Lookee! Lookee! -------->

You might notice I have two new buttons on my sidebar! Let me explain!

The first one is from Momma Made This. If you click it (Click it! Click it!) you'll be taken to Momma Made This blog. There, she links to 44 other Slow Poke Quilters. Poke around, check them out, there are a ton of amazing ladies on this list! Some great reading!



I hate posts with no pics. So I thought I'd throw some pics of me and my husband in here! Here's us working the bar at a party in Las Vegas!

The second button (Click that too!) is from Esther's Blog. She's a very talented designer/artist who is just starting a free BOM Christmas quilt. The BOM (Block of Month) is actually a BOW (Block of Week) project! Every Wednesday, starting today, she will release a new block pattern. There are only 6 weeks worth of blocks, so the quilt should be done in time for Christmas.

I'm really excited about this project. This is the first Blogland project I've participated in since I've started blogging. I'm Budget Quilter at the moment, and Esther has promised that this wallhanger will be a stashbuster! And I have a small stash of Christmas fabrics that needs some busting!



Black and Red Ball!

Also in Blogland, there are some really fun hops going on now! Gudrun from Gudrun's World is hosting a Fall-O-Ween Designer Blog Hop. There are 10 designers all signed up to give you a free design everyday! They each have their own day to post a free design, but every day of the hop the designers will still post on one topic of Fall. So far they've done color and smell and tomorrow is taste. Talk about fantastic inpiration! You will definelty "fall" in love with this hop!



Getting ready for a Toga Party!

Pat Sloan is also hosting an awesome blog hop. This is to promote her new rulers for "Sullivan" notions company. The side of the rulers has a Diamond Carbide Sharpener embedded in it; they actually sharpen your rotary cutter as you use them! The grand prize is an entire set of rulers! Wow! Just go to Pat Sloan's Blog to check it out!



And the infamous 80s party where he proposed to me!

Starting October 1, Debi from Quilting with Debi is hosting a totally awesome Fall into Fall Giveaway. There are over 130 bloggers, including some big companies like The Electric Quilt Company and Fat Quarter Shop, all hosting giveaways on their blogs. How exciting!! I'm totally looking forward to not only winning some sweet swag but also checking out some amazing blogs! Woo-Hoo!

It's a busy week in Blogland!

*Gasp!*

What's this I read?



Is that my name? Does that say Jen from The Quilty Home?!



Oh my God, it is! It is! It is!



I won! I won! I won!



No, not the lottery! Better than that! I won an Accuquilt GO! Cutter! Yay! Karen from Log Cabin Quilter is now my most favorite person in the world. Yup, she has surpassed Santa Clause. Wow.

So now comes the hard part, picking out three dies to GO! with my awesome GO!

I'm definietley going with the Dresden plates. The other two I keep waffling on. I love little piece quilts, so the Winding Ways die and the Double Wedding Ring die are catching my eye. But I really love what I've seen with the Rob Peter to Pay Paul die. Wait, what's over here in the Applique section? Christmas trees and snowflakes? I live for Christmas trees and snowflakes! But I don't have any pumpkins or maple leaves for Fall.

The 2.5 inch strip was originally a definite number 2. But then I thought of my strip cutting ruler (which I totally love and use all the time). It's not really that hard for me to cut strips, so after thinking about it for six hours, I decided not to get it. But I might change my mind. Maybe. Maybe not.

Argh.

Just Sue-ing Around

Well, no job yet. We've both been looking and looking and looking, sometimes up to ten hours a day. Yucky. No time for sewing, although I did get an itchy foot the other night and busted out an Autumn Sue.



This was the first Sunbonnet Sue I've ever made. It actually didn't take as long as I thought it would. I traced the pieces from my book Sunbonnet Sue: The Ultimate Collection.

The directions say to use paper-backed fusible web, but I don't have any of that (or any money at this point), so I just used tracing paper and cut out the old-fashioned way, using templates. I used phone-book paper as a stabilizer and a large zig-zag stitch in brown, since I wanted a Fall-look. I was a bit concerned the leaves would just look like brown blobs floating in the air, so I stitched some veins and did a delicate outline. Then I hand stitched a falling line. I think it looks darling, and it certainly scratched that itch!



And in other quilty news...

When I got back from vacation, this awesome Bobbin charm was in the mail for me. I won it in a Giveaway from Sue Hecker at Featherstone Quiltworks. I don't know what I'll do with it yet, I'm imagining a beautiful quilty charm bracelet in my future!



~Picture from Sue Hecker~

I also just got this new pattern in the mail. It's from Elisa's Back Porch Designs. It's so gorgeous. I can't wait to start it. The perfect Fall quilt! I want to get the perfect fabric for this though, so it'll take awhile (like, after I get a job) for me to pick up some fabric. Since I'm a beginner quilter, I'm still working on building my stash, and am realizing that I have no Autumn fabrics. I need to remedy that soon!



You should check out Elisa's other patterns, she has some beautiful designs. I want to make them all!

We're Back!

And we had a wonderful time! The wedding was perfect, just the right amount of spontanaeity and whimsy that we were hoping for. The awesome Revered LaLa loved her quilt and in a fabulous twist, we actually ended up getting married in front of the quilt! I used it as the background behind Reverend LaLa. No pictures of the wedding yet, because our "photographers" are still recovering from their own trips! Here's a few teasers though:



Me in all my Bridal Glory. I used the parasol after the wedding, to keep some sun out. Also because I felt pretty holding it.



A side view, don'tcha just love my veil? My husband wore cowboy boots and hat, a tux tank (tux shirt with sleeves cut off), cuffs (yes, we saved the cuffs from the sleeves!) and some raggedy dress shorts. He looked amazing! We got married at the Lollipop Guild, which is why I'm holding a giant lollipop with my bouquet.

So the wedding was amazing, the playa was dusty (frequent dust storms for nearly 3 days!), and the people were friendly! We had way too much fun for a married couple! (Wink, wink)

Nothing quilty to report, and my awesome husband just started watching Shawn of the Dead, so I'm going to sign off, cuddle up, and chill out!