Another 2 Finish Week

It's been a productive week. I finished 2 more commissioned quilts and even taught myself how to make pillow shams in the process.

Finish #1 was for a little boy named Harrison:

Guess what I don't have a crib to model this on. Too bad. 

The artsy long shot.

That right there is a quilted pillow sham. High end stuff right there kids.

For the quilting I did strings of stars down the sashing.

More stars

The backing was flannel and super soft. Love love love. The stars didn't stand out as much as I thought they would, which I think is ok.

So that shipped yesterday.
Today, this beauty is going in the mail:

The top was pieced by a friend of mine, and I did the quilting. She's going to do the binding, which is why it's unfinished on the edges.

A little better lighting

From the back

Up close and personal.

I loved this quilt. It's heavy and cotton, and just feels cozy.

Design Wall Monday and a Finish

First, the finish.

The masterpiece is done! The backing is just tan fleece, and I just rolled it over to the front to bind it. I machine tied it (read: used the button stitch) in every block and in a few other strategic places (like the corners of the shirt). It's HEAVY, but it's done! Next up for this family is two queen-sized quilts made from the rest of the uniform materials, for her sons. Depending on what I have left from that, I may have an extra surprise up my sleeve...but no spoilers yet.

I also whipped up this top this weekend:

 It's going to be a Christmas present, so I'm not doing anything more with it for a bit. It was such a quick and easy project though, I just wanted something "bubble gum" to do for a few hours. I'll do something more exciting for the quilting part of it, promise. :-)

 I also got the focus pieces cut for the Civil War quilt. I'm still toying around with ideas on how to get them all into the same quilt without requiring applique, but I haven't quite come to an adequate solution yet. I'll keep you posted.

 Finally, I got out and took a few "good" pictures of the ARL donation quilt.

 How artsy am I, huh? Ha.

Pay no attention to that computer tower...or the fact that I had to strategically angle the shot to crop out the boxes full of junk on the porch. Next time I'll haul the chair out into the yard maybe.

Hung by the Wood Stove With Care

Over the weekend, I won my first Etsy Alchemy bid!  A military family stationed in Japan needed some last-minute stockings made, and while I couldn't find the nativity print she'd wanted, I think they came out quite nicely (and I got her permission before using other fabrics). 

Hung by the woodstove with care. 

They're all lined with fleece that says "believe" all over it.

I think this one is my favorite. 

Also, this was the first time I'd ever used rick rack...I think I'm in love!  I'm making more for MOTU's family who'll be around on Christmas, but I won't post those until after Christmas, so they can't see (just in case!)

happy Monday!

Godspeed, Little Quilt

And just like that, he's gone.  My first commissioned quilt, on its way to the arms of 2 little boys and their mom.  *sigh*  I won't lie, it feels a little like having turned in a final exam that I'm pretty sure I did well on, but I'm still not 100% sure I got an A.  I hope they like it.  I had a lot of fun making it.

We had a little outdoor photoshoot yesterday:

This one is upside-down because that was how I could get the picture. 

The artsy ruffled shot

The back

My label!  How nifty is that??  It's technically an iron-on kind, and it faded a bit in the wash...I'm not too heartbroken since I got a good deal on them, but this might not be a permanent solution. 

All folded up and ready to go!

Oh, so my laundry woes...I washed the quilt and (gasp!) some of the blues looked distinctly more purple than when I started!  Eek!  I washed it again (and again and again...) with some color catching fabric and this is the result.  I sent a note to the buyer to make sure she washes it separately for the first couple washes.  The blues are back to blue, but my heart stopped a bit at first.  Phew!

All's well that ends well though, and this guy (shown here with a glimpse of the rod sleeve) went in the mail this morning.

Now that that one's out the door, I'm on to a new project.  Here are the squares of batting and backing, and a few choice scraps for border strips that I'm using for my Rag Train quilt:

Here's the final layout, with the upper left corner block done.

Quick picture of the workstation.  A note here...all the fabrics I'm using for this one are from my stash/scraps.  I'm not letting myself buy ANY more material for this - I have more than enough as it is, so I just need to get creative.  :-) If I've made you a quilt in the last year, you'll probably see familiar fabrics in this one.  

And the first two blocks done and sewn together,just to see how it'd work.  I found all manner of scraps from the plaid quilt to use, which I'm totally stoked about.  I adore plaid, especially as it's getting colder, and I think it lends a touch of funky personality to the quilt.  It makes me think of a lumberjack/hipster with a 3 year old who loves trains.  Anyone know anyone like that?  :-D 

So that's that.  Hopefully this one will be up on etsy sometime next week, assuming I get all my chores done so I have time to work on this.  It's going together quickly, but I gotta remember I have other stuff to do too...like wedding thank you notes.  :-) 

2 Finishes

I had 2 finishes last night!  w00t!

In the order in which they were taken: 

 My work station.  The laptop generally has Hulu streaming on something mindless...I'm thinking I need to start "reading" while I sew though...anyone have suggestions for a cheap audio books site? 

 The back, quilting and tying complete.

 The front, binding on!

A little better shot of the front.  I need to get better at taking nicer pictures of my quilts I think. 

 My second finish, I attempted more artsy stuff...too bad baby gate ~= artsy. 

 The privacy panels we have by the laundry area work a little better.

Sort of.  Anyway, this is the quilt for MOTU's grandmother.  The back is pink & white flowered flannel, and I'll get a picture of it when it's out of the dryer.

Laundry woes I'll save for another post.  Stay tuned.

Now a Mrs.!

Hello blogging world!  I'm back!  Ish!  We have some down time, so I'm going to give a quick highlight post of how the wedding went (and who knows, maybe a couple G-rated honeymoon shots as well).

First of all, OMG. You know how in the movies prom is this magical thing but in real life it's almost always awful or at least way less dramatic than you expect? I sort of expected getting married to be similar...like, after all the stress and planning it would be good, but not great.  Well, mine was great.  So there.  :-P  Everything, down to every last little detail, was EXACTLY as I hoped it'd be.  Every single one of my vendors came through in glorious fashion (even the food was amazing!) and there wasn't a drop of rain to be had (but it was overcast, so no one is squinting in pictures....perfect!!!) Not a speck of drama, and the only "hitch" was when the ring bearer walked down the aisle...without the rings!!  I didn't get to see that, but I'm excited to see the pictures...I hear the look on the best man's face was priceless.  :-)

Without further ado, here's a rundown, picture-style, of how the weekend went:

Thursday night, my brother ("The Boy", or just "Boy") got a little silly with the photobooth props. No alcohol, just sibling sillies.  For his sake, I won't post any more without permission. Suffice it to say, they're going in the scrapbook.  I love that kid.

Earlier that night, we'd had a great dinner with my aunt, uncle, and cousin who I don't think I've seen in about 3 years. Good times.  I'd forgotten how much fun they are to be around. :-)

My dad and father in law (woah), bonding over plane stuff.

The Boy practicing his solo, The Prayer, which he played right after our vows.  It was absolutely magnificent.  This kid is so stinkin' talented, I can't even explain.  He was adorably worried about it, but when it came time to perform it was just breathtaking.  I hope we have a video of it I can share later...he's really something.

Thursday day (sorry, these are a little backwards), we delivered the cake topper to Cosmic Bakery in St. Albans, VT...check them out on facebook, they did great work.

 Friday, we went out for breakfast for my mom's birthday, then they went and toured Ben & Jerry's while I went up to the vineyard and set up a few mock tables for the caterer.

 I also set up directions signs (yes, those are hand-done letters...with stencils, but still.  Hello, marker high! :-})

 Here are the escort cards/favors and the beginnings of the guest book scrapbook.

 All the crap I brought in, laid out on the dance floor.

 Mock up of the centerpieces and napkins.

 After that, Mom and I went to get our nails done. Everyone laughed when I convulsively giggled when they rubbed the bottom of my feet.  Not funny, folks!  Hyperticklishism is a legit medical condition! :-)

After that, we headed to the rehearsal, of which I have precious few pictures at the moment.  There'll be more...because my photographer is amazing.

And there was much rejoicing.  That ribbony monstrosity is my rehearsal bouquet, believe it or not.

 After rehearsal, we went to the rehearsal dinner, which was a great time.  MOTU's sister put together a slideshow of all manner of embarrassing childhood pictures for us.  The eerie part was that we had so many similar pictures...guess we were raised in similar families, in the same era.  :-) After dinner we went to the bar at our hotel to hang out with family who wasn't part of the wedding but was in town.

 I've never seen my grandmother so happy.  This was the first time all her kids and grandkids were in the same place at the same time since her youngest got married, 12 years ago.  It was cute seeing her so thrilled.  :-)

Saturday was the big day. I woke up at 330.  Not because I had to, just because.  I saw the sunrise on our wedding day.

 Finally, after playing with my phone for about 4 hours, it was time to get ready.  As I mentioned, Margaret, photographer extraordinaire as she is, was there to document the whole process.

 Even The Boy being classy.
I had him running errands for me (even going to the ATM with a pin number I couldn't remember correctly lol) like mad, but mostly I was just grateful to have him there for support, from the start. Seriously, best little brother ever.

 Mom got her hair done too.

 This is Savannah, my flower girl.  Cutest damn thing ever.  When she saw my dress, she looked at me and said, "Is that YOUR dress??" I said, "yup!  What do you think?" She said, without hesitation, "You DEFINITELY need a crown then!" Too stinking cute!!  She had a tiara she wore all day.

 Martha, my mother in law, getting all dolled up.  She put this whole thing together, including food (which I was eternally grateful for, but didn't think to get a picture of). I so lucked out on the in-laws front.  :-)

 One of my bridesmaids, Alishia.

 My maid of honor, Anna, getting her hair done.

 Taking glamor shots of my dress.

 Margaret, as always, working her butt off for the best angle.

 Then, suddenly, it was time to go to the church!

Good looking bunch, huh?  Boy, Dad, and Mom.

Savannah and I discussing whose dress was prettier and which flowers she liked best.

Mom and Savannah

Quick glamor shot of yours truly.

The boys all lined up, looking dapper in their morning suits.

After the grand opening of the doors.  Took all my willpower not to race down the aisle and smooch Nick (MOTU).

Boy playing the Responsorial Psalm.

Savannah and Jen, MOTU's sister. LOVE this picture.

Here we go!

Best man ready for his big moment.

Ring #1

Ring #2

You may kiss the bride!  After this smooch, everyone was cheering and I couldn't help myself, so I stole another smooch which no one expected, so no one captured (except on video) lol.  What can I say, I love the guy!

Mr. & Mrs.!

During the formal pictures, it became abundantly clear that my veil had a life of its own, and even the slightest breeze made for a hilarious candid moment. This is, I think, my favorite picture from the whole day so far.

This one (taken by Margaret) is a close second.  I've only seen a couple of the professional pictures though, so it's entirely possible this is the worst since she's the best! :-)

Now on to the reception...here's the cake.

And the dessert table.  Allenholm pies...yummmm.

One of the tables, in full glory.

The guest book table, which turned out better than I hoped!  Everyone really took to the idea, and the whole thing looks amazing.  The pictures were all super fun, and some of the props even ended up out on the dance floor later in the evening.

My cousin Faith and her daughter Libby.

Ringbearer (Faith's son), Patrick.  Too cute!

Man, I'm going through just a fraction of the pics from the reception and it's hard to cherry pick just a few so y'all won't be bored (which, if you're not already, kudos! lol)

We stayed at a B&B just up the road from the vineyard, so we decided to park Helen there and walk back. It was like being a celebrity, there were half a dozen cameras flashing at us as we walked back down the road!

OK,just a couple more:

Flower girl and ring bearer dancing (they're cousins). Too cute.

Dad giving his welcome speech. Isn't he handsome?

First dance as Mr & Mrs.

After a dress change, dancing with my uncle.

Trust me, there will be plenty more pictures later on, but this is what I've got for now.  It was, hands-down, the best day of my life so far.  I've never felt so unconditionally loved and supported as I did that day...it was humbling to see how many people came from all corners of the continent to celebrate with us, and I can't express enough how grateful I am that we're surrounded by such positive influences. We have really great families and wonderful friends, and in the end...that's what makes it worth it. :0)

Oh, one parting picture:

The gift from MOTU's friends.  Shockingly useful.  :-)