I can feel it in the air folks…fall is coming.

I drove around town tonight for some fresh air and the breeze had the leaves blowing and they sounded crisp and ready to fall. I guess the heat is breaking & tomorrow it’s going to be in the 80s…woo!!!! I want a halloween quilt for my couch so bad it’s KILLING ME!!!!!!

I’m doing some crazy stuff lately. Making new friends. Joining a gym. Giving up caffeine. Knitting up a fierce storm. Reading the first two books of Hunger Games. Updating my shop with excitement thanks to everyones extremely kind & positive comments in my last post..it’s amazing what a few kind words from friends can do for you! Applying to craft shows like, EVERY weekend this fall. Writing PATTERNS!!! Just staying busy to keep my mind off of missing Porkchop.

One of the hard things about working from home is it’s very easy to get wrapped up in being alone in your mind. I am very outgoing person and will pretty much talk to anyone but at home it’s very easy for me to get lost in my own mind…you know how your sewing and suddenly you realize half of the day has gone by and you’ve been daydreaming & zoning out?! Well, I do that except as I’m sewing suddenly I have ideas how to make everything BIGGER! BETTER! CUTER! RADDER! And I have to ACT on those ideas, like NOW! NOW NOW NOW! So when I say I’m overwhelmed, I’m just overwhelmed by myself & my own ideas…it’s not really a bad thing but sometimes I want something simple! And small! Just to feel like I’ve accomplished something neat!

So I calmed down (barely), drew a block idea, pulled some fabric and made myself a little shoo fly mug rug. In less than 2 hours…even when hand bound and without thangles! It feels great! I need to practice my stitch in the ditch quilting, but nothing makes me happier than crisp, clean, straight lines and having everything line up perfectly, it makes me feel like maybe my obsession is paying off ;)

I do turn simple things into major undertaking and I can *totally* admit that. I have two swaps I’m working on right now, one for Jeni and one for Christina both girls spoiled me absolutely rotten and are just fantastic inspirations to me and I want to make them incredibly amazing things, it’s like my way to show them how much I think they are great! But I am slower than HECK because my ideas just keep GROWING!!! I finally cut into some fabric and made a little bit of progress on either gals package but I swear, it’s like I’m molasses! At the rate I’m going, summer swaps will be Christmas gifts, which isn’t fair to them! So I need to buck up, stick with it, don’t wander off and get them some cute stuff in the mail!

SOOO! ALSO! I joined a gym!!!! I need a way to get out of the house, let my mind wander, physically tire myself out at night so I won’t stress before bed and help my asthma, all at once! It’s been fun! The first day was…interesting. It was nice & cool in the gym, I did the elliptical, walked outside, got to my car and threw up everywhere. Awkward! Second day was better, I was able to work out 4 minutes longer (thats a big deal) and didn’t throw up (bonus point!) third day (today) was kinda blah, I was a little sore from yesterday so I didn’t feel comfortable working out really hard & getting all my excess energy out of my system. But still, 3 days in a row! That’s great! Tomorrow I won’t be able to go, as I’m working!

If your in the Northern California area, come on up to Chico tomorrow! The quilt shop is having their annual yard sale at 8 am! It’s a giant fabric sale outside and then inside we have all our batiks for 35% off! I have to be there at 6:30am to help set up…eeep! So exciting!

My first week without the Porkchop has been ok. I’ve already received one absurdly mushy card that had me crying. We’ve planned to spend Labor Day weekend together & are going on a top secret day trip adventure. Lots of texting & emails have been happening. I’m even talking on the phone. If you know me, you know I hateeeee talking on the phone. House phone rings here? Answering machine. Cell phone rings? Whatever, I never even set up voicemail. At work? Run away until someone yells at me to answer it (I’m only sorta kidding on that one ;)) The other morning we chatted on the phone so long I was convinced I had a kink in my neck. Oh Porkchop! You kill me!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

PS: Big Thank You!!! To fatquarterly magazine for interviewing me! You can check out my interview here

PSS: Are you liking my extreme openness lately? I’ve decided I don’t like blogs where I feel like they are secretly written by robots, so my new goal is to write more about personal stuff! How can you make new pals if you don’t know each other?!

(Porkchop & I in Nevada a few weeks ago)

Porkchop left & went back to Eureka. I’m not going to lie, I’m a mess. I miss him a *lot*. Since May we’ve only been able to spend weekends together and now we are going to see each other only here & there until December when he graduates. I know, I’m being a weenie and a wimp. Lots of people have husbands in the military or far away from them, I should be counting my blessings. But it is rough!

I’m planning a few packages and little things I’d love to send to him, I purchased two patterns tonight, one knitting, one sewing with him in mind, I’m excited to make them & show you guys. It’s kinda hard finding rad guy friendly patterns right?!

I’m still bummed out and missing him though…

But what do I do when I’m bummed out? Clean.

If you know me in real life, you’ll know that for the first 26 years of my life, I was a messy person. Lately it seems like when things happen that are beyond my control…I clean.

My bedroom right now is insanely clean and organized. The air conditioner is out of the window (crosses fingers that it doesn’t hit 100 degrees again ;)), there is a great breeze coming in!!! I washed all my sheets, pillowcases and quilts. I did laundry. I framed some photos. I organized all my clothing in color chromological order (I think I made up that word ;))…even down to my underwear and socks. I threw out a bag of old mail. I scanned receipts into my financial software. I went through magazines & ripped out the good stuff, stuck it in my binder, recycled the rest. I organized my circular knitting needles (in case yours need organizing too, I have 12 of pairs and they all fit in one of my pouches! Like this one!). I put all my small craft-y stuff, like aida cloth and whatnot into my metal picnic basket. I cleaned out my scrapbooking paper. I dusted everything, including my blinds. I made plans for new pillowcases so my bed will look more fall-ish….that got me all jazzed for work tomorrow, I gotta pick out some great new fabric!

I felt a little better for a few hours but I have a feeling by the end of the week the house is going to be so clean you’ll be able to eat off the floors. ;)

Also, this weekend I updated the pad shop. I’ve been wanting to for a really long time but truthfully? It’s something I debated.

Hear me out k?

I’ve tried to not be upset about it but I had a few people buy pads from me, trace them and sell them as their own design. That sucked to be blunt. It discouraged me quite a bit. Especially when it happened over and over and over.

Also, I’m sorry but selling pads for $2-$6 is really upsetting to me. Granted, when I first made them, I sold them cheaply as well because I felt like my sewing skills definitely weren’t up to par, but as time went on and I got better and used better materials, I raised my prices. I take time with the things I make, always, I don’t rush anything. I pre-wash and shrink all my fabrics. I constantly work on the design to improve it, I draft these patterns by hand, including the grading up & down of sizes. It might not sound like a big deal, but think about the reasons why most disposable products shift & bunch…they aren’t shaped correctly!

This is all stuff that’s reflected in my prices and it makes me sad that other sellers value their time so poorly. You can buy ONE pad at your local co-op/whole foods for $13.99+ so why shouldn’t we as a diy community price more competitively?! Not only that but the two products can’t even be compared (turned & topstitched rather than simply overlocked, organic fleeces vs flannels, etc)., plus don’t forget internet business fees!

I don’t blog about my ecofriendly lifestyle simply because it’s something I’ve sort of taken for granted that a lot of friends already know about it and it’s kinda personal…some people are curious and positive, some people are completely negative. I’m an extremely non-confrontational person and lets face it, ladies have strong opinions about this sort of thing. I had a spike of traffic a while back and found a forum where someone had seen my shop on etsy and was bashing it, asking what kind of gross person would make something like this…and it was *pages* of talk like that. Not cool. I’m most certainly not a gross person and nor are my friends who also are into cloth! It’s a lifestyle choice, I don’t expect everyone to *get* it, but I do know that I’ve been making & selling pads for YEARS and when you think about that, I’ve made a positive impact on the environment! That is why I keep making them! And they are genuinely fun to sew. I like the challenge of making things better and better.

Phew! End soap box. Check out my FAQs if your curious or feel free to drop me an email. I get a lot of personal emails about this sort of thing & it doesn’t bug me at all :)

Sheesh. This was an absurdly personal blog post…haha.

I hope everyone had a great weekend…I’ll be posting some photos this week of some finished projects, some bee blocks & more!

Hey Pals!!!!

Welcome to Castle Peeps Summer Camp!!!!!

Today I’m going to show you how to make one of my FAVORITE things….BUNTING!

You can find it here! It’s a step by step pdf…it’s a little big so it may take a few minutes to download :)

Thanks so much Lizzie for letting me join you & the other talented gals in summer camp castle peeps fun!

Have a great Thursday friends…I’m trying to think of how I can set my sewing machine up outside…fresh air is calling my name! ;)

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m feeling it. I’m ready for summer to be kaput & fall to come in like a warm pumpkin pie!

I know I should be enjoying the last little bit of warmth but I’m kinda over it. I want maple leaves and crisp mornings. I’ve already been indulging in iced chai and the occasional oatmeal cookie.

• I’ve started a notebook. Each night I write the things I’m thankful for. I’m pretty sick of negativity, here’s to positivity! So far I just am all about the little things, like gray nail polish, grapefruit jelly belly beans, movie dates with Porkchop and adding squished pennies to my collection.
• The Porkchop leaves for school on Sunday. I won’t be going back to Eureka with him…so we will be long distance Porkchopians. I’m not looking forward to it. But I know it will be for the best, he can focus on school and graduate in December, I can focus on some deadlines I have coming up and sew. Plus we’ll have a lot of weekends together!
• Something about fall/cooler temps brings out the urge to hand sew, embroider, knit, crochet, etc. I’m knitting a cowl…I’m pretty much the worst knitter…I forget where I’m at in a pattern and rarely finish projects I start. This fall I have three goals: a cowl, a pair of socks and a hat. I’m hoping I can actually do it!
• I’m kinda obsessed with Liz’s upstairs patio thing-y that she has. Why am I so into Roswell? It’s like candy. I know I shouldn’t eat it…yet I can’t stop. I’m can’t stop watching it!!!!! The blind date episode especially killed me.

I’m taking an internet break for the next few weeks. I’m determined to get caught up on swaps, orders, bee blocks…everything. I’ve already made a huge dent in them which is exciting…I only have 4 more big things to do then its on to the littles…woo! I should note that most of this stuff is with friends…that I owe stuff from MONTHS ago too. Yeah. I’m a jerk..and have very understanding pals.

I did get a few days to open my new shop! msmcporkchopquits!

I’ll be slowly adding things through out the week and then phasing out my etsy shop. If you see anything you like but would prefer a different color, just send me a message, I love custom orders but I do have a turn around of about a week & a half :) although by the end of August I’ll only have a 2-3 day turn around on things :)

Have a great Wednesday pals!

On Sunday I turned 28.

I took care of something on Friday that had been bothering me for four years. FOUR YEARS. It was like a weight off my chest & a feeling of closing the door on a really really really bad chapter of my life. I felt like it was now or never and what better time than before a birthday.

Saturday we were all a little burned out…I was feeling an emotional hangover…..The Porkchop & I went on a movie date and saw The Other Guys and I about died. h i l a r i o u s. All the random TLC comments about did me in.

On our way out to dinner that night I kept getting itunes/paypal receipts in my email…and realized someone had hacked my itunes for over $450. Nice right? So far itunes has been unhelpful, which sucks because 4 days ago I bought myself an ipod classic as a birthday gift to myself…I’m a very loyal apple fan and wow…BAD customer service. Since it’s out of my hands I can’t stress about it anymore. And believe me, I was STRESSING.

Sunday I woke up early (who wakes up early on their birthday!? THIS GIRL!!!) hauled Porkchop out of bed & to safeway…I did some cooking! I made this amazing zucchini cake and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out! It has a similar spice to carrot cake, which made me super excited because I’m allergic to carrots…so now I can have faux carrot cake! Plus an incredible potato salad, yogurt dip & other delish things.

We hung out at Porkchop’s grandma’s ranch. I laid in her pool, drank beer, talked, listened, spaced out..just relaxed. I visited their bull, Gus. He is seriously the hugest, scariest animal I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m 99% sure he’s a hereford and weighs about 2,000 lbs.

While I was floating, I realized it was starting to feel like fall. You know how late summer sun has a different shine to it and the shadows hit a little differently?! As a kid my birthday always symbolized the end of summer, school clothes shopping and the last few weekends at Noonie & Papa’s pool before they’d close it for the winter. I felt that way towards the end of the night.

I’m starting to feel myself slipping into the autumn state of mind. I bought a pumpkin candle at JoAnns today…I want to sew with halloween fabric and watch more Buffy. Autumn is my all time favorite time of year, the time I feel the happiest & the most alive. I’m endlessly inspired by the outdoors, the weather, the palette, it’s all just amazing.

Some thoughts:

• I’m incredibly blessed to have this little blog…I received so many kind emails & surprises in the mail (I’m looking at you Jeni & Yahaira!) and it makes me want to keep blogging.
• My outlook on a lot of things has changed lately. I want to take more time to do things I enjoy and just work my butt off, to quote the ever so inspirational Gretchen Wilson (lol…yeah..I *so* just typed that) “I work hard, I play harderrrrr”
• I find myself craving a completely different life…I want to get all my debt paid off & start living a little more self reliant. I’m fascinated by the “back to basics” movement that’s going on…canning your veggies, sewing clothes, eating local, bike riding, up-cycling…it’s ironic to Porkchop & his family (plus the majority of the people in my area) because to them it’s like “No shit, you eat what you grow, you don’t live beyond your means, you drink bud light after a hard day of work and you prepare for bad times.”. Granted, I’ve changed a *lot* in a few years…I’d never drop as much money as I used to on expensive things but I still like indulgences (see above…new ipod!) I think I need to work out what is a good balance for me.
• I want to take more chances. I’ve recently said yes to three very big projects with some really talented people who I greatly admire…it’s pushing me creatively & I really like that. I want to keep doing that. Keep pushing my creative limits. Finding more confidence.
• And I want to be more organized. I’m frequently late on swaps, bees, emails, etc & I’m dedicating August to getting full caught up. Granted, a lot of this stuff is from when I was sick, but it’s annoying having it hang over my head. September 1st I’d like to be 100% caught up on all my obligations & not take on any new ones.
• More t.v; I know that sounds weird right? But I’m a go go go go go go person and at the end of the day, I need a distraction & love falling asleep watching a show. Lately I’m really into Haven, Roswell, Warehouse13, Psych, Rizzoli & Isles (Did anyone else want her to make out with Donnie Wahlberg?!) and Supernatural.

Ok, I know, this is a little ramble-y. Just go with it. I’m a little loop-y from benedryl ;)

The weekend is wrapping up & I’m slowly going through my inbox.

We’ve changed my website, so now the blog can be found here, msmcporkchopquilts.com! This was a move long time coming & I couldn’t be happier.

This weekend was spent running around and getting stuff DONE. Both machines are now happily tuned up & running nicely.

I spent the weekend working on a custom baby quilt…I’m kinda torn on a bit of it…I gotta make a decision on it tomorrow because I gotta finish it and mail it like…now.

I got a lot done on it today & I decided to take a break and start a cover for my sewing machine. The dealer mentioned that there was a lot of dust in the tension discs…ohoh. It’s totally my own fault…so cover it is!

I thought I’d take this as a time to work on my stippling. I love love love to free motion quilt & I’m really trying to get *better*.

I’ll put this project away until I’m done with the baby quilt…priorities right?!

Details: Solid is Kona Ash, dreamwool batting for puff, Prescencia 50wt thread, 2.0 stitch length, BSR 1 & 2 (trying to decide which I like more).

About classes, gosh…so much interest! I’ll be working on some samples & gathering some sketches and we’ll get started soon…definitely in August! I’ll also have 2 large quilts that I’ll be listing in my new online shop!

Happy Sunday!

• People can be weenies! People can also be rad! I’m focusing on the rad!
• Crafttt shoooowwww! This weekend!!! In the middle of no where! SO EXCITED! Saturday!
• Friday is going to be a little crazy, driving to Sacramento to drop Greta off at the dealer so she can have her firmware updated and I can go to pinkberry for the first time, then to Chico to pick up a bunch of stuff.
• Reallllllly obsessed with Amy Schimler guys…working on a custom baby quilt and I’ve reached for her fabrics nonstop. And Riley Blake. The two together are like pure heaven.
• It felt randomly fall-ish today. Or that might just be because it wasn’t a hundred and fuck outside today for once. ;)
• Fat Quarterly #2 is out and pretty gosh darn neat!
• I’m starting a big cartel shop in August with all my quilty-sewn stuff. More on that later.
• I have no idea why but I love this song…it reminds me of last winter. On that note, umm…NEW GUSTER ANYONE?! Excuse me while I DIE OF HAPPINESS!!!!
• FABRIC DIET. Starting August first! No new fabric..the entire month of August! But it’s my birthday 8/8, so please, feel free to mail me some…I have a feeling around the 10th I’ll be going through withdrawals. But realistically my fat quarter shelf is out.of.control.
• Mini classes! Who’s in? I’m thinking about teaching some via the interwebz. I’ve been taking a lot of pdf/flickr classes on art journal-ling and I think I could teach some good stuff…like the art of making mini quilts…making traditional blocks modern…choosing palettes of color for quilts…etc.

The McPorkchop Wedding Quilt is DONE!

I finished the top in October but couldn’t figure out how to quilt it. It’s a monster…87 x 87. I kept putting it off and now my pile of “put offs” is taller than me, so I figured I’d bite the bullet and get it long armed.

I went with what I’d call an “economy” quilter. She does nice & neat work…nothing fancy or too artsy…and the price was very budget friendly…it’s an all over pantograph design of maple leaves and stars…very Porkchop & I. I’m bringing 3 more tops to her this week to just get *done*. Quilting is my *favorite* part but right now…there are things I’d rather be working on and these tops just aren’t inspiring me anymore.

The fabrics were ones I’d been collecting…very Porkchop & I. He’s an outdoorsman and biologist, I’m a more whimsical and art-y. It’s a mix of Erin Michaels Lush & Uptown, some Cake Rock Beach, a little Deer Valley, Flea Market Fancy and some Japanese prints. The brown is Kona Espresso and the aqua is a Moda Bella solid who’s name I can’t seem to find. The backing is Erin McMorris Wildwood.

I used a wool batting…if you were to see this quilt in real life, it’s almost more like a comforter than a quilt…very very very lofty and puffy. And I *love* that. What I don’t love is the smell of the quilt after it was washed. It has *very* slight wet wool smell to it now. It’s faded a lot from yesterday and unless I stick my nose directly onto the quilt and basically huff it, I can’t smell it. But when I first pulled it out of the dryer..BLECH! Veryyyy strong smell. It’s also REALLY warm and SUPER light….which I love! I’d probably use wool again, I know my Sparkling Cider is going to have silk batting, so it’ll be interesting to compare the two!

So there it is! The finished wedding quilt!!!

Today is my day off from work & I’ve been spending quality time working on a custom baby quilt. It’s actually the second quilt top I’ve made for the order…the first top I decided was a little too funky…for this one I’m doing something simpler but cuuuuute.

I don’t get the chance often to use “kid” fabrics so I’ve been picking the best ones and fussy cutting the cutest bits for this quilt. I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t one of the best challenges ever. I’m not making this baby quilt super modern & more parent friendly than kid friendly, although I *love* those kind of quilts,  I want this to be the kind of baby quilt where he can look at it and love the patterns, colors and little i-spy bits!

I had to take a photo of my seam ripper…John & I did a trade at the beginning of the summer & he sent me some kawaii stickers in my package…if you know me, you know I love kawaii stickers. EVERYTHING I own has something kawaii on it, my sewing machine, kindle, iphone, Porkchop (just kidding..kinda)…everything. When I saw this egg sticker I about died. I LOVE eggs. So an egg seam ripper it is!

We carry some very cute Japanese scissor fobs at work…I got the strawberry and I stuck him to my rotary cutter with some Riley Blake velvet ric rac….I’m going to get a few more for tucking into two swaps I’m doing…and probably one for Yahaira’s next package. They are $5 of pure personality. There are oranges, kiwis and strawberries…hilarious!!!! On that note, did you guys know there is a kiwi orchard at the end of my street? It’s pretty neat!

Random note, I promised myself I’d start cutting back on starbucks…so far no such luck. However I’ve hooked up my debit card so anytime I make a purchase that doesn’t require me using my pin (drive thru…haha), 50 cents is automatically moved from my checking into my savings. I’m the worst at putting money into my savings account so having it automatically transferred when I make a daily purchase is great..not to mention I earn Cabela’s points every time as well (I’m looking at you Filson bag!)!!!

I hope your having a great Tuesday!

*sometimes I buy bits of fabric from JoAnns. Why do they print cute designs on such lousy base cloth? Also, really guys? $10.99 for strike offs/mill ends of Alexander Henry…when you can go to any quilt shop and buy the real stuff for around $9? This was on sale for 50% off..but sheesh!

*I cut a quilt for a shop sample on Friday night…it’s halloween. I seriously couldn’t stop myself. HALLOWEEN!!!!! I feel like I can’t shout that loud enough. Obviously it’s a 5 & Dime…the focus fabric? Yeah…it’s BATS. I sketched how I’ll quilt it…but it’s currently hung on the design wall at work…I have other projects to finish first!

*Finally succeeded in making a bias skirt. All the gals at work wear them and they are SO cute. Mine kept coming out…weird. I traced a new pattern on some swedish tracing paper yesterday while doing housework and in between hard boiling some farm eggs & laundry, I finally whipped it up & it WORKED!!!! I was using too much elastic before and thinking my body was a *lot* larger than it really is. This one could still use a little trimming from the sides but I think it’s cuuuuute. Plus…OWLS!!!! I can’t wait to break into my liberty stash for more of these!

A few things I can’t stop obsessing over:

• blackberries! Dorrie keeps bringing zillions of them to work!
• This bag Jeni made. Ok, so I *never* want to make things *exactly* as I see them…because I always want to put my own spin on things but..gosh…I want this bag EXACTLY how it is!
• I’m frequently hunting for great nail polish & I’ve found the perfect gray in Wet Cement (swatch from another site)

I hope everyone is having a great Monday so far!!!