I am so SAD!

I have been on a laundry kick lately. No, not actually putting the laundry away, just washing it. (I'm working on the other part today). Well yesterday I decided to wash our comforter. It hasn't been washed for a while, and it needed it.

Now, this comforter is our FAVORITE comforter. We waited a whole year, saving up our money, so we could purchase it. It is the Nautica colorblock. It has navy blue, orange, tan and khaki green stripes. It is beautiful, and we love it. We have had it for almost 2 years now.

Well, I put it in the washing machine. I put in the detergent. I started the washing machine. An hour later, I went to pull it out and put it in the dryer. As I was pulling it out, I noticed what looked like detergent still on it. I called Mike down (Mike was working from home). As I continued to pull it out, I noticed what looked like a tear.

Later, when I pulled the comforter out of the dryer (after washing it twice to get all the detergent out, and drying it for 3- 60 minute cylces) I noticed that the detergent has totally ruined the fabric! What the heck?!

There are spots like this all over my beautiful comforter. And, the padding inside has all been separated and bunched up in places. It's totally ruined, and I am totally sad! :( Mike says there's no use in getting upset because stuff happens, but seriously, after 2 years?! It's not fair!!

Good News!

So we got a call today from the lady who owns the apartment we wanted. Our credit check came back green, so we get the apartment! YAY!! She will be drawing up the rental agreement papers, and then let us know when we get to move in! We are so excited! HOORAY!!

I am thankful for . . .

I am thankful for good neighbors.
I am thankful that there is no more snow melting on my roof.
I am thankful that my baby finally went to sleep.
I am thankful for TiVo.
I am thankful for wet/dry shop vac.
I am thankful for the Bissel Pro Heat 2x and it's water suction power.
I am thankful for fans.
I am thankful that it has stopped raining.
I am thankful that the dog isn't sick anymore.
I am thankful that Mike is coming home tomorrow.

P.S. - Lola, thank you for lending Lego Hair Man tonight. I owe you guys A LOT of cookies! :)

Tag!

So I usually don't participate in these kinds of things, but I felt so honored that Nanette from Freda's Hive tagged me. I read her blog daily, and she does the cutest quilts. I hope that when I grow up I can be like her (with a little of crazy Grand Aunt Lola mixed in! haha. I can't wait to try the whole pink hair thing). That said, I figured "What the heck?!" Here's how to play:

How to play the game . ..

1. When tagged, place the name of the person and URL on your blog
2. Post the rules on your blog
3. Write 7 things about yourself
4. Name 7 of your favourite weblogs
5. Send an e-mail letting those bloggers know they have been tagged

Seven things about me:
(Please note: Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis, or know me personally probably already know these "fun facts". Sorry I'm not more interesting)

1. I am married to the greatest guy in the world. We met at the mall. He sold me a cell phone. I didn't need a cell phone, I already had one. Needless to say, he was a pretty good salesman! haha. We have been married for 3 years this June.

He's going to hate me for putting this pic up because it's kinda cheesy, but I love it!

2. I have the most adorable baby EVER. You may think your kid or grandkid is cute. Well you're WRONG! My baby is the cutest! Just see for yourself! Marshy-marsh is 16 months old, and although he has given us several scares in the past 16 months, he is perfectly healthy now and is unusually active (i.e.: can go all day without a nap and still be perfectly content to play with his toys and his "brother")

Marshy's brother is Sparky, a 3 year old Pomeranian Poodle. We also call him Puppy because it's easier for Marshy to say.

This is Sparky when he was a wittle-puppy. So tiny.

And now he is ginormous! haha, j/k. He only weighs 9 lbs, so he isn't THAT big!

3. I am the oldest of two children. My younger brother (who is turning 21 this year! I feel old) and I don't have many pictures together which is why I have to resort to using old wedding photos! To his credit, he has gotten a lot better looking, thanks to a haircut, and now has black hair, thanks to hair dye.

4. I have recently become an avid fan of sewing, quilting, needle crafts, etc. For proof of this, look at previous blog posts. You'll see how crazy I am! I make baby quilts for anyone I know that has a baby.

5. I tend to make a lot of goals. Whether of not I actually keep them is another story. When it comes to crafts and sewing, I do. Other stuff like, oh, vacuuming, not so much. Thank goodness for the Roomba scheduler! :)

6. I like to be organized. People who have seen my home filing system are now saying "YOU? ORGANIZED?! NEVER!" but it's true. I find that even chaos organized is a form of organization. As long as I know where to find stuff, I'm good. But, re-organize my organized chaos and I'm in a heap of trouble! Can't wait to have my own home office....someday Busty, someday.

7. I've never really liked the nickname Busty LaRue until recently. My mom hates it, maybe that's why! hehe. It all started the summer Mike and I got married. We were up at Deer Valley with the whole fam damily. I remember scrapbooking was involved, because somehow a label got printed and perma-stuck to my phone. Nephew Colton has the phone now, but it only says "LaRue". The "Busty" part has peeled off. :( I'm sure it all started because someone commented on my boobs. Thanks a lot guys! I really appreciate it! hehehehe :)

Seven favorite blogs:

1. Lola . . . again - I absolutely love the fun things you blog about. It's nice to know what you're doing without actually having to walk over to your house! haha, just kidding. You know we love to come visit!

2. Angel - Now that she actually has people blogging for her, her blog is great! Keep up the good work Angel! (Not that your banner wasn't fabulous before you had posts. Sometimes I liked to just go there and look at it for a few minutes) :)

3. Diana - Diana can always provide you with the much needed hilarious stories of her crazy husband's exploits. My favorite is the ripped pants one. I think you'll all enjoy it. Go read it. Yes, now. I said go!

4. Petersons - If you ever want to know what obscure holiday to celebrate, go check out Amber's blog. It's great! But it isn't pink. What's up with that Amber?!

5. Scott Peterson - no, not the killer! This is a great blog, especially if you have an inner nerd....or an outer nerd. It doesn't matter.

6. Amber Pendleton - Amber and I were roommates many years ago...okay, so like 3 1/2 years ago, before we were both married. Good Times! Remember the time we took pictures on campus?! haha that was fun. Anyway, if not for this blog, I wouldn't know what my friend who MOVED AWAY was doing! :)

7. Lynsey - This is a great blog, although I've found that now that she is helping Angel blog, her blog is suffering much like Angel's used to before Lyns started helping. Hmmm.....?

Okay, there's my 7! If you've already been tagged, SORRY, but TOO BAD! hahahahaha Okay now, love ya!! Have fun!

I Love A Rainy Night . . .

OR NOT!!!
I am so mad that it has been raining and snowing ALL DAY! First of all, the DirecTV went out because it was snowing. It was out for four and a half HOURS!! Normally I wouldn't be so mad except that tonight was the conclusion to the A&E version of Pride and Prejudice (only my favorite movie EVER) on PBS, and I don't own it. I have been waiting for 2 weeks to watch the conclusion! AAHHH!!!! By the time the satellite came back on it caught the last 8 minutes. Yeah, that's right. 8 minutes. I already know how it ends. I want to see how they get there. And the third part is the best part, ya know, when all the romantic stuff happens. I looked on the tv schedule to see if they'll be repeating it by chance. Nope. I'm so sad. Now I have to figure out how I can purchase it without Mike getting mad that I spent money, lots of money, on a movie he HATES. Ugh. I hate the rain! It ruins everything! :*(

PROJECT RUNWAY . . . for dogs?

I dreamed last night that I was on Project Runway. But we weren't working on clothes for people. We were working on clothes for pets, especially dogs. And guess what?
I was WINNING!
I know, not the most exciting dream for some people, but I absolutely LOVE Project Runway. Maybe someday. Maybe someday.

Feeling Neglected?

Well I'm sorry that I've neglected all 5 of you readers! If I must be perfectly honest, I have been terribly busy playing catch up with my quilting. Mike's cousin brough a quilt to me about 3 weeks ago to have quilted. I told her it would be a couple of weeks, and I finally have finished it as of Saturday.

Friday, while I was up working on the quilt, I received a phone call from a lady who wanted two curtain panels done. She wasn't sure if she would use me, but ended up bringing them in later Friday afternoon while I was temporarily absent. Then, another lady brought me 5, yes 5!, quilts to do. Holy Crap! 7 in one day?! Plus I have 3 of my own that are ready to be quilted. Two of the three are needed fairly soon, so after I finish the panels I think I'll hurry and throw them on before starting on the stack of 5.

So, hopefully I won't be neglecting you, dear readers, this week. I will do my best to stay on top of things!

Mommy I'm Tired

Today at work Marshy-marsh was so fussy. He kept falling asleep for a second and then sitting up because something (mainly me walking across the room) would wake him up. He finally fell asleep on top of his lovey puppy. I quickly snapped a picture once I realized he was sleeping and then laid him back down in his stroller. Thankfully he didn't wake up!

Things I've Learned From My In-Laws in Africa

I've learned some rather interesting, and helpful, information today. Mike's parents are serving an LDS mission in Africa, and they learned this bit of information and passed it on to us today.

1 - If you have athlete's foot, your urine can help it get better....but it is only your urine, not someone elses.

2 - Urine can also help you if you have a sore throat. Just drink it!

3 - If you have an eye infection, it can also be used to help cure it.

4 - Now you don't have to worry about always having a sterile anti-biotic in your emergency first aid kit. Should an emergency arise, you will always have a supply as long as you have plenty of liquid! haha

Two Quilts Down...

So, I don't know if you'll recall, but I have 3 baby quilts that need to be made. Well, I finished the one for my friend Taylor, and was working on the one for my cousin Jean. I got a little side-tracked though. First there was sick baby. Then there was sick me. Then there was Valentine's week. Then there was Pride and Prejudice on PBS. Then there was sick baby again. I know, lots of things to keep me busy and away from my quilting.

WELL! Tonight Marshy went to bed a little early and I figured, since there was nothing on TV, that I would hurry and finish the quilt top for my cousin's baby quilt. What do you know? It only took me 15 minutes! Now why had I put it off for so long?? I'm sure I could've found 15 minutes to spare somewhere....yeah right!

Anyway, it is done, the back is seamed, and it is ready to go up and be put on the Gammil. Hooray!

I used the 'Lil Dude pattern from one of my issues of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting. The pattern calls for two borders, but I did one like this for Marshy without the borders and it is actually a really nice size, especially if you have to fit it in the diaper bag!

This is a closeup of what the fabrics look like. It is a lot of yellows and pinks, but I think that the greens and purples help make it not too overpowering. The backing fabric is a bright green with circles that vary in color from the green to almost a yellow. Not sure what I'm going to use for binding, but we'll figure that out when we get there!

Best Puppy Friends

For Christmas Marshy-marsh got this gy-normous stuffed puppy dog. Sparky has never really liked it. In fact, he growled at it for the first week, and is usually terrified of it. Now apparently he has decided to become best puppy friends with it! So cute!

UPDATE: Marshy-marsh is doing a lot better after a day of mega-medication and rest. He actually ate some spaghettios tonight before going to bed! YAY!

Oh what a fun night!! . . . NOT!

So this afternoon I went up to my parents house with Marshy-Marsh. He started getting fussy and having a fever, so we went home. When we got home, as I was taking him upstairs to go to bed I noticed that he was kind of limp and his eyes were rolling back into his head! I immediately ran downstairs with him, laid him on the living room floor, and called 9-1-1. About 5 minutes later the policeman showed up, and a few minutes after that the paramedics showed up. They gave Marshy-marsh some oxygen and loaded us up in the ambulance. Yes, that's right. We rode in an ambulance. Marshy-marsh freaked out the whole way.

Fortunately, my dear friend Lola met me at the hospital and was there to help me keep calm....sorta. Needless to say I was somewhat hysterical. She held Marshy while I gave the nurse all of our information and described what happened and what his symptoms have been for the last few days.

Luckily, we had the BEST on-call doctor at Mountain View (so I'm told...but I thought he was really nice). Turns out my dear little angel has a double ear infection which caused the fever which caused the seizure. The doctore prescribed some antibiotics for the ear infection. They kept him there for ovservation for about an hour, and then sent us home.

Thanks Lola for keeping me calm and giving us a ride home!

Here are some pics of our hospital stay:

I {heart} Pride and Prejudice

Oh how I love A&E's version of Pride and Prejudice. So much so that I almost want to run out to Wal-mart as I type and purchase the DVD. I have just finished watching part 2 of a three part series on the PBS Complete Jane Austen. {sigh} How I love Mr. Darcy (played by Colin Firth)!!

The book is pretty good, but the movie is AWESOME!!

We got it! We got it! YAY!!

In an earlier post I mentioned we had fallen in love with an apartment in Provo. Well, on Thursday during a break in the Valentine's Day rush I called the owner to see if she had made a decision. I didn't hear back from her until today. She said that she was willing to rent it to us and that we needed to come up and get the paperwork and pay the deposit to reserve our place. We drove up to Provo, filled out the credit check application and paid the deposit. WE ARE SO EXCITED!! :):):) Hopefully all will go well, and we will be able to move in sometime in the middle of March.

YIPEE!!!

My husband is the best husband ever! Instead of spending $90 on roses for Valentine's Day, he bought me a Roomba!! AND it is the one that you can schedule a time for it to start and it will do it when you want it to! I am so excited. I don't know when it will get here, but I am really excited.

Earlier this week he ordered some over-sized remote controls as a joke. He bought them, as well as the Roomba, off of WOOT. It's a great site, with awesome deals. Especially on days when there are Woot-offs.

Thank Goodness It's Over!!!

Valentine's Day is finally over! Hallelujah!! Of course, no flowers were found in our house.... it's okay, I'd rather have the extra money Mike would have spent on flowers for other things, like: fabric, dinner out, maybe a movie. We'll see. Mike is leaving on Monday for Idaho. At least I had him home this week. We've both been sick, and it's totally sucked. I've been working at least nine hour days these last 2 days, and with the demands of Marshy-Marsh, it's been really nice having someone home to help out. Well I'm off to bed, finally, and I plan on sleeping all day tomorrow....or at least as long as Marshy will let me!

What a Day!

Today was crazy! I finished laying out and piecing Taylor's baby quilt. It turned out so cute, even though I messed up majorly. You're supposed to use 4 blocks as the corner blocks in the border, but they are cut down to 6 1/2 inches square. Well either I can't measure, or I just was totally out of it for a brief moment because I screwed up bad! One block ended up 5 1/2 by 6 1/2 inches, and the other three blocks just looked awful. So, I had to quickly make a change. I substituted some 6 1/2 inch square blocks of the same fabric the binding will be out of. It looks good. I was going to take it up to the shop and put it in my quilting queue, but I don't have enought backing fabric. I'll have to go buy some when I get more money! :)

Shortly after I finished the quilt, my dearest Marshy-Marsh slipped and fell right into the fireplace hearth! It is a brick hearth, and it gashed his little noggin right open! :( Fortunately, it wasn't a very big ouch-y and it coagulated quickly. Marshy cried for a few minutes, mostly out of startlement, and then settled down with his dad in the recliner.

This picture took a lot of patience to get, as Marshy-Marsh loves to look at the camera when it makes the shutter noise. Plus, he loves to smile for the camera, even if he did just hurt his precious little head.

I've been wearing my apron at the floral the last two days, and I have to say it is AWESOME!! I love having a place to keep my order pad, pen, and cell phone. I can't wait to try it out with my quilting too! I'm always losing my measuring tape or my scissors, so it will be nice to have big pockets to hold everything! :)

Holy Crap It's Baby Season!!

Just when I think I'm done with quilts for a while, I get a surprise! Well, not really a surprise, I knew 2 of the babies were coming....I just forgot about them. My friend Taylor's baby isn't due until June. But my cousin Jean is having a baby in like 2 days.

I had started on Taylor's quilt first. Probably not the smartest thing, but that's who I started with. She is having a boy, and as soon as she told me I knew exactly which fabrics I wanted to use! My goal is to make these next few quilts using fabrics from my stash. Hopefully it works out, and all I'll need to buy is a few yards for the backing.

These are the colors I picked for Taylor's little boy. The green and white circle print looks like it's that yucky "puke" green, but it's really a cute bright green, a little lighter than the green with stars. I'm using the Yellow Brick Road pattern for this quilt. The borders are a really cute bright blue, the binding is a bright green, and the backing is going to be a light tan print. So much fun!

This is the tentative layout for Taylor's quilt. I have to rotate a few blocks and switch a couple out for the corner setting blocks in the border. Hopefully I can get this sewn together quickly and get cracking on my cousin's baby quilt!

Jean is having a girl, and I have the cutest prints ever!

A couple summers ago Jo-Anns was having a sale on their Quarter Flats, so I bought a lot. They were way on sale, and I think I spent almost $100 on fat quarters. Needless to say, I have a lot to choose from. I've been slowly using them up this year, but keep finding cuter fabric to buy. I have so much fabric now (probably not as much as others, but to me it is a lot!) that I need to use it before my DH Mike will let me buy more! haha

The funny thing about Jean's quilt is that during December I did a quilt for her sister Beverly, and used the same backing! Wow! Well, I don't know if this green print will be big enough for the quilt, but we'll see. I'm using a pattern out of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting. Their January/February 2005 issue had the cutest pattern called Li'l Dude. They used cowboy fabrics, but I'm going to use cute girly prints!

The third baby I need to make a quilt for is my aunt's Guatemalan baby. She has been trying to adopt him for about a year and a half now, I believe. She went down over the last few weeks to get him, but they were told they have to wait at least 6 more weeks!! Sound familiar, Lola? Apparently it is really hard to get the babies out of the country, and they expect their little one to be almost 2 by the time they get him home.

NOTE: My aunt has 5 grown girls. Her youngest is about a year younger than my brother, so that makes her 19, I believe. She has recently adopted a little girl. Now, my aunt, in addition to having 5 grown girls, is older than my dad, who is in his mid-fifties. Some people call my aunt crazy. I think she is brilliant! She is such a wonderful, intelligent, strong woman, and she has a lot of energy. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and we hope that she can get this little boy as soon as possible!

Anyway, I've decided to do a quilt for her, too, and am probably going to use these cute little boy fabrics:

The quarter flat that looks like it is pink is really red and yellow. My dining room is not the best place to take pictures, but that is where my sewing corner is currently located. Also, the cream is actually a print, with white stars on it:

I have another quilt in the works that has bright green, orange, yellow, blue, and a dark purple in it. The pattern is a basket-weave style and would be really cute. I have to decide whether or not I want to actually do it right now, so we'll see what kind of mood I'm in. Maybe I'll do the hard quilt, maybe I'll do the easy quilt with the cute fat quarters. Who knows?! haha

So much fun fabric! I am so excited to do these quilts! Fortunately, there really is no time constraint on them, so I can take as much or as little time as I please.

Finished Product

So I sewed my little fingers to the bone today. Not really, but I did sew a lot! I finally finished my apron. It didn't take very long, only about a week. Considering all the setbacks I had, that was pretty fast.

When I started working on the apron today, I wasn't very far. I had sewn the front panels to the back panels and that was it. I started pinning on the rick rack around the hemline. Once that was sewn on I pinned on the bias tape binding. The pattern called for 1/4 inch, but after all of the problems I had with the 1/4 inch binding on the pockets and center seams, I decided to use 1/2 inch bias tape instead. It was so much easier!!

Here are the results:

The above 3 pictures are of the finished skirt of the apron. I hadn't added on the waistband or the ties yet.

This is the finished product. I made Mike stop playing his game long enough to take pictures of me modeling my completed project.

I am really proud of myself because I finished it just in time for Valentine's week at the floral! YAY!

Complete Jane Austen Update!

Okay, so I know that I haven't really mentioned a whole lot about The Complete Jane Austen on PBS since Persuasion aired. This is due mostly to the fact that the two following Persuasion were not that great. Northanger Abbey was alright, but my reception of PBS, despite having satellite and a huge Hi-Def tv to watch it on, is downright miserable.

Northanger Abbey was so dark and dismal at times that I couldn't even tell what was going on. Nonetheless, I absolutely loved the heroine and the man she falls in love with.

As for Mansfield Park, it too was just alright. I couldn't get past the whole "I'm in love with my cousin" theme that was going on. That was just weird, even if it was the cool thing back in Jane Austen's time. The other problem I found with Mansfield is that from certain camera angles, the girl who played Fanny looked like she had horse teeth. I hate to be rude, but it was too much. I couldn't take it. I watched Mansfield without actually watching it.

As for Miss Austen Regrets, I haven't watched it yet. I started to, and got about 5 minutes into it when I decided that I wasn't in the mood. I'll try to watch it before this week's installment, but I can't promise anything.

The reason I can't promise anything is because Pride and Prejudice will be playing the next 3 weeks!!! Why am I so excited? Because there never has and never will be a Pride and Prejudice as good as this one!! It is the Colin Firth version (or the 5 hour virign as my friends lovingly call it....they meant version but said virgin instead and it has just stuck as our found nickname for our favorite show). Those of you who say that the new P&P is the bomb, I haven't seen it. I refuse to see it. I don't want anything to ruin my precious Colin Firth version!! Oh how I love Mr. Darcy. Fess up girls! You all love him too!!

ANYWAY - Happy viewing this Sunday! and next Sunday! and the next Sunday after that! I can hardly wait!!! {insert giggling schoolgirl soundclip here}

Please Please Pretty Please With Sugar on Top?!?!

We went and looked at a condo today. The ad made it sound perfect. $795 a month and all we'd have to pay extra was gas and electric. It came with hookups, cable and internet. Plus, it was in a fairly nice area of Provo.

We were extatic.

We emailed the lady.

Got a response back: "I just did this for my daughter. Call her. Here's her number."

Great.

We called.

No answer.

We left a message.

No call back.

We talked it over and decided that we needed to pull out the "We're needy and desperate and we want you to pick us" card.

We called again.

No answer.

We left a message: "Hi, I called yesterday and left a message but I want you to know that we are REALLY interested in your place and would REALLY like to see it. REALLY. PLEASE call me back!"

Not needy at all, right?

She called us back! :)

We went and saw the condo.

We fell in love.

Now all we have to say is: "PLEASE PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP PICK US AND LET US MOVE IN!!! WE LOVE YOUR CONDO!!!"

She wants to sell it, but said she would consider renting it. We want to rent it. We are building a house, why should we buy a condo? We don't need to own a condo?

Do we?

Again: Please please pretty please with sugar on top pick us and let us move in!!! We love your condo!!!

Progress

I'm progressing fairly well on my apron. The pattern is really easy to use, and only has 9 steps. Of course, it doesn't help that I can't read and did step 4 halfway through step 3..... The hardest part about this apron is working with the double fold 1/4 inch bias tape! It never stays where I want it to :( Well, I don't think I'll have it done by Monday, but we'll see. Hopefully it'll be done by Valentine's day! If not, at least I'll have a really cute apron to wear to work anyway! :) More updates to come!

Next Project Please

I fixed the quilt today, and it is finished! I called and RSVP-ed to the baby shower for my friend, and will be giving my work of love away. That is what is so great about quilting. You spend all this time and energy into making this beautiful blanket, and you can't help but love it. I believe that all of that love gets sewn into every seam and every piece of fabric, and that whoever gets the quilt can feel that love everytime they use it.

Well, now that I am done with that project, Heaven forbid that I actually sit still and not do ANYTHING! I ran right out and bought the cutest pattern ever. Yes, it is a Simplicity pattern. How did you know? It couldn't possible be because I absolutely love Simplicity patterns, could it? haha

The pattern I'm using is B - the blue half apron with the rick-rack and binding. I am using the cutest fabric ever! So excited! But! More on that in a minute.

The reason why I had to rush right out and buy the pattern and fabric is because next week is Valentine's Day. Big deal, right? WRONG! I work at a floral. Needless to say, we will be just a little busy next week. My husband bought this really great Plantronics wireless headset for me to use to answer the phones and take orders. This is all well and good, and quite handy, but how in the world can I take orders if I don't have anywhere to put my order pad? I immediately thought that a cute apron would do the trick. Plus, I would look really festive, especially if I used Valentine's Day fabrics.

I went to Jo-Anns, and there was this beautiful Valentine print with GLITTER. Lots of glitter.

You can't really tell on this one, but it has a lot of glitter. The rick-rack was the easy part! The hardest part for me is attaching the 1/4 inch double fold bias tape. Ugh! Such a pain in the butt! I had to do it three times on the other pocket before ripping it all off and starting over!

This is all I have done so far on the first pocket! Ugh. Wish me luck! It needs to be done by Monday!!

STUPID!

So, I finally got my quilt bound. yay!! It only took me like an hour and a half. BUT! while I was binding, I noticed that I hadn't quilted in an entire spot! OH MY GOSH! I was so appalled that I had missed an entire 2x3 square area! I can't believe I did that! Fortunately I can still put the quilt on and fix it! Hopefully I can hurry and throw it on tomorrow and get it done fast! AAHHH!!!!

Finished Product

YAY!! I finished the quilt top! And, I finished it minutes before the Super Bowl started on Sunday. It was the best day ever!

Then, yesterday, I put the quilt on the Gammil. Lola and I share the Gammil, except that I am a quilt machine hog so I use it more!

This is a picture of the Gammil.

This is the quilt on the Gammil.

This is how I quilted the quilt. In the small 9 patch blocks surrounded by the brown border, I quilted a heart in the center.

In the six inch squares (diagonal print) I quilted a flower with spiraling center.

Over the rest of the quilt I just did loops. That is my favorite quilt stitch, because it is easy without looking dumb and cheap.

The fabrics I used are from the All You Need is Love collection by Deb Strain for Moda, and the Flirtations collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda. I absolutely loved these fabrics when I saw them together in the store, and knew I had to make a quilt out of them!

The pattern I used was from December's issue of McCall's Quick Quilts. The pattern was called Baby's First Christmas, and it originally used Sandy Gervais's fabrics from her Holly Jolly collection for Moda. I did this quilt in similar fabrics (my local quilt shop didn't get that fabric line in), and it was so much fun and so stinkin' cute that I used these cute girly prints instead!

Now, all I have to do is bind the quilt! I have the binding sewn together, and attached to the quilt. All I have to do is blind stitch it on. Wish me luck!

Progress Pictures

As promised, here are the pictures of my progress so far.

Although this block is shown in strips, it is actually sewn together now.



This is the medium sized block.



This is the littlest blcok. It is bordered by this brown fabric with red hearts. It also doubles as the binding, which I still need to make.

I've sewn the borders onto the littlest patchwork block, and now all I have to do is piece the top together! Hooray!!

Quilting Progress

Hello all of my dear readers! I am excited to tell you that I have finished ALL of my blocks for my quilt! Yes, that is right. All that is left to do is to sew them together into one lovely and beautiful quilt top.

You might be thinking: "Wow, she sure hasn't gotten a lot done since . . . oh, last week when she told us she had the strips sewn. What has she been doing?" Well, dearest readers, I have a 16 month old who loves to climb in the fireplace, torment the dog, play with the bark and pinecones in the decorative shelf, and unload all of my kitchen cabinets. Plus, this week he had a fever. I think he is getting the rest of his teeth. This being said, I haven't exactly had a lot of time to spend on my quilt project.

Last night, Nephew "One-Eye" stayed over. He brought some friends to play Halo 3 downstairs on the XBOX 360. At 2 am I was bushed. I had almost sewn all of my large blocks together. I couldn't see straight, though, and decided to call it a night. Imagine my surprise when I woke up at 8:30 to find Nephew "One-Eye" on the couch, and his two friends asleep on the love sac in the basement! (They were both boys, don't worry. We thought it was quite funny, actually).

Now, if you're wondering why we call Nephew "One-Eye" it is because he really only has one good eye. I guess we could call him Nephew "Bear-Bait", I didn't think of that before. Hmmm...I actually like the sound of that better. But! I digress.

Today I quilted quite a bit. I was watching movies on TBS, and during the commercial breaks would see how much I could get done. My husband laughed at me, especially when I would yell up from downstairs where I was pressing the seams "Is my show back on?!" every 5 seconds.

I took some pictures, and normally would post them here, but my dearest husband has been somewhat of a laptop hog. That is where my camera software resides. I don't know where the disc is, otherwise I would install it on the desktop. So, look forward to pictures as I continue on with my project.

My goal is to finish the quilt top tomorrow and then quilt it on Monday. Fingers crossed! The reason I'm in such a hurry is because the friend I'm making it for is having a baby shower on Saturday. Here I thought I had all the time in the world. But, no, I have until Saturday to finish it. Wish me luck! I'm off to bed so I can get a good quilting start tomorrow!

House Hunting

So, we are looking for a house to rent for about a year while we build. I know, so exciting that we will be building this summer (hopefully!)!!! We are keeping our fingers crossed that everything works out in our favor.

We have been looking for about 2 weeks now, and it SUCKS! I hate looking for a house. We have to have x number of bedrooms, and can't pay above x amount of rent. Also, we need the house to allow us to have a dog.

So far, we have found some promising choices. Yes, there was the rat-hole in Payson that sounded too good to be true. It definitely was AWFUL once I saw it. There is no way I would even let my precious Marshy-Marsh touch the floor in that thing. His growth and developement would be stunted, and, let's be honest, a baby who can't walk around and play on the floor is NOT a happy baby.

Our biggest problem is the "No Pets" rule that a lot of places have. It is sad that so many people now have pets, yet no one will let them have their pets with them. So sad! Our poor puppy might just have to live by himself for a few months :(