Do you use Etsy?

If you haven't yet discovered Etsy.com, then I urge you to check it out and see all the wonderful sites on there. In case you don't know what it is, it is a 24/7 craft show where you can visit crafters from around the world at your leisure. I have bought from crafters who live as far away as Singapore and as close as two towns away.  It is great to be able to see so many different items and to support the small artisans who are selling on Etsy.

I wanted to share one of my favorite Etsy crafters with you. I think as quilters you can all appreciate the work that she does. The picture to the left is one example of her work. I wore it today and got many compliments on it.

Jill takes t-shirts and sweaters (I think they know her at her local Good Will store.), cuts them apart and then creates new sweaters, tees and tunics from the pieces. These pieces are all truly one-of-a-kind.

I have to admit that I made two new purchases from her just today.  I happened to look on her Etsy site today and saw this wonderful tunic and sent her a message about making the sleeves longer. Her reply was, "Of course!"  Purchase #1
A few weeks ago I sent her 4 sweaters from my closet clean out. They were sweaters I really liked but never wore. Well, off to Jill they went and soon she will be sending my new sweater jacket/coat made from my own sweaters. I'm not sure who was more excited, Jill or me! Well, she sent me a few pictures of the work in progress and there was Purchase #2. I should have them both by Monday or Tuesday and will be sure to share with you.

Here are pictures of the back and sleeves of the jacket. Jill does a great job of combining pieces and colors to make a great "new" item.

 I just love the work that she does. Be sure to check her out at

http://www.etsy.com/shop/jill2day?ref=pr_shop

Have fun!

I hope all of you are enjoying some of the same lovely summer weather that we're having. I want to bottle it and save it for the rest of the summer.

Auditioning fabric

I really thought I would be started on the next quilt by now but life has gotten in the way. I think I have decided on the pattern to use. I found this Julie Herman pattern in Easy Quilts. I do like it and like the idea of it being easy and simple.

And now I have to choose the fabric. The colors will be green and brown with a touch of blue. I think that is their color scheme. I've been collecting those colors for a few months and now must decide which ones make the cut!

I need light, dark and medium for the pattern but I think I have ample fabric to choose from. But now I do have to make the choice. I think I might take a few more pictures with some combinations. That helps to make it clearer, I think.

Yesterday, I drove up to Bucknell with a friend. She had to pick up her daughter at soccer camp. It was fun to spend time together and I got to see the campus for the first time. It is beautiful with old brick buildings from the late 1700's. We went to the college bookstore after we picked her up. A little different from when I went to college. This was actually a Barnes & Noble as well as the campus bookstore.

Hope you all have a wonderful, quilty day!

A close-up

After I posted the picture in my bedroom yesterday, Mary commented that she liked the half table. I thought I had to share it with my quilty, crafty friends out there in blogland. As you can see from these pictures, the top is decoupaged with large cabbage roses and the legs are painted different colors.

I found this at an artisan's store and couldn't resist. Of course, I do tend to pile books on top so you can't always appreciate the work on it. Great idea for repainting furniture, isn't it?

I gave a tour at the Pearl Buck House today. It happens to have been her birthday and one of the woman on the tour was having a birthday too. Going on the tour was all she wanted for her birthday! The group of 14 was so nice and two of them were students from my school. It was a beautiful day and as always, a joy to be on the grounds and in the house. 

Small but a finish to share

Earlier I had shared the new bedspread and pillows. Since I finished the quilt I had time to hem the new "curtains." All I had to do was hem the edges of the fabric and it over the rods. Finished! This is my summer look for the bedroom. I think I like it. You can't see it but the floral print in the curtain is similar to the flowers in the big pillow in the middle.

Tomorrow my plan is to work on choosing the pattern and fabric for the next quilt.

Happy Day to all!

A big Phew! and a short commercial

I am happy to say that the quilt came out of the wash and no running colors. Yayyy! It looks great and even with all that red, no damage was done by washing. It is laying out on the table and will be dry and ready to ship on Monday. I can't believe it.

These are the color-catcher sheets that I put in and there were colors that ran but since I put in three of these 

it was safe. 

Now I will move to the planning stages for my next wedding quilt. Have the fabric, pretty sure I have the pattern and it will just mean weeding out the green and/or brown colors I don't want. This one needs to be finished by July 16th, let the pressure begin!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone. 

Ta-da!

I have a finish, or at least that is what I am calling it. I finished sewing the last edge of binding and then a little hand quilting. Much to my chagrin, I found that some of the hand-quilting had been missed and I had to do it myself. I know it is not up to the par of the hand quilting on the rest of the quilt but I did it with love and that has to count for something. (PS - Not a big fan of doing hand quilting but that might have to do with the fact that I've never done that before.) I do love the depth that quilting gives a quilt. Hard to see in the picture but you all know what I mean. 

The back is from the Pure line and I love the words all over the back. They just seem to fit so well. The only thing left is sewing the label on and gentle washing. Since I mainly used a jelly roll, it could not be washed before I started. So, it goes in the wash tomorrow with many Color Grabber slips and a few prayers too. There is a lot of red so I don't think I can do anything while it is in the wash since all my fingers will be crossed too.

Have a happy sewing day!

Nancy

Crossing it off the list

I wish I could say I was crossing the quilt off the list but alas, that was not to be today. But I did get some other things crossed off and that felt good. A little of this and a little of that. My plan is to finish for sure tomorrow.

I attended an author signing tonight and was so glad I did. Elin Hilderbrand was in town and spoke at a fundraiser hosted by the Doylestown Women in Business. Elin spoke about her newest book, released yesterday, Silver Girl.  It is about a woman whose husband is convicted of financial fraud, a la Bernie Madoff, who takes refuge with a friend on Nantucket. Elin lives on Nantucket and places most of her stories there. This book was listed as best beach read by People Magazine.

Tonight was certainly not a disappointment. Elin was a delight and the kind of person you just think you would like to hang with. She talked about her book, her writing and answered questions from the audience. It was a completely entertaining event. I have to finish my current book and will definitely read this one next. 

We had some crazy weather today. The morning was sunny but around noon clouds started rolling in and then boom, the heavens opened and rain, hail and everything else was flying around. My lights were flickering but never went out. In an hour it was all over and the sun was shining again. 

You can see the aftermath of the storm here. I have a Linden tree in my front yard and the storm blew off much of the "stuff" on the tree. And of course, the landscapers were here this morning. I really hope I don't have to go out and rake it all up. Hoping for more wind to blow it away. 

Have a wonderful day!

Sittin' and stitchin'

I don't have a picture to show just yet but I spent a good part of the day hand-sewing the binding of the wedding quilt. Just stopped for the night with only part of one side left. I still have to anchor the sleeve and then sew on the label and it is finished! I'll post a finish of it tomorrow. Can't wait to wash it, lay it out on the table to dry and then mail it off!

In the meantime, I have to share a surprise gift I got in the mail yesterday. Candy, who is a friend from high school, made this wonderful plate for me.

Several months ago, Candy asked me to send her some pictures of my house. I had no idea why but  when I got this, I understood why. It is a wonderful representation of my house and she even included my dish border in the front garden. I just love it. 

The plate was actually the second replica of my house that I received. A few years ago, another friend had this basket made for me when I retired. As you can see, I had a short picket fence around my garden then. I love this gift too. The crafter of this one lives in the area and actually showed this at a craft show. She wanted others to realize she could make the house basket for townhomes too.

These are both cherished gifts. So thoughtful and since I love my house and my neighborhood, they are even more special.

I hope that you are all blessed with special friends and special gifts in your life!

The Old Fashioned Way - I picked two winners!

The giveaway ended and I chose my two winners the old fashioned way! I printed the posts, cut them apart and then picked two. The winners have been notified and as soon as they respond with their addresses and their choices, I'll get them in the mail. (This is not my favorite way to pick a winner. Really need to figure out how to number responses! Any hints would be greatly appreciated.)

The winners were Denise from Count It All Joy! who wrote - I'm a follower but I wanted to share her other words with you. She said, I love the floral print -- very pretty! I go thru my stash about every year (just before Paducah) and make some decisions. Sometimes I just reorganize it. LOL! :)


Elizabeth from Living My Sweet Life  was the second winner. She said, I had a BI stash purge when I moved 3+ years ago. Now my buying habits are a bit different, and I am not planning any more purges, at least for the next couple of years. Good luck on your reorganizing!


Congratulations to both of them and many thanks to all who stopped and read and commented. I'm sure you all know how important comments are to keep a blogger going!


I'm getting back to sewing tomorrow. I have to hand stitch the binding and then it will be on its way. They will get their wedding gift before their first anniversary!

You have to love Etsy!

If you are looking for the giveaway, check here!  It ends on Monday night (6/20) at 9:00 Eastern time.

I was surfing through Etsy today. I know you won't believe it but I had to. We are planning our Christmas Craft Show at the Pearl Buck House and I was looking for local crafters that we might want to invite to participate. It was a job for which I was an eager volunteer! And I did find some great crafts and crafters to contact.

But I did just want to share another new purchase that quilters will love. Tasha at A Little Sweetness has a wonderful set of illustrations related to quilting. Here is the one I bought! I wanted to get all of them but really have no more wall space. I settled for just one.

Be sure to visit her site and check them out!

Aren't these cute?

If you are looking for the giveaway, go here.

These candlesticks just came in the mail today. I bought them on Etsy from Mandolin Goose. They take frames, candlesticks and other items and paint them. These were brass and have been somewhat weathered. I just loved the colors and had to order. Do other quilters love things that mix colors? Or is it just me? I love colorful and unexpected. You can check out their other items here. 

This little basket came with the candlesticks.

Well, I survived another yard sale this weekend. A group I belong to had a charity fundraiser and with 15 or more people contributing items, we made almost $700. Quite a difference from my $25 last week! It was a nice day for us and from 8-1 there was a steady stream of people. When we finished we packed up everything and donated it to a charity thrift shop. That is it for my yard sales!

My hydrangeas are in bloom but these don't belong to me. One of my neighbors went away for the week and she told me to cut some of hers since she won't be home to enjoy them. I love these and find it amusing that even in the same neighborhood, hers are pink and mine are a gorgeous blue. Go figure!

Sewing continues tomorrow. 

New York, New York

If you are stopping by for the giveaway, please go here.

No, I won't break into song but had a great time in the city yesterday. This was a bus trip with a group of volunteers and friends from The Pearl Buck Volunteer Association. We left at 7 am and our first stop was the UN. I must say this was my first trip there and it was pretty impressive. We had an excellent tour guide who was from Venezuela. It is amazing how much she was able to share with us. They are given a briefing each morning to keep them up to date on world events.

Beautiful stained glass right as you come in the building.

Lovely sculpture

I believe this was a gift from Thailand.

The world right outside the building.

After our tour we traveled to a lovely restaurant, Le Rivage.  We had all ordered ahead and they did a great job serving us and keeping us on schedule. My chicken was delicious. And the ambience was delightful.

As we headed out to our cruise around Manhattan, we passed Ground Zero. You can no longer go near there since there is major construction going on. It was still a bit chilling to see the hole in the ground where one of the buildings stood. 

While there  was a small glitch in getting to our cruise, it was well worth the wait. Perfect sunny weather and a good guide made it a very interesting ride. I loved riding close by the Statue of Liberty. I haven't been that close since I was much younger. It was just a perfect day to be on the water and good viewing to see the sights of New York. I took several pictures of the statue but they are all sideways when I put them on this post. I don't want any of you to hurt your neck if you're reading this!

Just have to share two more things before I close this post. This was what we saw when we got back to Pearl Buck. It just takes your breath away. And that is only one place where we have those beautiful flowers. 

And then, the surprise at my door. I got my order of Red Rooster's Katagami fabric.  It is patterned after the Japanese stencil making. There are two of these incredible paper stencils hanging in the Pearl Buck house. I find them so fascinating and beautiful. I just had to have these fabrics. Now just have to decide what to do with them. A jacket, a quilt, so many ideas. 

The six different designs I ordered. 

Closeup

This one looks much like the Katagami stencil we have in the house. 

Have a wonderful, happy stitching weekend!

All set up and ready to sew.

If you are looking for the Giveaway, please go Here

Doesn't this look nice? I set up my machine today after I decided that I had made ample progress on the closet. The windows were open and I was all set to go. While I didn't do a ton of sewing, at least it is a start.

My first order of business was to trim the quilt and get it ready for the binding. I basted the sleeve on the back of the quilt and any more sewing will have to wait. "A journey of a thousand miles..." And sometimes making a quilt feels like that journey. A pleasant one for sure but unlike Bewitched, we can't just wiggle our nose to make it happen. Oh, darn.

And now my true confession - even though I'm purging I was thrilled to get the squishy package in the mail today. I just got the three Charm Packs from CharmPacksPlus . They were even having a sale and I have been coveting Rose Parade and Summer House. The colors and the design of these fabrics is just beautiful.
The bottom picture shows fabric that I stumbled upon when I walked up to JoAnn Fabrics today. I was researching muslin prices for a fundraiser at the Pearl Buck House. I thought this would make a really pretty skirt for the summer. I think I even have a sweater or two that would go with it. I'm going to try wiggling my nose for that one.

Back to work. I hope I can soon post the finished quilt. Only about 3,000 more steps before that happens!

I purge, you win - it's a giveaway!

The giveaway has ended. Winners will be announced soon!

I am almost finished the closet reorganization and keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay that way a long time! I still have a few things to put away but I'm hoping to keep things off the floor. I am eyeing some boxes on the bottom shelves that might need to be removed to make room for "fabric".

Now, for the fun part. I did find some fabric I can part with and two of you may be the lucky winners of this fabric. I will pick one winner for each of the following bits of fabric. In each picture, the fabric on the left is at least 4 yards. Great for backing. The tan and rose fabric is one yard and the dark fabric is 2 yards. When I pick the winners I will notify each one and the first to respond will get their first pick and the other person will get the fabric pack that remains. A win-win, I think. 

Now, to enter, just leave a comment on this post. You might want to tell us how often you have to clean out your stash.  For a second chance, become a follower or let me know you already are. Make sure your email is available so I can contact you if you are the winner! I would hate to have to choose an alternate if you are a no-reply. The giveaway is open to all. Giveaway will be open until 

Monday, June 20 at 9:00 pm Eastern time. 

I must get back to the organizing. Who knows, I might even find some other goodies to include in the prize!

Never too old to learn something new

I went to the last guild meeting for the year tonight. We started with strawberry shortcake, complete with blueberries and whipped cream too. It sure looked like everyone enjoyed their delicious treat. Perhaps that explained the really good turnout for tonight's meeting.

After a brief business meeting, the group was split into 3 groups and we went to different workshops. The first one I went to was given by Barbara, who is quite an expert on quilt history. Her presentation was about quilts from Wales and Provence. As she showed us, much of what was made in the 1800's was used as undergarments by the wealthy. You can see one of the patterns that might have been used on the table. They were whole cloth quilts and used a special technique where cording was pushed through channels to make the desired effect. Barbara did comment that when we use a solid fabric or even muslin for our quilt backing, we allow the quilting to really show. (And not surprising, I found another book I want for my collection - Quilts of Provence. Makes me really feel bad that my trip there won't happen until next year!)

When the bell rang we moved to our next workshop. At this one I got the answer to what exactly do you use this stuff for.

Some of you are probably familiar with wool roving. I have seen it in quilt shops but never really knew how to use it. Gina showed us needle felting and made it look so very easy. I'm trying to resist picking up one more sewing hobby to add to the collection and my closet. (More on that later.) She showed us the technique and a few projects she has completed. The picture she is holding is not quite finished but really showed the process. I love the pretty little framed flower sitting on the table. 

The final workshop was a sewing project and since I forgot to bring any supplies, I came home. But not before taking pictures of a few of the quilts brought in for show and tell. 

This was a signature quilt. Someone who had been president a few years before was given this when her term was up and it was finally finished so she brought it in to share. I love the colors in this. 

Made as a graduation gift. School colors are green and white.

Simply beautiful. The detail is just intimidating. 

Had to show the membership table. Each month Carol brings in a different quilt for the table. The smaller  "applique" blocks are from a cheater panel. I don't think Carol would mind me telling her secret since she was telling everyone who admired the quilt. I just love the colors in this one.

I did make great progress on the closet today and there will be a giveaway tomorrow. I might have to do more than one since there is only so much room in my closet. I am really going to try to keep it neat and organized. Be sure to check back!