I really am.  

Yet, I'm struggling with how much to say here today.  There's a lot on my plate right now. I'm happy but my mind and body are all over the place.  I'm reflecting on different people and relationships in my life, how to prioritize my commitments and how to balance everything...all while trying to enjoy the ride!  It's just normal stuff, that all of us deal with.  So instead of whining to you I will share some happy pictures before heading off to soccer games and dinner making :) 

These are kits for crayon roll-ups that I will be making and donating to the Dollhouse Festival, an organization that raises money to help abused children in Utah County.  The boutique will be held at the Provo City Library September 26-28 for any Utah locals that want to support a good cause!  

The tutorial I used (and tweaked a bit) is from the blog, 

Skip To My Lou and can be found HERE.

Also, I betcha didn't know that I jumped on the Scrappy Trip bandwagon a month or two ago!  I think I'm probably the last one to do so but I'm having fun.  I've got 16 blocks so far.  My colors are kind of funky and I'm trying to decide if they are kind of Anthropology-funky or just a really big mistake :( 

The Scrappy Trip tutorial is from the blog, Quiltville 

and can be found HERE.

Yesterday I whipped up these half square triangles so I could test out a new pattern I'm working on. 

Check out my tutorial for squaring up HST's HERE.

And last but not least, I made two more Farmer's Wife blocks the other day.  I told you I would have 7 done by about this time.  But life got in the way and two is better than zero - so don't judge :)  It was a good thing I made that goal publicly otherwise I would probably be at the same place I was back HERE. 

Block #14 Butterfly at the Crossroads and #45 Grape Basket.

Two of my favorites.

Have a great day, enjoy the ride

and spend a little more time loving your dear ones.  

Life is fragile and can be gone before you know it.

~ Amber

A SNEAK PEAK INTO MY HOME + SQUARE DANCE + A COUPON

I've been updating my family room over the last few months.  I don't share pictures of it very often.  Just little tid bits here and there.  Because, although I have about a million windows in my house, I can't seem to get enough light in to get some good pictures.  I really wish I had some better photography skills, but I don't.  Hopefully someday :)  Anyways, it's still not finished but the main parts are done.  

The two sofas, the recliner (for the man of the house), the ottoman...then the second ottoman (the fabric on the first one kept pulling the top cushion off center so we had it replaced.  It had more teal and brown in it but luckily I found another fabric that I thought worked with my color scheme.  Unfortunately, my pillows just look a little out of place now :)

 I'm loving some table space to finally be able to display more family photos.

And well.  After all this, I decided we needed a new snuggle quilt for watching TV with.

So, I decided to use my pattern, Square Dance.  I almost quadrupled the size and now it's big enough for even my 6' 3" husband.  

Minky on the back was of course a necessity.

This pattern is charm pack friendly.  And I like that although the blocks aren't huge, it still works well to showcase some of those bigger print fabrics.

If this tickles your fancy and you want to make one too...hop on over to my Etsy Shop where you can use this coupon code (SQUAREDANCE) to receive 20% off a Square Dance pattern of your own!  

*Coupon is good till the end of the month.

And hey, if you didn't know ~ I now have digital patterns available for quick and easy download!

Oh.  And did I mention that I collected so much fabric for this quilt that I decided to make up some charm packs?  There are only two left though so snatch them up soon if you're interested!

Click here to go to my Etsy Shop.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed seeing a little peak into my never-ending work in progress ~ my home :)

Happy quilting!

~Amber

One Last Hoorah and Some Fabric

 My trip to Big Sky Country was wonderful.

I got to visit with two of the best sisters in the world.

We had such a blast river rafting, boating, hiking, eating and laughing (all with kids in tow).

During one of our "mommy/sister" excursions we stopped in to a cute little fabric store in Missoula.  The Selvedge Studio is a quaint store but packed with lots of charm!  I'd seen it several times over the last few years and am sure glad I decided to stop in this time!  In fact, I'm pretty sure I shocked my little sis with how quickly I could accumulate a dozen bolts of fabric. 

 I picked up a few cuts of these fun prints (1/3 yard cuts to be precise). 

As well as 1 yard cuts of these beauties.  Who knows what I'll make with them but it was fun to mix up the stash a little.  And for me, fabric is the perfect souvenir :)

 The second the kids and I got home from Montana, we freshened up and headed off to "Back to School Night" to meet the kids' teachers.  It looks like it's going to be a great school year!  Tuesday, it was time for them to make their way to school (yellow bus style).

I sure love these guys.  And I'm sure going to miss them.  

But it's time for momma to get some work done around here!

How are you feeling about Summer winding down?  Excited?  Sad?  Is anything going to change with your schedule?  What are you looking forward to?  Well, I hope your summer was as good as ours!

Happy quilting!

Amber

Farming...On the Home Stretch

Curiosity got the best of me this weekend.  

While working on some "have to" projects Saturday afternoon, I decided I needed a little break and started wondering how close I was to reaching my goal of making a red and white (twin size) Farmer's Wife quilt.

This little pile confirmed that I have a whopping 72 six-inch Farmer's Wife blocks to my name!  Yay!  Only 11 more to go!  

So I whipped up 4 more easy ones that night.

#55 Linoleum and #44 Gentleman's Fancy 

 

#80 Single Wedding Star and #3 Basket

 I had lots of fun making them and only need 7 more now.  Yay!  

I'm so close I can taste it!

My momentum fizzled just a bit that night though (since my printer is out of ink and I still need to print out a few more templates and I'm heading out of town for a sisters and kids trip to Montana today).  So, things will have to resume next week.

So are you still farming???  Do you feel like your progress is a little dormant? Maybe it's time to just check your status.  It might give you the kick in the pants you need :)  Make a goal with me.  Mine is 7 blocks in 2 weeks.  What's yours? 

Feeling Patriotic

 The 24th of July is considered a state holiday here in Utah.  

It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon Pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847 where the Latter-Day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, IL.  It's a wonderful place to live and I'm thankful for the great sacrifice those people made so that we can exercise our religious beliefs freely today.

Needless to say, this day has got me feelin' a little patriotic.

Which reminded me that I never showed you my finished Americana 

wall hanging that I first mentioned HERE. 

In the little quilt group I belong to, we each made and traded several red and beige half square triangles.  We were then suppose to put them together however we wished.  I decided to go the patriotic route and make a wall hanging for my entry way.  

I made a few more HST's on my own, trimmed them all down to 3" using THIS tutorial, sewed them together in rows and then added the blue section up top with the appliqued star.

I quilted it myself (I'm a total beginner so don't look too close).

The blue polka dot, backing/star print and blue check binding fabric were all from my stash.

Framed USA Fabric Art tutorial can be found HERE.

Wooden Flag Blocks tutorial can be found HERE.  

(There are several on the Internet but this one is the closest to what we used).

*I also had an apothecary jar filled with taffy on the right side of my table but my littles kept getting into it and one day dropped the lid.  Fun times :(

Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful 24th of July, 

no matter what little corner of the world you're in today! 

Happy quilting!

~ Amber 

This and That

 Well.  It's been a birthday week for this little girl. 

Needless to say, it's been a busy one.

We spent some time with her and 6 little cuties at a local water park.

Does this give you an indication of the spunky little girl we're raising?

 I'm not sure where she gets it from...

Anyways.  That night we enjoyed this three layer Vanilla Bean Cake with Sprinkles made by yours truly.  And, it was quite delicious if I do say so myself!  I first spied a picture of it on Pinterest (of course it was much prettier than mine.  But I tried).  I love the fact that I put one of my "pins" to good use though!  Do you use your pins?

[recipe]

* I'm also loving the new Rhonna Farrer iphone photo editing app if you can't tell.  I'm having a ball with it on Instagram right now (like I need one more thing sucking me in)!  I'd love to be friends with you on Instagram!  Look me up!  My username is gigisthimble.

Through all the birthday festivities I did manage to make another Farmer's Wife Block.  I know.  It's a miracle. 

Here she is, #78 Shooting Star:

It's not perfect but I had fun.  It's been so long since I've worked on my Farmer's Wife Blocks.  I'm trying to get back to them!  Slowly but surely I will get this thing done! 

Shooting Star was paper pieced.  

(And for those of you who have been trying to get into the Yahoo group that supplies the paper piecing patterns for all the blocks ~ I am sorry if you haven't gotten a response!  I've tried contacting the group administrator too and haven't heard back.  Not sure what's going on there.  All I can say is keep on trying I guess.)

I've also taken a cue from Camille (who suggested cutting quilt leftovers into 2 1/2" strips for a scrappy binding roll).  I'll piece the Scrumptious strips together when I get a minute.  I might possibly use them to bind this soon to be baby quilt: 

[HST's = 6-1/2" unfinished]

I also got a fun surprise package in the mail the other day.  Those ladies at Moda sure know how to make a girl happy!

L to R: Sweet Serenade by Basic Grey, Wrens and Friends by Gina Martin and  Family Tree by Deb Strain.  I can't wait to play with them!

I hope you've had a fun and productive week too.

Happy weekend!

~ Amber