Thank goodness I put on my bra this morning! ( the story of friendship and hugs)

I was working on my Friday post that obviously did NOT happen because of three little sneaking girls and one super handsome quilty guy and their scheming ways that rocked my ENTIRE little world!

This all started when Amylouwho was organizing a sewing play date at Becky's ( Sarcastic Quilter) house. The local gals try to get together to sew and mostly chat about sewing and things related to life outside of "Where the heck did you leave your shoes!" and " Did you remember to flush and wash your hands?" ( I am speaking of the kids here and hopefully not the husbands but well...).  I was so super excited to go play at Becky's house.  I had not had the chance to get up there and check out her sewing room ( which is SUPER AWESOME) or meet her fur babies or any of her people babies either.  I was looking forward to my sewing mama escape!

Monday of last week I found out the kids had early release.  Early release is a code name for parent torture.  By the time I drop them both off, I have about one hour to get whatever  I can done completed and turn around to start picking them up again. On these days I get very little accomplished and so I debate just dropping them off in my jammies and socks with not even brushing my hair or throwing on a bra to save some time. My sewing mama day was not going to happen. I really hate early release days!

Amy called and we were trying to figure out some way to make all of this work and it simply was not going to happen.  Then she suggested that they all come here.  Now, I am not usually opposed to have my friends come to my house, in fact, I love to have people over.  It is one of the great joys in my life.   But like many people, I was having an off week.  It happens.  Overwhelmed,under energized and just plain BLAH! I put my foot down right there and said NO...numerous times.  Amy is not usually a bossy person and I was wondering why she was being so odd. I was to find out very soon...

Friday...the dreaded early release day...dum...dum...dum...

Becky called in the morning and told me that she and Amy were on their way to the Joann's near my house and asked would I like to meet up with them for a coffee or some fabric groping ( okay Becky did not say that part but I knew she may have meant it).  I really had to get caught up on some work related items and told her I would have to call her back in a few minutes but I REALLY did want to meet them.  By the time I had finished it was just too late.  I called her to let her know and then was even in MORE of a funk...GAH! Stupid early release...

I was in my sad place and I heard a loud bang on my door. I ignored it since I was in no mood to say hello to the bug guy or even my favorite Fed Ex delivery person.  I just sat click, click, clicking away and the phone rang.  I have caller id to weed out those pesky sales calls and I was thrilled to see it was RACHEL!  I had not talked to her since Michael left for deployment.  I was going to whine to her and then feel much better.  She is awesome that way.

I said "Hello"

She said " Hey, what are you doing?"

I said, " Working."

She asked " From home?"

I said, "Yes."

Riveting conversation so far right? It does get better so please hang with me ;)

She said, " Come to your door..."

WTF!!!!!

" YOU ARE NOT AT MY DOOR!"

I pretty much ran down the stairs ( without breaking anything) and opened my door to Rachel standing in the POURING rain with a big smile on her face.  " I love you" Is what she said and gave me a big hug!

again...WTH and THANK GOD I had decided to put on a bra this morning!

Now, Rachel lives in Ohio...I live in VA it is about a six or seven hour drive to my house from hers.  I saw that she was off to somewhere on Instagram ( I would have no clue what was going on in the world without Instagram) and asked where she was going. Thinking she was off to teach.  She never responded.

Amy and Becky were there too and so was Rachel's sweet husband Shane ( Sweetie, you are the BEST!) and my Babylouwho!  I was pretty speechless, which never ever happens.  Amy came out of the car and I instantly would not speak to her!   Could not believe she did not tell me about any of this and then it only got better.  I had to ask where Rachel was going and then Amy said the most amazing thing..." She is here to see you!" What! Why the heck would anyone drive all that way to see me?  I was confused.  Then I had to take a minute to shake off my confusion by getting a snuggle from Babylouwho.  I am convinced that Babylouwho was a strategic move on Amy's part so I could not really be mad.

Then Amy, Becky and Rachel asked me to look in the back of the van.  I looked over the seat and saw nothing.  Then they asked me to come outside and then they showed me the quilt...the quilt that they had made for me.  The reason of the visit was for these three friends, these sisters of deployment to offer me a hug. This is my hug

Becky has a mid arm and created the sweetest whimsical quilting with Aurifil 50wt in white to match all the colorful scrappy prints including Heather Ross, Happy Zombie, Robert Kaufman, Tula Pink LADYBUGS, Denyse Schmidt and many many more that were used to brighten my spirits.  And Becky did not forget my Magic in the Middle Pellon batting either. Becky thinks of everything ;) It was even bound in my signature red.

And the thing that touched my heart the most was the label.

This quilt pattern is named The Deployment Quilt from Rachel's new book.  If you have not seen Rachel's new book, you need to RIGHT NOW!  It is called Quilts Made with Love and is published by Martingale.  It is filed with quilts to make for situations of celebration or times when people you love or sometimes people you do not even know need the comfort of a quilt.  The patterns are clearly written, easy to follow and these are quilts you will have fun making and be proud to give.  You can believe me when I tell you that this girl believes in these quilts, in the love that they bring...and I can testify that is is 100% right!

Was this to be the end of it...OH NO!!!!  After I was able to get my mouth to close and pick up the kids I hauled my troops up to Becky's house and we had another visitor...JOHN Q. ADAMS ( the man I lovingly refer to as Grizzly) ...WHAT THE WHAT!?!  Best hugger ever...just sayin!!!!

We spent an amazing evening eating, talking, laughing and we all took turns on Becky's midarm using Aurifil...of course...I love her!

Here is John doin his magic!

And Rachel rockin the swirling loops

Thank you so much to my dear friends...I LOVE YOU and life just would not be the same without you!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I have had a crazy bust weekend so I am doing a last minute Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day post!  I love this day so much!  It is so much fun to go to all the blogs and see all the great offerings! Make sure to go and see all the hundreds of offerings!

Here is my Giveaway...

Ten fat quarters of Dear Stella fabric and two matching large spools of  50wt Aurifil thread!

This combo just makes me so happy on this icy cold dreary day :o)

You wil notice that there are a few little drops on the spools because when I went out is started to drop ice pellets!  The spools were quickly back to the safety of the warm dry house as soon as I realized what was happening.

Thank you everyone for all of your comments!  I am giving you all a BIG HUG for participating and making me smile and feel a bit warmer!

Congratulations Jenny!  I will be sending you an email for your shipping info.  I sure hope your sister is okay!

 Jenny said...

last year my sister was watching my kids...she doesnt know how to cook, nor is she familiar with gas stoves...yep, she caughter her long hair and baggy sweatshirt on fire...she was scared, but stop dropped and rolled and got put out...my kids? thought it was amazing and asked her to do it again!

December 11, 2013 at 9:36 AM

A quilt for my girl

I have made quilts, many quilts...but never one for my girl. She has her own taste and style and honestly has not found anything that she LOVES enough for me to make a quilt just for her. I have asked over the years and she will say that she is okay with this or that but until now she has not been overly excited about anything. I have not insisted that she choose anything.

She does not feel left out in the least and has not given me any grief about not having one of her very own. This past weekend was the big Joann's sale and I braved the Black Friday MADNESS to buy some flannel. It was about 81% off so how could I possibly pass that up!

I had my sister here for a visit with my niece and nephew so we all bundled up and expected to find the store packed. Thankfully it was not and so I had my cart filled up with all sorts of fabric. They had a decent selection of blues, purples and greens, Katy's favorites. I bought them with the intention of making jammie pants and then asked if she wanted a quilt. She thought about it and said YES! So on Sunday morning I did this...

I had Katy figure out her random placement.  I like for the kids to help out with any project I am working on especially if it is for them.

By the time Once Upon a Time was starting I was sewing up the last row!

This is how it looked like last night...WOOT WOOT!  She is super excited!

Now I just have to choose the Aurifil thread color and weight.  I asked for opinions last night on instagram and I think we all decided the purple is the best choice.

Tula Blocks 79 and 80 with PIZZAZ!

When I was making the block for Pat's birthday I was having so much fun with the technique of making the sections and making them smaller that I decided to see how small I could go by using them on my Tula 100 Modern blocks!

I love the tissue paper or mosaic look to the sections of hack and sew and I am amazed by the super tiny pieces that I could have never pieced in a BAZILLION years even with good eyes and nimble fingers.

The fabrics for the entire quilt are Bobbins and Bits by Pat Sloan for Moda.  Batiks and quilting cottons when mixed together create something so wonderful it makes me happy! I am using Aurifil 50wt 2600 ( a beautiful gray) for the piecing.  The thin and strong 50wt works brilliantly with all of the seams.  I can see where it could be an issue with anything thicker. YAAY for the perfect thin thread!

Hope you are keeping up better than I am with the blocks. Hoping I can somehow catch up with the other blocks this weekend.  With my sister coming for Thanksgiving, I am very doubtful ;)

The Katydid Bag

This is my bag review for the AWESOME Purse Palooza event going on over at Sew Sweetness!  I was supposed to have this completed October 1st...did not happen.  Did not even come close to happening.  I was planing on making the Lilium Laptop Bag but in my mind I had envisioned that the compass I made was going to fit on the flap and I was WRONG!  I looked through all the other bags and then called Sara.  This happens every time I make a bag  since I am not a bag maker and she knows everything there is to know about bags.  I knew she would walk me through finding the "right" bag for my block and not make me feel like a complete idiot.

Unfortunately for me there was no other pattern that would work...sigh...so Sara said "I have an idea..." and The Katydid Bag was what came out of my inability to conform and my having the best friend in the world!

Now, if you know Sara, you know that she has been CRAZY busy with not only her business but other stuff too.  I sent her a message telling her NOT TO design a new bag and that I would make something else and this one can wait.  I woke up to an email saying " I know you told me not too but I love you too much".  GAH!  And she named it after her mini me Katy that LIVES with me so I could not be totally pissed.

Sara sent me the pattern with all the directions I needed.  There were limited photos which made me consider biting my nails again.  I am so very visual and need lots of actual photos, with Sara's instructions, I did not need the usual picture for every step.

The only adjustments I made to the original pattern were the handle holders were bias folded and I changed it to make holders that were flat on either side. I also needed to sew with a 1/4 in seam instead of the 1/2in suggested.  I wanted for my compass points to show.

I made the front panel using the pattern on Quilting on the Square .  I want to make them all. Really great patterns.  I made the block scrappy using many different designers including Kate Spain, Heather Ross and Joel Dewberry. The lining fabric is Alexander Henry Mirabelle, one of my all time favorite prints. I would do a happy dance if they would send me 20 yds of that print!  The background fabric is from Joann's.  It is not 100 percent cotton and is more like a microfiber.  Stretched a bit more than I would have liked but the fact that it is a perfect black made up for the slight difficulty in handling. For the interfacing I used the recommended Pellon sf-101 and Annie's Soft and Stable. The thread used was my trusty Aurifil.  I used 50wt for the topstitching and quilting and the 40wt for the bag assembly.


The features of this bag are what make me want to make another.   The recessed zipper is easy and creates a finished look.

SO MUCH ROOM!!!! If you have even been with me anywhere, you know I carry a ton of crap.  Still not sure what it all is but it is ALL in my bag.  This one will meet my needs for sure!

The pattern called for two zippered pockets.  I chose to do one.  I only had this one fab vintage pink zipper from Lindsay  to use and well, it is just perfection.  Do not be afraid to do zippers.  It is easy and the method Sara uses is one of the most simple.  If you are doing it for the first time, try it out on  a scrap first.  Get comfortable with it and you will be a pro in no tome!

Inside is a fun bit of Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt.  It looks so great with the Alexander Henry Mirabelle

I am not even sure when Sara plans to release this pattern but when she does...GET IT!!!  It is easy and AMAZING!!!! If you are going to Quilt Market please look for this bag, it will be there with me :)

Linked up to 

Finish It Up Friday

Tula Pink City Sampler Sew Along Blocks #43, #44, #45

I think I am just going to have Little Miss ( she is taller than me but she will always be little in my mind) pick ALL my fabrics for EVERYTHING from now into eternity!  We have been having such a blast with Pat Sloan's Bobbins and Bits and some solids.  It is interesting to see what colors Katy chooses, even if I do not always agree with her choices, they look incredible when put together.  She may not be interested in the sewing quite yet but she really has a great eye for color.  

#43

#44

#45

Make sure to link up your blocks on Sew Sweetness!

The Marilyn finish!

I finished the Sew Serendipity Marilyn dress!  I am super happy that I was able to do this dress.  It is classic and I learned so much in the process I know my next garment venture will be even more successful.

In the instructions it recommends that you do a muslin fitting first.  I second that 100%.  When I made the first trial run it was okay.  It was good to get used to the terms and how things were going to look. The size I cut was really not the best for me. I also needed to add a little in the bodice and the waistband  since I am small and long in my torso, the bodice was hitting me a bit short.  Sara and I had a google hangout with all kinds of bodice maneuvering and a little measuring to figure out what needed to be done.  Kay recommends looking online for adjustments for alterations for this area if you are large or small busted or a book called Fit for Real People.  I needed an inch here and and inch there.

and this was my second muslin fitting. The bodice is much better in this one.

So I took the plunge and started on the "real" dress!!!!  I used Pellon Shape Flex for all the interfacing.  I think I need to start buying that stuff by the bolt!  SO many uses...so awesome!  I also used my trusty Aurifil thread in a stunning black 50wt.  I was thinking of trying the 40wt but I did not want my stitches to show so 50 was meant to be!

Instead of gathering the skirt, I went with box pleats. I looked at youtube videos and found this one that is super easy to follow by evangesews.com.  I started from the center and the pleats are 2in apart.  Not perfect but this was my first time ever doing these pleats.  I am very pleased with the outcome.

Here is the back view and my EPIC FAIL on the invisible zipper!  I did not sew close enough to the teeth but at that point I was not ripping it all out to do over.  My next dress I will hopefully do a better job. I also have NO IDEA what I am looking at in the tree.

The one thing I really wish I would have done is to add POCKETS!!!  Donna Reed would have had pockets!   If I can make this dress anyone can!  I am really loving it...

especially since it goes with my red shoes!!!!

Linked up on

Finish It Up Friday

A Charming Giveaway { Aurifil included}

The Polaroid Swap has been so much fun to participate in!  I have been going through my scraps and finding things that I had forgotten about.  It has been giving me warm fuzzies inside being able to use them.  Some of the fabrics are now nearly impossible to find so I suppose I was waiting for the right project to get the most use of them with the smallest amount of waste. The Polaroid Blocks are perfect for these beauties.

This brings me to the giveaway.  I went kinda crazy cutting the little fussy cuts and I was thinking that there might be some sweets quilters out there that may not get the chance to find some of these harder to find prints so I continued fussy cutting so I could have enough to offer in a giveaway!

Here is a sampling of some of what I cannot wait to share...

Each set will include approx 25-30 2.5x2.5 fussy cut charms and will have vvhtf Heather Ross, Munki Munki, Japanese fabric and just some whimsical fun stuff ( I am still cutting so not sure yet the final number).

AND an Aurifil Sample set that contains fun fabulous colors in all the weights for you to play with!

TWO winners will be chosen by Mr. Random selector and the giveaway runs until Friday August 30,2013 at 11pm EST.


To enter giveaway ( three entry options, you can do one or all three to increase your chances):

1.  Tell me your favorite out of print fabric that you would LOVE to see reprinted.
For me that one is EASY... Heather Ross  Mendocino!  Little Miss is mermaid crazy and I stupidly did not buy BOLTS of it when it was available!  I wonder is Heather has an extra stash of these some where she wants to release...I'd be ECSTATIC and so would my only girl child,LOL!

2.  Become a follower or give a big HELLO and let me know you already are a follower!  I LOVE my online friends and am always happy to have more!  You guys give me support and inspiration and I ADORE YOU :o)

3. Like my Facebook page and leave a comment here letting me know.
My FB page is another way for me to share sewing links, sales and other fun inspirations that I find more daily than weekly.


If you are a no reply blogger, I cannot email you so PLEASE leave your email in one of your comments.

Lovetag Quilt Liberty of London Stile Collection

The Quilt Alliance  ( an organization I adore) promotes telling the story of your quilts, an important part of quilt making and quilt history. This is the story of my new quilt!

It has never been a secret that I adore, love, drool over ,covet  ( add anything else that may fit here) Liberty of London fabrics!  The first time I saw them was on the internet and I was stunned at the beauty of the designs.  At that time, I was not quilting yet and could not figure out exactly what I would do with those lushious pieces of art.  That all changed quickly after making my first quilt five years ago.   The world of Liberty of London was calling to me ( not really but the voices in my head sure were loud).  I purchased my first sets of 4 in squares of Liberty and I was tickled pink! I took them out and lined them up in rows, arranged them them in color order and then randomly then I very carefully put them back... I obviously was not ready.

Fast forward a few years and a few projects later.  I learned that all those squares would look so much better if I actually used them, that they were meant to be sewn into, pincushions, Aeroplane bags, pouches and mini quilts.  Their loveliness has a synergistic effect...one is gorgeous...a bunch together and BAM!  It is a wonderful thing to experience.

A pincushion for a friend

Cathedral window Aeroplane Bag

A mini quilt

I was given the opportunity to experience it in a huge way that started this past May.  In Portland, I received an email.  I honestly thought it was not a real email because the person sending it to me has such a fun sounding name it could not be business related so I was going to skip to the next one.  I could not get  the name out of my head so I went back and opened it...OMG!!!!! Sara was there in bed and I SQUEELED with delight...SARA...OMG!!!!!! I think I may have been shaking a bit too.  It was from Michelle at Liberty of London asking if I wanted to do a guest post for their blog.  I started looking for the candid cameras and could not believe it was true...ME?  No...really...ME?

Okay, I can do this!  They will want me to make a little bag or something and it will be fun...nope...a QUILT!  A full sized honest to goodness quilt...ALL LIBERTY!  OH...Ummmmm...hmmmm. A TUTORIAL and a quilt. WOW and yes please!  The collection I am lucky enough to work with is the newest Liberty Lifestyle craft fabric Stile. The LOVEtag Tutorial can be found on the Liberty Lifestyle Blog.   The LOVEtag is a simple patchwork that any level of sewer can try.  This is the perfect beginner project!  When you are visiting the Liberty blog, check out the other great tutorials to try, like the Dresden Pouf from Holly DeGroot .

The LOVEtag is a HUGE hashtag, according to Thomas, a sexy hashtag,lol!  I love it, I love the quilting ( Lisa was AMAZINGLY kind and lightening fast).  The quilt top was made in two and a half  days, we were leaving on vacation and I was up at 4 am finishing it and piecing the back together  to have it in the mail to Lisa that Friday morning since she was moving and had an insane schedule too.

This is the first quilt I have ever handbound!  It took me forever but I did it.  I had been having issues with smaller projects with needles bending during binding.  It was not fun and ended up really hurting my fingers.  On my visit to Kelly Ann's Quilting  I asked her for recommendations and she was like an angel...the perfect hand binding needles...BOHN!  Small sturdy and perfect for the job.  I was able to do the entire 88x88 quilt with no pain or bending.  In fact, I think I could use the same needle for another quilt!

I am pretty happy with the binding and now I have the right tool I will get more practice!

When the binding was completed I needed to get photos. This was going to be a challenge, lots of rain and no tall people...time to construct!

Katy and I gathered some tools. There is a hammer and some vice grips in there too ;o)

and made a line across our play structure.  I am pretty sure our neighbors think we are crazy by now!

Too many trees and not the right lighting...sigh

Later that day I decided to try again in my favorite spot where the sun is always shining and the kids can RUN!

I still had an issue with how to hold the quilt up since the little man is no where near the right size. Lo and behold a neighbor on a golf cart came through while we were there!  I flagged her down and asked if she wouldn't mind helping a crazy quilt lady out.  I handed Adam the camera...and I am really proud his eye was on getting the quilt in the frame,lol!

So, after a bunch of words and stuff, here are the photos I was able to take.

The quilting is exquisite.  The quilt master Lisa Sipes did her magic on this one.  She used Aurifil 50 wt in white and lots of it!  I cannot even remember how many thousands of yds she told me she went through. She made the Aurifil look like it is dancing on the fabric...SO AWESOME! The batting I used was Pellon.  It was two layers of Natures Touch for a little extra pouf!

Then we had some fun!

and of course what photo session can be complete without a photo bomb!!!!!

I love this quilt more than a little :o)