Celebrating the Boy

There are so many cute fabrics and projects out there for little boys, aren't there? I have been faithfully reading (and adding to my blog roll) some very creative moms who are doing things just for their little guys.
http://madebyrae.blogspot.com/   and http://www.dana-made-it.com/ have had some incredible ideas all week as they celebrate the boy. You should check them out. They have both had great guest posters. I have book marked so much stuff!  You should see the easy and inexpensive tent made to fit over the kitchen table  at http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2010/02/tent-week-day-three-army-bunker-tent.html  This woman is so incredibly clever and talented! I can't wait to see what she makes next.

I don't know if I will be able to find any more Bot Camp fabric that I loved seeing in the blogs. I am a little late in finding it. But as I was searching for other great boy fabrics, I found this at one shop ... Salina Yoon (of RJR) made a train set and panel, complete with buildings. http://www.bugfabric.com/rjr_fabrics.htm is where I found it. They are so adorable! Aren't they?

If I had the time and money to make every cute thing I have seen for my little grandson, he would be unbearably spoiled. Good thing Nana is on a budget!  It is impossible to say no to this face!

Signs of Spring Coming

It is almost the end of February already, can you believe it? It has been a cold winter here. The centipede grass is like dry brush. It crackles when you walk on it and makes me think of walking through deep woods with a layer of fallen leaves. Crunch, crunch, crunch.

The Sego palms are no longer green. They did not like the frost/snow/often below freezing temps this Winter any more than I did.

But, there are signs of Spring ahead! The Baby's Breath bushes have little tiny leaf buds and so does the blueberry bush. My neighbors Japanese Tulip Tree (or Teacup Magnolia) is turning pink and by next week, it should look like this...

and this...no fragrance. Just beautiful pink buds covering the tree. No leaves yet. And when the flowers drop it will leaf out and provide nice shade for the hot Summer. I need my little baby one to take off so I have the pink in my front yard too.

There are just bunches of birds now. We've had the cardinals back for more than a month. Little finches and wrens and stellar jays, have been fighting over the feeder. I must have missed the mass landing of robins that come every year. It is usually just one day and there they are, hundreds in the yard, then they are gone! The biggest, fattest robins I ever saw!

So, everything might look freezer burned and brown and sorry now, but soon it will green up. Then we are back to sweltering again til November. Fun!

At least we have the beautiful beaches and rivers to cool off at! Ahhh! White sand, emerald water, and a tan! That's the ticket!

2010 Designer Quilt Block of the Month Club!

I just signed up for the Fat Quarter Shop's 2010 Designer Block of the Month Club! This is my first time joining one of these, and I just could not say no. How could I? Kate Spain fabrics, 12 blocks, each one designed by one of my favorite designers! $9.99 a month includes shipping and $4.99 to sign up. Limited spots available. It starts this June and ends next May. You can buy the backing and also the border set separately.

http://www.fatquartershop.com/Designer-Mystery-BOM-3-Sisters-Fabric.asp

The fabric is darling. The designers are really great: Fig Tree Quilts (Joanna Figueroa), Bonnie and Camille (as in Cotton Blossoms and Simple Abundance fabric lines), Me and My Sisters, Minick and Simpson, Pieces of My Heart (Sandy Gervais), Miss Rosie, the Pattern Basket, etc!!

I know some people might balk at $10 for a block and instructions, but I look at it as $10 a month is not hardly anything, and these are my favorite designers! I will have a very cool quilt by the end of May 2011. I am excited!

I may end up getting the border "finishing kit" later, but probably I will improvise the backing with something I already have.

I won! I won!

http://ankastreasures.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/a-new-book-preview/ If you haven't heard of Heather Mulder Peterson and you love fabric and quilts, you need to get to know her. Follow her blog, buy the books. Definitely buy the fabrics. Her company is called Anka's Treasures.

I absolutely adore her style. When I posted a comment on her blog post about the new book of pillows and shams, I never thought I would win. I never win anything! I just wanted to tell her how much I adore her taste in colors and fabrics. So imagine my shock when I checked back today and found my name in the winners circle!!

Coincidentally, I am working on a quilt of Heather's design at home. Going to get it finished this month. Now I can make a set of pillow shams to match! Here is what I am working on from Heather's book "On A Roll Again"  http://www.ankastreasures.com/item_39/On-A-Roll-Again-ANK272.htm  I am making the one on the cover using the Simple Abundance line from Bonnie and Camille for Moda. You can see what the fabrics look like here http://www.hancocks-paducah.com/ItemList--Moda-Fabrics-by-Bonnie-and-Camille--m-1862

I got started with this quilt when I took a gamble on a Moda Scrap Bag from Hancock's Paducah and it contained Simple Abundance! You don't know what's in the bag til it arrives, but I loved this new line, and having seen the cover quilt from On A Roll Again and I just knew I had to make it. When I get this quilt done, I'll post pics. I am bordering it with this blue mums floral and the ruby red (not pictured) is the inner border. Hancocks may be out of those two. They are really popular.


What are you working on?

Upbeat music

I like A LOT of music styles. My taste and my moods go hand-in-hand, so having access to a huge variety of sound is really great. That is why I am so thankful for Pandora.com! www.pandora.com

Have you discovered Pandora.com?  You can make your own music stations! Give them an artist or song you like and they play others they think you will want to hear. You can give those songs the thumbs up or down and Pandora will keep playing, fine tuning to your tastes. Not even satellite radio can do that.

It is a great way to discover new talent and older ones you didn't ever hear before. Without Pandora I might have never heard Mary Higgins, Emma Pollock or Marie Digby. I might not have ever heard Il Divo. I wouldn't have dreamed that I would like a band called "the Killers." See what I mean about my really wide range of music taste? 

Makes me want an IPOD. If I was rich and really tech-savvy, I guess I could have Pandora on my phone too. What kind of battery life do you have to have for that?

I don't know if there is a limit to how many stations you can create (and Pandora offers stations premade too, like a bunch of holiday ones at Christmas for example) but I have at least one for every mood and music style. That is an awesome thing in a part of the country with really limited music on the radio. No one around here offers Flamenco guitar or Josh Groban or Norah Jones styles. Can you believe that? Basically it is Country, Hip Hop or Rock. No diversity!

Check out Pandora.com and you will not want to leave the computer at all! Free music that is what you want to hear for as long as you want to listen.

Updates on the weather and some blog giveaways

Well, it snowed for about 5 minutes Friday afternoon! Big fat flakes that melted before they even got to the ground, and I could not get a decent picture of the event, but hey, it did snow in Florida! If I hadn't been working, I could have driven north of Pensacola to the northern border and seen this ---->   My friend's granddaughter having a blast with her daddy.


Blog giveaways you might want to check out:

http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2010/01/name-the-bag-win-the-bag.html#comment-6a00d8341c574653ef0120a8a11a8e970b  If they like the name you give the bag kit, you win that very awesome purse! Made with Laura Gunn's Lantern Bloom and a Moda dot fabric. Who wouldn't want that?

Also, if you create or have an account with Hawthorne Threads http://www.hawthornethreads.com they are giving away a too cute stack of Chirp fat quarters in one of three colorways. The details are here: http://www.hawthornethreads.com/giveaway   Aren't they just perfect for a baby shower gift quilt?

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday. Stay warm and keep sewing!

We're going to get SNOW!!!

Conditions are very favorable!! How cool is that? First time in 13 years here and first time at all for me, as we only moved here 6 years ago. I am excited that my little grandson will get to experience it. He won't remember, but we'll have pictures! Not knee deep snow, of course. Come on, this is the Florida Gulf Coast, but maybe a snowflake on the tongue or hand kind of picture with little rosy baby cheeks, right?
http://www.weather.com/weather/today/Pensacola+FL+32534?lswe=32534&from=searchbox_localwx

Have you seen the latest on Moda Bakeshop? http://www.modabakeshop.com/2010/02/off-grid-sliced-nine-patch-quilt.html Quilt Dad http://www.quiltdad.com/  was featured there for this totally cute lap quilt called Off the Grid. And it uses 2 Charm Packs and One Honey Bun. I could make this over the weekend! Since it is going to be cold, why not? I think this is the cutest little quilt I have seen in a while, so I can't wait to start! I love how they photographed this with snow in the background. If you don't follow the Moda Bakeshop blog, you really should! Free tutorials from wonderful guest bloggers and loads of inspiration!

Have a SEW wonderful weekend!

Still working on donations for Haiti

No pictures to post today. I am just going to talk about my ongoing project.

http://jmchoul.spaces.live.com/  this is a very worthwhile read. It is from a doctor in Haiti and there are plenty of photographs to show what it is still like there.

I personally don't believe sending money helps. I have read enough blogs and news stories to know that honesty is not common there. Neither are necessities. This particular doctor's blog talks about how impossible it is to even get gasoline from the Dominican Republic when they have cash in hand.  Thieves and gangs take what they can. I have been told that the Red Cross keeps about 85% of donations for "administrative costs." This is from someone who used to work for the Red Cross. Also, there are Haitians that are even robbing the dead for cell phones and jewelry, etc.

I do believe that sending useful items helps in a small way. Maybe these things aren't so tempting for thieves as the bags of food and cash would be. I'd like to think these things will get distributed right away, and not sit under guard by the runway while some stupid politician gets a tour of the area or until NATO (or whoever) decides it can be released.

I hope that you are still thinking about what you can do for Haiti. I am still putting together items for the very large box I will donate. I know I could have sent it by now, but I keep thinking of things to add to it. Maybe some spare cooking utensils and kitchen towels. A cooking pot could fit in there too. And seeds for vegetables and fruits. A second box is going to be necessary before I get to the drop off location, but I am going to get it there by Friday. I promise.

My husband's original leg brace that he wore after surgery is now in the box. It will be a great help to someone tall who is recovering from bad leg injuries. My daughter donated a bunch of baby food. I have made 5 pillowcase dresses and accessories for little girls there. I made a matching headband and a purse to go with a few of them. I have some old nursing scrubs and also fabrics, notions and thread I have put in as well. I have been reading the above blog and there are women using old treadle sewing machines (outside) to make clothing (and items to sell) to feed and clothe their families.

Already in the box are sheets, baby clothes, a small quilt, summer clothing and a few toiletries. All I have to do is drive the box over to a local Baptist church and they will get it there for free. I hope you are able to do the same. :)

Can you imagine having no shelter, other than a tarp? No running water or toilets? Not knowing when you might find food again. Being the only survivor in an entire family? Being a child who no longer has both feet? It is so incredibly sad. No matter how bad off the country was politically or socially, they still could use our help. For the people of Haiti to wish for Papa Doc to be back rather than be neglected as they have been by France, that is terrible, don't you think?