Short on Time

I ran out of time to do my post today, but I did want to give a shout out to my sister for creating her first Quilted Cupcake pattern. It's up for sale in her Etsy shop for only $3.50.

I got a test copy of it and played with it a bit and this is what I came up with:

I will post more pics of what I was up to this weekend later in the week.

always,

K

Craft Show Prep

My sister's and I are going to be vendors at an upcoming craft show. I spent the weekend preparing for it, which is amazing if you know me, because the craft show is in November and I'm usually a last minute kinda girl.

First, I did some painting of thrifted things. I'm not sure if we will use some or all of these, but we plan on have a bright, fun table and filling things such as my colanders with our goodies.

I spent the majority of my time working on mini pincushions for the show that I love. (I even made a picture of them my new header for the blog!)

I also worked on a few more of my fabric apples, but only completed one. I sewed a bunch and have them in a small container so that I can turn, stuff and finish them while watching TV during the week. I've altered the pattern a little bit so it looks more apple-like to me.

I also worked on a new pattern for potholders. This is my first attempt and I kind of like how it turned out. To make it a little different, I quilted it in concentric squares instead of straight lines.

My sister's and I also recently joined our local quilting guild and attended our first meeting last Monday. They had a class on applique and I was blown away! Up til now I have only done raw edged applique finished with a blanket stitch. This class taught us the freezer paper method and I instantly fell in love with the technique. My practice pieces are a bit rough around the edges (no pun intended) but I'm getting better. I started a new piece today and hope to post it next time if I get it done.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

always,

K

Remember Those Who Lost Their Lives

I wrote this poem right after 9/11 and thought I would share it with everyone on the 8th anniversary of a tragic day in America:


Tonight I lit a candle, for the souls of those that died
I left the candle burning bright, to celebrate their lives.
We lost some treasured loved ones, their faces near and dear
We never had to know them to miss their presence here.

Tonight I lit a candle, for the souls of those we lost
To let them know we love them, are sorry they paid the cost.
We won’t forget your bravery, in the face of trying times
We vow to hold your memory close engraved upon our minds.

Tonight I lit a candle, for the souls of those we mourn
For it took your needless passing, for unity to form
Our nation vows its vengeance; your deaths were not in vain
Our flag still flies, our bells ring loud, freedom will still reign.

Tonight I lit a candle, for the souls for whom we pray,
Remembering your sacrifice with each and every day.
God Bless your souls and those of all the ones you left behind
And I pray that one day all will rest in any peace that they can find.

Tonight please light a candle, and add your prayers to mine
Let our silent blessings shout beyond the boundaries of this time.
Do not forget in months to come of how we feel today
Let September 11, 2001 become an Unsung Heroes day.

KAH 9-14-2001 (In memory of the many victims of the terrorist attack on the United States 9-11-2001)

May God Bless America

always,
K

Weekend Goodies

I spent the long weekend working on small projects for an upcoming craft fair that my sisters and I are considering participating in.

I worked on several new bibs using some vintage materials and one courderoy bib that I just love!

I also completed a few new pincushions:

I am determined to make at least a small quilt before this year is over. I keep starting and abandoning quilts in progress. This weekend I picked up some fabrics that will hopefully inspire me to begin (and finish!) a quilt.

I'm hoping these fabrics will go well together. I'm really really really bad at matching fabrics and patterns! Let me know if you think this will work together!

Until next week...

always,

K

Sisters Weekend

Since I cleaned up my studio I now have enough room to craft with friends. This weekend, my bestest friend came to play! My sister and I spent over 12 hours in my studio playing and laughing and being crafty.

When Jean and I get together we always try to challenge each other to do something different. I haven't mentioned it for awhile, so I will remind everyone that Jean has a wonderful podcast on Itunes called "Quilted Cupcake". She shares her quilting and crafting ideas and techniques and, as a bonus, she gives me shoutouts a lot! You can visit her blog at quiltedcupcake.blogspot.com for more info on her podcast and to view her show notes.

Jean's latest podcast was all about quilting for a cause. She mentioned several great ways to share a love of quilting with those in need. One of the causes was to benefit the Alzheimer's Association called Priority: Alzheimer's Quilts. The basic idea is to create a quilt that is 9x12 or smaller...small enough to fit into a priority mailer from the USPS. Each month, quilts are auctioned off to raise money for Alzheimer's research.

Of course this is a charity that is near and dear to our hearts since our Mom, Lucy, had Alzheimer's.

Jean and I spent a good part of the day working on our Priority quilts. I kept mine simple and bright, but Jean whipped up a little masterpiece so quickly it left my head spinning.

I believe this has a lot to do with our personalities. I am a planner. I plan to make plans. I make lists and follow them strictly. Jean flies by the seat of her pants and is all the more creative for it! I spent forever trying to come up with an idea and by the time I finally settled on simple circles, Jean had already pieced the top of hers.

This one is mine. I call it "Gumballs":

This is Jean's, I think she decided to call it "Lucy's House":

I must say that these pictures do not do these little quilts justice. I am so happy with how both turned out and hope that they will both raise lots of money for Alzheimer's research.

If you'd like more information on the Priority project, go here. Also, Jean and I are walking in the yearly Alzheimer's walk this year and have set a page for donations. Please donate if you are able. We need to do all we can to end this terrible disease! Visit my donation page here.

That's it for today. I had planned on posting a few other things but I think I will save them for next time!

always,

K

Under Construction

So my life has been a bit crazy lately and, to be honest, I haven't gotten much accomplished in my studio. I decided it needed reorganizing before I could get my mojo back.

I headed down there yesterday at 8am and did not emerge until 4pm. Sadly, I didn't finish everything I wanted to, but I did make some great headway.

I have debated about showing the before and after pics because....well...it was bad. Really bad. But in order to show the progress, I must show the before pics. So here goes (No judgements please!)

This is my main work area before. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to shove myself into the smallest corner of the room. Obviously, this wasn't working because I was bogged down by "stuff" piling up all around me:

I decided to put the two work tables end to end instead of perpendicular which gave me tons more space:

I still have plans to add table skirts to the two work tables that will hide the storage below among other things.

But moving the two tables allowed me to move my fabric to the bookcase I've been wanting to put it on. I was able to put all of my half yard plus fabrics on the bookcase and the quarters on a smaller shelf:

My previous shelf was full, so I stopped folding fabric. Now that I have more space, I can start folding again and I'm sure these two shelves will be full soon!

Here is a pic of the reorganized corner. (The stack of boxes will be moved, they are donation items for the local thrift store!)
So that's where I am now. I still have a ton of stuff to do, but it's progress, right?

Now, I can't leave without a little bit of crafty goodness, so I will share two quick projects I

completed.

The first is a bag that I made. In my mind it was much cuter and sturdier, and although I'll probably never use it as a purse, I still love the brightness of it:

The other project is my attempt to get a head start on my Christmas projects. I love this little snowman. He was fun and easy to make and I plan to make a whole family of little snowmen!

That's it for now. I hope to get more accomplished in my studio next weekend so that I can show pictures of the whole studio and hopefully get my mojo back!

always,

K

I'm Still Here!

Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm still here and will be back this weekend with a post!

always,

K