The Kohlmans

My other Christmas project this year was for my Grandma Lu. When they sold their old house , I tried my best to help her rid her life of fabric scraps, with one goal in mind: make Grandma a quilt. She's made so many quilts and wall hangings for others, but she doesn't make many for herself, and not many have made them for her. So, when I saw the piles and piles and boxes of fabric, I knew that it would be perfect: a scrappy quilt made for Grandma from her own scraps. (Little did I know that I barely made a dent, and she has a whole closet full of scraps in her new house.) I enlisted the help of my family, sending them fabric to cut into squares. Everybody who received a package sent it back, in nice, neat sections. And, I would be remiss to not mention the fact that I kind of left it, mostly pieced, at my mom's house. She pretty much finished it, including the border and binding (inbetween which she found someone to machine quilt it, so that it would be finished for C...

I love making gifts. I also dislike making gifts because that means I have to wait until I give them to post about them... I went to two baby showers on Saturday for two dear friends, Lisa and Becca. Lisa & Kyle, friends from church, are expecting a baby girl on the 21st - just a couple of weeks left! We're pretty excited; they will be the first of our close friends to have a girl! I started this blanket before they found out the gender, but Lisa said that Kyle will be glad it's not super girly.     Becca is one of my closest friends. We lived together for two years and spent half a summer doing VBS together as well. She & Beau are having a little boy, who's due on December 3rd. Beau told her that they'd be fine... as long as he's not born on his due date, since that's the last K-State home game. I have a feeling he'll be there either way. ;) These were my second and third "fray" blankets. After the first two, I decided to ex...

I made some time to sew this weekend. Here's what I came up with... a laptop sleeve... and yet another bag because that's just what I do... I'm starting to think it won't really be feasible to sell stuff I sew. I mean, I timed the bag. It took approximately 2 hours from start to finish... And the supplies cost maybe $8. So to feel like I'm actually making a profit, I'd have to sell it for probably $25-$30. Would people really pay that much for a 15" x 17"  bag with three inside pockets? I'm doubtful. (And no, I'm not talking about selling stuff to people who sew because you're probably not going to buy something that you could make for $8 and a couple hours of your time. That's why I started making some of this stuff...) Anyway, what do you think?!

Well, I opened up my browser today and realized that none of my favorite bloggers have updated in the last few days. I thought, They really should update... How else am I supposed to stay entertained?!  Then I realized that this is probably what other people (Hi, Grandma!) think about me updating my blog. So here ya go! Despite the fact that my posts might make it seem that way, headbands are not the only thing I've been sewing lately. I made a cute little reusable snack bag for a coworker who gave me the pattern. I'm still waiting on the final verdict (size, and whether the lining needs to be something other than cotton) before I make more. But I most likely will make more. It took hardly any time at all... and would have taken less if I had the right velcro. I also made myself a new school bag out of some fat quarters. It has three pockets inside, one of which is divided for pens/pencils/etc... Yes, it's my second one so far this year. No, there's not anythin...

Thanks to all who entered. I loved the random facts. The winner of the headband give away (courtesy of random.org's random number generator).... Comment #2: Stacey said... It was good to see you tonite : ) Stacey - either comment on this post or facebook me or e-mail me to let me know which one you'd like. (The one second from the top does have flowers on it - they just blend in since it's monochromatic.) And this is great for Stacey because I don't have to ship it (just bring it to church), so she might have it sometime in the next month. :) You should all know that, thanks to your encouragement (and other random comments from others I know and Brad's enthusiasm), I'm tentatively planning to have a "booth" at my church's craft bazaar in 2012 (November) with headbands and a few other projects I'm experimenting with. I definitely don't have time to stock up for this year's, but if I set that goal for 14 months from now, it mig...

Well, faithful blog readers, I've decided it's time. Time for a give away. I've mentioned a few times before that I am getting carried away with this headband stuff. You'd think I was stocking an etsy store or something. (Which I'm not. I'd have to think of a name that doesn't suck. I'm not creative like that. And I'd have to ship things in a timely manner... my sister's birthday present (from August 31st) is still on my piano. I gave my other sister her present last Tuesday when I saw her in person. My name is Megan, and I have  a problem with getting to the post office.) So I need to give some away. To win a headband of your choice (I will post a picture with all the options when I announce the winner), comment on this post by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 21... tell me how you found my blog or ask me a question or tell me a random fact. For an additional entry, "follow" my blog publicly by clicking the "join thi...

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I went to Kansas City with friends. The day before the Warrior Dash we went shopping and found some really cute headbands in a store... But they were $20. That's kind of a lot of money... ...for something I could make myself... ...in whatever colors I want (and have in my scrap drawers)... in less than 30 minutes... I even put my own spin on them and made three different designs. So there's my new little craft project. It's pretty therapeutic. Who knew sewing could be so relaxing?! I usually have to rip out a few seams, but not so far with these little pretties (knock on wood). So far I've finished six. And worn two - one time each. I have several more that are waiting for flowers and leaves. And I plan to make more when I have some spare time (whatever that is). I may have gotten a little carried away... So who wants one?!

A while ago, I posted about a trip to JoAnn where I bought some fabric for a surprise quilt ... (And it was a great trip because I spent enough to get a free shopping bag.) But I couldn't tell you about it because someone who just turned 50 reads this blog and the quilt was for her birthday. My mother-in-law likes to think she knows everything that's going on. This time, though Barb didn't have a clue, even though after I pieced it Brad took it to Jeff to have someone in Lyndon machine quilt it - over a month ago. best... (this picture shows the fabric colors the best because of the lighting) surprise...  (the fabric doesn't really glow like this)  (there, that's better) ever... (so far, anyway)

I had a bad dream the other night. About school. And it's only June... (the dream, in case you want to know, was that it was 7:50 on the first day of school. 7:50 is when school starts in my "morning" building. but I was in my "afternoon" building. when I got to the right school, my principal and all my new students were standing at my door waiting. yikes. I had dreams like this throughout the year last year - at least monthly.) Hopefully carrying this new school bag will help ease my stress next year. Well, probably not, but a girl can dream (in a good way this time). I've wanted/needed to make a new school bag (by school bag I mean the one I take to work) for a while. One of the straps broke on my old one last fall, and it's been safety-pinned ever since. It would've been easier to just fix that, but I needed something a little more bright and colorful, since I lug it from my car to school, from one school to the next, back to my car, into t...

Today I met my mom at JoAnn (the new, huge one in Wichita) to pick out fabric for a special project. I will be using a Turning Twenty quilt pattern - lots easier than my last quilt! I wish I could give you more details, but it's a special surprise for someone who may or may not read this blog - and I may have already given too much away. Anyway... I spent enough to get a free, reusable shopping bag. I think I'd better finish this project before heading back.

One of my goals for spring break was to finish the black and white quilt I started over a year and a half ago. I didn't really think I'd get it done (I haven't picked it up to quilt in a few months), but the other day I got on a roll and had to keep going. I asked for a sewing machine for my birthday a few years ago, on a whim. Brad's cousin was pregnant, and I wanted to make a blanket. Since then, I've sewed a few pillow covers, a couple baby blankets, and this. I've written this before, but I really believe that quilting is slowly becoming a lost art. Not many 20-somethings are doing it; it's not the most trendy hobby, but it's making a little bit of a comeback. Part of the reason I quilt is because it's part of my heritage. My mom tells stories about how her grandma would come over and dig through Grandma Lu's sewing room trash, pulling out quarter-sized scraps, exclaiming, "I can't believe you were going to throw this away! ...

But I did. I promised myself I wouldn't go to the fabric store until I finished my current project. I've been working on this black and white quilt for over a year (and a half)... But it was the grand opening of the new JoAnn. And it was my morning off. So I went. I was anticipating some serious sales - hello? grand opening . I was sorely disappointed. All I wanted were some fat quarters. Usually, this particular store sells them for $1.99... and they are almost always 30% off. Not today. They had one page of coupons - "make your own sale." But if I'm going to buy 20 fat quarters, I don't want to tear apart 20 coupons. You know? I got rotary cutter blades for 50% off with a coupon. And I ended up with a few fat quarters (which are supposed to be on sale starting next week - really? why not today?) because I was afraid the pretty ones would be gone quickly. I guess I'll just have to go back over spring break. Darn.

This is what I did on my most recent snow day (yesterday)... Not just one - no! Two camera strap covers. I'm getting pretty bummed about all the snow, so I needed to make something bright and cheery. I used the tutorial here .