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Friday, September 28, 2012

Which do you like?

I pulled a batch of fabric for my friends chemo quilt tonight.
 
 
 
 I have been scrambling through my stash, because her favorite color is green and earth tones. So totally not my colors.  This is what I came up with...I think it is soothing, more a soft grey brown and green (some of it more lime color) Soft brown minky for the backing.

OR I can add a little bit more lime green for some brightness -- this reads very yellow in the pic due to the lighting  but really is a lime green, not sure, what do you think?  Enough contrast/color? Too much? Open to other suggestions too!


Thanks!

Ginny

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Do The Hustle!



Yes, it is that time of year when the Holidays are not to far off and projects seem to be piling up!

Matter of fact it is only 96 days until Christmas!!

So I have joined Kelsey on The 100 Day Hustle!

Click here to see her post and get in on the fun!


It helps to know that others have projects that seem to pile up also and we can help motivate each other to finish!

Here is my List:

1. Finish up my Flickr fabric swaps by cutting and mailing off the fabric
        a. Send Me a Text Swap
        b. Almost Neutral Swap

2. My coin purse for the U R Priceless Blog Hop coming up in Nov


3. A lap quilt for a friend who has been diagnosed with cancer and is now facing chemo, life is short my friends you never know what the next day will bring.....


4. At least cut and hopefully piece my orange inspired Flying Free quilt, it is to be a child's quilt for donation.

5. My gift for my swap partner for the  Modern She Made Swap 2


5. A set of hot pads for my son's girlfriend who loves a scrappy look!

6. I want to cut and piece the Vintage Holiday Quilt. I have all the fabric, life has just got in the way lately!

7. And last but not least I want to get caught up on my Craftsy BOM'S! Poor things are sitting on my sewing table just screaming for attention!!

Sew--it's an ambitious list, but with your help and all  the others on the linky party we will cheer each other on! Want to join me?

On another note: Tuesday I posted about  the Pin It and Win It! contest sponsored by Fresh Squeezed Fabrics. I want to Thank all of you who joined and/or pinned for me. I was excited for you and myself, at the thought of winning beautiful bundles of fabric. I am sorry to say it did not turn out as expected. The shop owner severely underestimated the response she received to the contest and was unable to fulfill all the prizes for all the winners. I am disappointed, but more than that I apologize for the time you took and spent on the contest without winning either. There was no way for me to know that she was not prepared for the response and allowed the contest to continue far beyond her capability to fulfill the prizes. So for those of you that have asked, no, I did not win my bundle even though I did submit the required pins within the shortened amount of time. Next time when I think, WOW! Free Fabric --- I will think twice before getting caught up in the excitement. The blogging community is a wonderful community made up of giving, caring, creative individuals. I am proud to be a very small piece of that and the friendships I share here. Please know that I would never intentionally use your friendship and the blogging platform for anything other than sharing, and creative endeavors.

Happy sewing!

Ginny

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Fresh squeezed fabric contest closing!

Please note that the Pin It To Win It contest I posted about earlier today, is closing at 3pm mountain standard time-- in approx 20 minutes!
Check out their blog for details. I tried to pin as many as I could for all of you on my lunch! Thanks to all that pinned mine! Good luck!

Win Free Fabric!

Do you Pinterest?

Well if you do, here is a contest for you from Fresh Squeezed Fabric!

Follow the link here for the contest rules! But basically you pick out a bundle of fabric:

Say Madrona Road:

Madrona Road fat quarter bundle--10 pieces---2-1/2 yards total--Violet Craft for Michael Miller Fabrics


or the new line by Denyse Schmidt, Chicopee

Chicopee fat quarter bundle--26 pieces---6-1/2 yards total--Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit Fabrics

Or Perfectly Perched-- the whole line!

Perfectly Perched full line fat quarter bundle--17 pieces---4-1/4 yards total--Laurie Wisbrun for Robert Kaufman Fabrics

and pin it! Then if you get the same cost of the the bundle in repins by 9/29 you win the bundle FREE!

So if  the bundle is $26.25 (Madronna Road -Blue...just saying :) and I get 26 repins then I win that bundle!
I would love it if you could repin mine: http://pinterest.com/pin/66287425736686373/

You can too! Join the fun!

Ginny

Friday, September 21, 2012

U R Priceless Blog Hop!

Hello everyone! How's your Friday? Or Saturday morning for our international friends  :)

Mine--so very glad the weekend is here! Rain is rolling in and it is chilly, fall is definitely in the air. But you know tonight I don't care, it has been a busy week and all I want to do is curl up at home and work on my projects! It has been sew long!

Have you stopped by Sew WE Quilt? It is a blog all about blog hops! All kinds of quilting styles participate.  

I stopped by to check out all the blog hops and fell in love! I just had to join in on this one! I have been wanting to make one of these little coin purses so bad and what great Christmas/Birthday/Just Because Gift :)



I have already ordered and received my fabric and frame! Really..bet you could figure that one out already :)
I am thinking that my stash probably has some fabric just waiting to be made into one of these cute little purses too!  I hear there are a few more spots open on the hop if you would like to get in on the action!

Stop over and see Katherine at Sew Me Something Good, here. She will be the cheerleader for this blog hop, or stop by and see Madame Samm of SewWEQuilt here.

Can't wait! Jingle, jingle, I can hear them quarters and dimes, nickles and pennies now ;)

See you soon!
Ginny 


Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Measure twice, cut once; sound familiar.... I am sure most of you, ok none of you have been busy cutting away on a beautiful piece of fabric and Bam!
It hits you.....you don't have enough....or you cut it wrong....and you don't have enough.... or the repeat is off....and you don't have enough to finish the fussy cutting....


I hate that feeling!  Don't you? And if you are on a timeline and running behing (Moi?never) That is the worst! I don't know about you but most of my fabric comes from online shops as there are few LQS's here that carry anything but traditional lines. The closest is about an hour away, not like you can just run down to the corner and snatch up a 1/2 yd of that Tula Pink and run home. This is where you just have to deep breathe and put the rotary cutter down.....put it down, do not shred the remaining pieces into fabric confetti like a fabric ninja......remember scraps, we love scraps, not all is wasted.

Ok a little humor for your day....did you get the Ninja with a rotary blade cutter visual? LOL

So lately I have been in alot of fabric swaps, 10in and 5in charms, 1 spot or 2 spots, 40 in a group or 32 in a group.....I might have cut a few charms lately... 56 charms, 120 charms, 240 charms, just saying....might have cut one or two wrong... and had to hurry over to the computer and order that extra bit of fabric to correct it...

Like here: I was fussy cutting these pretty little Tula Pink squirrels, even ordered 1/2 yard extra just for that purpose....well for 5 in squares the repeat doesn't allow for keeping the squirrel centered,,,,,,,,,
(squirrel tracks) at least not with my math.

One is skinny, one is fat, and one even lost his head, Oh my!

So an extra yard of Squirrels in the Mist was ordered and the remaining charms were cut and sent off to the Swap Hostess who was very gracious about my mistaken measurements and now I have some squirrels living in my scrap bag -- it could be worse.



Swaps I am currently in:

I Spy Swap hosted by Knotted Thread (closed)

Modern Designer Swap hosted by Snowgoose (closed)
BirdsandBees-wasp-450 copy


Japanese Fabric Swap hosted by Happy Than A Bird Quilting (closed)the HTABQ's Japanese Charm Swap group icon

Low Volume Swap hosted by Making Rebecca Lynne  (closed)Low Volume Swap Icon

What Was I Thinking! Swap hosted by Lilbunnymama-- This is a great way to move some of that stash you are no longer in love with or never were. 120 five inch charms from 5 different fabrics - 24 charms from each or even 120 totally different charms. In need of 1-2 Angels due to members not being able to complete their spot, at least one spot open in each group. Check out this link:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/1995059@N22/discuss/72157631552594241/


Send Me A Text Swap hosted by Buttoncounter  ---there is discussion of a 3rd group, check out all the fabulous fabrics on Flicker and this link: http://www.flickr.com/groups/big-ten-inch-swap/discuss/72157631546107473/

Almost Neutrals Swap Hosted by kejreeves. There are still openings, check it out here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/big-ten-inch-swap/discuss/72157631282573188/
Almost Solid Neutrals Swap

So if you would like to add some great new prints to your stash or latest project, while measuring twice and hopefully cut just cutting once, check out the above links!

Have a great week! See you soon!

Ginny

Monday, September 17, 2012

Winners! and the Case of Disappearing Numbers

Good Morning!

The Giveaway is now closed and I want to thank every one of you who left a comment and an idea for a pot luck/carry in recipe. Some of you left the recipe (YUM) and some kindly offered to email it. I may be contacting you!  So, are we there yet? Yes! we have the winners!

I used Random.org for the drawing (after finally getting the comments numbered-- which were gone again last night and I had to reinstall the code! I am wondering if it has to do with what browser I am viewing this in? Is that possible all you wonderful tech bloggers? That they would  not show in Internet Explorer but shows up in Google Chrome?)

So the first number is.....drum roll please:







And winner #2 is.....drum roll please...




So there you are, I will be notifying the winners by email and goody packages will go out this week!

Lots to catch up on, will be seeing you soon! Hope you have a great week!

Ginny

Friday, September 7, 2012

Let's Celebrate with a Giveaway!

Hi Everyone!                         GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
Sorry it's a bit late on Friday--but here in Indiana it is still Friday and you know what that means!
I promised a Giveaway today to celebrate going over 100 followers! I have some sweet fabric for you!



Blogging is a learning process, and can require patience and time but also brings such fun and smiles and accomplishmen!  And here I thought it was just going to me about quilting/sewing :)  Example: Today, I was trying to get my comments to number and every code or widget I tried did not work, so I took a break and mowed my yard, killed some weeds (taking my frustration out on the weeds ;) and then came back and tried again--- still no luck, so thus my frustration lateness in getting this posted! But regardless, I can still count the old fashioned way! Yea! I just want to say thanks for following, I read and enjoy all of your comments and try to reply to all of them when possible. I also love to check out and follow your blogs and see what you have been up to! You are all amazing with your creativity and ideas! So much fun!
So without further delay lets get to the goodies:


\
First up is a jelly roll by Moda. It's Simply Color by V and Co. and it is packed with gorgeous colors!
This is one (1) jelly roll but different shots of it so you can see all the color!

Next is a fat quarter bundle for those Christmas/Holiday projects on your list! Have you started yet?

 
This is Santa's Workshop by Riley Blake!  It consists of 21 fat quarters.
It is so cute and has several colorways - red, aqua, green and white. Just wondering what you would whip up with this stack of fun!
 
 
On to the rules:  GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
1. Since this is all about celebrating and saying Thank You to my followers, you have to be a follower to enter.
2. Leave me a comment on what your favorite go to recipe is for pot luck/carry in's/get togethers. 
3. Be sure and leave your email address if you are a no reply blogger, otherwise I cannot reach you if you win and that would be way sad.
4. In your comment be sure to tell me which bundle of goodness you would like if you win--
Color or Christmas?
The winners will be drawn by Random.org and you have through Sunday 9/16 to enter. Winners will be announced on Monday 9/17. First winner drawn gets first choice :)
Good Luck!  GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED
Ginny
Oh and if you can help me out with the numbering comments issue, please shoot me an email, I would surely appreciate it! Thanks!
 

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Antique Inspiring Modern


Where do you find inspiration for your quilting and sewing?

 I think you can find it anywhere, a shape, a beautiful landscape, a person's favorite thing, or maybe
color.

I have a very small collection of antique quilts and this is one of my most favorites!

Antique quilt from my collection


 I call it the Orange Sherbert quilt because of the wonderful orange fabric! I just love it! I found this several years ago languishing in a corner in an antique shop in Indy (Indianapolis Indiana). You see it is not in the best condition, there are some holes, the binding is worn, and it is fragile just because of age. But I couldn't resist and finally purchased it for $50.00, and have never looked back. It lays folded on the top of one of my book cases and the orange still makes me smile every time I see it :)

 Here are a couple of my favorite blocks:

This has a bit of a Japanese feel to the fabric although very doubtful
When I remarked about the unusual orange fabric in this quilt, the lady I purchased this from told me that each state had a color and that quilters would make quilts with that color so that when seen people would know where that quilt came from....Orange was for Ohio. Well, I was born in Ohio so that just made me love it more! Now whether that story is true, I don't know. I never did any research on it, and frankly it would not make a big difference to me....but I do like the story :)

Look at this blocks background fabric! Very Modern looking!


 
Sorry for the poor lighting, trying to show you all the handstitching!

As you can see from this pic, the backing and binding are made out of muslin. And the quilt is totally hand quilted. She thought this quilt was from the early 1900's. Again I didn't research or verify that I just loved it and wanted to keep it from being cut up to make Teddy Bears by someone. No offense to anyone that does that, I just didn't want that to happen to this one. 
 
So what does this have to do with Inspiration?
 
Awhile back I was lucky enough to have won a pack of fat quarters over at Plum and June's that wa generously donated by Julie at The Intrepid Thread.
It is a great pack of the whimsical Flying Free with many great colors and notably Orange!
 
So when I seen that fabric and pared it with some orange mango
by RJR Supreme (a swap fabric I had purchased)
I was reminded of my antique Orange Sherbert quilt
and it inspired me to make a more Modern quilt!
 
Here are the fabrics I pulled and the pattern I plan to use:
 
 
So a new W.I.P.
And no I didn't go thru my WIP list...still working on the organization thing.
Or maybe it is denial? LOL
There are worse things in this world. 
Next time ;)
 
Wishing you a productive, quilty kind of week!
Psst...don't forget to stop back by on Friday...it's a Giveaway Day!!
 
Ginny
 
PS. Blogger is acting up again tonight... so if something is off or looks weird--hey I am just happy to get it posted!
 

I will be linking up to:
 
Beth over at Plum and June and Lee over at Freshly Pieced
 
Plum and JuneGrab a button:

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

WINNER of the Back to School Giveaway Bloghop!


Winner! Winner!

I would like to thank everyone for stopping by on the Back To School Bloghop!

There were almost 400 page views and over 200 comments!
I tried to respond to as many comments as I could, so if I missed you I apologize! I do appreciate you! Your comments were so inspiring, many wonderful memories of teachers that impacted so many of you and many that influenced you to be a teacher yourself!

So on to the Winner! I used the Random Number generator:

 
And lucky number #28 came up! Which is Ellen who left this comment


My favorite teacher was my 6th grade teacher Miss Maitlin. Very creative and supportive teacher. Thanks for the chance to win!
 
I have contacted Ellen by email. Thanks again to all who entered!
 
I would also like to Welcome all those who are new followers, so glad to meet you!

Stay tuned! I will be having another giveaway soon...hmmm, my favorite day of the week is Friday, just saying you know.... to celebrate going over 100 followers and will be having TWO winners!
 
Happy Quilting!
Ginny