Birthdays, Baking and Binding

Last weekend was B's birthday so a group of us headed down to San Diego for some beach camping. She asked for a carrot cake and I was happy to oblige. I used a recipe from the Complete Americas Test Kitchen TV Shop Cookbook. This cookbook has never let me down - I cooked most of Thanksgiving dinner from it in November to rave reviews. The cake turned out perfectly - the book even suggested cooking it in a square pan for easy transport. This kept the cake nice and most even on the beach. I still have some work to do on my cake decorating skills.. luckily by the time we served the cake it was dark (and the car with all the flashlights had not arrived yet!) and no one was able to see my writing anyway. So Happy Birthday B! Thanks for letting us share your big day.


Meanwhile, Jeff's baking has gone from hit and miss to excellent. I've been the lucky recipient of Cherry Danish's, pasta, pizza crust, and, just this weekend, soft pretzels. I can't find any pictures of his creations - although I'm sure I took some - so when I find them I will post them. Anyway...

When I got back from camping I had the newest complete quilt waiting for its binding. I love to get a quilt bound - it just doesn't feel complete until its all finished. I had some trouble getting motivated but finally put on some old movies and just sat down and pushed through - I did the finishing stitches in between turns at game night.

The pattern is Random Reflections and the fabric is Central Park. I should have made two of these - because for some reason it screams "put me on a twin bed in a little girls room." haha. Maybe its just me.

This afternoon, with the finished quilt in hand we went on a little adventure to the park. I had fun taking pictures on the jungle gym and later relaxing on the new quilt in the shade - I even tied it to the back of my bike, all rolled up, to ride home.

So.. in the words of John Stewart "Here's Your Moment of Zen."

Millions of Pieces

I did a lot of piecing these last two weeks. I was super motivated by all my friends recent pregnancy announcements. Time to get my current projects finished so I can start on baby quilts!

In other exciting news, a group of ladies here on base have been tossing around the idea of a quilting group. I'm very excited about the prospects!

Enough of my rambling. These all still need to get quilted, but I made so much progress this week I wanted to post pictures. (More details to come on these when they are finally done.)








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Back to Quilting

Its been a while since I've finished a project! I spent most of May away from home for work, and most of June away from home celebrating at one of my best friends' wedding and then at my sisters' graduation. In summation, June was not a very productive quilt month either. This week I was granted a little extra downtime which meant I was able to finish a quilt, get one completely pieced and another will be pieced at the end of the weekend.

The quilt I finished is another Moda Bakeshop Pattern: Tiffany Diamonds. The pattern is really easy and comes together so quickly. In fact, I decided to do a Christmas Quilt in the same pattern because it was so simple and fun. Plus, its always nice to have that one project that will come together quickly. The pattern has you tie the quilt - but I decided to quilt it instead. I also added an inner and outer border. The fabric is Moda's Lovely.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Around the Clock Bridal Shower

I'm the matron of honor in my best friend from college's upcoming wedding. Last night, while watching Bridesmaids , I had a wave of relief flow over me as I thought - well, at least things won't get this out of hand!

Being an out of town Matron of Honor can sometimes make things difficult - you can't be there for every little thing, even though you really want to be. I was talking to the bride one afternoon and she was taking about purchasing a pillow for the rings. In a moment of crazy I told her that she had to have a ring barer to need a ring pillow and that I wouldn't be carrying a ring pillow down the asile - I had no idea she had asked a little one who is a friend of the family. Oops. haha.

Anyway, two days before we headed home from Texas I flew to Detroit and, along with the two other wonderful bridesmaids, threw the bride a beautiful wedding shower. It was a small intimate brunch at one of her favorite restaurants just blocks from her home. Everyone had fun watching the bride open her gifts - blissfully unaware of the "breaking ribbons =babies" superstition and then we got everyone to empty their purses in a good old fashion shower game.

The wedding is now just a few weeks away so I want to share a few pictures from the shower.

Everyone got a little teacup to take home with them filled with some delicious goodies.

The bridal party.


Guests trying to guess which gift the bride will receive for each hour of the day.


The Bride and her Ribbon Bouquet.

Beautiful Quilt for a Beautiful Bride

This weekend I was back home in Atlanta for a dear friends wedding. Spring is in full swing down south! Despite a bad wave of storms earlier in the week, Saturday's weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding. As a wedding gift I made the new couple a quilt from Moda's Lily & Will fabric line. The blue's and yellow's in the quilt felt so springy! I struggled a bit to get this quilt together - I was a little scared at the beginning when I needed to cut the fabric into more then 200 pieces but as it pulled together it got much easier. I was literally putting the binding on as I was packing my bags to head back to Atlanta. I pulled it out of the wash and packed it in my bag to head home. I I was almost tempted to keep it for myself, but sanity prevailed and I delivered it safely to the new bride and groom last night at their reception. Here are a few quick pictures I took before packing it up for delivery.





Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. M!! I was so thrilled to be part of your special day.

Lovely Charming Stars

April has flown by and I feel like I have spent most of it getting settled back in California. I head back to Atlanta for a wedding at the end of this week and was hoping to take two quilts back with me. I seem to have started a bunch of projects since getting back from Texas, but I've been having some trouble getting others finished. There is nothing like a deadline to get you sewing.

I am happy to report that today I finished one of the quilts. This one if for one of my best friends from high school who turns 30 this year - what better gift for your birthday then a quilt! (Granted its a bit early, but I don't get back to the ATL that often and I wanted to drop it off in person.)






The pattern is Charming Stars from Moda bakeshop and the fabric is Moda's Lovely.

On the Move

Our time in Texas is coming to an end which means getting my projects reorganized for the trip back to California.

The one thing standing in my way was a quilt top for A's wedding in April. I wanted to get it pieced and ready for quilting when I get home. For some reason this little quilt was taking me for ever to piece. I managed to complete a baby quilt an piece another full size quilt in the time it took me to do this one. However, right before leaving for Detroit I finished the quilt top and had time to get all the crafting stuff ready to travel.

Now my projects will have to wait a few weeks till I'm back home (where a fresh stash of fabric from burgundy buttons and fat quarter shop are waiting for me!)



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