Jumping in and a little giveaway.

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?

Leave a comment below.

I'll let the random number generator pick a winner on Sunday night. Good luck!

♥ February + Pink ♥

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.

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

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!