Friday Favorites from around the Web

Happy March y’all!! Kentucky teased us a bit last week by giving us a few gorgeous sunny days with highs in the 60’s. Then as is typical for the weather here, Mother Nature took it all away and brought us snow and cold yesterday.  March seems to have definitely come in like a lion, which I’m okay with, if it does indeed go out like a lamb.

I’ve decided to start a new “column” on the blog, called Friday Favorites. I’ve seen many other bloggers do this throughout the years and I realized that it was always one of my favorite posts to read of theirs each week. I’ve been blogging since 2007 and have been an active “reader” of blogs during that time too. I’ve got quite a fun list of blogs in my reader and still look forward to seeing all of the updates that everyone posts each week. I thought that each week I’d share with you some of what caught my eye in the “blogosphere” during the previous weeks.  Some of the blogs you may be well aware of and some may be new to you.  I may occasionally include an affiliate link (as I did with todays post) or info about a great sale that I found that week, but most of it will be blog posts and articles.

So let’s give it a go shall we??

 

First up Quilt Con. A good friend of mine, Amy from Diary of a Quilter attended the convention in February. In case you don’t know what it is, Quilt Con is a quilt show/convention specifically geared towards the modern quilter. There is a show floor with things to buy, a juried quilt show and a lot of awesome classes. Amy taught a class this year and also attended several classes. She shared her experience in this write-up. If you’ve ever wondered about going to Quilt Con, hop on over there and see what she had to say. I wanted to go this year but the timing was not right, I’m really hoping to go next year when it’s in Savannah!

 

Many of you may know Natalia of Piece N Quilt. She’s a quilt book author and amazing free motion quilter. I have her quilt almost al of my quilts.  Her mom was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and she has been working to do something to help her mom during this difficult time. Natalia has designed a quilt pattern for a 72″ quilt that is all one block! How cool is this?  I bet it would make the biggest statement hanging on a wall or lying on a bed.  She is selling the quilt pattern with all of the proceeds going to help with her moms cancer treatment. you can get all of the info on her blog. 

 

Did you guys spy this adorable quilt over at Moda Bake Shop last week?  I think it would make the perfect addition to a sewing room! You can hop on over there to get all of the directions and the pattern. It uses paper piecing technique which I have never done, and I think I might “just” have to learn how to do it now.

 

I’ve got quite a few home decor blogs in my reader and enjoy all of the great decorating ideas and projects I find in each one.  This week, this article “A Mediocre Life” , from Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick caught my eye.  As a blogger there is a tremendous pressure to “hustle” ALL. THE. TIME. Personally, I do not like to hustle, I hate to be over scheduled and do not like the feeling that I’m over committed and don’t have time to spend with my family.  I love that Sarah sat down and wrote about her thoughts on the matter. She pretty much said, if you’re mediocre then so what? I loved her refreshing tone and think it can apply so well to many things in life besides just blogging.

Three more quick things!

 

Wonderland is IN STORES!! Yippee! If you’ve been waiting I have seen several shops post that they have received their stock.  I don’t have a list (yet) but if you search Instagram for #WonderlandFabric or #RileyBlake then you’ll be able to see many of the shops that have it in stock now.

If you are an online or brick and mortar store that carries Wonderland, PLEASE let me know so I can add you to the FABRIC RESOURCES page on my blog  (FYI, there have been at least 3 other fabric collections called Wonderland in recent years, so just be aware when you look at the #WonderlandFabric hashtag. Each line has a totally different theme and look.  One of them was released recently, but my line was already finalized and off to the printers before I know about it and it was too late to change the name…)

The June Bag Pattern has been updated and re-designed. This pattern has been my most popular one to date and I’m excited to have a “cleaned up” and improved version available now.  The pattern now features printable pattern pieces, updated photos and an adjustable strap!  You can pick it up in my PATTERN SHOP, if you purchased it in the past, just email me and I’ll send you the updated one free!  (I just need the email address you used for the original order). This pattern will be going to the printers as soon as I shoot a new cover photo.. if you’re a shop that would like to carry it keep your eyes “peeled” I’ll post when it’s ready for wholesale orders.

 

Lastly,

 

Since I posted about it on Facebook, many of you have asked how I like using the Circle device in our home. In short I LOVE IT. I’ve been using it since January and don’t know how we lived without it before. Basically it’s a device that “regulates” your home wifi to hopefully provide a safer environment for your kids.

You assign each device in your home to a person, then on each person you can set limits on both the time they are on-line and the content they can see. I have 2 teenagers at home now, and it’s perfect for us. They each have a set time allowance of wifi each day. If they need more (or do something around the house to earn more) then I can use the app on my phone to add more time to their account ( I can also “add” more wifi for them when I’m not at home)

Right now we have it set up so they have a minimal amount of wifi each day then after they do their daily chores the limit is increased. I’m happy to say that I haven’t had to do the dishes once in the last month (win for Mom!). Before you start saying I’m being mean or cruel or “helicoptering”, let me just tell you they were spending way too much time online, and it was driving me crazy! They only wanted to watch Netflix in their rooms and I felt like I never saw them. Now they watch in the living room (since I didn’t set a time limit on the apple tv in there). I actually get to “see” them again!  I also don’t think there is anything wrong with teaching kids to “budget” things in their life.  Whether its money or time, they need to learn the best way to spend both.

I know not that logistically not everything can be filtered out, and close supervision of their time on-line is still required, but it saves me from sitting with a stop watch trying to decide how much time my son spent on his XBOX that day. (yep, works with the xbox too).  You can find out more on their website. Also, FYI you choose which devices to monitor, so that way you can leave off things like an apple tv, or a work computer, or your husbands iPad (because I just don’t even want to go there, the last thing I think most men would want is their wives setting time limits on his iPad use *wink*).