Ok, I will have to resort to putting some in the shop!

How's that for a concise title?? hehe!
I was driving home by way of my favorite thrift store and just HAD to stop in again :). It is starting to cause trouble- happy trouble though :). When you dig hard enough, you can find some pretty neat things. Today I found 5 pretty neat things, and a cool pair of Harley Davidson winter boots for me- bonus!

I am filling up almost every inch of my space that is in the "half-room" that I have. So I guess I'm going to have to get cutting and put some of these lovelies in my Etsy shop. That way I can share the joy and make room for more pretties :) That's a good plan, don't ya think??!

Now just to find the time for the cutting :) There's always a catch...

Late night Sewing...

The past few days I have wanted to get some sewing done so bad that I have stayed up in the wee hours of night to get some blocks and cutting done :).

I got 3 more Supernova blocks done and then cut my charm squares for the Ellison Lane Charm Square Swap2!! I was home free and my ruler slipped on my last fabric- I really grumble when that happens. So the kind, sweet, wonderful Natasha, over at http://skyerevefabrics.com was kind enough to get me a quarter yard. I had to order quite a few other things at the same time, to make shipping efficient, of course :) hehe!! Let me tell you, if you want some lovely fabric with incredible service, Natasha is it! She is just amazing! I can hardly wait to get my package in the mail, and I'll get ya a photo :)!!

I almost have my new sewing half-room arranged- it is so wonderful to have your own "space". So much better than the living and bedroom cramped-ness. Been thrifting some too and found 5 terrific vintage sheets and a Pyrex FRIENDSHIP pattern 1 qt. casserole. It's not in perfect condition, but it is my "dream" print, and the first one I've ever seen, so I had to snag it up :)

That's a quick run down of life here lately- hoping to get some more sewing done in the next few days and I'll have some pictures soon too :)

Oh my merci-ness- I WON!!

Ok, let me preface this by saying, I rarely, if ever, win anything I need. Every once in a blue moon I will win a little something cute or fun, but it is hard for me to find a specific use for. Well, Miss Kaelin is having a wonderful quilt along over at http://theplaidscottie.blogspot.com/ and Pink Castle Fabrics sponsored a giveaway for foundation piecing papers. I really needed these since I want to follow along but make a slight variation to the quilt- more of a pickle dish shape in the end- and I don't have a clue how to paper piece! Since I needed them really bad- it's been on my "to buy" list for weeks now- I knew there was no way I could win. Fast forward to today... I went to the mailbox and found this -->

Oh my stars in the morning- for REAL!!!??!!! I was in shock! I flew inside to my computer and went straight to Kaelin's blog. I had been out of town the day she announced the winner but had tried keeping up with blogs on my phone. I think I saw the first winner and didn't even remember that there were 2 winners. What an awesome surprise that was to see my name there! Oh wow! I danced the Happy Dance and proceeded to squeal every few minutes for the rest of the afternoon. Every time I look at my desk, I get all smiley inside :) Thank you so much Kaelin and thank you Brenda of Pink Castle Fabrics!! I can hardly wait to get the fabric together to start!! And I get to learn something new!! Yipee all around!
This is what I have done lately- cut out almost 600 squares for the Hello Pickles quilt I am making using Karen's wonderful instructions! She's over at http://feistyeily.blogspot.com/ and she makes some beauties too! Stop on over and see the Christmas version of her original quilt that she's working on for Angela right now- it's YUMMY!! Makes me wish it was Nov.1- yes, I put up my Christmas tree that early :) It takes me 3 days- I have a 12' tree with an insane number of ornaments- so you gotta have some time to enjoy it :)! Sorry, I like tangents...
Then here is my second block for the We Can Do It Skill Builder Sampler quilt along (you can follow along at http://sewnbyleila.blogspot.com/). It is a 9-block square and I wanted to try an O's and X's pattern to mine. It's harder to see with it all being pink, but the all being pink part is important, so that is what it had to be :). I like it, even though it is busy- it's pink, and that's what counts! And I really like the fabrics in this one!
I also got almost 100 green strips cut for Angela's Zig Zag quilt along over at http://cuttopieces.blogspot.com/. She said I should call it Kermit's Path, and so it is! Love it! It's so sad that I will probably have to explain to it's recipient who Kermit is :)! He may be familiar with him through old VHS's, but so sad he's not still around on tv! It makes me smile and I am so excited to start piecing!!

Back to busy! Make like sunny today!

Binding!!

I worked all day today free motion quilting squares- more and more huge squares on my Bottled Rainbow quilt! And I LOVE it- oh, so much better than the loops ever dreamed of being :)! Yipee! It was worth unpicking for over 8 hours to be able to quilt it in lines. And it was my first line project too. I really like the look. I got the binding cut, sewn and stitched on the front. Now to pin the back and hand sew away :)!! hehe! I'll be busy tomorrow!
I can hardly wait to put in the the wash and watch it come out crinkly :)!! Oh, I have a hard time being patient! It will be worth the work- the colors just make me smile, and the Kona Ash with the lines on it look great! So excited!

Then I'll be on to my next project- or several at one time, probably :) Here's how my first block of 36, it was 3 a month, not 1, HA!, turned out. I love the Pink-ness! Going to be so much fun seeing all the pink in this one :)

That's my progress at the moment- wait a day or two and I'll have FINISHED Bottled Rainbow pictures- woot, woot!! :)

127 Squares

About a week ago, I set about cutting like crazy- not for a quilt this time, but for a little girl's dress. I have made a few pieces of childrens' clothing, but recently saw this pattern (http://www.etsy.com/listing/62785240/tiered-patchwork-twirler-epattern-for) and know a little girl who loves to twirl! So off to cutting I went. The pattern is wonderful! I decided to try it on 9 prints from the Sunkissed, by Sweetwater fabrics. After 127 squares, I placed, sewed, gathered with elastic - will use clear elastic next time [tried to be consevative and use what I had on hand- it was too thick and I went through 5 needles :)- then went to Joanns and the lady I asked about thickness didn't even think it was possible to gather with elastic- oh dear!- I kindly told her it was and I only wanted to know about thickness, turns out it is much thinner, so I got 2 packs ;) ], and sewed and gathered row after row. Adding the top was the funnest part, and then trimming a bunch of threads finished it off! YAY! I just love how it turned out. Even though the elastic was too thick, I like how it gave it a more full look, without any underskirting :). I'm anxious to do a rainbow layer one next! So cute, and so love the girliness of it! I adored dresses like this when I was little, and still do ;)! Have a sunny day!

Any good girlie dress patterns you love?? Do tell!..