Summertime Hourglass Quilt

I finished my Summertime Hourglass Quilt! I am trying to finish up so many of my quilt tops and I am excited to have crossed this one of the list. I started this one back last summer. In fact, the fabric was purchased while visiting my parents and the cutting process started while I was at the beach, which is where they are now.


The top has been done for a while, but I couldn't decide if I wanted a border around it or not. I added an orange polka dot border and then decided that the oranges weren't close enough so it was ripped off. I am glad that I went without the border on the front.

The orange on the back is the same that I was considering for the front. I like it on the back.:)


I quilted it 1/4 inch in on the sides of the seams to form squares. The fabrics are perfect for summer, I think.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tokyo Triangle/ Geese in the Forest: Progress

I have been picking up old projects and trying to make some progress on them. Back in November of last year(!), I decided to start the Tokyo Triangles quilt I kept seeing around. So I started sewing and sewing, until I had around 250 geese made. I then started sewing these little geese into sections of three.

This past spring, twiddletails started a block of the month for a geese in the forest quilt based on the tokyo triangle quilt. Here is March's Friendly Flock below.


May's block "Friendly Formation" is here!
I may use some of my groupings of three to finish up April's block since they are the correct size and all I will need to do is add sides. Paper piecing is easier than I thought it would be, but these take forever to make! I don't know how I will combine all of these blocks quite yet, but I am excited about how they will look together. I am using up scraps and bought the cream to work on this project.

Around Colorado

This past weekend our friend Phillip was in town so we took him around some neat places in Colorado. The weather was overcast on Saturday, but we were able to get some pictures anyway. Here are a few of the places we visited:

Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, CO

Outside Denver Art Museum

Downtown Denver near the Art Museum and Denver Public Library

Denver Art Museum

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park
(Still snow on the ground!)

Rocky Mountain National Park

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO

It was a fun weekend!

SewConnected May

I finished my May block for Amy at ParkCityGirl yesterday for the SewConnected group that I am in! I love the fabrics she sent. The colors in the picture above are more accurate than the colors below.
I have the hardest time taking pictures of block straight on. Doesn't it look weird? It is 15.5" square, I promise! It will be in the mail today!

Nine Patch One A Day Quilt A Long

I have been participating in Crazymomquilt's One a Day Quilt a Long but I have not been great about making one a day! Here are the 35 squares I have made so far out of the 70(!) I will need. I am about 15 behind where I should be in days. I am trying to not use a single fabric too many times, which is really making me dig through some scraps. The goal is to only use scraps and only purchase the background fabric. It is slow going, but it is progress.:) I am really excited about how this is all going to come together at the end.

Gardening and Scones

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here lately! A while back I saw that Stephanie was putting in a lasagna garden and was intrigued by the idea. I went to our local library and checked out Lasagna Gardening to find out more information on the idea.


The basic idea is that you start with a layer of newspaper or cardboard and then add layers of peat moss, compost, manure, hay, grass clippings or other organic materials into a bed of 18-24". Since the only thing we have laying around our backyard is newspaper to recycle, we bought compost, steer manure, and peat moss from Lowe's for this round.



It is pretty neat how it all comes together. The size is approximately 4' x 10'.


It looks pretty empty right now, but there are two tomatoe plants, two yellow straightneck squash, a black beauty squash, and an eggplant. I want to add two bell pepper plants as well. The squash are supposed to be 3' from each other so I am hoping that it will fill out some more throughout the summer.



Back in May I planted three tomato plants in containers and there are baby tomatoes starting to grow! These two are a regular tomato plant and a cherry tomato.

Some baking has occurred around here as well. I have made these blueberry scones twice and they are so delicious! I found the recipe in the June Martha Stewart Living. The recipe is also online here.



I have been sewing but need to take pictures, so that will be up soon. Other than gardening, baking, and sewing, I have been reading! The seven books I have read in the past two weeks are:

1. The Naming by Alison Croggon (good Tolkienesque fantasy for young adults; the library only had the first one in the series so I am going to have to track down the rest)
2. Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey NIffenegger (love, love, love this book!)
3. Body Surfing by Anita Shreve (good!)
4. Testimony by Anita Shreve (good)
5. Blindness by Jose Saramoga (I have not seen the movie but the book was fantastic. It is very, very dark. It is interesting how none of the characters have names; they are only referred to as the doctor, the doctor's wife, the girl with the sunglasses, etc. Definitely recommend this one but it is not a light read.)
6. Lock and Key by Sarah Dressen (enjoyed this one/ young adult)
7. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (I started this way back in February and finally finished. Interesting book but not my favorite.)

Happy Monday everyone!

Sewconnected and Sewconnected 2: April

I got behind at the end of April and May, but I am slowly catching up with my blocks for the two sewconnected groups I am in!

These two blocks are for John, aka quiltdad who is the founding father of our group. I love the fabrics he sent out. He requested an assortment of sizes ranging from 6 1/2 inches square to 18 1/2 inches square and 6 1/2 x 12 1/2 to 12 1/2 x18 1/2 rectangular. I made him two blocks. The one above is 12 1/2 x 18 1/2.

The next block for John is 12 1/2 square. They were really fun to make, and I hope he enjoys them!

The next group of blocks is for Marilyn who requested a range of block sizes too! I made 5- 6 1/2" blocks for her. I started most of these in April and finally finished them.

Everything went in the mail yesterday so hopefully they will get to their final destination quickly and safely! I hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Three by Three Nine Patch Swap

I signed up for twiddletail's three by three swap several weeks a go and have all my nine patch blocks ready to go!


I am also working on crazymomquilts "One a day" quilt a long with nine patches, too. Pictures to come soon, I am way behind on that one. I went a little nine patch crazy. I am really excited all the lovely nine patches I am going to receive!

Pay It Forward
Thank you everyone who wanted to play along! I will be sending a handmade gift to Tina, Stephanie D., and Erin O. I will be contacting everyone for you info. later today! I am really excited to see what I can come up with, but it very well may take me a year-hopefully not!

Pay it forward!

Today marks the official beginning of my summer vacation, so it seems like a good day to play! I signed up for the Pay It Forward chain a couple of days ago on Karen's blog, Short Story Long.

{The Rules}
1. Be one of the first THREE (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!
2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your 3 friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought that Counts!
4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top 3 Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same.
REMEMBER... Pay it forward!


i love that I have a year to accomplish this because I have several swap obligations I need to catch up on first before I start. They are coming swap partners! Please make sure I have a way of contacting you if you sign up!

Hello again!

I did not mean to be absent for almost a month! There has been some sewing going on, but this has been a crazy, hectic month around here. We spent two weekends out of town: one trip to Atlanta for a friend from college's wedding and a twenty hour in the car over the course of two and a half days weekend journey to Hobbs, NM to attend my niece's first birthday party. They were both incredibly fun, but exhausting. I generally sew on the weekend, so this led to much time away from the sewing machine.

Work has also been incredibly busy over the last month of school. I am not sure where the last month went! Only two more days until summer vacation! I will then have plenty of time to sew and read and gallivant around town.:)

Of course, you may be asking what bibs have to do with that? I am pregnant! We are expecting a little girl in September. She will be our first. This has helped lead to going to bed super early and general exhaustion all around. That is who these little bibs will be for come this fall. I am so excited about seeing her and all the fun things I get to make to welcome her in the next couple of months.

I will be posting more regularly now that I will have some time off. I also will be frequenting all of your blogs more and commenting! I'm sorry I have been absent, but I am coming back.:)