blue & yellow double four patch penguin quilts

yep.  that's right.  this one is a plural stash bust result.  it totally boosts my numbers for the month of what i have gotten done, but it didn't start out being planned that way.  happy accident, i suppose.  between starting a new job this month, old job, getting things for my photography business going, and spending time with the boy, i so totally slacked at getting anything done for stash busting this month.  mid last week i pulled the fabric i wanted to use from the box, but then realized i didn't have enough of one to do the pattern i wanted to... so it sat on my floor until last saturday.  yeah, like four days ago saturday.  i cruised my pinterest for things i had pinned that only involved two fabrics.  and decided on the "double four patch" pattern.
saturday i chopped up the pieces.  sunday i sewed strips and chopped some more.  monday i sewed the two different blocks in to pairs, and tuesday i busted the row making out.  it was tuesday i decided on making two smaller quilts instead of one large one.  the more, the merrier, right?  had i thought about it being two smaller quilts in the first place, i think i would have made one so that the blocks went the opposite diagonal.
also when pulling out this fabric, i realized that besides the recently done fat cats quilt, nothing i had done yet was anyway boy related. these penguins were a nice find in my fabric box to mix things up a little bit from the pink and purple girly-ness that has happened so far. but looking at the contents of the box... i'm sure there is more of that yet to come!
this pattern was really fun, and the directions were super easy to follow.  even better, i didn't screw up and have to seam rip any rows out (or fix any upside down penguins)  plus, all that penguin fabric is out of my box and on it's way to be donated!
quilt pattern here: double four patch pattern
stash busting quilt total: 5

green & orange "fat cats" quilt

i just got word yesterday that this quilt was received in the mail, so blogging this is now officially good to go!
over my two trips to vegas, i've come to know a group of fantastic ladies who have become great people to turn to when in need of talking business, marketing, or just an overall random pick me up...  complete with a lovingly sarcastic side dish.  alej announced that she was having her first baby, and of course we all got a little excited for her.  when i began my stash busting adventures for the year, i came across a bunch of green fabrics i had, and decided to make her a little something for her baby boy on the way :)
the first year in vegas, i went to a dinner at mas and lucky for me, i sat near some pretty cool peeps, and alej and her husband were in that group. what did we (and my dad, he was there too) talk about? oh, we compared cat stories. and basically, bonded over the antics of some fat orange cats we both had.  from that base, i decided to use the "fat cats" template that i've had for years, along with some of my stash and create this little quilt.
from far away, you can't really see the details, but here are the close ups of three of my favorite cats so you can see the whiskers & tails, which were satin stitched with gray thread.  i didn't want to use black, because it seemed to harsh against the shades of green.
the back was pieced together with the same shades of green fabric, orange as well as white. i really like how the back because a little bit more exciting this way, versus the plain solid backing. my grandma did the quilting for me, as usual. always appreciated for sure :)
if i was to do this again, which i may someday if i have another cat lover turned baby haver, which is very likely, then i may go the wonder under route versus the cats being pieced in. the toughest part was getting the cat blocks all the same dimensions, and keeping them even in both height and width.  and there you have it!
this was officially the 3rd quilt in the stash bust fest.  first "complete" quilt (not just a wham bam quilt top done)
and there you have it.  (hopefully) more to come soon enough!

february - instagram lookback

say what, it's march now? super madness!  here is a quick little look back on some things that went down in february.
- board game night with jenny & her mister.  i don't know how exactly we managed so many rounds of catch phrase without falling asleep.  but i love the board game life... no joke.
- first ever double date with erika & her husband.  i know, it sounds crazy, but in the past 10ish years of us being friends, we never went on a double date.  EVER.  and you know what?  it was awesome.
- fall out boy.  yes please.  they're back, and erika & i are going to their concert in june.  whoo hoo!
- yep.  i had a valentine this year, and he got me a flower.  and i made breakfast for dinner that night.  super classy.
- "second valentine's day" date night... aka don't want to fight the crowds on valentine's day, so we waited until saturday to go out.  dinner, wandering target & ross for leftover candy on sale before going to a movie? super classy night for sure.
- yes.  i did rock those shoes on our date night.  and almost fell only a few times...  stairs suck.
- chipotle.  who doesn't love chipotle?
- everyone loves a grumpy cat.  he's always around, i just needed to involve him... gotta give the kitty some love, even if he doesn't reciprocate.
- marketing.  lots of marketing attempts going on.  really trying to get this whole "wedding photographer" business going.  first round of postcards have gone out this week, and more will be going out in coming weeks.  also donated to the elementary school dinner auction.  holla at me people,  freeze frame - photography by emily!
- i took my first jewelry class at joann's and had a good time.  well, i was the only one in the class, and picked up super quick... so not only did i make the bracelet and earrings, but i also made two rings.  i'll probably sign up for the next classes for sure.
more to come in march, but why wait for the end of the month?? follow me on instagram and see these updates and more as they happen!  instagram.com/wereradletshug