WHEW...THE END IS NEAR!

Now, I mean that in the nicest way!  I work for a company that sell toys...need I say more?  That is why I've been away so long!!  From the Friday after Thanksgiving until 2 days before Christmas we are straight out shipping goodies across the globe.  We do a brisk business all year, but during this time sales are tripled times three!!  All of us feel like little Santa elves, making sure everyone gets their toys on time.

I have managed to do a little sewing on the weekends, but nothing worth posting!  The good news is...with all the extra overtime money I've been able to take advantage of all the great fabric on-line sales.  I've been getting great fabric packages in the mail for the last few weeks!  So...to wrap it up (no pun intended!)...I've got some great projects in mind for the New Year and I hope to share them all with you.

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

IT LOOKS BETTER IN PERSON!!

Quiltinggallery.com is having a Candle Mat swap and this is what I created for my swap partner.  It really does look better in person!

This is a closeup of the corners which I embroidered on my machine:

The pattern was pre-determined but the color choice was the desire of my partner.  It measures 14" x 14" and it kind of cute.  Now it's ready to be mailed out!

TICKER TAPE FUN

I read and follow alot of blogs and I've noticed these "Ticker Tape" quilts and thought I would give it a try!  I must say it was alot of fun.  I just layered up my quilt sandwich and started sewing on pieces of fabric.  It's a kind of  "quilt as you go" process.  No rules...just keep on adding fabic till you've filled up the area you have decided on.  Once it was done and the binding was on I threw in the washer and dryer and the little frayed edges around each piece is so cute!!  I made it 24" x 24" and it's hanging in the bathroom.

Here"s a close-up...I threw in a circle, a heart and a few triangles!

If you click on the pictures they will enlarge.  I've been working on a couple of large projects (which is why I haven't posted in awhile!) so this was a fun alternative to your basic 1/4" seam sewing!

AWESOME-NESS....

This is my new wallhanging which I am calling Awesome-ness because it is all from the Moda collection Awesome by Sandy Gervais.  Sandy designs the most beautiful fabric and the colors truly are awesome.  I used 1 charm pack and 1 jelly roll then bought a little yardage for the borders and binding.  It measures 45" x 45" and right now my husband is very dissapointed because it is hanging in my office at work! Don't you just love the colors of fall...I know I do!

1,501 HEXIES AND COUNTING....

I can't believe I've come this far!  I've been keeping track of my progress since deciding to join in on the Hexagon Charm Quilt Piece-Along at Texas Freckles..  You can follow my progress in my sidebar.  These are 1" hexies and my goal is 2,704 so I'm more than half way there.  They are somewhat sorted by color so I can see where I need more of a certain color for better balance in the overall design.  Of course, I still have to sew all of these together!  It will be 52 rows of 52 for a size of 90" x 90".  I'd say this was an "ongoing" project!!  Click on the picture for a larger view.

THE "WALL" REVEAL...THE FINAL QUILT

Finally, the last project for the wall is "Tree 'O Life" by Piece of Cake Designs.  One of my previous quilts used orange and purple and I got alot of comments on how people liked that unlikely combo of colors.  This combination of orange and turquoise has been another revelation: "Who knew!"  You'll have to excuse my crooked picture but if you click on any of the pics you can see them enlarged.
Now the big reveal: THE WALL....

This wall is in the den/office and it needed some punch.  That's how this whole idea came about.
Lots of different designs yet the one thing that always seems to stay consistent with my quilts is that they are scrappy.  I just get bored using only a couple of fabric choices.  I think I may be the Queen of fat quarter purchasers!  Thanks for joining me on this journey...hope you enjoyed it.

A NEW MINI...

Here's a new miniature for my quilt "wall".  It's a dusty mauve/purple.  I couldn't say what the name of the block is, but I really like it because it's perfect for 2 1/2" squares.  I'm working on a long narrow applique wall hanging which will be done as soon as I finish quilting it.  At that point I'll be ready to reveal the WALL!

FABRIC AND WOOD

So...lets take a little bit of wood in the shop and make a base...4" X 4"

Then...let's make a pretty little pincushion using "Freebird by MoMo" for Moda and stuff it with clumping kitty litter:

Finally, put the two together and you have a fine pincushion and base with no pins or needles poking through to stab you!

It's kind of fun doing something whimsical once in while! Now I've got a "Finished For Friday".
For all of you cat lovers you just have to check out this post about "25 Ways to Sleep in a Box"  It is just hilarious!

WHAT FUSIBLE DO YOU LIKE?

Just what kind of fusible web do you like to use?
In the past I always used Wonder Under but recently
I've found that the paper and the web will seperate
before I'm done tracing.

I never liked the Steam A Seam.  I don't think it was
the right product for my applique purposes.

Yesterday I gave the Heat 'N Bond Lite a try and I really
liked it alot.  I had no problems while tracing my design.
It held up while I cut the pieces and fused nicely.  After
cutting the fused shapes the paper released easily.
I've only had time to sew a little portion of my project,
but there doesn't appear to be any problems with glue
build-up on my needle.

So...which fusibles do you prefer...and why do you
like them?

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.

LOOK...A "FAT CAT"...

Isn't this cat on the computer the cutest?  This is a 16" block offered by Sindy Rodenmayer on her website Fat Cat Patterns.  Sindy has some of the nicest block patterns and the best thing is they are all FREE!!
Once again this shows the generosity of the quilters' spirit.

This is Sindy's current Block of the Month called Baltimore Bliss.  Every month you can download a block from this beautiful quilt. I'm about to start this myself.  She has loads of designs and you really need to check out the "Family Dirt" section, it's really a riot.  So, I recommend you hop on over to her site, it really is a great visit.

AND THE WINNER IS....

Since my blog is Quilts and Cats I felt it only appropriate that I allow the cats to pick the lucky winner.  Besides, I couldn't get the random number generator to work!  So we cut 44 pieces of purple paper and numbered and folded each one.  (Click on photos for larger view.)
With a little bit of catnip "incentive" Muffin and Jelly Bean decided to check it out....however....

They weren't doing very well.  So, along comes Puss and says:  "Hey guys, this is how you do it!"
and promptly knocks out a winner.  (I know it's small, but it's there on the table!)

Now, I know you probably can't see this very well, but it's lucky #16....Drumroll please......
Congratulations to Judy of Sew Fun Quilts.  I think you're going to love this software.  Please email me at lynnedemeter@charter.net with your address so I can mail it out to you.

I'd like to thank all those who entered and left such great comments and compliments.  Also welcome, to the new followers....I hope you will enjoy my blog.