I could hear it calling...

I bought a couple of jelly rolls awhile back....OK, more than a couple...but it is not my fault!!  Green Fairy Quilts has these GREAT sales...how could I resist????

Anyway, I could hear this one calling!

It is Cabbages and Roses by Moda...

When I first started reading blogs, I came across this pattern at Cluck Cluck Sew.

I don't know what is is about this one that I just love, I am not even a "pink" person! Maybe I have a recessive Victorian Romantic gene hidden somewhere!!??  Anyway, I thought that I needed to start this one..it was a rainy cold day, and this looked soft and warm!

One thing I have learned with Jelly Rolls, is that is a good idea to take them outside and unroll them and give it a good shake! There are lots of little bits that end up all over everywhere!

So here are my first few blocks...I am really excited to see this one come together!!

I am also being pretty good at keeping up with organizing my scraps as I go.
I am still trying to cut them up when I finish cutting a project..

I have a "strips" box, a "2-1/2" squares" box, 5" squares, and a "crumb" box.  I have also added a "pieces" box, for bits that are larger, but less than 1/4 yard. Not sure why, but it just seemed like a lot of work cutting them up, and may use them someday ??  or keep them for many years and then cut them up LOL

I am a hit!!

Well, I went to the birthday party last night with my tote bag gift....and it was a big hit!!  (or maybe it was the bottle of wine I had tucked inside ???)

But as a result, many of the women there wanted to know if they could buy one !! YIKES!

So my daughter (who is a professional photographer) is helping me design business cards!!  They are going to be so pretty !! (not these LOL)

I also have to figure out how much to charge. I have been checking out some Etsy stores, just to get an idea. I have never sold my stuff before, and don't want to overprice it...or undervalue it either.
I was thinking about $45 or $50 each???

Any suggestions?

Totes for Two

I love these tote bags! They are so quick and easy to sew up, and make great gifts..

We are going to a birthday party toight for my daughters MIL. She is turning 70, still doing some teaching for the College of Education (she is a retired teacher) , and doing lots of travelling. And besides, who can't use another pretty tote bag!!

Our local Fabricland had a whole wall of discount decorator fabrics. Lots of it on sale for $2 -$3 dollars/meter (just over a yard). So I bought a yard of two different colors, and for a total of about $6 had enough to make 2 tote bags. The second bag is actually a bit smaller, and I think I might like that size even better. For that one I started with panels that were 14"x20", instead of 15"x22".   The original pattern was from an old quilting magazine, (Izzy & Ivy Design)

 I have made a few modifications as I make more of them, but it is a great bag!

I use bukrum as interfacing. It is very stiff, so gives the tote bags a lot of body...they will stand up by themselves.  And I have fun picking out the buttons for them !!

I have made a lot of these. Sometimes I add a key fob, or sometimes I make a little pouch to snap onto the bag. Great gifts...and quick and easy!

TGIFF is over at Quilt Monster in my Closet this week! Go check it out!! I am going to link this up as my "finish" !!

Not a Robot???

Really ??

Not a robot???

How about not an idiot!!

please prove you're not a robot 

These aren't even REAL WORDS!!! Come on!! Really???
Occasionally I have to try 2 or 3 times to get it right!!  Ok, I admit that I can't spell, but I can read! And some of these are challenging!!  Almost makes it not worthwhile adding a comment...but then I do like to add my two bits worth, so usually keep trying anyway.

OK, I feel better now :)

Purple Parade

We are back home again, and there actually are signs of spring here now! My tulips and crocus are peeking through,

....so soon there will be flowers in the back yard again :) I planted a whole bag full of new tulips bulbs last fall...cant wait to see them !!

And I haven't been around for Work in Progress Wed for awhile, so time to check in.

I had bought this jelly roll at a local quilt shop in a small town near here, quite awhile back ....the fabric was called Lilac Parade. I don't think that I have actually ever used purple in a quilt before, and I do like purple! So I started cutting this up, and mixed it with a Natural Jelly Roll.

I made very simple blocks...I cut them into 4-1/2" and 6 1/2" strips, using the Natural as the centre of the block.

I am not quite sure how big this will end up, and I have no particular home in mind for this, just play time!

Other works in progress:
1) Wonky Blocks....blocks are finished and safely stored on a shelf somewhere :(

2) Square Dance....still being avoided...yes, I will get this done soon!! ..promise!

3) California Sun...top is finished, need to find something for the backing.

4) Newfoundland Treasure...in progress...slowly...but it is pretty!!

But before I get back to this , I have to make up another of my tote bags for a birthday gift for my daughters MIL ! Better get sewing!

But first I will check out the Needle and Thread Network,

and Lee's Work in Progress Wed!

Have a great day !

Dora....the orphan Dora..

We made another road trip to Sedona. It is absolutely stunning...

and at sunset the cliff actually glow....amazing!

It is pretty touristy though, lots of little souvenir shops, and the hotels are expensive! But still worth seeing. And of course they also had a quilt shop, so had to make a quick stop there!!

When we left Sedona, we made a short side trip to Jerome, not far away. It was an old mining town (copper), but now is a very fun, artsy kind of place up at the top of a hill. It is actually at over 5,000 ft elevation (one mile) which gives a great name to a local restaurant... the Mile High Grill & Inn..

There are lots of great little shops, and a few artists outside on the sidewalk. One of these artists is Janie Layers....

She has a studio in the Old Jerome High School and sells her work in several shops in Arizona. (she gave permission to take pictures)
She makes the most amazing animals out of clay! My favourite...this little donkey....I named her Dora!

Isn't she just adorable?? But I couldn't buy her ...she wouldn't fit into my suitcase...so I had to leave her there. My husband now refers to her as "the orphan Dora" because I left her there. So if you are ever in the area, please stop by and visit her! I am sure she is not lonely, though, she has many friends around her. Maybe you will bring one of them home with you!

Phoenix fun

We really enjoy our time down in Arizona...of course it is hard not to when it is still snowing back home!!

The cactus are just starting to bloom...

They have such delicate flowers...so pretty!

We took a day trip out to Payson, which is about an hour from our place.  The scenery changes from desert to more rocky terrain.

We went in a short hike to a "natural bridge" in Tonto National forest...it is the  world's largest travertine natural bridge, formed by a small stream flowing through a shady canyon ..... very cool...

This arch is about 180 ft high and 400 ft long. The bridge on top is 100 ft thick!!
You can read about it here.

And found a great little quilt shop too!!

so of course had to buy something to remember our trip !! (really!!)

I dont usually buy kits, but they had this quilt on display, and it was so lovely, I thought I would try making one. But really, maybe it is better anyway, because my math is so bad I usually end up with way to much fabric! (if there is such a thing!! I guess it is just adding to my scrap boxes right?)

And I always have to make a trip to my favourite quilt store right in Phoenix when we are there.

This place is great!! So much selection, and great people working there too!

I am not lost in cyberspace

I am still alive and well...just not at home right now. We are down in Arizona again for a couple of weeks, and I didn't bring my laptop with me.

So I have been doing a lot of golfing, a lot of hiking....but not a lot of sewing :(

But we did take a day trip to Payson...and lucky for me, there was a great little quilt shop there. So as my reward for doing all this hiking (like I mean up a mountain) and golfing I bought myself some great fabric in a kit. I will be sure to share pictures later.

avioding is my best skill !!

I know you have been seeing this quilt here for a long, long, long time!!

I called it Square Dance. It is a Moda Bake shop pattern you can find here.  It has been finished and basted for a long, long, long time!

So I asked myself why it is still sitting there....and myself answered that I have been avoiding starting the quilting on it in case I hate it!  (at least I was honest with myself ..hehe) You see, I plan to do straight line quilting on this one, and as backwards as it may sound, I have never tried that before! So what if I start it that way, and then hate how it looks, or even worse hate doing the boring straight lines???

I have a walking foot, even have a 1/4 " walking foot for this machine. I am thinking of stitching about 1/4" inside each seam line. I am not sure if I can/should run straight across the whole quilt along the seam line, or should I stay inside each square?? That would mean a whole lot of starting and stopping wouldn't it?? See ...this is why I haven't started...too many decisions to make!!

Happy Easter!

Wishing everyone a very Happy Easter...hope you are spending it relaxing and enjoying the day!

Friday finishes

Yeah..I got it finished!!

This is the last of my Etching fabric....and the pattern is from this Jelly Roll Book..I love this book!

The backing is a fun dotty kind of print.... (reminds me of fried eggs haha!)

And the binding little polka-dots...

I have made the same quilt once before, and just noticed that I quilted the black triangles with straight lines the first time...

and this time, I didn't think about that, and just continued the all over pattern...

I am not sure which I like better...what do you think?  Not that I would change it now LOL!!

But it is finished, and ready to go. It is a gift for a birthday present. Now just have to wrap it up!
Although my husband is saying gow much he likes this one...might have to make another one !!

Work in Progress Wednesday

I do feel a lot more organized when I limit the number of projects that are on the go at once...but it does make for kind of boring blogging when you see the same thing over and over!!

This week I am trying to finish the "Memories of Paris" quilt....( the last of my Etching fabric)

The FMQ is going really smoothly (touch wood!! hehe) but wow...it seems to go on FOREVER!
This quilt is about70"x80". I have gone back to my standby favourite pattern, the echo teardrops...

Along the border I am using a freehand swirling kind of thing... (sorry about the color, it is actually black)

Hope to get it finished and the binding and label on this week!

Now I am going to check on all the other wonderful things going on at The Needle and Thread Network
and Lee's Freshly Pieced Work in Progress Wednesday.

Scrap box ..boxes!

I guess I can call myself a true quilter now...I have a box / boxes overflowing with scraps!!!
I thought I would try to get them a bit more organized...Ha!!
So I dumped out the first box...yes, I did say first box..I seem to have several of them.

I had started putting scraps from a project into ziplock bags, but not sure that helps, so I started cutting them up into usable pieces...or maybe not so usable....

I also found a little 2 -1/2 " square ruler, which really helps when checking the size of little bits.

I love the look of the "Granny Square" quilt ..check out the tutorial over at Blue Elephant Stitches, and thought that I would get a start on squares for one of these. I also like the look and idea of string blocks, and someday also want to make a "crumb" quilt!!

So, I  found some plastic shoe boxes on sale...so I started sorting and cutting. I have 5" squares, 2-1/2 " squares, strips/strings, and crumbs.

I am thinking that if I cut up my scraps and sort them as I go, it won't be such a big job later. Sounds good ..doesn't it!!  Well, it is a start anyway!!