Fireworks Quilt: Finished!

This quilt has been a long time coming...  I started this Fireworks quilt back in February and it took me until now to get it finished... Although I have some fair excuses, that's still a long time!  Nevertheless, it is done now and I can relax about it!



The quilt top is made up entirely of Constellations by Lizzy House.  I am totally in love with this fabric and I love that she made a print of stars on white so that I could use it as the background.



This is a Thimble Blossoms pattern by Camille Roskelly (link above) and it was written really well!  The "fireworks" came together easily after I made the first block and got the hang of it.  It did, however, take me 6 hours to sew together two blocks, since I made them two at a time.  This is not a fast quilt, but I would say it is rewarding.



For the back I used more Constellations and Timeless Treasure's sketch in navy.  I wanted to stick with dark fabric for the back because I want to use this as a stargazing quilt (once the weather warms up again!)



I quilted it in concentric circles and I absolutely LOVE it.  I first fell in love with concentric circles when I quilted my Dad's Body and Sole quilt last year.  I knew then that I just had to have my own quilt with those circles someday.  When I was stumped on how to quilt this quilt, I thought, why not?  I used a variegated thread so it shifts from dark blue to light blue to white and I love that!



Here's number two for my 99 in 999 goal number #33: Make a quilt for each month of the year!  This one is going to be June.  Or May.  I haven't quite decided!

Currently Listening to:  Jupiter Winter by Sufjan Stevens

Halloween Plus Quilt: Finished!

This quilt is finished, just in time for Halloween!  I am so THRILLED to finally have a holiday quilt for myself!  It is so exciting to me that I don't have to rush to wash and pack it up for a new owner!  How exciting!



I am loving the way that this quilt turned out.  The pattern is from Jeni Baker's Modern Plus Quilt Tutorial.  After all the cutting was done and the layout was finalized, it was a quick quilt to sew together.  It was kind of an instant gratification sort of thing.



The fabric for the top of the quilt is all Boo Crew by Sweetwater.  I really like this line because it's not so in-your-face with Halloween colors, but it still gets the message and mood of Halloween across.



I pieced the back.  That was new for me.  I spent a whole day just putting this back together and making sure it was big enough for quilting.  I can't say that I über enjoyed the process of piecing the back, but I can say that I love the results.  So, I'll probably do it again!  The back consists of leftover squares from the top, Moda black, Kona Iron, and a bit of Pure Elements Cabernet.  I basically used what I had and it did feel like quite an accomplishment at the end of the day!



I also did something else new for me - I machine bound this quilt.  I'm one of those people that really loves to sit on the couch and bind, so I never really had a desire to machine bind, but with Halloween being less than a week away, I decided that I could at least give it a try!  I'm not super thrilled with the result, so I'm not going to link to the tutorial that I used, but I think I'll leave it.  I'll try it again with a different tutorial in the future.



All in all, I'm happy with the finished quilt!  It also fulfills a twelfth of my 99 in 999 goal #33: Make a quilt for each month of the year!!  I can now check off October!

Currently Listening to: The Peace Carol by John Denver (yes, yes... Christmas music!)

Halloween Plus Quilt Top Finished

This quilt top was pretty much an impulse creation.  Some of the impulse was made up from the frustration of having the entire Boo Crew fat quarter bundle sitting on my desk for months and some of it was made up of the simple desire of wanting a holiday quilt for my own.  So, I settled on Jeni Baker's Plus Quilt fairly quickly and I started cutting squares.  With a few interruptions, I finally finished the quilt top.



This quilt is pretty quick to sew up and I'm pleased with the results.  I really enjoyed the time I spent arranging and rearranging the pluses, which did take a chunk of time because I'm so indecisive!



I also really enjoy the fabric a lot more than I did when it was a stack of fat quarters.  It will be a nice Halloween decoration without being too over the top with orange and black.



Out of all the prints, I really enjoy the little monsters!  They are so adorable and I just love their cute little expressions!



I'm hoping to whip up a backing and quilt this baby really quick so that I can enjoy it before Halloween!



Currently Listening to: Tennis Court by Lorde

Recents >>

So, other than being sick, there have been a few things that have happened recently...

I mentioned another trip to Dallas for my sister's surgery.  As you can imagine, there weren't very many photo opportunities, but I caught a picture of my sis being silly the day before her surgery.



And... my mom caught a picture of Dad and I passed out in the waiting room, waiting for my sister to get out of her 12 hour long surgery.



While I was home, I spent some time with my niece, Cora.  She's a skittish little pup, but she is so adorable!



On the day I was to return back to Salt Lake, my flight was cancelled.  Not delayed for hours - totally cancelled.  The best Delta could give me was a flight that left at noon the next day... BUT, it was a first class ticket... hard to be mad about skipping lines, extra comfort, and a served lunch during the flight...



Before the flight, I found a Häagan Dazs in the terminal and a book by my favorite author. (I didn't even know this book had been released yet!)



A few days after finally making it home, I fulfilled one of my 99 in 999 goals: #21 Meet Breanna's baby boy... and he is adorable.





And, last but not least!  I finally got my Pebble watch.  Jake and I backed Pebble on Kickstarter early last year and we pledged enough for two watches.  Jake chose to get a red watch, so he got his some time in May.  I wanted a white one and had to wait even longer!  Worth the wait though, this watch is awesome.



It's an e-paper watch with multiple digital faces (or an analog face that is still digitally done...).  It is connected to my iPhone via bluetooth, so I can read texts, emails, and even see who is calling.  I can control the music on my phone with just the push of a button on my watch.  It's pretty cool.

More recents >>
loving > white peaches
wanting > Waterfront Park by Violet Craft!
sewing > Virtual Quilting Bee blocks (I'm so behind!)
finishing > my Fireworks quilt, finally!
de-cluttering > the sewing room
current temperature > 95°

Currently Listening to: Gold by Wake Owl

99 in 999: #54

While spending the day with my mum on Monday, she showed me her bonsai tree.  Because maintaining a bonsai tree is on my list of 99 goals, I told her about the list.  She asked me what other things were on my list and I told her random things as they came to me throughout the day.  Then I got to #54: Owning a pair of gold flats.  She instantly said that she had a pair of gold flats she has only worn once and I could have them if I wanted.  Of course, I wanted to see them!



Needless to say, they came home with me!  How could I pass up beautiful Gianni Bini gold flats?



There's another one checked off the list! 97 more to go!

Currently Listening to: Seaside by Wake Owl

99 in 999: #16

Soon after finishing my list of 99 goals, I accomplished #16: Have lunch/dinner with someone from high school!

Since I was already in Dallas, I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my really great friends.  We called him Canada in high school and that is still what I call him.  It always takes me a minute to think of his real name!

As we chatted I realized just how bad I am at keeping up with my friends from high school!  He is way more in the know than I am. 

Sorry for the crappy photo... I forgot to get one until he was dropping me off!

We went out for Tex-Mex for dinner and then we had gelato for dessert.

I had a great time with him and I am so glad that we're still friends after all this time.  

Currently Listening to: Lions in Cages by Wolf Gang

99 in 999: The Beginning

I mentioned the other week that I am going to try to complete 99 goals in 999 days.  Well, I finally finished my list!  I have divided up my list into several categories for the convenience of both of us!

Things to do:

1.     Go to a 30 Seconds to Mars concert

2.     Go to a Grizzly Bear concert

3.     Participate in a shop hop

4.     Start a Project Life

5.     Open an Etsy shop

6.     Have business cards

7.     Attend Sewing Summit

8.     Go Parasailing or paragliding

9.     Fold a thousand paper cranes to make a sincere wish. According to Japanese legend, if you fold 1000 paper cranes, you get to make a wish.

10. Go stargazing 5 times with the Star Walk app

11. Have a photography shoot at a factory

12. Spend time photographing my favorite factory

13. Make 72 hour kits

14. Make a friend who is a quilter

15. Take a Craftsy class

16. Have lunch/dinner with someone from High School

17. Print Instagram photos

18. Make my own stationary

19. Have a stamp professionally made

20. Have dinner with Jake’s parents and mine

21. Meet Breanna’s baby boy

22. Buy fruit/vegetables at a farmer’s market

23. Give only handmade birthday gifts for a year

24. Make s’mores

25. Make chocolate chip pancakes

26. Sell a quilt to someone I don't know

27. Get my childhood bracelet fixed

28. Participate in a food co-op

29. Take a dance class with Jake

30. Maintain a bonsai tree

31. Make a six piece collection of paintings

Quilt and Sewing things:

32. Write a quilt pattern

33. Make a quilt for each month of the year

34. Host/co-host a quilt along

35. Make a quilt for mom

36. Make mom a pillow to match her quilt

37. Make a City Sampler quilt

38. Go to Quilt Market

39. Make a Weekender Bag (or similar)

40. Make color coordinated scrap boxes (you can see Amanda's scrap boxes on the top of her shelf here!)

41. Sew a summer wardrobe

a.     10 dresses

b.     7 skirts

c.      15 shirts

42. Make a quilt for our bed

43. Make an Outfox the Fox quilt

44. Sew curtains for the kitchen

45. Make ruffle pillows for couch

46. Bind a quilt with scrappy binding

47. Make Jake a quilt

48. Put up a design wall

49. Submit a quilt pattern to Quilty

Things to own:

50. Buy bikes for Jake and I

51. Own every song Passion Pit ever released

52. Add 10 more crystals to my collection

53. Add 5 more pieces to my Lenox collection

54. Own a pair of gold flats

55. Own a shirt made by Jay McCarroll

56. Start a collection of vintage buttons

57. Buy another work of art

58. Own a Marc Jacobs bag

Places to go:

59. Go to Oregon

60. Go to Disneyland

61. Go to the zoo

62. Take Jake to Six Flags over Texas

63. Go camping

64. Visit Canada

65. Go to the planetarium

66. Go to Zion’s national park

67. Go to the state fair and eat cotton candy

Things to learn:

68. Make/can jam

69. Learn how to use Illustrator

70. Learn how to screen print

71. Learn printmaking

72. Learn how to knit socks

73. Learn how to quilt feathers

74. Learn how to make gnocchi

75. Learn how to make dark chocolate sea salt caramel fudge

76. Learn how to sew with knits

For the home:

77. Make the bed for 30 days straight

78. Grow a garden

79. Organize important documents and files

80. De-clutter something once a month

81. Finish painting/decorating the master bedroom

82. Unpack the boxes in the basement

83. Remodel the spare bathroom

84. Put Christmas lights on the house

Personal goals:

85. Be consistent in an exercise routine for 60 days.

86. Be sugar free for 30 days

87. Use the DSLR every day for 90 days

88. Get up at 6am 5 days a week for two months

89. Spend time drawing every day for a month

90. Develop my alias (who doesn't have an alias?)

91. Avoid fast food for a month

92. Have a new list of 99 goals at the end of the 999 days

Religious things:

93. Read Jesus the Christ

94. Attend all the temples in Utah

95. Read the Old Testament cover-to-cover

96. Read the New Testament cover-to-cover

97. Bare my testimony of the Savior to a stranger/acquaintance

98. Subscribe to the Ensign

99. Visit Temple Square Christmas lights

So, as I accomplish each of my 99 goals, I plan on blogging about it and keeping a record.  The end

the 999 days is March 5, 2016 (that will be our 5th wedding anniversary!) and at that time, for every goal I have accomplished I will donate a dollar to the Utah Humane Society.  I'm really excited about this and I hope that this challenge helps me get some things done that I really want to do!  I hope you'll follow my adventure!

Currently Listening to: Attack by 30 Seconds to Mars