Well, That Was a Bit of a Break...

So, I had every intention of blogging starting in the New Year. I figured - once the holidays are over, I'll have plenty of time not only to blog, but to sew, so I have something to blog about.

How did that work out? Well, my last post was on December 15th, as Blogger liked to remind me of everytime I logged on to read everyone else's consistent and much more up-to-date blogs.

I wish I could say, I was just so busy sewing that I didn't have time to blog, but that's not the case. Rather, my world - or should I say our world - has been overtaken by the wedding! Eeep! According to our wedding website, we have 48 days to go! I can't believe it.

Both myself and the fiancee are getting really excited, but there's still so much to be done. But, we've got the big items covered - DJ, caterer, location, priest, flowers, etc. But who knew there were so many little details to handle! I just took my wedding dress in for alterations earlier this week, and the fiancee and I sat down earlier this weekend to choose a playlist for the wedding!

I'm hoping we'll get it all done in time.

In the meantime, while we've had wedding on the brain, many of our family friends have had babies on the brain. We had three born in just the past month alone, so any major sewing I've done have been for them.



This little quilt went to some friends' of the fiancee who just had a baby girl join their family. And yes, cheater fabric it is - but it's cute!

I've been working on a couple of other projects, which I'll post soon. Oh, and I uncovered some other treasures while prepping for a garage sale (more on that later - we seem to like to make our lives even busier by adding on extra things to do between now and the wedding). But, one of those treasures should be making an appearance here as a giveaway sometime soon as well!

All I Want for Christmas...

...is to finish my projects in time! I had a great plan this year. I was going to get all of my sewing holiday projects done early - with plenty of time to spare, so as not to worry about the last minute crunch. I had my ideas of what to make for everyone, and even completed shopping for supplies by Veteran's Day.

But, I think I forgot to factor in the baking, shopping, wrapping, shipping, card writing, etc. that goes along with the holiday season. I've also been helping my future M-I-L re-launch her Etsy shop with her knitted items. Because, here it is - just over a week from the big day and I'm going to be scrambling ot get it all done!

So, let's see where I'm at...

Two table runners? Check! (Ok, we can mark that complete). One's made with a "Merry & Bright" charm pack using the disappearing nine patch. The other is made using a "Crazy Eight" mini-honey bun.


Three Santas? If only 33% were a passing grade. Perhaps I can work out some joint custody arrangement between family and friends, but that might get complicated as they all live in different states! Here's one of them complete and ready to mail. However, the rest of them still have their heads (sans beards) sitting to the side on the coffee table and the clothes are just a figment of my imagination. Must get stitchin'.


I do like how this guy turned out though. I used a pattern provided by a friend that she based on a kit she bought a while ago. The htb keeps asking if we can keep him, but maybe next year I'll have time to make one for us!

Tonight will be spent on the Santas' beards, and maybe even a little bit of clothing while watching the So You Think You Can Dance finale. And then wrapping up Santa #1 to get him into the mail tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving - albeit, a day early! No huge plans for the holiday here - I'm "working", which means I'm committed to staying in town, so my sister flew in for the holiday. We'll be joined by the fiancee, and a random assortment of co-workers for the big meal. I've hosted for the past three years here, and enjoy the day to cook and eat. Preparations started this past weekend with a huge shopping trip and I spent last night baking two pies and cookies - more on that later.

Below is a photo my parents sent me of the Thanksgiving present I sent them this year. I'm absolutely horrible at taking photos of my own projects before they go to the intended recipient, so I was happy to get this sent to me in my inbox. I've named him "Turkey Frank 2.0". Why 2.0? Well, I made myself one last Thanksgiving, so this is the new and improved version now living in New York!


My sister and I are planning a big shopping trip on Black Friday. I was never brave enough living up North to shop on that day, but found that down here it's much calmer - kinda like a typical shopping day up in NY. So, we'll see what deals we can find!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Quilt Festival

Amy over at Park City Girl is hosting a Virtual Quilt Festival! She hosted one last spring, but I was out of town so I couldn't take part in it. I'm thrilled to show off the favorite quilt I've made.

This was a wedding gift made for a good friend and his now wife. It made it in 2007 for an October wedding. The quilt block is called "Peace and Plenty" and is made from Teresa Kogut's "Williamsburg" fabric line. The groom was a year ahead of me in college and we met through several activities we both participated in. He really served as a great mentor and big brother figure in my life, and I was thrilled when he got married. Since he and his wife met in college, and we all went to school in Williamsburg, I couldn't resist when I found this Williamsburg related fabric. Now, I will admit - it took me a little while to hand quilt it, so while they were married in October, the gift arrived in November to them.

Well, that's my quilt! I'm looking forward to seeing all the others out there!

I'm Back!

It's definitely been a while - I'm not quite sure where the two months have gone! Wait, I take that back - I do know - work and wedding planning. Working at a college, work really kicks into gear starting mid-August and only winds down starting around this time. Add in a visit from the future in-laws, as well as a very quick trip up to our wedding location (6 hour car ride one way), time has flown.

However, I am pleased to say that we have gotten quite a bit accomplished - at least on the wedding front! We have a chapel, a reception site, a caterer, a photographer and a DJ! So, almost all the big decisions are made. I'm wedding dress shopping next weekend, and then it's just a ton of smaller details!

But, with some big decisions made and work winding down, it means I get back to blogging and sewing.

Next up on the blogging front? Participating in the Quilt Festival hosted by Park City Girl (see the button on my sidebar!)

Oh My!

It's August already! And not even just the start of August - we're eight days into it! I can't believe how quickly the summer has flown by. I had such grand plans: reading, sewing, cleaning, getting a tan. But, I'm still pale and no better read. My sewing room has been sorely neglected.

But, no worries - all of these grand plans have taken a backseat to the excitement of wedding planning! At the end of July, I made a trip up to Williamsburg where the htb and I will be married. My parents came down from NY to meet me and we hunted for some reception locations. We think we've found one, but now it's just waiting on trying to confirm our wedding date with our officiant. Once that comes through, we'll reserve the chapel and reception site and we'll be on our way!!!

People keep asking me all different questions like, have I picked out a dress, or do I have attendants yet? I keep telling them that the only thing I know for certain about my wedding is who the groom will be! But, that's not entirely true, I also had a chance to visit a LQS a couple of weeks ago and picked out some fabric for a quilted wall hanging I hope to make and use instead of a guest book.

Much to most people's surprise, we picked out green and pink as our colors (I think everyone was expecting something darker from me), but I think it's lovely and very spring-like. So, while at the LQS, I found these fabrics from Moda's Nature's Chorus...what do you think?

I'd love your honest opinion - I've now had two people say "REALLY?!?" when I told them these were the colors I picked out, so I'm starting to doubt myself.

Well, it's a beautiful day here in SC, so I'm going to enjoy it before it gets too hot! It's my last weekend of freedom before work kicks into high gear, so I'll probably continue with my trend of reading, and not posting blogs! Enjoy your Saturday!

WIP vs. UFO

Last night, I had an evening to myself that I finally decided to use to work on a WIP. Here's the progress I've made on my Quilt-A-Long Quilt. Yes, that event held by the Old Red Barn Co. has come and gone, but I'm slow (and apparently didn't accurate read the directions to see that each block was supposed to be different -I guess I really like consistency and even if not, the thought of ripping out my rows entered my mind for about a half a second).

But anyways, as I was working along on this project, I started thinking about the terms "Works in Progress" (WIPs) vs. "Unfinished Objects" (UFOs). Now, I know a lot of quilters use these interchangeably, but I feel like there's definitely a different.

A WIP gives a connotation that you're still working on it - you've visited it fairly recently and while it may not be on the top of the pile, it's still got a shot of getting completed sometime in the foreseeable future.

Whereas, a UFO, well that poor little project has been shoved in a back closet somewhere again - just hoping to see the light of day and the sewing machine. A UFO may or may not be remembered by me, and may have lost my interest so much that I can't even fathom finish it.

So, I guess my question is, when does a WIP become a UFO? Is there some point in time that any illusion of making progress on that project should be given up?