Friday, June 27, 2014

The Roaming Quilt Bee: Round 1

Ba-ba-ba-da! (trumpet sounds) The first round for the Roaming Quilt Bee has begun! As I sent The Scrappy Rambler along on its merry way, I received Jaime's quilt, aptly named the Modern Wanderer.  Here are the pieces she made for her starter blocks.


I love Jaime's fabric choices.  I first met her at a sewing night at Mama Said Sew.  She was working on the Gypsy Wife Quilt.  I instantly liked her because 1, The Gypsy Wife is an amazing quilt, so anyone making it is super cool in my book. And 2, I love her fabric choices.  So colorful, fun, and eclectic.



I knew it would be so fun to work on her quilt. The first thing I did was make a big buffalo hunter star.  When Michael and I left Gillette one of the ladies who taught me to quilt gave me some fabric and a pattern to make this star as a going away present.  I always refer back to that same little piece of paper with the star pattern on it.  It seemed the perfect addition for this happy quilt.


 I also included some blocks that Jaime herself had made.  Here's a confession: I am a scrappy scrounger.  When people leave fabric scraps behind, I usually take them. Jaime had left these two little blocks in the scrap bin (at least I think it was Jaime). I think they were from her Gypsy Wife Quilt, and for whatever reason they didn't work for that project.  I love orphan quilt blocks! I've found that sometimes when a block is made for a specific quilt it just doesn't work the way it should.  However, those blocks are perfect for working into other scrappy projects.  Many of my favorite pieces in my quilts are rejected quilt blocks from other projects. Here are Jaime's two, super fun blocks (see why I had to have them?)



 
The next thing I did was add this strip of funky fruit to another of her blocks.


I like how well it works with her strawberry fabric. 


So there you have it.  It will be so fun to watch the travels of this Modern Wanderer.

Monday, June 23, 2014

Table Runner

When my parents came for a visit in April, my mom and I had a fun time working on crafty projects.  She went digging through my scrap bin and made this super cute table runner. 


Usually when my mom comes to visit she helps me do the hand sewing on my quilt bindings.  When I was at their house I found the table runner she had made and all that was left to do was the binding.  I hadn't brought any projects with me and I was having a bit of crafty withdrawl so I was happy to sew down the edges.  It was also nice to be able to return the binding favor to my mom for once.


The runner looks so fun in her dining room.  Yay!

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Little Blondies

I am still at my at my parents' house.  There are so many old pictures everywhere. I've been having fun looking through them.  It makes me realize how strong the genes run through my mom's side of the family.  Take a look at this fun.

Here is my mom as a baby. 


Here is super fat me, rocking the cuteness (in a dress my mom made).


Now check out this bit of fun.  Here is my Aunt Robin. 


Here is me. 


Here is my daughter. 


Whoa! I think we are all definitely related.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Grandma's Birthday Fun

I'm currently in Missouri visiting my family for a few weeks. What a fun treat that I was able to celebrate my Grandma Lois' birthday with her in person. My mom and I sneakily made a birthday banner to hang above the fireplace.


I used some brown paper bags, some of my dad's packing material, a wall paper sample, and various ribbons to create some birthday fun.


I also found some paper stars that I had made for my mom a while ago so I hung those in the kitchen.


No birthday would be complete without the wooden birthday cake. My great-grandma gave it to me when I turned two and my mom has put it out for every birthday since then. It wouldn't be a birthday without it.


It's a tradition in my family to kick off a birthday with birthday breakfast.  I made Cream of Wheat and cinnamon sugar toast. My grandma was doubly impressed because she knows I rarely do any cooking. (I know it's a stretch to call Cream of Wheat and toast cooking, but you get the idea.)


It was so fun to have a birthday breakfast with my family. Happy Birthday Grandma. I love you lots!