I had the GREAT pleasure of speaking by phone with none other than Madame Samm of Stash Manicure this morning! I have been such a fan of Stash since I first started quilting and ran across this wonderful site. If you haven't visited, and you need some new inspiration, information, tutorials, and SUPER GREAT patterns - check out Stash Manicure and subscribe for daily updates and ideas. You won't regret it!
Happy Sewing!
Merry Christmas!
It's been a rough season for us here at the Frugal Grace house - having our Marine at bootcamp and then at MCT for Christmas is hard. But my daughter and I will be able to go see him on Christmas Eve, so that's awesome! We just found out a few days ago, so it's been a mad rush to find a hotel room, and will be a busy day on Friday, but it's ALL good since we'll get to see our Marine for a few hours for the holiday. :)
He got to come home for a few days at Thanksgiving, and I was able to give him his Bootcamp Graduation gift. He really liked it...
Yay! I finally finished my first queen-size quilt! I'm so happy, but don't really know what I'll do with myself now that it's done... oh wait, I know! I'll start another project! LOL (or finish one of the 4 or 5 I've already started and stopped) I'd love to hear your opinions, and any tips and tricks you can give me for next time!!
This has truly been a labor of love. I started it not long after my future son-in-law was sworn in as a US Marine Recruit. He finishes boot camp in just 2 weeks, and I am SO proud of him! It will probably live here until he and my daughter get married and get a place of their own. She says she wants a Treasure Chest (aka Hope Chest LOL) and it'll probably go in there with their other homemaking goodies. This is his graduation gift...
2 weeks from today we will be at Parris Island to see him in the MOT Run and spend a few hours of Family Day with him. On November 24, he will graduate and be a MARINE! OoRAH!!!
I've really been slacking on the blog thing. Sorry 'bout that! I've been a little busy: working, going on a cruise, hanging out with my baby girl as much as possible (which isn't much since she's a senior in high school, volunteer firefighter, and babysits during any free moment). I've also been busy working on a project for a very special young man : Matt's Marine Quilt. I just got the top done last night and now on to all the B's: borders, batting, basting, binding. Somehow I think the hand-piecing of the blocks and putting together the quilt top were the easy parts... we shall see!
Here's the finished quilt top:
And a close-up of some of the hand-pieced blocks in the center...
I had wanted to hand-piece each block, and the entire quilt for that matter, but with a deadline of November 24 that just was NOT gonna be possible. I think he'll be happy with it, even if some is done on the machine. This has definitely been a work of love, and I've enjoyed every single minute of it!
We also celebrated a VERY big day in our family on 10/10/10 ---
my Nana's 100th Birthday!
You tell me...does this look like a hundred-year-old woman to you?? Man, I hope I got some of those great genes!! Love you bunches, Nana!!!
To say I've been busy lately is quite an understatement. Yesterday alone I had the three things in the subject line to do, plus fitting in time for a much-needed haircut & brow waxing! Oh yeah, I think I was supposed to eat a little in between events, as well...but I kinda forgot to do that except for a cheeseburger at 3pm. : /
But I digress...
I'm still in full-on Quilting Addiction Mode. I try to work on something every evening, if possible (translation: if I can overcome the guilt of "neglecting" my husband & 17yo daughter, who probably couldn't care less that I'm in the sewing room anyway). I had another quilt class yesterday, and I just love those Saturday mornings! It's a small group, I think we had 6 yesterday, and the best teacher EVER. She is so, so patient and kind with everyone. You can see her love of the art shine through, and she's so encouraging to this newbie.
The other ladies are so sweet, as well. One is a 'girl' I went to church with many years ago. We were in youth group together, but lost touch as we grew older. I think we were both surprised to see one another in a quilting class, of all places! (we had a rather "colorful" time during our youth group years and have lots of chuckles reminiscing...I just wonder what the other ladies think when they hear us! LOL) We're both fairly new quilters, so we have fun bouncing off one another and helping each other out. We're also just a *tad* competitive about it, which gives me more determination to finish projects! ;)
Another is the teacher's mother-in-law, and she is such a sweet lady! She is always offering suggestions and tips and tricks for me to try, and is also so encouraging. I don't know the others as well, but the whole group is so great and I'm so glad I found the class. I just wish we had it more than once a month. I'm hinting around to our instructor about a Quilting Bee, though. ;)
After the class, and squeezing in the haircut & waxing, I headed to the locally owned, infamous fast-food joint - Pete's. They have THE BEST burgers ever. Seriously. They are like perfection on a bun. My brother and little nephew came to town after being in Hawaii for 3 years (bro is in the military), and the first place they wanted to visit at 'home' was Pete's. Nephew said today that "Pete's isn't good for you...but it sure is good!" It was awesome to see them both! I can't believe how big Titus has gotten - he's so tall! I guess they do that from 5-8 years old, though. :) They are here for the whole week before heading off to brother's next station, so hopefully we can spend lots of time together this week. :) :)
Then ~whew~ we went to one of, if not THE, most beautiful wedding ceremonies I've ever attended. A dear friend's daughter was the bride, and hubby and I were handling the technical stuff for them (video and audio). The ceremony was absolutely the most sweet, Spirit-filled thing ever. She is a school teacher who met her Youth Pastor hubby a few years ago, and they have been ministering together ever since. This is one of their engagement photos... I didn't notice the rain until I read the photographer's comments about the shoot. It started raining during their session, but they just kept shooting. He named their session "The Notebook" because of this picture... just beautiful!
I wish them a long lifetime of incredible love and success. They are truly an amazingly beautiful couple, inside and out! <3
So, that's why I haven't been blogging. Just been a little busy puttering around... I'm sure you'll all so glad you just wasted a perfectly good 5 minutes reading this babbling. ;)
I wish I could take credit for this funny post, but I found it on The Curious Quilter (which I highly recommend you follow!). Can anyone else relate?? Don't judge. ;)
“How will I know you?”
“Hey, I’m the one with the goods. How will I know YOU?”
“Green car, brown hair, glasses, and a red sweater. Will it be DISCRETE?”
“Yeah, in a garbage bag.”
I was there first. The guy mowing the lot behind the store looked at me oddly as I parked by the dumpsters. Someone brought some items out to the trash and asked me if I needed help. She eyed me warily, commented that the dumpsters were for store use only (did she see the garbage bag in back?) Two people peeked out a back window of the store. A red pickup drove by. Finally a small green car pulled up, a woman stepped out, peered around, then walked over. The deal was done quickly. She could hardly wait to break the bag open, but managed to only peek.
And then she proceeded to tell me how her husband would object if he knew she was buying this. She will have to sneak it in while he is at work and hide it in the basement. I knew she was a true addict. She had layers of her life concealed from her family; avoidance and denial were helping her ‘hide’ her addiction. I was her enabler, her dealer, bringing her a fix.
Driving home, I felt like it. My dining room table was covered with bits measured and ready to package. I had plastic bags of every size ready to be filled. There was a higher demand for it than I had expected. Most my buyers came to me, but sometimes, like today, we split the distance and met in between.
Stash bags in every size are stacked around my home.
Mostly these are small deals. Sets of fabric squares, gallon bags of tiny scraps. But occassionally, like today, I pack up an entire garbage bag full of fabric pieces large and small. These I pop on Craigslist. I figure that other addicts, pardon me, quilters, will pay a few dollars to get take home a veritable “fabric exploring adventure” and help out a grossly underemployed peer at the same time.
I meet some very interesting sewers this way, and hear some fascinating reasons for wanting the instant fabric stash. One is making charity quilts, another is just starting and has no stash of her own. Someone is trying to make various bags and pockets for use on wheelchairs, another person sews clothes for dogs. Most just want more fabric to play with. Some become repeat customers.
But I am struck by the fact that all but two of my ‘junkies’ are sincerely plotting ways to hide their ‘score’ from loved ones. The will sneak it in, bury it away, only pulling out bits and pieces when needed while acting as though it had been there forever. Even this great bargain, certainly not a huge extravagance, is to remain a secret.
And the two who are not clandestine buyers? I am happy to say one has become a good friend. I know her husband might roll his eyes at the whole thing occassionally, but he knows it is a real outlet for her. The other one was a real surprise, after all these secretive women. The husband of a quilter, buying for his wife. She was laid off from work, money was tight, but he wanted to give her spirit a lift with something she would enjoy.
Is this sense of secrecy a reality for many of you? Do you too ‘sneak’ in purchases? Do family members roll their eyes when you come home delighted with your new fabrics or notions? Or do they support you in your passion for quilting, sewing, fabric collection, whatever part of the craft that you love?
Thanks to The Curious Quilter for this chuckle today!!
My hubby has officially declared me addicted to sewing. I think because I took some - just a few! - sewing supplies to the beach with me over the 4th of July vacation. Sadly, I didn't get to clip anything - I was too busy reading...about quilting. I bought a few quilting mags and brought along a binder full of information I've printed out online about ... well... quilting... OK! I'll admit it! Guilty as charged. ~Did I mention that I also listened to The Quilter's Apprentice books-on-cd on the way to and from the beach?~
But anyway, it could be worse...right? Just because my home office has now become a sewing room and vaguely resembles a fabric store (though not quite as organized)...that's not a BAD thing.
Today I joined my first virtual Quilt-Along! I'm pretty stoked about it, just because I'll learn some new blocks and it's geared specifically to newbies. I think I may be outgrowing newbie stage already, though, since I did look at the first few blocks and thought "Wow, that's too easy..." ~hee!~
Maybe the fact that I'm blogging about quilting ...at work... is wrong. So I'd better get busy so I can get home and... umm....yeah. :)
