Happy Halloween!

I can't believe it's over!  This year was so exciting because Hurst got to go Trick or Treating for the first time.  We didn't go to many houses, but we did hit a few!  He is still too little to say "Trick or Treat", but he was able to get out a word close enough to treat!

Here's a picture of the little fireman at his grandmother's house.  Good pictures were hard to come by because he didn't want to keep his hat on and he had a little bit of a sugar rush!!

We had a great time on Saturday picking out our pumpkins!

Picking up the straw was also a highlight!!

The best part was definitely the wagon!!  (Hope Santa was paying attention, this might be a good Christmas present!!)

Hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween!

I did work on a couple of small projects this weekend.  Will post them when they are finished!



Baking and a little sewing...

This weekend was not very productive on the sewing front, but I did manage to make another hexagon flower for the GMFG quilt.

Gotta love those pink polka dots!!

I did, however, perform some magic in the kitchen.  Saturday morning I made pumpkin waffles that were to die for!!  If you are a pumpkin fan you MUST try these!

I also made my favorite sugar cookies from good ol' Martha.  The only changes I make to this recipe is I use 3 1/2 cups flour instead of 4 cups and I always add either lemon or orange zest to add a little more flavor.  This is the best recipe for cutouts.  They always hold their shape so nicely!  Since I didn't feel like pulling out the piping bags I frosted these with this delicious icing.  Of course the decorating wasn't as pretty as when I take the time to pipe royal icing, but boy these are delicious!  Since these cookies were just for us I think that's all that matters!

I am still plugging away on the "Hushabye" quilt.  I hope to have the backing finished soon.  First, I need to figure out what I am going to practice free motion quilting on.  Definitely don't want to just jump in and start on the quilt without practicing first!  I really need to get over myself and just quilt already!  I am always so chicken when it comes to trying something new.  Hopefully tomorrow during naptime I will get something accomplished!

Sewing update

Unfortunately, there wasn't much sewing accomplished this past week.  I have had a great time playing with Hurst and hanging out with my fabulous husband, so I can't complain too much, but I do miss my sewing machine.  Tonight after the baby goes to sleep I have vowed to work on my Tula Pink "Hushabye" quilt.

Here is the quilt top in all its' wrinkled glory waiting patiently on the ironing board for me.  This will be the last of my works in progress to finish before I start on the Christmas projects.  I know it's a little early, but I'm slow so I should have started at least a month ago.  Oh well...

I will be so happy when this one is finished because it will be all mine!!  I made this out of six charm packs, and I think it will be the perfect size for snuggling under on the couch!  I know it is just another boring patchwork quilt, but I can't help loving it.  I am mostly excited (and nervous) because I am going to try my hand at free motion quilting for the first time with this quilt!  Tonight I am going to hopefully piece the back and then hopefully during naptime tomorrow I will baste it and start quilting!

I do have a long term project that I worked on a little this weekend.  When I say long term, I do mean very long term!  I estimate that so far I have been working on this quilt off and on (mostly off) for five years.  It is my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  This quilt pattern is the reason I wanted to learn to quilt.  Needless, to say it has been a lot of work and there is much more to come, but I can't imagine the sense of accomplishment I will feel when it is finished!

Here are the blocks I have made so far spread out on the dining room table.  I need 67 and so far I have 47.  Only twenty more to go!  Of course then I have to add the multiple borders, quilt and bind the monster, so I will be working on this for a long time!  It will all be done by hand, so it has been the perfect travel project.  My goal is to work on it at least once a week to finish it as soon as possible.  We will see how that goes!

Sorry for such a long-winded post!  Now I'm off to put a sleepy little boy to bed and then quilt.

Baking and Sewing

Today was a very productive day.  On top of the usual housework and toddler care, I was able to do some baking and sewing.

Unfortunately, my husband and son don't share in my love of all things sweet.  Of course, in their defense, I do have one of the biggest sweet teeth around!!  The three of us do agree on one thing: pumpkin sweets are delicious!!  I made one of my go-to pumpkin treats this morning, pumpkin muffins.  I recently started using this recipe and I think it is perfect!  I cut down on the amount of sugar called for, but other than that I stay pretty true to the recipe as written.

They may not be much to look at, but these are perfect for breakfast with a glass of milk or tea in the afternoon!
On the sewing front, I made two blocks this morning for an exchange at my quilt guild meeting tomorrow night.  I am a new member, but so far I just love it.  It is so nice to have two nights a month where I am surrounded by people who all share my passion for quilting.  This group is filled with so many talented people!  I get inspired all over again everytime I go.  I really hope whoever ends up with my blocks likes them...I am a little nervous since I am a novice quilter!

We are using Bonnie Hunter's Happy Scrappy Houses pattern for exchange this year.  I was hoping to have at least three blocks for exchange this month, but no such luck.  While I think these turned out really good, the piecing was a little tricky for me, so I am thrilled to have these made!  I can't wait to see what I get in return.  So exciting!

Ducky quilt for Hurst

I fell in love with Lizzie House's Red Letter Day fabric the second I saw it online and knew I had to have it for a baby quilt.  I thought I would make one for a baby shower gift, but my son had other plans.  As soon as I brought the fabric home from my favorite store Hurst started rolling around on it and giggling.  I knew then, even though his nursery is decorated in airplanes, that the Red Letter Day quilt would be his.  My husband was nice enough to entertain Hurst Sunday afternoon so I could sew on the binding.  I just absolutely love it!  I saw the quilt Faith of Fresh Lemons made for her son and thought it was the perfect design to showcase the fabric!  Hope she thinks imitation is the highest form of flattery!!

It was the perfect design for someone like me who is still learning to piece and quilt by machine.  I cut stips from each of the fabrics in various widths and then pieced them together.  It is quilted in lines that go straight across the quilt in various widths which is very flattering to the design.

I pieced the back together with leftovers from the front.  I just love the green and blue duck fabric!!  It is my favorite!

I love that I am finally finishing projects that have been waiting for a few months!  It feels so good to check this off my list, not to mention I think he really likes it!

This Weekend

The Burnett Family had a fantastic weekend...how about you?  The weather was gorgeous, maybe a little hot for our taste, but beautiful just the same.  We took advantage of the sunny, cloudless sky and went to the National Zoo and had a blast!!  This was Hurst's first trip and he had a big time!

Here he is in front of the big lions at the front entrance!

The highlights of the trip were the meercats:

the elephants:

and an adorable bear statue that Hurst just couldn't get enough of!!

After two hours at the zoo all three of us were wiped out!  We went home and took a much needed nap!

Space Quilt For Max

I have finished a quilt that I have been working on since this spring and it felt so good to scratch it off my to do list.  I made it for my adorable nephew Max who was born in July (I'm a little late, but better late than never right?) for his outer space themed nursery.

It is just a simple patchwork, but I am so proud of it!  It is made from the incredible David Walker Rockets and Cosmo Cricket Cosmog lines and it is so cute!  It can be really hard to find cute boy fabric, but when I heard how Max's room would be decorated I knew this fabric would just be perfect!

The back was pieced very simply, a robot print bordered with Red Rockets.  I can't decide which side I like better!  I know that he will love the bright colors.

One last picture of the quilt with my favorite model...my sixteen month old son Hurst!  He can always be counted on to ham it up whenever there is a camera around!
Now I just need to wash the quilt, wrap it and deliver it to Max this weekend.

I finally decided to jump right in...

Since becoming a SAHM to my son 16 months ago I have become addicted to quilting blogs.  While I learned to quilt more than ten years ago, I hadn't touched a project in years.  Quilting blogs have inspired me to dust off the sewing machine and get started again.  Blogs have become such an inspiration for me that I have decided to give it a try myself.

The name of my blog comes from my latest idea to get more accomplished and it's definitely working.  I am giving myself fifteen minutes a day to work on my projects.  No laundry, no dishes, no housework, just fifteen minutes of fun time.  Some days it works better than others, some days it doesn't work at all, but that time has become very precious to me.

I hope that my family and friends will use this blog to also keep up with my little family, but be forewarned: There will be a lot of entries about quilting, sewing and knitting (hopefully).