WIP Wednesday - a special project

I can't share much about this project.... but a friend approached me and of course I couldn't say no!

A peek at what I'm working on....

Last year I walked two Susan G. Komen 3-day (60 mile) walks - raising $4600 for SGK through my participation and helping with the $2300 each of my walking partners needed to raise to participate.

Me and my boys - San Francisco - Jun 2013

These walks will be something I never forget.

Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge - after a LONG first day - June 2013

I know, I know, there are all sorts of political debates about SGK and other organizations out there - or the color pink - or... you name it.  I choose not to focus on that.

My awesome friend (and walking partner) Heather and me - San Francisco 3-day - June 2013

I choose to focus on this... I am doing SOMETHING.  I know that.

"Baby" brother and me ready to start the Seattle 3-day - September 2013

My favorite sign from either walk.  I got a few blisters during the first walk - and they hurt - but they didn't require chemo.

The people I met, the love I felt, the stories I heard and witnessed, the support I was shown by friends and family - monetarily, emotionally, and by actually taking steps right next to me in training and during the walks.  Those things are what I am passionate about.

(left) pausing on the I-90 floating bridge in Seattle  - - (right) My amazing hubby was a stand-in walker with me for day 2

I walked 120 miles last year in those two weekends - but I didn't stop walking when I crossed that finish line.

3-day success - San Francisco - June 2013

60 miles complete - Seattle - September 2013

So this pink project I'm working on.... actually a few pink projects... are pretty special - and making me antsy to walk another 60 miles.....

The loves of my life - supporting me (and surprising me with homemade shirts - - - even Mr. Eggo is crafty!) - after finishing the San Francisco SGK 3-day - June 2013

Linking up for WIP Wednesday over at Freshly Pieced - I am link #69 -  can't wait to see what others are working on (and eventually share with you my finished projects)

WIP Wednesday - Zoe's quilt {progress!}

After a wonderful vacation with a little bit of sewing sprinkled in - I was excited to get back behind the sewing machine {the iron?  Not so much!} this week!

I have a few different orders to work on right now, and each is a work in progress.  Some adorable dresses, a birthday onesie, super cute ruffly PJ pants - - - lots of fun things coming across my machine!

The last time I shared about Zoe's quilt I was sorting, designing, and stabilizing each piece.  Since then, her mom found a few rogue items that fell out of the bags when she took them to be shipped to me (oh no!!!) - so she sent them my way to be added in {phew, good thing I've been taking my time on this project - a few of them were really sentimental / important items!}.

Once I had sorted all the items by the size of the design, I started ironing on the stabilizer.  Stabilizer is important because onesies, etc. are all different thicknesses and most of them have some stretch to them.  Stabilizing them helps protect the integrity of the quilt (won't stretch out / break down).... but it takes time!  I knew I was going to work with three different block sizes - 6", 4", and 2" (finished square size).  I cut stabilizer a bit bigger than each size and ironed it on.

Then after returning from vacation, I got to cutting out squares!  150 of them to be exact!  {okay... actually a few more than that... it's good to have extras on hand - and they'll find their way into the backing!}

I *may* have had an unfortunate incident with my rotary cutter during this step.  Thank goodness some sort of survival instinct (or???) intervened and kept me from really doing BIG damage.  I still have all my fingers!!!!

Then I got my handy dandy colored pencil sketch of the quilt, and started stacking squares for each row.

I plan on using a "quilt as you go" method - similar to that shared by Maureen Cracknell - for this quilt due to its size (it will be around 50" x 60" when finished!).

A side note: Maureen is amazing.  Not only is her quilting beautiful and inspiring, but yesterday within minutes of commenting on a blog post of hers, and asking a question, she had responded by email!!!  To say I was a bit star-struck would be an understatement.  She answered my question, and truly took the time to respond with more than just a quick "thanks for commenting".  She even included photos to help explain her process!  Wow!!!  We emailed back and forth a couple times, and I was left even more inspired than before.  So a HUGE thank-you to her for taking the time out of her VERY busy day to offer some tips, etc., and truly show she is invested in the sewing community!

Anyway...... back to Zoe's quilt!

I now have all of the rows sewn together, and I have to say I LOVE how it's coming along.  I don't know the story behind all of the outfits, but I know how much they mean to her family, and I am so honored to be working on such a big, important project!

I'll be switching gears and working on clothes for the next few days - - - then will pick back up on this project again soon!!!  {though it's tempting to just keep sewing and get it all put together!!!}

What are you working on?  What inspires you?

I'm feeling refreshed from our vacation - and VERY inspired to create!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced - - I am link #116 - so excited to see what others are working on!

Itty bitty squares

After sewing with a friend all morning, nap time came and I figured it was time to work on one of my "to-do list" items.

I'm working on a special project... and I won't say much about it.... but here are a few peek photos

Fabric info: black / white dots, turquoise floral, and croquet tile orange from Jo-Ann Fabrics /// pink floral has no selvage info but was purchased from someone in our Fabric Crafters U Bid It Destash group on Facebook /// pink ribbon fabric from Quilting Treasures.

A few fun notes:

~ yes, I realize I need to buy some graph paper.... obviously that one was "drawn" quickly - - - I often make graph paper in Excel.... but the real stuff would probably be a nice treat!

~ in case you can't read it..... my scribble note says finished = 1", squares 1.5"  Yup.... those are tiny squares.... and lots of them!

~ the friend who came over to sew with me today giggled as I pulled fabrics for this project.  "Shopping in your own home."  Yep!


Now.... back to sewing tiny squares - and a few triangles - though Little Man #2 has woken up from a VERY short nap, so not sure how much I'll get done until after the kiddos go to bed tonight!

Hope you enjoyed the peek!

"String along with me" - day 1

Yippee!  Project Quilting Season 5 has started!

This week's challenge: String along with me - you can read about it more here...
Each week's submission MUST include at least one of the following: patchwork, applique, or have 3 layers stitched together by hand or machine

This week, we also have the following requirement: the entire project must be made from strings {strings are defined as strips of fabric no more than 2.5" wide}

Almost immediately I had an idea... and so I took a picture of my "inspiration" and got started!

I had a general idea.... and sketched out a few concepts - but I'm not going to share those here {mainly because my "sketches" look like something my 3-year-old could have drawn.... but also because the concept has changed a few times since, and I want you to see the creative process, not me creating an end result you already knew was coming!}

Next.... I spent at least 15 minutes sorting through my scrap bin.  It amazed me how many scraps I had to pick from.  On a pretty regular basis, I send scraps to a friend who makes hair accessories, etc., so I was sure I was going to have to cut some "scraps" to supplement.  Nope!

As I sorted I grabbed out smaller scraps in the colors I planned on using: orange, yellow, green, blue, brown, grey, black, and red.  Once I pulled the scraps I took the (HUGE) pile back to my inspiration piece and decided to remove the red and black.  The picture below is about 1/3 of the pile of scraps I was considering

Then I headed back down to the dungeon my sewing studio and did my least favorite job - - - Ironing all of

 those little scraps.  As I did that, I sorted the scraps by color.

Awwww.... don't they look pretty all ironed and sorted?!

Next, I moved from color to color cutting the scraps into "strings" - no bigger than 2.25" and no less than 1" wide.  I needed pieces that were at least 6" long for what I have planned for them.

Ooooh - look at how nice those oranges look all trimmed up and ready to sew!

Then, I sewed each color of strings together completely randomly until I felt like I had a big enough piece.  I ironed each seam open {bleh, more ironing!} which produced this nice array of colors.

But what's going on with that bolt of solid blue fabric?  

.... guess I have more sewing to do!

Want to know more about Project Quilting?  Head over and check it out - and join in on the fun!!!

Baby H's Quilt {sneak peek!}

My very first Eggo in the Oven sale was to my friend Dana - she ordered a patchwork blanket for her son Aydan (who is Colby's age) and various other items.  Was I scared?!  YES!  At that point I still wasn't convinced I was good enough to be paid to sew! {truth be told, I still sometimes think this!}

So when Dana messaged me SO excited that another baby was on the way {eeeek!  I think I was one of the first to know... because of COURSE Aydan needed a custom shirt to announce this big news!} I was hopeful that Dana would want to order another blanket for this baby.

Sure enough..... I am SO excited to be working on Baby H.'s quilt!

Baby H's nursery will be blue & grey chevron, so Dana and I thought it would be fun to echo the chevron design in the patchwork style.  I pulled various fabric ideas and she gave me a general idea of which ones she liked - then I made the final call on the fabrics which makes this a fun little surprise for her, too!

Here are a few sneak peeks at the process / progress!

Ironing.... I seriously can't believe I've chosen a profession where I iron all.the.time.  I severely dislike ironing - but it's a necessary evil! :)

Lining up the fabrics and determining the order I want to use them in the quilt

Quilt pattern (on the left..... yes, I used Excel and crayons!) - this is a smaller version of a big quilt I made for my sister-in-law recently.  Stack of squares on the right is all paired up and ready to be sewn.

Making "half square triangles" - I sew diagonally twice on each square, then cut between the lines of sewing - which creates two squares from each pair that is half of the top fabric and half of the bottom fabric

Those half square triangles got sewn together according to my pattern and now have become a quilt top!  This picture is a "quilt sandwich" - the quilt top, a layer of cotton batting, and the quilt backing.  It's all ready for me to quilt, then bind, then ship it off to its new home!  More photos to come once I complete those processes!!!

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!!!

Welcome to this new adventure!

Hello!!!!

I am so excited to give you a little sneak peek behind the scenes here at Eggo in the Oven - and look forward to sharing my love of fabric, sewing, the creative process, being a mom / wife, and all the other things that take up my time! :)

I hope you find this to be a fun place to come to laugh, learn, and be INSPIRED.  Please feel free to comment with any questions / feedback you have - or use the contact form on the left side of the page.  While I have LOTS of ideas for upcoming posts, I also want this to be a place YOU love to come - - - so if there are topics / questions / you have in mind definitely send them my way!

I'll leave you with a little peek at some sewing I've done over the last few days.... more to come on this (last minute) project soon!

Until next time!