Steph's Surprise! Cute Cork Board Tutorial

So my students and my sister both love my "cork board." (I forgot to take a picture with all my students' cute stuff...I was moving out)

Here's how to make it:

1.) Gather all your materials: (1/2 yard cuts of fabric)  A 1/2 yard is enough to do a pack of four 12x12 cork squares...but I always use multiple colors!

 2.) Cut the cork board into 2 inch strips.

3.) Tack pairs of cork strips together with hot glue.  I use six dots around the edges.

4.) Cut (or tear) your fabric into approx. 4x14" pieces.  I tore a 14" piece off the 1/2 yard cut, then cut it into 4.5" pieces.  I like tearing...it's a welcome change from very detailed quilt cutting.

5.) Anchor both long sides.  Be careful not to burn yourself and do the second side in stages if you want time to pull the fabric taught.

6.) Fold the corners of the ends in and glue in place.

7.) Clean up any hot glue strings and threads and repeat until satisfied!

I use Command brand poster strips to hang these on the wall...one on each end with the tabs sticking out.  You can attach them any way you want!

I'm linking up with T.N.T Thursday since this is my first stab at a crafty tutorial :)

A quilt for Grace

So when your best friend asks you to make a quilt for her little sister, you have to say yes.  Her only instructions were that Grace loves purple and bunnies...here's what I've got so far:

What do you think...should I add faces to the other bunnies or leave them as silhouettes? 

A minor error in the length of the flying geese meant a redesign.

I was trying to make a rectangle and settled on a square.








I'm excited at how quickly it's moving along, but I have to say I lost some steam when I had to rip my first large seam.

Other works in progress:
Hooverville quilt (mostly hibernating, but it's the next one I'd pick back up)

Hibernating:
Square root of nine
T-shirt quilt
Girl baby quilt (this one seems like a fun project to quilt with minimal sewing difficulty)

Want to start:
Bold batik Boxtrot for myself
Some decorative pillows

I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday.

Work in progress..first time fromVA!

Well, the weekend was full of quilting time, but now the work week is back and I'm back to running moving related errands. Today it's getting a drivers license, plates, and registration from Virginia. Obtaining all the necessary inspections and waiting in line pushed the five hour mark :/

But  in other news, quilting and packing to go back to SC for the final load of stuff took priority once finished at the DMV.

Binding was made using the endless binding method.

And I tried a fancy new tool or two from clover while machine binding. (The little red clips...I have a feeling they're not new...just new to me.)

I finished the quilt label using instructions posted by Leah Day. (I'm always so thankful that she seems to have the answers to all my quilting questions :)

I finished the hand stitching on the plane (couldn't believe that).

Then I snapped some shots on my parent's back porch:

I'm linking up to Quilty Embellishment Day with Pat at Color me Quilty...you should check out her blog...it's great!

First Modern Design Realized!

A while back I started working on a quilt for my friend Krystal.  See here.  I tried a layout like this:

But settled on one like this:

But then the question was...how to quilt it?  I'd originally made a plan for quilting based on the first design plan.  Well, close to the end of the school year, I ended up with some hours to kill with only a new quilting book and a pad of paper to amuse myself.  I came up with a plan:

Now...I had no idea if I could actually execute this plan with limited free-motion experience...but I'm happy to report that I could!  It's amazing what you can do when you're trying to do it for someone else...someone that's going to love it no matter how it looks.  Normally, my perfectionism is my enemy.  I hope everyone is blessed to have friends that will love your crafts because you made them, and without judgement.

Here's a preview...the finished quilt is coming soon!

Love what you do!  Don't dwell on being perfect (lesson to my future self)...

I'm HOME!

Apparently moving in with my new husband threw me into home-making mode.  I have not worried so much about cleanliness and organization ever in my life.  Unfortunately, two weeks in and it's wearing off...I was really hoping that would stick around.

What IS sticking around is a frenzy of food experimentation brought about by some really good deals at the grocery store and amazing farmers markets in Fairfax County.

Purely for my own memory...so far I've made:
1.) Summer marinated pasta, with lemon-herb marinated chicken and roasted tomatoes and garlic
2.) Meatball sandwiches (an old standby)
3.) Plum jam
4.) Bisquick oven fried chicken
5.) Lebanese cucumber salad
6.) Summer squash with onions
7.) Herb roasted potatoes (another old standby)
8.) Tomato and corn salad with lime cilantro dressing (this one I need to write down)

Still coming up...slow cooker lasagna and an Indian stir fry.

My craft corner is up and running again...more on that later!

It's been awhile...

Oh my goodness...

So much has happened...

First of all, I am the world's most pleased bride.  Everyone loved the wedding (me most of all), and if there was family drama, I never saw it.  John and I are happily married (finally) after 6 1/2 years of dating.

We went to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island for our honeymoon.  And although I had a cold and nearly perforated my eardrum on the plane, we had a great time!

Things I love most about Canada:
1.) The friendly people
2.) Their love of the environment and local food/shopping culture
3.) The food
4.) Tea all the time
5.) Beautiful wool and crafts
6.) The wind (when it's not too intense)
7.) The scenery

I've also managed to sneak in some crafts / design time.  Most was geared towards the wedding or moving to Virginia.

I painted our wall and hung paintings I'd created earlier the week before.  As I was painting, I was interrupted by Fairfax County Schools and offered a JOB!!!  That made for a very good day.

The next few days were about learning my way around and finishing curtains.

UPDATE: This post was actually written twenty days ago!  I just needed to add pictures.

WIP Wednesday--School's Out!

Right after posting this I'll be off to school for the students' last day of classes.  I'm in my final week at my beloved school before moving to Virgina.  A school there is holding a spot for me, but I'm still praying that all the paperwork works out (aka-I'll feel better once I've signed a contract).

To calm the anxiety caused by so much impending change, I sewed more of Krystal's beautiful quilt inspired by Block Party.

After trying many layouts I settled on this:

 I had minor dog interference as I sewed strips together...silly Ellie!

Then I finished the top...I still feel like I need work getting large blocks of fabric to feed easily.  Suggestions to prevent puckers?

Now I'm starting to piece some stripes for some blocks for the back.  My inspiration, also from Block Party.

So...that's where I'm at right now!  I'm linking up to WIP Wednesday!

Here's hoping finalizing grades today helps ease my anxiety.