finished up this week....

I finished up some small quilts I've been working on this week for a small craft show I'm participating in. I hope these sell, but if not I'll put them on etsy I think!

I like the pink one best. Big surprise there.
These were all improv-y designs. Me and my scrap box getting to know each other.
I really enjoy that kind of sewing.

monkeys finished!

Sock monkeys are finished and delivered. I love how the center section seems to "float" out in the middle part!

I backed it in the red dot.
And here's a closeup of the prints. I really enjoyed this one!

how about jeans??

Well, friends, I have a ton of quilt stuff to post. Promise I'll get to that.

But first I have a problem: JEANS.

I need a pair of jeans, friends.

You see, I have a precious 6 month old.

My old jeans don't fit anymore, and I'm not sure they are going to.

And it's getting to be jeans season.

And I just was in a dressing room trying to decide if a pair of jeans were really unflattering. And then I remembered I don't have time anymore to go try on many pairs... so I need some direction.

So can you help me out? Do you have a pair of jeans you absolutely love?

Can you tell me about them or where I might could find them?

I should probably mention that I'm short. A little over 5'3". And I have a really long torso, so really low rise jeans look like they are trying desperately to escape. Which they probably are.

my 9/11 scarf...

I have nothing profound to say.

But, fellow crafters, I thought I'd put out a picture of my 9/11 scarf. I crocheted it 8 years ago.

I sat in my chair all day in my tiny Detroit apartment, glued to the TV. Horrified.

It's as long as I am tall. It's not fancy.

It's one of the only pieces I've ever crocheted.

And when I see it, I am reminded that somedays we craft to get through, to make the best, to survive.

Some days.

Mint Chocolate Chip challenge

So a while ago I got an order for a sage green and brown baby quilt. I started from a Michael Miller sage and brown check.

And then I asked my mom to pick up the coordinating dots on a trip to Oklahoma. She was really kind and got me more than I had asked for. Probably because no one was going back to Oklahoma soon and estimating yardage is sometimes not my gift......

I was very thankful and I decided to show my appreciation, I'd be sure to use every single last scrap of it up. So here's what 2 1/2 yards of Michael Miller sage and brown will do!

1. the original quilt. I love it. Zigzags are awesome!

2. Had some leftover blocks from the quilt, so they got transformed into "car seat blankets" That's what I call a blanket that's the right size to use in a car seat but not so big that it falls off or drags the ground. These are quilted and backed in minky. One white, one green. Cause that's what I had around here....

3. Still had scraps. So I made them into 3 loveys. I have a show in a couple weeks, and I think they will be nice to go in it. All the are backed in the rest of my green minky.

So I ended up with one scrap. It's about 2" by 6". I think it's ok to let that one go!

Oh, and my husband thinks all of it looks exactly like mint chocolate chip ice cream......

sock MONKEY!

This one is a commission. One of the really awesome challeges of commission work is working outside your own color pallette. So I was asked for something for a little boy in orange and brown. I don't really like orange and brown. So the challenge is to make something I love in colors that aren't my favorite.

This one does it. Let me show you a closeup

since my camera washed out the orange polka dots........

sock

MONKEY!

Now to just get it quilted.......

A sneak peek at an I-spy....

I think I'm going to bind it in the same tan as the sashing. I'm afraid of adding anything else for fear of making it too busy (or busier, I should say!).

What do you think?

thanks for the shoe help....

{so can I preface this by saying that no one's paying me to say this?}

I got my shoes!

I love them. thanks for all your help. My budget didn't allow for 2 pair, so I went with the pink. I have recently learned that one of the side effects of having 2 children is that you don't get to shop in actual stores very often, so I like to buy things online.
I got these from Zappos and the cool thing there is that
(1) their prices are comparable to what you'd pay in a department store
(2) they ship for free and
(3) if you don't like them or they don't fit, you can return them for free. They pay to ship them back.
Also, I had them about 36 hours after ordering. Can't beat that!