California Recap

I'm back!  After a week in the gorgeous California winter (seriously?!  It was 21 degrees Celsius every day!) it was tough to head out into the Canadian winter this morning.  But so nice to snuggle with my baby girls :) Since Jeremy and I were in Califoria in October, this wasn't a sight seeing trip for me.  I really just wanted to hang out with my bestie and snuggle her baby.  So I spent a lot of time doing this...

Pardon the blurriness, facebook picture

But I definitely was out and a bout pretty much daily.  I went to Ikea for the first time ever!  I wanted to buy some Britten for quilt backings and  I grabbed one other pattern as well.  I've seen this used all over the internet so I assume it works well.  But I'll admit I was surprised at the thinness of it.  Have any of you used Ikea fabric for quilt backs?  Did you prewash?  How does it quilt?

Just before I left, I learned that Josh from Molli Sparkles  was going to be at Intrepid Thread, just 30 minutes from where I was staying.  You know that had to happen :)  It was a great visit and I was thrilled that Anne from Play Crafts was there as well.  I pretty much knew before I got there that I would be breaking my fabric fast.  It is so rare that I get the opportunity to see and touch fabric before I buy, I just had to take advantage.  And I did :)

I got some Rapture, Meadow, and some purples for my stash (seriously lacking).  I was back and forth on Hello Petal but I resisted fat quarters and grabbed a charm pack.  Also, a charm pack of Color Me Happy.

I also picked up Alison Glass' Feathers pattern (guess that means I will be paper piecing again LOL) and A Month of Sundays at Intrepid Thread.  I've been hunting for this book locally for several months.  I love wandering bookstores so we took a trip to Barnes and Nobles.  You can imagine my excitement when I found two back issues of Love Patchwork and Quilting.  When Vintage Quilt Revival hit the internet I was unsure if it was a book that would fit with my style.  But the more I saw people making blocks and quilts from it, the more it felt right.  Seeing it in person cinched the deal and I found room in my suitcase for it :)

So not the greatest Fabricfast update but I'm ok with what I purchased and should probably be good at least until July :)  Linking up with RebeccaLynne

Sunday Stash: Instagram Edition

I've a relatively new user of Instagram (username: ellascottage) but quickly got the hang of it and it's probably my favorite form of online networking.  There is just soooo much awesome inspiration on there, it moves quickly and there is a surprising amount of communication.  Plus, that's where most people do their destashing!  This lovely pink bundle came from @rsbooth.  The top fabric is what sold me on the purchase since there is enough for a baby quilt back!  The selvedge says Dab of Jazz by Maywood Studio.  Bottom left is Object of Desire by Sandy Gervais and bottom right is Robert Kauffman All My Heart.

Are you on IG?  Let me know in the comments and I'll check you out :)

Linking up with Molli for Sunday Stash.

Friday Finish: Audrey Grey

Baby Audrey Grey is here and I am snuggling her while you are reading this :)  And happily I finished her quilt before catching my flight!.

The fabrics are a combination of Marie Antoinette by Northcott and the Watermelon colorway of Minimalista by Art Gallery.  I love how they play together but I did leave out a few of the Minimalista fabrics that were especially bold in contrast.  The honeycombs were cut with the template that comes with the precuts from Moda.  The cutting was a bit frustrating and as a result my shapes are not perfect.  I used this tutorial by Kati at From the Blue Chair.  The assembly went extremely well with only a few puckers which I think I could avoid on a second try.

I gathered up all of the remaining fabric when I finished the front and started to piece together a backing. It's not my favorite thing to do (piecing backings) but I do like this one and think it could work well on its own if she wants to reverse it.

I didn't want a scrappy binding so it was Minimalista Prisma since that was the only fabric I had enough yardage of :)

I quilted with a light grey thread in a floral pattern.  I love the texture this quilting pattern gives.  The quilt finishes at approximately 36" square.  A little on the small side but I was nervous about how long those hexagons would take to piece.  All of the photos in this post are taken post washing.  So crinkly and awesome!

Linking up with Amanda Jean for Friday Finish!

WIP Wednesday: Stitching

As you read this, I am in California soaking up baby snuggles and catching up with two dear friends who have moved there over the past 6 months.  Which also means I am not sewing anything this week!  I am not without a WIP though.  I packed up my Once Upon a Time Sampler from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery and hope to catch up during the looooong flight.

When last year's Woodland Sampler started popping up in my IG feed, I was intrigued.  I hadn't done any cross stitching since I was a young teen.  But I remembered enjoying it quite a bit.  So I poked around and ordered a Winter sampler.  From the first stitch, I was hooked!

Just look at that adorable castle!

Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced!

Tuesday Tidy: Routine

I haven't written a Tuesday Tidy post in a few weeks.  Mostly because there haven't been any major areas cleaned out.  No large trips to Goodwill.  Instead we have slowly been building daily/weekly cleaning into our regular routine.  I know that many people just do this. I grew up with a Mother who did :)  But that innate cleanliness did not get passed on to me (or my baby sister.  Middle sister got all of our share LOL).

We have been working with the girls to get in the routine of picking up the living room after dinner.  And with ourselves to tidy the kitchen each evening.  I've started making the bed every morning again.  On the weekend, I spend a few hours dusting/sweeping/mopping and helping the girls do a major tidy of their rooms.  In the first few weeks that was all I could get done in the time allotted.  But last weekend I was able to clean out a drawer in the kitchen. And this weekend the spice cupboard was sorted and wiped down.

The bed is made.  On a weekend day.  That blue blanket is to keep the cat from scratching the footboard :(

Along the way, there has been some decluttering.  When Ella couldn't close her drawers after putting away her laundry, I had her pull out some pieces she didn't wear any more.  I'm also having her choose one item per week to sell/donate/toss.  This might not be able to go on forever but given the amount we are starting with and a birthday in March, I would guess we could easily go until summer arrives.

There are no dirty clothes on the bathroom floor, and no toothpaste in the sink!

Slowly but surely we are creating a peaceful home.  One we aren't embarrassed to open the door on when a friend visits spur of the moment.  But more importantly, one we are happy to just "be" in.

Sunday Stash: The Kindness of Friends

I have a friend who dabbles in sewing here and there.  Knitting and drawing are her main crafty hobbies but every so often she gets the urge to sew something and buys fabric for that project.  A few months ago, she was decluttering her craft closet and decided she didn't need to keep all of the leftovers from her projects and she called me to see if I wanted to take a peek before it went to Goodwill.  Ummmm, that would be a yes!

Yummy black and white prints that have already been put to good use in my Tula Pink City Sampler. There was also a small pile of Joel Dewberry scraps.  None of these black and white prints had selvedges so if you know what they are, let me know and I will update the info!

Linking up with Molli for Sunday Stash

Tula Pink Update

I've lost my Tula Pink City Blocks challenge partner but for an absolutely proper reason (anyone else want to join me?).  And I also came up with a new method for making these blocks a lot easier for ME to complete.  The longest and most tedious part of this quilt is all of the cutting of those teeny tiny pieces.  Seriously, there are a large percentage measuring 1"!  In January, I cut all of the blocks and then pieced all of the blocks in a two day period.  I didn't want to work on anything else because I feared losing one (or more) pieces.  When I originally started working on this project in the summer my plan was a block per day.  But it was a lot of work and mess to pull out my fabrics, cut and piece for one block.

And then the light bulb came on!  I would cut all of the blocks and package them in little baggies.  Then whenever the urge struck I could grab my book and baggies and get sewing.  So instead of making much progress on piecing this month, I have been cutting away.  Once they are cut, I might go back to a block per day.  Or perhaps one marathon session per month.  Or inspirations might really strike and see me piecing them all in a week long caffeine fuelled frenzy LOL.