Soft Kitty Variation...

Sew, What Are You Up To?

I have gotten a minor amount of sewing done, though I am getting ready to pin my Skill Builder quilt into a sandwich. I am one of those people who goes to the grocery store and, without fail, will be short one bag. If I take in one bag, I'll need two...and so on. So when I came across this cool bag you can keep in your purse, I jumped at the chance to make on. I had some fabric I bought at Walmart a long time ago before I really understood the difference in fabrics. However, it's perfect for a project like this one. I used this little tutorial which even makes you a little zipper bag to keep it in. 

Here's my cute little bag. And I should say, it's not really little. It's plenty big enough for groceries, which I've already used it for.

You fold it up and slip it inside it's little pouch...

And then tuck it in your purse! How cool! I have a couple of more yards in other prints I think I'm going to use to make a few more.

I also wanted to show you what I've picked up at the LQS that is going out of business.

A little bit of this...

a little bit of that...

some things I don't know what I'll do with yet...

and some I do (a change purse!).

Some were things I just couldn't leave behind cause they were so cute. They also had that VW print in teal. I may have to go back and get some more of that for a giveaway! I'll let you know!

Lovin' Some LQS Sales!

My LQS is currently running a sale on a lot of their fabrics. All the fabrics already in markdown ($6 a yard) are now $4.50 a yard, loads of books are half price, and a ton of other fabrics are 40% off. Now most of her fabrics on sale are more traditional type fabrics, but she does have a few more modern ones on sale as well. I went Saturday and picked up these:

I got City Quilts for $12.50 and a yard of Thomas Knauer Pear Tree in blue for $4.50. Yes, that's exactly the same fabric I used in my Tammy bag and I gave away a bit too...but mine was green. I don't do a lot with blue but you never know when you'll need it. Unfortunately it was in the section where she has a lot of 1 yd. pieces pre-cut and there were no more. So I snapped it up while I had the chance. I'm going to go back later this week to see if there's anything I can use as a backing for my Simply Color quilt. I have totally changed my mind from making another Falling Charms and am contemplating another pattern I came across recently. You'll have to wait and see what it is, but I really think it's going to work out well.
I also finished the borders on my flag quilt. Just got to get it quilted today and I will post pics!!

Oldest Designer for Robert Kaufman!!!

I thought this article was so cool. NEVER think it's too late to do something with a talent!!!

Salem woman achieves dream of working in fashion 72 years later

It's Giveaway Day!!!

Don't forget to go here to enter more giveaways!

It's here! It's giveaway day! Thanks so much for coming over to check out what I have to offer. I hope you stay to check out my blog; there's about to be some fun stuff going on in the next couple of months. I will be participating in the Tammy bag Blog Hop over at Sew We Quilt from June 12-18th so definitely come back for that. I'm working on my first bag now and it's going to be so cute! I'm thinking laminate for a second one. Hmmmm.....
So, what do I possibly have to give away?
I am giving away a half yard cut of each of the pictured fabrics from my stash. Wow, that was weird being able to say I can pull something from my stash to give away.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.

The dragonfly fabric is a Michael Miller Bazaar print. The floral is a Robert Kaufman design. I will also squeeze in as many crochet dish/washcloths as I can fit in with it if you are interested. Just let me know if you want some if you win. And what do you have to do to win? Well, let's see...

1. Leave me a comment below. Looking for something to say? I am interested in any fabulous patterns out there in bloggy world that you are just dying to try. Personally, I keep trying to win the wonderful Aeroplane Bag by Sara over at Sew Sweetness.
2. You certainly do not have to follow me but, if you do, you are welcome to leave a comment for a second entry.

 

Make sure you are not a no-reply blogger peeps! I would hate to have to redraw if I can't get in touch with someone!
I had originally thought I would keep it just in the US but I changed my mind. This is now open to anyone!

This giveaway will stay open until May 10th, 5:00 PST. I will do my best to announce the winner Saturday, May 11 so check your email!

***Update***
 I really was going to try to respond to all the emails but I did not expect the number of responses I have gotten. I have never gotten this many responses for a giveaway. Please know that I am reading them all but I will be unable to keep up with responding to each and every one. Good Luck to all!!!

An LQS Yard Sale!

Yup, you read that right! A semi-local (an hour away) LQS decided to encourage their employees to clean out their own stash to have a yard sale outside the store. I got there about 45 minutes after it started cause I woke up late, but I still found some goodies.

Here's just one side of what they had set up. The fabric side; the only side I was concerned with! So what did I find? Well, let's see...

3.69 yards of aquas and white for $10,...

2 yards of this cute orange and red print for $6,...

and 3 yards of this cute green and aqua print for $9. And it blends well with the above aquas in real life. Almost 9 yards of fabric for $25! Can't beat that! But I did have to go inside for some more stuff. Unfortunately what I really needed was not even on sale.

I picked up a half yard each of the prints I did not already have from Helen Mulder Peterson's Artful Home. This is what I've been using for my Carpenter Wheels.

I had also picked up that brown piece to make a strap to tie my daughter's hair and braid back for her Halloween costume, and for a tree I need to make. When I got up to the register I had a coupon for $5 off a $25 order but mine came up to $23. So I just had her add a fat quarter and ran back to pick one out which ended up being the lime swirl. So I figure it's about 11 yards total for about $48; a little over $4 a yard for high quality fabric. Not too shabby if I do say so myself. Now I just need to put some of it to good use!

Stash Building

Well, our guild president posted yesterday that a lady had contacted her via our website that her mother (a quilter) had passed away and she wanted to get rid of a large portion of her stash. I wish I'd taken a picture of it. Unreal. She had it portioned out by color upstairs in her house and it was covering surfaces in 3 bedrooms and all over her hallway. An entire table devoted to purple, a chest covered with green, a box full of red. She also had 3 boxes of quilting books. I picked up a book on Sashiko and last year's 100 blocks magazine.  I also picked up a bag full of fabric and only spent $20.

Approximately 16 pieces are around fat quarter size, and the others (about 9) range from 1-3 yards. And I really could have bought more. I'm going to go back and look through them and see if I can pull a blue and green together for a baby quilt for my new little cousin and go back for a brown to go with it. She also had tons of creams and whites, but it's hard to know what you're getting there. Plus she had a large PVC quilt rack used to hand quilt, and some miscellaneous Pellon products.

I've got my Bottled Rainbows binding sewn down in the front and it is pinned and ready to be hand stitched down in the back. That will be a sitting in front of the tv project. I also need to get some traveling sewing projects together since we leave for vacation on Sunday. Finally!

Yummilicious Rainbow Goodness!

Check it out! Yesterday's mail brought me a stack of 64, count 'em, 64 10x10 Kona solids from Jane's swap!

Layer cake goodness! What's your favorite layer cake quilt design? I've got a pinterest board going I'd love to add to if you're interested. Layer cake quilt goodies! Right now I'm really liking that courthouse steps in solids!

Also, I recently caught a statement made by Jamilelyn Nye of iheartnaptime on Twitter. She said, "Bloggers are your community. Not your competition." Wow. I like that a lot.

Oh, Sunburn...Thou Art a Devil to Me!

Yeah, I sat too long in the sun yesterday. Let me tell you how long too long is for me. I have VERY pale skin so I was under the umbrella the ENTIRE time without sunblock on (I know, what was I thinking)....except for about 5 minutes where my neighbor buddy and I sat beside the pool with our feet in the water to cool off. That's all it took. 5 minutes. And my shoulders look like lobster skin. Sigh... oh, to have my daughter's skin (not that I would stay out in the sun; I know what it can do). Hubby says she's like his grandfather was; she walks by an open window and turns brown. Not me. Burn, peel, freckle and back to white. That's me. Inspires me to write....

Ode to a Sun Goddess

Skin of tan, smooth and brown

This is the skin I've never found

Shielded, hiding, always shunned

By a large foreboding sun

To lie beneath it's heated rays

To soak beneath it's fire ablaze

Not I, for freckles dare to rise

To sunbathe, it is ill advised.

Days of summer slowly pass

Trapped inside am I, alas

A vacay at the beach, not me

An indoor pool for this mommy!

Hope you enjoyed! Oh, I also got some recent mail goodies to post about. Got my Pilot Frixion pens I won from Quiltingranny, and I finally used my gift certificate to Pink Chalk Fabrics I won from Rachel. What did I get? Well, I picked up some more Good Fortune to go with what I have (I have a layer cake) and a pack of 12 inch colored zippers! 

I love that green. How predictable am I? Plus I have another order coming in later this week from Wondrous Woven Fabrics. Unfortunately they are going out of business, so check them out soon before they are gone.

WIP...Where I forgot it Was Wednesday...Again!

Wednesday? Seriously? I totally forgot again until I pulled up my blogger and saw Linz's post said WIP. This is getting to be a habit! But, in my defense, it's been a crazy week with hubby being off Monday for Memorial Day and yesterday for his grandfather's funeral. I sort of lost track of time.

So, without further adieu, the progress for the week as it stands right now! But first, if you are looking for a Pay It Forward to join, check here for mine.

I had one child graduate kindergarten and one graduate 4th grade! Woohoo!
I finished my granny square baby quilt!

I am also finishing up another quilt top but I can't decide which way I like it better. I had to take pictures because it was a bit busier than I expected so it was hard for me to see the patterns it made.

In this version I tried to link up some of the colors but not all, giving the impression that there were some "roads" and some "dead ends."

This version is where the fabrics are set up to create diamonds. I think if I do it this way I will try to set up some colors to actually meet and make X's like you see the blue almost do in the lower left hand portion. The pink almost does it right next to it.

Oh, and I got some mailbox goodies yesterday. Hollie from Undercover Crafter sent me some Kona scraps I won from her. I was shocked at how many there were!

Linking up to Lee!

And speaking of Lee...ahem...

Yo Yo Yo! Watch out cuz Lee's gettin' all gangsta in yo' bidness with some FQ to the machine! Lee "The Feed Dog" Henrich and the Fat Quarter Gang are gonna rock yo world with some hands on stitchin'. Say what? Check it all out at dis' place here. That's just how they roll, see?

I'm so Excited... It's Giveaway Day!

WINNER IS LORI AT SEWFRENCH.COM!!!

I'm participating in Giveaway Day!
*****UPDATE*****
If you do not leave me a way to contact you, your name will NOT be drawn! I have no less than 9 no-reply bloggers comments so far. PLEASE, if you want to win, leave me your email in the comment.

And what may you ask might I be giving away? Well, I'm so glad you asked!

First we have some fabric! There are three fat quarters; one is an Anthology print and one is Nature's Glow by Ro Gregg. These have been pre-washed. There is another fat quarter which is a floral (NOT prewashed) and a piece of Ambrosia by Robert Kaufman I cut from my leftovers which is about 13" x 28" (also NOT prewashed).  There are 4 patterns and two packs of Class 15 Bobbins.
There is April Showers by Pearl Louise Designs (an 11" x 23" Banner),

Snowflakes in the Stars Table Runner (17.5" x 52"),

 Don't Make me Call the Flying Monkeys by Terrie Eskew,

and Black Red White by Marinda Stewart (40" x 55") for Michael Miller Fabrics.

Sorry for the loveliness of the pictures. They were taken with my dumbphone because I was in a hurry to get this done and I didn't have time to reduce pics from my regular camera.
Want to win some goodies? Just leave me a comment below for one entry, maybe telling me your favorite new line of fabric since quilt market just ended. I am not requiring that you be a follower to enter, but if you ARE a follower, you are welcome to a second entry.
Here are the ground rules:
This giveaway closes Friday, May 25th at 5:00 p.m. I will send to the US and Canada only. Sorry international readers! I'm participating in several things right now so trying to keep my costs down. I just realized I screwed it up and put it in the wrong place on the Sew, Mama, Sew list so, if you are international, I will send to you! My mistake.
THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED. WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED.
Thanks so much for visiting and I hope you will come back if you're a newbie!

Yummiliciousness...and A Steal Too!

I love getting good deals! My LQS had a sale on their sale fabrics today. Yes, I said a sale on their sale! 15% more off which meant a total of 60% off. Can't beat that so I stocked up. I got 2 yards of this, 4 yards of that...wanna see?

That second one is the same Ambrosia I used on the back of the fundraiser quilt I picked for Bloggers' Festival. I looked around and they had it in the green/purple so I got the end of both of those bolts. I also picked up some Eclectic Garden by Jason Yenter for In the Beginning Fabrics and some Savannah by Fabri-Quilt. I'm probably going to use the Eclectic Garden on the back of the baby quilt I'm making. I know. I make quilts that kids can use. I don't usually make true baby quilts.

Have you made much headway checking out the Bloggers' Festival yet? I haven't made it past the first line yet!
Oh, and I totally forgot! I got in on Clover & Violet's Pay it Forward blog post so stay tuned in the next week for a blog post on that. Would you like to receive some kind of crafty package from me sometime in the next year? Hmmmm?? Well, look out for that post and jump on board quickly!

Goodies Online and Goodies at Home!

Lots to talk about today! Don't forget May Giveaway Day at Sew, Mama, Sew! is this weekend (May 21st).

Giveaway Day

And Amy at Amy's Creative Side is running her Bloggers' Quilt Festival starting this Friday, the 18th.

I also wanted to give a shout out to the bloggy friends I have recently won goodies from. I want to make sure you understand that I do this only to call attention to other people's great blogs and let you know just how great they are.

• A $25 gift card to Pink Chalk Fabrics from Rachel at Stitched in Color...

• A book and scraps from Allegory at Sew Allegorical... (this came yesterday)

She's so sweet! She asked if there were any scraps I needed. I started to say no but I remembered that I've been struggling with finding reds and some blues for my Bottled Rainbows quilt. So here's what she sent me.

I love the blue pickup truck! and the red fabric with the chairs. There was also a larger piece with bugs that I've got to find something cute to do with. Thanks so much Al! Oh, and when I looked at her return address I figured out that she only lives about 45 minutes from me! How cool is that?

• I also won some Kona cotton fat quarters and scraps from Hollie at The Undercover Crafter.

Then, just as I was starting to get teased goodnaturedly by my bloggy friends for being on a winning hot streak (you're so funny Julie!), I saw on my email yesterday that I won a copy of 100 Blocks Volume 5 from Mary at Quiltin' Grandma! I'm so pumped!

I'm very appreciative to all my bloggy friends for having giveaways. When I first started staying home and quilting, hubby made the comment that I might have to sell things or do something part time to pay for my hobby. So I started entering giveaways...lots of giveaways. So any and all wins help me keep crafting and staying home so, again, I thank you!

Grannies Gone Wild!

If you're looking for my giveaway (boy's charm pack and a binding tool) check here.

I have been working on Granny Squares for a baby quilt due in a couple of weeks. Well, the baby is due in a couple of weeks so I guess the quilt is as well. Here are the four new ones.

And here are all of them together so far.

My sister also called and requested an iPad case for her new toy she received as a birthday/early Mother's Day gift. I created a Pinterest page for her to look over possible ideas. If you're interested in tutorials for iPad or e-reader cases by various bloggers, check it out here. Also, if you know of any good tutorials for such items, let me know and I'll add them to the board.
I'm playing around with fabric choices and so far think I'm going to use Heirloom. I'm just not sure if which colorway because I have some of two different ones.
Orange...

and pink.

“Oh Tigger, where are your manners?"

"I don’t know, but I bet they’re having more fun than I am.”
― A.A. Milne

Progress...and Fabric!

So far I have 14 blocks done for twin quilt number 2... 21 blocks to go! I'm taking a different route with this one but they will look very similar.

I had just ordered the fabric I chose with my winning credit from Sky Reve Fabrics when I found out I had another win! I found out the other night from Megan over at Canoe Ridge Creations that I won the Neptune honeybun by Tula Pink over at her blog giveaway! So, in my near future I will receiving this Neptune honeybun....


and this fat quarter bundle of Verona that I ordered from Sky Reve.

Isn't it gorgeous? And not totally like other fabrics I've picked out.  Thanks so much again to Heather Megan at Quilt Story for their giveaway. I think I can almost say that after this and all the fabric I've gotten lately from Christmas gift cards, I almost have a stash!