Indecisiveness...well,maybe...maybe not!

I have had this fabric laying around for over a year now thinking that I would make cushion covers for this rocker. Now I am considering chucking it in favor of quilty coverings. I didn't pay much for this fabric, clearance at Joanne's. I could find it a good home.

Then again, the colors are beautiful. Goodness me, I can't decide. Any thoughts?

Blessings,

KT

Canning Day

3 pints apple butter, 4 half pints lemon curd, and 9 pints barbecue.

Topping it off with a little housework and homemade pizza for supper.

Maybe I will even get to these this evening!

Blessings,

KT

This, That, and the Other

Over the holiday, my family went with Dee's family to an antique mall before going to watch fireworks.  I saw this quilt, and had never seen the stars in the circle like that.  This may be on my bucket list!  Anyone know what the pattern is called?

The poor quilt was so loved and tattered that it is no longer useful, so I didn't bring it home.

I did bring this home though!  She is a 5 quart!  I only paid $12.50.  Now I am finally able to make double batches of our favorite meals.  This way I am off cooking duty through the weekend!!!  Great use of the money if you ask me!!  She is holding Chicken Teriyaki that was a recipe posted on a blog...so long ago that I forgot where.  It is one of our very favorite meals.

Spotted all these aprons yesterday at Marshall's.  They were around $13.00, great if you need an apron, not so great if you just want to pillage the designer fabrics!! 

As I dug through the racks, I just saw more and more.

Can you believe it?

Everywhere I look, I see the Farmers Wife Quilt A Long.  I long to join, but really don't have the time, or need the guilt...

I plan on borrowing the book from the library to read all the fun stuff.  I just have so many patterns already that I should get more use out of.  But oh, those small blocks are cute!!  So I made a list of 12" blocks that I have access to, yup 47!!!  Told you I shouldn't buy another book!  So my plan is to reduce them by 50%, as well as collect some more (without buying more patterns).  This is going to be a scrap project, and it may not be finished for many years. 

The first block that I have done was from an ipod app!!  The app is called Block Fab.  You should check it out if you have an ipod, iphone, or ipad.  It took all the guess work out of reducing a block from its library.

Of course, I still had to make the block!!

It gave me a little break from this!  Now I am on to adding the background to these!!

Boy am I loving this quilt!!

Blessings,

KT

Just keeping busy.

I have been cutting.  This fabric is going to be a quilt for my Mother-in-Law for Christmas.

Look closely at my sewing desk.  Something is missing.  Joy.  Apparently I wore her out and she will be moving on to week three of her vacation as of tomorrow.  I miss the feel of fabric in my hands.  So I have been finding ways to accoplish SOMETHING in my little sewing area.

So, I also organized the unfinished projects.  Most of these will go on to other homes, so finishing them will get rid of some visual noise.

Secret Table quilt.  Just needs the binding.

Quilt for my end table to protect it from glass rings.  My family, apparently, is morally opposed to coasters.

This is what I was practicing FMQ on when Joy started skipping up to four stitches at a time.

Grocery/Tote bags using my own way of putting them together.  (Been toying with the idea of my own pattern.)  Joy continued to be able to piece, only coughing on batting, so these are half done.

Then Joy's pedal died.  So this wall quilt still needs hanging loops and binding.

This is what I was practicing FMQ to warm up to.  Dee drew the greatest design for me, so my skills need to live up to the importance of the piece.  (The embroidery was my grandma,s.)

Need to make two purses.  One for my Sister-In-Law (for Mother's Day...sigh) and one for a friend's birthday (March 15th...double sigh).

Oh, and since there have been several days in the eighties already, I should be getting these made into summer jammies.

 

Oh, and this is still in pins.  If I could just get these things done, my sewing area would be much neater.  Assuming, of course, that I don't think up more projects....oooopps!!!!  Too late!!!  ;0)

Blessings,

KT

Purple Peep Eater

Many of you know that I love purple.  What you probably don't know is that I love Peeps.  My favorite, of course, are the purple ones.  Since I prefer them stale (I know weird) you could say that I am passionate about my purple Peeps.

What I am not is a purple Peep creep.  I don't think that purple Peeps are the only REAL candy.  (Chocolate anyone?)  I don't think that everyone should HAVE to like them.  I realize that purple only adds to my experience, but not to the sweetness of the Peep.  I will eat the blue Bunnies in a pinch!  ;0)

I can, and do, love those who hate the Peep.  If you can't stand purple I can still love you.  (Some of my favorite people love red, I just don't get it, but I love them!)

 

If everyone were like me, the world would be flat and let's face it, very scary indeed.  There would be nothing unique, nothing to spark my interest, nothing to make me grow.

No Joy!

Insert shudders.

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  There is no law against these things!"

Galatians 5:22, 23

This year I have been focusing on "Joy", mostly because mine was a bit tarnished.  I cannot fail to produce the other fruit though.  If I do, I will never have joy.

What that means in my virtual world is this.  I like whatever it is you do.   Feel free to borrow what you like, but I don't ever expect you to be me.  I would rather delete this blog than to discourage you (or make you that crazy!).  I want you to have joy and a purple Peep, but only if you want them.

Blessings,

KT

WW

JOY!!!!

As a rule, Mondays are days that I have to work at Joy.  Not this past Monday!!  These came from Amy, as a result of a comment I made on one of her blog posts.  Love them, and snatched the last two out of her etsy shop.  She sent me a hot tip via email that she now has more fabric in so more of these may be showing up soon in her shop!  Oh, and as I was working on the links for this post, I noticed she has some great Christmas prints.

Then, Monday evening I got to take a VIP out to a quilt shop and then dinner!!!  This was my indulgence, Anna Griffin's The Lizzie Collection (the words fabric is I think, Make Life).  I first saw them here.  Thanks Amanda Jean for inspiration! 

The VIP chose the restaurant, and we enjoyed our fortune cookies!!  The top two were hers, the bottom one was mine.   Great Monday, much Joy!

Speaking of Joy, she is waiting on me to go get her!!!  Yay!!!  Maybe (but not likely) I will have a Friday Finish this week!!!  Double Yay!!!

Blessings and goldfishy kisses!

KT

Quick Trip to Sam's Club...

and these just jumped into my cart...really!  No time to peruse them though, need to baste the lovely quilt under them, and make binding for Rainy Days...and make quit sleeves for both...and sew the binding on.  Oh yeah, and my goal is to do that before I take Joy to the Dr. on Friday!  I best be hustling!!!

Blessings,

KT

What I have been doing!

Winning these lovely patterns from two generous sisters!!!  Check them out here.  Thanks so much ladies!!

                                   

(Air show pictures used with permission of the photographer.)

Watching this with Dee & Family!

Starting this.

The grey is primer.  The soft metallic is nickel (It quit working half way through).  The Green/blue is Bahama Sea.  (Ran out!)  Will try to show you pictures soon!

Hope you all are enjoying summer!

Blessings,

KT

Momma Said There Would Be Days Like This....

I haven't gotten to work on this much.  Sunday Treasure decided to work on the lawn after church.  He discovered that the pipe for a spigot by the pump house had burst (read cha-ching).  It would have been a good thing to have just come in and taken an afternoon nap.  But he persevered and mowed the lawn.  I even got some weeding done!!!  When the front lawn was done, he parked the mower in the middle of the front yard and began trimming bushes.  (They look great!)  When he went to put the mower away, no starting!!!  (read cha-ching cha-ching).  So as he was pushing the mower to the garage, he noticed that the back window of our van had been shattered by a stone thrown by the mower (yup, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching).  By the end of the day, I was saying, "Let's hurry and go to bed before something else breaks!"

So, little sewing, much time with repairmen!!  Chaos reigns The Lord reigns.  The flower bed is looking better.  Maybe I can get a picture soon.  Oh, and I won not one, but two giveaways during the Sew Mama Sew Spring giveaway!!!!!  YAY!!!!! 

The first is from The Quixotic Crafter.  (The music alone cheers you up!)

I won some bling for my little scissors in my quilting kit, and its purple!!!!  Perfect!!  Thanks so much!!

The second gift was overwhelming.

Vintage sheet fat quarters!!  (The crowd roars!!)

These too!  The great part is that I now have enough to make coordinating quilts for three sisters I know.  These will go with some others for a 15 year old.

(Yup!  These were part of the winnings too!)  These will be in the quilt for the lovely middle, who is 8 and loves flowers!

(Can you believe it?  These too!!!)  These will go in the lovely little 4 year old's quilt.  She loves pink, and strawberries!!!  Perfect!!!

I am going to coordinate them by adding the same greens to all the quilts.  I am so thankful for Brown Paper Packages for this very generous prize!!

Now all I have to do is not break anything more, finish the quilts I have started, and dig in to vintage yumminess!!

Blessings,

KT

If I have told you once...

I have told you at least twice now, "I am a ding-bat!"

Recently I was tidying up my buttons on my side bar.  I accidentally deleted one, but couldn't remember which.  (Hold on, we aren't even to the ding-bat part yet!)  Later the same day I got a Quilt Home newsletter in my inbox.  Ding-dong!  That is the button!  Not only that, but there is a contest to win fabric from them if I have their button on my blog.  Did I ever sign up for that?  So I emailed them to ask.  Within a couple of hours (seriously) Carl emailed me back.  Not only was I signed up, but I was the winner February 17, 2010!!!!  Usually they only give you a couple of weeks to use the gift certificate.  They graciously gave this ding-bat a second chance!!!

My Paganelli pile no longer lacks yellow!  I now have all the henna garden currently available.  And they had the Farmer's Market Dahlia that I used up on skirts!!!  Ah...I may have spent more than my gift certificate!

Oh, and just so you know, the fabric was in my hands Friday!!  You can check out Quilt Home by clicking on the button, now safely replaced on my side bar!

Out of curiosity, I checked my blog to see what was going on in my life around that time that I would miss out so.  There you have it, She Sews and Scraps tried to tell me in the first comment!!

Blessings,

KT

Spinning Wheel...

got to go 'round.

Pinwheel party is caught up!!!

Do any of you use starch?  I am used to using super duper spray starch.  I use it with every seam.  By the time I am done with a block, it is quite stiff.  It always lies flat though!!!  It is awesome when working with bias, really decreases the stretch effect.  Recently someone posted about using Downy Wrinkle Releaser on wrinkled fabrics before you cut.  Love that too!!  Treasure is less than thrilled that I use aerosol starch almost every day.  (Please don't tell him about my hairspray!)  To honor him, I bought some starch alternative at my LQS.  I should have read the bottle better first!!!  Well girls, it leaves me...limp.  There is no shape preservation here!  It does do what it says on the bottle, which is the same stuff Downy Wrinkle Releaser does for half the price.  At over $7 a bottle, I had higher expectations I guess.  Oh, and they only had lavender scent, which I strongly dislike.  It makes me think of bug spray!!!

Does anyone have a non-aerosol solution to keep my blocks stiff and in shape?  Please share!!!

Edited to add---To prevent the spray starch from clogging my iron, I press the block, spray the back, then press the front!  Thanks Lesly!  And both Leslie and Lesly guessed it, I am not a fan of Mary Ellen's Best Press.

Blessings,

KT