Disclaimer & Full Disclosure

It seems that a lot of folks these days are being asked if they work for fabric designers, pattern or notions designers and/or quilt shops when they blog about a particular product, fabric or pattern. Maybe it's a mass email going out ... but I'll quickly address it here.

Nope, I don't work for anyone even remotely attached to the quilting industry.

Nope, I've never been sent anything free to endorse on my blog.

Nope, I wouldn't do it, even if I were asked.

I'm Corporate Director of Finance, Administration & Human Resources for a manufacturing company that forges titanium, steel and other high-temp alloys. I don't see how that could in any way be stretched to include anyone in the quilting industry, except that perhaps they may fly on a plane that contains some of our metal. Of course, I would have no way of knowing that for sure, but I'm just trying to cover all of the full-disclosure bases here. (Okay, that was a feeble attempt at humor!)

Honestly, I don't know what in the world I'd be able to offer any quilting-industry company who offered me a job! And I sure don't know where I'd come up with the time to handle two jobs! Well, I guess I could give up sleeping because that seems to be the only "spare" time I have lately.

Hope this clears up the matter. Maybe now that mass emailer will put me on their do-not-email list. At least I got a huge chuckle out of it! :)

Stash Report 2011 - Week 13

Give-aways and fabrics to friends - that's a good thing!

Some fabric arrived that was expected. Lily & Will by Anne Sutton at Bunnyhill Designs and Pom Pom de Paris by French General.

I did manage to cut a few yards for backgrounds for my appliqued basket blocks but not counting that yet. I looked at the pattern, though, and I thought that total yardage would have been a lot more. Oh, well, it'll get reported as a bust when it's all cut, which will be a while. I'm not cutting much ahead of where I'm working because I'm only prepping 20 blocks at a time.

I'm teaching a friend to needle turn applique. It's been fun working with her, an hour here and an hour there. Saying techniques out loud refresh and reinforce them for me. I love showing someone how needle turn. I love seeing that "light bulb" moment when it clicks. Yes, you can see it.

Good news - 60 basket blocks done. A lot more to go. Eating this elephant one bite at a time!

This might be my last weekend off for a while, so I've been cleaning and prepping blocks and cooking to freeze meals. Penny has taken to camping out in the kitchen. Never know when Mommy will "accidentally" drop something!

2011 Totals:

Busted: 156.37 yards
Purchased: 167.255 yards
Net YTD: (10.885) yards busted :(

Almost even!

New Jaybird Quilts Patterns

I was so excited last night that this package arrived! All five of Julie's new patterns! My picture is lousy, and I had to crop Penny out of it, but I just had to show them off to everyone! I'm like a proud mother here!

I met Julie for the first time at the Long Beach quilt show, what, two years ago now. She struck me then as a high energy, adorable young lady, with an extremely bright future in the quilting industry. Since then I've met her a few more times, and my first assessment of her has only grown stronger. I'm absolutely positive now that we'll be seeing her talents around for many years to come! She's so special to me - and I know to everyone who has met her and been infected by her creativeness and, I'll say it again, energy!

I just need to pick up the Creative Grids Lazy Angle ruler and I'm good to go here. Well, I will be when I get a bit more time to actually get in the sewing room!

Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop is stocking all of Julie's dynamite new patterns! I'm having trouble with links this morning, so go here to Jolly Jabber blog to check them out! (There's a link to both the Fat Quarter Shop and Jaybird Quilts blog in my sidebar.) I love it when two of my very best friends are in cahoots!! :)

Waytago, Julie! You done good, sweetie! The patterns are wonderful!

Good Morning!

I don't know why I needed to say that, but I did! :)

Okay, here's the deal. I just got a timeline yesterday of a lot of stuff at work that has to be done in the next couple of months. It's overwhelming when I look at the whole list and due dates, but just like making a quilt, today I'm going to break it down into do-able components, make a list, and stick to it.

I see a lot of weekends working and a lot of stress. I can handle the work and stress. I just can't handle much of regular life stuff on top of that.

I haven't quilted much in the past year except for some applique. My friends know why. And I don't foresee much quilting in the next couple of months either. If I get to do it, then that's a bonus. If I don't, I'm ready to accept that.

I'll only be blog posting about once a week, if that, which is about all I've done anyway lately. Just wanted my sweet readers to know that everything is fine here.

So email me if you want to chat. I'll get back to you when there's a moment's pause.

And if you all would take a stitch or two for me, I'd appreciate it! xoxo

Give-Away Winner

Thank you all for wanting this orphan fabric. I was waiting to see who won before I really cut the half yards. I was going to try to customize it a bit.

The winner, as pulled from a paper bag by Penny, is .....

JULIEQ of juliekquilts.blogspot.com

Since Julie is making quilts for Japan, I decided not to cut the fabric, but stuck the whole pieces in the box. There's 42 yards there. It's quite a hodge-podge of fabric, but maybe Julie will be able to incorporate some of it into the quilts that will make their way to Japan.

Julie, please email me your address so I can get these off to you.

Thank you all for wanting these. I am on fabric overload here, so I'm sure there will be more give-aways like this often.

Stash Report 2011 - Week 12

Nothing in; nothing out. Although I have a couple of huge orders coming in next week from the Fat Quarter Shop. Decided to get yardage to go with the two lines of precuts and towers I have sitting here.

For Pom Pom de Paris I went with the yellow for borders, etc. Yellow is really calling my name this year. For Lily & Will, I'm stocking up on baby quilt fabrics and have precuts in all of the colorways, so had to get go-withs for all of those. I'm usually not into fabrics for babies at all, but these are absolutely gorgeous and classic. So I'm all set - or will be when they land on my doorstep, and when "great expectations" are announced!

Things were quiet here last week, and I looked forward to going to a small quilt show near here yesterday. But on Friday night I came home really nauseous and was up and down all night long. I think it's gone now, but it really laid me low until yesterday afternoon. Wouldn't you know it. Oh, well, there's always the Long Beach show in July.



I was able to make a little basket block each night this week, so have 6.5 done. Hope to get another one or two done tomorrow. When I get half of the blocks done I'll figure yardage and get that added to my busts. This is a really labor intensive quilt!

I have a box sitting here of .5+ yard cuts of miscellaneous fabrics that will go out to a commenter here, if they're interested. Just say so in your comment and I'll draw a name on Tuesday night when I get home. Don't know how much is in the box, but some scrap quilter might like to have them.

2011 Totals:

Busted: 90.87 yards
Purchased: 111.755 yards
Net YTD: (20.885) yards busted :(

Miss Rosie's Patterns

I was so excited to see that Carrie Nelson's new Miss Rosie patterns were for sale at the Fat Quarter Shop! Really excited! I've been watching everyone out in bloggerland make up all these beautiful quilts, and felt like the red-haired stepchild. I would always forget to order the patterns. Then when I'd order one and it came in, I found I already had it. Or I'd pull all my fabric to make one, and discover that I had gotten other patterns but not the particular one I wanted.

Well, Kimberly solved all of that!

There's a brand-spanking-new Miss Rosie's Quilt Company Pattern Club, a Fat Quarter Shop exclusive club!!

Wow, Kimberly was reading my mind!! That was one button I didn't mind poking at all in the middle of last night! Since I had scoured the site at lunchtime and didn't see it, it must have just gone up. Hmmm, I wonder if I was the first! LOL

So I'm all signed up for this fantastic club! Now I know that when the latest Miss Rosie patterns are released, they'll be automatically shipped to me! How cool is that!! With a discount! No more trying to remember which ones I have or need to get!

Now I just need to start digging in my stash to find the perfect fabrics!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 11

This week was so busy that I didn't think I'd make it home before falling asleep a couple of days. Then I spent half of each night tossing and turning and worrying. I'm such a worrier. Truly! If you ever have something to worry about and need some help, just call me!

There were no purchases, and the only busts were the small give-aways this week. 6.71 yards busted.

Thanks to give-aways and the charity box my numbers are dropping, but I'd rather be sewing!

Oh, wait, I did sew a little. This week I made four little basket blocks and prepped 16 more yesterday. Even though I haven't been counting that yardage, at least some stitches were made. I did two on Friday night at the quilt shop while Jane was having her late night sew-in. It really helps to have them prepped and ready to go. I miscounted the last time I talked about this and only have 40 finished. That's okay. There are so many more to go that the few I was off doesn't really matter at all.



Today I'm going to muck out the Quilting Condo and the QuiltMobile. My glove box is stuffed with a lot of receipts and things that can be thrown away. My goal is the end of March to have all this done and to be able to sew guilt-free.

2011 Totals:

Busted: 90.87 yards
Purchased: 111.755 yards
Net YTD: (20.885) yards busted :(

Judy at Patchwork Times didn't sew this week either. I hope what I have is not catching!! But check out the week's stash report. Great things are being sewn up out there!

Good Guess Winners!

I had to laugh out loud really loudly when I read all the responses to name two of my other favorite pattern designers besides Brenda Riddle. You all know me too well!! Heck, you almost couldn't make a wrong guess!

I have some Sunkissed to give away. The first name I drew will get a layer cake, and next three people will get two charm packs each.

The first name drawn was: Mascalon

The next three names drawn were: Gwen, Dianne of Surbuban Stitches, and Ladybug!

Congratulations, ladies! If you'll each send me your mailing address, I'll get these out to you this week. It may be later in the week because of meetingsmeetingsmeetings, but they'll go out for sure. And if you click on the Sunkissed link, you'll see that Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop has yardage, so you might want to grab some now to get these made up into a quilt!

This was fun, wasn't it? A give-away kind of hidden in a boring stash report!

Stash Report 2011 - Week 10

I started another charity box for fabric and managed to put 30 yards in there so far. Must purge here!

One quilt kit came in from the Fat Quarter Shop. Buttercup Way is so darling! It uses Buttercup fabric by Figtree and Brenda Riddle's adorable Pathway & Crossroads pattern! 16.125 yards including backing.



I love Brenda's patterns. She is one of my top favorite pattern designers. Can you name at least two of the others? Might be a prize involved. I'm just saying.

Will add more later to this post. As I approached my desk this morning, I dumped the entire cup of hot coffee, and a good portion of it hit my mouse. You know, that new mouse I just got a few weeks ago? I quickly dried everything and changed the battery, but it's gone bonkers. It's working in reverse! Seriously! No, I'm not delusional! I'm already a left-handed mouser, and to get the cursor to move to the right, I have to aim it left. To go up, I have to aim down. I'm totally confused here! Didn't want to get out today, but definitely will be standing with my nose pressed to the door of Office Depot when it opens. I hope they have more old lady mice there!

2011 Totals:

Busted: 84.16 yards
Purchased: 111.755 yards
Net YTD: (27.615) yards busted :(

Later.......

Penny Vs. Flower Head Pin

These pictures aren't very good. I was trying to show that in the battle of Penny versus the flower head pin, I was the loser! Instead, all it shows is my almost 60-year-old wrinkled hands.



I was sitting on the floor holding a flower head pin. That little snot ran up to me and grabbed it out of my hand and took off to her staircase landing spot. I jumped up, ran to where she was and grabbed it back from her. As I started to pull my hand away, she grabbed it again and raked it across the back of my hand. Yep, it bled. It's real angry looking, but that doesn't show in the picture.

It was interesting trying to take a picture of my wrinkled hand. When I want to take a picture of Penny, she escapes or turns her head. But let me try to take a picture of myself and she's right in the middle of it.



Dogs!!!!!