Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks

My New Venture and a Giveaway to say thanks!!!

Have you seen this magazine yet? I finally found it today...I've been stalking the news stands in the stores waiting for it to appear.

100 blocks all in once place, I love it. I have lots of magazines and books but this will become a great go to resource for inspiration and directions. All of the blocks are structured to finish at 12 inches which is just perfect for the Three by Six Sampler Quilt Mini Bee.

A few weeks ago I thought it would be great to have some quilt blocks from my online quilting friends to make into a quilt. It then occurred to me that I should start a flickr group and to keep it simple I hoped to get six other people to join me. Well goodness me, I was totally shocked at the response! My mom thought I was crazy, but 55 of you didn't!

The Three by Six Sampler Quilt Mini Bee is structured differently than the other quilt bees you've been reading about. This is how it will work: (Forgive the bee references, I can't help it - my 5 year old loves The Bee Movie)

~ Each Beehive will have 7 Worker Bees
~ Each Worker Bee will make 6 Blocks using the pattern they choose but different colors depending on       the other participant's color choice. (An example is that I make 6 four patch blocks)
~ The 6 Blocks will have a three month due date
~ The Bee will occur quarterly, 4 times a year to enable people to participate when they want

The purpose of this bee is to celebrate people's unique and personal quilting style and to receive a quilt block that you most likely would not have made yourself in that same style or using those same fabrics.

At the end of three months each participant will have 6 blocks to make into a mini quilt, pillows or even potholders! Of course I plan to participate all year and will have 24 ~ 12.5 inch blocks!

I just had the crazy idea, everyone else has helped to make the group what it is becoming. A fun, exciting, and encouraging spot to experiment and try something new.

There is still room if you would like to join for the first quarter, starting January 1st and ending March 31st. If you want to join and sign up for the second quarter, April 1st to June 30th, there is a place to put in reservations for future quarters.

This is a long post but the good part is still to come! I have 3 magazines to give away! Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks could be yours to thank you for jumping in and trying something new!

So if you are currently a member of the Bee then leave a comment here to be eligible to win.

If you want to join the bee then head over to the flickr group and then leave a comment!

I'm already looking forward to an awesome 2010!!!

*********

I want to say a special thanks to Christina of The Sometimes Crafter for making the button!

And to My Beehive Caretakers!

Tasha of A Little Sweetness

Melanie of Melanie Made

Penny of Sew Take A Hike

Leah of Smoochee on flickr

Comfortstitching

First of all, Aneela has a cool blog name!

Second of all, she is a super cool person and fabric designer.  So cute, fun and original are her drawings.

Third of all.....she makes the cutest little pouches!  So go check out her etsy shop and her blog to see her comfortstitching designed fabric and handmade items.

I already have her Christmas designs, and now I get to add the the latest little boy fabrics to my collection because I won her giveaway!  I am thrilled....keep the designs coming - I love them!

Puppy Dog Tails and Homemade Cars - too talented for words Aneela!

Gingerbread Birthday Party Inspiration

So Miss B's 2nd birthday is next month .... eleven days before Christmas~ it's fun and a special time of the year, but it does add one more project to my list.

Last year we had a vintage Christmas for her 1st birthday and I got some wonderful vintage or vintage inspired items from etsy. I actually found unused birthday invitations from the 1940's!

This year I've decided to have a gingerbread theme. I bought the Giant Gingerbread Cookie Cutters from coppergifts.com a few years ago and decided this would be a fun year to have a gingerbread boy and girl decorating party for her birthday.

So I'll make cupcakes and put mini gingerbread on top and then make a fun garland. I'll probably skip the gingerbread house, even though I love them - I'm not the best at making them.

Now the hard part is deciding which wreath I like better! If you haven't been to knockknocking's etsy shop, then stop by. I already own one wreath and now I have an excuse to buy one for the holidays!

And to get in the gingerbread decorating spirit, I found Allsort's Gingerbread House for the kids to decorate.

Flea Market Fancy Giveaway Chain

So do you need some more inspiration for your Christmas crafting? This set of red and green flea market fancy, and a couple coordinating, is just perfect for that. I had so much fun cutting these with my new accuquilt go.

Squares, circles, triangles, and strips all for you to make whatever you little heart pleases! So here's what you have to do.....

1. Go visit the Flea Market Fancy Freaks website and follow the instructions.  Get the message out by blog/flickr/facebook/twitter and ALSO E-MAIL.  E-mail your crafting and quilting friends who aren't online the link to sign the petition.

2. Come back here and tell me that what you did to enter the Flea Market Fancy Freaks Giveaway.

3. And tell me what you would make with these shapes if you won, I need some Christmas crafting inspiration too!

Winner will be picked on December 1st!

If you don't win this giveaway, keep coming back cause I'm going to have lots of random giveaways until the end of the year. I'm destashing!

****Please remember to leave your e-mail address so I can contact you if you win or just to say hi!

Giveaway Day November 20th!

Originally uploaded by sewtakeahike

Check back here tomorrow for a giveaway information!

My Early Christmas Present

Got it! My Accuquilt GO and I love it. I couldn't be happier. I was very skeptical but it is fantastic. At least for the way that I like to piece which is usually without a pattern. And I don't like rotary cutting. I've cut myself before and I always have to make sure it's locked and up high with curious little hands around. Miss B was sitting right next to me and I had no safety concerns whatsoever - for me, it's safer than a rotary cutter.

Of course, it doesn't replace all cutting needs, but I cut all these circles in 10 seconds. Iron on your fusible webbing first, then cut out circle and you are ready to go.

Some of the complaints I've heard is that it wastes fabric. If you are using a specific pattern and fussy cutting fabric, that may be an issue. But I've been able to cut shapes out of a fat quarter until I have little bitty slivers of fabric left. You also have to pay attention to the direction your fabric goes into the cutter so the fabric doesn't get stretched and the shape shrinks up.

There is a coupon in the current Fons & Porter magazine for $25 off if you are thinking of one for yourself.

Give A Kid A Quilt

I love living in the Northwest!  I have visited other places but am always happy to come back to my trees and rain.  However, as great as it is for me to live in the Northwest, it isn't great for everyone.

Rachel (2nd Avenue Studio) and Christina (the sometimes crafter) have started an awesome project called Give a Kid a Quilt.  I know my kids get excited when they get a new quilt and they certainly have their favorites.  I can only imagine how happy these donated quilts will make the children who need them.

We enjoy our quilting passion and to be able to be creative and help out children in need is the best reason to try out that new pattern you've been admiring, use up your fabric stash and help give a kid a quilt!

Check out all the details here, help if you can, but really - just say hi and give the gals a pat on the back.  Oh and spread the message!

BABY DOLLS!

BABY DOLLS!
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

Oh my, Miss B loves her baby dolls! She makes a beeline for them when we are in the stores. She even notices real babies, points and jabbers away.

The only good part about all these baby dolls is that I get to make as many doll quilts as I want and pretend they will be used!

November's Winner

The winner is Nannette!  Yeah ...Can't wait to see what you do with your charm pack.

November's Giveaway

November's Giveaway
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

Here's November's Giveaway!!!! I love Sandy Gervais's fabrics...they are alway so full of wonderful colers and patterns and this charm pack is no exception.

So here's what you have to do...leave a comment and I'll pick a random comment on November 15th. I'm in the process of organizing all my fabric so tell me what you do....do you organize by color, designer, or collection?

It's Just a Pile of Leaves

It's Just a Pile of Leaves
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

I love that the kids saw a pile of leaves and couldn't resist the temptation to play in them and have them scattered everywhere! I saw the pile of leaves and thought of the work involved and they saw the fun involved.

I'm going to try to take their attitude and translate it to everything I have to do in the next six weeks and make it as fun as possible.

This is my to do list:

Clean and organize Basement/Sewing/Craft Area
Sort Craft Magazines Books Supplies for Swapping
Plan Miss B's 2nd Birthday party
Make my Secret Santa Gift
Bind Quilt
Bind Quilt
Make Fabric Paper Dolls
Make Hexagon Mini Quilt
Make Cookies for Book Club Swap
Make Christmas Goodies for Gifting
Help Kids make Christmas Gifts
Make Reading Pillow
Make Messenger Bags
Finish Circle Quilt
Make my FMF Patchwork Squares Quilt
Make Munki Munki Christmas Quilt
Make Handmade Christmas Ornaments

I'm sure this list will change, some items will be finished, others added and hopefully a lot crossed off.

Well I'm off to jump into my pile of leaves - the basement/craft area. It's been ignored all summer and now that it's winter it is time to move downstairs so the kids can play and I can work. i'm hoping once I jump in, it will be fun to discover the new creativity the space will afford us.

What's your pile of leaves?

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

I like winter cooking better than summer cooking.  Especially soups with good crusty bread!  Which reminds me, I need to call mom and get her to start making artisan bread again- oh so good!  I like soup for weeknight meals after work and this is a favorite.

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup adapted from Fine Cooking

1 small head cauliflower (about 1 lb.), cored and cut into 1-1/2-inch florets
2 Tbs. butter
1 medium yellow onion, small diced
1 medium clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cayenne
2 cups organic chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream or whole milk
1/4 tsp. thyme
4 cups grated sharp or extra-sharp white Cheddar (about 14 oz.)
Freshly ground black pepper

---

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the cauliflower until tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly. Trim the stems from 18 of the cauliflower pieces and cut the crowns into mini florets about 1/2 inch wide; set aside. Reserve the trimmed stems with the remaining larger pieces.

Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, 10 to 12 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook until the aroma subsides, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the heat to medium, add the flour, nutmeg, and cayenne and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the broth, cream/milk, and 2 cups water. Add the thyme and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cheese until melted and simmer for 5 minutes to develop the flavors.

Stir in the larger cauliflower pieces and reserved stems. Working in batches, purée the soup in a blender. Return the soup to the pot, season with salt and black pepper to taste. Add the mini cauliflower florets and reheat gently before serving.

*I've made this pureeing the soup and keeping it chunky.  I prefer the chunky version just mashing it with a potato masher.

Print Recipe as pdf

Miss B's First Birthday

Vintage Decorations from Etsy
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

The beginning of November for most people means the start of planing the holidays with gifts to buy or make, and parties and meals to plan. Well for me it also means planning Miss B's birthday party right in the middle of December. It is going to take me a few years to get used to the extra planning but it is also a happy time of the year to celebrate.

Last year's first birthday party was vintage themed. I found vintage invitations, decorations and gifts on etsy. It was so fun hunting for these treasures.

I'm thinking this year's 2nd birthday party will be Baby Einstein themed. She's quite obsessed with the dragon and calls him "blah". I wonder why Baby Einstein doesn't have fabric yet so I can make a quilt for her, oh that would be so cute!

Happy Hallowen from Disneyland

Happy Hallowen from Disneyland
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

We're back from the happiest place on earth. Halloween was such a fun time to visit. The weather was beautiful and so were the Halloween decorations. We went to California Adventure for Mickey's Trick or Treat Party and if we lived closer we would go there every year. It was the perfect place for Superhero C to be Buzz LIghtyear.

Returning home on November 1st has me a little freaked out. Christmas to prepare for, Miss B's second birthday party, Thanksgiving right around the corner - and a super huge craft room/basement reorganization. Oh and the latest quilts to photograph and small projects to finish.

Maybe I'll go back to the happiest place on earth until January 1st!

Adventure Time

Placemat Swap
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

Not much crafting will get done this week. Off to Disneyland for an adventure. With 2 kids under the age of 5, I'm already in Disney overload but it will be still be exciting and magical.

With the help of my mom I was able to get all my projects finished up and in the mail before vacation so that is great. Placemat Swap, Baby Gift, and my Handstitched Embroidery Swap.

I've also gotten a number of quilts back from my quilter, Sue, so the bindings are being attached (by mom, of course!) and I'll have some show and tells coming up.

I'll be reading catching up on blogs during my downtime so I can't wait to see what everyone else is up to. At 200, I have some google reading to do .

Antique Hexagon Quilt

Antique Hexagon Quilt
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

I was so excited to see this quilt considering my latest obsession with making hexagons. This quilt came to my friend Sue in very poor shape. I believe it was made by her grandmother and she said it was black with dirt and years of ick and being poorly cared for.

After carefully washing the quilt many times with a specialty quilt soap she was able to get it clean and honestly it looks like it's been stored in linen closet.

The next problem was how thin the fabric was along with many rips and frayed edges. The seams of these hexagons stood the test of time well but after trying to hand repair the quilt and having other seams rip, Sue turned to the sewing machine!

Of course an antique quilt dealer may have issues with a quilt like this being long arm quilted, but this is a family quilt that is being saved for future generations and I have to tell you it is beautiful!

I think this is a terrific way to save a family treasure that is too fragile left by itself but once it is secured with machine quilting then it can be used and loved some more.

And hey, let's give our ancestors some credit. I bet you they would have loved to have the option to hand quilt or machine quilt. They were busy too!

I love all of the hexagons in this quilt, but this one is a favorite.  Sometimes I think too much thought goes into making quilts and how perfect they have to be.  This quilt has scrappy and matchy hexagons and it's lovely with both

Placemat Swap

I'm so excited to making placemats for Katherine. We are making placemats for each other's children. I'm making 2 for her boys and she's making 2 for my kiddos, Miss B and Superhero C. (those are now their blog names - dorky, I know).

The picture is actually a doll quilt for Katherine's little girl because she just can't be left out and I now love making these hexagons.

Of course, I can't take all of the credit. I wouldn't get anything done if I didn't have my go to person - my mom! What I thought was a cold turned into the flu so as always, she's behind the scenes taking care of my quilting obligations. Thanks mom!

Just wait till you see the finished doll quilt - it is fantastic and we have a little surprise planned also.

Heading back to bed to watch HULU and make more hexagons!

Halloween Giveaway Winner

So I have to show you my new toy before I say who the winner is....he he!  Ok, so I don't have it yet, but it is on the way.  It's the AccuQuilt Go!  My longarm quilter, Sue, has one and is also selling them.  I've been looking at them forever and of course can always use a shortcut, so once I saw it in action - I was sold!  I just got the starter kit but even cutting 16 charm squares in 60 seconds is worth it for me.

So now on to the winner of the Halloween Goodies!  This is a fun one....Katie Jump Rope Fabrics.  Martha Stewart Halloween Banner.  and CANDY CORN - WOO HOO!

So giving all credit to random.org the winner is NUMBER 20 - KATY who wants the candy corn - HA!  Oh so much pressure for one of my favorite candies.  So congrats Katy.

If you are STILL reading then stick around next month  -  it's going to be a good giveaway announced on November 10th. 

My Perfect Hexagon

I Did It!!!
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

I'm SO happy! I finally mastered the hexagon. My previous attempts have ended up scrapped - not even usable - so I thought I would be destined to live my life without hexagons.

I have tried a number of different hexagon tutorials and even the shortcuts. Nothing seemed to work. They ended up wonky and I don't want to start a wonky hexagon trend. I'll leave that for someone else.

I finally found what works. Using a square of fabric instead of trimming the fabric to within a 1/4 inch of the template. Every time I trimmed the fabric to 1/4 inch, it became harder to handle and control the movement in the fabric.

With some help from Posie Gets Cozy's suggestions of using the square fabric and then The Sometimes Crafter's encouragement that I too could make perfect hexagons, I did it!

Using the 2 1/2 inch square made the hexagons so easy to form. There is more room for basting and hardly any movement in the fabric. The lines stay crisp and straight.

I've tried a number of websites to print out my hexagon papers, but incompetech is the one I keep coming back to.

This might be the project I take with me on my trip to Disneyland. Small enough to carry with me on the plane and I can have all my squares and papers cut out ahead of time. It will be my son's (he likes to be called Superhero Disney) first time to Disneyland and he's only 5, so we will be including lots of down time.

Opportunity for Hand Sewing

Opportunity for Hand Sewing
Originally uploaded by tigglegiggles.com

So that's why I keep unfinished projects sitting around. So that when I'm sick, I still have something to do. Hand sewing doesn't require much thought or attention. And no rotary cutting with a fuzzy head ... I've cut myself once before and I don't wish to repeat that experience. Plus hand sewing is perfect while sitting and catching up on favorite tv shows....oh there are so many! Glee, Fringe, Top Chef, Project Runway....and The Office Wedding was perfect.

This is some botanical embroidery I finished a long time ago. Just looked at botanical pictures and made it up as I went. I really like the result. These four are my favorites so I'm thinking a wall quilt.

I'm enjoying reading all the Giveaway comments this month. Soon I will be back to eating my candy corn and sewing on the machine. But right now it's time to get back to my DVR and Halls Mento-Lyptus.