Well, I just got back from the most awesome-est quilt retreat EVER.  I loved every minute of it!  The retreat was held in a HUGE, luxurious cabin/house - that even had a slide in it!  It was located in the back of scenic Hobble Creek Canyon, UT (a short 45 minute drive from my house).  It was hosted by the amazingly talented and wonderfully witty Emily Herrick of Crazy Old Ladies quilt patterns. There were about 30 of us sewing till the wee hours of the morning.  The food was delish.  Just the right amount of games and make 'n takes.  Swag galore.  New friends and a beautiful snowy setting surrounded us.  And guess what!  I took absolutely NO pictures!  I'm sorry!  I've been hunting around blog land for some and haven't come across any yet.  But I shared a sewing table and a bedroom with Heather from Quilt Story and Amy from Diary of a Quilter so I'm hoping they'll pull through for me!  Also at our table was Kathleen from Quilt My Phone who hooked me up with an awesome new quilty phone case!  Thanks Kathleen!  I LOVE it!

So before I left I worked frantically on making this weekend traveler bag. I had the pattern for a long time and thought it was the perfect excuse to actually make it.  It came down to the day before the retreat and I hadn't started making it.  But, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.  I was able to get it done and I LOVE how it turned out!!!

 The pattern is called My Paris Traveler's Bag by Fig Tree Quilts.

It was the perfect size for a three day trip.  I felt like Mary Poppins when I was packing because of how much stuff I was able to fit in there!

I hope I'll be able to use it again soon.  

Like maybe at a Cabin Fever 2 retreat?!?  

It was a fun and productive weekend and I got two quilt tops done.  

Stay tuned.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share soon.

~ Amber

Apron Pattern Winners

If I call your name...you are the winner of your favorite pattern!

Debbie P said...

I love the colors an look of the Lime Ricky pattern!! It is soooo cute!!

 

  hueisei said...

I like the Punch and Cookies

 

 Barbie Mills said...

I think I like the strawberry licorice one! Cute ginormous rick-rack!

 

Margaret said...

I love the Blue Daiquiri. She has some awfully cute projects and patterns.

 

 

 Renea said...

Jade's Ruffle Skirt is the pattern I would pick although all the patterns were really cute. Thanks for the great giveaway.

Ladies, please send me your snail mail address and we'll get these patterns right off to you!  Thanks for playing everyone and a special thanks to Eva over at Sew Much Good for generously donating these patterns!

Have a great weekend!

~ Amber

Finished Apron and Giveaway!

Apparently I have been in a non-quilty mood lately!   

This is the second apron I've made in the last few weeks and I feel like I stretched my beginner seamstress skills with this one.  It felt kinda good! You'll have to please excuse the lame picture though.  Although I am excited - you might be able to tell that I feel extremely awkward having my picture taken for all of YOU to see?!?

 I love the girly waistband and the full skirt and these darling pockets.  I also love the scoop neck.  There are lots of fun little details on this one!

This pattern is called Lime Rickey and was designed by my good friend, Eva Garlick from the blog and pattern company called Sew Much Good.  

 

Eva has so generously offered to giveaway 5 - count that FIVE - of her patterns to my blog readers!  All you have to do to enter is stop by her blog, check out her apron and skirt patterns, decide which one is your favorite (that will be the hardest part) and then come back here and leave a comment telling me which one that is! Take a minute to do these 4 little steps and one of these patterns could be yours!  

Be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger.

BONUS POINTS:

If you are a follower of my blog, A Little Bit Biased - leave another comment saying "A Little Bit Biased".  If you're a follower of Eva's blog, Sew Much Good, you can leave a third comment saying "Sew Much Good!"

This giveaway will end Thursday night.  The winners will be announced Friday morning.  Good luck!

~ Amber

One Project Down

I finished up this apron last night:

 

The pattern has been around for quite a while but I've always liked it. 

It kind of says I'm-not-pregnant-but-I-could-be-and-you'd-never-know (and what girl doesn't like to wear clothes that fall into that category?!?)

It was a super easy pattern to follow and make (which is really good for a girl like me since hemming, ruffling and gathering are a little out of my comfort zone). It's also super comfy to wear.  Did I mention that? 

 

And what woman can't appreciate two giant size pockets?  You could stash a million spools of thread in these things!  Or Lego's... Or hair bows...whatever!

It was fun to take a small break from quilting to whip up this apron.  

This was a great pattern for a beginner and I had so much fun with it, in fact, that I decided to make one more for a friend.  

I hope she likes it!

 

This pattern is the Lilly Apron by Busy Bee Quilt Design.

Right Now

 Right now I'm working on two different aprons.  

One of which involves these little ruffly pockets.  Aren't they just the cutest? Check out the Lime Ricky Apron over at Sew Much Good to see what they're going to be when they're all grown up.

Right now I'm loving these prints (as you can see) from the Indie Chic line by Riley Blake Designs.  I love them so much so that I'm making the apron, a baby quilt and some pillows for my new sofas. I'm even tempted to make a throw quilt.  I just can't get enough of the gold and blue chevrons and big florals right now.

Right now I'm finishing up a sewing room makeover.  It looks like it's going to be bye-bye to this little baby (she might get a new paint job and move into our guest room but there's no room for her in my sewing room anymore).

Right now I'm finishing up a new pattern.  Should be ready any day.  It's a Block of the Month pattern.  I've literally been working on it FOREVER.  Here's a sneak peak (eek!)

Right now, I'm trying to finish up my Gigi's Thimble taxes.

And right now (well not literally right this second - but today) I dragged my kids around town while trying to gather up my quilts for a trunk show that I'm doing tomorrow.  That was fun.  Isn't it amazing how much kids looove to run errands with their moms after school?  They love to sit in a car for hours on end.  Separated from all that matters in their little worlds.  Can you sense the sarcasm?  I tried to bribe them with treats from the Blue Lemon but the sweet bliss only lasted a few minutes before whining and fighting ensued.  So then we sang "25 Bottles of Beer Milk on the Wall" to pass the time - which did distract them for a minute but then they were right back to realizing how terrible their lives are :(  

Man, I just reread that paragraph and I sound like a really terrible mom...don't judge...please?  It was a lesson in counting...

Ahhh.  Life is busy but good.  

I always have a million projects in the works but I thought I'd share a few pictures of some things I actually did finish.  A few farmer's wife blocks...

 [#85 - Square Dance]

 [#83 - Spider Web - It's not perfect but I like this one.]

 

 [#26 - Cut Glass]

 

 [#86 - Squash Blossom]

That's 58 FWQ blocks completed.  I've decided to do the twin size quilt 

(which requires 83 blocks) so I've got 25 more blocks to do.  Our quilts are suppose to be finished up in March so it's time I start kick things into high gear.  Does anyone care to join me in say, a 30- day FWQ marathon?

Let me know!

~ Amber