Michael Miller is In the Can

This has been a project of running with those first thoughts that jump in my head that I don't even know are coming. "Whoa, where did that come from?" kinda thoughts that happen when I'm not in brainstorm mode.

My mild potty humor blog title slithered through my brain as I was putting the final touches on the binding so, of course, I had to run with it too. It didn't start out as potty humor but as a phrase I have heard used to signify that a film project is complete. It took a few seconds for my mind to take it around the corner to the old Sir Walter Raleigh phone prank.

As this is my first foray into QuiltCon Challenge Land, I am not sure of the sharing protocol so I am not going to give a full reveal today. The weather is also too dark and gray to get good photos and I want to do the quilt justice so I have two excuses to just share snippets.

How "Let's Glitz Physical" came to me:

I just happened to be on my computer when the initial challenge invite popped up and I quickly filled out the form and waited to see if I would get the a bundle. Yes! I wasn't a day late and a dollar short this time.

I had no idea what I was going to do with this sparkly fabric. I am not a metallic fabric fan. I am very tactile and metallic ink/dyes ruin the touch for me. I wear minimal jewelry and am not comfortable with a lot of bling. And the kicker is that I am super sensitive to glitter. It smells funny, hurts my eyes and makes my skin crawl. Just looking at metallic fabric can give me the glitter heebie-jeebies.

I was in a bit of a panic about this project and then the little bundle of joy arrived in my mailbox.

As soon as I touched it I had one thought....My theme was set in motion. The whole quilt top flashed before my eyes. My only decisions were what color Michael Miller Couture solids to use, which pieces of Glitz I would use for the centerpiece feature and what pattern I would use for the feature.

I was to make one major change to my layout. A few days after the bundle arrived I had a short visit with Son #1 and when I shared my idea with him it was met with a very ominous and pensive silent stare. I thought he hated it but he was actually just laying out the top in his head. His first comment was "How are you going to justify it?" 

Um, I am the Mom, I don't have to justify anything to you Son, I brought you into this....

Not really, I knew exactly what he meant. 

Me : "Well, I was planning to center it..."

Him: "Did you ever think about Right?"

He was spot on and another snap decision was set.

My original thought was to use up the extra Glitz for the back but a few days later another unsolicited thought erupted.

That handmade camp shirt I bought at a yard sale in 2013 that I thought was quilting fabric and when I researched it at home didn't I find it on the Michael Miller site? Yes! And it compliments my theme! Perfect!

So I ordered my Couture and my pattern and set to work when all arrived and the project turned out just as my mind's eye pictured it. I love it and it may be my favorite project of my short quilting career.

I fussy cut my camp shirt and created a photograph look for the back. This allowed me to eliminate a traditional label as I have written my quilt information on the white photo frames.

The title, Let's Glitz Physical popped up one day when I was laying the quilt out on my design wall. It turns out "Glitz" is one of those words you can plug into other things. I told a guild mate my title and she immediately popped it into her title too! 

My repurposed fabric even has the Michael Miller brand printed on it in a couple places. I love these ladies!

My binding skills have improved since I started quilting and this one turned out beautiful.

So, now I'm waiting for the clouds to clear so I can get some good photos. I'll probably get the Hubs to shoot them since I have such dismal photography skills and his are above average. 

Can't wait to see all the other Michael Miller QuiltCon West Challenge projects.

Thanks for visiting.

Pedal's Pups on the Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop

Week 6 of the Sew Fresh Quilts Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop

I've always had a thing for little white spotted dogs. I think it runs in the family because I have some adorable photos of my dad as a little boy with his own spotted pup sitting on the running board of his dad's car in the 1930's. Then, my Great-granddad Smith had a Fox Terrier named Pooch that I just adored when I was a chubby little toddler in the early 1960's.

Our first Jack Russell Terrier was a sweet little girl named Agatha and now we have a scruffy little broken coat guy we call Cooper.

So, Lorna, of Sew Fresh Quilt's, Dog Gone Cute pattern was a project that I had to make at least once. My first go round was the large block that I modified to resemble Cooper. (For more Info CLICK HERE)

But one Dog Gone Cute project was not enough for me so I purchased a bundle of C&S basics to make a colorful version on a three by three grid using the small block. I have six of my nine blocks finished.

I chose to use Charcoal Kona for my background and White Kona for the faces. I really like the perky ear with the pink HST so all my pups sport that look. It reminds me of that intense Jack Russell gaze that tells you they are always ready for fun.

Here's the colors I have on deck. I'm partial to that vaseline green color and I can't wait to add that block to the pack.

My plan is to do the thin sashing, border and binding all in the Charcoal Kona.

I'm not even finished with this version and I'm already contemplating a third.

Now, here's the Blog Hop line up:

Tuesday, October 6
Karen of Run Sew Fun
Kris of Kris Loves Fabric
Anja of Anja Quilts
Kelly of Quilting it Out
Tish of Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland

Thursday, October 8
Carol of Just Let Me Quilt
Nina of Inchworming
Doris of The Quilting Queen Online
Brandy of Pampered Pettit
Leena of Creative Instincts

Tuesday, October 13
Ruth of Charly and Ben’s Crafty Corner
Tanya of Tanya Quilts in Colorado
Laurel of Quilts by Laurel
Kathy of Kathy’s Quilting Blog
Deb of New Creative State

Thursday, October 15
Anita of Daydreams of Quilts
Gina of Quilts and Cakes
Beth of Words & Stitches
Rachel of Quiltineering
Julie of Mack and Mable

Tuesday, October 20 - Current Week
Cathy of A Quilting Chick
Selina of Selina Quilts
Shauna of Shauna’s World
Gayle of Pedal Sew Lightly
Kathy of Kayak Quilting

Thursday, October 22
Sandy of Upstairs Hobby Room
Heide of Heide’s Quilty Hugs
Britt-Inger of Hill Valley Quilter

Judy of How ART You?

Louisa of Sewmotion

Tuesday, October 27
Teje of Nero’s Patch and Post

Stephanie of Jak and Will
Valerie of Val’s Quilting Studio
Ellen of Georgia Florida Studio
Cristina of Pretty Little Quilts

Thursday, October 29
Abigail of Cut & Alter
Magdalena of iloveneutrals
Jenn of A Quarter Inch from the Edge
Anne of Batiks by the Bay
Susie of Susie's Sunroom
Tracy of Tracy’s Bits N Pieces

Thanks for visiting!

Gotta Excuse for Cheeky Lotta

I've got a new excuse to do some shopping. It's called a 2007 David Winick Airstream International 75th Anniversary Edition Bambi. Quite a title for 19' of fun. We are driving up to Charlotte on Thursday to pick it up and will have a two night shake down trip in the South Carolina mountains.

It's been a couple of years since we sold our 2007 Airstream Westfalia and I have incorporated much of my camping equipment into our home and I passed even more of it on to Son #1 when he transitioned into apartment living. That means I have been replacing some of those missing essentials. 

My favorite RV haunts are Ikea, Target and Marshall's. We stopped at Ikea after we put the contract on the Bambi last week. 

I made the trip to Marshall's and Target yesterday and I had to have a little cheeky Lotta while it's available. Here's my haul.

Paper is not our default but it's handy to have on hand. I know why I chose the bright blue bowls and yellow cups, that was all they had available. I am just not sure why I didn't opt for any of the lighter blue options. Are you ever surprised at your choices when you get home and unpack?

The yellow is a great choice since the David Winick interior is gray and yellow. The bright blue, not so much, but it's Lotta!

Here's some snaps we took when we met the Bambi for the first time.

Love that porthole door!

She's number 57 of the 75 Airstream made.

Love the wood, aluminum, tweedy fabrics and Marmoleum floor and counters.

Another porthole, this one's in the bathroom door.

Special David Winick touch for the screen door.

We are so excited to be in the Airstream family again. We said good-bye to the Westy in August of 2012 when we were going through our big life retooling. This Bambi is like a cross between our first two Airstreams.

Our first was a 2004 28' International CCD with orange interior. Loved it to death and we had some memorable family experiences in it but it was too big for our life stage. We wanted something that was easy to use that we could park in a single space so we moved down into the tiny Westfalia.

The Bambi is a nice compromise between the 28' CCD and the 19' Westy. I wish I had photos on this computer to share but you can go HERE for the CCD and HERE for the Westy if you are interested. They are both pretty mod looking beasts.

Here's the only CCD photo I have on this computer. It shows Cooper as a youngster playing in a rare snow covered yard.

Here's the Westy at a rowing regatta in Oakridge TN. It was great because we were the team cooks and we could usually camp right at the venue.

Here's a mockup of the new rig:

This will fit into two end-to-end parking spaces.

One great thing about the new Bambi is it gives me a reason for some selfish sewing! Can you say Pillow Covers!

Thanks for visiting!

Taming the Scatterbrain in Fluro Pink

I can be a bit scatterbrained at times and I am always looking for ways to tame this beast. During our ultra busy middle and high school home school years we used a five piece layout of the ever popular Pottery Barn Daily System. We have two calendars, a linen board, the office organizer and the letter bin. We called it Command Central, which seemed a bit unique all those years ago but it's pretty common today.

It looked great in our last house on the kitchen wall and, more importantly it helped keep our family on track. It was out in the open and everyone could see what we were all up to. My family has long been color-coded and we used a collection of Vis-aVis pens to keep everyone's activities straight..

My youngest graduated four years ago and my oldest is now married and lives out of town. The old Command Central won't even fit in our present home because of the very open floor plan. The calendars hang in the laundry room, the office organizer and letter bin hang on a sliver of wall just as you enter the kitchen and the linen board is off its hinges and is wedged between the kitchen desktop and the wall cabinet above. What worked so well a few years ago is not cutting it today.

I needed a new system to keep track of my quilting, blogging, social media, appointments, activities, Hubs ride schedule, the family business.... Basically, life as I know it post home school.

I may be scatterbrained when it comes to my schedule but I am an absolute neat freak about my purse. Nothing can float around, it must be contained neatly in my wallet, two small zip pouches and the one or two zip pockets I allow in my spare style handbag of choice. There is no spare change to be found hanging out on the bottom of my bag.

I will not carry around a standard purse calendar either.  I've tried many times and once the corners start to dog-ear I give up and its gone.  I knew whatever system I went with had to be special.

So, I went for an eye popping Fluro Pink A5 Filofax. As the only girl in the castle I often get my girly fix of pink in my personal items.

This was my second recent try at an organizer. A couple of years ago I opted for a gorgeous lime green leather Folio/A4 DayTimer. Love, love, love it but not for planning. It is too big for that but it is just what I need to carry and track things for work.

Here is a side by side comparison with my iPhone and iPad for scale.  This collection represents my favorite colors; orange, hot pink and lime green. I realize my favorites are a bit loud so I use them sparingly.

I have recently started to follow a lot of planners on IG. This has inspired me to make inserts and accessories for my Filofax to get it dialed in to my needs. I love looking at all of their cute layouts but that will never be my style. My sticker and washi use will be spare. I do have plans to use some "useful stickers" but I will not be decorating my pages. I am sticking with personally made items in 2015 while I am building my full system.  

I made a personal size pocket file to hold mail supplies and extras using a tutorial by Alexis, aka Miss Trenchcoat at Strange & Charmed. Click HERE to go to the Youtube tutorial.

I only sliced the ring punches on the right side of my folder so mine stays in my organizer and just flips open. I used See Jane Work file folders from Office Max and they do not seem as stiff as the Target $1 Spots that Alexis used so I had to reinforce mine with washi tape. Would you believe this is the first time I have ever used washi tape?!? 

I will probably need to reinforce it better with packing tape or I may run it through the laminator and slice the pockets open through the plastic.

That is what I did when I made this larger A5 size folder of my own design. It was a first attempt and the plastic came out with a crinkle but it works great. It took two laminating sheets and two passes through the machine to cover the whole thing. You can barely detect the seam. To get a nice crease I folded it while it was hot and then ran it through the laminator folded. It was too thick to melt together but it made a nice tight fold. I had to give it a little extra push at one point. My laminator is fairly heavy duty so I would be careful if you have a light weight version.

And there you have my little peek at what I am up to with my quilting. And here's another...

Thanks For visiting!

In a State of Evergreen

I participated in Lily Pad Quilting's Pets on Quilts Show 2015 and it was so much fun meeting all the other quilting pet lovers. Even though Cooper was not the favorite "Dog on a Quilt" I did nab a little swag. Lucky me!

I won this fantastic Evergreen Jelly Roll from the fantastically talented Judi Madsen of Green Fairy Quilts. Her long arm quilting is over-the-top amazing so go check out her blog HERE. She also runs a pretty sweet online store with her husband, Clint, and you can check out the store HERE.

Green Fairy Quilts has a huge selection of precuts and they are having a 40% off sale on all their thread at the moment. 

What's crazy about my Evergreen win is that both of my Christmas projects to date have used BasicGrey Christmas lines! Now I am destined to make a third project which is pretty great because I have a decent size collection of Annalee Dolls and this line is a perfect compliment!

This post will be linked up with Molli Sparkle's Sunday Stash and Sew Darn Crafty by Sew Many Ways.

If you want to see Cooper on my Dog Gone Cute mini click HERE.

For my BasicGray Christmas Table Runner click HERE.

My second BG project is a WIP pair of Christmas Tree Pants that I have not shared yet.

Thanks for visiting!

Team Lyndsie Quilt

I have been focused on a very special project the past month. A quilt for a very sweet young lady from a large family of deep faith and a love for the Lord that shines through in even the darkest of circumstances.

Lyndsie faced her first battle with ovarian cancer at the young age of 17 and over the next ten years it would return three more times. She faced each battle with a strength and grace that would become a testimony of the power of God in her life. She amassed an ever growing team of prayer warriors along the way.

She would live to the fullest. Getting married, adopting a boy and a girl, spending time with her huge family and giving freely of herself to others.

Her last battle was long and difficult but through it she would touch many through her incredible testimony of faith. She shared her faith and love of the Lord with all who came in contact with her and she touched even more through the sharing of her story and calls for prayer on social media under the hashtags of #TeamLyndsie and #shewillbemadewhole.

Lindsey went home on August 28th and her Celebration of Life Service was so powerful that there were several professions of faith made that day! Her hashtag has now been modified to #shehasbeenmadewhole.

I started this quilt while Lyndsie was still with us. It was like an ever-growing prayer reminder card on my design wall. I was five blocks shy of having the top finished the day she went home.

When I came up with the idea to make a quilt I first brought it up to one of my guilds as a scrappy solids group project using a particular block. Then, when I got home I saw a collection of fabrics I have been hoarding for a special occasion. A bundle of Japanese F8s I had won from Sew Me A Song, plus the F8 bundle of Lecien Flower Sugar I purchased to add to it and a FQ bundle of low volume text prints. At that point I knew I needed to take this project on solo. I informed my guild of my intent and got straight to work.

These fabrics seemed so perfect for Lyndsie. They are vibrant, beautiful, colorful, fun, happy, and modern yet still old-fashioned. That is a great description for Lyndsie. I chose to use the X&+ block because I wanted to include the symbol of the cross to reflect her deep faith.

Teal is the color for Ovarian Cancer and I had a multi-yard cut of the perfect fabric by Valori Wells in my stash.

I love the Pay-It-Forward aspect of using the bundle I won from Sew Me a Song.

For the tag I was given permission to use a design by Grace All Day Designs that she was inspired to create for Lyndsie after learning about her through a mutual friend. She didn't even know Lyndsie! It is so beautiful and it is one of the scriptures that Lyndsie claimed.

Grace gifted her original to Lyndsie's family and she has made this available as a print in her Etsy shop at her cost. She is quite the talented artist and I recommend you check out her work. Here's the Link to her shop.

I put the finishing touches on this project yesterday and Lyndsie's parents picked it up in the afternoon. Unfortunately it was a rainy, dark day so this is the best I can do for photos. 

             

This quilt will be used to raise funds for Lyndie's family to help cover the medical and extra living expenses incurred during her illness. It gets its local public debut at a BBQ fundraiser on Saturday. My prayer is that it will be a financial blessing for the family and that it brings comfort to whoever gets to take it home!

Thanks for visiting!

PHG Challenge Peek and a Test Block

Last week I had some late nights working on my Peaceful Hearts Quilt Guild Challenge piece for our show in November. I got it done just in time for our meeting last Saturday so I was able to participate in the Guild's Choice competition. This is a traditional guild so it didn't have much of a chance to nab the ribbon but it was fun being part of the festivities. A beautiful scrappy string quilt won the ribbon. 

I did a matchstick in all the color areas and doodle quilted in all the gray negative space. I'll try to share a full shot of this piece next week. I'm working on another piece that has to be done by Saturday and I've got an insurance audit at work so I can't make any promises but I will try!

1. 

I put together this test block for my Augusta MQG meeting. Hoping to to free up some of that improv mojo for our challenge project. This block is destined for my Kona Bright Test Block Sampler.

I have so much to share now that I have my computer back but my time is so tight with my multiple deadlines and heavier work schedule.  I am going to try to do a series of short posts so I can get caught up.

Thanks for visiting!