365.2014 - week 25

recital 2014 - recap

saturday was our yearly dance recital, so this is the recap post saying that we survived it all.  this year i had 3 dances of my own, plus 13 that i either taught or revised from pre-existing choreography, or totally choreographed on my own.  being involved in 16 of the 51 numbers is quite a chore, but well worth it.  all 46 of my students did AWESOME (yes... 46) and i couldn't have asked for better.  no criers, no potty accidents backstage, nothing.  it's been a long haul getting to this point, but we made it.  and now, it's onward to state fair performances in july... then the 30th anniversary show happens next year.  YIKES.
another handful of kiddos.  the most kids i had on stage in one dance: 18.  the least: 5
but they all survived!  they made it through their dances like pros, had a blast backstage, and only one crashed out and took a nap before it was time to go home.
just for kicks, here's a smidge of what you may have missed (videos are from dress rehearsal.  both performances are closed curtain, which did muffle the sound a bit)
and to make this crafty, here's the back of one of the 18 t-shirts i screen printed last week. as in start to finish: sensitized the screen, exposed it, and marathon painted them all before & after rehearsals on wednesday. i found a fun element to screen printing... perhaps i'll experiment with it more. guess we'll see?
and that's all, folks.

mod chevron baby quilt - baby everett

apparently posting this week has a "modern baby" theme to that... and the two quilts that are in that theme... totally cool with that.
suzanne was due with baby #2 this march, and since i made something for her daughter britlynn, i wanted to make something special for the little man about to enter her life.  we had been e-mailing about other things, but i wanted to make sure i got a vibe for what their nursery was going to be like for the little one before going totally crazy.  she mentioned the word "modern" along with chevrons, polka dots, stripes, and a few colors and from there i had a basic idea and hit up pinterest, as i usually do when trying to formulate a new project.  i had done chevrons before (erika's wedding quilt, plus the stashbuster i did was chevron-esque) but i wanted a new take on it... after scrolling & pinning constantly, i found this pattern and knew it had to happen.  it was modern, baby, chevron & fun all rolled up in to one.  plus the pattern was a free download.  double awesome, right?
the difficult part truly came when it was time to select fabric.  i started looking at darker shades of blue, green, yellow & oranges trying to make it happen... but it wasn't happening.  i know lisa got a photo text of colors, but it was making me frustrated.  so i put everything back and hit the "nursery prints" aisle, and everything just made sense.  simple patterns, basic colors, coordinating.  it all just worked.  my only slip up was i didn't have enough background color, so i had to run back and purchase more of that... but otherwise, i was game.  it pieced together so easily, and the backing fabric was perfect.  add this to the list of fantastically favorite projects.  i would totally do this one again, but i don't know if i could ever bring myself to repeat this and try to improve it.  it's pretty awesome.  basically like a one hit wonder.
love it.
but of course, i'm biased.
pattern information:
mod chevron baby quilt
designer: rashida coleman-hale

365.2014 - week 24

pink & orange "the modern baby" quilt - elyse's baby shower

hey bloggers.
long time no real post.  school, crafting, working & blogging (plus everything else going on) apparently makes things hard to finish & post.  so be prepared for a handful of posts these next few weeks.  kicking things off is the first quilt delivered - which was actually the last one i began.
i've known elyse for years.  as in almost all of my years.  our older brothers were both the same age, and they lived down around the corner from us (just like cica & her family did back in the rio linda days).  whelp, i got an invitiation to her baby shower, so of COURSE i had to make her something awesome.  now that i've gone full force in to quilting, my grandma always gives me random quilt books & pattern freebies every so often that she doesn't have a use for.  after pinterest wasn't inspiring me enough, i turned to these freebies and found this fantastic pattern.  ususally i switch the color scheme up a but, but i just loved the pink, yellow & orange color combo.  of to joanns i went, and grabbed up all the fat quarters i needed.  everything went together so smoothly, and it was so much fun to get some girly-ness mixed in with all the boy colors i have flung all over our sewing table.  here you go, more quilty photo goodness!
fun, right?
of course, looking at the full photos now, i see the big chunk of white all in one spot.  but hey, it is what it is!  i love that this pattern kept the variety up with having the binding mixed up of all the fabrics, just like the quilt blocks.  this one absolutely ranks up there on the "would do again" list.  it would be interesting to see it in different colors, that's for sure.  before i close it off for the day, here are some photos from the baby shower :)
she's due next month, and i am so excited for her & her hubby.
best of luck to the both of them.  i know they'll be great parents.
pattern information: 
the modern baby
designer: beverly sullivant
mccall's quick quilts - feb/march 2010 issue

365.2014 - week 23

365.2014 - week 22