Shopping at REI tonight

Although I have a canoe, I'm considering a kayak. Something to splash around in a lake or Class I/II, with Stella of course.

Something that loads easily onto the truck.

Something I can put her onto/into when we're in the water.

So far, it looks like the best option is a Sit-On-Top.

Now to decide if I should do a one or two person?

How long 'til I train her to stand on the bow, like in the picture above?

Email me if you have ideas on the right playboat for our needs.

9Patch for my Aunt...Oh-my-god-it's-PINK

I think that this is the pinkest I've ever sewn.
It's bright and oh-my-god-it's-pink pink.
She's going to love it!
The flannel on the back has stars - very warm and cozy.
I hope this quilt will see many naps....

Grams' potting table... refinishing update

The arduous task of stripping is complete and I'm now sanding.

It's coming along!

I still haven't decided on a color... but I have found a new-to-me product: Milk Paint.

I bought some samples and will try it on scrap wood first, to see if will make the finish I like.

A four pack of quilts back from the quilter!

Just back from the quilter today are my four latest creations:

"the orange project," bubbles and patches, 9patch cowboys, and another plainspoken. I think the plainspoken is a design that will be with me for a while.

These were, again, quilted by Melear Fabrics. Great job, again!

All four have flannel on the back to make them warm and luxurious.

There is orange flannel on the backside of this one. It's a Denyse Schmidt design.

Each piece is crooked! It made me cry a little bit.

There is light-green flannel on the back side of this one! It was a quilt-kit from Connecting Threads, made with 2.5 jelly rolls.

The 9-patches were given to me from a friend... you can't see it too well on this photo, but some of the fabric prints have cowboys on it! Yeha! I put forest green flannel on the back.

This last one has chocolate flannel on the back. This plainspoken is starting to be a fav! It's all in the palatte!
These four will be christmas gifts!!!!!

Last year, I took the handmade pledge and failed miserably! I was able to do about 10% of the gifts by hand.

This year, I've taken it again, and have pledged for 100%.

I hope I make it to 60%!

Christmas, I'm ready for you!

Grams' potting table... re-envisioned [before photos]

One of my next projects...

Refinish Grams' old potting table! It's the real thing!

It's been on her back porch for decades and is now home with me.

The porcelain top has a rich patina, so that will not be refinished.

Everything below the top is dropping paint chips, so I'll be stripping, sanding, and painting or staining.

Now to pick a color for the legs and drawer face - my first thought is always red or orange, but this might need to stay white.

The tabletop's not really that dark; this was photographed in the shade.
The drawer needs some major help! Definitely a new bottom piece and maybe some dividers on the inside.
Overall, this is a fine specimen! I'm lucky to have Grams' table and the opportunity to use it.

This will either replace the computer table I've been using OR it will be a new sewing table.

So many possibilities!

First attempt at paper piecing!

Here's my first attempt at paper-piecing!

I see that I made a mistake on the last two pieces by sewing on the wrong line - but overall, I am pleased by my first attempt.

I learned a few things:

• even though it's about scraps, make sure they're big enough. [I had to re-do a few that were too small]
• my sewing's not too shabby. Following a line that's clearly marked wasn't too difficult!
• the possibilities of paper-piecing are endless!

I'm going to practice on a few more log cabins and see if I end up with enough courage to actually try a Kaffe Fassett's jewel squares on the cover of his book, Glorious Patchwork.

"Hop, Skip, & a Jump" or "The Orange Project"

I've started a new project: "Hop, Skip, & a Jump" from Denyse Schmidt's designs.

Lots of crooked strips in orange, my precious, precious, orange!

I'm loving it so far:

Each piece is a different size and are labeled so I don't get them mixed up - which is very easy to do.

Bubbles & Patches Lap Quilt

This is a "quilt kit" I bought from Connecting Threads last spring and just now pieced it together. I think it turned out to be a sharp looking lap quilt!

I haven't decided on a color for the back, but I'm sure it'll be flannel.

And...I know the perfect recipient for it!

Plainspoken quilt finished!

Finally Finished!

This is based on the "Plainspoken" pattern from the folks at Fun Quilts.

It's much more luxurious in person!

Again, I had this quilted by Melear Fabrics. The gals there do a fabulous job every time.

Here, you can check out the bold backing I chose for this:
I think my pal, Melissa, is going to love it!

Upcoming project: Amy Butler Messenger Bag

I'm going to try my hand at an Amy Butler pattern: Highstreet Messenger Bag.

I chose some great brick red exterior fabric for the bag and the lining will be the gray/turquoise.

We'll see what it turns out to be!

Bullseye/Log Cabin Quilt in the Frame!

What a great day!

The gals came over to put my quilt in the frame.

It was too big to put in the house, so we set it up in the driveway.

Here's the quilt in the frame, in the driveway:

Here's Pat and Evie laying the top on the frame.

After we had it on the frame, we rolled both sides so it would be a manageable size to go into the house.

Before it went into the house, we did some quilting outside.

It was a perfect day for outside quilting!

Headbands Headbands Headbands

They were a hit!

Here two girls modeling them: Kami & Kate.

Empty, but full of possibilities....

Today's Craisglist Score: A Re-Cycled Card Catalog Cabinet!

I couldn't be more pleased with the possibilities of this cabinet. All of my bits and pieces for crafting will be neatly organized, finally!

This comes from a university library about 2 hours from here... I can only imagine that they're going completely electronic and no longer need this fine specimen.

This wouldn't have been possible without the help of my mom, and aunt Lynn and uncle David. (mom wasn't available for the photo...)

Aunt Lynn, Uncle David - Thanks a million! I am ecstatic!

The camera added the smoke - it was in transition from the air conditioned house to the hair-curling humidity outside.

Mom's quilt back from the quilter

Finally, it's done... and I mean really done.

Mom's quilt came back from the quilter and it looks fabulous. I think she really likes it, but time will tell.

The fabric store that did the quilting is Melear Fabrics, located in Sullivan, MO and Salem, MO. They've done another spectacular job on it. I can't say enough great things about them. They do a huge variety of edge-to-edge patterns. This time, they finished the edge for me, too.

The pattern is "flock of triangles" from Denyse Schmidt. My version was made with mom's favorite colors... pink and maroon. I kind of like it.

Purple Crooked 9patch Baby Quilt!

Crooked 9 Patch is now my favorite kind of 9 patch!





This is going to be a great gift for a friend who is expecting her first child.
I worked on the top in a class at a local quilt shop a few years ago with a friend, but never found the right occasion to finish and gift it... until now!

Fuzzy wonderful purple flannel on the backside will make this the perfect blankey.

(the white lines will wash away)