hip to be square

This quilt has been in the making for years. Not that I've been actually sewing this specific one for that long. But the hankering, and the desire, to make a quilt for my friend's little boy, Brock, has persisted since before he was born. He is now 2+.  And he is sweet and darling, as is his mom. (I made a quilt for Brock's sister a few years ago too.)

The idea is loosely from Hopewell American Textiles.

I was so happy to finally give this quilt to its rightful owner(s).

slowly but surely

Remember last month I mentioned this quilt?  It is finally done and ready to be gifted to my friend and her 7 month baby boy. I am excited.

I love this Nicey Jane fabric by Heather Bailey.

 The pattern is based on a quilt from Red Pepper Quilts.

the color purple

I have never made a purple quilt. Until now. This one is for baby Millie. Her mom and I agree, she looks good in purple. It was only fitting that her baby quilt be purple too.

 I can't believe how much I am suddenly loving purple now.

 Are you a purple fan?



fabric: mixed Kona Cotton purples
quilt pattern: "Plain Spoken" from this book. I'll definitely be using this pattern again. I like it. A lot.

80's rockin' eve

The wonderful Becky and Richard hosted a "choose your favorite 80's Rocker" new year's eve party. Mark, though he loves a good party, does not enjoy dressing in costume.  He agreed to put his best pegged-pants leg forward and looked awesome as Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran. (Thanks for the lender costume, Jay.) I was Olivia Newton-John, brunette style.  My hair in these photos looks like I cut it short, just like when I was 11, so it really was an 80's night for me.

Whitney Houston, George Michael, Morrissey, Debbie Gibson, Van Halen and many others made appearances too. 

Cyndi Lauper was our hostess.

 Music and Lyrics guy (are those your mom's pants?) and Gem (sans her holograms)

We left a bit early and missed the lip sync contest.  Have I ever mentioned that I won a lip sync contest in 6th grade?  I "sang" (and danced to) Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go. The venue was my friend's birthday party, and I rocked the house.  Too bad I missed my second opportunity to rock it.  

The party was a blast!  Thanks Becky!

Pierced Ears: A Rite of Passage

Molly is 12!

12 is the magic ear-piercing number at our house.  I have never seen Molly more excited than when I told her she could get her ears pierced a few days before her birthday, since we would be on vacation on the actual day.  And I surprised her by having a few of her school friends waiting for her when we got to Icing (which we learned is the "more mature" sister-store to Claire's).

The anticipation of that gun going off is a little unnerving.  She didn't even flinch.

One ear done and she already knows it looks good.

One thrilled girl!  And she still hasn't even seen herself.

Then her friend's mom, who was with us, decided to surprise her daughter and get her ears pierced too.These two were just glowing!

My baby is growing up.  

12 things I love about Molly:

1. She's a hard worker. 
2. She is excited to go to Junior High this year and not wear uniforms anymore.
3. She is a wonderful helper with Hank and George.
4. She is organized and responsible.
5. She is a good student and already thinking about college scholarships.
6. She is not afraid to try new things.
7. She is a really good swimmer.
8. She looks cute in her braces, and tries very hard not to complain about them.
9. She has a beautiful singing voice.
10. She wants to do what's right.
11. She is sensitive to others' feelings.
12. She is thebomb.com.  Happy Birthday Molly!

we're not canadian [but sometimes we pretend]

the pool was 74 degrees this week (for water, that's chilly).  and the outside temp was in the sweltering high 80's.  so of course, the kids thought they needed to go swimming.  they invited some dare-devil friends over to share in the shock value of swimming in april.

it was very cold.  but they had a blast on their first* official swim of the season.

*not including the polar bear challenge when they dared each other to jump in on new year's day.  that lasted 3.5 seconds.

quilting pedigree

My mom taught me to sew.  Starting around 25 years ago.
My Grandma taught my mom to sew.
My friend's {Amy's} mom {Nevada} taught me to quilt.  About 10 years ago.
My same friend's sister {Staci} taught Amy and Nevada to quilt.

A little history.
Staci was already married and moved away by the time Amy and I became friends {almost 24 years ago}.  As teenagers, we went to visit her a few times in California.  All we wanted to do was play at the beach and go to the mall.  Staci and Bob carted us around to make it happen.  They were great hosts.  And quite generous to entertain 2 teen girls.

When my first child was born 11+ years ago, Nevada sent me the most amazing baby quilt I had ever seen.  Not a tied quilt like I had made before, but a pieced, vintage-inspired, machine-quilted quilt.  It was something totally new.  It was gorgeous.  I HAD to learn how to do this!    Later, Amy gifted me a beautiful quilt when my second child was born too.  Nevada and Amy continued to pump out stunning quilts.  Teaching me along the way as well.  And according to them, Staci was the mastermind behind it all.  I kept hearing "Staci found this fabric," and "Staci showed me this stippling technique," and "Staci made this beautiful Danish quilt."  She was almost legendary.

So, the other day, imagine my excitement when a package arrived with Staci's name in the return address.  2 darling quilts inside.  A total surprise.  Staci also happens to have twin boys.  Only hers are getting ready to leave on missions to Brazil.  Wow.

I am so happy to be the recipient of these quilts for my babies.  Really thrilled, actually.  I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THE QUILTS and am very touched by her thoughtfulness.

Thank you Staci!

And Nevada.
And Amy.
And Grandma.
And Mom.

I am a quilter because of all of you.

stripes for tate

i am finally getting around to posting a few things that have been done for awhile. this quilt was something new for me. i like how it turned out. i hope baby tate and his parents like it too.

held

My mother-in-law sent me this link to a recording done by her 16 year old niece. It is beautiful. Go listen. Can't stop thinking about my friend each time I hear it.

deux

Seems like everything is coming in twos these days: we are having two babies (identical), thus my girth is twice as big as a basketball, I wake up every night at 2 am (often child's-nightmare induced) and I can't get back to sleep for at least two hours (is there a comfortable way to sleep pregnant?), and, on an unrelated note, i just finished these two quilts for friends' babies. This first one is for cute baby Jill, whose mom and dad are my longtime friends. They have been supportive and kind from across the country and now, across the state. Jill is their 6th. The second is for cute baby Annabelle whose mom is a newer friend from church. Annabelle is her 2nd.

Both quilts are undelivered at this moment. Probably ruining the surprise here.

noah

My good friend and college roommate, Jen, recently had her 6th baby. 6! It's hard to believe our Helaman Halls days were 17 years ago and now we have kids who will be in college in 7 or 8 years. Yikes. She is a cute and fun mom who is always on a new adventure with her kids. I wish I was more like her. For Jen's cute baby, Noah, I decided to try something new. Chevrons. I was somewhat nervous - all triangles, all solids, no room for mistakes.

I have to say I fell in love with this quilt. The zig zag quilting is not exact by any means. It's all eye-balled. And I think I like it even more because of the imperfections.

I showed this to another friend and she thought the back was a flag. It's not. But I like that idea.

Jen, I hope you don't read this before it arrives on your doorstep today. I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I can't wait any longer. You do have 6 kids. I am banking on the fact that you cannot possibly have time to check blogs every single day. Then again, I know you better than that.

Happy cuddling baby Noah.