Orange Teal-ight!

Had to run a few errands this weekend.  Nothing too special.  For one thing I needed a new pillow.  And the kids needed new shoes.

Oh yeah . . . it was seriously party time.

I did call a friend to make the time a bit more of a social event, left the kids at home with Mr. Skooks so I could shop without the "are we done yet?" commentary, and grabbed a few coupons to JoAnn if perchance we happened to stop there. 

Ok . . . so I planned on going there.  Yes . . . yes, I did.

But I was so good.  I restricted myself to the yardage required to finish my Glow Happy quilt top (Kona cotton was on sale AND I had the 25% off your entire purchase coupon so I was completely justified) and only drooled on other fabrics I saw.

Sorry, other JoAnn shoppers.

Anyway, as is the case just about wherever I shop but especially when I fabric shop, there was some serious perusal of clearance fabrics.  A lot of it was  . . . well . . . meh.  But we did come across some cute teal fabric with orange accents.

Let me make this clear.  I didn't buy any.

But I thought about it later.  A lot actually.  Not because of that particular missed opportunity exactly.  More just the color combo itself. 

I'm digging it big time.

I'm having some little daydreams about redoing our bedroom (or rather, DOING it period) in this teal and orange combo.  Nothing crazy dramatic . . . but I'd love to include these colors as accents. 

Wouldn't you know it drove me to make a new Treasury?

You can check out all my sweet finds here.  (That print on the top row 3rd from the left . . . I've had that one favorited for a long time.  Would love to make that the jumping off point for the room makeover.  So pretty!)

What color combo is floating your boat these days?

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You Are Here Little Birdie Quilt Block

To be honest, it was thrilling yesterday to actually cut and sew this block up.  I have been wanting to try this desgin ever since I first laid eyes on it during Block-A-Palooza.

It's called "You Are Here" and it was dreamed up by Monica Solario-Snow of Happy Zombie:

I had high hopes of fussy cutting the corner squares each featuring a different bird, but alas . . . the scraps were only so large.  If you look closely you might see that I had to creatively sew the polka dot fabrics many times over to make a scrap large enough to cut the pieces from.  In the final analysis, it worked out better than I thought it would.

It is a scrap pieced block after all.  ;)

There were quite a few dominantly red fabrics sent my way so though I'm pleased with how it turned out, I would have rather had something with just a wee bit more contrast either for the background fabric or the red polka dots and red flowers.

I mean, it is very RED.

But even so, I like it and it was fun to work up something a bit more involved.  Not that it was hard.  Not at all.  Just involved.

To be honest, I was also auditioning it as my block for Bee Vintage.  It's my turn next month to receive the block of my choosing, and I'm heavily leaning on this one at the moment.  Don't you think it would work up great in vintage sheets?  :)

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Kid's Literature + Sewing = Awesomeness

I have no affiliation with this at all (wish I did because this would have been a sweet project to undertake and share with a wider audience), but allow me to direct you to something just fun and full of creative inspiration:

To say I'm impressed is an understatement. And I must say, the idea of using kid's books as inspiration for sewing clothes and accessories does sound verrrry intriguing.

Must add that to the mile-long "must try this someday" list I've been compiling for a couple years now.

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Sew Fresh Fabrics Scrap Quilting Bee

Earlier this year I ran across a post on the Sew Fresh Fabrics blog about scraps.  Their extra scraps, specifically, and what they intended to do with them.

Rather than bundling them to sell in their shop, these lovely gals decided to start a quilting bee to benefit various charities.  I missed Round 1, but made it onto the list for Round 2.  :)

Does it feel like I'm becoming a quilter? 

Anyway, I'm excited to participate.  The commitment level is pretty minimal . . . only one 12.5" block needs to be made using the scraps sent (I get to choose the block), and it's going to a great cause.  (You can see Round 1's progress here.  They're making two quilts for Project Linus.)

This round we're quilting it up for the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge for ALS.  Here's a little blurb on what it's about (click the link to read more):

ALS, also known as Lou Gehrigs disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that hinders and then eventually destroys the communication between nerves and voluntary muscles. This causes a lack of communication from the brain to the voluntary muscles, such as the limbs, torso and face, rendering them useless. It does not affect the involuntary muscles such as the heart, lungs and those in the digestive system. People affected with ALS experience progressive paralysis throughout the body. Over half the people afflicted with ALS will die within 3 years of the diagnosis.

Your donated quilts will be given to ALS patients or used to raise awareness and research money for ALS by being photographed, displayed, auctioned, or raffled.

I can do that!

I received my fabric pack in the mail this week and I'm so excited to get started.

Fabrics from top left to bottom right: White and Red Tweet Tweet Birds by Studio E, Summertime by Barbara Jones for Henry Glass, Robert Kaufman Red Daisies and Dots, Mingle Polka Dot in Red by Monaluna for Robert Kaufman, and Willow Wren by Alexander Henry.

Hmm . . . what block to choose?  Any and all suggestions are certainly welcome.  :)

[Wondering how you could use your crafting powers for good?  I compiled a list of charities in need of your skills back here.  Let me know of any others you like, and I would be glad to add them to the list!]

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Mod Mosaic Quilt Block

Are you a scrap hoarder?  You know what I mean . . . you've got a lovely piece left of your favorite fabric that is smaller than your palm and you think: "But I will probably be able to use this again."  Somehow.

Well . . .me too.  This kind of thinking can easily get you into trouble if you have no concept of just what in the world you can use those scraps for.  And with no plan, you end up with total fabric chaos that may result in you ending up on Hoarders.

Let's face it . . . no one wants that.

Good thing there are (free) patterns like the Mod Mosaic Floor Pillow by Oh Fransson which, incidentally, was the inspiration for this month's Bee Vintage block.

Ok yes, I realize this is not a square.  The finished blocks will end up being 16" square, but we were instructed to work with what we got and that a number of different sized chunks would be acceptable.  My "block" is just over 8"x16".  [Interestingly, the technique used to make last month's block does create a lot of waste so many of those offcuts were able to be used up in this block.  Sweet!]

Working with so many odd shaped scraps makes for a very unique and interesting block, but WATCH OUT because once you get going it is very difficult to get this thing back to any kind of square-ish shape. 

Not that it's not worth it.  It SO is.  But if you're like me, you may get a little carried away with glee over all the odd shaped scraps you are using that when it comes time to get it to a more normal shape . . . well, there's no easy way to say this.  You may curse yourself.  Or curse at yourself . . . if that's more how you roll.

All this to say, it was a relief to use up those little bits and pieces.  It was lovely to see them all come together and each become their own showpiece . . . offset by some lovely and pure Kona white.

Now go.  Try it yourself.  I promise, you'll enjoy the freedom of the random pieces.

Just try not to use this as an excuse to START saving teeny scraps if you don't already.  Let's not get crazy, ok?



****This block was made as part of my second vintage sheet inspired Quilting Bee. Want to see more blocks? Track my journey here: Bee Vintage.****

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If I lived in a Wee Little House

Recently I've been pondering dollhouses . . . and wondering if Little Miss would be as enamored with one as I think I she would.  Her birthday is coming up next month and ideas are a-swirling in the ole noggin.  I did some Craigslist searches (goodness how I love Craigslist) and came up with a few things, but nothing too inspiring.  (In truth, I think it'd be fun to put one together myself so I was more looking for ideas.)

So, yes. You'll be SHOCKED, but I turned to Etsy.

And WOW. :)

As I was poring over the little lovelies I decided to put together a treasury of wee houses and wee things a wee person might need.

I'm not gonna lie . . . it kinda makes me wish I were fairy-sized.

You can check out all the tiny lovelies here.

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Love for Japan

There is really no way to put into words how my heart is aching for the people of Japan right now.  I'm on the other side of the world right now, jaw dropped, trying to imagine how it would feel to watch your town be swept away in a tsunami. To wonder if you'll ever see your family again.  Knowing that this kind of destruction will take decades to fix . . . though the damage will never be undone.

I will do this tragedy no justice with my words.

It came to my attention today that a new Etsy shop has sprung up where sellers are asked to donate handmade goods and 100% of the profits will go straight to the relief effort via the Red Cross.

The shop doesn't seem loaded to the gills just yet, but I'm hoping that by putting the word out on my blog that others would be moved to contribute to the cause either by donating a handmade item or by purchasing something.

Though I could find no other shop solely dedicated to the cause of relief for Japan, I did do a search on Etsy that pulled up 45 pages of handmade items dedicated to the relief effort.  You can browse the listings here.   I found 4 pages of vintage items listed with the same intentions here.  Only 1 page of supplies but perhaps more will be listed in the future here.

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My sweet friend, Jilly, is selling a sweet pack of fabric in her Etsy shop.  100% of the proceeds will go to Red Cross aid relief for Japan.

Anyone else want a mention for something you're selling to benefit the cause?  Let me know and I'll post a link here.

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Exciting Boy Stuff News - For Me Anyway

It's been awhile since I've whipped up anything new . . . I know.  But I've been following along with some other blogs and such lately to keep the inspiration up even though my free time has been low (and I'm constantly adding stuff to my Pinterest for those of you who are . . . um . . .p-interested) and made the most amazing discovery.

As I previously reported, Celebrate the Boy is on again at Made and at Made by Rae.  There are so many great projects being featured over there . . . if you've got a boy you want to sew for you really MUST check this stuff out.

Anyway, I was so psyched to stumble on a post that Rae put up the other day about boy quilts.  And I saw this:

My jaw literally dropped.  Did you catch it?  Look again:

Yes!  The Sawtooth Pinwheel Quilt that I made for my nephew was featured on Made by Rae!

Sorry . . . just geeking a bit over here.  :)

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