WOYWW - Oh for the love of fabric!

What's on my desk this Wednesday?  Lots and lots of fabric!  I try to limit my fabric purchases to current projects and to what fits in my hutch, but this past weekend a dear lady gave me a ton of awesome fabric AND the patterns to go with them.  Yes, GAVE!  I am still reeling!  She said, "You sew like I wish I could.  Do you want some of this?"  I replied, "Ummm, well, sure."  She pulled out this and that and more of this and that and the patterns to go with.  And it kept coming!

I literally sat on the floor that night and went through all of it, oohing and aahing, studying the new patterns, and re-folding everything.  Oh the possibilities!  After two hours on the floor and a stiff back, I put it all back in the huge paper sack to deal with the next day. I even had dreams of sewing!  Seriously.

The next day, I started to put all the new fabric in the hutch and realized I didn't have room.   "Well, I guess I better re-organize."  That led to, "I wonder if she washed these?  I don't want them to shrink later - I better do it now."  (Three loads later....)

Then ironing and folding.  I still have the last load to iron and fold.

(Now stepping into time warp and my thought processes.....)  "Whew.  Wait.  I still don't have room.  Better organize the "old" stash.  Hmmmmm.  Re-fold to fit all the same way.  Hmmmmm.  Sort by color?  By type?  Holiday?  What about the scraps?  Can't throw those out!  Good grief - that's a crime!  Ok, sort those by color.  I have boxes.  I'll label them.  Ooooh, labeling!  Where was I?  I'll start with this stack...."

Scary, huh?  Welcome to my little world.  And that's what's on my work desk today!  So here's my stash hutch.  Isn't she pretty?  Let's pull out the first stack...

As you can see, I have a bit more to do.  It's a labor of love though!

I really am excited that she shared all these goodies with me.  It was like Christmas day, except that I had actually slept the night before.  I can't wait to start on some of these great projects.  And, knowing what she intended to do with the fabrics and patterns, I am going to send a few fun things back her way for sure!

Thanks for stopping by!

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Sorry for the confusion... I'm a dingleberry!

I got a little excited the other day and joined "What's on Your Work Desk? Wednesday".  I was #134!  

However, I didn't even think about the fact that once I signed up, others would click on my little blog name to see what was on my work desk... that day.  That Wednesday.  That Wednesday that I didn't actually have a post about what was on my work desk.

Duh.

I'm sure I confused a few folks.  Sorry about that!  Although, some of you guessed (probably after scratching your forehead a few times) that my WOYWW post was about my updated blog design.  Well, you were correct.  So, in retro fashion - here is what WAS on my desk this past Wednesday...

Not only did I re-design my blog, I also made new business cards.  And, I needed hang tags for the garments I've sewn.  I was going to just hang the business cards on the garments and thought how easy it would be to just print the garment care instructions right on the back.  So, I played a little more and came up with these.

I printed them on cream cardstock, cut them with my handy-dandy paper cutter, punched a whole in the top of each card, and ran perle cotton loops through the holes.  I like the unified look of everything.  It is simple and easy to make, not to mention cost-effective.  Here they are ready and waiting!

Next week I should be on time with my WOYWW post!  Thanks for stopping by! Pin It

Pretty Little Box

Another long-term project (and one that shouldn't have been) is now complete.  I finally finished this up one night as I sat and chatted with my BFF, Harriet.  I love ribbon embroidery and would love to take some classes in the future.  What I have learned has been from books and magazines, but I always learn much more from an instructor that is actually sitting in front of me.  And, it's just more fun.

This was a little kit from Anna Griffin that I purchased several years ago from Hobby Lobby.  I love the colors and the techniques involved.  I have several of her books and may some day tackle the project of actually embroidering some pillow cases and sheets!  Some. Day.

Hmmmm, wonder what I'll do with this little box.  It has all kinds of possibilities!

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Well, what do you think?

I worked played way too long in to the night... and hours of the morning... and then more today!  I decided to change the blog a little and well, just kept going.  Photoshop is addicting!  I had so much fun making my new header and buttons.  

I haven't learned how to make my background yet, but thanks to the awesome Graphics Fairy, I was able to use one of her fabulous backgrounds which just happens to fit in perfectly!  Later on, I will go here to learn to make my own.

Then, I ventured out a little more into HTML coding and found great tutorials on how to change the fonts on my date and post title as well as how to add a signature and a post divider.  Go to these sites for more information:

Kevin and Amanda

Shabby Blogs

The Cutest Blog on the Block

Whew!  I'm done for the day.  But, I really like the look.  Please, tell me what you think! Pin It

Taaaaah-Done!

Sorry to keep you hanging on the edge of your seat.  I know you were all just pacing the floor to see the finished quilt!  (*snicker*)  So here 'tis!

I don't have a walking foot so some of the stitching was a little off and some of the fabric shifted and pinched.  I did use my ditch foot which helped a little.  I only quilted where the blocks met and then just free-motion quilted around the large border.

Remember my "little friend"?  Well, when I went into the quilt shop to purchase it, I showed the almost completed quilt to the sweet gal working and asked her what she thought.  She liked it and said it looked very good but that I had a tension problem.  I had to laugh.  She was referring to the long and irregular stitches where I first started the free-motion work.  I explained that the tension was fine - it was operator error!  I was sewing too slow and moving too fast - totally opposite of what I should have been doing.  But, I got in a bit of a sewing groove and the rest looked a little better!

All along, this little quilt has reminded me of my Aunt Marie.  She is the sweetest woman and was so very close to my mom.  She lives in Indiana and we don't get to see each other much at all.  I'm going to send this quilt to her as I know she will appreciate and enjoy it.

I'm pleased with it.  It was fun to make, I learned a lot, and I still have much to learn.  That gives me two new excuses - #1 get a walking foot ("But, honey - I neeeeeeeed it"), and #2 quilt some more! Pin It