Because "3" Is No Longer a BABY!

I need to come up with a name for this one....

In the mood to revamp every room of the house.

Started small last week, with a new quilt for Little Miss's toddler bed....since the IKEA duvet cover on her wee comforter looks so babyish to me. (And um, yeah. For those of you playing along at home, YES, the ORB quilt-along quilt top is STILL unfinished. Your point?)

Based loosely on the Amy Butler Ginger Bliss pattern, using fabrics from my stash (mostly Kaffe Fassett and Anna Maria Horner's "Garden Party")...planning a RED backing...need to get more Kaffe fabric (I used up quite a bit of fabric! Aren't you proud of me for CUTTING INTO IT, STELLA?)

Mac was not budging from his spot....

What I learned:

1. I should have had a better PLAN! All those polka dots really JUMP OUT at you - I should have spaced it all out better.


2. Next time - chose MORE fabrics. It got harder and harder to piece the rows as my stash dwindled. I ended up adding some rogue pieces that weren't originally intended...and I think it shows. (Don't let the Quilt Police Ladies see this!)
   I really like "just winging it" as opposed to following a pattern or (horrors!) using a cutting template. I think that makes me a "modern quilter" according to the June/July issue of Quilter's Home. I'll take it!


3. The best part was the extra set of helping hands laying out the blocks as I finished them....on Thursday night she gathered them all up in her fists and took them TO BED with her. I couldn't figure out where she put them...and sure enough, she had them clutched in her hand while her Daddy read to her. (And fell asleep that way. Luckily for me, I LIKE ironing so I didn't mind starting over with that step on Friday night. hee. Love her to the moon!)

Rainbow Around the Block Project

I am participating in this project to support victims of the floods in Tennessee, as sponsored by Anna Maria Horner. Read more about it here and see entries on the flickr pool here. I can't seem to get another quilt FINISHED (I tend to stall at the "sandwiching" stage) but I can certainly zip through a few 12" squares! Who is in with me?

Shop Hop - Final Stop!

Whew! Thanks, Jan, for riding with me to the last shop yesterday!

My last stop was Generations Quilt Shop in Pottstown....no time to shop (we were on our lunch hour....the shop is a 25 minute ride from the office so there you have it...Next time we will SHOP, Jan!)


Here is their take on the quilt...I loved the use of greens and pinks.
Now we wait to hear who all the WINNERS ARE!

144 miles, 7 1/2 hours later....

...I made it to 5 more shops today! So close! I have one more shop tomorrow. This SHOP HOPPIN' business is HARD WORK!

OK....first stop this morning was in Byrne Sewing Connection. This shop is HUGE and is all about the machines and the classes. If I ever decide to REALLY LEARN how to sew/quilt....this would be a good place to get to know! (hee) Oh...and they had SILK fabrics and patterns for fabulous things...(spendy spendy, tho'!) Bonus points to them for thinking to have mini bottles of water for their guests! (Like JCrew stores. I think everyone should offer these....but not exactly GREEN, I guess). OK...I digress....here is their take on the SHOP HOP quilt:

Next stop was Country Quiltworks....this is one I could have spent HOURS IN. Lots of great fabrics (bonus points for also offering FAT 1/8ths!) and tons of patterns and samples everywhere. They had some Amy Butler that I hadn't seen elsewhere, and Heather Bailey patterns (no fabric tho! Am I destined to NEVER SEE THAT STUFF IN A DANG SHOP?) I scored the LAST strawberry pincushion kit! (lovely felts/wool bits)....but did not splurge for the $12 patterns. Ugh. Remember the good ole days when patterns were 50 or 75 cents? This shop gets bonus points for offering up an extra pattern with their quilt block for the Shop Hoppers. It's for a Christmas Tree made of fabric yo-yo's. Cute. Their quilt was done in black, white, and tans (sorry for the lousy photo...it was much lovlier in person!)

My haul!

They had a FULL ROOM devoted to patterns and books...and in the center was a twin bed with this gorgeous quilt: "I SPY" - all novelty fabrics....and some really lovely pillows. YUMMY fabrics, don't you think? The I SPY quilt is 6" blocks with squares appliqued in the corners somehow....clever clever....I need to look into that pattern!
Yum Yum....scrappy pillows.

Third shop was Granny's Sewing Den. They get bonus points for giving away a piece of fabric to each Shop Hopper! AND...instead of doing a full quilt? They made each block into a PURSE. How clever is THAT? (AND...they are raffling off one of the totes....a dollar a chance. WOOT!) Favorite find there was the retro Santa fabric (like MOM's SANTA MUGS, sisters!)

These purses were really well made. I'd be happy to win ANY of them...I forget which one is being raffled off. Not a fan of the fabric selection...but they looked great all grouped together. Very clever, eh?

My haul from Granny's! The black fabric with the Christmas balls on it was the "free gift." Very nice!

Number 4 stop today was Quilter's Corner....this is a shop I frequent fairly often....and since I was short on time...I dashed in and got my book stamped and zipped out. I wish I had time to linger...looked like they have lots of new bolts since I was there last. They are raffling off their Shop Hop quilt - you get one chance for every 10 dollars you spend! Nice! I saw some really cool retro or comic book strip looking fabrics that have you written ALL OVER THEM, Stella!! Gotta get back there soon to check that out.... here is their quilt:

And my fifth and final stop for the day was in Neward DE at Quilter's Hive. This shop is new to me also...TONS of space - lots of beautiful samples and nice selection of fabrics...I scored another piece of Amy Butler's Belle collection as my final purchase of the day! yippie!

I {heart} you, Amy Butler's Belle Collection, I do!

OK...off to go PLAY with my new toys now!

2009 Fall Fabric Frenzy --Quilt Shops SHOP HOP!

The results of my first four stops on the SHOP HOP! The start of the Lizzie B quilt..."making fabric" for the hills. I think this is my favorite part of the process!

OK quilting peeps...as promised...here are some peeks at my loot from the first four shops of the 2009 Shop Hop. There are 10 shops....I did two on Friday night after work, two yesterday afternoon. Plan to leave the house at 10:30 to do FIVE MORE TODAY....the sixth one if I can make it (otherwise it will have to be a mad dash tomorrow!)

SO....first stop was The Quilt Block, which is within walking distance of my work - (in the old Hawley House for those of you who know the area.) They had a BUNCH of the Lizzie B samples displayed (two rugs, the bean bag chair, a few large quilts and some of the smaller applique quilt pieces.) Love the PEACE themes lately....so these were capturing my attention. I bought the Peace Throughout the Land pattern and a few fat quarters and scraps to get me started. (Also scored a piece of black wool felt to add to my STASH. YUM. They carry lots of beautiful wools - but no brights for the type of things I want to make.) Their version of the Shop Hop Quilt was done in deep blue, maroon red and shades of green. It was beautifully done as is all of their work(sorry no pics!) I always love their displays in this shop.

No CLUE why these next photos are rotating! grrrr...

Next stop was Chester County Quilting....they have my FAVORITE scrap basket because it is completely RANDOM (sizes, cuts, fabrics). I scored some big pieces of coordinating fabrics, as well as some novelty prints (Eagles, Penn State) which will work for some items I am making for the Craft Fair this week....go me! Also bought two half yard cuts of a pink/cream and black on black damask prints - yum---(very Heidi Swapp, no?) No clue what they will become...but had!to!have!them! Their version of the shop hop quilt is pictured here - also beautifully done-very traditional. Wish I had more time to spend in this shop ... they are jam-packed with goodies. TONS of charm packs.

Yes...these were in the scrap basket! (you pay by the pound). Can you believe my LUCK? I KNOW!

Camera still a problem...trust me these are much more fabulous in real life!

Yesterday was Steve's Sewing, Vacuum & Quilting....they didn't have anything new since I had been there last, so I settled for a few "tan" cuts that I need for the Lizzie B quilt. They did their Shop Hop Quilt in blues, white, and sunshine yellows. (I think Rob said is was his favorite so far. Hee. So fun when he notices and makes a pick!) Sirryha liked the dog bank that was at the counter for collecting funds for the SPCA, and the quilted cat piece on display (baby Dr. Doolittle!)

Must be the beautiful fall weather this weekend...but I am in love with these two! YUM

Then we made our way to the Fabrics on the Hill . Their Shop Hop Quilt was done with (wait for it! insert sigh and swoon!) Amy Butler fabrics (Daisy Chain) - gorgeous pinks, greens and teal blues. (Sorry...no photo here again. How did I FORGET MY CAMERA AND PHONE? I will get back there for a pic, Cath! Promise!) They are carrying ALL OF THE NEW AMY BUTLER PATTERNS - but The Liverpool was SOLD OUT, Cath. I think she said she will be carrying the LOVE line....will definitely make it back for that!

They also carry a huge selection of really cool buttons. Could have spent hours playing among them...settled on one fab GREEN ONE (of course)....and some PEACE fabric (Robert Kaufmann, Flower Child) in the Earth colorway. Also bought a few fat quarters (Amy Butler, Midwest Modern2, hello, gorgeous!)

Stay tuned for the update on the next five shops! Heading out soon...(weee!)

Philly2Phoenix 9Patch Girls!

Oooh.....still a few patches to go (no pressure, Danielle, honest!), but I couldn't resist starting to lay these out to see what it will look like all together! I am thinking of white sashing ala this example: http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/10/9-patch-round-2.html (oh how I love everything this lady makes!)....and definitely the border with the extra rows of the strips from the patches.

Hmmm....I started to lay mine out as 8 blocks wide by 9 blocks long....but I am going to switch to 7 x 10 like Amanda Jean's. I don't like SQUAREish quilts...not sure why?

It's raining again...it's been gray all day...perfect day to stay inside and play and then have a nap! Sirryha Hope, age 2. Recharging! xo

Seriously--is that the prettiest little princess ever?

Patchwork & Pillowcases

Taken with my cellphone camera....early this morning before leaving for work. sigh.

I didn't want to leave it!

I love this blog by Alicia Paulson and today my love grew even greater when she offered up a free embroidery pattern for pillowcases at Sew Mama Sew! Queen Anne's Lace....oh how lovely, eh? I want to stitch some of these for our bed....

....to go with the new patchwork coverlet I am working on!

A few weeks ago, I decided to stop HOARDING my favorite fabrics and just CUT INTO THEM. I picked out my favorites and every few nights I cut 2 to 4 8" squares of each, and just started stacking them in one of my "work in progress trays" (um...yeah, I do have a dozen or so of them going at any given time. Any other questions?) Moving along....

So...last night, I started piecing them together in rows of 8. OH...but first I divied up my piles into "greens/blues," "pinks/reds," and "oranges" (cause those were the main colors in my "favs" it seems).

I pieced the first row, then eyeballed the selections for the next row, being sure that the same fabrics did not touch. And sure enough....as I moved down the rows, I realized how SIMILAR my fabrics were. Not enough DARKS and not enough small scale prints. I guess I tend to just "like what I like" and pick up the same fabrics over and over again. I just marvel at the "queens of quilting" who can design a whole colorway of fabrics that JUST GO TOGETHER and those who can whip up a scrappy quilt with "oh, just some stuff from my stash" and have it look just so right.

Interesting thing? The fabrics I LOVE on the bolt are NOT my favs in the actual quilt top....and those I almost passed over, I ended up cutting more squares of to sprinkle among the rows. I think I finally get the "add sparkle" terminology I keep seeing when reading about fabric selections in quilting patterns.

And so to bed!

Scraps are your FRIENDS!

Remember the fabulous stash of Anna Maria Horner fabric I bought last year? Here is another pillow...my first attempt at the "wonky log cabin" square (inner logs not 'wonky' enough...I think I get it now, tho'!) Suddenly in love with WHITE sashing. (Tho' that means VERY clean backs of your square, because every.little.thread.shows.up.behind.white!) The back of this pillow is cut from fat quarter from AMH's Chocolate Lollipop line....and I used a WHOLE BAG of polyfil to stuff it.

How about a sneak peak at my "design wall" (more like a scrap of quilt batting taped to the basement door. Wonder what the pizza delivery guy thinks when he gets a peak at it from the doorway?) Hoping that masking tape doesn't take the PAINT OFF THE DOOR when I take it down? hmmm....good reason to leave it!