I've been nursing a sprained back and sewing moments have been few and far between. I'm seeing a little relief and have been working on the Mennonite Hunger relief donation quilt. The first picture is of the runner that is going to be the item that I donate. I made another table topper and was not happy with the results. There is a picture of that project, following this one. Anyway, this is the runner that I'll be focusing on. It turned out to be 22" x 48". I absolutely love the fabrics! They are bright, happy, spring fabrics and I like the way the different fabric lines worked well together. This is the runner that will have to be hand quilted, so I didn't want it to be too large to get overwhelming. The big border is 4" wide, which will give me a fair amount of space to quilt. And, of course, the busy fabric will hide my stitches! And this is the topper that will not make the cut! I designed this one too and used EQ5 to make my pattern. I think the mistake that I made was in setting the measurements to round to the nearest 1/8", not 1/16". Since most of my rulers don't have 16th measurements, I adjusted the templates for 8ths. The little blocks within the 12" blocks are only 4", and those little 4" blocks just multiplied the distortion. You can see that the setting triangles are puckering a bit. This should quilt out, but it will take some maneuvering to get it flat and keep it from puckering during quilting. I just got frustrated with the whole thing and moved on to make the runner. I'll finish this topper and use it for myself. Oh, the topper is 41" x 41". (As usual, sorry for the picture quality. The fabrics look washed out instead of bold and bright.) Have a blessed, peaceful day!

Just a miscellaneous day today, with lots of odds and ends.

I was doing a little under-the-bed cleaning and found a box of fabrics that I had totally forgotten about. My guess is that they are from the 80's and perhaps the 90's. This first shot is of some Christmas laminated fabric yardages. I thought this was a fairly new concept in the past few years, and here it is, in my old stash, laminated fabric! The fabric seems to still be in pristine condition and I'm kind of excited to find a project for this laminated fabric and see how it sews. It sure pays to clean out those under the bed boxes!




Next up, found in the same under the bed box, are these embroidered, homespun fat quarters. Again, totally forgotten about! They are also looking like new and will make cute additions to projects.






Here's a close up of one of the cows;

And here's a close up of one of the ants. I love the ants!

Well, yesterday was a vintage day. After finding the long lost and forgotten fabric, I got out my vintage 1974 yogurt maker. I wasn't sure if it would still work, but after 10 hours, I had some great homemade yogurt. I had kind of forgotten about this little appliance when a FB friend passed on a recipe to make yogurt in a crock pot. This sparked my interest to dig out the old yogurt maker and give it a go.

I even found the little instruction folder to give me the specific instructions.

I also made three sets of kitchen curtains yesterday. (I had a very productive day, thanks to God!) I looked for "ready made" curtains, but they were just so expensive. Most were sold by the individual panel and I needed six panels. Regular kitchen curtains, which were cheaper, were simply too short for my windows. I didn't want the valance and shorter curtains, just a regular pair to hang in each window. I had been fabric shopping and also found that yardage was quite expensive, knowing that it would take about 7 yards to make them. I finally found some discount fabric at Walmart for $1.50 per yard! It was a nice, textured white blend, that was perfect for curtain use. The bolt only had 6 yards, so I had to sew the curtains differently than planned. Instead of an enclosed rod casing at the tops, I just hemmed all four sides and used cafe rod hooks to hold the curtains. I'm actually glad that I made them this way, as it makes opening and closing them very smooth and easy.

Next up is the fabric that I bought to make a quilt to donate to the Mennonite Hunger Relief auction in September. I found this fabric on sale, designed a pattern, and now I'm ready to begin. I'm only making a wall hanging, probably around 42" x 42", and it will have to be hand quilted. That's the part that I'm not crazy about, but I know that I can do it! Each of these yards of fabric comes from a different fabric line, but I thought they went together beautifully. I'm excited to see if it all turns out as I see it in my mind.

And lastly, here is a link for another charitable cause. It's "Just One Star", a project sponsored by Moda. All you have to do is make a star block which will be put into a quilt, then given to a wounded veteran. The goal is to receive 1800 star blocks and make 100 quilts. Deadline is May 1st to make your blocks. Go here for a pdf download with all of the details, the instructions for the block(s), and the address to send your block(s). I hope you will join me in making at least one block for a deserving vet!

Mail call! Look what arrived yesterday.......the mug rugs from my secret swapper, Cindy!

I had not requested a specific theme or color, just "surprise me". The first one is a very simple one with a great use of fussy cutting to highlight the cup and the side wording. It's really cute and effective!




The second mug rug is pieced in pink, gray, and white. The colors look a bit off in the picture, but the white is crisp and bright.

Thanks so much, Cindy, for participating and sending such cute mats!

Yesterday was also a great day because my Aunt Dottie and Cousin Lisa came for a visit. I haven't seen them in ages and it was great to shop, lunch, and catch up. Lisa gave me this group of batik fabrics that came with a paper foundation pattern to make two leaves. I love batiks!

And she also brought along this fabric applique sheet with cute blackbirds, cherries, and watermelons. Very sweet! Thanks, Lisa! (Come back soon!!!)

Last Thursday, it was 13 degrees below zero. Today, a week later, it is 57 warm degrees. My crocuses seem to think it's time to make their spring appearance. It's too early for them to be above ground, but they always seem to be OK, even when more cold temperatures, frosts, and snows will be coming their way. In any case, it won't be long before spring really is here and these little guys will be soaking up the sunshine.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

(Thanks to all of you that sent Valentine's Day

cards and messages!)

I joined a mug rug swap recently and finished them today. I mentioned that I had joined this swap in an earlier post, but didn't give any details since the swap was closed. Oh, there were 330 swappers from 25 countries.....that's one HUGE swap!

The swap instructions were to make two 6" x 10" mug rugs for a secret swap. In a secret swap, I send these to ???? and I will receive two mug rugs from someone other than ????.

I made two coordinating mug rugs to match ????'s kitchen colors.

Here's a shot with a mug in place. These are large enough for a mug of coffee or tea, joined by a cookie or snack. They are washable, of course.

Another "action" shot. I used Insul-Bright for the batting, so these would also work well as trivets.

I enclosed a little goodie in the package too, a Simplicity mug cozy pattern. I bought a pattern for myself too, thinking these would be great for storing small items.

And finally, I made a third one for myself (or maybe it will become a gift). It ended up being a tiny bit smaller than 6" x 10 ", so I decided not to send it along. I paper pieced this one, as the tree blocks are only 4" square.

These were fun, quick projects that didn't overwhelm me to meet the deadline. I'm planning on making several more for myself and for gifts. They are a great way to use up your fabric stash.

OK, now on to real life, where I am nursing a leaking roof in my den. My gutters are so full of ice and snow that as they melt, the water seeps under the shingles. It has been cold enough over the past 3 days, that the dripping has stopped, but we are expecting very warm temperatures over the next several days. I have the furniture covered with tarps and pray that there will be minimal damage. Thankfully, there is a ceiling fan in the middle of the room and that is where the water is dripping from. If it weren't for this place to release the water, I'm sure my ceiling would have collapsed! Hopefully, a few more days of monitoring the water will end this latest winter saga!

Yesterday started off pretty sadly with frozen main water lines in my neighborhood after the bitter cold day. We are so spoiled and expect to go to the faucet for a drink or to wash dishes and when nothing happens, it's no fun at all. After several hours of this, the postman knocked on my door with a package. In a heartbeat, my day improved dramatically!

It was an early Valentine's Day for me. I was fortunate to have won a drawing earlier in the week for a wonderful felted mouse created by Robin Andreae. Her blog is listed on my sidebar, "Needle Felted Art", and her creations are spectacular. There were 209 entered to win this latest creation, and my name was drawn!

Presentation is everything, right? I'm not showing pictures of it all, but the box contained a photo Certificate of Authenticity, and the the whole box was tied up with ribbon and roses in pink bubble wrap. Under the bubble wrap was this Valentine box.



Inside was "Lucky and His Cheese". I think I'm the lucky one! Lucky is a pretty large mouse and quite handsome. He was also very cooperative as we began our photo shoot. I took lots of pictures and he stood tall for all of them.



I thought that he must have been pretty tired from his cross country trip, but look what I found in the cabinet a few hours later! I can see that I'm going to have to keep a tight watch on him. I guess he wanted to sample the almonds and sunflower seeds, along with his cheese. Who can blame him after being cooped up for days in his little Valentine box?!



As a thank you to Robin for her generous give-a-way, I'm sending her a lampwork bracelet that I made. I attached the paw and heart charm, as she is an avid animal lover. I haven't done any torch work in awhile, as my garage studio is cold and snowed in, but I had already made these beads and they needed a worthy home. I hope she likes it!

Oh, and my water was restored after about 20 hours. The street is a dirty mess, the ice is thick from the water spills, the snow is piled high.....but.....I have water!

Now, I have to face another round with the shovel. More and more snow keeps falling and I simply can't keep up with it. I have always loved the snow, but I'm just so weary after so much. OK, it's pretty and bright, but does it have to be so deep? Enough, already!!!

I received notice yesterday that my most recent Kiva loan has been repaid in full. There is a link on my sidebar to Kiva's web site, where you too, can loan money to a deserving individual or group to help them better themselves, their families, and their communities.

Tonight, I helped fund a loan for a woman from Kenya that needed extra help to buy carrots and potatoes to sell at market.

This is my sixth loan and it has only cost me $25 for all six loans because you re-loan the same money, over and over, after the loan is repaid. The system is wonderful and I highly recommend it.

Click on the link and see if there is someone that you would like to help!

I just finished another batch of little log cabins. 27 in this batch, the same as the others, for a total of 81-4" blocks. I still don't have a specific design, although I have several ideas circulating in my brain. Right now, I'm a little tired of making log cabins and could stop at this point and make a small table cover. We'll see.......

Meanwhile, I've joined another swap which I will tell you about when I post my finished projects. Don't worry, the swap is closed, so I'm not deliberately leaving you out. Now that the Christmas holidays are over, I felt like I could commit to a small swap, one that wouldn't take too much time. I've got my design and my fabrics picked out from my stash, so it's time to begin!

I needed a little shopping therapy yesterday and took advantage of the coupons that I had received a few months ago for entering a challenge at a local quilt shop. I had been hanging on to the coupons, keeping them as something to look forward to on a dreary day. I picked up the jelly roll at half price and the yardage of batik fabric was free. The charm packs came from an online store, at 40% off, so they were a great buy. It was fun to shop, knowing that the bill would be minimal. Yippee!

And now, for the

BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL!

Can you guess what this is??..... Give up?.....


Last night, I was having trouble sleeping so I went out to the kitchen for a glass of milk. The blue light from my coffee maker is bright enough that I don't turn on a light when I go on a midnight raid. With my head tipped back as I finished the last sip of milk, I saw the blue glow from the coffee maker through the bottom of the empty glass. I wondered if I could capture this glow with my camera in the darkness. It worked!

This view is the exact same picture with a flash. Still in complete darkness, but with the added flash. Interesting, huh? You just never know where and when you'll find good subject matter. Keep your eyes open for photo ops!

And if the last free Block of the Month series didn't appeal to you.....here's another! Be sure to read the story behind the squirrel (under "general instructions"). Enjoy!

Here's a link to a new (free!) Block of the Month series. It combines a super simple block with some hand embroidery for darling results! It just started.....so click on the Birdie and jump in!

My name is Jeanie and I am a fabriholic. And I have the most wonderful enabling friends that help to keep this obsession strong and ongoing. (You know who you are!)

Here's my latest project material, all possible because of the above enablers! This will be my first batik quilt. I've always loved the fabrics and have even done my own batiking back in the 60's and 70's. Still, beyond a small project and even some clothing, I simply haven't attacked a full sized quilt using all batik fabrics.

The jelly roll fabrics will be made into a pinwheel type pattern.....the beige will be the background of those pinwheels, as well as the first border...... the next bold fabric will be the bigger border.......the next milder fabric will be the binding....and the last fabric will be my backing.




It was hard to choose the fabrics because the variety is so extensive. I just love the bright colors and the unique shading of each one. Hopefully, it will turn out the way it looks in my mind's eye.

Here's another shot of some new fabrics....again from one of my enablers. Don't know what this will be used for, but I love the bright kitty fabrics. More goodies for my never ending stash!

Hope that you all have a safe New Year's Eve. May God bless you with a new year full of delightful surprises and friends that warm your heart!

HAVE A HAPPY, HEALTHY,

BLESSED 2011!

My pictures are uploaded backwards.....in the wrong order, that is.

This is the baby quilt that was in an earlier post. It is all finished and I put it in the mail today. I had hoped for a sunny day to get some good pictures, but that didn't happen. We did have some sunny days, but I wasn't around at the right time to get the quilt spread out for shots.

This is the back side, an all over animal print that matches the animals on the front.



This is the front side of the quilt in the large animal area. The quilting pattern in this area is kind of a wavy grass blades pattern.



Here's one of the gold corners with a loopy quilting pattern. (Sorry about the blue thread.....these close up shots are not very forgiving!)

The stripes along the sides each have a different quilting pattern. I thought that it looked really cute to use a different pattern in each section.

Here's a corner shot with a little mix of everything.



And lastly, an overall shot of the whole quilt. As usual, I couldn't get far enough away to get the whole quilt in the picture, plus, it was a gloomy day.

I'm happy to announce that Patti's grand niece was born on December 19th and everything went well for Mama and Baby Molly. I hope Molly will have many snugly naps under her new quilt!

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:27

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Here's another picture-loaded post. I took several pictures of this quilt because none of them were turning out very well. This quilt was a Christmas gift for Patti and I bound it and mailed it on the same day, which happened to be a cloudy day, and my only day to take pictures due to the time crunch. Oh well.....

Here's an overall shot, nice and dark. You can't see the much of the quilting, but it was done by Lisa Olinger, a long arm quilter, and she did a fabulous job. Later on, there are a few shots that actually show the detail of her quilting.

Finally, here's a picture that shows some of the quilting in better detail. It was a "simple" meander of wondering roses. There's nothing simple about it, if you ask me, as my quilting skills are just not this precise.

More of the meandering rose quilting.

This is the backside flipped over. I didn't have enough fabric left over from the front to even piece the backing. I found this neutral thistle pattern and thought it matched the colored thistle print on the front pretty well. Plus, it gives you the option to turn it over and use this side too for a totally different look.

This quilt was a labor of love and I enjoyed piecing it throughout the year, all along thinking it would be a great quilt to make and give to Patti. I hope she gets many years of enjoyment out of it and will think of me when she wraps herself up in it!

Today, I have another quilt that needs to be bound and mailed out but I'll try and get some pictures taken on a sunny day before heading to the mailbox.

Hope your day is a good one and that you are getting all of your Christmas projects completed too!

Ahhh.....Winter...... my favorite season......

....chestnuts roasting on an open fire....

But wait....... I don't have any chestnuts to roast....... and I don't have a roaring fire in the fireplace........ and I don't even have a fireplace..... but I do have this;

A $2 DVD that crackles and plays accompanying Christmas music! It may not be quite the same, but I can almost feel the warmth!

Merry Christmas! Make the best of what you have

and you will be blessed!

Warning! Picture heavy and may cause drooling!

Patti and I went to the Festival of Gingerbread and here are just a few of the creations. (I wish I had smell-0-vision on this blog to add to the drool factor!) Enjoy!