Bits and Pieces Block

Just a quick update on my current Crazy Quilt block:

We had a really nice weekend.  Scott's dad was here and we did some flea marketing and we grilled out on the deck and just enjoyed the nice weather.  So I didn't focus too much on stitching but now I'll get back to it.  It's another nice day here so I'm going to go sit out on the deck again for awhile.  I have to enjoy it now.  Heaven knows how this coming Winter season will be.

Bits And Pieces

I've been keeping busy with loads of things here!  First, I started a new project:

I used a lot of little bits and pieces left over from other projects.  The center is from a vintage hankie.  The little blue pansies to the right of it are the edge from another vintage hankie that I used on something awhile back.  The purple scalloped trim on the center right is from a vintage tablerunner.  I bought it a flea market a few years ago.  It was tattered but there was a lot of useable fabric.  I only paid a dollar or 2 for it and it's gone a long way so far with plenty left for other projects.

The seam treatment on the right took quite awhile to work.  It's a combination stitch using both my waste canvas technique for the feather stitch and then Sharon B's Crazy Quilt stencils for the tiny lazy daisy flowers.  Here's a close up:

It will show up better once I add some beads.

I did some sewing the other day and pieced up a custom order cellphone pouch along with new purses so I have some new projects waiting in the wings for when I finish up on this piece.

In other news, I'm already putting pages together for the Spring 2015 issue of Crazy Quilt Quarterly magazine.  I'm really enjoying the process!  I always did like doing graphic work!

Just a quick reminder, all articles, tutorials, ad copy and eye candy photos are due to me by November 1st.  I need a lead time of 3 months so if you have anything to send for the Spring 2015 issue, please email me. 

If you would like more information on submitting projects or photos, please see my Submission Guidelines page. 

For information on placing an ad in the Spring 2015 issue, please see my Advertisement Information page.

Do You Remember This?

LOL!!  It's a joke!  I'm sure you're all tired of seeing it by now! 

Yes, it's the peacock design from the cover of the 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar.  I finished it into a pillow with crocheted trim.  I'm very pleased with the finished pillow and I just love doing these peacocks so I think I'll plan on doing another in the near future.

I also finished up this little cellphone pouch for my aunt:

I heard through the grapevine that the blue one I made her a few years back is starting to look a little worn. So it was time for her to get a new one!  I crocheted the trim on the bottom of this one too.

I have some more finishing to do this week and I want to sew up some new blocks to stitch on.  More eye candy to come!

End Of Summer Activities

Well, I'm still working on getting the yard cut back.  Why it takes me so long, I don't know.  But little by little, I'm getting there. 

I do have a couple of finishes to share today.  First this little Christmas door hanger which I gave to my aunt.

And you may remember this cellphone pouch that I made for one of Mom's friends.

I did some machine finishing today on a few things so once I get the hand finishing done, I'll share those projects.  And I'm almost done stitching a rose themed pillow but I was too lazy to get up and take photos of it!  LOL!!!  So lots of eye candy to share soon.  And if I ever get that yard done, I'll be back to blogging more regularly!  

Everything Must Go!!!

Okay, I don't mean to sound like a car salesmen!  But mom and I have decided to do some "gear switching" with our Etsy shop.  We were talking yesterday about some little handmade embellishments that I want to do for my Crazy Quilting which gave mom an idea, which lead to another idea and so on and so forth.  You know how it goes.

Anyway, we suddenly had a flood of cool ideas and decided that it would be fun to do!  So......we need to clear out our Etsy inventory!  We're offering 35% off of everything in our store:

Please visit our Etsy shop and use COUPON CODE:  Autumn2014 to save 35% off of your entire order!!!  Yes, everything must go!!!  We need room for our cool new ideas!!!!

Reggie - The Black Lab

I was going to post today about the little yellow cellphone pouch that I finished up this morning.  That was before I read my email.  My dad sent me this story.  It's so touching and ya'll know that I just love animals, both cats and dogs....well, I decided to share this instead.  And just for the record, I'm particularly fond of Black Labs.  I know this is off topic but I'm sure many of my readers are animal lovers like me.  Sorry that the formatting isn't perfect.  I just copied and pasted from my dads email.

REGGIE THE BLACK LAB - 

They told me the big black Lab's name was Reggie, as I looked at him lying in his pen. The shelter was clean, no-kill, and the people really friendly.
I'd only been in the area for six months, but everywhere I went in the small college town, people were welcoming and open. Everyone waves
when you pass them on the street. 

But something was still missing as I attempted to settle in to my new life here, and I thought a dog couldn't hurt.
Give me someone to talk to. And I had just seen Reggie's advertisement on the local news. The shelter said they had received numerous calls right after, but they said the people who had come down to see him just didn't look like "Lab people," whatever that meant. They must've thought I did. 

But at first, I thought the shelter had misjudged me in giving me Reggie and his things, which consisted of a dog pad, bag of toys almost all of which were brand new tennis balls, his dishes and a sealed letter from his previous owner.
See, Reggie and I didn't really hit it off when we got home.
We struggled for two weeks (which is how long the shelter told me to give him to adjust to his new home). Maybe it was the fact that I was trying to adjust, too. Maybe we were too much alike.
I saw the sealed envelope. I had completely forgotten about that. "Okay, Reggie," I said out loud, "let's see if your previous owner has any advice."
To Whomever Gets My Dog:
Well, I can't say that I'm happy you're reading this, a letter I told the shelter could only be opened by Reggie's new owner. I'm not even happy writing it. He knew something was different.
So let me tell you about my Lab in the hopes that it will help you bond with him and he with you. First, he loves tennis balls. The more the merrier. Sometimes I think he's part squirrel, the way he hoards them. He usually always has two in his mouth, and he tries to get a third in there. Hasn't done it yet. Doesn't matter where you throw them, he'll bound after them, so be careful. Don't do it by any roads.
Next, commands. Reggie knows the obvious ones ---"sit," "stay," "come," "heel." He knows hand signals, too: He knows "ball" and "food" and "bone" and "treat" like nobody's business. Feeding schedule: twice a day, regular store-bought stuff; the shelter has the brand.
He's up on his shots. Be forewarned: Reggie hates the vet. Good luck getting him in the car. I don't know how he knows when it's time to go to the vet, but he knows. Finally, give him some time. It's only been Reggie and me for his whole life. He's gone everywhere with me, so please include him on your daily car rides if you can. He sits well in the backseat, and he doesn't bark or complain. He just loves to be around people,
and me most especially.
And that's why I need to share one more bit of info with you...His name's not Reggie. He's a smart dog, he'll get used to it and will respond to it, of that I have no doubt. But I just couldn't bear to give them his real name. But if someone is reading this ...well it means that his new owner should know his real name.
His real name is "Tank." Because, that is what I drive. I told the shelter that they couldn't make "Reggie" available for adoption until they received word from my company commander. You see, my parents are gone, I have no siblings, no one I could've left Tank with ... and it was my only real request of the Army upon my deployment to Iraq, that they make one phone call to the

shelter ...in the "event" ... to tell them that Tank could be put up for adoption.
Luckily, my CO is a dog-guy, too, and he knew where my platoon was headed. He said he'd do it personally. And if you're reading this, then he made good on his word. Tank has been my family for the last six years, almost as long as the Army has been my family. And now I hope and pray that you make him part of your family, too, and that he will adjust and come to love you the same way he loved me. If I have to give up Tank to keep those terrible people from coming to the US I am glad to have done so. He is my example of service and of love. I hope I honored him by my service to my country and comrades.
All right, that's enough. I deploy this evening and have to drop this letter off at the shelter. Maybe I'll peek in on him and see if he finally got that third tennis ball in his mouth. Good luck with Tank. Give him a good home, and give him an extra kiss goodnight - every night - from me.
Thank you,
Paul Mallory
_____________________
I folded the letter and slipped it back in the envelope. Sure, I had heard of Paul Mallory, everyone in town knew him, even new people like me. Local kid, killed in Iraq a few months ago and posthumously earning the Silver Star when he gave his life to save three buddies. Flags had been at half-mast all summer.
I leaned forward in my chair and rested my elbows on my knees, staring at the dog. "Hey, Tank," I said quietly. The dog's head whipped up, his ears
cocked and his eyes bright."C'mere boy." 

He was instantly on his feet, his nails clicking on the hardwood floor. He sat in front of me, his head tilted, searching for the name he hadn't heard in months. "Tank," I whispered. His tail swished. 

I kept whispering his name, over and over, and each time, his ears lowered, his eyes softened, and his posture relaxed as a wave of contentment just seemed to flood him. I stroked his ears, rubbed his shoulders, buried my face into his scruff and hugged him. 

"It's me now, Tank, just you and me. Your old pal gave you to me."
Tank reached up and licked my cheek. 

"So whatdaya say we play some ball?"
His ears perked again. 

"Yeah? Ball? You like that? Ball?" 

Tank tore from my hands and disappeared into the next room. And when he came back, he had three tennis balls in his mouth.
If you can read this without getting a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye, you just ain't right. 
======================================
"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."
G.K. Chesterton

To ALL the veterans, I THANK YOU for your Service to our great County!! 

 

Cellphone Pouches

I took a little break after wrapping things up on the calendar.  Although I confess, I've already started planning out next year's Crazy Quilt calendar.  I have my theme chosen so now, I'll wait until after the holidays and then I'll start on getting that project going.

I finished up a cellphone pouch that I was working on:

This one is a gift for one of my mom's friends who is also visually impaired.  I made her a cellphone pouch about 5 or 6 years ago so she could walk without having to carry anything but I'm sure it's time for a new one so this is ready to mail to her.

I also started on a new cellphone pouch for my aunt:

Yellow and pink is such a cheery color combination!  I'll start stitching on this one after dinner.

I'm a bit sad to say that the male hummingbirds have left.  I haven't seen one since Monday.  The males always leave about week before the females.  Once the little females leave, I'm heart broken!  The racoons have managed to break both of my hummingbird feeders so I put a little table out on the sidewalk, washed and filled one of the feeders and set it on the table.  Seems the little females couldn't care less!  They're busy enjoying their sugar water regardless of it not hanging on the hook!  I'll buy 2 new feeders first thing come Spring.

Well, that's my news for today everyone! 

You Tube Video

Okay, I just had to play a little bit!  I put together a You Tube video of the calendar blocks.  I know, that's all I've talked about for a week now but I'm just so proud of the 12 girls who contributed blocks to make the calendar what it is.  They all did such beautiful work!  Enjoy! 

Grab The Code!!

If you would like to post a link on your blog for the Crazy Quilt Calendar, you can use the code below!

 

<div align="center">
<a href="http://www.magcloud.com/browse/issue/799460" title="2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/storage5.magcloud.com/image/a082a40c888e4141973fbfaee7572ec2.jpg" alt="2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Thank you To My Vendors

One last thing I want to do regarding the 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar is to say a special thank you to wonderful shop owners who advertised with me.  I thought I would go ahead and post their ads here along with a link to their stores.  So here we go!

Arlene's Crafts

Crazy Quilt Supplies

Colour Complements

Raviolee Dreams

Pruitt Supply

Cathy's Crazy by Design

Colors Of Rengin

Fancy Crazys

Sew Victorian Crazy

Shabby Lane Shops

Shawkl Design Studio

Vintage Vogue

Please take a moment to visit these shops!

Calendar Blocks

I thought for today, I would share all of the beautiful blocks from the 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar.  Since the blocks had to be cropped to fit the space, these are the complete blocks.

January by Mary Anne Richardson

February - Nicki Lee Seavey

March - Maria Mulder
(Maria does not have a blog)

April - Kathy Shaw

May - Pat Winter

June - Cathy Kizerian

July - Brenda Sandusky (Facebook)

August - Gerry Krueger

September - Terri Lee Takacs

October - Betty Pillsbury

November - Connie Eyberg

December - Allison Aller

Cover - Pamela Kellogg

Please take a moment to visit the blogs of these gifted ladies and congratulate them on their beautiful work!  The 2015 Crazy Quilt Calendar would not have been possible without them!