The Name Game

Good morning! How was your weekend? Busy?  I saw a lot of blocks  for the Splendid Sampler pop up in Instagram and Facebook!  Sunday's block is courtesy of Celine Perkins.  It's called Simple Simon and it's just that! You can click over to The Splendid Sampler for the block instructions. Here's my block. 

In other exciting news.. Pam Kitty Morning is featured over on Cindy's blog, Live a Colorful Life!

 

If you've been wondering how the name Pam Kitty Morning came about, head on over and check it out.   It might not be what you think! 

 

Spending time back in the sewing room has really paid off for me.  I have two nice kits cut for  my retreat.  I'm thinking that's probably enough to keep me busy.  Hmm what next.  Maybe I'll tackle some of my ufo's sitting around.  I can go through the stuff piled up at the archaeological dig site...oops I mean my sewing table and find something.  Like maybe those blocks I started last year. WHO KNOWS.   Anything could happen!   Have a great week friends! xo

 

P. S. HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY!

TGIF

Hi there! Happy Friday!  Hope your week has been a happy one!  I've been a busy bee this week, working in my sewing room, doing a little of this and a little of that.  First things first, yesterday was Splendid Sampler day!  Did you download your block and get busy?  Happy Happy is the theme of Jen Kingwell's block, and indeed it is happy.  I love Jen's style, don't you?  I remember the first time I saw her Green Beans and Sweet Beans Quilt at Quilt Market I lost my mind I loved it so much.  She continues to wow me each time she makes a new quilt.  Magical is all I can say.  Anyway, I love her block and while mine is a bit of departure from hers with no embroidery, I felt happy making it.  I love how people are putting their own spin on it.. check out this block by Debbie Taylor.. so cute.  I  love the machine applique on it.. the 'x' through a couple of flowers and the bird!  Perfect addition. 

 

While I was working on my kit for the retreat, which is still a couple of weeks away, I stopped to try out a block from the American Patchwork and Quilting sew along, It All Adds Up.  This block is from the Easy Addition quilt by Brenda from Just a Little Bit Frayed. Just in case you don't know Brenda, she's a fabric designer and  a shop owner as well. Check out her blog to read about all the other things she's up to. 

 

Anyway, I saw this scrappy version on the All People Quilt instagram feed.  (made by Jeni Baker)  I love that kind of scrappy, so I pulled out a bunch of my low volume prints and got busy. I pulled reds for the pluses and all the low volume prints I've had over the years and got cutting.  Today I'll cut the accent pieces, then do all the subcutting.  Once I'm done I'll pop it in a bag and I'll have a second project ready for retreat sewing.

 

So that was my week in a nutshell.  How was yours.  This weekend we're celebrating my mom's birthday, that should be fun!  Any big plans on your side of the screen?  Are you sewing along with  The Splendid Sampler, or what about the APQ Quilt Along?  There are so many wonderful sew alongs right now!   Ok, happy weekending! xo

 

 

Construction Zone

Good morning!  It's week two on the kitchen update.  It's been pretty painless.  Eric Dennett, our contractor, is probably the tidiest person ever known to work on a house.  We've had him here before, and so I already knew this.  I could only wish we were that tidy.  The countertops and appliances were removed and there' s not a spec of debris anywhere. 

 

I can't even complain too much about the inconvenience. Well honestly, I could because I'm a professional  complainer but it's not that bad.  Coffee is in the main bathroom in the hall.  My inexpensive Mr. Coffee has a timer, so for the first time in many years I set my coffee up at night and when I wake up fresh hot coffee is waiting.  Not as delicious as a cup brewed in a French press pot, but still, pretty good.  That's the taste of convenience.  I can stay in the back of the house and mind my own beeswax while Eric does his thing.  Quietly, and very politely. 

 

Still it's weird to have someone else in the house during the day.  I find it hard to concentrate.  I head off to my retreat the second weekend in March, and so I've tried to focus on cutting myself a quilt kit.  I'm not good a focusing in a group so cutting stuff out before hand is a must.  Of course I won't get near the amount of stuff done as anyone else, but I need something to do!  This will be something for me and I'll tell you all about it later.  In detail.  Every. Boring. Detail.  

 

Ok my friends!  I'm headed into a busy day of walking around the back of my house drinking coffee and pretending I'm busy.  Hope you have a good week! If you feel so inclined, tell me what you're working on. 

 

Oh wait!  Did you see all the QuiltCon postings on IG and Facebook?  What did you think?   Also, did you check in with Pat and Jane, another Splendid Sampler block is available! Melissa Corey is the designer of the third block, Lots of Love.  Check it out!

 

Alrighty, time to move it along! That coffee won't drink itself! xo

Thursday

Goood morning!  How is your week going?  Things are hopping around here.  Work on the kitchen is moving along. It's exciting.  I have been spending my days in the sewing room, not that I'm really all that focused to be honest.  These Splendid Sampler Blocks are just the right size bite of sewing to work on.  Not that I have gotten much done.  Too much chaos.

 

Its Quiltcon West weekend, so Instagram and Facebook will be filled with pictures from the show, can't wait to see them.  So much quilt energy in one place should be a blast. 

 

Tell me what you're up to. Any big plans this weekend?  Can't wait to hear about it.  xo

 

 

Monday

Morning! So do you have a day off?   Bret is home and he's helping me get the last of the preparations done for  tomorrows Kitchen Kickoff.    It seems weird that by the end of the day the very last of that avocado green should be gone from this house.  When Bret first bought it there were green heavy drapes, green sculptured carpeting, green appliances, green cabinets, green countertops, green everywhere.. it was nuts.  Bit by bit we eradicated it and after all these years, it will be gone. In today's demo-it-days it seems crazy that we still had any green at all, based on the ease of remodel on TV and people's dissatisfaction over anything dated.  

 

Yesterday was the Splendid Sampler kick off and by 9 am when I first looked the Facebook group was filled with completed blocks.  So many clever fussy cut hearts!  Very cute.  The block is simple and sweet.  I like fusible applique, so mine is machine blanket stitched.  Don't you love the patchy background? 

 

 

This little candy message cracked me up.  Pat often  includes a 'wink' in her writings, and when I saw it I totally laughed out loud, it's Pat's block and there's her 'wink'. 

 

Looking forward to Thursday and the next block, by Jane.  I haven't made it yet, but I know it's pretty!  Hope you're stitching along with us!  xo

Happy Valentine Day

Good morning!  Happy Sunday! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

I hope you have a nice day planned, whether it's full of romance or full of doing whatever the heck you want.. both seem just fine, right?  Add in a cup of coffee and it sounds perfect! 

 

Exciting and on today's agenda, the first  official block reveal of the Splendid Sampler!  I hope you'll head over and check out the cute block that's first on the list.  And if you get there too early, be patient, you can read all about The Splendid Way to do Things.  Remember, it's for fun and not for stressing over! Make what you want, try what you want, be happy, be nice!   It's pretty simple. 

 

Ok, I'll show you my block Monday or Tuesday.  It's pretty cute.  I can't wait to see yours! xo

Friday

So another week comes to a close.  How was it? I didn't make one move forward with those bunnies but I got a couple more Splendid Sampler blocks done.  The very first block reveal is Valentine's Day, can't wait! 

 

 

I think my favorite part will be seeing everyone blocks unfold.. so many pretty combinations.  So far I'm totally crushing on Charise's blocks, but I have been a fan for a long time.  Check out her blog, so many wonderful projects.  I love her color sense,  fabric selections, photo styling. Well you should go and see for yourself. 

 

Ok, time to get busy.  Kitchen work starts next week, so I need to finish getting ready.   My sewing room closet is the access point to the crawl space and attic so that hot mess needs addressing.  Its this kind of situation that really makes me miss Frankie even more. She is a good helper and would have that done in no time.  Me, I like to complain and put stuff off.  But I guess after this many years you guys already know this! 

 

Happy weekending everyone!  Tell me all about your plans! xo 

Monday

Hi there everyone! How was your weekend? Filled with festivities of the Super Bowl??   Did you join the rest of the sports-free by heading out to anyplace normally crowded?  That's what we did! 

 

Also on the agenda this weekend, was the last of those rabbits!  I still need to cut sashing and borders but right now I'm just glad they're done.  I had slowed myself down  by cutting each rabbit out separately, sewing it, then cutting another.  There was a large piece of the background fabric left over from backing another project, so I was using the oddball piece to cut .. also time consuming.  When that piece was gone I made the calculations and cut the last 6 out and phew, that made the process about a thousand times faster.   I know my down fall is trying to make the most economical cuts instead of following the pattern.  I'm my own worst enemy in that respect. 

I know some of you are thinking Pam, your background/ear selection just doesn't make any sense.  Where's the contrast?  If you look at Elizabeth's pattern, you can see she uses a dark background and white ear.  I decided I wanted a field of bunnies hiding in the flower patch, and I didn't care that some ears had more contrast than others.  I like how it turned out, but if you're going to go this way on your own bunny quilt you might want to choose medium fabrics for ears if the lack of contrast bothers you.  A nice  solid light pink could have worked, and I think the the ears with more contrast probably make more sense for the traditionally minded. Next up is cutting the sashing, hopefully this week.

 

What's this you say?  This is a bonus  block for the Splendid Sampler.  It's something you can make to test out your fabric selections or just have fun while you wait.  The 'official' blocks begin on Valentine's Day February 14... and I can't wait. You can make a block and share it on the Facebook Page, and see what everyone else is up to. Did you join up?  The last I peeked the membership was at 10,644 and climbing!  Can you believe it?    I'm very excited to be part of this fun project.  I hope you'll join in. 

 

Ok, that's a lot of reading for a Monday Morning!  Have a happy week! xo

Friday

Hi there Happy Friday, gateway to the weekend!  Did you have a good week?  Seems like I did so much this week but I only have two little rabbits to show for it. 

 

Fortunately, I have the rest cut out and ready to sew on my table this morning, so maybe, just maybe by next week I'll be AT LEAST showing you the rest of the rabbits.  But don't count on it. The days just seem to come and go and while I feel like I am hustling through them, I have very little to show for it. 

 

Big doings this weekend anyone?  With the Super Bowl in our area there's lot of additional festivities.  Super Bowl City is right near  Bret's office  so he got a first hand glimpse of it this week.   I'm sure that there will be plenty of Law and Order somewhere to pass the time with, for those of us who aren't fans, right? 

 

Ok everyone, have a happy weekend!

 

 

Monday

Good morning!  Happy Monday everyone!  Did you have a nice weekend?  I managed to get some sewing in, made two more bunnies and I think they're pretty cute.  They're fun to sew.  Today I'll cut out another one.

 

The weekend was fun as Frankie was home.  We're having some work done in the kitchen soon and she came and packed up everything in the cabinets for me.  There was still plenty of time for visiting and that's a treat.

 

What were you up to?  Hope it was fun! xo