Recents >>

One of the things that I wanted to do for my Project Life this year is to actually have an opening page.  For my first album, I just sort of started.  The second album started with the birth of Berlin.  This is the first time that I'm starting the album with the beginning of the year, so I wanted to get some photos of the family.  Yesterday was the day!  No one was sick, there was plenty of sun, and we were all getting dressed up for church anyway.

Berlin was pretty good during the photo shoot.  I didn't get any photos of her smiling, but she wasn't crying or throwing a fit, so that's good enough!

These photos are printed up and I am super excited to get started on my opening pages of the album!

I have also completed the January installment of the Story Time Sampler!!  The frames and the title are coming along slowly, and I am in no rush to get it all done.  I just want to stay caught up month-by-month.

More recents >>
loving > double chocolate muffins
excited for > Studio Calico reveal tomorrow!
planning > the opening 2015 Project Life lay out
reading > Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
current temperature > 45°

Currently Listening to: Make Light by Passion Pit

Sewing Summit!! (part two)

The second day of Sewing Summit came earlier and faster than I was prepared for!  I was already wiped out from the previous day, but I had a full day of fun ahead of me!

After breakfast, my mum's and my first class was the Appliqué Tea Towel class with Amy Redden.



This was a fun little class!  It was nice to finish the project entirely in class and not add to my ever expanding list of unfinished projects.



I chose to do a little fox face!  If I were to do this again, I would definitely give him solid colored eyes... but I love his little nose!

Our next class was a Metal Frame Pouch with Elena Roscoe.  This was another fun class!



We finished our pouches during class time, too!  It's a pretty easy pouch, but the results are great!



Our third class was an Embroidered Pocket Hoop with the darling Amanda Woodruff.



I didn't get very far on mine... I still need to finish the running stitches around my color wheel blocks and put it all together, but you kind of get the idea?



Once it's all done, I'll have a little pocket for my rotary cutter and other things!

Our last class of the day was a Photography Lecture by Melissa Esplin.  It was very informative!  Maybe I'll be able to improve my photos!

The closing dinner that night was bittersweet.  It was a lot of fun, but it was sad that it marked the end of Sewing Summit.  Our keynote speaker was Heather Bailey.  It was a lot of fun to listen to her speak and share her story of how she got to where she is.  It was definitely the highlight of the evening.

After dinner, the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild put on a mixer at a nearby gastropub.  Mum and I popped in for just a bit, since we were both so exhausted and had to drive home that night.



We were glad we stopped by when we received this swag!

I forgot to mention that Friday night, during open sew, Amanda, who owns Westwood Acres, staged a pop up shop in one of the sewing rooms!  Of course, I couldn't leave empty handed...



This is Tula Pink's new Acacia!  I fell in love with the colors immediately and I had to bring it home!

Well, that ends Sewing Summit 2013... I have lots of plans and ideas to make next year's event even better and I'm already excited for it!

Currently Listening to: Convergence by Thirty Seconds to Mars

Sewing Summit!! (part one)

Sewing Summit was this past weekend and it was so much fun!!  I had such a great time, I came home exhausted, but already thinking about Sewing Summit 2014!  This is an event that I will definitely go to again.  It was worth every penny and I am so excited about all the things that I learned and all the people I met!

First, there was the shop hop Thursday morning.  I chose not to ride the bus, because two of the shops that the bus stopped at are really close to my house and I thought I would come home to eat lunch and let the girls out after visiting those shops.  I still came home with a good stack of fabric and some free goodies!



Everything on the stack to the left was free!  Gotta love free stuff!  Even though I visit those shops regularly, I seem to always find something that I can't live without!

That night we had an opening mixer, which I failed to take photos at... and then mum and I stayed up late in the sewing rooms working on some pillow tops, which we still have yet to finish!

We woke up bright and early Friday morning, had breakfast and went to our first class!



A lecture on fabric design by Pat Bravo!  It was a really fun and inspiring lecture.  I super enjoyed it.  She even gave us fat eighths of her fabric!  (I didn't take two, mom gave me hers!)

Our next class was the Fold Over Zipper Clutch with Alessandra Guiterrez!



It was a fun class, but neither of us actually got the clutch done during the class time.  We both finished during open sew that night, though.



I'm really pleased with how it turned out.  It was really easy to make and I'll probably make more in the future.

Our third class that day was English Paper Piecing with Kaye Prince.  This class was a blast and could have been my favorite class at Sewing Summit!



I didn't get very far in class, but I worked on it a bit when I was home and lounging on Sunday.  This is the beginnings of a halloween pillow top!

Our last class of the day was the half square triangle quilt top with Amy Smart.  My mom picked this class out and she was thrilled when she laid out the blocks to the first quilt top that she's ever made!  I only got as far as finishing the blocks...



I'm hoping to finish this quilt top some time this year... I just have so much going on right now!

After dinner, mum and I went straight back to the sewing rooms and worked until about 11.  It was a great day!

I'll post about the rest of Sewing Summit tomorrow!

Currently Listening to: Back to Back by Wolf Gang

Small Finish: August Woodland Sampler

This little block seemed to stitch up pretty quickly!  ...or maybe it was just that August has been a better month for me health wise and I was able to knock it out!

This little skunk is so cute!  I really enjoy him.  Do you know what I enjoy even more than the little skunk?  That August is coming to an end and the weather forecast as cooler days ahead.  The heat has been killing me this summer, so I am so happy that fall is slowly on its way!

Here is the whole Woodland Sampler so far.  Looking at this makes me shake my head at just how fast this year has been going by!  This sampler will be finished before I know it!

Anyways, although this is a small finish, I am happy for the accomplishment!

Currently Listening to: Need Your Love by The Temper Trap 

July Woodland Sampler: Finished

I was able to finish stitching up the July Woodland Sampler, just in the nick of time.  Even though cross stitching is a low key activity, I had zero motivation to even stitch while I have been sick... that's a new level of sick for me.

Anyways, here is July!



I really super love that little fox!  He is just the cutest.  He might be my favorite so far...

Here are all the months so far:



It was a close call this month, but I am happy that I'm not behind and I'm ready for August tomorrow!

Currently Listening to: I Love It by Icona Pop

June Woodland Sampler: Finished

I realized earlier today that I didn't ever post a photo of the finished June Woodland Sampler, even though I finished it before we left for Moab.

So, here it is!



I enjoyed stitching this little guy up.  I think the jar is just adorable.

And here are all the months together!



I'm really enjoying this little club and I think I'll start working on July's tonight... it's a fox! I love foxes!

Currently Listening to: Mirrored Sea by Passion Pit

Recents >>

Spring is slow in coming to Salt Lake City this year.  This has been the longest winter I've ever experienced.  (Seeing as I'm a Texan girl, briefly misplaced in Utah - that doesn't mean much.)

Despite the pile of quilts I confessed to not have finished, I have, at least, finished the Woodland Sampler for April!



This little jackalope was so fun to stitch together!  I usually stitch while Jake and I are watching tv, but this time I mostly stitched in bed while Jake was doing homework (the boy has to get a Masters degree!).  I think I much preferred sitting in bed with my babies near and stitching in the evenings.  It was so serene.



I am glad to have finished this before the end of April.  I can be so determined when I'm working towards a deadline, but once the deadline has passed... good luck getting me to do it!  Just like with the Virtual Quilting Bee and the Fresh Mini Quilt Club, I really like to keep up!

Anyways, the weather has finally started to warm up, and the babies are loving the weather.



The grass is also loving the weather... seeing as it is shamefully tall!

We also have this tree that is blooming beautifully.



Since we bought the house just last fall, we're not sure what kind of tree it is, but my Dad thinks it's an apricot tree... I love fresh apricots!!

No spring or blooming tree is complete without baby birds...



I found this nest just last Sunday and I was so pleased that mama was present when I snapped a couple of photos!

More Recents >>
loving > Sunshine!
sewing > April's Fresh Mini Quilt... and I think I'm in love!
fabric lusting > Indian Summer.  I think I'll die if I don't get my hands on some
Reading > Dare to be Square Quilting by Boo Davis
drinking > vanilla coke
eating > gyros.  definitely a favorite right now
current temperature > 57°

Currently Listening to: Oblique City by Phoenix

Friday Finishes!!

Although this week has been busy with a bunch of other stuff going on and I've been wanting to spend every available minute on the Fireworks quilt, I did manage to finish up a couple of things.

First, despite my desire to not finish March's Woodland Sampler before the last week of this month, it just stitched up way too fast!

I think I finished it in like two nights.  I like them to last awhile because this is what I do when Jake wants to watch tv.  I really don't like to just sit there!

The only edit I made to this little mushroom is that I did not add the eyes and mouth.  I never really understood the desire to put faces on things that don't have faces... But, I still love this little mushroom!  So much that I actually used him in my next little project!

A needle book!

This little needle book was inspired by the Woodland Sampler.  I used this amazing tutorial from Amy.  

I tried to use all my favorite yellow and green fabrics on the back.  We have some Lizzy House, Jenean Morrison, and that Quilted Fish yellow chevron that I seemed to use in all my projects when I first found it...

It's so cute and adorable!  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.  Just to illustrate how badly I needed this little needle book... Here is my previous method of storing needles...

Seriously?  Ridiculous.  This needle book was totally called for.

I hope you have a happy Friday and a great weekend!

Currently Listening to: On My Way by Passion Pit

Monday, Monday

Happy Monday, friends!

I had one big goal for last week and that was to put together the Pow Wow quilt top.  I ignored the dishes, ate my meals quickly, and left the house as little as possible, but I could not get it done!  It took me too long to sew each block together.  I finished the last of the sewing on the blocks Friday, but I finished pressing them this morning.  I also cut the sashing and depending on how long it takes me to decide on the layout, I should be on a fast track to finishing that quilt top!  I plan to post it for a Friday finish!



So, for this week...

• Actually finish the Pow Wow quilt top
• Cut the fabric for the Fireworks quilt
• Finish 8 Fireworks blocks

I knew as soon as I saw the Fireworks pattern on Camille Roskelly's blog that I just had to make it.  It is so beautiful and fun!  I also knew that my little stack on Constellations was going to be perfect for it.

Although the pattern calls for fat quarters and I have half yards here and I'll have plenty left over to tie up again, it is killing me to even untie this beautiful stack of fabric!  I absolutely love looking at it... and I know I will love looking at it more in a snuggly quilt form... I'm just having a hard time with it!

Do you have a stack of fabric you just don't want to cut into?

Currently Listening to: Brightest Hour by The Submarines

Thursday Already?!

This week has been going by super FAST.  I feel like I've hardly had time to take an Instagram photo! (but I have!)

Well, I've been busy quilting Lillian and Oliver and now she is all ready to be bound!



I have also been busy finishing up January's installment of the Woodland Sampler.  The next installment comes out tomorrow and I didn't want to be behind so soon in the game!

This is my first experience cross stitching and it has been so fun!



Another thing that I checked off the to-do list this week was this new quilt top!



I saw something similar that someone else did, but I couldn't find a tutorial or anything.  So... I figured one out!  I'm still writing up the tutorial, but by the time this quilt is done, I should be ready to post it!  It's an easy, fun quilt.  I'm calling it Baby Zig.  :]

And while I have been busy indoors, it has been snowing like CRAZY in Salt Lake City.  Seriously.  We do have sun today that I am thoroughly enjoying and I am so happy that I haven't seen a single snowflake fall!

While I was outside taking pictures this afternoon, Omi decided to venture out into the deep, white... I couldn't help but take some photos of her carefully stepping and hesitating her way to me... She is so sweet!

 



YAY for some wins and finishes this week!  I hope your week is going great, too!

Currently Listening to: City Dreams by Antonio Paul

Cross Stitching Progress

I decided this year that I wanted to learn how to cross stitch.  So I joined Amanda and Ashleigh's Woodland Sampler.  I sat down to start stitching on Saturday night.  And this is what I did...

As soon as I was finished, I knew that it didn't look right... So I emailed this picture to Amanda and Ashleigh.  Amanda so very, very kindly told me that it wasn't quite right and she set me straight.

So I picked it out and did this:

As soon as I finished this row, I knew it was still wrong.  I knew that the placement of the little x's were right, but I was holding the floss around the needle all wrong.  It was way too thick!

So, I picked it out...

And, ta-da!  I finally figured it out.  These are the boxes for January and March.  February is in a different color of floss, and I just hadn't wanted to pull it out.

I do want to say that Amanda and Ashleigh have both been so kind and nice in helping me figure this out via email!  They're pretty prompt in responding to their emails.  I know that if I run into any other problems or questions, they'll be willing to help me work through it.

Are you doing the Woodland Sampler?  It's so much fun so far!  And I'm just on the boxes!!

xoxMegan

Currently Listening to:  The Sun by Portugal, The Man

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

Busy Thursday + Mug Rug

Happy Thursday quilty friends!

I have been ULTRA busy today cleaning, doing laundry, packing (for me, my husband, and two babies), and of course sewing!  While I probably could have made today not hectic by excluding the sewing, what fun would that have been?

Over the Christmas/New Years holiday the hubs and I will be traveling with my dad and his wife to Boise, ID to celebrate the birthday of my dad's wife's sister.  While Jake and I are traveling along mostly to spend time with Dad and his wife (they live in Dallas still), I recently realized that we are going for a birthday celebration... and we should probably bring some sort of gift.  When I asked my dad's wife what her sister might like, she said that her sister likes Starbucks.  And then she said not to worry about bringing a gift.  Well... I was taught to always bring a gift! Especially when they are welcoming Jake and I, randomly.  So I thought I would sew a mug rug, find an eclectic mug, and buy a Starbucks gift card.  Nice and easy.  Yesterday I cut all the fabric for the mug rug and this morning, bright and early, I got to work sewing them.

The block in the middle is Christmas Star II.  I'm not sure what all the fabrics are - some of them no longer had selvages.  The purple is leftover from my sister's quilt, the lime green and the pink towards the bottom are Summer House, the other green on the upper right hand side is Sugar Pop (some of the first fabric I ever bought!) and the pink in the upper left is Modern Domestic, as well as the two squares in the middle and the side pieces.  I don't know what the center piece is.  I fussy cut it from something.  And the yellow is, of course, the Quilted Fish. I LOVE that yellow fabric.  Ever since I bought it, I've been wanting to use it in EVERYTHING.  Don't worry, I bought more.  And I scouted a HUGE bolt of it at Pine Needles.  When that gets low, I'll buy them out!  

Anyways, I still need to attach the binding.  I intend on binding it while I'm away - which is one of the reasons I was in such a rush to get it done!  Just a mental note for me for future reference - take more time on Christmas Star II.  Choose something easier on a rush job.

Well, there is a lot more that needs to be done before take off time!  I hope y'all are having a great day!

xoxM

Currently Listening to: Up Against The Wall by Peter Bjorn and John

Binding Day!

Now that all the pot holders are quilted, I started binding them today!

I didn't have enough of anything that matched to bind the pot holders so I went to Pine Needles to pick fabric for the binding!  Oh, it was so fun.  I love that store.  I probably go there at least once a week.  So I picked up some Pezzy Prints, Apple of My Eye, Riley Blake Chevrons, and some fabric in the same collection by Chez Moi that I used on the fourth set.

I am pretty sure that binding is my favorite part of the whole project.  It's that point where you get a clear window into the finished product.  So far, I love it!  Currently, I have the binding attached to two sets, but I think I'm going to finish attaching them all tonight and then take the hand stitching to the pool tomorrow!  Won't that be delightful?  Sunshine and hand sewing.  Life is good!

Anyways, that's all for today!  I should have some finished products for you tomorrow!

xxoM

Currently Listening to: Trust by the Generationals