As you may have guessed (since it's been 1 month since my last post!) things have been a little crazy around here.  I have been frantically trying to get my 3 new patterns done (priority #1 on my May To-Do list!) and I am SO close!  For some reason it always takes me a lot longer to get them done than I think it will (hmmm...can't figure out why :)  But I am so excited about them and am hoping to be able to share them with you in the next week or two!  So stay tuned!

One of them will be perfectly cute for boys using this new fabric coming out in August.  It's designed by my friend, Emily Herrick from Crazy Old Ladies.  It's called Rustique and I think she did a fantastic job with it.  Lots of fun prints and vibrant colors!!!

Emily gave me a fat quarter bundle of Rustique.  Isn't she sweet?!?  Here's the rest of the line.  I've got some fun plans for these, as well (some of which might include YOU!)  

I'm still plugging away at my Pineapple Blocks.  I've got 13 now.  I will reach my goal of 24...slowly but surely.  I need to do at least 2 more to reach my goal for May.

I also started a new project for the fabric store I work at (Just Sew in Highland, Utah).  It's a mini quilt finishing at 24" x 24".  The tutorial for it can be found HERE on the blog, The Purl Bee.

I had a picture of the one from The Purl Bee pinned on my "I Heart Red, White & Blue" Pinterest board for a long time and since I'm in charge of the display table for July I decided it would be a great time to finally make it!

I'm really enjoying hand quilting it too.  It's the perfect little project to work on at the kitchen table during my kids' snack time or when we're on our way to soccer games!

That's it for now but I hope you'll come back next Tuesday when I get to share one of my favorite quilting "quick tips" as part of Amy Smart's new blog series (in conjunction with her new book, Fabulously Fast Quilts).  

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

February Quilting To-Do's & a Wipe Board

Well, I took some time yesterday to think about what I wanted to accomplish this month and that got me thinking that I needed a cute little way to display my "to-do's".  I needed something that I could display right in front of my face so that I could stay focused.  (You know how you walk into a fabric store and get really excited and you completely forget why you were there in the first place?  Sometimes that can happen in my sewing room :)

While searching around on Pinterest I came across several cute (free!) to-do lists.  I settled on this one because I liked its simplicity and that it had boxes next to each line.  I mean, who doesn't like to check stuff off their lists?!?  That's the best part!

I trimmed the printout to size and stuck it behind the glass in this cute Ikea frame ~ and voila!  I now have a cute little wipe board that I can keep right by my sewing machine!

Now it's time for me to get busy!  

The "Things To Do" printable is available HERE via Pinterest.  

Sorry, but I couldn't find the original source. 

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

A Review of January's Quilting To-Do's

I'm really loving the idea of making a quilting to-do list at the beginning of each month.  It's helped to keep me focused and motivated.  January went pretty well, I'd say.  It wasn't perfect.  I didn't get everything crossed of my list but I still feel like I accomplished a lot.  Here's where I'm at...

#1 - My Sea Glass quilt is half way bound 

so I half-way crossed it off my list :)  I'll show pictures soon.

#2 - My sewing room was needing a little bit of TLC so second on my list was to hang frame, spools quilt and fix chair (and CLEAN UP!)

 

So I finally framed the Sew on and sew on and sew on picture that I had for about a year.  I displayed it on this little shelf and then decided the area also needed a little something on the wall so I used a single Dresden Plate block that I had lying around.  I also added the white iron (which was a gift from my sister) and the small red iron (which was a gift from my mom).  The spools were found in a box my husbands uncle gave to me that was my husbands grandmothers.  And it's hard to see, but the green container that is holding the spools has a #2 printed on the burlap.  I had to buy it to remind me of the two little cuties that call me mommy.

 

I quilted the Dresden Plate wall hanging myself, which was a lot of fun.  That was a bonus project but at least I was putting a loner block to good use.  Should I get a bonus point for that?

It was bothering me a little bit that I didn't have any quilts hung in my sewing room since I got my new Ikea storage cabinets about a year ago.  So I made room for this Spools quilt (pattern by Camille Roskelley) and finally found the perfect spot for the giant safety pin that was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law!

And just days before the months end, I recovered my sewing chair with this cute little fat quarter I had on hand.  The fabric is from Lecien's Flower Sugar line.  (I love that fabric line so much that I featured it in two coordinating quilts in my upcoming book!) I liked having my "to-do" list to keep me on track and motivated because this was one of those projects that probably wouldn't have gotten done for a long, long time.

#3 Bind Honey Sweet Runner - Check!

(you can see my blog post about it HERE).

#4 Finish Farmer's Wife borders

   

My inner border is on and my outer border is pieced and ready to be sewn on as well.  I'm hoping to do that today so I'll post pictures soon.

#5 Make design wall quilt 

(that's going to be on hold for a little while...)

#6 Get heart quilt to the quilter

I did and it's back.  The binding is sewn on.  I just gotta hand stitch it on the back side.  Pictures coming soon :)

Lastly, I made two projects for a secret friend swap (that you can read about HERE) and started two new projects.  I'll post about the smaller one soon but here's what I spent the majority of my time working on at Quilt Bliss:

They're paper pieced Pineapple Blocks and I'm so obsessed with them right now!  I figured each one took me about an hour and a half.  It will definitely be a long term project but I'm really hoping I can find some more time this week to work on them!

So that's it.  I think it was a pretty good month and now I've got lots to blog about in the next few weeks.  I've also got to make my February list so stay tuned...

~ Amber