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:)

I really have been sewing!

August has been busy and I've been working on a bunch of fun projects! I know I haven't really had too much to show you lately but I'm just putting the finishing touches on a few things. I did finally finish my Munki Munki Rainbow Nine Patch! I'm absolutely loving how it turned out and I think it showcases all my prints beautifully. It deserves a real photo shoot before I show it to you so I'm waiting until the sun shows her head around here to get some good lighting, and today is a typical rainy northwest August day.

I also picked up Hillary Lang's new book Wee Wonderfuls and I'm in love! I have long been dreaming of filling Lucy's room with an army of mama-made dollies and this book is chock full of awesome patterns. My first project, the Sleepover Pals is almost done so I'll share that soon too (by the way, the book above "This is Where I Leave You" comes highly recommended by me for a pee-in-your-pants funny summer read).

August is also my month in the Bee-autiful Bee. I am super excited that all these fabulously talented ladies are making "improv style" blocks for my Paint-by-Number quilt. I sent pieces from my Erin Michael's Uptown and Lush collections to the bee-ers and the blocks are already rolling in and just what I hoped for!

I've also been doing a little work here and there on my Kerchief Girl quilt. Here is a brown block......

and a blue. I love using some of my very favorite prints all together in one quilt.

And starting in on the red this morning.

The sun looks like it's finally coming out so I hope to get some pics of the Munki quilt taken today. And make sure you check back soon because my very first blog-aversary is this month and you know what that means - giveaway time!!!

Thank you all so much for all the kind wedding anniversary wishes. We had a lovely day together and today is Mark's birthday so we're going out tonight for more celebrating!

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!

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!

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!

Another Happy Day in Fabricland

Yipee! Yesterday I hit the Munki Munki Marshall's jackpot! Snowmen on flannel!

Shoes! Lipstick! Coffee! Polar Bears! Even the elusive OOP Coke Travelers! And full-length cotton poplin Camper Van robes! Lucky for me my mom is a Marshall's regular so she has been on the lookout. These are of course not all for me, some are for some of my lovely swap friends. If you have been searching Marshall's for Munki, too, now is the time to try because once they hit one it is only a matter of time before some of the other locations start receiving some too!

To top it off, I got a long-awaited parcel from Japan containing one of my all-time favorites, Little Peter Pan, and in three colorways. I couldn't resist buying a yard of each. These came from Sonatine on Etsy and she may have a bit left if you act fast. I'm pretty sure this line is long OOP and was too excited to see it pop up!

I also wanted to show you that, yes, I actually DO sew sometimes, not just shop for fabric! I have been trying to do a little work on this simple nine patch using all my Munki prints. It has been so much fun to cut into these fabrics. I am shooting for a twin size quilt for Lucy's big girl bed one day, so I have quite a long way to go, but I'm in no rush. I just wanted to play with the layout a bit, I am thinking of somewhat of a rainbow color-gradation.

I will be drawing the winners for the giveaway this weekend, too - so exciting! I can already tell from all your awesome comments they are going to wind up in a great home.

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.