{finally!}

this quilt is {almost} embarassing to share, having been a work in progress for over 2 years!! oh my.

this is a modern take on the i-spy quilt for my oldest son, who is NOW 4. this quilt started when his favorite color was green {i've been informed it's now red}. this was my first foray into collecting novelty prints for little boys. i had no idea how many prints i would need. apparently, not as many as i have now collected.

this quilt was completely inspired by a quilt Carolina Patchworks did for her son. i loved the simplicity of the pattern and the chance to let the fabrics stand by themselves. what i didn't take into account was all of the different size squares/rectangles and the time for cutting. even done in sections, the quilt took a while to piece.

the next decision with this quilt was figuring out how i wanted to quilt it. i'm not a free motion quilter, but i loved the thought of curved quilting with all of the straight lines already going on here. after it sitting for a YEAR i decided it just needed to be done. i found this tutorial on wavy quilting and jumped in. it's silly, now, to think that it took me so long to get this done. i love the quilting, LOVED doing it and am so glad to have this quilt for my boy.

you can see the quilting on the back. i had thought to go even a bit more dense, but ran out of green thread.

all in all this quilt was a stretch in growth for me in so many areas. i'm glad to have it done and be enjoyed by little munchkins.

quilt stats

size: 64"x84"

pattern: idea from carolina patchworks modern rose garden

fabrics: lots of boy novelty, kona grass green, alexander henry

{halloween}

our halloween started at the beginning of last week when i asked {for the millionth time} what the 3yo wanted to be for halloween. he decided capes and masks were the way to go. our conversation about particulars went something like this:
me: we're going to look for capes, but if we can't find one, i can make you guys one. what color would you like if we make capes?
3yo: (deep in thought for a moment) brown
me: (somewhat surprised by his request) ok, sounds good. and if they don't have brown, what's our backup color?
3yo: (thinking) yellow
me: (even more surprised at his nice color scheme) sounds great....actually. what symbol would you like on the back, like a star or triangle or circle (aka. something easy)?
3yo: how about a trash truck?
me: not going to happen
3yo: how about a tornado?
me: tornado i can do.

hilarious. where do they get this stuff?
we had one 'super' boy in a tornado and one with a shield. i made their emblems out of felt and appliqued them on with a zigzag stitch. for the capes, i made a template out of paper for half the cape at about 26" long (the perfect toddler length..with room to grow), cut on the fold adding 1" for slippery satin seam allowance, topstitched, added velcro, and done.

2 happy 'super' boys. (we knixed the masks due to time constraints, sick boys, and the ongoing wavering between this costume and something else random. they may come at a later date.)

hoping your halloween was fun too!

this weekend was FULL

....but no sewing.

one of my best gals got hitched and kept me busy with matron of honor duties. i was honored and had a blast, as i got to hang out with one of my sisters for all of the festivities. 

{me & my sis}

to keep things even crazier, this weekend my eldest babe turned 3! where does the time go. we had a small party, complete with a thomas cake (smokestack and all, per the birthday boy request), pumpkin carving, so many Cars cars it's ridiculous, and one very happy 3 year old. he continues to remind me "mommy, i'm 3". it's too cute! 

{i'm 3}

hopefully the sewing machine will be back in service this week.

d.s. {love}

this summer a picnic quilt was on my to-do list. what's summer with little boys without a picnic blanket? exactly.

the very next week, JoAnn's came out with a fabric line by Denyse Schmidt called Picnic & Fairgrounds. i was not in love with all of the fabrics {i try to like red, but only when really forced}, but i thought they were just perfect for what i had in mind.

the picnic quilt

(excuse the dirt. it obviously is well used and needs a ride in the washer)

 i used my favorite 3 prints for the back and binding. i love the way it turned out.

quilt details:

size: 50"x62"

pattern: Rain or Shine from The Practical Guide to Patchwork

fabrics: Picnic & Fairgrounds by DS quilts for Fabric Traditions, Kona cotton Snow

pieced, quilted, and bound by me

started: march 2011 -finished: july 2011

{the boys putting it to good use}