oops

I still haven't downloaded my pics.
I spent the evening mostly grading.
There are still (I think) 9 spots open in the Black, White, & Grey charm swap.
Please come on over to our flickr group and fill out the form if you want to join in the fun and haven't yet!



Edit: We appear to be full right now. Email me if you want to be put on the waitlist!

Wooo...got back from Kentuck!

I ran away for the weekend to the Kentuck festival in Tuscaloosa, AL, with one of my best friends.
I'll post pics tomorrow.
I have to download them from my phone.

It was blast.
I am very tired.
I'm behind in my cross stitch plan for the Hoopla.
Blarg.

Friday finishes!

Got my NuBee blocks finished and mailed off:


I attacked a 241 bag from Noodlehead.
It's been on my to do list for a while.
I'm going to a festival tomorrow and wanted a new bag.
You know...one that is the right size.
I wanted color...something juicy and bright to go with my fall wardrobe earth tones.
Once I saw Pernilla's Journey, I KNEW that was it.

I added some sour apple Kona to it.
Someone somewhere blogged that it took only 2 hours to make. Um...not me.
It took me about an hour to cut up all the pieces.

It took about 4-5 hours to apply the interfacing and sew.
I thought I was done about 4 hours in...then the tension went crappo on my last top stitch, resulting in crazy loops on the inside that had to be ripped apart.
I love it.
the front:

the back:

a close up:

Love it. Love it. Love it.
It's big enough for my stuff and my epi...and I made the strap long enough to wear across the body.

I'm adding it to Celebrate Color's listings.

My only wish was that I could have had an elephant in its entirety front and center, but I only ordered a half a yard, not taking the size of the repeat into account.
I still got the edges and the moon face, so I'm happy.

Add to my joy! I won charm squares left over from Courtney's at monpetitlyons fall quilt.

Her quilt is quite fabulous, as are the pieces I got. Some Heather Ross! Luscious fall colors!

I'm debating pillows...or adding some more stash and making a quilt.
Gah. Or pouches.
sooooooooo fabulous!

Added:
I made these for gifties for 2 ladies I'll be hanging with at the festival.



Ok...I'm done. If you want to sign up for the Charm swap, there's still room!

Played catch up again...

Done today:

New Bee Block for Oct.



Neutral and Not Block for Nov.


Chose my block for my upcoming bee month.
(I'm keeping it a surprise, I think.)


Yay! My fabric arrived for the 241 bag. (On my list for tomorrow.)
I already had some fat quarters, but I need 2 bigger pieces for the bag...
(This is a pic from an order from The Intrepid Thread...you'll have to wait until tomorrow to see which ones I ordered to make the bag out of...oooo, bad grammar.)


Caught up on my Skill Builder (but I'll have it back on my to do list tomorrow when the next block goes up):


I posted my pouch for the Pretty Little Pouch swap, my quilt to Project Linus, and the two bee blocks going abroad.

Still to do:

Hoop for Hoopla (I'm actually scared I might not get this one done in time for the swap. It's taking me WAY longer to cross stitch than I thought....the design was my choice, but it's my second one...the first design was started and then axed.)

Nubee blocks (2)

241 bag

There are still spaces in the Black, White, & Grey swap if anyone is interested.

WIP Wed....9.12.11...100 quilts for kids!

I've got one going in the mail tomorrow.
My plan is to mail out a bunch of stuff tomorrow afternoon.

To Mail:
New Bee Block
Neutral and Not Block
Pretty Little Pouch
a quilt for my hope to be future in-laws
100 quilts for kid quilt to Project Linus

A huge thank you to Sachiko over at Tea Rose Home for the giveaway that I won...I used some of the fabric to make this quilt!

So....I still have to sew the bee blocks.
I'm also a week behind on the Skill Builder.
Also on tap:
a pouch for a thank you gift
Cutting fabrics/packing for my bee month over at Sew Bee Blissful
Beginning a presentation for an upcoming conference....
Oh, and sewing a 241 Noodlehead bag...which may not happen til Fri if the fabric arrives late tomorrow.

The plus side is that I don't have to work tomorrow and I'll all but one test caught up on grading.

Wooo! Linking up to Wednesday WIP and 100 Quilts for kids over at Swim.Bike.Quilt.

a SWAP!!!!

Black, White, and Grey Charm swap, to be exact.


If you click on the pic, you can steal the html code for you blog...I'm still learning how to post a button.

Inspired by Jennifer over at Ellison Lane Quilts and kind of obsessed with black, white, and grey right now, I thought I'd see if anyone else wanted to join in a swap.

Here's the skinny.
First let me apologize profusely for making this a domestic/US swap only this first round. I need to work out some of the logistics for an international one, and I want to have this one mailed out before the holidays, so...I apologize to any and all of my international peeps who wanted in on this.

That said, if you are interested in joining the swap and receiving in return 56 charms (2 of 28 different fabrics).

FILL OUT THE FORM HERE.

Post sign up and email of confirmation, follow these steps.

Step One:
Steal the blog button at the top for your blog. Join the flickr group.

Step Two:
Each participant (there will be 27 spaces) will purchase a yard (good idea to get a little bit extra) of quilt store quality 100% cotton fabric (No Joann's, Hancock's or Michael's please) in the assigned base color. Post fabric pics on flickr to avoid duplication. Fabric must be new and unwashed and must come from a smoke free environment.


Step Three:
Press your fabric. Cut the fabric into 56 charm (5x5 inch) squares.
A fabulous tutorial can be found here by Elizabeth Hartman.

Step Four:
Please place the charms in a sealed Ziploc bag with an index card, on which is written your name and as much fabric info as possible.

Step Five:
Mail the charms along with a SASE to the swap sorter by the deadline (Nov. 15).

Step Six:
Wait as patiently as possible to get the charms back. (I'll mail them as fast as possible, ideally a week, after I receive them all.)

Step Seven:
Do a little happy dance and then update that you have received your package on the sent/received list on flickr. Post pics of the items you make with the charms.

Iffen this all works as planned, there will be a larger, international scale swap in March.

Japanese Scrap Bag Challenge.

A few weeks ago, Sarah over at Pings and Needles posted a challenge.
A Japanese Scrap Bag challenge.
The winner gets a year's subscription to The Eternal Maker's Japanese charm club.
Being a fabric whore *cough* and free associating what I could possible make with a scrap bag, I typed in "a corset belt for bellydance" and added trimming a bra if there were left overs.

Um...nevermind that I don't usually sew my own costumery. I've made one circle skirt. It was very very heavy. I think I measure the waist incorrectly and had to keep adding panels.
I've also never applied a grommet before.

I did have a pattern that I'd bought long long ago.
Tempest's corset belt.
I lusted after her originals for a long time, but I settled on a pattern instead of being a big spender.

The pattern was really designed for someone with a Serger. I do not have a Serger.

BUT I WAS UNDAUNTED.
I tried a prototype. It's brocade. Which is really really slippery.
I didn't finish it after I realized it would mean doing 80 instead of 40 grommets.

I agonized over the placement of each scrap.
I grommeted until my fingers bled. Literally. I had to pull a few of them off and cut up my fingertips.

(As an aside, I found the grommet kit that used a hammer and a metal plate to be the easiest. The hand/plier thingie didn't have great results for me.)

How To Grommet:
Gather the following supplies:


Take the pointy awl and jam it through a premeasured spot:

How far you jam it through the piece might depend on your grommet size. For mine, I pushed it all the way in.

Remove the awl pointy bits and push in the grommet:

You may need to grab the scissors and trim the hole a bit.
Make sure you push the grommet through the hole as cleanly as possible...it will make lining things up easier at the hammering stage.

Line the grommet up into the base of the grommet maker:


Take the top of the grommet maker and line it all up:


Then grab this:

Tap on the grommet maker about 4 times. NOTE: IF IT SHIFTS, STOP. YOU DO NOT WANT AN OFF-KILTER GROMMET. Removing it with sucketh.

Ta-Da!!!! (It's not quite perfect because brocade is really hard to grommet, but you get the idea:



Anyway.....I'm sure y'all really want to see my final project....so....

Here's the finished product:


It's getting worn in a show in Dec. I still haven't picked out my music.

...And, because I promised the other ladies I'd model.....
Here I am:



I'll put up the link when voting goes live over at Pings and Needles. In the meantime, if you want to check out the work of the other fabulous contestants, you can see them here. I'd love to win, but, truth be told, I've had a blast regardless, met some rad women, and learned a lot!