Rebecca's got a package

I ordered The Farmer's Wife book June 19th. I expected to actually hold the book in four to six weeks. How exciting was it to have a special key in my mailbox last night? Well, I had a huge smile on my face. That's right. The book came in 9 days. Now I have to get busy printing out all those templates.

The chain gang came to town today! I finished the first step in peicing the Funky Monkey blocks. Next stop...cutting the chain gang and pressing the seams. This quilt is well on it's way.

A jump start

I have all the pieces cut for Evan's Funky Monkey quilt. I've been procrastinating sewing them together. Actually, I have been super busy. Between all the stuff I do it's hard to get a moment to set up my machine, have the head space to sew and then break down my sewing camp in the same day.

I've needed a jump start. In steps another project. Don't worry...it's funky monkey related!

Ella likes this project just as much as I do! This is a sample of the 85 inches it took to make the semi-ruffled curtains.

All the pieces for Funky Monkey quilt separated into blocks. 

Completed curtains. I originally sewed in a ruffle. Once I started to put them up on the wall the thread broke. S**t! So, I just tacked them to the wall and made them like a ribbon candy.

Open curtains. I made a very short brown tie. I really like them. Evan does, too!

I have the whole day off today. My machine is plugged in and ready to work. I'm going to knock out some of the blocks this afternoon. Mad Madd has to work this afternoon...kind of stinky. But every  cloud has a silver lining. Mine is that I have more time to be crafty.

To being crafty! (knock your needle and rotary cutter together) :)

What a great weekend!

My brother, his wife and their son came to Denver for the weekend. It was originally to see Ray LaMontange in concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater. We ended up making a whole weekend full of fun and fabric! Friday we went to the zoo, sans Mad Madd. He had to work. Saturday was the best part! Teresa and I hooked up with one of her friends from high school that lives in Denver. We created a fabric crawl. It all started with breakfast in Parker. We headed a little north and went to High Prairie Quilts. I picked up 3 fat quarters in hopes of making my first bag...some day! We hopped in blue bell (Julie's car) and headed west to Holly's Quilt Cabin. I like that store a lot. Didn't pick up anything though. Next on the list was The Creative Needle. They sell sewing machine's as well as fabric and notions. I bought more green sashing for my KING. I figured since it was there it should be bought! Onto Emily's Basket which was really sad. They are closing largely due to the fact that JoAnn's is going in just a few blocks away. Ummmm...no quilt shop can ever compare to JoAnn's. They just don't sell the same stuff. We all know that! I bought 3 panel sets that were a steal! We stopped for lunch at a Pho restaurant, which I had never had. Well, I ended up getting sesame chicken. I can't remember exactly when we stopped for lunch because I was on a bit of a high. I start to get focused, sweaty and excited all at the same time when I fabric shop. And, I usually do this alone. Julie took us by her oh so cute carriage house apartment. She showed us her stash. Teresa and I were dualy impressed! She gets to move into the main house pretty soon. She'll have a large table that we have already reserved for sewing nights! We arrived at Harriet's Treadle Arts which was super cool! They had all their 1930's reproductions in one area. Teresa was very impressed. Then she started to twist my arm to do the latest quilt-a-long online-The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt. It's all template based and takes us back to the heritage of quilting. Okay...confession...Teresa didn't twist my arm. I willing jumped head first into the 1930's reproductions. I bought a lot...I counted but forgot *wink*. It's going to be super pretty! Our last stop was The Fancy Tiger in Denver. I love this shop. They have tons of modern fabrics and knitting supplies. Their staff is always gracious and very helpful. I bought a remnant that I thought would be fun to have around and a tape measure.

Teresa has a ton of pictures on her post.

My loot:

1930's reproductions for Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt

From Top to Bottom: 3 fat quarters for bags, a tape measure, a remnant.

This is a panel fabric. It makes a set which includes a growth chart and a book. I thought it would be super cute as baby gifts!

Needless to say it was a great day for all! Thanks for shopping with me girls.

Saturday night we went to the Rockies/Tigers game at Coors Field. I haven't been there since I stopped working for the sports station. The boys did great considering they are 2 and 3 years old. Sunday morning we had breakfast and it was time for my family to leave. Lots of hugs and pictures.

Evan's Funky Monkey

Wow...it has almost been two months since something has been posted. I have been a little busy, to say the least. We went to Florida, had a visit from my mom, brother, sister-in-law and nephew, celebrated Evan's 2nd birthday, first day of preschool, quit a job, got hired and started teaching yoga again! That's a lot of stuff.
Last week I started to cut out the fabric for Evan's Funky Monkey quilt. It feels great to be back to fabric. It seems I need a break in between projects.

All the fabric cut into blocks. I paired them so they would compliment each other.

Elizabeth Hartman's book...great patterns!

I love this pattern. This is the one that I orignally had in mind for Evan's quilt.

I decided to craft a pattern myself. The quilt will be made up of 12 inch square blocks. I haven't decided if I am going to use sashing or not. I guess it depends on how big it is.

Basic layout of the quilt top

The nitty gritty!

Now I just have to decide how the blocks will be comprised. See below.

Option 1: Using only the complementary fabrics

Option 2: using two sets of complentary fabrics

Option 3: using 3 sets of complimentary fabrics

I'm leaning towards doing a combo of option 1 and 2. That way there will be some visual interest.

What do you think?