break..

a couple of y'all noticed the quiet...well, first nothing 'interesting' has been going on.

second, i will be taking a blog break. Davis comes home for R&R soon and while he's here i'll be absent from blogging.

i have a SAL post scheduled....so look for that.

type at you later!

look familiar

i recently quilted a customer quilt that had this beautiful batik in it and i've been looking for it ever since. it sucks that batiks don't have a printed info selvage.

the customer said she did recently purchase the fabric...

so, have you seen my fabric?? i just need the info to find my own to buy :)

TIA

SAL 2012 Part 6

here's the latest and greatest installment in my Scrap Bash Stitch-A-Long....

happy stitching!

don't forget to add photos of your blocks to the Flickr group. i like to see what and how yall are doing these :)

i worked on two more steps this weekend. it feels nice to get alittle ahead.

Calling all Quilters!

every once in a while, we all read a blog that has a request for help for someone they know that is having a hard time. quilters tend to be especially quick to donate fabric, blocks, or quilts to those that are in need.

this time i'm calling out my readers to help a very good friend of mine, Jess, and her family. Jess's mom has a rare neurological disease and needs around the clock care, which the family can not really financially afford. you can read more about it HERE (go read, don't be lazy and skip the link)

i challenge everyone to donate what you can. let's see if we, together, can make this entire family's life a bit easier. they should be enjoying the time together, not stressing over money issues!!!...if you blog, share the link....if your in the Chicago area- stop by the benefit...

eat more chicken

Funny Farm by Fabri-Quilt

every once in a while i come across a fabric i love. can't explain it, but i do.

i'm not a 'cow' person, but these cows made me smile. now while the fabric would not harmoniously live in my stash or fit into my design style, i had to have this particular cow fabric.

my favorite is the expression on the cow with the bell.....

so what do i do with such found lovelies?? i make pillowcases with them....i can have a chunk of my very own forever- i even found the perfect cuff fabric in the clearence bin.

maybe cause it reminded me of the uber expensive Marimekko cow panel i had to pass on in paris???

'old' dog- new trick

even after LAing for almost 8 years, i'm still learning new things...other LAers will appreciate this story:

i have a BAQ (big a$$ quilt) in the queue- 124" square....i was called and asked if i could quilt one that big. i did some quick measurements (i have a 12foot frame) and was, "Suuuuure i can- bring it on over" i knew it would fill my frame, but it will fit.....famous last words....

it's turn came up, and i took the better half of a morning loading it into my frame...it took some creativity- the leaders weren't quite long enuf, so i had to tape the excess fabric to the rollers (you would think that at that point i would of caught on) i had to turn my clamps around and pin the end of the elastic to the backer- no room between the fabric edge and the frame for the clamps themselves (once again- should've caught on) i make bobbins and i'm ready to start stitching. i pull Nemo over to bast the edge down and *eeeerk* my machine hits something. i assume that i'm bumping into something left lying on the table. nope- mmmm? see where this is going??....

my handle/thread platform was hitting the end of my frame and i couldn't get the needle all the way to the edge of the quilt *insert various curse words here*


i need the platform, not the handle...so off to Home Depot i go to redneck something together to carry the thread, but lose the handle....i don't quilt from the back anyway, so it can go permanently if needed. after explaining what i was trying to achieve to numerous store employees, who i quickly realize, have NO imagination, my lightbulb goes off...

davis's dad is a tinker who can wield!! i completely forgot that i got a whole nother family in the marriage deal *grin* he once built an entire motorcycle trailer out of discarded handrails, this will be a cinch! a quick call and i was set. i drove down, bought him lunch, and *wha-la* exactly what i needed- a thread platform sans handle!! he even painted it gray to match *sweet*

now i can get the machine as far over as i needed to be able to quilt that last little inch...

a girl will do anything for an extra inch :)

moral- everything has limits. i now know the maximum size quilt that my frame will can quilt.

where's waldo?

so this past weekend i went hunting and i snapped this picture thru the window of the blind...

there is a critter in this picture...can you find and identify it??? i left the picture 'large' so click on it and have a look....

couple hints without giving it away-
it is considered a large game animal here in GA...they do have their own season...

(it's not a deer)

ETA- it was a turkey, a hen turkey. she was way out there in the road, 100 yards. she hung out eating bugs for a couple hours until two domestic dogs came trotting down the road and spooked her off. *dang dogs* no chance of seeing any deer now....*dang dang*

the turkey has been circled. she is walking away from me...

see, there she is, all zoomed in.

it is illegal in GA to shoot a hen turkey...turkey season is in the spring...the limit is three toms.

i have some pictures with hidden deer, too! maybe i'll post one one day...

thanks for playing :)

S.E.X. Y

i had SEX again- Stash Expansion eXperience....what?? oh, get your mind out of the gutter!! this is a PG quilty blog...or at least, it tries to be.

first up, believe it or not, i finally won a RNG giveaway over at Flourishing Palms by Linda. and get this- i was the FIRST, numbero uno, commenter. she asked if i had the money, what one thing would i add to my sewing room....my answer was quick and simple- a bathroom :)

i won a $25 gift certificate from Pink Castle and decided to keep the 'giveaway' aspect, so i chose to get 3 groups of random picked fat eights. i really like the ones i got...how fun it was to open that squishy!

thanks Linda and the RNG generator!!

then my LQS is celebrating it's 20th birthday and had 20 fat quarters for $20....needless to say i stocked up!

i hit the batiks first,

then hit the regular ones to round my group up to 40...

remember the moth fabric   *severe fabric crush*

i found a fabric to use as the cuff for my pillowcases- the blue on the left...and i found a great green to use for binding on the quilt...

then i found these two fabrics from the "Mama said Sew" group...i have a quilting themed print from the late 90s that these will live happily with (i used some of it to make this little pouch last year)

and i found an online store that had the Signature Thread's Frosted Donuts on sale, so i bought them too...

now, if you'll excuse me- i have some sewing to do

The final posting

i heard from the rescue about petal!! here's a link to her at the northern shelter. (if you click the link and it's not petal- that's good news!! it means she was adopted)

if you live in the Salem, MA area, she can be your forever friend!

i also wanted to share this picture. this is her balancing on her butt sitting up. i think she looks like a bunny rabbit...we called it 'sitting pretty' and she would almost do it on command...


i missed her for a couple of days, and after hunting season is over i will likely foster again :)

also, if you've made it this far, thanks....i need something, i need empty spools. my thread doesn't come on these cute little plastic spools....so if you have some you'd be willing to share, let me know- i'll even pay for shipping or trade some fabric for them....half_square (at) hotmail (dot) com

thanks in advance

9-11-12

"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."

-President George W. Bush






never forget

quilt done, fabric, and patience

i finished up Melanie's blue and white jewel box quilt and she came and fetched it saturday.

so classic and pretty.

it will live on her daughter's bed.

i quilted my signature E2E, cotton candy, in white thread.

remember this fabric? my order came!!  I LOVE IT!!!

how do you know you have a fabric addiction 'problem'?? when you order your fabric and realize at checkout you received a BULK DISCOUNT cause you ordered so much....*blush* oh, who am i kidding....i'm not embarrassed one bit!!

holy cow! i did find an online shop that posted it with a tape measure underneath it for scale, but i was expecting moths 3 inches across. they are almost 8 inches across.....that's my 45mm rotary cutter! the picture shows just about a 22" x 36" section!!

and there's my hand!!

i don't plan on cutting it up, and was gonna use it for a backing (i like it way too much to hide it on the back of something). i think i might pair it with something else and make a 'wholecloth' quilt with it. i think i have enough to match the pattern across the seam, but we'll see...

*crap*  if i do that then i need some more yardage for pillowcases...it's a never ending vicious cycle *snicker*

"Are you done yet?"" 

this is my little gentleman patiently waiting for me to do my thing, so i can do whatever he's expecting me to do after i get done....

he's been sick lately. allergies turned into some nasty infections. see the pink spot on the bridge of his nose, just behind his sniffer? that was a nasty little scabby boo-boo. steroids were part of the prescription and i feel like i'm housebreaking a puppy....we go outside almost every hour or two.

i now know what will wake me out of a dead sleep at 3am...the sound of pee on carpet. poor guy! 

but he's feeling better....

just one more

image source

i have my share of vintage sewing machines....but i think i need just one more.

that new fabric smell...

Davis if you're reading this, STOP....go look at something else :)

i was introduced to a new-to-me quilt shop...Thread Bear in Cumming, GA. yesterday after cyndi picked up her quilt, they mentioned stoppin by there on their way back home....hmmm, i'd like to get out of the house. they were going to go via intersate, but i have a smart phone with GPS navigation on it...so thru north GA we went.....what a pretty drive!! all the horse farms in Milton....*sigh* i hadn't driven on such curvy roads since i lived in TN...

we arrived at the shop and, OMG!!, i had to channel every ounce of self control to not go crazy and buy everything i liked!! (which was alot)

but this is what i brought home...i justified figured that i've been so good about finishing up UFOs and not really buying new fabric, that i deserved some new fabric!!

the top large scale floral will be a border to a hand pieced quilt that i'm hoping to get finished in time for the show in June...the orange with little deer will go into my TN volunteer quilt...the rest will go into Stash...

Northwoods Wilderness BOM

every once in a while i get the joy of quilting a quilt that, as a flimsy, takes my breath away. in the LAing world, those are the easy quilts...

Cyndi's quilt was one of those quilts!!

i pebbled the background and pretty much outlined all the applique, so you can imagine how many thread changes were involved...i choose to not quilt the pieced blocks, but did echo or SID the bigger patches that needed to be nailed down. this was hard for me, cause i usually dense quilt everything- but i like the look of how not quilting defines certain areas (filed away for future reference)

i must admit, i'm proud as punch of myself, i think i knocked this one out of the park forest... granny always told me, "don't break your arm patting yourself on the back"  there are exceptions to every rule *smile*

i'm hoping to see this quilt hanging in the upcoming show...

this is gonna be a picture heavy post, and i'm not apologizing :) i left the pics big, so clicking them will give you the opportunity to scrutinize my work better *grin*

the picture on the right is the front, the picture on the left- the back...enjoy!!

grizzly bear

blueberries

 crow/raven?

 the border.... i wanted the green to look like blades of grass.

loon

 ice

flower

eagle

outhouse

orca

mountains

the moose on the back is a favorite...

 flowers

 the cornerstones.... has a Aztec look on the back

 i did google image search 'dragonfly wings' so i could get it as realistic as possible

trees

all quilting is done 100% free hand....

lets see- it took around 10 to 12 hours to quilt just the pebbles and about 15 bobbins of thread..total quilting hours- around 33...that's not counting standing and staring time *giggle*

quilt pattern here

new fabric *drool*

i have a huge stash (it keeps me occupied) and, well, it's really hard for me to get overly excited about new fabric...

until i ran across this one particular print in Anna Maria Horner's new line called Field Study for Free Spirit..

it's so ppprrrreeetttttty, i could die!!!

i will be ordering a substantial chunk soon!!!