almost.

okay yall.

i'm still not full fledged better...

but at least i feel well enough to give yall a picture to look at.

:O)

i haven't been working on anything.

way too many sick peeps in my house.

i'm sure yall have been there...right???

so nothing new.

honestly.

we'll see what the first day of february brings.

{besides the super bowl.}

p.s. the fabric in the pic is something i will be working on for the cottage quilting bee.

more on that later. promise.

yeah. it's that important.

too sick to blog.

sorry yall.

i am working hard on a 'no skip' streak for blogging.

hince the dumb, short blog you are reading now.

p.s. again, sorry about not inserting a SUPER cool pic.

man down.

that's right troops.

i'm sick now too.

joy.

except i'm not doing the whole throwing up thing.

i just have the yucky snotty, congested chest thing with a sore throat.

now doesn't that sound like fun???

lol.

going to bed now.

p.s. i know a post isn't a post without a picture...but forgive me.

say hello to my little friends!!!

hi.

rachel's new laptop speaking.

i'll be bringing you all those really cool post rachel's always talking about.

and this picture...

was taken by rachel's new camera.

so yeah...rachel think's she's SUPER cool now.

update: the kiddies are doing much better.

{it turned into nasty colds though.}

and i'm still running on empty.

{of course today was a snow day!!!}

so with that being said...goodnight yall.

p.s. aren't my new friends cooler than cool???

and hubby...you. rock. hardcore.

thanks again for my new toys.

so much...

i've got SO much to say.

but i also have...

3 sick kids.

viral infected, hardcore throwing up kids.

{and a HUGE lack of sleep!!!}

all my babies are in the bed.

and i can't function enough to give yall the top notch rachel post.

so i'm going to bed too.

p.s. my house smells like lysol SO much!!!

{so much that your screen might turn into a lysol scratch & sniff sticker.}

girls gone wild. {2nd post for today.}

warning: this post might require you to grab a snack.

yeah it's THAT long.

so there we were...on the phone...cause that's how we roll.
we decided that THIS weekend we were going to go out.

we NEEDED a trip to the fabric store in the worst way.
mandie needed a supply list {a mile long} for her beginners class.
i needed orange fabrics for pat sloan's new orange challenge.
plus we all NEED to go to the fabric store at ALL times...right???

so we shined our shoes...put on a little too much rouge...and grabbed our hubby's money.
{rouge...really??? not so much. no shinning of shoes either.}

but there was a hitch in our giddy up.
we got SUPER sidetracked that we HAD to "all of the sudden" buy picture frames!!!
not just any frames...cooler than cool frames.
on top of making copies of the world's coolest pictures.

so here we were thinking that we should just go ahead and go to walmart first.
{get the pics & frames taken care of THEN spend forever in the fabric store.}

wrong-o!!!
FOUR HOURS later we walk out of walmart with 10,000 calories of junk food.
our cooler than cool frames...and $70 missing from each of our hubby's.
ooops.

did i fail to mention that for some reason i was leaving our pics all over the frame aisle???
i would prop the picture up to see how it would look in the frame, then leave it there.
easily sidetracked i am!!!
then mandie would find another one.
so our on-going joke for the night was what if we left them there???
what would the other shoppers think???
so our tag line for the night was...
"who are these people???"
{this is what we thought the other people might think.}

oh and i seriously did this in target too!!!
we had to go to walmart because our target didn't do one hour photo.

we learned this AFTER looking at frames.

we left the frames there.
whatever target. you're on my list now.

so we finally made it to the fabric store.
we had an hour and a half before they would kick us out.
yayyy!!!

we start with mandie's list.
it took us about half an hour to get the fabrics put together for picture #2.
this is for her beginners class.
pretty fabbies huh???

well while mandie was playing in fat quarters i looked for my oranges.
i immediately fell head over heals in love the orange polka dots!!!
i mean seriously...don't the orange & teal fabrics make you happy???
they make me happy...like hi-5 happy.

so as i'm drooling over my fabric, mandie falls in love with her kitty fabrics.
i mean they are seriously cuter than cute.
and i love the green, teal & brown color scheme.
she picked alot of it out all by herself.
did a great job didn't she???
{i'm talking about pic #3 by the way.}

the store closed late because of us.
not because we were disgruntle or anything.
we were spending mad cash so they didn't seem to mind.
hahahaha.

we both left the fabric store about $70 lighter...
i mean our husbands were $70 lighter.
then it hit us:
oh crap our husbands are gonna kills us!!!
we might have to go home nude just to not make headlines in the paper.

but seriously we got away with murder though.
we both spent about $150 and we're still alive to tell the story.

oh and did yall know that not ALL footlongs at subway are $5!!!
the madness and the nerve of subway.
they write that catchy jingle of a song...
i go to get my $5 footlong and she tell's me it's $6.47
are you freaking kidding me???
i was ready to take people out.
i think i'll write jared a letter...
and tell him i'm gonna gain 70 pounds all because mcdonalds is cheaper!!!
so jared...stick that in your juice box and suck it!!!

add subway to my list too!!!

well that's our saturday night.
and my wording prolly doesn't do us any justice.
i know that i laughed SO hard my abs hurt.
who needs a gym???
get a rachel & mandie.

and she came over yesterday.
more laughing madness.
we put those amazing picture frames together.
and took pics of our fabrics.
how are yall liking those pics by the way???

p.s. when we were at walmart i put a HUGE pack of oatmeal cream pies back on the shelf.
i was convinced that i didn't need to spend $3 on more junk food.
and ever since midnight that night i've been craving them.
i know, i know let it go...but they are calling me...still!!!

special post: mandie no blog introduces herself!!!

everyone meet mandie...she's uses capital letters like a grown up...hahaha.

i thought that yall should meet her before i go into my story.

{which will be posted later today.}

***

Hello, All,

This is "Mandie No-Blog," which is how I am apparently referred to in my bff's blog!

LOL....I just want you all to know that I appreciate your encouragement in my very first quilting endeavor, and know that I am in good hands!

Rach and I spend all weekend together talking fabrics, shopping, ordering, and daydreaming.

It was AWESOME!

I am enrolled in my first sewing class in March, but in the meantime, Rach has promised to show me a few tricks!

OH, and I got the fabric for my very first quilt!!!!

It's going to be a kitty quilt (I am a kitty mom), and I'm soooooo super excited!

Thanks for all the love and support!

Can't wait to join your community!

Love, Mandie No-Blog, or "monica bang" for krista's friends reference!! :)

P.S. That's my picture on the cover of Irish Quilter's magazine!!!!

Love, Mandie No-Blog

Just kidding. :)

***

so there's manders.

my bff.

SOME of my mail.

i won one of seven prizes during vickie's giveaway.

my prize came and i'm in love!!!

the pincushion alone makes me giddy.

but when i saw this fabulous stack of reproduction charms...i jumped up & down.

the hubby called me a HUGE dork.

{i'm used to it!!!}

and yall should know that sometimes i go to vickie's blog just to listen to her music.

it makes me happy.
:D

and nancy...she's the sweetest!!!

here's the story:
about 2 years ago pat sloan did her calendar quilt challenge with her yahoo group.
well she mailed a piece of fabric to nancy.
{this moon & stars fabric.}

well nancy, being the sweetheart that she is, mailed me half of that piece of fabric.
so now nancy & i will have the same fabric in our calendar quilt...and it's from pat!!!
how sweet is that???
SUPER sweet!!!

nancy you really made my day with this little gift!!!
i got all teary eyed and everything!!!
and the hubby called me a HUGE dork again!!!
{this time i smacked him!!!}

so there you have SOME of the mail i've gotten.
more to come. promise.
i'm just SUPER tired and i need full force rachel strength to tell yall a story.
it's about me & mandie this weekend.
mandie my bff that wants to learn to quilt.
don't worry yall will get to know her!!!
i told her i'm gonna start referring to her on my blog as 'mandie no blog'
hahahaha.

irish quilting magazine.

two words:

love it!!!

and i think i'm addicted!!!

{okay okay so it was more like seven words...but who cares???}

and sherry...when i opened it up and held it in my hands...i actually got all teary eyed.

yes i, rachel, cried over irish quilting magazine.

it's okay though...cause that's how i roll.

yall can get a copy here.

p.s. i bought some magic sizing last night at walmart.

thanks yall for answering my questions.

extra extra: read ALL about it!!! {2nd post for today.}

look at THIS!!!

arabella has arrived!!!

{pat sloan's brand spanking new fabric line!!!}

rachel, when asked to comment on arabella's arrival, simply said:
"tehehehehehehe!!! tehehehehehehe!!!
this IS my happy face!!!
tehehehehehehe!!! tehehehehehehe!!!
i'm SO excited!!!
tehehehehehehe!!! tehehehehehehe!!!
some of that belongs to ME!!!
tehehehehehehe!!! tehehehehehehe!!!"

we are told this is a direct quote.

sources say she's getting a fat quarter bundle and a secret garden kit!!!

magic sizing.

i am making the lucky stars quilt by atkinson designs.

{it's for my momma.}

this is the first block.

isn't it beautiful???

and ALL my points are perfect.

{hi-5ing myself!!!}

well the next step is to spray this with magic sizing then trim down the block.

okay so before this pattern i had never even heard of magic sizing!!!

{i know i know, but i'm only 26!!!}

well being the rachel that i am...i googled it.

{note to self: i think i pay all of google's employee's salaries...i google THAT much.}

so i learned that magic sizing is a light weight spray starch.

{go me.}

so my question{s} to yall veteran quilter's is this:

where do i buy it??? joanns??? walmart???

and what's the difference in using this as opposed to a regular spray starch???

any & all input would be awesome!!!

thanks yall.

p.s. my bff mandie told me she wants to learn how to quilt!!!

and we got her signed up for a beginners class!!!

so tonight we are going to joann's to get her some basics and class supplies.

exciting i know!!!

bistro.

so here we have bistro by deb strain.

i'm sure yall have seen it...right???

well i've always thought that it was a SUPER cute line.

but i never thought that i would actually buy any of it.

so the other night my hubby told me i could spend $100 on a fabric shopping spree online.

i know...sweet huh???

{thanks honey. you're the bestest!!!}

well being that there is SO much out there that i wanted...i got a little overwhelmed.

tehehe.

so the hubby & i sat down and 'window shopped' online.

i told him the lines that i've been dying to get my hands on...

the lines that i could live without...

yadda yadda yadda.

and yes ladies...my hubby enjoys helping with fabric selections.

isn't that nice???

i won't tell you everything we bought yet.

{that's a whole new post waiting to happen!!!}

plus i want it all to get here so i can take pics...on my NEW CAMERA!!!

{more on that later too...promise!!!}

but anyway back to the reason for this post...

the hubby really liked the bistro line.

and we decided that bistro would make the cutest potholders EVER.

{have i failed to mention that we are in serious need of potholders???}

and here's the funny part:

hubby HATES coffee!!!

so i have NO clue why he picked it.

maybe it's because we are f.r.i.e.n.d.s fans and it reminded him of central perk!!!

{mandie & krista...i know yall are laughing at that!!!}

but i, on the other hand, LOVE coffee.

typical square peg, round hole aren't we???

so coming soon to a blog near you is my new bistro jelly roll!!!

{and an assembly line of bistro potholders.}

p.s. yall have to check THIS out!!!

trust me!!! you'll thank me for it later!!!

another one.

and so i joined another one.

couldn't help it.

check it out HERE.

oh and guess what!!!

i've been chosen to be a guest blogger over at quilting gallery next month.
more details on that later.

i'm giddy.

today i took a trip to cindy's sew easy shoppe...

and i FINALLY got a darning foot!!! AND this pinwheel posies pattern by cotton way.

so yeah...i'm giddy!!!

i did not, however, get ashton's d60 today...
but you can bet your bottom dollar it'll be mine before the weekend!!!
:O)

a glimpse.

here is a glimpse of the 5 quilts that i started in the past few days.
{well the strip quilt started on the 1st.}

p.s. again with the crappy photos...sorry.
i *think* i'm gonna get ashton's d60 tomorrow!!!

decisions. decisions.

12 moda fat quarters.

monthly cost is $30 plus shipping.

$5 membership fee.

ships at the beginning of every month.

6 identical moda charm packs.

monthly cost will vary. plus shipping.

{with a 15% discount.}

$10 membership fee.

ships around the 15th of every month.

1 moda layer cake.
monthly cost is $30 plus shipping.

$10 membership fee.

ships around the 14th of every month.

1 moda jelly roll.

monthly cost is $30 plus shipping.

$10 membership fee.

ships around the 15th of every month.

2 moda honey buns.
monthly cost is $37.50 plus shipping.
$10 membership fee.
ships around the 24th of every month.

so with that being said:

i can't make a decision.

but i wanna do one of them.

which one would YOU do???
which one DO you already do???
inquiring minds want to know.

:D

all because of a beautiful 3 year old.

so you are looking at the very first quilt top i EVER made.

i know...interesting huh???

well first off...my camera sucks.

and yes...that's the best way to put it.

:D

so what's the big deal about this quilt top???

well i JUST now...TODAY...quilted it.

yes...you DID read that right!!!

TODAY!!!

so here's what happened...

i started this quilt way back when melanie wasn't even a gleam in our eye.

{she's 3 now.}

well it's been pinned and ready to go for a few years now.

why for a few years???

because i learned alot about quilting since then...and to me...this quilt top sucked!!!

that's the god's to honest truth.

so it's been sitting in my stash...waiting.

i added it to my 'quilting resolutions list' thinking it might help me get it done.

finally today i got fed up with it taking up space!!!

i was hell bent that it was getting finished.

at this point i was ready to just finish it and take it to goodwill.

{yes i hated it that much!!!}

well i started working on it...

then melanie came up to me and said, "mommy it looks like my blankie."

{some insight: i made her a simple block quilt with the leftover big squares.}

and i said, "it sure does baby!"

so then like the whole afternoon she would walk up to me and say...

"mommy i really like this quilt."

i know...rips your heart out doesn't it!!!

at this point i start thinking about what was going on in our life when i made this top.

just me, shane & jackson...living on the beach.

this was before i even owned a rotary cutter!!!

{that's right...i cut this bad boy out entirely by scissors.}

it's quilted now.

still needs binding.

but there it is.

and here's my conclusion...

i HAVE to keep it.

it's SO not flawless.

but it SO reminds me of our life.

{the griffith's...before we were the 5 of us.}

i mean how could i get rid of it???

especially after my 3 year old ooh'd & aah'd over it all afternoon!!!

so here it is.

my first quilt top...with plenty of character.

but it's ours.

:D

p.s. and seriously...sorry about the lame-o pics.

3 crafty things i can't live without.

my rotary cutter!!!

my blog!!!

my trusty machine!!!

and in no particular order!!!
{if i was aloud to say 4...my camera SO would have made the list too!!!}

my pif pal jo jo is having a 100th post giveaway!!!
she's the reason you now know...
3 crafty things i can't live without.

p.s. andrew had his staples taken out today!!!
he did perfectly!!!
not even one tear!!!
{thank goodness.}

drum roll please...

{to visit trisha's blog...just click the pic.}