May UFO

Month 5 of Judy at Patchwork Times UFO challenge is over. This month my project was all of my little UFOs. I've been collecting them in a big gift bag so I would know how many there were. So at the beginning of the month I had a bag of little quilts. I

worked at it I did get a bunch done. So of the 34 projects I got these 17 done.













These 4 I sewed and machine quilted and they only need binding.













I have these 5 that I want to hand quilt. I knew I wouldn't get these done. But I did get them pieced. These will be great take along projects for summer get away weekends. I may add a border to that one yet. Looks like it needs something yet. Check out what the others got done this month at Judy's Blog.













And last I have only 8 left that need to be pieced. Not bad I'm pretty pleased

May UFO

Month 5 of Judy at Patchwork Times UFO challenge is over. This month my project was all of my little UFOs. I've been collecting them in a big gift bag so I would know how many there were. So at the beginning of the month I had a bag of little quilts. I

worked at it I did get a bunch done. So of the 34 projects I got these 17 done.













These 4 I sewed and machine quilted and they only need binding.













I have these 5 that I want to hand quilt. I knew I wouldn't get these done. But I did get them pieced. These will be great take along projects for summer get away weekends. I may add a border to that one yet. Looks like it needs something yet. Check out what the others got done this month at Judy's Blog.













And last I have only 8 left that need to be pieced. Not bad I'm pretty pleased

Keeping My Toes Warm

Lately we've had a handful of days where the weather was spring like. All the rest of the days have been very cool, windy, and/or drizzly. Oh spring! Where are you???

It's a good thing I'm still knitting wool socks. Here is my recent completed pair. I shared a photo of this pair in the works a while ago here on the blog. I think this one is my favorite to date.

And here is the next pair that I'm working on. Another lovely yarn in mossy greens with a touch of bluish purple here and there.

I was reminded about sharing my socks here with you when I saw Deb share a pair here that she recently finished. Love the colorful, stripey yarn she used in hers.

The Name Game: Molly Flanders

 Welcome to the latest edition The Name Game. This week, Mary from the fabulous blog, Molly Flanders, is our featured guest. If you are not a regular reader of Mary's blog, I highly recommend becoming one. She loves bright colors, does beautiful hand quilting with perle cotton, and does not shy away from those really tricky blocks.

1. How did you choose the name, Molly Flanders?

I chose the name Molly Flanders for a couple of reasons. Molly is the name of my oldest daughter (I have three daughters)...and she is quite an artistic girl. She is an amazing mandolin player (plays every Saturday morning at the local Bluegrass Shoppe) and she loves embroidery. If I have embroidery work to be done, I will call on her assistance. And she contributes regularly to the blog.

Flanders is the name of my sweet dog. We adopted her from our local Humane Society when she was a puppy and we love her to pieces.

The other reason...the Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders...Moll was a woman of questionable character! I thought it was kind of cheeky and maybe cute (?)...not that anyone associated with the blog is of questionable character...or at all cheeky! Ha!

2. Were there other names you considered, and can you share any of them with us?

As you can probably tell, I don't think I gave a whole lot of thought. I did consider something with "quiltery" in it, but decided against it because I wanted to include other sewing projects.

3. Now that you are recognized by Molly Flanders, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

I am happy with it! The only issues with the name are minor...I don't have my name (Mary) in the title and sometimes I get "Dear Molly" emails...not a big deal. Then I worry if something happens to my sweet pup will it make me so horribly sad...but let's not think about that! And lastly, when I look at the traffic sources for my blog, often I get some colorful searches...having to do with the Moll Flanders reference...I am sure!

Thanks so much, Mary! I'm a huge fan of your work (especially all those delicious polka dot fabrics!).

I'm excited about next week's edition. Carla from Lollyquiltz will be here. Recently we have discovered that although she lives near Kansas City and I'm here in central California, there is no doubt that we were sisters separated at birth--so many similarities. 

So stop by and say hi to Mary here, and don't forget to tune in next week to read about how Carla chose her blog name. Happy sewing!

Waste Not

You know all those corners you waste when you snip off the corners on a snowball?

They make great borders!

The First Challenge at the Craft-Room Challenge Blog...Come Join Us!!

Today is an exciting day!!!!

  The first challenge at the Craft-Room Challenge Blog.  The theme is Anything Goes (One of my favorites!!)   I decided to make a ATC Card.  The ATC Card I made is using a papertowel spritzed with lots of ink and then glued to paper.  I made a handmade flower and added a vintage image and little bit of sparkle with the butterfly. I really like the effect of the papertowel. 

So please come join us and sign up to follow The Craft-Room Challenge

Have a wonderful day!!!

Hugs, Kim

Linking to Crafty Cardmakers Challenge Love the lasting kind

Make It Monday Always Anything Goes

McFatty Monday Update - Memorial Day

So last week I did not have time to do the Monday update, or maybe I did not want to report another set back. I had a much better week this week. I lost 1.6 (but last week I gained 1.4) so all together I am down by 12.6. Still not bad in my opinion, I am at least fitting into most of my smaller clothes and feeling better every day. This weekend has been a true test and let me tell you, I did not pass the test yesterday. I think I was tired of watching what I eat and decided that yesterday was going to be a free for all day. Well, I ate pretty bad and did not feel too great last night. Lesson learned, bad food = bad feeling. I think I ate bad for so long before that I did not notice how bad that food made me feel and now that I am eating much better, that food, while it is so yummy, can only be consumed in small amounts or I feel like crap.

Today we are thinking of all the service men and women who have sacrificed so much for our freedom and we are thankful! I hope everyone has a very happy and healthy Memorial Day and week!

What a wonderful day!!!

I am thrilled to announce that I was selected for the Design Team for a new Challenge Blog- Craft-Room Challenge .   I am so excited to be a part of this diverse and talented team of crafters. The challenges will be bi-weekly with randomly drawn prizes so please join us. The first challenge will be Tomorrow!!

Check it out HERE:

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!  Hugs, Kim

Blog Anniversary Appreciation

Thank you everyone for helping me celebrate five years of blogging this month. I enjoyed your visits and comments. I'm so happy that you took the time to stop by.

You may remember that I said I would give away a copy of the Twelve by Twelve book to a commenter on my Blog Anniversary post earlier in the month. Well this morning I used the random number generator to choose a winner.















Here is the number that came up:

Number 30 corresponds to the comment left by QUILT RAT.

Congratulations Quilt Rat!

Jelly Roll Race Quilt -- Indy 500 Day with 1 Choice 4 Quilting

On Friday, more fabric was purchased at another garage sale for $10 (box and all).  There were a lot of Christmas prints.  I picked out the small prints that I thought my son would be able to play "I Spy" with and cut them and made my own jelly roll for the Jelly Roll Race Quilt with 1 Choice 4 Quilting.  I prepared the pieces by sewing them end to end the night before the big race.  It took less than two hours to zip together this race day quilt (a fun project for nap time).  It was fun because you didn't really know what the quilt would look like until you cut the bottom and opened it.  Fun challenge.  It's the perfect size for my four-year old son!  That is if I don't steal it for a lap quilt.  Happy Memorial Day weekend!

There's still time!  You can get in on the raceday fun.  Go to:
http://blog.1choice4quilting.com/2011/05/ladies-gentlemen-start-your-sewing.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+1Choice4Quilting+%281+Choice+4+Quilting%29

Snowball Stress

I've had some Philip Jacobs fabric sitting around for about a year now. I really didn't like it when it arrived and didn't know what to do with it. So yesterday I started cutting it up to make a snowball quilt. I sewed for hours and at the end of it realised how disgusting the colours were that I had chosen. Not the Philip Jacobs but the pink and eggshell blue corners I had sewn around it. It really was awful. All hideously pink and baby blue.

As I slept on it, the family tiptoed around it in disgust. 

Today was unpicking day. Most of the pink and blue had to go. It was replaced with browns, greens and denim blues. 

The unpicking took hours. It was so wasteful but worth it. It's still not my favourite but at least I can look at it!

I hated all the waste from the chopped off corners so I've started sewing them together to add a border.

Everyday Stop and Smell the Roses

I decided to make a whimsy pocket in

Black, White and a Splash of Green so I could enter the

 Play Date Cafe Challenge

I thought Everyday Stop and Smell the Roses,,,,

This might not be roses but the gesture is still the same...take a little time to smell the flowers, roses or not.

Or should it be called a Pocket full of Posies.....Since it is a whimsy pocket full of flowers...

. MMMM what is a Posy...Let me answer that for you....apparently it referred to:

The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs ( or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells....

Well then, lets just go back to Stop and Smell the Roses.

Have a happy day and take time to smell the flowers.

Hugs,

Kim

Linking this to the PDCC:  Black, White & Splash of Green

Philosophy Friday: I'm the one in charge here

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally when our owner group goes up to our rental cabins at Huntington Lake to open them up and get them ready for the fifteen-week rental season, which should start a week from tomorrow. Last year we lost the first rental week due to snow. Someone told us that was a once-in-fifteen-years type of thing. They were wrong.

So what we should be doing: painting, cleaning the cabins, hanging the curtains, plumbing maintenance, etc. Not happening.

George and Cheri drove up yesterday to see just how close they could get to the cabins. Their progress was blocked by the snow plow. And the water hasn't been turned on yet either, which is a big turn-off for me, because no shower, no potty? No me...

Mark has some plans for projects around the house. This is what I will be working on, the Amy Butler Weekender bag. Which probably won't be completed in one single weekend. Thirteen steps, each with a gazillion sub-steps...

Mark and I have been taping and watching the final episodes of Oprah for the last month. We have been sporadic viewers. But these final episodes have been interesting, especially as she looks back over the last twenty-five years. And remember. She and Mark are "tight" since they both started their careers in the same year.

Last night we watched her final episode, where she stood on stage and talked about what she has learned over the past twenty-five years, what her guests, audience, and viewers have taught her. I watched it again this morning to jot down some of the best parts:

*Find you passion. Whatever you are supposed to be doing, embrace the life that is calling you and carry it forward.

I'm working on finding my passion. I know creativity is an essential part of my life.

*People make bad choices, blaming everybody else but themselves for the state of their lives.

This one really hit home. Choices and consequences. Choices and consequences.

*When you know better, you do better.

Keep on learning. Keep the spark of knowledge burning.

*Nobody but you is responsible for your life. You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and the energy you bring to others.

We have the choice to be happy, to love, to forgive. We can't control what other people do for us or to us. But we can make good choices because we have that capacity, and our life is our responsibility.

Except when Mother Nature decides to take charge...

Bad Storms

We had bad storms last night, all is well however our cable and internet went down for hours. Oh my!! I was just devasted bored without it. So thank goodness, the internet is working again and I can post my ATC Card say hello to everyone, check your blogs and then get back to crafting :o). I made this atc card....Dream.... so Dream a little Dream.....

I am linking this to Flutterbywednesdays Challenge Blog

...Must have a fairy or butterfly.....I think this atc card works :)

Have a happy day!

Hugs, Kim

Cranbrook Quilter's Guild Quilt Show

The Cranbrook Quilter's Guild is hosting a quilt show June 3 and 4. They are a talented group of ladies so I'm sure you would really like it. I hope to see you there! The quilt on the poster was the winning quilt at their last show. It was made by Ileane Sampert and was quilted by me.

Here are a few quilts that I recently completed for one of  my clients. Ev made this beautiful sampler quilt to improve her skills. She completed all the block in a Fons and Porter book to learn all the different techniques in it. Then she used her imagination and made up a few of her own blocks. She made guitar block to honor her husband who is a musician (among other things) and fills their home with joyful sounds.  The dog quilt was also made by Ev. It is so cute!

Big stash increase! Garage Sale Finds

Today a friend called me to tell me that she spotted some fabric at a garage sale.  She said they had little bundles for $1.  I was curious and thought I would check out the lead.  This is what I got:

I roughly measured it by holding it the length of my arm (which is a generous yard.)  There is over SIXTY yards of fabric here.  I paid under $20 for it.  That's less than 33 cents per yard!!!  A lot of it seems to be in one, two, three, four, and even a six yard piece.  I am guessing it is from the 80's and 90's by the writing on the salvage pieces.  I think there are two vintage sheets in here.  I can tell the fabric from the bolt easily by the salvage.  Here are some of my favorites:

The flowers are about the size of a dime.  I should have put a quarter on the stuff...

I think this is an upholstery fabric.  It will make a great bag soon.

Some Christmas stuff...  There's over four yards of the Santa fabric.  I'll have to think hard how to use that.

Interesting print with the elephants on the bottom???  All in all it was a great day.  I didn't even clear the lady's table.  There were several polyesters and some corderoy there.  But it will be fun figuring out where to use these.  I have a feeling I won't need to buy a back for the next Bonnie Hunter mystery quilt.  Wonder when that will come out.  Can't wait!

*****************************

For a really cool raceday jellyroll challenge go to
http://blog.1choice4quilting.com/2011/05/ladies-and-gentlemenget-ready-to-start.html?showComment=1306484939420#c1557265693813324777

It sounds like a lot of fun.  I hope I can fit it in this weekend during nap time!

****************************

Tales At Wayne Manor is having a giveaway.  You could win a whole box of fabric.