A new foray

I need to remember this link: http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs16/f/2007/184/2/f/free_teddy_bear_pattern_by_sengster.jpg

The Next Big Thing

So I have a few projects in the back of my mind...some of them I can post about, but some of them are my secrets until the person receiving them gets them. 

For now, here's an idea of what I'll be up to in the coming months:

• This is such a great idea!  I'm going to make a few of these to keep in Helen (Nick and my van, for those of you who don't know).  I've got a whole lot of scraps lying around that I could use for straps.  Also, I love that this is a simple, cheap quilt to make for the next projects. 
• On that note, http://crafthope.com/ is my new favorite site for inspiration. It's not a big one yet, but it's definitely a project I'm going to keep up with.  
• Crafthope lead me to this site.  This girl is so adorable with her big ol' grin that it makes me want to find a shelter in my area that I can donate to.  I think I want to see if this place is someplace to donate to.  
• Here is another site I'm going to keep track of.  
• Jackpot!  Apparently someone wrote a book about this stuff...who knew. 

I like the idea of this site as well. Except that I want to make it my personal goal to make and give away 100 quilts before I'm 50. That's roughly 24 years to finish it...4ish quilts to give away a year.  Let me think about this one further...hm. 

In any case, I've got some projects to work on.  Including my first baby blanket!  (This one's for a friend though, so it doesn't count for the give away challenge.) 

my number one fan

he never lays like this on my regular comforter. I mustve done something right :)

plaid rag in one piece

it's all sewn together! it's super heavy and so warm...I'm sleeping under it tonight and saving some oil money. :) still need to slip it and wash it, but it'll do for now!

condensed layout

the rows are all done. now to sew them together...should be ready in time to take to nick's tomorrow to make him feel better. :) won't do the cutting or washing until my shipment of awesome christmas gifts gets here, since mom was awesome enough to get me a set of rag quilt clippers! :)

Christmas Day - The Report for Everyone Following This

As I hoped, Mom loved the quilt. :-)  Here's the setup Christmas morning:

before

after.  If you can't see it (and haven't read the rest of the blog), the design is my own and is the sign-language sign for "I love you", which is something special in our family. 

The scavenger hunt was a success (I even managed to stump her a couple times!)  I'll post more pictures later...for now, it's bed time.  :-)

santa's coming!

t minus one more night of sleep until santa comes! I wanted you to pick my gift tonight, but it's better this way...I'm trying so so hard not to point out all the flaws, and nick even pulled me into your sewing room to read the "zip your lips" thing on your shelf. I think that's great. :)

anyways, this is likely the last entry before you get to see it. I hope I've managed to give you some idea of how much love I put into this for you. mom, you are an amazing woman. you are my hero and my best friend, and I am so inspired by you every single day. I am so glad I got to be your daughter. I love you so much! :) MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

driving back from port a

I feel like I've been holding my breath for weeks now...I'm gonna try to grab a couple more close-up pictures before we go see Avatar tonight, but it's so hard to even think about Friday without letting my poker face slip. you still have no idea, and I hope you don't think I've forgotten you this year. I hope you like it...it's far from perfect, but there's a lot of love in that quilt. :)

I can count the days left on one hand...

I'm packing up stuff to go to Texas!  I'll be there in less than 12 hours!  Your quilt is the reason I'm checking a bag this year...I won't be letting it out of my sight until I'm in Fair Oaks, so it's going in a duffel bag with me on the plane.  I bet you'll wonder why I needed so many bags.  Teehee.  6 more days though!  I can't wait!!!!! 

Muahahahaaaaa

You gave me some "suggestions" last night for what I could get you for Christmas, if I hadn't thought of anything yet.  Eeeeexcellleennnntttt...that means you have NO idea what's coming!  :-D

In other news, Christmas is now on the 10 day forecast!!! 

pieces of christmas

sewn together

with the backing that you cant see

final product

we have a tree skirt!

doing its job nicely

with presents and all

martha stewart, eat your heart out

in an effort to start using this blog to track all my creative endeavors, here's the latest: our first christmas wreath!

23 days!!!!

That's three weeks from Friday!!!! 

I've been telling everyone how I feel SO bad because I know I've told you about everyone else's Christmas gifts, but I haven't even *hinted* at yours...I really hope that by now you feel better about that.  I hope you're not hurt even right now (Dec. 1, 2009), but I know there have been some lingering pauses in conversations that have made me cringe and slap my hand over my mouth.  You know me well enough to know that, if I went even one step down that path ("don't worry, your gift is way better") that I'd end up spoiling the whole thing entirely.  But believe me...half the gift is the fact that I'm pretty sure you have *no* idea what's coming! 

I've already got the whole gift-giving thing planned out, too...I'm going to take close-up pictures of everyday objects around your house (Jesse's nose might be one of them, hehe) and use those as "clues" for a scavenger hunt to lead you to the guest room, where the quilt will be laid out on the bed. 

I'm also not letting that quilt out of my sight...as in, it's coming with me on the plane.  It's simply not worth the risk to me, lol.  I'll sleep in the airport without a toothbrush before I'll let that thing out of my sight. 

Man, I can't wait!!!