Gearing up!

I know, I know!! Two days of blogging in a row!

In a few weeks I'm headed to the Utah Valley Quilt Guild retreat in Park City. Yay! High altitude quilting! I'm starting to pull my projects together and I am, of course, planning to accomplish in 3.5 days way more than is humanly possible! 

We're doing a pin cushion exchange, and I tackled one this last week:

There are so many great, free tutorials out there that it took forever to decide what to do! I especially loved the ones that Darling Adventures' blog shared! I have no idea what the other retreat ladies are making, so I hope mine is good enough! 

We're also doing a secret sister exchange of goodies over the course of the retreat. There's a $2 limit per day, so I have to be creative. I'm trusting that they're not assigning me to Sue, my roomie, and since I don't know anyone else at the retreat (and seriously doubt they follow my wee blog!), I'm spilling the beans . . . In addition to a few fat quarters, I decided to make a few things. First, I made one of Keyka Lou's great little clutches. It fits a cell phone, a credit card or two, and some cash. These have become my go-to gifts of late.

I also made this mug rug with a paper pieced spool:

I used selvedges for the spool's "thread." Thankfully, my free motion quilting is continuing to improve! Now if I can just manage to figure out how to FMQ on a large quilt and not just tiny mug rugs!

If I had a hammer . . .

Long time no see, my friends! I know we returned fairly recently from a whirlwind, cross-country, LONG trip, but I headed out of town again! Visited New York City for a weekend and then crossed the mighty Hudson into New Jersey to visit family. A great visit--minus the fender bender I was in. Crunch! I was unfortunately driving my mom's car, so I feel guilty returning to Utah to my functioning car while hers is still in the shop. Sigh. Fortunately, no one was injured (the cars notwithstanding)!

So, back to brighter news . . .  yesterday we went to see Ana White at The Home Depot. Are y'all familiar with her great blog? Her site has tons (and I mean TONS) of free DIY plans for every imaginable constructable project: tables, Adirondack chairs, bookcases, armoires, beds, children's furniture, etc. She provides great plans, easy to follow instructions, super tips, and fabulous ideas! The Home Depot was "giving away" (er, selling?) her fabulous book with any $20 purchase.

The book is so great!! I loved literally every project in the book. She even had plans for making a children's play kitchen (stove and counter-top). So cute!

Thankfully, Karen is really handy with the power tools, so I think we're going to have some new furniture in our future! I was actually given an Ana White welcome home surprise last week--a gorgeous farm bed headboard (I've never actually been to a farm that has had these headboards, but that is what they're called!).

Doesn't this look fabulous?! Weird colors, though . . .  the quilt on the bed is actually a sea foam blue/green color and here it just looks a dingy brown. Yikes! Karen also made a headboard for my mother over the summer. So handy! I think the next project on the block is going to be matching bedside tables. Yay!

Giveaway Winner!

Before I make my big announcement, first an update on things here . . . Since I refurbished my old sewing table with this great red paint, I've been a little worried about the sewing machine scratching the new paint. I decided to make a large mug rug of sorts, or a sewing machine placemat. I wanted it to fit in with the sewing machine cover and the pincushion I had made, so to continue the paper piecing I started with the cover, I used Charise Creates' fabulous pattern for a sewing machine. I just fell in love with her design when I first saw it on her blog, and I was thrilled that shared the pattern. Although I love the full design of Charise's, which includes an ironing board and dress mannequin, I kept it simple with only a sewing machine.

This is the first time I've used someone else's pattern for paper piecing, and it was a challenge, but if I can do it . . .  anyone can!

Now, onto the big announcement . . . the big winner of a copy of Springtime in the Rockies is, by random draw, #23: Joan and Kevin. Congratulations!! I don't have your email address, so can you send me an email at shortcookie16@gmail.com with your snail mail address, and then the book will be on its way to you! And for those who didn't win but would like to purchase the book, you can find a link to the book here. 

Thanks to everyone who left a comment and/or became a follower. Welcome to Shortcookie--it's great to know I'm not blogging to myself! ;-)

Springtime in the Rockies: A Giveaway!

I'm thrilled to part of the Springtime in the Rockies Blog Tour! Konda Luckau and eight fabulous other designers have all contributed their amazing quilting designs in this great, must-have book! There are 15 projects, including quilts, a pillow, and a handbag. 

The designs are all inspired by, you guessed it . . .  Springtime in the Rockies! And you can see the influence of the gorgeous landscapes and wildlife in their work!

Take a look at "Fresh Cut Flowers," by Rebecca Morganson. I just love the sweet mountain flowers!

And one of my favorites, "The Hills are Alive", by April Mazzoleni. Thanks, April, for sticking that song from "The Sound of Music" in my head. I've been humming it for days now!

And with Machelle Preston's "Stepping into Spring" I can almost smell the fresh mountain air and cornflowers!

And just look at "Scrambled Eggs" by Emily Herrick--Love the whimsy!

Don't you just love Amy Smart's "Spring Baskets?" They'd be perfect for collecting Emily's scrambled eggs! ;-)

And these are just a few of the 15 projects in the book. I can't wait to dig in and get started on these great designs!

I'm sure you're itching to play with these great quilt designs too! I'm giving away a free copy of this book. All you have to do is to post a comment telling me about your favorite must-see place in the Rockies, or wherever you have loved being in nature! Yes, I know, I just got back from a long trip, but I'm always looking for the next adventure! Extra entries for those who follow my blog -- and new followers are always welcome! I'll announce a winner on Monday, September 24th.

And if you don't want to wait, you can purchase the book here.

Good luck!

Back from the blog grave!

Thanks to all who haven't given up on me (Yes, April, I do still have a blog) during my prolonged absence. We went on a long cross-country road trip to visit family -- 43 days, 21 states, and more than 7,400 miles. Whew! And let me give a grateful shout-out to www.doggoes.com, a fabulous app that provides detailed information about dog parks nationwide. Wherever we were in our drive across the country, we could easily find a dog park for the girls--some even had ponds and lakes! It helped ensure that Sophie and Zoey were happy little travelers (okay, not so little!).

We started our trip in Boston with a wedding celebration for Trisha and Nino, dear old friends from my days working at a prep school in Cambridge. They've been together for more than 20 years and have finally tied the knot! Sending them much love and best wishes for decades more of adventure, laughter, joy, and romance! I haven't seen many of the BB&N folks for ten years or more, and it was so great to have the old gang together!! My brother and his wife live in Boston, so we were able to stay with with them for several days. We were also able to catch up with my oldest childhood friend Jill (she's 91, ha! Sorry, terrible, old joke) and my great college friend Julie and their great kiddos. So fabulous to spend time with them!!

We then headed south to New Jersey. I gave my mom her Lilly Pulitzer quilt, which was a hit . . . despite the intense heat and humidity she kept snuggling up with it! We got busy at my mom's house and painted the first floor of her condo. She had gone out of town for part of the time we were there, so we wanted to surprise her by repainting her place. Looks great! Karen then got inspired and made a headboard for my mother's bed! This was definitely not a typical restful vacation! While in New Jersey, we also visited my uncle and aunt at the beach. Overall, during our NJ stay, we had lots of lobster, clams, fish, and great Jersey corn!

We then headed west to visit Karen's family in Kansas and Texas. And man was it hot!! We pulled out our paintbrushes again in Kansas at Karen's parent's house--yes, we actually traveled with our own paintbrushes and tools! There Karen discovered a wonderful old cedar chest of her mother's and she restored and distressed it using chalk paint. Looks so great!

While in Kansas, Karen's mom and I hit a few quilt shops where I added a bit to my stash. Karen's mom also very generously opened up her stash to me--yay!! We spent some time sewing while we were there. I made a little zippy pouch, although it is a mad, mad mess!

I used Ayumi's pattern, although any errors are clearly my own!! I love the fabric choices, I just am frustrated that I didn't catch all the fabric when I was sewing the zipper. Drat!

I also worked on my Denyse Schmidt charm square quilt. I got the charm squares through a charm swap that Made with Moxie organized a few months ago, and I've been itching to put them to use ever since!  I'm using the same pattern I used for my Rainbow Sprout quilt, which I got from Hooked on Needles' great rainbow quilt tutorial.

That's it for now friends, but stay tuned . . .  I smell a giveaway in the air!! Check back in tomorrow folks!

Lilly Done!

She's finished! I finally got my act together and got up the nerve to baste the largest quilt I've ever wrestled with! I got Karen to help me pull it taut as I pinned it together, but how do y'all baste quilts all by yourselves (or do you all rely on help for this as well?!). I wasn't sure how I wanted to quilt it, then decided I wanted to do straight lines, with alternating groups of lines with some open space in between. I'm really pleased with how it came out. Yay!

We drove across country in our trek to visit family, so I had PLENTY of time to do the binding. I think I've finally mastered my blind stitch! It was kind of strange to have a quilt spread out on my lap in the car when it was 105 degrees outside in Iowa! Yikes! It's a relief to now be in Boston where it's only in the 70s. Phew!

So, with much fanfare, may I present my current pride and joy, Mama Lilly:

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've made it for my mother out of her old, much beloved Lilly Pulitzer golf skirts. My mom is a marvelous golfer who had many great golf matches in those skirts, and I loved being able to use that great, totally crazy bright and unique fabric in this way. I've wanted to make a quilt out of these skirts for almost 20 years, much much longer than I've been able to sew, so it's actually a fairly emotional experience for me to have finished this quilt and to be so pleased with the finished product. I'm arriving at my mom's house on Monday and will present it to her then. Nothing like a warm cozy quilt right in the middle of the hot, humid summer!! If I had patience I would wait until her birthday in October, but I wasn't imbued with that kind of restraint!

Here's another shot with a peek of the outrageous Lilly Pulitzer peacock fabric I used for the backing:

I took these shots in my brother and sister-in-law's gorgeous backyard garden in Boston, where we're visiting this weekend. They have a beautifully landscaped yard, and with the weather mild and sunny I just had to take advantage of it for my photo shoot!

Gratitude

I'm not sure about you, but I'm one of those people who doesn't ask for help very well. In fact, it's kind of pathological. I would give away my last dollar to someone who needed it, I would drive to the ends of the Earth for a friend (or even a stranger), but I just am not good at asking even very close friends or family for help--even when I most need it. Even when it's offered, I'm not very good at accepting help. Although in theory I believe we all live in a community and we do best supporting and relying on each other, deep down it's as if I think I'm the exception; that I'm somehow supposed to be totally self-reliant and to lean even a little on someone else means that I'm deficient.

This may be why I find moving to be so stressful--it, by definition, cannot be done alone. Think about it: how many pieces of furniture are in your home that cannot be carried by only one person? Nevertheless, for most of the moves in my life, and there have been far too many, I have moved myself without asking for or accepting any help. About a month ago, when some of my sewing friends heard that Karen and I were moving, they offered their help and the use of their trucks. I was so moved that they would offer their help. Of course I wasn't going to follow up and ask them for their help (!), but their very offer was so moving to me-- that people I hadn't known for very long would volunteer their time, truck, and muscles on such an onerous task! I tucked their gift of an offer away in that place in your heart where you store such things, and then I returned home where I continued packing.

A few weeks passed, and I discovered, much to my dismay, that the house I was moving into was left in terribly dirty shape. Although the landlord was quickly responsive, it delayed our move by several days and added a great deal of stress to our already stressful move. We were juggling the cleaning of the new place, the moving of all our stuff (and there is an awful lot!!) from one place to a mile away to the new place, and preparing to clean out our new place (because unlike the tenants who left our new place in squalid shape, we felt obligated to leave our place in an even better state than we had found it).

Around that time, I received a text from my sewing buddy April, asking me if I was going to be at our upcoming sew day. I responded that given the move and the cleaning, I was going to have to give it a miss. She wrote back that they should turn the sew day into a "clean Shortcookie's house day" instead. I jokingly wrote back that I loved the idea, but was horrified at the thought of other people having to clean up dog fur and dust and such. I went back to my cleaning and packing and didn't give the text another thought . . .  until later in the day when I saw a message on my phone, telling me that indeed, sew day had been cancelled and that the very next day I was going to have four sewing friends showing up on our doorstep with rags in hand to clean out our old place.

Karen and I both teared up--what an amazing gift!! First thing Friday morning, April, Ella, Jenny, and Sue (and Miss Olivia, Ella's sweet little miss) arrived with red bandanas on their hair (with one waiting for me!) raring and ready to work. They tore through the house, vacuuming, cleaning baseboards, bathrooms, dusting, leaving the house completely spotless and smelling wonderfully fresh!

They couldn't stay for long (because they had all had to arrange for childcare in order to make the 1-2 hour drive as well as the several hours of cleaning), but we brought them over to see the new house and treated them to lunch on the porch as the very smallest of thank you's for the most special of gifts.

I learned a powerful lesson that day: I have spent a large part of my life trying not to impose on people, trying not ask too much, and trying to be self-reliant and independent. As a result, I think I have shut some people out by not letting them in when they offered to help in the past. Part of friendship is not just the generosity of giving, but also the warmth and openness of accepting others' generosity. I am so touched and so grateful for the amazing gift that Sue, Jenny, Ella, and April gave us -- not only in giving up time that they could have spent with their families or cleaning their own homes, not only in scrubbing our home clean, but in teaching me an invaluable lesson about opening up my heart and accepting help.