Sparkle Punch

I loved the sparkle punch quilt as soon as I saw it posted on http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransson/2012/01/sparkle-punch-quilt-along-what-youll-need.html.  So glad for the tutorial so I didn't have to figure out how to do it myself.

It took me a while and a couple trips to the quilt store for more dotty fabric to get it done.  Used up the rest of my sock monkey faces.  Love how they are randomly located.  The top is sewn, need to find something for the back.  I want to use it now!

The Big Finish

It's time to work on some UFO's. I started sewing strips of Mom's Christmas fabric into wonky log cabin blocks over a year ago. I finished a bunch of them and made it into a queen sized quilt for Mom and Don. She had no idea, and that was the best part. Too bad it hardly made a dent in the bin of fabric.

Finished the Malibu Monkey top too.  Looking for backing fabric now.

I loved the Snow Fogies fabric.  Just had to have it.  I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but the purse turned out cute.

I have too many things that I want to do.  A larger quilt for each of my girls, another quilt for us...  never can have too many, right?

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Bucket lists...

I casually think of the things that I would like to do in my lifetime. I don't make any serious plans to do any of them. With the passing of my mother-in-law at the relatively young age of 63 last month, I realized that there is no time like the present to change the "wishes" into goals. Here is the start of my list:

Go on a cruise
Ride a train
Take a pottery class
Throw a coin in the Trevi fountain in Italy
Learn a fancy dance with my husband
Go on a honeymoon to a white sand beach with clear water
See the Grand Canyon
See tulips in Holland
Go to Seattle again
Take kids to the Oregon Coast
Learn how to make stained glass
Go to a National Square Dance
Cirque de Soliel in Las Vegas
Go to Ireland
Pay off debt (except house)
Stay at the Gingerbread Mansion B&B in Ferndale, CA
Take Jessica to a Strawberry Festival
Learn calligraphy
Build a round house
Learn Italian
See Mt. Rushmore
Square Dance in a foreign country
Visit Seeley Lake, Montana
Go to the Redwoods again
Stay in the Out'n'About Treehouse Treesort in Takilma, Oregon
Stay in the Railroad Park Resort in Dunsmuir, CA
Visit the Idaho Botanical Gardens

At last...

I made the new covers for the couch pillows. When we got the new couch about 4 years ago, I intended to make covers right away. The pillows that came with the couch were totally not our style. Southwestern is not my thing. I finally found inspiration from OhFrannson.com. I love how they turned out. Becca wants an entire quilt for her bed made like this.

More Erin Michael Monkeys...

I wanted to make an extremely wonky quilt. It really taxed my brain trying to fit the wonky blocks together without squaring them up. I didn't even square up the outside either. I really love how it came out. I started working on it last summer and finally got backing and binding to finish it. I was a little unsure about the binding choice when Jon said that he didn't like it. When he saw how it just peeked out around the edges, he told me that I chose well. I did the binding on the bias, first for me. It wasn't all that difficult, and I really like how nice it lays.

My May project...

did not involve fabric. I stripped and painted the old dining set. Well, I painted the table and one chair. The girls painted the remaining three chairs. It's amazing how when a person is 5 they paint whatever is in their hearts without worrying about what someone else is going to say. Jessica was way more concerned what others would say about her artistic talents. She painted over parts of hers. Becca is not finished with her chair yet. She is so close, but hasn't had the creativity for finishing the project. I finally got the clear coating on the kids' chairs about a week ago. I still need to photograph the chairs. My chair started out with a dessert theme, but as I started painting, I decided that it needed some bright colors. It ended up with chili peppers on the seat. I am not really a southwestern fan, but I like the way it came out. The best part about the project, having a nice place to sit outside on the deck.

What happened to the pics?

I swear I uploaded photos of the denim quilt. Imagine this times 3. Too fun using old clothing.