More Projects?!

Thanks to everyone who has left me ideas for my Christmas quilts so far.  I am going to give away a little bit of fabric from each set, so keep your ideas coming if you want to get in on it.  I’m still trying to go through all the ideas so far, but I think I’m leaning towards a zig-zag for the Michael Miller.  I haven’t narrowed it down on the Sheri Berry yet.

As I’m trying to go through things and get rid of junk, I’m discovering that my beloved and I have a lot of old t-shirts.  Actually, I have just a few, and he has a ton.  But they’re the sentimental ones that you’d never wear again, but you can’t get rid of them either.  So I think rather than continue to move around stacks of shirts, I’ll make a couple of t-shirt quilts.  If I can convince him to let me cut them up, that is.  Has anyone done this before?  What kind of interfacing is best?  I dont’ know anything about interfacing, so a specific brand name/info would be really helpful.  I need another project like I need a hole in the head, but a quilters work is never done, right?

Go Win Somethin’

Micki, over at Irish Muses, is having a giveaway of some really cool Irish stuff.  Check it out.

Also, don’t forget about the giveaway I’m doing (of Michael Miller and Sheri Berry Fabric!!!), in exchange for ideas.  Check out my last post.  I know you want to get in on it. 

Christmas in July

I bought these 2 ADORABLE sets of Christmas prints a while back.  The pink/blue is Sheri Berry, and the red/green I believe is Michael Miller.  I need to decide what kind of quilts I’m going to make with these, so I can get whatever else I need before you can’t buy it anymore.  But I’m stumped on what to do.  I want 2 super cute quilt patterns to do justice to the super cute fabrics.  

So here’s the deal…  Leave me a comment with a specific pattern that you think would go well with one or both of these lines, and which line you think I should use it for.  If I see some that I really love, I might just be so grateful that I give someone (or 2 someones) some of this fabric towards their own projects.  Sound fair?  It’ll by our Christmas in July.  Ready?  Set?  Go!

Set One: Michael Miller

Set Two:  Sheri Berry

Passion Flower

 

My parents have this new plant growing in the brush in their backyard.  Wikipedia tells me it’s a Passion Flower.  

Not sure how it ended up in the brush back there, but I’m glad it did.  It gives me something pretty to play around some more with the new camera and photo-editing.

But it looks like it belongs somewhere exotic like an Asian rain forest, not in the woods of Memphis.  Yes, Memphis has some woods.  And now we have Passion Flowers too.

Ghost Story

Intimidation has kept me from starting on my focus blocks (ghost themed) for Jane’s Spooktacular Halloween Swap.  I figured it would include some kind of applique, which is neither my strong point, or something I enjoy that much (probably because it’s not a strong point).  So after putting it off, and putting it off, and doing every other possible thing I could think of to do, I had no choice but to sit down and get started.  It wasn’t so much a shortage of ideas, but rather figuring out how to make those ideas appear in fabric, and trying not to screw it up too much in the process.  And I really don’t want to let my group down.  So after a little bit of work, this is what I came up with.

Not too bad.  It was actually much less painful than I anticipated.  Now that I had my feet wet, I came up with this one for #2…

This one’s even cute, I think.  I got really daring and appliqued a fence on there.  I want to try to make 12 different blocks, so I think I’ll step away from applique for the next couple.  I’m sure I’ll have to do more like this, but I want to try a few other techniques and see what I can come up with.  What do you think?

Resolution Review

This past New Year’s I made quite a few resolutions, and came up with a pretty ambitious 2009 to-do list.  The first couple of months I did a little ‘how I was doing’ posting.  However, either because the end of the month snuck up on me, or I didn’t have much to report, I haven’t done it since then.  Since the year is now half over (Can you believe it?!), I thought it would be a good idea to catch up on how I’m doing on my list.  More for my own motivation than anything.  As always, you can check out the full list of resolutions here, I”ll just mention updates.  Since this post needs some pretty pictures, I’ll throw in a few random ones.  

2.  I haven’t had a sip of caffeine since January 1, and I was a caffeine addict.  I feel a lot better now, and have had no chest pain episodes since.  Unless I have a relapse, this one is marked as done.

3.  I had a design made for moo cards, but haven’t ordered them yet.

4.  I had a nice etsy banner made.  I do have some items planned to make for the shop but haven’t had the time yet.

5.  This one is interesting.  I wanted to get away from strictly quilting, and get back into some of the other crafty things I used to do.  I did a little bit of this, but found that I really didn’t have much of an interest for them, and went back to quilting.  I know my interests kind of come and go in phases, so I’m not going to push this.  I’ll go to other things when it feels right.

6.  I learned to crochet.  It was fun for a while.  I bought a bunch of yarn and had big plans for a crocheted hexagon blanket.  Lost interest.

7.  Well, I had big plans to make a few specific quilts.  I haven’t done any of those, BUT I’ve finished several WIP’s from last year,  And I’m in the process of making several quilts via swaps that I never thought I’d do, and are so much fun! 

9.  Have the design drawn out.  Have some of the pieces cut.  Next step is to get busy drawing some applique patterns.  I’ve never done this before, so it’s holding me up a little bit.

10.  I relaxed a little bit a couple of days here and there, so I’ll consider this one done and marked off the list.

Aftermath

We had some bad storms pass few a week or two ago, and I think this tree must be one of the victims. 

I actually first spotted this tree when I was out last night, but of course I didn’t have my camera with me.  So I went out this afternoon to get a few shots.  It’s just right around the corner from where I live. 

I hadn’t gotten around to getting any photo editing software on the new computer prior to uploading these photos, but I figured now was the time.  I downloaded Picasa, which is what I used on the old computer, and Gimp.  A blogging friend uses Gimp, and I’m always so impressed with her pictures.  (Although I”m pretty sure that’s due to the quality of her shots, and not to Gimp).  Anyway, Gimp looks very involved and I’ll definitely have to do some serious learning before I use that.  So I just played a little with these shots in Picasa, the old standby.

I think the Picasa I just downloaded has a couple new features from the one I had.  Thank you to everyone who left me tips and ideas for New York.  I’d still love to hear from any of you that haven’t gotten around to commenting yet, or haven’t seen the post.  I’ve got until December, so keep ‘em comin’

The Big Apple

Okay ladies and gents, I’m really begging for your help on this one.  My Beloved Husband and I are planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City this December.  I know there’s enough stuff to do and see in NYC to fill about 4 years, but we can only be there about 4 days, so we really need to narrow it down to the must-see’s.  If you have been there/live there/love there, I really need you to tell me what we absolutely must not miss.  Any money saving tips?  Insider hints?  I wanna know about them.  I think we wanna stay on Times Square, but haven’t picked a hotel yet.  Had any horror stories?  Let me know.  Any cool spots to stay?  Spill it.

So far, here’s some things that have been suggested to us.  Let me know if we’re on the right track.  Any here that you really didn’t like and we should skip?  Please put in your two cents…

1.  We’re going to see Phantom of the Opera at The Majestic Theatre.  This is a main priority and one of the things on my bucket list.  If for some reason Phantom shuts down before we get there, and we still go, I’ve heard Wicked is good.  Any other shows that were amazing?  Have you been to the Majestic?  Which are the best seats in the house?

                                 

2.  We’ve been told to get on the Double Decker bus tours to see a bunch of the sites.

3.  SoHo ( I don’t know what that is, but have been told to go), Chinatown, Little Italy, Central Park, Empire State Building.

4. Since we’re going to be there around Christmas, I want to do all that stuff…see the big Christmas tree, go to that ice skating rink in all those movies (Is it the one at Rockefeller Center?), and see the decorated windows (I don’t know where they are, but I’ve heard about them)

5.  We wanna see the Statue of Liberty.  Is it worth going up into it?

6.  My Beloved wants to see Ground Zero.

7.  I want to see all the famous New York stores, like FAO Schwartz, ummmm…the other ones…

8.  I was told I had to eat at Tavern on the Green.  What other restaurants?  How far ahead do I have to make reservations?

Can we do all that in 4 days?  Am I missing anything?  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know.

I’ve taken these pictures from different places on the web.  If you click on the picture, it will take you to the source where I got them.  Hopefully after December, I’ll have all these pictures of my own.

Binding Woes

I hate binding, I really do.  I like that it’s the last step, and so as you bind, you really see your project come together.  I just hate the process of binding.  It’s so boring for me.  More specifically, I hate whip-stitching the binding to the back of the quilt.  And I’m really slow at it.

Case in point:  I finished quilting this quilt what, like a month ago?  I got the binding sewn to the front the same day.  But I’m only halfway done with the whip-stitching. I’ve spent about 3 hours in a month on it and I’m half done.  Does that sound about right?  Am I doing something wrong?  Which part of the quilting process is your least favorite

SCORE!

I had the sweetest package come in the mail today, and I had to share.  I met Cathy(formerly Cathy No Blog) via blogging a few months ago, and she’s become a good friend.  (Some of you may know her from the Around the World Quilting Bee).   Recently, I mentioned having a get a baby gift for my SIL, and she mentioned that she happened to be making baby gifts and offered to send me one.  ( I can’t tell you exactly what it is, because I’m not sure whether SIL reads this, and the shower baby party isn’t until the 3rd of July).  So, she told me she mailed the gift “with a few little goodies for you”.  A few little goodies she says.  Well let me tell you, the box came in the mail today, and it was absolutely overflowing with big goodies, and I have to share them with you.  The baby gift she made is actually a very versatile item, and she made me one as well.  I’m really so excited about it, and will show you as soon as Anna gets hers.  The rest of the box was stuffed with…

Some awesome fat quarters (She must know I’m obsessed with fabric)…

Some super cute Kleenexes (would that be Kleeni)?  Have you ever seen such a box?  And these colors perfectly match the curtains in my sewing room.  I have no idea how she knew that…

Some good smelling soap, GHIRADELLI CHOCOLATE (yes, the bag has already been opened in this picture), bubbles, and buttons!  For my button collection (this girl either pays really close attention, or has ESP)…

3 jelly thimbles in different sizes (I think I blogged about needing a thimble so badly), and some really neat body products (I’ll come back to these)…and a coaster!  See my coaster?  I’m extra excited about this because I never got anything from my coaster swap partner, so this makes up for it.  Plus, I just started collecting rubber duckies, remember?  (man, she’s good)…

And back to the body products…Isn’t that a neat logo?  It looks very fancy, just like something I’d imagine one would get in New York.  I’ll have to go to this address once we’re there in December…I feel very swanky to have body products like this now…

I wish I could show you the main event, but you’ll just have to wait.  Although after all these other gifts, they’re just as ‘main’ as any of it.  I was so excited when I opened the box that I Skyped My Beloved Husband and gave him a show and tell via the webcam.  Thank you so much, Cathy!!!  Cathy No Blog has a blog now, so you really must go and visit.  She’s pretty new to the blogging world, so please make her feel welcome.