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Well technically I have been back for a week but I am just barely emptying suitcases and getting back to normal so now I am really back. We spent a little over a week visiting family in Salt Lake City and we had a blast.  We spent 4 of the nights with extended family which is pretty much my favorite thing in the world.  They are crazy, but they are the best.   We also got to visit with some UCLA friends that we haven't seen in ages.  These 3 girls were born just a few months apart while their dads were all in graduate or law school at UCLA (mine is on the right) and they haven't seen each other in years.  It was so fun to visit and get to see the girls play together (especially because one of the families lives in Hong Kong).  And had time to visit this great quilt exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art.  The kids were a little exasperated that I was taking them somewhere to look at quilts.    So now we are back and I have been busy working on a ba...

I am so sorry I am delinquent on posting the Stash Fabrics giveaway winner, I guess that's what happens when you go on vacation!  The winner of the $20 gift certificate is . . .  Congratulations Sylvia!   Stash Fabrics will be in touch soon!

It seems like so many of my friends are having baby boys these days.  I love making baby quilts, but I really struggle with fabrics and patterns for boys.  So many designs and prints seem just a little bit girly. I thought I would share a few I have made and hopefully you guys have some great ideas because it would be useful to have a list of possibilities for the future. 1.   Happy Drawing Quilt 2.   Improv Boy Quilt 3.   Pooches and Pickups Quilt 4.   BYU Pixel Quilt 5.   Chevron Baby Quilt 6.   Ed Emberley Chevron Quilt 7.   16 Patch Baby Quilt 8.   Charley Harper Baby Quilt 9.   Children at Play Baby Boy Quilt Some of these were made way back when I started quilting.  I have discovered that I am much more likely to make a quilt for a friend who is having a girl, but that doesn't seem very fair.  So I was wondering . . . do you have a favorite pattern for baby boy quilts?

We have been making lots of trips to the public library this summer.  Our library in Los Angeles left a lot to be desired so we have been loving the great library in our community here in San Diego. But every time we go my kids each pick out at least 10-15 books which I then lug home.  I am glad that they love books, but the books then get spread all over the house. I thought I would make them each a little tote to carry their books and then to keep their books inside once we get home. For Jonah's I used a Mo Willems Pigeon print from Cloud 9 Fabrics.  My kids LOVE the Mo Willems books and they have really helped my kids get excited about reading.  If you are looking for some fun books to read to your kids or grandkids, The Pigeon Needs a Bath , There is a Bird on Your Head , and Knuffle Bunny are our favorites. In addition to the Pigeon print I used Essex linen in black for the bag.  For Harper's I used a Heather Ross print that I bought from Spoonflower a whi...

I am very excited to welcome my newest sponsor, Stash Fabrics .  For the past couple years I have been a regular Stash Fabrics customer.  Free shipping over $50 is very appealing - especially because it is almost impossible to spend less than $50. But recently Stash moved from an Etsy shop to their very own website and wow it is amazing!  Beth still offers free shipping $50 and the shop is so much easier to navigate than Etsy.  Here are a few of my favorite things about the shop: You can order 1/4 yard cuts.  I don't usually like fat quarters and I rarely need a half yard so this is a huge draw. She orders the good stuff.  Beth does a great job of ordering just about every collection that catches my eye.  She maintains a good selection of not-so-new fabrics.  I frequently find a fabric that I just love and I use it all up and want more.  But sometimes shops will have already clearanced out that amazing print and I can't find it.  I just ...

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my post that I suffered a miscarriage last week.  At 12 weeks along we found out that our baby no longer had a heartbeat.  It was devastating.  Of course this is a really personal thing to talk about in a public place and I didn't take the decision to share lightly, but this experience has been a huge part of my life and it feels important to share it. After I found out on Wednesday that I had miscarried I came home and felt a little lost.  I still felt physically ok but I was emotionally drained.  I had a stack of Charley Harper fabrics that I had purchased to make a quilt for the baby and I decided to go ahead and sew with them.  I don't know if I will hang onto the quilt or donate it or give away at a baby shower, but making this quilt felt right. I love, love, love these Charley Harper prints and sewing with them was wonderful.  I mixed in some coordinating solids and prints since I had only purchased...

One of the things that I look forward to about the 4th of July - other than fireworks and watermelon and picnics of course - is fabric sales.  And Lark Cottons has some great sales going on this summer. Now through next Tuesday there is 25% off all red, white, and blue fabrics using code 4fireworks on the shopping cart page.   If you visit this page of the Lark Cottons website you can browse fabrics by color (this is my favorite way to shop for fabric). Heather will be posting about future sales on the Lark Cottons Facebook page.   Make sure to check back often because there will be lots of great sales that will come and go fast - including deep discounts up to 40%. In addition to great sales, there will be "anatomy of a block" posts dissecting various quilt blocks on the Lark Cottons blog . If you have never visited Lark Cottons I definitely recommend checking out the website.  Heather has curated a wonderful selection of fabrics.  I can honestly say that th...