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Quilt Information

Quilt Sizes:

Baby - 34 x 44

Crib/Cot - 45 x 60

Twin - 72 x 90

Double - 84 x 96

Queen - 90 x 108

King - 120 x 124

18 x 22 Fat Quarter Yeilds:

99 - 2 inch squares

56 - 2.5 inch squares

42 - 3 inch squares

30 - 3.5 inch squares

20 - 4 inch squares

16 - 4.5 inch squares

12 - 5 inch squares

9 - 6 inch squares

6 - 6.5 inch squares

Three By Six Sampler Quilt Mini Bee

Send a Request to Join the 3 x 6 Bee
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    3 x 6 Bee Survey

    Sign ups are 4 times a year

    January ~ March

    April ~ June

    July ~ September

    October ~ December

    ~~~~~~~

    Sign ups for 2nd quarter

    will end on March 31st

     

    Tuesday
    Aug242010

    Dr. Seuss Comfort Quilt


    Comfort Quilt
    Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles

    Thank you Julie for the Dr. Seuss scraps from the hexagon swap! These are being put to good use! Especially since the fabric isn't even available yet...

    ~~~

    Ronan is special little boy who is 3, just a little bit older than my Miss B and he was very recently diagnosed with cancer ..... neuroblastoma specifically. He has a lot of family and friends surrounding him, amazing medical teams, and lots of angels from around the world loving him.

    We chose to send some love in the form of a quilt and Dr. Seuss is the quote that Ronan's mommy put on his website. Some things are just meant to be. This was a collaborative effort between my niece, Miss J and my mother - in - law. I'd love to take all the credit, but sometimes it takes a young 16 year old mind to create something fabulous!

    So a special little quilt will be making it's way to AZ for a special little boy who is going to fight the good fight and win.

    ~~~

    At times like this we need to remember to support and contribute to cancer research. Eight months ago my mom was diagnosed with colon cancer, she had surgery and chemo and is fine today. We are fortunate and lucky .... but there are so many others every day diagnosed with cancer.

    Thursday
    Aug192010

    Friend / Swap

    The definition of a friend:

    a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.


    The definition of a swap:

    to give in trade.

    I love swaps on flickr ~ they are a blast :)  Sometimes they can go sideways though and that can be unfortunate.  But there is always a friend (angels they are called) ready to pick up the trail and make something.  Do they receive something in return?  Nope .... they just want to bring a little sunshine and it works!

    I was recently in The Pillow Talk Swap and it didn't end up the way it was supposed to.  But hey, with a great group of people .... I had nothing to worry about ~ a fabulous pillow would be arriving on my doorstep soon enough.

    AND HERE IT IS ~~~

     

    Wow!!!  Love it and am SO happy....

    This lovely pillow was made by two angels (I'm so lucky)

    Kelly and Tami

    Thursday
    Aug192010

    Summer 2010

    Cooling off ...

    Hot hot hot

    a picture for you

    Summer Greens

    Monday
    Aug162010

    Gum Drop

    photo.jpg

    I am SOOOOO lucky!  My niece is in town and she is crazy ... she is staying with my mother in law and they are sewing like crazy.  She is a busy 16 year old so she saves up lots of projects to accomplish on school breaks.  The gum drop pillow is one we have all wanted to make forever! 

    So Miss J gets to come to my house and do some fabric shopping and in return she made me this awesome gum drop pillow out of Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room fabric.  It is stuffed full, I know that there are at least a couple boxes of fiber fill in that baby!

    I not super crazy about the wall paper in my living room.  I really can't tackle that job right now so I've decided to use fabric to bring the attention away from the walls and the Drawing Room collection is going to be perfect for that task.  I have to recover a chair, put up valances, make the bird on a chain quilt, and a few pillows.  So when Miss J said she wanted to make a gum drop pillow for me, I knew exactly what fabric to use.  

    Cheers to being 16 and having (almost) all the time in the world to make whatever you want whenever you want!  More projects from her to come..... 

     

    Gumdrop Pillow

    Friday
    Aug132010

    Embroider Bee

    The fabulous embroidery I received from momcindy in the embroider Bee

    I recently joined the Embroider Bee on flickr.  I love the structure of it and making something unique for each of the 4 people in my group. 

    I received this beautiful piece of embroidery from momcindy and immediately knew I wanted to make it into a pillow.  It was a great reason to pull out some of my Anna Maria Horner fabric that I've been hoarding.  Thank you Cindy for such a beautiful embroidery piece that I get to enjoy.  I still have 3 more on the way and can't wait to see what arrives.

    Wednesday
    Aug112010

    Carrots For Dinner!

    Carrots for Dinner!

    August is awesome...instead of stopping at the grocery store for dinner, I just have to go shopping in my dad's garden!  There's nothing better than fresh picked romaine lettuce and carrots. 

    Plus blackberries are in season.  It wouldn't be summer in Washington without picking blackberries.  We have a massive amount of blackberry bushes at the back of our property with 90 % of them unable to reach.  But we'll make good use of the blackberries that are accessible.  Every evening I'm out there picking another bowl.  We are supposed to be getting some hot weather here soon so I expect the bushes to explode in the next few days.

    Monday
    Aug022010

    Portland OR ~ Rose CIty Bug In

    I didn't make it to the Rose CIty Bug In this year. It's about a 45 minute drive south on I-5 to make it to Portland ... hubby and the bug made it to PIR but lost a hub cap and beauty ring along the way.

    Usually these car shows have a swap meet section where you can buy some great stuff for really cheap. Most of the time hubby just comes home saying he saw this or that which I would like but he never buys it.

    This year he did good! He found these three soda crates for $5 a piece! Pottery Barn now sells them for $24 but you don't get to choose which you are buying.

    The B-1 bottle crate cracks me up ... it says, "A Pleasing Beverage, Plus - Wake Up Smiling" The crate says Husker - Seward, Nebraska. From what I can find with a quick google search, it seems to be a lemon lime soda. Most likely the B-1 and Coca Cola are from the 60's and the Portland Bottling Co. is from the 70's.

    Yeah for more inexpensive and interesting craft storage!

    Saturday
    Jul312010

    My Dad's Hometown

     

    My Dad, son and I went to my Dad's hometown in Minnesota for his brother's funeral. Two weeks later my dad had a heart attack. He's fine now but we all know now that these moments are the most important. Being together and doing nothing in particular.

    Wednesday
    Jul282010

    Stash and Destash

    Stash and Destash

    The year's journey of building my fabric stash from very minimal was a very interesting one.  I started blogging, joined the Fabric Swappy Poo Group and went a little crazy.  But I had a blast while doing it and have made some wonderful friends around the world and even close to where I live.

    I got to know Denyse Schmidt, Heather Ross, Erin Michael, Tula Pink and oh so many others.  I had already been picking up these fabulous fabrics here and there ..... but there is nothing like a group of fabric friends to set you on the right track and help you grow your stash.

    Then there is what I now refer to as the munki munki incident.  I got this crazy idea to buy munki munki pj's to swap with the fabulous gals in the group who already had a great fabric stash.  I can only say thanks to every single one of you who waited patiently as I cut apart pj's while my family thought I was insane!

    My fabric stash is now where I want it to be.  I have terrific fabrics to make quilts for myself and also to use in projects for my swaps and lovely friends.  As I've been unpacking my craft/sewing supplies I've come to the realization that it is time to let some of the fabric go.

    I will be listing my fabrics that I no longer want to keep on etsy in my shop.  I do hope that people understand I am not making a humongous profit here.  The majority of this fabric I spent a lot of money on.  I did not pick all of this hard to find fabric up at quilt stores for regular price.  A lot was won on ebay and bought on etsy. I'm trying to be fair but also need to recover my costs.

    I hope these fabulous fabrics will make other fabric lovers happy.

    Tuesday
    Jul272010

    Solids

    photo.jpg

    I'm surprised that I don't use more solids in my quilts...I tend to gravitate towards pattern for quilt fabric.  However in real life, my clothes and home furnishings are relatively pattern free.  I like small touches of pattern everywhere.  Except it's actually a blessing that I don't have lots of furniture with fantastic prints (think anthropologie) since the house I just moved into has 11 rooms of wallpaper!

    These fabrics are from Amy Butler's Solids Collection.  I've always loved the colors and finally got some from quilt home.  They carry a designer pack with has 1/8 yard cuts just perfect for making Thea's Puzzle Quilt.  A lot of the work is done for you since all you have to do is cut the 1/8 yard cuts into 4 wonky strips.

    photo.jpg

    Then I'm hand sewing the strips together....crazy, I know.  But I actually like hand sewing....I'm able to move it from room to room with me and take it to swim lessons.  Once I trim up the squares I will machine piece those together and then I will be that much closer to having my puzzle quilt done!

     

     

    Monday
    Jul262010

    Fabric Deals ~ Tula Pink LOVE

    Crazy Mail Day......

    So it's been just a bout a year since I did a fabric deals post.  So I'm sure the majority of those fabrics are sold out .... but as I always say, there is plenty of fabric to love..... and I LOVE Tula Pink's fabrics.

      They seem to sell out quickly and each fabric line is so unique but you know each and every one is Tula~ I've almost finished my collections and are ready to make some fabulous quilts.

     

    I have already been working on my Nest quilt which I need to finish up.

    I have two Neptune quilts I want to make....one for myself and one for my sister.

    Full Moon Forest is my super duper fave!  It's the salmon....I love the salmon.  We are big on salmon fishing here in WA state, ok, not me personally cause it is too stressful and I never net the fish properly.  Seriously, the fastest way for hubby and I to get in a fight is to go salmon fishing.  We always have a freezer full of fresh salmon.  We have friends who have their salmon professionally smoked....LOVE it! So as far as quilting, I have a small idea of the quilt I want to make but not anything too fancy cause the fabric is so fun to look at.

     

    Flutterby is another of her lines that I'm chasing after the fact.  It is so much fun ..... the creativity in the fabric just amazes me.  Not sure of the pattern I'll use for flutterby yet but it will certainly be a quilt among the Tula Pink collection.

    Hushabye is such a pretty collection.  If I was having another baby ... which I won't be ... I would probably go crazy with this pretty fabric.  I'm sure I can make something that Little Miss B will enjoy because a 2 year old can't have too many quilts, right?

     

    Then there is Plume.....ah how pretty is Plume?  I'm collecting the pre-cuts and I also have a fat quarter collection just looking pretty on the shelf.  It seems like it just came out and already the beautiful tail feathers are getting hard to find.

    So that's a lot of Tula Pink Love ...... I can't wait to see what her next line will look like!

    Here are some shops online that I have still been able to find Tula Pink fabric as of last week:

    Wish Upon a Quilt

    Hushabye
    Nest

    Little Timber Quilts & Candy

    Neptune
    Nest

    Blue Bamboo

    Flutterby
    Nest - even a layer cake

    The Quilted Castle

    Hushabye
    Plume - also precuts

    Quilt Home

    Flutterby
    Full Moon Forest
    Hushabye
    Nest

    Z and S Fabrics

    Nest
    Plume

    Old Country Store Fabrics

    Nest Fat Quarter Packs

    Some Art Fabric

    Nest Charm Pack and yardage

    Happy Apple Quilts

    Neptune

    Among Friends

    Neptune
    Neptune Quilt Kit
    Full Moon Forest
                
    Missouri Star Quilt CO
    .

    Plume Charm and Jelly Roll
    Neptune Honey Bun


     

    Thursday
    Jul222010

    Five Weeks

    New Ironing Board Cover

    Wow.... I tell ya, five weeks have never gone so fast before. 

    Thanks for all the well wishes.  My Dad is doing great after his heart attack!  He has quit smoking for the very last time ~ I feel confident he won't start up again.  And he is exercising regulary, so yeah Dad!  Proof that you are never too old to make important life changes.  The shock and fear is now over and we are moving forward.  My mom's chemo treatments are almost over.  Just a few more weeks to go and we will be finished which is something to celebrate.  My mom has watched my children while I work since they were born so having to schedule chemo and sick days around time with them has been the hardest on her.  But as long as she is around to make her famous cheese sandwiches when the come home from college in 15 years is all that matters!

    This has seriously been the craziest six months of my life.  Unexpectedly selling/buying and moving homes (let alone one that was a disaster), chemo treatments, back to working full time, my dad's heart attack and just life in general has been an interesting journey. 

     

    Swinging

    We've been enjoying our down time by playing on the new swing set ... swimming lessons at the YMCA ... parks and recreation classes ...  and cleaning up the neglected yard.  One thing people don't realize when you buy a house that was in foreclosure, it sat empty for a long time and there is a lot of catch up to do.  I have some

    new interior and exterior pictures to show soon.

     

    Swimming

    On the sewing front ... we've started the 3rd quarter of t

    he 3 x 6 Sampler Bee!  There are 17 beehives made up of 7 bees and there will be 612 quilt blocks mailed

    around the world in the next couple of months.  How crazy is that?  The talent is so amazing and everyone seems to enjoy making and receiving their blocks.  Here are a few that caught my eye:

     

    3x6 Bee Q3, Hive 13

     

    3x6 Q3 blocks for beehive 14

    There will be lots more to come soon.  I have lots of bee blocks I've made and other fun things to share. 

    Tuesday
    Jun152010

    Short Break

    I promised my blogoversary giveaway ... but I'm putting that on hold at the moment.  My father had a heart attack and my mom is still in her chemo treatments.  So once life gets settled down, I will have my fabulous giveaway!

    It'll be worth the wait...I promise!

    Thursday
    Jun032010

    What Little Girl....

    Baby A

     

    wouldn't deserve the most fabulous, beautiful, awesome fabric ever created!  Nicey Jane is one of my all time favorite collections.   Baby A's mommy knew that I sewed so she asked for some help in making some crib bedding....well I promptly go to my Mother in Law (who so kindly helps out with all sewing related tasks since she's practically been sewing her whole life and has made anything and everything) because really, I only sew straight lines !

    Now Baby A's Mommy already had the beautiful white round crib that was used for big brother but she didn't get to pick out the bedding and we'll just say there were clowns and tears involved!  So fast forward 5 years and Mommy wants something special for her little girl!  Once I showed her the Nicey Jane line of fabrics she was sold (she even knows the names of each pattern!).

    A little planning, some fabric shopping, and waiting for my awesome Mother in Law to work her magic, and Baby A has the most beautiful crib bedding ever! 

    Nicey Jane Crib

    A little touch of green pom pom trim:

    Nicey Jane Crib Valance

    The large flowers have the perfect repeat so says my Mother in Law....she was

    very impressed that Heather Bailey spent the time to design them that way:

    Nicey Jane Crib Skirt

    The crib bumber with an extra little touch of fabric and of course striped ties!

    Nicey Jane Crib Bumber

    Check out the full canopy:

    Nicey Jane Crib Valance

    Valances made by Baby A's Grandma:

    Nicey Jane Valance

    And a memo board made by Mommy:

    Nicey Jane Memo Board

    Of course my little quilt with embroidery patterns from A Little Sweetness looks perfect in the room:

    Embroidered Dresses Quilt

    Thursday
    Jun032010

    iphone Swap App

    So Deb's son wants to try to write us an ipone app for swapping.  Let's get some ideas rolling peeps!

    Certainly we need a calendar....

    Address book....

    What else?

    Tuesday
    Jun012010

    The Perfect iphone App.....

     

     

    Would be a Swap Calendar for all the swaps I'm currently involoved in on flickr!  It's hard to keep them straight.  Plus it could have all the info I need right at my fingertips for mailing and specific details!  If I could write an iphone app, that would be just perfect ... but I can't.  Oh well, I'm going to try Awesome Note!  In my next life I'll be a computer genius.

    Let's see, the swaps I'm in so far are:

    3 x 6 Sampler Bee

    Pillow Talk Swap

    Hexagon Swap

    Scrappy Pin Cushion Swap

    Gathered Clutch Swap

    Embroider-Bee

    Munki Madness Spring Kitchen Swap

    Doll Quilt Swap 9

    Now it's time to go input all my due dates to make sure I don't miss the deadlines!

     

    Friday
    May282010

    We Need Some Sun!

    I think this was the only nice day in May.....this much rain in the Northwest is really unusual.  I'm really surprised we haven't had any flooding or landslides yet! 

    I love Rhododendruns which is a good thing because we have many around our 75 year old house.  They are old plants and the flowers on them are the largest I've seen.  Here's a pic of Miss B from Mother's Day earlier this month!

    HUGE Rhodies

    Wednesday
    May262010

    I love Hexies!! My Tutorial

     

    They are SO easy and really relaxing to make ... and a great excuse to sit and watch tv instead of folding clothes - right?

    Thought I would share my technique since I've been making so many of them and have become quite fast when I have my kit ready.

    I like to print my own hexagons at incompetech with their hexagon generator.  It's free and I can print them off as I need them.  I change the hexagon size to 1 inch and then cut out my little hexies - it really doesn't take long :)

    I use 2 1/2 inch squares to make my 1 inch hexagons. 

    It is perfect to start with 5 inch charm squares and then cut them into fourths.  Or in the alternative ... fussy cut a 2 1/2 inch square out of a fabulous fabric! ( a little 2 1/2 inch square ruler is perfect for this task).  I have also used jelly roll strips.  One cut at 2 1/2 inches and your square is ready.

    Gather your supplies: 

    Your favorite Needle ( I use a larger size)

    Thread - really any will do - especially those old spools from the thrift store

    Hexagon papers - cut them yourself or buy them pre cut

    And favorite fabrics!

      

     

    Knot your thread; Center your hexagon over your fabric square.  Pull your needle through the center of the hexagon and fabric.  I like to anchor this way instead of using a pin.  No more finger pokies!

     

    Grasp the hexagon and fabric between your first finger and thumb; Fold down the top right corner of fabric and bring your needle from the back to the front - you will be securing the first corner of your hexagon.

     

     Keeping your thumb in place while rotating the hexagon, fold down the fabric on the next corner, bring your needle through from front to back.

    Continue rotating and folding the fabric to secure all corners of the hexagon.  I like to finish with my know on the top which makes it easy to remove the basting threads.  Also basting with a contrasting color helps also.

    Here is a single hexagon with the paper still on and basted.  My thread came through the middle to keep the paper and fabric in place and I finished my knot on the top.  Pressing and starching at this stage helps to keep the edges crisp.

     

     

    Now your hexagon is ready for applique or to be joined.  I like to join mine using a simple whip stitch which keeps the hexagons tight and smooth when opened.  I tried a running stitch and a ladder stitch but I didn't like the finished look, too bumpy.  Experiement and find what works for you - there is no right or wrong.

     

    Friday
    May212010

    Sew Mama Sew Winner

    Jo won my Heather Ross giveaway ... and she happened to lead me to some new lovely fabris .... Saffron Craig!  Wowza - my stash needs some, thanks for sharing Jo!

    AND to celebrate my one year at blogging ..... June's giveaway is going to be big!  I've enjoyed blogging so much.  It is fun to share projects that you are working on and connect with people all over the world.  So to say thank you....feel free to enter my giveaway on June 10th.  Here's a sneak peak!

     

    Sunday
    May162010

    Sew Mama Sew May Giveaway Day

     

    May Giveaway Day is here!  There are SO many blogs to visit and giveaways to enter so I'll keep it simple ... just leave a comment saying who your favorite fabric designer is and I'll randomly pick a winner to receive these four Heather Ross for Spoonflower fabrics.

    And I hope you come back and visit again....I have monthly giveaways every single month starting around the 10th until the 15th.

    Have fun blog hopping!

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