Workin' And Playin'!!

This weekend was spent making new window treatments for our bedroom/master bath and doing some serious yardwork! We accomplished it all by this afternoon- leaving me tomorrow to catch up with bee and swap stuff! Maybe I won't be behind after all :)

The Master bathroom is painted a pretty bright pink. We decided not to re-paint it, but to work with the color...



The master bedroom used to be the same color pink (UGH!) but many coats of paint later, it's not anymore :) We actually painted it a few years ago.



The rest of the time was spent taking the fence out from around the garden, cleaning up the whole garden area, cutting dead branches out of trees and trimming bushes!

And my reward for all this hard work?



A grape martini (or two...) :) :)

PS- I was so excited to share my new shades that I forgot to tell you... theye were made using this awesome tutorial! Cheers!

Blogger's Quilt Festival

My quilt for the festival isn't spectacular. It isn't cutting edge, or modern, or even my own pattern. But it is my very favorite quilt- the one I reach for when I am tired, sad, cold, watching a movie, or just want a hug :)



This is my Peace and Serenity quilt. The pattern is from Anka's Treasures and the fabrics are mixture of Shangri-La by Moda and Winsome from Benartex. I absolutely love the calmness of this quilt! This quilt has the nickname "my bamboo blankie" because it was the first quilt I used 50/50 bamboo/cotton batting in. I really like it- it's thin but warm, and it has a beautiful drape!

I also used my embroidery machine to make a label for this quilt! I enjoy playing with all the fonts in the software :)



Happy Blogger's Quilt Festival everyone!!

Back In Quiltyland!

I have had to spend WAY too much time in Real-Life Land over the past few weeks :) I was SO happy to spend this past weekend back in Quiltyland!

Saturday evening I went to the ever fun and always party-like lock in hosted by my friend Vicki down at Tammy Tadd Designs. I was able to finish quilting the ticker tape mini we did at the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild meeting a couple months back. It's not bound yet, but I think it's SO cute :)



I also worked on the pieces for a new quilt for my spare bedroom. It's the "Greet The Morning" pattern in the Summer 2010 Quilts And More and I managed to find the exact fabrics! I am using Essex linen in white for the background.



On Sunday I spent the afternoon sewing with the SewMod group that my friend Paige put together. I used that time to continue working on the "Greet The Morning" quilt.

Last night I unfortunately had a severe bout of insomnia- I did not even go to bed until 4:30am. But I did use the time to pick the fabrics, cut the hexies and do the basting for my Handsome Hexies swap partner, so it wasn't all bad :)





Today I'm working on bee blocks and prepping my fabrics to send for June- I send for both the Buzz Cuts 2 and Scraptastic Bee groups and I'm so excited!

Still Alive!

I've been spring cleaning, helping people move and doing lots of yardwork- my sewing machine hasn't even been turned on for a week- yikes! Things are settling down and I hope to have some new things to share with you soon :)

HoopUp! Stitch And Send Swap- I'm Done :)

Today I put the last stitches into the last piece I was making for my group in this swap. Yes, it was due on April 30. Yes, today is May 11. *hangs head in shame* What can I say? I tried!


For Jessica, who asked for an undersea theme along the lines of the Heather Ross "Mendocino" collection.


For Corinne, who asked for free-stitched scenes within a 5" circle.


For Beth, who asked for Ed Emberly inspired cities! I chose Paris. I forgot to take a picture of the finished piece, which includes trees.


For Rita, who asked for a woodland theme.


For Aneela, who asked for little girls playing.


And these are what I have recieved from Aneela, Jessica, Corinne and Beth! My theme was random circles and I am absolutely delighted with what I have recieved!

Just Plain Happy :)

It's been lovely weather, and I'm feeling fairly good, and the garden is growing, and I am just happy :)
I have also been working on this...


These are the "leftovers" from my version of the Jewel Box quilt in the Fat Quarterly e-zine. I actually got enough half-square triangles for 12 blocks total and they're all made. This afternoon I'm going to put the top together and load it onto my GrandQuilter to quilt it :)

I'm still working on the Jewel Box quilt. I just need to make a few more blocks and I can put that top together, too.


I also indulged this weekend and bought 1/2 yard each of all 40 prints in the "Freebird" line by MoMo for Moda. I ordered them from Hawthorne Threads on Saturday and they came today! I call that good, fast service :)

This morning I've gotten a lot done in the way of housecleaning and I've made yogurt and bread. I'm feeling all domestic today :)

Clouds

Lately I've been fascinated by clouds. I really can't explain why. Maybe it's the fact that they are ever changing? Or that a seemingly innocent looking cloud can grow and change and draw energy to itself until it becomes a deadly force? I don't know.

Whatever the reason, I've been obsessed with taking pictures of clouds.

Like these.

A Little Of This And Some Of That...

That describes the week since my last blog post!


The week brought some storms...


But today I'm enjoying lovely weather and clear blue skies!


I'm working on a quilt from Fat Quarterly e-zine...


And playing with the leftovers!


I've been showing off my backside... ;)


And recycling things to use in the garden! Here are branches I am using for my pole beans. They'll be perfect for the vines to climb!

Fat Quarterly E-zine

Well, Fat Quarterly premiered today! My very own, unsolicited, personal opinion of it? It ROCKS!!

This E-zine is SO much fun!! It has fun and easy patterns and interviews with fabric designers and book authors- and bloggers just like you and me! It's bright and fresh looking and it's obvious a lot of care went into the appearance of this e-zine.

They have a little challenge in the magazine- I'm not going to say what, but I will show you what I made for it...

I highly, highly recommend you head over to the Fat Quarterly website and buy it. It's worth the $8 in my opinion!!

Photography

Taking really good photos with the perfect subject and lighting has never been my strong point. I always strive for great pictures, but most of the time they elude me. Lately I've really been making an effort, though. I set aside the cheap camera I got on clearance at Shopko. I learned how to use all the features of our really good Olympus camera. I'm learning about lighting and focus and white balance. We have a tripod now and a remote for the camera is next on the list. I try to pose my subjects (usually quilts!) for the maximum effect.

But this? This was totally random!! I took the camera outside to take pictures of the crabapple tree. I stepped into the grass to get a better view. I happened to look down, and there was this:


What may possibly be the most perfectly formed dandelion flower I've ever seen!

I love dandelions. I don't look in my yard and see unsightly weeds... I see hundreds of happy cheerful flowers! Fortunately I live in the country where no one is bothered by them :)

We Have A Winner!!!

Aaaaaannnnnddd here we go!! As of 9:00pm US CDT there were 456 comments... 456! WOW! Thank you all SO much!!

Mr. Random Number Generator has picked out a winner!!

And that is...

 
OMG it's MICHELE!!! One of my real-life bestest quilting peeps!!!! I am TOTALLY holding you to that cookie promise, darlin'!

Thank you so, so much to everyone who stopped by and left me such lovely comments!! I read each and every one of them and am so happy to have made new friends- and found many new blogs to read!!

Quilty love to all!

Post #300- You Know What That Means!

***This giveaway is now closed and a winner has been announced! Thank you so much!!***

That's right- it means it's time for a giveaway!! I am so excited to have reached this blogging landmark... 300 posts! That's a lot of sharing my little world with you all :) Thank you for reading and commenting and sharing my blog journey with me!

So, about this giveaway... ALL of this prize goes to ONE lucky person! International entries are welcome :)



Here's the prize package:

1. A copy of the book "Handmade Home" by Amanda Blake Soule!

2. THREE charm packs of current Moda lines "Frolic" by Sandy Gervais, "Make Life..." by SweetWater and "Blush" by BasicGrey!

3. AND you will also get a free download of the premier issue of Fat Quarterly!! Fat Quarterly is an exciting new e-magazine written by modern sewists for modern sewists! It will premier on April 27th and YOU could be checking out the first issue for FREE!! For more information about Fat Quarterly e-magazine you can check them out at their website, on Flickr and on Twitter :)

So how do you win this awesome package? There are 3 ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment on this post! That's simple enough, right? :)

2. Become a follower of this blog and leave me a separate comment on this post telling me you've done so! If you are already a follower, let me know in a separate comment for your extra chance!

3. Blog about this giveaway!! Then come back and leave me another separate comment on this post telling me you've done this, with a link to your post!

This giveaway will be open until Sunday April 25, 2010 at 9:00 p.m. US central daylight time. The winner will be drawn at random and announced on Monday April 26, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. US central daylight time.

Thanks for coming by, and good luck!

Spring Flowers :)

I wanted to show you some of the flowers I saw today :)


This crabapple tree is right in our front yard, and it's always SO beautiful this time of year! I wish I could post the scent that's coming into the house from this tree- it's so sweet and peaceful!

This tree is also buzzing right now- literally. There must be hundreds of bees in the flowers right now!


I must be doing something right with the strawberries this year- some of them are already flowering!! I'm so excited for some fresh strawberries this year :)

International Quilt Festival 2010: The Quilts, Part II

Just a few more of the quilts that caught my eye and inspired me at the International Quilt Festival this past weekend!


"My Stash At 50" by Karen Eckmeier


"My Stash At 50" by Karen Eckmeier... check out the quilting on this!!


"Crocus" by Maggie Weiss


"Oh, For Henna's Sake" by Michelle Reasoner


"Oh, For Henna's Sake" by Michelle Reasoner... another one that just had amazing quilting!


"Fantasy Seahorse" by Pat Mazzarella

There are more pictures of amazingly inspirational quilts in my Flickr Set "IQF 2010" :)