Bumblebeans

blog address changed

2010-09-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

my NEW blog site address is:

http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com

If you follow me, or have me in your blog roll, you do need to change your settings to my site.

feeds to bloglines etc, will also need to be re-added...

thank you~

http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com

Victoria

Beautiful people.

2010-09-06T19:05:00.000-07:00

Beautiful people.

I'm amazed at the kindness here in blogland, from strangers I've never met.

You're not really strangers, are you?

I rcvd a package that was for my daughter and I, from Rondi in KY.

No blog, had never had a comment from her, yet she sent a lovely thing.

A quilt top for BASICS!

(with some other lovely goodies and a letter that brought me to tears!)

I will be sure to get it quilted for the next event,

October 29th.

Thank you Rondi!

From B and Myself!

I'm still unpacking and setting up my studio... I have two quilts that need to be quilted ASAP...

So I need to get through the clutter!

Most of my days, I have been putting the house back together... It's getting there.

Tomorrow, there will be a momentous thing happening!

My pool table/ quilt holder/ mess collector, is outta here! Yes!

I am hoping that then, I can get everything left to be put away, done by tomorrow,

and put my attention on the studio.

What will I do with this new found space?

Meanwhile, I've been putting off re-potting my plants for at least a year...

Now they look lovely in matching pots.

And I am GOOD dog tired...

These guys beat me to the cushions, or I'd be laying there myself!

Weekend.

2010-09-04T17:49:00.000-07:00

Summer's end.

Dinner out to enjoy the view.

Packed and ready to roll in the a.m.

Ready for routine.

School.

Life back in the Big Apple.

One more sitting of 15 minutes play.

Exhale.

Enjoy the last quiet evening,

with my feet up.

It's been a great summer.

Happy Labor day Weekend!

Waiting for EARL

2010-09-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

A quick note to say the BASICS QUILT FUNDRAISER was a great success!

The Quilts alone raised around $16-17,000!!

Thank You to everyone who helped and sent in the BASIC HOUSE BLOCKS for these quilts

and all the other supplies! Without your help, This could not have happened.

I so appreciate each and everyone of you!

Here is a picture of (L to R) Caryn,

who brought home a quilt, and friend of mine,

Me, Raul Russi, head of BASICS,

and Andrea, from the Little collection, Who also took home a quilt!

Thanks Andrea! I dragged her up with me to help hold quilts up during the auction... ;-)

I'm back at our house on Long island, and now we are waiting for

HURRICANE EARL

for arrive....

I'll proof this later!

gotta go!

unpacking day two.

2010-09-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

THE BASICS HOUSE QUILTS are hung for the fundraiser in the morning!

I drove up tonight to the New York Botanical Garden to hand them over!

Of course my camera battery was dead when I got there....

So you'll have to wait til tomorrow to see

good pictures of all the quilts hung!

I've strategically moved piles around and around in my studio....

It's starting to look like I could cut out a quilt top!

But not quite! It is much more manageable now... not so overwhelming...

I've been bumbling around in circles here for two days, working on different projects...

Either cleaning, unpacking, hanging, moving, sweeping, and LOOK!

It's starting to look like a home again!

This is a sneak peak, do you want to see the pictures when its' all done?

I've been at it since 7:30 til midnight for two days... I'm Happily tired...

"Busy" can feel so good...sometimes...

Hope your days are filled with less "dust bunnies" than mine!

oh!
P.S.

Two things...

Some wondered where my blog roll went... I moved all my favorite blogs to BLOGLINES.com... it manages my 100's of blogs I scroll through much easier...
after I switched my blog name, I lost my blogs,m yet again, and decided enough with that... Blogger kept dumping them, and I had to keep putting them all back...

Second, I got a few more comments about peoples links to my blog going to the old site address.
Yes, after changed my blog name, (twice)
I am afraid you must switch the blog address on your end in your bog rolls....

Thanks!! You guys have all been so great and patient with all the changes here...
I thank you , and all the lovely readers out there...

good night!

studio redo

2010-08-31T11:16:00.000-07:00

6 days and counting....

I'm in NYC for Two days to get my loft in shape.... the construction as of today, of course,

is not finished... !!! (no surprise right?)

So I am hoping to get everything else in order in the mean time...

My studio is getting a complete cleaning, and reorganizing everything...

I took our old bookcases and lined them down one wall of windows,

so I have new fabric storage... Yippeee!

Except that the small cubes, don't fit all my nicely folded fabrics properly!

Do I refold ALL of it, or shove it in and make it fit wonky???

OH well... It will all work out...

I hope to free up both of my WALLS, to have a nice hug a space for design walls....

ZOIKS! What a mess.. It gets very overwhelming,

but I am trying to keep pushing through to get it all done...

Now I have had my 3 minute break! sigh.

to be continued!

sunday wrap up

2010-08-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

As summer wraps up so do a few extra projects...

This baby quilt is a combo of NYC and JAPAN...

colors of both flags, and fabric prints from both cultures, some fun NYC prints,

and taxi cab yellow.... This is a gift to the gal who gifted me her old Singer ....

She's a real sweet person, and it will be for her nephew who is from NYC,

living in Japan, with his wife and there second son on the way...

It's all sorts of reds and blues....

I know some read black, but they are really just navy blue colors...

I may add a few more brights around...

I used up every bit of WHITE I had... which is not very much...!!

So it was a fun challenge to myself try to make something with it...

I did the binding on B's little Butterfly quilt, and then whipped up a PINK one

for our granddaughter, who arrived today for one week visit from Seattle.

These little scrappy projects are just so fun to throw together...

grab and use what you have... a little mini adventure...

They are all snuggled into their beds tonight, after a busy day of swimming.

Friends, family and sewing...

A good day indeed.

one week left

2010-08-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

One week left of our summer before we're back to NYC...

Time for some random play...

clean up

pack up

Get ready for school to start...

Enjoy fall

savor it.

before winter...

Happy Sewing!

this and that

2010-08-26T14:19:00.000-07:00

My daughter asked me what "ragamuffin" was...

I explained in a round about way,

as it was rather hard to explain... disheveled, orphan...

ORPHAN!

It so happened that I was playing with these blocks...

Ragamuffin Quilt

I think it fits, do you agree?

Do you see the TINY little navy and white school house block!

Thank You Siobhan! How darn cute is that?

And thank you to all who have contributed...

I do believe I have enough!

Guess what today is?

Harvest canning!

Salsa baby!

I had a flashback to when I was ten, and helped my mother

peel the skins off blanched tomatoes....

Now some other ten year old has this job...

Boy, does my house smell good!

DING!

oops, gotta go get the salsa out of the canner...

collecting scraps...

2010-08-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

This is just my clarification to my daughter that she indeed DOES enjoy playing in my scraps...

She had a chore today to help go through my two bins of scraps to pick out all the tiny bits

for yet another scrappy quilt, using bits that are already SMALL...

She then said, I love this, and this, and this, and this one!

Next thing I know, she has them laid out with batting, and a fabric backing...

(This comes from my girl who said recently she'd never make another quilt, and I couldn't make her)

Mind you, I've never MADE her... She gets all excited playing with the scraps all on her own...

I ONLY had her pick out my tiny scraps.

There. I said it. ;-)

So, can you tell she's my kid or what?

Myself? I have been cutting apart those shirts Tonya and I collected... These are just the cuffs and collars off just 4 shirts! Look how much I got just from those pieces! Gotta love it... The Accu-quilt works fabulous for this project...
Yes, they are indeed addicting.... (I highly recommend it.)

But my scissors hand has a rubbed sore callus from cutting up the first 8 shirts!
So be warned...

Cut in shifts... ;-)

The Star Splitter

2010-08-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yippeeeeee! YAHOO!!! I got this blasted STAR SPLITTER top together!!!

I found it very interesting when I posted this at the 15minutesplay site,

that more than one person said, "isn't the last leg of the quilt just the hardest part to do? "

YES! I sooo get that!

You run out of QUILT MO JO as you near the end, once you have an

idea what "IT" is going to look like...

I was dragging my heals as it was, putting this ~~beast~~, I mean, lovely quilt together...

You'd think after getting more THEN half of the quilt together, I'd have all the quirks worked out...

but no... alas, I think I ripped out nearly every seam twice to get it together

Sometimes the old brain just didn't work...

But in the end... I won! (I LOVE IT)

I added in a few other yellows to break up the rather PERFECT looking border...

I much prefer funky THAN perfect... I like how it draws your eye around the quilt...

The other HARD part of the quilt was, I have a VERY difficult time

NOT making every quilt a KING SIZE quilt...

I mean, If I am making a quilt, it should at least fit my bed!

no?

I did settle and make this a full size quilt for my guest room,

but it doesn't match anyway... see? I should have made it king... LOL!

It's a sickness I know...

Speaking of sickness... Tonya took me to a goodwill

store and we pretty much cleaned them out of super soft well worn, men's cotton shirts...

They were on sale that day! super score!

She got me hooked...

These are all in the wash now, so I can start cutting them apart...

This maybe one, if not two quilts...(maybe three?)

I've been corrected by the PROOFING POLICE on my use of THEN AND THAN...
Obviously my creative skills are better THAN my typing and grammer...
Lot's of luck!

Swirls of colors

2010-08-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

A top done... I had some hand work to finish on this,

which I did, then

I went to baste this top, but realized after I cut the

backing that I don't have any batting left...

BOOOO! bummed me out... I was on such a roll...

Now it will go back into the pile of WIPS... (works in progress)

I will be hand quilting this one... so it may be a while before you see this done!

LOL.

SAVED! I rescued this lovely quilt today, marker cutter,

at a local quilt show... There is one fabric that has burned out on a few squares,

but the squares where lined... never seen that before... perhaps they added a sheeting of cotton between the batting and the backing...

So it still holds it all in good shape...

there were some really lovely prints in this quilt... prints you just don't see anymore...

I had to have it...

I have to say most of the quilts at this antique quilt show where not very nice...

But this one stuck out... 1/2" squares make up this print...

gorgeous.

This pink and white had the dog quilted out of it...

I like the three side border...

I thought the colors and pattern on this were interesting...

not terribly exciting, but oddly interesting.

This applique' was rather sweet... it hung next to a sun bonnet sue...

This was definitely more interesting... then little miss sue...

And, speaking of interesting, I bought these 70's vintage upholstery

fabric samples.... I'm not sure what I will do with them, but aren't the colors fabulous?

I'm thinking new pillows in my living room, when I get the loft back in order...

color.

ha! I used to love white quilts...white home, white white white...etc...

now I just need COLOR.

Ever thought about doing a quilt using the two colors, you think you avoid, most?

hmm.... what colors would they be?

I think white and pink... for me,

although that doesn't sound like much fun...

how about purple and yellow?

ooh that would be tough.. ACK! my high school colors...

maybe you gotta mix them all up together...

Tell me your worst nightmare for a color combo...

(Don't get me wrong, I love yellows/golds, and purples, just not all together in one quilt.. complimentary or not, it's just my mind goes to an ICK FACTOR when I see them together...
Separately, a purple toned quilt, fab.
Golds, well, that is probably one of my favorite colors to use...after red... or mix them all up with a tone of colors... no problem....)

Gail's circle table topper

2010-08-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Some of you had asked about Gail's Circle table runner she sent me, if she had used a pattern...

I sent her an email, as she doesn't have a blog, to find out for you...

here is what she sent me.

Cut various width strips and sew together making a larger piece of fabric,

Using your wedge ruler

She just alternated the ruler up /down across the strata... cut wedges

Wedges are 3" on the wide end, and 1" at narrow end...

Gail has about 40 wedges to make one circle.

She assembles them from center to outer edge

Press with the seams all going one direction...

She then fuses iron on fleece on the back of the assembled wheel to stabilize it...

( baste around large Ric Rac if desired) then choose your backing fabric...

With right sides together sew outer edge of "O" all the way around.

trim, and turn through center hole.

PRESS

She then Quilted the topper and finally, making a hole cover or center for the wheel,

cut a piece of the iron on fleece for the whole, press it onto the hole, then make the center

to make the center,

You Can follow her instructions above, or

cut a circle to fit, and stitch around

(either raw edge machine applique or turn your edges

then machine stitch it down, or hand stitch)

I shortened her final instructions slightly... on covering the whole...

On a little one I made, I machine appliqued the circle on the top...

and quilted it all at once... Your choice...

Feel free to give it a whirl, and take your own liberties.

Gail, after years of working with fabrics, is a make it up as you go kind of girl too.

She did not use a pattern, but after so many years of playing with fabrics,

she knew how to quickly play and lay it all out...

Thank You GAIL for sharing your lovely project with us!

20 years later

2010-08-20T06:58:00.000-07:00

I put the borders on my very badly constructed blocks from 20 years
ago onto this top I never finished back in 1990...

I decided it was best to just leave it as I had intended, as what
bothered me then...(not being perfect) doesn't bother me now!

Then, I was fascinated by the solid colors of quilts on a poster that
I had called, Quilts of Lancaster county... I think someone gave me a
Amish quilt book way back then too... Although I knew nothing about
quilts other than my grandmothers crazy quilts... I knew I liked what
I saw...

The fabrics are pretty funny... The greens area heavy cotton twill and
the pink and blue are very light weight cottons... Cheap and thin...

I wish I could recall if there was a particular quilt I was looking
at... I recall trying to find solid fabrics, and having had a hard
time finding the right shades... Which must be why I had a heavier
weight green... I also didn't have any money, so price was figured
into it... I found a price tag on the blue and pink.. It was $1.99 a
yard

Anyway, I was in college and skimping by, and had I finished this, it
would have been my first quilt...

Now I need to select a backing, and am wondering if I should keep it a
solid or find some circa 1990 fabric to finish this project off...

Our house phones and cable have been out for two days now...

what a pain.

Happy sewing!!!

Florida

2010-08-18T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last few days sewing with Tonya (aka lazy gal, unruly quilter)...
I thought the Halloween fabric would give it away!

She's been an inspiration for me since I started blogging...
we met up about a year and a half ago... you know,
Us crazy, free thinker, unruly quilter friends, gotta stick together..
;-)

Thanks Tonya! Had a blast...
Can't wait for your book to come out!

Where's V?

2010-08-17T18:10:00.000-07:00

Where in the world is... Bumble Beans?

Now here is something you don't see everyday...

Me = Halloween prints?
I broke out of my "theme print" BOX...
well,
with a gentle push by...
you know who!

Can you guess where I am?

( gotta admit it, I have enjoyed playing with the theme prints)

Happy Sewing!

Your orphan blocks

2010-08-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

Orphans finding a home...

I stuck most of the orphans all up on the wall to see what I had to work with...
These are just from all of you!
I am soooo inspired after seeing all your blocks...
I'm seeing stars and boxes! And bright colors of course!
Can you spot yours?

And THIS is my STASH of Orphans... Yeah, I have quite a few... many old ones...
but none as fabulous as all of yours!

I'm a bit antsy... I want to start working on the orphan blocks,
but I just can't yet, until all the BASICS quilts are done...
I don't think I shown this one on the far right in the other two photos from sat.
I am getting there... slowly but surely.

I popped into the city, (NYC) today to get my mail,
and am heading out of town to visit a pal for a few days...
Had to see what work they were getting done at the loft...

It's coming along! We're getting there!
woohoo! new radiator coverswith bookcases built in... and a paint job...
I know, very exciting right?
I'm getting antsy... I want to clean this place out, and make it all homey again!

Anyone need a 9' pool table?
sure wish I could sell that thing and get it out of here...

happy sewing!

a day without sewing.

2010-08-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

The Star Splitter

It look like I got a ton done on this today doesn't it?
fooled ya. It was a sewing hooky day...
well sort of... I did this a couple days ago before
a migraine knocked me off my feet yesterday...

Actually, the day was spent with
Jackie, from Canton Village Quilt works!
She and her hubby and some friends brought
me another load of the BASICS quilts..

I took these tonight quick, so the pics aren't great... but you get the idea...
They fill my lawn with patchwork FABULOUS!

Recognize any of your blocks in there?
This batch had a bunch of baby quilts...
so so cute...

We, (my hubby , B and I) took them to the Montauk Lighthouse...
Of course, I didn't bring my
camera, but I am sure Jackie will have some great pics to share...

Thank goodness for my iphone..
the beach was fabulous. surfers, boats, and lots of people..

I'm sneaking off for a few days to play with another quilter pal...
be back soon!

Change Blog name/link

2010-08-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

My blog has moved to:

click here.

Please change your readers, links, bookmarks.

Starlight Baby Quilt

2010-08-13T10:57:00.000-07:00

I like to use sporting equipment to show off my work...
You've seen my pool table in my NYC loft which holds stacks and stacks of quilts..
And now our badminton net to hold Starlight baby! my new little quilt made
entirely with Paula Prass Fabrics...

I've made a bunch of projects using only her fabrics... they are one of my favorites...
Lights, mediums and darks, and very fun patterns and great colors...

And Scrappy scrappy scrappy! Every bit, and wonky stars...

I had to add a scrappy back to show off some more of her fabrics...
polka dot lovers take note!
This was such a fun quilt to make... I need to make another one or two...

Speaking of baby... my not so little one,
had her Horse Show today.... She brought home a blue!
Smiles from ear to ear... Good Job B! and Wizzy!~

the day after

2010-08-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

Well, seems some of you have found me!

I was worried about the name change on the blog that I would lose a bunch...
I just thought that my website and my blog should have the same name...
(note the blog address changed to:)

http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com

I think the reader, link issues have been worked out...
Although I have now realized that any old LINKS to posts in the old name, will not load...
oh well... let me know if you come across any other issues so I can try to get them fixed...

You can always access the blog through the website as well...

http://bumblebeansinc.com

Sort of starting fresh...

Speaking of fresh...

Do you see these fat quarters above?

I ordered some other fabrics the other day and the place had a
special on a grab bag of fat quarters...

I think it was $10, so I thought, what the heck,
it would give me some pieces I wouldn't normally play with...

I was right! They are not fabrics I would select...
So I was thinking a good challenge would be to use
ONLY those fabrics to make a quilt,
and limit myself to selecting ONE other fabric
to make it big enough..
and of course, use every last bit...

hmmm, we'll see...

I got this old top on ebay for cheap... Funny how your eye works though,
as when I first saw it I saw sort of a 9 patch on point, snowballed in the corners..
now all I see are some weird pinwheel that I don't like...
It might need a rework...

OH! before I forget, here is a link to all the BASICS QUILTS
I have so far gotten together...

BASICS QUILTS for fundraisers
More are coming, I just need to photograph a few more...

and, hmmm, there was something else...
oh! yeah, you can see more of the TOP quilt over at 15 minutes play...

alright, I'm outta here...
Happy sewing!

Change of address

2010-08-11T20:35:00.000-07:00

Please visit at my new sites...

http://bumblebeansinc.com

and the BLOG address has changed to:

http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/

You may need to change your feeds, or bookmarks...

I will not be posting to this address any longer.
Hop over to the new blog address to see what I'm up to...

Happy Sewing!

new site!

2010-08-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

NEW webSITE!

http://bumblebeansinc.com

My website is now officially up!
Thank you AMY!
(she's so awesome!)

and the BLOG address is:

http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/

You may need to change your feeds, or bookmarks...
we're still working out a few KINKS....

You can get to the blogs through the website as well...
let me know what you think!

My house guests sent me some pictures of me and Jenny Egg Quilting...
in the shade...
by the pool...

they thought this was pretty funny...
Me sewing by the pool or the dog under my quilt?

Happy Sewing!

dreams...

2010-08-09T16:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning from a good dream.
I woke up and i thought, "I know exactly what i am going to make today."

Have you ever had quilt dreams?

This is a new one for me... Never had a QUILT dream before...
I used to play pro-amateur billiards, and I would have billiard dreams.
I'd shoot a shot over and over in my dream until it was perfect every single time...
It was quite obsessive... but I swear my game got even better because of those dreams...

Now it's quilt dreams...

I shot out of bed,
and got right to work before my house guests woke...

I think it was a great way to start the day!

I'd love to hear your stories if you've had them!

B spotted this baby deer in the woods at lunch today...
It's sort of like Where's waldo... can you spot him?

The quilt from this morning, is now pin basted, and will quilt tomorrow....
A very inspiring day!

aaaahhhhhh.

2010-08-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

Lovely Sunday...
B was off at a carnival...
I had company coming by...

They brought me my mail from NYC.... So now my brain is ticking away
wondering what I can make with these new Christmas prints!
Silver and gold! I don't usually use Xmas or theme prints, but these
tonal beauties caught my eye...

A few orphan blocks arrived!
thank you Courtney, Janet and Chris!
Chris found the dresden in an antique shop 20 years ago... A true orphan!
sheesh! It's time it finds a home...

If you haven't guessed yet, there will be a new Kitchen sink quilt in town... soon!
but not soon enough... I refuse to start another project until I get back into the city to my BIG HUGE Design wall... I'm thrilled to think about starting another giant puzzle
as I did on the first one... I wonder if I can make it work with all your blocks you all sent...
So many different beauties, it will be a great challenge.. I'm always up for a challenge. ;-)

I tried, very unsuccessfully to quilt outside today....
it didn't happen, but I can truly say, I had a restful, lazy day.
I think I needed that.
Hope you did to!

sister quilts

2010-08-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

SISTER QUILTS

Two sisters,
one loves pink and green, HORSES
one loves purple and green, FLOWERS

I wanted to find a common "thread" with these two quilts...
So on the backs I added a block from each others quilts,
a pinwheel onto the circle flowers, and a circle onto the varied pinwheel

They are off to be quilted, then on to their new homes...
I have so enjoyed this commission. They have two other of my quilts.

This family bought the first
9 patch gather quilt,

"Nothing but kisses",
that was auctioned off for love without boundaries fundraiser!
They also have a baby quilt that I made when their youngest daughter was born.

So I know these quilts are going to good home.
Feels so good.

GAIL!!!!

I was so surprised to open this!!!
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
I love it! and it has a home on my table.

And thank you to all of you who sent me orphan blocks.
It will be a joy and pleasure to put it together, with bits from all my blog friends...

seeing stars!

2010-08-05T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll, can't stop now!
happy sewing!

old tops.

2010-08-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

I found this old quilt top this summer in MN that I had made
when I was in college

I was probably 20... I was free piecing!

Basically that means, (at that time, ) I had no idea what I was doing...
You can tell by the
wonky blocks in the corner... I got frustrated and stopped making it...

I was enamoured with Amish Quilts... I was trying to duplicate something I saw,
I wanted the same fabrics, couldn't find them, so I winged it...
Sounds familiar right? perhaps I still don't know what I am doing, and am just
winging it...
??
I hope I've learned a few things over years...
Two things are for sure about this old project...
one, I still LOVE STRIPES.
(notice the rug?)
and two,
I MUST finish this quilt. Just because...

Thanks for the great ideas yesterday! I did attempt to hang the panel over her bed,
not long enough for one. two, the ceiling is so high I thought it looked weird since our ceilings are not flat level ceilings...

I did order a couple panels.. (shower curtains to be precise!) that I will play with..
I'm going to try the idea of panels along side the bed... I think she's like that... the ceiling is my greatest obstacle...

Just forgot to take a picture of the AFTER!

oh well. more to come... it's a work in progress....

I'm off to make up for playing hooky yesterday...
Gotta get some serious quilts done...

Dust, oh my!

2010-08-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

No quilts today.
gasp! can you believe it!
nope, I had to run in to NYC. first time all summer...

Had to get my "IRON".. at the doc...
and check on the loft...
Look at this mess... paint done.
just a whole heaping mess... DUST everywhere...
I need to whip this place into shape before Sept....when we're back...
Need the built in cabinets to get done before I can tackle the rest...
Yuck. dust in my lungs. HACK!

This is B's old mirror. I covered it in fabric when she was just a babe...
fast forward ten years...

And this is part of what I did today...
Her room is done. so I cleaned, and mopped and cleaned and mopped...
and recovered her mirror...

She said she wants a more SOPHISTICATED ROOM....
So, I'm making my attempts.. She had wanted a canopy..
(what little girl doesn't?)
I took her drapes and played with hanging them behind her bed...
Not sure I like it, but I have a few weeks to ponder and play...
The drapes are not quite long enough to really DRAPE across over her bed, and besides, I tried it, and her ceiling is quite tall that it looked weird...

Anywho, I have a few paint touch ups to do in her room, before I close the
door and head back to
our house...

Enough
Cleaning/playing for one day...

to do list...

2010-08-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

One project off the wall. 4 remain... this green and purple is nearly done.
Appliqueing little flowers it the centers, add some cute borders...

my Big yellow scrappy stars quilt,
Needs three more stars... I keep making it bigger... sigh.
Then I need to figure out how I am going to piece all the half square triangles
around the whole thing...I'm procrastinating that just a wee bit...

then there are two smaller projects peeking out above...
But I have to get the green and purple top off my wall...

Goals for the week...
Green and purple
Three scrappy stars
Plus, I have three more quilts to bind for the BASICS quilts,
and get them photographed...before the auction so
people can see them... Some will go up for sale on their site...
will let you know when that happens...

Look at this pile of BASICS quilts!
I love seeing this stack grow...
Another 21 will be added to this stack soon...
then I have 8 more here to finish piecing...
I think then I will have completed 50 quilts
from all your house blocks you all sent in...

Family movie nights this summer,
have become VINTAGE TV nights...
We've seen little house, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island,

Name the show.

and guess the latest from the above image...
Don't you just love her dress!!! ha! what a hoot!
The dress nearly gives the show title away!
B is just LOVING these shows...

Our nature beasts are becoming a bit TO friendly...
they are just not afraid of people anymore,
and nearly come right up to you...

I'm sneaking into the city tonight, check out the paint job at the loft,
get a few things, mail, and then the doctor, back out here tomorrow afternoon...
I hope you all have a lovely day!
we have rain coming! Going to go enjoy the sun before it rolls in!

take it outside

2010-07-31T11:02:00.000-07:00

Take it outside.

You do realize it's JULY 31st today right?
(Don't forget to pinch and punch for the first of the month tomorrow!)

EEK! Summer is whizzing by.
I took everything and everyone OUT of the house today.
Whatever you do,

Do it outside, because in a month we will be back in NYC, INSIDE THINGS...

Inside, School
Inside, homework,
Inside, sewing
Inside, snuggled under many blankets because Winter is coming.

So I kicked everyone out of the house.
including myself...
I cut my last blocks for the green and purple circle quilt,
I opened my mail, since hubby brought out a LOAD
of envelopes for me (Orphan blocks), from all you lovely Peeps!
See them all in the photo above!

I'm sending you all a little postcard, but since I did them outside, in my lap
forgive my sloppy, not sitting at a desk handwriting!

I wont' be back to NYC til Sept, so if yo0u don't get a card from me,
it's because no one is there to bring me my mail...
I'll have tin invite someone out, on the condition
that they stop by my place and bring me my mail!
(any takers? ;-)

Andrea? Amy? Helen? Marianna?
;-)

Jenny Egg would like to thank the person, who sent this lovely Dog block...

She wanted to walk off with it, but I told her
to keep her grubby little paws off it.
So she drooled on it instead...

Thank you all you fabulous peeps for your orphan blocks.
Once I get back into NYC, I'll start working on a special
Kitchen sink Quilt... the Blogger kitchen quilt. ;-)

GOODIES: I got this beauty on ebay. A summer quilt, all quilted with embroidery floss,
appliqued, and Divine.. Nobody wanted this. I got it for $29. I think it's a steal.
I LOVE IT!

Speaking of divine... Look at this lovely scrappy star quilt,
with two HALF STARS at the bottom.

Genius.

I'm so happy I own this I could well, lots of things...
Dance, sing, twirl around, or even stand on my head...

and now, lastly, one more outside chore:
a nap outside in the hammock after a dip in the pool.
After a root beer float...

Happy Sewing!

sumthun 4 me.

2010-07-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

I've been collecting fabrics to make myself a new quilt for my bed in the loft in NYC.
I don't use one of my own quilts on my bed! GASP! I know right?
I "make myself" quilts and then don't use them...

Anyway, since it is now painted that lovely raspberry ice color I posted the other day,
and my floors are dark chocolaty walnut color...
I've been geared up to dive into these fabrics...

But what to do with them?
I had scrambled ideas around in my head for ages... no luck
I was nearly sure that I just wanted to Cut them into 2" half square triangles,
to make a huge quilt out of them... when yesterday,

I saw this rug.
Now, this is a pretty easy block.
My dilemma had been, my loft is very MODERN, and I didn't want a quilt
that looked like a grandma's quilt..
(don't get me wrong. I LOVE GRANDMA quilts, very much so!)
but it wasn't the look I needed in my loft.
Everything is very square.

I liked the idea that I could show off the fabrics,
that inspired me for this project anyway...

PAULA PRASS Woodland Delight Blooms (love her prints!)
and

Tanya Whelen, grand revival fabric

This is how you work three projects at the same time..
sigh.

It's very sort of LOUD for me, (don't laugh!)
But I am thinking I will put a light border around to
KILL the LIGHTNESS...
The thing I love love love about this quilt
is the WARM and COLD combo... Gray and browns together.
with the pinks and purples... SO delish!
and high contrast! gotta love it.

It was a very easy block to put together...
I cut 10.5" blocks, then wrapped two sides with 3" wide pieces of one fabric
and 3" wide of a different on the other two sides, I then cut a template for a 13.5"
block, turned them wonky woo, and cut them out randomly as I went along..
being mindful that one tilts up , the next tilts down...

very easy piecing.. I only started this quilt at 10pm last night...
yeah I know. it's summer though,
I worked til 1:30, and got up at 9 and finished this first part at 12pm today.

I had to through in ONE Bright BLUE block in there just to throw it off...
had to. can't explain it... I just felt it...

And lastly,
This to the left, is the remaining fabrics... My plan is to use it all up for the borders...
Light borders, with all the scrappy bits I cut off thrown into the borders...
and WILL TRY NOT TO BUY ANYMORE for this quilt. (except for the back)
Use it all up like I did in the wonky log cabin in the last post...

(note: the dog is alive.)

Look mommy, there's an airplane up in the sky...

(DUCK! low flying planes!)

long last finish

2010-07-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

Yes.
I have many many quilts here, that just need Binding....
Yesterday, I pulled this quilt out, and finally got the binding done on it...

This quilt was my first attempt at a Quilting bee.

I sliced up a bunch of fabric into strips, sent each person one strip of each color
and asked that they make a 12" block wonky log cabin quilt without
cutting or cleaning up my uneven strips...then when they reached the 12"
size, to then use the scraps to make a little tiny block,

and lastly, send all the crumbs back to me,
as I used EVERY BIT OF FABRIC I bought, to make this quilt.
See that little tiny purple square upper right below Humphrey the elephant?
(someone's lovey was left on my bed!)

anywho, there are many 1/2" square bits in this quilt....

I had to throw in some stars with a print fabric... the all solids wasn't working for me...

SO this is how to NOT ADD TO YOUR SCRAP BINS...

buy it,
use it.
all of it.
(wish I could do that all the time!)

Than hang it outside to photograph it, while the fed ex man honks
at you because your still in your PJ's....
LOL!
**********

AMAZING....

We were at the children's museum the other day, and this plaque caught my eye...
Fannie Tunison...Sews and painted with only her mouth as she was paralyzed from the neck down... Can you imagine?
I googled her to see what else I could find out about her....
Miss Fannie Tunison, (click for more info) does all her work with her lips and tongue. It may sound incredible but nevertheless remains a fact, that not only she threads a needle using only her lips and tongue, but executes the most elaborate embroidery, by the sale of which to patrons she supplements her earnings. She is also American born.

Happy sewing!

nearly wordless wed.

2010-07-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

I'm finding my zone...

;-)

Do you like the color on the right?

My loft in NYC is being painted this color as we speak...
the entire thing.. walls, ceiling... I'm not there to inspect it...(fingers crossed)
I was so tired of "white" with NYC dust attached...
I think it fits my CALM... and the creative forces... ;-)

OH! another question....

Does anyone know a great sewing Retreat center that has space to sew,
place to sleep,
AND
cooks for you?? (has food available on site?)

anywhere in the u.s.

thanks!

CALM

2010-07-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

"All true artists, whether they know it or not,

create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."

Eckhart Tolle

A facebook pal posted this the other day... and I thought,
Hmmm, yeah, I get that,
(all though I would change, ARTISTS to just PEOPLE)
(everyone creates... weather it be labeled art or not)

it's called the "ZONE"

I've been juggling so many projects lately, I lost the zone...
I needed to slow down, step back
and look to see where I've been and where
I'm going...

It's so easy to get caught up in life, that we forget that
QUIET and STILLNESS are achievable if we are open to it.

I think that is why I like to quilt the way I do.

I've had many conversations with many different people about quilting.

Some say, TRADITIONAL is the only way to go, or it's not a quilt.
Some say, free piecing is sloppy,

Sloppy?

I say, what ever you stitch together, and it stays together, is both

A quilt, and Art.

Sewing mindless, in the CALM, and stillness,
brings me complete joy.
I use what I have, I appreciate the utilitarian use of a quilt,
I appreciate that there is MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SKIN A CAT.
pardon the expression.

I try to focus on what brings me to that place of stillness,
usually...not thinking so hard.

think of it this way.
....

A child can draw and draw and draw.
Nothing is flawless, nothing is scrutinized, it flows and it happens, uncluttered.
(an it's prefect in it's "unperfectness")

We lose this quality with the more info we pour into a brains.

Focus on that childs mind. finding that place... We get calm.

We can all use calm right?
We can all use joy?

Find a way that let's you hold onto the calm.
3 minutes, 15 minutes, at least, a day.

it's not to much to ask for.

Do you work best from the motion or the calm in your life?

Does this become a part of why you create?
Does it relate to your creative expression?
or do you just create because, "well, what else do I have to do?"

I'm off to take my 15 minutes...
and to find That ZONE.

happy sewing.

fun in the sun

2010-07-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Does this house block make me look big?

Dog days in JULY?

Hot and steamy days...fogged up my camera

All your house blocks are going a loooooong way!

Now I am hungry for Rainbow sherbet!

If you have a orphan block you can spare,
please see last post...

thank you!!!

help me!!

Happy day.

2010-07-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's so fun to get mail.
I had a lovely surprise in the mail when my hubby came out to our house yesterday...
in the mail was a box from Toni.
Inside the box was this lovely turq/red/white fabric
that I was drooling over, (several of us were)
and several of us bought the Yellow version of it, because Toni
was lucky enough to have gotten the last of the bolt...

EEEEK! I screeched in PURE DELIGHT.
Then I proceeded to do a little happy dance...
The fabric is by Jennifer Paganelli,
and you know how much I love her fabrics!!!

I cut into it IMMEDIATELY with the package all laying on my cutting mat...
And added it to one of my star blocks...(above)

thanks Toni.
I love it.

I have a question for all of you.

Can any of you spare
ONE Orphan Block?
(orphan block = any pieced block that has not found a home in a quilt)

I'm working on a project
(not a charity quilt)

and I need a some
extra Random squares...
Any size,
any colors
any block design

NOTE:
I don't need 10 of the same block.
And I don't need TONS of blocks...

So if you have ONE block you want to contribute...

Please send to:

Bumble Beans Inc.
335 W 38th St, 8th fl
New York, NY 10018

*****

It's not all BASICS quilts over here...
I took a break on this triangle commission quilt...
now am back at it...

My go cutter from accuquilt has been so helpful with this project...
Once get the borders on, I am gearing up for the applique portion...
Horses, girl, house, from the design on the pink fabric..

And lastly. But most importantly.

11 years ago, I said " I DO"

And I'd say "I do" a million times over to him again...

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

Kids Quilt

2010-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

quilted , washed and bound.
It's a dreary rainy day today , hard to get great pictures...

I started quilting this last night at 10 pm, and didn't stop til 2 a.m.

That, is not normal for me! I'm a in bed at ten kind of girl...
But I really wanted to get this First BASICS KIDS quilt done.
I have one more to make...
this will be auctioned off with the first 20 BASICS HOUSE BLOCK quilts
that many of you contributed...

I left the raw edges of the pieces the kids laid out, so when I washed it, the edges curled up
and raveled... The soft flannel backing, makes it a really soft quit....

The binding was nice and cheery! It's from the robot line from Michel miller...
A great stripe.. I love stripes...
Feels good to finish it!

Why did I stay up til 2 a.m. quilting it?

Because I played hooky from sewing during the day
so I could get my motorcycle serviced...

It was a nice day, what can I say...

Things just got to be done! ;-)

now to get back to my 15 minutes of play.

Quilting for a cause

2010-07-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I received a nice email from Linzee,
asking for information for an article she was writing about Quilting for Charity,

and my project BUMBLE BEANS BASICS

She's a lovely person, talented writer, and a blogger too.
please, go check out her site.
Thank you Linzee for your support!

You can see the etsy/Storque article here.

and also see her blog for another story

Picture of Me with kids from the BASICS project, making quilt blocks for
two quilts to be auctioned off Sept 2nd. 2010

Do you have a quilt you can send?

The quilts donated by you, will go to one of the 700 families currently
on the list waiting to be placed back in housing.

Please stop by

BumblebeansBasics.com

for more information.

PLAY

2010-07-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Play

play (pl)

v. played, play·ing, plays

move or seem to move quickly, lightly, or irregularly;
"The lights played on the varied fabrics"

be at play; be engaged in playful activity; amuse oneself in a way characteristic of children;
"The kids were playing outside all day"; "I used to play with trucks as a little girl"

act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome;
"This factor played only a minor part in his decision"; "This development played into her hands"

participate in games or sport;
"we played with fabric all day long"

engage in recreational activities rather than work; occupy oneself in a diversion;
"On weekends I play";

"I play most days"

act or have an effect in a specified way or with a specific effect or outcome;
"This factor played only a minor part in his decision";
"This development played into her hands"

"This development also played into exposing our paper into lovely artworks"

put (a card or piece) into play during a game, or act strategically as if in a card game; "He is playing his cards close to his chest";

"Water played an important part of developing our pictures."

"We were playing with Nature while playing with Sun paper"

Happy Playing

BASIC QUILT KIDS

2010-07-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

Back in MAY, I went up to make blocks with the kids at BASICS, remember this? It was a great day... the kids so loved making the blocks, and now, I am about to quilt the first one, of two...

It will wash up all soft and raveling on the edges of the little pieces of the
fabric they glued down...
B had input for the backing, she said it had to be soft, so flannel it is...

Hope it will be super snuggley when it's done...and bring many smiles...
and
quilt hugs...
;-)

Back in MAY, I went up to make blocks with the kids at BASICS, remember this? It was a great day... the kids so loved makign the blocks, and now, I am about to quilt the first one, of two...

NEED MORE QUILTS

2010-07-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

I decided Friday, I needed a finish...so,
I started quilting my Liberated Amish Quilt... So far so good.
What a weekend! busy busy busy...

Saturday, I worked feverishly on the BASICS quilts to get them
off to the Fab folks who are quilting them for me.
Linda of Cottage garden quilts
and Jackie of Canon Village Quilt Works.
I got 15 tops and backing done, on Saturday alone.
Here's a few of them...

Jackie and her family came over Sunday for the day,
she hand delivered my fabric order, and then she took half of these quilts
home with her, to quilt.

Gotta love that!
and the other half
are on their way to Ohio to Linda.
Thanks ladies!
Once I get these back I think I have 6 more to put together for the 40 quilts
for the two fall fundraisers
for BASICS.
Sept 2nd and October 29.
Yeeha!!

BY the way, we are getting near 100 Quilts...
Get your donations in! the next raffle at 100 quilts, is
a $100 long arm service from LINDA!

Please if you can give one quilt, any size,
it will make a world of difference to someone who has nothing.
And also,
Nov 11, will be the
QUILT DISTRIBUTION day!

And I would REALLY like to have 200 quilts for them to hand out that day
AND be able to give that sewing machine away to one of you!

So please spread the word, if you can,
to help.

what's in your attic

2010-07-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

I see I am not the only one bitten by Attic24's lovely site...
I've been seeing MANY QUILTERS, picking up a crochet hook this past week...
I am not alone!

When I am not sewing, I am adding rows to this blanket...
or making B a bracelet...

Now I gotta get back to finishing something... (for myself!)

Have a glorious weekend!

and don't forget your 15 minutes of homework

Candy Darling

2010-07-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

Daily Candy
Candy... Just the thought of it brightens my day.
I don't have a HUGE sweet tooth,
But I go week in the knees
for a tootsie pop,
Gummy Bears
or
well, Chocolate of course...

Color color color.... candy.
eye candy.

My Kitchen sink quilt has found it's home.
No, not the dog's bed...

My bed.

Need more color?
Spree
M&M's
Pixie Sticks
Rainbow Sherbet ice cream...
oh, don't get me started..

I sure do have a sweet tooth...

What's your weakness?

rotations...

2010-07-14T14:34:00.000-07:00

oh oh. my quilts are overflowing into my hubby's office...
I best get this BASICS piece put together by Friday!

BASICS Fundraiser Events are Sept 2
and October 29th, if you are in the NYC area and want to attend.

I have a few things on my design wall so I had to spread out a bit.
my studio here at the house is not so big... I have been
rotating all of these projects for the last week.

I work a little on each, each day...
Hoping to get through the second batch of 20 quilts for BASICS.
I got behind on the bindings... But maybe I can get
organized, take one day, and just get them done...

I have two quilts to make for two sweet little girls...
one loves pink and green and horses, (below)
the other purple and green and flowers... (above)

Trying to go scrappy and to make them both as cute as the other!
But totally different... Which is hard to do sometimes...
when two quilts go to one household.

The one below will get some lovely applique of the horse/house/girl print,
that is in the pink fabric...perhaps on the back with her name...
sort of a two sided treasure...hoping tomorrow I will get the borders
(on top of the circles above) on this
so I can move on to finish the other one above...

Sometimes it gets hard to THINK OUT OF THE BOX.
it's easy to fall into a routine of doing the same thing over and over...

I am pushing myself to keep going (PLAYING) on an idea...
I started with these stars on point and felt they were getting a bit
lost... so I straighten them out, then thought perhaps
some divisions between the blocks.. and perhaps something else to make
certain aspects of the quilt stand out more than the others...
This going to be ONE BIG KING QUILT.

That I know for sure...

Does anyone have any yardage of this print in their stash from a few years ago?

by Faye Burgos for Marcus Brothers... I'll swap you something if you have some...
Haven't had any luck finding it anywhere... it's a black fabric with dark gray printing...

Fingers crossed!

pictures

2010-07-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

hmmmm, the start of something new?
maybe...
I don't need to start anything new.
But I had one of those moments, when I was working and
someone flipped on my brain with a switch and there it was...
I had to stop what I was doing and I took 15-20 minutes to take it out of my head...
now there it sits...

I have four things on my design wall right now...
The scrappy stars below.
a pink green girls quilt...
a purple and green girls quilt

and
a scrappy collision of fabrics and quilters...

If you take
Kathie of Inspired by antique Quilts,

Karen of the selvage Quilter

myself,
and a BASICS house block or two...

Can you imagine what Kind of a quilt it will be?

;-)
FUN. that is for sure...
Karen, and Kathie both gave me some blocks
that I could put my touches into it and
play with to make
a donation quilt for BASICS....
It will be one of the "Special" quilts for the auction...

*****

I've had a few questions lately about what kind of camera
do I use.. since I have many bright happy pics on my blog.
Actually my camera is not all that great...It's ok.

It's a 8.o mega pixel
Canon Powershot pro 1
Which I have dropped several times, and the body
is all bent and sticking up on it...

The Key to good photos,
is to shoot without the flash
in DAYLIGHT.

Or if you don't have daylight,

I often shoot things in the pitch dark with a flash.
(this above was taken today, it's dark and rainy.)
It needs the color boosted a bit, and adjusted to get true white
in the background.

This can be fixed with a good photo program...

The Second KEY to good photos.
no matter what kind of camera you have.
Is a good PHOTO program that you load your photos into.

One that let's you adjust the warm and cool colors
in your images...
For instance,

the above photo was taken on a rainy day today,
with a flash and overhead lights.
bad idea.

because of the over head lights I get a bright washout.
But I can still go in to my photo program,
kill the yellow from the overhead lights.
and quite nearly make it look like a day light photo...
push your saturation just a tad to perk up the colors
add a little contrast

Taking the pic I shot in the dark,

Adjust the blue/yellow...
this above looks a little blue to me.
punch the saturation, and make sure it look as it does when
I am standing in front of the quilt just looking at it...

Check for a true white in your images.
in this case I was really looking at the wall.
It's neither blue tint or yellow tint...

I takes some practice, but you can make your photos look as they
should...
I don't do this every time, but nearly. I find most camera shoot dark.
So usually I will at least go in and lighten them up...

Hope I didn't confuse anyone! ;-)

lovely things!

2010-07-11T14:22:00.000-07:00

My husband recently visited this church in Zurich, Switzerland
that had windows designed by Sigmar Polke, a german artist...
He took fine cuts of agate to make a series of windows...
he also made others, you can see them here.
I found them
So inspirational, beautiful and truly magical...

Stained Glass Windows.

by Sigmar Polke

Grossmünster

This church Has a history of using artists to design for them.
stained-glass windows in the choir were made in 1933 by Augusto Giacometti,
nephew of Alberto Giacometti, the famous Swiss abstract artist.

Perhaps it excited me, as I of course see quilts... and fabrics...
Perhaps some kaffe?

Quilts? oh yeah...
Shelly always says she won't cheat on her obsession... (quilts)
But I have been cheating on mine all weekend on this crochet blanket...
I figured it was fine to sit and crochet, as I had a house full of guests
(instead of sneaking off to get hand work, or sit to do my 15 minutes, or one of the many other things I should be doing....)
shhhh, don't tell...
(thanks to Attic 24... go look, everything she does is fabulous)

Back to quilts all this week.
all quilts, all the time.
;-)

except when I crochet!

updates

2010-07-10T10:59:00.000-07:00

My say cheese portrait blog has evolved into a nice little community blog...
to keep a little time each day to think out side the box.
Not that there is anything wrong IN THE BOX,
but it's nice to have time to play...

I've renamed the site, to keep the creativity flowing...
Please, if you were following the SAY CHEESE BUMBLE BEANS BLOG,
change your settings to save

www.15minutesplay.com

and hop over anyhow, to see all the fun!

This is my weekend fun....
;-)

three more BASICS quilts Finished.... Yippeee!

Got a quilt to donate?

need a new sewing machine?

Please donate.

thank you!

Good.day.

2010-07-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

They say Dragonflies are lucky...
bring Change...
and/or are relative the the subconscious, or "dreaming" mind and thoughts...

This was one Big fellow... I hope whatever he "BRINGS" starts with the word "GOOD"

Good luck, Good Change, Good Dreaming...

GOOD COLOR!
my 5 & dime had a sale on cheap red heart yarn.
Nothing fancy, but I have itchy crochet fingers...
I foresee a blanket coming on of a different nature...

GOOD FOOD!
It's not all quilts around here...
Fresh Blueberry cobbler...
my combo of a blueberry pie and peach cobbler..
and roasted baby tomatoes...

Good GRIEF!

binding BASICS quilts:
5 down, 14 to go....

GOODNESS!
It's growing!

play work play work

2010-07-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, there I go playing again...
trying to work something out...
Got flowers on my brain, I've made so many different types of flowers
lately and have not found just the right one yet...

this was 15 minutes today... Kind of fun to make too... who knows,
perhaps it will make it into the Kitchen sink 2010 quilt...

YIPPEE! These are the first TWO quilts I finished for the First 20
for the First BASICS fundraiser September 2nd.
only 18 more to go, before I start to finish the second batch of 20
(Which I still need to put together about 10 more tops for
...for October 29th...
Do any of you see your blocks you donated for these?

I'm still so giddy by the fact you all pitched in to help me with this project...
It's funny to me that this little idea turned into such a wonderful large project!
They are very cozy looking... You just have to want to snuggle up in them...

I also learned to do a machine binding today!
YES! I can't imagine hand binding all of these...
Feels good!

I also worked on one of my quilt bee's paper pieced blocks...
Jenny egg got into the action on that too...
carrying strings all over my house...

wow,
I learned TWO things today... I better stop while I am ahead!
I might hurt something!

hehe

These big scrappy filler blocks are taking me a half hour each to make...
they are 12.5" square...
Putzy, but I think they are looking good!
yes, no, or maybe so?

maybe so.
;-)

happy sewing.

stay cool!

2010-07-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Was it so hot?
I was having to much fun that I hardly noticed...

ME and B wen to see Jackie in Canton, CT to Pick up the first load of
BASICS HOUSE BLOCK QUILTS that she quilted for me... 19 quilts!!!!

the quilt on the left was made by Maria, below in orange.
She was so sweet to have made the entire quilt with the house blocks...
so It was one I did not have to make!
HUGE thank you!
Below, next to Maria, is Pam.
Pam , another angel is quilting 5 other tops for me.

me,center (hello),

Jackie next to me.
Thank You, Thank you Jackie!
You've been a huge helper and supporter of this project.

and Next to Jackie, is Karen Griska.

You know Karen,
the astrik/selvageblog/online quilt museum lady!
Everything she touches, is L O V E L Y...

Karen gave me some lovely blocks to play with. I love the colors!
and a little scrap of PICKLES fabrics she thought I'd like for my scrappy quilts...
ha! to cute...

It may have been a scorcher outside, but it was lovely company inside with air conditioning!

(Although potato guns where being blasted outside and
raw eggs cracked on the pavement to see if they would fry!)
So B said it was a fantastic day too. pheew!

Although sitting on the deck of the ferry, was breezy, hazy and wonderful...

And if you weren't on the water, you found a way to get to water...

What a lovely day.

7 minutes later

2010-07-06T16:41:00.000-07:00

Topped off at 118 degrees

I'm melting

2010-07-06T13:44:00.000-07:00

Did someone say heat wave?
I'm in new London,CT today waiting for the ferry back to Long Island...
After a very fabulous day with some great women... Pictures and recap
tonight...

15 plus

2010-07-05T17:07:00.000-07:00

One a day keeps the doctor away?
today's 15 minutes + another 10 more...
well, if I can make a few of these a week, I may get this quilt done by Christmas...!!!

If you want to play along hop over to the "Say Cheese Bumble beans Blog..."
We'll be able to post our progress over there... A few have already started! I'm impressed!

See, I've got many more to go... but fun!! woohoo!
I actually don't have enough scraps! Can you believe that?
I left the big bag I was using to make these in the city.
drat!
Gotta get hubby to bring them out for me...

Shelly gave me these blocks for Donation quilts for Basics, so I put this together today...
I think it will make a great auction quilt for September's Benefit...

I'm heading up to JACKIE, tomorrow to pick up the first BIG BATCH of BASICS auction quilts that she quilted for me! A few other gals may be around...
What fun! Pictures of that will follow for sure!

BY the way, keep those quilts coming!
let's get that $100 for services from Linda at cottage garden quilts raffled off!

Just for fun... this is 6 hydrangea stems from my garden...
they're humongous and Fantastic!

And, the giant that I am... Yet, a Hollyhock that sprung up out of no where, is taller than me!
I'm six feet tall, that plant(or weed as my mother calls them) is about 10' tall...
I like my pretty weed.

;-)

happy sewing!

Got 15? make fabric

2010-07-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

After three weeks of not having a proper sewing space, I unpacked
and had that overwhelming feeling of
uuuugh... where do I begin??

I put up a few BASICS quilts that I need to finish up...
that was a good start...

Then I Dug these SUPER DUPER CUTE blocks from Kathie
also to be finished up for donation quilts...
aren't they spectacular?? thank you Kathy!
I can't believe you could give these up!!

I dug out this lap quilt I made at my cabin, (not an easy feat) to get the binding on it.
This quilt is for one of the ladies at my cabin area
that gave me three boxes of vintage fabrics...
She was sifting through this box and I noticed she had a hard time putting
this blue boat fabric into my bin...

I later pulled it out, since I knew she liked it, to make her a thank you gift...
She later called me and said, "You know that blue boat print?"
"Do you think you could pull that out and save it for me?"

I said, "I already did! and would it be OK if I made it into a quilt for you!"
She was more than pleased. So I want to get it finished ASAP so she can enjoy
it at her cabin this summer...

OK, that's 4 projects already in the works...

then I started something else I've been percolating for awhile now.
But will save that for another day...

I took the scraps from that project though, and did my 15 minutes of
making fabric.

I had a few questions recently about my process
when I "Make Fabric"
Making fabric to me, is taking all my crumbs,
and scraps and making blocks out of them...

So here's my 15 minutes for today...

MAKING FABRIC

I like to start like you would a crazy quilt. with a 5 sided scrap piece.
This will help give you many different angles to your scrap fabric.

I start by adding pieces around, rather like a scrappy log cabin...
But I like to take various size pieces not just strips...
Sometimes I trim as I go to keep various straight edges so I can easily keep adding pieces...

It's an "add and trim" process...

Add in some varied size pieces... and I always finger press...
Getting up to iron every bit is to much...
sew, finger press, sew, finger press...

It's OK if things start to get wonky...

Keep the bits you trim off, as they may be perfect somewhere else...

Like this...

I stop when I reach and approximate goal of my block that I want...

Then trim my block down, in this case I made a 6" block... in 15 minutes...
And have some nice scrap pieces To use when I start my next block...

Be mindful of you squares, if you pull on them you'll pull the seam loose.
I love the randomness of the seams,
and prefer that to perfect horizontal and vertical seams...

They are rather like putting a puzzle together... and even though you
think you are using up your scraps, you will make much much more!
just smaller bits! ;-)

Might you like to do a 15 minute a day
"make-fabric-sew-a-long" with me?

leave a comment here or hop over to the SAY CHEESE blog,
where we will be able to post our progress and see what others do to finish their blocks...

by the end of summer you'll have enough blocks for a very happy scrappy quilt!

Send me an email if your interested...

Happy sewing!

Unpack.

2010-07-02T06:09:00.000-07:00

Not only am I home, NY, NYC, but I am really at my home,
OUT of the city...on long island, for the rest of the summer.

yippee! time to unpack, set up my summer studio, and get back to sewing!

I found my camera cord,
I had soooo many photos...
so I made a separate place for you to look at them...

click here

You have some retreat photos to see...

You may have read some others recap of the weekend.
Let me just say, we laughed til we hurt...
What a fun bunch of gals.

We covered just about every topic you could think of... which might
make a good post for another day...

**

some MN photos, (Walnut grove,laura ingalls town),
Mississippi river, sunsets, clouds)

The Mighty Mississippi,
left side, Wisc. - Right side, MN.

Isn't this barn gorgeous??
I had to stop to get a picture of this one...
After driving across PA and OH, I thought I had seen all the different barns,
until I saw this one... in MN.

some family photos...
My aunt Marianne, Aunt Judy, My mother, me and B,
and don't forget OLIVIA... she wouldn't sit for the photo...)

and some MN QUILT SHOW PHOTOS...
Go see.
I noticed I have seen a few of them at the Lancaster show,
and I am assuming I will see a few of them at Houston again this year as well...

BEST of SHOW, was a beauty, I must say. A lot of really great tiny details.
much like the Japanese quilters...

And this white on white, I just adored. I want it...

And this pinwheel baskets was pretty great too.
amazing hand quilting.

A really impressive show.

OK, back to unpacking... time to sew!

HOME

2010-06-30T06:04:00.000-07:00

PUTTING MY FEET UP....

After 13 hours of driving yesterday. (Chicago to NY)
and the 10 hours the day before that~(central MN TO CHICAGO)

I am putting my feet up for a bit today...
~~~~~~~I'm home!!!~~~~~~~~

(i got my little rug done while at the cabin! Isn't it darling?
I have to make another... it was so fun!)

Well, only for today and tomorrow.
Then I am off to my house on long island for the summer....
besides... my loft looks like this right now!

All packed up, and wrapped in plastic!
No, we're not moving, just getting a long over due paint job and some nice built ins...

Now that everything is off the walls, and packed up, I can see that it's time to spruce things up a bit and make a few changes.... after 11 years, it's time to change things up.
FUN!

I have so many great pictures to show you from our retreat. But my camera cord is packed somewhere I can't get to it right now...
so it's just me and my iphone...

We stopped in Cleveland to see Linda again on the way back... She quilted this
"not so old, ebay quilt top" of mine, for me to pick up... Isn't it fun?

And lastly, the other fun part of coming home,
is the
packages that have arrived that
You forgot about!

from Basics fabric donations!
by the way we just raffled off 2 $50 gift certificates...
if you are able to send a donation quilt in to Basics, you will go into the 75 quilt raffle. And don't you want a chance to win a sewing machine??

we need 200 quilts before I can give that away! we need baby quilts too...
so whip up a few and send them on their way!

to Fabrics,
this big stack is for two commission kids quilts...
Flowers and horses.. how cute and fun it will be to work on these!
(this does not include all the fabrics that came home from GRUBER'S at the retreat!) ;-)

to Books!
Here are my three latest...

The Journey of HOPE is the Obama quilts made...
The cover quilt is made by Sherry Shine, a member of our modern quilt guild...
She has several in the book, and we are so proud of her... It's a lovely book of
incredible inspiration... Fun to look through and tons of talent...

the second book, FABRIC PHOTO PLAY
is by Julia Wood. (click for her blog)
She was a part of our SAY CHEESE project. A great book
to look through and get a handle on a new technique.

And the third "CROCHET MOTIFS"
is some inspiration for getting myself to crochet a bit more...
"BIG CHEEKY GRIN... "
It maybe time for me to learn a few more stitches...
and use up the
BIG BOX OF YARN
I found while cleaning my studio...

(I'm hooked. hehe)

oh, it's good to be home!

Half wAy home

2010-06-29T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our first NYC sign somwhere in Ohio ....

Yippeeee!!!

15 minutes

2010-06-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

Have you "15 minutes'd today??"

Even in my tiny cabin, I had to "plug in" to get my 15 minutes of
sewing done today...

Are you hashing an idea in your head?
Wanna break out of the box and try something new?
Working on too many projects, but need to try a new idea?

15 minutes....

That's all it takes...

Don't pass up your creative inspirations...

Just take 15...

Bee blocks

2010-06-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

I did get my bee blocks done at the retreat as well... I've had them
in their envelopes to mail... Sorry they are all wrinkly now! No use
for an iron at my tiny cabin!! :-)

I will get them mailed off today...

We've had just the craziest weather here... Hot, muggy, cloudy, rainy
and tornadoes.... Fun!

It can be icky out all day, then around 8pm it gets beautiful outside
and we all run to the lake or the pool for a quick swim... We head
back to NYC Tuesday...

Time flies.

Old things

2010-06-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, I think this is my oldest piece of sewing... I found this
recently...

Can you guess aprox what decade it's from?

Mauve, green, flowers...

ScreAms 80's doesn't it?

I believe I hand pieced this when I was about 15... It has some super
puffy poly batting and I only half quilted it...

Oh, to be 15 again.

NOT!!!

Priceless

2010-06-22T18:44:00.000-07:00

It's less weedy on the otherside of the lake... Heather was kind
enough to let us go swim at her dock... It's HOT hot hot, 8pm and
we're enjoying a good canonball off the dock....
Thanks heather!!

Fun times

2010-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

A very fun and productive retreat!
I got 15 scrappy stars done and a lap quilt top pieced... By three
p.m. Sunday, I was bummed that I had to unplug my machine to pack it up!

I'm not sure there is any fabric left in Gruber's quilt shop.... A few
of us really bought the place out, myself is included!!

The MN quilt show was on also... Have a bunch of great pictures I will
post when I get back to New York next week.

It was great to hang out with a bunch of lovely women for a weekend...
I hope everyone got home safely, we had tornadoes around the state and
so much rain... But today of course it's glorious out here at the
cabin. The fish are jumping, birds are singing, and I Am wondering how
I can get my sewing machine plugged back in on my picnic table
outside, over looking the lake.... :-)

It's 12am...

2010-06-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's twelve a.m.
Do you know where your quilters are?

Probably laughing hysterically somewhere....

Yes... We are having some fun....

I highly recommend going on a retreat...

Laughing is good for your soul...

:-)

Seeing stars

2010-06-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

We're seeing our brains out!! Yippeeee!!!
After a week away from my machine , I've dove head first into my
scraps...
(I am by far the messiest quilter here...)
My scraps are everywhere and bits are flying!!

Gotta love it!!

I'm making fabric, cutting it up and smiling the whole time...

With all these great ladies,
who wouldn't be!!

Retreat!!!

2010-06-18T04:28:00.000-07:00

Shelly and I, sat last night at my picnic table over looking the lake,
looking at fabrics.... Others might be fishing, or strolling around...
But we sat looking over our goods... :-) we head to the retreat today
and will meet up with the others today! What fun!!

Here is the antique quilt I picked up the other day... Can you tell
why I like it?

Orange... Gotta love orange!!! Mmmm, my favorite color....

I wish I could figure out how to post more than one picture from my
iPhone... Oh well, you'll all have to wait...

Happy sewing!!

Mr. Golden sun

2010-06-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

The sun came out! For one lovely day... Picked up Shelly today and as
we were driving around and saw this lovely house... Do you wish it was
in your neighborhood? Picked up a lovely antique quilt and visited a
couple antique stores... Waiting for Friday to come to get together
with everyone to sew, sew, sew!!!

Have fun!!!!

Rain rain go away

2010-06-15T05:35:00.000-07:00

We drove 15 hours on Saturday and then we only had 6 to drive on Sunday!
Pretty much the whole drive we had cloudy gloomy weather... And it
still rains!!!
Supposedly tomorrow is going to be lovely... Fingers crossed!

I wanted to show you the two quilts I picked up when I met Linda in
Ohio... But I can't, of course, lay them out when we have skies like
this!!

We're off to take a little excursion down to Walnut Grove today....
Since B watched the whole second season of little house on the prarie
on the way here, we thought it would be fun to go the the museum...
Then we'll loop over to Minneapolis tonight, and pick up Shelly from
the airport tomorrow! I'm ready to sew...
Sitting in a car that long you get BIG IDEAS!

Happy sewing!!!

Hit the road

2010-06-12T03:59:00.000-07:00

See ya later, NYC!

And we're off.

2010-06-11T16:02:00.000-07:00

I put this together a week ago...I dug out that bag of selvages I had
from all the donation fabrics. I made a bunch of solid pieces of fabric out of them,
by sewing them all together, then rolling them through my acuquilt go cutter,
using the tumbler die...
and like-ty split I had them read to sew together....
I had three pieces of fabrics I wanted to incorporate with them,
the polka dots, the red white and blue stripe/flower fabric in the big borders,
and a white with red ric rac print for the outer border.. They just looked so cute together..
Also couldn't resist some slightly wonky 9 patches in the corner... aprox 50" X 70" I think..
Maybe I will have it ready for the 4th of July!

I'm off to drive to MN bright and early, tomorrow morning, so my posts will be limited to my iphone... wow, I will be nearly disconnected... I don't have a lap top anymore! But, you know I will find something fun to post to keep you guys around!

The weekend of our retreat in St. Cloud, MN is the MN Annual Quilt show... What fun that will be to tramp through there and see whats happening in the mid west with quilting!

I can't wait to get everyone together... stay tuned for pictures from that event!
18-20th...at Gruber's fabrics

As we drive tomorrow, we will stop in Ohio to see Linda, and pick up 4 more of my quilts... (one's I've never gotten around to quilting for myself!!)
So that will be great fun for me!

I'm so excited, I probably won't sleep much!

Thank you all of you who sent me tips on my featherweight, "Sally"!
I already ordered a bunch of new parts for her, and a manual so I will
be ready to tinker with her when I get back in July.

I was walking around the other day and I walked past this building in NYC... it was entirely covered in IVY... it looks rather like a big fluffy Oscar the grouch building... doesn't it?

Happy Sewing!

See you in MN!

New girl!

2010-06-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone, meet Sally.

My daughter's Librarian (Sally), gave me her old Singer Featherweight!!!
I'll be making her a couple quilts for this... I'm so thrilled...
It runs wonderfully! Box and all!!

Anyone got any tips for making her run even smoother?
I'm sure she needs a little tune up, and a new cord for sure....

She's my new baby... So I gratefully name her after Sally...
Hello! Sally!

;-)

I had to hang this from a pipe that runs across my ceiling to get a good shot of it...
Here' it is, Complete...
"Garden gate"
5 hours on the binding... Straight. non stop... But so worth it!

The quilt was delivered to its' new owner!...
I said, "OK, let's take a picture..."
so we sat for the picture then she turned to me, and said,
"Now get off my quilt!"

hahahaha!!!

And look who turned into a middle schooler!!!
Congrats to my growing girl!

thrilled

2010-06-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Well, What day to wake up to...
(click to enlarge)

This box arrived today....
With the GARDEN GATE quilt inside!
I chose not to quilt this commission quilt myself.
It was 116" square and frankly,
I loved it so much, it needed more that I could give it...

So off it went to Linda at Cottage garden quilts...

Look what she did to it!

Thank you Linda!
I'll see you soon, as we drive across 1-80 Saturday on our road trip to MN.
You will get a HUGE hug lady!

And if you want Linda to quilt something for you,
remember the BASICS QUILT GATHER!
when we get 100 quilts,
We will raffle off a $100 gift certificate for services provided by Linda!

Meanwhile, I am off to do the binding on this beauty
as it goes to it's new home tomorrow!

How many hours do you think it will take me?? 6? 8?
I may need new fingers by the end of today!!!

check, check, and check.

2010-06-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

I rcvd my piece from Sujata today! I'm blown over at her thought process.
She sent me the nicest note explaining her process, and influences...
my garden, living in NYC, going to MN, the lakes, fishing etc... I 'm very touched by her thoughtfulness... I love it.

Sujata did a neat post about putting the quilt together... go see.

Sujata also rcvd her piece today! So I can now show you!
It was fun to work on... A bright cheery house block that she sent me initially,
I had to find a way to spice it up! I know if we ever met, she'd have this sunny disposition.
with a little zest! Hope she likes it too!

Goal for today:
Getting things off my list....

My liberated Amish challenge quilt is basted and ready for quilting! (check!)
Procrastination no more!
I plan on taking it with me to MN to work on....
I am quite pleased that I persevered and didn't rush the quilt...and let it speak to me..
The letters gave me to most trouble until I knew exactly what I wanted...
to find a balance in the form of the letters that reflected
the patterns in the quilt design itself...
I really love the backing piece too. It was meant to be!

I always forget to post, FiNiShEd quilts...
I figure you're so tired of seeing the tops in progress,
by the time I get them done, that you won't care to see
it with the binding on...
I was told by a few of you that was not the case, to
alas, my Kitchen sink quilt is DONE.( CHECK)
I just finished the binding today.

Hat vs. Rug...
I worked on this a little last night and this morning...
The extra stitches a few of you suggested did the trick! It's a RUG!
I will put this big purple border around it and call it quits... fun!
not much more to do... (almost a check)

I made one more of my Sunset blocks today. (check) I now have 20...
5 more to go...

You may wonder how on earth I get all this done today!
the trick is, I haven't eaten in over 24 hours, and I did not sleep well last night,
as I am having some more tests done today,
(due to my iron thing, which is why I haven't been able to eat- 28 hours of no eating)
so all I had to do today, was SIT on my behind,
and finish odds and ends...
So this quilt gets put into the "BRING TO THE HOUSE"
box for my summer projects... I'm sifting through all my started projects
to take to my house to finish up this summer, along with a few more basics quilts...
(you know I have enough of those to work on all summer, and perhaps the rest of the year)

hmmm, let's see, it's 2:05, in 2 hours and ten minutes I will finally get to eat...

Before I have THAT distraction,
what else can I tackle to day, on my butt, watching TV...

are you checking things off your list today?
or adding?

rag rug/hat...

2010-06-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

A while back, like say, a year or so, I wanted to make a rag rug...
I cut some strips, braided them, then stitched them together....
Unfortunately, my attempt produced something of a funny shape....

My husband wanted to know if I was making a hat ....

Yes, a hat....

Does this look like a hat? well, OK, I see his point...
(Shela, you will appreciate this!)

Last night, I had the urge to break into a string scrap bag I bought in MN
last week and make a second attempt,
except I planned on crocheting the whole thing this time...

SO far, It looks good! It does seem to be curling up a bit.. any suggestions?
So I don't end up with a second stylish rag hat? I'm not so brilliant with a hook...
I can do a single chain that's about it...

the scraps are all Kaffe... yum, the colors are so great..

OK, so you've now had a good chuckle... ;-)

glad to brighten your day!

This little gift is on it's way to Sujata.

Fingers crossed, I hope she likes it!

What adventure will you take on today?

SPECIAL NOTE:
We are reaching 50 quilts for BASICS,
if you donate,
we will be drawing names for
2 - $50 gift certificates to PINK CHALK FABRICS!!

and more prizes to come. see the site for more info.

Bumble Beans Basics Quilt Gather

what a day

2010-06-05T05:54:00.000-07:00

In one week, B and I will be on the road ....
Last fall, I organized a quilting retreat in MN, and we will drive out
to meet up with 10 Blog Quilters for three glorious days of sewing our brains out!

Shelly S , Shelly P , Andrea , Mary , Doris , Amanda ,
Toni , Terri , Rene , Heather and myself.

If any of you are heading to the MN Quilt Show,
send me a email. We will be there too!

So, in preparing for that...
(Besides, packing, packing and packing!
what on earth shall I bring, perhaps just a large bin of scraps!)

I have two projects I need to finish before I leave.
two gifts, that I can only show you peaks at! (above and below)
fun little inspiring projects for two fab pals...

I may try to set up a retreat again for 2011,
if anyone in the Midwest area is interested for next year...
Let me know...

maybe even a New York one! Ooh that would be fun!

*******

I got these two beauties in the mail this past week...
ebay... ;-)

scrappy scrappy fabulous...

These kind of quilts me me so happy.... Why do I do anything else??
yes, it's fun to play but ultimately a good scrappy quilt makes my heart sing!
time to hit the scrap bins...

Is there a type of quilt that makes your heart sing?

My Jenny Egg. She is a very goofy, nervous. little gal... I sit at my computer desk,
she sits underneath... Instead of chasing her ball, well, she sits down on the job...
gotta love her!

play detour

2010-06-03T08:52:00.000-07:00

Geese in a row
11"X14"
my 15 minutes of play went a little overboard today...
I wanted to try something new like raw edge applique...
then I couldn't stop til it was done...

oh well, it's been one of those days...
So many things to do, don't know where to begin...
SO I did something completely off track...

Ever have a week like that?

Perhaps I need to take this approach instead...
roll around in a happy place, and come up with a big smile on my face!
to bad I don't have a tail to wag!

this, that, and the other...

2010-06-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

5 more BASICS quilt tops done, ready for quilting... That puts me at 25 quilts...
!!!!!
I usually make about that in a year!
See how helpful you guys are, sending those pre cut
squares, backings and bindings!!!
Barbara S., yes, I have TWO Barbara's (Barbara S. and Barbara A.)
who keep sending me Blocks and backings and quilts tops!

She sent me these pre made blocks, of three different patterns,
that I just had to lay out into a pattern that worked...
These were a challenge as they were so busy.

But I got a thumbs up approval from my daughter, so I think It will work!

Makes this very easy to finish a lot!

Thank you to EVERYONE
who has contributed! I have 15 more to go,
so I will be ready for 20 quilts each for two fundraisers in the fall...

My mother helped piece a bunch, also, then sent them to me to
select house
blocks to insert...
pheew. Thanks mom!

Then I took a break today to work on my way over due,
Liberated challenge quilt with Tonya...
I had the letters done previously and didn't like them.
I wanted the letters to reflect more the style of angles in the center of the quilt...
So today, I re-cut all the letters... I also wanted it less obvious to read... so I wrapped them
around the square, so that it reads more as a part of the quilt, then you discover the letters...
And I ran out of NAVY BLUE for the second time...

I'm thinking that's a sign, maybe it needs something other
than NAVY for the outer border...
I may even put it on point... just to be difficult...!!
We'll see.. I'm still playing...

I rcvd all my furniture back from the upholsterer... Remember this post?
Where is used all my fabric samples to make a pillow out of them? Well,
This is what I did... I was so tired of Neutral...
so I wanted to pull out all
the different colors out of my rug.
But also didn't want to go to DARK
as my floors
so I went slightly purple instead of navy...
I'm pleased with it. It's a little funky... funky is good...
Not crazy about all matchy match!
And all for a bargain price on those fabrics! yippee!

By the way,
If anyone knows who the maker of the tea cups is in the last post...
I want to get the teapots!!!
I can't find them anywhere...

UPDATE!
Here are the tea cups and teapots, from Holland
http://www.grubersquiltshop.com/FabricPanelsPage.htm

homey home.

2010-06-01T04:14:00.000-07:00

Getting all my ducks in a row...
or GEESE! for that matter...
These geese have nearly 40 babies... I think I counted 36....
sheesh!

Can't forget we're on the prairie when I drive on this road....

This little guy kept following me around...
Funny thing is, we have a dragon fly door knocker...

My goods from Grubers!
I don't often buy fabrics from a fabric store, so when I am in MN
I always stop at Grubers, in St.Cloud. It's HUGE!
City quilter does not have very
much and either does Purl...
So I never get to see ALL the of great lines
of fabric out there in person, only on my computer screen...

I bought every Navy and cheddar fat quarter they had...
sigh. I've already cut them up and I only got home last night!

Then I gathered all these purple, green, and browns... Not sure why...
Just loved the RICHNESS of the colors....

Then I thought I was done, but I saw these tea cups!

oops! I thought I bought the tea pots! drat... Now I need to find the tea pots too...
Have no idea what I'd do with them. I was just a kid in the candy store...

the Two Bottom pieces are half meters from MARY!!!
She went to quilt market and got some great things...
She gave me these two Heather Ross Far far away LINENS!!!
Ooh boy what fun! That orange knocks my socks off... its' so me I could fall over!

My best friends, Middle daughter, rcvd a sewing machine for Xmas,
and a whole lot of fabric from me!
She made me and B, the two BRIGHT PILLOWS, out of a bunch of her fabric!
She made them up as she went along! A girl after my own heart for sure...

BUSY busy two weeks ahead....
something every night and day.. either doctor visits, dentist, school events, etc...
And get packed up for summer!
focus, focus!

Hope you all had a lovely memorial weekend!

Good times

2010-05-30T12:59:00.000-07:00

Good food, good shopping, good company!

Mary ( on lake Pulaski) and I did some fabric fondling at grubers
quilt shop, then off for a nice lunch and chat!

It was a great day!! Food and fabric, does it get any better?

Meet up with your sewing pals, it's good for you!!! :-)

Things

2010-05-29T09:26:00.000-07:00

Perhaps I should be fishing... Instead I am playing with my camera...
It's hot, gorgeous and windy enough for me to break out the
claritin... And pull my weeds out of the flower beds around my cabin...

That's where I found this little guy... For some reason there are
100's of dragonflies! Everywhere you look they look like little
fairies flying around you...

Magical.

Hop over to my friend shelly's blog.
Http://shellysquilts.blogspot.com

She wrote a post about machine quilting... Go and read it, if you find
you get frustrated or intimidated about quilting your quilts. Her
advice has made my own machine quilting go up about 10 notches!

Best advice? Stitch in the Ditch everything to hold it all in place,
take out the pin basting then do your free motion...

It makes a world of difference...

And doodle doodle doodle on paper to have a plan... Then go for it!!

Tag attatched

2010-05-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is the tag attached to the puff quilt...

Puff quilt

2010-05-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

I have NEVER seen this before! Have you?

Gone fishin'

2010-05-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

We are off for a few days!
Have a lovely memorial weekend!!

Happy sewing!!!

scrap swap fun!

2010-05-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

This scrap challenge is finally pieced... (I need a name for this!)
It's been nearly done for a week or so,
but today I finally got it off my wall! yippee!
I used all of Bonnie's scraps that she sent me, and I had to add white's and neutrals to square it out,to to fill in the gaps... and to highlight certain areas...
hop over and see what she did with my scraps... I love her color gradation!

I was playing with some vintage blocks yesterday when the final piece of the puzzle fell into place... I felt that orange and purple block needed to live in the top quilt...
I like to throw in a little old, a little new, solids and prints all together...

I played a bit more on it's block, and it is on it's way to Sujata
for a little scrap swap fun!
She will send me something to play with as well.
Can't wait to see what it is!

I'm off for a few days!

Have a lovely long weekend!

I'll be seeing, this lovely person on Sunday!

What fun!

one big party

2010-05-26T05:20:00.000-07:00

Birthday's galore around here!

Everyone in our family has a birthday either in MARCH or MAY...
Yesterday, ANDREA came down to visit, and she brought down
a belated birthday gift for me!
Isn't it lovely!

She has me totally pegged...
I am a obsessed with the VIRGIN MARY...
not so much as a
religious vibe, but just an overall fascination,
and a lot of my ARTwork relates to it somehow...

From my Photographs to my Paintings...
So when I opened Andrea's gift, I could have fallen over... It's so fabulous,
I asked her, to be sure she wanted to give it to me!!!

A very Special gift indeed...totally blown away...
Thank you Andrea, I treasure it!

SPEAKING OF BIRTHDAYS!

My hubby just had one,
AND,

My girl turns 10, Saturday~!!

Yesterday, I swear, my sweet girl was one, and now she's ten...

We are heading to the cabin, so we gave her, her gifts early...

Guess which Birthday gift got a "COOL?"
(referring to yesterday's post)

ha ha ha ha!
It wasn't mine!

he he!
She rcvd a battery operated FAN from her BIG brother!
It has LED lights, and you can program
it to make words in the air when it spins!

yes, How COOL is that!

Quilt? what quilt?

Happy Birthday to one COOL girl!
;-)

Hello 80's!

2010-05-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

It figures, everything that was HOT when I was a kid,
is now HOT-TER
with my nearly 10 year old!

I had started her portrait after I started mine,
but wanted to try a new direction.. and not do the same process
as I had done with mine..
So I got out my what's left of my PAINT stash..
(as the rest of it got put into storage)

And was going for a Black and white style with her portrait...
She came into my studio this morning and said
Why is my face all GREY!

(oh ye of little faith!)

But I was lacking some direction, until she got dressed this a.m.

She came out in BLACK, t-shirt, black mini skirt,
and her NEON High top Skeecher sneakers...

HELLO 80'S!

Then I new just what to do with this floundering project...
I pulled some bright solids, as close to NEON as possible...
Threw in some Graffiti, her initials, anything NYC and zig zags

And hopefully zap it up with some fun quilting...

It looks a bit rough, as it might be on a brick wall...

Hope I can pull it off...
Living up to a 10 year old expectations can be pretty tough.

I better make it "COOL!"

a few doodads...

2010-05-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

a Finish!
Yippee!
You can read more about it at the SAY CHEESE! site
Go see some of the other portraits as well.. fun fun fun!

I am off to see my new pal, John, from BIG RIG QUILTING!
He's offered to quits a few of the BASICS HOUSE QUILTS,

Don't forget if you have one to donate!
we need to hit that 200 so I can give away that lovely sewing machine posted here...

Lots more prizes! we are on our way to 50 quilts where TWO $50
gift certificates will be given away in a drawing to those who donate!

I'm also in Binding heaven.
Getting ready to finish off my Kitchen sink quilt...OH JOY!

A sewing, time out.

2010-05-23T05:12:00.000-07:00

I had intentions of working on these this weekend...

the "thought", was as far as I got...
(I really wish I had this quilt done...it's my oldest project)

Taking them out of the bag, and photographing them,
though, seemed enough work...

Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

TOUR NYC BY WATER

2010-05-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

South Street Seaport...

Our Vessel for the day!

Brooklyn Bridge

Lower Manhattan, Wall Street area, Battery park, Ferry Terminal

Lady Liberty

Ellis Island

What a view!
What a Field trip! I don't recall having trips like this when I was a kid!
The crew was amazing, the kids learned so much about sailing, and helping and working together...(so did the grown ups!)
The weather was fantastic!
What more can you ask for!
I'm Exhausted... but in the best way possible!

Happy Weekend!

Bloggers Quilt festival

2010-05-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Today (FRIDAY) is the bloggers Quilt festival!
Amy is such a genius for doing this.

I went through a load of my quilts to show you the one that I wanted to highlight...
But that was very difficult to do...
This one above, is a favorite of mine, But I wouldn't say it's VERY ME,
(as my daughter would say)
But it is a part of something I love to do....

Collaborate...
I enjoy this process because it really pushes you to think outside the box...
Try things your not used to, work within certain rules or guidelines,
and it is purely a mystery as to where it will go.

This quilt is rather like a story book to me...
It just Feels like a good story...

Shelly and I made a group of wonky trees, I took 6 and she took six.
And then we'd see what each of us do to them...

This is mine above.
I made it up as I went along. Knowing generally what I wanted to do to it..
I've been staring at it for quite sometime now...
Sometimes I wonder where the ideas come from...Why I go in a direction I do...
Mostly I just try to listen by seeing...

Is it my all time favorite?

mmm,
not sure.

frankly?

My favorite Quilts?

Are the ones that get USED...

or given away.

Got one you can donate?
Go check out the site.
You might win something fabulous!

;-)

Happy Friday people.

Enjoy it!

piddling along

2010-05-20T09:54:00.000-07:00

OK, I know that sounds funny...

I feel like I am getting nothing done this week...

I meant to finish the self portrait quilt.
I still have not finished the hand quilting... nor have I gotten the binding on it...

scrap swap challenge:
I had hopes of getting this off my design wall.
I have everything sewn together on it, except the top right corner,
and now,
I keep adding stuff to it...

How are you others doing on your scrap swap challenges?

I got this binding done... woohoo!
And three others on the SIS BOOM POW quilts. WOOHOO!
thank you Helen for coming to help me!

I had a doctor apt this morning for my iron transfusions, and I was very early
so I went and sat in Central Park and stared at the reservoir for a while...
exhale.
sigh.

Then this lady bird came to visit...
(gotta love the polka dots)

The sun is out, it's glorious...

(this might make a neat self portrait quilt!)

OK, so, maybe I had a few ideas pop in my head
and a bunch of SMALL projects done,
so maybe
it's not such a wasted week after all...

Tomorrow, B's class is going on a sailing trip
leaving from the South Street seaport
in lower Manhattan...I get to join them!
maybe that's just what I need.

I should have some lovely pictures of the harbor to show tomorrow!
It is to be in the 80's! I have fingers and toes crossed for that!
I think I need a little Mr. Golden Sun...

Happy Sewing!

way to save

2010-05-18T11:14:00.000-07:00

I'm having my chairs and chaise reupholstered, and so I have been running all over NYC trying to find the PERFECT fabrics for them... purely by color, not price, just finding the right thing...

I've been to the fancy places, I've gone the dusty packed full of fabric places in my hood, and I've gone to the Silk Trading Company...and the upholstery fabric district down near Chinatown...

I gathered my fabric swatches, and decided EXACTLY what I wanted..
(the top left purple with a swish zag through it)

Until I looked at the prices...

See that, orange purple gold silk fabric?
$250 a YARD
(ZOIKS!!!!)

NO WAY, that's out.

ok then.

How about the blue-ish purple toile silk to the right of the lavender linen?
$180 a yard...
NOPE, that's out!

That top Purple silk top left hand corner that I originally liked seemed like a bargain,
at $72 a yard

nope. still to much for me.

I went back to the store where I recently found the fabric for my couch...
and low and behold, I got yards for $6 a yard for the chaise
and $8 a yard for my two chairs! YIPPEE!

So what to do with the pricey fabric samples?

Sew them all together into a pillow to sit on my $9 dollar a yard couch!

Cheap and Cheery!

Somethiing old is new

2010-05-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

OLD:
I've had this old quilt top laying in a box that I picked up in an antique shop sometime ago.
I love 9 patches, even though this was a bit dull, and A little short for a bed, although the width was perfect..

I wanted to brighten it up a little,
and make it fit a twin size bed properly, so I took it apart...

And without changing it up to drastically,
I added in some color...

Found the perfect backing and binding...
I love stripes, even more than polka dots!

And am ready to lay this one out to pin baste & quilt...
New!
It's also right up my daughters alley on colors...
perhaps she'll be fighting me for it!

sunday play

2010-05-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Play with old rescued blocks ...

Play with nature

Play with beasts

Play with old quilts I forgot to ever post...
(I have a habit of showing completed tops and
never showing completed quilts...)

Happy PLAYING.

Bumblebeans

blog address changed

Beautiful people.

Weekend.

Waiting for EARL

unpacking day two.

studio redo

sunday wrap up

one week left

this and that

collecting scraps...

The Star Splitter

Swirls of colors

Gail's circle table topper

20 years later

Florida

Where's V?

Your orphan blocks

a day without sewing.

Change Blog name/link

Starlight Baby Quilt

the day after

Change of address

new site!

dreams...

aaaahhhhhh.

sister quilts

seeing stars!

old tops.

Dust, oh my!

to do list...

take it outside

sumthun 4 me.

long last finish

nearly wordless wed.

CALM

"All true artists, whether they know it or not,

create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."Eckhart Tolle

fun in the sun

Happy day.

Kids Quilt

Quilting for a cause

PLAY

BASIC QUILT KIDS

NEED MORE QUILTS

what's in your attic

Candy Darling

rotations...

pictures

lovely things!

Grossmünster

updates

Good.day.

play work play work

stay cool!

7 minutes later

I'm melting

15 plus

Got 15? make fabric

Unpack.

HOME

Half wAy home

15 minutes

Bee blocks

Old things

Priceless

Fun times

It's 12am...

Seeing stars

Retreat!!!

Mr. Golden sun

Rain rain go away

Hit the road

And we're off.

New girl!

thrilled

check, check, and check.

rag rug/hat...

what a day

play detour

create from a place of no-mind, from inner stillness."

Eckhart Tolle