Tutorial Time

I'm venturing into new territory today! A tutorial- just for you. . . assuming you want a new wallet of course. :) I have found mine to be a great size for putting in my pocket real quick as I run out the door to take Ella to school, or the to the grocery store. Great for those that don't care to carry a purse, or would rather not carry an extra 5 pounds of wallet! These pictures are full page size, so if you would like to, click on the page and print out. Close instructions make sewing simpler! Have fun and let me know if you make one, or have any trouble with my directions.


Instructions without pictures:
With a little time and some beautiful fabric you can create a new quilted wallet today! The
project is able to be completed in about an hour’s time - enjoy!

1. Cut your fabrics! You will need:
4 ½ x 8” for exterior
4 ½ x 8” batting
4 ½ x 17 ½ ” for interior
4 ½ x 7 ½ ” interfacing
2. Working with the long interior piece, make a fold, and iron, wrong sides together 1¾ ” from
both ends
3. Topstitch 1/8 th of an inch making top edge of first pocket.
4. Right sides together create pocket 1 ¼ ” deep, and iron.
5. Create second pocket by folding again, wrong sides together 1 ¾ ” to the top, and ½ ”
above first pocket. Iron and topstitch.
6. Finish second pocket by folding a 1 ¼ “ pocket and iron.
7. Apply interfacing to completed interior.
8. Quilt exterior piece to batting. This is a good size to practice free-motion with - not too
big!
9. Place interior and exterior of the wallet, right sides together, and pin in place.
10. Sew together, leaving a space between the tops of the pockets open. Be sure to rein-
force your opening.
11. Trim excess and corners.
12. Turn right side out - start with a corner opposite the opening - it will turn.
13. Use a knitting needle or other method to coerce your corners out all the way.
14. Press flat.
15. Topstitch around the entire wallet, closing the opening, and across the center, for a nice
fold.
16. Nice wallet! I would love to see your completed wallet.


We are off to gymnastics and then the evening hours of busyness . . . bedtime, will you ever come? Have a great evening ~ Amy

ETA: Welcome to those coming over from CraftGossip! If I could do this over again I would have done it different - amazing how much I've learned in a few short months! I have a recent tutorial here for making mitered corners - feel free to check out what I've been up to lately :)

Bookmarks!

I find myself smiling whenever I see them! They are just so happy :) And I am happy to be finished with all these bookmarks too. I hope each lady that receives one will be smiling as well :)

I will be shipping them off on Monday, and I am planning to add a couple of extra to my esty shop and see how they do there.

Hope you are enjoying your Saturday ~
Amy

Updates

This week has been a rollercoaster! I will have to tell you more on that later.

I managed to lose 2 lbs. in the midst of a busy week! Hooray :) Since my little incident last week, I have been able to slowly get moving again - I had 2 bruised knees and one shoulder . . . this week it's just been my one knee with itchy scabs. I'm not showing pictures 'cause it's not pretty! However, I would like to share a picture of my kids! They are the inspiration for most everything I do - whether it is laundry, cleaning up, or quilting, they give me a boost to keep going - mostly because they NEVER stop! And I love them so much :)
More later!
Amy

SewConnected!

I have been included in the most fabulous group of quilters! Each month we receive a packet of fabric and make one quilt block for another member of the group, and send it back. I received my packet this week and it so great! Rita is setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us :) She included a piece of embroidery for each block - I have to think up something fabulous! I have been working hard on my quilted bookmarks. Yesterday I finished appliqueing the stems to the front. I need to cut my backing and get them put together today :) It's fun!

If you click the button on my left-sidebar, it takes you to the group - and you can check out pictures.

I Am Thankful : : 4

I am thankful for -

~ My mom
~ My talents and abilities
~ My healthy children
~ My loving husband
~ The cool, frosty mornings


You are welcome to join me in being thankful! I would love to know the blessings in your life - leave a comment and let me know :) Or post your own list.

A Thank You & Big - Little Project

Good Monday Morning! It is so stormy here thundering rain, and lots of it :) It is a nice change of pace really. And I managed to get quite a bit done this morning, which is odd, usually I slow down when it is gray outside. . .

My Thank You is to Melissa and Jaimie. A few weeks ago, I casually asked if anyone had hand-me-downs that they would part with for Owen. I am happy to say that I have been blessed with a great supply of super cute clothes for my little man :) These piles represent about a third of what I received from these beautiful ladies, the rest are waiting for Owen's legs to get a bit longer :) Thank you both! I am so thankful for and blessed by you both!


This is the cut pieces for my project. A friend asked if she could purchase 35 of my quilted bookmark after seeing it posted here. Get this - she is in the midst of planning a quilt themed retreat for her church ladies, next month! I wish we lived closer :) Each lady will receive a quilted bookmark at the end of the retreat. So the top row represents the yo-yo flowers, then below is the stem and front. I need to find a backing fabric today. . .if the rain lets up. So that's what I'm working on! Getting everything cut and with interfacing is usually the most challenging so I am looking forward to smooth sewing all week.

Now to go see what you have been working on - Happy Monday!

Amy

Inspiration

Hi there! I haven't done anything the last few days that I felt were blog worthy . . . so I didn't. :) I was on flickr for a bit today - adding quilts to my favorites, and I realized how much I lean toward geometric quilts. I love the repetitive nature of these quilts and just thought I would share a bit of what inspires me! Hope you have a great weekend - Amy1. bento box quilt, 2. Whirlygiggles Baby Quilt, 3. Minny Muu Baby Quilt, 4. Eclipse Quilt, 5. Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show 2008, 6. Black and White Quilt, 7. Crop Circles - Embroidered Mini Art Quilt, 8. Zipper Quilt, 9. Jane Austen Diamond Quilt, 10. Quilt Show2007 052, 11. Four Seasons Quilt Swap - Spring Mini Quilt by Nikki, 12. Stained Glass Quilt, 13. Spots quilt top, 14. Plain Spoken, 15. Joel Dewberry Bento Box Quilt, 16. Untitled, 17. Untitled, 18. Untitled, 19. DSC04033, 20. DSC04030, 21. Untitled, 22. hourglass quilt, 23. April 6, 2007, 24. Disappearing 9 patch

Quilts 4 Cancer

This quilt came from the laundry ready to be loved! My kids have understood, that this quilt is for someone who is sick, but at the same time they love it too. Emmalie sat next to me on the couch last night as I finished the binding, pointing out all the different monkeys, and what they are doing, or the expression on their face. Already telling the story of the quilt! It is a fun quilt with lots of stories to be woven. To quilt it I did straight lines. However, I wanted the quilting to be unique. I started with diagonals through the squares, then went back and added a cross or plus sign at the major intersections. They are hard to see from the front - here's the view from the back -

forward and back in each direction, starting and ending in the center.

My very first official label - I need to make these for all of my quilts.


Ready to be delivered! Now to make plans to get to the quilt shop - it needs to be there this week :) It will be a bit sad to say goodbye, but knowing that it will bring so much comfort to a sick child makes it worth it completely.

Blessings ~
Amy

Ouch!

Let me preface this post by saying - "I am a klutz!" I've known this for years - but what am I to do!?

This morning we got home from taking Ella to school. (She's at the public school, and we are to close for the bus, but to far for her to walk alone)

Sophia got her hood stuck on the inside of the van door, you know the latch hook thingy.

I was already at the front door, getting it open, as she starts crying. My first thought is that the door shut on her fingers, (a big fear of mine). Not her fingers just her hood - Thank God!

Owen in arms, I start over to her, and trip on my own shoe. . . I stumbled across the driveway, only to finally fall when Owen would land in the grass - Thank God again!

I quickly scooped him up to rescue Sophia, all the while Emmalie is asking what happened. She had been at the door with me. We usually go through this routine without incident, so I had thought nothing of Sophia being on the other side of the driveway. . .

As we walked in the house my knee was radiating pain, Owen and Sophia are still upset and Em still has no idea what just happened! I got Owen ready for his nap and settled in to evaluate my injuries :( My jeans totally split at the knee and was somewhat embedded into my owie - my little girls (mommies at heart) were happy to get the first aid kit and cleaning towels for me. It really isn't that bad, mostly just a BIG raspberry, but it hurts none the less.

My ego hurts a little too. It just so happens that last night I burnt my finger while getting dinner together. I had been smooshing beans with a fork when my thumb slipped off the fork, sending my hand straight into the simmering pan of beans . . . Joe shakes his head and wonders how I have survived this long!

I will survive - as like usual. I'm so thankful that neither of the kids had a scratch on them. Got a funny story? I could use a laugh :)

My friend Mendy received the Nod to Random quilt today. She loves it! And I did finish my cancer quilt - it's in the wash. I will be back soon with pictures :)

Free Real Estate and a Winner!

Ella pulled another tooth yesterday! Look at that toothy grin and all that open space :)I thought that this part of parenting would gross me out - but I don't have to do a thing! Ella had gotten herself a piece of gum, and felt a root snap - next thing I knew it was out :) She's getting so big! That makes 3 out, and 1 wiggler still in her mouth.

But I know you really want to know if you won!

Here are your random numbers:

5 

Timestamp: 2008-09-14 16:09:38 UTC

# 5 is Jacquie!

Have a great Sunday afternoon ~

Amy

Legacy

The question has been asked, and it is very poignant this week. "What do you want your legacy to be?" For me it is simple, I want to live in relationship with those around me, and online, in a way that is meaningful and full of love. I would like to be in deep with people, trusted, and able to trust. Considering where our family has been this year - trust, is a hurdle right now :) Any way, everything else flows together if my relationships are good.
Working on this quilt took on new meaning this week. I learned that a young lady, Jessie, who has been fighting a rare cancer, passed away. We know her family a bit (long story), and I cannot imagine the mix of emotion that they are dealing with. I do know that they are very proud, Jessie has been a pillar of God's strength and has left an amazing legacy in her short 16 years. If you have a few minutes watch the video here - you won't regret the few moments :) My prayers are for her family - as they grieve and consider the future without Jessie.

And so as I have worked on this quilt, I have prayed for the child/young person, that will receive it. And the family that surrounds them. I hope that the love and prayers put into the quilt are felt :)

Have a good weekend - I plan to be quilting!
Amy

If you haven't been to my sidetracked post yet - go! There's a little giveaway there :) It's not life changing - but I want share.

I Am Thankful : : 3

I am thankful for

- healthy kids.
- a free country to live in.
- a blogging community :)
- my sweet, patient husband.
- cool crisp air outside - no cooling the house, and just a tiny bit of heat in the morning.
- Ella, she loves school and is a great student.

It has been amazing how my whole mindset changes, when I remind myself to be grateful for the blessings around me. Big or small I have so much to be thankful for.

Blessings to you!
Amy

You are welcome to join me in being thankful! I would love to know the blessings in your life - leave a comment and let me know :) Or post your own list.

Sidetracked!

But in a good way :) Usually when I get sidetracked, I forget to start lunch, and clean the kitchen instead. Today I have two quick finishes to share with you! Joe thought I was nuts pulling out my sewing machine at 10 last night - I had to see if I could translate my ideas into fabric. You know what I mean!On the left is a quilted/appliqued bookmark, complete with yo-yo flower. To the right is a small quilted wallet. My pics aren't that great, sorry - we are having a rainy day. Here's a little detail look:


I put the Starbucks card in there for scale. There's four generous little pockets, that will hold two cards each - or a wad of cash . . . depends on how you roll!

Here's the best part of the post - I hope your still reading :) This is my 100th post and I would like to give these items away! Leave a comment by Saturday at midnight, and I will use a random number generator on Sunday, September 14 to select a winner.

I did get the borders added to the cancer quilt and still have plans to sandwich and quilt this week - more pictures soon!

Amy

Have you seen . . . ?

I know that not everyone uses blogger, but for those of you who do - Have you seen the new following feature? I'm going to try it out for a while and see. If you have all your subscriptions in google reader you can just add them easily on your dashboard. Or you can click over there ----> Follow me - k?

The other thing that I really like is having my email address in my profile! A few months ago I was emailing other bloggers trying to figure out how they got their email to come with the comments they left. I was a little crazed trying to figure it out, until I realized I already did! I set up a separate gmail account just for blogging, and added another account in my Thunderbird inbox. With my email address attached to my comments left - I am able to hear back from my comments and feel even more connected!

We took mom back to the airport yesterday. It was a lot of car time for the baby, but I promised him that we would be staying home mostly today, so he can nap in peace and run around at will :) I need the day at home as much as the kids do! And I want to quilt - I have my boarders cut for the cancer quilt and hope to be able to sandwich and quilt it this week.

I hope that you are having a great day, week even!
Amy

Visitor Fun

We spent the last couple of days catching up and exploring new craftiness for my mom! She's been a seamstress since she was a girl, like myself, and had never made a yo-yo until Thursday. My mom found my yo-yo maker in my handy bin of sewing stuff and that sent her on a new journey. She's had multiple shoulder surgeries and no longer enjoys sewing garments or doing much at the machine, but loves hand work! We went to JoAnn's yesterday and purchased a yo-yo maker of her own and 20 fat-quarters to get her started with a lap quilt or pillow topper. We will just have to wait and see how far she gets :)

After eeking out nap time today, we went to the park with the kids - I love the park. It's free, it satisfies the need to get out of the house, and the kids always come home tired! Having an extra set of hands and eyes I took the camera and took tons of pictures. :) Hope you don't mind!

Ella's getting going . . .

Emmalie loves the tall twirly slide.

Sophia loves to swing and enjoyed having Grandma pushing just her today!

I always start Owen in the swing - but he gets bored fast. . .

Yelling after Ella.

"Mommy, can I get out!"


He really wants to dig in the dirt!

And taste it too!

Ella's a monkey!

Sophia doesn't want to even feel the dirt!

But she's all smiles for the camera!

Running - it's mayhem and they love it!

Cute pic with Grandma :)
Owen loves to forge his own trail.

Emmalie is my sweetheart.

Sophia was all tuckered out.


And Owen too! He was laying there crying and I took his picture. . . he was ready to go home.

I hope you are enjoying your weekend~
Amy

Slow Down!

Hi again! I got to sew most of my cancer quilt top together last night, I need to add the borders before I share it with you again. My weeks seem to be flying by! Our nap schedule and school schedule haven't meshed yet, and so, my sewing/blogging time has been scrapped lately, until 8:30 or so in the evening. We'll work it out :)

We had our first frost on Tuesday morning! It forced me to go through the extra clothes and pullout pants for the kids yesterday. It is still pretty warm in the day (65-70) and seems to be getting warmer as the week progresses - hopefully we will be in the 80's again this weekend :) Forgive me if I'm too forward - but does anyone have any little boy clothes you might want to pass on? Owen is our only boy and I don't have all the hand-me-downs like I did for the girls. And he just keeps growing! I already need 24mo/2T for him - I would pay for shipping or whatever. . . ?

Moving on: I have been tying Owen's binkie to his jammies and clothes, because the clip died - just as I predicted. I decided that I didn't need a clip after tying it to him and made a loop. When he wears overalls, I can slip it through before fastening them. And his blanket sleepers have the snap at the top, and the loop goes over that little tab before closing the snap, really it works for any clothing with a snap! It's super simple and works for us! I couldn't resist his little face! Isn't he so handsome!? I made two - binky leashes, for him. One's blue and the green one below.

My mom is coming to visit for a long weekend. After getting Ella to school tomorrow morning we will head down to the airport to pick her up. The girls are super excited - they were chanting this morning "Grandma's coming tomorrow, Grandma's coming tomorrow!" It should be fun! :)

That's all for now.
Blessings~
Amy

Easy Peasy!

I ironed and trimmed up my blocks yesterday and when I had a few moments ALONE this afternoon I laid it out! I should have a chance to get it put together soon :) We do have a special visitor coming this week, but I don't foresee my machine being put away this time!My girls collected a few leaves that blew off the trees. Can you believe that the colors are starting to change? Well, maybe not where you are - but we've had enough cold nights to cause the start. (This picture is for you, Miss Amy) It's been stormy today, nothing like Gustav, but plenty to free a few leaves. I even saw a fresh dusting of snow on a couple of mountain peaks this morning! I will try to take pics when they are free of clouds again :)


Not too much going on here, a quiet Labor Day. I've really enjoyed it!