Way too many pictures

Okay, get ready...here come the photos...

I had everything ready to go Saturday morning for Pattyfair (warning: Jaxon made an attempt to get in most of the photos):

Two crib–sized sock monkey blankets SOLD!

Four baby sets from my Etsy store (Sock moneys sold -- must find more of that fabric!! -- and retro campers and cars sold).

Three new baby sets: Heather Bailey's Freshcut, Joel Dewberry's Aviary (sold), and M'liss Rae's Travel.

Sixteen new diapers and wipes cases and a few left from my Etsy store.

And a little Christmas quilt for the benefit auction. It only went for $5, but that's five more dollars to Big Brothers Big Sisters.

So that's what I took along. I also made up this for my table (you may have to click to make it out):



And these two crib quilts had to stay at home. I got them quilted and laid them out to cut minky for the backing, when I discovered I didn't have enough red or green! I'm going to try to get these done ASAP and in my Etsy store. Everything that didn't sell is currently in my Etsy store. I am having a sale beginning tomorrow, 20% off all blankets and blanket sets and free shipping on diapers and wipes cases! If you know any expecting or new parents please pass it on!

I used the opportunity to practice my machine quilting, and they aren't perfect. They'll be discounted.

And here is what I bought:

A handbag from Heidi, and a necklace and earrings from Rebecca...

...and a delicious rum cake made by Lynn that I won in the auction. No, I didn't eat half of it, I froze some for winter sustenance.

That's this year's Pattyfair! I got to socialize with friends and I think I made some good connections for possible custom orders and sales. But that's not all...there's more...

I won a giveaway at Loft Creations and received this beautifully constructed (and super soft) pillowcase from Stephanie:

This will go on Jaxon's new big boy bed come Christmas.

My first giveaway win! And it makes me feel generous, so...

1. Because I passed my 100th post...
2. ...and because it is the season of giving...
3. ...and because I've been feeling extra creative lately and Charlie has indulged me by keeping Jaxon occupied...

IT'S GIVEAWAY TIME! Yes, I'm shouting, because not only am I having a giveaway, but I am going to attempt to do THREE giveaways. Today is giveaway #1, Wednesday will be giveaway #2, and next weekend will be giveaway #3!

Giveaway #1 is a little different from the others, because it is not something that I made, but is still really cool. I made new stockings for us last year so they would all match, and that left me with our previous stockings. And it made me sad to see them tucked away, not being used. So these very cool quilty stockings can be yours, along with a cute quilty Santa bell ornament.

Forest green and red velvet with a satin cuff and an evening star quilt block. I bought these at Hold Everything back before they went out of business.

Rules for giveaway #1: One comment gets you one entry. One comment per person, please. If you post about the giveaway on your blog you get another entry (please let me know in the comments). Entries are allowed until Noon EST on Wednesday, Dec. 10 when the next giveaway goes live. Please make sure I have a way to contact you!

Fun! I'm so glad for my bloggy friends!

Edited to add: I've been feeling kind of lame about the lack of handmade goodness in giveaway #1, and the lack of comments (except Jenifer, who like a good sister comments on every post) so I am adding a brand new charm pack of Merry and Bright by Sandy Gervais and some Christmas-y vintage buttons from the collection of my great grandma. Happy Holidays!

Missed it by *that* much

So this is post #102. How did I miss #100? I am swamped in preparations for Pattyfair, but I feel a giveaway coming in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

I have officially finished the top of Jaxon's quilt. I had to order more fabric for the backing, I ran a little shy. Then I am able to get it to a machine quilter, if I can find one willing to do it before Christmas.

Here it is in all of its glory:



I didn't brave the crowds of Black Friday this year, but I did head to JoAnn's for an excellent Saturday sale. Interfacing was on deep discount, and I also picked up all this:

Three fat quarter sets (two Christmas and one antique toys), black and white fat quarters with a dash of red, and a few half yards of this cute brown and green line

I also ordered this purse pattern from Nanette, and she included a super cute covered button:



And now every waking hour is being spent on items for Pattyfair. I'm removing everything from my Etsy shop on Friday. Whatever doesn't sell on Saturday will be relisted, with a Christmas sale coming. Here is the start:

16 diapers and wipes cases, all of which need grommets and handles, half of them still need top stitching

I also plan on two blanket sets, and two Christmas blankets. I also need something for the silent auction. Doll quilt?

I did manage to get all the Autumn decorations put away in anticipation for the Christmas decorations, and the holiday movie marathon has begun: so far, a modern favorite of mine, and one of Charlie's favorites.

Feeling Fluish

I like adding "ish" to the ends of word. Or sometimes using "ish" as a word. About the only good thing about having the flu is being able to say, "I feel fluish."

Last Tuesday we had our first real snow of the season, and Tuesday night I was up with the first (and only, I hope) stomach flu of the season. There is never a good time for the flu, but this was particularly bad. I have an excellent colleague who sat in on final presentations for my production class, and Charlie stayed home to care for Jaxon. I've felt well enough to go to work beginning on Friday, but still not 100%. I've spent the last week grading finals, and warding off the cold that is attempting to highjack my weakened immune system.

One bright spot in a bleak week, my new winter shoes came:

Snazzy! From Lands' End.

Also, I pieced the top of Jaxon's quilt. This was really quick to sew and I think shows off the prints well.

Here's one corner. I still need to add an inner and outer border.

But here's the bad news...I've been practicing my machine quilting, and I am still only confident with straight lines. Here is the front of my practice FMQ:



And here is the back:



What am I doing wrong? Obviously there is an overall tension problem, but am I pulling too hard on the turns?

Whatever the issue is, I am not going to have it remedied in time to finish this quilt by Christmas, so I think I am going to have to have it professionally quilted. I don't know the first thing -- advice? How should I find a quilter? What should I ask? How much should I expect to pay? I think this top is a quilter's dream -- lots of big patches of fabric to show off quilting, and an opportunity for some fun patterns. But at this point I'd take some nice looking loops if it means having it for Christmas.

Instead of ending this post on a disappointment, I thought I'd share a picture Charlie took this weekend. He was touring here, and this should be familiar to any fans of The Shawshank Redemption. One of my favorites.

Fabric Glutton

Is that possible? A fabric glutton? The 20 yards of fabric I have in the washing machine say "YES!"

But all that fabric is necessary. Really.

Lots of yardage of Tot Town by Michael Miller for Jaxon's big boy room

Yardage of Chic or Treat from Moda (at half off!!) to finish...

...this! Yes, I am still working on Halloween.

And I forgot to take a picture of the Christmas fabric my sister brought with her for her visit. I need to get started on my Christmas projects, and Pattyfair, but first:

My Halloween runner is finally in use...but now it's a Thanksgiving runner! Unfortunately you can't see my favorite part -- rick rack trim!

And in between all the crafting and grading (one week of classes left!!) we've been auditioning hairstyles for Jaxon:

No more Jackson 5, now it's Jaxon 6!

Look.

Look what I did:



Look what WE did:

From CNN.com

Over and Done.

Halloween is over, and my tenure case is done. Here's a photo recap:

Friday morning, Jax comes to work with me to trick-or-treat with my colleagues. He refuses to wear the costume (even through he wore it at home all week).

This is the face of an unhappy Danish viking.

I took Jaxon to his school, and came back to finish up my tenure case. Here it is the moment I turned it in to our director.

Excuse the glare, my transparency film overlays look great in person but not with a flash.

Then it was back to get Jaxon and up to the big city for trick or treat.

Finally, he puts on the costume. White fleece appliqued onto a red sweatshirt, no sew fleece cloak (fur trim is glued on), and a purchased "helmet." Charlie and I bought the shield at the Viking Museum.

Some of the houses were overly decorated for the holiday.

Jaxon clings to daddy while we walk in front of the house with scary music and a smoke machine.

And then a late drive home to find this waiting in the mailbox:

Quarter yards of Sweetpeas on White and Park Slope Pebbles in fuchsia, and one yard each of Lightning Bugs Dog Park and Super Dots, and Alexander Henry's Leap Frog all from Sew, Mama, Sew!

Home.

We've returned from our grand tour of Copenhagen, and it is good to be home. We had a good trip, and my conference presentation went well.

Here are some highlights:

Nyhavn
The Viking Museum on Roskilde Fjord
The famous Little Mermaid Statue (with me!)

And now that we are home I must concentrate on my tenure document. But first, some apple crisp.


This recipe is from Pampered Chef. They call it Quick Apple Crisp. The only thing that makes it quick for me is this.

5 Granny Smith apples
1 package (9 ounces) yellow cake mix (I use Jiffy, but if you buy a regular size box you can make this recipe twice!)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use peanuts because they are they only nuts Charlie will eat.)
Vanilla ice cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Peel, core and slice apples. Place apples in pie plate or casserole.
2. Combine cake mix, sugar, cinnamon, butter and nuts. Mix until crumbly. Sprinkle mixture evenly over apples.
3. Bake 35-40 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm with ice cream.

Yummy!

Fall is Here

There's a chill in the air and I have the desire to listen to Christmas music...must mean fall is here!

I found a tutorial for making fabric pumpkins and thought how nice a black and white pumpkin would look in my dining room. The tutorial was super easy so I made two:


And Jaxon approved (I want pa-kin)...


The countdown has officially begun for our trip to Copenhagen. We leave a week from Monday and I am starting to get nervous about having my conference presentation ready to go -- and traveling farther than I ever have.

Anyone have any suggestions of things to do in Copenhagen? We have a list of things we would like to see (Tivoli, Stroget, Danish Design Center), but any suggestions or helpful hints would be greatly appreciated!

A good night

Popcorn, quilting, and Presidential Debates....


...I Promise to wash my hands in between the popcorn and the quilting.

My little super model

Today I photographed three blankets to post in my Etsy Shop. Jaxon HAD to be in the pictures. How could I say no to such a great model??

After this he said, "Mommy, I want hugs." *sigh*

I haven't been great about Quilt Month, but this is back to school time and I've been busily preparing my classes. I have found time to work on my Halloween quilt, though.

Here are how my blocks looked last night:



And here they are this afternoon:

From the pattern Diamond Jubilee by Pieces from my Heart

Please stop by Sew, Mama, Sew! today and see my tutorial for making an upholstered headboard. I love making these. In fact, all our beds have them, so I had to ask mom to let me make one for her for the tutorial!

Our Hawaiian/Tiki–themed guest room has a headboard upholstered in bamboo embossed felt.

The headboard in our bedroom is topped with a clearanced blanket from Target.

Thanks, mom, for letting me do the headboard, and thanks to Charlie for being my lovely assistant.
I upholstered my parents' headboard using a store–bought whole–cloth quilt.

And finally, another snap of my little model. I hope all of our southern neighbors are recovering from hurricane weather!

A little more quilting

I worked a bit more with my perle cotton. I finished the panel, and I have started the blocks (it looks much better with the basting ripped out, right??). Here's a quick shot of the panel, you may have to click on the picture to really see what I've done. Excuse the wrinkles, I've been toting it around with me.


The next couple of pictures are a bit blown out -- they were taken with my iPhone with a very bright window beside us.

School starts tomorrow so we had a little end of the summer celebration at my favorite Sushi restaurant. Yes, my dad and Jaxon are sharing the pizza that's in the background there.


The owner and waitstaff always remember us, and our server made Jaxon "training" chopsticks. He enjoyed eating his pizza with them. We did have one strange moment though. Jaxon is really coming along with his vocabulary and we know what he is attempting to say about 85% of the time, but he has started saying what sounds like "f**ky." We can't figure this out. When he says it we start pointing to things to try to interpret "f**ky," but we have yet to discover it. Tonight at dinner he started saying it. My dad asked Jaxon if he was going to eat his cheese. Jaxon responded with what sounded almost exactly like "f**k you."

We all knew that he was just forming sounds -- he has never heard that phrase and wouldn't understand how to use it if he had, but it still takes you by surprise when a two year old yells "f**k you!" And it's really hard not to laugh. I worked a bit trying to figure it out tonight and I think f**ky" might be monkey. We'll keep working on that.


I made a couple of back to school resolutions this year. (1) I am going to attempt to choose my outfits for the entire week Sunday night so I don't stand in my closet every morning wondering what to wear, and (2) I am going to pack our lunches the night before so I am less tempted to eat out (yeah, right) and I don't rush around every morning making Jaxon's.

We'll see how long this lasts!