Swap-Bot Quilt Blocks

So, I finally finished working on my quilt blocks for the Swap-bot Mini Virtual Quilt Bee that I was participating in.

They are going in the mail today to June She asked for wonky log cabins with lots of color.

I also made Alice’s blocks – they had a focus block with a 1930′s feel and string-pieced triangles around it. Unfortunately, I was excited about finishing them and sending them back to her, so there are no pictures.

Anyway, that’s all from me for now.

Craft Revival Fair

Today we went to the Craft Revival Fair at The Loving Touch in Ferndale, MI.

It actually sort of turned in a craft fair party. My cousin, Megan, was in town with her boyfriend, Tom. They came in from East Lansing for Megan’s 20th birthday. We’re going out with her family later today for dinner, but we always used to go to craft fairs together when she lived around here, so it was like old times.

Natalie, my craft fair buddy, was going, too, so we met up with her. And! My friend, Jessica, lives right down the street from The Loving Touch, so she and her boyfriend, Justin came.

After spending about an hour exploring the craft fair, we (Megan, Tom, Natalie, Jessica, Justin, Dave, and I) all went next door to the Woodward Ave Brewers (WAB) and had some delicious food.

Here’s the loot I got at the craft show:

I LOVE Courtney Fischer’s Jewelry! I got the leaf necklace for myself because I think I would like to be a necklace person…. and what better way to test the waters than with a beautiful leaf necklace? The cuff is going to be for my mom for Mother’s Day.

Anyway, now I have a few hours before Megan’s birthday dinner, so I think I’ll spend them working on pebbling this quilt:

I basted it while Dave was out of town last week and started to quilt it, but got distracted (probably by Joie, who looks positively evil in that picture – even though she is the sweetest cat ever) and didn’t finish it.

Oh and one last thing! Dave and I picked up juice from Chile last night! We got a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Camernere from a guy, Joe, who imports the juice directly from Chile. So the Chilean wine is on us… in 6-9 months!

Come On Baby Light My Fire

I feel like I have nothing of substance to talk about today. I made chicken shawarmas last night. They were tasty. I got a good night’s sleep. I fed my cats this morning. See? All boring.

Sooo….. how about a teaser? I have nothing to show for it yet, but I am super excited!

Ready? Go!

Guess what I bought yesterday from Maker Shed!

I have been toying with the idea of adding LED lights to an art quilt I made. I was having trouble finding yellow ones and also, let’s be honest, terrified of adding conductive thread to make circuits and whatnot in my art quilt…. because I would hate to ruin the little quilt.. or do something wrong and have the whole thing catch fire. It probably wouldn’t (catch fire, that is) because it’s only running off a tiny battery… but I suppose if there were a freak incident – it would definitely be with mine.

The LED sewing kit should come early next week.. so hopefully I’ll be able to post my finished art quilt shortly after that.

And now I expect you to wait in suspense until I post the finished art quilt. Please? It’s worth the wait, if I do say so myself. Promise.

Cooking and Crafting

A while ago, I started reading the blog Dinner with Julie. Her writing is great, her pictures are vivid.. and really, all of her recipes sound incredible. With Dave and my class schedule, I haven’t really had a lot of time to play around with new recipes….. that being said I’ve really tried to push myself to do more cooking this week.. and the result? I’ve turned into a Dinner with Julie groupie.

Dave loves lamb. It goes along with his theory that the cuter the animal, the more delicious it must be. So on Sunday, I tried Julie’s Leg of Lamb in the Slow Cooker recipe. It was so easy and such a success! I, however, am not the biggest fan of lamb, so while the lamb was finishing up in the slow cooker I roasted a chicken. And yes, it was another Dinner with Julie recipe: Roast Lemon Chicken. Delicious!

So, we’ve been eating leftovers since Sunday. And last night we made Julie’s Tzatziki and Naan for homemade gyros. These were by far Dave’s favorite. The naan turned out exactly like the grilled pita you can get at the Coney Island restaurants around us… which in my opinion is the best thing at Coneys.

Anyway, I haven’t just been eating. I’ve been crafting, too! Promise. I finished the first four blocks for the Another Brick in the Wall by Carolina Patchworks.

The blocks are about 20″ x 20″ (but need to be trimmed and better ironed). Basically, the idea is to cut a jelly roll up and sew it back together with a neutral background fabric. I really like how it turned out and I know that I will love the finished quilt.. but there is just so much cutting and sewing of skinny strips! And I still have 8 more blocks to go. 8 more to go!

I joke that a quilt isn’t finished until it’s “cat-approved” because no matter what, one of the cats will come and sit on whatever quilt I’m working on, usually while I am working on it. This one has Jelly’s approval already – she is a great many things, but photogenic.. maybe not.

And finally….

I’m very much in love with this fabric! Look at all the tiny leaves!