Marquette University {Quilt}

This quilt is exactly how I pictured it when I decided I would make a quilt for his graduation.

The pattern Rah, Rah Rally (by Melissa Corry) caught my eye quite a long time ago. I took a quick screenshot before I had a pinterest account and I will admit...It took quite a bit of investigation to find it. 

Luckily, he still had not decided which of the eight schools he wanted to go to up until the beginning of February. It gave me time to purchase the book, Moda Sweet Celebrations Featuring some Moda Bakeshop Chefs. 

As soon as I had the go ahead, I scrambled to order Kona solids (Corn Yellow, Blue Jay, White, Marine). I also picked up this aaaaaaamazing Minky by Shannon Fabrics. 

Embossed Geo Cuddle in Midnight by Shannon Fabrics

I had a few oopsies on the logo. One that  I forgot to mirror correctly. One that was too small. I felt like Goldilocks when I got the size "juuuust right". 

He is taking it to college with him and I loved that he had it on our recent family vacation to Lake Powell. 

Our favorite vacation place, my favorite college kid, and a quilt.  

Who can ask for more, really.

Quilt Stats: 

Finished size: 71" x 88"

Pattern: Rah Rah Rally by Melissa Corry (Moda Sweet Celebrations Book)

Fabrics: Kona Yellow Corn, Kona Blue Jay, Kona White, Kona Marine, Shannon Fabrics Embossed Geo Cuddle Fabrics

Quilting: Free motion square quilting on longarm machine.

My Little Big Man

An accidental photo taken at the perfect moment during the quilt photoshoot.
  Lake Powell, Utah.

My Little Big Man,

There you were.  Plopped in my arms the first time.  Quiet.  Content.  Your eyes closed as if you were just not ready for the big world, but peeking every so often to see what all the fuss was about.  You took my breath away, I loved you so much.


There you were.  Crawling around.  Stopping to sit.  Then you would turn around and give me that sneaky grin because you caught me watching you about to get into something.  My heart would burst with love.


There you were.  Toddling about.  That perpetual “Oh?!” look because you were caught throwing the remote or phone in the trash.  In that way you pretend that you didn’t do something...but you realized you did something naughty...but maybe I wouldn’t notice.  I loved you so much, because...how cute were you?

There you were.  A big brother.  So sweet. So gentle with your brother Jacob.  I sometimes was afraid you would strangle him with all that love you had for him.  I was so scared that I couldn’t love a second child. That I loved you too much I wouldn’t have room. Your love for him eased me and I realized I didn’t have to split my heart.  It just grew bigger.


There you were.  Always in a dream world.  Tossing stuffed monkeys up in the air.  Lining up your Little People toys and cars.  Playing video games in the grocery store aisle with your fingers moving a joystick that wasn’t there.  I knew you were a daydreamer, but also needed a sense of order like me.  I love that we had that in common.

There you were.  A big brother again.  So capable. So ready to teach your other brother how to be a big brother to Jonathan.  A mentor.  A leader.  If a heart can have pride?  Mine certainly does.

There you were.  Struggling in school.  Daydreaming in class. Fighting me tooth and nail to do homework.  But then taking control in fourth grade. Showing me that you didn’t need me anymore.  I knew then, that you were going to be ready for any challenge in your future. You understood success because you experienced and understood failure. You gave my heart confidence.

There you were.  Scraping your shoes out in the dirt.  Knees bent.  Glove at the ready.  Prepared to spring and catch any ball coming your way.  Or standing at the line on the court.  Spinning your tennis racquet.  Ready to take on the biggest and baddest.  You never cared.   You were like a Titan.  I loved your fearless heart.

There you were.  A big brother again.  You held your sister Jamie so sweetly.  So gently as she passed.  You had your heart broken.  We all had our hearts broken.  But you stood strong and made me laugh in the car just twenty minutes after I had just wailed my pained soul out at the entrance of the hospital.  You made me laugh all the way home.  I will always be grateful for that.  You will always have my undying love.

There you were.  Conquering what seemed to be the impossible.  Acceptance to Strake Jesuit Preparatory High School.  You changed that day.  You became more confident.  More capable than I have ever seen.  My heart was less scared for you.

There you were.  A big brother again.  You knew how much that little boy was going to heal us all.  James worships the ground you walk on. They all do.  You are worth worshiping. My heart worships you.

There you were. Driving. Looking out your review mirror at me.  Spending more time with friends.  Locked up in your room.  Separating yourself.  Getting ready to leave the nest.  Preparing my heart to let you go.

There you were.  Hands shaking.  Ripping open the envelope.  Crying.  Joyful. Thankful.  Your greatest childhood dream and accomplishment.  Acceptance to Marquette University.  My heart soared for you.

There you are.  Listening.  Agreeing.  Disagreeing.  No matter what? Always there.  Becoming the man you are today.



I will miss you. But I'm so happy for you and your adventure. Be the difference.

I love you, My Little Big Man.

Gypsy {Quilt}

 This Gypsy Quilt was made for the new owners of our Houston house.  They put a contract on it and they kindly agreed for us to lease it back until the end of the school year so our boys could have some sort of routine before we moved to Salt Lake City in the summer.  

I chose this kit from my stash because it had so many pinks and purples and screamed "GIRLS".  Ironically.  Our house was trading 4 boys for 4 girls and this was perfect for them.   I don't normally buy a ton of kits from Joann fabrics, however, this one was on clearance when the store moved from small store to their super store.  It had 14 fat quarters and was a whopping $3.99.

 Really.  How could I resist?

The blocks were quick and easy to construct. 

 It was all about making each one as scrappy as possible. 

I really don't miss having my machine in the garage!!

Since I was going for "quick" and easy. I loaded it up and chose the Daisy Galore pantograph.

 The backing was also from my stash. A hot pink floral and stripe from Joann's circa 2007.

I framed it out with a purple floral binding from my stash. 

Excuse all the wrinkles.  I had it all packed away so the movers didn't misplace it before I left it behind.

 When asked why I felt the need to make the new homeowners this quilt?  I simply say that I was every grateful for them to be so accomodating.  We were able to host After- Prom night for our oldest son's "last hoorah!"  We were able to have our families from afar and come celebrate our oldest son's graduation.

Quilt Stats:

Size: 54" x 63"

Pattern: Joann Fabric Kit

Fabric: Joann Fabrics

Batting: Warm & Natural

Quilting: Longarm Daisy Galore Pantograph

Debonaire {Quilt}

[deb-uh-nair] adjective
1.

courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm:

a debonair gentleman.

The definition describes the man that helped restore my aunt's antique treadle I inherited. He was our neighbor in Houston that had an amazing wood workshop and did gorgeous work. He offered to help me out when he happened to walk in our garage and saw the cabinet in such a state. 

The restoration of the machine head is an entirely different, lengthy post for the future!

I was so excited, when we started discussing veneer replacement versus restoration.  There was horrible water mold stains and the top that lifts had severe rippling and lifting....not to mention that the veneer had been replaced on the sides the wrong direction by a family member in the past.  I asked him if I could pay him and he wouldn't let me. We finally agreed I would hem some curtains for him. I felt like I was getting a better part of the deal.

As our moving date fast lay approached, he rolled over the refurbished treadle.

Not only did he fix the broken lift, he replaced the veneer (in the right direction) and even made a wooden wheel to match the only three I had!!! 

I knew then I had to make a quilt for him and his super, lovely wife. Hemming some curtains was just not going to be enough. But it had to be quick.  I raided my closet and instantly knew that my Debonaire quilt kit from the Fat Quarter Shop was perfect. 

And boy. It was a painful sacrifice because I really, really was excited about the quilt for our family room. 

See how it matches my chairs!??!?

And my most favorite "traditional style" fabric on the planet.  French general.

I also looooved that this quilt also kept my SewMyStash2015 goal strong.  

I had bought the 108" backing fabric for my grandparents quilt and had just enough leftover for this one. 

And the choice of doing a Lida pantograph in beige thread was perfection!

I also made one of my embroidery labels. I spent one evening designing about 8 quilt labels on my software. And the next day stitching them out. Worth the trouble. 

I'm so glad I was able to make it in time before we moved.  

Quilt Stats:
Size: 54" square

Pattern: Debonnaire by Rachel Griffith, ItsSewEmma

Fabric: French General by Moda Fabrics

Thread: Natural Linen by Superior Threads

Quilting: Lida Pantograph on Avante Longarm

 Unfortunately, I cannot find the final finished photo.  We took a quick one with hubby's phone because my camera was packed away.  Somehow, the photos were lost when we moved them to Dropbox. 

But every time we Facebook message or text, they remind us that they use it every night!!!!

Simple Blocks {Memory Quilt}

This is a simple block memory quilt I was commissoned to make for a friend.   She asked me to do it when things were just, frankly, crazy.  We were packing to move.  I was managing Senior Prom and a High School graduation, and an 8th grade graduation.  And a 13 year old's birthday party.  Not to mention there were quilts that had to be made!!   So I think that I have a pretty valid excuse that I only have photos that she and I took on our phones!

I actually had some really cool plans, but financially and just expediency took over and we both decided on just simple blocks.  I didn't want to separate the fronts and backs of his important All-State and Champion t-shirts, so I decided that two rows of color with the whites at the top and bottom would be cool.  Looking back?  I wish I had done some sort of sashing.  But that's neither here nor there now!

I chose the school color green in minky for his backing and their secondary navy color for the binding.  You can get a glimpse of the vareigated green I used on the entire quilt in a cool square meandering pattern.

Quilt Stats:

Measures: 56" x 70"

Pattern: Simple blocks

Fabric: Kona Navy Blue and Shannon Fabrics Green Cuddle

Quilted: Square Meandering with Superior Threads So Fine Variegated Green on HQ Avante

All that matters is that he got his quilt by graduation ON TIME, right??

Class of 2015 Auction {Quilt}

Graduation time is coming up soon!

Every year the 8th graders that want to participate are asked to turn in t-shirts that have meaning to them so that they can be made into a t-shirt quilt for the school auction.

Sometimes they are shirts from their past.  

Some give you a glimpse into their possible future.

 Some tout their favorite sports team. 

 Some are their jerseys they wore for their sports teams.  

Some can just be shirts that they happened to wear to every single "free dress" day.

And best of all? Some say "THIS IS ME".

After careful thought, a layout is chosen.  This year it was happenstance that were put in a "rainbow" sort of order.  Normally there is a plethora of school t-shirts that seem to be blue and red like the school colors, but this year the students seemed to have a fantastic range of color that just couldn't be ignored.  

The center features the front and back of their 8th grade shirt.  This year's theme "Captains of the School"

Each t-shirt is backed by a stabilizer, then pieced together.  Quilted with Rainbow Superior Thread with an organically moving rectangle/square free motion quilting on my longarm.

A variegated thread color called Tapestry.  Much like its name, it weaves throughout very well making the colors of the t-shirts sing and tell their individual stories.

Backing is gray dotted minky.  Very soft and snuggly!

Binding is a stripe that picks up so many of the colors in the quilt itself.

It was a pleasure to work on the quilt this year as our second son graduates and prepares for a new chapter in his life.  It is the 10th Auction quilt (sometimes two in one year like this year) and the 2nd T-shirt quilt I have lovingly dedicated my time on for the school in the past 11 years along with countless other sewing projects like prayer table cloths, tote bags, rosary bags, and Christmas program costumes. 

 It was bittersweet because we are moving from the area this summer and leaving behind a very beloved school.  A place that has nurtured and supported our sons through such an important time of their lives. 

Happy Graduation Class of 2015!