Weekend Fun and progress

I know the weekend seems so long ago, but what a fun weekend it was! Really it started last Thursday. My husband's birthday was Thursday, but we chose to go to an extra special dinner to celebrate 10 years since our first date. What an incredible decade it has been. In those years he taught me to race cars, I taught him how to grill, and we built a life with three gorgeous kids that make us laugh until our sides hurt.

Courtesy of Diane McKinney Photography

On Sunday, I was able to hang out with my fellow guild members of the Triangle MQG for a sew-in. I was able to chat with some members that I had only spoken to briefly before which is always refreshing and inspiring.  I am thrilled that I was able to get almost all of my diamonds cut for the Emerge quilt from Stitched in Color's Angled class.  I am loving this class so far, all about sewing with triangles, diamonds, and various other angled cuts.  This week we will be working on a quilt based on the lonestar found in many quilts and I love my fabric choices.  I have been holding these fabrics (Joel Dewberry) for a while just waiting for the perfect project.

Fabric Selection for Emerge Quilt from Angled Class by Stitched in Color

Next up is cutting my fabric for the C + S Basics Swap which just arrived.  I am loving diving into some fresh fabrics!  What are you diving into this week?
Linking up with I Quilt @ Pretty Bobbins - see button on the right - and Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.

Fall Renewal

Labor Day signals the end of summer and the beginning of fall here in the States.  I love the changing of seasons, particularly here in North Carolina where our seasons are so unique, each one fading into the next as the years ebb and flow.
I am hoping to take advantage of the change in seasons to reinvigorate both my personal life and my quilting/crafting life.  So here is what I am working on...

A new tote bag for my preschool son to take to school.  Last year I made each of my big kids a tote bag but they were too small and really too flimsy.  They were good sports and used them for the year anyhow, but I thought it would be good to make something more sturdy that will handle Little Man's art work and lunch box.  He chose the fun dino print from my stash and although he wanted an entire bag made of this print, I only had a large scrap. So I dug further into my stash to find some fun to go with these friends.  My stash is a bit of a challenge currently as I am still a new quilter, but I was thrilled to put together this mix of fabric.
I am also thrilled to be starting a class presented by Stitched In Color called Angled. I love Rachel's sense of color and have followed her blog since I began on my own quilting journey. I am regularly inspired by her work and I am really looking forward to stretching my quilty muscles with this class. Rachel has provided us some planning sheets before the class begins today. Here is my first plan for the Emerge quilt.  I think I might end up actually reversing the color order and putting the lighter colors in the center since the background fabric that I purchased is a very light neutral.

Are you invigorated by the change in seasons?  Are you already planning for the holidays? 

Community of support

I have been pondering this post for a while now. I completely understand if this is a topic that does not interest you. Otherwise, thank you for taking the time to read.
Robin Williams recent death has affected me in ways I would never have anticipated. Typically, while I love the gossips mags as much as the next girl, celebrity deaths are simply a sad passing. But Mr. Williams death has stayed with me this week as I work, on my drive home, when I read to my kids in bed, and as I sit at my sewing table with the quiet hum of my sewing machine. Perhaps it is because, as a child of the 80s, Robin Williams was seemingly everywhere.  I grew up watching reruns of Mork & Mindy. I fell in love with mystery and adventure while watching Hook.  Jack and Patch Adams impressed upon my young soul the value of laughter and unfailing generosity and compassion. 
The movie What Dreams May Come first hit theaters as I entered my senior year of high school.  In the previous 6 months, I had my first experiences with death as a schoolmate died tragically in a car accident and a close friend's mother committed suicide. This movie would forever color my perspectives on death, heaven and hell, providing striking visuals to accompany my traditional Catholic upbringing. If you have not yet seen the movie, it touches upon some of the darkest themes and personal struggles many individuals and families face with the warmth that only Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding, Jr. could provide to such grave subjects. 
Three years ago, a close friend and coworker of my husband's committed suicide and it was heart-wrenching. Much like Mr. Williams, he was the life of the party, everyone's best friend, and the funniest guy in the room, and he also suffered from depression that overwhelmed him. 
Why do I tell you all of this? 
Because these events remind me that as I struggle with my own mental health, that I have an outlet that helps me each time I come to it and I have this wonderful community to thank for it. Quilting has given me a place to be creative when my accounting brain and sensibility thought it couldn't be creative. The hum of the sewing machine is the peace that my heart longs for after the chaos of life with 3 kids under the age of 5 and a full-time day job. 

GenX 2014 BOM January

On any given day I can choose to work with bold, vibrant colors or perhaps something more subdued. I can choose to work on a pattern where my mind can rest and simply follow directions, or I can choose to follow my own direction and piece together as the fabric speaks to me.

Making a plan

So I want to say thank you to each of you for supporting me by reading, by visiting, by commenting here on my blog, but also providing me a community where my work is safe and valued and for the inspiration that each of you provide to me.

Good enough?

Are you a "good enough" quilter? Or a perfectionist in your piecing?   I am working on a mostly low volume top that will probably end up in some sort of floating nine-patch.

Happy pile waiting to be pinned

Because I am really pretty new to quilting, I read a lot of quilting world blogs and I adore them.  They are so inspiring with their gorgeous mix of colors and inventive design ideas.  I'm definitely not there yet so I'm just working on the basics of piecing, basting and quilting. But I am in love with the process and get a huge sense of satisfaction as the pieces build and it all starts to come together.  

Perfect Points (sorry about the terrible fuzzy picture!)

How do you get to be that good and quilt such beautiful art?  By putting a lot of hours into the craft!  So my question is: Do you recommend that beginners piece until experience breeds perfection? OR do you recommend that beginners focus on the details, unpick and rework mistakes, and the experience will come?  And how big a mistake warrants getting that handy tool out to pick those stitches?

Pucker in the navy blue too much?

Are those points close enough?

Linking up with Fabric Frenzy Friday at Fort Worth Fabrics, I Quilt Thursdays at Pretty Bobbins (see sidebar) and Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts (see sidebar).

My Joy

One of the things every bride stresses over is her wedding day photographer.  I was so lucky to have found mine in 2008 when Sean and I were married.  Diane of Diane McKinney Photography has an artful eye and a love for families.  Although she has always been a wedding photographer, I nudged her into taking newborn shots of each of my kids as they were born and I am so thrilled she obliged.
In June, I asked Diane to spend some time with my family as I wanted some new photographs that weren't taken from a cell phone ;)  I wanted something fun, light, and playful.  The reality is that when you have three kids under the age of five "portraits" are hard to come by and really just not an accurate reflection of our life. Diane delivered more than I could have asked for as always and I wanted to share a few of my favorites. All pictures are copyright Diane McKinney Photography.

 

Double Bundles

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I had come into a streak of good luck and here are the rest of my winnings! These two bundles are from the new fabric line found at Target stores, Fabric Editions.

The first bundle is a gorgeous but still adventurous bundle of browns and greens. I can't decide if the bird print or the floral is my favorite, but I love the total combination of the bundle. I was thrilled to win these one-yard cuts from a contest on Instagram!

This second bundle is a much more lively and bright grouping that my 4-year old daughter just loves. I won this fantastic grouping, also from Fabric Editions for Target, from a Twitter contest. I was sure that I should run out and buy a lottery ticket the day I found out I won this second bundle.  
I usually decide on a pattern and then choose fabrics to go with them, so I am at a bit of a loss reversing my process. What patterns would you suggest? Would you add other fabrics or keep these bundles as they are? Perhaps you would make something other than a quilt.  I can't wait to see your suggestions!

The 2014 Directive: July

So I am totally behind the ball on this, but I am jumping in anyhow!  The 2014 Directive is sponsored by Kate and Trudy. The idea is to have a SMART goal each month of the year rather than getting bogged down by one big goal in January that you forget about by March (if you are lucky)! 

I've been working on the setup for this blog for a while now but I want July to be my semi-official launch.  My goals are to post 3-4 times a week, develop an editorial calendar in order to accomplish this, and follow through by utilizing link parties and commenting on others blogs as well.  I feel like July is going to be a great month for me and I am off to a great start.  I hope to show you more as the month progresses, but I have a great blog notebook setup and some ideas from my brainstorming session written down.
Do you prefer New Year's Resolutions or does this Directive ring true to you?  How do you plan your blog posts?  Any recommendations you can send my way would be greatly appreciated!