Claim to fame

Have you ever known anyone who has some small claim to fame, like being on the Today show or an extra in a movie or something? Well, here's mine!

I'm in the latest issue of Quilter's Home! Okay, it's not a feature story or anything, but it's something! I'm in the "What they're reading" section on page 19, just in case you have your copy handy or are rushing out to buy one now that you know I'm in it. The editor, Mark Lipinksi, called me about it a couple of months ago, but I hadn't told anyone because I didn't know when or if it would actually happen. I realize that 99% of the world doesn't think this is a big deal, but I know all of you quilters out there (along with my mom) understand my excitement!

Showing signs of improvement

My photography is showing definite signs of improvement.



I am fortunate enough to have this rosebush in my backyard. It came with the house, so I can take no credit whatsoever. And despite our best efforts to starve and prune it to death, it comes back every spring with these gorgeous roses. As far as the color goes, it's not my favorite color of rose, but it does make a very striking photo. I imagine it's pretty hard to screw up a picture of such pretty flowers though. I've discovered that lighting has quite a lot to do with taking a good picture, so I made a point yesterday to bring the camera home so I could take these this morning (ya know, during the daylight...something that's usually finished by the time I make it home for the day).

This is the latest sample Cindy has completed. The fabric is called America the Beautiful by Marcus Brothers. I like how there are really only a couple of pieced blocks in this quilt, but it still has a very "quilty" feeling. Now I just have to actually quilt it. I am catching up on my machine quilting though, so maybe this one will hit the machine in the next week or so. Maybe =)

Heidi the dog

This is my dog, Heidi.











As you can see, she's weird, but we love her. We rescued her (I prefer "adopted") from our local animal shelter last February. The lady at the shelter told us she thought Heidi was some kind of lab mix. Probably shar pei (you know, the wrinkly dogs). But for the most part she just looks like a deranged lab runt.

Heidi has proven to be a good dog...never potties in the house, doesn't chew on furniture, etc. So, in order to reward her good behavior, I decided to make her this.

It's a pillowcase for the pillow that serves as a cushion in the bottom of her crate. (Get the pattern here). Her crate is next to our bed, and she spends about 12 hours a day napping in her crate whether my husband and I are sleeping or not. Until today, we had just thrown an old pillow in the crate with no pillowcase or cover on it. Naturally, the pillow is quite stained and disgusting looking in spite of my best efforts to bleach the you-know-what out of it. So for my sanity and just because it's cute, she now has a pillowcase for her pillow. Spoiled girl.

Mint chocolate treats

Okay, remember how I was telling you about wanting to make the bag from the new Terry Atkinson book? Well, what do you think?!

I love the way this turned out. I used 3 fat quarters and 1/2 yard of lining from the Metro Blue line of fabrics by Marcus Brothers. I followed the directions exactly, and it turned out great. She gives the best instructions. There are a couple of things I will change when (that's right, when, not if) I do another one, like adding a few pockets. But otherwise I won't change a thing. Doesn't it look like these bags? And to think, you can make your own for less than $15. I saw quite a few young girls carrying these bags when I visited my parents in Tennessee a couple of weeks ago. I saw several at the quilt show in Paducah, so I just assumed the women carrying them had made them. It wasn't until I talked to my sister (who's in college and knows a lot more about the latest trends than I do) that I found out the bags were store bought.

And doesn't this fabric make the cutest quilt? Once again, I can't take credit. Cindy pieced it, and the pattern is in the lastest issue of Quiltmaker. It's the alternate version of the Beatrix Potter baby quilt.

Now, this I can take credit for...

Here are some much improved pictures of the first and second blocks in the Rosebud Lane block of the month (which starts June 16 by the way....sign up now to make sure get in on this). I'm telling you, ladies, if I can do this, so can you. The instructions are very well written. As with any quilting project, the most time consuming part is the cutting. I love to piece, and these blocks let me do that while still doing something a little less conventional. Don't get me wrong...I love traditional quilts...but whoever thought you could piece a house?

And last but not least, here are the newest additions to our magazine inventory.

Lots of cute projects in these two. Check out Quilts and more for instructions on making a bag, pincushions, pillows, and several quilts, shown in fabrics ranging from trendy to traditional.

America Loves Scrap Quilts by McCalls Quilting is chock full of gorgeous scrap patterns (with instructions for how much yardage to buy if you don't plan to go the scrappy route). You'll especially love this magazine if (like me) you adore reproduction fabrics. I'm thinking of tackling the cover quilt, even though it has the A-word. Applique-ing perfect circles has proven to be a challenge for me in the past. Lord knows I've got enough reproduction fabrics to choose from though!

I've gone and made myself hungry by naming this post the way I did. I foresee a Braum's run in my near future!

Where's the %&!@* camera?

Well, my husband and I took our camera with us to Tennessee to visit my parents last weekend (with a very brief stopover at Paducah), and now I can't seem to find it. I'm sure it's somewhere in the luggage I still haven't unpacked. When I didn't see it after a quick look in the suitcase, I assumed I had already brought it to the store. Now that I'm at the store, I realize it must be at home.

Anyhow, here are some very poor substitutes that I took with my cell phone.

Here is the first block for the Rosebud Lane block of the month:

The picture is out of focus, and the lighting is terrible, but it gives you and idea of what the blocks will look like made out of our fabric. Plus you can see a little better how the block is pieced with just a little bit of fusible applique. Stop by the shop to see the block is it's full glory. For instance, in this block the only things that are appliqued are: the chimneys on top of the roof, the bushes on the side of the house, the darker part of the front door, and the bird bath. I used fusible applique, and I think I'll take it home with me tonight and hand blanket stitch it. I'm not fortunate enough to have a good blanket stitch on my sewing machine. Plus, I have tons of embroidery floss at home so I can match the colors better.

This is a portion of a quilt I am doing out of the Freshcut line of fabrics. You can download the pattern from the Quiltmaker website. The pattern had 16 blocks, but once I got it all arranged on my living room floor, I decided I wanted to make it big enough to go on the guest bed, so I had to put the project on hold while I cut out an additional 14 blocks. It takes one fat quarter for each block you want to make, and the blocks are 15 inches, so it's pretty easy to figure out how many blocks/fat quarters you need for any size quilt.

Here are couple of things that have arrived at the shop in the last few days. The first is Terry Atkinson's new book (ya know, the Terry Atkinson who designed the Yellow Brick Road pattern) called Happy Hour. I'm dying to make the bag and pillow projects which take just 3 fat quarters each.

And Quilt Sampler is awesome as always. I'm not sure if Wal-mart has this one yet or not. I think they ship to independent retailers first, so be the first to get your copy of Quilt Sampler!
I'll post more pictures when I find that %&!@* camera!