My Friday of fabulous fabric

Cut and layed out this quilt today

And had this helper

Good times great fun!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Removing Evil Wall Anchors–A Tutorial

I am taking a short break from packing boxes, because 1. I am running out of boxes, and 2. I am dang tired and want a break!

I have been painting at the new house for what seems like FOREVER, but really has only been 2 or 3 weeks. I will definitely have some before and after shots to share, but for now, I wanted to share a quick tip.

Recognize these? EVIL WALL ANCHORS. You know how hard it is to get these out to make the wall look pretty again? (Oh, and FYI, they make AWESOME wall anchors that you screw into the wall instead of pounding in, and then can UNSCREW from the wall when you want them out. Way easier.)

So, there were about ten gazillion of these in my new family room. Not so good for the whole painting thing!

Now, I don’t know if I saw this somewhere and suddenly remembered it, or if I was just brilliant and came up with it on my own. Probably the first option. Anyways, after my stroke of brilliance, I grabbed the drill.

I put on a drill bit that was bigger than the hole in the anchor, but smaller than the outer edge of the anchor. I actually had to bump up bit sizes twice before I hit the right one. If you aren’t sure, start smaller and work up.

Now, drill into the anchor. Once your bit has a good grip on the anchor, pull! You might have to wiggle the drill around a little to loosen the anchor. I had some that came out with a small tug, and some that needed a little more elbow grease.

And TA DA! Evil wall anchor OUT of the wall! You might have to use pliers or vice grips to twist the anchor back off the drill bit. I had to do that with some of them, and then some just twisted back off using my fingers. Now you just have to fill the big gaping holes that wall anchors leave behind!

We are doing the big move (furniture and everything I haven’t taken over while painting) on Saturday. Wish me luck! And energy, cuz I am sorely lacking!

Operation Wood Hollow

It has been a busy week around here, and not a whole lot of it has been sewing!

We finally got word that my in-laws closed on the house they are buying (actually, we heard that 2 weeks ago). This is a super big deal for us, because they aren’t actually ready to MOVE to this new house, but wanted to get a good deal before the market shot up too far again. So, they want us to rent it from them for the next couple years while we are in grad school.

EEEEEE!! I get to move into a HOUSE! With room for my kids to run around!!

We don’t really MOVE move for another month, but I already have a stack of boxes packed and ready to go :) I’m a bit excited.

On to my next point. One of my greatest fears is having my house burn down(or apartment…surrounded by smokers…). So, when I linked to this post about Operation Wood Hollow, my heart just ached for all these families who have lost their homes, and all those that might still. I immediately went through a mental inventory of my quilts and decided which one was getting pulled from my shop and sent to someone in need.

I love this quilty-bloggy community that immediately reaches out to those in need. It really is an amazing thing, and I am so glad to be a part of it!

And I am sure Operation Wood Hollow would love more donations if you are interested and able! Julie also has more info in other posts, so if you click to her home page, you can see more.

Guest Post and Giveaway happenings!

Hey all! I am guest posting over at The Crafty Cupboard today in honor of Melanie’s ONE MILLION HITS on her blog! She is so awesome!

Along with my guest post, I have a little giveaway, so if you want some fabric and a gadget, head on over :)

What’s cookin’

I’ve been a busy bee around here! 3 quilt tops complete! (Ok, so one has been sitting for more than a year, but I finally have a plan for the back) Now, just to prep some backings!

And I had a stack of fabric that wouldn’t leave me alone, so I have 4 square in square blocks up on the wall, too.

Oh, and did I mention the two quilt patterns in progress?

Now, add that we are moving in about a month! Ummmmm…blogging may be a bit sporadic, but I will try to share some pictures of the HOUSE we are moving into!!! (Still renting, but definitely an upgrade!)

I am SO EXCITED for more sewing space!!!!!!

Isla’s Quilt

This quilt has finally winged its way across the country and arrived at its new home, so now I can post it!

I made this gorgeous quilt for my old roomie’s new baby girl, Isla. It is a really good thing I like Krystal so much, or this quilt would have so stayed with me!!

My inspiration was this quilt I stumbled upon on Pinterest. (Though, I didn’t realize until I just went to the original source to get the link that it came from a pattern!). I decided that the larger blocks wouldn’t work super well for a baby quilt, and scaled it down to charm square size.

I backed it in a cute print from Bonnie & Camille’s Bliss. Love!

I quilted in an all over meandering flower pattern, and added Isla’s name in the sashing in a corner. I don’t know how well that will come over on other screens…but believe me that there is a name quilted on there!

I really debated over what to bind with, and my husband said the cream sashing fabric would look good. I agreed wholeheartedly that it would look good, but it’s a BABY QUILT. It’s going to get DIRTY. And then I decided that’s what the washing machine is for :)

So, enjoy your new quilt Isla!

Oh, and I love this pattern so much, I have two charm packs of Domestic Bliss sitting ready to be sewn up into it, too. Tee hee

Progress

Zoey went and spent the afternoon with her gramma in Saturday, and Jocelyn was very cooperative, so I got a lot done!

I got my custom quilt basted AND quilted! And got my binding prepped, so binding is on the menu for naptime today :)

Loving the bright colors in this quilt!

I also got two piles of fabric cut into two more baby quilts for friends. However, since I don’t know if they read my blog or not…I can’t post those pictures yet!

Tomorrow, I will finally get to post my other recent finish, since it should be arriving in Ithaca today.