Diamonds in the Rough

Today at lunch I decided to pop over to a little shop in town to look for some display items for my upcoming craft events this shop has great antiques and some other random goodies that make me feel creative. It's a little shop but there is stuff everywhere to keep you looking. It's called Miss Emmily Antiques and it's right on  East Main street near the Yadkin Arts Council. So if you made it this far you might be asking what is a quilter doing writing a blog about shops in a small town -- well I tell ya, it's because of the wonderful finds I stumbled across today. ANTIQUE QUILTS ans NOTIONS. I was like a big ole kid when I discovered some of these treasures and it all started with the front door.

This one is kind rough compared to the others but the colors are still beautiful and you can tell that it has been loved.

Then there are these beauties

I see some of you eyeballing those old spools
There were also some other notions available ---- a full display of old bias (lookin at you Sewingly Along)

old buttons

Old package of threads

Wooden thread Spools -- sorry I bought this one

There are so many other great thing in there. I love to support local small businesses and she's going to be open all weekend for those of you that are local to the area --- might be a good trip if your off work tomorrow for the Easter holiday.

I also did a little exploring in King when I was working in Mt Airy earlier this week and went into Papananna's-- such a great shop with all kinds of crafts and fabrics. I did buy a few things in there and know I will be visiting again soon.

I got some exciting squishy mail this week as well

I'm heading up to Cherokee Casino on Saturday with my Dad so tomorrow might be my big cleaning and sewing day this weekend, Maybe I'll win that big jackpot while I'm there. Think of all the fabric I could buy then (little girl laugh). I may see if he's willing to stop in a fabric store I found up there -- but the odds are not in my favor on this one.

Beautiful Camila flowers from the hedge of a coworker in an antique emerald vase. Happy Quilting everyone

What's in a name?

This last week has been a pretty lucky one for me I have to say, I got my covert robin shipped out earlier in the week, went to the guild meeting and am participating in the Zakka swap with them and I've won 2 giveaways. There was the beautiful pillow that will be arriving any time now that I mentioned before and today I was notified that 2 yards of beautiful Batik fabrics will be coming my way as well thanks to the mid march giveaway over at http://44thstreetfabric.blogspot.com/ (again happy birthday to Charlie). In the announcement blog Bev wrote -- Her blog name makes her sound so interesting, doesn't it. So I thought I would take a moment and explore my blog title and a bit about myself with my readers as this was one thing I thought most about in deciding to blog. I wanted something that was a complete reflection of the person that I am and Incorporated several of the things that I enjoy doing most in life.

 

Snuggle Up --- refers to my love of quilting, kitties and my love of movies. I have always been the type to have a blanket with me at all times. I love being covered up. This could be because I am usually cold no matter the temperature outside my feet get cold. Quilts to me are a representative of love for one another -- we make quilts mostly for others because we care about them (there for a quilt can be seen as a representative of a hug for a lived one when we are not able to be there no matter the reason. I keep multiple quilts on my couch and can often be seen with a kitty in my lap. one of my favorite things to do is also watch movies -- I am a huge movie nut and look for ways to drop movie references and quotes into daily life. date night often times consists of a movie and popcorn snuggled up with my hunny on the couch. We met because of my love of movies, I was going through a difficult separation and went into the video store where he was working and we hit things off right away and haven't been separated since.

 

 

with a dish --- I love to talk to people (or dish) and comfort people when they are in need. My work history has been challenging at times because of the people that I have elected to work with in human services. I've worked with senior citizens coping with loss of independence and frequent loss, heroin abusers, prescription drug addicts, individuals with severe mental illness from age 6 to 65 and now I work assisting people that are unemployed. I have seen and helped some people at the lowest that they will probably get in their lives and worked with them to regain some sense of themselves. the dish also refers to my love of cooking for others and love of eating great food. Being southern and from a typical large southern family it's all about pleasing each other and providing good food to those that you care about as a  sign of love.

 

I hosted Christmas this year and after some speculation, I wowed them with a Bacon wrapped Turkey

And fudge cake trifle

This week to celebrate 2 coworkers birthdays I brought in a Carrot cake

and I think they liked it -- because this is all that was left after half an hour and I only work with 5 people that eat cake (one is gluten free and another doesn't like sweets)

 

from Karma --- Karma is something that i believe in deeply and I have always used Karma in my screen names and emails. I have a bit of a temper when I feel that I have been wronged in some manner and when I was younger my friends would say "you better watch out, Karma's gonna get you." So the nickname stuck. I like people that are straight with me and hate mind games people sometimes play to try and manipulate situations. I hold people to a level of standard that I am willing to meet myself. I expect people to try and put effort into living rather than being a spectator (or as i see many times the victim in your own life).

 

So that's the dish for now -- more quilting this weekend. Hopefully i can knock out some more of those UFO's. I also have ot do a mock set up for vendor applications for some of the upcoming craft events because I forgot to take an official picture of my setup during my first show. Seeing as it was indoors this might not have helped me anyway because the ones coming up in the spring are outside shows that require a tent.

NQD part 2

I know National Quilt Day was Saturday but I made it a weekend affair  and day 2 brought more progress to that ole UFO checklist

1.  I got the t shirt quilt top finished and the backing made -- apparently I forgot to take pictures

2. Storm at Sea top is ready to show to the quilt shop. They wanted a sample with some of the new batik fabrics and I love this red  fork and spoon fabric so I volunteered to lend them mine because I was buying the fabric anyway. It's going to be a wall hanging in my kitchen when I get it back 

3. Blue Modern top is nearly complete -- I need to put the blue border on it (the pick is the top laying on the back while I decided if I wanted the blue border). I don't think I will have this one ready in time for the meeting this week (tomorrow) but hopefully by next month. 

4. I started on the design for my 80's project -- I found inspiration in a stamp design I saw while at the craft store this weekend. I love finding inspiration in unusual places. 

Overall I am pleased with the progress that I was able to make this weekend and only missed 2 (well 3) things from my list. I didn't piece the Elephant Parade top and didn't quilt the blooming flower (Kelly Wood I hear you over there). No progress on the City View either -- but that was a maybe all along. Today I'm finishing up that blue modern and the final touches on my Covert Robin. My little girl kitty has tried to lay claim to the Owl and the Mug rug  as her own, she loves having a baby to play with and thought that "quilt" was just the right size for her. I wish I had been able to catch a picture because she was on the table (bad kitty) on the mug rug hugging the owl. I figure I better get this shipped out ASAP or Miss Doodle might hide the owl and lay further claim to things that re not hers.

Happy Monday everyone and Happy Quilting.

NQD part 1 -- slow going

I am pleased to announce that I got a few things crossed off the list for national quilting day -- not many but I still have tomorrow.

 

Prince Charming is ready to be washed and then off to the senior center for donation.

I did have a slight problem when one of the pins somehow wound its self inside the quilt -- anybody ever had this happen before? My hunny came to the rescue and cut the pin apart to get it out

 

I got caught up on all my block of the week blocks -- Ruth

and my March Blockof the Month flower block

 

I worked on goodies for the 2 swaps

Large Mug Rug completed --- I can't show you a full picture (it's supposed to be a surprise after all), the red border contains a paraphrase of one of my cover robin's favorite quotes.  I am also sending this little guy to brighten her day.

I still need to crochet the feet and beak but he is really starting to shape into an owl.

I went and got fabrics for the 80's project (that middle one is chocolate brown) because I needed them and this happened

I got the blue modern blocks started but more on that tomorrow.

 

I had a wonderful Kitty helper today. If he wasn't under my feet

He could be found stealing my chair

 

In non quilting news I did something a little crazy today while I was out.

 

12 inches gone just like that -- when the hubs came back to pick me up he nearly ran into another car in the parking lot. I wanted to donate to Locks of Love but my hair had become to damaged in the last year -- or the stylist was just being lazy about sending it off. It's going to be a big adjustment but overall I am pleased with the job that she did. Let me know what you think.

 

That's the dish for now -- Happy Quilting everyone.

 

National Day of Quilting Prep

I am planning on sewing the weekend away in honor of National Quilting day Saturday (I'm making it a weekend event) and so that means I need to prioritize my UFO list as to maximize my progress. 

1. March block of the month needs to be completed (30 minutes) 
2. Prince Charming needs quilting (1 hour) and binding -- ick (1 hour)
3. Covert Robin: finish project 1 (30 minutes) complete project 2 (2 - 3 hours) 
4. Catch up on Bible Studies blocks -- only 2, 6 inch blocks behind (1 hour) 
5. Square up and stitch together storm at sea (2 - 3 hours) 
6. Complete star wars borders, backing and sandwich together (2 hours) -- gotta make room on the design wall
7. Put together Elephant parade blocks with sashing (2 -3 hours) 
8. Quilt Blooming flower (2 - 3 hours) bind (1 hour)
9. Piece blue modern charity top (2 hours) 
10. Quilt City View (5+ hours) -- yeah this might not get done 
11. Start 1980's swap project 

Not including the big quilt that's 15 to 20 estimated hours of projects -- let's see what kind of dent I can make in that in the next few days. 

I'm going to make a run for a few things tonight so that finishing up items is possible and  also need to gather items to plan out my 80's swap item coming up next month. Those ideas are coming together just not as cohesively as I had hoped -- maybe once i get some fabrics the design part will start to work its self out more. Feel free to check out my Pinterest board dedicated to this project. My swap partner wants something to tie into modern decor in neutral colors -- this is the stumbling block for me. When I think 1980's neutrals do not come to mind but I have a better color pallet in mind using creme, white, navy, chocolate and rich lime (not neon). I did see a fun project that I might integrate into this one involving dying fabrics using crayon as a relief to put quotes / lyrics onto fabric from another blogger. 

I keep telling myself I will not start another project until some of these are complete but there are so many ideas waiting to get out of my head and the desire to reorganize (and dare I saw purge) my fabric stash. I keep seeing more people using the comic boards and love this idea. I had previously used a method similar but smaller bolts and everything ended up being different sizes because of the bulky folds. When I had my fabric on CD shelves this was fine but once I moved into my other room they are now in a dresser and this isn't working as much. Not to mention that currently my stash runnith over at this time and hubs is starting to give me are you crazy looks when I talk about new fabric like comma, posy and wordplay --- that I usually would have stumbled upon them in the local shops in time but have been introduced to by some of my fellow bloggers, we won't directly say enablers but you know who you are, and you are appreciated just the same.

 Some happy news -- I did win my first give a way this week and look forward to the arrival of my pickled kitty from the wonderful Amy. No it's not really a pickled kitty, she's keeping the kitty and sending me some pickles along with this beautiful pillow case.  Also, It looks like I will also be receiving another traveling stash box in about a week -- and the funny part is it's the one I sent out not to long ago with new goodies added. If your not sure what these are check here and be sure to look for my post coming up soon when I receive the box for your chance to be the next recipient. 

In other news -- I nearly signed up for sew south earlier this week when another ticket came available but it didn't work out (stupid tax bill). I will start saving up and focusing on the sewing expo in Raleigh in a few months instead, anybody else planning to go to this one? It was a great time the short amount of time I got to go last year.

Happy Friday and Happy Quilting Everyone!!

A little birdie....

Of course I am talking about the Covert Robin Swap that I am participating in with the deadline quickly approaching in another 2 and a half weeks. I have my partner and she looks like a person that I could easily see myself being friends with if we lived closer. Thanks to Melissa over at http://ahappystitch.com/ I have been able to read many new blogs by bloggers that I find inspiring.

It took me several days of stalking her and eventually looking her up on Pinterest (don't we love Pinterest --- check out my boards over at http://pinterest.com/katieyoakum/) to get my idea more concrete for her project. The first part is great because it is handwork and I can work on it during slow times or while I watch TV at night. I am making a cute little crochet critter in her favorite color and I think it is an animal that we have in common -- the Owl. 

Oh how I love little Owlies and this provides me an excuse to go to the craft store to finish it up with felt embellishments. I usually make the hippos and everyone loves them but i wanted to try a new critter and think that this pattern needs more detail work to pull off the owl look. I am planning a few other goodies for my partner as well including either a wall hanging or mug rug to illustrate things that I have learned about her while stalking observing her virtual presence. 

I also thought I would make a  note to my covert robin since we did not put details about ourselves on the sign up for this swap. I love the color raspberry pink -- my crafting space is done primarily in this color and black. I am obsessed with Alice in Wonderland, my favorite movie is Moulin Rouge, Imagine and believe are my favorite words, I love the Beatles and the Bee Gees (even though I was born in the 80's). My favorite animals are Owls, cats and elephants. I am a Sagittarius and astrology.com pin points my personality. 

I can't wait to follow up and see what everyone is creating and find out who my partner is. 

I am also taking part in another swap celebrating the 1980's and am working on creating something amazing for that one as well -- it even has it's own pinterest board because my lady has so many interests and some of the requests seem to slightly conflict with the style of the 80's (colors mainly) but I have an idea forming and need to get out the ole drawing board. 

Not much crafting or quilting this weekend as we went to Greenville, NC to see the in laws. 

What have you flickin done to me?

Blogging has really opened up some new doors for me cratively and I wanted to share with you all some of the exciting things that I am going to be taking part in the in the next few months.

 

I was notified earlier who I will be sending to and I need to start putting my ideas together for her project. I checked out her blog earlier and there aren't mant craft related items there but she does have a good deal of other information so I am thinking that I might make up a wall hanging for her in the colors that are on the blog page to reflect her family. One month deadline on this one.

 

Also I discovered via another blog  this is a swap designed for people that love the 1980's

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1638330@N20/

 and then I taught myself how to make a mosaic of everything that I love about the generation that I grew up in and some designs that made the 80's feel modern again. Signups for this one end Monday and by next Friday I will know who I am crafting for. This one will be 2 months.

With my ongoing UFO projects at least I will be keeping busy but havign a great time in the process. I say this as I have not sitched a stich today , or prepared for the guild sit and sew timorrow.