I'm Going To.......

QUILT CAMP!!!

yep - this coming Wednesday i head to quilt camp at Palouse Divide Lodge.  because of life last year i was not able to go this quilt camp.

i am sooooooo excited to be going.

i am sooooooo excited to be able to sew for 4+ days.

i am soooooooo excited just to get away for awhile.

i have been getting projects ready for camp.  i am a total quilt camp nerd when it comes to prepping for camp.  i like to have each project cut and in its own container ready to sew.  which is what i have been doing with my free time for the past week or so.

Kate Spain Verna fabric that has been well aged.  i had to do some pre-sewing of strips in order to get the blocks all cut out.  this quilt uses a rainbow template.  maybe that is why it has been sitting in my closet for so long....

my last bee block quilt top to get together.  i did some pre-sewing here as well.  i only had 11 blocks and needed 12.  duh....  i hadn't made my own block.

Origins.....  need i say more.

its not the quilt on the cover its one inside the book that i am making.

drunkards path blocks that i pre-sewed as well.  i cut these awhile back (maybe 2 years ago) on a AccuQuilt fabric cutter.  it was a set of fat quarters. i have 180 blocks and my layout is random.  it might look like a hot mess when i am done or it might turn out just fine.

doing a simple pattern with this layer cake.

Bliss....  a pattern i came up with using a Moda Candy Bar.  fingers crossed it comes out ok mathematically.

a bag or two

another bag

and another bag

Halloween quilt

pillow cases to go with my Tula Pink Stacks quilt that is being shipped to the quilter shortly.

bindings to get put on 3 quilts.

i have a couple more projects that are almost ready to go.  i will post those as well.  i always take more projects to camp then i can get done but i like it.  it gives me options to choose from with regards to what i want to work on.

i have decided that getting ready to go to quilt camp is sort of like tailgating before a sporting event.  you tailgate so you can enjoy the game.  i prep for camp so i can enjoy camp.

happy sewing

ps - the end of February marks the end of 2012 for me.  the unhappy issue that start back in the middle of 2012 was resolved this month.  so on the eve of February 28th i will say goodbye to 2012 and hello to 2013.  best part of all i will be at quilt camp doing what i love spending time with those that i love.

Tripping........

blogland has sent me tripping.........

i have been sucked into the super fun latest blogland/twitter/instagram/flickr craze.

scrappy trip around the world quilt

i first caught wind of this on twitter which lead me to various blogs and finally to the flickr page for it. once i saw all of those pictures there was no turning back for me. i wanted to make this quilt and i already had the perfect fabric for it.  

somewhere in my past i had won a set of fat eights of Denyse Schmidt's Katie Jump Rope and i had also won some fat quarters of Denyse's Flea Market Fancy.

two lines of fabric that go very well together.  i know its a scrappy quilt but i can't let go of that much control.  for those of you that know me you understand.

it has been a very therapeutic process for me.  sewing the strip sets together.  cutting them up.  unsewing them.  sewing them back together.

i have 28 blocks done and the last 8 are almost finished.  i will decide on the final layout once all of the blocks are made.

thanks to blogland for providing me with a much needed fun project.

happy sewing.

Traveling Sewing

last night i got home from Florida. came home to cold and snow. i want to go back to Florida...... who wouldn't?

when i travel i always take something along with me to do. sewing related or such.

so on my cross country trip and back i did some knitting.

some embroidery on the never ending quilt project.

and i made some hexi's which seems to be the latest craze in the quilting world.  i am hooked.  making them out of the ever loved Neptune doesn't hurt either.

happy sewing

Some Bee Blocks

i have been sewing some Bee blocks.

 

this is a fun one that i did for Charlene
a great way to feature a design in the fabric that you like.

 

this block was fun to make as well.  it took me a bit to get it right in my head.  making sure that i didn't mix up any of the fabric placement.  i hope that Robyn likes them.

 

i made these two blocks for Sara.  i think i read the instructions about 5 times.  but i got them done.  the blocks are a mirror image of each other.

 

i like making bee blocks.  its fun sewing with fabric that are different from my style and its also challenging at times which expands my skill level.

 

these two blocks are for a project that i am helping with.  all applique.  yes the icky word that i am not a huge fan of in the world of quilting.  i can do it but its not my first choice.

 

so tell me.  are you a fan of applique? 

 

happy sewing

A year of projects

2010 has been a year full of projects

these are just some of them.

i don't keep a tally on numbers, i just know that in 2010 i made a little bit of everything & hope to do the same in 2011.

wishing each of you an AMAZING NEW YEAR!!!

Seattle onto Boise.......

i know that i have been MIA for awhile. first i took a break because of blogging everyday in November then i realized it was time to go Seattle for the Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds shows. so, now i am back but just for a brief pit stop. i went to Seattle with my BFF Shelly & her little guy. we had a great trip over, stayed with her parents & even did a little quilt store shopping which will be in a separate post.

NOW....... ONTO THE SHOWS

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Dave & Tim have never had a opening act before so this was unusual for them this time around. when Dave introduced them Monday night he said that he heard about this band from his doctor & now he can't get enough of them. usually i am not to impressed with opening acts unless its Ben Harper or OAR. let me tell you this band blew my socks off. i got home last night & i have already downloaded their album from itunes.

who are they you ask????

The Head and The Heart

from Seattle

give them a listen, you might like them.

Dave likes them so much that they are opening for him & Tim in Vegas this weekend.

Monday's show was great they walked on stage with these blue hard hats on. the audience loved it. i still don't know the meaning behind them but hey whatever.....

Dave messed up the lyrics in a serious song & ended up stopping about 20 seconds in laughing because of his screw up & didn't know how to get serious again for the song. so, they put the hard hats back on & re-started the song. we were further away from the stage for Monday's show so i am surprised the pic even turned out.

Tuesday's show we had center stage seats not on the floor but one level up. great seats which gave me the chance for better pics & video. the venue seats 2,900 so really there was no bad seat in the place.

the lighting was also pretty cool. i love this pic because of it.
Monday & Tuesday were my 7th & 8th shows for this year & my 40 something shows overall. the word is that the band is not touring next year, however Dave told a Seattle newspaper that a weekend at the Gorge is not out of the question. a sliver of HOPE is all i need......

we took this little guy with us. adorable i know. he wasn't like this the whole time but i couldn't resist this pic.

traveling back Wednesday was interesting on the pass, however it was just at the summit & we were glad that we left when we did because it just got worse.
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tomorrow i am headed to Boise to see my brother, SIL & niece. they are so busy when they come home for the holidays that i decided to spend some air miles & go have some 'me' time with them.
once i am back no more traveling until after the 1st of the year, but i have a heck of a lot of Christmas gifts to get finished up. i still have a giveaway to tell you about that i won & i need to do one here for my 100th post. at this rate it might be my 113th post.........

crap

this evening i was down in my sewing cave working on some Christmas gifts & having a conversation with myself in my head. it went something like this -

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me - have i done a blog post for today?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - what did i blog about yesterday?

my response - crap i can't remember

me - i am pretty sure i haven't done one yet for today

my response - not a 100% sure but 85% sure that i haven't done one

me - what the heck am i going to post about

my response - crap i have no idea

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so, it was at that moment that i decided to post about what i am currently working on in the sewing cave. being Christmas gifts & all you get just a few pics of the gift in process.

amazing huh?????

i will show finished pics after Christmas of this gift. i think its so cool that i might just have to make me one as well.

oh, & with regards to me having conversations with myself..... that's just a normal thing around here.

Progress

i got all of the blocks sewin together yesterday & the quilt top laid out. rather then doing all pieced blocks i thought i would add in a few solid blocks just to make it my own. the blocks themselves came from Fat Quarterly's quilt along that they did.

i have stacked my rows from left to right & the used blue painters tape to write the row number on each stack.
my plan is..... tonight after work to get the rows sewin together & then then the top put together. i know... a lot of sewing but wish me luck.

started last night

this is what i started working on last night. i had it all cut & ready for quilt camp but never got to it. woolies flannel..... what a dream to sew with.

if all goes according to plan (but when does that ever happen) i should have something to show you on tomorrows post. i will also be digging through my stuff for a giveaway.

for those of you prepping for turkey day - i hope all goes well for you.

today......

today i am working on this...........

a quilt that i LOVE....

i am pretty sure this is my all time FAVORITE quilt that i have ever made.

i am in the process of quilting it & i hope to get it finished up this weekend

When It Rains

why is it when it rains it pours? that has been my life for the past few weeks. a couple quilt camps, an eye infection that required a few trips to the doc out of town, people on vacation from work, just life in general has been busier then normal for me - that's why i haven't been here blogging. but, today is your lucky day & i am here with pics from quilt camp this past weekend.

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there were only 4 of us the aka Renegades & we headed to my aunt & uncle's place in McCall, ID which is about 2 1/2 hrs from here. this is an annual trip for our group as its one of our members birthday. this week i received a thank you card from her with this on the front of it - a perfect depiction of our little group!

pic of the lake at McCall. its an awesome little resort town in the mountains.

pic of my aunt & uncle's place that we stayed at.

so, for actual sewing that i got done at this camp.... at the last camp i did some quilting so at this camp i bound what i quilted at that camp & then i decided to quilt some more.

out of the 5 quilts above i quilted 2 of them in McCall the other 3 at the last camp and got the binding done on all of them in McCall. a couple of theses quilts are gifts - 1 for a little person & 1 for a dear friend who is recovering from back surgery.

this quilt i started about 1 1/2 yrs ago & got the top finished about 6 or 8 months ago. i quilted it in McCall with the advice and help of Denise the 'quilting master'. i love how it turned out - i gave it to my mom for her birthday & she loves it. its her 1st Christmas quilt from me.

i love that the tassels on the hats are felted wool.

Fat Quarter Shop Mystery Designer BOM finally all done.

i pieced this at the last quilt camp & got it all finished in McCall

something i spent 1 1/2 days on but i can't show it all just yet.

giant pincushions from Julie's pattern. i actually filled them with crushed walnut shells - that was fun & they turned out way different then filling them with doll beads and stuffing.

did a block for my monthly block swap.

hope you like it Kitty.

got 5 rows of my hexi QA quilt put together - this is very time consuming but i am loving how its coming along.

life is starting to get back to normal for me - whatever normal is. i plan on spending sometime this weekend in the sewing cave maybe finishing up the hexi quilt & moving on to some Christmas gifts.