it's done!

I completed my quilt top, and not a moment too soon. My goal was to finish it up before we had company this weekend. They come in today, and I finished it yesterday. Kind of pushing it to the limit ...

I think I may actually like this quilt top, after the pain of making it wears off. I followed this quilt along, knowing that she always makes darling things. I think it was worth it in the end - but I must say that if I hadn't already cut everything out, I definitely would have quit in the middle. I think this will go in my closet for a while. If this little baby on the way turns out to be a girl, maybe it can go on her bed when she gets old enough. I can tell her it was my huge challenge to finish up so I could get to work quilting all those darling little baby quilts.

Twin size, Moda 30's reproduction fabrics, 2 1/2 inch squares everywhere, rotating out from the center.

sticky yumminess

It's that time of year again ... carmel and apples. But, I really don't like the regular "dip the whole apple in carmel and then try to eat it before the entire carmel layer slides off in your lap, or even worse, your hair" type of carmel apples. When we were kids, Mom always sliced our apples, and then gave us our own little cup of carmel, where we dipped away to our hearts content. More carmel for your apple that way, and less mess. That's my type of carmel apples.

This morning, I made little jars of carmel to take to some of my friends. I figure they need to experience the lucious experience of dipping their apple slices in carmel. It gives a whole new meaning to carmel apples. (Of course, there's some carmel left over in the pan, which we really can't let go to waste. Maybe we'll need to have some for brunch today.) ... and in case you need some carmel for your apple slices ...

Mom's Halloween Carmel Sauce

Cook slowly to 220 degrees on a candy thermometer:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/8 teaspoon salt

Add:
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

... enjoy!

quilt tops only

I really need to stop piecing and start quilting. (Wouldn't that be such a great excuse to just bag that quilt that's driving me crazy right now - all cut out, and only halfway pieced together, but driving me loony.) This little baby on the way is sure going to have some fun quilts. I'm sure more will be in the works when we find out the gender. For now though ...Starting at the top left: a wonky log cabin quilt made of Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley fabrics, then the martian quilt made mostly of Michael Miller fabrics, then a funky Dr. Seuss quilt, and on the bottom, a Moda Bliss quilt made with the Apple Core die from the AccuQuilt Go! Cutter that I won.

So anyway, I haven't been stale in all of my non-blogging - I've only just had the energy to put quilt tops together, not blog after that. Now, on to the backs (well, maybe after I put together just one or two more tops ...).

a lot of quilting going on

Does your quilting table ever look like this? I think the only problem with this is that this sewing table is also our dining room and home school table. Combine that with the iron on the counter and the giant ironing board sticking out in the middle of the kitchen ... take out tonight?

i'm still around . . .

Just a quick note. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I just am going through a little morning sickness that is lasting the whole day, so . . . I'll be back asap. I have a AcuQuilt Go! that I won on a giveaway, that I want to tell you about, and another new little quilt I've started using that machine.

But for now - just taking a little break to try to feel a little better.

martian quilt design

Do you ever stay up all night, designing and quilting? Not in reality, I mean - just in your head as you lay tossing and turning in bed - quilt patterns and fabrics rolling around in your brain, stealing precious sleep. That's what happened to me Sunday night.

Before I went to bed, I jotted down this design. That must have been my problem. I had some great martian fabric from Timeless Treasures that I wanted to use, and came up with a brainstorm design that would be similar to a string quilt without using paper piecing. I tossed and turned all night, got up early in the morning, cut out enough fabric to make one test block, and . . .

. . . it worked! Now I can't wait to finish it up and see the end result. (Plus, I even got sleep last night. Maybe the trick is to actually make a block - not just design it before bedtime.)

And the other exciting news is that I am being featured on Quilt Story! What a honor in my small little blogging world! So . . . for any of you who happen to drop in from there, be sure to follow my blog, as I plan to have a great giveaway soon (involving the lovely Denyse Schmidt Hope Valley fabric line). And thank you so much to Heather & Meagan - you two are wonderful!

and the winners are . . .

#2 - Ericksons: "I'm a follower!"

and

#4 - Nancy Sue: "Hello from Maryland . . ."

Thank you all for entering, and thank you to Penguin Books for hosting this giveaway.

Please contact me with your mailing address in the next 48 hours to claim your prize. Happy Reading!

quiltmomadw at hotmail dot com