Down Winterberry Lane Kits , Done!

I can't believe I finally finished cutting these. OMG! What a task. For some reason I had not thought of how long it would take to cut all those fabrics and where all that time would have to be found; but somehow, someway, I completed this task. WOW! You have to trust me when I say there is no way I would ever, EVER, cut these kits again... just in case you were wondering. LOL! This was one of those, "what was I thinking?" jobs, and I am so happy that it's done.
For those patiently waiting for these kits, they are now posted. You can order yours here: Down Winterberry Lane Kits . Update: These kits have sold out!

April is National Autism Awareness Month

If this month doesn't end soon I am going to have a nervous breakdown!

That's all I'm sayin'...

The Need to Share My Love of Roosters

Sometimes I see a pattern that makes me think of others; I see a "Team Effort" waiting to happen. That's what happened to me when I saw this quilt pattern. I thought, "that would make a great Block Swap" quilt. But man, I gotta tell you, sometimes you swap blocks and half of them are "WHAT?" Don't even pretend you don't know what I am talking about. You so do. If you have ever been in a block swap, ever, I KNOW you know what I am talking about! Don't even play it... I have yet to meet a swapper who hasn't been burned, at least once. OK, so here is what I propose. I am going to make this quilt and invite fifteen other quilters to join me, but because I have been burned in the past, I am only going to swap my little treasures with fifteen appliqué lovers who have experience (turn under or blanket stitch only, no zigzag stitches), and can commit to sharing only their best work. Best Work only!!!
If that's YOU, email me for details. pumpkinpatchprimitives@yahoo.com
This quilt is gorgeous. patterns can be preordered here: Creve Coer . You can order the pattern even of you're not in the swap. We won't be using the fabrics pictured.

Floorcloth, Done!

This Winter has been so hard. It really has. I feel like my poor heart has taken a beating, along with my little house. We are both recovering from a long hard season and I am sooo happy that it is behind us. Spring is playing tricks on us but this weekend it actually made an appearance and for that I am grateful.

I drove to the seacoast this weekend to paint a wonderful floorcloth at a seminar with Cynthia Erekson. It was a day of shared love and appreciation for painting. It was a little challenging to try a new surface (canvas) , and even more challenging to paint with folks that have so many more years of painting experience than I have, but all in all, I held my own and walked away with a beautiful piece for my home.

I will be framing it behind a window that still needs to be painted but having finished the main part, I feel that the rest is a breeze (famous last words!)

I hope your weekend was filled with fun and that you too are dreaming of warmer days when your spirits will soar by just standing outside in the sun without a jacket. I can't wait! Have fun this week!

Collecting Inspiration

I started collecting patterns way before I could sew. I also collected fabrics as a child might collect toys. They were not there to use, they were there to inspire. Patterns tell me that I can change what I have into what I want, and that is a good thing.

My collection of patterns is extensive. I have painting patterns, punch needle patterns, quilting patterns, rug hooking patterns, and the list goes on and on. Oh, I might note that I have tried my hand at all of these, at one time or another. I am an equal opportunity crafter. A good pattern is enough to bring me to purchase all the supplies needed for a project and even sign up for a class to learn how it's done. I have learned a lot about myself over the years from my patterns too. Going through them I have seen how my own sense of "style" (for lack of a better word) has evolved. I have gone from the tan goose on blue (don't even pretend you didn't have these in your house!) to a more eclectic mix that makes sense only to me, and that's OK because it's my house and I live here...surrounded by things that make my heart happy.

No longer strapped to rules or guidelines, I choose to use my quilting patterns to paint, my painting patterns to punch, and so on. A pattern is just a starting point, it's inspiration. I buy patterns for everything, not because I can't "figure it out" but because I don't want to "figure it out". I don't want to deconstruct that beautiful quilt. I want to look at it and think of where I can put it. Someone has already gone through the trouble of deconstructing it for me, making it and picturing it so that when I see it I stop, catch my breath and think, "I WANT that!". If I hadn't seen the quilt or pattern I would not have been inspired. Does that make sense to you? Do you follow me here? I might look at a pattern and find the next wall paint for my living room, my next wall hanging, my next painting. Regardless of what makes me stop and stare, I know that pattern was the root of my inspiration... so I buy it and save it, never ever giving myself a guilt trip for not making it (and truth be told, when I purge my patterns I might even be happy that I didn't make anything from that pattern. "What was I thinking?!", LOL!)

Today I read a blog post and the blogger stated that she never purchased patterns. She liked "designing" her own (based exactly on a published pattern). It made me stop and think of my own personal pattern collection and how I wish some of my favorite designers would never retire because their work inspires me. I hope that if you collect inspiration as I do, you would remember that those folks who design those patterns need to pay their mortgages and if they can't pay their bills, they can't spend all that time designing your inspiration. I don't know about you, but I need to be inspired, so I will continue to buy patterns and collect inspiration wherever I should find it. I don't "design" other people's work. I buy patterns and collect inspiration.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

I was having such a bad March. I really was. It wasn't one thing, it was a SERIES of things. Ever have one of those months when you just can't see an end to your crisis? It is so overwhelming that you just want to stay in bed and pretend you're not home... as if GP and Pepperdog would not park themselves at my side and wonder when it's time for Dinner, but that's besides the point; if I didn't have people and/or pets at my bedside staring me down and/or barking at me for food, I could have done just that, pretend I wasn't home. It was soooo bad. And I am sooo not kidding. But cope I had to, and and cope I did; with a little help from my new best friend Pixie.

Oh yes I did. I went out and gifted myself a Pixie. If you are an Espresso fan you KNOW what this is, and if you are not an espresso person, then you just wouldn't understand.

This is not a coffeemaker, it is an espresso maker. And if you can't get out of bed, can't face the world, can't even bring yourself to get out of your jammies... a triple shot should do nicely. Oh yeah, add a little milk to lighten it up if you must. I tell you, this little baby goes the distance, and with Mother's Day coming up, I thought I'd let you all know that this is the gift that keeps on giving. Put it at the top of your list; you can thank me after you first triple shot.

Oh, I have no affiliation, no perks, nor have I received any form of compensation for this little blurb... I really do love my Pixie (pictured at home with all my "add ons"), and hey, if you're gonna go there, might as well get the frother, I mean really.

My bathroom leaked, the ceiling was ripped out, the roof (remember I just had the roof put in last Spring???) had to be sawed off and a new one put in, the inside gutted and rebuilt, and I had to move out of my house for a week, then when I came back the construction dust was so thick it seemed unsafe to even breathe. Now in recovery, my home is slowly coming back to inhabitable standards and I can face the challenge of working at it, a little at a time, thanks to Pixie. She is definitely the gift that keeps on giving. Gotta love that! =)