Withdrawal!

Ugh, I'm still in the hospital. I feel good and I'm recovering well but they tell me I gotta stay for another day or two.

I have some hand-work to do but after peeking at the computer today I am really missing my sewing machine.

To make matters worse my husband said a couple boxes of fabric showed up on my doorstep! Guess what's in 'em!?

KITS!!!!

Well, the fabric for kits anyway. Yep. For Maison Bleue and Flora and Fauna.

They'll be available on my ETSY shop next Monday!

Classic Quilts

THANK YOU to everyone who sent me pics of their classic quilts. There are so many beautiful old quilts out there. I didn't grow up among old quilts. As far as I know, no one in my family quilted before me. Well, I'm sure someone did- but nobody kept the quilts to prove it. It sure would be cool to have some family heirlooms. Oh well, at least my kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc. will have plenty of mine. ;o)

Normally I draw random winners- but this time I just couldn't. I LOVED so many of the quilts that I saw but one in particular really spoke to me and I just had to pick it as a winner-

This beautiful quilt from Mary on Lake Pulaski. Mary has been a follower since my meager beginnings. I can be sure when I post that Mary will read and always leave a comment. Thanks Mary! When I first saw this quilt I thought 'Sunflowers'. Did anyone else get that? The more I look at it the less I see sunflowers- but that was the first inspiring thought that came to me. funny how that works sometimes, isn't it?

Wanna see what Mary won?

A 'Cherish Nature' Layer cake by Deb Strain. See, I told you it would be fabric.

Shoot me an email Mary with your shipping info. so I can get this out before I head back to the hospital on Thurs. (ugh!) Don't worry all, this time I remembered to pack THREAD! :o)

Float, Flutter, Fly

No, I'm not referring to the way I feel on pain meds. I'm quoting the lyrics to one of my favorite kids-shows as of late: the Backyardagains. Have you seen it? My daughter has a video and normally I dread those things because they play like a broken record- but this one is SO CUTE! I love it. And I sing- SING- when it's on. I beg her to watch this one sometimes. :o) Yadda, Yadda, what does that have to do with quilting?

Well I was singing one of the songs in my head just now "Questing, questing, questing. Never resting" and thinking about my latest 'QUEST'. I decided to write and ask for your help. I need classic quilt patterns. You know, the old favorites. Nine-patch, Grandma's flower garden, rail-fence. Except not those ones because I already know those ones. I've been online but there's just too much and it's very overwhelming. Besides, I need FAVORITES! Personal favorites. The ones YOU like. So help me out on my quest and give me some ideas.

Here's the thing. I know lots of classic BLOCKS so I would love some classic QUILTS. They can be a whole quilt made from the same block- but I need to see the quilt. I don't need the instructions- just a pic. Does that make sense? I've got somethin' in my brain and I need a little extra inspiration.

So see what you can find and send me and email with a pic. Sound good? As always, I'll be rewarding a lucky helper. Send those pics through next Mon. (3/22). I'll pick a winner so I can send you a treat before I undergo my next surgery on thurs. What's the prize? I don't know yet- but it's always fabric (and a COL pattern) and it's ALWAYS worth it!

Can't wait to see what you send!

I can't believe it!

It's beena rough couple of days- but I'm recovering well. I'm still in the hospital but finally feeling good enough to do more than just watch TV and doze in and out of consciousness.

Remember my projects?

Well I pulled out my 'bag of tricks' this morning and guess what I found?

NO THREAD!!!

What kind of quilter packs everything needed for a project and forgets a spool of thread? I mean, I even made sure to buy some needles so that I had them because I NEVER do hand work. I have needles, I have scissors. I have all the pieces to sew together trimmed and pressed and ready to go and NO THREAD to stitch them together with. ARGH!

I've asked all over the floor. no one has thread. I'm ready to call a real Dr. and ask for some sutures!

Actually, I have a friend coming to my resuce in a few hours and bringing me thread. But when she's here I won't want to sew- I'll want to visit. It's right now- my down (bored) time that I need thread.

UGH! I Can't believe it!

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go!

Thank goodness for this HUGE 'Authentic' bag I got from Sample Spree at Spring Market last year. It is MASSIVE. Tomorrow I go in for a Splenectomy. I'm not excited- but ready to get it overwith. This will be the first of 2 surgeries in the next month. I just want to get them done so I can recover and be ready for Minneapolis in May!

I thought it would be fun to show you a few of the things I'm taking for my stay in the hospital. I don't know if I'll even feel like doing anything- but I'd rather have it than be stuck there with nothing to do.


This first one is a little of a surprise. Some really clever folks might be able to figure out what's in this bag- but I'm keeping the main idea a secret for now!

Am I insane? I pondered the idea of doing another 'Grandma's Flower Garden' but since I'd done one before I thought I'd do something different. When I ran up to Village dry Goods the other day I picked up a pack of these 'Apple Core' templates. Everything is cut and ready to go- all I have to do is hand stitch them together.

My BFF crochets. I haven't been able to talk her into quilting yet- but it seems she's talked me into her hobby! This is a super chunky yarn. I thinking of a simple chain stitch in a pot-holder style. Make two and connect for a fun throw pillow. What do you think?

Of course I need a couple notebooks and sketch pads in case I have any hospital-inspired quilt ideas!

Sadly I'm realizing it's time for some of these. Although I need a 'real' prescription- no time to get one before I go under the knife. SO these will have to do for now. Only a couple bucks and PINK- can't beat that!

Lastly, some good reading material. I'm sure I'll get through those mags just waiting for the surgery to start. I couldn't believe my luck- one of my favorite authors just released a NEW title! Perfect timing for my stay in bed!

I'm actually looking forward to a little down time. But I'll definately go through some sewing machine withdrawals!

See You Soon!

Did you SEE that?

Ok. I am close to speechless right now. That is a big step for me. I just settled onto the couch this morning and was wondering what the day was going to bring. I settled m 'lappy' onto my lap and began to check all of my favorite blogs. I usually check MINE last. Why? Because I already know what the post is- and I want to save all my comments for the end to give me a pick-me-up before I close 'lappy' and head off to my daily chores a.k.a. being a Mom/housewife.

But today was different than most days. I started checking out blogs alphabetically. Which means right I after I read a little 'cjane' and skipped past 'crazymomquilts' (*sniff, sniff* I still can't get over that) I clicked right on CRAZYOLDLADIES. Scroll down to see comments and notice there is one more than the lats time I checked. *CLICK!*

SPEECHLESS! Did YOU see who commented on MY blog? I'm still in a bit of shock. I'm a bit of a fan of some of those quilters out there and I view them with a slight (Ok, probably a lot more than 'slight') celebrity status. So when I see that JOANNA of FIG TREE QUILTS has commented on my blog it's almost as if I've brushed elbows with someone famous.

I met Joanna once. I'm sure she doesn't remember. It was in Pittsburgh @ Spring market last year. She had the most BEAUTIFUL booth. I couldn't get enough of it and asked if I could take pictures. I wasn't surprised at all to learn that she won an award at market for "Best Merchandising" (I think!?). It was amazing.

So forgive me on this weary Wednesday morning if I'm a little star-struck. But, I mean, Joanna commented on my blog! :o)

SHOW and TELL!

Jalaire Allen sent these beautiful pictures of the 'In Bloom' quilt that she made just after Christmas for her daughter.

I see lots of Fig Tree fabric in there- Mmmmm, some of my favorites!

It's beautiful! Thanks for sharing Jalaire.
Don't forget to email me your address and pattern pick!

On a side note: Surgery delayed. Don't know when yet- but not today!