Fizzled Friday Finish

(See Rene' I enjoy post titles, even if they make others groan!)

Made the binding.

I've "only just begun" to bind.  (Rene's fault, she got me singing early this morning!)

I don't want to reveal (like you all aren't sick to death of this quilt) until it is washed and in all its crinkly goodness.

I peeled and pressed 32 thangles...

only 312 to go...and yes just keeping it real with my messy kitchen in the background.  I decided to peel and press a few thangles every time that I turn on my iron for something else.  Maybe I won't notice all the boring part that way.

On another note, I got this in the mail yesterday, from my pothoder pass buddy.  Love them!  She sent the extra fabric, and I already know what I am going to do with it!!!

Just wanted to show the buttons that she put on them.  My favorite is the "k".

She wanted to know if they matched....I think so!!  It is much more comfortable to show this side of my kitchen.

Hope you all visit all the Friday Sew and Tell finishes by clicking on the button on my sidebar.  Do it with a song in your heart!

Blessings,

KT

Tango Update...

Final count...

344...

all 2" finished...

to peel,

press,

and sew...

ahem.

I may have over done it!!!!

Maybe Thangles are too easy.

Blessings,

KT

Scattered Thoughts

 

Spent the weekend with family.  Mom came and brought me a birthday present.  Don't you just love Holly Hobby, or is it just me?

I actually got a fat quarter bundle of these beauties.  I just had to show you the panel!

Here are the rest of them!  Thanks Mom!!!  It might be just because my birthday is so close to Valentine's Day, but I have discovered that I have a thing for Valentine's fabric.

Or maybe it is because Treasure is such a great guy.  Okay, both!!  Not normally a red person, but these were just too cute.  The bottom three fabrics are actually stash.  Don't they look good?!

This is my baby quilt!!  It hangs in my room, still!

My great aunt made it many years ago.  Love those bunnies.  It makes me think of how important blankets are to children.  So this year, I am setting a goal for my self to make charity quilts.  Something for charity every month.  Skirts for Haiti counted as January.

This is my February offering for project Linus.  I made it out of cheater fabric I had and didn't know what to do with.  Used satin blanket binding, but put it on like normal quilt binding.  As a young child, my nightie (read blankie) had satin binding that was my favorite part.  I am tactile, among other things!!  Thought a child would like the soft satin like I did.  Plus, I don't much care for making binding!!

On an unrelated note, my Kona petal came in, and I think that it will work perfectly for my pinwheel quilt along background!  Now I have to wait until March 1 for the instructions to begin...can you hear the pout?

Well, I'm a ding-bat.

Well, I am almost done with the quilting of the signature quilt.  So last night I went looking for the grape juice purple that I saved back for the binding.  It wasn't where I put it, or so I thought.

Do you see it?

I do!!!  No, I didn't think about it as I cut it out, or as I sewed it.  I love purple, and I love little Haitian girls (I would bring one home to keep if I could).  All I thought was how pretty a little dark skinned girl was going to look in that purple.  Well, she will!!

One definition of sacrifice:  "a giving up, destroying, permitting injury to, or forgoing of some valued thing for the sake of something of greater value or having a more pleasing claim."

Mine was inadvertent, at first.  Now I can give it up wholeheartedly.  Tomorrow I can laugh about it!! ;0)  Today I have to go to Jo Ann's!!

These fabrics are interviewing for a position on my pinwheel quilt along.  Sorry that the picture is so yellow, didn't realize it until now.  (I edited it to be more like the true colors if you check out my photostream.)  I think that the one to the left will be the binding.  Going to order some kona for the background.  Not telling what color!  Okay, so I spilt the beans when posting the edited picture!

Package from FedEx came!!  Yay!!!  Not telling!!

Thinking about doing the purple charm chain letter, 'cause you know how I love purple.  As I was looking for the binding fabric I realized that I really don't have much of it!!  Before I sign up, is anyone else interested?  I would need to send my squares to four others willing to do the chain!  I don't want to sign up if no one else is interested.  No pressure.  (I love purple!)

Blessings,

KT

Quilting Nightmare

Early this morning I dreamt that I had soaked this quilt in cold salt water in the tub to set the colors (something I haven't considered!).  In this dream, the colors faded completely away.  Then when I examined it closer, I had quilted the backing over the top!  Needless to say, I awoke with a start!!!!  I think that all this anxiety is because this is my first attempt to use batiks.  I never prewash either.  Probably not the best combo!!!  Any suggestions would be wonderful!!

Actually, the quilting is going well.  I am done with the middle, and I'm on the borders.  Quilting the borders with lavender thread thanks to a tip from Joan.  She has some wondermous quilts, so be sure to stop over and visit her.

Anyhow, I am happy that this quilt is nearing the end.  Bummer though, FedEx isn't delivering my Hancock's order (shipped Feb 9th) because of the weather.  I am "needing" the fabric to finish my siggy babies quilt.  That means that I need to get a move on and finish this quilt, as well as some not so fun sewing so that I must do.  Then I am free to create!!!!  I guess it is just as well that I don't have that fabric to tempt me from duty!!! ;0)

Blessings (and sweet quilty dreams) to you all,

KT

Sew & Tell Friday: A humbling experience

I got my UFO basted, Susan over at Hanging On by a Needle and Thread has been a great encouragement to get those UFOs out of the closet and onto production.  This is going to be quilted this coming week...even if it kills me.  I really can't wait to gift it.  I finally found a way to give you a look at it without you being able to read the names!

I got 40 of these sewn, ironed, starched, and squared.  I find the whole squaring up process humbling.  Really.  See all that stuff in the dish?  That is my imperfection.  Since I have a tendency to be so anal retentive perfectionistic, the squaring up process is my least favorite in quilting.  As the blocks moved from being 9 1/2" finished to 9 1/4" finished, I found myself more focused on the 10 inches of quilt that I was losing.  I lost joy. 

As I set this aside to quilt the signature quilt, I am going to be thinking about the perfect beauty in imperfection.  God created me with the need to create.  If I wait to be perfect, my need will never be fulfilled.  So, I will always need to square things up.  Most importantly, my thinking.

Be sure to use the Sew & Tell button to visit all the other finishes.  They go great with a cup of hot chocolate!!

Oh, and thanks to all those who dropped me a comment on my birthday yesterday!  They warmed my heart (but I am a little worried about Treasure's head fitting through the door)!

Blessings,

KT

We Partied!!!

Well, as much as we ever do.  Today is my birthday, but we had a lot of important appointments scheduled.  So last night we had a quiet family party.  Which, by the way, is how I like it!!

This was my little gift to myself.  Wish you had a scratch and sniff screen.  I am having a little more for breakfast right now with coffee!!

Treasure brought home this cake from a local bakery.  Yum!!!!  I am not a fan of store bought cakes.  Treasure thinks that it is just WRONG to have to make your own birthday cake.  Years ago he started buying cheesecake (love him).  This year he had heard about this bakery.  He, and the cake, get A+++++!

Then there was the gift...  As if this isn't impressive enough, I loved hearing the story of how he came to find these.  He called no less than six quilt shops looking for ...Flea Market Fancy.  (Apparently he has read my blog!)  When they didn't have that, he asked if they had reproduction feedsack fabrics.  Overwhelmingly the answer was no.  My man was not discouraged.  He went to a not-so-local quilt shop.  One that I have never visited.  I guess the clerks were puzzled by a man in a quilt shop.  When he said he was there to buy a gift for his wife, well they were just atwitter!  He told me they seemed a little nervous that he was picking out fabric for me, and shouldn't he just get a gift certificate?  Well, he did that too.  I guess I will be visiting that shop!

The little book is something that probably never would have caught my eye.  After looking through it, I wonder how I have quilted so long with out it.  Click on the picture so that you can see all the stuff in there.

Oh, and the appointments got cancelled.  You can see why out my kitchen window.  Under all that snow is a compact layer of ice.  So, Randi, I haven't gotten those skirts mailed yet.

Thanks for humoring me through such a long post.  Stay warm.

Blessings,

KT

Becoming.....

there has been a lot of it going on here.

These have become 5 more skirts for Haiti.  I will try to send them out tomorrow Randi!  Yep, that gift is for you, Dee, but you have to come get it!!

These Wildwood strips are becoming these...

four patches which will one day live on a quilt with the siggy baby stars.

These siggy babies are becoming shining stars.  These though are temporary.  What matters most are the babies that are becoming eternal shining stars.  That is the best becoming.  Definitely.

Blessings,

KT

Week in Review: Sew & Tell Friday

Still waiting to have enough time and space all at once to baste my siggy gift quilt.  :0(

It will probably happen this weekend since we are having near white-out conditions.  Treasure hurry home safely!

Did get some other cool things worked on:

Three toddler sized a-line drawstring skirts for Haiti!

Five more are cut, and waiting their turn.  One of these is toddler sized, the other 4 are about a girl's 7.

Scraps from skirts, and siggy quilt are cut into 4" squares for future project Linus blankies!

Siggy babies!!!  My swap babies are becoming stars!!  Fifteen down, and 12 more to go.  I already have a quilt in my brain for these!!

Be sure to click on my side bar Sew & Tell button to visit some fabulous finished!!

Stay warm and safe!

Blessings,

KT

Skirts for Haiti

Over at  i have to say, Randi is organizing production of skirts for young girls.  I am planning to make a couple simple skirts from scraps and stash.  Randi has a couple tutorials linked to her sight.  For more info, please click on the above link.  I am planning to make at least a couple. 

I have this book, and plan to use it to make drawstring skirts.  That way they will fit!

I am hoping that more will sign up at Randi's.

Blessings to you all, and especially for Haiti.

KT

She got them!!!

Kendra got her potholders!  I had so much fun making them.  The middle one is a bonus made from the babies left over from making the first two!

Here is a close, but unfortunately dark close up of some of the fun fabrics!  Kendra said that she liked '30's.  These were all from my stash.

Here are the backs.  The yellow one is the baby potholder.  I thought that these were good for gift giving so near Valentine's Day!

You can visit Kendra here.

Blessings,

KT

The Winner is....

Random Integer Generator


Here are your random numbers:



52 Picking Dandelions !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Congrats to you!

Timestamp: 2010-02-01 01:06:58 UTC

Yay for me too, the random number thingy is a piece of cake.  Yeah!  This stuff is getting easier.
The fun part was that I printed out the posts to hand number them to check and re-check for error.  My heart was racing as I neared the number 52!

Picking Dandelions, I will shoot you off a email today, must get your mailing address.  I want to get these out to you this week!!!
Thank you all who left comments.  After the week I had, the laughter was healing.  Hope you all take the time to read those comments.  Real life is funny!!!

Blessings, 
KT