Make It Modern: A block update

Just thought I'd give you guys a little update on the WONDERFUL blocks I've been receiving from Make It Modern (my quilting bee)!!! I'm not going to put who sent what (honestly I can't remember off the top of my head, but I will have an updated post in the near future with each member's name with their block!)

I love how unique she made the "center" of this one!!!!

 I adore the fabrics she used!!! You can't really see it that well in this pic, but the center is 2 little turtles!! SO CUTE!

 This one is just SUPER CUTE! Love the little hedgehogs!!!!

I love the way she used improv piecing!!!! It looks AMAZING!!!

 I love this block!!! The angle she used really sets it off!!!

 This is anoter block that I made, it looks so plain compared to all these other gorgeous blocks!

Tula Pink!!! That's all I need to say! LOVE THE FROG!!! This block is just GREAT!!!
There seems to be an animal thing among my bee mates! LOL! I wish I had some animal type fabrics and I'd remake my blocks, but oh well....I'll make it work some how! This is all that I've received so far but I'm LOVING them!! I can't wait to get them all and put them next to each other!! This is going to make one FANTASTIC quilt that I will LOVE FOREVER!!!!
Thank you girls!!! ;)

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!!!~

Make It Modern: Our first sponsor!

This month has absolutely FLOWN BY! I can NOT believe it's already the 22nd!!! WOW!
So far, this month has been a really busy one, but a great one!
Best of all, the Make It Modern Bee that Jamie and I started is going GREAT! This months blocks are turning out FANTASTIC!

The Make It Modern Quilting Bee is thrilled to have Southern Fabrics as one of our monthly sponsors! Southern Fabrics sells on both their own website and Etsy.
Not only do they have amazing customer service, extremely fast shipping, and great prices but Southern Fabrics carries all of the current modern fabrics to meet you stash needs! From pre-cuts to yardage and patterns!

They also offer a GREAT selection of "scrap bags" from some of the BEST lines of fabrics! (including the above pictured!)
I don't know about you, but I find it pretty hard to resist a beautiful selection of assorted fabrics. I love me some scraps too, and most of the time I don't have big enough pieces left over to actually make anything substantial, but Southern Fabrics has the cure...they offer

Rainbow Scrap Bags!!! The best! (yes, I'm obsessed with scraps! Don't judge me!)

If you go to their dot com site they have a GREAT deal of the day where you can get charm packs and jelly rolls at rock bottom prices!! (I've seen charm packs as low as $5.99 and jelly rolls as low as $14.99!!!)

Check out their facebook page to see their current giveaway...I promise with this great shop you can't go wrong!

Thanks to Southern Fabrics for sponsoring our Make It Modern Quilting Bee!!! This month Jamie and I will randomly pick a winner from all the people who posts a pic of their blocks by the last day of the month (which happens to be a short 2 Thursdays away). The winner this January will have her choice of any charm pack at Southern Fabrics. So get those blocks done, photographed, and in the mail to be in the running!

So far, it's a good start....

To the New Year!!! I've had a lot go on in such a short time this year! Most importantly, I'd like to introduce everyone to...

Miss Abby who is my newest niece! She was born Jan. 4, 2013 weighing 8lbs 5.7 oz and was 21 1/4 in. long! She's perfect!!! Had a rough first week but is home now and doing great! She's such a good baby so far too! I just want to eat her! LOL! That's been the most exciting news!

On another note, I lost my job! :( But the only reason that happened is because I found a new one, the new job called the old job, and the old job....well.... let's just say got a little mad. But it's for the best, really! I'll be working dayshift (THANK GOD!) instead of nights, pay is better, and I'll get to spend more time with my babies! Hopefully, this will work out the way I have planned! *fingers crossed*

I've been sewing quite a bit this year too! If anyone follows me on IG (craftnursequilt) then you guys already know! Let me show ya a little bit of what I've got going on!

I started on the Lucky Stars BOM last night! This is the practice block, I decided to do this quilt out of all solids! Hopefully I'll get to use up a lot of those charms from my Kona Rainbow swap! I'm going with a grayish background too....I don't think I'm going to stick to a specific gray, just different grays that I have on hand. I think it'll look pretty good!

I've got Miss Abby's quilt top all sewn together (no pic of the completed top! Sorry!) and am working on the backing.

I finished my Bee block, which I love!!!! I think Samantha did a FANTASTIC job designing this quilt block, she calls it "Momma Goose" and I can NOT wait to see the finished product! You can find the tutorial here and she's also got a drawing of what she wants the finished quilt to look like!

I am enrolled in Vanessa Christenson's Craftsy class called Sewing Texture and I absolutely LOVE her ideas!!!!

I've gotten this far on my pillow top! It's super easy!!! And I love her ideas of using texture so much that I've designed a mini quilt top for the DQS13 using pleats!

The rainbow of color in the center will be pleats, I'm hoping I can figure out how to pull this off! I think it'll be really cool looking if I can do it! So wish me luck!!!!


Also, this year...my baby girl turned 5!!!!!!! I can't believe how big she is getting! Where has all the time went??????

I finished this lovely for her baby doll and gave it to her as a b-day gift! I love how it turned out! The colors are so much brighter than this pic shows! And she LOVES it!!!
So this year so far, has been pretty good!!! I'm hoping everything works out the way I want it to! I know it's gonna be a lot to adjust to, but I've got a good support system backing me 100% so I think it'll all work out!
Now, I'm off to sew, not sure what, but it will involve me & my machine!!!!!
~Hope y'all are having a great day!!~

2013 here I come!

I don't know about y'all but for me, 2012 FLEW BY! It like just yesterday I was moving into my new home (which was right after last Christmas!) I hadn't even picked up my first piece of fabric, hadn't sewn a stitch! Wow! That's so hard to believe!!! As you can see in the above pic, I've made quite a bit of progress with sewing (and that's just some of the stuff I've made)! I actually got my first sewing machine last Christmas! Best Christmas present to date! It changed my life! Literally!!!!! I am so glad that I started sewing, that I started blogging, and have met so many amazingly talented, sweet people through doing so!!!!
This past year has brought on a lot of changes for me and my family, some for the better, some I'm still not so sure about! I do know that we are happy, and that's what is important!
And I want to say THANK ALL OF YOU for reading my blog, and supporting me in my learning/crafting adventures! Without your continued support (and the support of my family especially my hubby) I wouldn't be where I am today!

So, is everyone looking forward to the new year? A new year means a chance for new beginnings, a chance to look back on the past year and plan for the new one! So that's what I'm trying to do! I'm going to do my best to plan (and follow through) my year! I don't mean a hard core plan, I just mean some goals to accomplish for the year! I don't have a huge list of goals, but the goals I do have I sincerely want to accomplish them! So y'all want to know what they are?????
Sure ya do!!!!



My 2013 Goals
*Be more organized! (So I know what I need to do, when I need to do it, how to do it etc)
* Finish what I start!!!! (this one is really important to me because it seems like I have a problem finishing a lot of the things I start, such as quilt alongs etc)
*Spend less money (on stupid things so maybe I can actually get ahead of myself for once!)
*Write a tutorial (or 2)
*Make my own design/pattern (of anything whether it be a bag, quilt, pouch ANYTHING!)
*Work towards opening up a shop (of some sort)
*Manage my time better (so I can spend more time with my babies!)
*Blog AT LEAST 3 times a month but hopefully more than that!

See, that's not too bad of a list is it? I think it's all pretty much accomplishable (is that a word?)
Now, I have a list of things I hope to make this year

My 2013 "To Make" list
*Swoon Quilt (I have the pattern and fabric, just gotta DO IT!)
*Super Mario Brothers Quilt (by Angela of Cut To Pieces )
*A completely Improv Quilt (because I love the look of them!)
*Curtains for my bedroom
*Make Gabe a quilt (I'm thinking I can combine this one with the Super Mario Brothers quilt, I think he will love it!)

Not too bad, and I think it'll be managable!

I've looked through all my stuff and got yet another list to share with you guys, but this one is with pics!!! (YAY!)

My WIP list
*Scrappy Trip Around The World (yes, I drank the Kool-Aid over on IG and joined in with them!!! I've made pretty good progress on it too! 20 blocks down 16 to go!)

This is the first 16 blocks, I haven't laid out all 20, and this isn't the final layout by any means! I'm making this for my momma and hope to have it finished by the end of Feb. (trying to be realistic!)
*The quilt for my bed (I'm doing a traditional coin quilt, pattern by Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts and you can find her tutorial here I'm just enlarging it!)

This is what I've got done so far! Still have a lot to do, but making some progress!

I'm using charm packs of the line Papillon by Me and My Sister (I think it's a gorgeous line!) And I hope to have this quilt finished up by no later than the middle of Feb (this is pushing it! But hopefully I can do it!)
*Dakota's Quilt

Just need to add some more negative space to it to make it bigger than I'll have the completed top!

This is my own design, I think its turning out pretty good and I think he will love it! (I still have not let him see it!!!)
*Christmas Quilt (yeah, I know I know, you don't even have to say it!)

Here is the completed top, I have the back done and it's basted! I just have to quilt it!!! (Which was my plan for the past weekend except, I drank that damn Kool-Aid!) LOL!
I'll have this one done by the end of the month, that's reasonable, right?
*Of course I have my monthly Bee blocks (since I started the thing!)
*DQS (I'm in the "designing" phase of this one, but I have a really neat idea, I just hope I can pull it off and that my Partner will LOVE it!)


Now, these are not WIP but they kinda go along with the whole "finish what I start" thing.
*Skill Builder BOM that can be found here by Pile O Fabric
*Lucky Stars BOM by Don't Call Me Betsy (click on that link over there to learn more!)
So those will hopefully be done by the end of the year! That's 4 or 5 blocks a month, on top of whatever else I'm making! *I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can*

I've already started trying to get myself a bit more organized! My momma got me

this cute thing and my WIP's fit perfectly in there! I'm putting sticky notes on the drawers so I know what's in each one, along with whatever fabrics I've got pulled for them! Good idea, huh? Easily accessible!

This year on top of everything that I have learned already over the past year, I am hoping to learn all kinds of new things, challenge myself on a weekly basis to improve my skills, and become a better quilter! And with the help of you guys, I know I can do it! I do have to ask you guys for a kinda big favor though!

HELP KEEP ME ON TRACK! I find your comments and e-mails so inspiring and motivating! So please comment, e-mail me, whatever! Just keep being the BEST BLOG FOLLOWERS IN THE WORLD! Cuz you already are! ;)

So, do you guys think I can do it? What kind of goals do you all have for this year? I'd love to know!!! I'd love it if you guys would challenge yourself to one of the BOM's I'm doing, I think they are both going to turn out to be amazing quilts! Are you guys already doing one? If so, which one?


I'm also trying to plan a few more things for this year, maybe another fabric swap or maybe a QAL of some sort? What would you guys like to do? Another Bee (now that I've got one going I kind of know how to get them started!) Let me know!!!!!

Happy New Year from my home to yours!!!!!!!!!!

~Hope y'all are having a GREAT day!~

Make It Modern is here!!!! (And so is my block)

I am so excited!!! It's the first of the 2013 and MY QUILTING BEE HAS OFFICIALLY STARTED!!! YAY!!! *jumps up and down*
So, I thought about what block I wanted LONG AND HARD, and I decided I wanted to go simple but modern. So what's better than a wonky log cabin? Truth be told, I'm a little obsessed with Elizabeth Hartman *blush* and I ABSOLUTELY L-O-V-E her class on Craftsy it's called Inspired Modern Quilts and it is really just amazing!!! (If you are reading this the day I posted it the class is on sale RIGHT NOW for only $19.99 from $39.99 and I HIGHLY RECCOMEND IT to anyone who wants to learn ANYTHING about modern quilts, improv piecing, and quilting!!!! Seriously, I'm not getting paid for this, I was just going there for the link and saw it was on sale, and for real, it's a killer class!!!!)
But okay, I told you all that to tell you this, I took "inspiration" from her Wonky Log Cabin class! She has serious talent and style!!! But if you don't know how to make a Wonky Log Cabin there are tons and I do mean TONS of tutorials out there for them! Here's a few links:
Tallgrass Prairie Studio's can be found here
Quilt Dad's can be found here
Ellison Lane Quilts' can be found here
Hopefully you can take something from each of those, and what I'm about to tell you and make a FANTASTIC BLOCK!!!!
Want to see mine? I know you do!

I LOVE the way this turned out! Just like I had pictured!!!!
I didn't do up a tutorial since there are already so many great ones out there, so I'll just tell ya a little about what I did!!!!
I first selected my print fabrics (I had a color scheme in mind!)

Then I selected my solids, although I don't have a pic of all the solids with the prints, here is what I took! (I really need to start thinking ahead!)

So, my color choices (and it'll be okay if you just have "close enough") Are orange, mustard to a gold yellow, and blue (the blue can be as dark as this print to an aqua I love a good variety!!!!) I added Kona Snow (but any white, or off white will do) for a little frame to make it pop and the one color I really would love if everyone could use (because it's my sashing color) is Kona Steel. If you can't get your hands on some, just let me know!
Then I cut a "center" square. It can be anywhere from 3.5"-5.5" and went from there.

As you can see, I went for the WONKY angles! And I didn't technically do the "rings" and you don't have to either. I'd really love for you guys to get as creative as you'd like with this block! I'd like more solid than print if you have it, it doesn't have to be different colors of blue, it can be a mix of yellows, oranges, and blues, or one of them or all of them!!! I'm not hard to please!!!! I promise!

This is my block before I added my "sashing". As you can see, if you just have little bits of a print you can easily add it into the block for a fun look! (I got this all from Elizabeth's class!)

Here is another close up. I'd also like it if you can off center your "middle", it can be like mine in the bottom left of the block or the bottom right, top right, top left, however you want to do it! Seriously, let you imagination run wild with this one! If you have any questions what-so-ever do not hesitate to e-mail me or call me or post it on the Flickr thread!

I can NOT WAIT to see what you guys come up with!! I know these blocks will be FANTASTIC! As will be the quilt! I'm so excited!!!!
Oh, btw did I mention we are going to be having some giveaways for our Bee???? There will be one SPONSORED giveaway a month!!!!! And maybe at the end of this thing, we may be having a rather large giveaway(s), ya know, just saying!!!!
This month's sponsor will be the wonderful Southern Fabric! All you have to do to be eligible is send your block on time (or before) the deadline!!!!! Which is the last day of the month! I will have another blog post all about our sponsor probably halfway through the month, or maybe when we announce the winner (the first day of next month) not sure yet!

So, are you guys as excited as me? I can't wait to get crackin' on Samantha's (my co- Queen's) block!!!!