A post full of warnings.

Good morning.  How did the week go for you?  I hope good. The weather has been nice all week, but it looks like it's going to be a warm  weekend around here.  FYI I'm going to try and not complain about the heat too much, but I make no guarantees. You've been warned.

So hey that's my mushroom and frog from Monticello Antiques up in Portland. Last time Elizabeth and I went to Portland we went and it was FANTASTIC.  So the whole time I'd been telling Holly about it I'd been hoping it would still be good.  AND IT WAS.  I would hang out there all the time if I lived close, it's crammed with treasures.  Do you watch Grimm? The ladies behind the counter were saying that a lot of the set props are purchased there and all the people are so nice! I love that show, and now I feel like a real insider. (not to mention being 2 degrees from all those people on set!)

Anyway, I had to show you I'm almost done with my tea cozy. You probably though it was going to be like a lot of PKM projects, started and then that's the last you see of it.  It was so easy to make, seriously, you have to give it a try if you're into Union Jacks and tea cozies. Or even just Union Jacks.  Honestly, I'm lame at paper piecing and even I could do it. Here's the link, so think about it.  I don't know what it is about stuff from England but I just can't get enough of it.  Is that the lure, the fact it's unavailable? Or it's so expensive to ship? Or worse, it's like that online site Dot Com Gift Shop. So far they don't even ship to the US, SO I'M WARNING YOU DON' T GO LOOK IF YOU ARE GOING TO OBSESS ABOUT CUTE STUFF YOU CAN'T HAVE. More warnings.  Honestly I don't get it. Someone here could be making a fortune with adorable stuff without hardly even trying. 

 

I have to be probably the second to last person on the planet to try these Clover Wonder Clips.  Normally I don't pin bindings at all, just fold over and hold them by hand.  That's just the way I learned. But the last time I made one of my bags with buckram I was wishing I had something besides pins.  I saw them at our new Joanns and I had a coupon so I figured what the heck.  And they're red, so who doesn't love that? Anyway, they look cute and now I own them. I  can't wait to try them on a bag. I think that's where I am going to love them.

 

Ok, that's enough of my ramblings for today right? It all starts to sound like crazy-talk if I go on too long! Hope you have a super fantastic weekend. xo

Thursday

Good morning peoples!  So yesterday I slacked on blogging but worked on accomplishing.   I was feeling pretty happy with myself at first.  Then I noticed that little short bit and  when trying to figure out if it was in the seam allowance, noticed that I missed a couple of pieces. 

 

I think the biggest problem I have is that whole flipping back and forth in combination with angles.  That's a huge area of weakness. I remember paper piecing in the past and I'd have a triangle perfect then flip and what do you know, it's going the whole wrong direction. 

 

Anyway I got it together and managed to get all the units done and sewn together.  It's undoubtedly off a smidgen here and there but it doesn't seem to matter.  And if it does, don't tell me! It was a challenge and I feel totally happy with the results. Lynn's wonderful tutorial is perfection and my mistakes and challenges are all my own.

 

Maybe tomorrow I'll be brave enough to cut it and assemble it into the tea cozy.

 

I love the look of paper piecing and OH MY that Ringo Pie group makes me practically faint every time I look at it. Every block is so clever and the fabric choices so fun. And even better, the large group of friends is certainly enviable.

 

So what's on your agenda today? Anything fun?

Tuesday

Good morning! How was the weekend? It was extra long for us, Bret had Friday off, which is always a nice bonus. I don't even remember what we did with that bonus day.  Saturday was a day to sew with the Debbies and it was a blast. Didn't sew on my cute little applique project at all, but worked on stitching my rows together on my Back to School Quilt. I think it's in three chunks right now, so maybe in another hour or so I can have the center done, then time to pick borders. I had fun, so I'm satisfied with what I got done.

One morning it was time for coffee on the swing, and I had some fantastic reading material.  Remember the Pink Book? I've talked about it before, as so many other people have, it's like happiness in book form. Japanese Craft book form that is. Well I found the next book by the same author (or at least I believe so) and it's really good. Is it as good as The Pink Book? Probably almost. I found mine here . Still looking for The Pink Book? Check it out, I found one here. Are Japanese craft books still popular? I don't see them on blogs as much as I used to, which might be better on my budget but I miss them a bit. 

 

Also a friend of mine made something fantastic and she's put a tutorial up for it.  You can check it out here.  Seriously, go take a peek.  It's on my list of things to make, maybe even this week. If I can get it together. 

 

I was totally grateful for the fantastic weather we had. Not prime beginning of summer weather like most people want, but cool-breezy-bit-of-rain weather that was delicious.  It will be turning into some 90 degree weather at the end of the week so I'll be living it up for sure until then. 

 

Ok everybody, have a great week! xo

Splash!

You maybe remember this post almost a year ago when I talked about my super favorite life changing thing. If you watched the video, you know that it's my Olfa Cutter. 

 

When I came home from quilt market there was a parcel waiting and inside... well isn't it lovely?  It's the new Olfa Splash, and it's just in time for me to dive into some summer sewing. And you can't start sewing till you get your fabric cut!  I'm an Olfa girl through and through, and I think I'll enjoy this newly updated model a lot.  Thanks Olfa for sending the Splash to me!

 

Turns out tomorrow is Sewing Saturday with my two Debbies. I have a project all ready and waiting, so I'll do some blanket stitching while I'm there. 

 

And if that's not enough then I'll stitch my Back-to-School quilt together. The rows are just waiting for me to get busy!  Do you have big plans for the weekend? Have a happy weekend!!!! xoxo

 

The one with the excuses

Here come the excuses.  There's a bunch of pictures to follow, but of course when I'm looking I see many many pictures missing. Because I forgot to take them in the excitement. Like OMG I have no photo of Monica, even though I saw her several times, but not enough times. For sure.  What about Polly and Laurie?  I'm a super huge fan and I did get to see them, a couple of times. Evidence of said meeting? Non-existent.  (Have you seen their new book? Dying over it. )Same goes for Barb and Mary, and  Bari! Ok, at least with Bari I have her booth.  Sweet sweet Ever Kelly, saw her. Even got to chat. Pictures, not so much. Nireko? I totally love her and chatted with her for ages. She's moving away and I'm so sad she won't be near in miles but of course always as close as my computer. What there is, tons of pictures with me in them on other people's cameras! YIKES. I'm usually behind the camera, not in front of it. 

So you can see, for all the pictures that follow there are twice as many friends who aren't here.  (Jona in her cute skirt, John, holy cow he's looking good, KATHY BROWN!!! Where is Kathy Brown? Roseann?  Mary? Vicki? Little Lady Patchwork, Kerri?)(I know I'm leaving out tons of sweet people and I HAVE NO EXCUSES.)( Holy crap, what about Sharon???? I don't have pictures of Sharon??)

Here's what I have in no particular order:

Shari Butler's Booth

Lori Holt's Booth

Tasha and her booth

Brioni

Busy Bee Quilt Designs.. love this little area. Sad to not meet them.

Jill's booth

Joanna's Booth (cute cherries right?)

The Totally Adorable Camille (miss you Bonnie)

Bari J. Love that wonderful pot of flowers. No good photo though.

Kimberly and Debbie with Holly and I

Cherri House

Gina, The LizzieB Girls always super fun!

The ever Lovely Sarah Fielke

Johanna from StitchCraft who was able to tell me she'll be in the next Quilt Sampler! Congratulations!

And that I'm sure is not even close to all the people who I met and hugged and chatted with. If you're not listed here it's because I'm lame! Forgive me.  The people are the best part of quilt market.

P.S. WHERE IS PAT??? What the....

and Sherri and Anna and the other Sherri and Anne and Candace..

Getting it together

Good morning my wonderful peoples! How are you?  I'm up and at it this morning, sure maybe not as early as usual, but I feel rested today. Yesterday was a nice relaxing catch up day, but today I need to get with it. My market stuff is all over the house and I can't get busy with anything till I start putting it away. 

 

So right off I'll share some pictures of the booth.  Can you believe how cute it is?  The banner Holly designed looks fantastic, and you can really see those nice picnic scenes that are in the Pam Kitty Picnic Panel. We're kicking off the 10 year Anniversary of LakeHouse fabrics you know!

All the projects in the booth are from the Pam Kitty Morning and Pam Kitty Love collections, LakeHouse sells on paper only, meaning we don't have any Pam Kitty Picnic fabric yet. Most customers know our quality and that we deliver what you see in the booklet. Selling this way also insures that we print enough fabric so everyone who orders during the sales period gets their fabric!  Having projects available shows off the nice color and quality and as you know, each collection goes with the previous collection! 

 

Here's my little work station! I loved sitting here and showing off all the wonderful fabric and projects! And speaking of projects,  you can see some of Holly's new patterns there!  It's Sew Emma is now publishing her LakeHouse Quilt Patterns and they're adorable.  You can see the Sweet Things series here, and soon there will be Pam Kitty Picnic patterns. Just wait till you see the Lunch Box pattern!

 

The first two days of market, I barely left this table!  I'm  excited that so many people came and ordered the fabric and so many people came by to say hi!   (how many times can I say 'so many' in one paragraph?)   Sunday I did sneak out for a bit to see some pals who also had booths.   I don't have tons of pictures, but now days there are plenty of photos on the internet for you to find!  You can also check out my instagram pictures here.  I don't know about you, but sometimes I forget to get out my actual camera and just take phone photo pictures.  Honestly, I'm in way more pictures than I took, which ... well YIKES!  Not my usual situation!

 

People it was amazing and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to work with Holly.  You know she's the real genius behind the scenes, and it's my good fortune that "I" have three wonderful fabric collections with LakeHouse.  I know that in the next few days  the LakeHouse website will updated and you can see all the wonderful prints coming in this collection.  You can get a peek at some of them on the home page. 

 

Ok, I'm going to try and get back to a regular schedule here. In the meantime THANK YOU  all so much for your support! You guys are wonderful! xo

 

 

Showtime!

If you're at Quilt Market come and say hi!

Thursday

Holly and I are living it up before we go finish up the booth! Hope its good with you guys! Xo

Month Six

Good morning!  By the time you read this, Holly and I will be in Portland for Quilt Market! I'm very excited to show people our latest collection, Pam Kitty Picnic. 

 

 

 

But first things first, it's time to talk about our homework for this month! We're six months into this so I better get cracking with sewing it all together.  I always have such great intentions, but right now the best I have is the blocks sewn into rows and the sashing rows put together.  Later this month I'll tell you what I'm using for sashing and posts, and give you the  yardage amounts. 

 

Ok, so here we go! First up is True Blue. 

Soldier's Aid Nine Patch

Log Cabin

 

 

Empty Spools

Old Maid's Puzzle

 

And here they are all laid out! It's huge right?

 

It's all very exciting.  If you haven't already been, head over to the Jolly Jabber to see what they've been up to. You can count on lovely photos with them, not to mention precision piecing.  Be sure and check out our flickr group too.

Ok, hope you're having a good week! xo

Monday

Howdy! How was the weekend? Did all you moms have a great weekend?  I had a fantastic time, my family treated me pretty darn nice.  And when I wasn't being catered to, I managed to get the last of the stuff ready for the trip.  Lots of odds and ends to find.  Holly has been slaving away on her side of the bay on all the fine little details of putting a collection together.  

 

Finished up one last thing.  I was thinking of a Simple Shopper, something soft that could be rolled up in a purse for a trip to the market.  Here in Alameda County we have a Reusable Bag Ordinance that prohibits single use plastic bags in certain circumstances, so carrying a shopper is a must. I like the shape and size.. so when I get home I'll work on pockets etc.  I've taken to just carrying my ATM card with me into the market, so some pockets might be cool.. well then it's just a purse right? It's a work in process.  But I think cute enough? And of course I'm IN LOVE with the spot handles from Inazuma. I hope they'll be at Spring Market. They have so many great handles, bag frames etc.

So I'm rambling.  Tomorrow our homework is due!  I've got that all ready to go while we're driving to Portland!  I can't believe it's the sixth month!  That might be it for me for the week.. I know plenty of people will be tweeting and instagramming and blogging from market so that will keep you busy till I get back. I am looking forward to showing off Pam Kitty Picnic and seeing all my twice-a-year market friends.   Have a great week everybody!!! xo

Friday

Hello Friday! It's a mixed blessing for sure, on the one hand it's always nice when the weekend rolls around but on the other HOLY COW IT'S ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE FOR MARKET.  Thanks everyone for the lovely comments and emails about Pam Kitty Picnic!

 

Here's a little teaser just to keep you interested!

Now back to business.  Yesterday was a cute mail day for me.  Tasha and I  had a little swap and look at the goodies I received yesterday!  Of course you all know my love of little florals and those top two are sewing sweetness aren't they?  It's all divine.  She included one of her little illustrations that could not be cuter. Everything about it adorable!

I'm so lucky to have meet so many wonderful people blogging, and Nanette is one of those extra-special friends to me. She gets me.  I received this cute little banner from her as a surprise. It's super cute, the little kitten is even wearing satin slippers. Extra special because, well Nanette is extra special.

 

I'm so very very lucky.  And lucky to have all you friends near and far who check in with me and see what I'm up to, leave comments, or even no comments, just hanging out. I know you're there and I hope you know how much  I appreciate you! Have a great weekend. xo

Wednesday

I have to be honest, it's becoming harder and harder to keep calm!  Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments about Pam Kitty Picnic!  I can't wait to show your more, but think cherries and roses and daisies and plaids and dots.. not to mention some adorable kittens and puppies! And the projects Holly has designed to show off the fabrics are simply charming.  I am pretty sure you'll love them. 

 

Today I'm off to the studio to help out with some odds and ends.  And one of the odds and ends here before I go is to name the winner of the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks magazine. Suze.. who said "Congrats on being included in the superb magazine. It is amazing. I like the yellow and white background. It really makes the Crossed Spools pop. Thanks for the generous giveaway. Your blog is the first that I have noticed that tells of a giveaway in the magazine, too. I think we all like giveaways." Email me your address and I'll forward it to Quiltmaker!

 

Ok friends.. time to get ready for the day!  I hope yours is wonderful! xo

Pack a sandwich!

We're going on a picnic!!!

Finally, I get to reveal my very exciting news!  Holly and I have collaborated on another Pam Kitty LakeHouse Collection. We're pretty happy about it and I hope you are too!  Working together with Holly is always great fun, for me anyway! While she's working hard to bring you a beautiful collection that has all the details you've come to expect from a LakeHouse line of fabric, I get to sit next to her and say things like "OHMYGOSH THAT IS SO CUTE!" and "OHMYGOSH OF COURSE WE NEED THAT IN 4 COLORS!"and the regular "OHMYGOSH I DIDN'T THINK THAT COULD BE ANY CUTER BUT IT IS!" 

 

You can count on Pam Kitty Picnic to play right along with Pam Kitty Love and Pam Kitty Morning.

 

I can't wait to show you more of the collection. If you're traveling to Quilt Market we hope you'll come by the LakeHouse booth at 2249 and say hello and take a look at our booklet! We've got a trick or two up our sleeves and we can't wait to tell the shops about it!

 

Thanks everyone!!! xo

 

Friday

So what are you up to? I can't believe (as I say every week) that another week has flown by.  Did you get what you wanted done or are you just happy to see the tail end of it?

 

Got some sewing done yesterday. Elizabeth has made my Fat Quarter Bag available in pdf form, and I thought I'd whip up a couple just for fun.  What I like about them is the ease of construction and the fact that I can make up a bag out of those fat quarters I've  collected!  I also like that the flap has a magnet sewn into the flap to keep it closed.

 

Anyway, that's about here. I hope you are still following the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks blog tour!  It's been fun right? Thanks for all the really nice comments yesterday. I totally appreciate them!!

 

Ok, hope you all have a happy weekend! xo

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Hop

Good morning!!! Welcome to the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 7 blog tour!  I'm always thrilled to be included in this great magazine.  Thanks to the people at Quiltmaker for including me!

My block in volume 7 is called Crossed  Spools and it's on page 71. It looks a lot more complicated than it is, and Quiltmaker has written  up some nice instructions for it. 

 

Great instructions and full sized patterns make this magazine a winner!  Also there's a Block Tester's Gallery, where you can see some pretty quilts made up with blocks from this volume.

Here's an option that I came up with.  Pretty simple, using my favorite yellow dot and yellow LoveBirds on white! You can always count on seeing something yellow on white with me!

 

I hope you leave a comment here, for a chance to win a magazine from Quiltmaker,  and be sure and hop to the Quilty Pleasures blog as there are prizes there as well.  When you get your magazine, check the last page for a contest there.  Did you know you could win the actual blocks in the magazine?

 

Ok, time for me to get to work! Have a great day! xo

Panic Season

Good morning!  It's another beautiful sunny (also hot) day here! I hope you're having a good week.  It's May 1, can't you believe it?  I'm just popping in to remind you that the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks blog tour is going on.... have you been touring all the blogs?

 

There are so many great designers with blocks in the magazine, it's been fun to travel from blog to  blog and see their posts and get to know some people you might not already know. Tomorrow is my day, so I'll be back to share my block!

 

Ok, back to work. It's countdown time, we leave for market in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS.