Big and Mini Hexies

What is happening...

I am having a good Saturday. I hope everybody is. The sun is shining and we have been watching James Bond movies. I went to a nearby town for a book signing. A person I know has written a children's book, Super Sam's Backyard Adventures. It is so cute. I bought the book for my nephew who is 10 years old. Just perfect.

What I accomplished...

I have been busy making hexies and my quilt top for my Le Petite.

 These three hexies are going to my previous partners for The Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap. We had a vote a few weeks back about the different ways we could send more than one flower to each other a month. Sending two flowers a month to the same person was what passed. I felt bad for the partners I had before this vote so I have made them a second flower. I am not going to let you know who will

get what they will just have to wait.

These next two go to my May partner. She asked for civil war fabrics. I did not have any so I got to go shopping for them. I love the way they turned out.

Next is my Le Petite quilt top. I LOVE IT!! I picked out the fabric during our area shop hop. Both the orange and black fabrics are 30's fabric. Then just a simple white on white. Here are my quarter triangle squares all trimmed up and ready to be placed together. Don't you just love the look of trimmings, for me it is a sign that I am done!

Here is the finished top. I love it. I love all the orange blocks with the flowers. What appears to be black squares and white squares on point. I had a lot of fun putting this together.

Sewing thought...

Do you have something you buy every time you go to the quilt shop? I seem to be buying a lot of Heat-n-Bond and white Kona fabric. I also just about every other time buy thread.

Goals for the Day...

Well since I am posting this later in the day I do not have any goals. Well maybe just to keep sewing hexies for my garden. Have a great rest-filled Sunday. Take a moment to count some blessings.

One side note...I follower a blogger who does very interesting work. Her name is Riel of The Q and the U (Quietly Quilting in Quispamsis). Just yesterday her post was about a quilt show she had gone to. One of the displays was of mini quilts. I love miniatures. The quilt I feel in love with is made of 1,801 1/4 inch hexies. 1/4 inch hexies?! Was that woman crazy?! I want to make one!! So I made two last night. I am hooked! I love them. Here they are with a dime in the picture for reference. I will be making more. Go check out the mini quilt and keep an eye out for my mini hexie quilt in the future.

A to Z

I took this from Linda over at Stray Stitches. I thought it would be fun!!

Age: just turned 39

Bed Size: Queen

Chore You Dislike: Toilets, I hate cleaning them.

Dogs: 2, Buster-a Boston Terrier and Peso-an overweight Chihuahua

Essential Start of Your Day: Computer time until I wake up

Favorite Color: Well I tell the little people of my life all of them, but green is my favorite

Gold or Silver: Both

Height: 5' 2"

Instruments You Play: I was in choir in school so my voice!

Job Title: Domestic Engineer

Kids: 3, son-19, daughter-16, daughter-14

Live: Parma, Idaho

Mom's Name: Phyllis

Nicknames: Nunu, Red, Big Red, Annie, Pain the the Butt, LOL!

Overnight Hospital Stays: I have had a few surgeries. Births of the children. A weeks stay when I first became sick with Still's Disease.

Pet Peeve(s): Crazy drivers, I don't like it when others play with my life!

Quote From a Movie: "Whoa, is my hair out!" Hercules and "Don't make me light my butt!" Princess and the Frog

Right or Left Handed: Right.

Siblings: 1 Sister and 1 Brother

Time You Wake Up: about 7:00 on weekdays and 8:00 on the weekends

Underwear: What kind of question is that!

Veggie You Dislike: spinach in a can, one time I was eating it as a kid and found a caterpillar in it, YUCK!!!What Makes You Run Late: Not remembering that the time is NOW!

X-Rays You Have Had: lots!! Lets just say I might be close to my lifetime amount.

Yummy Food You Make: I can't list them all here, I am a fabulous cook! LOL! I love baking!

Zoo Animal You Like Best: Monkeys, so long as they are not throwing things

Cutting Mat Bag and a Confession

What is happening...

I have no energy. None!! I think it is my illness and the weather. I am very affected by the weather. I hurt more when it is going to rain. Your Grandfather was right when he said he could feel a storm coming. I know I can. All spring we will have a nice day then a rainy day. Then the next it will be cloudy but not rainy. It has just zapped me. I am tired of it. Starting two days ago I have been talking myself into a better frame of mind. I WILL FEEL BETTER!!

What I accomplished...

I wanted to get my large cutting mat off my kitchen table. I do not have a room of my own. I made a bag large enough to hang my mat and rulers in. I love it.

I can even hang my cutter from it.

I finished my blocks for Just One Star for Moda. The background is so light but it is a beige color. I hope that it works for them. I will mail them off today. I know I shouldn't be excited about getting the little fabric pack but I am! SHHHH!

Sewing thought...

I have posted this tip on a few other blogs that I am a part of. It is something my Post Master told me. If you send anything in the mail using one of these envelopes they would like you to pull off the tab or cover it in tape. It messes up their automated sorting equipment. Interesting!

Goals for the Day... Sewing

Today I would like to get my top done for my Le Petite. I have most of the quarter-triangle squares done and squared up. Just a few more steps then I can post it.

I also need to finish two tops for Quilts for Kids. I have a confession to make. I have been very bad. I ordered a kit from them way back in September. I am just now getting around to finishing them. I am so sorry to the universe for not keeping my promise. I am going to beg for forgiveness. Then I am just going to send them quilts that I make with my own fabric for a while. I need to make up for my mistake. :(



Babysitting Money!!

What is happening...

I babysit my two nieces every school day of the week. I have been watching the oldest all of her life, she is 8. Her little sister is 5. I get paid a little money and this time I used it all on me. I bought fabric. I bought some great stuff. My first purchases where from Joann's. DD1 and I went over and found some DS Quilt Collection fabric. I love it. I think they had all of it but these are the ones I liked most.  

I also bought some fabric to make a lunch bag for DD2. She is into pink and black right now

Then I went in search of some 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain. I love this fabric. I found some yardage

from thesproutzstore. I bought some for the Designer Mystery BOM. I was not able to buy the finishing kit from Fat Quarterly.

I also bought a Honey Bun of Essence by Sandy Gervais

I also got a Turnover of Swanky by Chez Moi for free. She was having a buy 3 get one free. So this Turnover qualified as my free one.

Next Heather over at RETRO-Fabulous mentioned that Erica's Craft & Sewing Center was having a deal of no shipping on US orders. So I hopped over and ordered some fabric. I love 30's fabric. I am always drawn to the colors and little patterns. I bought a fat quarter bundle of Paper Dolls. LOVE IT!!!

Then DD1 and I went to Quilt Expressions in Boise. We fell in love with the store when we went on our Shop Hop. I bought her some Batiks for a quilt she wants to make. I love that she loves quilting. It is so cool. I looked at all kinds of fabric. Finally I bought this kit. I love it. 

Sewing thought...

How much time each day do you spend sewing each day? Do you get to sew as often as you want to? When you get a few free minutes do you think about sewing? I love sewing but lately I have no energy to make it to the machine. I need to make myself get over there more often.

Goals for the Day...

I want to finish squaring up my quarter-triangles squares for my Le Petite project. I hate squaring up. LOL!!



Blocks, Bag, and H2H

What is happening...

It has been a busy week. I was planning on posting earlier but you know life gets in the way sometimes. LOL!! I forgot to post pictures about my March Block Swap Adventure blocks that Munaiba sent to me. 

This is the block for April from Caroline in the UK. How cool is that. I am guessing that she made the card.

Sewing thought...

How many times have you sewn something together that you did not want together? For me it is a lot more when I am tired. LOL!! As I was working on the pocket for the Basket I sewed the lining into the stitching. YUCK!! Well it turned out ok because I moved the pocket down a little more so it would not get caught in the top.

Here are some pictures of it finished. I love the way it turned out.

I joined up with Hands 2 Help over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. These are the fabrics that were sent to me from Karen from Ohio. I love them.

I added the circles at the top for a border. I have the pattern all figured out. I have all of it cut out.

Now I just need to sew it.

Goals for the Day...

None! It is 10:15 at night! LOL!!

My two cents!

I am not sure how many has been reading things about Denyse Schmidt being in Joann stores. (The link is to Bee In My Bonnet blog by Lori Holt, I love here stuff. ) I love Lori's post about it. Today another blog I read Spun Sugar Quilts posted about the same thing. Go check it out. I love her post. Below is a revised version on my comment I left for her. I just wanted to add my two cents to the controversy.

I am a Joann's shopper. Have been for years. As a wife and mother of three and having only one-income, I had to watch my pennies. If it had not been for Joann's I would not have been able to sew. I could not afford fabric that cost $10.00 a yard or even $5.00 a yard. I learned to sew on fabric that cost $3.99 a yard that was either on sale or with a 40% off coupon. I have only been these last 10 months buying other fabric. I have been able to go up in price. Still making sure it is on sale or I have that wonderful coupon. I did not even know about LQS's. When I started to learn more about quilting I learned about the different kinds of fabric. It is very seductive to be pulled into thinking Moda is the only fabric a serious quilters can use. I love Moda, do not get me wrong. If I could buy only Moda I would because I love it so much. But this country is struggling and every family is doing the best they can. If my budget says no Moda so my kids can have food it is an easy choice. If I can feed them and buy 2 yards of Kona White with a coupon I will. Some Moda I buy on line and some in LQS. For me the closest is 15 minutes away and the farthest shop is 45 miles.  have found two great shops that when I have some special money I go there to buy special fabric. I think we all buy what we can and we make what we want. This is not my life. It is my passion. There is a difference. Now when this is my way to add money to my families budget things will change. But until then I will do what I can just to keep at my machine. It is not going to matter who is best at making beautiful works of fabric art. There will not be any "winners" or "losers". Just love for all things meant to make people happy. Every piece I make whether it is a block for a swap, a lunch bag for a child, or a quilt for a friend is made with love and hugs and warm fuzzy thought about hope and peace. In the end the quilts that we leave behind will be measured in the amount of love they gave.

OK OK OK enough. I hope that I have not offended anyone. I do not wish to make anyone feel bad about what they do with their time or money. These things are how I feel. Because I can't blog without a picture I hope this will help everybody smile. Now go play with something you love!!! FABRIC!!

This is my cat Spike. He sleeps with me every night. He is the one that was sick a while back.

He is doing fine now.

Motorcycles and Quilted Fabric

What is happening...

I am sick...again! Just a cold this time. This has been a rough winter for sure. It feels like someone shoved a potato up my nose. The pressure is better today but after sleeping two night with my mouth open I can't wait for this to be over. LOL! We had a good weekend. Went for a motorcycle ride on Saturday. Love it!! Just relaxed and watched episodes of Dollhouse. Pretty good show. I am not that far into it but I like it.

What I accomplished...

I did not finish my Swap Bag but I did get a bunch done. I got the outside done, the handles finished and the lining sewn together. I want to make a pocket for the lining.

Here is the quilting on one side. The other side is different.

Here is what the pocket will look like. I saved a part of the salvage to use somewhere. I think the pocket will be perfect.

Here are the parts together.

I did finish another project, it is a glass case/rotary cutter case. It was a free project I got on my Shop Hop. I love it. It fits my cutter perfectly. The outside was already quilted. It was so easy.

Sewing thought...

Do seam rippers get dull? Mine has. It feels more like I am trying to cut metal with a stick than thread with a thin blade. LOL! I bought a new one and I guess that it is good to say I have not had to use it yet. How many seam rippers do you have?

Goals for the Day...

#1 Sewing

I want to finish my Swap Bag. Get it ready for shipping.

I want to pick out my fabric for the H2H Challenge.

I need to start on a lunch bag for my youngest daughter.

#2 Housework

Who am I kidding, I don't do any housework, I am so busy sewing or resting. LOL!!

I hope everybody has a great day. TTFN

Feeling Weird and Sheets

What is happening...

I had a weird day yesterday. I went to the YMCA and walked and felt fine. Got home got the kids off to school then took myself and my niece that I babysit to Joann's. I want to make me some carpi's for summer, felt fine then also. Got home and rested a bit then got her off to Kindergarten. When I got home I felt sick. Just kind of weird. I had to take a nap and slept for two hours. Still felt weird when I got up. I did not sleep well last night. But I feel fine today. Maybe the moon was out of alignment yesterday, LOL!

What I am working on...

I got my block finished for Block Swap Adventure. This one is headed off to Caroline in the UK. How cool is that. I have never sent mail there.

 I got my fabric cut out for my Quilted Fabric Basket Swap. I love the browns and pinks.

Sewing thought...

I posted about sheets for backing. I don't know if they are vintage. I am not looking for that. I just think it is a wonderful way to recycle fabric. Plus who can beat $3.00 for a twin size sheet. I have them all washed and ready to be used. I love them. I got five for just over $20.00. I will post the picture of the fifth one after I recharge the batteries for my camera.

This one I will use on the back of my red, orange, and yellow quilt I am making for my bed. Of course the colors are not showing up right in this picture.

I love the gray butterflies in this one. So sweet.

Aren't those roses so pretty. I like all the colors in this one.

This one will go on the back of my quilt I did for the Happy Quilting Quilt Along.

Goals for the Day...

I feel good enough to have a bunch on my list.

#1 Sewing

I want to finish my Quilted Fabric Basket  for the swap. I would like to have this done early. If I have time I would like to cut out the fabric for this months Le Petite project.

#2 Housework

Guess what it is Laundry again. But not much today. I would like to clean my bathroom and vacuum. We will see how far I get.

I hope that everybody has a good day. Make sure that you hug someone today. Even if it is yourself. Make someone glad that they are loved by you. TTFN

Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge 2011

Sharon over at Vroomans Quilts has invited everyone to help out Green Fairy Quilts in a quilt making challenge. I am up for another one. How about you? Click on the picture below and it will take you to Confessions of a Fabric Addict where you can sign up. The video is very touching.

Birdie Stitches Block of the Month

What is happening...

Today is a good feeling day. You know it is fun to have a day out but a pain to have to take so many day to be back on top. Oh well! That is my life and my family knows about it and still loves me, LOL!We had rain for a bit yesterday so I would like some sunshine today but it does not look like we are going to get it. The grass is growing and the birds are singing. I will take that!

What I am working on...
I posted yesterday that I did not do any sewing over the weekend but I forgot about the stitcheries that I worked on. I was behind on my Birdie Stitches BOM. I finished block #3 and #4.

I just love these!! They are so sweet.

March Block

April Block

Sewing thought...

One of the things that I forgot to mention yesterday about the Shop Hop was that they raise money for Project Linus. Each shop designs a block and sales the kit for $5.00. All of the blocks go together, this years theme was bright Batiks. I have 8 blocks. I would like to get started on those this week and figure out what I am going to do with them. Do you do anything for a charity? Everybody needs help. 

Goals for the Day...

I love this section. I have to be careful with goals. I can make a dozen goals but I want to make ones that I will finish. Having said that I have a million things in my head. Have you heard of K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Stupid, LOL!! Just a few goals Shannon!!

#1 Sewing

Block for Block Swap Adventure

Get started on Quilted Fabric Basket Swap

#2 Housework

That danged old LAUNDRY!!