tinkerfrog

Technologically Inept

2012-01-15T17:08:00.001-07:00

When I began blogging, I had a crappy camera and even crappier computer. Not much has changed. We got a new camera(with credit card points) that wasn't as crappy, I did okay for a while, and then last Christmas(2010) I got a new netbook. I thought my problems were solved!

But then it was all about taking the pictures, downloading them, using my (awesome?) new computer with the little bitty screen, and somehow blogging fell through the cracks. I didn't even have time to make things to blog about if I was going to try to blog too.

And then I dropped my camera, and things went from bad to worse.

So, I worked really hard, and we saved our money, and, for Christmas last(2011), I was gifted a phone upgrade from the iPhone 3GS to the new iPhone 4S. And we(I) got an iPad2. I felt like all the (quilt)blocks were falling into place for me be a blogger again! ( I also highly reccomend the apple bluetooth keyboard!)

Until today, the iPad has been just a very expensive, larger version of my old phone. Crappy camera, no easy way to upload photos, my phone seems just like the old one, but with a better camera.

Wait! Better camera! Way better camera! And so today I set out to make these "toys" work for me. And they did...

Apps that I LOVE!!!:

Camera+(iPhone)--Uploads pics straight to flickr. Also e-mails multiple pictures wickedly fast. Grandma's around the world should gift this app. Awesome. Not to mention all of the great features it has. I wish I had known about this before I got the new phone, it would have improved the old phone's camera too!

goodReader(iPad)--Allows me to upload my pdf patterns directly and has sweet features for hi-lighting, making notes, etc. I will probably use this more for knitting, but how awesome to have the pattern there for quilting too. Print the necessary templates/pattern pieces and the rest is literally at your fingertips! (I printed all 17 pages of Anna's 241 tote before reading the directions. My print cartridges and my husband did not thank me.)

Blogsy(iPad)--So I mistakenly thought that I would be able to use photos from my photostream to blog from the iPad. Not so. And then when I painstakingly cut and pasted urls from my flicker photostream, that wasn't working either. So ready to throw the expensive toy across the room. That's when I got a glass of wine. I thought to myself, what would Drew do? So, I googled it. And there it was. Blogsy. This will be only my second time using it. But so far, it rocks my world. I can drag photos from flicker into the exact place I want them(after a few tries, but that's the learning curve, I'm sure.) I can choose from my really random array of 5 blogs(!?!) It has a button to let me imbed Youtube video!!! If I were so inclined.

So here's some random pics from my photo stream. I hope to be here more often. I'll be really careful with my new tools. My blog has missed me, as I have missed it!

36 patch apron, photo taken with the old phone!

Add-a-border Swap Block for the Fort Collins Modern Quilt Guild, photo taken with the new phone!

Playing with my Go! Baby fabric cutter for the first time. Kinda liking it! New phone photo!

New-to-me vintage fabric goodies for my stash, which is growing at a rather alarming rate. Must sew more to compensate. And another new phone photo! Love it!

Utter Charm

2011-05-26T18:20:00.000-06:00

I've been lucky enough to thrift a couple of lovely vintage quilt tops this spring. I got the two on the left for an absolute song! $4.99 and $3.99 respectively. They both have lots of feedsack fabrics in them, though the center one has considerably fewer. It's so very nice to know that UFOs span the decades and are not a recent affliction!

I picked this one up today and it made up for the woman in the aisle ahead of me that snagged a printed tablecloth from the fifties in amazing shape. It's sashed in a pale yellow that lets those gorgeous feedsacks shine!

The blocks are simple but striking. This is probably my favorite block of the bunch! I don't think I'll quilt this, but back it with muslin to use as a table covering.

I picked this up a couple of months ago, and I really wish that I had some history on it. Each of the star's centers has names embroidered on them and each time I look at it I have to smile! There are lots of women's names and a few men's as well. Makes me wonder if the maker identified herself by who she was married to or not.

Two of the blocks say "Mother," though only one has her age! Thinking about how we identify ourselves, it made me wonder just how often these women were called by their given names. I don't think I ever heard my grandfather call my Grandma her name. It was always "Mother." I'd like to think that these women wore beautifully handcrafted aprons, every single day.

The third quilt is a simple bow-tie that must be the newest of the three, judging by the fabric choices. It was gifted to me by the oh so sweet and generous Elaine of Soggy Bottom Quilts. The maker of this quilt used some seriously odd combinations of fabric, but that does just add to it's appeal.

I don't know if I'll ever quilt these as I have quite a few UFOs of my own, but they are my treasures! I love anything vintage and am so glad that there's still a market for 30s reproductions and that many of the designers use vintage fabrics as their inspiration.

Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend. Many thanks to our troops and their families for the sacrifices they make on our behalf. It's a time to send up many prayers and to count our blessings. I'm off to spend the weekend with my two biggest blessings, my husband Drew and son Tade. May you do the same!

Running on empty

2011-05-04T10:35:00.000-06:00

pretty little pillow to add some color to my dreary day--I'm loving some half square triangles lately!

Do you ever have those times in your life where you feel like you're carrying the weight of at least an elephant if not the world on your shoulders? This is one of those times for me. And I am realizing that something's gotta give! I tend to load my plate so full that I am not even enjoying the process. I'm a yes girl and need to learn the value of the word, "no."

I'm struggling to balance my creative outlets with family life, work, and other obligations. The lack of balance here really has me questioning the why of many thing that I do.

Why do I feel the need to do everything? I'm feeling overwhelmed by my current hobbies of sewing, quilting, cooking, baking and yet I dream of weaving and stained glass. I try not to even think about the hobbies that I neglect, like knitting and soap making! Our garden this year is going to be huge, which means time away from what I want to be doing. Before we even have our little seedlings in the ground, I find myself resenting this intrusion on my time.

I'm constantly raising the decades old question of whether we, as modern women can indeed have it all. While I've never been able to fully discern what having your cake and eating it too really means, I know that I want that cake!!

I was telling a friend recently that I write hundreds of blog posts in my head that never see the light of day. I want to blog more, and yet it seems to be the one thing that I can let slide. I do feel like my creative endeavors have value and merit and should be shared with my online community. I'm sure my incredibly supportive husband would appreciate a break from me constantly showing him what I'm working on.

Thanks for "listening," I needed to get that off my chest! Here's to answering no to someone that wants me to hem their pants. May they understand that just because I have a sewing machine and am lucky enough to have a room dedicated to my crap, that doesn't make me a tailor!

I'm hearing the timer beep on the oven, so I really must go. Once I have the 3 tier cake for 150 people off of my plate maybe I can practice what I preach and not say yes anymore. Once I eat a piece, that is!

101 Patchwork Projects and Quilts!!

2011-04-04T15:41:00.000-06:00

It's here! I'm so excited to have a little project in this big magazine! I made nametags for Amanda's retreat last fall that turned out pretty darn cute. I had a tutorial on my blog for about 5 minutes when Penny suggested that I submit the project for this issue. She has an awesome vase in this issue as well!

So glad she suggested it as I would never have thought to, and I must say it is very cool seeing a project of mine in a magazine!!! And my husband's words were, "Look at that, I'm in a magazine!" I love that Drew, my mom and mother-in-law were the featured tags! And ready for gifting too!

Here's a few of the tags that did not make the cut, but are nonetheless ready to be tied to a gift too!

And the newest batch with a ticker tape twist ready for the retreat with Penny in less than two weeks!! I am so lucky in my crafty friends--blogging and otherwise. This group is going to be so much fun!

Here are a couple of the little projects for the gifts bags! Aren't those dresden pin cushions so cute? It was Amanda's idea--her choice of colors is just perfect! And I love the key chains! So quick and easy!

And a few oilcloth covered grid paper sketch pads. I love these too! Can't wait to start coloring in mine!

Have a happy week!

Purses, Bags and More Blog Tour and Giveaway!

2011-03-21T00:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome! We're starting off the week of a great new book's tour here at tinkerfrog. I was asked by Clotilde to join in and review a pattern from Pearl Louise Krush's book Purses, Bags and More.

My pattern to review is the Posy Patchwork. It is so sweet. This book is full of great tips and techniques for personalizing bags for any occasion.

Here is my scrappy version of the bag! My friend Caitlyn is moving to San Diego for a music therapy internship and I whipped this up for her as a knitting bag. All of those pockets on the outside will be perfect for this! I loved the use of binding on the top edge. It really took the pain out of trying to turn the bag inside out. I machine stitched the binding down, rather than hand sewing it, which was painless!

The only fabrics that I repeated were all of the linings. She has great cutting instructions that made figuring out how to cut the sizes needed very simple.

You can find the book here. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! If you'd like a chance to win a copy, just leave a comment making sure I can contact you if you win! I'll pick a winner on Friday, March 25 at the end of the tour.

Be sure to check out more projects from the book on the blog tour!

Tuesday, March 22--Cindy of Sew Blessed
Wednesday, March 23--Stephanie of Unfinished Project Party
Thursday, March 24--Ruth of Sew Chic
Friday, March 25-- Julie of From These Hands

Have a happy Monday!

Compromising your values

2011-03-08T21:22:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun and frustration was had at my house playing with bleach, vinegar and fabric recently. I got some plexiglass circles and triangles to try some of the techniques from Malka Dubrawsky's Color Your Cloth. I got the book when it first came out in 2009 and have wanted to try this since, but just got the "tools" for Christmas. It isn't as easy as it looks, but I loved her results! So, in an effort to get a similar effect without wasting any more fabric, I discharged some squares and sewed them into half square triangles with their original counterparts to great effect. I LOVE this!!!

The half square triangles, which I have quite an obsession with anyway, became these pillows. This technique naturally lent itself to a layout highlighting the values. Simple outline quilting left these so stinking soft! And by stinking I don't mean that they reek of bleach. The technique of bleaching, counteracting the bleach with vinegar and rinsing, left them smelling pretty good from the get go!

Did I mention how naughty it feels to deliberately bleach Flea Market Fancy? Good naughty. But maybe that's just because it worked!

I'll be teaching these pillows at Mama Said Sew as a two part class on Mondays April 4th and 11th. The class schedule should be announced soon!

And we have a few spots left at our spring retreat with sewtakeahike! Just so you know, I host awesome retreats--so if you're on the fence, let my culinary degree help entice you! Good, good food. Great workshops. Incredible laughter(I'm pretty funny , too!). And in short, an experience you'll want to make an annual event! Hope to see you there!

Wickedly belated, but better late than never

2011-03-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I bought yards and yards of fabric to make Tade a quilt for his birthday in August. A week before his birthday, I frantically spent a couple of hours throwing together some huge rectangles of fabric into something approximating a quilt top. Two days before his birthday, I had it basted and planned on some straight-ish line quilting about an inch apart. I got about 8 inches of it quilted before his birthday.

It then became a "Christmas" quilt. I got about 7 more inches done and hung it in the closet for when I got better at straight line quilting.

Fast forward to last Saturday, when I talked to Amanda (she was making foccacia and had some questions). I keep talking about all of these projects that I want to make but am stifled by my WIPs. I cannot justify starting something new until I get some of this done. I need the space; I need them out of my head and weighing me down.

So, she "assigned" me 15 rows of stitches to get done this week and recommended lengthening my stitch length to fix my struggles with my walking foot(this was suggested months ago--I obviously hadn't tried it yet). Wow. I spent about 16 of the next 24 hours finishing the quilting, and had the binding sewn down by 10:30 pm on Sunday.

What an awesome feeling! Tade told me that it's lovely and beautiful. And I love it. It's not much to look at from a piecing stand point, but I love it's simplicity.

And it's twin sized and he sleeps in a full size bed. Always has. I must have hoped that he'll still be using this quilt when he goes off to college as it would fit a dorm bed perfectly. (photo taken at the Inn at City Park, because the full sized bed just wasn't doing it for me!)

All of the fabrics are American Jane--I love the vintage aesthetic and the bright colors! I bound it in the black Punctuation and love how scrappy that made it look.

Of course i have no pictures of that, so you'll have to take my word for it! It's backed with a sheet. That worked pretty well for me, I'll be doing that again!

Thanks, Amanda! What should I work on this week?

I love a good moleskine!

2011-02-28T00:00:00.001-07:00

For my mom's birthday I embellished a moleskine journal for her using some of my echino and Ruby Star Rising scraps. I love these scraps and could happily use them for years!!

I don't know what it is about a moleskine(it could simply be the seemingly random e on the end), but I'm happy if I've got one in every drawer, pocket, bag and car. Ever so handy, and light years cooler than a post-it!

A little finishing touch of a tinkerfrog label, just because I can. Thanks to my sweet Drew for following my instructions on what to order for Christmas to the letter! Good job, honey!

Really Rather Random

2011-02-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here's my current knit-in-progress, the lovely Wispy Cardi(Ravelry link), in the oh, so soft Malabrigo lace. I'm teaching this class at My Sister Knits in April, so am making this as the class sample. It's not moving as fast as I would have hoped. In fact, I need to stop sewing for a while, which isn't cool at all.

I need to find my knitting mojo, because I'm missing it! I used to be able to knit for hours and hours. Now I can sew for hours and hours without a break, but can't find that zen space that knitting used to take me to. Any suggestions?

Here's a little shot cotton pojagi that I've been playing with. If I get the urge, it will gain a few more feet and get hemmed to be a lightweight scarf. If not, I like it hanging in the window!

Amanda Jean and I hit the jackpot when I was visiting her at the beginning of the month! We were at her local yarn shop and were directed to a table of free fabric in the back room! With quilting on the brain, we weren't expecting much, but found loads of vintage silks that are so, so luscious. I really wish you could all feel these. They are the reason people crazy quilted.

That little green, red and white bit up there? Amanda Jean hated it, so it all came home with me. Lucky me!

In other news, we will be having another quilting retreat in April! Penny of sewtakeahike will be teaching block design and construction--if you've never checked out her blog, you're in for some serious eye candy! I'm very excited for this one, as I always am! I cannot emphasize just how much fun they are!

The price includes 5 meals, and all the workshops for only $250.00! It really is such a good deal. Rooms at the inn are available on a first come first serve basis as well. For more information, go here! We really hope to see you there!

Cogsmo Explorer

2011-02-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Cluck, Cluck, Sew for giving me the impetus to make this much needed bag! Santa brought Tade a Leapster Explorer for Christmas and I've looked for the carrying case each and every time I'm at a store that supposedly carries them. Why hadn't I made this before I'll never know.

I got to use some of the Cogsmo by Cosmo Cricket that is one of my all time favorite prints for little boys!

He had very specific instructions on how deep the pockets should be for the games. This means that they fall out of said pockets each and every time he zips it shut and carries it around. He then places them back in said pockets with a measured patience.

Now if only he would take that patience and do the learning parts of the games instead of handing them to us to "find the letters" so he can get back to the "good" part--killing the bad guys. Oh, and I'm wondering too, why did Santa get him that Dora game?

I might have a small problem....

2011-02-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

I just got home from visiting the oh so wonderful Amanda Jean. I feel so blessed to call her a friend and so lucky to get to spend some quality time being crafty. The downside is that I came home with about 25 new projects and ideas. I dove right in on a project I'm calling the "Minis." I think I'm going to start making everything small. These 9-patches and lone wonky star finish at 1 1/2 "!!!!! (the wonky star is about an inch thick with all of those seams, but it had to be done!)

They are achingly cute. In fact they might be making my teeth hurt. Or that might be the large number of kolaches I've eaten since Dana at the Old Red Barn posted her recipe yesterday and I all but ran to the kitchen to get the dough rising. So good.

How can you not just smile when you see this? I think there will be many more minis in my future!

Ba dunk ba dunk--OR--Where to put your trash

2011-01-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

So, the Boy--4 years old now!-- asks why I never clean my car. I look around. Front seat, clean. Floors, clean enough. Back seat, tornado of 4-year-old-ness. And, yet, it is "my mess"

The birth of the back seat hanging trash/toy bin was imminent. Version 1 and 4 can be viewed together in the above picture of this tutorial. Versions 2 and 3 are in my sister and mother's cars. My 5 year old niece informed me that I had one hour before they left in order to make them for her and Grandma, so I stepped on it! Nothing like a deadline! So, if you take the time to read this and have the materials on hand, you, too, can be on the path to a clean(er) car!!

Materials: 2- 12" squares oilcloth or laminated fabric. 2- 12" squares cotton or home dec weight fabric. 2- 18" x 2" strips of fabric.

Press the 18" x 2" strips in half lengthwise, fold open and turn the raw edges to the center crease and press. Edge-stitch around both straps. (I left the ends of the straps raw in versions 1, 2 and 3, but for the purposes of this tutorial that I'm sharing with the public, I didn't want anyone thinking me lazy, so made nice neat pointed ends on these straps!)

With the right sides together and a 1/4" seam, stitch the sides of the outer fabric together on three sides. Repeat with oil-cloth or laminated fabric.

To make gussets, nest the seams of the outer fabric and oil-cloth at both bottom corners, and pin in place. Measure 2" along the seam line. Use disappearing ink to mark the stitch line where the seam line measures 2" from the corner and the width measures 4." Stitch along these lines on all four corners, outer and oil-cloth.

Turn outer fabric right side out and keep inner fabric wrong side out. I left the fabric in place after sewing the gussets to add some more stability to the bag.

On outer fabric, measure 2 1/2" toward the center from each seam and pin raw edges of straps in place. Baste 1/8" from fabric edge

Place the outer fabric--inside-- right sides together with the bag interior. Match seams and pin well.

Sew around top of bag interior and outer fabric with a 1/4" seam, leaving a 4" opening for turning.

Pull fabric through opening, turning right sides out. Make sure to have some legos on hand in case you're bored by this project.

Edge stitch around top of the bag, closing opening as you go.

Lift the headrest in your car and tie around posts. Lower the headrest to hide the ends. Let your children play basketball with their trash and enjoy a cleaner car!

The Frugal Reality!

2010-12-01T21:07:00.000-07:00

So--I LOVE MaryEllen's Best Press. It smells awesome, it works great. It does everything it says it's going to. But I can't afford it. $50.00 a gallon translates to about 5 yards of fabric--6 or 7 if I hit a sale! (So, if you're looking for gift ideas....)

I make my own starch!

I have a 16 oz spray bottle(yes, I use my empty MaryEllen's!)

Fill with H2O--otherwise known as tap water!!
add 1 1/2 tsp corn starch --which is always in my kitchen anyway!
add 2-3 drops lavender essential oil--(If you're not already adding a couple of drops of this
to your bath, why not?)
(do not use any citrus or other oils with any "color to them")

I use lavender or geranium essential oils in mine, and find that the starch doesn't leave residue and the oils don't leave marks---
BUT if you find that yours does, pour some out and add more water. Or skip the Essential oils if you're worried about that. I have no issues with flaking, Make sure to shake well before each use!

Makes a great and easy gift for any quilter or sewist-- add a fat quarter or two and make someone really happy!

"Oh my Heck," that was better than last year

2010-11-18T09:53:00.000-07:00

My sleep deprived self is finally awake enough to post about the most fantabulous weekend of quilting and laughing that I've ever had! Amanda and 14 other quilters gathered at the Inn at City Park for our 2nd annual retreat with the un-paralleled crazy mom. You might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea, this might be my longest post ever!

I worked my tail off to make sure it was everything that I thought it should be, which might be a little psychotic. Here's the gift bag goodies: Scrappy name tags, fat quarter of fall-ish fabric, 2 bars of homemade soap, lavender lotion bar, lip butter, key chain, and scrappy pin cushion, a fabric magnet and the much desired cookbook with recipes fro 2009 and 2010. Also coupons to the 3 local quilt shops so a little shopping could be done.

And then the prizes--It's important to me that everyone win something. And I don't like for anyone to feel like they got the boobie prize either!

So we have Amanda's awesome Blues quilt, which is even more amazing in person. Kate said, of the retreat, "It was even better than last year." No surprise there since she walked home with the quilt! It's going to a good home!

We had a gift certificate to the Inn, Bag of coffee, mug and 2 charm packs, 3 yards of Word Play, Kaffe's gorgeous book, autographed at market(!), an Amy Butler Pattern and some of her threads, some FMF fat eighths with some cards and quilting gloves, some Amy Butler fat quarters with some patterns and more cards, and an Arcadia honey bun with some Best Press and, once again, cards.

Two sets of pillows quilted at the retreat by Amanda--they both turned out so cute and went home with people to love them! I also made this Streetcar bag by Indygo Junction out of thrifted vintage curtain panels, this little tote from some yummy Echino, and a table runner.

Whew! I need another nap just writing that down! So fun and so worth it. Of course, I came home inspired to sew and finally finish some of my projects!

We had everyone bring a gallon bag of scraps to swap, and we just dumped them out on the kitchen floor. I think I laughed until I cried. When we were done Amanda sat down (she thought she already had enough scraps?!)and thought we were crazy to be leaving so much behind. So we'll split those up at our next guild meeting and make a quilt for charity. We know better than to throw any away!

Well, I'm off to label some more soaps--I've got a trunk show at Wadoo Furniture tonight. I'm always inspired to make stuff when I'm in this store! I'll be opening my etsy shop with some soapy goodness--tomorrow, once I see what I've got left!

Crazy mom is coming!

2010-11-09T15:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah! The quilt retreat with Amanda of crazymomquilts is almost here! It's been a year since our last one and I'm so stinking excited!

I just wanted to show you some of the fun stuff I've been working on. We have a giveaway with a quilt made by Amanda as the grand prize and I like for everyone to be able to win a little something! So I've been busy scrounging up donations and making everything else.

These will be quilted by Amanda as part of our free motion quilting classes and then I will quickly sew them into pillows as one of the prizes. I made these using Penny's tutorial over at sewtakeahike. I love her projects and I have some pretty serious fabric envy. I just love everything she makes! AND She's joining us for the retreat too!

Same story with these 18" wonky log cabins with some Opal Owls.

Here I thought I was prepared and had some more pictures, but I'll have to come back later apparently! I'll try not to let 6 months pass by this time!

What the heck do you do with a mini-quilt?

2010-05-21T13:59:00.000-06:00

I signed up for the mini quilt swap last month at Modify Tradition(great blog!) and just finished. The guidelines were for a traditional quilt with modern fabric and NO wonkiness. Let me assure you that any wonkiness was completely unintentional! Bought some yummy fabrics and this is the result....

What I used: to die for echino, michael miller, and amy butler( If you live in NoCO and haven't been to Mama Said Sew on E. Mountain Ave. in Old Town, Fort Collins, get there as fast as you can! Awesome!)

What I learned: I'm a crappy quilter! This was my third attempt and I'm realizing, stick with what you know! I can't even maintain an even 1/4"seam when sewing strips! Ugh!

I've been enamored with the winding ways quilts since I read Jennifer Chiaverini's book of the same name(great series,that![I just read a British chick lit book, can you tell?]). With fabric like the echino--rather heavy linen-like--the seams were so bulky that it didn't have a prayer of lying flat! So that will be turned into a pin cushion.

My next try was a double wedding ring, paper peiced. Well, I don't know how to do that! A goodly amount of wasted(I''ll figure out something for it!) fabric later, courthouse steps fit the bill.

After I finished, I realized I had made a quilt like this before using a Wonderland honey bun, not realizing it had a name--just thinking I was tweaking a log cabin. I guess what's true for cooking is the same for quilting--there's just not much that hasn't already been done!

So after all that--I love it! I couldn't stop looking at it last night after I got the binding sewn on!

As to the title of my post....my answer to that question is to give it an envelope back and give the option of a fantastic pillow. It could still hang on a wall or sit on a table, but I'm really happy with it as a pillow-mini-quilt! Hope my partner likes it!

There's a meeting of the Fort Collins Modern Quilt Guild on Thursday, May 27 at Half Moon Bay Coffee Co in Fort Collins from 5:30-8. I'm hoping to make it--I think April was it's first month.

Have a great weekend! And we still have room for 8 more quilter's at the retreat in November with
crazy mom quilts!

Giveaway Winner!!

2010-05-21T00:17:00.001-06:00

Who knew? Let me tell you--I was beyond overwhelmed by the response to this giveaway! Thanks to all who stopped in and many thanks to the 101 new followers and the 40 original followers that make me feel like someone wants to hear about my crafty nonsense!

I read each and every of the 526 comments and kept my husband updated too. When the comments were in the 280s I told him how excited I was and he wanted to know(again) why there was this much traffic. And then with a look of sheer panic, wanted to know how many bags I had to make!

I wish I could make one for each of you, but all in good time!

So with out further ado.......

Congratulations to commenter # 179!!

handmadehappiness said...: purple purple purple i do love it!!! the bag is to die for!!!; May 18, 2010 2:20 AM; I shall be e-mailing your shortly! Purple it is!; I'm going to bed!

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!!

2010-05-17T07:39:00.001-06:00

Edited to add: The giveaway will close at midnight mtn std time!! so you've got 4 more hours!

Welcome to Tinkerfrog! I am happy to be participating in Sew Mama Sew's May Giveaway Day! Once you've registered for this giveaway, make sure you head over there for the literally hundereds of giveaways going on!

I'll be making someone lucky this beautiful bag in the color of their choice! We have a big selection of Amy Butler Love at my LQS, Mama Said Sew, and I'll be happy to go pick some up for the winner!

To enter, just leave me a comment with your favorite colors. To gain an extra entry, become a follower and leave me a separate comment. Make sure your profile allows an e-mail address to be seen, otherwise I have no way of reaching you! The giveaway is open until May 20th and the drawing will be random. Some extra prizes might be thrown in, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tara

Still Kickin'

2010-05-11T15:09:00.000-06:00

Hello, strangers!

Life is crazy and every time I plan on posting I don't get it done--I'm gonna turn over a new leaf here and make a concerted effort to post more often!

So, firstly(love that word!), we have another amazing retreat planned at the Inn with the incredible Amanda Jean Nyberg, aka crazymomquilts. If you were lucky enough to join us last year, you know how much fun we had--and this year shall be even better!!! The dates are November 12-14, 2010 so think hard but not too long!.

Only 8 more spots available and only two more rooms at the inn!

Here's a quilt that I've been working on for my 11 year old niece Becca. She has her own blog and it always makes me smile. I used a layer cake of Boutique by Chez Moi for moda. It was an experiment--now I realize why you don't make a nine patch, slice it diagonally into quarters and sew it back together. A few truncated corners and slightly odd shaped blocks later, I decided it worked anyway! I mean, what was I going to do, throw away $35.00 worth of fabric?

It measures about 80 x 80 and it'll go on her full size antique iron bed(the one I grew up with!). I still need to piece the back and quilt it. I'm more than nervous about the quilting as it's over twice as large as anything I've machine quilted, and I can't say that any of those looked great. But practice makes perfect(or at least passable) and I've got to start somewhere because I'm not paying someone else to do it as that would eat up my fabric budget for about 6 months!

I'll also be participating in the Sew Mama Sew May giveaway day next month, so be sure to come back and see what fabulous prize I will be giving away!! I'm sure I'll come up with something good in the next few days!

Becca's mittens and a tatooed belly

2010-02-16T07:47:00.002-07:00

I'm a huge fan of the Twilight books and not remotely ashamed of it! So when I saw on Ravelry that someone had written up a pattern to make Bella's mittens a la the movie--I knew that my 10 year old niece Becca HAD TO HAVE THEM!!

I knit them out of Cascade Pastaza and they turned out great!! We did a photo shoot with some felt apples--Tade wanted to hold an orange--and you get to see how I was able to finish these mittens! He has learned to count to 30 by himself due to his penchant for tattoos. I think they should be right side up and on his biceps, but he doesn't get a very good view that way! I think I'll have him start counting to 50, so it continues to be a learning experience!

We also have some exciting news on the chicken front! Tomorrow will be 4 weeks since our 5 hens began laying. If we get three more today, then we'll have gotten 100 eggs in that short time frame. They don't taste all that different( I expected them to taste "more" somehow!), but they're still very special! On Valentine's I got to have our first double yolked egg for breakfast! Made my day, I tell you!

One of my recent quilting projects has been to put together these log cabin blocks. When I was helping Wilma's family with the estate sale, I went through lots of boxes of fabric. Some treasures, a lot of polyester, and some very funky prints later, I found this bag full of envelopes and inside were all of the pieces cut and ready to go! Along with 4 blocks already sewn together, 2 by hand and 2 by machine. They went together so fast! The combination of fabrics is one I would never have chosen, but it really works! I sewed them into columns using an old sheet for sashing, It's now in my to be quilted pile, but I have to bring it down to work where I have enough space to make my sandwich--maybe next month!

Giveaway winner and February's block!!

2010-02-14T11:04:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to HaveFaith! She is the winner of the Wonderland honey bun and she'll be making a quilt out of it for a May baby, if her comment is to be believed!! Please e-mail me your address as you have a no-reply e-mail and I have no way of contacting you! I'll draw another name if I haven't heard from her in a week! Between the comments and followers I had 54 entries! Very cool...

I finished this block for Lizzie whose month is February in our Bee Balm online quilting bee. She sent the brown background fabric with the only instructions being to make a 16 1/2 inch block of our choice. She wanted it to "represent" us. After much deliberation, I decided to do a little "thread sketching." I've been playing around with this for a couple of months--a couple of pillows and a sketch of my in-laws house for Christmas, so thought this appropriate. Very pleased with the results! Here's hoping that she likes it!

100th post giveaway!!!

2010-02-10T12:24:00.001-07:00

So, technically it's not my 100th post, but it turns out that I blog in my head quite a lot! I take pictures and plan on what to write, but it never seems to get typed in. So I figure if I had posted all of the times that I planned on, it would be right about 100 posts!

I'll be giving away a Wonderland by Momo Honey Bun! Plus some extra surprises! I found a great sale and bought 5(!) of these and have a bit of a surplus. I made this baby quilt for a friend expecting her first baby in April, delivered it to her this morning and she loved it! Actually, so do I! This was made using less than one honey bun, the scraps from this will go into another quilt!

And I've not blogged about this quilt either!! When Amanda came in November for the quilting retreat at the inn, she brought lots of samples to show us. This quilt was made out of the leftovers from her film strip quilt that was made to giveaway at the retreat. Mama urchin is now the proud owner of the film strip quilt, but lucky me was given this one as a thank you for setting up the retreat! I feel so special. Especially since Amanda isn't blogging anymore--I really feel the void in blogland!

So---to enter this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post. All of my followers are automatically entered, if you become a follower, you will get an extra entry, and if you blog about this giveaway and leave me a separate comment, you will be entered again! So, three chances to win!

And check back often because the info about our 2nd annual quilting retreat with Amanda will be posted soon!

Quick--easy--awesome--scarves as gifts!

2009-11-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

SO, I've been a bad blogger of late and had so much to tell you, but then I figured no actually cared about our Halloween costumes any more, so I'll spare you the details.

Moving on!! I saw this tutorial on One Flew Over, and thought it looked like a quick and easy project and I was right! I made 7 scarves yesterday! I love them! I've already got plans to get some more linen, since I've used all I bought yesterday!! Great way to use up those scraps! Most are Kaffe Fasset, but a couple are Amy Butler scraps--don't know which I like better, but these seem the perfect pay-it-forward prize that I need to be getting in the mail!!

I also made a scarf out of vintage hankies that I'm giving away! Six of the vintage hankies that I won in Rosamund's giveaway last month went in to this delicate, lightweight beauty! Just leave me a comment to win! I'll draw a name on Wednesday, December 2nd and get it shipped to you in time for you to re-gift it for the holidays!!!(Of, course you could keep it all to yourself!)

My awesome husband just made me a custom sewing table that I'll be showing off as soon as I get it painted! I am so thankful to have a husband who not only loves and cares for us, but who gets excited at the prospect of making ME a sewing table! Coolest feeling in the world--and no amount of money could have gotten me a more perfect sewing table!

Pay it Forward!

2009-10-21T09:17:00.001-06:00

Happy Wednesday to you all! I signed up for a pay it forward on Sherri's blog--so excited as she is so very talented and an incredibly prolific quilter! What this means for you is that the first three people that leave me a comment saying that they want to play will receive something handmade by me and in turn, have to offer a pay it forward on their blogs making handmade things for three people and on and on, etc!

You have 365 days to get their handmade item to them, but I highly recommend just getting it done--much more fun for everyone that way--so if you don't have time right now, consider waiting to sign up for another one later on so no one has to wait a long time!

I did one of these in the spring and gave away soaps, but this time, I'd like to sew something--mainly because I'm out of soap! Maybe a bag or something Christmassy!

I made these little wire pumpkins this week using the instructions here. So simple and I just love them!

I also made this(rather difficult) chicken wire basket--which seems to entertain me as much as burlap right now! Elaine(I'm pretty sure!) sent a copy of the magazine Mary Jane's Farm to me with my block from September and the baskets were featured in there. Pretty hard on my fingers, but I will be making at least one more of them! Maybe you would like one as a pay it forward?

I filled it with yarn to take a picture and Tade said, "When are you going to make my socks?" The kid doesn't miss anything! The green on top was picked out by him MONTHS ago for socks and I've STILL never made more than one sock for a pair. I've knit 4 socks, but I need 8. Need to get on that!

Edited to add: Sorry all but the pay it forward is full! Stop on over at Kerrie, Mountain Mama, San-Dee, or Suzanne's blogs to try to get in on theirs! (Do give them a chance to post about it first!) And yeah--I know that's four not three, but I'm a sucker!

What happened to fall?

2009-10-12T23:41:00.003-06:00

We've had such a strange year of weather. First lots of rain this summer and then an early cold front that gave us 14 degree weather and 4 inches of snow! I'm not prepared for this yet! We're burning through the wood pile at an alarming rate!

Last weekend I had three events that I needed to make cakes for--it got a little busy around here! 120 cupcakes and a mini-tiered cake for a Saturday wedding, a three tiered wedding cake for 80 of Saturday, and 48 cupcakes and 36 iced sugar cookies for a baby shower on Sunday. I had 49 pounds of sugar in my kitchen and I only have about 12 left. Makes my teeth hurt! And yes--that is 12 pounds of butter!

Here are some of the blocks I've received in my quilting bee--this is turning out to be so much fun! I still need 5 more quilters for the second bee if anyone is interested. E-mail me your address if you want to. I really need to get on this!

I finished this bag that I've had the fabric for for quite some time. I was still using the lime green and pink, so was glad to get something more appropriate for fall done! I've had a love affair with burlap for a while and was glad to use it in this project. There are some great colors of burlap out there--I think I need to incorporate some into my living room curtains!

Hope you all have a great week!

Quilting with Amanda Jean!

2009-09-24T13:44:00.003-06:00

Over on Amanda Jean's blog you can see more pictures of the amazing quilt that she has made as the grand door prize for those attending our quilting retreat November 6-8 at The Inn at City Park in Fort Collins, CO.

Several of her commenters have asked questions, so I'm going to try to answer them here.

Do we still have room?

Yes, we have room for about 5 more quilters.

Do you have to stay at the inn?

Absolutely not--if you are local or know someone in the area, we have a discounted rate that still includes the meals and workshops, but no bed!

What is the nearest airport?

Denver International Airport is about a 50 minute drive. Sweet talk me and I will arrange for transportation!!!

The prices are really reasonable for what you get--not to mention the chance to win this AMAZING quilt or a one night's stay at the inn plus lots of other fun things that I'm currently working on! I am a trained chef, so the food will be incredible(not to toot my own horn or anything!); it should just be an amazing weekend with lots of quilting, laughing and making new friends!

Feel free to ask me more questions in the comment section and I will answer them ASAP--Like AJ said--Only 6 more weeks!!!

I, for one, cannot wait to quilt with Amanda Jean!

Fall is in the air!

2009-09-22T08:00:00.003-06:00

I signed up for a summer mini quilt swap--my first of it's kind, and finally finished the mini quilt. Now that's it's fall, it doesn't seem right that I'm mailing a summer quilt, but my swap partner is in Texas and it probably still feels like summer there!

My co-innkeeper Alexis drew this picture on our chalkboard at work. We try to put fun quotes and seasonal pictures up there regularly and this one just spoke to me!

I don't know if you can read it but it says, "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability," by Sam Keen. So with the imagery of an afternoon in a hammock with a book and iced tea, I made a quilt that looks just like it!

I tea stained it and kept it wrinkly to give it a vintage feel. I left all the applique edges raw and then washed it to give the edges a frayed look and to give the piece some depth. I'm very happy with how it turned out!

The chickens are getting bigger all the time. They are so funny and have little personalities and quirks that constantly make us giggle!

New jammie pants for my little man--I love making these, they're so stinking fast!

Blocks are arriving from my quilting bee--I've gotten Jenny and Victoria's--Thank you!! I'll show you as soon as I have a few more!

I'd like to start a second bee if anyone is interested. I still need 6 more quilters to fill it up! If you want in, please e-mail me your address, so I'll know you're committing!

The Bee Balm quilting bee

2009-09-06T20:53:00.003-06:00

I have belatedly gotten my fabrics together for my new quilting bee and they will be going in the mail tomorrow! I've been wanting to join a bee for a while, just never found one looking for people, so I decided to start my own! I'm so glad I have and I might have enough for another, just need a few more people!

Amanda Jean is making a quilt like Ingrid Press's and even though I thought I wanted wonky log cabins or some such, as soon as I saw her block I knew I had to do these houses! I've been stashing 30s repro fabric for a while and going round in circles as far as what to do with them, but this is it!

In other news there's a great giveaway of some embroidery goodies here! Check it out!

I've got chickens!

2009-08-29T15:22:00.004-06:00

My dear, sweet husband built me a chicken coop for our 5th anniversary and yesterday we filled it up! I'm so excited--they are just too stinking cute!

We got two Buff Orpingtons(Buffy and Pecker(in honor of a dear friend--because chickens peck!)), two black sex-linked chicks(Monique and Unique), one Silver Wyandotte(Eagle), and one Rhode Island Red(Chicken Little).

Tade loves them so very much! It's so cute to watch. If all goes according to plan, we'll be getting 15-30 brown eggs per week beginning in late January. Hope I'm hungry!

I also received a swap package in the mail today. Thanks so much Solidia for such an awesome apron and package!

Here are the only confirmed quilters in the bee:

Bumble Beans
Yukon Viv
Solidia
Melina
San-Dee
Tara

This means I still need 6(!) to get this ball rolling. Some that had said yes have never gotten back to me so I don't want to count on them unless I hear from them. If you're interested, leave a comment letting me know and e-mail me your address. I have to hear from you in order to count you in! Invite your friends, invite your family, but invite somebody!

I still plan on having a giveaway of a bag made out of the curtains, but my sewing machine is in the shop, so SOON! (I hope!)

When I grow up I want to be an old lady

2009-08-03T11:01:00.003-06:00

Hello Strangers! I've missed you all! Been very busy and have had bloggers block.

First things first--Congratulations to treevillemary who won my salt scrub giveaway! Please e-mail me your address and I'll get that in the mail to you straightaway!

I'll host another giveaway next week for any and all to join, just because I really like to! It will be a bag out of this wonderful broadcloth. They are recycled curtains and I just love them! My 95 year old neighbor Wilma Borges passed away three weeks ago, and she was the sweetest, kindest woman I've ever had the pleasure to know. These curtains hung in her spare bedroom and were made by her daughter Virginia in the 60s.

She was a great friend of mine and she adored Tade. She lived by herself until the last few weeks of her life and I was truly blessed to know her. Her daughters generously asked if I would like anything of hers, and I requested her rag rug which now has a place of honor in front of my sink. Knowing it was made by her hands truly makes it special.

Then her daughters gifted me with some lovely cups and saucers, vintage milk bottles, some beautiful vases and a bag marked "quilt tops to finish". I certainly didn't expect any of this but feel so lucky that Wilma counted me as a friend too and let her family know that.

These 12 stars are rather crazy quilted out of what I believe are mostly feedsacks. These were peiced by Wilma's mother, which makes them quite a treasure!

These funky blocks were pieced by Wilma's husband Roy's mother. These made me smile because her daughter Irene said that Grandma Borges wasn't much of a quilter, yet I love them all the more for their funkiness.

I also made this Everything Tote that I LOVE from Weekend Sewing. There are quite a few errors in the pattern in the book, but I persevered and will be making another bag like this using burlap are the outer bag. SO excited to see it finished!

Now for a bit of business--the quilting bee. Here is a list of the joiners.

Victoria
Heather
Melina
Alexis
Viv
Amanda
Lisa
Solidia
Colleen
Jennifer(?)
Mary(?)
Tara

There are a couple that have expressed an interest but haven't confirmed, but I'll see what I can do to convince them. Please e-mail me all of your addresses, so I can get this thing organized. We also need a name for our bee so let me know if you have any brilliant ideas!

I'd like to start in September, please let me know if that works for everyone!

Tara

A quilting bee and a new friend!

2009-07-06T20:42:00.005-06:00

SO....I'd like to host a virtual quilting bee. That means I need 9 more people to join in. I've got Victoria of Bumblebeans interested and my new friend Heather--a local blogger and artist that I got to meet and see her art space today(so cool!) plus myself.

If you think you can handle making ONE quilt block a month, following the requests and using the fabric of another quilter, you could be the lucky recipient of 12(really 11 plus the one you make for yourself) beautifully made quilt blocks-- enough to sash or border and have a really cool quilt top.

So if you're in, leave a comment in this post, making sure I can contact you. I think we should have giveaways and fun stuff like that too!

Starting Now!! Great idea! If you leave a comment in this post, you'll be entered to win a jar of my Nitty Gritty Gardener's Salt Scrub! It rocks--peppermint and rosemary and lavender! I'll leave the giveaway open until July 15. You don't have to be interested in the quilting bee to enter, but I do need to know one way or another

I'm ready to quilt this disappearing nine patch for my sister. I'd planned on having it done by the 4th, but who was I kidding? I really like it and did some piecing on the back that's a bit odd, but works. I should really learn when to take pictures--colors aren't remotely right.

And this wonderful package arrived in the mail today, so I'd better not like these books as much a Vanessa at V & Co., or I'm never going to quilt it!

Still space at the quilting retreat with Amanda Jean in November!!!

--Tara

Quilting Retreat with Amanda Jean!

2009-06-29T09:06:00.002-06:00

So have you all checked out crazymomquilts? Amanda Jean Nyberg is an incredibly prolific quilter(the above marks her 20th quilt of 2009!!) with a great sense of color and a love of scrap quilting.

She's coming to Colorado for a quilting retreat at the Inn at City Park, a bed and breakfast in Fort Collins in November!!! I'm so excited! Really--I just want to keep doing a dance! So mark your calenders, book your flights and contact me or Alexis at the inn to book your spot! All the information can be found on the Inn's website.

Can't wait to see you there! We're working on all sorts of door prizes--everyone will win! Good stuff!

Lots of good stuff!

2009-06-12T17:33:00.003-06:00

I'd like to welcome the newest addition to our family, Violette Elena Ledet, born Tuesday, June 9th at 7:14 pm! She's a beauty weighing in at 7 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. She and mom are doing great if a bit sleep deprived! Can't say I didn't warn you guys! Congratulations, Scott and Janie!

Here's the great old wooden file cabinet that my mom and I found at the flea markets while waiting for little Violette to join us! It was a whopping $7.99!! What a steal! It will house all of my fabrics and free up the kitchen table which is currently stacked shoulder high with plastic boxes of fabric. It's a little big for the space, so it might find another place in my house, but for that price, I couldn't pass it up!

After making Janie's diaper bag for her shower, her friend Celeste, due in August, seemed pretty envious! So Janie and Scott had me make one for her shower next month. I didn't use a pattern and it didn't turn out like it was in my head, but I still really like it! Especially the Kaffe fabrics!

On this great new chair that I've been wanting for YEARS, you see the package I put together for Susan in the Vintage 4th of July Swap. The pillow has the pledge of allegiance printed on it, there are 6 fat quarters of stars and stripey fabric, three repro stars like you used to see on buildings, two packages of napkins, a "vintagey" tin with red white and blue(and black?) thread, a few Colorado treats AND a-- pretty cool if I do say so myself --mini-bunting banner. I'm going to have to get some more red star fabric so I can make on for myself!!
I decided yesterday to knit Drew some socks for Father's Day. Needless to say, they won't be ready in time, but it's the thought that counts, right? Here's Tade "helping" me with some yarn of his own!
And, lastly, the selvege belt that I made a couple of weeks ago!!! I just love it! It goes with everything and fits around my hips!!

Have a great weekend! I have some very exciting news about a quilting reteat and Amanda Jean of crazymomquilts! Check your calenders for the first weekend of November!! And then plan on coming to Colorado! More details to come.....

Sugarloaf Mountain Cake!

2009-06-07T20:05:00.002-06:00

The wedding of Megan and Ryan was yesterday and the "mountain" cake I made for them turned out great! I was so very pleased with it all and of course the best part--that it tasted awesome! I despise going to wedding where the cake is gorgeous, but tastes yucky! (I don't really even like cake, but I have very high standards!)

The details like the tent, fire and canoe just made me smile so much! I made about 150 trees in 4 shades of green with a few "beetle kill" trees thrown in for some realism. If you don't know--the Japanese Pine Beetle has made it's way to Colorado and all of the lodge pole pines are dying. It's sad, but also nature's way of rejuvenating the system. There are entire mountain sides that are rust colored and are just a fire waiting to happen--kind of scary for those folks with mountain homes.

Can you see the bear?

With this done, I still have a very busy month, but am so excited to be getting back to my sewing machine! I have projects in the works for my Vintage 4th of July Swap plus a diaper bag of my own design and a selvage edge belt to show you! I'll post those later in the week!

My Brother and Sister-in-law are scheduled to go into the hospital Tuesday to have their first baby!! It's so exciting for all of us. The oldest of the three kids and the last to jump on the bandwagon--they say boys are slower developmentally, so what could we expect, right?

I also want to show you my garden--but we got about an hour of pea sized hail today which didn't help my plants at all! Those poor lettuces! So I'll give them some time to(hopefully) revive!

Have a great week!

Busy, busy!

2009-05-19T21:15:00.003-06:00

My handsome Tade, learning to ride his trike. Every time he presses down he says, "Pedal, pedal, pedal." So cute!

Everyday for the past two weeks, I've planned on posting more project pics and such. Everyday I am so busy that I seem to fall into bed without even checking my email!

So, what have I been doing? Not cleaning my house or doing laundry, that much is obvious! I made a skirt from Weekend Sewing. I love it, though I wish I had looked for the errata before I made it! It now works but with an extra seam and zipper rather than the wrap skirt it was intended to be!

Busy Bee Swap for Heidi! Apron, gardening bag, salt scrub and some soaps

I finished two swaps, the Nancy Drew swap and Busy Bee Apron swap, both of which will go in the mail tomorrow! I became an angel for another swap to make up for the flakers and finished her apron tonight! I have one more swap, the vintage 4th of July swap, to fulfill before I'm all caught up, but it doesn't have to go in the mail until June 15, so I'll wait on that one.

Nancy Drew sneak peak for Wanda! And my beautiful Hodges--such a sweet girl!

I'm realizing with all of these swaps, I'm not really working on my projects! So after this next one, I'll limit myself to one at a time! And then work on the five quilts in progress and the commissioned diaper bag and finish the crib bumper for my soon to be neice. And make a few more skirts and dresses and pajama pants. And then maybe I'll clean my house and do my laundry!

Here's our new braided wool rug from Drew's parents! The colors are perfect for my living room! (I took down our lace curtains about 2 months ago, bought 10 yards of fabric to make new ones and I HATE it! So does Drew. Any brilliant ideas?)

I'm off to watch Deadliest Catch and do some crocheting! If I'm lucky I'll post before we leave for Illinois next week! When I get back I'm making a wedding cake that looks like a mountain! I'll be sure to post pics of that!

Apron swaps and finished projects

2009-05-05T11:15:00.013-06:00

I've got lots to post about today--I'm realizing I should post more often so they're not so long! I received my apron from the Flirty Apron Swap yesterday! Due to some curfuddle or other, it got sent to Florida from British Colombia and then on to me in Colorado. A very well travelled apron!

I love it as it has a huge pocket for clothespins!

In the package was an apron pattern, eye pillow, bath salts, essential oils, embellished rubber gloves and a dishtowel! I love it!

Here's the package that I sent to Amy for the Mother's Day swap--she's giving it to her nephew to give to his mom for Mother's Day--isn't that so sweet? They asked for a baseball theme, so I made sure to include the peanuts and crackerjacks! Can't wait to see our aprons! Tade loves to "help" in the kitchen!

I finally finished my mom's birthday log cabin quilt. She seemed really pleased, but I wish that I had made it just a touch bigger. She thinks it's good because it's small enough that my dad--Big and Tall kind of guy--won't steal it!

And finally the tile backsplash at work that I finished last week. It was my first time tiling and went slower than I had pictured, but I'm really pleased with how it came out!

The baby shower on Saturday went great--the food was good, lots of people came, and best of all, my Brother and Sister-in-law had a good time! I forgot my camera, so you're spared those details!

I've got lots of sewing that I want to be working on this week, so I'll try to post again by week'd end with an update! Have fun, stay safe!

May Day Winner!

2009-05-01T19:31:00.001-06:00

Out of the 20(!) entries for the fabric giveaway, Tade drew Eva's name out of the hat! Congratulations to you! Maybe you can make Z a dress or jammies to match Tade's! I'm off to bake cakes for the baby shower, but will post pics of all the fun on Sunday!

How cool is Spoonflower?

2009-04-25T17:50:00.003-06:00

Have you guys heard about Spoonflower? You can design and they'll print your own fabric! So I'd been wanting to go to their site and play around with some things, so while I was waiting for guests to show up for Wine and cheese this evening I did! Of course on the work computer I had no images that I wanted to play with, so as soon as I got home I continued playing!

What do you think? It's the picture that I made for the wall in Scott and Janie's nursery! The repeats are 12" x 10." I feel like their rocking chair is screaming for a footstool covered in this! All you fellow nursing mamas might understand the awesomeness of a footstool! So go check it out! Have fun!

It was pricey, but kind of like buying stamps for your wedding invitations with your picture on them--really cool too!

Elephant jammies and baseball aprons

2009-04-24T19:15:00.004-06:00

So, I finished the pants last Friday and the shirt last Saturday. They turned out so cute! I've been very busy at work this week, tiling the kitchen back splash. I'll get some pictures taken because it turned out really well! So not a lot of sewing or anything else going on.(Though I did get the house clean for my book club last Wednesday. Way overdue!)

I signed up for another apron swap--it's a Mother's Day swap--and I got paired with Amy and her 8 year old son Zach. They love baseball, especially the Mariners, but here in CO all I could find was Rockies fabric. No big surprise there. So off to the fabric store Tade and I went this morning and I'm so pleased with my choices! I got red and blue pillow ticking--which I LOVE--and made coordinating, but not matching aprons.

Here's a little sneak peak of the pockets; I'll post more once I get the go ahead from Shawnee to send the package--I embarrassed myself by sending the Flirty apron too soon. I really need to work on my photography skills! Sorry for the washed out picture!

There also a new apron swap with sign ups until May 6th. The Sassy and Flirty Apron Swaps are joining forces on this one. Garden themed--which should be a blast! I've requested a gathering apron to bring in all my goodness from the garden. So check out the Busy Bee Swap and maybe we'll be partners!

Giveaway is still open for another week, so tell your friends, tell your family!

Do you wanna win some fabric?

2009-04-17T13:57:00.007-06:00

You know you want to!

I thought you all might want to participate in a little giveaway I'm having...5-- 1/2 yard cuts of these fun prints( and one solid). The one on the left is by Brandon Mably and oh so soft, the three in the middle are Amy Butler--gotta love her!-- and the solid is Kona Cotton.

The rules--one entry for each comment left and another if you post to your blog about the giveaway--let me know in your comment if you are going to post on your blog--and I'll be checking! The giveaway ends on April 30th, winner announced on May Day!

This is what I made out of the fabric--The Amy Butler Birdie Sling for Janie's diaper bag, a quilted changing pad, and a nursing smock for everyone's comfort. I'm really pleased with how everything came out--pretty busy day for the sewing machine yesterday!

Tade and I went to the Shop Hop in One Stop this morning. Pretty cool quilts, though nothing I wanted to run home and make. My money seemed to find lots of things it liked though! This funky monkey oil cloth to make Tade a backpack or some kind of bag--he loved it! I also found a sock monkey ornament for the Christmas tree that had to leave with us. He carried his things around the entire place!

This lovely oil cloth that I will bind for my dining room table. It already has a two inch cut from Tade finding my scissors minutes after it went on the table . I think I still love him.

Tade saw the "Entertaining Elephants" by Alxander Henry and said, "Hey, elephants. I love elephants." so, this is going to become jammies and a pillow case for him. I think I'll do the top kimono-style al la Amanda Jean. While your visiting her site, check out the great bag she made with selvages! And then save your selvages for me!

And lastly I got this great fabric in the mail--Wonderland By momo for Moda--I love this fabric line! I wish I had more so I could show you all of it! But you computer wizards can figure out how to look it up, right?

So, what I thought would be my knitting blog is pretty much entirely about sewing. And the guy from the sewing maching shop just called(finally) to tell me my machine is ready!!!! So I said I'll be there as soon as Tade wakes up. Of course, right? And he tells me they're closing early today. What?!? Oh well--Old Faithful will get me through another weekend.

Have a great one!

sherri's giveaway!

2009-04-10T19:47:00.002-06:00

Sherri over at A Quilting Life is having her 100th post giveaway--2 actually. So head on over there and check her out!

Another new, yet already dear friend could use some prayers, so if you're talking to the big guy-- just ask for a bit of extra love for Tara's new yet dear friend and he'll know just who you're talking about!

Have a great weekend! I'm out in the boondocks celebrating the holiday with my family--couldn't be better!

Check out my haul!!!

2009-04-07T12:00:00.005-06:00

So in my excitement to take the concentric vest to My Sister Knits this morning, I completely forgot to take a picture, so you'll have to imagine it in you head. Lime green Euroflax Bulky, a luxurious linen that washes beautifully. Very springy and fun!

And this is what I got in return:

About 34 YARDS of beautiful fabric! You do the math!

These very cool fat quarters that I think will become a diaper bag for Janie, my sister-in-law. What do you think, Scott?

27(!) fat quarters that will become a comforter and shams for my bed.

Some moons and Stars fat quarters, 1/2 yard cuts of Civil War repro fabric, and all of these fat eighths. All of these will become lap quilts at some point!

And the piece de resistance......

These are the 30s repro fabrics for my spare room quilt.

These reproduction handkerchiefs were the catalyst for my quilting frenzy. I bought them last fall with the plan to use them as the "blocks" with the 30s fabric.

With all of this loveliness in my home, you would think that Julie's basement would be fabric free, but oh, no! This woman has probably got 1000 yards of fabric in her basement. No joke. She told me that she needs to thin it out, so just come to her house before I go to the fabric store!

Julie, I will knit for the shop anytime, as long as you pay me in yarn and fabric! Thanks so much.

What I did today

2009-04-06T14:44:00.002-06:00

My brother and sister-in-law are expecting a daughter in June. My sister and I and a friend of theirs are having a baby shower in 3 weeks for them, so I got started on a present today. Well, started and finished. Scott, my brother reads this blog, so, Scott, if you don't like it, let me know and I will re-do it or something! Penguins were requested, and I'm pretty happy with it!

I also plan on making her a diaper bag and maybe knitting up some baby booties, maybe some bibs. I'd better get busy!

I finally finished knitting the vest for My Sister Knits, my LYS, so as soon as it's blocked, I'll post some pics and then show you what cool fabrics I got for knitting it!

Spring wonderland?

2009-04-04T09:02:00.005-06:00

Mother Nature withheld the moisture from us this winter, but we got another 6 inches of snow last night. It is beautiful and the wet snow gives the plants some much desired water. But I WANT SUNSHINE AND 70 DEGREE WEATHER! At least it melts quickly!

My sister and nieces came up on Thursday during their spring break and we had a very fun crafty day. I replaced the lining in her wee play bag and once again I'm pleased with it! She said, "It's perfect." Doesn't get much better than that! I also made skirts for Anna, 3, and Katie, 6. Becca(9) sewed her own! She did such a great job for her first time using a sewing machine. We had a lot of fun picking out the fabrics and it was cool for the girls to choose something that was "them." Anna is a huge fan of her cousin Tade and she thought he should have some shorts in her pink and purple bee and ladybug fabric! Keri is going to send me a picture soon and I'll post it ASAP.

There's a Spring Green givaway over at not quite june cleaver. She's got a lovely blog and only a handful have commented so far, so chances are good for a win! Go check it out!

I'm off to finish some curtains for the inn and make cookies for my boys! Have a great weekend!

(Do you know what a dork I am? Amanda Jean at crazymomquilts--one of my Favorite Blogs Ever--commented on my last post. I almost swooned. I think I'm pretty cool!)

All Het Up

2009-03-31T17:39:00.004-06:00

Last fall, when I decided I was going to teach myself to quilt, I bought a Wee Play charm pack to make my sister a school bag. She teaches 2nd grade and she brings home a mountain of homework each night. Anyone that thinks teachers have it easy since they get summers off are crazy. How else would we expect them to survive?

Anyhow, my first attempt at a bag became a mini pillowcase for Tade as it was so small. So back to the fabric store I went for another charm pack because of course I had shown it to Keri and she was expecting it now, right? Fast forward six months to today. I made Keri her bag. I was so glad that I waited as I learned so much and it came out so much better than it would have six months ago.

Or so I thought. I sewed the lining with a 1/2" seam allowance. I thought that would be gobs, but when it came out of the wash......

Why? What am I doing wrong? My 1/4" quilt seams don't do this(often).I just want to sew a seam and have some confidence that it will hold.

In retrospect, I should have used a fusible webbing to add more stiffness to the lining fabric. Next time.......

I'm off to undo some seams and do some more sewing. (Then I'm not going to wash it again. If it happens when she washes it, she'll just give it to my mom to fix and it won't be my problem. Right? )

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-27T21:36:00.000-06:00

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

How cute is this skirt? I wish I could dress Tade in such things, but alas--he's all boy. That being said, he had a barrette from my hair in his hair today and pulled his pink glitter mirror compact out of his purse--handmade by me, of course-- and said, "I cute."

Yes, yes, you are, sweet boy of mine.

Snow Day

2009-03-27T12:01:00.004-06:00

It's been a pretty dry winter around here. We're way below average, I can't remember a winter with so little snow since moving to Colorado 14 years ago. So the blizzard of yesterday and the 8 inches of snow it left us were quite welcome, even if I miss the 70 degree weather! I'm ready to start digging my fingers in the dirt and seeing the seedlings poking their little heads out of the soil.

My Flirty Apron Swap partner received her package yesterday. Her thank yous were heart-felt and appreciative, which makes any and all efforts worth it! I can't wait to get my package!

There are a couple of giveaways you should know about--The Fabric Shopper has an Amy Butler bag pattern and $25.00 gift certificate to Whipstitch Fabrics that you should go check out. I've really been wanting to make the swing bag they're giving away this week.

EllynAnne at Apron Memories is having a giveaway(actually 6!) for those of you that have made something out of vintage linens. Not a contest, mind you, just a little show and tell with the opportunity to win some prizes. So, in addition to my most recent vintage linen project, the apron, I'm posting pictures of my laundry room curtains.

My mom found these on e-bay, and since you can see them from my kitchen and it has a chef theme, she thought I might like them. I thought she was just pointing them out to me, but we ended up bidding against one another unbeknownst to us! She won, and the curtains with a vintage gingham tablecloth border now grace my windows. Love them!

Drew took Tade sledding, so I'm off to enjoy my sewing machine and a little mommy time!

Have a great weekend!

I kind of want to keep it

2009-03-23T20:02:00.005-06:00

So, after a couple of weeks of checking my e-mail constantly to see if I was in the Flirty Apron Swap, I got my partner on Saturday. And now I'm ready to send her package. It was my first swap and they asked for references! I literally wrote down my mom's phone number and said to call her. Don't know if they did, but hopefully they won't need references after this!

I love this apron.

I made it reversible--made my own pattern, and I'm so stinking proud of how it turned out!

Side one

Side two--I don't know which I like better!

This is the entirety of her package--the apron, Apron-ology bookazine, three vintage-ish dish towels, some of my soaps and a little crocheted sachet. I don't know about you, but I'd love to open a package like this! Enjoy San-Dee!

Third Winner?

2009-03-19T08:10:00.002-06:00

So, Nicole was our third commenter, and since I posted about 5 new giveaways last night, I can understand her confusion as to where to post--so I'll give it to her anyway!

Congratulations Nicole! You are my third and final winner of my first giveaway!! E-mail me your address at tararebman@yahoo.com and I will mail you 4 bars of homemade soap and two lovely lip butters!

I'm off to the inn for some actual work today, so make sure to enjoy your day for me!

Cinnamon Sticks GUEST GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-18T21:38:00.000-06:00

Cinnamon Sticks GUEST GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Seriously--how long has it been since my last post? I'm still on that site!!!

Paper Crane Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-18T21:04:00.000-06:00

Paper Crane Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

One more.....these dresses aren't even my size, but I could win them!

Muntedkowhai%Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-18T21:01:00.000-06:00

Muntedkowhai%Necklace GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Another one! I wonder what it would feel like to win?

Modern Pirate Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-03-18T20:59:00.000-06:00

Modern Pirate Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check out grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com when you get the chance!

The second winner!!

2009-03-18T19:40:00.002-06:00

So, we have our second winner of the soap assortment....ikkinlala! Thinking that's not really their name. So e-mail me you shipping info(tararebman@yahoo.com)--first time I've shipped to Canada! I'll get it in the mail to you as soon as I get your address!

One more chance!! Just leave a comment for me under the giveaway post--third comment's the charm!

Also want to let you know about the great Easter bag and pincushion giveaway over at Our Cozy Nest. Very cute!

So I told you I would show you my new curtains--I just pinked the edges--don't know if I'll finish them or not. Like this they were like instant curtains!

I also made two of these Buttercup bags today--free pattern on Made by Rae! Pretty easy and I got great results. I left one with a big chocolate bar for my friend Eva who is an incredible artist and art teacher--she's pregnant with their first and a bit tired. I can relate.

There are so many great ideas out there and so many talented people! Thanks to all of you for your great ideas and constant inspiration!

PS--I also joined a vintage fabric apron swap thingy! As soon as I start working on it I'll show you the WIP!

Moda Giveaway!

2009-03-17T11:34:00.002-06:00

Just a little fun for all you fabric fiends out there--Camille at Simplfy is having a giveaway! Checkout her wonderfully descriptive explanations of the cool Moda pre-cuts! I keep thinking the more I enter, the more I win! Still two more chances to win my soap give away! the next two commenters will be the winners. So run--don't walk you fingers to the comment section and win yourself some cleanliness!!!

We have a winner!

2009-03-16T20:17:00.007-06:00

Well, so far we have one winner of the giveaway. Congratulations, Melissa! Please e-mail me your shipping information at tararebman@yahoo.com and I will get these fabulous soaps and lip butters in the mail to you toute suite.
In this picture you see Cucumber Tea Tree, Oatmeal Cinnamon, Lavender Goat's Milk and Eucalyptus Orange Shea Butter soaps as well and two Peppermint Lip Butters!!! What could be better? All handmade by me at sycamore street soaps, my pretend business where I have always just given the product away. It makes me much happier than actually selling it! Though I do have a new etsy account and just might try that!

The next two people to comment on the Giveaway post will receive the same fabulous collection!

My mother was here this weekend and so we went to the fabric store to pick out new background and binding fabrics for her log cabin quilt. The original background I bought was too light and my mom didn't like the polka dot binding. That's fine with me as my stash just got 2 1/2 yards bigger! This is what it will look like with the sashing.

Sorry that it's sideways--I didn't realize that and no longer care. I'm really excited to finish and give this to her as it was for her birthday in February! That being said, I only started quilting about 4 days before her birthday, so that's not so bad!

Have a great week--I can't wait to show you the $20 cutter quilt I found at the flea markets last weekend that are now dining room curtains! Love them!

My first giveaway!

2009-03-15T09:46:00.002-06:00

So, I've been wanting to do a giveaway--mostly to see if I could get more people to read my blog--very narcisistic of of me, I know! So in one of my many blog exploring moments, I found Melissa's blog and think I may have won!!! I don't know what yet, but I don't even care!

Now,to follow the rules, I am posting a giveaway for the first three comment posters to my site! This will probably be the 3rd, 4th, and 5th comments ever!(Many thanks to my mom and mom-in-law for 1 and 2)

I'm at the inn right now, but as soon as I get home--and after lunch, Tade's down for a nap and my mom gets on the road--I'll post some pictures of what you will win. Handmade by me!!! sycamore street soaps. I'm thinking at least 4 kinds per giveaway so tell your friends! And maybe some lip butter too!

You must post a similar giveaway on your blogs--if you don't blog--just give three things away to the first three random strangers that you meet! I hope to fulfuill this soon but if it takes 6 months, it takes six months!

Oh, Yeah!!!
My mom bought me a new-to-me sewing machine!!! A Bernina 830 from sometime in the 70s that is just like hers! She bought it from e-bay and it's already at the shop, getting some love. I can't wait to bring her home. I could sew on her with my eyes shut--or at least wind a bobbin!

Have a great day and I'll get those pics to you soon!

Home from Texas

2009-03-09T17:14:00.002-06:00

I just got home from Austin late last night. The wedding was great--worked my butt off, but it needed some work anyway. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get some, for some reason, I came home with about 6 new images on my camera. I planned on being so good and actually using my camera for a change!

So, congratulations to Jana and David. May you have many years of happiness and companionship!

Check out Moda Lissa's blog for a super cool giveaway of selvage edges. I know you're all dying to do a project with them! Can you believe that dress?

I also picked up Jennifer Chiaverini's The Winding Ways Quilt. Loving the book, just as I did the others. Not nearly as much as I love the quilt though. WAY above my skill level--but after I finish my current projects, I'm going to tackle it! I've found some information about using a glue stick to "baste" and only having to pin the curve once. Makes sense in my head, we'll see about the application!

Have a great week!

Skirt Frenzy

2009-02-27T23:23:00.007-07:00

So it's almost midnight, so I can pretend that this is Saturday's post and not a Friday double. Irish spring has been purchased and now my house stinks. Since I've started making my own soaps--3 years ago now--I don't like the smell of anything but the essential oils I use. The fragrance oils just kinda smell gross.

I will suffer the smell for the sake of my wool. I will suffer gladly for my craft. I will suck it up.

I couldn't wait to get Drew to take these pictures this evening so I could get them posted for all of you avid readers out there. Somewhere. I thank Vanessa of V & Co. for her great ideas and blog. I feel very voyeuristic, but I just found it and have commented once!

So this is the six-gore skirt that I made first--ignore the shirt that makes me look fat. The center pattern has bees and lady bugs on it--I Love It! (That, BTW, was my first link!)
Then I took a page out of Vanessa's book and went the the thrift store and bought some pillowcases and made myself this little(?) A-line skirt.
Embellished with some ribbon that doesn't match at all, but that I've always loved.
I liked the pillowcase skirt so much that I made a trip back to the thrift store the next day and bought 4 more pairs! This is my Ralph Lauren skirt as he designed the pillowcases. Or someone in his employ did and he approved it.

The thrift store was also having a 99-cent sweater sale, so I came home with 7 100% wool sweaters (that are nowIrish Springed) to be felted and used for an undetermined future project. All except the new with tags Woolrich sweater in a lovely shade of blue that now resides in our(Irish Springed)closet. I must have known I needed to replace the forgotten about sweaters.

I'll call it serendipity.
Chef Tade

This picture is for you, EJ. You just might be the first reader of my blog, other than Drew-- who I forced to sit down this evening and read it. He says, "I like it." Rather lukewarm, I thought.

Have a great weekend! (Just who do I think I'm talking to? Right, my imaginary audience.)

Irish Spring

2009-02-27T18:15:00.003-07:00

I am so disgusted. Grossed out. Totally have the heebie jeebies. And I'm angry--mostly at myself. I've recently been seeing the dreaded little white moths flying around my living room. I know what this means, but haven't been able to find to source.

I've checked my yarn. I've checked my roving. In all 40 places they are stashed throughout my house. Nothing.

That being said, last fall I went looking through my felted bags for a specific lipstick. I reached into my FAVORITE purse and came out with.....worms. I was so pissed and threw it away and went through all the others which appeared unscathed. I thought it was a random occurrence that I had nipped in the bud--until now.

I just went upstairs to get my felted ballet slippers. Eggs and worms. Went to the closet and discovered more in Drew's old slippers. And in a laundry basket FULL of old wool sweaters that I had completely forgotten existed. Decimation. Holes and eggs and I need to take a shower just looking at them!

So, I am off to the store to buy two or three dozen bars of Irish Spring to replace my lovely homemade lavender goat's milk soap as my moth deterrent. It won't happen again. They're not even supposed to live at this altitude. (shiver, shudder, gross)

One Down!

2009-02-26T16:28:00.003-07:00

I was sooooo excited to finish the binding on the cowboy baby quilt since it's leaving with me to go to Texas on Monday. I wove in my thread, looked it over, shivered with pride(I realize it's only squares, and big squares at that, but finishing a quilt means I can call myself a quilter!!!) and ran to throw it in the wash.

Tossed it in the dryer after running some errands and......an entire seam on one of the squares came undone. Operator error, I know. So what do I do? How do I fix it? If I hand stitch it and I feel that's my only option, will it ever be strong enough?

I'm gonna fix it a give it to her anyway--it's not like it's a fatal flaw. Just disappointing.

I discovered something cool though--sewing on the binding isn't so bad! It's like I got to be the first person to "use" the quilt since it's all over my lap. I found it profoundly satisfying that it was looking so good too! I had thought it sucked since my first attempt to sew on a binding looked like my 2 1/2 year old did it. Now I just get to commune with the quilt one more time before it's off to it's new and hopefully well loving home!

My first label!!!!

the quilting experience

2009-02-21T17:35:00.002-07:00

So, I bit the bullet and quilted the baby quilt for my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting a baby girl in June--their first.

But to "practice" I took two 10" squares from my layer cake and stippled them figuring I could always use another potholder. I thought it turned out great. So why did I decide to make wavy lines instead of stipple the quilt? Over-confidence. It'll bite you an the rear everytime.

It still looks good, but I've already decided to just do a grid on the other baby quilt I have ready to go and actually PRACTICE the stippling on my whole fabric throw before doing my mom's log cabin.

Maybe I should take a class....

Really, I'll post some pictures on here soon. I know that everyone who's read this(who am I kidding?) is dying to see some pictures. Is there anyone else out there as novice as I am? Anywhere?

2009-02-20T08:42:00.007-07:00

So, in an effort not to mess up the two baby quilts that I have basted, I made another foray to the fabric store yesterday to simply get two pieces of fabric to make a whole fabric quilt. I have a new darning foot for my machine and I don't want to screw anything up.

Everyone says with free motion quilting it's practice, practice, practice, but I don't know what to practice on! A friend suggested old sheets from Goodwill, but I want to make a vintage sheets quilt! Alas, if I don't give in and start soon, I'm going to have a stack of to be quilted WIPS reaching to my ceiling!

Because I also bought a Moda Layer cake, and about 4 yards of fabric to make my mom a log cabin--got the greatest log cabin ruler, too!

And three charm packs because I loved them, and a 6x24 ruler because my square is only good for some things.

I literally started the first baby quilt last Sunday! I've become a woman obsessed. I thought my knitting was an expensive habit! At least I'm building my stash--I want to make three queen sized quilts for the beds in my house and of course shams for all of them next.

I ordered these replica handkerchiefs about 6 months ago after seeing a quilt I loved in a catalogue. They're from Moda, but at the time, I didn't even know what Moda was. They will be the squares for my guest room with 30s sashing and borders. I'm actually knitting a vest for my LYS and will trade the labor for the 30s fabric from Julie's enormous stash--how great is that?

I'm finding this very cathartic--just need my husband to show me all the bells and whistles!

Have a great weekend!

My projects

2009-02-18T22:33:00.001-07:00

Hello to any and all who may read this--I'm Tara, 31 year old proud mom of one-two if I can count my husband. I've been voraciously devouring some quilting blogs lately and thought it might be time for me to join this crazy virtual world of the blog.

Mainly because I want you all to think I'm cool. Let me know how I'm doing and maybe you can give me hints--like "hot" or "cold"! Then I can back off or go full bore--is that the right bore?

So.....here's some of what I'm into these days. I'll categorize them into lists of what I'm good, better and best at!

Good--

Cleaning--I can do it and do it well, it just doesn't happen very often

Laundry--very much into waiting until it's all dirty to venture near, I have lots of clothes

I'm not really into those things, but I wanted my other categories to be the things I loved! It starts getting better now.

Better--

Spinning--had a wheel for 4 years and have never spun enough yarn to do anything with, but I like it

Quilting--I've made a few pillows, and two baby quilts that aren't yet quilted( so that might make me into patchworking

Braided Shepherd's Rugs--My dear husband got me 11 pounds of white roving for me to dye, braid, felt, and then sew together. So far, I've finished a 10" x 7" trivet, and 25 feet of dyed, braided, felted and waiting to be sewn rope. It's just one of my WIPs.

Those are my new hobbies started within the last couple of months. Here's what you've been waitin' for.

Best--

Cooking--very proficient in the kitchen, I've actually been called a chef--by my son

Baking--Wedding cakes are my forte, please don't tell anyone that I don't enjoy it--I'd rather be knitting!

Crocheting--Learned in my teens, has been a great springboard for the knitting!

Soap making--7 different recipes made fairly regularly and my own laundry soap to wash my knitting!

Lest I forget....

Knitting--a true passion for me, a true fiber fiend, I'm happy to tink or frog, get it?

So, not to go on and on, but my projects keep me so busy. Ill post some pictures as soon as I take some. What would you like to see?