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Friday, November 10, 2017

#babyschep's nursery progress: Solar System Quilt

I keep raving about my Cricut, but that's only because I use it so much!  There's this solar system cutting file on their website that I have used over and over again while preparing BabySchep's nursery.

Earth and Mercury on the pressing sheet






It's been fun deciding how to color the planets--after all, a lot of the coloring you see in "photographs" of space is artificial.  We figured we'd just have fun with it.  My hubby played a huge role in picking the fabrics for this quilt. 









My sous-sewer?

Here he is helping me measure the background fabric.  We went with a light gray, because we felt that it would interfere the least with the chosen colors. I once again opted for Heat n Bond Ultra permanent adhesive--I don't intend to stitch these planets down, so I guess we'll find out how permanent it actually is!  (I reckon I'll eventually let y'all know how it goes...)






Most of these planets are two or three layers, meaning some of them are very thick.  I'm glad I decided not to sew them down.

I opted for premade bias tape for the orbits.  This was my first time using the double needle on my Quantum, and it worked beautifully.  I used a bobbin as the second spool of thread. 


I ordered some glow-in-the-dark thread at my husband's suggestion.  While I loved the idea, I HATED the thread.  I had to work out some tension issues on a practice quilt sandwich:





I got about one eighth of the quilt done with the glow-in-the-dark thread before I got fed up with the shredding.  It didn't matter what tension, or how fast or slow I stitched, the thread continually shredded and broke in the machine.  I finally yanked it out and replaced it with some Aurifil white thread, and whaddya know? it sewed up like a dream:





Mercury

Sol

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune


Fun and fast quilt that I hope BabySchep will enjoy it for years to come.  Linking up with Busy Hands Quilts, Crazy Mom Quilts, TGIFF and My Quilt Infatuation this week.   I just gifted another finish this week, so more on that soon!  Until then, God Bless!



Monday, November 6, 2017

Sparkle Baby Quilt in Progress





I started a new project--I know, what was I thinking???  A friend is having a little girl soon, and I have tons of this Michael Miller Glitz fabric laying around, so I thought it'd be perfect to try out a quilt I've had in my head for a while. 




This confetti dot border quilt is a gradient--it gradually changes over the entire width of fabric.  My Phillips fiber art 10 degree wedge ruler is designed to fit on half a width of fabric, so I cut away the top, sparser half, and sliced the more densely printed half into 72 wedges. 


My happy place -- quilting with an audiobook!
It is going to be so cute!  I have lots of this fabric that hasn't sold in my online shop, so I thought I'd try my hand at selling finished quilts, using this gift as a catalyst.  What do you think?  Would you, or someone you know, buy a handmade quilt as a baby gift?  I'm keeping track of the time it takes me to finish these two quilts to get an idea of how much I'm paying myself to make it.  The cost of the fabric alone (even at wholesale) is pretty high, so I think I'll end up throwing in my labor for next to nothing if these are going to sell at all.  You never know, so I'll keep y'all posted when I finish this one...until next time, God Bless!





Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Taking Stock

So I was perusing some of my favorite blogs today, and saw this monthly "taking stock" thing.  My blog doesn't just have to be about making, after all, so here we go:

Making : Lots of stuff.  Another circle quilt for a baby girl, a memory quilt for a coworker's late husband, and planner stickers for 2018. 

Cooking : I just bought one of those Instant Pots, so I'm diving in and trying a recipe tonight--Beef and Broccoli rice.  We'll see how that goes.  I pre-seasoned the beef with salt, pepper and soy sauce, so I'm hoping that'll help it be extra tasty.

Drinking : CafĂ© con leche.  Love my Bialetti Mukka Express <3


Reading: I primarily listen to audiobooks, so I'm currently "reading" Disaster Diaries by Sam Sheridan.  Fascinating!


Wanting: To leave work early today--I've got a sick kiddo at Grandma's house today :(


Looking: At fancy schmancy minivans for future upgrade.  I miss my backup camera!


Playing: First Martians.  Played through the introductory scenario a few nights ago, so I think we're ready to tackle a full game.


Deciding: Whether or not to stop at Wal-Mart tonight.  I need a new ironing board cover, which they won't bring out to your car as part of their Grocery Pickup service.


Wishing: I had vacation time to take off this year.


Enjoying: Being a new mom again.  It's amazing how much you remember and forget about caring for a baby a mere year and a half later!


Waiting: For the holidays to arrive.  Work seems less burdensome when you're highly anticipating a gathering. 


Liking: How much sewing time I've been getting in the evenings.  My sweet hubby has made it his goal to make sure I have one or two evenings "off" per week for me to meet my sewing goals.


Wondering: How my sick child is doing. 


Loving: My boys, of course!  It would be nice to spend guilt-free time with them again.


Pondering: The apocalypse.  That sounds negative, but the book I'm listening to is all about being prepared for TEOTWAWKI--The End of The World As We Know It.


Considering: Buying more emergency supplies.  I'm more of a prepper than my husband is, or we'd already own a lot of the stuff I'm considering buying--like those instant meals that have a 25 year shelf life, you know?


Buying: Kiddo's clothing and food.  Lil Schep is growing again, and fall has finally arrived here in Florida, so he needs new clothes.  2T/3T, for those who are wondering! ;)


Watching: Football.  That's all I ever watch on television anymore.  The Walking Dead is back on, so my hubby's sucked in again--perhaps I can use this to persuade him to make those emergency supply purchases I've been pondering!
Hoping: That this all works out.  That I do my job well, that I raise my kids right, and that the world doesn't end in a nuclear war.

Marvelling: At how my son is a tiny human being.  How is it that we are born with everything we need to grow up?  We never take our kids in for software or hardware upgrades--they just grow and grow.  Marvelous.

Cringing: At the bad decisions I see people make.  Being a lawyer means I get to deal with other people's mistakes daily, and many are very cringe-worthy.  The downside is that I tend to downplay my own.

Needing: To get over myself.  In the grand scheme of things, I'm not that big of a deal, but here I am blogging about myself as if I were.

Questioning: Whether our decision to start a business was short sighted and impulsive.  I merely wanted a way to fund my hobby (let's face it, quilting can be expensive!), but now I have tons of cute fabric lying around, and no time to sew it into anything cute.

Smelling: The remnants of beef flavored ramen noodles.

Wearing: A red dress.

Following: Orders.  It's a trying time at work, and I'm doing my best to comply.

Noticing: How many little people there are in the world.  What?  I'm not the only person who had a baby??!!

Knowing: That God's got this, but finding myself doubting this from time to time.

Thinking: That I need to get back to church on Sundays.  BabySchep is old enough to go to the church nursery now, so I have no excuse.

Admiring: Single moms.  I deal with them every day at work, and finding that I couldn't do it on my own.

Sorting: Piles of files into smaller piles of files.  This is my life from 8 to 5.

Getting: A bit anxious because I'm trying to finish typing this before Court starts.

Bookmarking: Baby clothing sales!

Coveting: A new bathroom.  Or screened patio. Oh, and a sewing machine.

Disliking: Laypeople who try to tell professionals how to do their jobs.

Opening: A new gallon of water (no water fountains at work!).

Giggling: Over some of the ridiculous names people give their children.

Feeling: A bit guilty about how long it's taking to type this up.

Snacking: On Smartfood White Cheddar popcorn.  I'm glad I bought the little bags, because I would have eaten the big one already.

Hearing: The secretaries go about their business.












Yikes!  In hindsight, this is probably a very boring post.  So, in exchange for reading mine, I'll read yours--leave me a link in the comments.  Until next time, God Bless!