Belated birthday gift, Chinese coins & cabin fever...

Haven't been blogging much the past couple of weeks. I wondered into the eBay arena about three weeks ago with no idea how consuming that can be.... it's like a full time job! Have wanted to sell some old jewelry and craft supplies that I no longer wanted, but was putting it off for months..... was a bit intimidated by the postage aspect of eBay, etc. I have bought things on eBay (mostly postcards and embroidery kits), but I hadn't sold anything on-line since the late 90's. Anyhow, I can see how addicting eBay can be, not only buying, but selling too! I am trying to decided what else I can part with that might become someone else's treasure OR do I try "picking" and posting for selling. It's a thought that I am mulling over in my mind. Some extra cash would be nice. 

Am also toying with trying an Etsy store... I enjoy being creative and making things... what can I make... what will be of interest that 3,000 others aren't doing also, etc... I also love vintage and there's room for that on Etsy too. Lots to think about and|or do.

Meanwhile, Vicki (the BFF) and I spent a day going to some local quilt and needlework shops in our area. Just what we both needed to cure some cabin fever .... besides, what girl doesn't enjoy a girl's day out! We need to do that again soon. We started to Skype again last evening and I love communicating with Skype... it's like a show and tell and talk session while staying home in your pjs. 

Here's my belated birthday present from Vicki..... I LOVE IT.... she made it from some of the left over batiks that we used in our moth and butterfly project. Can you see the beads and charms hanging from the button on top of the cover. Our coop projects have taken both Vicki and I down the road of embellishments..... that is so fun!

In an earlier post I showed some Australian fabric I found at one of my favorite quilt stores. I have been collecting fat quarters on each visit the past few months. I love the colors and texture created by the patterns in these fabrics.

Saturday afternoon I started cutting 6.5" x 2" strips of fabric... here's is the Chinese coin lap quilt I am piecing with my Aussie fabrics. The gray lattice fabric has a small pattern similar to a tight wood grain.... this gray really ties the myriad of colors and patterns together and lends the top very contemporary feel. Ran out of the gray and as soon as I can get more (if there is any left ... it was on sale and I bought 6.5 yards for two projects), I plan to run borders on the top and bottom. 

Have more photos of finished projects, etc. to share, but will wait, don't want to inundate you all.

How many of you were happy over Colin Firth winning the Oscar (the King's Speech was awesome, too) ..... but, isn't he just yummy? Have a great week.

Happy Valentine's Day...

My first attempt at machine quilting with a walking foot. Started this wall hanging (approximately 20" x 22") Friday afternoon and finished the binding this morning. Don't look too close, I have some puckers and obviously lots to learn about machine quilting. Besides the bright fun fabrics, I think my favorite part of this project is where the machine quilting lines intersect on the borders. For some reason those wavy lines of stitching make me happy!

"... All creatures great and small..."

Because of the record snow fall and cold temperatures here in northeastern Oklahoma, we have been extra diligent in feeding the birds these past two weeks. Giving them extra seed through out the day and watching as they gather to eat. I have counted at least 15 different species of birds at our feeder:
     Cardinals
     Dark eyed Juncos
     Sparrows (various)
     Chickadees
     Tufted titmouse
     Mourning doves
     Gold finches
     Blue jay
     Bewick's wren
     Redwing blackbird
     House finch
     Pigeon
     Starlings
            and two predator birds:
                Red tail hawk
                Sharp shin hawk

One of my favorites is the Bewick's wren.... they are soooo sweet looking, yet don't seem to frighten as quickly as the other birds do if you make a quick movement.

Love the way the they flit their little tails around and their little butts are so cute, don't you agree?

Last week, a red tail hawk swooped down to nab a dove under the feeder. Both hit the patio door with a bang in the battle that ensued... the dove managed to get away and the hawk flew off hungry. Looking out the window this morning, while getting my first cup of coffee, I saw this sharp shin hawk munching away on his breakfast hardly three feet away from me. I feel bad for his prey, but felt blessed to be so close to this wonderful creature.

All things bright and beautiful, 

All creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful:

The Lord God made them all.

                      Cecil F. Alexander. 1848

Sewing a Valentine...

Next Monday is Valentine's Day, the traditional day for celebrating love. I remember getting ready for Valentine's day in grade school.... helping to make a box for collecting student's cards and/or making the cards themselves. Creating things has always been a love of mine along with fabric. 

Wanted to share this postcard I sewed up for my BFF using both paper and fabric and even a bit of oil cloth (can't resist that either). Creating collages is another passion.... paper, paints, fabrics, charms, buttons, thread, etc..... whatever works to create a design with lots of texture makes me smile! 

Once the back is finished and addressed, its off to the post office to get them to hand cancel this card.

Googled sewing on paper, here are a couple of links you might want to check out if you are interested.:

http://theadventuresofbluegirlxo.blogspot.com/2007/08/sewing-on-paper-artful-blogger-tutorial.html

http://fiskarscraft.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/09/how-to-sew-paper.html

It's a Girl...

Here's a baby quilt top I just finished for a young lady that was born this past November. She's the great-niece of a friend of mine in Colorado and is the first girl to be born into the family in over 30 years. Her mom was on bed-rest for 11 weeks prior to her birth, so she is truly a much-awaited for little one.

I made half-square triangles for the blocks, but instead of following the "broken dishes" pattern, I sewed the squares together randomly.

Here's a close up of the pieced area on the backing. I embroidered a block with baby's name and a little pink birdie to say "welcome" to the world, Ana. I like to include a pieced area on my quilt backs for two reasons: it gives a bit of personality to the back of a quilt and helps extend the backing fabric when extra fabric is needed around the perimeter for machine quilting.

I read somewhere that you shouldn't use checked fabric for backing. I didn't follow this rule if it is a rule... besides I love the printed brown checks... have had it for several years and the color and print works well with the other fabrics! Will take photos to post when I get the quilt back from being quilted.

Oh no, I just looked out the window and it is snowing again. I didn't believe the weather person because you know they are never wrong!

Thanks for visiting and for leaving your welcome comments. I appreciate them, even if I don't get around to e-mailing each of you individually. 

$1.49...

Recently discovered these replacement blades at Harbor Freight Tools (http://www.harborfreight.com/). They fit my 45mm rotary cutter..... the best part is the price, normally $1.99 for two blades (which is amazing), but they are currently on sale for $1.49.

Happy rotary cutting fabric people!

The next day...

After it snowed all day on Tuesday, the sun decided to tease us at the end of the day. Final snow measurement was 14 inches for our area; 21 inches just a little further north of us in Oklahoma. I felt like we were back in Indiana.

Yesterday, I saw my first tufted titmouse looking for seed at the feeder and couldn't get to the camera quick enough... but this sweet little fellow showed up looking for a meal..... just wanted to hug him!

Cold and sunny, yesterday was also a good day for baking sourdough bread.

Thank you for visiting and for the nice comments that my viewers leave..... I appreciate them.

A record 14 inches of snow...

Our area has received a record amount of snow for Oklahoma. I know the rest of the world has had more than its share of snow this winter of 2010|2011, but the amount of snow we have had in the past 24 hours is a lot for a state that rarely sees snow. It's been a good day for cleaning, organizing, cooking and watching the birds fight over the seed in the feeders. There is about a 2-3 ft. drift under the feeders by the house, so hopefully, the little guys won't get too hungry when that feeder runs out ... one of us is going to have to brave it and fill the feeders.

Have been taking photos off and on all day of our bird friends....

TV news is just announcing we might be getting more snow later this evening, currently the wind chill is a minus 7º. So I guess this will be known as the "great blizzard of 2011" in Oklahoma. 

Brrrrr.... travel safely and thanks for visiting.