Yes I am still alive!

Sorry, but I some how ran out of time for... well blogging and honestly reading a lot of blogs (sorry guys!)  I have accomplished a TON since the last time I posted... lets see friends are getting married, I got married, and my free time vanished! go figure... Well now that I am back hopefully I can keep with it this time... I have a lot of crafts to post about!  A lot of them were for my wedding, you know me craft crazed it was mostly hand made which makes it all the more special!  On a side note my mom has started a cute little business called Nanny Blooms so go over and check her out!!!! She is selling the most darling flower felt and button pins and hair clips.  She was inspired by my wedding bouquets, go check her out she will tell you all about it!!!

Hopefully Ill be back soon!!

~Can

YUM-O!!!!

ok this was just to GOOD to not post!!!! I made this delicious meal for my beau!

Broccoli, baked potato with butter cheese bacon and sour cream, and chicken fried steak with perfect gravy!!!! I have tried to make gravy soooo many times and failed misserably!! He of coarse still eats it because thats what nice people do I gues.. I didnt eat it haha! A friend of mine has showed me a couple of times how to do it now and this last time it must have stuck! I got it! perfection! Perfect flavor, perfect thickness and runniness!!!! I was so proud of myself I just had to share!

~candace~

and so it begins

I know I had mentioned a while back I would share with you my experiences sewing through my Dear Jane BOM. Well Ive started a second blog, all about me and my mother working on our blocks. Hopefully this will help me to be able to keep up with this blog better, we shall see! Its definatly been inspiring to me so far... and Ive only just begun ;)

~candace

uber cute! super easy!

see what I mean?! yeah it took me less then an hour to do this!!! Ive got fabric to make two more! I actually finished the second one but measured wrong so Im gonna cut it up the sides and fix it :) I love easy fun project and this is definatly motivating me to get started on all those quilts I bet my dad I could finish!

~candace~

ladies and gentlemen place your bets!

so I was at my weekly sit and sew with some of favorite quilting friends on wednesday. this week we met up at my moms house. after all the ladies had left and my dad got home from his dinner out (he didnt want to be in a house full of women sewing) he asked me how many unfinished quilts I had.... I said "well I have {insert long pause here} a lot?" and grinned. he asked how many is a lot? I said " well... I dont really know I guess Ive only finished one completely but I have a few that are close." he then challenged me! yes we are in a competition! he said he would make me a quilting rack that will hold 5 quilts but the only stipulation is I have to be finished with at least 5 quilts to hang on it by the time he is done building it.... can this be done?! I mean really?? Im gonna have to get my sew on! He's making it out of wood which I know I could do in a day so Im gonna have to give him some really intricate design so it will take him a little time ;)

on a side note I have finished other projects I make my sisters christmas gifts every year and he knows this he just likes to give me a hard time... and my mom has gotten more done lately then I have. but in my defense she has the summer off!

~ candace

thoughts about Dear Jane...

I know I have yet to start.. I signed up for this BOM back in December (it was my birthday present to myself) and have been receiving my blocks since january. My mom signed up aswell! (her birthday is the day aftermine) Neither one of us has started but we are talking about escaping for a week to really knuckle down and get some done. Anywho, I dont know if any of you have been to www.dearjane.com but I stumbled across it today and well Ive read everything there is to read on this site. Im really excited because I think this will help me exponentially once I finally get started. It gives a lot of suggestions like keep a journal! I keep a regular journal anyways so a quilting journal will just be that much more fun! Ive also been thinking about doing two at once... so I can do the normal colored dear jane and then a fun funky one as a side project as I go! I know crazy thought right? but I figured as Im doing one already how much harder could it be to do two? PLUS I could practice with the funky colors so that my normal one will look that much better right!? I know I know Im nuts.. Im gonna give it more thought and mroe then likely start out doing two and give up on one ;) we will see Ill keep you posted!

~candace

ok ok ok ok I know its been a LONG time....

I apologize... life has just been crazy! (Im dating a new boy) and I seem to have no time for my projects... so here is a post to get y'all up to date!

In December we did a stocking block swap!!! the pattern was by the Crazy Old Ladies!!

dont you just love the colors I used?! when I get all my swapped blocks sewn together I will post it!!

Do you remember those french roses I showed you from my first block swap? well I took them and removed a layer of the flower.. and took the leaves away layered yellow and sagey green 30s fabrics and made a baby quilt!

I used a super soft red corduroy for the backing and the binding! The nursery colors were a pale yellow, sage green and of coarse bright red. All lady bugs and dragon flies!! This is the first quilt I have actually finished start to finish, binding and all!!!

in February I did a valentines block swap with my mom at Happiness Is... Quilting!

this one was my favorite I love polka dots!!!!

and I love the swirls in this one I think the fabrics go beautifully together!

the red in this one was scraps of red corduroy that I was obsessed with for a while! it was soooo soft (you will see it in the leaves in my french roses post)

currently I am working on getting all my block swap blocks sewn together.. I have 3 so far to do! Finally getting around to quilting my turning 20 quilt. Also my best friend got married last month and instead of using a guest book her guests signed fabric squares and Im making a quilt out of them!!! Isnt that idea greatness?! sadly I can not take credit for it she came to me and asked what I thought and if I would do this for her. It is my goal to have it finished by the end of summer (end of august) wish me luck!

I know I told you I would be taking you along with me on my Dear Jane journey... and I will... when I start! My mom and I are planning an escape week to go to their lake house and work on it together! Im hoping once we get started we will keep each other motivated to keep going! Ill keep you posted! and I promise it wont be so long before I post again!

~candace