For the Record + Quilt Camp!

Since I did this with my last pregnancy... why not with this fun pregnancy?!

Here's me, 20 weeks along - looking like 30 weeks!

But for good reason!

I'm feeling the girls kick and squirm frequently now, I feel loads better than I did in the 1st trimester... and I'm hoping to do some baby girl sewing soon!  Soon being after Christmas, most likely.  But you never know - I may knock out a few Christmas gifts at Quilt Camp and be free to do girly projects before Christmas.  Man That would be awesome!

So who's going to Quilt Camp in Michigan Dec 7-9?  I'll be there, as will my carpool partner, Amanda!  Yay!  I'm getting pretty pumped to meet some of my favorite Modern Quilting girls, who will also be teaching classes:  Jeni, Faith, Heather, and Brenda!

 

{binding time!}

Oh so close to having this quilt done before the Quilt Con Quilt Show deadline! 

It will be finished before I go to bed tonight... and some quick photos tomorrow... that ought to do it!  I do regret not doing hand binding, but too late now!  Hopefully the judges don't frown upon machine binding - with straight cut and straight sewn fabric!  Eeek!!

 

{weekend ramblings including twin Girls}

That's right - twin GIRLS!  We found out Wednesday evening that we'll be having two little pink bundles of joy.  We're both kind of floored at this discovery as there are three sets of twin boys on husbands side - who would have thought I'd break the trend!  So most of Eli's clothes will sit and wait for future boy cousins... and a more feminine set of (double the) clothing will need to be procured. Thank goodness our town has a Once Upon a Child! (a baby/kids clothing consignment store.)

Anyhow - moving on to slightly less exciting news - new fabric additions!

    

I was able to snag these DS Quilts "quarters" from Jo-Anns which is a whole yard of fabric but with 4 separate prints... aka 4 fat quarters!  Genius, right?  Denyse's fabric is about the only fabric I'll buy at Jo-Anns save for Kona solids... on sale plus my VIP card makes for a sweet price!  No, no plans for them yet - but my wheels are turning already.

I was in Amish Country (Berlin, OH to be specific) last weekend with friends and I snagged this fun vintage pillow case at a thrift store.  Right now I'm just trying to collect enough to make a Giant Vintage Star Quilt... at this rate I'll have enough vintage bedding in about 10 years!

  Last but not least, I was able to participate in a fabulous I Love Kona Charm Swap thanks to Pile O'Fabric via Flickr!  I sent Alyssa 2 yards worth of 5" charm squares in my assigned shades of green and voila! a few weeks later I receive this fun stack of charms - in a plethora of colors!  She even listed each color in the pack on a nifty little cheat sheet.  I think this swap is held a few times a year so you may be able to jump in a round.  I'm sure this stack will last me for quite some time - although a HST quilt could definitely be in my future.  A very colorful one!  

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday - including two big dinners in one day!  Christmas decorating has begun (mainly the fireplace mantle) and next weekend we'll go chop down our annual tree.  

I'm this (---) close to finishing my entry for QuiltCon - must. finish. by. FRIDAY! 
I'll post another progress photo later this week hopefully with binding in the works!  

How was your Holiday (or plain ol' week?)  Any Christmas sewing in the works?  

xo

Cristin

Seaside Improv Quilt Top + a {W}all

Hallelujah its done!  Well, the top, that is.

I'm only slightly baffled how to quilt it.  It reminds me of the sea (or any body of water aside from a reservoir... which is all we have around here!) So I was thinking of doing some sparse wavy quilting.  I want to keep it modern, and low key, which would also keep it super soft.  If not waves, maybe some shallow zig-zag (chevron) quilting along these lines? 

Give me your best quilting suggestion - this is the worst part of making a quilt for me - deciding how to actually QUILT the thing!  Maybe if my machine was a bit more... big quilt friendly... I wouldn't be so hesitant.  Someday I'll have a big-a** machine like this or this or this.  I'm pretty sure these machines cost more than my current car, but that's ok.  My little Janome Magnolia 7330 (kinda looks like a toy next to these mega-machines) mostly does the trick.

Due to the random and improvisational piecing I think it would appropriate for me to enter it in the Improvisation category at QuiltCon. 

As for binding - probably Kona Coal which is dark grey.  I typically love a super scrappy binding but maybe an all-solid frame for this quilt would be appropriate.  I won't cross that bridge till I come to it.  Hopefully in the next week or two.. time is ticking for Nov 30th deadline!

And I'm linking up with Lee over at Freshly Pieced!  This is one WIP I cannot wait to finish!

Now that we've been in our "new" home for almost a year - I've finally got the entry way almost decorated, half way.  I'm still lacking a bench to sit on while putting on/taking off shoes but that's a conundrum I can solve soon, even if I have to set up a folding chair.  Oh wait, I did put out a folding chair!  Haha - whatever.  I have no shame.

BUT these fun Double-U's are a great start to decorating the big wall, no?  Our last name starts with W, so why not? The small tin one and bigger Orange one are from Etsy... the teal one from Hobby Lobby (I know, right!!) and the cool fleur de lis W is from an awesome upcycle shop in Tampa FL.  My older sister has a similar one in her house in Tampa!  Each one is slightly different and made from salvaged vintage tin ceilig and nailed on to a hand-shaped W.  Love it!  I want to add more W's as I find them... over the years.

And Eli had to be in one, as usual.  Silly kid.

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Weekend!

xo

Cristin

{WIP for QuiltCon}

 If you haven't heard - the modern quilting community will be taking over Austin, TX this coming February!  Its called QuiltCon and I SO WISH I could go!  Thanks to the pending arrival of twins in March or April - I'm going n.o.w.h.e.r.e fast.  But why not at least enter a quilt or two into the juried show - and my fingers will be crossed to win some loot, or even cash!  Just have to decide on a category for this WIP (a large lap-size quilt, I think it will be), which I think I can finish by the deadline on November 30th.  Eeek! Only three weeks away!

 

As usual, Eli wanted in on the picture-taking action... so here he is.  Ornery as usual!

What WIPs are you working on and how long has it been a work-in-progress?

I've had this fabric set aside for about year, and just in the last few weeks stitched them together!  

Thanks for stopping by!

xo

Cristin