early and flew to Vegas.  We got back home at 2 in the morning.  I meant to post all along the trip, but that clearly didn't happen!

So, since I've been a bad blogger and a bad photographer, here are some iphone + Instagram (I'm @sapphirememories !!) photos from the last week! 

First of all, before we left, I needed a baby bird update.  I happened to catch them while they were hungry!

Also before we left, I went to the salon and had my hair dyed violet!  This picture is of me without make up, but the color is pretty true...

Next, we're in Vegas!

We stayed at the Cosmopolitan.  Super posh!

There was a shop in the Cosmopolitan called All Saints and all the front windows were filled with vintage sewing machines!

Next up: Pool time!

We ate a TON of great food.  This dessert was one of my favorites.  

This was the view from our room balcony.

And... this is what my mornings looked like...

My friend Erin and I went to the Coca Cola store and tried Coke products from around the world.  It was so fun, but afterwards we both felt so sick and we only just tried a few sips of each cup!

Jake was there for a work conference, and on Wednesday night they held a party by the pool.  

The wind that night made my dress inflate and look like a cupcake!

As blurry as this photo is... that's Erin and I dancing in the pool.  It was crazy fun and one of the highlights of the trip!

Jake and I went to Serendipity 3 one night.  We have been to the original location in NYC a couple of times and we really wanted to go again in Vegas.  We loved it!  This is the sundae that we got and Jake was pouting that I made him wait until I got a photo of it!

On the last night in Vegas we went to the Jean Philippe Patisserie.  The desserts were SERIOUSLY amazing.  I ordered a chocolate trio cheesecake (on the left) which has a layer of dark chocolate cheeascake, milk chocolate, and white chocolate cheesecake inside of that delicious white chocolate wrapping.  Jake ordered a little sampler that had creme brûlée, a raspberry macaroon, and a little cheesecake pop all on a milk chocolate bar tray.

On our way back to the Cosmo, we caught a show at the Bellagio!

We had such a great time in Vegas, but I am glad to be back home with my little girls again.  

More recents >>

loving > snuggling with my babies again!

missing > the hotel maid service!

wishing > i could have gone to Vegas and quilt market

playing > robot unicorn attack 2. It sounds lame, but it's awesome.

reading > Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn 

current temperature > 60° 

Currently Listening to: The Hunt by Grizzly Bear

Houndstooth Quilt Top

I am so excited to have finished one of my three Houndstooth quilt tops!  I was so excited that I just took it straight outside to take photos that I didn't realize that I didn't press it all that well!

Please excuse the wrinkled quilt top!

The quilt top is made up of Kona Iron and Kona Pacific.  This quilt is for my father in law and Jake helped me pick the colors.

I am excited to get the other two Houndstooth quilts done, but they are taking a bit longer because the baby size has a ton more pieces!

Well, happy Friday, my friends!

Currently Listening to: While We Wait for the Others by Grizzly Bear

Houndstooth Works in Progress

I had previously mentioned that I needed to complete 5 quilts by various days in June.  One of them was the third Lillian + Oliver that has already been completed and at its new home.  Another is the Boardwalk quilt that is now all quilted and just waiting to be bound.  The last three are all Houndstooth quilts, one lap size for my father in law for father's day and two baby quilts for a friend who is having boy and girl twins in June.  I received the fabric for these three quilts in the mail last week and I have since been very busy cutting it up and sewing it back together!



For my father in law, Jake and I picked out Kona Iron and Kona Pacific for the top and we're planning on backing it in Kona Steel.  This is the current state of this quilt... it just needs to be sewn into a quilt top!



I have also started on working on the little boy baby quilt.  His mother chose Kona Iron and Kona White for the top and Kona Iron for the back.



I'm hoping to press these blocks out today.



For the little girl quilt, her mother chose Kona White with Kona Cerise for the top and Kona Iron for the back.  Clearly, I have saved the best for last!

I'm excited for these Houndstooth quilts!  It's a great pattern and I'm really enjoying it!  I'm linking up with Lee today!

Currently Listening to: Along the Road by Radical Face

Recents >>

It has been a rough Monday for me, but I'm trying to be cheery as an evening spring storm approaches. It's been one of those days that nothing seems to go correctly, but there have been a lot of good things lately.

I have recently discovered the joy of audiobooks from the library.  I have started by checking out the audiobooks for some of my favorite books.  Since I feel like I hardly have any time to read, I am at least very glad I can listen.



On Friday my mom and I made a trek to Logan specifically to visit My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe, which is one of our favorite quilt shops, but it is two hours away from me!  On the way there, we ate lunch at The Crepery, which was delicious. On our way home we stopped at the Blue Bird for some chocolates for our husbands and drinks for us.  I had the freshest cream soda I've ever had.  It was incredible! Here are a couple iPhone photos of our adventures:











Of course, we purchased fabric at the shop...



On the left is the Lullaby Baby collection by Jean Kelly for Anthology Fabrics.  On the right is a mix of Urban Mod, Indian Summer, and other bits that I randomly gathered.

I have been so thrilled about the nest and mama bird in our tree!  I went out there the other day to check on them and I found mama bird missing.  I took the opportunity to have Jake lift me up so that I could see inside.  I was expecting eggs, but I was surprised with baby birds!  I snapped a couple of pictures with my phone and then we ran away before mama bird could come back.  (We then found her hunting for worms in our backyard!)



Also, I have started this cross stitch and I'm in love with it!



More recents >>
loving > cross stitching
sewing > lap size Houndstooth quilt
fabric lusting > Norwegian Woods
reading > this article on Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos
drinking > double chocolate chip frappuccinos
eating > ribeye and corn on the cob
current temperature > 67°

Currently Listening to: Easy to Love by The Jezabels