Monday, May 31, 2010

Tufted Tweets--A Pincushion Giveaway

For those of you who have been following for awhile, you know that I am a huge fan of Laurie Wisbrun of Scarlet Fig. She has been designing her fabulous fabric and now has her first line, Tufted Tweets, with major fabric manufacturer, Robert Kaufman. I have impatiently patiently waiting for the fabric to arrive in stores (yes, the sound you hear in the background is my fingers drumming on my desk....) but in the meantime, Laurie generously sent me a bag of selvages along with a few nice-sized scraps from the line.


Of course the obvious thing to do with such a treasure was to make pincushions. We are having a simultaneous chance to win a pincushion. On Laurie's blog, you can leave a comment to win this red and orange pincushion:


And by leaving a comment on my blog, you have a chance to win this really cute purple and green pincushion:


Simple as that. Leave a comment here and leave a comment on Scarlet Fig. And on June 6, we'll each be picking a random winner. And go to Sewing on the Edge for some new pincushions. If you are a Flea Market Fancy lover, you'll want to check it out.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

And the winner is...

I bet you think I'm going to give you the name of another giveaway winner. Nope.

This is some little-known information about me. I love the Indy 500. Really. I have been following it since I was in grade school. In those days (geez, that makes me feel old, even though I am so not...) it was only broadcast on the radio. I would take my beach towel and suntan lotion and listen to it outside while I tried to get tan, "tan" being kind of a relative term. I have red hair and the best I can do color-wise is get beige.

Then they started showing it on TV, but it was always on tape-delay. Isn't that a weird thought, with instant information on the internet and "spoiler alerts" on my Comcast home page?

For the last five years, Mark and I have been up at Huntington Lake, getting our summer rental cabins ready for our first guests of the season. Only this year, the cabins are still buried in snow up there. The road hasn't even been plowed all the way to our cabins and we have no water. Next weekend, what should be our first rental week of the season will find all of us in the owner group (hopefully) up there getting the cabins ready for the season. And the guests scheduled for that first week will either have to find a vacancy later in the season or wait until next year.

Back to my point. What this means is that for the last five years I haven't been able to watch the Indy 500. This year, since we are home for the weekend, we settled ourselves in the family room and got to watch the whole race.

And the winner, for the second time in his career, is Dario Franchitti. Of course, that is old news to you already if you follow sports at all.


Mark still can't really figure out my love of the Indy 500. Other than this particular race, I don't follow IRL racing at all, although I do really like Nascar. There is just something about the pomp and pageantry of the pre-race show that gets me every time I watch it. The 33 drivers being announced, Jim Nabors singing "Back Home in Indiana," and Mari Hulman George saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines..." Shivers, I tell you!

But speaking of winners and giveaways, stay tuned for updates in a day or two, because Sewing on the Edge will be participating in two really cool giveaways. I could do a spoiler alert, but I think suspense is always kind of fun...

Friday, May 28, 2010

One in Every Color--The Paint Chip Edition

I saw this on TV last night. Loved it!






Whatever you are doing this Memorial Day weekend, I hope it is relaxing and colorful.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

One in Every Color--The Wedding Edition

Do you remember this adorable couple--Jessie and Luke?

And the quilt a lot of us worked on? From the many special people in Jessie's life who made a block to the friends and family who spent a weekend sewing the top together? It had a place of honor in Moscow, Idaho, this past Saturday as the backdrop for Jessie and Luke's wedding. In the meeting room at the LaQuinta Hotel.


The original plans were to get married on the golf course. Then there was a change of venue to the arboretum closeby. But then weather threatened to interfere as the forecast was for nonstop rain all weekend. Indoors or outdoors? Jessie made the decision to not worry about the weather and just plan to have the wedding indoors instead.

The quilt binding still needed to be completed.  I worked on Friday morning and afternoon (it is a big quilt) and finished the last side after the wedding rehearsal Friday night.

Decorating started in earnest early Saturday morning. The tables were in a U-shape and there was a color progression of colored water in different interesting containers, crayons that Jessie had made earlier, wedding-related quotes matted on matching paper. I wish I had taken a good picture of the tables. You'll have to use your imagine. It was really frugal, creative and beautiful.


Lots of twinkly lights. And these hung from the ceiling:

Pictures of Jessie and Luke's life on the wall:


(my favorite...)

We got a lunch break and went to Moscow Bagels. It was threatening to rain and I never turn down a chance to wear my awesome raincoat--Anna Maria Horner laminated cotton--I highly recommend it. But I digress.


Yummy. (I didn't take a picture of my bagel either so you will have to imagine that too!)

The weather cooperated in the afternoon enough for pictures. If you call freezing cold and gale-force wind cooperating. Okay, maybe gale-force is a little exaggerated. But it was really windy. It was a beautiful setting (and we all had lots of hairspray).


And then it was back to the hotel for the ceremony. I didn't take pictures during the ceremony as I was busy being a surrogate mother of the bride, which was such a special honor. Thank you , Jessie.

Instead of a unity candle, Jessie and Luke had a celtic handfasting ceremony (this is where the term "tying the knot" originated). Close family and friends each had a ribbon that we tied around their wrists, binding them together. It was an amazing part of the ceremony and really beautiful.

Jessie had made all the flowers for the ceremony, along with help of friends/family along the way. They were unique and beautiful  (I seem to be using the word "beautiful" a lot). Beautiful colors and lots of embroidery detail and vintage buttons, inspired by Princess Lasertron.


Aren't they AMAZING? Jessie's bridal bouquet is the silver and white one. The others were bridesmaids' bouquets. The three surrogate mothers each had a wrist corsage and the guys had matching boutonnieres.

It was a wonderful weekend. Jessie's mother, Sue, would have loved it.

As you start your new life together, Jessie and Luke, remember all the love that surrounds you, not just from those at the ceremony but from all the other people in your life.

Friday, May 21, 2010

C UR I DKTR--Blogger's Quilt Festival

It's Blogger's Quilt Festival  so get ready to see quilts that will knock your socks off. Picture after picture of beautiful quilts, and each one has a story behind it. And before I forget to mention it later, my new etsy shop, Sewing on the Edge, is one of the premier sponsors, so be sure to comment on the festival post to be entered into the giveaways.

Our son, Aaron, and daughter-in-law, Christa, spent five years in Portland, Oregon, while Aaron went to optometry school. I always knew I would make him a quilt when he graduated. I didn't know I would be lucky enough to find eye chart fabric.
I found the pattern, "Hollow Cube," and started collecting black, white and red fabric. The blocks look complicated, but with some organization they were pretty simple to construct. Even then I was finding a way to work selvages into my quilts. Nearsighted...


Optic...
Black, white and read all over...
Lots of eyeglass frames for the back.

And a little pin for the front: the eyes have it!

The first eye chart fabric I found was quilting related. Fortunately I found something closer to the real thing for the border on the front. Because I'm pretty sure Aaron wouldn't have appreciated an eye chart that reads: "quilting and sewing makes me happy, love to buy beautiful fabric." No matter how true that is.

C UR I DKTR. Good advice for anyone. Especially anyone who spends a lot of time at the sewing machine.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Enjoy all the quilts.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

And we have a winner

Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the Sew Mama Sew giveaway. I appreciate all the encouraging comments. The winner, picked by the random number generator, is #190, Stephanie, who said: "I like them all. Such a good idea."

Thanks, Stephanie! This will be in the mail to you on Monday.


There are still some pincushions at Sewing on the Edge, and a lot more will be added next week so feel free to head on over and do some shopping.

And y'all come back for Bloggers Quilt Festival starting tomorrow!

Thought for Thursday

A commenter on the giveaway post asked about the fabric I used on the back of the giveaway pincushion. Amazingly, to me at least, the selvage was still intact on the fabric. How did that happen? (It's "home sewing is easy" by Alexander Henry, by the way). But in the course of things, I was googling sewing fabric and came across this piece by Sharon Yenter of In The Beginning Fabrics.

Let's just enlarge this portion a bit...


I'm pleading the 5th Amendment...

Don't forget that today is the last day for the Sew Mama Sew giveaway. Leave a comment here and I'll choose a winner at 4 p.m. PDT.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

With a little help from my friends

This is the pincushion that is being given away this week in connection with Sew Mama Sew. Thanks for everyone who has left such nice comments about the giveaway and the pincushions in Sewing on the Edge. You have until the end of Thursday, the 20th, to leave a comment for a chance to win.


So where do I get all these selvages? Hmmm....well, if you have followed for a while, you may have noticed a few posts with photos of fabric. Let's just save I have a nice "collection."

I also have some really great fabric-obsessed friends...friends who don't feel the need to hang on to every little selvage they cut off. Nope. Instead, they pack them in bags and send them to me. And while it may seem odd, it is like receiving a valuable gift when I open that bag up. To thank these generous friends, I have been making a pincushion for them. These are going out in the mail tomorrow:


I try my best to customize them a bit.

Crystal from Modify Tradition is from Minneapolis. Believe it or not, I actually have some fabric from a shop hop that was held in Minnesota last summer. I tried really hard to piece together "Modify Tradition," but the closest I could get was Modern Tradition. Hope this is close enough for you, Crystal.


Terri from Sew-Fantastic has been very generous and requested aqua and gray. She even got a strip of the fabric that started this whole obsession: dumb dot. And on a fun note, she will be moving to Bakersfield, just two hours from where I live. I'm hoping we will have a chance to go selvage fabric shopping together sometime.

Amy from Amy's Creative Side (and don't forget, Blogger's Quilt Festival is just around the corner--too much fun going on this week!) gave me a list of some of her favorite fabrics/designers. Those super cute color registration dots in the center are from the Hunky Dory line, and I even got her name in there as well. Well, Amy Butler's name actually, but close enough.

And Jacquie from Tallgrass Prairie Studio has been a complete inspiration. Remember the quilt she made from selvages? I think she used most of her selvages up, so while I didn't get a package from her, I have gotten a lot of inspiration. She is from Kansas and loves modern quilting. So...don't you think she should have a pincushion with selvages that say Midwest Modern and Kansas Song? I thought so too.


And look what came in the mail yesterday? Laurie Wisbrun from Scarlet Fig has been designing and printing her fabric for a while. I'm a huge fan. And then she was picked up by Robert Kaufman and her fabric will be debuting some time this month. Can't wait. In the meantime, I get to play with this

and this.

Thanks again to all my generous friends.

And if one of you readers out there has been wondering what to do with the selvages that you cut off, well, I made sure my contact information is handy. You know, in case you need a new pincushion...

Monday, May 17, 2010

May Giveaway Day!

Today is May Giveaway Day at Sew, Mama, Sew! And here is what I'm giving away. A one-of-a-kind pincushion made from selvages (I may have mentioned a time or two how much I love selvages). And since it is a giveaway sponsored by Sew, Mama, Sew!, notice what it says in the very center. Yes, I spent a lot of time going through bags of selvages trying to find the words to piece together.


And this is the pincushion back. The funny thing is, there is certainly NOT extra money in the budget. Not my budget anyway. Because I keep spending all my extra money on fabric.


There are a lot of pincushions for sale in my new etsy shop, Sewing on the Edge.
In the meantime, for a chance to win this pincushion, visit Sewing on the Edge and tell me which is your favorite. Then just come back here and leave a comment.


This giveaway is open until May 20, so there will be plenty of time to make your choice. I'll be happy to ship internationally, so if you are visiting from outside the United States, don't let that stop you!

Friday, May 14, 2010

It's Friday...

...and maybe someone out there needs some inspiration. Like my Modify Tradition swap partner perhaps? Someone out there is making a quilt for me and I don't know who she is. And I'm doing the same thing for someone else. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the online quilting community??)

So, Swap Partner, if you are reading this,  you'll find that I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to quilting. Just the thought of you taking your time to work on a little quilt makes me happy.

Bright clear colors are my favorites right now (I have given away most of my civil war reproduction prints that I seemed to have stacks of...), white, light gray, neutral sashing. Or no sashing. And scrappy quilts.

(Photos from Red Pepper Quilts, Film in the Fridge and Oh Fransson)

So I hope this gives you a little clue. Unless you are like one of those overachievers and already have it sewn, bound and ready for shipping. In which case you can just enjoy the collage.

Note to my swap partner (except you don't know who you are--hehe): I am not an overachiever. I have a design picked out, but haven't even touched a piece of fabric yet. So maybe anonymity is a good thing...

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

NOT Wordless Wednesday

Our friend, George, sent this to us last week and I have played it a couple of times. Maybe you have already seen it.  If you haven't seen it, now is the time. It's totally worth your time.

Monday, May 10, 2010

One in Every Color--Mother's Day Edition

All I wanted for Mother's Day this year was a family picture.I happened to mention this to Jessie last Monday, and the next thing I knew the whole family had been contacted and the photo shoot was scheduled for Friday night, along with a barbecue. The weather was perfect. The evening was perfect.

Good food. Fun games. Precious time together--and that's what money can't buy.


Our family consists of both biological and chosen members. Each one of them is deeply loved.


Back row: Jason and Jill, Sam and Matt.
Front row: Mark, me, Levi, Valerie, Jessie, Christa, Aaron and Charlotte.

And on Saturday, some more color.Jessie, Valerie, Christa and I had pedicures.

And then we stopped at Starbucks. The girls found these hats while I was paying for the coffee. Silly girls...

This was the best Mother's Day. Thanks everyone. I love you all so much.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Quilt Wrestling

Sometimes quilting turns a bit athletic, especially when you are trying to trim and square a king-sized quilt, and then sew on the binding. It's heavy and it requires some tricky maneuvering.

And you add to the degree of difficulty by not removing all extraneous things from your sewing table.

So you start trimming block by block, starting with the pink corner.
Moving on to the blue side.
And then the green.
And saving the best for last. Orange, of course!
Jessie had already made miles of binding.
And I did set up an extra table to help support the weight when I finally started sewing the binding on.
Mark has been experimenting this week with making "restaurant style" enchiladas. Not the kind you bake in the oven, but the kind they make in Mexican restaurants. The kind they stick under the broiler to melt the cheese and then always say, "Be careful. The plate is really hot." I think he has pretty much perfected the recipe. But, shhhhhh. Don't tell him. I want him to keep experimenting. And it's a good thing he was experimenting last night. Because I was able to do some major carb loading before my wrestling match!