Didya watch too?

I'm up for the 2nd time today.  I really wanted to watch the wedding, and since my body clock didn't really know what time that was, it seemed to wake me a lot last night.  Finally, at 4:15, it got it close enough so I grabbed my clothes, socks, and shoes (no fancy hat though) and hightailed it to the TV to take in the festivities.  I figured I did it for Diana, so Kate should have equal billing!  LOL  I really started yawning about the time they were to make it outside to the balcony, so I crawled back into bed instead figuring they probably wouldn't make a huge deal out if anyway.

Now, I'm up for good, I think, and I really need to get something done.  The Mug Rug swap has started and you won't believe this, but they gave me a partner who does NOT like raw edge applique.  Yes, can you believe?  What were they thinking?  I've had a few things drawn for that swap for days already and now I can't use them.  Instead, I made this early yesterday:



I made that as a spoof!  There were so many "too simple" quilts in the doll swap, that I thought I'd bring up the bar (so to speak) immediately for the Mug Rug swap.  I sure hope everyone got the "picture".  No one really said much though since they have a rule of no negativity.  Bummer!

Right after I did that one, I got going on something that might please my partner though.  Her favorites are filled with tons of pieced blocks and quilts so I did this one:



I really wanted it to all work out math wise, but with my tiny colored squares being 3/4" I was having a time of it working it all out mathwise, so I thought I'd just make the darn thing and let it go.  I'm sure I'll come up with something else by the send date anyway.  Here is the back:



Last time, someone suggested that I should try two layers of batting, so I did, but I'm really not sure if I like it.  Too poofy, I think!! Look at that back binding.  I had to pull my brains out to get it straight and now you can see all the stitches.  UGH!  Besides, now it feels like a potholder!  Double ugh!   What do you think?  Do you make mug rugs?  How many layers of batting do you use?

I'm sorta all caught up.......

Sometimes it's a wonder I get anything done!!  With my hubby retired now, and by the time he gets up and showers and makes his breakfast, and I do all my morning errands, it's almost time for him to bug me in the kitchen again (where I sew) to make his lunch!  And, naturally, he has to have the TV on.  By then, I'm so frustrated that I've not done much all day, that I go lay down on the bed just to get away from him and often fall asleep (unintentionally) for 2 hours, so most of the day is shot!  Boy oh boy, I remember the olden days when he was working and traveling for days and all I'd do is sew.  I used to really pump stuff out then! 

I did get a commission wall hanging done over the weekend though and mailed it off to it's owner just yesterday.  She wanted the name of her blog on it and told me that she loved Kevin, from the movie "UP".  (That was one of my favorite movies too.)    

At this point, Kevin wasn't looking to "Kevinish" yet, but he was on his way.  I knew I had to get the crayons out to make him look a wee bit more realistic.

The birds all finished:



And Kevin:



And the finished 20x17 wall hanging.  I call it, "Footprints" 'cause Kevin's footprints spelled out her blog name.  (I thought I was being clever???)



And yesterday afternoon, I started something new.............!  Doesn't look like much yet, but wait!

Now, if I'd only have time to write those patterns for those new lap quilts, I might be completely caught up......

If only....

Now that I'm done doing my morning exercises, I can write with a non-guilty conscience:



(LIKE I WISH!!)  I don't think I've ever been that skinny.....or nimble.....even when I was 9!!  I did take ballet once if that counts?  Not that I can even do the splits anymore though.  'Course, I can't do much anymore...except sew, and cook, and eat and sleep.  In reality, that is my beautiful daughter in that picture.  She is quite the renowned and respected yoga teacher as well as being a certified Rolfer and she's always loved exercise.  When she was little, she used to watch Richard Simmons on TV every day and when we took a trip to Disney World, she got more excited at seeing Richard there than Mickey Mouse.  (And she was only 3 at the time!!)  Funny, isn't it how what you loved as a child affects you even as a grownup?  I could sit for hours and draw when I was young...........(thus the non-skinny me, I'm thinkin')......and to this day, I still love it.

Too bad I'm not faster at it though!  For the last two days I have done nothing!  (Except take a 3 hour nap yesterday afternoon.)  I think I am pooped from all the piecing.  E-gads that is boring!  I don't know how some of you can do that day after day.  I can't wait to get back to my applique and fun drawings.  I have ideas, now to just DO them!!  I joined the new Mug Rug swap (although I wasn't going to because of so many other obligations)......but how long can one itty bitty quilty thing take anyway?  Besides, it's not due until the end of May.  I did get a lovely mini from "contented be" (Rachel) for the QT swap.  The them was circles and curves.  If you remember, I sent her this one:



And this is the beauty she sent to me:



Did you check out all that hand stitching?  E-gads, what patience!  (And strong fingers!)  Beautiful!

I did make a binding for the wonky squares lap quilt that is now waiting it's turn for quilting at my local quilt shop.  I think this will be perfect:



I know, I know......you're all saying, "Enough woman, show us the good stuff!!"  And I really wish I could......next time (hopefully).  I promise I'll start today!  Really!  Believe it or not, I even drew something before I sat down to write this...........so soon!  In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday and enjoy everything whether it's for Easter or passover.  Peace!

The past returns

Sometimes it's amazing how the past comes back into your life when you least expect it.  That very thing happened to me recently and I thought (since I've been busy aimlessly sewing new possible patterns and don't have anything exciting to show you) that you might like to see stuff that I used to do before I was a quilter.  

Our church has a fund raiser once a year showcasing the wares of it's members and using the money gotten from the sale of the donated goods for the kitchen renovation fund.  In the summer of 2008, I decided to make dolls for it.  Needless to say, I didn't know how many to make, or how they'd go over so I started with a few.

I made them as cute as I could and dressed them in all sorts of different patterned fabrics and gave them various hairstyles, etc.  The first ones didn't have much of a smile, but I changed that as time went on.

Here are a few from the beginning months:

As time went on, it seemed as though I couldn't stop.  I was making some that looked like Chinese babies, African American babies, and everything else.  (I do tend to get carried away!!!)  Here's a picture of 18 of the 60 I eventually ended up making.  When I dragged them all outside to the front porch to take this picture, my neighbors thought I was nuts!!!  They said it looked like a kindergarten photo.  LOL

Well anyway, onto the story.  So, you ask, what has this got to do with NOW??  Needless to say, my church NEVER sold them all so I got lots back.  I sold a few at my LQS, and saved my favorites for gifts, but I still had some left.  I thought I might give them to our local police department for help with children problems, but was afraid that I couldn't provide them with enough, and I surely didn't want to start THAT doll making marathon again.

I live in a white community, so no one wanted the cute little African American dolls until I talked to an old online friend one day and she was telling me that her daughter teaches special education at a school in the poorest county of Alabama and they hardly have any toys for the kids to play with.   Well, let me tell you, I knew right then where those babies were going to live so I sent them right off to her.

A week or so later, I received this picture with a heartfelt thank you note telling me that the dolls are the favorites of the kids and even the boys play with them.

Happy ending for everyone!  Look at all those smiles!!  Even the dolls look delighted that they now have someone who loves them!  So, the moral of this story is "you just never know" and sometimes it just takes a few years to discover where something really belongs.  So now, I will just continue to piece my brains out until next time................



I'm almost done......really........!!!  Thanks for your patience!!  I'm just as anxious to make something fun as you might be to see it......but I have to finish this stuff first.  Two more patterns in the making!!

Wonky Squares

Do you remember that pile of scraps from last time?  Well, here is the result:



And here is the back:



I don't know what it is about primary colors that I love so much.......I guess it's just that they're so fresh and clean looking.  And besides, my quilt shop needs to sell solids so I'm helping them out by designing easy patterns for beginners for their new Kona club which will be starting soon.  Not only did I make this in a baby quilt size, but I also have one going in a lap sized which I'll show you soon.  That one will need to be quilted though since I only do baby quilts.  (Just call me chicken!)

Besides these, my swap partner in the UK did receive my quilt that I made for her in the QT swap so I can show you that.  The theme was "circle and curves" and I think I managed to pull that off:



The first thing I thought of when I heard the theme was an ice cream sundae.  Isn't that strange?  The real crazy thing about that is that I'm not even a fan of ice cream.

Too bad that I didn't use a heavier steam a seam product on her face and hands though.  Poor thing looks like she has chicken pox 'cause the background fabric is showing through.  LOL  Oh well, at least they're round.  LOL

So, until next time.......I'll be sewing away.  It's amazing how long this crazy piecing is taking.  E-gads, all I've been doing is thinking of stuff to make next while I sew and iron away.  For sure next week, I'll be creative again.......I promise!!!

It's here!!

Yeah!!!  I REALLY love how this turned out and I think you will too.  Remember this:



With the fancy back that looks like this:



Well, guess what?  I FINALLY got the patterns yesterday and they're ready for sale.



Think I had enough printed?:



I do tend to get carried away!  OR.....maybe I'm dreaming of tons of orders?  Who knows?  Anyway, I'm having a sale until the end of April.  The normal price of these patterns is $12 retail, but for the rest of April I will sell them for only $10 apiece and I will pay the shipping.  How's that for a deal?  If you are interested, please write me at turznik@execpc.com and we can work out the details.  I take checks, cash, money orders and Paypal.  (Can't get any better than that, huh?)

In the meantime, I'll continue to work on this:



It's a pain......all the piecing and trimming is driving me batty!!  AND, I'm not done!  I think I'm going to make a big version too.........(after I place an order for some fabric!)  That one will probably drive me over the edge!!  Stay tuned...............

Lots of Happy Birds

Do you remember when I showed you this:



That was the mini quilt I sent to bahamadawn (aka Kim) for our private Easter swap.  Well, yesterday I got the one she sent me:



Isn't it the cutest?  I had seen a similar quilt on a cover of a journal that she was selling at some craft fair where she lives and made a "hint" on the photo in her flickr stream, hoping that she would make me something like it and she got the hint.  I just love it!  We have very similar styles and both love color, and whimsy!  She also gave me some hints on her quilting which I must try soon.  Thank you, Kim!!

Then, I finished another commission wall hanging this week.  My client wanted flowers and birds and told me that her favorite colors were blue and purple.  (Neither of which was too prevalent in my color palette of fabrics, I'll have you know.)  Needless to say, I fixed that with a quick trip to my quilt shop!  Oh geeze...what a shame!!  LOL  (I am always looking for an excuse anyway!!)  I drew the concept and had everything but the middle object......my husband told me that the 4 birds (which were already drawn) should be looking at the sun.   I must have looked at him like he'd lost his mind, because he left the room sulking....LOL!  Hello!  Where is the fun in that and besides, who looks at the sun?  No, I had to come up with something way more fun so I slept on it and the next morning knew exactly what they were looking at:



They were looking at "LUNCH!!!"  And that's what I called it:



It ended up at 20 x 16 inches and my customer is happy!  Believe it or not, she doesn't even have it yet.  It's on it's way to Norway but she was kind enough to give me permission to show all of you.  Wasn't that nice?  I guess it will be hung in her sewing room so she can smile everyday!  How fun!

I'm already sewing something else.  Nothing too exciting, but it's keeping me busy for now.  Until next time........stay happy and be well and thank you ever so much for being a part of my creative world.  I cherish each and every one of you!!!

All sorts of stuff today.......

I just love tulips, don't you?  I so wished I could have picked these outside, but alas, like I told you last time, I live in Wisconsin.  Tulips don't pop here until sometime in May (at the earliest).  No, I got these at the grocery store.  Pink and white is my favorite!!  (And I deserved them!!)

I'm a bad friend!  (Actually, that's not true....but this time I'm so ashamed, that I could be a bad friend.)  So often I show you things that my internet swap friends make, but this time I completely forgot to show you this awesome fabric bowl that my dear, real live, living close to me friend, Susie, made me for my birthday last month.  Where is my brain???

Isn't it cool?  Apparently you twist fabric around clothes line and sew the whole mess together somehow.    Don't ask me!  But check it out....it is perfectly round, and wonderful!  Right now I have it on my cocktail table in front of my couch in the living room, but it was too dark in there this morning to take pictures, so I took it in the dining room (and I see the dust on that table...shame, shame on me!!)  Thank you, Susie!  I love it!!

Last time, I told you that I would show you the awesome mini quilt that I got from Ruthie for the STUD (swap til U drop) group.  The whole thing contains my favorite things.  Little did I know that she would blow me away by paper piecing all the items.  I don't know (can't/never learned/no patience for) paper piecing.



Ad here are some close-ups.  She embroidered the bottom two items from Alice in Wonderland......so cute!  

And put my name in the top stars......how clever!!

So, that's about it for today!  I'm working on a commission quilt and hopefully will finish it today or tomorrow.  Here is a sneak peek.............

As you can tell, it's not even quilted yet.  So, until next time........be well, and have fun!  Life is too short not to try to enjoy yourself at least a little every day!!  Go buy yourself a tulip!!  LOL

Happy April!!!

I love April 1st!  Actually, I probably love April 1st better than most other days of the year, except for (of course) my birthday, Christmas, etc.  Know why?  First, you have to know that I live in Wisconsin...hello!!!  Wisconsin is damn cold!  Like, Wisconsin is damn cold probably 9 months out of the year.  Seriously!  So, even though we probably have better weather in October than we do in the whole month of April, in October you REALLY know that there is only BAD stuff coming whereas on April 1st, you realize the best is yet to come.  Get it?  Ah-huh!  I knew you would!!  :D

To celebrate, my wonderful hubby bought me these darling guys to decorate our living room.  I had seen them at our speciality grocery store and admired them and he decided that they looked too much like us (big bellies and all) for him not to pass up.  Besides, I LOVE tulips!!  They stand 18 inches tall.



I must admit that I haven't been sewing much.  I did complete a lap sized quilt top this week of this one which I dropped off at the quilters this morning.  Dummy me forgot to take a picture.  Duh!  I think I am losing my mind lately!!!  I'm backing it with flannel and having it quilted with wool batting for warmth.  I'm thinking it'll really be toasty.



I did get a marvelous creation from Ruthie for a swap, but I really need to take better pics before I show you.  Her work is so marvelous.....you MUST see every little stitch.  Next time!!

I have been obsessed with this dog thing.....so yesterday, I decided that I need to back off and take a rest.  There will always be rescue dogs for adoption and it's only been two weeks today that we lost our Emmy, so what's the rush?  All I was doing was scouring the internet every spare moment.  Crazy!  I do tend to get carried away sometimes........I think I will KNOW when the time is right and when the dog is right.  Until then, I need to get myself in order.  With that in mind, next I will be working on a commission quilt for a marvelous reader in Norway.  It's all drawn so now I just have to choose the right fabrics and get to work.  Stay tuned!!!