creative juices . . .

I've just had this need to create lately, you know what I mean? I've been on a roll (for me, anyway) since I started and finished that little doll quilt for my niece! I finished that, got my blocks done, created a table runner, made a little hostess gift bag, and today got up with a bug to do more.

I've really been needing one of these for a while now . . .

But I hadn't been able to find a pattern I liked (or could figure out). But this morning I was on a mission!

I got on the internet and scoured through pages and pages looking for just the right fit.

And I found it, right HERE. It was on Chica and Jo's crafty website!

And now my Kindle has its very own home, made just for it, in colors that had to be for me.

The tutorial was *very* well laid out and super easy to follow. I opted to cover my elastic with fabric. To do so, I cut a strip of fabric 1-3/8" by 14", folded it in half with right sides together, and stitched up a 1/8" seam (using a very small stitch length). I turned it inside out using a safety pin, and then pulled my 7" piece of elastic through the opening using that same pin. I bunched the fabric up over the middle of the elastic and made sure about a 1/4" of my elastic was hanging out at both openings of the fabric tube. Easy-peasy.

In all honesty, it took me nearly as long to print, cut and iron on my initials on the front as it did to do the rest of the project. Really!

Last night's guild meeting was LOTS of fun! Our Stitcher's group met beforehand at Nothing But Noodles and had a nice dinner. There were thirteen of us for dinner -- a pretty good turnout! Then when I got to the meeting, I turned in my registration form for the quilt show. Whew, I'm glad that's done! Next, I had put out a query on our mailing list about fabric postcards, and several members offered to bring in their postcards and cards. I was so impressed! I've wanted to do one of these for a while now, but just didn't understand enough to do one on my own. I will now! Four ladies brought in cards and pictures of cards for me to fawn over ... it was great!

Our program was very interesting, too. The speaker was Jim Warf of Decherd Needleworks. He does long-arm quilting, and he talked about borders and the best tips for preparing a quilt for long-arm quilting. He was very funny and I enjoyed listening to him. At the end of his presentation, he gave away five 20% coupons. Guess who won one?! Yours truly! Yay!

I get to spend some time with my Sawyer this evening and I still have some ministry work to finish up, so I'd better hop to it!

Toodles!

:)

on the board . . .

I have never heard the cicadas so loud before! And so early in the season, too. Is this the year of the cicada or something? Does it herald some big event on down the line? What does it mean? LOL! I guess it means there's lots of cicadas this year!

Actually, this is the year of the cicada, at least it is in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama -- the thirteen-year cicada, to be exact. And mostly they are heard; when they're seen, for the most part, it's in their empty shell form . . .

The last time they made their presence known was in 1998. Since then, they've been burrowed underground. Now they've made their way topside, and the males make that incessant humming noise, looking for the perfect mate. I have to admit, I like the sound -- it brings back lovely memories of childhood summers; playing in the sprinklers, games of tag and hide-and-seek, catching lightning bugs as dusk settled in . . . ah, such sweet times!

Sweet times ahead, too, I hope! I agreed to take on our guild's newsletter for our 2011-2012 guild year. I'm really excited - and a little anxious, too! The woman who's currently doing it has done a *marvelous* job, and it'll be tough filling her shoes!

Right now we're in transition. The new guild year starts September 1, but there's so much to the newsletter and the other "communication" duties, we've already started overlapping. I went to my first board meeting on Monday night. I really enjoyed being a part of it! We have such a big guild, and so many committees, that the board is pretty large -- there were seventeen of us there, and several key folks were missing! Discussion was interesting. I'm sure you can imagine, with seventeen women expressing their opinions . . . it was not a short meeting! LOL!

I am looking forward to being more involved in the guild and its workings, and making new friends.

Finally, wanted to share this darling photo Sawyer's mommy captured of him . . .

Just a happy little fellow, hanging out in the yard! I'm so amazed he kept his hat and sunglasses on for as long as he did!

And this is from last evening . . .

Not the greatest of photos, but one thing is clear; father and son sure do love each other!

Happy Wednesday!

:)

guild meeting fun . . .

Thursday night was a guild meeting I'd been waiting for, for a long time! Our guest speaker was Quiltville's Quips & Snips', Bonnie Hunter! She was also doing workshops yesterday and today, and as much as I would have liked to have taken one, I just wasn't able. But I *so* enjoyed sitting on the front row and listening to her program, and seeing quilt after beautiful quilt!

She started with this display, that shows how she organizes her scraps. "Just fifteen minutes a day!" she said over and over again! I had to laugh to myself -- I thought I'd have all the time in the world for quilting, once I no longer worked outside the home ... WRONG! Do you know how much time I've devoted to quilting since then? With the exception of some handwork that I did when our Stitcher's group met last week, I've done N-O-N-E! Unless you count the trip to Patches & Stitches that I made to pick up my BOM. Which I don't. (But it was an item on my to-do list!) Fifteen minutes a day sounded like a great place to start!

Anyway, she has an elaborate (yet simple) means of organizing her scraps. And from that, she makes the most marvelous, scrappy quilts. And she said that she makes her quilts to be utility quilts! I loved it!

I took pictures of all the quilts she displayed, but halfway through the program, the battery died in my camera, and I had to switch over to my phone -- which will explain the lack of quality in some of them. I wanted to share a few of my favorites here . . .

This leaders & enders quilt was fabulous. I did a close-up inspection of this quilt and it's fascinating to look at -- all the different, wonderful (and some not-so-wonderful, but it's cut so small you can't tell) fabrics! I think this was the Friday workshop. This is one I'd really have liked to have done!

I really liked this web quilt, too.

And all her quilts were huge! But she did mention that the more scraps she used up, the better she felt about buying new fabrics. Well, yeah!

If you're familiar with Bonnie (and her blog), you might recognize this quilt -- it's the Roll Roll, Cotton Boll mystery quilt that she did online! In fact, one of the members of our Stitcher's Group -- Jackie -- brought hers in for show & tell. It blows my mind that this is a scrappy quilt!

One of the funniest moments of the evening came about when Bonnie had the lovely volunteers who were holding up her display quilts, put on some cotton shirts to show where great fabric prints could be gotten from, at relatively great prices.

The laughs came when she had this one lady turn around to show off all the fabric on the back of the shirt. Bonnie said, "And you can see, this is bigger than a fat quarter!" The volunteer said, "Hey!!" and made it clear that her back side was not a fat quarter! We all laughed and laughed! It made it all the funnier that the volunteer was a little, bitty thing -- no fat there!

And yes, in case you're wondering, that is a lovely hospital gown that Bonnie's wearing. It had pretty snowflakes on it!

This last quilt was my absolute favorite of the evening ... I wish I could remember what it was called. Wait -- Goose in a Puddle? I think so. I love the block pattern. And I love the red, white, and blues. And again, a scrappy quilt! Except for the reds that she used as sashing.

Something about scrappy quilts gives them an automatic vintage look. Especially with this one -- it makes me think--oh, the word's right on the tip of my tongue--Americana. Anyway, I had such a blast that evening, and if you've not visited Bonnie's website, it's really worth the visit. She's real, down-to-earth, and has a passion for quilting. And she's *loads* of fun!

Speaking of loads of fun, I spend some time with Sawyer Graham yesterday afternoon! It's been a while since I share photos, so I thought I'd include some from our walk . . .

He's getting, "Sooooooo big!"

Just sitting back, enjoying the breeze!

Please give me my sippy cup!!!!

Happy as a bug-in-a-rug! I love how he sits with his feet crossed. Too cute!

:)

quilting tea basket . . .

Thought I'd share some of the booty I got in the auction at our quilt guild meeting on Thursday night, especially since this particular purchase combined two of my favorite things . . . quilting and TEA!

The basket was put together by one of the smaller stitch groups within the guild, and it was *full* of fun stuff. I really got my money's worth with this win. And the bidding didn't even go as crazy as I thought it would! I got this basket for $20!!!

Of course, it looked better than this when I won it -- I'd taken it apart, looked at everything and then realized I hadn't taken a picture of it all! The first thing I took out were two boxes of Tazo tea -- one was passion fruit and one was assorted flavors. I took them both to work yesterday, so no pictures of them. But I did enjoy my tea all day long yesterday!

Next out were these cute little cups and saucers! Very sweet. I can see filling them with tea bags and wrapping them with tulle and topping it off with a bow and a gift tag!

Then I pulled out this darling little honey pot. I've never used a honey pot before, although there are some teas that I particularly like sweetened with honey.

Next came this bright & cheery wind chime, by Mary Engelbreit. The spoons wouldn't stay still, so they're a little blurry, but they make me smile and the chime has a pretty sound.

Next was this pretty little teapot frame.

Then this handy tea infuser, with a teapot charm!

And then came the fabrics. Each of these pieces were at least a yard -- most of them were more than two! And it's FUN stuff!

Someone must have done a tea-themed quilt and was donating from their leftover stash? I just know I have several quilts in mind (hahaha) down the road that would love some of this fabric!

This was interesting . . . it might be fun to fussy cut these teapots out, or even cut around them and use them as appliqued pieces on something -- like a tea towel or tea apron.

The birds, well, they made me laugh. But the pink was very pretty. Pretty enough that I took a closer-up picture of it!

Isn't it sweet? Very girlie, tea-party-ish!

This one is just happy, silly, and fun!

I love it -- 'Twist & Spout'!

And this was quite darling too . . .

I think I've actually seen teapots that looked like these! Love the pumpkin teapot, in particular!

So, for $20, don't you think I got a bargain?!? Wait until I pull apart the Christmas basket I got and share that one! LOL! The ladies I sat with (from my stitch group) were laughing at me, because they *know* I live in an RV and that *stuff* is not something I can afford to accumulate! But I think most of these items will become happies for others in the near future! (Except the fabric -- hey, now!)

Last night and today we've got RA's camping in the upper campground. From the sounds of things, they're having a blast! I love it when the smell of campfires is in the air! Todd and I rode up to visit with them briefly last night. The moon was so bright, we almost didn't need lights to see by!

Oh Mr. Moon, moon, bright and shining moon, please shine down on me!

:)

it's in the cards, part 2 . . .

Saturday's goals:

Complete Sawyer and His Pal redwork block. Check.
Read newest issue of Tea Time. Check.
Read Invitation to Tea. Check (decidedly *not* my cup of tea).
Make homemade peach ice cream. ______

What? Where's the check there? That was the BIG definite!

Todd wasn't feeling well yesterday; he still isn't this morning. And since I'm struggling with this spider-bite spot, the ice cream just didn't happen. Perhaps today? Oh, and as for the book I tried online? I don't know if it was the plot, or the fact that it was not a book in my hands that made it not for me. I may have to see if I can find this one at the library and give it another shot.

Today I thought I'd finish up showing some of my favorites from the challenge show our guild had last week. I noticed that I didn't get photos of all the cards; guess when you're moving around a room with a hundred other women, and you're on one leg and a rolling walker, you take what you can get! Anyway, here is some more of our guild's awesome work . . .

I liked this one, of course I'm a sucker for
Christmas and Christmas trees:

But what I liked was that the quilter didn't copycat
the card; she made her quilt based on her interpretation of
the card, which was what the challenge was all about.

Besides, I thought this would be a darling table topper
in the holiday season!

I must have not been able to get in to get a good shot
of the card that inspired this quilt. It was
dimensional -- as is the quilt. I don't know if you
can tell that from the photo.

This one won first place in its class!

Again, my photo doesn't do justice to the colors
of this one. It rather reminded me of Camp MACOBA,
and so it was definitely a favorite!


Dragonflies . . . and pretty colors. I wish the dragonflies
had been better set out from the background.

This piece won third place in its class.

This was a cute one based on on a Mary Englebreit
card and the corresponding envelope
(I managed not to capture a photo of either) . . .

It was happy and made me smile ... perfect for a
wall in a sewing room!

Loved this quilt based on a Mother's Day card
the quilter had received from one of her daughters.

Look at all the hexie-flowers in that center!!

Another cute one . . .

Really, the colors were far more vivid. I think my flash
may have washed it out a little. The quilter noted
that she collects wine corks, and wanted to do a quilt
that incorporated them. The 'cork tassels' that embellish
her quilt are darling!

This one was based on a Christmas card. I love that
every SINGLE piece of fruit was appliqued on the quilt.
It was so very pretty!

And that wraps up the challenge! There were lots of entries, I just couldn't get pictures of them all. Now that the guild challenge is behind us, attentions of the guild will quickly turn to next year's quilt show. I have to decide if I'm going to enter a quilt or not. It's so much...pressure! LOL! But I really enjoyed it last year, so I imagine I'll go ahead and do it again.

Good gracious . . . I need to get busy!

:)

it's in the cards, part 1 . . .

I wanted to share, while they're still fresh in my
memory/thoughts, some of the challenge quilts
that were on display at our last guild meeting.
Our guild alternates a challenge show with
a quilt show; this year was the challenge.
I shared with you the quilt/card my darling friend,
Tina, entered on Friday. Here's a few more
of my favorites, along with the cards that inspired them.

This card is a picture of the quilter's home.
She'd commissioned an artist to draw her home for
note cards for her husband

Based on the card, she created this quilt . . .

It won best-of-show! Check out the clouds -- love it!

I adore fall, so it's no surprise this entry caught my eye . . .

In fact, I think this may have been my personal favorite.

I voted for this one as "best representation of challenge"
and that's indeed what it won!
(Along with a place in its category!)

I thought this one was a cute card . . .

My picture of the quilt hardly does it justice.
I loved her attention to details -- and that she
doubled the cupids and had them blowing kisses
to each other. So sweet!


This was a beautiful little quilt. The quilter told
me she'd found the vintage card at an antique shop!

She won first place with her entry!

Last -- for today -- is this darling little bluebird card and quilt . . .


Blue birds have always been a favorite of mine.
This quilter did a wonderful job replicating the card onto fabric!

Enough for today . . . I've got another handful to share later.
Again let me say, we have such incredibly talented and
creative quilters in our guild!
I'm hoping it will rub off on me . . . LOL!

Happy 'over the hump' day!

:)