Stash Busting

Look, over there on the right (unless you are reading this in an aggregator, in which case carry on). I finished two WIPs! Here they are:

These were requested by my mom and I've had the fabric since January. The shoulder bag has a magnetic closure and the handbag a zipper closure, both with the usual interior (zip pocket on one side and patch pockets on the other).

I also made progress on a couple of other items. I finished the (modified) top of this quilt -- started in 2007 (!!) -- and pieced the back. I bought batting today so I have to work up my machine quilting confidence. I made some practice squares but have yet to actually practice.

I also made progress on another quilt that I bought the fabric for a year ago, and pieced most of in a class. I finished the borders last night. So to celebrate I am starting a new quilt! I know, it doesn't make much sense, but last year I wanted to make a picnic/beach quilt and I never got around to it. Because we are planning a beach trip this year I thought I better get started now.

I'm thinking of big easy blocks in bright colors that will go together fast. I've been online browsing for fabric ideas...when I remembered a few things in my stash that would be perfect:

I bought the retro states fabric at the end of last year thinking of a quilt for around the house. The rest was bought at the Super Bowl sale at my (kind of) LQS. I picked up a couple more prints at JoAnn today, but they are in the washer so you'll have to wait until the reveal of the blocks to see!

Dreary

Things around here are just dreary...rainy and chilly. I'm beginning to feel like the cold has crept into my bones. Where is spring?

I did get a couple of crafts done before Easter for a little decorating in the dining room.


I turned my bunny embroidery into some eggs to adorn branches. I've seen branches used around blogland to great effect (like here and here), but it didn't work so well for me. I didn't actually want to cut anything off the trees, so I took twigs from a pile that Jaxon and I had collected earlier in the week. Once in the house they *tormented* Jaxon. I kept finding him offering them to the dog to chew.


And these little stuffies were great fun to make. Two bunnies and a kitty from the Chibi Rabbit tutorial...


I made some Rugelach to celebrate my Jewish friends, and brother-in-law, and that cheered me up for a bit (although I had to eat them with hot tea because, once again, I am cold).

But this guy could cheer up a pig on Easter eve:



PS You might have notice a couple of additions to the right column. I updated my books list and added the Spring to Finish button. I am joining Jacquie in hopes of finishing some WIPs. The WIPs list (which I believe is still incomplete) is also now in the right column.

PPS The results of the Dr. Seuss contest are in and I didn't place...which I am slightly bummed about but there were some seriously cute quilts in the competition. I'm blaming my loss on poor photographic representation. So it's my fault either way.

Bunny Love

I had a rough week, way too much bad news. I needed a quick pick me up, so I planned a little embroidery to add to some Easter decorations.

I snatched up a yard of this fabric about a minute after I saw it on Pickled Pear Lane (from Anna Griffin's Riley line). I thought maybe I'd make some fabric eggs or a bunting for Easter. I taped the fabric to our french doors to let the light shine through...

...and held some leftover linen over it. I traced a few bunnies onto the linen with a water soluble pen.

Can you make out the bunny I drew? Maybe if you click?

And here are my three completed bunnies ready to adorn some eggs. Are the tails too big, do you think?

By the way, thanks for all the comments on my Dr. Seuss quilt over at Flickr. Because there were less entries than expected, Diane has moved voting here. Please feel free to cast a vote for my pieced letters!

Thrift Finds

Often I will talk about going to the "big city" about an hour away (Columbus, pop. 750,000), and compared to the nearest village about 5 miles away (Logan, pop. 7,000), it is a shopping mecca. Every now and again I need a few things I can't get nearby but I don't want to drive an hour, so I head to "town," (Lancaster, pop. 35,000). In about 15 or 20 minutes I can be at JoAnn and Lowe's, so it's not too bad.

On my last foray "to town" I decided to check out the local thrift stores. I've never been to one in Lancaster, but I keep seeing awesome thrift store scores in blogland and I wanted in on the action.


The first stop yielded a couple of wool sweaters destined to be felted, and the pink and yellow vintage necklaces in the shot above. The second stop got me the vintage navy handbag (It was $2.99 and 50% off. Charlie read the tag as $299...I had some explaining to do), as well as a dress and skirt not pictured. At the third stop (not *really* a thrift store, but a vintage shop) I found the red handbag and the chain-style necklace. Everything on the table cost less than $10 total. SCORE!

I don't think I am going to get a lot of use out of the red handbag, though, Jaxon has not put it down since it came home (as you might be able to tell from the picture). He opens it every few minutes and declares "I'm checking somping."


I don't know how I missed blogging about *this* lovely scarf I got a few weeks ago from Lauren. I blame my busy end of the quarter schedule. I sent Lauren a purse to test for me, and she sent me this scarf. Check out the hand twisted fringe! I've worn it twice already and plan to wear it this week. It looks great with a dress or my denim jacket. Thanks, Lauren!

Happy Belated Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

In recognition of National Crafting Month (March), and in celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Seuss (March 2nd -- yah Pisces!!), Diane of Bee Square Blog suggested a Dr. Seuss-themed quilting contest.


My entry is finally complete, but it has taken me all month to get to that point! I think being busy at work, and time consuming free-pieced letters and embroidery are not a good mix! But I made it in under the wire.


My favorite parts of any Dr. Seuss book are the words. Yes, his illustrations are lovely and whimsical, but there is something about the rhymes that get me every time. My favorite of all of his books is "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish," and mostly for the line "From Near to Far, from Here to There, Funny things are EVERYWHERE!" So true, you just have to look for them.


Free pieced letters and embroidery comprise the phrase, and I quilted the whole thing using silly shapes. I spent way too much money on a Dr. Seuss pillowcase, and ripped it apart to back the wallhanging. I had to piece a bit to get it to work, so I used one improvised block as the label. If you look closely you'll see the tag from the pillowcase on the label!


I'm not quite sure how voting will work. Entries are to be uploaded to Flickr, and the contest rules state that the five quilts with the most comments will go on to the final round of voting. My quilt is number 5, so we'll see how things go.


If you like what I've made please go here and leave a comment on the image! Thanks!

Spring? Not quite.

It's still a bit chilly out to feel spring-like, but Jaxon would like to present a little spring in quilt form.


This is the quilt I made for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap Monochromatic Challenge. The recipient only specified color, not season. I had remembered this tutorial on one seam flying geese. The bright green rows of geese reminded me of the return of flocks we see in the Midwest around this time of year. I added the "swirl" of quilting to symbolize the brisk winds that sometimes precede them, and called it "Spring Migration."

Here is the back. I pieced the scraps that were left when I cut the geese, and added one white block to serve as the label.


I did cheat *a bit.* The challenge was to use only shades of one color with black or white. I went for navy, both in the binding and the quilting. There's something very "clean" to me in the combination of spring green and navy blue...I think it was worth breaking the rules.

I had a good mail call week. I won a giveaway from Diane of Bee Square Fabrics. This *adorable* charm pack found its way to my house -- all Japanese kawaii. Thanks, Diane, I already have a plan for it!


And, remember earlier in the year, I decided this would be the year I decide if I am going to like knitting? Well I haven't picked up a needle, but I had been vocally coveting these mitts. Well, it's good to have friends who love to knit. A surprise package came from Courtney that contained these...


Oh, they are so beautiful and soft -- the photo doesn't do the color justice. Thank you so much, Courtney! They look *fabulous* with my read coat, and I look forward to warmer weather when I can pair them with my denim jacket!

Palindromes

Otto.

Racecar.

Madam, I'm Adam.

33.

For 363 more days my age is a palindrome. I had a very nice birthday weekend, with lots of nice weather, good food and some sewing time. Unfortunately this is the last week of classes before final exams, so things are really busy.


I do have my blocks ready to go for Project Improv. I finished 3 orange and pink blocks, which is no where near the 40 blocks Bekhy made.

I also completed the International Women's Day Fat Quarter Swap -- all purple and green in honor of the suffragettes. My partner was Vicki (check out her blog to see what I sent). I received Vicki's package on my birthday (how apropos), and she sent some of the most delicious, deep–colored fabrics ever! It's hard to choose my favorite fabric -- I love the gradient -- but the stripe is pretty amazing as it gets darker and lighter but the contrast stays...well...high contrast. Thanks, Vicki!

Sorry the image is blurry, I had a choice of a sharp focus with untrue colors, or soft focus with true-to-life colors. I went for the colors.

I should be back later this week (fingers crossed) with my completed Four Seasons Quilt Swap quilt, and some progress on my Dr. Seuss challenge quilt. Ot I might just share all my incomplete grading with you!

Love Complete

I know you are all bored with the LOVE wallhanging, but I did finally finish it. I tried something a little different with the binding, attaching it by machine to the front as usual, but using a running stitch in Perle 8 to attach the back. I like how the red running stitch looks on the front, but it makes the binding a bit large on the back.


And finally something new...I've finally begun my log cabins for the Project Improv charity quilt(s). I selected pink and orange as my color choice thinking that I had the least amount of fabrics in this range (and would have a reason to stash build). I guess I was wrong. I dug through my scrap bin and found *plenty* of orange and pink scraps. Here's my first attempt:

This...

became this...

Yeah, you caught me. I didn't have *quite* enough laid out to make a 12.5" block, so I added a large piece of the woven pink and the orange and white polka dot. This was a lot of fun. I had planned on only making one today -- Jaxon and Charlie have both been sick and I am now behind at work -- but I started another block. I cut myself off, though, after Jaxon's nap and got back to grading.

Also I received my FSQS5 quilt from Rachel:


The "challenge" for this swap was a monochromatic quilt. I chose green. Isn't it sweet? I love the "reversal" in the corners of mostly green to mostly white.


And look at the cute backing fabric! I may have to flip it around on the wall every once in awhile. Thanks Rachel!

Swappity Swap

Courtney and I completed our second swap, this one a Valentine's Day theme. I had a sweet little vintage embroidery pattern of a Dutch boy and girl, and I wanted to pair it with windmills. I embroidered the couple and then added borders to my windmills to make the blocks the same size. As I sewed them together I realized how big this "dollquilt" was going to be. I ripped the blocks apart and decided to use fewer of them in a banner. A nice bonus: now it can be hung or used as a table runner!


And this is what Courtney sent. Our swap included a Valentine–themed dollquilt and a practical item (also Valentine-themed) for the room of the recipient's choice. Courtney chose dining room, so I painted a wood tray bright red and modge podged a piece of My Folklore fabric to the base. I forgot to take pictures. Courtney sent this whole bevy of items for my sewing room:


I had to take the quilt off the wall of honor in the bookcase to take the picture. It has embroidery, rick rack AND bright green. What's not to love? The stuff for my sewing room is amazing -- I think Courtney is psychic. I didn't have a pincushion OR a needlebook, and I have been meaning to make this cute little bag from AllPeopleQuilt.com. Thanks, Courtney!

And ironically, I went from having no pincushion to two! Susan had a giveaway in which the winner with the most embarrassing story won, and I earned third place. I got to choose from a bevy of super cute pincushions, and of course I chose the bright green! Thanks, Susan!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

I didn't quite reach my goal of finishing the heart wallhanging by Valentine's Day, but all I need to do is finish the binding. Here it is:

In the last post I described how I created the heart. I added a border in the same background white. I read through Tanya's instructions for free piecing letters, and decided to throw caution to the wind!

I'm happy with them, and the quilting. I decided to do perle 8 around the heart and a few random hearts around the letters. I have a new idea for attaching the back of the binding. I'll let you know if it works out.

Jaxon woke from his nap the other day to find cookies cooling on the counter. Oh, the temptation!

And here is what my valentine got me for Valentine's: bracelet from The Berry Patch and earrings from Tina Rice.

Insert Heart Joke Here

My progress on my Project Improv project has been very satisfying thus far. I sewed the heart with an idea of the outcome but no real plan. When I got it big enough to become a heart, I had to break out the graph paper, but that's okay.

I have almost completed the rest of this wall hanging top, and I think I'll have it layered and ready to quilt on Wednesday -- but then I may be stuck. I'm afraid to quilt it. By hand with only some small embellishment in perle cotton, or by machine with wild hearts -- that I will probably mess up? Decisions, decisions!


This seemed appropriate to post today because my heart goes out to all Australians dealing with devastating bushfires. Here's how you can help.

And the winner is....

I would like to thank my dozen or so regular blog friends for stopping by, and welcome the other 145 of you. I hope you will come by again....

But for the real reason you are here...

The random number generator chose:



which corresponds to:







Please be watching for an email. Thanks to everyone for entering! And just remember: there is such a thing as good giveaway karma. I won this:

12 fat quarters from Anna Maria Horner's new line, Good Folks. Yippee!

Entries closed!

Great googly moogly! 157 comments?!? Wow, that's like 144 more comments than usual! I guess in these rough economic times we will turn to desperate measures to feed our addictions to fabric. I might have to start a "Just Say No" campaign.

Entries are now closed, and I will be drawing tomorrow morning. I just wanted to drop by and thank YOU for dropping by, and give you the good news. The first of my three tenure votes was today, and it was unanimously positive. Yah! So now my case travels to the dean. Keep those fingers crossed, please, I don't want to start a job search!

THE GREAT INTERNATIONAL STASH BUSTING GIVEAWAY

Are you ready for 4.5 yards of fabric goodness? Today is the day! I was waiting for enough natural light to take pictures of the fabric, but it is snowing here *again*.

When I started pulling possibilities for the giveaway I was seeing distinct themes, so I am giving away THREE sets of fat quarters, six fat quarters (ish) each!! That's three winners! First place winner will get his/her choice and on down the line.

Here is what you are entering to win:

The green/brown set includes Prints Charming and Alexander Henry...(amongst others)

The blue set includes lots of Anna Maria Horner...(amongst others)

The pink/yellow set includes Robert Kaufman and Every Iota...(amongst others)

Enter to win by leaving a comment on this post by Friday 5:00 pm EST (GMT -5). And if you are feeling generous leave a comment on my previous post since no one had a chance to comment before the giveaway. C'mon, you know you want to...

**Edited to add: Yes, this giveaway is open to my international friends...and PLEASE PLEASE don't be a no-reply blogger! Leave your email address so I can aontact you if you win -- and I can say "Hi!"

Big Day Tomorrow

We are now finally *completely* with power. We returned home this weekend to 50% power, dim lights and not able to use some appliances (like the microwave and the hairdryer). I called our power company and they sent someone out Monday...to turn off our power. We had a broken wire that was a big safety hazard. It was fixed today and we are back with full power.

During the almost-week we spent at my parents with power, I did get a couple of packages. These books I ordered came, as well as this book I won in a giveaway at Pink Chalk Studio. Folk quilts may seem an odd fit for a mid-century lovin' girl like me -- but there is plenty of retro style. Here is my fave:


AND an awesome package came from my fat quarter swap partner, Rachel. Look how cute!


I've already worn the flower pin, and I have a project that the cupcakes print is PERFECT for. Thanks, Rachel!

Katy of I'm a Ginger Monkey has organized the Great International Stash Busting Giveaway. Check back tomorrow morning to see what you could win, and visit Katy's blog to see who else is participating. I'll keep the giveaway open until Friday so my international friends will have plenty of time to enter!

OK, quit hogging my time, the Idol is on.