Ahoy There, Matey

I have a son, my Adam, who once believed, with all his heart and soul, that he was a pirate. He dressed as a pirate every Halloween, and lived and breathed everything pirate all year round. Here's my sweet Adam in his pirate apron (before he was over 6' tall!) and his pirate quilt, which has a treasure map on the backside, and one of the many years he was a pirate for Halloween.

While he has outgrown his belief that he was an honest-to-goodness pirate, Adam learned to sail, like his siblings, and stays on the water with his BSA Sea Scout ship (like boy scouts, but co-ed and focused on nautical stuff) - deep down I do believe he's part pirate.

Aw, now that I've taken that little trip down memory lane here's a more current picture of Adam, taken at his high school graduation. He's now in college - those pirate days seem so far away ... I sure do miss them.

This quilt reminds me so much of my little pirate, with it's sea-worthy and nautical prints. The pirate prints in this are just fun and fantastic and are complemented by fish and whales and waves and all sorts of other tomfoolery.

The sailboats (or are they pirate ships?) were so fun to make, once I figured out the math. They each measure about 6" tall and are outlined with gray thread.

The backside is a grayish blue anchor print and the binding is a white with black stripes print from Ikea.

The quilt is available in the Jude Harbor shop.

Sea Star Camera Strap

I just relisted this camera strap with it's stars and arrows in the Jude Harbor shop.

It joins the 15 other camera strap styles available there - some more feminine, some more masculine, some just plain fun.

I'm hoping to play with some of the new fabrics I've been "investing in" (I wish!) lately and add a few more straps in the next few weeks. Gotta put this fabric to use so I can add more. :)

Always something going on ...

A few WIP's ...

This quilt top came to be because of the pretty pink and white Red Robinhood prints. They're so sweet ... I can't wait to get the quilt done and get better, more detailed pictures. More of the white print should arrive tomorrow or the next day and she'll get her back. No idea how she'll be quilted yet, suggestions much appreciated. :)

This bunch of fabrics became a quilt top this weekend, with the focus on the two fishy prints. I really thought a backing fabric for this one would be a piece of cake. Who knew that girly fish prints are not that common? Not me, it appears.

In the end I opted for a soft, yummy pink flannel. The goal is to have the binding hand-stitched by the end of this week.

That top multi-colored fish print is just awesome, I can't wait to try it with a few other color combinations (like pink and orange!).

And speaking of works in progress ... Just kidding. Here's River after the grandson did his hair (with a whole lot of hair gel).

And one where he did his own hair. After a few unfortunate very short haircuts that River wasn't crazy about he's growing it a bit longer, not crazy long but long enough to hang the way he wants it to.

Take care and have a wonderful week!

My Stars!

I'm loving this tie. Such a great way to show pride for the old USA or to just say "Hey, I'm a star and don't you forget it". Either way ... I love it.

The tie is available in the shop for both men and boys, and shipping is FREE, free, free.

And just because, here are a few pictures of my grandson's tattoo (and him, but he asked me to take pictures of his tattoo ... ). He's two and amazing, and a regular student at my daycare, so I get to see him most every day (lucky me!).

I Heart You

I am so so glad I decided to start making quilts again. I mean, not the best decision financially for sure, but I'm having so much fun. I'd forgotten how much of a joy it is to put fabrics together, come up with a design, and sew away. And I'm really cherishing that "must stay in one place, can't get up and do 5000 things" reality of hand-binding a quilt. So, yeah, there are more quilts.

Totally off subject, but the other new thing around here is a panini press. Not sure what took so long but that thing is a treat. I'm loving the endless options and the simplicity of it, and all these ridiculously picky children of mine can be fed happily. I've gotten hooked on sandwiches with apples in them ... what are your favorite panini sandwiches?

But back to quilts ...

This hearty little scrapy quilt was inspired by, of course, Valentine's Day. 

The little postage stamp squares are each just a hair over 1" in size. I had so much fun sorting through my stash to find the reds and pinks ... it was like a sweet little walk down memory lane.

The quilt measures 42" square, perfect for to be hung on a nursery wall or to use on a toddler bed.

The backside is a simple pink and white dot print and the binding is a white and red floral.

The quilt is available in the shop here.

Most of these pictures were taken at our local boy scout camp on Sunday morning, after a crazy weekend (least cooperative weather!) when the camp was filled with about 400 campers. The campers cleared out pretty early and we were left with the place almost to ourselves. It was so tranquil and quiet and the weather was perfect, I could have stayed all day.

My partner in crime (and quilt holder), however, was hungry, so heading home was necessary. Until next time ...

Pink and Gold Wonderfulness

After the delightful elephant quilt this happened. While at the fabric store, that I went to after buying the fabric I needed at another store ... I just wanted to stop by this one to "browse" (ha!!), I fell in love with a few fabrics. I headed home and let thoughts of them roll around in my head for a few days ... and then went back and bought them. All.

And that led to this yummy quilt. I'm crazy about the dark pink and gold together. So modern, but still feminine and girly. Swoon ...

The quilt is crafted from a bunch of triangles pieced together to form a chevron pattern. Each zig-zag is set off by white Kona cotton and quilted with pink and white stitching along the seam lines.

What color combinations are your favorite today? Any new unexpected loves?

The quilt is available in the Jude Harbor shop.

The One Where She Made a Quilt

Last weekend I got bit by the quilt making bug. Out of nowhere I wanted to make a quilt. Not just any quilt - an elephant quilt. Specifically, an elephant holding a balloon quilt, with lots of white space around the elephant and the balloon.

I dug into my scrap bins and found all the blues and greens I could and the elephant was born. He's made of patchwork squares and then appliqued onto the white background. After putting the front, back, and batting together I stitched his balloon for him (he was very happy about this) and added some more detail to him.

The white portions of the quilt are machine tacked so the focus is on Mr. Elephant, not the stitching.

The binding - it's been so long since I made a quilt I had to google the width of the binding - is a gentle blue dot print. The back of the quilt is a yummy gray and white chevron print.

He's a very happy elephant, and ready for a new home and can be found in the Jude Harbor shop here. I'm super tempted to keep him and have a wall in the daycare that'd be perfect for him, but I've already got another quilt idea in mind for that wall.

And let me just say that fabric stores are dangerous! I went to three and am now stocked up on fabric and ideas. Be warned, there are more quilts to come.