Tuesday, January 27, 2015

First quilt top of 2015!

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I'm proud to say my first quilt top of 2015 is completed!  And January isn't even over yet, I'm giving myself a big pat on the back here.  And more so, the actual quilt is even complete, I'm just waiting on some decent weather to get back outside and snap a few pictures!  We luckily missed the brunt of the blizzard of 2015, being in Pittsburgh, we got about 6 inches or so yesterday and that was it.  I know I'm probably crazy, but I sort of like getting those huge snowstorms!  Yes, call me nuts, but I'll never be sad about a free snow day :-)

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There is absolutely nothing that I don't 1000% love about this quilt, its just so pretty and girly, and reminds me of warmer temps and summer.  I mean if its not going to snow enough to get me out of work, then I'd rather it be 80 degrees and summer.  #amiright???

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This quilt is destined for a very good friend who just had her third baby, and after two boys, now has a baby girl to dress in pink and wear pretty dresses and headbands!  I wanted this quilt to be almost too sweet, as I'm sure little baby A will have PLENTY of Tonka trucks and Matchbox cars in her life, with those two older brothers of hers.

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I cut into my Far Far Away bundle and fussy cut a few of my favorite prints, including the unicorns, Princess and the Pea prints as well as a few frogs and snails, and paired them with pretty oranges, yellows and pinks from my stash to put together this super sweet baby quilt.

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I'm also playing around with my new camera lens Santa brought for Christmas, a 50 mm f/1.8 prime lens, I think I'm getting the hang of it, at least for stationary objects like quilts, but having a trickier time with moving subjects, like miss Nora who is on the go 100% of the time, usually climbing on something or other, so if anyone has any great tutorials they've come across or resources, I'd love to hear about it!

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As soon as I have a good day to snap some pics, I'll be back with the finished quilt, and can finally get this quilt off to Miss A so it can be properly snuggled with all that baby goodness.  

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Hello 2015!

I can hardly believe we have already said goodbye to 2014 and hello to 2015!  When I look back on 2014 I'm of course consumed with images of our sweet Nora and how crazy fast she is growing, but when I focus on what went on in my sewing room, I'm actually pleasantly surprised that I did complete a few quilts!

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1. Christmas Tree Skirt 2. Blueberry Pluses 3. Large and In Charge Man Quilt 4. Baby Leon's Strip Quilt 5. Snazzed Up Cheater Quilt 6. Woodland Triangles 7. Sidekick Tote 8. 2014 Once Upon a Time Sampler 9. Sew Together Bag

Of course I wasn't nearly as productive as I have been in previous years, but you know what, I'm ok with it.  I'm figuring out how to fit a hobby that I enjoy into my life now, and yes that means that days go by that my sewing machine doesn't see any action, but it brings all the more joy and satisfaction when I get to sit behind and work on projects I truly enjoy.

I actually have my first quilt of 2015 complete, that was made of these yummy stack of fabric, that I paired with a few prints from my Far Far Away bundle that I have been hoarding saving for the perfect quilt:

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I'll be sharing more about this quilt soon, I want mommy and baby to be surprised when it shows up on their doorstep!

As far as what 2015 has in store, my main goal is to keep things flexible.  I always want my time spent sewing to be relaxing and enjoyable.  The first way to make that not happen is to set goals and deadlines that end up being unreachable.

So my plan for 2015 is to not have a plan!  We'll see where that takes me, I'm sure there will be plenty of baby quilts, and I'd love to dig back into my WIP closet and finish a few of those off, I mean I loved those projects enough to start them, why not finish them up?

I'm also making it a point to sew from my stash (and scrap bins!)  Of course I'm sure there will be new fabric that makes its way to me, but my fabric shelves have runneth over, so the best way to remedy that problem is to sew it into something lovely.

Thanks again for checking in with this blog every now and again, it really does bring joy to be able to share my quilting and sewing projects with a group of people who are just as passionate as I am!

Happy 2015!