My Scrappy Summer

This summer I am bound and determined to use up some of this copious stash. That is my goal, and as a result I will be posting photos of projects that use up stash. I will be posting every week. Hopefully YOU will be inspired as well.

This weeks project was the YoYo Elephant you see above. The pattern comes from Indigo Junction and is as easy as pie. It uses the Clover YoYo maker in two sizes. I used about thirty 5 1/2 inch scraps and about thirty 4 1/2 inch scraps plus some little bits for the head and the ears. By my quick mental calculations, that's about a yard of Aunt Grace scrap pieces gone. Wonderful! What child wouldn't have fun with this? So, a bit of my Aunt Grace scraps gone, and a treat for a granchild. Win-win in my book.

Mare, I am challenging you to attack your stash, too! Can you do it???

Roni, don't think you are getting off scott free. I challenge you, too!!! Now get sewing!!

Seriously Late Quilt Retreat Update

Yes, I know. Pathetic. But better late than never, eh? So.... here are some photos from our fabulous quilt retreat back in February - or was it January? I can't remember now... Funny thing is I couldn't even find the photos I took of my group of gals at the retreat. I actually had to Google "Camp Blanding Quilt Retreat" to find photos that hopefully someone had posted online, and as luck would have it, I found some!!! These photos are not mine. Once found, I had to phone the owner of these photos and ask permission to use them and after I left a rather long, rambling voice mail, I received an email and was granted permission by the wonderful Julie, from Stitches of Love. If you are on facebook, you can find Julie here. I lost several hours of my life drooling over photos in the many photo albums they have on facebook... It's worth the trip...

This is the view in front of the building where we sewed from 7 in the morning (if you were up!) until midnight! It was great fun and a beautiful setting. There were 180 wonderful quilters (not just women!) there and it was glorious! The hum of the machines, the chatter, the cocktail waitresses... whoops! Was I supposed to mention that?

Strolling through the large room to see what everyone was working on was inspiring! I loved it! Again, this was my first retreat and let me tell you, the bar is now set pretty high. This retreat is organized by the ladies of Olde Green Cupboard and let me tell ya, they rocked it! Camp Blanding was a marvelous setting, and boy oh boy did they feed us well. We were served prime rib, lobster and numerous other outstanding entrees. It was stellar. Even the accommodations were wonderful. Clean and incredibly comfortable.

A marvelous time was had by all and we fully intend to do this again as soon as possible!

My First Quilt Retreat - Camp Blanding, Here We Come!!

I know - it's been forever since I had a chance to write a blog but here I am, excited as can be to tell everyone that I am going on my first quilt retreat to Camp Blanding in Stark, Florida. I am going with 5 wonderful Quilty Chicas and I am so excited I can't even sleep. Seriously! Roni posted some of the details here. When I return I will post photos and let you know what I think of quilt retreats.... something tells me I am going to love this. Wish us luck and have a great weekend!

New Doggy Bags

I have been working like a dog making these custom Doggy Bags for customers. I just finished a few more and realized I hadn't done Show and Tell yet. I have been making these for sale in my etsy shop as well as here locally. Here are photos of the first two that started the craze...

Their "Grandma" is going to put them under the tree with a bag of their dog food, a few treats and maybe a few other items. Now when they travel to Grandogs house they will do so in style!
No more plastic store bags for these dogs!

New Grandbaby!!

Introducing my newest grandchild, Jackson Scott. He was born on Saturday, October 9th and let me tell you, he's a big boy! His momma was quite a trooper and she put in an amazing two days of labor to bring this wonderful little man into the world.

Look at that hair!! He sooooooo gorgeous!

And there he is, on the scale proving that he weighed 9 pounds, 13.6 ounces!! He looks three months old! I get to meet him on Monday and I can't wait! Just look at that face! He needs to snuggle with Grandma, don't you think?

Penelope! The Easiest Quilt I Have Ever Made!

I know that you are all shaking your head. I am not kidding. This is the easiest quilt I have ever made and believe me, it doesn't look it when it is finished. The designer is Patricia Pepe and let me just say that her work is fabulous! The blocks are literally strip cut squares, that are then trimmed a bit to make the angular pieces, that are then transformed back into simple squares yet again. It sounds confusing, but it isn't when you are reading Ms. Pepe's instructions. The trimmings are then used to make that amazing border. I put my quilt together in two days! What you are looking at here are photos from McCalls Magazine and the designer's website. My version is on display at Country Quilts and Bears in Clearwater, Florida and I forgot to photograph it. If you are in the area, they stock the pattern, too. They also stock the most amazing batik fabrics if you are looking to make one similar to the one in these photos. I have already packed my camera and intend to go there tomorrow to snap a shot or two or three.... Can you see the secondary patterns? Isn't it great??!!!

I will be teaching this class in October and if you are interested, shoot me an email and I will give you all the details. I believe the class date is October 23rd. If you are not in the area, here is a link to the pattern. The pattern that was in McCalls magazine did NOT call for the X-Block Ruler, but the pattern itself (which seems to be identical) calls for it. I did NOT use the ruler and construction was easy. The results will speak for themselves...

Do You Think It's Time to Clean the Machine?

My beloved Janome 11000 was acting up. Believe me when I say that this is very rare behavior for her. She NEVER gives me trouble. I typically clean her out very quickly every Sunday, but I guess I have missed a few cleaning sessions....Wow. I nearly choked when I unscrewed the needle plate and found this nest beneath it! Really, it did seem like just yesterday that I cleaned her out.... When was the last time YOU lifted your needle plate and gave your machine a good dusting and a thorough vacuuming? And while I am at it, when was the last time you changed your sewing machine needle? Just like a good man, a good sewing machine needs a little attention and love once in awhile. Make today the day!