Dreaming

i must be dreaming thinking i’ll be able to convince the Hubs that i should start another quilt.

i KNOW i’m dreaming!

but if i could somehow manage it, i’d love to use those newfound curve piecing tutorials i’ve mentioned to make a Fibonacci quilt.  it’d be the perfect combination of my long time love affair with mathematics and my newfound love of quilting!

Fibonacci Spiral - pic from Wikipedia

plus the fibonacci sequence is found in so many beautiful things in nature; and that’s another of my loves! (don’t tell my Hubby about all the competition he’s got! he’s got nothing to worry about anyways!)

Nautilus Shell Spiral - pic from Wikipedia

i’m not sure yet if i’d do the larger segments of the sequence as large curved pieces or put them together from a bunch of smaller ones.

who knows if i’ll even ever get going on this idea though. it would be totally cool and definitely a challenge!

Into the Great Wide Open

i thoroughly enjoy Tom Petty.  the album “into the great wide open” is a must-have for road trips; it’s always the first CD in the line-up!

we’ve been hearing songs from that album randomly at restaurants and shops lately which has been giving Hubs and i the itch to hit the road.  with the Little One so new still, that won’t be happening any time soon (at least not for trips longer than it takes to get to Oma and Opa’s house 3hrs away).  but we’ve already got our first “big” road trip destination in mind:

Washington DC @ Lonely Planet

Washington DC! where friends and monuments, museums and scenery will all be on the to-do list!

we’ve got a ton of friends there, both from high school and college.  i’ve only ever spent a quick weekend there (of which only about half a day was spent checking out DC’s tourist destinations); and though Hubby had a summer internship there once, he never really spent time doing the tourist thing.

plus, on the way are some other destinations we’ve been meaning to check out, like:

Savannah @ Let's Plan Our Holiday: a travel blog

Savannah, GA! where we want to check out the historic buildings, beautiful trees, and maybe eat at Paula Deen’s restaurant.

and there’s a handful of other destinations i’d like to hit while we’re up that way, such as:

Philadelphia @ Lonely Planet

Philadelphia, PA! where we’d like to experience the various historical landmarks that are important to our country’s history, such as the liberty bell and independence hall, etc.

and we’re going to camp as much as we can during this trip! we’ve already got a handful of state parks we want to check out near savannah.  i’ve still got some research to do along the rest of the route though.

do you have any suggestions for food/attractions/lodging/state parks at any of those hot-spots?

(krissy, i’m looking at you!)

A Comforting Project

since finishing the piecing for NaBaQuiPro, i’ve been itching to start another quilt.  i’ve got two projects coming up that’ll help me get my fix.  here’s the one i mentioned last post:

a twin-size quilt/comforter for the Little One’s future big-girl bed!

YES, i realize it’ll be a while before our darling girl gets her very own big-girl bed, especially since her crib transforms into a toddler bed. but with the amount of sewing i’ve gotten done since her birth (none), it might take that long just to finish this new quilt!!

there is some additional rationale behind making another quilt for the Little One as well: (1) the NaBaQuiPro quilt is only big enough to be a toddler bed blanket, (2) it was really meant as more of a play mat since it’s a scene and not just a block design, (3) it’s not very “girlie” (not that that’s a problem), and (4) this fabric (below) was on sale and too cute to pass up, especially since the colors go so well with the nursery!!

here’s a picture of the first fabric selected for the project (copied from last post):

it’s a very cute and not overly flamboyant yellow color overall with garden related words in written in white all over. then there’s this pretty pink, green, and brown border near the selvage (the white area where the design & designer’s names are; i didn’t realize that area had a name until last year’s dress-from-a-pattern project).

the plan is to use the border as a border along the bottom (or top, i haven’t decided yet) of the quilt, and use the yellow wordy parts within the rest of the design.

since i won’t need ALL the yellow wordy area for the quilt, i wasn’t sure if Hubby would let me get very much of it. but it was on sale and i think he was in a good mood (hence the carrot ribbon thrown into the purchase as well)!

i’m not sure what i want the rest of the design to be.  i’ve also got to flesh out the other fabric selections.  there were a couple other fabrics from the same design collection in the sale pile.  i may have to make another trip to the fabric store to nab some while there’s still some left on the bolts!

Project Field Guide

since the whole point of this blog of mine is to share creative juices (mine, yours, others i find on the internets), i thought it only fitting to have a little list or field guide (if you will) to some of the projects i’ve done or plan to do (or wish i had time or a reason to do).

so i added a ‘page’, aka a tab at the top of the blog that does just that: lists what i’ve done or plan to do (or hope to do).

since i love pictures that SHOW me what the projects are, i included one whenever possible.

and since i also love the sharing part of being creative, i made it a link-er-ific page.

some projects shown have tutorials written by me, some have tutorials done by others, and some have no tutorial at all! if the tutorial was written by someone else, the image will either link you to my post (which should have a link to the original tute) or directly to the author’s tutorial (if i didn’t actually post about it).

the listing isn’t complete yet; there are dozens of tutorials i hope to try, but only a few shown on the new page.  and there are certainly a handful of projects i’ve mentioned but haven’t posted about (if you’ve been paying attention, you know what those are!), but it’s a start!

i’d love it if you shared your done/to-do projects! write a post and share the link, or share the link to a tutorial you hope to try, whatever works!

Recipe Roundup

you know i’m pregnant right? and you know that pregnant ladies are a little food obsessed.

lately i’ve been a LOT food obsessed. i can’t walk through the grocery store without pointing out half a dozen things that i want to impulsively throw into the cart and bring home to make/devour.

but with Hubby’s newly refreshed need to be fit, my desire to one day return to my previous shape and size, and the general state of the economy these days, it’s difficult to justify all those (sometimes expensive) good eats.

plus, i’m trying to be more like Betty Homemaker and less like Fast Food Frankenstein.  so here are some recipes that’ve caught my attention and are on my “try me ASAP” list:

breakfast:

(i’ve been on a breakfast kick the past couple days, a weird change from my usual ice cream kick)

Pumpkin Spice Granola - Recipe at Baking Bites

Snickerdoodle French Toast - Recipe at Baking Bites

dinner:

Fiery Fish Tacos with Corn Salsa - Recipe @ AllRecipes.com

home-made döners (turkish gyros)

dessert: (even though breakfasts are enticing, dessert is still my favorite!)

Pumpkin Cake - Recipe @ MADE

Caramel Apple Cookies - Recipe @ Smashed Peas and Carrots

which should i make first?