It's a Christmas finish!

My darling sister asked me to make her a couple of "cute" cosmetic bags; Laurie Wisbrun's Tufted Tweets fit the bill perfectly!
Then she asked me to make snack bags, lined with some type of waterproof material that match the cosmetic bags. HUH?! Actually, it was okay; not hard at all once I figured out a few things. I may make a tutorial because they're quick, inexpensive, and nothing says love like vinyl! Right?

Two on the left are cosmetic bags with zippers. Two on the right are vinyl-lined snack bags with velcro closures.

The insides (I love when bags coordinate inside with the outside). And of course, a little treat: banana-flavored monkey floss and enchanted unicorn bandages.

Of All the Nasty Things to Say..

It's a darn good thing that I have a sense of humor. My name is the target of crude and untrue acronym-ing. I try to rationalize this horrific affliction/smear campaign by thinking, "They're obviously talking about Hilary Duff. She really can't act, or sing, and now she's written a paranormal romance novel." But um, she's rolling in the dough and apparently the rest of us Duffs are more akin to doughboys because here's the distasteful slander-suit-waiting-to-happen:

(photo from Amazon.com)

I think that The Deliriously Unyielding Fabric Fiend is closer to the truth, don't you?
And who sneaked off with all my freaking donuts??!! How am I supposed to live up to this moniker without donuts?!

Want some sugar, sugar?

Click here to be transferred over to Retro Mummy's Flower Sugar giveaway--20 fat quarters of pure yumminess!

p.s. this posting qualifies as my entry!

Giveaway winner!

Good morning friends! Our giveaway winner is..... #93

 The Branch Family said...

What fun! The dots are my favorite.

December 13, 2010 1:57 PM

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:93Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Sew,Mama,Sew Giveaway Day!

Welcome Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway seekers! Up for grabs is one reversible, reusable grocery tote. I've made quite a few of these as part of Sew, Mama, Sew's Green Grocery Bag Challenge and thought I'd share! 

Here's a photo of one side of the grocery bags (click for a close-up):

BEES................TREES................DOTS

 and in their reverse:

To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is leave a comment:

You must tell me which bag you prefer and that's the one you will win.

**Important**

If you are a no-reply/name only/anonymous blogger, leave your contact info in the comment. Giveaway ends December 17th at 11:59 pm, central time!

Giveaway winner!

Okay, here goes:

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:12Powered by RANDOM.ORG

And we have a winner!!

#12 is Jennifer! Congratulations! Jennifer, as long as you live in the US or Canada, this fabulous prize is yours!
Please send me your mailing address so I can forward it to Stephanie.

And yes, these are my photos. They're from the 2006 US Sumo open in California.

A finish!

Okay, here's a finish--I am so proud! I finally made a quilt for myself, finishing at about 80 X80. the fabric is Valori Wells' Del Hi line.

This is my interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater home during the fall season. the binding is the orange stone, except at the bottom right quadrant where it is blue.

Here is a photo, courtesy of Ivan S. Abrams, from which I drew my inspiration. Do you see what I did?:

I've decided to enter this quilt in the Project Modern Challenge, so here's my 100 words about this quilt:

"My interpretation of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is a vertical chimney and extending horizontal terraces at the top of the quilt, above rocky falls at the bottom. I added an improvisational flower & sienna background fabric as a suggestion of the home’s lush, fall foliage. I have quilted this in a free-hand undulating wave pattern (top to bottom, vertically) to mimic the waterfall. I love the way this home is linear, yet the water softens its stern concrete and rock; I wanted to transfer these contradictory qualities into a quilt utilizing earth tones with just a pinch of blue. " 

Wish me luck!!

A Giveaway! (For US & Canada)

Okay, so I'm ready!! I have two reusable pouches from Stephanie at Sand and Starfish--one large (sandwich) size and the other small (snack) size. I have been using them for a few weeks now and I've noticed that they keep my snacks fresh for up to 6 days. There are no downsides other than my students now know that I'm packin' and they're all interested to taste-test my snacks. I keep them in my purse and haven't had any problems with leakage or crumbs. So, I have to say...

THESE BAGS ARE FABULOUS!  AND BPA FREE!

As you are probably already aware, BPA, or "Bisphenol A [is a] chemical commonly found in canned soup and food storage plastics is also used in some plastic wrap and plastic sandwich bags."  (Greenhouse Neutral Foundation).  In a sentence: BPA is a health concern (in lab testing, caused birth defects!) and so far, there are no limits on the amount of BPA in certain items. I'm sure you've seen "BPA free" on newer water bottles--this is what they're talking about.  

1. These bags are cute as can be and fully lined.
2. I packed an entire bag of Chex Mix (8.75 oz) in the big one (to share, of course)
3. No leakage or crumbs so they're safe in your purse.
4. The small bag is about 2 inches bigger than a snack-size baggie.
5. The large size is a little bigger than a sandwich-size baggie.
6. Comes with easy care instructions.
7. No BPA
8.  It's time to stock up on reusable pouches! 

To get you started, Stephanie is graciously offering 2 snack bags to one lucky reader! Terms and conditions:
 1. You must visit Sand and Starfish and then comment, telling me about an item from her shop that you just adore!
2. You must live in the US or Canada (sorry international friends!) & if you're a no-reply blogger, leave an email address!
3. Giveaway ends Saturday, December 4, at midnight.
3. That's it. You don't have to follow, give up your first-born, or do circus tricks. Yeah, that's another giveaway...

A giveaway and one in the making!

You know how I love a good giveaway so I've got one for you now and one coming up:

1. Chelsea of Pink Fig Designs is giving away 2 quilts. That's right, not patterns, not fabric, QUILTS, as in done and you can use them straight away... Amazing!! And wait until you see them--holy mackerel! Click on her logo to check it out!

2. I will be hosting a giveaway also! Interested in a sneak peek? Check out all the goods at Stephanie's Sand and Starfish shop on Etsy. As soon as my camera gets a new battery I'll be posting! 

Giveaways!

Anyone interested in an Accuquilt Go! cutter? Here's a link to QuiltWoman.com ; her giveaway is open until November 16.

Need a second chance? Mandy at Simply Solids is giving away a cutter also! Link over before November 20.

And here's a link to the Quilty Pleasures Blog where you can peruse myriad blog links and enter to win quilty items such as fabric or a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks book.

Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's that time again...

I have been looking at all the quilts and enjoying the stories, so I thought I'd enter something of my own.
I give you...the Birdie stacked coins quilt with texture!

Because this quilt is so linear, I wanted to do something different with the actual quilting. A friend suggested soft waves to calm the feeling and I heartily agreed. I went a step further and thought about adding texture. I love the way a quilt puckers after the wash, but I wanted this one to really stand out. So, I bumped up the tension/pressure foot and started quilting . . .check out that texture!

Here's the back:

Is that calming or what?! The waves worked perfectly to offset the lines and bright color. This one went to a sweet little girl named Quinn Therese♥

What I've been doing...not really but OMG

Are these girls amazing or what? I don't think I could ever do that! This takes some time to load, but trust me, it's worth it!

Okay, you win...

This is what I've really been doing...some commissioned work & a gift:

(click for a closer view)

and the winner is...

Thank you for all your kind comments! Mr. Aidan picked a winner using random.org (sorry, I couldn't figure out how to post that image). From a pool of 14, our lucky winner is...
#5. Lisa of One-Hip-Mom.

Terri's in for a surprise!

I really wanted to make a quilt for Terri because she's such a special gal pal. Jennie and I paid attention while Terri perused the quilt magazines and "ooh" or "I love this" slipped from her lips; she likes earth-tone batiks in geometric patterns. Jennie said she'd donate the fabric if I made the quilt and the final product is a gift from both of us. What a deal! I had a hard time going through her stash and not drooling all over it. I picked a geometric pattern (Piece of Cake 2 by Thimble Blossoms) and showed Jennie my fabric choices. She added to it and wha-la, today the quilt top is finished. I'm not big on earth-tone batiks, so if you are, what do you think?

The whole quilt (this pic needs to be rotated):

Here it is in natural, indirect light (the contrast is more apparent)

A close-up of the squares:

And this is even closer--see the beautiful gold leaves against the blue? They shimmer in the light!

What the...and a giveaway

It's been crazy around here so I've been remiss about posting. Well, it was a really good crazy so that's just fabulous!
As some of you may know, Jennie (Sunflower quilts) is officially divorced. She asked me top help her move, store her things at my house, and live here until the divorce was final. A whopping 21 days after she walked into a lawyer's office and wha-la, she left this morning for New York. We thought it would take a couple months and  Jennie kindly offered up her grand quilter in exchange for the above-mentioned list. In actuality, she was only here for 2 weeks, long enough for us to become better friends and wine-drinking, hot-tub goddesses.  And she cooked--homemade bread, pasta primavera with shrimp, meat pie...you get the idea...all yummy stuff that doesn't come from a box. She's an awesome cook. And she cleaned, too. Dream roommate. She's got (lifetime) free room and board here. And then some. And she still threw in the grand quilter. How lucky can one gal be? Now you know.  

Yesterday Jennie gave me my first lesson on the GQ, so I thought I'd share some of the photos. I'm absolutely giddy with this thing. Like a first kiss, it's heavenly and I never want the love affair to end! Yesterday I tried 2 lines following a pantograph and then today I went for it again:

2 lines of flowers (following a pantograph) 

Some free-hand swirls

Next, a few stone/pebbles

Not too shabby for my second day, huh?

Thanks again, Jennie, you're the shiznit!

Seeing as I'm such a lucky gal, I thought I'd spread the love with some Christmas fabric.

Leave a comment before next Friday (10/15) if you'd like to win this scrap bag of Adoring by Sandy Gervais. Essentially, it's a jelly roll with various widths of the line--2 to 3 1/2 inches wide.