Tutorial: a headband for all

I have a huge head. I know, it's a horribly weird thing to say, but it's true, most headbands hurt me after a few minutes. Some stretchy ones work, but they are never a given.
The other day, while Mimi was making her collage, I made this. It took about 3 minutes.
I happen to have a bunch of old vintage Mother of Pearl belt buckle type buttons. I picked out a small one , but a big one would look cute too. There was some leftover length of satin sitting on my desk from the binding for Victory's quilt. (yes, I need to clean my office)... Anyhow, I cut my head circumference and about 10 extra inches in length. I secured one end of satin to the middle of the button. Lazy Libby used my machine, but a hand sewing job would have been prettier.
Then I treated it like a belt around my head, slid it through the buckle and cut off the length to the way I wanted it with pinking shears. (so the edges won't fray)
If you have slippery hair like mine, you may want to add a hair comb or the "sticky" side of a small piece of Velcro to the underside of the headband's crown.

3 hour quilt top - finished!

Well, it's done! Last week's 3 hour quilt top went speedily into the finished pile today. Mimi thought I needed a model again, so you get to see her reading her "American Girl" catalog.
I've got an idea for an upcoming quilt tutorial entitled, "your first quilt". I have designs of making a tutorial that makes it clear and easy to try... Not intimidating! It seems like everyone who has answered the survey so far (thanks! I love reading your input! Keep it coming!) - has mentioned that they'd love more tutorials.
Does that sound like a fun one to you?
Would you try it if I took the time to write it? :)

Afternoon tea

We shall see if this continues... But with these kids as little alarm clocks, I've decided to try and institute an after school tea time. I doubt Mimi will let me forget. Momma needs this more than they do.

Baby Becker gets a gift from the Design Director

Mimi has been really into mobiles lately and keeps drawing up big plans for different ones. She's had designs for making a mobile for cousin Becker who will be making his debut this week... It all seemed too grand a scheme for her until I thought about her sequined heart she made last week. "Let's give it a go"
After requiring that she sketch out her concept, I got her started by cutting out the rockets and star from felt. She cut out the planet and the baby in the cradle. I'm not sure why there is a baby in outer space, but it was an idea that she even had in her beginning sketch (as you can see).
She decided gluing the sequins was easier than sewing them on. (smart) Then we made a pillow moon from scraps of a blanket I use for quilt batting, and we attached the shapes with fishing line. She did all the sewing herself, the big pillow moon was an interesting challenge for her as she learned about sewing in a circle.
We ended up having to weight the shapes with pony beads to help them hang better. Overall quite cute.
Project time: 1 hour

Last day before 1st grade

Z is in school this morning. Mimi and I did some special Mimi&Momma type activities. We sewed a present for a baby cousin appearing this week, we baked chocolate chip scones, and now we are having one final tea party before going to pick up brother from preschool.
Wow. First grade starts tomorrow... Time flies.

Bubble Tea pics

I think I showed you the fabrics for this new skirt pattern to replace "Sweet Tea" a while ago, but we never got pics until this weekend. I wore the skirt as we went around town and in our ventures to Hollywood and Malibu - we took these pics. (Not that they're your typical Hollywood or Malibu pics, but they're the typical parts of our lives that involve those two locations - and they made for some fun pics)

Like them?

Quilts in a to-do stack (and a crisis)

Here are the 4 quilts I have been working on this week (besides the spiderweb one and Mimi's quilt)... Two of them (the red/white and green/white ones) are only awaiting bindings.
The red and cream ones are tormenting me right now. I love their French fabrics and I enjoyed making up my own patterns for them, but the stippling in the red thread irks me and I'm in the process of ripping it ALL out to try again and start over with a different style. (1 hour to sew, 3+ to remove)...
I'm thinking this one may want diagonal stripes for quilting? Or maybe some rectangles that echo the shapes? I dunno. Got suggestions?

Art organization - your input...

I was asked recently by two different friends for my input on how to organize kids craft supplies. (I laughed out loud upon receiving the requests)... 2 days later, Mimi pulled out our art drawer in the hall (it's a 100 year old drawer, heavy and hard to navigate) - and i realized it was time for some new organization.
I've since redone the drawer (and the one below it as well) - though it never lasts long since the kids have free access to it and it's supplies.
I once heard a professional organizer talk on organizing kids' supplies and the woman said, "those rolling carts are just great! You can just roll them right into a closet or guest room when they are not in use" (I laughed and said, "um, what about those of us who live in small, old houses with no closets or extra rooms?") She looked at me sweetly and said, "so put it in the garage..." (we don't have a garage... We have a tiny guest house that a friend lives in)
Haha.
My point is that not all of us live in houses with lots of room. Many of us live in big cities with small condos and cramped apartments. Old houses aren't the easiest to navigate organizing... That said, I'd love to hear about what you have done to organize. Any tips? Send a link to a pic and I'd love to compile some (corporate speak) "best practices" for a post.

And don't forget to fill out the survey, it's been amazing to read your answers! I'm getting good ideas for things to do and am letting go of some insecurities I had about the blog as it is... You readers rock!

Link to the Survey post: http://ow.ly/2zLOy

First three quilts

Sonja posted the most lovely pics of my first three quilts over on her blog. 

I'd almost forgotten she had taken these....

I'm currently in the process of finishing up 5 more quilts. I've been on a roll lately. Pics to come.

Please help me improve my blog....

Hi friends!
Would you mind taking this survey? It's only a few questions (most of which are multiple choice) and it would really help me understand a little more about what you want as a reader for my blog.
I'm hoping to add some more to the blog and want to know where I should focus my efforts. Thanks so much!

Click here to take survey
libby