Butterfly Quilt

It is all done, and I love it so much! This quilt really turned out so simple and elegant - makes me want to keep it! But I hope to make it to the PO today to mail this out to its owner.

It is s very simple pattern. I even wrote everything out to put the pattern on here, but now I cannot find it. Saturday I will be doing some deep cleaning while Conan is working, so hopefully it will show up and I can get it up here for you all to make your own quilt like this!

Go ahead, I dare you not to love this quilt.

It has such a summery feel to it, perfect for right now!

I added buttons to the center of the butterflies, and I love, love, love it. Each button is different, so it really adds to the character.

 I did a simple all over design when I quilted it.

 

You cannot really see it here, but this button was my favorite.

Life is crazy busy here, I seem to be getting nothing done craft or cleaning wise. But we have enjoyed the pool the library, recipe group and a bunch of other fun things. I guess that is what summer is all about right?!

Stay tuned for the pattern, this is really an easy beautiful quilt!

Reduce Reuse Recycle

It has been a crazy weekend here, we re-arranged rooms a little bit because Thing #5 is no longer in a crib, and in doing so cleaned out big time. My kids had way too much stuff - it was insane.

But today I have something way cool to show you. I have to give my mom credit for this, because I basically just took these from her to use at my house. She was using these when we visited her a couple of weeks ago and everyone was there, which translates into a lot of cups that kids are using and she is having to wash. This is her solution. They are cup label bands.

I've seen was to many label cups that you write right on the cup or stick something on the cup - but my experience shows me that these come off in the wash. These bands come off, but you can just put them back on the cup!

And they are super easy to make. You know those rubber bands that you get on your broccoli or other produce? You know, the nice thick ones. Grab those and wash them up. Let them dry and take a sharpie and write the name on it. Grab the cup you are using for the day and place the band on the bottom of it, and done. You can take it off at the end of the day and stick the cup into be washed, and then the next day just put it on a new cup.

She has even been collecting them for long enough that she had blue for boys and pink for girls - easy for the kids. See how easy this is - just stretch it over the bottom of the cup and you are good to go!

We lost a few on the way home, but I am working on getting more. I was at Sam's Club the other day and saw these great water pitchers. I got one in an effort to get my kids to drink more. And guess what?! It works! We call it our water cooler. ;)

These little bands have made my dish work go down greatly. They used to go through a cup each time for a drink, or they would use a water bottle and leave it open and Thing #5 would find it and dump the majority of it on the floor. But now, there are just their cups and the water cooler. Perfect! I hope that you all have a great day!

Fantastic Friday #24

Hello all! This has been a crazy busy week for me, but we are done with swimming lessons today, and so hopefully next week will be less crazy! I hope that you all have been having a great summer. I loved looking at everything that you all made, I especially loved this beach bag. I don't live by the beach any more, which I am a little bit sad about, but life goes on, But it is such a great idea for the park, or the lake.

She gives great instructions on how to make them - and get this, they are made from a screen! You all need to check this out!

Grab a button and let everyone know that you have been featured here!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/featured.png"/></a></center>

And on to today's Fantastic Friday!!

Rules:
*become a follower of Iron Violet Designs, I like followers - it makes me feel good. But I won't delete your link if you don't.
*link up anything that you have made - sewn, cooked, crafted, etc. family friendly of course.
*must link to a blog post, not your home page, another linky party, etsy shop or giveaway.
*link back to this post so that others can join in on the fun. Grab a button or do a text link either one is fine with me.
*visit a few of the links and leave comments! Everyone needs a little comment love!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/FantasticFriday.png"/></a></center>

Let's get started:

Almost done!

 I am so close to finishing this quilt, I wish that I could just sit down and do it, but unfortunately I am only able to go in little spurts! I am making this for a customer and I went out of town in the middle of it, and she has been so patient with me! I hope to be able to post the finished product here soon! This picture is it up on the frame mid quilting.

This picture is from before I got it on the frame. Sorry for the changes in lighting - that is just what you get in a basement! I love how simple and elegant this is. I loved this quilt so much that I have plans to make one for myself soon!

Also I made up this pattern based on a quilt that she saw, so I will write up instructions for anyone who is interested and post those maybe at the same time as the finished quilt. I just have to think of a name for it. Any suggestions? Anyway, I am off to stitch binding! :)

Patriotic Quilt

Remember this quilt I told you about in my sharing post last week? Because it is so close to the 4th of July I thought that I would share it with you.

I made this quilt a little while ago and have had it hanging up for a couple of months now. I just love it, and I love how people are drawn to it when they come into my house. They always comment about something on it. I used a curtain rod to hang it, and sewed a little sleeve thing on the back, but I think that I might change it up a bit and use those hooks to hold the quilt up - then if I feel like it I can change it out for a different look.

When I hung the quilt up it needed a little bit something extra to complete the look. Then one day I stopped in at ACE for something and was looking at their decorations and they had these stars. They are a little bit rustic, yet fit well with this quilt.

 

They were a perfect match! and to top it off they were on sale/clearance 40% off! I picked up two, one for each side. I thought about getting more, but decided that less is more sometimes. I just hung them by the string that the tag was on and voila! done!

I branched out a little bit with my quilting here. I did a simple all over on the stripes part of the quilt - you can kind of see it in the picture above.

But on the stars I decided to quilt with stars! It was a little bit tricky at first, but I really love the way that it turned out. And I love it when people see that there are stars in the quilting - it makes me feel like my hard work is appreciated!

I am off to do laundry and clean up mud! It rained all day yesterday and when it stopped for an hour the kids thought they would go outside and play. The first place they went . . . yep you guessed it, the mud. Thing #5 was pretty much covered in mud from the waist down. I guess it is not all bad when they talk about how much fun they had. :)

Fantastic Friday #23

It is Friday!!!! This week has been long and busy for me, but it has been a ton of fun, unfortunately I have a sunburn on my knees - yeah it is great. Tomorrow is Thing #4's birthday so we have a few festivities to plan, yep I am a little bit last minute. Should make for an exciting and fun filled weekend though.

Anyway on to the partay! Last week there were so many great things to browse through, I had so much fun looking at everything you guys made! I just fell in love with this bag. I am not sure if I love it because it is yellow or because it looks so functional and pretty all in one. Or if maybe I just want a new bag and I am trying to hold off making or buying one. Bethany is a pro at making bags, she makes a ton! and her blog is great, I always smile when I read it.

Here's a button to show that you have been featured!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/featured.png"/></a></center>

And on to today's Fantastic Friday!!

Rules:
*become a follower of Iron Violet Designs, I like followers - it makes me feel good. But I won't delete your link if you don't.
*link up anything that you have made - sewn, cooked, crafted, etc. family friendly of course.
*must link to a blog post, not your home page, another linky party, etsy shop or giveaway.
*link back to this post so that others can join in on the fun. Grab a button or do a text link either one is fine with me.
*visit a few of the links and leave comments! Everyone needs a little comment love!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/FantasticFriday.png"/></a></center>

Let's get started:

Sharing Time

I am going to do something out of the ordinary today . . . I am going to share some of my personal life with you. I do not share much so this is huge for me.

I have been super busy doing tons of fun things with my kids this summer. One thing that they love is swimming. Last year I got a little take everywhere camera. I have a big nice one, but I don't like to take it places because I am afraid something will happen to it. So Conan got me a little one for my birthday.

This camera rocks, I love everything about it and I don't even know how to use everything yet! It is shock proof and water proof. I recently put the waterproof part of it to the test - and it was awesome! (I figure my kids will put the shock proof one to the test all in due time.) I love these photos - even if they are not the best. They just capture a different part of swimming that I have never captured before.

Here I was playing with the zoom and got a super close up with Thing #1. He loves the fact that you can see the bubbles coming out of his nose. I found it a little bit hard to get the timing right. But I still liked the outcome. All but one of the pictures had most of the kids in them- one I ended up with just feet, but oh well.

And here is my newest love:

I have been sewing on card tables, the kitchen table, the computer desk, you name it. But I have never really had a real sewing desk. Because of that I have sewing stuff in places all over the house! I snagged this beauty off of craiglist, and I love it. I have my sewing machine on it and well a lot of other crap already. I have the quilt that I am currently working on out and I do not have to put it away. I have to say this is the greatest thing ever, and I like to think that I am more productive because I can just sit down and sew and not have to get everything out.

I hope that you are all having a great summer, I have a great 4th of July quilt that I hope to share with you all this week! I have it all done and hung up already, you can see a little bit of it in the corner of my desk pic!

Fantastic Friday #22

It is Friday! I am having a hard time getting back into the swing of things, but we are here today!  There was no party last week and the week before there were a ton of great ideas shared! My favorite was this beautiful maxi dress.

I love how simple and classic this dress is! I could use one or two of these in my closet! And she makes it seem so easy to make! I think I might have to make a run to the fabric store and get me some supplies to make me my own dress! You need to go and check this out, and everything else DeniseAngela makes - the girl has some serious sewing talent!

So grab a button to show that you have been featured!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/featured.png"/></a></center>

And on to today's Fantastic Friday!!

Rules:
*become a follower of Iron Violet Designs, I like followers - it makes me feel good. But I won't delete your link if you don't.
*link up anything that you have made - sewn, cooked, crafted, etc. family friendly of course.
*must link to a blog post, not your home page, another linky party, etsy shop or giveaway.
*link back to this post so that others can join in on the fun. Grab a button or do a text link either one is fine with me.
*visit a few of the links and leave comments! Everyone needs a little comment love!

<center><a href="http://ironvioletdesigns.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img alt="Iron Violet Designs" src="http://i1133.photobucket.com/albums/m599/IronVioletDesigns/FantasticFriday.png"/></a></center>

Let's get started:

Table Runner

I'm Back!!!

I had the best vacation these last two weeks! I was great to be able to just sit back and not really have anything to do. We pretty much just played each day by ear! Which ended up spending a lot of time at the pool!

Alas, it had to come to an end, and the 8 hour drive home was L.O.N.G! Thing #5 was not too happy about his car seat, and let everyone in the car know. But we made it and now we are trying to get everything cleaned up and put away!

While I was on vacation I was able to visit with my Grandparents. I do not get to see them very often, but I enjoy spending time with them. Today I am showing you something that I made for her a couple of years ago when I first started quilting.

It is this simple easy table runner. I had a pattern, but just like recipes, I have a hard time following them. So I altered it and came up with this.

I gave this to them for Christmas, and I love that they display it year round on their side table. 

 She also made me feel good by telling me that everyone who comes into their house asks where they got it! You got to love Grandmas! I love this doll she has - it embodies their carefree, relaxed attitude.

This was one of the first things that I finished, and when I looked at it I could tell that I was still a little bit new to machine quilting. The pattern is not as smooth as I do now, but I still love it!

I hope that you all have had a great last two weeks, and are enjoying the summer!

Vacation Time

Sorry I do not have anything for Fantastic Friday today. I am on vacation and I just realized that today was Friday and I did not prepare anything in advance!

It is beautiful weather where I am and I am enjoying some much needed relaxation time with my family! I will be back next week!