Favorite Blogs

Happy Thanksgiving

I have over 100 quilting blogs that I like to read. Thank God most of them don't update on a daily basis or I would never get anything else done! I do find when I miss a few days of checking them, it takes me a bit longer to get this job done, and because of this I find I really don't read the blogs, but look at the pictures. I only post comments when it's something important. I know I should post once in a while to let them know I was there, but hey, I like to be a lurker. These are a few of my favorites:

• Flat Out Quilting

• Quilt Dad

• The ManQuilter

• I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts

• LaVieEnRosie

• Simplify

What are some of your favorite blogs to read?

P.S. Love quilt blogs done by men. Us guys have to stick together. There is not many of us out there.

For Love of Theatre and Fabric

I'm in love with Elphaba from Wicked. Went and saw the show and it was just amazing. A few tears might have come from my eyes in the last half of the show. It just goes to show you that I too have a heart.

Highlight of the show was of course Defying Gravity, For Good, and the finale when Fiyero and Elphaba embrace.. Such true love. Just thinking about this has brought a tear to my eye.

If Wicked come with in a 100 miles of where you live you must go and see it.

We spend time looking for just the right quilt pattern then go and shop for fabric to make this pattern come to life. We spend hours placing it together, but then get tired of it for one reason or another. I have done this on more than one occasion. I have just a few quilts that are half finished in bags stashed around the quilt room. I stopped and asked myself why we do this and I think it's because for some patterns, I'm just tired of it from making the same thing over and over. I know it will be great when it's done, but how many more flying geese or half square triangles can a person make or just get tired of the fabric. Maybe I did not like the fabric as much as I thought I did. Then with some patterns I reach a hard spot and just don't want to take the time and get it done. I'm ready for it to be over. Maybe it's not a hard quilt pattern it's just that I made a mistake and made it harder than it really is. Sometimes, the best reason that I could come up with is, I just want to buy some more fabric and start something new. Just remember that a person never needs a reason to stop one project and start a new one. It's your fabric and you can do what you want with it!

A Wicked Christmas

I was driving home last night and wanted to hear some good showtunes. Nothing better than singing to your favorite songs in the car and having the car next to you look at you funny. So I woke up today and jumped right on i Tunes and made a show tunes list. I have my top 30 on there now. I need to come up with some more. Anyone care to help me out with with a few of the favorites?

Why do I want to make this list? I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that I'm going to see Wicked this Wednesday night. I think it has more to do with the fact that I love to sing showtunes and I don't have any in the car.

Maybe this is the gayest thing, but I think there should be a Showtunes Hero . You know like Guitar Hero, but using show tunes. Who knows, it might be a big hit.

I got my issue of Quilter's World and saw this on the cover and decided I needed to make myself one. It was very easy and took no time at all. I used what fabric I had from my stash. Quilted the whole thing then added my applique. In the past I've always quilted around the applique, but I found this to be a lot quicker. I'm not much for applique, but I would do it this again for sure.

Have you seen Bradie new pattern Country Corral over on her facebook page? Check it out and let her know that I sent ya. I'm going to have to add this one to my to do list. It's just too cute and I love the fabric. Bradie sure does know how to make me spend money. What can I say, the girl has good taste.

Long Days

Welcome to the fist day of November and just think Christmas will be here before you know it. In fact 53 days, but who's counting.

I know it's been way to long since I have done a post and I'm sorry, but I've been busy with work. If you're a Facebook friend then you know I've been selling lots of sewing machines. I had a great Saturday. I sold six machines. That was a lot of fun. I wish I could do that everyday.

I've got a lot of projects that I would like to get done before Christmas. It's Under the Tree by Holly Berry Collection. There are 12 different blocks that make up this cute wall hanging for a total of 468,000 stitches. This might take awhile, but when you have 10 hour days that you need to kill it's all water under the bridge. I'm going to use corduroy as my outside border. The pattern calls for 1/4" black ribbon for the sashing and I'm going to use a fancy trim foot with a 3.0 twin needle to make quick work of this.

Even with me working long hours I've had some time for shopping. Here are a few items I bought that you might want to peruse or even ogle over.

A batik jelly roll and 35 FQ's. Out of the blue/green/white/brown bundle I'm going to make a quilt like this one for my Nephew:

I leave you with this one last picture to show you that I have been making some time to quilt.

Why Do Some of the Simplest Quilts Have the Most Problems?

I think that I have the answer to this question. It's because I have taken a short cut in making the quilt. It didn't turn out to be the best short cut I've ever done.

You might remember this project from some time ago. You would be so proud of me. I squared up all my blocks before I sewed the sashing on. For those of you that have been around for awhile know that I don't like to do this. I'm the type of person that like to cut once and make it fit. Always worked till a few quilts ago, but this time I thought I could get by without cutting the extra fabric off of my cheddar square, but boy was I wrong. It really made some bulk in my patchwork. When they tell you to sew it on and cut the extra there is a reason. It's made it hard to match up my seams and it does not want to iron as flat as I would like. Ya, there's two extra layers there. When I run my hands over the block I can really feel the seams.

I'm not taking 72 blocks apart just to redo this. I'm just going to move forward, get it quilted and put it on my bed. No one will ever see it but me and the BH and he will never say anything (if he knows whats best for him he will not). lol! I even think that the quilting will be a bit harder with this quilt because of the extra in the seams. Not that my Viking can't handle it. I'm just going to chalk this up as a lesson learned and not let it happen again. Next time I will take the extra time and do it right. In the long run it's worth it.

Don't make the same mistakes I've made. Take the time and cut off the extra fabric. A little extra time will make your quilt turn out nicer in the long run.

P.S. Well Amber's due date came and went with no word from her. Maybe one of these years I will get my quilts back. You will know something as soon as I know. We will do something special to celebrate.

What Kind Are You?

I'm still working on the flying geese. I had to wait a few days to get the background fabric and it just showed up last Wednesday . I spent some time cutting a yard and a half into 2 1/2" squares. Now to sew them all. When it's all said and done I'll have 336 flying geese. I'll let you know once I have the geese done if I think they're still cool. Maybe I am asking for it doing them this small. We will see.

What kind of quilter are you? What colors do you gravitate to?

I'm a traditionalist with a twist. I don't like to do things that I have seen done a hundred times before. Most of the time I come up with my own patterns. I know this may sound bad, but I like to look at a pattern and make it my own by changing a few things. I very rarely buy a pattern. Am I cheating people out of money by not buying their pattern? Maybe, but why spend money on something that I can just look at and know how to make. Yes, they have taken the time to come up with the yardages for me, but I don't want it that size or change it in such a way that the pattern does not end up working for me. You might say I want it just like that, but different. I have always done things a little different than everyone else. I march to the beat of my own drum. Everyone could be going "one, two, three, four" and I'm going "three, one, two, four". Some call it being a little off in the head or taking a ride on the short bus.

Most of the time I'm a medium to dark kind of person. Love the medium to darker colors. There are a a few times that I get on a bright kick. You know everyone needs to think out side of their comfort zone sometimes. I'm also a very matchy match person. I like to match colors closely to other and make everything blend in. They blend in so much that they are sometimes blah. They just don't have that pop factor. This is where my BH and quilt shop owner come into play. I pick out fabric and they tell me yes or throw it out. Sometime I swear they take sides with one another and team up on me. If I'm hem hawing about a fabric choice one of the two will take the others side just to get me to pick a fabric and get the hell out of the store. Don't you find you can spend hours at the quilt shop? Once the quilt is done I step back and look at the fabric choice and sometime say damn they were right with their fabric choice. It would just not have looked right with what I had chosen . I wish I had their gift of color!

I did order some more fabric for another project. I know, I know I have not finished the last few hundred quilts I have started. Here are just a few I have in the works. Does it still count as a project if I've only bought the fabric for it? I'm not even going to count the tops that I have waiting to be quilted.

I'm going to use up an old jelly roll that I have laying around collecting dust and needed to add just a little more fabric. It's Basic Grey/Urban Couture and I ordered a charm pack of this line and a Moda brown solid. You might have seen this pattern on other blogs. Right now I can't remember where I saw it. I did like it and wanted to make my own. Might change it up a bit more before it's done.

I did get an E-mail from Amber and she said she would have my quilts at my parents house sometime after 4 today. she has been under the weather and had the flu. I'll keep you posted.

Update: Just got a text message from Amber and she now needs to drop the quilts off tomorrow or Tuesday afternoon.

Recycling?

Just checking in for a few minutes to let you know how things are going here in my part of this small world.

As you can see from the picture I've been busy making some flying geese. They will be 2 x 4 once they're done. I'm using just one jelly roll, background fabric and sashing (the rust color fabric). I'll be making Dutchman Puzzle quilt blocks. I run out of the brown background fabric, and who knew that it would take a little over two yards for all these little geese. I was unable to find any at my local quilt shop so I had to order off the net. :-(

I'm using the Dandelion Girl from Fig Tree Quilts from Moda. It seems to me that Moda is recycling their prints. Take a look at the new line Mill House from Fig Tree, then Dandelion Girl, and you will see some of the same prints in a different color. Not sure that I like this idea. Can they not come up with something new for us? Are we out of ideas or is it an "if it's not broke don't fix it" type of thing? Don't get me wrong, I love Moda and what they are doing, but I like to see new fabric lines, not old ones dug up and reprinted in new colors. Am I wrong on this?

Notice the rose red and brown damask-like prints. Same fabric, different line. My local fabric store is moving away from buying Moda because of them recycling prints. She wants new and fresh and I don't blame her one bit.

Giveaway!!!!

Missouri Star Quilt Co are hosting a Jelly Roll Week, they are posting ideas and videos all week on great ways to use your Jelly Rolls. Not only are they inspiring us all, but they are having a Giveaway too! Yes, you too could be in with a chance to win a Jelly Roll, So get over there and have a look.

Flying Dandelion Girl

This is my 99th post, woot!!!

In my last post I said I was going to make a fun wall hanging, but I have yet to start that. Instead I have taken an old jelly roll from Fig Tree Quilts called Dandelion Girl and am making 2x4 flying geese with it.

What will I do with these geese once there done? I think this is the 64 thousand dollar question. I do have a few idea's, but I would like to see what you might come up with. I'm open for new idea's here. Post a comment and let me know. Here is what I have come up with:

Keep in mind that I would like to use only the flying geese and not have to add other blocks or fabrics. Bottom line is I only want to use the jelly roll and the background fabric. Sashing and a border are o.k. Post a comment and you might just see your suggestion in a blog post.

Nothing New

It's been quiet here on the home front. Not a lot going on. Work, work, work, but you did not come here to hear about that.

I've not started anything new yet and I've not even worked on the projects I have started. What have I been doing you ask? That's a good question. I don't even really know myself. Facebook is taking up some of my time. That darn Mafia Wars and Farmville. I need some black sheep if you're playing farmville.

There is a new project that I want to start, but have not yet. I think it would be quick and easy, it's from Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio.

It's a quilted tree skirt, but I think I'm going to make mine into a wall hanging with two of each block and use my left over fabric from Merry and Bright by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

pictures from Tallgrass Prairie Studio.