another grand give-away!

i've snuck in a little time to take my 56 sailboat blocks to the next step....i'm trimming and prepping to sew the left sky piece on all the blocks via chain-piecing...i've come upon a block in the road though - austin has a full-size bed which has been the plan for this quilt all along...now we are contemplating getting 2 twin beds for the boys room....i of course have several weeks if not months to make up my mind - but do i forge ahead with the full size quilt or do 2 matching twin sizes?? ah - decisions!

If you are a fan of Denyse Schmidt and her style or fabric and haven't found this site yet you must check it out. It is titled 'Flea Market Fancy Freaks' those of us addicted to this so versatile fabric that seems to be the perfect addition to any project. They have a petition going to bring in another run of the Flea Market Fancy line. Check it out for a free chance to win some goodies!

wanna be a winner???

want a chance to win one of these???

Go to donna downey's blog and leave a comment at a chance to win...but hurry - comments end at 10:00 pm tonight....if i don't win - dear santa, can you leave one under my tree??

Good luck!

I'm so excited!

Yeah!!! I finally got the courage to join my first virtual quilting bee! I haven't done it before because of the monthly committment and then the thought of having to plan my own blocks the month i host and get the material to the group on time, etc. I can barely get anywhere on time so how could I manage this, right?

But, i found the perfect virtual group today and took the plunge! It is called Cancer is Sew Done and they send you the fabric every month give you a specific block to make and a self-addressed envelope to send it back in! How easy, right? The blocks come together to form a quilt that is then auctioned off to benefit a cancer charity. How cool. There is time for you to join to, even if you are a beginner this is the perfect way to get your feet wet and help a great cause at the same time.

This is a picture of the block we are doing for the first month, i'm just waiting on my fabrics to arrive to get going. This is also the block for the first quarter of the Block Party Quilt Along I have some other fabrics at home that i've been waiting for the perfect quilt idea and i think i might try them on this! Should have something to show you soon!

Quilt Along

I've been terribly addicted to quilting blogs lately, the more modern the better. i'm loving all the ideas and inspiration i get from them.

I stumbled across this blog the other day http://www.blockpartyquilting.com/ and found that they are doing a year-long quarterly quilt along to prepare for their new book! How exciting....they will be offering tutorials on a block a quarter and then quilters are asked to post pics on their flickr account and some will be used for the book - the book is a look at the modern quilting community online and how the virtual quilting bee has come back with a vengeance and the community that modern quilters are finding online through online quilting bees and quilt alongs. Fantastic, I say!

In case you aren't aware of how a virtual quilting bee works - there are a ton to choose from online - each member hosts a month - sends fabric to the other members and boundaries for what size blocks she/he wants, style, etc. You have a few weeks to make the block(s) and send it back, so essentially once a year you get the blocks to make a quilt made by others and so forth!

Block Party is doing a giveaway here for all that want to check it out! I'm in!

halloween 2009

i think this is really fast for me to get halloween pics up! i don't have many good ones this year..tyler decided to totally not cooperate and up until we started walking down the street I didn't think he'd actually wear a costume. he was going to go as his poor little grouchy self! But, amazingly enough he put it on and away he went. Fleece costumes were not a good idea for the exceptionally warm weather we had here...high 80's for sure. Our therapist told us in her 14 years in Estero this was absolutely the hottest halloween ever.....why does that not surprise me? i think i've been hot since June 1st this year....can't wait for that next cold front here --- maybe december - should be in the 70's !!!

this is how i feel most days!

anyway we did capture a few good pics and i'll post those for all to see! lots of loot which always makes one happy mama!

Joy in the New Year Challenge

If you notice to the left I added a new picture / link. Tallgrass Prairie Studio is a blog that I read daily and gain a ton of inspiration from. If I had to sum up the type of quilter I think of myself as - I could send you to Jacquie's blog and say "just like her!" She has a very modern quilting style and most of her stuff is simple and easy, but really makes you look once then again and again and think....wow, I really like that!

She posted a challenge yesterday to count your UFO's or WIP's in quilt's or quilt tops that you would like to finish before the new year....like a before the new year resolution! I thought about it and then said, why not and joined in on the fun...I decided 4 was a completely unreasonable amount for me to finish, but I'd be ecstatic if I came close. I'm in the midst of finishing the top of the sailboat quilt for Austin's bed. The blocks are probably about 1/2 done then they need to be sewn together. The other 3 quilts in my head are much, much simpler, although I'm hoping for a huge statement. So, I'm thinking that 1 quilt is extremely realistic!

If you want to join in the fun, click on the picture and leave a comment and post about your thoughts! Come on, it'll be fun!

some new creations....

Well, we finally got Austin settled in school....naps rescheduled earlier so we are awake and ready to go pick him up by 2:30 and earlier bedtimes for all. I still think it is hardest for me to wake up before everyone else in the morning, even though it is peaceful when we do. I still hate the chaos school brings of 'having' to get up and trying to get everyone ready and out the door. I just can't seem to adhere to structure...probably a major fault in a lot of eyes....can't say i'm a list-maker - more free-spirited - do as i please when i feel like it - that is what life's about, right?

With Austin going off to school we are trying to spend more time with Tyler to encourage his speech along - this is our day at the park.. he was cracking up at this!

on the other side of the teeter-totter!

me goofing around

so sweet, hmmm......mr. blue eyes

in the fort....could they be more different?

Labor Day visit with my parent's - we had so much fun!

Austin at his new desk at school - first day!

His new 'big' backpack - should last for a few years!

All ready for school - uniform and all - no worries on what to wear.

Now on to some craft things i've been doing. This is a sneak peek at the quilt i'm working on. I've wanted to do this for about 4 years now (ha) but plenty of things kept getting in my way. Now, I seem to have more time and finally got up the nerve to start it. I swear i've read the pattern about 100 times and it seemed rather confusing, but I decided to just jump in and figure it out. While, it is different, it has turned out to come together nicely. I did a few semi-complete blocks at first and now i'm chain piecing the parts together to be more efficient. The blocks will measure 12 x 12" when they are complete and I need 42" of them for a full-size quilt. Each block (like below) will be a different size depending on how it goes together so I'm going to add white around each boat until it reaches 12.5 x 12.5" (with seam allowance) and then create the rows. I ran out of sails and sky fabric yesterday and had to get some more - so i'm back at it today!

the block below is the very first one i did about 4 years ago - i realized now that i had several of the pieces going the wrong way...i was going to throw it out, but decided to add it in - i think it makes the boat look like it is in the high seas moving around. I also like to have one 'non-anticipated' mistake in every quilt - i don't think it has anything to do with being a perfectionist or not - the sewing is perfect - just the pattern is a bit off. It gives you something to find each time you use the quilt. I remember doing this as a little girl with my grandma - we would look at the quilts her mother made (my great-grandma) and find the mistakes - it was always so much fun for me and I'll remember it forever -something i'd like to pass along in my quilts!

A couple of the remaining cards I made that went into that last batch. Some of these stamps are new for the 2009-2010 Stampin Up! Catalog...I really like the robots - they make me smile!

I am getting in some supplies to start making Christmas cards tomorrow. I am hoping to put the quilting aside and do a few samples for my customers to pick from and have them up by tuesday or Wednesday! Have a great Sunday!