LAST YEAR (it sounds dramatic, even though it was only a month ago), Courtney and I did a baseball-themed doll quilt swap. I forgot to share!
I made my first dresden plate and my first round quilt:
And Courtney "hit one out of the park" (wink wink):
The backing is the softest corduroy and has me wanting to back a full size quilt in it. So snuggly!
Also, I've done a little blog update -- now that the auction is over I've removed all the Scrappy Holiday Block Swap stuff (a little sad, as it has been a part of the blog for six months!!), and added a WIPs list. These are all projects that I started last year (or before!!) and have resolved to finish this year!! I've also updated the "Books Read in 2010" list. My grand total for January is four, enjoyable reads all. I've mentioned The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Girl Who Played with Fire was a worthy sequel, even though it was slow to start. I look forward to the last book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, due out in May. The 7 Professors of the Far North was an impulse borrow from the library, simply because it had "professor" in the title and I liked the cover -- how's that for shallow! It's a kids book with little character development, but the story's rather grand and very interesting. And finally, I read The Bright Side of Disaster in just a few days. It would make a great beach read -- not too deep, a little
predictable, but with interesting, realistic characters.
Next up...I found a kid's book at the library by Carl Hiaasen. I had no idea. And I am trying to decide if I want to read the next book in the Wheel of Time series, or just wait for the last book and read them all together. It has been 14 years since I started the series. I also need to pick up the next in the Outlander series.
To continue this stream-of-consciousness post, I came across this this week. EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!! Heather Ross is teaching a fabric design class?!?!?!?!!?!? HEATHER ROSS. Deep breaths. Other bloggers immediately signed up. The class itself, while a chunk of change, might be doable -- but getting across the country might be harder. As Amy points out, you can cancel up to a week before and get a refund (minus $25) so it's almost worth it to make sure you have a place in the class. Anybody have some frequent flyer miles going to waste?!?!?!?
But I guess I could stay home and comfort myself with my new toy.
BAM! It's fabulous. That's red camera's grandfather looking on in jealousy.
1.31.2010
Home Run!
1.29.2010
Auction's End!
A great big thank you to everyone who bid on a quilt or tree skirt. The high bidders are:
Tree Skirt I: Katie
Tree Skirt II: anonymous ;-)
Lap Quilt: Rita
Quilt: zoelizabeth
For a grand total of $785 raised to aid Doctors without Borders and Partners in Health!!
I have emailed the high bidders with directions -- except Katie. Katie, I don't have your email address. If I haven't heard from you in a week's time I will offer the tree skirt up to the next highest bidder. I hope to hear from you soon!
And, finally, I put all the bidders into a hat and let Jaxon draw a name. The winner of the table runner is....Lara! Congrats, Lara! You should have an email from me soon.
Thanks again to all who were able to participate, and a special "shout out" to those of you who donated your bid amount even if you didn't win! Every bit helps!
I'll be back tomorrow with something I forgot to post LAST YEAR and my super cool new toy. Don't tell Jaxon.
1.24.2010
Auction to Aid Haiti: Tree Skirt II
Auction to Aid Haiti: Quilt
Auction to Aid Haiti: Lap Quilt
Auction to Aid Haiti: Tree Skirt I
1.23.2010
Finally Auction Time!
AUCTION IS CLOSED
I will email everyone after dinner!!!
The Scrappy Holiday Block Swap charity quilts are all done and here!
These pictures don't include one of the tree skirts -- which looks fantastic!! And, as usual, my photography does not do justice to these amazing quilts!
We have the opportunity to do so much good to help the people of Haiti. Over 111,000 people were killed in the earthquake, and over 600,000 people have been left homeless in and around Port-au-Prince alone. Winning bids will be donated to Partners in Health and Doctors without Borders.
The auctions begin Sunday at 8:00 am (EASTERN) and end Friday at 5:00 pm (EASTERN). Leave a comment on the entry for the item with your bid amount and your email address. The highest bid at the auction close wins. I will ask the winners to make an online donation to Partners in Health or Doctors without Borders in the amount bid and email me the receipt -- at which point I will ship the quilt!
Also, everyone who bids will be entered in a drawing to win the this Christmas table runner -- as a thank you for bidding!
Thanks once again to all of you who participated in the swap and donated quilting, binding, fabric, and time!
1.13.2010
Hoop Up Swap
Hoop Up! Stitch and Send Swap is a collaborative quilt block and embroidery swap I joined in December. I've been assigned a group of six other stitchers and we are each to decide on a theme, stitch an initial design, and mail fabrics to our teammates by January 20.
My theme is Ed Emberley–inspired worlds, like this:
Ed Emberley Embroidery
Originally uploaded by modernjax
Ed Emberley is an illustrator who authored a series of books that support his philosophy that with the right elements, anyone can draw! I've asked each of my teammates to choose a city, state, or country to illustrate in Emberley's style. I chose Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ed Emberley's artwork has been licensed for fabric (and other things, too) in Japan. *SIGH* Why won't it come here??
1.11.2010
Digging Out
Like a lot of the world, we have had a lot of cold weather, ice and snow! Two of the family has enjoyed it, including Jaxon...
...and Samantha (and you can see how much snow we got!)
Also, we used a little snow reflection to get some snaps of the Star Wars quilt.
And although the back is just a sheet, I thought you might like to see the tootsies of my quilt hanger.
BRRRRRR!!!!!!
1.03.2010
Back to the Grind
We've spent the last two weeks avoiding the cold and celebrating with family. I've had a lot of work to do over our winter break, and that certainly didn't let up over the holidays, but I made time to enjoy family and FOOD!
I finished Charlie's Christmas present YESTERDAY. I'm still counting it as a 2009 finish, all I've had to do to finish it since Christmas was hand stitching the binding (which, by the way I love...it's some random Christmas print from my LQS with a navy background and silver and blue dots in the EXACT colors I needed). I just pulled it out of the dryer, so I will get some full length photos when Charlie's home to help...
...and besides finishing up Christmas presents and teaching myself Javascript, we spent some time at the library:
I've resolved not to buy any more sewing books before previewing them. I have many on my shelf that I've never used, thinking based on online reviews I would like them. Material Obsession is a must buy. In fact I already have! I am counting The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as my first finish of 2010. I really finished it New Year's Eve, but it was very good and I would like to have it hang around on my sidebar list for awhile.
Also, I've been playing with my Christmas gifts, like this and this, and...
Now you might wonder how I've been playing with a sewing machine travel case...but you're forgetting that it is the perfect size for a three year old. Anything on casters + hardwood floors = happy child. I have to say that I am very impressed with JoAnn's customer service. Charlie bought this for me through their website and the day after Christmas it was marked down 40%. I called their customer service hotline and they reimbursed me for the difference. Good thing Charlie puts off shopping for Christmas -- they will only do a price adjustment within 7 days of shipping.
Speaking of JoAnn, I received a couple of gift cards for Christmas and I wanted to take advantage of their after Christmas sale. I couldn't decide what to get -- my Gingher's are out of balance and I can't find anyone to fix them, and I've also been wanting another rotary cutter to keep a pinking blade in. Everything I was interested in was on sale -- so I ended up with a new pair of Gingher's (in PLAID!), a rotary set with a 45 mm cutter and an 18 mm cutter as well as a small mat, an extra large yo yo maker, and "Material Obsession." All for less then my gift cards -- although I forgot the pinking blade for the cutter...
And now my scissor drawer looks like this:
Yay!
12.20.2009
Racing the Clock
I'm trying my best to get everything done without getting overly stressed. Here is what's been happening at the Novak household:
...and finally...
Also, I have one of the charity tree skirts back and I am binding it now. I'll be ready to auction when the last one arrives, but it doesn't look like it will be before Christmas. Would you bid on a Christmas quilt for charity after Christmas has passed??
12.14.2009
Dear Santa:
*Note: check out the Jolly Jabber for more on my letter to Santa*
I've been a very good girl this year. I have only lost my temper with the toddler terrorist a handful of times, and I only failed a couple of students (and remember: a student *earns* an F, I don't *give* it to him or her)!
I know the elves like to do their fabric shopping at Fat Quarter Shop, so I thought I would help you by showing you exactly what I want:
I know what you are thinking: "That Novak girl has enough fabric!" But Santa, think of all of the gifts I could give made from this fabric! I just want to make others happy!
You might also be thinking that I said no more Christmas fabric until I use what I have. But really, you know how much I love retro-inspired fabric so it's not the Christmas-ness of this fabric that appeals. And I promise to give the kitty print to my sister.
One last thing Santa. You know, you have not avoided the naughty list yourself:
I know what you're like after a few egg nogs, and I am not afraid to tell Mrs. Claus!
Merry Christmas,
Beth
12.13.2009
*&^$% Bells
*Thanks for all the auction love. I'll let you know as soon as the tree skirts arrive.*
When I saw Anna's glittered bells, I was immediately smitten. Glittery and retro, they *needed* to adorn my front door (preferably in aqua). Little did I know how frustrating the search for the materials would be!
1. Look for bells at JoAnn. Yes, the materials list says Kmart, but JoAnn is more convenient. Only find giant 10" bells.
2. Go to Michael's. I haven't been in a Michael's in years. Now I remember why -- the two closest Michael's are really junky and hard to navigate. Are they all that way? I could only find red Martha Stewart glitter and it was $10 per container. No bells. No thanks.
3. Today, armed with coupons from the Sunday paper and Anna's advice that she found bells at Michael's, I head to location #2. I asked a sales associate if they have anything even remotely resembling plastic or metal Christmas bells. No, only cowbells. HRMPH. BUT...the large containers of glitter are on clearance at this location ($6 still seems a lot for one container of glitter, but I'm going with it). They only had silver and aqua (SCORE), but it's not standard glitter, it's tinsel glitter. Again, I'm going to go with it. On my way out I see a woman buying a Christmas ornament that look suspiciously like a Christmas bell. Back to the ornaments...and I find two silver plastic bells.
So here is what I have:
Let's see if they get done and up before Christmas. Don't hold your breath.
By the way, while at Michael's I overheard a woman ask if they carried any Hanukkah ornaments, and the sales associate responded, "I'm sorry, we don't have anything like that." Wow.
P.S. Every time I typed "bells" I typed "balls" first and snickered. Sorry, Anna, but something about "Anna's glittered balls" just made me laugh.
12.12.2009
Almost Auction Time!
Three of the five Scrappy Holiday Charity Quilts are done! I expect the two tree skirts to be here this week and then the auction will commence. I will need your help, bloggy friends, to spread the word and help us raise some money to fight hunger. I will let you all know as soon as we are ready to go.
Here is what I have so far...
Thanks so much to everyone who donated blocks, volunteered their time and talents!
12.06.2009
Holding You Hostage...
So, you stopped by to see if you had won the giveaway, right?
BWA HA HA HA HA...I shall make you wait to find out! You must sit through my image heavy, rambling post first!
I great big thank you to all the commenters from the giveaway post! You all made me feel so much better -- lots of advice to breathe (maybe I am not doing it deeply enough??) and take a bath, and a few jokes to get me smiling. It worked! And I got my grades in -- I hit the submit button at 12:01, they were due at 12:00 but no one seemed to mind. I am attempting to respond to every comment, but it is going to take awhile!
As soon as my grades were turned in I started working on some things to sell at Pattyfair. I don't feel like finding the link to my past posts on Pattyfair, so here's the Reader's Digest version: My good pal Patty realized a few years ago that she has a lot of creative, artistic friends, so she invites us all to come over one Saturday in December, we set up our wares, and she opens her home to a bunch of people she may or may not know, feeds them, and hopes they buy our stuff (that was one long run-on sentence). It's the only "craft fair" type thing I do -- no entry fee, no complaints about the pricing, and lots of good friends!
Well, I sat at my sewing machine for a couple of days straight and came up with this:
Wow, looks like a table covered in fabric. You see here 10 minky- backed blankets, a bunch of diaper and wipes cases, and some tote bags. Here's another view:
Unfortunately I think this was my least successful year -- the baby crowd must have stayed home. I sold a handful of diaper and wipes cases, three blankets, and no bags. So it will all go in my Etsy shop just as soon as I can take pictures. If you see anything you'd like let me know and I can get it to you before Christmas!
Also, some odds and ends I discovered while getting pictures from the camera:
I mentioned I forgot to take pictures of my September and October quilting bee blocks, but I found October. The request was for squares in squares.
Before Thanksgiving I made this tea towel as a hostess gift -- super easy, take a piece of waffle weave toweling, applique a fabric strip, and bind the edges in scrappy solids. I finished it with a little gobble embroidery.
And I've been playing with an iPhone app that turns your pictures into old school polaroids. I'm sure my parents have actual polaroids from me in the 70s that look just like this.
OK, have a stalled enough? Oh, wait, look what made me laugh the other day:
The license plate says "ZOINKS"!!
OK, this times for reals....and the winner is:
...which corresponds to....
Congratulations, Amy! You should be seeing an email from me soon. And for the rest of you, I'll be doing another giveaway before Christmas, so stick around!
12.02.2009
SMS Giveaway Day or How I Lost My Mind
It's time for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day. I missed the last one because I was too busy and didn't want to miss this one. Of course, my grades are due tomorrow and I still have more research papers to mark, Jaxon was melting down left and right today, and the only craft show (at my friend's house) that I do is this weekend...but I still signed up. *sigh* So I took a break and whipped this up.
So here is the giveaway....
One sewing travel case containing a self healing mini cutting mat, a 12" ruler, a washable fabric pencil, a pair of scissors and a sewing pattern!
How this works: One entry per person, one comment equals an entry. All I ask is that you take a few seconds to make me feel good because I am way overloaded! Please leave your contact info or you will be disqualified.
Yes, I will ship internationally. You have until Dec. 6 to enter and I will ship by the 12th (Charlie's birthday!).
Full Disclosure:
1. Yes, the scissors are toddler scissors. They still cut, just not fabric...
2. The ruler is too long for the travel case so I kind of stuck it in the last pocket so it leans out the side....I bought the goodies before I made the case.
3. The topstitching on the outer flap that holds the velcro on is way crooked. Not thrilled about how the pattern had me do that. Dug around looking for something to cover it up and then gave up.
4. Just checked the Sew Mama Sew giveaway day entry to make sure I included everything I am meant to. The post doesn't go up until the Dec. 2. This is Nov. 30. I just pulled this rush job for nothing, could have been grading papers. D'OH!
Now I really need a boost. ;-)
