Prince of Paris

I can now finish my Tula Pink "Into the Woods" quilt top. I had been holding out on buying Parisville once I read that she had another line, Prince Charming, coming out for the spring/summer. A line that was recently released, so I bought the pieces I needed from both lines! This is also my first exposure to Tula's work for Free spirit in person (Prince Charming on the left and Parisville on the right).

To be honest, I'm mixed. I only picked up 3 prints from Parisville, so I can't compare colorways. The ones I did receive seem dull and not so crisp. Like there's no depth to the design. In my opinion, they seem flat--especially the filigree which I bought in yellow and green.

Now, I bought pieces from two colorways from Prince Charming. Honestly, it's almost like Free Spirit asked Tula Pink for a Neptune of their own. I mean Neptune is wildly popular. I would hazard to say it is her most beloved range from her time with Moda. Do I mind? Not at all, I am twitterpated. I love Prince Charming. Except one thing:

I find the olive colorway ( from which I bought 4 prints) has the same muddy, lack of depth/crispness that the pieces I bought from Parisville had--again in my opinion. I do love the honeycomb print. Out of the 4 I bought, I think that it's the best looking. I was disappointed in the froggies being such a great fan of her Owls and Bunnies (Full Moon Forest & Hushabye). My second most liked print is the snail print which reminds me happily of Flutterby (another favorite Tula Pink line).

I also bought pieces of Prince Charming from the aqua/coral colorway, and OH MY the difference. The pieces are crisp and beautiful. I fawned all over them and I am most definitely going to by at least 2 more prints from that colorway to accompany my aqua/coral pieces of Neptune. They coordinate beautifully. When I see them all together I want to go swimming and hang out at the beach.

My opinion of the olive colorway makes me hesitant to purchase pieces from the two other colorways. I may just hold out until later in the year when the range starts to go on sale. Now I just need to focus on finishing my Tula quilt before her next line is announced, LOL!

Prince Charming

Tula Pink put a sneak peak up on her facebook a few days ago. I scoped on it the day she did, and I was instantly in love. To me, Prince Charming is more like her Moda works than Parisville. I just couldn't really get into Parisville. Even though I admired some prints, I still haven't bought (or swapped for) any of them. I probably won't get any until it's on clearance (I do like the tonal lacey/foliage print). Prince Charming on the other hand? OMG I want. I lust for. And now I'm coming to the realization that my 'Into the Woods' quilt just won't be complete until it has some Prince Charming in it. I already went and bought some more Nest to go in it (green nest/egg & some green tracks). Seeing the green froggies makes me realize I absolutely HAVE to get some green owls. So far I have the following Tula Pink lines represented in my quilt:

Full Moon Forest, Flutterby, Nest, Neptune, & Hushabye

I am only missing her newest ranges. This line is debuting at Market, but I wonder when the release date is? Maybe I should just buy a FQ of some Parisville while I wait.

This quilt will NEVER been done, LOL.

Crazy for Swaps

I seriously have to tone down my swaps! I have so many going on it's CRAZY. I have so many that I ran out of tape. Now that's a lot. I recently received this from Lucia
Yay! More delicious Tula Pink. I have another 2 Tula swaps in the works. After that, I think I may be at a good place--at least for a month or two ;D I ordered some fabric, too. Some I can actually share! :D
As you can see, Tula snuck into this package, too ;D I think I may be a Tula addict!

Yuck.

Today was just one of those days ;D Not bad, but not great. We had a few errands to run, but they weren't straight forward. First we had to go to the health dept to drop off a tick we'd found on my daughter this last Friday. They do free testing for Lyme if they find human blood in the ugly thing (and I do mean ugly! We had it in a ziploc and could admire it's...unique appearance). The other errands were just tedious. It didn't help that it was hot, or that I'm worried about my girl having Lyme.

I was glad to have some neato stuff in the mail when it was all over--even more Tula~!I wish I could find more of the bunnies. I'm not a huge fan of the owls, so I don't mind that I only have the purple ones (well after my swap with Lucia). I actually really like the salmon, so I am looking forward to purchasing the last 3 colors of that (blue, pink, & aqua).

In other news, I received my partner info for one of the swaps I'm in! I'm so excited. Our tastes are incredibly similar :D I hope this rocks as much as I think it's going to. I'm still waiting for my partner assignment from the other swap. I'll probably get it tomorrow. Until then, I keep going through my stash trying to figure out what I can be separated with. I'm sure you all sympathize with how hard that is ;D

Long Long Day

I went to the dentist today. A new dentist. I had not one appointment, but two. One at 11 to get a full set of films, and another at 3 for the actual work (byebye wisdom teeth!). My mouth kills right now, but I guess there was only so long I could escape that particular torture. Knowing I had to go to the dentist today sort of soured my morning in a twist of anticipation and frustration. I'm just glad this stage is over. I still have to go back in two weeks for a cleaning--which luckily is nothing like getting my teeth yanked out ;D

I had two packages that needed to hit the mail this morning, which meant I had to finish Rosemarie's block, and stuff my envelope for my swap with Jen. I need more hours in my morning ;D My little girl wasn't being too helpful with all I had planned. While I got them packed up, they wont mail until Monday. Boo.I don't know how sold I am on the block I made. I like it, but there are things I wish I'd done differently (like pay attention more to crucial details!). I wish I'd rotated the orientation of the top right block. I hope Rosemarie likes it, since that's what really matters. And while I wasn't able to get this into the mail, mail on the other hand, managed to reach me just fine.More Tula! It's enough to make anyone's heart sing. Though, with the arrival of this package, I know there is only one left coming. It will probably be here Monday (well outside of swaps, that is ;D) My Full Moon Forest collection is nearly complete. I have 21 prints from the range, with another 13 that I need to purchase (if I want something from every print). I've been going after it pretty single minded for the last month and a half. There are only 8 more prints that I can actually buy right now. The harder prints will be just that--harder to find! If I'm lucky I'll be able to swap for them.

Adventure Day!

Today was one of those rare days that we decided to do something...different. Ya know, live a little. We decided to visit the aquarium! I hadn't been to this particular one before, and neither had my daughter, so it was the perfect summer adventure. I wish it hadn't been so hot, though. I was sorely tempted to jump in with the sea lions to cool off ;D Dulcie had a fine time, too. She was only too eager to show me that she was a big girl, and walked up and down the steps by herself. Any time I tried to help, she would wave me off with a, "I do it, Mama. I do it." That didn't stop me from hovering encase she did, in fact, need me!
When I came home it was to find a lovely gift from my mail carrier :D More Tula and a splash of Amy Butler. I'm actually not a huge fan of Amy Butler. I have a few pieces of Midwestern Modern (1 & 2), but I can never figure out what to do with them. I have seen some remarkable things made with her designs, though. I guess her stuff isn't completely my style, but not *not* my style either (considering I keep buying things by her!).
I also started (and nearly finished) my block for Rosemarie's quilt. I rummaged through my fabric and found that most of my larger pieces of pink and purple were dog-eared for other projects, but I did have some 1/8 yard cuts of pink. Then a light went off--Hey! Didn't I buy an Eden charm pack? And yes! I did. Eden has pink and purple together. Eureka. The blocks needed to be 9 inches square unfinished. Since I was working with such small pieces, one large block wasn't really possible. I mean I could have made multiple cuts and sewn it together to make one large coherent piece, but I didn't (it didn't even occur to me until just this moment! This is what makes process pieces fun.) So I decided to do multiple small blocks, kind of what I did for Trudy's quilt, but larger.
I wanted to fussy cut one of the Eden birds, but a moment of inattention on my behalf when I was resizing the center block led me to trimming the wrong side of the square so that the bird's beak was lost in a seam. I waffled back and forth between ripping my seams or not, but I didn't have another square with the same bird, and I was already using the the other piece in the second half of my block. So it stayed. The second half of the block is a patchwork plus block. I originally was going to use more of the pastel polka dot for the plus/cross, but it made the block look too washed out. I then opted for the punch of some pink Soiree that I had lying around. I had some trouble with the top plus/cross block. Originally, it was dark pink and more of that pink Soiree. It just didn't look right with the other fabric choices. It was too bold, I think.
I just need to finish the block up, and off into the mail it goes!

Airplane--ZOOM!

My daughter's new favorite game is to pretend she is an airplane. She puts her arms out and ZOOMS around (saying zoom, naturally.) But midway through, she changes gears and yells BUTTERFLY, and starts flapping her arms and skipping (well, as well as she can. She's not even two yet). Or she likes to put her arm up and yell, 'ready, set, GO!' which means Mommy needs to run around zooming like an airplane. Fun stuff, and it keeps my heartrate up ;D

I can't help but cherish all these little things. I think what makes it more poignant right now is the new collaborative quilting project I joined today. It was inspired by the Trudy quilt (which so far is completely awesome, btw. Lucia et al did a wonderful job), but is benefiting a 4 year old girl. It's being called Rosemarie's Cancer Killin' Quilt. The colors are purple and pink, so I need to rummage through my stash. I *know* I have these colors. Maybe not a bunch of purple, but the pink doth overflow. The group coordinator has two block styles, cross/plus and box-in-box. I think I'm going to make one of each (ideally, anyway).

The mail never fails to disappoint, though I fear I have 3 more packages and then no more for a while. I went CRAZY insane with my buying this last month :x Darn those sales and my little budget.

A Few More Packages

So a few more packages arrived today. They were waiting for me when we returned from Rhode Island this afternoon. There were SIX envelopes which earned me a look from my guy. I usually get them before he notices them. Oops XD. It was more Tula, which made me happy :D I'm really coming along on my Full Moon Forest collection. There are 11 prints that I can still buy, and another 3-4 that I can swap for (I have one pending as we speak for some purple drops and owls).
I also picked up some charm packs from an OOP line called Eclectic. It's a range I had been considering for a while and I finally just took the plunge and bought a few packs. I really like the prints! I can't wait to use them. I think I will buy some more (and some yardage) once I buy a few other prints I really want first.

Fabric Fairy Pays a Visit

Today I received some bits and pieces from a friend I made on Flickr. I'm so lucky :D These little bits have really helped me decided on a fabric or two (both which ones to leave out and which ones to leave in).
I really wish I had a local quilt shop. The nearest one to me is over an hour away, which might as well be on the moon. I can't tell you how many times I buy fabric and it isn't quite what I wanted, but I have to live with the choice. I was very surprised to see that the brown in the Plume range was more of a chocolate brown (a noticeable reddish tint to the brown). When paired with the light lime/grass green it's completely mint chocolate. I wish I would have gotten this mailer BEFORE I ordered a half yard each of the green, brown, and green/brown keys (there was an awesome sale and I didn't want to risk it). I am still going to order the green swan print, though.

So far the green/brown colorway matches from the Flutterby range works really well with the Full Moon Forest range. I tried some Neptune in it, and the Algae is okay. I did like the Plume print with the pink feathers. It adds some nice interest and pops beautifully. I think I might purchase some droplets in olive from FMF to continue the effect.

Bunnies!

Today was as awesome as I dreamt it would be--at least when it came to the mail delivery! I had to be especially careful when cutting open my packages, since I was shaking with anticipation. The whole time I was opening them (once I realized who they were from) that old song by X:The Band kept coming into my head:

Full Moon on a Friday (Monday)/ Watch out for the werewol...er..bunnies?

,
Maybe were-squirrels would be better?


I know were-trees! (Would that make it a Dryad?)


I'm so happy! And the thing is, I have MORE yardage coming for Full Moon Forest. That's just something that makes a person want to jump for joy. At least it makes me want to jump for joy ;D The blue and purple bunnies are courtesy of a swap with Lucia, and the rest were from random online quilt shops. I'm walking on sunshine right now :D But now I can't wait to get the rest

This Week Has Been Awesome

I received 3 more packages today! By my calculations (and checking emails) I have 3 left. I also have one package going out for a swap for more Full Moon Forest by Tula Pink for Moda. I'm trying to plan a quilt composed of various green/brown prints from her various lines (and trying to make a twirly patchwork skirt for my daughter in the purple/pink). Thus far I have cuts from Full Moon Forest and Flutterby. I need to buy some Plume, but I am waiting for it to go on sale (well, better sale). I am totally excited for her new line Parisville for Freespirit. There's a little mouse image in the selvage. I wonder if that is going to translate to a Cinderella type feeling to her line (Cinderella is a French tale). I can hope! Though, I admit, the first thing that came to my mind was that Pixar movie, Ratatouille. Like I said, I hope. But I'm sure it will be fantastic either way.

Here I am--Again

I'm not sure I mentioned it, but I was gone for the month of April, and when I got home; I was plum tuckered out on quilting. I just wanted to relax after jamming two quilts into one month. I decided, instead, to try and make my girl some clothes! And that's what I did (sort of) for May, June, and this lovely month of July (a dress a month). I'm a complete novice at clothing construction, but I had fun anyway ;D

This latest dress was made with Flutterby by Tula Pink for Moda (the other two feature Marie Webster's reproductions from Windham and Whimsy by Fig tree for Moda) with some Kona cotton in Earth for accent (it actually matched really well). I *really* like this line. The range is fun, but then most of Tula Pink's designs are fun, imo. I was lucky and found these prints for only 2.98 a yard. The Kona cotton came from my stash (I used it to bind my Nana's quilt).


The pattern I used was Analise by Sandi Henderson (I also bought her book, and another pattern, Claire). Let me start by saying the instructions are clear, as are the pictures, which make this pattern easy for a beginner (like me :D) And even though this was the third time I'd made this dress, it didn't stop me from making some rookie mistakes--like sewing the strap into the seam for the armpit. Nothing a seamripper and patience couldn't fix, though.


I love that this dress is so easy (usually) to construct. It takes me 2-3 days (or sometimes more) to complete only because I have a small child. Anyone else would probably complete it in a day (if the fabric was already prepped and ready), or a weekend, easy. I love how it turned out, too. I added some flare and tacked on a ruffle to the hem. My girl is tall for her age (she isn't even 2 yet and she's a little over half my height) so it was a nice way to add some length to the skirt. I already have my fabric prepped for the next dress, now I just need to find the time! I want to finish it before August, though. It's always nice to have a deadline to work with ;D

Puttering Along

March=Quilting Madness for me. I know I've mentioned it. To try and make it all work I knew I'd have to get some serious work done these last few days of February. I'm happy to say that I managed to finish the blocks for Lyra's quilt today! I also managed to start Jason's quilt. I decided against the stacked coin and went with a disappearing 9-patch.

I'm using some of the left over yardage from Lyra's quilt and 5 Neptune charm packs as well as a yard from Neptune. I think it was the storm damask. Not sure. Well, I will use 5 charm packs. Right now I've only broken into 1 ;) The one thing that is going to hurt my progress is that I'm waiting on an order of more Kona cotton! In order to keep things moving, I'll need to stitch up Lyra's quilt--which wasn't the plan originally. Initially, I was going to do all the blocks for both quilts first, and then put each quilt together, and then quilt and bind. It won't hurt to get Lyra's done all the way first. It just wasn't the plan. As long as I keep working, it will be okay ;)