Christmas in February?

I knew with some sewing projects making their way onto my gift-giving Christmas list, I wouldn't be making much Christmas quilty fun for myself this year.  And then it hit 2018, and I decided that this year, I'm going to make the big beautiful holiday/seasonal quilts I've always loved (and obsessively stalked on Instagram) for myself.  I'll still make baby quilts (yes, another coworker is pregnant) and quilts as gifts, but I'm going to take time to make quilts for me too.

And it begins with the Christmas quilt!  I stole borrowed this pattern from Maker Valley, and it just screamed out to me.  I love the candy cane border, the various low-volume background, and the fun motif without being a complicated block pattern.  Most of my quilts are comprised of a single block pattern repeated, and this one just seemed so fun without being cheesy.

It's HUGE.  70" x 78" and it fits across the top of my queen-sized bed (just the top, no hanging over the sides).  It'll make a perfect lap quilt.

I wanted the backing to be snuggly.  Being so large, I was going to need either wide backing fabric or 4.5 yards, and all the Christmas fabric was on sale - I got this plaid flannel for $2.80 per yard!  I tried out a new batting too - 80/20 Pellon.  If this was going to be the quilt everyone fought over, it needed to be fluffy, and between the batting and flannel backing, it delivers.  

I gave serious consideration to sending this quilt to a long-arm quilter.  I didn't think my machine could handle it.  But at about $100 for simple quilting, I was at least willing to try and do it myself (and save $100 in the process!).  I cross-hatched each block, and the grid turned out just right - not too much quilting to make it stiff, not so little that the batting shifts.  

I had originally thought I'd go with a green and red striped binding, but it seemed too distracting. Instead, I went with Kona Ice Frappe, a light robin's egg blue, and it was the right choice.

Britton claimed first snuggle

But wait, there's more!  I can always use a Christmas throw pillow!  I spied this one on Instagram too, and got out my Bonnie and Camille fabrics to make it.  Once the dresden plate and backing were complete, I grabbed my embroidery thread and got to work on the words.  I've still got one more Christmas pillow to finish (I started the hand-embroidery in October and will maybe have it completed by next December).

WVU auction time!

 As ya'll know, I donate at least one quilt each year to WVU College of Law's Public Interest Advocates (PIA) auction (see previous donations and more info here).  I can't find a post from last year or the year before, which means I probably just donated quilts from my Etsy shop.  This year, I found my favorite bandana/paisley WVU fabric back in stock, and it was meant to be that I would make a WVU baby quilt!  I had also just made the "Salt Spray" pattern from my February issue of "American Patchwork and Quilting" magazine (yes, I still subscribe to magazines, and yes, a quilting magazine is one of my many subscriptions, which makes me about 80 years old), and the pattern is a real show-stopper.

The gold and navy fabrics are mostly scraps, both patterned and solids.  The variety lends so much depth to the quilt, and gives it interest.

In keeping with my WVU-colored theme, I whipped up a fun Union Jack pillow too!  It was quick to make (and came together perfectly with English paper piecing precision), and is zippered for easy removal.  It features the same backing fabric as the quilt, and the same Kona gold fabric as the binding ("Corn Yellow").

I also threw in a pink/yellow/green quilt that hadn't sold in the more than two years its been listed on Etsy.  It is an adorable baby quilt, so hopefully someone snatches that up too!

barrett: 57 months old

Poor Barrett, his monthly pictures are totally out of whack!  Turns out, he's actually 57 months old this month (turns 5 in May), and I went back and noticed that I had him at 54 months for both November AND December, which explains why I had him 1 month short.  So, in learning my mistake last night, I printed a new picture for his photo session, and yet I ended up throwing away the correct one!  Lordy, I need a vacation!

In the theme of February's Valentine's Day, have I shared Barrett's current loves?  Flags, for starters.  All countries, he can name about 10 or so from sight.  His scooter, now that he knows how to steer by leaning and can go really fast!  Cherry sno cones, because they are referenced in his "Henry and Mudge" book - it's been months since we've had sno cones.  Ahhhh......sno cones.......Anything LEGO Batman - though he claims Robin is his favorite character from the movie.  Nya, his favorite Ninjago Ninja.

Likes:  see above!  

Dislikes:  Having strep!  Luckily he's feeling much better now

may I have this dance?

Britton and the hubs went to a daddy-daughter dance last night, and enjoyed themselves (at least until Britton's feet started hurting from all the dancing!).  I appreciate that the dance is usually near Easter, so at least I can get a dress and have two uses for it!   The theme this year was "Paris," and Britton wanted something light pink.  I found this dress on Amazon (where I find everything ever), a tea-length light pink perfection of a dress!  

All of Britton's friends were talking about the dance all day Friday at school, and by the time she got home from school, she was ready to go.  But the dance wasn't until 6:30 pm!  So she played outside for a while, ate dinner, then finally got to get ready!

We came up with Britton's hair on the fly.  At first she wanted a bun, then a braid, then a french braid across her head.  I went ahead and kept french braiding around her entire head!

The hubs reports that once they got to the dance, got into a few slow dances and cupcakes, Britton was running off with her friends.  Already a teenager!

102 months old

 Britton has been having a great 2018!  After the Christmas break, the kids were out of school for two days for icy conditions, so we're finally back to everyone being on schedule.  Britton has had a few quizzes and homeworks assignments, and is consistenly doing well.  We've read a couple of Nancy Drew books, and are now reading "The One and Only Ivan."  Sadly, unless JK Rowling writes anymore, there are no further Harry Potter books in our future!

Britton isn't growling in the photo below - she's showing me her missing teeth!  She's now lost both of her canines on the bottom.  She wanted her tooth to stay in until school today (so she could get the glory of going to the nurse's office and getting the tooth-shaped necklace you get when you lose a tooth at school), but her tooth had other plans - it fell out this morning!

Likes:  any chapter book with a giant-eyed kitten or puppy on the cover, the tooth fairy, riding on her scooter

Dislikes:  waiting until April to start soccer