Going to Guild - Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting

Last night was guild night, and our speaker was local quilt celebrity Diane Knott of Butterfly Threads Quilting. Diane has visited our guild before, but that was back before she was famous for her fabulous book, Scrap Quilt Secrets.

Diane shared several quilts from the book and also gave us a few teasers about a new book she has in the works. Each chapter of Scrap Quilt Secrets focuses on a key element for success with S.C.R.A.P.S.

Diane is funny and smart, but she's also a generous quilter. Her website is overflowing with free patterns and tutorials. I love that she created a mystery quilt out of bits and pieces from the patterns in her book to create the medallion quilt (above). 

How awesome are these Gift Baskets made of selvedges and rick rack? I love this quilt and may have to choose this pattern for my growing collection of selvedges.

Diane likes to have fun with her quilts, even on the back. In addition to interesting piecing and "turndown surprise" - the bit of piecing that shows when you fold back the edge of quilt - Diane also adds whimsy with her labels. Whether it's a cute border, a leftover block, or a motif carried over from the front, each quilt gets Diane's finishing touch.

Keep Diane in mind when your guild is looking for a fun speaker with loads of great quilts to share! You can also follow her on Facebook or Instagram.

Get a Clue, Nancy Drew!

There's another fab blog hop starting Wednesday over at Sew We Quilt, and this one has my name all over it.  We are using the new Nancy Drew fabric from Moda to make anything we want. 

Oh, it was so hard to decide what to make!  I confess I have kept some back so that I can get ideas from the hop.  I know there will be projects that make me wonder "Why didn't I think of that!?"

Be sure to visit all the blogs and vote for your favorites.  There are lots of giveaways on these hops and more quilty inspiration than you can shake a stick at.

My day is Friday, March 8.  I can't wait to show you what I've been up to!



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Studi-O-rganization Challenge

Yeah, you know I'm a total sucker for anything with the word "organization" in it. Then why am I not organized? It's a mystery! 

 Allison from Within A Quarter Inch shares my addiction.  She's thrown down the gauntlet, issued a challenge, said "It's ON!" to messy, disorganized studios.

Check it out, grab a button, and join us!



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Holiday Grand Plan Week 10 - We Are Family!

It's Week 10 of the Holiday Grand Plan!

I know, I know, I totally blew this off last week.  It's a trade off.  I have been substitute teaching a lot lately, and it's derailed my grand planning.  The upside is that it's helping pay for Christmas.  So, there's that.

The last two weeks I have barely crossed anything off my list.  I'm not stressed, though, because I know that whatever I get done is a bonus.  Whatever I don't get done is just the same as it would have been if I had never started.  Whatever.

Back on the horse, and trying desperately to get ready for Thanksgiving company, we're on to week 10, which is a deep clean of the family room.  This room stays fairly picked up because it is in the center of the house and is used so frequently.  The carpet does need a shampoo where some little girl, who shall remain nameless, spilled red juice that she wasn't supposed to have out of the kitchen.  Why we had red juice in the house at all is a whole different mystery.  I know, it says not to shampoo carpets this week, but really?  A red juice stain?  I gotta do it.

Of course we're still freezing dinners and buying gifts and working on our homemade gifts.  Yada yada yada.  Speaking of which, I started a forum topic on SeamedUP about how many people really try to get homemade gifts done for the holidays.  I do not have a good track record in this area.

This is also the week when we are going to polish the silver and clean the glass.  I used to roll my eyes at this one.  One year, when some miracle happened and I got a lot of stuff crossed off these lists, I did it.  Can I just tell you how festive and sparkly it makes your house look when these things are shiny?  Even if you just do the stuff people will see, it makes the holidays feel a little more magical.  If you have time, do it.  It feels great.  If you don't, don't worry.  Only your mother-in-law will notice.  And if she's like mine, she won't even mention it.  Mine is awesome like that. 

Go through the coat closet and donate any coats you no longer wear to a coat drive or local charity.  It's getting cold and someone can use them.  Not to mention, you could use an empty hanger and a spot for your guests' coats. 

Last, put away the Halloween specific decorations sometime after Monday and bring out anything that screams Thanksgiving.  We're rolling, rolling, rolling towards Turkey Day, full speed ahead.  Don't let it run you over!

Are you playing along?  Link up!



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Blokjoyelle, My Fairy Quilt Godmother

Here she is!

A few tips:

1. To generate your own Fairy Quilt Godmother, visit Linda at Paper Panache.  The pattern is free for a limited time, so download yours today!
2. Read the instructions.  And then read them again.  I thought I had paid attention, but then embarrassed myself by emailing the author about a "glitch" in the pattern.*  Turns out it was right there in black and white on the same sheet as the fabric chart.
3. Lay out the fabrics and make sure they look good as a whole.  I had a fabric for the hair that I loved, but when I laid it out next to the background and dress fabrics, it was too much.  The fabric chart is worth the time.
4. Refresh your memory about paper piecing if you haven't done it in awhile...or ever.  I forgot to leave my seam allowance on the outside of the first section and was NOT going to do it over, so I had to fudge that seam a little.  This is not a pattern that allows for a lot of fudging, but I can live with it.
5. Take your time.  After the second try on section C (the eyes) and the second screw up, I realized that I was tired and cranky and not feeling my best.  I had to put it aside until another time.
6. SHARE!  These are so fun to look at and see how different each one is.  Please share on Linda's blog, your own blog, flicker, or your favorite message board. 

Also, I know the system generated the name Blokjoyelle, but I'm already thinking of her as Great-Aunt Sarah.  I can't wait to have her finished and in my studio!

* You have to draw in a couple of lines on two sections.  It tells you how in the instructions on the page where the chart is.  When you think you are missing some lines, this is where they went. 

Thank you, Linda!



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Mail Time!

One of the fun things that has happened this summer is lots of fun mail.

First, I was the lucky winner of a giveaway on Jonah Lisa's blog, The Toby Show. Such fun the day I went to the mailbox and opened up this clever and cute Nancy Drew Wallet from A Spoonful of Chocolate Hope.

(Some of you might remember that we did a Nancy Drew birthday party when Gracie turned 7, so you know this had my name on it no matter what you might say about that random number generator!)

Then there was the fabric postcard swap called Hot Fun in the Summertime on the Stashbusters Yahoo Group.

This is the one I received from Sandy:
On the back she wrote, "A life without love is like a year without summer." -Swedish Proverb

I thought that was such a clever idea that I put a quote on the back of the one I sent to Vicky:
It said, "There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart." - Celia Thaxter

How fun are these? My favorite tutorial on how to make them is by Deb at Red Shoe Ramblings.

Of course, I also got lots of birthday cards, and the understated but not to be underestimated postcard from my doctor stating that all was well at my last visit. Wahoo!

All this reminded me of how much I love to go to the mailbox and find something besides junk mail. It makes me want to go crazy and write letters or send care packages. But I'll probably get over it. Carpools and laundry...you know.

What's in your mail these days?

Princess Protection Program Party

It's party time again! Gracie's birthday is around the corner, and I am hard pressed to come up with an idea to top the 7 year old Nancy Drew party, complete with a series of clues (mailed so the girls had to decode their invitations) and sleuth kit goodie bags, or last year's American Girl party with cigar boxes full of Kit Kittredge movie themed favors and a handmade doll quilt for each girl. Phew!

But Disney saved us! Leave it to those magical geniuses to have their next fabulous TV movie premier ON HER BIRTHDAY! Yes, Princess Protection Program comes out next Friday, on the actual day Grace was born, 9 years ago. And it's kind of a mystery, which has become somewhat of a trend for us.

In case you are not up on your latest Disney facts (translation: subject to several hours a week of the Disney Channel broadcast throughout your home, complete with music videos and ads for things only available on TV), let me fill you in. The very flimsy premise of the movie is that the Princess Protection Program has been set up by royal families to keep princesses safe. When a threat is detected, one of their secret agents has to move in and take custody of Princess Rosalinda. To protect her identity, he brings her home to his own daughter, who then gets to teach Rosie how to act like a normal American teenager. Hilarity ensues.

So, we have sent the following invites to an exclusive five special girls (the most that will fit in my car):

PPP

ALERT: THE PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM HAS DETECTED A DANGER TO PRINCESS ANNIE. STOP. SHE WILL BE PICKED UP BY OUR UNDERCOVER VEHICLE AND TAKEN INTO PROTECTIVE CUSTODY ON FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2009. STOP. TO ENSURE HER SECRET IDENTITY, ANNIE WILL BE TAUGHT TO ACT LIKE A NORMAL GIRL - EATING PIZZA, PLAYING GAMES, AND MAKING ICE CREAM SUNDAES WITH FRIENDS. STOP. SHE WILL ALSO ASSIST GRACIE TO “BRING OUT HER INNER PRINCESS” WITH HAIR ACCESSORIES AND NAIL POLISH. STOP. ANNIE’S UNDERCOVER TRAINING WILL BE COMPLETED BY VIEWING THE PREMIER OF DISNEY’S MOVIE “THE PRINCESS PROTECTION PROGRAM”. STOP. WHEN THE THREAT HAS PASSED, SHE WILL BE RETURNED TO HER CASTLE. STOP. THIS MISSION IS CLASSIFIED HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL. STOP

My favorite thing about this party is that it will be like an old fashioned birthday party - no expensive entertainers or venues, no hordes of children, just a few friends over for pizza and ice cream and some games to celebrate. It won't feel gluttonous, it won't feel over-the-top, but it will still be exactly what she wants and so fabulous! Plus, since the movie is free and the pizza is cheap (I know a guy!) I can splurge a little with the favors and decorations without a bit of guilt.

I'll keep you filled in on our plans in case you want to invite some friends over to watch the movie yourself.

Have a wonderful day!

An American Girl's Birthday Party

After much delay, we finally got around to hosting Gracie's birthday party. She wanted to take her friends to see Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and then go to EastSide to make our own pizzas. Of course I had to come up with just the right party favor, and there's nothing at the Amercian Girl store that I could afford to give 10 little girls!

My mother had already seen the movie with my niece, so she was a fabulous resource for ideas. The mystery in the movie revolves around a box that Kit's mother hides under the floorboard with her money and some jewelry in it. Mom was able, with the help of a friend (thanks Sharon!), to round up a cigar box for each girl. We decided to add a strand of faux pearls from JoAnn's, Etc.; a ring pop, candy necklace, and some candy (mini boxes of Dots and Tootsie Rolls), all from Dollar Tree. But there was something missing, something to make it unique and special and just from us.

So I decided to make a quilt.

I'm chalking it up to the insomnia I've been suffering lately while my DH has been traveling to be with his dad. Sheer exhaustion made me do it! While he was gone again (this time to bring his parents back home, thank God!) I had no one reminding me of the time or urging me to come to bed. Not only have I made tremendous progress on my Kaleidoscope Dreams, as you can see in the sidebar, but I made ten little cheater cloth quilts for the girls who came to the party.

Of course, they each had to be quilted slightly differently. Heaven forbid the dolls be together with their quilts at a slumber party and get mixed up! (But then, that was before I made the personalized labels for each one. I've gone completely 'round the bend, I tell you.) This actually turned out to be a fun exercise - it was like auditioning different quilting designs on a mini quilt. I found creative ways to change familiar quilting patterns in ways I will definitely use again.

The labels were super easy. I just made 2 little circles with the label info on them and raw-edge appliqued them down. I overlapped them slightly so that the label is reminiscent of the number 8. Fun, yeah? I made you a little slide show so you could see how it turned out. I am so happy with them, and the girls oohed and aahed over them.


The absolute best moment, though, was when we came from the movie to the pizzeria and DH was there waiting for us. He had been fibbing all day about how much progress they had made on the trip home. Gracie was so excited to see him. It had only been a few days, but signalled the end of a long stretch of road. Now his dad is out of the hospital and his parents are home from the longest they've ever gone without seeing the grandkids. The party was a roaring success. My husband is back where he belongs, beside me, under our quilt.

Maybe now I will be able to sleep. At last.

Orange Crush Step One Done!

I had a very quilty day today. I was invited to join a new bee group that has spun off my guild, and we had such a fun and productive morning. I worked on step one of Bonnie Hunter's new mystery, Orange Crush. As you can see, I took the instructions to make it scrappy very seriously!

It was so inspiring to see what everyone was working on. One person is doing beautiful handwork, another is designing on the computer, another was auditioning border fabrics for a stunning quilt top, and a few of us were machine piecing. I could just feel the ideas exploding for future quilts, and it reminded me of a great story about teaching:

"If I have a pencil and you have a pencil, and we share our pencils, what do we have? We still each have one pencil. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we share our ideas, then what do we have? Now we each have two ideas...at least!"

Don't forget to vote for your favorite kaleidoscope blocks. Only a few more days before I'm going to make my decision on the final three, and the voting is close for 3rd place!

Have a great weekend,

Orange Crush

I've chosen my fabrics for the Orange Crush Mystery Quilt. What do you think? I wanted to do a slightly brighter version of Bonnie's colors since this quilt is screaming to be made for my DD's bed.

1. First, she is an orange fanatic. I mean, she has orange crocs, orange clothes, orange hair clips, orange everything. She is not a prissy pink or purple girl - she is ORANGE.


2. Second, she has inherited my love of mysteries. I am a true crime addict and mystery buff, so the idea of a mystery quilt is like my two great loves uniting. Last year my DD's whole birthday party was a Nancy Drew theme, complete with clues mailed for days ahead instead of a normal invitation.


3. Third, hers just happens to be the only bed in the house that this quilt will fit.

I think it's a sign, don't you?

Joining the Blogging World

Okay, I admit it. I'm only doing this so I can get one of those cool links to Bonnie Hunter's mystery quilt page. So I'm a total follower, a sheep if you will. Don't care.

Mom and I took our kaleidoscope quilting class yesterday at Share the Spirit Quilting and Yarn. There are not so many quilting things out there that I really feel the pull of taking a whole day class anymore - most stuff I can figure out by reading a book or looking at a website. But this is one that was worth every penny (of Mom's! It was part of my birthday present.) for someone to show us step-by-step how to do it. I will have to take pics of my stars and y'all can vote on which ones should grace the center of the quilt.

Speaking of Grace...my darling DD finally got her sewing table and machine set up in her room so she can sew without all the hassle of dragging everything out. The table is an old Singer treadle base with a butcher block top. She looked at the finished scene and sighed saying, "Mommy, I love it. It looks just a little old fashioned." That's my girl! Of course, she also informed me that her sewing room would never be as messy as mine, as she lovingly tucked her 3 1/2" strips of fabric into the SteriLite drawers purchased just for her last weekend.

Out of the mouths of babes...