Being Koi

Hey everyone!  It's certainly been awhile.  Remember me?  If there was an award for procrastination, I would win, or at least be nominated.  Thank you for the occasional email asking if I was alright!  And no, I have not given up blogging!  I have no good solid excuses for my hiatus.
I see that Blogger has an updated interface that I will try but first wanted to get a post up before I confuse myself any more than I already am.
I think I'll work backwards with my updates,
I sewed a few pillowcases to donate to my LQS who will donate to ConKerr.

And did the Strip Club at same LQS.  The club meets once a month with the fabric choices revealed but the pattern a mystery.  All we know is the pattern comes from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts book.  The fabric used was Sophie with just a bit of Just Wing It for the star points.  This is not mine, but the shop's sample. 

And I tried something new!  I can't remember when I bought the Twisted Sisters booklet but thought it was time to try it.

It comes with a template but once you get the hang of sewing it together it is a lot of fun.  Ami Simms even has a tutorial on her website which is very helpful.  Here's my first block made from my scrap basket.

I had to take it apart so many times to get the outer edges right.  More pictures tomorrow of my Christmas version.
That's it for today.  Thank you for your patience.  I'm glad you've come for a visit.  And welcome back to those of you who have stuck with me!  I think I'm back on track.

Jumble

 Hi all, I hope you all had a nice July Fourth ~
I totally forgot to make the top block what with my trip to Ohio in early June.  It is block 9 of the Jelly Roll Quilt Along and the bottom one is block 10.  I'm all caught up now.  For new readers, info about the Quilt Along can be found at Moose on the Porch Quilts blog.
The last block was a challenge as the directions were a little, ahem, screwed up and the clarifications a bit confusing.  All caught up now.  I took these with my daughter's camera as mine is at the Canon Repair Center.  I mailed it right before the holiday weekend and it took forever to get there.  The weekend seemed interminable.  It rained starting the Friday before through the Tuesday after.  There are literally mushrooms growing everywhere. 
                                ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~          ~
I thought I'd share some pictures of my trip to Ohio.

Here's my daughter and niece (in pink).  We were visiting for my niece's graduation from High School.  It looks like they planned to buy similar dresses, but it was pure coincidence.

And the quilt I gave her.  It's hard to tell from the picture, but it is sized to fit a long twin bed.  And the best part she loved it! 

My brother's cat is a Bengal.  They are half Asian Leopard Cat.  Wild looking and wild behavior!  I personally think he should have just gone to the Dog Pound and rescued a kitty but you know how brothers are, never listens to their older sisters!

I'll end with a picture from the Cleveland Zoo where we went one day.  A mother Koala asleep with the most adorable baby!  We were standing not two feet from them.  No one seemed to think they were as cute as we did!
Thanks for stopping by.

This and That

Hope everyone had a pleasant weekend.  I spent mine sewing ~ On Saturday my LQS sponsored a Pillowcase Challenge Day.   I precut a bunch of novelty fabric and ended up using it all, 10 pillowcases, which means 10 yards out of my stash!

Then while waiting for my fabric to finish my Patchwork Party sampler quilt to arrive I started another kit in my stash.  Another one I have no recollection of buying nor can I summon up why I would want to make a kite-themed quilt.

Here's the fabric,

I decided to use this pattern from Moda instead.

The blocks are large ~ 15 inches. And I like them better than the kites!  My fabric came on Saturday late afternoon so I was able to add the sashing and cornerstones on Sunday. 

I love how it's turning out, so soft and feminine looking.  All I have left is a light pink tone-on-tone floral for an inner border and then the purple for the outer border.

And a pocket tissue holder I made for my daughter.  I made the quilted fabric and somehow it came out all askew and with squares rather than diamonds. 
Lastly, the back of a quilting book I found at the library featuring a men's quilted vest that I thought was a hoot!  Can you imagine... LOL.

Thanks for visiting.

February Schnibbles~Sunday Best~

I had this done the first week of February and have no excuse for not posting it or anything earlier.  I loved making this Schnibbles, Sunday Best although my choice of fabric is not exactly what I think of when someone says Sunday Best!  I used charm packs of a Jennifer Paganelli line called Dance with me along with some fabric from my stash.  I was able to get a picture during one of our rare days when the sun actually came out.  I tried to make it fall-ish looking as it was so cold it felt like a fall day up North. 

I changed the corners a bit by cutting squares rather than continuing the smaller pieces.  I didn't like that way as you had to lop off pieces to make the border fit. 

Be sure to check out Sherri's or Sinta's blogs on March 1 for the Schnibbles Parade showcasing all the participants in a Year of Schnibbles.  It's amazing to see all the different permutations we quilters come up with.

Up next, I'll share progress on one of my New Year's Resolutions:  actually sewing some of the many kits I've collected.  

Oy Vey!

I finished "My Paris Traveler's Bag" {pattern by Joanna Figueroa} that I started a few weeks ago. Can't say I'm nuts about how it turned out. Maybe the tincture of time will cure that as it was not an easy bag to make. I ended up having to re-do that red gusset where it attaches to the zipper panel. If you use a typical Coats Zipper from Joann's, the panel ends up too small for the gusset. I ended up emailing Joanna and it turns out the zipper she used was wider than the ones commonly available. On a positive note, the zipper installation was very easy.  All in all, I found the directions a bit difficult to follow.

Update:::  Hello, all, it's been awhile.  I just found I never posted this.  Not much sewing going on here until just recently.  I spent a good two weeks getting some much needed gardening accomplished.  That must sound odd to all you snowed-under but the weeds grow year round here in Florida!  It's back to sewing as the weather here has turned more wintry.  So, what have you been up to?

Owl Love

I've had owls on the brain ever since I saw my first ones a few days ago, right across the street from our house. And look what I ran across this morning at Jessica Levitt's blog. I think you'll agree these are a must-make any time of the year. I think I need to order some felt.
Talk to you later.

New Winner

What gives with Blogger, I continue to have problems uploading pictures. First I cannot get the popup box and then it takes for-ev-er to do its job. Is anyone else experiencing this?
Well, I got my yellow thread and finished up quilting the fabric for the main part of the bag.

And also picked up a few fat quarters of Attitude Girls. The colors are so rich, the red so luscious. I highly recommend them! I am definitely not buying any more fabric come January!

Here's the red for the gusset part of the bag. I finished quilting that today also.

I need help with this blue. It's for the handles and I cannot decide which way is the correct way, the right-side up way. The selvedge calls it a foulard, but is there a right way to it? In other words,a fleur de lis has a right way, does this foulard? What do you think is right, this way, or...

this way?

I never heard from the winner of the SMS Giveaway so another was chosen, it's

Kelly who posted at 12/02/2009 7:53 PM

Thanks again to everyone who participated. Talk to you later.

How I Spent My Monday

I started this bag today by making the quilted fabric, or I should say starting to make the quilted fabric. Every time I make a quilted bag I say never again as the fabric seems to take forever and then I had my scrap basket (overflowing) right near my sewing machine and a scrap got caught right under the fabric I was quilting and arrgh!!! Yup, that stupid scrap got sewn right to my quilted fabric. Such an unpleasant surprise when I flipped it over! It only messed up 2 rows and they are all fixed now. Am I the only one who does goofy things like that?

The pattern shows an all-over design but I usually quilt it like the Vera Bradley bags. I have a full yard to do for the main part of the bag and one half yard for the gusset.

I'm feeling a bit trepidatious about the upcoming zipper. I've made a fair amount of bags but all the tote variety. I hope it's not too scary! I'll let you know how that goes.


The fabric is a Michael Miller from 2000 or so. I have a matching red floral and a blue. Pictures of those next time. All three are very French Provence looking.

I've got three quarters of it quilted but am going to have to buy more thread tomorrow. That should prove dangerous as Tuesdays are Fat Quarter sale days at my LQS and have you seen the new Moda line Attitude Girls? Mere pictures do not do it justice. I am going to try and be strong but my willpower is not bottomless...
Talk to you later!

September Schnibbles

When I went up to Marietta for the quilt show I did a mini-quilt shop hop. I wasn't about to let 20 inches of rain slow me down. Gosh it was soggy, rained the entire 4 days I was there. I desperately needed some reds and aquas for the Disappearing 9-patch I signed up for at Jane's. I had 1 aqua fabric in my stash. Never realized it before, but I guess it's a color I just haven't worked with. I picked up these fat quarters at Intown Quilters. What a fun shop! Filled to the brim with mostly bright and funky fabrics with a very helpful staff. I sound like a commercial but really, I loved the shop. Sorry for the lack of shop pictures but the day was so drear and rainy I left my camera back at the hotel.

I got this little bag filled with 20 Kaffe Fasset fabrics and some Schnibbles patterns at Red Hen Fabrics and Quilting Emporium. I think this was my favorite of the 4 shops I visited. The fabrics were arranged by color, something different and had a load of patterns and again, a very friendly staff.

These are either Kaffe or Martha Negley, got them at Intown Quilters also. I also went to Little Quilts and Tiny Stitches. I had been to Little Quilts for the first time about 9 years ago. I was amazed how it is exactly the same! I guess when you've found your niche and it works why mess with it. Still mostly civil war reproduction fabric. I still have my purchase from 9 years ago uncut. You know how that is. So I didn't buy anything here. Last stop was Tiny Stitches but I found the shop too dimly lit to do any serious shopping. I hate that!

Back in January I started sewing along with the Forever Green Quilts BOM program. Well, I have not made a block since April so I figures this was the weekend to do all 5 months AND the September Schnibbles for the Year of Schnibbles. I am finally caught up. The Forever Green blocks are so tedious as they all have so many pieces many you have to draw the seam allowances on to get the triangles to fit together right. One block really gave me a problem. I think the cutting directions are faulty but regardless it got finished.

The Year of Schnibbles pattern was Winter White. I decided to use Fig and Plum by Moda as I really liked the fabric. In fact I love any fabric that Joanna Figueroa designs. Love that vintage-y thing she has going. I first made the flying geese in greens and peaches but they really didn't work. The geese needed to be dark, or at least half of them did.

I needed 18 dark charms and the Fig and Plum had only 16. I spent quite a while trying to get something to work and hoped to use some of the geese I'd already made.

Here's what I came up with. Ditched the green geese, kept the peach geese, and made new plum ones. I actually found a fat quarter, civil war reproduction no less! in my stash that went with the Fig and Plum plum. And that is one different shade of plum!


Those peach cornerstones seemed like a good idea but now...

Had a chance this afternoon to cut into the reds and aquas for the swap ~ 225 squares cut!

Check out the head on the windowsill!
Talk to you later.

My Brown Quilt

I didn't do much sewing this past weekend. We had such beautiful weather, warm, sunny and the nicest part, low humidity, I spent some time outdoors. I finished the quilt, Around the Block from On A Roll book by Heather Mulder Peterson on Thursday. It mainly uses Dandelion Girl fabric with just a little Allspice Tapestry and Urban Indigo. I picked up the Jelly Roll at one of the Saturday Jelly Roll classes but decided not to use the apron pattern that came with it. I think it's definitely a brown quilt, my first using that color. I love the way it turned out.

The border looks hard but it is so easy to do and really adds a little pizzazz to a otherwise simple quilt.

It finishes at a twin size, 68 by 81 inches.


Also finished the online Block of the Month I am doing using Christmas fabrics. The red is not that orangey.

These fat quarters are from a line called Victoria's Scatter Garden that came out in 2004. I could never figure out what to do with them.

About a month agao, I saw the Magic Vine line by Eleanor Burns and just couldn't resist getting some. It coordinates nicely with the Scatter Garden fat quarters so I think this will be my next project.

And this is Katherine! We have a small salt water tank and this is one of our hermit crabs. Isn't she cute? She's about a little over an inch wide to give a sense of scale. I think she could use a new shell.
Thanks for stopping by!