When Life Hands You Fabric... Make a Quilt!!

Design Wall Monday - January 30, 2012

2012-01-30T18:23:00.000-08:00

I woke up before 4am today & was unable to sleep (the story of the past 5 days...), so I finally got up and got to work on my new quilt top! I found the fabrics at Fabric Depot last week, with exception of the black that I found at Fiddlesticks. The center's are 6.5" finished and will all be the same fabric. Then, each block will be framed in either pink, orange, or green "dots," and they'll all have a black frame, too. The blocks will alternate whether the black frame is next to the white square, or on the outside edge. So, with the 3 colors and the alternating black, there will be 6 different blocks total. Was that clear as mud? :)

I went to work today and was asked if I can put in "a lot" of hours this week (up to 40). So, that's definitely going to crunch into my sewing time. But I feel needed, so I'm going to help out. This quilt isn't going anywhere & I should be able to spend short bits of time in the sewing room - enough to keep my heart happy! :)

I hope next weeks design wall photo is FULL of blocks!

Manic Monday Linky Party with Sew Happy Geek

2012-01-30T04:22:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I'm "linking up," for Sew Happy Geek's Manic Monday Linky Party but I can't post a photo of my newest finish on my blog until it's delivered to its' recipient in about 3 weeks... The photo is on my "link" though!

So, the quilt top shown is one made for a friend who was injured in an accident. Scrappy "Jake's Heart" blocks were collected, and I designed and pieced the quilt top from those blocks, adding a few of my own blocks as well. I just LOVE the way it turned out, and so far have received good reviews from a few others who have seen the photo. PHEW! I've been SUPER worried about whether people involved in this quilt would like it or not!

This post is going to be SO boring without a photo!! Please be patient ~ I already have a blog written that includes the photo, but it won't post for about 3 weeks... :)

Oh, and by the way... please feel free to follow me! I'm HOPING to do some more tutorials and possibly a few giveaways this year!! :)

Stash Report - Week 5, 2012

2012-01-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is SO lame! I've only posted once and I'm totally behind. In addition, I'm really not sure how to do this. I got a bunch of fabric for a gift from my Mom, as well as used gift cards... Not sure if that is all supposed to be counted, but I'm going to - just for safe measure. However, that is going to make this look pretty bad...

Used this Week: 4.25 yards (because I can't count all of the mis-cuts... otherwise, this # would be MUCH larger!)
Used year to Date: 4.25 yards
Added this Week: 19.875 yards
Added Year to Date: 51.639 yards
Net Used for 2012: - 47.389 yards

So, here is the lowdown:

~ I won 2 yards of Circa 52 in a blog giveaway and received it this past week.
~ Purchased a panel to make a "bunting" from Riley Blake's gorgeous collection. Can't wait to make it!
~ I received money for batiks from my Mom for my birthday, which was 2 weeks ago. I picked out the fabric this past week.
~ Earlier in the year, I bought a selection of orange fabrics from the Craft Warehouse STEAL (Super-Clearance). I have a decent stash, and had tall piles of every color - EXCEPT orange... Now I have a few more to equal a decent selection.
~ I just finished a quilt today and had to re-buy fabric TWICE because of my... "screw-ups." Very bummed, but can't change it!
~ Found an amazing "bee" fabric and got 2 yards. I grew up with the nickname "Bea," but associate it with "Bee," so I'm a sucker for a gorgeous bee fabric! This one is a light (grey?) bee outlined on a creamy beige background. It'll look great on.. SOMEthing!
~ Bought fabrics for a quilt I plan to start tomorrow.
~ Earlier this year, we went to Cannon Beach for the weekend. These trips always end up with a visit to "Center Diamond." I bought 2 fq's and 2.5 yards of holiday fabric
~ I was notified that solids were on sale at JoAnns. I have NO solids, except black & white, and I don't like shopping at JoAnn's. But, since they were such a great deal, and I needed solids, I sucked it up & bought the rainbow. Oh - there were a bunch of bolts with hardly anything on them, so I picked all of those up knowing I would get them for "remnant" price - 70% off regular price!

So, some of that probably shouldn't be included (gifts & winnings), but i'm not sure? The GREAT thing is that I shouldn't be needing any more fabric for quite awhile, and I'm starting a new quilt tomorrow. So, my "used" number should go up, and my "net" will be going down!

Daily Tutorials at Sew Can She!

2012-01-09T19:10:00.000-08:00

Caroline, at Sew Can She, does daily tutorials, and todays just happens to be the cutest "Little Wallet" ever!
She also has other tutorials - from the "Owl School Bag" (I'm recently a total sucker for all things crafty-owl!), to a Kindle cover, to a Nursing cover-up, to holiday ornaments and decorations. You can easily sign-up for her newsletter - so go check it out, 'cause I know you love a great crafty tutorial, too! :)

I'm a WINNER!

2012-01-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Donna at the "This Year's Dozen" blog did a giveaway for "learning something new." She made up prize packages for her "New Hobby Giveaway" that included the following hobbies: beading, macrame, sewing/quilting, and crocheting. Since I've done all of those except macrame, and I fondly remember my Mom making macrame stuff when I was a youngster, I responded with that as my choice of hobbies I'd like to try. YAY - I WON! I can't wait to try macrame. Let's see if I'm any good at it! :)

If you check out Donna's blog, click on the "purses" category at top. She's made some super cute purses!

I'll post a photo of the goodies when the package arrives. Thank you, Donna!! :)

Design Wall Monday

2012-01-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

My gosh, where did the week GO?

I did stuff - Just can't remember what? I started "planning" my year out a little by making up my UFO list, starting to plan my job hunt, and whatever else. Craft-wise, I made a "crayon art" piece, and cut circles for a "fall wreath." This is what is highlighted on my design wall for the week. I plan to add some orange fabrics to the group. So, either the wreath will be larger, or some of the current circles will be removed. My bet is on the latter of the two. OR, maybe I'll make TWO, but try to make the colors pretty different... Hmmmm...

Unfortunately, I made these circles before January 1st, so I didn't get to add them to my Stash Report, posted on Sunday. Boo!
Oh, and for anyone interested, I made the circles using my GO! cutter. I LOVE that thing - it's the best creation since sliced bread... Ok, I admit I only said that so I could use the cliche'.

Ok, so the photo to the right is what is on a small section of my design wall (the other parts haven't changed from last week...). I hope to work on it more in the next day or so. :)

Stash Report ~ Week #1, January 1, 2012

2012-01-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

Judy Laquidara is up to it again, and I'm going to give this a try (which may suck because my husband reads my blog... LOL)!!!

Ok, so I only learned about the "Stash Report" within the past few months. You report how much of your stash you've used, how much stash you've purchased, then accumulated totals. You do NOT have to count what you started with. Phew! My stash is nothing compared to most long-time quilters, but still. having to count what I have would still take forever!

So, I will add up the fabric used as I go along on a project and report totals here. Sounds like fun! Maybe this will encourage me to actually get in there and SEW! If I don't sew, my Stash Report #'s won't change.

Oh, and per the words of Judy, "Reminder – this is not a “no buy” commitment. If you want it, can’t live without it, need it or whatever . . get it! Report it and move on. No guilt and no one should make anyone feel bad or inadequate for adding to their stash. This is all in fun and we don’t stress over fun things, right?" Ok, Phew! Because most of my stash is "old" fabric (except for batiks), and there isn't much "modern" about it, I had a goal of adding modern fabrics to my stash. THAT won't happen until I get another job, though, so I guess I'm safe for the time being...

Here is the report for week #1.

Used this Week: 0 yards
Used year to Date: 0 yards
Added this Week: 0 yards
Added Year to Date: 0 yards
Net Used for 2012: 0 yards

Tutorial, Tutorial, My FIRST Tutorial!!!

2011-12-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

I saw this photo somewhere, and I'm honestly not sure where. I think I re-pinned it on Pinterest, but I'm not sure who started it...? Anyway, I saw the photo and fell in love with the project and KNEW I could do that! I used to dabble in acrylic painting (would like to again, one of these days), beading, scrapbooking (long ago), crochet, and I do more quilting than anything. But I've been getting into the "blogger world" over the past couple/few months, then Pinterest, Etsy (viewing, not selling), and some Twitter, too. In all of these forms of media, I have been SO inspired to do things I've never done before! My goal, however, is to stick to things where I can buy only the supplies I need for "that" project. I don't want to need another closet, or another drawer for yet another hobby. I don't want to build a "stash" of anything unrelated to quilting... So, that leads me to why I was so excited about this particular project. Supplies = project! Almost nothing left over - just a few crayons to give to my cousin's kids.

So, I've never done a tutorial before. Stick with me, ok? And please - feel free to offer constructive feedback if there is something I could do differently to make the tutorial go better, be more smooth, etc...

Here's what we're making - I'll call it "Crayola Rainbow Art":

(please bear with my crummy lighting... It's quite bright "in real life," and I'll try to update photos over the weekend sometime!)

Supplies Needed:
- 18x24" canvas
- Crayola Crayons - 96 count box
- glue gun - I used 3 glue sticks
- hair dryer
- foil wrapped cookie sheet to lay glue gun down on when not in use - I was very aware of not wanting to burn anything else...
- protective paper or plastic to cover work space (under & behind project, and to the sides - blowdryers can make melted crayon wax fly everywhere!)

And here is how to make it:

~ I started with an 18x24 canvas and a box of 96 Crayola Crayons.

~Then, I lined up all of the crayons in somewhat rainbow order, nicely messing up where purple goes. Technically, the color order of the rainbow is: ROY-G-BIV, or: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, Indigo, violet. I left out the browns, black, white, and a few other strange colors. As you can see, there are too many crayons - they go beyond each side of the canvas:

~ Since I had more crayons than would fit across the 24"side of the canvas, I took out the specialty "gel" and "glitter" crayons, and one color that I detested (group shown in front), ending up with a total of 70 crayons. I tried to go from dark to light within each color, but crayons trick you sometimes and I found that how they look in "crayon form," is not exactly what you get when they melt, but that's OK:

~ Next, you need to glue the crayons onto your canvas - flat edges at the top of the canvas, and pointed end toward the bottom of the canvas (makes a nice "tip" for the melted wax to drip from). I lined mine up starting with blue on the left (after starting with the silver crayon) and red to the far right. Next time, I'll have red on the left and blue on the right.
The hot glue dries FAST as it cools, so I only glued 2 crayons on at a time. I was careful to make sure the "Crayola" wording was pointed out as I laid the crayon down on the thick line of hot glue so that it looked nice & purposeful, not sloppy. I also made sure the glue wasn't actually going to be on the wax part of the crayon, because I wasn't sure if that would melt the glue as the wax got hot:

~ Keep gluing down crayons until you're done. If you start exactly at one edge and place your crayons tightly together on the canvas, the 70 crayons will fit perfectly! When done gluing, unplug glue gun & turn your crayoned-canvas right side up so the pointed edges of the crayons are pointed down.

~ Now here is where the real fun of "creating" begins!!! Depending on how you hold the blowdryer, you may get drips that are blown onto other areas of your canvas, or they might drip directly beneath the crayon. You're bound to have colors that mix together - some you'll like, and some you won't. Go with it! As my husband said, "the ugly colors help you appreciate the good colors." The crayons melt faster or slower depending on how close you hold the blow dryer. I became quite bold toward the end, but I started out holding it 2-3" from the crayons, moving my entire arm slowly from side to side among only 1 or 2 sets of colors. As more drips accrue, you can quickly run the blow dryer down the canvas to help the drip "run" down. Otherwise, you'll get a big "glop" of wax just a few inches below your crayons (ask me how I know). Big glops turn into ugly colors... As I was getting closer to being done, I was holding the dryer about 1" or less from the crayons (only got one nice big glob of wax on my blow dryer). I took a few breaks, because I could feel the dryer getting a little over-warm when I did this.

*see the big green glop?*

Here is the finished product (in fairly bad lighting):

Here's what I think went well:
Most of the project!

Here is what I would do differently next time:
~ I would take out a few more of the "muddy" colors, replacing them with more oranges, yellows (normal bright colors). I will probably have to buy another smaller pack of Crayolas for that, however.
~ I will also, now that I know, use the blow dryer to help prevent the glopping (wax drying before it drips all the way down the canvas)

Let me know if you decide to make one of these! My husband and I like a lot of bright & bold colors in art, so I think this will be quite fun. I might, however, make a new one to fix the problem areas, but that won't be for awhile. Another thing I might consider would be to take the paper off entirely, however, I think that could make a pretty big mess depending on how you were moving the blow dryer around. If I do that, I think I'll prop the canvas up within a cardboard box or something in order to keep the wax from flying all over my quilting room...

Sew Can Do: More Tasty Treats - Fruit Pebble Cupcakes!!

2011-12-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

Oh my! These look like the most fun & tasty kids treat (ahem... I'm still a kid, right?) I've seen in ages! I have some ideas and will be trying this out in the near future...

Ashley of Simply Designing guest blogged on Cheryl's blog, Sew Can Do, and did a tutorial on these fun "cupcakes."

Click here to view the tutorial!

This is the lovely photo from Simply Designing, too. Please go visit her blog - she's got lots of fabulous ideas!! Go see Cheryl's blog, too!!!

Blogger's Choice Fabric Bundle

2011-12-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I ask myself if I'm up for a good challenge. Depends. Depends on the benefit, depends on the time & energy used, depends on how much fun it will be. Right? Most of the time, I'm up for it. Or, I'm trying to be, anyway. I'll consider this "an adventure." I also need to point out that no money was used or abused in this process.

Laura, of Quokka Quilts, gave quilters a challenge involving The Fat Quarter Shop and their "Blogger's Choice" section of fat-quarter bundles. Quilters are to go to the FQS site and make up our own "Blogger's Choice Bundle," which will then be placed into competition. Whoever wins receives a 1/2 yard bundle of our own "Blogger's Choice" fabrics.

A couple days ago, after initially having a hard time choosing just 12 prints and 3 solids, I decided "forget it." I was spending too much time on it. But after waking up shortly after 3am this morning.... it's either do this, or hunt for a job. I obviously chose fabric. See where my priorities are? Ok, give me credit - it was 3am. I didn't have the concentration needed for job hunting. Right?

After seeing a fabric I really liked that is a black/white/yellow combination, I decided those would be my color choices for my bundle. As I looked through alllllllll of the fabrics the shop has, I found a theme: Daisies! This is often a theme of choice, as I have a dog who is named Daisy. Can you tell I like Daisies?

Thank you to Laura for creating the challenge, and to The Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring it!

So, here is the bundle I came up with, and I truly WOULD love half-yards of these fabrics (!!). If you click on the photo, you will see a larger version & the fabrics will be more visible:

Here is a list of the fabrics in my bundle, starting with the upper left, and moving row by row, left to right:
1 - Oval Elements Cookies ‘n Cream (SKU# OE-919) by Art Gallery Fabrics

2- Annie's Farm Stand Black on White Pixie Dot Yardage - SKU# 10083-BOW - Annie's Farm Stand by Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods

3 - Tuxedo Collection Black Scattered Daisies Yardage - SKU# C2695-BLACK - Tuxedo Collection by Doodlebug Design for Riley Blake Designs

4 - Crazy Daisy Black Crazy Daisy Yardage - SKU# 4647-12 - Crazy Daisy by Benartex Fabrics

5 - Remix Black Daisy Dance Yardage - SKU# 10393-2 - Remix by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

6 - Rocky and Bullwinkle White Daisies on Black Yardage - SKU# 33233-3 - Rocky and Bullwinkle by Windham Fabrics

7 - Crazy Daisy Yellow with Black Small Daisy Bloom Yardage - SKU# 4641-30 - Crazy Daisy by Benartex Fabrics

8 - Crazy Daisy Black with Yellow Large Daisy Bloom Yardage - SKU# 4640-99 - Crazy Daisy by Benartex Fabrics

9 - Treasures and Tidbits Marigold Dots and Stripes Yardage - SKU# 10996-129 - Treasures & Tidbits by Piece O' Cake Designs for Robert Kaufman Fabric (I just KNEW I needed a stripe in there, and this seemed a perfect match for the black/white/yellow theme...)

10 - Pam Kitty Morning Yellow Powder Puffs Yardage - SKU# LH11009-YELLOW

11 - Elephants on Parade Yellow Maze Yardage - SKU# C7441-YELLOW - Elephants on Parade by Timeless Treasures Fabrics

12 - Lark Pitch Sparkle Yardage - SKU# PWAB76-PITCH - Lark by Amy Butler for Westminster Fibers

13 - Kona Cotton Black Yardage - SKU# K001-1019 by Robert Kaufman Fabrics

14 - Kona Cotton White Yardage - SKU# K001-1387 - by Robert Kaufman Fabrics

15 - Bella Solids Yellow Yardage - SKU# 9900-24 - by Moda Fabrics

16 - that would be Yours Truly. :)

I had fun doing this, although I was correct that it would take way longer than I expected, including the time to write the blog. But it was a good challenge. Obviously, I figured out I was up for it.

Note:
I used this mosaic maker since I have no idea how to make one on my computer's photo program. There is a little photo of me in there because the mosaic had an extra blank spot in it, so I needed to fill it with something. No photos of Daisy were available on the computer, so in went a photo of yours truly. :)

2012 UFO List Comes to Fruition

2011-12-28T03:23:00.000-08:00

It was really hard to come up with this list because I have quite a few things that just need the binding sewn down on the back, and tons of things I want to "start." However, many of the binding projects were on my 2011 list and are still not complete, so.... I'm going to refresh with new items. Hope it works!

It will be interesting to see how this goes, because I'm using the list for two groups. One way or another, I hope these things are crossed off by 12-31-2012!

2012 UFO Quilting/Sewing List

1. Christmas Wreath (Bittersweet book)
- not yet started

2. Autumn Wreath (Bittersweet book)
- started December 2011

3, Quilt & bind “Alaska” table topper
- top complete in June 2011

4. Fuse & applique the 2011 “Lollypop Trees” 18” blocks
- August/September blocks are fused. Oct/Nov/Dec not started

5. HOB quilt binding and label
- and deliver to recipient (mail?)

6. Finish “A Secret Garden” quilt top (Pat Sloan pattern)
- top was started in early 2010

7. Finish quilting "his" quilt and bind
- on quilting machine now (surprise quilt - can't name recipient)

8. Finish quilty-batik sweatshirt
- started in ’05 or ’06

9. Cut down border & add new binding on David’s blue/white quilt
- SIL made it for him many years ago and it’s falling apart from so much use!

10. Finish “Luminous Diamonds” quilt top
- started in Spring 2010

11. Finish turquoise/purple “birds” messenger bag
- started summer 2011

12. Quilt & bind "her" quilt
- quilt top is finished (surprise quilt - can't name recipient - this is connected with #7)

I'll try to come back and post photos of the UFO items at some point soon...

Design Wall Monday

2011-12-27T02:51:00.000-08:00

Shhhh - don't tell anyone it's "technically" Tuesday!!!

"Design Wall Monday" is a new thing for me to blog about. However, Judy Laquidara from Patchwork Times (I do LOVE her blogs, so I'll probably end up mentioning her quite a bit from here on out) hosts a "Design Wall Monday" linky party on her blog, so I thought I'd chime in. This is her last DWM for the year. Makes sense, since it's the last Monday of the year. Wait - did we even have a February this year? I can't even remember...

Ok, getting back to business here... I just spent about 8 lovely hours at my sewing machine! This is what (part of) my design wall looks like now:

My goodness, is the lighting TERRIBLE in this photo!!! YIKES! (UPDATE: I fixed the photo - took a new one in "daylight" and replaced the old yucky one)

So, here is what is in the photo: The top 2 photos are a BOM I'm doing called "Lollypop Trees," designed by Kim McLean. I'm doing my BOM through The Quilt Studio, and they've been fabulous so far. The series started in August 2011, and goes for 16 months. The blocks are 18"x18"!! I'm going to love my ginormous quilt!!! So far, I have fused down the pieces for the August and September blocks. I will machine appliqué the pieces down. At least that's my plan as it stands now. It's going to be a BIG job!
The 10 blocks on the bottom are the "buck a block" blocks that I mentioned in a post from Christmas Day. I'm doing this through a lovely shop in Seattle - The Quilting Loft. I got 2 blocks done on the 25th, 4 done on the 26th, and another 4 done in the same sitting, but technically on the 27th since it was past midnight. SO glad to have started the blocks and to now be caught up - in less than 48 hours from starting them! Now I'll wait till the beginning of January to receive my next blocks - then staying caught-up will be my goal!
Lastly, on the right, is a block I made on the "quilter's cruise to Alaska." I started this block in a class taught by Sue Nichols, who is an AMAZING machine appliqué quilter! I have enough fabric to make 3 more of these, but I think I might add fabric of my own and make the quilt larger. We really don't have space for this type of wall hanging, so it needs to be a "usable" quilt! I do love the design, which Sue did specifically for our cruise group, so I definitely want to continue it on!!

Buck-A-Block UFO finally started - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T16:13:00.000-08:00

I went up to Seattle with David back in September sometime and, while he was in his meeting at work, I went to a store which is probably in my top three favorite quilt shops. It's called The Quilting Loft and it's located on NW Market Street in/near Ballard. The ladies in this store have always been really friendly, they have a great combo of modern fabrics and batiks (lots of batiks I've never seen before!), and a nice selection of books and patterns. I saw a quilt up on the wall advertising their new BOM which starts in January 2012, and I signed up! As I was talking to the lady about it, she showed me their current "buck-a-block" quilt, which was hanging in another location (right in front of me). Since they were willing to mail the small packets each month, I signed up. Who can resist a really pretty quilt when there is an option for batiks in some of my favorite colors (pomegranate & cream as the main colors)?! Since the program, which is sponsored by Thangles, started in August, I took home the first 2 month's blocks that day. Needless to say, I didn't get started on it right away - I was busy with work & school, and I didn't buy any Thangles. DUHHH! Oh - and yeah - my sewing room was needing some TLC.

Now that the room is clean again, I'm relieved of all duties associated with school, and I had The Quilting Loft mail a pack of Thangles to me last week, I decided to go up and get started. I didn't want to spend too long in there - just a little dabble to make me feel all warm and quilty inside. I believe it took a little over an hour, and here are the results from the August 2011 pack:

It turns out that each month makes two blocks, which I realized soon after I started the program. They are the same pattern but the colors are flipped, light/dark, for each block. Knowing how quick the little (8" unfinished) blocks go together, I can't wait to get back in there and do the remaining 4 sets of blocks!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T15:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you & yours!

We had a nice time with some family in town for the past couple of days. We had a delicious "feast" yesterday, and opened gifts afterward. My husband "got into it" this year when he decided that "toys" should be our theme. So, everyone got a variety of toys & fun things to play with - some silly, and some really cool/fun stuff, too. GO HUSBAND!! :)

I finished school on the 6th, and have been ACHING to sew since! However, cleaning was a necessity, as was holiday shopping and a small variety of other stuff. Guests were set to arrive early on Friday, and I finally sat down at the machine on Thursday evening, around 9pm or so. I didn't leave until THREE stockings were complete - at about 3:30am. I got way too little sleep that night, but it felt so good to be in there "creating" that it was well worth the sleep deprivation!

The stockings were intended to be for our guests - our nephew and his wife. However, when I looked at my stash of holiday fabric, it SUCKED. So, rather than make something they'd rather throw away, I decided to make stockings for our animals, aka: "the kids," instead. Here is a photo of the finished products:

The two for the dogs have the same main fabric, but the tops are different. I'm rather happy with them, considering I had just a template for the stocking "shape," and no instructions past that! The top wasn't part of the design, so I figured that out - quite easily by the third one. :)

I was also the lucky winner of a homemade stocking and it arrived on Friday! Joanie at Joanie's quilts did a fabulous job, adding hand stitching and small felt ornaments to the tree. Love it! Here is a photo:

Thank you, Joanie!!!

I'm sure there are many things I could post about, but the last thing I'll include here is about the batch of hand cream I made a few days ago. I got the "recipe" from Judy Laquidara of Patchwork Times. I love Judy's blog - she posts sometimes a few times per day, and her blog is full of inspiration, and humor! Back to the lotion - I started out with dollar store products since I really didn't know how this would turn out (I didn't trust myself to mix the products and get a good result...? LOL). Next time, I think I would look for higher quality products, but I do like what the dollar-store result was.

I will be working tonight, starting at 10pm, so I'm going in to sew for a little while while the day is still young and before I take my "night-shift nap." I need to rid myself of this "I wanna SEW" feeling, and the only way to do it is to SEW! :)

Traveling & Quilting

2011-12-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

Is it SAD that I can't go anywhere without thinking of quilting? I look for quilts everywhere, I look for places to "shop quilting" - and I look EVERYWHERE!!!

My DH and I recently went to Santa Fe for a few days. Thankfully, I could look on my dumb "smart phone" to find out if there were any quilt shops locally, since I'd run out of time while still home. Thankfully, there is a shop called "Santa Fe Quilting" in town - and it is open, even on Sundays! (blog title links to store's website)

I was grateful that DH agreed to stop at the shop on Sunday before heading to the airport. The shop was great - lots of good patterns, and tons of batiks - my favorite "stashable" fabric!! I ended up buying 3 patterns, and several batiks...

I loved the red batik so much that I bought 2.5 yards... I hope to do something with it sooner than later - I just LOVE it! I ended up with 1-yard pieces of 3 of the other fabrics, and 1/2 yards of the others. A few of the prints came from their "Santa Fe" shelf, which was somewhat filled with southwestern batik prints. While they had quite a few, and I bought 3 or 4 of 'em, I struggle to decide how to use these particular fabrics. Maybe I'll make some mug rugs for our new dining room table. Otherwise? I have no ideas...

I just love going to fabric stores when I'm traveling. I don't know if I'm looking for something new, some kind of specialized batik prints (got some fabulous pieces when on a trip to Alaska last May/June!), or what it is. Maybe I just want to fill up my "quilting passport" with unfamiliar shops? Heck - maybe it's just another reason to quilty-shop!! But, the truth is that I'm done with school (yayyy!!), and now that I'm able to sit down and sew some, I want quilty reminders of the places we go.

Is there a 12-step program for this?

Updated Fabric Shelf Photos

2011-11-21T01:51:00.000-08:00

I posted a blog early this morning about how I had been working on organizing my fabric, putting it onto shelves. The photo I posted was one I took before changing things around again. So, I'm attaching the new photos. :)

Have a nice week!

Open to Air

2011-11-20T01:12:00.000-08:00

Sorting, Sorting, Sorting

Boy have I been having fun this week! I bought 3 shelving units from a great friend and have been playing with fabric ever since! Ok, ok... playing in between homework sessions, but at least I've got to TOUCH fabric this week, which is unlike many other weeks while in school!

One thing I was SO excited to do was to get my batiks out, sort & stack them, and then put them on the shelves so I can SEE them - every day!! Woot!!! Batiks have quickly become my favorite fabrics, so being able to view 'em each day brings much warmness and joy to my heart. It's like seeing all of the colorful flowers in the spring, after a long & dreary winter. Ahhhhh - JOYFUL!

The reason I've wanted to "shelve my fabric" is because I couldn't see it when it was in the plastic drawers, so I basically never used it. Ever! I never make scrappy quilts, even though I do have fabric and I DO love the scrappy look! Every time I wanted to start a project, I would go and buy fabric - because I couldn't see that I already have what I need! So, not only is it refreshing to see the fabric, some of which I've had for 10+ years, having it "open to air" opens up tons of quilty opportunities for my short-term future! :)

In a bit over 2 weeks, I'll be DONE with school and able to get back into the sewing room for the reason it's intended - to SEW!
I can't wait!

The photo shows 2 of the shelf units stacked. I've made changes since taking this, but it at least gives the general idea. The tub
on the bottom shelf is still there, and full of "old crappy" fabric (and I mean CRAPPY!!!) that I'll give to Goodwill or... or just throw out - it's THAT bad!

A Nice Blog to Follow!

2011-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Hey Quilters -
Marlene Baerg Oddie is from Washington & does fabulous quilting work. She's quickly becoming popular & she's being asked to write newsletters, to accompany quilt cruises, etc... Wow! Congratulations, Marlene! She also keeps up her own blog - check it out & "follow" her for continual inspiration. :)
Click on the title of this blog, and you'll be redirected to Marlene's blog.

I Love Wish Lists!

2011-11-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

I was playing around today on Connecting Threads because I'm seriously not wanting to do homework... Actually, I have a meeting in an hour and don't want to get started, then have to stop, come home & get started again... Anyway, I made a wish list on the Connecting Threads website. Ohhh, how I LOVE wish lists! It makes me feel like I'm shopping, but I'm NOT! haha. Bummer the stuff won't magically appear on my doorstep, right? Oh well, that totally doesn't matter. When I FEEL like shopping, I can get online and make a wish list, telling myself "maybe someday." In the end, I still have the $$ in my pocket, and my shopping needs are satisfied.

So there!

:)

I just Saw the Craziest Thing!

2011-11-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

I got an email for a blog I’m subscribed to, and it was titled “Stash Report” and had this week’s date. Whaaaaaaat? You COUNT your stash? Ok, so I realize that no, you don’t have to count what you already have, but you count what you ADD to it, and how much of it you USE, and the results are your “Stash Report.” Here is what it looks like:

Used this Week: 0 yards 
Used year to Date: _ _ _._ _ yards 
Added this Week: 0 yards 
Added Year to Date: _ _ _._ yards 
Net Used for 2011: _ _ _._ _ yards

The bummer of it is that you have to subtract the “added year to date” from the total you’ve used to get the “net used.”
So, this may possibly be incentive to stay away from the quilt stores... Notice the two key words: “MAY POSSIBLY...” haha!

Interesting idea. Maybe I’ll do this next year.

Sew BitterSweet Design's ~ Fabric Givaway!

2011-10-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

Melissa over at Sew BitterSweet Designs is having a "Christmas in October" fabric giveaway and today is the LAST CHANCE to enter!!! You may wonder "what's up for grabs?" She's giving away a lovely layer cake of O’ Tinsel Tree by Robert Kaufman Fabrics! Some of these fabrics are no longer available, so this could be your last chance to "have a piece of that!" So head on over for 3 chances to enter! :)

Fabulous Fabric Giveaway!!!

2011-10-10T22:53:00.000-07:00

Sunni has a fabulous blog "Love Affair With My Brother." You'll have to go there to find out more about how the name came about, but it's not what you think... :)
Anyway, Sunni is having a giveaway and offers a bunch of ways to win. Sew fun!!

Check it out: http://loveaffairwithmybrother.blogspot.com

Back in the Swing...

2011-08-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

How come every time I post, it starts off something like this "I can't believe it's been so long......"?
GEESH!

Ok, well I'm almost done with my RN-->BSN program (December 2011) and have been finding a little time
to sew again. I'll have to post some pics of my latest creations, or "starts of creations." I did manage to
finish a quilt recently. It started out as a 9-patch (batik & WOW) swap and I made a whole bunch more blocks
because I liked what I received and wanted to make a larger quilt. It ended up being a large lap or maybe a
twin size. I still use it on our king bed - but I just don't share! ha!

I recently went on a cruise to Alaska with my sister-in-law. Bought tons of goodies, including a pattern &
fabric to make a table topper (round & about 45" across). I finished the topper's top in a few sittings, and
am ready to quilt it. I guess it would help if I knew HOW I was going to quilt it, huh? I was thinking of just
starting in the center, and making a spiral, and that's it. I don't want to quilt "in the ditch," because I think
that's way too plain.

I just signed up for my first official BOM and the first month is being shipped today! It's called "Lolly Pop Trees," and
I'm in love! I'll post a pic when I can.

I also started a new group on Facebook a little over a month ago - "Pacific Northwest Quilters." The ladies seem to
like the group so far, which is great! Lots of ideas posted, Poll-type questions asked, and just general quilty
conversation. LOVE IT! Through that group, a few of us are doing our own little "few-rules" BOM, using the
"Rose of Sharon" book/blocks. The book was written by Sharon Pederson, and the blocks are stunning! They
were designed by women all over the world. I went to Fabric Depot (in Portland, Oregon) today to purchase
fabrics for the project. Buying batiks is ALWAYS fun for me, as they're my favorite type of fabric. Can't wait
to get started!

Ok, must sign off. Have to be to work in less than an hour...

Newest Creation

2009-07-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

I'm SO excited!! I went to Ikea on Sunday, July 5th, and then I went to Fabric Depot...
I went to Ikea because I remember seeing fabric there in the past and I wanted to check it out to see if it was quilt-worthy! Well, it seemed to either be too thin, or too thick. Not for quilting, but I could think of other things - like shopping bags or something! While at the counter, these 3 young ladies were also fabri-shopping and one of them had THE-CUTEST-PURSE! I asked her about it and it turned out to be a pattern by Amy Butler called the "Frenchy Purse." CUTE CUTE CUTE!!! I figured that I'd NEVER remember the name of it. Oh well..... So anyway, I chose a few yards of fabric that I thought I may be able to find a use for at some point. Very cool. Very excited!

Next stop: Fabric Depot! Woo-Hoooo!!! I always manage to spend WAY too much time in this store, whether I'm actually buying stuff, or not! So anyway, I was nearly done when guess what I found..... Yep - you guessed it! The Amy Butler Frenchy Purse pattern!! Woo-HOOOOOOOOO! And guess what else..... the lady who rang me up gave me a 40% off coupon for it! WOWZERS! So, I was going to Seattle yesterday (Sunday the 12th) to futz around with my sister, and I decided that I wanted to make the purse - and I did! I finished it in like.... 6 hours! And it is CUTE and turned out GREAT! My sister even said it doesn't look home-made!

I feel really proud of myself. Not only for starting and finishing the project I set out to finish, but also for doing a good job while having to add linking, interfacing, and... magnets! haha!

There were 2 designs. One was a larger bag with a shoulder strap ("shoulder bag"), one was smaller with shorter straps ("handbag"). Of course, now I would like to make the smaller bag, but still with the longer straps, and maybe no interfacing - or a lighter weight interfacing, maybe. Not because I think this one is "wrong," but just to make it that much different.

Yippee!!! :~)

Ugly Blog

2009-07-01T13:04:00.000-07:00

PS - I have no idea WHAT to do, but my blog is UGLY.... Shouldn't quilty blogs be really COLORFUL and stuff?

I NEED HELP!!!!!! What can I do to make my blog pretty??

:~)

Back into the Grind - the GOOD Grind!

2009-07-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

WOW! I can't believe I haven't posted since December! Ummmm... didn't I say something similar in December when I posted? "I can't believe I haven't posted since last May...." or something like that.... hahah!

Oh well... I am happy to say that I am FINALLY done with Nursing School and can actually sit down and sew some! Yay!

I have been working on a couple of things.... One is a HOB (Home of the Brave) quilt. Normally, we do these quilts for the family of people who have died in Iraq. We don't normally KNOW the family... However, in my case, I'm working on the HOB quilt that will benefit the family of my cousin, Jerry Palinsky, who died in Iraq on 5-3-2006. Ok, so I didn't know Jerry really well - we had seen each other at several family events over the 5 years prior to is passing. But it is still special to be making this quilt for his family.

Another quilt I'm working on is this cheezy BOM from JoAnn's - it was one of the 2001 BOM's! haha - am I late, or what!? I think I have 3 months of blocks to go, then of course the finishing kit. I'm very glad I bought that, because otherwise, I'd be lost as to how to put the various-sized blocks together. The fabric is definitely NOT "top quality," but I do love the colors and will enjoy having it done. I think it's called "Welcome to My Garden" or something. Ummm, I guess I should look at it before posting this, but... I won't. haha!

While in school, I really didn't have the time, nor the energy to do anything "quilty." I'm excited to say that this past weekend, I did something very quilty! I participated in the Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop. I visited 28 of the 57 participating stores! Woo-Hooo!!! I went to the first 6 shops on Wednesday (June 24th), thinking those would be the only ones I'd be going to. Then, since I had to go to Everett for a job thing on Monday, I decided to make it a weekend! I left my house a little after 7am on Saturday, went to 13 shops, and stayed with our friend Kim. Then Sunday, I left early and got to the last 9 shops on my "plan." So I hopped from Vancovuer, all the way up to Anacortes! And now I can't wait to put these 28 blocks together!!!

Ok, now that I've "re-started" my blog, I'll try to keep it more up-to-date....

Happy July, Everyone!

Break Happens!

2008-12-27T03:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I thought I'd be on break for a few days and then get to it. However, that's just not the way it's worked so far. However, the holiday is over and I feel like it's time to..... use some thread, baby!!

First up are my husbands.... house pants! haha! We've bought him 4 pair of "house/lounge" pants over the last few weeks and he HATES the "button fly!" So I promised to sew them all up. So that's the first chore.

Next up - HOB blocks for a very special quilt... HOB is "Home of the Brave" - a quilt is made for every Washingtonian who has died in the Iraq war. This particular quilt, I won't say who it's for until it's done, is late... It's been in the works for... well - too long! So I need to make some more blocks and get the top sewn up.

That's probably all I'll have time for over the break, especially considering that school starts back up 1 week from this Monday. Oh well. Too much has been happening over this break and there's nothing that could be done about it. There are definitely things that are much more important than sewing - like family!

Oh, and speaking of family... I have a male cousin who sent me a note about quilting today. He purchased a book in a thrift store ~ something to the effect of "quilting made easy," and it sounds like he's interested in learning how to make a quilt! I LOVE hearing about men who quilt, and I tend to really like the patterns and color combinations that men come up with. So I'll be digging out my first "learn to quilt" book and will recommend it to him. I'll be excited to hear if he picks up the hobby...

:~)

Looking forward to the holiday break

2008-11-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to sew since this school quarter started back up (9/22/08) and I MISS IT!!!

Sometimes I think "maybe I won't be a nurse - maybe I'll just make quilts full time...."
Yeah, RIGHT! But I miss sewing so much that the thought DOES run through my mind... haha!

An opportunity has come up that will force me to do some sewing over Thanksgiving break and I'm excited! I'm thinking it will be about 1/2 day of sewing, give or take. Bummer I can't give out the details here, but I can blog about it anyway.

Over Christmas break, I plan to finish the quilt top I was working on over the summer. It's the batik 9-patch with all of the borders. I COULD say it's done now, just have it quilted, and be finished. But I'd really like to add another "thin" batik border that is just one single color - most likely a bright green, then another white border and THEN be done with it! I like smaller quilts because they're.... well... small! And they don't take a ton of time to make, depending on the pattern. But I keep thinking "if only it were a bit bigger, it would fit the bed better" or whatever my excuse for wanting it to be bigger...

I also want to start on something new over Christmas. Hmmm - maybe a CHRISTMAS quilt? haha! Or maybe a LARGE Christmas tree skirt? You know, one that is more than 36" across so the tree doesn't make it look like a silly little napkin laying under the tree?? I need one that is around 60" across - because we get these 8-9' trees that are huge at their base. But anyway, my point was that I really want to do a LOT of sewing over Christmas break. I want to feel like I've been sooo productive!!! But mostly, I love making quilts, and I just want to feel like I'm doing what I love, rather than what I must be doing for the sake of getting through school (aka: READING nursing books). I guess you could say that I want more excuses to update my quilty blog!

I've been enjoying browsing through the blogs found via the couple of quilty blog lists that I've joined. Problem is that I want to add ALL of them to my own list! haha! But seriously, these ladies (haven't come across any men quilter blogs yet) are so talented!! I get so much inspiration and so many ideas from the blogs! I sit here, thinking I'll look for "a few minutes" - and next thing I know, two hours have passed me by!

Well, I guess I best get back to work... Nursing school books are a callin'.

Withdrawals...

2008-10-04T22:30:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness!
Now that school has been back in session for 2 weeks, I am in complete quilting withdrawal.

Our niece sent me a link of another "fabric artist" today who is truly fabulous and I got this feeling of "oh, I wish I could be making that right now!"

I know the day will come when I can sit down and sew whenever I feel like it. I just wish that time could be N.O.W.!

Oh well. For now, I'll work on becoming the best nurse I possibly can. And when I start missing my fabric stash, I'll browse some other peoples' quilty blogs and live vicariously through them. At least for the next few months.

I miss my fabric, but I LOVE nursing! Soon I'll have the best of both worlds.

:-)

Hawaiian-made quilt

2008-09-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it's not REALLY a "quilt" - yet!

My Aunt Judy has a daughter (Debbie) that lives in Hawaii. Now, this is not the Aunt mentioned in an earlier post that I went to see last weekend... this is another Aunt - I have LOTS of them! :-)

Anyway, Debbie gave my Aunt this.... I guess I'd call it a bedspread? It's HUGE - and is made up of some beautiful fabrics & colors! They are simple, oh.... 4" or 5" squares. And it is 100% RAYON. This is a heavy monster! There is a front side (the pretty squares) and a back side that is plain black. The 2 layers are not quilted, not tied... not really "connected" in any way except for the binding, which is really just the back side folded over the front if I remember correctly.

My Aunt gave the blanket to my Mom and she, knowing how much I loved it, gave it to me quite awhile later.

My thought...... is to make it into a quilt! I would have my longarmer do the quilting. And I am not sure, but I might even cut some of the blocks away to make it smaller. I mean seriously, this is a big heavy BEAST and it would weigh a ton if cotton batting was also involved! But I really love the colors, and it is sooo soft!!! It would be such a comfy & cozy quilt to cuddle with!! So, maybe I'll wash and dry it in hot water/heat a couple of times, and then take it to the quilter for her opinion...
Please post a comment if YOU have any thoughts on this.... (comments are always appreciated on my blogs!!)

Another Vintage Top

2008-09-21T20:46:00.000-07:00

This is a top that I bought in Tulsa, Oklahoma in December of 2007.

I think I bought it at one of those antique
stores, if I remember correctly. And I think I paid like... $42 for it? Personally, I think that was a heck of a deal since my sister-in-law Carol did as best as she could to verify that it was indeed "a very old quilt top." I think it is, too. But if not? Oh well - I love it, so don't really care in the "big picture."

Here are a couple of close ups of one of the baskets. I think it shows the color better than the not-so-close-up shots do.

Now I have to figure out how I'm going to quilt this one. I have NO desire to do it by hand. Or at least to do it by MY hand... But I'm not sure how a longarmer would make that work..... And would it be worth the $$ that I'd have to pay? I have someone local who has done a fabulous job on two of my other quilts, so I'll probably bring it into her to ask her opinion... We shall see! But for now, at least I can "show & tell!"

Charity Quilt

2008-09-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

We went to a benefit for the Boys & Girls Club a few years ago ~ I believe it was February of 2005. It was called "The Portland Showcase of Wine & Cheese." It was a huge wine/cheese tasting (and I mean HUGE). There was live music, and both live and silent auctions.

My husband bid on, and won, a REALLY BIG Snowman. I bid on, and won, a quilt!!! It is probably twin size, and is made of 30's reproduction prints on a white background. I don't think it was a WOW background - I'll have to look closer...

I was bidding with/against one other person. At times, I thought she was the quilt maker or something because it seemed like she was really just there trying to get me to up my bid. I can't remember, but I think I paid $250 after hovering over the bid sheet for the last 5 minutes of the auction. I tell you what - I LOVE that quilt! 30's repro's are one of my very favorite (alongside batik's) and the lady did such a beautiful job on it! I used to know her name and I communicated with her a little bit, too. Actually, she sent me the quilt pattern in the mail!

So anyway, the quilt is all done by machine - machine pieced and quilted by machine or longarm. It was done very well because the quilt gets a lot of use by all of us and it isn't showing any signs of abuse (yet?).

As soon as I can remember her name, I will add the name of the quilt maker..... I have to find that pattern first, so it might be quite awhile (as nursing school starts back up in a few days!)....

You know, I have this dream of owning a LOT of quilts. I want to MAKE a LOT of quilts... But the reality is this - I don't really care how I get them, as long as they're not high production quilts (like we would buy in a department store). If it is made the way I make quilts, then I want it!! I can't even explain the feeling that quilts give me. It is something so warm, so..... comforting... I'm just in awe of them. And I want more!

My husband's best gift ever

2008-09-18T00:25:00.000-07:00

At least in MY opinion, this is the most wonderful gift my husband has ever received.

His Grandmother made him this quilt. It's a Grandmothers flower quilt and was done 100% by hand - hand pieced and hand quilted. I believe the fabrics came from Grandfather's shirts.... but I am not 100% sure of that.

There are a few minor repair needs, and I do plan to do these once I find some vintage fabric... I hope this happens sooner than later as I'd like the keep the quilt in as good of condition as possible. It sure is a beautiful quilt, though. And, we use it!!

My very first quilt

2008-09-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm going to post a bunch of photos of our quilts.... I guess I'll post a separate story for each quilt...?

Ok, so this is the very first quilt I ever made. I was inspired by my Aunt J.
She used to quilt, but hasn't in a long time ~ she went and took up knitting instead!!!

So anyway, I learned about making quilts when my Dad and I went to visit my Aunt. I went home and quickly went to Joann's Fabric to buy some... what else - fabric! By the colors in the center of each block, I think I might have also went to K-mart..... LOL!

Anyway, I knew NOTHING about quilting. I just knew you cut out a bunch of squares and sewed them together to make blocks. Then you sewed the blocks together to get a quilt top, etc.... I knew nothing about choosing fabrics, settings, etc.. SO, what I ended up with were a bunch of 9-patch blocks that were 18" finished!!! hahahahhahaha! Each square in my 9-patch block started out at 6.5"! How hilarious is THAT?!?!?!?!?!???? Additionally, I knew nothing about putting fabrics together, adding contrast, or anything of that sort. You can see that here:

Hey, at least I cut my plaids fairly straight! I have no idea how THAT happened, but.... I must say... for a first quilt, it's not too bad. (but that K-Mart green is horrible, I must say!)

Eventually (at LEAST 3.5 years later) I got the entire top put together (realizing how silly it looked). I had it quilted by a so-called professional long-arm quilter who did a particularly terrible job. But, it was quilted AND had a binding, so it was officially "a quilt."

We do use the quilt. My husband will wrap himself up in it (quite literally, actually) before he sits down to watch a movie. And we also take it for picnic's and to the beach, etc... Quite frankly, it is a quilt I don't care much about. I want it to be USED. It will always hold a place in my heart as my very first quilt, but it's definitely not an heirloom or anything of that sort.

I'm glad I have the quilt. I'm more glad I've moved on! :-)

A Gift of a Vintage Nature

2008-09-17T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am SO excited!
I am pretty sure I posted about going to visit my Aunt this past weekend..... This is the Aunt that initially inspired me to learn to make quilts!
We had a fabulous visit. I brought down the quilt I'm about to finish for my DH. And she got out some quilts that she has, both finished and unfinished. It was pretty neat to see what kinds of things she has made in the past, how she does her piecing and quilting, and in what ways we are different (in terms of quilting).

Well... I just received a package in the mail from my Aunt! She and her husband had gone to a yard sale after I left. She came across an old (vintage, I think - but I'm honestly not sure the exact meaning of "vintage" when it is quilt related) quilt top - and she bought it for me! The top is beautiful! )

The quilt was pieced by hand, and I made a promise to my Aunt that I would repair it (see below) and then quilt it - both by hand.

Yes, I said "repair." You see, this is very very old, so it is in need of some TLC. There are several fabrics that have holes, some which are almost completely disintegrated. I need to make the repairs, and I would love to use vintage fabrics to do so. Only I have NO IDEA how to find vintage fabrics.....????? Do YOU know? (feel free to leave a comment!)

Anyway, I just feel so honored that my Aunt would do this for me. And then she sent a note telling me that I have inspired her to get her quilting out and get back to work on it (she is a die-hard knitter, so the quilting has been put away for a number of years, I believe)! We have inspired each other, and that is just such a neat feeling!

Thank you, Aunt J..... Thank you SO very much!

I have this nifty idea

2008-09-15T22:56:00.000-07:00

My Aunt gave me a whole BUNCH of quilty books and magazines when I went down to visit her this past weekend. I was going through some of the magazines last night (actually, a LOT of them) and found this beautiful photo of a quilt made with small "snowflakes." You know, the kind where you fold the fabric and just start cutting - and it's a surprise what you end up with!

So, I posted a question to my Yahoo group quilt list "If I send you a couple of fabric squares, will you cut out some snowflakes and return them to me?" I provide return postage. All they need to do is take scissors to my fabric and put it back in the mail!

Then, I will machine applique the blocks onto background fabric as I have time. Some might be more detailed than others, so I do expect that the applique process, even by machine, might be fairly time consuming. But, I would think this would be a really beautiful quilt!

So far, I have 4 ladies who are willing to participate in my project. I'm also considering bringing some fabric to my "girls get together" this Wednesday and asking them to do some, too. They're not quilters at all, so it should be especially fun to see what they come up with!

I am SO excited!!! I plan to add the names of all participants to the quilt label to remind me who made blocks. I might even put the names in the order of the blocks in the quilt. You know, so you could turn the quilt around and say "Ah-HA! Kristina made that block, Janice made this block...." I think that would make it all the more special.

Just had to share. I think the idea is a neat one and I am excited that there are at least a few people who will help me out!!

:-)

ps - the quilt will be just 2 colors... I'll have cream snowflakes appliqued onto dark blue fabric, and dark blue snowflakes appliqued onto cream color fabric. The fabrics will vary. I think. ;-)

Stolen Quilts

2008-09-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.quilterbydesign.com/stolenquilts.html

The above is a link to a page where a woman has a list of 20 quilts that were stolen from her car in 2005 in Sacramento, California.

I came across this website tonight. I realize I've seen it before, but I don't know that it meant the same thing at that time, because I hadn't made as many quilts as I have now (not that the list is very long...).

It makes me just sick to think that this woman had TWENTY of her precious quilts stolen from her car! I can't imagine having ONE quilt stolen, much less 20 of them.

The Quilter's Cache website has a link for "stolen quilts." If you ever have one stolen, you can post a photo of it there (which reminds me to always TAKE photos!). If you are ever suspicious of a quilt - you could check the site to see if it might be on there. I would think that there are additional sites out there for postings of stolen/lost quilts.

I know it's already been 3 years, but I really hope this artist finds her quilts... :-(

Scraps Galore

2008-09-11T22:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm trying to figure out where you draw the line when thinking "this is a scrap I should keep?" I have lots of little piles and baggies of scraps. Not because they're large, but because some crazy section in my brain thinks I can actually MAKE SOMETHING with them someday. WHO AM I KIDDING???

I'm busy making 4 blocks this evening, each a little different than the other, and I'm making plenty of little scraps. I finally figured it out....... If the scrap piece is smaller than 2" square, it is in the trash!

Wow - my trash is full of unscrappy fabric and I feel..... FFRRREEEEEEEEEEEE

I'll post photos of these blocks eventually.

:-)

(feel free to leave a comment if you have any glorious ideas for your own scraps!)

Online Quilt Group

2008-09-11T15:28:00.001-07:00

I belong to a somewhat-local online quilt group. I think there are roughly 25 of us ladies who have as many home-life situations/stories, and who do as many different crafty hobbies.

It's funny - I'm 36 years old, and I sometimes feel like a goob for being "a quilter." But I LOVE the humor and wit these ladies all share on our list! I love hearing the joys of retirement and grandchildren. And the wisdom.... Oh, the wisdom that comes from these ladies!!!!

Not only is it just a fun group, but it is also extremely supportive. There aren't any who are cranky or crabby. There aren't any who are especially good at complaining. We just share when things are going on that we have no control over - someone is sick, someone got hurt, someone has a loved one that passed away - or went to Iraq...... And the rest of us are there to provide cyber hugs, and cyber coffee/treats - and I think we all feel the virtual love!

I'm off for another quarter of nursing school starting on 9/22 - just 11 days from now, and I will miss these ladies "while I'm gone!"

I will also miss sewing for that matter... :-)

Block of Support

2008-09-10T00:47:00.000-07:00

I belong to a small online quilt group. I love this group dearly!
Sometimes, when someone has something going on, we make the person a small
quilt to show our love & support.

It seems that the "Jacob's Heart" block pattern is kind of our "block of choice."
The block goes together nicely & easily, and looks fabulous in a finished quilt.

Here are some pics of JH blocks I have made in the past year or so. I'll add more photos as I make more blocks.

Batik Bliss

2008-09-09T15:53:00.001-07:00

In early 2007, I participated in a "block swap" with the WASIQ (Washington State Internet Quilters) group. The block was a simple 9-patch made in batik's with either a WOW (white-on-white) or WOB (white-on-beige) background fabric. I made 8 sets of 10 blocks so I got 80 blocks back. At the time, I had sewn all the blocks into 10 strips of 9 blocks, which included an extra 10 blocks I had made for myself. But those strips stayed right where I left them - for a long time!

Well, in cleaning my office/sewing room a couple of weeks ago, I re-found those strips. I decided that I wanted to finish up what I'd started - and finish before going back to school this fall. Of course, I still have 2 borders to complete. But, I'm almost there and I think it is really beautiful so far!

By the way, batik's in bright colors are my FAVORITE!

So, my plan is to add one more "skinny" pieced batik border and then a thicker WOW/WOB border. The binding will be pieced batik also. One friend said that this would take the focus off the center of the quilt. But.... I love the fabric so much that I can't get myself to nix that plan! I'm a crazy girl, but.... whatever! I'm not giving the quilt away, so I think I'll just go with my original plan. If I WAS giving it away, however, I think I would follow the given advice and do the binding as a pieced WOW or WOB.....

I plan to finish the borders before going back to school on the 22nd. Quilting will probably have to wait until I'm done with school, but that is OK. It will be a reward for finally finishing school and getting a job! :-)

This photo represents the first 3 borders only. I'll try to post a new photo when the last 2 are complete!

update (9/13/08) - still haven't added more borders because things have been busy around here. But I did decide to crop the photo so that maybe it would show a little more detail of the fabrics.... hope it works!

FINALLY.....?

2008-09-09T15:47:00.000-07:00

I gave David a quilt for his birthday last year. Only it wasn't fully complete. I needed to add the binding. As of a week ago, I still needed to add the binding - and his "next birthday" is today.... OOPS!

So, I decided to try and get it done by today. I'm about 1/2 way there. Maybe I'll be able to finish it. If not today, then in the next couple of days... Hey, at least it is sewn on and I just need to tack it down...... right?

Here is a close up of the quilting:

And this is not quite as close:

Bummer...

2007-09-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

I'm having major quilting withdrawals......

DARN IT!

Half of the Seasons - Spring & Summer

2007-09-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

OOPS - I think one of those is going to post sideways... Oh well! My glass is sooooo half-FULL! :-)

I made both of these while staying with Carol early in 2006 (3 weeks in February & March). They're just small "seasonal" quilts. I have the patterns to make one for Fall & Winter. Maybe I'll do those next year. Of course, neither of these are quilted yet. But the tops are done and I like them! Especially love the colors/fabrics for the "summer" quilt. It was so much fun because Carol "made" me "go shopping" in her stash! I did that for both of these.

I love making quilts of any size. But I especially love the feeling of "completing" a top. So, the little wall hangings are great - because they're fun to make and don't take so long. Being in nursing school, I don't have much time for sewing. Wall quilts are great during this time!

Four Corners Quilt

2007-09-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

I bought the fabric for this quilt when I was staying with my sister-in-law, Carol, for a few weeks early in 2006. I finished the top..... oh, sometime in 2006 or early 2007, I believe. I can't believe that I've forgotten these dates!

Anyway, I found the pattern in an issue of McCall's Quilting magazine. I think it was an issue from early 2006 or sometime in 2005.

I LOVE this little quilt! It's about 40"x40" - good for a large wall space. It is machine pieced and machine appliqued.

I just recently had it quilted and still need to bind it. But, at least I can say that it's almost done!!

Just thought I'd share another photo

2007-09-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the photo isn't the brightest in the world, but......

This is a photo of the 2nd quilt I ever made. It was a sampler from a class I took from Carol. I hit it off with Carol (introduced to me by my Dad) and she introduced me to her brother..... She is now my Sister-in-law (as of 4/2001)!

I started the quilt in August of 2000. It was finished sometime at the end of 2001 or beginning of 2002 and quilted soon thereafter by a longarm quilter in Tulsa, Oklahoma . I won't mention names 'cause I'm not happy with the quilting. I will eventually remove the quilting and have it re-done.

But, bad quilting or not, I still LOVE this quilt! and it brings back such fond memories of a time when I met some great people - and my future sister-in-law...

:-)

Most Recent Quilted Quilt!

2007-09-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

I am so excited! Although I don't have the current photo of the "quilting," this is the latest quilt to be added to the "done when binding is completed" list. My husband just had a "significant" birthday and this, after MUCH thought, was what I decided to do as his main gift.

The funny (?) thing is that I started the top a few years ago. At that time, it was to be for THAT birthday, although I never told him that he was the intended recipient. So, what's a few extra years of sitting around incomplete? haha!
Anyway, I came across the longarm quilter when my best friend and I were shopping for our new uniform scrub pants for this school quarter. The quilter is next door to the Scrub Shop... Needless to say, I just HAD to go in! I inquired about my quilt, and returned with it in hand an hour later. The pattern we chose is a all-over "fall leaves" pattern and the thread is a "fall colors varigated" that compliments the quilt beautifully. I'll try to post a new photo soon.

I'm back to school next Monday, and the binding is yet to be completed..... I'm hoping to at least have the front sewn on so that I could tack down the back throughout the term. We shall see!

:-)

Fabric "Discharging" - today's experiment

2007-09-20T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was visiting my sister-in-law in Tulsa and it just so happened that she had recently received the current issue of American Quilter magazine. I was reading it and came across this article: "Discharging: Serendipity in Surface Design, By Liz Berg." It is all about taking the dye OUT of fabric.

The article specified to use black fabric, but I thought it would be fun to try other colors, too. So, guess what I did today! I spent 3+ hours "discharging" fabric!! Doesn't that sound a bit nasty?? haha! I found some scraps of solid color fabrics, black, blue, green, red, brown, burnt orange. It is interesting to see the colors that resulted when the bleach reacted on the fabrics. The only problem I had was with the green fabric - turned out that it was polyester. I figured that out because the color didn't change AT ALL! What a disappointment! On the other hand, it was good because I wouldn't want to use polyester fabric in one of my quilts anyway, so I'll just toss it.

In addition to using the magazine's method, I also did some "stamping" too. Instead of laying the fabric IN the gel, I applied the gel to the fabric using cookie cutters. I also used a "bleach pen" for another piece, but the bleach dried too quickly and didn't reach much with the piece.

Anyway, I found this to be a pretty fun process. Try it sometime!!

:-)

My First Post

2007-09-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

Woo-Hoo!
I am finally posting my first blog on Blogspot!

I've been looking at the blogs of quilter-friends for a few months now.
I've been so inspired and encouraged by the various blogs!

So now, even with all I have going on with being in nursing school, I decided I should create my very own blogspot page.

I hope to post often, whether it be about quilting, or nursing school.

:-)

~Me