Another flimsy!

After finishing my Halloween quilt, I jumped right to Christmas!!!!

I won this fat quarter set from the lovely Judy at Green Fairy Quilts a while back, and finally had time to play with them. I've seen quilts like this before, and it seemed the best way to display each pretty print and maximize the size of quilt I could make, so I did a little figuring and came up with the size I needed to make each block, and voila! Now it just needs to be quilted, and then I'll be warm for another holiday!

Christmas wish lists, anyone?

(Gotta love the post scheduling option... hopefully I'm busy unpacking and will have internet in the new house soon)

When I was really young, as in just past believing in Santa but still "little" young, my parents used to have my brother and I make a Christmas wish list. We were often given the toy ads and allowed to cut and paste the things we liked onto a piece of construction paper. My mom has a favorite story that she's told at least three times this year already: One year, while my brother covered the front and back of his paper with pictures and written items, telling her he ran out of room but he could give her more ideas, I handed her a paper that had a simple sentence: "If it's not too much, a sleeping bag would be nice."

That, my bloggy friends, is the epitome of my inability to make wish lists for myself. 

What would you want Santa to bring to you this year?

Here are a couple of things I think everyone should ask for, and my reasons why....

SWEATERS! Nice, comfy, warm sweaters. Unless you live somewhere that stays above 65 degrees all year, theres going to be a day or two when you want a sweater. And when you put on a sweater that was a gift, you think about the person that gave it to you... it's like wearing a hug, and being warmed by gratitude (at least for me it is).

TOYS! Ok, so adults have a different version of toys than kids. For men, it's often tools-- I bought my brother a wrench set 3 years ago, and he still loves them. Women have a lot of toys, too-- some women would love a new stand mixer, some would prefer scrapbooking supplies, and then there's us quilters, who like things like nice pinking shears, Go dies, even fabric assortments.... if my stocking were stuffed with fat quarters, I just might cry!

INDULGENCES! Whether it be nail polish to paint your own nails, or a gift certificate to get a pedicure,  nice cocoa with which to bake or a box of delicious chocolate truffles, sometimes small pleasures can bring great joy. I'll be making hand-beaten fudge (the REAL kind, not that marshmallow crap) for several people on my list this year.

HAND-MADE GOODNESS! Either food (I've been spoiled by my grandparents with beef log and peanut butter fudge every holiday, and I always make rolled sugar cookies, molasses, and Aunt Sally's cocoa drops with my mom), or a hand-made gift (ahem, quilt). My husband, brother, and MIL will all be receiving quilts this year, several family members are getting mug rugs, Mom is getting some fleece goodies, and a friend is getting her fleece-lined fleece mittens to lose by New Year's (Love ya, Jen!) My family knows the value of time spent making a present. It does to them what sweaters do for me. I don't often receive hand-made presents (probably because they all assume I'll make my own), but when I do, they mean so much more than a store bought item because I know how much more thought and effort are put into it.
And by the way, I think food is a perfectly appropriate gift as long as it's something the recipient eats. I wouldn't give a vegan a beef log, but last year my mom gave me some fancy sea salt to cook with, and I LOVE IT. It's something I wouldn't splurge on, so getting it as a gift means I've been cooking with sea salt all year and loving it.

And, last but not least, ESSENTIALS! Come on, everyone I know used to get new underwear and socks at Christmas... why not? They both serve a vital purpose, and you always need them, and if the people who buy them know you well enough they'll know the one store whose underwear fits your bottom best. In a strange way, basic, utilitarian socks and undies say "love" so much more than lingerie-- honestly, who's comfy in that stuff anyway?

So there you have it. This is my idea of Christmas.

In the long run, it's not about how much you spend, but with whom you spend Christmas. This year, I am grateful to have my husband home, so no matter what I find under the tree or in the stocking I made, it will be better than last because I'll have woken up to his sleepy face next to mine.

Another project that can be done during puppy naps

Right before Jen came to pick up her order this afternoon, I was struck like lightning with an idea for holiday placemats. Have you ever had a design idea slap you in the face, or whack you in the back of the head? That's what it's like sometimes! I love it! This was it... Presents! So, a quick trip to JoAnn's was in order (didn't feel like driving 30 minutes all the way to the LQS... JoAnn's is 10 mins away). 

The middle loop can hold a napkin! I can't find my fabric napkins... I think they got packed already or I would have put one up there to demonstrate. 

One hour of work later, and one is done! The other three are pinned and ready to to be stitched. I was pretty excited to find this green in the clearance section for $3, AND 50% off that for their Veteran's day sale, AND I had my extra 10% off coupon for my entire purchase. Which means my set of four placemats, once done, will have cost about $6 to make, and will have kept me busy (which, when I'm making things for myself, is like paying myself to play). I was able to get the first one completed during Matt Lauer's second nap.

They are very simple, but I love them. When Mum called and asked what I was doing tonight, I told her I'm working on my career... every project I design and make from start to finish like this is one step closer towards turning a profit from sewing/quilting. I may be young, I may be foolish. Whatever. One of these days, you'll see my name on that pattern you pick up at the LQS, and think to yourself, "I know her!"

I can't wait to show you the tree skirt I designed and made last year... as soon as we move, I'll bring it out and play show-and-tell, along with our stockings and the bird ornaments.... I was busy last year, too! (What else is a wife supposed to do during a deployment? This year he's going to be home, so he'll get to see these things for the first time, too!)

Success! For me, anyway....

That's 42 finished tree blocks for my scrappy Christmas quilt... I do want to put sashing on (I finally decided), and I think I might have decided on a color-- if I can find the right color of blue plaid, I think that will look cool. Perhaps... I wish I could "borrow" it from a store if I find some and lay all the blocks on it before committing to buying it, since it is going to take a sizable piece.

Oh well. If it doesn't work when i get it home, I'm sure it will get used eventually.

Here are the stars for the Block Lotto:

I got the first two done, and some of the lights didn't look so light anymore...

So, I made another block using just the "darkest light"... and now it looks light again!

Isn't it fascinating how color values change like that? I hope the three mixed blocks are ok, though, given this conundrum.

The Bears are frustrating me tonight.... 8 sacks so far!!! Really? MAJIDE???  Come on, Bears!!! Get it together!!!

Oh, Saturdays.... College football, golf naps, and today, a biplane nap... I think there was an air show somewhere near (or maybe practice for one, since Google couldn't find any) because three days in a row I have been lulled by the drone of some awesome WWII planes, and today it resulted in a nap! Good thing I'm not in WWII England, or I never would have survived!

After running around with my mom and aunt, and then the biplane nap, I got busy... I've made 20 of my scrappy trees!

Making Christmas, making Christmas is so fun!

Prudence was supervising, of course... such a good little helper! I want a design wall whenever I get my sewing room. It would be really helpful Now.... I can't decide if I want the trees with or without sashing.... and then the problem would be what color of sashing? Hmm, maybe I should look up how to make a portable design wall so I can make it now and take it with me!

Regardless, I have 22 trees left to make, then maybe I will figure out to sash, or not to sash. Without sashing, they will finish at 6" x 7.5" As it stands right now, they will be laid out 7 wide and 6 down. I have several other projects in the works, so if I get stuck, I'll just shift to something else!!

Here's the sewing caddy I made last night... I wish I had better lighting in our living room. But what matters is that the near side holds all my thread and my celly, while the far side hold my needle case, scissors, and a pencil (for now). Love it! I used one of my shop hop fat quarters for the pockets, and the same green that is in my leaf applique.

I need to get the backing pieced for Tim's Xmas present... I want to have Sally quilt it, but I won't have money to pay here until after we move.... see the problem? So, I think if I go see her on Monday, I'll take it again and just ask her advice for attempting to quilt it on my own... I think if I can get a table that my sewing machine can be set in, then I could manage... so, it comes down to: will I get a suitable table in time? Or will I be better off just committing now to siphoning off from weekly money to try to pay for it to be quilted sooner rather than later? Hmm....

Tonight's agenda during the ND game: gather fabrics for MIL's Christmas present, get at least 2 more T-shirts ready for Benny's present, maybe get Tim's backing pieced? And then finish with a couple more "happy little trees." :)

I wasn't lying!

Earlier today I said I had a plan for EVERYTHING I bought yesterday... look! I've already started!

First two blocks of a scrappy tree quilt.

These two are the first trees for a Christmas quilt. I saw trees of every kind yesterday on the shop hop, so when I came upon a set of 15 fat eights in a not-too-Christmasy-but-still-festive color scheme, I knew what I wanted to do with them! Looking at the color values, i also knew I would be able to supplement from my stash. These first two trees are opposites, but the rest I intend to mix up more so there will not be any other "pairs."

Since I was sewing, I decided to make something I've needed but never remembered until I needed it:

Scrap batting and scrap strips, along with extra ribbon from favors from our wedding last year.

Remember my Ugly Pillow? This was made using one of the extra strip pieces... I had two segments that were 6.5" by 4", too squared up to throw away, but containing the Ugly fabrics so they weren't really begging to be adopted by any other projects... So, when I got the idea tonight to finally make my needle case, I saw them and thought it would be perfect-- that way, if I messed up really badly it wouldn't matter! But it turned out well, so now I'm working on a sewing caddy using another fat quarter from the shop hop and some fabric from my stash.

Yay! Small projects like that needle case are so satisfying... there's the satisfaction of finishing something, and of that something being immediately useful.

I guess the only downside of what I've been working on tonight is that the trees make another WIP... but, I think at least as a flimsy they will go quickly, and since Christmas is approaching, I will be motivated to work on them. Perhaps I will make them the reward blocks to work on while I make my brother's T-shirt quilt...

Back to sewing!

Progression from idea to actuality

Busse knives.

This is the inspiration for my husband's Christmas present. Yesterday, I bought the fabric for it and then spent 2 hours meticulously cutting 2" strips from 15 half-yard pieces.

Three half-yards have been cut at this point... I really wish I had a table!!!

Tim is back at work, so I have the house to myself. I'm going to try to keep the actual progression of the quilt secret (he doesn't read this blog.. not that anything is secret in here except his present!!!) So, this morning I got up an went to work. I finished cutting the last three fabrics that I was too tired to do last night. Then the sewing began, followed by more cutting, pressing, and more sewing.

Ta-da!

The end result! Panel number one!! It's my artistic interpretation of the knife on the far right in the top photo. Considering this was my first attempt at a bargello quilt, I'm pretty pleased with it. Ok, I'm ECSTATIC. I love when a vision starts to come together.

Really, that is what my quilting is about-- getting the pictures in my head made into fabric. I want others to smile at the colors, the textures, the feel of a warm quilt that just happens to be beautiful. While this present for Tim is not my typical color scheme (I prefer COLOR over neutrals), it still makes me want to do a little dance just having gotten panel #1 done. I love it.

As I look at the knives in the picture, I think the knife on the far left is going to be the hardest to get right. If I can get the other two done by Tuesday, I can safely hide them from Tim's prying eyes... why do guys like ruining surprises so much? I also need to get it done because my brother is brining me another project Labor Day weekend. I promised him I would turn his T-Shirts into a quilt for his Christmas present. He's the original surprise-ruiner, so it makes it easy to do the t-shirt quilt for him.

Back to sewing! I think I've got about an hour of productivity left, so maybe I'll finish the binding of a project from last week... maybe!

Insomnia isn't always bad...

Newest item listed on Etsy- a pair of pillow covers.

I just listed my second item on Etsy. I'm trying to finish and add an item every other day right now. Thankfully, I also have a mother who doesn't mind me using her house for "photo shoots," since nothing looks good against panelling.

I wrote the description for the item this morning at 4 a.m. I hate waking up from hunger!  I missed out on the middle 3 hours of sleep last night, but at least I was able to go back to bed around 6 and sleep three more. I also came up with an idea for my postage stamp quilt... we'll see if it translates from head to paper, then paper to fabric!