A Sleepover Bag for Sadie

I think I am officially addicted to sewing right now.  I didn't quilt this weekend, but I did get to make a cute bag for Sadie.  I've had this bag on my sewing list for about 6 months.  Sadie and I went to Hobby Lobby, and out of about 4 fabric combos, she finally settled on this grey, green, aqua, and white collection.

The bag took me about 4 hours to make, including interruptions.  It was very simple...lots of straight lines and topstitching.  Completely worth the little bit of time it took to get it done.  The cute owl on the front is actually two little pockets.

The inside is wide open and is roomy enough for a pillow, clothes, dolls, and some stuffed animals.  Perfect for a sleepover!

Next up on the list is a quilt for Sadie and one for John.  I should get the last of the fabric delivered today so that I can start on them both.  In the meantime, I'm watching the snow fall...again...and am starting to train for my first 10K at the end of May. I'm pretty solidly running a 5K in 30 minutes, so a 10K should be reasonable.

Second Quilt Done!

Well, I'm happy to say that I survived and can officially call myself a quilter now.  I felt like I had cheated a bit on the first quilt because I sent it out to be long-arm quilted by a professional.  This time, I really wanted to prove that I could do the whole process myself.  So this one was done completely by me.  I used this Charming Stars quilt pattern and Sweetwater's Noteworthy fabric (a layer cake that I had won).

I started piecing it before I got my new sewing machine, and it's amazing what a difference the new machine made in how accurate my piecing was.  The basting was a bitch.  Ugh.  And because the basting was a bitch and I sucked at it, I ended up with some little fold-overs in my actual quilting, but now that it's been washed and dried, they aren't very noticable.  I originally thought I'd just straight-line quilt this, but then I decided to outline the stars.  I'm so, so happy that I did.  I think it makes them really stand out, and since the back is a solid color, the star stitching pattern is really pretty on the back.

I'm pretty enamored with it right now.  It's so soft!  As I did with my first quilt, I added a label onto the back.  This time, I hand embroidered it, and I think it's a lot easier to read than my first one was.  It reads:

The Second: Charming Stars

Heather Ferguson

April 2013

In case you can't figure out my systematic way of labeling my quilts, it is the second quilt I've made, and the pattern was called "Charming Stars".

I'm off to fulfill my obligation to break this quilt in by snuggling under it in the big chair and reading a book.  It's supposed to snow here tomorrow (really, Mother Nature?), so I foresee some snuggling tomorrow, too!

A tiny quilt...

My gorgeous friend, Crystal of Crystal Satriano Photography asked me to make her a reversible baby quilt that she could use for her newborn photo shoots.  I have been itching to make another quilt, and this was the perfect small project for me to refresh my quilting skills.  I used two Riley Blake fabric collections: Super Star for the boy's side and The Good Life for the girls side.  I organic straight line quilted it with grey thread, and then bound it with an orange print from Riley Blake's Jungle Life line.  I'm in love with it and almost wish I didn't have to ship it off to her!

Next up, I'm making this Charming Stars Quilt with Sweetwater's Noteworthy fabrics.  Woot!

Resolutions and Freedom

I've been reflecting on what I wanted my 2013 resoltuions to be for a while now.  This, of course, makes me look back on 2012 and what I did and didn't like about it.  Let's start with a recap of my 2012 resolutions:

1. Regain & maintain fitness (this should not be difficult since I proved to myself that I can do this in 2011, and it doesn't feel overwhelming and all-consuming like it did last January.)  Ok, I rocked this one out, but only after I was slapped in the face in June by my bad habits.  I started out okay but was still slowly gaining weight back until I started counting calories in June.  This completely changed my life, and I'm now at a size and weight that I never thought possible.  More on this in a few...
2. Sew & craft more, and especially, I want to sew things that scare me a little to expand my knowledge.  I started quilting and crocheting this year, which definitely fall into this category!  I also sewed a semi-complicated, fully-lined tote bag for my mom.
3. Read more.  Last year I read 13 books (my goal was 20).  This year my goal is 25 (I've already read one.)  I did okay at this.  I read 18 books, which is obviously better than 2011, but I didn't make my goal.  I blame it on all of the sewing and crocheting.  :-)
4. Watch more movies, both at home and in the theatres.  Fail!  We're just too busy and/or tired at night to do this very much.  Even just regular TV is almost nonexistent in our house on most days.
5. Take more photos of my kids, preferably one photo per day (don't all have to be of my kids, but at least a few per week) This goal ended up tying into my Project Life scrapbooking binders that I started.  I definitely took a lot of photos this year, but I also burned out around August.  Without a doubt, 2012 is more well documented than any previous year, even if most of the photos are not the best quality because they were taken with my phone and printed at Wal-Mart.  But overall, a definite win on this goal.

Now, for fun, here are some stats from 2012:

1. Pounds lost: 16 (and John lost over 20)
2. Sizes lost: 2, almost 3
3. Miles run: 130 (70 of which were from Thanksgiving until today)
4. Calories burned via exercise (since I started tracking on June 20th or so): 48,012 (OMG!)
5. Sewing projects completed: 7 or 8? (tote bag for my mom, skirt for Sadie, clothes for our American Girl doll, 4 quilted Christmas stockings, a ruffled Christmas tree skirt, the quilt)
6. Crochet projects completed: 4 (I just started this craft in November, but I've already made a coffee cozy, 2 bracelets, a sweater for our American Girl doll, and I have 2 scarves in the works.)
7. Books read: 18 (and joined a book club)
8. Work promotions earned: 1 (I'm an executive sales representative now.)

I know there are other things I'm forgetting, but those are some of the things that stand out in my mind.  So as I've been thinking about resolutions for 2013, I kept feeling anxious and annoyed.  That's really not how you should start off a year, right?  I finally figured out that I don't want resolutions this year.  I don't want goals.  All throughout 2012, I felt stressed that I wasn't crafting enough, wasn't working out enough, wasn't eating healthy enough, wasn't reading enough.  And then if I wanted to start something new (like crocheting), I felt guilty because it was taking time away from all of my other goals.  My gift and resolution to myself in 2013 is freedom.  I've already lost the weight and gotten in shape, so now I'm free to have a few slacker weeks or really go for it and see what kind of muscles I can sculpt (of course, I just can't let the weight creep back on!).  I'm free to fall behind on scrapbooking and be okay with it as long as I catch up sometime.  I'm free to post on this blog when it makes me happy, not when other people expect me to.  I'm free to read when I want without pressure to hit a number, free to craft as much as I want or sew as much as I want, without feeling like I should be doing something else that was on the "list" first.  I've realized that doing all of these things that I do makes me very, very happy, but doing them on a deadline doesn't.  So, I have no resolutions this year.  Instead, I am adopting Ali Edwards' One Little Word philosophy for 2013, and my word is freedom.  I think it's going to serve me well.

What is your plan for 2013?

2012 Holiday Run Streak Challenge

I'm in a funk, a rut, a mood.  I have a list a mile long of things I want to do, and yet, I don't want to do anything but lay on the couch and drink wine.  So, I'm challenging myself to at least get my butt off the couch once a day and go for a short run.  I always get the blahs this time of year, and I always put on weight between Halloween and New Year's.  A mile isn't that much.  It's barely out of my neighborhood and back.  I can do that much every day, despite wind or rain or snow, right? 

The official challenge is called The 2012 Runner's World Holiday Running Streak.  If you want to join me, all you have to do is start your runs on Thursday.  I'm going to take a photo every day and post to Instagram as well using the hashtags #mileaday and #RWrunstreak.  At the end, I'll have a cool little photo collage and a very big sense of accomplishment and pride.

My first quilt

I am still a bit stunned that I can even write this post.  Although I've always been crafty and have been sewing for years, I never thought quilting was something that I would want or be able to do.  I found this pattern for Christmas stockings last October that I loved and really wanted to make, but they were quilted.  Could I do that?  It took me almost a year to find out.  Finally, in August, I tackled the stockings and survived!

And then, I was dreaming about sewing a quilt.  I couldn't get it out of my head.  I found this Reunion fabric line from Sweetwater and this Good Fortune pattern by Kate Spain, and I was a goner.

It took me just over 2 weeks to complete, but I had a week off from work during that time which really sped things up.  Here it is!

Top and back pieced and ready for quilting:

Quilted and bound but before washing (quilted by Judy & Matt Lanza at A Better Quilt in Arvada, Colorado):

I added an embroidered panel to the back that reads, "The First...Good Fortune, Heather Ferguson, October 2012".

After washing...finally done!