chickenfoot

win me a bike!

i so would LURVE one of these bikes, by madsen

arent they super de duper??? please click the link, its the only way they know i am here!

 

windmill top

 

i finished up my blocks for the windmill quilt, but i seem to have a wee problem...i made one too many. which one should i leave off? are there any that stand out that you think look odd or just downright ugly?? concensus will win out. if you click on the pic you can view it larger to actually get an idea of the fabrics used.. i have two in mind that i think are a bit much, but i dont want to say anything just yet. also, should i stick with a roy g. biv  kind of dealio or just mix em' up?? after i have the blocks together i will decide on a border. i am leaning towards that 40's green tho..... or a pink gingham....haha geez, i suck at making decisions, eh? help me!!!!!!!!

EDITED: i had to enlarge the pic on the screen to 200% to get a decent look at the fabrics when i clicked on it....

the windmill quilt (or whirlygiggle)

yea! i finished the cutting of my blocks for the windmill quilt last nite. it really didnt take long, as i had the template, they really do make quick work of cutting. i used all 40's prints in red, pink, peach, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue and purple. i am using a off white/cream with the prints. i want to do a border on this as i dont think it will be big enough with just the windmill blocks, but am unsure what i will use. i bought up the last of the off white we had at the shop and i dont think we will be getting in anymore of it as it was a co-ordinate for the rise and shine line. i will see once i get the rest of the top done. perhaps you will help me?? you are always so good at these things. much better than me.

 

i only have friday-sunday to get the blocks made up as i will be getting a binding job on sunday and it is a big one, 99x100+, and the person wants it by thursday. i hope i dont have anything going on the days i dont work!!! my luck it will be very hot and sticky out and i will be spending my time tucked under a huge quilt, uck.

 

i did up one block before cutting up all the cream blocks, because i wanted to make sure i didnt cut them wrong. it would be my kind of luck to cut them all, wrongly! i had cut a couple of the prints half wrong, so had to recut, which wasnt a big deal because i didnt need too much of the fabrics. but i didnt have that much extra of the off white. it turned out great, altho i need to work on stitching the pieces together, as you have to get them just right.

the pattern in new to indygo junction and our shop. when i came in i squealed and just had to buy it. i need to make a quick stop at joanns to get a lil plastic zipper so i can make one of these bad boys. what do you think of making one taller and putting my blackberry in it??? too cute, eh? then i can hang it from the outside of my purse!!

smooches for now!

IT CAME!!!

 

dont you just love the colors???

 

crap photo of the back. it was super sunny out, but i didnt want to wait any longer to take pix so i could post them on my blog. the red is hard to see but it is the sweetest little floral. notice the label??

 

it is a wee embroidered chicken!! ack! this slays me. i so lurve it, and am sad no one will see it. then there is the loverly mushroom girls....

 

i adore them so! just such stunning embroidery work. see the texture under the girls?? that is lil seed stitches! oodles of them, and that isnt the only place that they are...they are all over the quilt. this is such a stunner!!! i really hit the jackpot with cathy as a partner, she is just the sweetest thing and does such a gorgeous, loving job of it!! thank you so so much. that wasnt even all. she also sent along the most adorable mushroom girl and wee button (i will have to find something special to put it on)

 

and with that, i do believe that brings dqs6 to a close. we will be tying up any loose threads (hehe, pun intended) and start discussing dqs7 in the next few weeks....just a teeny breather first, k?  thanks everyone for such a great and fabulous round!!!! 

qip's

last nite i was able to get up in the sewing room and do some cutting. my niece, amanda, has been destashing and she gave me a bag of jeans (i told her to keep an eye out). most of the jeans werent suitable for a quilt because they were spandex, but my daughter is going to give them to a friend, so its a win-win. there was, however, a ginormous pair of jeans in the bag, that i was able to cut out 20 6.5" squares from. i should have taken a pic of them...but shockingly, i never thought of it, even when the teenager was standing in one leg. sigh, am i losing it?? anyhoo, the squares are going to be made into a quilt for my mom, as she is ALWAYS cold. she keeps the heat close to 80 at her place in winter!!! ack! i want it to be smallish, just perfect for her wee lap (she is well under 5' tall) and portable so she can take it with her on her walker. i plan on backing it with flannel, with a thin batting.  does this sound like it would be super heavy??? she complains about the weight of blankets on her bed??  and is it ok to put the seams on the inside, like a regular quilt? i dont think she would fancy the frilly bits on top. i am planning on probably tying it with floss, as i dont think i could quilt thru the layers. has anyone done a jeans quilt??

 

i am not in a big hurry as i still need 10 squares for the quilt. 

  i was also able to cut some squares for a windmill quilt. i drew up a little sketch for it, and did my math (so hopefully i didnt screw up!) 

  

i finished up the cutting today, but still need one aqua and one orange. i work tomorrow so i will just pick them up then. i already know which aqua i want ( i thought i already had it, do you do that???) but i dont know if i will find another orange, we dont seem to carry a lot of orange 40's prints.  

i have been wanting to do a windmill quilt ever since i saw this one. i really love how she did the colors of the rainbow too. i am not sure if that is how i will be setting mine, but i am keeping it in mind. i am not following michelles tute either (altho its a good one), i got a template at joanns, and just used that to cut my blocks out.  i still need to cut out my plain off white blocks, but that will probably have to wait a couple days.....                                                      

a busy week

did you all know rashida has a new book coming out soon??? i think its definately going to be a must-by, if you can go by this. isnt it darling???? i think i need to make a trip to dick blick

i finished up my picnic quilt the day after my niece rachel left town from her visit. i am really pleased with it, but on retrospect, i think i should have done a orange floral border.

 

 

and a close up of the quilting, by my friend joni. gorgeous, no? life was a bit hectic last week, as i mentioned my niece was in town from denver to go wedding dress shopping for my other niece. we were able to find the dress, so we were all very happy. a lot of eating happened, with stops at the chancery on monday for artichoke dip and beer cheese soup ( i am a cheesehead by birth after all). sunday, after we found the dress, we ran next door to penzeys, because you know, my family is all about cooking and baking (mostly baking). such fabulous spices!!! the niece and i will be popping back in when we go for the dress fitting. next we headed across the street to just about the best italian food spot evar! boy i have been italian food deprived since moving to illinois. we just dont have many great italian restaurants, and if they have good food, they are usually super expensive. in kenosha, there was an italian joint around every corner with huge portions and reasonable prices. never fear, we got desserts too! it would seem the latest craze is to sell wee desserts in shotglasses. its such a cute idea, and tasty!

 

 

bye rach, we miss you already.

vote for ME!! pretty please....

this summer i am doing the because i matter challenge, hosted by itching 2 b stitching. basically i am just making stuff for me. how selfish of me, eh?? i was beginning to notice that i didnt ever make things for myself, so when i saw this, i thought it would be a great motivator for me. i have already finished my dining room hutch, and my chicken wire runner in may. there is voting each month for those that have finished items. i would love it if you went and voted for me. currently i am tied for second place with two other people. you can vote for either my hutch(it is made from a side of the road dresser and a free hutch top) or my chicken runner. smooches!!!

 

NOTE:i just ran across this swap for vintage sheet fq's. if you want in, you need to scoot over fast! the sign ups end tomorrow. now go!

giveaways...but not here.

hey, are you one of the few people that havent heard about all the giveaways on sewmamasew???

well get on over there and check them out. they end sat nite/sun morn and there are a lot to browse!!

one of my faves is the camera strap on the benner daily.  pretty, eh? i am thinking i need one and a matching bag for a lense for my new camera i am getting in the beginning of june....

Rhoooooooooooobarb!

its that special time of year again, rhubarb season!! ok, so its not actually a season, but hey, cut me some slack ok??? my fil has the best rhubarb patch, and i feel no qualms whatsoever in raping and pillaging it every year. altho i think he is hard up for bake goods, as he asked for something rhubarby in return. i love making rhubarb crisp and my niece rachel loves to come and help me eat it. i usually try to make something at least once a year when she comes home from denver, and she is due to be coming home the first weekend of june!

i finished my picnic quilt top yesterday. i was a bit disappointed, as it turned out bigger than i had hoped (screwed up the numbers a couple times) so i am not going to put a border on, even tho i think it should have one. it would just be too big for what i want to use it for. i am going to do the backing and binding in the orange floral print. the two oranges are from snippets.

AND again!

 

this is the last post on thrifting, i swear!! (until next week, anyway, HA!) remember how i got that glasbake "pan"?? well while i was at the antique mall on thursday i found two small ones. kinda of weird. does that kind of stuff ever happen to you? i mean, where you have a theme??? i was so excited to see these...probably more than i should have been, and i think i might have even let out a little squeal. and then i think i did it again when i saw those teeny little tiny clothespins. arent they the sweetest?? another yellow plate for my bathroom wall and BUTTONS!!! i did get a few other things but they are gifts for my niece for her birthday, and she has a way of reading my blog right when i post something for her....plus i didnt even take pix! 

 

i got my other niece, beth, some more blocks for her etsy shop (she uses them to take pix of her stuff)