Wall Chat Ad

Remember my LOL quilt that I made for an Ackfeld Wire advertisement? Here it is!

It is on page 53 of the current issue of Easy Quilts.

A lovely woman called from Texas this week to ask for a pattern. I'm sorry to say I wasn't prepared and it is not available yet. I'll be working on it this weekend and hope to get it into my Etsy shop very soon. It will be an updated version of a pattern I designed in 2000 for a Photo Album Quilt. The blocks have vinyl pockets so you can slip in an actual photo. No photo transfer or expensive photo fabric required. And you can swap out the photos as the seasons change or as kids grow up. Please stay tuned!

When you purchase patterns online, do you prefer a paper pattern mailed to you or the instant gratification of a less expensive, downloadable PDF pattern?

Fun with Envelopes?

Why have I been saving security envelopes for months? I couldn't remember! I knew I had a seen a tutorial for something cool made from them, but what?

Then I stumbled upon this website and remembered! So, when I should have been sorting through photos from 1999, I was slicing and rolling paper beads.

I made these 2 bracelets last night in about an hour. Julia loves them because they are blue. Even Pete thinks they are cool.

I made these long beads this morning from an ad page in a quilting magazine. They are a little bluer in real life and not so camouflage-looking. I've been wanting to make myself a necklace to hang my reading glasses from (I'm wearing them a lot lately!) and I think I'll use paper beads. I love the whole trash to treasure aspect of this project.

Now, I'm off to 1999. My list for today says, "QUIT STALLING!" at the top. My goal was to have the 1999 scrapbook done in January. I know once I get started, it will flow and I can do it quickly. But I'm running out of time! The thing that's stopping me is the lack of clear table space. I'm thinking about setting up another table so I don't have to clear off the others. And I should work downstairs where all the supplies are, but it's dark and lonely down there. I just need to jump in and start. Ready, set, GO!

Hearts & Scraps

I put away my Bernina and started crafting with paper yesterday. I figure it's my transition to scrap booking. I made a couple of these paper heart garlands and our house is looking quite festive.

My reward for finishing (starting, then finishing) the 1999 scrapbook this week is that I can have fun with this Pat Sloan project next week.

Yesterday I bought a pack of white 12 X 12" paper and 2,000 double stick tabs. Now I have no excuses. I'm off to clear some table space and start cropping photos!

Bear Paw

I took some time yesterday to design my MQX Charity Challenge piece. One requirement is that it has to contain at least one bear paw block. I wanted to see if I could accurately piece a small one and I was really pleased that I could! (It is perfectly square in real life. Ignore the bad camera angle.) They will be way nicer with the provided batiks.

On the bear theme, my brother sent me a slide show of Maine wildlife department employees doing health check ups on hibernating bears. I'm terrified of bears, so that is one job I will never have. The cubs are soooo cuuute!

Pete had a short school day today, only one mid-term exam, so we did a little shopping. We are attempting to jump start the economy single-handedly! He needed new boots and a sleeping bag for all those Boy Scout campouts, and we did major damage at Wal-Mart. You know all those staples add up, but a teenager has no clue. He was shocked at the bill and asked if he could keep the receipt. Whatever.

Poor Julia is swamped! Mid-terms, a huge global studies project due next week, swim meets, and rehearsals every day for the high school production of Cinderella this weekend. She can't wait until February!

Goodies

I've been holding out on you. I should have shown you this fabric weeks ago. Isn't it yummy?! Go visit Dye Candy and see all the other great things Chris has done. Also, visit Shady Grove Studios (Chris's other shop) for stained glass and paper-pieced jewelry.

I had lunch with Karen this week to pick up my squares from her novelty swap. There's some really cute stuff in there, but I have no idea what I'll do with it. And they came with a gift! Isn't that sewing necklace adorable? (similar to this from her blog, but even cuter) She did all the swapping work AND made us gifts! Thanks, Karen!

I'm cleaning, purging and re-organizing the storage area so I can finish putting away the Christmas decorations. I wish I could wave a magic wand and be done. Oh, well. Back to work!

First Finish of 2010

I'm really excited about this one. These are the only blocks I managed to get done from the A Tisket A Tasket Block of the Month last year. (This year's Bunny Hill BOM looks super cute, too.)

I chose to work on it as my 1st UFO of the year. All it needs now is a label and a couple of buttons. Buttons?, you ask. In my grand plan, there will be 3 more of these quarterly panels to complete the year. They will each have a tab at the top which can be buttoned down to the back to make a sleeve so the panel can be hung on its own.

In my dream world, when all 4 panels are done, there will also be a quilted base piece that the panels can be buttoned onto to display the entire year. Sounds like a plan, doesn't it?

January

February

March

I am really pleased with the quilting, all free-form, free motion.
Don't ask me why these pictures stink. I think I might have killed yet another point and shoot digital camera.

I suppose I can't stall any longer. It's time to clean the house. Blth.
Then I can start my 1999 Scrapbook!

2009 Recap

In order to move my 2009 completed projects list off of my sidebar, I created this nifty free collage at Photovisi. I should have done this a few weeks ago. Oh, well.

1. Sudoku 2. Racecar Baby Quilt 3. Big Sister Quilt 4. Anna's Whirlygig 5. The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly 6. Goldie 7. Broad Rock Goes to Washington 8. Jessica's Blue & White Quilt 9. Spring Green Prayer Shawl 10. The Wal-Mart Bag Bag 11. Postcards 12. 3 Linus Quilts 13. Flower Pens 14. Luggage Tags 15, 16. BFF & LOL 17. T-Tote Two 18. Jack Pillow 19. Button Rings 20. More Linus Quilts 21. Geese in the Forest 22. Wildflowers 23. Batik Friendship Bag 24.Halloween Itty Bitty Bags 25. Survival Bracelets 26. Origami Ornaments 27. Daisy 28. Advent Wreaths 29. Yo-Yo Tree 30. Paper-pieced Lapel Pins

UFO Challenge

Yup. I've completely lost my mind. I joined another challenge:
Nancy's UFO Challenge at Patchwork Penguin.
The rules are simple enough. Make a numbered list of 10 UFO's to be completed in 2010. Each month, Nancy will tell us which number to work on. Here's my list:

#1. Three by Three Swap

#2 Disappearing 9-Patch (repro)

#3 Disappearing 9-Patch (red/white/blue)


#4 A Tisket, A Tasket Basket BOM


#5 Bears in the Farmhouse

#6 Easy Overlay

#7 Easy Weave

#8 Candy Cane Photo Quilt
(my design! vinyl pockets for photos)

#9 Vroom 4-patch Spin

#10 Small Stuff
(stenciled piece from 1994!)

Since I'm joining late, I cheated. This month, Nancy selected number 4, so I picked the one I wanted to do first and put it at number 4! I only have 2 days to work on it, and I hope to assemble these three blocks as a long vertical hanging, quilt and bind it.

Star Crazy 1

I've gone Star Crazy! Here are my month 1 blocks for the Star Crazy Block of the Month from the Quilt Show. I'm hoping my new friends at the Star Crazy Log Blog will keep me on track. This quilt will be an anniversary gift for my husband and I'm happy to announce that he really likes these first few blocks.


The pattern suggested paper-piecing the half-square triangles, which I wasn't sure I wanted to do. I figured I'd give it a try and I love it! I'm hooked. There are a boatload of HSTs in this pattern, so I'm very happy that this technique is so accurate. Look at those perfect little HSTs!

I forgot to tell you about another challenge on my list. It is the MQX charity challenge for the New England Quilt Museum. The small quilt has to include a Bear Paw block and use this yummy fabric. The deadline is March 1. Wish me luck!

French Braid Weekend

It was a French Braid weekend in more ways than one.

On Friday, I worked with some other Ninnies on the next Ninigret Quilters raffle quilt (for 2011!). Our fearless leader, Ellie, has been mildly obsessed with French Braid quilts for a while, so that is the pattern she chose for the raffle quilt. The fabrics are really lovely. I was happy to be able to complete one of four braids.

Then there were the hairstyle type of braids. When I got home from the raffle quilt sewing, I packed for a camping weekend with my Girl Scouts. On Saturday, they decided they all wanted to braid their hair. Emily is the best french braider in the troop!

We stayed at this beautiful lodge in Newport.

I had to force them to spend some time outside. It was a gorgeous, warm day.

We went ice skating at the outdoor rink in downtown Newport.

The girls had fun skating, but I'd rather watch from now on!

Today is my 1st Blogversary! Time flies when you're having fun, especially with quilters and Girl Scouts. Maybe I'll have a giveaway for you, if I can think of something good.

Tomorrow, I hope to get started on the challenges and block of the month.

Challenges

This will be a challenging week coming up. So much to do and so little time!
Lots of papers to be copied and sorted and mailed, lots of emails to send, lots of Girl Scout stuff to deal with. And then there are cookies!

It's Girl Scout cookie time! Please support your local Girl Scouts by purchasing cookies. On a diet? No problem. Donate a box to a food pantry or add them to a military care package.


I did manage to do some sewing this week, finally! I'm getting better at utilizing the little bits of time between meetings, driving kids around and the other necessary stuff.

I'm working on a sample for the Weed Whacker workshop I'll be teaching in March. I'd like to bring this one and my first weed whacker to our Guild meeting Wednesday night so the ladies can see them when I distribute the materials list. It's good to have goals.

I'm joining another string challenge. Why not?
There are so many things you can do with strings!


My mother and I are heading back to NY tomorrow to honor the memory of a lovely woman who passed away yesterday. My sister-in-law's mother was a devoted mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. She will be missed by all who knew and loved her.

On the List for 2010

I will be working on The Quilt Show's pieced block of the month called Star Crazy. Bill really likes stars, so it will be our anniversary quilt. Jackie mentioned it on her blog and that's all it took. I'm in!

I saw this challenge on the Heartstrings blog and it's perfect for me. I've been thinking about different string blocks for at least a year. I can't wait to get started on this one!

I wish there wasn't work to do before I can get to the fun stuff!
What new projects are on your list for 2010?

The 2010 Big Project

Here's the plan:
To get my backlog of family photos into scrapbooks.


Seems simple enough until you see just how many photos there are.

Eleven (11!) years worth, stored in drawers and boxes.
At least they are already in chronological order and stored with corresponding memorabilia.

By January 2011, I hope to have a fresh shelf full of scrapbooks.

It's not as if I have done nothing in 11 years. I try to stay on top of special events and vacations. These are the books for my nieces' weddings, a trip to Puerto Rico, and a Disney vacation. The book in front was purchased in Florence, Italy when Bill and I were there in 2002. The cover is hand marbled paper with Italian leather binding. My favorite!

So my plan is to complete one year each month.
January......1999
February.....2000
March.....2001
April.....2002
etc.
You get the picture. (hee hee- punny!)

I stopped printing photos in mid-2008, so 2008, 2009 and 2010 will probably be digital books. I worked on 2009 already using the Blurb software. It's nothing fancy, but it's almost done.

The tricky part will be to keep the rest of my life on track at the same time. There will still be quilting projects, Girl Scouts (cookies- ack!), kids to drive around, dinners to cook and a house to clean. You know- life!

I'm headed back down to the studio to take stock of my supplies. I need to make sure I have enough pages and plenty of adhesive to get started. If not, I'll be using my coupons at ACMoore and Michael's this afternoon.

I need a catchy name for this project. Any suggestions?

Wish me luck with my biggest New Year's Resolution ever!