one shabby chick

Been reading

And not sewing - at all!

I did do a bit of cleaning last week and actually re-arranged the living room, our bedroom and the girls' room. So my sewing area was in disarray until this afternoon - but I organized everything so hopefully this will get me in the mood to do more sewing!

I have gotten some amazing fabrics in the mail recently and have a few quilts that I need to do - along with the million that need to be quilted (well, not really a million - but at least 6 or 7)!

I didn't mean to drop off the radar for so long - oops!

A confession

OK so last year after reading the Twilight series, I needed another vampire series to read.

No sewing happening around here as I just got this book in the mail (and yes, I know they are all young adult - but 35 is still young adult right?!).

And (ahem) I'm waiting for this series to start next week too - pretty bad right?!

400

The mail just keeps coming - this time it was a purchase from Kerri's cute Etsy shop.

And I picked up a cookbook yesterday - made a blueberry dessert last night - so good! Hubby said it tasted good but he wasn't sure about the texture. I am wanting to incorporate it more into the family meals but not sure how that will go over.

Baby Girl has been eating everything I've made "raw" but the older two are pretty picky (especially the oldest). The seven year old eats pretty much everything too. Why is that? We fed them all the same foods when they were babies - somewhere along the line we let it slide and the eldest ended up so picky. We are trying to remedy that but it's a constant battle.

But mom's on a health kick now so everyone is in danger :-)

Anyway - on to the 400th post giveaway...how does some munki sound?

I was thinking 40 5" squares of different munki prints.....and there will be some really good ones!

I may need to make you work for it though...how about a link to your favorite healthy recipe? It doesn't have to be "raw" but just something healthy and (maybe but not necessarily) kid-friendly?!

I'll start - this blog has super yummy recipes - and my friend is one of the contributors! She emailed me a couple of delicious recipes this past week - thanks Boni! She's also the one that linked me to this wonderful website!

ok - how about yours? I'll leave the giveaway open until Sunday night....

**edited to add: Comments are now closed!

Surprises

I love surprises.

Today I got a fun one in the mail.

A box of goodies from Melly as a thank-you for the pattern testing.

Her gorgeous book.....

check out the cute patterns in there.....

some yummies, a beautiful thimble and the most adorable embroidery....

Her stitches are amazing - so perfect and precise!

I also received one of my swap packages...

I am a swapping maniac now. Here's proof (these went to post office today):

No sewing today but I did clean my windows and (almost all) my screens.

I did finish sewing up my quilt-a-long top last night. I'll post pics tomorrow. 

Oh - and I have had so much fun reading all your movie picks! There's a bunch of my favorites in there for sure!

Secret Sewing (aka Spilling the Beans)

Ok so I know I had talked about sewing some projects that I couldn't share just yet. Well, now I can!

I was test sewing for this lovely lady...for her new book! I was so excited and honored when I got the email asking if I was interested in testing her patterns.

She was so generous and just let us pick and choose what projects we wanted to test for her. I still have one that I want/need to finish - the cute little mushroom backpack. All my pieces are cut out I just need to sew it together.

I made this quilt for my eldest. I added an extra border so it would be big enough for him to use for a long time.

It was the biggest quilt I have ever quilted (68" x 76"). I got a few puckers on the back but I don't care (anymore) and I know he doesn't.

The back is just pieced with big pieces of boy-ish fabric.

This bag has gotten a lot of use lately - at first I was nervous about the zipper but it was actually really easy to put in - and I love it!

Melly and Rosalie really are softie-making geniues...mine are nothing compared to their finished products!

But my little girl loves them and has carried them around since I made them (and the purple pen marks have since faded).

This little baby quilt was super fun to make - I tried the free-motion applique again on the little bees.

My girls are waiting on their backpacks so I really need to finish them - thanks again Melly!!

Bit of this, bit of that

Thanks for all the well wishes on Baby Girl. The fever is finally gone and I guess it was the start of a cold since she and her brother both have a nasty cough now. Guess we are staying home this weekend...whatever will I do (ha ha)?

I had to go to the doctor yesterday for my side (guess I re-injured something at soccer this week - where the last injury was). He said to give it time but of course I'm still going to play this Sunday....as long as I can actually run.

Anyway (after the doctor) I had some free "mom" time (and a rebate card from new cell phones), so I hit Borders.

And after tons of searching (in the same little section) and two trips by a salesperson to the storeroom, I found this book hiding behind another book.

I started reading it last night - such a fun book. It is so wonderfully written and each chapter is its own little story that ends (wonderfully) with a recipe (I've already cried!).

I also picked up this book. It has lots of cute patterns!

The mail brought this book to our door today too. It was one of my pre-orders.

I don't know why I keep buying books - I really need to tackle my UFO's first! This whole basket is full of them.

And I started another project.....stars out of scraps from my quilt-a-long. These seem way more do-able than the spiderweb blocks.

And I am progressing on my quilt-a-long blocks. Here's my first completed set...only 5 more sets to go.

21

That's how many sewing books I own - far too many for not using them to their potential.

21 is also how old my brother will be turning. So I'm embarking on my first "using a pattern out of one of my books" (can't think of a good name for this endeavor - any ideas?) and making him "What a Bunch of Squares" quilt.

It's technically not exactly like the pattern but close enough in my book.

Good thing I had lots of that brown - I needed every last bit.

This block didn't make the cut for the front but I think I'll incorporate it in the back.

Along with all these scraps.

I have two rows sewn together and two more to go.

I got to spend today sewing as the rest of the kiddos (besides my little guy below) went to the beach with my aunt, sister and brother-in-law (and sister-in-law). My mom was supposed to go too but got called to work at the last minute.

Last night this little guy started coming down with some asthma symptoms and was still wheezing this morning so we decided it was not a good plan to spend the day at the beach (and it's kinda chilly here anyways).

(those are some gnarly bags but he does get enough sleep!)

So we stayed home and just hung out.

I am dying to sit down and crack open these books (came in the mail today) - I see serious giddiness in the near future. I had a peek at "Material Obsession" and there are the cutest quilt patterns ever in that book!

Laundry

I didn't know my family owned this many clothes...

I have been doing laundry (and actually folding them which is a big deal for me) since we got home yesterday. I'm still not done - ugh! It's one of the things I don't like about camping - the laundry and packing up to go home.

(these are recycled pics from last year but it looks identical to this year!)

We had so much fun...and sadly have no pictures to show for it. Sorry! It was super windy and cold and I didn't want to get sand in the camera - but it got everywhere else (the main reason you have to wash everything - whether you wore it or not)!

We managed a trip to the island (just like in LOST - ha ha!). You can walk across on the reef to it - at low tide it only comes to your knees in the deepest parts (unless you trip and fall and get all wet like me). On the island, there is a beautiful cove that is protected from the wind and perfect for swimming.

We even saw a monk seal sunning itself on the beach - I had never seen one outside of an aquarium before.

We met a father with his two sons that were visiting from Calgary and seeing Hawaii from a different view (other than Waikiki). They were at the campsite next to us and we invited them to dinner and for smores after (and then breakfast the next day). They were so fun - the dad was from Scotland originally - had a strong accent - and just has led the most interesting life. It was one of the highlights of camping for sure.

We had a great time.

Anyway, back to sewing related topics.

I was cruising Amazon after I had washed all the sand off :-) looking for this book (which is on the way) and found a bunch of "coming soon" books that look so cute and fun.

This one is on it's way as well...

And these are all pre-ordered (I'm a bit like Ashley when it comes to sewing books)

Fun right?! OK, I have lots of fun projects I want to do - first I have to get rid of (well, put them back in the car) the two van seats (from our mini-van) that are taking up room in my bedroom. We took them out to fit all the camping gear.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

The Host

Well, I finally sat down and finished the binding on this quilt - I just have to wash and dry it (and email someone about putting it in an auction - I think I'm a little behind on that!).

I had the lovely chore task of ordering trophies for two of the kids' soccer teams, and I was almost finished listening to this book, so I headed off to the trophy store and Costco with ipod in hand.

Ok - how did I leave the most gut-wrenching part of the book for when I was driving on the freeway - seriously - I wanted to burst into tears driving down the road....instead I just sobbed softly to myself while my 2 year old stared at me from her car seat wondering what had gotten into her mother.

I wasn't sure I was going to like The Host - I mean, how do you top Twilight? Plus - the narrator's voice annoyed me at first..and it took a while for me to get into it. I didn't love it like I love the Twilight series...but I did enjoy the book...especially the last 1/3 of it. I'm usually not much of a science-fiction person but it was a good book and very interesting.

**My neck is much better - I even went to soccer practice today - yeah!!

Lots of Linkage (and randomness)

Somehow that title reminds me of Pauly Shore.

(this is our "Drawing Room")

So far the busy week is going ok - in a little while we are off to the kids' haircut appointments. Baby girl loves getting her hair cut - she gets super excited whenever I tell her we are going to "Cathy's" (our hairdresser).

I'm making ring-bearer pillows since the bride tried to alter the ones she bought and then didn't like them. I told her to just come over and pick out some fabric and I'd make some new ones. So that's what I'm doing.

 

Fabricworm over on Esty now has Amy Butler's new line in stock - I've already convo'ed my order to her :-)

I've always been more of a "pink" girl but the blues (and greens) are just calling to me lately.

She sent me a link for a new fabric line set to debut soon (she's getting the whole line) - I love the dogwood flowers (and the designer's blog is really cute too)!

I also saw that Carrie is having a very cute scarflette giveaway...I'm entering even though where would I possibly wear a scarf in Hawaii? Hmm..maybe to see this movie?

So here's my "feet" picture (it's old but I don't think that matters):

And since I'm going completely random here, I recently got this book on audio. I haven't started listening to it yet but it has really good reviews on I-Tunes. Looks like there is more "sewing with Stephanie" in the future.