Inspiring Monday

This week I bring you one of my all time faves from Flickr!



Selvage Hexies by Jednoiglec

I mean come one!!

REALLY?!

Selvages, hexies, a lovely grey base?

Say it with me everyone -

FABULOUS!

Where are my pearls and stilletos?

I need them when I iron because I love to iron (*at least when it is for quilting*) - and when I get to do it on this little baby!



It was created using Oh Fransson's tutorial. Talk about super simple and a fantastic outcome!



Just a simple TV tray covered in batting, duck cloth, and one of my favorite Tufted Tweets prints!

I totally recommend making one of these for yourself! So easy, and useful! Especially for ironing small pieces right next to your machine and for taking to quilt meetings.

Hope your prepared!

I finally got my digital camera working again (my poor canon though is still sick) which means you all will have it coming!  So I hope you prepared!

Well are you??

Because I have 3 completed quilts, and a couple of tops waiting to be photographed and shared so I hope you are ready!

Seriously - I recommend a series of jumping jacks, pull ups, and a long session with a thigh buster. 

***

And so this post isn't pictureless despite my camera woes...this is what I am thinking for my Make Mine Modern swap partner!



Click the picture to follow to flickr for the individual photo's information.

***

Now get back to those jumping jacks!!

Covet

These plates are meant to look nautical, as in boat flags, but all I am seeing is half square triangles and nine patches!

There are mugs too!  I do wish they came in some other colors though - red and aqua anyone?

Nautica J-Class Mugs and Tapas Plates

Inspiring Monday

This week I want to share the most awesome hexagon star/flower/something or other that just blows my mind!



DQS10 by AnnaMichelleQuilts

Check out what she did with multiples of these little babies!



This is her a piece for Doll Quilt Swap 10, and I am seriously crossing my fingers that this little baby will show up at my house!

Whoops...Let's try that again...

My great grandmother's quilt - all basted!



Let's look at the back!



Wait...

AH CRAP.

Guess who forgot to iron her backing fabric.

That's right.

This girl. 

:(

On a side note - both my SLR and my digital camera are messing up and refusing to work. My iphone makes for a sad substitute.

Christmas gifts still?? YES.

Is it almost February?

Yes.

Am I still giving out Christmas gifts?

Yes.

Hmmm........

Don't judge me!

These are a few that were recently gifted that I can now share!  First up some potholders for my dad who is a classic car buff. I think he was more amazed that I was able to quilt something for him as he thinks all my handmade stuff is interesting but girlie.





I also made some moleskine covers thanks to the amazingly easy to follow tutorial by Keyka Lou!





And finally a pincushion made for a friend who is now addicted to sewing and thankfully shares my crazy sense of humor! Idea completely taken from Badskirt Amy whom I gladly bow down to her and her talent!



Sadly though there will be about 2 more Christmas gifts posts as I have 2 quilts still to deliver! Yay for Christmas in almost February!

Inspiring Monday

Today I want to share with you another embroidery hoop!



Untitled by Delightful Disarray

I love this piece because I love how she utilizes the negative space, the randomness of the french knots as they spread out from the heart, as well as the simplicity of the linen and single color of floss.  Proof positive that something small, simple, and sweet creates such lovely pieces!

Hopefully you are all on vacation today too, and can take this inspiration and run with it!  I am spending the day helping another member of the HMQG organize their fabric stash! FUN!

Howdy Partner!

I know blind partners can be really daunting!  So the stalking begins in an effort to create something you think they will like!  Believe me I know - I stayed up about 2 hours past my bed time last night stalking my partner because I thought it would be a great idea to check my email just 1 last time before bed!

So in an effort to make things a bit easier for you I wanted to direct you to my inspiration mosaic, inspiration gallery (I will keep adding things to this gallery as well), my photostream, and my favorites. Also I have updated my profile and hope that helps a bit too (although that is just a list of random loves/not so loves). 

I plan on hanging this mini in my room where I can see and smile at it everyday!  But I want you to feel free to create anything you want though.  Don't feel you are restricted to my mosaic or gallery.  And also don't feel the need to go out and buy fabric!  This year seems to be the year to 'sew from the stash' and goodness knows that is what I am trying to do, so don't feel pressured to spend a bunch of new fabric.  I am ready to love whatever your creative mind thinks of 

And just so this isn't a picture-less post how about I share some of my favorites from the last round - DSQ9!











If you are asking yourself did she really just write a whole post just for her DQS 10 Partner - yes, yes I did. I AM JUST TOO EXCITED!

HMQG Goodness , Rounds, and Awards?!

Today was the January meeting for the Houston Modern Quilt Guild and it was awesome!  We had almost 20 people gathered into my house for sewing, food, fun, and laughter!

And scraps! Lots and lots of scraps thanks to Cherri House and my own hoarding of every tiny piece of fabric.  And when I say lots I mean 2 garbage bags...



And a bag of FQ's and 2 jars full of precuts!



I had intended to make scrap bags for all the members but in the end didn't want to choose for people and decided to just let them all loose upon the scraps like a 4 year old in a candy store.



We also switched Round Rows today! I had Fi's whose round is so awesomely bright and loud and I loved working on it! My addition to her piece was the purple stripe and hexagon border.



After eating and taking care of some business we all sat down to sew! This was my set up as I was working on some HST's for a lap quilt for my great grandmother.



To make this day even more awesome I was given the Leibster Blog Award by both Megan and Amy!  Seriously I am pretty shocked as I have only been blogging for a few months! The Leibster Blog award is given to those bloggers with less than 300 followers.  The idea is in order to accept the award, you have to pass it on to a few fellow bloggers.  But oddly enough I think all the people I would have chosen to be nominated have already been so!  But just in case here are my nominations anyways (even if they already have it!)

1. Don't Call Me Becky - I have been reading this blog for ages and LOVE the quilts Rebekah has made as well as her travel photos, and many knitting projects! I personally have never managed to 'get' knitting so I like to live vicariously through her's! 
2. Blue Elephant Stitches - Jolene has such a wonderful eye for color and pattern!  I especially love her Moon Tree quilt and seeing it's creation evolve through her posts.  
3. Crafting My Way Through Life - Lisa's blog is just awesome.  Her bee blocks are fantastic, her creations inspiring, and humor is wicked.

Hope those blogs are 'new' to you and they provide you with some laughs and inspiration!  Super thanks again to Amy and Megan! xoxo

All A Flutter!!

Because I am now a bebe in the latest round of Doll Quilt Swap!  So many people entered the lottery to be able to participate and I am so freaking excited that I was lucky enough to get in!  And check out the insanely cute button that Amy made for the group.



Is that not adorable!  That is Amy's Blyth doll named Smith holding a TINY foundation pieced Circle of Geese block that only measure 4 inches! So talented!  

For the swap you are given a partner, but they don't know who they got, you stalk their preferences relentlessly, and then create a mini quilt for them!  I am so excited to participate in this group despite being super intimidated by some of the other insanely talented participants that constantly inspire me!

So yes, my heart is all a flutter and I can't wait to get my partner and get to stalking!

Satisfaction!

I love the feeling of finishing a project! So when I finish 3 projects and get a start on a 4th I feel fantastic!

Fist I finished my super late A Little Fabric A Little Chocolate December swap package! And it is now all done, and ready to be shipped out to India!



These are the hand towels I made for my partner from Moda's Arcadia line, which I won from one of Sheree's awesome giveaways!





I also finished my first blocks for do. Good Stitches! For January Jolene asked us all to make these adorable rainbow blocks which I think is going to make the most fun and wonderfully colorful quilt!



And for the virstual quilting bee that I joined, String Me Along, I finished my block for Linda which is an x block. She is making a quilt for her daughter that will match her son's. I think it is going to be such a sweet and wonderful gift! (And sorry for the blurry photo! I didn't realize till I posted it that it was so off and I had already wrapped the block up for mailing!)



I also got a start on Fi's Round Row for the Houston Modern Quilt Guild's Round Robin! I have lots of hexagons to make by Saturday but I think it will be super cute and thus worth it!! I shall share once it's all done!

Hope everyone else had as productive of a sewing weekend as I did!

To use a blog reader or not...

Do any of y'all use a blog reader?

I use google reader, but realized tonight that I don't much like it.  (Although maybe it was because I was sick all week and let the reader accumulate over 100 posts to read...) Does anyone have a suggestion for a better one?

While the google one is extremely helpful in not letting me miss any posts from my favorite blogs I miss going to the actual websites.  I love opening a blog that I really enjoy and being excited by the beautiful headers, colors, photography, and buttons.  Seeing their layout and the flow of posts, even if I am just scrolling through posts I have already read to look at the pretty pretty pictures!

While I will still use my blog reader...I would hate to miss any posts (especially the one announcing Heather Ross's next studio sale that I keep missing!!) I am definitely going to follow the posts back to their blogs more often! 

A Soiree for Cate

I felt my newest little cousin Cate, who is just too darling, needed a quilt!  It needed to be girly, fun, soft, and sweet.  And this is what I came up with!



This is the first quilt that I have ever stippled. It was a bit of a challenge for me but I learned a lot from the experience.



It was a christmas gift and I think she, and my Aunt and Uncle like it so I am super happy with it!  I especially love how crinkly it looks after washing and drying it.



Fabric used was a honey bun of Moda Soiree and Kona Cottons.

Added to Canoe Ridge Creations {Sew} Modern Monday!

Inspiring Monday

This week I am sharing with you a gorgeous embroidery hoop I saw on Flickr.



This scrappy embroidery hoop is by Jednoiglec who blogs here.

Look at all the sweet details like the tiny buttons, the varying sizes of the hexagons, and the fussy cutting. Hope this inspires you as much as it does me!

Here's to a New Year!

2011...a brand new year.

Hopefully it is full of happiness, color, quilting, family, friends, and creativity.

And just to start the year off right I spent the afternoon creating my inspiration mosaic for the 3x6 Sampler Quilt Mini Bee.  I going burnt orange, navy, beige, and white.  I can't wait to see what it turns into by years end after 4 quarters of participating in the bee.



I also spent the day organizing all the fabric I purchased last week while in Arkansas visiting my grandmother for her birthday. I went to 2 shops and found some insane deals!! Such as Tula Pink Hushabye yardage on sale for $5 and FQ for $1!!



I also managed to get my hands on 10 colorways of Kaffe Fasset's insanely beautiful shot cottons!



Other than that I just got a couple of FQ's...



Hmmm...maybe I should be participating in Angela's Fabric Diet...