MooseStash Quilting

Chocolate Bliss

2012-02-11T19:36:00.006-07:00

With the big V day rapidly approaching, nothing is better than seeing happy people with their Heavenly Chocolate Bliss quilts under way.

Theresa and Ruth busy working on a block!
Theresa has not quilted before and I have to tell you, she put her nose to the grind stone and turned out 10 beautiful star blocks, and those blocks are buggers! I am so thrilled for her. It was fun to see her light up with ever step she conquered!
Theresa I am so proud of you! I wish I had taken a photo of your lovely blocks. And I need more practice with the phone camera! Gheez, is this fuzzy or what!

          Ruth has her blocks all done, and has done some fabulous
          things with embellishments, like the lace on her pie here!
          You should see all her fun buttons, beads and baubles!!!
           I can hardly wait to see them all put together. She's a hand
          quilter too. WOW!! Dare I tell you about her organization?
       She had her pattern in a notebook with dividers and then added
        all kinds of photos from magazines, and recipes for each and
         every block. She brought in a new Food Network (I think)
         magazine that was dedicated to Chocolate this month! Yummy!

Kelly was an inspiration to all of us. She fussy cut all her pieces, and digitized fun little sayings for her 2 1/2" blocks and even digitized the little "kisses" tabs for Hershey Kisses. Something we all decided we had to have! I have never seen piecing as precise and meticulous as she does. I have something to aspire to now.

WOW WOW!!!

Stephanie has never quilted but is a spectacular garment sewer. She went to town on this quilt and got "er" done! I think we have hooked yet another "Quilter" in our little world here!! :-) :-) Yeah Steph!!

Everyone brought so much inspiration to their quilts. Like the pattern wasn't fun enough, adding all the personal touches just makes them "POP". I believe it was Ruth who, scanned chocolate candy wrappers and photo transferred them, for her quilt. Now how cool is that?? And does that open a entire direction for this quilt?

:-)

Nothing makes an instructor happier than a class like this. You girls just made my day... month... heck YEAR!!!!!

Welcome to my play pen

2012-02-07T05:35:00.004-07:00

:-)

If you have dropped in from Stash Manicure, welcome welcome. Actually even if you haven't dropped in from there, I am thrilled to see you!!

I've had so much fun playing with leftovers. It's such a great way to make up a very unique piece of art fabric. Just in case you missed my post over at Stash Manicure, it is been "rerun" just for you, one post below.

You might also like to take a look at a post I put up a couple of years back, on making thread fabric. Same idea, different filler inside the water soluble sandwich.

Here's the link...
http://moosestashquilting.blogspot.com/2009/01/going-green-with-thread.html

And now for your ideas. I have a jar of thread and a bag of dog ears! What to do, what to do???

So follow along with me, and we will explore many fun ways to play.

See you soon!
I can hardly wait to hear from you!! :-)

Recycle and reuse!

2012-02-07T05:35:00.003-07:00

Red red red... Are you seeing red yet, and pink and white and anything that makes the heart flutter!!! That's what Valentines day is all about.

While I was working on my Christmas projects this year, I had a stroke of genius... or maybe just a stroke!! :-) But, I just couldn't get this crazy idea out of my head. Where are my manners? I am Joan, popping in for a visit from "MooseStash Quilting". I have long been a fanatic about saving scraps and threads and itty bitty things that would make anyone who is OCD crazy, I am sure. But there was this eureka moment, while working on my Christmas project last November. I had all these little corners that I cut off my blocks. You know, the ones left over, when you stitch on the line and then cut them 1/4" away when making, flying geese for example.

I immediately stop and stitch together the little leftovers to save for a new project. Sounds crazy I now!

After you press open your little piece, you get these dog ears.

And you know they have to go!!

Which leaves you this...
Now we are on to something!!

We need tulle, you know the stuff with little tiny holes in it. I put a piece of fabric under it, so you can see it. It's really hard to photograph.

We are also going to need some water soluble stabilizer. I like the woven kind personally. Now layer the tulle on top of the water soluble stabilizer and stitch around the edges. We need 2 of these one for the top and one for the bottom! :-)

Dog ears!! Yep we need dog ears. And you thought I was crazy!

With the water soluble side down sprinkle on your dog ears.

I like it, but that's all the dog ears I have, and I think it needs more... I happen to have some eye lash yarn the color I need. So I am going to cut up a bunch and just plop it where I want it!

Take your top piece with the water soluble side up and carefully pin the two together trying not to move the little dog ears or other filler around too much.

And now for the fun. We are going to take this little sandwich to our machine, drop those feed dogs and start quilting. Nothing fancy, just some loops and wiggles, something to keep things together. Once you have the entire piece somewhat stable, you can start quilting the bejeebers out of it.

Bejeeber: A very technical word that is about the same as "heck" or "mess" or "stuffing"... You know, whatever favorite word you like to use!! :-)

It's fun to change out the thread colors and scribble away. It really does need to be pretty densely quilted so when we dissolve the stabilizer, everything stays put. Here is my finished piece.

Then off to the sink, to dissolve the stabilizer.

What I am left with is this fabulous piece of fabric, just waiting to have an art quilt designed for it!

Close up...

Sooo....

Remember those little pieces the ones the dog ears came from?

They make up great pin wheel blocks. And just the right colors to match our art fabric!! Who knew!

So I gathered a recycled zipper and some polka dot ribbon and I start to play. A zip up shirt is what popped into my mind, and don't you know that every zip up shirt has to have a matching brooch. It is a rule, I'm sure!

So here you go. My Valentines version of an art quilt.

And from left overs from this Christmas Quilt...

                                                   Who'd a thunk!

         I hope to have inspired you, to start your very own OCD fabric art quilt. Cause there is nothing better than getting a Bonus "quiltie" from leftovers!!


                  Have a fabulous Valentines day!!

     And don't forget to show us your " OCD Art" quilt!

A big thanks to Madame Samm! It's always a pleasure for me to be able to share with so many talented people. You "all" keep me inspired, each and every day!

                                :-)

Last snow dye photos I promise

2012-02-05T18:06:00.001-07:00

So this is the last of the snow dye photos. I promise!

I absolutely love the movement in this one. It looks like it should be a water project to me!

And a sunflower project on this one!

I got some really cool mixing of colors this time, with some very unusual designs. It's always a mystery how they will come out, but I was thrilled with this batch.

These last 3 are the entire yard pieces. I just love them!

I dyed a total of 40 yards. 3 were a thumbs down, but the others were great.

I learned that adding a piece of fabric under your grate, catches the drips from the top fabric as well as sops up some of the extra run off, and you get some spectacular results. The I pushed it a little more and I poured off the "gluck" as I refer to it, on yet another piece of fabric and in most cases I got a much lighter 3rd piece of fabric, in what ever color all the run off dyes made when they mixed.

All were great and will work into any number of projects down the line.

Waste not, want not! That's my motto and I am stickin to it.

Hummm...

Speaking of that, Madame Samm invited me to post on Tueday over on Stash Manicure.

So keeping that waste not want not, thought in mind, make sure you visit us on Tuesday!!
:-) See you then!

Just can't stop myself

2012-02-04T08:49:00.005-07:00

So what do you do, when your going out to dinner with friends in a snowstorm?

That's an easy question, you quick grab a shovel full of snow and cover yet another bunch of fabric with it. Throw on some dyes and run out the door!

That's just what happened last night. Why anyone would feel the need to drive in this stuff if you didn't need to, is beyond me, but there we were. Needless to say, there was no waiting for tables at the restaurants and we got front row parking! I felt like queen for a day!!

Even better, I came home to these!

Another one of those bottom feeders. I am always looking for brown to work with. :-) Don't you love the texture!

Now tell me you don't see the Alien in this one! There are even lights shining out his eyes. You know right above the olive green crab!

And I haven't even been hitting the sauce!!! hahahaha

Another bottom feeder...

This again, was in the bottom of the tray and basically just mopped up all the run off dyes. I find myself looking at the patterns. I see a spine in this one, what about you? (I think it's the aliens) Acutally this is the same piece as the alien above, and the designs are symetrical because it was folded in quarters.

This is a close up of the piece below. I love the way the colors ran and mixed.

This is the full 36"x44" piece, and definitely my favorite of the day.

Wish I had more of an idea what I did, but I was in a hurry and dumped on the dye and ran out the door.

Doesn't it just figure that when you hit a home run, you have no idea how!!!

Hummm, I still have another day off and there is lots of snow on the ground.

Blue, where is my blue. I need more blue fabrics.

See ya later!

Results are in!

2012-02-03T20:53:00.000-07:00

I deemed, snow dyeing day, a success. It's been awhile, and I completely forgot about all the rules with mixing colors, but it was fun, and I am happy with the results.

Next time I will plan a bit more.

While I was not too sure about putting fabric under the grates, it worked out great.

This is one of the cloths in the bottom of the pan. Even the run off, dyed a great piece of fabric.

I think this has to be my favorite. It has a Valentines feel to me!

Kind of reminds me of Monet's flower gardens.
For these pieces I took the little bit of snow that was left on the original fabric and dumped it onto a new piece. It's much lighter, but has a beautiful floral look to it. It's a great way to get the most from your dyes!

This is the piece that I copied LuAnn Kessi's idea for. I just love it. This piece is 36" x 44". It almost could be stretched on a frame and called art all by itself!

So there you have it. My day at play. You see, snow isn't all that bad...

At least if you don't have to get out in it!

:-)

It's here!

2012-02-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

A picture says it all, I am told! Does this explain just what happened over night?

No strong winds, so no blizzard, but a nice gentle snowfall. Perfect for my snow dyeing day! And better yet, I have power! :-)

I love the way the snow draped over my evergreen bush. As you can see, it's still snowing lightly!

BUT...

out came the shovel, and I got to work.
Not clearing the sidewalks silly, I am shoveling for my snow dyeing!

Last time I did this, I experimented with putting a piece of fabric under the grate to sop up all the left over dye. I really can't say I remember the outcome, but I thought I would try it again. Worse case scenario, I can always over-dye it next summer!

I've made up my little fabric bundles.

Mixed up my dyes, and started to play!

I saw this one on LuAnn Kessi's blog. It really intrigued me!

You can see her snow dyeing extravaganza HERE .

Snow cones, are all I can think of!

As you can see my fabric is starting to peek thru!!

Now I have to play the waiting game!! Patience has never been my virtue!!

Waiting for the storm

2012-02-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

It's gray and dreary, but it's dry so far.

The weatherman says 18" to 20". Yikes!

I've even dug up all my fabric dyeing supplies from my outdoor dye station. If all goes well, I will be in "snow dyeing" heaven tomorrow.

So I am torn, snowed in, or not snowed in... I ready to make the best of whatever comes our way.

I have filled my car with gas, and loaded up on groceries... Filled buckets with water, cause we always seem to loose electricity and when your on a well, you have no water then. So you know we probably won't get enough to worry about now that I am prepared!!

Hummm, I just looked out the window and it's here! Wonder just what we will see????????

Sew Fun-Machine Embroidery project

2012-02-01T12:55:00.000-07:00

Another Anita Goodesign finish! A "Sew Fun" hanging notions bag. Now, this is just the perfect thing to take along to those get-a-way weekends with your sewing sisters or brothers!! :-)

It's made to Velcro over a hanger so it makes it completely portable and you can hang it right where you need it.

:-)

Elastic straps to hold your thread, a zipper pocket, and 2 nice size pockets that are large enough to hold a 6 1/2" x 6 1/2" ruler and loads of other goodies.

I love the pocket for the patterns. When I am planning a project, I can put the pattern and any supplies I might need for it all together, and no more forgotten items at home!

Well that's my game plan anyway. We will see how that works!

:-)

Look at your local sewing and vac centers and see if they are offering these Anita Goodesign "project" classes in their stores. If your in the Denver area, you can sure join Ruth and I, for a fun filled class at "Above and Beyond Sewing and Vac" in the Arapahoe Crossings Center.

It's the third Tuesday every month!

Warning though, we do a LOT of laughing!!

Sew on I say, Sew on...

:-)

Put your foot in it!

2012-01-28T18:12:00.002-07:00

So as you know, I seemed to get behind in the sewing department after the holidays. Or maybe before the holidays too. I found the cutest western boot fabric last fall and bought it to make a pair of slippers for a friend of mine, for Christmas. Fast forward to last night when she called and was coming over for a sew in!!

Did I remember the fabric was sitting out in plain site? Did she zero in on it right away and love it? Needless to say I was busted, and I had to fess up that I never got her Christmas slippers done. But guilt got the best of me, and I got up early and made them up this morning. Even got them to her before she headed back home today.

Yee Haw! There you go JoAnn, hope you enjoy em!

In case your wondering, they are from the same pattern I made my Ghastlie blog hop slippers with, McCall's 6449.

And I do have to say, they are the darnest most comfortable things you can put on your feet! (and easy to make, but I am keeping that secret to myself)

Now on a completely unrelated subject, you remember I was going to take a class on how to use my new I-phone. Well, lets just say, it's a sign that old people should not get new electronic toys, when they drive to the wrong store to take the class. Really?? I know the janitor thought I had lost my mind. So now instead of being on time I am actually a half hour late. But I had a phone that I could read my email on to find that out, once I figured out how to find it in my phone!! Guess I need to look for a refresher class now!

I have decided I am not a fan of old age!

:-)

They call it a day late and a dollar short

2012-01-25T06:33:00.000-07:00

Yep, that pretty much says it all!

When my favorite sewing shop asked if my friend and I would be interested in teaching an Anita Goodesign machine embroidery class last year, I could hardly wait for her to finish the sentence before I answered Yes Yes Yes, a million times yes!! Now considering that I work full time, and have an ever changing schedule, just why did I pipe up so fast and answer???? Don't answer that, it would probably make me cry! hahahahaha

But thank goodness my friend took up the challenge too, and is willing to cover for me when I can't be there. So this is my project this month.

I was able to dig thru my scrap pile and make up this delightful tote. Each of the 16 panels are stitched separately, then sewn together. I took a different direction with my tote over the actual pattern. You know I never was very good at following directions. But for this, I wanted to make it a little bigger so I could tote projects to and from class in it. I personally think it made it much easier to put together too. Now I suppose I have to confess, I was late in finishing it. I thought the class was not for another week, and I actually got it all done the day after the class was over. Gheez, am I fortunate, I have the best friend in the world, who never reminded me I was late with my project. Sorry Ruth, I will be better next time I promise. Actually I have my day scheduled off of work next month, so I can be there!! Yea!! Oh yeah, that means I need to be stitching up something doesn't it?

I taught a "Heavenly Chocolate Bliss" class last weekend with my friend. It was a great time, and so much fun to see everyone excited about putting their quilt together. Of course Ruth was there to help me out, and I couldn't have done it without her. It was really nice to have 2 people when problems with machines, or techniques popped up. I can hardly wait to see what the gals have done in 2 weeks when we meet again.

You know how much I love this Chocolate quilt pattern, so I decided that I had to make another one myself. This time I am going with a completely different color scheme. Here's a sneak peek!

And last but not least, I have my blocks for our Sweet Treats swap ready to mail.

And for the record I am "way" early on this one!!

Finally something that isn't running late!!

Speaking of running, I have to go. I am on my way to a class to learn how to use this darn I Phone, I had to have!

Old people like me, should not buy toys that require me to understand technology!

:-)

Tagxedo

2012-01-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, when Barbara over at Cat Patches posted her new toy made with Tagxedo, I couldn't help but want to get in on the fun and play too!!

Have you seen Tagxedo yet? It is a fun way to take your words and use them in a shape that is all you!

Here is what I came up with from the Moosestash...
Now is that just too cute or what.

Head over to Tagxedo.com and make up one of these fun little things for yourself. Remember it's all about you!!! :-) What can be better than that, right!

And remember I said I had actually used my sewing machine finally last weekend? While the project is not quite finished yet, I do have a photo of part of it. :-)

So if all goes well, I will have a new project to share very soon!

:-)

Civic Duty

2012-01-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Well, OK, I suppose Civic Duty is a bit much...

But I do feel it is my duty to keep you all updated on the great finds for your sewing room, along with sharing just what my crazy quilting buddy Ruth found for me, for Christmas.

Meet Mark... He isn't just another pretty ironing board cover, he is shameless. You see once your iron heats up, his towel disappears. Oh yeah baby!! And let me just tell, you, he leaves nothing to the imagination at that point! Now you know I can't show you that! This is a rated G site!!! :-) :-)

The cover wasn't all of my gift. She bought me a new Continental Platinum Dry Iron. It is perfect for fusible applique, because there are no holes in the sole plate. Score!!! Yippee, cause you all know how much I love fusible applique. So a big thanks to Ruth, you keep me laughing all the time, and this is no exception.

Where, oh just where would she come up with this cover, you ask? Well, the fine folks at BoNash seem to have the inside track on that. You can find em right HERE and there is even a girl for those men who hate to iron! My coworkers have been howling over these things, and some have even ordered them for wedding gifts. How funny is that? I can bet it will be the one gift they won't get a duplicate of!!!!

I think my lack of sewing binge is over. I managed to get my machine fired up last night, and I stitched into the midnight hours. I love those kind of nights. It felt so good to get back to the thing I love most. I will soon have something new to share with you!

:-) Keep on stitchin!

Bloggin' Buddies

2012-01-13T07:38:00.001-07:00

If I have said it once, I have said it a million times! There is nothing better than blogging buddies.

Karen over at Sunburnt Quilts send me this wonderful Christmas package.

I know you remember those ribbon trees I made. This was my inspiration. Karen has her own pattern out now!! Is it just not the cutest thing you have ever seen!

It's never too early to start on next years projects :-)

Karen, I just love the pattern, and those wonderful oriental fabrics, the ornament that was perfect for our tree, but let me tell you about those darn cookies!! I have never eaten anything as fabulous as those cookies. I should be ashamed of myself, as I ate them all. Didn't offer to share with a single soul! BUT, I am not!! :-) It's worth a trip to Australia just for them!!! Thank you-thank you! Words are hardly enough...

Then just the other day, I got another package in the mail from England this time.
Last month when the Quilting Gallery had their blog hop, I won a couple of adorable embroidery patterns from Leslie over at Sew Happy Me.

Leslie, I can't thank you enough. I am looking forward to getting started on these little cuties!

So as you see this, blogging world gives us friends from all over the globe. Can there really be anything better than that! :-)

I haven't been posting like normal. While I enjoyed having so much time off work from Sept thru the beginning of December, I made up for it, during the holidays. The airport was crazy busy with people. Then there were the holiday dinners. I had 32 for Christmas! YIKES, there were people everywhere. My fellow bloggers inspired me to set up a kids fantasy table this year.

It was perfect for all the desserts and goodies. I had treat bags so they could fill them and take home their loot! While I thought it was a fun thing for the kids, I never dreamed that the adults would have such a great time with it. I believe I saw one of them beat off a kid for the gummy bears!!! Ahhhh, the holidays bring out the best in all of us don't they! :-) :-) :-)

Those mice that are so darn cute, came from the Martha Stewart web site.

A new holiday tradition has been born in my house needless to say!

I haven't seen my sewing room accept to replace a zipper in a jacket for hubby.
:-( But with the holidays over, and my house back to normal, I hope to find some time here very soon!

Blast from the past

2012-01-02T14:44:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I wrote this post and forgot to post it!! Must have been too much holiday celebrating going on. But here it is, better late than never!

:-)

Recently my boys attended the annual poker party, where all the guys get stinkin drunk and smoke cigars and gamble to celebrate the holiday season. It's a guy thing, and they are all banished to the barn. There's beds in the old farmhouse, so no one is one the road driving. Actually I think all the wives kind of enjoy getting rid of em all for a night too!! :-) :-) This year my hubby even decided to join them, and he is about the least likely... ???

So there was a lot of cookin' going on at my house for this thing. They wanted my green chili stew, and brought me a roasting pan to make it in. I just have to share this with you.

Really???

Just how old is this thing?? You all know that smell, when you walk into an antique shop! That weird musty smell! Step into my kitchen... I couldn't believe it! We scrubbed it up good, and turned it on. It ran like a champ. A smelly champ that is, but what the heck once it gets to the farm, the cigars will overpower that smell!

Just look at this thing...

A cloth cord? I definitely would not leave this unattended, for fear of a fire!

The chili was a hit, my hubby came home with $60 extra bucks in his pocket and no one got drunk!! Now that was a record for this bunch.

My green chili recipe came from a friend years ago. I am passing it on to you.

It's very simple.

2 lbs pork cut into bite size pieces

1 onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

( I am lazy and buy it already done in a jar)

2 tlbs chili powder

2 cans whole tomatoes mashed

(again I can buy then already chopped, so I do)

2, 4 oz cans of diced green chili

(now I do go buy Hatch chili from New Mexico every year and chop my own)

salt and pepper to taste.

Brown your pork and onion dump in everything else and simmer for 2 hours!

It really is a great recipe!

Enjoy, but your on your own to find a roaster like this to fix it in!

:-)

Jan Trivet Tuxedo

2012-01-02T14:23:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a Happy New Year.

We did here, but I must admit, I am glad the holidays are over. It's always fun, but it's time to get back to a normal life and eating habit for me. My waistline has taken a hard hit this time. I have to get back on program and stop making excuses for eating junk. :-( But I soooo, love junk food! ;-)

Anyway, here is the last installment of Trivet Tuxedos. I sure do hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.

Again, you will need to enlarge it a bit. I have had no luck trying to upload to Google Docs so you get an accurate PDF file! Sorry.

I used my Accuquilt GO, and the large circle for my snowman, but I have included the shape on the pattern if you don't have one.

Off set it a bit. Then trim.

Once I got him all put together I decided he needed a little more detail in his eye.

So the finished trivet looks different from these steps.

Free motion quilt a few snowflakes, to finish him off.

Enjoy!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T22:37:00.000-07:00

Best Wishes to all for a very Merry Christmas
from the Moose Stash!

When bloggers inspire

2011-12-21T04:33:00.004-07:00

We all know just how much there is to gain thru blogging. After all, sharing is what it's all about. Quilters coming together - teaching, learning, inspiring...

My friend Karen over at Sunburnt Quilts has been making these fabulous ribbon trees.

I just kept thinking about that tub full of ribbons on the shelf. You know the one that has been there almost since the beginning of time! Well, maybe not quite that long, but...

So I dumped it out and went to work.

WISHING YOU

ROCKIN HOLIDAY

is born!

I'm sure the rocking horse ribbon was supposed to be used on a baby quilt at one time or another, but what a fun tree it made with the solid ribbon. A quick online search for free rocking horse applique patterns, and I had the perfect match for my little tree.

This pattern came from Four Twin Sisters. Click HERE for your own copy.

I reduced it by about 15% to fit the size of my tree.

It was so much fun, that I just couldn't stop with just one.

Sorta like potato chips!

Now this guy! I was happily quilting away and was more than 2/3rd done when I realized that my tension was a mess, and the top white thread was showing on the back! ARRRRGH. So I have this great idea... I would take some tole paints and just lightly brush some black on the back. Camouflage if you may!

All was well, until it started to come thru the front. Actually it gave a kind of fun look to the thread, so I kept going. Yeah -dumb idea! It started to run all thru the front! YIKES, did I have mess on my hands now. So I decided all I could do, to try to save the project, was to run it under water and try to dilute as much of the paint as possible, then dry it.

I know that many of you are looking at it and thinking YUCK!! But I kind of like the end results. It really shows up the quilting now, and the gray around it, toned it down and shaded it enough, that it's easier on the eye. That's my story and I'm stickin to it! hahaha So when life gives you lemons... hummm gray lemonade?
Ahhh, you know what I mean.

Thankfully the last one decided to play nice and go together like it was supposed to. For this guy I just found different coloring pages online and combined the gingerbread men.

So thanks Karen! I have used up scraps, practiced my free motion quilting, and have some Christmas gifts ready to give now!

You go girl!!

You inspire me every day!

Now for that darn Yvonne. She knew I was all done with my holiday projects, but nooooo... She had to go and post on her blog this adorable Christmas tree she was machine embroidering, and she mentioned a Santa too. So of course I had to take a peek at Embroidery.com (it's a PJ's in the hoop design) to she just what she was up to. Well, don't you know I had to have one too!

Now is he just not the cutest thing you have ever seen? He's big! But all done in the hoop. It's quite an interesting process, and very fun. I found that his pocket is the perfect size to tuck a gift card into, too. So for next year I have a plan!
Go check Yvonne's great blog and see just what kind of trouble she can get you into too!! http://simplysewnbyyvonne.blogspot.com/

Thanks Yvonne, I love my Santa!

So share with us just who it is that has inspired you. We all love to show and tell, and nothing makes a quilter feel better than knowing she inspired someone!

:-)

Dec 16th-It's give a way day!

2011-12-16T03:47:00.003-07:00

Ahhhh yes, the day we have been waiting for. I am humbled beyond words at all the kind comments on my Deer Oh Deer quilt.

Without further ado, the Random Generator says #35.

JoyceLM said...

Your quilt is beautiful. I'd love to win the little sample of it. Thanks for the giveaway - I'm a new follower.

Yes! That means you Joyce!!
This little guy is in the envelope, ready and waiting for your address!

C O N G R A T U L A T I O N S

:-)

This week, I got my Christmas arrangement finished up. Yes, the one inspired by a blogging sister, out there in blog land. :-) I ended up not making a wool Gingerbread, but used a vegetable dyed fabric for the little guy. Those chopsticks they give you with take out Chinese food was perfect for this. I just glued a set of them to the back of my Gingerbread man and then was able to poke it into the foam base. Who knew???

As for the base, I started off with a paint bucket (from Lowes) that I glued (with E6000) to a plastic charger plate, that I found on clearance at Michael's Craft Store. Have you ever used these great spray paints?? It covered beautifully. Heck if I had had a "used" paint can for this project, it would have been perfect, but if I start collecting anything else, my hubby will have a coronary!
                              :-)
I've got a wine rack, I want to paint as soon as the weather gets warm enough. And now that I know just how wonderful it covers, I have... and ... and...

                                                                               :-)

So on that note, I want to thank everyone who participated in the Quilting Gallery Blog hop. I do hope you found as many great blogs as I did. Whew! My reading list has sure grown. There is and such great talent and inspiration out there. So read on my friends and put all that inspiration to work for you, I know I am going to!

                                                      Take Care!

Occupy Reveal

2011-12-11T03:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are Dec 11, and it's our big reveal day! I am so glad that Barbara inspired us to use this week and get our holiday projects and UFO's done.

I made use of our bad weather, and a week off work, to finish up some holiday projects, and does it feel good! It's not Dec 23rd yet and I am not frantic over finishing up things!! YEAH!! Thanks Barbara!!

So this week I did a few things.

First off a contemporary guitar wall hanging.

I have to say, I have always been enchanted with contemporary quilts, but it really isn't my style. # 1 son collects Hard Rock Cafe guitar pins, and I have been thinking about making this quiltie for quite some time now. It was a pattern in a Quilting Arts book in 2003. I told you it was quite some time I had been thinking about it! :-) :-) I added the wide borders so he can attach all his pins to them.

I have say, the process of quilting it was so much fun! It let me sit and play to my hearts content. When I sit back and look at it, I see things I would do very differently now, but having this "canvas" to play on was worth it's weight in gold!

If you have ever dreamed of practicing free motion quilting, make a contemporary quilt and let yourself run wild. You won't believe how freeing it is!

Next on the list

Orca

By Lisa Moose

www.Quiltswithatwist.com

#2 son is crazy over Orca whales. Must have come from the years he spent at Sea Camp, at Sea World. Combine that with our love of Inuit design, and this was a must do!

I was fortunate enough to find the perfect border batik for it!

This is designed to be a table runner, but it will act as a head board for his bed. Now if I can manage to get the quilt done too. Reality is that is a next year's project! Sorry kiddo!

Continuing on...

I got the last of the embellishments on my second Deer Oh Deer quilt.

Made a complete chef outfit including the coat and pants for #2 son. I found this hilarious Loralie print for the scarf and a couple of towels to go with it!

Then in spite if the fact I didn't want to, I cleaned my quilting room. Yikes, where did all that dust come from. All the quilts came down and went into the dryer to clean them up a bit. I will be surprised if my dryer now isn't suffering from emphysema after all this! :-) While I was at it, I decided to hang some Christmas quilts for the holiday!

I got a good start to my second embroidered car quilt. It was such a hit that I am teaching it in February and they needed a shop sample! This is a "My Fair Lady" design. She has some fabulous things if you've never seen her web site.

Oh yes there is a gingerbread man peeking out in the corner, but that's another post soon! :-)

And last but not least I have started a Christmas arrangement. Inspired by another blogger of course. All it needs is the wool gingerbread man sewn up and it's complete. Why isn't it done you ask??? Well, probably because I got side tracked dusting! Blast it, I was on track until that point! I never did mind dust too much anyway...

And all my packages are in the mail!!

Thanks Barbara, I have never been so organized this early in December!

Now just what the heck am I supposed to do the rest of the month????

:-)

Quilting Gallery Bloghop

2011-12-09T04:11:00.002-07:00

Welcome Welcome!!!

I'm so excited to be a part of the great "Quilting Gallery" blog hop this year. Thank you Michelle for hosting this fabulous party and making the Quilting Gallery what it is today!

I have a fun little quilt to share with you, for the season.

Deer Oh Deer!
Is this just too fun or what???

Babbles, beads and buttons, where would we be without them!

Leftover batting makes for great beards. I used 2 different types on these. One for his beard and one for his mustache. The slight difference in colors give it a bit more depth!

I love using Metallic threads in my quilting. Especially in holiday quilts. It bring such a sparkle to things!

You know how I love to share pattern information, but this pattern is from an Australian quilt designer "Cubby House Quilts" who unfortunately is no longer in business. Boo Hoo! :-( :-(

BUT

You know that all of us participating in the Quilting Gallery Blog hop, have a little give-a-way! Now, this is you chance to win this miniature quilt. A taste of this fabulous pattern should we say? :-)

                                        He's about 15"x15"

                                                          SO

Leave me a comment, and please do follow if you are not already. I love my followers! Mr Random Generator will pick a winner on Dec 16th. That should hopefully, give it time to arrive before Christmas.

    Wishing you the very best! Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

It all officially starts Sat Dec 10th, so please do take the time to visit all the participating blogs! They are waiting for you, and there's some great things to see! :-)    http://quiltinggallery.com/quilters-fun/quilters-blog-hop-party/

Got Stash?

2011-12-07T06:12:00.002-07:00

Need a quick holiday gift??

Well do I have the answer for you.
Quilt As You Go!

A few weeks ago, I attended a class my quilting buddy taught her church group. If you have never seen this method, it's great. You actually piece one side of the quilt as you quilt the other. You start with batting squares and add your fabrics.

Quiltingworks.com has a great free tutorial!

This is the back of my quilt! Pretty cool huh??

It's a great way to use up those left over strips, one can collect. You can be as planned as you like with the design, or random as you can possibly get. My first one was a bit planned. I used flannel on both sides, so needless to say, it is heavy and warm (very warm). I probably would not suggest it for use in Hawaii, or Phoenix, Las Vegas, anywhere where the temperatures get over 32 degrees!! :-) But seriously, if you use cottons, it's a very nice weight quilt.

Ruth's big goal was to get us to "not" think about the placement of the strips, colors or the widths, just plop them down and stitch, it was kind of painful for those who like some kind of order in their quilting, but it didn't take long for them to warm up to the idea and soon we were all stitching away, and laughing up a storm, at the combinations everyone was sewing. I have to say, all sewn up, each block was fabulous. But did I have my camera that day??? Of course not! Sorry!

Now my second one, (cause don't ya know I am now addicted to this method) has a planned and a random side.

Now I know I am stuck in a box, all my quilts have the diamond layout, but there are many ways you can put these blocks together. Thow them down on the floor and start playing! It's just too fun!

Joining your blocks together info...
Will make much more sense to you once you see the directions...

BUT

Just a note on the width of the strips when putting together the blocks. We decided that we liked a 1" strip instead of 1-1/8" for joining the blocks, and a 1- 5/8" width for the folded strip. That way the blocks touched each other and there wasn't a gap with no batting in between the blocks and row. This probably makes no sense at this point to you, but once you start stitching it together, it will. For my flannel quilt I went with a 1" strip but my folded strip was 1-3/4" in order to accommodate the bulk of the flannel. That seemed to work out the best for me! Experiment and see what your preferences are.

So hop over the Quiltingworks.com and start one for yourselves!

You can make warm and cool sides, bright and pastel sides, oriental and tribal sides, yellow and orange... The list goes on and on!

:-)

Don't forget to show us what you did!

Sew in Update

2011-12-06T09:20:00.002-07:00

Sew Saturday, I spent the day in my sewing room, because of the snow. That left us looking like this...

I can't show you what I did, but nothing in the rules say I can't let you peek!

Sunday, snow or not, I took my friend to the Broadway play Lion King. It was fabulous and one of those neither sleet or rain moments, was going to keep us away! It was COLD though! At least we thought...

I wake up this morning, to this!!!

I am going back down to my sewing dungeon and hope the thermometer was just kidding!

Gheez...

Can't wait to share what I have been doing for my part of the "Occupy" movement!

Springfield Stars Information

2011-12-05T08:22:00.003-07:00

For those who inquired about the pattern for the Springfield Stars quilt that I made for the SewCalGal blog hop, here is the information from Karen the pattern designer.

Better get em while you can.

:-)

Be sure to check out her fabulous blog too!

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

Joan,

You can direct your readers to send a self addressed stamped envelope to me at the address below. I have a limited number ( about 36) of the Timeless patterns available that I would be happy to send to them if they supply the envelope and the stamp!

Karen Montgomery

The Quilt Company

3940 Middle Road

Allison Park, PA 15101

412-487-9532

www.thequiltcompany.com

www.karensayssew.blogspot.com

Occupy your sewing room

2011-12-03T09:14:00.000-07:00

Won't you join in??

Barbara over at Cat Patches is hosting a sew in.

What a great time to take advantage and get those holiday gifts done.

You know where you will find me this weekend.

What the heck it's snowing anyway...

Shovel or quilt???

Guess quilting wins out!

Now hop on over to Cat Patches for a visit, and start sewing!

Then on Dec 11, show us what you did!

I know I can't wait to see...

December Trivet Tux

2011-12-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

DECEMBER!!!!!

Am I the only one who has blinked and found that it's December already?
Whew, did this year fly by.

I know it's a crazy time of year for everyone, so our trivet tux is going to be a quick and easy one this time!

Thanks, to Sindy over at Fat Cat Patterns! Click HERE to download one for yourself.
I did reduce this pattern by 50%, as her original pattern was for a 12 1/2 block.

I've found lately that leftover batting scraps make for wonderful beards for Santa, or even the fur trimmings on his coat. I added eyes to by little guy and I blushed his cheeks to give him a bit of personality. So there you go, fast easy and done. Ready to start enjoying the holidays with.

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!

PS: if your new to my blog you can find the tutorial for the trivet tux's HERE !

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-11-28T05:59:00.001-07:00

It' beginning to look a lot like Christmas - over at SewCalGal.

Nothing I love more, than a great blog hop, to get all our holiday juices flowing! We all know that Sew Cal Gal does it better than anyone , now don't we? Thanks for having us again this year. We love you!!
:-)

I would like to share this quilt with you.

Kind of bright isn't it?

Nothing beats a "fun" quilt for the holiday season.

This beautiful pattern is Timeless Treasures "Springfield Stars".

It seems that they have taken it down from their website. I can't even find it in the archives! :-( Boo Hoo.

The original pattern was this beautiful pastel floral,

But I had this bright silly Christmas print! What is a girl supposed to do???

You would never recognize this pattern now.

:-)

This year was my year to use what is in my sewing room instead of rushing out and buying more fabric. You know the prices of cotton have sky rocketed...

OK, so I am not at 100% yet, but I am working on it. (Baby steps - baby steps)

:-)

And I have to tell you, with those high prices, you don't want to waste any of your precious fabric. There was some waste with the flying geese units on this one, but did it go into the trash???? NOOOOOOOO Remember those scraps cost the same as all the rest of the fabric, so hang on to em.

I've got some fun things you can do with them, coming up in February.

hint hint

But that is another post all in itself. I wish I could tell you more, but you know what they say... If I told you I would have to kill you!! :-) :-)

Just remember don't throw a thread away.

Really, I mean it.

Your gonna be very surprised... February isn't that far away!

So on that note, I want to leave you with this thought...

If I, a visual person, who finds thinking outside the box a challenge can do it, you can too.

So grab a pattern, something from your stash, and see what treasure you can create.

Oh yeah, be sure to show us. You know we all want to see,

it's that visual thing again!

What are you waiting for...

GO...

SEW...

:-)

And have a blessed Holiday Season!

Now is probably not the time to ask ...

2011-11-21T17:08:00.001-07:00

But I am going to anyway.

Last week I had a customer quilt to do, and she insisted that I use a white fleece instead of batting. She provided it all, and I did what I was told. My question is, have any of you ever done this??? Is there a down side I should have known about?? My machine didn't mind it at all, and while it's a bit stiffer than it would be with an 80/20 batting, it seemed just fine! It would be a great way to make use of fleece when they have those fantastic clearance sales.

Don't let that "Murphy Monster Cat" deceive you, while she thought it was all about her, she was no help with this project at all! Darn cat! :-)

So, I would love to hear your input for the next time I come across this. If I ever do!

:-)
Thanks

Thanksgiving

2011-11-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

I have entered my Harvest Pumpkin quilt in the "Weekly Themed Quilt Contest" over at the Quilting Gallery. You can click HERE to check out the entries and please do vote while your there. There are some beautiful choices! Voting ends on at 11:59 tonight!

Wishing you a blessed Thanksgiving!

Holiday projects underway!

2011-11-19T09:59:00.008-07:00

                                              Whoop Whoop!!
                         Can you believe it's not Dec 20th yet, and I actually
                              have my Christmas projects underway???
                                             Who'd a thunk!

                           With having some time off work for a change,
                                       I chose to make the best of it.
                              This week I finished 4, yes 4 projects.
                                        Happy Dance Happy Dance!!

This one was one of the most fun things I have ever done. A race track quilt. All machine embroidered and done in the hoop.

What makes it even cooler is the bridges/overpasses

and the car wash that your cars can drive thru!

These are stitched into the quilt on one side and attached with velcro on the other.

That way when you want to store the quilt, you just release them and they lay flat!

How ingenious is that?

But it gets even better... Pockets in the bottom that you can store your cars in, and they button close.

Now, I must admit that this is for my son, who is almost 30. Yes you read it right, 30. He is my racing son, who collects Hot Wheels and love the "Cars" movies. So I just couldn't help myself. Mr Moosestash thought it was really cute, if we had grand kids, but he was a bit confused over it being juniors! What can I say, if I have no grands, then I have to treat my kids like children. It's a rule written somewhere I am pretty sure!

I even found the perfect backing...

So if your interested, this is a My Fair Lady design. I saw her booth at the HMQS show in Salt Lake City this year, and WOW does she have some great things. Best yet, they are easy to stitch, no million stitch designs, and they go together fairly quickly. The 56 blocks in this, only took a couple of days to stitch out.

You have to see the fabulous photo albums for babies and the calendars she has.

They will knock your socks off!

Now I am off to shop for cars... to fill the pockets with of course!

Note my yellow-orange car in the photos. It's Grem from the new Cars movie.

You see my first car was a Grem... It was really cool! Purple, (wild plum actually) had a sun roof and orange, green and blue plaid seats.
I bought it right off the show room floor for $2795.00 and my payments were $69.72 a month. Now does that date me or what!!

Even scarier, is how I remember the details on the price and payments all these years later!

Ahhhh remember the days!

Gas was .25 a gallon too.

Now I am depressed! :-)

Alexander Henry Love Affair

2011-11-16T07:41:00.000-07:00

                                    You know I promised,
                                           and here it is
The secret to my relationship with that witty and wonderful Alexander Henry! You all might think the "Can't Believe it's Not Butter Man", is the hottest guy around, but I beg to disagree. For me it's Alex, oh dear Alex!! :-)

I brag all the time about Alexander and his delightfully fun designs. After all, who else can come up with half naked construction guys, we all love, or those Northwoods Bombshells scantily clad, and in the same breath come up with those crazy Ghastlies??

While I wanted to be disappointed, that there wasn't some hunky "better than butter" like man doing the designing, I  learned that it's actually a collective team, Marc, Phillip and Nicole de Leon. We know they are truly gifted artists, but how DO they come up with those delightful ideas??

I of course can't seem to stop myself from doing something completely outrageous with them.
There are just so many fun things you can do!

Heavy Equipment...

makes a great wonky log cabin quilt. What better than the hunk on it?

Or this shirtless guys can easily be added to a bathtub, and make a very special towel set for that someone special!! :-)

Then there are those Great Outdoors Girls. One of my boys favorites. They have pillow cases made from them. Nothing like sleeping with those bombshells. But wait, boxers shorts came along, and I was making them for not only my boys but their friends! Do most moms have photos of the kids friends in under ware???

Now if you make boxers for a guy, it's a rule that you make them for his wife too! Which lead to this...

And yes wife is pregnant with twins, but with those hunky "Twin Peaks" boys on, (not the goofballs standing with her) she was sure smiling! Or does she just think we are a bunch of idiots?????

It was all fun and games until youngest decided to make ME a commemorative memory quilt of the under ware rebellion for Christmas. He has never sewn and had never used my machine, which is not nearly as bad as living down this image...

Oh yeah, the great outdoors guy making a quilt. Something his friends will ha-rang him about, for years to come! :-)

But you gotta admit, it is pretty good for a newbie quilter!
And it proudly hangs in my sewing cave.

The boxer rebellion was just getting started."All I Want for Christmas" Boys! Now that was a great gag gift at Christmas, for a friend of mine. If you stitch down the fly, it's perfect for us gals!

Can you say hubba hubba??? These "Look of Love" boys have some potential. My coveted yard of it is still in my stash, awaiting for that stroke of genius project to do justice to it!

"Ready for Action" boys. My friend made a tote bag for a fire fighters wife from this. It was quite the rage in his department, I am sure!

"Wheels on Fire" was perfect for a memory quilt of my son restoring his race car. With "Phil's Drive In" as the backing.

Muscle Cars, made for a perfect focus fabric for a BQ quilt for that racing son of mine. Yes, he is the one who did not want any quilts from me. He was kind of sick of seeing quilts everywhere, until of course he saw his new one with matching dust ruffle and pillows.

These girls have made for a Halloween that has never been the same for some guys. Boxers of course! What else :-)

Astro Girls Pinups!

Safely tucked away in my fabulous fabric finds. I just may never use them but I do love to take them out and look at them. Plot against my next victim, of some outrageous project!! :-)

You all remember the tribute to the UPS Man. I never got any of that. So sad :-(

So Alex, as you see, you have brought great joy to our household.

Now I do ask, what delicious things do you see in our future?

I am waiting!!

:-)

Love you!

Behind the seams, oops I mean scenes!

2011-11-13T14:37:00.003-07:00

I haven't been posting as often lately, but that's because I have been burning the midnight oil getting some projects done. There is so much to share, that I don't know where to start.

First off, I have not forgotten about my "Love Affair with Alexander Henry" post I promised. It's just getting a few finishing touched done on it! :-) It will be ready for reading by the end of the week..

But until then, I have to show you what I have been working on! :-)

I was asked to do some wall hangings to replace pictures at a rental condo on the ski slope at Keystone Colorado. What an honor for me! I started off with a pattern from Granola Girl that has been in my pattern stash for a very long time. We needed the quilt to actually cover the breaker box, so I lengthened it by adding the Colorado Rocky Mountain High. Just perfect for the location! In addition I used ultra suede for the foot prints and the soles and tops of the boots. It has a great dimension now!

Now on to our next project... Living room!
Since it's ski season, Debbie Neese over at Images in Fabric had the perfect patterns to use. I was able to jazz up the snow a bit with Angelina fibers, which was a fun thing to play with. That's been in my stash for years, and I had yet to play with it. Just why did I wait so long???? I really don't know!

In addition to the perfect patterns, Debbie gave an option of stretching it over an artist canvas or making a quilt. I choose the canvas, and let me tell you, I am delighted with the results. No more worrying about wavy wall hangings, sleeves and quilt hangers, binding! Whoo-hoo!

I thought I would share the process with you.

First you want to find the center on all 4 sides of your quilt and mark them with a pin.

Then find the center of your canvas and mark it on all 4 sides.

With your quilt wrong side facing up, place your framed canvas, (canvas side down) on top of it.

Line up your pins with your marks on all 4 sides.

I found that these plastic top push pins are perfect for allowing you to get your fabric on the canvas and make changes to square things up easily.

Once you have all 4 sides attached with the push pins, you can remove your straight pins from the quilt. At this point I added more pins to hold down my quilt, being careful to flip it back to the front to make sure that things were straight. It is very easy to make adjustments since we are only using push pins at this point.

I do want to make sure things are lining up nicely with my ruler before I start the stapling process.

Now the hardest thing about this entire process is the corners. If you flip your quilt top back a bit exposing the batting, like shown here

You can easily cut off the excess batting, so the corners will lay nicely. I know it's a bit hard to see, but I hope this helps you get the idea. We just want to get rid of excess so it isn't bunching up on our ends. Try to cut it so the batting just butts up to each other, at the corners.

Then we are going to start replacing those push pins with staples. I used a hand held Arrow Stapler. Not the kind you use for papers, but the heavy duty type they sell in the tool department. This is very easy to staple into so you don't need an electric one.

Staple up to your corners on both sides, then fold your fabric in, as smoothly as possible.

I like to use 2 staples in each corner just to make sure it holds nice and tight.

There you have it. All stretched and ready to hang like my 3 ski quilts are!

I do like the looks of these wall hanging's on the canvas. It gives it more of an art look, rather than just a quilt hanging on the wall. Besides the benefits I already told you about above, I didn't need backing, just the batting and I didn't have to worry about what my threads looked like on the back or take the time to pull the threads to the top, when I was free motion quilting this!! :-) It is all nicely hidden by the canvas.

Now speaking of that batting... Have you heard of Thermore?

A friend shared this find with me. It is a very thin poly batting from Hobbs. So thin in fact that this package at the widest is only about 3" thick and it's a queen size bat.

It has kind of a weird feel to the touch, but it has enough grip in it, that your piece stays put, while you are quilting. Best yet, it quilts perfectly flat. It is heaven for table runners and wall quilts. I haven't used it for a bed quilt yet, and am not really that enticed to do so, but WOW, is this the best I have ever used for art quilts and wall art!!

It runs about $20 a bag at JoAnn's fabrics. I got mine during a buy one get one free sale. And you can never run out of must haves, for those 40% off coupons they love to shower us with!!

Am I right??

:-)

Where Inspiration Comes From

2011-11-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

Personal inspiration, where does it come from and how do we tap into it? Both are questions I have long asked myself.

While it is very different for each and every one of us. I can show you my journey and hope you can gain some in site on where to start, on your very own journey.

Last year, I took a class on finding your creativity. You can read that post HERE. Truly, the biggest tool you can use, is that personal journal. You can find bound journals at almost any craft and hobby store for just a few dollars. Heck even a 3 ring binder with blank pages will do the trick.

Clip out all those pictures you see that "speak to you". Saving them in one place will give your creativity a place to land. When you selectively crop out all the extra "stuff", it's kind of amazing how it starts your creative juices flowing. Your journal is yours, so keep things you love. Greeting cards, doodles, secrets, anything important to YOU. It  will become the basis of your next work of art!

A example of what I am talking about, is my Ghastlie Family Tree. This is a direct result of a photo I saved from an online Australian Quilt Magazine. I have to share a little secret. I was a crafter for many years. While most of my fabrics are long gone, the mauve was the last of a sheet I had purchased to make doll aprons. We all remember those mauve and blue days of years gone by, don't we! I am most hate to date that poor ole fabric!! :-) Who knew years later it would be the perfect match for a Ghastlie creation... So does this mean I can never throw anything away again? YIKES!

                                           :-)

Here you see, is the photo that I saved. I loved the look of the Ginko leaves and the simple lines behind them. I am sure the artist of this quilt would cringe, at that though of their beauty turning Ghastlie, but what can I say? :-)

For my quilt, I started the top piece on a background of timtex. It gave the stiffness I needed and allowed me to be able to attack a ring to the back for a quilt hanger, which worked out quite nicely.  A top sleeve would never had been an option, with the shape I went with. The 3 other blocks, were done the traditional quilting way, with fabric and batting, then bound. Using the beads to attach them together, was a play moment for me. I had seem some quilts at shows done this way, but never ventured into that realm myself. It worked out quite nicely I must say, and allowed things to hang straight! Some times I can't even manage that, in my regular quilting. :-) :-)

Another example of a quilt coming out of my journal.

This guy was a couple of patterns combined. One I purchased, the other I was able

to simulate from a very poor quality online photo I saved in my journal.

Here is a peek into the other pages of my journal.

I hope it inspires you to start your own.

Ghastlie Give A Way

2011-11-05T07:26:00.001-06:00

As I sit here, still in shock over the Ghastlie Blog hop, I can't help but be humbled by all you wonderful folks, who shared a little part of their day with me. The over 160 comments and so many new followers!! WOW

I have responded to everyone who was not a no reply blogger, and please know, from the bottom of my heart that I it means "sew" much to me!

But I must admit, that I am just a little let down. It has been such a fun time, that I didn't want to see it come to an end. What will I do with my time now??? I'm out of fabric and can't play anymore... whah whaw whaw. I know, pull up my big girl panties and deal with it right? :-) :-)

Hummm... Christmas is coming and I do need to start on those projects! Hey, does anyone know if ole Alexander Henry has come up with something outrageous and hideous for Christmas??? That might be fun :-) :-)

Ok, back to serious now!! I have a winner for my Daily Doodler -Ghastlie Edition.

TA-TA-TA-DA   ( be very thankful you can't hear me sing )

It's    Quilting B from BC Canada
who said

"I love all your projects but the slippers are my favorite. You are one very talented lady. Thank you for sharing. I will be following your site from now on and I am sure I will find lots and lots of inspiration."

Now on that note I personally am not so sure about the talented part, but I am thrilled Quilting B dropped in for a visit. I will try to make you laugh and keep you inspired, that's for sure!
Congratulations. Your Ghastlie creation  will be winging its way to you shortly!!
Do Enjoy!!

Now we have yet another, who's name has been sent on to our Ghastlie, yet wonderful Madame Samm. You see, she has a grand prize giveaway.

Michelle
who said
"I too am having a really hard time picking just one favorite Ghastly project from all the fantastic ones showcased during this hop but your slippers certainly earned high marks. Thank you all so much for such an enjoyable way to spend my mornings (ans sometimes be late getting out the door in the process)."

Ahhh yes Michelle, the late mornings. I can't tell you how many times I am screaming out of the door late because I lost time in blog land! :-)
Best wishes to for a win with our MSAMM!

There were a lot of questions and comments about the slippers. They are from a McCalls pattern. It's a current pattern M6449. The only change I made to them was to make the binding out of fur, and I added a little strip of fur that I gathered a bit to the tops. You won't believe how fast and easy they were to make.

Now if I can find some hilarious Christmas fabric, I just might have the perfect gifts!! hehehe Oh, oh, the mind is turning, and that always signals trouble!! Watch out family. If any of you followed me last year, you know it was the year of the boxers and I tormented everyone with lots of em. My brother-in-laws are still afraid of me, over it all!! :-) :-) Wonder how they would feel with slippers?????? No probably should stick to the girls instead!! What the heck, it is their turn after all!

On that note, you all have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for visiting me!! Hope you enjoyed the Ghastlie Hop as much as I did!! :-)

Hidden Wells Ghastlie Edition

2011-11-04T01:42:00.002-06:00

Oh that Alexander Henry. He has done it again. OR, I guess I should say "they" have done it again. I'm guessing that there is not a little man, named Alexander sitting in a corner, designing off the wall designs.

Most are a little off color, just the way I like it, and some are even a little irreverent. Even better yet!
:-)

Alexander Henry, I have long loved your crazy fabrics, but you pulled out the stops on this line. There's nothing more sadistic than these Ghastlie prints with all the social misfits on it! Speaks to my heart, and "NO" please don't ask!

This Ghastlie creation is a "Hidden Wells" quilt. Who would use this Avocado green and pink in a Halloween print you ask? I love it because it is the absolute, least likely Halloween colors, one could imagine. Am I right??

Now, if you have never made a Hidden Wells quilt, it is great fun and a fantastic way to use leftover fabrics. The patterns that emerge from the strip sets thrill me every time. Of course to appreciate the delightful Ghastlie characters, I had to set it off with a border of the macabre clan. Kind of reminds you of family doesn't it! And no Mom, don't take it personally! (Although, if the shoe fits...)

Here is the strip set that turned into this Ghastlie quilt!

Oddly enough, the stranger the combination, the wilder the choices of color, texture, and style of fabrics the better the results. With as little as 1/4 yard of at least 5 fabrics you can create a fun, mini size "wells" quiltie, for yourself.

For those who know me, I'm a hidden wells fanatic. This pattern is no longer in print, but there are some great online resources. I have even written a tutorial that you can find HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now we all know it would be a Ghastlie sin, to waste a thread of this incredible fabric.

I have had a great time coming up with projects, to use the leftovers on.

Let me just share a few with you!

Large Trivet Tuxedo

for those Hauntingly hot pans!

Mug Rug

For my Witches Brew!

Transylvania Towels!

Ye Ole Family Tree!

(inspired by all you Ghastlie girls and your projects)

Lastly

My personal favorite.

These Ain't No Ruby Slippers!!!!

You gotta just love feet with that face on em!

Kind of like, a walk in the park with my alter ego.

:-)

Hope you had as much fun with this Ghastlie Blog Hop as we all have.

Here's to thee, the other 53! Bloggers who have inspired me, and quite possibly turned me into a bigger Ghastlie Monster, than I already was... And that's just plain scary!!

I promised my fellow blog sista's, I would share the story of my

secret love affair with Alexander Henry...

But, your gonna have to wait. That's another post, all in itself.

:-)

Check back!

You'll see it here real soon, and it promises to be a raucously good time!

Lastly, a big thanks to The Ghastlies, you have definitely put the "FUN" in Halloween for us all!!

And on that note, I "thinks" a give-a-way might be in order.

(photo compliments of My Memories software)

Here's your chance to win this Ghastlie Notebook, aka "Daily Doodler"

What better place to store all your Ghastlie thoughts.

Complete with a zipper pocket to keep all those Ghastlie spirits in place!

Just leave a comment and tell me your favorite Ghastlie projects from this hop.

I will pick a winner and post it tomorrow!

Have a Ghastlie Good Day!

and

be sure to visit my other Ghastlie sista's

Mrs Nan Ghastlie

Mrs. Gmama Jane Ghastlie
Mrs Joan Ghastlie that's me!
Mrs. Nancy Ghastlie

Ms Susan Ghastlie
Madame Ghastlie

Drum Roll Please...

2011-11-03T05:15:00.000-06:00

The winner of the My Memories give-a-way is.................

                                                        #6
                                     Debbie from Stitchin Therapy!!
                                        CONGRATULATIONS!


Thanks to everyone who entered. It is a fabulous piece of software, so if your wanting a copy for yourself, just click HERE .   Don't forget my Coupon Code "STMMMS79651" for a $10 discount and a $10 credit in the My Memories online store!

Be sure to share all your photo projects with us. We love sharing!

Thanks "My Memories" for a great give-a-way!!

November Trivet Tuxedo

2011-11-01T08:53:00.002-06:00

TURKEY TIME

Can you believe we are here already!

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving, than a Turkey Tux!

This little guy was a take off, of a coloring book page that you can find HERE.

Free online coloring book pages are the greatest ways to start fusible quilts.

We will get back to him in a few minutes, but first I want to show you how to make his tail feathers. Have you ever used the Easy Dresden Quilt ruler? Click HERE for the EZ Quilt tutorial. You won't believe how fast and EZ it really is, !

Using their directions we put together our feathers. Fold over the edges 1/4" at both ends.

Lay your tail feathers on your background piece, (you will find the information for that in my tutorials, if you haven't been keeping up with us) and stitch em down. We are going to need to trim off the excess, towards the bottom.

Now, back to our Turkey.

I have reversed the pattern and broke it down into pieces for you. So your ready to trace onto your favorite fusible. If you click on the photo, it should make it large enough to print out at scale. I have drawn a 1" square on the page to help you make sure. (I hope this works out. It's first for me!!)

Trace, fuse, and stitch around your raw edges . You can then, put your cover together.

Voila!

Your done, and with plenty of time to spare, to start thinking about that delicious meal

that will go with him!

If your lucky enough to not be doing the cooking this year,

consider taking one of these little guys to your hostess!

Enjoy!!

Note: When I tried to print the pattern from here, it only came out at about 75% of the correct size. If anyone knows how to make it print at 100% let me know and I will fix it!

Sorry!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T06:27:00.003-06:00

My favorite time of the year. You know, when I can fly on my broom, and no one seems to notice!

:-)
Just the way I like it!

Speaking of like, don't you love these photo layouts?

I did it with "My Memories" software.

It's a great way to share your albums. All "blinged" up the way you like em!

Even if it's batty bling, like mine! :-)

It's not too late to get in on the give-a-way. "My Memories", is generously giving one lucky reader,

a copy of "My Memories Suite" digital scrapbooking software. Thursday morning I will be announcing the winner.

So if you want to win, you've got to comment.

Not on this post, but the one dated Oct 26th.

Click HERE and it will take you right to the post.

Be sure to tell me what your favorite design packs are!

Now meet Mr. Skeleton!

Is he too cute or what? I used glow in the dark fabric for the bones, which makes it so fun when the lights go out. (note: the little Boo box was a free Facebook download from My Memories last week!)

You can find this free Skeleton pattern on the Babylock web site.

Click HERE

And be sure to take a look around at all the freebies they have

to offer. There are some quality projects there.

Did I mention free? For Pete's sake, you can't beat that price in todays market!

:-)

So have a great Halloween, whip of a skeleton of your own,

and scare the bejeebers out of your Trick or Treaters tonight!!

Enjoy!

PS: Just kidding about the Bejeeber thing!!

My bad!

:-O

Psssst I hear a rumor that it's Amy's blog hop time again

2011-10-28T04:34:00.003-06:00

Could it be?? Amy's, blog hop time!! I love this time of the year. Nothing can inspire me more than seeing what everyone is up to. With those holidays right around the corner, I need all the inspiration I can get, so I can get my projects underway for my friends and family.

I am delighted to share a PIG (project in grocery sack) with you that I finished in honor of the hop.
And thanks Amy for that little shove!!

It's so darn cute, that I am having to ask myself, just why it took so long to finish.

Trust me when I tell you it wasn't because it was difficult. Actually, it just managed to get shuffled to the bottom of my grocery sack. That darn sack is way too big, but it's getting less and less full, I am happy to say. My PIGS list, posted on the left side of my blog, keeps shrinking, which makes me happy

:-)

This quilt "Under the Stars" from "The Rabbit Factory" was just about as fun and easy as it gets. Once I started on it, it was done in a day. It's a perfect scrap buster too. :-)

It's a busy time in the MooseStash, what with blog hops and the likes, I sure do hope you see something that you like and join in on the fun.

My goal is to inspire, as well as entertain you, as we travel down this "crazy" quilting road together.

Hope you join me!!!

Thanks Amy...

and all the wonderful sponsers!

Now hop on over to Amy's yourself, by clicking HERE and join in the fun!

It's Give-a-Way time again!

2011-10-26T20:14:00.004-06:00

The generous folks at "My Memories" have offered to have a give-a-way
right here in the Moose Stash. You know what that means!!! One of you
lucky followers is going to walk away with, "My Memories Suite". This is
great new digital scrapbooking software, for keeping all your memories
jazzed up and ready for sharing!! You know how we all love to share...

It's truly a delightful program that you "really" can't live without.
Speaking from experience, that is!! We can use it for our favorite photos,
build photo books, and even brighten our blogs. You are going to see it used
just for that purpose here real soon.

So, hop on over to My Memories then come back and tell me,
just exactly what your favorite layout's are. You must be a follower for this
give a way so don't delay! You know what to do from there... Leave me
a comment!

You have 1 week so... Ready-Set-now GO and let me hear what
speaks to your heart!! Thursday Nov 3rd a winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!

Now, if you just can't wait to see if you win, grab my discount code
STMMMS79651 and save yourself $10 on the program and get a $10 credit
to use in the online store!

Is this great or what?? Can't wait to see the projects you come up with!

Here is one of my first! Rather fitting for the season you say? And I don't
have to use photos to have fun playing with this software!!! This will
revolutionize my blogging!! :-)

They said it was coming

2011-10-26T13:08:00.003-06:00

But I did not believe...

Monday it's 80 degrees!

Tuesday I find the lone last bloom on my bush, that should have stopped blooming a month ago.

The fall colors are still with us!

The planter by the pond is looking pretty sad,

but the stock tank heater is ready to go to protect the fish.

Is this all really necessary???

OH CRAP!

24 hours later, I guess the weather man knew what he was talking about!

We finally got our electricity back a while ago, after being without for 10 hours,

but there are 82,000 in the city who have not been so lucky yet.

Having heat is feeling pretty great to me right now!

and

I can go sew again! Yeah!!!!

The Ultimate Wish Book

2011-10-25T13:42:00.001-06:00

Have you seen this?

This is the absolute bomb!!!

It's the best wish book in the world.

Even if you will never be able to afford it, there is nothing better than dreaming. It's got loads

of great quilting articles, and lots of free patterns to download, so hop on over to

Quiltposium and sign up for your free subscription too.

We can all dream of traveling down Route 66 with Ricky Tims for 14 days, or taking that Bali quilting trip with Bonnie Hunter. Of course there is that Alaska Cruise with stops in Seattle and Vancouver Island that immediately caught my eye. Ohhhhh the dreams I can dream.

Guess I need to go back downstairs and just continue cleaning up my quilting cave!

Darn it!

2011-10-23T10:49:00.000-06:00

If you have this thing for Ghastlies

and they have tied you in a knot

and you wish you could get them out of your mind

than this may be a thought.

We heard her plea for a cure

Mdm Samm was pos/it/ively sure

that we could stitch the nights away

in hopes that we MAY----???

( all 54 of us)

BUT....

The side effects are Ghastlie

there is no mistaking too.

if you don't run this very minute

YOU too will catch the FLU...

We suspected all along

this was her master plan

she did not want to be alone,

with all YOU Ghastlie FANS...

(I suspect there will be a CURE somewhere

in one of these blogs...)

HERE is OUR Schedule.....
each name will link you to our Ghastlie
Sistahhhhhhhhhhhhhs!
Be sure to leave them some comments
that will have their FLU....

ON Monday, October 24th
Mrs Kirie Ghastlie
Ms Carol Ghastlie
Ms. Wendy Ghastlie
Ms. Carrie Ghastlie
Mrs Holly Ghastlie

ON Tuesday October 25th
Mrs. Annie Ghastlie
Mrs Doris Ghastlie
Mrs Brandie Ghastlie
Ms. Alidiza Ghastlie
Mrs. JudyC Ghastlie

ON Wednesday October 26th
Mrs. Barb Ghastlie
Miss Karen Ghastlie
Ms. Loralynn Ghastlie
Ms. Jen Ghastlie.
Ms Penny Ghastlie
Mrs Rhonda Ghastlie

ON Thursday October 27th
           Mrs. Katherine Ghastlie
Ms Sharon Ghastlie
Mrs. Gooden Ghastlie
Ms. Selina Ghastlie
Mrs. Melinda Ghastlie

ON Friday October 28th
Miss Trudi Ghastlie
Ms. Deonn Ghastlie
Mrs. Marlene Ghastlie
Mrs Kim Ghastlie
Mrs Tammy Ghastlie

ON Monday October 31st
Mrs. Toyna Ghastlie
Mrs Tiramisue Ghastlie

Mrs. Angela Ghastlie

Mrs Pauline Ghastlie
Mrs. Karin Ghastlie
Mrs Barb Ghastlie

ON Tuesday November 1st
Miss Daisy Ghastlie
Mrs. Dana Ghastlie
Mrs. Elaine Ghastlie
Mrs. Gramma Sheri Ghastlie
Ms. Suz Ghastlie

ON Wednesday November 2nd
Mrs. Jane Ghastlie
Mrs. Laura Ghastlie
Mrs. Mary Ghastlie

Mrs. Michelle Ghastlie
Mrs. Dawn Ghastlie
Mrs Mary Ghastlie

ON Thursday November 3rd
Mrs. Sharon Ghastlie
Mrs Corrie Ghastlie
Mrs Cheryl Ghastlie
Mrs. Linda Ghastlie
Mrs. Suki Ghastlie
Mrs. Pickles Ghastlie
ON Friday November 4th
Mrs Nan Ghastlie
Mrs. Gmama Jane Ghastlie
Mrs Joan Ghastlie
Mrs. Nancy Ghastlie
Ms Susan Ghastlie
Madame Ghastlie

Each day we will have a giveaway...

Some of my Ghastlie Sisters have made some special

projects to giveaway and we will have daily BIG PRIZES

from these sponsors....to sweeten the CAULDRON....

Some of our Sponsors

Alexander Henry Fabrics- lot's and lot's of Ghastlie Fabric

Colonial Needle -sewing basket

Janes Fabrics -Kona fabrics in PINK -fat quarter bundle

Reliable Iron - orange Velocity 50

IHAN ( kelly )- aurifil threads

Coeurdalenegifts- 2 sets of Halloween lights

Forth Worth Fabric Studio - gorgeous gift set of Ghasltie fabric

Creative Grid -3 Rulers their top 3

Blue FIG- wheeled bag in PINK

and of course some sweet surprises from our

Guest Ghasltie Sissssssssssssters..!

So you definately don't want to miss in on the fun. I've had a sneak peek at the prizes and they will be Ghastlie. I look forward to seeing you for some rip roaring fun at each blog!

:-)

In Bloom Halloween Style

2011-10-18T20:07:00.003-06:00

Now that my work schedule allows, I can go to Monday classes at my favorite LQS, with all my quilting buddies. Yeah!!! This month we did this Timeless Treasures "In Bloom" quilt.

The actual quilt as designed looks like this. It's a beautiful floral, but not really my style, and with a stash the size of mine, I decided that I was going to shop my stash for this quilt. I had a fun Halloween border print that was going to work just right for it. That being said, it "was" a good plan, but once I started pulling out fabrics to go with it, I just didn't have what I really thought I needed, so off to the quilt shop I go. Even the best laid plans at times, seem to fail us. I had an idea that I would applique a design of some kind, in the center.

Low and behold while I was waiting for my fabrics to be cut, I spy this wonderful book from Brandywine Design. I love all the adorable little critters and it's perfect for my quilt. I have done baby quilts with their Dancin in the Moonlight book. That, and the children's book Goodnight Moon, is one of my favorite baby gifts to give.

Check out their books. They have the cutest little animals, I have ever seen!

It took only a few adjustments to make it fit the
format of my quilt center, and I am love the end results.

It always amazes me, how different fabrics can completely change a quilt. If you can keep an open mind when looking thru the free patterns online, you might just find that perfect pattern for your stash, or at least part of it! :-)

Next month, I am doing it again with another online pattern. It calls for a toile background, but I am using a black and white polk-a-dot. Maybe some really bright colors to go with it. We will see..

I believe the saying "rehash your stash" fits nicely for these projects!
:-) What do you think?

Ghastlies Blog Hop

2011-10-17T06:29:00.002-06:00

Have you heard??? The Ghastlies are having a blog hop. :-)

Actually the infamous Madame Samm from Sew we Sew (aka) Stash Manicure and Sew I Quilt, her own personal blog, is hosting this fabulous event. I just can't imagine how she has the time to put together another event. That's one incredible lady she is!

So be sure to join the 51 of us, yep you read this right 51 blogs, for a rip roaring good time paying our personal tributes to the wonderful Alexander Henry Ghastlie fabric. From Oct 24th thru Nov 4th, you will be in for tricks and treats from bloggers every day!

Now you know you can't miss this, don't you?????
:-)

A Happy Mail Call and Saving for fabric fix

2011-10-16T11:15:00.000-06:00

You can't imagine how delighted I was yesterday when the mailman brought this package to me. You see, Janet over at What Comes Next, had a give a way. Guess who won????
I did, yippee!!!! I knew the fat quarters were coming, but I had no idea she was throwing in a book and the thread to go with it. Wow Janet, this is a great package, and I do promise to do something special with it.

Now take note of the great post card she sent along with it. Made out of a paper bag, an applique flower and rubber stamps. It is just toooooooo darn cute!

Then, Linda over at Scrapmaster shared a post about her new fabric acquisition, and light bulb went off. You see Linda saves her change and when there is enough, she goes shopping for fabric.

In my, prior to quilting life, I was a crafter. I made fabric dolls, country style bunnies, bears, pigs,cows and a few moose too. Then I got the wood bug, and added wooden dolls to my collection, which ended up branching out to many different wood items.

Fence pickets soon became one of my favorite things to work with. They were inexpensive and precut. I learned to make many different things out of them. That was long ago now, and most have gone by the way side. I still have the change box that I made. It sits by the door and makes a great place to throw change as you come and go. It also doubles as a great doorstop.

Mine is tall, about 3 foot. I only wish it was full, but there is enough in it to make it harder than heck to move. (note the moose, seems they are everywhere around here!)

Now just how much fabric could I acquire with that?????? Hummmm... Thanks to Linda, my mind is going like crazy! And it's probably NOT a good thing! :-) I promised her I would not share with hubby who gave me that great idea. He cringes when he sees bags if fabric come thru the door... and that's another story all in itself! :-)

Saving for fabrics, what are your ideas on that?? Please to share. Better yet, make a change collector for yourself and show us what you did!

Dog Gone Cute

2011-10-12T07:26:00.000-06:00

Don't these guys just make you smile! Coasters, they are. The Whole Country Caboodle is the creative force behind these cuties. I see them making adorable accents to a scrap quilt. Maybe enlarged a bit and making blocks with them, or borders... What's your vision? I would love to know. They have a such a great line of fun patterns. I've just bought the Gone to the Dogs, and after these guys, it's burning a whole in my quilting mind!! :-)

October is here... October is here

2011-10-01T01:00:00.001-06:00

My absolute favorite time of the year. With that being said, it was very difficult to decide of a Tuxedo for our tiles this month. So many choices and I am the biggest Halloween fanatic around. You will likely see a few different tuxes this month, but lets kick it off with this one.

Again I found a pattern over at Quilt Blocks Galore, my favorite web site and "FREE" can you say Hallelujah, I struck gold!! :-)

Tesselcats! Now is that perfect for a not so scary Halloween treat! Call it the bright colors, the easy paper piecing, great scrap buster or whatever, but make sure you check out this pattern. Click HERE to be magically transported to this fun little guy.

Just a few tips. When piecing this, start with either piece 3 or 5, piece across for the ears then add piece 6 the body. This block is a 6" block. If you add a 1" strip around all sides, it will fit our 6" tiles perfectly. I painted my eyes on with regular acrylic paints, but applique (fusible or needle turn would work just great! You can even stitch a few little whiskers if you like. So what do you think. Ready to jump in and try it? Or better yet, how about a fun little wall hanging with a bunch of these guys?

Make sure, you share your projects with us all. We love to see every ones different take on things. You can post them in our Flickr account by using the link on the left side of my blog.

Now show me what you got! :-)

Home again...

2011-09-26T11:11:00.003-06:00

Well, I'm home. It's a mixed bag of feelings. There is nothing better than getting home and being back in your own digs, but leaving the place I love more than anything is hard to do. It was not an easy trip home. Late planes, and luggage that could not be loaded... I am still missing my suitcase with all my quilting projects in it! ARRRRGH, but after doing some investigation myself, with luck it should arrive in Denver today. (keeping my fingers crossed) I probably wouldn't be nearly as anxious if it was just my clothes, but my quilts, now that's a different story!! You know how us quilters are! :-)

I watched fall emerge over the three weeks I was there. From the first day to the last day I watched the colors change.

And while I complained I saw no wildlife, I must have lied!
:-)

While stopping to take this beautiful photo, I stumbled on this guy/oops gal, I mean!

These two were strolling the harbour in Homer.

Now this thing... Have you ever seen? I thought it was strange for a brown mouse... No mouse, but a shrew. I have heard the name, but only in Taming of the Shrew. Who knew it was really an animal! :-) :-) It lived right outside the patio door and came by to visit many times a day! It really didn't seemed bothered by people much at all???

Swans on Turn Lake

Then were was that one perfectly clear day where Mt Redoubt showed herself on the other side of the inlet!

And Exit Glacier showed her glorious colors!

The Harbour in Seward overcast and cold! But still beautiful.

Mushroom hunting was great again!

and YES! I finally got to see it for real...
Any Deadliest Catch fans out there? I was taken back, by how small it really is. I am glad I am not having to spend weeks at a time, at sea on it.

I even had time to play with some artsy photography :-)

Then I stumbled on this great sign, which made me smile. Cause don't ya know it kind of says it all 'bout me!

On that note, I am off to try locate my luggage, and lament about having to go back to work tomorrow.
:-(
Always the down side of a great vacation, huh?

Did someone mention Harvest?

2011-09-23T22:31:00.002-06:00

I love that time of year, when colors change, and there is a chill in the air. It makes me want to dig thru all my fabrics and get ready for a long winter quilt season. Nothing warms the soul better than stitching a quilt!

This year our Halloween/Fall swap at Quilted table yielded the perfect fabrics for me to make this runner for my partner. You see in this swap, we send our favorite fabrics to our swap partners and they turn them into a table runner and mail them back to us! It's all great fun.

These fabrics that Jane sent me, just screamed fall colors, and "Harvest Pumpkin" from Laundry Basket Quilts was just the one! Check out the wonderful designs they offer. My personal favorites are under the Raw Edge Quilt Patterns tab. There are some spectacular patterns in there. I did a little adjusting to change a wall hanging into a table runner for her.

I was delighted to see the photo she posted once it arrived. She wrote me, that as soon as she opened the package she went and pullout out her fall decorations. Now does this look like her little wagon was made to match or what!!

So... Now I have to have a Harvest pumpkin for myself. (Mine is a wall hanging) Isn't it amazing just how a look can change with different fabrics? I think I like Jane's best!

And we finally got some sunshine here and I was able to take some of those special fall photos!

Even though this looks like it could be a framed picture, it's really the view out the window. :-)

Mt Redoubt

Fishing in the Kenai

Views from the back yard and fire pit.

The bear infested yard. :-)

Tomorrow I have to go home. :-(

I am definately not ready to leave!

Psssst... Did you hear that Accuquilt is having a Facebook special? Better run and check them out. Click "Here" and you won't be sorry! I'm ordering my Halloween dies, and a couple other goodies! :-)

More Accuquilt fun-Tumbler die

2011-09-21T14:31:00.000-06:00

There is nothing more satisfying than being able to cut out an entire quilt in 30 minutes. That is exactly what I did before I went on vacation. The tumbler die makes for a great travel project, and a rainy day was perfect to sit and play with them. I should mention, that sewing them up was a dream. You really can't miss with the perfect cut outs! :-) :-) Yeah!

Oh-the choices.

I had to do some playing to see what I liked best!

Each layout has it's place, but for my project, I went with the one that lets my eye rest a bit. It's a busy quilt, since I used so many of my beloved Halloween fabrics in it. Once I get home this will get a wide black border with some fun applique on it. Hummm, that means I am going to have to go order some of those great dies they keep coming up with now doesn't it?

You know these would be perfect! I am very excited to see the new two toned foam too. While the solid has not been much of an issue for me personally, I know the two tone is going to be a great hit!

As I said, I pre-cut my tumblers before I came, but I actually had enough left over to make a table runner too. BONUS! And I love those happy surprises!

So as soon as I get home, these will get their special finishing touches and some quilting too! Oh Baby GO, I do love you!

:-)

Now for another Alaska update:

It was a scary time here last night. Remember those bear tracks I showed you last post?? Well I was sitting here watching TV and heard a noise. I thought my son came home from work early and was dumping trash, but he never came in, so I went over and messed with the light switches to find the one that turns on the yard light. Hummm... nothing accept the freezer door is open?????? Now that's strange. My first thought was bear, so I watched for awhile before I opened the door, closed the lid quickly and got back inside.
After telling Mike the story when he gets home, he goes out and locks the freezer. Later on as I am cleaning up the kitchen we hear a big bang, and Mike runs to the door and lets out a big ole "oh crap"! By the time I get there, I see nothing, but there had been a very big brown bear looking in the window at him. This time the bear had moved the freezer about 2 feet from the house. Now who is shaking harder at this point, was hard to tell. He gathers his firearm and a rubber bullet gun just in case. We know we have to get the freezer in the house, this bear is not leaving, but it's dark, do we really want to go out now??? All the yard lights go on, we remote start the cars, make tons of noise and make our way out. I have no knowledge of guns, so my holding one would be stupid, we would both end up hurt. Mike holding the gun heads out with me in tow. I need to move this freezer that is full. Yeah right. I have no idea just how this bear managed to get it moved!! But that adrenaline thing kicked in and the two of us managed to drag it into the house. Need I mention, that it was almost impossible to sleep last night after that? Every noise we heard we jumped.

With the light of day we explore to find that our friend found it's way to a Rubbermaid Roughneck tote that was under the 5th wheel in the lower part of the yard. There was nothing but dry goods and spices in it, but he had his way with em all. I have to wonder just how a box of dry mac and cheese really tastes including 2/3rds of the cardboard box too! YUMM!!

Don't ya just love the size of that claw? YIKES. I would hate to have had to deal with the freezer damage he could have inflicted!

And yes, I take back my comment about all the wildlife leaving the state as soon as I got here :-)

Halloween fun

2011-09-19T14:49:00.000-06:00

It's only a flimsy, but this was one of the projects I managed to get pieced when I wasn't out playing in the fall sunshine! Halloween time is my favorite time of the year, and this will be going on my long arm as soon as I get home.

Don't you just love the fabric?? It's such a cute whimsical print. Only to be outdone by the fact that I found it at Wooden Spools, where they sell fabrics leftover from someones stash, at half the regular price. If you live in the Denver area, check them out.Nothing beats a bargain and an adorable fabric right? :-)

The pattern for this is "Times 3", from Mountain Peek Creations. Check out the "Just Can't Cut it" tab. FAST and easy. It's a great pattern for those prints, that are so dear to your heart!

On an Alaska update, I am convinced that all the animals in the state ran and hide the moment they heard I was coming for a visit! :-( :-(

As of date, 2 weeks here, I have seen only 4 eagles, and 1 moose that was parked in the yard when we got home from Anchorage at 1am. No photo op there, unfortunately. It was just too darn dark. But on a walk this morning not 100 foot from the back door I saw these moose tracks. And yes, I knew we had a moose, but this one below stopped me dead in my tracks!

I believe that would be a bear track. While I am a city girl and have no idea just how old it is, I chose to cut my little walk a little shorter today. No sense in taking chances, since they are packing on the pounds preparing for hibernation. With my extra pounds, I didn't want to look like a juicy pork chop for any bear OK!! Call me a wimp, I am good with it!

And by the way it was as big as my foot, so I doubt it was a lost baby bear!

:-)

The weather is definitely changing, it was 37 the night before last, and there is a very real chill in the air today. I hope that I have not missed the best photo op for the fall colors, but fear I have. The high peaks on the mountains have now got their first dusting of snow, and they say that means 2 weeks and it will be on the ground here in town. Burr!!

The Last Supper Quilt

2011-09-17T13:31:00.001-06:00

Remember my telling you this had to be in a post by itself? Well, here it is and you will see why.

This gorgeous quilt was at the Great Alaska Quilt Show in Anchorage last weekend too. I did not know much about this quilt before the show, but after seeing it and it's creator, I had to do a little online research.

For those who do not know, it was done by a retired dentist and a male quilter. Just goes to show us that boys can play too, and this one set a new bar for us all! My photo makes him look like he is asleep, but not so, he was getting a post card of the quilt to sign for me! Don't you just love his shirt? It is dyed like the backing on the quilt.

Besides it's behemoth size 67" x 183", the fact that it is all 1/2" squares that he cut, numbered and pieced is unbelievable.

Everyone was completely fascinated by this work of art!

You can read more on this HERE, I can tell you it is incredible. I do bow down to this guy. He sure puts me to shame! :-) I am so glad I was able to see this in person. I would not have believed it, if I hadn't!!!

Now on a completely different subject... Don't you just love the beautiful flowers???

Guess all the summer time daylight makes all the difference!

Where do I start??

2011-09-15T14:40:00.000-06:00

There's so much to share. Last weekend in Anchorage, I went to the Great Alaska Quilt Show. It was a guild show that was just fantastic. They have some incredibly talented gals in this group. I was particularly delighted with the fact that they seem to love art quilting. Something I have longed to do, but really not taken the time to experiment with. After seeing these lovely quilts, that just might need to change for me...

My favorite!

Then this one that blew me away! Just look at the fabulous details!

Is this just the best. What a great way to play with those embroidery designs I have saved up. She used real silk leaves on it, which gave it wonderful dimension!

But, not to be outdone by the great shape of it! Now does this just make you want to run screaming in delight, to your sewing machine!

Carol Wright Jones was the artist of most of the dimensional quilts. I love how she used fabrics with texture to create such lovely pieces of art. Now I have to research to see just what those fabrics are. Anyone have any idea??? Please do share with me, if you do!

The Last Supper quilt and it's artist was there too! That deserves a post of it's own, so that will be coming soon.

Do you remember my post for the Blocks Across the World book being written by Deb Gabel??? Well, I just heard that my quilt was 1 of 7 accepted to be on rolling cart tote bag they are making to kick off the book.

Product Specifications:

21.5"(L) x 14"(W) x 7.25"(D) tote bag with Velcro closure, carry straps and collapsible wheels on the bottom. Assorted contributor's blocks featured on the bag. Bar code, copyright and C&T logo/address information to be printed directly on the bottom of the tote bag. Image of book by author shown/promoted on the bottom of the bag. Handles are color coordinated to match the bag. Tote is made from 100% recycled plastics, primarily plastic water bottles. Matte finished. Water-resistant. Ships and stores flat for storage.

Now is that too cool or what?? I am not sure if I am more excited to be a part of the book and rolling tote, or seeing my quilt photographed by a professional photographer.

My last photo to share was my view last night.

May all your quilting days end up like this! :-)

Rain rain go away

2011-09-13T13:26:00.000-06:00

Since it's been raining, I started a project for my son. He has a hand me down couch with a lovely quilt block pattern on it. It's not a "guy fabric" so it has a cover over it. He hates the cover but can't find anything reasonably priced to replace it. In my mailbox comes a catalogue from ABC Distributing. There is a great quilted suede furniture cover in it, but for $27.95 for a full size couch just what can you really be getting right?? So off to JoAnns fabrics I go. You have no idea just how hard it is to find an 8 yard piece of fabric in a small town store. Nothing in upholstery fabrics at all. But a stroll past the polar fleece, made that proverbial light bulb go off. Reversible-warm polar fleece for winter and a cool cotton side for summer. Topped off, with it being machine washable-perfect!

I spent the past 2 days quilting the polar fleece to a heavyweight trigger cloth which gave it a nice base. My measurements for fabric were way off, so there was enough to do the chair too. He was delighted when he came home from work and saw them. It really does make his furniture look great now! :-) Happy dance, happy dance!

Now back to my selfish side and work on a project for ME.

Why is it, I just can't seem to get away from this furniture upholstery thing???

Have I been bad? (don't answer that) hehehehe