Zizzy-Dot Swap March

I usually don't say which block is mine and which is Dotti's, but I think it might be a bit obvious this time. It is sure getting harder and harder ti find a good block to make.

More Dots

My order of dotted fat quarters has arrived. I especially like the yellows and pinks.

I think I have enough now. I'm not so sure I like the name of this quilt. Since my last quilt show entry was called Oriental Madness (because I went crazy buying up every oriental fabric I could find), then maybe I should name this one Dotted Madness.

Slow Going

I've started work on my Everyday Best quilt. I have been cutting and cutting and then cutting some more slices of dotted fabric. I am waiting for the arrival of some dotted fat quarters I have ordered and still have a small stack of fabric that needs cutting.
I am not one of those people who cuts all the pieces first, then does step one, until it is complete and then proceed on to step two. I might do some cutting, then some piecing, some more cutting then maybe get one or two blocks done and so on.
The central portion of this quilt consists of 9 - 16 inch blocks. Each block has 12 paper pieced archs and 4 corner squares. All together there will be a total of 108 archs. I have completed 11.

Even on a Gloomy Day....

.... you can find something to smile about.

This is another one of those orchids that I have had for many years and has never bloomed before.

A New Start

I have been in love with this quilt for ages, I don't know if it's the pattern or the colors, it's very busy. I finally got around to emailing Piece O Cake designs to ask them how I could get the pattern. I was told to purchase the book Applique Outside the Lines. It is pretty expensive to purchase from them directly, so I ordered a used copy from Amazon. I was really disappointed when the book arrived as the pattern was not in that book. I emailed Piece O Cake back again and they said they had made a mistake, the pattern was actually in the book Quilts with a Spin. So back to Amazon I went, purchasing another used book. All in all, it took over 3 weeks to get the one single pattern I wanted.

I've got a bug to enter another contest. Broward Quilt Expo is a year away, and that's just about how long it will take me to make this quilt (assuming I don't get bored somewhere in the middle).

I ordered a bunch of fat quarters yesterday and today I went through my entire stash (including the strings scraps box), looking for anything with dots, spots or circles.

So far the colors are not too bad but I still have more fabrics and a lot more cutting to do.

And the winner is..........................

First off, I would like to thank so many of you for commenting on my cell phone bag. It was a hard choice but I went with.........................

The simple single button seemed to be the most popular and practical. Besides, I am kind of lazy and it was the easiest to do.

I really liked the other choices and plan on using them on future cell phone bags I will be making for gifts and sale. Here is one I just completed and will be going in the shop.

To Embellish or Not to Embellish

I've decided my little cell phone bag needs some embellising but I'm having trouble deciding how to go about it. I thought it might be nice to add a decorative button. This one looks perfect.

Or maybe this one

I have always liked the look of button clusters.

Or maybe a cluster of fancy beads.

Or maybe some of those beads that Dotti made.

I could just be lazy and use the fabulous pin Dotti made me.

So help me out. What is your favorite embellishing technique?

Cell Phone Bag

It's done, and didn't take very long at all. I decided to use the rusted muslin I made some time ago. (You can see it here).

I am pleased with the results and can see more of these being made with appliques and beads and do dads and what nots. Maybe I'll make some for Christmas gifts, maybe I'll make some to sell. Most likely I'll get lazy and not make any more.

Quilt Show by the Sea

This is the weekend of the bi-annual Quilt show by the Sea. I only took this one photo as there were too many people walking around in front of the quilts. It was of the Best in Show. There were a few Baltimore Album type quilts and they were all very lovely but I was not impressed with the rest of the show. Once again I saw a very dull, ordinary quilt get a first place in it's category while a gorgeous, very well made Baltimore Album got an honorable mention. I just don't get it.
I was also a bit disappointed in the vendors. Do not misunderstand me, the vendors that were there were all fabulous and all had wonderful fabric to sell, but that was all there was. In past years there were vendors selling items other than fabric like Longerberger baskets and Swarovski crystals. I did however, find the quilting gloves I had been looking for. These are very lightweight, great for our warm Florida weather.

The nice ladies from T.J. Lane were there. I happened to mention that I was not real happy with the thimble that I purchase in 2004 because it was too small and too heavy. They told me to go home and get it as they would be happy to exchange it, even up. Lucky for me, I don't live too far, so I went home and got my Tommy Jane thimble and returned to the show. They exchanged my thimble for one that fits so much better. They gave me all sorts of information on how to care for it and what to do if it ever gets damaged. What nice ladies and what a nice thimble.
I did also break down and buy a pattern. I will be going to the Paul McCartney concert in a few weeks. I hate dragging a big clunky purse and have been wanting something small that would hold my cell phone, drivers license, a few dollars and could be worn around my neck. I really loved the sample purse but of course the lady wouldn't sell it to me. So next best thing is the pattern and I will have to make it myself.

Finished

I have at last finished my Downy Quilts for Kids quilt. They do not give you enough fabric to cut a binding, you are supposed to fold the back to the front. But I am a creature of habit and much prefer a double fold binding. I just happen to have some solid blue, which matched the main fabric perfectly. I am really happy with the way this quilt turned out.

French Lace

My mother was a dressmaker when she was younger. Many of her friends were dressmakers too, and they often gave her leftover fabrics, notions, trims and in this case lace. She gave me this box of lace about 30 years ago and I had always planned to make myself something special. Well, it's just not going to happen. The only thing I know about this lace is what my mom told me back then, it's French and it's expensive.

At this point I think I would like to sell this stuff but I have no clue as to it's value. I have searched online but I cannot find anything quite like it or as wide. Does anyone out there know of a way I could find out what I have and what it's worth? Does anyone have an opinion as to where I should sell it, Etsy or Ebay?

Changes Part 2

So I guess not as many of you as I thought have been to the Magic Kingdom. This picture of my family was taken last September. Do you see the change from the first picture I showed?

Here's a picture of the entrance that I copied from the Disney site. The wall was moved back several yards to accomodate a larger crowd. This higher wall also allows for more photo ops.

Changes

As you all know, my family and I are big Disneyworld fans. As members of the Vacation Club, we have gotten to go at least once a year since 2002. We always notice subtle changes from year to year, maybe a statue or prop is no longer there or maybe they changes the color of something. But when you look back at really old photos, you can see bigger changes. This photo was taken in 1977. Besides the fact that I was a lot thinner then, do you notice any big changes to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom?

Let me know if you would like to see a more recent photo.

Not So Bad

I think my machine quilting is finally improving. I have never liked the way I started and stopped. I had tried taking a few stitches in place, and I have tried back tacking, both looked horrible. I have always knewn that pulling the thread to the back, tying in a knot and then burying the tails was the best lookin method. But just the thought of threading the needle that many times made me kringe.

Recently I read a blog post by Bingo Bonnie. She too was machine quilting a Downy Quilt for Kids, and was talking about some machine quilting tips. One of them was this cheater needle (self threading needle by Clover). I had to try them. Wow, how did I not know about these? What a terrific idea. Yes, it may take a little longer to bury every tail end, but can you tell where I stopped and started?

There is only one thing left to try out and that's a pair of quilting gloves. There is a quilt show here in Ft Lauderdale next weekend and I think I know what I will be on the lookout for.

Speaking of Bingo Bonnie, have you signed up for the biggest fat quarter bingo game of the year? What are you waiting for, April 1st is just around the corner.

I hate this part

I really like piecing quilt tops, but once the top is complete I dislike what comes next. I dislike the layering, the machine quilting and the binding. There was a time, when I was still employed that I could use the very large, conference table for layering a quilt. There were even times when my fellow employees would volunteer to help smooth it all out. But now I am forced to use the floor in my very small living room.
I vacuumed the floor, then I used the Swiffer sweeper on it, then I washed it and still I had bits of fuzz balls sticking to the batting. I am forced to scoot around on my bad knees attempting to smooth the thing into submission.

Thank goodnes I have discovered spray basting because all the other methods just kill my back. Now how do I get the overspray off the floor?

I think I'll start the machine quilting tomorrow. I need to go sit for a while with a heating pad on my back.

48

I finally completed a second set of 48 string blocks. They will be sent off to someone in the Heartstrings Quilt Project group for completion and donation.

It's been some time since I have received strips, strings and scraps to use for charity quilt blocks. I still have some left but it is remnants of remnants and itty bitty pieces. I guess my next project has to be crumb blocks.

2 Seasons

I have heard many times over the years, that people wouldn't want to live in Florida because we have no change of season. They couldn't be more wrong, we have two seasons, summer and winter.
I have a large backyard, well large for downtown Ft Lauderdale. There is always a tangled mess of vines which are hard to control. Last summer, the vines suffocated another tree, this one in my neighbors yard. The dead tree came down on top of my fence. We cut up what we could we the chain saw, but the job was too big for us.

It was a pretty hot day when this was taken, it was summer.

In December the weather turned cold and has been cold for most of the time ever since. We usually get a few days of very cold, but this winter we have gotten many, many days were it has been in the 40's. The good news about such a prolonged period of cold is that it has killed lots of the suffocating vines.

Too bad the vines didn't kill that umbrella tree back there, I dislike those trees.

I Win

I won another blog giveaway. I must be honest and tell you that I miss read the post. I thought the prize was for some hand dyed fabric scraps and we all know what a sucker I am for leftovers. But as it turns out, the prize was this darling little quilt. It only measures 7" x 9" but it has lots of quilting on it. My thanks goes to Patty, the quilt lady. You might just want to visit her blog and give her a friendly hello. Now if I can just figure out a way to hang it.

Zizzy-Dot Swap - February 2010

Block Lotto for March 2010

This months Block Lotto is a super fun and bold block. It is a liberated log cabin, and I have my fingers crossed in hopes of winning. I think these blocks would make a great quilt for a childrens charity. So pop on over there and check it out. Maybe this is the month you might get daring and join us.