Sewing Central is on the Move

I started quilting 11 years ago  and from day 1 I've used our dining room table. There was no other spot available.  It worked great until we needed the dining room. Yes, we use our dining room... mostly for holidays, but really anytime we have more than 6 at the table (that's all the kitchen table can hold) and more than 6 has become more and more the norm. So down Sewing Central would come and then up it would go again. Not the worst chore.. but not the most fun either and as life has changed and I've gotten busier..working full time again as well as other outside activities, the up and down of SC has made it more difficult for me to get motivated to sew.

Well the times they are a changing. The nest has been emptied... all the chicks have flown... we now have a bit of "free space" and I've decided to claim some as my own!  LOL!

It is will a while before it is fully set up.. we are slowly painting and redoing throughout the house, plus there is furniture to move once walls are painted. However, this belle was ready to stake her claim, so I set up shop in the corner bedroom. Son decided to leave his desk / table and I find it makes a great sewing table.  Eventually there will be a skirt on it (Going to use the space underneath for storage).  The double bed is being moved to a different room too and other things will make their way to what will be the new and improved Sewing Central, but for now I am excited about this humble start...

And it appears the pups are pretty happy with it too. They just want to be close!

There has been sewing happening too!  I put together a special t-shirt quilt top and the mad quilter (a.k.a. my sweet husband) has it quilted and bounded. In fact, it is swishing away in the washer as I type.  I am in the midst of a cute construction themed baby quilt that is looking super fun!

So be on the lookout for quilt pix soon and updates on Sewing Central as it evolves.

Belle

Catching Up in Blogville -- Part 3

Some of my time playing with fabric over the last couple of months has not involved a sewing machine. I have bought a bit.. not much actually... received some from a friend... and cut some things for a swap.

Hubs and I found this pretty fabric on clearance at Hancocks:

I have no idea where it will be used, but I am sure it will turn up somewhere.

We also found this amazingly gorgeous fabric:

It has been used to create napkins!  Yes, napkins. I grew up using cloth napkins.  I don't consider them for special occasions only or "fancy". I am not one who believes in saving the good stuff for company.  My family deserves the good stuff! Plus using cloth napkins is environmentally friendly. :-) Hubs  made these. I love them!

My friend, Jules, who knows me sooo well, sent me some dachshund fabric.  She knows how much I love dachies and anything dachie! Isn't this too cute?

Then when I was at Hancocks, purchasing the fabrics above, I saw this...

Dachies and Pink!  Could it be more me!? LOL!

And lastly, I am participating in an online swap... 2 1/2" x 21" strips of fabric. Pinks!  Here are the ones I sent:

Cannot wait to see what I receive.

Oh yes, 1 more fabric came into my life over the past 2 months. This one:

I am sure someone loves it, but most will think it is Weird and ugly. That is why I have it. Some friends and I are participating in a Weird and Ugly challenge. I have to make something using most of this fabric. I have an idea... just need to get started as the challenge deadline is June 30. I will most definitely post the result!

"Belle"

In my mail....

I love receiving packages in the mail.  They almost always have something I want or need in them. Lately the only packages arriving here have contained books for college classes... the college student in resident doesn't really want them and neither do I! LOL!  But yesterday a better kind of package came... one from Connecting Threads!

I love Connecting Threads.  I especially love their Essential Cotton Threads. Last weekend hubby asked if I would order some more of a color we had tried out.. Dark Honey. He loves it!  So I popped some in the shopping cart and I tossed in some Natural (we always keep that one hand) and then we just played a bit... ordering several other colors including some on clearance.  I think our array is lovely...

Then I decided to look through their clearance fabric.  I have bought a good bit of fabric from Connecting Threads and been very pleased with it.  Found a really pretty green... it is a bit brighter in real life, almost a light lime.

These swirls were so cool had to have some of each color offered.... the orange is a bit more of a yellow-orange in real life.

Then I found 2 fat eighth samplers. The first is from their fabric line called "Cheap Talk".... 16 F8ths

And then 24 from their "Sip of Summer" line... I LOVE these and they go so great with the swirlie fabrics above. I even have a quilt idea for them already.

Last but not least are 2 blocks I made for a swap. This is the Prairie Flower block from Quilters Cache.  I love pink and green, so I loved these!

Mr. Mac wanted to go outside and romp in the sunshine terrorizing birdies, but I was taking photos.  I had to snap a shot of him waiting patiently.  Such a good quiltie boy!

"Belle"

Quilty Saturday!

Today has been a very quilty day! Worked this week on a t-shirt quilt I am making for my son's girlfriend. It was supposed to be her birthday present but I missed that deadline!  I would LOVE to post pix, but she might look here and see, so I will have to do that after Christmas. I will say it looks great! Cannot wait until it is all quilted and done.

I found some blocks and fabric that I started some time ago for a quilt for a little boy. For some reason, I don't remember why, I abandoned it and did something else. So I ironed everything out. And am going to finish up the blocks and make the quilt for a little boy due in late November.  The fabric is a vintage cowboy theme. Really cute!

I am also working on a pincushion/thread catcher thingie. I made one for myself earlier this year (see A Happy For Myself ) and love it. I use it all the time when working on my GFG quilt.  I am making another one for a quilting friend.  The fabrics are ironed and ready for me to cut (once I get off the computer).

Hubby and I basted a quilted today. Last year I won some lottery blocks .... a group of quilty friends have a quilt lottery every quarter. The blocks I won are mini-bowties made with 30s repros. I put them together.. added a couple of borders and a flange. (see Happy Quilt Day )  Looks so good!  Hubby (the Mad Quilter) is going to quilt it for me. I cannot wait to see it done. It will be lovely on the couch this spring!

That same group of friends (the absolute best Quilt buddies ever!) do a Mystery Swap Box thing every so often. Someone gets a box and over time fills it with fun quilty stuff (and usually a few non-quilty things that she knows we will like). These can be new or things she already has but doesn't use or no longer needs. Once full, she mails it off to one of us. We go through the box.. pick up to 6 things to keep and add 6 new things.  It is a lot of fun to see what folks put in and what they take. SO here are the 6 goodies I got took from the box today...

There were 3 cute patterns that I just loved (well more than 3 but I am limited to how much I can keep!)...

I also took a cute little magnetic notepad with matching magnet. I love those things. Poor Hubby... he dreams of a day when the refrigerator has nothing on it. For that to happen he will have to outlive me! :-)

I am not a huge fan of this next pattern for a fall table topper BUT I really love the fabric. The photo does not do it justice!

And the last thing I kept is a Quilt Panel...

I love Snowmen and Red Birds!  This will make a cute Christmas quilt.

It was an exhausting task! If you don't believe me just ask Mac...

and Mia...

They are such great helpers!

I put some wonderful things back into the box.. but I cannot share what they are. My quilt buddies read my blog and that would spoil the surprise!

Back to Quilt Land!

"Belle"

A Fun Saturday

Ran to Hobby Lobby with Hubby this morning to snatch up some batting with 40% off coupons. Ended up getting a few more things. This fabric was on clearance ... how could I resist!? And while I rarely purchase quilt books (so much can be found online for free!) I just loved several of the quilts in this one and Hubby insisted I buy it. So I did!

This afternoon my

daughter whipped up some Peepshi for her brother who is a Sushi nut. A friend sent me the link for these.. http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/peeps-recipes-how-to-make-peepshi-sushi-rice-krispies-treats-easter.html

Too Cute! He is going to love them!

And a good bit of today

has been spent outside with the babies.. Mac and Mia.. hunting bugs and such. Poor Miss Mia looks awful covered in Pollen! No doubt Mac is covered too, it just doesn't show up on his red coat!

Hope you

all have a very Blessed

Easter.. enjoy the food and fellowship with family and friends... hide some eggs... eat some

candy... hug a bunny... but most of all remember that Jesus is Alive! "Belle"

Great Day Quilting

Next Saturday is National Quilting Day... but we celebrated like it was today. The sewing machines have been humming... rotary blades flying... steam iron hissing... hubby and I are covered in threads... it has been a very good quilty day.

I am part of a small, wonderful, close-knit online quilting group and we do a block lottery every quarter. Last summer I won! 36 really cute repro-blocks. I finally got around to putting the blocks together and adding a single border. I am going to add another border or two, but I am waiting for some repro fabric on order. I love how it looks and evidently so does my fabric loving pooch, Mac. He decided to hop up on the bed and take a good look at my work and added some lovely smudges from his muddy paws. Oh well... it'll wash out and he is so darn cute!

Hubby is working on a quilt for our DD. Her brother has one made by dad, but she doesn't. Hub and DS have a thing about bugs.. especially dragonflies.. so her quilt has fabrics with dragonflies, lady bugs, butterflies and the likes. Very colorful and very cute. He got a lot done today. Here it is laid out in sections on the bed:

The last quilty project of the day was another one of mine. A friend is adopting baby #2 from Taiwan. Jeremiah is a special boy with CP just waiting for his mom and dad to come get him... SOON! They have been affectionately calling him Froggie boy based on the Acronym F.R.O.G. (Fully Relying On God). God has shown up and shown out in providing the funds and means to bring this sweetie home. Just like he did with big brother, Noah. So, of course, I knew Jeremiah would need a Froggie quilt. I have some Chinese Coins in the works using lots of colorful fabric... several with Frogs on them. Not sure where I am going after that, but I am sure it will be cute! Here is the beginnings of it...

Happy National Quilting Day.. a week early! Maybe we will celebrate again next week too! :-)

"Belle"

Fall is on the way...

I love Fall. I live in the deep south and we rarely get much of a Fall. We got from hot and humid to cold and wet! Maybe that is why I love Fall and anything to do with it so much. (I feel the same about snow and snowmen!)

My online quilty sisters and I are having another block lottery. Here are my blocks... Fall Leaves... no doubt these, along with all the rest, will combine into a lovely quilt for the lucky winner!

I also recently purchased some gorgeous Fall fabrics from one of my absolute favorite online vendors... http://www.thousandsofbolts.com/ Aren't they lovely? I have a Fall Quilt in the works and plan to use these in it.

Hubby has been busy working on yet another fun scrappy quilt... he finds piecing these tops very relaxing. He has a job that can be rather stressful and this is a lot cheaper than therapy! Here is his latest creation.....

And last, but in no way least, I have another new quilting buddy.... Mia! A beautiful black and tan long haired miniature dachshund who loves her slightly older brother, Mac. Mia isn't allowed in the sewing area much just yet... she loves to chew fabric! She'll learn....

I am thankful that I have a machine that can operate without a foot pedal... not sure what would happen with those 2 swirling around underneath the table.

Happy Quilting! "Belle"

What every quilter needs!

I got the most wonderful Mother's Day gift.... a new quilting buddy! I absolutely love dachshunds and when we had to put down my sweet Woodrow (age 15) 2 years ago, it broke my heart. I wasn't a quilter when we got Woods.... that came later. He loved to lay under my feet while I sewed... in fact, he taught me how important it is too turn off the sewing machine when not in use... I was up doing something else and he rolled over onto the foot pedal and all of a sudden my machine was sewing air! Woodrow was a smooth coat dark mahogany red standard size dachie... my new baby is a miniature (should top out at 10 lbs)... long-haired... strawberry blond dachshund. He is soo handsome with the cutest little curls on the tips of his ears.

He has decided his favorite place to sleep when hubby or I am playing with fabric is in a box of scraps... and when I sew he takes up residency under my feet just like my sweet Woodrow.

I have no doubt you will see more pix of Mac popping up on this blog. After all, I think every quilter needs a furry quilting buddy!

"Belle"