Out of Office today

I am currently out of the office, running 25.6 miles up a mountain.  Jealous?  Yeah, didn't think so....

I actually do have a few sewing finishes to share, but they'll need to wait until I get back (assuming I survive this race)!  

Ragnar Adirondack 2012 ~ 9.28.12 - 9.29.12

12 women ~ 2 vans ~ 2 days ~ 1 night ~ 196 miles ~ 34 consecutive hours

Friday around 7:00 am, I'll run 6.2 miles - relatively flat, but in 35 degree temperatures, next to a lake (read: really super cold for a South Florida girl!).

Friday around 6:30 pm, I'll run 7.8 miles - only the last mile is straight uphill.

Friday around 9:15 pm, I'll run 5.9 miles up (and then down) that lovely slope circled in red, above.  (This 5.9 miles is only 1 hour after I finish the 7.8 miles.  Yeah, I'm nuts!)

Saturday around 5:15 am, I'll tackle my last 5.7 miles.  OK, "tackle" may be the wrong word... but I'll finish them!

Total of 25.6 miles in under 24 hours.  It's not a marathon, but it comes darn close!  If this doesn't break my marathon fever, I'm not sure what will.... 

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

The 2nd Best Kind of Mail

I'll admit it.... when I see other bloggers posting about the packages of fabric they have received in the mail, I get a little twinge of jealousy.  It's my own fault, with my self-imposed Fabric Fast for 2012.  I've been good, only cheated once!  (By the way, the splurged FQ bundle with the ladybug on it is now a quilt top... but I'll save that for another day.)

Since I can't order fabric, I splurge on the next best thing... new sneakers and compression sleeves in fun colors!

I know.... this has absolutely nothing to do with sewing / quilting / crafting... but it sure does make me happy!

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

12 year UFO now complete!

A few months ago I blogged about a log cabin quilt that my mom started (for my husband-to-be at the time... we've now been married over 12 years) ages ago.  She had the top done and it was basted, but she never completed the quilt. I "inherited" it a while back, along with the extra fabric she had from the blocks.  I'm proud to say that I've finally finished it and it's on my way to my brother as a (slightly belated) birthday gift!

You can read more about the quilt here.... but the short version is that her method and my method are not the same, and I thought I'd be better off undoing some of what she had done and finishing it up in the way I knew best.  I ripped out about a million little stitches (from her basting), added fabric to the back, then basted, quilted and bound this guy.  It's about a twin size and I think my brother will love it! 

As far as I know, Mom has only made a few quilts, all a traditional log cabin block.  I love how she arranged these so the lights and darks make a diamond pattern.

A few close-ups of her blocks.

I added some 6" strips of fabric going in both directions on the back (from the leftover she had given me), to make the backing big enough once I had taken hers apart.  It was exactly the same size as the top and I wanted to give myself a little bit of wiggle room.

I mentioned a few days ago that my sewing machine had been in the shop for a few weeks, which was very sad.  However, it turned out not to be all bad.  After the timing was fixed (I didn't know it was broken!), I was able to actually FMQ something without the stitches skipping or the thread breaking every time I went over a seam.  You can see from these pics that my FMQ leaves a LOT to be desired... the lines are not smooth, there is no rhyme or reason to it, it's more dense in some places than in others.... but I was going for a very large meander, just enough to hold it all together.  I used a dark blue thread and it was easy to get "lost" when I was quilting over the blue on the front.  There were several times that I couldn't easily see where I had already stitched and my squiggles got closer than I wanted.  

For a quilt this large (twin size), I knew I'd pull my hair out before I got a beautiful, consistent pattern FMQ'd on there, so I just let myself have fun.  It was great practice and I feel more confident about trying something a little "prettier" on the next (hopefully smaller!) quilt I make.  Overall, I'm happy with it, and I know my brother won't be grading my FMQ skills!

I bound it with more of her extra fabric - the small polka dots used in the front blocks.  The color scheme was inspired by the uniforms of the New York Yankees (white and dark blue at home... gray for away games) so it only made sense to take a picture with the hat!

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Linking up with: 

Confessions of a Fabric Addict for "Whoop Whoop Friday"

Amy Lou Who for "Sew and Tell"

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~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

Reusable Snack Bags

I don't know about you, but with 2 kids who take their lunch to school every day, I feel like I was buying plastic zipper bags (snack size) pretty much every time I went to the store.  I was using at least 6 each day between the two girls and it felt like such a waste!  I tried small plastic containers (too hard to open or whoops! it got thrown away).  I tried asking the girls to bring me home the bags so I could re-use them, but they ripped too easily or whoops!  it got thrown away.  

I decided to try making some reusable snack bags.  I had a whole bunch of zippers and of course, plenty of scrap fabric!  I picked two colors of the same print (my little one loves orange, my older one loves pink) so there wouldn't be any fights.

I made 4 for each daughter.  The orange one has been through the wash a few times, thus the wrinkles.  (This pink one hasn't been used yet.)

I lined them with a vinyl (flannel backed) table cloth so they are semi water-resistant.  This comes in handy pretty much daily because my little one never seems to get the lid quite right on her water bottle at snack time, so it leaks all over the place before lunch time.

Finished size these are about 4" x 6" -- perfect for crackers, pretzels, etc.

These were very simple to make.  The first one took the longest but after that one was complete, I made the other 7 in assembly line fashion.  I had all 8 done in under 90 minutes, maybe even less.

I always refer to this Moda Bake Shop tutorial as a reminder on how to layer the lining, zipper and outer fabric so that it all ends up in the right place when I'm done.  I've used this as a reference for tons of different zippered pouch items in various sizes and shapes.

We're a full month into the school year and none of these have been thrown away yet.  They are easy to wipe out at the end of the day and they can go right through the washer and dryer at the end of the week.  Several of my girls' friends have requested their own set of these.  I guess that means this experiment was a success!

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~

Two months? Seriously??

Almost two months since I posted?  Where does the time go??

I had a busy end of summer, spending 3 amazing weeks (sans sewing machine) in Upstate New York with my family.  A few photos are below.... Rodeo, Bronx Zoo, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Adirondack Mountains, 3 family birthday parties and a whole lot more in between!  (Except, of course, work on the hexie project I had planned to work on every night of my 3 week vacation!)

The trip ended with my older daughter on crutches (severely sprained foot), which was fun (not!) for back-to-school.  And of course, once we were home and settled into the "school year routine," my sewing machine broke.  Which turned out not to be a bad thing in the long run, but more on that another day.

I have managed to finish up a few small projects since I've been home:

I actually made 4 more of these little Rag Bags... I think that's (finally!) all I'll need.

Another wall hanging for Ryan's mom, using a pair of his favorite PJs.

A tote bag (and matching change purse, not pictured) for a my daughter's friend's birthday.  I had better pictures of the bag, but I love my gorgeous model more than those, so this is what you'll get :-).

There's more in the works, but I have to ease myself back into this "blogging" thing... I hope I remember how to "publish!"

~*~ May your day be full of Love and Ladybug Hugs ~*~

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kat ~