one shabby chick

summer is over

Well, guess summer is officially over.

We hit the water park for one final hurrah last Thursday (it was also Bela's birthday).

We started back to school this week which meant busy days.

My eldest is working two mornings a week at the local coffee shop bagging coffee so he's doing school in the afternoon on those days. Plus add in jiu-jitsu (the boys are both taking it now and they LOVE it) and soccer and we have some busy days! Ballet starts in a couple weeks too!

Luckily it's all pretty close so I'm not driving too far!

But it does cut into sewing time for sure.

I've been trying to sew in the evenings this week which worked out good. And we are turning our cable off tomorrow so there won't be that distraction either. I know....I kinda can't believe it but we rarely watch tv nowadays so I think we'll be fine. Plus we are keeping Netflix.

I think I'll only miss soccer games :-)

I managed to piece together a few quilt tops this week last night.

I don't think I even showed the feathers I had made on here - Anna Maria's pattern is so awesome! And those feathers are really big!

I used lots of different oranges and then sewed them all together along with some orange feather fabric from her new line, Field Study.

I also pieced my arrows into a quilt top - this one was hard since I has to sew it bigger and then cut the quilt at an angle since I wanted the arrows to be on the diagonal. So there are lots of bias edges on the quilt which could make quilting it (or basting it really) kinda tricky!

(sorry for the blur - these are night iPhone pics)

But I already have the back sewn up so it's all ready for quilting.

I tried shrinking the feather and sewed up a clutch using this pattern.

Here's the other side....I'm making some for the shop soon.

Along with these little cuties - love the leather edges!

I sewed up an oldie this past weekend....this one has been tucked away for a while!

And again, sorry for all the instagram pics - apparently I can't be bothered to take pictures during the day or with my camera.

I am on Instagram a lot though - it's kinda like mini-blog posts all day long :-)

My name is oneshabbychickhawaii if you want to follow along.

And I do have a few good sales to share with you:

Fabricworm has all their Freespirit & Westminster fabrics 10% off until 9/6!

Pink Castle Fabrics has a 20% off coupon good until Monday - LABOR20!

MichellePatterns is having a sale on all her patterns! Use coupon laborday for 20% off any purchase!

Whipstitch still has their 30% of sale with coupon code LIQUID - they are closing on Monday!

I'll be back with a sappy post soon since it's our 17th anniversary on Sunday! Dang we are old :-)

a birthday, a winner and fabric

Yesterday was Bela's 12th birthday.

She is such a sweet girl and so helpful....she is at the "moody" age but aren't we all a bit moody at times!

We went to the water park since we have season passes and it was nice to see them all going on slides together and enjoying their siblings!

Today she has 3 friends coming over for a sleepover and tomorrow night we are having a pizza party with the family (we really like to stretch birthdays out around here).

I'm hoping to get a bit of sewing in before we start school on Monday. There's a few quilts I'd love to finish!

 

OK - so the winner of my birthday giveaway is....#58 - Lani! Congratulations!

 

Have you all visited Brenda's shop, Pink Castle Fabrics, yet?

She just got in a ton of new lines - Field Study, Chicopee, Out to Sea, Yuwa - just to name a few!

And she has a great deal on all her precuts and bundles right now - I've been loving buying FQ bundles for quilt making - great way to get a whole line without spending too much! You can get 20% off all bundles with coupon code: PRECUT20.

OK I'm off to clean and then sew!!

New quilts + mermaids (and mermen)

There are so many amazing fabric lines out right now, aren't there?!

Oh my goodness!! Field Study, Indie, Out to Sea, Chicopee...and a bunch more!

As soon as I got my bundle of Indie in the mail, I knew I wanted to make a baby quilt for a friend of mine.

The colors in this line are so vibrant - I have some yardage and want to make some shirred elastic skirts (for women) to sell at the craft fairs this winter.

I have always loved Katie's half square triangle quilts so I divided the bundle into lights and darks and cut a bunch of 6.5" squares. You can see her tutorial here on value quilts and how to pair up the squares.

I think I mostly achieved the look I was going for - there are a few "light" squares that are too dark but overall I love the effect.

Not sure how I'm going to quilt this one up yet....

And I am absolutely in love with Sarah Jane's new line, Out to Sea. It is very sweet and perfect for little  skirts and quilts.

I have a few ideas for this line but for my first quilt I went with simple patchwork squares (and a few rectangles).

The pinks in this line are gorgeous - different shades that all blend together so nicely....I was thinking a wave pattern would be fun to try on this quilt but we'll see....

And speaking of mermaids....a friend of ours recently made my girls mermaid tails.

Her granddaughter had been asking for one for a long time and she has a background in swimsuit manufacturing so she ordered some material and made these gorgeous tails.

Through LOTS of encouragement, she's even set up an Etsy shop!

The kids and Hubby all went down to the beach a couple Saturdays ago and came home with these wonderful pictures.

Imagine my surprise when a few mermen popped up in the photos - ha ha!!

(Hubby put it on backwards but Bela was sure he was going to break her tail - lol! There's video of both he and my eldest but I'll spare you that - ha ha!)

Much better week + a giveaway

Thanks so much for the well wishes! I am out of bed - woohoo!

Still feeling a little tired but we start soccer season today (and I'm the coach) so I have to get moving!

I had to cancel practice all last week but we don't start for a few weeks so it will be fine.

It's going to be crazy trying to get everyone everywhere (soccer and jiu-jitsu for now, ballet starts soon) but luckily it's all pretty close.

I've always had them all doing the same sport at the same time so it was crazy but we were all in the same place. This will be different!

School got off schedule since I still need to make the schedule and that was my plan for last week! So looks like we won't be starting until next week...but that's ok!

I have been doing a little sewing the last few days and I'll get a post up on that later (and the winner of my birthday giveaway).

But right now I want to introduce my newest sponsor - Miss Matatabi!

Frances has a wonderful Etsy shop filled with gorgeous Nani Iro fabrics and bias tape:

New Heather Ross:

and Melody Miller:

And more Japanese fabric goodness! She has a big sale section right now too!

She even has those elusive typewriters!!

And she has donated a gorgeous Melody Miller Ruby Star Spring panel to giveaway to one lucky reader!

So head on over and let me know  your favorite item that Frances carries in her shop. One comment per person.

I'll pick a winner next Monday, August 27th!

Sick

So what started out as a small tickle on our way to dinner on Sunday turned into all week in bed.

It's a great place to spend your birthday....drinking tea in bed.

I'm very happy we got to go out and celebrate on Sunday (oh and sitting two seats down from us was Scott Speedman). We decided it would have been the best birthday ever if he had been sitting with Kate Beckinsale but he wasn't (we are big Underworld fans).

But seeing him there did help me figure out what to watch while in bed all week - Felicity!

Although last night I switched to Parks and Recreation cause you can only take so much angst in one week.

I still feel bad - sore throats are the worst aren't they?! Got checked for strep just in case but it was negative. So I've just been trying everything I can to get better!

My house is a huge mess - thinking about I'm paying my kids to clean it for me today....

I have some fun new fabrics to share and some amazing mermaid pictures...but that's going to have to wait until I can sit here for a bit longer - sorry!

Just wanted to check in with you all and let you know what's up.....

38

I'm not sure how I feel about that number yet...seems like I'm just waiting to hit 40 - ha ha!

And I'm writing this on Saturday afternoon so it hasn't hit me that I'm a year older yet anyway.

Tonight we are having a family dinner with my parents and siblings. Hubby is making hamburgers (I've just been called to see if he's making them right - lol!)

Sunday night Hubs and I are heading to the movies and here for dinner. New (to us) restaurant - I somehow get really nervous about that - like we aren't trendy or cool enough to go (silly, I know!).

Monday (today!) I get to go out to lunch with my girlfriends and then Hubby has a soccer game in town (at 8 pm!!) so that's where we are spending the evening.

So pretty much 3 days of celebrations - perfect! Ha ha!

I wanted to do a little giveaway for my birthday and I came up with a few things....

A typewriter zip pouch

A pattern (Krista is having a quilt-a-long for this - I can't wait!!)

and I'll make up a fabric bundle for the package too.

So how about you leave me a comment with your favorite birthday dessert - Mine is Creme Brulee (love, love, love!)

And since we are celebrating.....I've made up a little coupon for the shop:

25% off everything with coupon code birthday (sorry - not good on custom orders though)

So if you've been wanting to snatch something up, now is the time - it will be good until August 20th!

OK so tell me about those desserts! Comments are now closed - thanks!

Winner, winner

I'm so sorry for taking so long to announce the winner of the Westwood Acres giveaway....

the winner is:

#13 (since that's my birthday!) Jodi!! Congratulations Jodi!

Amanda has some great bundles in her shop if you didn't win.....go check them out! Those feather bundles are so great!!

Plus she's getting Chicopee, Field Study and Out to Sea pretty soon too!!

And not sure if you noticed but I have a new sponsor over there on the side bar.....that pretty pink button!

Frances from Miss Matatabi - so check back on Tuesday for a fun giveaway from her!

And I think I'm in for some birthday celebrations this weekend....yes, it's my birthday on Monday (and I'm trying to think of a fun giveaway so you might want to pop in Monday as well!).

We are having a family dinner on Saturday and then dinner and a movie with the Hubs on Sunday - I like to draw it out for a few days - lol!

** One more thing! Sew Fresh Fabrics has a bunch of new arrivals in her shop - Field Study, Scamper, Storyboek Too, Fox Hollow - and she sells them all by the FQ too so it's nice if you just want a small piece for quilting!

Life

Life is hard sometimes, isn't it?! And nothing serious is going on - just lots of little things that are causing me to feel overwhelmed.

A car that needs repairs, school that needs to be sorted and scheduled, start of soccer, an allergy diagnosis for my son that is leaving me scrambling with how best to help/clean, a pre-teen and a teenager - need I say more?

I'm so glad I have Hubby in this journey with me - it's nice to have a partner in all this chaos.

 I also pulled out my guitar this morning - haven't played it in forever....

Wrote all that a few days ago - feeling much better now so guess it was just one of those days...we all get them don't we?

I haven't really felt like sewing this week either - I sit down at my machine and just don't feel motivated....I think I should just start on the pile of quilts that need to be quilted - it always feels good to finish a quilt right?!

I loaded some new things to the shop yesterday - phone cases, a couple ipad covers, crayon wallets and box bags. {and you can still use coupon code newpattern for 10% off}

I used a pattern by Michelle Patterns for the phone case - love her patterns! I'm excited to take her class at Sewing Summit!

Speaking of Sewing Summit - I have the coolest roommates ever! Stephanie, Angela, Megan and I are all going to be sharing a room - fun yeah?!

OK I'm trying to keep from being overwhelmed by making lists and then actually doing what is on them - lol!

Off to cross some things off - and watch the USA vs. Japan gold medal match! GO USA!!!

** Oh - and I did want to mention that Fabricworm has all their Japanese imports on sale right now - even the new Echino and Heather Ross - they are SO cute!!

And a little birdie told me that Field Study and Chicopee will be arriving tomorrow!!

Craft Fair Today

So this is really late notice but if anyone's in the area, stop by and say hi!!