Valentines Finishes

I have been so bad about making stuff for the boy. Really. I've told him I'd make him pants and quilts and lunchboxes and all sorts of things. You know what I've made for him thus far? A drawstring pouch (that was really just a vessel for chocolate) and a rather poorly constructed wallet. He used the wallet to death in spite of the construction, so that was good at least!

So this Valentine's Day I decided to remedy that. Somewhat. There are still plans for future makes!

First up: Portal wall hanging.

I was pretty excited about this one. I wasn't actually planning on it. I was originally just going to make pajamas. But! I was struck with an idea and went hunting for patterns.I was going to make the patterns myself if they didn't exist, but I got lucky! Thank you, Fandom in Stitches.

 

I just love how it turned out! :) 

I also made a new wallet. This time I used a pattern from the wonderful Noodlehead. Last time I sort of half followed a random Pinterest pattern and half did what I want... It was okay. But this one is better! It's a good basic bi-fold that uses suiting on the outside. Kinda cool.

 

Excuse the crappy cell phone pic. I didn't take any proper photos before giving it to him and it is in his pants right now...

The gifts were definitely well received :) And we've been designing a quilt for him together, too! I want to get it done before his birthday at the end of May. Of course, I haven't started yet. Or even bought fabric. But I have a sketch and the yardage math done, so I'm on my way! More on that... probably when I actually buy fabric.

Feels good to have gotten something done for a change! What have you finished lately?

Linking up to Finish it Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts!

I'm Still Making Stuff!

Slowly. Very slowly.

You see, I thought I was going to have amazing amounts of time to sew when I found out in December that the boyfriend was being moved to 2nd shift (supposedly temporarily, but I'm not holding my breath!). Trying to put a happy spin on what is really a sad thing.

But what has really happened the past couple of months is a whole lot of moping and a whole lot of TV watching because the house is just too quiet at night. Pathetic, I know. But we seriously haven't spent more than a day apart in probably 4 years? I'm really used to seeing him every day... and during the week I see him for maybe a few minutes in the morning before I leave for work and that's it. UGH. I know. Excuses, right?

Anyway, in spite of my mopeyness, I have been able to get a few things accomplished. Like sewing my Catvent quilt top together:

Isn't it pretty?? I just love how it turned out!

I just need to decide on a backing and get it quilted now. Eee! Can't wait! I have been working on a few more things, too. But you're going to have to wait just a little while to see those ;)

What have you been working on? Linking up to WiP Wedneday with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

Fierce Quilters 2014

Today I'm going to tell you about a little idea I had that grew into something really cool...

I joined a bee last year and it was okay. The problem was it was on Threadbias and while I kept up and mailed all my blocks, I just didn't really get into the platform. As a result, I didn't communicate much with the other members except to say my block was mailed or if it was going to be late. It just wasn't as fun as I thought it would be because other than Threadbias, there was no other place to communicate really and while I now follow a few new blogs, I still feel like I didn't make friends all that well. Which makes me sad :( But I just can't get into using Threadbias.. it's a great site, but I just don't have the time to devote to using it effectively.

So I had an idea. Why not invite some people I already talk with online (and in person in one case!) and think are really super awesome to start a bee with me? We already have avenues of communication set up, so there would be no new platform to get used to checking regularly. Plus, I already knew these ladies would be my super awesome best quilting friends if we all lived in the same city (so everyone move to Tucson, k?). Thus, the Fierce Quilters Bee was born.

We decided to set it up as a Traveling Quilt kind of thing (a little like this one here) and keep it small and laid back- fluid mailing dates and few rules. Basically everyone chose their own rules and as a result, we 6 very different quilts being made this year! Here are some (not great) pictures of what I sent off in January to the lovely Audrey.

Initial fabric pull

First few blocks

Final send off

 I was in the middle of a move when I was making these, so I didn't have time (or know the box with my camera in it) to take decent pictures before I sent them off. But you get the idea :) Audrey actually has a little preview of what she's been adding up on her blog today if you're interested!

I can't wait to see where this bee goes. We have such a fabulous group! Here are the others if you want to go check out their awesomeness:

Sarah (Sew What Sherlock)
Kitty (Life of Couch)
Allison (Sew into my 20s)
Gwen (The Rainbow Revolts)

You can also watch our progress over on Instagram (#fiercequiltersbee2014). This is going to be an exciting year!