happy halloween!

I won our office's Halloween costume contest :) I've been doling out finger guns ALL day. Plus, since I won, I get to mark that off my 101 Things list too!

one and done

If you are my real life friend and just had a baby, close your eyes and leave right now! Your husband is bringing you this gift tonight :)
I finally finally finished one of my three in-progress baby quilts. And not even the one I was working on earlier this week. This is a baby quilt I started working on back in September, although I saw the fabric back in March. I based the blanket off of an idea in Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts- "Follow the Lines."


I didn't quilt nearly as much as that quilt called for, but I started in the middle by outlining every third or fourth animal, spreading outwards towards the edges. This way there would be no bunching or wrinkled fabric.


The fabric is Alexander Henry 2D Zoo in the blue colorway, and it's for a lucky baby boy! I bought flannel backing from JoAnn's, and regular blue double-fold bias tape for the edges, which I zig-zagged on.


The outline stitching did indeed take forever, but I made double use of my time by watching Season 1 of Mad Men (although the beautiful sets and costumes made it hard to focus on sewing). Last night I watched an episode of Samantha Who, The Daily Show, and two of Colbert Report while finishing and then re-fixing the bias tape.

I'm very proud of this blanket. The sewing might not be the best ever, but I love love love the fabric and hope that his (super cool) parents like it too!

dia de los muertos

I was at the Indianapolis Art Center last week for my running club, and took several pictures of their Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead exhibit. I loved their decorations, including those made by local school children. Then, last night at the Dollar Store, in search of a flag lapel pin for my Halloween costume (which I cannot find ANYWHERE), I found these:

Felt shapes, five for a dollar, in bright colors. It reminded me of this:

I love the bright shapes and different sizes of the felt shapes. Plus, I can use them again for birthdays or come springtime! I'm going to join them with a needle and thread, strung through the tops of all of the shapes, and hung from my stairway.


ETA: The Felt Mouse had a similar idea, and added fabric skull accents too. Too cute!

101 Things Update

An update on my 101 Things list:

100% completed:
#40. Vote in 2008 elections (10/27/08)
#42. See Broadway/musical show (Avenue Q- 10/16/08)

In progress:
#1. Post on my blogs every day for a month (28/31)
#17, 18, 19. Pay down three debts
#5. Make extra cards for my stash (2/20)
#31. Send 10 Thank you cards (1/10)
#22. Put $5 for every task completed (3/101, I went ahead and put my marathon money in while I was at it)
#32. Send special cards to my mom 30 times (1/30)
#34. Freerice.com- (17140/1000000)
#36. Donate 100 things to goodwill (30+/100)

I'm currently working on several thank you cards, but I need more tape, and stamps!! I also started to clean out the closet but it's nowhere near done. My sister MIGHT move back in with me; we'll see, but that will move up some of the painting stuff if I can get her to help. Oh, and my mom picked four pictures for my living room frames one day while she was at my house, so I could technically cross that off my list. But I'm not convinced that those are the four photos I want to keep. I'll be able to mark off some of them soon- like my marathon. T-minus four days!!!

i voted!

I can cross a second thing off my 101 Things List- I voted early! There was a line at the building, but it moved very quickly. So that's it! Next Tuesday I can sit back and relax...and watch the results roll in!

in progress pictures

I figured out bias-tape binding, for the most part. Let me start by saying that making your own bias-tape? SO NOT WORTH IT. Even if it does coordinate with the fabric, it took two hours to make. And it's still not even. Do you know how much it sells for at Jo-Ann? Like two bucks.

I used a tutorial to cut one long continuous strip of bias tape. I'd say it was easier than cutting each strip individually and then trying to sew them all together, but it wasn't easy. I also had problems seeing my lines on the fabric, even with yellow colored pencil (busting out the art supplies!). When it came time to put the tube together, I had to just hope that the lines would line up after I sewed it. They did, but they were just a wee bit off. That made my strips a bit uneven, which I could have fixed but I was not in the mood.

I used the needle-method to fold my bias tape. It's easier if you think of the needle only as a guide- you still need to fold the fabric to the middle, but the needle is there to help hold it while you iron it. I was expecting it to just magically fold my bias tape for me. Sadly, this was not the case.

I still have to sew the bias tape onto the back, but this is roughly what it looks like. Please ignore the dangling threads!

still this close

I am no closer to finishing these baby blankets! I had to work today, so I will have to work on them tomorrow. I did get quasi-caught up on Mad Men. If only I could stay up to watch Jon Hamm on SNL...