Are You Ready For This?

To be honest, I'm not sure I'm ready. I may have been quilting for nearly 10 years, but even this quilt is a daunting task for me. I leave today to take a class from Kim Diehl, and attempt to make this quilt, "Front Porch Posies."
I felt like being different, so I decided to use Fall Back in Time and Mix & Mingle fabrics. Hopefully, I finish it some day!

2 Weeks? Try 2 Days!

Last weekend, I got groceries. A LOT of groceries! Almost $200 worth. As I carried them into the house and stuffed them in the cupboards, I announced to anyone within ear shot that this would be enough for 2 weeks. I guess they didn't hear, because those groceries are almost gone.
If you're reading this, go out and invest in Nature's Valley Granola Bars, Danimals Yogurts, and any kind of fruit snacks you can get stock in. My family has managed to eat not 1, not 2, but 4 boxes of granola bars, 20 packages of fruit snacks, and 2 packs of yogurt in one week!!! They're hungry all the time. 5 minutes after finishing pizza for lunch, Will was asking for a granola bar. "How are you still hungry?" I asked him. "Mom, I have lots of empty places left in my tummy," he replied.
On the up side, it's like a built in diet. The 2 pieces of pizza they saved for me mysteriously turned into 1 piece when I turned my back for a couple minutes. And those South Beach Diet Cereal Bars? Even those aren't safe, I'm lucky to get 1 out of each box! Good news for my waist line, bad news for my checkbook!

Bring on Friday Night!

Alice is stylin' now! Her Friday Night Apron is so cute, Martha is getting jealous!

What's New at the Shop

I've been adding a lot to the website this week. Here are some new things that are just arriving:

Fall Wallhanging Kit This is a great project when you need something fast, and at only $19.99 they'll be gone fast!

Smores Possibly the funniest holiday line this year! So cute and fun, what's better than marshmallow snowmen?

Harvest from Blank Quilting A beautiful and rich colored fabric line for Fall. I'm planning a special project for the beautiful border print!

Inspiration III Fat Quarters A gorgeous line in teals and white. Proceeds from these fabrics are donated to ovarian cancer research. Fat quarters packets available with 6 fq's each.

Isn't Christmas Jolly? Kit This hasn't actually arrived in store yet, but it will soon, and it's sure to be an adorable project! Fabric and panel designed by Mary Englebreit for Moda.

Later this week I'll be adding another holiday line, Snow Wonderland by Whimsicals! Can't Wait!

Me and My Hair

I got next to nothing done today. Why? My hair.
My hair and I have a long and sordid history. All because of the cruel joke that is genetics. Of my parents' 3 kids, I got the hair. Not just any hair, but my Dad's hair. Big, black, curly, physco hair that has a mind of it's own. Totally manageable if you're my bald since 20 Dad, not so simple if you're me. I must admit, with my family's history of baldness, both male and female, I am happy at this point to still have hair, of any kind. (Monte claims he'll leave if I go bald) However, it took me a long time to make peace with my genetic (mis) fortune.

I was born in the 80's. Turns out this was the perfect time period for me. Big hair? No problem! My hair could have been as popular in the 80's as Jennifer Aniston's hair in the 90's. Too bad the 80's were so short. Since then, I've spent thousands on hair gel, straightening irons, and anything that says "anti-frizz." The best straightening iron I've ever used I bought from an infomercial, featuring a middle aged man with a pony tail and a European accent, for a large price tag!

My hair earned me the nick-name of "poodle" early on in school. And who can blame them? I must admit, "poodle" is kind if you've seen my 6th grade class picture. Think "poodle stuck it's paw in a light socket," and you know what I'm talking about. Not a great nick-name to live through school with!
As an adult, I've finally made peace with my hair, or so I thought. Turns out, my hair has different plans. This year, it started turning gray. Instead of "poodle," it was leaning more towards Lily Munster. Yikes!
Which leads me to why I got nothing done today. Overcoming phsyco hair was hard enough, but gray psycho hair I just can't take! So I spent 3 hours getting my hair dyed and highlighted today. Exhausting! I'm still not sure I can keep this up every 6-8 weeks, no matter how badly I hate the gray. Looking in the mirror to highlights will also take some getting used to. I'm not sure it was the best choice for me. My skin is so pale, if my hair gets any lighter I'll be invisible against anything white.
For now, I'm dyed, highlighted, and as curly as ever. For the next 8 weeks, I'll be back to quilting fast and furiously. After that, who knows? I saw jumpers last weekend in Old Navy like I had as a kid. Maybe big hair will come back next!

Bags, bags, and More Bags!

I've finished two more bags! The Eco Market Tote,
and the Charming Tote with the Cell Phone Pocket.
You might have noticed I'm in a bag phase right now. On to the Birdie Sling!

Quilting Product of the Week - Quilter's Hangup

I know I've been neglecting the product of the week for a while now, so I'm trying to be better. This week's pick is something I came across at Market. I don't know about you all, but I hate making hanging sleeves for my quilts. I am so bad about it, I usually hang them with pins or tumb tacks (gasp, I know, so bad for my quilts!). Now, I don't have to worry about it. The Quilter's Hangup is a great new product. Here's a picture of how it looks on the back of a quilt:

For $9.99, you get a 3 yard lenth of premade muslin sleeve. Just cut to your length, or piece more than one together if needed! Attach the sleeve to your quilt back and you're done! No more making your own sleeves, or if you're like me, not making your own sleeves and finding some other way to hang your quilts!

The Flower Bed - With No Flowers

Here it is, the long awaited picture of my flower bed. It was beautiful, and it's still much better than before, but it looked really nice until Will decided to pick everything but the Petunias! Oh Well - maybe they'll grow back.

Am I Being Punk'd?

It's already began. Someone can't find my bunny. To top it off, it was YESTERDAY. The Hop doesn't even officially begin until today, the 1st of June.

I put the bunny in my online catalog, and then, just to make sure this didn't happen, I put a clue on the top of my home page. Not really even a clue, but a big, fat, flashing arrow, pointing right to the exact page where I "hid" my bunny. No problemo, right? WRONG!

Someone emailed me yesterday, (again, before the hop even begins), because they couldn't find the bunny. First, I double checked to be sure I wasn't going crazy (because, I'm already 1/2 there most of the time), and yep, that bunny was right where he belonged. Look for yourself! (and if it's not there, well, then, I must be losing it) Then, I emailed her back asking for sure if she looked at the Pumpkin Spice fabric page. She responded "yes, I was."

This is where I begin to think Ashton is going to jump out from behind a fabric shelf at any moment to tell me I'm being punk'd. Because, seriously, how is this happening? I haven't even replied back, because I don't trust myself to be totally rude out of frustration. I guess I asked for it, right? After all, I actually volunteered to be in this thing!

My mom thinks I should just put the bunny on my home page and be done with it. I'm starting to think she's right. I suppose even if I did, there'd still be someone out there who couldn't find it!