gifty goodness

OMGoodness! i am one lucky dog! looky what teresa brought me!

is it not the coolest little tote ever! now i can tote my junk in style...and in secret...

THANK YOU TERESA!

i (heart) it!

i'm going to 'hide' my travel projects in it for quilting on the go!

sneeky peeky

i'm still alive....i've been busily quilting right along...

i'm trying curved cross hatching for the first time....the jury's still out....i like the way it looks, not crazy about the ruler i'm using. it doesn't have a concave curve so i'm having to use it behind the hopping foot which is presenting some PITA interesting issues....

if you are a LAer, what rulers do you use for curved CHing?

okay back to quilting *whip snap*

retail therapy

i realized that i haven't really been out of the house in a llooonnngg time, so a fabric field trip was decided on.

i hopped over to Tiny Stitches (my 'home base' quilt shop) ....first i bought some more earthy batiks for the secret WIP....my favorite is the tan with the circles; fourth from the left


since i decided i need to be more social, i signed up for their weekly "quilt til you wilt" all day sew-in next friday. my featherweight will be thrilled to get out of the house as well! i'm going to take my weed wacker quilt pieces to work on. i'll try to be a good blogger and take my camera

 i bought the fabrics for my next block swap....more on that in a later post, but i have to write the directions/tutorial before hand....

then this lone 1/2yd of this pink batik. it doesn't show in the pic, but it has little areas of orange. pinks are a weak spot in my batik stash (ie i can easily shut the drawer they live in :) )

then on the way home i stopped at a "big yard sale left 1 mile ahead" and picked up this pheasant planter. he's like 2 foot from beak to tail tip. i figured he was so cheesy it was cool....."cheesy chic" it will fit right in my eclectic decor....i also picked up an acrylic silverware holder which weighs a ton!. i will use it in the sewing room for organization on my cutting table.

garage sale funny story: after i paid for my goodies, the lady grabbed some newspaper to wrap up the bird....i about died laughing....she just happened to grab the page that i was on with jan about the quilt....what's the chances of that! guess you had to be there.....

this quilt went home today- just to prove that i do simple  E2E quilting...it belongs to jane, and it is much prettier in person. i couldn't get the colors to photo true to life....the pattern is Turning 20 and her GD picked out all the fat quarters. i like the look of the mid-loft poly batting she brought.

jeanne's BOM

jeanne came and picked up her quilt yesterday, so i get to share pictures! if it looks familiar, there's a reason- it's the same BOM from this post .....this is the qult i was pebbling in the third ? post back....

i try to challenge myself to quilt all these BOM quilts  differently, and this one was no exception. this one had that weird sashing measurement to play with again, so i decided to pull the motif from the 9patch corner stone into it.

here's a shot of the back. i'm always partial to the backing when it shows the quilting.

the super bowl of quilt shows

so this week is the AQS quilt show in Paducah, KY.....remember this quilt? i posted about it back in august...it's 'show' name is "Mountain Holly and the Rare Red-Berried Mistletoe" pieced  by Jan C. well, jan entered it for the show and it was accepted! that alone is an honor! the story made our local paper and everything. i got to go to jan's house and get photographed for the article....it was all a bit embarrassing....there are two other cobb county quilters with quilts in the show....


(this picture is it hanging in our local guild show, hopefully i'll get a picture of it hanging at Paducah)

well, if you click here to go to the list of winners (don't get ahead of me)  and scroll down you'll see this:

 it took third prize in the bed size quilted with a longarm/midarm catergory!

thank you, jan, for giving me the opportunity to quilt your quilt! like i always say: "it's easy to quilt a quilt that is beautiful to start with"   it is also an advantage when the quilt is so well pieced.

....now if you'll excuse me there is a cloud with a big 9 on it that i need to visit :)

squishy of the bestest kind!

i got a squishy that didn't contain blocks for the swap today!

i ordered these earthy beauties from Hancock's of Paducah. i'm using them in a current top secret project....shhh.

i know they aren't part of my 'traditional' color scheme, but the finished quilt will have my signature all over it!!!

the best part?!    they were on sale!!!!

all hail getting a fabric fix in pjs!

light and shadow....

the quilt i'm working on is a BOM that has a white background....i thought it needed pebbling....with white thread.  even with my eyes, it's hard to see. can you see the pebbles?

the on-board light on my machine is absouletly great! except for white thread on a white fabric (same for black thread on black). the light bleaches out any detail....

solution: turn the light off. i know, it's just that simple, huh? i have enough overhead light to see what i'm doing, but not enuf to bleach out my quilting. the side lighting gives my freshly stitched designs shadow which allows me to easily see where i am....

...or where to go....

happy stitchin! blessings for balanced tension!

simple minds are easily amused

i'm the first to admit it doesn't take alot to entertain me. the other day i went with davis to homedepot and while he looked at something boring-ly electrical, i preused the switch cover selection. there are so many ways to 'customize' a simple switch cover to coordinate with different decor. i saw a tinkerbell and a Cars themed ones and was really hoping for a Nemo one, no luck :( .... then i noticed what proved to be the ultimate customization option!

they had a cover kit that you put wallpaper in to 'camoflauge' the switch. well, yours truly saw so much more than that. it has a plate that you screw to the box, then snap the clover to, so no visible screws....oh yeah....

so here's my new switch cover in my studio....(i drew it) when i get sick of looking at this silly guy, i might piece some scraps together, iron it to a stablizer, and stick it in there....so many creative oppurtunities here...


if davis isn't careful, all the switches in the house will have faces....i do remember that they have duplex and triple covers too!

and there's more....i found a switch that actually glows when you turn it off. *giddy giggle*  his nose glows when the lights are off!






like i said, it doesn't take much.....

block swap

for those making blocks for my block swap, the deadline is in ten days!

i've been getting squishies in the mail all week. (my fried kristina came up with the plural of squishies: squashes :) ) ..last count was over 20, so that means everyone will get different sets of blocks. nobody will have the exact same blocks...

the blocks are beautiful! this will be a lucky set of recipients

i have found the next block for the next swap i will be hosting. look for that post around the end of may, first of june. it will be done in jewel toned batiks and Kona Cotton black....

pieceful pooch

i wanted to share this picture of barney sleeping.....he looks so serene.

two birds, one stone

i love leather thimbles, metals ones fall off my finger. i do alot of applique and i use a straw needle which has just as pointy of an eye as the actual point, so my leather thimbles would quickly get holes in it where i push the needle. i was buying new thimbles every couple months.... i found a fix!

you'll need a leather thimble (i'm liking the new 'natural fit' leather thimle from clover, remember leather will stretch so buy one that is snug)  and a ultra-thimble (it is metal with little dimples, there is a smooth one for your 'under' finger)

first, use your new leather thimble for a little while til you see where you tend to push the needle. see the dark spot on the top towards the side?

then it's as simple as super glueing the ultrathimble to your leather thimble on top of the spot where you push the needle. wha-la! a leather thimble that will last years! my previous leather timble was made from goat skin and with a ultra-thimble upgrade lasted me for 6 years before it got so loose it wouldn't stay on...

angels among us

this is pam's quilt. it is an OOP Moda Pattern by Robyn Pandolf  called "Folk Art Wedding". this will be a photo heavy post....click on the pictures for a larger view to see the details.

i went a little creatively crazy on this quilt....and i like what happened!

my favorite is the feathers in the wings...and the stars at the bottom of the third picture...

thanks for hanging in there and looking!

did you hear about the cat that ate a ball of yarn?

it had mittens!!!!

just wanted to share a smile....

my version of modern

this is what i did on sunday. i was inspired by sarah's quilt. sarah used a denise schmidt pattern, but i liked the idea of using different widths of strips in a chinese coin fashion.

there is no pattern, i made it up as i went along. the coin strips are 12" finished with the narrowest strip being 3" finished. the three purple strips are 7" finished, and the outside 'border' purple strips are 10" finished. the quilt measures 93" x 90"...perfect. it's bigger than my design wall!

i made the back last night after work. since my quilt is 90" i needed extra fabric in the middle of the two widths to make it big enuf. i had left over 'coins' from the front, so i sewed them together and put in the back....and since i was piecing the back, i decided to put strips on either side. when i quilt it, they will be offset from the center making the quilt double sided. cool, huh?

i will quilt it with my topo meander.

isn't it amazing how the colors of the fabrics look so different with the different colors next to them. with the purple, the prints pop to the point of almost screaming....with the green on the back, the settle down and almost seem to sigh....

i like quilts that take a day or less to make....now to find time to quilt it :)

remains of the day

even quilting trash is pretty. i started a new quilt today, so i spent the better part of the morning cutting 288 2" x 9.5" strips. i decided it was time to utilize my 'earthy' batiks stash. i 'm using Bonnie Hunter's Weed Wacker quilt pattern....

i can't throw away these trimmings.....can you use them?  email me and i'll post them to ya!

ETA: davis has laid claim to them. he wants a scrap jar lamp like these i made a while back. he wants one for his office...

before and after

i thought you might enjoy seeing a before quilting and after quilting shot of the same quilt to show how the quilting really does 'change' a quilt.

here's the before. this is madeline's quilt from a LQS's BOM program....it is a slightly busy quilt, so we agreed that it just needed an E2E....

here's the after.....see the difference? isn't it amazing how the quilting changes a quilt, but adds so much....it has textural interest now....

celebrating miracles

"life is like a gift, they say,

wrapped up for you everyday.
it seems so exceptional
that things just work out after all-
it's just another ordinary miracle today."

i love this song and felt you needed to hear it too :)

the world's smallest billboard

this is what i bought myself with the money i 'saved' from the whole bobbin winder fix....i figure it's like a little 'secret' signal to other quilters : "hey i'm one of you" (yeah- crazily addicted to fabric)

it is a pendant made from hand dyed fabric. i followed a link on a blog to Shady Grove Studios and saw it and i just had to have it....it is actually sewn, if you turn it over you'll see chris's tinny initials and the stitches...she also has a blog  (the jump ring for the bail- it's soldered shut- that attention to detail translates to quality in my book)

not affiliated, just really really like my new necklace for spring! doesn't it look great with jeans!

gotta have some!

i am looking for yardage of this fabric. it'll be prefect for my next WIP... i'm pretty sure it's a hoffman batik, and it's black...my camera makes it look olive greyish greeny....

does you LQS have this on a bolt....if it does email me the shop's info....

TIA!

winner winner

so i finally have choosen a winner for lucy's caption contest:

Cathy Shepherd said...


"Yeeow!!! Who left the needle in the quilt???"


cathy- look for an email from me....






geez, i miss her....

you say 'cheap' like it's a bad thing....

my faithful readers will remember that i mentioned that my bobbin winder was on it's last legs....bless it's little pea picking heart...it spurred the whole 'how many bobbins it takes to make a million stiches' post...

see the arrow...the hole that the spindle goes through to spin the bobbin was wallowing out and it was causing my bobbins to wind funny...so i get on the net to find a new one. i was shocked (to say the least) at how much these contraptions are selling for....anywhere from $50 to $70 dollars. that's crazy. my motor was still good, so was the rocker switch, i just needed the piece with the spindle on it....i'm not throwing out something that has only 3% of it broke....(the motor wins with 90%)

somewhere someone must sell only the spindle thing....i mean it obviously has that dorky homemade look to begin with, right?  guess what i found on ebay! yup, the spindle thinging piece for $7!!!! (plus shipping) and it was a "Buy It Now" i love it when a plan comes together....i refuse to be defeated!

so now all i needed were a few simple tools.....(and i didn't even have to go out to the garage to 'reclaim' my stuff from davis!)







check....

and wha-la....a 'brand spanking new' bobbin winder for around $11....sure beats a new one for $60....i love poor-person ingentiy....i'll show you later what i got off etsy with the money i 'saved' *grin*




i need to track down a brush for the motor...it probably needs a new one of those now too....

aster manor

this is wende's first quilt....ever! she did an absolute great job piecing it!  it smelled so so good too. i now require all tops brought to me be first pressed with best press....just kidding. it did smell really good tho...

i feathered the background of the quilt, CCed the blocks my way....

i ribbon candied that red border....and i doodlebugged the block backgrounds.

here's the back shot.....*drool* i love the way custom quilted quilts look on the back.

*NOTE* if you are a piecer that will send out quilt to a LAer and you want a custom job, give that LA a 'plain' backer fabric that will show the quilting designs....think of it as you're getting two quilts for one....the pieced front and the 'wholeclothed' back...