Hi!  I’m excited to share a new quilt top with you.  I sewed blocks into the wee hours of the weekend, and yesterday started sewing the top up with my morning coffee.  I really wanted to see this quilt top come together!

Sewing with linen….it’s kinda squirrelly and needs lots of pins.  As the weave is larger than the cottons we typically use, it has a tendency to not hold it’s shape.

  I carefully pressed and blocked each piece as I added it to the block, to keep things as square as possible.  This quilt top is not perfect, cutting was a challenge as well since it was 60″ wide and my longest ruler is 24″.  But the fluidity that it adds, and the heft are really nice.  It is slightly heavier than my quilting cottons – but I like it a lot!

 I know that there are a few … Read More »

As of noon today my girls are officially done with Kindergarten (Emmalie) and 4th Grade (Ella)!  I’m really excited to have them home for the summer :)

No rushing to get them out the door in the morning, and no need to constantly watch the clock for the pick up times.  I plan to consolidate our errands into a once daily trip out, from the usual three – the school is not far, but loading and unloading kiddos is a CHORE no matter how you slice it!

The weather has finally been cooperating, and I’m thinking about putting my winter coats away for a few months.  Afternoons in the back yard with the kiddie pool are here at last!

This all sounds good right?  There’s just a tiny bit of me that is sad.  Both girls had GREAT teachers, they … Read More »

Hi there!For this weekend, I thought we would stay here . . . it’s my 500th post, and I’m giving away a Blush Layer Cake to celebrate!!

I’m always amazed at how fast the posts add up!  I’m so thankful for each of YOU, my readers, for being here with me through it all :)

For your chance to win –1 – Leave a comment2 – Become a fan on facebook, and leave a comment3 – Subscribe to this blog, and leave me another comment

Hopefully that’s quick and easy enough for all of you to want to play along :)—–My Thursday was spent with these little guys :

Ella, Emmalie, Sophia, and Owen’s kitty’s – notice Owen trying to get his back?

At breakfast I asked Ella if I could make her a kitty.  I told her I knew it wasn’t the same … Read More »

My must do list, continues to grow and shrink!  Never seems to go away though.  I know I’m not the only one  with this issue – am I?

I have two additional quilt tops pieced for my book, need to add borders to one and get them to Natalia, so she can work her magic!  So my list this week includes prepping the backs and writing the rest of the patterns, and all that goes with those.  (I’m loving my new pins!  The little patchwork set are so teeny and work great!)

I’m also making plans for the next installment of Blogger’s Quilt Festival – facebook friends were telling me yesterday if they have a quilt ready.  Do you!?  I’m getting things together for the end of May – I’ll let you know when we can start spreading the word.  It’s going … Read More »

I’m feeling a bit scattered!  I have lots of things that NEED to get done and a few that I really want to get done – isn’t that how it usually goes?  I had a couple of hours to myself Friday evening and decided to cut into some fabric for this bag -

The fabrics are Amy Butler Love, and I love it!  Sadly my machine has been overused in the last 6 months, and needs a tune-up. I have no problem piecing, but multiple layers of fabric and interfacing – not happening.  So that’s going back on the bottom of the list, until I can part with my machine long enough to have it serviced.  Just imagine no pins holding the lining in place and that polka dot strap attached on the sides :)

—–

This is the big news in the … Read More »

Hi there!  I hope that you all had a great weekend with friends and family.  With an extra day to our weekend, I have been busy sewing.  Hoping to get a quilt top finished – but not quite yet!  Hopefully today I can get to all the pressing, pinning, and sewing that needs to happen :)

After church, before play clothes, we got a couple of good pictures of the kiddos -

Owen, Sophia, Ella & Emmalie – April 2010

Emmalie has lost two teeth in the last week!  Quite a milestone – she enjoys sticking her tongue in the space her bottom front teeth no longer need.

More of the pictures are like this!

So I did it!  Got pictures of the girls in their dresses!  For details on the dresses – see this post and this one.

These pictures are the happy moments … Read More »

I was hoping to have a finished dress to show you again today. . . I caught Ella’s cold, and have been taking it easy.  I’m hoping to be feeling much better today!  And then finish it :)

I’m itching to have a quilt or two to post here!  I love looking through flickr and seeing beautiful creations – there’s just not enough hours in the day!  You all understand that one!!

I have posted a poll in my sidebar – I did the same one a long ways back, before the inception of Blogger’s Quilt Festival, before most of you were readers.  How do you press your seams?

Amy—————————————————Next steps:Subscribe to Amy’s Creative SideShop with AmyFollow Me on TwitterBecome a fan of Amy’s Creative Side on FacebookEmail me

Lots and lots of inches/feet/yards of bindings!  I like to roll my binding on a ruler like Natalia, and then I’ve learned I can wear it like a bracelet while attaching it to my quilt top.  This keeps it from getting twisted, or tangled.

Here’s a tip for you –

I sew my strips together this way.  I’ve tried cutting them on the 45 degree angle, but usually mess it up!  So my easy solution is to sew, then clip away the seam allowance.  Most of the time I don’t mark it, just eyeball it and move on to the next bit :)

I’m sure there’s a few of you shaking your finger at me – I’m okay with that – this is what works for me.  :)—–In other news, my Emmalie is sick with pneumonia :(  She’s had a couple of … Read More »

It has been snowing a lot this week, and the wet heavy kind.  Usually we get the powder fine snow that is easy to shovel, but hard to build a snowman with! With 6 inches in the driveway I headed out with the girls after lunch, while Owen napped, to get the shoveling out of the way.  I probably ought to have returned indoors right away, but I decided to help build a sledding ramp with the girls!

 Ella built her snowman, while I built the sled hill with Emmalie and Sophia.

Aren’t they cute!?

The girls gravitate to the piles of shoveled snow, to go down on with the sleds – which is fine and lots of fun, until it ends up where it has been nicely shoveled from.  I don’t care too much if it’s just our space, but more often … Read More »

Just in case Owen isn’t the only one with the desire to put a train in his sisters’ hair!  This is what happens – and it hurts!  

The back story –  I was vacuuming up after the Christmas tree removal and had shooed Sophia and Owen into the kitchen while I did so.  Owen loves his new “choo-choo” and was protecting it from the big, noisy vacuum!  They each had one running against their cheek, both curious about the rub they were getting – when Owen had a great idea!  Put it in her hair!!  She must not have been paying enough attention, and as he is refusing to talk much more than “choo-choo” opted to whack her in the back of the noggin.  Thankfully, I heard Sophia’s screams over the noisy vacuum, and came to her rescue! 

After … Read More »

Sophia, Owen, Emmalie, and Gabriella

Of course my snow bunnies are big part of my highlight! And of course the reason for my constant running to and fro. The day started with a student council meeting for Ella, a half-hour before school starts, then a coffee for me. We stayed in the car and dropped Emmalie off back at the school. Sophia, Owen and I stopped in at home, to check email and grab a snack – you know they are never full – then went back to school for Kindergarten centers. One hour well spent with attention loving Kindergartners :) My little ones play for an hour in the classroom, it works!

That’s Sophia walking back to get another sled. Our street is piled high with snow!

Since we had just 40 minutes until Emmalie … Read More »

Check the post here to see if you have won! Many thanks for all the clicks!

It’s snowing again here, and has actually warmed up, hooray! I still have no voice but I can tolerate 30F much easier, and the girls will play outside for an hour at least today :) There’s a new snowman being built as I type!

Oooh – here’s a little photographic evidence :)Hope you are warm and blessed today ~Amy

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