crazy'boutquilts

This month's Schnibble project was Summer Day.  With a name like that, I couldn't help but make it summery! ;-) I used a bunch of bright and cheery scraps that I won earlier in the year from Lurline. :-)  They were perfect!~ thank you again Lurline!!




I also managed to get last month's Bibelot quilted and ready to sew the binding down~ this is going to be a pillow for hubby~ 'T' is for 'trouble'. LOL ;-)






Watch Sherri and Sinta's blogs tomorrow for a May Day parade of Summer Days!! :-)


And~ I got busy this morning and finished up one of my Christmas Through the Year projects! :-)



These are cradle quilts. They will be mailed off this month to an organization that makes cradles for little girls at Christmas time. The red one is all finished and ready to go. The other one is a Ticker Tape quilt and it just needs a bit more quilting and a binding.  Both will be on their way by the end of the month. Wouldn't it be fun to be a little fly on the wall when some little girl finds a doll, cradle and little quilt under her tree? :-)

That's all for now~ I need to get back to Spring cleaning! ;-)

Until next time~ happy stitching!

Oh! I am drawing the winner in my giveaway tomorrow~ be sure to leave a comment on that post!! :-)

First, don't forget to comment on my giveaway post!  You could be the lucky winner of a beautiful quilt pattern or an adorable baby's bonnet pattern from the wonderful Loris, who wrote Solomon's Puzzle. :-)




Shopping~
LOL Who doesn't love to shop?! I infrequently stop in our local Tuesday Morning store and always come out with something I never expected. Like this bundle of FQ's from Westminster Fibers, and the little roll of Kaffe prints.  Both are first quality fabrics, but at fantastic prices! :-)  Whoohoo!





Fiddling~
Well, when everyone was on the hexie craze, I thought I would make a couple and applique them to a background as a sort of mini quilt~ that way I could say I tried them, right? Who knew they would become an addiction?!! :-o  I made 4. Then a couple more. Then thought how would they look joined? Argh!  It is only going to have the 7 hexagons in it and will be a table topper! Yikes!  I have to stop myself!  ;-)




Fun~  :-)
I was the lucky winner of the latest issue of Primitive Quilts from Lori at Humble Quilts. What a fun magazine!! :-))  The question isn't 'which project should I do?'  but 'which project should I do first?'!!  It has so many wonderful projects in it, I want to do every single one!!  I think I'll start with the redwork and put the hexies aside for a little while. LOL

Hope you are having a fun weekend!~ which includes a little shopping and fiddling too! ;-)

Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!

Did you sew?  Please tell me so I can visit! ;-)

I pulled out the rest of  my Thimbleberries scraps and made more T's!!   This was March's Schnibble project, but being the slacker I am (not!), I didn't have it finished. Well, the truth is that I really wasn't too inspired by Bibelot last month. I thought I might be a little choosier on which projects I did this year because I have done them for the last 2 years~ and really, do I need more wall hangings? ;-) But then I saw the pattern... and the cute designs... and I got to thinking it would make a really cute pillow cover, or small quilt... yes, I am weak! And with today being Thimbleberries Sew Day~~~ I caved! :-o  Are you really surprised? LOL  Ok, enough of the bold T's too! I'm getting confused. ;-)

Here is my little topper~ or as hubby has started referring to it, 'his pillow' top. LOL :-)



I hope you had a fun sewing day too!  Tomorrow I will work on this month's Schnibbles~ hey I have a few days yet! It could happen!! :-)

Oh and don't forget about my giveaway~ a couple gorgeous patterns are in the hat!!

Tomorrow...

Thimbleberries Sew Day!! :-)



I am going to work on some little T's~ the Schnibbles pattern for March~ Bibelot. :-)  Yep, I am a Tad behind!

Hope to see you sewing with us!!

And don't forget to stop by my giveaway post!

Remember when I read Solomon's Puzzle and gave away a quilt pattern that was inspired by the book?  I really enjoyed the book~ fantastic writing and so pertinent if you are raising or have raised a teenager.  I read it twice and it still comes to mind whenever I think about a book that touched me.  It has mystery, humor, sadness and joy all in one very good read.  I can't encourage you enough to check it out. ;-) but enough about me~~ LOL ;-)

Photo Courtesy of Solomon's Puzzle

 Loris Nebbia is not only a great author, but  also a very generous one!  :-)  She sent me two patterns to giveaway to two of you!! Isn't that wonderful!  It's a little early Mother's Day giveaway. :-)  Thank you so much Loris!!  ♥

One pattern is for the Solomon's Puzzle Sampler Quilt pictured above.  The other is for a darling French Corded Baby Cap.  I tried to get a good photo of it, but just couldn't do it. So if you go here~ French Corded Cap, you can read about it and see some great photo's! Loris made one for her granddaughter and it is just so sweet! 

So just leave a comment, tell me something about yourself. I will draw on May 1st.
Good luck!!   :-)

I wanted to show you some of the blocks in the lotto at retreat. We had 101 attendees and collected 54 blocks~ the first time there has been over 50 blocks in years! This is a small sampling of them. Unfortunately my cell phone died after taking this shot, so I didn't get the other half. There were 4 winners who each received a share of the blocks and some of the lotto fabric to go with them.



Of all the things I saw people working on, the paper pieced quilts were the most stunning. I can't show photo's of them because the ladies told me they were making them for specific shows.  Maybe next year. ;-)  I was sure taken though by the accuracy... almost tempting me to begin paper piecing something too! LOL~ And y'all know, I generally don't like to paper piece! ;-)



I did finish my 60+ blocks for a signature block swap this fall. And I worked on my Schnibbles quilt for this month~ more on that later. ;-)  And I brought home 20 FQ's I won in the FQ lottery. :-) Fun!



It is gently raining here and I am off to make some soup. Seems strange to be thinking of soup in April, but this kind of weather just calls for it. :-)

Have a good evening~
More soon!

Thank you for your sweet comments and well wishes for my retreat! I had a lot of fun and accomplished a lot~ yay!  It is so nice to have dedicated days to working on your projects and getting things done without the interruptions you have at home. And we were treated like queens, the chefs prepare 2 meals/day~ which is plenty when they are sooo delicious and you are sitting on your back side all day. ;-)  LOL Yes, I think I came home with a pound more than I left with! :-o

They offered a bunch of classes but I had so much of my own stuff to do ;-) that I only took one.  A new-to-me technique using the Double Diamond Ruler.  A lot of the ladies worked on table runners, but just to try the ruler, I made this mini mat.  It was so quick! I never would've believed it if I hadn't done it myself! ;-)  I can see this design used in so many other ways~ I need more time to sew! LOL ;-)


I also worked on a few bags, blocks and a mini~ this was a 'just for fun' pattern I have wanted to make for me. I made one years ago and gave it away. I still need to add borders. This is 11 inches square now. With borders it will be around 15 inches.  It looks a lot brighter in the photo than it actually is in 'real life'.


I can't show you a couple of the bags I made, but I can show this one~ it is huge!!  Like a suitcase! LOL

Getaway Bag by Aunties Two Patterns

Loads of pockets inside

I changed mine up a bit by not binding the bottom and making my lining separate. It sure was handy for packing up when we came home! ;-)

I also made a new wallet to go with my bag. This pattern is Cyndi's from Cut Up and Sew!~ thanks Cyndi! I love it!! :-)


The outside~ please pardon my photo taking abilities~ I think I wiggled and made it a bit blurry. :-o 

And the inside~ love all the space for credit cards etc!

That's it for now~ I hope you had a great weekend too!
Until next time~
Happy stitchin'!!

I finished the March and April BOM's from Bird Brain Designs over the past few days. I just have to rinse the Sticky-Fabri Solvy out of them~ you can see it is a very sheer substance. I love using it! Just a quick rinse in cold water and it is gone. No muss, no fuss and best of all~ no tracing! :-)


This is a block I made from an EQ7 pattern for a block lotto. I am going to retreat for the next 4 days. :-) Our theme this year is a Quilting Fiesta. I got sent a 7 inch square of the black fabric that has the orange, yellow, green and turquoise in it and had to make a 12 inch finished block. Nothing like waiting til the last minute. ;-) LOL  We also have classes and a FQ lottery. Oh!~ and a fabric shop sets up right at the retreat for us!! :-) Oh yeah~ it is going to be fun!! :-)



Today I am packing up my machine and projects. Oh! ~ and suitcase! LOL Checking twice to make sure I don't forget anything. ;-)  Hope y'all have a good weekend~ I'll be back Monday!

Until then~
Happy Stitchin'!!

I love to stitch in the evening while watching TV with DH... he watches, I stitch. :-) LOL  I just completed this Redwork Sampler from Bird Brain Designs.



I need to find some red fabric to finish it off, but I am really happy with how it turned out. I ordered the pattern and the piece already printed on Sticky-Fabric Solvy~ boy is that stuff nice! After you finish stitching, a quick rinse in cold water removes the soluble pattern and it doesn't leave any trace of ink! Love it! :-) 

Now I need to get my next pattern printed~ or maybe I will work on a few dish towels. I love choices! :-) LOL

Hope you are having a great Saturday~
Happy Easter to you and yours!

Remember in my last post I showed a peek at my new bag? And gave a little hint about it not being any of the bags or patterns I had previously shown you? I was tickled pink to find an email from Clara of Clover and Violet.  :-)  Clara and Jennie are a very talented mother/daughter design team~ they have a PDF shop and also an etsy shop and they embroider. :-)  And they asked me to try one of their patterns!!! :-) 
I made the Brooklyn bag....




Yes! Mama has a New Bag!! LOL   I love it! They rate their patterns as to skill level and this one was rated as 'advanced beginner'. I like that~ if you have never sewn a bag before, and have just a little quilting experience, you might find the pattern slightly challenging. BUT~ they give you their email right on the pattern and invite you to write to them if you are having any troubles~ how sweet is that?  :-)  One thing I had to chuckle to myself about~ remember I shudder at the 'quilt as desired' line? This time it really was easy to decide what to do~ follow the lines. ;-)  LOL




The inside has pockets, lots of pockets~ I like pockets!  :-) And did you notice there is no button or snap? That is because they used a sew in magnetic snap! Very clever! It gives the bag such a smooth look.  I had no idea these things were even out there until I went shopping!  I  did a search and found them here~ but that price is crazy! Go to your local sewing store. ;-)  They also have a very clever way of stabilizing the bottom of the bag, and a nice lining technique, but I'm not going to give away all their smart ideas! ;-)  Just trust me, they are really easy. ;-)  I am very happy with my new bag, and still a little tickled that Clara wrote  to me. :-) Hands down it was the best April Fools Day surprise I have ever had! ;-) Thank you Clara and Jennie!

Now I need to get back to working on all the things I can't show you yet~ my row robins and HGTV BOM blocks for next month.... I have a long list.  ;-)

Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!!

Warning:  Be careful when you title your posts! :-o (said tongue in cheek)  ;-)

The 'mama' I was referring to yesterday was me, but my Mom had another idea!! LOL :-)  But I was one step ahead of her~ which isn't easy! I already had a bag cut out for her! ;-)  I'm not going to show you it yet.... maybe later. I am going to a sewing retreat next week and plan to take hers along to sew there. Yesterday I had an offer I couldn't pass up! ;-) Nope, not telling yet, but it is a new to me pattern and it will be made from these~~



Thanks for your suggestions for my new bag. I don't think I am going to stop at one~ I like both of the patterns I showed you, and I wouldn't mind making another Margo bag either. :-)) Well, all I can say is~ yes! I come by the 'crazy' name quite honestly! LOL

I hope you are having a great day!
I'm going back to cutting~
Until next time~
Happy Stitchin'!!