I am Finally Taking the Leap

into fabric dying.  I have wanted to try my hand at dying fabric for several years but was not willing to to try it.  I think I was scared of the process and the expense.

Well, my little eBay store has been very slow the past few weeks and so I decided I needed to give it a little boost.  I am hoping that I can learn the dying techniques well enough to sell high quality hand dyed cottons in my little store.

I had NO idea what it took to dye fabric - all the tools and the dyes and the additives and of course fabric that is prepared for dying.  Now I do!!

Ok, here goes . . .

Is This the Cutest Little Quilt or What??

Well, Erin over at One Piece at a Time made this cute thing and now she has posted the pattern parts so we can make it.  And not only that but she is having a Giveaway this weekend for a fat eighth bundle of the Curio fabric she used:

and a set of darling buttons:

All you have to do is jump on over there and leave a comment telling her which super power you would rather possess - the ability to fly or to be invisible!!  Oh, so fun!!  Just click on her link above!!

Look What I Got In The Mail Today

I love this book!!  It is written by Mary Lou Weidman and Melanie Bautista McFarland.  Now, these gals "get" me!!  The book is full of fun, wonky patterns and lots of color!!  The little chicken on the front cover looks perfect for a non-traditional baby quilt and the Purple Cow quilt is out of this world!!

I can see some fun, wonky Kaffe Fassett quilts coming from these pages!!  Has anyone out there made any of these wonky blocks or quilts??

Oh, man too many fun quilts to make 
and not enough time!!

One Flower Wednesday

I got my one little flower done for One Flower Wednesday.  It is actually going to be one of the two flowers I send to my partner in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap for September.

While I was checking out what some of my blogging friends were up to today, I ran across Melody's One Flower Wednesday flower and she had the coolest little tool sitting next to her hexies!!  I want one of those!!  I asked her where she got it, but since she lives in Australia, I may not be able to run down to pick one up anytime soon!!

Hope you all have a great day wherever you might be!!

Newest International Siggies

Sara Bangs - Mt. Vernon, WA

Jos Weegerink - The Netherlands

Chris Jones - The Netherlands

Thank you to all of you for your wonderful siggies for my collection.

Fun, New Siggie for International Siggie Swap

I got an invitation to swap siggies in the International Siggie Swap that I am part of from a cute lady in Andelst in Holland.

The difference in this invitation was that she wanted a Christmas siggie instead of the siggie that I typically use for this swap.  I got the Christmas siggie done and it will go into the mail to Holland on Tuesday after the Labor Day holiday.

I had so much fun trying embroidery again, I thought I would make a special one with a little embroidered angel and a beaded halo!!  I hope she likes it!!

One Flower Wednesday

The flower I made today turned out quite interesting.

Using Kaffe Fassett fabrics is a real challenge but very fun.

The better part of One flower Wednesday is that I received my VERY first hexies in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap.  These little beauties came all the way from Pat, who lives in Northhampton, England!!  Oh, they are simply gorgeous and perfectly made!!  Pat also sent a little note on this cute little card from the British Red Cross.

The painting on the front is the Humanity Rose from an original painting by Elizabeth Cameron, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 93.  She was an amazing woman; both an entrepreneur and one of Britain's leading botanical artists.  You can check out more about Ms. Cameron HERE.

Thank you, Pat!!  I love both flowers, but I must say that the polka dot one is my very most favorite!!!  So, much so, that I just might ask Jane to change my preferences to polka dot petals surrounding a lavender or purple center!!  Oh, would that make a gorgeous quilt top or what!!

It's Been More Than 35 Years

since I have done any embroidery!!  Yes, I did buy a couple of darling kits from Shell over at The Raspberry Rabbits but every time I looked at one, I froze up because it had been so long since I had done anything like this.

Well, we went to dinner at my niece, Michelle's for dinner Sunday night and out of the clear blue sky, she asked if I would like to teach an embroidery class at her Church Super Saturday day in October!!  I said yes, I would love to, but then as soon as I could, I found a pattern and both Regena and I worked on a couple of samples to see if we really could do it!!

TaDa!!

 Kris'

 Regena's

Are they the cutest things or what!!  I guess, it's like riding a bike and we had sooooooo much fun!!  Now onto one of Shell's cute pieces!!!

It's Just Too Dang Hot . . .

so I am just hanging out

trying to garner some energy and go in to get some work done in my sewing room and the annex (out in the garage) and get them in working order!!

Anyone wanna come over and just hang out with me while this heat passes??

I am also keeping an eye on Irene to make sure my blogging buddies on the east coast are going to be okay!!

I hope this is as bad as it gets

Prayers continue, dear friends!!

What in the World??

I was out in blogland a few days ago and saw a product advertised that looked exactly like what I should have had when I was making my fabric postcards.

It is called The Wacker Seams Perfect and it is supposed to flatten multi-layer seams by wacking the seam twice while the seam is still hot.  Sounded like a great idea until I saw how much it cost - anywhere from $14.99 to $17.00 plus shipping and handling on top of that.

Since I am a super cheap skate, my mind went into high gear and I thought, hmmmmmmm, I wonder if a rubber mallet at Home Depot would be less expensive.  Well, yup, I got this beauty at Home Depot (or Lowes or Ace and any good hardware store) for $4.97!!

The difference between my Home Depot Smacker and the Wacker is that the Wacker's wooden handle measures about 8 inches long and my super-duper Smacker's handle is 11 inches.  Also, I would imagine that my Smacker is heavier than the Wacker.  But I'll bet it works just as well!!

And I decided that in order to make my Smacker really special, I would paint the wooden handle my favorite color - lime!!

Now, I am not putting down the Wacker Seams Perfect tool as it is truly inspired and it is a great idea, but the way I look at it, not only do I have fun tool that serves it's purpose, but I also have an extra $10.00 - $12.00 to go out and buy a new yard of fabric or 4 Fat quarters!!  Now, that's my kind of tool!!

Hope all our friends on the East Coast are staying safe!!

My First One Flower Wednesday

As I have mentioned several times in the past, I have fallen in love with the hexie flower, so much so that I am now a member of the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap and I just joined the One Flower Wednesday group.

I learned a lot on the first flowers I made in the Inchy Hexagon Flower Swap for Deb in Australia.  But I even learned more on this first One Flower Wednesday flower.

I figured out that if I am going to use the big, bright prints by Kaffe Fassett, I think I want to fussy cut them.  Also, I need to use a thread that is closer in color to the fabric I am using instead of a nice neutral light grey that I use for everything else.  I think I am going to get one of the BobbinSaver rings with prewound bobbins in a cacophony of colors from Superior Threads

If you would like to see what everyone else in the One Flower Wednesday group is doing this week, click on the link above!!

Have a great day, everyone!!

I Want to Be a Cowboy!

I have always loved horses and I have always wanted to be a Cowgirl!!  When I saw the new Moda fabric collection called "King of the Ranch," I just fell in love with it.

 I decided I was going to take a big jump and try something new in my eBay shop.  I am not completely sure what I am going to do, but something fun.  I also ordered some cowboy panels and a bit more of the co-ordinate fabrics.  I am thinking I might make up some fun pillow size kits or make up some cowboy stars with the panel in the center.

Stayed tuned and see what comes out of my head!!

Pillowcases for the Soldiers

Several months ago in the first part of May, Carol, over at Brown Quilts 4 Me asked for some help on behalf of her good friend Jami, who had just found out she has cancer.  Jami has dedicated almost all of her sewing to making patriotic pillowcases and quilts for our servicemen and women.  She has made it her project to make sure that every member of the service that she comes in contact with gets a pillowcase to remember home.  Whenever she goes to an airport, she has her carry on bag full of pillowcases.  She goes to the USO room at whatever airport she's in and hands out pillowcases or if she saw a service person at a gate waiting to get on a plane, she would give them a pillowcase.

Well, when Jami found out about the cancer, she had already promised to make a delivery of pillowcases to Fort Gordon in Augusta, Georgia.  She asked Carol and her husband to help make the delivery.  They were originally going to go this month but with some delays in Jami's chemotherapy and radiation treatment, they are going to make the trip in September. 

On August 12th Carol posted an update saying that she had received over 300 pillowcases and that with Jami's therapy schedule they are going to try to make the trip to Fort Gordon the end of September.  So, if anyone has any thought of making a pillowcase or two to help Jami and Carol put smiles on lots and lots of soldiers' faces, you can email Carol at goodhomequiltco@aol.com and let her know some pillowcases are on their way!!

I was able to put 4 pillowcases in the mail to Carol today.

And I know I have said this so many times, but I love the quilting community; it is so giving and loving and compassionate!!  I thank Heavenly Father every night for allowing me to be part of this incredible community!!  And I thank all of you for being part of it as well!!

Working on a New Project Fast and Furious!!

When Regena moved in with my Dad and I last month, she was relegated to the smallest of the three bedrooms because my Dad got the Master bedroom with the bathroom and walk-in closet and I got the second largest bedroom to act as our sewing room.  Since her bedroom is so small, she only has a single bed in there.  Since she has always had a queen-size bed she had no single bedding, she was going to go out and get a single-size comforter.  I told her I would make her a quilt instead and she was thrilled.

She decided she really liked the 1930's prints and I started out making 9-patches with white off-setting squares but decided that since her cute little dog, Penny

will be sharing the quilt with her, I decided white was not the best idea.   So, I am working hard to get it done before the cold winds blow in November!!!  Only, kidding, Regena!!

More International Siggies for My Siggie Collection

I have been working on catching up on exchanges siggies for the International Siggie Swap I belong to.  This one is one of my favorites:

and if you would like to see more, just click on the International Siggie Swap page near the top of my blog.