wordless wednesday

fabric

randomish thoughts on fabric in a list
cause i'm lazy like that

i was tweeting with a few friends on twitter this morning
and one of the things to come up was fabric
the lure of new fabric
and fabric diets
as quilters we love fabric
right?
i could buy and buy and buy
i could upholster rooms in my house with some favorites
sometimes i feel the urge to buy the whole bolt
i never do act on that impulse
mmm, fabric
even joann's can give me a thrill sometimes
though i have never bought fabric online
and i don't keep up with designers
and who makes what
and i've never bought a jelly roll
or a fat quarter bundle of one designer
i buy what strikes my fancy
what strikes my fancy?
lime green
a good orange
or yellow
polka dots
black and whites
good ispy prints
piratey prints
peanuts
i can never resist a new snoopy/peanuts fabric
i usually buy 1/3 of a yard
or more if i really like it
but what about those fabric diets i mentioned earlier
why do we need to control our fabric acquisition?
why do we need to satisfy our fabric lust by buying fabric?
do we need more?
are these the last new fabrics?
ever?
when is enough enough?
do you buy more fabric than you use?
do you still love the "gotta have this fabric" months later?
years later?
do you use it?
do you hoard it?
let's put it in other terms
my sweet daughter: "mom i want to buy more my littlest petshops"
me: "you just bought one last week"
daughter: "but there are new ones"
me: "but you just bought one last week"
daughter: "and i don't have all of them yet"
me: "even if you did, they will still keep making more"
daughter: "and i'll keep buying more"
me: "aren't you satisfied with what you have?"
daughter: "but i want more"
me: "don't you like what you have?"
daughter: "yes, but i will like the new ones too"
me: "let's have a conversation about contentedness...."
let's put it adult terms
is this "gotta have more" mentallity limited to fabric?
do you continually change your decor?
do you buy all the latest fashions?
do you change your holiday decorations each year?
do you buy more decorations each year?
do you buy more craft supplies?
more than you need?
more yarn?
more scrapbooking papers?
more stamps?
more! more! more!
why do we allow ourselves to be obsessive about fabric?
are we not content?
are you content?


from Galatians 5:22 and 23 (NIV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

did you see that?
self-control
hmmm

the fruit of the spirit are what i strive for in my life
and in my children's lives
i use this passage to train my children
and myself

i'm on somewhat of a controlled fabric diet
i still buy some here and there
stuff i need
not necessarily stuff that calls my name
it's more of a money issue
and a space issue

and you?



***no new fabric was bought to take these pictures. these are old pictures of fabric for quilts for each of my children. pirates for zach. peanuts for marguerite.

DQS7 sent!

and received my millie quilts! In a post to her partner, Lynne (millie is the cat) asked for a quilt for her bathroom made with bright colors and lots of black and white. So I went all out. It was a pleasure to make. And Lynne assures me that she loves it.



My inspiration for this quilt came from Gwen and Freddy's book Collaborative Quilting. I had never done a medallion quilt, used so much black and white or made a spiky border.



I love quilts that hold my attention. There are lots of beautiful quilts out there that I'm done looking at in just a few minutes. The ones that really grab me are full of "surprises". Here is a list of surprises that I put in the quilt for Lynne:

lots of scraps
lots of black and white
checkerboard fabric
lots of dots
lots of different fabrics
selvage dots (she works with selvages alot)
a wee little kitty face to represent her Millie
a make-it-work-people lopped off shoefly
a churndash to stand in for a shoefly
fabric substitution in the spikes
fabric addition to make the spikes fit
a wonky house



It was fun to make and I'm glad she likes it. Her enthusiasm for it gives me great joy.




On a different note, things might get quiet(er) around here. I feel that I need to make changes in my life. I have been spending too much time focused on quilting (gasp!) and farting around on the computer. I need to be focusing on my children and their education, our home and family life more. I would like to be able to balance the two, but I haven't been able to of late. So if I can't get my act together, I might have to severely limit my computer time. blah blah blah. Thanks for sticking with me folks, and thanks for all the great and encouraging comments you leave.

wordless wednesday

wordless wednesday

wordless wednesday

virtual quilting bee update

I'm in two virtual quilting bees: SewConnected and 8two8. Both are on flickr. I like virtual quilting bees, and I don't like them. I like the challenge and comraderie of the groups, but I get a little wary of making blocks every month. Don't I sound lazy? I think that is why one or two bees is plenty for me.

August is Amy's month for SewConnected. She's making something similar to this and asked for blocks of various sizes. So with my scraps and with the fabric she sent along, I made these for her.


The smallest blocks are two inches including seam allowances. They were so fun to make!


August is LauraJay's month for 8two8. She requested I Spy houses and figured out a pattern for us to use. And you know I love doing I Spy! Here is that I made for her.






September is my month for 8two8. I am requesting blocks with free pieced words. One of each person's four words is her name. The other three words are chosen from a list of words I posted to the group. I also requested solid or solidish backgrounds and prints for the letters. Here is my first block.




What are you working on?

ps - thank you all for the nice comments you leave. they always give me a smile.

placemat quilt swap received

Forever and a day ago, I posted about the placemat quilts that I sent out to my partners. That's right. I had two partners. Someone I knew from flickr (isaacsmama) and the other partner was new to me. I said in that long ago post that I have received my placemat from isaacsmama and as soon as I received my placemat from the newbie, I would post about them. Can you see where this is going? The newbie placemat never arrived. I don't know if it was ever sent. I haven't heard from her. I don't want to hound her. That's the swapmama's job. Oh wait. I'm the swapmama. I'm not really that bothered by it. I made her my partner just in case this would happen that it wouldn't happen to a swappee. So don't worry about me. : )

The real reason I'm posting is to show you the wonderful placemat quilt I received from isaacsmama.




My very own, just for me, placemat. I love it! The colors and fabrics are perfect, and I love the bubble quilting. And I love the free pieced letters. Thank you Sudi-Laura! She was so sweet to send along a matching napkin. We use cloth napkins at every meal, so more are always welcome! Thank you!! Thank you!!

Carry on people!