Fabric, Fabric, and more Fabric

My gracious, where has February gone? I can't believe it!! Whoever said that the older you get the faster time passes was sure right. Not that I'm getting old, mind you, time just keeps on speeding by while everyone else ages. ;-)

Last week heavy snow was forecast for the weekend. Now we all know that means you have to make sure ahead of time that you are well stocked with all the necessary items to make it through for a few days in case it gets really, really bad. You probably think I headed right out to the grocery store, right? Wrong!! I headed up to The Door Mouse in Bettsville, OH. It was an hours drive but I had a couple of pieces of fabric I needed to finish off two different projects that are already in the works and if I was going to be snowed in then I was going to be sewing.

You just would not believe this place. They have been in business for 30 years and to commemorate their anniversary they gave me a nice ecology bag for the next time I come in . The staff were all very helpful. But most importantly you will not believe the selection of fabrics they have. Here are some pictures taken by a fellow Ohio blogger, Lisa over at CandleLite Quilter (yes, my camera is STILL broken). Thanks Lisa for letting me steal(borrow) your pictures.
This is what every aisle in the place looks like. The fabrics are grouped by color, as you can see. Here are just a couple of the aisles and a corner as the back wall is filled also. And yes, there are fabrics behind all those bolts sitting on the floor. (Not much room for walking!!)





Did I mention this place is in a barn? Yes, there is even a second floor loaded down with all the flannels and Christmas projects. There are projects for all their kits all over the place. And just let me tell you how surprised I was when I went to the bathroom. Yes, that is where all the patterns for all Carrie Nelson's Schnibbles. I think I even laughed outloud when I saw that. I wonder how many of those patterns they lose with ladies just dropping a few of those in their purses or shopping bags? No, I bought mine already kitted up. (I'll show that to you another day.) It was just a thought but we also know that quilters are VERY honest people!! These next pictures are of the upstairs and the view from upstairs.


With all the fabric crammed in this store can you believe that they didn't have the two specific pieces I was looking for? I promise, they didn't. I just could not believe it. I had to have those exact pieces since one is for sashing that I ran out of on the last row and the other was some of the Thimbleberries for this year's project that I cut wrong (silly me!!!). Well, not to worry I bought the little Schnibbles kit and a couple of repro shirtings to put into a mini log cabin. (Again, enough pictures today. I'll show that one another day.)

Thanks for dropping by!
Happy Quilting!!

Happy President's Day

I hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed your Valentine's Day celebrations, whatever that might look like at your house. We had a quiet weekend and that is always a good thing.

Today is another holiday for us here in the States. The celebration of two of our great presidents - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. I don't know about you but I really didn't enjoy history much as a child. I have, as I've grown older, also grown in appreciation for all those who have done so much to enable me to live with the freedoms I now enjoy. Much could be said about both of these great men but today as I think about our new and current president, I am reminded especially of all the great work of Abraham Lincoln. It also helps that we spent 7 years living in the "land of Lincoln" state of Illinois. Honest Abe may have had his faults but you have to appreciate his persistence and his ideals concerning the issue of slavery. No matter how you may have voted in this past election, you have to have great pride in our nation and how far we have come since Lincoln's days in office. I know I certainly am.

And now, on to much less serious subjects -- I have been doing a great deal of stitching lately but not much at the machine. Below are some of my finishes.
Sorry for the blur. This is month one of my snowladies BOM. It is finished and I am currently working on month #2(pattern shown below).





































In fact, I am getting close to being finished with this one. And I need to be since I have already received block #3 in the mail. I'm not sure they are waiting an entire month on these. I'm really trying to keep up with all of these.












I have also finished February's block on Ellie's Country Calendar BOM. These are fun since they work up so quickly.






But then there are Anne's baskets that I have not even started. They are so adorable and I want to make sure I pick the right fabrics for them that I find myself hesitating to choose anything. You should see some of the ones completed already. They are fantastic, especially Monica's over at the Happy Zombie. She never ceases to amaze me with her choice of such colorful fabrics.


I could go on and on but I'll just stop here and say --
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine's Day is always filled with such sweetness. From the colors - pink, red and white, to the flowers and candy. It's a fun time to show some special "tlc" to the ones you love. My sweetie showed up with a gift certificate to the spa so I KNOW I'll be having some "tlc" soon!!

I finally finished the Valentine runner I started in June of last year. It's a free pattern over at The Happy Zombie (thanks Monica!!) done in the fabric line by Moda All You Need is Love. I just love that song by the Beatles, don't you. It will be stuck in my head all day now!!

Love, love, love
All You Need is Love!!!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

What's Up with the Weather?

I had to step back and ask myself if I was still in Ohio. Yes, here I am looking at the thermometer on my back deck and seeing 60 degrees. Sheesh!! It was just last week we couldn't even get out of our driveway because of the 10 inches of snow. Is it no wonder winter is flu season?

Too bad the day was also gray and drizzle-y or we could have spent some time outdoors. Or at least more time than just taking the "grandpuppy" out to potty. What an exciting life I lead!!

Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!

Copycat Quilting

While catching up on my blog reading last week I stumbled across this little jewel on Lucy's Quilting with the Past blog. Lucy, is a blogger from the Netherlands. She is quite a prolific quilter. If you are a fan of Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville then you already know about Lucy. Bonnie traveled to the Netherlands last fall and spent time with her. If not, you need to check them both out. Anyway, back to the quilt. It was so cute that I had to make one for myself.



This is my version. (Again, bad photo. I can't wait to get my camera back!!). This little cutie is only about as long as a pencil. It's about 9" X 6 1/2". It sewed up quickly on Saturday. I hand quilted it that evening. I then used some left over binding I had from another project to get it bound on Sunday afternoon. TaDa!!

I get so easily distracted!!


Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!!

Blogging

I was so fortunate to win a prize from Elizabeth of Creative Breathing blog this past week. Is this not the cutest little valentine peg doll you have ever seen? The time that must have gone into making this little cutie-pie just amazes me. The hair alone had to take forever. Each little ringlet is felt sewn in a zig-zag fashion. The details are so cute. I just wish you could tell from my awful photography.

I have so enjoyed being a part of the blogging world. It's not always an easy thing to lay your life out there for all to see. (Not that I think the whole world is reading my blog!!!) It can be very intimidating to share your hopes and feelings whether they be past, present or future. To show the things we create all the while hoping that they will be enjoyed by the reader as much as we enjoyed creating them. To risk criticism and hurt from people we may not even know by showing just a part of ourselves is scary. But still, many of us do it.

Elizabeth is a master storyteller. Her stories come from her life which seems to be full of colorful adventures and intrigue. She'll tell you not to ask what she did yesterday because she'll not be able to remember the details but the way she recalls her childhood is amazing. Who can figure out our minds? If you haven't ever been over to Elizabeth's blog, it is well worth your time to read her stories, let alone look at all of her amazingly wonderful creations.

Thanks so much Elizabeth for sharing your life and your creativeness with me. I love my little sweetheart peg doll.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!!!

This was last week's snow. We got about 10 inches which may not seem like alot to those of you further north but to this southern born girl transplanted here to Ohio it's HUGE! It might have been okay if I could have stayed in all week but that was not the case. It was our turn to host Family Promise again so that meant a great deal of time on the road back and forth to church. It's been a blessing to be a part of the solution for hurting families during this hard economic time. What we do may not be big but it is a step in the right direction for the two families we served this past week.

Some of the snow has melted and we expect to get up into the 40's by the weekend so we might see some of our dead grass. I have to tell you that I have stayed inside as much as possible, though. I have spent a great deal of time at my sewing machine and have this to show for the effort (Once again, picture is from my phone as the camera is still broken. I'll shoot better pics when it's repaired.)
I'm so sorry you can't see all the wonderful civil war repro fabrics. They are just amazing. This is a Bonnie Blue Quilts pattern named Second Hand Clothes. There are over 110 different fabrics in this quilt. It is so easy to put together and turned out beautifully. I promise, better pictures of the fabrics soon!!!

Progress on my BOM's is slow. I have finished the first block of Ellie's Country Calendar (shown here) and have printed off the second month's pattern. I have almost finished the first block of the Snowladies BOM and have not even started the Bunny Hill Basket BOM and she is due out with the next block on the 5th. I usually only do my handwork in the evenings while we watch TV so that makes for slow going. I also spent a couple of days working on my Grandmother's flower garden blocks so that has helped me lag behind. Hmmm, I guess with all these different projects going, I certainly can't complain about being bored. ;-)

And, of course, I couldn't end the post without showing you this cute picture of our sweet(fast growing) puppy taking a nap while "grandma" blogs.


Thanks for stopping by. Happy Quilting!!