A peek at my sewing space

This post is a window into my sewing space.. the room that I would spend an entire day in if my family would let me.

A. That is my passport to the upcoming Maricopa Country Shop Hop!! Can't wait!!!! Anyone wanna carpool?


B. That is my bolt of Pellon Fusible Fleece - I go through it fast when I'm making bags.. so I buy it by the bolt. Love that stuff!!



This is my stash of fat quarters and precut fabrics... Looking at it reminds me of all the projects I want to complete.

The drawers are full of yardage cuts.. packaged kits.. and the bottom drawer is batting.. and misc supplies.
A. This is a framed old quilt that I bought off ebay one day.. impulse buy.

B. Here is the pretty little blanket that I won from a blog giveaway.

C. This is the Rocking Chair that I rocked both my babies to sleep every night. I miss those days sometimes.... *sigh*
A. Here is my 'design wall'.. If you sew and you don't have one.. I highly recommend it. This is just a piece of wool that I hung up. It works great to move quilting squares around and step back to see how they look. On there right now is a quilt I need to finish!!

B. These are my library books on quilting.. need to read them.

A. This is my first 'real' quilt. I pieced the top - then I took it to a longarm quilter and had her do the binding too. Big time cheating I know.. I had wanted to give it as a special gift to someone.. but when I got it back - I decided I couldn't part with it.

B. SmartWater... doesn't seem to make me smarter. But it can't hurt to try.

C. My lamp in desperate need of a lampshade.

This is my "bobbi basket".. this is where I keep things that I want to show/share with my sewing buddy next time I see her (which is never often enough).

That's it for now - come back soon though. I am very close to my 50th post and I'm planning something BIG!!!

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I Survived...

Well, I survived 2 things that I was a little scared of this weekend.

First was my 10yr olds Birthday sleepover with all boys! (I wasn't really scared but you just never know). They had planned to "pull an all nighter" (that was their words.. not mine).

Here he is with his cake.. he's so darn cute!!

First we took them all for pizza and bowling - we had a great time. The 4 boys had their own lane and my husband, me and our 5 yr old had the other lane. My 5 yr old actually beat me by 10 points in our 2nd game. And boy is he a gloater.. "VICTORY IS MINE" he kept saying over and over.

When we got home, we had cake and then they were off to play Wii and other computer stuff. They made it til 2am!! I only made it til 11pm. I woke back up at 1:00 and listened to them in the playroom giggle.. and jump around playing Wii. At 2:00 I had to go 'shut it down'.

Here is a picture of them together. I am so happy with this group of friends. They are all really good boys and they have awesome parents. I feel a sense of relief knowing that these are the boys my son plays with at school everyday.

And the 2nd thing I survived - my first 'hand' binding.

I quilted and did the binding on this halloween quilt Saturday. I had tried to do hand binding before and always got frustrated and gave up. I finally figured out why... I'm LEFT HANDED!! I kept trying to do it backwards. (same thing happened when I tried to learn to crochet)

Our resident black cat.. Molly. It wouldn't be a halloween quilt without a black cat.

So after dinner and a trip to the park, we put in a movie and while my family watched - I stitched. I now know why they sell those little rubber finger tips at the register at all quilt stores. lol.

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Excuses.. excuses..

I haven't posted in a week and seriously - I have a good excuse. One of the benefits of living in a city that is a hot vacation destination is that you can stay at a 5 star resort without driving or flying for hours.

So that is exactly what we had planned to do and celebrate our oldest son turning the BIG 1 0. But his little brother stole his thunder. After having a fantastic Friday night at the pool dancing and swimming, we got up on Saturday and our 5 yr old was having a really bad asthma attack. He ended up riding in an ambulance and spending the next 4 days in the Hospital.

Trust me - following an ambulance with one of your kids inside is one of the WORST experiences a Mother can have.

Anyway - he is now home and doing much better. Can't go back to school until next week - so that gives him and I days home alone to relax. Which means that I've had some time to sew.

Here is a quilt top that I finished tonight - it's a halloween quilt that I found in a quilting magazine recently. I fell in love the minute I saw it and had to have the fabrics so I could make this.

Isn't it adorable?! I need to also add some tabs to the top so I can hang it in my foyer once we bring out all the Halloween decorations in October.

So this weekend - I'm going to be quilting this and the Christmas Table Topper that I posted previously.

I will also have a house full of boys Friday night for a bowling/pizza slumber party. So say a little prayer for me and my husband.. I'm sure those boys will be up late.. playing Wii and giggling. Trust me - gigglings not just for girls.

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Quilting Bee off and running

I joined an online virtual Quilting Bee. I'm very exciting about this - I've never participated in one before and am looking forward to the next 12 months.

I received the fabric for September's square from Meagan.

I love the challenge!! She sent a note with some basic guidelines but there is still a lot of freedom to create! I have a couple ideas and am finally ready to put them together - but NOT THIS WEEKEND!!! We've got family plans.

Now that school has started - I have my mornings to sew again before I go to work each day. I love this time of day. School doesn't start until 9 - and I'm an early riser. So I have at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours each morning to myself (and the dog). LOVE IT!!!

One last note.. I was going to baste and quilt the Christmas Table Topper from previous post and ran into an issue. The pattern says 2 yards for backing - but it's not enough. The finished quilt is 58 x 58. And do the math.. 2 yards is 44 x 72. So since I have some piecing to do, I'm going to spice it up a bit. Can't wait to show you.

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Christmas in August

I'm half way there! I purchased the Christmas Table Topper kit from The Quilt Shoppe. I love it! I started the squares this past weekend and finished the sashing this morning while the house is super quiet (except from the frequent bark from the dog - but that's a post for another day).

Pretty good sized huh? I might hang it up instead of laying it on the table.

Had one near disaster on Sunday with the WHITE fabric. I was getting ready to cut the sashing.. and I broke rule #1.. I had a drink on the cutting table.. yeah, you know what's next. And if it couldn't get worse - it was a homemade iced COFFEE!! Yeah.. coffee and white fabric.. not a good combination. But after a few not so nice words.. a run to the laundry room - and a scoop of oxy clean for good measure.. it all came out fine.

Now I just need to quilt and bind it. I will post the completed pics when I'm done.

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The Bib Apron - so CUTE!!!

Do you have some bib overall shorts in the closet that you don't wear anymore? (Please tell me you no longer wear them!!)

I have created a fun tutorial showing you how to turn them into a super cute apron like this.

I got the idea from my Cousin - and since I had an old pair of bib shorts in the closet, I decided to have some fun with them.

Click Bib Apron Tutorial for the pdf file with all the instructions.

If you decide to make these - let me know what you think.



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Best Chocolate Cake EVER!!!

I haven't been sewing this week - just wasn't feeling it. But it's coming this weekend - trust me. I have alot of organizing planned for my sewing room and that always get's me going.

Anyway - since I haven't shared much lately, I decided to share my top secret from scratch Chocolate Cake recipe. If you are like me and you love a moist, dense cake then you have to try this. It is THE BEST chocolate cake EVER!!! Don't believe me? Then try it and you will see.

I don't have a photo - because it doesn't last long.

But here it is..

Preheat oven to 350
2 cups Flour
1/2 cup Cocoa
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp salt (optional)

Combine in bowl and set aside.

In a new bowl, cream together
2 tsp Vanilla
1/2 cup Butter (softened)
2 cups Sugar
Add 2 cups Boiling Water
Mix until well blended
Add 2 eggs
Then gradually add the dry ingredients.

Pour into 9x13 in pan and bake for 30 mins or until center done.

While on cooling rack - make the Frosting

Frosting
In sauce pan combine
1 cup Sugar
5 Tbsp Butter
1/4 cup milk or half n half

Bring to boil - boil 1 minute stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and add 1 cup Chocolate Chips

Beat until starts to set. Pour/Spread hot frosting over warm cake.

This chocolate frosting recipe is from my uncle - he uses it on his brownies. But it's equally good on this cake.

If you are having a chocolate craving.. you must try this cake. You won't be disappointed. And you will never make cake from a box again!!! Pin It