2013

what a year 2013

tutorials

click on the image to see slide show This isn’t everything I made this year, not even close, but its a pretty close, and slightly fast…enough to cause a seizure (my husband swears he gets threatened to have one every time he looks at it.) This year was kind of interesting to look back on. […]

Then and Now Christmas

This is my all time favorite picture of my kids.  It kills me because I don’t have a high resolution jpg of it so I can’t make it a large print.  This picture actually brings tears to my eyes just thinking about that time.  It was taken in 2009 Jake was deployed. We were going […]

Teacher gifts this year

 This year I got my game on with teacher gifts. Each year in the past I’ve sucked and not done home made anything…because I’ve been so overwhelmed with all the other projects I have to get done. So instead of failing, I just haven’t attempted in years past. NOT.THIS.YEAR. This year I actually started in […]

how to make: Christmas Stockings

Hey so guess what. My calendar…totally broken. It says that there’s only 7 days left till Christmas. HA…yeah I know. I KNOW. Okay?! Sheesh. Where did the time go? I guess its okay. I’m not the best winter season person, and this year it’s COLD. And snowy and COLD. So of course lets throw out […]

He’s 12 and he loves Domo

 My second Noisemaker turns 12 today. I can’t really wrap my head around that but it’s true. The other night I caught all my kids looking at the computer laughing. I asked them what they were looking at and one of them answered “We’re reading about the UGLY Christmas tree.” And then one of the […]

V and Co: lucky stars christmas pillow

Christmas is like right around the corner. I’m not ready. But the good news is we have our christmas tree up. No, unfortunately (and yes quite sad actually) these last two years we’ve not had any funny stories to tell about picking out a tree and letting the kids decorate it while I learn to […]

V and Co: baby girl gift: ombre doily onsie and matching quilt

 First off thank you for your wonderful support to the cyber sale we had in our little shop. Those who said they didn’t mind waiting for the next shipment of our thread will not have to wait too long. I got word its already on its way. YAY! So hold tight its coming! I have […]

cyber monday sale :)

 Hello there! hope your Thanksgiving was as yummy and fun as you wanted! Here’s V and Co’s contribution to cyber monday!  30% off the whole store. Yes, that includes ALL paper patterns, PDFs, AND THREAD! (while supplies last on the thread SOLD OUT but I have reordered so if you don’t mind waiting on the […]

around here

So it totally snowed and snowed yesterday. Made me a little grumpy. So to kind of cheer me up I started working on teacher Christmas gifts. Sort of worked.  Oh I have learned over the years to tolerate winter. Trust me. But with snow comes days filled of shoveling. And while I no longer am […]

V and Co’s fall market recap

skirt made by one of my besties Amy Webb  I’m sure by now you’ve already had your fair share of Quilt Market recaps from people that have their acts together and don’t wait a full month before they post about it… Well better late than never. First off I can not believe we are this […]

V and Co: new patterns fall 2013

okay be forewarned. LOTS AND LOTS OF PICTURES. 🙂 okay well i finally get to show off the patterns that will go with color me happy. this time around i had a lot help. between pattern testing, editing, and then having fabric show up only 11 days ago i had many who also helped with the […]

V and Co. still sewing

 hi guys! well first off thank you THANK YOU for the love on the new fabric line. yes, i think most of us are on the same page by far this one is a favorite. i am so super excited that you guys love it as much as i do! i’m still in the final […]

V and Co: properly introducing Color Me Happy for Moda Fabrics

 okay i know that was totally mean of me to do a far away shot of my new line with no explanation other than “i have no time!” but i really am so ridiculously excited about this one that i wanted to make it super special and not just put up like two pictures and […]

V and Co: introducing..well no, not yet

as much as i’d like to introduce my next fabric line “color me happy”debuting at fall market to all of you i can’t just yet. i have too many things to sew and not enough time to place many words let alone pictures together for you. but there it is in the background ready to […]

V and Co.: jelly roll jam quilt free pattern and video tutorial

hi there!  so with summer lone gone and a distant memory, we now look forward to fall. we’ve had a Fall-ish kind of weekend, and honestly, fall hasn’t been my favorite since i moved from california. while i grew up in california, i LOVED LOVED fall. why? well because it meant pumpkins, and pumpkin smelling […]

winner winner chicken dinner and look who just turned 1

 first things first. here are our winners. i chose 5 of you randomly, and these are the winners of 2 small candy packs and a free pattern.  Abby said… ummm a favorite? Confetti and Kaleidoscope its a toss up – love them both so much  ozone3 said… Love the Kaleidoscope pattern & the Colorblock zipper pouches. THanks […]

size matters moda blog hop

welcome to my turn on the size matters blog hop! my block is the dutchman puzzle block  (free download!) BUT as you can see i decided to go even BIGGER for my final block: i used the ombre fabrics in the simply style line for moda, and used a white bella solid as the background. i […]

so we went back home and traumatized a few of our kids

the husband and i are from california. i think you know that. since moving here to the midwest, we’ve not gone “home”. and even before that we had the deployment and other things that got in the way from our visiting. so we made the trek, BY CAR, this summer. we drove all 30 hours […]

V and Co: how to make: ombre dutchman free quilt pattern

 welcome welcome! i’m so excited to finally have the time to share this with you! it’s been sitting here since last may when i made this quilt for quilt market. but as you all know the kiddos are in school now and i did my “go and do everything i’ve not been able to do […]

V and Co: first quilt over at Gen X

today is the first day of school. but i also just got back from a vacation that our family drove 4, 438.8 miles to california (and to utah and Disneyland and so forth) and back. we are still toasted. i am totally celebrating with having my car detailed to get rid of all gooey/stickiness/sand and […]

V and Co: another finish

this summer is passing me by quite quickly.  anyone else having a super fast warp speed summer too?  not that im complaining. we’ve had a great summer. we’ve relaxed, we’ve done some fun family stuff, and we’ve done a family vacation. which i’ll show pictures of that soon too.  i’ve worked on my new fall […]

V and Co: selvage zipper tote for BERNINA

well, the day has arrived where i get to talk a little about my relationship with BERNINA.  i bought my first bernina 5 years ago.  actually back up. my husband bought me my bernina for my birthday 5 years ago. it was the best birthday gift he has ever given me.  second best was my […]

V and Co: tips for small hexagon paper piecing

 phew! well i said i would get this out on wednesday didn’t i? i didn’t mention that it might be at 11:59 on wednesday night…but with all the kids home for summer, that’s how we’re rolling today. anyways, here’s my helpful hints for small hexagon paper piecing. i’ll talk about getting your hexagons started, and […]

V and Co: the tale of tiny hexagons and english paper piecing.

 our summer vacation is halfway done. actually more than that. we go back to school in middle of august much to the children and my sadness. my summer vacations growing up didnt end till labor day. anyone else out there like that? what ever happened to having summer during the summer? hmm. one thing i […]

V and Co.: summer happenings

 we are in full swing summer mode over here. our strawberries are growing and are super sweet, there’s something incredibly cool about eating from your own yard. i miss our days in the middle of nowhere when we had an acre and had our raised beds of veggie’s but strawberries make up for it as […]

V and Co: i miss my sewing machine…but…

 i haven’t touched my sewing machine for over a week. maybe it’s been almost two. sigh. i really miss it. i have been thinking of a butt load of fun things to make…and yet…no sewing and no crafting has happened. no, instead i find myself traveling in the car to and from concert band, jazz […]

V and Co.: snicker doodle ice cream cookies

one thing is for sure. having the kids around 24/7 is quite the shock the to system that might throw you in for a tail spin after having them be gone for 6 hours at a time for the school year. here’s a fun and easy way to get a few “awesome mom” points and […]

V and Co: spring 2013 portland oregon market recap

truth is…i didn’t take a single picture with my “good camera” and all i have are my instagram photos to go off of! but that’s okay cause i guess i did okay on taking pictures of… oh my gosh… selfies:  well sort of. i mean i did have some people take pictures using my phone […]

V and Co: still alive

hello! yes, i’m here.  what? you wanna hear about market?? yeah i know.  i want to write about market. i really do. and i have actually placed most pictures in a post (ahem all taken on a phone… i know i suck)…i just have to write the words. and tell the stories…so bear with me […]

V and Co: why yes…i’m still sewing.

 well, this week… wait…no, last week and this week have flown by in super hyper drive sonic speed. yep, couldnt decide which one, either way it was fast moving. and why yes, i am still working on things for market. thanks for asking. the kids had a day off on monday and we went to […]

V and Co: sewing sewing sewing

as i sew and what not i snap pictures here and there on my phone. it’s been nice to do a few “extra” prep for school houses. and bonus on finding super cute shoes at target in the little girl section. they are slightly too big for me but they totally work for $10 and […]

V and Co.: to market

these past few weeks i’ve had a lot of sewing mileage. quilt market being right around the corner means lots of sewing to display what your product can do. i’ve been asked to show off my collection of threads with aurifil at a schoolhouse for aurifil, so i’ve been doing some fun projects that include […]

V and Co: what kind of quilter are you?

confetti by V and Co.  this last weekend i was given the opportunity to speak to a group of lovely ladies in the Des Moines area. i was asked to speak the Des Moines Modern Quilt Guild. me and my i heart you quilt at the modern quilt guild in Des Moines i get nervous […]

V and Co: getting my embroidery on and 15 years

yesterday i continued to work on things for market.  i am doing a school house with Aurifil threads and i will be showing off a few things i’ve made (including this little bag) with my line of threads with them.  one person asked if i did the embroidery by hand. uh no. but thank you […]

V and Co: reverse hopscotch done

 i finally finished quilting and binding my reverse hopscotch quilt for my friend. and keep getting asked the same question: how did you make it. okay well here is how i made it: *first i got my hopscotch pattern *and where the stars are i just reversed it and placed the printed fabrics where the […]

V and Co: check it out appliqué love

hey hey hey! so check it out. i have a nice little project in this next issue of Quilts and More  this time around i made a cute little rice bag to take care of aches and pains in your neck or to warm up those toes! and well i think you all know that […]

V and Co: how to: shorten your maxi skirt so it fits you perfectly

i think i’ve mentioned before…i’m kind of short. and even with heels sometimes…skirts just don’t work for me on the length. throw in the whole maxi skirt craze and well…i’m kind of like hmmmm, yeeeeah, that’s not going to work. case in point: this totally cute skirt i found at maurices it was the right […]

V and Co: this last weekend

 this last weekend i felt like spring finally happened. i got to sew a little and clean a little. we spent a lot of time watching GC with the family and spent some time outside…FINALLY. we love weekends like this where we aren’t needing to be anyplace, and really it’s just all about family. when […]

still here

i swear. just having to be better about taking pictures taking a break and writing about what i’m doing. 🙂 i’ll try to get better at it. ps i tried on bathing suits the other day…and we’re not going to the pool this year. seriously…why do butts decide to migrate lower and lower down your leg […]

V and Co: in the mens room

taken at the botanical gardens in Cleveland Ohio there are times while in the middle of a situation that the thought crosses my mind: “this is going to make a great blog post when i have a little bit of time to forget the traumatizing feelings i am experiencing and it actually becomes kind of […]

V and Co: reverse hopscotch quilt top done

 remember when i mentioned my friend that was having her second boy but 8th child? well i finished the quilt top for her little boy. and well now i wish i was having…no what the…no i didn’t just think that! right? :O moving along… i took my instructions of hopscotch and reversed it.  i started […]

V and Co: yesterday

yesterday we had a really cold morning…well for march it was cold and for me it most definitely was. it was 2 degrees and the fog had just burned off or moved on…and what it left behind was beautifully frost covered trees. this has got to be one of my most favorite things that happens […]

V and Co: making it reverse

pattern is hopscotch in reverse  i have a wonderful friend who is celebrating having another little one come into their home. my friend is expecting her EIGHTH CHILD and second boy. yep. she has 6 girls and one boy in his teens. 🙂 she’s just one of those really good patient women that you just […]

V and Co.: friendship quilt along block # 31

welcome to my turn to the friendship quilt along. if you have been following this whole time  and have been making the quilt as we go, welcome to the next one!  if you are just hearing about it, it’s okay i think i’m going to make this quilt this summer when i have a little more […]

V and Co: Sew Red Book Giveaway

i was honored to be included in the Sew Red book. and while i don’t have any personal stories of heart disease i do know the importance of taking care of yourself. Get Heart Healthy Did you know that heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States? Heart disease kills more women […]

V and Co.: snow day

we had a snow day. i used that time to organize most of my simply style fabric. i also sewed a little here and here. but i had a few hiccups so my posts for today didn’t get done. it’s coming though. we have a birthday tomorrow and i have a few planning things for […]

V and Co.: how to: finish a dresden plate

we survived the 4 day weekend. we even got to leave town briefly to enjoy an indoor water park.  then i came home and in between dinner and nighttime routines, while editing some pictures i got to yell at the season finale of downton abbey.  seriously.  what the heck.  i knew it was coming but […]

V and Co: remember when…

…i said i was going to show you how to appliqué and make different middles for your dresden plates today…that was when i had a brain fart and forgot that my kids had a 4 day weekend. and that i invited other boys to come over to keep them company…so currently i have 7 boys […]

V and Co: happy valentines day

Source: stylemepretty.com via Vanessa on Pinterest happy valentines day. here is a pretty picture and then here’s what my real life looks like: the daughter brought this home and she explained it says: “i love bows.” “i love hearts.” and last but not least: “i love flowers.” sorry sweetie:  that says “i love fart.” but […]

V and Co: designer Mystery quilt with the fat quarter shop

 well i’m pretty excited that i was asked to be one of the designers of the 2013 designer mystery block of the month for the fat quarter shop.  This year, Fat Quarter Shop is using Avalon by Fig Tree Quilts for their annual Designer Mystery quilt.  The fabric is light, a little whimsical and grounded […]

V and Co: simply style new patterns spring 2013

sometimes my husband comes home at night and says “your blog is really quiet…how am i supposed to know what’s going on?” to which i give him a nasty look to his smirk. we talk every night. he knows what’s going on. but it does shed light that i do a lot of “stuff” that […]

V and Co: how to: make a dresden plate

 okay so some of you know how to make dresden plates, others of you have thought you’d like to try it but you don’t know where to begin, and other of you are like “ew dresden plates is an old fashion block.” well then i’m talking to you if you fall in any of these […]

V and Co: dresden plates

 there’s no secret i have a thing for dresden plates. and where i don’t have a quilt made out of dresden plates, i do like the make them and one of my favorite places to put them is on cute little pouches. after i posted this picture of my little sewing pouch with the dresden […]

V and Co: how to: french knot heart pin cushion

pincushions can be a little bit like an extension of you and what your style that gets to hang out with you while you sew at home and travels with you when you sew at someone else’s house or at a quilt group.  so why not make it adorable right? some of you don’t know […]

V and Co: feeling valentine-y

i don’t know what it is this year (okay starting like last summer) but i am like loving decorating for the holidays. oh i don’t go too over the top, but i do want to make cute heart things and i love my heart plates i got at walmart last year for a dollar a […]

V and Co: sledding clark griswold style

i am finally seeing more and more of my sewing and work table. things keep getting done. yay! but i’m going to take a break from sewing (for these next 45 minutes at least) to write about our sledding adventures we had over the winter holiday. our family went sledding with another family. you know […]

V and Co: look at all your pretty

hi there. 🙂 so glad you like the new line. i like it too. :] i have a few minutes today to breathe because my quilts aren’t back from quilters and pretty much most of what i can do up to this point is done for the deadlines. i wanted to show off a few […]

V and Co: introducing Simply Style for moda fabrics by V and Co

 here’s my second line with moda fabrics! it’s called simply style and will be available this february with the delivery date to stores of july. i am super happy and excited about this line 🙂  i’ve included (of course) my favorite-est colors of green, and blue and you can never go wrong with some gray, […]

V and Co.: still sewing so here’s a pretty picture

i’m still sewing. so here’s a pretty picture to keep you excited of things to come. featured: aurifil thread (V and Co for aurifil) and simply color. on the zipper pouch (zipper pouch has no pattern i just made it but we’ll see if there’s a pattern in the works) and well…ahem a sneak peak of […]

V and Co: first quilt of the year 2013

happy new year! a few days late but whatever right? okay so here we go my first quilt and pattern of the year. i’m so excited to show you her. this one has now become my new favorite pattern. yes. i love it a lot. it’s called “i heart you.” i called it that because […]