Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone! I hope your day was as fun filled as mine was. Pictured above is my son's haul from the egg hunt. He also found a much coveted "money egg". It was only a dollar bill, but he declared, "Look Mom! I got a million dollars!"
There were so many eggs to hide this year that the yard was literally carpeted. You know you've hidden too many eggs when you have to actually persuade the kids to keep hunting! It was great fun though. The kids consumed more sugar than they should have and my house is covered in Easter grass. I feel like it was a success.
Well, I am off to try to get them to sleep. I have a quilt I am trying to finish. I am hoping to get the binding started tonight. I will post some pics when I finish.
Goodnight,
Rob

Jelly Roll Race Quilt

Jelly Roll Race Quilt, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

This makes the 3rd one of these quilt tops that I have made. My friend Robin posted about the jelly roll races that she saw on YouTube. She suggested that our friendship group try it out. Well, needless to say, I am more than a little hooked. A jelly roll is made up of forty 21/2" wide X roughly 44" long strips of a coordinated line of fabrics. I think you see them most commonly from Moda, but many others have joined the trend, which makes them easy to find. However, my friend Pam created her first one by using 5 strips each of nine different fabrics that she cut from her stash. I was the lucky recipient of this one! I am putting it together to use as a nap quilt for the babies at school. When using 45 strips, as opposed to 40, I find the finished size to be 60X63, which I really like. That is also the way I put the one pictured above together. I found my fabrics at Fresh Picked Fabrics in Brea. I really do like that shop. So bright and colorful. Plus, they come up with so many finished projects that I find it inspirational just walking around.
So, I am ready to begin pin basting. I decided to write this little blog post first, for a couple of reasons. The first being that I hate pin basting and am no hurry to get down on my hands and knees. Secondly, I know that it's been a while since my last post. This is because my father had a stroke and my grandma died, all in the same week. Thankfully, my dad's stroke was mild. He doesn't recall any of it and seems perfectly fine now. My Grandma was 89 and had come down with pneumonia again. Her wish was to be at home, surrounded by her loved ones when her time came. That is exactly what happened. I was sad to lose her as she really was a very nice grandma. But, I know that her heart was right and that she is in a better place. She passed with all of her children and all of her 39 grandchildren surrounding her bedside. I just don't think one can ask for a better way to go.
We'll travel to New Mexico later in the week to lay her next to my grandfather in the small town she grew up in.
Till next time,
Rob

Dresden Plate

Dresden Plate, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

Behold my new project! I purchased a Dresden ruler a while back. I was going to use it to make some mug rugs. However, as usual, other projects crowded in and the ruler was laid to the side, unopened. But today, as I was perusing my many blogs, I came across a tutorial for a Dresden plate pattern. I never knew they were so simple! At least, the tutorial certainly made it seem that way. So, remembering my new ruler, I dug out some scraps and started cutting. This is what I have so far. I have yet to decide what to do with it. Do I make a large pillow? Or, do I make 3 more and patchwork piece a lap quilt? I think I'll put the first one together and see how it goes.
Post more tomorrow,
Rob

Happy Valentines Day 2011

Happy Valentines Day 2011, originally uploaded by rkkilmer.

I wanted to share my Valentine Day babies with you all. I am sure that years from now the babies will hate me for posting this picture of them that will forever live on the Internet, but I just can't help myself. They have gotten so used to me and my camera that they barely acknowledge me when I follow them around with it. I asked them to kiss and was just lucky that they complied. I know it looks like they are just so nice to each other. I would like to take credit for being an amazing parent at this point. However....in the interest of full disclosure, it should be said that Jack pushed her off the chair directly following this photo. Those of you who have boys will understand. They can't help themselves :)
We had a great night at home, just my husband, the babies and myself. We all exchanged cards and the babies actually signed and decorated their own. We then had bacon, eggs, and chocolate chip pancakes for dinner. It just doesn't get any better than that.
See you soon,
Rob

One "road" lead to another.......

 Above is my first completed fabric flower. I attached it to a pin back and then added it to a cute fabric covered headband. My darling girl actually wore it for a little while! She is vehemently opposed to hair accessories, so this is quite an accomplishment.

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the "Road to California" quilt show over in Ontario. What a feast for the quilted eye that show is!!! At any rate, I came across 2" hexagon die cuts from Paper Pieces. I have always been curious about english paper piecing, so I bought 2 small packs of 25 each. Pictured below is my first stack.

I took a road trip to Arizona this past week, so I had some time to kill in the car. I am not a hand quilter by any means, but in the tradition of the new year, I had decided to step out of my box a little. Well, lets just say that I am hooked!!!! I had pieced all 50 die cuts before we hit the AZ border. Next question of course was what on earth was I going to do with them?

 I follow a blog called www.stitchedincolor.com

Rachel had posted about 2 separate pillow contests, so I thought I would give it a try. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - right?

So, after messing with the layout a little, I finally decided on a design. I began whip stitching my little beauties together. May I offer a word of caution if you do decided to give english paper piecing a try? Make sure you are lining up the correct edge, to the correct edge. It's easy to just start bending and stitching and then before you know it, you've got a funky fabric origami thing that you just never intended.

I also came across quite a few accessories for the quilter that were made for my little "Bigkick". I will be logging in to order some more dies to make my cutting time fly by!

Happy quilting,

Rob



I am getting a "Big Kick" out of my new toy.....

So, I was surfing Youtube a while ago for fabric flower tutorials. (What??!! You know you do it too!! ) At any rate, I was surfing away when I came across the stamp shack lady. You can read her blog here http://www.stampshacklady.blogspot.com/

She is actually a Stampin' Up rep. from Texas. Now, I am not a scrapbooker. It's just not a craft that has ever called to me. But this gal was using her scrapbook tools to create perfectly cut fabric flowers! Umm...GENIUS!!! I did not know until then that those fancy little die cutters would also cut through fabric. 6 layers to be exact. They also cut through felt, wool, cork board and metal. I know, who knew?  So, I was intrigued. I am all about a shortcut if it gets me some instant gratification on a project. In the tutorial, she showed these adorable shabby chic little fabric flowers that she made and then attached to headbands. My mind immediately started thinking about all the different ways I could incorporate such a tool into my quilting and sewing. I did a little research, and it would seem that Sizzix is the company that makes the "Big Shot" tool and that its available solely thru Stampin' Up. It retails for $99.99. Now, you could contact your local rep. and have a home party and get credit towards one, or you could simply go online and pay full price. However, I am a bit of a bargain shopper when it comes to buying things that I don't necessarily know that I will use a whole lot.

So, upon further research, it would seem that the Sizzix "Big Kick" is the exact same machine and is readily available at your local Michael's or Joann's. It also retails for $99.99, but you can use a coupon for this one!!! That's right, I got 40% off of my little cutter. I was so proud of my frugality! :) Now, the fabric flower die that I wanted was a Stampin up exclusive, so I had to order that from a rep. But, Joann's had all of the Sizzix items on sale this past week, so I was able to pick up the scalloped circle that I wanted for my next project off of the Moda Bakeshop. That is for another post though.

So, I am off to Michael's for some headbands and pin backs to apply to my little flowers.

Have a great weekend,

Rob

There's a first time for everything!

 Behold! These are the first stitches ever stitched by my little sister. I am so proud!!! My sissy requested a sewing machine for Christmas this year. Now, you have to know that no one, save me - sews or quilts in my family. I am the lone crafter. Until now!!!! After an afternoon's tutorial with my sissy, her machine and her owner's manual - I am suddenly no longer flying solo. I envision sew so lates, fabric shopping...oh I just can't wait. Now, don't get me wrong, my sissy is young, hip, and at this point - would not be caught dead "quilting". But, I am optimistic. At some point, I think we all give it a try. I mean, the sewing machine just kind of leads you from one thing to another, don't you think?

Which leads me to my next sewing milestone. I installed an invisible zipper!!!!! That's right, you heard me correctly, an invisble zipper. I think I mentioned in an earlier post about a sew along that I came across on http://www.stitchedincolor.com/

This is a great blog that I have just recently discovered. I find her work very inspirational. Very much the type of quilting that I aspire to most. Her tutorial was very informative, very clearly written with lots of pictures. If you get a chance, please hop over and check her out.

Well, that's it for me today. I am off to start a new project. I need to make a Valentines Day pillow cover for my Nina. I'll post a pic when I get it finished.

See you soon,

Rob