Downy Quilt: Touch of Comfort WIP

Downy quilt for comfort wip
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

Here's 2/3 of the blocks that will make this hockey quilt for charity. My KCMQG group tipped me off about Downy Quilts Touch for Comfort program. You sign up online and they send you a quilt kit with everything you'll need to make this baby quilt (except thread and batting). You make it, attach their special label and send it back.

 I love the notion of making quilts for strangers. Especially kids. I probably wouldn't have picked hockey fabric, but I like it. This kit came with a crazy orange striped border and backing. It'll be very bright and busy when it's finished.

Bee Vintage July Blocks: Sawtooth Stars

Bee Vintage July Blocks
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

I made these tonight for my Bee Vintage bee. The blue and pink fabrics are vintage sheets. Will be mailing them away next week. I love this pattern.

Vintage Sheet Quilt

Vintage sheet
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

The top two rows are already sewn together. Tonight, I finished the remaining blocks and now I need to piece them together. I cannot wait.

Potty training

Would love to focus on hexes and piecing quilt blocks together but I've been trying really hard to potty train my 2 & 3 year olds. A messy adventure, for sure. Yesterday was more successful than today, but I'm really trying to keep from getting discouraged.

What's my method, you ask?

Well, let me tell you! Nemo + cars + plastic tablecloth on the floor + coffeetable + potty chairs + picnics + trains.

Did I mention lysol? 409? Hand sanitizer? Paper towels? Carpet cleaner?

Maybe I'll sew after bed tonight. Last night I decided to go to the Mac store instead, so that I could get a new iPhone 4. Love it!



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Hex tin

Hex tin
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

On a recent trip to north Arkansas, I found this cute little tin with a hexagon on top in an antique shop.  The shop was in the old stone post office building in St. Joe, AR.  My great-great grandparents ran the post office in St. Joe at the turn of the century, but that was decades before this old building was built.  For sentimental reasons, I wanted to buy something from the antique store there and now that I'm making hexagons, it will be JUST the thing to make my new hobby portable.

It's currently housing all the materials I need to use to make hexes:

A plastic hexagon template
Pencil
Scissors for cutting paper/thread
A glue stick
Various needles
Thread
Paper templates to glue onto fabric
Pre-Cut hexagons in various fabrics

Will try to post a more detailed picture soon. I'm enjoying the portability of this project. Yesterday I made 3 or 4 hexes during the day here and there when I had a minute. Last night, I printed out smaller hex patterns and got a fat quarter that I've taken a shine to out to use for these tiny hexes. I made and sewed together 3 of them before bedtime.

Quilts for the Homeless

At Starlight guild last night, I got a packet of pre-cut squares of denim (I think about 8 inches) that I'll sew together so that we can make a sleeping bag for the homeless.

So often, we get busy making cute (and expensive) quilts for people who don't really need them.  I know I'm very guilty of that.

I'm looking forward to helping make something that will truly be needed, used and appreciated.  Winters in Kansas are mighty tough.  When I heard about this project, my ears perked right up.  Homelessness is really a problem that makes no sense to me.  In a country this wealthy, I can't see why this problem still exists.  We need to do a better job of taking care of the mentally ill, of people who have addictions, of people who are born into poverty and of people who find themselves in situational poverty.

It's so easy to sit in our air conditioned homes in the suburbs and have judgemental thoughts about why people find themselves homeless, but why not take some action?  Just a little time on my part can make someone's winter MUCH more tolerable.  It might make someone realize that they are valued and that people care.

This is just one way I'm trying to be the change I want to see in the world.

Here is a link for some ideas if you're inclined to help.  We don't want to make them pretty or fancy because we don't want them to be stolen.  If you have jeans that you'd like to donate or if you'd like to sew some denim together, please let me know and I'll get you in contact with the people who are heading this up.  Thanks!

Starlight Quilters Guild Tonight = Fat Quarter Bingo

Will have to edit tomorrow to include pictures of my loot, but tonight at Starlight, I won 8 fat quarters playing bingo.  Checked out a couple of books and bought another at Barnes & Noble after guild.

Had a great time with my best bud, Parthena.  Haven't spent much time with her lately because we've both been WAY too busy.  Time to slow down!

No more travel planned.  No more classes.  No more hurrying.  Time to stay inside, work on potty training (messy!) and enjoy time at home with my sweet family.

Here's a picture of my two sugar boogers...

St. Lukes NICU Charity Quilt

I found out yesterday that some friends of ours are divorcing.  It's our first set of friends that have gone through this (since we have been together).  I'm really bummed out about it.  It's been on my mind a lot.  I needed a distraction to perk me up tonight...

Vicki is my friend in the KCMQG and she's inspired us all to work on a new charity quilt project.  We're making a bunch of fun quilts for the NICU at St. Luke's Hospital.  It's where her daughter was born and it holds a special place in her heart.

Sounds like a great idea to me.  I have been busy.  Here's what I was up to tonight:

***** Update*****

Had a rough night of sleeping last night.  I've got this awful cold plus I couldn't stop thinking about the dinos.

So I stole some time today and even more time tonight and I finished the blocks!  I still have to sew them together, but look!

I'm really pleased with them.  Now if I can just go to sleep... 

Posting from my iPhone

This is a test...

Here is a mosaic that my great grandmother made. She never wasted anything. Ever.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Shopping in Little Rock

So I'm visiting family in Little Rock this week with my boys.  I'm heading over to Saver's this afternoon to check for new vintage sheets....  Can hardly wait to see what I can find...

Shopping for my addiction is about to change, though.  Since I've sent off my fat quarters for the exchange (80 for me, 80 for my friend!), I've become a little more picky.  Instead of buying every one I find, I've started buying only the ones that are more special to me.  These tend to be stripes, geometric prints and florals that have less white background and more colors...

So I'm buying less of this:

and more like this:

I have a weakness for pillowcases because they're really pretty cheap...

I'm also looking for favorite prints that I can use as backings or strips for borders...

There's a quilt shop not too far from here that I haven't visited, but I think instead of going there, I'll swing by Hancock's and get some Kona solids.  I have almost none.  I really like Moda solids better.  They feel softer, but they aren't as available locally in KC.

After some shopping, I'm off to meet family for Greek food.  Opa!

Potholders

We are having a potholder exchange Thursday night at KCMQG...  I've finished 2 potholders for my contribution to the exchange and I have to put binding on 2 more for a friend to give...

No pictures yet!  Cannot spoil the fun!  Come to the meeting to see them...

I will tell you that 3 of the 4 have butterflies...

New fabric

New fabric
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

And I have an upcoming Batik Charm Square Exchange in July... These were on sale, too!

New fabric

New fabric
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

These were on sale... I think $4.99 or $5.99 per yard...

New fabric

New fabric
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

I really did need to add some modern prints to my stash...

I'll use them in my KC Scrappy Bee soon...

New fabric

New fabric
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

Bought lots of fun new fabric...

New fabric

New fabric
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

I went shopping in Springfield, MO... Went a little crazy...

New Quilt

Vintage sheets
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

I started a new quilt making half square triangles with vintage sheet charm squares and scraps from my stash...

I got this pretty small scale blue print a few weeks back for $1.00 per yard. It's soft and I'm in love with it.

This will be a thin summer throw, I think... Not sure how long it will take me to finish it, but it's taking up my whole design wall, so that might motivate me...

80 fat quarters of vintage sheets...

80 fat quarters of vintage sheets...
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

Just because I haven't taken the time to post doesn't mean that I've been idle...

I have been up to my ears in vintage sheets! Am working on getting two boxes of 80 vintage sheet fat quarters ready to send away for the 3rd round of the vintage sheet fat quarter exchange...

One box will be for me and the other box will be a gift for my best friend, Parthena's birthday.

Vintage sheets

Vintage sheets
Originally uploaded by nkiblueeyes

Working on a new project with vintage sheet charm squares...

Making 1/2 square triangles with them.

I might make one of these without solid blocks in between, but I'm itching to make and complete something with these sheets of mine...

Vintage Sheet Swap

I've been busy working on cutting up fat quarters of vintage sheets for an upcoming swap...

Very excited about it!  I still have more to do... but...

Here's a sneak peek or two...

See that little bundle all tied up?  That's 10 vintage sheet fat quarters that I'm donating to be given away as a door prize at our next KCMQG meeting...  Hope to see you there!