Grand Master Plan for 2016 - Sewing Addition

Let's get one thing straight right from the beginning.  I added "Sewing Addition" at the end of this title because I do not want you to think FOR ONE MOMENT that all I ever do is sew or quilt, or blog about sewing or quilting.  HA!  I am as multi-faceted as you are.

I plan to lose weight this year, just like you do.
I plan to get my house decluttered this  year, just like you do.
I plan to take control of my schedule this year, just like you do.

But I'm not blogging about those endeavors.  At least not HERE.

I also want you to know that I struggle JUST LIKE YOU DO - to keep all those plans in motion.  We can't do it all.

I get to sew maybe an hour or two a day without interruption - if I'm lucky and have myself together.  This blog is to FORCE me to get as much done, as consistently as possible in the time allotted.

So, without further ADO, here are my (possibly lofty and un-achievable) plans for Sewing in 2016:

JANUARY

Mustang Fence (rail fence variation using Cotton+ Steel fabric)

No-Sew Minecraft Fleece blanket (gift)

FEBRUARY

Birds of a Feather (WIP - needs to be sandwiched, and quilted)

MARCH

Amy Butler bag of choice from "Style Stitches" (you can get yours HERE)

APRIL

Dresden Plate blocks (WIP - need to finish two blocks and figure out what I'm doing with them)

MAY

Typewriter Quilt (using Windham's "type" fabrics, you can find mostly HERE)

JUNE

Frozen Quilt (WIP using Frozen panel and fabrics you can find HERE,  a gift)

JULY

Sports themed quilt for the hubs (need to decide between Red Sox and Packers, also a gift)

AUGUST

Hunter's Quilt (WIP started for my BFF's first son...that needs to be taken apart and re-sewn)

SEPTEMBER

Tropical Impression (another rail fence variation, but the plan for this one is to use up scraps)

OCTOBER

Mr. and Mrs. Crow (WIP - cute little stuffed crows that I need to finish up for decorating)

NOVEMBER

Christmas Tree Quilt (WIP I started this past Christmas, that needs to be sandwiched and quilted)

DECEMBER

Fish Quilt (a gift for a man in my life)

Already looking at this list, I can see a few things that may need to be changed around.  For example, the Fish quilt is supposed to be a gift for Christmas.  Starting it in December may be a bad idea, so I may swap that out with something a few months earlier - just in case plans go awry.  A few of those WIP's made me cringe just typing them on my list...but they NEED to get done and out of my room!!  I need to make space for fun and inspiring projects and stop looking at those unfinished projects with disgust.  

Also, add to this list Pencil cases and Fabric circle earrings that I want to make for gifts as well - but only if I finish up a monthly project early and have extra time on my hands... and I do have a Half Square Around The Block quilt that I would really like to finish because it's simply adorbs....so...

I have not yet decided what exactly I'm going to do if a project runs over a month.  I guess I can double up (like I'm doing this month already) or if it's a particularly involved project, I may just be "done for now" and try again next year...

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The links in this post are affiliate links, and I DO get a kickback if you should choose to buy from my Amazon store...but I figured if you are going to buy from Amazon anyway...could you do me a solid and support my monetary endeavors?  I do need to eat once in awhile.  ;-)

Birds of a Feather

Birds of a Feather in progress

I'm not sure you can even see WHY I chose to call this yummy specimen "Birds of a feather"...but I will explain it to you.  There's a story to this one...

The Turquoise fabric in the center of the quilt is Amy Butler's Belle Royal Garden, and on it there are extravagant peacock looking birds, flowers, and buildings... It really is something to behold, and it took me longer than it should have to take a cutter to it because I just kept looking at it and smiling like a dork. (perhaps while drooling and saying "Ooooo...soooo preeety...")

I purchased said Amy Butler fabric (I may or may not have a slight Amy Butler crush) from a dear soul on Etsy - just doing my part to help the other creatives out there like myself...I would give you the link to her shop, but it seems she is no longer selling...

ANYWAY, I wanted the Amy Butler fabric, and then I wanted a coordinating green fabric to go with it to create this quilt. So I also purchased a green that LOOKED like it would coordinate nicely on my computer...but when I received them in the mail, they did not, in fact, go together at all.  The green in the Amy Butler fabric is a two-toned olive-ey green that is really hard to describe.  The stuff I purchased was lime green with sunglasses on it.  HA!

GUESS WHAT?  I had the PERFECT green in my stash!  WOOT!! It contains both the greens in the Amy Butler fabric AND it looks like feathers.  Or palm fronds.  OR FEATHERS!  I cannot tell you what line the fabric is from, as I received it in a fabric swap from someone who apparently had big plans for it and the rest of the fabrics in the line, and then didn't do anything beyond cutting and sorting.

And that's not all, folks.  I had a gift card for Jo-Anne's that I intended to use to purchase the border fabric.  Because, you know, I certainly don't have any fabric in my studio!  Pshht!  I knew I wanted a light blue to bring out the light blue in the fabric.  I actually had the color in my stash but not enough.  SO, I was ALL ORGANIZED and had some extra blocks to take with me to match this fabric.  I mean, you don't want to end up with fabric that doesn't match, right?  TRAGEDY.  So my husband and I set off sans children to pick up some fabric.  As we pulled into the parking lot, I realized that I set down the blocks...and left them on my kitchen table!  I was flying blind.  DRAT!  I really said drat too.  Because I say silly things like that.

I went back and forth several times about whether I should just save the buying for another day, but I was already there...blah, blah, blah... 

Do you SEE those borders?  The picture does not do them justice.  They both have metallics in them!!  The light blue has little silver swirlies and the navy has metallic silver dots.  (I also may or may not have a slight obsession with dots).  DIDN'T EVEN DO THAT ON PURPOSE! When I bought them, I was 99.9% sure they would work, but told myself that I loved them both enough that if they did NOT work, I would use them for SOMETHING.  In fact, I bought the rest of the bolt of the light blue fabric and will definitely be using that elsewhere.

Birds of a Feather

So I have the borders on here.  The top is DONE.  Next week I will decide how I am going to quilt it and whether that requires me to mark it (doubtful because I KISS), or wing it...sandwich and go.  Should be done soon.  Then I will photograph her and list her in my shop.  Come visit me there at

Lydia's Purple Cloth.  I have one listed that is the same block pattern but different fabrics...but you can only look at it because it's reserved for someone else...But still.  

Okay, enough rambling for me now.  Hope you enjoyed my gawd-awful photography.  If you REALLY want to appreciate Amy Butler fabric, you should go to her design site.  She has great stuff there.  She truly speaks my language.

Peace to you!  

Good Things Are Coming!

Have I ever been busy!  I have finished one whole quilt from start to finish, and am getting another one ready to be quilted by a professional.  Not that I'm not a professional (totally not), I just don't exactly have the facilities to quilt a bed-sized quilt.  YET. OK, Fine. You've caught me.  I really just don't WANT to quilt it myself.

• A: my machine is too small and it is a pain.  
• B: doing it by hand takes FOR. EVER.  I need this puppy done by June, y'all.

I have some pictures of my accomplishments.  First, the FINISHED project:  Ta-da.....

How stinkin' GORGE is this quilt?  If I do say so myself.  I used the Pennsylvania Keystone template from Jeanette Kittlan of the former Endless Mountains Quiltworks.  (TOTALLY have more of this type of quilt coming down the pike) The fabrics from the center of the quilt also came from EMQ - she was going out of business and I pretty much fell in love with both the modern gray and the fun bicycle print.  ADORBS.  The orange border, polka-dot border, and cozy flannel back are all from Joanne's.  I am SOOOOOO glad I decided to go with the orange.  I almost went with blue, but the orange spoke to me.  Plus, I made it for a couple and one-half of said couple claims orange as their favorite color, and the other half claims blue, so this makes the quilt quite perfect, IMO.

It seems every quilt has a story behind it and this one is no different.  Quite early in the process, I was sewing along when my machine beep, beep, beeped...and then all my buttons refused to work.  So from that point on, I only had one stitch - straight, and I could no longer even use the "needle down" feature.  Nothing.  I felt lucky I could use the machine at all.  

Unwilling to switch machines in the middle of a project (because, anyone who sews knows this could be a really bad idea), and unwilling to pause the project while I was feeling inspired and energetic, I plodded forth.  I believe I was sewing on the last border when the machine again beep, beep, beeped and VOILA!  All my stuff works again and I was even able to put a decorative stitch on the binding.  Weird.  

I should probably have that looked at...

The second quilt is much bigger.  I made it for my niece using materials that her mother (my sister) used to make clothes for her when she was a baby/little girl.  Since the fabrics from my sister were very juvenile in nature, and my niece is graduating high school this year, I wanted to temper that feeling with something more modern.  Confession:  Not my favorite choices.  The fabrics for this were chosen YEARS ago, before I discovered my love affair with dots.  I did the best I could with what I had, but if I did it NOW, it would look slightly different.

I designed the layout of the quilt all myself.  It turned out square, even thought I tried to lengthen the ends.  Oh well.  It's the thought that counts right?  As I said before, this is only a top.  I have enough material from my sister to do the entire back, so I will be putting that together soon.

Backstory:

This quilt took YEARS to finish.  I designed it on graph paper.  I cut.  I counted, I measured.  For some reason I got bored and put it aside...when I came back to it, I finished cutting the gray material for the top....THE WRONG SIZE!  Instead of 4.5" strips, I cut 4" strips. To be honest:  I think tears were shet. THANKFULLY, I was able to find more of the exact same fabric at Hobby Lobby (where I got the black and gray fabrics from).  Then I lost the fabric in my ridiculously disorganized home.  TWICE.  I found said material three times, though, and eventually cut it correctly and finished up the quilt.  There were lots of "moments" with this quilt, which could be why I kept putting it down.  By "moments" I mean blocks sewn backwards, needing to stop half-way through piecing to cut more blocks, OH, did I mention that at one point I transferred my "old school" pattern on paper to a computer program...and then my computer crashed HARD, and I lost it...after I threw out the paper copy?  Oh yeah.  Tears, I tell you. Many tears were shed during the making of this quilt.  MANY rookie mistakes.  It will probably be awhile before I attempt to design a top myself again.  But my niece will be able to claim that she has the first and possibly only quilt designed by MOI.  So there.

I actually do not have a picture of the complete top because I am waiting until it is all pretty and finished.  But you can see about half of it here and imagine the rest...;-)

I need to get some close ups of the adorable scrap fabric that will mean so much to her.  Some of it is really adorable.

So that is what I have been up to all these months.  I have some new fabric coming to my mailbox soon...not soon enough for my liking, but it's on the way.  I have plans to make a Keystone quilt in a lavender colorway using a chevron print and a polka-dot print...I also have a wonderful Amy Butler fabric in my stash that I will be using for another one in a burgundy and green colorway...I have a really pretty Amy Butler print coming my way that I will also be pairing with green...  and a sweet mint green rose print that I have not yet paired, but I will most likely go with pink.  I want to do a mint and navy quilt because that is actually my favorite color combo of the moment....but Navy is a hard color to work with on the computer, so I am going to do that one in person.  Hobby Lobby, here I come....All that, and I am also quilting a t-shirt quilt for my sister-in-love.  For the past two years.  See?  FOR. EVER.

And what have YOU been doing lately?

Journey to a Meaningful Thanksgiving: 10 Things I'm Thankful For This Year

Ten Things I'm Thankful For This Year

1. My new friends/honorary family in Maliarette, Haiti.  I visited Haiti with a group from church in August and fell in love with the families and the kids.  We partner with the 410 bridge and send groups regularly to this community, and have spent years building trust and support.  To learn more about this community in Haiti, check out the 410 Bridge page.  You can see what children are available for sponsorship and what the community needs.  When we visited, I got to see the children get personal letters and pictures from the people in my church.  It was really cool to make the connections.
2. My new living room!  About  a year and a half ago, I decided that I was going to re-do the steps to the second floor.  I wanted to take off the carpet and paint it nice and pretty.  For some reason, once I pulled up the carpet, my husband decided we should just re-do the ENTIRE DOWNSTAIRS...  and somehow, I agreed that this would be a great idea.  Now,, almost two years later, one room is done.  I am SO grateful for that one room being done.  You have no idea what it's like to literally live in one room of your house.  Unless you live in Haiti, I guess...
3. My husband.  He really puts up with a lot of crazy from me.  I am in my head a lot, and when it gets full, the ideas in there just come tumbling randomly out of my mouth, and he must wonder about me a lot of the time.  I always say I'm shocked he leaves me alone with our children all day without worrying that I will lose one of them.  He  never complains, and sees to it that I am spoiled as much as possible.
4. My BFF, Julie.  We have been friends for so long (can you say, 35 years?), that it is easier to count the number of years we HAVEN'T known each other than it is to count how long we have been friends! We met in kindergarten, we fought like sisters through high school, we lived together in college, and now we text and Skype from 1400 miles away as we raise our kids and love our husbands.  She is the only one who has stuck by me through the long haul, and she is officially family to me.
5. This blog.  I'm not sure if this one makes me sound self-serving?  I simply say this because it allows me to have a creative outlet and it holds me accountable for the things I want to get done.  If I'm going to blog about them, I better do them right? And with the blog comes thankfulness for YOU, dear reader, for supporting me and reading my drivel...which also keeps me accountable!  Thank you!
6. Project 333.  I am so glad I stumbled upon this group of people!  I have wanted to simplify my life for so long...and there is a plethora of complicated information about simplifying out there.  But this one really got me off my butt and into action.  Anyone who has ever started a project knows that all one needs is the first step.  After that, it's easier to take the next one, and the next...until it snowballs into great progress. So thank you for Project 333 for taking stress out of my life that I didn't even know was there until it wasn't.
7. My children.  Man, do they teach me stuff.  We have forayed into cyber-school at home this year and is it ever an eye-opener.  Being a direct part of my children's education has changed all our lives for the better.  We spend SO MUCH time together, it's ridiculous... but it's okay.  That surprised me, but in a good way.  I am not one of those moms who "Loves being with my children" day in and day out (you must sing that in a sunshiny voice while skipping to and fro to get the full effect. Ahem.) ...I'm kind of a loner and get irritated when people constantly talk to me - and my kids talk!  All. The. Time. But we are good, and I'm thankful for that!
8. Fresh water to drink and plenty of food to eat.  This one goes back to my trip to Haiti.  I had to be careful not to drink the water there.  I had to also be careful not to eat just anything someone handed me to eat.  It was weird for me.  Especially when the people offering me the food and water really needed it for themselves and for their children...but they were only thinking of me. Being mindful of what I eat and drink is my way to be mindful of my new friends in Haiti, and what they are NOT eating and drinking...
9. Cooler weather. I love the crisp autumn weather.  Actually I like autumn everything.  I like the colors, the smells, the tastes...everything.
10. Turkey and stuffing.  There.  I said it.  I'm completely superficial here, but I really love the bird on Thanksgiving.

How about you?  What are your three top reasons to be thankful this year? Leave yours in the comments!

Project 333

Disclaimer: In an effort to be transparent, I want you to know  that I am currently an affiliate of Project 333, but all the comments are mine and I am not being paid to post this.  In fact, I didn't become an affiliate until the post was finished, and this was edited in!
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I am going to do it.  I'm joining an online community that narrows their wardrobe down to only 33 pieces of clothing - including shoes and accessories - for three months at a time.  Undies, sleepwear, loungewear, and exercise clothing is not included, but I can guarantee you that I will be paring those items down as much as possible in the next round.  I only need 7 pairs of undies, maximum, right?  7 days in the week = 7 undies.  The MOST I'm going to work out in one week is 6 times, so I could probably get by with 3 exercise outfits and wash half way through the week...you see where I'm going with this.

I went through my closet and dresser drawers last night and put my decision into action.  I am going to admit right now that I've already broken the rules.  I could not narrow down my earring choices any more, so if I were to consider each pair as an item, I went over the recommended 33...but only by a pair.  Call me a rebel.  Next time, I may just go ahead and consider earrings one item as a whole, but we will see.  I will probably need more clothing options in the colder months because Outerwear is included in the 33!

I am also entering the project halfway through a cycle.  The summer cycle started July 1, and obviously we are a couple weeks into August already.  I thought that would work to my advantage though.  If I hate it, I can always stop after the month and a half.  I haven't tossed the clothes that didn't make the cut (except ones that REALLY didn't make the cut AKA: Those that I knew I would never wear again), but boxed them up for review again later.  I had a lot of t-shirts that I didn't want to toss because of sentimental reasons, so if they go unworn until this time next year...I need to just do it already.  Maybe I will make a t-shirt quilt!!

But I digress...

Here is my official Project 333 Summer of 2014 list of items:

4 dresses
2 tunics
3 tops
5 tank tops
2 pairs of leggings
1 t-shirt (mostly for under one of the tunics but can be worn alone too)
3 pairs of shorts
2 sweaters
6 pairs of earrings
1 necklace
3 pairs of shoes
1 pair black slacks
1 skirt

So far I am not experiencing any anxiety about only having a few things to wear...but I also just came back from a missions trip to Haiti, where I basically wore the same two outfits for a whole week, so...my perspective may be skewed.

I AM experiencing some anxiety when I think about getting rid of the boxed up items, but I can put that action off for now.  Looking at my closet and dresser is nice because its minimalistic nature takes the stress out of dressing...and actually makes me a little more creative in trying different things together/mixing and matching things I wouldn't normally try.

This first purge has already made huge space in my room!  Previously, I had to put all of my exercise clothing in an extra 3-drawer rolling storage container because I didn't have room in my dresser.  Now I have emptied that container and will be taking it to the basement where it is needed to help store TP and paper towels.  SPACE!  Woot!  I should take a picture of my closet for you so you can see how little is hanging on my side.  It's mostly empty hangers!  It's so exciting to see it.  I will be working on the hubby to do the same once I get the hang of it.  I also have a sneaking suspicion that this is going to carry over to many other areas of my life.  Like the book shelves?  We have more books than shelves...so I will probably be working on that once the clothing thing gets routine.

This cycle lasts through September, so my ONLY concern is that I only picked one pair of pants (and they seem pretty dressy, but maybe they will be more versatile than I think) and if it gets chilly in September, I may be suffering...or I may also swap some shorts out mid-month for some jeans.  I can do that.  I am a rebel, remember?

If you would like to learn more about Project 333, or build your own capsule wardrobe, you can take the "Build a Capsule Wardrobe" course.  Just click on this link and off you go!

I will be back next week for an update on how it REALLY feels living with less than 33 items of actual clothing...  Until then... Orevwa!  (that would be Hatian for good bye...not bad French spelling!)

Trash To Treasure Lamp Table # 2

First things first:  If you are visiting from Chic on a Shoestring, thanks so much for stopping by!

I painted the second table.  It looks quite similar to the first one, but I did lightly distress it and seal it.  The only picture I got was of the side where you can really see the distressing...ish.

See in the cracks and crevasses the slight darkness?  I did that mostly using a stain marker.  I thought I would try that first to see how it turned out before I turned to the traditional stain method...and I really liked it.  I maybe didn't wait for the polycrylic to dry long enough because I was in a hurry to get it done....I mean, who wants to wait 24 hours!?  If you compare it to this photo you will see that there IS a difference, however minor:  (don't judge the state of my house behind the picture...can you say constructionlastingforever?)

I feel like the polycrylic did change the color ever so slightly...not enough to cry, but I feel it is somehow richer or something.  Not bad...just different.  Also this picture really shows the difference in the detail.  You can barely see it in the first table, but in the one I distressed, you can see more detail and stuff.

This was my first try at distressing and I am happy with the results.  I will surely be doing it again when I find the next item to revive.

• What I used:  Valspar paint and primer in one, La Fonda Teal
• Minwax Polycrylic in satin finish
• Minwax stain marker in Ebony
• 3M 120 grit sandpaper block - rinse and reuse!

Next up:  See what else I did with this gorgeous teal paint!

Trash to Treasure: Lamp Table Makeover

I will admit proudly right now:

I am a trash picker.

Dumpster diver.

Curbside garbage stalker.

I can't help it.  When I see something perfectly good but extremely ugly sitting on a curb waiting for the garbage men, I need to rescue it like a puppy in a kennel.  Sometimes this habit goes badly.  Lots of times I pick stuff up that is more than ugly...it's broken.  And that stinks.  Sometimes I pick stuff up that needs more work than I have time or energy for.  That stinks too...and results in stuff cluttering up my house waiting for the magical moment I decide to get to it.  But other times  I get a burst of energy and willingness to fail miserably at something....and then magic happens!

My husband (who is inheriting my dumpster-diving habit by osmosis) brought home two matching lamp tables from probably 1970.  They were charming and had these really cute little lion doorknocker looking things on the side.  I vowed to keep those even if the tables didn't work out.  I knew that I wanted to repaint them for sure....and I have been reading about the wonders of DIY chalk paint....and wanted to try it....

Pause for a moment.  I am a self-professed lazy perfectionist.  This means I want stuff perfect...but my standards are so ridiculously high that I don't possess the energy to make it the way I want it.  HOWEVER, the older I get, the better I get.  I'm not sure if this means I'm more talented or if it means that I don't care....and I will not expend valuable energy trying to figure it out.

SO, I figured:  the tables are free.  If I try this paint thing and it goes horribly bad, a)  I have TWO of them, and b) they didn't cost me a thing.  And this is what has happened so far:

To say that I am giddy with excitement is an understatement.  I found my favorite color.  I found my favorite finish.  I found my favorite technique.  See the little lions?  Aren't they darling?  And with the lighter color paint, they get to have their day of admiration.  I'm not too proud to admit that I was sweating hard with the first coat because there were serious brush marks.  But I stuck with it and fell in serious love.

Stay tuned because I am currently painting the second table and plan to distress it.  Again, if it goes poorly, I always have this one to stare at all day...