My next BIG project

To understand my next project I first need to give you a little back story.

Last year my Father in Law passed away. He was and still is a giant inspiration to his kids and his Grandkids. He was ill for many years and never, ever gave up! Even though he couldn't breathe well, he found a way to mow his own lawn and remove all his own snow until the very end. He always said that if he stopped moving and doing all these things for himself - that he would get worse and he didn't want to live like that.

He loved his grandkids more than any thing in the World. He was sentimental - and we never knew just how sentimental he was until a few weeks ago.  We spent quite a few weekends the last month cleaning out my husbands childhood home. I was in the basement cleaning out a storage room and I found drawers FULL of letters, cards, newspaper clippings from kids and grandkids sporting events, programs from plays at school.. and so much more. He saved it all!

Anyway - see this pictures...

This is a pile of some of his clothes. My Mother in Law saved them for me. The plan is to make a quilt for each grandkid. There are 10 of them.. they range in age from 31 to 6 yrs. The grandkids don't know about the project and we are hoping to give the quilts to them for Christmas from Grandma.

I don't plan on doing anything fancy.. just simple squares, maybe different size squares. Each quilt will be a twin size. Any ideas? I'm open to tips/comments... talk to me quilters!! Do you think I can get them all done by THIS Christmas??

On the road again...

Since we moved from Arizona to Minnesota 2 months ago - we have been on the road a lot. We have family in Fargo, ND and my husband is originally from Detroit Lakes, MN.

And this past weekend - we drove to Fargo to spend a few days with my parents and celebrate our oldest son's birthday. After living 2000 miles away from family his entire life, all he wanted was to spend it with his grandparents. In fact, when Grandma asked him what he wanted for his birthday - he replied "A day of fishing with Grandpa".

Here he is with his cake... so much fun with cousins.. aunts.. uncles.. great aunts.. great uncles.. good times..

On our travels, we pass this little gas station along the way. We chuckle every time we see it. Well yesterday my husband knew I had my camera this time so he pulled over so I could take a picture of it. 

So funny!! Needless to say.. we didn't eat there!

Did you know?

So I was on the IKEA website - dreaming of the amazing rooms I could put together if I had a bottomless bank account.. when all of a sudden.. I found FABRIC!!

Did you know IKEA sells fabric by the yard? I mean, I've seen people use IKEA Sheets for quilt backs before - but I had no idea they sell fabric by the yard. It's all 100% cotton.

The prices are good - anywhere from $3.99 to $8.99 p/yd. And all the ones I looked at were 59' wide.

So many fun patterns. And many many solids and stripes to choose from too.

And if you don't have an IKEA close to you.. start crying now you can order it online!!

Just thought I'd pass on the tip...

(all photo's courtesy of IKEA website)

Wool.. the other fabric

I've been playing with some felted wool lately.. and I think I'm hooked.

I made this little pincushion - and filled with crushed walnut shells. It's so fun to play with.

And the best part was that I sat outside on the swing, enjoying the evening air, and did the entire thing while my boys rode their bikes.

Even though I need to get better with my stitches, I'm thinking my next wool project should be some kind of wall hanging.. maybe for the holidays? any ideas? Any tips? Have you ever worked with wool?

ooh.. or maybe some Christmas ornaments? 

And the Winner is....

So sorry for the delay in getting the winners selected - but it was hard for Bobbi and I to connect today. Life has a way of doing that to us sometimes.. you know how it is.. school shopping.. laundry... sick kid.. and all that goes with being a Mom.

Anyway - as always, we draw two winners. Bobbi has one and so do I.

So, without further delay - my Winner is # 84 - Oddbjorg from http://nordquilt.blogspot.com/ You really need to check out her blog.. she made a cute clothes pin bag. LOVE IT!!

Congratulations!! Now the best part.. I'm going to be sending you our Friday Night Sew-in pin cushion along with a charm pack of fabric.

Here is the pincushion (or one like it since I couldn't find the scissor fabric anywhere)

And since I couldn't decide which charm pack to send you.. I will let you pick one of these. Would you like "Awesome" (on right) or "Gobble Gobble" (on left) both by Sandy Gervais.

Just let me know which charm pack you want.. along with your mailing address and I will get this lovely little package of goodies in the mail to you. Oh.. and did I mention that Bobbi and I are both 1/2 Norwegian? Yep, it's true!!

Thanks to everyone participated. You are all so talented. I'm still making my way to all your blogs.. I love seeing what you all worked on!

My results.. but no Winners.. yet.

Bobbi and I are working to "connect" (from 2,000 miles apart) and coordinate the random.org winner selection process.

So in the mean time - I will share my results from Friday Night with you all. The Sun is finally out today allowing me to take some pictures... yay!

This is the quilt top using the Neptune fabric by Tura Tula Pink for Moda. I originally wanted this for my oldest son - but he doesn't like it. I know.. crazy right!?

I decided on a very simple design without cutting into any of the squares - this way I can enjoy all the prints that I love!

I probably won't get to finishing it for awhile - as I have some deadlines fast approaching for some other projects and need to set this aside for now.

But I am hoping to rent some time on a long arm machine in the coming months. I found a small little quilt shop in W Duluth that rents for only $20 an hour. I thought that sounded reasonable.

Anyway - the Winners will be announced in a few hours. Don't forget to come back and see if it's you! It's going to be pretty awesome! I promise.

You all amaze me!

I have been surfing all the blogs for all you people in last nights FNSI!! You are all so amazing! All 119 of you!! We all accomplished so much!

I got a lot done myself - can't show you a picture yet because it's quite foggy outside this morning as it is most mornings here (I guess that's because of the water?? That's my guess anyway) But I will be taking pictures later today after a few errands with my husband. (hopefully the Sun will come out)

Now I'm going back to the blog list of FNSI Rock Stars and get some more ideas from all you crafty people!! It will take me a couple mornings to visit all of you though!

Precut Fabric Reference Guide

Do you love the precut fabrics as much as I do?.. do you get lazy and wish someone else would do all the cutting and calculating? ...are you knodding your head? Then keep reading.. this is for you!!

I have quite a few ideas and patterns that use the typical 5 or 10 inch square. And let's not forget the 2 1/2 inch strip. And sometimes I find fabric that is perfect for a project BUT it's not by Moda.. or I can't find the precut that I want. Have you been there?

Then here is a simple guide that might help you if you decide to cut your own.

5 inch squares (commonly known as Charm Squares)
* Fold your fabric in 1/2 with selvage ends together.
* Cut strips 5 inches by Width of Fabric (wof)
* Cut your 5 inch by wof strips into 5 inch squares
YIELD
8 squares per 5" wof strip
24 squares per 1/2 yeard
40 squares per 3/4 yard
56 squares per 1 yard

10 inch squares (Commonly known as Layer Cake squares)
* Cut strips 10 inches by wof
* Cut your 10 inch by wof strips into 10 inch squares
YIELD
4 squares per 10" wof strip
8 squares per 5/8 yard
12 squares per 1 yard
28 squares per 2 yards (with only 2" of waste)

2 1/2 inch strips (Commonly known as Jelly Roll strips)
* Cut strips 2 1/2 inches by wof
YIELD
1 strip per wof
7 strips per 1/2 yard
10 strips per 3/4 yard
14 strips per 1 yard

Hopefully this will help in your project planning and fabric calculations. Sorry it doesn't help with the cutting part.. you'll have to do that yourself.

Happy sewing!!

Signup for August Friday Night Sew-in!!

Finally - the signups for August FNSI are here!!!! Bobbi and I are hosting another Friday Night Sew-In on August 20th!

If you are in the "summer sewing slump" then this is the perfect opportunity for you to get motivated!

Most of you already know the drill.. but for any newbies out there.. here is how it works.

1. Enter your blog info below. **If you don't have a blog - you can enter the Flickr group link as your URL.

2. Make a post on your blog - letting all your readers know about the sew-in. Spread the word.. we could all use the virtual sewing support and encouragement.

3. On Friday – 08/20/10 - Get your house settled, put on your comfy jammies.. maybe make a cup of tea.. and sit down to work on some of those projects (or anything else that you want to work on.. maybe you want to knit.. or catch up on scrapbooking).

4. Then, sometime on Saturday - Make a post about what you worked on.. show us a picture or two on Flickr.

And finally - on Sunday 8/22, we will enter all participants into a GIVEAWAY for something fun! (Including our new FNSI Pin Cushion) Bobbi and I both pick winners - so you each will have 2 chances to win!!

What are you waiting for... SIGN UP.. then tell ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!!

Friday Night Sew-in Participants

1. Watermelon Diva 2. Alex 3. Bobbi 4. Bobbi 5. CaraQuilts,July BakeSHop project 6. CaraQuilts 7. Carol L. 8. Marybeth Kufen 9. Geniene 10. Kim 11. Jandi 12. Janet 13. Poppyprint 14. Faye Lewis 15. Jane 16. Gina 17. Rene 18. Robyn 19. Kerry 20. crafty pug 21. Sandra 22. Maria 23. Patchwork Jenn 24. Cheryl 25. Monica-Diary of a Quilt Maven 26. Libby 27. dawn 28. Jill 29. Quilt Hollow 30. Deanna 31. Jackie 32. Jessica 33. Joy P 34. Denise & Mountain Quilter 35. Peg 36. Alethia 37. GrannyJ 38. SheilaC 39. Elena 40. Nato

41. Sherry Hogan 42. Patty 43. Judy C 44. Jess 45. Littlebook 46. Judy K 47. Becky 48. Debbie 49. Polly 50. Vivian 51. Stephanie G. 52. ulla 53. Amanda 54. Denise :) 55. Cari 56. Cherie in St Louis 57. Stephanie @ Sand and Starfish 58. darby 59. Patty 60. Barb @ DogmomDiva 61. Carolina Moore 62. Debbie S. 63. Crystal 64. Tee 65. Jamie @ modified mix 66. Lana 67. Elizabeth Q. 68. Kay Lynne 69. Jennifer 70. Valerie 71. dianne 72. Melissa 73. Sue Lemke 74. JudyK2310 75. Nicky - Farm Girl 76. Theresa @ The Treehouse 77. Rachelle 78. Dawn B 79. Brenda G 80. Nancy @ Life is a Stitch

81. Balinda 82. Shawna 83. Linda -Texas 84. Oddbjørg 85. Meghan (Thrifty Quilter) 86. Lisa at Sun Naturals 87. Cheryl - Windsom 88. Tina 89. Becca (QB29) 90. Bev C 91. Lisa 92. Tracey 93. WonkyGirl 94. Annette @ Jindi's Cottage 95. Candice 96. Deon @ Sunshine and Whimsy 97. Linda-Wisconsin 98. Elizabeth 99. Jen 100. Clio 101. Jannette 102. Shelly 103. FiberBabble 104. Gail 105. Suzan, Reluctant Quilter 106. Dresden Quilter 107. Teresa 108. Sara 109. Kimberly Mason 110. ChristineB @ Material Girl 111. Kathleen 112. Cheryll S 113. Amy 114. Dorothy 115. Linda H. 116. Colleen 117. Reethi 118. Jacque. 119. CJ

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Quick.. someone get me Miss Pink on the phone!!

As I mentioned Tuesday.. I'm playing with my Neptune fabric and can't wait to show you what I came up with. However... I'm not done. You'll have to wait.

BUT.. here is a little something interesting I thought I'd share. I was fondling studying the layer cake and reading the back information page and everything looks normal right?!!

WRONG...

Um.. shouldn't that say Tula? Not Tura?? LOL

This must have been a 'first printing'. Do you think it's like a rare misprinted coin? Could this layer cake be worth big bucks? Cuz I can get the seam ripper out and put it back together.. it's not too late.

Close the blinds.. nobody's home!!

It's HOT outside.. and crazy HUMID!!! My hair is a curly mess.. the laundry is piling up... and I have a house full of kids to feed. Let's count em.. My 2 boys, my stepdaughter and her little one... and my teenage niece is spending the week here. That's 10 right?


So today I plan to spend most of my day in the sewing room playing with this little stack of wonderful..

And it helps that my sewing room is right next to the laundry room - so I will be putting a nice dent in the laundry mountain!

Can you believe I was lucky enough to find MORE Neptune fabric!! I found 2 (YES 2) Layer Cakes.. and yardage!! I'm sending one of the cakes to my sewing buddy, Bobbi. Not just cuz she's my cousin.. but because I miss her terribly!

The plan is to make a Queen size quilt for my 10 yr old son. I drew the plans out last night and I'm ready to lay it out and sew today. We'll see how far I get.

And here is a cute picture of the little girl living in our house... (click here for story incase you missed it)

We spent a good chunk of yesterday at the beach.. she get's wet and then rolls in the sand. She's fun.. she's a handful.. and the best part - I don't have to do any of the work! ha..

Her Mom is doing good too. We toured a college last week... and there is a mountain of paperwork to fill out.. but so far so good.

Treasures....

We spent the day yesterday at my in-laws house. Sorting and cleaning through 40 years worth of memories and more as we try to get it ready to put on the market.

One of the treasures that I came home with yesterday is this little seat. I'm planning to use it near my back door as a place to sit and put your shoes on.

I found it deep in the basement and I plan to recover it. I just need to find the right fabric.... hmm.. that could take awhile. But one thing I can't decide and maybe you guys can help me - Do I use regular cotton fabric - or oil cloth? I found a quilt store here in Duluth that has a fabulous oil cloth selection.

Another little treasure that I found was this little "grease" crock. Not sure what I will use it for.. but I knew I couldn't let it go into the auction pile. 

We are going back to help my husbands siblings again on Friday.. can't wait to uncover a few more treasures!

My kind of Spiderweb

I finally got around to working on the July Quilter Bees block for Nichole. She sent so many pretty fabrics and requested we each make a Spiderweb block.

I had been looking at them lately and I'm so happy she requested them. It pushed me to step out of the comfort zone and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

If you've never seen a Spiderweb quilt before.. this is an example of what it looks like put together...

pic courtesy of flickr

Her quilt is going to be so pretty! What a great stash buster!!