asterisk gone wrong (aka keeping it real)

and this my dear friends, is why sewing an asterisk block while watching tv is a bad life choice...

time to do some 'unsewing'....

WIP Wednesday (2/15/12)

This will be a quickie WIP update - I've gotten alot done, but I don't have much time to tell you about it right now. 

Here are some photos to show you what's been going on behind the scenes here.

I got the Mini Quilt clipped and read to be bound. Here are some wonky houses and itty bitty circles .
You'll get to see more of when it's done

Moody Blues Bee/Dead Simple QAL Working on my layout now - the ladies from the MBB did a fantastic job with improv piecing!(no pics of this yet) ... 

and got I got 2 blocks made for Melissa, who asked for wonky stars in aqua and red.

I got a log cabin pumpkin done for Lisa

I took part in the OYGB orphan bock challenge- from oprhan to tea wallet, in less than an hour!

 

Stalled out on this one, I have to find space to do the piecing , here are the 4 quadrants to the center square.

...and off I go to the next appointment. What a whirlwind of a Wednesday!

As usual you should check out every one's works in progress at Lee's!

Dear February. I will own you.

Two days into the new month, I am kicking butt and taking names. 

I got this bee block (for the Stash Bee) done last night and I love it. 

Mika asked us to make an 8.5" block in one color so she can make a scrappy rainbow quilt.

 

This was a quick easy block to piece, but I love the result!

(It took longer for me to pick out the scraps last night, than to put it together)

Got the Signature Block done this morning.

I wasted NO time getting it off of the mountain pile I have on my sewing table.
They went in the mail this afternoon, and will be at it's new home on Monday!

Hope you like it Mika :)

Bam. Bring it on February!

I'm a new (quilt bee) mama!

Eeeeeep! I'm so excited to share this with you!

The Gone Quiltin' Bee is ready to go!

We will be 12 members strong, and will run for 6 months (March 2012 – August 2012).

There is no specific theme this round, so let that creativity flow! 
This bee is beginner friendly, scrap friendly, and open to U.S. and Canadian quilters.

Check out the particulars and sign up here!

(sign up is first come until we're filled.. and that gives March's host bees enough time to their block info and fabric prepared)

My Iron (a fire breathing dragon)

This is the story of a fair maiden and her ironing board.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


Far far away, in a village called Pennsyvania, a fair maiden met her prince charming. They married.

After the wedding they moved into a castle (ha!) and excitedy opened presents.
 from the maiden and prince's beloved friends and family.

The maiden opened a small box, and was overjoyed!
The box contained a brand new sparkly iron!

They made many pretty things (okay and a few not so pretty things) together.

The maiden thought that she, her iron and her prince would live happiy ever after together.

Then one day the prince looked at her ironing board, and let out a cry!
"what happened to your board?"

The maiden was confused! She had just used her ironing board yesterday, and it was fine?

Did an evil witch curse it?

No.

Worse.
 It was burned to a crisp!

How could the maiden have not noticed that her dear iron had done this?

She must have been under the spell of the fabric...

 The prince is afraid the castle will burn down if the ironing board is not fixed.
The maiden admits, prince has a point

The maiden better make her board a new cover or spend some precious gold on one...

This maiden will not be parting from her trusty iron, even if it is part fire breathing dragon.

a Light Bulb Moment (and dusting off the DSQAL fabric)

We get excited about projects, sign up for swaps and bees and quiltalongs and those quilt endorphines pump like crazy (or at least mine do).

And then real life happens...
.... you live a year with a partially re-covered couch

.... your halloween wall hanging gets shoved in a box unfinished around thanksgiving

.... your dead simple pallete sits teasing you in a corner

The word keeps turning and you wait for things to settle down.

Please tell me you know the feeling??

Then sometimes there are happy moments of epiphany that balance out those moments. Like this:

Moody Blues Bee member Cristina is having a 'life happens' month. She was having trouble getting a block and fabric ready for her month , and said she was thinking of skipping her month. 

That broke my heart! Skip a month? That's no fun!  

And then I had an a-ha moment.. 

...that out-of-sight but not out-of-mind Dead dimple pallete flashed in my brain.

 ..the quilt I have been having a flickr love affair with flashed in my brain.

"Fact or Fiction" quilt by Karen of Blooming Poppies

Cristina and I have swapped months, I am queen bee this month, and have recruited the fine ladies of MBBR2 to have a hand in making my first all-solids quilt and my first improv pieced quilt!

I've sent the ladies the following:

   

Quilt math hurts my brain, especially this improvisational stuff. So I've asked them to make 6.5" and 8.5" 'bricks' of  (almost) any length with the fabric they receive I will string the bricks together.

I'm literally shaking with excitement! I am trying something new, using my much adored dead simple QAL fabric and Cristina will have plenty of time to prep for her turn as Queen bee. WIN WIN WIN!!

And the cheesy side of me loves that this group of talented ladies will be making 'bricks' to help me build my quilt. It’s going to be great to see what they all come up with!

What are your thoughts on improv piecing? Love it or hate it? Never tried it or old news?

I've linked up.. hop on over (if you haven't already)!

A New Year & yada yada

It's a new month.

It's a new year.

It's the widely accepted time for personal reflection, lists of goals and new beginnings.

Lots of people are looking back at their accomplishments at the Fresh Sewing Day linky party hosted by Lynne. Check 'em out :)

Considering some of personal hurdles that 2011 present me with, it may very well be a miracle that I got anything done.

But I did. And here they are!

1. Toy Train Bag, 2. His and Hers Christmas Stockings, 3. 1st 10 blocks, 4. Scrappy Tree ornament Tutorial, 5. stocking for kids - front and back, 6. finished halloween mug rug, 7. square blocks for sarah, 8. Modern Christmas tablerunner at home 9. Basement curtains


Did you notice that there is a noticable lack of quilts up there? Ya. Me too.

I'm trying not to beat myself up too much about it. I love my WIP quilts and don't hold a grudge against them, just because they are sitting abandoned on my table.

I am not the only one who has this dilemma, right?
Don't you have some unfinished sewing business from 'last year'?

I need a little kick in the sewing rump once in a while, and over the next 3 months, that kick will come in the form of  Rhonda's proposed Finish-A-Long!

I 'met' Rhonda via the tablerunner swap I did, and have developed a little blogger crush on her. 

Seriously she's awesome - see for yourself at her blog or flickr pool.

Where was I ...oh yes. Unfinished projects.

Here's how it'll work -

At the beginning of each quarter participants link up a blog post which includes a summary of the projects they intend to complete in that quarter (see Rhonda's here).

Then at the end of the quarter you link up your blog post (or Flickr pictures if you have more than one project and only one blog post) with the summary of the projects you completed in that quarter. It is the post-quarter linky party that the prizes will be drawn from. 

Genius. She's a genius. Why didn't I think of this?

Here are the projects I will aim to finish in this first quarter. Gotta aim high, right? 

1. ATS QAL Quilt : This was started 8/2011. It is just a back, and outer borders away from bring ready to quilt. It got too big for me to wrestle in my sewing nook.  I have a bigger table now, time to re-tackle this one!

2. Scrappy Friendship Quilt: This was started in 2008, as an in person fabric swap with my friends.  Its pieced, and bound and partially quilted. Haven't touched in since summer. The kicker with this one is that I am hand quilting the whole thing. It will be a 'full' mattress size when it's done. Cold weather and hand quilting sounds good - time to snuggle up and get it done!

3. Jungle Baby Quilt: It was started in 4/2011  Status: Pieces are cut. Ready to piece

4.Quilts for Kids Quilt: This is to be donated to a child in the hospital. It's partially pieced. It's a small project. I just sort of lost interest in it, which I feel sort of bad about - since it's for such a good cause.

Wow! This post is getting long .. .still with me? Good! 'Cause I wanna thank you!

Remember I said that 2011 had a lot of ups and downs for me?

One of the ups was certainly discovering the world of craft and sewing blogs.

When I started this blog in March, I had NO idea what an amazing trip I was signing up for.

I cannot begin to tell you how much the work, creativity and humor of people like you have lifted my spirits, confidence and energy when things became overwhelming. THANK YOU!!!

That brings me back to Lynne. She is also hosting her always fabulous Small Blog Meet.
It's a great way to discover some of the the newest blogs (and their wonderful writers) out there!
 
Oh wait, Lynne, what is that?
I have 48 followers, and meet the <50 criteria so I should link up again? Okay!

Since I've introduced myself several times {HERE and HERE} I will leave you with a recent photo and some (nontraditional but hopefully entertaining) questions I answered recently.

1. Worst pick up line you've gotten: "Can I borrow your library card? I want to check you out." Seriously??
2. What's the last thing you saw live in a theater? Local Professional orchestra, they were great:)
3. Do you give money to panhandlers? No
4. What's your drink? hot chocolate.
5. What's hanging above your sofa? the poster sized guest book poster thing from our wedding
6. How much is too much to spend on a haircut? This is embarassing. $0 I usually trade babysitting with my sister, who's a haridresser for my haircuts. Is that bad?
7. Brunch: pro or con? Pro, duh!
8. Cats or Dogs? Dogs, as long as they aren't super drooly.
9. What do you feel when you stand on the shore of the ocean? happy:) and usually Itchy - I am terrible about remembering sunscreen.
10. If you could chose to be an animal what animal would you choose to be? Why? An owl, Who wouldn't want to fly and see in the dark.. aren't those practically superpowers?

Bring it on 2012! I can handle anything you throw at me!
Especially with the support and witty banter of my blog family.

Wishing you a very happy, healthy and exciting year ahead :)