St. Louis Folk Victorian

Lookie Lookie...

2012-02-11T08:47:00.000-06:00

You can find me over at The MQG today, where my quilt Pixie Stixs is being featured as part of their composition series, another great installment to 100 Days Of Modern Quilting.

If you don't know much about Modern Quilting, I highly recommend checking out the 100 Days of Modern Quilting series as it offers alot of insight, inspiration and information.

=============================

If you are visiting my blog today for the first time, Welcome!!

I hope that you'll take a stroll around.

WIP Wednesday 2-8-2012

2012-02-08T20:39:00.000-06:00

So, I'm a little late for WIP Wednesday; but I do have some fun stuff to show you anyway.

Last week, I showed you the 1st block that I had made as part of the Lou Bee. Well, here is Block #2...all dressed up in yellows and looking mighty F-I-N-E. I do have to admit, I like this block. If you'd like to make one yourself, here is the tutorial.

Of course, it's not often that I have 2 of something lying around, so I took a few additional photos because I could. These lovely blocks will be given away on Saturday.

********************************

I also shared with you last week the progress that I had made on my Doll Quilt for the Fab Little Quilt Swap. Well, I am thrilled to say that I am DONE...yes, folks...that is right, I am ahead of schedule. Not that I'm ever late with my swaps; but sometimes the week it's due there is some late night sewing going on. Not with this one, I was inspired right away and things just came together.

It's all sorts of crinkly good and while it's kinda hard to tell all of the details, in person it's super. I hope my Partner likes it...when they get it in like a month :-)

That's it for this Wednesday. I'll be catching up with you all again here soon.

WIP Wednesday 2-1-2012

2012-02-01T07:21:00.000-06:00

It's February 1st...can you believe it? I'm back with another installment of WIP Wednesday and I've linked up over on Freshly Pieced

So what am I sharing with you today. How about some quilt blocks...

The first (Circle of Geese) is for our Lou Bee; which is a bee that was born out of the STLMQG. It's our first block of 2012 and Cara asked that we make two Circle of Geese, tutorial can be found here if you'd like to make your own. I've finished one as you can see below and have one more to go using yellows.

**********************************

The next block is my Center for the {Modern} Robin. It's an old-fashioned concept where you start a block and your Partner builds a border, you build a border, so forth and so on until you have a smallish-quilt.

Laura, a fellow St. Louisian, asked if I wanted to be her Partner. We'll spend the next few months working on each other's blocks. Coincidentally, she said that she is working on a star for her center block too.

*******************************

I've made some progress on my Doll Quilt for the Fab Little Quilt Swap. As you can tell, I'm really liking the use of printed backgrounds. Last week it was just a pile of scraps; but this week I've made some wedges and just need to figure out a layout.

**********************************

Finally, I want to share with you another start. Have you heard about the MQG Showcase? No...well, it's an exhibit hosted by Quilts, Inc and gives members of any MQG an opportunity to submit a quilt for consideration to a special Showcase premiering during International Quilt Market & Festival this fall. It's a great opportunity and they are having an Open Call for Submissions.

I wanted to participate; but was lacking for inspiration until I was watching TV one afternoon and saw a commercial that immediately turned on the Inspiration Lightbulb in my head. I got something down on paper, found some fabrics in my stash and started to cut random scraps. I'm doing a little Improv piecing and need to finish the quilt and submit it before the March 2nd deadline.

It looks a little Christmassy from the photo above; but I've made some headway on the quilt top and let me tell you that it is anything but Christmassy. When I look at the quilt top I actually think of "Chocolate Covered Strawberries".

*********************************

That's it for this week's WIP Wednesday, I hope to share with you some further progress next week. Until then, did you catch my Announcement from last Thursday. You can check it out here.

Ahemmmm....Can I please have your attention

2012-01-26T13:15:00.001-06:00

This announcement has been a long time coming and while I usually don't like to make a big deal out of things...especially personal things; but Gosh Darn It! I'm gonna make a big deal out of this annoucement. So here it goes...

This Spring you'll be able to buy my first Quilt Pattern.

Whew! I said it out loud and lightning didn't strike...that's a good sign.

So how did this come about? Well last year, I tipped my toes in the Designing water when I created this quilt as part of a Challenge issued to our STLMQG by Fabric Designer, Laura Gunn. Two weeks later, the Puzzled Quilt was born and was later featured on Moda BakeShop. About a month or so later, the stars must have aligned as a sudden surge of inspiration hit me and I drew up a handful of new designs.

The designs fit together so nicely and compliment one another that my first thought was that I should try and write a book...Hahahaha! Go Big or Go Home, right?

Well, that vision lasted for a few weeks and then reality set in. In the end, it just wasn't the right time for me to even attempt such a thing. Yet, that doesn't mean that I gave up. Actually, the exact opposite happened, I actually became more excited about writing and distributing my patterns the ol' fashioned way -by myself.

I'm also considering submitting something to Moda Bakeshop again, trying for a magazine, or any other ideas that come my way. So, if you have any ideas let me know.

I really think that you all will like the designs that I have created (a handful of people have seen them and have given me a Thumbs Up; which makes me smile). I can't wait to share them with all of you.

***********************

So, where am I at right now?

I just recently finished the first quilt top. YAY!!! In tandem, I've been working on the pattern writing, making tweeks here and there. The first rough draft is done; but I really need to spend some time with it before I bribe Family and some Quilty-friends to look at it and test it out.

Like the announcement above said, I'm aiming for a Spring reveal of my 1st pattern and there will definately be some giveaways to go with it.

***********************

A BIG Thanks to my Family and Friends who has been supportive of my craziness the last few months as I tackled what I was going to do.

WIP Wednesday 1-25-2012

2012-01-25T06:02:00.000-06:00

Here I am participating in WIP Wednesday over on Freshly Pieced and this time I have lots to show you.

Let's start with my progress on the Swoon blocks I'm making as part of Katy's Swoon-Along. I've now completed Block #2 and it's looking good. This one went together a lot faster then Block #1 did, because I didn't think too hard about where the prints were going to go, I just grabbed what I needed and started piecing.

I haven't decided how many of these I'm going to make just yet. The pattern calls for 9 of them; but as I mentioned before these measure 24" wide. I'm considering just making 4 of them and using wider sashing and a border to make a larger quilt. I'm in no rush though.

**********************************

I'm participating in the Fab Little Quilt Swap over on Flickr. It's a swap where you make and exchange "Doll Quilts" with another participant. The quilts measure anywhere from 12"x12" to 24"x24". I'm excited to be participating; but nervous all at once too. You see, it's an Invite-Only Swap and I kinda thought they were kidding when I received the email a few weeks ago. Me...You are asking me to join?

We got our Partners last week and I've been doing lots of detective work. On Sunday, I had a plan; but not the kind of plan that you can put down on paper; since it was Improv-and you can't plan for that. Monday, I finally started pulling some fabrics together, piecing, then cutting them into wedge shapes.

I haven't decided on the final layout; but I like what I'm seeing.

**********************************

The STLMQG (St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild) is in the midst of our Charitable Project for the Fall/Winter season; which is making pillowcases as part of the American Patchwork & Quilting, 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.

This past weekend, I made 2 pillowcases, using this tutorial. OMG! It literally took me 15 minutes to make a pillowcase. The process seems weird as you appear to be sewing things inside out; but it's amazing and super fast. You have to try it.

I've got a few other larger fabric cuts in my stash that I can surely part with, as our guild's goal is 150 pillowcases by February's meeting. At last count we are over half-way there.

**********************************

I don't know what I was thinking when I thought up this brilliant idea; but I'm making itty-bitty hexies. How itty-bitty...can you say smaller then a Dime. Yep, as you can see from the photo below, I'm nuts.

At our last STLMQG meeting, we decided to do a quick swap based off of Nova's "Itty-Bitty Magnets". The finished size of the magnets should be about 1 1/2". I was struggling with what to make when I came across the PinCushion that I created as part of Fat Quarterly's last Designer Challenge. Sure...why not try hexies.

*********************************

As you can tell, it's busy around here.

If you are visiting my blog for the first time...Welcome!

If you are a regular...Thanks for checking in, nice to see you again!

Adding to the library

2012-01-16T22:56:00.000-06:00

Look at two lovely books that I've added to my quilting library recently.

Sew to Swap: Quilting Projects to Exchange Online & by Mail

by Chrissie Grace

Modern Log Cabin Quilting: 25 Simple Quilts and Patchwork Projects

by Susan Beal

The Sew to Swap book, I won as part of last year's SewMamaSew! Giveaway Day. Darci, Stitches & Scissors, was hosting a giveaway and I won. Coincidentally, Darci was my partner in the Spicing Up The Kitchen Swap over on Flickr last year. She also is a contributor to this book.

The Modern Log Cabin Quilting book, was given to me by my future Brother-In-Law (owner of the Harry Potter Quilt). I most certainly wasn't expecting anything from him for Christmas...much less a Quilting book...much less a Modern Quilting book. I love surprises!

I really like all the inspiration in these two books and can't wait to spend some time really going through them.

WIP Wednesday 1-11-2012

2012-01-11T06:56:00.001-06:00

So last week, I participated in the first Work In Progress WIP Wednesday of the year, over at Freshly Pieced. This is week #2, and I'm gonna try to keep it up.

I'm proud to say that I've made lots of progress on my 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 in squares that I showed you all last week. I've been combining them into awesome little blocks and I'm really looking forward to putting those blocks together. Unfortunately I can't share with you what I'm making; but in due time it will all come together.

I let go of one of my WIP Skeletons, the orange/brown quilt from my post the other day. A friend rescued it, so that's one less thing hanging around gathering dust. It has a good home and I don't have to worry about it anymore. Thanks Jenny!

I'm Swooning it up, along with like 300+ others as part of Katy's Swoon-Along over on Flickr. I've finished 1 block and have 8 more to go. If you scroll down to the previous post you can read all about my attempts at resisting the Swoon.

I don't want to let you go without sharing a new photo...even if it isn't a WIP.

I found the below piece of fabric at a thrift store a few weeks ago. It was all folded in on itself; but the few bright colors I could see, I figured it was worth the 79 cents. Turns out that it's a drapery fabric from the 1920s/30s, that was printed in the UK. The basecloth is a linen. Don't you just love the bright colors? The selvedge edge is actually still attached and says Puritan Doulton Cretonne.

Can you imagine having curtains like this hanging in your home?

Don't forget, to visit Freshly Pieced to check out what others are doing on this WIP Wednesday.

Do you Swoon?

2012-01-08T19:32:00.001-06:00

I caved...I gave into temptation. Damn you Swoon.

It's not that I didn't like you, it's just that everyone and I mean everyone seemed to be going Ga-Ga. You are a lovely pattern and yet I didn't want to be just another lemming. I enjoyed watching from the sidelines, as scores of Swoon quilts popped up on Flickr and Pinterest last year. Yet, I resisted.

That was until I saw that Katy was hosting a Swoon-Along. You can find the details here on Flickr...maybe you resisted temptation too; but let's be honest Resistance is Futile! Hahahaha

So you want to know what my Swoon is going to look like, eh?

Well, it's gonna be scrappy and what I'm most excited about is what I chose for the background. I was out on Saturday looking for some grey fabric (never found it) when I came across a small pindot print. As soon as I saw it, I knew that was going to be the background for my Swoon quilt.

Of course, due to my excitement, I had to jump in and get started...ya, know (just to see what it would look like). After I got a third of the pattern done, I knew I hit gold and had to finish.

I give you Block #1.

Isn't it so freakin cute?

Now, I don't know how quickly I'm gonna finish the rest of the blocks; because I think the speed with which I've finished this 24" block was a fluke; but I'm sure gonna try.

Wish me luck...

WIP Inventory & Skeletons

2012-01-05T02:00:00.002-06:00

After I wrote my first WIP Wednesday post of 2012 yesterday and checked out some of my fellow WIP'rs, I noticed that many of them keep a sort of tally at the end of their posts. Something kinda like this:

This Week's Stats
Completed Projects
New Projects
Currently in Process

I love making lists and am one of those people that once so many things get crossed off the list, I have to rewrite what is left onto a new list. Yep, I'm one of those people. This got me thinking that I probably should take stock of just how many WIP (works in progress) I do have...which is kinda frightening; because as I'm writing this I FEEL like I have ALOT of unfinished things going on. But then again, one doesn't really know until they take stock of what is hanging around.

The other thing I'm wondering is when does something stop being a WIP...and I don't mean when it's complete (that's obvious). What I mean is when is something an eternal WIP or WIP Skeleton, as I'm calling it.

It's inventory time, people...walk with me.

------------------ Works in Progress -----------------

Snapshot Quilt

Top is Pieced...Yes

Quilting & Binding...No

String Block Quilt

made with blocks from the Simply Strings Bee members

Top is Pieced...Yes

Quilting & Binding...No

LouBee Quilt

Top is Pieced...No
I love these blocks as my LouBee girls from the STLMQG made them for me.

Small Plate "Innocent Crush" Quilt

Top is Pieced...No

I have made pretty good headway in finishing the blocks though

Blue/Yellow Improv Quilt

Top is Pieced...No
I do pull this out routinely and make another block or two.

Mod Mosaic Quilt

**Sadly this never got off the ground properly, as I only received back 5 of the 12 blocks
I sent out as part of a Quilting Bee that ended last year; but I will finish this one day, even if it's just compiling the blocks I do have into something small.**

Linen Quilt

Top is Pieced...Yes

**This was meant as a gift and while I have the backing and thread ready to go. I'm questioning my choice to use linen as the top...it's literally 95% of the top. I'm envisioning it to be a shifty mess; but I'm probably not giving it a chance.**

----------------------- WIP Skeletons ----------------------

Que the music...dun, dun, dun

Orange/Brown Quilt

**This was supposed to be a Shower gift for a co-worker like 7 years ago. This was back when I was quilting very sporadically (like every 2 years) and hated everything that I made because the quilting never looked right. I have since been introduced to a Walking Foot (duh!). This top measures approx. 36 x 48 in and is completely pieced; but I think that's where our relationship is ending. It coincidentally is sitting in the same plastic tub with its WIP Skeleton in crime below.

Improv Quilt

**So, I had made an improv quilt for a fundraiser (sadly don't have a single photo of it) and loved it so much that I wanted a similiar one for myself; but in a different palette I remember being super-excited with my fabric selections and thrilled with the first 2 "blocks" I did; but then life kinda got in the way. I packed it up, years have gone by and here it is sitting in a plastic tub and I hate it**

-------------------------------------------------------------

Do you have some eternal WIP skeletons around your house? I'd love to hear about them.
Hmmm...now what to do with the 2 WIP Skeletons above is the question.

As for including my tally list in future WIP Wednesday posts...let me think about that one for a while. Maybe making this visual list is enough for me right now.

WIP Wednesday

2012-01-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

I tweeted over the weekend that I was cutting out 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch squares...I needed 320 of them. Well, here they are in all their scrappy goodness.

I did "cheat" a little, but only out of frustration. You see it was my intention to cut all of these out of my scrap jars (as seen below); but as anyone would know who has tried to cut things from their scrap piles...it's a tedious process. You pretty much have to do it one or two at a time since my scraps (and let's be honest, most people's scraps) are all sorts of sizes. After like the 100th one, I gave up and just started cutting 2 1/2" lengths from fabric in my stash, then subcutting them into the squares. On fabrics I really liked, I used 6 or even 8 squares; but tried to keep the duplication under that. And the added bonus was that I added more scraps to the jars.

What is to become of those squares is still being "pieced" together; which is why I've decided to link up to Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday.

I'm gonna try to keep better tabs on my WIP because let's be honest, once you've put it out there, it's something you need to finish...eventually. I do have big plans for this particular project though and will share more once it's completed.

----------------------------------------------

Also, here are some other things that are on my radar as 2012 starts off with a bang. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at this Quilt-Along. Rachel from Stitched In Color is hosting the Scrap Attack Quilt-Along.

I got the scraps...as you saw in my pickle jars above, now I just need to decide what to do with them.

Also, Erin over at Two More Seconds has co-created the Tangerine Tango Challenge. Pantone, the world leader in all things color, announced that Tangerine Tango was the 2012 Color of the Year. Who doesn't love a challenge?

I don't have alot of Tangerine in my fabric stash; but I wonder who really does. For anyone taking on this challenge, it sounds like a great excuse to go buy some Tangerine fabric.

Well, that's about it for now. I hope 2012 is shaping up to be a good year for you so far.

First Finish of the New Year

2012-01-01T12:54:00.001-06:00

Okay, so technically I have been working on this the last few weeks in December; but coincidentally the binding was finished this morning, January 1st...so it kinda counts.

When my Sister's Fiance', who is like the world's biggest Harry Potter fan, jokingly mentioned that I should make him a Harry Potter Quilt, I don't think he realized that I'd actually follow-through. I mean, who really makes a Harry Potter Quilt...and especially one that doesn't "SCREAM" Harry Potter.

I found Owlsea's Pattern for a Hogwarts crest and did some intense paper piecing. I did enlarge the pattern though, as the original was only going to finish at 5", mine is about 10".

While I had the key feature finished, I had no idea what I was going to do with the rest of the quilt.

Finally, I came across this quilt in my Flickr Favs and after consulting with my Sister, we both agreed that I was on the right track.

So, I give you my take on a Harry Potter Quilt.

Oh yeah, did I mention we are having wind gusts up to 30 mph today

And of course as an added bonus, I stitched the "Deathly Hallows" into the quilt too. I'm not gonna tell him about that, let's see how long it takes him to find.

He'll be in town this coming weekend for a late Christmas and will find this waiting for him.

Oh come on...like you wouldn't wrap a Harry Potter quilt like this?

Happy New Year!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-12-18T21:15:00.000-06:00

I have to be honest...I feel cheated. I really enjoy this time of year, preparing for the Holidays, trimming the tree, baking cookies, hanging with family and getting in the Holiday Spirit; but my work schedule the last month has meant that I've missed out on alot of that and I'm sad :-(

The good news is that the next few weeks are guaranteed to be better and I plan on taking full advantage of it. I even started sewing again; and judging by how much I got done in a short amount of time...you can tell that I've been missing out.

I've been itching to try this coinpurse pattern by Freshly Picked, gently altered by Me? A Mom? allowing me to include a lining as well. It went together super fast and as you can tell by the next picture...I might have gotten a little carried away.

----------------------------------------------------------

This has been on the To-Do list for a while and will eventually become part of a larger quilt for someone. For now I'm glad that I tackled this project...even if I had to use my Seam Ripper on probably a quarter of the seams. Sometimes Paper Piecing boggles me; then I get 3 good seams and then 2 bad ones.

If you'd like to make your own Hogwarts Crest, or over 50 other Harry Potter-inspired blocks...you must check out Owlsea's Patterns. Fortunately for me, this is the one and only HP block that I am making, the rest of the quilt will be scrappy.

Well my weekend is coming to a close. I'm gonna spend some time with the twinkling lights on my tree; before calling it a night. Happy Holidays!!

Giveaway Day -December 2011- Results

2011-12-16T22:37:00.000-06:00

Dun...Dun...Dun...so Giveaway Day has ended over here at St. Louis Folk Victorian.

I really did enjoy hearing about everyone's "Go To" Movie...and clearly there are some

movies that appeal to a wide variety of people as they came up multiple times.

Pride & Prejudice
Princess Bride
Love Actually
Dirty Dancing

And there were some surprising Movies named as well:

Armageddon
Interview with a Vampire
5th Element
Napolean Dynamite

Thank You to all 168 of you who ventured over here to check out my blog and to take a chance at winning the panel of Anna Maria Horner LouLouThi Needleworks fabric.

The time has come to pick a winner and Random Generator has chosen # 16 .

Congratulations Katey...who had this to say:

Katey, I've sent you an email. Please make sure that you respond back no later then Sunday, 12/18 or else I'll have to choose another winner...and who likes to do that.

Thanks Again to Sew Mama Sew! for hosting Giveaway Day.

Happy Holidays!!!

Fat Quarterly Designer Challenge

2011-12-13T06:33:00.000-06:00

Looking for my SewMamaSew Giveaway Post, click here.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Have you checked out Fat Quarterly's blog recently?

Have you heard about the "12 Days of Ruby Star"?

Did you see this...

That means that you saw me, well sort of...you know what I mean.

You see the lovely folks from Fat Quarterly were looking for some Designers

to participate in their next "Designer Challenge", and

what do you know...I'm one of them.

I'm estastic to be participating in "The 12 Days of Ruby Star" and even more

excited to be kicking off the event. I hope that you like the tutorial that I have posted.

Make sure that if you make one of these lovelies that you post a photo of it

on Fat Quarterly's Flickr Group and maybe even drop me a line.

For those that don't know me; let me introduce myself.

-----------------------

My name's Kristy Daum and I'm from St. Louis, Missouri.
I founded the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild (STLMQG for short) and love being President of such an amazing group of inspiring talent.
I am a Moda BakeShop Chef
I once owned Po-Ka-Dot, a small crochet-accessories business that was featured in several magazines including Knit Simple, Knit.1, Easy Crochet, Easy Knitting, etc. I learned alot back then and now hope to one day share my quilt patterns with a wider audience as well

------------------------

Thanks for visiting!

Until next time, you can find me on

Flickr: Love Old Houses

Twitter @LoveOldHouses

Pinterest: LoveOldHouses

or right here on my blog

Giveaway Day - December 2011

2011-12-12T07:07:00.002-06:00

--------- Giveaway Closed, Thank You for your Participation -------

------------------- Will Announce Winner Soon -------------

Hello Giveaway Day Friends!!

First I have to Thank Sew Mama Sew! for hosting such a wonderful event each year. I encourage you to visit all of the wonderful blogs and shops participating in today's event.

While this event gives you an opportunity to win some pretty nifty things, it's also a chance for you to visit some "New To You" blogs/shops. I do hope that you will spend a little time checking out the participating blogs/shops before you go on your merry way to the next giveaway. You might just find a new blog to read, or someone new to follow on Pinterest, Twitter, etc.

Now, what am I giving away here on St. Louis Folk Victorian...how about a panel of Anna Maria Horner's LouLouThi Needlework Fabric called Crossing Paths. Oooohhhh! Aaaaahhhhh!

To Enter:

=============================

1. Leave 1 comment below telling me what is your Go-To movie in your DVD collection.
What movie or two always tops your list?

For example: With me, it has to be "13 Going on 30" or one of the Princess Diary movies. There is just something about them that sucks me in each and every time.

2. Make sure that you include an email address, Flickr Name, Twitter Name, etc...if you are a No-Reply Blogger. If you don't know what a No-Reply Blogger is, check this out.

=============================

--Drawing will close on Friday, December 16th at 7pm (CST).
Giveaway Now Closed, Thank You

--A winner will be selected by Random Generator, contacted by email and
their name posted on this blog.

--If I cannot get in touch with the winner by Sunday, December 18th

another one will be drawn.

--International friends are welcome to enter too.

Good Luck!!

Oh, and one more thing...I have comment moderation on because of those Nasty Spammers,

so your comments will show up throughout the day, NOT immediately

Holidays, Hexies and Giveaways

2011-12-08T08:53:00.000-06:00

The Holidays are quickly approaching and I'm NOT ready; but hopefully that will change by the end of this coming weekend. So much to do and NOT alot of time...literally just got our tree up and decorated last night. While I think I work best with concrete deadlines, I'm going to have to start planning for the Holidays beginning in September or October.

So, what have I been doing you ask. Well, I've been making these most recently...

These are lovely little hexies, made using Melody Miller fabric that she graciously sent to me earlier this week. While I've admired her fabrics from afar, I know that sometimes the scale is quite large; but I didn't let that stop me. I started doing a little fussy cutting and was quite surprised at how many different areas I could actually highlight...both expected (flowers) and unexpected (check out the clock faces above).

What am I doing with them? Well, I was asked to participate in Fat Quarterly's next "Designer Challenge"; which thanks to Twitter...I caught the "Call for Entries" about a month ago. Several of us will be showcasing a tutorial on Fat Quarterly's blog later this month. While I can't tell you right now what I'm making...pssst...my tutorial should be up on Tuesday if all goes well. Eeeeeee!

Additionally, I'll be participating in Sew Mama Sew!'s Giveaway Day next week. If you haven't heard about this, you are missing out and MUST check out this post to get in on the fun. It's a week long event where literally hundreds of blogs and shops offer the chance to win some fabulous giveaways. And even if you don't sew or quilt...don't let that stop you from participating. People give away lots of things including handmade items for the home, acccessories for your wardrobe, etc.

I'll be giving away a panel of Anna Maria Horner's LouLouThi Needleworks (as seen below).

Come back to my blog beginning on Monday for the opportunity.

Until then, wish me luck...and I hope to see you back here next week.

Special Delivery

2011-12-05T21:53:00.000-06:00

Look at what I got in the mail this weekend.

Can't wait to dive in.

Fabric from Melody Miller

More info coming soon...

Recap

2011-11-27T11:34:00.000-06:00

Busy...Crazy...Overwhelmed...I'm sure that many of you are feeling the same way. Thanksgiving has come and gone (that was a blur) and now Christmas is fast approaching. Here's just a little bit of what's been happening around here lately, on top of the 12-14 hour days at work.

ART NIGHT

A friend from work invited me. We talked, ate and then got our craft on.

I brought this crochet afghan, I haven't touched for over a year. While

it took me a while to get back into the groove, I'm comfortable with the stitches again.

Maybe I'll put this on my To-Do List for 2012.

SPOOLS

This is as close to sewing as I've gotten the last 2 weeks, unless you

count the 2 minutes I turned on my machine to fix a tear in a pair of pants.

CROSS STITCH

I used to do this on and off when I was a teenager and recently

picked it back up as I'm working on a gift for the holidays.

HOOPS

Visited an Antique Mall to help support Small Business Saturday

and found this group of 10 needlework hoops for $5.

The good news about December is that I have a lot of vacation days, I'll definately need them if I have any hope of getting everything done that I want to.

How are you coming along with your lists of things to do?

Vacation cannot come soon enough

2011-11-13T21:17:00.001-06:00

Have you seen the movie, Up!

I totally feel like Dug the Talking Dog right now when he sees a squirrel. I'm working on a BIG project and need to make sure that all my I's are dotted and T's crossed; but my mind is jumping from one thing to another and I keep making mental lists of things that I need to do.

I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving break next week

Veterans Day

2011-11-11T12:52:00.000-06:00

While I'm thankful everyday that I was born and raised in the United States of America, I'm also very proud to say that my Dad is a Veteran of the Vietnam War (101st Airbourne).

He tells us stories now and again about his buddies, the things they did without and the way that they were treated upon returning home. We joke around with him now and again when activities like "Laser Tag" or "Hunting for Easter Eggs in the Dark" are brought up.

Watch out, Dad will go into " 'Nam Mode"

He likes playing War games on XBox and yells at the screen when the other players do stupid things.

If you did that in real life, you'd have your head shot off

He's still a kid at heart and would give a stranger the shirt off his back.

My family tells me I'm alot like my Dad, and you know what...I'm okay with that.

----- Go Hug a Veteran Today -----

Giveaway Results & Pillow Arrival

2011-11-08T22:03:00.000-06:00

First things first, the Autumn Giveaway that I recently held has now closed and you probably want to know who is the winner of the 1 1/2yds of Alexander Henry Fabric. Random Generator chose (drumroll please)...

Congratulations Keri!! Thanks for visiting.

Check your inbox (and possibly your Spam folkder too), as I have sent you an email.

=====================================

In other news, I received my Pillow Talk Swap pillow in the mail last week. It's an adorably-scrappy little number made with what else, Houses. This cutie came to me from Debra.

Thanks Again!!! I love it.

Fall Giveaway

2011-11-03T22:40:00.001-05:00

Can you believe that it is a couple of days into November already?

As most of us "Fall Back" this weekend, I wanted to take this time to celebrate Autumn...

and what better way then with a little giveaway.

I am giving away a smidge over 1 1/2 yards of the below Alexander Henry

print called "Land of Autumn"

***Updated: This Giveaway is closed.***

The rules are pretty simple:

==================================

Giveaway opens 11/3 10:30pm and closes on 11/8 9pm CST...so don't delay

1. Leave 1 comment below telling me something you like about this time of year.

2. Make sure that you include an email address, Flickr or Twitter Handle, etc if you are a No-Reply Blogger.

International friends can comment too!

=======================

Winner will be drawn on Tuesday, 11/8 a little after 9pm (CST) by Random Generator.

If I cannot get in touch with the winner by Friday, 11/11 another winner will be drawn.

Good Luck!!! and don't forget to take a look around my blog if you are a new visitor.

Comment Moderation is on; but don't fear your comments will still appear...just throughout the day.

We don't want spammers clogging up the comment box.

Pillow Talk Swap, Round 6

2011-11-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

I participated in the Pillow Talk Swap; Round 6 (my 3rd time playing along). After receiving my Partner's name and doing a little friendly-stalking, and fabric stash pulling, I had an idea.

I had been wanting to try the block from Schnibbles times two, a book that I had bought on clearance when Borders closed (still sad about that). I loved the quilt on the front cover and with a little ingenuity figured out how to make it work for a pillow.

Here is the finished pillow; which was mailed out on Monday. It's very bright and cheery, two things that I am really hoping my Partner will enjoy

And here is a close-up of the quilting that followed the X-Shapes.

So Partner, I hope you like this pillow that is coming your way.

You should have it by week's end.

Bee Blocks - October

2011-10-31T16:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!! Since today is the last day of October, it seems only right that I share what has been going on with you this month in the way of Bee Blocks.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Simply Strings Bee: October is the final month of this bee which has been a lot of fun. Lindsay asked for Spiderweb blocks; but done a little differently. Here is the tutorial she asked us to use...and here are my blocks. She asked us not to sew them together, so she could mix all of them up.

do.Good.Stitches {a Charity Bee}: I'm part of the Trust Circle; which is making quilts for My Very Own Blanket. This month, Amber asked us to make Greek Cross Block using this tutorial from Faith @ Fresh Lemons.

I also have been doing lots of thinking about the blocks that I want to make for the Lou Bee. It's Grace's month and she gave us lots of fun fabrics to play with. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions.

Can you believe tomorrow is November 1st?

Don't mind me...

2011-10-24T07:16:00.001-05:00

...Just doing some sewing over here in the corner, where no one can see me.

There is a plan; but I can't tell you just yet.