Ten little things

Wow, I can't believe that it's been almost a month since I last posted.  It's shameful I know.  Life has been busy for sure.  I am still keeping up with my weight loss goals (down 10 lbs!), and I have been taking a new seminary class (Spiritual Formation).  This weekend I finally had some time for quilting and sadly my Bernina fell ill and I had to take her in.  So I wasn't able to finished the quilting I started on my Halloween quilt.  No worries though, I pulled out my trusty old little Pfaff and pieced two new quilt tops! 

I found both of the idea's on Pinterest.  The first one is called I Spy...10 Little Things by Katie Blacesley at Swim, Bike, Quilt.  It was featured on the Moda Bake Shop (here ).  I used the fabrics I had and changed the colors up a bit.  What do you think?

Here's a closer view of the squares before they were pieced.

I used one charm pack of 10 Little Things and then added in some scraps that I had and some left over pieces from I quilt I made for my nephew a couple years ago (the Dump Truck Quilt).  I quite like it!  It was a simple and quick one to put together, but cute and fun for a little boy I think!

The second quilt top I finished turned out fabulously!  I actually just looked at a picture I found on Pinterest and made my own pattern up.  I had exactly the fabrics I needed and it turned out to be a lovely extra large lap quilt size.  Unfortunately, this quilt cannot be revealed yet for reasons which shall remain secret. ;)  I will whet your appetite with a sneak peak though...  

There may be some of you who can guess the fabric line and design from this picture but, shhhh!  Keep it to yourselves for now!  All will be revealed in time!

Fit Tuesday

This was not the best week of sticking to my plan. I only walked 3 out of 7 days, although I did a whole 5 kilometers on Saturday. I went way over my calorie intake on 3 of the days as well, but on the other 4 I did well and yesterday I was even 35 calories under without feeling hungry. So long story short, don't give up just because you have a few bad days. Also, did you know that movie theatre popcorn with butter is 1500 calories? Holy cow! Anyways.... :) I'm not giving up.

I set a short term goal that when I lost 10 pounds I would order a dress that I found on my favorite seamstress's website! The girls at Ureshii Design are amazing! They fit cloths perfectly for every body shape. I have picked out the new dress Candyland except I will have it made with a flowly skirt and a granite color inset on the bodice. I can't wait! Only 3 more pounds to go!

So I will share part of my get fit plan with you today. I discovered a new recipe via Pinterest last week. Whole Wheat Chocolate Zucchini cake!

Oh my goodness it is delicious! The perfect chocolate treat that is healthy. Whole wheat, zucchini, apple sauce and only one egg. No oil and no butter in the recipe, but cocoa and chocolate chips! It is only 125 calories per serving. I found for me to continue with the diet plan I have to at least have foods that I love included. So this week the chocolate zucchini cake is it!

Here is the tally for this week:

Pounds lost: 2

Total lost: 7

Left to go: 50

I am linking up again this week with Fit Tuesday on Sweet and Sassy.

 

Butterfly

Despite what it may seem, I have been occasionally getting some time in my sewing room! I gave you a glimpse of my Butterfly quilt last week. I started these blocks in the fall and I have finally got around to finishing them off. I used a stash of Chez Moi Posh fat quarters I've had for ages and mixed in a stack of Kona solid basics. The pattern is from the book Celebrate Crazy by the girls at Buggy Barn. I added a narrow inner border of Moda Bella Solid chocolate. I still need to add a wide outer border of print fabric.

The good news is, I love how it turned out! The bad news is, Chez Moi Posh is out of stock and I need to find some fabric for the outer border. I was hoping to use one of the Posh prints, particularly this one if possible.

So if any of you reading this has some in they our stash, or if you know where I could find some, let me know! Otherwise I think I will have to find something close at my LQS that will work.

 

Fit Tuesday

I completed another week of my new healthy living plan! Two full weeks already! I have yet to miss a single day of walking. I have done at least 30 minutes of moderate pace walking everyday so far. Last week I was wearing a toque and mitts and yesterday I was wearing capris and a tank top! That's spring in Alberta I guess! So here are the stats this week:

Pounds lost: 3

Total lost: 5

Left to go: 52

I must say I'm feeling pretty good. I haven't got much quilting in, however I did get the antenna cut out and ironed on to my buggy barn butterfly blocks. They look so cool all laid out!

And check out the new design wall curtain that I also got a few weeks ago!

Thats all I have for today. I hope you are getting in more time in your sewing rooms then I am!

Motivation Monday

Last week I got my Unwind quilt back from where it was on display last year at SMT. It was nice to bring it home, it was like I was getting a new quilt!
Last week I also read a blog post by Shanna at Sweet and Sassy. She is starting a weekly link up for some motivation to get fit.
After reading her post as well as a couple of posts from others that she linked to, I decided on my own fitness goal. I plan to walk 30 minutes everyday.
So far I have walked everyday since last Tuesday. Friday and Sunday I went on longer walks with my sister one night and my friend the other. I feel pretty good so far. Lost 2 pounds this week! I'm still getting a lot of shin splints but I'm hope they will ease up as I continue walking regularly.

This weeks stats:

Pounds lost: 2

Total lost: 2

Left to go: 55

This week I'm linking up with Shanna and I'm featuring my unwind quilt with my running shoes!

One for the Money

This week I finished the quilt that I started last month at the SMT class. It was a gift for two good friends of mine that got married this Easter weekend.

Janay was absolutely radiant! It was a lovely small wedding and it seemed that everyone had a great time.

The quilt I made for them is called One for the Money because it's made with one striped fabric cut and pieced to make the square patterns. It is perfectly mathematical for two people that are both math teachers!

I took these pictures on the morning of the wedding. It was a beautiful sunny spring morning, a little chill in the air but not cold, and of course it was windy as it usually is here in the spring.

I pieced the backing and used up some of the extra striped triangles to make a zig-zag down the back. I really love how this turned out... I say that a lot I know, but seriously, the zig-zag is cool! I should really get around to making a whole zig-zag quilt front.

The fabric line I chose is called Prospect Park. I obviously used the stripped print for the main body of the quilt but this line has the greatest soft purple and greys with leaves and birds. Lovely for a spring/Easter wedding I think!

For the quilting I did mostly stitch-in-the-ditch and then I added a bit more straight line quilting to finish the pattern of squares on squares. I normally do the quilting a lot tighter but I liked this. The quilt was lighter and softer this way; it seemed to suit the silky soft cotton fabric.

This is officially the third quilt I've finished in 2012 and I was happy to give it to my friends. I hope they have a lifetime to love each other and make memories together and maybe this quilt will be part of their home for a large part of their life together.

Swiss Chocolate Jellyroll Quilt

Last week I was approached by a friend at church who was looking to organize an online auction for a family in Ethiopia. There is a family that desperately needs a home. The mother is widowed and she has two daughters. One of her daughters is currently being treated for a severe case of tuberculosis. My friend is a generous woman who is actively trying to help this family in need. They are already choosing lumber for the home and have begun setting out the design for the foundation. If you want to read more about this effort check out the Facebook page here at Temesgen's Hope 2012 Spring Into Action online charity auction. So why am I writting about this on my blog? She has asked me to help out and I was more than pleased to do that! I offered to make a lap quilt for the auction.

Last Sunday I looked though my stash and my eyes fell upon a lovely Swiss Chocolate Jellyroll. That's it! A Jellyroll quilt. It's easy, and quick to make. It's stunning and comfortable for a nice lap quilt. So while I was supposed to be doing homework (oops, I'm a procrastinator) I unrolled the fabric, arranged it, and sewed the 42, 40 inch strips in to a long snake with mittered joints.

I should have quit there and got to my homework but no, I went ahead and began sewing the lengths together! I paid for that later though when I was up until 1:30 finishing my seminary homework.

The rest of the week I went to work piecing some lovely soft minky for the backing. I love the color combination... I call it Neapolitan Ice Cream!

I quilted it with an extra large flowing meander pattern. I tend to do alot tighter quilting but I wanted this quilt to be softer and cuddlier so I left it looser.

So on Friday night I headed over to the church for craft night and did the final hand stitching on the binding. The quilt turned out great and I was so happy to give it over to Chantal today to add to her auction. If you would like to bid on my quilt and help support her cause you can find the auction going on here at Temesgen's Hope 2012 Spring Into Action online charity auction. There are a whole loot of other great items there as well, like an authentic African drum, an XL Harley Davidson Leather jacket, tool set, sunglasses, Norwex cleaning supplies, children's books, and much more! I have offered to pay the shipping for any items that my friends (or blog readers) from out of town manage to win the bid for, so please leave me a comment if you bid. If you choose to support this fantastic charity I will ship you the items that you win!

Finally, as you know, I make a point to label all my quilts. Sometimes I make a label and sew it into the backing but in this case I decided to just quilt my signature into the bottom by FMQ. I like it. I may try this again. :)