Oh my goodness.
Every waking moment for the last several weeks has been full to the brim with kiddy and house-y related things. This has kept me away from my sewing much more than I would like, but, that's life!

I thought I would share the WIP I've been trying to work on when I have any down time (ha!)....it's my first of two quilt tops I'll be assembling for the Classic meets Modern QAL I hosted last year here on my blog.

 ...several years ago I was at a quilt show and was partaking in a bit of shopping, when I came across a charm pack of moda's Vintage Modern. When we last moved, it was parked in a bin and I only just came across it in the fall this past year and knew it would fit the theme of my aqua and red blocks perfectly. I decided to use it as corner pieces in the sashing, and I think it looks really pretty.

I also have a few FQs and bits and pieces of Vintage Modern I've slowly collected over the years, and thought it best to integrate it into the backside of the quilt.

But: when it came to cutting the fabric up to make blocks and such I couldn't.  I needed a way to showcase the beauty of this line while making the back more interesting than just using huge pieces of the stuff.

So. What better a way to showcase the line than set-in circles?
I'm plugging away now on these circles. Takes a while, since I'm (obviously) a pinner...but that's okay. I love piecing circles!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday!

Just thought I'd check in with everyone participating in the Classic meets Modern QAL and see how your quilt tops are coming along!

Prizes for the randomly chosen linked up quilt top will be announced in the coming weeks - I'll give you plenty of notice...

Here's what we have so far!


   
    An InLinkz Link-up
   

Oh. My. Goodness.

Well, 2014 went out with a BANG!

We spent the 4 days over the Thanksgiving weekend haggling over this beaut with its sellers:

Don't you love that door??? Although, the yellow may need to go... our 1960 midcentury modern house. WOOT!

...and then spent the next few weeks with inspections and lawyers and contractors.

We close on the house at the end of this month, so I've been busy scheduling movers and permits and moving boxes (yes! moving boxes! check these out: The Chicago Green Box) and all the rest of the stuff that goes with moving.

On top of that, December was my busiest month for Etsy sales, which I'm really happy about. I'm never going to be a millionaire, but it keeps me busy and makes me happy!

As well, we were SO lucky to have my parents fly the entire family down to Mexico to spend the holidays in the 85F weather (oh man, it was nice!). We had an absolute blast, and Audrey was in her absolute glory:

A photo posted by Erin Davis (@sewathomemummy) on Jan 1, 2015 at 4:24am PST

...we spent every day on the beach or at the pool, and the kids had a blast. Ewan was a bit fussy for the whole trip, but what can you expect from a 1 year old?

So!

I'll be busy with house-y stuff for the next month or so while my husband and I make some improvements to it before we all move in in mid-February. I get to bust out my DIY skillz I've been squelching for the last 4 years whilst we rented.

Boo ya.

Look out.

Might have to rename the blog "DIY & Sew at Home Mummy"

I jest.

I thought I'd share a fun contest the Fat Quarter Shop is running right now with you Cotton + Steel lovers:

Here's the link to their post with the instructions - it's a Pinterest-based contest, so if you don't have a Pinterest account, you'll have to sign up for one to participate. Warning: Pinterest is pretty addictive!

Hi all,

quick post today to share a bit of coupon love...

Massdrop has Aurifil 50 wt 12 packs on for $80 (if enough people commit to buy, which they will), with free shipping in the US:

Drift by Angela Walters:
and

Favorite Things by Jeni Baker:

and 40wt 12 pack thread sets for $80 in:


Arizona by April Rhodes:


and

Gleeful by Caroline Hulse:


...I'm trying to decide if I should join this drop, but if YOU do, make sure to tell me which one you picked up! I'd love to know. I like to shop vicariously heheheh!!

I know I'm a little late to the party in posting about this - or I think I am - as QuiltCon acceptances/rejections emails went out in mid-December.

I've been a bit busy, though! More about that in another post...

I was SUPER lucky to have TWO(!) quilts accepted as judged pieces to QuiltCon, and I'm super excited about that - more in an upcoming post -

But I thought I'd share with everyone my QuiltCon rejects (or, if you're on Instagram, #quiltconreject )

First up, my took-forever-and-a-day quilt: "Reinventing the Wheel":
This is a 100% English Paper Pieced (hand-pieced) quilt, and has 11 blocks contributed by my fellow bee members of "Get Your Hex On". It measures in at almost 70" square, and every color, except one, were Konas.

The quilt design is my own original; I loved making this quilt. I lost weight making this quilt - EPP is an awesome way to keep your hands out of a chip bag at night while you watch tv.

The gorgeous quilting was done by Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting. She's amazing. I absolutely loved what she did with it!

To be honest, I'm a little surprised that this quilt wasn't accepted - I thought for sure it would be. Oh well. It's going to hang in my new sewing space and give inspiration when I really need it.

Next up:

Okay, so admittedly, I never thought this one would get accepted, but hey, you throw enough noodles at the wall and one is bound to stick, right?

This one was for the Panasonic Bias Tape Challenge. And I had never in my life made or used bias tape on a quilt before - it was a long shot. But I had a quilt design in mind for my hubby for Christmas, and I thought he'd love this one, so I gave it a shot.

"Fall":
 I love the use of solids, and of wonky improve piecing. And heck, I'm Canadian. I don't think I need to say anymore.

I love how the maple leaves turned out; the bias tape stems and branches I used Osnaburg for - it's a 100% unbleached cotton with a lot of texture, much like muslin, but used as an upholstery liner. I really like the look - I wanted something with texture, but not overbearing. The one thing about Osnaburg, though - it's got a lot of natural stretch to it...which made it a bit wildly to work with. But I'll definitely use it in future quilts when piecing - it makes it more fun ;)
I think for my first shot at bias tape quilting I did well. Can't win 'em all, and really, all that matters is that my husband loves it and uses it every night in front of the tv. Winner!

Linking up to Val's Quilting Studio for TGIFF!