Mardi Gras

That time of year when you can unleash your crazy side and let the good times roll. I found this pattern that allowed me to do just that.

Yes I did, I played and went crazy.  It all started with this fun pattern from The Quiltery. You know, one of my favorite pattern places!   This "Masquerade Ball" pattern just screamed Mardi Gras to me!

 

These wild women

 

are what Mardi Gras is all about!

I chose a background fabric that had some poly in it. (my bad) Then I used a poly thread, that actually shrunk up a bit when I put an iron to it. Lemons for some, but lemonade for me!  It sparked that crazy "texture" thing inside me. I decided it was time to throw caution to the wind and just go for it.

I've been trying to break out of "my" box of boring borders a bit. Now was the time to do something I had never done before. I started by drawing out these shapes on paper. I traced them to my borders, stretching them by eyeball, (oh so technical, I know) when needed.

 And started quilting away. When I was done, it was just so flat looking.  I decided to go back over things with a silver metallic thread.  It was a subtle change, that made a big difference in the end!
Who knew...

 

I definitely need more practice on framing in my borders, but it wasn't too bad for a first time.

And I couldn't have had more fun!!

 

Don't you love this big mask in the corner?

And when it comes to texture...

my heart goes pitter-pat every time I look at this.

Yes, this is the quilt that "did in" my favorite Moosie sewing machine. 

I guess all that quilting and re-quilting was about all her poor little heart could take!

:-(

May you RIP...

But on a brighter note:

 New Orleans hosts the Mardi Gras celebration.  A celebration that lasts over 2 weeks. The parades started last Saturday!  I've never been, but I have heard the stories!  Some are legendary, and I won't share the names to protect the innocent! LOL!!  Feel free to share your tales from the "Big Easy" though!  (if you dare)   :-)

Grow your own blog hop winner

It's been a fabulous few weeks visiting over 500 blogs! I've made many new friends, and look forward to seeing what the year has to bring for them. Hope you have found it as inspirational as I have.

 I promised a give a way... and today is the day!

Random.org tells me that #43 is the winner

trudieJanuary 25, 2014 at 9:41 PM

I just joined your blog and am looking forward to many more posts. I,too, started my blog about a year ago to track my own progress throughout the year. Sometimes life gets hectic and my posts are way late but that's ok too. Feel free to visit me at grammysstudio.blogspot.com

Congratulations Trudie. I've sent an email to get your mailing info, and will get your package on it's way to you!  Thanks "sew" much for being a new follower.

                             A big thanks to all my followers, new and old!
                                                        :-)

Love is in the Air!

 

Won't you...

 

Valentine!

Happy Valentines day!

Hope the Chocolate Fairy brings lots of good things to eat!

:-)

Baby it's Cold Outside (free pattern)

 

Is this just the cutest thing you have ever seen.

Best yet, it's a free pattern from 

The Red Boot Quilt Company

You need to act fast, it will only  be available for free until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi are over on Feb 24th. You don't want to miss it!

http://www.redbootquilts.com/ 

Thank you Toni for this wonderful pattern!

*****************

Just another added note. I am getting a LOT of no reply bloggers. If you have upgraded to Google+ your likely one of them. I had the same issue myself and was not able to solve the problem, so I switched back to the old Google format. Please leave an email address in your comments so I can reply to you!

:-)

PIG and a sad day

I'm sure your all wondering why it's a sad day for a PIG???

The Pig is, my Project in a Grocery Sack

The sad is, that ole Moosie gave up on me!

 

It's true, my favorite machine in the world bit the dust!

It's so tragic!

My Bernina 220 was just stitching away and started to make terrible noises.

Thank goodness I stopped and took the quilt I was free motioning out before the head locked up. I would have been a very unhappy camper if I had had to cut the quilt out of it!

She always looked out for me, that wonderful machine!

It's at the sewing machine hospital, but it's not looking good. The part has been on back order for over a month, and they don't make this machine any more!

:-( 

I'm so sad!

I did manage to get this PIG done first.

 Ahhh, Alaska memories from fishing days!

 

I even found a thread that went perfect with it, in my stash!

                             No more boring borders. I'm on a mission
                              to try to break out of my box and try new
                               things!  We will see how long this lasts.
                                                                                ;-)

Psssst...I haven't told my hubby yet, but I bought a new Bernina last week at the sewing expo. It's not that I really needed another machine, but I so loved my Bernina.  Heck once I get the moose skin ordered and put on it, he will never even know it's not the old machine!  LOL!!  A girl's gotta do, what a girls gotta do!

Update: I have had a lot of requests as to where I got the "skin" for my machine. Bernina offers them for their 200 series machines thru their website, but they are down to just a 215 in that series. They don't seem to be available or other models.  I have a lot of no-reply bloggers asking. If your on Google + your likely a no reply blogger. I've had the same issue, gave up trying to fix it, and went back to the regular Google, myself. Just make sure you put and email addy in your comment so I can get back to you!  :-)

She Who Sews blog hop winner

I  can't believe it's over already!   This has been one of my favorite blog hops. Not only do we have incredibly cute fabric to work with, but the ideas for making our sewing spaces our own, were endless!
Don't know about you, but my mind is spinning!  Wonder just how much of this fabric is left to be found, cause I need a lot to do it all!

I promised a give a way, and without further ado...

Random.org picked 

#57

Yes!  That is you Denise.

I've sent you and email, and will get this in the mail to you right away!

Congrats to Denise,  and a big thanks not only to Madame Samm and Carla for all their hard work, 

but to all of you who stopped in for a visit and left such wonderful comments.

And of course Quilting Treasures for sponsoring this hop!

You picked a great fabric for us to play with!

You have all made my day!

:-)

She Who Sews blog hop

 

I don't know about you, but when I saw this line of fabric from Quilting Treasures, 

my heart skipped a beat!

Yes, it was hard to find, but well worth the search for sure!

I seem to be in an "old as new" frame of mind recently. 

Maybe it's those dreams of making this old body new again!

But I realized that ship has sailed!

LOL!!

So next is best.

 I've long be captivated by these dish washing tab containers from bulk food places like Costco and Sam's Club.

They are such great containers...

and a nice size for a little trash can in my sewing room! 

 

A perfect place to show off those adorable ladies!

 

Did Madame Samm not just announce a ruffle blog hop recently?

Hey Samm, does this count? 

:-)

Oh never mind, I know the answer already!

tee hee!

 In the interest of sharing everything, the good the bad and the ugly, I must admit, that once it was done, I was a little disappointed in myself for not backing my piece before putting it on the bucket.

I did not want to line it, since it was a trash can.  It would make it too hard to get all the little strings and things out, but I am not wild about seeing thru it once it was done.

Oh well, I guess I really don't spend a lot of time staring into my trash can anyway!

But it's a good lesson for next time!

Next up was to re-dress a wooden doll that was in my sewing room.

 

My little pin cushion helper so to say.

These little  2 foot tall girls were the mainstay of my crafting career. I can't begin to tell you how many I made over the years.  All I know is, I curled raffia hair with a curling iron for hours on end and  burned out at least 10 of the darn things over the years!  LOL!

I still had some of this delicious fabric left,

so it was time to take it out of the sewing room.

 

I love these Professional Totes.

UPDATE:

Here is a link to the pattern from  The Creative Thimble

So many have asked...

http://pursepatterns.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=124

 

So many cool pockets and these great snug up side pockets that are perfect for so many things.

Like water bottles!

I travel with them all the time, and the travel strap on the back slides right over the handle on your luggage. Makes it a breeze to get thru the airport with.

My favorite part of these bags, are all the compartments and zipper pockets.

They are so hard to show once the bag is made...

 

The photos below show the compartments in the center as your putting it together.

If you have never made one, this looks very strange, I know. Trust me, 

when it gets stitched into the side seams it all makes perfect sense.

More pockets

 

Key clips, and pen pocket

Cell phone or camera holder!

Really they have thought of everything in this bag and it's all secure with zippers and velcro.

WHEW, this post is long! So glad you stuck with me thru it all.

Give a way time.

 

 Snap tape bags!

Just one more thing I did with this great fabric...

 How'd you like to win one of them?

They area a big 14"x17", perfect for all those projects you might need to tote.

Just leave me a comment, and I will be picking 1 winner on Feb 6th. 

(sorry, the rest of em have been spoken for)

LOL!!

A big thanks to Madame Samm and Carla, for a fun filled couple of weeks. These are my fellow bloggers anxiously waiting to share their creations with you today. Make sure you drop in and say "hey"!   :-)
                                                      February 4th

Just Let Me Quilt

Hill Valley Quilter

Sew Much 2 Luv

My Whittle Adventures

 

 Kids and Sewing

.

Moosestash Quilting

 

I Piece 2 Mary