Rags to Riches

This is a rough time of year around our house.  Coach and I end our semesters in such a frenzy, I feel like the kids’ school years kind of fizzle without notice.  Somewhere amidst the piles of papers and dirty laundry jut errant notes from school about Water Day, Awards Night, and one very delinquent lunch money fund.  It’s tough to keep up for most of the year; finals week, nearly impossible. 

So, when Little Man asked me to make tote bags for his teachers-- four days before the end of school-- my knee-jerk reaction was “Hmnawwwwwwwwwww…”  You know, that comatose fugue you get when all of your neurons fire at once—like keys on a typewriter.  I started to kindly make my excuse, but his teachers were so great this year, and he looked so excited about it, in the end, I couldn’t refuse.                                                                   

“Okay, Buddy.” I grabbed his spindly shoulders and steered him toward The Stash.  “What fabric should we use?”

"I want this."  He pointed to a brightly-striped curtain panel I thrifted from Goodwill last year. 

Thrift store curtain: before.

Uh… The curtain cost $3, and despite being washed and dried twice, may once have hung in someone's window. 

“Miss Kathy's favorite colors are pink, orange and yellow.  Miss Cheryl's favorite colors are blue, green and yellow.  This one has ALL of those!” 

For a child who can’t decide what to do with his tongue when he spits out his toothpaste, this was a freakish amount of certainty. 

Clearly, this wasn't the vibe I was going for.  I was hoping for something sophisticated and subdued, more Barney’s than Barnum & Bailey.  And, what is the etiquette here?  Thrifting?  Re-gifting?  Still, it was clean, sunny, and of sufficient yardage to eek out two tote bags, complete with custom pockets and handles.  Given my work schedule and time frame, I decided to save the moral debate for another day.

***

I made Noodlehead's Summer Madras Tote, the same pattern I used for a recent swap.  I wanted to somehow customize the bags, but my silk-screening gear is still packed away in storage. Instead, I used freezer paper to stencil the school crest onto white fabric, and the 6-Minute Circle to frame them out.  

Look at the tiny carving I had to do!

The circles turned out a bit more 'rookie' than I would have liked, but the ladies seemed to like the finished products.  We outfitted each bag with a bundle of gerber daisies and a gift card for the local ice cream shop.  It was a frantic race-to-the-finish, with final grades just due and a pending trip to KC to work the Modern Meet-Up, but Little Man and I finally got to deliver the bags the day after school let out.  (Why make one when two takes three times as long?)   :)

We found his teachers hard at work in their tiny pre-school classroom, miniature desks all pushed aside and prepped for summertime cleaning.  He delivered each bag so carefully, like a nervous Mommy leaving her little one for the very first time.  Then he stopped to study the empty room.

"You come see me next year," Miss Kathy said, leaning down to hug him.  "I'll be right outside my doorway when you're walking down the hall."  He bobbed his blonde head in a nod against her leg.  "Love you," she said to the top of his head, and he switched legs to Miss Cheryl, who hugged him, too.  They thanked us both again and wished us a happy summer as he quietly took my hand and we headed out the door.

He left school that day so much more than two hugs the richer.  The past few years have been a really difficult time for our family.  Like so many people, we've faced unemployment, relocation, and 31 months in my in-laws' basement waiting for our house to sell.  Of all of these hardships, floating the kids from school to school has been the most difficult to bear.  After the amazing year the kids have enjoyed, and the loving welcome by our parish and school, we feel so blessed to have finally settled here.  Re-gift tote bags don't quite seem enough.

As we pulled out of our parking space on the way home, I asked if he was glad the teachers liked his gifts.  

"Yeah," he said softly.  "But, I might still cry a little."

Me too, Buddy.  Me, too.

   

Fabric Friday: First Loves

You never forget your first love. The way your heart skipped a beat the first time you laid eyes on that beautiful creature, and you knew you'd never be the same. Other loves come and go, but the first, the original... Well, there's really nothing like it, is there?

So you can imagine my excitement when -- out of the blue -- mine popped up at my HOUSE this week!

It's been a rough few weeks here, end of term and all. Naturally, this called for a little retail therapy. The ever-obliging UPS man delivered this happy little stack to my door about a week ago:

Packed with quilty goodness

Swamped with work, I really didn't have time to look through them right away. So, I let Miss Em flip through to see if there were any in particular that caught her eye. My last quilt for her was the "Wicked" quilt, and I think she's feeling a tad neglected... Like those cobblers' kids, who have no shoes.

Anyhoo... She asked if she could fold over the page corners for the ones she liked.

(!?!)

Once my speaking voice slipped back to within audible threshold intensity, I suggested she use slips of paper instead. I passed her the empty Barnes & Noble box, complete with packing slips and glossy advertisements.

"Can I tear this, too?" she asked, purchase order in hand.

"Absolutely."

What Dad doesn't know won't hurt him, right?

About a half-hour later, she handed me these:

I only have to make quilts from the marked pages.  :)

Like mother, like daughter.

Somewhere between 1,000 pages of organic exams and 1,000 pages of project reports, I managed to squeeze in a minute to peruse these luscious pages. Emma was right: these books are jam-packed with eye candy, one quilt happier and more desirable than the next. As I moved from page to page, I slipped into a sort of bliss, the kind you feel when all of the planets are in alignment and your brain starts to simmer with ideas. You can imagine how jarring it was, then, when I turned to page 17 of Sunday Morning Quilts and found myself face-to-face with this:

Borrowed from Sunday Morning Quilts

The first. The original. One-half of Amanda Jean's (Crazy Mom Quilts) duo "Pete + Repeat," a set of twin-sized quilts she made for her boys' beds back in 2009, and the very first "modern quilts" to catch my eye. I remember studying those wonky blocks -- before I knew the word for it -- and thinking, "Those aren't actually straight, are they?" And, the fact that the fabrics didn't all match, well... Just about blew my tiny little mind! What got me more than anything, though, was the binding: Amy Butler's Lotus Full Moon Dot, in tangerine:

Love that binding:    http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2009/04/pete-repeat.html 

Love at first sight.

Unfortunately, I wasn't really in a place to do anything about it at the time.  Lotus had already flown off the shelves -- not that I had the means to purchase any. Despite many a Google search, I couldn't find a scrap of it anywhere. What I did find instead were the "web-logs" (ha) of modern quilters, with names like Oh, Fransson!,  Film in the Fridge and Red Pepper Quilts, all of whom had used the fabric in their own creations. And, just like that, I was hooked. A modern quilter was born.

Over the years, I have had this fabric in and out of my shopping cart more times than I can count. This week, after years of longing -- and, just in time for our STLMQG polka dot swap -- I finally took the plunge:

*Sigh*

    And, they lived happily ever after.

Spring Swaptacular - And a plea for clemency

This Spring, I have enjoyed participating in two terrific swaps: The STLMQG pouch swap, and the For the Love of Solids 2 (FTLOS2) swap via Flickr.  

STLMQG Pouch Swap - Received

The STLMQG had our secret partner pouch swap last month.  Cuteness everywhere.  

My friend Juli Ann picked my name and crafted this fantastic patchwork zipper pouch for me. Snippets of Garden Party, Innocent Crush and Kei Dots mean there were as many treats on the outside as there were within, where Juli Ann generously hid a few surprises: a fun stack of fabric for my stash and a few sweet treats to boot. To this point, I had never tasted Nutella. Can you imagine? It's all I can do now to keep from putting the stuff in a casserole!      

Yummy (literally) pouch swap package from Juli Ann.

The back of the pouch is every bit as charming as the front.  I'm not sure how she did it (some serious Pinterest stalking, I suspect?), but she managed to combine three of my favorite things: navy blue, handwork, and Reunion by Sweetwater. I LOVE the way the navy and grey pair with the subdued reds, greens and golds of this line, and the bunting print is one of my favorites. Thank you so much, Juli Ann. From the beaded zipper pull to the last savory bit of chocolate, I love every bit of it. The special little details, and the fact that it came from a true friend, make it all the sweeter. You are the best.

Juli Ann's pouch (back)

  

  

STLMQG Pouch Swap - Given

I was very excited to draw as my secret swap partner Miss Nancy, who blogs over at Tea and Quilts. Miss Nancy is an active and treasured member of the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild. She is soft-spoken and kind, and always willing to share her considerable experience with newbies like me. The profile pic she has chosen for her blog is an example of her excellent handiwork: a darling little redwork embroidery of a young girl sitting in a rocking chair stitching her own redwork. Having subscribed to Nancy's blog for some time, I already knew of her love of redwork, the St. Louis Cardinals (Redbirds), and several red accent walls in her home, so my color choice for the pouch swap was an easy one.    

Miss Nancy's blog icon

After pulling a selection of reds from my stash and completing a practice pouch, I got to work on the real deal.

I started with an embroidery pattern by Michelle Clement, which I completed on a small piece of white cotton canvas. I then pieced 144 one-and-a-half inch squares into a small patchwork and used this in combination with Dale Fleming's Six-Minute Circle to frame out the redwork. The dense, layered seams of the finished patchwork stretched the six-minute circle into a much longer ordeal, but in the end, I was relatively happy with the (somewhat elliptical) results. This finished piece would serve as the front of the pouch.

Pouch for Miss Nancy (front)

Flea market find - good stuff inside!

For the back of the pouch, I used a Dresden Plate template I pulled from a flea market find earlier that week. The pouch itself was a modified version of Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bags pattern, the first pattern I've ever purchased, and definitely worth every penny. With the exception of a wonky gusset on one side of the bag, it turned out largely as I had hoped. Unlike my practice pouch (which tried to eat itself whenever zipped), the lining for Miss Nancy's pouch stayed put, and the zipper worked like a charm.  :)  I tucked a few chocolate bars inside, along with a box of Nancy's favorite tea for good measure.  I'm so glad she liked it!  

Pouch for Miss Nancy (back)

This was the first swap we've held in the guild since we established our new Swap Committee, and it was a HUGE success! The pouches were all so modern and fun. The ladies did a great job. In May, we'll hold our "Polka Dot Swap" for fat quarters of fabric. I'm definitely looking forward to it!

FTLOS 2 Swap - Received

Since I first found it on Flickr, I've been dying to join in on the "For the Love of Solids" swap. The craftsmanship of the gifts has been incredible from the start, and the theme lends itself well to my overwhelmingly-solid fabric stash. So, I was really excited to learn that I'd been accepted to participate in Round 2 this spring.

Jeannette Day (Flickr name:  Sacridote) drew my name for this swap. I'd spotted her project in the Flickr pool a few weeks before, and had my fingers crossed that it might be for me. I'd requested a knitting needle roll as my first choice, in linen and greens, and boy, did she deliver!

Awesome swap package from Jeannette Day (Sacridote) in the FTLOS 2 Swap.  Knitting needles not included.  :)

The linen case is beautifully made, and already chock full of needles. Along with the roll came a fabulous zipper pouch with loads of hand stitching and a crisply-pieced center block from Faith's (Fresh Lemons) Solstice Stars series. Inside I found a parcel of fabric, a pair of chocolate and caramel lollipops, and (yikes!) an Aurifil sampler pack! SO generous! I've been dying to try Aurifil for the longest time, but I get so distracted by "pretties" in the fabric store, I rarely make it over to the notions.  Thank you, Jeannette, for a stunning swap package.  I consider myself very lucky, indeed!

FTLOS 2 Swap - Sent

I don't know if it's my training as a scientist or the plethora of Agatha Christie novels read in my youth, but I love stalking swap partners. Not to creep you out too badly, but there's something about the thrill of the chase (for the perfect aesthetic) that just makes me tick. So, the minute I learned that Ruth of Cherry Coloured Twist was my secret swap partner, I whipped out the houndstooth cape and set to work. Ruth lives in the UK, and is moving soon to Sweden.  Her taste is hip and very modern, sophisticated in the eclectic, worldly sort of way that I always admire and can rarely emulate, having grown up within a relatively sheltered three-hour midwestern radius.

The combination of her inspiration mosaic and a few Pinterest finds here and here got me to thinking about this bag from Target I've been saving for years...

Isn't it just asking to be a quilt?  I really love the original color scheme, but Ruth wanted something with a bit more of a rainbow flare, hence "Linen and Leaves" was born:

Unfortunately, assembling this puppy took a tad longer than I'd expected. (And by "tad," I mean a month). *Sigh* I could give you lots of excuses about stomach flu and spring break and teaching loads and malfunctioning dishwashers, but the fact remains that I have always underestimated how long it takes to do things. My research advisor used to tell me to take whatever estimate I had in mind, double the magnitude and increase the unit. So, I should expect a project I estimate at one week to take two months. Two months, four years. Four years, eight decades. You get the idea.     

True to form, I sent this parcel out just about one month after the original post date. It was so late, in fact, that the Swap Mamas posted my name in the "Have Yet to Send" list on the Flickr site. I watched the list tick down from nine names to six, to five, to four... There sat Miss Stash Would, stuck with three partners in crime on the virtual post office wall.  :( The package was destined for the UK, so once the initial deadline passed, I figured I might as well try to salvage the situation by sweetening the deal.  Hence the tote bag, notebook cover and other assorted goodies:

Ruth messaged last week to say that she'd received her package, and she seemed (thankfully!) genuinely pleased. I certainly appreciate her patience, and I'm so tickled that she's happy, but I can't help wondering now, if I'm banned for life. Will the powers-that-be decide from on-high that I'm unfit to participate in this swap in the future? Or other Flickr swaps, for that matter? Does the modern quilting community, comprised of all sorts of people, have room for "late-swappers?" Even those of us who (hopefully) make up for our tardiness with beefed-up packages? Doesn't everyone still win?

Sorry to seem temperamental, but this really touched a nerve for me.  I fully admit to signing up for this swap against my better judgment.  Like many of you, I suspect, I work an inordinate number of hours outside the home each week, and as a result, have very little time for anything other than work and family.  What little bit of free time I do find I have to create, generally between the hours of midnight and three in the morning. Just to say that I've salvaged one, tiny fragment of my day to do something I completely and genuinely enjoy. So, I joined this swap purposefully, in an effort to feel included in something outside my workaday life that makes me feel rejuvenated and happy, like I've made a connection with someone who "gets me."

Maybe this rant is my preemptive attempt to sway the tide in my favor. Maybe when FTLOS 3 rolls around, they won't think twice about my tardiness. Then again, maybe I'm already blacklisted and all of this is moot.  Regardless of my status at the moment, I know a few things for certain.  Becoming a part of the modern quilting community has changed my life.  Creating beautiful things for people who share my love of textiles makes me feel included like I never have before. So, whether it's an established swap, or one I'm forced to create on my own for reluctant-type-A-workaholics like myself, I think it's fair to say that I will always try to find a way to stay connected to swappers around the world.  I can't imagine anything that feels better than knowing you've made something you love for someone who appreciates it.  Despite the hurt feelings and blacklists and deadlines and exorbitant fees for international express deliveries, it's a great thing to make good friends from all around the world.

And, it's still cheaper than therapy.    

Practice Pouch Highlights: What's wrong with this picture?

Nothing like Highlights magazine and the smell of glutaraldehyde to really bring back the dental office panic attacks of my youth.  Our dentist growing up was a friend of the family.  Dr. B was rapidly approaching retirement age.  I always thought of him as a kind man, soft-spoken and gentle.  Right up until the day he pulled a (perfectly-good) permanent tooth in place of the wiggly-loose baby right next to it.  Some mistakes you can fix.  Some leave yawning gaps where your second mandibular bicuspid should be.

So, what's wrong with this pouch?  Plenty.  Thankfully, most of the issues are small and picky, and happen to be things that I can fix the next time around, which makes me incredibly grateful that I decided to take a practice run in the first place.  But, one...  Well, one is quite possibly gaping-hole-in-your-mouth serious.  I don't really know yet.  I'll need your help with that shortly.

First, though, the process details.  [Feel free to skip down to the next * * * if you want the quicker, less-detailed "spoiler" version of the game].

* * *

If you read my post from earlier this week (yes, two in one week...  I know, right?), you already know I'm working on a redwork pouch for one of the ladies in the St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild.  The embroidery and patchwork are both finished, I just need to put the pouch together.  As a veritable pouch rookie, though, I've been really nervous about cutting into that 144-piece patchwork without a little more preparation, so I (and several of my fellow STLMQG members) have opted to first make practice pouches instead.  

After falling in love with Mary Claire's super-cute hexie pouch earlier this week, I decided to purchase a copy of Elizabeth Hartman's Perfect Zip Bags pattern from her website.  I don't usually buy patterns, but Elizabeth's are worth every penny.  Her directions are detailed but simple, and after reading through this pattern just once, I envisioned at LEAST 20 variations of these bags popping up on my to-do list later this year.  Of course, I probably should have read the pattern more than once, but I'll get to that in a minute.   

My plan for the redwork pouch will require a few alterations from Elizabeth's original pattern:

(1)  Instead of a patchwork square on the front, I want to frame a circular embroidery pattern with patchwork, so this seemed like the perfect time to try my hand at Dale Fleming's 6-Minute Circle.  

  

(2)  Because my embroidery piece was already finished by the time I purchased the pattern, I regrettably discovered that it was too big to fit on ANY of the pouches in Elizabeth's PDF, so I also had to scale the pattern to fit the embroidery piece.  Thanks to some wonky math, I'm happy to report that this part of the experiment seems to have worked out nicely, and I am actually quite pleased with the final placement of the circle on the finished bag.  If anyone is interested in the measurements I used, I'm happy to send them along (minus all of the sloppy handwriting and parenthetical derivations): 

With these two changes in mind, I started combing through my stash for something pretty I could fussy-cut as the circular centerpiece.  It didn't take long to realize that my mostly-solid fabric collection doesn't really lend itself to that sort of thing, so I needed something else to fill the space.  I decided to raw-edge applique some simple text instead.   

I typed the word "quilt" in Microsoft PowerPoint using American Typewriter font (175 pt, bold).  I then traced each letter (backwards) onto the paper side of a small strip of sewable Heat 'n Bond using my state-of-the-art light table.  

I pressed the Heat 'n Bond onto the backside of some orange fabric I had laying around, and cut out the letters.  After pressing them to the white (interfaced) background fabric, I zig-zag stitched around the raw edges.  Unfortunately, I had some tension issues early-on, and it wasn't until I got to the L and the T that things really started to work themselves out, so don't look too closely at those first few letters.
(Mistake #1)

Once the letters were attached, it was time to try my hand at that circle.  According to my math, I was going to need a 7.25-inch opening.  Thankfully, one of my small bread plates from the cupboard worked nicely.  I traced the circle onto the dull side of my freezer paper template and pressed it to the backside of my interfaced fabric.  Next, I traced and cut the inner circle (Quaker Oats lid), and notched the curves as shown:

I pressed the notches back as directed to form a smooth circle, but I thought the result was a bit too stark, so I decided to add some batting and do some straight-line quilting in the same bright orange.  Now, Elizabeth's pattern calls for you to turn the exterior fabric over the edge of your interlining fabric before constructing your bag.  Unfortunately, I went ahead and did this before I'd decided to quilt.  Assuming I'd be folding that top edge again when I pieced the bag together, I did some lazy-man's quilting, cutting my thread ends instead of burying them, not realizing they would eventually end up right next to my zipper (Mistake #2).

It was also at this point that I decided to add some hand stitching around the circle for emphasis (why these things don't occur to me earlier is beyond me).  That means that after stitching, I now have little tufts of white cotton batting straggling their way through my grey fabric all the way around the circle.  Ah, well...  Practice pouch, right?  (Mistake #3).

Now that all of the preliminary work was finished, I could start assembling the materials for constructing the bag (don't you LOVE that lining fabric?).  Because I had scaled the pattern, I had to custom-trim the zipper, but otherwise, the bag came together just as Elizabeth described.  

Seriously, how much do you LOVE that lining fabric?

I know.  So do I.  Which is a good thing, considering we'll probably be seeing a lot of it since I'm afraid to zip it anymore:

Mistake #4:  Failure to interface lining.  

Grrr...  So frustrating.  I was going to interface the lining.  Truly, I was.  But, then Little Man got sick, and Miss Em needed a volleyball jersey, and yada, yada, yada, I got back to the sewing room, and blamo!  The bag was together before I knew it, with two floppy squares of interfacing left idly on the sidelines.  

All of that work to finish a bag that is completely non-functioning.  

I have neither the time nor the willpower to take the thing apart.  It's a practice bag, after all, and that would be seriously OCD even for me.  But, still...  It's pretty damn cute, if I say so myself.  I'd like to salvage it if I can.  I've already popped a few stitches yanking the hell out of it, and came pretty close to ripping the liner in the process.    How do I make it work without sloppily hand-stitching the lining up near the zipper?  

* * *

Fatal flaw:  Liner fabric (consistently) caught in the zipper teeth.  

Gaping mouth hole, or bridgeable gap?

The lines are now open...

   

Ready for (semi-)redwork / "Cheer up sleepy Jean(s)"

The St. Louis Modern Quilt Guild is having a pouch swap at our meeting next week, and I've got some (hopefully) modern (semi-)redwork in the wings for my secret swap partner.  I can't show you the stitchery itself, as that would definitely give it away, but here are some of the fabrics I'm auditioning from my stash:

The plan at the moment is kind of a hodge-podge of techniques:  embroidery, patchwork, six-minute circle, reverse and raw-edged applique.  Will probably toss in some linen, and maybe a Dresden plate for good measure.  Sounds a little manic, I know, but this weekend is the first time I've set foot in my sewing room in nearly three months, and I have a lot of catching up to do. 

Here's what I have on the design board as the patchwork comes together.  I'm hoping the design of the bag and the sprinkling of modern fabrics will help swing the feel toward the less-traditional side: 

The squares will finish at an inch apiece, which means my 144 teeny-tiny pieces will finish at about 12 inches square.  This would be fine, I guess, if I didn't have plans to carve out the middle of this thing for reverse applique.  Because I may want to save the center portion for later, I couldn't bring myself to insert a square of muslin here to simplify things, so a-stitching I will go.  Borderline crazy, I know, but it took me nearly the full month to decide what to make for this special lady.  Now that an idea has finally settled into my brain, there's no going back at this point.

In other news, I've enjoyed a little retail therapy the past few weeks.  I may not have time to sew, but I find that petting fabric takes no time at all.  :) 

A little (or 12 yards of) pezzy print:

And a few stacks of (mostly) solids:

Some of these will be featured in a wall hanging I have planned for my other secret partner from the "For the Love of Solids" (FTLOS) swap currently underway on Flickr.  The ship date for international partners runs from now through Saturday, which means I have the potential to miss deadlines on two continents this week, I guess.   :)

Finally, if you get a minute today, pop on over to the Modern Quilt Guild's website.  They've  been busy posting their super-great 100 Days series since the first of the year.  TONS of amazing quilts and tutorials to enjoy.  This past week's series was called "Using what you have," and somewhere amongst all of the colorful scraps and vintage sheets is a quilt made of-- wait for it-- denim.  So, many thanks to the MQG for the kind shout-out this weekend.  It's pretty nice to be included in such amazing company.

P.S.  I grew up in the '70s, and a huge part of my childhood was spent laughing and singing along with a fun-loving group of guys who just-so-happened to give birth to the music video:  The Monkees, whose lead singer, Davy Jones, passed away this week at the age of sixty-six.  Although I was particularly smitten with Michael Nesmith (the quiet, broody one in the knit stocking cap), I could always rely on Davy and the gang for an honest-to-goodness belly laugh without politics or agenda, which made the days seem brighter to me, and life in general, just a little less serious.  I like to think that it's appropriate that a denim quilt was featured this week.  Not just in tribute to Davy and his bellbottom trousers, but also as a reminder that just as fabric can be rejuvenated with a little extra effort, maybe life really can be a bit brighter if we'd just take the time to make it that way.  As much as I grumbled about trying to make a denim quilt, the truth is, once I threw myself into the project, I couldn't help but feel good about the change I could see taking shape.  Have to wonder how much brighter life might seem if I put that much love and effort into everything I do.  Next time I hear "Daydream Believer," think I'll sing "Cheer up sleepy jean(s)," instead. 

Thanks, Davy.  For everything.

WHY IS THERE A TIGER IN THE BATHROOM?

Thanks to everyone who played along with my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway post.  I'm sorry that I have been unable to respond to every message (I never anticipated 456 of them!), but I so enjoyed reading your comments, and will likely still respond to many of you soon.  So many great quotes and books to consider!  And so many new friends with common likes and interests!  I hope to post a synopsis of some of the highlights soon.  

In the meantime, congratulations to Kasey, visitor #84, who left me this message:

She blogs over at Stitch. Bake. Run.  Air Force wife/mother of two/runner/baker/quilter.  And NOW, the proud new owner of 4-1/2 yards of beautiful Amy Butler fabric!  I plan to check out her website soon, and can't wait to see what she makes with her new stack of goodies.

In the meantime, thank you again to all of my visitors, new and established alike (see how I didn't call you "old?").  Special thanks to the new followers out there.  This really has been a fun week for me, and has reinforced for me yet again how lucky I am to belong to such a fantastically talented, funny, and generous community of artists worldwide.  I will do my best to post more frequently in the hopes of getting to know you all better, and keeping myself inspired by your amazing work.  Fledgling though my efforts may be, writing this blog really does brighten my days (to quote Ms. Kasey):

"... even if I'm the only nerd laughing."  

"The Butler did it."

Welcome Sew Mama Sew readers!
PLEASE NOTE:  The GIVEAWAY SIGN-UP DEADLINE HAS PASSED.  Entries will be capped at 456.  Thank you all for playing!  Winner announced at this site soon!

What brings you here today?

Could it be that you're waiting to hear news about my latest projects?


Like this...

 

Or this (first zipper pouch ever)...

This... (Yes, that says 'beryllium')...

This...

This...

This...

This...

This...

This...

This...

This...

These...

Or, this?

No?

Well, then perhaps 'the Butler did it.'

Amy Butler, that is:

Your prize for visiting my blog during this week's Giveaway event is TEN 1/4-yard cuts PLUS TWO full-yard cuts of luscious Amy Butler fabrics to brighten your holiday season.  That's four-and-a-half yards, people!  Interested?  Just leave a comment below listing (a) YOUR favorite movie quote, and (b) your suggestions for one must-read book to add to my list, and you're eligible for the prize.  Winner (as chosen by random number generator) to be announced later this week.  International entries welcome.

In the meantime, for my 15 loyal listeners, sorry for the brief hiatus...  I hope to update you on all of the above (and then some) just as soon as I administer last rights final exams to my organic chemistry students this week. 

As for the rest of you, remember...  Movie quote, stellar book, name goes into the drawing.  

Easy-peasy, right?

Best of luck, everyone, and thanks for visiting!