Munki Munki Rainbow Nine Patch Quilt

It's all done! And I really love it. I started this one way back in November last year but stopped working on it when the insane person that lives inside of me kept telling me I needed to collect more and more Munki Munki prints to add to it. Really? I had to put a stop to the madness, as you can see I already had well more than enough to make a really, really big quilt (this one measures roughly 72x72). I don't even want to think about how much money I spent at the height of my Munki insanity collecting all of these prints!

But all my favorites are there: calypso, birthday party, ice cream trucks, aliens, recess, fireflies and even the rare field trip, cheese toast and etch-a-sketch. I was inspired to get working on this again while I was getting excited to take Heather's fabric design class last month. I wanted a pattern that was simple enough to highlight all the individual prints and tolerate the busyness of it all together and this is what I came up with. In the beginning I wasn't sure if I wanted to sash or not, but settled outside of my comfort zone for Kona Coal. Grey is the new white, right?

For the back I used leftover squares, even some ones I only had charms of in the rainbow stripe. The solid is a Moda Bella which I have never used before but I'm really happy with how it washed up. I of course didn't buy enough so I ended up piecing the bottom with some Kona solids and prints I had excess of from chopping up pajamas. The binding is one of my favorite Munki prints ever, sushi, that I had a big piece left from Heather's studio sale.

It's all cozy and crinkly after it's wash and Lucy is even loving looking at all the little pictures. I may even give this one over to her one day:)

WIP: Munki Munki Rainbow Nine Patch Sneak Peek

It's Friday night and party animal me couldn't think of anything more fun to do than try and finish up my long overdue Munki Munki quilt top. Mark is gone for the evening, Lucy finally went to bed (after sleep-striking for the last few days as punishment for us going out of town!), I poured myself a glass of very good wine and turned on some old Liz Phair, Ray Charles and David Bowie and set to work. Only to run out of Kona Coal sashing!!!! Arrrgh! I always think I buy enough solid but never do.

But it's almost done, and the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. I guess I'll take my wine to the couch and do some hexagon hand piecing. Have a great night friends!

Design Class Weekend with Heather Ross

What an absolute ball of a weekend! Road trip and fancy hotel with Mark, fabric shopping galore, eating  delicious food in Portland, drinking champagne and getting to take an all-weekend long workshop on fabric design taught by none other than Heather Ross!!

Yes my head still hurts a bit -from all the thinking too hard and staring at a computer, not the champagne! -but I think I have walked away with a good basis to maybe actually be able to do some of my own fabric designs someday. For those of you who weren't aware, the Portland Northwest College of the Arts invited Heather to teach her method of designing in photoshop to a small class. When I heard about this opportunity there was no way I wasn't going to make this work. I'm so glad I did! Photoshop is a mammoth of a program that I wasn't at all familiar with, and I still have a looooooong way to go before feeling comfortable with it, but it is an incredible tool and really thrilling to get to see your own sketch come to life in a way that can be translated to fabric.

And look, not only did I get to meet so many wonderful talented and crafty women, but I got to hang out with John (quiltdad) too! Heather, by the way, is everything you would expect - stylish, witty, funny and brimming with creative ideas. I loved meeting and working with her and Heather, if you're reading this, I'm really sorry for being such a complete nit-wit to teach photoshop to!

So the design I came up with for the weekend was requested by Mark. He really wanted me to do a print of little bacon and pork chops. And because I wasn't feeling any of my other ideas I had I decided to humor him. I think it turned out pretty cute!

Here is a blurry eyed me at the very end of class with a print out of my creation. Yep, a cheater print of pork chops, bacon, dots and little piggies. I'm going to get a smaller scale of it printed on linen to make some dish towels and potholders for our kitchen.

And of course I had to hit up Sisters and Ruby Street Quilters on the way down to P-town. There are many hidden gems at these out-of-the-way quilt shops. I scored some Uptown, Summer in the City, lots of old Amy Butler and more. We also stopped by Bolt fabric boutique in Portland, where I made some additions to my Liberty collection and picked up some pretty new organic prints too.

Look at all the $5 a yard Amy Butler Ginger Bliss, Charm and Temple Flowers!

All in all, a wonderful trip. But the very best part was getting to come home to this funny little lady. She thinks she's pretty hot in sunglasses.

In my haste to pack and leave for Portland last week I forgot to thank all of you for your kind words, both posted and private, regarding this blog post. It was so incredibly heartwarming to feel all the love out there from all of you whom I've never even met. It just shows you that life can be tough sometimes and no matter how separate we are or how similar or different our lives, I think we all just want the best for one another. Thank you.

I'm getting excited!

For Heather Ross's fabric design class! I feel so lucky, albeit a bit unprepared, to be able to attend this workshop next week. There were only 20 seats in the class and I am over the moon to be able to sit in on this with one of my most revered design idols. I really wish I had been working on some more designs of my own lately to bring to the table, but hopefully this class will be a skill-builder that will help to inspire me to get going on the creative side of things. So I'm very much looking forward for a break from daily life, especially after the events of the last month, and getting to go to one of my favorite cities, Portland, to take the class. Mark is coming down with me too, and will be able to go visit some vineyards he's sourcing some grapes from this harvest and I'm sure go eat some fabulous lunches while I'm in class. In the evening we plan on having some nice baby-free dinners out at a couple of our favorite Portland restaurants, Le Pigeon and Pok Pok. And you know I'll be making him pull off the I-5 in Chehalis to visit one of Washington's best quilt shops, Sisters! 

Thinking about all this prompted me to bust out my Munki Munki stash (this is really only just part of it!) and start working on this quilt again, which I haven't touched since November. It's a really simple nine patch and I'm not quite sure yet how I'll be sashing and finishing it - maybe some Kona charcoal and a border - but most of the blocks are done and I'm hoping to finish the top this month.

I've been feeling very weighed down by my Spiderweb quilt blocks and finally just had to take it all down off the design wall and pick it back up when I return. I'm more than halfway done (33 blocks- whew!) and just really need a break from that one!

But I did have a lot of fun making this block for Heather's Matryoshka Spiderweb, for her Bee-autiful Bee month (mine is next month - more on that later!) I hope you like it Heather, this quilt is going to be so stunning!

We are having Lucy's great grandmother over for dinner tonight so I must sign off now to attend to my domestic diva duties, something like mopping, toilet cleaning and a grandmother-impressive peach pie. See you all when I get back with a full report on Heather's class!

Goodbye 33, Hello 34!

Here are the glorious spoils from the "Great Birthday Fabric Expedition"! Not a bad bunch of loot, eh?

I can't begin to express to you how exciting this all was to find! And I'm sure I don't have to, because I know all of you would feel the same way. It was seriously more than I could've hoped for. 

On Thursday morning, Mark and I dropped Lucy and Norman off with their Grandma and drove off down the Interstate to Portland to celebrate my birthday. Thanks to the tips of three lovely ladies (thanks Sarah, Raven and Tiffany!!), we made stops at three small-town quilt shops along the way, and I must say it was a ridiculously great success!!

The first shop we hit had some of the elusive aqua colorway of Mendocino - underwater sisters and fish! I had to get the rest of the bolt of the aqua sisters! They even had some old Lightning Bug prints like dogs on blue and yellow and blue ponies, along with Tula Pink butterflies which I snagged and lots more I had to leave behind. I'm talking Cake Rock, Jackie Shapiro Pop Botanical and Tula Pink Nest. I was already on a high after the first stop!

The next shop had more bolts of yumminess than I have ever seen in one place. Entire collections of Heather Bailey Freshcut and Pop Garden, Amy Butler galore and lots of the hard to find Moda Uptown and Summer in the City collections, just to name a few.

I got a few prints I've been missing from my AB Belle and Love collections,

and even a fat quarter stack of some very rare old AB Ginger Bliss.

The third stop was way out of the way and turned out to be a funny old tin barn full of awesome finds. I sort of blew my fabric budget at the previous shop so I behaved myself, but wow! It was cool to see every single Midwest Modern and Lotus print side by side. There was even lots of Katie Jump Rope, Good Folks and Alexander Henry. This sweet woman had so much fabric in this place that her new Momo Freebird and Hope Valley was still in the plastic wrap!

I started my Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow collection and I'm hooked....must get more of that!

I have my wonderful husband to thank for it all. I am a lucky woman to have found such a patient guy to drive me on all these wild goose chases and just gets a kick out of seeing me happy.

We had an awesome weekend in Portland, one of my favorite cities. I won't bore you with too many of the details of the rest of the trip because I know most of you don't read this to hear about that stuff. But in case you get a chance to visit this great city, here is my short list:

 - The Heathman Hotel for lodging

-Ken's Artisan Bakery for Stumptown coffee and pastries mmmm Marionberry croissant

-Pok Pok Thai for lunch (the wings and a Salted Plum Collins are a must)

-Oregon Wines on Broadway for a glass of good Pinot Noir

-So many places to go for dinner, but a few of my favorites are Olympic Provisions, Castagna, Pizza Ascholls and Le Pigeon

-and if you have time, a drive down to the beautiful Willamette Valley wine country, only 45 minutes south

I've been reflecting a bit today on the last year of my life, and I really do think 33 was my best year yet.  I have the best husband ever, my sweet little girl is almost one year old and the absolute best thing that's ever happened to me and I'm surrounded by such loving friends and family. Yep, I'm a lucky girl. And looking forward to 34:)

Far Far Away Quilt done!

I really, really love this quilt. I've been sitting on my big ol' stash of Heather Ross's Far, Far Away since it came out last year and just couldn't resist it any longer. It is the first quilt I have made that I am happy with the pattern, workmanship and quilting from top to bottom. I have finally gotten a handle on my new Bernina and I just adore the Stitch Regulator - it makes free motion feel like painting with thread. I think I also finished it more quickly than any of my others.  Using a combination of some very simple blocks and a few wonky star blocks was both breezy and satisfying. I used Kona white as the sashing but all that double gauze makes it super soft and cuddly.

(One of the only sunny mornings we've had up here lately)

I decided to get a little more creative with the back than I usually do (because by the time I finish the top I am impatient to finish!). I pieced it with some more wonky stars and a patchwork border. I may even like the back more than the front!

And a close up of the blocks....

The binding is an organic chartreuse polka dot from Cloud 9.

For now, this one is my chosen cuddle-up-on-the-couch quilt, and will probably stay that way for a while.

Lucky me! (And a Far Far Away sneak peek)

I just had to share a little view of the back of my new Far, Far Away quilt.....I think I almost like it better than the front! I'm still hand sewing the binding and then it needs a wash and a photo shoot before I show you the whole thing. I'm totally loving it!

Sooo....besides it being a completely gorgeous and warm Seattle day, this week has pretty much sucked at the L&N household. We had a big release at the winery this weekend and we were all feeling pretty wiped out by Sunday night. Then Mark started complaining of a pain in his lower right abdomen. This is a guy who does not even make a peep if he has the flu so I knew something was wrong. His doctor ordered at CAT scan for Tuesday and sure enough he was ordered off to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. After a night stay he is home with some pretty bad discomfort but luckily they got to it before it ruptured! So dealing with that (and consequently crabby husband) and a little girl who has decided to refuse her naps the last two days = mama who needs a little time to blog with glass of wine in hand!

Well here is the big, bright spot in my otherwise trying day: My pillow talk swap from the super talented and generous Ryan (imjustaguywhoquilts)!! Can you believe I was lucky enough to get this awesome Katie Jump Rope cushion cover?? If you love it as much as I do and wish it was yours, never fear! Ryan has just completed a detailed tutorial on his blog. Check it out here.

As if that wasn't enough, he also sent over a sweet little gardener set and cute crab toy for Lucy, and some beautiful journals for me. Thank you so much Ryan, and I'll get some photos up soon of the stuffed pillow in it's happy new home.

Sunday Stash

New Munki goodies arrived from Kerri at sewdeerlyloved on Etsy. Time to get going again on my Munki Munki Nine Patch.

Just a short post today, because it is beautiful outside and I need to go catch up with this little girl.....

She is on the move and into EVERYTHING! It is a lot of work but so fun to watch her explore. But at least she is going to bed pretty early, so tonight I can get quilting my Far, Far Away quilt. Hopefully I will have it all done to show you next week - I am really loving it!

Yet another project....

I keep telling myself that I am NOT going to start another project until I have finished some others, but when inspiration strikes, sometimes you just have to go with it!  (I did finish up my Far, Far Away quilt top - more on that later ) Last week I bought this fabulous pattern from Elizabeth at Oh! Fransson and my new Heather Ross fabrics were calling out to be used. This pattern is great for people like me who can't do math because Elizabeth's cutting directions are very clear and all laid out. So far the only adjustments I have done to the pattern is I had to change the direction of the horizontal cutting in order to have the gnomes and mushrooms oriented the right way. These were a blast to make and I highly recommend the pattern to beginners - lots of useful information.

I think I am going to love making this quilt!

Heather Ross Spoonflower is here!

I apologize for clogging up your blog feeds today with my THIRD post of the day, but I just HAD to show you what showed up tonight!!

All seventeen pounds of two yards of all twenty-two prints! The colors are so vibrant and look beautiful together. I would love to just roll around in this stuff. 

Unfortunately I don't get to keep it all. So I'm off to cut into the wee hours to get this all divvied up and off to the other seven owners who have been excitedly waiting. I can't wait to see what you all make!

Far Far Away in the making

I could no longer resist the call of Far, Far Away......

These fabrics have been just sitting in my stash since they came out a year ago, looking so sad and begging to be cut into. I REALLY have tried to resist starting any more projects until I finished a few others, but I have been getting really frustrated by the tediousness of piecing my Little Folks quilt top, and I am waiting on a few more prints for my Lotus quilt to arrive in the mailbox. Also I think I've had Heather Ross on the brain lately with all the excitement of the new Spoonflower fabrics we're waiting for and the fabric design class she is teaching that I'm attending in July.

I have been mulling ideas around in my head of what to do with these fabrics. I knew I wanted to make a quilt out of only the Far, Far Away and have been searching out different pattern ideas that would really play on the scale of the prints.

I was inspired by the Mod Sampler quilt from Oh! Fransson. I've also been wanting to try out wonky stars for a long time.

So far the stars are my favorite.....

                            

I think this one will go pretty fast. It is too fun to cut up! Plus, Mark is going out of town for the weekend, so I plan on indulging myself with lots of sewing time, along with eating cheese and crackers for dinner, watching Sex and the City reruns and sleeping in the middle of the bed:)

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my Good Folks quilt. I hope you are enjoying a lovely week.

I heart the mailman...

Sorry, I know this is really boring, but do you ever get one of those awesome maildays where everything arrives at once? It feels like a holiday! I was never too excited before when the mailman came - mostly only bills! - until I started swapping and buying fabric online. Now I can't wait to see if something fun has arrived.

So here are some new additions to the family! I have been spending so much of my fabric budget on Munki and Japanese prints lately that I knew I would have to wait before getting the entire line of Amy Butler's new Love line. But I couldn't resist getting the sunspots print in every colorway - I think it is definitely going to be the most popular of the line, because like the full moon dots from her Lotus collection, they will make great coordinates. The elusive Pool Floaties and Inchworms were from a swap - thank you Meagan! Lots of Munki Munki Christmas flannel and brides, goldfish and chairs, along with some Paula Prass Cobblestone half yards from Kerri's Etsy shop sewdeerlyloved. I love them so much! The Christmas flannel has plans for some fun holiday projects I have been dreaming of, and the other Munki will surely make it's way into this project I started a few nights ago.

It has been so much fun cutting into all this gorgeousness! Although I still haven't been able to bring myself to axe the Field Trip! I hope Lucy cooperates and lets me get in some sewing today. The "crying it out" experiment is going reasonably well if not a bit heartbreaking. Thank you all for your words of encouragement. We have a very busy weekend at the winery we need all the sleep we can get around here.

In other news, I was very flattered to receive a message from Sew Hip magazine out of the UK asking me if they could use the photo of me in my Socialite Dress for a pattern review in their magazine! I am not sure when it is due to be published but they are sending me a copy so I will share it with you then.

I will be getting around to my giveaway within the next week and a half! I think you will really like it! Here's a hint - anyone who has signed up to follow me BEFORE the giveaway is announced will get an extra chance to win!

Liquid courage....

Yes, that is a glass of red, red wine in the corner (my husband made it!). After my first evening of letting Lucy "cry it out" for the first time, it was needed! (Not that I needed an excuse!) And, it was also needed perhaps to cut into some of my precious Munki! And Mark is working at the winery late again tonight - harvest time - so I got a nice relaxing evening to sew.

I decided it was time to take action instead of watching my Heather Ross continue to pile up. Let me tell you, cutting into those Recess girls hurt a bit as they were my only tiny squares. I guess Field Trip is next!

I'm planning a simple Nine Patch to showcase these beloved prints. I have so many log cabinish WIPs I wanted to do something different for this one.

OK, back to sewing, but stay tuned....I am about to unveil my mom's finished Birthday quilt which has been six months in the making, as well as my first Spoonflower fabric design - and I am planning a really fun giveaway!

Heather Ross MISC package arrived!

Finally! It feels like I have been waiting not so patiently for this parcel to arrive for FOREVER! It was on the doorstep when I got home this evening, with this cute little note written on the outside.....

It reads "Sorry about the Addams family packaging, I'm hopeless with a tape gun." - H. I know I am sort of a groupie (I won't even tell you all about my Prince obsession) but this was pretty cool.

I couldn't restrain myself and blew my whole months fabric budget on the package! So this is what two hundred duckets gets you.....

I did specifically ask for some Recess or Field Trip, but alas there was none! I am guessing she doesn't have enough to spare because I haven't seen any of you other lovely ladies score a piece either. Oh well, plenty of other goodies in big, fat pieces! There is roughly a yard of Alice in Wonderland on poplin, pink dandelions, white dream bikes and goldfish! Also some very generous half yardish pieces of kittens on poplin, Munki dogs, sushi and pink dots. In varying sizes was some vans on flannel, ice cream trucks, girls on twill and a sea scene one - not sure what it is called. The one I found to be very exciting is a large scrap of what looks like to me the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland with mushrooms, but I have never seen it before! I wonder if didn't make it into production? It is very cute!

Oh yes that is a piece of Flea Market Fancy seeds in the corner - I mentioned in my letter I love Denyse's stuff too!

She also included lots of adorable outfits for Lucy! Gotta love the little green gnome pants! And also sock monkey flannel PJs, a dandelion top with pants and a knit 2T Sushi dress- score!

Overall, I am really thrilled with my loot!

Sunday Stash #2

If you are reading my blog, you are probably already very aware of the illness that has inflicted hundreds of women around the world to scour Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Ebay to collect Munki Munki pajamas. Yes, I am one of them. The bizarre part of the disease is leading most of the women to actually CUT the brand-new, never worn pajamas up to use the fabric in other projects! I must admit, I have fallen hard for the PJ bottoms themselves, so I have been opting to keep those intact and wear them to bed with tank top or t shirts (soooo comfy!) and use the tops for fabric stash. I just hope my husband doesn't start thinking it strange to come home to find me in gnome, alien or yoga girl pajamas every evening!

It may look as though I have been very unproductive this week, but the exact opposite is true, and that is why there have been no other posts this week. A dear friend ran off to Vegas recently and got hitched and her reception is tonight. So, I of course decided not only to make her a quilt for her wedding gift, but also to whip up the Socialite dress from Anna Maria Horner to wear to the party. Hopefully I can get a decent shot of the dress and post it tomorrow with a pattern review. The wedding quilt is not even close to being finished, but the top is almost finished. I hope to have it in the mail to her by the end of next week. So far I love it so much I'd like to keep it!

Happy Labor Day everyone!

Heather Ross Studio Sale!

Drawing from Heather Ross, not me! I hope this is OK to post here.

I feel like I won the Lotto today!!!! I skimmed by in mere seconds to what has got to be the coolest sale in the history of sales. Heather Ross herself announced this morning that she would be cleaning out her studio and putting together packages for varying amounts. All you had to do was write her a little email about yourself and what you like. I of course had to blow my month's fabric budget and order the biggest box available, begging for maybe a little Munki Recess or Field Trip! I can't wait to see what the little crocheted lobster looks like. I may pass out from anticipation! Thank you for such a rare opportunity, Heather. It is things like this that make us all adore you even more.