Daydream

The only goal for most people in doing anything is to find more time to spend doing things that make them happy. Quilters neeeeeeed more time to quilt. There will never be enough hours in the day or years in a life for most of us fabric addicts. Maybe some people have their addictions under control. 

I do not. 

I like diet coke. 

And fabric. 

And apparently books and gardening and volleyball and piano and kids. 

Oh and science. ANYTHING nerdy and genetics/physics/chemistry related totally gets me going. 

I fully admit it. I'm an addict of MANY things. 

But if I could combine enough of them together and multitask my enjoyment I could create the most productive and efficient enjoyment machine for my life. I could sit in a garden drawing molecular models in my quilt designs sipping diet coke watching volleyball on television (no volume) while the children frolic through the plants nibbling berries and licking popsicles to classical music. It'd be awesome. And then maybe I could find time for the mundane cleaning and laundry type activities that seem to fill up entirely too much of my life at present. Hello sippee cups. And trips to the potty (Potty-training twins is a blast... said no one ever.). And endless dishes full of food that wasn't even touched. (No wonder my parents just took us to McDonald's.)

But constantly trying to whittle a little time from each of the necessary activities of life to make a little time for a hobby has kind of turned into a game. For instance, if I can get these dishes done while making dinner, flipping a load of laundry, and helping a kid get their homework done, I can free up at least 30-60 min that night for something else. If I do them sequentially I won't even finish today. One day when the kids are all grown I will probably find myself multitasking my hobbies. And then I'll miss the sippee cups and everything else. :)

So I'm sure a few loads of laundry and dishes have had to sit a few extra hours so that I would even have quilts to share on my blog. 

How do you find time for quilting? 

This little baby quilt is in Kate Spain's Daydream fabric line for Moda. 

I quilted a different texture pattern in each of the continuous negative space sections. Quilting multiple designs in a single quilt is so much more entertaining. I highly recommend you try it. You could get a new addiction! 

It could really use a name. I was thinking something along the lines of "party streamers." Any thoughts?

It measures 32" x 36" and is in the shop. 

Mama Said Sew

I feel like each quilt takes longer... and longer... and longer to finish these days.

But at least they do eventually find their way to the finish line. 

Today I get to share my fabric expedition in "Mama Said Sew" (Sweetwater for Moda).

I may or may not have needed to stitch that many lines in the quilting... ;)

My helper was a little bit small today.

At least she was enthusiastic about it.

I had to have the zigzag binding.

And one more picture... for good measure.

In the shop.

Something for a Saturday

Had to sew something today while I wait IMpatiently for my "Joy" fabric to arrive. 

I guess I could have taken a photo of it in progress, but that just ruins the surprise for you.

I'm not much of a secret keeper.

More of a bean spiller.

So I'll tell you it's a granny square pattern. 

Oh I so love those.

I had no idea they would be so fun to make.

Sew... back to the sewing of the day.

Decided to do this little project I've been leaving undone now for, well, 2.5 years? 3.5 years? 

Oh, I can't remember. 

It's the second half of a charm pack of Peace on Earth by 3 Sisters for Moda. 

This fabric line was an early love of mine for its Christmas but not-too-Christmas-to-be-left-out-all-year prints.

  

The backing and binding are the same red tone-on-tone floral.

Simple echo quilting straight down the runner.

This one is long and skinny. 

In the shop.

Jackpot

So now for what happened on Thursday...

I went into my very tiny (but very awesome) LQS to buy a binding for the little applique runner I just posted and there was an older man in the back talking to the owner.

Turns out he's "Jim the Moda Rep."

He was really friendly and as I was talking to him I saw fabric sample packs in a suitcase by him and asked if it was Ruby.

It was.

Then I said, "I'll bet you have some Terrain in there..."

He said he did and asked how I knew about the coming lines.

I told him I was an addict.

He smiled and said,"Just wait right here. I'm going to get something for you."

He came back with THIS!

Made my day.
And that's hard to do when you had oral surgery the day before and you are dragging two small kiddos to the quilt shop.

I LOVE orange.

And Kate Spain makes it even more beautiful with the other perfect shades - especially this particularly cool blue and purple mix that I can't even find a name for... maybe I need to work on my color vocabulary.

All yummy.