WIP Wednesday 6/18/14

Yesterday I shared some peeks at the SewCanShe sew-along blocks I was working on.  Today - - - I have an (almost complete) quilt top to share!

Isn't it cool how those two blocks work together to create a completely different look?!

I'm loving it so far.... but thinking I want to add a border or two before the top is officially complete.

What do you think???

Right now it would be approximately 36" x 45" if I finished it without any borders

Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - can't wait to see what everyone else is working on!

Quilt top in progress

This weekend I got the "bug" to do a little bit of fun sewing - I had worked on a few items for a birthday party and had a bit of a lull in custom orders (none paid, all in the "design" phase right now).

I probably *should* have worked on getting caught up on some BOMs / sewalongs - or started my Avatrix Medallion quilt..... but I had seen the SewCanShe Classic Blocks: Fresh Fabrics post for this month (check it out HERE) and remembered really wanting to sew some up.  I loved how the two blocks came together to make something totally different than what they look like apart.

Saturday I was able to sew up a bunch of 9" 9-patch blocks (excuse the cell phone pics.... my camera battery ran out and I can't figure out where the charger is!)

Fabrics are from my stash - pulled to go with that pretty aqua paisley fabric!

Then I was able to squeeze a little bit more time in Monday morning before the boys woke up (yeah for alarm clocks that go off at 4:30am and lots of coffee!) - to get the snowballs sewn up.

  

 Thinking I'll have to sew up those little triangles and maybe piece them into the back - or a border?!

 

 Pressed and stacked!  Next up: figuring out the layout and sewing them all together!

Want to see more sneak peeks - my sewing process, family, fitness goals - - - I share them all over on Instagram!  @MamaEggo is me!

Birthday sewing!

Since the very beginning of my sewing business I have had the fun of making some pretty special birthday shirts / onesies / outfits.  Over the last 3+ years I've made hundreds of them - and it's always a really cool thing to know that someone trusts me to make such a special, important item for their kiddo(s).

Last week, I had fun sewing up a birthday dress for our friends' daughter who turns two today!!!

Then because I knew she was pretty obsessed with Thomas - and figured it was probably pretty tough to find girly Thomas stuff - I sewed up another dress and a tunic for her birthday gift.

She was SO cute as she tore through all the gifts - doing a GREAT job of picking up each item and showing it to everyone - quickly - then moving on to the next gift!

One of the things that is the biggest bummer about custom sewing is that it is pretty rare that I get to see the items I make ON the kiddos I make them for.  They go in the mail and are (hopefully) loved when they arrive at their new home.....

But things look SO much cuter on kiddos than hangars!

So you can imagine how FUN it was for me to see that two kiddos (birthday girl and another friend) were wearing items I made at the party!

Crummy cell phone pic.... sorry! :)

Still a WIP

A month and a half ago, I shared a bit about my personal journey - as I am a WIP.  This past week, I have hit a few more milestones / completed a few goals - - - so what better time to share that with you than another WIP Wednesday?!

May 31, 2014 I completed my last run for the couch-to-5k training program - and 9 weeks prior I was sure I wanted to attempt it, but not so sure about my success.

That day, I ran 4.28 miles (not the 3.1 (5k) plus warm up / cool down "required" by the program).  One friend kindly pointed out "you realize you ran more than a 5k, right?!" :)  Yes!  Was it purposeful?  Partially..... I had plans to run at least the 5k - maybe a bit more.  But I also drove and parked my car just outside of town and then ran through our small city - and got a bit farther away from my car than I realized - - - so I had no choice, I had to run back to it!

The feeling of accomplishment - it's empowering!  I was NOT a runner 9 weeks ago.  I hated it.  I was making HUGE strides in my fitness goals - - - using awesome HIIT workouts / strength training..... but running?  Yah, right.

But when others tell me "yah, right" I see it as a challenge - so I finally decided it was time to see my own doubt as a challenge.

After that run, I immediately downloaded a 10k run training app.  Did I ever think I'd be attempting to run 10k?  NOPE.... but I didn't think I could / would care to run a 5k either!

Yes... that's the same shirt (and kiddo mess) in each photo!

This weekend is my birthday and I'm SO excited to be celebrating it by running the Graffiti 5k with some friends and family (my first "official" run!) - then spending the rest of the weekend surrounded by those I love.  It's the perfect way to celebrate another year in the books - and the last 5 months of HARD work!

I'm not done.... not at all.  I never will be.  As I accomplish my goals, I set new ones.  One I've got on the books right now is attempting to find a better balance - again.  This commitment to fitness and health is taking a ton of focus and, well... time.  My sewing machine has been severely neglected - and really, that's okay.... but I am starting to miss it - so it's time to re-focus and put together a strategy to be able to do it all! :)

Still a WIP..... but celebrating the wins along the way!

Oh..... and because you're probably confused and thinking "I thought I was following the blog of a fabric addict / sewing mama!?" - check out these pretty fabrics my friend Alyssa from Calm and Carrion sent me the other day!  So sweet!  Riley Blake, Blend, Anthology... yum!  I count these as a WIP too because I think they'll look really pretty all sewn up together - - - so I'm going to add them to my "fun" sewing list!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - hoping to draw some inspiration and motivation from what everyone else is working on! :)