A Thrifty, Gifty, Bonanza

One trip to the mailbox and one garage sale trip and I'm a trip happy girl. Last week during the deadly headache I received a package from Stacy of My Two Cold Feet. I won a giveaway on her blog which was for some fabric and yarn, but look what arrived. This whole bunch of goodies. Stacy, you'll notice the prickly pear cactus jam is missing. Well, it's gone, eaten, enjoyed and it was scrumptious. We loved it! She even sent some pieces of her great grandmother's fabric. Those dots are flocked. Is that not the coolest! I'll be sure and use those in something very special! Thanks so much Stacy for your generous gift. I love it all!





















I went garage sale shopping with my hubby on Saturday and did a few thrift stores too. Usually I'm looking at the Thrifted Tuesday group pictures on flickr with serious thrift envy. Where do folks find all those great things? Well, I finally scored a few things.
1. Flower power curtains for 50 cents a panel. There were 8 panels. I only bought four. This lady must have had her whole house done in these curtains. They are huge. So much fabric for only $2.00 total and I think it's so 70's flower power!
2. Three sets of knitting needles. Each set 99 cents. I knew I was getting yarn from Stacy...but I don't know how to knit. So all you knitting wizards...what did I buy? Green ones are 4.5mm US 7, gold are 4.25mm 6, and the blue are USA 8. HELP?! What does it mean and can I make a scarf using them and the yarn from Stacy?
3. Two huge pieces of polka dotted flannel $1.00 each.
4. Vintage tablecloth with strawberries cut into 36 6" squares $2.00. Can you see those as a picnic quilt!
5. Pyrex bowls $2.00.
6. Fire King casserole, and bowls for $2.00 each. Is that a bonanza or what!

One of the sales we stumbled onto was an estate sale. The lady of the house had to be a quilter. The basement was filled to the brim with boxes of fabric. I spent all the time I had going through the boxes picking out the fabric I might use. The hubby grew impatient and dragged me out of the basement. I could have spent the whole day. There were so many boxes I didn't get to touch. I got a bunch of fabric for a couple of dollars. It was weird, though. I felt a bit like I was digging through someone else's stash without permission. I got over it and walked away with some fabric I will definitely put to use. Pictures to come soon. (fabric is in the washer!) Oh, and there was one piece I was so in love with it's already cut and half made into a baby quilt. It's wonderful how great fabric can inspire creativity!

Lost a Week

It's Saturday night. Where did the week go? Thanks for the commiseration and well wishes. For those of you who are migraine suffers, you already understand, for the rest of you, a headache like that will put your life on hold. This one was a monster.

I'm feeling like a person again. I finally decided on a direction for Hannah's graduation quilt. Here's a little preview. She's heading into the drama program at the University of Oklahoma. I wanted it to be a bit OU, but mostly fun, like Hannah! I have the first 8 of 16 blocks done.





















I also picked up where I left off on the painting in Ben's room. The room is just about done. One more coat on the woodwork and it will be totally finished. Hope I can get that done tomorrow. I love painting walls, ceilings, but woodwork and windows are definitely not my favorite. I feel some procrastination coming on! I used two colors in the room. The space below the window is mocha along with one wall and the rest of the walls are a lovely cream. When Ben headed to college he took all his furniture with him. I love the furniture I found for his room, it's so retro. I found the headboard, desk, chair and a dresser at this great place in KC called Revival. It's a cross between a big garage sale, antique store and furniture store. They have a great selection(quick turnover) and fab prices. I think I got all these pieces for $125 total. I wanted him to have a "room" when he came home. The next task is to make a quilt for his bed to replace this one. He wants something a bit more modern and funky...he is his mother's son!






























































Lastly, thanks for all the suggestions for what to do with my Disappearing Nine Patch quilt. I got some very good ideas. I'm still investigating two of them, but I'm sure it will be on its way to a good home very soon. I'll keep you posted.

Looking for a Home

This quilt is looking for a home. I made it as an experiment to learn the Disappearing Nine Patch. It was also my first ever machine quilting experience. I think it's pretty, but it's not me. I don't like the colors, in fact I really don't like purple, (sorry Purple and Paisley!) except in nature where I adore it. It's been sitting folded up on the shelf for too long. A quilt shouldn't suffer that fate when someone out there would love it and use it. Even though I don't really like it and don't use it, it's hard to give it up. Go figure?
So, here's where you all come in. I'm in a creative slump, (may be due to the four day migraine I can't seem to shake!) I can't think of how to do this. I think it's a big deal giving away a quilt, maybe it shouldn't be... So, what do you think? Ideas?

Little Blue With a Kiss of Pink

Peg, I'm happy to report that Little Blue has been added to the finished list. I used white flannel for the back with some pieced scraps left from the front. The flannel was left over from covering my design wall. The binding is a very faint pink...I like the kiss of pink on this quilt. The quilting is very simple random lines in a fan shape across the quilt. Though it's not my favorite I think it will give comfort to a child, so I'm satisfied with it. My two donation quilts, Little Blue and this one are done and ready to be delivered.

I've been doing some thinking about what I would like to have finished for Peg's Five by the end of July Challenge and here they are.
Little Blue - Done!
Red and White quilt-a-long quilt
Pinwheels in the Garden
Hannah's graduation quilt
Connections
Some are barely started so it would be quite an accomplishment if I could turn them all into finished quilts that quickly. Thanks to Peg for the motivation!
Hey...head here for a fabulous fabric giveaway to celebrate the opening of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. A new store you can check out here!

We're Not Cat People

She came to live with us while we were living in my parent's basement 12 years ago. We adopted her and she started her life with us in a laundry basket filled with towels. We needed her to be an "outside" cat so her cushy life in the basket didn't last long. We moved her up to the porch of the new house. She started her job before we moved in. She grew up to be a lean, mean killing machine. Snakes, mice, skinks, birds, moles...if it moved she could catch it. She was a master of the cat and mouse game. She would catch a mouse with her paw (picture traumatized mouse in shock) lift her paw and wait for the terrified mouse to move and then with a quick slap capture the poor thing again. I never knew where the phrase originated until I saw her play the game and she always won.

She lived surrounded by squirly, overenthusiastic labrador retrievers. She was the queen. They all had scars to prove it. Her hiss struck fear in dogs and humans alike. Those dogs may have treed her a few times, but from her perch she looked down on them with disdain and regained her throne in her own dignified way. Affectionate only in her queenly way and only with those she chose to associate with. When she was done accepting our snuggling, she let you know none so gently. She had a special relationship with my husband. Whenever he sat on the front porch reading the paper, it was his lap she chose to jump up on and he was the only one who could rough her up without ending up with bloody hands. I fed her, made her bed and was always the one who secretly let her in the house, but he got the only love she ever gave willingly.

She took pride in her work and enthusiastically included us in her celebrations. Too many days I sleepily stepped on her kill which she would ceremoniously deposit by which ever door was most convenient for her. I think she calculated the exact spot to put her kill so we had the greatest probability of stepping on it. When she heard me screech, I'm sure she wore a satisfied smile. We made her a bed for the winter and even bought her one of those warm electric beds. She refused to use it. In the bitter cold we would feel sorry for her and bring her in the house. She would find the cushiest blanket or the warmest lap and curl up and purr so as to let us know, not that she was happy, but that we better not move her until she was good and ready to go. There were several incidents I can recall where we had to cover her with a blanket in order to get her out of the house without severe bodily harm.

Cal had a thing for cheese. It was the only "people food" I ever saw her eat. If you had a piece of cheese in your hand, there was a good chance you could lose a chunk of your finger as she snatched the cheese. She wouldn't drink clean water, she preferred a good mud puddle or pond water. She loved containers. If there was a pot or a bucket or she would be in it usually on her back or twisted into some position a contortionist would marvel at. She was a real cat, she had claws and she used them.
Over the last year, since we haven't been here regularly, my dad has been her caretaker. He fed her and made sure she was taken care of when we weren't around. She looked for him and he grew to expect her whine for attention. A look and a brief acknowledgment were enough for her. She roamed the property clearing it of vermin...always doing her job for us faithfully.

She disappeared three weeks ago. Each weekend when we came, I called for her expecting her to pop out of the bushes. Cal's been gone before, but never for more than a few days. For 12 years she avoided hawks, turkey vultures and even bald eagles. We have bobcat, fox and all sorts of other animals that might be a problem for a cat. It could have been a stray dog. We'll never know. All we know is that it's not the same here without her. Wherever she is, I'll bet she's smiling!

House Work Trumps Sewing?

Finished blocks 7 and 8 of AmandaJean's Seeing Stars Quilt-a-long. I love the fabrics in these stars. I have 6 of the setting blocks done too, but I'm not sure I want to use them. I have all 8 of the stars on my design wall and I'm really digging them all together. I'm considering making additional stars instead of using the setting blocks. Still noodling on that one!








I got mail this week. In the package was Melissa's fabric for the second month of the Common Threads virtual quilting bee. I adore her fabric choices, a beautiful Alexander Henry print and 4 coordinating solids. You can see her inspiration quilts here. I think she's wanting some curved piecing in this block. Another challenge for me.

We're out in the country for the weekend. I brought some projects since I'm committed to Peg's finishing challenge. I hope to get at least this quilt quilted. I have my pinwheels with me and the cut fabric for Hannah's graduation quilt. I don't know if I'll have time to sew much...I've got weeding, mowing, a room to paint, a ceiling in another room to paint, windows to paint and an ant invasion to deal with...sounds like it might be a painting weekend rather than a sewing weekend. It's hard to let working on the house trump sewing, but I've been putting this off for too long. We'll see what happens, kind of depends on my mood tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!

Seeing With My Eyes Closed

No, this is not a 3 dimensional block. It's part of a pinwheel. The two pieces of brown stuck together and I happily chain stitched 10 of these. Another one of my classic boo boos! When I saw it I had to giggle.
Ellen of Growing Gills commented on my last post "Sewing With My Eyes Closed" and her words and this latest snafu prompted me to think about why I do what I do and how I go about doing it. I sat with my eyes closed and took a few moments to consider what she said. She used words like intention, joy, faith, beauty. In many ways she summed up why I love to quilt. The joy for me is in the process, the stops and starts, the bumps in the road, the successes, the learning, the sense of accomplishment in the creating and even in sewing bindings on twice. My work is far from perfect, but I try to learn from every project I attempt. Quilting is probably a pretty good metaphor for my life...Thanks Ellen for helping me "see".

Sewing With My Eyes Closed

You might remember this quilt. I love it and it graces my bed daily.





















This morning I made the bed and spied this...can you see it? Arrrrg! I must have been sewing with my eyes closed. I think this is why I don't sell my work. How could I have missed this??? Makes me want to take back everything I've given as gifts and say, well, inspector #5 was on vacation and we need to do a once over with our best inspector to make sure this is quality work! I hate it when I do something like this!















So, now it looks like this. It's bad enough to have to bind a quilt once, but TWICE! I love this little baby and I want it to last so I'm off to rip some more and redo the binding. I'll say it one more time....I must have been sewing with my eyes closed!

Music is Life

I received this picture on my phone last Thursday with the message "Headlining!" My son's band, The Letter Division, played their first headline gig at a club in Lawrence last week. My son was thrilled and we were tickled pink for him! So proud to have a rock star in the family!















A while ago I stumbled onto this retro radio fabric in the bargain bin and played with it one night and came up with the idea for a series of "Music is Life" mini quilts. And thanks to Peg's Challenge they are finally a finished set. These are going to hang on the wall by the door in my studio. They remind me of my boys and how much music is a part of our lives. I love the quilting on these and it wasn't too hard to do either. That's a good thing!












































































Yesterday I had a cutting marathon. This is not my usual mode of working. I like to cut a bit, sew a bit, cut a bit etc. I hardly ever cut all the fabric for a quilt before I start. Mostly that's because I'm usually designing as I go. I cut most of the rest of the triangles that I'll need for the hour glass quilt and I cut a bunch of 4" squares of Katie Jump Rope fabric (I don't have a clue what these are for...well maybe a clue, but not a concrete idea.) I thought since I was in cutting mode, why not? Goals for today: catch up with the quilt-a-long (2 blocks to do) and baste my Little Blue quilt. Maybe get started quilting on that one. Pretty ambitious goals for a busy day! It's good to have a goal!

Sprint for the Finish

CAUTION! (Solidia, don't read on if you want to be surprised!)
If you read my blog regularly you know I love to work on multiple projects simultaneously. Check out that list of works in progress on my sidebar. It's a long one, and it doesn't include all the projects in my head or my inspiration book. I am resigned to the fact that I am a starter and I'm good with that. When it comes to finishing, it's a different story altogether. It helps a bit that I don't like to be late, I try to honor commitments, and I'm crazy competitive. Bottom line....finish something already!
First, a deadline. I signed up for a mini quilt swap on flickr. End of June is the deadline and some of the swappers have already received their quilts. My competitive nature kicked in and with deadline looming I finished my mini quilt for the swap. Solidia likes pink so I dipped into some of my favorite pink fabrics and came up with this. The back is pieced with some scraps from the front.




































I did a bit of embellishing, ribbon, a button and a bit of decorative stitching. It was fun to try new things. I hope Solidia likes it. I'm not sure about it. I'm struggling about whether to send it or try something new. That would not help with the whole finishing thing...now would it? I need to sleep on it and look at it again in the morning.





















Next, a challenge. Peg, at Happy in Quilting is challenging herself to finish 5 tops into quilts by the end of July. She invited folks to join her. I jumped on the finishing bandwagon. Wouldn't it be great to have 5 finished quilts by the end of July! I don't know if mini's count, but I'm going to try to reduce that WIP list on my sidebar by 5 by the end of July. Thanks to Peg, I'm sprinting to the finish!
And to feed my starter personality...some new fabric

These stripes are from our visit to IKEA in Portland. Did I tell you I love that store? No IKEA in or near Kansas City, so I lingered as long as I could. I have an idea brewing for these and some other striped fabric in my stash.

Don't you love these fabrics? Aunt Grace 30's reproductions. I scored these on ebay right before our trip. Great price and 36 fat quarters. I have so many ideas for these...it paralyzes me. I may have to just oogle them for awhile.
EDIT: I forgot to add, Jackie at Canton Village Quilt Works is having the best giveaway...she will machine quilt a quilt for the winner. Is that not the best? Head on over and check it out.

There's No Place Like Home

Hey everyone, we're home! I missed the kids and the dog, missed the sewing machine too. Can't wait to get back at it. The trip was romantic, relaxing, exciting, fun, and filled with inspiration. It was wonderful having the time to take in and really look at my surroundings. Inspiration was everywhere...color, pattern, texture, sound, smells. I can hardly believe that I didn't blog a bit during the trip. Actually I can...the week flew by...the daily walks on the beach lasted for hours and the hikes up the mountains happened daily too. We took a bit of time to explore some of the coastal towns and even spent a day bumming around Portland. We love out of the way places and local flavor. We drank it in!



Our hosts at the Ocean Point Inn in Arch Cape, Oregon were fabulous. They run a wonderful little place and did everything possible to make our stay simply perfect. For most of the week we were the only ones there and it was very much like having a private place on the ocean. Bruce and Ron made us breakfast every morning. Our favorite was the poached eggs in wontons. Every morning was something unique and equally fabulous! We could get used to that! We sat in these chairs..usually with blankets cuddled around us and looked at these views and listened to the waves crash on the rocks and roll up on the beach.
Hiking in the coastal rainforest was amazing. My husband loves to take me to places with signs like this...I have a bit of a fear of heights and some vertigo issues...I always seem to be the one on the side with the cliff or ravine and one step away from oblivion. After 25 years...I'm resigned to it, but it never fails, I am always rewarded with rushing mountain streams, gorgeous wildflowers, natural beauty and at the top...a fabulous vista.









































































































The best part of the trip was spending 7 straight, uninterrupted days with my husband. Twenty-five years seems like yesterday to us. I can't imagine myself not married to him, not being his partner, not loving him. It was a joy to see his face light up each time he saw a new vista that took his breath away, to see the flush on his face after a great run on the beach or through the woods, to hold his hand, touch his face, or simply watch him enjoy life. I am a lucky woman, though as my mom says, it isn't luck at all. You have to choose well. I did.

A couple of bits of business before I continue packing and getting ready to leave on our anniversary trip early in the morning. I'm trying to get at least 6 of the setting blocks for the Seeing Stars quilt-a-long quilt done by tonight. Two are completed, two need final seams and two are still in pieces. I think I can make that deadline. I'm pleased with the fabric choice. I wanted the quilt to have a "blue" feel. I hope this print isn't too overwhelming for the stars. We'll see as more get completed. I also want to get my quilt for the mini swap planned. I can sew it when I return.

Many of you asked where we are heading on our trip, so I thought I would share a few pictures from our destination. You may recognize the place from the landmark in the picture. I will tell you it's a very small private inn (only 3 suites). Breakfast every morning, a beach to walk and run on, forest to hike in, and best of all...alone time with my sweetie!







I want to thank everyone who came by over the last couple of days to attend the party. Many of my regular readers came...I'm so glad...and I met some new bloggers as well. I will be visiting your blogs when I have a bit of time. I appreciate every comment!

Last order of business, thanks to the magic of the random number generator the winner of the "Pretty in Pink" mini quilt is...Sara from the Quilting Bookworm Sara said, "Congratulations on your 100th post! And your 25 year anniversary! Where are you going to celebrate? That is so exciting. I am nowhere near that (100th post or anniversary!) I love the mini quilt, I like the pinwheel side the best. I love pinwheels and how they look!" Email me your address and I'll get it in the mail today.

I don't know if I'll be blogging while I'm away next week. The laptop will be with me because we use IChat to communicate with the kids. I'm looking forward to sitting on the deck and cruising flickr for inspiration and catching up on my blog reading as well as filling up my bloglines with new, fun crafty blogs! I may even be hand sewing some hexagons for some English paper piecing if I can get everything gathered up in time. Until next weekend....take care bloggy pals!