This is my blog

This Week with Tyler

2012-01-14T19:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we were at the beach. Now we are bundled up and splitting our time between outdoor play and indoor activities. It is about 25 degrees and windy in the morning now! If you've been thinking that Florida is always warm, think again.

This week we rescued a butterfly. A Monarch who forgot to migrate to Mexico. He was found laying on his side in my mom's yard. Tyler actually got to hold him/ he held onto Tyler's finger, so of course I don't have a picture of that.

We tried to get the butterfly to sip some sugar water. He was not interested. Tyler did get a look at the long curled up tongue butterflies have. And this picture. I think that is a worried look, but I can't be sure.

So, after the sugar water was rejected, we decided to try to find some remaining flowers in the yard. Butterflies love flowers. We still see the yellow sulfur butterflies out there, so maybe he'd like the company?

Here he is on the last camellia blossom. Its all that is left in our yard in January for flowers. I suspect that the Monarch blew away, rather than flew away, so please don't tell Tyler. He'd be real sad. There is a reason he didn't migrate, and I suspect it is old age. C'est la vie.

On Monday Tyler announced that we needed to make cupcakes. Here we are making mini cupcakes with a melon ball for the scoop. Chocolate with cream cheese frosting. Mmmmm. We used leftover Halloween papers and Halloween sprinkles. He thought it was awesome and only really ate the cream cheese frosting. Tyler loves to be "the cooker."

Counting the cupcake papers as we add them to the tins is educational, right? And scooping batter into the papers is eye-hand coordination and learning a sort of measuring by look is also educational. We'll call this cooking school for toddlers.

Do you have a Train Table for your kids? There are more uses than you might have guessed. Last year it was an elevated play area and platform for looking out the window. This year it is an arts and crafts table, dinosaur habitat, and lately, Tyler invented another use for it: Dinosaur Soccer. See the hand holes on either side? Those are the goals. We play a little soccer out in the yard, but this kid has never seen a real match (or a foosball table for that matter) but he is brilliant enough to have invented this game!

He usually wants to be the Long Neck Dinosaur team and I am the T-Rex team and we fight over and attempt to score with ping pong balls. It is really fun, and a little rough on the knuckles at times. This kid is going to be a Foosball enthusiast.And I just saw a small table-top version at Ross for $15. Birthday gift? Yes.

We were lucky to get his table from a yard sale, so the cost was not a factor, but even if you pay full price, you and your kids are SO going to get your money's worth out of it. It is a stage when Tyler wants to sing and dance. It is where the building block towers are crashed down with monster trucks, and where he builds puzzles and play dough sculptures. The height is just perfect for him, and it is sturdy enough to hold his weight through years of use.

Here you see our dino-rama. Ha ha. I had to say it. We have dinosaur flash cards and looked up every single one in his dinosaur box. "Dino Dan" on Nick Jr is a show he likes to watch and for not quite 3 years old, he can tell you a lot of dinosaur names and what they eat and look like. I guess while he's in college on sports scholarships he can major in Paleontology and minor in Culinary Arts?

T-Rex is ready to defend his goalpost from the Long Neck player (me.) I think Tyler is making it extra hard for me to score with his body block, don't you?

Another indoor sport he invented is Hallway Hockey. The plastic golf club is the stick. Ping pong balls again. Slippers are required for better agility. And by the way, the golf club is also: a sword, a pony, a reach under furniture ball retriever, a light switch arm extension, and a pointer.

Would you like to be goalie and hold still for one after another on-goal shots? Me neither. I leave that up to Papa. He's a tough guy, he can take it.

Shopping tip: Target's $1 section has foam swords. Joann's also has foam swords, but they are not $1. However, Target does not have the coordinating black pirate hat, hook hand, and eye patch that you will find at Joann's. So there you go. Things to shop for this week for you Neverland Pirate fan. If you have a pirate theme birthday in your future, you can score on those.

And lastly, because you may start feeling like you are sitting through a relative's vacation slide show, we made our first bedroom fort out of sheets and clothespins, etc. Please note the heavy duty cardboard tube being used for yet another project. This is one of the tubes we use for Hot Wheels racing. He thought the fort was awesome. For about 5 minutes. Now if I could have invented a pirate ship instead of a fort, I would be forever his hero.

Hello from sunny Pensacola!

2012-01-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Happy New Year! I hope you are off to a great start and keeping those resolutions! Greetings from Pensacola Beach!

It is January and we spent the weekend at the beach! Saturday was gorgeous, but I forgot the camera, of course. The temp is in the low 70s, the water is clear and cool and emerald green. The Gulf of Mexico was as flat as can be on Saturday. Green flag flying. Things can change so quickly, because today it was a yellow flag and a purple flag and cloudy. Still, we had fun.

This boy is all sports, all the time. When we played football today, he said he was Tebow and I was Polamalu. Too funny! When we play baseball, he is Benny and the other person (whoever that may be at the time) is Smalls, as in 2 characters from the Sandlot.

Neither of us can wait for the water to warm up for swimming.

Tyler and I played baseball, soccer and football, made sand castles, chased seagulls, looked through the pay-to-view telescope, had lunch, waded up to our calves in and out of the surf, collected shells and just had a blast both days. Just the two of us. It was awesome.

We had such a good time that we decided to go back again today, even with a 30% chance of rain. It doesn't sound like much of a chance, but I've seen it absolutely downpour all day when they called for a 10% chance. (You can't put a lot of stock in what our weather people say.) Just like Saturday, there were sunbathers and swimmers filling up the beach by noon.

Do you see that purplish color on the horizon line? Yeah, the jellies are coming. What we really need are a lot more sea turtles, who eat the jellyfish, because there doesn't seem to be any time of year when we DON'T have some kind of jellyfish attack.

This one is about 9 inches across. Ick. Does anyone have a cure for jellyfish invasions?

the Spirit of Christmas

2011-12-22T18:43:00.000-08:00

This year at Christmas is not the best of times. It is a little stressful, what with my new job venture not working out and me looking for a job at my age, but we'll get through it. I had been thinking about the season and that it is better to give than receive, because no matter how difficult it might be financially, there are always others worse off.

Tyler should learn about giving this year. That is what I told myself. Most of our neighbors are elderly. Then I got another one of the millions of emails about Christmas cookies and a lightbulb went on over my head.

Let me tell you that I have never made sugar cookies from scratch. Chocolate is more my thing, but Alton Brown's recipe seemed like a no fail plan for us, so I made a double batch.

Having made 2 trips to Joanns this week in between rain storms (EVERYTHING for Christmas is 70% off!!! more on that in another post) Tyler picked out a gingerbread man cookie cutter and big can of various red and green sprinkles, so the plan seemed made to order. We jumped in. Here we are rolling out the dough. We learned that it doesn't roll well right out of the frig, and not well after it gets too warm. And it requires a LOT of powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to everything.

Tyler loves learning about anything and everything. He wants to help all the time, even with sweeping and mopping, so he was very excited to use his new cookie cutter and the rolling pin. I was excited to get out my long neglected copper cookie cutters!

Look at that effort!

This was a great crafty project to do with an almost 3 year old. The breaks we needed for baking and cooling of cookies allowed him to go play and then refocus. By the time we got to icing and decorating, he was still totally excited about it thanks to Claymation Christmas (we have the whole dvd - a favorite) and the Backyardigans.

Tomorrow should be a great day to walk down our little street and make gifts of cookies to the neighbors.

Hey, they might even want to leave these out for Santa!

Pre-Christmas Activities

2011-12-13T11:32:00.000-08:00

Ho Ho Ho! Merry Christmas, friends! We are half way through December already, can you believe it???

Here's what is cooking at our house! We haven't had a Christmas tree in a few years. Now that Tyler is almost 3 it seemed wrong to not have one this year. He was SO excited to go with his Papa and Nana to pick one out and to help put it up and decorate. Christmas is a real thing to him already. The whole package. The movies, the songs, the baking, the lights, all of it. Childhood excitement about Christmas is what makes the holiday magical, if you ask me. And of course we are working on the concept of it being the birthday of Jesus.

I took Tyler on errands yesterday and he spontaneously told everyone we saw "Merry Christmas!" He made a lot of people smile, including me.

Here is how you decorate a tree with a toddler boy. God bless his Papa (sore shoulders and all) because like me, he cannot say no to the grandson! If I had thought of it earlier, I might have made this photo into Christmas cards! Ha ha ha! I can foresee a "Christmas Vacation" decorating team in our future. Tyler with the ball of Christmas lights to untangle, Bryan overloading the electrical system. That is Bryan's favorite part of the movie - when the emergency switch has to be thrown to stop the blackout. It takes a former Navy gas turbine mechanic to appreciate the humor there. Or an electrician. Anyway...

I did not get the Advent calendar made in time to start the month. I told myself I would do it next year, but when Tyler started asking how long til Christmas, I knew I had to get this made, even half way through Advent. So here it is. It has a sleeve on the back and I found a magnetic curtain rod, so it is displayed on the back of our entry door! How cool is that? I am pretty pleased about it. No nail holes in the walls and it is out of reach. This is a fabric panel from Makower fabrics that I have had for a few years. There are little pockets on and around the tree for gifts or tiny ornaments or what-have-yous. I plan to go out after Christmas for some major markdown ornaments that will fit in the pockets, and a small wreath to hang them on for 2012. For now, the remaining Advent pockets have candies and Hot Wheels. There is even a Scion XB Hot Wheel like my daughter's car!

While I made the calendar, my daughter and Tyler made their first gingerbread house together. Can you say sugar high? Tyler was eating the colored sprinkles by licking them off his sticky hands! When my kids were little we lived near this wonderful German bakery in Costa Mesa, CA. Every year they had gingerbread decorating days where the house was pre-assembled and you decorated it with what they supplied or brought your own items to add to it. When that was over, Santa showed up with candy canes and you could take pictures with him. It was fantastic! My kids and I had the best time there! Not having found something like that here yet, we were glad to find gingerbread house kits everywhere. I even saw a chocolate version at Cost Plus World Market. We don't have an IKEA, but we have Cost Plus!

My freaky camera created some interesting effects with the lighted tree in the background. I sort of like this ethereal image of Tyler, who begged me late at night to take his picture in front of the decorated tree. He's sort of the Ghost of Christmas Present, here, right?

I hope you are enjoying the countdown to Christmas too!

A Little Baseball During Football Season

2011-12-11T18:10:00.001-08:00

Tyler is an All Sports boy, my friends. He likes hockey, football, golf, frisbee, basketball, soccer, but especially baseball. He got a tee stand and plastic bat set when he was a year old. He's only 21 months now, but he thinks he's ready for the major leagues already.

He got a golf set then too (just the cheap $5 Walmart set) but that golf set has seen a lot of mileage. One club left, and it is a hockey stick, a pirate sword, an under the sofa ball retriever and any number of other things most days. But the golf set, the basketball hoop and soccer set cannot compare at all with baseball.

This boy has never even been to a real game, but he loves it. Maybe in part because he's watched "the Sandlot" about 20 times. He could quote lines from the movie this past Spring. Anyone else have a 2 year old who tells you "You are Smalls, I'm Benny" when you go out to play?

And he really does not want to use the tee. He wants to take turns pitching and batting.

This weekend has been cold and windy and overcast, but that can't keep him from play. His pitch is very accurate, so look out, cause it might be coming at your head!

Notice the pants? Go Steelers! He has a Steelers shirt under his hoodie jacket too. He told me this weekend "I like Polamalu! He's on the Defense!" He may not understand exactly what that means, but it has helped him accept that our #43 is not on the field all the time for a reason.

It is so rewarding to be outside with a little one who is so enthusiastic about being active! I cannot wait til there are Little League games to go out to and cheer. No, I take that back. I can wait. He's growing up too fast already!

O Christmas Wreath

2011-12-03T17:55:00.001-08:00

I love making wreaths. It is really very simple, whether you use a straw base or one with artificial greenery, you can do what ever your imagination can come up with.

Here are some examples of past creations.

I bought the foliage and straw base etc with my mom, then gave her the directions for creating this beauty for my grandparents. It is about as big as my tiny grandmother!

The second pic is the small wreath I hang out every Fall. There are silk butterflies on it and they are starting to come off the wires they are mounted on, so next Fall, I'll be replacing them.

To make one: purchase the long strands of silk leaves from a place like Michael's when they have their big discount sale, usually in August. Wrapping the straw wreath with the strands of foliage and using floral wires and wire cutters, one of these wreaths takes maybe half an hour. I stick sunflowers on stems and other items into the straw wreath base and wire them down separately. Sometimes a glue gun comes in handy, but you have to be careful not to melt what you are making!

Today I gave my Christmas a makeover. I made this one about 5 years ago and it had gold glass ball ornaments that have lost their paint and luster over time. I un-wired them and removed the ribbons that were wrapped around the wreath taking it down to the wreath I started with, plus the magnolia swags and the Cardinal bird ornament that hangs in the center. I just love that little Cardinal bird and his snowflake! Last year a little finch tried to build a nest in the wreath.! I guess she liked his company.

I bought this heavy, very real-looking greenery wreath at Old Time Pottery. It is 3 feet across and the base of it is a double ring of strong steel. Very sturdy. Great for tying floral wire to and I know this wreath is going to last and not get bent or anything.

Initially I planned to put all plastic ornaments on here in place of the faded gold glass ones because they won't fade in the sunight of our West facing exterior wall, but I saw the cutest red glass ornaments that spell out J-O-Y and had to have them. Red plastic ones went on also going on. Red is my favorite color.

Here is the finished product. I reused the wires from the first version so I spent less than an hour on this. I hope I have inspired you to try this yourself. Do it with your kids or grandkids or friends! You could put stuffed animals, unusual ornaments, cookies, candy canes etc on it. Even a string of lights.

Next year I will be getting another wreath and assorted toy ornaments. I'll put a string of lights on it and hang it inside so that we can make it an Advent wreath, adding a new ornament to it every day until Christmas.

Happy December! Make it a memorable one!

A Complete 180

2011-11-16T13:09:00.001-08:00

My life is about to take a big turn. I am changing jobs. It will be quite a shock to go from the extremely easy and laid back job (where I actually kept my 2nd sewing machine and was a sewist on the clock) to a busy financial institution with a mandatory 50 hour a week schedule. But lets talk about Thanksgiving and the weekend first.

I remembered to take Before pics of the 2 turkeys, but totally forgot the After pics, so now you don't get to see any. Sorry. The whole dinner turned out really great, and my grandmother, who is 92 and weighs about 80 pounds, cleaned her plate AND ate pie!

Why 2 turkeys? Because I usually cook one big 23 pound or so turkey, but those were not available, so I bought 2 turkeys. One got cooked on the rotisserie and one in the oven. I like lots of leftovers when I go to all the trouble of making dinner for everyone. All day on my feet, chopping, cooking, cleaning, etc and then only enough left for one sandwich? No way. I send leftovers home with the grandparents, and then I expect to have sandwiches, casseroles, and the incredibly delicious Turkey Stew with Dumplings. Make this. You won't be sorry. Just add potatoes in with the carrots at the beginning and use frozen peas instead of green beans. And if you have some leftover gravy, add that at the end. That's my version of it anyway.

Here is Tyler making crumbs for the pie crust out of Ginger Snap cookies. What a good helper! He was so excited to use one of Papa's hammers, and then he was very serious about his work. What kind of pie, you ask? Double Layer Pumpkin Chiffon. The recipe is from a booklet by Bakers, Diamond and Jello brands, but I can't find anything online to link to. Email me if you want the recipe. I'll try to not take too long replying.

So on to Black Friday. I do not celebrate Black Friday the way most do. I refuse to join the frenzied, crazed masses at the mall. I don't care what a deal you can get, who wants to be trampled in the spirit of Christmas? But I did make it to the fabric store and of course THEY were having a sale, and these lovely red, black and whites called to me. These are getting added to the stash leftover from the Plan C quilt I made last year. Aren't they lovely? I'm drooling. I just love scrappy looks. And I poured through my Quilt magazines and came up with a great pattern. Do you find your pattern after you have fabric, like I do? I know that is backwards for most, but fabric is almost always my inspiration.

So, with this new 50 hour job, I do not foresee a lot of sewing in my future. Or blogging. Or blog reading. Or Facebook. This is a bummer because I have found so many wonderful new toddler art related blogs, and decorating blogs,.Some of the art blogs have invited me to link up. Isn't that just the way it always goes? I will try to keep up!

I have been very spoiled at my former job, but it is time to move on. Time to make some serious money while I can, and work where I have potential to move up in the ranks instead of just keeping a chair warm. Those of you who envied me the time to sew can now empathize with me. I'll be dreaming of sewing right along with you! I am a stay-at-home Nana at heart.

As much as possible I will be devoting my free time to family, so if a chance comes up, I will make new blog posts. Just know that they may be a lot fewer than you have seen in recent weeks. Hang in there with me if you can. I love sharing about my grandson, my quilts, recipes and life in general. If I inspire one person to try something new, or value their time with children just a bit more, my time here has been well spent.

Take care! If I don't get to say it before then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too!

Inside and Out

2011-11-13T16:14:00.001-08:00

This weekend was very busy again. As usual. In addition to continuing the bedroom makeover, Tyler was feeling great, so he kept us busy busy!

When I mentioned that I needed to paint some more in the bedroom, that gave Tyler the idea that he needed to do some painting too. Watercolor painting. We worked again on pulling - not pushing - the brush, rinsing it out between color changes, and who the paintings could be given to. He painted holiday related things like trees and pumpkins. He painted a scene from the book The Little Blue Truck. Then he was ready for other things.

I am glad I read about letting little ones make their own shapes and versions of things instead of showing them how to draw our way. Did you ever think that drawing the sun for them, or a person, might keep them from being creative? I didn't, but now when he asks me to make something for him, I ask him to make it for me instead. I don't want to limit how he might portray something as wonderful as a rainbow or sunset.

These days, we are all searching for economical ways to have fun and learn. What do you have at home that you take advantage of for other uses? Do you allow your toddler to see how things work and what outcomes are, in safety of course? I have these heavy cardboard tubes that we usually put Hot Wheels cars through. Which one comes out fastest and goes the farthest in our tiled hallway? What happens if we elevate the tube to different levels? This weekend Papa (Bryan) and Tyler set up a ramp at the bottom of the tube. Using ping pong balls and a super bouncy rubber ball, they saw that the balls shot up the ramp and all over the bedroom. Very entertaining! Just wait til that tube becomes a potato cannon or something in few years. I can see rocket launching in our future too. And erupting volcano school projects.

Since you may not know where to find a heavy duty cardboard tube, you can check at a local print shop, like the one we have here called Digital Now. Any shop that prints drawings for architects, engineers and contractors will have these tubes and pretty much give them to you free.

Daylight meant playing in the yard again. Soccer and tee-ball, drawing on the porch with sidewalk chalk.

There is nothing like a toddler to keep you moving! He gets so creative with the chalk drawings I am bursting with pride, and he is so good at pitching, his Papa can see him in the Major Leagues already.

I linked up to Living Life Intentionally's blog party

2011-11-10T11:46:00.001-08:00

Last week I was invited to link up to this wonderful blog party and I am invited back! I have to post more stuff about arts and crafts with my grandson, and this is a good motivation for it. If you click on the link, I am #153. I'm the dork that didn't rename the link to the title of my post, so it just says my name "Wendy P" as in poo. Oh well!

I am enjoying reading the posts others have linked to. I hope you will as well. There is so much possible to do and play in art with kids. There are so many do-it-yourself with-things-around-the-house ideas there, how can you say no?

I am a creative person. You probably already know that from reading here. I can't fall asleep some nights because I think about redecorating, remodeling, making quilts, learning to knit, what I can teach my grandson about art, etc.

When I was a kid, if I saw new crayons, colored pencils, fresh sheets of paper or a box of kiddie paints, I was excited. I wanted to draw all the time. I thought I'd be a fashion designer or interior decorator. I wanted to learn sculpture and watercolor and everything else art-related that I could. I got to take some art classes in high school.

Sometimes our dreams have to be more reality based. Like using Play Doh instead of modeling clay. It is something you can do without language if necessary. The photo here at table is with my grandmother. Tyler's great-great-gramma. She doesn't hear well at 92, but she and Tyler can sit side by side and make dinosaurs, or eggs, or whatever comes to mind. (This is Tyler below, on the phone telling his grandma about the dinosaurs and what they eat.)

My daughter would like to pretend she's not very creative, but she made Bob and Larry of Veggie Tales. How cute are they? Don't they look like the real thing? That is talent right there. Tyler was so pleased to have Bob and Larry in his room.

Play Doh is also great for impressions. Learning about textures and reverse imaging, whatever you want to call it. It is learning while creating. What do you have laying around the house? A seashell? A beaded necklace? Cookie cutters? A plastic cup with a design on the outside? All of these are fascinating to little hands. We even used tools from the pumpkin carving kit just to see what design came out in the pancaked dough.

Don't have your own Play Doh? Make some! Here is a site that offers a lot of recipes for homemade dough! Oatmeal, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Pie? How about edible playdough for the season? Can't go wrong there when you have someone still in the Put It In the Mouth stage.

Next up? A Gingerbread or Peppermint House building and decorating day after Thanksgiving. I spotted both at Cost Plus World Market recently and must go back for them. (And their unique toy section!)

What is your art project today?

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My Etsy Shop is Open Again!

2011-11-06T19:07:00.000-08:00

http://www.etsy.com/shop/pensacolaquilts
In a shameless plug for my own Etsy shop, which I just reopened, I am asking you to please look around and pass it on! I would love to sell my handmade things and have a little something for Santa to go shopping with this year. Wink. Wink.

There are more than quilts in my store! Aprons, baby items. If I do well, I will restock with other things.

Here is a picture of the gorgeous pine cone and bough quilting, best seen from the back of the patchwork twin quilt for sale now.

Thank you for stopping by!

Saturday Morning at Home Depot

2011-11-05T21:43:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day! Tyler had his first experience with building something at the Home Depot Children's tables, which they set up every weekend on Saturday morning, and sometimes on Sunday too. Like tomorrow they will have the Home Depot NASCAR cars and trailers at our store and kids' crafts again.

I used to work at Home Depot part time, and at this store too, but this is not a promo for them. I do appreciate the wonderful thing they are doing for kids/families every weekend though. The little kits are free. There was no age restriction. Tyler is 2 1/2 and with my help and his Mama's we hammered together a picture frame, and then he got to paint it himself! Little foam brushes and plenty of colors to choose from. Hammers and screw drivers to use. No pressure. No one looking over your shoulder. And he gets to keep the little orange apron with his name on it.

Tyler, what is it with the squished up eyes when you say "cheese" lately??? You are hiding those beautiful blue eyes of yours, you silly boy.

I guess that qualifies as a promotion of sorts.It was just so great to finally see Tyler do this crafty thing. I have imagined him going there and making a bird house or wooden car or whatever is offered. I can't wait for next Saturday now.

Here is Tyler and his lovely Mama, painting the picture frame he made. They added stickers to it later when it was dry. He is so proud!

Look at that little face in the picture frame! Such a cute clown. My son took this pic tonight. Thank you, Chris. Thanks to you and your wife Christy for coming over for dinner and a movie after my crazy day. Tamale Pie is always a winner. Salad made it better still. Next time we'll have more a lot more Cowboy cookies ready to eat for dessert.

You know, we went to Home Depot without any thoughts of this event. We were there for painting supplies. I have wanted to redo my daughter's room for more than a year. I love to repaint a room and make it feel fresh and new. If I could I would replace the carpeting in all 3 bedrooms too, but that is not in the budget. Paint, however, is so inexpensive when your spirit really needs a project to work on and you are a decorator at heart, right?

The paint chosen is supposed to be a light gray. I am trying to understand how painting over very pale yellow resulted in a lilac-ish gray? When did yellow and gray ever make purple? Oh well. On to the trim and closet doors. Out with the tired, dry, chipped stained wood trim and doors, hello glossy and fresh white!

What? Pictures? Um, not yet. Of course I didn't take before pics! I was so busy getting things done, I did not think of it until I was on the 4th of 6 cans of spray paint in my blustery front yard. Trying to keep the closet doors from falling forward and wondering why I could no longer feel my index finger. Tomorrow I will make more progress and hopefully get some pics of the After at least! Oh, and wish us luck getting those closet doors back into their hardware and installed properly again. Not my forte exactly.

My Favorite Fabric Shops Online

2011-11-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Nothing to report on the sewing front today. All those quilts in progress are still in progress. I hope I can call at least 3 of them quilt tops this weekend!

Due to yet another virus, I have not been motivated to do much, so those pics for the giveaway? Still not done. Tomorrow should be a good day for that. Between coughing fits. But enough about me!

I thought I would share some more on the shops I love to look at and occasionally buy from. Quilt fabric shops. Oh, I would buy from them every time I stop by, if I were a rich girl, but usually I am just Windows Shopping and drooling and sighing. You know what I mean, right?

First up is Hawthorne Threads. (Right now they have a $5 flat shipping rate!!!) Not only do Charlie and Lindsay have a fabric bundle giveaway every week, they have a nice newsletter and an awesome blog, and most importantly they stock the coolest, cutest, most adorable and awesome fabrics! Just take a peek at the selections! Their site is wonderful and very easy to use. I have not found a quilt shop site as useful as this one, EVER. You can easily look at individual designer lines, childrens fabrics, home dec, new arrivals and coming soon fabrics, themes, Japanese imports, and the stuff that is on sale. There are patterns and kits too. And that is not all. You can see other colorways and coordinating colors on the same page as the fabric you are looking at. They make it too easy! They restock all the time.If they are out of stock on what you want, input your email address and they will let you know when it is back in stock. And the shipping? So fast, your head will spin! The perk I really like here is that if you've made something with a fabric they carry you can post a pic to share with others. To me, this is very helpful. I can see the scale of the print and get ideas for projects. Purses, totes, kids clothing, etc. And I can share what I've made to help others get ideas too. The guitar jacket and the giraffe print pants on Tyler are all from Hawthorne Threads. Tyler likes them so much he had to wear them at the same time! ha! Here is a link to their blog as well. You will be lost there for hours, so get a yourself cup of tea and enjoy!

Next up is my recommendation of the Fat Quarter Shop. They also have a blog you'll really enjoy, the Jolly Jabber. I love to read interviews with fabric designers! Book reviews are there too, and tons of lovely pictures of projects and fabric lines. The Fat Quarter Shop is where you want to go for all the current big lines of fabrics, like Fig Tree Quilts. And who doesn't love Fig Tree Fabrics? Do you like to do Block of the Month clubs and Quilt clubs? They have tons of them! This shop is where you want to go for the latest, most popular lines of fabrics, and they sell out quickly! Their shipping is also quick.

Last up is a place you can go to find deep discounts and fabrics that are hard to find other places because they were released many months ago. Thousands of Bolts is just that. Their prices average $5 a yard or less, with quilt back wide widths that are also very low priced. Their site is a little tedious to look around at compared to some, but I like that I can shop by color, and that there are holiday themed sections. Shopping at Thousands of Bolts is more like being in a shop in person, because you have to look around a bit, but you will definitely leave with bargains. About half of the fabrics in this quilt were from stash, and the rest came from Thousands of Bolts after one trip around their black, red and white fabric sections. I was thrilled with the cost and the shipping. You will be too.

Just to be clear, I am not getting any kind of reimbursement or other compensation for telling you about these shops. I am sharing out of the goodness of my heart and love of fabrics.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back this weekend!

Just Because ( a not so girly post )

2011-10-28T11:52:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's because cool weather is here to stay, or because my poor little BooBoo is very sick, or because my Steelers are kickin' a$$, or because I've been pretty lucky this year with winning prizes from other blogs, but I feel like passing it along. The good luck of winning, not Tyler's germs. Want to win something?

>> Random picture of the grandson from more than a year ago!

I am thinking of doing a giveaway. Anyone interested, please leave a comment. I have a stack of fat quarters and also some patterns, all of which I won this year, and I would love to pass on my luck. Show of hands, if you are interested!

I hope to get pictures taken over the weekend to post here, just so you know what is up for grabs.

Stay tuned!

Juggling

2011-10-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

I have about 5 quilts in the works right now. A tshirt quilt (my first attempt), a fall Snail's Trail variation, a Birds in the Air quilt in fall colors, a value quilt, and the almost finished Bali Sea Star from Kim Brackett's book Scrap Basket Surprises. This is a picture of the just completed blocks. I made them in 2 days. Not bragging, just saying that when you are excited about something and have the time, you can accomplish a lot. I love that all this is from stash. The remnants of 2 different Bali Pops and dark chocolate brown yardage!

I also have Picnic, from Kim Brackett's second book done and ready to be quilted, and a small hour glass that I think needs borders before it is finished. That makes 7. I will not mention all the UFOs I could be completing. Let me just say there is a ton of flannel here and it would be very appropriate to do something with it now that cooler weather has arrived, right?

This is Picnic, before I assembled the top. I get so excited to share my progress that I don't wait til they are quilted and bound. Because who knows when that will be...

Here you can see the Birds in the Air in progress. I found the pattern in an older issue of Quilt magazine and realized it can be used with layer cake squares, which I had! Loving the use of my scraps and stash again. And who doesn't love a Fall quilt??? I just have to figure out what to use for the setting triangles.

Have you been stalling over a new technique? A pattern that is out of your comfort zone? Give it a try anyway! I'd love to hear what you've learned on your own in quilt making.

This is the value quilt I have started. I wish I could be in a big city with lots of quilt classes to join, but I'm not, so when inspiration strikes, I go for it. This is the first arrangement. I have since redone it 3 times. I still don't think it is right, but I do like it. Again, this is stash, except for six 1/2 yard sale purchases of light and dark fabrics, because as predicted my stash is mostly mediums! If you want to see where I found the tutorial for making a Value Quilt, see SewKatieDid's blog. And she has a new book out called Quilting Modern. (That is another avenue I have not explored that is looking more and more interesting lately. ) There are no actual quilt shops here in Pensacola. There is one a few miles away, but their calendar of classes is missing from their site last time I looked. When I saw the value quilt on Katie's blog I was stunned. Katie's quilt is awesome, and although I knew my stash was not in the pastel range like hers is, I wanted to try this. I want to learn and stretch. There is a lot I still don't know.

I realized the other day that every quilt I have worked on this month is made with triangles. I used to LOATHE triangles! You may be like me, without a group to sew with, or not able to take classes, but you can still jump in a try things on your own. What have you got to lose? At the very least you are going to learn what not to do, right? That is what I tell myself every time I start something I am less than confident about.

On the other hand, I have to confess to being a quitter in one area. The 14 people who actually read my blog have probably figured out that I abandoned the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. I wanted it to work out, but it just is not my desire to pull my hair out at this point in my life. Those teeny tiny templates, and paper piecing options, etc etc did not do the trick of bringing back my enthusiasm. C'est la vie!

What I NEED to do is start the Advent Calender. And make the flannel pajama pants before Christmas is here! What are you working on?

The Easiest Pot Roast You'll Ever Make

2011-10-11T07:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, busy moms, listen up! You read my post about Little League Nights, right?

I know the boat you are in. You work all day, and you want a dinner fairy to get things on the table for you and do the dishes afterward. You'd like the house to be warm and smell incredible after your long day. There are sports, homework and many other chores ahead before you can rest, right?

I can't help you with the dishes, but I can give you a very crowd pleasing, too-easy-to-be true recipe for WEEKNIGHTS.

Have you got a frozen 4 or 5 pound chuck roast? A can each of Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Celery soups? An envelope of Brown Gravy mix? You are ready to go with this one!

Before you leave for work, place that frozen roast in a 13 x 9 pan. Pour the soups on top of the roast, then sprinkle with the gravy mix. Seal foil over top of the pan and put it in your oven on 200 degrees for the day. Abracadabra! When you get home you have a tender, juicy roast, swimming in delicious gravy. All you need to do is whip up potatoes (or rice if that's your style) and steam some veggies for the side and put it on the table.

I throw fresh sliced mushrooms in with it while I make the potatoes. The gravy will be hot enough to cook the mushrooms during the half hour or so that you'll need to peel, boil and mash potatoes. And yes, you have my permission to take shortcuts with the potatoes too.

Bon Appetit!

This photo was borrowed from ehow.com Internet photos are always so much better than mine!

Weekend Update

2011-10-10T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, despite being sick this weekend, I refused to be bedridden, so I more or less stuck to my planned outing schedule.

We skipped the glass pumpkin sale at the Belmont Arts and Cultural Center, and it is just as well. I read that they sold out in an hour and a half. All would have been gone by the time we got there anyway! Disappointing, but I have told myself I have nowhere to put one of these at the moment anyway. I'll get one some year! Someday I'll have a whole collection. Maybe.

What we did make it to was the Panhandle Butterfly House's Monarch Madness event. There are pics posted on their Facebook page if you are interested. You could think of this as an East Coast version of the Monarch butterfly events in California's coastal communities. My aunt lives in "Butterfly Town USA" Pacific Grove. If you ever get a chance to see the migrating monarchs on the West Coast, it is something. Huge pine trees covered in resting butterflies.

Our version is not a huge thing, but this not a major metropolitan area. Kids can release a newly hatched butterfly into the open, where they hopefully will show up in Mexico (or thereabouts) with the sticker still attached to show where they came from.

Most kids around here were probably at the Corn Maze. Or a peanut festival or rodeo of some kind. This is NOT the big city by any means! However, our butterfly festival was crowded enough for the tiny parking lot and buildings. Tyler was more enamored with the rented Bounce House than anything else. Once he spotted that, he no longer cared about any butterflies or bugs, hot dogs, balloons, etc. But it was a beautiful day and we had fun!

Then we headed north to Milton, where there is one of the few remaining L & N Railroad depots, for their West Florida Railroad Museum Depot Days Celebration. They had a really nice set up of remote controlled train sets in a garden area, which they surrounded with a ride-able child size train. Another big hit with Tyler. They circled the garden area 4 times and he was so good about keeping his hands in. The older boys in the back were trying to pick up rocks on each pass, and I was holding my breath that no fingers came off.

Life in a sort-of-small town. Not overdone or too crowded. Free! Educational, and perfect weather to be outside. You can't beat that.

How was your weekend?

Layered Taco Bake Casserole and Life

2011-10-06T09:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes even I don't feel like cooking, but people must be fed, so I flipped through a Kraft Family Food magazine and came up with one of those "hey, I have all this stuff on hand!" recipes. I fancied it up a little with healthy additions of drained canned tomatoes with oregano and green chilies, and a drained can of black beans.

The recipe can be found here.

The really nice thing about this dinner is that it made enough for 2 nights, with steamed broccoli and carrots on the side both nights. Score!

These kinds of recipes remind me of the Little League nights. I had a full time daycare at my home back then, and somewhere between getting most of them out the door with their parents, and making it to the practice or game field in time, I had to have some kind of plan for dinner. And if you are a parent with kids in sports, you know that dinner is usually after 9pm those nights, and everyone is trying to thaw out when you get home.

The recipes where I could dump cans of stuff together and let it cook while we were gone were the best. Even if it sounds less than healthy, I always made sure it was full of vegetables. Southwestern Turkey Soup, Tuna Mac Casserole, anything in the crock pot, we were sure glad to get a hot meal in us before bedtime!

Do you have a quick casserole or soup you use on week nights?

Those rushed, really crowded days and nights were some of the best with my kids. They may tell me how they didn't like sharing me (and their toys) with a house full of toddlers, but those were the years where I planned lots of fun things. Crafts, outings, parties. They loved them. We lived in Southern California near an old world style Bavarian village and we would go to Oktoberfest there. We lived near a German bakery that hosted gingerbread house decorating at Christmas with a visit from Santa at the end. There were swimming lessons at the local college pool, across from the Little League fields. In Spring we'd find a creek and capture tadpoles to raise in fishbowls. And so many trips to the beach each Summer.

Good times.

Are you one of the sports parents this time of year? Enjoy it while you can. Those years go by so fast. Before you know it, the kids are teenagers!

The late Steve Jobs said: "have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” This is so true. Especially with your family. Make them important. Cherish the everyday things. When you stop being busy and spend time with your kids, you are helping them feel confident and you can watch them find their creative side, what inspires them, what they love to do.

Technology is great, and no disrespect to Mr. Jobs, but turn off the tv, your cell phone and Ipad, etc and be with each other. None of us knows how short our time is, but we all can make the most of every minute.

A Stylish Giveaway

2011-10-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

Tatertots and Jello's blog is spotlighting a cute clothing company for girls and women, called Downeast Basics. There is a GETAWAY Giveaway involved! Who wouldn't want a free vacation??

Check out the cute clothing and accessories, follow a few rules, be signed up for the drawing!

Here is a link directly to the online shop. ( I want this sweater! )

That's it for now!

I totally forgot to share the latest finish!

2011-10-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce "Around the Block, a Variation" featuring the popular Simple Abundance line by Moda. I think it was Bonnie and Camille's first line.

Nancy, my quilter, did such a great job, especially making feathers fill the setting triangles. Having had this mostly together but in the WIP pile for over a year makes it seem like I dug up an older photo, but no! It is a newly quilted and bound finish!

Don't you just love those scarlety reds that Moda comes out with? Three Sister's Glace has another lovely, rich red like this. You'll be seeing that in December,when my Key Holes quilt is done. Christmas gift to me!

Both "Around the Block" and "Keyholes" are from the book of the former name, by Heather Mulder Peterson. She makes such lovely fabrics and patterns. Her decorating taste is awesome. You must check out her blog Trends and Traditions. PS That girl can also knit on a professional level!

How is your fall season coming along? Doing any baking yet? Baking (and cooking) when the weather cools off is my glory and my downfall. So far I have made an Apple Pear Crumb Topped Mile High Pie, and a huge loaf of Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread, and a hearty Beef Vegetable Soup. That is only the warm up. Oh yes, I will be churning out lasagnas and Cowboy Cookies and Pumpkin Chiffon Pies very soon, to the delight of my husband, my kids, grandson, and anyone else who is around.

Making things for Christmas? I have not even started Christmas THINKING, let alone making or shopping! I need to get that Advent Calendar together pronto! I don't know what happened to September, but it went by much too quickly!

See you back here again soon!

25 to 50% off fabric bundles at JoJo's

2011-10-03T10:04:00.000-07:00

I have several projects in the works, but I am not ready to share them, so here is another sale tip!

JoJo's Gift Shoppe has all fabric bundles on sale right now. Did you miss out on some Fig Tree lines and wish you'd bought them? Here's your chance! They have some very hard to find fabric lines along with newer ones like French General.

Their shop is moving soon, so they will be having sales every few days. You can sign up for emails from them to hear first hand about it.

I have ordered from Joelle in the past. You get fast shipping and great service. That is why I recommend the shop AND the sale.

Soon, I will be posting about my process in creating my own quilt design. If you are interested in that, stay tuned!

Two More Fabric Sales

2011-09-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

Happy First Day of Fall!

I have to pass on this information to you! I have been blowing through my stash this year and I am seeing quite a few missing colors now. If you have a chance to restock because of a great sale or free shipping (or both!) you do it don't you?

Hancock's of Paducah has free shipping until the 26th with the code SHIPFREE. $30 minimum purchase in the US. Check out their clearance fabrics! There is a ton of selections in the $4.98 section! Fig Tree Fabrics, French General, lots of In the Beginning lines.

Also, Fabric Depot has 30% off all quilting fabrics and 35% off all batiks! Hurry on over!

*This photo is courtesy of my brother in law, a professional photographer.

The price of fabric: this week's deal

2011-09-20T06:46:00.000-07:00

If you have watched fabric prices go up and up and wondered if you have to give up your beloved quilting hobby like I have, don't give up hope!

I am going to link to sales when I know about them. I am not getting any benefit from this. No sponsors, no deals for passing on the word. Just the good feeling I get knowing you saved on some stash and can keep quilting!

Here is today's deal: The Quilted Castle 15% off jelly rolls. And their prices are already very reasonable. The sale lasts through September 25th, so hurry over!

Ideas Too Many

2011-09-15T07:33:00.000-07:00

My head is going to explode with all the fantastic ideas I've seen on other blogs and in magazines. Sometimes I get such an onslaught of ideas, I want to go in a hundred directions at once. Anyone else? It is a frenzy that hits me a few times a year.

Check out this amazing quilt from SewKatieDid's blog. It is her Value Quilt, and she has a tutorial posted on the right side of her blog so we can all make one. I read about it here, and I so wish there was a class here in Pensacola for this. I will have to wing it! I am so awestruck by this quilt that I made it my desktop image at work. The quilting mesmerizes me. The mismatching of the fabrics that all work together somehow. Wow.

What I have noticed about the fabrics she used here is the almost total absence of whites and off-whites. Do I even have many fabrics without those lights in them? I know I am really lacking in the Kaffe Fassett and Amy Butler realm of fabric stash. I must work on that.

Other things buzzing around in my little brain: wall hangings and small quilts from the bazillion tiny HSTs I've accumulated. I hate clutter, but I can't throw these corner trimmings away. I know there are beautiful possibilities waiting in them. I just need a sewing fairy to stitch and press all of them, then trim them up for me. This is one example, "Sew Small." Or the many options from Laundry Basket Quilts like "Deep Blue Sea" "Tree Farm" or "Mountain Top." Edyta is not letting her little scraps go to waste at all!

Also, since I have been pulling out UFOs this year and actually finishing them, what about my box of 1 1/2" strips in Fall colors? Log Cabin? Pineapple blocks? I need to decide and start knocking them out. I would love to have very few boxes of half finished projects and ideas laying around.

On a totally separate note, do you have someone in your life struggling with depression, low self esteem, doubt, or hard times? I think these songs are especially important for girls and young women in today's world, but they can be a message to so many people, I shouldn't limit the targets to girls. I just know these mean a lot to my daughter. And to me. I have rediscovered the world of Christian music and I am loving it. I cannot wait to have a local concert get scheduled. I am buying cds and listening to the one station that plays the music all the time now. I feel good inside. Shouldn't we all? These are NOT preachy songs. They are life-affirming. They speak about valuing yourself because God does. That is something all people need to hear, right?

Listen to this - what a wonderful song. So powerful and moving. So much emotion in her voice.
Then listen to this one. And this. Then go and have yourself a fabulous day!

A Design Wall or Two

2011-09-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

Do you have a good sized design wall? I didn't for a long time. When I no longer had a spare bed to lay out blocks on, I did some internet research on how to make one, what people thought of them, and which was the least expensive.

My goal was to have one that was very light, so if I needed to move it to another room, I could without help. I wanted to spend very little, have somthing that will last a long time and be good sized. I also needed to be able to keep it semi clean. After looking at many good ideas, I chose the foam insulation board design wall. Sorry, I don't remember where I spotted the tutorial, but you can easily make one from what I tell you here.

Foam insulation board is sold at home improvement stores. It is a drywall sized sheet of foam, with silver paper on one side. I trimmed a foot off one end so it is shorter than the room. Foam board weighs only a few ounces, so you will never strain yourself moving this baby! I also purchased a spray can of adhesive while at that store. This is the easiest and fastest way to get your fabric cover to stick to the foam board. Additional perks are: you can pin your blocks to it over and over, having a vertical view of your project is great not only for your neck, but for photographing as well, and you could slide it under a bed or behind a door to get it out of sight.

I purchased 4 yards of wide diaper flannel. Some people have used batting, however batting falls apart when you try to clean off the loose threads. With diaper flannel, you can use one of those lint rollers on the surface without worrying about tears or sagging. Just be aware that if you need to piece your fabric to cover the board, you should sew the pieces together first. Don't try lining up the ends on the glue, because they will slide apart leaving a gap.

To make the board, set it up on a table or some saw horses outside on a relatively windless day. You could spray it in your garage if you have the garage door up for ventilation. DO NOT SPRAY THIS INDOORS! Spray the adhesive evenly across one end of the foam board to a width of about 1 foot. Lay down the end of your flannel over the adhesive, leaving several inches of overhang off the end and sides, then smooth - smooth - smooth to get the flannel stuck down good on that adhesive. Spray another one foot section the width of the foam board and smooth. Continue until you have the whole board covered and no lumps or bubbles. You can then fold the extra flannel around to the back and staple it, sew it, tack it, whatever you like to secure it. (Excuse the unsecured flannel peeking out here, I needed the design wall right away and haven't gotten back to that!)

The cost of making it: about $25. That is very affordable, don't you think? Since I am constantly making things, my design walls are in use ALL THE TIME!

I make a lot of large quilts, so I have 2 of these design walls, which allows me to step back and look at most, if not all, the blocks. This is very handy for someone who constantly changes their mind about arrangement and color choices!

Pictured above: Picnic (layout) from Kim Brackett's "Scrap Basket Surprises" book, made this past weekend during Tropical Storm Lee. Also, applique projects in progress.

If you decide to make one of these, I'd love to hear from you!

What I've Been Up To

2011-08-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed the complete lack of Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks in the last few weeks. Yes, I did burn out. I knew I would. It was partly the templates, partly the lack of squareness to the blocks, and I just plain got bored.

Today I read a post on genxquilters Annemarie's blog about how she has been reinspired by paper piecing the blocks. She signed up for the Yahoo group, and that is where she got the printable paper piecing sheets. She had heard about it from Michelle at http://cityhousestudio.blogspot.com/ . Now I know I was not the only one struggling to complete the sampler quilt! Now I can give this another shot and get better at paper piecing too. All the other blog posts I've read about paper piecing these blocks are rave reviews about perfect points and square blocks.

Just to be sure I am doing it correctly, I found this video tutorial on paper piecing.

In other news, I finished the back to the Island Chain quilt and dropped that off for quilting, sold the American Sweetheart quilt, made 4 more pairs of infant play pants for my friend's granddaughter, and appliqued a bit more on my Fall projects from last year.

Then I needed a total break from sewing so I hit the bookstore. I wanted to get "the Count of Monte Cristo" because I love the movie versions, but instead I chose others. And of course I bought books for Tyler while I was there! Duh! He was very excited to have a big book of Backyardigans tales, Mr. Seahorse, and a new copy of "Goodnight, Moon." How he loves his moon book. I got the hardcover version after our board book totally fell apart from use. If you need recommendations on childrens books, I am a childrens book fanatic. Ask me! For Tyler, bedtime always means story time. Whether we tell stories in the dark, or read books after his bath, there is no sleeping without stories.

For me, I bought "the Alchemist" by Paolo Coelho and read it in 24 hours. It is so interesting. It is sort of a combination of Hemingway and fable in its writing style. You could take some very deep lessons about life and perspective away from it. I will have to read it again to really take it all in. This is not a life-changing motivational book or a new form of spiritualism or anything (at least it is not for me) but it is definitely not one of those summer beach reads that are totally forgettable. It makes you think about things.

I also bought "My Antonia" by Willa Cather, because Nicole of Sister's Choice Quilts blogged about it a while back. I love literature, but, sadly, I fall far short of having read all the classics. I'm about half way through this one and like it very much.

When I get involved in reading, I am totally absorbed. I do not sew at all. But I will be back at the design wall again soon. I have tshirt quilt to finish and loads of ideas for my stash. I'll be back!

3 Fabric Tube and French Seams Pillowcase Tutorial

2011-08-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

How many of us have made a pillowcase for the Million Pillowcase Challenge? Or made one to accompany a quilt for Quilts of Valor? There are tutorials everywhere, and I am adding mine to the mix. Google "pillowcase tutorial" and you'll get over 600,000 results. Those are just tutorials. And then there are all the blogs that have been done about making these. I've seen people fancy theirs up with prairie points, crocheted edges, lace, piping, ric rac, bows, but I am going to keep it manageable and durable because these are for my toddler grandson. Making them is so easy and fun, it may be addicting.

To start off, you'll need fabric for the body, the trim and the border (cuff.) You must have the full width of fabric and you'll need that for all 3 pieces. For the main body of our pillowcase, you want 26 1/2" by the width of the fabric for a twin/queen sized pillow. Trim to make it squared up. I had bought this colorful alien print with the idea of making a crib sheet, but never got around to it. And because I bought that much in one length of yardage, there is plenty enough to make a set of two!

Looking in my stash, I found the black with tiny lime green specks print - just enough for 2 trim pieces! and the lime green with bright green triangles print for the border (or cuff, or whatever you want to call it.) Once you have made your decision, it is all downhill from there.

Cut the trim piece 3" wide x WOF, then press with wrong sides together so that you have a long, 1 1/2" wide strip. Set aside.

Cut the cuff fabric 10" wide x WOF. Now you should have all three fabrics cut and ready to sew!

Lay your cuff fabric face up on your work surface. Next will be the fabric for the main pillowcase, also face up, aligning the top and side edges with the cuff piece. On top of both of those you'll line up the trim piece, folded edge away from the top. You can pin a bit here to keep them lined up.

Here's the fun part. Roll up the main body fabric so that you can see the cuff fabric below and above it. Bring the cuff fabric up over the roll and pin to that you have a roll that sandwiches the main part of the pillowcase inside it like a burrito. You want your roll to be small enough to not get caught in the seam. Stitch a 1/2" seam along the pinned edge. Backstitch the start and end for stability.

Now reach inside the tube and gently pull the body of the pillowcase out.

Now you are ready to make your French seam! Go ahead and even up the sides trimming off the selvages to get to a 42" width and give it a quick press. Fold the case in half, matching up the trim and cuff top. Make sure that the fold of the trim piece is not pointing toward the top, but toward the bottom, on both ends. Pin the sides together all the way down and along the bottom. You will sew a 1/4" seam, pivoting at the bottom corner for a continuous seam. When you are done, trim off the point on the corner so there is less bulk inside the seam.

Trim up any fraying threads, then turn your pillowcase inside out. Wrong sides together. Push the corners out so they have a nice crisp point and press. You can spray starch too if you like. It is not a bad idea to put a few pins in the keep the top edge and the trim even at this point too. Now you'll make a 3/8" to 1/2" seam all the way down and around again, pivoting at the corner.

And VOILA! A beautiful pillowcase with all the seams locked inside!

Repeat the steps as needed so that every bed in your house has fun, colorful pillows waiting for sleepyheads!

A Few Finishes

2011-08-21T16:46:00.000-07:00

Remember this post about the Island Chain quilt top and the Fourth of July quilt top? This is a little follow up to that, now that I have completed the backing for Island Chain and the other quilt "American Sweetheart" has its outer border, been quilted and bound. Also back from the quilter: Ginger Belle.

"American Sweetheart" was a 2006 McCall's Quilting pattern. It is funny that I put it away almost complete. It is ironic (if that is the right word) that most of the fabrics are 2006 or older. Even the border fabric I found at the last minute is a 2006 1930's reproduction print!

The back I made for Island Chain was inspired by a quilt called the Skinny Strips quilt in American Patchwork and Quilting. The link here is to their free downloadable pattern on All People Quilt. I chose that pattern because after making the Island Chain from a jelly roll of Oh My! I had all these leftovers that really don't go with any of my scrap stash. Not wanting them to waste away in the bin forever, this seemed to be the perfect answer. And it is going to be 2 quilts in one when it is quilted!

The fabrics in Island Chain are not what I would buy for myself, but I LOVE THEM! My daughter picked it out for my Mother's Day gift. I swear that girl will someday admit she is a quilter at heart and stop denying any interest in the craft!

When I took the Island Chain class from Kim Brackett (author of Scrap Basket Sensations) everyone else used a Bali Pop. I was the odd one. It just proves that we should all step out of our habits, our comfort zone, and be surprised at what is waiting!

I think this is going to be one of my all time favorites.

Finally, the completed, quilted and bound "Ginger Belle" from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company patterns. It is in the book "Spice of Life Quilts." The quilting is gorgeous. Exactly what it needed. And I didn't buy one piece of fabric for this quilt. Total stash buster!

Have you ever made a quilt from Kim Brackett or Carrie Nelson? You will not be able to stop!!! I want to make each and every one in their books.

More Adventures with Zucchini

2011-08-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, I tried a Zucchini Banana Bread recipe from Cooks.com and it was just that. OKAY. Not great. It made a huge loaf, and that is always nice. But the banana was very hard to detect. I want a wow factor.

While the bread was baking I got out my late grandmother's recipe box and looked through her desserts section. Wouldn't you know she had a Zucchini Cake recipe in there, and I had all the ingredients out? Is that fate or what? And seeing Gramma's handwriting made me all sentimental. I had to make it.

The following was made in a bundt pan. Picture borrowed from the web (lickthebowlgood.blogspot.com to be exact.) You know. My camera sucks.

Zucchini Cake

3 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract - don't fake it, use real vanilla extract!
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups coarsely shredded zucchini, unpeeled, loosely packed
1/2 cups finely chopped nuts (I used pecans)
optional 1/2 cup raisins (I used 1 1/2 cups Nestle Chocolate Chunks cause what is life without chocolate?)

In your large mixing bowl, blend the eggs for 30 seconds on low speed then add the oil, baking powder, soda, spices, vanilla and sugar on medium speed. Beat for 1 minute. Mixture should be smooth. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl while you do the mixing part.

Now mix in the flour using a wooden spoon, alternately adding the zucchini. When this is well blended, stir in the nuts, raisins, chocolate etc.

Pour this yummy batter into a greased and floured bundt pan (or other cake pan) and bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes, loosen the edges with a knife, then invert onto a plate.

Some choose to sprinkle powdered sugar on the cooled cake, or a thin chocolate icing drizzled down the sides.

If you make this, and especially if you have some healthier conversions (like applesauce as an alternative to how much oil?) let me know! I'd also like to hear if you made the cake and your thoughts!

Food Trials and Gardening in Florida

2011-08-15T12:14:00.000-07:00

I made Cheesy Zucchini Bake the other day. Not bad and very healthy. Its just that it is a tough sell at my house where loads of flavor are normal fare. Since I made the recipe about 1/3 bigger by adding fresh mushrooms and extra squash, I was not going to toss it out. Can't really freeze zucchini well. The alternative?

Please note, the picture to the left is from another blog, not my actual dinner. Most of you know my camera stinks, especially with food pics.

I drained off the juices that were in the bottom of the pan, browned 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef with some minced garlic and diced fresh sweet onion in a large skillet, added 2 jars of marinara sauce, and slid all the leftover squash in to simmer. Voila! A chili-like dish that can stand alone, or be served over pasta or rice. Sort of like this recipe, which reminded me of my childhood.

Once upon a time, we had a garden and my mother made something wonderful out of nearly baseball bat sized zucchini. (I think she learned not to skip checking the garden for more than a day at a time after that crop!) She sliced the zucchinis down the middle lengthwise, parboiled them, scooped out the seeds and filled them with a meatsauce mixture like you would make into lasagna. Topped with Italian cheeses and baked, it really was like lasagna without noodles when you got a slice of that on your plate. The end.

Next up for me will be the Zucchini-Banana-Flaxseed Muffins as found in Everyday Food magazine. Minus the flax seed. I don't have any. I am pretty sure if I bought it, it would be much more than I'll ever use. What is flax seed? Is it like Wheat Germ? That stuff is not right. Like sawdust mixed into perfectly good food and ruining it. Seriously. I'll make the zucchini banana muffins straight up, thank you.

I must admit I am jealous of all the bloggers who have grown big crops this summer and are now canning their rewards for winter. They must be in much more temperate climates than our lovely Pensacola. I dare them to come here and try to have a Summer garden with a full time job. I was spoiled by the ease of gardening in Southern California. There, you can literally throw a peach pit over your shoulder and have a fruit-bearing tree in a few years. Here, you will look like a Swamp Creature just trying to fight the weeds, the heat, the awful humidity, the fire ants, the Cow Ants, snakes, mosquitoes, berry vines, etc after work. ( I think we should have a European type schedule, where everyone takes August off, because even the corn has given up and burned out by August. )

Market prices have never seemed so bad after a season of coming into the house drenched in sweat and a bad attitude.

And on that note, Bon Appetit!

I won an award!

2011-08-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

I won a One Lovely Blog Award from Cook and Be Merry! Isn't that nice? Thanks Lynne!

You may remember my post about the delicious Chicken and Sausage, Mushroom and Asparagus Pasta dish? That is Lynne's recipe! I guarantee that if you follow her blog, your mouth will be watering on a regular basis.

As part of the award, I am supposed to share 7 random facts about me! What a coincidence that I have been thinking of doing just that after reading it on other blogs.

1. Due to having to wear a full torso back brace in junior high for scoliosis, I can pick up most things with my toes. Everyone says I have monkey toes. My grandson and daughter also have the talent, so maybe the brace is just how I perfected it?

2. My favorite color is red, but I have very little of that color in my fabric stash. I make up for it with a red car and a red kitchen wall, pots and pans and Kitchenaid mixer.

3. I became a grandmother at 44. This pretty much goes with family history. I absolutely love being Nana! I've started making lots of clothing and accessories again since he came along.

4. Women in my family live to be an average of 89 years old. One great grandmother passed away at 99.
(I still have both maternal grandparents. That makes 5 generations here in Pensacola.)

5. I was in an art exhibition during my senior year. I drew a charcoal portrait of an old woman. How I wish the public schools allowed for more elective classes! I really wanted to take pottery, sculpture and other art classes, but there was never room in my schedule. Now I have to find the time and money in my busy life for art classes!

6. The Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising accepted my application, but at 17 I was terrified of driving to and from Los Angeles by myself, so I never went. Sad, but true.

7. My second cousin and I are 4 days apart due to a $2 bet between his Marine dad and my Marine dad. You can probably figure the details out. I am the older. Yep, my dad won $2 and started a family.

That's a pretty good start on trivial facts, I guess.

Now to pass the award to some recently discovered blogs:

http://craftsewcreate.blogspot.com/
http://www.beneathmyheart.net
http://rachelkrutsch.blogspot.com/
http://mygrammasaid.blogspot.com/
http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/
http://patchworkpottery.blogspot.com/
http://www.pleasant-home.com/
http://sewkatiedid.wordpress.com/
http://www.stitchedincolor.com/
http://bombardone.com/sewingprincess/

I hope you will visit them and enjoy them as much as I do. Please leave a comment so they’ll know you stopped by.

Blog Award conditions:

1. Post a link back to the person that gave you the award.
2. Share 7 random things about yourself.
3. Pass the award to recently discovered blogs. It is supposed to be 15, but I am going with 10. ;)
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

I Can't Help It

2011-08-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

I said I was going to slow down. I said I would only make 2 blocks a week from now on to avoid burning out, but I started 5 blocks yesterday. I finished the last 2 this morning. So there you go, 5 more blocks!

Busy Bee

2011-07-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have been very productive with the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along this week. I want to use up my scraps and get a lot done before something sidetracks me or I run out of steam. I am really good at not finishing projects for me.

Here is my progress. Blocks 1 through 24. I skipped #18 "a Century of Progress" because it looks difficult and I would rather breeze along and maybe come back to it.

I wonder how many of you can name the fabrics? A few are newer, but most are last year or older. Some are REALLY old. See that one with the gray and white triangles? "Broken Dishes" is the block name. That dark gray fabric was bought about 21 years ago! Some of it was in my first quilt!

I've been following along with the flickr group. Have you? There are some very inspirational quilters in the Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt-A-Long group! Some are doing each block in one color, some in only red and white, some in 1930s fabrics. It is very interesting to see what others decided to go with.

Don't be frustrated by all the little pieces! If you make sure you are cutting your triangles on the grain, and not on the bias, it is easier. And if you cut carefully, the angles on the ends of the templates line everything up perfectly. If you want to print and cut out the templates as you go, this link will allow you to print by block number. That is helpful, right? I have my templates in a large vinyl envelope I found at Office Depot. I printed them all out at once and now I just sort through the numbers til I find what I need. Whatever works!

I have been lugging a bin of scraps, fat quarters and yardage to work and home every day to keep going. If I weighed the bin, I think it would be close to 20 pounds. Making a dent in some of my scrap stash and putting my treasured older fabrics to good use feels good!

On another note, we have had tons of rain lately. We needed it! It is so wet and humid, mushrooms are sprouting up all over. Our usual summer weather is afternoon showers, then hot and humid after the sun comes back out. That means the mushrooms don't survive or even sprout most years.

This weekend is supposed to be drier (and hotter) but it should be perfect for another 2 days in the pool!

I hope you are staying cool and enjoying the summer! July is almost over and school starts up again here in about a week. The school supplies have been out at the stores for a month now. That always bummed me out when I was in school. Here you are enjoying summer and you go shopping and there it is, right in your face. Aghhh! School! Not yet!

Late to the Party: The Farmer's Wife Sampler Quilt Along

2011-07-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

You've seen it all over quilty blogland, right? The latest craze, the online quilting bee, and a little lesson in farm life and being happy with what you've got too. I found blog posts about this from the beginning of the year, including this FINISHED one from February!

It is a challenge, this quilt along. There are no instructions for making the blocks. I guess it is assumed that if you buy the book, you've made quilt blocks before and can figure it out. There are lots of helpful tips on the flickr group's discussion page. There is even a pdf link so you can download all the templates, condensed to 15 pages!

My thoughts on making this: I have so many other things I need to be doing, I must be crazy to start it! But then I thought about how impossible it is to have any kind of quilting bee these days other than a quilt along online, and I've never made a sampler quilt or worked with templates, so why not? I have tons of scraps and stash. I don't need to buy anything but the book! And if Kim Brackett can squeeze this into her busy schedule, I will too!

So I have jumped in. I'm behind but catching up. At first I was really stuck as to what fabric colors I wanted to use. Christmas fabrics? Red, white and black? Thimbleberries? Brights? I even considered using all batiks. I think making this in all batiks would be fantastic. However, I have chosen the brighter Spring time color scheme and am using a lot of leftovers from lines like "Farmers Market" (Sandi Henderson), "Hunky Dory" "Spirit" "Just Wing It!" and "Swanky" to name a few.

I think that if these farmer's wives, who wrote so consistently about the beauty all around them; the joy of things blooming and growing; how healthy and alive and at peace they felt every day with nature, if they could have had bright colorful prints like these, they would have used them. A lot.

I am making the blocks in numerical order. 1 thru 111 (or whatever number I stop at.) Not sure I want a queen size quilt or just a twin. Sorry for the blurry pic.

I've made 2 more since this one, I am trying to knock out 2 a day to catch up with the crowd!

Are you in?

Keyholes, A Christmas in July quilt

2011-07-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Hello! Wow, July is half over already! I am doing some Christmas in July sewing. Not intentionally, but in working my way through some neglected half done projects (and feeling SO rewarded for finishing them!) I pulled out the 2nd jelly roll of Glace by Three Sisters for Moda, and made the second set of blocks for my Christmas bed quilt.

I started this last year, from the Anka's Treasures book "On a Roll Again." The blocks are 18 1/2 inches! Super easy to make too. I've been stitching these together while I watch episodes of Bones. I doubled the pattern amounts and I need a wide border for it to fit my bed, but isn't it lovely???

It all started with one of those Moda Bake Shop projects. "Off the Grid," which I made from a sale purchase of some Glace honeybun and charm packs. Once I saw what Glace looked like in person, I was in love. (I finished the lap size "Off the Grid" top, but it is in the Waiting to be Quilted stack. When I get the nerve and the time, I will quilt it myself.)

Did you get a chance to own any of it? It is so botanical. The little birds and berries and acorns remind me of Audubon Society drawings, or like those of early explorers who took botanists along to draw new species of plants and animals. Do you know what I mean?

Anyway this line is Christmas-y in its coloring, but not too cutesy. It is classy and feminine. Not too much holiday, just enough. Obviously I love it and will never be tired of putting this out on my California king bed each year!

Are you doing Christmas in July sewing? Knocking out some UFOs? How is it going in your part of the world?

Just a reminder: when you decide to make a pattern, whether from a book or individual pattern purchased, check online to see if there are any corrections. Keyholes ended up requiring more strips than come in one jelly roll (additional fabric cut) to make all the blocks.

Not Your Average Fourth of July

2011-07-05T07:54:00.000-07:00

No barbeque, no picnics, no fireworks. My daughter had to work a double shift at the restaurant; the jelly fish have already invaded our beaches (usually not here til late July); and with fireworks at home being banned this year due to drought, we knew the Downtown Sertoma Fireworks display would be crazy busy, so we opted for a day at the pool for our Fourth of July celebrating. We wore Tyler out by 2:30 and he took an almost 4 hour nap, then we went back to the pool. Then WE were worn out. It was so totally worth it. What a great day we had with my mom at her community pool. Thanks, Mom!

I found time to finish my Island Chain quilt top! I took Kim Brackett's class in May this year. It was great to meet her in person and spend the day with my aunt, who was visiting from Pacific Grove, CA. The back of this quilt will be Carrot Orange solid from Connecting Threads fabrics with the leftover jelly roll pieces scrapped in horizontally. Sort of like this one from American Patchwork and Quilting. I like using up the leftovers from a jelly roll. Don't you? My daughter bought me this "Oh My!" jelly roll for Mother's Day this year, and I think this is the shortest amount of time it has taken me to open and use one! I know I could use the leftovers for a scrappy binding, but this quilt is pretty busy looking already. I am going to tame it with the solid orange for binding.

Also (nearly) finished top from this weekend: "American Sweetheart" from McCall's June 2006 magazine! I started it at least 4 years ago and boxed it up when it was nearly done! I need to find the perfect outer border fabric for this and it can be quilted and delivered to the new owner! I must have boxed it when the 4th of July came and went, then I forgot about it. After piecing the last few blocks and spending a day putting the rows together, it is off my UFO list!

I hope you and yours had a wonderful 3 day weekend!

More Recipes

2011-06-26T14:32:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is almost July? The weekend of the Fourth should be a 3 day weekend for most of us, and I bet you are thinking about picnics and potlucks, etc.

Here is a quick and easy Summer pasta salad. I blogged about this earlier, but it bears repeating. Tortellini Salad with Fresh Veggies. Want to make some?

I bought 2 16oz packages of Butoni Cheese Tortellinis and cooked them with about 1 1/2 cups of broccoli tops. 7 to 9 minutes in salted or olive oiled water, per package directions.

Combine 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, 1/2 a large red pepper and 1/2 a green pepper (both finely chopped),one 6 oz can of medium pitted black olives, drained, and 1 cup fresh shredded parmesan cheese. Toss these with most of a 12 oz bottle of Lite Caesar dressing and the cooked pasta/broccoli. This is so tasty, you'll have trouble waiting for it to chill. That's okay, though. It takes great warm too!

This can be jazzed up with cooked chicken cubes, grilled shrimp, canned tuna, hard salami chunks, turkey, grape tomatoes or whatever floats your boat! It makes enough for 10 people.

Next up is a constant family favorite: Salsa Pollo Con Frijoles. Translation: Chicken with Salsa and Beans. Tired of tacos and burritos, but you still want Mexican food for dinner? Looking for something that looks impressive and complicated, but isn't? This could be your family's next favorite too. (this is one of the few things I make an exception for, since I am not supposed to have tomatoes in my diet.)

Recipe:
Oven preheated to 350 degrees. 13 x 9 pan.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts pounded to 1/2" thick. (do the best you can. I used a ziploc bag and meat mallet)
1 1/2 tsp cumin, divided . 1/2 tsp salt (optional) . 1/2 c pinto beans (drained and rinsed) . 3/4c salsa + 2 TBSP . 1/2 c chopped scallions . 3/4 c shredded Jack cheese . 1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro, stems removed. Strong wooden toothpicks.

Mash the pinto beans with a fork. Add 2 TBSP salsa, scallions, salt and 1/2 tsp cumin and mix well.

Sprinkle remaining cumin, and some salt if desired, on each side of chicken breasts. Place a large spoonful of bean mixture in the center of each flattened chicken breast and roll the breast up, securing it with a toothpick. Spread about 1/4 cup salsa in bottom of the pan and place chicken seam side down. Pour remaining salsa over the chicken and bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 5 more minutes. Serve with fresh cilantro on top and your favorite sides, like salad and refried beans or Spanish rice.

Sorry that I don't have a fancy "print the recipe" button!

I hope to hear back from you if you try this!

Miscellany

2011-06-16T15:02:00.000-07:00

I have too many irons in the fire lately and not a lot of free time.

Island Chain is almost in rows, but not a completed top yet.
Split Decision has become just that. Do I like it, or should I bisect the blocks and make it more "Bento Box" looking?
Of course I started another quilt project! I have so many other things to do, why not? I have had a stack of Al Fresco fabrics for about 2 years, so I started working on a new, modern (uncomplicated) design.
I am making a kimono style robe for my dad for Father's Day. It has only been waiting 8 YEARS. No kidding. The Fabric Traditions selvage says 2003!
Knowing that the 4th of July is around the corner again, I have silently shamed myself for letting it sneak up on me again without completing a nearly complete UFO, America's Sweetheart, that I started a few years ago.
Hokey Pokey is back from the long arm quilter's so I can add binding that gigantic quilt to my list of things to do.

Since I can't show any newly completed work, I will show a few things that never made it to the blog. Kim Brackett of Magnolia Bay Quilts asked what we do with those trimmed off triangles, and here is what I did with some of mine. She calls them folded corner triangles. These finished at 2" and it hangs in my dining room. I wanted to make a schoolhouse block for fun, and thought framing it with leftover half square triangles would help me empty the flower container I keep them in. I even quilted it myself! Try not to faint about that.

This is a scrap quilt I made for my MIL last year for her birthday. Simple pattern. There are antique looking buttons sewed in the center of each pinwheel. It is a very generous size, more of a small twin than a lap quilt.

That's it for now. I hope you are enjoying the end of Spring. Summer is almost upon us!

PS. Tomorrow, June 17th, is the 7 year anniversary of my move to Pensacola! My daughter and I made the drive from So Cal in 2 1/2 days - just in time for Hurricane Ivan. Let's hope there are no hurricanes this year to mark this anniversary.

An Unexpected Treat

2011-05-31T14:00:00.000-07:00

Being from Southern California, I am still constantly surprised by the outright friendliness and sharing of the people in the South. Sorry So Cal people, but you are going to have suck it up and admit you are not a warm and friendly group. I know. I lived among you for most of my life. Its part of why I left. Deal with it.

Anyway...this past weekend was Memorial Weekend, and we were delighted to have my cousin (4 days younger than I) and his girlfriend, Shannon, visit us all the way from Houston. It has been many moons since my cousin and I spent any time together, and family is so scattered and out of touch, it was wonderful to reconnect. Here we are with my grandmother (his aunt) sandwiched between us. Yeah, the family tree branches are uneven.

Sunday we took our boat out to the local river, the Blackwater, and camped out on a stretch of beach with many other boaters for a beautiful, sunny and not too hot afternoon of doing nothing but getting sun and listening to other people's radios and talk. It was nice. Having a small boat doesn't allow us to come fully prepared food-wise. Others there had the full set up, from bbq and coolers to crock pots and generators. One group next to us had been up cooking since 4 am and when we pulled up, the very nice man hurried over and welcomed us by asking "have y'all had Nassau grits? Are ya hungry? Come on and git a plate."

I have to admit I have only tried grits once, and finding them tasteless, even with salsa and cheese, I never gave them another thought. Well, my cousin, bless his 6'4" frame, went over there to check it out and came back with what looked and smelled like gumbo. And I love gumbo. Knowing we had only brought chips and apples and drinks, I thought I'd be stupid not to take up this hospitality and free food offer once I saw what Nassau grits were. And I was so glad I did! I gave the cook my email address and she said she'd send me the recipe. I can't wait. In the meantime, I found a few online recipes that seem close enough to try on my own for now.

Here we've been living in Pensacola for 7 years and never knew this Nassau grits recipe was a local tradition for DECADES! I will be setting a date with my husband to go back to the Fish House to try their Grits a Ya Ya, which are similar in appearance, and from what I've read online, in taste too.

Weekend Quilt Class after Mother's Day

2011-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

I haven't taken a quilting class in years. This weekend I got a real treat! My aunt and I took Kim Brackett's class to make "Island Chain" from her new book Scrap Basket Sensations. (I got my copy from Connecting Threads last week. Fast shipping and 40% off the price too!) If you have a stash of 2 1/2" strips (or a jelly roll or two) you will be so inspired by her two books.

Kim lives not far from here, and it was so great to meet her in person. She is so very nice! I am looking forward to future classes with her. There is always something new to learn - whether it is perspective, color arrangement, or piecing shortcuts. And what a fun way to spend a day!

This is my Island Chain. It is laid out on my design wall. I hope to sew all the blocks together this week. I used the jelly roll of "Oh My!" which my daughter gave me for Mother's Day this year. Isn't it colorful? Nice bright fall colors. The layout looks so complicated, but it is not difficult. The others in class used Bali Pops for theirs and what beautiful quilts they will be as well.

The other jelly roll I got for Mother's Day I turned into "Split Decision" a pattern I bought some time ago. This is another super easy one. Anyone who needs a baby quilt, grad quilt, or just wants to make something fast and easy will love it. Moda's "Just Wing It" is what I used. For a non-quilter, my girl sure has great taste!

Either of these can be cut and pieced in one day.

I hope sharing these encourages others to give quiltmaking a try. With one jelly roll, and one of these patterns, you will be proud of yourself and have a lovely quilt top for snuggling under or to give as a gift! If you can sew a straight line - you can do it!

There are only 2 days left for voting in the McCall's Design Star 2011 contest! I am so anxious to see how mine did. Voting numbers are not available til after this round closes, I guess. Since I have had a bit of luck lately winning prizes from Facebook and blogs, I have my fingers crossed to make it to the next round of McCall's contest! Go to mccallsquilting.com and look for the Design Star link if you haven't seen it yet. Voting ends May 25th at 1 AM.

It's What's for Dinner

2011-05-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last week, Betty Crocker sent me this recipe. As I almost always do, I improvise a little and add things to make it mine, or more likely, to use up leftovers.

Here I added grilled chicken chunks, feta cheese and some rotini pasta and doubled what the original recipe called for. It says it makes 10 servings, but those must be very tiny servings. If I make pasta salad, I make enough for about a week. How else can I ever use the giant Rubbermaid bucket?

To go with the caesar dressed salad, of course we are having Jack Daniel's EZ marinated London Broil. And fresh brewed iced tea. Doesn't that sound great?

Dinner should be ready in an hour, so hurry over! We'll watch Castle for dessert. Its the season finale. Mmmm....

Recipes and Resources

2011-05-12T07:55:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog, I intended to share recipes. So far it looks like I have shared one cookie recipe. Twice. Since our friends and family consider me to be a pretty good cook, and my husband never goes hungry, you would think I would be posting recipes regularly.

I have been known to make 3 or 4 pans of lasagna at a time in Winter. My honey loves him some meaty lasagna! Therefore, I will start with a recommendation of a healthy pasta dish I recently made.

I am going to tell you how ~~fabulous~~ F.A.B.U.L.O.U.S. and easy this recipe is. All the work was in the prep for cooking. It took about half an hour to do that, working by myself and with some distractions. Cooking time was 15 minutes. You will feel like you are in the best Italian restaurant when you sit down to eat. Seriously.

My only criticism of it is the surprise at the end of the recipe calling for Basil Pesto, which I didn't have on hand. I really should read through the whole recipe instead of assuming all the ingredients are up front. Not a good time to have to run to the store.

I plan to try this without the sausage and asparagus next time I make it just because I want to see how it goes with artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes (instead of the grape tomatoes) and maybe a few black olives tossed in. I also think this will be a perfect meal to make when our family from California is here later this month.

This is a balanced meal in itself, but who has Italian without some garlic bread and salad, right?

If you are looking for great recipe ideas, you could do like I do: sign up from the free email newsletters that most product manufacturers offer. Kraft, Betty Crocker, Land O Lakes, Campbells, etc. Whatever floats your boat.

I also get regular (daily) email recipes from Allrecipes.com, Real Simple magazine and a few others. Then there are the posts on Facebook and blogs I follow. Martha Stewart's Everyday Food blog, the Pioneer Woman Cooks, and the above cookandbemerry.com which I found thru Pioneer Woman.

Who needs to buy cookbooks anymore. It is foodie heaven on the internet for free every day!

As Julia would have said, Bon Appetit!

The Train Set and Toy Story

2011-05-09T13:21:00.000-07:00

I try to do a decent job of boy-themed play with my grandson. Not having a daddy around to show him this stuff, I try to fill the gap when Papa is busy with other things.

You know those wooden train sets with Thomas the Tank Engine - and the generic versions of them? Sort of like this one. We have about a million pieces: trains, bridges, mountain, etc that we set up and take down often with Tyler, our grandson. For a just-turned-two year old, he's getting good at connecting the track pieces. His train set can take up the whole floor of his play room, just so you can imagine. The train table never gets used for our elaborate constructions. It is way too small. It has been converted to Handy Manny's hangout and Tyler's desk, but that is another story.

Anyway, I have obviously seen too many Toy Story movies, and he hasn't yet. I still think Sid and his mutant toys are creepy - way too much for a child to watch. So Tyler did not get it when I was having fun with him this past Saturday. I set the pig from his farm set on the tracks and said he was Evil Dr. Porkchop. *blank look followed by eyebrows going down in the middle* Then I got his blue plastic dinosaur and made "Rex" jump up and down on the bridge, saying he wanted to eat Dr. Porkchop and made roaring noises. *frowning now*

Tyler got up, took the blue dinosaur, put him in the Time Out chair and wagged his finger at me. "No more dinosaurs for you!"

So, I guess we will be sticking to arranging the tracks in different configurations and seeing if Thomas can make the descending curve without crashing from now on. Or until Tyler wants to play more creatively. His choice!

The Day After Easter

2011-04-25T06:57:00.000-07:00

Well, Easter is over. Are you still full? I know the kids are probably still sugared up. My grandson got to have 2 Easter egg hunts. He didn't want them to end. He was running around the front yard yesterday morning, shouting "Keep Looking, Nana!"

I LOVE this cartoon. My grampa loves it too, because he used to eat the ears off my aunt's chocolate Easter bunny every year before she would get it.

Our little family get-together included an Angus ribeye roast, potatoes, carrots, beets and Hummingbird cake. I made the cake. Everyone said that it was delicious, but they have never felt so full. It is a wonderful alternative to the traditional chocolate or vanilla cakes, but very dense, so make thin slices, or don't have dinner first, whichever you prefer. The cake was for a week late celebration of my Grampa's 89th birthday. Tyler's solo of "Happy Burtday, Papa Don..." was great. Then we sang the "you look like a monkey" version, and Tyler was having fits of giggles. It was too cute.

I finished my Spring Top for the Sewalong! Pillow and Maxfield's Gypsy Bandana border stripe fabric in lime green. Very comfy. Didn't take too long to make. (Simplicity 5684 - a discontinued pattern.)

Enjoy the rest of April! May is so close and I am on one hand looking forward to the end of pollen everywhere, but on the other hand, not looking forward to another Hurricane Season.

Current Projects

2011-04-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

Things I am working on: a variation of Minick and Simpson's "Chippewa Nine Patch" as seen in this post from their blog. I am making this from leftover Double Delight blocks, which I had originally started making in greens, but changed my mind after I had made a LOT of them. I think they pair up nicely with this Marie Osmond print and I'll have a nice Christmas lap size quilt when I am done. Also, I am about to launch my first tshirt quilt project. I took a class at JoAnn's last year, so wish me luck on the queen size for my sister in law.

I have been dabbling in the Dresden plate area too. Always wanted to make them, and finally bought a ruler. I made 5 inch blades with jelly roll scraps (Cherish Nature) and they look nice, I think. I don't know that I will make a whole quilt full. I am thinking maybe they will be in a row in a top border of whatever I make with the Cherish Nature Fat Quarter bundle I have. (Below the dresdens are some possible pinwheels from the Chippewa Nine Patch trimmings - more likely to become a sawtooth border.)

Cleaned up my sewing project storage a bit. I had lost a needle book a friend made, so I took everything apart, hoping maybe it had fallen behind these stacked cubes. Having my upcoming projects neatly stacked and in full view helps me stay focused and inspired. How about you? I won't embarrass myself with a picture of the 5 large totes and closet full of other stash and UFOs. Let's just say my husband opened that closet last week and said something about not ever needing to buy fabric again. Yeah, like that's ever going to happen!

See that stack of Fig Tree fabrics on the top left? Yum! I have been taking my time, finding deals and slowly have acquired enough to make "Summer Rental" from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

And finally, even though I am a few weeks early for Kids Sewing Week, I couldn't help making the bucket hat from this tutorial out of the Laurie Wisbrun giraffe print. It matches his pants and is reversible to a solid teal. Next time I will make a much wider brim, but it fits his head perfectly! You try getting a fidgety 2 year old to be still for pictures. It was either this one, or the picture of the inside of his nose after I said "honey, look up!"

And finally, since it is almost Easter, I will share a picture of a little ham with you all, and wish you a wonderful holiday weekend!

Happy Easter everyone! May you have the gift of friends and family to celebrate with!

God Bless!

Kids Clothing Week Challenge 2011

2011-04-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

I am going to participate in the Kids Clothing Week Challenge. Are you? I may not be able to keep to the one hour a day part, due to full time job and full time 2 year old grandson, but I will try.

Does Spring make you want to sew clothes, like it does me?

They may not count, but I am already ahead on sewing for Tyler with these. Not to worry, though. I have fire truck print pants, a giraffe print hat, and many more to come, so this will be fun! FYI: I use a toddler costume pants pattern for these elastic waist pants, and quilter's cotton prints. Each pair take less than half an hour.

Join in! You can find the information here: http://www.elsiemarley.com/kids-clothes-week-spring-2011.html

You can be as fancy or simple as you want. It can be a back pack, a crayon caddy, an appliqued tshirt, pillowcase dress, hooded towel, whatever, as long as it is for a child. And if it is for charity, even better!

And if you don't have kids to sew for, but are in the mood to make yourself a new top, check this out: http://www.made-by-rae.com/2011/04/its-time-for-spring-top-sewalong.html

The quilt on my bed

2011-04-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

I think we all know why we quilt when something we've made makes us smile - every time we see it. That's how it is with the quilt currently on my bed. Even though it is early Spring, I have bright, lively summer jewel colors brightening my room.

I have yet to make myself a Christmas bed quilt, so the Autumn (Leaving California) quilt is on my bed for much too long,and by the time the New Year comes around, I am ready for a change.

Remember this post? I was trying to figure out what to do for backing and I never followed up here when I finished the quilt! I ended up using the allover print from the same line and the last two pieces from the panel for the backing. Solid black binding.

This quilt makes me smile every time. The colors are so vivid it is happiness all over. The guitar playing mermaids floating around the border seem to be ready to lull me to sleep.

Just to refresh your memory, Key West Crush is it's name.I made this variation on Bonnie Hunter's "Orange Crush" mystery quilt. It took more than 2 years to make it because half way through I banished it to a box out of frustration. So, when I unboxed it, I was ready and focused to put it together. It just happens that I had pre-ordered an In the Beginning fabric line called Oceanica, and there was EXACTLY enough of the stripe to border the quilt top with the panel pieces as corners! It still amazes me. I literally had one inch of stripe left!

Have you seen "What's On Your Bed?" in other blogs? I'd like to know what is on your bed, if you'd like to share!

Spring Sewing

2011-04-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

Here's what I've been up to. Have you seen this Beach Bum Hoodie, as featured on Sew, Mama, Sew's blog? I bought the pattern and made it in Groovy Guitar print fabric from Michael Miller. If you make this, just keep in mind, they are not kidding when they say the hood is enormous. You might want to scale it down and make the neck opening bigger. That is my plan for the next time I make it, and there will be a next time!

It is lined with a stripe I bought a year or two ago from Connecting Threads, and the colors are spot-on perfect together!All the fabrics were bought from Hawthorne Threads. I love their selection of cool kids prints and all the latest cool fabrics, and you won't believe how fast your order will arrive!

Notice the Laurie Wisbrun giraffe print (Giraffes in Earth) pants? This is the outfit he picked out, because Nana made them recently, and he tells all his friends at the preschool "my nana made it for me!"

Just so you know, I am not getting paid to endorse these shops or items. I just love the quality of the fabrics, the good advice and ideas from the blog, and the shops listed. Connecting Threads fabrics are all made in the USA, did you know that? Very rare, sadly, to get any fabric made in America anymore.

I've also been in the mood to make pillowcases. They are so easy! I used the basic Million Pillowcase Challenge pattern and two one yard pieces from my stash, and VOILA! in half an hour, there were two coordinating cases for Tyler's bed!

That is a Joann's print of tropical fish, paired with a Jane Sassaman starburst orange and yellow print (the name escapes me.) I swear I'll be making pillowcases for my bed and for gifts a lot more often.

Other projects I have completed or are near finished: The Ginger Belle top is done. The Postage Stamp Quilt Along top is done (I added a border) and the Hokey Pokey rows are finished and ready to become the gigantic California King top. I'll be lugging that stack to the longarm quilter this weekend, along with the jelly roll twin size top I made last year - my own pattern. Hopefully I will have some pics to share by the end of April! And a tutorial maybe.

Springtime in Pensacola

2011-03-22T10:35:00.000-07:00

Its been Spring here for about a month, but officially just since the weekend. Is it Spring in your part of the world yet?

I love all the beautiful blooming flowers and the clear blue skies. The relatively low humidity. Not so much the allergies that go with the flowering oaks and pine tree pollen, or the carpenter bees that can't get enough of the old, old cedar siding on our house. Still, Spring is really nice. Our house is surrounded by blooming azaleas, camellias, Baby's Breath, Japanese tulip trees (which smell like lemons!) and green grass. Wisteria is blooming all over town. I wish we had some in our yard too. The flowering Baby's Breath always makes it feel like a special occasion in the front yard. Like a wedding or something.

Another beach trip this past weekend. We saw a pod of dolphins going by. The water is still not to our liking temp wise, but such a gorgeous clear green! With the green water and white sands, you could easily pretend you are in the Caribbean.

It was a perfect day to play catch and learn about making sand castles. Soon enough the beach will be our refuge, standing in the warm water up to our chins, with hats on, because everywhere you go is sticky and so hot, you don't know why you bothered to shower.

This isTyler and his Papa checking out the "told water" and looking for fish. I tried to get Tyler's feet wet, but he crawled up my leg like a crab to keep out of it. He's a warm water lover.

Here's to a long, mild Spring, and many more beach trips before 2011 winds down!

Take care!

And now you are 2!

2011-03-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

My grandson turned two on Sunday. He spent the last month telling everyone "almost 2. My birt-day March Turteenth."

He wore his new shirt (which I made the night before) and we all had such a great time. Chuck E Cheese. His request. He remembered it from when he went there at 1 yr old. He got pretty much every gift he wanted: roller skates, a skateboard and baseball glove. He must think he's about 5, right? And no, we are not going to let him loose on the wheeled presents. He did get a helmet to go with them. I think he is going to have to stick to the grass in the yard with someone holding him. Hopefully he'll get the idea that they are too difficult right now and he'll be back at T-Ball, basketball and soccer. And water play. That boy LOVES water play. Here is a look back at 2 years that have gone by too fast already.

1. His true Birth Day. I was there!

2. His first trip to the pool last year.

3. A natural with tools. Helping build shelving for Nana's sewing room.

4. The water horse he made. a miracle that I caught it at just the right moment. During summer, he is wet all the time, because no matter how hot it is, he wants to be outside.

5. His beautiful Mama holding him at the party. He loves that inflatable crown. He put it on this morning and said "my burtday hat! I a king!"

February beach weather?!

2011-02-28T08:47:00.000-08:00

Soft white sand. Warm weather. New sunglasses and a long stick. What could be better for the boy who is turning 2 in a two weeks? He LOVES the beach as much as I do. As a matter of fact, when he sees a plane or birds flying, he says they are going to the beach. He'd ride his little tricycle there if we let him.

It has been so nice out, we went to the beach this weekend. The water is still cold. I like it better in summer when the water is about 80 - 85 degrees. Tyler does too. He kept saying "Told water!"

We had beautiful blue skies and mid-70s temps.

This is us. Papa took the picture. This is what I love about Pensacola. The sand is so perfect. The water so green and clear.

We were having so much fun on the beach park equipment and on the beach itself that we missed the Mardi Gras Kiddies and Kritters Parade we had gone to see!

Lunch at Flounders Chowder House was the perfect finish to our morning. Come on down to the Gulf Coast if you want a nice place to vacation. You won't need a passport to get here! You can eat great seafood, shop and even play miniature golf right at the main beach!

http://www.made-by-rae.com/ Today wraps up the Celebrate the Boy 2011 on Rae's blog. (Sorry Rae, I can't manage to borrow the button here) So many cute ideas again this year. It got me in the mood to sew clothing again.
I have started making Tyler's new summer wear. Pajama pants and appliqued tshirts are really nice to lounge in after visits to the pool or beach and I can't resist all the adorable kiddie fabrics. Here is the first of this year's crop for him to relax in.

Until next time, happy sewing, and I hope you are having fun, whatever your weather is like.

Resurrected! The Camera, That Is.

2011-02-22T18:00:00.000-08:00

Yeah! I got the camera working again. Fingers crossed that it lasts until I can afford an upgrade!

So here is some progress on my stash only quilt top! The pattern is "Ginger Belle" by Miss Rosie's Quilt Company. Isn't it fun? I have made 4 of the 12 double Irish chain blocks. The blocks are 15 1/2 inches! That is a lot of seams to press open! I actually made extra star blocks, so those will be on the back. Or maybe pillow shams? Yes. Pillow shams might be perfect.

The temptation to buy a really cute floral backing fabric for it is nagging at me, but I am being good. I have some yardage that will do for the backing and binding. No shopping, no shopping, no shopping. My new mantra. There are some incredible sales going on, but I will use only my stash.

Here is the fabric that was my inspiration. (There is only about a 1/2 yard left now.) It is at the center of every Irish chain block and in many of the 4 patches. It's called "Forget Me Not" by Kimberly Poloson for Robert Kaufman. I love the vintage postcards and souvenirs look of the fabric. I pulled all the other fabrics based on the colors in this one fabric. It is fun to stretch a bit. Some people might never think they could put brick and cranberry together in a quilt top, but they work because they are mixed together with so many others, and all the colors are in the inspiration piece.

What are you working on from stash? Have you ever made this pattern before? Any suggestions on a quilting design? I'd like to hear back!

Cameraless

2011-02-18T14:59:00.000-08:00

So, since I can't post pics right now, I will see how much plain reading you can take.

The weather here this week has been WONDERFUL. Clear skies, and in the low 70s! So nice it is a shame to be behind a desk all week. I plan to be outdoorsy this weekend for sure.

I read a Dean Koontz book in one day. Not my usual cup of tea, but my dad insisted it was not too gory and I'd like reading about all the places we used to live near in So Cal. If you want a good read and you like just a little bit of creepy, The Good Guy is one I'd recommend.

I have finished piecing the 18 blocks for the doubled-in-size Keyholes quilt, an Anka's Treasures quilt pattern. As I wrote in an earlier post, I am using Moda's Glace jelly rolls to make it. You can see some other versions here and here. I think the batik one is just stunning, don't you?

Anyway, the blocks are 18 1/2 inches (unfinished) but doubling the pattern means there are still not enough to cover my California king size bed. So I have been searching the internet for Glace jelly rolls to make another set of blocks. There are some out there, but shipping is ridiculous for most - I just refuse to pay $7 or more to ship ONE jelly roll. Other shops that still have it (and at a good price too!) do not take PayPal, and at this point in the checking account, I have to pass on buying them too. Sigh.... Oh well, it is a long time til Christmas. I guess I'll see what else is still available when funds have increased. I still have to buy 2 border fabrics and backing anyway. Oh, and a camera. That will be the priority. Unless something else at the house breaks.

Other quilty progress: I am on the last block piecing step for Ginger Belle, by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. I have the 13 star blocks done. Now for the Double Irish Chain blocks! All from my stash!

I still haven't finished putting the Postage Stamp Quilt top together yet. Several rows are together, but I have a few seams just pinned and sitting there. Also still working on Hunky Dory. Most of the blocks are plastered on 2 design walls, and I have a long way to go. I knock at some here and there over the weekend between cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking and taking care of the grandson. What? Me busy?

Oh, and I won something from www.stitchinheaven.com on their Valentine's blog contest! Whatever it is is a surprise to me, so I can't share it til it shows up in the mail. It is nice to be lucky once in a while!

Pardon the delay

2011-02-16T09:52:00.000-08:00

Wouldn't you know my camera died when I was ready to take and post pics of my work??? Now we'll be trying to figure a new camera into the budget before I can show you my totally from stash "Ginger Belle," a Miss Rosie's Quilt Company pattern.

Patience comes from trials. I know that is so true!

Psst...

2011-02-09T08:51:00.000-08:00

I am working on something totally from my stash. Almost done making the 261 four patches that go in it. I can't wait to show you what it is, but for now, that is all I can share! Stay tuned!

WIP Wednesday: Postage Stamp Quilt Along Progress

2011-01-25T20:29:00.000-08:00

Hello! I am managing to keep up with the quilt along from psiquilt! *patting self on the back* How about you? I chose a jelly roll of Spirit by Lila Tueller for mine, and although there is not a lot of diversity (and more than a few duplicates) I think it is going to be nice. Really nice. It would be tempting to keep making more blocks so that it ends up queen size, but it is what it is. Perhaps I will find a yard or two to make a border with and that will add some size? It is for my daughter, who loves the colors and size, so I guess I could leave it be...

Ms. Rachel is showing the finished product with no border, which looks good. I am just a BIG quilt lover. We shall see what I finally decide to do in the next few weeks. I will be assembling these blocks into the top this week.

I would like to thank Tracey of traceyjayquilts for mentioning me in her WIP Wednesday posting. It is nice to talk to other quilters, even though you may never meet, and find out that you have the same thoughts, isn't it?

BTW, has anyone else noticed the freakish number of Wendys making quilts and blogging about it? When I was in school there was only one other Wendy in all 12 years. Now they are everywhere. I think the baby name books need to change the definition of Wendy to quilter. Don't you? There also seem to be a LOT of Lauries. My aunt is one of them. She's a quilter, and I have seen many Laurie quilters in my blog reading.

Speaking of my aunt Laurie (only 9 years older than me) she is about to become a grandmother for the first time. I've been one for 2 years! Back at Thanksgiving she and her family visited out here and I presented her daughter with the baby quilt I made from a Moda "Swanky" jelly roll. Its a simple rail fence design which I can't remember the source of. They all like it a lot. Hope to see pics of the baby girl, Evan, wrapped in it next month when she arrives! *hint, hint*

Other news:
This is my latest music discovery. I was channel surfing in my car and heard this. Liked it so much I bought the cd that night. Usually I don't buy a cd based on one song, but I am not sorry at all. Check it out!

Its pretty cold all over the States, so I hope you are staying warm and healthy. Viruses and infections are taking people out left and right around here and we don't even have snow!

Be safe and keep sewing!

Quilt Apathy, Quilt Frenzy and other things

2011-01-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

So, every year around Christmas, I totally lose interest in quilting. I don't know if it is the business of the season, or the fact that (we all know) it is way too late to get anything made present-wise and forget the long-armer having time for you at that point, or that I can just do other stuff with my time. Instead, I really get into reading.It seems that it has to be one or the other. I cannot start a book and not finish it without interruption, unless it is a terrible book. So finally, after a lifetime of wanting to read it and loving the movie version from 2005, I read Pride and Prejudice. Then I wanted more, so I found several *spin offs* if you will on Amazon that were well recommended. First I read half of this and realized it is more of a lusty romance novel of newlyweds Elizabeth and Darcy. Not what Jane Austen would have written, but I guess it is not that bad. Still, I put it aside.

Then I started reading this and this is exactly what I think Jane would have written to tell Mr. Darcy's side of the Pride and Prejudice story. It is classy, intelligent and true to character. When I was growing up, my grandmother told me that I must read Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. This is why I have a taste for old world literature and outdated vocabulary. Probably why I love period piece films too. Anyway, I totally recommend this book if you are an Austen fan!

Now that the holidays are over and I am whittling down my backlog of blog reading (Reader was up to almost 1000 entries I had not read!!!) I am inspired again to make quilts. On fire! So excited! Having a little extra money on hand for a change, I have ordered some fabrics, books and several Miss Rosie's Quilt Co patterns to start off the new year! I can't wait. I better hurry and finish my book before the packages arrive.

Has anyone made this one? Summer Rental! I think it is gorgeous. I blogged about wanting to make something complicated and a star pattern with the little collection of Fig Tree fabrics I stashed, and this is it. I think. There are about 8 patterns coming my way, so I could change my mind again! I've seen so many beautiful star quilts on other blogs like Cupcakes and Daisies and Sister's Choice, it was hard to decide, but I really love this one.

In the mean time I am cutting pieces for the very simple (and double the size) Keyholes quilt pattern from Anka's Treasures book "On a Roll Again." I have 2 Glace jelly rolls and having never made a Christmas quilt for my own bed maybe this year my bedroom will look more festive!

Also, I will be joining Rachel Griffith's postage stamp quilt along. I found a jelly roll of Spirit by Lila Tueller that will be spectacularly colorful with a white solid cotton. Are you going to join in?

I'm still here

2010-12-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Tis the season to be very busy at work! Sending cards and gifts to associates of my full time employer, decorating the office, trimming the tree, and getting ready for the new year keep me pretty busy from Thanksgiving into January, but I have not been idle in the quilting and sewing departments when I have time.

My daughter's best friend moved to snowy Tennessee, and I made her a quilt to snuggle up in. I used some leftovers from my daughter's black and white quilt, so they can be extra connected! Here is what I mailed off to Samantha on Saturday. She should have it Wednesday. Will she wait til Christmas to open it? I can't say. It is quilted with a swirly design in a silvery gray. I like it a lot. The pattern in Plan C from the Schnibbles Times Two book by Carrie Nelson. 88 inches square. I think I will make some pillow cases from the leftover fabrics and send them too. Or pillow shams. I did win a book from Heather Mulder Peterson's blog Trend and Traditions this year and haven't tried any of the patterns yet!

This weekend I whipped up a little tote for my grandson to take lunch in when he goes to daycare. Poor baby still doesn't like going to a sitter, but this should cheer him up a little. He seems to really like it.

The pattern is a free tote download on All People Quilt's site. It was in one of my American Patchwork and Quilting magazines, but I don't remember which one, so finding the free download was great. The animal print is a Michael Miller zoology print that I bought from Hawthorne Threads. The link is to this print in brown. I guess they sold out of the black. If you want great quality fabric and super fast shipping, buy from Hawthorne Threads. They have good sales and giveaways all the time.

I hope you are enjoying the final days leading up to Christmas. I am so not ready! Not done shopping. Hardly decorated at all. Didn't send one card. Oh well. It's the thought that counts, right?

Hokey Pokey

2010-11-21T04:56:00.000-08:00

So, here it is almost Thanksgiving and I am sooooo not in the holiday spirit! I don't want it to be Christmas for at least 3 more months. Not that I am Scrooge or anything. Just not excited about it at all.

I am excited about finally having the Hokey Pokey figured out. I have about a third of the blocks made. The batiks are beautiful and I am glad I pre-washed them after getting advice from some fellow bloggers because these deep dark greens and browns would have made a big mess later in the wash. This pic is just a small portion of the blocks for the California King size quilt it will become!

That palest green really is reading too light, I think. Almost white. I may have to look into painting those blocks with a fabric dye. Any advice? I have never done that before, but it seems like fun. Definitely better than taking those blocks apart.

Anyone else making this? Anyone else out there not in the holiday spirit yet?

Plan C from Schnibbles Times Two

2010-11-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

Here's what I have been working on. This has gone together really quickly. Big blocks are such fun to make because of that. And instead of becoming paralyzed by agonizing over fabric choices, I just dove in with my scraps, made a few purchases to add to the mix, and VOILA! this is almost done! It is the large version of Plan C which is 77 1/2 inches square and will be a Christmas gift. The recipient said she likes black, white and red, so that was the starting point.

The first border is supposed to be the same as the background fabric, but my daughter, who swears she has no interest in sewing or making quilts, said "why don't you put gray there instead?" and I just happened to have a yard of gray. I have had it since she was little, so it is approximately 20 years old. I think it is perfect. I doesn't look different or odd. There will be two strip sets, which you see at the top of the picture. They will be cut in half lengthwise when I get to 34 strips and that will make up the second border.

If you don't have the book Schnibbles Times Two, you should get one. Such beautiful quilts, and you don't have to have layer cakes to make them. Just use your yardage or your scraps and have fun!

Musings before Halloween

2010-10-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Well, no pics today, just thoughts.

I am supposed to be making the Hokey Pokey quilt in the 2 color variation, but the directions are confusing or incomplete in my eyes. The website is "under construction" and no one answers the phone. Still waiting for a call back on the voicemail I left. Anyone out there have this pattern figured out? I don't mind if you tell me I'm a moron. With my hormones lately, I may become angry and cry, but I'll know you are probably right.

Halloween weekend is the annual local craft fair, which I will not be a part of because they now require you to have a sales tax license. No thanks. That is all I need is more paperwork and more government. I wouldn't know what to do if someone tried to pay with a personal check anyway. Who is going to come in there with $600 cash for a quilt I made? Nobody.

Thanksgiving. Could it be any more complicated with divorced parents and people who aren't speaking to each other? Add to that my ex, who is moving all the way across the continent to look for a job and LIVE here, so that means more holiday juggling from now on. Please send me a winning lotto ticket so my hubby and I can go on a cruise ship (or other vacation) for the holidays from now on.

Holiday fattening treats. They are everywhere and they all look so good, don't they? I really want a candy coated apple from the Rocky Mountain Candy Company, but the closest one is 60 miles away. Making one at home would be equally costly and time-consuming. And messier. Maybe I'll run off on Saturday? Hey, there is a PF Chang's in Destin too. Hmmmm....

I have been working on teaching myself applique. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. There is a whole other realm of quiltmaking opening for me. I did fall leaves on one set and pumpkins with vines on another. Neither has become anything more than practice squares, but could be wall hangings or table runners if I put my mind to it.

Last Friday I had a bad round of anger and depression (which you probably don't want to know) and I swore I was going to sell ALL my quilt stuff. I am frustrated by inability to sell anything, not wanting to sign up for a state sales tax license and the ensuing paperwork that would bring, not being able to join the quilt guild because I am the babysitter every Monday night for the foreseeable future, and they meet on Monday nights. Of course money and no girlfriends was in there too.

Anyway, I got over it. For now. What can you do except shrug your shoulders and carry on? Or plot revenge from beyond the grave.

Bryan's Birthday Quilt

2010-10-16T15:15:00.000-07:00

So I salvaged the Old Tobacco Road quilt fiasco. * Get it? Salvaged? Photo of quilt on rustic old truck? Ha ha! * It is quilted and bound now and was presented on October 6th, my honey's birthday! I first blogged about the fiasco here. At least I learned a lot more about the fragility of bias cuts. I started this quilt in early 2008 or late 2007. Not sure exactly. Got it back out in January 2009 and had my very pregnant daughter helping me with the layout on the design wall. It went together pretty quickly after that, but the baby came in March and it was on hold on the design wall. That's when the drooping, stretched bias occurred and I banished it to a box again until a few months ago.

It is hard to cut up a quilt you really like, but knowing there was no other solution made it a little easier. Now that it is all done, it is just fine.It is a long, narrow quilt - perfect for my tall, narrow husband. And it is flannel backed, just the way he likes them.

One thing I really like about this quilt is how I used up a lot of single piece scraps that I got in a charm square swap. Some of them were REALLY not beautiful, if you know what I mean. But now that they are little bitty squares in a scrappy quilt, I really like them! Go figure.

Its funny that knowing it was the one and only scrap I ever had of a particular fabric makes it like a treasure hidden in the design of the quilt.

If you like this, check it out at http://quiltville.com/oldtobaccoroadintro.shtml It is challenging and you'll really put a dent in your scraps!

Fall is Coming!

2010-09-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

If you noticed my sidebar picture has changed, then this pic is redundant, isn't it? But I love this quilt. It is king sized and the photo doesn't really do it justice. I put it on the bed this past week and also got out the wreath I made a few years ago. The biggest compliment I have gotten on this quilt was from my daughter. She wants me to give it to her in my will. That's a long time from now, but so sweet. Normally our tastes are polar opposites.

I love leaves and sunflowers this time of year. This wreath is a very easy project I made for under $50. Michael's craft store sells garlands of silk leaves, wire based sunflowers and butterflies and craft wire. You can make a wreath like this in an afternoon. No glue required. and there is usually a big sale on around this time every year.

This week is the Fall-Oween blog hop. Are you participating? Should be great fun with beautiful fall pictures and a free pattern each day. Today is Day One with Gudrun at GE Designs http://www.gudrun.typepad.com/ with a candy corn table mat to make. Sandy Gervais' blog entry for today is my favorite out of all of them. She and I must be kindred spirits with our love of new crayons and paint boxes. How cool would it be to design your own fabrics? Take a look at the tour of blogs and comment on each to win a prize. I'd like to know - Which was your favorite?

Also in preparation or celebration of fall, I made Cowboy Cookies this weekend. They are a favorite of ours since I discovered the recipe when I was teaching preschoolers and made these with my class during letter C week. I substitute chopped pecans for the walnuts and refrigerate the dough overnight. They are fabulous with dark chocolate chunks! I am looking forward to teaching Tyler to bake when he is older. Just a few more years! We will be making these for sure.

Although we won't have the glorious display of tree colors changing here in the South, I am hoping for a weekend getaway to see some in person this year. We say it every year and never make it out of the gate. Cross your fingers for us!

Last of all, Fall means I will soon I'll be slow-cooking, making soups, roasts, and the thing that makes my husband's knees weak: Lasagna. Piled high and wide in a turkey roasting pan. He really can't wait!

Quilt History in Florida

2010-09-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello again! There are lots of quilty things going on in this area. I'd probably know these things a lot sooner if I made it to the local quilt guild meetings, but something always comes up at the last minute.

First off is the Pensacola Museum of Art, which has a new exhibit, "Quilt Art:International Expressions" that I plan to go to this Saturday. Can you believe I have lived here 6 years, and I haven't made it to any one of the local museums? Not once. And I LOVE art! It is supposed to rain all weekend, so a museum trip will be perfectly in order.

Secondly, there is going to be an exhibit starting the end of October in Tallahassee at the Museum of Florida History. The 29th Annual Capital City Quilt Show: The Garden Party goes through January. There will be over 100 quilts on display. You can see some of the quilts from the book I am reading if you go to that page linked above.

To prepare for that trip (and to keep me busy while my machines are in the shop) I have been re-reading the book Florida Quilts, which covers the history of our state from the 1500s! and the women who lived here as pioneers, through the Civil War hardships, and the quilts they made. Quilts up to the 1980s are included too. The information on the early days of quilt-making here makes me feel like such a slacker. I cannot ever imagine living here in summer without air conditioning, but they did it, and in layers of petticoats and long skirts! They grew gardens year round to feed themselves and made their own quilting supplies. That includes the batting and cloth, people. When you read the stories and see their handiwork, you'll be in awe. This is a 1992 book, so libraries should have it.

I am a pioneer of sorts. The first I know of in my family to make quilts, so I don't know what it is like to learn from a grandmother, be part of a quilting bee, or hand piece or applique like they used to. Those are some of the most fascinating things about books like this. The pictures of women gathered around a quilting frame that is typically stored on the living room ceiling. Quilt that are so detailed - all made completely by hand. The stories of freed slaves who used only what was on hand to make and fill their quilts to keep warm in winter...this was not just a hobby to them. Yes, it was a creative outlet, but it was very necessary and they took the time to make beauty in the necessity.

I count myself very lucky to have not only piles of fabrics to chose from, but all the notions and comforts that make modern quilt-making a breeze.

Because both my sewing machines are in the shop...

2010-09-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hopefully I will have some sewing and quilting updates and pictures next week! I am behind schedule for Christmas already. Since my quiltmaking and other sewing plans are on hold, I will give a Tyler update.

He is now 18 months old, going on 3. He is definitely outdoorsy and loves waterplay, but when it is too hot, or after dark, his favorite things on tv are, of course, Elmo, and the Madagascar movies. "Emo" and "Aweee" (Alex the lion) are fascinating to him. He laughs at a lot of things in the movies, so that is another confirmation that he has a great sense of humor already.

We have this dvd and his favorite song on it is "On Top of Spaghetti" which he does the sneeze for. Too cute. Now spaghetti with meatballs is what he asks for for dinner every night too. Ha! These sing along songs are great for toddlers, because he wants to sing now. We've been singing to him his whole life, but this is a first - him trying to really sing along too. Before this it was just the hand clapping and shouting "hooray" during "If You're Happy and You Know It" and making the spider with his hands for the "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

Here is last weekend's crack up. He picked up the vacuum hose and pretended it was a telephone, a hairbrush and a water hose."He-do?" Hysterical! Yes, the vacuum was turned off.

Tyler has a very good grasp of the word NO already. He wants to be outside all the time, so now we've added a Little Tikes basketball stand/hoop thing to the driveway collection. I wish we could set up his stuff out back on the cement slab, but the dogs would eat it. Seriously. They ate the wicker furniture and one jacuzzi cover already. Please don't write me about dog training. We had 3 litters of puppies (31 puppies) our first 2 years here, and Bryan was in a wheelchair part of that time, so we got worn down on dog training. We settled for spaying and neutering and gave up on the backyard being a place to entertain.

Anyway, it is so hard to believe Tyler has grown from this to this in just a year and half. They don't stay small for long, but it sure is fun every single day watching them grow and teaching them!

Nana loves you, Tyler! Be good!

Complicated

2010-09-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

I was reading Nicole's blog the other day and she and I seem to be of the same mind. More detail and complexity, less quickie quilts is what we both want to do more of. I know sometimes you can look at a pattern and think, "holy moly, there are like a million pieces in this one," but lately I want to make a quilt that is time consuming and will really look like an heirloom when it is finished. Not modern, but very old fashioned and soft colored, with just a little punch of strong color to capture your attention.

Some people will tell you not to make lists. I'm not one to listen to that though, even if the lists tend to frustrate me because of 1) the occasional lack of quilt productivity in my busy life and 2) I tend to see quilts that shoot to the top of things to do and the other stuff gets pushed back, over and over again. My lists help me remember UFOs that I can work on if I get bored with a current project, or can't afford to buy new fabrics. Lists help me keep track of my must-do projects and ideas I want to not lose track of. Do you make lists?

This quilt has been in the back of my mind for about 2 years. It is called Vintage Stars. I just can't get over how gorgeous and vintage it looks. It is from Piece by Piece by Joe Wood of the Thimble Creek Quilt Shop. You can read a little about it here. My stash never included these soft colors until recently, when I treated myself to some fat quarters and a dessert roll of various Fig Tree Quilts fabrics. I need to build up some cream tone on tones and buy the pattern (or figure it out on my own, which is not that hard...?) and then I will be on my way. Probably won't get started til December, when the "making stuff for the holidays" rush is ending and I have the week between Christmas and New Years off from work. But I am excited. This is such a long time dream of mine. It will be my most cherished quilt. I can already tell.

So what quilts or other items do you dream of making some day? What is on your list? I'd like to know.

Long Pause

2010-08-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Another long break between posts. Its been a busy month. Birthdays, anniversary, crazy busy at work. I have commissioned quilts I am working on, plus I made 9 sets of pillowcases (so far) and a few more to go.

Never mind the cloud fabric under this. That is the backing fabric. This was a free pattern online when Laura Gunn's Poppy line came out. I thought it would be fun to use in this "life on a farm in NW Florida" themed quilt. It is full size. For a 15 month old boy. Tyler will not be happy when it goes away. He says "Wow!" every time he sees this giant I Spy.

And this Christmas quilt is going to a new home soon. There is talk of a coordinating king size to go with it in the near future. The custom quilting on it is just gorgeous. Pine cones and boughs. I made it for my grandparents but they don't like the weight of it. Too heavy for them to sleep under. Gramma thought I might be able to sell it and have some money. And I will! This was a great way to use up a lot of Christmas stash and it has that old fashioned charm to it. The border is dark pine green with cardinals and pine boughs.

In my "spare time" I play with and help care for my grandson, who is just getting too big, too fast! So many new words and discoveries every day. He has started trying to jump up and down and shouts, "Nump! Nump!" which just sends me into fits of laughter. That and him wanting to watch "buttball" since it is almost time for the Gators to hit the "mawmp." That's the Swamp in toddler lingo.

He loves to be outside and he got a firetruck car last weekend, complete with water tank and hose. Great idea for the little boy who loves water play.

Sorry about the garbage can in the pic. The driveway is a little crowded these days, and we just added a firetruck to the parking arrangements!

Stash Bustin' Sewing Machine Cover Tutorial

2010-08-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hey! I am being productive with my scraps today! I had a bunch of pieces leftover from a Simple Abundance Jelly Roll, and some unbleached muslin, and a package of Oyster colored bias tape, so I decided to whip up a cover for my beloved Janome.

First you will want to measure your sewing machine and add a little extra (about half an inch on the sides) so it isn't too snug. My machine measures 17" across the widest point x 8" deep x 26" from the bottom front to the bottom of the back. We're going to finish it off with wide single fold bias tape, so you don't need to add anything for a hem, unless you want to.

I started by making a checkerboard pattern of 13 x 8 2 1/2" squares, which made the main part of the cover 26 1/2" by 16 1/2". I added and inch of the red stripe from Simple Abundance to each side, which gave me 18 1/2 inches of width. The side pieces I cut from the muslin to 8" wide by 12" tall, then I curved the tops, but you could make it squared off. I didn't want to mess with those inside corners that squaring it would have meant. I found it easier to ease around the curves (and it is good practice if you are making pieces like a Drunkard's Path!)

Look I didn't even iron before I took the picture! Start by pinning the peak of your side pieces to the center side of the cover. Begin sewing at that point, pulling the straight edge of the cover toward the machine and gently pulling the curve away so that they line up easily without pinning. Or pin. Your choice. When you get to the bottom edge, go back and sew from the center to the other end and repeat for the opposite side. It really is that simple!

Press toward the darker print and you are ready to sew on the bias tape. I sewed around the bottom edge, cover right side up, turned under the end of the bias tape, then I turned the tape under (to the wrong side of the cover) and stitched again. I guess a true expert would have ironed the wrong sides of the bias tape together, pinned like crazy and sewed it all in one shot, but that is just not how I roll. Ha! Taking the easy way - that's me. No layered and quilted work of art. Just a quick and easy use of scraps that I can enjoy when I can't stop and sew.

So there you have it. Another use for your leftover jelly roll pieces, and a dust blocking, eye-catching cover for you machine! If you make one, I'd love to hear back from you!

Enjoy your sewing!

Happy 8-9-10!

2010-08-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

A Room To Sew In:

I'm a little jealous! Lots of bloggers are sharing their sewing room remodels and improvements lately. I was looking at this one today by Elizabeth Hartman of Oh, Fransson! and felt envy. The drapes on a cable. Clean. No cluttered hardware over the windows. Lots of light coming in. And a gigantic design wall made of foam board. Mine is about 1/3 her size. Next one I make will have the batting and no more flannel on it. Check out her nesting tables too! Ingenious.

I've been wanting to expand my design wall lately, but the one I have now is frequently raided by curious little hands, and I don't dare pin anything to it because that would make it dangerous. But I make big quilts. I plan to have one the size of Elizabeth's someday.

How about that set up for cutting and ironing she created? Pretty neat. Nesting tables. I'm not the only one who finds the ironing board a little limiting when it comes to quilts.

I do like the cutting and sewing table I got for FREE from my boss. It is an old architects desk. Elevating the drawing part of it lets me see what I am cutting without craning my neck and fighting glare off lights onto the rulers. The sewing machine sits on a thick piece of butcher block. I really like the two shallow drawers underneath that hold all my rulers, blades, templates, etc. One drawer is the width of the drawing portion. I have spare cutting mats in there too! And that big sliding ruler that runs on cable all the way across? Very helpful. Even if I only use to hold my rulers while I move fabric around. (This is an older photo. See all that room under the table? It is now packed and stacked with totes full of fabrics and batting. Also, this room is now turquoise and white and belongs to Tyler, my grandson. I sew in the front room of our house.)

What do you have in your sewing room that is unusual and really useful? What do you dream of having?

I got featured on WIP Wednesday!

2010-08-05T07:34:00.000-07:00

The Quilte Shoppe's In Stitches blog features Works In Progress every week, and I submitted mine and got featured. Didn't win the fabrics, but oh well. http://the-quilt-shoppe.blogspot.com/2010/08/wip-wednesday-august-4.html

I haven't worked on that particular WIP since last week. I have so many others going on! I am making blocks for the Summer Quilt Along's Star Sampler at A Quilty Kind of Girl's blog using up the last (sniff, sigh!) of my Sandi Henderson Farmers Market pink and aqua pieces plus some other stash pieces. Since it is all pinks and reds, greens and aquas with white, I am thinking that it will become a donation to a breast cancer treatment center.

My very first Block of the Month Club from The Fat Quarter Shop is about to send me block #3, and I just got around to block #1! I need to get a move on! It uses Kate Spain's new Christmas line and so many of my favorite designers made a block pattern for each month, I just had to sign up! The logo pictured here is Block 1. I think you can still sign up for this if you are tempted.

Another project rumbling around in my brain is what kind of backing to make with a bunch of flying geese and either flannel or cotton to make my honey his own Winter sofa quilt. After saving a quilt top from disaster it is now ready to be backed and quilted. I have not made him his very own quilt yet, and I feel a little bad about that. Not that I don't have good intentions! And we do sleep under quilts I made every night. This quilt top was started when it was a new mystery quilt. A major stash buster in the Fall of 2008. Made tons of pinwheels and 4 patches and then put it away. Got it back out when my daughter was 5 or 6 months pregnant. Put away again. Now the baby is almost 17 months old. Some things need to age. Or in my case, be away from me while I freak out and calm down. This can sometimes take months, you know?

A little humility is good for everyone, right? Here is Old Tobacco Roads from quiltville.com. and what I had to deal with. It is supposed to have flying geese as a border all the way around after the brown border you see here. I could put my hand under some of these waves. I tried steaming, starching...nothing fixed it. It was hopeless. I ended up stitching straight up through those pinwheels to stabilize it and cutting off the four patches and bricks and border. ON BOTH SIDES. I added a dark blue on blue Civil War era print 6 inch border after that, and it is still a decent size for a sofa quilt, so I think I am over being mad about this.

My quilting motto is now "No More Bias Quilts." There are plenty of other pretty things to make. I'll leave the bias alone.

My Dad and Back to School Decorating

2010-08-02T13:18:00.000-07:00

I was reading this post about decorating with maps, as seen in a Marie Claire magazine, and I flashed back to my school days. (Sorry, Dad, this is the most recent photo of you that I have! March 2009 with you holding newborn Tyler.)

My dad is the eternal scholar. He is constantly learning, reading about history and people and wars, etc. Ask him a question and he probably knows the answer. He's very funny too. He is a retired Sgt Major USMC who went to Pepperdine at night while working full time for our country. And he is a purple heart awarded Viet Nam vet.

When I was growing up, our garage had a little 5x6 storage area which my dad built shelves in and he loaded those shelves with his National Geographics, favorite books about history, atlases, dictionary and thesaurus and maps. I really liked how he hung the maps above the shelves and on the backs of the sliding closet doors he closed the space off with.

I was able to do tons of homework research there. It was my own little library. And I don't remember him pushing it on me, it was just there, for my use and enjoyment should I be interested. No waiting on a ride to the library. If I was curious about something, I could usually find it, especially in the Nat Geos. You know, this was before the internet or multiple cable learning channels, people. Before Google.

Do teachers even ask for bibliographies anymore? I dreaded those! But I digress. I just wanted to share this idea. If you have room in your house, even a little closet, you can make learning so much more accessible and interesting to your kids. And it doesn't have to cost much. Let me know what you remember about learning at home! I bet there are some interesting stories.

http://www.frugalfamilyfunblog.com/ I discovered this blog last week. Very resourceful mom who's kids seem to be totally enjoying her creative ideas. I LOVED the elevator to the laundry room story. So cute!

A picture is worth a thousand words

2010-08-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

Pensacola Beach is beautiful again! We went for several hours Saturday and today. Tyler and his mama came with us for a little while today and did he have a blast looking at the thousands of little minnows, finding sea shells and sand crabs, and trying to get the birds to come to him. He ran in and out of the waves laughing and smiling the whole time. And as usual, I forgot to bring the camera. I took this pic with my phone on Saturday.

What a gorgeous, perfect weekend it has been! This is why we say we have the most gorgeous beaches. You have to experience the sugar white, soft sands and the clear sea glass green waters for yourself to know what I am talking about. We have been celebrating my birthday with family, and being back on our beautiful beach for a whole weekend was totally what I needed! This is what I love most about Pensacola!

We saw lots of fish, a ray, a sea turtle, 2 jellyfish (instead of swarms of them), pelicans and sandpipers, and just miles of crystal clear, calm, warm water. Most of the time it was like a great big swimming pool. No waves. No sound. Thankfully no one anywhere around with a boom box. So peaceful! Just a 30 minute drive from the house and we felt like we were in the Caribbean.

Yes, I am fried. All I can say about that is "SPF 60" my ass. Hawaiian Tropic is going to be making it up to me with their aloe containing lidocaine formula for the next few days! Also, I don't know why there are still mobs of tractors and 4 wheel drive carts and clean up crews going back and forth all day. There is nothing for them to do!

We ate a late lunch at Peg Leg Pete's Sunday with my dad, and that wrapped up a great weekend.

PS I had a wonderful dinner Saturday night at 7:30 with Bryan, my dad and his girlfriend, Sandy. Too late for Tyler and his mama to join us. We ate at Hemingways, then listened to music at Crabs. This has been the best birthday weekend in memory!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Dusting off an old WIP and other recent happenings

2010-07-27T20:04:00.000-07:00

Well I'm still here! Look how I let weeks go by without a post! So many plans and ideas, so little time. I finished two books, Ahab's Wife and Backseat Saints. Both worth it if you are looking for a new book to dive into. Ahab's Wife is written in the style of the late 1800s. Think Little Women or Anne of Green Gables. I thought it was wonderfully refreshing. And Backseat Saints, the latest from a favorite author of mine (Joshilyn Jackson) is a total page-turner! Be prepared to go without sleep reading her Southern women-based fiction books.

What is going on in Pensacola? The usual stuff: heat, humidity, thunderstorms. My aunt has been visiting from California. We got to shop for fabric together and she and I got a little time in to visit. Never enough though.

My grandson is growing like a weed and adding to his vocabulary every day. He grew an inch in the last month. Now he is working on potty training. Already!

Isn't this the coolest picture of him making a shape with the water from the hose? This is his favorite toy. He calls it the "Ohse" and he will soak himself happily for as long as water will come out of it. Must be a combination of the summer heat and him being a Pisces. That boy LOVES water play!

So, about that WIP. I started this a year or two ago. I saw the pattern in Quilt magazine (October 2006) and I had all these leftover 4 patches from a Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt, so I started putting colors together and pulled together a scrappy Country French-colored assortment.
I think I put it all in a box and moved on to other things because I couldn't come up with an arrangement that did not look like a calamity.

You know what is nice about WIPs (or UFOs) ??? The cutting is all or mostly done already. If you are like me, you have everything, including the pattern and fabrics you haven't cut all together in a box. If only the pieces had arranged themselves into something not so hectic. And still I ~~persist,~~ uh, ~~persevere~~ stubbornly refuse to give up on it.

I am just starting to play around with the arrangement here, but it is definitely scrappy. Because I sew at work a lot, my husband suggested I could call it "Bad Day at the Office." Maybe it could be "Wild Turkey" and people will just think I was drinking when I made it.

Ask and You Shall Receive

2010-07-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

For my birthday, I asked for this and it arrived yesterday! My birthday is a couple weeks away, but I had to open the package. This is the whole Cherish Nature line by Deb Strain for Moda. Fat quarter bundle! 40% off at Hancocks of Paducah!! I LOVE DEB STRAIN. Her fabric lines are so cheerful and happy!

My honey is so good! And I don't even know yet what I will be doing with these, but it will definitely be a King size quilt for my bed. I don't even care that the blue on my walls won't match these colors! Maybe we'll have to repaint again?

This is my very first whole stack of fat quarters! What do you do with a fat quarter collection? I would love to hear some suggestions. I have so many books and magazines and bookmarked free online patterns, I could spend days going back through them and I would end up side tracked into a long forgotten project I meant to make.

For now, I may just put these under my pillow and dream about them!

I won! Just in time for my birthday too!

2010-07-06T11:05:00.000-07:00

http://kakorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/read-it-backseat-saints-giveaway.html

Just wanted to share that I won the book "Backseat Saints" by Joshilyn Jackson from Katie at Katie's Korner! Please check out Katie's blog. She has great ideas, and I think her blog roll might be even longer than mine!

If you like good Southern fiction (that is to say, Southern women's lit.) you'll love Joshilyn Jackson's books. "Between, Georgia" is my personal favorite so far, but this one is supposed to be a follow up to "Gods in Alabama" and maybe it will become my new favorite?

Thanks, Katie! So looking forward to curling up with this one.

Summer Sampler Quilt Along Tutorials

2010-07-06T08:04:00.000-07:00

Hello! I am still here. Just totally busy. Going in many directions at once and trying to keep it together. Know what I mean? I hope everyone enjoyed their celebration of America's birthday!

Anyway, I found two quilt alongs in blogland today. One even offers a beginner version in case the center medallion of the main one intimidates you (like it does me!) http://quiltcetera.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/week-one-summer-star-sampler-quilt-along-2010/ this page is the start of the directions. The first two blocks. You can backtrack to find the layouts for both the main sampler quilt and also the beginner version without the center medallion.

http://www.amyscreativeside.com/2010/06/simple-sampler-quilt-along-details.html This is the other sampler quilt along, and it is very scrap friendly. Since I have never done a sampler, I am going to try to get at least one of these in the works. I have tons of scraps and one block of each is not that intimidating right? Just finding the time is my obstacle.

I am thinking that one of these could be a Christmas sampler. That is far enough out that I could make it a gift. And I recently scored on some older Fig Tree fabrics at ridiculous prices, so those are in mind for one of these also.

If I can manage one of these (or both) it will be a small miracle, but at least I shared it here so others can jump in and make something fun!

the weekend

2010-06-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

No cute Tyler pics to share. I spent the weekend mostly feeling terrible (sick) and trying to take care of Tyler while Alisia worked. All the while hoping I was keeping my cooties to myself. No easy feat, and I hope I sprayed enough Lysol around to keep everyone safe.

It figures that when I treat myself to the "once a year" pedicure, I get the guy who is coughing into his sleeve. That is the only place I can figure I caught this nasty cold that is trying to morph into bronchitis. If that pedicurist felt as bad as I have since Thursday night, I don't know how he was at work. At all.

Nevertheless, my grandson, Tyler, made the weekend about as great as he possibly could. He was persistent in trying to kiss me. He didn't want me to leave his side. He made me laugh constantly. He is the best supermarket sidekick ever. We raced his Tonka Wheel Pals cars and trucks up and down the hallway and then switched to bowling. (the FAO Schwartz Safari Bowling set is awesome!) The hallway is our alley - no need for bumpers! Both are great options when it is raining, or like this weekend, totally too hot to be outside much. He likes "moomies" (movies) especially ones with animals, like "Babe," "Madagascar," and "Finding Nemo" or meemo, as he calls it. He only watches a few minutes here and there, but you can see his mother's love of animals in him. I saved all my kids' Disney movies, but of course they are VHS and now everything is DVD.

I am so proud of his love of books! He owns about 30 and we go through all of them at least once a week. I'm going to have to join that Books a Million club after all.

And how many 15 month olds love to pick blueberries and hold the bucket still? He doesn't like eating them fresh off the tree, so he tastes them occasionally and then takes them out of his mouth and gives them to the dog. She thinks they are great!

If you have a toddler around, let them light up your life. No matter how crumby you feel, you won't feel bad for long!

Quilt backing indecision

2010-06-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I've spent hours - HOURS - looking at fabrics online. Trying to find the perfect backing for this. The borders are Oceanica's stripe in black by Julie Pachkis for In the Beginning. I preordered it a few months ago from Over the Rainbow not even knowing what I would do with it, but I had to have it. You know what I mean about that, right?

Anyway, I was absolutely ecstatic when I opened the package and saw that it was completely perfect to border my Key West Crush top I recently finished piecing! And I had ordered exactly enough! The corner blocks in the border are from the panel of Oceanica that I ordered with it.

One dilemma solved, one more to go! I will use solid black binding, so I need to find a backing that is more or less white, but not a solid, that will go with black binding. Sounds simple enough, but I also don't want to spend a fortune! I need 6 yards because this is 93" x 93" and I am hoping not to piece the back at all. Why do I want a white backing? For the first time, I have made what is basically a stained glass top! I am thrilled and I don't want a deep-colored back to take away from that.

I never, never think ahead to the borders, backing or binding when I am making a quilt top. I jump in with both feet to make the latest thing that's caught my fancy. You'd think I would learn to plan more, but I guess I am a fly by the seat of my pants gal.

Any suggestions? Please?

the Quilte Shoppe giveaway at Cluck Cluck Sew!

2010-06-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

http://cluckclucksewgiveaways.blogspot.com/2010/06/sponsored-giveaway-quilt-shoppe.html

I'm posting this because I want to win that Fat Quarter bundle of Whimsy, and I get a fourth entry by mentioning it here!

Just being honest.

Kate Spain Block of the Month for Christmas

2010-06-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

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

I am signed up and awaiting the first of this BOM (block of the month) series to arrive! This is my first Block of the Month endeavor and I am so excited! The list of designers for the blocks is impressive. "Our featured monthly designers include: Anka's Treasures, Bonnie & Camille, Bunny Hill Designs, Fig Tree Quilts, G.E. Designs, Heartspun Quilts, Me & My Sister Designs, Minick & Simpson, Miss Rosie's Quilt Company, Pieces from My Heart, The Pattern Basket and This & That." These are pretty much all on my blog roll. Never disappointing. Always inspired by this group. You will be too!

Kate Spain's fabrics are adorable. And I will have a lovely Christmas quilt when it is completed. I chicken out of things like this regularly, but this time I said "go for it!"

So, are you part of the 2010 Designer Mystery Block of the Month? Have I convinced you to join up? I hope so. I would love to know who is creating along with me!

Weekends need to be moved to Monday and Tuesday

2010-06-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

So it did rain all Memorial weekend, and this past weekend too. Yes, there were breaks in the downpours. Enough so I could run to the grocery store and not get soaked loading and unloading the car. Enough so we could grill some fabulous kabobs. Thank you Jack Daniels EZ Steakhouse Marinade in a ziploc bag! You will have to imagine the top sirloin, zucchini, squash, tomato, Vidalia onion and mushroom kabobs for yourself because I just don't have the foresight to grab the camera and take pictures of food on the grill. Or on the table. It doesn't occur to me that I might blog about it. Nevertheless, they were awesome!

Sadly, that is about the high point of the Memorial weekend. No pool. No boat trips on the river. No beach. Every morning we woke up to the rumble of thunder and darkness outside that seemed more like twilight than morning. I think we must have gotten a total of almost 5 inches of rain. Every. Day. Not. Kidding.

I know that pop up thunderstorms are the norm for Florida this time of year, but all day rain that occurs only on the weekends is just not right! It is always nice on Monday and Tuesday, so I therefore make a motion to move weekends to Monday and Tuesday from now on. All in favor, say Aye!

Yes, my honey did take the boat out Friday before Memorial Day, while I was at work. Oil leaked everywhere, so back to the garage they went. He took it out again that Saturday while a storm was brewing and lost fuel pressure. Drifted to the dock and drove home through lots of lightning and rain. And because it rained for the rest of that weekend and most of this one, there have been repairs but no further testing. Needless to say, I did not miss anything and I am glad I wasn't there for the failed test runs. I would have mentally shot a hole through the hull so it sunk, a la Ally McBeal.

Got some time in with the Hunky Dory layer cake quilt I am designing. I really love many of the pieces in that line! Who doesn't like turquoise and pinks and greens this time of year. I even love the taupes. Everything I have worked with from Chez Moi is so feminine and fresh! Some of these prints are very large. If I get yardage, I may have to make some pillows.

Memorial Weekend

2010-05-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

It is almost Memorial Weekend! Just a few more hours!I haven't gotten as much sewing done this week as I did last. Three more pairs of pajama pants for Tyler, a baby girl quilt top and I laid out a new quilt on my design wall. I shipped 2 quilts off to Quilts 4 Kids, and sent the QOV to the long arm quilter. I guess that is a lot!

I made a great dinner last night. Penne with turkey cutlets and sauteed veggies. I cooked zucchini, crook neck yellow squash, broccoli and red bell pepper in Italian dressing. Marinated the turkey cutlets in lemon pepper marinade for about 20 minutes then cooked them up and mixed it all together. Nice and light and fresh!

Weather permitting, the weekend should be all grilling, right? They say it may rain every day this weekend, but so far this week they have been inaccurate as usual. Keeping fingers crossed. My honey wants to take the newly repaired boat out for a spin on the Blackwater River and soak up the sun on one of the little beaches there. This is the rocket I will be riding in. He promises not to go fast from now on. Parts and gas for this thing are not cheap. If it breaks down again, it is not getting back on the trailer to go home. Not kidding.

Have a wonderful weekend, and don't forget to thank any military members or their families for protecting and serving our country!

Quilt Tops Done and Blog Clothing Weeks

2010-05-16T19:23:00.000-07:00

Have you heard about Kids Clothes Week? I have been making pajama pants for Tyler, as I stated on an earlier post. I have added Teeny Tiny Zoo pj pants in chocolate and some clown fish fabric pj pants to his wardrobe, but of course they are in the wash and not photographed so I can't show you them, can I? There is the set I made a few weeks back with Heather Ross' seahorse fabric and a plain white tshirt. Hopefully you read that post and visited Hawthorne Threads shop for some great fabrics! I also made a pair from an aliens in outer space print on black, shown here.

I have been a busy girl, but a bit behind for sharing on Spring Top Week, which ended 2 weeks ago. Nevertheless, I was inspired to take one of my skirt fabrics and make a cute top. Cool and colorful and easy. I am glad I read the pattern reviews first because they helped a lot (the back is too wide, so make it narrower by at least 1 size or your bra straps will be showing!) New Look 6891 is the one I used for it, but mine is shorter than their version. I will be looking up pattern reviews from now on when I sew clothing.

Many miles have been put on my 2 machines lately. I finished up several UFOs, made a very cute Whirly Wheels Baby quilt (from Moda Bakeshop) that will be a QOV and it is made with Moda's Cherish Nature. Jelly roll plus a little yardage and you can make this in one day! I have quite a stack for the long arm quilter.

I don't do the quilting myself. I would need a class, which isn't possible here. It would be great to someday have the confidence and talent to make it from start to finish, but for now I leave my quilts in the hands of practiced and talented long-armers I know.

This is my version of "Orange Crush," the Quiltville.com mystery quilt of about 2 years ago. Bonnie's version has an elaborate border, which I am not going to do. I think I may add a simple solid border to this and call it a day. I used so many bright scraps here that I am naming mine "Key West Crush." I put it in a box when I had all the rows together because I just wasn't sure I liked it at all. Now I love it. It has been properly aged.

Last but not least is my expanded version of "Off the Grid" from Quilt Dad and the Moda Bakeshop. I added a 4th row to his version so it will cover more at Christmas when it adorns the sofa. Also, I omitted the rows of honeybun strips between the blocks. It took 2 packs of Glace charm squares and a Glace honeybun to make it. Really easy.

I should get all of the above quilt tops (plus one more I am not showing yet) back from the quilter by the end of Summer. I want to beat the holiday quilting rush.

It's a Beautiful Life

2010-05-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

Crazy, hectic, stressful sometimes, but overall it is a BEAUTIFUL LIFE! These are some of the things I have thought about since Mother's Day:

There are so many people living alone. Grandparents who live thousands of miles from their grandchildren, like mine did most of my life. I get to see my grandson every day. There are many parents who rarely see their kids. I have both my kids right here in Pensacola, and my daughter and grandson live with us. We get to be a part of raising Tyler to be a good person and a confident, responsible man, steer him towards college and a career he loves. Teach him values and goals and skills.

He's already very much a helper. Just over a year old and he wants to sweep the floor any time he finds the broom or dustpan. Here he is helping wash Mama's car. Okay, he'll do anything with water and bubbles, but he really wanted to help do this too.

The other day I was bending down, reaching below the porch to where some wild blackberries were growing and he came up next to me and pulled on my arm to "save" me from falling off! (I wasn't falling, but he sure thought I was too close the edge.) He had the most concerned look on his face. Chivalrous! And he gave me 2 spontaneous kisses for Mother's Day weekend. Those were the best part of my weekend!

My grandparents and both my parents are here in Pensacola. It is nice to have lots of family close by, even in this technological world we live in. Email can never replace a hug. I am not sure who gives better hugs, my grandmother Elsie, or Tyler.

Having such a supportive husband who has my back at all times is something I do not take for granted either.He is awesome 100% of the time.

I thought I would share a fun song with you.Yes, it is disco-y. Very ABBA sounding, but I love it. Who can listen to it and not want to get up and dance? It is too upbeat to sit still! I hope you enjoy this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pyly3JtXoy4&feature=related

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T07:39:00.000-07:00

Was your day nice? I hope so. I got to relax and actually sew all weekend! I am proud of myself for getting some UFOs done. Accomplishment goes a long way, doesn't it? Working full time means there is always something on the design wall waiting, waiting, waiting.

I got flowers from my husband and also from my daughter. My son sent me my greeting via email.

Such a sweet card from my girl, about how we are friends and how lucky she is to have me as her mom!!! How great is that? Totally what I was aiming for as a mom. Friendship after they are all grown. She bought me these roses and Bryan brought me the mixed arrangement!

The weather was so beautiful - meaning clear with low humidity and not too hot. I stayed out in the yard for hours getting some sun and playing with my grandson in his little pool.

I spent Saturday at the sewing machine mostly. I got out a quiltville.com mystery quilt that I never finished putting together. 2 more rows to join and that top is finished! Yeah! I had it laid out on the floor and Tyler was dancing all over it. He likes the colors a lot. It is very bright. And I had leftover blocks, so I put together a baby quilt for him. I should have pics to post of them later this week, although it won't be quilted yet.

So all in all, it was a wonderful weekend and Mother's Day. I think being a mom and grandmother is the best. Not always easy. Sometimes hard on your heart and your nerves, but totally rewarding.

Pajama pants

2010-04-29T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ten days since my last post. I have been busy and never have time to take pics to go along with my posts. Or, I should say that I very rarely get to be on the computer at home. Anyway, I've been making applique tshirts, pajama pants, quilt blocks for the Off the Grid Nine Patch and pillowcases.

I recently shopped at Hawthorne Threads and got some very cute miniature prints: Heather Ross' sea horse print in orange and Michael Miller's Teeny Tiny Zoo. I had to make pajama pants for Tyler. He loves the fish print ones I wear and I thought I would see what tiny prints were available to make him his own. He loves sea horses. He thinks they sound just like regular horses, so he winnies when he points to them! Ha! He's not too awake yet in this picture, but I assure you he loves the pants and coordinating tshirt. That is supposed to be a seahorse on his shirt. Hard to tell, I know. I am getting the hang of this iron on applique stuff.

I didn't know this until now, but when you buy from Hawthorne Threads and make something, you can go back to the fabric page and post a pic of what you made - including a link to your shop! So I am hopefully driving business to my Etsy shop when people look at the pic. Guess I'll have to make some of these outfits for sale there! Using my own pants pattern, of course. Not Simplicity's.

However, for this I used a Simplicity 3650 costume pattern. Super easy. Each pair took less than half an hour from cutting to putting the elastic in. And that Heather Ross fabric feels like silk! So soft.

I hope you are enjoying the great Spring weather, like we are. It is unusually mild and not humid here for the end of April. The weather seems to be a month behind. Maybe that means a nice Summer too?

The weekend and into Monday

2010-04-19T18:29:00.000-07:00

Hi! I'm catching my breath after a busy weekend. We celebrated my grandfather's 88th birthday. He is doing much better and hopefully will be home from the rehab center in a week or two.This is him with my cousin, Meredith. She and her family visited this past week from California. Her mom is my mom's little sister. It was great to see Meredith, Matthew and their parents, Laurie and Mike. We watched some videos of the kids when they were little and also one of my great grandmother's 99th birthday. It was her last, but she enjoyed it. She was even on the local news! She raised 4 kids - during the Depression - as a single mom. She was a strong, no-nonsense woman!

Anyway, we had Grampa's birthday party in a private rec room at the rehab. Lunch and birthday cake, balloons, gifts and cards. It was nice. Some friends of my grandparents came down from South Carolina. They've been friends for 40 years at least.

One thing we got to do was take a 5 generation picture with my grandparents. Always nice to do that. How many people can say they are great, great grandparents? This is my daughter, me, Tyler (my grandson), my mom, Grampa and Gramma. My son and his wife were there, but I am not sure where Chris was when we went to take this pic. He should be in there too!

I finished the binding on a small 9 patch quilt , made two applique tshirts for Tyler and did some fabric shopping with my aunt. The nine patches came from a quilt along hosted by Crazy Mom Quilts last year. It is pictured on the right. At http://katespaindesigns.blogspot.com/2010/04/perfectly-imperfect.html today I found Kate Spain's latest quilt creation. I am inspired to make one just like it with my remaining 9 patches and more scraps! Its too cute!

The tshirts feature some of Tyler's favorite animals. This one uses a great fabric that 1 year old Tyler picked out Saturday when he went shopping with me! He was so excited about the lion, tiger, zebra and rhino pictured on it that I considered putting the animals upside down on his shirt so he can see them better! Ha!

What kind of blog roll do you have? Is it strictly about one thing, like quilts? Or is yours diverse? I am expanding mine. I found this wonderful blog today http://blueyonderranch.com through another blog I follow http://vintagechica.typepad.com - it is in her list of must reads at the bottom of Friday Favorites. Stefani guest posted about Creating Life Margins, and I went from there to her Blue Yonder Ranch blog. What a great mom. She's so lucky to homeschool her boys and she really loves every minute. I hope you expand your blog roll with a few of these. They will lift your spirits for sure!

Finished Projects

2010-04-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

Currently (as always) I have a ton of things started, and many more ideas I want to jump into, but I am also finishing some things. *Pat on my own back* Here is one of the 2 high chair covers I made for Tyler. I found this cool Fisher Price high chair at Good Will but it had no cover. I can't find any in stock online, and the ones I saw on Etsy were $45 each! So I created my own pattern and made 2. Same fabric, which I got at Connecting Threads and LOVE. This one has a dolphin appliqued on - the other has a dark brown giraffe. You can see that he likes it a lot. He kept pointing to the dolphin and saying "daaa?"

If you haven't shopped at Connecting Threads you are missing out. They make their own fabrics and thread in America. And the thread is such * a * deal !! 1200 yards for less than $2 and in a ton of colors! Good quality too. Way better than Coats and Clark, if you ask me.

Also I have finished binding this hexagon quilt I made. My first Jelly Roll project! "Fresh" by Deb Strain for Moda. Such bright citrus-y colors! The pattern for it was the cover quilt of McCalls Quilting October 2008. Fun to make, but no instructions on binding those inside corners. Let's just say they aren't pretty, but it is done. And Tyler loves the colors. He admired it when it was just in the layout stage on the design wall he was maybe 6 months old! He's going to be an artist, I tell ya!

I have 3 skirts done, but no pics yet. Sorry. I will get them taken tonight. Promise.

Tidbits, April Showers and Keds

2010-04-08T08:23:00.000-07:00

Been pretty crazy here. I am working on skirts. One fail, one I love. Pics later. I have discovered that my hips need a not so tailored skirt. And bright colored fabrics may not be the most trendy thing for skirts, but I like them! The Chinese Takeout fabric I bought is just too cute!

April showers should be here any minute now. We should be getting 2 inches and lots of lightning. Good thing I brought a book to work. If the power goes out...

OTHER NEWS:

My grandfather had surgery before Easter and he is in a rehab center now. It seems that either his dementia jumped way ahead or he has delirium, which I have been reading about here. Either way, he is feeling good, but thinks he is back in Pennsylvania, not here in Florida. He needs some therapy to see if they can get him mobile again. His legs are very weak. I pray that my grandmother makes it through this without collapsing. She is just flat worn out and a bundle of nerves. She is definitely someone who thrives on an unchanging schedule. Good thing my aunt and uncle and their kids are coming to visit next week, right? She should perk up with them being here.

I have spent some time trying to keep up with the blogs I follow, and at True Up I found this! Heather Ross Keds shoes at Zazzle.com!! I LIVED in Keds when I was pregnant with my son. Cute little gray jersey lace ups. But these from Heather are adorable! I just need $60 plus shipping to get that pink unicorn pair. Or the roses. Or Princess and the Pea. Can't decide.

I got 3 quilts back from the longarm quilter last weekend. A hexagon quilt, a small lap sized 9 patch, and the one I made for Laura's granddaughter. See earlier post. Need to get those trimmed up and bound. I should be doing that today, but my gameplan is a little off. As in, I didn't think about getting the one I want to work on first out of the baby's room until after he was asleep. So it is still in there. I'm at work and I will have to try to remember to get it out of there before bedtime tonight.

That's it for now. Have a happy Thursday!

We Did It! Wednesday

2010-03-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

Two blog entries in one day! Can you believe it?

Sew Much Ado is participating in Go Green Month that is all about repurposing things in a crafty way. There are tutorials, pictures and I am sure we will all find new blogs to follow and lots of ideas to try.
A while back I made dresses from pillowcases for the orphans in Haiti. This was right after the big earthquake. I have shared it on We Did It! Wednesday as my green project. I am number 48 so far. It should be fun looking at all the things others have made. Check it out!

Due to my extreme ignorance in placing this as a button on my blog, it probably doesn't link back to the blog I borrowed it from. I tried to figure it out, but copy and paste is all I came up with. I am a beginner blogger, so your tips are welcome!

Let me know if you have shared your own project there after reading this post!

Sale! 20% off and a giveaway

2010-03-31T08:19:00.000-07:00

Randi at the blog I Have To Say is doing some Spring Cleaning. Her Etsy shop is Fresh Squeezed Fabrics, and the sale looks great. To top it off there is a $50 gift certificate giveaway! Pop on over here to get the details! While you are there, check out her blog also. It is full of fun ideas!

This is her shop. We are supposed to pick just ONE thing we like. How about "I like all that fabric. I'll take one of each." That's what I have to say!

Blah, Blah, Blah

2010-03-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

So many ideas, no free time!!! I feel like I am in mental labor and need a c-section! I got all these lovely fabrics on Saturday and I am TOO excited to stand it. I want to be making skirts NOW!!!And that is despite the fact that I have had NO LUCK on finding a Florida state map tablecloth for the adorable travel skirt found in Sew What! Skirts. Most of them on Ebay are Moda reproductions and should be $24.99, but are selling for over $50 each. Too much $$ to cut it up for a skirt, thank you.

But back to my new fabrics! I would like to thank Quilt Fabric Closeouts and also Over the Rainbow shops for not only having super prices, but incredibly fast shipping on these beauties! You need to shop there! Okay, second from the right is a very cute lime green floral from the line called Chinese Takeout. Far left is a very pale aqua with brown bandana type floral all over. Peeking out 3rd from the left is a very neutral floral in an oatmeal color. Should be able to go classy or fun with that one. And the far right is an oriental print in pinks and lime greens that will be first up, as soon as I prewash it. I hope you get this book if you don't have it. Such cute ideas in there.

Will someone please send me some spare time? Maybe I should check myself into a motel - under an alias - and just sew for a few days?

I have quilts that need finishing on top of my Spring Skirt emergency and not getting much done there either. Therefore, I feel like all my plans and talk about To Do Lists is just blah, blah, blah. Like Charlie Brown's teacher. Oh well, you can admire the pretty fabrics with me. And if you have the book, you can try to imagine where I am going with these fabrics...someday.

As a sidenote, I would like to thank whomever has fixed Blogger. Many of my pics in previous posts were missing all day, and when I tried to write this post, no new pics would upload correctly. I am so glad it got debugged (or whatever they did to right it!)

Boxy Stars and Beach Cottage

2010-03-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

A lot of people are really excited by the book Scrap Basket Surprises that came out recently. You can find it here . http://magnoliabayquilts.blogspot.com/ or on Amazon or wherever you buy your quilt books. I have a copy of the book and I can't wait to dive in. I just have so many other projects to finish before I get to that!

This is not from that book. It is from Quilt Dad, as featured on the Moda Bakeshop. I am almost done with this "Off the Grid" quilt. Mine is in Moda's Three Sisters Glace fabrics. There was a little hiccup with getting a 3rd charm pack, and while I waited I started other things, so... You know how it is. But I am off topic now.

Nicole over at Sister's Choice Quilts has been showing her progress on "Beach Cottage" from Scrap Basket Surprises and it looks great. http://sisterschoice.typepad.com/sisters_choice_quilts/2010/03/beach-cottage-coming-along.html Nice choice of fabrics, Nicole! I love the blues and yellows! And I love how the stronger blue makes them all pop! Keep going!

(I apologize for not being able to do a better job aligning the pics on this blog. I need help. At least I am figuring out the link things.)

Anyway, I realized that "Beach Cottage" is very similar to the above pictured Boxy Stars from Quiltville.com I made this Boxy Stars quilt last year - king size - and just love it. I made it from my stash/scraps too! The only differences being the arrangement and that there is sashing and corner stones in Boxy Stars. I really especially love mine because it has Laurel Birch fabric in it. That dark blue with dots. That is hers. And I love the seashell sashing. And the quilting job that Jackie in Las Vegas did on it is stunning. Can you tell I like it?

I consider this my Summer bed quilt. The other one is maple leaves and I showed that in my second post. That is obviously the Autumn quilt. So, I only have 2 quilts for my bed. I think I need more. At least one for every season, right? I have such a long "to do" list, plus my list of WIPs, that I don't even know when a spring or Christmas king size will happen.

I'll have to settle for the Christmasy Glace "Off the Grid" throw on my bed for Christmas until I get time for another king.

Spring Sewing Frenzy

2010-03-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

Spring makes me want to sew cool clothes and plant new flowers in the yard. I know I am sick to death of sweaters, socks, boots and dry skin by now. Bet you are too. Every year by the end of Winter my mind is reeling with ideas for skirts, cotton tops, dresses.

I start making new clothes and then I have a body confidence crisis and usually don't finish them. I am short - under 5'4" - and curvy. Apparently no one in the fashion world has a concept of this hourglass figure. Not even the pattern makers seem to understand a D cup is not a freakish size. That is where I hit the dressmaking skids and give up nearly every time. Okay, last year I did make a tunic out of turquoise gauze that looked like I escaped from a production of "Hair."

This year I vow it will be different! I will succeed and feel good about my creations, even if I have plump calves peeking out from under my new skirt! I bought the book "Sew What! Skirts" and it is full of great ideas. Have you made any of them yet? I'd like to hear about the outcomes, the errors, the big smiles after success!

This one especially caught my eye. Now I am on the hunt for a Florida (or other) state map tablecloth to use.

http://www.vanessachristenson.com/2009/06/tutorial-table-cloth-skirt.html I first heard about making a skirt from a tablecloth here, but after I saw the state map one in the book, I had to do it!

I borrowed this image from http://creativelittledaisy.typepad.com/creative_little_daisy/images/2007/07/23/skirt.jpg where she models her version of the skirt.After I win an Ebay bid or two, I should be able post my new skirt pics here. After I tan my legs a bit, of course!

According to the latest news on fashion, more and more people are making their own clothes! Thanks to reality TV and to save money! Duh! Does this mean people who actually enjoy sewing are going to get respect? I hope so. Really tired of the whole "Oh! You're so domestic!" comments I've heard from coworkers. They say it like you would say "What a cute baby!" to someone with an ugly child.

So, Mom, if you read this, thank you for buying me the sewing machine I definitely did NOT want for Christmas when I was 12. You must have had divine inspiration or something. You know you created an addict. I love you for it!

My Quilt To Do List

2010-03-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

I've been going through my notebook. I keep lists of quilts I need to finish, other projects I have been meaning to do, and things I want to make in the near future. The list is long and overdue. As in, I am sadly behind in my endeavors. I AM A SLACKER. Or maybe I have Fabric Attention Deficit Disorder? F.A.D.D.

I try to be good! I tell myself I won't buy any more fabric until I get caught up. I tell myself no new books or magazines, because they tempt me. I sometimes actually believe I will cross everything off the list soon. But deep down, I know it won't happen. I have access to the internet, and you can shop in your pajamas. Need I say more?

Look at all the quilting and craft blogs! There are MILLIONS and they are quite good. Mothers, businesswomen, teachers, designers. They are out on the web sharing their latest and greatest gifts and I am giddy about all of it. You can't not buy new fabrics when you look at things like thepatternbasket.blogspot.com/2010/03/tying-knot.html This entry is why I had to buy a layer cake of Hunky Dory immediately. Even though I have piles of projects almost done, need to work on, need to start, and why isn't this finished yet? I had to have that layer cake! I still have my eye on Verna and several others, but I got my fix for now.

Nicole at http://sisterschoice.typepad.com/sisters_choice_quilts/2010/03/an-abundance-of-riches.html is showing off piles and piles of layer cakes and patterns she got as a thank you for "stunt sewing" and I am drooling. Whatever stunt sewing is, I'll try it if I can get piles of yummy layer cakes too! How do you get a job like that?

I could start a group for myself and others afflicted with FADD, but I don't think it would be a therapy group. We would become a support group. Codependent. Encouraging each other to get that new book or fabric. Our opening greeting would be something like "Hi, I'm Wendy. I bought this, and I don't know what I am going to do with it yet, but I just had to have it!"

Right?

What is email?

2010-03-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

I have to ask this question. Is it a speaking platform? Is it a way to throw out jokes, commentary or concerns with no feedback? It was not supposed to be, in my opinion, although I think many people are mistaking their email for a blog. Or maybe they see it more as throwing darts. Not sure. To me, email was a replacement of written word. Correspondence. Yes, it did become a handy interoffice/ intraoffice communication device, but when did it become a one way channel of thought?

Are we really becoming a society that doesn't want communication back? When computers, and text messaging phones and bluetooth devices became the Must Haves, I wondered if we were going down that road. No more personal interaction. Just text. Really? It is so sad.

My email address does not say "Do Not Reply" and yet very few people respond to direct, open ended questions and replies.Even family!Why? If you send me an article that you feel strongly enough about to pass on to me, and I reply back with comments and questions, why is that the end of the dialogue? Was it really a dialogue at all?

I think there is a world-wide case of P.E.E. Premature Email Ejaculation. Everyone is out there receiving email: jokes, tips, political items, interesting news and facts, etc and they are firing them off to others without caring what those others think. Maybe they don't want to know what they think. Do these people just want to be a delivery service?Are they on a soapbox or are they mindlessly throwing out fodder?

All I am saying is, don't be so fast with that DELETE button, people. If someone took the time to write back to you, why ignore it? You started it, right? And no, you are not too busy. If you are too busy, or you just don't care what that person thinks about your emails, take them off the CONTACTS list, please. Please!

Those of you who actually do respond back, THANK YOU! I (and everyone who has actually gotten a reply answered) appreciate the respect and care you offer by acknowledging us and our response. You are the ones who matter. Because you have manners, courtesy and an old fashioned sense of correspondence. Because you care what we think, and we are not just a dart board that you have fired your email at without afterthought. Right? Thank you for your responsible email habits. Long may they continue.

Past and Present Quilt Projects

2010-03-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, a woman passed away who was the closest friend of my friend Laura. And knowing that I make quilts, Laura asked what I could do with her late friend's medical scrub tops. I had recently been to a memorial quilt trunk show, so I had an idea of what could be, but I told her we would need much more fabric than was provided in the 8 tops she had brought over.

So, Laura went to the local secret quilt shop and bought (if I remember correctly) 30 different prints of everything that reminded her of her friend and their many decades of friendship, raising kids together, being neighbors etc. It was quite a variety. Fish, lighthouses, flowers, farm animals, you name it, it was there. And she wanted 4 quilts made. One for her, the other 3 for her friend's children and grandchildren.

Unfortunately I only have pics of two I made for Laura, but they all came out quite nicely. Laura's was the largest. The others were lap size or smaller. This one is Laura's. It is a split square with a strip of contrasting fabric sewn in between. Sort of like making the stem piece of a leaf block. The border fabric is footprints in the sand.

Sorry the pic is sideways here.

This second one is from a book I have called "Coffee Time Quilts" but I have also seen this pattern from Heather Mulder Peterson in her "Fat Quarter Five" book. Of course, after this was all done, I spotted several mistakes. My eyes must have been worn out while I put this one together. Don't tell Laura. I don't think she's noticed yet - or she's just too nice to ever say so. Probably the latter.

Which leads me to the Present Projects, meaning currently in the works. Laura and I picked out a bunch of family related prints for her new grandson's first quilt. Another big mix of themes. It is going to be great though. A full sized I Spy quilt, and I should have enough leftovers to give him a baby quilt to coordinate with it. I am using the Lantern Bloom quilt pattern from Fons and Porter's Spring 2010 website. It is a free download here: .http://www.fonsandporter.com/userdocs/FonsandPorter/design/Lantern_Bloom.pdf

Lastly, since Laura is the theme of this post, here is a pic of the quilt top I just finished for her granddaughter. It is full size also, and currently being longarm quilted for me. This one was fun to put together. I bought all the fabrics online and am so pleased with their combination. The long strips are alternating panels of cowgirls and ballerinas. The border fabric is pink Florida Gators (college football) and the back is not pictured, but it is pink and brown John Deere.

So, if you think you have to have fabrics all from the same line to make a cute quilt, think again. Rise to the challenge! Throw in more colors or prints until it is so mixed that it is actually "together!" That's how I do it.

Downsizing

2010-03-02T17:03:00.000-08:00

Bookshelves are my recent internet obsessive shopping item. I need to get some that will fit in two odd spots that flank the fireplace and are surrounded by brick walls, with firewood pits below each spot. That leaves a tiny 12 inch deep ledge to sit them on and then anchor them to the brick wall behind. And I want a dark color so they don't stand out. And I don't want to pay $200 each, but the options are slim, so I don't think I can be choosy on price much.

Anyway, I stumbled across this cool site. I have never even imagined bookshelves could be so non-square. http://www.oddee.com/item_96613.aspx Seriously, who thinks these up? Who wouldn't want the "bookman" figure shaped ones for a cool kid's room? Is it a robot or a man leaning to one side? I don't know. And how about that Autumn bookshelf? I love the look of it, but I am too ~~organized~~ linear to not have straight lines of books.

So, we are selling our mammoth sectional sofa, the bulky tube tv and stand and making a fun, more modern and cozy, technologically more advanced living room. Can't wait to have the new leather sofa set! The giant chair and a half that was marked WAY down to clearance it out will be my quilt binding and reading oasis!

That's it for now. I should have some quilt pics soon. I just hate to post pics of them before they are quilted and bound!