Frosty Flakes....

so who's doing these Frosty Flakes BOM?  ME ME ME!

I purchased a pack of Japanese Christmas prints at Spring Quilt Market in 2009 and I thought this was the perfect project to use these!



How fun and cute and easy/quick to do...sorta :)  I spent last night preparing my mini hexies and what I did was use some of my old used 3/4" paper piece hexies and took a 1/4" off all their sizes and WAHLA - 1/2" hexies papers!



Now I used my newest notion, Sewline  Glue Pen (I LOVE THIS PEN) to hold the fabric to the paper, then I started stitching while watching Eureka (I LOVE that show :)) and finished piecing my hexies!  Let me say this hexies is TINY :)



Now I have to go out today and shop for threads and bead to finish the rest.

Spiral Bound . . .

Seeing Andee's post reminded me.  When I took a 3 week class with Ms. Mimi Dietrich last summer, she showed us her book Baltimore Basics being spiral bound.  We (all in the class) were soo taken on how cool this was, she explained how to get it done.

The benefits, especially for books where you have to trace designs/patterns from, is that the book lays flat.  You can get it done at any office supply store, I went to Staples - it cost ~$1 to cut the back of the book off, ~$1.50 to put the spiral in and then for added protection,~$1.75 for front and back plastic covers.  So under $6 you can have a more versatile book to use.

I don't recommend running out and doing this to all your quilting books - the cost would be a bit crazy, because I know we are all book worms, but definitely your most favorite books!

I started off with 3 of my favorite books,  Mimi Dietrich's Baltimore Basics, The Best of Black Mountain, and (actually a fairly new one to me) The inklingo Handbook.  :)



I already have the next few ready to go, once I find the locate Staples/Office Depot:



My husband has been traveling back and forth between Maryland and Tennessee and this weekend he brought the remaining books from my cabinet and now they are all safely together again.



What does your book case look like?

Remember this project?

My hexagons?  I picked them up again last night working on one of the purple flower sections.  After seeing Ms. Betsy's post earlier this week it reminded me of this project.  I haven't worked on it since school was out.

I realized I haven't shared my progress since April and I have done a lot on it.  This project is officially 15 months old and hoping it's done before it turned 2 years :)



If you want to see my progress, click on my tag: hexagons.  Here's the original pattern:

Round Robin Blogger Swap

Well, I did another round of 15 months with RRBlogger Swap 2.  I'm still amazed I was able to actually finish it with all the turmoil in my life the past 10 months, even though I become 2 months behind.

I don't have my journal for this swap with me, it's still packed away in MD but thank you to all these wonderful ladies who make this piece for me:

(click on image to read the details)

It hangs now in my most awsome bathroom, styled finally to something that means something to me.  I still need to put the label on it, but for now it hangs proudly.

Don't think I'll do another round.  I'm swapped out for a while until life finds me time again in the future.

Towel Swap

I have been continuing with 2 swaps, once finished (and I'll post it separately) and one is on going until next spring.  It's a monthly towel swap and the process is we make 12 towels (using a plain towel and adding something to it) for a selected month (mine month is October of course) and mail them out, but every month we get a new towel for that month from someone else.  I have been receiving some great monthly themed towels over the past 5 months and I have to share them.  August towel should arrive in the next week or so!

April's Towel by Krista  (sorry had to pull out of laundry basket to take a picture)



May's Towel by Mary



June's Towel by Rhonda (and it's personalized)



July's Towel by Barb



August towel is coming but Cindy was ambitious and got her September towels out this past week.

September's Towel by Cindy



Can't wait to see everyone  else's towels....of course my towel will be next in line and I've got some great towels to use!

New beginnings. . .

over the past year, I personally have had to deal with a lot of emotions and self growth.  Normally self growth comes when you think you can't handle it, when it's so challenging you want to give up and just fall back into the "safe" old routines/habits that were easier even though they might have been unhealthy.

Yet, I prevailed.  I became stronger and happier about who I am and where I'm going.  I've become a better mom and wife.  Got lost and found my way.

In this year long process I have decided to move to Tennessee with my girls to embark our new lives with happiness, hope, love and family.

Saying goodbyes was the one of the hardest things I have ever done.  I have never moved from a place of my own free will - while it was very empowering, it was sad at the same time.  My friends in Maryland (and one traveling friend) have been the best support system I have encountered in my lifetime and I know they will remain that way as I travel on.

I was surprised over and over the past month as I say my goodbyes with hugs and gifts from people.  I am humbled and blessed to have such beautiful people in my life and I never realized how I touched their lives as well.

I want to share (show off) my gifts and the talents of my friends to do these things totally obvious to me knowing....I'm still dumbfounded how "they" did this and I knew nothing!

Today's gifts sharing is the quilt from Patches Quilting, where I have been employed for over 3 1/2 years (and continue to work via computer here in Tennessee).  Each block was done by one of my co-workers, the top was pieced by my boss -Jackie, it was quilted by Eleonore (the shop's longarm quilter) who put everyone's name in their block, it was designed by Sharon and bound by Carolyn.  Needless to say, when it was presented to me, I bust into tears.

(click on images to see detailed)

[gallery orderby="ID"]

My goals are simple, work, play and enjoy life - - oh yeah, get back into quilting and blogging - - I have missed my online friends as well!

Here I am again.....

I am a proud owner of an iPhone and realize I do so much with it including picture taking.

So, I found an app that helps me keep on top of posting to my blog -- how cool is that? Not like it surprised me finding an app, there are so many great apps I use daily.

So testing out how this new app works sharing my newest and most expensive flip flops (actually most expensive shoes) I've ever purchased. But as you see the are SOOO me.

Hopefully this new app will allow me to reconnect with my blog.

New storage concept. . .

so, I was in Wally World (aka Walmart) on Sunday and needed a small plastic bin to store my gardening tools in.  I panned over the large selection and my eyes fell on something, new, cute, right size and RIGHT PRICE!

Granted it wasn't meant for my gardening stuff, but it IS perfect for my sewing stuff!  You know those art bins that run $16 and up.  Well, these bins are along those lines but aren't 12" or 14" square (which is actually too big in my opinion), but they fit nicely into a stack and limited space.  And the RIGHT price?  Is $4.50!!  There were 3 color choices (at my Wally World) and so now I ponder on how to use that into my newly designed UFO storage area.



They are 3" deep, 13" long and 10" wide.  I only picked up a few to see how they would work into my area I already have for my UFO's.  I discovered a couple things.

• An un-cut UFO fits too tightly, so only pre-cut UFO's can be stored in these bins.


• I can only stack 16 bins in my area, meaning I can only have 16 UFO's


• Need to re- revalue uncut UFOs and either cut them or start my new stash (being I currently don't have one)


• Having a large rubbermaid bin just for uncut projects might be another option to go, but my goal is to downsize, so maybe not.

I'll be heading back to Wally World today and picking up a few more bins before they all go, then I'll retake some pictures to show them all being used properly :)

How are you organizing your sewing area this week?

OooOo....it's all coming back to me now...

I'm so excited.  This week I have been able to create, be inspired and SEW!

I need a spring purse badly!!  I want something very specific, but unfortunately, due to lack of fundage, I can't swing the one I want/desire or purchase the fabric that I want through other means.  Thank goodness I do work at a quilt shop and Moda's new line called Frolic will work ok for now.

Well, I copied my current purse's design and made my pockets bigger to fit my iphone and then being creative, make it reversible!   I also added 4 pockets.  Using the light fabric for my spring side and the brown for fall...now I need a summer purse, but I can wait on that one :)





Now, I'm back in the groovy, it's time to do some planting.....it's gorgeous here in Maryland!

More hand work....

now I have been keeping steady on doing my hexies in the mornings with my girls.  I get about 3 attached in the time we have set aside for hand-work, but I still have about 150 yellow hexies to baste and as you can see I have 3 more sections to piece before I put it together.



Here's what they look like on the back---because I know you are curious:



(this is what the finish project will look like)

I really want to make a hexagon purse using 4-6" hexagons, but won't even think about doing it until I have this one done.

Halloween Baltimore Album.....

I'm still plugging away on this handwork project.  I'm getting close to finishing my first block (that I got in the last week of January).  I'm sooo happy with how it is turning out.  I just need to find a specific time to dedicate to it:



I just need to add the leaves and the spider on my first block.  Here are the next two, while Block 2 looks intimidating, it's going to be easier with smoother curves and Block 3 should be a breeze....but unsure if I'll ever catch up:



Need to learn to watch more tv in the evenings.......

My latest quilt. . .

so, I've wanted to do this bargello for my bedroom and I've got one third of it done (as of Saturday).  I'm SOOO loving how it is turning out.  While the process of a bargello is easy, it's very boring and more so doing a queen size top.  But I keep thinking in the end it will be so worth the effort.



Hoping to have it finished by end of April, so my quilter can have it done by end of May.  I plan to paint my room and some furniture to complete the ocean/beach feel.  I already named this quilt as "Tranquil Moments".

Another swap....

I'm only doing 2 swap currently now, since the Cottage Block swap has ended.  I'm doing another monthly swap, hosted again by Ms. Betsy.  This time we are doing towels and again, I have October's.  I received me first towel- for April from Krista who lives in American Samoa.  How cool is that?

She did a fantastic job and I just love my Spring towel:



I have some ideas what I plan to do for my towels, need to go out and find some towels that fit the requirements.

I'm still doing the Round Robin Bloggers, we are also in the home stretch on that one as well.  It amazes me to think we started it over a year ago and we are getting to the final months!  I can't wait to share those pictures of the work I did on them!

Still around....

wow, I haven't written in over a month!!!  Between, winter, snow, depression, dealing with family issues and just general blahs, it's been hard to find myself again.  And I'm no where closer than I was back in January.

I haven't done a lot of sewing, but what I have done is awsome.  I'm planning a week of posts for your enjoyment as I'm trying to restart some kind of routine and documentation of my sewing/quilting passion.

Let's start off this Saturday with my Cottage Swap, that is now over :(  I received my 12th block from Paula today and I'm excited to design something for these blocks but sad it is over.  Here are the last two, March's & April's:



Here are all the rest:









I have a few ideas floating around in my head how I want to lay these out and hope to share it soon!

Snow, snow, and wait...more snow...

and it's only the 2nd week in February, we normally get our biggest snow at the end of the month....le sigh.

But snow takes beautiful pictures.....here's a few from the past week of blizzards...my yard has seen over 46" of snow since Friday and rumor more is coming on Monday.....







I have been sewing my strips together for my bargello and just love how the fabrics are working together:





I need to move myself away from the computer and focus on clearing out snow!

And life moves on....

I've had a rough time over the past 5 weeks.  Dealing with crazy snow weather, readjusting my work schedule, the seasonal "winter blues" and trying to maintain some pieces of my marriage while juggling something for myself.  I haven't been too successful in all areas of my life.

Yet, somehow I have found a few minutes here and there to do some quilting.  Not up to my normal pace but it allows me a few minutes of distraction from all that is going around me.

I first need to thank, Pat for sending this month's Cottage Block along...just perfect for February (though this year's here in Maryland will be remember by snow verses hearts):



To see all the previous blocks, click here.

Next I allowed myself a luxury and joined a Block of the Month club for the Baltimore Halloween Quilt I have mentioned in the past.



I started in the last week of January and so I have 2 blocks to do.  I've been working on my first block.  This is a challenge for me.  The applique pieces are tiny and teaching myself some new techniques to make this blocks turn out nicely.



I have also been working on my next bedroom quilt that represents some tranquility that I need in that room.  I'm making a Bargello using beach colors and hope with all these snow days, I might be successful and have it completed by weekend's end.

I hope to get back to pre-posting  and sharing pictures, once I find that "right" time to me to do things.

Hope all is well in your world.

Weekly Goals

WOW!!  I have no clue who half of the commenters were on my last post, but THANK YOU!   It's been challenging to say the least, but I feel at peace in my choices.

The rest of my stash is GONE!  I had a final buyer who purchase it entirely!!  I'm so relieved and don't feel burdened by the over excessive-ness of my old stash.  What a feeling!

The buyer won't pick it up until this weekend, which means I can still toss in more stuff for them :)  I even threw in a few storage bins.

Here are this week's goals:

• Finish baby quilt---TOP PRIORITY


• Do 2 embroidery jobs for the shop


• Finish my RRBlogger (round robin), I have 2


• Finish my Christmas UFO for this month

And off I go!

Cleansing and Charity....

A lot has happened in my life in just short 12 days.  New routines, new thought processes and new view of my life and where  I want it to go.

I've been sorting through all my quilting related stuff and "cleansing" it out.  I have sold over $600 in fabric in the past 4 days and still have SOOO much more to get rid of.

Now, don't panic---I'm NOT giving up quilting, but I just have re-evalued my quilt style.  Why do I spend money and how it is useful/wasteful.  How it has effected every aspect of my life from my home, family, friends, marriage etc.  I have opened my eyes a bit wider this past week and feeling a sense of clarity I haven't ever had in my life until now.  It is a GOOD feeling.  It is a fulfilling need.

I have also thought a lot about my Word of the Year - Charity, this week.  While I was going through my stash I found several UFO's I planned to work on for charity purposes and started to "beat" myself up internally.....then I took a step back and tried to remember the definition of charity:

1 : benevolent goodwill toward or love of humanity
2 a : generosity and helpfulness especially toward the needy or suffering; also : aid given to those in need b : an institution engaged in relief of the poor c : public provision for the relief of the needy
3 a : a gift for public benevolent purposes b : an institution (as a hospital) founded by such a gift
4 : lenient judgment of others

Well, I've done a lot of charity for ME this past few weeks.  And I should be proud of that and continue to work on charity for myself as I'm going through this very challenging time in my life.

My goals for the week weren't all meet, but they are goals and I did success in a few and hope to get at least one more done by end of today.

-Quilt 2 baby quilts due to customer - quilting process right now/today on one.

-Make 2 pillows for customer - done and made a little bit of cash.



-Finish add hand work touches to both RRBloggers pieces - still working on this

-Stash sell prep for Wednesday - SUCCESSFUL, made lots of money-still have more to move out of my house though

I'll post new goals tomorrow to start off the week in a good direction---thank you for letting me ramble in this post :)