scrappy trip around the world

I drank the kool aid folks.  There was this amazing surge of awesomeness happening on Instagram a couple of weeks ago.  Lots of little scrappy blocks turning into beautiful quilt tops in what seemed like seconds!

It is basically a trip around the world quilt made with 2.5" squares!  It's strip pieced with a twist to make it so easy!! Go see the tutorial at Quiltville, I'm not going to explain it all again, but I'll show you some pictures of what I've been up to!  You can also see many more by searching #scrappytripalong on Instagram or Twitter.

Remember when the lovely Fat Quarter Shop asked me to curate a fat quarter bundle for them?  I decided this bundle would be the perfect start for this quilt.  Although, to make a large lap quilt it's not quite enough fabric!  So I went to my LQS and picked up some red Riley Blake mini chevrons and dots!

I needed to keep all of these strips organized since I was not doing a true scrappy look. So I pulled out my clothes drying rack and hung them all right there next to my sewing machine! Perfect!

 

I chain pieced strips together in sets of two and then again into sets of four.  And they went together really quickly!

After sewing these sets into tubes (the tutorial explains this and it make more sense once you see it) I cut them across the seams into strips of little blocks! yippee!

Once you get the strips organized and sewn back together you get something like this:

And I have all of these small 2.5" strips left over that I am going to be able to use for a baby quilt.  I'm excited about that too.  I just love these fabrics so much.  And the colors!! They make me happy.

This may be the Chinese year of the rat snake - but for me? It's the year of the quilt. I've got plans to finish up some UFOs!!

pop up sew & tell v1.1: i have actually been sewing

I've decided I'm going to sew & tell in a pop quiz sort of way!  If I blog on a Friday, I'll put up a linky so you can share some of your finishes too!

I actually have gotten a lot of projects completed in the last several months.  For some reason or another I just haven't been motivated to blog about them.  In all honesty, Instagram has replaced blogging for me quite a bit.  It's so easy and fast to snap a picture of a WIP, get a quick opinion on fabric choices, or just a quick sew and tell share!

I do like the format of blogging and the friendships I have here.  I'm going to make a more concerted effort to get blog posts up.  They might be short, but hopefully they'll be interesting!

I wanted to share a dress I made for sisterlouwho.  I finished it back in November, but it's been a little busy around here the last few months!

I bought this fabric (A 3 Sisters print by Moda) over 4 years ago mostly because it was on sale.  It's pretty - I love a classic Jacobean Paisley floral, but it's not really my normal color palette.  I had initially intended it for a bag - but then it just sat unused in my closet.  I had the inspiration to use it for a dress a couple of months ago!

I've used a similar pattern to make her some dresses when she was more toddler sized, and was happy to find a girl's sized pattern that was similar.  But of course I had to tweak it.  Partly because I didn't have the right amounts of fabric and partly because I like to complicate things all the time. :)

I lengthened the middle panel to make the bottom more of a ruffle and less of a skirt.  If that makes any sense at all.  I also lengthened the sleeves and used elastic thread for the shirring instead of a casing and elastic.  I like how it creates a little ruffle.

Of course it has to pass the twirl-a-bility test.  I think it did!

I'm really happy with it and so is she!  I will be making more of these soon.  So easy and fast!

Have you been sewing anything fun lately?  I would love to see!

Linky Rules.  Please follow along for a fun party!

1. Please be courteous when linking up.  This is a forum for sharing, motivating and making friends - not self promotion :0) (i.e. Tutorials or links to shops/sales/etc.)

2. One linky per person.

3. Link to your specific post.  (See here for permalink instructions - or email me.)

4. Link back here with a link or a button (HTML on my sidebar).

5. Be sure to visit and leave comments on other's posts!

Please put your (blog)name instead of your project name, it helps us get to know each other better!

I had another birthday.

Fabulous chocolate waffle cookies, awesome birthday candles, tulle puffs, amazing lemon cupcakes!

So I turned 40 a couple of weeks ago. There was a fun little party with all of my favorite foods and lots of my favorite people! It's weird to turn 40, mostly because when you're really young, that sounds REALLY old. But once you're here it's more like, where did the last 20 years go?? I don't feel like I thought 40 would feel! But it's good. I like my 40 better than I thought 40 would be. :)

Things I've learned/I'm not afraid to admit now that I'm 40:
I've realized I can't do everything I think I should be doing, and that's okay.
*on a related note - having a clean house is great, but not always possible (without paid help).
I'm addicted to making friends.
I like Sci-Fi and Westerns.
I'm more of a garment sewer than a quilter - mostly because I like a quick finish!
Having a 2 year old is a good disguise for being 40.
I love a good burger.
Most of my days are fueled by diet Dr. Pepper.
Doing something is better than doing nothing.

So, my birthday present was our trip! And a post-deployment break for the two of us.  It was convenient that it timed well with my 40th and my BIL and SIL's 5th anniversary (we went with them).  I have been supremely spoiled by mrlouwho and it was a great way to start out this new decade!  Here's to being on the young end of something again!

oh and PS - I got an amazing present from a truly thoughtful friend.  We don't live near an IKEA and she picked one of these up for me last time she went! Now I can be part of the cool club!

Happy New Year!

So I went on a little trip last week and this beautiful beach was one of our stops! I've decided that a warm weather location is the best place to be in January post-holiday! Helps postpone the holiday blues a bit and this year it definitely took the sting out of celebrating my 40th birthday! Looking forward to a new year, and maybe, just maybe, getting back onto this blogging train!

Do you want to hear about our post deployment/birthday trip? Or would it just be annoying?