Whenever I refer to my job or going to work I have to use air quotes because I always feel a little bit silly getting paid to do what I love.  Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of not-so-fun things about my job (like filing taxes and stressing about whether a pattern is 100% perfect) but to "get" to buy fabric and design and make quilts as my job ~ well that's just a dream come true. 

On those rare occassions that my husband walks into my sewing room during the middle of the day ('cause he works from home) and he can see that I've been sewing for hours I say - with an ashamed look on my face - "I'm working" so he doesn't think I'm a complete slacker because I'm not cleaning or cooking or at a 9 to 5 boring office job that pays me lots more than I make now.  He's supportive, but still...it just feels a little weird.

[L to R: Calli, Heather, Me, Sachiko, Amy and Erika]

So Wednesday night, I had to bail on all other responsibilities because I had a

"work-thing" I just had to go to.  Well, that work thing just happened to be a party.  At a fabric store.  Where they gave a discount.  And served cupcakes.  And gave out prizes.  A party that was designed for us to mingle with other local crafty blogger friends and that just so happened to be located across the way from Cafe Rio (a local mexican fave) and two doors down from a self-serve frozen yogurt shop.  And I may or may not have had half of a pork salad, a red velvet (mini) cupcake and cake batter fro-yo with Reeses Peanut Butter Cups on it, afterwards. (Cafe Rio, red velvet and Reeses PB Cups are three of my favorite things so don't get even me started.  We can have a whole conversation on Red Velvet.  Especially the Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.)  Anyways, I'm just saying... may or may not have. 

[L to R: LuLu, Natalie and Heather]

What more could a girl want, you know? 

A night out with the girls, fabric, cupcakes???

[Somehow these little guys made their way into my bag.  I mean, I paid for them, but otherwise I had nothing to do with the fact that I walked by a big table and mentioned something about a quarter and some lady cut me a generous 9 inches of each one,  handed them to me and sent me on my way!  What was I suppose to do!?!]

I really do have the best "job" in the world.

Square Root [and coupon]

My friend, Aniva, showed me this quilt she had made recently

using my Square Root quilt pattern:

I love this color way she chose to use.  The fabrics are from the line Promenade by Cyndi Walker for Riley Blake Designs.  Aren't they pretty?

 This is an easy Jelly Roll pattern with a few simple appliqued flowers

[which you can easily omit if you so desire!] 

 My very most favorite part of my job is seeing YOUR versions of my designs!

It's such a thrill every time!  Thank you, Aniva, for sharing this quilt with us!

Since I'm so excited about it I decided to offer a coupon code to my shop for FREE SHIPPING on this pattern.  Just enter SQUAREROOT at checkout.  This coupon will be good through Sunday.

And P.S., I'm putting together another post of more of your Gigi's Thimble quilts so please send photos!  Send them to adctd2qultng@gmail.com.  I can't wait to see them!

Have a great day!

~ Amber

FWQ

 A few more farmer's wife blocks:

#101 - Wedding Ring and #84 Spool

#81 - Snowball and #71 Puss in the Corner

Hopefully I can get a few more done today.

Happy Quilting everyone!

~ Amber

Scrap Jar Stars Quilt {Done}

I'm so happy this quilt is done.

It took many months to make, working on it a little here and a little there.

I set goals for myself and slowly saw it come together.

Until I had a little set back [which you can read about HERE].  But, all is well.  The little pink spots are now no where to be found.  Thanks to all of you for your good advice.  I ended up using an Oxy Clean Max Force [Pre-Treater] Gel Stick.  I let the gel sit on the stains for almost two weeks while it was quilted and bound. 

Now the only pink you'll see on this quilt is this single pink patch I added [for an unexpected surprise]:

And the little bit of pink on my backing [which is from the fabric line Millie's Closet by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs].  Can you see the little bit of pink around the red circles?  I am so happy I decided to go with this fabric for my back.  I debated about it for a while but I like how it is multi-colored [as opposed to just red and white or blue and white] and how it's cheerful without taking anything away from my quilt front. 

I love my binding too.  How could I resist this red and white polka dot fabric from Vintage Modern by Bonnie and Camille for Moda?

This quilt is big. It measures 81" x 93".

Honestly, I didn't think it would end up this big [guess I didn't have my thinking cap on for that one!]  It's a picnic, go see the fireworks or Real Salt Lake play soccer type of quilt.  But now I figure everyone and their dog will be able to snuggle under or sit with us on top of this quilt.  [GASP!]  I know.  I plan to use this quilt.  

And love every minute of it!

I know there have been many posts about this project.  Sorry if you're sick of hearing about it and wondering what the heck took me so long!?!  I promise there won't be any more posts about this quilt :) 

But if you want to make your own scrap jar stars quilt you can find my tutorial for it HERE.

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

FWQ [Status Update]

I like working on my Farmer's Wife quilt blocks but with a million other projects on my "to-do" list they sometimes get pushed to the wayside.  I am officially behind now so I was happy to have made some time this weekend to make four more.  Here they are:

I love this one.  The little fussy cut flowers on the diagonal make me happy.

[#72 Railroad]

[#72 Prairie Queen] 

[#41 Friendship Star] 

[#61 Northern Lights]

Here they are all together.  You'll notice an extra one in there [top-middle].  That's #92 Streak of Lightning, which I forgot to show a picture of last time.

Aren't they cute all together?

I've only got 16 so far but I'm excited that my little red and white quilt is coming along.  I'm trying not to get overwhelmed by the fact that I really should have 23 other blocks done to be considered "up-to-date" in our FW club.  That's if I plan to make all 111 six-inch blocks [which I do].

I guess I need to do one a day for the next month.

Oh.  I've got lots to do...

My marmalade blocks have been laid out on the floor of my sewing room for a week now and I've been binding my little heart out on my Scrap Jar Stars quilt this past weekend.  I hope to share pictures of that in the next couple days.

Do you ever get to a point where you have like 3 or 4 projects that all should have been done yesterday.  Which one do you work on?  Well, I just do the best I can.  Thanks for being patient with me and hanging in there for this bumpy ride I call being a quilt designer, blogger, part-time fabric store employee, house cleaner, chef and most of all a wife and a mother.  I know I'm all over the place but I try to take a little time each day to be creative.  Thanks for letting me share my journey with you.

Have a wonderful day.

~ Amber