What would you take?

The Station Fire is less than 2 miles from my house. Not that the fire would actually make it down the mountain to Pasadena ( I hope) it did cross my mind and if we had to evacuate, what would I take? My mental list went like this: Pictures, laptop, external hard drive, Bernina....is that bad??? I'm sure you would all do the same, right?!

Don't be scared!

DSC02751, originally uploaded by 30andquilting.

This is actually my 30th b-day present...I know, it looks a bit scary right now! Lots of bright colors are on the way but large tattoos take time, so this is definitely a WIP! I'll post new pics after I have appts...
This is actually after a session on Wed afternoon - 4 hours of shading! You can't see in this pic, but there is A LOT of work that was done on the backside of my arm.

Artist - Paul Dhuey of Guru Tattoo in Pacific Beach (San Diego), CA

oh, did I mention that I drive 2 hours each way to subject myself to this?! ha!

I am officially 30!

DSC02726, originally uploaded by 30andquilting.

Well, I turned 30 at the end of July....

Here is the stacks of FINISHED quilts (minus the wedding gift quilt) that I have made by the time I turned 30. I think I'm doing pretty good! Quilting has been an awesome stress reliever (and producer) and has led me to meet awesome new people, patterns, creativity I didn't know I had, and of course...fabric!

I've been back into the swing of sewing lately - several dolls, purses, and dresses for Avery. Pics to come soon!

Summer slow down....

I have sooo not been in the mood lately to sew! I'm a little sad about it and every time I see my sewing table littered with non-sewing stuff I get inspired to clean it up, sit down, and make something...but with the weather here in so cal being 97 degrees and 75% humidity (what, in CA?) , and did I mention we don't have central A/C???? Well, can you blame me? But I promise to get busy soon...I did make a pair of bloomers the other night and I hated the pattern - it has seams on the front and back instead of on the sides....does anyone have a cute bloomer pattern???

Also, I have a new camera on the way to me - our old one landed on top of my cell phone at the perfect angle and the LCD screen shattered! ugh...so as soon as I get it in the mail - I promise to post new pics of the projects I finished last week.

Oh, I'm reading "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides and I love it- so interesting! And I've read the first 3 Sookie Stackhouse novels in the past two weeks ( ya know, True Blood is base on them!)

A few things...

I've finished a few projects and have started a few more....

My neighbors are getting married this summer and I thought I would make them a quilt for a wedding gift. I chose the Plain Spoken design but I'm not only using solids, I've thrown a few prints in there too...because those of us that are married know that rarely is anything 'plainly spoken'! Their colors are hot pink and black, btw, not my go to colors - but I love the way they work with the Engaged fabric from Alexander Henry....you'll see!

I sooo love the wedding/engagement rings!

I will be backing with Henry's Toadstools in black - cause they are a bit hippy-ish if you get my drift!

I also made this purse - the Birdie Sling by Amy Butler, using Amy Butler home dec fabric...fabric and pattern from Pink Chalk.

I finished my mini quilt and sent it off to Utah on Wednesday....I kinda used it as a practice quilt to try my applique and embroidery skills...I was very happy with myself when I finished it - I almost kept it for myself!

And I finally finished the Sweet quilt for my lil sis!

Sewing Machine Meme

The gals over at Sew, Mama, Sew! are having Sewing Machine Month! So I'm answering a few questions to help out future machine buyers....I was I had this resource when I was looking!

What brand and model do you have? Bernina Activa 220
How long have you had it? Approx 4 months
How much does that machine cost (approximately)? $1000.
What types of things do you sew? Quilts, clothing, purses
How much do you sew? How much wear and tear does the machine get? I sew about 5 nights a week for about 2-3 hours a session
Do you like/love/hate your machine? I LOVE my machine!
What features does your machine have that work well for you? I love the EASY threading of top and bobbin thread, the thread cutter, and how efficient it is!
Is there anything that drives you nuts about your machine? Not anything that isn't the users fault!
Would you recommend the machine to others? Why? Absolutely! Even though the price can be a bit jarring - the machine works beautifully, is quick, and very user friendly for new machine users - like me!

Yay!

I was ALL over the MTV Movie Awards last night....of course to see Rob, but also to see the trailer for New Moon! Here it is! November can't come soon enough!
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7Kut8sX1P0