Wednesday Work in Progress: Leap Day!

I didn't get a ton of sewing done, but I did enjoy some time here and there working on my projects.  And I also took a landscrape quilt class!

--NEW--

{The Lake}: Landscape Quilt

I took a class through my quilting guild this past weekend with an amazing instructor (Tamar Drucker) and learned the finer points of putting together a realistic landscape quilt.  Surprisingly, the realism part of this was a struggle for me.  I am learning that I am more comfortable in the abstract realm... but man 'o man is it cool when you can look at a quilt and really recognize the person or place.  Once I focused on being exact and fussy over my shapes and placement I really started to enjoy the process!

We started with our own picture; you may reconize this as the lake near my house.  We learned how to enlarge it, section off the quilt in to various parts, and then create templates to make each piece. 

With my handy box of scraps and an open mind I set off to creating my lake in fabrics and had a blast!  I got about half way through in the class and really look forward to picking this project up again this weekend!  And with a bit more practice under my belt I think I will be ready to try making an art quilt of the dogs... won't that be something!

--IN PROGRESS--

Name Game Swap - due March 15th

No progress on this one last week, but I need to get moving on it!

{At Sunrise}: Confetti Quilt

My newish confetti style quilt of the sunrise I see during the winter from my sewing table is coming along nicely!  I have all the little scraps cut and in place.  I covered the whole thing with tulle, and started quilting it to hold those pieces in place.

This is the biggest confetti quilt I have made to date, so I had to come up with a way to creating sections or squares as a way to stabilize areas so I could maneuver the quilt without having to worry about all the pieces moving.  And guess what?  It worked really well!

I just love the texture of these quilts once I lay on a bunch of thread!  They feel bumpy, ridgy, rough, lumpy -- sounds funny, but it's a real treat under your fingers.  I have used red, pink, yellow, orange, blue, and purple thread so far in addition to the cream that I used to stabilize everything.

I am nearly ready to call the background complete and begin on the detail of the trees.  I find this process so rewarding and relaxing and am enjoying each stitch!!  This is one of those pieces that has been a true joy to create!

--ON PAUSE-- 

Spinning Starlets {English Paper Piecing} -- a.k.a. I've reached a new level of crazy!

I will pick this up again once my quilt show pieces are d-o-n-e; only 6 weeks to go!  Following along with the Block Party at Selfsewn; creating Rose Stars.  You can read about my overall experience with English Paper Piecing!

Laughing Leaves with Frieda Anderson

More of the project can be seen here.  Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and dig back in!  You can also check out what I learned about using fusible in an art quilt!

{Your're My Sunshine}: Bottled Rainbows {ticker tape quilt-along}

Still no deadline for this one.  The way things are going, maybe I pick this up once my show pieces are done?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 5
New Projects: 1 (lake landscape quilt)

Finished Projects: 0
Total WiP's: 6

 

Ten Snaps: A Little of This, and a Little of That

My focus lately has been all over the place.  A little of this and a little of that with a bunch of sewing mixed in.  So, with that in mind I thought it would be fun to dump ten snaps from my camera to see what I've been doing. 

A little puppy watching.  She did have her eyes closed... but somehow she always knows when I'm stalking her with the camera.

I have to laugh at my clean desk photo because it sure doesn't look like this today.

We have been soaking in as much outdoor time and sunshine as possible.  And Sammy is still trying to eat every stick in the yard.

On a walk I saw this little bit of moss and rocks and it makes me think this is the perfect quilt background for the mushroom scene I have brewing in my head.

Walks and hikes with the dogs have just been glorious!

The lake melts all my stresses away.  And it's so funny to see it this time of year with no ice. 

We woke up last week to this... winter appearing from no where.  And honestly... we loved it! 

Snow isn't always fun to drive in, but it sure makes for a pretty drive... doesn't it?

Spring fever is nibbling at me in a serious way.  With the warmer than normal weather I am just dying to get my hands in some dirt.  Little plants and flowers are doing their best to do to hold me over a bit longer as I just have to remember that gardening is just around the corner!

And this is Sammy again.  Looking at all these photos I remember that she really has been the primary focus of my attention of late.  You see, she is in the rebellious phase of things which is fine, but I forgot how much work it is. 

And yes there are days where I feel like a broken record... no bite, give me that shoe, no jumping, leave it, slow down, stop barking, don't pull on Katie's collar, enough water, you have to pee... again?  My little white squishy dog.  She is really shaping up to be a fantastic pup, but she is sure testing me along the way!

Hope you are off to a brilliant start to the week!

Happy Moment #48: Tracks in the Snow

A Friday ritual with Soulemama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary, happy moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments too.

 

“Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.”

~Omar Khayyam

Homemade Dog Biscuits

I made homemade dog biscuits. 

It was so easy.

And the dogs went totally ga-ga for them which makes me feel even better about doing it!

(They may not look so ga-ga here, but I took this after telling them that they have a wait a few more minutes for the cookies to cool off from the oven.  The waiting might have killed them.)

I used a dog bone cookie cutter, but also has a little fun and made their first name letters. 

K is for Katie.

S is for Sammy.

Once the cookies were cooled enough... off to the cookie jar they went. 

And yes of course my assistances had to help with the quality testing. 

I just love Katie's big smile on the right... and Sammy always look so darn serious. 

I originally saw the recipie at Suzy Sitcom and have since made about 6 batches.  I make them two at a time and have put the extra cookies that don't fit in the jar in the freezer.  I also switched out the pumpkin for banana + a water in one batch and it worked out well.  I also intend to try acorn squash in place of pumpkin.  I bet that will work too! 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Happy baking!

Wednesday WIP {Sunrise is Born!}

Wowie, what a crazy amount of sewing lately.  I have about six more weeks of frantic sewing until I am done with everything for the two shows I have coming up.  And then I can breath.

 

--FINISHES--

 

{This Dance}: Forms of a Dress Challenge - finished and turned in at the guild meeting last night!  When I see her next it will be at my first real quilt show!!

 

 

Private Swap with Megan from Silver Threads of Happiness - done and officially in the mail!!  And still totally top secret!

 

Flying Geese for Charity Auction Quilt - the guild I belong to makes a quilt together each year which is then raffled off and the proceeds go to a local charity.  Well, the 2012 quilt was already made prior to my coming to the guild, but I did get to make a few flying geese for next years quilt!!  Pretty awesome!

 

 

--NEW--

 

{At Sunrise}: Confetti Quilt

I have started a new confetti style quilt that will be of the sunrise I see during the winter from my sewing table.  It doesn't have much form yet, but I am loving playing with all those bits of scrappy fabric... and it's the perfect way to clean up and repurpose all those scraps from my whirlwind of projects lately!

 

Here's a little glimpse... I'm sure I'll do a full post on it soon!

 

 

--IN PROGRESS--

 

Name Game Swap -- due by 15 March

I have assembled the background and ready to take the next steps with this one.

 

--ON PAUSE--  Spinning Starlets {English Paper Piecing} -- a.k.a. I've reached a new level of crazy!

I will pick this up again once my quilt show pieces are d-o-n-e; only 6 weeks to go!  Following along with the Block Party at Selfsewn; creating Rose Stars.  You can read about my overall experience with English Paper Piecing!

 

Laughing Leaves with Frieda Anderson

More of the project can be seen here.  Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and dig back in!  You can also check out what I learned about using fusible in an art quilt!

{Your're My Sunshine}: Bottled Rainbows {ticker tape quilt-along}

Still no deadline for this one.  The way things are going, maybe I pick this up once my show pieces are done?

This Week's Work in Progress (WiP) Stats:

Last WiP Wednesday Total: 6
New Projects: 2

Finished Projects: 3 (Last Dance, private swap, and flying geese)
Total WiP's: 5

 

And it seems weird not to have a picture of the pups. 

All that walking path and they have to share the same inch of dirt and sniff the same smell. 

Ahh Sisters! (not related by blood, but in every other way)

 

Forms of a Dress Challenge

This is the continuation of the dress challenge; here is the first post.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, I knew I was up against a deadline to turn in my challenge mini and that I had to get back to my sewing desk.  Sammy was not thrilled with the idea.

Can't you just hear her... Mamma... your going to sew again? Uggg!

This is Katie's position for most of my work.  Yes, her head is on my knee/leg.  Always there to give me advice or cheer me on.  This gets a little challenging when I need to get up to iron something, but that hasn't deterred her.

So, once the pups had their positions I knew I could settle in to finish this mini quilt up.

I did some free motion quilting on the ivory and gold background following the design with a light blue shiny thread.  Gave the background a nice texture without taking away from the skirt.

And I decided to use the same background fabric for the binding so that it more or less melts away.  This mini measures 10 x 14.  I see a lot more minis in my future... hand sewing the binding went so quick!

And with that I give you "This Dance" ... as in, may I have the pleasure of this dance with you? 

I don't ever think in a million years that I would have thought to create a dress like this without the challenge pushing my far far out of my comfort zone.  But, then again, I guess that's what challenges are for, right?  For pushing, and pulling, and general creative creating discomfort. 

And I'm smitten with the results. 

Would I make another dress?  Maybe.  Probably not my first choice, but I have to admit it was pretty fun embracing my girly side for this one. 

Then, off to the guild meeting we went.

And guess what?  The next time I see This Dance.... it will be hung in a guild quilt show in May. 

I know.  I'm still pretty tickled myself!

And yes, I'll be linking to my favorite parties from my left sidebar to include Fabric Tuesday at Quilt Story.

Unplugging Felt Right!

I'm back.  Didn't know I was going to be gone for a week, but it did feel good to unplug a bit. 

I'm looking forward to catching up with you and your blogs... I have over 500 posts in my reader, but will make my way through them shortly.  I'm sure there is some great inspiration in that reading!! 

What have I been up to?  Mostly family stuff.  Lots of getting outside, soaking in sunshine, and training Sammy.  We even ripped out the old floor in our laundry room and are in the process of putting down new tile.  My kind of way to spend a long holiday weekend!  Never a dull moment in the Happy family. 

Did I mention we hiked a bunch over the weekend too?  The long walks are good exercise for us all, but they are especially good for draining all that excess puppy energy!

Our walks are through a preserved woods trail around a lake and there are lots of fallen logs that we simply hop over.  

Watch out Katie... Sammy is coming through!

Want to see Sammy jump one more time?  She is lining up.  Making her approach. 

And whoosh!  She is over it so elegantly.  And just look at those ears flopping as she jumps!

So, where was I?  Ah yes, precious, relaxing family time.  A reminder to take in the small things and linger a little longer than our busy schedules allow most times. 

A a chance to have the biggest belly laughs at puppies with sticks.  The simple things!! 

Hope you had a stellar weekend and look forward to showing you my latest finish later today! (hint... it's the dress challenge!!)

Mom's Quilt {Bird Watching in Winter}

How about a red quilt finish for Valentines Day?  I made this one for my Mom (the one last week was for my MIL). 

My Mom asked for jewel tones and I decided to work in her love of birds.

I did follow a pattern for this one, as I really liked the play of the red boxes that the blocks created.  It also gave me a way to let the fabrics with all those birds and baby deer and fox shine. 

If I think of it I'll come back and add the pattern name later. 

I had finished this quilt in December, but for whatever combination of reasons I am just gifting this to her now.  You know how that goes. 

Funny to see the leaves still intact in the pictures, isn't it?

I did random line quilting to compliment the boxes.  Gives it a really fluffy feel and I can see doing this type of quilting again.

The back is pieced freestyle with some of the fabrics I still had left from the front. 

And here's a look at the brightly striped binding I used to finish the whole thing off.  Really makes the whole thing sing!

Hope you are enjoying a special Valentine's Day -- hug and kiss the ones you love! <3

p.s.  I will be sharing this with some of the linky parties on my side bar and especially at Fabric Tuesday with Quilt Story.