Catching Up

I just completed my first disappearing 9 patch and I must say - I'm hooked! I spent about 10 hours looking at pics and studying the method. I've made 2 so far - got the 9 patches done, came up with a layout, and both times managed to misplace/miss-sew/screw up one block - oops! That's why the pics will not be close-ups heh  heh.

Quilt for Adrianna - front

Back view - 2 flannels

Also, in order to comfort myself after being mistreated by some naughty 4th graders I was substitute teaching, I stopped by Marshall's (Mecca) on the way home. I found this awesomely huge store basket on clearance - whoop whoop! It looks like it was made to hold fabric, see?  

It's burlap with fabric wrapped handles

...and applique flowers

Now if I could only stuff all this junk in it, I'd be in business.

Mug Rug Swap

 I recently participated in my first Mug Rug Swap on Craftser.org! I can post about it now, because my little creation has journeyed all the way to Canada and I won't be ruining the surprise.

Man, you can really waste a lot of time looking at the millions of pictures of mug rugs..a LOT of time.  The amazing talent out there in Flickr world is truly intimidating! It can  also be inspiring though, so I set off.

My first attempt was a fizzle. I wanted to try zig zags but I made the strips too big and when it was trimmed, it looked like a mess. The second attempt with smaller strips wasn't all that jazzy either, so I'm keeping it and using it to catch my own coffee drips. As I look through all the finished pics, I'm truly amazed that I was able to shoot my pockmarked, markered, mail covered and toy-riddled coffee table and it actually looks clean. Talented!

before the fatal trim

allllmmmooost a zig zag

even less zig zag

the cup is empty but the rug did catch all my oreo crumbs

The real mug rug:

It's so round, it wants to curl up

strippy backside

Action shot! 

Quilt for Terry

I feel like I hadn't posted in forever and when I looked, I realized it's been a month! Time flies, good grief! I've been working on a couple of things including this quilt made for a wonderful woman I used to work with. The funny thing is that we've gotten to know each other more now that we don't work together anymore - the wonders of Facebook, I tell ya. Actually, to be more specific, the wonders of Cafeworld... man, I would get sooo much more done if I wasn't constantly tending to my doggone cafe! It's just so nice to cook gourmet meals at the touch of a button and I know it's not real, but I have earned $73 million buckazoids - which makes me awesome.


Anyhow, back to the quilt. Terry requested creams, greens and browns which I had exactly none of in my stash. I must only work on baby stuff because my piles & stacks o' fabric lack any neutral colors. That meant I had to make a much dreaded trip to the fabric store. Actually, the only part I dread is the visit to the cash register and even that isn't so bad when they put in all my coupons, score! So, the part I really dread is sneaking big fat bags into the house-which also isn't so bad when I look at it as a way to keep the hubs on his toes. If he doesn't see the stuff coming in, he must assume it's not new.  One of these days, he's going to start paying more attention to my debit charges. Until that day, sneaking it is!


This pattern is: Flower Boxes by Freckled Whimsy. I used an assortment of browns, creams and greens to match the checked multicolored fabric in the outer border. After the quilt was admired and taken home, I realized I hadn't taken any close ups (including the crab)  so I snapped one of some of the leftover scraps here: 


It ended up about 65" x 75". The back is mostly a cool sand colored flannel - perfect for snuggling with. The crab is appliqued and has double button eyes.

Front View

fabric selection

In the grass with the resident model/intruder

Back View & Kennabeans

Pieced back w/crabby