Really Random Thursday: Out and About

When I am out and about is usually when I find interesting tidbits for Really Random Thursday.  For example, while waiting for my daughter's turn at her violin solo and ensemble event,  I saw this on the middle school cafeteria wall.  It could have been left there just for me!

words of wisdom

While browsing antique shops looking for a small desk I saw these lovelies....

antique yo-yo quilt

I have to say I was glad to see the yo-yo quilt was not for sale.  I don't like thinking of someone's hard work being sold cheaply.  Instead, the quilt is lovingly on display.

Yes she is!

This pillow is so cute.  The words are also so true!

 While I did not come home with the two lovelies shown above, I was delighted to acquire this small desk for Ruby (my featherweight).  Check out the cute little low back chair included in the purchase price.

Charming desk

While the desk is small, it has a pullout designed for a writing tablet.  Hmmm possibly this could be used for trimming blocks?

Large enough for a small cutting mat

I love the little drawer that is just spacious enough for accessories.  I am very pleased with my recent purchase!

supply drawer

I  made a new quilting friend while browsing the magazine section (Crafts and Hobbies of course) at my local Barnes & Noble.  She noticed both of us were looking at the same magazines and invited me to join her in the cafe for coffee.

quilt magazines

More evidence of the friendliness of quilters!  My new friend is from across the pond but is familiar enough with the area to know there is a quilt show in town this weekend.

Great Britain

We chatted about quilting in general and also discussed the various quilting guilds.  She pointed to an article in a magazine about her guild, and I invited her to visit ours when she is in town.  Rebecca, if you are reading this, it was nice meeting you and I hope to see you again.....maybe at this weekend's Quilt Fever!

from the archives: feeling groovy

I have never been to the Quilt Fever show in our area.  It's a biannual event that never seems to work well with my calendar.  Come to think of it, the only quilt show I have been to was in Minnesota when I first met my friend Shelly who is today's peace pattern party hostess. (Like my seque?!)

another oldie but goodie photo

My friend Shelly lives on a ranch with her Cowboy so I pulled out my favorite cowboy boot picture.  Remember the retreat foot photo I showed the other day?  That's right, Shelly is the one wearing cowboy boots!  She even sews in her cowboy boots.  I may or may not have a photo of Shelly in her PJs wearing her cowboy boots at the ironing board during retreat.  Shelly pieces the most amazing quilts (with really tiny pieces) and then quilts them beautifully on her longarm.  If I ever finish When I finish my Cowboys/Cowgirls quilt, I am sending it to Shelly!

Below is the list of corrected links to the various peace pattern reveals and giveaways in case you missed one.  Come back here tomorrow for one more (possibly two) peace quilt reveals and a giveaway.

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts
Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away 

Oh and I just noticed that today's post is number 550.  Whoo hoo!  I leave you with the latest Leo picture I have received.  He looks just like his daddy at that age.  I sure miss this guy!!!

Have a wonderfully random Thursday!  Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: More Zippers, More Peace

Prepping fabric and supplies for another zipper project!

Red and Aqua

A little while back I saw the cutest bag on Instagram.  The pattern is the Sew Together Bag by Sew Demented.  If I can manage it, I'd like to make one to take to QuiltCon.

Coordinating zipper pull

Yesterday I cut out all the fabric pieces and chose my four (yes four!) matching zippers.  I even have my zipper pull chosen!

Chain piecing

I am also feverishly working on another Peace quilt to show on Friday when it's my turn for a pattern giveaway.

Text fabric

Today it's Mary's turn to show the peace quilt she made and giveaway a copy of my Peace quilt pattern.
I was pleasantly surprised when Mary agreed to test my pattern because I know her sewing services are in high demand!  Luckily for me, Mary is a machine and can crank out beautifully made items quickly. She sent me a picture of her completed (and quilted!) peace quilt, and it's lovely!!!  Please go visit Mary and leave a comment on her blog.  Tell her I said hello!

Pantone 2013 Color of the Year is Emerald

Mary is another Gruber buddy of mine and can always tell you how many months and days until our next retreat!  It's nice to know I am not the only one counting down until we get to sew together again.  I already have my room booked and am looking at flights....

Below is the list of corrected links to the various peace pattern reveals and giveaways.  They are all still open.

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away

Hope your Wednesday is wonderful! Thanks for stopping by,

Only one this time

After yesterday's triple zip pouch I wanted another zipper project but needed something quick so I made a circle zip ear bud pouch.

Used Erin Erickson's tutorial

This is the second one I have made, and I just love how quickly the pouch comes together.  I even remembered to add my label this time.

Can never find my earbuds

 Did you notice I cut into my Hope Valley stash again?  Still small projects until I can figure out the perfect quilt for these lovely fabrics.  

Need to vacuum my lab

These cute zipper pulls are a motivating factor to me.  Now I am actually looking for projects that use a zipper.  Who would have thought?

From the archives:  My happy place

I made a mistake with my Peace pattern bloggy party links.  My friend Doris will be showing her peace quilt today, and the correct link to her blog is this.   I just read her blog post (wanted to make sure I didn't mess up the URL again) and completely fell in love with her quilt.  She made some fun changes.  You NEED to see what I am talking about.  While there, leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of my peace quilt pattern. 

Sweet feet

While browsing my pictures I was surprised to discover that I don't have any pictures of Doris other than group shots (or toe shots or group toe shots).  Don't know why this is as I have attended three quilt retreats with her...need to rectify that in July.  I  have quite a few pictures of her quilts, does that count?Anyway, Doris is the best and was super helpful to me with the finer points of pattern writing since she has written several herself.  I am thankful for her friendship, admire her quiltmaking skills and am a little envious of her cool cars ;-)

Below is the list of corrected links to the various peace pattern reveals and giveaways:

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away

Thanks for stopping by,

Monday Mini: Triple Zipper Pouch

My new MCM Bee buddy is having a Triple-Zip Along which starts today and runs through February 15th.  Zippers and I do not get along but I decided to play anyway.  More information and Deb's tutorial can be found on the Flickr group page.

Olive the Ostrich

Forgive the fuzzy pictures.  Don't know what was going on with my camera.  My fabrics are Laurie Wisbrun's Olive the Ostrich which I just purchased during #ilovemyLQS and scraps of gray Aneela Hoey fabric.  I am in love with this ostrich print and had a hard time cutting into the fabric, but this pouch only needs a little ;-)

Inside pouch

I was super excited when my first zipper went in without a hitch.  There was even a pouch like the instructions indicated!  However, I lost my place in the directions when adding the second set of fabrics and zipper and had to use my seam ripper.  Ugh.

Triple Zip Pouch

Oh well, all in all I am pretty pleased with how my triple-zip pouch turned out, considering I am still a zipper newbie.  Feeling confident I ordered quite a few zippers in a variety of colors so there may be more zipper pouches in my future.

Ostrich love on the back

I also bought several yards of the adorable Olive the Ostrich fabric so you will be seeing more of her around here ;-)

From the archives: Leo's quilt in progress

In other news, this week continues the bloggy Peace pattern party, and today my friend Terri (who definitely is not afraid of zippers!) is revealing her Peace quilt and having a giveaway on her blog.  You definitely want to take a look at her quilt which may or may not be made with Anna Maria Horner scraps!  It's so pretty.

The multi-talented Terri

I was excited when Terri agreed to test my pattern.  She has such a good eye for color and design.  In the beginning stages of writing my peace pattern, Terri offered her graphic design knowledge and answered my questions regarding the mechanics of pattern drafting.  Terri's the kind of person that is enthusiastic about sharing her interests (as I learned sewing next to her at my very first quilt retreat when I flew across the country to sew with nine bloggers I had never met before!) and inspires others to  pursue theirs!

 Below is a list of all the peaceful participants ;-)

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away

Happy Monday and happy stitching,

Friday Finish: Week of Posting

I don't have a quilt finish to share today, but I did finish the week by publishing a post five days straight!  Does that count?  Once upon a time that was the norm ;-)

"Memories" made by my mom for my sister

Last Friday I shared a picture of the quilt my mom made me for Christmas - her first quilt ever.  Her second quilt went to my sister who this week posted a picture on her blog.   My sister has a blog post here that shows my mom's second quilt ever made.  Next Friday I plan to share with you the THIRD quilt my mom made which just happens to be a peace quilt.

From the archives:  Pinwheel layout

In the meantime, Stephanie has a peace quilt finished and is hosting today's bloggy Peace pattern party.   Stephanie chose to make the pinwheel version for her daughter and let Elsa pick the fabrics.  I saw a picture of the quilt in progress, and it's awesome!!!  Please go see for yourself and leave a comment on Stephanie's post for a chance to win the pattern.  

Swap goodies from Stephanie

Stephanie is another Gruber 's retreat buddy with mad sewing and designing skills.  I was fortunate to benefit from her creativity during our Gruber's swap.  She's also super sweet, generous and encouraging (a prerequisite for attending a Gruber's retreat...ha!), and I am benefiting from those traits now as she tests my Peace Quilt pattern.  I know how long it takes to trim all those HSTs!  

One more from the archives

I hope you have enjoyed seeing all the Peace quilts this week.  If you missed any, the links are below.  Next week there will be five more quilts revealed and five more chances to win!

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away

Enjoy your weekend!  Happy Stitching!
Thanks for stopping by,

Really Random Thursday: #ilovemyLQS, #mysisterrocks, #peace

I'm linking to  Cindy's Really Random Thursday with some of my latest Instagram hashtags.  Did you know that today is  Visit Your Local Quilt Shop Day?  If you visit your LQS today make sure you snap a photo of the inside and post it either on IG, Facebook or Twitter with the hashtag #ilovemyLQS.  There are prizes involved.

Wagon of Moda Bella Solids

#ilovemyLQS provided the excuse I needed to check out a new shop in the area (OK so it was a few towns over) called Inspire.  It is located in a 100 year old building in historic downtown Plant City.  The shop carries a nice balance of modern and traditional fabrics.  This antique wagon filled with bolts of solids is so clever.

Singer Treadle Machine

I fell in love with this fully restored Singer Treadle Machine and cabinet.  The young sales clerk demonstrated the machine and pointed out the benefits of multitasking - you get your exercise while you sew.  Well, there you go.  I can join my IG friends who use the hashtag #sweatnsew!

Fabric purchases

When it was time to check out I mentioned "#ilovemyLQS Day" and was told that "love" was the secret word and since I said it,  I received 20% off my fabric purchase.  Sweeeeet!

Sneak Peek

Speaking of love, Michelle made two #peace quilts, and I love them both!!   I hope she doesn't mind that I cropped a small section of her photograph for a teaser here.  Today she plays hostess to the bloggy pattern party and will show pictures on her blog of the two different size (and very different) peace quilts she made.  Make sure you leave a comment on her post for a chance to win a copy of the peace quilt pattern.

Sewing Sisters

I was determined to learn Illustrator before sending the pattern to testers, but Michelle couldn't wait.  She wanted to make a Christmas peace quilt so she worked from my hand drawn sketches while I worked on learning Illustrator ;-)  Once the pattern was ready for "official" testing, she made a throw size that is so cool.  When you see it, you'll know why I say #mysisterrocks!

Another type of cupcake

I leave you with one more random photo.  Last night I was really craving something sweet like a cookie or cupcake.  However, there was none to be found in my house so I settled for a different kind of cupcake ;-)

I sure hope you are enjoying seeing the various peace quilts made by my friends.  Once again, here is the complete schedule of the bloggy pattern party:

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away 

Please visit all my friends to say hi and see their version of Peace ;-)!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

What's Up Wednesday: QuiltCon, Fabric and More Peaceful Giveaways

I received two emails that brought a smile to my face.  Both QuiltCon and Southwest Airlines reminded my trip to Austin is just around the corner - 28 days to be exact!  Are you going?  I am traveling with four OrlandoMQG officers and can't wait to meet other MQGers!



January's Charming Solids Club fabric arrived, and I am happy to add more Kate Spain fabric to my stash.   Honey Honey looks so cheery and spring like.

Cindy is hosting today's bloggy Peace pattern party.  She made a really fun color wheel version of the baby peace quilt.  Please go say hi for me and see her Peace Around the Color Wheel quilt.

Hello Neighbor

The first time I met Cindy was at our Gruber's retreat, and I was fortunate enough to find my sewing machine right next to hers!  Of course she probably wondered what she had gotten herself into as I spent the entire weekend piecing pinwheels for my Peace, Love & Happiness quilt, while she worked on several gorgeous (and complicated looking to me) projects.

Numerous pinwheels

I was more than a little intimidated by her skills, but not by her sweet and friendly personality ;-)   I was more than thrilled when she agreed to test my pattern for me and couldn't wait to see her quilt top.  She didn't disappoint!

Peace on the Rocks

Here again is the complete schedule of the bloggy pattern party:

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away 

Please visit all my friends to say hi and see their version of Peace ;-)!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

I Spy Peace

Thank you everyone for the lovely comments about my first published pattern!  I've definitely been feeling the bloggy, Flickr and IG love ;-)

BabyLeo

The bloggy pattern party continues today over at Nostalgic Cafe.  Michele made the cutest baby quilt using Spoonflower I Spy fabrics.  You've got to see it!  Head over to read Michele's blog post and leave a comment for a chance to win the pattern.

Orlando Modern Quilt Guild's First Meeting

Michele is the first bloggy friend I met IRL.  We are charter members of the OrlandoMQG and met for the first time at OMQG's inaugural meeting where we both became officers.  That day changed my life ;-)!!!

First ever OMQG Sew Day

While looking through old pictures, I found this one taken at OMQG's first Sew Day.  I had forgotten that was the day I started work on the Feeling Groovy quilt made for a school fundraiser.  If you look closely you can see the little scraps of paper pinned to each pinwheel block ;-)

Below is the complete schedule of the bloggy pattern party (thanks KT for that term!):

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts 

Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe 

Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life 

Thursday, January 24 - Michelle at  Frustrated Quilter 

Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 

Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 

Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 

Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 

Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 

Friday, February 1 - back here for a give away 

Please visit all my friends to say  hi and see their version of Peace ;-)!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,