Lots of Fun

I made this for my sister for her birthday. She is a warm color person that likes browns, tans and greens. Anyone that knows me knows I don't have browns or tans in my stash. I did find this combination that I thought might go with her colors. 

Jaclyn 10/2011

I spent yesterday with someone from my homeroom in high school I haven't even laid eyes on in 40 years. She comes to town every year to see her brother, son, sew and take a class or two. Since our 40th high school class reunion was just held in August (I didn't attend due to my health issues at the time.) she had found me on facebook and saw my quilts. She quilts too.

Shar Yano-west 10/26/2011

We didn't hang together in high school but realized how much we had in common including bright fabric. How cool is that? I made her one of my signature mug rugs to take home. Now I have someone to visit on my trips to Hawaii that quilts.  Always fun to make a new friend and one that sews is a real gift. Thanks Shar for the wonderful day.    

Modern quilt guild meeting tonight. Yea!

Happy quilting!

Itty Bitty

Doing the Farmer's Wife blocks has given me the opportunity to use Thangles again. They remind me of paper piecing because your half square triangles turn out perfect. These are 1" half square triangles.

Thangles 1"

Thangles

If you have never tried using Thangles before to make your half square triangles you might like them. There is no math. The only thing I do different from the directions is cut the fabric a little wider than 1/2". I like to have a little bit of wiggle room. It only adds an extra trim step.

I'm off to California for a week to see my dad. I will take my yo yo's so I don't go through complete withdrawal from sewing. 

Happy sewing.

Saturday Score

I found some old cardboard cigar boxes in the garage left over from my fused glass days. I brought them in to see if I could store small projects in them. They stacked nicely and looked very tidy on the shelf. They worked well and I remembered my friends husband smoked cigars. When I asked if she had any boxes she laughed and laughed. This friend is a self proclaimed hoarder of many things, including cigar boxes. No, her house doesn't look like the real hoarders on the TV! They were nicely packed into a big box in the garage. To throw away something this nice and useful would be a crime, even though you don't know exactly what you would use them for. I had no idea they were nice wooden boxes with latches and cool labels on them. 

This label is made of a very thin metal. The detail is incredible. Cigars must be expensive when they come in boxes this nice. It will be so much fun using these for project storage. 

Have a great Sunday and keep enjoying what you do, or is it keep doing what you enjoy.

A Blog Award!

How surprised was I when I found this notice in my email! Thank you so much Staci at The Confused Quilter. I think it is a very nice way to get new blogs connected.

I am new at blogging and have never seen this award go around so I think it's fun. 

Learning I had to write 7 things about myself was a little scary at first but here goes.

1. I was born in North Carolina and lived there until we moved to Hawaii when I was 13 years old. Culture shock plus!

2. I am a nurse by trade and my favorite area of nursing was rehab. Little did I know I would be needing rehab myself years later.

3. I am an above the knee amputee due to the same bone cancer that Ted Kennedy Jr had at 11 years old. I was 28. I wouldn't change a thing.

4. I love to read.

5. I'm very stubborn - just ask my husband!

6. I have two grown children. 

7. I've been married for 33 year and we LOVE a good laugh. Sorry, that was two. So I did 8. Just don't tell the blog police.

I would like to pass this award on to some people that have been at this awhile and some that have not. It would be great if you visit some of these and leave a comment. I have found some wonderful things on these sites.

Zany Quilter

Rainbow Hare Quilts

A Blond Quilts

Jar of Spools 

Quilt Maybe

Made by Cola

She Can Quilt

Craizee Corner

Biffs Funky Scrappy Blog

So Sarah Sews

The Enchanted Bobbin

Until next time, happy surfing.

Having Fun

My DH was very busy last week making me a ruler storage area. I can finally get those things out of the drawer so I know what I have and can use them. They are out of the way and they have their own home. If everything I had had a home I would be much better at returning things to where they belong.

Ruler storage 10/2011

One of the projects I worked on last week was a camera strap for my daughter. I used the tutorial from Simply Modern Mom. Anyone who knows me knows I have a hard time with patterns. The third time was the charm. First too small, then too big, then just right!

Kate's camera strap 10/2011

My pick up sticks quilt is going to be a tag quilt.  I have never made a tag quilt before but doing the same exact thing for 400 blocks is hard for me. So you sneak them in one at a time while doing other things!



I am working on this at the moment. It's a slight change in color for me. I got bored with doing the little squares so I made a BIG one to see what it looked like. I think I am going to make one using all big squares. That would be a very quick quilt. Maybe even a quilt in a day.

Watermelon 10/2011

Going to my Farmers Wife group tonight. Will get lots of laughs in as well as some sewing done. I haven't forgotten about the Thangles and my itty bitty's.

Until next time. Whatever it is you like to do try to do it with a smile. Happy sewing.

Two Projects

I am working on so many projects at once and it is so much fun. I told you about the Farmers Wife project that I am doing with a local group. Last week much of my time was spent choosing fabrics for the blocks. I haven't done much traditional block assembly so this is a learning curve for me. They are at least turning out the right size so I am thrilled with that.

Farmers Wife 9/2011

Sparky just has to be in the middle of whatever I do if he is awake.  I find myself leaving my studio when he wants to lay right in the middle of my cutting table. Yes, when I'm trying to cut! When he was younger I made a bed for him I would put near by and he would be satisfied to sit on that. Now, no such luck.

Farmers Wife 9/2011

You might notice I am not using traditional colors. These will be made of only the fabrics I have in my stash. A stash buster it is not because the squares are only 6".

Farmers Wife 9/2011

Just a sample for now. When I finish more blocks I will put them up on my design board and show you all that are done.

Here is the other project that I have been working on since late last week.

Pick-Up Sticks 10/2011

This is on the cover of the latest issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine. The fabric is Terrain by Kate Spain for Moda. It is not a stash buster for me because I was looking in my studio for fabrics and couldn't settle on any. I was at one of my local shops for a meeting and lo and behold I was stopped in my tracks when I saw this fabric and knew I had to have it for this project. Unfortunately I now have enough for an over sized king bed thinking this was going to be my next quilt for our bed. My husband saw it on the design board and said he loved the colors but the lines going this way and that was not for him. He didn't know it was going to be our next quilt. He's an engineer, what can I say. Maybe I will stand on the corner and sell it to the highest bidder when it's done.


I'm still working on my itty bitty half square triangles. Will post soon.

Until next time, happy sewing, quilting, whatever you do, do it with a smile!