Table Runner Weekend and Long Distance Sewing with a Friend

Man am I exhausted.  I was running all weekend.  Table running.  Okay there really was no running involved what soever, just table runners.  In May during our annual Strawberry Festival, my guild aids in hosting a quilt show and we run a boutique of homemade items to raise money for various projects and charities.  Since, basket making wasn't going quite as I had hoped it would, I decided to take a break and whip up a few small quilted items.

Along with the boutique, our guild has been working hard to complete a quilt we will be raffling off.  Remember my Scaptastic Award, presented to me by my friend Courtney and her family?  The guild also received an award from them as well.  Grandma Beulah's Stash Award, and what a award it was.  We were able to use this donated stash to construct our raffle quilt we are calling Beulah's Jewel Box.  And there is plenty of stash left over.  Members that participated in the work days were encouraged to pick from the stash to make objects for the boutique.  I decided on these 3 fabrics.

With the addition of a white on white from my stash I decided to turn them into the Moda Marbles Stars Tablerunner by Kimberly Jolly.  I've pieced this runner several times before and knew it would go together very quick and easy.

I'm actually thinking about buying/donating money to the boutique for this item.  You know how sometimes you work on a project and that little voice inside you tells you something...like the quilt is talking to you?  This one spoke to me and I think it already has a happy home to go to.  I still have to quilt it, so I guess it could change it's mind.

The next three projects are all from the book 101 Fabulous Small Quilts.  It's my go to book when I need a small project.  So this book was the perfect choice.

First up is a small quilt called Scrap Squares.  It required a few charm squares and a fat quarter.

I had a very small pile of charms left from a pack of Moda Papillon by 3 Sisters that I used to make my Spring Tiles and Chubby Churn Dash mini quilts.  In no time at all they all came together to from this little mini.

Next up was Vintage Bow Ties done in a red, white and blue theme.  

The bow tie block is about as classic as an Americana theme, so I thought they would go hand in hand to create this little mini.

One of the things I love about this book is the crazy names some of the quilts have.  Which brings me to the last quilt, called Answer All Invitations That Ask You to RSVP.  My charm pack of choice for this one was Moda's Portugal by April Cornell.  Honestly, I do not remember buying this one and I know it's been in my stash for a very long time, so I was very glad to give it life.  

I cut up some various white on white 5" squares to mix with the bright blues, yellows, reds and greens.  This pattern used a new to me technique to create 4 patch blocks.  You place to charms right side together and sew 1/4" from the left and right sides.  Then cut in the center at 2 1/2"

Then you press them open line them back up so that opposite colors are on top of each other, sew along the left and right sides and cut in half again.  To magical 4 patch squares.  However, if you do not pay attention to which side you sewed before you cut, you might end up with something that looks like this.  Of course I did this on purpose to show you what could happen...I'm so full of it.

After making one extra unit to replace this one I could finish this top.

Now it's time to get them quilted and if time permits, maybe make a few more.  

The guild had originally hoped to have a boutique work day last Saturday but unfortunately, not enough members could make it so we had to cancel.  But thanks to technology, I was able to do the next best thing...sew with Sandra from mmmquilts! (and not Sandra on a stick, the real thing)  What's that you ask?  How did I sew with Sandra when she is like 400 some miles away?  The power of technology, my friends.  Thanks to FaceTime, where were able to chat the afternoon away while sewing.  Sandra was working on a beautiful quilt she made in neutrals, rich chocolates and beautiful blue grays.  She is calling it her Pebbles and Stones quilt and you can read all about it and our long distance sewing adventure over at her blog mmmquilts.

I'll never forget the day she and I had like 5 email conversations going and she finally sent me a message asking if I had an iAnything.  Yup, iPhone.  From that day forward, I think we have texted each other at least once a day if only to say, "Hi, hows your day going?"  Why we have waited so long to play with FaceTime is beyond me but I'm sure we will be quilting and chatting more often.  Oh, what would the pioneer quilters of yesteryear think of that?  I think they would be proud of us.  Who knows, maybe someone else would like to chat and sew too?  I think we almost have Judy over at Quilt Paradigm talked into jointing us.  So what do you think of this new way of connecting with quilting friends?  I know it's not for everyone, but man, it sure felt good to laugh and talk with a friend while enjoying something we both love.  And a whole cast of crazy animals and even a teenager made an appearance in the fun.

How about a few more outside pictures of these little table runners?

If you are interested in the book 101 Fabulous Small Quilts here are a few more projects I have made from it.

Leaf Chain read about mine here

Sunny Lanes read about it here

Don't Break Bread into Your Soup

Decoy

Also, don't forget, this weekend, Craftsy is having a great sale.  Up to 50% off of supplies and kits!

 I've been crushing on Craftsy for years now (that's why I decided to become an affiliate) and I live for these sales.  They are a great opportunity to pick up that fabric bundle you've been eyeballing..

Or try our a new Aurifil thread collection (we all know that's where I'm heading)

Or maybe pick up that cute quilt kit you've been drooling over.  Kits can make things much easier, especially when you are pressed for time.  Fabric, patter, sew, go!

You have till Monday at midnight to take full advantage of these great sales.  If you click on the links above, since I am an affiliate I will receive a small commission from the sale.  I do use these for quilting good and try to keep up on the latest classes, so that I can help you decided if you think a certain class might be good for you.   Happy Shopping!  I'm off to buy some thread.

Today I'm linking up with Finish It Up Friday, TGIFF, Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop! Midweek Makers,  Let's Bee Social, Linky Tuesday, Fabric Tuesday, and Main Crush Monday.

Quilting Confession #2

Confession is good for the soul.  You may remember a few weeks ago I made my first quilting confession about not making bags, baskets and other fun projects that are 3 dimensional.  Today I have a bit of a different quilting confession.  It's more of a quilt blogging confession.  Nothing bad.  Actually I hope you take some advice away from this confession.  

When I started blogging a little over a year ago, I seriously knew nothing about blogging or what it really meant.  It was just something I felt led to try.  With that being said, I decided to start my blog through a free hosting site (blogspot).  Why would I pay for a .com?  How the heck does it even work?   

About three months later, I randomly decided to purchase my domain name(s).  I still had no idea how to use them, but I figured I would purchase them anyway for at least one year (this is my confession by the way, owned domain names for a year, didn't do anything with them).   I figured if I stuck with blogging for a year, then I would explore how to use them. (I say "them" because I bought tishnwonderland and my name tishstemple)

During the 2015 New Bloggers Blog Hop Cheryl over at Meadow Mist Designs shared her domain name horror story.  After she had been blogging for a while she decided to try to purchase her .com only to discover it was for sale but the person who owned it wanted several hundred dollars for it.  Fast forward to yesterday, my cousin asked me to check to see if a domain name for his local woodworking business would be available.  Yup, sure is.  But the person who owns it wants almost $1300 for it.  And yes, that is the correct amount of 0's.

So if there is any part of you that thinks you may want to own your .com I STRONGLY encourage you to hop over to godaddy or any site that you can purchase a domain name and check it's availability.  If it is available for a reasonable price, grab it.  Even if you don't do anything with it right away.  This was my advice to my quilty partner in crime Sandra last night over at (and it's official now) mmmquilts.

Since she lives too far way, this is my Sandra on a stick for all you Jeff Dunham lovers.

And as luck would have it, it was Sandra that was able to figure out how to change our blogs to our domain names.  Thank you, lady!

And let me tell you, it's much easier to tell people they can find me at tishnwonderland.com than tishnwonderland.blogspot.com...non bloggers seem to lose focus after the first "."

I'm going to plug it one more time.  I wouldn't keep harping about it if I didn't think it was important.  Applications are still being accepted for the 2016 New Blogger Blog Hop.  

You have until the end of the month to sign up.  If you are new to quilt blogging, (less than 3 years) and would like to make some new friends and learn lots of blogging advice and tips, please go sign up now!  

Blogging advice and tips?  Yes, things like how to make an image for your blog or add those cute little buttons on the side bar.  Do people never respond to the comments you leave on their blog?  Maybe you are a non-reply blogger and you don't know.  That's what happened to me last year and because of the hop, I learned how to make sure my settings allow for people to email me back.  There is even a (private) Facebook page to ask questions or maybe you know the answer to a question being asked.  It's just a great way to grow as a quilt blogger.  I have to say, some of the nicest people I know (though technically not in person) I have met through last year's blog hop.  Have I sold you on it yet?  Go sign up!  

Also starting today through April 23rd, Craftsy is having a 50% off their top classes sale.

This is a great way to grab that class you have been waiting on for a great price.  You can click here to check out all the great classes on sale.  I cave to peer pressure, so you know what I'll be doing this evening.

Along with my Craftsy shopping, I can't wait to crack open my copy of my new quilting books.  You can never own too many FMQ books.  It's just a fact.

Miss Caroline is pretty excited too.  It means extra snuggle time.

So I will leave you with a question on the original topic of discussion.  Do you own or use your domain name?  If you do own it, are you glad you bought it?  I know to some people, it may seem like a waste of money.  After all it's not a tangible item you can hold.  What are your thoughts?

Today I'm linking up with TGIFF, Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop! and Let's Bee Social.

Psychedelic Cat Lady

The weeks keep passing by, and no finishes to report.  Tish is being l-a-z-y.  Actually, that's not completely true.  I did work on a project but mum's the word on that one.  If I told you about it, well then I'd have to lock you in a closet and not let you out.  So we will just pretend like I didn't bring it up in the first place.  I've made a commitment to trying something new this month and joined the #bravequilters over a Pink Doxies.  I am spending the month playing around with the Pixie Basket pattern over at Fabricmutt.  I'm not quite ready to share my progress on this project quite yet.  Honestly I'm not sure who is winning, me or the pattern.

But I can share a flimsy finish that I'm in love with.  A few weeks ago while online shopping with my partner in crime Sandra (mmm! quilts) I purchase two packs of 10" squares from Connecting Threads; Cat Lady and Mosaic Blooms.

My plan was to merge the two packs together to make a quilt that will be a gift and use Fat Quarter Shop's No Bake Jolly Bar pattern.  The pattern calls for two packs of Jolly Bars (pre-cut 5"x10" rectangles) but I chose to purchase 10" squares and cut them in half.  So after some sorting and whacking I had a nice little pile of rectangles all pared up and ready to sew.

This top went together mind-blowingly fast.  I was able to sew the entire thing together in one afternoon.  I'm not sure when the last time I had a project that was that simple.

The simple block construction would make this pattern great for any beginner.  My only complaint was, not all of my 10" squares where quite 10" so I had to do some trimming and "making it work" pinning.  We've all been there and done that, not biggie.

I decided on the name of Psychedelic Cat Lady for this quilt because of the funky bright colors and patterns mixed with those adorable kitty prints.  Plus I think it represents the lovely lady it will be going too.  She is an animal lover and one groovy chick.

And another cool note about this quilt...it is the second time that Miss Sandra and I have sewed along together.  Projects are always more fun when you are making something with someone else...even if you are thousands of miles away, we were together in heart and iPhone.  She should be posting about her version soon over at mmm!quilts.

And one final plug...the month is winding down quickly.  If you haven't heard applications for the 2016 New Blogger Blog hop are being accepted as we speak.

This year it is hosted by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs and Stephanie at Late Night Quilter.  If you have been blogging for less than 2 years, you should definitely consider signing up.  It could change how you blog forever.  I will guaranteed when it's over you will have made tons of new friends that you will cherish for life.  So hop on over to Yvonne's post and sign up, you will be glad you did.

Since today is Monday, I must be off.  It's time to wash the bed sheets in the house and I know a certain little kitten that will be over the moon with happiness.  She loves to help remake the bed and she is sooo helpful.

Today I'm linking up with TGIFF, Can I Get A Whoop! Whoop, Needle and Thread Thursday, Let's Bee Social, Sew Cute, Linky Tuesday, and Main Crush Monday.

Indian Summer Part 2--TBT

Time for another addition of TBT to pay homage to quilts from our quilty past.  Jenn over a A Quarter Inch from the Edge hosts a linky party for us on the first Thursday each month (with a give away) so that we can all see the quilts that help get us to where we are today.

Last month I posted about my version of Indian Summer Wallhanging by Kim Sherrod, a free pattern over at Moda Bake Shop.  If you are not familiar with its sad and lonely story, you can read it here.  If you are familiar you may remember it has lived its life without a binding.  I am happy to report that as of last month it suffers no more.  It can be considered a completed quilt.

So after what I had considered a train wreck version of Indian Summer (which in reality is wasn't a train wreck) I decided to give it another go using a different color scheme.  I keep a board on Pinterest that I call Color Ideas that contains various pictures I have ran across on Pinterest that could be used for color palette ideas.  I decided to put one of those pictures to use.

I tired pulling the browns, creams, reds and whites from this beautiful snowy picture of an owl.  Since this is from my earlier days of quilting, there are no pictures of "in the making."  After the quilt was completed I wanted to give custom quilting another go.  So I spent some time drafting a new plan (before my Plexiglas days) and got to work.  I have to say I was quite proud of my finish. 

 I had hoped to get newer pictures of it for this post, but time just didn't allow for it.  After finishing it I gifted it to a friend who had been asking me for a wall hanging.  I'm not sure why I felt like I had to make a second one so badly.  I guess I felt like I had something to prove to myself.

So this concludes my addition of TBT and is the last part in the Indian Summer tale, at least for now.  It was a very quick and easy pattern that just required a few FQ's, so if you need a quick easy project check it out.  And don't forget to hop over to A Quarter Inch From The Edge and check out all the other TBT posts and sign up for the give away.

Today I'm linking up with Throwback Thursday and Needle and Thread Thursday.

Quilting Confessions

This month I decided to try something a bit new for me, conquering a fear, learning a new skill, or possibly providing you with many laughs (depending on how this turns out).  My dear friend, Julie over at Pink Doxies, recently started hosting a new monthly linky party called #BraveQuilter encouraging us to mark things off our quilting bucket list and challenge ourselves to try something new.  

So this leads me to my Quilting Confession; Tish, has never really tried to sew something that is 3D.  GASP!  So what exactly does this mean?

I consider myself to be a 2D quilter...I've only made quilts.  No bags.  No totes.  No pin cushions.  Not even a doll.  Just flat.  Nothing with dimensions (unless you count a folded or rolled quilt).  I read about all my other quilty friends making beautiful bags with nifty pouches.  Drawstring wonders to hold all of your little valuables.  Cute baskets to catch and hold your unwanted threads.  

My quilting partner in crime, Sandra at mmm! quilts, even designed and wrote a pattern for Moda Bake Shop for her Pyramid Pouch.

Click on the picture to check out this awesome tutorial

 I'm sitting over here in wonderland hoping no one notices that my sewing forte doesn't include these skills.  I'll be honest zippers seem scary.

Picture from FunnyRush.com

AHHHHHH!!!  Oh, sorry, it's just a coat zipper.  But you do see what I mean, right?

So I have decided this month, with big girl panties on, to try to make a Pixie Basket.  I first learned about this cute little basket when Jayne over at Twiggy and Opal made one last month.

Photo courtesy of Jayne at Twiggy and Opal.  Click on the picture to read more about it.

The pattern is called Pixie Basket by Fabric Mutt.  It seems like a quick little project, though I have only skimmed the directions at this point.  With our community's up coming Strawberry Festival in May, it seems like a perfect little item to sell at the guild's boutique.

Things might be a bit quiet over here in wonderland this month.  I have a few silent projects going on, but hopefully, I can show you my finished Labyrinth quilt next week and show you my finished Pixie Basket (or maybe two) before April May sneaks up on us.  

Also, are you a new quilt blogger?  Have you been blogging for less than two years?  Do you want to make new quilting friends?  Good news!

Sign ups for the 2016 New Bloggers Blog Hop are open now till April 30th.  This year's hop is being hosted by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs and Stephanie at Late Night Quilter.  I participated last year and it was the best blogging decision I ever made.  I have made so many friends, learned blogging advice and technical aspects of blogging I didn't even know existed and was encouraged to try so many new quilty things.  I can say with 100% certainty, this hop helped me grow as a quilter.  So much so, I am debating on signing up again...technically my blog is only a year old.  But if you are new to blogging, do not waist time.  Click on any of the links above to head over to the hosts' pages to read more and change the way you blog forever.

Today I'm linking up with Can I Get a Whoop! Whoop! Let's Bee Social and #BraveQuilter.