THE COLOR OF HEAT....

I hate to complain...BUT...I REALLY HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS HEAT!  This is what I think heat would look like if it were a color...

A CHANGE OF PACE...

I decided to make myself a new purse using the Snap Happy II pattern by Stitchin' Sisters.  I used Moda Frolic by Sandy Gervais and just love the fun look!  I did add handles which are not in the pattern.but I don't trust myself to put a purse down anywhere!  I don't remember where  I saw this pattern first, but I figure I had to try a pattern that used carpenter's retractable metal ruler tape as it's closure.  Well, it REALLY works and it was pretty easy to make. 
Then, on another day I was surfing the web looking for purse handle ideas I came across a blog that had this:

This is a pair of infant overalls...cut off the legs...sew up the bottom...and 5 minutes later: Instant purse!
It even has a tab for keys!!

Now how cool is that!

HEY...IT'S MY TURN TO SEW!!

OH NO...I CAN'T REACH THE PEDAL!

FLYING GEESE MINI....

This is the latest addition to my miniature collection for the wall in the computer room.  Its 18" x 18" and done in mostly Moda's for the geese and lots of different fabrics for the background.  This is another of those patterns I like to paper piece for the accuracy.  I think this is my new favorite!

Now for another Jaimie update:  Hanging out on the rocking chair....

...and sleeping in the box.  Note the brown paper that was in the box...it's now in a hundred pieces all over the floor.  How come these guys never pick up after themselves?  This is a  rare moment when he's not being mischievous!!  Thanks for stopping by...

A QUILTER'S POEM

I thought you all might enjoy this short poem:

Ode to My Wife...the Quilter

Author Unknown

She learned to quilt on MONDAY

Her stiches all so fine.

But she forgot to thaw out dinner,

So we went out to dine.

She quilted miniatures on TUESDAY

She says they are a must.

They really were quite lovely

But she forgot to dust.

On WEDNESDAY it was a sampler

She said, "stipplng's fun."

What highlights! What shadows!

But laundry wasn't done.

Her patches were on THURSDAY

Green, yellow, blue and red.

I guess she forgot the time

As she never made the bed.

It was a wallhanging on FRIDAY

In colors she adores.

It never bothered her at all,

The crumbs upon the floors.

I found a maid on SATURDAY

My week is now complete.

My wife can quilt the hours away,

And the house will still be neat.

Well, now it's SUNDAY

And I'm just about to wilt.

I cursed, I raved, I ranted,

The MAID had learned to quilt!

CIRCLE OF GEESE

Just another "small" quilt for the wall in the den.  Although this is cute, I don't think I'd want to endeavor paper piecing a whole quilt.  This is only 4 six inch blocks to complete the circle.  It will be a cute addition to the wall.

ITTY BITTY HOURGLASS

After the usual weekend housework (yuk!), I spent some time whipping up this cute little hourglass miniature quilt.  Each block measures 1 1/2" square.  Total size is 10 1/2" square.  I'm going to add this to the "small quilt" wall in the den when I accumulate a few more.

AN "X" WALLHANGING

I spent some of my weekend working on this cute wallhanging.  I used mostly Aunt Grace fabric with a few Feedsack prints.  Unlike most traditonal quilts, the X's are not blocks but are pieced row by row on the diagonal.  This takes a bit of planning before you begin to sew, but it's well worth it.  It measures 28" x 28"" and will be one of the "small quilts" I plan to use to decorate a wall in the den.  It seems Horatio likes it, but if I don't move it soon, he'll have it down on the seat of the rocking chair and it will be covered in red fur! 

What do YOU do with these...?

After so much trimming over the years, I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions as to what they would do, or have done with these snippetts?  I'm sure there's got to be a project for them somewhere out in blogland!  I have some from the same line of fabric in a Mason jar, looking quite lovely, but the rest just sit in a plastic bin for the time being.  So, to all of you talented quilters and crafters, WHAT CAN I DO WITH THESE?!!

PURPLE HAZE...BLOGGER'S QUILT FESTIVAL

This year I thought I would participate in the Blogger's Quilt Festival sponsored by Amy's Creative Side.  I always gain such inspiration from other quilters and love to see their accomplishments.  It's such a great way to develop new ideas.  Be sure to drop in and join, or view all the great works from bloggers all over.

My "Purple Haze" quilt came from a desire to do a 2 color quilt.  I usually do scrappy quilts which involve pulling out lots of bins of fabrics  to get everything I need to cut.  I had these 2 beautiful pieces of batik just waiting to be sewn into something...but what?  Finally I decided to paper piece these 13 blocks and then set them on point.  This was the first project I ever set on point and calculating those triangles was a challenge.  I learned that "bigger is better" and you can always trim them down!  I just LOVE this color combination and I get to see it everyday in the bathroom!

FROM SCRAPS TO QUILTS...

Let's start with these pieces:

and turn them into these blocks:

I was inspired by the Yoyoville Quilt designed by Bunny Hill Patterns.  But, as many of you know, I just finished a large Yo-Yo quilt and I'm a little tired of making yo-yo's!  So, I thought I would adapt the pattern with appliqued circles.  This may take a while! I'd like to make this one for my bed so the finished size would be 81" X 93".  Now this may sound staggering but here are the stats: for 837 blocks set 27 X 31.  I will need to cut 419 circles,  419 background squares for the circles, 838 dark squares and 838 background squares for blocks that measure 3" X 3".  This is my current bed quilt...

and I love it dearly.  I'm just ready for a change.  You might have guessed I love to do scrap quilts.  I thank the gods for charm packs and fat quarters!!

YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!

This is Jill's recently re-covered chair done all with selvages.  Is this not unbeleivable?  I have a similar chair that I've re-done several times, so I know it takes at least 4-5 yards of fabric.  Now, imagine that you first need to sew all the selvages to a foundation before you can begin to cover the chair! It just boggles the mind.  I recently posted about a selvage wallhanging I completed and it lot's of fun, but labor intensive and time consuming to accumulate all that selvage. Give Jill a visit to see how she accomplished this great project.