argh...needles!!

i don't know why, but i have the hardest time with needles on my new brother machine. i break them constantly!!! ok - so i know why. it's because i spent 20 years using sewing machines that have a "default" setting in the middle, not the left, and it's a hard habit to break.

it's incredibly frustrating i tell you! this is my first computerized machine. i went from learning on and loving a very old cast iron sewing machine (it makes the most perfect button holes you've ever seen) to my mother's "new" singer that she gave me after i was married (it was 25 years old at that time) to when the timing gear just wouldn't stay put, i purchased a simple, but nice janome. my janome lasted me 8 1/2 years before it needed any servicing and then i killed it. i sew a lot. now i have this more expensive with tons of stitches and computerized brother. and i sometimes despise it, but it sews beautifully. when i remember that the needle is not in the middle!!

my quilting foot with 1/4 guide is set for the middle needle position. if i turn off my machine between pinning sessions, half the time i forget to reset the needle to position 01 instead of 00. argh. since thanksgiving time when i got the machine, i must have broken about 8 needles. maybe more considering i broke 2 needles within 15 minutes last month.

now...i'll put the kiddo to bed and attempt to finish piecing more of my QOV #2.

first qov top is complete!

it's all done!!!! well....the top is complete and i have the backing cut out to size and it needs to be quilted....but, it'd done!!! my first quilt of valor!

now - i sit and wait for the lovely ladies there to assign me to a long-arm quilter.

but in the meantime, i'm going to think of some other ideas for the next one and i'm pretty sure it'll be something feminine because there are lots of female soldiers and sailors out there who need a quilt too. i've got all sorts of questions about how to find the wounded person my quilt be find a new home with. the website has a few things to say and it seems that they'll find the person for you, but at the same time, it seems that if you can find the wounded, then let them know. i just don't know...parts of their website don't work right.

i mentioned my first package from sew mama sew the other day and how it cheered me up when i saw it's lovely packaging. (i'm pathetic here...excuse me for a moment) well, i got another package when i got home from the doctor yesterday to tell me i do indeed have a throat infection! well...no kidding...i could have told you that... my new package was from Quilt Home and i haven't even unwrapped it yet (this is my pathetic part). it's too lovely. i know what's inside it and want to peek. tomorrow. just look at how it's wrapped up in tissue paper and then tied with a string. yes, my two parcels from sms are still together too...like i said - i had to retie the yardage pack.

the quilt top is finished and i can get back to working on my corduroy skirt that just needs a zipper, waist and hem. it's almost out of season. and then i'll get cracking on the gift quilt i've been working on again. i need to have it mailed out in april and march is almost here.

progress on navy QOV

i've been working on the first quilt of valor designated for the navy this weekend - finished all 42 squares about 10 minutes ago. whew! there are blocks of both the light and the dark fabric with the red or the beige centers and i plan on mixing it randomly.

looking at the two stacks here really makes it seem like a small pile of fabric for a snuggly quilt, but it always works, doesn't it? now i just have to sew them into rows and join the rows. no idea what the backing will be yet, but i have a few days or so. maybe longer...i'll contact the QOV organization probably later this week to see if there is a long-arm volunteer ready for my quilt top and backing. i keep debating on sending this one now or waiting until i have a second quilt top done and see if one long-armer can do both before sending them back.

i have a fabric addiction...

i'm in trouble. i just bought more fabric online this morning. before 8:30am. i just "had" to have this tula pink fabric. i saw it on that quilt's blog yesterday and she wrote me back with the fabric name. isn't it wonderful!? of course, i couldn't stop with just one fabric. i got some of my much desired joel dewberry fabric for a skirt. i have a skirt that i bought several years ago that is a different woodgrain print and i LOVE it. it's swishy and just cool, but i always wished i had made it instead.

last week, i made my first SMS purchase. it arrived earlier this week when i was feeling icky and it brightened my day instantly. first - it was my fabric. and it was fabric that i had either never seen at any of my local quilt shops or anywhere else or it was the fabulous new fabric in the woodland series from jay. i loved him on project runway - didn't you? and second - the wonderful people at SMS packages the fabrics so beautifully, you can't help but smile. my fat quarter bundle was separate from my yardage purchases. both of them were folded beautifully, tied up with ribbon and then put in a plastic envelope. snappy had to untie the one so he could look better. i tied it back up and they're sitting on my sewing table. i can't untie them yet.

oh...and after my neurologist's appointment this week, i stopped at hobby lobby to pick up more of the robert kaufman sailor fabric. and two more. i bought the remaining 4 yards of the sailor fabric off the bolt. i'm bad. i have waaaaay too much fabric. but i intend on using all of it. really, i do. especially all the patriotic stuff i've been collecting the last month and a half for my QOVs.

the start of my first QOV

the fabric..before cutting

i started my first quilt of valor this week. as you can see, it's a u.s. navy themed quilt since i want to designate some to our wonderful sailors out there. i've got some robert kaufman fabrics, a fat quarter of something from a pirate series (no idea who though - that was cut off) and a fat quarter of one that is our pledge of allegiance. plus, it goes well with the red compass fabric.

i'm keeping the block pattern simple so i can make the best use of the pledge of allegiance fabric and the sailor fabric. if i do trianges and all, i lose so much of it and my symbolism/purpose isn't quite what i planned. it's a block-in-block pattern, 6x7 of 9" finished squares. no idea what i'll do for the backing just yet and i won't know if i'm doing the binding until i'm assigned a long-arm quilter later. or the label or the presentation case. sigh... i'd like to finish preparing now if i can.

here is a picture of all my pieces cut up. what you can't really tell is that each blue fabric also has the 3 1/2" squares to go with it. i have them layered. sometimes i'm amazed that such a small stack of fabric makes such a roomy and lovely quilt. this one is lap sized and that's all QOV wants.

i'm quite excited about this. i want to do several quilts for them - definitely some for the navy (what a perfect fabric i found! thanks robert!) and some designated for women. QOV receives about 55% patriotic quilts and then other various ones, but their donations of female-specific quilts is fairly small. i've never had any of my quilts machine-stitched either, so this will be a first for me as well, although i wish i had a say in how it was quilted. i'm sure it will be beautiful in the end.

my fabric stash and storage

when i logged in this morning, sew mama sew had posted a blog last night about our fabric stashes and storage. it got me thinking about my own stash...which is pretty big...and how i store it...which is everywhere. the blog post has a list of questions - these are my answers.

• i usually sew clothes for myself and quilts. it used to be clothes only, then i started to add baby stuff (burp clothes, bibs, nap mats) and quilts to my repertoire. i try to quilt a lot now and have so many plans for clothes and quilts.
• when i purchase fabric, i try to purchase what i need for that particular project. if i have no idea what i'm doing or what specific pattern but it's a fabulous fabric, i'll decide clothes or quilt first and make my decision after that. usually it's a one yard cut, unless it's for a quilt and i like it, but know i don't want to use it all over the quilt - then it's a half yard. if i'm going to use it for clothes, but not sure if it's a short skirt or dress, i'll get at least 2 1/2 yards.
• buy on impulse or go looking for something i need? BOTH!!!
• prewasher. definitely. i have about a third of my stash that is prewashed and waiting. some of it has been washed for years. (sad...i know...)
• i'll iron most of my fabric before i use it. if it's fresh out of the dryer and not wrinkled yet, i'll fold it neatly, selvages together and then more lengthwise, so it stays nice.
• sorting? hah! ok, i do have a bit of sorting but i've lapsed a little. i used to have an ikea storage bin full of flannel for nap mats, a bin of kids fabrics, a bin just for dresses/skirts/shirts for me, and a bin for quilting and clothes fabrics. now, i still have those same bins, but the quilting/clothes bin is now 2 bins and i have plastic grocery bags full of quilt projects sorted out so i don't mix or forget the patterns and fabric combos and stuff shoved on shelves (like my quilts of valor stashes) and fat quarters all over the place. and jelly rolls of batiks filling up the inside of my machine cover and more plastic bags in various places, including my storage unit. i'm a fabric junkie.
• my folding technique is just basically how i'd get it off the bolt - selvages together and then fold in smaller increments lengthwise.
• my tip for building a well-rounded stash is just buy what you like and try to have a few ideas in your head. get colors and "textures" you like and would like to combine. go for variety.
• it's never enough! my hubby is starting to realize how much fabric i really have. he didn't know before.
• my favorite stash busting projects are quilts. just go in there and pull out what you've had stored up and combine them in a fun way.
• i'm loving my day of the dead print from robert kaufman. i had been planning on making a dia de los muertos quilt for a little while and was collecting fabrics - skulls, skeletons (non-halloweenish ones) and bright flowers, etc. at the international quilt festival in oct/nov, i found this one and it's PERFECT for my border. i also just purchased this one by alexander henry for a skirt.

meet douglas...

meet douglas. he's a groundhog. douglas sleeps on my bed every night between snappy and myself. he was a wedding present from my parents and was our favorite present. literally!

today is not just groundhog's day, but my first wedding anniversary to one of the funniest guys i know and he happens to be my best friend too. we had a fantastic wedding - very unique and quite our style.

i wore red! it was a great dress - i handpicked the zipper with little iridescent beads (you can sort of see it in the above picture) and embroidered dragonflies on the sashing and one on the front hem. the dress is from a 1950's pattern and i have a red crinoline on too. red is my favorite color. i made red ties for my groom and bridal escort (my then 5-yr old son) out of similar red silk. making a tiny tie for a preschooler is not an easy feat - took me 2 tries! i made each of the bridesmaids red silk and white satin shawls with their initial embroidered on it.

the sun was shining on a cold day and warmed it up enough that we didn't require jackets. the groom had no idea i was wearing red, so it was a fantastic reaction from him and most of our guests. less than a half dozen people knew the color of my dress until that morning.

the entire bridal party and our guests were wearing any combination of white and black. the inside was decorated the same way too, with touches of red on the tables and the cake. i loved it!!

so here we are.... our first wedding anniversary. funny thing - this morning as he opened up part of his anniversary gift, he told me he has to exchange some of mine. we both got each other the movie groundhog day. i'm surprised no one did that for our wedding gift.