Gettin' Crafty with Chef Mama!

Twirly Skirt

2012-01-31T00:00:00.000-08:00

Pretend you don't see the ugly ironing board cover (yes, I need a new cover AND better pad on it). Now pretend this is hemmed and has elastic in the top. NOW pretend it is being worn by one of these 3:

2 Great-Nieces, 1 I claim as a Great-Niece, and another baby girl on the way! Yes, I have decided it is time to make them all Twirly Skirts! Though, I won't be making a Valentine's skirt for the baby on the way since she's not due til April. Well, that and we thought she was a boy for about a month (bad ultrasound picture). LOL! But these 3 shall have a sweetheart twirly skirt for Valentine's Day from Aunt Lori the Great! : )

Heart/Watercolor Quilt finished!

2012-01-30T00:03:00.000-08:00

I finished the Watercolor Quilt/Valentine's Quilt! I just need to measure it so I can list it on Etsy. I want to redo the pics with my camera, though. We used Natalie's b/c my battery wasn't charged. I'll see how these look but really like the way my old Kodak Easy Share (it's from 2004 & still takes great shots!) takes pics. I've been using my phone mostly b/c my computer doesn't recognize the USB port when I plug in my camera or phone. It's a pain to send a pic to Facebook, transfer to computer, then edit & upload. Isn't that crazy! Just 10 years ago all I could do was take a picture & send it to be developed when I finished the roll! How easily we get spoiled!

Without further blah, blah, blah, I present the quilt:

It's double sided. I think it's about 42" square. Will measure tomorrow & list on Etsy.

My second Watercolor Quilt

2012-01-28T11:05:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd one I've made. I chose shades more in the purple family. I like this more than the first one.

I've finished quilting the first one, which I put on the back of the Valentine Quilt. I hope to finish binding it today & list it on Etsy! Then I'll quilt & bind this one. I also am hoping to make some little skirts for my great nieces, but need their mommies to send me measurements. Funny, my 13 year old and 15 year old daughters won't let me make little twirly skirts for them out of Valentine's Fabric. LOL!

Thanks for stopping by!

Watercolor with Fabric

2012-01-18T23:53:00.000-08:00

This is my first attempt at a watercolor quilt. I wanted something for the back of the Heart wall hanging so it would be more versatile and found this pattern. I'm not loving the fabrics together but love the idea and now I want to find more watercolor quilt patterns! This isn't all sewn together but mostly is. I have a 2nd one cut out to try soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Hearts

2012-01-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

Just a fun little wall hanging quilt top I put together this week. I found some darling Valentine's Day fabric, but of course it is too late to do much with them now in time for February 14th. I thought this little one might be just a little cutie to hang on someone's wall.

I love the tutorials at the Missouri Star Quilt Company. This one was made with a solid red heart and border with a charm pack of various fabrics for the in between section. I thought these 3 fabrics would be cute. It is very busy! It needs to be quilted still, but wanted to post it for you to see!

Hope you have a happy heart today!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-14T23:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since November! December came and went in a flash! I hope you are having a great new year. I just finished a project that was requested by a customer. This is a rag quilt made with cranberry and navy shades, along with some tan for a neutral. There's a touch of green in the cute quilt print designs, too. I hope this will bring lots of comfort and warmth to my customer!

Quilted Caroler

2011-11-23T00:53:00.000-08:00

Here is the other version of The Caroler Quilt

Stay tuned!

2011-11-22T06:51:00.000-08:00

Buried in quilts! Quiting the last of 3 I have put together. Next I need to finish piecing one & then Natalie & I will be working on rag quilts. Yea!

Here's a picture of one I finished quilting:

Come back to see more in the next day or 2!

Hallelujah Day Pictures (or why I haven't quilted)

2011-11-02T21:43:00.000-07:00

I'm going to start this post a little differently than the typical "Look what I did today" post. I want to discuss a topic that is very much a "hot button" for Christians. On October 31st there is a celebration that happens every year. That's what most people think. When most folks hear the date "October 31st" one word comes to mind: Halloween. For me, it is a different story.

First, October 31st is celebrated in our family for a different reason. It is my Mom's birthday. It also happens to be the day after my Sister-in-law's birthday. My mom turned 75 this year! If you didn't see her story on Facebook and want to know how amazing it is that she is here, starting with her birth, ask me & I'll share it with you. I won't share my SIL's age. When she's 75 & we start counting birthdays again I might. LOL!

Next, October 31st was the day many, many, many years ago that Martin Luther (the German, not ML King) nailed his 500 theses to the door of a monastery. Here is how I remember that story going and you are free to correct me. He had joined the monastery. As he studied the Word of God (the Bible), he began to see fallacies in the teachings of the church in Germany at that time. He wrote these down and on 10/31 in that year a LONG, LONG time ago, he nailed it to the door of the monastery. Today, the Lutheran church is named after him and many protestant churches would say they were "born" out of that event.

Okay, so for the rest of the folks, 10/31 is Halloween. Most of us grew up loving this day. Candy, costumes, candy, more candy, and more candy....what wasn't to love? We dressed in cheap nylon costumes with plastic masks (remember those with the tiny elastic that always broke?). Sometimes we might have a homemade costume. As I got older I'd make my own costume. In college I was a blue Crayon one time! I loved dressing up. Of course, there was always the invasion of witches, ghosts, and goblins and a haunted house or 2. I never liked the super scary, though, so it was the "fun" witch stuff. Stay with me if you're already tuning out with those words!

Many of us grew up and as we grew in our faith in the Lord we started learning what the origins of Halloween were. The Druids, the pagans, etc. Though, originally, if I remember correctly, that was a whole different event that later got tied in with the superstition of Halloween (appeasing evil spirits) the night before All Saints Day in the Catholic church. It made me want nothing to do with Halloween. At all. I would even hear Christians say that it was the devil's day. It was a day of evil. It was a day that we should avoid.

Then I heard some wisdom from a dear sister in the Lord. It was as simple as this, "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Ps. 118:24. She told me that she realized that by saying it was the devil's day we were giving him the glory. EVERY day is God's day. Did she mean we should go celebrate Halloween? No. But she did remind me that we need to claim EACH day as a gift from God to not give our enemy a foothold.

Next came the issue of what to do with kids on 10/31. When they were little it was easy: Celebrate Mammaw's birthday! We weren't home to deal with the trick or treaters, etc. As they got a bit bigger I thought we might go to some fall festivals, though I wondered if kids still saw those as Halloween and didn't make the distinction that it was to celebrate the good things of the Lord. I THOUGHT that's what we'd do. But things don't always work as we think they will. We discovered our elder child had autism. Mild, but autism none the lest. We tried a church festival. It didn't work. In fact, it failed. Miserably. The poor child had the deer in the headlights look the whole night and did NOTHING. I knew this was not going to work for us.

Somewhere along the line I decided to hand out candy. I wanted to share the BEST treat of all: the love of Jesus. So, I made up some little cards that said "Jesus is the sweetest treat of all" with a Bible verse. I knew kids well enough (I had a degree in kids, after all) to know that that alone would get tossed. So I attached it to candy and handed it out. Sweet little Bethany, all of 3 or 4 at the time, knew people would come for candy, but didn't understand the whole concept. She asked me, "When are the friends coming?"

As much as we tried to avoid the ugliness that comes with Halloween, it was impossible to do. People decorate for that day around here like it's Christmas. And in stores, you just can't avoid it. I'll never forget the day we were in the grocery store parking lot and tiny Bethany (only 3 or so) asked me, "Who's the white guy?" She spoke early, and clearly. And literally. I had no idea this was part of Asperger Syndrome (her form of autism) at the time. Turned out the "white guy" was a huge ghost atop the store entry.

After much debating & praying, we decided to try trick or treating with the girls. First, dressing up was no problem. Most kids love to dress up now & then. My kids loved to dress up daily. They were often "in character." From Cleopatra to the "Nerds" to dj's, and so much more, we never knew who they would be from day to day. Of course they loved candy. As my niece recently wrote, "A day for dressing up and candy. What's NOT to love?" LOL! I decided to use this event, this going from house to house dressed in costume begging for candy, as a social skills lesson. After all, who doesn't want their kids growing up to beg from others? Just kidding. For Bethany, it was an opportunity for her to practice on grand scale looking at people and saying words to them. It was scripted, "Trick or treat." She didn't have to converse. She did have to follow up with "Thank you," though. Now, if anyone asked a question, I'd have to feed her words to say. For Natalie all of these reasons were a non-issue. She's adhd. She loved the fall festival. She was happy to play every game---if she could win. She still leads the charge on 10/31 and determines which houses have people home or not and precisely how long to stay at each door.

From the beginning of the "white guy" I've been telling the girls how we don't celebrate evil. We've talked repeatedly about how death is NOT something to be celebrated, mocked, and glorified. I don't mean to be this way, but I have to admit that I am literally repulsed by cemeteries in people's yards and costumes that are images of death and evil. The people don't repulse me. I know under the costume is a human. But I am just super sensitive to these things. Maybe because I lost a brother when he was 17. I've seen too many people die early. Death is only beautiful when it is the passing of a believing soul into the arms of Jesus. But killing of people, or the depiction of it, is not beautiful. I could barely get through Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl when Natalie & I had to read it.

Some of you will agree with me. Some of you will adamantly disagree with me. That's okay. My convictions are not yours, and yours are not mine. We are to hold one another accountable, but ultimately, we have to stand before the Lord with our accounts.

Above are this year's costumes for 10/31. Nat wanted a Renaissance dress and we hope to find a family friendly fair to visit next year. She just can't grow much. LOL! Bethany created her cat costume. The red hair is just because she wanted to see it redder than it's natural reddish-strawberry color and knew I'd only let her do it that day.

Below are some of the MANY costumes they've had over the years. BTW, Bethany is currently filming and producing a movie for a homeschool literature project and was dressed up today as a man from the 1860's. Dress up is NOT just for Halloween!

"When I grow up I want to be a pig." Natalie, age 3

Red boots go with EVERYTHING!

They even made the grandmothers dress up!

About the title of this post: I used to call 10/31 Hallelujah Day. I then thought of the meaning of the word "Halloween." Hallow: holy, E'en: evening. Holy Evening. I like that. It's not what the originators meant it to be. It's not what 99% of folks today mean it to be. But it's a name I like. A reminder to live holy lives daily. May every evening be a Holy Evening and may every day be one in which we rejoice that THIS is the day the Lord has made!

Sale! 20% Off at my Etsy Shop!

2011-11-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Don't wait for Black Friday! Go shopping at my Etsy shop today and save 20% off every item with this coupon code: 20NOV11 I have several table runners for fall and Thanksgiving. Some are reversible for Christmas. I will be adding more bags as the month goes on. You can use the coupon code as often as you like, so if you shop now then want to buy more in a week, use it again!

Click here: Chef Mama on Etsy

In other news, if you haven't heard, I am a Pampered Chef consultant again! It's been nearly 2 years since I went inactive. It's been 10 1/2 years since I became a consultant the first time. I have my first live show next Friday night (the 11th). It hasn't really sunk in that I am a consultant again but when I looked through the catalog I did get excited. I use Pampered Chef products all day long. Since we have to cook from scratch most of our food due to the gluten issues, I am blessed to have been able to acquire most of my PC products free when I was a consultant before. I am so used to the quality that I forget how great it is until I am somewhere without these tools! If you'd like more info about the products or how you can order them, let me know. I currently have a Mystery Host catalog show going and you could win the Host Benefits---free products and more!

Finally, an update on our dear Katie. She was able to go home from the hospital, but is not doing well. Her husband said that she is unconscious most of the time with pain medication. Please keep praying for this dear family and if you would like to help, click on the link in my sidebar. Thanks!

Hope you have a blessed day!

Free Shipping at my Etsy shop!

2011-10-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

This week only I'm offering FREE SHIPPING at my ETSY SHOP! This is for any US address only. Just enter FSOCT11 in the coupon code box.

Here are a few new items in my shop:

Rag Bag using Moda's Summer House


Reversible Table Runner with Fall on one side, Christmas on the back


Reversible Christmas Table Runner with close up of back

I have a few more items in the process of being completed. There's a Christmas quilt with Moda's Basic Grey Fruitcake fabric, another bag with Moda's Summer House fabric and 2 quilts that are waiting to be quilted. I will add pictures of those soon so check back!

I would love to have you share this special with your friends. Feel free to blog all about it!

Have a blessed day!

Help for Katie's Family

2011-10-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

My friend Katie is an amazing woman living with stage 4 gastric cancer. She should "not be alive" now according to the doctors. When she was diagnosed they thought she'd have less than 6 months. In December it will be a year. Less than 2 weeks ago she went into the hospital with her tumor bleeding. Her only "chances" were for the tumor to stop on it's own or for radiation to possibly help IF she could even get radiation. If neither happened, they would be transporting her to the Hospice center and keep her comfortable. We know her situation is still precarious but we also know we have a God who is even more amazing than our dear Katie. Katie is currently AT HOME. The radiation was approved and in working to stop the bleeding.

With this going on for Katie, her husband Kevin, and their 3 sons, life is still managing to happen around them. In the Renz family birthdays seem to happen to the males in the fall. The twin boys will be turning 6 in November and the middle school son will have a birthday in December. I think Kevin's is soon, too. Christmas comes soon after that. We hope and pray that Katie will be here to celebrate all of these. We do know that this year shopping for Birthday and Christmas gifts will be a challenge, so my friend Emily has spearheaded a group to help the family in this area. If you'd like to help, please join the proboards group "Operation Renz Family" at THIS location. In the near future there will be a way to donate immediately from that site.

Please continue to keep this dear family in your prayers. Thank you!

Swimming for Katie

2011-10-10T18:21:00.000-07:00

Swimming for Katie Blog Hop (click here)

Usually it is exciting to be among the first to know something. There is that joy of excitement and anticipation, as when you know someone is expecting a baby or getting married, before it's made public. Other times, it is an honor, but one with a heavy heart, that you are among the first to learn news. Last December I received an e-mail from a friend who had received Katie Renz' permission to share with me a trial she was facing. There was a possibility that she might have cancer. Katie is one of my dear online stamping friends, and I was all too eager to pray for her. Just weeks before we had said our good-byes and buried my dear friend Linda who lost her battle with cancer, but gained eternal life. The summer of 2010 I sat in the "friend chair" in two infusion centers while two of my best friends received chemotherapy. Learning of Katie's possible cancer was simply surreal, but one I was all too familiar with.

As most of you know, Katie was diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer in December. She spent Christmas in the hospital, a time that was supposed to be spent at Disneyland on vacation with her husband and 3 boys. Her cancer was inoperable, but she has been on a steady regimen of chemotherapy. During a break from the chemo her family took that trip to Disney! And to show you a touch of Katie's tenacity, check out this picture:

During another break in her chemo routine, Katie got a motorcycle endorsement! Something Katie & I have in common is husbands with a love for riding fast motorcycles. I guess the "fast" goes without saying when you mention motorcycles. Katie is far braver than I, however, as she also drives a motorcycle!

Katie is fighting this cancer with all she's got, but she also is dealing with this with a big dose of reality. In her last post, she talked about going shopping with her husband. Not for shoes or clothes, but for cemetery plots, coffins and headstones. That's Katie, thinking of things ahead of time so if/when the time comes, Kevin will not have to make those choices. She's not given up hope, though. She still uses the phrase, "short of a miracle," knowing that could happen.

Today a wonderful group of Katie's friends and stamping comrades have posted a blog hop as a way for others to help Katie, Kevin and the boys in a very practical way. Cancer not only takes a toll physically and emotionally, but also financially, even with the best of insurance policies. On this blog hop, you will have the opportunity to donate directly to help the Renz family as well as purchase some "digi stamps" with the cost also going to the family. You will also find Katie's mailing address if you'd like to send a card.

Please pray for this dear lady and her family. We are all still hoping for that miracle.

Fall Projects

2011-09-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

With a new school year started, time has been slipping away. Along with our typical homeschooling at home, we also are part of a homeschool co-op where parents take turns teaching classes, as well as a Girl Scout troop (with girls from Kindergarten through high school). My projects have taken a back seat, but it's time to get them finished, so I've been busy this week getting everything to the point of quilting.

Here are a few of the things I'm working on:

Maple Leaf Table Runner (2 of these, slightly different variations)

Patchwork Table Runner (2 of these). These will have scalloped edges!

From Mary Engelbreit's fabric collection, "The Caroler."

I would like opinions here. I started with 2 panels and had the "turnovers" (triangles) in the same fabric line already. I used those to border the panel. To me, this could be a finished piece (with a border, quilting and binding) OR I could add several wide borders to make it a lap quilt. Currently these are about 20" x 30". What do you think?

Thanks for stopping by!

Items listed and Quilt Tops finished!

2011-08-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today I listed the patriotic rag quilt on Etsy along with a set of hot pads/trivets. I have a few more sets to list of those.

Front

Back

I also finished a quilt top and took pictures of another quilt top I finished the other day. This is the one that I did a "mock up" of in Photoshop several months ago. I finally got it all put together. I think it needs a border before I quilt it. I don't think I have more of the fabric I used for sashing, though.

Do you love the little netbook on top of the ironing board? We are such nerds that we often have it on while watching a movie because inevitably someone will ask, "Who is playing that part?" The hunt begins and leads down a winding road of all sorts of useless info!

I'm almost done with a 3rd. Now the fun part begins: Quilting!

Natalie thinks she might want this one for her new bedspread. I do know whether she does or doesn't I'll be keeping this one with the Amy Butler fabrics in it.

Now to feed my family. I decided to cook 3 types of meat at once tonight so I only had to have the oven on once this week. Should be enough to last all week & then some. Thank the Lord for food to eat when our pennies are pinched way too tight!

Ta ta for now!

New items to list on Etsy

2011-08-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

Here are some quick shots of the things I need to list on Etsy. Need to take good pics of the quilt & edit the ones of the hot pads/trivets.

Will update when I have them on Etsy!

Pink Bags!

2011-08-25T14:09:00.000-07:00

Last year when I started making things for my craft fairs, I found some Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon fabric to use. I made a few things with it and had quite a bit still in my stash. My dear friend Kathy was right in the middle of chemo for her breast cancer, following surgery, so we were totally absorbed in all things PINK! When I looked through a book by Amy Butler called Style Stitches, a book full of patterns and how-to's for making bags, I wanted to try this Teardrop style bag. The little key keeper bag is a similar style, so I decided to make both sizes of purses and a little coin bag to go with them.

Both of the purses have long handles. When I find my over the door hanger I'll take some better pics showing the handles. There is a large slip pocket inside of each bag, too. The purses have a magnetic snap top. The large one will have either a bow or rosette on the front. That's because my iron got a little heat happy and smudged a bit where the magnets are. UGH! It doesn't effect the strength of the fabric, just the looks. So, the purse will get an extra detail! The little bag has a tiny loop on it so you could use a latch or split key ring to attach your keys or attach the little bag to a bigger one. It also has a slip pocket on the inside.

While I used the same main fabric on all 3, each of the coordinating pink colors is slightly different. The small purse (with the strap), has a mottled bright pink fabric as the handle and band. The large purse and the key keeper each have a solid pink, but slightly different in shade, as the band (and handle on the purse). The 3 shades of pink do still coordinate so this could be given as a set.

With October coming quickly, a month when we remember those with breast cancer and make an effort to find more ways to end this horrible disease, maybe you know someone who might be cheered up with a purse reminding her that we are fighting for her life! I'll be adding these to my Etsy store soon, but if you are interested in purchasing one before that, let me know.

Have a super day!

Potato Baking Bags on Etsy!

2011-08-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

I've listed several of the Amazing Potato (and more) bags on my etsy site! www.chefmama.etsy.com I can make these in any 100% cotton fabric. I just had a few left from the craft fairs in the styles shown. I will be listing more things next week. I love referrals & would love for you to pass my blog and etsy sites along to anyone who might be interested in my items! Thanks!

Goals

2011-08-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Do I still have a few readers out in blog land? Life has just stayed busy here. I wanted to let you know I really want to build up my Etsy shop. I have so many projects that I've started & need to finish. I also have set a goal to complete 1 or 2 bags/purses per week. It may be for the shop, may be custom orders, or may be for myself. I just need to be consistent. I'm feeling like I should complete some things I've started, yet it is hard as some are seasonal, but not THIS season. I'm still working on a patriotic rag quilt. I want to get it done, but I'm not sure who will be looking for such a thing this time of year. I would like to get started on some Fall and Christmas type projects to sell. I have little things that I sold at Craft Fairs. I am not sure how well they would sell on Etsy. I may just list them here instead.

I said last year I was going to have a big giveaway, but I never did. That is something I want to do. However, I really want my blog and my Etsy shop up to date before I do that. I'd like to put a gallery on my blog. I need some help doing that, so will hunt for a tutorial. If any of you have done this on your blog, feel free to share how to do that. I don't want the type where the pictures move across the screen b/c it takes so long to load, even on my high speed internet enabled computer.

If you own a Loribelle Bag, I will soon be sending you a note asking for some help in spreading the word about my business. Again, I want to have more in stock and an updated blog when I do that.

Right now I am just sweatin' like an oldie (LOL!) in our unbelievable heat. The summer of window units in our house has left me really missing central air! At least the unit in the craft room keeps me comfortable when I sew.

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be updating things soon, I hope!

Reversible Table Runner

2011-08-01T13:16:00.000-07:00

Click on any picture to enlarge

Do you like multi-functional items? If I've shared this story before, just humor me and pretend I haven't. LOL! At my mom's house, she has placemats that my mother-in-law made for her with a Thanksgiving print on one side and a Christmas print on the other. We have started a silly annual tradition for Thanksgiving night or the day after when several of us are at the table. It's the changing of the placemats. We count to three and welcome in the Christmas season! That, and we put up my parents' tree and help Mom decorate it.

I took that idea and used it with this table runner. Beautiful fall and Christmas prints are so hard for me to resist. This is a way to showcase these fabrics instead of having them cut into small pieces for quilts. I've taken the fabrics, lined them with a batting to protect your table and also act as a "hot pad." I used a large grid quilting design in green to coordinate the two sides.

This table runner is listed on my Etsy site along with my other items for sale. I'd love for you to share my blog and my site with a friend who might enjoy my items! Thanks!

Casserole Carrier for ANY Size Dish, Pan, Bowl or WHATEVER!

2011-07-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Covered Dish Dinner (mistyped that's Sinner, which might be more fitting!). Pot Luck Lunch. Pitch In. Carry In. 5th Sunday Lunch. Thanksgiving. Christmas. Funeral meals.

We've all had times we needed to take food to an event and we wanted an easy way to carry it without burning ourselves. Or we had a salad that we put in our Tupperware super jumbo bowl and it wouldn't fit in a cooler. Enter the Casserole Carrier!

I saw an idea last year & decided to try it out. I've tweaked it to make it "my own" but the idea is still the same. I've bought patterns for casserole carriers before, but they had a million pieces and once made, would only fit ONE size dish. As most my readers know, I am a former Pampered Chef consultant, so I have WAY more than one size dish! LOL! If PC makes it in a certain size, I very likely own something in that size!

I realized that just looking at one picture of this it might not make sense, so I decided to do a "tutorial" of how to use one of these casserole carriers. I'll also put the measurements at the end and a short "how to make" tutorial. I can't reprint the original design (and I've seen it more than one place) but I can give you my spin on it.

First, the coolest thing about this carrier is that it is a "multi-tasker." Yes, I did borrow that line from Alton Brown. I suspect he finds some PC items useless since they appear to be single-taskers, but I can find more than one use for almost any kitchen tool. : ) Besides toting your dish to those dinners, you can use the decorative side for a table quilt/runner. Also, because I line these with cotton batting or insulated batting, they are also hot pads for your dishes to protect your table. With this batting, it means they carry cold foods as well as hot. Another fun idea: load up your picnic items that don't need to go in the cooler into the middle, pull up the straps, carry the items to the park and you have a tablecloth AND all your goodies to go along with the food!

On to the tutorial! First, lay out your carrier with the strap side up. Lay your dish on that side UNDER the strap.

Next, pull up one of the corners with the loop or ring (I've done these with both metal loops and rings) and insert the strap through this.

Pull up the opposite loop/ring and put the strap through that.

Pull the strap and VOILA! You now have an easy to carry dish!

I took pictures using 3 different size pans so you could see it works with different sizes.

Deep Covered Baker

Large Round Stone (AKA Pizza Stone)

Metal Sheet Pan

If you'd like to buy one of these, I have a couple on my Etsy site http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChefMama?ref=si_shop, but I also can make one in the colors and prints of your choice. Just send me a message and we'll get started!

For those who would like to make your own, here are my VERY basic directions. I use about a yard of two different fabrics to make 2 carriers, or if you want the front & back to be the same, just get 1 yard of one fabric. If you don't want to add a border, you can probably use just 3/4 of a yard. 2/3 might even work. Since most fabric is ABOUT 44" wide, half of this is 22" wide. I cut 2 squares 22" w & l. I use the extra bit of fabric to make a strap (I put batting in my strap, make a tube, sew & turn). If you want to make a border, cut the square smaller than 22" and add the border to make the finished piece about 22" on all sides. Cut a piece of cotton batting or Insul-Bright 22" also.

Make your strap the diagonal of the square: Measure from one corner diagonally to the opposite corner. Make your straps slightly longer than this. Just make a tube as mentioned above, about 2" wide finished, so you'll want the fabric to be about 4 1/4" wide to start and use 1/4" seam. Lay the finished strap diagonally on the square from corner to corner. You can baste this on or pin it on at this point.

Layer your fabrics: One fabric right side up, the other fabric right side down, then the batting. The straps should be sandwiched between the 2 right sides of fabric. Sew around the edges and turn. I quilt it after I've turned it. You could do this like a real quilt and just layer the fabric right sides out, quilt, then add a binding. Your choice. I just do the easiest way!

If I make loops I make them about 8" long, I think. I just sew them on by topstitching VERY well. If I add metal rings, I make a short strip tube about 4" long. I insert the loops and again topstitch these on. I add these to the quilted carrier so the stitches go through all layers. You could add these before you sew the layers together if you don't want stitches showing, but I think it adds stability to the carrier to do this through all layers.

Ta-Da! You're done! Enjoy!

To be 2 again---a Twirly Skirt!

2011-07-22T20:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the story about the man who asked his wife what she wanted for her birthday and, looking longingly into a mirror, she answered: To be 8 again. He took his wife to the amusement park and they rode all the kiddy rides. They ate cotton candy and candy apples. He took her to the park where they played hopscotch and swung on the swings. When they got home he asked his wife, "Did you have a good time today dear?" She said, "Yes, but when I said I wanted to be 8 again, I meant my SIZE!"

While I wouldn't mind being 8 again in size, I'd rather be a two in age. Have you see the darling clothes for little girls? My girls were too active for me to have time to sew when they were young, so I'm finding all kinds of cute stuff I can make my great nieces. If I find time! We are in the middle of making a big gift for my older great niece who turned two yesterday. Her party is tomorrow. The present won't get finished. We wanted her to have a little something to open at her party. When we saw this top at the store, I told the girls, "I'm going to make her a skirt tonight and we're getting this top!" ~~I used my phone camera to take the picture and it doesn't do justice to the colors. I'll take some with my camera later. I was too lazy to run upstairs and grab the real camera!~~ Pictures updated!

I had these fabrics in my stash, so I knew I could make something to match that top. We ran by Hobby Lobby and found the ribbon. One lesson learned: as I ironed the skirt, the dots on the ribbon started to come off. If you use a printed ribbon, I guess you need to iron from the back of the garment so it doesn't cause the ink to come off on the design.

I still need to sew the elastic into place, but wanted to show you this sweet little set. It looks big enough for my girls to wear it, but it is really only a size 24 mos. Just the camera angle makes it look big.

Doesn't this little skirt make you want to have another baby? NO??? Well, honestly, me neither. Having babies in the family is enough to make me happy. Since one of my kids woke me up during the night this week, and she's 12 (ear infection), I'll happily let others do the all night shift. I will, however, keep making cute clothes and might have to make some to sell!

Thanks for stopping by. Guess I need to create a birthday card tonight! Do I still know how to stamp? I'll find out!

New Loribelle Bags!

2011-07-17T01:27:00.000-07:00

I've just listed 2 bags on my etsy site (www.chefmama.etsy.com) and have one more I'll list tomorrow. I have several bags waiting for me to love on them (ie sew them together) so they can have a spotlight in the Etsy shop.

How fun are these triangle bags? Natalie says, "Well, they are different." Yes, they are! But they are SO roomy. I used the same method as I did when making my chicken pincushions, but lined them and put in a zipper instead of filling with sand. Of course, if you WANT sand in your bag....

The blue and green one is quilted, which makes it stand up better than the black one. The black one, though, is soft and foldable. Both are fully lined and roomy. I even put a mason jar inside to show how much room is inside of them!

I've also made up a cute little clutch in the blue and green floral. It's on my Etsy site now.

Phew, no spaghetti sauce or pudding stains on my cabinet! This is the cabinet that did have paint on it once, or maybe twice, when the girls painted our kitchen floor red. I am SO glad they are big now and don't paint the floors any more!

Thanks for stopping by!

Quilted and BRIGHT with silly on the side

2011-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who answered my question about to sash or not to sash. I went with the majority and sashed this one. I'm sure I'll do others which I won't sash. Here it is with the sashing. I still need to put borders in the teal, then add a final border around that. Maybe something, um, not so bright! LOL!

Now let me show you how much fun it is taking pictures with my kids. I asked them to hold the quilt, as pictured above. First, Bethany tried standing in FRONT of the quilt. We solved that problem. Then, as I was about to click, this is what I got:


Goofball holding the quilt; sister wondering what just happened. Notice her hand in mid-air!

I tell them to be serious & let me take a picture. Or not:


Bethany, still wearing her cow costume from Chick-fil-A's Cow Appreciation Day, is not A-MOOZED!

I took the serious picture, then said, "You can be silly now." Obstinate children:

I'll share the finished product, well, when it's finished!

Laptop, Netbook or I-pad/Tablet bags

2011-07-08T17:25:00.000-07:00

How would you like a one of a kind bag or envelope cover for your portable computer? Here are some I've made and can custom design in your colors to fit your electronic device.

Fun stitching and applique!

Back of bag

Loops for removable strap

Pretty flowers inside!

Fun Curvy striped Bag for my friend Emily!

Just some fun little touches---ribbon to match! Love Hobby Lobby!

Back with loops for removable strap (made out of the matching ribbon)

Fun little make-up bag Emily ordered. Love this! Pockets inside, too!

Contact me for more info if you'd like to order a custom designed bag! I'll be adding more bags to my Etsy site as they become available. www.chefmama.etsy.com

I made this!

2011-07-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited my Etsy shop in awhile, I've listed several items and hope to get some more listed soon! Here's a sampling:

Casserole Carrier/Table Quilt in One!

Fun Pink Purse


Another Fun Pink Purse!

And here's a project Phil & I started about 13 years ago. It's an ongoing piece of work. And, yes, there is a story for this, but that will have to wait!

My Latest Creation

2011-07-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

I'll have pictures for you of my lastest sewing creation soon. We are going to my Mom-in-law's & will retrieve our camera so my phone cam can take a break!

My latest creation, however, has nothing to do with sewing. I also don't think you'd want to see pictures of it. You see, I've "birthed" yet another kidney stone. This one was the most painful of the 5 I've had in my life (4 of those being this year). I landed in the ER once, had a stent put in and had to wait a week to have the surgery to remove the stone because I'd taken ibuprofen for pain. Trust me, I would have taken anything for pain at that point! Surgery was on June 30th and today, July 3, I am finally feeling well enough to drive to my MIL's house to celebrate the holiday. Freedom. FREEDOM---from kidney stones! There are no more inside of me! Praise the Lord!

Now, if I can keep from CREATING any more stones, I'll be one happy camper!

Have a BLESSED 4th of July celebrating the freedom we have in America. For those outside the US, and for my American friends, I pray we will celebrate a freedom that is far bigger and greater: the freedom from a life spent separated from God through Jesus paying the price for our sin.

Stars, Stripes and Fireworks Table Runner---almost!

2011-06-25T01:12:00.000-07:00

Almost finished table runner. Click the picture to see larger image.

Some of you know that my plans to finish a table runner and a quilt this week were thwarted by 2 major events. First, our central air conditioning went out. We put in 2 small window units in the bedrooms and pretty much left the house for the weekend when we could. We've added a large unit downstairs and have one for the upstairs, but the landlord and my husband have been busy & that one is last priority....at least for them. LOL! I've worked slowly in there when it was late enough that the fan kept me from being too hot.

The next event was a sequel to an earlier event this year. THE REVENGE OF THE KIDNEY STONE! No sooner had I canceled an "extra" appointment we'd left open "Just in case" when I started having some signs that my last kidney stone was moving. On Sunday night I was in severe pain, but after taking Vicodin & waiting an hour, the pain settled & was gone all day Monday. Well, until about 11 p.m. I told the girls they had to get to bed so I could take the meds (I didn't want to be knocked out before they went to bed). Turns out I should have just taken the pills. Though, they didn't really do anything. By 1:30 a.m. I was in tears in the kitchen. The girls woke up and came to check on me. The beauty of having a take-charge (you can read that as bossy if you'd like!) kid is that in situations like this, she takes charge. She asked if I wanted her to get Daddy up. I cried, "No, just wait 5 more minutes to see if the medicine works." One more crying outburst was all it took for her to tell me she WAS waking up Daddy. We spent 2-4 in the ER.

Bottom line: I had a stent put in today & will have a shock treatment next week to break up the stone. Unfortunately, the ER people prescribed Motrin along with the hydrocodone (vicodin). I hadn't been using ibuprofen much after being told by 2 doctors to slow down on it. Then I took some. Thursday morning. The day I saw the dr. Turns out you can't have the shock treatment until you've been off ALL blood thinners for a week. Thus, the 2 procedures.

Closer look at front & stitching. Click the picture to enlarge.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch. Or the hot house in this case, I managed to piece and quilt the table runner. I have not bound it yet, so in the picture you see an unfinished product. I will be listing this on Etsy for $35 plus shipping. However, if you or someone you know would like this, I will sell it to you for $30 plus shipping. We can do basic priority or if you want it for the 4th & want to have me ship it faster we can do expedited shipping. It will be bound by the time I send it, of course! And any little bits of thread removed, of course. I typically prefer to show you a finished product, but thought I'd put this one out there for my readers before offering it to the Etsy crowd.

I used free motion quilting using some squiggles and wiggles in the striped areas. Then I used a meandering stitch and stars on the printed pieces. Straight stitching was used for the stripes. If you click the picture of the back (the solid red) you can probably see the design in the stitching better. Remember, this isn't finished so loose threads show up. The thread is ALL red. It just looks light because of the flash. The whitish that you see around the quilt is cotton batting. I like to use cotton batting on table runners so they can withstand the heat of hot dishes, working as a hot pad and table runner in one. This will be trimmed off and I will have red binding around the edges.

Finished this table runner will be just under 20" by 50".

If you are interested or know someone who is, let me know ASAP so I can hold it for you.

Thanks for dropping by!

Stars, Stripes and Bombs Bursting in Air!

2011-06-18T23:26:00.000-07:00

I have had this patriotic fabric for YEARS. I got it when the girls were little enough to wear something made out of it. They are SO beyond those years. Of course, I would still totally wear something made out of a funky print! LOL!

This is the beginning of a table topper. I'll make one more square, then add a backing and quilt it. I'll bind it and list it on etsy. Hopefully can finish by Monday or Tuesday. I'm also going to make a patriotic rag quilt, so be on the lookout for that. If you'd like to visit my etsy shop to see what's in store, just click here: Lori's Etsy.

Our air conditioner is out (thankful to borrow 2 window units), so I am one hot mama wishing you a wonderful day!

NOTE: If you sew something with a one way design (notice the fireworks "spray" downward), be sure to have your fabric facing the right way. I discovered on my 2nd set of these that I'd turned one piece so the fireworks went sideways! Might be cool in real life, but not on fabric. LOL!

To Sash or not to Sash, that is the question.

2011-06-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

I cut a bunch of charm squares (5" squares of fabric) using my nifty Sizzix 5" square cutter out of leftover fabrics I had in semi-coordinating colors. Bright colors. VERY BRIGHT. I'd thought I might list packs of charm squares for sale, but decided these weren't my best attempt at cutting them right. I hadn't ironed all the fabric, so some was wrinkled when I cut it, then when I ironed it after cutting, it was bigger than when wrinkled. Not good. Still, they were fine for me to use & adjust to the right size. Then I saw this video done with 10" squares. It's Suzanne McNeil from Design Originals. She has a very southern accent. Mine isn't that strong (if you haven't heard my voice). She sounds like someone's grandma or aunt. I'm sure she's "Aint Suzayn" to someone the way my mom is "Aint Jane" (Aunt Jan). LOL!

The light went off and I thought, "I could use 5" squares!" And so I did! This is what I came up with:

Here's another view of all 5 rows/columns in 2 pics. Sorry these are a tad blurry. My MIL has our camera as she just took it on her HONEYMOON!!!

This will need a border or two. But the question I'm stuck on is: does it need sashing? It's meant to be scrappy/eclectic. But, does it need something to break up the squares? If you aren't familiar with quilt terms sashing is a strip of fabric between fabric squares. Something like this borrowed from How to Quilt :

Here is the same type quilt without sashing:

Of course, with all crafts & art, 99% of the decision as to how to make things is opinion. Some people like sashing, some don't. Also, some people like brights, some don't. On our quilt shop hop, my friends Kathy, Danette & I discovered that we were all drawn to different types of fabric. K's & D's style is more similar in some areas than my style would be (they like the classic deep floral look), yet in other ways, K & I had very similar tastes (we both love batiks and rich jewel tones especially). Danette also likes polka dots!

Knowing that, I'd like to get opinions about my bright quilt as far as sashing or no sashing. IF you think I need sashing, do you think one solid color (and which one) or a more subtle print picking up the variety of colors? What color/type of border/s would you use?

Thanks!

What's going on here?

2011-06-10T20:37:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks were consumed with getting ready for my Mother In Law's wedding.Yes, my MIL, age 75 married a wonderful 82 year old man! We lost my FIL in February of 2008 & this man lost his wife the following year. The couples knew each other through church and had played dominoes together. I'll have to share the long version later. I don't even have the pictures all uploaded to my computer, but I thought I'd share one picutre that is a crafty one.

Do you wonder what the guys are laughing at? Yeah, me, too.

Do you like how we all coordinated? That was only half planned. We knew MIL was wearing yellow. Natalie picked out her fabric first, before we even knew MIL was wearing yellow. I also knew what fabric I wanted. I love yellow & blue together. I guess it's the Swede in me. Bethany's was the next dress to purchase and low and behold we found a YELLOW dress that almost fit her! Finally, we decided Daddy needed a matching top. He'd never wear a yellow shirt (or pink for that matter, but that's a different issue), so when we saw this we knew it was perfect to match my dress. What we DIDN'T know was that MIL's husband would be wearing blue! How perfect is it that we tied it all together while they tied the knot? LOL!

Natalie's dress is made from a downloadable pattern by Sis Boom. I will post links to the pattern later. Mine is by Sew Serendipity. Of course, Bethany's dress wasn't usable "as is" as usual. I had to take it up a little, then I had to add straps. We bought ribbon, but it really wasn't the right shade. She looked at my fabric & I had almost the identical shade of yellow. What are the odds? I was happy b/c I wanted to make WIDE straps to cover more. She's so tiny that there isn't that much to cover, but still.

If you click on the picture it will enlarge it. Ignore the fact that nearly 13 years postpartum I look pregnant (um, yeah, it's really just fat, I promise). Check out Bethany's headband. I'll have to take a close up of it & upload that another time. We took a white plume feather and dyed it yellow. The liquid made the feathery parts all clump together. I used my heating tool to dry it out, then we had to use a comb and even an old toothbrush to try to unclump them. She attached it to a headband and added some ribbon and gems. THEN on the morning of the wedding it was falling apart! ACK! Superglue to the rescue! We're just glad it didn't end up stuck to her head---LOL! I actually made a headband, too, but we decided it was too clunky looking for me to wear. I'll wear it for some pictures some time, but I didn't want to be distracting with it on. You know, the canoe on the forehead syndrome or Skeeball game on top of your head at your cousin's wedding with people from all over the world watching. Just sayin'.

I have really narrow feet. Not as narrow as they used to be, but narrow. I found a pair of shoes at Payless the night before the wedding. I was amazed. I thought I'd have to go for white shoes, but found yellow! They are really pretty. The pair I thought I would get were outvoted by my daughters who said they looked like grandma shoes. Here is the funny part: when my folks got to the wedding, the first thing Natalie noticed were my mom's shoes. They were the SAME pair I almost got but in ivory! LOL! Phew, good thing I have young ladies to guide me. ha, ha.

When I get the rest of the pictures uploaded I'll share more & put links to the dress websites.

New items at Etsy!!!

2011-06-08T20:25:00.001-07:00

I have finally updated my Etsy page! Check out my current listings & PLEASE pass along my website to anyone who might be interested! Thanks! http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChefMama

Eating holes in a quilt

2011-05-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen Natalie's quilt, check it out here: http://campernat.blogspot.com/2011/05/quilt-auction.html

Here's a picture:

Well, look at the top row, in the middle, then down several rows from that. Looks fine, right? NOT if you'd been in my dream last night. I have Smith dreams. It's on my dad's side. One of my dd's does this, too. We have the wildest, craziest dreams. Some would say it's medicine we take causing them. I don't buy that as we've done this all our lives.

I posted this quilt last night & already have a bid on it. I went to sleep thinking about it, I guess, as it was in my dream. Apparently, I had a thing for eating quilts. They tasted REALLY good in my dream. I pretty much ruined another one buy eating it. Then, I ate holes in THIS one. I made nice big circles, but the edges looked like someone had used pinking sheers rather than teeth, as they were zig-zag shaped. I thought, "Oh, my word! What have I done? Someone has already bid on this and now I need to fix this!" I had no idea how I was going to fix it. That's when I woke up. In my dream, at least. So, I'd had a dream in a dream. In the dream after I woke up (in the dream--ha, ha), I breathed a huge sigh of relief and thought, "I am SO glad that was just a dream."

I told Natalie about it this morning. She asked, "What were you, a rat?" The day went on & I'd not thought of it again. Until I started browsing blogs. I found a blog post about repairing holes in quilts---made by mice! The post was from Friday but I didn't see it until about an hour ago. Is that not the weirdest thing? Here's the blog post: Holes in Quilts

Do you ever have weird dreams? I dream in living color. What is LIVING color anyway? Remember when tv's were just coming out in color & the ads for shows or movies would say, "In LIVING color." Anyway, I dream in color and in detail. I cannot count the times I've dreamed I was pregnant. No, I am not. Or times I was trying to find the "right" man, and I'd meet different people (usually I'd known in real life) and it wasn't the RIGHT one until I found Phil at the end of the dream. I also dream about losing my kids in busy places. I still worry about that in real life & they are 12 & 14. OH, another recurring theme is that I am teaching in Waco again. I am always late & always in trouble. I really didn't care for the administration when I taught in Waco. Sometimes I will dream we are in Africa, but we go between here & there in my dream.

Who knows, maybe tonight I will dream about posting on my blog!

Natalie's Quilt!

2011-05-27T23:53:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the rag quilt we are auctioning to help Natalie raise money for summer camp! http://campernat.blogspot.com/2011/05/quilt-auction.html

Mom's Day Gift for My Mom.

2011-05-11T19:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the bag I made for my mom.

I didn't make 2 bags! This is reversible. It's made using precut 5" squares that come in a set called a Charm Pack. It's a stack of about 40 squares with each print in a fabric line. It's like buying the whole pad of Basic Grey paper instead of just a few sheets, for my papercrafting friends. These 2 fabric lines are both by Moda. At the top, in blue and yellow, is Summer Breeze. I am in love. I want to marry this line of fabric, but I think Phil might object. I will, however, be wearing a dress made out of this line for his mom's wedding in June! The second line is called Sunkissed. I love the bright cheerful colors. Every time I see something made of this I think, "That is so sweet!"

The pattern I used was a free download called "Sweet Sixteen." I downloaded it (a free download) and there is no url on the pdf. I feel like I'm talking in secret code. I just searched but can't get a page to open. If I find a link I'll post it! OH, LOOK! I found it! http://www.popularpatchwork.com/news/article.asp?a=5448

I used my i-top to cover buttons for both Mom's & MIL's bags. Here they are minus the bag!

Tonight I finished a bag I started for Natalie a while back. Will take pics of that another day. We have more projects we are working on!

Have a wonderful day. And hug your kids. Even if they are smart mouths who walk in while you're typing and say, "Wow, your mother's day gift was for your mom. I would have thought it would've been for your uncle or something." LOL!

Mom's Day Gift for MIL.

2011-05-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

I made bags for my mom & MIL for Mother's Day. I have had this fabric for my MIL for a few years. It's panels & then I found the coordinating print. I still have 2 more so she may get pillows for Christmas! She is the Bird Lady. She has over 30 birdhouses (maybe over 40) in her backyard. She has a few bird feeders, too. Since she lives right on the lake (well, right BY the lake---LOL!), there's always a nice breeze so sitting out birdwatching, even in the summertime, is a nice activity.

These are the front and back of the bags.

I did free motion quilting on these. Here is a close up. If you click on the picture it should enlarge it.

Here is the inside.

What I thought was the most cool thing about this, though, was right after I quilted. You can't see this part on the bag, so I took pictures before I sewed it together. Since I stitched as if I were drawing around the images, THIS is what showed up on the back of each front/back panel.

I checked a book out from the library recently that was about quilting on the back side of your quilt. Basically, they suggest using a fun print with some type of design that you could quilt around on the back. You just go around the design (ie flowers, triangles, etc.) on the back and on the FRONT you have a cool quilted look like this bag has on the inside!

Will post later with my Mom's bag.

I stamped!

2011-05-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Don't fall off your chairs, but I actually stamped some cards! I used Kitchen Sink Stamps Bluebonnet set. Sadly, it was so late when I did these and I hadn't stamped in so long that I had no idea where my light blue inks were and didn't have time to hunt for them. Still, these turned out pretty cute. Just love what Maria does with 2 (and 3 and 4) step stamping!

These were our Happy Mom's Day cards for our moms.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Rest of the Story about the Quilt

2011-05-06T23:15:00.000-07:00

In respect of the family of this sweet girl, I have attempted to edit it to protect her privacy. I just HAD to show you the smile on her face.

The story of the quilt mystery
At some point in the year, another Girl Scout mom said she would like us to make a quilt as a group project & asked if I would head it up. She also said she thought this girl would be a good recipient. We asked the older girls to choose if they wanted to work on the quilt project or something else. 5 of the older ones chose the quilt. One of them was this girl. Now, THAT was fun trying to keep this a secret! Of course, having all the girls make a square was a rather generic thing to do for a troop quilt "to be given to someone later." We WANTED them to personalize it for this girl, but knew that would likely not work with her right there. Instead, we found pictures featuring her over the years in Girl Scouts. This girl went to the quilt store with us when we went. This girl was at meetings when we worked on the quilt. This girl was in my house arranging squares for the quilt. I am so happy to say that NOT ONE SINGLE OTHER GIRL leaked the surprise this whole time. They all knew! They all kept it quiet. Yes, TWENTY girls and moms kept this a secret! PLUS all but the leader's daughters knew about THAT quilt, so we kept TWO secrets for a LONG TIME!

At the Girl Scout banquet, I had all the girls come up front and the 5 who had worked on the Quilting Badge (all the girls worked on the quilt in some form) stood in front, with this girl front & center. I had typed up a little something for each girl to say. 4 of them had the same page. This girl had a different page. The words only changed at girls 4 & 5, so we hoped she wouldn't notice, and it worked! When they got to the end, they announced, "This quilt is for YOU!" Her mouth dropped open and she said, "WHAT???!!!!" then threw her head back in laughter and glee. Oh, what a sight it was. How much love those other girls poured out to their dear friend that night. How many tears some moms and dads shed!

Let me explain why this was so significant. You will need tissues. You might recall that about a year ago two of my dear friends were diagnosed with cancer. My friend Kathy was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. It was aggressive, but the doctor assured her very treatable thanks to medicine available just in the past few years. Our other dear friend (Kathy was one of her dearest friends) was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. Stage 4. She had surgery a few weeks after Kathy had a mastectomy. They began getting chemo within 2 weeks of each other. I sat with each of these friends in the chemo rooms at some point. Our other friend appeared to be faring so well, physically, throughout her treatment. Emotionally and spiritually, we had never seen her looking better. She went from someone who rarely mentioned her faith to someone who could not give God enough praise for what He was doing in her. She believed He would heal her on this earth. She wanted to speak to other women going through this to encourage them. This is a lady who didn't even like to talk to a group of 4 people at a time. The transformation was amazing.

Then, just after her 3rd chemo treatment (out of 6 treatments), her mother, who had been her rock during these days, suddenly became ill. She was hospitalized. After a rocky 2 weeks, she lost her battle. Our dear friend had to say good-bye to her precious mom in the middle of battling cancer. She continued her chemo treatments, but we knew her heart was aching as never before. Still, she appeared physically to be doing well. Then, the week of her last chemo treatment, she didn't seem like herself. I picked her up on Wednesday (she had 2 days of treatments each time) and she was extremely lethargic. She said she just hadn't slept well as her mom's death certificate had arrived. On Thursday another friend took her home and said she was very tired still. On Saturday she collapsed at home and was taken by EMS to the hospital.

We learned in the days and weeks to follow that she had developed an infection, and even more disturbingly, that the chemo had not shrunk any tumors and they had, in fact, spread. She spent 5 weeks fighting for her life. She was prayed over. She was cared for by nurses. She was doted on by her husband. She wanted to live to see her baby (a teenager but still her baby) grow up. On December 1st of 2010, our precious beloved friend was healed. However, it was not the healing we'd wanted. It was the ultimate healing. She was home free. She was out of pain. She was with her Lord and with her sweet mama.

We don't know why the Lord allowed this. It seems unfair. It is unfair in our eyes. Yet, we trust that He will bring beauty from ashes. He will use this to His glory. We have seen Him already paving the way so that our friend's husband could stay home and continue homeschooling his daughter. He stepped into a world unknown to him and has become a hero in our eyes.

The sweet smiling girl in the picture above is our friend's daughter. She lost her grandmother and her mom within a few months. She was quite angry when she lost her grandmother but, amazingly, through her mom's illness at the end, we saw this young lady grow by leaps and bounds. She told me at one point, "If my grandmother had lived, I would be sitting at home right now doing nothing instead of all the things I've been able to do with (names of families)." It's as if God gave her that ray of hope to see that He would care for her and give her hope in the midst of anguish.

As her friends, these Girl Scouts wanted to shower her with that love in a tangible way. Kids don't often know how to comfort someone who is grieving. For that matter, adults don't often know how. As I thought about it, as far as I know, all of us Girl Scout moms still have our own moms living. We've not experienced what she has. But these girls found a way to love on their friend. When their friend uses this quilt, she will know that her friends love her. She will also remember the love her mom had for her.

The last pictures on the quilt were these: 1) A picture of her with her mom and a few other scouts several years ago at a Girl Scout Event 2) A picture at the Christmas party this year with her dad and her older sister in the background. I put the words of a Girl Scout song that seemed so fitting:

Make new friends, but keep the old

One is silver and the other's gold

A circle is round. It has no end.

Thats how long I want to be your friend.

We miss our friend so much, but because we know she is with the Lord, we know we will see her again because her life had no end, and our friendship has no end. Dear, dear child, I don't know if you will read this, but we want you to know how much we love you, and because you love Jesus as we do, we know our friendship will have no end.

Girl Scout Quilt, Take 2

2011-05-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

Last night I posted that I was going to share pictures, then couldn't get Blogger to let me upload anything. I'll tell you about the the quilt in this post, then share about the recipient in another post, as that story deserves its own post.

Our Girl Scout troop is different from most. We are a homeschool group. We are also a multi-level group, meaning we start with Daisies (Kindergarten) and go through Ambassadors (junior/senior in high school). Because of those 2 facts, we have sisters in the troop in different levels. The troop as it is has been together for 6 years. Prior to that, some of these girls were in the troop as Brownies even earlier. The best way I can describe it is like growing up in a small town where the kids all know each other. These girls really know the others in the troop, and many are the best of friends. Most of us have also been in the same homeschool co-op group for years. In THIS troop we are Christians first and Girl Scouts second, which makes things work well, at least most of the time!

Each girl created a quilt square representing something about herself and Girl Scouts. Most chose to use fabric markers, but embroidery was also incorporated. The squares are all different. It was interesting to see that some did choose a similar theme, such as badges, but even those were totally different. Some reflect our troop, some reflect the activities we've done (such as selling cookies or camping), and some reflect awards (badges and special awards).

I found the Girl Scout fabric online. They do sell some at local fabric and quilt shops, but to get a bigger selection, I found online shops were the best source. I picked out about 8 or 9 different prints. For the back, a local seamstress donated several pieces of fabric. She has taught sewing in the past and "happened" to be the sewing teacher for our quilt recipient, so she knew her interests. She included some large pieces of cat themed fabric. The girls sorted through these and chose the ones they liked for the back.

Once the fabrics were cut into pieces, a group of girls arranged the squares for the front as they thought looked best. I filled in empty spots with picture squares. They also arranged the pieces for the back and we pieced the rows, then organized them for the back and sewed them together. Some of the girls did a lot of sewing for the back part of this. At a troop meeting, we had the girls tie the quilt. Each girl tied at least one "string" to hold the quilt together. When it was all put together another mom added the binding for us.

I've been asked how I put the pictures on the squares. I tried an iron on transfer first (mainly because I picked up the wrong package at the store). It did NOT transfer well. So, I got some fabric sheets to print on directly. I used June Tailor Sew-In Colorfast Fabric Sheets for Ink Jet Printers. You can click on the link to order. I found mine locally. There is no prep for printing, but after they are printed there is a little work to make them set. You heat set with an iron, rinse in cold water, then heat set again. They can be washed in cold water, no detergent, according to the package. They printed really well, even with my old not so good printer.

I will try to get "the rest of the story" posted soon. Thanks for stopping by! If you like the quilt, please leave a comment that I will pass along to the girls!

Quilt 2, which is really quilt 1, part 1

2011-05-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

Because it is after midnight and my husband is sleeping in the same room with my computer (okay, so it IS the bedroom) and he says my keyboarding wakes him up (though he can't hear anything else) and because I've been dealing with an asthmatic child the past 2 days and because my kidney hurts and the doctor did NOT call me back yet and because I'm tired of this run on sentence, I am going to end it. Actually, I'm going to post a couple of pictures for you of the wonderful surprise quilt we made. Well, the making it wasn't a surprise. The recipient was. I ~~can't~~ can hardly wait to share the story with you!

Except there is a problem. I can't get the picture uploader to open. Come back later and I'll try again!

i-Interruption

2011-04-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

i-interrupt the quilt viewing to show you this i-pad pouch/bag I finished last week. I used a Mary Engelbreit "Honey Bun" (1.5" strips of fabric all rolled up). The original pattern is at Moda Bake Shop and is called "The Bookkeeper." The original was sized to hold an Amazon Kindle or similar product. i-Decided to make it fit an i-Pad. Thus the i-References in this post. Since i-Don't have an i-Pad, though, it also fits my netbook. It's about 9" x 12". I added the button rather than velcro because it was cuter that way. Also, I added some loops on the back so a handle could be added & it could be used as a shoulder bag. i-Think it is very cute!

Do you like my bag? Good-bye. Good-bye.

Girl Scout Quilt Number 1, which is really number 2

2011-04-29T21:38:00.000-07:00

Okay, NOW I can show you what we've been keeping secret for MONTHS! This year our Girl Scout troop made 2 quilts. The first one we made for a very special young lady. I will share about that one tomorrow. The second one we made was for our troop leader. I don't know if she suspected anything, but she certainly couldn't have known exactly what we were doing. We had each girl design a quilt square using fabric markers or embroidery. Each design represented what they thought about Girl Scouts. Those were used on Quilt 1 for a fellow scout. She had NO idea & I can't wait to tell you more about that.

The other quilt, for our Troop Leader, Kelly, used each girls handprints and signature. Getting their signatures on the hands was quite interesting. Since I am a dork & didn't think about letting the handprints dry then having the girls sign them, I jumped through hoops to get names on there. I had them write their name, I scanned them, resized them, printed them in reverse, went over those with iron on transfer markers, ironed them on, and on some, had to go over them with fabric markers. Really, wouldn't it have made much more sense to let them write it? Well, the truth is we PLANNED to embroider all the names. Best laid plans....

I had extra Girl Scout Fabric from the first quilt, so we used that for Kelly's quilt. I found pictures that featured the whole troop and some with her in them. I printed those onto fabric, then sewed them to white squares. The fabric included some letters and numbers, so we were able to put our troop number on it. My friend Kathy and her daughter Annie arranged the pieces and Annie sewed them together for the front. I sewed the pieces for the back together. Then Natalie (my daughter) and I discovered that using quilt basting spray and getting all the wrinkles out is harder than it looks! Thankfully there were the 2 of us. She's actually pickier than I am and was NOT settling for ANY bubbles or wrinkles at all. I just had to get her to listen to the best way to get them out. LOL!

The real fun started when we quilted it. Did you know that quilts with cotton batting are heavy? Quite heavy? Of course, all the paint & pictures probably didn't help the weight issue. I quilted the vertical seams in the ditch using my walking foot. Then Natalie quilted the horizontal seams. I went back and did diagonal stitching on the Girl Scout fabric squares. Then, because I really just ~~am a glutton for punishment~~ wanted to be sure the batting wouldn't shift, I free-motion quilted around the handprints and the pictures. Kathy suggested using the backing to wrap around as a border & binding which worked really well. Except I couldn't figure out exactly how to get the corners mitered correctly. I should have called Kathy, but by then it was about midnight or 1 a.m.

Now, if you read my last post you know that I was still up at 3 a.m. And at 4 a.m. I had my dvr set for the wedding. If you didn't read that part ~~shame on you~~ go read it now so you'll know what I'm talking about. I think you're seeing now WHY I was still up at 3 a.m. You see, after I got the binding on, I thought it needed to be washed before we gave it to her. So I put it on gentle. Which meant it. didn't. wring. out. (I just typed it that way to sound like all the popular bloggers---ha! ha!) It took several "spins" to get it to not be soaking. Finally, I left it to dry overnight. Then I stayed up because I was SURE the ceremony would start any time. Or not.

Now you know the rest of the story. Tomorrow I'll share the story of Quilt 2, which is really Quilt 1.

By the way, Kelly is very petite, so her quilt is shorter than the one for the Girl Scout, who is normal sized. LOL! Kelly tells me I'm freakishly tall b/c I say she's so short!

Of Quilts and Queens and Kids

2011-04-29T12:17:00.000-07:00

I have been busy sewing and quilting this week. I can't show pictures this week, but I will SOON! Actually, a trio of families have been sewing this week to make something happen.

I was actually up so late last night that I thought I would catch glimpses of the Royal Wedding. I thought when everyone was saying "4:00" for the time it meant it would be on at 3:00 here. Apparently the others were also in my time zone as 3:00 brought live shots of folks entering the Abbey. Then, I thought, "Oh, 4:00 is the wedding time," so even though I was finished with my work by 3:30 I stayed up. Apparently the actual wedding was at 5:00 my time! LOL! Whatever time it was I didn't see it live. I did, however, see some recorded parts while I was pinning some more sewing today and caught a glimpse of the Queen. What a lovely woman. To me, she's always had an "Old" look to her, which now means she doesn't look like she's aged. Prince Charles, on the other hand, looks much, much older than he is.

Some stations were showing the wedding of Diana and Charles. She looked like a frightened little school girl rather than the teacher turned princess she would be. How much happier Kate and William look. It made me so sad to think of how the marriages of the 3 royal children have turned out. I hope the new generation will take to heart the serious of their commitment. Of course, just seeing Diana makes me so sad knowing how short her life was and how tragically it ended. I will never forget staying up watching the news reports that night. So glad there is something HAPPY in that family today!

While my kids are not royalty (I have said we are all royal---pains at times! LOL), the Queen did have me help her with a skirt for our Girl Scout banquet tonight. It's a 50's theme. And a Paris theme. And a Black & White film theme. The girls are so indecisive! ha, ha! this was actually narrowed down from about 12 suggestions (Including rainbows and fluffy unicorns---we're a multi-level/age troop). Nat wanted a poodle skirt, but decided the little Scotty was cuter, so she used that, cut it out, attached it & the leash to the skirt & sewed the side seams. Due to time restraints, I did the waistband and elastic. It looks cute. Bethany is going with just the black & white theme. Oh, dear, I just realized I haven't put any new badges on their vest/sash. Yikes! Oh, well, we'll be busy this summer doing that.

And other "kid" news, I have none about my kidney stone. I am going to call the dr. AGAIN & see if they can give me results. I'm hurting again & not liking the not knowing what's going on. Maybe I should become that ROYAL PAIN I mentioned so I can find out about my royal pain. Hmmmm.

Hopefully I will have pictures to share tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!

Another round

2011-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not updating more. I have several projects (fabric ones) in the works & will update with those soon. Want to share more about our Shop Hop, too. I'm ITCHING to get inky and make cards. But right now my "project" is getting rid of another set (I think) of kidney stones. I'm going to see the dr. again in the a.m. I will know more tomorrow. For now, ibuprofen and an occasional 1/2 of a hydrocodone (aka Vicodin) are my friends. Though, the hydrocodone is so potent even at 1/2 strength that I sleep 12 hours, get up to eat & go back to sleep! YIKES!

A bit of news: My mother-in-law is getting married on June 4th! I'm thinking of making a dress like the black & red one here:

or maybe this one:

JUST KIDDING!!!

One of these is more likely:

But longer and wider! And looser. Um, and with different shoes. Or this.

I love this fabric line:

It's called Summer Breeze. Summer is here. Breeze is not!

Until next time!

Blessed Easter to you all!

2011-04-21T23:42:00.000-07:00

In case I'm not back on before Easter, I just want to wish each of you a blessed Easter. I love the pretty colors, the wonderfully sweet looks of all things spring and the yumminess of Easter treats, but I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you why I love Easter most. If it weren't for Easter, life would be all for naught. Some days life here can be GREAT, but other times, it really stinks. From little inconveniences of lice and kidney stones to major suffering in my friend who have or have had cancer to the worst pain of losing someone you love, life is hard. Easter gives us hope. Not just the hope that tomorrow the cancer will be gone (though we do pray for that!) or that we'll have enough money in the bank to pay the bills (again, we pray for that and do our job to work for it), but a hope that is deeper still. It's the hope that when this life is done, we can say good-bye forever to pain, suffering, and even little inconveniences.

That hope isn't just a wishful thought. It isn't a magic formula, either. It's a hope in Somoene. It's trusting Someone who promised it to us.

The problem is, we don't deserve it. No matter how good we are, now matter how much we do to help others or live the right way, we are NEVER good enough. Ever. What we deserve is to be separated from God forever because HE is perfect & we aren't. Yet, in His love for us, He reached out & let Someone else take our punishment. Imagine being a child & knowing you broke your mom's favorite vase because you threw a ball in the house when you weren't supposed to be doing that. Imagine that your mom grounded you and said you would spend the next month's allowance to pay for that vase. Then imagine a friend stepping in and saying, "I'd like to pay for the vase and I'd like to be grounded instead." All you would have to do is accept that gift and your payment was paid in full. That's what God wants us to do. He wants us to know that we don't deserve anything but a death sentence, but His OWN SON took our place and died for us. Then He came back to life to give us hope that we, too, could be with Him one day if we just trust in His gift.

I'm not a "preacher" and I don't like to "beat the Bible over someone's head." The truth is, though, that I love my friends and family so dearly that I want to spend not just THIS life with them, but all of eternity. It would break my heart to know that I might not see them again when this world is through. And for those who already know Jesus, I can hardly wait until we celebrate Him together in Heaven!

Happy Easter---Happy Resurrection Day---to all of you!

Fabric and Friends

2011-04-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've not been better about updating this blog. Just another quick post with my FAVORITE picture of your Quilt Shop Hop. This was our first Quilt Shop stop on Friday. We'd also stopped at Payless shoes & McD's before this. hee-hee! Look at the name of the store above our heads! I couldn't have said it better. Love these ladies!

Kathy was the only shopper at that store. Oh, wait, I got somethings, too. hee-hee! I think it was more wildflower fabric & a piece on clearance. Something in this line:

Or it could have had the flowers below on it:

These are Gaillardia flowers. They're one of our annual wildflowers & are especially prevalent near San Marcos, Texas, the home of my Alma Mater, Southwest Texas State, which is Now just Texas State U. They were actually the school flower & our yearbook was called The Gaillardian. That picture almost looks like an armadillo should pop out from behind it!

Next post I'll show you some more of our trip & some more goodies found.

A Few Pictures and BIG NEWS!!!

2011-04-13T12:07:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post to share a few pictures for now. Above is one of the Quilt Shop Hop quilts. This one was at Honey Bee Quilts in Austin. Each store did their own version of this quilt. It was designed by a shop owner here in San Antonio, Terry Soll of Creative Sewing Center. Each year a different shop designs the quilt.

I mentioned getting gas & eating. Oh, wait, no, that's not it, is it? Or maybe it is! LOL! This was where we ate in Buda---pronounced Byuda, not like Buddha, in case you wondered. I'll have to find a picture of the shop in Buda. It looked SO little and we said, "Well, we won't spend much time here." Oh, how wrong we were. They had so much packed into such a small store and it was organized so you could move around. I don't know how they did it. After that we drove around the block (Buda is a tiny town so we could have walked) to eat at this Mexican Restaurant called Garda's. Well, that's what we THOUGHT the sign said. We'd never heard the name Garda. I joked that it was a female guard in Spanish. Inside we saw the menu & realized it was Garcia's, but we'll always call it Garda's! The BEST Mexican food. We would drive back just to eat there. And the waitress was so helpful.

Here we are after eating a yummy full meal. Look at all that hair on Kathy's head! Do you remember that it wasn't long ago that she had no hair after chemo? And, see, Danette is tiny! The ribbons we have on are for First Time Shop Hoppers. Kathy also bought us a Shop Hop pin & a Breast Cancer Awareness pin. Yes, this picture is "Team Kathy" but this weekend we got to be "Team Quilty!" And it was FAR better than having to watch Kathy endure chemo and surgery and blood transfusions. Thank you Lord for a GOOD time with friends!

We interrupt this post to bring you an important announcement: Kathy just got a call that she WON a BASKET full of prizes from one of the shops in San Antonio! We can't wait to see what's inside!

Life must go on, so I will stop now. Look for more updates soon!

Shopped til we dropped!

2011-04-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

I am about to drop into bed but wanted to just give you some fast info on our whirlwind Quilt Shop Hop:

Drove over 400 miles in 3 days.
Purchased a few meals along the way. Found some great mom & pop diners.
Found the neatest quilt shops on our journey. We were able to find pieces to collections we started from different stores. Even found some to finish a set I'd only found online before!
Had some great friend time sans kids & hubbies. Got slap happy today when we were approaching about our 10th shop this week. Laughed so hard we cried on more than one occasion.

Cost of eating: not too bad
Cost of gas: outrageous
Cost of fabric: unmentionable
Time spent with friends: PRICELESS!

Look for pictures in the near future. Or next week. Or sometime before summer!

Bluebonnet Hopping!

2011-04-06T19:17:00.000-07:00

Aren't those flowers pretty? If you are a Texan you just looked at them and asked, "Where are they so I can take pictures?" These are some of our famous state flowers, the Bluebonnet. They are wildflowers so only bloom once a year and NOW is that time! Why, you may wonder, am I showing you bluebonnets?

Let me tell you why! Over the next few days I am going to be spending time with 2 of my dearest friends on a Quilt Shop Hop! We'll be driving around San Antonio and up to the Texas Hill Country visiting several quilt shops. The shop hop is called the Bluebonnet Shop Hop. We didn't have much rain this winter, so we aren't sure how well the bluebonnets are doing, but we are hoping (or at least I am) to see LOTS of bluebonnets and wildflowers along the way.

These are the beautiful women who will be trapped in a car with me:

You already know about my friend Kathy in the pink. This picture was taken nearly a year ago when another friend of ours had a fundraiser to help with Kathy's medical expenses. This was not long before her surgery and subsequent hair loss from chemo. I'll try to take some pictures this weekend so you can see how cute her curly hair is filling in. She has a THICK head of hair now! Hope that gives some encouragement to anyone currently in the midst of chemo.

This picture must make you think one of two things: Kathy is a giant or the other lady is tiny. Kathy is NOT a giant! LOL! She's about my height and has lost quite a few pounds since that picture (where she was already smaller than I am, I think). The other dear friend is Danette. Doesn't that sound like a tiny name for a petite person? She is Kathy's other Houston traveling buddy. This will be the first time the three of us will get to go somewhere all together. Typically, when one of us was with Kathy in Houston, the other one had the extra children at her house. The one time we did get to be in Houston together was for Kathy's birthday when I took all the girls up to be at Kathy's surprise party. This is going to be a blast being together having fun----without kids!!!!

We'll be going to THIS store:

And THIS store:

And all the other stores listed HERE!

We might just come home with some of this:

Or a little more of this:

Or maybe something like this:

I do know we'll be getting some of these at each stop for free! Just not sure what type they will be:

Those are fat quarters, which are NOT a body part, in case you wondered. They are pieces of fabric cut 18" x 22".

I understand cookies will be served at each stop. Unless by some strange occurrence the shop owners have Celiac Disease & bake Gluten Free, I'll be skipping that part.

I'm really looking forward to these couple of days spending time with my friends and drooling over pretty fabric. Check back next week to see what we bring home with us!

Moda Bake Shop Bag DETAILS!!!!

2011-04-01T20:55:00.000-07:00

AND I'm back with details! I made this as part of the Moda Bake Shop monthly contest. This month's contest was to use charm packs. For those not in the quilty world, a Charm Pack is a package of 5" squares of fabrics. Moda company makes the ones officially called "Charm Packs" and they put a square of each fabric in a line of fabrics in the pack. I like them because I can see all the prints in a line and then if I want to order yardage, I know what the print looks like.

I chose to use THIS pattern/tutorial because I love bags (big surprise, huh? LOL!). I used a line of fabric called Lovely.

Do you like the button closure? You can't see it so well in this picture, but on the yellow/blue side, the button is right in the middle of the flower! So cute! I bought myself an I-top to make self-covered buttons easily. Used a Michael's coupon, of course! I saw the i-top at Archivers last fall & thought, "Why would I want to make my own brads?" THEN I saw someone using it on a blog for buttons & thought, "I WANT THAT!" Of course, I waited for a 50% off coupon & enough money to do it, and I'm so glad I got it. I joke about all the "i-junk" people have: i-pad, i-pod, i-phone....Well, I am now part of the "i-junk" group! ha, ha!

I'm going to be putting this in our "Send Natalie to Camp" auction we'll be starting in a few days. I'll post when we have that all set up & ready to go. Natalie is going to be raising money to go to church camp. She's getting some of her cute polymer clay items ready to sell and I told her I could put in some of my crafts, too. Our "BIG" item is going to be a rag quilt made of our blue/teal/green/brown fabrics we've used so often and love. The back will be flannels to match. Soft and cozy!

Be sure to keep checking back to find out about Natalie getting ready for camp!

Moda Bake Shop Bag

2011-03-31T00:23:00.000-07:00

From a Moda Bake Shop tutorial. Details coming soon!

Nat's New Card

2011-03-27T17:08:00.001-07:00

Natalie has a new card on her blog! Go check our her Spring Things cutie! CLICK HERE

Just One Star (or three)

2011-03-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

There is a really cool program called Quilts of Valor that makes quilts for servicemen and women in the US military (I don't know if there is something similar for Canada or not). If you know how to cut a piece of fabric and use a sewing machine, you could do this. It's just 2 types of fabric and just a few cuts. You leave it really big & they will trim them all to size, so there is room for some error. You can find out more by going to THIS link or THIS one. There is a tutorial on THIS link. She also has some yummy looking recipes on the blog just before this! LOL!

I'm new to quilting, so wasn't sure about trying this, but I enjoyed making the first one so much, I've now made 3 & plan to make more! They aren't perfect, and I've had to do some seam ripping & re-sewing, but I hope they are good enough to put on the quilts. I didn't want to send something that looked bad so I worked to make them look as nearly "good enough" as I could. I now need to find a brown pigma pen to sign & date these.

Let me know if you make one or more!

Block-A-Palooza blocks FINISHED!!!!

2011-03-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

Woot-woot! Wooooooooo-Hoooooooooo!

I finished 16---yes, SIXTEEN---quilt blocks! I just decided I wanted to try this. It started HERE (click) on Quilt Dad's blog. You can go there & open each block's original designer's webpage showing the original blocks. As an aside, I think of quilting as something women do. I think of sewing as something women do. Yet, even as far back as early Bible times, you read about MEN making things with fabric. It's BECOME more of a woman's hobby, but really started with men. Whatdaya know? LOL!

I gathered fabrics from my stash & got a few yards of REALLY cheap fabric to go along with those. I'm learning there is a HUGE difference in fabrics from chain stores, especially if they are $3.98 full price, and fabrics from quilt shops that start at $8 and up full price. I mean, a difference BESIDES the price. Of course, if you shop places like Fabric.com when things are on sale, you get the quilt shop fabrics at the chain store prices sometimes! I've also noticed that many chain store fabrics cost as much full price as quilt shop fabrics. The difference is most quilt shops don't take coupons. LOL! I did NOT want to use expensive fabric on something I didn't know how to do yet. I'll be making simple quilts with my better fabric (even if I did get it half-price).

I've learned a LOT about quilting by doing this quilt-along and it's been very helpful. I'll share lessons learned another time.

The last quilt block pattern was posted last Thursday (one week ago) and today the Finishing directions were posted. While I will likely not finish mine for some time (I have to do some modifying, keep reading for that info), I DID want to finish the squares. The girls have several projects for me to do, I have a Girl Scout quilt to assemble, and some clothes I'd like to wear. Oh, yes, there is that detail of homeschooling, too. And card making. And dish washing. tee-hee. I did keep up with dishes. Even when I'm sick my family doesn't do dishes. Seriously. They do other things to help, but they seem allergic to dishes.

I will say the biggest problem overall was getting the seams to be just right. I probably didn't cut just right to start with (I did use my rotary cutter, but with only 1/4" seam allowance, if you cut 1/16" off, that can get you off to a bad start). I am SURE I haven't figured out my 1/4" foot yet. I don't know if I need to put my fabric RIGHT next to the guide or slightly off of it. Whatever I do, I need to be consistent. I also think I'll try making all the same blocks next time I make something. That way, whatever mistakes I make, they'll all be the same! These blocks SHOULD all be 12.5" (once sewn they'd be 12"). Mine range from 12" to 13" on any given side. Some are square, some aren't (as in 12.5" x 12"). That's where I'll need to do some modifying. I'll have to add a border to some blocks before I continue. I'll have to trim some blocks (if I don't lose too much of the pattern). Otherwise I will have to just add a border to all but the biggest & trim them all to that size.

Without further adieu, I give you the blocks. You can click on individual pics if you dare, I mean if you want to see them bigger. Just remember I am NEW to this! I've made a wedding dress, prom dresses & bridesmaid dresses (back when they were FLUFFY and FULL) and I've made baby clothes and doll clothes that are teeny-tiny, but these geese were something else to try to do!

Craft Room update & Questions

2011-03-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

I was looking at pictures then at the actual room. I realized those boxes are full of mostly sewing stuff and kids' crafts. I'm guessing half or more of that is OLD stuff. Some from my single days! And patterns the girls have long since outgrown. For that matter, patterns I have long since outgrown! LOL! I've really whittled down my stamps over time. There is a lot of mixed up scrappy stuff at the bottom of the pile, but I think I've kept that in check better than the other stuff. I've been so blessed to receive gifts of stamps and paper from friends, which store easily. I've gone to dies over most punches, mainly spellbinder, which also store well. I do need to whittle through ink. I need to organize papers, too. I may even whittle down the dies since I bought a little Cricut last year finally. A sweet friend gave me some cartridges for my birthday---and a GYPSY!!! I like that things can be compactly stored.

I really need to get rid of most the patterns & some fabric. I have a few sewing pattern books or more expensive patterns that I'll keep to use for the great nieces or maybe one day grandkids. :-O

We have FLUFF and PAINTS and YARN and POPSICLE sticks and who knows what else my elder child has collected over time!

Do you keep all your scraps of paper? What do you do with them? If you are more of a die cut person, what punches do you keep? Do you still use a rollagraph? I have several wheels but don't use them, so should probably sell all that. Ideas?

WOYWW

2011-03-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

What's On Your Workspace Wednesday

This is my workspace. If you click on the picture you can see my sewing machine, a few pieces of fabric and some tools and notions. It's quite orderly and organized. In the picture below are the shelves above Bethany's workspace. She has organized supplies and stored them neatly.
There is a reason I've never posted a WOYWW before. Take a look at Bethany's table. I just traded this 6' table and took the 4' table.

Believe it or not, when I had this table it was even more covered. See the carpet below the table? Here's another look:
It's officially ugly carpet. The home owners are good friends and told us to feel free to rip this out! LOL! To me, though, being able to see this ugliness is beautiful. Just a few weeks ago we couldn't see it. Take a look at what's in the REST of this little room.

Yep, ALL those boxes are full of crafting stuff. Some is mine, some Bethany's. My fabrics and patterns aren't even in this room. We through away a LOT of junk. I still need to go through all those boxes to see what to keep, what to sell and what to toss. Most of my stamping stuff is in those drawers, but some is around the house. There is another shelf in the room and more in the closet. Definitely need to clean things out!

Finally, we have what every craft room needs: a homemade chandelier!

Thanks for visiting our little creative spot! Now what's on YOUR workspace this Wednesday?

Happy Birthday Card from Natalie!

2011-03-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

I LOVE this card Natalie made me. She told me not to post it b/c it wasn't "perfect," but I think it IS perfect! It's one of my favorite stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. The colors are gorgeous! I love how she put the flowers on there, too. She used an alphabet set, I think also from Clear Dollar Stamps (have I mentioned I love CDS? LOL!).

She painted a picture frame for me, too, but I need to print the picture she wanted in it before posting.

Thanks for dropping by!

We have some Lousy friends

2011-03-21T16:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. We have lousy friends. Well, that should actually be LOUSE-y friends. Yep. Again. The thing with lice is that you don't know you have them until you've already shared them with a friend. Sharing lice isn't nice, but it is a gift that keeps on giving. LOL! Our dear friends who had them got them from someone they thought was through with lice, but turned out the person had another go -round. We've been there, done that, and know full well there is no way our friends could have known they had these critters when my girls were over there. It's just one of those things that happens in life & you move on. Of course, my girls have been around others, too. Thankfully, so far we've found NOTHING on Nat's head but hair. No nits for Nat.

I'm itchy, but I have a super sensitive scalp & always have an itchy head. For that matter, just hearing the word lice makes our heads itch, it seems.

So, we canceled Girl Scouts & co-op this week. Doggonit, I have to stay home & sleep in tomorrow. Such a pity. Tee-hee.

Hope you are having a nice lice-free day!

Fabric Give Away!

2011-03-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

Vickie at Spun Sugar Quilts blog is having a fabric giveaway. You can win a $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop. The picture above is of some fabric I just got from this shop. Hop over to Spun Sugar Quilts and enter to win!

What is your Favorite Background Paper?

2011-03-09T19:50:00.001-08:00

When I started stamping several years ago, I mean REALLY stamping (as opposed to my 3 rubber stamps I had before that), I had no idea I was entering a world unknown to me. I'd been a crafter all my life. I'm sure I was making macaroni necklaces at an early age! At first I stamped on a white card with colored ink. Then I found 2 step stamps and stamped on a white card with 2 colors of ink! LOL! I moved on to layering things. However, I was still in stamping infancy.

Then. It. Happened. IT. I was at my friend Stephanie's house and another friend was there talking about card making. Maybe we had just finished a Stampin' Up party. I really don't know. I just remember them talking about "Scrapbook paper." I asked if they made a lot of scrapbook pages. They did, but they also mentioned card making. I must have had the deer in the headlights look because they looked at each other and one said, "She doesn't know about using scrapbook paper on cards!" I didn't. And honestly, it seemed like all too much to think about at the time.

Over time I started checking out the scrapbook paper. I discovered my best bang for my buck was something called, "The Slab." If you've been around paper arts for a while you know what I mean. By the time I got in on this I think they were on "The Slab V." Um, that's Roman Numeral talk for 5. In case you wondered. Oh, a WHOLE stack of pretty paper! Well, it seemed pretty. At the time anyway.

The next step was reading this name over and over on Splitcoast Stampers, "Basic Grey." First, I could not see ANY grey paper in these cards. NONE. I also could not figure out why so many people were suddenly into grey. Basic Grey no less. Seriously, how much CAN you do with a basic shade of grey? I don't know how I figured it out, maybe I had to ask, but I did learn that Basic Grey was a company. Oh, my. A whole new world was opened to me. Except for one thing: I only bought paper at Hobby Lobby or Michael's when it was on sale. In those days neither store carried Basic Grey. I did find some paper by a company called "Daisy D's" that was a good fix for a while. I also discovered that if I took some of my Slab paper and distressed it (okay, so it was called "rubbing ink on the edges to make it look dirty" in my mind at that time), it would kind of sort of look like BG paper.

Eventually I ordered some Basic Grey, and then Hobby Lobby began carrying it. I LOVE Basic Grey paper. I drool over Basic Grey.

I have to confess, though, I have another secret (or not so secret) love. It seems that my affection grows fonder with each new pad of paper. It's a good thing my checking account dictates where I spend my money, and we DO like to eat now and then, so I do not go hog wild on purchasing things like background paper. Usually. My other love is K & Company. I actually had some K & Co. small pads from Michael's before I had a clue what kinds of papers they made. Or maybe they didn't make these amazing papers back then. I recall there being a Scrapbook section, then this separate section with K & Co. products in a different part of Michael's.

Apparently this attraction to pretty paper is genetic. My 12 year old (she has her own blog HERE if you want to check out her latest cards) is also in love with K & Co. and Basic Grey and DCWV and other pretty papers. She's inherited my thought process as well that goes something like this, "I wish they had THIS fabric in paper!" or vice versa. Moda Fabrics has come out with a few Basic Grey lines of fabric (pssssst, they are going to making last year's Jovial paper into fabric! Isn't that the bomb?). It's probably a VERY good thing that my 14 year old isn't into those papers or into much fabric. She's an artist on her own & does much with recycled items (that's the nice way to say she can turn any leftover container---we might even say piece of junk--- into something else). I figure pretty papers & stamps are for those of us who DON'T draw or make art without a little help. Maybe she'll be designing papers and fabrics one day.

At the top of my page is probably my current favorite paper. It's called Jubilee by K & Co. Tomorrow my friend Kathy & I will travel to Houston for her to get an infusion in her continuing battle against cancer (though at this point we believe it is all PREVENTATIVE as the cancer shouldn't still be there). There is an Archiver's store in Katy, right on our way home. Natalie (12 year old dd) told me to NOT stop there without her. LOL! If K. & Lo. stop, I might spot some new K. & Co.! Or some other new company that Kathy has to introduce me to. Webster's Pages and Something 45 or somebody whos-y-what's-it. I can't even remember all the things I saw there the first time we went and Kathy was introducing me to sights unknown. Jubilee might have to move over.

On the other hand, we might just stop at Buc-ee's. Fudge is always a favorite.

So, what's YOUR favorite background paper? Or line of papers?

Found a new Quilt Shop!

2011-03-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

I discovered a new quilt shop today. I've searched online several times for quilt shops in San Antonio & this one has never come up before. It's called Sew Special Quilts located just west of 6 flags. If you know me, you might see the wheels turning already. Every year our family uses tax return money to get 6 flags passes. Truth be told, and it has been, I can think of a lot of places I'd rather be than sitting on a bench waiting for my husband & kids to finish yet another ride that makes me nauseated to even look at. It's sad getting older and having inner ear issues. I do love the water park and sometimes the shows. So here's my plan: drop off hubby & kids at the park, go to the quilt shop for an hour or 2, come back & take the girls to ride the ones they want to go on while hubby rides monster coasters. I'll be happy to sit after my fill of fabric! LOL! Speaking of fabric, here is a peek at what I saw when I walked in:

I asked, upon walking in, "Can I move in?" Seriously the amazing colors and styles were just what I would want in my home. If I didn't share it with a man who rides fast motorcycles and prefers brown to pink, cannot for the life of him understand the purpose of wall decor or knick knacks, but says a nice paint job on a vehicle is different. Sigh. He actually likes red, so I'm seeing some possibilities here.

Natalie was as taken as I was. Her approach was different, though. She immediately saw purse patterns and decided which one I needed to make for her. It's this one:
She wants the Rose bag on the top left corner. The pattern is called "Six in the City." My kids have no clue that it's a play on words & I wasn't about to offer that info to them. The bags made up really sell the patterns. I've seen many of the patterns they had online, but never saw bags made up with them. Wow. I was "uber impressed." Okay, I've never used the term "uber" other than in my German classes in high school college. That's how impressed I was. Ha, ha!

I also picked up some "charm packs" which was my goal. Natalie picked the colors. She does tend to be my "eye for fashion" child. These are "Lovely" and "Botany." I have plans for them. Serious plans. : )

And, after that we went shopping to find a pair of size 0 skinny jeans. Yes, I find that redundant. If you're in a 0 you are skinny. It's the bottom of the pants, though, that are classified. Gosh, remember when it was either bell bottoms or straight leg? And we only wore bell bottoms? Life was WAY easier then. Now it's flare, skinny, super skinny, or bootcut, with an average, low, semi-low, or extra low waistband, and you can pick your length. Where was that pick your length stuff when Miss Mile a Minute Legs (me) was a teenager? Natalie, the normal sized child, tried on dresses. They cost $70. I said no. Maybe half price. MAYBE. one day. Not today. So we went to Payless, but saw Dress Barn next door. She found a dress that fits well & is super cute for $16! Yea, I don't have to sew an Easter dress! LOL! And shoes for $10! Of course, the dress, like so many you find today, will HAVE to have a shrug over it (modesty IS still a virtue) and I was not going to pay $30 for that, so we'll be looking for a royal blue shrug.

We also picked up a computer for Phil to work on from a former neighbor. I was too pooped to cook after all that, so we're having Bill Miller BBQ. I'd rather have Rudy's but it's too far away & costs more. Off to eat me some yummy meat!

The Dolls aren't Freezing anymore!

2011-03-02T19:32:00.001-08:00

I finally got finished with the little Dolly dresses for our American Girl class around the time I had my kidney stones removed. I even took a picture. Now to figure out where they are on my computer! LOL! Phew, I found it. Isn't this fabric darling? I have discovered this new found love of cherry prints. I found this AMAZINGLY darling line of fabric called "Oh, Cherry, Oh." Sadly, it is an "older" print and hard to find. I am seriously thinking of snatching up some then filling in with other prints I can find at JoAnn, Hobby Lobby, etc. Here's a snippet of that line:

So much fun!

Bethany & I are working furiously to get our crafts organized. My dad said if the girls cleaned up enough for him to get in to put up shelves, he would buy them some shelves & put them up. They've wanted that extra space for some time. Bethany has been on a "getting rid of stuff" rampage for some time, which is good, but her process involves going through EVERY item we own & then asking Natalie if SHE wants the item then deciding if it's a give-away or sell item, etc. We'll have quite the garage sale soon with tons of 25 cent items, I think. Hopefully lots of kids will come. I think we need to box up similar items & charge $5 for a bag or something.

One thing I am doing is sorting my fabrics. I'm putting cottons in drawers by color & then other fabrics in separate drawers. This involved purchasing some more clear drawers, but that's what I've wanted to have them in for some time. Up til now I've used clear plastic boxes but it never fails I need something out of the very bottom box & I have to move the entire pile of boxes.

I'm also looking at cutting tables, but they are quite pricey. The best thing I've found that really fits my height is an adjustable height 4' long table. I can set it at counter height (36") and for Miss Legs here it works great. I humor myself thinking ZZ Top---back in my young days---had me in mind when they sing the part of their song that says, "She's got legs. She's knows how to use them." I honestly have no idea what the other lyrics are & probably am better off that way! LOL!

Hope you are having a wonderful time crafting this week!

While I was sleeping

2011-02-19T16:36:00.001-08:00

If you are reading my blog, you are probably either a family member or a friend, so you probably already know that I've been sleeping a lot lately. Drug induced. Um, let me clarify. I had kidney stones. HAD. Past tense! Praise God for the Past Tense! I've had pain and other "lovely" symptoms since October. They started the very weekend my dear friend Linda went to the ICU after her last chemo treatment. I miss her so much.

The pain got worse in the past month, so I was in the ER on January 22nd and was diagnosed with FOUR kidney stones. 2 were "on their way out" and I was sent home to let them pass. With a bottle of Lortab (hydrocodone, vicodin---my rx was for Lortab, which I find special since it contains most of my name). Saw the urologist, had scans done. Those stones were stuck. STUCK. Not moving. I didn't have nice thoughts about the doctor who'd told the ER docs to send me home to wait. It was too late for the Star Trek laser treatment to break them up, so I had to just wait to go to the hospital for minor surgery/procedure. That was on Valentine's Day. I am free of the "twins" (the ones on the left side). I passed a piece of a stone on the right side. I went to the ER one more time before surgery. I like Dilaudid. Just sayin'. I've had lots of meds to make me sleepy the past few weeks. Really, to take the pain away. Sleep is just an added bonus. Not that I need help with that, but it's nice to get to do it per doctor's orders!

While I was sleeping my girls were being who they are and doing their own creative stuff. I have some "before I was sleeping" stuff to post later, but for now, enjoy the "while I was sleeping" part.

Natalie had homework from her geometry class. She had to cut out these 3-d shapes out of paper (it was printed on there for them), fold them correctly and tape them together. See the pink one? It's something like a dodecadron or some name I can't pronounce. The teacher said it was hard & they'd get extra credit for it. Natalie did that one first. Then she insisted on stacking them sky high. She had a problem when she got to the pyramid & cone as the last 2. So, she found a way to flip the pyramid over in some kind of holder and stack from that. Pretty clever, huh? She told me to ask the teacher if she could get EXTRA extra credit for doing that pink one FIRST and stacking them. Yeah, Natalie, you do. Except that you don't really get grades in your class, so we'll just humor you. LOL!

Another creative talent Natalie has is acting. Or just pretending. Or dressing up. Both my girls have done that for as long as I can recall. Natalie has been good therapy for her Aspie sister. Here is Natalie trying to look like her daddy. She's much cuter, I think. ha, ha!

Then Bethany has been creating the way she does so well.

Who knew Gluten Free could look so good! This isn't a cake. She melted chocolate and coated some GF "Oreo" type cookies (they are actually ALMOST as good as the real deal) and added sprinkles. She is the Sprinkle Queen. She then took one of those "jimmy" type sprinkle things and made it look like a candle in the middle. It was almost too pretty to eat. But she ate it anyway. : )

Not a very clear picture, but it's a guitar. It's a really tiny guitar, about 3" long. It looks like something you'd get at the craft store as a scrapbooking embellishment. Or something you might die cut. Nope. This was hand cut with scissors (her own, not mine---she might be grounded for months if she used ANY of my good scissors!). Regular cheap scissors (again, THAT is the kind she better be using for cutting metal). I'll have to try to retake a picture & not blur it. She "thinks" it was metal from the bottom of a can.

I wonder, can I graduate them from homeschool with enough craft lessons? I can certainly say that our craft supplies have MULTIPLIED, so it should count for math! LOL!

Now my dear husband who is half responsible for producing these 2 people is out picking up our Valentine's Dinner. Since I was sleeping on Valentine's Day. And we're having cheesecake. Which I just realized needs to come out of the oven. OOPS! BYE!

2 weeks from Saturday

2011-02-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

I just read the sweetest blog post at Rachel Griffith's quilt blog. 2 weeks from today she will be leaving her baby for the first time to go out of town for several days. It made me tear up to read her words. Yet, I am also grinning beyond belief. You want to know why? Because 2 weeks from today I will be at a Quilt Festival in San Antonio listening to Rachel Griffith speak! Giddy! I wanted so badly to attend Quilt Market or Festival in Houston in the fall as I was in Houston that very weekend. However, it was when Linda was so sick in the hospital and I just felt like I needed to hang out here in San Antonio, just in case I was needed for some reason. I didn't have money to be spending at Quilt Market, so it would have just been to drool over everything. I had read that in addition to the quilt type vendors some of the crafting/stamping vendors would be there, so it would be something like CHA.

When my friend Kelly told me about this event at her church, I was SO excited! Natalie wants to go with me, too. That makes me happy. Bethany could care less about sewing. She doesn't even like the quilted look. A rag bag caught her attention for some reason, but beyond that, nah.

I'll find the flyer and post more for anyone in this area (I can't find info on the church website). It's at University UMC on De Zavala on 2/26. I think it starts at 9 a.m. and is $6. I'll double check that. The $6 may be for lunch & the event itself may be free. I'm sure we will hit Wendy's across the street for lunch since we can BOTH eat for $4 there and I can get GF food. Or have Kelly bring me lunch to her office in the church. ha, ha!

If anyone wants to come with me, let me know!

Fabric Give Away from Pink Chalk Fabrics

2011-02-07T14:02:00.001-08:00

Check out this luscious pile of fabric you could win! Go HERE to enter!

Darling Bag for Sale

2011-02-06T22:16:00.000-08:00

This darling Loribelle bag is for sale for $20 plus $3 shipping. It has a zipper top and inside has slip pockets along both sides. I can take pictures of the inside if you'd like to see. The sides are the same fabric as the handle.

If you'd like this before I put it on Etsy, e-mail me or leave me a comment here! Thanks!

Quilt Blocks 3 & 4

2011-02-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

First, if you haven't seen my Family Blog post on "which child is normal?" please go check this out: http://chefmama.blogspot.com/2011/02/which-one-has-normal-diagnosis.html My kids are total goofballs. The one with the Asperger diagnosis would NOT go to sleep tonight. She came into the sewing room about an hour after I'd taken her to bed & asked, with a sly smile on her face, "Why are you still up this late?" My little dorkling. LOL! She decided my bed would help her fall asleep so I'm going to have to move her in a moment.

Next, update on my kidney stones: I'm having pain tonight. I go on Monday for a CT scan & the dr. will likely do a procedure to break them up in the office this week.

Now, my 3rd & 4th blocks in the Quilt Block a Palooza. I think I am finally getting the hang of flying geese blocks. Well, sort of. I'm also still working on perfecting the 1/4" seam. I tried using my regular presser foot & the 1/4" marking on it. I know there is a way you can sew 3 pieces of fabric together & measure to see if you are getting a true 1/4" seam, but I haven't done that yet.

I think the pinwheel is my favorite block so far. I love that paisley print. My dear friend & dork sister Karen Lynn may have just thrown up a little. LOL! She REALLY does not like paisley, so it's a joke within the dorks about paisley prints in fabric or paper. Another dork sister, Vikki Jo, does not like butterflies, so I might just have to send this quilt to the 2 of those gals. Just because I'm goofy that way. ha, ha.

Natalie & I wanted to work on cards today but it didn't happen. Tomorrow I HOPE I feel okay for church & then we're going to go around selling Girl Scout cookies about the time people are gathering for Superbowl parties. We're hoping to find houses full of folks wanting to by cookies from us! ; )

The picture at the top? That is the most snow our city has seen in about 25 years. We've had ice, but not snow. I know it's just a dusting, but to us it was a real blizzard! It was gone by noon. That's the beauty of living here. No need to shovel snow. Just wait til noon. And today, 24 hours later, we had the a.c. on in the car. Crazy, I tell ya'.

Thanks for popping by.

First 2 Quilt blocks

2011-02-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

I decided to try to make the blocks that are being listed in this Quilt Block-a-Palooza I'm not sure exactly why I think I have time to do this, but I'm doing it! LOL! I finished the first 2 blocks.

I've never done real quilt piecing before. I have quilted fabric to make purses and we've made a rag quilt, but never the kind where you fit little squares and triangles together to make a quilt top. I have to learn how to keep things lined up or not stretch fabric or something as I seem to not quite have things turn out like they should.

When I got through with the 2 blocks, I noticed that block number 2 (the one with all the little squares that looks like a sudoku puzzle) was bigger than the other. I thought at first it was due to my dorkiness & I sewed it WAY off or something. Then I re-read the directions & figured out it was due to my dorkiness & not reading the directions all the way. I was supposed to trim each smaller block (with 9 squares, like a tic-tac-toe game) to 4.5" after I made them. Ooooops! Good thing I got that ergonomic seam ripper for Christmas! LOL!

You can see the difference in this picture:
Meanwhile, my younger daughter was able to make a different kind of art: SNOW art! The only other time she's done this was in New Mexico when we took a vacation. My older daughter and I looked out at the 1/4" of snow, said it looked pretty, and went back to sleep. I love the picture my husband took of Natalie throwing snow at the top of this page. How did he capture the snow looking like an arrow in the sky? WAY cool picture!
The girls & I need to get out to sell Girl Scout cookies later today, but Natalie & I are ready to make some valentine cards, so hopefully we'll have some papercrafts for you soon!

Thanks for stopping by this chilly day!

Gaggle of Geese, a Rag Bag and pre-teen "makeovers"

2011-02-02T19:43:00.000-08:00

I made my very first ever flying geese piece the other night. I do wonder if just one is a goose, though. Tonight I made a whole gaggle! It's part of a quilt square or block for Block-a-Palooza. I've never done this. I made that rag quilt, but each square was one piece. I've made a lot of totes & purses now. Gosh, I've even made my own wedding dress. But a QUILT BLOCK? This is new.

Here is a picture of the group of flying geese pieces. I'm learning to use this 1/4" sewing foot I bought. I like it, but I am learning how to position things just right. Who knew that just 1-2 threads off can mess up a whole quilt? With clothes you have room for error like that. You call it "easing" the fabrics to fit together. I guess in quilting you don't do that.

Now here is what all the pieces together look like before sewing them. I used a fabric line called, "What was on sale at Hancock Fabrics and in my stash." It's an exclusive line and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere near you.

Then I started to sew a row together. You sew the pieces across in a row, then you sew the rows to each other. Except somehow I forgot to factor in a HUGE factor. I'm a dork. I'm part of a whole group of dorks called the Traveling Dork Sisters. Actually, I am the Duchess of Dork. My birthday twin, Karen, who hates paisley & is puking over the pink/purple paisley in this block even as you read, is the Queen Dork. I figured since she was the queen & we share a birthday I'd be the Duchess. Plus, I could be like Fergie (the original Fergie, you know, the one who was married to a prince?) and pose for the "Before" shots for Weight Watchers. Okay, so dork factor takes place and we get this:

Do you see the dork issue? Look at the before picture & this one. Uh-huh. Now you see it. Thankfully my family bought me a new ergonomic seam ripper for Christmas. You know my motto is "You shall rip what you sew." I can just separate the 2 geese units & flip the big square unit around for the bottom.

AND, I'm almost done with Bethany's Rag Bag. She picked out all the colors & fabrics. We have different tastes, but this was what she wanted. She's into the black & white look with splashes of bright colors.
It is without a handle. As is Kathy's Krafty Bag. You know, the one I made for Kathy before she started "Kemo?" Yeah, well, she finished chemo & her bag is waiting for handles. We just had a dilemna on how to put them on b/c I forgot to put straps on it before I started. Poor Kathy. She's a dear for putting up with my delay & dorkiness. I am fairly sure I should be on Ritalin. Or something. I do not have to ask where my kids get their ADHD.

And, just for grins, this is what my daughter & her friends do for fun sometimes. Makeovers. Oh. My. They do them to each other. Since poor Kathy was attacked by a cat the other day and has a black eye and a nasty row of stitches I must think they were trying to empathize with her. One of these is her daughter. I figure I am safe posting these because you can't tell what these girls really look like. They are very pretty young ladies. Without the black eyes. And eyebrows. And lipstick. Really. Just trust me.

Inspiring Story for all of us

2011-02-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Whether or not you are a quilter or a crafter, this story will very likely inspire you the way it did me. Recently I've been following blogs of quilters and fabric designers. I must say that I learned about many of them through the Moda Bake Shop give away blog hop. I also must say I had very selfish intentions when I did because I wanted to win something. I found that I loved reading their blog entries and seeing their styles. Then I saw that one of the lovely fabric designers, Kate Spain, (she designs a bunch of stuff including dishes you can find at Target & Crate & Barrel: Kate Spain's Website) was going to be on an online Crafting Talk Show, Pat Sloan's Creative Talk Radio. Again, I saw a prize attached if I listened and commented. You can see my true colors here. So much for being all the Jesus wants me to be!

What I did NOT anticipate was hearing Kate tell a story that made me smile and search the internet in the wee hours to find out more about a special mom and daughter. Kate told about getting a comment on her blog from a lady who dreamed of opening a fabric store with her daughter. She told that the lady, Joyce, was able to realize that dream and her daughter, Sarah, had become interested in learning how to sew. Here is where you might want to run & get your tissues. Sarah is a young adult with Down's syndrome. When her mom told her that there was a challenge to make pillowcases to give to people with cancer, Sarah wanted to make one for her friend Kristen, another young lady with Down's Syndrome, who had cancer. This sweet young lady wanted to learn to sew to help her friend! Sadly, her friend lost her battle with cancer, but Sarah continues to sew while she misses her friend.

Kate sent fabric to Sarah and was able to be with Joyce and Sarah when they opened their store. Please go check out the store at JEllen's. You can get to their BLOGS here.

I'm smiling as I type this because as I type I am opening web pages to give you these links. Guess what Kate Spain blogged about today? This exact thing, so that makes finding the links even easier! LOL!

Yesterday at the grocery store I picked up a copy of American Patchwork and Quilting. I knew Kate mentioned that Sarah and Joyce were in a magazine, but I hadn't caught which one. I opened the front cover & look what I saw! This smiling face that I'd found in those wee hours online!

Then when I opened Kate's blog, I saw a picture of the magazine on her desk. It looks just like my picture. Except her picture shows a wood desk. Mine shows a card I never sent to anyone. And a sticky note. And some digi images I need to color. Oh, look, the final bill for Natalie's trip to the ER last year. Paid. A copic in need of a refill. And underneath are some pages for a quilt block I want to cut out. Just thought you'd like to see the difference in an artist's desk and that of a homeschool mom with no organizational skills! Funny, I have great spatial skills. That is, if I have space in which to be spatial. LOL!

AND, in case you were worried about the little girls' dolls shivering in our American Girls class, I am almost finished with the dresses. This fabric was SO stinkin' cute for these old fashioned dolls! And I MIGHT have bought enough to make some kitchen stuff, too. Maybe.
Oh, looky there, you can see more of my junk and several dried out copics! ha, ha!

I do hope you'll go read Kate's story about Sarah and Joyce. I have yet to make pillowcases, but I am now VERY inspired to do so, and teach my daughter(s) so they can, too. Bethany isn't into sewing, but I think Natalie will want to make one. Some of our pre-teen & teenage friends want to sew, too. I'm thinking that after our last year with 2 friends with cancer that maybe these girls might want to make some to give to a Cancer Treatment Center or Children's Hospital. Hmmm, I might even see a Girl Scout Silver Award in the works here!

Final little bit: Most of you know I have a special needs child. Bethany has Asperger Syndrome, a mild form of autism. Since she's getting older (she is 14 now), Phil & I have from time to time discussed how we don't know yet if she'll be able to work "out in the real world." It's not that she isn't CAPABLE. She has some amazing skills, especially in art and now in digital movie making. I even just discovered that she's gone into my spices & organized them for me. Trust me, if you think my desk is messy, she makes me look like a "Neat Freak." This is a huge thing for her to be organizing! Anyway, reading Sarah's & Joyce's story inspires me as a mom. It reminds me that we CAN find a way to help Bethany do what she needs to do to be successful in life. My goal in homeschooling her is as much about making her as socially adept as possible as it is scholastic. We've lagged behind scholastically with her while I've focused more on social time & skills (yes, I laugh at the thought of homeschoolers not being social!).

Hope you are staying warm and cozy with your loved ones today.

Natalie's new bag

2011-01-31T19:35:00.001-08:00

Here is Natalie with her new bag. She is in pj's & didn't want me to show her, then she turned around & flashed a smile, so there you go!

Now that it's on her, I see we need to shorten the straps. Not sure exactly how I want to do that yet. She's got it loaded down with all her homework for co-op to take tomorrow.

If you click on the picture, it should open to a zoomed in shot and you can see the PERFECT button we found for the bag.

Nat designed this bag. I mean, she picked out the colors & fabric for the style I've made several times before. The inside has a coordinating fabric with a slip pocket that has sections for pencils & pens then a large section.

Almost done with Bethany's bag, too! Woo-hoo!

What I do when I'm not in bed with infections & kidney stones

2011-01-30T15:40:00.001-08:00

That's an awfully long title! I didn't want to just put, "What I do when I'm not in bed," because it COULD be taken the wrong way. Multiple wrong ways. So you get the whole shabang.

Since I've been homebound, and not exactly in the position to be moving furniture & boxes to clean my pig pen, I mean house, I've been browsing quilting websites. Apparently there is a whole classification to these bold bright colors and styles I'm drawn to (yes, it's bad grammar---I'm in Texas, it's okay). It's Modern Quilting. I've heard of Quilt Guilds in the past. When I heard the word, I immediately pictured Aunt Bea in my head. You know, Mayberry? Andy Griffith? Oh, some of you are SO young! Small town in the 1950's. In the South. Grannies gathered around a quilt which they would then give away to some needy organization. It would be a grand proceeding of pious do-gooders being praised for all their good work. Now WAIT, don't judge me yet. I have NO idea what a Quilt Guild does! That's just what the WORDS make me think of!

I'm guessing that the Traditional Quilt Guilds probably were really lovely ladies who got together & made quilts the traditional way. They probably had fun quilting bees. That was there "Ladies Night Out" (or day out as the case may be). They probably had a few babies there, some preschoolers running around, and big kids were in school. Don't you just know that someone brought their Grandma's coffee cake and everyone asked for the recipe? They helped each other and got to "share concerns" about their neighbors. And Aunt Bea may not have been there.

Here is what I've learned recently. There are Modern Quilt Guilds. These gals get together & make some amazing quilts and quilted items out of the most luscious fabrics. Oh, look, I just found the home of the San Antonio Modern Quilt Guild! I'm not likely to join this b/c of time constraints and reality. I DO have a house I NEED to clean and I AM homeschooling my lovely daughters. AND since I can't seem to stay well long enough to accomplish most of that, trying to fit in an outside activity just wouldn't fly. Still, the stuff they make just wows me. I guess it's that "last born rebel" part of me. I am SO not a rebel in many areas. I'm probably in that group of "Pious do-gooders" by some standards. I do love the Lord & hope I am following Him in all I do and what people see, which means little classic rebellion. Quilts? I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't create the Quilt Police, so I'm good with new & different!

On to my projects. I'm about finished with a bag for Natalie & will post pics when I'm done. Right now I have a bunch of squares cut out to make Bethany a "Rag Bag". She has told me she doesn't like the quilted look. She doesn't want a quilt. But, she liked the Rag Bag I made & sold (without taking a picture), so I'm making her one. She picked all the fabrics & arranged them. The blank pieces will be filled in with a new one we bought. The first section is a side strip, front (9 square block) and the next side strip. The next section is the back. Then we realized we needed more for the bottom. I've got a bunch of random ones for the inside. She wanted to be sure it was fairly random, NOT a pattern. Guess she's a rebel, too. LOL!

Next is some fabric I've just cut out. This isn't the REAL fabric cut out. This is something I did in Photoshop using images of the fabrics to do a layout. I did just cut out all my fabrics & am anxious to start!

The pattern is from Quick Quilts from last summer.

I need to cut out & make some little doll dresses for our American Girl class at co-op. One of the girls said, "Miss Lori, my doll is SHIVERING without a dress!" LOL!

And at THIS moment while I'm not in bed with an infection or trying to pass a kidney stone, I need to go clean a baking stone & make some King Ranch Chicken.

A Fabric Give Away!

2011-01-30T15:30:00.001-08:00

In the stamping world, you know all about this: BLOG CANDY!!! Check out these beautiful fat quarter packs that Heather at House of A La Mode is giving away! (Click on her name to get there!)

Yikes! I forgot to tell her what I'd do with them! Gotta go do that. I think I'd use some of it to make little quilts for my great nieces. My niece-in-law went with a hot pink/bright green theme, so Sprinkles would make some cut stuff for Ems. My niece went with an "Ocean colors" theme for Karis, so I'd love to use some of Icing for that!

Go enter! Who knows, maybe comment number 6,397 WILL win. LOL! There aren't THAT many comments yet!

Blue Birthday

2011-01-28T10:06:00.000-08:00

Made this card for a friend having a birthday party tonight. She and my MIL had special birthdays recently. She is 65 & MIL is 75. So, they are throwing their own party! It's sure to be fun with these 2 gals.

Challenges:
Midnight Madness Sketch
Frosted Designs: Monochromatic
Creative Inspirations Paint: Shades of your favorite color (or favoUrite ColoUr for my Canadian/British friends!)

Details: Gina K stamps
Ink: SU Pacific Point, Distress ink Faded Jeans
Paper: White, Navy, Ballet Blue (I think); dp: K & Co. Winter Wonderland; velum
Other stuff: Nestabilities dies, CB folder & Sizzix folder

Thanks for coming by!

Pugs & Kisses

2011-01-23T14:12:00.000-08:00

For Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge. Same little guy, just different shapes for the images.

Doodle Pantry stamps. K & Co. paper.

Sorry for lack of details. On drugs for two kidney stones that are passing & have 2 more on the other side. Good times. LOL!

Moda Bake Shop Giveaway!

2011-01-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

For those who love fabric & sewing, check out what Moda Bake Shop is giving away! It's a "Blog Hop" but they are calling it a Progressive Dinner (being a Bake Shop & all). Have fun visiting the blogs & getting inspired! Plus they are sharing yummy recipes!

Herbs of Life

2011-01-21T19:56:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful Doodle Pantry Image, Rosemary. I love Rosemary. I have grown it but don't have a plant right now. I'd love to plant some in a huge pot by my front door so I can brush against it every time I walk by it. Since I live in a semi-tropical climate (that sounds so much better than it's hotter than all get out half the year), rosemary grows well and I've noticed is often used as shrubbery around here. I HAVE to stop & brush my hand on it or maybe pick off one little leaf to smell. It's an addiction, but I'm sure I could do worse. LOL!

I used the CPS sketch challenge for this card. Here's the original sketch.

I love that with sketch challenges you can take the basic design and create something unique. Every card made with the sketch is different, yet they all have the same basic design. That could lead me to something deep & thoughtful, but it's late, so we'll just leave it at that.

I'm learning with printing my digis on my laser printer that I have to remember to set it to cardstock or I get a "wimpy" image. That happened here, but for watercoloring, I thought it would be okay. The next time I printed I did remember to do that.

If you're wondering how to get a laser printer free, just marry a man who wants to be a pilot. He'll follow that dream, take you to Africa for year after 6 years of preparing, come back to the states, work with planes, then go back to school to learn about computers. Then he'll work at places that throw away perfectly good----um, okay, maybe not so perfect, but fixable----computer parts. It's like stray puppies, but it's computer parts. I don't complain. I find that stray stamps and fabrics follow me home. And if you give a mouse a cookie....

Details:
Stamps: Doodle Pantry Rosemary
Paper: Watercolor paper (printed on my laser printer), dp---hmmm, I THINK Webster's pages
Other stuff: watercolor crayons, aquabrush, nesties, Martha Stewart punch (wasn't it nice of her to share it with me?)

Wishing you a flavorful day full of wonderful aromas!

Tropical Warmth

2011-01-21T19:42:00.000-08:00

Don't you love this image? It's a Bird of Paradise flower from Doodle Pantry Designs by my friend Laurie Wilson. When Phil & I spent 6 months in Nairobi, something that surprised me were the lush gardens. It seems that when the Brits went to Kenya, they took their love of gardening and used native plants to cultivate some of the most beautiful areas. I'd never seen Bird of Paradise in real life. Honestly, I am not much of a plant person as far as knowing what plants are what. This one, however, I recognized and was enamored with.

When I saw the challenge on Digital Tuesday Challenge, I KNEW what image to use. It had to be this one. It just exuberates (is that a word?) tropical warmth, this week's challenge. Of course, the flowers were a MUST to add to the tropical theme. The sketch is from Card Patterns. It's a gate fold card. I made it so the top part "catches" in the sentiment piece to stay closed.

Details:
Stamps: Digis: Doodle Pantry Bird of Paradise, Clear Dollar Stamps digi sentiment
Paper: White, navy, green cardstock; K& Co. Jubilee dp
Other stuff: copics, nesties, flowers from Michael's, stickles (which I smudged after I took the picture & have to redo---waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!)

Here's hoping you have a WARM day!

Gingersnap Teabag

2011-01-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

The Gingers over at Gingersnap Creations are always coming up with such lovely, elegant, vintage work. Those gals have the ART gene, for sure! I got the CRAFT gene without the art part, so I tend to do more "cutesy" less vintage (because when I try vintage it really looks just OLD and wrinkled! LOL!). This week the challenge is to make a tea bag shape project. I didn't photograph this so you could see, but it is a tea bag shape. I think it will be a perfect candy bag holder. Might change it to hearts & make some up for Valentine's Day.

Stamps: Digis from that wonderful Sweets set at Clear Dollar Stamps (link is in my sidebar)
Paper: the dp is from some Paper Studio stacks I've had awhile, plus some purple & white cardstock
Other stuff: Nesties, stickles, ribbon, hole punch.

Thanks for dropping in!

You Warm my Heart.

2011-01-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

Another little 4 x 4 card. You do know you can get 4- 4x4" cards plus a 4" square out of a 12" piece of cardstock, right? You have to do a little math, but it works! Cut off a 4" strip (4x12), leaving a 12 x 8" piece. Cut into 4x8" strips. Cut the remaining piece 4 x 8". Cut some shape out of the leftover piece. LOL! That's what I usually do! Sorry, you probably already knew all that. This happens when one calculates quilt measurements in her sleep. Math. Who knew how handy it would be one day? Good thing I actually liked it in school!

Just a fun little card. No challenge. No reason. Just because you all warm my heart. And maybe b/c we have no snowmen in Texas. At least not in this part of Texas. Not REAL snowmen anyway.

Digi stamp from Clear Dollar stamps.

Little Red Card

2011-01-21T11:28:00.001-08:00

Just another little card to share. I had fun making little 4 x 4 inch cards!

Challenge:
Stamp with Fun: Sketch

Details: Clear Dollar Stamps pre-colored images. I combined the Warmest Wishes mug with the red candy stick from Sweets.
Paper: white & red, dp is Basic Grey Jovial
Other stuff: Just some stick on gems!

Have a warm day friends!

Sew Grateful

2011-01-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

This card is on its way to a special friend who just bought a NEW Loribelle Custom Designed Bag. The images are part of the Help Katie set. Please see my sidebar to click to get this set and help my dear friend Katie as she is in the fight of her life with cancer right now.

I love the way sewing looks on cards & am inspired by those cards with sewing. However, I don't often sew on cards for a few reasons. One is that my machine is computerized (not fancy, but computerized none the less) and I've read that bits of paper dust can mess that up some how. Another reason is that I have thread on my machine for a fabric sewing project at all times. Okay, that leads to the third reason. I'm just too lazy to keep changing out the thread just to sew a few stitches on a card & have to change it again! LOL!

For the following challenges:
Stampin' Sisters in Christ: NEW (new bag, new hope for Katie this year)
Pile it On: Anything Goes!
Crazy 4 Challenges: Thank you
Simon Says Challenge: Bingo (middle row, buttons, flowers, glitter)
The Pixie Cottage: Sketch

Details:
Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps Help Katie Set
Paper: Watercolor Paper, K&Co. dp, white, yellow & teal cardstock
Other stuff: Watercolor crayons & pencils with aquabrush; flower from Michael's collection, buttons from my stash, Spellbinders dies, Ranger Ink Vintage Photo

Thank you for coming by!

Seeing Spots

2011-01-21T11:00:00.001-08:00

This card is for the following challenges:
Basic Grey: Spots & Dots
My Time to Craft: Spots & Dots

I just loved how the gumballs also look like dots & was thrilled to be able to use this for 2 challenges at once! LOL!

Details:
Stamp: Digi stamp from Clear Dollar Stamps (FREE, pre-colored!)
paper: Basic Grey Jovial small pad, red, white
Other stuff: Nesties

Thanks for stopping by! Or is that spotting by?

Loribelle Bags on Sale

2011-01-20T23:40:00.000-08:00

Just discounted & relisted 4 bags on my Etsy site. More soon! Will put craft fair items here soon. Blog Candy, too! Feel free to spread the word! Thanks!

PS---Look Karen no paisley! : )

So Sweet

2011-01-16T21:19:00.000-08:00

Another card! Is this a record? 3 cards in one weekend? For me it seems to be these days (or months, or years). I guess I've finally hit that "not so sick I just want to lay on the couch ALL day but not well enough to be up doing the busy things I NEED to do" stage. So I sat and colored and cut and cropped and cuttlebugged....well, you get it.

Details:
Stamps: Clear Dollar Stamps FREE Digi-images
Paper: Watercolor , purple, white
ink: distress orange marmalade, cotton candy
Other stuff: Watercolor crayons & waterbrush; stickles, flowers; nestabilities

Challenges:
Clearly Inspired: Love is Sweet
Sketch for you to try:
Have a sweet day!

Cocoa for a Snowy Day

2011-01-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

How about a nice warm cup of cocoa with a peppermint stick on a snowy day? Or, if you are in San Antonio, like I am, how about just a cup of cocoa for a cold-but-not-cold-enough-for-snow-EVER kind of day? LOL!

Details:
Stamps: Digi Stamps: Mug & Candy Stick from Clear Dollar Stamps; Snowflakes from Clear Dollar Stamps
Ink: Brilliance blue, Distress Broken China
Paper: White, textured red, co'ordinations shimmer blue
Other stuff: Nestabilities scalloped rectangles; Martha Stewart snowflake brads; Copics

Challenges:
The Pixie Cottage Sketch Challenge & favorite coloring method

My Time to Craft: Chocolate!
Stamp with Fun: Snow!

Thanks for sledding by! Stay warm!

Speedy Recovery

2011-01-15T21:04:00.001-08:00

This card is for my friend Katie whom I've mentioned is battling stage 4 gastric cancer. No, it isn't the typical "get well" or "thinking of you" card. It doesn't have some deep spiritual words of wisdom. I just thought Katie might like a fun card. I haven't made a real card in so long that I looked for inspiration in challenges and came up with this.

Why a motorcycle for Katie? Well, her husband has a touring bike and the two of them have gone on trips on his bike. Even though MY husband is the SPEED bike (or it could read speeding, ahem) kind of guy, wives of men with bikes just "get" the whole bike issue. Katie never asked, "Aren't you afraid for him to ride a motorcycle?" I'd go riding with my hubby like Katie does with hers if we didn't both weigh about twice as much as Katie & Kevin! LOL!

This digi stamp is actually one that my friend Laurie Wilson, artist, designer and owner of Doodle Pantry Stamps, designed to look like my husband's Kawasaki ZRX1100. I have yet to use it for a card for him, but I thought it would be oh so fun to color it GIRLY for Katie! When I saw the requirements for Color Throwdown and Teapot Tuesday, it was GAME ON! Or, ladies, start your engines!

Yes, I also know this is going to be a LONG healing process for Katie, but we WANT her to have a speedy recovery, so that's what I put! I hope she enjoys a bit of creative humor in this card.

Details:
Stamp: Digi Stamp from Doodle Pantry: Racing Motorcycle
Ink: Distress Inks Cotton Candy & Weathered Wood
Paper: White, Bliss Blue, Co'ordinations brown with pink underside & salmon colored with light pink underside
Other stuff: computer generated words, copics, flowers from Michael's (I just got those with Christmas money & had no idea I'd be using those colors on a card so soon!), Sizzix texture plate, Nestabilities Labels 8 and the other one whose number I don't know! LOL!

Challenges:
Color Throwdown: Use these 3 colors AND designate the card for Katie: Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Soft Sky (I used what I had that were similar)

Teapot Tuesday: (I'm always late for the party)---flowers and gold. It's hard to tell, but where I thought silver would be in real life, I colored gold. It didn't look gold with the copic marker, so I went over it with a gold gel pen. Still not doing it. I went over THAT with stickles. In real life you can see the gold, so just trust me on this one. ; )

CES Challenge: No designer papers. Check! Used co'ordinations brown with a pinkish underside. Sadly, I can't find sandpaper in my house so I used a Sizzix folder & tried to scrape off enough for the pink to show through!

Doodle Pantry: Use a DP image. This one is under "Machines" in her store.

Stamp Something: Anything Goes. 'Nuff said.

Everybody Art Challenge: Sketch

Thanks for rolling by!

Seeing Stars!

2011-01-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

I feel like I should say, "Ta-Da!" as I introduce my latest bag. The reason is this bag has been so long in the making that it feels like I've finally accomplished some grand endeavor. My friend Granny Hawkins (her name is Connie, but we all know her as Granny) is, surprisingly enough, a granny! LOL! One of her granddaughters is a cheerleader in the young girl cheerleader groups. They go to competitions throughout the year. I wish I knew the name of her squad. I'm guessing it has to do with Silver Stars or something. When Granny first mentioned a bag, she was thinking of something "old fashioned," but wanted to think more about it. When she saw my "Emily Anne" bag (named after my friend Emily, whose middle name is NOT Anne, but I thought sounded good together), she decided she liked that style, with black & white, and "raggedy" edges. Hmmm, maybe it is now a Raggedy Anne bag.

I purchased some yardage of several black & white fabrics. I kind of went a little crazy. It was so much fun to see all the different varieties. I haven't even taken pictures of the inside, but the fabrics lining this bag are different than the ones you see here. I showed them to Granny via the internet (she lives in Georgia very near where I lived as a little girl) hoping she would make the decision to just LOVE certain ones. She told me to pick what I thought best (except a zebra print). I hope she likes these!

I knew immediately when she said silver stars with raggedy edges that I had to use lame (pretend there is an accent on the e & pronounce it la-MAY). Do you know about lame (laMAY)? It's a very shiny fabric that looks oh so fancy but is a royal pain in the patooty to sew. Now, it COULD be I think that because my first ever experience was making Barbie clothes for my girls. I was determined that my girls would have modest clothing for their Barbies. I created these amazing ball gowns, complete with long sleeves, late, LATE, LATE one Christmas Eve. It was then and there I understood why Barbie always wears strapless gowns. It had nothing to do with modesty. It had everything to do with the fact that her hands are shaped so you can't get long sleeves over her stinkin' fingers! I decided lame (laMAY) was lame (LAME!!!). It frays if you just look at it. Yep, you just set your eyes on it & it will start fraying. Touch it and the entire outfit falls apart. Not recommended for your next evening gown. Unless you have a second gown underneath, of course. However, that fraying is what came to mind when Granny said RAGGEDY EDGES on SILVER STARS!

I had the fabric before Craft Fair season, but once that hit, I got very little new work done that wasn't for a fair. Once I finished my fairs, I had some folks order potato bags from me that they wanted for Christmas. So I made those. Somewhere along the way I started quilting Granny's fabric. I got about 1/3 of the way done with the quilting then Christmas came. Then we got sick. Then we stayed sick. Now I am sick again. Blech! On my good days I hit that sewing machine hard (um, figuratively) and worked on this bag. Finally, FINALLY I finished this bag tonight.

Granny is with her granddaughter at a competition this weekend as I type, so I'm not sure she'll see the bag just yet. I need to get it wrapped up & mailed off to Georgia. Probably just as well it wasn't done sooner since I hear they've been iced in for some time in her parts.

Granny, I hope you like your bag! YOU are a shining star of a lady!

Help for Katie

2011-01-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

Help for Katie Fundraiser
Click HERE to go there directly

I'm a tad behind in posting this, but I wanted to share with you the story of a very brave lady. Her name is Katie Renz (click on her name to read her story and follow her journey). Katie & Kevin have 3 boys. I "met" Katie online through Clear Dollar Stamps. Katie is a wonderful crafter, but she also is a mom and has a "biker" husband. Well, a husband who rides motorcycles. We've chatted before about our husbands' love of fast "toys."

Just before Christmas Katie was diagnosed with Stage 4 Stomach cancer that had also spread to other areas. Her only course of treatment is high potency chemotherapy. On Christmas morning, Katie was admitted to the hospital and stayed there for over a week. She started her chemo in the hospital. She's just now having her 2nd round. She has the best attitude and is fighting with all her strength.

Needless to say there are going to be mounting bills. As most of you know, I've just had 2 friends go through cancer treatment, and one is continuing hers. My friend Kathy had no insurance when she started and I can tell you the costs for chemo alone are beyond imagination. With insurance, it's pretty steep, as you have to pay your deductible (welcome to a new year & a new co-pay), along with your co-pay, and hope you don't max out your lifetime available funds.

If you would like to help the Renz family financially, of course, you can do this privately or if you'd like to give as part of the stamping community, Jak Heath has put together a unique fundraising effort for our dear Katie. With your donation to help Katie, you also will receive a collection of digi stamps from various artists who love Katie. Most of us don't give because we expect something in return, but these just seem like a special tribute to Katie because it is her friends who made them. Each time you use them you can say a prayer for her!

A meal plan has also been set up that offers a way for even those far from Katie to help. I'll post that in a separate post. In addition, after receiving so many well wishes in the mail, Katie & Kevin set up a PO Box that you can use for sending cards. The address as posted on her blog is:

The Renz Family

PO Box 5913

Bellingham, WA 98227-5913

Please continue to pray for Katie as she journeys through this nightmare called cancer. And pray that there will be blessings she can see even in the midst of this. Thank you!

Introducing Natalie's Craft Blog!

2011-01-12T12:50:00.000-08:00

I decided it was time to give Natalie her very own craft blog. Technically, I will still be the "webmaster" or "blogmaster" or "I'm still the boss of Natalie person" for now, but I thought it would be nice for her to be able to show off her crafts on her own site. Plus, sometimes I might want to do the same challenge as she's doing & want my own space. LOL!

As you know, if you've been keeping up with my blog, Natalie loves House Mouse stamps. She does such a good job coloring those and they aren't easy to color. So, House Mouse cards will be on the blog. She also does paper quilling and makes adorable mini items with polymer clay. For years my girls have loved to decorate cakes. None of us have taken an official class, but we have fun creating. Last year Natalie got a book called, "Hello Cupcake" with some adorable ideas for cupcakes. For Christmas she got the book, "What's New Cupcake?" with even more ideas. So far she's made fried chicken cupcakes (they only LOOK like fried chicken) and a golf course. I will post pics of at least the golf course on there.

Without further adieu, you can check her out by clicking on this link:

Natalie's Crafts

I forgot my values!

2011-01-08T14:37:00.000-08:00

Bet you thought this was going to be a deep spiritual or philosophical post, didn't you? Nah, it's about quilts. The values I forgot were COLOR values. I'm new to quilt making. Okay, can I say new if I haven't even started? Well, we DID make the rag quilt for my great niece, so I guess I AM a quilter. ha ha. Being new means I have some lessons to learn. I've been picking up fabrics here & there in 1 yd. increments to use for different quilts. I've found good coordinating colors. I have some amazing fabrics I ordered, too. I showed some of those in my last post. What I forgot to look for was color VALUES.

Here's what I mean. I can have 2 prints with orange and pink, but if they are the same lightness/darkness, they will simply blend together. These 2 fabrics, for example, coordinate, but they don't stand out if put together. This one, on the other hand, is made like a quilt with varying shades and varying values of those shades. Here's a quilt I found online that shows good color value variation:
It has lights, mediums & darks:
So, today, after I work on a bag I have GOT to finish, I'm going to play with all my fabric again & mitch----um, that's dork for mix & match! LOL! all my pieces so I can have some VALUES!

If you are a scrapbooker or card maker, I think these same principles can apply to papercrafting.

Happy colorful day!

A New Year, A New Passion

2011-01-02T21:17:00.000-08:00

Happy 2011! As you know, I've been MIA often on my blog. My daughter Natalie has held down the blog with her cards. Life just seems so full. I WANT to get out my paper goods and start creating. I just need to do it! Oh, wait, now I remember, I also need time & space. Soon, I hope.

In the title I put "A New Passion." It's not entirely new, but lately I have been obsessed (or bosessed as my fingers want to type) with quilts, especially easy to make but with gorgeous fabric. I'll take pictures soon of some of the fabrics I've purchased recently to start my adventure. For now I'll show you a few clips from online of what I've found. Hope you enjoy!

Some of the designs I'm toying with are these:
It's called Love Letters by Anna Maria Horner & the pattern is free online.

One of Amy Butler's quilts. I just love the bold color combos. Kind of funny as I also love sweet pink rose quilts in traditional patterns.

If you can see the quilt on this magazine, I've got some brights (not the ones shown, but I do love them) in mainly pink & orange to make this.
I discovered a lady named Bari J. Ackerman in a quilting magazine last year & had to find her online. Her first line of fabric was called Full Bloom and the first 2 fabrics shown above are from that line. This is the quilt from her blog that I'd like to make. I won't be able to use all her fabrics in it, but I'm finding that they blend well with many other fabrics. Sadly, cost IS a factor in buying fabric. If you click on the link above you can see her work and some of the newer fabric lines she's developed. I get a kick out of reading any time she writes of her daughters b/c they are the same ages as my girls & I can so relate to what she says!

I know, if I can't even get a card made, how will I make a quilt? Well, I figure I can keep the fabric stacked in the sewing room & I don't have to pull out stamps and cutting tools, just my handy dandy machine that's already set up. At least to piece it together. The quilting part, well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. If I can't be the next Pioneer Woman (you'll have to see my blog post on my family blog HERE), maybe I can be the next Quilt Woman! LOL!

First, though, I have a bag to make for a friend who has ordered it & been waiting. I have a rag quilt for my daughter who has been waiting. I have a bag to cut out & make my other daughter. And then there is that little matter of homeschooling.

For now I will dream of beautiful colors wrapping us all in warmth!

One creature is stirring!

2010-12-19T09:45:00.000-08:00

Nat's "Charming Christmas Mouse" card for the House Mouse & Friends Challenge & a few other challenges. I'll list those later, but need to get this posted for the HM&F challenge! Colors are much more brilliant IRL. My flash faded them out. Maybe I can retake a picture later, too.

House Mouse & friends Nat's envelope

2010-12-04T22:54:00.001-08:00

Now Nat's FIRST challenge entry as a TWELVE year old! This time the challenge was "Envelope Art". I helped Natalie make a big envelope & she designed it.

Thanks for rollin' by today!

Teapot Tuesday for Linda

2010-11-29T17:30:00.000-08:00

This card is for my dear friend Linda who is battling cancer. She finished chemo 5 weeks ago and 2 days later collapsed at home. She was rushed to the hospital by ambulance and is still in the hospital. She has asked for prayers and a miracle. While the situation seems bleak, we are confident that God is good even when life is not. We are praying that He will provide a miracle and heal her body.

About a month & 1/2 before Linda finished chemo she had a huge loss in her life. Her dear mom, who had stepped in to help out with Linda's family (she has one child & her husband), got ill quite suddenly and died 2 weeks later. It left a big void in Linda's heart.

Gracious Cindy, aka Mothermark, asked if we could make her the "Destination Station" for this week's Teapot Tuesday Challenge. Thank you Cindy! This will brighten Linda's spirit! Did you notice the bird is upside down on her teapot? That is a perfect picture of Linda's life this year. It has, indeed, been turned upside down.

For this card, I used 2 Doodle Pantry images and did some cropping, cutting & pasting. The main image is Shaggy Cat. I made the cat smaller than in the samples so it would fit off center in the chair. Then, I cropped a bird from Branch Birds to add to the cat. Linda LOVES cats. I don't know if she likes birds, but who couldn't love THIS bird! She is truly a Purr-fect friend.

Stamps: Doodle Pantry Shaggy Cat and Branch Birds

Ink: Ranger Distress Ink Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Spun Sugar

Paper: DP: Basic Grey Green at Heart (from my dear friend Kathy, who has also battled cancer this year); cardstock: SU Orchid Opulence, Non-SU lavendar, hot pink, white

Other stuff: Brads, Prima flowers, Nestabilities Labels 1 & 4, ribbon from Michaels

I used The Pixie Cottage Sketch Challenge for my layout.

Thank you for stopping by.

Nat's House Mouse---You Gotta have Friends

2010-11-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Natalie's House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge card for "You Gotta Have Friends." This is her last challenge card as an 11 year old! She'll be TWELVE next Saturday! It's also for The Pink Elephant Sketch Challenge:

This saying & card fits Natalie. She does have some "wheely good friends." Her two BFF's, J. & A., are frequently at our house and I get to see them interacting. I had 2 close friends at her age so I look at those three & think, "That's Beverly, Denise & me!" What's especially fitting is that these girls have been known to pull each other around in our wagon. You know the little plastic wagon you had when your kids were little? Yeah, that one. There is no shortage of creativity or fun at this house!

Natalie colored this with my Copics again. I think she's got the knack!

Thanks for rolling by today.

Trying out the Sell Button!

2010-11-08T19:00:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Katie Renz, I THINK I may know how to sell things now from the blog. I am going to try this out with a bag & see if it works okay.

Here is the item:

And hopefully here is the button:

Okay, let's see if this works!

Adsense and Selling products on my blog

2010-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

I am currently trying to figure out how to sell items directly from my blog. I clicked on the Monetize button thinking that would do the trick for me. Turns out that sets you up to have ads on your blog page! Not exactly what I wanted. I'll try to fix that, but have to wait til I'm approved, then I guess remove myself from adsense.

If anyone has items for sale on their blogs & can share how to set this up with either paypal or Google checkout, I'd be quite happy to get that info! Thanks!

Have a blessed day!

Craf Fair Part 3!

2010-11-05T08:38:00.000-07:00

Heading to Houston today for a craft fair at Splendora Countryside Methodist Church. We have an inside booth this time! Yea!

Hoping this one is a big success. Last week's craft fair netted me $-15 or so! Yep, negative. Paid more for the spot than I got back. So really hoping these next 3 are good. Or I might be pumping gas somewhere to help with the bills! YIKES!!!! That or open a chocolate shop. I like that idea. LOL!

Have a good weekend!

Nat's Beary Happy Card

2010-11-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Natalie's Beary Happy Halloween card is for the following challenges:
House Mouse & Friends: Theme Halloween
PaperPlay Challenge: A Haunting we will go
Simon Says Challenge: Punch 'em
Pixie Cottage Sketch:

Creative Card Crew: Let's Punch It

This bear may not be very scary, but we'll pretend he's fierce! She used punches for the pumpkins & the circles. I loved how she made the smaller ones. We could not find a small circle punch in the house, so she used the SU Slit punch twice to make a circle! Smart kid!

Yes, she's using my copics like a pro now. : )

Thanks for stopping by!