QUILT~A~LONG with PS I QUILT

I joined a quilt~a~long over at ps i quilt (isn't Rachel great!).  You should join in on the fun.  Here is the fabric I am using.

Countdown to Christmas Layer cake purchased at Burgundy Buttons
Also using a layer cake of Moda Bella Solids in Snow

I know, it's only June.  I thought I would follow Rachel's lead though and make a Christmas quilt.  Really, who has time to make a Christmas quilt during the Holidays anyway?  I am a little behind but I do have all of my small sqaures stitched to my solid layer cakes.

Hoping to them cut up and sewn back together over the next couple of days.  I am excited to get this one finished!

Hope you have a marvelous Monday!
Smiles
~Beth

35...BOOOOOO!

Today is my 35th birthday.  Me, 35, really?  When did that happen?  Sometimes I look around & think 'wow, when did I grow up?'.  Of course, I am happy to be married & a Mom to my 3 wonderful boys.  I could definately do without the gray hair coming in and the wrinkles on my forehead though.  Seems like that last 15 years have just flown by (cliche', I know...sorry.  You know it's true!). 

Since it's just a normal Monday around here I will spend the day with my boys and hugging on my 5~month old nephew.  Hopefully I will get a little sewing done in between squeezes.  Tonight, Adam has a baseball game.  I will also be enjoying this giant piece of lemon cake...yummy (thanks Mom)!

Hope you have a beautiful Monday!

Smiles
~Beth

P.S.  While writing this post I got a phone call from my fabulous Grandma Carol.  Even though I saw her on Saturday, and she gave me a card then, she wanted to give me some birthday wishes on my actual birthday.  35 or 5, Grandmas always know how to make you feel special :)  Thanks Grandma, love you!

HaPpY 11th BiRtHdAy!!!

Yesterday was my oldest son's birthday.  I can't believe he is 11 and will be going into the 6th grade in just a couple short months.  How did he go from this...

to this, so quickly?

He is growing up to be such a sweet, thoughtful and responsible very young man.  I am so proud and blessed to be his Mom. 

Some of the things I love about him are...
~his sincerity and thoughtfulness for others
~how much he admires his Dad
~he ALWAYS asks me how my day was before he goes to bed
~he doesn't mind helping me empty the dishwasher
~he still gives me lots of hugs and tells me he loves me (even without me doing it first)
~his love for his brothers (even though they can really get on his nerves sometimes)
~his patience and love for babies and toddlers (he adores his 4-month old cousin and the 18-month we care for)
~his passion for basball (and he is such a great 2nd basemen!)

Since I didn't get to post anything on Father's Day I am adding a pic of my hubby and the boys.  Both Nathan & Sam had tournaments so unfortunately we had to split up for most of the day.  My husband LOVED being able to watch his boys play ball all day though (Nathan's team came in 2nd and Sam's team came in 3rd!). 

Happy birthday to my sweet Nathan!  Thanks to my honey for being such a phenomenal role model & active father and a wonderful & supportive husband. 

 I also have to wish my Mom a very Happy Birthday as well.  So happy to have her in my life as a Mother and a friend.  You can see the pillow I made her here.  She loved it! 

Smiles
~Beth

A WELCOME GATHERED PILLOW {FOR MY MOM}

I took a little break from quilting my Grandma's quilt (I didn't end up using any of those quilting lines but that story is for another day) to make my Mom a sweet ruffled pillow for her birthday (coming up on Tuesday).  I just had to share some pics before we are off to another, you guessed it, baseball game (GO SAINTS!).

I followed a wonderful tutorial by Suzanne over at Just Another Hang up...thanks Suzanne!  The only difference between mine and hers is that I used Robert Kaufman quilter's linen instead of muslin and I added a few little touches by using vinyl heat transfer (all words cut out with my good ole' Silhouette).

You can bet I will be making one for myself as well!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Linking up to~
Tatertots and Jello!
Blue Cricket Design
Smiles
~Beth

ANOTHER {SILHOUETTE} SHIRT & BASTING A QUILT

I just had to share this little shirt I made for my nephew.  My brother-in-law came up with the saying.  I used my Silhouette to cut out the words.  I think it turned out pretty cute...

I really am going to work on some sewing related projects this week, I promise.  Today, I am basting a quilt for my Grandmother (her birthday was WAY back in February!).  I really dislike basting quilts.  Hopefully I will enjoy the quilting process better.  Lots of straight lines (drawn on the quilt already) and finagling that quilt in my sewing machine in my future.  Wish me luck!

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday!

Smiles
~Beth

A BUSY WEEKEND OF BASEBALL!

Not much sewing went on over the weekend but there was ALOT of baseball (7 games!).  (warning~picture heavy post)

Despite some losses, the boys played well and had LOTS of fun.  It did make for some tired little boys though.

A BIG thanks to my Uncle Marty for taking all of the great actions shots over the last couple of weeks.  You can check out his amazing work on his website, NITeRAM.

I am hoping to get some sewing done today.  We will see.  What did you do this weekend?

Smiles

~Beth

LOOK WHAT CAME IN THE MAIL!

I was thrilled when I checked the mail today and saw a little white package waiting for me.  Look what was inside...the fabric I need to finish Adam's quilt!

Riley Blake All Stars

 Of course, I couldn't just get what I needed.

Riley Blake~Sweet Nothings

Michael Miller~Black Cobblestone

 I ordered my little custom bundle from Cloth Keeper Fabrics on Etsy.

I am off to cut some more strips for my blocks!

Smiles
~Beth

SWANKY {ANOTHER QUILT IN PROGRESS}

While I am waiting for the fabric I need to finish Adam's quilt, I decided to work on a long lost quilt top I made a while back (probably almost 2 years ago...geez).  It just needs borders and then will be ready for quilting and binding. 

Fabric~Swanky by Chez Moi for Moda (out of print)

What are you working on?

Smiles
~Beth

AN ALL STAR QUILT {IN PROGRESS}

I have had squares cut for a zigzag quilt for over a year and a half now.  I decided it was time to trim them all down and start sewing them together.  I am using Riley Blake's All Star line (the first one).  It is one of my all time favorite lines for boys.  You can see another quilt I made with it here.

I have 9 rows of blocks sewn together but still have a lot of trimming to do.  After laying it all out (after almost 2 years) I realized that I want it to be a little bigger.  It will be for Adam (he is 5) & I want him to be able to use it for a while.  Luckily I was able to find most of the fabric I needed more of on Etsy.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any of the multi stripe.  I have enough to make more blocks but not enough for binding too (which was my original idea for it).  Maybe I can use a polk~a~dot or a solid instead...any suggestions?  Here is what it looked like before I started sewing it together...

If you are interested in making your own zigzag quilt check out this simple & easy~to~follow tutorial by Crazy Mom Quilts.

Well, it's almost rest time so I am off to do some more trimming & piecing.

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!

Smiles
~Beth

A FEW HEAT TRANSFER VINYL T~SHIRTS {SILHOUETTE}

I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend here in the States.  We were fortunate enough to spend time with family and enjoy lots of baseball.  Our oldest had a tournament and his team took 1st place...way to go FIRE!

Baseball seems to be taking up most of my time lately so not much sewing has been going on.  I have managed to squeeze a few t-shirt projects in though, using my Silhouette (of course!).

First, I made this shirt for Adam's soccer coach.  Their team is the Fireballs but their uniforms have a sponsor logo on them.  We love our sponsor but I thought it would be fun to make a special shirt for Coach.  It was hit with the team and it seems I will be making more of these for our Fall season.

The second shirt I made for a friend.  She designed the shirt with a program she has and I recreated it (not exactly but close) using my Silhouette. 

I made this next shirt for my littlest nephew, Connor.  Little guys want to cheer on their big brothers too :)

This last shirt I made for Adam.  I figured I could still get away with making him one that says "my mom rocks" since he is only 5.  Funny thing, when I finished it my 8-year asked me to make him one too & he even wants it to say the same thing (such a sweetie!).

He wears it so proudly...melts my heart.

Well, that's it for now.  I am detertimed to get some sewing time in so hopefully I will have something fun to show you soon. 

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

Smiles
~Beth