Destash Sale

Hi everyone,  I know I haven't been around lately.  Please forgive me.

Just thought I'd let you know I've listed a bunch of fabrics I decided to destash.  

Check it out by clicking here.

Hi There!

I haven't been sewing much, hence the quiet activity lately.  Jack has started Kindergarten and I still haven't owned my days.  Funny how that works.  All summer long I was planning and sketching all sorts of fun for the time I'd be gaining once he started school.  Truth is I don't know where the time goes, but before I know it, a week has gone by and I haven't touched any of my precious fabrics.  

However,  this week my Women's Bible Study homework drew me out of hibernation.  

It's about to get real here!  

We were asked to make a mosaic with any material to express the beauty God sees in us.  Its kind of a tricky thing to try to see yourself as God sees you.  So forgetting that part, (I'm a rebel) I just dove into making an art quilt for the first time.  I've never really ventured away from patterns and traditional blocks before so it truly felt organic.  It was quite freeing.  

And so, with my favorite worship music (Gary Rea Worship) on, I allowed the creativity flow.  

This is what happened.   

Worship is a beautiful thing.  So many emotions flow.  So many thoughts.  So much peace.  I thought of the roses in my grandfathers' garden, a place I'd often go to connect with The Creator.  I picked some of my favorite colors for the petals in the rose and I thought of a song from when I first believed.  It goes something like this:

I am my beloved's and He is mine

He brought me to His banqueting table

and His banner over me is Love

(derived from Song of Solomon 6:3 & 2:4)

That was fun!

>>---Lindsay--->

Money Secrets of the Amish :: Book Reveiw

I spent some time in this one.  Even had it stolen a couple times by my husband.  Living on a tight budget is something I'm honestly not good at.  In hopes to find helpful tips, I went straight to the people group I so admire in many ways.    

Amish are great savers, and they are the best at re-use!  You'll find out just how to do so in this book.  

I so recommend this book because it really challenged my habits and darn it, my beliefs.  I say one thing, but totally do another when it comes to money.  Money has owned me, and I like to own it.  Now I believe even on a low income, it is possible to live within our means and yes, even save!

Manage the money you have wisely, and don't spend the money you don't have.

You can purchase this book on Amazon by clicking here.

Enjoy,

Lindsay

Swoon for 10 Years

Later this year we celebrate 10 years of matrimony.  We will be taking a trip back to our honeymoon destination, Hanalei Bay, Kauai.  I can't express my excitement with words!  So I thought a quilt was in order to commemorate our milestone year.  

In the process of making this Swoon Quilt I carefully selected fabrics that I love and thought went well together.  Many many fabrics were auditioned but didn't make the cut.  I wanted to steer away from my first love (reproduction prints) to what I've matured into loving (modern, bold, & bohemian prints).  I ended up with a mixture. 

Although the swoon block is very traditional, which doesn't suit the theme of our home much; I feel the prints that won my heart over give it the modern-ness we both love.  If I could go back to the beginning I think I would still use the traditional swoon block, but in a more modern approach, like maybe only a few down one side of the quilt, kind of the way Denyse Schmidt does it in her quilt pattern Point Me.  

Mostly I love this quilt in parts, like each individual block, binding/backing fabric which is Drop Cloth by Jay McCarroll, and the hand stitches.

I hand quilted it, which felt like it took forever.  I knew in the end I'd love the effect, which I do.  As you can see it isn't perfect.  One thing that bugged me at first was the subtle difference in whites.  The saching was a second order of Kona Cotton in Snow.  Now I don't mind it so much.  I actually like it!

The size fits perfectly with our bed frame, which is incredibly hard to tuck anything into, even a sheet, but covers us perfectly.  

To sum up my fabrics I used prints from Denyse Schmidt, Jay McCarroll, Anna Maria Horner, Juliana Horner, Joel Dewberry Martha Negley , Pat Bravo , Carrie Bloomston, Heather Bailey and Amy Butler.  Solids were Kona Cotton in Snow, and Aqua.

This corner is the first I see when I walk in the room.  It's my favorite!

>>---Lindsay--->

Earlier posts on this quilt: Swoon Blocks, Just Swooning Along, Lately

Spring Break

A couple weeks ago for Spring Break we ventured down to Baja California for 4 days.  It was epic weather, relaxing, and family bonding.  Here are a few pictures of just that.

Outdoor fun in Papa's boat. 

Picnic in the dunes, round about where we got engaged 11 years ago. 

Natural artist like his parents, painting clam shells from the beach.  

Have fun, but please return to me safely!

This last photo is me soaking in the sunset over the water from the living room while enjoying some cross-stitch, wine and a drift wood fire.  Ahh, if only I was there now.

Lindsay

Liberated Star Quilt

My MIL (Mother in Law) has plans to remodel her guest room.  So we landed on a design which wasn't too hard.  I knew she loved modern design and so I tried not to show her too many options.  She instantly fell in love with this one by Red Pepper Quilts.

 Liberated Star Quilt by Red Pepper Quilts

My chosen fabric stash for this one so far has many of the same prints form the Collage line by Carrie Bloomston of Such Designs for Windham Fabrics plus a bunch more purples and aquas, which will be the main colors of the room.  We found a few more low volumes we like and are trying to keep the use of red & yellow to a minimum so that they don't get too loud in the overall quilt.

Here are a couple of my blocks.  So far she likes it.  I'm trying my best to minimize waste with this liberated quilt block.  It's a bit tricky, but after doing much math and some test blocks, I think I've got it down.  

This will be a queen size quilt and so I've calculated out larger blocks (12" finished) to help reduce cutting.  There will be a total of 56 blocks.  I've only got 52 to go!

Lindsay

Before & After

Just in time for Easter, I refinished and painted this cute little children's table and chair set.  I barely remembered to snap a before shot.  Here it is with a little bit of sanding already done.

 And here is the lovely new to me set.  I'm in love! 

 I used the same cherry gel stain from refinishing the Lane tables a couple years ago.  And the paint I used was a spray paint + primer by Valspar in Dune.  I was the perfect creamy white.

Just as we all do, this table was destined for new life!   Amen!

Lindsay