A partridge in a pear tree

I finished my Anna Elizabeth quilt today, but it's such a rainy, dreary day in western Washington, I will have to wait for clearer skies to get a good photo.

After finishing, I set to work on my first block for the Fat Quarter Shop's 2010 Designer Mystery Quilt.   I love Kate Spain's 12 Days of Christmas fabrics, and this present block designed by Gudrun Erla is super cute.  I can't wait to see the next block!

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.

To Market, To Market

This is one of the reasons that I haven't had much to show on my blog these last few months.  I slaved many hours on this quilt, cutting 2,976 teeny, tiny 1-1/2" squares and sewing them together by hand....  Oh come on, you're not going to fall for that one, are you?   This quilt is actually made from 4 Harmony honeybuns, but you could also make it from your stash of 1-1/2" strips.

The quilt has more than 3,488 pieces - there are more 4-patches on the back which I did not count.  This was another stunt sewing project I did for Carrie Nelson.  This honeybun quilt and its companion - made from jelly rolls - will be a future pattern release from Miss Rosie's Quilt Company.

I have an amazing local quilter that turned these around lickety split (thanks a million, Lynn!), and 2 wonderful friends that saved me by doing my bindings (Liz and Kay - how can words express how thankful I am to you both?)

I just finished a Yellow Brick Road quilt and a couple of receiving blankets and now my entire fabric stash awaits my next fun project just for me.   What will it be?   I don't have any clue, but I can't wait to get started!

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!

Hunky Dory!

A friend gave me a number of layer cakes after publication of a certain new quilt book.   I immediately went searching for ways to use a single layer cake.

My stepsister is expecting a baby girl later this month, so I thought Chez Moi's Hunky Dory collection would make a very sweet baby quilt.   I found this Pattern Basket design, Tying the Knot, and ordered it.  All it takes is one layer cake and some yardage for the border, an you have an easy but beautiful baby quilt!

I modified it a little - I didn't want to make the ties for a baby quilt, although I think they are a cute touch.

I'm going to put some Minkee on the back and have it quilted with a stipple design.

It's not an illusion!

I'm actually posting on my blog and yes, it *has* been over a month.   I remember Carrie once saying that you know you haven't blogged in ages when you go to Typepad and you actually have to log in again!

I'm sorry that it's been so long - I finally finished a grueling stunt sewing project that I can't share, and as anxious as I was to get started on something new after finishing that, I discovered my wrist injury won't allow me to do much rotary cutting, so I'm a little stuck for now.   Did you know that they can't really offer any options to heal a partially torn ligament?    I got a cortisone injection in my wrist last Wednesday and I'm hoping it will offer me at least some relief.   Better to tear the ligament completely - I'll have to remember to go for the gusto next time, although I can't even pinpoint how I did this in the first place back in December.   Yes, I have been in pain for 5 months.

I also moved offices at work.   Now we only moved up one floor in the same building, but it may as well have been across town, because we still had to pack everything.  My new space had no furniture in it and I was holding my breath all weekend, hoping I would have an actual desk when I got in to unpack on Monday.   I have a desk - smaller than what I had downstairs, but I'm thinking with less work surface, I'll have fewer piles of papers on my desk.   One can hope, anyway.   My new cubicle is smaller, but because I have smaller furniture, everyone thinks my new space is bigger.  I aim to keep the new space uncluttered so I can enjoy the quilts hanging in my space.  Yes - I have room to hang quilts!  Just looking at them while I'm working on my spreadsheets makes me smile.

Now on to the good stuff.  I've been wanting to make this wallhanging for a long time - ever since I first saw it posted on Messy Karen's blog last fall.  I love the way this turned out with Moda's Authentic fabrics.   I used 2 charm packs.   I ran out of black but luckily, I was able to find a third charm pack online.

Next, I'm putting the borders on a Hunky Dory baby quilt that I'm making for my niece who is due to arrive later this month.   Almost finished with that one!

Oh and one last thing before I forget - my friend Perry has a raffle going on her blog to support Cystic Fibrosis - please buy some tickets to support this worthy cause and oh yes - you could win one of two beautiful quilts!