I finished the Community Garden quilt for my friend Anthony's daughter, Isabella.  It came out so great and I am really proud of myself!  I've always been good at sewing but in the recent months after picking it back up again I have taught myself a lot.  I didn't take any classes and did everything by tutorials found online, YouTube videos (Crafty Gemini's videos showed me how to do my binding) and books.  It just goes to show that if you're really passionate about something and put your all into it (and don't rush - I learned that lesson on this project!), you can accomplish whatever it is you're putting your mind to.  For me, that happens to be sewing and quilting.  I'm excited for what's to come in my quilting endeavors.  Next stop is designing my own patterns!  

Click on the links to view some of my resources:
Little Bits Quilting Bee by Kathreen Ricketson
@whipup (Kathreen's Twitter account)
Whip Up (Kathreen's blog and website)
Crafty Gemini video tutorial: How to Bind Your Quilt - Making & Attaching Binding
Crafty Gemini video tutorial: How to Hand Sew Binding to Back of Quilt

It has indeed been a minute since I have updated!  Things have been a little crazy lately and my head has just been up my...you know.  I am almost done with my Crimson Cross quilt!  The quilt top is finished and my backing and binding is ready, I just need to buy batting and then quilt it!  It's HUGE and it is going to be such a pretty quilt.  The fabrics I used are just perfect for a front porch or a cottage getaway.  

My second quilt that I just started is called Community Garden and, like the Crimson Cross, it's also from the book Little Bits Quilting Bee.  It's a small quilt and perfect for a child so I am making it with a lot of pink fabrics for my friend Anthony's daughter, Isabella.  She said her favorite things are "pink, dogs and balloons" so I have two fabrics featuring balloons and two featuring dogs.  I, of course, hit up one of my favorite fabric shops here in the city, The City Quilter.  They literally have EVERYTHING and if I ever won the lotto I would buy every fabric in there (I know...this is my first thought if I ever win the lotto)!  

I am almost done with it and I thought I had the quilt top finished until I sewed it all together in a hurry, like a loser, and while doing so it is not sewn together very evenly.  After a little online research I realized that I was pulling and yanking at my fabric while sewing it all together.  I got really frustrated about it and decided to do nothing but sit on my ass last night and not even look at it.  Tonight or tomorrow my plan is to unstitch the whole thing (not my favorite thing in the world but inevitable when you're a beginner quilter) and sew it together like a normal person, not a maniac trying to hurry and finish (what was I even in a hurry for?!).  

Side note: I finally got a darning foot!  I couldn't find one anywhere in the U.S. for my Elna 6200 so I had to order it from the U.K. but it came fairly quickly and was only about $15.00!  

Pics to come, of course, but for now, here's some of the Crimson Cross: 

Well...someone really loves the blanket and sprocket pillow that their Aunt Chelsea made them!  

Last Thursday Pins & Needles hosted a Meet-Up party sponsored by Craftsy.  If you've never been to a Meet-Up before (like myself), it is a get together of other like-minded people at either a restaurant, someone's home, or any public venue based on what the Meet-Up entails.  Of course as soon as I got the email about the party I responded with a big yes!  About 70 people RSVP'ed, but like anything, not nearly that many showed up.  It was a lot better that way because it gave everyone more room to work on projects and talk amongst the crowd.  

I didn't bring anything I was working on, because at the moment I am working on a queen size quilt and it was just not feasible for me to lug all of my squares there, not to mention I am doing my quilt by machine.  So they had $5.00 embrodiery kits with initials on them.  I bought two, a C and an S (for my husband...although I doubt he'll do anything with it hehe).  I made a pretty good dent in my C and was almost finished by the end of the night, not to mention I found a new hobby!  Whenever  I thought of embrodiery I thought of cross stitch (which is not the same thing) and then I thought of my Grandma Klungler's kind of boring cross stitch projects that she never seemed to finish.  But this was right up my alley!  The variations in stitches and colors and not to mention the variety of stencils makes it unique and different in everything you embrodier.  I absolutely love sewing by hand...it's very therapeutic to me...so this was just perfect.  I was in the zone big time.  

Here's a pic of my first embrodiery project with my initial.  My second one has come along a lot better (especially in regards to the leaves).  Trial and error, people!  

All in all, the party was a success.  It can be a little intimidating to walk into a room full of people you've never met and hope that you get along, but this was definitely well worth it and it seemed that everyone was on the same page as far as relaxing, a little chit chat and working on projects.  

I have had a tutorial printed for Christmas stockings for a while now.  Today I went to The City Quilter to get some thread and while I was there I picked up some Fat Quarters of various fabrics, some of them Christmas fabric.  I figured it would be a good time to do the stockings now, this way I'm prepared for this year!  I got the tutorial from Simply Notable, and it's a pretty easy project!  There's no batting or lining involved, which is ok because it's a Christmas stocking and that type of stuff really isn't necessary.  More room for stocking stuffers, duh!  I also did a decorative stitch around the edges of the top fold and the hoops to hang the stockings.  

So it's taken me about 500 years to finish everything for my best friends son, Braylon.  I was supposed to have it all to him by Christmas but then I kept learning new things about quilting and so I kept adding to his blanket.  I finally have it finished, but along the way I stopped and made him a sprocket pillow with some of the remnants of my Fat Quarters.  I got the tutorial on one of my favorite, favorite sewing/quilting websites, Cluck Cluck Sew.  It came out really cute and was super easy to make.  All except for the button in the middle.  I didn't have a needle long enough to push through the center so  it was a game of tug of war with trying to push the needle through the pillow without stabbing myself and also trying to wiggle it through the button hole.  I was sweating and cursing by the end of it, but at least it's done!  There has got to be a better way to do this.  Next time!  

I just got back into sewing a few months ago after about a two year hiatus.  What for?  The hiatus, I mean!  I don't know...I just fell off!  But I'm back on and it feels great!  What was I thinking?!  

I began by making a t-shirt quilt entirely by hand and it turned out great and is extremley warm!  I next made a baby blanket for my best friends baby, Braylon.  I still haven't sent it because everyday I learn something new about quilting and so I'm currently un-doing the outer stitch in order to bind it together correctly.  

My Mom bought me a new sewing machine for Christmas, an Elna 6200.  I love it because it's perfect for quilting and using on heavy materials like jeans and leather.  There's also a range of 60 decorative stitches to use.  I had an Elna 25-something in high school and if that thing can handle my 15 year old teenage angst, then to me, it's a quality machine!  I have never had a problem with these machines and they work through thick and thin.  I wanted to stick with a machine that I knew the in's and out's of as well.  We got the machine at Sew Time Creative Sewing Centers in Bayside, Queens, and they were really helpful with the whole process and their prices were perfect.  I would recommend it to anyone in the NY area looking to buy a machine (they also sell Pfaff, Janome, Singer, Brother, etc.).  

My husband got me a gift certificate to Pins & Needles here in NYC.  I got a chance to go there about two weeks ago and I immediately fell in love.  He told me, "it's such a happy place!" and that it is!  It's pure white with colorful, quality fabrics adorning the walls.  They teach classes, have stuff for embrodiery and books galore.  I picked up one called Little Bits Quilting Bee by Katheen, the creator of whipup.net.  It's a variety of quilts from easy to intermediate and I decided to tackle the Crimson Cross quilt and go to Pins & Needles to get my fabric.  Lauren, one of the girls who works there, was helpful enough to mathematically figure how much fabric to buy based on Layer Cakes, Honey buns, my binding and my backing.  I went back a few hours later and used their rotary cutter and mat (you can go there and use their tools and space for $20.00/hour) and got everything cut out! I'm in love.  I want to work there and make projects everyday of my life!  Ok.  I have a job already but honestly...there aren't enough hours in the day for me to even do my laundry, clean up the house, shower, have dinner and take care of the dogs.  What happens when I start quilting more and have a baby?!  Life is a full time job and there must ALWAYS be time to pursue what you love.  

Here's my fabrics, a photo of a finished Crimson Cross Quilt from the book and the back of one of my squares to show you what it looks like. 

I've been dying to make Sticky Buns.  I found this recipe on Pinterest (which linked to the blog All Things Delicious).  I wanted to make them on Christmas morning but my husband, Steve, and my Mom wanted to go to our local diner and get breakfast instead.  So last night I decided to finally make them!  Let me tell you...they were amazing!  Steve said that they were too doughy but to me there's no such thing.  Below is the recipe with pictures to go along.  I also made a quick icing/glaze to pour on top.  You have to try this recipe one morning!  It's super easy and quick.  

Sticky Bun Breakfast Ring
One tube of Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits (I actually used the ShopRite brand because they were out of Pillsbury at the store and they are virtually the same)
3 tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup syrup (I used 100% pure maple syrup.  I can't stand the Mrs. Butterworth's-type stuff!)
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

• Spray a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine the melted butter and syrup in a small bowl and set aside.  
  
• In another small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  
  
• Pour half the syrup/butter mixture in the bundt pan and sprinkle half the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.   
  

I've never made sugar cookies before except for having decorated them at friends houses when I was little, and I always thought they were bland, boring and not enough icing. I came across a recipe for sugar cookies that got a lot of good reviews on allrecipes.com and separately found one on the same website for sugar cookie frosting. Not icing, frosting. Ever have those Lofthouse cookies from the grocery store that are to die for and absolutley fattening with every bite? Yeah, these reminded me of those. Perfect for a holiday! I woke up one morning and my husband was in the kitchen feeding the dogs and eating a cookie. At 8am. So needless to say...they're so good that you'll want one as soon as you wake up in the morning! 

Sugar Cookies
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

• In a large bowl, mix butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs and vanilla, then stir in flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and chill dough for at least one hour. 
• Pre-heat oven to 400F. Roll out dough onto floured surface about 1/4 in. thick. Cut into shapes and place on an un-greased cookie sheet. 
• Bake six to eight minutes and let cool completely before frosting.

Sugar Cookie Frosting
*Note: This is not the smooth drying, hard ICING that you're used to seeing on sugar cookies.  This is thicker, sweeter frosting so the cookies should NOT be stacked after you frost them.  
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup shortening
5 tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Food coloring (optional)

• In a large bowl, mix confectioners sugar, shortening, milk and vanilla extract with an electric mixer until smooth and stiff.  
• Color with food coloring, if desired.    

I also bought Christmas sprinkles from Jo-Ann Fabrics to adorn the cookies.  The confetti one's were the best and really made the cookies stand out.  This recipe was a huge hit and so delicious!  It makes A LOT of cookies (about 48), so make sure you've got people around to eat them and, of course, decorate them!