I celebrated National Quilting Day - by buying new underwear!

I had a chance to do a road trip this week with my friend Kate - it was our chance to explore unexplored quilt shops before the bus returned at 3. At the first shop, I was 'fondling' a basket of white on whites (who hasn't), and she gave me a look...I mumbled "underwear" and walked away.

 

She caught up with me outside and asked me what was up with the underwear comment.  I laughed and explained what I meant.  Back in the day, when I was a little girl, underwear was white, white or white. The sixties, you know.  My 'underwear drawer' was the top drawer of the dresser, and it looked something like this.

 

 

Fast forward a couple of decades, and I originally kept my fabric (when I outgrew the bins under the bed) in an old dresser, sorted by color. Without realizing it, the whites/creams/neutrals wound up in the top drawer, and at some point, I realized it was because of the underwear drawer syndrome. It's still there, but in a different dresser.

 

Kate just looked at me, and understanding dawned. So then she asked me if I had bought any 'underwear'.  I said yes, but not everyday underwear - I bought the fancy stuff. I got another look.  Stay with me...

 

The store was having a sale on all cotton if you wore green to shop, including the batiks.  So I looked at this as a chance to stock up (since I know I'm running a little low on it) in the fancy undies department - the kind you might buy at Victoria's Secret.

 

 

Wishing you all a great National Quilting Day....now that you know one way I've celebrated, how are you celebrating?

More on the results of the giveaway next week - as well as April's block of the month.

Talk soon

 

And the winner is...

Hello!  Thank you all so much for the thoughtful responses (98 by the current count) to my question "What makes a quilt retreat special for you?".
It's been fun seeing them come in, and reading them. I heard from readers as close as New Hampshire (it's so nice to meet a new neighbor!) and as far away as Australia.  This is something I'll be doing again, and thanks to Quilting Gallery for inviting me.

I didn't pick Sue Pelland's book randomly - I've had the privilege of knowing Sue for a few years, and I'm very excited about her new book.  I love the detail and the work that she's put into this book, and it's going to give us more milage out of our sets.  She put a note on one of the posts asking for information as to where you bought her  templates...so if you have them, if you can drop me (or Sue directly at info@suepellanddesigns.com) a note as to where you picked them up, we'd both appreciate it.

The winner of the giveaway is SueAnnW (you should have an email from me) - her comment was that she tends to pack her whole sewing room. I always knew I had a doppleganger out there...I do too!.

There's a lot of information to digest in the various responses, and I'll have plenty of time to sift through that next week.  So hopefully, many of you who have come by once will come by again - and see what the consensus is.

Blogger is not cooperating with the rest of the post...so stay tuned tomorrow to find out what your underwear drawer has to do with Fabric shopping. How else would one celebrate National Quilting Day?

Welcome, Quilter's Blog Hop Party!

Good morning,

I'm shaking things up a lot this year over at The Patchwork Pearl, and decided to join The Quilting Gallery's Blog Hop Party as one way of doing so!  I'm hoping to welcome new readers here - and on my Facebook page - to come along on the quilting adventure with me.

 My blog giveaway is a copy of Sue Pelland Designs new book on Rotary Cut Applique with the Leaves Galore Templates

Sue is a tremedously talented quilter, and I'm very excited about this newest book. I've played around with the templates a lot over the last couple of years, and so I've been waiting to see what she would come up with next.  I'll be keeping you posted on the progress...and yes, I will ship internationally if you win.

The Patchwork Pearl is online only - I don't have a shop, although I'm based here in beautiful (snowy) southern New Hampshire.  I help quilters connect with one another through retreats, trips and classes. I'm also working on a group of patterns designed around memories - whether they be weddings, birthdays, family reunioins or a event...I have some neat twists in the mix.
My pattern line is evolving slowly...but it is coming.

To enter the giveaway for the book, please leave a note telling me what makes a quilt retreat special for you. I have some ideas in the works - and some wonderful locations in mind.

A special Valentine for you all!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I decided to celebrate one of my favorite holidays with something special and new - just for you. Let me know if this is the kind of thing you'd like to see more of.  This will also get today's DaGMT challenge requirement taken care of for today.

Let's start with what it is - a mug-rug that I came up with using the bin of fusible scraps that I have - and that is growing way too fast. If it has any kind of fusible backing on it - it goes in the bin. I had the idea that if I made a fusible crazy quilt and sandwiched it with a heart, you'd have a holiday mug rug. So let's get started.

These were all the pink and purple scraps I pulled out with one hand.  I started making free form snips and placing them on the applique pressing sheet.

I found a pile of more when I moved my foot under the ironing board - which is probably more than you wanted to know - so I took the chance to add it to the pile (and move said pile to the bin).  Once I began to artistically arrange the scraps - and fuse them together, this is what it looked like.

Next, I took a 4 and a half inch square of red fabric (the back), a piece of batting, and a piece of white fabric for the front. Fold the white fabric in front and free form cut a heart from it. Before you sew the layers together, put the white 'frame' over the scraps and make sure that you have all the scraps covered - if you're missing any, now is the time to add. You now have all the pieces you need...

 

Layer the batting, the scrap (centered), and the red backing fabric (wrong side up) and sew around all 4 sides.  Cut a small slit in the back and turn all the sides out pillowcase style. Stay with me - this is what mine looked like -

 

A little time with the iron, and it should flatten out nicely. I took it to the Horizon and went around it with a decorative stitch, and then played with the free motion quilt foot a bit.  It fits your beverage of choice...coffee, tea or something else.

Enjoy!  And tell me what you think of this. I'm thinking of Lions and Lambs for March...

Switching it up...

Hello - from soon to be snow buried NH. I thought that you might like to take a listen to a recent interview I did on the New Hampshire Women In Business Radio Show. I've been a guest on her show before, in her Friday segments where she highlights local entrepreneurs in short bursts, but this was my first hour long interview.  I was worried about how I could fill an hour - mee? - but it went by quite quickly.  It might be something different for you to listen to as you are hunkered down this weekend.

Seriously, snowmageddon...how did we survive in the old days.

Off to meet some great ladies in the coastal region today - enjoy!

I'd love to hear the feedback.

Five for February

 

I'm planning on spending a good deal of time this month exploring some of the challenges associated with the concept of "Work Smarter, not harder".  As a craft professional, I am always struggling with balancing the creative energies, the business energies with the life is supposed to be fun energies. All work and no play makes Linda (or Belinda, as my dark alter ego is known) a dull girl...and we can't have that.  So this group of 5 ideas is loosely 'stitched' around the idea of how to get more productivity out of what you do.

1.  Multi-task wherever possible...it does take time to creatively come up with an entry to a show or a quilt challenge, so whenever you can make one challenge piece to fit into 2 contests, it's worth a shot to explore the options. I have two that I'm looking at right now, and by massaging themes and deadlines, I think I've come up with a concept that will fit 2 different entry forms.  I will get back to you on that one, but I also know this is a strategy that other quilters employ a lot. Sometimes, you might need to pick your battles, but sometimes, if you just look at an issue from a different perspective, it will work out. Funny, those old sayings ARE true after all.

2. I love magazines, and as the picture below shows you...I have my fair share (and then some).



But how to read them all, let alone find some of the projects?  These are mostly from the sharing tables at the guilds I belong to.  I'm good at returning 2, and then taking 3 more. This pile is probably as bad as it ever gets. This does tend to be a screen porch activity, but I take 2-3 down with me every morning over coffee. There's something about the peace and quiet - I get to just leaf through a magazine leisurely before things get crazy. If I find something that's of interest, I scan it into the PC and file it as a technique, a pattern, a resource article - and (this is important) I always put the magazine title and issue month into the title so I can find it. Then the magazine is put into a tote bag with the word "share" on it, so I take them with me to the next meeting.

3. If it's anything to do with Christmas - or with the words 'fast' and 'gift' on the cover, that goes into the Christmas magazine basket..I'm not kidding you. Saves me money every September when they hit the news stands. One thing for sure, I know by now which ones I'm going to make, and which ones I just like looking at. 

Both 2 and 3 were discovered before I found Pinterest...we'll see if it keeps up.

4. Never, ever leave your sewing room for the night with an empty bobbin or a broken needle...somehow, it just seems too hard to walk on by and not start sewing.

5. Use online activities, such as the Drop and Give me Twenty Challenge for 2013, to tackle an overwhelming project one step (or block) at a time.

What is the biggest time saver you've found?

Support your local Quilt Shop - Bunkhouse Quilt Sho

January 24th is Visit your Local Quilt Shop Day, and I'm participating in the fun from brisk southern New Hampshire. This is a day to celebrate the independence of the shop owners who were born to cater to our needs, wants and desires. They should have a whole month at least, not just a day!

I am fortunate enough to have several in my general area (and two that have recently opened up)...for today, I want to pay tribute to Wanda and her crew over at The Bunkhouse Quilt Shop in Lyndeboro, NH. 

Wanda's shop is at the top of a beautiful twisty road  - her website will give you directions to find her. It's a peaceful trip to a beautiful, modern building that was built to be a destination shop. I first met Wanda and heard the story of how she came to be the owner of the shop - you have to love a woman who tried to retire twice before, and flunked it both times.

The shop is always a happy place to drop by, whether it's to match fabric, complete a project or to take a class. I'm always welcomed by her friendly "Hey, Miss Linda" whenever I come up - and truthfully, it's not as often as I'd like.  But there's inspiration galore hanging from the ceiling beams, and whenever you're stuck, there's someone there to help you out. 

Gee, I guess I need to take a ride up there tomorrow - wouldn't seem right not to...what do I need?

Where's your favorite shop?