my new obsession . . .

Gracious.  As if I needed a new obsession on top of those I've already got, right? Right.  There's no *help* for me . . . 

Or is there??!!!!

I'm talking about English paper piecing, which I absolutely adore!!

I've finished up my apple core columns and am now ready to stitch those together.  I'm hoping they go together as smoothly as the 9 columns went.  I numbered them (and marked them with an ↑) so I ensure I'd be able to easily figure out which one was first, last, and how they went in-between!

I was having so much fun EPP'ing those, that I decided to take my original design and put it together that way, too.

I've got the center done and have the pieces cut for the balance.  I decided to leave the outside edges of the yellow and orange pieces un-stitched, so that I can trim them to a 1/4" and stitch them to the purple fabric I want to use to set the block on point.  We'll see how that works.  Linking up my EPP projects to the HeLP linky party over at Sarah Did It!

In other news, we had a fabulous guild meeting last night.  Our guest speaker was Shelly Zeggart, of Why Quilts Matter fame.  Her program was wonderful, and we got to watch one of the episodes of the documentary.  If you've not heard of this program, you really need to check out the trailer for it:

My friend Melissa (of I am Beautiful Bee) and I went in together and purchased the DVD set.  I can't wait to watch the whole thing!

Another perk from last night?  My darling friend Jane gifted me with a pattern for a pinwheel wreath.

She'd made one last year and I fell in love with it -- you can see hers HERE;  it's about halfway through the post.  Isn't it DARLING!?  And wasn't that sweet of Jane to remember how much I liked it?  I also came away with a tidy little bundle of fabrics and some romantic stencils.

My cup (aka my fabric bin) overfloweth!  That will put a little spike in my stash reporting (and my fabric obsession) ... but I'll wait until we return from Maryland -- just in case I happen to acquire some fabric while I'm gone.  Who knows, right?!

I found a REALLY CUTE youtube tutorial for making origami dresses.  As soon as I saw the finished product, I thought it would make the *perfect* place card for a little girl's tea party!  So of course, I tried my hand at it, because I also have an obsession for all things tea!

They got better/easier as I got them done.  I made one and figured out where I'd put the name -- then I was able to run the paper through the printer and cut out my squares.  The tutorial can be found HERE.  For these particular dresses, my paper was 4.5" by 3.5".

And let's wrap this post up with an *old* obsession of mine . . . 

CHOCOLATE!  I had just enough ingredients to make a batch of my favorite fudgie One Bowl Brownies and frost them with ganache!  Doesn't get much better than that, does it?

Cheerio!

:)

kickin' off the month . . .

Just thought I'd check in and touch base!!  I've been doing a lot of reading, so I'll have several book reviews to post in the next week or so, but I've also been able to satisfy my creative side, too.

We started off the month of May with a retirement party . . . 

Yup.  It's a done deal with no turning back!  Luckily, retired life is suiting Todd very nicely.  Later in the month we're traveling to Maryland for some NAMB training.  Isn't it a happy coincidence that the training takes place thirty minutes from my parent's home??!!  

I've continued to work on the wedding quilt.  I'm *bound* (har har har) and determined to have it finished before Joc's anniversary (her fourth!) at the end of June.  But I can't work on that cumbersome thing *all* the time, so I got out my new apple core English paper pieces and started playing around with those...

In no time at all, I had a nice sized little Christmas topper.  All that's left to do is to whip them together!

I've also been dabbling in granddaughter clothes, which is very rewarding!!  Kim had given me some material (waaaay back in THIS post) and finally I got things together.  First was this outfit:

Isn't it cute??  Ellie was kind enough to model it for us before June got there.

Of course, that it was so perfectly darling on Ellie should have been my clue that it would be just a tad (seriously, just a tad) big on June.  A few modifications and it's good to go!

And next was a beach outfit for June!

She decided to do her own modeling for this outfit - and as you can see, I worked out the sizing! She was jumping up and down when I tried to take a picture of the ruffled rump (my favorite) so I'll substitute a still life pic:

Isn't it darling?  Can't wait for the next "order"!

I also had a couple of wins ... but only one has come in, so that's what I'll share. I won not one . . .

But THREE sweet little patterns from Snuggles Quilts during the most recent 100 Blocks blog tour.  

I really love the table runner patterns in particular (the pattern in the middle).  Deanne has lots of really cute things on her site and it's very much worth clicking over!

And finally, the whole 100 Blocks tour got me thinking about what I'd create if *I* were making a block.  So I twisted my own arm and sat down at EQ (yeah ... it was a real tough sell).  Stars have really been speaking to me lately, so that's what I dabbled in.  I settled on this one . . .

I've got the templates cut out and I'll put it together and see how it works!!

Heading back out for now ... the wedding quilt is calling my name ... as is all the pre-coursework I've got to get finished before our class!

:)

book review: the honest toddler

Oh. My. Gosh.

Your next read should be The Honest Toddler:  A Child's Guide to Parenting written under the supervision of Bunmmi Laditan. It's newly released today and you should run, not walk, to the nearest bookstore (or to your computer) and purchase a copy for yourself.  This book is the end all, be all authority of raising toddlers. Straight from the horse's toddler's mouth!

If you're the parent of a toddler (or soon to be toddler), you need this book -- it will become your favorite "raising toddler" manual -- you'll need no other.

If you're the grandparent of a toddler, you'll appreciate the total truth of its pages. What's that old saying?  Toddlers and grandmas get along so fabulously because they share a common enemy . . . !

If you're thinking about having children -- it will be a good way to prepare yourself for the selfless, all-consuming job of being a parent to a toddler.

Truly, this was the funniest read I've enjoyed in a long time.  In fact, my husband banned me from reading it in bed at night -- because I'd wake him up from laughing out loud.  I'd get to giggling over some truth revealed :

There's even more good news.  Selective acknowledgement has a partner skill known as hyperawareness.  I can hear someone open a bag of chips through seven solid brick walls in the middle of a thunderstorm while sleeping.  Please hold your applause.

or

Everybody lies.  Toddlers just don't apologize for it.  When you think about it, a lie is the truth with a funny hat on.  The next time your toddler lies to your face, giggle and smile.  Share a few hugs and know that you probably just asked the wrong question.  The number one reason toddlers spin reality is to avoid trouble.  When you ask questions like, "Laura, did you put your poo in the fireplace?," what do you expect to happen?  We both know Laura did it and that you've already judged her for it. What does she have to lose by fabricating a tall tale?

Is that not gold?! I'd start giggling and that would turn into full on laughter and the bed would shake and hubby would get a little put out. But seriously, this is a terrific read and totally truthful (from your toddler's point of view). As the Neesey (aka grandma) of two toddlers, it was priceless to see my precious little grandtoddlers thoughts and emotions so perfectly depicted.  Why do parents make it so tough on everyone?

Great read -- I'd give it two thumbs up, five stars, and ten bags of popcorn (if it were a movie).  And after you've sat down with a big cup of red drink, fruit rollups, goldfish and read the book, then subscribe to the blog (which started the sensation) and follow Honest Toddler on Facebook and Twitter, too!  In fact -- go right now to the blog and read Footprints in the Sand.  You'll understand.  If I haven't convinced you to read the book, this post sure will!

And remember:  "The truth will set you free."  But so will taking off your pants.

:)

Disclaimer:  I was provided an electronic copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

paducah memories . . .

Oh. My. Goodness.

Yes, that means I had a most excellent time in Paducah! I was able to check off a couple of items from my quilting bucket list, too:

√ 1.  Go to Paducah and the AQS show! 

√ 2.  Visit the National Quilt Museum!

√ 3.  Meet and have picture taken with QUILT MAN!!!!!!

This made my everlovingquiltingday.  No lie!  Do you see my face?  I'm giggling like a school girl.  :)

For those of you not aware, Quilt Man, and his trusty sidekick, Bobbin Boy, are very familiar masked faces in Paducah.  This article explains it terrifically:

And of course, his real [first] name is Fowler ... which endeared him to me immediately! Not only is it my maiden name, but it's also the first name of my youngest nephew!  Plus, Quilt Man...errr, Fowler...went to Ole Miss ... he graduated sometime between me being there and my youngest sister being there. We've got history together!  Seriously, Fowler Black is a genuinely charming and nice guy and really shows his passion for his hometown when he morphs into Quilt Man for the Paducah show.  And you can check out Quilt Man for your very own self on Facebook and Twitter!

In case you're wondering, I did manage to see a bit of the show, too, while I was there.  LOL!  The quilts were simply amazing.  I took lots of pics, but the rules say no posting on the internet, so I won't.  But talk about inspiration ... WOW!  A lot (a lot a lot) of art quilts -- thread painting seemed to be a biggie this year.  I was drawn (as per usual) to the Baltimore Album style quilts.  And the miniatures! Whoa!  

Have I mentioned vendors yet?  Aye-yi-yi were there VENDORS!  I dropped a little money here and there (which quickly adds up to a lot, everywhere) through the day.  Wanna see my haul?!?!  (Of course you do!) My first purchases were from the Paper Pieces booth:

Gracious.  Who gave me this voracious appetite for all things English paper-pieced, Sarah??!

I fell in love with the over-dyed work of Wendy Richardson (qustudio.com) and purchased a couple of things from her.  All this time I was erroneously thinking that over-dyed meant over-applying the dye.  After visiting Wendy's booth and chatting with her, I came to realize it meant dying over an existing print.  I fell in love with colors in this piece (which came home with me):

front

back

Intrigued by the dyed over part, I looked up the original fabric.  Here's what it looked like before dying:

"Grapes" Autumn Medley by Martha Negley for Rowan Fibers.  The difference is incredible, right?!?  I also came home with this sweet little doily:

Is this not totally me? Yup.

And some other bits and pieces I picked up along the way . . . 

Quilted teapot notecards ... perfectly me... and mini yo-yo ornament kits!

five rotary blades for $20 and a cute little scissor fob

obligatory quilt show pin!

obligatory tee-shirt -- in lavender, I'm oh-so-happy to report!

I came across this vendor who had a spread of metallic fat quarters.  Luckily it was towards the end of the day, so I was already well into my spending (otherwise I'd have dropped my entire savings right there).  

Cindy of Custom Creations (no online presence that I could find--boo!) . . . 

I found a rather nice sampling!  Aren't they pretty???  And prettily packaged, too!  *quiltygirlsigh*

The bus also took us for a brief foray into the world of Hancock's of Paducah.  

Like I could go to Paducah and not buy something in Hancock's of Paducah!

Kona Solids at $3.98/yard  :)

for my little hexie templates?!

I've loved this Robert Kaufman print for forever!  :)

Not a WHOLE whole lot, but enough to make me feel I'd done my part.  

Of course, any number of the women in that cavernous store were purchasing enough to do the parts of our whole bus load of women, but who am I to judge, right??!!

Overall, I added very little (I mean, after you consider where I'd spent the day) to my stash . . . 

Used/donated this month: 0.0 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.75 yards

Purchased/added this month: 5.25 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 47.75 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -35 yards

I've done worse ... I almost feel a little silly that it wasn't more!!  

And finally . . . I have to share with you my fifteen minutes of Paducah fame:

Yes, I not only got to meet Quilt Man and have my picture taken with him, but he branded me (reporter's words, not mine) and I made The Paducah Sun, Sunday edition!  I was totally giddy. And yup, I'm still gushing, fer sure.  Happy memories were *definitely* made in Paducah!!!

:)

the undiscovered country . . .

Did the title of my post cause you to scratch your head or raise your eyebrow? Let me just say that my darling hubby is a bit of a Trekkie.  'Nuff said.

I have to admit ... it's not been terribly hard to stay away from blog writing.  Is that a shameful secret I should have kept to myself?!  But when something that doesn't pay the bills starts to feel like a burden or a "have to" or starts to impede upon other areas of life, it's definitely time to step back.  And we've been so busy! Todd now has just THREE more shifts.  He's only working the full twenty-four hours on TWO of them and taking off the full twenty-four hours of the last one! That means he has two more days to work and then we're DONE! It's a very happy, exciting time!  We're charting off into our own undiscovered country!  :)

Well.  It's been happy and exciting EXCEPT for the time I've been down with strep throat and a sinus infection. That hasn't been happy time.  LOL!  Luckily, though, it's only been since Thursday.  I felt so bad I missed a guild meeting. That should tell you something! I'm feeling better -- about sixty percent -- today. And since I hope to take Sawyer to dinner at the fire station tomorrow -- it'll be his last time to see Paw-paw in action as a fireman -- I hope to be at least up to eighty-five percent tomorrow!

We've been busy, especially in the Camp.  Spring and fall are our biggest camp usage seasons and we've had visitors most every weekend.  I love it!  And of course, I've also had fun doing some quilty, sewy, crafty things, too.  I continue to work on Joc's Wedding Quilt.  And I finished up the little Cardinals in Clover piece I'd EQ'd:

And of course I've been reading (though not doing a lot of commenting) my favorite blogs!

Speaking of which, I'd won a little giveaway over at A Little of This and a Little of Pat.  

It was this darling "Gobble Till You Wobble" pattern.  That is so totally me! Darling that she is, she also tucked in a little children's fabric she'd found that she thought I could put to good use . . .

Wasn't that sweet?  The space rockets are totally Buzz "Sawyer" Lightyear!  And I loved the cars and fire trucks and planes, too.  But the paper dollies made me *swoon*!  Totally darling!  And believe it or not, it's the ONLY fabric I've acquired over the past twenty-one days.  Of course, since I'm headed to Paducah, KY and the AQS show next weekend, that's all subject to change!  But, because I do want to keep up with this (for my own sake) I'm going to go ahead and report:

Used/donated this month: 0.75 yards

Used/donated year-to-date: 12.75 yards

Purchased/added this month: 3.75 yards

Purchased/added year-to-date: 42.50 yards

Net used/donated for 2013: -29.75 yards

I also participated in a fun thread swap with my StitchMAP group. (Good thing I'm not doing a thread/floss stash report!) We were to exchange two skeins of specialty threads/floss in colors that represented Spring to us.  I opted to swap with three folks, so I send off six skeins and got six in return.

The two I sent off were the green and sparkly purple on the left (yes, I bought two for me, also!).  Then in my swap package were the sparkly skeins of DMC metallics, the two skeins of Italian silk floss in a very earthy pink and a pretty blue, and finally some gorgeous silk floss in a very earthy green and a cream.  It was a lot of fun and I'm glad I participated!  

I also managed to score a couple of samples of tea from Royal Tea of Kenya. There was a terrific write-up about this company in the January/February issue of Tea Time Magazine, so I was thrilled when I was offered the opportunity to try it.  

The company is based out of Nashville and run by Joy (who I had a lovely chat with on Friday).  Joy's grandfather is the oldest living (at 109+) tea producer in the world.  Pretty cool, huh?  

I haven't tried it yet, but do believe that brewing a pot is on the agenda for this afternoon, along with enjoying some appropriate reading material!

The arrival of Spring also brings with it the arrival of birds and critters we don't see during the winter.  For example, the grosbeaks have put in an appearance this week (aren't these striking birds???) . . . 

As have the indigo buntings (which I adore) . . .

And the goldfinches, which do winter here, have returned to their summer yellow (instead of the drab olive they wear in the winter) . . . 

We've also seen our first salamander (Todd captured this picture):

And our first skink of the season (he did NOT want his picture taken!):

And of course, since it's flip-flop (or Yellowbox, as I prefer) weather again, the toes have to be painted!

My SS girls were particularly impressed with my 'rainbow toes' this morning.  I aim to please.  Haha!

And look at this:

My little kitchen herb garden is sprouting up!!  I'm still having to bring it inside (we had frost warnings for the past two nights) but I think after this weekend, we'll be good to go!  I can't wait until I've got my fresh sweet basil and chives and parsley!

Okay, enough of this; I could probably write on and on and blah blah blah.  I'm headed to get that tea brewing!  But before I go ... is anyone taking a trip to Paducah this coming week -- particularly on Saturday??  I'm headed there with my guild and will be there from 10 until 6. I cannot wait!!  If anyone else is going to be there, let me know!!!! 

Auf Wiedersehn!

:)