I'm snatching every spare moment to stitch x's. I packed a small tote with needle, floss, hoop, scissors and this project to take in the car so that if I find myself waiting for kids, I can stitch. Then I tote it all back inside and place it on the couch, where I sew more while watching Friday Night Lights in the evenings. Rinse and repeat. I am anxious to finish, so excited to see the end of the making and the beginning of the using.

The pearl cotton is Anna Maria's and so is the fabric. Both materials are absolutely lovely as is the artist herself. She's a true gem, a fantastic teacher and an incredible inspiration. Plus, she's funny and nice and down to earth. I can't wait to show you what she helped me make. And I will. Soon.

I've got something fun to share with you all today! Betz White asked me if I would preview her newest holiday craft course, Fab Felt Holiday Crafts. I jumped at the chance. I've taken her online workshops a couple of times before and they have always been fantastic. I didn't think there was much room for improvement, but Betz has managed to add even more to her offering. For this class, she has joined forces with Craftsy.com which has a wonderful, easy to navigate platform for online video class like this one. Once logged on, I was able to skip right to the project I wanted to make, watch those instructions, pausing as necessary and even taking notes on the screen. Cool, huh?

I made the character wine sleeve - such a cute little guy, huh? After watching Betz make one on the video, I was able to whip this up in a short amount of time - less than an hour! There are other great projects in the class and taking this online course at your own pace is the perfect way to get a jump start on holiday crafting. For a little preview of the entire course, click here. (House on Hill Road readers will receive $10 off the price of the class.) You can also see some other finished projects here and here. And follow the remaining stops on the blog tour to see even more:

Week of October 31st: Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Week of November 7th and 14th: Stumbles & Stitches
Week of November 21st: Elsie Marley

I'll be back here soon. Until then, take care.

It's finished!

The pattern is Swoon by Camille Roskelley and I knew when I saw the large stars that it would be perfect for Jane. I wanted something young and fresh that would stand the test of time and I think this quilt fits the bill.

And I don't think the photos do it justice. Jane helped me pick the fabric combinations keeping in our palette of aqua, pink and green. The prints are all from my stash and the white is Kona Snow. The value of a few of the fabrics is a bit on the light side, especially when you look at from afar. Up close, though, it totally works.

(Excuse the messy bedroom! That girl loves her books.)

I followed the pattern except that I made the sashing strips 1.5" wider than called for so it would fit Jane's full sized bed. Doing this allowed me to gain a total of 6" in either direction. The finished quilt is 86" x 86" instead of a 80" x 80". And if I didn't tell you, I don't know that you would see a difference. It is still very much in scale.

The back is made from a pink solid and some pieced strips from my stash. I really would have loved the back to be just the pink, but I was short and didn't want to spend any more money so adding prints was the logical solution. It works. The polka dot on the binding is a Japanese fabric that I picked up at Purl almost two years ago. I love, love, love this dot and used the last bits I had on this quilt.

For the quilting, I used my walking foot to stitch lines 1/2" apart. I started 1/4" from one piecing seam line and sewed from there. This allowed me to avoid the bulky points made by all those triangles and gave me a good guide to follow while quilting. Not all of the lines are perfectly straight and I am so good with that. It's nearly impossible to achieve and really, up close and in the moment I do notice those kinds of things, but now that the quilt's been washed it doesn't jump out at me one bit. Win, win!

I started this in July and finished it at the very end of September. It was really the only thing I worked on sewing-wise over the last few months and it feels SO DAMN GOOD to start something and finish it. I feel a crafting energy that has been missing for a long while. Dare I say that my mojo is back? I don't want to put the whammy on it, or anything, but it sure would be nice to take this motivation, desire and inspiration and see what comes of it. Heck, if it could just get me through this weekend in New York, I'd be excited.

Oh, I should add that Jane loves her new quilt. She's happy to get in bed and cuddle up every night. I just wish it was as easy to get her out from under it in the morning....

Yesterday I finished the quilting Swoon and then I appliqued this little monster shirt for my nephew's first birthday. I hadn't done an appliqued t-shirt in a very long time and I forgot how much I like them.  Jane drew the inspiration for this monster and with a little editing, I did the sewing. There's nothing like taking a plain, unadorned tee and a little imagination to make a unique piece of clothing.

I remembered to take a photo of the t-shirt right before I wrapped it up and mailed it off for today's birthday boy. (Yes, still procrastinating over here - some things never change). It dawned on me last night as I uploaded the photos from the camera to the computer that the way I blog has changed dramtically over the last five years. (Hard to believe it's been that long.) I used to blog about every small thing I made and in the first year or two, I posted something here about three or four days a week. Now I find myself chronicling more of my bigger projects and with less frequency. There are many little items I've made that haven't made it to the blog. Is it because I have less time to post here or because I feel like once you've seen one, or three, or ten appliqued t-shirts, you've kind of seen them all? I'm unsure really. I don't know what that says about me or how my life is/was. It's just an observation, something to think about.

All that said, I like the little monster shirt. It was fun to make and a good break from all that straight line quilting. The quilt binding is next. With any luck, it'll be finished and on Jane's bed before the weekend is over.

I sewed the last sashing strip on the Swoon quilt about five minutes ago and once I finish my egg and cheese sandwich, I'm off to buy batting and backing. Since there are about 10,000 threads to snip, a whole lot of pins to baste it and hours of quilting and binding time ahead, I'm looking for some good TV/streaming suggestions. I've seen Downton Abbey, I love Law & Order and I've been known to watch a fair share of HGTV and the Food Network while stitching, but I need something new! Please, tell me...what do you watch when you are working on a project? Jane and I both thank you.

See the upper right hand corner? That's what happens when I am so tired from the first day of teaching photography to 8th graders that I can't think straight. (It went fine. I have a lot to learn.) Add into the mix a new sewing machine (!!!) that I am still adjusting to and super sore shoulders from working out and knitting (just the applied icord left!). The real kicker is that the very obvious mistake wasn't noticed right after it was made. No, I had to go and sew it to the rest of the block first. Classic.

Today, the seam ripper and I will become fast friends. With any luck, I'll right this block and get another one finished. It'd be very nice to have a quilt top finished by the weekend. Though, at the rate I'm going, I'm surely not counting on it. A nap is much more likely.

Thank you all for your sweet comments on yesterday's post. It always good to hear that we are not alone! Our day was much nicer and went smoothly - with any luck it will continue through the weekend.

I made a second Swoon quilt square last night. This one has a pink and white Alexander Henry print that has been in my stash for a very long time. I love this print so much that I only ever used it sparingly - I think the one yard cut has lasted me for 6 years! Anyhow, it's gone now, except for the scraps. I am so happy that I will see it on Jane's bed being used instead of on the shelf, just sitting there. Thinking about that makes me smile.

We've got a busy weekend ahead. Hope you enjoy yours.

Yesterday was a parenting fail. I feel like acknowledging that because I don't want you to think it's all rainbows and sunshine here. I'm human, after all. And I know that we all have those days. Well, I know that I do. And if you don't, then please tell me your secret. I could use some help from time to time.

My biggest hope is that the girls don't remember every single moment I fail them. I certainly don't remember those times when my parents mucked it up. And along that line of thinking, maybe seeing me lose it with them from time to time will teach my kids that we all have our moments, good and bad. And as we make our way through these pre-teen and teen years, it'd be good for me to remember this lesson of empathy, too.

At the end of the day, I had this quilt square. I sewed it while they were at day camp. It's huge - 24" - and the first of nine. The pattern is Swoon by Camille Roskelley. All of the fabric is from my stash and the white is Kona Snow.

If all else fails? I hope my kids remember that I made them things. And that I did all of it, good and bad, the praising and the yelling, because I love them so much. Surely they will know that.