On Saturday we headed to the Joann Fabrics Superstore in Harrisburg, PA.
We went with a mission...
choose the fabric for Baby Ahern's quilt.

After two girls I feel very "Pinked Out".
So we chose this...


Floral and feminine, but with a color pallet of
light blue, orange, dark orange, white and cream.

Next, to scan the fabrics and then plug them into the EQ5 program to see how they look.  I'm not gunna lie, this step was a NIGHTMARE.  Again, no clear instructions in the help menu made this task extremely difficult.  It took me a solid hour to figure it out and I am very computer savvy.  Once I got it in, I am still a bit disappointed.  I know this quilt will look a bit different than shown, since the fabrics you plug in only show a small portion of the pattern. 

However, it was nice to see them put in and realize I wanted a smaller outside border and a larger inner white border.  Changing the sizes in this program was a cinch!  And I now see exactly what it will look like with my border adjustments.  I turned it on its side so you could see a larger view.

Alright, as mentioned before I am using this program to design your own quilt in my efforts to make a quilt for our coming Baby Ahern.

I promised a full review and here is part one.

I installed this program and opened a new quilt, all ready for action.  However, you are staring a totally foreign screen.  Luckily, there are a series of included Video Tutorials...right?  I watched more than a few and was still completely perplexed on how to even get started with a project. 

I probably sat for an hour before any sort of real progress was made and that was only accomplished by serious trial and error and reading and re-reading various Help topics.  So, my first issue is that the program is not very user friendly.  There is a newer version, EQ7, and I can only hope the directions, videos and help topics are much more detailed and helpful.

Now we're at the part where I have got the knack of it.  You can actually scan in fabrics you plan to use and see exactly how your quilt will look, but I am not in possession of my fabric yet, so I chose to simply color block this quilt and each color would represent a different patterned fabric (with white always being plain white fabric).  I was able to get just what I wanted.  I could easily adjust the block sizes, colors, widths of borders, etc.  As you make adjustments you can always see what the quilt's finished dimensions will be....awesome feature.

So here's what my simple quilt looks like in the program...


Next, comes the very best part.
The yardage estimates.   Woot!


Once your quilt is designed you can see the yardage estimates for the total quilt, broken down by each fabric.  Now, I made a mistake and created white my blocks using a color that was not actually white, so I will have to combine my yardage estimates for the three different whites I used by accident.  But that was my bad, not the program's issue.

It's good to note that the yardage estimates provided by the program include a little extra so you don't run out.  So it's safe to exactly follow their guidelines.  YAY! 

Step number two is heading to the JoAnns Superstore in Harrisburg and choosing my fabric.  I'll be sure to keep you updated.

The competition is officially over.



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This week's Fab Fabric is the
Urban Zoology collection by Anne Kelle.



Awww....are you wishing there was a girl version?Oh wait...THERE IS!



Pick up these delicious prints from my favorite local shop,Spool Sewing, by clicking here.

I never enter blog give-aways since I am not very lucky,
however I did enter this give-away from Martha Stewart.
And I won!

It's the FINAL ROUND of So You Think You're Crafty! And for this round, you get to know exactly which craft is mine and go and vote for it!

My competitor is fabulous, but so is my craft!!!

PORTABLE FUN CANVASES AND CARRY-BAG. Hang them in any doorway or hallway. Or take them outside and string between two trees or hang on a clothes line. Hours of fun and easy too!

Make this Castle themed Puppet Theater with movable curtains AND this Under The Sea Bean Bag Toss! Now, I know what you’re thinking….”But I can’t draw those sea creatures!“. Never fear. Along with my tutorial comes my sea creature images, all ready to print, cut out, trace and become a quick and easy template for your design. When you're finished, roll the canvases, rods and beanbags up and store them in this handy bag made from the leftover canvas!

Click here to go and vote for me!

I have always been intrigued by the thought of personalizing fabrics...but where to start? Right here.

Bend The Rules with Fabric is more of a constantly reusable resource than anything else. Amy Karol easily and deftly explains each technique including inexpensive supplies and additional resources. She also has a project to illustrate each technique.

Although her projects were not particularly my cup of tea, it doesn't matter. This book so thoroughly takes the intimidation out of dying, stenciling and altering fabrics that you will likely come up with a million of your own ideas by reading through it. If you feel like you want more direction as far as utilizing her specific example projects, and you don't care for her style, you might find this book less inspiring than you wish.

For me, this is a must have that I will re-read and reference again and again.


For my review I did a project straight from the book itself with fantastic results. Here it is in it's early stages, having cut the freezer paper with a Martha Stewart punch (which I already owned) and having applied the fabric paint. Expect to see the finished project on Baby Girl Ahern when she arrives this October.

UPDATE: 
Oh, the cuteness!  She's yawning because it's tiring being this fashionable.

No, don't adjust your monitor.
This is what my craft room currently looks like.


It's horrid
disgustingly disorganized
and just plain chaos.

My goal for September is to get this completely
weeded through
organized
and functioning from the one closet.

Because a baby is going to be living in there come October.
Let the external encouragement begin...please.

Okay,
so I feel pretty lame about this,
but after much deliberation I have decided to keep my current blog name. 
The main reason is that many of you suggested it! 
So, in a way, it is still a decision...right?

Since many of you suggested keeping the name I put all of your comments into a bowl and drew a winner.

And the winner is...

Jenny Meyers said...

I agree to leave it the same.
Your family blog has so many followers that I think it's a shame to disconnect the two.

Well, of course you noticed.
This blog has a NEW LOOK!
And a new commitment from me...
to go with my ten thousand other daily commitments.

More regular posting,
more projects,
more free printables,
more "me".

See ya around for the revolution.
Now let's Craft it Like It's HOT!

What a nail-biter!
I made it to the final round of So You Think You're Crafty be a mere 3 votes.

And in case you couldn't tell, my project was the TIMELY TEACHER'S GIFT.


Now, we just have the final round, but seriously, my competitor is fiercely crafty!
I can't wait to see what she creates.

Today our friends, The Campbells, are leaving on a jet plane bound for Idaho. I remember how long that 6-8 hour plane ride can be with two kids, so I whipped up these activity books for each of their two boys.

And now you can have one too.

(Images do not represent ALL pages included in download.)


- Click here to download the pdf of this activity book.
- Print out onto regular paper or white cardstock.
- Cut each page in half to create a horizontal book which measures 8.5 x 5.5"
- Arrange pages in any way you choose.
- Staple along the left side 1/2" in from the edge.
- Make to pack your crayons in your carry-on with your activity books.