Ironing Excitement

You've heard my tale of woe regarding irons.

I'm not even going there right now, but I will say this new iron seems to be working well.

I am now going to show you my ironing excitement.

This is what my ironing board used to look like:

Dull, boring, reflected heat instead of absorbing it, and covered in "oooops, I just got sticky bond type stuff on my ironing board."

Check out the new ironing board cover:

Amazing improvement, huh?

The credit goes to the Moda Bake Shop, where I got the tutorial.

I had pinned it and shopped for fabric way back in the fall.

And then my strips sat there. And sat there. And everytime I opened that drawer, they just stared at me, begging to be used.

At the same time, I also pinned an ironing board caddy. I always have scissors, seam ripper, pins, markers, and spray starch things on the end of my ironing board and this was my fix for that problem.

No pattern or tute for this, I just used my leftover jelly roll strips, quilted as I went, folded it up and sewed it onto the end of the ironing board.

Not to be outdone, the sewing machines were calling for some attention. So, they got covers made out of the fabric that was left.

Here is Allie's:

(Sorry for the horrible lighting! Ugh!)

And here is mine:

I have a few scraps left still, and I'm eyeballing that cute little trash can that Jen posted about the other day.

And yes, that is Swoon up there on the wall behind the ironing board. I only have 2 blocks done, but hoping to add to them soon!
I just bought season tickets to Six Flags and the quilt shop is just a hop, skip and a jump from there, so I'll have no more excuses for not getting things done and off to the quilters.

Monday Mayhem

Dictionary.com defines mayhem like this:

may·hem

   /ˈmeɪhɛm, ˈmeɪəm/ Show Spelled[mey-hem, mey-uhm] Show IPA

noun

1. Law . the crime of willfully inflicting a bodily injury on another so as to make the victim less capable of self-defense or, under modern statutes, so as to cripple or mutilate the victim.

2. random or deliberate violence or damage.

3. a state of rowdy disorder: Antagonisms between the various factions at the meeting finally boiled over, and mayhem ensued.

 

#3 seems to fit my thought pattern right now.

A friend and I (and a friend of her's and Allie) went to the Quilt Expo yesterday.

I came home with a few new things, most of which I can't talk about yet.

My problem lately is that I can't decide what to work on first! AHHHHHHHH!

 

And then I spent some time last night on Pinterest.

I have a love/hate relationship with that website right now.

Its really hard to work on your todo list, and get everything crossed off, when you keep adding things to it!

 

My latest is this:

We bought Allie some new-to-us furniture at a yard sale last summer. Its really ugly.

But, its old, its sturdy and she really needed something(s) bigger then what she had.

She has a dresser, chest of drawers, a mirror and a side table.

 

My new goal is to turn it into something like the above.

Think that'll keep me busy for awhile?

 



WIP Wednesday

Last night I *almost* finished my Always and Forever quilt top.

The only thing left is to cut and sew the outside border.

I could have finished it, but alas, another project drew me in.

I may have mentioned to my son that I came across a link for stuffed animal sleeping bags while I was on Pinterest the other day.

http://flossieteacakes.blogspot.com/2011/07/three-bears-sleeping-bag-pdf-pattern.html

And he may have gotten a pillow pet for christmas this year.

And that pillow pet may or may not be named Sammy G (he wanted to name him something "awesome" so went with Sam, after his sister Samantha, who wasn't too impressed with the idea of another Sam in the house, so we then added the "G" for giraffe.). Right now, Sammy G has a fever and really needs a sleeping bag to keep him warm. Or so I was told.

Lucky for Sammy G, I have quite a bit of leftover fabric from Nick's Streak of Lightening quilt.

Now, I don't mind spending money on a pattern if I need to, but I draw the line at doing it just so I don't have to do the math. So, last night, (while watching Glee! <I can't believe Rachel said yes!>) I designed Sammy G's sleeping bag. Tomorrow, I will measure him and adjust my block size accordingly.

I really hope Sammy G is feeling better soon, but just in case he isn't, I better get that sleeping bag done. I wouldn't want him to be cold!

You know, of course, this is the start of a vicious trend. All 4 kids got pillow pet's for christmas.

And 2 of them have already suggested that they also need sleeping bags.

I'll keep you updated.



A little love

Let's face it,

Valentine's Day was made for girls.

We love it!

(Most of us, I think!)

The flowers. The candy. The jewelry.

Its a way for our guy to really SHOW that he loves us.

Except it's so commercialized!
Yikes! The candy, the flowers, its all designed to make us SPEND SPEND SPEND!

Hubby and I love each other. ALOT.

And we don't need Valentine's Day to celebrate that love.

Some years I do get flowers. Some years we go for dinner or a movie.

Not every year, certainly.

One of our most memorable Valentine's Day was a few years ago when we went to see The Valentine's Day Massacre. In 3D.

We still laugh at that memory!

And ever since the kids were little, and I mean LITTLE, we have always done a little something for them, too.

(Insert adorable photo of above mentioned children here. I searched MANY cd's but can't find the photo I was looking for. SORRY!)

Candy, balloons, single flowers, little things.

And this year will be no exception.

But, I can't share yet, cause you never know who might stop by to browse my blog.

Yep, even my teen's aren't too cool to see what mom might be up to!

If you follow Moda Bake Shop, you might have seen my idea!

I'll show off my project when the day get's here!

Hehe, supposing I get it done on time!

As for my house...I've always had a few things. A "welcome" door hanging.

A Longaberger Valentine's Basket.

Float bowl with red and pink crystals and heart floating candles.

Last year I added a quilted table runner and table square.

This year, I've got a few things going on.

I am working on my Always and Forever quilt.

6 out of 20 squares are done, and I am hoping to double that amount tomorrow.

I finished (well, mostly! but more on that later) a new Valentine's wall hanging.

And look what I found on the web tonight:

I pinned it and within an hour I had 3 likes and 27 repins! Cool!

I plan on turning it into another wall hanging.

I think I will quilt the letters, and then hand stich on the little bows.

And instead of quilting a piece of fabric to be the string holding on the heart,

I think I will use real ribbon.

Haven't decided yet if I'll quilt it on, or let it hang.

I am really into Valentine's Day this year, and I don't know why.

Maybe just because I like the idea of my house looking festive.

Maybe because it makes my kids happy.

Maybe, its because Valentine's Day gives us a reason to show and not just tell how much we love each other.



Halloween Ribbon Wreath

Have you checked out Pinterest?
Beware, its terribly addicing!

Amy recommended it several months ago, so I got an account.

And the acceptance email sat in my email box for (literally) months.

Until another blogger mentioned it again. Sorry, I can't remember who.

Sooooo, I went and checked it out.

Did I mention its addicting?
You can check out my boards by clicking on the "follow me on Pinterest" button on my side bar.

Now, its on my list of places to go at least once a day. Sometimes twice.

Sometimes I sit down and several hours later realize that I am still there.

I need to take some pictures of things I've been working on. Some are for Jen and I can't share those. But other's, well, if I took the pictures, I'd have something to show you.

For now, I'll leave you with this:

I got the idea off Pinterest and I am very famous for "OH, I can do that!"

Although, usually, I'll buy the supplies, realize I don't have time to make it right now, and a year later, when the holiday rolls around again, I'll think of it and finish it.

But this one, I was determined to get done. And I love it.