Opinion Needed!!

Okay, it’s my turn…..

First of all, I love all of your projects, Jen. The stockings turned out better than any others I’ve ever seen! I want one of those menu boards too. My birthday is coming up. Kidding. Sortof.

Um, secondly, have you girls started thinking about Easter dresses? I already have my pattern picked out. Last night I finally found the fabric I want to use too. It’s from Heather Bailey’s new line called “magnolia fresh cut” http://www.fatquartershop.com/store/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?sid=58181355385818&Store_id=499&page_id=23&Item_ID=62304&Parent_Ids= Tell me that is not the prettiest fabric you have EVER seen! It doesn’t come out until Feb. though. anyhoo!

and since I’m making random chatter… I am OBSESSED with the songs “Life’s a Happy Song” and “Man or Muppet” from the Muppets soundtrack. OBSESSED! Please tell me I’m not the only one.

Okay, so I need your opinions on 2 quilt tops I’m making. Seriously, I wish I could run next door and bug both of you. But alas, I’m suck taking pictures instead. Sorry about the poor light quality. I live in Oregon remember!

So, I’m using up a ton of scraps. Here’s some I made into pinwheels. Should I….. sew them all together like this?….

Or singled out with sashing in between each square?…..

Or grouped into fours with sashing between……. ???

Okay, next…… I used all these coordinating scraps to make these blocks. The finished blocks are stacked in the center. When I laid them all out, I felt like something was missing. I bought some browns (on the left) from Joanns. Then I pulled out some blues from my stash that match the turquoise blue from the Amy Butler print in the second row. Now the questions…. Should I just use the blocks I have already made? Add the browns in there? Or add the blues? Or add both browns and blues? The blues only match that one fabric I already have…. adding them would be a stretch for me, but I like them.

Now lets see… what do I have ‘completed’ to show you?

I found this Pottery Barn duvet cover at goodwill MONTHS ago. I almost died when I saw it… perfect for the map theme. Anyhoo. I had it on Jefferson’s bed. Until 2 days ago I realized I could put it on both boys bed. Duh! Why didn’t it occur to me earlier to just cut the duvet in half, buy a matching sheet and make 2 new duvets? I am ashamed I just thought of it 2 days ago. Look, how cute is that? Now I want to make some matching shams.

Um, I did not make these, but I did FIND them at goodwill for $1 each. WHAT THE? Who would ever get rid of these pillows? Some crazy! They’re nicely made too, with a zipper. Recognize the fabric? It’s the Heather Bailey fabric I used for Reagan’s easter dress 2 years ago. I am in LOVE with these. LOVE I SAY!

This is my quilt I appropriately named “Joann” because every stich of fabric came from that store. I made it for my mother/father in law. It was  surprisingly inexpensive to make. I sort of hate it, but my MIL loved it! I’m just not a fan of the colors…. but they suit her.

Here’s the blasted stockings I made. I want to trade them with Jen’s, but I’m sure she’ll say no. I only made 4 because I got sick of making them. I have a 5th (double hourglass) ready to quilt and a 6th (hexagon) ready to piece. I have some psychological problem where I can’t make more than one of the same thing. After making the 1st, I had no desire to make anymore. Weird.

I remade Reagan’s bird mobile. Nothing we haven’t already seen… These are the same fabrics as the pinwheel quilt I showed you at the beginning of this post. I love ‘em!

Here’s the butterfly mobile I made for her room too. It’s…. alright. I had envisioned something straight out of a boutique. Instead it looks like a homemade project (exactly what it is of course, but) I think Blah when I look at it. Her room receives NO natural light… NONE!!!

This is the back side of the Happy Birthday banner I made. I have it hanging over Reagan’s bed. There’s that adorable fabric again. Don’t you just want to sleep in her bed? I do… literally! She needs a lamp shade. I’m thinking of decorating one. And I’m working on some embroidered pictures for her blank wall.

Well, that’s all I have to share right now… I miss you girls. Can we have a craft weekend? and soon? I’m free this weekend!

The last 4 months

Hey Ladies!  It has been FOREVER since I posted anything on here, and even LONGER (ok not really, but it feels like it) since I've talked to you guys!  Here are a few of my projects over the last couple months:

When I started homeschooling Jemma, I knew I wanted to make some kind of calendar - something to help cement in the months, days of the week, how long a month/week is, etc. So, I came up with this little deal.  The kids love it and if I don't remember to have them put up the date, they remind me.  We've added cute pictures we can slip in the appropriate slots for holidays and birthdays and I just laminated all the date cards...(Yipee!  My sister got our family one for Christmas.  Love her!)  since we use them all the time and the ink could smear if wet fingers got ahold of them.  :)  Enough about the calendar though... 

 These next two projects I made for my sister's family for Christmas:

 Menu board - I got the vinyl chalkboard off Pick your Plum...if there's one thing I'm not happy with, it's that the chalkboard is a little small...oh well.  Hopefully they like it.  Thanks again Kristina for the idea to outline the word "Menu" with black.  You're a genius!

 I also made this quilt for them.  It's a throw size and it's backed with a pale yellow flannel stripe.  Very cozy and bright for blah brown January nights, or days.  :)

 For Jemma's birthday I decided to make her a wallet and purse.  She LOVES it!  Her cousin asked her which of her presents was her favorite, and without hesitation (or prompting from me) she said "the purse and wallet!"

 They were so fun to put together!  I used Amy Butler's Teardrop Bag pattern for the purse and this tutorial for the wallet. 

I made new stockings...I LOVE the center three and despise the ones on the end...I'm gonna make two new ones to replace those...eventually.  I didn't have the heart to not hang the other set I have - they look like the ones my mom made us growing up, so we had TWO sets of stockings up this year.  Kinda fun!  :)

 I also made this Christmas table runner (sorry about the weird angle on this picture) - my mom and I made them together!  That was fun, and she's officially addicted to quilting and making runners - I think she's made at least 10 since I've been here.

Those are the biggies.  I'm workin' on a pink and brown quilt right now...just using up scraps from my fabric stash, and my sister, Emma, who is home for the semester, and I are working on a shelf remake...I'll post pics when they're done!  LOVE AND MISS YOU GUYS!!!

As I PROMISED

So at LONG last HERE are some very current projects I have been working on! HOORAY!
What you see below are pictures of an advent calendar I found at The PURL BEE. This website is LEGIT! YOU WILL all DIE! So here are some things i learned and will not soon forget:
A. Wool felt rocks
2. Plastic felt does not
B. I will be making this again next year with REAL WOOL FELT.
the other stuff doesn't sew well... it falls apart under my needle...
C. Kristina was right..
3. I will pay more and shop on Etsy for proper materials next time.
D. I LOVE to embroider, I should do it more!

YOU LIKE?

Drumroll.......

Here is Hattie Ann's most recent dress: 

And I learned a lot with this dress...

1. I LOVED this high quality fabric I purchased during the Gucker Girls reunion.

B. There is A LOT that this pattern LEAVES out...

3.I am grateful for the HELP of Kathy Chase.

C. Bias tape is OVER RATED.

(I had very little fabric left from the bodice so i decided to just turn the edges in and get it the crap done!)
4. Hattie WILL NOT WEAR THIS DRESS!!!! WHY???!!!!
Oh well I can save it just in case I have another little girl who WILL wear it!

SEE Who needs Bias tape?!

Thank YOU Hailey for all the AMAZING FLOWERS AND BOWS! 

Hailey is Kathy's daughter and was also at Gucker girls weekend.
She is a creative genius! I LOVE her hair bows!
Check them out at: navyperl.blogspot.com

Here is a stack of 13 Jammies some cut out some not... Waiting for me...
I must be insane!
After you and I talked on Black Friday Jen, I went back to Jo's and purchased MORE flannel...
1.49/yard?!! I HAD to!
MISS YOU GUYS!
I will post finished pics...

Dear Jen and Kristina,

I CANNOT stop thinking about you two. I feel like I owe both of you an apology... I am SO sorry for NOT phoning more. Please forgive me. I PROMISE to do better. I simply cannot lose contact with either of you.... Okay, now onto the craft portion of the evening...

I have been up to a few things. Halloween costumes of course, which you saw on our family blog, but also a dress for Hattie: 

{sorry for the grainy photo this is the third time i have uploaded this picture...}

{i am farther along now...I PROMISE to post pictures of the finished product ON Hattie!}

Christmas Jammies for our cousins, and that is pretty much it. I have been using my camera as a creative outlet as well... I pretty much LOVE photography and its many many applications, and ways to tell a story in a picture. I take a big deep breath when I go to take a picture of something these days. I LOVE my NIKON! 

We are going tomorrow to look at a house to buy/renovate. We found out about a mortgage that allows you to fix up the house prior to move in. This particular house we have looked at before.

Go here to read about the land and what this house was used for up until the College that owns it decided to sell... Pretty cool stuff. Although I think it makes Vermont sound like the Arctic.... wait it pretty much is... any way... go here to the actual online listing.

{sorry grainy photo}

Former class rooms and lab for Center for Northern Studies. Built as a large cape and back addition. 9.2 acres of mostly mixed woods. A naturalists heaven. Dwelling has many rooms that would work as bed rooms. First floor has front entry, two bedroom size rooms to the right, a large kitchen with wood stove , 3/4 bath, then a very large class room/living room at back of building. Large laboratory in walk out basement with 1/2 bath. Second floor houses a large library with 4 reading rooms suitable for bedrooms. Above the kitchen is a large second living room and 2 bedrooms adjacent. There is a recent standing seam metal roof. Would make an attractive home, school, office, you decide.

Above is the description on the listing. Shannon and I are very interested in having LAND... It is really appealing to be able to snowshoe on your own property or raise your own chickens, or horses, or make your own out door hockey rink... We have a large, loud family and need to have space to roam and explore... lots of room for two more houses... just saying...

So I started doing some research on new kitchens and living rooms, trying to nail down my "style" the kind of decorating I want to do to this home.

The following are some pictures I LOVE!

Kitchens:

Same kitchen different view:

Living Rooms:

Also, I just made an idea book on this weird website. I have 38 MORE photos to bore you two with...I hope this link works...

I want both of you to know how very much I ADORE you. I am thankful for each of you, EVERYDAY! THANK YOU for being my friend even if I am 3,000 + Miles away! I have NO doubt that the distance can seem trivial...

PS I have lost 4 pounds since getting the IUD out, and slowly, ever so slowly my emotional health is improving. I am feeling more like my old self everyday. 

Well, heres to our craft blog and ULTRA personalized posts!

Yours Truly,

Molly Ann

Post at last…

So, to prove that the craft blog has not completely died… I am here, posting some things. Halleluiah! I don’t have much of anything to share. I scoured my house looking for things I have made (there’s not much).

I threw away our old water bottle carriers after Jen one-up’t me and made some totally awesome ones and made mine look like trash bags! I felt rushed to make them because Jefferson needed to bring a water bottle every day to school. So, I whipped these guys up the day before his first day… in the middle of moving. The kids chose their main fabrics and I choose the coordinating. Grant has the trucks, Jefferson the outdoor animals, and Reagan the pink. I assure you, they’re all the same size in real life. This picture makes Grant’s look ginormous. (Wow, what a really long description for such a simple thing. I’m feeling really wordy today…. sorry!)

I cut this board with my circular saw (which was invigorating and frightening at the same time). Then I painted and screwed on some hooks. The mason jar is held up with a pipe clamp. I don’t really want to show you where I got the idea from because hers looks so much nicer, ha. But I guess I have to give credit where credit is due. Here it is... Mine isn’t a key hook though. I’ll hang some hand towels (it’s in the bathroom, in case you don’t see that ugly toilet). The most exciting thing is that it cost me $3 to make, yeah!

I finished my mini baby blankets. It seemed an appropriate time to finish them. I was actually due the 3rd of Oct (tomorrow), so I feel some closure instead of pain. I’ll put them in my keepsake box. No one will ever see them. I just wanted to share them with you girls. 

The binding wasn’t completely done when I took this picture. But, I finished it up today during conference.

I know this is personal in nature, but there is a crafty purpose to showing you these pictures I used iron-on transfer paper to write a message for each baby. It was really easy to do. I wrote the message, then flipped it backwards in photoshop (I suppose it could be flipped in any program). On the girl blanket I just ironed the piece directly onto the fabric, then hand stitched around the edges. With the boy blanket I ironed the piece onto a coordinating fabric, then slipstitched it onto the quilt. I wanted to do it both ways to see how they look. I prefer the one on the boy blanket. I think it looks more like a cute, personalized label. I plan on doing this on ALL my quilts now (even the ones I’ve already made). Some I will put a message, others probably just my name and a date. I think it’s important to personalize the quilts, especially if they are gifts!

 

Okay… now I have a questions for you. I am reupholstering this chair. There is no turning back… I’ve already taken the fabric off of it. But I’m at a stand still because I don’t know what fabric to replace it with. Both fabrics are shower curtains and a weightier fabric. Both cost me close to nothing. Which ever one I don’t use will become the shower curtain in my guest bathroom. Really… I can’t decide!

This cream and green one?….. this one is subtle and I am partial to it. My mom thinks it’s ugly. But I like the fact that it’s more neutral.

Or this bright one?…. this one is fun, but I’m scared I’ll get sick of it quickly. It does match my mirror better, but I don’t plan on having the mirror in my living room forever. Shoot, I don’t know… it is more cheery.

Hi! Here I am for your viewing pleasure. Oh goodness, see the foam on my chair… I told you, no turning back. anyways, I am showing you this AWESOME mirror I found at thrift city for $7. I’m going to put it above reagan’s dresser. I can’t decide what color to paint it still. You both said pink. I still don’t know. I’m too indecisive. What’s going to happen is I will choose a color, paint, then regret my choice. Oh well. I’ll show you when I finish it.

I also plan on making this for Reagan’s room. I think I’ll make the butterflies colorful instead of just white. I think it’s pretty.

So, I finally decided what to do with the boys room. I was debating between nautical or maps. A recent trip to goodwill helped me decide. I found this adorable duvet cover. It’s pottery barn. I LOVE IT! It’s wrinkly and gross in this picture, but trust me, it’s wonderful. Too bad I have 2 boys and only 1 duvet cover. I found the same one on ebay. $150…. what the!!!! Oh well. I cannot wait to get started on their room.

I’m going to make one of these wall murals. This is a painted sheet, stretched over a frame of wood. Genius! Shawn doesn’t like this, but too bad for him because I do! wouldn’t it be cool with glow in the dark paint outlining the continents?

So, I’ve got my work cut out for me. Sorry, this post was more about what I’m “going” to do, rather than what I’ve “done.”

I love both of you and miss you dearly. Really, I’m not just saying that. I do.

I hope this craft blog picks up. Molly… it’s your turn. There’s got to be something you’ve worked on. Or, just make a post about what you “want” to do someday.

Bye