pieceful kwilter

how i spent my weekend

2012-01-31T14:57:00.000-05:00

i was sick of looking at my four walls, so i took off south to the FIL's...it was needed, i was stale and needed some fresh country air.

i packed up the featherweight, the dogs, and off we went.

i set my sewing station in the big bay window. let me tell you, it was N.I.C.E. i sew in a 'basement' and i have a tiny window that doesn't let in much light. look at all that natural sunshine! i could barely tell if my featherweight's light was on or not. it did get hot sitting in the sun, but it was a perfect trade. plus it was an excuse to use my christmas present!

here's the view from the window.

the goats have had their kids, so watching them play was nice....watching a baby goat figure out it can hop and run will put a smile on my face in a heartbeat

check out that one's hairdo...pygmy goats have huge personalities...

i got my blocks for the swap done. (there's still time to play)

just wait- all those blocks are going to be different! 30s repro goodness!

this is going to be one super duper quilt! i have a feeling some will wished they had joined...i already know how i'm going to quilt it!

i helped turn a tree in the front yard into a nice pile of firewood. i didn't swing the axe or wield the chainsaw, but i did my part and my back is still sore from chucking all that wood :)

during a break, lucky hung out with me and this picture has become my favorite cherished picture. i have tones of pictures of the dogs, but i'm never in them.

here's a picture of the stump. i really like the ring's wavy lines...such an odd growth pattern.

i only wish i knew someone who could of turned me a wooden bowl from it.

as soon as we got home, the dogs crashed. i guess running around like two banshees sniffing and peeing on everything is tiresome :)

i love it when lucky's ear sticks out like that...

funny story from the weekend:
FIL started a fire in the fireplace and went out to get more wood and came back in and wanted me to go see if i heard the weird sound in the garage. i went out and i did indead hear a noise but i knew instantly what it was. lucky was snoring. i had put the dogs in their crates and zipped up the covers and they were snoozing hard...

so that's how i spent my much needed weekend va-stay...

making do

2012-01-30T19:01:00.001-05:00

i saw this quilt on Flying Bird's blog and i instantly feel in love with the back ground fabric. (image source here)

i went to ikea's website and it's not available for online purchase (guess they really don't want my money) and i'm just not going to drive to downtown atlanta to get it...our ikea is not easy to find.

but i do have this fabric in my stash (penny for scale)....it will basically give the same effect- a very large scale B&W. plus i won't have to worry about keeping it directional

win win!

i apologize, lord watch over the starving pigmies in new guinea

2012-01-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

i want to apologize to edie. i was gently reminded that i did not post her christmas quilts she made, and i was reminded in a tone that suggested i get right on that *giggle* in my defense, this computer is getting quite cranky when asked to anything...
she was quite busy...so here goes:

she made another poodle quilt like this one

a beautiful floral quilt

i quilted a leaf meander with yellow thread.

a double helix for her daughter (technically quilted after christmas, but who's writing a book here right? :) )

i quilted something i don't normally quilt on customer quilts- a pebble filler, but this quilt screamed that it was what it wanted, so i obliged.

here's the back which really shows the helix design of the quilt.

she also made two quilts with a military theme and i seem to have missed taking their picture...

and since i'm posting pictures and my computer and blogger are play nice together, i'll carry on.....

there's betty's space rocket quilt made for her grandson....i was with her when she bought the kit

i quilted elliptical swirls in orange thread. really cute

melanie's quilt she made for herself at christmas. she proudly told me, "i'm keeping this one!"

sue's vintage hand pieced 9patch. i love this quilt and have tried to make her promise to let me use it when she's finished with it.

quilted with my signature E2E i call cotton candy, which if i may say, is perfect for this quilt.

also, out of all the vintage tops i've quilted- this one was perfect! it wasn't perfectly 'square' but it was flat....

here's a couple of my favorite fabrics...

she blogged about it here

that's all right now...i'll be back later with a couple of MY quilts i finished to share....i'm keeping busy!

already, again??

2012-01-23T20:06:00.000-05:00

that pesky birthday thing is back :) today marks the 35th time the earth went around the sun since i started breathing- 35....not too shabby. i did notice the other day that i have a little patch of grey hair *shrug* i've had a grey eyebrow hair for a couple years now, so i knew the grey head hair was going to be setting up shop soon...

i had a fun day sewing with friends at lisa's house. i worked on my 30s swap blocks and ate chocolate cake.

i found out this weekend that i share my birthday with the wonderful Bonnie Hunter. very cool....a fellow 123 baby. i wonder who else shares my birthday

*goggling that* here's a list if your interested....i recognize some names...i see a princess...hello! where's my name????

also of note- today is chinese new year, the year of the dragon...新年快樂

weekend in stitches

2012-01-22T19:07:00.000-05:00

what's the point of having a LA if you never quilt your own quilts?

so, i quilted one of mine today! it might look familiar to some- its the spring block swap from 2010!

i quilted a new to me design. i've seen this design floating around and i figured it was time to actually give it a go and stitch it out. it's a leaf echo fill. i'm calling it 'forest floor'.

i ran to Tiny Stitches while i was out getting lunch (and i had to get lucky some food) and found this great fabric for the binding. it's a green ombre and i pieced it to where the color change continues across the seam. i think it'll look awesome. i plan on sewing it to the edge as soon as i publish this post.

doesn't it look like a pile of lettuce?

and i decided what i was going to do with those hand dyed fat quarters from last post...

i cut them up last night for the HST idea.... i really liked bonnie hunter's quilt with the cheddar yellow and the florals and i have a stash of floral fabrics....so i'll save the jacob's ladder idea for those...

i cut (12) 4 7/8inch squares from 13 FQs...should give me a nice large throw sized quilt.

i already know how i'm going to quilt it- FEATHERS (as if there were any doubt :) )

i couldn't sleep last night, so i pieced this small wall hanging from the leftovers from cutting up the FQs.

so that's what i did last night and today. the weather was perfect for staying in and sewing!

now what...?

2012-01-21T18:46:00.000-05:00

i am very proud of myself! i have fiished a couple of UFOs and will reward myself by starting something new!

so i want to ask your opinion:

i have these fat quarters and the 'black' batik that have been sitting on a shelf and i have decided that it's their turn to be a quilt.

so do i make a quilt like this using the humble HST (image source here)

Or do i go a little more 'fancy' and make a jacob's ladder a la bonnie hunter, but use the black where the yellow is? (image source here)

either way, what i like is that with the hand dye 'solid' look of the fabrics, that the quilt will have an Amish feel to it- a contemporary Amish quilt.

so which would you vote for?

the eyes have it

2012-01-19T16:43:00.000-05:00

working on getting the SAL all pretty for yall....i'm thinking i'll start it the first-ish of February, so check back for it.

"i'm ready for my close up"

barney hasn't has his picture here in a while....and you can't post without a picture...

barney was on his bed and the sun was coming thru the window just right. i love that his eyes are the same color as he is...he's such a spoiled pooch.

Sew-A-Long 2012 intro

2012-01-16T17:30:00.000-05:00

i did it!! i finally got my idea for this year's BOM out of my head and committed to graph paper. i'm not going to call it a BOM, cause it's not; it's more of a sew-a-long, so that what i'm calling it. all related posts will have the SAL 2012 as a tag label for easy reference later.

the quilt will be 75inches by 90inches pieced. the measurements do not include any borders, i'll leave that up to you. i have dreams of a pieced border, but we'll have to see when it's done.

here's some thought points:

i designed this with a scrap purge in mind. meaning, that there will be no need to go buy any fabric! you could, but it will be hard to figure out what would go where as i'm not writing the directions that way. if i choose an orange for a block and i don't have enough of that specific orange scrap, i'll cut into another to make the block....cool, huh? i do have some fat quarters sitting around that i will use for the 'larger' blocks.

there won't be a definite posting date. i will post the next step as i go. i will be making this along with you guys, so it could be every couple of weeks, or once a month *shrug* we'll just have to see. all steps will be available throughout the year.

there will be five different block sizes (so far). some times you'll make X number of this size block and X number of this size block. at the end of the year, i'll show you how it all magically fits together. it might also take a bit longer than a year, but i'll try to keep it within a year, but no promises...after the last two years of BOMs here, i want something a little bit more relaxed and not have the stress of getting something posted by a specific date.

this is meant to be fun and burn through some scraps. so, you wanna play?

are you feeling lucky?

2012-01-13T10:46:00.000-05:00

happy friday the 13th!

BOM star

2012-01-11T12:57:00.000-05:00

Roxane picked up her quilt this week. It is a BOM from the LQS. i just realized it was my first customer finish for 2012!

After putting around 50 hours into a show quilt around christmas, this was a nice break. i'll share pictures after it's debut *promise*

there was a sliver of sunlight coming thru the window and i tried to be all artsy with the photo....

my favorite- feathers in the border....

i died and went to heaven

2012-01-08T18:57:00.000-05:00

i died...i mean dyed and went to fabric heaven

long time ago, i tried my first fabric dying experiments and well, they were my first, so not exactly the prettiest. so i cut up all my rejects into 4 1/2" squares, sewed them into 9patches. i made a couple, then lost interest. since i'm trying to finish some of my UFOs, this one was in the pile.

i finished making the required 9patches and dyed some yardage for the borders and sashing. i cheated tho, i bought liquid RIT dye......in navy blue. guess someone at the factory is color blind. it came out purple....*shrug* oh well....

i realized during the piecing that i had a good tip to share. it's how i get my seams to line up across the sashing without having to use cornerstones.

sew a strip between your blocks as normal, then just like when attaching a border, measure your length for the long sash and pin mark the centers. sew and press towards the sashing. on the wrong side of the sashing, use a ruler to mark the seam of the sash between the blocks on the raw edge of the long sash piece..

Line the lines of the ruler to the seams to keep everything straight.

i use a chalk pencil to mark the lines.

line the chalk lines to the pieced seams of the rows of blocks with sashing strips. pin really good so the fabric won't shift.

ta-dah, the sashing lines up across the long sashing without having to piece in cornerstones and it's nice and square.

i'll be back later with some quilting to share!

January 2012 block swap

2012-01-05T21:37:00.002-05:00

okay here's the link (found an oops- corrected version 1-6-12) for the .pdf directions. i included all the answers to all the questions i got asked and included all the info for ones who have never participated in a block swap.... *i think*

there is no 'sign-up list' just make the blocks and mail them to me...open to all who want to play.

DEADLINE- they must be at my house by March 31st, 2012. i hope to get them swapped and the squishies released back into the wild before tax day (april 15th)

any questions- let me know. email addie over --->

this will be one gorgeous quilt, and i think many will be sorry they didn't do it when they see the finished top, just saying....

happy stitching!

ETA: just a real quick tip: when you sew the corner units to the "PLUS" units, the seam from the flip and sew white corner will not line up to the plus fabric and white seam on the raw edge of the pieces. they will match up however 1/4inch in from the raw edge. this is important to keep from losing points....i meant to add this to the instructions, but forgot.

how 'bout a block swap

2012-01-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

i was thinking the other day that i'm ready, if yall are, to host another block swap.

i was thinking we haven't used 30s reproductions yet, so that will be this one's fabric theme along with Kona white.. i haven't sit down and done the math for yardage yet, just putting out some feelers to see the response.

here's the block....it finishes at 12 1/2 inches and i'm thinking 30 blocks for a 62 1/2 inch by 73 1/2 inch top without any borders.

so the block will be 6 fabrics: Kona white for the background, the dark gray '+' in the center, and four different fabrics in the corners. clear as mud?

here's the quilt mock up (i design in grey scale) as you can see, i think this design looks true to a vintage 30s quilt and will also require no additional setting- just sew the blocks together and border ifinyawanna.

i'll work on the yardage math tonight and get some instructions started...i'm thinking of have a mailing date about the first of march....

wanna play?

boo to you and BOM housekeeping

2012-01-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

i sent my halloween quilt to Linda to be quilted and i can say that it is a finished quilt. here's pictures straight from the dryer.*crinkly quilt goodness*

there is nothing better in the chill of winter than to wrap up in a fresh-from-the-dryer quilt. it's the seond best type of hug.

i've decided to call it 'boo to you'

here's the great stripe i used for the binding, cut on the bias of course.

here's the back. i am in love with that lime green buzzard.

BOM housekeeping:
at the end of january i will be removing all the posts that pertain to 2011's BOM. i will also be removing all the block pdfs from my Etsy store. double check that you have saved or printed all the pdfs. once they are gone- they are gone *period*

i'm currently working on 2012's BOM and i think you'll like it too. it going to be scrap friendly, but i'll get into that later!

ear bud makeover

2012-01-02T18:18:00.001-05:00

what do ear buds bloom into??? hehehe

so, i've joined the online social thing and recently reactivated my long time deleted facebook page.....then meg invited me to join pinterest, and who am i to say no? let me warn you- pinterest is a fun time suck thing. you start looking at others' boards and clicking links and the next thing you know, eight hours are gone. *opps* (but since the holidays have made it impossible to find anything i haven't already seen on TV, pinterest has been a fun distraction)

image source

as i was clicking around on pinterest, i saw this pin and immediately thought i wanted to try it. i made a smack load of friendship bracelets in high school, so this was right up my alley. (the link under the pic will take to all the places i went to figure this out. i already knew how to make the knot that twists like that. they call it 'chinese stair steps', but i know it as 'french twist')

i have embrodiery floss, but way back before i started LAing, i hand quilted my quilts with perle cotton. i bought three skeins of this beautiful hand dyed thread and since it's just sitting in a drawer- mize well use it...

about 8 hours later, stretched out over the course of last week, this is what i have

*drool* pretty pretty

awesome, if you ask me....

here they are with my phone...a match made in heaven.

*perfect*

so then i decided that my new fancy earbuds needed a mode of transport. i remembered seeing Erin's circle earbud pouch tutorial around christmas. this was exactly what i had in mind.

so a couple hours this afternoon and wha-la, my fancy-smancy earbuds have a new home.

the really cool thing about this- the knot-wrap around the cords keeps them from getting all tangled up.

so, there it is- my first project of 2012...

fah lalalala la la la

2012-01-01T17:16:00.000-05:00

i promised a christmas wrap up (pun intended) post....

i choose to add to the stress this holiday and i made all my presents (which i will do again, just get a eariler head start this year)

i made two faux feedack pillows for my dad using our family farm's name. It's a certified black angus farm. i got the idea from this tutorial. i don't have the fancy cutter she has, so i cut my stencil from freezer paper with an exacto knife. i kept the test pillow for myself *wink*

for my dad's girl friend, a clothesline fabric wrapped basket....i've not met her yet, so i hope she likes it.

i made a table topper for davis's mom. i used Atkinson Design's "Happy Holidays" table topper pattern and made the medium size. it took some convincing for her to actually put it on the table. she didn't want it to get dirty. she also got one of the wedding frames from this post.

i made lots of pillow cases.
davis's dad got this set which match the southwest theme he loves so much. they get to sit on this quilt i made him last year. he also got a wedding frame.

neice's pillow case set. she's not a matchy type, so her's are both different.

neice #2 set. her favorite color is blu, altho it photoed green

nephew's pillow case set. he was a bit difficult to make for. he's goth and loves black *sigh* solid black pillowcases can be bought. i put on my thinking cap and it hit me- i used moda's "grunge' black and found a nice grey homespun for the cuff. very proud of that one

i made three of my flanged pillows (my tutorial here)
one for davis's bother and his fiance. she loves black and purple and i knew immediately what fabric in my stash would work. i tried to make his 'manly' i quilted them exactly the same....

i love the purple thread on the dark grey
so his had to have blue on the tan...

i also made one pillow for my FIL's girl who's-a-friend. she bought new couches and nothing she already had really 'matched'. now she does *grin*

i love making gifts for family and friends, but am a bit bothered that they won't use them cause they are scared of them getting dirty/worn/torn/etc. i found a good response to those concerns: "i want you to use them, that's why i made them. it's a compliment to me if you love it to death. and if you do love it to death i promise to make you another one in a different color" worked like a charm.....

i wasn't gonna mention anything, but Davis accepted a job as an electrical contractor and is in Afghanistan. he was scheduled for R&R in january, but surprised us all when he walked in during the family get-together. i love surprises! that was my favoritest gift- having my hubby home for our first married christmas....so i have one itty bitty favor, when you think of him; send a up good thought for his and the troops' safety over there. thanks...he will be 'bouncing' all over afghan. he jokes that his new service truck is a black hawk....

so what did Santa bring me?

i was apparently a good little kwilter cause i got a SewEzi table for my featherweight. i even got the accessory tray...and i also have the clear insert that makes it a light table.

davis made me a para-cord bracelet. it's nice to be on the receiving end of a home made gift....

i bought myself a new ruler at Intown Quilters (on sale). i needed one. my old one is about 8 years old and the markings around the edge are worn and some are gone...my old ruler was 6.5 x 12.5 my new one is 8.5 x 12.5. i can't wait to use it.....

oh- for those that think i'm sitting at home alone and all vulnerable......i'm keeping myself busy. i knew that stash would come in handy.

...oh, and i have guns and know how to use them *giggle*

auld lang syne

2011-12-31T23:45:00.000-05:00

i want to wish all my readers a very happy new year! thank you for giving me a reason to blog....i can't wait to see what 2012 holds for us all

May your best of 2011 be the worst of your 2012!

i just got use to writing 11....

hey you

2011-12-28T19:47:00.000-05:00

these are too additive...

christmas post coming soon...promise

hey girl....

2011-12-22T18:08:00.000-05:00

i've seen the ryan gosling 'hey girl' photos....but he doesn't really make my dress fly up....

that's better!
*hehehehe*

merry christmas!

2011-12-21T11:11:00.000-05:00

have a very merry christmas!!

i'm busy finishing up christmas presents. i was sick last week and slept for a couple days- that put me a little behind, but i'm feeling much better now, so it's back to a sweat shop in the studio.

i'll be back later to share some quilty goodness.

making new friends

2011-12-14T20:52:00.000-05:00

this past weekend was spent south at the FIL's and i popped over to visit my livestock friends.

hanna was very affectionate and i learned that she is low donkey on the totem pole- everyone picks on her (but me)

the ram was in with the nannies and he was feeling a bit territorial and was posturing to everything...i wish i could of got a video of it- he makes this 'thhppbt' sound and rolls his tongue around outside his mouth. not very scarey if you ask me....but i'm not a goat

i learned that her name is not hannah, but racheal *shrug* oh well....she comes when i call her hannah....as far as i'm concerned- her name is hannah. she sits her head on my stomach and i scratch behind those big ole ears...i want a donkey one day- they are cool!

wasn't hannah and racheal sisters in the old testament??

mack is getting fat....fat mack-a-doodle. he was happy to see me and keep snickering everytime i walked off to pet hanna

bubba was in a bit of a frisy mood- he wanted to play head butt games (i think the ram was helping that situation) and well, i'd be out weighted by, ohhhh, couple hundred pounds....so he got left alone.

i did make new friends- meet polly porkchop...i'm not kidding- that's her name

i do not recommend hand feeding a pig....they think anything put in their mouth is food and will gladly devour it. i almost lost my thumb. i'm so not kidding...

everything tastes better with bacon....

i don't do anything 'simply'

2011-12-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

i dove into scrap booking for the first time. i've always wandered thru the scrap booking aisles at the stores wondering what all the beads and baubles were really used for...

for some special people at christmas i decided to share some wedding pictures, and well, the 'artist' in me tends to go a bit over board on these type of things....

*phbbbth* anyone can put a picture in a frame...i found some float frames at Garden Ridge (whatever you put in there is sandwiched between two pieces of glass, so you get to decorate the back too- double the sticker surfaces) i found all sorts of fun vegas and wedding stickers and such to play with! the background has multicolored very sparkly glitter- very Vegas!

on the back i put our wedding info...my favorite embellishment? the color-them-yourself stickers

i think the frames are a bit 'plain' so i'm going to get a gold and a silver paint pen and some sticky back rhinestones in gold and silver and 'ritz' up the frames a bit....

i think they'll like them...i do....so much i made one for me too!

december in the south

2011-12-05T13:15:00.000-05:00

today is december 5th and this makes the humidity in the summer worth it....

*phbbbbt* to those knee deep in snow....i have my windows open hehehe

of course we tend to get more stereotypical winter weather in January and early February.....for about 2 or 3 weeks then we start to see spring temps.....

the only drawback i can find- i can't do any snow dyeing...but there is a ice rinkup the road that dumps the zamboni outside.....

another UFO finish

2011-12-04T18:28:00.001-05:00

for very long time readers, you might remember these blocks...

i've had the blocks for a while, sewed them into a setting in June and set them aside to wait on christmas fabric to go on sale. this past weekend was that time! (a couple of 60% off coupons helped sweeten the deal. thanks cindyt!)

i found the perfect outer border- that house stripe, then found a nice holly leaf on green to use as the inner. i also bought binding (a plaid that 'matches' the houses) and backing. i used the 60% off coupon for white batting- something i don't keep at the house...

i'm hoping to get it on the frame and have it finished in time for christmas!

(for those of you that are particularly observant- notice that the last block in the third row is that same block i used in the summer swap.....i'm so sneaky that way *grin*)

swap blocks

2011-12-03T19:33:00.000-05:00

i just finished sewing the blocks from this summer's swap into a flimsy. i made an extra block or two for a total of 25 blocks. the only problem with that is that i now have a square quilt (it measures 72"square) so i'm stopping at this point to contemplate adding a pieced flying goose strip to two opposite ends to give me a rectangle.. WWUD? (what would you do?)

i also wanted to share a picture with you. it shows what happens when your sewing machine needle gets dull or has a burr (from hitting a pin. yes, i sew over my pins- call the quilt police *grin*) instead of the needle sliding through the fabric, it pushes a thread down with the stitch revealing the non-printed parts of the weave. this can happen during piecing as well as during machine quilting.

if you notice your fabric is doing this- it simply means your needle is dull and it's time to change to a new one. 'they' say to change to a new needle at the start of every project, but if you're like me, you are working on multiple things at the same time...here's what i do: i wind 8 to 10 bobbins and when i empty all of them, i stop, blow out the dust bunnies, and change my needle.

#12 BOM Block December

2011-12-01T09:00:00.007-05:00

merrily done!

December's Directions .pdf

and

Quilt Setting directions .pdf

don't forget to add your quilt progress to the flickr group.

linky over there ---->

WTH!!???

2011-11-29T14:14:00.000-05:00

so this is laying, dead, in the driveway...it's not a little crawdad either- about 4 inches long....

hmmm....

no small feat seeing as there is no creeks or bodies of water close to the house....there's a creek about 300 yards behind the house....

wonder how it got there????

thanksgiving wrap up

2011-11-28T13:38:00.000-05:00

thanksgiving was spent south with davis' family.

went hunting friday, with no luck- but there's enuf deer in the woods to have better luck later....

i got to do something i've never got to do before- lay pennies on a train track. we stopped at a transfer track intersection and the front train was stopped while the back train passed. i placed three pennies on the track and waited....

(i learned that those type of train cars carry automobiles to savannah to be shipped overseas- how cool)

i was surprised how loud the noise was as the train ran over my pennies *thunk thunk thunk* then when the pennies vibrated and fell off the rails, no more thunks......it was cool!

the holiday weekend was pretty uneventful- except when i locked the keys in the truck and had to call a locksmith on thanksgiving afternoon....that wasn't cheap.

squee

2011-11-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

i'm not a fan of tennis shoes.... i'm not very athletic. if i need to run, it's caused i've emptied my clip, it's not dead yet, and still chasing me *laugh*

i was reading julie's blog and saw her post about her new shoes and *swoon* i had to have my very own pair...

now, i do! i just need to figure out where i can go so i can wear them...

sunday sunday, da da da dadada

2011-11-21T12:07:00.000-05:00

i had to get out of the house...

i popped over to Joann's to use my 60% off coupon. i bought some extra wide backing to put on my curvy rails fence...i found some nice bright pink that was perfect!

while i was out and about, i decided to stop in at Tiny Stitches (i needed to get binding) and bumped into some friends and had a visit....

thanks to everyone who commented with suggested names for the quilt...i liked kathyrn's suggestion and simplified it to "Wiggles". i can't say the word 'wiggles' without smiling....can you?

on the way home i stopped by one of the high school's craft fair. i've seen the signs in previous years, but never stopped and i wasn't in any hurry to get home. HOLEY MOLEY!! every hall, the cafeteria, and the gym was packed with artists selling wares.

i bought some dog treats that came in this cute pair of elf pants...honestly, the dogs lucked out- i only bought the dog cookies to get those pants....too cute!

then it was off to home- so i dug out my serger and made some pillowcases (like all i bought was backing and binding)...i made two sets of christmas themed ones and a cute set with apples and trees. it's hard to see, but the cuff of the apple set has names of all the apple varieties in between the zig zag....perfect!

so that's what i did yesterday....someone alert the media *grin*

curvy fence

2011-11-19T17:51:00.000-05:00

remember the blocks on my design wall from the bottom of this post?

it was september's block for the block lotto and i didn't win, but the idea of a quilt made from curvy rails really intrigued me, so i made one from my batik stash.

it's a biggie- 104inches x 112inches...

how bout that B&W inner border? L.U.V!

i got stumped when it came to the outer border...i wanted something that would blend and not compete with the blocks. i found this one today and i knew the minute i saw it that it would be perfect for this quilt.

what should i call it? 'curvy rail fence' is a bit uncreative for my tastes *grin*

the quilt parade continues

2011-11-16T13:59:00.001-05:00

this time of year turns me into a flimsy serial killer *giggle*

alberta took home her two.
first her bird embroidered quilt

i quilted a simple loopy E2E and outlined the birds

second, her tree quilt.
a fun quilt to quilt.

a simple meander in the background and zigzaggies to help sell the pine tree shape

sharon picked up her boyscout quilt.
made with badges...

a simple meander behind the patches and CC in the setting rectangles. the yellow inner border has a design i've named dovetail and a spiked swirl in the red outer border.

melanie picked up her spinning christmas stars.

i quilted E2E scrolls. this is an design i've been waiting on the perfect quilt to use it on. i have plans on quilting it on one of mine soon, after i get all my payfers christmas quilts done first....

winner winner!

2011-11-15T16:42:00.000-05:00

it's time to use mr. random number generator to see who will win the pouch...

i threw in a FQ of the fabric (it's an OOP fabric by Jean Wells copyrighted 1995) and a key fob i made.

thank y'all that entered and welcome to all the new followers!

congrats to Rosa in Spain...send me an email (half_square AT hotmail DOT com) with your addie and i'll get it in the mail for you!

11-11-11

2011-11-11T13:50:00.000-05:00

thank you to all the soldiers, veterans and active duty, for defending my freedom. thank you to the families for their sacrifices in support of those soldiers.

i want to share my newest quilt!!

i wanted to get out of the house this week, so lisa hosted another sew-in at her house. i finished my to-go quilt 'Weedwacker', and didn't have anything readily portable to take. then it hit me....

i had all those way-extra strips i cut for for Echoes and caroline mentioned on my halloween UFO finish post about the moda bake shop pattern that used 2.5" strips to make a neat spiderweb quilt, so i grabbed all my fassett strips and of to lisa's we went (barney is welcomed as well).

i spent the afternoon sewing strips together and cutting 60degree triangles...so in the afternoon i stopped and laid out some triangles on the background. we had to run up to the walkway and look over to get a better idea....L.U.V! so more strip sets were sewn.
this is what i have so far, and i have decided to make it bigger, so this weekend i might sew some more strip sets (lord knows i have the strips).

i found the perfect border lurking in The Stash....rotary cutter for scale.

it's going to be a fun quilt!!

yesterday Nemo was treated to a spa day.

his old shoes were replaced by the new M&M Wheels from APQS. what a lovely difference!

i would of took pictures, but i don't think you'd been able to see thru the mess. the machine and frame had to be partially deconstructed, and it's tight in my studio to begin with....

since i had nemo out of the frame and upside down i decided to repacked the grease in his bobbin box (it was needed) and now he purrs. he's like a whole different machine!

there's so much more to LAing than stitching....there's all this maintainence stuff that needs to be done too...

we've hit 300!!

2011-11-10T18:44:00.003-05:00

i promised to host a giveaway when my followers reached 300 and folks *snoopy happy dance* that time has come.

WIN THIS POUCH i'll see what else will fit in the box if there's room.

no special hoops to jump through- just leave a comment on this post and you'll be entered to win. i'll use some random way to pick a winner tuesday, November 15th. i have to have a way to contact you, so make sure if you are an anonymous commenter or a no-reply that you leave your email addie in your comment.

thanks for the milestone y'all and good luck.

*GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED! CONGRATS TO ROSA IN SPAIN*

busy bee

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000-05:00

i killed a couple of flimsies last week....

vickie picked up her black and gold BOM

i custom quilted it

detail of the center.....i love the feathers!

kathy took home two:
first her presents quilt

i quilted it with my E2E i call 'cotton candy'. it's my version of the '3s and Es' design

and her red and green wall hanging

it presented some unique and fun quilting challenges

theresa picked up her jacob's ladder quilt

it's to be a Christmas present for her brother. there are quilted words that are meaningful to both her and her brother. i hid them so well, we had a hard time finding them when she picked it up.

after piecing the back of my halloween quilt, i had just enuf fabric left over to make a pair of pillow cases. i found the perfect! cuff fabric in my stash.

i went to Joann's this weekend to pick up a couple things to finish some projects, and i found more of the buzzard fabric (i named the buzzard Elmer, he looks like an Elmer) so i'm the proud owner of 3 more yards of it. now i have another future holiday UFO *giggle*

and my husband *grin* sent me some floral love today! thank you honey, i love you back

we are only 3 followers away from the pouch giveaway...

speaking of milestones! i almost forgot- friday was my seven year anniversary as a long armer...SEVEN years!!! (that's alot of thread) i quilted my first 'payfer' quilt on November 4th, 2004. thank you to all my talented customers who have allowed me the honor of quilting their quilts...i can't wait to see what the future holds!

October Block Lotto

2011-11-04T12:11:00.000-04:00

for October, the chosen block is bonnie hunter's scrappy trip around the world and how could i resist! the only requirement is that the fabric that is on the one diagonal read as dark, preferably black.

i like little hidden things in 'scrappy' quilts like this one, so i tired to use a novelty print as one of the strips in each block...

this is fun thing to do...go over and have a look. participants are from all over the globe.

remember my 'Echoes of Color' quilt? it uses this block. after making that quilt, i was all "count me in" in this month's block lotto.

i am in love with the style of quilt the block produces! scrappy goodness overload *grin*

i actually considered the black diagonal for this quilt, but ended up not doing it...

i usually don't make the same quilt twice, but if i don't win the blocks, i might have to make another quilt with the black diagonal....

#11 BOM Block November

2011-11-01T09:00:00.008-04:00

sew thankful...

November's Directions .pdf

don't forget to add your block progress to the flickr group.

linky over there ---->

see you next month!

another flimsy finish!!!

2011-10-29T18:44:00.000-04:00

i am full force into my T.O.D. mission and finished up another UFO.

this was a in-pices UFO sitting on the shelf for a while....i didn't have a Halloween quilt mostly because i didn't ever really like the Halloween fabrics on the market. then i found this cute little group. i lucked out and found a current fabric for the outer border that fits in perfectly...

i was hoping to get it done by this Halloween, but i'll have it for next year and getting it done feels good- deadline met or not!

i'm trading quilting with another LAer. i want a specific design on it- Spiderwebs in purple thread by Munnich Designs. it's a computerized design and she has a computerized machine. i'll freemotion quilt a quilt for her in return...yes, i am quite capabile to quilt it myself, but at this point, just don't want too..i want it done.

check out this backing fabric i found....it's perfect. it almost made it into the outer border, but i found that other fabric that fit the feel of the quilt better.

i love the little lime green buzzard....and the cheeky owl.

now i have empty spot on my shelf...now to find the next UFO to finish up.

if you made it this far, thanks....i made a drawstring pouch for a gifty and went ahead and made two....so when my followers hit 300, i'll have a give away for the extra one!! surely 20 more people will admit they like my blog *grin*

the main fabric has neat quilt block illustrations and the words are 'instructions' for how to do various quilty stuff. i found the fabric at a garage sale a long time ago. i think i paid $3 for about 3 yards of it. the selvage is dated 1995. here's the link to the tutorial i used.

that's all my wedding blocks on the wall behind it

Blogger's Quilt Festival

2011-10-28T11:29:00.001-04:00

i want to play this year! i've remember seeing this and kicking myself for not joining in (it's so simple), so this year i'm joining in the fun! Amy from the Creative Side is the wonderful host. stop by her blog if you want to play to!

My submission is my kitchen sink quilt, DoodleBug Jumbalaya.

i used all my leftovers, orphans, and test blocks. even the HST border was a refused border (twice, in two colors) from another quilt.

i used my favorite color, lime green, as the backing cause i knew i wanted the quilting to show.

after debating between quilting it with an edge to edge or a custom, i decided to custom quilt each block differently. i knew it would be a challenge, turned out to be a bigger challenge than i previously thought. the work was worth it! i love it!

i also used my 'trash back' concept with the quilting. (i left the picture big, so click on it for all the details.) with a 'trash back' i use up all my leftover bobbins from other quilts. so all the different designs are in different colors making the back almost as cool as the front.

it is one of my favorite quilts to date. it hasn't made it to the bed yet, but it's next in rotation *smile*

thanks for stopping by and having a look.

to steam or not to steam....

2011-10-27T13:33:00.000-04:00

that is the pressing question...*hehehe*

i'm a steamer. the hotter the better. when i press my binding i jokingly say i'm also get a facial

as a machine quilter, i can immediately tell which of my customers use steam and who do not. i am of the school that steam is my bestest quilting friend (that and a sharp rotary cutter blade)

see that backing seam- it was pressed without steam. it wants to lay flat, but not wholeheartedly.

i grabbed my iron, gave it a quick pass with my iron with steam, and WHA-LA. it submits *grin* a nice flat seam allowance...

i believe that steam helps press the seams 'better' and i believe that it makes for pointer points.

of course, a good pressing surface helps to. my ironing board is just that- a board. i took some furniture grade ply wood, covered it with one layer of warm and natural batting, and wrapped it in a good quality duck canvas. that's my ironing board. the next time i used it i notice a HUGE difference in my blocks. they layed flatter, and the seams were nice and crisp and my seams matched better with no fudging.

i have added to my board. i went to the GA quilt show and bought one of these ironing board covers (not affliated, just sharing). i like it...i notice i don't have to press yardage as long to get the startch to dry, so it does seem to reflect heat. but a warning- a helping hand or two makes getting it stuck to your board easier. ask me how i know....my goodness that adhesive sticks to itself and will not be easily parted...a few bad words were muttered.

so, there you have it- my opinion on using steam when i iron, do with it what you want.

i have only myself to amuse me sometimes

2011-10-24T20:01:00.000-04:00

i have made it my misson to finish up as many UFOs as i can.

i'm calling it:
Taskforce Operation Distraction-
Elimating All UFO Threats
(be it foreign or domestic)

this is my lastest flimsy finish. it didn't turn out quite as i envisioned

"A- I am a hounddog.
B- i don't cry, it's more of a whimper.
C- i chase squirrels, not rabbits.
D- i have enuf friends"

star blocks

2011-10-22T12:42:00.000-04:00

i can't assume that you read every quilt blog out there, so you might not have read about john'alee's quilt building effort or her call for help.

you can read about the story here and here (you might want to have some tissues close), and the block info is here and here's a picture of what she's gotten so far. there's more posts, once at her blog you can look around and read all the posts.....

i made four 8inch blocks and sent them last month...i forgot to take a picture, so i borrowed the one from her blog.

she has received enuf blocks for two quilts and she's making five (?)

she has extended the deadline to the end of November so, i made six 12inch blocks...

perhaps you could spare some time for a block or two???

2011-10-19T16:45:00.000-04:00

i have this fabric.....

this drawing....

to represent these for the wedding quilt.

i have gotten to almost the last applique block i have planned to make for our wedding quilt....The Shoes.

i'm debating raw edge to needle turn....

stay tuned

stitch, stitch, stitching away

2011-10-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

they arrived as flimsies and left as quilts *giggle*

robbie's daisy quilt

it was the first quilt she ever sent out to be quilted...she was very happy with the results.

roxanne's strip BOM

those blocks were little- 6inches finished....

and evelyn's scrappy railfence variation.

i like this block alot

redneck games

2011-10-17T15:44:00.000-04:00

Uncle John babysitting The Pig.

this past weekend my FIL treated family and friends to a cajun pig roast!! this was a treat for me cause i've heard so many stories about family pig roasts. (they do huge shrimp boils which i've had the treat to attend also)

The Pig has to be babysat. it has to be rotated every 5 minutes or so. then every couple of hours they roated the whole cage to ensure even cooking. all the work was worth it, it was deleicious...and the crackling was hands-down the best...

it was nice to meet all the extended family...and it made me smile everytime i was introduced as "davis's wife" *grin* see....

i was a very bad blogger cause this is the only picture i took....once all the cousins showed up with all their 4wheelers (we had 5 running), well, picture taking feel to the bottom of the pile...it's just too much fun racing around the fields.

it was fun to take the 'city' family to pet Mack, Bubba, and Hannah. one lady said that she never knew that horses were so big and she was amazed that i wasn't scared of him. "but he could kill you" she also had the opinion that bubba "smelt funny" i forget everybody wasn't raised on a farm....

we came home sunday afternoon and lucky crashed before i could get my shoes off. *giggle* and i wasn't fair behind him. i can't remember ever being asleep before midnight...

crap

2011-10-13T15:53:00.000-04:00

THERE'S ONLY 72 DAYS TIL CHRISTMAS!!!

didn't want to panic anyone, but i thought you should know. found this cool christmas countdown clock

time just flys by. why can't it keep the crawl i remember from childhood...

mail call!!!

2011-10-11T19:02:00.000-04:00

i got a mini squishy in the mail today!

carol sent me two blocks for the wedding quilt!!

one is in tribute to my granny

the other is embroidered with our anniversary (i like the sound of that)

she also sent me some of the left over fabric...

THANK YOU CAROL!!

"mom, i'm trying to have my 18th nap of the day here"

cuddly as a cactus

2011-10-10T12:14:00.000-04:00

i recently had the pleasure to quilt mary's grinch quilt.

if you'll excuse my indulgence, i think my cotton candy E2E was made for this quilt...

i love it when a good plan together...

another flimsy bites the dust and the parade of Christmas quilts begins *grin*

oh, i have to show you my design wall (and floor) today!

you know how i make blocks for the block lotto? in september we made curved pieced rail fence blocks (block tutorial link here)...well, i had a feeling that i wouldn't be quite lucky enuf to win two months in a row, so i dug through my batik stash and cut 132 rectangles to make a quilt using this block!!!

i have all the blocks made and waiting to start sewing into rows...it'll be big: 88inches wide by 96inches long. i'm waiting til i get it to a flimsy before deciding on borders....

weed wacker

2011-10-08T19:43:00.001-04:00

another flimsy finish...

i used Bonnie Hunter's Weed Wacker pattern. davis bought me a bunch of balipops for christmas and i used them for this quilt....

i need another flimsy like a hole in my head....

*snicker* anyone know a good machine quilter?

except for the borders, i pieced this entire quilt at sew-ins at lisa's house and at quilt-til-you-wilts at Tiny Stitches...

barney in his usual spot

Tennessee is playing Georgia tonight.....

GO BIG ORANGE!!!!

wedding blocks- last call

2011-10-03T19:21:00.000-04:00

here's the collection so far....i'm asking that if you are planning on making one (or more) to send, i would like to have them by the end of October, please. i'm anxious to get this one finished!!!

do you see yours??? see elvis??

i'm having way too much fun!!!

the fabric for barney's block i was looking for arrived and i got the both dogs' blocks done

barneys' block

barney is a tennis ball freak...he even sleeps with one

lucky's turned out cool.
he's the old man of the pack. he may not be able to keep up with barney, but he sets his own pace and catches up eventually.....and doesn't miss a tree to pee on

i was thinking

2011-10-02T15:49:00.000-04:00

it didn't hurt though...

so it's that time of year for me to start thinking about next year's BOM here on the blog....i want to do something different rather than one 12inch block a month with a traditional 3x4 layout at the end...

i'm open to suggestions...we could do bigger blocks for a larger quilt (but that would take more fabric) or we could do two or three smaller blocks a month (use some stash and be fat quarter friendly)....whatcha think?

#10 BOM Block October

2011-10-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

we are almost to the end...

October's Directions .pdf

don't forget to add your block progress to the flickr group.

linky over there ---->

see you next month!

another wedding block

2011-09-30T20:29:00.001-04:00

i have to share the block i just finished!!!

i was thinking what else needed to be represented in the quilt and it hit me like a ton of bricks- a wedding can't happen without a proposal

davis proposed on South Beach in Miami Florida. he tied the ring to a sea shell and let me 'find' it. very, very romantic!

i wrote "will you marry me?" in the center....i think it's funny- i made the proposal block on our one month anniversary....

i found the block in the third edition of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks. it's block #296 designed by Cindy Simms. the directions have it as a 12inch finished block, but i used EQ to re-size it to finish at 9inches...

poodles, noodles, and fabric- oh my

2011-09-29T16:26:00.000-04:00

edie came to fetch her poodle quilt yesterday. every fabric in the 4patch features a different poodle with very few repeats...

i thought about it while quilting this quilt- not that i ever would, but if i ever had a poodle own me, i'd name it Ramen....get it Ramen Poodle....i crack myself up sometimes...

i did, however, discover the long-to-be-thought extinct distant ancestor of the jackalope- the poodlope....here it is seen in it's natural habitat

*snicker snort* sorry, i couldn't resist.....

i have had fun making blocks for our wedding quilt, i noticed i have a hole in my stash. i have lots of mediums and i have darks, but i have nothing i consider pastel-y to use for backgrounds. so i bought some fat quarters....i should be good to go for a while. the bottom row is just cause fabrics....the cute little calico-y floral- i seem to have come home with two. i must of really liked it to buy it twice

luck would have it- the shop was having a huge FQ sale tomorrow. murphy's law, right???

in search of....

2011-09-28T19:34:00.001-04:00

image source here

...an OOP fabric.
in making blocks for our wedding quilt, i felt the dogs needed fair representation...so i had the bright idea to applique a paw print on a background that signified each one. i've been collecting saint-patrick's-day-four-leaf-clover prints for a while, so Lucky's block was an easy fix.....

barney is where i'm hitting a wall.....then i remembered this tennis ball fabric from timeless treasures from a couple years ago....this is perfect....and i was lucky enuf to find a picture of it on the web

here's the rub- i don't have any...*argh* but blogosphere is a large world and i'm not the only fabric ~~hoarder~~ collector

does this fabric look familiar??? i only need a 10.5inch square....surely someone bought a bunch of yardage to put on the back of their tennis player's championship tshirts quilt, but it never happened and now they have 6 yards of this green fuzzy goodness just sitting there collecting dust

hey it could happen....

*ETA* i got some...my friend Lynnfound it online at a shop in Texas! (thanks again) it's a RJR print, not timeless treasures... *squee*

who would've thought...

2011-09-28T11:55:00.001-04:00

take the time to watch this video....ingenuity is the mother of invention...

how cool is that???? too cool.....

what is that smell?

2011-09-27T12:23:00.000-04:00

i love it when barney hangs with me in the studio.

i don't like it when barney's belly is upset and he has gas....*stank!* my studio is in the basement and has no air current, so smells hang- just like the green clouds in cartoons

poor noodle....

do they make a canine Activa?..... i'll be running to petco for some wheat grass and maybe some cottage cheese in his food tonight....would yogurt help?

stitch, stitch, stitchin' away

2011-09-26T00:13:00.002-04:00

i wanted to share a couple applique blocks i did this weekend to add to our wedding quilt.

first a pair of pears (a perfect pair- hey just like davis and me *wink* get it?)

a cute little flower medallion

and our initials....

i'm really stoked about his one. i was wanting it to look like they were carved on a tree...and they do!! *sweet*

i have a bunch more planned and five cut out- ready to stitch.

(i'm not showing off- i do hand work while watching TV (and to keep me from eating) and i had some stuff i needed to watch to get it off the DVR....)

hooters

2011-09-23T14:47:00.000-04:00

no, not that kind...

<--- this kind

alberta made this cute hooterville quilt for her first great grand baby! (congrats)

i mean- how cute is that little owl!!! i just want to eat it with a spoon *grin*

i L.U.V. the plaid

a parting shot of the back

pick your brain

2011-09-22T10:13:00.000-04:00

i need to pick yall's brains....

i need help coming up with euphemisms for 'getting married'

all i've come up with is:
-gettin' hitched
-tying the knot

i know there's gotta be more...

wedding blocks progress

2011-09-21T12:46:00.001-04:00

here's all the blocks i have received so far.
i like how some of the blocks are repeated!

there's corthuse steps, steps to the alter, card tricks, nevada trail....you guys are so creative!

i love it!!! thank you to all who have sewn for us!

i made a couple (like i'd be able to sit quietly on the side lines)

i designed this block a long time and posted it on my my blog as a 12inch block....i reworked the math and made it 9inches....

for the purposes of this quilt i'm calling it 'true love star'....*ahwww*

the background fabric is almost the last yardage of one of my favorite batiks.

i made this nine patch with the vegas sign. finding the fabrics to go with it was fun...and i totally trashed my sewing room. i think i did good *grin* i swear i can here frank singing 'luck be a lady'

i also made this paper pieced star....i PAPER PIECED!!! the block is called 'desert corsage' and i found it very fitting!

i found a block named 'ball and chain' how can i resist not adding that one *snicker* and i have a couple applique ideas to add too.

i designed a block so i can include Elvis....

this quilt is going to be the BOMB baby!

quilt show part duex

2011-09-20T15:53:00.000-04:00

so here's the quilts that caught my eye for various reasons (and some that should of had a ribbon pinned to the border and some that already did)

this quilt was hand pieced AND hand quilted....

*don't forget, the pictures will supersize when you click on them. click the back button on your browser to come back here*

*swoon*

and it's in one of my favorite fabrics -batiks!

beautiful!!! i voted for this one for viewer's choice.

i seem to have not taken a picture of this one's tag...sorry to the quilter

this is the same pattern that theresa made (hockey love) from yesterday's post. i wanted to show how different the same quilt can look being made in different fabrics...

i hope i get enough wedding blocks to make a quilt like this! these blocks are tiny though- 6inches!

this one had a perfect name!!!

a great example of how to make a quilt from men's ties.

this was the star of the show: Best of Show, Quilter's Choice (voted by the quilters with quilts in the show), Viewer's Choice

it is hand pieced and hand quilted.

quilt show

2011-09-19T16:08:00.000-04:00

this past weekend was the East Cobb Quilt Guild's Bi-Annual quilt show, Georgia Celebrates Quilts.

there's lots of pictures....let's see if blogger will play nice

i had three of my quilts in the show.

Foot Notes

i didn't realize i'd miss this one...i took it off the bed to enter into the show, and didn't have another big enuf to replace it...*oops*

Echoes Of Color

it's so big, it's nice to have a 'entire' picture.

*don't forget, the pictures will supersize when you click on them. click the back buttonon your browser to come back here*

and the 2011 blog BOM, Galaxy, from here (it's blurry on purpose). this is what the quilt will look like for those sewing along, minus the blur *grin*

nothing like a show drop off deadline to get a quilt done. i got the last stitch in the binding and label with seven minutes to go before the start of drop off. *whew* i've learned to not submit a quilt to a show unless it's completely done!

i had eight customer quilts in the show:

this is why my blog has been 'quilting quiet' for the majority of the year, i've been working on show quilts....

Karen's Bali wedding star...108 inches square

almost 30 hours of quilting in this puppy...

it was awarded an 'Honorable Mention' ribbon.

karen entered her other judy neimeyer quilt.

it, too, was awarded an honorable mention ribbon.

Amanda's quilt.

it took second place in the catergory.

Diane's quilt.

karen's quilt (it's the same quilt as amanda's, but amanda modifed the pattern some)

it won an honorable mention as well.

theresa's quilt

it took third in it's catergory.
charolette's quilt.

jan's quilt.

it won second in it's catergory

teresa k's mariner's compass

alberta's quilt for her grandaughter

Suzanne'a applique. this is a small quilt, about 36 inches square. quite impressive hand applique...lots of little pieces.

tomorrow, i'll post my favorites!

some house keeping-

i released the squishies back into the wild for the block swap today. (if esther in canada and barbara in UK could send me an email, i'd appreciate it)

there were 17 participants, so you will have three repeated blocks- one of your own, and two from the lucky players that were in line next to you.

noodle head

2011-09-13T14:44:00.001-04:00

what's that little grey thing you're holding? doesn't smell like anything worth eating...

i'm a wienner!

2011-09-12T16:57:00.000-04:00

i play along with sophie over at the block lotto and august was my first time playing! the chosen block was an african violet month and i immediately knew how i'd quilt the blocks, so i made my nine and entered...and i won!!!

my violet patch is growing! i have started to get the blocks in the mail....today i got 3 from new zealand!

i'm thinking about a green prairie point border *shrug* i do know that i plan on hanging it in the guest room and renaming it the violet room :)

September's block was a pieced curved rail fence and these are my nine entries. *fingers crossed*

i also got two more 9inch wedding blocks today...when i get some more, i'll post a picture...i'm being lazy today

speaking of blocks- i plan on swapping the blocks for the swap this week. i'll post when i have released the squishies back into the wild...thanks for the patience...life is starting to calm down a bit...

wedding blocks

2011-09-07T16:22:00.003-04:00

two of my friends, Angela and Linda, got alot of my long arming friends together to make blocks to send to me for a quilt in celebration of my recent nuptials.

it was a nice surprise to open envelopes and find blocks. i was a little confused why i got three random blocks, then, i figured it out *smarter than the average bear* a couple phone calls and i found the culprits *grin*

i've asked both of them and they are okay with me extending the invitation to my blogland friends *clap*

if you want to participate, just send me an email (half_square (at) hotmail (dot) com) and i'll send you my snail mail address if you need it. the blocks need to finish at 9inches and you can make as many as you would like in any colors and design you find appropriate..the only thing i ask is that you don't sign your block, just attach or include a piece of paper with your info (name city state) with your block.

if you need some help finding a block, quilters cache has a lot of 9inch finished blocks here, just scroll down a little to the middle of the page...

thunkya thunkya verymuch

linda sent me some vegas fabric (with a velvet elvis card!) and angela sent me elvis fabric...i dug out my elvis fabric and was surprised how much i already had. plus VIP just released a new elvis theme collection (how's that for coincidence?) and i have bought yardage of it...this is goning to be one hunka hunka cool quilt... uhuhuhuh

ETA: #1. apparently everyone already knew about angela's 9inch block party....
#2. this post does NOT partain to vicky m's 12inch block 'secret squirrel' ...
who knew it could be so confusing....*sorry*

live from Las Vegas- our wedding!!!

2011-09-06T14:06:00.001-04:00

i know yall have been waiting for this post....

my bouquet with our rings

i was mistaken in my girly post about the last time i wore a dress....it occurred to me the other day, the last time i wore a dress was my high school senior prom....

all the traditions were kept:

something borrowed- vegas
something blue- my shoes (i couldn't find suede ones *snicker*)
something new- the dress

we were married in a small vegas chapel by Elvis! it was awesome!!

Elvis walked me down the aisle singing "Love me tender"

we had elvis themed vows, and i got our Elvis tickled a couple of times cause i am an Elvis fan and could guess what song title was coming up in the vows:

i promise to never step.... on your blue suede shoes
i won't leave you...at heartbreak hotel...or any hotel
i won't...return you to sender

stuff like that...

isn't davis handsome???

this is one of my favorite pictures....we had the photographer laughing ....and the chauffeur...
the chauffer, Dave, gave us a nice compliment:

"I've been driving for wedding chapels for over 20 years and i see one out of every 30 couples that have the spark. you guys have that spark and will be together forever. you guys have got it all figured out."

our first kiss as husband and wife!

now we start on our hunka hunka ever after!!!

Elvis has left the building- thunkya thunkya verymuch

vegas part three- sunset horseback ride

2011-09-05T15:12:00.000-04:00

wednesday evening we were picked up at the hotel and taken to a ranch in the desert for a sunset horseback ride.

i love horses and instantly felt at home and in my element

i rode a beautiful palomino named Stardust and davis rode a big grey Percheron mix named Goliath.

we met a nice couple from birmingham england and their two young daughters. the father was very cheeky and the two girls were totally taken with me. the three of us were inseparable.

this was 'camp' we ate here after the ride.

very pretty...see our guide?

we saw alot of rabbits, but no snakes. we actually had a trail dog that ran ahead to keep the trail free of snakes...
this is one of the girls on our ride....that's how she showed up to go riding. yes those are stilletto heels and a miniskirt...needless to say there was some giggling on the bus.

but i will say this- she got on the back of her horse and didn't complain once. she did ask me if she should change shoes. i told her she might want to....she ended up in flat gold lame gucci shoes.

our guides were a father/son team. after we ate, the father showed us some lasso tricks. the son showed us how to throw a lasso, and it's alot harder than it looks....

other than the wedding, this was my favorite bit of our trip.

speaking of wedding- that's tomorrow...right now we're keeping an eye on the TV. we have a strong rotation cloud (tornado) really close to us...two tornadoes were spotted on the ground and the sirens keep going off.....*scary*

vegas part two- what we did

2011-09-04T14:45:00.001-04:00

we were only in vegas for four days and two of those were filled with wedding stuff, and out flight out thursday was early so we really only had bits and pieces of two days to do 'stuff' wednesday evening we did a horseback ride through the desert- that post is later...

this is Paris Paris across the street from the Bellagio.

this is my favorite postcard shot!
(i get to see the real Eiffel tower next year!!!)

everyone told us vegas was hot- and it was. BUT the humidity was barely 10%. so it is a much more tolerable heat. we are used to 100 degree heat WITH 60% plus humidity...BIG difference! in vegas, standing in the shade is actually cooler...oh- there's no bugs!! no mosquitoes, gnats, flies NOTHING! you don't have to take a bath in Off to not get eat-n-up! that was nice!

we did walk a bit of the strip. we found a guy that runs a exotic reptile rescue and had this guy with him. this is norbert. he is a 5 year old black tongue monitor. his native home is central Africa. they can live to be 25 years old and weight in at 50 pounds.

i got excited when i was told i could actually hold him for pictures! a lady walking by thought it was fake, so norbert flicked his tail to show he was real and i thought she was going faint...

if you rubbed his head between his eyes, he would go to sleep...davis said i had to leave him there and i couldn't have one when we got back home *crap* norbert was cool.

we were walking through the casino and stopped to watch the action at a roulette table. a gentleman looked at me and smiled and i wished him luck...he won and gave me $2.50...gamblers are so superstitious

we went down to freemont street and found two 'showgirls' freemont street is considered downtown vegas. it was worth the trip. lots of street performers and artists...

one thing we learned is that vegas has really good (inexpensive) public transportation. for $7 you get an all access pass for 24hours to ride any of the transit. There's a double deck er bus called the Deuce that services only the strip stopping at every casino.

there's also a bus that services all the outlet malls...and then the regular buses.

it paid for us to look at all the stops and schedules online once we learnt this trick...much cheaper than taxis! when we go back (anniversary) we will rent a car tho, as none of the quilt shops are on any of the routes...

Freemont is where the skywalk is (called the Freemont Str Experience). it was awesome. they have recently added a zipline and had i not just eaten, i would of done it...you can barely see two zipliners in the picture.

when we go back i want to do the repel off the Stratosphere.

we stopped at a restaurant to eat at freemont str and davis ordered a double cheese hamburger. needless to say, we were both surprised at what came out on the plate...it is TWO grilled cheese sandwiches with the hamburger between!

it was 6 inches tall! davis eventually took off two slices of bread from each grilled cheese to eat it.

i played it safe and got bacon and eggs...the hash browns were delicious...i didn't get pictures cause *nom nom* it gone

tomorrow- our sunset horseback ride through the desert...

vegas part one- the belliago

2011-09-03T01:23:00.002-04:00

i'm breaking the vegas trip into 4 parts and you have to wait for til the end for the wedding pictures...i know, i know- i'm a stinker....i didn't take a whole lot of pictures....it was my honeymoon after all....priorities *grin*

we flew in and davis arranged for a limo to take us to the hotel...my very first time ever inside a limo!!!

we stayed at the luxurious Belliago. i told the lady that did my nails in the salon that it was like living inside a tiara. everything is lush and sparkly.
this hotel is amazing! i'm designing a 'formal' wedding applique quilt inspired by all the designs of the beautiful tile floors!! i was in total inspiration overload the first 12 hours.
the attention to detail is spectacular. i mentioned (to anyone that would lsten) that we were there to get married on tuesday, and i called down to the front desk for something on tuesday morning and i heard, "yes, ms. baker how can we help you" OMG i felt like royalty. after the wedding on wednesday we called down for a maintenance request (stopped up sink) and the front desk answered, "hello mrs davis. how can we help you?" OMGG the front desk was the first to refer to my married name!!! i *squeed* around the room and davis was all "what?"

the one thing that caught my attention were all the flowers!! roses every where...i'm not talking about one or two either... no.... dozens everywhere. and every surface is marble...the floors, columns, desk tops, the planters....marble everywhere...

this arrangement 'sits' on the check-in desk. i estimated at least 12 dozen in there. there was a big fountain planter behind the front desk that was easily 5 times this big (you can barely see the corner on the left) crammed full of roses.

there were 4 of these strategically placed along the front desk and on each side of the concierge desk. see the phone for scale?

with the time difference we were up early one morning and walked down to the lobby and there was an army of staff changing out the flowers....

davis and i both noticed how friendly the staff was. everyone greeted us and we were always asked if we needed anything or if there was anything they could do for us. even the housekeepers. alot of posh hotels don't allow the 'underlings' to interfer with the guests. it was a nice personal touch and made me feel ~~rich~~ classy....

these sit on the table in the middle of the waiting area

another awesome thing was the installations of Chihuly! i saw his installations here in ALT at the botanical gardens and recognized them immediately.

this is the ceiling in the check-in/ waiting area. each flower is about 2-3 feet wide and the whole installation is easily 100 feet long! there were more sculptures in the bars along the casino, but photos aren't allowed in the casinos... don't want to get anyone in trouble

the Belliago is famous for it's fountain dance in front of the hotel. you might remember the last scene of Oceans 11 (george clooney/ brad pitt's remake)- that's the Bellagio. water shoots 100s of feet into the air...it's amazing! you can always tell when a show is getting ready to start- the balcony fills with people jockeying for the perfect picture spot.

the video stops before the end of the show, someone stepped into my view finder blocking the show ... you get used to that...the 'explosions' are the air jets propelling the water. there's tons of videos of the fountains on YouTube...turn down your sound down a bit before clicking to play....

couple of shots of the bellagio:

at night (one of my postcard shots)

the Belliago is HUGE. most of the casino/hotels take up an entire city block (then some). when we went down the hall to our room, it looked like there was a mirror on the end reflecting back. that's how far away the perspective point of the end of the hall was. trippy...

the main front door canopy

the 'little' fountains and the indoor gardens inside.

these were chorographed to music. (not a good thing to watch when you need to go potty)

another area of the indoor garden

doesn't that tree have a tim burton feel? we were told they change the gardens to reflect themes and seasons...the green house on the left housed exotic parrots

there were painted parasols in every dome

another cool thing i liked- they have express elevators. we were on the 12th floor and had a bay of elevators just for floors 12 thru 24. so from the casino floor up to our floor was a 5 second ride... great for when you needed to potty after watching the little fountains

we had a view of the pool from our room. a fountain/strip view was a bit out of our budget.

so that's where we stayed...i'll share what we learned about vegas later. you know, the stuff we'll know for the next time...

#9 BOM Block September

2011-09-01T09:00:00.004-04:00

moving right along....

September's Directions .pdf

don't forget to add your block progress to the flickr group.

linky over there ---->
see you next month!

being a girl is lots of work....

2011-08-28T16:20:00.001-04:00

those who know me physically, know i'm not a girly girl nor anywhere close to high maintance. a clean tshirt, blue jeans, and my tevas (cowboy boots in the winter) is my everyday uniform. with all the bridal 'pretty-fi-cation' rituals i've been through this week alone i feel feminie and extremely girly. *scary*

let's see, what all have i done...

-bought a dress!!! i haven't worn a dress since i was like 8...easter maybe...

-shopped- period. for shoes, purse, jewelry, underwear, hair accesories *whew* and none of it was purchased at the same store. i have no patience with malls or stores. i'm a know-what-i-want-and-where-it's-at kindda shopper

-professional haircut, usually self done with my best 'paper' scissors whenever the ends look straw-y

-manicure AND pedicure, where i was told that i should do that every month. the lady that did my pedicure was not happy with my 'callouses' *shrug* sorry

-spray tan...word of wisdom- close your mouth...(that's good advice for just about any situation really)

-getting fitted for undergarments for the dress...it's true, ladies, we wear the wrong size...and a spanx suit should be registered as a modern day miralce by the pope in rome...bye bye muffin top

-home facial...now i glow (and everyone will think i'm pregnant *snicker*)

-teeth whitening

-TMI, but i have no hair where it's socially unacceptable and then some- 'nuff said...

bless his heart, davis actually noticed. his eyes lit up, "you look like a girl" as opposed to what??? thanks honey... i'll try to remember to shave more often *snort*

it's been fun playing dress up, but i'm already looking forward to coming home and slipping back into some camo *grin* hunting season starts soon.....

do you feel that?

2011-08-24T11:42:00.000-04:00

i went to drop my wedding dress for alterations and across the street was a mcdonald's. i'm sitting in the drive through when i noticed that the truck was subtly moving. the truck has been idling rough and acts like it wants to jump the brakes. usually just letting it inch a bit forward stops this....hmm, it's still shaking.

i'll tell you exactly what it felt like- it felt like when i sit at a redlight on the bridge over I75 and you can feel the bridge move a bit from all the 18wheelers going under. i know that i'm sitting on slab concrete....*eyebrow knit*.....wth?

couple weeks ago i was sick with the ear infection, feels like vertigo. a quick swallow- nope...hmmm....

we live close to a rock quarry and on wednesday they blast, but at this point it's lasted too long and it's not wednesday....hmmm...

i turn off the radio- nope, i'm wasn't feling any bass...now i'm confused...oh well, it's my turn to order...*nom nom burger*

this was right before 2:00 yesterday.

i get home and watch fox news- an earthquake??? huh? well, that explains it...i'm not jumping on the OMG-we-had-an-earthquake panic bus, but i'm kinda glad that i decided to stop for a double hamburger otherwise i would of missed it.

estoy aqui

2011-08-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

meg let me know that i haven't posted in a while and she was agettin' worried. i'm fine (and so is barney)

i'm fine just really really busy. i'm working on my last three show quilts (one is mine) and i'm planning my wedding.

*pause for effect*

yup, i'm gettin' hitched. davis and i will be jetting to sin city next week to tie the knot. so that has been occuping all my nonquilty spare time. i never knew how many small details go into wedding planning. *geez* they're like rabbits- you get one detail covered and it causes two more to pop up...

elvis had confirmed his RSVP (like i'd get married in vegas without elvis- that's blasphemy)

oh, there will be pictures, thunkya thunkya verymuch

the geeks shall inherit the earth

2011-08-17T17:58:00.000-04:00

my poor sad slow little computer is on it's last legs. i wouldn't be surprised if it died soon. when i try to open a large content webpage, my processor sounds like an airplane taking off. it was so loud it used to scare barney...

it's been a llllooooonnnggg time since i PC shopped. i want something that will support windows 7 and blogger (duh). i have to have large storage for pictures and documents (i'm open to an external hard drive)...i dream of adobe photoshop. i'm teaching LAing now, so i'll need programs for that....

i'm thinking i'll look at Dell and HP (not the touch screen tho) laptop or desktop?

block swap reminder

2011-08-16T13:36:00.000-04:00

if you are working on the block swap, blocks need to be at my house by August 31st, 2011 (about two weeks). you still have time if you were considering it....

motion of the ocean

2011-08-12T13:12:00.001-04:00

i have a quilt to share!! all these show quilts have left my blog empty of stitching goodness. i promise the wait will be worth it!

this is laura's ocean waves quilt. you know i was *drooling* over all the fassett fabrics! i'm in quilt love

simply devine!!! a simple CC in all the HST and my tribal swirl in the big corner triangles made a nice secondary design. the inner border is ribbon candy with a tribal swirl vine for the outer border.

on the sickness front- i went to the doc yesterday and i have an inner ear infection and a cold with NO runny nose. i've lost my voice and i sound all wheezy when i breath. i feel much better than monday and have gotten back to quilting *yay* thanks for all the well wishes...

i'm calling in dead

2011-08-10T15:36:00.000-04:00

crap- what a loverly time to get sick...sore throat and rise krispie ears when i swallow *snap crackle pop*

but on the bright side, there's Nyquil...and Dayquil. i love modern medicine.....and 16 hour naps *giggle cough*

i got my ECQG show acception letter today. all three quilts i submitted will be in the show.

we had SEX during a FART

2011-08-08T17:12:00.000-04:00

i bet that title grabbed your attention *giggle*

me, lisa, and barb has a Stash Expanding eXperience while on a Fabric Acquisition Road Trip. *rim shot* bada-bing! sometimes i worry about me....

couple weeks ago, we drove down to A Scarlet Thread in McDonough and stopped by Quilts' n Fixins in Jonesboro on the way back (no pictures. they were having their BOM pickup day and it was really crowded)

this was my first time to AST after they moved.....OMG- the mothership returned to take me home!!

this is a small section of their batiks *drool*

i bought some fabric- my second favorite color is camo, so i couldn't resist those. AST has a large table of yard cuts that if you buy 5 or more they cost $5/ea, so i found some good stash builders in there...my favorite- the strawberries..the two oranges on the top right came from Quilts n Fixins

you say 'obsessed' like it's a bad thing

2011-08-07T19:29:00.001-04:00

that's funny it's spelt just like sewer (sue-er)

i pulled a dory....i saw sewer (soe-er)
*sew - a needle pulling thread, la - a note to follow sew*

block lotto

2011-08-06T10:31:00.001-04:00

i follow the block lotto blog and this month's block is an 8" african violet block. i immediately knew how i'd quilt the blocks, so i joined for the first time. i hope my beginner's luck will help me win....

lesly emailed me a link to this great beluga video....at a wedding at an aquarium a mariachi band serenades a beluga. too cute!

GA aquarium the end

2011-08-05T18:12:00.000-04:00

the topic reef exhibit is fun.

the reef aquarium actually has waves that come in every couple of minutes...there are numerous touch screen monitors that will give you info on all the different fish and corals

you can swim with jellies

isn't this pic awesome? very proud of that one.....

there are luna jelly fish too. the color inside the aquarium changes, other wise you wouldn't be able to see them.

(you can click on any picture to get a bigger view. then just click the back button on your browser to come back to my blog)

dory will give you free whale speaking lessons

marlin and nemo will show you the awesome view of the desirable drop off

(there are three clown fish in this tank and one really did have a messed up left fin)

the new dolphin exhibit.

which was so HARD to see because there is a large opaque window wall behind the glass.....not the best. most of the exhibits are in the dark with little 'nightlights' along the floor so you can see to walk....why, oh why, did they not do that for the dolphins???

local tip- the general admission ticket does not include admission into the dolphin show, but you can go up and 'observe' them....if you can see them through the glare from the windows...

there is also a south american exhibit. i didn't get pictures of the piranhas....they feed them on saturday, i think?

these are ochirds (?)... they are like our oscars, so many colors

by the time we got to this section of the aquarium, i was kinda tired and my picture taking enthusiasm was waning and my batteries were dying (i took almost 200 pictures)

then this turtle swam by

and back again. he's got a cute nose...

and there were these pretty fish. they almost glowed...

check out the orange one in the top right corner.

pretty pretty

but i liked the blue one

well, that's about it....our trip to the GA aquarium.

there's lots of animals that i didn't get pictures of: the otters, the piranha, the sea dragons (gorgeous sea horses)...

you'll just have to come see them for yourself- let me know. i can always use the excuse to go back *smile*

from the comments, yall have enjoyed the pictures. i'll get back to quilting content soon!

unwanted visitor

2011-08-03T17:51:00.001-04:00

i interrupt the aquarium posts to bring you breaking news straight from the studio....

monday i walk into my studio and i saw something big-for-being-small run around the corner of my computer desk. i did the whole woman-saw-a-mouse scream from TV. you would of laughed (i did)

it scared me....and davis will tell you, i don't scare easily. so a good chunk of Monday evening was spent trying to catch my unwanted studio visitor....a blue tailed skink

that's it behind my sewing cabinet on monday....

i've tried everything....i had a nice corral made out of my rulers...i figured it must be thirsty, so i tried baiting it with water....them things is slippery.

yesterday the darned thing just toyed with me....i'd be quilting, stop, look down, and it would be staring at me. i swear i could hear it giggle as it ran back in the corner under my sewing machine....

it unnerving to know this thing is just running around willy nilly in your sanctuary space....

so today i notice the darn thing behind my longarm, watching me answer emails....*grr* then it scurried under something that sits in a plastic bag...OMG!! i quickly snatched up the bag with the little bugger panicking in the bottom of the bag. i carefully remove the contents of said bag and dump the unwanted visitor in a bucket...

*mu hahahahahah* the great white hunter strikes fear in it's prey

three cheers for opposable thumbs!!

i'm going to wait til davis gets home (i don't think he really believed me) to show it to him, then i'm dumping it out way back in the field behind the house....

you know it's hot when wildlife searches out AC.....

oh, the great hunting dog, barney- useless, could care less....if it were a squirrel, the situation would of done been handled....that would of constituted a blog post too.

it is kindda cute tho....

GA Aquarium part 3

2011-08-03T15:07:00.000-04:00

i think it's good that the aquarium has an exhibit featuring the native Georgian wildlife.

my favorite is the touch tanks!!!

this one is star fish and urchins. there's another one with horseshoe crab and shrimp...i didn't get pictures- it was crowded.

local's tip- to avoid the crowd, schedule your visit during the week AFTER school starts. but also bare in mind, that there is more available on the weekends...like feeding times

i got to touch the back of a cownose ray (they feel like the surface of half-set jello...really cool.) and i got to touch the back of a bonnet shark as it swam by. the sharks are not as easily reached as the rays and i had to be very very very patient waiting for one to swim by. they feel like very very fine knobby sandpaper...that's the best way i know to describe it

there were trout. we don't do alot of trout fishing, but i know these are huge...

catfish...this is in a walk under bubble window.

albino alligator...providing the perfect picture taking opportunity

i got a laugh when i asked when it would be available in the touch tanks *grin* always the jokester

(i just think the alligator was jealous of the attention the belugas get and was all like, " i'll show them- they aren't the only animals that can be white")

and the otters!!! they are stinking cute. no really, they stink- like wet fishy ferrets...they have a strong musk.

the lightening in the exhibit make it impossible (with my 6 year old camera) to get good pictures. plus they are constantly moving.

this one had a itch behind it's ear. they have cute little button faces....there was also a California seas otter exhibit, but that's another crowded, hard to get photo area...

davis said that way back when he first started hunting the swamp on our hunting club, there were otters in it. his favorite non-deer story is how he sat one morning and watch some baby otters (kittens??) play in the water...all i've seen in the swamp are beavers
they had a small (small for them, big compared to a home aquarium) of Lion fish (like 40) and how introducing non-species 'exotic pet' fish into and environment can destroy the local ecosystem. most people just walked on by....*sigh* ask the Florida Fish and Wildlife Resources about how people releasing pythons into the florida swamps (cause they get so big) is pushing native species to the brink of extinction...can you tell i watch ALOT of NatGeo???

lion fish are pretty....deadly, put pretty. they have poisonous spines along all those fins....they won't make it to the touch tanks anytime soon :)

i had a friend in college who had one and i asked him if he'd ever got 'stung' he said yes, one time while cleaning the tank he bumped his lion fish with the back of his hand. he said it hurt like hell and swelled up like a bee sting, a 40 pound bee. he said it took almost three weeks for the swelling to go down.

tomorrow- the final post: the tropical fish (including a nemo tribute) and the dolphins!

GA Aquarium part 2

2011-08-02T17:35:00.000-04:00

the Ocean voyager exhibit is the largest salt water aquarium in the US.. that's what the guides keep saying...i believe them! this is one huge aquarium. if you're certified, you can scuba inside it!!!

(the glowing dots are the can lights behind us in the ballroom ceiling...davis didn't like that, said the electrician should of pointed them away from the glass- he would know)

four whale sharks.....FOUR!!

the 'little' fish is a yellow tail jack

one 20ft wide manta ray named billie

if i remember correctly, she's a new addition to the exhibit.

here's the link to the Georgia Aquarium's website....they have all the nitty gritty detail of all the animals...and webcams!!! you can watch the belugas, ocean voyager (the whale sharks), the penguins and the otters. sometimes they are not working, sometimes they are...

there are also sharks- four different species...on the way home i asked davis if he remembered seeing any hammer head sharks in the big tank and he said no....the last time we went their were a couple of hammer head sharks *shrug*

there's a walk thru tunnel under the water- very cool.

another local's tip- DO NOT wear open toe shoes...ask me how i know. i wore my tevas and i can't tell you how many people stepped on my toes....not to mention the korean gentleman who thought my right foot was the perfect spot to park his kid's stroller.

a school of grouper...lots of grouper (i like the belugas- davis likes the grouper)

this is feeding time for one of the whale sharks.

they are trained to follow their special color cup (this one's was red) and someone rides a raft scooping food into their mouths.

*oh look krill*

*swim away swim away!*

see the big black round shape- that's the raft.

just some pictures for scale....

grouper

i didn't ask, but they probably weigh around 300 lbs.

that's a shark up at the top

(this is also the two story tall main viewing window into the exhibit.)

whale shark

that's a grouper under the shark towards the tail....

davis reminded me to take the pictures to show the scale for yall...you see pictures in books and on documentaries, but until only 2feet of acrylic separate you from them do you get a true feeling how big these guys are.

this was taken looking up while in the walk through tunnel.

when the whale shark swam by it made me feel tiny.....that's the manta, Billie, underneath.

just think- there are animals (whales) in the ocean that would make that whale shark look like a minnow...

we, as humans, should really think about taking care of our oceans...we know more about space than we know of our own oceans. there was a nice (over looked) presentation about trash in the oceans...the sad thing is most didn't even glance at it on their way by. just think of the belugas next time you go to throw a bottle in the trash- think about tossing into the recyclable bin...recycling is cool!
sorry, i got all public-service-announcement-y there for a minute...
it's hard to see, but there is a little skinny blue fish at the top of this grouper's gill. he's about the size of a man's finger.

we watched him 'clean' the groupers skin....up over his head....

then along his dorsal spines towards the tail.....

i asked if the bigger fish ate the smaller fish and the guide said that they feed everyone enough to not be hungry, but there are "accidental cases of predation"

"hey, hank, where'd all the yellow jacks go?"

tomorrow: the goergia coast exhibit and i got to touch a shark!!!!!

GA aquarium part one

2011-08-01T12:52:00.000-04:00

my favorite place in the whole wide world...besides my studio.....

is the Georgia Aquarium!!

i love the belugas!!!! to me they are so ethereal. swimming in out of the blue like a ghost.

if i win the lottery i want a beluga aquarium in my house....or better yet, i'll donate a whole crap load of money to the aquarium and i'll go when ever i want.

if you're in the atlanta area, you have to hit the aquarium. go on a weekend and plan on staying all day. here's a local's tip from me to you: if the aquarium is crowded, they will open up the ballroom around lunchtime to help with the over flow from the seating in the 'cafe'....RUN don't walk to the ballroom. there are two viewing windows, one for the ocean voyageur (the whale sharks) and the belugas.

also- double check for the feeding times....we got to see them feed the whale sharks (i got pics), but missed the piranha feeding frenzy *darn*

the ballroom viewing window for the belugas is the BEST set in the whole aquarium and worth the price of admission. the belugas swim by and rub against the glass. you can get a much closer experience than at the 'regular' viewing window.

i sit there for hours....with a big ole goofy grin.

the best is when you are sitting there and one swims by and you can look right into that eye and know it's looking right back into yours....

my favorite thing is to press your ear against the glass and you can hear the clicks and whistles from the whales as they swim by.

this is going to sound weird- wear a bright color.they can see us through the glass and seem to like lime green and red. the lady next to me had on a lime green shirt and the youngest beluga would swim up to her and pause before continuing his circle around the enclosure.

if you ever wondered what whale poop looked like.....

another favorite thing about this spot is the kids' reactions....one little boy asked his mom if they could get one for the backyard.

i hear you, kid!

it's hard not to fall in love with an amimal that has a permanent smile.

davis later asked an employee about touch experience packages with the belugas..how much, when, who to call, scheduling.....that only means one thing
*SQUEE* i might leave my own poop cloud in the water *lol*

more pictures later....

#8 BOM Block- August

2011-08-01T10:00:00.004-04:00

time for school...

August Directions .pdf

don't forget to add your block progress to the flickr group.

linky over there ---->
see you next month!

iQUILT

2011-07-28T13:54:00.001-04:00

i over heard my itouch making fun of my iphone the other day....

"you might be smart but i'm pretty....she loves me more"

yeah that wasn't happening. so i bounced over to CaseMate and ordered a quilty cover for my iphone. i ordered on monday, paid a bit more for priority shipping and got it today, thursday.

i choose to put Footnotes on the back of my phone. had i knew that i would be getting an iphone, i would of put my Squilt on the back of my phone and footnotes on the itouch *shrug* oh well....

i over heard my iphone going "Ne'ner ne'ner ne'ner thppbbt" to the itouch

i'm not affiliated with CaseMate, just a happy customer...and i don't believe that my electronics bully each other *giggle* my studio is zero tolerance

miss me?

2011-07-26T13:02:00.000-04:00

i'm back from my teaching trip to north carolina.

i taught the Carolina Longarm Association (CLA) all sorts of fun quilty stuff!

i taught feathers feathers feathers galore!

feathers great and small!

(yup-that's a dime)

i drove angela's machine with the new MM wheels...Nemo needs new shoes, so i bought a set for him.

i showed them how i design free motion custom quilting designs. students brought tops from home and i sat in the floor and doodled on their quilts.

the lovely angela hosted the classes and provided me a bed to sleep in. (and all the crack roast beef i could eat- that stuff was addicting!!) so i made her one of my signature flanged pillows as a hostess with the mostest gifty.

it found a good home on the recliner and it matched perfectly with the decor.

angela's puppy, Lincoln, provided me puppy love. i stilled missed my noodle heads tho.

isn't he so adore-ably cute!!! i like his Burt Reynold 70's mustache.

i had to share my crack roast beef to get this picture....but it was worth it *smile*

then it was time to point the truck towards GA....

ahhh, no place like home

*sigh* yup, no place like home....only in atlanta does it take an hour to go seven miles on the interstate....

my work place

2011-07-22T11:32:00.016-04:00

this is my cubicle and my ususal rush hour traffic requires me to step over a stalled dog in the hall. *giggle*

this is a quilt i quilted for david. it was huge 100" x 112" it was made from the quilter's tweed fabric collection.

this is a block from a quilt i quilted for evelyn. i fell hard in love with that art deco print. it is a vintage print, so i can't find any of it. *sad*

i like the block as well. it is a great stash bash block. the block is 8" finished.

the two skinny strips (navy and pink) are cut at 1.5" and the art deco print is cut at 2.5". i would sew all the strips together, then subcut the 4.5" squares. you'll be able to get (4) from strips cut from a fat quarter and (8) from strips cut from WOF strips. clear as mud?

the good kind of twister

2011-07-20T11:29:00.002-04:00

i recently quilted sue's blue twister quilt. it's a gift for her mother.

i liked it so much, i bought the ruler. i'm going to use it to destash some batiks.

i also started my next english paper piecing (EPP) project. the quilt's working title is Beachy Keen. i've been ~~hoarding~~ collecting blues, browns, and creams in modern prints for years and the other day it hit me what to do with them.

i have some 60degree diamonds left over from a previous EPP quilt, so i'm making my version of my friend jessica's traveling quilt. my diamonds have 3inch sides giving me a 10.5inch hexi block. i plan on making 90 to 100 of them.

i'm doing it a bit different- i'm putting a ring of cream around each star to give me some space for some creative quilting.

cindy used my tutorial

2011-07-19T12:38:00.002-04:00

i recieved an email from Cindy couple weeks ago. she had made a tote from a dog food bag following my tutorial. she sent me a picture of the bag and it even included the benefactor of the food. here's her picture and her email:

Thank you!! I just finished mine, minus the handles.. (which is proving to be my biggest obstacle) and I so totally LOVE my new bag! I've been holding on to this dog food bag for about 2 years, hoping to find something like this tutorial that is also this thorough.

Can't wait to use my bag (once I hand stitch the handles on.. LOL)

Oh, I'm also your newest follower!
-Cindy

thanks for sharing your picture and pooch! i love the how the great dane is along the edge of the tote...you did a great job!

leaving on a jet plane

2011-07-18T11:28:00.001-04:00

i'm going to be heading out of town soon to teach LAing and will be scheduling some posts to keep yall distracted :)

here's barney on the couch the other night. i took it with my iphone. is he smiling? noodle dog

did you catch that?...i took the pic with my iphone....yup- i offically have a cell phone now. davis bought it for me. i have tried to stay away from a cell phone as long as i could, but he threw me in the 21st century. i am amazed by all the things it does. all this technology that fits in the palm of my bitty hand...he says it makes him feel better that i have in case of an emergency....i thought that was what the glock was for *grin*

wierdest picture ever!

2011-07-15T16:03:00.000-04:00

lucky was all cuddly last night and i was taking his picture.

this is one right as he licked his nose.

weird huh?

i think it looks like he blew a bubble with bubble gum and it popped....

davis says it's wierd that you can see the exact outline of his nose.

happier than a pig in she-ot

2011-07-13T11:28:00.000-04:00

that's what granny would say when things worked out for the good. she also thought that if you pronounced cuss words a bit different, it wasn't cussing. (ever wonder where i get my weird idiosyncrasies from)
anyway!!! i found some of the tie dye fabric i was looking for!!

my friend lisa suggested i call hancock's customer service number and see if they could check their data base and see what stores had 4plus yards in their inventory.

i did and they did. i was given the number of a store in montana and was told it was up to the store manager whether they would ship it to me or not...

i hesitantly called and told the manager my situation and she agreed to help me!!! YAY *snoopy dance*
i have 4 yards winging it's way here from montana as i type! i want to say a big huge thank you to everyone that looked at their local hancock's for me! i promise to double check for small print from now on *grin*

(i had to use a lifeline and phone-a-friend to help me spell 'idiosyncrasies')

i'm madder than a wet hen

2011-07-09T23:17:00.001-04:00

that's what my granny would say and that meant she was MAD! and right now, i'm a very damp chic-a-pee!
see i ordered 10 yards of this pretty batik...at a very good price...i wanted (3) 3 yard pieces with enough wiggle room to match the pattern....

simple enough, right?

guess what i got!!??? GUESS!
you'll love this:
i got a 8 yard bolt and a two yard cut

*crickets*

i admit- i have no one to blame but myself- i was so overwhelmed by the tie dye goodness i didn't read the small print: average 8 yard bolts

....now i have the joy of tracking down 4 more yards to get what i want for what i want.... i know, my own fault for going outside my LQSes....but it's so pretty...i looked on line, apparently i bought the last 10 yards in whole freaking world.

*grr* *boo* *hiss*

so i beg my blogland friends-

anyone have a Hancock's fabrics close that has 4 CONTINIOUS *giggle* yards of 'Batik 70's tie dye' in this color? i'll pay ya back...

to the moon alice, to the moon!!! (that's what pap-paw would say)

summer eating

2011-07-07T11:17:00.001-04:00

i don't like to cook (but i love to eat *smile*) i'm more of a pre-fab type cook. i take a box, add a simple ingredient or two, put it in a bowl, and throw it in the oven. but i am creative....and i want to share my favorite summer snack.

i call it a pocket salad. it's simple really. (i had one at a restaurant and thought how easy to do my self...but aren't crafty people like that- see something and think, "well i can make that simple enough")

you'll need:
-caesar dressing
-parmesan cheese (i get the blended stuff from kraft. the asiago adds a really good flavor)
-romaine lettuce
-grilled chicken (i buy it 'bulk' and cook a bunch and put it in the fridge. it doesn't last long enough to go bad)
-soft taco tortillas (i get whole wheat)

construction is simple- run a line of ceasar dressing down the center of the tortilla stopping two inches from one edge. sprinkle some cheese into the dressing. add the romaine- don't be stingy. add a smige more dressing. it's like the glue that holds everything together *grin* then slice your chicken and lay it on top of the romaine. fold up the bottom of the tortilla and wrap the sides around- WHA-LA! a grilled chicken ceasar pocket salad.

YUMMY!