It took me the longest time to figure out what quilt to make with my Arcadia fabric, but in the end I decided to keep it simple and do my favorite, a simple patchwork quilt. The size is 37″ by 44″, perfect size for a crib.

Remember those hexagons I made while Fernando was gone?

I bedazzled the back by appliqueing some hexagons to add a splash of color. The idea came from Ashley from Film in the Fridge and her gorgeous hexagon pillows.

The Buttercup Bag

I ran into my friend Crystal who made me jealous by sporting a Buttercup Bag, so I decided to make one for myself.  Although I will admit that I was VERY nervous about this since it was my first bag attempt EVER! (or maybe I should say my first completed bag.  Several attempts have already been started and pushed into the corner of projects to be completed.) I stumbled upon this tutorial several weeks ago and added it to my To Do list. The Tutorial is free, thanks to the fantastic Rae by Made by Rae. The best part is that this bag can be made from a mere fat quarter (plus liner).

Our pint sized garden during happier times

(note: all of the homes are now sold so that huge sign should be removed from our yard any day now.)

I thought the caterpillar was our worst enemy, so I made an all natural citrus solution to drive them away. It worked.

Then last week I noticed that the cilantro was practically dead and covered with aphids! yuck! So I purchased an herbal pesticide. Our tomato and zucchini (on the left) were out of control, so we Velcroed them to some stakes for support.

That same night we had a Texas sized storm which practically blew in our french doors of our bedroom as we were sleeping. We however, not being used to having to care for anybody other than ourselves, didn’t even think of the garden as it was being slapped silly by the storm. I regret to say I made the discovery after coming home from work. Branches and leaves were violently snapped and all plants were in a sad and hunched over state. (pictures were not posted due to the graphic nature of their content).

Poor tomato is easily half as large as it was pre-storm. Dr. Nancy (my mom who is wise in all things natural) informed me earlier in the week to not snap the branches as it would make tomato flavorless. I informed her that I would keep tomato safe…

Not all discoveries were sad though. Since the plants were bending over, their “jewels” were exposed!

Meet green pepper. (approx 2 in)

Zucchini

and Strawberry

Last night I cuddled up on the couch sewing these sexy hexies while watching Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South from start to finish. Yep, all four hours. Totally bringing me back to my college days when my roommates and I would watch this during finals week (of all times).

Isn’t he dreamy?

It must have been the romantic style of writing in Charles Dicken’s David Copperfield that merely wetted my romantic appetite to put me in the mood for this movie. (I’m not really the chick flick type). However, when I am in the mood for a chick flick, I want a good one, and this one sits untouched as having the best kissing scene…ever.

Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the kiss, it only made me realize, that “oh yeah, I won’t be getting one tonight.”

Thus on the menu for next time is something a little more like Braveheart or Ironman.

p.s. Ferd, I bet they don’t have cookie dough ice cream in Nigeria. :P

…and if it didn’t work, it sure didn’t hurt to try.

I’d give the flavor 3 out of 5 stars

It ain’t no Chubby Hubby.

The limo came and picked him up.

Within five minutes she had placed three new orders of fabric from Etsy.

Hours were spent searching for that “perfect” quilt, but to no avail.

She’s stumbled over 30 blogs by now, 13 tabs overlap each other at the top of the page, her nose a mere 12 inches from the screen.

She blinks for the first time in 55 seconds only because the mouse has stopped clicking.  The clicker no longer works.

The clock reads 7:45 and she realizes she hasn’t eaten or drunk since lunch.

She “makes” dinner:

One bite is all she can muster.  Next time she will buy all beef franks.

She heads to the gym so she is no longer alone.

A couple of weekends ago Fernando’s grandma spent the weekend with us and we went to the art car parade here in Houston.  They do it every year, but this was our first time checking it out.  Luckily it was a fairly cool day (but I still managed to fry my face). We sat our lawn chairs on the sidewalk and watched as 200 and something cars drove past. Here are the highlights:

Dan Aykroyd with the mayor of Houston

They placed this car perfectly behind Dan’s

My personal favorite

Abuelita

This car was awesome because it had two drivers steering at the same time

It’s not over till the…

The end.

Last night we checked out Yao’s Restaurant and Bar located downtown. Lately I’ve really been into sushi.  And by sushi, I mean the California roll or Philadelphia kind. Not the eel, octopus or tuna kind.

I was in the mood for something different like the Happy Sumo mango roll that we had in Utah.  So I decided to try the Texas roll which had BBQ sirloin steak. Steak and sushi= deelish.

sweet and sour chicken

and creme brulee for dessert

The food was great. Very reasonable prices too.  $9-16 per entree.  And our entertainment for the night was all of the cute high schoolers and their prom dates which Ferd informed me were fairly modest in their gowns.

bottom line: we will go again

Houston quilt festival post follow up

At the quilt expo, I met a local sewing enthusiast (Sheree) that sells beautiful fabric who was opening up a studio in the downtown area.  I finally decided to check it out.  It’s called Open Studio and on the third Saturday of every month local artists/photographers/sewers open up their studios for people to stop by and watch them do their thing.  I talked Crystal, my sewing buddy from Frivolous Necessity, into coming with me, and we went crazy with the Moda Arcadia line of fabric.

A whole nursery would be cute with this fabric wouldn’t it?

Isn’t it beautiful?

Sheree gave us a steal of a deal and was so nice to cut 35 fat quarters plus some for each of us. She also informed us that Moda is located in Dallas and they open their warehouse doors twice a year where they practically give fabric away for $1-3 dollars a yard! Sheree also makes and sells little girl dress patterns. We could become her pattern testers and get VIP tickets to next years show! I may just dip my finger into the world of sewing clothing.

Supposedly the Houston Quilt Festival is the largest in the world.  You’d think there would be more fabric stores here wouldn’t ya?

My main hobby is collecting fabric, but occasionally I will whip something up.

It’s been WAY too long since I posted about the last sewing experiment. But I have been sewing A LOT lately since work has been non existent. Everything I do is for baby. And I have decided to keep it that way after attempting to sew a full/queen sized quilt for the R.S. humanitarian aid service project a few months ago. I am now an expert at picking out stitches.

Baby is just better, and cuter in my opinion. Plus just about every body I know is pregnant right now and these make great gifts.

Nursing covers and matching burp cloths.

I buy the white baby diapers in the automotive section at Target, great advice from a good friend. They are softer and more absorbent than a regular baby diaper.

Moda Rouenneries charm pack

I finished this one back in November I think.

Pinwheels and Prairie Points in Hunky Dory by Jodi from Moda Bakeshop

I got a serger for Christmas. I’m still not sure how to use it, but these blankets are the quickest things to do.

Baby Life Quilt in Make Life from the lovely Vanessa at V and Co.

It should say “poop” huh? Vanessa thinks so too.  Maybe the next one will.

Etsy is a serious lifesaver for finding fabric. There just aren’t good stores here in Houston. Most of the fabric I order from Etsy comes straight from Provo. Provo must have some great stores I just don’t know about.

The R.S. humanitarian aid quilt

All the fabric was donated by members of my ward and all I had to do was cut and sew. What a beast to sew 80″ x 80″. Glad that one is over. Definitely not my proudest or cutest project. I took these pictures with  my phone, definitely not the best lighting.

Today’s eye candy. I don’t know if I can get myself to cut it.

Although we’re a little late in the season to do it, we managed to plant a garden in our yard. It’s not your typical garden though. It’s an Earth Box garden. Meaning low maintenance. It has a watering system in it which keeps the soil moist from the bottom up, so we only have to water it every few days, which is good for folk like us. Also, Its like a miracle garden. At least our friend’s neighbor’s Earth Box garden was. In just a few months, they had a crazy amount of vegetables. We were amazed at how fast things started growing just after 7 days. We planted strawberries, green onions, basil, tomatoes, zucchini, peas, cilantro, and green pepper.

So far the only problem we’ve had is our neighbor’s dog who whacked off the top of the tomato plant with his tail and a Texas sized caterpillar who is munching on leaves. How do you get rid of caterpillars??