Block Seven

When I was recently on vacation I had completed block six and had started seven. I actually made some time recently at home to finish it. Of course I had to let the laundry sit a little longer, but the clothes didn't mind. HA HA.

Experimenting

Thanks to Pinterest, my brain is in high gear with ideas for quilts. I just wish I had more time to pump them out. But, I know, someday, I will have the time and then I will be wishing my children were still little. Another reminder to just be thankful for where I am in life right now.

Anyway, I am almost done with my friends quilt, so last night I took some time to experiment with a block I have been anxious to try. A variation of the double pinwheel block. A while back, I picked up some fat quarters in rainbow colors that were on sale at Joann's. Paired with a white fabric, I thought they would be a good color choice to try out this block. Plus, it wasn't going to break the bank!

It was very time consuming to make this block, 45 minutes to be exact. It took 16 half square triangles to make the 12 inch block. Making the half square triangles is the time sucking part. But I do have to say, it was worth the effort. The end result is pretty cool. I think this will make a really bright and fun quilt! One down and 11 more to go! Stay tuned...
 

Custom Decorated Baby Quilt

A while back a friend of a friend got in touch with me to do a quilt for her. Her friends and family had decorated fabric squares and she wanted them assembled into a quilt. I thought this was such a fabulous idea and what an amazing keepsake for both mom and baby!

So about a year ago, another friend wanted the same thing. We picked some fabrics, I prepped the fabric squares to her and she handed them out to various friends and family to be decorated. Shortly after Fog Fest last September, she returned all the squares to me and anxiously awaited the final product.

I was embarrassed that it took me quite some time to return the final product. After Fog Fest, I took a 3 month break from sewing. It was much needed, as the creative juices had run dry.

Well, I finally finished the quilt in February and she was more than pleased with the final product. It truly turned out amazing!

 

Block Five

I realized the other day that I blogged about Block Six and forgot about Block Five. I wish I had more time to work on this project, it really is going to be a lovely quilt when it's complete.

Block Six

Believe it or not, I am still plugging away at the stitch along quilt. Seems the only real time I have to hand embroider, is when I am on vacation. So, since we were recently in Lake Tahoe for a week, skiing, I had some time. I finished block seven and am half way through eight. Although you may not see eight until our two week vacation in August!!

Getting Back to Quilting

Now that all the excitement from Fog Fest has died down, I have been able to settle back into some quilting. The creativity is flowing again and my brain is on an overload of ideas. But, I can only do one quilt (ok, maybe two) at a time. I have plenty of fabric lined up in my stash for some beautiful quilts!

First up is my mom's quilt. I started this a while ago and am now getting back to working on it. Gorgeous yellows, greens and white, this quilt is sure going to brighten up her room!

I have also been trying to streamline my production. Feeling a bit tired tonight and not wanting to take out the ironing board and iron (lazy!), I decided just to get the blocks ready for assembly. Much faster to buzz a bunch through the machine.
 
Ok, so yes, I am working on two quilts at once. The other, is for a friend who just had a baby. Her friends and family decorated quilt squares and now that I have them all back, I am assembling the quilt. It is going to be amazing. Stay tuned for final photos of this one!

One row from the decorated baby quilt.

So after those two are finished, I will begin working on a quilt for my friend's daughter. She had me make the curtains for her room when they had room makeovers to welcome the new baby. I was so inspired by the fabric she had, that I found some coordinates and promised her a new quilt for her older daughters new room. Can't wait to start on this one.

Stay tuned for plenty more quilting projects coming soon!   

Fog Fest Success!

After months of sewing (and crocheting for Michelle!) until all hours of the night and constant worrying about whether there would be enough inventory, our first craft fair was a huge success. We had such a good time just being there and talking to all kinds of people. The two days were long, but passed very quickly. We had a lot of support from all of our friends and family, some of who actually purchased items from us and some who just came by to say hello. It was nice to also meet people who were interested in our crafts. Both Michelle and I had some inquiries for some custom orders and we also met a couple people who were interested in having us join their craft fairs. And yes, we actually made a little money (which was not the main goal).

The back of the booth.

The two separate days we spent in my backyard organizing and tweaking our booth set up, were very well worth it. When we arrived on site the first morning, we unloaded, got right to work setting up and fortunately had no surprises. My years spent in the events industry helped keep me focused, as I just jumped in and got things done in our two hour set up window. By the second day, we had time to spare and ended up tweaking our set up a little more to showcase certain items a little better.

The left side of the booth.

The right side of the booth.

Michelle and I on the first morning...yes, we are super excited to get the day started!

My kids were both asking to "help" sell in the booth. So I handed them business cards and told them to pass them out to people walking by.

My son was really into passing out cards and super cute walking up to people. Who can resist an adorable 4 year old?!?!

I am really proud of all that we accomplished and learned from this experience. Especially of our professional looking booth. You would never have guessed this was our very first craft fair ever! After having such a great time at Fog Fest, we are looking forward to getting more craft fair experience under our belts. We are getting a list together of the possibilities for next year!