Twiggy and Opal

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Secrets ~ Holidays, Time To Share

I do believe it's safe!! I couldn't share a couple gifts I crammed in before the Holidays, (a couple belonged to family and I know they check up on me) actually crammed in, as in right up to the last minute! All the gifts have been received, so I'm safe to share!

My big sister always deserves a special gift! Since she lives in Arizona, it seemed fitting she should have a cactus. And you all know how obsessed I have been with these cacti!

I had plenty Hawthorne Threads Coyote fabric left and it seems to me it's perfect for a sweet succulent cactus.

9 1/2" x 11"

A little hanging slat and 'boom' she is ready to hang...in the dry heat of Arizona...Right, Debbrah?

How often have you said 'I love so & so' and then you are bombarded with a million and ten of them? She said she liked the Succulent Shelf, so if she liked that then surly she would like this:

Everyone needs a notepad and tea towels are invaluable, right? Gift sent and finally made it to it's destination. It seemed to be in limbo for the longest time!

Next up is...YEP! Another cactus! This one for my SIL. Seriously, she said she liked them too! Again, the Coyote fabric is too perfect not to use again!

I'm telling you, this paper pieced pattern is so fun! Again, here is where you can find it: 'Succulent Shelf' is by Amanda from Material Girl Quilts, it's a paper pieced delight in my opinion!

9" x 14"

By the time this post is over, I promise you are going to want to throttle me...is it the year of the Cacti? In my little world, it appears so!

18 1/2" x 12"

As I was sharing my 'garden' with the world, a little voice crept in and said 'I've been a good girl' (for the most part)! That little girl (Anne), who is not so little any longer, happen to be my daughters best friend. From Kindergarten. How could I deny her?! She has been through hell and back the past couple years. If it put a smile on her face...all the better!

Anne's mother was the one who taught Britt (my daughter) to quilt. In turn, Britt share her love of it with me and as they say...the rest is history! I couldn't send to Anne without including a little something for Bev!

5" x 5"
Mini Mini Quilt

That's Liberty in those wings! I have about 5 tiny pieces that needed to become a butterfly! Bev would certainly appreciate this tiny little piece!

The pattern, Butterfly Charm Blocks is paper pieced and you can find it here @ Lillyella.

Did you think I was finished with the Cactus Madness?! I really apologize...I was on a roll, having an obsessive moment.

5" x 5"
Pattern Reduced to 45%

Slightly different than the others! That's different! For sweet Jessica, who asked me to join the fun in a Holiday Pop Up show and surprised the hell out of me with a 'Shaq' ornament...I can't even explain that except to say it's a joke between her, me and my daughter!

Cactus. Loominous. Anna Maria Horner. Succulent not on a shelf. It's different from the rest, really!

I reduced the pattern to 45% and made it a mini mini quilt! Go small or go home, I always say! In this case, I said that!!

It was really cute. Really cute! I was excited at the possibility of making myself a Succulent shelf, now I will...in a mini version!

Thank you for indulging me! I may have taken this a little too far and totally over shared my obsession! You can take comfort in the fact the the holidays are over and I'm not planning on making any more gifts!!

Holiday Joys!

LINKING:
TGIFF
Can I get A Whoop Whoop

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

First Finish ~ EPP Plus

My first finish has happened! Technically it's a left over WIP from last year, but it's a finish! Waiting for inspiration to hit me after the holidays seemed to take forever. Motivation was in short supply. What I needed was to ease back in to the saddle and to finish a WIP was an excellent choice.

EPP PLUS
20" x 20"

EPP Plus Wall Hanging complete. Last time I blogged about this was in October (Here). I was trying to figure out a layout I could live with. Once that happened, the tedious process of hand sewing each and every piece together began.

Crunchy, crisp and clean! The fun part was popping all the templates out at the end! I choose not to sew through the card stock template which made it quick and easy taking them out.

When I started quilting I knew I wanted a geometric design. Beyond that, I had no plan whatsoever! It's the way I roll, what can I say?!

Vertical, horizontal, squares, diagonal...grey, aqua and copper thread was used throughout.

There are areas where I carried the aqua and copper thread through the grey background.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do for the binding. Something new and different! A Faced or Knife Edge binding. Have you ever used this method? I first saw it on a quilt that Debbie @ A Quilter's Table made. Right then and there I knew I was going to try it on my EPP Plus quilt.

The tutorial is available here: @ Bloomin' Workshop Blog

I didn't want to hide or break up the edges with a regular binding, I wanted to keep it clean.

With this binding method I wasn't able to do my usual mini hanging method with the corners. I'll come up with something that will work.

I'm just happy I finished and started...finished a WIP and started that flow of inspiration again!

LINKING:

Sew Cute Tuesday

Let's Bee Social

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Rebuilding A Funky Stash !

Rebuilding, starting over, refreshing? I'm not sure what I'm doing with my so called stash. I know I'm a mess when it comes to prints. Maybe that's why I love solids. Prints come and go, they become 'out of fashion' faster than a speeding bullet! Maybe not out of fashion, but dang...there are so many collections!

My print stash is a mess. Fugly with a capital 'F'!! This year I will weed through, destash (did that on instagram!) and fine tune.

Right before the holidays I made it a mission to search, find and buy some fabric that I have always loved and wanted. This fabric was so hard to track down. I put a mosaic on Instagram, as an 'I Wish I Had It' print. Much to my surprise there were people who were willing to give, GIVE me that fabric! Quilter's are amazing, generous and the kindest people I have met! I still wanted to give it a go and track down my wish fabric.

And then I found it! It was really hard to locate! I found flannel, voile and rayon pretty easily ~ not what I was looking for. Cotton please. Are you in suspense at what fabric I'm talking about? Okay, I'll tell you!

Pretty Potent ~ Echinacea
Anna Maria Horner

Anna Maria Horner (favorite designer), Pretty Potent ~ Echinacea! I've been in love with this print, slightly obsessed lately and happily I found cotton yardage!

Thank you Stitch Supply Company! I finally have my wish fabric!! Shall I hoard it and admire it sitting on my shelf? Let's hope not!

Labyrinth, Cottage
Fibs & Fables
Anna Maria Horner

Shock of all shockers! More Anna Maria Horner! And more of that gorgeous lime/wasabi/green color that I'm drawn to so often! These two pieces are from her latest collection 'Fibs & Fables'.

Artifact
Abacus ~ Alison Glass

I had to have this in my collection. HAD to! No plans for it yet, but I knew I needed some yardage on hand for when an idea hit me!

The Fibs & Fables and Abacus fabrics were from Hawthorne Threads. I sometimes can't believe how fast they ship orders!

I'm happy! Great fabric, hard to find fabric and oops...more on the way! It's prints! Truth is I have to have something spectacular to fill my new cart!