Read All About It...

The first time I met Candy in real life, it felt kind of like a blind date. If you have had the wonderful opportunity to meet one of your blogging friends in person, then maybe you know what I'm talking about. A few butterflies...will I like her? Will she like me? Will we have anything in common? Will we run out of things to talk about and then have an awkward silence?

Candy's daughter is Jessica Jones, designer of fabulous fabric and the writer behind the uber popular blog, How About Orange.What first caught my eye, of course, was the very witty, usually very humorous conversation between mother and daughter that continues to take place in the comment section of Jess's blog. I asked myself, who was this Grandma G person anyway? So I clicked on her name, which took me to her blog, where I read that she lived in southern Minnesota, close to where Mark grew up. We started an email correspondence, and then three years ago, when we went back to Minnesota for Mark's high school reunion, we took the time to drive the relatively short distance to meet in person.

Fast forward three years, and we are now very good friends. So no trip to Minnesota would be complete without spending time together.

In April I had decided to make a quilt for her. Years ago, I had purchased some fabric of cats sitting on bare and snowy branches.

I have no clue why I purchased it--I'm not particularly a cat lover myself. But Candy is. And so I knew I had found the perfect person for this fabric. I used Elizabeth's "sliced coins" pattern (highly recommended, by the way) and went to work. The best thing? This quilt was made entirely from my stash, including "The Kitty Chronical," which kind of makes both of us crazy because the word "chronicle" is misspelled."

And this is one of the few quilts completed, from beginning to end, by me (with help from Mark for the basting part) --including the machine quilting.

It wasn't intended to be a surprise. I had kind of done a "teaser" post, actually hoping she would figure it out and enjoy watching the process. The funniest thing was when she said, "Well, it's a good thing that quilt isn't for me because that misspelling would drive me nuts!" Or something like that...When I read that, it occurred to me that she really did not think it was for her.

It was so  much fun to give the quilt to such a good friend. Neither of us enjoys having our pictures taken, but this momentous event could not go unphotographed!

I found the coolest fabric for the back, more kitty newspaper articles, but this time I think the words are all spelled correctly.

The sharing didn't end there, however. While I'm the quilter, she is the "bag lady." She does an absolutely impeccable job when it comes to making bags. And I got two of them!

 

See this cute little model? Candy and I both have granddaughters just a few months apart in age, with curly brown hair and brown eyes. This is Courtney:

Adorable. And I was lucky enough to meet her too!

We had to take a short break while our multi-tasking photographer answered a phone call.

If you have a chance to meet a blogging friend, my advice is do it! And run, don't walk!  We both tend to be introverted so the first time was really stepping out of the box for each of us. But if you take that step, you just might make a friend for life.

Random Acts of Kindness...and let the Games begin!

Starting today, a lot of us will be focused on the Olympics, coming to us from London. 
 
A couple of weeks ago I shared some DS fabric from Joann's with some friends in the UK. I had plenty, and it's hard to find in the UK.

This arrived in my mailbox the other day, a total surprise. Some charms of what I am sure are Oakshott cottons, and the cutest little purse made from Flea Market Fancy. So sweet. Thank you so very  much, Charlotte. 

And this is from Lucy, who is just charming. Seriously. I've been collecting Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts like forever, to make a quilt. I need to stop collecting and start sewing! Anyway, Lucy sent the t-shirt and then included the mug in the best.tin.ever. I will be drinking my coffee out of this mug for the next couple of weeks.

Let the games begin!
 

WIP Wednesday

I have been working on Stash Trad bee blocks:

For Kati:

For Brioni:

and blocks for my newly named Kaffe'-O-Lait quilt.

 My design wall looks so pretty.

See the Oregon Duck pillow pet on the floor? He needs stitches so I think my sewing room has also turned into a vet clinic.

Adding this picture simply because he's cute.

And linking up here.

It's all in the name...

Years ago, when I first started collecting Kaffe Fassett fabric, and before I knew how to properly pronounce his name, I dreamed of making a series of quilts with names based on a play on words with his name. Because I love naming things.

So...I would have quilts with names like "DeKaffe" (because I still thought his name was pronounced like "calf"), "Kaffeinated," Kaffe Mocha." Seriously. "Kaffe and Cream." On and on it went...

But then I learned that his name actually rhymes with "safe asset."  And I never got any of those quilts made anyway.

Then I was lucky enough to join the Stash Trad bee on Flickr, which is really up my alley--traditional blocks, which I love, made from my own stash, which is ample. But I digress...

The first block was called Crown of Thorns and looks like this.

I became totally obsessed with this block and didn't want to put it in the mail decided it was a pretty nice block.So I started going through my stash, because the swirly fabric, while quite old, has always been one of my favorites. I found a lot of colors. So I made myself a challenge: The center O would be the swirly fabric, and all the points would be Kaffe fabric, and had to all have circles or dots. And must come from my stash. Nice selection...

This is my progress so far:

And then I was searching my stash for some totally unrelated projects and guess what? I found more swirls! No way! I was sure I had already found them all.

More combinations:

It occurred to me that I should check my neutrals. Voila! Although I have been unsuccessful in finding KF fabric that will go with these. So Plan B will be required.

And today I was going through my scraps. And found two more colors! But not enough to make a complete center "O" out of each. Can you say "Plan C"?

So....want to know the name of this quilt? Sure you do...

Kaffe'-O-Lait...

Yeah...Mark rolled his eyes too.

Farmer's Wife Friday: Not really so much of an update...

Carla and I thought we should post a little progress report on Farmer's Wife Friday. You know--to keep us accountable...

So....having been gone for ten days, and then trying to get caught up, and trying spend as much time as possible with these three little people (because we were gone for ten days!...and sadly Ruby is at the coast and I haven't been able to see her yet...)...

I don't really have so much progress to report.

As you know, there is a total of 111 blocks. I don't want a ginormous quilt, so 21 blocks are going on the back. In fact, these are the 21 relegated to the back. Some of them I don't like at all. Some are okay, but I wouldn't make again if you paid me.

The rest are in piles on the floor, for a further update later on. Maybe next month...

Pathetic update, right? Yes, I think so too...

But I think Carla is going to bail me out and actually show you what our setting blocks will look like. Hopefully...if I were you, I would head over there now because there is not much going on here.

Oh, but something really important: the giveaway winner of this super cute pattern by Row House Creations

 is Anita, who said:

I would love to win a copy of her pattern! I was one of the followers to got lost in the move and still can't seem to reconnect somehow. Not sure why. Thanks for the chance to win this great pattern, love it!

Congratulations, Anita!


Have a nice weekend, everyone!

WIP Wednesday

Short and sweet this week. I have been gone for nearly two weeks, and have LOTS to share. But in pieces. And not today. The first weekend I was at a quilting retreat in Minnesota with wonderful blogging friends. And these are the two projects that took most of my time. Do you remember this block?

It was for a block exchange and I kinda fell in love with it. I have the center swirly fabric in lots of colors. So I made myself a challenge; to make blocks using every color. And for the outer half square triangles, I am using only Kaffe Fassett fabric, and it has to come from my stash, only with circle motifs or dots, no flowers. I have enough left over to duplicate the orange block. And these are the other four I have completed so far.

See the little "oops" in the upper left-hand corner of the yellow block? I posted it on Instagram and asked for opinions. Nearly everyone said to leave it--that it added a little charm. So. What do you think? Leave it--or would it drive you nuts?

The other thing I worked on was a project with Laurie Wisbrun's adorable llama fabric. I had a fat quarter pack and was able to fussy cut four cute little llamas.

And then I used the hourglass blankets that two of them had across their back, using both the hourglass block and the colors for further inspiration. And reminded myself that not every quilt has to be large. Sometimes four blocks is enough. I love the pale grey crosshatch design in the llama fabric and will continue that design element by quilting the same design, at least in the llama blocks. I just love this little quilt.

Two squares are completed from the Fusion Blanket Crochet-Along, and I seem to finally be getting the hang of crochet again (excuse the wrinkles--this came straight out of my carry-on bag).

I have exciting news regarding Really Random Thursday. Some of my quilting retreat friends said they enjoy that segment and would like to do their own random posts. So hey! Let's start having a Really Random Thursday linky party. What do you think?

If you are like me, you come across interesting things that have no connection to quilting or sewing or cooking or decorating, or whatever your blog is primarily about. That's the "stuff" of daily life sometimes. Save it up and share it with the rest of us! More details tomorrow. But you can already grab the button, designed by my fabulous friend, Terri.

I had a great time in the beautiful state of Minnesota. But I'm also glad to be back home, and linking up to WIP Wednesday.

The Name Game: Made by a Brunnette

I'm really happy to have my good friend, Doris, here from Made by a Brunnette.

Doris has helped organize the quilting retreat that I have attended for the last two years in Minnesota. Last year when I attended for the first time, doing something like this was completely out of my comfort zone. Really. Traveling halfway across the United States to spend a weekend with nine women I had never met before was kind of monumental for an introvert like me. This year, I could hardly wait! These women are becoming very good friends and I look forward to many more special weekends with them.

Doris, how did you choose the name for your blog?

My blogspot name was originally Threads of Conversation, for nearly four years.  In early 2012, I decided to buy the domain name and upgrade my blog--only to find out someone had recently purchased the domain and started a blog of the same name (a quilter, no less!)  Therefore, to avoid confusion or comparison, I chose to change my name to www.madebyabrunnette.com.  It fits well, my last name is Brunnette, I am a brunette, and I create all sorts of things including sewing clothing, bags, softies, and quilts, and occasionally painting or drawing (a throwback to my art school days).  I also use that for my etsy shop name: http://www.etsy.com/shop/madebyabrunnette.  My only regret is that I lost followers when I switched names, which happened just prior to launching our pattern design company, Row House Creations (www.rowhousecreations.com).

Were there other names you considered and can you share any of them with us?

Not really, my original blog name came from a business name idea that my brother suggested, and I always liked it (and still do!).  When I felt the need to change it because the domain was being used, I came up with a few other ideas, but nothing too far from Made by a Brunnette.

Choosing our business name was a completely different story—we had pages and pages of ideas, compiled over the course of a few months.  We even had settled on one name and used it for about a month before one of us suggested Row House Creations, and we immediately agreed that was the one!  My business partner and I are both VERY happy with the name choice.  I created our logo, and eventually want to design a fancy website for us, but we have a good start with our own domain, www.rowhousecreations.com, and setting up a shop on our webpage, etc.  The more sophisticated website will come with time, but right now our focus is on developing our 3^rd and 4^th patterns.

 Now that you are recognized by your blog name, are you happy with it, or do you wish you could change it to something else?

 Have you ever seen a cuter mermaid?

Very, both my personal blog www.madebyabrunnette.com and www.rowhousecreations.com are names I am pleased with!

Doris has generously offered to give away Row House Creations' first pattern. SO cute!

Want to see a close-up?

I think she even told me it will be an autographed copy! So our inquiring minds would love to know: Have you ever designed  a pattern for publication, or considered doing that? Leave a comment here and a winner will be chosen on Wednesday, July 18, at 6 p.m. PDT. But be SURE you head over to Doris's blog and don't forget to stop by Row House Creations as well (I love their tag line: "Built upon classic foundations").  She was working on one of the new patterns at the retreat and I guarantee I will be snapping that one up as soon as it becomes available!