BDSI update

Well, it's 9:30 p.m. here, and I've had a few hours to work on my Raven Stars quilt. I've finally assembled all of the half-square triangles that I need, and also the brown and white star points.
I was really hoping to have more of the full-size blocks assembled, but I'll have to leave that for another day. They should go together quickly now that I have all the separate units constructed. The proof:
I needed to do a bit of trimming on most of the blocks, so that slowed my progress just a bit - now that's mostly done, so I should be able to assemble a bunch of blocks before I hit the sack - have to wait for our son to get home first....

Boxing Day Sew-In

I've had a very hectic month - trying to finish up some special quilts, making 3 different sets of Christmas cards, and being available to help out wherever my parents needed me. Now, the cards are mostly sent out, the quilts have been finished and given to their recipients, mom and dad are going to have a quiet few days and I even managed to do a bit of Christmas baking to share with our neighbours!
So, now it's the day after Christmas, and all of the pressure is off - but, if you know me well, you know that I can't just sit around with my hands in my lap. I was checking out the quilting blogs I read regularly, and noticed that Amy (A Quilting Sheep) had a notice on her blog about the Boxing Day Sew-In. I wasn't sure if I was ready to get behind the sewing machine just yet, but when I looked at my UFO pile, I knew I had to sign up.
One of the quilts I really want to finish up is Raven Stars. I started it as a quilt-along, and fully intended to finish it a long time ago, but life just seemed to get in the way.
So, this is where I was with it this morning:
Check back later to see how much I've accomplished!

I've made a few cards too...

I've finally had a little bit of time to make my Christmas cards! Now, they may not make it to your mailbox by Christmas, but I did want you to know to keep an eye open - you never know what may show up! Wish I could send one to every one of my blog readers....
So, for those of you that won't be receiving your own personal card, have a look at what you're missing out on:

I used the new Stampin' Up set "The Sounding Joy" - I varied the cards a bit with various cardstock colours and a few embossing folders.

So I was wrong.....

Last week's Friday Night Sew-In wasn't the last one for the year after all - there was one more, last night. I never have to go looking for a project to do - I have at least 5 quilts at various stages of completion...
I've had blocks cut for a cute quilt for quite a while, but I decided that it would have to wait until I had some much more urgent ones completed first. I have finished piecing the tops of most of them (I'm waiting for batting to go on sale so I can finish them), so I gave myself permission to start this new one.


The pattern is called "Super Zig" and I found it online; it's FREE at the LecienUSA website! I got a lot of the blocks sewn together and trimmed, and even got a few rows started before I almost fell asleep sewing a seam - definitely NOT a good idea!
I'm going to sign off now so I can check out a few of the other blog posts - enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Last FNSI for the year!

If it's Friday night, it just may be FNSI night! (I know, it's Saturday now...) I had such wonderful plans to finish a quilt, but I did manage to get some of it done - and hopefully I'll just have the binding left to finish tonight.
My mom was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago, and she's just started undergoing some "lite" chemo - she's doing really well, but the room where the chemo is administered is quite cool. Do you think a handmade quilt would help? I sure hope so!
I used a Moda Mill House Inn jelly roll from Fig Tree Quilts that I've had for almost 2 years. I went to my favourite (and quick and easy) "Split Decision" pattern; got the top assembled last week. I used my Friday night for the border and getting the quilt layered and ready to quilt. And the quilt? - here it is:

Christmas Time is Here....

... so goes the song from one of my favourite Christmas specials - A Charlie Brown Christmas. I know that it's only Dec. 5th, but just a few days ago, it was Oct. 29th.... I blinked, and suddenly it's only 20 days till Christmas!
I really love this time of year, with all it's special sights, sounds, smells and cards.... Right! Christmas cards! Yikes - I need to make some cards!
I have a number of different recipients - quilting friends, church friends, family, special friends... and you KNOW that you can't give the same card to all of those different people, so I bookmark special cards that I find online; when it gets close to Christmas, I check out my pics, and decide which cards to make for which group of people.
I made a few green and white and snowflake cards for my quilting friends; the multi-coloured Christmas trees, and the "candle" cards are for my newspaper customers (I deliver our weekly newspaper to approx. 110 people). And those other people on my list? Hopefully I'll have enough time to make cards for them soon! Check in here in a few days to see what I've come up with!

Finally have the quilt top done!

Another Friday Night Sew-In has come and gone, and what do I have to show for it? A quilt top! I've been working on it for a few months, off and on (I think I've shown some of the blocks on a previous FNSI post). I'm not exactly sure that it's big enough - it's supposed to fit a single bed, and I don't have any single beds... So, I hope it's big enough to actually start quilting!
And the picture (it's definitely scrappy!):
I was hoping to start another project - I'm doing a hand-made ornament exchange with some of my online quilting friends, and part of it will be a quilted object. Sorry I can't say more about it just yet - but you never know who'll be reading your blog!

I must be crazy!

Here were are, just a few weeks shy of Christmas, and I have a pile of to-do items as high as my head. Kind of typical for a lot of crafters... So, what did I do to make that list just a wee bit shorter, you ask? Well, truth be told - absolutely nothing! I actually started another project.
It's not my fault really - last week was kind of a tough week, and I just headed out to one of my local quilt shops - I had $10.00 worth of "coupons", and I needed a specific kind of fabric to make ornaments for my quilt group's ornament exchange. That's all I needed - honestly! Well, I did want to pick up a pattern too, but that was it. And then I saw the rulers on the wall, and the Dresden Plate ruler started calling my name.
I've never made a Dresden Plate quilt before, but I've recently seen a few tutorials showing how easy they are to make using the rulers and a sneaky sewing method, and it looks SO do-able. So, I bought the ruler too... and when I got home, I had to cut a strip of fabric, just to try the ruler out - that's my story, and I'm sticking to it! The next thing I knew, I had cut about 20 strips, so then I had to cut the wedges... and now I have this on my table:
I don't know if you can see my fancy "turntable" cutting mat under all of those wedges - I won it last spring in our local shop-hop, and it was exactly what I needed to cut all of these pieces. So, I'm off to do some sewing! What do you have on your schedule today?

Starting November with cards!

What's this? 2 blog posts, back to back, with birthday cards in them?! What is going on? Well, it's like this - I painted my craft room a few weeks ago, and life hasn't been the same since! I have a tiny spot cleared on my cutting table, and it's where I've been doing whatever crafting I have time for - and that doesn't seem like much time lately. I've been working on 2 or 3 quilts, but a lot of that has been cutting parts - not too exciting! I hope to have fabric-related pics soon, but I'm hoping that you'll be SO amazed with my cards that you'll totally forget that I haven't posted quilty stuff for a few weeks. *crossing her fingers*
So, on to the pics! The first card uses my new favourite stamp set, Delicate Doilies. I stamped them using Cherry Cobbler, Kiwi Kiss and Close to Cocoa inks; I mounted the stamped panel on Close to Cocoa C/S, and then mounted it onto the Kiwi Kiss card base. This is going to be the card for my mom's 83rd birthday Nov. 8th. Happy birthday mom - we love you! The second card features a stamped motif; brads mark the 3 visible corners. That panel is applied to C/S with a piece of Designer Paper glued onto it. A label and a petite oval from my collection of Nestabilities draw your eye to the sentiment, and a ribbon ties the whole card together.

One last October card....

I had to wait to post this card, because I wanted the recipient to get it before she saw it here. Now that I know she's seen it, I can pop it up on the blog. I CASE'd one of her favourite card-makers (whiterockmama from Splitcoaststampers), but you'll have to check her post to see the original. Okay, I'm done stalling - I know you want to see the card! Here it is:
I used a punch along the side edge of the front panel. The flowers are the 3 smallest layers of my Nesties Mega Carnations with some branches made with the SU bird punch. I used more Nesties for the scalloped oval and oval (which also got the dot-ty treatment with a Cuttlebug folder); a rectangle of designer paper on top of a matching piece of card-stock, some sheer ribbon and half an hour of work - and you finally have a special birthday card for a special person!

October cards

I've needed a few new cards this month, and haven't posted many of them. I'm posting 2 birthday cards, and also a sympathy card (I needed it too...).

Klosjes!

Like many bloggers, I follow a number of blogs, mostly card-making and quilting ones. One of the quilters I follow had a friend offering 12 weeks of guest posts and give-aways. Who wouldn't sign up to be part of that? Some lucky folks won sewing machines, or Fat Quarter bundles, or any number of quilt-related goodies. While I didn't win any of the "big" prizes, I was a winner of a wonderful secondary prize! Grandmama Jane offered the winner from her post a collection of "Klosjes" (which is Dutch for "spools")! All of the blocks are hand-sewn(!), and she sent me an assortment of blocks, some joined together already, some singles waiting to be joined up, and then a LOT of bits of fabric with sections drawn onto them, ready for me to cut out and sew together!
It's kind of a crazy-busy time for me right now, so I haven't had a chance to do anything with them yet, but I'm counting down the days till things settle down a bit. The best part is that all of the fabrics are either red, white or black (or combos of those colours) - and I LOVE that combination! Here's a pic of the sections Grandmama Jane had sewn together, plus some of the separate blocks:
She also included some fantastic Christmas fabrics, but they've been put aside for a special project, and can't be revealed just yet...
Thanks again Grandmama Jane!

FNSI Oct. 2011 version

How can it be almost the end of October already? I haven't even really started thinking about crafting Christmas gifts yet! Sorry kids, you aren't getting handmade gifts this year....
I've been swamped the past month or so - we have a new crafting group at church, with the emphasis on charity donations (quilts, afghans, hat and mitten sets, etc.) and so much of my time has gone to prep. work for that group. I've also recently painted my crafting space, and I'm still trying to find my way back!
I did make sure to keep track of one of my on-going projects, and that's what I worked on last night. I saw a picture of a really great quilt on someone else's blog, and I loved it enough to try to make one on my own. I've cut strips of fabric to make 2 1/2" x 8 1/2" 'logs' - then I sew four of them together, press and trim (if needed) into an 8 1/2" square, and voila! a quilt block. When you have a bunch of them, you sew them together, making sure to twist them so that the stripes alternate from 'up and down' to 'side to side' - it makes great texture.
I haven't actually sewn any blocks together yet, but I got a lot sewn up last night. The pics are of my starting pile of cut fabrics, and then some of the completed blocks:

Shower gift

Earlier this year our church started hosting bridal showers for any members getting married. Sometimes there's a wedding registry to shop from, sometimes we all just chip in for a gift card, and then there's the "We really don't have anything - whatever you give us will be perfect!" kind of shower. That was the case the last time. That's the kind of shower that encourages creativity - my favourite kind! The couple has white dishes, so I made a set of 4 placemats, and then decided to make 4 coasters (they don't match) as well.
Their wedding was last Saturday, and I'm excited to know that the placemats are now going to get a good workout!

Project overload!

Okay, so most of the overload is because I haven't posted anything lately - sorry about that! Of course, I may just have to post every day for a bit....
It's probably time for a "card" post - and I haven't had a lot of time, or space, to make any new ones - until last night. I needed a birthday card for someone at church today, and I had a few parts pre-cut, so that's the way I went.
This card is cut long and skinny - a little untraditional, but that opens a few more design opportunities. I used a little piece of DP that I got at the summer sale at Up The Street scrapbooking, and I paired it with a few pieces of C/S - the colours are in the DP too. Add a flourish from a set I bought somewhere, once upon a time, stamped twice without re-inking in between, a Happy Birthday sentiment from Close To My Heart, finished off with a few brads, and we have a birthday card! Kind of pretty too, if you ask me!

...and she's done!

I finally got my newest Margo handbag done! I was hoping to get her finished for the Sept. 2011 FNSI, but I got a little side-tracked...
She's finished now, and is packed up and ready to go to DH's nephew's wedding this weekend. She just "happens" to go perfectly with my dress!
Enjoy the pics, both of the front, and the inside. I love all of the inner pockets! and the ones on the front are great too!

Sept. 2011 FNSI

Well, that was a big disappointment... I had grand plans to sew myself another Margo Handbag from Lazy Girls Designs for this Friday Night Sew-In. I was doing well at the start; so well in fact, that I decided to make 2 purses. It made a lot of sense - if I was going to be going through all the steps, I might as well do it for 2 purses - but hey, wouldn't it work even better for 3? I can tell you now, NO! it doesn't make any sense at all... I sewed the wrong parts together, or I got the steps in the wrong order, and ended up having to unpick seams. The upshot of it is: I have parts of 3 different bags all partly done, and nothing to take to church tomorrow!
I have a few pics - one of some of my fabrics, and one of the process - and any further progress will show up here sometime soon I hope! The fabrics are all from Robert Kaufmann's Fusions lines - the 2nd pic gives a better look at the colours.

Something fun....

I haven't posted any cards lately, probably because I haven't made any lately! Life has just been WAY too crazy around here... and this Friday is FNSI, so I need a non-sewing post urgently!
I thought that I had posted this card already, but I can't find it in any recent posts, so it's fair game!
I found this stamp set at Len's Mill Store, for the exhorbitant price of $3.99... I have lots of stamp sets for cards for adults, a fair number for cards for little kids, but not many stamps for the 6-25 year-old crowd - until I found this one, of course! I see that I forgot to tag it it with a sentiment, but I guess that makes it more flexible!

The top is done!

I spent most of the day working on Jeff and Anne Marie's quilt, and I'm happy to say that I finally got it finished tonight! (It needs a good pressing...) So, tomorrow it's off to the quilter's house - that should give her enough time to finish it so I can get the binding done in time for the wedding!

August FNSI

Another Saturday, another Friday Night Sew-In report...
We have a wedding to go to at the end of September, and I'm making a quilt for a wedding gift (I'm safe - they don't know I have a blog!) I picked up the fabric a few weeks ago at Sew Creative - this quilt was on display, and I knew that it would make the perfect gift!
The pattern is a freebie online (Sweet Caroline: http://www.clothworks.com/pattern_download.asp?ID=271) the only thing that I'm going to change is to not add the blue strips at the top and bottom of the quilt.
I managed to get all the nine-patch blocks made up, and I'm well on my way to completing the snowball blocks. I should have it done in time to get it to the quilter's by mid-week!

Another card from a few weeks ago...

Is anyone else's summer as crazy as mine has been? I figured that with a smallish garden (too wet this year) and no kids at home any more, I'd have a long, slow summer - with lots of time to accomplish all sorts of things....WRONG!!!
My garage door has 1 coat of paint on it, hoping to get the 2nd coat on sometime this week; I've managed to get a bit of sewing/quilting done (got the baby quilt all finished and delivered to DD#1 to give to the parents-to-be), and also did a bit of baking and canning for last week's fair in a nearby town (we don't have a local fair here any more).
I don't think I've even spent more than 3 hours all month making cards! I had a brief, energetic spurt, and managed to produce a few cards, but that's all. The worst part is, what has happened to all my wonderful free time?
But, before I get too philosophical (I don't want to lose all my readers!), I decided it must be time to post a card - and here it is! I've been working (slowly) at cleaning up my craft-room, and I came upon some half-finished cards and the elements to finish them, nicely tucked away in a plastic bag. So, a bit of time, some glue, mini brads, and a sentiment stamp or two, and I have another card to send to someone. Without further ado - I give you:

And now for something completely different....

Every so often I get in the mood to make a mini quilt - and the urge has hit again! Two or three years ago, I made a bow-tie quilt (http://delawarequilts.com/BOMs/BowTies/index.html), and when I made the block with the little triangle sewn onto it, I saved the little triangles that get cut off. I saved them, thinking that at some point in time, they just might come in handy - and boy, did they come in handy!
The individual blocks are approximately 1 1/4" square! Check out the link to see how the quilt should look when made with full size pieces (http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/art/htmls/ks_piece_logbarn.html) Here's mine - it's approximately 11 1/2" x 9 1/2"

Oh look - it's a card post!

It feels like a long time since I posted a card... actually, it's only been 33 days. So, I took some pics of cards I've recently made, and I'll share one of them here - I'm saving the other 2 for another time. It just seems like forever since I actually MADE a card.
There's a lady that used to go to my church; she always had a smile on her face, and was so welcoming of anyone and everyone. Now, she and her family attend a small church nearer their home - they feel needed there, and feel God calling them to be a part of that congregation.
It was her birthday earlier this week, so I made and sent her this card:
I used some Cosmo Cricket DP that I've had for a few years, and the birthday sentiment is from CTMH. I can't remember what set the motif is from, and I'm too hot and tired to run upstairs to check it out, so you'll have to be as puzzled as I am, OR you could check out the SU online site (that will only work if it's in the current catty though). A few brads and some bits of C/S that I found in my scraps box, and voila! a card! That actually wasn't too hard - I may try it again sometime soon!

Another Friday Night Sew-In

Well, I just might survive this week - lots of family stuff going on, and the weather! it's almost unbearable....
But, good things have happened this week too, so I'm truly thankful for that. Celebrating with the latest FNSI has helped too!
I had such grand plans for this month's sew-in, but they say that "the best laid plans of mice and men something-something" - I forget the rest, but you know what it means - everything went out the window! I did well to find an hour or two last night to work on a quilting project.
I am a member of an online quilting group; one of the members posted a comment the other day about a 4-patch posey project - that got me wondering what a 4-patch posey was, so I googled it, and found that it's similar to a "stack and whack" - any non-quilters reading this will have to look it up. I had an odd piece of fabric that I'd inherited at our quilt guild's last yard sale. I had no idea what to do with it, so I tucked it away. Well, I came across it Thursday, and thought I'd give the 4-patch posey a try.... and I think it came out fairly well! I've included a pic of the fabric so you can see what I started with. Basically, you cut 4 identical patches of fabric, cut them into 4, then take all the bottom left corner blocks, put them together; do the same with the other 3 block sets. Then you take one pile, and give each block a twist. Make sure that each section twists the same way. Sew them together, and voila! a 4-patch posey block!
Some of the blocks worked out better that others, but I've chosen a few to show you here. Just don't ask me what I'm going to do with the "new" blocks - I have NO idea! I might make a warm wishes quilt with them, but that's the only thing I've come up with so far. I might just leave it for the August FNSI!

I've got to stop doing this!

I currently have at least 4 or 5 quilt projects on the go (and I know that you're waiting for the pics of the completed eyelet quilt), but I couldn't help myself.... DD#1 has very good friends that are expecting their first baby. Obviously, every first-born baby needs a quilt...and, seeing as DD#1 doesn't quilt (she doesn't even have time to sew on buttons most days), the project was mine.
The nursery is going to be done in greens, browns and oranges, which is PERFECT, because I had just the right quilt pattern and fabric. So, I ordered the fabric, and Canada Post ended up in a labour dispute - soooo, no fabric arriving....
BUT, the post office employees are back at work, my jelly roll showed up, and I had a holiday weekend in which to assemble a baby quilt.
I love the Split Decision quilt pattern - it goes together quickly, and looks great!
I hope you agree! It's ready to layer, quilt and bind, so you know what I'll be doing for the next few days.
As well, I've got my eyelet quilt sashed, and I'm ready to put on the border. I'm not sure how to go about quilting it yet - it's really bulky where the pinwheel points come together. I'm thinking, I'm thinking....

A few new cards

I have a friend that loves to use cards with a hand-made look. She has a birthday coming up, I decided to gift her with an assortment of cards.
Most of the cards are without sentiments - that way, she can choose the occasion and the appropriate card.
Here are 3 of the ones I've already made. One is obviously a birthday card, and the others - who knows?

I'll hopefully have some quilt-related pics later!

Friday Night Sew-In June 17, 2011

Wow! The past 3 weeks have flown by - and while I have accomplished a lot, there's not much to show for it.
Last night was the latest installment of FNSI! I had a project started earlier this week, and had great plans to finish it last night - and then the post office went on strike. I am the coordinator for the delivery of our local newspaper, and while most of the papers are delivered inside the town limits by a great team of carriers, a lot more of them go to the rural areas through Canada Post. The news has to go out! So, I have spent the better part of the last 2 days driving up and down country roads and highways, making sure that most of our subscribers get their paper. And that seriously cut into sewing and crafting time :-(
BUT, I did manage to get all the blocks done for my newest quilt! One of my online quilting friends had made a cute baby quilt using eyelet fabric and a soft print. I've been wanting to make one too, and finally managed to find the perfect eyelet fabric. The holes in it are very small, so no way for a baby to get fingers caught in it. It took me longer to find the print, but I found fabric after our last quilt guild meeting (we meet in a quilt shop), so got it home. washed and ready to go. So, there's a pic of the fabrics (forgot to take pics of it until after I'd cut it up), and one of the finished blocks. I'm still debating how to put it together - sashing maybe, with the prints for cornerstones? or just sashing? It's going to be too small to just sew the blocks together, plus I think it needs a break between the blocks. Suggestions, anyone?

Netherlands quilt show

There's a small town near here that hosts an international quilt show every year and this year's country was the Netherlands. Seeing as both my parents were born there, I had a really good reason to go!
I went with my mom and a friend, and we all enjoyed the show immensely! Of course, like all good quilt shows, this one also had vendors.... mostly Canadian, but 2 from Holland as well. Now I can buy from Canadian shops any day of the week, but Holland is a little tougher - I can go to any shop here and see/feel the fabric quality; obviously, that's a bit trickier "across the pond". The fabrics were really nice, and quite a few were homespun types.
Well, you can guess the rest - I came home with fabric and ribbon too (I keep telling myself it's for my card-making, but I'm not sure I want to use it!). And, seeing as I love and collect all sorts of sheep-related items, I had to buy the fabric pack with the sheep fabric in it - and it's the very traditional Dutch blue colour.
I can hear you - you want pictures! Have a look:
The blue and white fabric on the far right is the sheep fabric.

FNSI May 20th edition

Last night was the monthly Friday Night Sew-In, and I had PLANS.... I was hoping to get a big part of my Swirlygig quilt done, and I did get a couple of blocks done and joined up. I've got all of the #1 blocks done, and a few of the #2 blocks, so that I could put a few rows together. I ended up with almost enough blocks for the first 2 rows - and hopefully, I'll get all of the block #2 blocks finished today yet. Monday is a holiday, so I might manage to get the top done then - we'll see! Block #1 is the green, white and yellow, and block #2 is the white star on the green. The rows aren't sewn together yet, but that's a minor detail!

Friday Night Sew-In part ?

This Friday, May 20th has been set aside for the next Friday Night Sew-In. If you remember, on the last FNSI I started a new, very quick, quilt (Split Decision), and managed to get a number of blocks cut and sewn. Well, I'm happy to announce that I've managed to get the top put together! Here it is, being so competently displayed by my taller-than-me husband:
It almost took me longer to lay it out than it did to sew! I'm not really sure that I'm thrilled with the layout - I had it spread all over the dining room floor, but I think I mixed a few blocks up when I picked them up to assemble the top. I know the saying though - "Finished is better than perfect", so I may just let it go....

Mother's Day card

It was Sat. night, and I realized that I hadn't made any Mother's Day cards yet! A quick peek through some of the cards I've seen online helped me come up with a design. One of the scalloped borders from Nestabilities, some sponging, stamping, trim and half-pearls and Voila! my Mother's Day card. The stamps are from Verve and CTMH.

It's FINALLY done!

I've been trying to make this "Quarter Quilt" using one of Kaye Wood's patterns for quite a while now..... I was sure that I could whip it up in a weekend - and if I hadn't been interrupted a kazillion times, I might have done it. But, I put the last stitches in the binding tonight, and voila! a new Quarter Quilt for the spare room. It even matches the comforter quite nicely! Of course, the comforter will be coming off when the nice weather finally makes it's way to us.
The last QQ I made was flowery and I used a rose-red fabric - and seeing as the spare room is most often used by my son, I thought it needed something a little more manly.
I loved how this pattern went together too - there's a "twist" in the instructions, and I thought that was the most fun part - but you'll have to order the pattern to find out what the twist is! The first pic is a close-up of the fabrics and the pattern; the 2nd is a pic of it on the bed.

New cards....'cause I'm all out.....

I don't seem to have a lot of time for card-making lately, so my box is getting low in some categories - especially the "Thinking of You" kinds of cards. I have a few friends that are going through some tough times, mostly because of serious illness - and a "Get Well" card just isn't appropriate.
I took some time on Saturday evening to make a few - and here they are:
I used my Cuttlebug for both cards - to emboss some of the cardstock and also to cut the oval shapes. The white one went into a church mailslot, and the brighter one is going in the mail today.......

Friday Night Sew-In

Sometimes these monthly Sew-ins sneak up on me - sometimes I know that it's coming, and yet, when it's actually Friday evening, I have nothing planned.....
I have SO many quilt projects on the go right now, plus 3 formal dresses that I need to have finished for May 2nd - so, lots of sewing to do - I just have to pick one, right? So, I totally ignored all the things that need to be done now, if not sooner, and I started a new project! I saw a few pictures a few weeks ago, for a quilt called Split Decision - it looks like so much fun, and basically needs a jelly roll (a package of fabric strips, all cut 2 1/2" wide, by the width of the fabric) - and a ruler and cutting tool. I just happened to have 3 jelly rolls, so after Eeny, meeny, miny, moe - I chose the Lily and Will set of fabrics and started cutting the appropriate lengths. Then, it's just a matter of sewing the bits together, and pressing the seams - and voila! a whole lot of blocks for a great quilt!
I haven't had a chance to put any of the blocks together, and some of the blocks haven't even been made, but I have a great start on what's going to be a beautifully soft quilt. Here's the proof....
I'm going to leave the parts out - that way, if I have a few minutes while supper is cooking, or while I've got a few minutes before I have to leave for a meeting, I can sew a few parts together, and next thing you know - I'll have a top! Keep your eyes peeled!

Birthday cards - part 2

After a really crazy few days, I finally had time to sit down at the sewing machine this evening - or so I thought. Today (Fri. Apr. 15th) is Friday Night Sew-in, and I was getting ready to start my project, when I realized that tomorrow is the birthday of a very special friend - and I had no card for her! That would never do (she knows that I make cards, so a quick trip to the store wouldn't do...) - so I grabbed my cheat sheet - a print-out of cards that I've found on the 'net; cards that fit my style of card-making (I occassionally add in a few that will stretch me a bit, too). Forty-five minutes later, I had 4 cards - only one is going to be just right for tomorrow - so the rest will go into my file.
I'm not really happy with the 2 on the left - the circle / oval is too bare, and the whole card just doesn't flow the way the original did, but they'll work for someone (and I'll try to fix the bare spots...and add bodies for the butterflies!). I'm not sure that the bottom right corner card will work for my friend - it seems a bit "manly", so she'll get the top right side one. I bought a Xyron a few months ago - I've had problems "gluing" tiny bits onto cards, especially when I'm using individual letters, so that's why I bought the Xyron. It's been sitting in it's box ever since, but I got to try it out for the ribbon - and I'm quite pleased with the end result!
Check back here tomorrow for the results of my FNSI - I started a new project, and I'm excited about it!