Lately


Today I got up early to see the sun rise. I wanted to savor my Sunday as much as possible. I mostly spent the day at home hanging out with my husband and our dogs (Mini and Mona). I picked lavender  from the garden, worked on some sewing projects and an English Paper Piecing project for the Traveling PicStitch Blog Hop; my stop is this upcoming Tuesday.
(As I'm writing this a small earthquake just rattled us. Oh that is the 'beauty' of living in California! an earthquake can sneak up on you at any time!)
 
Did you have a nice weekend?
I wish you have a lovely week!

Martha

My New Fabric


I have been trying to build my fabric stash. As you know, it takes time to build a good collection of fabrics. But this week I was very lucky and my collection grew a little bit. My wonderful husband suggested I should go to Jo-Ann. we were running errands near the store and he said -You haven't been at Jo-Ann in a while, do you want to stop by?- ( It had only been less than a week, but that is a long time for me).Well, that is an offer I can't  resist! I ended up buying these beautiful fabrics in  the green and brown tones. Then a package arrived in the mail... more fabric. Last week I won a giveaway hosted by Beth from Plum and June and sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop. I was so excited when Beth e-mailed me that I had won the gift card, but then I couldn't decide what to get... I ordered these charm packs of fabrics that had been on my wish list for a while. The are so beautiful, I love how they look all the pieces of fabric neatly stacked together.
Thank you Beth (Plum and June), the Fat Quarter Shop and of course to my wonderful husband, you made me very happy this week.

Martha.

So, This Was My Weekend


Oh! the weekend is over... it went by so fast. I wish weekends were longer. Well if I'm wishing for stuff, I wish I didn't have to go to work tomorrow. But enough complaining. This weekend was really great. I got a lot of sewing done. I finished the top for my blue patchwork quilt. 
In between sewing the quilt top I made a fabric pumpkin to decorate for Halloween and a new pincushion to match my fabric covered tin can I made a few days ago. I added a loop on top of the pincushion so I can hang it by my sewing machine. I used the same Alexander Henry fabric I used for my tin can; I think it is so whimsical.
This afternoon I took a little break from sewing to make a bread pudding. I had a stale loaf of french bread and I decided to put it to good use. I flavored the custard for the pudding with spices (cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) and while it was baking the perfume of the spices filled the whole house... I find bread pudding to be such a comforting food.
I hope you had a lovely weekend as well.

Note: I'm linking up to Freshly Pieced
 
Martha.

Work In Progress



As I mentioned on my last post, I started a new quilt. It is going to be a patchwork quilt for my dad. Blue is his favorite color and I want to surprise him this Christmas with a handmade gift. I have been on the look for blue fabrics for a few weeks and I finally completed a good selection: enough for the quilt top. Over the weekend I cut up the fabric and began piecing. I hope to make some more progress in the next few days and hopefully finish the quilt top next weekend. 
Have a lovely week!

Martha.

Saturday At Home




Today I spend a lovely day at home. It had been raining here in California for the past three days; we even got thunderstorms and hail two days ago, which is a bit unusual for this area. So it was such a nice surprise to see the sun shine again today. Beautiful light was coming through my window, I  couldn't resist taking a picture to share with you. Also, I went to the market and picked up some guavas. I don't even know it if  it is guava season right now, but they smelled so good I just had to take some home.
Then, I worked on organizing my new embroidery floss that I bought the other day. The colors are so pretty, don't you think? And I started a new quilt, but I will tell you more about later...
I hope you are having a nice weekend.

Martha.


Quilt Finish





It is finally finished! I made it my goal to finish my Jacob's Ladder quilt this weekend. I had been working on   this quilt on and off for several weeks already and I was so anxious to finish it. I'm so pleased with the results... The quilt measures about 65X65 inches, perfect for a lap quilt. I was going to use plain white cotton for the backing, but then I decided to add some color. I added a wonky star right in the center (the first one I ever made) and I love it! I think I want to make a quilt  using just one large wonky star (maybe that should be my next project...). To finish it off, I used yellow and white polka dot fabric for the binding; as I mentioned before, I have a soft spot for polka dots. 
As the weather cools down it will come in handy to snuggle by the fireplace or to keep us warm while watching TV.
I hope you have a lovely week

Martha.

Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop

 
Hello fellow Blog Hoppers and welcome to my Weekend Doings. I have been looking forward to this day for a few months and it is finally here! My name is Martha.  I live in California with my husband and our two beloved dogs. I am an accountant and  currently work full time as a business administrator for a construction company On my free time (on the weekends) I enjoy cooking, baking, gardening, taking photos, and my new found love: quilting. I'm so glad you are here, please look around and I hope you visit again.
Thank you so much to Beth from Plum and June for organizing the Blog Hop it is such fun event. And for giving us these questions to make it easier for us to get acquainted: 

How long you have been quilting?
Not long. My husband bought me my first sewing machine on January of this year. I was looking for a new hobby to keep my mind occupied to help me overcome the loss of my mother (she passed away last year just two months after been diagnosed with breast cancer). So I decided to venture into sewing which then led to quilting. I learned to embroider and hand stitch from my mom. She was a very talented tailor. Growing up I spent many afternoons sitting by her side looking at her do wonders with fabric, playing with the scraps and rearranging the pins on her pincushion. But I never asked her to teach me how to sew; I guess I figured I had time, and I now regret it... I think it would had been wonderful if we had discovered quilting together.

Favorite quilting tips?
I still have a lot of things to learn, but in my short experience sewing I have learned that is important not to stress out if a project doesn't turn out "perfect" the fact that it is handmade is what makes it perfect and more precious.

Favorite blogging tips?
Be yourself and enjoy the process. 

Favorite fabric?
Oh there are so many... Linen is a must have and right now on my wish list are Aneela Hoey's So Stitchy, Denyse Schmidt and Liberty of London Fabrics. 

Favorite craft book?
I love collecting books and it is hard to pick a favorite, but right now I have been using a lot Pretty in Patchwork: Doll Quilts

Favorite quilting tool?
My rotary cutter. It just makes cutting fabric so easy!

Favorite music while quilting?
I like to listen to a mix of country music, soft rock and  love songs

Favorite TV show while hand stitching?
Re-runs of Gilmore Girls and Friends. The Big Bang Theory and the Mentalist.

Binding - by hand or by machine?
Both, I first attach the binding to the front of the quilt by machine and finish it off by hand.

If I'd had known -  what you wish you knew before you started your blog?
If I had known how embracing the blogging community would be I would had started my blog a lot sooner. I'm amazed everyday at how friendly and talented everyone is.

I prepared a tutorial to make this fabric covered tin can. You can find it here


Thank you so much for stopping by and please visit these blogs that are participating with me this week:
October 2: Melissa from Sew Bitter Sweet Designs 
October 4: Catherine from My Life in Binding and Patricia from Quilting Lines

Martha