Birthday gifts

Yesterday was my birthday.  39...where did the time go?!  Anyway, I received a box from my best friend.  It was filled with random fabulousness.  Scraps to help me finish my string quilt, a Hillman College tshirt (I LOVED "A Different World".), some skin care products I've been missing, a scarf she made from this tutorial (my friend is talented), and a great tote bag from Lands End.  But the most fabulous goodie, as it would relate to this blog, was a collection of handmade pin cushions.

Aren't they fabulous?!

 

This one is my favorite.  Dontcha just love the color?  And the heart?  And my initial?

I have one faaaaabulous friend.

I think I've used "fabulous" more than ever should be allowed in one posting, but.... :)

Super Bowl Score

Both of my LQSs had Super Bowl sales this weekend.  The one in Annapolis had their sale on Saturday and Sunday, while the one in Easton was only on Sunday from 12-5.  I wanted to stash pile, but I decided to purchase a walking foot for my machine instead.  Couldn’t pass up the 25% off on that!

For the past few Super Bowl sales, I had a good time.  I was in a good mood and fabrics seemed to just jump out at me.  This year was not like that at all.  The energy in the shop on Sunday was quite frazzled and frantic.  I made a bee-line for a few fabrics and got out of there as quickly as possible.  Saturday was a bit better, but my creative juices just weren't flowing very freely.  I did purchase a few pieces of fabric.  Some fat quarters and half yards.

Most of these are for projects that I’m already working on or about to start.

This one I bought because I absolutely loved it.  When I saw it, I didn’t hesitate to pick it up.  I have no idea what I will use it for, but I think I will cut one little strip from it and put it in the string quilt I’m working on right now.

What do you think of this crazy batik?  I was drawn to the bright colors.  This may make an appearance in my friend’s birthday quilt in April.  I think it’s a bit too wild for her, but I might be able to sneak it in as binding.  We’ll see.

Matilda Mondays: Two can fit here, right?

"If you won't let me sit in your lap while you're sewing, then I'll squeeze my way into the chair.  Two can fit here, right?"

New feature - "Matilda Mondays"

In an effort to blog more, I am starting a new feature called "Matilda Mondays". Every Monday, I will feature a photo of my furbaby, Matilda, with a brief explaination of what is going on in the picture.




Here is Matilda on the string quilt that is currently a work in progress. I had been sewing for at least an hour, which is too long in her estimation. When I took a break to snap a photo of my progress, she decided to take center stage.

Flirting with an idea...

When I was living in D.C. (and working in VA), there was a homeless man that I would pass every morning on Constitution Ave. He wore layers and layers of clothes, and least two coats, and was always covered by a few ratty blankets. Normally there were no fewer than 10 milk jugs filled with water surrounding him. His grocery cart was filled with his possessions and was parked right beside him on the sidewalk grate that he had claimed as his.

I think about him every winter.

As I look outside at the clouds rolling in and the wind blowing, I'm thinking about all of the hidden homeless where I currently live. You hardly ever see them, but I know they're out there - sleeping under bridges or in abandoned buildings. Some are lucky enough to make it into the one shelter my small town has.

On this dreary day, my brain is focused on color. Color makes me happy. I bet it makes a lot of other people happy too.

In that vain, I'm thinking about making whole cloth quilts for the homeless. "Wholecloth for the Homeless"...that's kinda catchy, right? Maybe I could make some new friends in the quilting blogosphere and they might volunteer to make a few and send them to me? The only rule would be that they have to be bright and cheery and big enough to sleep under.

Hmmm...look for a more formal post on this in the coming weeks. PLEASE comment and let me know what you think.

Dimples

While working on my sister's wedding quilt, I ran out of the beautiful blue Dimples by Gail Kessler fabric I'm using for the middle string of each block. My first thought was to wait to buy more on my local shop's Super Bowl Sunday sale, but then my gut told me to go out the next day and buy more. I'm glad I listened to my gut. The shop only had about a yard more than I needed. The last time I relied heavily on Dimples was with my godchild's rainbow quilt. I ran out of two colors that I needed and they were both on back order.

I LOVE Dimples. They come in a rainbow of colors and are great substitutes for solids when you need a bit more texture.

Now I have enough of the blue to finish the string blocks and to bind the quilt...but I've run out of the black and white fabric. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to find more of it.

Sister's wedding quilt - the beginning.

Last night, I got an idea for the border of my sister's wedding quilt. My sister likes busy and colorful. Her fiancé perfers simplistic and subdued. She and her fiancé requested a black and white quilt for their wedding. They wanted something simple that featured a damask printed fabric. When I originally sketched out what they wanted, it was merely a rectangle of damask fabric with a thick white border and a skinny black border. That just didn't seem to do it for me as a wedding quilt, so I decided to give them simple, with a little flair around the edges. Here's the sketch I sent them.

But as soon as I finished this sketch, another idea hit me, and I sent them this sketch. They chose sketch number two. Here is the block that will go across the quilt.

(Ignore the bright colors at the top of the picture. That is the end of the string quilt I've been working on for myself. )

It is a 10 inch square and is made with fabrics in my stash. I chose blue because I know my sister likes it and i don't believe her fiancé has an aversion towards it. I think I'll need 10 of them to go across the quilt, so I'll get started on them immediately. I'm hoping I have enough of the black and white fabric to finish the blocks. I can't remember when or where I bought it from and it seems that I cut off the selvage edges and threw them away, so I really have no clue how I would find more of it. Fingers Crossed!!!!

Oh. I should say that I normally don't share gifts on my blog or Facebook until after they're gifted, but since I have involved the receipents in the creative process, I thought that I could blog about it.

Linking up at WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced! (Could someone teach me how to grab that cute button?!)