Thanks, Sam!

I received my DQS-7 quilt this week.  It’s so sweet!

Sam’s a busy lady!

Each time an ancient quilt of mine gets worn beyond repair (yes, 20 years will do awful things to quilts made of before-I-discovered-the-difference-quality-fabric-makes fabric!), my oldest daughter commandeers it as her own.  I am not willing to show any pictures of these shredded messes, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.  Although she is proud of these quilts and unwilling to let me send them to the great beyond, it drives me crazy to have them around.

The poor thing hasn’t had a new quilt all her own since she was a toddler, so I’m working like mad to make her one before she ends up moving out.  Here’s a little peek at what I have so far:

There’s not much to indicate the scale, here, but these are three large panels of Amy Butler solids.  They’ll make up the main body of the quilt, and all the bazoodles of these will be appliqued on somehow.

It’s a good thing that the DQS8 won’t be until after Christmas.  I need to continue to work on things that we can keep!

Aaaaaand I’m Back!

Yes, it’s been a while since I blogged.  What a nice summer vacation.  but more about that sometime soon.

DQS7!  Here’s a little peek at what I’ve been up to:

I think my swapee is going to like it.  I was inspired by a little trip to Sisters, Oregon.  I was there just two days before the big outdoor show–and I couldn’t shift our trip a single bit.

I KNOW! I cried.

But there were a large number of quilts already on display inside the businesses in town, so I got to see those.  And my over-indulgent husband wasn’t satisfied with my purchases until I had been back inside The Stitchin’ Post three times buying whatever struck my fancy.

I KNOW! I cried.

I saw a number of gorgeous and inspirational quilts from Jean Wells’ book (and when I bought the book, I found ONE copy on the shelf which had been signed by Jean!):

And while my own color choices aren’t nearly as organic, it was the technique I was more interested in playing around with.  Great fun, that!

And I think I’m finally ready to blog again.

They’re All Mine

Because I don’t have to share!

Summer Evening on the Prairie

No kids this week.  No husband, either.

This calls for a convertible ride with a friend out across the prairie through the windmills.  It was a glorious sunset!

Before There Were LOL Cats

There were WTH animals!

Even in 1999 when this Philip de Leon for Alexander Henry was produced, I wondered, “What the Heck . . .?!”  I was not entiredly enamoured of this fabric, but I thought it would be worthwhile to have some for the historical kitsch factor.  I thought the fake URL’s and email addresses were too far off base to be amusing.

So what if they didn’t exactly look like real URL’s.  Now that I’ve dug it out of the pile to take another look, I find that I really like this!  Take a close look at the hen-pecked rooster.  That hen is all, “What’s this on the credit card statement–$15 a month for World of Warcraft?!  Get off that thing right now and take care of these chicks!”

The cats are obviously planning their take-over of the internet.  That LOL Cat lexicon didn’t invent itself, you know!

Friday’s Froggies & Other Fun

Friday has rolled around again and all I can say is at least my Friday dig through the stash gets me blogging once a week!  It’s been a very creative and productive week.  The tan I’ve been developing might give the impression that all I have really been doing is sitting by the pool.  Well, maybe . . . .

My daughter has been putting some additional touches on my kitchen cupboard renovation:

She has plans for a couple more doors and a set of drawers.  She’s set up her easel and been doing a lot of other painting now that school is out.

I hit a garage sale early one morning and found this sweet vintage reptile purse:

The lady selling it was from Japan and said it had belonged to her mother.  She told me that her mother used to always carry it very properly when she was dressed in her best kimono.  Any ideas what it is?  Snake?  Some kind of lizard?  Whatever it is, it’s in pristine condition.

As psychologically taxing as it was is, I finally broke down and cut into some of my Echino by Etsuko Furuya.   I bought a great old Danish Modern chair from a thrift shop a few months back, and I’ve put off making new cushions because I’ve never done even the most basic upholstery work and it scares the heck out of me!

So far, so good, but I think I need to wrap the foam in batting.  The cushion has a definite “Grandma’s Lake Cottage Circa 1962″ feel to it at this point–although the awesome colors and fabric go a long way to counter the effect!  The extreme look of the piping is not terribly forgiving, so I’m taking further pains to make sure I get it right.  If it turns out well, I may not be able to allow my son to hide it in his room as is currently the plan!

And these fabrics just leaped out at me this week:

Please picture it also in a lime green colorway.  I know it’s in my house somewhere, but I couldn’t put my fingers on it.  This is a KP Kids print by Kari Pearson.  There was a time about 10 years back when I could not get enough KP Kids–obviously in every colorway I could find.  I had a two little kids, a baby and another baby and the adorable factor of any given fabric was a big draw for me.  The pile is deep with novelties, I know.  What can I say?  They make me very hoppy!!

Fiber Demons

Digging through the pile this past week found me confronting my fiber darlings and my fiber demons.  Old plans, defunct plans, “ooooh!  I need to put that at the top of the pile and get crackin’ on it” plans.  Who needs a therapist?  I just need a (metaphoric) shovel!

Back in the day, it was really tough to find fun, funky (read not calico) quality quilting fabrics.  I didn’t like living in Bland-Land.   I have always had a thing for highly-saturated colors.  Yes, there were novelty fabrics out there, but they weren’t top-shelf goods.  So what a nice surprise it was to find this little treasure from Thompson of California:

All fuschia and turquoise and cactus-y–with a lovely, silky feel.  And the coolest part is that it’s dated 1981!  I wasn’t even quilting in 1981.  1981 was about the time that my high school friends started to make fun of me for sewing.  What a shame that I let their jabs get to me and tucked away my little Singer until college.  I wish I could say that I stood up to them and kept at it.  The conformist monster in me wouldn’t let me sew for a few years, darn her!   At least I didn’t give it up forever.  I found this treasure in 1990 or so at Sew Quick in Royal Oak, Michigan.  I also got my first Bernina (“Betty”, my 1230) there around that same time.  I will never give up sewing again.

Friday’s Flying Fabric

Once upon a time, before Harry Potter, witches looked like this:

This is a really fun Alexander Henry fabric from 1997.  That year, my family hosted a Swedish journalist and quilter, Anita Fors.  She was researching Swedish shipwrecks in the Great Lakes and I was the only person she knew (love those friendly internet quilters!) who lived close enough to help her out.

My kids and I traveled with her to each of the five Great Lakes within the span of a week, listening in on her interviews, eating Swedish foods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where a surprising number of Swedish Americans told us tales of their Mormors (Grandmothers).  She sent us off to dreamland at night telling us elaborate Swedish folktales.

Of course, we also went to quite a few quilt shops, adding to both our piles along the way.  She thought this particular fabric was hilarious because, apparently, witches in Sweden ride their broomsticks with the straw part pointing in front of them.  Together we bought about six yards.  I still have my two.

I regret to say that I have lost track of Anita.  If you’re out there, please let me know!

Digging through the pile this week, I’ve come up with some sweet things for a give-away which I will post next week.  And not everything in my pile is a novelty, I promise.  Stay tuned!

Big Quilter’s Feet

I found my next pair of shoes.   These cuties are made of reclaimed rice bags.  Don’t you think these are the perfect quilter’s shoes?!  They’re Keen Harvest Mary Janes, and are available all over the internet.

Unless you wear a size 10 like me.  Can’t seem to find a single pair anywhere.

* Sniff!* Could somebody please hand me a tissue?

Amy Envy

I’m having a bout of Amy envy today.  So many wonderful designers and bloggers named Amy.   I love my own name and all, but some days I think I couldn’t help but be more productive my mother had just named me Amy.

These are a few of my favorite Amys (Amies? Amyn? Amae?)

Mrs. Amy Schmenkman The Mrs. Schmenkman to my Mrs. Schmenkman.

Park City Amy Whipping up new projects snip-snap!

Amy Butler Always makes me proud to be a Midwest Modern Girl!

Amy Bradley Life is always better with a smile.

Amy Schimler Love her designs!

Amy Karol Angry Chicken is always good for inspiring new projects.

I know there are many more of you out there, Amy.   Stand up and be proud.  Or if you have any other favored Amys, let me know–I’m trying to collect the whole set.