Happy New Year!

I hope everyone reading had a nice Christmas and New Year.   The ice is almost gone and things are returning to normal here, maybe this coming weekend I will get the decorations put away.

My daughter and I did the Polar Bear Plunge on New Year's Day for the second year in a row.   It was fun to do it together, but we didn't have a photo taker with us this year.  It's nice to have photographic evidence when you do something that insane!

I've been sewing but I don't really have any quilty photos to share.   I finished my Route 44 quilt from Carrie Nelson's class in September, and it's ready to go to the quilter.  I finished the center portion of Due South using Bliss, and it's ready for a border.   I'm working on a new quilt using Kate Spain's Central Park.

One project that I finished that I am finally able to show are these sachets/scissor fobs that I made for all my coworkers at the quilt shop.   I not only have the best part-time job in the world, but I work with 9 of the nicest women you could ever find.   Every year for our Christmas party, our fabulous boss Julie takes the group of us out for a nice dinner and after dinner, we exchange presents with everyone.  It's always a lot of fun.

Sometimes you look all year trying to find the perfect present for your coworkers, and everybody does a great job of either making something or putting together a cute gift.   This year was the first time I made the gifts - I cross stitched everyone's initials on linen from a pattern in the Blackbird Designs book Country Inn.   I used a red print from Rouenneries on the back, antique buttons for decoration and silk ribbons for the hangers.   I also filled them with lavendar buds so they smell divine!

Exhausting fun!

These are 2 of my favorite pictures from the weekend.   I had an absolutely wonderful time meeting Thelma, reuniting with Nicole and of course, taking classes, hanging out and breaking bread with the Queen of Awesomeness - Carrie Nelson.

We shopped, sewed, ate some delicious meals, stayed up much too late laughing, talking, attended an wonderful guild meeting and made many new friends.   I promise a more thorough post when I get home and get the pictures sorted out.

It was an incredible experience.   I'd say "one of a kind" but we're already talking about our next meet up, so I'm hoping we can do something like this again soon.

The biggest disappointment of the weekend was that our blog friend, Allyson, got sick at the last minute and had to cancel her trip.   We were all looking forward to meeting her and hope that she is feeling better and can join us the next time.   We missed you, Allyson!!

I hope Thelma, Nicole and Carrie all have a safe trip home.   I'm looking forward to getting home to the family (and catching up on my sleep!).    More later, I promise!

How I spent Sunday

 To start the morning off, my friends and I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure - we completed the 5K walk.   It was raining in Seattle, as it has every day for what seems like forever, but it was a warm day and we didn't get too wet.

That's Charlene on the left, me in the center and my BFF Cecilia, a breast cancer survivor, on the right.   (Note:   My mom reminded me that I neglected to mention my Grandma Lois was a 39-year breast cancer survivor.   Believe me, I thought about Grandma many times yesterday.)

I got home around 1 p.m. and went straight to my tidy and inviting sewing room.   I'm calling my current project Anna Elizabeth.  I'm making Carrie Nelson's Elizabeth quilt and I'm using an older Moda collection from Blackbird Designs called Anna's Starry Nights.   I've had these fabrics for ages, but when I saw a small version of this quilt using these fabrics in the Small Quilts magazine, I knew I'd finally found the perfect project for my Anna's Starry Nights.

I don't have any of the background fabrics from the collection, but I found a Lakehouse fabric with cursive writing on it.  I'm having to take this slowly - one block at a time - because the background fabric is directional and I want to make sure the lines of writing are all parallel.   They're not necessarily facing the same direction - some writing is upside down - but I decided not to be *that* finicky.   So far I like the quilt.   And it's really fun to piece.

Holiday weekends are good for projects...

The closet under the stairs in my sewing room hasn't been accessed for years.  Why?   Because it was so crammed with stuff - wall to wall and floor to ceiling - you couldn't get in it.   Just opening the door, you risked a shower of junk raining down upon you.

My sweet and helpful DD helped me clean out that closet today.  From something you couldn't get into, to something that has 2 organized stacks of quilt project boxes and room for a skinny 10-year old to lay down in between.   The cardboard boxes behind the project boxes are my old Barbie collection and DH's comic book collection.

Ah - it feels good to be organized.

I didn't find as many forgotten quilt project treasures as I had hoped for, but I'm happy with the progress we were able to make.

Now to tackle the one remaining closet in my sewing room, and I know that one is only quilt fabrics, so I'm bound to unearth some treasures within.

I hope you're all having a wonderful, long, relaxing weekend.

And so it begins

I woke up far too early on Saturday morning, and began the Great Clean-up of 2010 in my sewing room.   I started by going through my books and magazines, and whittled 2-1/2 shelves down to less than one shelf (see it there, on the bottom?).

I turned my bookshelf perpendicular to my sewing table, which will allow me to stack some project boxes in front and still be able to access the shelves.  Before the move, I had the shelf where those boxes are in this photo, and the boxes were stacked in front, but then I had to move them out of the way in order to get anything on the shelves.

I moved all my FQ bundles from nooks and crannies in the room and now they are all on the shelves too, protected from the sunlight.

I also found a cute, smaller basket for my patterns ($2.99!), and it fits perfectly on the bottom shelf with my books and magazines, freeing up extra room on my sewing table.

I haven't attempted the 2 large closets yet, but I'm sure to find some treasures waiting inside.   I've already unearthed few goodies that I forgot I had.  Stay tuned for a stash sale sometime in the near future!

Toot Toot!

I don't really like to toot my own horn (although my quilt shop coworkers who have heard me brag about being a part of this project for over a year would surely disagree!)   But since the Schnibbles Meister spilled the beans on her blog yesterday, I have chime in and tell you how excited I am about Carrie's book coming out this month.

Martingale has always been my favorite publisher of quilt books - they have the most beautiful photos and quilt content.  When Carrie asked me to be a part of this project last year, I jumped at the chance!   I made the Big Schnibbles version of McGuffey out of Fig Tree's Patisserie line, and then Carrie assigned me one other quilt - Short Story out of Basic Grey's Sultry fabrics.

I am absolutely head over heels in love with the Sultry quilt, and it's taken all my willpower not to show it off on my blog!   I'm really proud that Martingale is going to take it "on the road" with them for the next several months, but sad that I have to wait so long for my quilt to come home!

I bought some Sultry charm squares in order to make myself a small Schnibbles version, so I can look at it while I pine away for Big Sultry.  But oh wait - I have about a billion other projects I need to finish before I can make that (including another project for Miss Carrie) - Baby Sultry will just have to wait!

What are you waiting for?   Go!  Order the book!   Order one for all your friends!   Come on, you know you have to have one - it's Carrie Nelson for goodness sake!!

Thank you, Carrie, for letting me be a part of this wonderful project!

Big Day!

In 1997, these two sweet Bundles of Boy joined the Stashmaster household.   Happy Birthday to my 2 wonderful, sweet, smart, talented BRAND NEW TEENAGERS!!   I couldn't ask for 2 more wonderful boys.

And now - I'm sure more than one of you is waiting anxiously to learn the winners of my blog contest.   I want to thank each and every one of you for stopping by and wishing me a happy blog anniversary.

I used the Random Number Generator to select 3 names.   The winners are:

2 Eva charm packs:  #119 - Valerie - who posted at 8:17 a.m. on April 2

1 Lumiere de Noel layer cake:  #30 - Norine - who posted at 8:30 a.m. on March 29

2 Rouenneries layer cakes:  #84 - Amy - who posted at 6:06 a.m. on March 30

Congratulations, ladies.   Will the 3 lucky winners please send your mailing addresses to me at 07fireball@clearwire.net?  I will get your prizes out to you later this week.   Thanks again to all of you for helping me celebrate!

Celebrate with me!

The Stashmaster Blog turns 5 years old today!   Anybody tenacious enough to go back to my first blog entries will see my main craft focus at that time was knitting, with quilting taking a back seat, but not for long!  I actually started quilting in 1993, but didn't have a lot of time to sew after my kids were born and also did not keep very detailed records until 2005 (one of my main reasons for starting a blog - to keep a photographic journal of my projects).  Since 2005, I have finished 50 quilting projects (and I know there are a few more small ones not included on my list - mostly tablerunners and swap gifts).

At any rate, what would a decent celebration be without PRESENTS?!   Only of course the gifts are for YOU - my much-appreciated blog readers!   To thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog and say hello, I am offering the following:

One name drawn will receive 2 layer cakes of the beautiful French General Rouenneries collection.   One name drawn will receive 1 layer cake of French General's newest collection coming out in June - Lumiere de Noel.  And finally, one name drawn will receive 2 charm packs of the beautiful Eva collection by Basic Grey.  Just leave a comment on my blog before 7 a.m. Pacific Time on another notable date in the Stashmaster household - Monday, April 5 - and I will use the Random Number Generator to pick the names of 3 winners.

Thanks to all blog readers, blog lurkers and my fellow bloggers.  I enjoy the quilt blogging community more than I can tell you, and I have met many wonderful people that I consider true friends.

Where ya been?

Yes, I'm a sorry excuse for a blogger - it's been 2 weeks since my last post!   I finished the Civil War Homefront quilt that appeared in my last, long-ago blog post.   But I neglected to take a photo of it before dropping it off at the quilt shop.   I most definitely get an "F" for blogging this semester.

I got 2 fabulous quilts back from the quilter last week, but our beautiful Seattle weather has turned to rain, so I will have to wait for a nicer day to get photos.

How about I share something that made me laugh?   I was pressing some 4-patches and this one ended up on my ironing board.  Yes, even seasoned quilters working on a basic pattern can have a "duh, what was I thinking?" moment.  To be honest, I have them all the time!!

I hope to have more interesting and fun things to share with you soon.   Stay tuned for my blogiversary coming up near the end of March.  There will be a giveaway!

Facelift!

No, not me - at least I hope I don't look like I need one just yet!  No, I decided that, while I really liked my old blog header with my favorite quilt featured in the background, I now want my blog to have a fresh, new look.   I found a designer on etsy, Sugarelli, and within a few hours, she had designed this cute new Stashmaster blog header for me.   Adorable.   Thanks, Stephanie!

Civil War Homefront and Thelma

Here are the first 5 blocks for my latest project, Moda's Civil War Homefront kit designed by Barbara Brackman.  I'm doing it as a sample for the shop where I work part-time.  These Civil War fabrics are so beautiful, and the simple star blocks go together quickly.  I hope to make a lot of progress on this over the 3-day weekend.

The blocks will be set on point with one of my favorite blue prints from the collection as the alternate block and beautiful striped setting triangles around the outside.

I want to show you a fun surprise that arrived on my doorstep Wednesday.   My friend Thelma and I shared some fabric for our Toulouse quilts.  We both had a few leftover flying geese from the border, and I want to put them together somehow on the back of my quilt, so Thelma sent a box returning her leftover geese.

The geese were not alone in the box.   In typical Thelma fashion, along with them was this amazingly gorgeous Tuffet she made for me using the Maison de Noel fabric.  She even went so far as to use the elegant "M d N" red velveteen for the back of the tuffet.   We both attempted to make flying geese with the velveteen and found it uncooperative, but it is absolutely perfect for the back of a tuffet.  Thank you so much for your generous gift, Thelma.   It will have a place of honor next to my sewing machine, and will always remind me how much fun we had making this project together!

Happy New Year!!!

Happy 2010 everyone!  Did you do anything fun or crazy to ring in the new year?  Lily and I certainly did - we participated in the Polar Bear Plunge in Seattle at noon today!   It was a balmy 51 degrees in Seattle, with a water temperature of 46 in Lake Washington.

Here we are, pre-plunge - that's me on the left and my friend and instigator behind us doing this stunt, Cecilia on the right.

I won't show the unflattering picture of my flabby backside in a bathing suit running into the water, but here we are, running out after dunking ourselves to the neck.  Lily at first hesitated and did not want to go further than her knees, but I convinced her she would only feel cold for a second, and truly - once you start running back out, you warm up immediately.

Then we hit the shore and got into our fluffy bathrobes.  Cecilia is a 4-time Polar Plunge veteran and knows all the tricks to doing this.

And of course, the whole reason we did this - for the cute patch!   What a fun and invigorating way to ring in the new year!  We hope to make this an annual event!

Dear Santa

Dear Mr. Claus - I would love to find this cute kit under my tree on Christmas morning.  I may even be able to finish it in time for Valentine's Day!   I understand Kimberly at the Fat Quarter Shop has them all ready to pop into your sleigh, and she's just a mouse click away!   I've been a very good girl this year!   Ok, kinda sorta good...

Oh my!

Good heavens - it's been over 2 weeks since I updated my blog.   Is anyone still stopping by?  I guess life just got away from me.  The boys had their first middle school concert and it was really fun to hear how good all the bands and orchestras sound.  Owen had a clarinet solo and I was impressed, as always, by his talent.  The band teacher has asked him to learn the bass clarinet in addition to his regular clarinet, so he must see potential in Owen too.   Eric plays the viola and is also very talented, but I wasn't able to get a photo of him - sorry E!

Tis the season for a million errands - I finally had a free weekend and we took the kids to see Santa, baked cookies, finished most of the shopping and decorated.  We bought a new refrigerator that will be delivered on Wednesday, so we won't put the main tree up until that happens or it will be in the way of the delivery men.

Here are the rest of our holiday decorations.  This little white fiber optic tree is so pretty, I just love it decorated simply with colored balls.  That tree skirt underneath?  My very first "quilting" project, before I knew a lick about quilting.   Yes, it is satin, and yes, I used satin on the back too.   Please, do not turn this puppy over - I beg of you!

My Opening Day quilt using Roman Holiday fabrics is newly displayed in the living room because it is the closest thing I have to a Christmas quilt.  I hope by the time next year rolls around, I will have completed more quilts that I can display during the holidays.

And this is my other Christmas vignette - you can see another early quilting effort on the top of this buffet - a Christmas tablerunner with prairie points along the edge.  I have a Tiny Christmas Annie at the base of the feather tree to the left, and my collection of Ballard Baines Christmas teddies on the opposite side.   A new find this year - the adorable snowman cookie jar that Lily found.   She must have been channelling Thelma and her wonderful cookie jar collection.

I've been working on cutting out a new Christmas quilt -  Miss Rosie's Toulouse, made of the fabulous Maison de Noel line from 3 Sisters for Moda.   Oh how I wish I had been a fabric hoarder back when these fabrics came out - I would have bought gobs more of this wonderful stuff!

You can teach an old dog new tricks!

I'm sure many of you have made pillowcases - they are a fun, quick gift to give someone special.  I haven't made one in a while, but recently a friend had surgery and a bunch of us from the quilt shop all made her pillowcases to let her know we were thinking about her during her recovery.

Now, I have made the standard pillowcase, but we have a newer pattern at the quilt shop that we hand out free with a fabric purchase, and I wanted to try the new method.  It was a little harder to wrap my head around the instructions (and harder still when using a directional print like this Monster pillowcase I made for my daughter), but now I really like this method for making a pillowcase.  Try it the next time you need a quick present for someone!  There is a good tutorial with photos at the Lazy Girl Designs website.  So try something new, you might find a method you like better than the one you use now!

Million Dollar Smile!

Orthodontia Phase One is complete and my beautiful daughter got her braces off yesterday - isn't that a gorgeous smile?  Now she'll wear a retainer and her headgear for a while (I'm guessing until all her permanent teeth are done emerging) and then - well, I don't even want to think about Phase Two ($$$$$).  But seeing her teeth, it's so totally worth it!

Progress all around

I'm making great strides with my Prairie Paisley quilt.  It looks rather wild with that feather print border, but the last pieced border will really help tone things down, I think.

There's also been a lot of progress where my daughter's teeth are concerned.  Here's a picture of her last August when she first got her braces on - see that big gap between her front teeth?    It was something she wanted gone.   Well, as the second picture shows, we're almost there - the gap is very small now!   Of course, now the silly girl says "I miss my gap"   You can't win, but I think she's adorable, gap or no gap.

Sharing my good fortune

I hesitated to post about this because I didn't want to appear to be bragging, but I see Nicole shared her loot with you, so I am going to do the same.  Besides, I am so over the moon with excitement that I can't stand not sharing my good fortune.

I was also honored to be asked by my friend Carrie Nelson to piece 2 quilts for her upcoming secret project.  Now while it was certainly reward enough to me to have been asked to be a part of this project, Carrie somehow felt she needed to reward me with gifts as well.  She not only sent me 2 boxes of my favorite Presencia thread before I began the project, but she sent me these wonderful goodies from Market, which came as a surprise in my mailbox after a rough day at work on Tuesday.  I could barely contain my excitement as I opened the box.

Inside were a FQ bundle of the fall release from one of my favorite designers, 3 Sisters - Aster Manor - plus 2 layer cakes of Eva, the upcoming collection from another designer I'm growing quite fond of - Basic Grey.  Those mulberry, pink and lime green are not my typical color palette, but one of my secret projects was a quilt made from their current collection, Sultry, which is lighter shades in the same color ranges and I absolutely fell in love with that quilt.   It's all I can do not to post a picture of it.  These Eva fabrics have already been planned into a quilt that will coordinate nicely with my Sultry quilt and I can't wait to get started after my Prairie Paisley project is finished.

Carrie also included one of those great sampler pincushions from Blackbird Designs, which I have been coveting at the quilt shop where I work, I just hadn't brought myself to buy one yet.  And now I'm glad I didn't!

Thanks so much for your kindness and generosity, Carrie.  I had so much fun working with you and hope I get to do it again soon - you don't even have to bribe me with fabric!!!

Quilt Show

I put in almost twice as many hours this week as I usually work at the quilt store - this week was the Quilter's Anonymous quilt show in Monroe and the only show where our shop participates as a vendor (and I can see why - it's a LOT of work and I'm exhausted!!!)

Thursday and Friday I worked in the shop, but Sunday I got a chance to work out at the show, connect with some guild friends, see the beautiful quilts on display, and even meet a blog buddy!   This is me with Candace, from Squash House Quilts, who is just as nice as can be and isn't she cute as a button?!  It was fun to finally connect with another blogger - I hope you enjoyed the show, Candace - it was really nice to meet you!

I haven't spent much time in the ol' sewing room this month.  Hopefully after the honors concert tomorrow, I will be able to return to my trusty Pfaff.  I really miss him!

And the winner is....

The Random Number Generator picked comment #5 for my contest winner - so Kathie, from Inspired by Antique Quilts - come on down!  I want to thank everyone who took the time to leave a comment and I'd also like to say that the quilt blogging community is the best ever!  Here's to many more posts and years of inspiration for all of us!