Happy Saturday!

The show in Iowa City was lots of fun last weekend!  My friend, Becky O, helped me on Saturday - which was awesome.  We haven't gotten together for a long time, so it was nice to be able to chat.  We had plenty of time to visit in the afternoon because it started snowing and all of the quilters stayed home!  My husband helped on Sunday, which was also fun.  He hasn't ever helped me at a show before, so it was nice for him to meet some of the people and just to see how everything works.  He's had some great ideas of how to make things easier and better for future shows.

I finally finished a new quilt design.  My goal was to have it all done and the patterns ready to sell at the "It's a Gatherin'" show in Stover, MO on April 4th and 5th, but when I was invited to the I-80 shop hop in Iowa City, I rushed to get the binding sewn on, and brought the quilt along to the show and offered the pattern as a pre-order.  It is called "Dottie's Dashes".

As usual, it's not a good picture, but at least you get the idea.  I hope you can see some of the quilting if you enlarge it - Kym Ward from Reds Threads worked her magic on this.  I am always so impressed with everything she quilts for me - she does such great work!  I'm getting closer to being finished with writing the pattern and having it ready to publish.  Lots of people ordered it at the show, so I really need to get it finished!  Pattern writing is not my favorite thing, and I need to learn to write the pattern first, then make the quilt - but it never happens that way in my world!  Oh, and it really is square and not all wonky like it looks in this picture!  It's a fairly large quilt (72" x 84") and I was trying to just get a quick pic to show you, without rearranging my sewing room for a clear shot!  The "dark" fabrics are all from the Jo Morton line called Ember Reds and Evergreens and the "lights" are all from different lines from Primitive Gatherings.  Do you remember when I was begging for that black fabric?  It was to finish this quilt!  I had a half yard bundle of the Jo fabrics - which was obviously not enough for borders and binding.  The original plan was to use something that coordinated for the borders, but in the end, I really wanted the same fabrics for borders and binding that were in the quilt top.

Speaking of fabric designed by Primitive Gatherings - have you seen Lisa's newest line called Homestead Gatherings?  Oh my!!  When I saw that they had the pre-cuts in, my first thought was...well...Happy Birthday To Me!!  I ordered them right away and have been playing with them ever since!  Blacks, reds, greens and brown!  YUM!!  The red is so nice...dark...LOVE IT!  See the houses?  LOVE!

 Now normally when I buy these fun bundles, I can hardly stand to open them up and disrupt the perfectness.  But, I just couldn't help myself on this one and I cut into them immediately!  And the results...

Obviously, they aren't finished yet - but you can see the fun I had!  Really, really love these fabrics!

One more thing that I wanted to share...look at this adorable birthday card that I got from my customer and friend, Nancy B.  Obviously she knows me well!  Isn't it just adorable?

 See how everything pops up?  So cute!  Thanks again for thinking of me, Nancy!

And what's a post without a fluffy?  Well, it's just incomplete!  Ozzie likes to be close...sometimes a little too close...

And Callie just thinks he's weird (pot calling the kettle black!)

She's a little wide to be resting here, but she was happy.  Another reminder of why I buy lint rollers by the case!

Have a great weekend!

Fabric found and an upcoming show!

Thanks to everyone who sent suggestions about that elusive fabric!  Would you believe that I ordered it from FIVE different websites and every single one of them later contacted me, saying that they did not have it? Very frustrating!  I finally called The Quilted Moose in Gretna, NE and they had it.  However, I did not get my hopes up until it actually landed in my hands!  So glad that I finally found it, and now it's time to put it to use.  I designed a new quilt and this fabric is for the binding.  It is all perfect timing, because I should get my quilt back from the quilter today.  I can't wait to see what she has done with it.  Will post more on that when it's finished!

We are busy getting ready for a show in Iowa City - it is part of the I-80 Shop Hop (you can read about the Clear Lake Hop here).  This show is much closer to home for me, so I was happy for the invitation to vend there.  Here are the details on the show...

Where: Clarion Highlander Hotel in Iowa City

              Exit 246 I-80 and Hwy 1.  

When:  Saturday, February 15, 10:00 - 5:00

             Sunday, February 16, 10:00 - 4:00

I love the idea of these Shop Hops - SIXTEEN vendors - all under one roof!  How much easier can it get for all of us Quilt-a-holics?!  If you are in the area - please stop by and say hi. 

We've been busy getting ready for the show, and also sent out the third charm in Charming 2 - here they are...

One last thing....I've had numerous people leave comments on my blog that are "no reply commenters".  Please check your settings.  If you don't have a clue how to fix it (I'm technologically challenged...so I get that!!) take a look at this link - Lori did a great job explaining how to fix it - and change your settings!  I always reply to every comment that is left here - so if you don't hear back from me, that means you are a No Reply Commenter.  

And speaking of no reply people...recently Jackie Patton asked a question about a fabric that she saw in this post.  Jackie...that fabric is from Moda and is a line by Laundry Basket Quilts called Dancing in the Rain.  

And last...since everyone has to talk about the weather - we've had a lot of snow and have more in the forecast for the next 4 days.  Doesn't bother me one little bit until I have to go out and drive in it and then I am the grouchiest person in the world!  So...think I will just stay in my toasty sewing room, surrounded by fabric, with a cup of coffee!  Yep...makes me happy!

Hope you have a great day!

Searching for fabric - and the deal of the week!

I am designing a new quilt, that I will publishing soon, but I have a little problem.  I am in desperate need of about a half yard of fabric!  It is from the Jo Morton line called Ember Reds and Evergreen.  This line is a few years old, so I'm having trouble finding it.  I did locate it on a website, and ordered 3 yards, but it turned out that they only had ONE yard - YIKES!  Well, I made it work for the quilt top, but I really think I need to use this fabric for binding.  So....can anyone help me out?  It is a black background and you can see the small print with green leaves and gold berries.  If you happen to have it, I would be thrilled to buy it from you!

If you are on my e-mail list, you will have already received the following info, but if not - please read!  We are having a special on the website this week....

Did you know that the United States Postal Service has increased their rates again?  BOO!  It does not make me happy, but there sure isn’t anything that we can do about it.  You all know that I love my mail lady and I also love my tiny local post office – and am very thankful to have them.  I know a lot of people don’t have it as good as we do – they really take care of me and go the extra mile and I appreciate it.  I would feel much better about this increase if it were going in the pockets of the people who look out for me!  There was also an increase in postage last year about this same time.  With that being said, I am going to have to raise my shipping rates.  I did not increase my prices last year, but I can’t keep eating these costs.  So…my deal to you is this…my postage will remain the same until next weekend.  So, anything you order this week, you will still receive my old rates.  Anything from Sunday on will be charged the new rates. 

Over the last several days, I have added several new pieces to the website, but thought I would share these as well.  The following pictures are things that we finished over the weekend.  You won’t find them on the website yet, but if you are interested in any of them, just send me an e-mail.

 Please do your best to ignore the awful glare on the red log cabin below!

As always you can see more items on my website!

Have a great week!

Fun with Wool

Good morning!  Do you take things to Goodwill?  There is a similar business in Burlington, Iowa, called Hopefully Yours which is run by residents of Hope Haven - here's a little blurb from their website...

"Hope Haven nurtures independence through a broad range of services for children, adults, and families with unique challenges.  Committed staff value and equip individuals according to their strengths and abilities.  Services are provided in Iowa and Southwest Minnesota."

I usually keep an ongoing box of items that I no longer need/want and when the box gets full, I take it to them.  They resell everything in their store.  They take absolutely everything - clothes, furniture, dishes, decorative items - anything you don't want - they will resell. I've heard of some people finding some real treasures in this store - fabric, crocks, etc., but normally when I drop things off, I do not wander around the store - because there is nothing that I need!  But, the last time I was there, I decided to check out the clothing section and see if I could find any wool treasures that I could re-purpose.  Sure glad that I did because I found several jackets and a couple of skirts.  I don't have them all torn apart yet, but here are the few that I have worked on...

I really like the jacket parts on the left - I think this would make a good background for blocks.  The red on the right is a really nice red, I was thrilled to find it (since red is my favorite color!).  The peach-ish in the center is my least favorite - it was a skirt and was only a dollar or two, so I thought it was worth it.  It will work for something.  The other skirt is a black and white herringbone that is kind of cool.  My dad gave me a couple of his old suits that he decided he would never wear again, and those are also in the pile that needs to be taken apart.

Do you treasure hunt for wool?  I can't wait to start putting some of this to good use!

I have to share some kitty pictures (of course!).  Here is Ozzie - minding his own business (but not so much minding his manners!).

 And along comes Miss Callie, who just can't stand it that he was chilling out!

And now for the takedown...he always wins - you would think she would stop coming back for more!

They are so entertaining - look at those ears!

And just so you don't think that all I do is watch the cats all day...I have been working too -since Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I had to take some pictures of hearts...

 And because so many people are tired of winter and ready for spring - I thought I would share some pieces that remind me of spring - a little lighter and brighter than my usual fabrics.

 And just a few odds and ends...

I put a bunch of new items on the website this morning, so be sure to take a look there.

In December, I shared this picture of the charm that all of my Charming 2 customers received...

One of my customers, Teresa from Australia, made her matching 6" block and sent me a picture to prove it!

I love the fabrics that she chose - and you can see the size difference between her block and her little 3/4" charm.  Cute! So glad that she shared this with me!

Back to work!  Hope you have a great day!

Beautiful!

I like to get up early in the morning - drives me crazy when people sleep the day away!  There's things to do! Here is one reason...this is what I see early in the morning, from my sewing room - isn't it just beautiful?

Why would you want to sleep through that!

Hope you have a beautiful sunrise or sunset in your day!

Winter Wonderland

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a fun New Years!  Today I am hunkering down in my sewing room with my little fireplace cranking out the heat.  We are supposed to reach a whole 5 degrees today - BRRRR!!!  Unfortunately, I do have to leave my cozy house later this afternoon, but I'm trying not to think about that right now.

A few days before Christmas we had sleet and then a little over 4 inches of snow.  Not nice weather for people to have to travel in, but very beautiful to look at (from the same room mentioned above!).  I couldn't resist taking pictures of the trees and the pond  (through the window of course, so as always, you have to try to ignore the glare!).

 Loved this snowy sunrise...

We had some warmer days when most of the snow melted, but Mother Nature gave us a day of snow yesterday, so everything is white again.

We have some snowflakes inside too - as many of you know, my mom owns a stained glass business and teaches lots of classes, and has lots of fun stuff to play with!  We all went and spent a day in her shop a week before Christmas and made lots of snowflakes...
It was hard to get a decent picture - I finally ended up closing the blinds.  The one on the right is really pretty with the sun behind it - it's a really dark red.  Now, I know snowflakes aren't red - but you know red is my favorite color - so I had to make one!  I really love the turquoise-y one in the center, but it's not mine!

We had lots of fun making all of these, and made many great memories at the same time.

I forgot to mention in my last post that I was the winner of Janet O's giveaway!  I was so excited to win!  She made this cute little quilt - I love everything about it, and doesn't that stripe just make for the perfect binding? I also love her homemade soaps - they smell sooooo good.

She also sent some of the Floral Gatherings fabric by Primitive Gatherings - but somehow I managed to not get that in the picture!  Thanks again Janet - I just love it all!


I did actually finish something before Christmas - this table mat called Old St. Nick, by Primitive Gatherings, has been in my stash closet since last Christmas.  I was just determined to finish it before this Christmas, and boy, it was a close one!  The last stitch was put in on December 23rd!  Love that red wool!

And also finished long before Christmas (why did I not post this stuff sooner??) is this baby quilt that I made for friends who have a new baby girl.  She was born right after Thanksgiving and I actually had this little quilt FINISHED before her birth.  But then, some things got in the way and I haven't been able to get the quilt to them or to see that new little baby.  But, they have it now and I hope to see the baby in the near future!  This pattern is called Ziggy Baby by Cluck Cluck Sew.  I bought the pattern and all of the fabric at Inspirations, in Hills, IA.  Just love her shop!

I also put some new jewelry on my website this morning.  It was looking a little bare after all of the Christmas sales (thank you all very much!).  Here are a couple new things...
The first 2 are 1" x 1 1/2" - this shape has been really popular - we were sold out of them for quite awhile, but now have a few online.

 The next 2 were made with some pretty, pink breast cancer ribbon fabric that was given to me by a friend.  I made a few that she is going to donate to Relay for Life next year, and then a few to sell.  I think I will also donate a couple more pieces when Relay happens this summer.

And one last picture - you know I rarely have a post without a furry face in it!  Callie and Ozzie got a present for Christmas that they both LOVE!  It has an arm with colorful feathers, that moves around under this circle of nylon fabric.  It moves at all different intervals and directions, and has really captured their attention!  They were not happy campers over Christmas, as they had to share their house with my 2 grandoggers!  Wish they would learn to live in harmony, but it hasn't happened yet!

Ok, it's time for me to go stand by the fireplace - I am FREEZING!

Hope you all have a great week!

Merry Christmas!

Gosh, it's been so long since I posted that I really don't know where to start (and stop)!  When I last posted, I was getting ready to leave for the I-80 shop hop in Clear Lake.  It was lots of fun and I even got to meet a fellow blogger.  Vivian, from Quilts N a Mug (sorry - blogger is not letting me post a link to her blog!) came to see me.  Wish we would have taken a picture together, but of course, I didn't even think of it.  It was so great to meet her in person and chat for a few minutes.  I did actually take some pictures of my booth.  I had a big space to fill, so I took some of my friend, Missie's (Traditional Primitives)  quilts and patterns to sell.  Boy, her awesome quilts sure made my booth look good!  The pineapple on the wall, in the center of the picture is hers, as are the two on the table below it.  You can see my jewelry displays - these are working out really well - they are old window frames that I got from a friend.

This beauty is also Missie's - it's her newest design and is called Pennies in My Garden.  I love the whole thing, but especially the flowers in the borders.  I told her she was nuts for letting me borrow this - and that she would be lucky to get it back!  I actually hung it on my design wall after I got home.  But, it finally made its way back to her.

 The quilts hanging here are my design - actually the first pattern that I published.  I made the big quilt, then had one of those middle-of-the-night ideas that I should try making it smaller.  Love the little one!

 The quilt hanging here is my tiny 9 patch, called Size Does Matter - it is much better in person than in pictures - the 9 patches finish at 1 1/2".

 I sold almost all of my pin cushions at this show.  One super-nice elderly lady purchased eight or nine of them to give as gifts for Christmas.

It really was a fun show - my neighbor was Merry Backes from Merry's Stitchins (what is the deal with my computer?  won't let me post a link to her either!)- she has an amazing shop in Jesup, IA.  I had been there a couple of times, but it's been several years.  She invited Mom and I to stop on Sunday on our way home, and boy were we glad that we did!  She recently built a brand new shop, and it is amazing!  it's huge, and she has everything you could ever want in there - even wool and Valdani floss!  I'm hoping to spend some time with her, maybe this Spring.  She has a retreat center there as well - it is in her old shop.  It would be a blast to go and stay for a few days...or a week!

After vending at a couple of shows, then selling to a few of the vendors for their shops, I am really, really low on jewelry.  Of course, the first priority is keeping up with the charms - the batch you see below were sent out the end of November, and I've been working away on the next ones.  

And in between that, I've spent a few weeks in Des Moines with my daughter.  She and her boyfriend have been here some too - so nice to have her to help decorate my trees.  The boys (my husband, Greg and her boyfriend, Greg - we call them Team Greg) had to work on the lights on the trees for quite some time, and my Greg has vowed that this is the last Christmas we will have that tree!  To prove his point, he burned the box!  Surprised he didn't have a ceremony when he did it - he's been mad at that tree for several years!

We will have a very small crowd here on Christmas - my brother and his family are at their home in Florida for the holidays, which makes it pretty quiet around here.  We were supposed to have our annual cookie bake yesterday, but we've had freezing rain and there was a layer of ice on everything - so Mom stayed home and made cookies by herself - :(.  It's no fun to have to make them all alone!  Jessica and I made a ton of peanut clusters and some round pretzels, with white chocolate in the middle with an M&M on top (should have taken a picture!)- but that was it - we just did the easy stuff.  Poor Mom was home making anise cookies and all the hard stuff!  I told her to get Dad to help, but she seemed to think going it alone was a better idea!  Overnight we had about 5" of snow - we will definitely be having a white Christmas!

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!  Enjoy the time with your family!

Ready to Roll!

It's been a busy week - catching up after one show and getting ready for the next!  On Thursday, we are off to Clear Lake, IA for the "North Iowa One-Stop Shopping Spree".  This is not a quilt show - just thirteen vendors.  What fun, huh?  You can do your own shop hop, all under one roof - no need to drive miles and miles - we do the driving for you.  Here are the details:

North Iowa One-Stop Shopping Spree
Best Western (I-35 & Hwy 18)
Clear Lake, IA

Friday, November 15th - 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, November 16th - 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Here are a few log cabin pendants that we finished up to take along to the show:

Hope to see you there!


Do you all remember Lil' Punky?

I have just a few kits left for this pin cushion, and I will not be making any more.  If you are interested please visit my website.  The cost is $14.95, which includes the pattern and the kit.

Are you all on Facebook?  I have a personal account and a "Me & My Stitches" account - I'm hoping to get more Likes and then will start posting on there more often.  So, if you are on Facebook - please go Like my page! You never know, we may have a Facebook giveaway if we get lots of followers.

We had an inch of snow yesterday here in Iowa.  I thought it would only be a few flakes, but it really came down.  It seems way too early for snow, but they said on the news this morning that we had an inch of snow on the ground last year at this time too.  Maybe it's Mother Nature trying to put us in the mood to listen to the Christmas music already playing on the radio, and the decorations already out in stores!  I don't know about you, but I want to celebrate Thanksgiving before I think about Christmas!

I sold a lot of pin cushions in Lee's Summit last week, so I've been making up some new ones, and have a few more yet to do.  I also forgot to mention that a customer brought me the best scrap bag!  I would love to see the quilt that she made with these fabrics, because they are all awesome - not a bad one in there.  I don't know why, but it's always so much more fun to play with someone else's scraps - I've been using them all week to stitch an order for a new customer who has a shop in Louisiana.  Such fun - new scraps and a new customer!

Speaking of scraps - there was a huge loss to the quilting community last week.  I met Cindy Hathaway when Fons & Porter published my jewelry in their magazine "Love of Quilting".  She and some of the girls from F&P started sending me amazing boxes of scraps, and I remember Cindy saying that she would never look at her scraps the same again - and she just couldn't stand to throw away smaller pieces, knowing that I could put them to good use.  It was always so much fun to get a box from them.  Sometimes I thought she put some bright fabrics in there just to challenge me to see if I could use them. I always had fun making things with those brights and sending her pictures (to show her that I can sew with brights when challenged!).  Unfortunately Cindy lost her year-long battle with cancer last week.  I will miss seeing her posts on Facebook - she was always so positive and such a happy person.  She will be missed by so many people.  Please keep her family in your prayers.

I can't have a post without an animal picture..

As you can see, Boomer and Dottie have bonded!

Have a great day!

I'm home from Kansas City, and the Lee's Summit quilt show was great in so many ways!  First off, they do a beautiful job displaying and hanging their quilts for the show.  They have a huge pipe and drape set-up and the drape is all black, which just makes each quilt show so well.  They also do a great job of taking care of the vendors.  Everything is so well organized and they provide tax info, food and drinks, and even had someone there to hold the door open while we carried everything out after the show.  So helpful!

I've been at a few shows in that area and am beginning to see a lot of familiar faces - which is really nice.  And, on top of all of the great show attendees and guild members, I also got to meet a blogging friend in person!  I love it when you can finally put a face to the name.  Roberta from Cottonwood Lane Primitives blog came to the show to meet me!  Those of you who are regular readers know that I am terrible about getting pictures - so be sure to visit Roberta's blog to see a few shots from the show.  Here is a picture of us together in my booth (it's a little fuzzy, but you get the idea)...

The next show is in Clear Lake, IA on November 15th and 16th.  But first...I head to Des Moines later this week to see PINK in concert!!  I am sooooooo excited about this.  I've wanted to see one of her shows for a long time and was finally able to get tickets.  My daughter and I will be having a blast at the concert!  Can not wait!!

Will be back next week with more info on the show in Clear Lake!

Have a great day!