Texas Freckles

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T14:05:00.000-06:00

Our Thanksgiving adventure.

2011-12-01T19:09:00.000-06:00

I hope you and yours had a lovely Thanksgiving! For only the second time in my life, we left Fort Worth for Thanksgiving. The only other time was in 1999 when my husband and I went to Paris and then to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany to visit his sister who was living there at the time. My husband skied, but I was pregnant with our daughter, so I didn't get to ski the Alps.

Last week, we went to South Fork, Colorado and skied Wolf Creek. That's our gang above without my husband who was taking the photo. My daughter was the only kiddo, but she was a real trooper. The guy in the middle with the white snowboard is my brother and his sweet wife next to him (in blue) is giggling behind her board. The couples on either end are friends.

The weather was absolutely beautiful for skiing. Wolf Creek had received over 100" of snow and the entire mountain was open.

The last day I tried my luck on a blue run. That was a big deal for me, because I'm a bunny slope kind of girl. The view from the top was breathtaking. I did wipe out four times on the way down, but no yard sales and I was able to get myself up and keep going. I hadn't fallen until our last day and I knew it was coming. I wish I had wiped out the first day and gotten it out of the way so I wouldn't have been such a scaredy-cat. I think I had more fun after I finally fell!

I also wish I had more photos, but we were about two hours from home when I realized I'd left my camera behind! I was so upset! We've got a few phone photos like the ones above, but I'll have to rely on my unreliable memory for the rest. Wanna hear some good news though? Guess what I dug out to work on during the drive there and back? The hexagon charm quilt. It's been hibernating, but I may have rekindled my desire to finish that beast. I'll save the grizzly details for another post.

On the drive home, I also drew up a layout for the Hot Mess Plus and X quilt from my last post. I worked on the actual quilt this afternoon and I like where it's going. I think I have a layout that will contain the chaos, but still lets the scrappy goodness sing. I'll share more later. Right now, I need to clean up my room. I'm having aplaydate tomorrow! My sweet friend, Steph, is coming over to sew for the day. Life is good.

An Imprudent Post

2011-11-18T11:15:00.001-06:00

I'm coming to my own conclusion that maybe I actually am The Uptight Quilter. I don't post very often because I hate to post without thinking hard about what I'm going to say and wondering if anyone actually cares and making sure the photos look just so.

Well, not today! Welcome to my imprudent post. This post has no forethought whatsoever. Other than the fact that I thought, I should post something and I should take some photos and upload them for the post.

Here's what's happening currently in my sewing room.

I bought some of each of the 19 new DS Quilts Daisy Mae prints for Joann. They don't feel as nice as the Fairgrounds and Picnic fabrics, but I really like the prints and was able to stack some coupons and get them for 50% off. I think they are worth what I paid for them. I'm not a pre-washer when it comes to quilting (to each his own, don't hate on me), but I think I'm going to pre-wash these to make sure they aren't going to bleed or develop crazy off-grain issues and I want to see how they feel after washing. Has anyone pre-washed their Daisy Mae yet?

I worked on a few more Farmers Wife blocks. I'm going the template route, but I've been measuring the templates and just cutting my fabrics to size. I'm making notes in the book and on my templates of the sizes so I can just refer to the sizes and cut. It would seem like their would be more trimming involved, but I trim anyway, so it doesn't seem to be adding any extra time to constructing the blocks. I'm still using the templates for the unusually shaped pieces.

Here are the four blocks I did this week. I would tell you their names and numbers, but since no planning went into this post, I didn't take notes and bring them to the computer with me. I think one of them is called Friendship.

I cut into my DS Quilts Sugar Creek, Picnic, and Fairgrounds and started on a Swoon quilt. I LOVE the huge blocks!

Last Saturday, I moved my rotary mat, iron and scrap bin into the TV room and cut like made during the TCU vs. Boise State game. Go Frogs! My thought was to cut out pieces to take on an upcoming trip and assemble on my newest toy...

into super scrappy x and + blocks. But, I can't decide if I like these blocks. OK, well, that's not completely true, I like the blocks and I love the bright busyness. What I'm undecided about is if these blocks break so many rules that people will look at this quilt and think, "Ugh! What a disaster! What a waste of fabric!" I think it's a bit of a hot mess, and I think that's what I like about it!

And that's what's happening in my sewing room today. Happy Friday y'all!

Sew to Swap Blog Hop

2011-11-14T17:31:00.001-06:00

If you've been following the Sew to Swap blog hop, I'm sure you've seen some great previews of this gorgeous book. I'm still so thrilled that Chrissie asked me to be a part of this lovely book and I'm honored to be in the company of the talented folks who also contributed to this book.

I mentioned to you in a previous post that this book is beautiful. The illustrations by Ariel Eldridge are stunning. I wish I had some of these to hang in my sewing space!

Chrissie's directions and clearly written and she includes everything you need to know about getting into sewing swaps. The book also features a lot of great general sewing information which I think makes it perfect for the beginner and more advanced sewers alike. Topics such as fabric grain, choosing fabrics and colors, pressing, and rotary cutting are covered in detail.

Throughout the book, there are little sidebars called "Ask the contributors" with answers to a questionnaire we were asked to complete. For some reason, most of my answers came across as kind of, well, anal-retentive. If you know me personally, I'm sure you know I'm not really as uptight as my answers make me sound. At least, I hope that's the case.

Anyway, a couple of weekends ago, I attended a quilting retreat with some of my awesome quilting friends from the Dallas MQG and the Fort Worth MQG. I think they got a real kick out of me reading my answers aloud in my snobbiest voice and they got some serious mileage out of my "snacks while sewing" comment (above). (I did notice that John and Nettie aren't into sticky fingers either, so I'm in some good company.) But, it was just too funny at the retreat when Angie tore into a big bag of jalapeno Cheetos right next to me. Ah, good times! I was debating using this new header for my blog:

I'm glad I could provide them with a few laughs. I doubt they are finished with me. ;-)

I was able to participate in four projects in the book.

The hexagon table runner

That's my orange hexie at the top and on the book's cover.

The curvy block swap

My block is in the lower right corner of the quilt,

and it also go a really nice full-page photo!

The scrapbuster swap, which was really fun.

My block is the middle right of the photo above.

And, the wonky siggy swap.

My wonky star made it into another full page photo!

If you are thinking that after this fabulous book tour, you don't even need a copy, think again! This book is a must-have for your sewing library. So if you haven't ordered your copy yet, I've got good news! You can purchase Sew to Swap now for just $14.99 ($10 off the retail price!) Visit the Martha Pullen Online Store and enter SEW2SWAP at checkout to receive the discount*!

Thank you for stopping by on my blog hop day! If you haven't visited all the hop stops before mine, use the list below as a tour guide. Visit those you haven't and stay tuned for ten more days of previews and tidbits about the book!

November 7 Lovely Little Handmades
November 8 Stitches & Scissors
November 9 Cluck Cluck Sew
November 10 My Three Sons
November 11 Twin Fibers
November 12 Stitchy Quilt Stuff
November 13 The Creative Juices of Ariel
November 14 Texas Freckles
November 15 Quilt Dad
November 16 Artsy-Craftsy Babe
November 17 Little Miss Shabby
November 18 A Cuppa and a Catch Up
November 19 A Quilt is Nice
November 20 A Little Sweetness
November 21 House of A La Mode
November 22 I’m Just a Guy Who Quilts
November 23 Little Bit Funky
November 27 In His Grace

*Offer expires Nov 30, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. Special Price in US Dollars, for items that are “in stock” only. Martha Pullen Company reserves the right to correct pricing errors.

Fall Quilt Market in Houston

2011-10-31T13:08:00.001-05:00

I've been exploring the idea of moving my little sewing studio/school out of my home and into a retail location. So when I found out my my friend Michelle, of Urban Spools, was headed to Quilt Market in Houston, we decided to go together. Market seemed like a great place to explore the reality of a brick and mortar existence.

I thought I'd share what really caught my eye at market with you. There is so much to see and I while did feel like much of what was being introduced felt like more of the same, there were some very exciting fabric lines that I can't wait to add to my stash and some really inspiring booths.

Does it get any better than this sofa at the Free Spirit booth? I've pined for some patchwork furniture from Squint in the UK for years and that's what this reminded me of.

Yes, um, Free Spirit... I'll take two, please.

And while you are shipping over the sofas, go ahead an add these pillows and cushons too. Just beautiful!

This is the handsome booth of David Butler, Amy Butler's husband. His new line is gorgeous!

I saw a lot of indigo blue and ikat at market and his line was a beautiful twist on the trend. I love that quilt and I think lots of men would too.

Amy's booth next door was equally amazing. Her new line is called Lark and I don't think it will disappoint Amy Butler fans.

The designs and colors in Lark were really fresh and the collection has a really happy feel. Amy and David Butler are one of those picture perfect couples; it was fun to get to see them in person.

Just down from the Butlers, was Anna Maria Horner's booth. On the sofa, left to right, are Elinor Peace Bailey, Anna Maria, and Denyse Schmidt. Yes, I felt like I was in the presence of fabric royalty.

Anna Maria had some beautiful needlepoint canvases (on the wall at the right). Her booth was beautiful!

The Seven Islands booth (Prints Charming, Echino, Kokka, Melody Miller) was drool-worthy. Above is the new line from Print Charming for Kokka called Daisy Chain.

I'm going to need some of this line.

And, I LOVE this bag pattern!

This is the new Melody Miller (Ruby Star Rising). Pretty cute stuff!

There's the new Sew to Swap book at the Krause Publishing booth!

If I had to pick one favorite new fabric line from market, it would have to be this one.

Yes, it's Malka Dubrawsky, but no, it's not hand-dyed. It's Malka for everyone, it's Malka for Moda!

This line is completely amazing! The colors are crazy bright and beautiful. I absolutely LOVE this line.

There was one original Malka in the booth and there's just no way to do this quilt justice in a photo. The colors are spectacular.

Well, that's my quick, quilt market recap. I took about 300 photos and uploaded some of the best to a flickr album you can find here. I also have some great photos of quilts from the show, but I'll save those for another post. For now, I'll just let you drink these in!

And the winner is...

2011-10-27T23:22:00.000-05:00

I hope you got some great gift ideas from the 12 Gifts of Christmas Blog Hop! What an awesome hop Jennifer put together!

Now for the information you are looking for... the winner of the $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate is...

comment number 106, which belongs to...

Bente who blogs at i like to quilt blog!

Congratulations, Bente! I've sent you an email, but feel free to email me if you don't see mine first.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by during the blog hop!

12 Gifts of Christmas Blog Hop

2011-10-22T08:54:00.000-05:00

If you've been following the 12 Gifts of Christmas Blog Hop, the brainchild of Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts, I'm sure you've added some adorable gifts to your Christmas to-sew list! I've seen some very cute ideas and I can't wait to make some of the adorable gifts featured.

My tutorial is a ruffled wristlet. Every girl needs a few ruffles in her life and every girl needs a wristlet. I'm sure there's someone on your list who could use one. If not, I think you could use one, but we are talking about gifts here, so make one for someone else first and then you'll have no guilt about making one for yourself. Throughout this tutorial, the photo always follows the instructions for that step. Here we go, it's the...

This wristlet can be made with one fat quarter (FQ). Advantage, it's ONE fat quarter. Disadvantage, the entire wristlet is made from the same fabric. Use the cutting layout below if you want to cut the entire thing from one FQ. To make it from different fabrics, use the measurements on the layout to cut your pieces. Or, you could make two or three with two or three FQs and mix the fabrics up.

Here's what you'll need for this project.

One fat quarter
One 8 x 6" rectangle and one 8 x 6.5" rectangle of midweight fusible interfacing
One 7" zipper
Thread to match your exterior fabric
Optional: Two 8 x 6" rectangles for a contrasting lining if you don't cut the lining pieces from the FQ.

Step 1: Interfacing. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to apply the interfacing to the wrong side of the exterior pieces. (There's no photo for this step.)

Step 2: "Hem" the ruffles. There are, of course, a variety of ways you can finish the edges of your ruffles, but to keep this simple, we're going to zigzag about 1/4" inside the edge and unravel the fabric a bit. I use my seam ripper to pick the warp threads one at a time and pull them out. I used a zigzag stitch 2.5mm long by 3.5mm wide and unraveled my edge back to the edge of the zigzag.

Step 3: Gather the ruffles. Sew a basting stitch (the longest stitch on your machine) along the top edge of each ruffle. Then sew another row of basting stitches about 1/4" below the first row. Be sure to leave at leave at least 2-3" of thread tails on both ends of your ruffle. I used white thread so you can see my basting stitches. To gather your ruffles, pull on both bobbin stitches on one end at once and gently gather the fabric. I like to push a few small gathers all the way to the center and build the gathers out toward the edge. Do the same on the opposite end until your fabric is gathered to about 8" wide. Gather both ruffles.

Step 4: Attach the bottom ruffle. Measure 3.5" up from the bottom edge of your larger (6.5" x 8") exterior fabric and mark a line along the 8" length. I used a hera marker, but a pencil would work just fine.

Align the top edge of the smaller (3") ruffle to the line you marked. There will be 1/2" below the ruffle. Distribute the fullness evenly and pin the ruffle to the fabric.

Stitch the ruffle to the fabric with a straight stitch 1/8" from the raw edge. At this point, I remove the basting stitches. If you basted with the same color thread and they aren't loose and their appearance doesn't bother you (they will be hidden under the top ruffle), feel free to leave them in place.

After removing the basting stitches, sew a wide zigzag stitch about 1/16" down from the raw edge. It helps contain the yarns along the raw edge and keeps the top edge of the ruffle flat. I used a zigzag stitch 2.0mm long and 5.0mm wide.

Step 5: Attach the top ruffle. Trim 1.5" from the top edge of the exterior front.

Align the ruffle to the top edge and pin in place distributing the fullness evenly. Stitch this ruffle to the bag front using straight stitch and a 1/8" seam allowance (or a VERY scant 1/4" seam allowance).

Place the 1.5" strip you cut from the top edge of the bag front right side down on top of the ruffle and align the top edges. Attach this strip to the bag front with a 1/4" seam allowance.

Fold the strip up and press it away from the ruffle. If you have any stitches, basting or otherwise, showing along the top edge of the ruffle below the strip, remove those carefully with a seam ripper.

Step 6: Cover the ends of your zipper. Fold each small 1.5 x 3" rectangle in half to form two 1.5" squares. Press each square and align it (folded edge to the inside) over the ends of the zipper covering the metal zipper stop on each end by 1/8 to 1/4". Stitch over the end of the zipper in that small space as shown on the right below. Take care to avoid the metal zipper stop; your machine needle probably won't win against it. Stitch both ends and flip it over to check out how fancy your zipper looks now. Trim the fabric on the ends and sides so that it's the same size as the zipper.

Step 7: Zipper Time! Center the zipper right sides together on the top edge of the bag front. It will be slightly longer than the fabric.

Use a zipper foot to stitch the zipper to the bag. Start on the end opposite the zipper pull with the zipper closed. Sew to about 2" from the zipper pull, lower the needle, and raise the presser foot. Reach under the zipper and push the zipper pull backward past the presser foot. Lower the presser foot, ensure that the fabric edges are still aligned and finish the seam. I totally forgot to take a photo of this step, so I faked it in the photo below, but I had already sewn the seam. You only need to stitch it once; don't let the photo confuse you.

Close the zipper and place one lining piece right sides together on top of the zipper and bag front, aligning the top edge and sides.

Pin and stitch the lining to the zipper using the zipper foot. You won't be able to see the zipper, but your zipper foot will be able to find and follow the edge of it through the lining. Move the zipper pull to the back in the same manner as before to ensure your seam is straight.

Open out the lining fabric and press it away from the zipper. Understitch the zipper to the lining to prevent the lining from being caught in the zipper teeth. Stitching will only go through the lining and the zipper, not the front of the bag. Be sure to pull the fabric gently away from the zipper as you stitch.

Repeat Step 7 to attach the other side of the bag and lining to opposite side of the zipper. Don't forget to understitch the lining and press all of the seams when finished sewing.

Step 8: Wrist Strap: Fold the wrist strap in half lenghtwise and press. Unfold it and fold each outside edge in to the center fold and press again. The raw edges are hidden and the strap is four layers thick. Sew close to the edge along the length of both sides.

Secure the wrist strap to the edge of the exterior back (only the back, not the lining) on the side where the zipper closes, about 1" down from the top edge. I used some zigzag stitches which will be hidden inside the seam allowance.

Step 9: Sew this thing together! Okay, this part is very, very important...

U N Z I P T H E Z I P P E R H A L F W A Y!

I don't know if you've ever tried to unzip a zipper from the back side, but it's so hard to do, I don't even know if it's possible. So, please, please don't forget to unzip your zipper half way or about four inches.

Fold the bag so that the right sides of the exterior and lining are together. The seam allowances at the center (the zipper) will fold toward the lining.

Pin the bag together on all four sides, matching your edges and corners. If the bag is a little crooked at this point, take a moment to square it up. Make sure that the sides of the ruffles extend out past the edge of the bag to ensure they are caught in the seam allowance (see mine sticking out on the sides below). Leave an opening in the center bottom of the lining about 4" long. My opening is marked by the pink pins.

Stitch all the way around the bag with a scant 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure that the ruffles are pushed back out of the way of the bottom exterior seam.

Before turning the bag right side out, press the seam allowances at the bottom of the lining (the edge with the opening) back on to the wrong side of the lining. This will make it easier to sew the lining closed.

Clip your corners and trim the bulk off the seam allowances at the zipper ends. I also trimmed back the ruffles and the end of the wrist strap.

It's the big reveal! Reach inside the opening in the lining and turn your bag right side out. Use a point turner (or a chopstick) to push the corners out from the inside on both the lining and the exterior and inside the corners formed at the ends of the zipper.

Step 10: Sew the lining closed by machine or by hand using a slip stitch. All finished!

So, are you ready for a giveaway? How does a $25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop sound! Leave a comment on this post and I'll draw a winner at random on October 27th.

But, it gets better! Even if you don't win the gift certificate, everyone is a winner at Fabricworm who is offering a 15% discount to readers of the 12 Gifts of Christmas Blog Hop! Just use the code fw12days at checkout.

But, that's still not all! Visit Jennifer at Ellison Lane Quilts and leave

one comment on her tutorial to be entered to win the

GRAND PRIZE of a $250 gift certificate to Fabricworm!

Friday, October 14- Jennifer @ Ellison Lane Quilts

Saturday, October 15- Ayumi/Pink Penguin

Sunday, October 16- Amy/ Lots of Pink Here

Monday, October 17- Faith/Fresh Lemons Quilts

Tuesday, October 18- Penny/Sew Take a Hike

Wednesday, October 19- Kati/From the Blue Chair

Thursday, October 20- Lee/Freshly Pieced

Friday, October 21- Elizabeth/Don't Call Me Betsy

Saturday, October 22- Melanie/Texas Freckles

Sunday, October 23- Lindsay/Craft Buds

Monday, October 24- Amanda/A Crafty Fox

Tuesday, October 25-Vanessa/Little Big Girl Studio

I'm really grateful that Jennifer asked me to be a part of her blog hop. Be sure to check out all the great tutorials above, and enter their giveaways if you haven't already.

Happy sewing and best of luck on the giveaways!

I'm so excited!

2011-10-15T17:27:00.001-05:00

I noticed that Nova spilled the beans on her blog and Chrissie has a link on her blog, so I guess it's safe to share some news that has me very excited!

See this adorable book...

I got to be a part of it! Last year, the lovely Chrissie Grace herself asked if I would be interested in contributing to a book she was writing about quilt swaps. Have you seen Chrissie's other books? Yes, I was interested! I was in some very good company too. It still doesn't feel real to have participated in something like this with Chrissie and some of the coolest bloggers out there.

I haven't seen a copy of the book in person yet, but from the preview at Amazon, it looks amazing! The illustrations are beautiful, the photographs are inspiring, and the text is clearly written. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. The publication date is November 8th, which is not very far away. (I'm grinning right now.)

I'm sure I'll be mentioning this lovely book again soon, but I just wanted to share since I am so excited.

Oh and and that orange hexie flower on the cover... I made it! Eeeek! (Yes, I'm grinning again.)

Yes, I've been a bad, bad blogger.

2011-10-07T15:54:00.000-05:00

Life is good, I've just been crazy busy. I've been working, quilting, sewing, teaching sewing, gardening, working on my house, and serving on a very active PTA board for the first time in addition to my wife and mother responsibilities. Sixth grade has been a major transition for my daughter, but she is doing really well in school and I'm so proud of her.

Photo from and great article Boston.com

The drought and weather here in Texas has been completely devastating. We've had the hottest and driest year in Texas history. Wildfires, dead and displaced cattle and livestock, withered crops, and parched soil. It's really heartbreaking and the outlook isn't good. Forecasters tell us the situation isn't going to improve anytime in the foreseeable future. I'm trying to think of something positive to end this paragraph with, but I'm completely at a loss. The impact of 2011 on our landscape, lives, and economy will be profound.

On a happier note, I finished a quilt! This is the quilt I started in my previous post. It's completely over the top and I just love it. This quilt is for my cousin's gorgeous daughter, Teagan. I wanted to make something as delightful as her smile.

I quilted it with bright colors of Perle cotton and tied it with some hot pink for a little extra hold. Everything except the binding is dots. I was surprised at how easy it was to pull a dots quilt together from my stash. I must have a serious love of polka-dots.

Teagan evidently really likes her quilt and I hope she gets years and years of use from it.

So, if you are reading this, I'm guessing you haven't deleted me from your blog reader due to inactivity. I'm going to make an effort to post more regularly and I've got lots of fun things to post about. It's good to be back.

Fun with the Go! Baby!

2011-07-18T11:45:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've seen a few of these new Go! Baby cutters around blogland lately. I was so excited when I was presented with the oppourtunity to try one out and show it to you. As someone who has been in the emergency room having seven stitches to re-attach the side of my left pointer finger after cutting all the way to the bone with a rotary cutter, the Go! Baby seemed like a great fit for me. I was also excited because I teach kids to sew and I think this would be a really fun (and safe) product for them to use.

Accuquilt let me choose three dies, and I chose the Value Die, the Quarter Square 4" Finished Triangle, and the Half Square 4" Finished Triangle. My favorite die so far is the quarter square triangle. It cuts eight triangles at once, but the best part is that they fit together perfectly making it simple to get perfect points. I have never made HSTs or QSTs that fit together this nicely.

The corners of the triangles are dog-eared, so that when finish sewing your four pieces together, there's nothing to trim! Using the Go! Baby is easy and it's really portable. I took it to a Saturday Sew with the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild on Saturday and it fit easily in my bag and wasn't too heavy. When it's folded closed, it looks really cute on the shelf too!

I've been cutting lots of Kona white triangles and bright dots to make a quilt for my cousin's daughter. I'm going with a totally random layout and I'm loving the way it's coming together. I'll show you more as soon as I get the blocks together. The way the points line up is amazing!

I wanted to share this link with you too. Head over to Accquilt and sign up to receive 22 free patterns! I downloaded the patterns and there are some really cute ones in there. You get one set of quilt patterns and the other is a collection of quilt blocks. I really want some more dies for my Go! Baby now. I'l drooling over the Tumbler and the Drunkard's Path.

So, stay tuned for more of the quarter square triangle quilt and some exciting news for one of my sweet blog readers!

And the scraps go to...

2011-07-18T11:13:00.000-05:00

Jo at Sew This Mama Jo!

It's kind of weird but it appears that Jo lives in Dallas! She's a fellow Texan and a fellow member of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild! I'll send you a message, Jo, and get your address. I've got two pounds of scraps (a Target bag full) that I'll send your way!

And to my international friends, I apologize for restricting this giveaway to the USA, but I wanted to be able to send it in a flat rate box that's one price anywhere within the states. I promise, there was no prejudice, it's just a matter of my shipping budget.

Want some scraps?

2011-07-14T23:21:00.001-05:00

If you know the secret of how to get out of Target without spending $65, please let me know. I went in tonight for a piece of white poster board. A sheet of white poster board is 29¢. So, how did I end up with $64.71 of other stuff in my basket!? I have no idea how Target manages to wile me into spending, but whatever their tactic, it seems to be working for them.

Anyway, I bought these plastic drawer bins to sort my scraps into. They are on "sale" for $10 this week. I think the regular price is $10.99, so the savings is essentially insignificant, but they managed to lure me in with that little red "sale" sign.

So rather than working or preparing the post I've needed to get done for the last two weeks, I've been sitting on the floor sorting scraps. I've come to the conclusion that I have too many scraps and I'm sick of looking at many of the scraps I have. I don't want to see some of these fabrics in one more quilt. Ever. When I finish sorting, I think I'll force what's left into one of those medium priority rate boxes and send it to one of my sweet blog followers who could use and appreciate some well-loved scraps that have lived out their useful life in my sewing room.

Interested parties must be open to wrinkles, strings, general wonkiness, slivers, trimmings, and selvedges. There are failed quilt blocks in there along with some apparel fabric trimmings. Some of it's been washed but most of it hasn't. My house is non-smoking, but we do have a dog. A big, black Doberman. He's not allowed in the sewing room, but I can't promise you won't find a stray hair. Don't get the wrong idea though, these scraps are by no means covered in dog hair, but if you are allergic to Dobermans, this might not be the scrap box for you.

So, I'm going to get back to sorting and if you are a follower of my blog and you live in the good 'ol USA, leave me a comment and let me know you are interested. When I finish sorting (or in a couple of days, whichever comes first), I'll pick a random follower to send a box well-loved scrappy stuff.

One more disclaimer. I'm not finished sorting, so I have no idea if you'll get what's pictured above, but I'm not going to mail a box of trash. I promise.

Do. Good Stitches May 2011 Quilt

2011-07-07T09:59:00.001-05:00

I'm a member of the "Love" circle of the do. Good Stitches bee over at flickr. (There's a link to our bee in my sidebar to the right.) May was my month to finish the quilt and I decided to let everyone choose a color and do whatever type of 12" finished block they liked. It was so exciting to see the blocks arrive!

I tried numerous arrangements for this quilt, but eventually decided on random. I like the way it turned out. The binding is a diagonally printed black and white stripe and I used a bright floral vintage sheet for the back.

There's something special to me personally about this quilt too. It's the first quilt I've quilted on a long arm machine. My new friend, Angela of The Jilted Quilt, rents time on her wonderful long arm machine. She donated the time for me to quilt this charity quilt and it was so much fun to learn and play with the long arm. Thanks, Angela!

Long arm quilting was very relaxing. It was so easy to get into "the zone" and just go with it. Next time, I think I'll take my headphones and quilt to music. I was disappointed when I finished. I wanted to keep going! (I just have to add that Ara Jane went over the top with those gorgeous pink hexies. See a close-up at flickr.)

So, a big thank you to the do. Good Stitches "Love" ladies. I'll get this quilt packed up and shipped to Wrap Them in Love right away.

Farmer's Wife on the Fourth

2011-07-04T19:04:00.000-05:00

★ Happy Independence Day! ★

Today is a great day to thank a veteran and count our blessings!

I've worked on a number of sewing projects today, but I think crossing the Cut Glass Dish (#26) off my Farmer's Wife Sampler block list feels like my biggest accomplishment. This was my second go at this block. The first time, I tried using Moda crossweave as one of the fabrics in those 1" HSTs above. I couldn't work with the bulk, so I tried again and the second time's a charm.

I am pleased with my points, but I was extremely disappointed when I put my block on the wall and stepped back to discover that those stupid dots not being straight makes my triangles look crooked! Ugh! That's what I get from trying to cut my fabric on the straight of grain rather than with the print. It does create some nice movement and goodness knows I'm not redoing it.

The other two blocks I added are #41 Friendship Star (red star on the left) and #108 Windmill (gold and blue). I love the way these are coming together. It's a really fun project! Are you working on a Farmer's Wife Sampler?

Farmer's Wife Sampler QAL

2011-06-28T11:45:00.000-05:00

So, I mentioned that I got sucked in to the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along on flickr. These blocks are really addictive! I don't guess I'm going to formally follow the two blocks a week schedule a the quilt along, but rather just work on them when I need a quick sewing fix.

Actually, I use the term "quick" very loosely. That green, pink and gray block above, it's block #47 in the book, Homemaker. I'm so glad I have that one out of the way! I wasn't timing myself, but I suspect that block took me almost two hours. It was my first experience with Y seams in quilting and the one thing this book lacks for these blocks is instructions. This block had some notes that other blocks didn't have, but it still took some time to get it done right. I'm very pleased with the outcome though; I think it's my favorite block thus far.

I discarded one of the blocks I made last week and remade it. It was really bothering me, but the replacement seems to fit in much better. So far, I've made the following blocks:

#1 Attic Windows (very top)

#6 Big Dipper (purple and gold at the bottom)

#16 Calico Puzzle (with the fuzzy cut owl in the center)

#20 Churn Dash (aqua, red, and pink)

#29 Economy (pink/purple/orange with turquoise cross weave)

#47 Homemaker (green and pink star)

#49 Honeycomb (gold peas and carrots with orange)

#68 Postage Stamp (1" squares)

#73 Rainbow Flowers (with red floral KJR)

#77 Seasons (green cross)

#91 Strawberry Basket (pink and red 1" squares atop green Hope Valley)

I read that someone else was trying to alternate tougher and easier blocks and that sounded like a great plan to me. I don't want to put off all the challenging blocks to the end and then never finish because of frustration.

Speaking of finishing, I need do a round up of all my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) and take a look at everything I've got in the works. Maybe if I put them all together in a post, it might help me prioritize and get excited about finishing some things up. I did work on the hexagon charm quilt this weekend for the first time in months. That beast deserves it's own post.

The busyness of summer

2011-06-24T17:31:00.000-05:00

Summer came like a lion here in Fort Worth. Even before June 21st, we had over a week of 100+ degree days. I'm trying to keep my garden alive, but it's too hot for me out there during the day. My flowers and vegetables are just frying in the sun and heat. But I did spot this gorgeous dragonfly visiting my garden two afternoons in a row. He was the most amazing shade of orange and didn't seem to mind me taking his photo.

While reviewing the packing list for Shea's summer camp, we discovered it said "1 quilt or sleeping bag". Now what is it about me that makes something like, "I should make you a quilt for camp!" leap out of my mouth before my brain has time to realize what I'm saying. And once those words are out there, you can't take them back.

I suggested a rag quilt, you know, fast and easy. She loved that idea until she realized what a rag quilt looked like. She proceeded to show me her version of a "rag quilt", which was little pieces of fabric sewn to another piece of fabric and all raggy on the edges. Basically, a ticker tape. This thing is such a mess, I can't even believe I'm showing it to you, so don't look too closely. Hopefully, it's twin sized. I didn't even measure it, but I used twin sheets for the body of the quilt, a soft one on the back, a flannel in the middle and a boring white one of the front. Making a twin sized ticket tape is TORTURE. I tried every way I could think of to sew these squares on and finally decided that glueing on multiple pieces and sewing all the horizontals then going back for the verticals was the fastest way.

It's not finished, but I am out of time. She leaves tomorrow. I didn't prewash the fabrics I used for the binding, so the binding shrunk quite a bit and I think it's going to make it a challenge to finish. But, I'll deal with that at some point in the future. For now, I'm considering this baby finished; it's folded and packed.

I've been keeping busy teaching sewing classes and doing some summer sewing for me. The dress above is a Lisette pattern. Highly recommended.

This is a top I draped as an attempt to knock off this cute Anthropologie blouse. Ignore the fabric; it didn't turn out like I wanted it to. If anyone has a suggestion for an affordable online source for fashion fabric, I would love find some new sources. Joann's fashion fabric stinks.

And lastly, my first nine blocks from The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt book. I've been looking for a traditional sampler to do in current fabrics, but every time I looked at quilt block encyclopedias, they were full of baskets and houses and other folksy stuff that's a little traditional for my taste. I was considering a Civil War repro sampler quilt when I saw this Farmer's Wife Quilt-a-Long on flickr. These little blocks are so addictive! The quilt along schedule is two blocks a week for a year. I'm sure it will take me a year to finish the quilt, but I think I'm just going to make blocks when I feel moved to do so. I did these in two days. I'll post more about them when I have more time.

Right now, I'm off to my birthday party. It's not until next week, but Shea is going to miss it since she'll be away at camp, so we are having a party early. And then tomorrow, it's off to the Ozarks to drop my baby off for two whole weeks! It's a little bittersweet; I know I'm going to miss her madly, but I get two whole weeks off! Two weeks! We've never been apart for two weeks, but I've decided that the Lord must make pre-teens act the way they do as a way to help mothers begin to let go. It makes so much sense. At the rate she's going, by the time she's 18, I will be ready for her leave this nest. If she remained the precious little sweetheart she was at six or seven, I'd never want to let her go. She's going to have a blast at camp. And I'm going to have a blast at home! Can somebody saw sew-a-thon!

Catching up.

2011-05-23T13:28:00.032-05:00

First, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of the kind comments on the last post. I tried to answer as many as I could, but if I didn't answer yours, please know that it was sincerely appreciated. I'm honored that so many of you shared your own personal stories and sent such heartfelt thoughts my way. You guys are the best! I really mean that!

So, May. May has been busy. Catching up on things that didn't get done in early April and then tackling a couple of big projects I created for myself. The first of the big projects is one I started back in March that got put on hold for much of April. When we lived out in the "country" for a year, my daughter took sewing classes from a woman who worked in the office at her school. Mrs. H had a tiny room upstairs in her home where she had four sewing machines and taught a sewing curriculum just for kids. I loved the idea, so I decided to start my own sewing school. I purchased a license to teach the Kids Can Sew program in my area.

I converted my sewing room into a sewing studio. I started making up samples back in March along with getting "business stuff" taken care of. Earlier this month, I purchased four new computerized Brother sewing machines.

I'm still putting the finishing touches on the studio and we had a little dry-run with a group of girls who were over for a slumber party. This isn't my ideal set-up, but I wanted to make sure that things go well before I invest in nice sewing furniture for four.

It's been fun purchasing fabric and getting supplies ready. I had planned a summer full of day camps, but I didn't get any promoting at all done in April; I'm really behind and have only a couple of sign-ups thus far. The curriculum is actually written for a once-weekly one hour classes to be held year-round, so even if I don't have a full summer, I can hopefully start filling spots for the after school classes in the fall.

I haven't done much quilting lately, but I've been sewing like crazy. That's my new sewing corner above. I had to fit myself into a much smaller area of the room to accommodate the "classroom" furniture and I moved all of my fabric into the closet. Luckily, this room has been the sewing room since we built the house last year, so the closet is all shelves and the fabric fit nicely.

The veggie garden I started back in March is growing like mad. I started with two varieties of tomatoes, beets, Texas 1015 onions (which are so sweet you want to eat them like an apple), carrots, strawberries, zucchini, spinach, and romaine lettuce. The spinach and romaine are finished - it's already too hot for them here, but most everything else is flourishing! I'm having some trouble with blossom end rot on my zucchini and no one in my house except me eats anything I'm growing (with the exception of the strawberries and carrots). Now that the weather is warmer, I've planted sweet potatoes, okra, black eyed peas, bush beans, and some pickling cucumbers.

We get tiny little harvests throughout the week, but I'm just giddy at the fact that I grew that stuff from seeds! The carrots aren't ready, but Shea was itching to pull one, so she had a baby carrot and said it was delicious.

Just in case the veggie garden and the new sewing school wasn't keeping me busy enough, I decided to forgo the front lawn and put in a cottage garden. (I don't know what's wrong me with sometimes.) When we re-built the house last year, the existing lawn was completely trashed. The city put down some sod between the street and the sidewalk when they repaved the street, but it wasn't really the right time of year to lay sod, so we just over seeded the remainder of the yard with annual ryegrass. When it warmed up and was safe to lay sod, I decided I didn't want any and started digging instead.

My yard has been in serious transition for almost a month now. I'm doing 95% of the work all by myself. When I overload the wheelbarrow and can't move it, I have to call in the hubby for some muscle and he pitches in that other 5%. Kind of a funny story, but those larger rocks lining the pathway were my nemesis earlier in the spring. Every time I stuck my shovel in the ground, I hit one. I'm not kidding, every time. I had to plant pansies with a pickaxe! I was cursing those stupid rocks like crazy and wondering how on earth I'd ever get rid of them all. I even wrote a scathing poem about how much I hated these rocks. But when I decided to put in pathways and plant a cottage garden... well talk about making lemonade out of lemons! Now when I hit one of those limestone beasts, I can't wait to unearth it and see if it's big enough to use for my garden. The photo above was taken in the morning on May 13th.

Here it is that afternoon.

Digging pathways.

In my part of north Texas, we have this dreadful black, heavy clay soil. When dry it's like digging in concrete and when wet it's like digging in, well, packed clay. I've been removing a few inches of soil and amending the clay with a variety of organic matter (a mixture of different composts mostly) as I go.

I've decided that my favorite part of getting older is the fact that I begin to care less and less what other people think about me. Ten years ago, I wouldn't have dreamt of putting a fence around my front yard and planting the entire thing with flowers, herbs, and vegetables, even though a lush garden has always been a dream of mine. I would have worried too much about what the neighbors thought. That said, I'm still mindful of how the yard looks from the street and I'm not going for that Sanford & Son look, but I'm just glad that I feel okay with doing something I consider a bit out of the norm.

This is my fourth attempt at this post. I posted it earlier today with more photos and it wouldn't display correctly. I tried all kinds of things (I hope it hasn't showed up three or four times in your reader), but I couldn't find a solution and I won't know if this worked until I post it. Take care everyone and thanks again for the thoughts, prayers and kid comments.

April is the cruellest month - T. S. Eliot

2011-05-01T19:32:00.006-05:00

I'm sure I won't be able to get five lines into this post without crying. Last month, I told my husband I was all cried out for April, but it seems the tears still flow freely in May. I'm not trying to be a downer, but if my blog is a journal of my life, this was the last four weeks.

In the Army, circa 1940.

My Papaw (my dad's father) went into the hospital the first week of April with pneumonia. Prior to that, as in the previous week, he was driving himself to the Waffle House and doing his own grocery shopping. We celebrated his 91st birthday last August, and he was still going strong. But, pneumonia takes a hard toll on aged lungs and after what appeared to be some improvement shortly after entering the hospital, his condition refused to improve.

After a week in the ICU, he was moved to a rehabilitation hospital. I have no idea why they call them that; it was the same facility where both of my grandmothers were transferred before they passed away. I spent as much time as I could at the hospital with him and with my family. He wasn't feeling very good and was really struggling to breathe, so he wasn't much for conversation at that point. However, he didn't let even one of his grandchildren (of which I am the oldest) leave his bedside without telling them that he loved them and how proud he was of all of us.

After fighting for almost two weeks, his condition continued to deteriorate. Congestive heart failure began to complicate things, and recovery was no longer an option. I won't ever forget the moment he told me that Jesus was waiting for him. As a family, and with his wishes in mind, we made the difficult decision to move him to hospice care.

He passed away in his sleep on April 19th. My papaw was an amazing man. A strong Christian, a hard worker, and the handiest guy you could ever meet. He built my Mamaw the most awesome greenhouse when I was little and I remember spending hours in there potting plants with her. I didn't know until last month that Papaw had constructed the greenhouse out of discarded glass shower doors. Papaw was green before green was cool. I'm sure growing up in the depression helped him become the clever handyman he was.

In the center at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, circa 1941.

He was also a veteran. Papaw served in the U.S. Army during the second world war. While stationed at the Schofield Barracks in Hololulu, Hawaii, the Army's ground defense for Pearl Harbor, he dodged bullet fire from Japanese Zeros on December 7, 1941 as they made their way to Pearl Harbor and attempted to destroy the Army barracks just north of the harbor on the way. He went on to serve in New Guinea and Australia before he came back to the states with malaria.

With Shea in 2006.

Although losing a loved one is inevitably a part of life, the foreknowledge that it will happen someday isn't much consolation when that day comes. Thank you, Papaw, for teaching me that the best beverage to drink with popcorn is milk, for teaching me how to stir syrup into my peanut butter and achieve the perfect smooth consistency, and for teaching me the game of 42. Thank you for raising two wonderful sons who grew into great men and teaching them the value of family. I'm going to miss you, Papaw.

Papaw's funeral was on April 22nd. Life didn't slow down as Shea's birthday was the following week. That third week of April was busy catching up on housework that didn't get done the first couple of weeks of the month and getting ready for a slumber party that weekend. Life was moving too fast to have time for tears, but just when you think you might get to catch your breath, wham! Another blow.

Puppy Gizmo

In March of 1997, the most adorable Yorkshire Terrier in the world came to live with us and we named her Miss Gizmo Matilda. We'd been married for four years and were childless, so Gizzy was our baby. It wasn't long, four months to be exact, when we decided to get her a playmate and brought home her brother from another mother, Buster.

Gizmo's age (she was 14 on February 20th) began to show the last few years. About three years ago, she developed cataracts and lost most of her vision. I think she could still see shadows and could always hunt down a little patch of sunshine coming through the window to lie in. If you've ever heard that Yorkies are hard to housebreak, believe every bit of what you hear. After losing her vision, Gizzy never could seem to make it to the door to tell us she needed to go outside, so any semblance of being housebroken was gone. The last year or so was really tough.

Me and Gizzy, March 1998

On the 27th, Gizmo started acting strange. She wasn't eating, but I thought it was because her mouth was sore from a trip to the vet the previous week to... um, well I'll spare you the details, but he worked on her teeth a little bit. On the 28th, she slept almost all day. When she finally got up at about 4:00 p.m., she was stumbling and having trouble with her balance. I called the vet, who had gone home for the day, and made an appointment for the next morning at 7:20 a.m. Her condition deteriorated very quickly that evening. She went from not being able to walk straight to not being able to stand, then not being able to sit up, and having terrible trouble breathing.

Gizmo's favorite pastime; getting her paws on some paper she could shred!

We debated taking her to a 24 hour clinic, but I really wanted her to see our vet. I stayed up with her until just after midnight on the 29th when I fell asleep after placing her in her usual spot, on a pillow on the floor on my side of the bed. After she lost her vision, I didn't let her sleep on the bed anymore because she would walk off the edge in the night. I woke up at 3:50 a.m. and reached down to touch her to discover that she had passed away.

Gizmo around 1999.

When I was a kid, we had outdoor dogs that would come and go, but I had never developed an attachment to a dog until Gizmo came along. I sat down earlier to look for some photos of her which helped me realize possibly why losing her hurts so much. She and Buster were a major part of our lives for 14 years. Out first house, she was there. The birth of our daughter, she was there. Every Christmas since 1997, yep, there's a photo of her and Buster in front of the Christmas tree. Every event held in our house, birthdays, anniversaries, graduation celebrations, she was there, perched like a princess in someone's lap.

I had no idea the kind of grip that puppy had on my heart until she was gone. I can't think of her without my eyes flooding with tears. Another inevitable moment that you know will come someday, but I could never have imagined this pain. I'm sure the circumstances aren't helping. I feel guilty for not taking her to the 24 hour clinic. I feel guilty that she died right there next to me, but was alone because I was asleep. I know that guilt is a useless emotion, but I can't shake it yet. I suppose it will get easier, but right now it really, really hurts.

So, April 2011, good riddance. There were glimmers of happiness as we celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary and Shea's birthday, but in general, April stunk. I'm hoping May can bring some peace my way. I covet your prayers right now as I struggle for a glimmer of the bright side.

Wanna vote for me?

2011-04-14T23:58:00.000-05:00

I almost forgot about this contest! I had worked on this design before the alphabet fabrics contest was announced, so I figured I'd enter it into the contest.

If you like my design, would you cast a vote for it over at Spoonflower?

It's really cute in repeat.

Thanks, y'all!

Vintage Sewing Goodies

2011-04-04T09:56:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I woke up with the urge to take a walk. It's probably because I felt something shaking near my waistline on Friday while I was laughing. It made me think of Santa and his round little belly that shook like a bowl of jelly. I'm a frustrated, out-of-commission runner, with an unidentified and thus untreated hip/leg/ankle injury that has kept me from running since I ran the NYC Marathon in 2009. I haven't been able to run or walk briskly without pain, but Saturday I felt very compelled to try going for a walk.

On the very next block of my street, there it was... an estate sale sign. I hardly ever go in to estate sales or garage sales, but I've been wanting to build my stash of old buttons for a project I'm working on and I decided to go in just to see if by chance they had any buttons. Long story short, here's what I came home with.

A 1939 Singer 66-16. I was able to date her using her serial number on the Singer website. The gentleman holding the estate sale was the son of the home's owner who has moved into an assisted living facility. She's 97 now and bought this machine new. I'm only it's second owner!

She's in pretty good shape with the exception of the power cord (which is a little frayed in places) and the scratches on the front where the previous owner stored pins on a piece of velvet wrapped around the upper shaft. I spent all day Saturday taking the machine apart to clean and oil her parts. She sews so beautifully! I still need to fiddle with the bobbin tension a little, but as soon as I replace the power cord (so I don't burn down my house), I'll be more comfortable keeping her plugged in for a while so I can make more adjustments.

This little pink lady also came home with me.

I've read online that Atlas was a "badge" placed on machines built for Brother in Japan in the 1950's. I couldn't resist; I mean, she's pink! The previous owner bought this machine when she decided to upgrade from the Singer. From the scratches, grease, and grime on this machine, I can tell it was used a lot. The Atlas is a straight-stitch machine too, but she has a reverse and you can drop the feed dogs. I spent some time working on her too and she sews a very lovely straight-stitch, but not quite as nice as the Singer.

Not on my shopping list either, but I picked up cigar boxes and tins of old thread and wooden spools,

a (50's?) tablecloth in a very modern gray and yellow color scheme, two sets of cafe curtains (with valances) and some aprons,

and a tin of sewing supplies with a few buttons inside. That tape measure advertises Hanes Union Suits on the backside.

Both of the sewing machines are in cabinets, but unfortunately, I didn't get the manuals or any attachments. I have no idea where I'm going to store them and maybe I don't even need to keep both, but I know I'm keeping the Singer. I told the homeowner's son to be sure and let her know that her machines had gone to someone who will appreciate them and that they didn't even leave the street they had called home since the early 1940's.

And no, I never did finish taking that walk.

Signs of spring

2011-03-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

So, there hasn't been much sewing going on around here lately, but I've got a good reason. I've been waiting for today like a kid longing for Christmas. Today is the last-frost date in my area!

I realize how unimpressive this looks, but I've been like a kid in a candy store the last couple of weeks. I just stand outside with a smile on my face staring at my new 4x4' raised beds on the south side of my house. I only have one set-up with grids so far because I want to raise the soil level in the other two before I grid them. I'm using Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening method in my first ever attempt to grow vegetables.

All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!

I've been starting vegetable, herb, and flower seeds in my cheap-o patio greenhouse from Harbor Freight. It doesn't maintain the temperature very well at night, but I still think it's worth the 30 bucks I spent on it.

In full disclosure, I have NO idea what I'm doing, so I'm open to suggestions if you have any for a first-time urban gardener. Looking at the photo above, I must really like romaine and want to eat a bunch of it all at the same time.

In addition to the personal satisfaction I get from digging in the dirt, my daughter is so excited about helping out. We've been sowing seeds together and she's taken on watering and checking on the seedlings. The other day, I even heard the comment, "This is more fun that watching TV!" Hopefully as things really get growing, she'll maintain her enthusiasm and it will continue to be a fun activity we can share together throughout the year.

I've been trying to plan my garden (i.e. plant lettuces two every two weeks, beets every three weeks, carrots every three weeks, etc.) but I'm a bit scatter-brained and I just keep planting stuff. Honestly, I'm having so much fun with the process itself, that if I get something to eat in the end, it will just be a bonus. I'm considering an entire 4x4' bed of strawberries, but I'll need to construct a cage/netting to keep the birds out before I transplant strawberries. Shea and I could eat our weight in strawberries.

Are you planting a spring garden? I'd love to hear about your garden!

Jump-Start your Quilting Blog Tour

2011-03-14T01:35:00.000-05:00

I love looking to books for inspiration and new ideas, so I was really excited when I was asked by Clotilde to review one of their newest quilting publications, Jump-Start your Quilting. The book contains over forty original sewing projects using precut fabrics. In addition to some really fun quilt patterns, there are patterns for adorable gifts, like a Quilt-As-You-Go Doggie Coat, some beautiful holiday stockings and mantle decorations, and lots of charming household projects like aprons and totes.

I was asked to review the High-Rise Quarters quilt. I love the clean modern lines of this pattern which is made using 12 fat quarters plus a little for the border. The instructions for every pattern in the book are very well-written, and the High-Rise Quarters pattern is no exception. The book's layout is clean and colorful and every pattern includes a large photograph and plenty of color illustrations to walk you through the construction process. I can't wait to make this High-Rise Quarters pattern, but it's going to have to get in line with the Off Kilter quilt, the Spring Nesting quilt, and the Christmas Fun mantle quilt (all also found in Jump-Start your Quilting) just to name a few!

I just have to give you a little preview of the great

illustrations and clear instructions in this book.

I'm going to love having this book in my quilting library.

Be sure to visit Clotilde for more details and to

purchase your copy of Jump-Start your Quilting!

Would you like to see more of this new book?

Check out these other stops on the Jump-Start your Quilting blog tour!

Day 1 (March 10) Victoria at http://www.bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/
Day 2 (March 11) Linda at http://quiltcookies.blogspot.com/
Day 3 (March 12) Jessi at http://laurenandjessiblog.com/
Day 4 (March 13) Pat Sloan at http://patsloan.typepad.com/
Day 5 (March 14) Melanie at http://www.texasfreckles.com/
Day 6 (March 15) Aunt Pitty Pat at http://auntpittypats.blogspot.com/
Day 7 (March 16) Glenna at http://www.hollyhockquilts.com/

Recycling Vintage Quilt Scraps

2011-03-12T12:55:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I took a short train ride east to Dallas to join my some of my Dallas Modern Quilt Guild friends and enjoy the Dallas Quilt Show. These girls are too much fun, as evidenced above by the priceless greeting I received as I stepped off the train. After a big breakfast at the delicious greasy spoon, Mama's Daughters Diner, we were off to the show.

I did exceptionally well showing restraint while shopping (see, I only bought a few FQs), but an antique quilt dealer from Austin had some inexpensive quilt goodies I could not resist. One of my purchases was a large bag of quilt scraps for $4.

They really are scraps, but I knew there would be something in there I could work with.

Last night, I sewed the scraps together by butting the freshly cut edges together and zig-zag stitching over the join with some fabric on the backside to help stabilize the seam.

Here's the finished mini-quilt; it's just under 15" square. I had enough of the red floral (with it's original binding attached!) to use as the outside once I pieced a little of it together. I love that it has all of it's original hand stitching and batting inside.

As for the quilt show, we had a wonderful day and even ended up back at the diner for some pie in the afternoon. Thanks for letting me hang out with you girls!

Loops of Love (aka Single Girl)

2011-02-27T21:36:00.001-06:00

I had the most wonderful weekend with my quilty friends! There was lots of sewing, lots of great conversation, lots of laughter, and lots of good food! So, what did I accomplish this weekend?

I only accomplished one thing...

I finished my king-size Loops of Love (aka Single Girl) quilt top!

I worked on this monster almost non-stop from Thursday night until Sunday afternoon. I'm just thrilled I was able to finish this top in one weekend! I still need to add the white borders to the top and bottom edge, but then I'll ready to sandwich and quilt.

I used the entire line of Katie Jump Rope and mixed in some Flea Market Fancy. I love the way it turned out; those two collections seem to be made for one another. I really want to hand quilt this behemoth, so it may be a while before you see it finished, but I'm anxious to get started.

Are you making a Single Girl quilt too? Check out the SGSG on flickr while I go order a really big piece of batting.

Shop update!

2011-02-17T17:20:00.000-06:00

I received some of the revised Cheater Friday and it's listed in an Etsy shop.

Get it before it's gone!

My mother's first quilt

2011-02-14T11:38:00.000-06:00

I'm so proud of my mom. I just have to share this with you all.

My father passed away in May 2007. That's my daddy above in Korea during the Vietnam war. As of last summer, his clothes were still in his closet and my mom asked me to help her go through them. She wasn't quite ready to let them go and had the wonderful idea of making them into a quilt. My mom hadn't made a quilt before, but she's a very talented sewer, cross stitcher, crocheter, and crafter.

We sorted through my dad's shirts,

cut them into large pieces, and tried to sort them out by color and shade.

She wanted something simple to construct, so I suggested the blocks above and she started cutting and sewing.

And here's the finished quilt! She did such a beautiful job, although I'm not the least bit surprised she did such nice work, I knew she would. I'm so proud of her!

The quilt is queen sized and she plans to use it on her bed. The backing is a purchased sheet in a shirting stripe; it looks perfect for the quilt. The binding is made of more shirt scraps and is hand sewn. We decided that tying this quilt might be the best option for her because she wanted to do the work herself (I know where I get my stubbornness from) and she didn't want to try quilting a queen on her domestic machine.

This quilt is a treasure! It's special and sentimental in so many different ways. I know this quilt will be loved and used for years and years.

So, after years of trying to talk my mom into quilting, I suspect this first quilt won't be her last. Between you and me, I think she's hooked.

do. Good Stitches December quilt

2011-02-11T13:19:00.000-06:00

I'm a member of the do. Good Stitches {a charity bee} at flickr started by Rachel at Stitched in Color. My first moth to be the quilter was December and I decided on playing with color and asked my fellow stitchers to make these blocks. If you like these blocks, be sure to read the comments. There are some great suggestions for alternate construction methods.

So here's the finished quilt. I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.

(Remember, I'm giving up on perfection; this quilt proves I'm serious.*)

Everyone did a lovely job on the blocks. They worked so beautifully together. The quilt measures 50 x 58".

I had two extra blocks and I cut each of them into four pieces for the back.

I couldn't get a good hanging shot of the back to show the quilting, but it's a large double diamond with ties in the middle of the diamonds.

This quilt is being donated to the Wrap Them In Love Foundation and I would like to think it's got a long life ahead of it. I'll get it packed up and sent out tomorrow.

I wanted to share this photo too. I recruited my hubby to help me with the basting. He's such a good sport.

*Yes, I messed up when I sewed the blocks together. I noticed it when I took it out to take photos of the quilt top. But, I brought it back inside, took it apart, "fixed" it, and finished it up. When I removed it from the dryer, I realized that my solution to the problem wasn't a solution at all and I had created a row of blocks turned the wrong direction! I'm hoping maybe you didn't notice until I told you and I sincerely apologize to my fellow bee members for goofing it up.

A winner and the SGQA.

2011-02-07T08:55:00.000-06:00

Here we go. The winner of the Cheater Friday 2.5" squares is

Jennifer

who blogs at marriedtoabmw.com.

And, get this, Jennifer is a fellow Texan! These little squares are only making a short trip to their new home. I'll send you a message, Jennifer, to get your address and get these on the way to you. Congrats!

So, I hardly need another project right now, but this is one I can't pass up.

Last year, I spent who knows how many hours (and money) chasing down the entire Katie Jump Rope collection to make the Single Girl quilt. I've had all the fabric, but the pattern seemed overwhelming with all those little templates. But no fear, Nova, Megan, and Katy have formed the Single Girl Support Group and come to my rescue.

Over the past couple of days, I traced and cut out all the templates. My first thought was to stick with the KJR and use Kona stone for the background. But after looking around in the SGSG (Single Girl Support Group), I decided it's time to cut into some of my beloved Flea Market Fancy. I'm not jumping in with both feet this time, I only pulled FMF fabrics that I have more than one FQ of so that I'll still have a complete set of FMF.

I want to make the king sized quilt for our bed, but I was worried about all the pink the FMF brings to the party. What would the hubby think? I called him in to the sewing room for his opinion.

This one...

or this one.

He likes the set with the pink! Woo hoo! And I even fully disclosed that it was going on our bed. I'm not really that surprised, because he has good taste and isn't afraid to wear pink himself, but I was glad because I think that set with the pink on Kona stone is going to make a beautiful quilt.

If you've had the Single Girl quilt on your radar, but like me were intimidated by the pattern (templates, curves, etc.), check out the SGSG and jump on in!

So easy it's like cheating. Oh, wait, it is.

2011-02-04T12:47:00.000-06:00

I think this was the easiest quilt I've ever made!

I used less than a yard of my Cheater Friday fabric and some Kona Ash (2.5" sashing strips) to make this quick quilt Wednesday night. It measures about 38" square.

Being iced/snowed in for four days now has got my creative juices flowing. We got another 4" of snow last night and it's still coming down this afternoon. It's snowmageddon 2011! It's the snowpocalypse! Whatever it is, this weather is crazy!

I need to be working on real work, but playing is so much more fun. Maybe I need to recolor the cheater print into a girly version and a boy version. Any other ideas for another color way? Maybe I just need to work on some new prints entirely. But part of me wants to continue the set-up of my jewelry studio in the basement. And there's so much quilting to be done. And then there's the snow. It's so pretty I just want to sit by the window with a book and a mug of hot chocolate and watch it fall. Decisions, decisions.

Don't forget about the giveaway in my previous post and thank you for all the kind comments about the shop. The shop still needs a lot of work (I fixed the typos in my bio, but I don't know what's wrong with the international shipping yet), but I'm glad I just did it. I've already shipped out a few FQs and I've got some jewelry going out today. You guys are the best!

Jumping in and a little giveaway.

2011-02-02T17:41:00.007-06:00

Do you ever spend so much time tweaking something in an effort to make it perfect that it never gets finished? Last year, I started working on a Big Cartel store to sell my winning Spoonflower fabric and it's still not live. But today, I've decided that I should just jump in. It's never, ever going to be perfect and if I keep thinking about it and not doing it, it will never go live.

So, here it is... my online shop.

You'll find fat quarters of my original Cheater Friday print from Spoonflower, some jewelry (I'll save that for another post), and a couple of quilts. I don't think I ever blogged that my Cheater Friday fabric was the #6 bestseller on Spoonflower in 2010. Um, wow! I was so excited!

I recently changed the pink and red in the Cheater Friday print to get it closer to my original vision. Fat quarters of the original print are available now in the shop for $8.00. I've ordered some of the new version too (above) and I'll add it to the shop soon. Those fat quarters will be $10.00.

To celebrate me giving up on perfection (in this case) and jumping in, let's do a little giveaway.

I've got about 45, 2.5" squares from the original Cheater Friday

print ready to become 1" hexagons.

Want them?

♥ February + Pink ♥

2011-02-02T14:14:00.000-06:00

It's snow day number two in north Texas and the coldest day on record in the last 15 years. The sleet and snow that fell on Monday night thawed a bit yesterday when the sun was out, but it all re-froze last night and today is cloudy with temperatures staying in the teens. We're staying inside today.

February is Rachel's month for the do. Good Stitches bee. She asked for wonky stars in pinks and reds. Pink is something I seem to have no shortage of.

I hope you like them, Rachel. The are making me crave some Valentine Sweet Tarts!

I started this quilt back in November for my cousin's new baby. I intended it to be finished before she arrived, but she was born on January 5th and the quilt was still stuck on the design wall waiting to be assembled. I focused last night and got the top finished. I can't decide how I want to quilt this one. The last time I did meandering free-motion, it looked terrible and I don't want to mess this one up. Any suggestions for something quick and easy?

The blocks in this quilt are from an American Jane pattern called Popsicle Posies and the fabrics are an assortment from my stash.

Snow and the Superbowl descend on Texas.

2011-02-01T18:40:00.001-06:00

Just in time for the crowds arriving for the big game, ice and snow descended on north Texas last night. We had a record snowfall last February, and this year we may hit some record lows. It's hard to believe that on Saturday (four days ago), it was 76° and sunny! I worked outside all day in shorts and a t-shirt. Welcome to Texas.

Earlier today, we made a quick stop in downtown to see the ESPN set-up for the Superbowl. I think the Packers and Steelers fans felt right at home in the cold weather. Did you see us waving from the crowd on ESPN?

On the local news last night, I heard that the city had purchased a new ATV "snowplow" just in case something happened during Superbowl week. I'm sure they are excited that they got to put it to use, but all I can think about is how stupid the only snowplow in downtown must look to our visitors. Everything's bigger in Texas... except the snowplows.

There's a park by our house with a great hill for sledding. We have some sleds we bought in Colorado and we love getting to use them one or two days out of the year. (You can't buy a sled in these parts.) The other sledders today were sledding Texas-style on wake boards, garbage can lids, cardboard boxes, and inflatable pool floats. The cardboard boxes seemed to be the fastest of the four.

Luc even got in on the action. He thought this sled was a frisbee...

until he ended up with both front paws on it and took off sliding down the hill. I think we thought it was much funnier than he did because he wouldn't go near it after that.

School was out today and we just got word that it's canceled again tomorrow. If this storm came your way, stay safe and warm! It's cold out there!

Bee Blocks

2011-01-26T15:09:00.000-06:00

I had a wonderful time in Milwaukee! I survived the cold and made it back to Texas just as the sun came out for the first time in days. I tried to get my husband to serenade me with Aint No Sunshine, but he didn't know the words.

So, first things first back in Texas... January bee blocks need to hit the mailbox.

This one is for Brooke of apriltwoeighty.

This block is from the first issue of Fat Quarterly and it's the block for the new bee I was invited to join over at Flickr, Bee Hexed In. Brooke requested neutral colors with touches of turquoise and orange. I hope you like it, Brooke!

Next on the list, Mod Mosaic blocks for Elizabeth's month in the do. Good Stitches bee.

Elizabeth requested blocks in cool winter colors with plenty of gray. The finished quilt will be donated to the Wrap them in Love Foundation. Maybe Elizabeth will show us the finished quilt on her blog, OhFransson!, before she mails it off. BTW, these blocks are fun to make and I highly recommend giving them a try. The tutorial is available at OhFransson!

For some reason, arriving back in Texas yesterday where the sun was out and the weather was warmer has given my ever present gardening itch a tickle. Maybe it's because we visited the Mitchell Park Domes in Milwaukee where I saw pothos leaves as big as my head and some of the tiniest orchids I've ever imagined. Early this morning, I trimmed the dead growth on a few of the bargain perennials I managed to get in the ground before they went dormant, but it didn't calm my itch. I think I'm going to try starting some plants and herbs from seed this spring. Spring come quickly! I can't stand the wait!

Meet Luc

2011-01-20T14:21:00.000-06:00

This is Luckenbach.

Luc is a super sweet, seven-year-old Doberman who came to live with us last week. He's a gentle guy who loves following us around the house, running and playing at the park, and looking handsome. Luc is extremely well mannered, but he seems a little confused about who is supposed to be walking who when we go out on the leash. He really likes hanging out in the sewing room on the rug, but he's a little bigger than the four and ten pound Yorkies I'm used to stepping over. We're excited to have him with us and I wanted you to meet him.

I did a little sewing yesterday. I made a laptop sleeve for my work computer. I'm going on another trip to Milwaukee this weekend and I'm trying to avoid having to check a bag. I can think of a number of things I'd rather spend $50 on than giving it to American Airlines just to transport my suitcase in the belly of the plane.

I still use one of those big, black 1990's style briefcases to carry my laptop and all it's stuff. I see cute laptop sleeves all the time for smaller computers, but mine is 17" and the pickings get slim in the larger size, plus this one didn't cost me anything. I'll just toss this and the power cord in my tote and be done with it. I hope it's as functional as it is cute.

I used one layer of bamboo batting inside and constructed it quilt-as-you-go style. If I made another one, I'd probably use two layers of cotton or bamboo batting or maybe a layer of cotton and a layer of high-loft polyester. The lining is the same black stripe as the binding. The closure is a small length of hot pink FOE (fold-over-elastic) and a button.

Now to figure out how to cram five days of Milwaukee wear (that's Texan for clothes for freakishly cold weather) into a carry on. Hmmm.

The first stitches of 2011.

2011-01-10T10:11:00.000-06:00

I hope that you and yours had a lovely holiday season and are enjoying the new year. I've been a dangerous combination of lazy and busy, accomplishing almost nothing creative in the past month or so. Would you believe I can't remember the last time I bought fabric? For shame!

My UFO pile has grown to monstorous portions, so it's time I get back in the swing of things. I was invited to join a talented group of girls over at the Bee Hexed In bee on flickr.

Last night, I pulled fabrics for Brooke's block,

and made hexagons for the first time in a long while.

My right thumb is really out of shape!

Speaking of hexagons, I haven't given up on the hexagon charm quilt, but I have to be honest, I really got sick of working on it and it's been intentionally neglected. I need to get it out and take stock of where I am. I have more than enough hexagons made, I just need to sew them together. Maybe some longer stitches are in order.

Before I go, I want to apologize for not responding to comments and not reading your blogs lately. I've read every comment I've received and appreciate them all, I've just been swamped. You guys are the best!

A quick trip north.

2010-12-22T10:39:00.000-06:00

I didn't intend to neglect the blog for so long. There hasn't been much sewing going on around here. Lots of knitting and a little embroidery, but nothing to share just yet. It was 83° here yesterday. On the first day of winter! Ugh!

I did get to enjoy some cold weather on a quick trip I took to Milwaukee this past weekend. The temperature never got above 23° the entire time we were there. One of my best friends is leaving Texas for a job in Milwaukee and I joined her for a weekend of apartment hunting.

I had never been to Wisconsin, and I have to be honest, the only thing that came to mind when I heard the word Milwaukee was Laverne & Shirley. But, Milwaukee is awesome!

She's going to live in the downtown area, which I thought was clean, friendly, and cultural. Fabulous museums, wonderful food (I recommend the new Glorioso's grocery for lunch and the Pasta Tree for dinner), great shopping, and beautiful architecture.

It was the first time in my life I had ever visited a beach where the sand was covered with snow and there was ice at the water's edge. This was at Bradford Beach on Lake Michigan.

We made more than one trip to the Milwaukee Public Market for lunch, coffee, and yummy sweets. Again, highly recommended.

I'm off to finish my Christmas shopping. I think I put it off intentionally because I actually enjoy that last minute pressure. Shop on!

Do. Good Stitches. December Blocks

2010-12-03T00:22:00.001-06:00

December is my month in the do. Good Stitches {a charity bee} over at flickr. Since December is such a busy month, I wanted to think of something quick and simple. I've been enjoying playing with color lately, so I decided on the blocks above. I put these photos together for the gals in the bee, but I thought I would post them here in case anyone else would like to give these super easy blocks a try.

Gather some fabric and cut some strips of various widths (but nothing wider than about 3") and at least 14" long in warm colors and in cool colors. Remember from art class, warm colors are reds, oranges, and yellows. Cool colors are blues, greens and violets. Try to choose scraps/fabrics that have an obvious color feel to them.

Sew your warm strips together lengthwise and trim into 13" blocks. Do the same with the cool strips.

Cut both of your 13" blocks into four equal triangles.

Lay the blocks out as shown above (match a vertical warm to a horizontal cool, a vertical cool to a horizontal warm, etc.) and sew each set together to make four blocks.

This is what you'll end up with, four approximately 9" blocks. If you are in my bee group, please don't trim the blocks before you send them to me. If you aren't in my bee, by all means, make some more, trim them up and sew them together!

Getting Settled

2010-11-22T15:18:00.000-06:00

What a crazy couple of weeks I've had. The day I returned from the retreat, I began preparing the house for a baby shower which meant unpacking and attempting to bring some semblance of order to my front yard (aka, the mud pit) while the city repaved the street and installed new driveway approaches, curbs, and sidewalks. The shower was Saturday and I think it went off wonderfully and the new street is open and so smooth!

The house still isn't finished, but I thought I'd take a few photos while it was cleaned up for the shower.

The kitchen.

It's open to the living room, which I initially didn't think I would like, but now I think I love.

My sewing room is functional and I started on a new baby girl quilt.

(Recognize the pattern, Michelle and Lisa? :-)

I wish I had more free time to spend in here. I love being surrounded by all the color.

But, I've got a huge stack of new work projects (the kind I actually get paid for which means they take precedence over the fun ones) and a commissioned knitting project (a fair isle Christmas stocking) to work on this week.

At least my house is all cleaned up for Thursday. The family is coming to my house for Thanksgiving! Who else is having Thanksgiving at their house?

Quilting Retreat

2010-11-10T13:35:00.000-06:00

I went on my second quilt retreat this past weekend with the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild. On Thursday afternoon, I drove south into middle-of-nowhere Texas to the Compass Centre, just outside a tiny town called Mount Calm. The Compass Centre was built from the ground up as a retreat facility and sleeps about 30 people. They cooked yummy meals for us and kept the iced tea flowing.

I didn't take very many photos, but here's a look at the quilting area. You can see the work of the talented ladies, Juanita of Settlers Peace and Michelle of Tapestry Tree on the design wall.

There are more photos in the DMQG flickr group. This is only about a quarter of the room. The pretty Amy Butler patchwork on the design wall to the right belongs to Lisa of Vintage Modern Quilts.

At the retreat, I finished binding a Freshcut string quilt,

finished piecing the Good Folks quilt top,

and started on a new project, my first solids quilt.

I worked on other projects also and left feeling like I got a lot accomplished. It was fun to catch up with friends I hadn't seen in a couple of months and make some new friends too. I cannot wait to get together with that group of creative and fun ladies again! It was a blast, girls!

Life is good...

2010-11-08T13:03:00.002-06:00

when one of these is about to open within walking distance of your house.

Inspiration by osmosis

2010-10-30T23:29:00.006-05:00

We made a trip to our storage unit yesterday for some of our rugs and I came across one of my vintage quilts. I have a number of other quilts in storage, but this is the only one I was able to liberate yesterday.

This quilt came from my grandmother's house. My mom thinks it was made by one of my great-aunts on my dad's side. We remember a number of the fabrics in the quilt from various things around mamaw's house, such as one of her kitchen aprons. My mom has a baby quilt of mine that's made from many of these same fabrics and has the same backing. That would date this quilt (and me) in the early 1970's.

It's beginning to feel a little like fall around here, so I placed this folded quilt across the foot of the bed last night and used it as an extra blanket when I got in bed. The entire quilt is very random, but this area made me think of a string quilt. I wanted to sleep in today, but I woke up early with an idea to do a simple, wonky diamond quilt inspired by these blocks. Inspiration by osmosis.

In the sewing room, I had stacked my Good Folks in two stacks, warm and cool, and they jumped out at me as perfect for this project. I spent most of my morning turning these strips...

into this. I asked Sean for his opinion and he said "They aren't straight," so now I'm worried that rather than looking wonky, they just look like I didn't know what I was doing.

I've got some sewn together and I love it. I love it so much that I've already decided to hand quilt it and I think the quilting will emphasize the wonkiness even more (see the chalk lines above). I just hope the wonky looks intentional and not accidental. What do you think?

Play ball!

2010-10-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

I'm not much of a baseball fan. I have respect for the game and it's fans, but I can't watch baseball. It moves too slowly for me. However, you can't live in Fort Worth right now and be unaware of the fact that our Texas Rangers are going to the World Series. (I'm told this is a pretty big deal?!)

So, now seems like a good time to share a quilt I made last month for my cousin and his wife's new baby.

My cousin is a graphic designer for the Texas Rangers. He's a third-generation die-hard baseball fan and they decorated the baby's nursery with a baseball theme. The Rangers provided all of their front office staff with tickets to all the World Series games. He and guest (who might not be his wife, she's like 36 weeks pregnant) even get to attend the away games on the Ranger's dime (airfare and hotel included.) The home games are like going to work for him since he works at the stadium. Exciting stuff for a baseball fan though.

This quilt isn't made with fabric I would normally choose, but I like that it's sports and novelty without looking too, you know... like the licensing aisle at Joann. The print is Alexander Henry and the solid is Kona Stone. I pitched these wonky squares together quickly and they really seem to like it.

The label is my favorite part. I think it turned out cute.

So, that's probably all the baseball you'll ever get out of me. But, I do hope the Rangers do well and score lots of touchdowns in their first World Series game tonight.

Just kidding. I know they score goals, not touchdowns. ;-)

three words.

2010-10-22T13:16:00.000-05:00

I have three words about the new house. Worth. The. Wait.

I've been unpacking since we spent our first night here this past Sunday night. This is our third massively renovated/rebuilt home and it's a culmination of all the things we learned and loved about the last two houses. I love the location - Our new home is about as urban as we could get unless we moved into a high-rise a mile away in dowtown. Just what I wanted!

I've been working primarily on the kitchen and the sewing room. We've been slowing retrieving our things from storage and still have a few things to do on the house before I can get completely comfortable. I worked on the sewing room until about 3:00 a.m. night before last and made some pretty good progress. The photo above is Wednesday night.

Here it was last night. I still have a long way to go, but I love unpacking and organizing! I can't wait to give you a little tour once things are more presentable. I hate that I've been away so long (there are 4,800+ unread posts in my blog reader and I'm dreadfully behind on emails), but I'm so happy right now I could just scream. Maybe I will. While I unpack.

I can't believe it's October! (And the giveaway winner!)

2010-10-01T10:49:00.001-05:00

Thank you for all the well wishes regarding our move! Unfortunately, our house still isn't ready. I would complain about the builder, but he's my husband and I love him madly regardless of how long it's taking. Doing so much of the work ourselves takes longer, but stretches our dollars much further and in the end, that's a very good thing.

I won't bore you with details of our delays, such as of deluges of rain dumped on north Texas by a tropical storm (thanks, Hermine), broken sewer taps and dealing with the water department, or our current foe, the electric company. I won't bore you with the story of my 20 plus consecutive days with a headache, which is now gone thanks to some strong antibiotics for a sinus/ear infection and a round of steroids. (I hope I never have to take steroids again! They made my feel terrible.) Sorry, I guess I just bored you anyway.

We've probably got another week until we can move and I'm anxiously tapping my foot. Living with my mom has really been fun, but I want my stuff out of storage! I packed for about three weeks and we've been here almost six. I can hear my fabric crying out to me from the bottom of a massive stack of boxes.

I'll share a couple of construction shots of my favorite room in the new house, the kitchen!

My kitchen island without it's butcher block top and the floors pre-scraping and staining.

A corner of the kitchen with counters (absolute black granite) and backsplash (Cararra white marble). That hood is over the cooktop that still hasn't arrived. I'm so excited about cooking in that kitchen! I officially pledge to eat out less often after the move.

In crafty news, I've almost finished this quick baseball baby quilt for a shower on Sunday. It's not my really my style (sports), but I think it will be a home run with it's recipient. wha wha.

Alright, I know what you are thinking... get to the big news, Mel!

Oh, you mean who I'll be sending this bundle of happiness to?

That would be number 82...

Ashley who blogs at Our so called life!
And, wow, does she have some adorable kiddos!

I'll send you an email shortly, Ashley. I hope you enjoy the fabric!

Well I'm off to run some errands and seal the backsplash tile in the kitchen to prepare it for grouting. If anyone wants to help, come on over!

A little rambling, a blog break, and a giveaway.

2010-08-15T01:05:00.003-05:00

I have a problem. I'm terrible at saying "no".

While I was on the phone this afternoon, having to renege on a commitment, the sweet person on the other end of the line reminded me of the toll never saying "no" can take on you physically and mentally. She told me that she was just like me when she was younger, trying to do it all (and succeeding!), and it eventually caught up to her physically. She shared a scripture from 1 Thessalonians. Paul told the residents of Thessalonica to "Make it your ambition to lead a quite life..." (1 Th 4:11). My life isn't very quiet right now.

Shea starts school on the 23rd. We have to be out of the house we are leasing on the 31st. The house we are building probably won't be ready until the second week of September. So, we are going to pack and move all our things into storage and live out of suitcases for a couple of weeks in the spare bedroom of my mother's house. We could stay here longer, but it's a 30 minute drive to school from here without traffic and traffic is terrible going into town in the mornings. My mother lives in town, so we think that will make life a little easier for at least a couple of weeks. In addition to all of the packing, moving and driving, I have my freelance work and all of the commitments I've made to keep up with. Oh, and the spike in lumber costs blew our construction budget, so we are laying, hand-scraping, and finishing an entire house of hardwood floors ourselves. I'm tired just typing all of that.

So, for the next month or so, I'm saying "no". I'm taking a blog break. I'll be back once we get moved and settled.

But, I don't want to leave you hanging, so I'm going to do a little giveaway in hopes that you'll come back. I'm going to share one set of fat-eights of my Katie Jump Rope collection. That's 11" x 18" cuts of the 33 fabrics you see above.

Want to win? Leave a comment. No need to become a follower, or Tweet, or blog about it, but if you want to do any of those things, it would make me smile. I'm going to let this one ride for a while; I'll pick a winner when I get back to the blog, mid-September. If your Blogger profile is set to hide your email, I won't be able to contact you if you are the winner, so be sure to check back.

I already feel a little weight off my shoulders. I'm going to try to find some time to read a book I bought last year called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver. My friend on the phone this afternoon also suggested Simple Living by Jose Hobday, but I'll read that one after I get settled.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and I'll see you in September!

Quick and Easy QAYG Scrappy Potholder :: A Tutorial

2010-08-14T14:52:00.001-05:00

We have a friend (who we'll call Mr. Friend) who likes to tease me about being a quilter and keeps asking me where his quilt is. Tonight we are going to dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Friend to celebrate their wedding anniversary. I still haven't unpacked my projects from the retreat and I don't have time to make an entire quilt, but I thought I'd make them a little quilted gift for tonight.

So, here's my quick and easy, quilt-as-you-go (QAYG), scrappy, crazy stitching potholder. I made the gray and red for Mr. and Mrs. Friend last night, and the second one with Hope Valley scraps from my pinwheel sampler today. It's faster without the binding, but either one is pretty quick. I'm going to show you how I made the one without the binding.

Supplies:

Two pieces of Insul-Bright batting cut about 2" larger than your your desired finished potholder size. I like a potholder about 8", so in that case, you would start with two pieces of Insul-Bright, 10" square.
One piece of cotton batting cut to your desired potholder size. I used Warm 'n Natural.
Fabric scraps of various sizes, but nothing too small. Larger scraps = quicker project.
A walking foot and a point turner (or something similar).

Choose your first fabric scrap and place it in the center of one piece of your Insul-Bright batting. It doesn't need to be straight, this is all very free-form.

With your walking foot attached, choose a spot just outside the edge of the scrap (on the batting) and sew across the scrap in a straight line. I tended to start near, but not on, the corner.

When you get to the other side, sew off the edge of the scrap, raise your presser foot and spin your batting around and sew back over the scrap. My machine has a nifty pivot function so when I stop sewing, it automatically raises with presser foot foot with the needle down and automatically lowers it again when I begin sewing. This is also a nice time to have a knee lift.

Just keep sewing from side to side at random angles to attach the scrap to the batting. Try to sew off the edge of the scrap each time. This won't be as important with the subsequent scraps.

Build your patchwork by adding a scrap approximately the length of one side of your first scrap by aligning the edges as above, right sides together.

Attach with a 1/4" seam allowance,

fold it back and press it flat.

Attach the second scrap with random stitching across the scrap just as you did the first scrap. There's no need to cut your thread until you are finished. Just raise your presser foot when you get to the edge, spin it around and keep sewing.

As you attach additional scraps, try to sew off the edge of the scrap every once in a while. This should ensure that your seams won't get too puffy after washing.

You should end up with something like this.

Keep adding scraps around the outside edge of your growing patchwork. I didn't measure anything, I just laid them atop one another and cut.

In some cases, I attached two scraps together and then sewed them to my patchwork.

In this instance, I sewed three scraps together. No measuring, just eye it and keep going. We want this project to be quick.

You will need to make sure that your new scrap is aligned with the shortest edge of your patchwork. This will hopefully make more sense when you are sewing. If I had aligned the blue swatch with the edge of the green swatch, my batting would be showing above the pink and purple scraps when I flipped it over to press it down.

You'll end up with something like this.

Square it up to approximately 1" larger than your desired finished size. If you want your finished potholder to be 7" square, trim your quilted batting up to 8" square.

All trimmed.

Make another one using the same technique for the opposite side. *If you would rather make the potholder with the binding, see the end of this post.*

When you have two pieces trimmed and ready, lay them atop one another, right sides together, and align the edges on all sides.

Sew around the outside edge (still using your walking foot), about 1/4" from the edge. My seam is a generous 1/4". Leave a large opening on one side as shown above, but be sure to sew all four corners. I just sewed in about 1/2" on each corner of the side I left open. Be sure to backstitch to secure.

Snip off your corners, just don't get too close to the stitching. Press the whole thing flat, concentrating on the seams.

Turn your potholder right side out. Use a point turner (or knitting needle, or something similar) to turn your points. Run your point turner along each stitching line from the inside to make sure your seams are opened all the way out. Iron around the outside edges.

Insert your cotton batting inside the potholder and smooth it out. If it's too big, trim it a little.

You want the cotton batting to meet the inside edges of your seam allowances, not overlap them.

If you'd like to add a hanging loop, cut a piece of fabric about 6" long by about 1 to 2" wide depending on the desired width of your finished loop. I think mine was 2" wide. Press it in half, right sides together. Sew a 1/4" seam along the open edge, lengthwise.

Turn it right side out and press it flat with the seam in the center of one side.

Go back to your potholder and begin turning in the open edge and securing it with pins. This is why I used a generous 1/4" seam allowance. (I guess a generous 1/4" isn't really a 1/4" at all, but hopefully you know what I mean.)

When you get to the end, insert your hanging loop by doubling it over with the seam to the inside and insert it into the opening at the corner. I left about 1.5" hanging out. Iron the pinned opening flat.

Sew all the way around the outside edge of the potholder about 1/4" inside.

You're almost finished! At this point, you may want to slipstitch closed the edges of the side you originally left open for a cleaner look. I caught all my seam allowances when I sewed around the outside edge, so I didn't bother with it.

You'll want to secure that loose piece of cotton batting inside in case you didn't catch the edges, and I chose a little eyelet stitch my machine does.

But, my potholder was too thick to make pretty eyelets and they ended up being more like wonky ovals. I just laid a small square ruler (I think it was 3") in the center of my potholder and marked the four corners. That's where I put my eyelets. Next time, I think I'll try just taking a few zig-zag stitches back and forth to make a little square of stitching or try tying some perle cotton at those spots.

So, here she is, all ready to go in the kitchen.

Here is the one I made last night for Mr. and Mrs. Friend. It's easier to see this stitching on this one. They are big Ohio State fans, so I chose red and gray.

I hesitate to post tutorials because I don't want to put something out there that someone else has already claimed, but I'm a firm believer that there is nothing new under the sun. The quilt-as you-go construction was inspired by the technique that Penny used in her quilt-as-you-go quilt. The random layout and stitching came from my own head, but I'm sure someone, somewhere, has done it before.

*If you want to bind your potholder, you would sandwich the cotton batting inside the quilted squares and bind it as you would a quilt. I added a hanging loop to the bound potholder with buttons on each side. Since I was sure I had caught the edges of the cotton batting on the inside when I attached my binding, I didn't add any additional stitching to secure it, but you certainly could.

Enjoy!

Scrappy Pincushion Swap

2010-08-12T14:28:00.001-05:00

I can't believe what the postman brought today! Remember the Scrappy Pincushion Swap I joined at flickr?

Jess (who blogs at hectic household) has blown me away today with not one, not two, not three, but six amazing pincushions!

An adorable owl,

a fabulous rooster,

an amazing star,

(and yes, that's all patchwork),

and three bright and fun patchwork pincushions!

Jess, I LOVE THEM!

From the very bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you!

Turquoise Obsession

2010-08-12T14:15:00.000-05:00

I've always loved a beautiful robin's egg blue or dreamy Tiffany blue, but it seems that right now, turquoise is everywhere! Inspired by House of Turquoise, I decided I want to paint my kitchen island in the new house, turquoise. I didn't have any trouble convincing the hubby either.

I've been trying to pick a paint color for the sewing room, so Shea and I went paint color shopping. Now she wants to paint her bathroom turquoise and I want to paint the laundry room turquoise.

I looked around the house for my favorite shades of turquoise; above are just a few. I'm matching them to paint colors and trying to decide what color to put where. I don't want to go overboard, but paint is such an easy and inexpensive way to decorate and you can paint over it when you are tired of the color. My only problem now is that I want to paint my bedroom in turquoise, and my console table in turquoise, and the armoire in my bedroom in turquoise, and my quilt rack in turquoise, and the inside of my bookshelves in turquoise, and my...

Too much of a good thing?

A wonderful weekend!

2010-08-09T12:01:00.000-05:00

The retreat was wonderful! I worked on a number of projects, but they are still packed in the car. Once I get everything unpacked, I'll photograph and share.

We stayed in a large Victorian house built in 1890. The sewing cottage was in a separate building. There was lots of sewing, lots of talking, lots of eating, and the iced tea flowed all weekend. Lisa was our ingenious inventor*, Gina (who really needs to get that blog started) was our amazing chef, Jamie was our super-sewer who cut and pieced an entire king sized quilt, Michelle was our go-to girl (and fellow aspirin-chewer* who let me test drive her 440QE), Monica shared her adorable baby boy with us, Amanda kept the cottage bright with her gorgeous blocks on the design wall, and Ellen made some great progress on a beautiful Nest quilt. Everyone worked on gorgeous projects and it was such fun to have the help, support, and opinions of others.

It was like a three-night slumber party. I even had to hide my toothbrush*. We stayed up way past our bedtimes, talked about fabrics we are going to design*, recipes we'd like to share, and various other girly topics I won't mention in mixed company. I didn't really get an abundance of sewing done, but the company and conversation alone made the weekend. I have no regrets (other than maybe sobbing in the parking lot at the tire store*). I don't remember laughing so hard or so much in a long, long time. My cheeks and abs are sore from so much laughter, but maybe the constant laughter burned off some of the delicious calories I consumed! I'll be counting the days until we do it again, girls!

While I was gone, the house got some more brick, trim and tile. I'm so anxious to move! That's my sewing room over on the far right. I'm going to have a fabulous birdwatching spot under that pecan tree.

Last night, we joined our family to celebrate my Papaw's 91st birthday. I always love being with my family. We have so much fun catching up and teasing one another.

I think a great time was had by all. The perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!

* Sorry, you had to be there.

My, how time flies.

2010-08-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

That little break was unintentional. You know that kind of busy that keeps your head spinning but at the end of the day you feel like you have nothing to show for it? That's what my last couple of weeks have been like.

Those house is coming along nicely. We have...

a front door (which was hung today),

trim, crown moulding, and baseboard (this is the master bedroom),

and coolest of all, some brick!
The house is L-shaped and this is inside the L in the back.

We finalized our paint colors tonight. By the end of the week, we should have painted walls, cabinets, completed trim, brick on all sides, and maybe some tile. I'm so excited! But, I'm going to miss all of this progress, because I'm leaving town.

I'm joining seven fellow Dallas Modern Quilt Guild members for a quilting retreat! We'll be coming from all areas of the metroplex (the Dallas-Fort Worth area) to meet in an old Victorian house for four days of quilting and sewing! I've never done anything like this before, so I have no idea how much to take. I'm afraid I'm taking too much. I'll be that car on the freeway with my tailpipe sparking as it drags along the ground and you won't be able to see in the back window because the car is full of stuff.

I mostly packed UFOs, but I also threw in some fabrics I don't have plans for yet and a selection of books for inspiration. I just got the Liberated Quiltmaking II book today. I've only flipped through it, but I think I like it.

I've been baking cookies to take with me to the retreat. So far, I've only eaten one. I won't have internet access this weekend, but I might try posting from my phone. I need to finish packing my quilting supplies and then start packing my clothes. I'm such a last minute packer.

I heard the air conditioner in the sewing cottage gets really cold, which will be a nice break since we've had a week of unbearable temperatures (in my opinion). It's still in the upper 90's long after the sun has gone down. I think it's pretty much torture.

Oh, I've got to go. I just burned the last batch of cookies and I've got to keep the hubby from eating too many! See ya later!

Blocks in my mailbox.

2010-07-23T11:58:00.003-05:00

I hadn't joined a bee until I was contacted by Rachel and invited to join her do. Good Stitches {a Charity Bee}. I am honored to be a part of this wonderful effort where quilters can pool their skills to provide quilts for children in need abroad through Wrap Them With Love.

Rachel is the quilter for our first month (August) and she asked us to provide two red and aqua blocks for a sampler. The only other guidelines were that they finish at 12", that we make two of the same block, and they contain no wonky cuts or curves.

I made a couple of pinwheel blocks. I hope these are what Rachel has in mind. It's crazy that I can have so many fabrics and so few aqua prints.

My first block was an eight point star, but it finished out too big to trim down to 12", so I went with the pinwheels.

The other set of blocks I'm passing off to the postman today are headed to Lucia's house.

Lucia is a very talented fellow member of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild. She has a 32 year-old friend, Errick, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer and has just begun chemo treatments. Lucia is a generous soul who is using her gifts to bless others. Like me, her stash was a little skimpy on masculine colors and prints, so she has called for help and I hope that these blocks will fit the bill. They are on their way, Lucia.

I am so ready for my girl to come home from camp! It's so quiet around here. I haven't gotten nearly as much work done as I had hoped, but the house is clean, organized, and ready to pack as soon as Sean gets the boxes out of the attic. I've been keeping up with my Coconut hamstersitting duties. He's so stinking cute; I can't resist playing with him. I let him explore the coffee table (under my close supervision) because he can't run away and totally avoids the edges. I stacked the books up like stairs and he climbs up and down. He climbed into my bowl of perle cotton, but then started chewing on some purple, so that didn't work out. I think he misses Shea as much as I do. I'm praying for her group to have a safe journey back to Texas tomorrow and I can't wait to see her!

Hexagon Thoughts :: Progress

2010-07-22T13:51:00.001-05:00

I've fallen behind on my hexagon posts. I've been absorbed with a few other projects lately, along with work, preparing to move next month, and constantly driving back and forth to town. But, I thought it was time for an update, so here goes.

I've got 472 hexagons attached to another hexagon. I'm still sewing strips of 10 and 11 together into sections and planning to attach the sections once I have more completed. I'm hoping this method will distribute the fabrics from the same collections evenly throughout the quilt.

A few weeks ago, I noticed another duplicate I sewed in by accident but, I'm not going to tell you where it is, you'll have to find it later! So, I went through all my basted hexagons and pulled out a number of additional duplicates. I was surprised at how many more I found. Along with the duplicates, I pulled out a number of hexies I've decided not include, mostly because I decided that the fabrics were too light/pale or too sophisticated for me.

As of today, that makes my basted-but-not-attached hexagon count 726. The stacks above contain 25 hexies each.

I have no idea how many fabrics are in this 3.5" stack of squares. These are the fabrics I have yet to baste from swaps and new fabrics I've cut into. I still need to go through my folded stash and cut squares from those fabrics. I'm going to hold off on any more swaps until I get more of these fabrics basted.

Here's the box I'm using for hexagon storage with all the necessary supplies.

And this is an adorable little box I found in the school supply section at Target. It has a magnetic closure. This collection is so cute I couldn't resist some folders and notebooks too.

The best part about this box is that it fits in my handbag (I usually carry a big-ish handbag) and holds everything I need to make hexies on the go. Fabric squares, papers, scissors, needle and thread.

My tip for the week: Use old bobbins of thread to baste your hexagons. The bobbins are much more portable than a spool of thread (which wouldn't fit in my new box) and in my case, I have lots of wound bobbins from old clothing projects that I'll likely never use again.

If your bobbin thread gets unruly, use some of those little stretchy, fuzzy ponytail holders to wrangle the thread. Don't overpay buying them at the sewing store, just buy them at the drugstore.

There are 175 members in the hexagon charm quilt flickr pool! I really need to spend some time over there admiring all the beautiful work everyone is sharing. If you are in need of fabrics for your quilt, there are a number of swaps going on also, so check out the discussions.

Thanks for the love on the cheater fabric. So far, I've only received the initial FQ I ordered before I entered the contest. Those poor guys must be overwhelmed with orders. I've ordered additional yardage to cut into FQs, so I'll let you know as soon as I receive the yardage. I'll get another post together, maybe for tomorrow, with my thoughts on how the fabric turned out.

So, how is your hexagon quilt coming along?

Wordless Wednesday

2010-07-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

Just checking in.

2010-07-16T14:26:00.000-05:00

I've been so busy this week. I finally finished up the work my client needs for a meeting next week. With that off my shoulders, we've been focused on shopping, organizing, and packing for Shea's first week at sleep away camp next week. It will be the first time she's been away from home for so long and she's even crossing state lines! I'm actually pretty jealous because she'll be in the mountains where the temperature is in the 50's at night. After getting buckets of rain last week, our daytime temperature is back over 100° and the heat index was 109° yesterday. Yuck.

I don't have much to share today, but I did re-upholster my desk chair last Saturday. I'm really enjoying that fun Ikea fabric on my chair. I have one more parsons chair and just enough fabric to re-upholster it also. I'm going to have to get a new staple gun before I do any more upholstery. I don't think I've ever had a staple gun that worked properly. Sean says he can get me one to use with the air compressor. I like that idea.

I still don't have the Spoonflower fabric yet, but I wanted to thank you all again for the kind comments. I'm working on completing the repeats of the designs I drew for the cheater fabric (not just scaling them up) so that I can do a yard of 5" charm squares. I'm anxious to get it done and uploaded!

I talked Shea into making a quilt top. I've got four cousins who are expecting, so she used some Tweet Tweet to make a little baby quilt. I didn't give her much help because it was an attempt on my part to keep her busy for a while so I could get some work done. When she finishes sewing the top, I'll do the quilting.

The house is finally coming along after some huge delays due to all the rain over the last couple of weeks. The rough-in inspections are done (framing, electrical, low-voltage, HVAC, plumbing, gas, etc.), so the insulation, sheetrock, and brick can begin next week.

Shea enjoyed climbing around in Sean's Bobcat thingy he uses to dig and tear stuff up. (I think it's actually called a skid loader. Impressed?) He was digging the trench for the new water line.

I've had a number of inquires about the progress bars I use for tracking my hexagon quilt progress. Here's the link to the progress bars I'm using over there near the top right. You have to do your own math with these, but I liked that they were small and customizable. Have fun!

I'm hoping to head to Dallas tomorrow for another Dallas Modern Quilt Guild Saturday Sew after we see our girl off for camp tomorrow morning. I'm ready for a break and the Saturday Sew sounds like a great way to end a very busy week.

~ Thread Stash ~

2010-07-11T11:48:00.000-05:00

This post at Sew, Mama, Sew! asks us to share our thread stashes. Since I've never really thought of my thread in "stash" terms, I found this to be an interesting exercise.

How did you select colors for your personal thread collection? I buy thread for specific projects and stock up on basic threads I use regularly for quilting. I've also acquired some threads in large assortments such as the Ebay find above.

Do you always match the color perfectly to your project? Yes, I try to match my fabric perfectly. If I can't match the fabric exactly, I go a little darker.

Do you ever use contrasting thread? In clothing and machine quilting, usually not. In hand quilting, yes.

Do you use the same color in the bobbin as the upper thread? Almost always, yes.

What if a fabric has big areas of very different colors? I try to match the predominant or background color and don't worry about it.

Do you have any tips or suggestions about choosing thread? Purchase quality thread and if you can't match your fabric exactly, choose a thread one shade darker.

Can you show us a picture(s) of your thread collection? Yep.

Do you ever buy thread because you fall in love with the color (without a particular project in mind)? No, I don't remember ever buying thread just because I liked the color.

Do you “invest” in thread? I don't "invest" in thread, but when it's on sale (50% off at Joann), I stock up on neutral cotton threads for machine quilting and hand quilting. I also buy YLI quilting thread when I find it since it's hard to come by and I love it.

What types of thread do you have? All purpose cotton covered polyester for clothing, machine quilting cotton thread, hand quilting glazed cotton thread, upholstery thread, button thread, elastic thread, monofilament thread, rayon decorative thread, metallic thread, topstitching thread, serger thread, cotton perle thread (sizes 5, 8, and 12), embroidery thread, craft thread, and a few spools of vintage thread that belonged to grandmother.

Can you believe it? I won!

2010-07-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

Image from Spoonflower.com.

Thank you so much for your support in the Spoonflower fabric of the week contest! I'm so excited! I can't believe I actually won!

For those of you who asked about purchasing the 'Cheater Friday' fabric, here's the lowdown. Before a designer can sell their fabric on Spoonflower, they are required to order the fabric to serve as a proof (in the textile industry, it's called a strike-off). The designer should use the proof to ensure that the fabric prints as they intended and gives them the opportunity to make changes if necessary before the fabric is available for sale. Spoonflower's current lead time is about 20 days, so I wasn't able to get a proof prior to this fabric going on sale. Spoonflower is going to make the fabric available for sale today (before my proof ships) since I won the contest.

If you buy the fabric from Spoonflower before I see the proof, be aware that I can't vouch for how it turns out since I haven't seen it yet. Stephen also sent me a message to let me know that he's having to rotate the design, and I think that's actually going to modify the repeat, so you may not receive all 56 squares in a FQ. I won't know for certain until I receive the proof.

Once I see the proof, I am going to order some yardage of the fabric. I'll probably sell some FQs myself since I would actually profit more by selling the fabric myself and you could purchase the FQs for less if you buy it from me after I buy yardage.

Image from Spoonflower's blog at www.blog.spoonflower.com.

[Edited to add - Spoonflower just uploaded some photos of the printed fabric to flickr here and here, and sent out the email. It's official!]

I'm still working on the Paintbox quilt when I steal a few minutes for myself. I'm really pleased with the way it's turning out and I love quilting with the perle cotton. I think I'm going to hand quilt the pinwheel sampler with perle cotton too.

I received a couple of questions about my quilting frame and you can see above, I'm just using a quilting hoop. It's an Edmunds 14" quilting hoop which I purchased at my LQS. Quilting hoops differ from embroidery hoops in that they are much sturdier and the hoop is thicker (this one is 1" high or thick). I'd love to have a larger frame, but until we move and get settled, I'm going to stick with this small hoop and just continue to move it from block to block as I quilt.

As much as I'd love to stick around and chat, I've got to get to work. Thank you again for your kind words regarding the cheater fabric and especially for the votes! I would like to enter another Spoonflower contest, but I've set the standard a little high for myself after winning the first one I entered. I'm overloaded at the moment with work projects and I'm working against a tight deadline, so real work is having to take precedence this week over the fun stuff. I really want to do some more fun designs now!

Eighteen down. Sixty-two to go.

2010-07-03T14:24:00.001-05:00

It's 2:15 p.m. I'm still in my pajamas. I ate a slice of leftover chocolate creme pie for breakfast because it was fast and required no preparation. I haven't had lunch yet. I'm neglecting the dishes in the kitchen and and the mess in the living room. Why?

Because I can't put this down! I started hand quilting the Paintbox quilt late last night and have been working on it all day today. I had to take a break to give my hands and elbow (ouch!) a brief rest.

Beep! Break's over. Only 62 blocks to go! I hope I finish before my fingers start to bleed and my elbow requires a brace, because bloody fingers and an arm brace are going to seriously slow me down.

It's time to vote!

2010-07-01T14:33:00.000-05:00

I thought the Spoonflower voting was next week, but it's this week. It's time to vote!

Link to vote.

The entires appear in random order, so you'll have to click through

the screens until you see mine. It looks like this...

and it's called "Cheater Friday by melaniesullivan".

When you click on my design, a green box will appear around it. Then, you have to click through to the last page and click the box to cast your vote. If you don't click the cast your vote button on the last page, your vote won't count.

I noticed that all the designers are tweeting about their designs and they have 1,000's of followers on Twitter. Unfortunately, I don't Tweet, so I'm going to have to rely on your guys and just keep my fingers crossed that my design appeals to people!

Thank you so much for taking the time to vote!

Birthday weekend

2010-06-29T15:30:00.000-05:00

On Saturday, I was lucky enough to join the ladies of the Dallas Modern Quilt Guild again for the monthly Saturday Sew. This was my second time to attend and it's really a fun way to spend a day. I highly recommend it if you are in the DFW area and would like to join the coolest quilt guild around. First, I finished up my signature swap blocks which I mailed out today. I'd show you a photo, but I left my camera (with the photo on it) at my mom's on Sunday, so I'll have to wait until I go fetch it. For today, I'm stuck with iPhone Hipstamatic photos.

After I finished my signature blocks, I made a super scrappy Wild Flower Pincushion using the 1/2" hexagons I started on when I thought my swap pincushion was a flop. I ended up sending my partner the second red and white pincushion, so I guess I'll just keep this one. (Yea!) It's filled with walnut litter (crushed walnut shells) and I love the weight. I bought a seven pound bag in the bird section at Petsmart. The body of the pincushion is linen. I'll take a better photo after I retrieve my camera.

My birthday was Sunday. My mom made me some yummy cupcakes. Shea assures me I don't look my age, but she may just be saying that to make me feel better. She told me her friend thought I was "like 29", so that made my day! Yea, I was 29. Almost 10 years ago! This year, I decided to be extremely blunt with my sometimes gifting-impaired husband, bless his heart. I told him he had two choices, a new dress form, or FQs of AMH's Little Folks voile. He said he thinks I have enough fabric (I have no idea what he's talking about!?!), so he wanted to get me a new dress form. I've had about four dress forms, but I've never had a really nice one. My favorite dress form to date was the one he helped me make from duct tape in 1993 when I was in college. I just threw it out last summer when we moved so I've been without for almost a year and I really miss having one.

We had to order the dress form, so I picked up my own gift on Saturday so he could give me something on Sunday. I'm so thoughtful like that! A 24 pack of Sharpies with bonus Caribbean colors! Woo hoo! Sharpies rule!

Thank you for the kind comments on the cheater print. I really hope it prints up nicely. The voting at Spoonflower doesn't start until July 7th, but I'll post about again when it's time.

Have a great week!

My cheater print.

2010-06-25T15:55:00.000-05:00

- fat quarter -

I just finished a digital fabric design which I'm planning to enter in Spoonflower's contest next week. I'm not new to fabric design, but I am new to digital printing. The fabrics I design for work are screen printed in China on huge rotary drum printers. I have to pay close attention to repeat dimensions, screen registration, color separations, and lots of other fun technical stuff. With digital printing, much of the technical stuff is irrelevant. You still need a nice repeat, but you aren't locked into the size of the rotary drum and there are no screens which means colors are almost limitless.

- detail -

Anyway, when I saw that Spoonflower's contest next week is cheater prints, I figured this was a great time for me to try out Spoonflower's service. This cheater print serves two purposes. One, I think it's adorable and I would love to make a quilt out of this fabric. Two, those squares are 2.5". So, each fat quarter yields 56 unique prints. Yes, that's 56 one inch hexagons with no repeats!

-detail-

If you are thinking I was inspired by my favorite fabric collection, you guessed right. I hope it isn't too literal. I wanted to keep the scale small and tight to make for cute hexagons. I ordered a FQ of this fabric so as soon as I receive it, I'll let you know how it turned out. Sorry for the watermark, but I'm just trying to keep what's mine, mine. I'd love to hear what you think! I'm sure I'll be begging for your vote on Spoonflower next week. ;-)

Second time's a charm!

2010-06-23T08:21:00.000-05:00

Yea! It worked this time. I think my partner will like this pinnie, so I'm excited that this one turned out better. Happy hump day everyone.

Pincushion Swap

2010-06-22T18:28:00.001-05:00

I joined the Scrappy Pincushion Swap at Flickr. The pincushion above was my first creation. To make it, I found a paper piecing block pattern online that I liked and printed it really tiny. I'm not very proficient at foundation paper piecing, so I somehow ended up sewing the points off my star. Edited to add - I just tried again and I know exactly what I did wrong. I squared up the little patchwork pieces before I sewed everything together and I took too much off when I trimmed. I just finished up a second try and it's much better. I'll post it tomorrow. :-)

So, I started on another pincushion. These are half inch hexagons, the smallest I've made so far and super fun to make and assemble. I also love being able to put such tiny scraps to good use and turn them into something awesome!

Hexagon Thoughts :: Piecing Strips

2010-06-19T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's been tough trying to get this video filmed today! I recorded the other videos outside (for the great lighting and acoustics), but we spent the morning in town at the vet and when we got home it was already 100°. Sorry, but that's too hot for me to sit outside in the sun and sew. I tried unsuccessfully setting up at multiple windows around the house and when I finally found the best light, my neighbor started mowing. My camera picked up the drone of his mower, so I had to stop. I resumed filming when he finished, but then he started his weed eater! I think he was weed eating off and on for almost two hours! Every time I thought the coast was clear... weeeer, weeer, weeeer! I wanted to go yell at him, "Hey, buddy, I'm trying to record a little sewing video in here!" But, of course, I didn't.

So, this video may seem a little choppy because it was filmed at different times throughout the day and then spliced together. The lighting isn't very good and portions are a little out of focus, but I think you'll get the idea. This video is how I piece my strips of hexagons together. Its isn't necessarily the right way and it's definitely not the only way, but it's what has been working for me. It might be helpful if you are new to hand paper piecing.

Thank you for all of the love on the Color Wheel quilt. I might hang it on a wall; maybe in my new sewing room.

Regarding the hand quilting video, I'll try to record something when I start on the paintbox quilt, but I'll be using Perle cotton for that project, so it's slightly different than traditional hand quilting. Amy has a fabulous series of videos on YouTube on hand quilting, so be sure to check those out. Vikivictoria also shared a video link that I found helpful. Thank you!

We had a little dog-related scare late last night. My 13 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Gizmo, has cataracts. That's her snoozing on the sofa above. She can distinguish light and dark really well, but she's basically blind. Our vet watches for complications, but says she's too old for major surgery and I'm too cheap to spend $4K on surgery for my 13 year old dog. Anyway, last night one of her totally white eyes (cloudy from the cataracts) turned blood red. A blood vessel in her eye ruptured! I could tell she wasn't in pain since she wasn't pawing at it, but she was bumping into things like it worsened her already terrible vision. We saw the vet first thing this morning and he said she was going to be okay. After fewer than 10 hours on steroid drops, her eye already looks much better! The poor old girl looked terrible and it was scary because I didn't know how serious it was. I'm thankful she's on the mend.

Speaking of pets, we have a new one. This is Coconut. He's Shea's new hamster.

She is enjoying his company immensely!

Color Wheel Quilt

2010-06-14T12:51:00.000-05:00

All finished! The binding went on yesterday and I washed it this morning.

This quilt was my first hand quilted project. I started it in February, and actually constructed it quickly, but would set it aside and only work on the hand quilting occasionally.

My daughter took this and the first photo. I may have to use this one for my blog header.

In case you are wondering, here are the facts. The fabrics came from my stash. It's quilted with Gütermann and YLI white cotton hand quilting thread. I used size 9 between quilting needles. I didn't prewash any of these fabrics, but I used a Shout Color Catcher in the wash. (Nothing bled.) I can't remember what kind of batting I used, but I think it's either Warm n' Natural or Hobbs Heirloom 80/20. I'm fairly certain I used Moda Bella solid white and I don't think it washed up as softly as Kona. I marked my stitching lines lightly with a very sharp No. 2 pencil and a long ruler. The lines that didn't come out during quilting came out in the wash.

I'm a total newbie at hand quilting, but I'm hooked. My sewing machine may be seeing a little less of me. I read your comments about hand quilting videos, so when I start hand quilting the Paintbox quilt, I'll shoot a little video. For beginners by a beginner.

Have a lovely Monday!

Happy Dance!

2010-06-12T18:43:00.000-05:00

I just did a little happy dance around the living room,

complete with shouts of "woo hoo!".

I decided I wanted to finish something today, so I put in the first season of The Big Bang Theory (which has unequivocally replaced Gilligan's Island as my all time favorite televison comedy) and made myself comfy on the sofa. It only took 17 commercial-free episodes to finish the quilting. Now it just needs a binding, but wow, my fingers are sore.

Oh, and I'm a new Big Bang fan. A friend who insisted we needed to see the show loaned us the first and second seasons on DVD a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen the third season, so no spoliers please. I pre-ordered it on Amazon, but there's no release date listed. It hope it's released soon so we can catch up before the fourth season starts.

Another busy week.

2010-06-11T08:37:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy another busy week. I only have a few minutes to post, but I thought I'd check in.

The garage slab was poured on Wednesday. This was before. The crew hit bedrock, so Sean had to rent a jackhammer and it took an extra day to jackhammer the ditches for the beams. At least we know the slab won't be moving. The family room and master suite will be above the garage. It's the size of a four car garage since it will also house the airplane Sean is building. (Yes, I park my car next to a pair of airplane wings in my garage.)

Dirt work for the slab addition that will be my sewing room, powder room, and Shea's bathroom. I think this was on June 5th.

And here's that same spot yesterday. What a difference a few days makes! That room with the ladder is my sewing room. We need to get the tree trimmer to come trim up that pecan tree soon.

I've been sewing during swim team every day.

It's nice to have hand work projects that are so portable.

It's also fun to have little girls stop to see what I'm working on.

Perle Cotton and Hexagons

2010-06-07T16:08:00.001-05:00

Thank you for all of the kind comments on my first mini quilt! I had such fun with that hand quilting. I foresee many more Perle cotton quilted quilts in my future.

Speaking of Perle cotton, I made a score on Ebay. This is 36 balls of size 8 DMC Perle Cotton...

that I got for $30 with shipping! Woo hoo! That's like 80-something cents each! They are mostly older, but are unused and I read online that they age well. They had been stored in plastic bins. Between these and the inexpensive perle cottons I ordered from Threadart, (thank you for the tip, Sarah!), I'll hopefully have all the colors in my Paintbox quilt covered. That's the plan at least.

We spent last evening at my mother's house for some fun and food with her and my brothers and their families. As I was sewing hexagons together, my adorable niece enjoyed going through them picking out her favorite fabrics.

I think she's got pretty good taste!

I've decided that storing the hexagons by color was causing me to over think my random layout. (Plus, they outgrew the storage box.) I dumped them all out and mixed them up. Now, I'm trying just to reach in and grab the next one and go with whatever I pull out. The only editing I'm doing is attempting to avoid attaching two of very similar color or print adjacent to one another. I'm probably still over thinking it, but at least I'm not spending a full minute or more on deciding which fabric to attach next. The best scenario for me is to ask an uninterested party to select the next hexagon and avoid the paralysis of analysis altogether.

I'm sorry I've fallen a bit behind on the weekly hexagon posts. I have a couple of piecing videos I'd like to record and hopefully I'll get those done this week. If you need a quick hexagon fix, check out everyone's progress in the flickr group. I love seeing all the beautiful quilts evolve! Keep the photos coming!

I 'll likely be scarce this week; I have a mountain of new freelance work I need to get done between swim team practices and entertaining my out-for-the-summer daughter. Enjoy your week!

Flea Market Fancy mini quilt

2010-06-05T09:56:00.000-05:00

This little quilt is four firsts for me.

1. It's my first mini quilt, measuring 16.5" square.

2. The first quilt I've made using my Flea Market Fancy fabrics.

3. The first hand quilted project I've finished. Emphasis on finished.

4. And, my first time to quilt with Pearl cotton. I used DMC size 8.

I got most of the quilting done poolside last night while Shea was at swim team. I probably looked like a dork quilting beside the pool (in the shade of course) but, oh well. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I really like quilting with the pearl cotton. It's quick and I love the look of the chunky stitches.

I liked this little quilt last night when I finished it, but I love it this morning seeing it with fresh eyes. The quilting doesn't look as bad (crooked and uneven) as it seemed to me last night. I can't wait to hang this in my sewing room in the next house. There's something about it that makes me smile. I think it's the happy colors!

And, yes, the Flea Market Fancy is even better out of the stacks!

It's just fabric. Right?

2010-06-04T13:52:00.002-05:00

I'm so close to finishing my quest to collect all the Flea Market Fancy prints. I was daydreaming earlier about what kind of quilt I'll make when my collection is complete. Some very talented quilters have created some gorgeous quilts with this collection. Among my favorites are this one, this one, this one, and this one. Breathtaking aren't they! I can't decide what I want to do with mine yet.

I'll probably mix some solids with the prints to make what I have go a little farther. Maybe I could get two quilts out of my stash by adding solids. After matching up a few prints to some Kona solids earlier, I decided to actually cut into some of the fabric as a bit of a primer to making the "real" quilt. Silly isn't it! It's just fabric! Anyway, I used Kona strips left over from the Paintbox quilt and some FMF scraps that I've acquired through swaps.

It turned into my first mini quilt! They are little improv wonky stars. Don't faint, but yes, that is actually polyester batting. I'm going to hand quilt this one and hand quilting through Warm 'n Natural (or other mostly cotton batting) is tough. Visually, I like the loft of polyester, so I'm going to try it out for this little wall quilt and see how I like the way it needles. I'll show it to you when I'm finished. Hopefully that will be sometime in the very near future.

Once upon a time...

2010-06-02T12:06:00.000-05:00

a boy, a girl, and their wee one lived in a cute house in the city. The boy was a home builder who had meticulously rebuilt the 1925 bungalow they called home. Their house was walking distance from the elementary, middle, and high schools the girl attended and the hospital where she was born. The university the girl graduated from was much further away, about five miles from their city house. She had very deep roots in their neighborhood. The couple were surrounded by family and friends who lived nearby.

One day, the boy and girl had a crazy idea and wondered what it would be like to live in the country. They put their city house on the market and it sold very, very quickly. The couple leased a house about 25 minutes outside their beloved city and prepared to build a country house.

But things in the country weren't as blissful as the couple had hoped. They desperately missed the conveniences of city life and the girl was saddened by all the precious time she was losing by driving back and forth to the city on a regular basis.

A few months after moving to the country, the couple made the decision to uproot again move back to the city. But where would they go? They had sold their lovely city house.

The couple decided to take on the massive renovation of a 1940's rental home they owned in the city. After all, the boy was a home builder and they had completed this type of project twice before with great results.

So, in the heat of the Texas summer, the project began. They hope the house will be completed before school for the wee one begins in the fall. The couple are very excited about moving back to the city and are praying that things go smoothly and that they are able to stay on schedule.

OK, seriously. All sarcasm aside, I was going to start another blog to document our next house project, but I can barely keep up with one blog, so maintaining two might throw me over the proverbial edge. I hope I won't lose you if you are here for crafty things, but I'm so excited about moving back to the city and want to share our house journey with my family and friends. I might put together a post of before and after photos of our last house. I adore old houses and love that with my husband's skills we are able to give them new life. (And, I can't wait to decorate and landscape this next "old" house!)

And for those of you who are here for some crafty eye candy...

The 193 hexagons I basted on Memorial Day. I'm almost out of pre-cut papers and I still have a huge stack of squares remaining to baste. I also need to cut into my stash. I think my hexagon quilt is going to be larger than originally planned because I want to include every single one of these lovely fabrics!

Paintbox Quilt Top

2010-05-31T15:37:00.001-05:00

On Saturday, I attended Dallas Modern Quilt Guild's Saturday Sew. It was such fun to meet fellow bloggers and to spend a day in a room of ladies who love to sew and quilt. I had been putting off the sashing for the Paintbox quilt, so I took it with me on Saturday. I arrived in the morning with a stack of 80 blocks and two yards of Kona charcoal and left with a finished quilt top. It was a super productive day.

I really like the way it turned out. I must credit Kim with the charcoal sashing idea. I was thinking of hand quilting this one and a fellow hand-quilter at the Saturday Sew had the marvelous idea of quilting in in full color.

This morning I matched up Kona cottons to DMC cottons. My dilemma? Buying 37 DMC pearl cotton balls at approximately $2.50 per ball (plus shipping) is a little too much to spend on quilting one quilt in my opinion. So, I think I may try using the variegated pearl cotton because I could likely get away with using only 14 colors/balls. I bought some size 5 pearl cotton skeins yesterday (because they are readily available and only $1.50 each), but I don't really like hand quilting with size 5, so I'll have to order the size 8 balls if I can't find them locally. The one shop I can think of that may have them in stock is closed today for the holiday.

Shea is out of school for the summer and has spent the last four days swimming. The temperature is already in the mid 90's here in Texas and the forecasted high for Saturday is 102° (39° C). Ugh.

If you are in the states, I hope you are enjoying your long Memorial Day weekend. Remember to take a moment today to honor those who have paid the ultimate price while serving our country.