A finish and a whole bunch of firsts...y'all!

So I took a little time away from the blog to get some sewing done. It started to feel like the blog, and my anxiety to show progress on the blog, kept me from really making any. 

A blissful sewing retreat. 



(Ah....I wish...)

And now I can excitedly share a finish! 

Sidenote - my sister is currently serving an LDS (Mormon) mission. She was just moved from Newport News, VA to Elizabeth City, NC. 

I pulled this off the Elizabeth City website. Pretty!



She said "y'all" in her last letter. I loved it. I think I'm going to pick it up...y'all. I fear, however, that since I have never really been to the south, I might misuse it...y'all...

I'll have to ask my co-worker Cindy for some pointers. 

Anyway, the Cameo quilt is done! 

It was a gift for my sister's birthday (a couple months ago...oops). She called me yesterday to let me know she had received it, so now I finally get to share!

It was my first time working with Amy Butler fabrics (not my last), my first raw-edge applique, and my first hand-stitched binding. Sore arms and fingers, but I can now say I have officially finished two whole quilts! 

My third quilt - Yellow Brick Road - is almost complete as well. Just a few more lines of quilting.

Hurray for progress! 

I also have a couple more projects waiting in the wings that I am SUPER excited about! 

The first is a little girl quilt for a friend and co-worker. It will technically be my first semi-commissioned quilt. Exciting! 

I am going to be making the Lighthouse pattern from the quilt along at Fresh Lemons Quilts. Remember my practice block from my last post? That's the block design. It will be my first project using foundation paper piecing. 

Here are the fabrics: 

Aren't they sweet? They are a mix of Cloud9, Juliana Horner, Denyse Schmidt, ModKid Studio, and a couple other basics mixed in. Also my first fabric selection chosen entirely by me, rather than using a kit or entire fabric collection. Sad but true, and also fun! The white-on-white chevron is probably my fav. :) 

I also bought the fabric for a project that will have to wait for a bit, but I'm super excited about it.

The solids are Kona Cotton in turquoise, royal, purple, and crocus. I'm hoping to start at the beginning of the year, but I really can't wait to get working on it!! 

This is a little bit bag-lady and a little bit crazy-town, but I thought it would make an interesting backing. 

Lastly, I thought I'd share some of the wonderful gifts the 80-mph windstorm brought us in the last couple of days - other than lost sleep, of course. I'm sure everyone living in Davis County, Utah has received similar gifts. 

Damaged fence:

Hi neighbor boys! Good thing it's under warranty. 

Tipped Port-A-Potty:

Glad no one was in it. Also glad dealing with this is not my job.

The front doorstep:

After removing the tumbleweeds, I discovered an extra gift. A lovely layer of trash underneath. 

We also lost the majority of the bark from the flower beds in the back yard. Although, from the looks of the lawn, we could probably retrieve most of it by raking. Ha. 

Sadie didn't seem to mind the storm too much. So that was good.