I'm getting excited!

For Heather Ross's fabric design class! I feel so lucky, albeit a bit unprepared, to be able to attend this workshop next week. There were only 20 seats in the class and I am over the moon to be able to sit in on this with one of my most revered design idols. I really wish I had been working on some more designs of my own lately to bring to the table, but hopefully this class will be a skill-builder that will help to inspire me to get going on the creative side of things. So I'm very much looking forward for a break from daily life, especially after the events of the last month, and getting to go to one of my favorite cities, Portland, to take the class. Mark is coming down with me too, and will be able to go visit some vineyards he's sourcing some grapes from this harvest and I'm sure go eat some fabulous lunches while I'm in class. In the evening we plan on having some nice baby-free dinners out at a couple of our favorite Portland restaurants, Le Pigeon and Pok Pok. And you know I'll be making him pull off the I-5 in Chehalis to visit one of Washington's best quilt shops, Sisters! 

Thinking about all this prompted me to bust out my Munki Munki stash (this is really only just part of it!) and start working on this quilt again, which I haven't touched since November. It's a really simple nine patch and I'm not quite sure yet how I'll be sashing and finishing it - maybe some Kona charcoal and a border - but most of the blocks are done and I'm hoping to finish the top this month.

I've been feeling very weighed down by my Spiderweb quilt blocks and finally just had to take it all down off the design wall and pick it back up when I return. I'm more than halfway done (33 blocks- whew!) and just really need a break from that one!

But I did have a lot of fun making this block for Heather's Matryoshka Spiderweb, for her Bee-autiful Bee month (mine is next month - more on that later!) I hope you like it Heather, this quilt is going to be so stunning!

We are having Lucy's great grandmother over for dinner tonight so I must sign off now to attend to my domestic diva duties, something like mopping, toilet cleaning and a grandmother-impressive peach pie. See you all when I get back with a full report on Heather's class!

Fabric Therapy

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. I hadn't meant to be away for so long but I really don't have much to show you in the way of craftiness, so here are some pretty pictures of new fabric. These have been a definite day brightener in an otherwise downright awful last week and a half.

I haven't been feeling too inspired or motivated lately but today I am finally feeling much better and hope all these new little gems and our belated Seattle sunshine will help to drag me out of my funk. It all began a couple of weeks ago and then we learned that we wouldn't be adding to our little family as soon as we had hoped:( Under usual circumstances I wouldn't share such personal information but I feel that this is such a common occurrence which has affected many of you and your families too. It seems people really like to sweep this one under the rug but I think it always helps to know you aren't alone and that we all face difficulties in our daily lives.

The icing on the cake was due to my dental negligence and culminated in full on three hour root canal. I had seen those Ambesol commercials where the actress equates her tooth pain with labor pains, and believe me I wanted to throw my shoe through the television screen at her, but I am here to tell you I have now lived to be able to see the comparison! Or at least feel what it's like to have someone jab a hot poker into your gums. So I guess the Vicoden induced haze I had been walking around in the last week 

hasn't really helped my mood either.

Enough wound licking for today! I'm off the drugs and feeling great. And doesn't this new City Weekend from Moda just make you happy? I'm pretty sure this is going to be a big hit once it hits shops. I think a lot of quilters may be afraid it is too kid-oriented since it's designed by Liesl Gibson of Oliver & S, but I am in love with the vibrant colors and small scale designs I think will make lovely patchwork. They almost have a sort of Flea Market Fancy feel and I'm going to go ahead and predict these will someday create a big frenzy. I'll be saving these until inspiration for the right project strikes, and buying yardage when it's available in the fall.

And my other reason for happiness, Miss Lu. She is so on the run these days it's hard to catch a good shot of her, but I love this one of her at her Auntie's birthday party and that little silhouette shadow. And just like her mama, you can find her picking out her next beverage of choice at the ice bucket.

Happy Sunday everyone. And thanks for listening:)

I couldn't resist........

Once I got a taste of Liberty loveliness with a big project in mind I just couldn't stop! The above photo is yardage from the UK shop Shaukat (which, by the way, shipped in just one and a half weeks from London to Seattle). I justified this purchase by telling myself there will be plenty left over to back and bind the quilt and hopefully enough for future uses or a patchwork dress for Lucia.

And here are some smaller pieces that also showed up last week, along with some charms from another bloggy friend. Thanks Chris! This is all almost to pretty to cut up, but it will be in the form of hexies along with the rest of my Liberty as soon as I can find some time.

And these are finished bee blocks for Rachel in the Bee-autiful Bee. Rachel cut into her delicious Munki Munki stash and sent each of us some coordinating fabrics with a "Munki in the Middle" theme. This quilt is going to be awesome. My bee month is August and I am pretty sure already what pattern and fabrics I'm going with. More on that later.

I am spending the weekend ripping out some quilting I was unhappy with on my Drunken Bohemian and contemplating trying out some hand quilting for the first time. I'm checking out some great tutorials from Aneela at comfortstitching and another from Anna Maria Horner. The New Wave Bohemian is enjoying it's first spin in the wash right now and getting ready to go to it's new home - but not before I get to snap it's picture! 

I hope you all have a nice extra day to your weekend and find some relaxing stitchy time. Happy Memorial Day!

Bohemian Madness Giveaway!

I am finally getting ready to cut into my hard fought stash of one of my most favorite line of fabrics ever: Anna Maria Horner's long out of print Bohemian. I now have every print in the line (with the exception of one, which I think will soon be on it's way to me from another Bohemian fanatic). Thank you Miss Sarah!

Yes, I know I've shown you these before but the last photos I took were really awful and I wanted to capture these before the slicing commences! Not that these pics are great by any means, but I am working really hard on taking better images. Mark got us a really nice Nikon when Lucy was born, which helps, but I really struggle with photography. Maybe add those lessons to the long list of knitting, crocheting, yoga, sushi making.....the list goes on and on.

OK, back to business. Here's a close up of this yummy goodness:

Cathedral circles, vines, paisleys oh my! Just looking at these brings me to my happy place. 

Do you love these too? Would you cry rivers of joy if you could get your hands on these? It seems like Bohemian madness has hit the fabric loving community and these are all to hard to source, so I want to share! I will be giving away a fat quarter stack of each of the prints below!

 I have a pretty good idea of the quilt I would like these to become (I'm thinking something hexy or circular), but I'd love to hear all your ideas too! So in order to enter the running for a fat quarter of each of these 15 prints, please leave me a comment on the type of quilt you'd like to see this collection made into. If you become a new follower, you get a second chance to enter, and if you are already one you get a third (Please remember to leave a comment for each entry you are eligible for).

I will close the comments for the giveaway on Friday, April 2nd at 5 PM Western time. Good luck and Happy Sunday!!

Sunday Stash

New Munki goodies arrived from Kerri at sewdeerlyloved on Etsy. Time to get going again on my Munki Munki Nine Patch.

Just a short post today, because it is beautiful outside and I need to go catch up with this little girl.....

She is on the move and into EVERYTHING! It is a lot of work but so fun to watch her explore. But at least she is going to bed pretty early, so tonight I can get quilting my Far, Far Away quilt. Hopefully I will have it all done to show you next week - I am really loving it!

Sunday Stash #???

It has been so long since I "Sunday Stashed", I have no idea what number post I'm on anymore. Oh well.

You might be wondering what this totally awesome stack of fabrics you have never seen before are. Well, I'm sure if you are bothering to read this you probably already do :).

This is one of my favorite fabric collections ever, Bohemian, by Anna Maria Horner (and you all know by now how much I love her!) These fabrics remind me of me back in college - I think that is why I am so taken with them. It has been OOP for who knows how long and I have been piecing the collection together through swaps and late night internet searching for the last year. I am now only missing a few prints. It is so cool to see the first of some of the prints we will come to love, like the dots from Chocolate Lollipop and the Filigree and Cathedral Circles from Good Folks.

I have yet to use any of these in a quilt. Now that my Flea Market Fancy is quilted and being bound, I am looking forward to my next big project. Dragging these out of the stash has me inspired! I am thinking of tackling something circular?

PS - If you are jonesing for some of these fabrics I may be willing to put together some fat quarter stacks of what I have enough of after I cut into them - just let me know.

And to continue with the AMH love, I am once again guilty of violating my Fabric Diet. I went to a great little shop in Ballard today and just HAD to pick up some of the Folksy flannels! I think the voile will be a quilt for me someday and the flannel a blankie for Lucia. It is so soft. I also picked up this tote pattern, which I have plans for in the new Echino line (oops, more fabric to buy!)

Well, I am off to finish binding my FMF quilt. Pictures soon - and hopefully better ones than these if I could just find the blasted charging cord to our new camera!

Sunday Stash, Birdie Quilt and a lot on my crafty plate!

Fabric for Birdie quilt, originally uploaded by Lucy & Norman.

So this is a project that has been on the back burner for quite awhile. I just love all the cool bird fabrics out there and decided to start collecting them with an all bird themed quilt in mind. The quilt I am planning I found on a tutorial at Amanda Jean's great blog. I got inspired to show you this after talking to Meagan yesterday, and seeing that she was planning the same thing. I just love it so far, but at this rate it won't be finished until 2012!

Oh well, I just love starting things but sometimes have a bit of trouble finishing them. At least I have come to terms with this flaw.

Here is a scary list of just how many WIPs I have on my crafty plate:

1. Bird Quilt

2. Mom's Good Folks Birthday Zig Zag

3. Old Red Barn Co Wonky Log Cabin Flea Market Fancy Quilt

4. Pillow Talk swap pillow

5. Hand Stitched swap piece

6. Summer's wedding quilt

7. Spoonflower fabric design

8. Sunrise circle sweater (knitting project)

Ouch! That doesn't even include all the projects I have brewing in my head, or all the things I need to whip up for the births of about six babies coming up! Does anyone else have too many crafty things going on?

At least it is fun! My mom's birthday is the 17th of October and I am almost finished quilting it. The FMF quilt is coming along well - I have about 12 blocks done, but I think this will be a big one so I am keeping at it. I should definitely be farther along with Summer's disappearing nine patch, but the backing is arriving next week so I guess I'll get going on it then. Luckily the swap pieces aren't due for quite awhile and the Bird quilt I have just resigned to being an ongoing project. I am not even going to tell you how many various knitting projects that are collecting dust!

Here are a couple of the birdie blocks I have done so far......

Aren't the little owls so cute?

Inspiration (and Sunday Stash # 4)

Look at what goodies arrived in the mail yesterday!

Japanese Hansel and Gretel.....

and Little Red Riding Hood!

They are so unbelievably cute. I had been on the prowl for both of these prints for quite awhile with no luck. Then suddenly one of my swappy friends lets us know one of her Etsy sellers just got this in stock! Totally made my day! They make me happy just looking at them. Both were purchased from Japankawaiiya on Etsy.

I was under the impression that they have both been long out of print - maybe this is hope that Cosmo textiles is reprinting these popular fairy tale prints? I really can't understand why a textile manufacturer rarely does second runs of the most popular lines? Why not make money instead of letting the secondary market cash in and raise prices (i.e. Flea Market Fancy)? Seems like poor business planning to me, just my two cents.

So by now you may be realizing I have an obsession with these Japanese fairy tale prints. I literally pour over them on a regular basis (haven't yet sewn with them, though. That would mean having to cut them, haha!). I have always loved drawing and sketching and I was even a Fine Arts major for part of my college career, but it has been years since I picked up a pencil to draw. But these fabrics have been such an inspiration.......

I have been checking out Spoonflower fabric designs for a long time now and have decided to start some planning for my own fabrics. I was really intimidated because of all the computer designing involved, but after seeing the lovely designs of Ariel (Pocketful of Pinwheels) and Aneela (Comfortstitching) and a little reassurance that it really isn't that difficult, I am ready to take the plunge.

These are some preliminary sketches and experimentation with markers. By the way, if you love markers, these Copic Sketch pens are far and away the best I have ever had the pleasure of using - but beware, they are not cheap (although I did find some online for about two dollars cheaper a piece than the list price). It feels so good to create in this avenue again!

Snow White is the first one I am seriously working on - trying to go for a very obviously Kawaii-inspired style. Someday I hope to make Lucy a quilt with fairy tale fabrics all designed by me. Wish me luck!

Sunday Stash #3

Twenty nine fat quarters from Anna Maria Horner's Garden Party. Aren't they lovely? My mom fell in love with this line and I am making her a queen sized quilt for her bed for Christmas. At least for once I'll be starting early!

Triple Threat!

So today I'm killing three posts with one big, beautiful bundle of Flea Market Fancy goodness!These delicious layer cakes and jelly rolls (and I now know why they call them that!) will serve as my Sunday Stash and also bring me to two other subjects.

You've probably heard by now of the giant uprising amongst the lovers of this long out of print line by Denyse Schmidt. Penny at sewtakeahike has just started a petition to get the attention of Free Spirit. Perhaps if she gets enough signatures they will consider reprinting the line! Click on the link on the right to join!

In addition, these jelly rolls I have decided will be my fabric selection for the Old Red Barn quilt along Round Three. I think the FMF deserves a quilt all its own and will make smashing Wonky Log Cabins. This is a great quilt along and I am super excited to learn from John aka Quiltdad - he does some amazing work.

Well I have successfully (?) quilted my zig zag and now it is just waiting to have to binding sewn so stay tuned.