miss melanie & her 'purse'

miss melanie & her 'purse'...it's a beautiful thing.

she really loves it.

i think what she loves more, is that it matches mommy's.

tehehe.

i told yall that we live 3 houses down from a quilt shop right???

{well we do.}

one of the things that melsie & i do together is walk down the street to go to the shop.

'wanna go to quilt shop mommy??? okay i'll get my purse.'

that's seriously what she says.

we can't ever go without her having her purse!!!

so i'm glad that i made this for her.

she's been using a purse that went with a halloween princess outfit.

VERY pink, like bubble gum, big ol' rhinestones for the strap.

{i know yall can picture it!!!}

jackson found it trick or treating last year so melanie thought it was the coolest thing on the planet that her brother gave it to her.

:D

so this evening, *hopefully*, melsie & i will stroll on down to the quilt shop

for some 'on-on-one grown up girl bonding time'

p.s. only 118 sleeps until christmas!!!

i <3 moments like these.

well yesterday was the 1st day of 'back to school' for jackson.

{the first pic is him waiting for the bus.}

how cute is that???

it was almost time for jackson to come home,

and we wanted to all be outside to great him.

{it's a BIG day starting 1st grade!!!}

so the hubby {the hunky hunk in orange shorts} did some yard work,

the babies played with 'trees'

and i was head photographer and baby wrangler.

:D

we had a great afternoon.

it was SO fun to just sit back and watch my kids be kids.

{and to watch them help daddy with the 'trees'}

i love moments like these.

and i'll treasure these pics for the rest of my life.

me & pat sloan...in nashville!!!

hahaha.

is this not a riot!!!

i'm sure yall wanna know the story behind this picture.

i mean who wouldn't???

:D

amanda...who we are now referring to as 'my new best friend'...pulled the whole thing off.

we were emailing back & forth talking 'quilty' things,

and we started talking about pat sloan.

well i told her that i LOVED pat.

and she said she was going to be meeting her in nashville.

{{{LUCKY!!!}}}

so i just joked that she should take a pic with pat holding a piece of paper that said:

'this is for rachel'

well after that sentence, history just wrote itself.

and we just got sillier about the whole idea.

:D

so here i am with pat sloan.

she's my quilting idol!!!

not the best 'rachel' picture...but isn't pat beautiful???

i heart you pat!!!

{and thanks for being such a good sport!!!}

and sweet amanda.

she did one hour photo, made a 'rachel' sign and even made me a sloanie tag.

{with a shamrock!!!}

how sweet is she???

amanda you are the best!!!

{thanks SO much.}

i heart you too!!!

so there you have it.

me & pat sloan...in nashville.

and we did it with style.

well today offically marks the last day of summer for the griffith house.

it's back to school for jackson tomorrow.

the weather here was so fallish today.

my kiddies even wore long sleeves.

:D

so how did we do it in style???

we made "mommy's banana bread" of course.

and we enjoyed it with good ol' sweet tea.

perfect day.

p.s. you're not gonna want to miss my post tomorrow.

you'll crack up. promise.

we're matchy-matchy...and we like it.

are these not the cutest things EVER???

do you have the new quilts & more magazine???

i picked up my copy on thurday night.

i could NOT, for the life of me, get this cute bag out of my head.

{see page 17.}

i HAD to make it.

so as i was cutting fabrics for my new bag i had a brillant idea:

make melanie a little fabric basket in the same fabrics.

hence the matchy-matchy of it all.

there you have it:

mommy & me bags were born.

and seriously...wasn't this fall issue awesome???

did yall's 'have to make that' list grow like mine did???

i think i counted like 5 additions.

next up: i'm thinking 'almost irish'

{page 62.}

tehehe.

kudos to monica for having 2 awesome bags in this issue.
and to pat for her super cute table runner.
:D

p.s. when i snap a pic of melanie and her 'purse' i'll show yall. promise.

eye candy for all.

fat quarters!!!

oh how i love thee.

let me count thy ways.

all 77 of them.

aren't they the best form of eye candy???

{besides...you know...gerard butler. brad pitt. or jason statham.}

:P

these were part of the 'motherload' shipped to me on thursday.

enjoy.

p.s. hubby if you are reading this:

know that the above mentioned names were used for blogging purposes ONLY.

*wink wink*

it's with a heavy heart...

chances are some of you don't know who this is.

leroi moore:

the saxophonist and founding member of the dave matthews band,

died unexpectedly yesterday,

from sudden complications stemming from his june atv accident.

he was 46.

dave matthews band holds such a special piece of my heart.

i just don't know what to say.

my heart is broken.

"it's always easier to leave than be left" -dave matthews

as promised.

a basket.
oh how i love thee.

here's ONE of the baskets i've made.
isn't she a beauty???

she's my 2nd favorite. so far.
she was made using mrs. pat sloan's nikki fabric.
{find it here.}

i told yall that i mailed my momma some baskets.
{without taking pics!!!}
well she snapped some pics with the ol' blackberry for me.
{thanks momma!}

p.s. christmas is in 127 days!!!

75 days ago...

75 days ago was when i bought this fabric.

{see above photo.}

and i haven't bought ANY fabric since then.

not even ONE tiny fat quarter!!!

i'm looking at my receipt from 75 days ago:

joann fabrics

12 items bought.

@$65

well guess what!!!

i broke the bank today, because i needed a fabric fix in the WORST way.

today's receipts:

connecting threads

24 items bought.

@$206

~~~

pat sloan

1 item bought.

@$25

~~~

grand total:

@$230

{insert happy face here!!!}

just thought i'd let yall know.

can't wait until those boxes get here!!!

yall can expect pictures of all my goodies

{in about 5-7 days}

little beachy beauty

so after months of this being completed,

i can finally unveil it to the blogging world.

why couldn't i before???

well this was my momma's birthday present.

and she's an avid p.s. i quilt reader.

{hi momma!!!}

so this little beachy beauty had to stay under wraps.

my inspiration for this little table topper was charleston.

why charleston???

that's where my momma lives.

:O)

please forgive the picture, it was taken via momma's blackberry.

and the charleston sun wanted to shine through that window SO bad!!!

lol.

this is one block from pat sloan's big block beauty.

{june 08' american patchwork & quilting.}

can you tell i LOVE making this block???

i think i've made it...4 times now. lol.

tomorrow i get to make a gynormous fabric order.

AND another pat sloan book.

yayyy.

but more on that tomorrow.

hope everyone had a great weekend.

so sweet

i'm SO lucky.

i seriously have the sweetest bloggy pals.

EVER.

i've had several emails about my last blog,

asking if it was true that i've never been given a quilt.

yall are SO sweet.

it IS true.

i can honestly say that i don't personally know anyone that quilts.

{outside of yall in blogland. lol.}

:O)

on a different note:

i started planning my sscs partner's gift today.

having SO much fun!!!

oh and guess what i did???

i secretly snail mailed my momma some fabric baskets without her knowing it.

sneaky daughter i am!!!

she absolutely LOVED them.

{and was COMPLETELY surprised.}

the only bad thing is that i sent them to her without taking pics.

*smacks self in the forehead*

so i have asked her to pretty please take pics so i can share them with yall.

and again, thanks for being such sweet bloggy pals.

my favorites...

my favorites...the quilting edition:

my favorite quilt block:

the correct answer would be the irish chain block.

so classic yet makes such a strong, beautiful statement.

my favorite fabric colors:

i LOVE browns and greens.

i think those really fit my personality.

my favorite quilting conditions:

having shrek the third playing in the background,

{trust me it's just as much for me as the babies...we heart shrek}

my kitchen HAS to be clean or i can't concentrate on quilting,

and i HAVE to quilt barefooted. i swear.

{if i put shoes on, it throws everything off!!!}

my favorite quilting magazine:

i really love american patchwork & quilting!!!

{and mccalls quilting too!!!}

my favorite quilt i've made:

the 'celtic crossing' quilt i made my bff mandie for her 30th bday.

{of course it is...it has shamrocks on it!!!}

my favorite quilting technique:

i LOVE to machine piece.

my favorite quilting celeb:

i'd say pat sloan.

i heart her.

my favorite quilt given to me:

i've never been given a quilt.

sad huh???

:O(

my favorite current project:

holy toledo...i'd say the fabric baskets i've been making.

{i might need a stepdown program!!!}

and my granddaddy's 'endless love' quilt.

my favorite quilting blog:

omg!!! how could i choose???

i LOVE so many of yall's blogs.

my favorite holiday to quilt for:

yall are probably thinking st. patrick's day huh???

nope...it's halloween & christmas.

{but st. patrick's day is right there behind them!!!}

so what are yall's favorites???

132 more days!!!

so i did it.
i joined my 1st 'blogland' swap.
yayyy.

elf donna emailed us our swap partners and we are offically underway!!!
i'm looking VERY foward to making my partner her gift.
{i'm sworn to secretcy as to who that is...lol.}

and if my partner is reading this:
hi there!!! welcome to my blog.
take off your shoes and stay awhile.
{and thanks in advance for being my secret santa!!!}

so with that being said...i'm gonna go get the show on the road.

p.s. christmas is in 132 more days!!!

to whom it concerns...

to whom it concerns:

rachel has been absent from blogland due to her new addiction.

she's been entirely obsessed with making fabric baskets.

{see an example here.}

rachel promises to post pictures as soon as she stops holding fabric auditions to make MORE baskets!!!

thanks SO much,

rachel's momma

:O)

where???

where do you buy your fabrics???

your fat quarters???

your books???

your patterns???

my favorite places include:

the fat quarter shop {here}

connecting threads {here}

pat sloan {here}

quilts & kreations {3 houses down from me}

and of course at quilt shows!!!

speaking of quilt shows:

ohio outdoor quilt festival is tomorrow!!!

yayyy.

check it out here.

so where do you shop???

it's okay to spill the beans.
inquiring minds want to know.
:D

oh. guess what!!!

i won my 1st giveaway. yayyy.

it's a SUPER cute ribbons & tags baby blanket from shannon.

{and i know just the baby it's going too!!!}