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

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!!!

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!!!

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...

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

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

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!

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!

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...

:~)