Inspiring Creations

Disappearing 9-patch quilt

2014-12-31T10:43:00.001-07:00

Hi there! I just wanted to share a quilt finish with you today!

This sweet quilt was done just in time for Christmas! I made this for my little boy for Christmas! I think I was more excited about it than he was, but when you get a train set for Christmas, who cares about a quilt! ;)

I used the disappearing 9- patch quilt pattern for his quilt. I used ADORNit's lovely Timberland collection and I love how it turned out! The colors are woodsy and very boyish!

I backed it with grey minky, to make it super soft and cuddly for him. I had my friend Kathy quilt it--she did a lovely job with the quilting! I also had my mom hand bind it!

Now I need to make the girl's their own bed quilts! :)

Talk to you soon!

Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas {Finished Quilt}

2014-12-15T12:02:00.001-07:00

I finished my Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas Quilt a few weeks ago and thought I'd share it on the blog! :)

(Sorry for the not so great pics, it's really hard photographing anything in my house because the paint color is dark and I don't have a ton of light)

I had a lot of fun making this quilt. It was so fun to watch everyone's progress on Instagram and I am so glad Lori shared this pattern with us!

I also learned something while I was sewing this together! My new Bernina's quarter inch foot, is slightly off from my other sewing machine. I sewed half my blocks with my old sewing machine and half with my new....so it was interesting getting my blocks to fit together to say the least! :)

I hung this up in my kitchen so I can stare at it all the time! :) I can see it from the living room and also when I'm baking or cooking in the kitchen! I figured I spent so much time on it, I better enjoy it as much as possible!

My favorite blocks from the quilt are the wreaths and the stocking. I love the bows on the wreath, and I just love how my stocking turned out!

It was so much fun making this quilt! I am glad I got it done so I could enjoy it throughout December!

Talk to you soon!

WIP

2014-11-12T13:17:00.001-07:00

Hi there! I just wanted to post what I am working on!

I am the proud new owner of Betty. My new Bernina! Yes, I've already named her. My husband said that he hasn't seen me this happy since the birth of our last child! ;) I was pretty darn happy when I walked out of the Bernina shop with my new sewing machine. I have already sewn an entire quilt top on Betty, and she sews like a dream! I couldn't be happier with her, and I'm sure we will be spending a lot of quality time together for the next several years!

I am still doing the Have Yourself a Quilty Little Christmas with Lori Holt! I am having so much fun making these blocks! I love the tree block! I am pretty sure I could make an entire quilt with these cute trees!

My mittens! I had fun making these little lovelies!

Pearl is my little sewing buddy! She loves hanging out with me when I sew!

My cocoa cup block! I added a little peppermint swirl to my cup. I also made another cocoa cup, so I am debating which one I will put in quilt. :)

Last week, I cut out these squares for Charlie's new bed quilt! With the help of my mom last weekend, we got the top sewn, I just need to add a few borders and quilt! This will be for Christmas!

Talk to you soon,

WIP Wednesday

2014-11-05T13:24:00.001-07:00

Hi there! It seems like once fall hits, I decide to start lots of new projects! Just wanted to share what I've been working on!

So my Quilty Fun quilt is coming along! If it wasn't for my mom, I probably would have given up on this quilt, but she has helped me get through all the rows by cutting everything out for me! Which takes a lot of time! I am glad she kept me going, because I love how it is turning out and I can't wait to finish it! I have two rows left (not all my rows are pictured), and the borders and I can quilt this baby up!

I've already decided that this quilt will be hanging on my sewing room wall. I just have spent so many hours piecing this quilt, I don't want to use it!

So a couple of days ago Lori Holt announced on Instagram that she is doing a Christmas inspired quilt using her Quilty Fun book. Well, I couldn't resist. I have no business starting another project, because I am already so busy--but seriously I love her stuff, and wanted to join in. So here is my first block.

My Christmas House. I kept it pretty simple, with the fabrics--because I wanted that cute little snowman to be the star of the block. He is super duper cute, and I didn't want the other fabrics taking away from his cuteness. :)

I can't wait to see what's next! I'll be sure to post all my blocks as I make them! Or you can follow along on my Instagram! http://instagram.com/lindseymweight

Talk to you soon!

Clothespin Wreath

2014-09-29T21:56:00.000-06:00

So, my blog has been a bit quiet the past few months.....I promise all is well! Just very busy, and I'm afraid it looks like it's not slowing down anytime soon!

Since summer has come to a close, and fall has creeped up on us, I have been starting to decorate the inside of my house. :) It's been six months since we've moved in, and I am just starting on the inside!

A few weeks ago, I decided I needed a new wreath for my door. I had a really cute one on my door that my sister made me, but it was more summery and I wanted something more neutral for fall.

This was so easy to make, and really inexpensive. I stained the clothespins with a walnut stain, let them dry and then attached them onto an embroidery hoop. I then hot glued a W onto the wreath, and hung it with some script fabric and called it good!

I love how it turned out! So simple, but really cute. :)

Hopefully it won't be so long until my next post!

If so, you can always find me over at the Fort Worth Fabric Studio Blog

Talk to you soon,

House Update!

2014-05-18T18:08:00.001-06:00

We have been super busy in the yard lately! Having our own house has really motivated us to want to make our yard as beautiful as possible! It's going to take a few years to accomplish this, but we are getting a great start! I hope you enjoy all the pictures!

This was my Mother's Day present! Plants, shrubs, and flowers!

Over the weekend my mom and I went yard-selling to find some fun finds to plant things in for the yard! We found this old (and super heavy) milk jug. I planted some Geraniums in it and can't wait to see the pretty flowers bloom!

This is part two of my mother's day presents--I have a new found obsession with succulents. These are so fun to plant-I just hope I can keep them alive.

More succulents....

Hannah and I planting the garden! Specifically some pickling cucumbers! Can't wait to jar some pickles later this summer!

Another yard sale find--a really old wood tool box that I planted some chicks and hens in! Can't wait for them to spread and fill this entire box!

This little lovely was already planted in the flower bed when we bought the house--this is one of the few things we left in the flower beds. I love these flowers! They are so pretty and dainty! I found out they are called Columbines and they are perennials.

Trying to spruce up the entry way with some plants!

Found this fun decorative plant shelf at a yard sale this weekend! I fixed it up a little with some spray paint and put some fun plants inside!

The tall birdhouse was made by my grandpa years and years ago. My mom had this in her yard and gave this to me this weekend! My grandpa was a handy man and I have a lot of fond memories with him--so I love the fact that I have something from him in my yard! :)

I am going to add one more post with a planter sitting on top, to finish out this little cluster of fun! :)

Our garden finally planted! We planted tomatoes, peppers, cilantro, squash, and cucumbers! Can't wait to watch it grow!

Now, in case you thought I gave up my hobby of quilting--I can prove you wrong! :) I finished up this boy quilt for Fort Worth Fabric Studio over the weekend and I can't wait to show it to you! :)

Shabby Chic Birthday Party!

2014-05-04T19:02:00.001-06:00

I know things have been quiet around here! That's mostly because I have been knee deep in party preparations for my mom's 50th surprise birthday party!

My three sister's and I were able to pull off the surprise of a lifetime for my mom! It was really special, and my mom has never been so surprised in her life!

So let's get to the party details:

I made these mason jars with burlap and lace. We added some fresh flowers, and twine to finish them off! We had these on every table as centerpieces!

Here is the birthday girl and my three sisters! We had these clothesline of pictures scattered throughout the room with pictures of my mom throughout her life!

Emily, Katie, Me, Mom, Jessie

I made this fun lace and fabric bunting to go over the cake table and I also added some smaller bunting to go on the old window frame. The cake and cupcakes were made by Angela from Creative Cakes by Angela!

All of the cupcakes had these darling edible flowers on them! They were gorgeous!

We added some fun bird cages to the focus table as well as some old books and lace tablecloths to carry the shabby chic theme throughout!

Another closeup of the mason jars (these were my favorite)

My sister's and I did all the food ourselves. We served fresh fruit, pasta salad, mini sandwiches, chips and fruit and veggie cups!

The party turned out great, and we couldn't be more pleased with all the support of all who came! Especially since everyone was able to keep this a surprise!

Last, but not least--my sister's and I --pretty much delirious from a long day of getting stuff ready for the party! :)

Katie, Emily, Me, Jessie

After all was said and done, we all enjoyed doing this for my mom and would have done it all over again! :)

Talk to you soon,

Market Square Quilt

2014-05-01T10:29:00.000-06:00

Hi there! Today is a really special day! It's my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday Mom!

To celebrate her birthday, I wanted to show you one of her latest quilt finishes with you all!

My mom whips out quilts like it's nobody's business. I have several that I need to show you in the coming weeks!

Market Square Pattern by: Red Crinoline Quilts

My mom worked on this quilt for quite a while, it was one of those quilts that you work on a little at a time between other projects. She would take about a block or two and sew them and then put it away for a while.

Market Square Pattern by: Red Crinoline Quilts

This quilt is made up of two blocks that are put on point. It really makes for an interesting pattern!

I love the scrappy goodness of this quilt, and it is actually quite a large quilt!

Market Square Pattern by: Red Crinoline Quilts

The backing on this quilt is flannel, and the quilting was done by Kathy Lefler.

Market Square Pattern by: Red Crinoline Quilts

I love how it turned out, and in person this quilt is really quite amazing! :)

This quilt was made from a kit, and the pattern is from Red Crinoline Quilts!

House Update

2014-04-21T13:31:00.003-06:00

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, I promise! Life has just gotten super busy, and I am still trying to figure out how to juggle it all!

We have diligently been working on our yard! It's going to be a slow process, but we are getting there.

First up, we wanted to finish the fencing around the yard. So, we went in (on cost) with our neighbors, and we decided to put up the rest of the fence first. We wanted it to match, the backyard wall, so we decided to continue with the cinderblock wall on the side of the yard.

Here are a few pictures of the process:

We still need to do the part of the wall that actually blocks off the backyard, and has a gate. After that, the backyard will be completely enclosed! Which will make me very happy! With three little one's running around, a closed in backyard is very nice!

Next up are just some before pictures of the backyard. As you can see we have a giant shed in the backyard. It is really nice, and a great place for storage. There is also a giant concrete patio to the right of the shed. We are going to build a pergola over this area, and do a built in bbq and outdoor dining area.

The top left picture, there are three fruit trees planted. We found out the middle one is an apricot tree, and the other two are apple trees. We are also doing our garden in this area of the yard. We will be tilling the garden soon, and planting (by mother's day) I will update what we plant in our garden, when we decide! :) I can't wait to have another garden, we did one last year in our old house and I really enjoyed doing it! :)

This side of the house has some wood fencing, we eventually want to rip it out and make it match the rest of the fencing around the yard.

So the previous home owners, had this weird brick patio in the front yard. My husband and I were not really a fan of the whole thing, so we ripped out all the brick so we could plant some grass. As you can see Charlie was a big helper and enjoyed moving the brick to the backyard!

We had to bring in a lot of dirt so we could plant some grass. We just took dirt from the backyard (which we needed to anyways) and my husband leveled it out, so we could seed. We also ripped out all the previous plants and took out a boat load of rocks (the previous owner collected interesting rocks and they were everywhere) that were in the flower beds because the dirt was super low in that area and needed to be filled in so it was level.

We are now ready to plant all sorts of flowers and different plants in the flower beds. My mother in law gave me some starts over Easter weekend, that we've already planted. She gave me some chicks (which I love) and also a ground covering plant--it's a purple flowered plant and I love the look of it. I decided to plant it on the right flower bed towards the front, so it would kind of act like a border.

My parents are not the gardening type, and so I didn't really grow up learning about gardening or things like that. I don't know a whole lot about flower gardening, and I am slowly learning about vegetable gardens. My in-laws have an immaculate yard and garden, and are kind of helping us find our way in regards to planting at the right times and what to plant where.

It's going to be a slow process of getting things exactly the way I want, but I am really enjoying the process!

Do you have a garden, do you have any tips or tricks?!

Talk to you soon,

9-Patch Granny Square {A Finished Quilt}

2014-04-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend! My mom and sister came to visit and see our new house! So we had fun hanging out with them all weekend. We also started on our fence for our yard! Wahoo! I am taking pictures of all the progress, and will post soon.

So onto my latest finish. This quilt was made from a mistake. This was the center of a much larger quilt top that I had made. Unfortunately for some reason that quilt top would not lay flat. So I kind of just folded it up and forgot about it. Well, when were were moving, I found the quilt top and decided to give it a new life. I cut out the center granny square--and made it into a baby size quilt! And I pretty much love how it turned out!

The quilt measures about 36" square. I did meandering for the quilting on my own machine. I have decided that my sewing machine does not do well with meandering! The past two times I have tried to meander---I have had major thread breakage issues and my machine is skipping stitches. I don't know what I am doing wrong, if you have any ideas I would love to hear them!

I am thinking of making a pattern for this quilt. It is layer cake friendly, and super easy. Let me know if you'd like the pattern for this and if I get a pretty good response--I will post one!

Talk to you soon,

Quilt Ladder

2014-03-30T20:19:00.000-06:00

Hi there! Well, we are finally getting settled in our new home! I can't tell you how great it feels to have a place that we can call our own.

I am ready to start decorating. EEK! My favorite part! I am taking things slow, and doing one thing at a time. This is unlike me. I usually spend the first two weeks after we move and decorate the entire house.

Not this time.

I don't want to rush into anything. I want to take my sweet time, and get each room exactly how I envisioned. This is going to take time! And I need to learn patience, because this is so not my normal. When I want something done, I get it done quickly! This is different, I want to slowly and carefully make my house a home!

So onto my first project for the new house:

My dad, who is pretty much one handy guy--built me this ladder. I am one lucky gal. I have wanted something to be able to showcase my quilts, and this is the perfect solution!

This ladder, was made the old fashioned way. There is not one screw or nail in this ladder. It is made with wood pins, and wood. That's it. It is a real treasure, and I will treat it as such!

I love the fact that I can showcase my quilts and rotate them out so I can enjoy them more! Plus it sure makes a fun prop to photograph quilts.

My dad gave me the ladder like this-comletely unfinished. I wanted it this way because I wasn't sure how I wanted to finish it. When he gave it to me, we hadn't bought the house yet. So I wanted to wait to paint/stain it until we were moved into our new home.

I stained the entire ladder with a walnut colored stain first. I only did one coat, because I was just using the stain as a base for when I painted it. I wanted the ladder to look old and used. I am going for a shabby chic look and this was the first step to achieve that look.

After it was stained, I let it dry. I then painted it with a DRY brush with an egg shell colored paint. This gave it that old look, that I adore.

This ladder is something I will treasure for a lifetime. It means so much that my dad made this ladder for me, and that I have something to pass along to my kids from their grandfather!

Talk to you soon,

The winner to the Southern Fabric giveaway is: OhioLori. She has been notified by email. Thank you to all that entered!

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

Making Monday Marvelous Masterpiece Monday Design Wall Monday by Patchwork Times Blossom Heart Quilts*Show and Tell Tuesday by Fresh Squeezed FabricsTuesday by Free Motion by the River *Fabric Tuesday by A Quilt Story *Mandy's Recipe Box Tuesday *Time To Sparkle *Wow Me Wednesday at Polkadots on Parade Whimsy Wednesday at The NY Melrose Family *Wip Wednesday at Freshly Pieced Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Cottage *We Did It Wednesday! at Sew Much Ado Needle and Thread Thursday by My Quilt Infatuation *Really Random Thursday by Live a Colorful Life Thursday Threads by 627Handworks * I Quilt by Pretty BobbinsLink Party Palooza at Today's Creative Blog

Southern Fabric $25 Gift Certificate Giveaway!

2014-03-25T21:18:00.001-06:00

A sponsored giveaway:

Southern Fabric is a lovely online shop that has a diverse selection of fabrics from various designers. They have a great selection of pre-cuts, yardage, and they also offer a "Deal of the Day" which is pretty darn hard to pass up!

Here are just a few of many lovely fabric's offered at the shop:

Bloomin' Fresh

Daydream

Noteworthy

Southern Fabric has a great blog, that is updated regularly! They post their newest sales, tips, and lots of great tutorials. I often find myself looking at their blog so I can shop their newest sales! They always have great sales you can't beat!

Southern Fabric has graciously offered to give one of my lucky readers a $25 gift certificate to their shop! :)

To enter, answer the following question:

What is your favorite line of fabric right now?

Winner will be chosen at random. Please leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger!

Giveaway is now closed

Good luck!

-Lindsey

PS: Thank you for supporting my awesome sponsors! :)

Big News!

2014-03-12T20:36:00.000-06:00

So, I have some really exciting news to share! We just bought our first house! I am incredibly excited about finally owning a home and putting my stamp on it. I can't wait to give you a little tour and post my updates on how I decorate each room. It's going to be a slow process, but I really want to spend time on each room and get it exactly how I want it.

You can see that the front yard is all landscaped, but the backyard is completely unfinished. So we are going to put most of our efforts into completing the backyard this spring and putting in a garden. I can't wait to share all the updates and the process of how it goes. :)

The basement is also unfinished, so we will be doing that as well. My husband is really handy and can do most the work himself!-so it's just a matter of time before we can finish it up. I will definitely post all of our progress throughout each project.

So if you've wondered why I have been kind of absent on the blog, this is one of the reasons! The last month or two have seriously been a whirlwind and I can't believe we now have a home that we can call our own! :)

Crazy Acres Quilt Along

2014-03-10T20:35:00.000-06:00

Hi there! I am really excited to announce a new quilt along that Fort Worth Fabric Studio is hosting on their blog! I have been super busy making this quilt the past few weeks! It has been hard to keep this one a secret!

Fort Worth Fabric Studio has come up with two different bundles for the quilt along. Both of them are lovely, but so very different! I decided to use the Raspberry Crush bundle and I can't tell you how delicious these fabrics are in person!

Here is a little sneak peek of how my quilt turned out! I will do the full reveal at the show and tell in May! :)

Head on over to Fort Worth Fabric Studio for all the details and fabric requirements! I would love to have you join in on the fun!

Talk to you soon,

Lucky Pinwheels

2014-03-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I have a fun little pattern to share with you today!

I have had so much fun making some seasonal projects lately. I love the fact that they are quick and easy and take no time at all!

I decided my entry table needed a little St. Patrick's Day table topper to make my house a little more festive.

So here is the pattern I came up with:

Click here you purchase this pattern!

I had a lot of fun making this cute topper and it was super easy! I literally just used scraps to make the entire thing! I love projects like that. I also got this done in a few hours.

I kept the quilting super simple and just did a 2" grid pattern. Overall, I love how it turned out and it really adds some fun charm to my entry table!

I have this pattern listed in my Craftsy Pattern Shop!

You can purchase it here.

Talk to you soon,

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

Lucky Shamrock Pillow

2014-03-04T06:57:00.002-07:00

Hi there!

I am posting a fun little tutorial over at Fort Worth Fabric Studio today!

Hope to see you over there! :)

Lucky Shamrock Pillow

Friday Stash

2014-02-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Let's all take a moment and just admire this perfectly delicious bundle of fat quarters:

April Showers by Bonnie and Camille

I was pretty much smitten when I first saw this fabric, and knew I had to have it. So when the Fat Quarter shop got in their bundles of this lovely fabric I did not hesitate in ordering it! :) Run, don't walk and get yourself one of these bundles! :)

I cannot wait to dive in and start making a fabulous quilt out of these lovely fabrics!

Scrappy Stars {A Finished Quilt}

2014-02-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I hope you all had a great weekend!

I am finally finished with my Scrappy Stars quilt!!! Wahoo! It has been a long time in the making. I pretty much started calling this one my masterpiece because it became my favorite quilt I have made so far. I love the saturated colors of this quilt and I love the fact that it is seriously scrappy.

Click here to buy this pattern!

I decided to do a flannel chevron backing for the quilt and I really feel like it compliments the front.

I sent this on over to my "binding fairy" and she put on a yellow binding fabric that I love. She also did a lovely job on the binding! Nothing beats a good hand binding--in my opinion! :) Most fabrics from this quilt are from High Street by Moda.

I quilted this using grey thread and I did it on a long-arm machine. I decided to go with a simple quilting design--since I wasn't too familiar with quilting on a long-arm. I am happy with the way it turned out! :) I love the texture that it left on the quilt and I can't wait to wash it and see how it changes even more! :)

Click here to buy this pattern!

There is definitely another star quilt in my future--I pretty much just love how these look and I can't wait to make another one!

If you want to buy this pattern I have it listed in my Crafsty Pattern Shop HERE

Talk to you soon,

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

14 Hour Sewing Marathon....

2014-02-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a great weekend!! I had a long weekend because of the holiday and took a little trip up to my mom's house and we had a mini sewing retreat! :) I went up on Friday and stayed until Monday. We had three quilts we had to get done and ready to quilt for Monday.

I have never ever in my life sewed for such a long period of time!! Saturday we literally sewed 14 hours straight. This was more sewing than I do in a week! I generally only sew for like 5-6 hours a week, so sewing for that long was a bit much! It was nuts, and I can honestly say we may have been a bit delirious by the time it was all over! :) All of that sewing paid off! We got all three quilts ready to be quilted on this lovely machine:

Our friend Kathy has a friend that has one of these long arm machines. She took us to her house and we got three quilts done in three hours. Here is my scrappy stars quilt on the machine. I have quilted on a long arm once before, but this machine was different and way bigger. I was a bit intimidated, but my friend Kathy walked me through every step!

I decided to do figure eights on the quilt. I am way more comfortable doing curved designs, rather than straight lines on the long arm machine. I thought about doing something more intricate and doing more than one design on the quilt, but I just felt I should stick with something I knew I could do! Once I feel like I am more comfortable with quilting on a long-arm maybe I will branch out a bit and try some harder designs. For now I am happy with my figure eights!

I left all the quilts with my mom "the binding fairy" so she could bind them for me! :) I can't wait to get them back and show them all to you!

Talk to you soon,

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

Lovey Dovey Hearts {A Finished Quilt}

2014-02-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hello there! I have seriously been in a funk this week. I am pretty sure it is cabin fever! I am so ready for spring and the warm weather. I haven't started training for my half marathon yet--due to getting the flu and also the really cold weather. I can't really use that as an excuse because I own a treadmill--but absolutely hate running on it! I much prefer running outside. :) Luckily we are supposed to get up to 60 degrees this weekend, and maybe I can finally get a run in and get some much needed sun. :)

So I am ready to share my latest finish: Lovey Dovey Hearts!

This was a fun quilt to make, and Hannah (my six year old) absolutely loves it!

I made all the hearts out of Lovey Dovey by Riley Blake. The hearts are completely constructed with half square triangles. I decided to go with a very neutral grey for the background and I am happy with the way it turned out.

I did a fun flannel print on the back for this one. My friend Kathy gave me a bunch of this flannel--and I thought it would be great for this quilt. Plus I love using flannel for backing--it's so warm and cozy!

I did very little quilting on this quilt. I probably should have done a bit more, now that I really look at it. I was nervous about quilting this one after my horrible quilting experience with The Hidden Star. So I did a simple pre-set stitch and quilted on the seam lines. Now I can see that I should have also quilted in between each seam as well. Now I know that I prefer much more quilting on my quilts!

Aside from the quilting, I love how it turned out. I made this one for my 6 year old little girl--who happens to be obsessed with pink and purple. She loves it and pretty much dragged it around the house the entire day. :)

Talk to you soon!

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

Self-Doubt

2014-02-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

I love this quote. It really hit me when I read this. I have realized within the past few years I have really tried to kick self-doubt to the curb. I have started creating for myself--rather than for the validation of others. It is so much more rewarding. When I first started sharing my creativity on this blog, I would create for others. Meaning--I would create things with other people in mind. Will people like this idea? Will people want to make this? Will people use this? When different projects or creations did not get the response I was looking for--then I felt DEEP disappointment. It was awful.

What I should have been asking myself is--

Do I like this idea?

Would I put this in my own home?

Would I use this?

I would have saved myself a lot of disappointment. You can not please everyone. Not everyone will understand your creativity or relate to it. That's the great thing about creativity--it is your own. We should treat it with care--we should not let other people decide whether or not our ideas, projects, and creations are good enough. We should decide that for ourselves.

Of course saying this and doing it are two different things. It is hard to separate the two. We will always wonder if people like our ideas--which is okay. But we should not feel like we have failed or be disappointed when people may not give you the response or validation you are looking for. We should be proud of the fact that we are creative and we are using that creativity! What I have learned from doing this, is chances are if you love what you created and it really moves you--then chances are someone else is going to feel the same way about it!

So in order to really test my self-doubt I have completely gone out of my comfort zone.

The other day, I just decided I was going to make a quilt without a design in mind. I was just going to start sewing things together and see what happens. I wanted to try my hand at improv sewing. This is way out of my comfort zone because I ALWAYS have a design in my head, on paper, or an the computer screen. I have never created a quilt--with no design written out. So this was a big leap for me.

Here is the process--sorry for the very bad photos--these are all from my phone. I was not taking these photos for posting reasons--I took them so I could see the quilt from a different perspective. So throughout the process I would step back and take a picture. I would then study the picture and see what I thought. Well, as I was going through all the pictures, I thought it would be fun to show the process of this quilt:

Wow, what a process!

Here it is all sewn together:

Now that I have finished the top--I can honestly tell you how I felt about the whole process.

I loved improv sewing. It was very satisfying and freeing. It felt nice to just sit at my sewing machine and sew random bits together and get this really awesome design. It wasn't all easy---I had to figure out how to get all the pieces to fit together. That did take a little thinking, but it wasn't too bad.

Do I love how this turned out?

YES. I actually really love this. It is so out of my comfort zone, and way more modern than I am used to, but I love that about it. Now I have to figure out how to quilt this!

Talk to you soon,

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

Friday Stash and Some Random Bits...

2014-02-06T21:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Friday--I have missed you! ;) It has been such a crazy week around here. I feel like I have neglected my poor blog lately.

Hopefully next week will be a bit better! :)

Isn't this fabric delicious? I saw it--I loved it--I bought it. This seems to be a recurring problem of mine, I just can't say no to such lovely fabrics. Especially one's that are just so colorful as these:

True Colors by Anna Maria Horner

I have seen rainbow quilts everywhere. I see them and I can't help but think I need to make one. I mean, really HAVE to make one. It is my goal to make one this year! I don't know which pattern, or how large I will make it--but it will be done. Mark my words. :) And seriously--I think this bundle is a perfect start to make that possible.

Linking up to:

So now on to the random bits and pieces of my life within the last week or so:

We had a good sized storm come our way--and it dropped a good 1/2 a foot of snow. Which isn't that much in our neck of the woods--schools don't get canceled and businesses don't close unless we get like 6 feet of snow--that's no joke! :) The kids loved it and had fun playing in it for hours!

I know I have posted about this before, but it never gets old. I was just browsing pinterest the other night and low and behold this picture of my Love Squared quilt came up. Made my night. :)

I have recently invested in a a paper planner. *GASP* Do other people actually enjoy writing things down, rather than putting it on a computer? For some reason, I love writing things down on paper. Lists, dates, notes, appointments---I write down on paper. I hardly ever use my calendar on my iPhone or computer. There is just something about having it on paper that makes me happy. Plus I am a doodler--if you put a blank sheet of paper in front of me--it will not stay blank for long--I doodle until there is no more space. It used to drive my mom nuts when I was younger because she would hang a calendar on the fridge and I would doodle all over it until you couldn't even tell it was a calendar! :) I am surprised my calendar here looks so tidy:

We had a little incident over the weekend---My little Avie hurt herself and cut the inside of her top lip super bad. It was horrible--we had to take her to the ER because it was after hours and we live in such a small town that they do not have an after hours clinic--You just have to go to the ER--which stinks because it wasn't really an emergency--but her lip would not quit bleeding and she had skin dangling. It was not looking good, she didn't have to get stitches--luckily--but her lip stayed fat for a good 3 days.

What happens when you spill your milk all over the floor? You lap it up off the floor--that's what! No, really--I left the room for 2 minutes and came back to find her just a drinking her spilled milk off the floor. The good thing--the floor was mopped the day before. The bad thing--the floor was mopped the day before--and needed to be mopped again. :) Such is life.

It took some serious talent to get these two little pig-tails in her hair...but I managed. They even stayed in for more than 10 minutes. :)

I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend!

Talk to you soon,

I am really embarrassed to post this picture...but..

2014-02-04T05:00:00.000-07:00

I have to.

So a little backstory. When I quilted "Hidden Star" I was having the toughest time with it. My thread kept breaking and it just was not going well. I thought it could be the fact that I used spray basting for the first time, and that maybe my machine needed to be serviced. I knew it was not my needle, because I just changed it. Well, I got through the quilt, but it was the absolute worst experience I have had quilting a quilt so far.

So this last weekend, I was ready to quilt another quilt. I was not looking forward to it at all. I decided I should probably give my machine a thorough cleaning--since it had been a while sine I have cleaned it. Well, I was mortified when I unscrewed the top off and found this:

I can't believe how much crap has accumulated in my machine!! I knew I needed to clean it out regularly, but obviously I was not doing it as regularly as I should have. I am pretty certain this is one of the reasons why I was having a hard time quilting my last quilt.

I got my vacuum cleaner out and started vacuuming it out. I then pulled up the bobbin case and found more crap. It actually kind of reminded me of a cotton candy maker! lol

So, after a good half hour of cleaning it and vacuuming it out--it now is working wonderfully! My thread didn't break once when I quilted over the weekend, and it seems to be running much better. I should have taken an after picture! But it looks like a brand new machine! :)

So the lesson of the story is: clean your machine! Be sure to look at your user manual for your machine's specific instructions.

I will be cleaning my machine way more often now!

Talk to you soon,

Love Is In the Air-Quilt Kit

2014-02-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know I was just talking about how I have nothing really to decorate my house for Valentine's Day---well I am on a roll now! I've got a Valentine's Pillow, Quilt, and Table runner now! :) Now I can add another quilt to the list! :)

I forgot my friend gave me this fun little quilt kit for Valentine's Day. I was going through my fabric and looking for something and came across the kit--and figured I should put it together! It is February after all, and I have never put together a quilt from a kit before so I thought I would give it a try!

The fabric is called Love Is In The Air by Deb Strain for Moda.

I literally put this together in less than 2 hours. The quilt is made out of the panel in the middle and then two borders, plus prairie points. I had no idea that prairie points were to easy to put together. I can't tell you how fun it was to make this--it required no thinking at all! lol--I am used to creating my own patterns-- and that requires a lot of thinking, math, and measurements. I didn't have to do any of that! It was so nice to sit at my sewing machine and put this together without trying to figure out the correct measurements!

I just need to baste and quilt this baby and it will be done! :) I am now a fan of quilt kits! I will definitely do this again sometime! :)

Talk to you soon,

Anything Goes by Stitch by Stitch* CraftOManiac Monday Made by You Monday

*Mandy's Recipe Box Tuesday *Time To Sparkle *Wow Me Wednesday at Polkadots on Parade Whimsy Wednesday at The NY Melrose Family *Wip Wednesday at Freshly Pieced Sew Fresh Quilts Let's Bee Social Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Cottage *We Did It Wednesday! at Sew Much Ado

Needle and Thread Thursday by My Quilt Infatuation *Really Random Thursday by Live a Colorful Life

Thursday Threads by 627Handworks * I Quilt by Pretty BobbinsLink Party Palooza at Today's Creative Blog *Show and Tell Saturday at Be Different Act Normal

Hidden Star Quilt Pattern

2014-01-28T07:06:00.001-07:00

Hi there! :) I am over at Fort Worth Fabric Studio blog today showing you how to make this quilt:

Would love to see you over there! :)

Go here for the free pattern!