Being that Halloween is tomorrow, I just couldn't resist showing you this picture.  I borrowed/stole/swipped it from the forum that I read everyday.  Can you imagine me dressing Toby up like this?  (I would love to, but I doubt if my DH would appreciate me very much.  Flowers?  Fairy wings?  Not so much!)  I did buy Toby a BEE costume last year at Target on sale after Halloween was over, but I have yet to even try it on him.  Stay tuned!?

I do have another lady to show you though.  #25 lady aka Chris, actually contacted me last February and asked that I make her, but at that time, I was involved in other things and told her that I would contact her when I was doing the "series" again.  Well, that time came, and Chris was excited, which made me excited too!  She was lots of fun!  I loved the fact that Chris liked lipstick, (seems rare lately for some reason), so that I could make beautiful red lips and she liked color!  (Right up my alley, for sure!)  So without further ado, may I present #25, Chris.  Naturally, first the drawing, then the eyes, and finally the wall hanging.







And for even more fun, Chris allowed me to show her original photo (minus her son whom I chopped out of the photo not too well.  lol)

So there you have it!  IF you are keeping track, please don't ask me what happened to #24.  Yes, she is done and she is on her way home to Australia, but is a Christmas gift from her family and I'm hoping that she doesn't peek before her time!  I maybe shoulda plastered "Do NOT Open til Chrismas" stickers all over it, huh?  Actually, #26 and #27 are Christmas gifts too, but the "giver" of #26 told me I could post a picture of the finished quilt, with no name, and no original picture because she doubts the receiver will recognize herself.  Ya think?  Would you?  Hummmm??????  So, you will see her next time.

Toby and I have a play date tomorrow morning with a 4 month old Havanese puppy named Harvey, and his mom, Wendy.  We met online and I am so anxious to meet her in person.  I hope they stay still enough to take some pictures!  

OH, to all my friends and readers from the East coast of America.......my sincere thoughts and prayers to all of you.  I can't even imagine what you have gone through with the hurricane.  Stay strong!

Lots of stuff........

E-gads, where do I begin?  I have so much to show you that I hope I don't forget something.  First off, I'm going to show you something that warmed my heart.  Remember awhile back where I showed you the project that that art teacher in LA did with his students with inspiration from a quilt I made?  Well, another art teacher used the same quilt as inspiration for an art projects with her students.  Read about Mrs. Smith here.  To say that I'm honored would be a huge understatement!!!  I am blown away!   Who knew that one little quilt would bring on such artistry?  I think it's awesome!!  Thank you both!  I couldn't be happier!

Last time too, I showed you the quilts that I submitted for the Little Quilt, sew, vote, swap group.  Well, this week, I received both my first and second choices in return and they are darling!  For the flowered one that I submitted I got this from Karen (sewgentle).  (I had to take a picture of the wrapping because it was as cute as could be!)

And inside was this cute little quilt which was my first pick.  I love whimsy!

Then for the wonky squared quilt that I submitted, this choice arrived on my doorstep from Cindy Sharp.

Both ladies are such talented quilters and I love their creations!  (Looks like I'm covered for the holidays too, huh?  lol)

Then I need to show you #23 in my "ladies series" - Susan (who lives in Australia).  It took awhile, but she finally got her quilt.  Naturally, I will first show the drawing, her eyes and then the quilt........and graciously, Susan has allowed me to post the picture she sent to me for inspiration.

And the real, Susan:

So there you have it!  There are a few other ladies to show you (another one which will remain secret because of being a Christmas gift), so once I know they've all arrived, I will reveal what I can.  In the meantime, I am finally working on my pincushion for the pincushion swap.  You KNOW I can't make just one, right???  I love making pincushions!!!  So......have a great weekend, and I'll be back next week!

How come?

How come the days seem so long when I'm not sewing?  Yesterday I was getting company and today I had errands, (and besides, it's been raining both days), so I haven't been sewing.  Don't ask me what rain has to do with sewing, 'cause I don't know, but I do know that rain during the day without sewing equals some mighty nice afternoon naps.  lol  Now I'm hoping that it rains tomorrow too.  Either that, or I should motivate myself to get going on my pincushion swap project.  I have an idea though, so there's no real rush.  Besides, for once in a long time, my kitchen looks tidy.  No sewing machine, no iron, or ironing board, no fabric piles and pincushions sitting around and a perfectly clean floor.  I could maybe get used to this!  'Course, then I'd have nothing to show you and that would be bad, I guess!  I had to clean up for this company:



Yes, two cutie pie 7 week old Havanese puppies.  Aren't they adorable?  My new breeder friend, Patty, came to visit with them and Toby was in heaven.  He really didn't know what to make of them in the beginning, but it didn't take long to decide which one he liked best.  Hubs was looking at me with puppy eyes himself, silently begging me to agree to add to our family, but I'm not ready yet.  Besides, winter is coming and we're old.  Who wants to take a puppy outside every hour for training now, in this weather?  Eikes!  Not me!  I'm waiting until spring!  Or summer......or never, who knows?  And now with her as a friend, I figure I can get my puppy fix anytime without spending a penny.......how cool is that?  (I sure hope she's not reading this...........she might get mad at me!......Don't read this, Patty!)  So, that's why I have a clean kitchen.  Can't have babies getting tangled in errant threads on the floor like usual, you know!!!

I can show you two recent projects from the "little quilt, sew, vote, swap" group.  The voting is done and my projects are already on their way to their new owners.  One of the fun aspects of the group is that after the voting is done, the administrator posts the top ten in voting order and I am happy to tell you that this quilt was voted number 1 for this round:



I named it, "Folk Art Flowers".  It ended up at 12 x 17 inches of fun applique.  It was a hard one to let go, but my third attempt 'cause I like the first two I made better than that one and I have yet to show those to anyone.  lol  Call me crazy!  I did make two for that round of the swap though and this one also made the top ten, but lower down the totem pole.  I called this one "Wonky Squares" and it was 12 1/2 inches square:



I have more "ladies" flying their way to their owners, so hopefully next time I can show you those.  (And maybe a few pincushions too??????)  We can hope!  Rain, rain go away........!!  I think I'll go read a book now.  Later..............

Something Old

I haven't been sleeping, really!  I've been busy creating a few new ladies which you will meet soon.  In the meantime though, I thought I'd show you a quilt that I created some time ago and sold.  I'm sure by now that you can recognize that this was made using the crayon method.  I called it, "Prairie Flowers" and it was 12 1/2 x 17 1/2.  If you go to the Houston quilt show, look for it in the Blumenthal Lansing booth.  In case you don't know, they are the one of the biggest distributors of buttons in the world and most of my quilts use only their buttons!  (Maybe that's why they like my quilts????  lol)

First, the drawing:

Then the coloring......

And the finished quilt:



And a close-up:



So there you have it.  I did do two more quilts which I can show you right after the voting on the 21st for the Little Quilt, Sew, Vote Swap group.  Since my new ladies are still in process, chances are that you might have to wait a week or so to see some of them.  One will be for a Christmas gift, so that one will remain secret for some time, I'm afraid.  Until then, I'm going back to work...........I am having so much fun!

Sharon and Donna

It's time to meet two new friends who are also newly added "ladies" to my series.  First, meet, Sharon aka #21.  Sharon is a younger quilter (at least she looks younger to me.....we really didn't discuss age), who recently started her own long arm quilting business called, "loftyquilting.com".  She lives in Illinois and would love your business if you need something done.  Sharon loves Kaffee, bright colors, and asked me to make sure to include her pink tape measure which she always wears around her neck when she's working.  She also loves to bake!

Naturally, as in the past, I will start with the drawing, the eyes, and then a full picture of the finished quilt.  This time though, I have a surprise.  Both ladies gave me permission to post the original photo they sent me so you may see how they look in real life. That original will be last.

And here is the real life, Sharon! 

Next, we have Donna.  Donna lives in California and recently got back from a quilting retreat.  She said that her hobby is quilting (hello???.......her and all of us, I'm thinkin'!)  Well, Donna is #22 in my "ladies" hit parade.  She told me that she had brown hair with streaks of blond and it was a bit longer than the picture.  Her favorite color is red and she adores cherries.  

And, please meet the real life, Donna.  (This picture was taken on her birthday when she went to Hawaii........lucky girl!!!)

So there you have it!  Two more special ladies added to my growing series.  Plus, #23 is on her way to her owner in Australia so I might have to wait a bit to introduce her.  What fun!  I had two more inquiries besides these three, but they seem to have fallen off the radar for now.....no matter.  I had a ball and my new friends are pleased and that's all that counts!  If any of you are interested in having yourself forever in fabric, please send me an e-mail.  (I'm still in the mood to make more!!  lol)  My info is on my sidebar or you can go back a few posts for the information and costs.  Until next time.........

Outside the "norm".

More often than not lately, my days are filled with the following:  grocery shopping, fabric shopping, quilt sewing, house cleaning, cooking, etc.   It's not often anymore that I go out of my way to do something not practical or necessary.  Talk about rut!!!  Recently though, I met a lady online and not living too far away from me on a Havanese forum.  She was in process of getting a puppy when we met and told me of her breeder about an hour from my house.   Well, I'm a sucker for puppies (just like the next guy) so decided to round up my neighbor and take a nice fall trip to meet her and her dogs.  Besides, I LOVE puppies and in the back of my mind am always thinking of getting a companion for our Toby.

What fun!  She had 6 adult dogs of her own, had two litters (one with 3 puppies 7 weeks old and one litter with 5 puppies 2 weeks old), and her sister's dog of 8 months.  Wow, talk about dogs!  Thankfully, Havanese are little dogs to start with, normally not much over 13 lbs full grown but with all of them (except the tiny babies) moving around, I could hardly keep them straight!  My neighbor and I had a seat on some chairs and just watched the action.

I think if she would have had one that looks like this, I would have snatched him up and hid him in my purse.  I am dying for a "bandit" looking Havanese just like this little guy that I found on Puppyfind, but who was already sold.  He was 10 weeks in this picture and his name was "Lucky".  Not lucky enough as far as I'm concerned.  He would have been luckier being with ME!!!  lol

I did find this 4 month old sweetie on the Prairiwind site and she is a cutie too, but I'm thinking we'd really like another boy!  Toby is the first boy dog we've ever had and I'm so sorry now I never tried the boy dogs before!  They're 100 times more loving.....really!!!  I can't believe it, myself!

So, that was my fun!  I think I will be back to visit Patty, the breeder, again.  After all, those tiny babies are getting older now and might need a stranger to give them some lovin' before they find their forever homes.  Until then, I guess I'll go back to quilting.  lol

Hot Diggidy!

Do you remember when I made these blocks for the QuiltCon challenge?







Well, guess what?  While I was somewhat disappointed that none of them were chosen for the front of the "hot-shot" raffle quilt being auctioned off in Texas................(and that would have been quite an honor in itself since only 20 or so were chosen out of approximately 325 being submitted).............my #3 block was put on the back of the quilt.  Can you imagine?  Pretty cool, huh?  See here!  Of course, now I'm liking the back MUCH more than the front.  lol  You too????

You can see all the blocks submitted in the Flickr group here.

In the meantime, I will be sewing.  I really haven't been lax in that department, it's just that while I was making something (twice in fact) for a swap, I really fell in love with both of them and now don't know what I will do (yet) so I can't show you.  I know......bad me!  I did get a few orders for ladies though, so soon you'll meet my new friends.  I must say, that I'm sure having fun with these again!  Sometimes I even surprise myself at how much the quilts actually look like the pictures.  Stay tuned...........

The mail's been good!

Lately, I'm not too swift on showing you what I receive for swaps and shame on me!!!  I, truly, have been getting some beauties!  As you all know, I'm a bit of a swap junkie!  I LOVE making mini quilts and love swapping them.  It's always exciting to see what I will get back and how well my partner gets to know the real me without my knowledge.  Then too, there is a fun swap out there called, "Little Quilt - sew, vote swap group" where you make a quilt, submit the photo to the administrator and the group votes on which quilt they like best, second, third and so on.  Then, the 1st place winner gets her first choice, the 2nd, her first choice (unless it was also the first choice of the #1 winner) and so on.  A bit confusing, but it all works out.  After all the votes are in, the administrator posts the top ten for the round and we're all anxious to see how we placed.  For the last round I made two quilts.  Lets see if you remember them:

href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35289170@N06/7977854161/" title=""Bloomin" by mamacjt, on Flickr">

And, I received two back, but this first one was everyone's #1 choice and it is a beauty!  My dear friend (who moved away before we ever really got to know each other well enough, Annie (freezeframe03) made it and it couldn't be cuter!

Here are some close ups.  Check out all that fussy cutting:

How cute, huh?  Then, she was so clever in attaching a label on the front of the quilt.  Check this out:



Too cute!  You really must check out her Flickr pages.  She is quite the talented lady!!!

In addition to that beauty, I got this one from Gocks Frocks (Kristen).  I loved the quilting on it (although I wish it was on white........duh, big surprise, huh?):



Then, after making probably a half dozen quilts (or did it just seem like that??) for my absolute favorite swap of all, Fab Little Quilt Swap, I received a marvelous quilt and an amazing package from Rick (gnittinknam).  I am overwhelmed by his talent and generosity:



Isn't that quilt gorgeous?  And did you see the goodies?  Fabric markers?  YEAH!!!  I've thought about buying them for sometime, but never have.  You have no idea how much I can hardly wait to play with them.....and then too, hand dyed fabric?  That's another thing I've wanted to play with forever.  I even bought some this past January, but never have had a chance to cut into it.......and lastly, teeny tiny buttons.  Like I can't use those????  Hello!!!  Buttons seem to be my middle name lately!  Wow, what a package of goodies!!  Thank you sooooooo much, Rick!  I think this is the best stuff I ever got in a swap!

How fun, huh?  I love it!  Swapping is kind of like Christmas.  Sometimes, you get such neat stuff and can hardly believe it's for you, but then again, sometimes not so much and you wonder what your partner was thinking.  Lately, I've been extremely lucky......almost too lucky, but in the beginning of my swapping career I got some real duds.  It's all in the swap, I guess.  One of these days, I should photograph some of the bitty blocks I have gotten.  They are truly amazing too!  I wonder why I never thought of doing that until now????  Duh!!