Clancy | 1 week old

We've been talking for months about adding a member to our family -- no, not another baby, but one of the canine variety. We fully explored rescuing an adult dog. We even had a couple come to visit us. But, in the end, anything in the retriever family (our first choice) was just too much for my allergies to handle.

So, we decided to go a different route.

Meet Clancy.




Well, one of these puppies will be Clancy. We decided to get a Goldendoodle, the most hypo-allergenic dog that we could find. (My mom has a goldendoodle -- the sweetest dog EVER -- so I can attest to the fact that my allergies aren't bad at all when I stay with her).

I say one of the little guys will be Clancy because we're not sure yet which one will be ours. Another family has first dibs and will be choosing their puppy (blue or green) at 6 weeks of age. The other will be ours.

We're expecting Clancy to come home sometime in early June. Understandably, we're a bit nervous about getting our first dog ... especially with him being a puppy. But with Quilt Mom* still a stay-at-home mom for now, we figured it's the best time to get him trained and acclimated to life with our family.

Any tips or words of advice as we embark on this adventure?

* Speaking of Quilt Mom, I'm trying to convince her to write a guest post on my blog sometime soon ... !

How cool are these blocks?

Come into my secret swap workshop, where I am experimenting with a few ideas for my very first little quilt swap ...



Caution, swappers! Sneak preview ahead!

Sorry for the terribly dark picture quality, but I really like the way these are turning out. Experienced swappers, am I on the right track here?

Stay tuned ... all will be revealed ... ... ...

Quilt-a-Long | Fabrics Selected

I'm really excited that AmandaJean has started her second quilt-a-long. I found her blog about midway through the first quilt-a-long, and wished I had taken the time to catch up and play along. Nevertheless, I followed each week as the new block was posted, visualizing the making of it in my head, but never actually started. As soon as she said there would be a round 2, I knew I would want to take part. And now, round 2 is beginning!


Inspired by Anina, I decided to use Full Moon Forest fabrics (designed by the fabulous Ms. Tula Pink who, by the way, reads my blog, thankyouverymuch!!!).

I love the colors of these fabrics and think they'll look great against a white background.

My (probably overly ambitious) plan is this:
Each week, I will make that week's block from both Quilt-a-Long I and Quilt-a-Long II. That way, at the end, I will either have two quilt tops, or I can combine all of the blocks from both rounds into one quilt top ... if it looks OK, of course. You see, this second round happens to have 12 setting blocks, which I think I will try to replace with the 12 blocks from last round (since the blocks from both rounds finish at 12.5").

That probably sounds more complicated than it needs to be, but I'll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

Think I can handle two blocks per week?

HELP! Your scraps needed!

OK, so I know this is a long shot, but if I can't put out a request for help on my blog, then what good is having one? I'm hoping some of you ALQS'ers might be able to help me out.

I am on the hunt for some scraps of three specific fabrics (pictured above) to work into my ALQS swap quilt. One is from Heather Bailey's Freshcut line, and the dots are from Amy Butler's Lotus line. All would work great in my plan.

Unfortunately, none of my local shops carry these, and I don't want to meet the minimum yardage to place an online order. I need at least two strips measuring 2" x 11" (or larger) of each, or a larger scrap from which these pieces can be cut. I'd be happy to reimburse postage and/or send you some scraps from my stash. Can anyone help??

Swap Blocks DONE!

Tonight, I finished my 20 Road to California blocks for the swap I first blogged about here. They're due to the swap hostess on Wednesday ... nothing like cutting it close, eh? I must say, I'm a little "Road to California"-ed out. I'm very excited to be done, and can't wait to get the other blocks in return. With this being my first block swap, I'm just hoping mine are up to snuff ...

Here's a sneak peek of the beginnings of my little quilt for Kate's swap:

After a false start, I finally found my inspiration and I am SO excited to work on this one.

And here are some fun shots from last week:

Ugh, Monday tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

These gentle souls (Mr. & Mrs.?) look in through our back doors right into our dining room. The kids love 'em. Since they bring a smile to our faces, I thought they might bring a smile to yours.

Have a great weekend!

Penny Pincher Block Swap

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been keeping busy this week with my first block swap. I've been watching the about.com forums to see if there was a swap I was interested in joining and this one caught my eye. I couldn't decide if I wanted to join but finally fell off the fence last week. The only problem? The blocks are due to the swapper by April 30th. I didn't give myself too much time.


I purchased my fabric late last week and washed, pressed and cut everything over the weekend. I also made all of the half-square triangles over the weekend. My plan for this week was to complete 4 blocks per night for a total of 20 blocks ready to send on Saturday morning. The piecing's not too difficult, but more time consuming than I was expecting.


It's probably the most traditional type of quilt that I'll make, but getting involved in the swap scene is fun. My only concern is that my blocks will be "up to snuff" -- this is the first time that I feel like someone else is relying on the quality of my work. And with this being my first swap, I am not sure of the level of precision that is expected. (I'm pretty please with how most of the blocks are turning out anyway, so maybe I shouldn't be too concerned).


You can see the color scheme in the pictures -- everyone is using reds, whites and blues. We're supposed to stay close to the color values of the American flag. Of course, everyone's block will be different, so my quilt top will be made up of 12 different blocks with different fabrics used. I'm excited for it to look like a real patchwork-style quilt and, if I like it, it may go to my son for his new "big boy bed". Pattern can be found here. (Great site, by the way, but be sure to turn the volume on your computer down.)


I'd love to get more involved in swapping ... the collaborative nature is really cool, but I'll be sure to give myself more time next time. I'd also LOVE to get involved with something like this. Those ladies are SO inspiring.