Fabraholism...Hi, My Name is Jenny!

The first step towards beating any addiction (and who's to say I even want to?) is to admit that I am powerless over it. I'm so there! I haven't posted all week because I've been having way too much fun sewing and fondling fabric and even playing with heating elements of all sorts to distort and mutilate textiles to satisfy my illness. It was wicked fun!

First I had a conversation with my wonderful MIL about a cousin whose baby is due next month. I realized that, while each of my cousins' babies have received a quilt from either mom or me, none of DH's cousins have. Oops! The timing has always been a little hairy and we just aren't as closely entwined with their lives. Sooo...I felt it was high time to remedy the situation. In honor of my new fascination with Bonnie Hunter, my introduction to the Easy Angle ruler, and Andi's love of lime green, I decided to make a scrappy Jacob's Ladder with a green focus. Here's the block so far:

On Tuesday I finished whipping down the binding for the Team Tomato prize quilt. Last year for Mother's Day I gave my mom, MIL, and cousin one of those Topsy Turvy Tomato Growers. They had a contest, and Cousin Judy won by a landslide. This Mother's Day her gift will be this cute little tomato quilt and basket (by Dawn, of course) to

gather her harvest. Shhh...don't tell her! Thanks to the Stashbuster poster who suggested the "Just Leaf It" technique of free motion quilting. You can't really see it that well, but it worked perfectly for this little quilt.

On Thursday, Mom and I went back to our Kaleidoscope class. We learned how to make the alternate blocks that really make the design pop. Check out "My Design Wall" on the right to see how this quilt is coming along.

Then on Saturday (yes, my house is a wreck - don't call DFCS on me) I went to an awesome class with Jan Girod from Fiber on a Whim. It was incredible! Calling it a quilting class would be a bit of a stretch - it is definitely in the Art with a Capital A category. We worked with foiling and bone ash, Tyvek, cellophane, organza, metallic mesh, buttons, beads, and all kinds of pretty threads. We had irons, heat guns, and soldering tools generating some serious creative energy. It's not ready for photos yet, but I hope to have it up soon.

Plus Step 2 for Orange Crush has been posted! I'd better get back to work! Have a great week.