Tilda's Twisted Life

My Little Mini! (aka, the One Where Anything That Could Go Wrong...Did!)

2012-03-05T09:40:00.001-08:00

I decided at the last minute to enter Jennifer's Mini Quilt Challenge over at Ellison Lane Quilts. I was looking around online for blocks I liked and came across a really cool one over at Quilter's Cache that I wanted to try. This block is an original block design by Marcia Hohn called Origami Star and Cross.

It finished out 25x25 inches. I cannot begin to tell you all the problems I had while making this piece. I learned a lot about quilting and life while making this one.

Anything worth doing is worth taking your time on. (Don't take on paper piecing with a time crunch if you've done little to none in the past!)

Make sure you check things as you go if you want something to work out.

Even the little things that aren't so perfect are part of what makes it a whole (or you!). It has character!

Even with all the mistakes, I like it. A lot. Not that I want to get all religious or anything but it kept popping up in my head that it was like my relationship with God. No matter how screwed up I am, no matter how many mistakes, He loves me just as I am. Warts and all. That's what I think about this piece. I love it, warts and all. So that's what I'm calling it. Warts and All.

I Don't Know What I Was Thinking But...

2012-03-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

At the last minute I decided to make something for Jennifer's Modern Mini Challenge over at Ellison Lane Quilts. Yes, I just started it yesterday, and for some dumb reason I chose to work on paper piecing. I have not done much paper piecing at all and so far I am not happy at all with my ability to do precision piecing with it! All I'm really worried about is getting it done and posted before Monday night at midnight. No pressure! I've already decided I want to hang it in my sewing room. All my walls in there are naked and beige. Yuck!
Does this project have anything to do with any of the other projects I have going on at the moment? No. But I'm going to do it anyway!

Brooke's Quilt

2012-03-01T15:32:00.002-08:00

Twin quilt number one is done and here it is! My friend Denyel is a bit over 6 feet tall so she held it up for me to take pics today (nobody at my house is tall enough for that, and the fence I usually use is not tall enough to capture the whole thing!).

Sorry that left side flapped a bit. Her arms are only so long! I kept the back simple, though it's really hard to see the print of this from far away. And the colors are brighter in person.

Here's a close-up of the back so you get a better idea of what the fabrics look like. See? Really hard to tell that it looks like this up close.

It dawned on me that the place where Little Man takes karate has these big cool rocks so I took a few out there.

And here is a close-up of the front.

The front of the quilt is done in Dogwood Trails by Moda and Kona Unbleached White. The back is done in two Free Spirit fabrics, one of which was also used to bind the quilt. I initially planned on FMQ for this one but ended up pulling it out when the new machine was making some eyelashes on the back. I ended up using straight line stitching throughout which was actually a bit easier to do on a home machine with a larger size quilt.

Blogger Making Me Testy...

2012-03-01T05:08:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning to find that my blog was missing. Not just a post...the WHOLE BLOG! I was NOT a happy camper. I just looked at my dashboard and it didn't list my blog. Before I could check to see if it was showing up on the internet, I got an email from Michele over at Quilts from my Crayon Box emailed me to ask if I knew my blog had disappeared. Thanks for watching out for me Michele!
It ended up being fairly simple to get Blogger to fix it, but... I find it interesting. I have gotten very few spam comments in my blog in this year that I've had it. I also have comment approval set up on my blog. Then Blogger puts this word verification thing on all the blogs, which I remove. All of a sudden my blog disappears? And when it reappears there are two spam comments and one weird spam one that got through to my comment approval page? I don't know what all of it means but I'm just glad it's over. Hopefully no more troubles!
I finished Twin quilt number 1 but I have to take pictures so I will post again later today with the pics. Have a great day!

WiP...with a Finish!... (almost!)

2012-02-29T06:40:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! Woohoo! Twin quilt number 1 is done! Well, all except for attaching the binding to the back. But I'm about to finish that right now!

The back of the binding is pinned down. I just have to attach it! Then on to Twin quilt number 2. I will post a completed quilt later in the week, hopefully tomorrow!
And I have been working on organizing. Hubby and I are both horrible pilers so I found this and I turned my "drop everything when you come in the door" area from this...

to this!

I am so excited! We'll see how long I can keep it this way. Oh, the purple thing over in the right hand corner is something my dear daughter taped to my hutch. I'm just so thrilled to see order. Cleaning this one area actually cleaned three areas in the process.

The filing system enabled me to find places for two other "piles" in the kitchen. I picked up both baskets from Target; I actually picked up the two of the orange ones and two green ones that match for later. They were $2.50 up front where the cheap stuff is! Onward and upward to more organizing!

Hang in There, Baby!

2012-02-28T06:34:00.000-08:00

Anybody remember those posters? I have no idea why it was always a cat!

Anyway, that's what I'm trying to do. I've been wrestling that twin quilt under my sewing machine and "gettin' her done!"

Let me tell you, if you've never wrestled a larger quilt under a regular sewing machine arm, it's an event! My shoulders hurt, my arms hurt; I definitely went to bed tired last night! I did figure out that my chair was sitting a little low...about halfway through the quilting! Once I moved it up, it really helped my shoulders relax. Thank goodness for adjustable office chairs! I'm hoping to get this finished today so I can post it in WiP tomorrow. Back to work!

Great Mama's Quilts

2012-02-27T05:24:00.000-08:00

A while back one of the kids pulled out one of the quilts hubby's great grandmother made. I had never seen it before. I kid you not. So I got curious and decided to pull out all of the quilts we have that she made to see what they looked like. No one in my family quilted to my knowledge so these are the only heirlooms we have of their type. These were all handsewn and hubby said she was losing her sight for some of them so they are not holding up that well, which is all the more reason I thought it would be a good idea for me to take pictures of them. Sorry for the sidewalk pics. We've had a lot of rain so I couldn't put them on the grass.

We have two of these quilts that are exactly the same. These are my favorites because like the block and they appear to be the best made of the bunch. I do not know the block name so any help would be appreciated!

I took a close-up of the block to show you, not realizing I chose one with a stain. Sorry! Hubby has used these for moving; the horror!

The second is applique. I have no idea if this is right side up or upside down. Sort of a strange flower design.

Here's a close-up of the flower design.

The third (actually fourth since we have two of the pink ones up top!) is basically a strip quilt in solids.

The last two are in the worst shape. This one appears to have been a "quilt as you go" version where she quilted each block, then stitched them together afterward. It's aso the one I had never seen.

It kind of makes me think of the Flying geese block where they are in a circle.

There are several places where this one needs some work.

Our last quilt is hubby's favorite, Sunbonnet Sue.

It definitely has a few holes that need help. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to do that.

Well, that's all of them! And to go along with the old fashioned feel of this post, a song. Little Man has homework each week on different letters of the alphabet and this week was Z. He comes home with a poem to learn that is usually set to a tune. This one said it was set to "Little Liza Jane" which I'd never heard before so I looked it up. Elizabeth Mitchell does a sweet version of it below. Enjoy!

Growth Chart

2012-02-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

I know this is paper and not fabric but how stinking cute is this? I need a growth chart for Little Man and haven't found what I wanted. I came across this a while back but forgot about it. Pinned it on my Pinterest but thought it was definitely worth a looksee since it's a FREE printable here. It gives the impression of a vintage tape measure. Love it!

Turning off the Dreaded Word Verification on Your Blog!

2012-02-25T06:51:00.000-08:00

I got tickled over at Lucy over at Charm About You with her blog post about how she abhors the wonderful new word verification blogger has installed on our blogs. She even went so far as to create a button...

How cute is that? What a hoot! Don't know if you have word verification, or don't know how to turn it off if you do have it? Well, let me give you some simple instructions.

1. From your Dashboard, click Settings. Can't find it? Look at the top under Manage Blogs. The name of your blog should be under that. It should be the middle link button under your blog name.

2. When you arrive at the Settings page, click Comments UNDER the Settings tab. This is a subpage under Settings, not the main Comments page at the very top.

3. Scan almost to the bottom of the page and you will see "Show word verification for comments" with the options yes/no. Choose 'no'.

4. At the very bottom of the page, be sure to choose "Save settings".

You're done! Very easy. No big deal. And lots of happy followers not having to jump through hoops!

Testosterone! Yahoo!

2012-02-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know you're probably thinking, "she has lost her ever loving mind!" but I really do have reason to celebrate (hopefully!). Let me explain. We moved into our current home about 11.5 years ago. During that time my neighbor and I have alternated having kids (she has three, I have two ) with ages stair stepping each other. Our kids range in age from 12 to 4. Our kids have grown up together and always played together. Here is the dilemma: she has all girls, I have a girl and a boy. You figured it out yet? Not all the time, but on some occasions there have been "only girl" type get togethers. I knew that would eventually happen but it has been a bit hard on the boy; he goes through little bouts of thinking they don't like him which is totally untrue, but hard to explain to a 6 year old.

Well, the house across the street has been for sale for quite some time now, but there's a family moving in this weekend and guess what? They have three boys! One is my daughter's age, one is just a bit younger than my son and there is another one who is about 4. I'm so excited at the possibility that Little Man will have some boys to play with. There IS a little boy down the street who comes down sometimes to play, but I get the impression sometimes that I am being used as a babysitter in that situation. Plus Little Man doesn't get along with him very well when they play inside.

Guilt...It Does a Body Good!

2012-02-23T05:42:00.001-08:00

So Ive been complaining the last couple of days about not being motivated to finish things, and sabotaging myself by working on other things rather thant the things that are have due dates. Well, there's nothing like a little guilt to get the motor running. Yesterday afternoon I got the backing done for the Girl Twin and got it all taped out on my dining room floor for pinning.

Well, I couldn't just leave it like that, could I? So...

Yup! Pinned and ready to be quilted. I also ran by the LQS to get binding fabric. They were out of any of the darker colors that would have been good for the binding so I picked up some more of the fabric I bought for the back. It has all the same colors in it. And it was on sale! AND they had another fabric on sale that I could use in the Boy Twin. Whoop! I also had to hit Hobby Lobby for more quilting pins because I didn't have nearly enough to pin up this quilt.

Oh, and check out It's So Kiki for a great giveaway here. It's a Connecting Threads giveaway with lots of fabric and thread goodies, but it closes 2/27 so hurry over!

The Self-Sabotaging WiP

2012-02-22T02:00:00.004-08:00

Hello. My name is Melinda. And I am a self-saboteur.

I know I have a history of such behavior with my weight but I hadn't realized I did it with quilting until recently. I have two twin quilts that I insisted I could finish before the end of March, but I have not even started on the second one and the first one is here...

on my dining room floor. Batting has been cut but backing has to be put together. It's here...

on my ironing board with my polka dot charms from the Craftbuds Polka Dot swap, and more fabric for my Carpenter Wheels. They reside here...

on my design board. Nothing more has been done with them yet but I'm dying to get back to them. Instead I started cutting fabric for a Granny Square quilt over here...

on my cutting board. So far I have 190 of the 250 prints needed. This is going to be a baby/lap quilt that was requested by someone at my church who is due in May. So with all of this going on (not to even mention the UFO's I haven't touched), what did I choose to work on today? I cut up some strips I won at "Strip Poker" at our last quilt guild meeting and started making Interlocked Squares, a block I saw while trolling Quilter's Cache. I whipped up 4 before bedtime and they are currently here...

on my sewing room floor. I did 12 inch blocks since I was using 2 1/2" strips and I've got enough to make 5 more which will be a little less than 36 by 36. I may but out an all call to the ladies of the guild to see if I can scrounge up some more to make it a bit bigger. Or I may just add some fabric around the edge and call it done. It's probably going to be a donation quilt. The fabrics are pretty but a little more traditional than I usually go for. So what does this all have to do with self-sabotage? Uh, yeah, remember those twin quilts? I'm no nearer to finished with either of them. Time to get to work.

I Plead Insanity.

2012-02-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

50 different projects going on with not a finish in sight, and what do I do? I start cutting up fabric for another project. I will say in my defense, it is scraps, not new fabric. And it is for a project that will be due by May. It's a baby/lap quilt for someone at church and I've decided to use up some scraps and make a Granny Square quilt using Jolene's fab tutorial over at her blog, Blue Elephant Stitches. Love it like I do? There's a QAL for this block happening over at Old Red Barn Co. starting March 1. I'm not sure I will be able to do the QAL but we'll see. Here's my stack so far. It didn't take long to cut up the squares I've already done (190 so far). It calls for 250 in prints.

What? You dare to remind me that I have two twin sized quilts due by the end of March? Uh, yeah. I know. I have the batting ready to be cut and the backing ready to be sewn together and trimmed down for number 1; I just have to do it. The kids are out this week for winter break so that's the plan. Get the twin pinned!

A Hit of a Party and an Award! Woohoo!

2012-02-18T09:48:00.000-08:00

The birthday party for Little Man was a success. And let me tell you, there is nothing like a birthday party where all you do is show up! We did the jumpy party and all I did was bring the cake. They provided all the paper products, a room, juice, I added ice cream, and the kids jumped until they were pouring sweat! And the best part? I didn't have to clean it up! I just packed it all in the car and came home. Whew! It kind of makes me think of that old Rice Krispie treats commercial where the woman throws flour all over herself like she's been working hard in the kitchen when the treats are supposedly nothing to make. "Here you go dear! I threw together this huge jumpy party for complete with decorations and a helper!" Uh, yeah...NOT!

Okay, so after that we get home and I'm checking through my emails and bloggy comments only to come across this. Wonderful Michelle over at Quilt Matters gave me the Liebster blog award!

How sweet is that?! She is so fabulous and she makes such beautiful projects. I am still dying to participate in her current Colour My World Challenge (if I could just get some other things finished!).

The Liebster Award is given by bloggers to their favorite blogs with under 200 followers. The Liebster Rules are:
1. Post about your win on your blog.
2. Link back to the blogger who presented you with the award.
3. Copy and paste the award to your blog.
4. Present the Liebster Award to 5 blogs that have less than 200 followers that you think deserve to be recognized.
5. Let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

This was incredibly difficult to do...just 5? Wow. Well, I chose bloggers that give me inspiration in their frequent posts and who provide wonderful and consistent comments that always help egg me on to do more and better.

1. Lindsay @ LinzSews
2. Michele @ QuiltsFromMyCrayonBox
3. Allegory @ Sew Allegorical
4. Mrs. Pickles @ MrsPicklesGarden
5. Angie @ SummerfieldQuilts

Thank you so much to all these ladies who inspire and encourage in so many ways!
And I have to add that the only reason Michele didn't make it in my list is because she already got the award! Her comments are always so encouraging and make me feel good about the projects I make!

The Cake!

2012-02-16T04:39:00.000-08:00

It's done! I finished Little Man's Ninjago cake last night. Needless to say, it is not perfect but he loves it which is all that matters. There are several versions of this cake online but I originally saw this one.

I used what I had, which was two 9 inch cake pans and a glass bowl with a 9 inch mouth, or opening. I made three cakes and stacked with a thin layer of buttercream frosting using this recipe from the Food Network which was pretty tasty. I then covered the outside with a layer of buttercream frosting; I didn't worry about it being too perfect since it was doing to be covered with fondant.

I used this marshmallow fondant recipe, which the children also though was tasty. I also liked that there were only 3 ingredients. I thought about using fondant from the store but the kind I wanted was $20 for a little tub, and even with a coupon I couldn't make myself buy it when I knew I could make some for less than $5. I went ahead and made a double batch and I'm glad I did because we used almost all of it.

Zane in progress

I colored a small amount yellow with gel coloring for Zane's face. I rolled this out and pressed it into the icing on the front. I used another small amount for the eyes. I didn't have black so I mixed colors until I was satisfied. It is difficult to add several colors because it takes so long to mix them that the dough becomes sticky again, so you add more powdered sugar. This is like adding white to colored paint and changes the color so you're doing more kneading which can end up being too dry if you take too long. ARGH! I will also say one should probably use gloves for that part because my hands are now red! I blew up the face on my computer until it was the size I wanted (I trace off the computer all the time!!), then made templates to create the eyes which hubby situated on the face for me. I covered the sides with white squares and the front bottom with a long narrow strip. Hubby helped me with the largest piece and draped it across the top of Zane's head. This was gathered to the back where I attached a fondant tie to look like it had been tied in the back.

I didn't get the 'drape' to the front like I wanted and I think it's a bit more rounded than it should be but the overall look is cute and I think it is recognizable, which is a large part of it. I think the 'too rounded' part could have been remedied by just adding another cake pan layer to give it more height.

Overall, I don't think I did too horribly bad on my first attempt with fondant and I would probably try it again.

WiS(steady)P

2012-02-15T02:21:00.002-08:00

I really have been working on some of my projects, really I have. I took pictures of the pieces I'd cut out for my next Carpenter Wheel so I could at least prove that I had done a little, then what did I go off and do? I sewed them together! Then I couldn't stop myself so I trimmed the HST's. Well, I couldn't keep looking at that forlorn stack of HST's that needed to be sewn into a project so here's block number 4 on my Carpenter Wheels.

I also was trying to pick a project as my next UFO to finish. I am really DYING to finish my red and white hexie quilt. I know it will take a while and I should probably pick something else but it's something I can work on while watching tv and such so I pulled it back out. Here it is all across my dining room floor (I still haven't moved my table back to the center of the room from having the Christmas tree in there).

I know. I've got a long way to go. I don't know WHY I thought it would be better to do it all in hexies instead of appliqueing it onto a white background. Probably because I have not done much applique that deals with quilting.

I also have the Girl's Twin quilt out on the guest bed so I can get the batting trimmed and get the backing done. I'm thinking of taking it to my church so I have a really big floor to pin it on. I may be able to get it on my dining room floor but I'm not sure. I know I'm going to have to buy more pins.

I am also patiently (not!) awaiting one of my swap packages. I know it's been sent and some people have reported having gotten theirs, but I will probably get mine today. It's from the Polka Dot Swap over at Craftbuds. Lindsay posted this yummy goodness yesterday!

Ach! I can't wait to get my hands on it! Not that I really have a plan yet, but I want it! I'm easily entertained!

And right in the middle of all this chaos? Little Man's birthday party on Friday. Which means I have to make a cake. And I'm thinking of using fondant...for the very first time ever. Not so sure how smart this is but you've got to start somewhere. And it's Ninjago. I don't know how many of you have little boys who have been hit hard by this one, but mine has! It will be at one of the jumpy places around here so we invited his class from school and a couple of other friends. So far half have RSVP'ed, all yeses. But I have heard from a friend whose daughter is in the same class that she invited the whole class, got 7 RSVP's and ended up having 14 kids show up. So I'm worried. I decided not to do treat bags because, how do you prepare for anywhere between 13-26 kids? There's no way! So that's where this week stands. Getting to work on cake today!

How to Add Random Generator Results to Your Blog

2012-02-14T02:00:00.000-08:00

Many people have figured this out already but I thought I'd throw this little tutorial out there for those of us who took a little longer to figure it out!
Random Generator is a great little device for posting results of your giveaways, but for a long time I didn't understand how people were copying that cute little button with the results listed in it. Well, here is how I did it.

1. Under your Programs and Files, locate and open Accessories. Under Accessories you should find the Paint program. Open it.

2. Go to the Random Generator website to determine your winning number. Plug in your beginning and ending numbers in the min/max range. For our example, we are using the numbers from my recent Fugly Fabric Party drawing. I had 41 entries so my numbers run from 1 to 41. Hit 'generate' and the generator will give you a winning number.

3. Look along the top of your keyboard and hit the "Print Screen" button. Nothing will happen so don't freak out if you were expecting anything.

4. Go back to your Paint program and click "paste". This will paste the entire page from Random.org into your program.

5. You Select button is highlighted so go over to the RG results block and capture the block with your mouse (point the mouse at the upper left hand corner, click and hold your mouse, drag over and down to the lower right hand corner. Let go of the mouse).

6. Once you have what you want, click "Crop" in the upper bar. You will end up with the block you wanted.

7. Save this into your pictures so you can pull it into your blog as a picture insert. You are done!

I know. It seems so easy now that I see it but it took forever for me to figure it out. Hope this helps someone else who was lost like me!

Fugly Fabric Party Winners!

2012-02-13T04:11:00.000-08:00

It's winner time! I did my drawings using Random Generator.
And the batiks go to.........

This was Sallie who said...
Sallie said...

Please put me in the drawing for the batiks. Thanks for the chance!

February 10, 2012 9:53 AM

Sallie blogs over at Sallie's Sampler.

The group with the Kaffe Fassett print in it goes to........

which was Mary Beth and she said...

MaryBeth said...

The first time I saw batiks, I thought "no thanks". But I was the same way about brights and now I LOVE them. That being said, I'd be happy to win either of these groupings.

February 8, 2012 8:26 AM

Good thing she put that second sentence in there about taking either group, huh?

Mary Beth blogs over at A Little Quilting.

I have emailed the winners and look forward to sending out their goods! Thanks to everyone for playing. I hope to be having another giveaway in about a month to celebrate my blogiversary so stay tuned!

Late but Not Forgotten WiP!

2012-02-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Yahoo! I finished the Twin Quilt Top!

It's huge so I had to pin it on the fence sideways. You get a better idea of what it will be like on a bed this way, but it looks weird...

This is done with Dogwood Trail by Moda and Kona bleached white. Now on to the back...
The back fabric is a completely different; I'll have to double check it to see exactly what it is.
Hope your Wednesday was great!

Oh, and I forgot to mention I am participating in the Fugly Fabric Swap over at Charm About You. Check out what I'm giving away here!

Fugly, Fugly, Who's Got the Fugly?

2012-02-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

Fabric that is! If you ask Lucy over at Charm About You, it looks like lots of people have it! She's hosting a Fugly Fabric Party right now where you can link up to ~~get rid of~~ offer others the opportunity to be graced with some of the fabrics you have found you don't need!

It's funny. I got rid of a lot of fabric at our Christmas Guild party so I didn't expect to have anything major. I was wrong. There wasn't a lot, but there were some things that I could give to others, so here is the first group.

This is a set of 4 batik fat quarters. I just don't use batiks but I know a lot of people do.

And set number two...

The only identifiable print is the one on the bottom; Kaffe Fassett, Turkish Delight. These are all fat quarters as well. I just unfolded them a bit so you could see the prints.

If you are interested, leave me a comment below by Feb. 13th telling me which set you are interested in. I will draw a name on Feb. 14th for each set, unless only one person wants them, in which case I will send it all! I'm sorry but I can only send within the US for this giveaway. I have participated in too many swaps lately and have too many projects going so I need to watch how much money is going out! Maybe next time!

Inch by Inch...

2012-02-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

Like many wives, I got some sewing done during the SuperBowl last night. The kids were up for part of it, but after they went to bed, I made a run for my sewing machine! I am almost finished with the top of the Dogwood Trails Twin.

I put it on my son's twin bed to check it. I thought I'd have enough fabric to go all around the edge but I don't so I was trying to figure out if I needed it more on the sides or the top/bottom. I'm thinking the top/bottom.

I think it's going to have plenty of drop on the sides now but it almost looks a little short top to bottom. I've got it even with the edge of the bed at the top, and there is about 4 inches drop on the bottom end. Yup. It needs more there. So all I have left is to make a strip for the top and a strip for the bottom, sew them on and done is done! Well, except for the back...and the batting,...and the quilting,...and the binding. Sigh.....

Show of Hands...Who's Ever Blown Up an Iron?

2012-02-04T01:23:00.000-08:00

Uh, yeah, let's just say this is not my first time at this rodeo. Well, I take that back. This is the first one I've blown up but not the first one I've torn up. Hubby used to get frustrated when I was making lots of bags because I used a lot of fusible products and they like to stick to the iron. Then they mess up your clothes. Not fun. Here's the one that met it's maker the other day.

I was piecing and ironing, piecing and ironing, until...what is that smell? Yeah, electrical smoke pouring from the top of the iron. Since I sew in the basement, I unplugged it and got it outside as quickly as possible but not quicky enough because it set of the detector. Nice. My own musical interlude. I'm really having fun now. I left the door open until it aired out but I still had to turn the detector off.

It's very similar to what I had but it has one goodie that I love; a retractable cord. It doesn't take much to please me, I know.

WiP Wednesday...the One Where it Doesn't Look Like Much

2012-02-01T07:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I've been really behind getting laundry done and the house cleaned, so I certainly haven't gotten much cleaning done. So you would think that meant I had spent a lot of time sewing, right? Well, ....

I'm not sure what happened. I didn't get much done but there is some progress to show. I've been working on getting the top done for the Dogwood Trails Twin quilt. I've got the center done but I had to rethink the sides.

The way I did the center was fine but I wanted to just extend the sides to make it look like the same thing just extended out to create a drop. However, if I did it exactly like the center, one charm with white on each side was too short and two was too long. So here is the change.

So that will take the quilt from looking like the top row to looking like the bottom row.

I will extend the little 2 inch strips between each row as well. When all is complete I will add the 2 inch strip all around the outside of the quilt. Maybe that will be done by next Wednesday. Sure, I can wish can't I?

Fourteen Years With the Same Guy!

2012-01-31T04:29:00.000-08:00

Yup! Today is my anniversary! Hubby and I have been married for 14 years today. Of course, when I got up this morning and said it was my anniversary, I had to explain what that was to my 5 year old.
Hubby and I met when we were in high school; I was a lowly freshman and he was a senior, so we did not date then but we were friends. When I was a senior, we both worked at the Piggly Wiggly (such a southern name for a grocery store!) and commuted together to college. That's when we first started dating. We dated for a year at that time but broke up around my birthday. Hubby would probably see fit to point out here that I broke up with him! I didn't see him again for 9 years.
By that time, I had finished my undergrad and graduate work. I was living with my grandmother and working an internship at a clinic in the town where she lived. One day I was seeing a patient at the hospital and ran into him at the elevators. We started dating, and two years later we were married. Fourteen years and two kids later, here we are! We haven't done anniversary gifts in a while but we are going out to eat Saturday night and the kids are staying with his mom. Peace! That's what I get for my anniversary!

It seems like forever since I've posted about quilting but I am busy. We had our guild meeting last night and played 'Strip' Poker so I came home with some strips to use. I've also been working on the Diamond Trails Twin. The center is done but I'm having to rethink how I did it because the drop is either going to be too short or too long the way I planned.

Cleaning Bites!

2012-01-30T09:21:00.000-08:00

There are some days...you know the ones...where the never-ending laundry truly NEVER ENDS, and the rooms all look as if 40 kids live in them instead of 1 in each.

Days where you feel like if you have to sweep and mop the floor one more time, you may truly scream.

Where, after hearing you state that you absolutely detest when your kids drop things on the floor for the 5000th time, they do it again.

Where you don't remember what your kids beds look like made up because you haven't seen it in so long.

I'm not a happy cleaner; are you?

I'm Swapping Like Crazy!

2012-01-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

Didn't I mention something on my resolutions about participating in a swap? Uh, yeah. Try two so far. and it's only January!
I joined in on the Rainbow Layer Cake Swap over at Distant Pickles and ended up with orange and yellow-orange as my colors. Here is what I'm sending in.

Power Pop orange for my orange choice.

Robert Kaufman Scribbles in tangerine (I think) for yellow-orange. I was going to use the online picture of this but it looks totally orange and that's not how it looks in real life so I took a picture.

My second fabric swap is over at Craftbuds with Lindsay. They are having a polka-dots swap run directly through Sew Fresh Fabrics.

I have dealt with Peg and Becca at Sew Fresh Fabrics before and they are great! They are doing all the work on this one. All I had to do was order, and then sit back and wait for the fabric to arrive at my door! My kind of swap! Here is my dot purchase for this one.

I really did try not to choose green, but you go with what catches your eye and I just loved this one! Looks like I will have two 'rainbow-ey' sets of fabric coming to my door so I will have to come up with some plans. I do want to make quilts for my other nieces so maybe these and the aqua, yellow and gray charms can fill up those positions!

WiP Wednesday

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Looks like it's that time again! Do you have progress this week? I'm getting there!
I now have three Carpenter Wheels...

a finish (Embroidery 101!)...

and some progress on the Twin Size Girl Quilt (I need another name for this one!).

I put it on my son's twin size bed to get a better idea of how far I've gotten. European beds are narrower and longer than ours so I am correct on the width (US twins are about 38x75 while European twins are 35.4x79). I plan on making two long strips of 2.5" pieced prints to run down each side from top to bottom. Then I'm just going to repeat shorter versions of what you see in the center for the drop down each side. Then I will surround the whole thing with a 2.5" pieced strip border. I like it so far. I hope they will. Especially since I'm making another one just like it in boy fabric! These will live in the Hague (Netherlands) when they are done. Hubby's cousin's kids will get them (gifts from their Oma, my hubby's aunt).

A Promise is a Promise...and A Sale is a Sale

2012-01-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

I promised myself that I would start back to work on the Girl Twin Quilt when I finished the Embroidery 101 and made that third Carpenter's Wheel, so...

I figured out that the length needed to be twice what I had already done so I just pinned the part I've finished on the left and started mimicking it on the right before sewing it all together. That will complete the center portion. I am planning on making two long strips (like the 2.5" ones that are pieced prints in the piece thus far) and I'm going to run them down either side of the center piece. Then I'm going to run shorter versions of the center on either side of that for that drop. I'm still figuring out all the logistics and which way will work best.

As far as the sale goes, check out Dewberry Lane. They are going out of business and are offering 40% off everything. Use the code "GOING12" to receive the discount. They do not sell fabric but they do sell notions, books and stabilizers.

I Love it When a Finish Comes Together!

2012-01-23T07:27:00.000-08:00

Especially when it's a UFO! Embroidery 101 is done! Woo-hoo! I finally got the binding on which was the last thing I needed to do. It's still raining and dreary outside so I'm stuck with inside pics.

I did straight line quilting around the blocks 1/4" from each seam except the insides of the white immediately around the embroidered squares. Those I hand stitched with embroidery thread.

I also finished block number 3 of the Carpenter's Wheel for my personal bed quilt.

I took it on the neighbor's fence at dusk so it's not the greatest pic but I'm loving them anyway! Here are the three I have so far.

I also tried them on my bed so I can start figuring out how I'm going to put these together. I'm trying to decide whether to do sashing and just do a sashing type border (maybe two). The other option I'm playing with is no sashing within and maybe do a thin line around the edge. Then maybe outline the outside of the quilt with pinwheels and white blocks. I may have to draw it out so I can get a better idea. I actually think there is a version of this block in my Quilt Design Wizard so I may be able to try it out there. Stay tuned as I will probably need opinions! Until then, here is how they look on my bed.
"without sashing"

or "with sashing"

I'm also going to have to wait and see about the block with black in the center. I want to make sure it doesn't overpower the quilt. There is brown fabric as well so I think I'm safe.

I Love Mailbox Goodies!

2012-01-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

I got a little order from the Fat Quarter Shop today! I caught a few things on sale the other day and put in a little order. It all looks so yummy!

The orange Power Pop orange and is for the Rainbow Layer Cake Swap over at Distant Pickles. Still looking for yellow-orange. I may have to go to the LQS. The other two fabrics are for the Boy Twin Quilt. The blue is Blue Magic Beans and the red is Red Porridge Plaid, both from Fairy Tale Friends. The FQS was having a great 50% off sale on these lines the other day and I really lucked out. Thanks to Fabric Donkey for the wonderful tip! Here are all the fabrics I have so far for it.

The request was for bright primary colors so I think I'm doing okay so far.I wanted to have a variety of print types as well.

WiP Wednesday!

2012-01-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

I'm sick but I'm here reporting my progress.

I have completed all the machine quilting for my Embroidery 101 quilt as of yesterday! I just have to bind it and add some hand quilting in the white around each block. I'm going to use the embroidery thread I used in the blocks.

I also finished a second Carpenter's Wheel and cut out the fabric for a third.

I had to lighten it up a lot for you to be able to see the gold flowers in the black fabric. I got stuck taking inside pictures because it's been rainy. I showed these blocks to my hubby and said they were going in a quilt for our bed. His question was, "Which color scheme are you using?" Yeah, I know, hard to tell they go together yet but they ARE from the same line by Heather Mulder Peterson (I think I said her name wrong in a previous post and, for that, I apologize profusely!) and they will all come together in the end. I really wanted to use that black as a focus fabric and will probably use that block in the center of the quilt. Here are the fabrics I cut for the next block.

I just need to cut out the white and start sewing, though I will probably get a bit more done on my Girl Twin quilt beforehand.
I am also participating in the Rainbow Layer Cake Swap over at Distant Pickles. My colors are orange and yellow-orange. I have this fabric on its way for orange...

but I'm still struggling with the yellow-orange so give me a shout out if you have any ideas.

Resolutions, an Update

2012-01-17T12:09:00.000-08:00

Very Berry Handmade is having a great little contest which involves making resolutions. My favorites of her prizes are the fabrics; I LOVE Erin McMorris' Summersault, but the Lark by Amy Butler and Gone to Earth by Kate Spain are gorgeous as well! I made and reported my resolutions back on 12/30 but I thought I would reiterate them here.

1. Make one quilt per month
2. Complete at least 3 UFO's in the year. (almost finished with number 1!)
3. Practice more FMQ
4. Participate in at least one bee, swap, etc. (already participating in the Rainbow Layer Cake swap at Distant Pickles!)
5. Participate in at least one quilt along

I also would like to learn to use a long arm quilter, though I haven't quite figured out the logistics on this one yet. I'd like to be more precise with my quilting and I would like to write my own pattern. I already have two possibilities for this but I've got to actually work on it.

I also thought I might add a few personal ones.
1. To become healthier (this one really needs to be to lose copious amounts of weight but I thought I would look at it more from a health standpoint)
2. To maintain BALANCE in my life (this was my focus word for the year so I thought I should incorporate it into my plans!)
3. To have more confidence in myself, whether it be crafty, as a parent, etc.

Oh, if you have time, check out QuokkaQuilts contest. The judges are trying to make their choices right now, but she was just curious to see who the public would pick for it. I'm number 13 if you want to check mine out. Mine sort of has a citrusy feel to it. I may have to take the plunge and purchase it all since I like it so much! If you want to vote for your favorites, here is the voting form and here is the list of entries.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race...Or Finishes the Quilt, in my case!

2012-01-16T17:29:00.000-08:00

No, not completely finished yet but I have made some good headway. I am doing straight line quilting on my Embroidery 101 and I have finished all the vertical lines and just started on the horizontal lines.

I'm planning on doing some hand quilting in the white around each of the embroidered squares with the embroidery thread I used so that will take a little more time, but I may go ahead and bind it before I do that. At least when I finish the hand quilting, it will be complete.

Hopefully I'll be completely finished with it within the week. Maybe then I may allow myself to do one more Carpenter's Wheel before working the girl twin quilt again!

New Meaning to Being TP'ed!

2012-01-15T10:04:00.000-08:00

QuiltJane has a wonderful little contest going right now. It seems that she has decided to look away from all the mug rugs and bags that have overwhelmed the quilty/bloggy world and dress up another part of our environment; the powder room! She is challenging everyone to create a toilet paper roll cover; be creative! She offers a tutorial on her site but I don't think you are limited to just using it! All the rules can be found on her site, but the great prize is a $100 Fat Quarter Shop gift voucher! If you are from Australia, you can also win a gift certificate to QuiltJane's shop or a lap quilt quilted by her; now why do I live in the US?

This contest goes through March 7 so you still have time to jump in!

And as far as progress goes in this household (yes, I know I didn't mention progress before but, what the hey?), I am about 1/4 of the way finished with the machine quilting on my Embroidery 101 quilt! I started yesterday and made it from the middle over to the right and I just rotated it so I can go from the middle and get the left side. I hope you're quilting, Jennifer, cause I may beat you!

Swapping and Blogger Issues!

2012-01-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

Because you can never have enough fabric, and I have never actually used a layer cake, I decided to participate in the Rainbow Layer Cake Swap Bree and Jennifer are having over Distant Pickles. Since this is a rainbow swap, members will be provided a color to base their fabrics on. I really like the idea that we are being encouraged to use tone on tone prints for this. I love the diversity of tone on tone; it can give the feel of a solid when needed, but also has the texture of a print.
There will be 20 participants who are each provided 2 colors. All the details can be found on their blog so get over there and check it out if you're interested!

Now about Blogger issues. Is anyone else having trouble pulling up blogspot blogs today? Every time I try to go to any blog that has a blogspot address, the site will pull up for just a second and then the screen goes white. I tried to look it up on blogger as an issue but I don't see anything about it. I was wondering if it was just my computer! Of course, if you ARE having troubles, you probably can't pull up my blog either...ARRGGHHH!!! The irony!!!

I Drank the Water...and I'm Drowning in It!

2012-01-12T02:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so yesterday I posted that I went off plan and started something new that wasn't on my quilty "To Do" list. Then I sort of got sucked in with it. It's all the fault of this little square right here...

(not that it's really small; it's just over 24 inches!). Of course, it looks like this now.

Yeah, I sewed it together. I know. Put me in time-out. See if I care. And I just sealed my fate because here's what I did right after that.

Yeah, that's right! I got another one all cut out and the HST's sewn together. Whatcha' gonna do about it, huh? Huh?!

Uh, right. I talk a big game but...I am very proud of where this is going though. And I DID get all the mistakes fixed in my girl twin quilt so I'm ready to work more on that! Plus, I think I'm just going to throw Embroidery 101 on the sewing machine as soon as I finish piecing this block together. That way I don't have a choice but to get it done. Happy Thursday!

WiP Wednesday!

2012-01-11T02:00:00.000-08:00

I missed the return to WiP last week but I'm back this week!

Just in case you don't follow me, I have two European twin sized quilts I've just started working on (brother and sister) and I'm this far on the girl quilt. It's being done in Kona bleached white and Dogwood Trails.

I also just noted yesterday that I have just finished pinning my Embroidery 101 quilt and it is ready to be quilted. Hopefully I can squeeze it in and get it done this week.

And guess what? It's January 10th. And I've already blown a resolution. No surprise there. But it wasn't a really bad thing. I had just promised myself I wouldn't start anything new until I finished some other things. Well, except for the two twin bed quilts. Those are commissioned projects so no putting those off.
But what did I go and do last night? Hmmm.... well,... I really need a quilt for my bed..., and I really just wanted to see how it was going to look..., and it's really just a promise to myself that I will make it eventually in the next several months so,...

It's technically not even sewn together yet so it doesn't really even count, right? It's a Carpenter's Wheel I found on Quilter's Cache and the fabric is a half yard bundle of Heather Mulder Peterson's Artful Home I won off Ryan Walsh's site way back in June. I've been looking for something to make with it and I think I found it. Here is a reminder of the fabrics (I found it at an LQS and added some of the lime green prints).

I really think this is going to be a gorgeous quilt and I'm so excited to have something that will end up on my bed! How goes your week?

UFO Sighted!

2012-01-10T09:16:00.000-08:00

So I got motivated and pulled out one of my UFO's. Granted it's a recent one, but it's still not finished.
My Embroidery 101 quilt is now pinned and ready to be quilted!

Disregard the wrinkles; it's pinned, people! I am just proud of the fact that another step has been taken!

Of course, now it's sitting in it's little bundle waiting, but that's okay!
I'm also almost finished with the twin quilt correction. I've been slow to get it done but I will get there.

You Screw Up... and You Learn

2012-01-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I got some work done last night on the Twin Quilt: Girl Version. I decided (for some dumb reason) to cut my white strips the length of the fabric, then cut them down as needed. The smart move would have been to go ahead and cut them all the same length. But no! I did not do that. I started sewing it all together and started realizing that the bottom was wider than the top . I took some measurements and I am not happy. I have pieces that are 34", 34.5" and 35". So this thing is all kind of wonky! I made myself walk away from it so I wouldn't get mad. I will go back and fix it later.

This is what it looked like before I screwed it up. I am going to spend some time after dinner pulling out some seams so I can fix it. Oh joy...

Finally Back on the Horse!

2012-01-06T10:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it took a while for me to get back in my groove but I finally got back in front of the sewing machine...and my blog! I made another cute little bag. This one is for my daughter. I pieced together the inside with GS fabrics I picked up from the scrap bin of an LQS that I wish were a little more L!

The outside Thin Mint fabric is the only piece I bought off the bolt.

I used three thin ribbons braided (2 green, 1 brown) to make the drawstrings. I didn't realize the overall picture was a little blurry until I downloaded it but if you think I'm braving my daughter's room to figure out what she did with it in order to take another picture, let's just say, "not gonna happen!" Needless to say, it's cute...she likes it...done!

In other news, I have begun on quilt one of the two European twin quilts I have been commissioned to do. This is the girl quilt being done in Dogwood Trails. Here's a reminder.

I took some advice from Michele on my charmed to meet you post and I'm using this quilt as a sort of jumping off point for the twin quilts.
So far I have a couple of strips done. It's slowly taking shape, but of course I ran out of white! That goes without saying, right?

I know. It's hard to take pics of blocks that are outlined in white! But it will be more apparent when I get the 'in between' and side strips put in.

Yay! Back to quilting!

Not a Moment Too Soon...

2012-01-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

The children finally went back to school today. It's a good thing. After last night I realized just how bored they were getting.
I got a new game for Christmas from my BIL called Awkward Family Photos. We played it in the mountains...lots of fun. Even my eldest played and really held her own. Yesterday they had our neighbor over to play and, without my knowledge, the eldest decided to take it out to show the pictures to her buddy. At some point while it was left out, all of the pieces were poured on the floor and the game board was torn in half. No, this is not representative of my childrens' usual behavior. I have no idea what happened. The way I found the board on the floor led me to believe that it had been stepped on or something similar. However it happened, no one would own up to being responsible. I was livid. The rule is that you do not mess with items that do not belong to you unless you ask permission. I am pretty sure the youngest did most of the destruction. However, the eldest is in just as much trouble for getting it out in the first place. I am tempted to make them pool their money to buy me a replacement game. Little Man lost his story at bedtime last night and I meant for my daughter to lose her iPod but hubby gave it to her. I'm sure he thinks Little Man did it too but it really is just as much my daughter's fault.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T19:10:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone! We got home from the mountains Sunday but hubby was sick and my house was a wreck so I'm day late starting 2012! It seems that many people have posted about their word for the year. Back on December 16th, I commented on Dancing thru Threads about her word for the year. At that time I chose Balance for my word. I have noticed that I have a tendency to throw all my energy into one thing so other things get aovided. So this year I plan on trying to do a better job doling out my time and energies in a better way.
I also have to get my mojo back on sewing. I haven't been in my sewing room since before Christmas and I have lots to do. But I feel it coming back and the plan is to get some UFO's done and get the two twin quilts done by March.
Do you have goals you are striving to reach?

2011 Wrap Up and Resolutions

2011-12-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Did you make any resolutions for 2011? I only made one. I wanted to make at least one quilt per month of the year. I actually met it too! From what I can tell, I made 14. This is "completed" quilts only. There were a lot of other crafts along the way as well.
Here are a few of the things I made this year.

Quilts and bags, pillows and more bags! It has been a productive year of crafting and blogging!

I've been thinking about what my resolutions are for the next year. I'd love to maintain the "1 a month" goal. I know I have at least two twin quilts due by March already. I also have several UFO's barking at my ankles. So...

1. Make one quilt per month
2. Complete at least 3 UFO's in the year.
3. Practice more FMQ
4. Participate in at least one bee, swap, etc.
5. Participate in at least one quilt along

Some of the things I accomplished this year were:

1. I started quilting!
2. I learned to paper piece.
3. I learned some basic straight line quilting and started using some FMQ.

Some things I'd like to learn next year are:

1. To use a long arm quilter
2. To be more precise with my quilting
3. To write my own pattern

Well, that's it! See you guys in the new year! I'm linking up to Craft Buds and A little Gray.

Just Because You Make it Out of Boy Fabric...

2011-12-28T11:04:00.000-08:00

I was on a roll with ideas on how to organize my children with fabric bags and baskets until hubby finally gave me the look. You know the one; where they look like, "I'm going to tell you this because you obviously don't appear to be grasping this point." His 'point' was, "Just because you stick some racecars or some tools on it doesn't mean it's not still a purse!" I was only asking if I could make a drawstring bag for Little Man's BeyBlades! I guess it does kind of look like a purse, huh?

I made this one out of some fabric the kids gave me for Christmas. They gave me two fat quarter packs. This one...

and this one.

They also got me some other sewing goodies.

And hubby got me a new sewing machine.

I had a very basic Kenmore and we're keeping that one for my daughter to learn on. This brand was recommended by someone in the AMQG when Mitzi and I attended one of their meetings.

Speaking of Mitzi and those wonderful drawstring bags, have you seen these she made? She did a couple of sets for Christmas gifts (I think) where they are in graduating sizes. I want measurements Mitzi!

Quokka Quilts/FQS Contest!

2011-12-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Quokka Quilts is holding a great contest. Follow the link to all the details. They are encouraging bloggers and others to pick 12 prints and 3 solids from Fat Quarter Shop to create your own version of a "Blogger's Bundle." Hereis the mosaic of the fabrics I chose. Initially I tried to just look for fabrics to which I was drawn. Then, as the color scheme started coming together, I started to get a bit more specific. It's funny; the three solids I chose come from three completely different lines but play well together!

Now, you knew I was going to choose some green!

From left to right starting at the top:
Row 1
1. Bella Solids 30's Yellow Yardage   SKU# 9900-23
2. Riley Blake Designs Sweet Carrot Solid Yardage    SKU# C100-75
3, Michael Miller Meadow Cotton Couture Solid Yardage   SKU# SC5333-MEAD-D
4. Hall of Fame Yellow Game Turf Yardage   SKU# DC5367-YELL-D
5. Hall of Fame Mustard Game Turf Yardage SKU# DC5367-MUST-D

6. Ooh La La Citrus Fleurs Du Soleil Yardage SKU# DC5200-CITR-D
7. Ooh La La Yellow Cercle De Fleurs Yardage   SKU# DC5203-YELL-D
8. Sunny Happy Skies Green Tonal Florals Yardage   SKU# C2732-GREEN
9. Alphabet Soup Green Circle Up Yardage SKU# C2586-GREEN
10. Decadence Orange Skinny Stripe Yardage   SKU# C2635-ORANGE

Row 3
11. Whimsy Yellow Leaves Yardage   SKU# 5606-44
12. Royal Peacocks Olive Metallic Vines Yardage    SKU# 9216-96G
13. Royal Peacocks Fawn Crackled Words Yardage SKU# 9215-164G
14. Flower Power Batiks Firecracker Yellow Tiny Daisies Yardage   SKU# HO1-3000
15. Decadence Green Petal Dots Yardage   SKU# C2636-GREEN

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

2011-12-25T00:30:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas holiday! I am with my family so I sneakily pre-posted this but I wanted to tell you all that I hope you have a wonderful holiday season and that your hearts are full of joy and love.

Home for the Holidays

2011-12-22T17:14:00.000-08:00

We will be spending the holidays with my parents this year for the first time ever. Hubby's new job restricted when we could be where for Thanksgiving and Christmas so it ended up being better to switch this year. We went to his mom's for Thanksgiving and are going to mine for Christmas. My sister and her family will be there as well. There is always the possiblity that my grandmother will come too, so it will definitely be a house full!

I finished my niece's quilt this morning...finally!

Sorry for the inside pic but it's been raining all day here.

I did the back in a stripe. It's hard to tell in these pics but I just did a diamond crosshatch type quilting on this one.

Here's a close-up of the back.

I also picked up my goodies I won from the LQS. I won three charm packs of Jovial by Moda.

I'm excited to have something to make another Christmas quilt for next year! This one will be bigger.

I guess that's it. OH! Except for the elves. Yeah, they've been on high silly alert.

They got into the Operation game yesterday. Then my son was not paying attention (walking backward) and bumped Elphie with his foot. I warned him that she would not move the next day but I don't think he believed me. Jingles even looked a little concerned about her this morning.

All I Want for Christmas...

2011-12-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

Is to finish this quilt! I finally finished the top. I have posted pictures of this quilt before but it was never big enough. It is now an odd 45x55 but that's as big as it's going to get. I'm done! Now I have to get it quilted and bound by Friday. Ach!!!

I also found out this morning that I won another pattern through the Blog Hop Party! This is the Floating Stars pattern over at Heather Spence Designs. Isn't this pretty?

And the elves. Oh my, the elves! They have been up to more mischief. They were so pooped out the other night from their shenanigans that they had to take a rest.

They were found with a tiny note that read:

too busy

needed rest

see you

later.

This morning they were back to their regular chaos having raided the kids' toys.

They were racing a truck with a remote control dinosaur. Looks like prehistoric skill outweighs modern day know-how, huh?

I also wanted to end with picture of our tree. I have never been able to get a good picture of our tree while it was lit until I came across this recent tutorial. I can't say that I have a fabulous comprehension of shutter speed and aperture yet but I at least got a fairly decent picture of the tree (though not as great as Emilie's!).

I'll have to let you know tomorrow what I won at the LQS. I'm going to run by and pick it up today!

A Tunic and a Word

2011-12-18T04:49:00.000-08:00

I won a tunic pattern from April at Kool Beenz for the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I'm excited because you can make a size 0 to a size 3X with this! So I could pretty much make one for anybody! I'll have to look at it and figure out some pretty fabric to make it out of. Maybe by the time I get around to it, it'll be spring time and I can wear it!

I was also at my LQS yesterday where she was having an Open House. They were drawing names for prizes while I was there. When I left I jokingly said, "Just call me to let me know what I won!" She laughed. Then she called about 2 hours later! I don't know what I won but I won something! I have to wait until Tuesday to pick it up because she's not open on Mondays.

Also I noticed while checking out blogs that Sharon from Dancing Thru Threads came up with a word for herself for 2012. Hers is FOCUS. I thought this was such a cool idea so I came up with my own word for 2012. I tend to throw all my energies toward one thing and neglect others, so I thought my word for the year should be BALANCE. We'll see how that works out for me.

I made some more progress on the string quilt but I still don't think it's big enough. I also worked on drawstring bags for teachers last night. I gave away the four I had so now I need more. Two down (still need drawstrings), many to go before Wednesday!

As far as the elves go, they were playing hide and seek last night. There was a suggestion that they take baths after the skunk stink but I couldn't figure out how to do that and still allow us to shower in the morning, so ...

Jingles was counting with his eyes closed while on the counter above the sink.

Elphie was later found hiding in the pantry. Hmmm, I sure hope elves don't need air holes. Maybe I should pop the top a bit...

Fiesta Ware Dishes Are On the Shelf!

2011-12-17T01:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! Last night I finished my wall hanging for the MIL and it turned out so cute. I definitely need to do something like this for my kitchen!

I took the general advice and did a stitch just inside the edge of each dish in the color depicted. Then I stippled the walls in white. Let me just say, this is only my 3rd FMQ attempt and the first time ever I would actually call what I did stippling. The other time I tried to stipple and pretty quickly crossed a line. Then I would give up and just say I was doing loops. Did I cross over a line this time? You betcha! But not NEARLY as much as before and it looks more like stippling. I still need LOADS of practice but I am pleased with the effect.

Yeah, yeah, not perfect I know, but much better than before. And those cup handles? Those were a pain and none are exactly the same, but they're done.

I also added some littel swirls in the brown to make it look like knots in the wood, sort of a wood grain effect.

It may just be because this was a smaller piece to work on but I felt like I did a little better keeping stitch length the same during FMQ. Not a lot, but a little.

As far as the elves go this morning, well, they had a little unwelcome guest. It seems they came across the doghouse for one of Thing 1's American Girl pets and decided to play in it (I would say "play house" but I don't want to start any unseemly elfin thoughts in your heads!). Unfortunately another of Thing 1's little friends decided he had a way to quickly vacate the premises.

Gosh, I hope Santa knows how to get skunk stink out of elves...

Christmas is Coming, Christmas is Coming!

2011-12-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

I'm really trying to get on the ball since Christmas is right around the corner. I baked cookies last night (Mexican wedding cookies) and I finished the top of my Fiesta dishes wall hanging!

I think it's going to be so cute! Here's what I'm putting on the back.

Now I have a dire question...how in the world do I quilt this thing? Usually I can stand back and look at my projects and get an idea of what to do, but not this time. I originally thought of using a colored thread and pretending I was creating a wallpaper design on the white, but the dishes are going to have to be quilted as well. I'm just not sure how I want to do it.

I received a correction from my daughter regarding the elves rapelling yesterday. She told her dad that they had accidentally gotten locked out and were attempting to get back inside the house. I had said they were escaping. I stand corrected!
This morning they ventured farther out and were found in my car. It took the kids forever to find them and I think they were getting a bit concerned.

Of course, I don't think the elves thought this out. The one on the steering wheel brushes the top of my legs when I turn, so we made an executive decision that it was okay to touch clothing, just not skin.

Video from Santa and more Elphie News

2011-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

My MIL sent me the link to this website, portable north pole. You can go there and plug in information about your little one (nothing too revealing). You can also add pictures of them. They have Santa create a video to your child discussing whether they have been nice or naughty, and he will even mention a specific item from your child's wish list. Kind of cool. I did one for my son under the pretext that he had been nice. We let him watch it last night and it was unreal watching his face. He spoke to Santa through the computer and had this wicked grin on his face the whole time! When it was done, Santa is waving goodbye and my little man was just waving and saying "Bye Santa!" So cute! Of course, Thing 1 kept cutting her eyes at me about it. I was telling another commenter yesterday that she sneaked up to me the other night wanting to stay up late and help move the elves. Excuse me? I just told her I didn't know what she was talking about and sent her to bed.

As far s those elves go, did I tell you the kids named them? Yes, ours are Elphie (short for Elpheba; we like Wicked around here) and Jingles. This morning the kids had a much harder time locating them because it was dark outside. Why should that matter, you say?

They got outside and were rapelling down the door to the deck!

Calgon, Take me Away!

2011-12-14T14:37:00.000-08:00

I am so tired! I feel like I have spent the last week on the computer! And I sort of have. First I entered about 180-200 contests on Quilting Gallery's Giveaway Day list. Then I started entering contests on Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day Monday. I am officially done with the ones I'm entering and I'm pooped! I sure hope I win something to make all this typing worthwhile! But I will say, it has been great fun finding new blogs I didn't know about. And I like when blogs ask you to answer specific questions in their comments. Now, most blogs are asking Christmas type questions (favorite movie, favorite Christmas song or treat) but I have come across some different ones. "Given the chance would you become a vampire?" That was definitely different. I also came across a game someone did in their comments which I thought was very cute. I'll have to remember that one next time I do a giveaway!

Well, even though I've spent most of my time typing, I have tried to work on some things. My MIL's stack of fiesta ware dishes is getting closer to done. I kind of got a kick in the pants today when I looked at my dashboard and noticed that M-R over at Quilt Matters made a comment about how there are only 10 days left until Christmas. Holy bells and whistles Batman! How did that happen? I've been working through a bit of a sluggish period but now is the time to get it in gear! So here's where the dishes stand right now:

I'm working on getting each row done before I sew them together but I think it's looking cute. The colors are a bit brighter than I intended to use but I checked the fiesta ware website before doing it!

Oh, and if you're wondering about those silly elves...

one day we caught them coloring pictures of Rudolph and Santa...

and yesterday they took pictures with my camera which we found next to them (hard to take a picture of a camera on the shelf when you're using it to take the picture). They had their hands over their mouths giggling. When I showed the kids the pictures, I accidentally knocked one of the elves off the shelf. Too bad! They don't move the next day if you tough them (a break for me!). All the pictures they took were low to the ground, though one was of an elf hanging from the shower curtain rod (though it looked to be taken from the floor!).

Check out Today only Sale at FQS!!!!

2011-12-13T13:06:00.000-08:00

***Update: here is the direct link to dots and spots!

Fat Quarter Shop sale, today only! 50% off spots and dots. I got this off Fabric Donkey but thought you guys might be interested! I just did a search for dots and bunches of them are around $5 a yard! Excellent! I'm getting some for my boy quilt and some for my stash!

A Quilty Ethics Question

2011-12-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm not entirely sure that it would fall under ethics but I still would love to know your opinions! If you hang around here any you may have seen the Sunbonnet Sue quilt I cut up for a friend. She asked me to make pillows for her family members and a couple of bags for her daughters and niece. Well, while I was working on it, I did a fabric run and ended up getting into a conversation with one of the ladies who worked at the store about refurbishing quilts (undoubtedly something she has done). She was just horrified that I cut up this quilt. Hello? Not my quilt, not my decision. I asked my friend 40 times before I did it if she was sure! Anyway! She started telling me this long list of things I could have done to have refurbished this quilt. Again, not my decision, but it got me thinking.

My hubby has several quilts that his great grandmother made. His favorite, of course, is the one that's in the worse condition. And, get ready to laugh, it's a Sue quilt. He asked me to look at it to see if I could salvage it. Let me just say, there are some nasty holes in this thing and they're not in good spots. It might be best to remove the Sues and reattach them to another piece of fabric. This whole situation goes along with what I was thinking before...

At what point is it no longer the original quilt? Say Great Grandma LuluBell made a quilt that has been handed down in your family but it is in horrible condition. You put hours of work into refurbishing it and end up having to replace a myriad of fabrics. At what point do you say this is just a quilty marriage of yours and GG LuluBell's techniques? At what point is it no longer GG LuluBell's quilt?
I don't know. And the lady at the store insisting that it stay a quilt; isn't it still the work of my friend's grandmother? And wouldn't she have wanted everyone to have a piece of something she made rather than having everyone in the family angry at one person because they got to it first?
I know this will all be personal opinions but I was just curious what you guys thought...

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2011-12-10T05:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is always so busy. I still have to find stocking stuffers for hubby and I need to finish the two quilty gifts for MIL and my niece. Things to do and not enough time to do them!
And when you get busy, you tend to make mistakes. Lindsay, don't worry about the dress. I messed up one of the bags. You know, the Sunbonnet Sue bags? Yeah, I put a pocket in upside down! That was interesting to fix. I couldn't turn the liner upside down because I'd already cut where I boxed the corners and there were holes where the magnetic clasps went. But I did it!
The elves have been busy as well; getting into silliness!

They got into the kid's Halloween candy...

were found snuggled in a Santa hat reading "The Grinch"...

and this morning seemed to be taking a marshmallow bubble bath! They know not to touch the elves (they won't move anymore if you touch them) but I think some kiddos sneaked some marshmallow snackage this a.m.! Hope your family is loving getting ready for Christmas!

Q is for Quilt!

2011-12-07T18:05:00.000-08:00

My youngest is in kindergarten and this week was "Q" week. Okay, now get ready to laugh. It didn't even occur to me. He asked me what he could take for show and tell. I can honestly say it didn't even cross my mind. I was thinking "quarter"...as I sat in my sewing room...sewing. Uh, yeah. He was thinking and looking around. Then he looks at me and says, "Mom, how about I take a quilt for Q?" DUH! Ya think? I felt so stupid. I told hubby and he said, "You don't think it was subliminal, seeing as how he was surrounded by them at the time?" Well, yeah, but I was too and it didn't even click for me!
So today I made a little field trip to his class with some quilts. Just a few. Maybe 5. But the kids ended up enjoying it.

But my big old bag came in handy for taking them all. I actually took a couple of blocks including my improv house from the Skill Builder so I could show them how you use shapes to create something new.

I also finally got my friend's Sunbonnet Sue bags done.

I used more traditional fabric on the outside...

then I used pink gingham on the inside of the brown ones...

and red gingham on the inside of the purple one.

I know they both look the same but there really is a color difference in real life! I gave them to her last night but then I took them back so I could take pictures! Aren't I awful? Well, gottat go check on the elves...something tells me they're going to be silly tonight!

Giveaways and Mischief!

2011-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

First off, check out Giveaway Day over at Sew Mama Sew. This is going to be December 12 and will only involve giveaways on blogs. I'm still trying to decide whether or not I'm participating with a giveaway. I just had a few and I'm not sure I have anything to send out! We'll see.

Finally, the elves are getting into a bit more mischief.

This is how they were found this morning. One found my daughter's DS, and the other couldn't find my son's so he got a Buzz Lightyear game to play with. Something tells me they're going to get into more stuff as it gets closer to Christmas! And this is how they will be found tomorrow.

Looks like they think they're King Kong in the Christmas village!

Yard Sale Goodies!

2011-12-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

So one of the ladies in my quilting guild likes to hit yard sales. This past weekend she came across one where someone was getting rid of all their mother's quilting supplies because she passed away this year. I went and came across a few goodies that I picked up.

I got an Olfa rotarty cutter for $7.50, a pile of batting for $3 and a tin full of thread for $5. I haven't measured the batting yet but it is two LARGE pieces, and the thread is all Gutermann and Mettler. Several had never been used. I really think I messed up not buying any fabric. There was a box of Asian fabrics which I really thought about but I didn't see a price on it. One of the members of our guild got it. I actually saved several members of our guild from walking into the wrong house! But all in all I thought I did pretty well for $15.50!
I am also rethinking the poor string quilt again. My niece's mom emailed me today to say that she really wants a purse. I know exactly which one I would make her. I just have to decide, which gift?

An Elf Education

2011-12-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I had a few people not know who the Elf on the Shelf was. Undoubtedly this originated here in Georgia but it seems to have stretched out to other areas because they sell them at Barnes and Noble. The idea is that this woman's mom used to put an elf out on the shelf when she was a child. Her mom told her that the elf kept tabs on her behavior for Santa. I'm not crazy about the little videos and we don't use the book. We also have our own versions of the elves. The fun part is that the elves are playful and like to be silly. They 'hide' all over the house and when the kids awake in the morning, they never know where they will find them. Last year the elves just sat out in different places but, now that there are so many ideas out on there on the internet, I think there might be some more inventive things happening with our elves. I will try to include a picture each day of what silly mischieviousness our elves are up to.
Here is where the elves will be found tomorrow...

The silliness is only just beginning. Hubby told me not to use up all the good stuff this week so I'm starting small and getting big!

Christmas is Coming...and There Are Elves at my House!

2011-12-03T17:38:00.000-08:00

I don't know how many of you do 'Elf on the Shelf' but it was new to us as of last year. My daughter, who is 10 and knows by the way, insisted on one for the past two years. Last year at the Christmas auction for my quilting guild, I was able to pick up 2 elves, albeit not actual Elf on the Shelf elves. From what I understand, they are actually some sort of collectible elves called Annalee elves (not that I collect them; I just got them really cheap!). Anyway, we played the game last year but it sort of wasn't all that much fun for me after a week of it because it became tedious trying to come up with ideas. Well, today I took Little Man to a birthday party and two of the moms (who also happen to be sisters) were discussing all the fun things they were doing with their elves.
"Where are you getting all these great ideas?" I eagerly asked.
"Pinterest!" was the reply.
Why had it not occurred to me to look there? And you know what? There are a ton of ideas and I got great tips for what I want to do already. So I started a new 'Elf on the Shelf ideas" board. Check it out if you like. I have been lazy about even starting it yet but they are arriving tomorrow. Here's a sneak peak!

I really wanted to do a little Poltergeist homage with "We're baa-aack!" but I couldn't figure out how to do the apostrophe and exclamation point! they wouldn't get it anyway!

Owl Blanket: Done!

2011-12-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

I finally made myself get out the owl blanket and get it done. It didn't take a really long time to do once I started but sitting awkwardly on the floor reminded me of muscles I do not use! Ow!

One thing off the list! Yahoo!

WiP Wednesday: Christmas Countdown version!

2011-11-30T05:10:00.000-08:00

Have you gotten all your crafty Christmas items done? Not me. Not by a long shot. And on top of it all I took a commission job for two twin size quilts from my hubby's aunt for her grandbabies. What was I thinking? And I still don't have the bags done for my friend. She wanted me to make bags out of the leftover Sunbonnet Sues for her daughers and niece. I have got to get on the ball! Arrggh!

Okay, so I don't know who all saw this one the other day but I am planning on making a mini quilt for my MIL. We discovered a shared love of fiesta ware dishes (the colors) and how we both eventually would love a mixed set of them. Since I can't afford that, I'm doing the next best thing.

Here's my doodle of it.

I only just got started on it the other day so I haven't made much progress yet.

I also have been making bags for teachers' gifts. I had two Mitzi made and I've made 3 more. Still have more to go.

Oh, and remember this?

It's had several potential homes but with Christmas coming, it is now going to the home of one of my niece's. But before it does, it has to get a bit bigger and get a back and get quilted. So here is where I am so far.

It was only 40x40 before and I wanted it to be a bit bigger since she is in high school. Her room is extremely colorful with different walls being different colors. I figured this string quilt definitely went with a "busy" theme! Oh, and the owl fleece blanket is out and ready to be cut. I hope to get that done today since the birthday party is next weekend.
Still loads to do before Christmas. I'd still love to see some finishes! How about you?

"Boo! Boo! Bow to the Queen of Putrescence!" She's the Winner!

2011-11-28T04:21:00.000-08:00

Yup! Can't beat that for a post title! But we have to pick a winner for the giveaway of The Princess Bride book. Are you ready? I am! Drum roll please: (ratatat-tat) .... and the winner is....

The numbers generated by this widget come from RANDOM.ORG's true random number generator.

Number 21! The winner is Piece Peace who said:

Also, a follower!

By piece peace on Inconceivable! A Giveaway! on 11/22/11

Congratulations! And thank you all for playing! I have enjoyed hearing everyone's responses about the movie! I have notified the winner by email and will send it out as soon as I hear back from her. I finally figured out how to do the random generator widget in my post so hopefully it works correctly when I post this! Have a great day everyone!

Update: Well, I figured out how to get the widget in the post but not how to get the generated number to stay when I post it. The 21 is there when I'm editing the post and it disappears when I post it. I'm still trying!

2011-11-27T15:29:00.000-08:00

Today is the last day to enter for my Princess Bride book giveaway! Check it out here. I will try to post the winner as soon as I get back from taking the kids to school tomorrow morning.

I forgot to mention that I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Did anyone brave Black Friday? I actually went out for just a little bit while my MIL watched the kids. She went out earlier and came by here on her way back home. But I really plan on doing some cyber buying in the morning. Good luck on sales!

A Lesson Learned

2011-11-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Looking for my Princess Bride giveaway? You'll find it here. Tomorrow is the last day! Drawing on Monday!

Isn't it interesting how God teaches lessons? My children are like most; they believe that rules are set for them just so we can sit back and laugh at how we are "ruining" their lives. Well, today my eldest learned just how untrue that is.
We live in a neighborhood but there are woods pretty far back on our property. Walk back there far enough and you will eventually walk into someone else's backyard. The rule is that our children do not go back into the woods. This came up after having to deal with ticks, scratches and occasional snake sightings. Our neighbor's kids are allowed to go through the woods. That doesn't bother me. Everyone has their own rules.
My kids went out to play with their kids before lunch. About 30-40 minutes later, my daughter came flying in the door shaking and crying. She ran to me, obviously terrified. A woman we did not know was behind her saying that she had gotten lost in the woods. It took about an hour before we got the whole story.
It seems that the neighbors had a sitter while their parents were at the football game. They and the sitter took a bout through the woods. MY children, who know they are not supposed to, decided to join them. After a while, my daughter decided to go back home; except she didn't really know where she was. And she didn't know if she was supposed to go right or left. And she couldn't find her way out of the woods. And when she did, the yards all looked the same. She ended up coming out in the yard of a couple a few streets over where a man asked her what was wrong. She was crying hysterically but told him she was lost and where she lived. He plugged it in his GPS and his wife drove her home.
Let me just say that I am VERY glad that I didn't know the part about having to be driven home by people we don't know when she first came in. I am, unfortunately, someone who tends to get angry first. Not on purpose, but it's just my first reaction, especially when tied to my own fear. She was so terrified about being lost that she has no idea just how lucky she was to come across nice people who were kind enough to bring her home. I asked her if she understood why we make rules now. She adamantly answered, "Yes! To keep us safe!"
This whole incident not only scared her to death but scared me as well. The idea of her being in some stranger's car, the idea of her being so terrified and panicked. I just hate it. I know it actually taught her a good lesson, but I don't want her to live in fear either. This will definitely be a jumping off point for teaching many lessons in the near future.

Ideas and Progress...

2011-11-25T12:37:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned the other day, I finally finished the back of my Embroidery 101 quilt. Then I figured out that I didn't have quite enough of the navy to make my binding. So I took a chunk of it out of the back, and filled that back up with more scraps. Here's what it looked like before.

See that large navy block? I know, I know, there are a lot of large navy blocks. I'm talking about the one on the bottom on the right. Well, I used the old seam ripper and removed that piece. It was just enough along with the piece I actually had left over. And here is what I did to that hole.

I like it better. I only wish I had taken out the one on the left instead so the navy blocks would alternate back and forth. But it's fine so I'll take it!

I also have been planning out Christmas gifts. We draw names in my husband's family and hubby got his mom's name. She hasn't been reading my blog lately so maybe I can get away with sharing this. If she chose today to start reading again, she needs to wait until tomorrow!
Anyway, she and I were talking the other day about paint changes she wants to make in her bedroom and I mentioned that they reminded me of Fiestaware dishes. If you have ever looked my Pinterest you will see that one of the VERY first pins I ever made was on my Color Inspiration board; Fiestaware dishes. And I have to say that it is right up there with The Princess Bride on how much response I got to it. I did not repin that picture; I was the original pinner (not that someone else hasn't done it, I just never saw it). Since pinning that picture 7 weeks ago, it has been repinned 45 times. Absolutely blows my mind! What were we talking about? Oh yeah, conversation with MIL.

Anyway, the colors in her bedroom make me think of some of those Fiestaware colors. The next thing she mentions is that she would love to one day have a set that consisted of all the colors. I finished her sentence for her. I have always wanted the same exact thing! And I would love to have those open-look kitchen cabinets with glass panes so you could see them. Well, I can't exactly buy her a 12 set of Fiestaware dishes, but then again, couldn't I?
Okay, so if my MIL is reading, now would be a good time to stop.

Did you stop?

Turn away now!

Are we alone yet?

Okay, so I started doodling and came up with an idea for a mini-quilt.

What do you think? I have a lot of solid scraps so hopefully I can match up enough to get the idea. I've never done a mini-quilt before so I'm not really sure how big to make it. I really just wanted to get the idea down on paper first to see if I liked the idea. I'm still trying to decide whether to add saucers under the cups, but I may just leave it like is. Oh, and I completely forgot to add this! Since Fiestaware is solid and not print, I thought I would do the dishes in solids and maybe do a print as the background to sort or look like wallpaper!
I am also dying to remember a specific teacher gift tutorial I came across several months ago. I just have this memory of someone blogging about something really cute they were doing for teachers. That's all I remember. Not real helpful. You would think I would have tagged it or pinned it or something, huh?

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

2011-11-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

My thankful list:

my family
my friends
health
my God who makes all these things possible

Give your loved ones a squeeze today! Here's hope that you and yours have a wonderful day of thankfulness and love!

Accuquilt Go! Baby at Amazon

2011-11-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

***UPDATE: SewCalGal pointed out to me that QuiltinaDay has the Go! Baby for $69.65 which initially appears to be a better price. However, I ran through both systems right up to having to pay for it and here's the deal: Amazon is $74.98 with no sales tax and free shipping and handling so $74.98 is there price, period. Quilt in a Day said that $69.95 was their price BEFORE sales tax and s/h. Sales tax would take it to $74.98 and s/h for me would add another $10.21.
Please let me know if anyone has found a better deal!! Thank you SewCalGal for pointing this one out. If it hadn't been for the sales tax and s/h, it would definitely have beaten out Amazon. Or if you have some other sweet quilty deal, let me know!
Okay, so I tried twice to put a cute "Amazon plus Accuquilt" up there but it kept moving the plus sign below the other two pictures and my preview button doesn't work anymore. Arrggh!

Anyway, I noticed yesterday that Amazon has these jewels on sale for $74.98. I have not seen a price that low for the Go! Baby so I thought I'd let people know since Christmas is coming! I have no idea how long it will stay this low; not sure if it's part of the Black Friday/Cyber Monday stuff so you may need to act fast if you want it.

Disclaimer: I do not work for Accuquilt; I actually don't even own one but I think they're cool. If Accuquilt chose to grace me with one of their products, it wouldn't hurt my feelings one iota, no sirree Bob! But that is not why I chose to do this. I just think they're helpful and if I can help bloggy/quilty friends get one at a good price as a Christmas present, I'm gonna let 'em know!

WiP Wednesday

2011-11-23T05:08:00.000-08:00

Well, as some of you know, I was complaining earlier this week about having had to refind my steam on some projects. Well, I finally made some progress! Oh, and if you are a fan of The Princess Bride movie, check here for my giveaway. I mentioned watching it with my daughter for her birthday party the other week and was inundated with so many comments from fans of the movie that I decided to give away the book. Yup! There's a book!

Okay, so Number 1! I finally finished the back for Embroidery 101. Just in case you don't remember, here's the front.
Uh, hmm... well, Blogger is being Blogger and won't let me post the front so here is another option

And here is the back.

And another view. Though I just realized it may be changing a bit.

See, I bought a few fat quarters, a large floral piece and 2 yards of the navy to make the back. The navy was also supposed to be for the borders and the binding. Only thing is, I don't have enough for the binding. I had resigned myself to the fact that I was going to have to purchase more to finish it, when it just dawned on me that I could remove one of those large navy pieces on the back and replace it with more scraps and white. That way I would have enough to even everything out. Isn't it funny how seeing something up on a post makes you have ideas?

Rememer those cute lined drawstring bags I showed you last week that I'd picked up from our quilting guild's Christmas auction? I didn't make those; those were made by Mitzi. But she let me in on her go-to tutorial for those over at Jeni's In Color Order and I made one this afternoon. I had a fat quarter shaped piece of Echino in one of my scrap bags I got from Pink Chalk a month or so ago. I had to fussy cut it, but I love how it turned out.

Yes, I know it doesn't look like the inside matches. I didn't have a hot pink piece that was big enough so I decided to match the liner to these red flowers that were sitting just below the birds. Whatsamatter? Whadya mean ya don't see any flowers? Oh, well, they kind of got eaten up by the bottom. That's okay. It's mine. I love it anyway. But I see more of these in my future. Many more! Mwahahahahahaha!

How is my owl project? Hmm,...

well, it still hasn't moved yet, but it will get done. In case you missed this one this week, I'm making a fleece blanket for one of the girls who came to my daughter's birthday party so she will get the blanket to go with her pillowcase.
What did you get done this week? Check out everyone else at Lee's!

Inconceivable! A Giveaway!

2011-11-22T05:36:00.000-08:00

* This Giveaway is closed.

Do you remember my post a few weeks ago for my daughter's birthday? I mentioned that we watched The Princess Bride and I was overwhelmed by all the comments from people who LOVE this movie. Well, a few years ago I found out it was based on a book. A real book. This book.

Yeah, I know it's not a quilty giveaway, but who knows...maybe I'll put a fat quarter in with it or something. Here's the deal. I've read it. I love it. It's wonderful. For those of you who don't like it when a movie doesn't follow the book? Not a problem. It is almost exact. But it gives you more. You get more background history on the characters and the locations mentioned in the story. It really helps round it all out.
So for all my Princess Bride lovers, are you interested? Want a copy? I thought I'd throw this out there for you or for any Princess Bride lovers you have in your family. Maybe a Christmas gift for someone special!

What do you have to do?

1 entry - Just leave a comment here. Tell me your favorite line from the movie if you've seen it. Otherwise, any comment will do.

Bonus entry - If you're a follower, let me know in another comment.

That's it. I'll keep this open until Sunday night, 11/27. I will post a winner Monday morning. I figure I don't want to have to deal with the traffic and craziness on Black Friday but I wanted you to get it before Christmas.

Fine print: This giveaway is sponsored by me using my own money and not to promote anybody's likes or dislikes (well, except my own). Unfortunately, due to this, it is open to the United States ONLY at this time. I regret this but hopefully I will be able to open giveaways up to international commenters at a later date when there is a little more money in the bank. Thank you for participating!

Re-finding My Steam

2011-11-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so for a while there I was really making some progress and getting some things done. Then something happened. I pooped out. It happened about midway through the Ghastlie Blog Hop. I don't know if it just got to be a bit much or what but I had trouble getting back to my sewing room. I tried to make a cover for my Nook but decided to go the glue route instead of sewing it. WRONG CHOICE! I used the tutorial here, but it did not go well. Not because of her tutorial; because hot glue and I do not play well together. I have a tendency not to move as quickly as I should and it dries before I get the fabric down. Then I end up with lumps. Not good. So I just threw the whole idea out the window and bought one. Not that I don't love it. It is green, you know!
Now Christmas is coming up. I keep thinking I should be making things for Christmas, but my motivation was just waning. I finally got in the sewing room and started working on the back of my Embroidery 101 quilt. It's getting there.

I've also been saving my selvages. There is a lady in our quilting guild who makes things from them but I'm interested in seeing what I can come up with.

And remember the owl pillowcases for my daughter's birthday party? I found the fabric in fleece at Hobby Lobby so I'm making one of the girl's a fleece blanket to match. Her birthday is the second week in December and her mother is one of my dearest and sweetest friends.

I decided to go with green for the back of the blanket because owls I thought were red on the cotton fabric don't look so red on the fleece. The fuzzines kind of muted them a bit. When I looked back at the cotton on the pillowcases, they don't really look red but they don't really look pink. Kind of one of those Netherworld colors that exists out there in fabric land. So I decided to go with green. Not because I like it or anything.
So I am working on projects, I'm just not making much progress!

New Notions

2011-11-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

I ran by Hobby Lobby to pick up a new blade for my rotary cutter and came across this little jewel while I was there.

Very cool! It's just a go to guide for a bunch of embroidery stitches. I like being able to pull them up on the internet when I need them, but this will be cool to put in my project bag while I'm working on a specific piece. I really enjoyed doing the Embroidery 101 quilt from Clover and Violet; it motivated me to try more so I thought it would be nice to have something to quickly get an idea of how to do different stitches.

When you open it out, you get these stitches on one side...

and these on the other. I'm excited. Now I can put some embroidery ideas into action. Well, when I finish up some other things. I'm working hard on the back of Embroidery 101. Hope to have that one done soon!

15 Minute Cleaning Frenzy! Getting Kids to Clean

2011-11-18T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have great difficulty getting my children to cooperate for cleaning. One of the only ways I have ever been able to get them to cooperate without any fight is what I call the "15 Minute Cleaning Frenzy." This is sort of a take off of something Fly Lady does. I yell "Go!" and turn on my iPod as loud as we will tolerate throughout the house. Usually I play music they enjoy (Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, current dance songs that are appropriate with language). They run for their rooms and start cleaning as fast as they can. I usually tell them that 15 minutes is about 4 songs. I call out a number for each song: "Song 1 done...Song 2 starting" to give them an idea how much time we have left. The original idea for this plan was that I would give them 15 minute increments to clean. Then when the songs are over, they quit wherever the are no matter if they are finished or not. After some time has passed, I call 15 minute frenzy again and they do it again.

What is interesting is what ends up happening. Without fail, they forget that they get the breaks. They actually get into it and when I call "Song 3" they will yell and say, "I need more time! Can we let it keep playing?" I am always amazed when this happens.

There are a few KEY things about this way of cleaning.

I always present it as a game and something that's funny.
I ALWAYS play too. One of the things that really gets them going is that as soon as I yell "Go!", I start running. Literally. That way whenever they look downstairs at me, they see I'm cleaning too and that I'm running too. They always think that's funny. Sometimes I like to skid through the living room on my socks so they think I'm REALLY into the race aspect of it.

Great music for cleaning...well, this is interesting topic. I do NOT like to clean to nice, relaxing music. I want to dance while I'm cleaning, or it's just that: cleaning. There are some great soundtracks or songs for cleaning that I personally like and are on my iPod, but one of my favorites is AWOL; the soundtrack to To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. This is full of great stuff and it's great for making you feel like a woman as well! My favorite track is "The Body Beautiful." The only problem is that it is not downloadable from iTunes. I used to have this CD and I'm still looking for it!

'Charmed' to Meet You!

2011-11-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

Ooh, look who came to my house today! A lovely bunch of 28 charm squares in yellow, aqua and gray!

I'm so excited! These are from the Yellow, Aqua and Gray Charm Swap over at Craftbuds! I was very lucky to get in on this one as it filled up very quickly. I have been waiting (rather impatiently) for them to arrive. They got them out quickly, I just don't wait well! Lindsey worked with Anna of Crafty Girls Workshop to do this wonderful swap. I chose the cheater route and just bought mine straight from Anna's shop. If you bought through her, you could have her cut them for you and everything!
I have been racking my brain trying to come up with a good idea for charm square quilt with these. I thought about just doing a snowball quilt and adding some other fabrics I have in these colors to make it a bit larger. What is your favorite quilt pattern made from charm squares? I'd love some ideas!

Just a Little WiP

2011-11-16T06:05:00.000-08:00

Okay, so not a lot got done this week. I have been in a sewing funk, I think. I did finish my big bag and tutorial.

I also finished putting the navy stripe border around my Embroidery 101 quilt. This one is finally getting closer to being done! I've been working on the back and thinking about how I want to quilt it. Sorry for the bad picture but it's raining outside so I was stuck doing an inside picture. And I really should have re-ironed it!

Well, sadly, that's it.
We DID have our quilting guild Christmas Auction Monday night. Everyone brought in tons of quilty and home decor goodies. We lined things up on tables with paper bags in front of each one. Each member bought tickets which they marked with their names (many of us use address labels). We walk through and put tickets in things that you want. The things you want the most get the most tickets. You can put as many tickets as you want in each bag. Mitzi and I were runners. The callers would pull a ticket for each piece while we delivered it to each winner. I spent $10 on tickets and won the following.

Two lovely lined drawstring bags made by Mitzi! There were several and I wanted them all!

A cute Christmas cigar box and a lined Velcro topped pouch.

A brand new fat quarter bag to line up all my fat quarters for storage!

A charm pack of Dogwood Trail! I've been wanting some of this!

Some cedar and lavender sachets made as gifts for those attending!

I loved all my goodies! Linking up to Lee. Don't forget to check everyone out!

Goodies in the Mail, a Guest Post, and Another Bag Idea!

2011-11-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

I got my fabric to finish my Embroidery 101 quilt the other day. Now that I finished my bag I can get back to it. I decided to use the scraps leftover from the quilt along with some purchased fabrics for the back. The scraps and the large yellow floral actually do appear in the quilt but the rest or others from the Just Wing It by Moda line. I got everything from the wonderful people at Sew Lux. They were so nice and quick, and when I got my order there was this sweet handwritten note on the back of their card thanking me for my order and for shopping with them 'again'! How nice is that? Not only did they take the time to handwrite a note, they took the time to acknowledge that I had purchased fabric from them before! Very sweet!

I have leftover scraps in the baggie, the 3 top little squares are all fat quarters, the floral is a large 30" x WOF piece and the 'almost' navy stripe (yes, it's a stripe) is 2 yards. I'm doing the border out of the navy and piecing the back. I'm hoping to salvage enough of the navy to do the binding.

I am also working with April at Kool Beenz to guest post on her blog for a link to my project bag tutorial. Very cool!
As far as the bag idea goes, here's what I was thinking. I kept thinking I'd like to make a smaller version of the bag for travel purposes when you're working on a specific project (in other words, not so big!) and I got this idea; instead of using a single piece of fabric on the outside, why not make quilt blocks as the outside? Then I was thinking, if the block needs to be a rectangle instead of square, wouldn't my X Marks the Spot quilt block be a cool version of that?

I want to do it in different colors to try it in somethin gelse but I really think it would make a cool bag!
So it looks like I have another tutorial coming up before long! And if you can make the block for the bag, then you can make more than one block to make the quilt!

Project Bag Tutorial

2011-11-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

Sorry this took so long to post. I sure wish blogger could pull in pictures faster! And this tute is definitely picture heavy1
So this is the project I have been working on intermittently over the past week or so. The last time we had a quilting guild meeting, a guest did show and tell with a project bag and I just loved it. She had made hers as one long piece (not as a bag) that folded up, sort of like a firewood carrier. She used old jeans as her pockets on the inside which I absolutely loved. When I got home I had every intention of doing something similar. Then I remembered that I had a Daisy chain Amy Butler bundle I picked up way back in March. Perfect! I will say that I used the project bag from Joann's as a starting point, but I changed all the dimensions, added pockets and made some other modifications. There were also loads of complaints about the instructions for it so I thought I would try to do a little better. I love this bag. It is large; lest I say, huge. How huge? See this bag? That's my daughter holding the handle.

What's inside it, you say? Uh, well, ...

that would be my 5 year old son! Yeah, to do it over again, I'm not sure I would make it quite so big, but I really wanted my cutting board to fit in it and I don't have a small cutting board.

I will provide large and small cutting directions, but you could really do it any size you want. You just need to make sure you do the following:

all side pieces (outer and liner) are exactly the same size
the gusset piece should be at least as long as the sum of the side and bottom measurements of your side pieces (ex. if you choose to cut your sides 26.5" x 20", the length or your gusset piece needs to be no less than 26.5 + 20 + 20 which would be 66.5")
your outside pieces will receive fusible interfacing; I used medium weight interfacing because mine is larger and it makes it easier to fold and store, but I may use a bit heavier on a smaller sized bag to give it more structure, maybe what they call craftbond)
your pocket pieces just need to fit the dimensions of your bag (no need in cutting a 26.5" wide pocket if your bag is only 20" wide)

What you will need:

fabric: I used a 1 yd bundle for my large bag so that I would have different fabrics to choose from, and I had about a yard total left over. You could probably get away with 4 yards for the large bag; if you are using different fabrics from one line, remember you will need some larger pieces (at least 3/4 yard of two) to cut your two inner pieces and your two outer pieces. If not, you could do some piecing of scraps or smaller pieces to get them up to the right side. I think this would make a fabulous scrap project; in fact that may be how I do my smaller version!
fusible interfacing: you will need at least medium weight for this project. You might want a heavier weight for a smaller bag to help it keep it's shape.
scissors, cutting mat, rotary cutter, sewing machine, pins (the usual suspects)

1. For a large bag (and I do mean large!), cut the following:
Two outer fabric and two liner fabric: 26.5" wide by 20" tall
One gusset for outer and one gusset for inner: 6.5" wide by 66.5" long (I like to make it a few inches longer just in case)

For a smaller bag, cut the following:
Two outer fabric and two liner fabric: 20.5" wide by 15.5" tall
One gusset for outer and one gusset for inner: 5" wide by 52" long (I like to make it a few inches longer just in case)

No matter what size bag you make, you will need the following:
Cut one piece of fusible interfacing the size of the gusset, and two pieces the size of the outer fabric. These will ironed onto the outer pieces.

My outer fabric on top has a strip of different fabric across the top because my fabric was too short.

For the gusset pieces, I cut two strips the WOF and sewed them together at the end instead of cutting one long piece along the length of the selvage. I folded each piece in half at that seam and cut my excess of the other ends. I used the excess pieces to create pockets for my bag. I ended up having two pieces with interfacing and two without, so I mixed them for the extra durability on each pocket.

2. You are now going to start sewing the gusset to one side of the front piece. I line it up by folding each piece in half and lining up the centers. I start pinning in the center, then moving out toward each side. If you have never sewn around corners like this, I'll warn you it's tricky.

3. Once you get it all pinned, you will start sewing. Here is how it looks pinned.

4. I used a 3/8" seam allowance. I do the corners sort of how I do binding on a quilt. Start on one side and sew all the way to the bottom. Stop sewing and anchor about 3/8" from the end. As the back fabric starts to curve, I remove some of the pins off the bottom so I can straighten it as much as possible.

I cut it, reposition it, then start sewing again. You might have a better method. Just be careful going around the corner.

5. Once you finish one side, line up the other side and sew it as well. Be sure everything lines up as you go, especially the corners. Mine was wonky and I had to rip it and resew it. When you get finished, you will have the outer piece done.

6. Before sewing together your liner, you will want to sew on any pockets you want. I used one large pocket on one side for my cutting board & rulers, and smaller pockets on the other side for notions. For the large pocket, cut a piece of coordinating fabric about 36" tall by the width of the liner fabric (in my case, 26.5"). Fold the fabric in half going down and iron; it will be 18" tall by 26.5" wide. Run an edge stitch along the top.

When you have finished stitching, line up the pocket piece to one of the liner sides. I placed mine about 2 inches down from the top. There will be a little overhang at the bottom that will be trimmed.

Sew a basting stitch down both sides and the bottom of the pocket through all 3 layers to hold it in place.

Another option for making this pocket (if you do not want to use so much fabric) is to cut a piece about the same size as your side piece. Fold about one inch down at the top going toward the back and iron. Do this one more time. Iron. Now sew an edge stitch at the top edge all the way across, and another one across the bottom of the inch you folded. Baste it to the side piece the same way I explained above. Your pocket will just be thinner; one layer of fabric instead of two.
7. If you would like some smaller pockets on the other side of the liner, now is the time to add these. I used the two pockets I created from the remainder of my gusset pieces. I placed these pieces front to front and sewed around the edge using 1/4" seam, leaving a 2-3" hole for turning. Just from my own experience, I never leave the hole near a corner. I leave it in the center of one of the sides. It is much easier to sew up a straight hole than one that rounds a corner or runs into a corner. Snip the corners off without cutting through the sewn part. This will make it easier to push your corners out.
Now turn your piece and use something to poke your corners out (I tend to use my scissors which is not a good idea; one day that is going to end badly!). Once it is square, fold in the opening from the turning hole to match the edges around it. Iron it down.
I made another long pocket just like out large pocket on the other side but only did it about 8-9" high. You will cut a piece the same width of your side piece, and the height of it will be double the size you want the pocket to be. For example, I wanted my pocket to be about 8" high so I cut my piece 16" high and 26.5" wide. I then followed the same instructions for constructing a pocket that are given on step 6.

Place your pockets approximately where you think they will work well for you and pin along each side and the bottom. The long pocket works best on the bottom because the sides and bottom will get sewn into the seam. When placing the small pockets, remember to make sure the opening from the turning hole is placed downward or on one of the sides. This will insure that it gets sewn closed when you stitch your pocket down.

I originally wanted the bottom long pocket to be for my rulers but it kept hanging open so I chose to make it into several pockets by sewing from the top lip of the pocket, down to the bottom in intervals of several inches. This gives me several extra pockets. You can make these pockets whatever size you need.

8. You are now going to sew your lining the same exact way you sewed your outer pieces in steps 2-5. If you are looking at the Joann.com project bag, they tell you to leave a turning hole in the lining. I do not do it this way and I think my way is easier (just my own two cents!).

9. You should now have a completed outer shell and a completed inner shell. This next part is going to sound weird, but stay with me. Turn the shells out to exactly how they will look when they are sewn together (the outer shell will have the fabric showing outward while the lining will have the fabric showing inward). Take your outer shell and place it INSIDE the lining shell. Yes, I said that right. If you look down inside the bag, you should see fusible interfacing. If you look at the outside of the bag, you should see the wrong side of the lining. You can see this better in the picture below.

Starting at your corners, line up and pin all the way around. I pin all 4 corners first because they HAVE to meet correctly. Sew a 3/8" seam all the way around the top except for a 4-5" hole on one of the long sides for turning.

10. Turn your bag inside out.

11. Once it is completely pulled out, push the liner down inside the outer fabric. Press all around the top edges and press the turning hole in. You are going to sew an edge stitch all around the edge of the top of the bag.

12. This step is optional. When I got to this point and looked inside the bag, I noticed that the weight of the pockets seemed to pull the liner away from the outer fabric some and it was hard to get a good shot of the inside of the bag.

(Pay no attention to the bottom long pocket; I added my pocket divisions after the fact when I figured out that it wasn't going to work the way I had it.)
Because I wanted there to be more unity between the inner and outer shells, I actually stitched them together along the gusset.

I know it's hard to see my pins, sorry! I put my hand inside the bag and used it along with my other hand to line up the inner and outer gussets as much as possible. Then I pinned both gussets together from one end of the bag to the other. I then stitched from the top of the bag down as close as I could to the bottom (about an inch from the bottom) about 1/4" in from either side of the gusset. I am not a professional so I did not figure out how to go around the corner. Here's a close-up of one corner of the gusset (I know there is a little pucker but it's mine and I don't care!)...

and here's another close-up of the side view.

I just wanted to do to help stabilize everything but it is definitely not required.

13. Straps! I always decide on my straps last because I have to figure out exactly how the bag is going to fall against my body and how much length I am going to need. For this project, I cut four straps 2.5" by 35". Two pieces will receive interfacing and two will not. I forgot to mention it when we were using interfacing before, but there is nothing wrong with piecing interfacing. I just make sure that there is a little bit of overlap. Not much. You don't want a piece to bend funny at one place because you butted up two pieces of interfacing but they didn't meet properly.

Line up one fused and one unfused strap right side to right side and pin. Leaving a 2-3" hole for turning, sew a 1/4" seam all the way around the edge of the strap.

Before turning, clip the corners.

Sew your second strap the same way and turn both inside out. Iron flat and iron opening closed.

Sew an edge stitch all around each strap.

Now, your straps are going to be on the bag about 4" down (the way they are attached on the Joann's bag). I pinned each strap end 4" from the bottom.

I then lined up the pin with the top of the bag and the outside of the strap about 4 inches from the side of the bag.

Pin in place. Follow this for all strap ends. When attaching the straps, sew through all layers of fabric. WARNING!!! Be careful of any pockets you have near the strap placement. I wasn't paying attention and sewed right through my pocket.

I had to pull out the bottom of this and restitch it while holding the pocket out of the way. I didn't do it again, believe me!
I stitched all around the existing edge stitch and then across the top. You could then stitch a big X across the center of your rectangle, but I chose to stitch down an inch and stitch across, stitch down an inch and stitch across.

You're done! My original plan was for this to be the outside, but I figured out that it is reversible. I 'm going to make a smaller bag to actually be a project bag for taking on travel. This one will be for transportation of quilts, larger projects, etc.

WiP Wednesday

2011-11-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

I hope you guys got more done than I did this week. I don't have a lot to report.

As I said before, this week was birthday week. Mine was last Wednesdays, my daughter's was Saturday and hubby's is today. I got 8 pillowcases done by Saturday for her party.

I have also been working on a project bag. It's a bit big.

That bag you're looking at? Yeah, it has 3 lap quilts in it. I am probably going to use my leftovers to make a smaller version. I really wanted something to take projects to quilting guild in for show and tell, but I went ahead and added pockets inside.

I have a large pocket on one side for my cutting mat, some small pockets on the other side for notions, and a long pocket on the bottom of that side for my ruler. I may put a button with a loop for that to keep it closed. I am doing a tutorial on this one as soon as I get it stitched around that top and add the straps.

That's it? Yup. Unfortunately. But I have plans, lots of plans! Mwahahahahahaha! (cough, gasp, wheeze, breathe!) Um, sorry about that. Yeah, just come back and visit later!

ARRRGGHHH!!!!

2011-11-08T14:52:00.000-08:00

So I'm working along on my little 'secret' tutorial project and AFTER I sew two sides together, I realize that I miscut one. It's about an inch longer than the other piece. This will, of course, make more sense when you see what it is. Now I have to take out that whole side, recut it, and sew it back on before I can complete the whole project. Hopefully I will be able to post it tomorrow in WiP as a finish and the tutorial will be up Thursday. Remember, do as I say, not as I do!
Now, back to that seam ripper. I'm feeling a little Yosemite Sam coming on... consarned idjeet rasa frasa yassin sassin snazzum frazzum!!

What Books Would You Buy With $500?

2011-11-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Melinda and I am a bookaholic. I read. a lot. Hubby got me a Nook for my birthday last week. Not sure I mentioned that. I don't think he really thought it out because there are only so many eBooks that can be borrowed before you have to start buying.
That leads me to Chronicle Books. They are hosting the 2nd annual Happy Haul-idays Giveaway. They are going to give away $500 dollars worth of their books to a blogger, $500 worth of their books to one of the blogger's commenters (so BE SURE TO COMMENT!!!!!), and $500 worth of their books to a charity of the blogger's choice. I decided to enter so I had to choose from their website the $500 worth of books I would get if I won and post them. These are the books I would choose for myself. Yes, I know there are more crafting and kids' books than reading type of books, but that's okay with me!

1. Little Bits Quilting Bee:                      24.95
2. Amy Butler's Style Stitches:               29.95
3. The Doorbells of Florence:                18.95
4. Between the Bridge and the River:     24.95
5. 52 Fun Things to Do in the Car            6.95
6. 52 Rainy Day Activities                        6.95
7. 52 Boredom Busters for Kids              6.95
8. 52 Ways to Make a Difference            6.95
9. 52 Creative Craft Projects                   6.95
10. 52 Great Art Projects for Kids          6.95
11. 52 Christmas activities                       6.95
12. The World Almanac for kids (9-11) 9.95
13. Winter's Night Advent Calendar      10.99
14. Taro Gomi Daily Doodle Calendar   12.99
15. Rock out with Julius journal              12.95
16. Julius! Growth Chart                        12.95
17. Rubber Neckers                              12.99
18. Lotta Jansdotter File Collection        16.95
19. Denyse Schmidt Quilts                     24.95
20. Sublime Stitching                             19.95
21. Holiday Crafting & Baking w/kids    19.95
22. The Punch                                       23.95
23. DIY Kids                                        14.95
24. The World Almanac for kids (5-7)    9.95
25. The Orphan of Awkward Falls        16.99
26. Milk and Cookies                            24.95
27. 1, 2, 3 Sew                                      24.95
28. The Liberty book of Home Sewing   27.50
29. Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing     24.95
30. Amy Butler's In Stitches                   24.95
                                                           $495.21

Whew! Now, what charity would I choose? I would choose Community Welcome House in Newnan, GA. The Community Welcome House is an emergency shelter for children and mothers of domestic violence. They often arrive with only the clothes on their backs. Welcome House provides a service to our community that, unfortunately, is often needed. Our Girl Scout troop chose to sponsor them with proceeds from our cookie sales last year and we were very impressed with how they handle their facility.

Remember to comment in case I win. Who knows? Maybe we'll get some book goodies by Christmas! The drawing is December 2nd!

Inconceivable! "You keep saying that word? I do not think it means what you think it means."

2011-11-05T08:39:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm tired. Seven girls ages 9-11 for a birthday sleepover. Whew! We let them play outside until time to eat. Hubby grilled hamburgers and hotdogs. Then we had a little cake and ice cream. I then gave each girl a glow in the dark stick and a flash light (I found these great 4 packs of LED mini-flashlights at BJ's for $7.90). Then we just let them loose in the yard in the dark. They loved it. I did manage to snap a picture.

I had them show me their ghostly faces. After everyone had spent some energy, we got in PJ's and started a movie. Did anyone recognize the quote in the title? I know Lindsay did. We are so alike! Hubby's birthday is Wednesday so I made him open one of his gifts early...the movie The Princess Bride. Some couples have a song- we have a movie. And we can quote so much of it it's scary. The kids were absolutely taken with it and it quieted them down a lot. But they still didn't go to sleep until 11:30. My last threat (which actually worked) was that the next person I had to come talk to about being too loud was going to be the last one to get pancakes for breakfast. Silence...

This morning there were pancakes and bacon for breakfast (thank you hubby!) and everyone played for a while before leaving. The last child left about 10 minutes ago. Can you say, NAP?!!!
And since I can't go without one more quote....
"Wuv, true wuv that bwessed awangement, that dweam wivin a dweam."

How Cute is This?!

2011-11-04T12:08:00.000-07:00

How cute is this cake? I made it for my daughter's birthday party which is tonight (sleepover).

We're doing a camping in/campout, so I figured the cake could be a campout cake. Poptarts, chocolate rocks, icing, sugar cones, and pretzels. Yum! She's loving it so that's all that matters!
Hope you have a fun and eventful weekend (I think I've got mine cut out for me!).

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

2011-11-03T05:08:00.000-07:00

It was so hard picking a quilt to show because, yet again, the one I want to show is not finished. This is only my second showing in the festival and Amy of Amy's Creative Side should be thanked profusely for coming up with such a wonderful idea! In the Spring festival I wanted to show my X Marks the Spot quilt but it wasn't done so I just squeezed in a picture at the end of the post of where it stood. This time around, I really would love to be finished with my red and white hexagon quilt but it still has quite a bit more work to be done just to be done with the top. So what did I pick?
The second quilt I ever made. The Charm Pack quilt from Freckled Whimsy. I made the top back in February/March of this year but never got around to quilting it. I just recently quilted it a couple of weeks ago and I really love it.

There is a variety of ways the blocks can be put together for this quilt but I liked the assymetry of this combination.

I quilted multiple rows down the solid 'roads' and sets of three lines down the centers of the print fabrics.

Looking at it while I was quilting it, I could tell how much I've learned since putting this piece together. I apparently did not have a lot of concern about lining up points almost a year ago, but this design is very forgiving (one of my favorite things about it!). I used a basic dark brown print for the back but I wanted to incorporate one last block.

I did all straight line quilting as I only recently have started using FMQ. I also thought this design lent itself to straight line stitching a bit more than FMQ. I used two different fat quarter sets to create the top of this quilt, but I think one of my quilting guild members was right when she said it would make a great quilt for using up scraps.

I think this quilt is going to be my 'curl up on the couch with a good book' quilt!

Linking up to the Blogger's Festival!

WiP Wednesday (My BDay!)

2011-11-02T04:10:00.000-07:00

Yup, it's my birthday! 43. Wow. That sounds really old to me. But that's okay. My birthday will be over soon enough and then it's on to Thing 1's birthday on Saturday, then hubby's next Wednesday. Yeah, as I mentioned yesterday, it's birthday week around here. Actually my neighbor's birthday is today as well and she always remembers to send me something. We got home from Girl Scouts last night and she had sent over some flowers and a little loaf of pumpkin bread (yum!). Anyway, I've had some birthday sewing to do. About that...

(don't forget to go check out Lee and everyone at Freshly Pieced!)

As for birthday sewing, I am making pillowcases for the girls to take home instead of junk bags. It's so close to Halloween, nobody wants more candy at their house so I like sending something useful. Thing 1 picked out the fabric and I have two done so far.

I've also been making 'ditty bags' for deployed military. Our quilting guild has undertaken this project so I thought it would be a perfect use for the red, white and blue fabric I won a while back from Rachel D at Just Sew Y'all Know. So far I've done two and I have the others cut out.

I participated this past week in the Ghastlie Blog Hop and was finally able to show all my goodies I made for that here. I also made a belated Ghastlie project, a Halloween sign, that I showed here. Check out the other sistahs and their projects today as listed over in the right side of my sidebar!

Along with everything else, I really wanted to make some progress on my red and white hexie quilt. I've primarily been working on sewing together the 'filler' white. I did tell me husband if I EVER decide to do another quilt like this to please tell me there is nothing wrong with applique. I know I'll love it when it's done but, oh my! Here's the bottom connected up.

I think my hand may fall off by the time I finish it. Yes, the pink ones are just pink paper. I tend to reuse the templates so I work on large sections, remove the papers from the middle and work some more. I may also see if I can get someone to quilt this for me. There is this really insane inner voice that says I should hand quilt it but I just don't know if I can do it. We'll see when the top finally gets finished.
Well, that's it. No finishes. Oh yeah, I did attend a baby shower yesterday for the Japanese/Austrian baby quilt. Yeah! Done and delivered. I ran into another friend for whom I made a baby/big boy quilt for her third boy and she repeatedly told me how much he loves it. THAT is why we do it my friends! For people who love it and appreciate it!

Birthday Week

2011-11-01T08:02:00.000-07:00

Birthday week starts tomorrow at my house. What? You don't have birthday week at your house? Well, my birthday is tomorrow, my daughter's is Saturday and hubby's is next Wednesday. The only one who really gets a party is my daughter, of course, but the other birthdays still occur. I already got a bit of an early present from my daughter. We went to Publix yesterday afternoon for their little Halloween haunted house and while we were there they had a cake walk. My kids and my neighbor's kids played and my daughter won the first cake. Here's what she picked out.

Afterward she came up to me, leaned in to me ear and said, "You're welcome, mom." Kids are too much sometimes, ya know?

Last year for her birthday we did the Harry Potter party for her. That was very involved and took tons of planning. This year I toned it down and she's having a few girls sleep over. We're having them bring their sleeping bags and calling it a 'Camp-in/ Campout'. Instead of sending the girls home with cheap bags of junk and candy (especially after Halloween), I'm making each of them a pillowcase. My daughter picked out the fabric and so far I've finished one. When did I say the party was? Friday? Um, yeah, time to get off the computer!

Don't forget to check out the Ghastlie Blog hop today! The schedule is in my right sidebar!

Ghastlie Blog Hop: Up and Running, Week 2!

2011-10-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

Don't forget to check out the work of my sistahs in the Ghastlie Blog Hop which resumes today. Here are some blogs to go check out.

Mrs. Toyna Ghastlie
Mrs Tiramisue Ghastlie

Mrs. Angela Ghastlie

Mrs Pauline Ghastlie

Mrs. Karin Ghastlie

Mrs Barb Ghastlie

I also posted one more project this weekend. I was a little late getting it done but you can check it out here if you haven't seen it yet.

Need a Fix until the Ghastlie Blog Hop Starts Back up on Monday?

2011-10-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

I made one more thing. I couldn't help it. It has been in my mind the whole time. I couldn't help myself. I had leftovers. And my door? It was calling for something....anything. I didn't want anything else I made to be specifically designated for Halloween, but I wanted just one thing. THIS one thing.

Ach! I love it so much! I had several fussy cut characters leftover and I really wanted to represent them as a family. I did the top sign that really represented the dynamics of our family (mom, dad, son, and daughter) but my daughter insisted that I include the other two so I added two small canvases for them.

I totally think she was right. I think it helped balance it all out and put the words in the middle instead of the bottom. Here's a close-up of the main sign.

I used a large canvas I've had for quite a while and was using as a small quilt design board. I used a piece of textured gray fabric I got in a scrap bag from Pink Chalk Studios a few weeks ago as the base. The fabrics were all Mod Podged onto the canvas in layers. I will say, wait between layers for it to dry to avoid bubbles. I used printable fabric with a spooky font for the words, and tore the edges all around the word block to give it more texture. The edges also bubbled when I Mod Podged it but I love the look because it added character.

After everything was dry I added some 'extras' to give the project some depth. I used hemp rope to create the end of the broom. Vlad got a gold glitter glue ring; it doesn't show as much as I would like so my next idea is to break the sides off of a brad and hot glue it to his finger so it stands out a bit more. Mathilda's dress has been enhanced with some black sheer spider web fabric. I actually tacked that on with needle and thread to insure it stayed where I wanted it to be. Hubby helped me pick some buttons to stack together for replacing her flower on her hat. He was a GREAT help as he has taken some art classes; he helped me a lot with balancing everything.

Mathilda's dress and hat

One of the reasons that I have a belated Ghastlie project is because I knew I had won some Halloween fabric and I was waiting for it to arrive. It didn't get here in time for the blog hop, which ended up being fine because I don't think I would have used it on this project anyway because the colors were more traditional Halloween colors. I decided to go ahead and make the sign in the colors that were represented and I love it. I also love my new fabric! It came the day after I finished the sign.

Look at all that spooky goodness! Thank you Allegory! I can't wait to use them! I did want to point out that I may not have used the fabrics but I did use one thing Allegory sent me...

See that orange ribbon? Yup, that's my sign holder!

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!

2011-10-28T07:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, to start with, I should say that I am sitting in Chick-fil-A this morning using their Wi-Fi because I have no internet or phone service at my house. They had some trouble in my neighborhood two days ago and we had intermittent service. Plus I had to have someone come out and fix our phone modem, but then yesterday at about 1:00, all went dead. Not fun when you blog. Not fun at all.
I will do my best to respond to people's emails but I am overwhelmed with the response from yesterday; I went from 86 to 168 followers! Amazing! I know some just followed for the giveaway, but I did hear from several people who were happy to have found my blog so hopefully that means a few of you will stick around and visit sometimes! The more the merrier!
I appreciate you listening to me whine a bit. Now let's find out what you came here to find out!
Unfortunately Madame Samm has not announced the winner of the Creative Grid rulers on her website yet. She is usually very punctual so I know something has happened to keep her from posting. I went ahead and contacted the person whose name was drawn from my blog so they could keep a lookout on Madame Samm's blog (especially since my ability to post today will be spotty) so if you did not hear from me, just keep trying on my other sistah's blogs and enjoying the goodies they've created. I will post the winner as soon as I know!

******UPDATE: The winner of all three is Evelyn from Mrs Sharon Ghastlies gathering!
Congratulations Evelyn!!!

And the winner of MY giveaway of Prudence's Persnickety Pouch is...

Result:149 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

This was commenter 149, Linda who said:

Linda V said...

Love the bags! I'd love to win your giveaway. Love your ideas and great blog too!

Thanks so much Linda! I have emailed you for your information. I finally have someone coming out to fix my internet today so I should be able to hear from you soon.

Also, if someone totally understands the whole putting a random generator widget on your blog thing, I'd appreciate some info!

Oh, and if Ghastlie Blog Hops aren't enough for you, and you need a fix until it starts back up Monday morning, start checking out the Blogger's Quilt Festival over at Amy's Creative Side. It starts today through November 4th. You can peruse to your heart's content and it will continue to be on her site, but if you want to put one of your own quilts in, you will need to post it no later than the 4th!

Hope you're feeling Ghastlie!

2011-10-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

We welcome you all, come friend or come foe,
To view all the wonderful things we have made
From blog to blog you can choose to go
Our sewing rooms you will want to raid.

Everything I'm showing is, oh, so Ghastlie
A pouch, some baskets, a carrying case
From the first of the first to the very lastly
and upon each one a Ghastlie face.

So let's get started without further adieu
Come peruse the things made by my hand
I'm ready to show all my projects to you.
I hope your time here will be grand!

Prudence's Persnickety Pouch

First off, there's a pouch with plenty of room
With a daughter on front with her hammer
Only Mathilda ever carries a broom,
But her daughter can sure make you stammer!

Some treat bags are next to hold goodies galore
Mathilda and son both are present
Their faces you may choose to love or abhor
But some treats inside would surely be pleasant!

Beastly Bitty Baggies

Some fabric baskets line the wall

For holding some odds and some ends

These are not too big but they're not too small

And they're waiting right here for some friends.

Fraidy Cat Fabric Basket 1

Fraidy Cat Fabric Basket 2

A group of witches plans their spells

The way I plan what I sew.

A book, some pencils, a few pastels

I'm packed and ready to go!

I am giving away the Persnickety Pouch at the beginning of the post. Leave a comment below to be entered. You must be a follower to win. I will also be choosing a name from my comment list for the daily grand prize giveaway over at Madame Samm's blog.

Today's prize from Madame Samm is Creative Grid Rulers.

and don't forget to check out my Ghastlie Sistahs today!

Mrs. Katherine Ghastlie

Ms Sharon Ghastlie

Mrs. Gooden Ghastlie

Ms. Selina Ghastlie

Good luck and have a dreadfully Ghastlie day!

WiP Wednesday

2011-10-26T05:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, how did it get to be Wednesday again? I just don't get how that keeps happening. And tomorrow is MY day on the Ghastlie Blog Hop! I'm so excited. I'm even a bit nervous, truth be told. People have been showing some amazing pieces. I hope my projects hold up. There will be a giveaway too, so be sure to return. A giveaway by me, and a bigger giveaway by Madame Samm herself. She's doing that every day of the hop. Lovely Ghastlie things! Where was I? Oh yeah...

Okay, so what have I gotten accomplished this week... Oh! Well, I made a ...no, I can't talk about it cause it's in the blog hop. Hmmm, I made a...., no, can't talk about that one either. You'll see it tomorrow. Man, what did I do this week that I can talk about? Oh yeah!

I finished my Embroidery 101 quilt top!

I also made a new laundry bag for the kids. Tutorial can be found here.

Again, I have been making some slow filler progress on my red and white hexie quilt you see at the top of my blog in the banner but nothing is connected yet so it seems rather dumb to show it again. I had rather hoped to get it done before the Blogger's Quilt festival but that is looking unlikely unless I just show the top. But I would still have to work like crazy just to get the top done.

I am also working on another tutorial and this one is going to be cool for quilters. We had a visitor do a show and tell at quilting guild Monday night and she showed her version of this particular item she'd made which was extremely cool, so I was much inspired. After finding some ideas online and deciding what I MUST have in it, I'm working on putting together a tutorial for you guys. Hopefully that will be up by the end of the week or next week at the latest. I have to go pick up some more interfacing since I ran completely out. Why is it that interfacing comes in such short widths?! That is so frustrating!

Don't forget to go check out what everyone else is working on....and don't forget to check out the Ghastlie Blog Hop ladies; I have the schedule in my right sidebar. My turn is tomorrow so please come back and visit then as well!

It's Beginning to a Lot Like a Ghastlie Blog Hop...

2011-10-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

And you can find links to all of the blogs in my sidebar on the right. Don't forget to comment because someone will be chosen from each blog to go in a daily drawing at Madame Samm's blog at Sew I quilt. Some of the individual blogs are also having giveaways (I am on Thursday!) so make sure to check those out as well. I have also started a Ghastlie board on my Pinterest so check it out by clicking that little red Pinterest link on the right sidebar or just clicking here. Need a Pinterest invite? Let me know!

Today's prize at Madame Samm's? One of these lovelies! Ooh, I want one!

Good luck, drearies! Have a positively Ghastly day!

Embroidery 101 Top Finished! and 200 Posts!

2011-10-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like today's post is number 200! I also passed 10,000 hits this week so I had two bloggy milestones! I would do a giveaway for them, but I'm about to have one with the Ghastlie Blog Hop so I'll just call it an all in one!

I finished my top for Embroidery 101, though I am still debating adding a darker colored border to help ground it a bit. It's a bit more 'light and airy' than I normally make.

Or I may just use a darker binding and call it done. It is approximately 60x60 as is. I love how the embroidery turned out. I'm still contemplating how I want to quilt it. I did 3" sashing and used my scraps to make mini blocks in each of the corners.
Hope you're having a nice weekend!

A Laundry Bag Do-over! A tutorial

2011-10-22T18:17:00.000-07:00

When hubby and I first moved into this house, I went from having a large wonderful utility room to having a laundry closet. See that door?

Yeah, that's my laundry room and it's not much bigger than that door.

Pay no mind to the dirty laundry; that's not the point. My point is, where do you think I separate laundry? I didn't want one of those pieces that sits in the hallway because there was no room for that either. So I came up with an idea and hubby helped me implement it. If you look to the left behind the door you can sort of see it.

Hubby made me a wooden strip with dowels on it and I made large canvas bags for laundry. Why am I showing you this? No particular reason except that I never got to show it off before (it was made 11 years ago) and it's sort of a precursor to today's project because it shows I've made bags.
When I had my son (who is now 5 1/2), I got this little jewel as a gift.

Well, it has been the dirty clothes hamper for both of my kids for all these years. The frame is okay but the fabric and bag have seen better days. At first I was going to replace the fabric on the outside and the bag, but then I decided that was redundant. I figured I could just make the inner bag out of nicer fabric. So I took it all apart but immediately found a problem.

The way the blue fabric went on the frame, it actually Velcroed at the bottom and made it stand up. So I had to find a different way to make it stand up. I measured the bottom of the bag and included the two sides with the Velcro.

Then I took some twill type fabric that I had on hand and cut two strips 2.5 by 36 inches (the bottom of the blue bag was approximately 35" so I added an inch for seams).

I folded each end down about 1/4" and sewed it down.

Then I treated the strips like I was making binding. Fold in half lengthwise and iron. Open and fold each side inward toward the inner crease. Iron. Fold again at the crease. Sew. I'm not giving a lot of instruction on this part because most of you know how to do binding. If you don't, there are tons of tutorials out there in bloggy world.

Now I attach the Velcro. You will have a male and female piece of Velcro; one will go on one end of your strip on the top and the other will go on the other end on the bottom.

Once you've sewn on your Velcro, attach the strips to the bottom of your frame. It should stand by itself.

Now we need a laundry bag. Remember that Amy Butler decorator fabric my friend got me at the yard sale?

Yup, that's what I'm using! I took the mesh bag (seen in the corner of the above picture) that came with the laundry hamper and measured what I needed. This particular bag had two side pieces and one long gusset. So I cut out my fabric from the bolt.

Since I didn't really take pictures of this part, I took some of paper to give you a bit of an idea as to how it came together.
My original measurements for the bag were as follows: the side pieces were 16" x 19". The gusset needed to be at least 54" long by 15.5" wide. My fabric was 55" wide so I just left it. Basically I had one really long rectangle and two short ones.

It's kind of hard to get one picture that shows how it all fits together but ...

You are basically using the short pieces as a guide. You will end up sewing down one side, across the bottom, then up the other side. Repeat with the other piece. It will end up looking something like this.

But before you sew all those seams, read ahead. I decided to do french seams in this project because decorator fabric is kind of like canvas. It has the tendency to fray a bit and I didn't want the frayed bits in my laundry. If you are unfamiliar with french seams, they are not as difficult as they seem.
The first step is to line up the fabric wrong side to wrong side. I know that doesn't sound right but go with me. You will sew along the area that needs to be sewn with about a 1/4" seam.

When you complete sewing that line, turn your project inside out and place the fabric right side to right side. Now technically with french seams, you are supposed to press your seams open. You are welcome to do that because it does help you get a crisper fold when you fold the fabric right to right side. You want to fold it over at the sewn seam and iron it at the fold; get the . You are now going to sew a 1/2" seam from the edge of the first seam. Your edges are now enclosed. Sew Sweetness has a great little picture of how this works here.

When your entire bag is sewn, you will have raw edges around the top of the bag. At each corner you will need a loop to catch an edge of the frame. From my leftovers I cut four strips about 1.5" by 8 inches. You will treat these just like creating binding again. You will be ironing each in half lengthwise (I just finger pressed); then you will open it back out and fold each side in toward that middle crease. Iron. Sew. Do this with all four pieces. Set them to the side.

I kind of accidentally skipped a picture here but you can see it in the next picture. Take the bag and fold down the top edge about 1/4 inch all the way around and pin. Sew the edge down. You can either attach the loops at the same time you sew around the edge or you can do it after. I did it after (primarily because I didn't think about it!). Because I did french seams, the four corners were rather bulky. For this reason, I had to attach my loops right next to that bulk instead of right on the corner itself. I repeatedly sewed over the loop to ensure that it was anchored well. I also stacked the two sides of my loop. You might want to sew the two ends side by side instead to reduce the bulk for the next step.

After all four loops are attached, you are going to fold the edge down again all around the bag. When you get to the loops, they will now be facing downward. Flip them back up and pin securely.

This creates a lot of bulk where the loops are so you are going to need to be careful going over them with your sewing machine. If you sewed your loop ends side by side, it may not be as difficult to sew through.

When you have sewn all around the edge (repeatedly go over the loops to ensure they are anchored) you are done!

I love how it turned out. You don't notice the brace straps on the bottom at all so they can shift around or whatever. I'm also thrilled that I bought absolutely nothing to do this project! This was all supplies I had on hand. I think it's a great update and I like not having to buy something new.