Indiana......February......Circa 2012........

IMHO, this is just wrong.  I'm a winter lover and there have only been a few days that I would call wintry.  We've had very little snow followed each time by warm, thawing weather.....even the crocuses are confused.  They started coming up in December and after each snowfall melts, I see that they continue to grow taller.  Oh well.  I can't control the weather and it's been easy on my back to let the sun do most of my snow removal.  Maybe next year will be white, bright, and snowy!

Here's a recently finished quilt for the Linus Project.  I've had the fabric for quite some time and finally made the quilt.  I had a motive for getting it done...... Edwards, a local fabric shop, enticed me to get it finished in order to be eligible for a drawing for a new sewing machine and several other door prizes.  The "admission price" was a finished quilt to donate to our local Linus chapter.  Talk about motivation!

I did my "signature" wave quilting pattern.  It's just so easy and I've never had any trouble with bunching up.  It's not very fancy, but it gets the job done fairly neatly.

Here's a folded over shot of the back, which used the same focal fabric as the front.

And, no, they didn't draw my name.  The real winner was Project Linus, which received over 180 quilts that day.  These quilts will bring a smile to lots of faces!  Be sure to check for Linus chapters in your area...... many children will be thankful for your donations.

This poem was written by Stephanie Husted

Somewhere
Somewhere...someplace... today...
A family is waiting to hear...
Is something wrong with their baby?
The answers aren't quite clear...
This family has entered an unwanted world...
And they just don't know what to expect...
Somewhere...someplace... today
They first heard the words: heart defect.
And how they hoped this was not true...
And thought... this cannot be...
I too... know just how this feels...
For one day...this was me.
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A man and a woman embrace...
Their baby is in surgery...
They long to see her face...
They haven't got to hold her yet...
Without...a cord or line...
They pace the room awaiting news...
And hope she'll be just fine.
Prayers fill this busy waiting room...
And mom and dad are scared...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
The tiniest hearts are repaired.
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A child's growing fast...
Smiling,laughing,thriving...
His mom thinks...can this last?
It's almost easy...to forget...
That anything is wrong...
Somewhere...someplace..today...
Her child seems so strong.
Somewhere...someplace... today...
A little boy fights...just to live
A father holds his tiny hand...
His love...all he can give...
The doctor's are all baffled...
They fear that he might die...
Somewhere...someplace...today...
A family says goodbye...
Somewhere...someplace...each year..
More than 40,000 families will see...
What it means...when something's wrong...
They'll face a CHD.
Today...for just a moment...
Stop...remember...reflect...
Make time to tell someone you know...
"I've been changed by a heart defect".
Some bonds cannot be understood...
Unless you have walked them before...
A path that I would not have chosen...
A future I just can't ignore.
We've all watched our children intently...
Memorizing each line...
And let them leave our loving arms...
And prayed things would be fine.
We've paced the halls awaiting news...
And wondered just what lie in store...
We've felt our own heart's racing as...
We walked through an ICU door...
We've seen the child we love so much...
Struggling to overcome...
The lines...the cords....the monitors...
No thoughts...no words...would come...
We've prayed for an improvement...
We've laid it in God's hands..
We've cried...we've hoped...we've worried...
We've wondered of God's plans.
We've learned just how a heart works...
Each valve and artery...
We've asked a lot of questions...
We've faced each surgery.
And somewhere down this well worn path...
We've met more families...
Who know exactly what it means...
To live with this disease.
We've smiled at every triumph...
And shared in every sigh...
We've prayed for a child that struggles...
And each family that must say goodbye.
Some battles are fought with bullets...
And weapons made for war...
While these are fought in silence...
Behind a hospital door...
We've wondered what lies in our future...
We've been thankful for just one more day...
We've stopped and watched with tear-filled eyes...
Our children...as they play.
We've struggled with ounces and weight gain...
Why won't my child just eat?
But heart mom's ...we're a tough group...
We've learned how to face a defeat.
We've faced those moments...others do...
When life has got us stressed...
But it doesn't take long to remember...
That we are richly blessed.
We've taken on a whole new role...
One we we wouldn't exchange if we could...
We know that life is difficult...
We hold onto all that is good.
God chose each of us carefully...
I do believe he smiled...
Some bonds begin with strangers...
And just one special child.



One in one hundred children will have some sort of heart defect.  Heart disease is not just for adults.  Please pray for continuing research and funding to help more and more of these children survive.

This post is dedicated to little Madison who, at 9 months, is an inspiration to me in strength, bravery, hope, and fortitude.

My 12 Wonky House Swap Blocks are all finished!  Because no one will receive more than one of my blocks, it wasn't necessary to make them different.  Many of the swappers are doing just that....making 12 different blocks.....but due to time and not wanting to get overwhelmed, I chose to make the same basic block.  They all ended up being squared up a bit differently, just due to the construction.....more sky....less sky......more ground.....less ground....more to the right....more to the left.  A few of the roofs are different and a few of the ground fabrics are different.

I just need to sign my siggy blocks and get them all in the mail next week.  I won't receive my swap partners blocks until mid March-ish and I'll post them when they arrive.  I can't wait to see all of the different wonky houses!

Along with 12 Wonky House Blocks, we are to make 12 signature blocks to enclose with each house block.  I made these last night and just need to sign them.  They are 5" square.  It was nice to have a quick project to work on and complete in just 30 minutes.  Now, I must get back to house construction....

I'm finally able to reveal another Christmas project.  It arrived last night and now I can show some photos.

This wall hanging was made for my SIL, Patti, who went on an African mission trip last summer.  I wanted to make something that would bring back memories of her trip.  First of all, this is not my design.  It was made from a pattern called "My Favorite Earrings!" by Sandy Fitzpatrick.  The only change that I made to the pattern was to reduce the pattern pieces.  The hanging was supposed to measure 40" x 43" and mine ended up measuring 22" x 38".  I figured it would still be plenty large at this smaller size....and....what if she didn't like it.....I didn't want it to be too overwhelming.  Here's the full wall hanging.

It was fun to pick out all of the batik fabrics for this hanging.  Many of the fabrics came from my stash.  I did have to buy the background and the backing (same fabric).  None of these pictures show much of the quilting.  The entire brown background was stippled and the bright border just has straight stitching lines, about 1/2" (or less) apart.  All of the applique pieces were fused and stitched with a narrow zigzag stitch.  The small lines on the butterflies were hand back stitched.

So that's it for Christmas 2011.  I suppose I'd better get moving on Christmas 2012!

I've been working on my Wonky House Block exchange and I'm finding it to be quite challenging.  I started out with paper piecing, but found it wasted too much fabric because of all of the angles.  You paper piecers will understand this issue.  Anyway, I switched to a template method.  I cut most of my pieces larger than the templates and it went together fairly well.  I knew that I could trim it down to 12 1/2" if it turned out too large.  Being "wonky", the rules of normal quilt block construction just don't apply which is a saving grace.  Accuracy, as such,  is not as important as regular piecing.  No points to match, etc.  Here's everything cut out and ready to sew.  I had the first two rows pieced before I realized that I wanted to take a before picture.

This is the finished block, trimmed down to 12 1/2".  I may switch a few of the fabrics on some of the next blocks.....I have eleven more blocks to make....but they will all be similar to this one.  It all depends on how much of the same fabric that I have.  For instance, I know I don't have enough roof fabric to make 11 more roofs with this fabric.  I'll just "build" one house at a time and see how they turn out.
 

I've got a miscellaneous day today.  Some of these pictures have been in my camera for a few months and I just haven't spent much time blogging.  I'll try to be more on top of things.

First off, I spent my birthday gift certificate today.  Thanks, Kathy!  :)  I've been waiting for their year-end sale to get the most for my money (gift certificate).  I didn't go crazy, just picked up a few things.  I was almost out of white Fairy Frost, which is one of my staples, and I picked out another white on white fabric that doesn't have the shiny sheen.  A Christmas panel, a Christmas print, and a pattern round out my purchases.

This is Oliver, expecting to help me cut fabric today.  I had to disappoint him, as today was just a shopping and design day, not a sewing or cutting day.

Next up is my Christmas cactus.  I bought it last year in the reduced area at Lowe's.  I think it was $1.00, maybe less.  I was thrilled when it actually bloomed this year, although this was its one and only bloom.  I'm not sure if I did something wrong or if this is just because it was a small cactus.  Guess I'll see what happens next year.  The bloom was such a pretty shade of coral and I was looking forward to many more colorful flowers. 

These next two photos show the loot I picked up at a garage sale in October.  (Yes....I should have blogged about it then.)  The patterns were $1 each.  Great deals!

The fabric was sold at $.12 per inch, a great price in this world of expensive quilt fabric.  I got the charm packs for $3 each.  This garage sale is once a year and I always look forward to it, hoping to find some great treasures!

Finally, an applique kit that I bought awhile back, also on sale.  Do you see a pattern in my shopping habits??  I buy way too much fabric and too many sewing goodies, but at least I wait for sale prices.  (This is my way of justifying my bad habit.)  I love McKenna Ryan's patterns and kits.

That's it for today.  I've got a few more pictures hanging out in my camera and will post them soon.  Hope your sewing day is a good one!

I started playing around with my EQ5 this afternoon and this is my design for the Wonky House Block Swap.  It's easy to get carried away with the endless fun angles and designs that I could come up with but I had to tell myself that the design had to be sewable...and....I need to make 12 blocks.  Anything too terribly complicated might cause me trouble in getting things finished in time.  These aren't the colors that I'll be using, just some colors that I was playing with to get some contrast ideas. 

Oh, BTW, the swap is now closed.  I had posted that the fourth group was forming....it's now full.  I'm not sure if any further groups will be opening up.

Here are some of the fabrics that I've auditioned for the blocks.  So far, everything has come from my stash.  We were told to use bright fabrics with no Civil War fabrics or calicoes.  I may try to find a novelty fabric to fussy cut for the window and/or door.  I have some novelty fabrics in my stash that might be cute, but I think I'll look around a bit before doing any cutting and sewing.

I'm finally able to show one of the Christmas gifts that I made.  It was delivered yesterday and I think it was appreciated!

My friend, Kathy, has two sweet little schnauzers and this is a table runner with some character interpretations of her schnauzers.  (The schnauzer pattern came from Fat Cat Patterns.)  Kathy has one black schnauzer and one gray schnauzer.  Here's the whole table runner.  It ended up being about 16" x 46"....... pretty long. 

A close up of the two pups.......

Lola......

Dutch.......

A bone for a treat.......

This is my third attempt at stippling and I'm finally getting the hang of it.  My biggest problem has been with the tension and getting a decent stitch on the top as well as the bottom.  I just kept experimenting with sample sandwiches until I found success (somewhat).  Your upper tension needs to be VERY tight.  I had mine set almost as high as it would go, high enough that it was even a little tough to pull the thread out of the machine to clip threads when you finished an area.  Hope this helps you with your efforts.

And finally, here are a few gifts that I received for Christmas....... the sewing and quilt related gifts, that is.  The vintage lusterwear bear is going to become a pin cushion..... that's why he's shown with sewing items.

 I love them all!!!!!  (Thank you!)

Just joined a new Wonky House Block Swap at Jane's Fabric's and Quilts.  A new group of 12 folks is forming and there are still some openings.  Click on the house to find out the details.  The blocks aren't due until March, so there's plenty of time!

Please join in the fun!

I'm not sure what year this picture was taken, but I do remember being terribly embarrassed because I did not believe in Santa Claus!  We went to visit Santa with our neighbor, Mom's best friend, and her two sons.  Mom said she thought both of the boys still believed in Santa so I had to play along.  Now, decades later, this picture brings sweet memories and I'm glad that Mom dragged me along for a photo op.  (Mrs. Claus took the Polaroid photo!)

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.
(Luke 2:10-11)

Merry Christmas to you and yours!  May you be blessed with sweet memories, past and present.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU AND YOURS!

It's been ages since I've done any craft posting.  Sorry about that.  Life has just been getting in the way and my time for creating has been slim to none. 

So today, I have a little show and tell.  I was lucky enough to win a give-a-way in October during a blog hop that featured the"Ghastlie" fabric line by Alexander Henry. 

Here's a picture of my prize when it arrived.....all dressed up and ready to be opened!

Here is my wonderful gift.  An apron made from Ghastlie fabric, sent to me from Katherine.  I had entered on her blog and was the lucky winner.  This picture does not do it justice.  It's just beautifully made....her construction is perfect......and she really made the Ghastlie fabric stand out.  I told her it was too pretty to use for messy cooking, but would be perfect to wear while handing out candy to the little gremlins in the neighborhood.  Thank you soooooooo much, Katherine!

  

Now, here's the bad part.  I'm in love with this fabric collection.  All of the projects that were highlighted in the Ghastlie blog hop were so creative.  I just had to have some of this fabric too!  I don't have specific plans, so for now, I'm just fondling the fabric and thinking of all of the great things that I could make using this quirky fabric. 

Thank you again, Katherine!

Click on this link to see an amazing line up of Ghastlie creations!

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(Isaiah 6:8)

This scripture is engraved on the tombstone of my friend that was killed in Afghanistan last November. A true servant. Thank you to all of the military, past and present, who keep us safe at the risk of their own lives.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

I took a little time out this week to complete (I'm using the word complete loosely) the Project Runway challenge.  The contestants worked in teams of 5 (we were on our own) and were to design three fabrics and five outfits, one outfit from each designer on the team.  We only had to make one outfit, but were encouraged to sketch the other outfits.  I was lucky to accomplish the little that I did.

Here's my fabric.  Apparently, the contestants were only able to use grey scale, as their printer must not have had color capabilities.  I stuck with the grey scale although many of the mini designers used color in their fabrics.  It was also to depict a city theme in some way.  I chose a clip art of a city scape, reduced it several times, then cut and pasted it multiple times until I filled up the letter sized fabric sheet.  It was then just printed through my ink jet. 

Here's the completed outfit.  Simple, simple, simple, but I think that it still addresses the challenge fairly well.  You could easily make a coordinating line with slacks, a jacket, longer skirt, different tops, etc., using the same city fabric and turquoise accent color. 

There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the LORD.

The horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but victory rests with the LORD.

Proverbs 21:30-31

Please check out this link for specifics for donating quilts to the victims of the Texas wildfires. 

And if you can't donate a quilt, United Notions

 is asking for pillowcases. 

Calling all Quilters: "Here in on County Texas we have had some bad fires like all of Texas. I am asking the sewing community to step up and make at least one pillowcase this week for these victums to try to make a small diffrence. You can mail them to me at Country Living Quilts 1816 CR 427, Marquez, TX 77865 Please post this every where"

No Project Runway design for you this week.  Sorry.  I just ran out of time and it had to be put on the bottom of the "to do" list.  Hopefully I'll have time to tackle next week's challenge, which looks like a fun one.

This is the free fabric piece that I received from Spoonflower.  They offered any of their fabric swatches for free...shipping too, or you could design your own, also free.  I posted about this earlier.  I only found out about it right before the offer was going to expire, so I quickly chose this pattern from thousands and thousands of patterns.  I do love my bots!

This is a great site.  You can make fabric out of photos that you have, drawings that you have made, or just about any other source.  If you can't find the fabric that you want in the stores....design it and print it yourselves!  I was very pleased with this sample.  Nice quality.

Next up is my loot from today's shopping spree.  I'm still using my gift certificate from Fabrics and Friends in Roanoke, Indiana.  (Again....thank you for voting for my wall hanging!)    This weekend, everything store-wide is 25% off so I really got my money's worth!  And......I still have some money left.  He-he!

Two jelly rolls, one charm pack, one fat quarter pack (38 FQ's)and a great book!  Yippee!

It's all about the accessories!  As usual, I left the Project Runway challenge until the last minute and only had a couple of hours last night to work on it.  You'll have to use your imagination a bit on this one.

The challenge was "It's all About Nina."  Nina Garcia, fashion director of marie claire magazine, that is.  We were to design an outfit that Nina would be able to wear during the day at work, and transform into an outfit that she could wear to an evening trade event, with only a change of accessories.  We were given some guidelines....styles she disliked...styles she liked....colors, etc.  Basically, she likes classic styles with a little pop factor, no loud fabrics or prints, but not too boring.

I didn't have time to accessorize this outfit, but I think it answers the challenge fairly well and I can actually visualize Nina wearing this outfit.  The fabric is a day into night fabric and is a nice color for Nina's skin tones.  Simply changing jewelry, shoes, and maybe even the hair style, could make this work friendly, then evening friendly. 

My "pop" factor is using the selvedge edge on the top and the pants.  I liked the way the selvedge looked and wanted to add it to the outfit.  I made a band to go around the waist-hip area of the top and simply left the bottom edge of the pants unhemmed, using the selvedge edge for the finish.

This outfit had my first sleeves and my first pants.  The pants were fairly easy, but I did have some fitting problems with the sleeves.  They pull a little bit instead of hanging loose and free.

So use your imagination.....think of Nina wearing some beautiful earrings, a necklace, bangle bracelets, wedge shoes.......then upgrade all of those to fancier evening accessories, probably all in gold, and dressy shoes.  I think it could work!
(Edited to say that this fabric is hunter green, not black.  I'm getting some comments about the black fabric and thought I should clear that up.)

Free Fabric Swatch at Spoonflower!

 (Free shipping too!)

I just came across this offer and it expires at noon.....so hurry over to Spoonflower to either pick an already designed swatch of fabric or design your own.  Either way.....it's free until noon!

http://blog.spoonflower.com/free-swatch-day-spoonflower.html

Project Runway reveal time.......  This weeks' challenge was to make an outfit for a model wearing stilts.  A really goofy challenge, in my opinion, as it seems like the challenge was simply to make a longer outfit than normal.  The runway on the TV show was outdoors, so I've taken Cara's finished shot outdoors too, while hoping that no neighbors came out to see me playing with dolls!  

These are the fabrics that I chose.  I was happy to be back to a normal fabric, instead of pet supplies, but still found lots of difficulties making this outfit.  More later.

Here is Cara in her "stilts."  I used plastic straws for her stilts and simply taped them to her legs.  She wasn't in these very long, so I don't think it was too rough on her.  I only started this challenge last night, so there wasn't much time to make the outfit or much time for her to have these things strapped to her legs.

Here's my finished project.  I wanted to make a palazo pant with an over skirt, but too many things, including time restraints, kept me from making what I had designed in my mind.  I had to simplify just about everything to get the outfit finished in time.  I had also planned on sleeves...but again....didn't have the time to make those.  An easier halter was made instead.  I used chains to trim the waist and to tie her halter top in the back.

Here's a great shot of the back of her melted skirt!  Yeah, really.  Those stripes are Cara's stilts showing through the melted hole.  I used my mini quilting iron which is just the perfect size for these tiny seams.  I had tested the temperature and had no problem until I let the iron sit for awhile, then touched the fabric.  Instant melting!  Apparently, it got considerably hotter while not being used.  It was too late to start over, so I had to leave it.  I also had problems sewing the fabric.  Nothing has gone smoothly yet, but the finished project.....from a distance......is somewhat acceptable.  And, as usual, more lessons have been learned the hard way!

This doesn't look like a quilting picture, but that's what I was doing while watching these two come down to the pond for a refreshing drink. 

I got to spend the day with my friend, Joyce, who lives in the country.  Deer visit often......much too often, if you ask her.  Her home is surrounded by woods but I think the deer find her shrubs tastier.  Yum....

It was just so pleasant to spend the day chatting, quilting, and watching the deer and the birds at the feeders.  No sounds other than bird songs.  Delightful day for this urban girl!  Thanks, Joyce!