Well, I got this quilt all sandwiched and half quilted before I realized the bottom was bunching up. Such a bummer. That’s what I get for using discount basting spray that’s at least 2 years old. I spent two hours with a seam ripper removing half of the stippling I’ve done, and I just don’t feel like taking a picture of it. So instead, I’ll just share my finished quilt top before it was marred with a zillion needle holes.

I’d love to be doing more sewing. Let’s hope that now that school has started, there will be more time. Hope everyone had a great summer!

My kid is dino crazy. They had a special Dinosaur Train deal at the Houston Zoo a few weeks back, and if you wore a costume, you got a prize. Well, we only have superhero costumes around here, so I whipped up some pterodactyl wings real quick.

For inspiration, we used this shirt…now a little too small, but it worked for one more day.

First I sketched out what I was aiming for - just the webbing that hangs down from their arms.

I started with a rectangle folded over to give me the double sided wing that I was aiming for:

Then I used some fancy stitches that kind of look like fangs to make casings for my bendy straws - these are the ‘veins’ in the glider wing, so they hold their shape. After sliding the straws in, I cut away some arches in the bottom and then sewed the bottom closed with some top-stiching. I sewed right over the straws so they wouldn’t fall out.

After making two ‘wings’, I connected them with some binding with a backpack clip in the middle (because pterodactyls grow so quickly!). On each end of the binding, I sewed a smaller double fold bias strip with a little snap, so I could attach the wings to his wrists.

And to keep the glider up in the center of his shoulders, I just safety-pinned it to his shirt.

Ta Daaaa!

And some action shots:

with claws:

Is it sad for me to celebrate the fact that I’m only 3 months behind on my virtual bee? I finished up two blocks this weekend, so now, I only have Jan, Feb and March to finish! Here are Oct and Nov’s blocks…those girls were so patient! (Thanks, Rosanna and Natalie!)

For Nov, Rosanna had us do a big Single Girl block. I’ve owned this pattern since Denyse published it, but as soon as I opened it up, I knew I would never make it. Denyse uses templates in a lot of her patterns where I don’t feel like templates are so necessary. Look at me - questioning the methods of Denyse Schmidt! But really, I love her quilts so much, I’m just too lazy to put the effort into them that the patterns call for. I guess that’s why they sell for so much money!

So anywhoo…Rosanna cut ALL THE PIECES! She sent us these nice little packages of all the little shapes that make one ring. I can’t imagine the time she spent preparing those packages. All I know is that I got to do the fairly simple sewing on this awesome block without doing any of the mundane or tedious pattern tracing and cutting. So thanks, Rosanna! Taking this pattern out for a spin showed me that it’s not the big, awful pain I thought it would be. And if I cut multiple pieces (stacked fabric, cut four or five at a time), I could almost see making a quilt with it. The finished block was huge, so six would make a great baby quilt.

And then for Nov., Natalie wanted porthole blocks. This was a fun new technique for me. Although, I never could get my seams as smooth as I wanted. We used Ric Rac’s tutorial - which is super easy. I’m sure I’ll use this technique again - and really, you could do any shape.

In other sewing news, I finished up the Here We Go bag for my aunt Jamie. Using the pattern in Anna Maria Horner’s book Handmade Beginnings - Jamie picked her own fabrics, and I put together this GIANT diaper bag. Pretty easy pattern, and the technique used for closing up the top and sewing the inside and outside together was suprisingly easy. I normally make bags using the ‘birthing’ method - where you flip the whole bag right-side-out through a small hole in the bottom. This bag uses a bias strip sewn around the whole top like quilt binding. I ended up hand-stitching it down, just like I would do a quilt. Not bad at all.

The bag has a center divider with pockets on both sides and pockets around the inside lining. There’s also a little elastic loop that holds the changing pad.

And I found a great laminated herringbone fabric on fabric.com - perfect for the changing pad. Although, I really need to get one of those slippery feet for sewing on vinyl and stuff…what a pain in the neck!

How cool is that…I’m one comment away from 1000 comments! Awesome. During my brief blogging haitus due to moving from CA to TX, lots of people have been finding my free hex templates and my hand sewn hex tutorial. I love link backs (hint hint) - seeing new hex projects is super fun.

Look at this little bit of awesomeness - if Betty Draper Francis could sew, she’d be a member: http://midmodbee.blogspot.com/

My sewing machine, tv and tivo are all in storage. Sad, sad, sad. The upside to our extended wait for our house is that I haven’t bought any new fabric or craft books for almost 3 months! Personal record, my friends. I’m still watching a considerable amount of tv online - thank goodness for hulu.

I do have my eye on a few new books though - namely The Practical Guide to Patchwork by Elizabeth Hartman (a.k.a. Oh Fransson!) and Dare to be Square Quilting by Boo Davis. Super original designs. Very, very cool.

Also, my new addiction is my nook. I’ve been blowing through all of Karen Marie Moning’s books - both the Fae and Highlander series are muy excellente!

teacher gifts-1, originally uploaded by Beaty Family Fun.

I made these little zipper pouches for my son’s preschool teachers. Tucked inside each one was a matching coffee quilty, a key fob with a charged up Starbucks card on it, and a card. I think these little gifts were a hit!

The floral fabric was a find at Joanns. I found three precut fat quarters and THAT’S IT! I’d love to find more. It’s got all my favorite colors in it.

We’re reading Skippy Jon Jones around here - have you read it? It’s awesome. So in the spirit of Skippito Friskito, let me say, “Holy Guacamole!” There is so much awesome stuff on the web. Here are a few beans from my pinata:

Latifah Saafir, co-founder of the LA Modern Quilt Guild, has reinvented her blog. Her new home on the www is http://www.thequiltengineer.com/, and it’s looking awesome. I especially love her latest quilt.

Tons of awesome new fabric on the way. I’m greedily eyeing the new LizzyHouse line, Castle Peeps. And not just for the awesome name! I especially love the castle-scape prints, although I truly love the whole line.

Castle Peeps - Gallant Green Castle Town by LizzyHouse

It looks like Fabricworm will have it on sale any day now. And look at this Villagers Rejoice quilt! Super awesome. You can read all about it and download the pattern here.

And of course, I’m counting down until Far Far Away II is released. Can’t wait!

I got Leslie’s blocks done on time (whew!) and Alison’s blocks done early. Yay, me! Here are some pictures.

Leslie wanted Denyse Schmidt-esque log cabins.

Alison’s blocks are for a Liberated Wedding Ring quilt from Freddy & Gwen Collaborate Again. Paper-pieced. I was happy with the finished results.

And in my non-sewing life, we’ve started swimming lessons!

How awesome is this fabric? It’s home dec weight canvas from Ikea. This is a one yard cut - the fox is huge! And so perfect :)

New to quilting? Check out this fun little pdf download over at Sew,Mama,Sew! It’s a Quiltalogue, a printable mini-book of quilting terms. How handy!

Need some more inspiration to get sewing? If you didn’t get your fill browsing the Quilts of the Day on Sew, Mama, Sew!, check out my new favorite group on Flickr: { Handsome } Hexies.

Or how about Elizabeth’s new potholders?

Seriously. So much inspiration everywhere!

My virtual quilting Bee, Bee Happy, is so awesome. Look at the blocks I’ve gotten so far!!!

And look at these special extras…a pin cushion from Natalie:

And this super awesome package from Lori:

Those gummy lightning bugs didn’t stand a chance against my 4-year old.

This one is super awesome. The Fresh Modern Quilts group on Flickr has reached 2000 members (awesome!) and to celebrate, rOssie is doing a giveaway. Leave a comment here by April 8 to be entered.