A Mixed Bag

Mr. Remy Mischief 

I just love this photo of Remy. It just makes me smile. 

Taken with the Hipstamatic app on iVan the iPhone.  

Lots of stuff went on this week.  Mostly stressful work stuff that's better left unsaid and forgotten.  Very little sewing happened.  Although I did work on hexagons.  

Here's some more fabric squares that will soon be hexagons.

Some retail therapy in the form of COLORFUL layer cakes.  I have a plan for these that is brewing.

I just adore this wintery line with polar bears and crisp, clear, icy colors.   This makes me smile too.  Don't know what I'm going to make from this but it is wonderful to look at wintery fabric with polar bears when it's been nonstop mid-90s humid hot icky summer here.

Did I show this already?  I can't remember. Block 2 for the Fat Quarter Shop Designer Mystery Quilt.  I finished it right after it arrived in the mail. Then found it in my photostream.   The photo is needs to be rotated 90 degrees.  Let's just pretend that it is OK?

Block 3 will be arriving soon.  Love this fun BOM.

 

Morris & Company & Remy & Company

I just love Barbara Brackman's William Morris lines and received the latest one in layer cake form. Gorgeous winter colors. Now I need to find a project to match the fabric. Remy is napping with the little lamb toy. So precious!

A Saturday Back in Atlanta

Did you think I would never come back?  I really wanted to stay in Michigan because I was having such a super fantastic fun Fall time but I did come back Tuesday night.

And was very sad Wednesday to not have this little sweetie around.  

She looks like she is in a Smart Car.

If you look close, she has a Starbucks hoodie on.  You can only get this kinda cool if you have an aunt who works at Starbucks!


The rest of this week zoomed by and today I finally got around to unpacking my suitcase and downloading my photos.

Packed in my suitcase were the quilty goodies I picked up in Michigan at some of my favorite shops.  Mabelena's in Ortonville is a really great shop.  Brenda, the owner, is just the sweetest person, and the shop always has wonderful new stuff and shop displays for just about anything you are looking for.  As you can see, I found a few things to bring home.  Check out the awesome floursack tea towels I found.  Aren't the colors just great?  I'm planning some funky Halloween stitchery for these for next year.  I also picked up the book-azine "Sew Scrappy", some fat quarters, and a couple of half-yards.


We also went to Guildcrafters in Berkeley.  I love this shop too and they always have lots and lots of great samples and kits. The best thing about their kits is they have kits in a wide variety of price ranges and a wide variety of projects.  I picked up a cute owl pincushion pattern that I hope to make sometime soon. Another cool thing about the shop is their little pincushion kits (I have three from previous trips...).   I also picked up a few fat quarters in Halloween & Civil War fabrics.


More tomorrow....

More from NC Trip--Places to Stop

On the way to Snowbird, we always stop in Franklin, North Carolina, to have lunch and do some shopping in the historic downtown. Franklin is a great little town.  We were very sad to see that our favorite restaurant, The Frog and Owl, had closed and a sandwich shop and gift shop called Rosebud Cottage replaced it.  We ate there and the sandwiches were good. We also found out that the owners of the Frog and Owl had opened an Italian restaurant (Rana Rinata) just outside of downtown so we'll have to try that next time. Some of the antique stores had closed.  The wonderful yarn shop, Silver Threads & Golden Needles, was still on Main Street.  There is a great bookstore called Books Unlimited with new and used books and a bookshop cat.  I picked up a Dr. Seuss book for Mackenzie there.

 Franklin also has a great quilt shop called Deb's Cats n Quilts.  The shop had expanded and added an addition since I was there in March 2010. 

In the lower level addition, there was a huge selection of reproduction and Moda fabrics, lots of samples, and a huge classroom space.

 The shop also is a participant in the western NC quilt trail program. We saw lots of other quilt blocks on barns as we traveled to Snowbird. 


I highly recommend a stop by the shop if you are in the area.  The staff is friendly and they have a large selection of cat (and dog) fabric. 








Of course I *had* to help out a local business.  Here are my purchases--on the left, all of this was from the sale area (bonus!) and on the right, some Civil War reproductions for the FWQAL & CW BOW I'm working on.

 On the way home, we stopped by a great big farm stand north of Gainesville, Georgia, called Jaemor's Farm. I loaded up a cart full of peaches, blueberries, blackberries, lady peas, cantaloupe, and mayhaw jelly.  Some peach fried pies to take home and some of the most super awesome peach ice cream rounded out the trip.   

Saturday: More Catching Up, Le Petite for April, Worthy Cause

OK I am all caught up on sleep after traveling, storm watch, general insomnia, and a too busy partial week at work. Whew!  Hopefully life is back to its normal hecticness. 

I don't like to advocate for causes in this blog because that's not what you readers are here for so skip down to quilt photo if you want.

First up, now that the Royal Wedding is over with, please consider refocusing your attention to the storm victims in the Southeast.  The devastation is horrific and residents need help.  I humbly ask you to do what you can for the organization of your choosing and thank you for anything you do good thoughts, prayers, donations, quilts, whatever. Thank you.

There are too many worthy causes in this world and I am often overwhelmed by the great need out there and feel helpless with the inadequacy of my "discretionary" income each month (or lack thereof). But when I think that I have an extra $5, $10, or $20 when others do not, I know that every little bit helps.  My choice:  I follow @HomerBlindCat on Twitter.  Homer is the blind wonder-cat from the book Homer's Odyssey who has captured my heart.  Homer's mom and author Gwen Cooper has set up a donation account for Canat Veterinary Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.  Read the blog post here. 
Many vet clinics and animal shelters in Alabama were damaged by the tornadoes and the heroic staff of Canat Veterinary Hospital is taking care of any and all animals hurt or lost by the storm. Donation page is here if you so choose.

OK onto Le Petite project for April. 

 I took my Le Petite project for April to Michigan with me and was able to complete it there during a couple of sewing days with my mom and SIL.  The pattern is a Schnibbles called Brocante by Miss Rosie and the fabric is Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  (I used leftover charm squares to make Mackenzie 2 bibs.)   The background fabric is from my mom's stash because I forgot to bring background fabric.  Thanks mom and I owe you some fabric!

The square-in-a-square pattern is more subtle in my version of Brocante. I'll be interested to see the other versions in the parade. 

 While I was gone my goodies from Fat Quarter Shop came.  I was so lucky to win a FQS gift certificate from the Eventide quilt along and here are the resulting goodies:  Fig Tree "Strawberry Fields" jelly roll, yardage of Christmas owls and sweet kitties on gray, and 2 patterns.  HUGE thanks to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies and Kimberly at FQS!!!

Another package arrived while I was gone. Thelma who did such a wonderful job hosting the Eventide quilt along, made and sent mug rugs to all the participants.  How sweet is that???!!!??? I will send Thelma a proper thank you but I just want to say a public thanks for such sweetness.  Thelma--Really, the fun of the quilt along was more than enough and I will cherish this cute mug rug as well as the resulting quilt from the quilt along. You are too kind!

 As frequent readers of this blog know, I love to help out the Michigan economy when I visit and save up my fabric acquisition money especially for the trip.   Here's some goodies from my favorite quilt shops in Michigan:  Lake Street Mercantile, Guildcrafters, and Mabelena.  These are for my Civil War Block of the Week (that I am now behind on...)

Atlanta Quilt Shop Hop 2011 Part 2

I only made it to 5 of the 11 shops on the shop hop but that was enough for this year:)  Sunday, I went to Patchwork Cottage in Lawrenceville.  The shop was decorated as a haunted house!  How fun!  Halloween in March!!! What could be better than that??!!




Each shop in the shop hop gave out a goody bag with a house block pattern.  Each shop then made a quilt with all the house blocks related to their shop's theme.  I love the haunted neighborhood complete with graveyard that the clever quilters at Patchwork designed.  I think this is going on my to-make list. 
Directions for the quilt minus the house blocks will be up on their website soon.

Also, if you want to check out any of the Atlanta quilt shops on the hop, here is a link to the shop hop website.

This year, for a $10 purchase, you could get a free charm representing the shop's theme (or you could purchase one for $3).  Collecting charms is as irresistible as it sounds.  I now have a coffee cup, bee, castle, easel, and tombstone. 


This is what I bought so I could collect a tombstone charm. (Oh I crack myself up often with my crazy quilter's logic...).  Civil War prints and some more Lilac Hill. 

One thing that shop hops do (besides lighten your wallet and put miles on your car) is inspire you.  I am so inspired after seeing all the shops, samples, new fabrics, old fabrics in different places, patterns, books, and chatting with quilter friends at every stop. 

I am ready to fling fabric and wield rotary cutter and get some quilting done. 

And yes, the quilt top for Eventide is finished!!!  Woo hoo!!! Check in tomorrow for a view. 

Happy Mail

 
Don't you just love getting happy mail in the mailbox?  Happy mail like....

Pips!!! 

Oh Sherbet Pips how I love you so!

I pre-ordered this layer cake from Green Fairy Quilts and it arrived last week. Every time I walk by this fabric sitting on the ironing board.  It just makes me smile. 

Another happy package arrived today from Fat Quarter Shop courtesy of peer pressure from Karin and an irresistible offer from Vickie at Spun Sugar Quilts. 

I really didn't need another jelly roll and really, sincerely tried to talk myself out of getting a Lilac Hill jelly roll just like Karin had.  But when I saw Vickie's coupon, I lost all willpower and

with a voila....


and a Bob's your uncle....

Poof!  Goodies from Kimberly and the good folks at FQS.  

Thank you all my quilty enablers ;)

One Day Done; Two More to Go

I am so excited about having a short work week this week.  I am really enjoying not being crazy working two jobs and dealing with Thanksgiving madness. I actually get to enjoy the holiday!  I have all the grocery shopping done and even though it's just me and S. (and the 4 cats who meow for whatever we are eating), I am cooking the turkey, dressing (in the South it is cornbread dressing never stuffing), mashed potatoes, yada yada all that, the whole nine yards, and pecan pie. I'm sure we will be eating leftovers for eons....

Oh I forgot to post my goodies from Saturday's trip to Little Quilts.  We had a great trip to Marietta with lunch at Williamson Bros.and walk around the square antiquing and a stop by the quilt shop.

Oh look there's Stella again....

A few new Jo Morton fat quarters and a free yard of fabric (earned by collecting receipts). I did look at every-single-last-thing in the store (just ask S. who was beyond patient).  


Yesterday, I watched four (count them--four hours) of the new AMC show "The Walking Dead" (Zombies!  In Atlanta!  Love it! and a friend of mine was a zombie in the first episode) and cut eleventy hundred 2" strips from stash for Bonnie Hunter's new mystery quilt. 


Here's Step one finished.  I changed the colors to purple and green instead of pink (not a fan!) and green.

I also started getting caught up on the U.K. jelly roll BOM (I'm a few months behind).  So that is the latest here. Two more days of work and then four days off. Yea! 

Side Effects....

These are the side effects of being a quilter sick in bed all weekend with laptop and a stack of quilting books and magazines to read.....


They really need to put more warning labels on cold medicine....

I'm just sayin'.....

A Rural Jardin layer cake....

and a little Verna for a Schnibble I think....

Autumn in Michigan (with photos this time)

I've been back from Michigan since Sunday but have been working overtime at day job plus SBux so I haven't had time to blog.

I had a fabulous time and it went by too fast. Unfortunately, it rained every day except for the day I arrived and the day I left. I did get a few photos of the leaves between the rain drops.

I know Karin wanted to see goodies from our quilt shop visits. My mom, SIL, and dad (we always drag him along...) went to Lake Street Mercantile and found Halloween fabric on sale. I have yet another idea for a Halloween quilt so I picked up these fabrics and some great ric-rac at Guildcrafters.

Lake Street also had some great shirtings and neutrals that just *had* to come along.

Mom and I did some sewing while I was up there. She is working on the Hocuspocusville stitchery and has a block all done! I am so jealous, mine is in little bags in a plastic bin waiting for me to start. My SIL worked on costumes for a play. I worked on "Scrappy Nines" and made a Halloween "smart bag" that was kitted up at another of my favorite quilt shops Mabelena's (sorry no website or blog).

Isn't this a great Halloween bag? I want to find some "bat" buttons to put on the folded over edge to tack down the handles.

My SIL besides quilting, making costumes, and lots of other crafty stuff, does papercrafts. She made me an awesome Halloween treats jar and filled it with caramel-apple flavored candy corn (make that "used to be filled" I had to try them out).

The TSA screeners at the airport were unfamiliar with Halloween papercraft treat jars and they had to check it out. It was deemed "nonthreatening" I guess and I was allowed to bring it home. Good thing!

East Cobb Quilt Show Report

The East Cobb Quilt Guild puts on a show every other year and as in the past, this one was spectacular. Nearly 400 quilts!!!! There are some exceedingly talented quilters in the ATL let me tell ya!! One of the best things about the show was seeing all my friends!!! Many of my quilty friends are retired and attend the Friday daytime Thimbles and I don't get to see them much.

S. went with me after promising not to fidget, whine, complain, or ask if it was time to go yet. (note: S. is not three; he is 44....). I also promised to treat him to BBQ if he was good. He also got extra bonus points for saying in the car afterwards "your quilts are just as good as some of those in the show." One of those out-of-the-blue boyfriend-sayings you wish you could frame and keep forever.

OK so onto the photos. I didn't take nearly as many photos as Pat so if you want to see more check out her blog. The show was crowded, which is a great thing for the guild and the vendors, but made it hard to take photos without people.
This won Best in Show--as well it should!!! Hand appliqued and hand quilted Baltimore album quilt--makes you want to swoon. (Aside: no, Mom you don't have time to do this one!!!!!!)
Here is a detail
I loved the color combination in this quilt.
It just sparkles.

Here's a great scrappy quilt with a fabulous layout.


Here is a miniature quilt that blew my socks off!!!
Those little paper-pieced blocks are probably an inch square!!!!!

I was amazed at the machine quilting on this one.
This was one of my favorite quilts at the show because (1) I love art history (2) it's a unique pattern and (3) S. knew all the paintings that inspired it (I misidentified two).
It's called "Sunbonnet Sue Goes to the Museum"

Here is a detail Sunbonnet Sue as "The Scream"

Here are some overall views
the vendors are along the second floor with the open first floor display area.
Melisa of Sweet Home Quilt Co. had a booth there and it was packed the whole time. The Little Quilts booth was packed too. I had already made plans to visit Little Quilts while I was way over there in Cobb Co. anyway. S. waited in the car, listening to his iPod
I did get a little bit of fabric goodness. Some Jo Morton for an antique-y Halloween quilt I'm planning to make, a bundle of Abe Lincoln Bicentennial fabric, and a French General needlekeep that was a gotta-have. I successfully resisted getting the Lincoln Bicentennial kit that I am coveting and I will be happy with my little bundle.

After a huge lunch of BBQ pork, okra, and cole slaw and a couple of gallons of sweet tea at Williamson Bros. We were homeward bound before rush hour traffic started to get too bad (ie: at 2:30).

A truly great day!!!! I think S. even enjoyed it.

I'm Glad it's August....

because July went out in an avalanche of annoyances. I was tired and worn out from working too many days in a row at SBux last week (4 days in a row is torture when you also work Mon-Fri at the day job). Day job was nothing but problem projects and complicated phone calls. It was also sad because one of my co-workers in my work unit left and with the budget cuts, all open positions are frozen and who knows when it will be unfrozen. This of course means more work for the remaining employees. And he was a really great person and will be missed a lot.

So I am glad it is a new month. Of course August means back to school around here which means more traffic but let's not think of that right now....

It's rained a lot here in Atlanta and it was humid, a little too warm, and very mosquito-y outside today. This required staying inside and sewing rather than doing yard work (oh darn ;). I completed step one of Bonnie Hunter's latest mystery. It's called "Christmas Lights" but I'm changing it up a bit to not be Christmas-y colors. I think Becky, Brenda, Karin, Cindi, and Karin are all making this quilt too. The pattern is in Quiltmaker magazine. The next issue is coming out so I knew I better get step one done.

Here's my HSTs, four-patches (which I did in assorted lights and blues instead of completely scrappy as the pattern said), and my Mary's triangles (also called combination triangle squares). I'm not a gotta-have-every-new-notion kind of quilter but I LOVE these two new notions that Mary Ellen from Little Quilts demoed at our last Thimbles class. The "Quilter's Magic Wand" for drawing lines for making HSTs and "Tucker's Trimmer" for making HST, Mary's triangles, and hourglass blocks. Awesome tools and your triangles turn out PERFECT!!! You can check out the items here and see if your LQS carries them. I don't usually recommend quilting stuff but these are some gotta-haves.

I neglected to post my Sweet Home Quilt Co. purchases from last weekend (shame on me). Melisa is having great sales all month to celebrate her big 5-0 b-day and last week was Christmas fabric. I bought some of Moda's "Figgy Pudding" fabric (on sale), a random gray fabric, and backing for my blue & white quilt.
The Figgy Pudding fabric plus my previously purchased FP charm pack is going to be made into a project from Moda Bake Shop, which I hope to start soon.

Flashback

Tomorrow is the big day--my new dryer arrives! Can I get a woo hoo? Thanks to everyone who commiserated with me about appliance woes. Poor Karen at Life at Leehaven was suffering from morte des appliances also. Sneak over and give her some love if you have the chance. Although my bloggy friends from the UK (Amanda and Jane) mentioned that it is not unusual in England to have clothes hanging all over to dry. So, yes, I feel like a spoiled American and I may have to do some treehugging to make up for it (but I am going to LOVE having soft towels again).

Anyway--remember way back in June, I was going to post about my helping-the-Michigan-economy quilt shop hop. Well I nearly forgot about it until I went to put the stuff away (yes, it is mid-July; I am so behind). My mom, SIL, and I went to every quilt store within somewhat reasonable driving distance. The first stop was Christina's in Rochester. She was having a sale on everything so I picked up some
black & white fat quarters because me and Becky were supposed to make some quilt with B&W fabric and I'm sure I'll remember it at some point and need these.
At Mabelena's, I picked up some Moda goodness for a future tablerunner
(or a dryer cozy HAHA)
I also bought some Halloween fat quarters because my goal is to have enough Halloween fabric to make a quilt for every man, woman, and child in the US. The green rickrack is a just because.
We went to a couple other shops but I think whatever I bought was absorbed into the sewing room already (kinda like the BLOB!)
We also went to Lake Street Mercantile and I bought one of Windham's new Fat Rolls (5" strips) of their Clara Barton line of fabric. Mom and I split this and I cut all the strips in half so now we each have a jelly roll!
I already have a quilt picked out of this book to make.
Today, I am working on finishing up the "Glory Bound" quilt even though I am OVER this quilt and just want to be done and moving on. But I am steadfast in finishing it. Also, I am still pouting from not being able to join all my sewing buds at the week-long stitch-in. If you haven't checked out my friend Pat at Silver Thimble Talk, click on over there and hold on to your hat for all the great quilts and hilarity that ensued over the week.